Fraener lay there as Aetheiria ran her fingers through his hair, calming his frayed nerved and soothing him. The training had visibly taken a toll on him, as he looked a little sallow, his skin was slightly moist, and his eyes were lackluster an unfocused. So he lay there and recovered as she calmed him. "Not easy was it?" he heard her say out loud. "Not at all easy, love. It was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. And I still only managed a fist-sized rock in the end. I don't know how you do it" he said weakly. Aetheiria shrugged and said, "I just have a natural affinity for magic. And you are a better fighter. I believe that is one reason we've been paired." She continued to rub Fraener's head and he sighed in contentment. "I really appreciate this training Aetheiria. I think we should continue in a few days. But first, tomorrow, I need to teach you how to fight. They cuddled up together where they were, a little bit off of where they were training. The fiery sun was low in sky, and steadily lowering behind the mountains, painting the sky a mix of oranges and pinks. Aetheiria rested her head on Fraener's chest as he had his arm around her. It wasn't in a romantic sense, as it would have seemed to an outsider, but just exhaustion. It was comforting to have someone to hold after a rough day.<br/><br/>They awoke the next morning a little bit away from each other. Aetheiria was laying on her stomach to Fraener's left, and he was on his back.<span style="font-style: italic">I feel much better after that rest. I wonder if Aetheiria is up to the sword training today.</span>he thought to himself.  He looked over to her once again and wondered at her beauty, even in human form. Most dragons found the human form to be unpleasing, but Fraener quite liked it. He found the slenderness of their lithe bodies appealing. Their long flowing hair was almost as attractive, as long as it was a yellow or brown color. The rare red-hairs were creepy. He stood up and stretched, popping his back as the smell of the forest and stone filled his nostrils. He walked over to Aetheiria and gently shook her awake. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes as her shirt fell even lower off her shoulder. "Whaa..." she asked, still groggy. She stood up and stretched as well, waking up fully. "You let me stand here with my shirt like this?!" she yelled at Fraener as she fixed her clothes. Fraener ran a hand through his hair and just shrugged. "You looked fine to me. Saw no reason to bother you. Anyway, you up for some sword play?" he asked. She nodded and sent feelings of excitement and nervousness to Fraener, and they ate some leftover deer they had brought.<br/><br/>Fraener and Aetheiria stood facing each other, back in the clearing from the day before. Not much had changed over night. The glen was still a vibrant green, make the gray stone stand out even more. They both drew their swords, and Fraener said, "Now come at me like you normally would." She nodded and moved steadily forward, approaching Fraener as he stood his ground, waiting. She was within sword reach and lunged forward with a wide, powerful attack. Fraener lept to the right and used his blade to push hers away as he moved out of danger. He then brought the sword up and behind her head, touching her neck. "You have a lot of power and drive, as well as intelligence in your approach." he said, lowering his blade and stepping back. "But you need to learn when to strike. The key is wait for your opponent to strike first, if you have the time." he explained to her. She got a little defensive and said, "In the real world, you don't have time to just stand there and wait for the ten guys attacking you to just rush." Fraener said, "If you are skilled enough, you can kill those ten men without even taking 4 steps backward. You'll have time to hit them one at a time as they attack, spinning between them and striking like so." He spun and stabbed at invisible foes, looking as though he were on a dance floor, seducing multiple partners. Fraener had Aetheiria practice over and over twirling around him and attacking him with her scabbard. "You're improving quickly. Excellant. I think I'll even have some bruises from where you've slipped through." he said, proud. "I think I'm starting to get what you're on about. With the self control and dancing motions." she conceded. Fraener rubbed Aetheiria's sore arms from behind, leaned forward, and whispered, "What do you want to do now?"