The Ever War: Chapter 1.9

Josh awoke to bright sunshine. Voices and other sounds came through his window. He stretched and yawned as he sat up. As he got ready for the new day, he went over everything that had happened yesterday. He groaned. After telling his story yesterday, and his father's revelation of the war, he had begun to realize that this was all much bigger than he had thought. He sighed. He had combat training in the afternoon, after spending all morning with his dad and Sarah in the massive archives below the main chamber.

He had met his combat instructor, the male Jild, Jakul. He frowned. He had defeated a Dark Dragon, but was intimidated by an upright dog? He shook his head, no, he shouldn't think of them like that. He still had that stereotypical human thinking that all "aliens" were all humanoid. Grant it, in a way, most of the species he had seen were human-like, but they were all definitely non-human. The Katars were a fascinating race. The three that lived in the temple were priest and priestess, with the priestess' mate living with her, but there were several families that dwelt within the city. The Jilds were mates, and were the only two of their species living on Hayat. The birdlike anthro was an interesting creature. He was at least three centuries, but even he wasn't sure how old he was. His race was called the Neet. Their world had been destroyed a millennium ago, and now he was one of the only ones left. The rest of his race now dwelt in the mountain range to the north of Celestial, the capital of Hayat. He hadn't learned what the other races were called yet, but that was going to be apart of his lessons.

He sighed and looked into the mirror again. The last time he looked in one, a stranger had looked back, but now...

He quickly finished dressing, the clothes were in the same style as his father and the rest of the races that wore clothing, which consisted of brown leather boots, tan leggings, a red tunic, and an orange vest. Honestly, he sort of liked it. As odd as it sounded, he felt as though he was clothed with fire. He answered the door to find Sarah standing there. Her hair was tied back, and she was dressed in a flowing gown of the same style that he had seen the priestesses wearing. A thin line of silver helped keep her hair in place.

She blushed slightly under his gaze and averted her eyes. "I was sent to get you for the morning meal."

He smiled and offered her his arm. "Well then, shall we be on our way?"

She laughed and took his arm. "Always the gentleman."

Josh thought a moment, then said, "Not always. A warrior can't always be a gentleman."

She smiled and her eyes sparkled. She stopped and turned to face him. "No, not always." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. For saving my life and risking your own for my protection."

He caressed her cheek before gently taking one of her hands and kissing it. She blushed at the gesture. At that moment, a Katar, the priestess, came around the corner. She smiled at the sight she found. "You were taking so long, I came to find you. And here I find the two of you sharing a moment, as you humans say." She chuckled.

The two blushed at her words, but Josh chuckled. "Well, we are going to be pretty busy today."

The Katar nodded her head. "Yes, you do have your work cut out for you. Sarah, I also wanted to let you know, that I will be helping James with your training, just as he will be working with Josh as well."

Sarah's eyes lit up. "So, I actually get to learn magic?"

The Katar laughed. "My dear girl, you have already used it!! You healed yourself, remember?"

Her eyes widened. "You mean, I did that?" The priestess nodded.