A Tale About Rooftops

"Keep your feet moving, Seren!" Soyeon yelled from the bulwark.

Easy for you to say, you're just sitting there yelling instructions while your sister is having the time of her life pummelling me. Chaeyoung certainly was holding back less since that night — like something unlocked within her after opening up to me.

Now, every night since then, we meet in the rooftop of my apartment to spar — and the rest of the night tends to follow when we're alone again at the bulwark — well, it's only been the third night since then.

Soyeon joined us tonight, saying that she also has nothing else to do in the coven so she might as well keep overseeing my training — even bringing quarterstaffs for me and Chaeyoung to use. She also said that this is a good excuse to avoid the scrutiny of the Moon Guard — the personal force of Joohyun's brother and their counterpart within the Verrathi Coven.

I lunged at Chaeyoung with a thrust aimed at her head, she weaved her head aside calmly, smiling that sultry grin she always wears. She swiped her staff quickly against my thigh, and I was able to block it with the butt end of my staff. Our weapons locked and I rode the momentum, swinging her staff in a high arc and slamming it down the concrete tiles.

I grinned at her, adrenaline pumping in my veins as I was sure that for the first time, I've gained the advantage against Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung grinned back, and my confidence plummeted — she tackled me with her shoulder, then spun with an unfairly graceful roundhouse kick to my abdomen.

I landed with my back on the dusty floor, seeing literal stars in the night sky. I sat up, Chaeyoung was smirking at me while holding both of our staffs in her hands. "Lesson number — I don't know what lesson you both already are —" Chaeyoung chuckled. "But your weapon isn't your only weapon," she extended my staff towards me, I took it and Chaeyoung pulled me up. "The rest of your body is also a weapon," she added with a wink when we were face to face.

"I thought you meant that in a different context, Chaeng," I teased.

"If Soyeon wasn't here, you're gonna get that full context," Chaeyoung whispered back naughtily.

"Alright, are we done flirting?" Soyeon asked lazily, jumping down from the bulwark.

"Flirting never ends, my dear sister," Chaeyoung replied.

Soyeon just huffed, like indulging Chaeyoung with an answer is a waste of time. "Anyway, can I ask you something, Seren?"

"Yeah."

"What's the purpose of all this..." she gestured towards my whole body, "faerie dust on your body?"

I looked down at my body, dust settling just above my skin. "I... uh... I want to keep it active while fighting —"

"For what purpose? Do you hope it would dazzle your opponent or something?" Soyeon dryly interrupted.

I have no answer, because frankly, I don't know.

"You're just wasting energy. Either you find a purpose for that, or focus on your aero senses entirely when in combat."

"I'll... uh... try to find some way to make it useful."

Soyeon huffed, "You're pretty stubborn, huh. Fine. Find your own way of fighting. Just know that maintaining your faerie dust during combat is a detriment to you as you are now."

I then looked at Chaeyoung who shrugged her shoulders. "She has a point."

Soyeon turned to her sister, then rolled her eyes. "And yet you didn't correct him."

"I was trying to —"

"You've been here two nights, Chaeng. I could understand the first, but the second —"

I raised my hand nervously, "Uh.. Are we still talking about training?"

"You both know exactly what I'm talking about," Soyeon sighed in exasperation.

"Remind me who's older between us, Lee Soyeon," Chaeyoung puffed her chest and raised her chin indignantly.

Soyeon scoffed, "Please, our ages stopped mattering when we reached a millennia old."

"No, it did not."

"Then talk to Saerom with how you talk to me."

Chaeyoung scrunched her face in annoyance. Soyeon laughed, a quick and pleasant sound, and also the first time I heard her do so.

"Give it a try, then," our heads snapped into the voice of the third person. Saerom was standing at the bulwark, her red cloak fluttering in the cool night wind, her glaive strapped to her back.

"We're jesting, Saerom," Chaeyoung smiled calmly while she approached her sister. Soyeon just huffed, clearly unbothered.

Saerom raised an eyebrow at her, but otherwise, let the matter go. She dropped from the bulwark, landing gracefully like inertia didn't matter.

"It's good that you're training," Saerom remarked at me.

"Thank you. How are things at the coven? How is Joohyun? She hasn’t been attending classes lately... and she rarely contacts even Jimin," I asked.

"She's..." then Saerom sighed. "She's fine. Frustrated, but otherwise, alright."

"Frustrated why?" I asked.

"I take it the deliberations are over?" Soyeon followed.