But before they left, they looked at each other once more. A smile appeared on his cousin's lips. "How about a duel? Like the old days."
Eidan looked up, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Only if you don't mind losing."
The two moved away from the tree and faced each other in a circle of flat ground. No animosity, only respect. Only brotherhood.
His cousin drew his blade, thin and curved, the same one he had once learned to wield in his grandfather's dojo. Eidan, however, activated a smaller fragment: accelerated reflexes, predatory eyes.
The blows crossed. Quick. Precise. Elegant. The wolves ran around them, barking excitedly. Every slash was a salute, every parry a memory. A ballet of technique, passion, and restrained power.
Finally, after a tense exchange, the two stopped. Sweaty, but smiling.
"You've improved," Eidan said.
"You... have become something more. But you'll never be too far ahead of me."
They clasped each other's forearms. They were no longer just cousins. They were brothers in arms.
And together, they advanced toward the next challenge.