She was exhausted, it fell over her like the mist fell over the wild when Lous and she went out during the twilight hours when the grass was wet and the moon was full. That was one of Aea's most favorite times, to go out there, with her master, Lous, and be outside the walls and see what there was, go where many mokai had not gone, or would never go. The smells and sounds and sights, they were all wonderful and she loved every minute. She smiled thinking about it, the possibilities of what lay beyond, when Lous went off in groups of by herself. Aea wanted to go, but, she wasn't allowed. Huffing Aea sat by herself waiting for Lous to come home to their small house. Aea was allowed to be here instead of the stalls. Aea didn't like it there much not knowing many individuals. She felt out of place, like if the moon was constantly in the sky during the day, if the sun showed up in the night, it would be strange, unwelcome, unsightly, and weird.

It was how she felt, but, she also felt a great happiness. She had won, and tied, already.

She was undefeated.

However, she had injured herself.

She had to keep her focus, and use her strength only when it mattered most, only when she knew she could handle the power that coursed through her veins.

"Aea, you ready?" Lous asked, coming out from the shadows. There was a smile on her face, and her hair was wet and stuck to her exposed skin on her neck and collar bone. Aea tilted her head as Lous opened the gate, but held out no leash.

"Train, we go train today, come," and Aea immediately grew happy. They were going to go out, go out into the woods! But, as Aea locked to the sky, it was growing dark, and it was beyond the misting hours. What were they going to do? The moon was half full, its face brightly shone against the navy blue sky, and Aea was confused. As they walked passed the guards, Lous waving as they did so, the guards waving back, they began to descend into the woods.

Were they going to hunt, fish, play?

Train, how could they train?

They walked for a long while, until everything was dark. They heard noises, growls at one point, and Lous took out a flare and lit it and everything grew quiet. Aea's eyes were alert, she watched as the ground seemed still but everything else seemed to move. "Watch," Lous said to Aea, "watch, and see the lines, you love lines, color, but you can't stay focused long enough." Aea huffed at the statement, even though it was true. "Come on, last fight for example, the striped boy, you were fascinated by him weren't you?" Lous asked looking over her shoulder to Aea, and Aea looked away, a small smile on her face thinking of J-Dub and his stripes, splotches, and voice. "See, even now, not focused, we are going to fix that. Come," Lous said picking up the pace. She began to job, hopping over rocks and logs and the trigs crunched under her weight, Aea followed. But soon, Lous was going fast, as she was able to as she had the flare. Aea was falling behind.

"Come on Aea, think, see what is before you, look," and Lous kept running and soon they hit water and Lous dipped the flare, it going out, and Lous disappeared.

Aea went into a panic.

She began barking, howling, calling, but Lous didn't answer. She paced back and forth. What kind of training was this? Was Lous crazy? Aea called again, but heard nothing in return, however, she heard…movement. Her eyes went to the underbrush, and the moon, half lit, half faced, shone down. Aea could see the outline of the leaves, the trees, and the stream itself.

Aea walked into the stream and looked around as the water passed by her and she raised her nose, sniffing, Lous was near, but where? She heard footsteps, and the trees began swaying. Aea's eyes went everywhere.

"Focus Aea, be smart!" Lous called, and soon, Lous jumped form the darkness out towards Aea, trying to grab her, Aea knew this training, this game, and Aea ducked and jumped out of the way.

Lous retreated back into the darkness, poising for her next attack, next spar, but Aea was reveling in what happened. She had focused, and she had seen it. She had seen Lous coming.

They went back and forth and Aea was beginning to understand what Lous had brought her out here to do. It was like a kaleidoscope of lines in the dim light, but without color. Lous added that next with a few flares, different colors, to skew the angles and lighting and lines Aea was trying to focus on. Aea had to be smart, focus hard and be intelligent about her decisions, her movement, but she knew she could do it. She knew she could do this. Smiling as she kept dodging and reeling back to place a paw on Lous where she could, they tagged back and forth, when Lous could touch her, until Lous was unable to touch Aea's fur and only Aea was able to touch Lous where she wished.

She was able to see, focus, she had learned.

"Good girl, Aea, my Aea," Lous said coming out from the darkness, kneeling down to touch Aea's face as Aea stood in the stream. Aea felt the smooth stones underpay and closed her eyes as Lous held her head in her hands. SHe felt content, strong, and she felt like she would do what it took to make Lous proud. She wanted to remain undefeated, and she had to keep learning.

She would do what she must, she was Aea, a fighter, a fire, and most of all, she was Lous', and for that, she was glad.

"Come on," Lous said softly, "Let's go home."

And they walked together, sparring partners, friends, family, back towards the compound, the settlement. But they both knew home would only be where the other was.