{M}ℝ𝕦𝕟 𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕪 | ✨𝕐𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕪𝕦 & 𝕊𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕒𝕚✨

~Chapter 67.4~

A year and six months had passed since the last time Yeonghon had become injured. And that one year and six months had been the hardest one year and six months of her time as a warrior.

Right after recovering from her injury, Yeonghon dove right into her training for her trial. Every day and every night she would train her mind and her body for any challenge that the trials would put her in, turning her skinny and rather delicate self into a lithe and fit warrior. Now, her muscles would show from underneath her skin every time she flexed her arms or legs, and her stomach, which was starting to bump with the appearance of abs, had also been sculpted into the shape of an hourglass. 

She'd also become more cunning and swift when it came to fighting both when she was in her normal form and as a tigress. She had mastered the art of hunting as well, being able to track prey that was miles away and also stalking without being seen despite her white stripped-pelt.

All of the skills she had learned, and the change her body went through, came to fruition at each stage of the trials up to the very last round. The last stage of the trials was left to the last two warriors who were left from all that had been interested in participating. In this stage, the two opponents had to fight with only their claws, hands, fangs, and teeth; weapons or other fighting tools were prohibited and one could get disqualified. 

And though Yeonghon's opponent had beaten her pretty badly; giving her a slash above her eyes, a bloody nose, and a large bruise on her side that she was still recovering from, Yeonghon won the trials and earned her place as Fire Tribe's first female Head Warrior. 

Yeonghon couldn't be any happier than she was right now at this stage of her life, she had everything she ever wanted; a high position in her tribe, respect from her fellow warriors, the support of her sister and the friends whom she sought approval from. . . And someone whom she'd become infatuated with.

Turns out that Yeonghon hadn't only been training for one year and six months. Oh no, because despite bettering herself, she had found time to start a closer friendship with Earth Tribe's newest Head Warrior, none other than Jingu himself. They started seeing each other when she'd found him stuck in one of the traps she'd set for a morning hunt, and when she'd told him that she was training, he was quick to offer help and she was even quicker to accept it. 

It was surprising, to say the least as Yeonghon never thought about ever asking for anyone's help in these types of matters, especially if they were from Earth Tribe. . . Yet, there was something different about Jingu, something that captivated her and made her admire and trust him. Whether it be in the way he honestly cared about everyone's health and well-being, or the deep love and respect he had for everything and everyone that inhabited their island. But she figured out what she liked most about the young warrior was that, despite his rough and tall figure, he was rather shy and gentle and very sensible.

And despite being from another tribe, she learned that Jingu respected her as much as any warrior from Fire Tribe did, which led her to let herself be more open and vulnerable with the young Head Warrior. 

On some nights, which the two had reserved for each other, they would often walk around the lonely beach or hang around between the dark patches of night in the jungle. All they would do was talk about one another and their lives, and with those talks, Yeonghon realized that she and Jingu weren't too different at all.

One of the reasons he was so humble was because the warriors of his age had roughly humbled him, almost to the point of calling him useless if it weren't for his powers or because he was the "leader's favorite." It was specifically rough during his apprenticeship as he was rather awkward and clumsy with battle, which caused his peers to alienate him.