**COMPLETED**
"You have a weird look on your face," I said and his frown deepened.
"I do not," he closed his spell book and ran a hand through his shaggy hair.
"Hmm," I hummed under my breath as I smoothed the crease between his brow. He grabbed my...
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Ibhans POV
I ran at a steady pace, fast enough that the world around me blurred, but not fast enough to let my mind get away from me. I stayed focused on the wand in my hand as I directed it to nearby objects and cast simple spells. The one thing I had learnt from my battle with Matthew was that my combat magic still needed work, I needed to be more creative with my environment. I flung a string of pebbles out ahead of me before quickly redirecting their shadows on the ground to pull them back to me and catapult them forward once again. Deadly little projectiles, check.
I carried on that way for two or three days. I knew my basic spells, my composure was excellent, no one knew plants better than I did. But I didn't have the brawn to defend myself. Brute force and quick magic wouldn't be enough to save me from whatever it was that could be waiting in the valley of Kegsus. The legends alone were enough to keep everyone away, because if even an ounce of them were true, you were dead before you could even step back out of the darkness.
I reached a large dryflame tree, its leaves fallen away. I touched its trunk with the back of my hand, making sure the tree was only warm to the touch. Dryflame Ashbarks were incredibly flammable, even once their leaves had been shed for the year, but there was always a heat surge before any of them combusted. I reached for a thick, low hanging branch and began pull ups. Upper body strength was my first challenge. Magic was a delicate practice, but fighting? There was a grace to it, no doubt, but the force that came with it was more than I thought I had.
"Working hard I see," a deep voice spoke. I sighed as I pulled myself up once more, swinging my leg up so I could sit on the branch.
"Father," I said and he clasped his hands behind his back, looking away slightly, though there was nothing remotely interesting in sight.
"Your mother told me you train here on your own," he said and I nodded. If he was a better father he would have known that himself. "Are you ready?"
"Of course," I said immediately. I hated that part of me was still so eager to gain his approval.
"Prove it," he said, unclasping his hands, wand already in his grip. I sighed and shook my head.
"Of course, you weren't coming just to wish me luck. Is it necessary for you to take me down days before my exam?" I asked but he ignored me.
"Get down here, boy, I don't have all day," he said and I gritted my teeth before jumping down from my branch. I landed in a crouch with a soft thud, straightening up and unsheathing my own wand.
"Fine, lets do this," I said and I waited. I wanted him to make the first move.
For a long moment, we watched each other, not a single muscle moving. My father and I shared the same slightly hooked nose, the thick lashes, and the unruly way my hair curled. But he was getting old. He had been on the guard in his younger years, until an injury benched him. Then once Isamu went missing, he withdrew away from society even more than he had. Probably ashamed that any child of his could have been so stupid.
