Macha's Journey

Macha coughed. "I can"t breathe like that," Macha swatted his hands away and loosened the string. "How do you expect me to move with it that tight?" She looked at him as if he were crazy.

Tyr snapped, "Why are you wearing that, anyway? You should put your coat on." He felt her clothes were too tight. Even he had trouble not looking, and he was around Macha all the time.

Macha continued to stretch and explained, "It"s too cold to wear my summer training clothes. Besides, you went with me to get this." She did not understand why Tyr acted so ornery all of a sudden.

Tyr could not argue with her so directed his gaze at the men. He did go with her to get the winter training clothes when the snow began to fall. He suggested this outfit for two reasons. The first was that it was practical to not have fabric dangling around. He did not want her daggers to get caught on her clothes. The second reason was completely selfish. Tyr liked the way she looked in it. Macha said she needed warmer training clothes, so it did not occur to him that she would show it to other people. Tyr a.s.sumed the training clothes would be for when they trained together late at night. Now he regretted his decision.

After the men saw Tyr eyeing them, they looked away. Tyr relaxed and tried to remember who Palila was. He remembered that she came to the guild after they saved Freyr"s life. She had been part of the 163 new members they accepted. Tyr remembered that Palila was a tan woman with an athletic build. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. He also remembered that she specialized in hand to hand combat.

When Palila came to the courtyard, she waved at Macha. This wasn"t the first time she and Macha had dueled. Palila looked up to Macha and admired the small woman"s fighting spirit. Palila walked up to Macha, who was stretching next to Tyr. She did not believe the rumors at first, but seeing the Captain next to Macha made her rethink the rumors. "Macha, today can we say the winner is whoever gets one clean hit on the other? I have some stuff to do after this."

Tyr looked at the crowd that showed up. Many of them were the new recruits who joined at the same time Palila did. None of the people seemed to hold hostility against Macha and they were all talking and making small bets on who would win. Macha and Palila stood chatting with each other waiting for something.

Aeson came running into the courtyard a few minutes later. As he ran he yelled, "Sorry I"m late. My lessons took a bit longer than usual." He waved at Tyr and sat down beside him. Turning to Tyr he said, "Welcome back Captain. I hope your trip went well."

Tyr turned to Aeson and gave a curt nodded. He remembered Aeson. After he had healed from the harpy wounds Macha forced him to personally thank the boy for his a.s.sistance. Tyr had nothing to say to Aeson, so he focused his attention back to Macha.

Macha and Palila both bowed to each other and took their stances. Palila jeered, "Macha, you look uncomfortable. I can help you slip into something more comfortable, a coma." A few guys from the crowd howled.

Macha smiled, "I"d like to see you try, but you know how I can tell you"re lying? Your lips moved." A few people laughed out loud at this.

Palila laughed, "I"d say you"re funny, but looks aren"t everything." This got a few more people laughing. Both Macha and Palila gave up on insults for now. The two of them tried to practice their insults at the beginning of their matches. They were aware they were not fantastic at it because people always laughed whenever they got into it. They had seen people throw insults at one another during the tournament, so they felt this was a good way to practice that set of skills.

Tyr crossed his arms. Macha never talked like that and it seemed awkward. He almost laughed at her attempt to intimidating her opponent. Tyr could not tell if she meant to be funny or if she was actually trying.

Macha did not bring her daggers with her today. She liked to use the same method of fighting that her opponent used. She wanted to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the different fighting styles.

Palila crouched down to the ground and spun around, kicking her way towards Macha. As she spun around on her knees, she extended her legs at random heights. Macha backed up and blocked a kick that flew at her temple. She knocked Palila"s leg away and Palila twirled into a standing position with a smile on her face. Palila cracked her neck and dropped into a low stance. Her knees were bent, and she held her two fists in front of her. Her eyes dared Macha to come.

Macha made a series of attacks aimed at Palila"s chest, but Palila blocked each one. Palila and Macha stood with their forearms pressing against one another. Palila quickly dropped to the ground and extended a hand to touch the slushy snow. She kicked both feet out and aimed them towards Macha"s core.

Macha lowered her forearms to block the kick but the force still sent her flying backward into a pile of snow. Macha scrambled to her feet as Palila came running to land a blow on her chest, but this time Macha ducked to the ground. She pulled Palila"s front leg out to throw the woman off balance. Macha placed both hands on the ground and kicked her feet up into the air, landing a direct hit under Palila"s jaw.

Palila fell back and her b.u.t.t hit the ground. She held her jaw and Aeson ran up to inspect the two. Aeson checked to see if either one needed any medical attention, but both seemed to be fine. They both had minor bruises which he healed easily.

Macha and Palila both bowed once more and shook each other"s hands. Macha smiled and thanked Palila for the duel before making her way back to Tyr.

Tyr decided that this duel was not the same as the one Macha had with Constanza. This duel seemed to be more of a sparring match between friends. He and Krystof often had these sorts of matches when they were growing up. A smile spread on his face as he remembered how he and Krystof practiced their insults too.

****

That night, Macha wanted to make a chocolate lava flow cake for Tyr. She remembered reading about it when she was in her world. She experimented with the recipe for almost four months and only recently had she made one that worked.

Tyr sat at the kitchen counter talking with Macha as she stood baking. He remembered the last time she tried making him something special. Macha made him the flavored ice dessert from her world, but his mother came for a visit and interrupted him. Tyr remembered how excited he was that day and how beautiful Macha looked on the way back home at sunset. He felt a small touch of disappointment from that memory. He was unable to eat the dessert because it had melted. "Macha," he said in a casual tone, "when strawberries are in season again can you make the flavored ice thing? I didn"t get to try it last time."

Macha turned around and looked at Tyr. She had just put the batter into the oven. Macha noticed that Tyr played with the ends of his bangs. It gave him a shy and youthful appearance. "Are you actually going to stay and eat it? It upset me that you let it melt. Today"s dessert is much better warm, so don"t run off," she said in a light tone. Macha doubted something would disturb them and was in a good mood. She knew Tyr was going to love this cake.

The apartment smelled sweet as the scent of chocolate filled the air. Macha poured them both a cold gla.s.s of Kshir Sagar milk. She had spent extra gold on premium imported milk for today. Kshir Sagar milk came from an ocean of milk found in the Outer-Reaches. This milk was known for stimulating the mind. Kshir Sagar milk was a drink that many sorcerers and mages enjoyed while studying their spells and ma.n.u.scripts.

While they waited for the cake to bake, they listened to music on the sofa. Tyr closed his eyes and relaxed. He enjoyed having Macha"s comforting presence in the room. He sensed Macha continually moving next to him and he lifted his lids. Tyr saw her ma.s.saging her feet and grew annoyed that she was not paying attention to him. He picked up her feet and placed them on his lap. Tyr rubbed her feet softly at first, but Macha squirmed so he pressed deep into her muscles.

Macha had felt ticklish at first, but Tyr adjusted the pressure and the fatigue in her feet started to dissipate. She appreciated his help and leaned back until it was time to take out the cakes.

When the cake came out of the oven and Tyr craned his neck to peek at it. It looked like a typical chocolate cake baked in a ramekin, but Macha swore that it had a special surprise inside. While they were waiting for the cakes to cool, a soft knock sounded at the door. Macha looked at the cakes and then at Tyr. Her eyes were wide, and she groaned, "Are you joking? Tell them to go away or I"m going to eat them both."

Tyr kissed her forehead. "Don"t worry." He then moved to open the door. "What do you want?" Tyr said in a cold voice. All traces of warmth left his face, and he crossed his arms.

A young boy stood at the door. He did not dare look at the Captain, instead, he focused intently at the ground. He hated being the guild messenger, but it was the only job he could get. "King Freyr requested your immediate company. He is in your office now." He knew the captain did not like to be bothered and wanted to get away as soon as possible.

Tyr looked at Macha and she rolled her eyes. "Go on. Freyr is already waiting." Tyr thought about letting Freyr wait, but whatever the issue was, could be important. He closed the door and strode down the hallway toward his office.

Macha took out a fork and ate the desserts out of the ramekin. She did not bother to remove it because it was just for her. "Stupid Freyr," she pouted as she shoved the chocolate dessert into her mouth.