Seed Of Speed

"Ishu! Ishu!" a familiar voice screamed with panic clearly in her voice.

In Diego's moment of distraction, Swordflash landed a solid kick to his gut that threw him out of the sparring ring. Diego could not help but cough painfully as he rolled onto his hand and knees.

"Handle your affair, training will continue when she leaves," Swordflash said then leapt upon one of the pillars around the ring and sat down to meditate.

Diego coughed a few more times as he pushed himself to his feet, but once he did, he bowed and said, "Thank you, master."

Swordflash did not reply, but Diego did not expect one either. He turned and was about to run to the front when Rainshower appeared in front of him, clearly having run the whole way here.

"Ishu! You have to help! I have to go home! Something's happened!" Rainshower said, nearly too quickly to be understood.

"I'll help, I'll help, but first calm down and tell me what's going on," Diego said, wrapping his arms around her shaking body.

Whatever was bothering her seemed to release the moment he held her as she let out a broken sob and pushed against him to free herself. Before he could ask anything, she pushed a pendent into his hand then collapsed against his body, completely crying now.

He knew this necklace incredibly well by now since Rainshower wore it every day. It was a silver token, the size of a silver dollar, with a red jade, eight-point star and a blue jade, crescent moon inlaid in the metal. Her parents had made it for her the day she crafted her named spell, the star belonging to her father and the moon for her mother, which they had both enchanted to create an illusion of them waving to her when she channeled her mana into it. The only problem was... the star was gone.

The pieces of jade were talismans, so it only meant one of two things if one broke randomly: the other half had been shattered... or the crafter was dead. He tightened his arms around her for a moment then remembered the first mission he had carried out for his clan. His mind entered the storage space of his token as he looked at everything he had stored before he found what he was looking for, but when he pulled out the white cord, it was empty.

"I understand, Dystina. Give me a minute to talk with my master," Diego said gently.

Still sniffling, Rainshower released her grip on his red robes and Diego kissed her forehead before he completely let her go. He walked back to the center of the ring and looked up at Swordflash's seated figure.

"Master..." Diego started.

Swordflash raised a hand and said, "Since I can tell you confirmed it as well, go. I will inform Shadowbolt of your departure. Just make sure her master has been told, but I expect your return in two months' time."

"Thank you, master," Diego said with a deep bow.

Swordflash nodded his head then placed his sword in his l.a.p and closed his eyes. Diego gave him a grateful smile and grabbed his dropped spear on his way back to Rainshower.

"We need to tell your master," Diego said as he walked up.

Jalu rubbed up against his leg instead of taking her normal perch on his head. Even she could feel her master's sadness, so she had decided to not be as greedy as usual and take the 'thunder-light' man from her.

Rainshower shook her head and said, "My master already agreed if you were the one who took me."

"Alright," he said as the deactivated form of his stone griffin appeared in his hand. He sent his mana into it to awaken the golem and said, "Let's go!"

Diego helped Rainshower up onto the griffin's back then scooped up Jalu and placed her in Rainshower's arms. He hopped up behind her and held out his arms on either side of her. The violet reins appeared in his hands and, channeling extra Thunder mana into them, the griffin kicked off the ground with incredible speeds.

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The caravan that they had taken to reach the capital had taken over a month, but it just under a day, they had crossed nearly half the total distance. It was as the sun began to set for the second time since they left the sect that they finally landed. Although his two-point Magic Crest and regenerative abilities of the Seed of Speed meant he had plenty of mana to keep flying, his mind was feeling raw from the constant drain to keep the griffin at max speeds.

Rainshower had calmed down by now. While she was clearly still sad, she had accepted the facts and truly appreciated Ishu had dropped everything for her.

"Rest, Ishu," she said, kissing his cheek. "I will cook us something to eat."

Before he let her go, he stole her lips with a sweet kiss. She was more than happy to indulge him, but she stopped him a moment later and gave him a playful push, shooing him away.

Diego chuckled as he pulled out a bedroll from his storage space and spread it out on the cooling sand. He laid back and watched as she went about creating a few sandstone walls around them before she pulled out a small, portable oven which she would use on some of their dates. Jalu walked over to him and rubbed herself against his head.

"Keep at it, and I'll use you for a pillow," Diego said after a few minutes as he playfully grabbed at the fox's hind legs.

She nimbly avoided his hand and jumped onto his stomach. He chuckled and scratched under her chin as she curled up on him.

"You spoil her too much," Rainshower teased, as she walked over with a bowl in each of her hands, but after she placed both of them down on the ground, she gave Jalu a red Fire-gem.

"And you don't?" he chuckled, moving the fox to his l.a.p so he could sit up.

"But I'm her master, I'm supposed to spoil her," Rainshower said, settling down next to him on the bedroll.

They ate their food and talked, but about nothing important. After they finished eating, Jalu got up and stretched before walking away with a swish of her tails and hopping over the walls.

Rainshower ended up laying on Diego's c.h.e.s.t as he unconsciously hummed a couple of songs as he ran his fingers through her orange hair while he looked up at the stars. The only reason he knew she was still awake was because every now and then she would trace the lines of his abdomen.

In the middle of the night, Rainshower propped herself up on an elbow and looked up at him with her dazzling rose-gold eyes. "Ishu..." she said quietly, "if I offered you my heart, would you give me yours?"

Diego smiled as he cupped her face and brushed her cheek with his thumb. "But you already have mine," he said softly.

Rainshower returned his smile and stretched up to kiss him. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her on top of him, as he deepened their kiss. Her hands were the first wandering and finding their way into the other's robes, but he was quick to follow.

About a kilometer away, a white fox could be seen chasing a pack of Sheol Wolves. It rained downed spears of ice and bolts of lightning as the fox blew off its frustrations on the unlucky beasts.