Chapter 14: Training

                                    

                                          
"Coll-Phoenix. Do You Have Some Time?"
	Colletta was holding a bottle of water and wiping her sweat with a towel when Blue suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She paused her movement before sighing. Her brows furrowed slightly inward.
	"You can use 'Colletta' if you wish to. Just... don't use it in front of others." She opened the water bottle and took several gulps out of it.
	Blue's eye lights turned into stars. "O-Oh! Well Then... I Want To Apologize On Behalf Of Apate. I Heard From Stretch About What Happened Before The Terrorist Attack. She Shouldn't Have Said Such Cruel Things To You." His eye lights reverted into blue-ringed eye lights. They dimmed significantly making her feel guilty even when she shouldn't.
	"I'm sorry, but I cannot accept your apology." He frowned and looked down at his shoes. His actions remind her of a kicked puppy. "Apate was the one who said it, not you. She should be the one coming over to apologize to me. Next time, do not apologize for something you have never done." Disdain flooded her mind as she thought about Apate. 
	She set the bottle and towel on the bench. "Is there anything else you want to talk to me about? I need to go back to my training."
	Blue picked at his fingers before raising his head to show a serious expression. "I Also Want To Apologize For Running Through A Clearly Dangerous Area And Put You In An Even More Dangerous Situation. Although I Was Worried About My Brother, I Should Have Known Better Than To Blindly Rush Into Danger."
	Colletta gave him a small smile. "Apology accepted. I understand your actions. Your brother was bound by chains and Husk was trying to kill him. Monsters are sensitive to intent, no? The lingering killing intent must have frazzled your senses."
	"But Still..."
	"No harm was done. Just don't attempt that ever again."
	"Of Course..."
	There was an awkward silence in the air. Colletta rubbed the back of her neck before picking up the bottle and towel. "I'll be taking my leave, then."
	"W-Wait!"
	She steeled herself to be grabbed but couldn't feel his hand on her arm. She turns around to see Blue snatching his hand back. Ah, so he did learn from his previous actions.
	"Listen, Blue. I appreciate that you came to me to make amends, but you're making this far more suspicious than it needs to be." She wrung the sweat-soaked cloth in her hands. "I'm sorry for being antagonistic, but one doesn't suddenly appear out of thin air to talk about... this. What do you truly want?"
"Can I... Train With You?" Blue blurted out before grimacing. He quickly shook his hands as if to prevent a misunderstanding. "N-Not That I Have Malicious Intent Or A-Anything! I Only Want To Train Myself And You Have Some Battle Experience So I..."
Colletta blinked at him and then again. She took a moment to process his words before slowly responding, "I... Sure, I guess." Blue brightened at her agreement. "But, Black and Edge also have some experience in fighting. Why are you don't you ask them instead?"
He averts his eyes. "Well... They Are Very Busy At This Time. Plus, They Have A Higher Position Than Me And I'm On My Break." She noticed the vagueness in his sentences but didn't think too much about it. Knowing their personalities, it may as well be true.
"I'm not a good teacher either, so you may face extreme difficulties learning from me."
"I'll Take What I Can Get."
"Alright. If you say so," she shrugged. She took out her phone and sent a quick message to everyone that she was going to train with Blue. "You should probably text something to your family. We're not on friendly terms and I don't want to be attacked by them."