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On the outskirts of Spiral Hill Village was a cluster of oak trees. Tangle had explained to Whispering that they provided her grappling practice. Using her powerful tail, she looped it around a branch and swung herself to the next one. She somersaulted through the air, her form perfect. As agile as ever, Tangle lunged, again and again, maneuvering through the branches with such ease that Whisper had no choice but to observe from the ground in silent wonder.
But Jewel yawned. Pressing her hand to her cheek as she sat on a tree root, she mumbled, “Twenty-seven spins, twenty-eight spins...”
Whisper glanced down at her as she counted. “Um, isn’t this interesting to you?” she asked, her Wisps paying Jewel no mind while they cheered on Tangle.
“Thirty-two spins, wait, huh?” Jewel blinked, snapping to attention as if just remembering Whisper’s presence. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to come off as rude.” She quickly rose to her feet, but one of her heels caught on the back of the root. She wobbled, her arms flapping, but Whisper caught her wrist, steadying her. Breathing out a sigh, she smoothed down the creases in her blazer. “Thank you. That could’ve been a nasty sprained ankle.”
Whisper nodded as Tangle’s shadow crossed over them. She raised her head, watching as Tangle’s form vanished into the trees, the leaves rustling as she leaped. Tangle must have done another ten swings by the time they had finished speaking, the feat impressive to the wolf, who, despite her agility, lacked the physical precision of the lemur.
She returned to gazing at Jewel. The beetle fidgeted with her cravat, her cheeks appearing to darken the longer they lapsed into silence. Tilting her head, Whisper felt her Wisps huddling closer to her, their eyes focusing on Jewel, but she waved her hand, signaling for them to give them space.
As the Wisps shrugged and floated off to play in the shrubbery, Jewel sighed. “Sorry again. I must seem like a bit of a bore, not that I’m acting that way intentionally,” she said, massaging her neck. She chuckled, the shade of red on her cheeks lightening to pink. “Tangle always practices her craft out here. Whenever she needs someone to keep track of how many times she can spin without failing or falling on her butt, she calls on me for help whenever I’m not working.”
“Oh, so, you’ve seen her do this several times before,” Whisper summarized, nodding.
“Which makes it not very interesting when you have to do this a few times a week after work.” Jewel raised her hands, gasping. “N-not that I don’t want to help her. It’s just, at this point, it feels very formulaic.”
Whisper’s eyes widened. If Tangle’s training was mundane, then she knew her growth had the chance to be stunted. Her prowess was undeniable, but everyone needed new conditioning and challenges instead of returning to the same exercises.
She gestured for her Wisps. As they drew nearer, she cupped her hand by her mouth and murmured to them. They brightened, each fluttering in delight, and she pulled open her cloak, unfastening her Variable Wispon from her hip.
“Jewel, can you call Tangle for me?” Whisper asked, her cyan Wisp transferring itself into her weapon.
“What are you going to do?” Jewel brusquely questioned, her worry evident as Whisper crouched, gripping her wispon tightly.
She gave her a grin that showed off her fangs. “It’s okay. Tangle will be fine, and I won’t knock down any trees.”
Despite her mumbled uncertainty, Jewel did as she asked. When Tangle swung into view, Whisper fired at her. Shock flashed across Tangle’s face, but she twisted her tail and swung to the side. She caught her footing on the tree bark, arching her back to look at Whisper, and the smirk pressing into her cheek told Whisper she had understood.
“Great idea! Fire away, Whisper!” Tangle shouted, throwing her arms in the air.
And Whisper did. She blasted shot after shot, her Wisps gleefully bouncing around her. Each time, Tangle dived, twisted, and cartwheeled to avoid each strike. While Whisper purposefully avoided fatal shots, she didn’t make it any easier for Tangle. She pivoted her weapon to where Tangle would land and fired, ensuring that Tangle realized her strategy. She needed to think on her feet, manipulating her tail to avoid blows coming from all angles, and when Tangle dove to the ground, not a piece of fur out of place, Whisper knew she had done her job well.
“Whoa! That was awesome, Whisper! I don’t think I’ve ever had such an intense workout!” she exclaimed, rushing over to her. She bounced in place, the fire in her eyes burning with such an intensity that Whisper braved the heat to stare into them.
“Anytime,” she said, grinning, and her Cyan Wisp popped out of the wispon.
“And thanks to you, too, little fella! You had me going all over the place,” she said, patting the Wisp’s head. She chuckled as it chirped, leaning into her touch. Whirling around on her heels, she crouched in front of Jewel. “Jewel, hey, Jewel! How many spins was that? It must be a new record, right? C’mon, was I somewhere in the hundreds?” Tangle asked, and Whisper wondered if her cheeks ached from how hard she smiled.
“Um, oh, what? Th-there was no way I could keep up with all of, well, that,” Jewel sputtered, shaking her hands by her chest.
Tangle pressed her palm to her brow, groaning, “Aw, darn it, Jewel! You had one job.”
Jewel shrugged. “If that’s the case, then I prefer my occupation as the curator of the Mineral Museum.”
As they laughed, Whisper leaned into Tangle. She couldn’t keep her attention off her, her heart fluttering as Tangle requested they try their routine again sometime soon. Her hand found its place in Whisper’s palm, and she nodded, walking together with Tangle and Jewel back to the village, her new home, with her Wisps floating alongside her.