Once Brothers (Songs of War Fanfiction)

Chapter 16: A Lesson of Sticks and Stones (BEING REWRITTEN!!!)

He lands on a smaller crag that was shorter than the one he had jumped off of. His feet skidded against the top, sending small chunks of dirt and pebbles of rock down into the ocean below. This had been a terrible idea! Achillean thought as he regained his balance.

"I'm sure by adrenaline rush you mean nearly scaring my horns off!" Achillean said as he looked at the next obstacle ahead of him.

This jump looked farther than the others had been... if he missed, Achillean was sure he would plummet into the water below... It wasn't that far of a drop, but that didn't make the jump feel any more unpleasant.

"Remember, push through your fear. When you do that, you can accomplish anything! I won't let you fall," Ingressus said.

Achillean didn't know how Ingressus stayed so motivated, but it definitely was helping. Crouching down low, Achillean wills himself to be able to do this. Just like he had when he was first learning to spearfish. He could do this! He just had to give it a chance! Taking a few steps back, Achillean runs forward and jumps...

A feeling of panic surged through him when he realized he wasn't going to make it! Reaching out, Achillean grabs the nearest vine he could. His body smacks against the pier, almost making him lose his grip, as the air in his lungs was knocked out of him. His knuckles scraped against the stone. Breathing heavily, Achillean uses what strength he has and climbs, his arms shaking as he tried to pull up.

Looking up, Achillean could see Ingressus with his hand outstretched. He reaches up, and grabs his friend's hand, the young Nestoris hissing between his teeth, flinching from the stinging in his own palms. Ingressus grunts as he pulled Achillean up. Both find even footing on the crag.

"Nice job! We're nearly there," Ingressus said.

Nearly!? Achillean thought.

As Achillean caught his breath, Ingressus ran forward and confidently jumped over a gap between two crags, and continued running, then jumped over another gap. Landing triumphantly on a much larger crag. Achillean notices how the crags ahead were all level and even with each other. Guess they had finally cleared the hardest part of this exercise of having to climb up?

Achillean runs forward and jumps to the next crag, he keeps running, then jumps a final time and lands on the last large crag Ingressus stood on. Achillean leaned over as he caught his breath. He normally wasn't this active, he only ever climbed the fishing pier, but it wasn't as steep as these jagged rocks of stone.

(Would suggest listening to HTTYD (PS3) Game OST- Training Menu)

"Well, we made it!" Ingressus said. Achillean lightly chuckled, his friend wasn't even tired. Achillean on the other hand, felt like he had taken a beating. He looked at the scratches that were bleeding on his knuckles, and the blisters on his hands.

"Is this what you normally do on your own time?" Achillean asked. "Climbing crags, diving deep under the ocean, and even sneaking into areas you're not supposed to, and stealing wooden swords?" 

That was how Achillean had come to acquire his "new weapon." Ingressus had walked to his hut the previous evening and asked if Achillean had wanted to learn a few basic sword moves in the morning. Achillean had reminded his friend of how Ingressus only had one sword. Then, Ingressus had surprised him by pulling another wooden sword out of his inventory and tossed it to Achillean. Who had clumsily caught it.