His eyebrow rose. “Lustful Flame,” he called out without turning around. “You can come out now.”

  Giggling erupted from behind a nearby boulder, and a girl emerged with a dancer’s grace. She appeared the same age as Hardheaded. Lustful Flame was the kind of beautiful that made people walk into walls.

  Her crimson hair fell in waves past her shoulders, seeming to glow like embers in the dying sunlight. Her amber eyes sparkled with mischief above high cheekbones and full lips curved in a perpetual smirk. She wore the traditional reds and golds of the Fire Heart Tribe, though her traveling clothes showed more skin than strictly necessary.

  “Took you long enough to notice!” she laughed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “I could have gutted you three times over!”

  “I should have known you would follow me,” Hardheaded grumbled, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “That mischievous nature of yours is too much.”

  “Oh don’t be so sour, you boulder,” she teased, sauntering closer with an exaggerated sway in her step. “Terraquills have great scouting ability with the whole sensing-through-stone thing. You should have detected me hours ago, Hardheaded!” Her laughter rang out again.

  “Shut up,” he shot back. “Honestly, who names their daughter Lustful? They should have called you Ruinous Flame!”

  “That name’s taken,” she said with a wink. “Plus, my mom is the hottest chick in the tribe - HA! Hottest, see what I did there?” She moved her hands across her feminine curves. “Anyway, your parents were spot on with you, hard head!”

  “You want another go?” Hardheaded’s hands clenched into fists.

  “Let’s go!” Lustful Flame dropped into a fighting stance. “Just because your Quill slows down aging to make you look the same age as me doesn’t make you as talented as me, we both know you’re four years older. And even with those extra years of training I’ll still kick your ass!”

  They clashed in the center of the clearing. Hardheaded’s style was exactly what one would expect from the Rockpounding Tribe - solid stances, devastating straight punches, and an immovable defense. He moved like an avalanche, slow but inevitable.

  His first punch came straight forward, no wasted motion, aimed directly at her center mass. Lustful Flame twisted aside at the last second, the wind from his fist ruffling her hair as it passed inches from her face.

  Lustful Flame danced around him like a wildfire. Where he was rigid, she flowed. Her kicks whipped out in flashing arcs, never staying in one place long enough for him to grab her. She’d dart in with rapid strikes then spin away before he could counter.

  She launched into a spinning heel kick aimed at his temple. Hardheaded raised his forearm, absorbing the impact with a grunt, then immediately grabbed for her ankle. But she was already pulling back, using his block as a springboard to launch herself away in a backflip.

  “Too slow!” she taunted, landing in a crouch.

  Hardheaded didn’t waste breath on words. He advanced with measured steps, hands up in a boxer’s guard. When she darted in with rapid jabs toward his ribs, he turned his body, letting the strikes glance off his thick muscles while throwing a devastating uppercut.

  She bent backward like a reed in wind, the punch whistling over her face. Her hands touched the ground briefly as she flipped away, but Hardheaded was already adjusting. His massive hand shot out, catching her wrist mid-flip.

  For a moment she dangled there, caught, but her free hand lashed out in a palm strike toward his elbow joint. He released her rather than risk the lock, and she rolled away gracefully.

  He countered, suddenly dropping low and sweeping her legs.

  She jumped, but he’d anticipated it. His hand shot up, catching her ankle and yanking her earthward. She hit the ground hard but rolled with it, coming up with grass in her hair and fire in her eyes.

  “Now you’ve done it,” she hissed.

  Both pulled on their Quills simultaneously.

  Stone erupted across Hardheaded’s body. Thick plates formed over his ribs, shielding his vital organs, while bands of rock coiled around his forearms and fists, forging natural gauntlets. Jagged growths encased his shins and kneecaps like crude greaves. The partial armor restricted his movements slightly, but left him mobile enough to fight.

  Lustful Flame’s hands ignited, flames dancing between her fingers. “Let’s see how your rocks handle this!”

  She thrust her palms forward, launching fist-sized bolts of fire. Hardheaded crossed his stone-covered arms, the flames splashing harmlessly against his defense. She was already moving, circling to find an opening.

  He circled his arms, and head-sized rocks erupted from the ground, flying toward her with tremendous force. She twisted between them, bursting fire which propelled her slightly giving her a seemingly unnatural flexibility.

  “Stand still!” he growled.

  “Make me!” She took a deep breath, then exhaled a stream of fire.

  Hardheaded dove to the side, feeling the heat wash over him. His armor protected him from the worst of it, but exposed skin reddened. He retaliated by punching the ground, sending a line of stone spikes racing toward her.

  She cartwheeled aside, using the motion to launch more fire bolts. This time, they struck the gaps in his armor, making him curse.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  They were so focused on their battle that neither noticed the tremors at first. Not until the ground shook hard enough to make them both stumble.

  “Did you do that?” Lustful Flame asked, fire still flickering around her hands.

  “No,” Hardheaded said slowly. “Something big’s coming.”

  The first ogre burst from the treeline with a roar that shook leaves from branches. The massive humanoid creature stood fourteen feet tall, its brutish features twisted in primitive rage. Leathery blue skin covered bulging muscles, and yellowed tusks jutted from its lower jaw. The chieftain wore stolen armor - mismatched plates held together with leather straps, trophies from past victims. Behind it, four more ogres emerged, each wielding massive clubs or entire tree trunks as weapons, their bloodshot eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.

  “Really? Ogres? Here?” Lustful Flame breathed.

  “Yeah, they usually don’t come outside of forests.” Hardheaded agreed.

  The chieftain’s eyes fixed on them. It barked orders in its guttural language, and the other four spread out to flank them.

  “Heh, Ogres aren’t common in the Stormy Isles. I heard they are all over the place across the seas in the Verdant Expanse, so this fight is a treat!” Hardheaded said, his eyes glimmering with cold threat.

  “Haha, there’s that fire! Let’s do this! Hehehe!” Lustful Flame replied.

  All five ogres charged at once.

  Hardheaded met the first head-on, raising his stone-covered forearm to block the massive club. The weapon crashed against his rocky armor with thunderous force, spider-web cracks spreading across the stone. Without missing a beat, he drove his other fist into the creature’s knee. Stone exploded forward with tremendous impact, the ogre’s knee buckled—but the beast shifted its weight to the other leg, refusing to drop and roaring in fury as it swung its club horizontally.

  Hardheaded blocked the swing, his stone armor barely protecting him as it cracked and began to shatter against the attack. He withstood the pain and sent another impactful burst of stone fist onto the other knee, forcing the ogre to fall.

  Hardheaded finished it off with a stone-wrapped haymaker to its jaw that snapped its head back, followed by an uppercut that lifted it slightly off the ground. The creature crashed down, blood streaming from its mouth. A final stone spike erupting from the ground through its eye finally ended it.

  Two more ogres came at him from opposite sides. He stomped hard, sending a shockwave through the ground that made them stumble, then launched head-sized rocks at both. One took the projectile in the chest with a thud that knocked the wind from it, doubling it over but not dropping it. The creature wheezed, clutching its chest, then straightened with murder in its bloodshot eyes.

  The other raised its club to block the stone projectile, shattering the rock into fragments. Hardheaded closed the distance the ground partially opened up, just enough to cause the ogre to fall off-balance. Hardheaded took advantage of the opening he created and drove a stone-wrapped uppercut into its jaw. Teeth and tusks went flying, and the ogre’s head snapped back violently—but it stayed on its feet, spitting blood and swinging its club in a wide arc that forced Hardheaded to backstep.

  He caught the ogre’s next downward strike with both hands, stone armor cracking under the pressure. With a roar of effort, he redirected the club aside. The creature roared in protest, its spit and bad breath assaulting Hardheaded’s face and nose. With a sneer, the Terraquill user threw another impact punch—its aim, the creature’s groin.

  The ogre no longer screamed. Instead, it tumbled down with a tear in its eye.

  “Having fun yet?” Lustful Flame laughed, nearby, dancing between two ogres like living flame.

  She slid under a grabbing hand, leaving a trail of fire that ignited the creature’s arm. As it roared in pain, beating at the flames with its other hand, she darted in close and unleashed a concentrated burst of fire directly into the burn, making it worse. The ogre swung wildly with its club, forcing her to backflip away, but she could see the damage accumulating—its arm was charred and blistering.

  She spun and kicked, her foot wreathed in flames, aimed at its ankle tendons. The fire burned through flesh, and the ogre dropped to one knee, but it still swung its club one-handed with enough force to pulverize stone. Lustful Flame had to throw herself flat to avoid the brutal attack.

  “Persistent, aren’t you?” she huffed, rolling away from a grabbing hand.

  The kneeling ogre tried to push itself up, but she was already moving, running up its bent knee to drive a fire-wrapped knee into its throat. The creature gurgled, clutching its neck, and she grinned as she placed both palms in front of its eyes, unleashing a fire blast through them that seared into its skull and finally the creature dropped.

  She sang and hummed as she cartwheeled away from an incoming wild swing.

  The chieftain had been watching its warriors fall, and now it barreled toward Hardheaded with its massive club raised. He met the charge eagerly, both arms reinforced with fresh stone. The club crashed down with bone-jarring force, shattering his rocky plates completely and driving him to one knee.

  But Hardheaded was grinning. He slammed his bare fists against the ground. Stone flowed upward, racing along his arms to reform his armor - thicker and stronger than before. Rising with fresh gauntlets, he immediately drove both fists toward the chieftain’s chest. Stone exploded forward from his gauntlets on impact, the rocky projectiles hammering the creature’s torso while spikes erupted from the ground toward its legs.

  The chieftain staggered but didn’t fall. It swung horizontally with terrible force.

  Hardheaded barely ducked under the swing and came up inside the creature’s guard.

  The fourth ogre tried to flank him, but Lustful Flame intercepted with a concentrated flame burst to its face. She dodged as her own opponent recovered and swung at her.

  The chieftain’s head snapped forward like a battering ram. Hardheaded got his half-formed armor up, but the impact still sent him sliding back, armor cracking.

  Lustful Flame finished her ogre with a fire-wrapped spinning kick to its throat, then caught Hardheaded’s eye and nodded. He nodded back, understanding immediately. She unleashed a focused stream of fire at the chieftain’s face, forcing it to raise its arms defensively. In that moment of blindness, Hardheaded poured everything into one massive strike. A stone spike erupted from the ground with tremendous force, punching through the chieftain’s crude armor and lifting it off its feet.

  Lustful Flame poured more fire onto the impaled creature until it stopped moving.

  The last ogre looked at its dead companions, roared in defiance, and charged them both. Hardheaded planted his feet and raised a stone barrier between them while Lustful Flame darted to the side. The ogre smashed through the barrier, but the impact slowed it just enough for Hardheaded to grab it in a bear hug, his stone gauntlets locking around its torso. Unable to break free, the ogre thrashed wildly until Lustful Flame’s fire finished it off.

  Both warriors stood there panting, covered in sweat, dirt, and ogre blood. Five massive corpses surrounded them. They looked at each other, then simultaneously:

  “Hmph!”

  Lustful Flame turned and walked straight to his rock tent. “I’m taking this one.”

  “Hey!” Hardheaded protested. “That’s mine!”

  “We’re traveling together,” she announced, already making herself comfortable inside. “Good night!”

  “But- I made that for- you can’t just-” He sputtered, watching her curl up on his bedroll.

  “Can and did! Unless you want to share?” She gave him a wink.

  Grumbling under his breath, Hardheaded resignedly brought forth another stone shelter. As he settled into the second tent, he could hear her humming cheerfully from his original one.

  “This is going to be long journey,” he muttered, then closed his eyes and tried to sleep.