✶ · ⊰ @dokitm ⊱ · ✶
As dusk settled, Sebek closed his textbooks. On most days, like clockwork, he'd spend the rest of his freetime exercising until it was time to freshen up for bed, yet when he passed by Silver in the hall, there was a fleeting tug of nostalgia that he couldn't ignore. The suggestion of training together came up, thinking it would fill that unexplainable void. In typical Sebek fashion, however, he dismissed it as pity, or jumped through loopholes to think that spending time with a childhood friend was somehow beneficial to Malleus. That had to be it. In front of others, Sebek was always overzealous in his attempt at being the best, yet once alone, it tempered into a playful rivalry, if it could be called that at all. Despite all his yelling, all his nagging, he knew that there were things he simply couldn't do without Silver. Somehow, they complimented each other in the best of ways. Yet instead of chalking it up to their friendship, Sebek would, once again, try to dismiss it as something emphasized by Lilia's training over the years. It had to be. ❝ You were slipping last time, yet you seem to have woken up to the error of your ways! ❞ he laughed through ragged breath, hunching over to place his hands on his knees and rest for a moment. It had only been an hour since they'd started training, hacking away at each other effortlessly where others struggled to see them. With a grin reserved only for those closest to him, Sebek glanced up and tilted his head toward the elder. ❝ I can't say I'm not impressed. You almost bested me! That doesn't mean you will next time though! ❞