°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Trial of the Mirror Beast°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Yoa skidded to a stop, and his friends raced ahead, Aiyana leaping into the trees, whooping as she took the lead, and Atia tearing across the jungle floor, growling in frustration as he tried to outrun the Chief's daughter. Neither of them noticed Yoa falling behind, or stopping altogether.
He had no choice but to stop.
His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and he worked to calm them as his eyes settled on the cloaked figure standing in the middle of the path, as if conjured by the jungle itself. The brightness in Yoa's gaze, sparked by the adrenaline and joy of running with his friends, hardened. He set his jaw and rolled his shoulders back.
Gone was the twelve-year-old, enjoying a rare moment of freedom.
What stood now was the warrior he was becoming.
