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Serendice caught a glance of the warm smile that Tarrae shot Ageha and shuddered. She was surprised at the resentment she felt for him. It was something more than just a dislike of an opponent, it reeked of jealousy. Serendice had always been possessive of Ageha since they were children. She knew that Ageha was the better fighter, but rather than envy her, Serendice had always admired and nurtured her young friend. She couldn't bear the thought of anyone coming between them, especially a man.
Serendice grabbed Ageha's arm and hissed into her ear. "Remember, Ageha, he's the enemy. Only one team can win."
Ageha pulled free of Serendice's grasp and smiled lovingly at her. "Don't worry, Serendice, you know I'd never let my defenses down, especially not in battle."
Ageha, doubting her own words as soon as they had left her lips, consciously kept her distance from Tarrae as they moved toward Jeriyu's call.
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Nienna, feeling slightly less defenseless with the knife in hand, followed Jeriyu through the dense woods. She was impatient to find Serendice and Ageha, but reluctant to be in the company of both Jeriyu and Tarrae.
Unknown to Jeriyu, Nienna slipped silently through the brush until she was alongside Lila. Placing her hand gently over the child's mouth to keep her from betraying their conspiring, Nienna whispered low to Lila to be on her guard.
Lila was naive and childish, but she was incomparably skilled in battle and she knew when to play and when to fight.
"Lila, listen," Nienna cooed, "I don't trust these guys any farther than I could throw them. I say when we find Serendice and Ageha we ditch the duo and get our weapons back as a team."
Lila pouted a bit, sad to lose her new friend so soon, but she readily accepted Nienna's plan and went back to her humming.
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talk is cheap, so i buy every word you said.
scared me half to death, now i'm half dead.
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