Hannah instantly took off, sprinting across the field in a direct line. However, for him, things seemed to slow down. Her loud, heavy footfalls could be felt through the ground, sending small vibrations into his feet. He admired the determination in her eyes as he watched her barrel towards him. He could tell since the last time they sparred, that she had been practicing her agility, and she had improved an impressive amount.

The Drazok Family, a people of raw power, strength, and endurance, was a highly respected group. However, because they're hard hitters, such pillars of robustness and solidity, they weren't known for their speed. Their natural heavy bodyweight prevented them from performing well in agility, making it challenging for them to catch up with small, more agile opponents.

Asher had been counting on this fact, for ordinarily, he could mostly outmaneuver her. He wasn't one for attacking. The boy appeased his friends by acting solely on the defense by blocking and evading to the best of his ability. There were numerous times he had successfully remained just out of reach for entire matches, and it gave him a sense of pride to know he had such an ability stowed in his pocket. The group genuinely agreed that out of all of them, Asher was by far the quickest.

However, he realized as Hannah closed in on him, fist already raised, that he may not be quick enough anymore.

Instead of moving back and away, he made the last moment decision to dive towards her, looping himself beneath her back leg as it lifted off the ground midrun. Using her whole body to thrust her fist into where he had been moments before, Hannah instead struck the dirt, disturbing the surface layer of dust and rocks.

Asher came skidding on his back out of the dust cloud, watching Hannah's back as she rose and shook her fist. She whirled to face him, irritated brow twitching as she realized he had eluded her.

Asher huffed, breathing heavily as he picked himself up, rolling his shoulders. He cringed when his right shoulder moved, the skin stinging brutally, and he could sense small lines of liquid trailing down his arm.

"Bleeding already?!" Will laughed.

"Shut up!" Maggie hissed.

"He should be bleeding a lot more than that right now!" Hannah growled in frustration.

"Easy, Hannah," Asher smirked, "it's almost like you want to hurt me."

Hannah grumbled. The two of them had always had an unusual relationship. Asher wasn't sure if it was because of her constant mood swings or because of his impassiveness towards them, but he could get under her skin like no one could.

He felt the intensity in her gaze increase as she stood there, calculating him, and being surprisingly cautious for once. It almost seemed as though she was hesitating or unsure of herself. An enemy or trainer would see this as a technical calculation on her part, but Asher knew her. He knew she was uncertain of what she already had planned. But then, she moved.

The next thing Asher felt was a crack that shot through the left side of his face, emitting tendrils of pain and firelike heat through his sinuses and eye sockets, all the way to the beginning of his spinal cord, his head snapping to the right as her fist collided with his face.

He was thrown several feet by the force and collapsed, unable to lift his head. His vision blurred as he laid there debilitated, the dusty ground irritating his eyes. In the background, he could hear muffled voices and yelling, coming closer.

"What did you do?!" Maggie's voice shrieked beside him, falling to her knees to examine the damage.

"That was a little too far, don't you think?" Jackson asked with a little more aggression in his usual dull tone.

"He's the fastest of us all. How else was I supposed to know if I'd hit him if I didn't go all out?" Hannah argued, "it's not like he can't be healed!"

"Yeah, but it's Asher! This is different!" Jackson shouted, gesturing to his crumpled state.

"I have a feeling I'm not gonna get to spar with him now, thanks to you," Will grumbled to Hannah.

"It's fine, guys," Asher tried to say, but his face hurt too much to form proper words. He attempted to sit up, but a gentle hand prevented him.

"No, Asher stop. Lay down," Maggie instructed, carefully lifting his head onto her lap. A cold, soothing sensation began to flow through his head, seeping through all the painful cracks in his jaw, cheek, and nose, slowly relieving him of the searing pain throughout his head and neck.

"No, stop, you'll-"

"It's fine," Maggie assured him, concentration evident in her voice, "guys, help me move him back under the tree where there's shade," she instructed.

Will jogged over and lifted Asher with ease, Maggie walking beside them to keep his head from moving much. Hannah and Jackson continued to bicker as they followed.

His vision was clear by the time he was situated, leaning back against the tree. Maggie was focused entirely on him, which had him feeling incredibly self-conscious and embarrassed. Not daring to make eye contact he looked out to the others, who were squabbling amongst themselves about Hannah's behavior.

"Guys," he called out, "she isn't in the wrong here," he said, surprising them.

"Seriously?" Jackson asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I mean, you guys are training. You have to go all out at some point to make sure your attacks actually hit. And let's be honest, if Hannah wanted to test her speed, I was the right choice for who to fight with," Asher reasoned.

The others looked at him skeptically, unsure how to respond. Asher knew the only reason they felt terrible was because he wasn't going into the Trial, so they saw no reason for him to get hurt. He didn't need to experience pain to prepare for it so that he could push through in the middle of a fight.

"Honestly, Hannah, I'm impressed," he chuckled, "you being able to move that quickly is insane, and definitely something you'll have over most other people from the Drazok Family if you're faced with one at the Trial. I mean, we all know Will can't move that fast."

"Thanks, Asher, and I'm glad you're okay. I never would have done that if Maggie wasn't around to heal you quickly," Hannah explained, giving him a genuine smile. He nodded in return, careful not to cause himself pain.

"I still think you could have gone about this in a better way, Hannah," Will grumbled.

"Hey!" Will snapped, "I may not be as fast, but I am way stronger!"

"Speed is more important than strength, Will," Jackson commented.

"The hell it is!" Will argued.

As they continued their banter, Asher finally pulled himself together enough to look at Maggie. The close proximity to her made him nervous, but he was incredibly thankful for her and the abilities she had.

The Friarra Family was remarkable, and Asher had always admired them the most. People who were practiced in healing, capable of curing the ill and repairing the injured. Such a beautiful thing, but for some, depending on their level of ability, it came at a terrible cost.

Maggie removed her hands from his face, completely healed, only a slight ache left behind. She then placed them on his shoulder, where he had received a harsh scrape from the ground. She hissed, flinching slightly as she continued her work.

"Stop, you don't need to continue, I'm okay!" Asher insisted, putting a hand on hers, his cheeks tinted red at the touch.

"No, please let me do this," she insisted, tightening her grip on him and making him flinch, "I need the practice. Really, we are helping each other right now," she reasoned, never taking her eyes off his wound.

Asher frowned as he watched her shoulder, the same side as his injured one, turn from clear and healthy skin to red and irritated, faint scrapes appearing and disappearing occasionally.

"I've almost got it," she smiled hesitantly, "A little more practice, and I'll be able to take away wounds and heal myself of them simultaneously, never feeling any pain at all."

"I wish you could practice without having to take on another person's wounds first," Asher grumbled.

She chuckled, "It's the way of the game," she said wistfully, "the only way I can heal you is by taking away your wound and then healing myself of it. I can't apply just my healing ability to people other than myself. My abilities only work on my own body."

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Feeling better?" Will asked as he walked over, looking over Maggie's shoulder to examine her work.

"I'm fine, ask Maggie how she's feeling."

"The work of the Friarra is so cool," Will mumbled to himself, watching in fascination as Asher's wound slowly disappeared, then briefly reappeared on Maggie.

"Of course it seems cool to you, all you do is punch things," Jackson piped in as he crouched down next to Asher.

"I think I proved today that the Drazok Family can do more than just punch," Hannah said from a few feet away.

"What are you talking about?" Will asked.

"Asher. You know, I was fast enough to hit him this time?" Hannah asked, speaking to Will as though he was a toddler.

"Um, I don't see a wound, Hannah," Jackson commented skeptically.

"Because Maggie healed him!"

"I did what?" Maggie asked, finished, and sitting down beside Asher, hands full of snacks, and a drink.

"You just finished healing him! I was fast enough to hit him earlier! I was!" Hannah insisted frantically.

Jackson shrugged, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Asher seems fine."

"You're crazy," Will laughed.

Hannah's jaw dropped, "So we're just going to pretend I didn't finally outmatch him in speed? We're just going to pretend, that after years of work, that didn't happen?"

"That what didn't happen?" Asher asked, feigning ignorance, taking a drink, and causing Maggie to giggle quietly.

Hannah shrieked in frustration, setting off a loud bout of laughter through the group.

The rest of the night was spent relaxing, joking, speaking of the future, and fondly remembering their childhood in the past. Growing up in a village such as Lorhaven was anything but easy, but having people you could trust, call family, made it bearable.

Asher was doing his best to soak up every moment.