---
"Today, we push those higher."
Star flicked his tail, nostrils flaring as if accepting the challenge.
Fenna had already driven the first tent stake into the ground and was lashing it with tar-threaded cord. "I'll scout the perimeter," she said, adjusting her dagger belt. "Thirty-pace radius, mark chalk sigils for direction. We don't want to get spun around in this oven."
She pointed her chalk stick at Star. "Try not to burn the forest down before lunch."
Zephyr cracked his knuckles. "No promises."
Fenna smirked, then vanished into the brush. She was quiet as a shadow.
Zephyr exhaled slowly, then looked at his partner. "Alright, Star. Let's start light."
He pulled the staff from his back. Emberforged wood, iron-laced runes glowing faintly and used it to trace a wide circle in the soot-dusted soil.
"Combat drill one. Target: motion, agility."
Star crouched, eyes locked on his movements. Zephyr bolted left, flicking the staff with a twist. "Dash!"
