Footsteps echoed outside the cave.
I glanced sideways and, sure enough, Dagur and Akali emerged from the trees like they'd just crawled out of a battlefield documentary.
As always, the contrast between them was almost offensive.
Dagur looked like he had personally offended every monster in the forest and paid the price. Blood, bite marks, chunks—actual chunks—missing. Meanwhile, Akali walked in like she'd just finished a light jog and maybe insulted a few monsters along the way for fun.
Although… today?
Dagur looked worse than usual.
"What happened to you?" I asked, stopping mid-training and wiping sweat off my face.
"You know what this old hag did?" Dagur dragged a hand down his face, smearing blood in a way that felt unnecessarily artistic. "This hag just stood there and watched me fight an Grizzrar alone!"
Akali rolled her eyes so hard I was worried they might detach. "Don't whine like a baby. I did help you."
"YOU STOLE MY KILL!" he barked. "You hag!"
