Walking with Johana.

The soreness of his muscles became less of an issue with every step. The hardest part of it all was walking down the mountain, finding firm footholds and the like. That alone must’ve taken them a couple of hours if not more. After that, walking on straight, solid ground felt like a luxury.

“You doing alright?” Johana asked, looking back at Will for a moment.

“Yeah, doing well.”

A half-truth. Will felt tired, weak. He was better than before and was confident he could keep walking, but the sensation of being… empty remained. It was hard to explain. A dry mouth, a raspy throat, an empty stomach… It was like the lack of aether was making him feel hollow. He should’ve replenished some by sleeping, but clearly wasn’t nearly enough to get him back to top form.

Johana walked in front of him as they made their way through the arid wasteland. It felt like he had reached the mountains in the blink of an eye in the talons of mama roc, but on foot Will couldn’t see any landmarks. In fact, he didn’t even know if they were going in the right direction.

“Um… I hate to ask this, but do you know where we’re going?”

“Hah! Who do you think you’re talking to? We amazons learn the way of the land by our first year alive. Instinct honed into intuition with study, training and experience. I walked all the way here. My mother would beat the teeth out of me if I couldn’t find my way back the same path. Hell, I’d bash my own head against a rock out of shame if I couldn’t.”

“The rock would probably break first,” Will told her.

Johana smiled. “Hey, look at that! Not even two weeks and you already know me so well.”

That got a chuckle out of Will, something for which he was thankful. Physical condition aside, he didn’t feel in the greatest of moods, either. He failed to make contact with the mirrorkin, wasn’t strong enough to handle himself in this dangerous world, put himself and Ishtar in danger and made more than a few objectively bad calls.

Ishtar was right. Will would not be cut out for the hunter business. Despite all his training, despite Ishtar’s immense raw power, he still found himself struggling to get anything done right. And on top of that there was his willingness to actually hunt. Those things were… monsters straight out of fantasy fiction, and still Will hesitated to fight and kill them to protect himself. But… If he wasn’t cut out even for this supernatural kind of work… Then what was he even good for?

“Johana?”

“Yes?”

“Do you enjoy fighting?”

Johana kept her eyes on their surroundings as they walked, not on Will. It made him realize he should be doing the same. That they were down from the mountain didn’t mean they were any safer. Probably the complete opposite, actually.

“A hell of a lot, yeah. Why?”

“Why? Why do you like it?” He asked simply out of a genuine desire to understand, and he hoped his intentions were clear in his tone.

“Oof. Way too many reasons. For starters, fighting and playing were pretty much the same thing when I was a kid. You know how some animals, like big felines and canines, play by wrestling each other or jumping at their own parents? It’s kind of like that. Fighting was playing, either with friends my age or with my own mother. We learn to make the distinction between that and the real deal pretty early, too. Other than that… Well, there’s no other rush like it, you know? The danger, the excitement… There’s no better feeling than when those two are in perfect balance. It makes the brain go wild. Though beating up an asshole that deserves it is also pretty cathartic. Also… I’m good at it, and I wasn’t always. Beating the people I couldn’t before, mastering a technique I thought out of my reach by taking small steps… I guess that’s the only other thing that comes close to that rush I mentioned. Does that help?”

It was a very thorough answer, far more than what Will expected. Having faced her in a spar, Johana came off as a feral beast, but she was surprisingly sensible. Though to say it was ‘surprising’ would sound pretty rude.

So to her, their fight really was just playing.

“It did. Thank you.”

Johana had it figured out. Even in an unknown world she knew who she was and how to continue being herself. It was impressive and admirable. The complete opposite of himself. But this wasn’t the time to ponder and reflect on those things.

…

Will shook his head. It wasn’t out of carelessness. Exhaustion was preventing him from focusing, and having Johana with him was so reassuring that it made him relax, and that was bad in this situation.

Johana glanced back at him, then went back to scanning their surroundings.

“You’re seriously out of juice, huh? How hard did you fight yesterday?”

“Can’t say. I do think I could’ve been more efficient, but…”

“Relax, I’m not judging. It’s praiseworthy that you managed to survive at all. And you’re still in one piece, too. For a kid with not even a year of combat experience… Ah! There’s a good place.”

Will followed Johana’s gaze. Far in the distance, away from her current path, was… a regular rock formation. Okay, maybe not regular. It was kind of interesting in its structure. It likely was one one big rock that the wind and the fighting of other creatures around shaped into what it was now. It almost looked like two pillars were supporting the entrance to a shallow cave.

“I realize this might not be the best of times, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?” Johana said.

“Ah?”

“You need a recharge, I’m a woman and I do have an interest in you. We should be safe enough to get something done in that little cave, don’t you think? Unless you don’t have an interest in me, in which case it would be pointless. And a little upsetting, not gonna lie.”

“Ah.”

Any clearer and she would be transparent.