Rain Dance

"Okay" Kimi mumbled. She started towards the door.

"Later," said Voltaire under the covers.

"Later Taire," Adair replied as they left. Once outside Adair turned to Kimi. "Do you want to go straight to training or do you want to get something to eat first?"

"I don't care" Kimi mumbled

"Worried?" asked Adair.

Kimi nodded. "I can't help it"

"I don't blame you. It bothers me too," admitted Adair. "This whole thing with the wings is strange. I said back there that demonic energy was probably the cause, but we get our energy levels tested at every tournament registration and after every battle. Taire's wasn't that high after the last battle, so I don't know why the wings would appear. Really, our levels have been lower in general."

Kimi frowned. "What could have caused it?" She asked

"I don't know. That's what bugs me," said Adair.

Kimi hugged herself. "I don't want anything to happen to him"

"Me neither. He puts himself through too much crap as it is," replied Adair. "That's my main worry. He takes on too much at once and pushes himself too hard."

Kimi nodded, tears filling her eyes. "I'm scared for him Adair." She stated

"We all are," said Adair, rubbing Kimi's back. "That's why we need to go train. So there isn't so much of a burden on him."

Kimi nodded. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "Yeah. Let's go"

"Right," Adair replied, leading the way.

(skip to training whenever ready)

Kimi worked hard to train. She was focused... For Voltaire's sake.

Adair also trained diligently, sometimes with Kimi and sometimes on his own.

Meanwhile Voltaire slept, though his dreams were brimming with fire, song, wings, and strings that were not strings.

Kimi was exhausted by the time they quit. "We're fighting the cats tomorrow... What are they like in battle?"

"Well I know you sparred with Curtis, but he usually prefers mid- to long-range attacks. He tends to use his summoned bones for defense and distraction more than direct attack," Adair explained. "Barret is pretty much the opposite. All close-quarters combat and mostly uses his summoned bones for offensive attacks, though he's pretty good at defense too."

"Well if we stratigise we could be ready. Who would you like to fight?" Kimi asked

"I usually fight Barrett, so I'll stick with him," said Adair.

"Well I'm better with close range." Kimi stated. "If I can get close enough I think I could beat him, if not I could always summon."

"Might be good just to summon from the start," suggested Adair. "Something to keep both of them from gaining up on one of us. I'm not much for distance attacks either, but I could try Curtis."

"His close range isn't very strong. He's just quick." Kimi stated. "If you can get in, you can take him down easily."

"Yeah, that's the tricky part," said Adair. "But I'll manage."

"I can keep him busy for a little bit if you want to take Barrett" Kimi stated