A Daughter’s Duty

Taking a dip in a cold river should have felt heavenly with the workout training that Lupa put him through, put the crushing weight of the waterfall was not helping him relax.

“Clear your mind! Focus! Inner Peace!” Lupa yelled to ensure that he heard her.

Leo again question wether she was just throwing stuff at him seeing what will stick or legitimately training him. However the constant yelling and the roar of the waterfall caused him to lose focus and his balance making him slip and pushing him under. He didn’t have to worry too much as he was quickly pulled out by Lupa who was laughing.

“Thanks…”

Lupa smiled and said, “You lost your center there. drown everything else out.”

“Hard to do that with the yelling.”

“Ha Ha!” She slapped him hard in the back again, “Sorry, but in a real fight you got to keep center with the noise, if you don’t train that way now, then you don’t survive.”

“I guess…” Leo said not really able to fight her logic.

Then Lupa stopped laughing as she turned behind her. Lucius had come to see them. “Lupa… the elder council is tonight.”

“And?” Lupa said as she turned back and looked away from him.

“You should come.”

“To hear them say the exact same thing? I’ll pass, I’m teaching.”

“Lupa, you can’t keep running away from this.”

She huffed and didn’t even answer him, “Let’s go Leo. The air here is stale.”

“Lupa! This will be your responsibility! Don’t you think that it is time you grew up and stop this adventuring nonsense!? The Tail Rune Clan’s duty is to the Forest of Spirits, you can’t be the next chief when you abandon your tribe!”

“Abandon!?” Lupa snarled, “I’m enhancing our tribe! I’m learning what’s out there! You always say that we don’t have to be locked into our forest!”

“That is for the the other youths, they don’t share you duty to the tribe!”

“So am I not part of this tribe? You go on about traditions, but you excuse me from them!”

“The traditions you follow are different!”

“It was those same traditions that allowed Cor to get kidnapped!”

Dropping that bomb proved to be effective. Lucius closed his mouth in a snap. While the anger didn’t leave, he did simmer down. Clenching his fists he walked away from them and didn’t look back.

Lupa then walked to the cliff wall and punched. Leo felt the shockwave as she created a deep indent in the wall.

“ARGH! He is always like that now!” Lupa yelled looking back at Leo “He wants me to be the next chief already, but there is no point right now! Did you know that he almost got swindled by one merchant? For a freaking mirror!” She then began to pace, “But you see it, our Blood Runes could be stronger if we bring back good stories!”

Leo simply nodded not wanting to engage with the family drama. Especially not when one of the participants of said drama was also his trainer. When she sat down next to him as he still waded in the river, Leo found himself asking despite his better judgement, “You are still planning to be chief aren’t you?’

Lupa laughed saying, “Well yeah… I am the first born. I’m not running away from this.” She then looked up, “But I just want to live a life first you know? The merchants bring all this stuff from far away places. Sometimes even adventurers escort them and they show off their trophies their weapons… Did you know we didn’t make proper weapons until 10 years ago when a traveling dwarf taught us how to smith with what we had?”

“No,” Leo answered, “I’m surprised the Tail Rune Clan decided to learn.”

“See, that’s the thing. Our tribe is not one to shun the new… they just don’t seek it” Lupa then hugged her knees a stark contrast to the confidence Leo was used to. “Can you believe that? They have the option right in front of them, but they don’t take it.”

Leo then looked down to see his reflection in the river. Like the universe was taunting him despite the waterfall still falling. “Actually… I kinda do.”

Lupa snapped her head to him, “Seriously?”

Leo then sat up more, “They’re just comfortable… if things have worked so far… then they don’t have a reason to change anything.”

“But if they don’t change now, it’ll be too late later!.” Lupa says, “Life doesn’t play safe all the time.”

Leo didn’t look at her, “Yeah… you’re right.” Once again he couldn’t argue with her. He never really pushed himself before and back in high school he didn’t need to. He got the grades to get by and that was all he needed then. Now… or before he came to this world, it was too late for him to change anything. He had to roll with the consequences that his own inaction caused. Well… that’s why he was training now right?

It was already too late by the time he came to this world. The heroes are dead and others have already found a shard. Who’s to say that there aren’t any more that have been found already?

“Focus right?” Leo said as he went back to the waterfall. He didn’t look back to Lupa, but a smirk appeared on her face. So, he placed himself back in and tried to find his center. It wasn’t a perfect execution of meditating under a waterfall… but it was a start. For Leo that was the only step he needed to take to commit.

Lupa who was close to writing off Leo as her protege nodded in approval. Her judgement never wrong when she fights someone.

Back on the ground on his back Leo had enough. They would still have to trek across the forest and his body was tired.

REBECCA’S HEAL

Feeling the warm effects Leo sighed in relief. Already the fatigue of the day washing away. When he opened his eyes he saw Lupa staring at him with a wild grin on her face. “Lupa? Uh… what’s up?”

“You can heal too?”

“Yeah…” Leo did not like where this was going.

“We are going to get so much training done.”