The training field was marked by shallow craters, cracks, and impact marks scattered across the ground like recent scars, silent witnesses to previous battles that, like this one, mixed real intensity with sothing far more intimate. The wind blew lightly, raising particles of dust that floated in the air, and at the center of it all, two figures moved with precision and speed, exchanging blows that, to any other observer, would be deadly—but there, they also carried an almost... familiar rhythm.
Cassandra advanced first, as she always did when she was angry, her movents quick and direct, without hesitation, without flourish, each step carrying clear intent. Her fist cut the air toward Strax’s face with enough force to break bones, but he tilted his body at the last second, dodging with an ease that only increased her frustration. The impact that didn’t happen still reverberated in the air, as if the atmosphere itself recognized the force contained in that attack.
"Stop dodging and fight seriously!" She complained, twisting her body and throwing a side kick aid at his ribs, the movent fluid and powerful, practiced to exhaustion. Still, Strax only took a half-step back, letting the blow graze past, the wind displaced by the impact slightly ruffling his hair, while an amused smile already ford on his lips.
"I’m fighting seriously," he replied, his tone too light for the situation, almost provocative, as if this were all just a ga to him. "You’re the one who’s predictable."
The comnt was enough to make Cassandra clench her teeth, her eyes gleaming with renewed irritation, and this ti she didn’t hesitate to follow up with a faster sequence, combining punches and kicks in an aggressive dance that sought to break his rhythm. Each blow ca from a different angle, each movent trying to anticipate his next move, but still, he moved as if he were always a second ahead.
"I need to get stronger!" She darted between attacks, her breathing a little heavier now, but the pace not slowing for a mont. "Watching you advance, gaining power after power... it’s getting annoying!"
Strax laughed.
And that only made things worse.
He spun his body, letting a punch pass inches from her face before sliding to the side, his hand lightly touching her wrist just to effortlessly redirect the movent, as if he were dancing instead of fighting.
"Jealous?" he teased, his voice thick with amusent.
Cassandra responded with another blow, stronger, more direct.
He dodged again.
"I’m not jealous!" she retorted, advancing even further, now clearly determined to land whatever it was. "I just don’t like being left behind!"
Strax tilted his head, observing her for a brief mont as he took a few more steps back, as if he were truly considering it.
"But you’re not falling behind," he said, and this ti there was a little more sincerity in his tone, even though the smile was still there. "You’re staying with ."
She tried to land another punch.
He caught her fist this ti.
For a second.
Just enough to break the rhythm.
"And the more dependent you are..." he began, pulling her slightly closer, the movent fluid and almost automatic.
Cassandra’s eyes widened for a mont.
But she couldn’t react in ti.
He slid behind her, easily trapping her arms, his body pressed against hers, firm but without excessive force.
"...the more I will love protecting you," he finished, his voice low, almost a whisper close to her ear.
The impact of those words was imdiate.
Cassandra froze.
Not completely.
But enough.
Her face flushed, a blush rising up her cheeks as her brain tried to process this in the middle of a fight.
"You—" she began, clearly lost for a second.
And it was precisely that second that he seized.
"Damn," he murmured, tilting his head slightly, his lips too close together. "Love more."
She froze.
For half a second.
And then—
It exploded.
A pulse of force coursed through her body, breaking his control as if it were nothing, and in the next instant she spun her body violently, using her own montum to hurl him away with a clean, powerful technique.
Strax was launched into the air.
And he began to laugh before he even touched the ground.
The impact kicked up dust, the sound echoing across the field, but he rolled with the movent and stood up easily, still laughing, as if that were the best part of it all.
"You look so cute when you lose your temper," he comnted, calmly brushing the dust off his clothes.
Cassandra stood still, fists clenched, face still slightly flushed, breathing heavily.
"I’m not cute," she replied, her voice low, laden with nace.
Strax just smiled.
"You really think so?"
She lunged forward again.
But this ti... there was sothing different.
Her rhythm changed.
Her movents beca more calculated, less impulsive, as if she were trying to adapt her approach, not just react. A punch ca from the front, but it was a distraction—the real attack ca from below, an upward kick that sought to catch him off guard.
Strax blocked.
But this ti... it wasn’t perfect.
The impact pushed him half a step back.
And his smile changed.
"It’s better," he said, genuinely impressed.
Cassandra didn’t answer.
But the glint in her eyes... changed.
She advanced again, now with more control, combining strength and technique, and for a few monts, the rhythm of the fight truly balanced. He was still ahead, still dodging most of the blows, but now he needed to pay attention, needed to move with more precision.
She was learning.
And fast.
In a mont, she managed to corner him, forcing him to block a direct blow with his forearm, the impact reverberating through his body with real force.
"Gotcha," she said, a slight smile appearing.
"Almost," he replied.
And then he disappeared.
Not completely.
But fast enough.
He appeared beside her, turning his body and lightly touching her back, using her own montum to destabilize her.
But this ti—
She had expected it.
Cassandra spun on her axis, her arm coming from below in a perfect arc that sought his chin, and he had to quickly back away to avoid impact.
"It’s starting to get interesting," he comnted, now clearly more involved.
She didn’t answer.
But she advanced again.
The two moved across the field, exchanging blows in an increasingly intense sequence, the ground cracking beneath their feet, the air vibrating with each narrowly avoided impact. It was a dance of combat, a ga of reading and responding, where each movent carried as much intention as emotion.
And yet...
There was lightness.
At one point, Cassandra managed to grab his arm and pull, trying to throw him, but he spun with her, reversing their positions and almost causing her to lose her balance.
"You were scarier before," he comnted suddenly, as he stepped back half a pace.
She frowned.
"What?"
He tilted his head slightly, observing her with that smile she was already beginning to hate.
"When you were that eccentric, sowhat out-of-control, sowhat... unpredictable vampire," he said, as if analyzing a mory. "You were dangerous."
Cassandra narrowed her eyes.
"And now?"
He shrugged.
"Now..." he began, his smile widening. "You’re like an angry kitten."
Silence.
One second.
Two.
Cassandra lunged forward.
The blow ca faster than any before, charged not only with technique but with pure indignation, and this ti he didn’t dodge completely—the impact grazed him, enough to make him actually recoil.
He laughed.
Louder.
More sincerely.
"Okay, I take it back," he comnted, raising his hands in partial surrender. "An angry kitten."
"I’m going to kill you," she replied, but there was sothing different in her tone now.
Less weight.
More... life.
She advanced again, and he followed, the two moving once more across the field, not just as opponents, but as sothing that went beyond that—a connection built on impact, on challenge, on provocation.
And, deep down...
On trust.
Because Cassandra knew.
Even without admitting it.
That he wasn’t just dodging.
He was guiding.
Forcing her to grow.
And Strax knew.
That, at so point...
She wouldn’t need this anymore.
But, until then—
He would still be there.
Dodging.
Provoking.
Embracing.
And laughing. Mostly laughing.
Because, for him...
That version of her.
That mixture of strength, irritation, and emotion—
It was perfect.
The impact of the last blow still reverberated in the air when Cassandra lunged forward once more, her fist cutting through space with razor-sharp precision, seeking Strax’s face without hesitation. He leaned back, the blow grazing a hair, and before she could recoil, he was already spinning around her, the movent light, almost lazy, a stark contrast to her intensity.
"You’re overdoing it," he comnted, dodging another attack without even needing to look directly at her. "You’re trying to compensate for strength with haste."
"And you’re trying to annoy ," she retorted, spinning her body and throwing a low kick that sought to knock him down.
He jumped.
Simple.
And landed right behind her.
"Is it working?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Cassandra turned quickly, already preparing another attack—
But before she could continue—
"Okay, that’s enough."
The voice ca from outside.
And it completely cut the rhythm.
Cassandra froze mid-movent, her body still tense, while Strax simply lowered his guard naturally, as if he already knew who it was before even looking.
Daniela stood at the edge of the training field, her arms crossed, her weight supported on one leg, clearly impatient. Her eyes quickly scanned the two, assessing the state of the fight, the marks on the ground, the dust raised, and then she let out a long, irritated sigh.
"You two never know when to stop, do you?"
Strax smiled slightly.
"We’re in the middle of sothing important."
Cassandra opened her mouth to agree—
But Daniela raised her hand, cutting her off before she could even begin.
"No. You’re not." She pointed at the two of them, without any ceremony. "You’re flirting with punches."
Silence.
Strax blinked.
Cassandra froze.
"This isn’t—" Cassandra began, but the sentence died before she finished.
Strax turned his face slightly, clearly holding back a laugh.
Daniela narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, please," she continued, taking a few steps forward. "You blush every ti he whispers anything in your ear, and he teases you like he’s playing with food."
"I DON’T—" Cassandra began, raising her voice.
"You do," Daniela cut in rcilessly.
Strax lost.
A laugh escaped.
Low at first.
Then clearer.
Cassandra turned her face to him, her eyes narrowed, dangerous.
"Do you want to die?"
He raised his hands imdiately, still laughing.
"I tried that once, I don’t recomnd it."
She took a step towards him.
Daniela sighed again, running a hand over her face.
"My God..."
And then her tone changed.
Not much.
But enough.
"Anyway, the ga’s over."
Strax stopped laughing.
Cassandra noticed too.
There was sothing different there. Daniela uncrossed her arms, now more serious, her gaze turning directly to Strax.
"Yennifer and Cristine have arrived."
The wind swept across the field.
Lightly.
But the atmosphere had completely changed.
Strax tilted his head slightly, his smile slowly fading, replaced by sothing more attentive.
"And?"
Daniela didn’t answer imdiately.
She just looked at him.
And then added, in a lower voice:
"They don’t look very happy."
Silence.
Cassandra frowned, her previous irritation quickly replaced by attention.
"Problem?" she asked directly.
Daniela shrugged, but there was no lightness in the gesture.
"If it isn’t, it will be," she replied.
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