Avery and Rhys ventured outside of the Free City and into the surrounding wilderness until they reached a clearing.

“You don’t know much about Ira, isn’t that right?” Avery asked as she removed her hood. “Yet, you seem to care for him quite a lot.”

Since Rhys was wearing her mask it was impossible to see her expression, only her eyes seemed to give hints at her mood.

“What was it that earned your interest in him? Did he save you? Did he smile at you for a little too long? Do you have some sort of fantasy where he falls for you? I’m honestly curious.” Avery said in a cynical tone as she took off the grey cloak and placed it on a log.

Rhys took out her notepad and began to write, [I don’t know what it is, but it’s none of those things.]

Avery looked unfazed at Rhys’ words “Oh? Let me ask you this then, what type of person are you?”

[I’m not sure what you mean by that?]

“I mean, can you stomach killing people?” Avery asked.

[I’ve killed people before if that’s what you’re asking.] Rhys wrote in response.

“Yes, but what’s your limit? You probably have some preconceived idea of good and evil, right? That idea, like most conventional practices, doesn’t apply to Ira.” Avery said.

Rhys hesitated before eventually responding, [What are you saying?]

“Would you kill someone who spoke ill of you?” Avery asked.

[No.] Rhys responded. There were many people who spread rumors or taunted her over the course of her life. She could see no reason for killing them, especially over a few words.

“If that’s true you aren’t meant to be anywhere near Ira. You don’t understand anything about him and if you thought you did then you are completely stupid...The concept of morality is completely lost on Ira. He doesn’t care if someone surrenders or is unarmed and defenseless. That isn’t to say he’ll go around murdering innocent people for no reason, but if they were to die because of him he wouldn’t think twice about it.” Avery said.

Rhys had a complicated look flash through her eyes and couldn't seem to write a reply.

“You heard of the altercation that caused him to be detained, correct? Truthfully, there was no altercation. That Parvian man seemed to misunderstand something and attempted to inquire about buying me. That led to Ira ripping his jaw off, along with his legs.” Avery said with complete indifference. “It was quite the gory sight.” She added.

Rhys seemed to struggle with a proper response as she clenched her fist repeatedly.

“Nothing to say? If you were to tell me you that none of that means anything to you and you still want to pursue Ira, I would allow it. I would even tell him that you’re the only one I’ll accept as his second wife. So say it. Prove me wrong. Let me know that whatever you feel isn’t superficial and that you actually care about him.” Avery spoke coldly.

Sparks of electricity began to appear around Rhys as she tried to find a way to show that Avery was incorrect. Nothing came to her mind and Rhys began to have doubts about whether or not her attraction to Ira was real.

“Don’t mistake my words as jealousy. I only wanted to know if you were being honest and it’s clear that you weren’t. You should go on about your day, leave Ira alone, and burn whatever storybook that caused you to manifest that false sentiment toward him.” Avery said with a detached expression.

[Not yet.] Rhys suddenly wrote.

“What?” Avery questioned.

[I can’t be ok with it yet, but I can get used to it.]

Avery laughed apathetically, “And what? You think that Ira would stop for you? I didn’t ask if you would be ok with it in the next few months or years, I was asking about now. Is that too unreasonable to you? Should everything halt until you’re ready?” As Avery finished she drew her saber.

[Ira doesn’t need to wait. I’ll grow accustomed to it and I would accept it if I was able to be closer to him.] Rhys wrote.

“Is that so?” A hint of vexation appeared in Avery’s voice. “And when your repulsion toward Ira’s way of living slips out? What then? How would he react if he saw someone close to him look at him as if he was a monster? I don’t care to see the result of that.” Burning red veins began to appear on Avery’s hands, and even were glowing beneath her shirt.

[That won’t happen.] Rhys wrote defiantly.

“I’ll need you to prove it to me because I remain thoroughly unconvinced.” Avery’s wings slowly emerged from her back. In between the raven-colored feathers, fiery veins pulsed with life.

Rhys put away her notepad and drew her rapier as streaks of electricity quietly danced in her vicinity.

Without warning, Avery waved her hand and dozens of small arrows made of fire shot toward Rhys who already rolled away. Lightning appeared at Rhys’ feet as she rushed forward and thrust her rapier. Avery parried and slashed at Rhys’ mask causing sparks to appear.

Rhys instinctively closed her eyes and Avery seized that moment and used her wing to swat Rhys away before taking to the air. Rhys made a few silent coughs as she climbed to her feet, only to see Avery in the air with several spheres made of fire floating around her. Without a word, Avery sent the spheres toward Rhys who was already running for cover. As soon as one sphere made contact with the ground it exploded into a raging inferno before disappearing, but Rhys had no time to pay attention to that strange phenomenon as more spheres followed her. Rhys managed to avoid all but one that hit a tree next to her and showered her in flames.

Luckily, only Rhys’ clothes seemed to catch the flames and she rolled a few times to extinguish them.

Avery once again took initiative and swooped down with her Saber in hand. Rhys raised her rapier as if she was going to block Avery, but when Avery got closer, lightning shot out of the tip of the rapier. With no time to dodge, Avery took the hit head-on and crashed into the ground as the electricity temporarily paralyzed her muscles. Rhys ran over and thrust her rapier forward in order to shock Avery again, but a metallic bell-like sound stopped her advance. The rapier had indeed hit something, it's just that something was Avery’s wing that she used as a shield. Rhys attempted to channel lightning through her rapier, but it had no effect. The wings of a Valkyrie were semi-corporeal meaning they weren’t entirely physical and as such were resistant to certain things, electricity being one.

A pillar of flame erupted around Avery and pushed Rhys back, forcing her to retreat. The pillar began to rotate and swell. Lightning surged around Rhys in response, as she prepared to react. The pillar of flame grew bigger and then it suddenly compressed into an orb that hovered above Avery.

Rhys could feel that the orb was dangerous and began to let the lightning around her run rampant. The orb of compressed flame exploded sending hundreds of burning arrows raining down on the surrounding area. At the same time dozens of lightning bolts flew from Rhys’ body and met some of the flame arrows head on, but the amount was far too much for Rhys to respond too. The lightning and fire exploded destroying everything in the immediate vicinity. The deafening rumbling sound that occurred as a result of their clash, spread as far as the Free City, causing everyone to scratch their heads at the strange noise.

Inside the forest clearing, the vegetation within 100 feet of the battle was charred. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a heavily injured Rhys, cradling her side against a tree. While Avery’s figure was obscured by her wings, which shook before receding into her back. The burning veins that covered her skin faded away. In contrast to Rhys, Avery only had a few wounds. She sheathed her saber before she went to retrieve her cloak. The only reason she didn’t use the formless armor was the fact that Rhys wasn’t wearing any armor herself.

“Was that it?” Avery asked before she covered her hand in flames and traced over her wounds. When the flame disappeared, the wounds vanished along with it. The phoenix flames had innate healing properties so it was no surprise that it Avery recovered.

Blood spilled from underneath of Rhys’ scarred mask, but her eyes showed vivid signs of life. She stabbed her Rapier into the ground and forced herself to stand while wincing in pain. Her breathing was labored, but she moved forward nonetheless, leaving a small trail of blood along the way. Rhys stumbled and fell, but climbed back to her feet and continued to move forward even as her body grew heavier.

“If you give up right now, I’ll heal your wounds.” Avery said as she watched on emotionlessly.

Rhys tossed away her mask, revealing her blood covered face, before continuing to advance with the assistance of her rapier. Her whole body was in pain, but she did her best to ignore it.

“You barely know him. You don’t even know how he feels about you. What happens if he rejects you? Wouldn’t all this be for nothing?” Avery asked.

How did Rhys feel about Ira? She herself wasn’t entirely sure, but she enjoyed those moments around Ira the most. She couldn’t say if she loved him or not, but she definitely had genuine feelings for him.

“You seem to be quite determined.” Avery waved her hand and sent a flame arrow toward Rhys, knocking the rapier from her hand and causing her to fall.

Rhys grimaced as she inhaled and pushed herself up. She rose to her feet while letting her arms hang limply and staggered toward Avery.

Avery said nothing as she waved her hand and sent a flame arrow directly through Rhys’ leg.

Rhys clutched her leg and cried as she opened her mouth and gave a muted scream. Her chest rose up and down before she rolled over. Her hands dug into the dirt as she began to crawl toward Avery.

“Does he mean that much to you?” Avery asked as she sent an arrow into one of Rhys’ hands. The flame arrow easily pierced through her hand.

Rhys clutched her wounded hand tightly and looked at Avery hatefully as tears poured from her eyes. Rhys used her uninjured hand and leg to drag herself forward, her speed seemed to increase as she stared at Avery with eyes full of anger.

“You shouldn’t look so angry, I only want to see if you’re being honest with me.” Avery said dispassionately.

As Rhys inched closer, two more flame arrows were shot at her, boring through her limbs. The tears continued to fall as Rhys laid on her stomach. She sucked in air as she felt the horrible scorching sensation and smelled her own burnt flesh. She began breathing heavily before using her elbows to crawl forward.

Avery would send flame projectiles at Rhys, destroying parts of her body and Rhys would find some way to crawl forward. After a few minutes of that same scene repeating, Rhys found that she couldn’t move at all. There was no feeling in her body except for the sensation of pain. It was nearly impossible to maintain consciousness, let alone move continue moving. She couldn’t even look up to see if she made it to Avery.

“It seems like there was a bit of truth to your words.” Avery’s voice sounded a lot like the voice of an angel when Rhys realized what she said.

Avery used her foot to flip Rhys onto her back before she knelt down to look at Rhys. “So this is what you were hiding underneath that mask? I can heal your scars if you want, but I can’t do anything about your voice.” A bright orange flame covered Rhys and began to repair her body, her scars were left alone since Rhys didn't ask for them to be healed.

“You’re too weak, but that can be changed through some training.” Avery said.

Avery didn't have any feelings of friendship toward Rhys. She wasn’t allowing her to pursue Ira because she could understand how Rhys felt. Avery was thinking ahead of the current situation. When the three Valkyries said they were apart of a group of higher races it was clear that Ira would need more help than just the Valkyries of the Thynne family. Especially when only Lauren could just about match one of the older Valkyries, if she were to fight all three it was no doubt she would lose. If the three Valkyries were already that powerful, just how strong would the rest of the higher races be? Especially after the Red Moon and Golden Aurora.

Rhys felt vitality returning to her body as she weakly stood up.

“I’ll come to find you whenever I’m free to train you.” Avery said with no room for rejection, not that Rhys planned on rejecting her.

Rhys was largely self-trained which meant she was unskilled in a lot of areas. She would rely on her reflexes and abilities to get her through most problems. The rapier was also easy for her to use as she could send electricity through it, eliminating the need to wield it skillfully. At least that was what she thought before she fought Avery.

[Whatever.] Rhys scribbled on her notepad before picking up her masking and putting it back on. Though her attitude was prickly, she didn't voice any disagreement. Rhys knew she was lacking ability wise and wanted to close the gap as soon as possible.

The two headed back to the city, leaving the ruined portion of the forest behind them.