"I think it's a false alarm," I assured them.
Jack rattled into his own feathers, which made Keir sigh.
"Someone probably didn't latch it all the way," he said, moving back to his practice spot.
"No storms," my zez finally announced. "Not even a hint, so we're fine."
So I pointed at Jack with one of my practice sticks. "He isn't worried, so I'm not."
"Jack always calls the Hunt before we realize what's going on," Hawke told the rest. "I think we're fine."
"So let's do it again," Bracken said.
We did, then a few more times after that. Blocks, parries, thrusts, lunges, and more footwork than I could keep track of. When Bracken finally told us to cool down and clean up, my legs were shaking from the effort I'd put in.
"Walk it off," Keir told me, gesturing to a spot in front of the long windows. "I'll move the mats."
"We can help," Axel offered, waving Daivon, Bran, and Pascal over.
"What are we helping with?" Pascal asked.
"Setting up for practice with the court," Keir told him, as if the question wasn't weird. "You good for this, or want to let the guys handle it?"
"I'm good," Pascal insisted. "Never felt better."
"I swear he's getting laid," Bran teased.
"Shit," Pascal said, laughing that off. "No, I just think hitting some shit will be nice after being cooped up all weekend."
But Bracken heard that too. "I'm going to be doing paperwork in my office," he said. "If you need anything, let me know, but I think my sentinels can handle whipping the court into shape, right?"
"You know it!" Daivon tossed back.
Hawke just chuckled. "Half the court are sentinels," he pointed out.
"Hence why you'll be able to handle it," Bracken countered. "And Hawke, make sure Aspen starts hitting people today? I don't want her to rely on everyone else to cover her."
"If the worst happens," Bran said as he bent to stretch, "she'll be the last one up. We need to make sure she's good enough to stay that way."
"Shit," Axel said. "You know Torian will be the last standing."
"No," I said, turning to walk back the other way, feeling my legs finally starting to feel normal again. "Tor will make sure Aspen's the last up. Trust me on that."
"Oddly, I do," Axel said.
So when Wilder, Torian, and Aspen arrived, Keir took over. Considering he was Bracken's best student, and had once told me he hoped to become a weapons instructor after he graduated, it made sense. For him, this was practice of a different sort.
"Torian, you're with me," he said. "Aspen, I want you to work with Bran and Daivon. Wilder, you get Axel. Pascal? Can you work with Hawke and Rain?"
That made me give Keir a confused look. He'd picked out Pascal as if he was the one needing training when I was pretty sure it was me more than Hawke. Keir didn't notice, though. Instead, Hawke did.
"We missed something," he whispered as we moved into the center of the room to meet up with Pascal.
"I'm feeling called out," Pascal joked. "Guess this is Keir's way of making sure a few days off didn't make me lose anything, huh?"
Maybe, but I had a feeling it was something else. I wouldn't ask, because they clearly weren't talking about it. Instead, we all warmed up quickly, then found our practice sticks and took our positions.
"We doing a three-way?" I asked. "Or two against one?"
