The morning mist still clung to the treetops when Nyra padded toward the Black Squad's training yard, rubbing sleep from her eyes and bracing for another day of bruises and barked orders. Her muscles ached from yesterday's endurance test, which involved outrunning three illusions and one very real predator beast summoned by Raik "for added motivation." Fun.
She sighed and tightened the straps on her training tunic—just another day in lunatic boot camp.
That was when she heard the unmistakable sound of someone yelling her name in stereo.
"NY-RAAAA!"
Two figures came barreling down the hill with the subtlety of a thunderclap. One with hair wild as a storm cloud, the other with sharpened eyes and a travel sack bigger than herself.
Mira and Kaeli.
Nyra's ears flicked up as her sisters tackled her into the dirt in a tangle of limbs and laughter.
"Mira couldn't stay home without you! Mira's soul was shrivelling!" Mira wailed, clinging to Nyra's waist like a lifeline.
"Kaeli smelled your trail and tracked you down," Kaeli added smugly. "And also, you forgot your spare tail-ribbon."
"You tracked me by scent?!"
"I also tracked Raik's cologne. It's terrible."
As if on cue, Raik marched into the clearing, his hair somehow already battle-slicked and his expression locked in a scowl. "What is this? Civilians don't just walk into Black Squad grounds."
"I'm a war baby," Mira said proudly, flexing an arm and cracking a rock underneath her foot for effect.
Raik blinked, looked at the crushed stone, then glared at Nyra. "Are all your family members this... loud?"
Nyra just shrugged. "We come as a set."
Suddenly, a loud gong echoed through the camp. A swirl of wind, cherry blossom petals (where did they come from?), and a suspicious amount of glitter heralded the entrance of Elder Yaro — theatrical as ever, standing on a floating leaf platform with Tanya reluctantly steering it like a gondola.
"Good morning, hellions!" the Elder announced, arms wide. "I come bearing divine paperwork!"
Raik groaned. "Oh gods, not again."
Yaro tossed him a scroll with a wax seal shaped like a lounging cat. "By decree of the Elder Council — and because Mira threatened to bring the forest down with her fists — the sisters of Nyra shall be permitted to train with her."
Mira fist-pumped so hard she startled a passing bird. "HAH!"
Kaeli sniffed, then narrowed her eyes at Raik. "You had fermented goat milk for breakfast."
Raik, mortified, stomped off muttering curses.
Nyra laughed, genuinely for the first time in days. As chaos swirled around her like a familiar blanket, she felt something unlock in her chest, like gears clicking into place.
She wasn't alone anymore.
And whatever lay ahead… well, they'd face it together.
The training courtyard had been divided into three distinct zones, each resonating with raw energy and purpose. Elders and elite warriors stood like stone statues, observing the three sisters with a blend of reverence and wariness.
Raik stood front and centre with arms crossed, flanked by three warriors, each wrapped in shadow, muscle, or mystique.
"Today," Raik barked, "you aren't just sisters. You're Squad Trinity — our first instinct-bonded unit. That means your training will be unorthodox."
Nyra raised a brow. "More unorthodox than getting smacked by illusion wolves?"
Raik ignored her, gesturing to the three figures behind him.
"This is Veska," he pointed to a tall, sleek Felyari with obsidian fur and a voice like falling snow. "She'll train Nyra in infiltration, escape combat, and speed-based channelling."
Veska stepped forward and bowed slightly. Her eyes locked with Nyra's. "I've watched your movements. You dance like wind over water, but your feet hesitate when your mind overthinks. We'll break that."
"Break my... overthinking?" Nyra echoed.
"Violently," Veska smiled.
Raik motioned again. "Next is Grumm, formerly of the Stone Guard. He'll handle Mira."
Grumm looked like a walking boulder. He had arms the size of tree trunks and a gentle gaze that screamed "accidental hug of death."
Mira's eyes sparkled. "Can he punch boulders?"
Grumm nodded. "I eat boulders."
Mira squealed like a kitten at a yarn sale.
Finally, Raik turned to Kaeli. "And for our little bloodhound, this is Selune, master tracker and scent-bound whisperer."
Selune was quiet, almost blending into the foliage. She smelled of pine, moonlight, and secrets.
Kaeli tilted her head. "Why do you smell like... moss, lightning, and meat stew?"
Selune only smiled. "Because I hunt everything that bleeds."
Even Raik looked mildly unsettled.
The three girls exchanged glances — excitement, nerves, and mischief in their eyes.
Raik clapped his hands once. "You'll each train separately. You'll hurt. You'll fail. And then you'll get up. And when you're done…"
He stepped aside, revealing a massive tree — its bark shredded by claw marks so deep, they looked like they'd been carved by a beast from a nightmare.
"…you'll be strong enough to face whatever the hell made this."
Nyra's eyes locked onto the scars, saffron irises flickering with light. Not fear. Not doubt.
Excitement.
The training ground was unlike anything the sisters had imagined — a sun-dappled clearing surrounded by ancient trees with weathered scars and vines thick enough to swing from. Scattered across the area were stone platforms, rope traps, pressure runes, and hidden scent decoys. It was a jungle gym laced with danger.
Nyra, Mira, and Kaeli stood in front of three tall figures clad in sleek obsidian armour. Their faces were mostly hidden behind masks shaped like various predators — a hawk, a bear, and a wolf.
Tharen stood off to the side with arms folded, observing silently. Elder Yaro wasn't present, but his signature chaos was — the entire obstacle course screamed "designed by a lunatic with too much time."
The Hawk-masked assailant (Veska) stepped forward first, eyes locking onto Nyra. "Speed is your weapon, girl. But speed without control is a death sentence. You'll chase me, and if you catch me, you win."
Nyra blinked. "That's it?"
She vanished in a blur, and Nyra's ears twitched. "That's not it."
She darted forward, leaves and dust swirling in her wake. The hunt was on.
The Bear-masked assailant (Grumm) cracked his knuckles and turned to Mira.
"You. Smash."
Mira grinned like a kid given a new toy. "Finally."
He stomped, and the ground beneath them shifted — several stone pillars emerged. "You break these before I break you."
Mira dropped into a low stance, her muscles coiling like springs. "Challenge accepted, gramps."
She launched at the first pillar, her fist glowing faintly with Essentia. The impact echoed through the forest like thunder.
The Wolf-masked trainer (Selune) knelt beside Kaeli, who was already sniffing the air with a focused expression.
"You'll learn to track without vision," he said, placing a blindfold over her eyes. "And without scent."
Kaeli looked alarmed. "Without… wait, what?!"
He grinned and tossed a pungent herb bundle nearby, its acrid scent flooding her senses.
"You'll rely on vibration. Breath. Movement. The prey is near. Hunt it."
Kaeli grumbled something about "sadistic mentors" but adjusted her ears and listened. Her world dimmed — but sharpened.
Meanwhile, KAIROS whispered in Nyra's mind as she weaved between trees, tracking her target.
"Your reaction time has improved. But you're hesitating. Why?"
Nyra ducked under a branch and vaulted over a trap. "Because if I slip, I bleed. I'm not a test subject in a lab anymore."
"True. But you're also not breakable."
She picked up speed. "Let's find out."
The sun dipped lower through the dense canopy, casting warm amber streaks across the silent training ground.
Mira stood amidst shattered stone and torn-up earth, panting heavily. Her fists were bruised, knuckles bloodied, but the destruction around her spoke louder than any words. Stone pillars that once towered over her now lay broken, crushed under sheer strength.
Trainer Grumm crossed his arms, his deep voice rumbling with approval. "You're raw... but you're a storm given form. Learn to aim that storm."
Mira smirked and fell backwards into the grass with a grunt. "Storms don't aim, they break."
—
Not far away, Kaeli crouched in the underbrush, blindfold still tied tight over her eyes. Her breathing was controlled, calm — a stark contrast to her usually wild energy. Clutched in her paw was a bundle of cloth infused with bitter-scented herbs, hidden to overwhelm her keen nose.
Selune clicked her tongue in surprise. "You didn't just smell it… You listened. Good."
Kaeli tugged the blindfold down, blinking into the trees. "Can't sniff what doesn't want to be found. But it's never truly gone."
—
From deeper within the forest's shadows, Nyra emerged with scratches across her arms, bits of vine clinging to her hair, and a wild glint in her eye. She tossed a torn black ribbon at Veska's feet.
"Caught you," she said, chest rising and falling with sharp breaths.
Veska blinked, clearly caught off guard. "You anticipated my path. That's rare. Most just chase shadows."
Nyra's smile was faint but proud. "I'm done chasing. I hunt now."
"Impressive," KAIROS echoed inside her mind."But your lateral predictions still lag by two-point-three seconds. Fix it."
"You're welcome to do better," she replied mentally.
—
The sisters regrouped at the edge of the glade, leaning against a broad mossy log, catching their breath.
Kaeli wrinkled her nose and nudged Mira. "You smell like roasted bark and pride."
Mira leaned on her shoulder with a chuckle. "Better than smelling like old herbs and sarcasm."
Nyra sat between them, her expression softening. "We all smell like fighters now."
A twig snapped nearby. Tharen emerged from the trees, his expression stern, but his eyes gleaming with quiet pride.
"You've all done well," he said, arms crossed. "From tomorrow, your paths are one. You train not as sisters, but as a unit."
Selya stepped out beside him, carrying a pouch of herbal balm and dried fruits. "But tonight, you rest. Eat. Heal. Tomorrow, the world will demand more from you."
The girls stood together, sore and battered, but something in the air between them had changed—sharpened. Forged.
As they turned toward home, the massive tree at the heart of the glade loomed behind them. Its ancient bark still bore deep claw marks, half-forgotten by time, barely visible in the fading golden light.
Whatever creature made those marks had vanished into legend…But one day, the sisters would find it.Or it would find them.