Following the incident in the forest, Cyrus finally decides to prepare his sister to fight alongside him. Although Cyrus did not allow his sister to fight at the young age of eight, he did agree to train her for years to come. During Cyrene’s youth, her brother would train and oversee that his sister builds upon the requirements it took to become a hunter. Cyrus would develop certain practices and exercises for his sister to indulge in, which would expand upon Cyrene’s strength, stamina, and knowledge. The hunter would also allow his sister to further survey his fights from high above the treetops, this way she would have a basic understanding of combat and how Cyrus goes about his battles.
Many years pass and Cyrene starts to shift into her adolescence. The new routine Cyrus created for his sister was to practice with a wooden sword. Day in and day out, the young woman practices her swings and thrusts, and she would often spar with her brother to sharpen her skills. On top of this, the young woman was also required to continue her regular workout regimen which mostly consisted of cardiovascular exercises such as running or jumping over fallen trees in the forest, including other full-body sessions.
One afternoon, Cyrus' work for the day had been done, so Cyrene and her brother were indulging in a round of outside sparring. The scorching sun beamed onto their skin and the muggy air added to their perspiring skin. Cyrus held his blade high, waiting for his sister to strike. She takes her wooden sword and swipes it against his own. Cyrus blocks the blow with no problem. Feeling restless, Cyrene takes several more strikes at her brother. The amateurish slashes were not enough to pierce through her brother’s defenses. Cyrus parries all four strikes then counters with his own and pushes his sister back. The young woman wipes the sweat from her brow and grips her sword firmly. She was clearly out of breath, but still had enough energy to back-talk.
“I-Is that all you?”
Indifferent to his sister’s goading, Cyrus lowers and sheathes his wooden practice blade. He exhales.
“Actually, yes. Let us finish for today.”
A confused expression overtakes the young woman. She lowers her guard.
“What? Already?”
“Albeit you are a bit careless with your swings, I can see that your overall skills are sharpening. And that is good. But we needn’t overdo it.”
“We just started! C'mon, I can keep going for an extra hour!”
“An hour? Surely you jest. It looks as though you can't go for an extra minute. Do not strain yourself.”
"I'm a lot tougher now! Watch me! Let's just fight one more time!"
Cyrus rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
"Fine then. Raise your blade."
Cyrene raises her weapon and Cyrus brings his sword close to his chest.
"Steel yourself," he orders.
Cyrene takes her stance.
"Okay," she smirks. "You trained me well enough, I'm ready for whatever you-"
CLACK
Cyrus' wooden sword clashes with his sister's, swiping her weapon away with one slash. Cyrene was too flabbergasted by the speed and power of her brother to physically or mentally respond to his movement. When she finally snapped back into reality, she peers up and sees his wooden sword coming back at her.
CRACK
Cyrus brings back his blade with ease, hitting his sister across the head with the blunt force of the object against her skull. The attack brought her to a rigid halt and the young woman was sent into another daze.
WOOSH
The hunter juts forward and drive's the blade's pommel into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and pushing her back knocking her down.
THUD
Cyrene crashes to the ground, wincing and clutching onto her stomach. The side of her head was pulsating, aching with great trauma. After clutching onto her stomach, she gradually rubbed the side of her head to ease her pain.
"Ow...! Ugh! That hurt...!" She groaned.
"Maybe I did not train you well enough..." He sighed.
She crawls and reaches for her blade but her brother sets his foot firmlyop of it.
"That's quite enough. We shall continue with further lessons at another time."
She groans.
"Urgh! Fine..."
Cyrus smiles.
"Oh don't look so grumpy. You've only yourself to blame for the beating you've received."
Cyrene picks herself up and sits atop the ground.
"I know, I know!" She exclaims and rubs the side of her head. "I didn't need to smack me so damn hard across the head to get the memo."
"I knew you were able to take it. You are quite hard-headed, after all."
Cyrene pouts and her brother paces about. He lightly swings his sword in front of him while furthering the conversation.
“You’ve watched me hunt for years now, sister. Have you gathered any vital information from watching?”
Cyrene nods.
“Of course I did. I’ve seen how you fight. I've seen how you handle yourself getting surrounded and how you take matters into your own hands. Honestly, seeing you do all that and having to come back home and take care of me, I mean, that's amazing.”
“Think nothing of it. You have watched me battle through a handful of fierce foes, but I must ask you, whenever I have encountered a beast stronger than I, how do you believe I go about resolving the conflict?"
Cyrene shrugs.
“Killing it?"
A... fair answer," he sighs. "Albeit not the answers I was looking for. Technique and Adaptability are crucial factors in hunting. See yourself for instance. Though your body is much stronger than it was from years previous, you still lack the physical strength to overtake me."
"Right, I get you."
"However, had you the necessary skills to combat my own, strength becomes a secondary quality. I would require better tactics to come out the victor."
"Hmm... I kinda see what you're saying..."
"Here's an example, who would currently win in a struggle? Yourself with a steel sword, or I, with a wooden one?"'
"Clearly you, since you just beat me up."
“Correct. Even if you do possess the greater arms, the skills you hold are not enough to triumph over me."
He stops swinging his sword and turns to her.
"Here's another question for you, let’s say you are combating an overpowering force that is thrusting you into a corner. What do you do then?”
Her eyes point skyward, thinking as she parts some of her hair.
“Going off what you told me and how many times I’ve seen you backed into a corner, I think I already have my answer.”
She clutches the handle of her wooden blade and swipes slowly from side to side.
"Adapt, plan, fight back."
A satisfied grin forms on her brother's face. He walked over to his resting sister and extended his hand. She looks up at him, a tad confused.
“Good answer. Alright then, are you ready?"
"Ready for...?"
A smug smirk plastered over her face as she reached for her brother’s hand.
"To begin our hunts."
Cyrene stares at her brother, then smiles. She reaches for his hand and clasps it. A passing cloud hovers past the sun, the light of the sky blinding her, ending her recollection of past events, and bringing her back to the present day. After twelve years of preparation, Cyrene finally got her wish in partaking in missions alongside her brother.
The hunters have grown substantially since the incident in the forest. The young woman, now twenty years of age, was ready to hunt.
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