Not out of the woods yet [Rin-chan, open]

[blazingTactician]

The sword whistled through the air as it struck the log, neatly slicing it in two. Konaa panted heavily, having exerted himself heavily for the past hour.

He didn't even know why he did these little training sessions. It wasn't even like there was any use for his weapon- they lived in a borderline silent town where crime was practically unheard of. Nothing was gonna attack him.

Yet he felt oddly compelled by something to practice with the black longsword. This had been going on for years, ever since he had obtained the mysterious weapon, and he was still completely clueless as to what it exactly was.

Sitting down in the forest clearing next to the hole in the wall that led back to town, he drank deeply from a canteen. Staring up into the sky, he enjoyed the quiet chunk of nature, away from town.

[Rin]

Emilene had pulled the bowstring one last time before falling back and sitting down on a rock, letting out a tired sigh. The last arrow she shot darted off at an amazing speed, hitting a tree where she would go to retrieve it later. She had a bow over her shoulder along with a quiver of arrows. Her star-tipped wand was inserted into the side of her boot, ready to be pulled out whenever she needed it.

A loud whistle. A big thud followed by a clanking sound.

Her blue eyes flicked towards the noise, but the source of it was hidden by leaves, bushes, and branches. What could that be? What if it's dangerous!? It didn't sound like a person, but... Emilene thought, jumping up from where she sat. She then heard heavy breathing and widened her eyes. A monster? An arch-nemesis here to send me to my doom?

Switching into "Paranoid Super Magic E Silent Ninja Mode", Emilene pulled herself on top of a tree branch as quiet as she could. After that she quickly made her way higher into the tree. Grabbing onto the trunk once she got both feet on the la branch she felt she could stand on, she stood up, cautiously walking forward on the branch. Like a flamingo...

But she had misjudged the strength of the branch and SNAP. She let out a yell of surprise and flew down about 12 feet. Thinking she was going to die from that fall, she was surprised when she landed on something soft compared to the hard ground, but the person she had used as a landing cushion didn't break her fall entirely, and it still hurt.

[blazingTactician]

He had been lured into a sort of calming trance, eyes closed as the wind blew against his face and he listened to the noises of the insects and animals around him. He'd never considered himself that "in tune" with nature, but he had a healthy respect for it.

His rest was interrupted by the sound of someone treading over a branch above. Konaa opened his eyes. Was someone really trying to sneak up on him?

...That was when pain happened. It happened really fast.

After a yell that would be censored, he quickly stood up, shaking off the person that had fell on him. He opened his mouth, ready to start berating them, when he paused.

"...Emi?"

[Rin]

A yell rang in her ears and she was pushed off and away. With wide eyes, she looked up when she heard her name being said in a familiar voice. Scooting back a bit, running into a tree, she stammered, "K-K-K-K-K-Konaa!?"

Immediately, Emilene jumped to her feet and ran up to him, with eyes the size of full moons. She reached and grabbed onto Konaa's shoulders, shaking him back and forth while rambling on and on.

"I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? You're not hurt, right? You're okay, right? I didn't mean to fall on you, I-I just heard a loud noise and went to go check it out, I didn't know it was you. I thought it was a monster or something. It was like a loud SHIIING and then a CLANK. But when I went to go check it out, the tree branch broke and I fell. I didn't mean to fall on you. So you're okay, right? You're not mad at Emi, right? Right, right, right? Gah, Emi is such a horrible person!"

Finally done speaking, she took a deep breath, breathing somewhat heavily.

[blazingTactician]

Yeah, that was Emi. The strange girl he'd met the other day, who seemed to think she was some sort of superhero.

What was she doing out here? Probably something silly. Konaa took a step back when she ran towards him, but alarm quickly changed to amusement as she went on and on and on. The poor girl seemed to think she'd committed some sort of grave crime.

He groaned, cutting her off. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I've gotten hurt worse from tripping over a root."

Shaking her arms off his shoulders, he gave her his usual dull look. "Next time you want to say hi, I'd rather you didn't fall on me, though. What are you up to out here?"

[Rin]

Her cheeks reddening in embarrassment, a relieved smile danced across her lips. Rolling her eyes back, she breathed out a sigh and loosened her tense shoulders. She lifted a hand to brush her bangs out of her face, and looked up at him to reply.

"Oh, what I was doing? Um, well, Emi was-I was.. shooting? Ah, no, not shooting, practicing. With these," She chirped, motioning her head to the bow and quiver that hung on he shoulders behind her.

The red light of the perpetual setting sun flooded in through the canopy of the trees, dappling everything in golden specks. Emiliene let her hands fall to her sides as she stared up at Konaa. The brown hair that hung over his eyes shaded his always tired expression. She silently wondered if he was truly as bored as he appeared.

"What were you doing.. then?"

[blazingTactician]

"Oh, me? I was...well, same as you, I guess. I was training. With this thing." He heaved the black sword up, showing it to her.

"Funny looking, isn't it? But I like to get practice in with it regardless. Don't ask me why."

Yeah, he definitely wasn't going to mention that he felt compelled to do this. That would be enough to paint anyone as a total loony bin. Oh hey, I was training cause this sword told me to. Yeah. Not gonna happen.

"I was about done anyway."