Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 55-

Day: 34

Days Left: 5446

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"And you're sure you're alright?" asked Corinna, panting and gasping for breath as she leaned on her spear for a quick rest. "We can take a break anytime you want."

The chimaera chuckled. "I'm fine." Even after so many hours of training, Harmony was not even tired, her heart-rate stable. "If anyone needs rest, it's you."

Corinna spluttered a few inhales of air before standing up straight, spear at the ready. "In a fight, you don't have the luxury of 'rest'." Despite the heroic words, the young woman could not stop her shaking knees. "I'm not distracting you am I?"

Harmony tilted her head in confusion.

Motioning to the rock spire, Corinna said, "if you get too worn out, you might not have enough energy to escape if the portal opens."

"I'll be fine," replied the chimaera, her bright green eyes gazing up at the rock spire. "It'll only take a matter of seconds to climb up. Besides, I've got pretty good stamina," she bragged.

"Oh?" Corinna smirked. "Good to know."

"Yeah," said Harmony, oblivious to the young woman's suggestive tone. "But you have improved greatly, Corinna."

For the past week, they had trained together near the rock spire every day. The sand had proven challenging to manoeuvre on, but Corinna had eventually learned to dodge even on such tough terrain. She had beaten her record of avoiding Harmony's attacks from thirty seconds to a minute.

"I think we can move onto the next step," Harmony continued.

"What's the next step?" Corinna grinned, excited.

The chimaera stretched her arms out wide. "Attack."

Hesitating, the young woman remained still, clasping tight on the spear. "Attack?"

"Yeah." Harmony shrugged. "Just try and land a hit."

"I can't do that-"

"Of course you can."

"I don't want to hurt you!"

Smirking, the chimaera huffed out a short breath from her nose in arrogance. "You won't hurt me. Remember, I heal quickly. And if it's serious I've got my saliva, same goes if you get hurt too."

Remembering back to the cave in the cliff with how the chimaera had healed her injuries, Corinna's knees became weak for an entirely different reason.

Sighing as the young woman had still not attacked her yet, Harmony decided to use another method of persuasion and provoke her instead. "Come on, where's the woman that was ready to kill me when we first met?"

"You were trying to kill me first!"

"And what about the woman that took on seven imps at once?"

"They also tried to kill me first!"

Harmony pretended to look around. "Nope. Don't see her. Can't find her." She put her hands on her hips. "I guess she's gone."

Corinna pouted. "I can still kick your arse."

The chimaera scrunched up her nose in disbelief. "Not how I remember the story."

"I came close, though, right?"

"I was already badly injured, fur drenched with water, and I hadn't eaten in a few days, so my healing powers weren't so great."

Scowling, Corinna asked through gritted teeth, "why hadn't you eaten in days? There was plenty of food."

"Uh..." The chimaera scratched the back of her neck as the conversation had taken a detour. "Because I got distracted and forgot?"

This answer did not please Corinna and Harmony thought she could use this anger to spur the young woman into attacking.

"There's that fire in your eyes from before!" The chimaera smiled. "Honestly, I was worried you had gotten soft. You had so much resolve when you first arrived, and where is it now? Has it dwindled? I suppose you don't need to learn to fight since I'll just be around to save you. Didn't have to fight for shelter. Didn't have to fight for food. Why bother learning at all when you have a safety net-" Harmony narrowly dodged the spear, the blade almost cutting into her cheek.

She had started to regret her words, worried that they were perhaps too harsh but was glad to see Corinna finally reclaiming that ferocity back. Though the young woman was untrained and her attacks varied in power, they were relentless. Even when Harmony knocked her to the ground, Corinna immediately stood back up and rushed in with another strike.

There was something animalistic about her fighting style. She was like a feral beast. Though she was predictable, Corinna did not hold back as if she were in for the kill. She aimed for all vulnerable areas that she had listed and avoided half of Harmony's own attacks with her newly developed instincts.

Then it happened. Harmony was a fraction too late to avoid it. The blade of the spear scraped against the side of her waist. It was barely a cut, but they both froze staring at the small bead of blood.

"Huh..." Harmony paused, still comprehending what had just happened.

Corinna's hands shook, then the spear fell onto the sand. "Harmony... I'm-"

"You did it, Corinna!" The chimaera lifted the young woman up and spun her around. "You were great!" She then set Corinna back down on the ground, realising that she was not also celebrating.

"That wasn't me..." mumbled Corinna. She looked down at her trembling hands then held them close to her chest. The first strike had been her, but with every attack she made, something else had taken over, a vile and malicious emotion. It told her to kill Harmony. If the chimaera hadn't been so agile, she might have. That savage thought that had enveloped her was void of logic, it didn't even remember that no one could die in The Eternal Abyss. It just wanted the chimaera dead for no purpose at all.

"I'm sorry, Harm," said Corinna.

"I'm fine, Corinna, really." The chimaera licked her paw and applied the saliva to the cut. Though she didn't need it as the injury was insignificant, Harmony wanted to comfort the young woman and assure her that she was indeed okay.

"We shouldn't train when tomorrow is the blood moon." Corinna picked up her spear.

"Is it really affecting you that badly?"

"Does that not normally happen?"

Harmony scratched the back of her neck. "The blood moon makes everyone use their masks and turn into monsters. Makes us want to attack anyone we see. The effect varies from person to person. Some, like me, can easily resist it but others..." She glanced over to Corinna. "I've heard of some people where the effect is worse just like you but... only on the day, not before. The mask amplifies this further. If you're like this, I can't imagine what you'd be like when you get your mask."

Corinna wrapped her arms around her waist. "What would happen?" she asked, her voice choking slightly.

The chimaera sighed and avoided answering. "Tomorrow, I'll help you find something that keeps those violent thoughts at bay, a distraction technique. Mines music. Even just by humming a tune, it calms me down easily. We'll find yours."

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