The Forest Prince

XXIV. | "Blame it on Jesus #Blessed"

Eventually they were greeted by the fire demigod, still separated by the black gate. "Hey hey!" Adrian hailed in earnest, a genuine grin stretched across his gob. "Really glad you guys made it back. And you brought Big Red with you!" He gestured towards Red Ash, who raised an eyebrow in return.

"What'd he just call me...?" The big nymph muttered in bewilderment, ignoring Willow's snickering as they followed the demigod inside. A couple of steps into the cramped hallway, the party bumped into Freya, who opted to glare instead of greet as she quickly proceeded upstairs, most likely to the sparring studio. Gabe's expression flattened as he looked on.

"Oh. She's still here." He mumbled in his usual monotone way. "Oh, yeah, Freya was sent here on behalf of the European Valkyrian Forces to monitor us." Adrian explained, leading the three up. "Karti volunteered my spot as a bit of a lodging for her, so she's gonna be around. As long as we're here, she's here." He elaborated, motioning between himself and the Harvestchild. As they ascended, Red Ash bent to Gabe's ear.

"Was she the one that snatched you up the night before?" She asked.

"Yup." The boy and Willow answered. This intrigued the commanding dryad.

"Huh. Sounds like she's pretty strong." She pondered.

"She's stronger than me at least." Adrian replied. "She benched all my plates with minimal effort. And even then she's still young, so who knows where her potential lies."

Once they reached the second floor, Adrian guided the three into the sparring studio. It was already a familiar sight for Gabe and Willow, but Red Ash laid fresh eyes on the scene, and honestly she was kinda surprised.

"You got all the bells and whistles here, Adrian." As she complemented the setup, the young Valkyrie quietly entered the room, looking over the towering nymph from behind.

"It's pretty vital to be in tip-top shape when you're a demigod. At least, that's what Karti says." With the lazy reply, Adrian carelessly rolled onto the sparring mat.

"That, and I don't get to go out too often, so it was within reason to bring the gym to me." Gabe placed his belongings to the side and he and Willow joined Adrian on the mat, while Red Ash took to a nearby bench.

"So, what do y'all wanna know?" He queried, quickly springing into a Indian stance. "Gabe, I can't say much about your mom, other than the basic facts that I'm sure you already know. I can, however, tell you a bit about yourself. Your demigod bits, I mean."

"Pause." Gabe retorted.

"Not like that, you know what I mean." Adrian quickly shot back. Freya looked briefly confused by the exchange.

"Put it like this: Being a demigod means your body was bred to be the best humanity has to offer. Our physical averages are a step or two above normal mortal physiologies. We run faster, jump higher, hit harder, and last longer than most." Gabe's eyes widened a bit as he talked.

"You might've noticed that with some of the fights you've gotten into during the past couple of days. Yeah, you're still getting scratched and bruised and bloodied, but between yesterday's sparring, and that encounter we had in the park, you've definitely taken hits that would've gravely injured-if not outright killed-a normal person." He explained. The harvestchild's thoughts immediately rushed back to the ambush at his school.

"Sure. When I was at school, a girl kicked me in the face so hard it threw me across the ground. She got a running start." Gabe replied, unprompted. "I guess I should be glad she only gave a black eye, instead of breaking my neck." He added. Freya scoffed at the grim wit.