It was then that she felt a hand grab her wrist, and when she looked back, she saw the boy she thought of as her little brother holding on to her, his teeth biting into his lower lip. It was a worried expression that Tiva hadn't seen on Nayavu's face ever since the day she'd dragged him near wolves' territory to play.
"What's up with you?" the young woman asked, but Nayavu was at a loss for words. All he did was hold onto her, keeping the lady from facing the battlefield.
At first, Tiva's eyes stood open wide, confused by the tight grip holding her back, but after a bit of thinking, her confused gaze turned into a kind smile.
"Nayavu… You've seen my new trick already… I may not be as strong as our cursed hero over here, but don't tell me that's how much you trust me…" she said, wanting to add one more reason for Nayavu not to worry.
"After all, I know—"
"Water magic, right? Just like them," the boy interrupted her. "Using the same type of magic as an experienced mage will—"
"Give them the victory?" Tiva said, paying Nayavu back for not letting her finish earlier, but the boy had a point.
With a "hmm," Tiva put her free hand to her chin, thinking of a way to get her hardheaded brother to let go of her.
The next moment, while Tiva was still looking for a solution, water spikes rose from beyond the wall, facing directly towards the battlefield.
Finding her moment to shine, the young woman smirked back at Nayavu.
"Then I'll just have to surprise everyone with my amazing skills!"
Thus proclaimed the girl before pulling her hand back. Once free, she ran for the wall and stretched her hand, having the water spikes freeze over with just her thoughts.
"Tiva's come to save the day!" the young lady said with her fingers in the shape of a "V."
The one to intercept her was Giovanni, who wasted no time and came running towards her, leaving his stunned general behind.
With his sword pulled out and a stream of water coming to his aid from somewhere far away, the lieutenant aimed for the girl's head and took a swing. The girl dodged with ease, put her palms on the ground, and kicked Giovanni in the chin. The first point was hers.
"But I don't think it's going to be that easy," Tiva expressed her worry.
In that short exchange, the white-haired lady tried to grab the water stream coming at Giovanni three times, yet his hold on it was way above what Tiva could do, and that spelled trouble for her.
His eyes shutting tight, and his straight face turning into a creepy frown, Giovanni spoke words meant to taunt the girl for her lack of ability.
"What? Can't freeze flowing water?"
Unlike his previous attempt, Giovanni had learned from his mistakes, and now he kept the water spinning as fast as he could, keeping enough frost from forming on it to solidify the whole thing.
With a drop of sweat and a worried smile, Tiva found herself in a difficult position.
"No no no, that won't do. Their big guy is just standing there in a daze for some reason. You have to win this battle before he comes to his senses. Focus, Tiva!" she said, slapping both of her cheeks.
"I know!" she shouted, as if the slaps were the trigger she needed. With swift moves, Tiva did a couple more flips backwards until her hands touched on an icicle lying on the grass. By the time she got to lift it, the ice spike had turned into a beautiful sword—a sword Tiva had no idea how to use.
"But at least we both have the same toy now!" she said as she lifted more icicles in the air, partly flustered that Giovanni seemed to have an advantage.
By opening his eyes wide and pursing his lips, Giovanni adopted another unfitting expression. Although creeped out, Tiva was right to interpret it as him getting ready for the melee round, and they both lunged at one another, the elements helping them launch attacks from every direction.
*****
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Tatanka simply stood there, behind the wall, looking in stupor at how the girl he had helped raise was using a type of magic never before seen in the village. It was rare for the man to let himself be caught off guard, but thankfully, the one at fault was on their side.
"Don't look so surprised!" Nayavu helped bring the giant back to reality with a slap on the back. "Now that she knows both water and stone, moving ice around should come to her as natural as walking!"
The boy said that, using his years of experience to assure his mentor that what Tiva was doing was just a byproduct of her training, but what he didn't mention was that his experience also taught him that there was one more piece to this puzzle.
When did she learn to cool things down like that? Nayavu asked himself, doing his best to hide his amazement from the man next to him.
In front of them, an amazing fight unfolded. Water cut through ice. Ice deflected water. A rapier slashed through the air, and an improvised ice sword parried it, while hordes of people fought further in the back.
The moment of admiration was only broken by Tatanka, who had something troubling him.
"The thunderbird. Where did it go?"
Having left during the first attack, the elemental beast was yet to come back, but Nayavu wasn't troubled about it.
"That one? Let her do her own thing. She's too proud to stay here and take orders regardless."
Taking one more look at Tiva, the proud younger brother climbed off the back of his stag and spoke to the man holding the back line.
"As much as I love watching them, the girl's in trouble. Can I leave things here to you, Tatanka?"
With a "hm," the man gave Nayavu the signal to go, and the timing couldn't have been better, for at that moment, a giant wave rose more than five meters over the forest behind the Reman army, soon to swallow everything.
Everyone froze upon seeing death before their eyes, and only a stern voice posed a question in the distance.
"Speak, woman! How come a savage like you knows such magic?"
"Shit! He's back!" Nayavu screamed, surprised by the huge quantity of water Aurelio could handle. There was no time to question whether it had always been there or it was transmuted because of the mistake of giving the general too much time.
One thing was clear. It had to be stopped, and an exchange of glances was enough to split the tasks between Tatanka and Nayavu.
As such, in the end, both of them ran forth. Nayavu ran straight for Aurelio, making it a four-way fight between the two youngsters and the two Reman leaders, while Tatanka ran as fast as he could, using body enhancement to get behind the Reman flanks so he could face the wave.
Face-to-face with the incoming threat, the giant man planted his foot into the soil, raising both of his hands as high as he could.
"Don't tell me you're going to try and catch that."
Unsure whose voice spoke to him, Tatanka turned his head.
"Nayavu's 'Master,'" he said. "Even with this body, I can't just catch all of that."
"Of course you can't!" said Ayanda, puzzled by Tatanka's empty answer. "So then why are you here? Don't expect me to help with this."
"No, that's fine."
"Because even if I wanted to… Wait, what?"
Ayanda's confused gaze wouldn't budge from the man ready to face the biggest wave he had seen in his life, not understanding what he meant by "fine."
"You're going to die if you don't evacuate. Is that fine with you?" Ayanda asked, adopting the same stern expression that Tatanka wore.
Instead of giving the woman an answer, the man decided to focus on the incoming threat. By now, stray droplets escaping Aurelio's grasp were splashing his face, yet the man didn't even bother to blink.
Instead, he balled both of his fists, and with a strong roar, he started moving the ground in front of them.
"RAAAAHHHHH!"
As if his scream was the one doing the work, the ground trembled before the man and shattered. A giant stone wall rose towards the sky, but it was taking its sweet time.
Behind Tatanka, two armies that were busy clashing now stood still, watching the one who tried to save their lives. From the Reman gazes, it was clear that most of those soldiers were unaware of Aurelio's strategy.
"Tatanka! Tatanka! Tatanka!" screams resounded from the crowds—the screams of fellow Inyankarans—pushing the giant to surpass his limits.
But it was Ayanda who, although looking with much interest, delivered the cruel reality of the situation.
"At this pace, you won't make it."
Already aware of what she insisted to put into cruel words, Tatanka had to think of a solution, yet the droplets of sweat that mixed with the water on his forehead were proof that he was already doing everything he could.
Unable to raise the wall quickly enough, Tatanka opened his fists and let down his arms. No, he didn't just let them hang. The man shoved his fingers into the stone he had managed to raise, and as his skin gained a red hue, Tatanka pushed through his legs.
Under Ayanda's gaze—who was barely able to hide her excitement behind a stoic facial expression—Tatanka combined the two types of magic he knew, literally pulling a giant stone out of the ground in order to give the wall the speed it needed to rise.
"Tatanka! Tatanka! Tatanka!" the Inyankarans screamed, and with nobody else to fend for them, the Romans joined one by one.
"Punishment may come, but at least we'll live to see another day!" the soldiers shouted, defying logic by chanting the name of the one commanding the enemy army.
"Hmm…" was the sound the thunder representative let out as the corners of her mouth turned upwards slightly, and with a nod of her head, she pointed just one finger at the savior.
Suddenly, Tatanka's legs straightened, and with newfound strength, he was able to raise a wall as tall as the wave.
Smashing into stone, the water barely splashed onto the battleground. Nobody was hurt, and the man who had saved everyone was for some reason rubbing his ass.
"Was that you?" the man asked, confused by the zap that he felt seconds ago—the zap that forced a final push out of him.
The woman towards whom that question was posed didn't answer. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders, closed her eyes, and smiled at Tatanka.
"You have other things to worry about."
Ayanda was right. Within seconds, the fight between Remans and Inyankarans was back in full swing. Without thinking twice, the giant man smashed his fists together, and his muscles tensed up, ready to rip through his skin.
"Tatanka," the woman called his name, and the man turned his gaze towards her.
"If there is anyone that kid should call 'master,' that's you."
Receiving the representative's approval, Tatanka nodded and turned back towards the battlefield.
"Thank you for taking care of him," he said, and dashed towards his next hurdle.