Path of the Hunters [PART 2]

"Well... Since your class is ruined, we 'ave a free day."

"I guess we do, huh? Why don't we do something you wanna do?"

She lifted a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since I've done a death hunt, and to be honest, I'm a little out of practice. Unless, of course, you had something else in mind."

"A death 'unt is 'ardly the thing for now," she mused, lips curving.

He shrugged. "So, what's the 'something else?'"

"I do not know yet."

He smirked. "Here's some inspiration." He brought his face to hers, pressing their lips together.

Aurélie slid her arms around him, pressing close and she let herself sink into the kiss.

Nova wrapped his own arms around her, deepening the kiss.

She pressed as close as she could, feeling as if it were a mistake, but not wanting to end this... Her lips parted, inviting him in.

His own lips parted, tongue moving to dance with hers...

"Oh, my God! Is everyone all right!?"

He broke away suddenly, seeing Elesis burst through the door, a wildly anxious look in her eyes. She blinked and blushed when she realized what she stepped in on. "Uh... oops?"

Nova grumbled. He knew the echidna would recover fast, but couldn't she have waited like five more minutes?

Aurélie blew out a breath. She didn't know if she was relieved or annoyed by her entrance. "Everyone is fine. Nova sent them 'ome."

"Oh! What a relief. More over to see you okay, Aurélie. I can't believe I was about to kill you! I'm so sorry!"

"Elesis, breathe!" Nova commanded.

The echidna did as she was told, taking a deep inhale, then exhaling smoothly. "Thanks, Nova. I feel a lot better now."

"Good. Now go home, get off your feet, wait for Mani to swing by. I'm sure Briggs let her know by now."

"Mani's been and gone, man. Didn't make it two blocks before bumpin' into her."

The wolf raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was convenient."

The dog smiled. "Well, if nothing else, you are certainly a good fighter."

"Yeah, Elesis. You're gettin' better. I didn't think you'd make it that long before you lost it."

"Yeah, I guess I-Wait... You expected me to lose it!?"

"Don't go puttin' words in my mouth," he responded innocently.

Aurélie lifted a brow. "Nova, did you really pit me against 'er knowing she would snap as she did...?"

"Look..." Nova took a more serious tone. "The whole reason she's even here is to learn to keep a lid on it. If she snaps, she has enough power to instantly burn a city block to cinders, or worse. Because of her short temper, this makes her extremely volatile.

"The point of pittin' her against you was to see how long she could last before snapping. I figured she'd last a much shorter time against someone she's unfamiliar with in battle, rather than one of us. And I was right."

Sighing, the dog shook her head. "Temper can be a blessing and a curse, non?"

"No kidding," Elesis said, looking down at her hands, clenched them. "Sometimes... just thinking about that time makes me so angry..."

"Which is why you need to control that anger. Not just you; this applies to everyone in life. Maybe not on our level, but the same principle applies: anger doesn't make a single thing better." Nova's head fell slightly. He should know more than anyone...

The dog shook her head, saying nothing. Anger had helped her develop her skills. Controlling it had helped her perfect it... Though even she lost that control at times.

Nova looked back up at Elesis. "Go home, comfort Briggs, or have him comfort you, whichever comes first."

"Yeah... You two take care, all right?"

The wolf gave her a nod, and with that, she was gone.

"What is 'er relationship with Briggs?"

"Well, starting out, Briggs was her personal trainer, helping her control her anger. I trusted him with this, because he'd been by my side since I first started my gang life, like a brother I never had. Soon enough, those two developed an intimate relationship. They've been goin' strong for about a year now."

She nodded. "Mm... Well... Now what?"