Smoke rose in the distance, letting everyone know that the Reman army was already stationed on the battlefield.
"They're waiting," Tatanka spoke in his usual deep voice, making the boy shiver as he felt someone creeping up on him.
"Indeed they are," Nayavu said, trying to mimic Tatanka's way of keeping his sentences as short as possible. That being said, the man made it clear that this was one of the rare occasions when he was in the mood to talk.
"Still not ready to go there?" Tatanka continued.
"We'll go soon enough. For now, isn't this a beautiful morning?"
A scene both beautiful and sad unfolded before them. Such a scene would come about every year, and in the many years Nayavu had lived, he had seen many autumns like this one, but the sight of leaves drying up and falling always poked with a pin of melancholy at the boy's heart. Even so, it was beautiful, and during all those years, even at times when 'he' hadn't yet awakened, 'he' wanted to admire nature's beauty, for 'he' had seen both past and future, yet 'he' couldn't tell when this beauty would start fading from this world.
"Morning…" a sleepy girl said as she crawled out of the tent. It was a rare sight for Nayavu, so he couldn't help but tease the girl.
"Huh… So you do have times when you don't smile. I was sure if it was you, that grin wouldn't fade even when sleeping."
With narrow eyes and a smile only now blooming, Tiva rubbed one of her eyes, looking very much like a cat from Nayavu's perspective. Even her mouth seemed to take a catlike shape, and even if the boy blinked twice, that image wouldn't fade.
Noticing the confused-looking boy, Tiva arched her back, complementing the cat image.
"Nya~"
Nayavu's eyes opened wide, and he soon turned his gaze to the sky, scratching his ears so he could explain the red hue if he were to be called out on it.
Standing between them, Tatanka didn't say a word, but the look in his eyes was enough to speak a thousand in his stead. Many years spent away from home may have played a role in it, but he had no idea why Tiva would act like a cat all of a sudden, and why her act caught Nayavu off guard, almost as if he was already comparing her to one in secret and got exposed.
Defeated by the one he was trying to make fun of, Nayavu coughed to get someone else's attention.
"How long are you going to keep staring, Master?"
"Haha!" a loud laugh resounded throughout the forest, sounding more like thunder than someone's voice.
"I didn't know you had someone keeping you in check back home! She doesn't seem to be your older sister, though…"
While speaking, Ayanda was brought down by lightning, lightning that was strong enough to have Tiva jump on her feet, with her face being caught by the representative's palm.
"This jaw… This hair… You're part Reman, aren't you?" Ayanda asked bluntly, moving around the confused, pretty face.
Slapping both of her cheeks to stop her head from moving, Tiva responded with a pouting look.
"That's right! You can stop this now…"
"Oh? No hesitation in those eyes… I see you're not ashamed of who you are."
"Ashamed of who I am? Of course not! Whatever I may be, I'm myself around my people!"
"Your people?" Ayanda repeated, curious at what Tiva meant with those words.
"Yes! I'm Tiva, the Inyankaran bundle of joy! Nice to meet you!"
The young lady's smile stayed true—so true that it even rubbed off on the woman in front of her.
"I see…" the woman scoffed. "Well, I'm glad this troubled child had a bigger sister to straighten him up. Don't take your eyes off of him when I'm gone, okay?"
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"Of course! Ayanda Master!" Tiva answered with her fingers straightened out, pointing at her temple.
"And don't call me that!"
The relaxed atmosphere was doing well for morale, but eventually, the battle had to start, and it was Nayavu who decided to change the mood due to an eerie hunch that he shouldn't let those two get too close.
"I think that's enough of you two. Ayanda, are you planning to stand here and watch?"
"Of course! You better show me all you've got, or I'll have you fight me next!"
A grin bloomed on Nayavu's face. Whether it was a nervous or excited one, it was hard to tell.
"That's more than enough motivation," he said, then se signaled to Tatanka that all of the Inyankarans were awake and ready for battle.
*****
The corners of their mouths twitched. Both the general and the lieutenant had wide grins on their faces, yet neither the general nor the lieutenant was truly happy.
In Aurelio's mind, memories resurfaced. They were memories of failure. They were memories of how the gods had failed him. Looking for the Sacred Waters of the Serpent, yet having failed to become a representative when he needed to, the man was stuck walking down the long, arduous path. That's why his grin could only show anger.
In Giovanni's mind, memories of how the army had treated him resurfaced. He didn't do anything to have him dragged to this hell, yet here he was. He only drank because he was thirsty, yet he'd become a tool for that. Stuck taking orders from the people he hated, the path the man walked was one of destruction, and if the chance was to arrive, Giovanni would take it together with the heads of everyone who could command him. That's why his grin showed an emotion only he had ever felt, an emotion no facial expression could do justice to.
"Incoming!"
Yet the two had something in common: both of them smiled in anticipation, staying shoulder to shoulder, ready to take down the Inyankarans who stood in their path.
"Starting with that boy!" both of them said, unable to hide their murderous intent in front of their subordinates.
With no warning, lightning struck and thunder roared, yet it didn't come from the sky, which was the clearest it had been in a long time.
The attack came from the forest, and the ones to open the Inyankaran push were a giant man and a bird. It was obvious that the man was uncomfortable with the blue bird flying next to him, and he did his best not to touch it.
"Ready!"
That being said, the giant was not one to be taken lightly.
"Fire!"
Hundreds of rifles were emptied. Just as fast, the bird vanished into thin air, and the man raised a wall wide enough to cover a small army, making sure not a single shot would reach its target.
"Line of sight has been broken, Sir!" a soldier reported, but Aurelio was well aware of that. Not only that, but they had also anticipated what was going to follow.
"Spikes!" Giovanni ordered upon seeing Aurelio's signal.
Soon, the morning dew the Remans had gathered all in one place rose into spikes right in front of the giant wall. Over the wall, hordes of Inyankaran soldiers came rushing, soon to fall into a deadly trap.
"Hmph! As expected, only savages could fall for such simple battle tactics. Never let the enemy play with the field before a battle."
As Aurelio spoke—his nose held high and his pride through the roof—the first row of attackers reached the water spikes with their feet. With this, their offensive was to be broken before it even began, leaving only the powerhouses to fight against an army as it was a day prior.
But that didn't happen.
"Sir…" a worried soldier let his voice slip, pointing in the direction of that attack.
To everyone's surprise, the Inyankarans didn't fall into the spikes. Instead, the giant wall built by Tatanka grew a platform. The further the Inyankarans ran, the longer the platform got. It was not long before they passed the area where the most water had been gathered, and now they could safely land and rely on their stone shoes to protect themselves from the wet ground.
For a job well done, Nayavu patted Tatanka on the back.
"Those were some quick reflexes! How could you see beside the wall to react that quickly?"
To the boy's question, Tatanka stomped the ground, drawing the boy's attention to the dry grass.
"Autumn mornings aren't this dry," the man said, as if it was a matter of fact. If anything, he looked almost disappointed that Nayavu hadn't thought of that.
By now, the first Inyankarans had reached the front of the Reman flanks formed mostly of the short basil and scared humans, attacking everyone in sight but two people. They left Aurelio and Giovanni alone, and the two Remans didn't bother with stopping the savages.
In a frontal assault, it soon became clear that the Inyankarans had an overwhelming advantage. In vain did the Reman soldiers up front try to stop their advance; the earth-wielders broke through their ranks like it was nothing, bodies dressed in fancy blue uniforms flying left and right like puppets.
However, things didn't stay like that for long, as the two nations had polar opposite strategies when organizing their armies. The Remans followed the simple tactic of putting soldiers of no importance in front as to keep the elite protected in the back. On the other hand, as the strong protect the weak in Inyankara, the best fighters took the brunt of the Remans, having the weaker ones support them with their rock magic, so while the Remans got stronger with every row, the Inyankarans grew weak, and their advance stopped not long into the attack.
"Giovanni, if you will."
With orders given by his general, Giovanni moved on to the second phase of the fight. Slowly, water spikes that had failed to win them the fight rose from the ground. Their pointy heads faced the back of the Inyankarans, as he waited for the right signal.
"Do it," said Aurelio, his voice calm and lacking any intonation.
The next moment, the spikes started trembling in anticipation.
"Not so fast, tough guy!" a merry voice shouted. That moment, the spikes froze on the spot.
Out of his area of expertise, Giovanni's mind too froze up, and the now icy spikes fell to the ground.
Curious—no, deeply shaken by what had happened, Aurelio's stoic expression broke down.
"Gi…Gi…"
"Tada!" the same voice resounded, and from behind the wall of stone, a cute and lively girl landed with a flip.
"Tiva's come to save the day!" the young lady said with her fingers stretched to form a "V."
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