CHAPTER 15: Negotiating

Throughout the week, the apprentices learn and improve. Gren's able to bench press five pounds more. Komo hits a new top speed. And both practice in Symulated battles. The water coated shuriken strikes the shield, and the gladiator pins the ninja down. Percy jabs his sheathed katana at Komo, but she deflects it with her arm guard. The mentor swings his blade down, and Gren blocks it with his shuriken.

After their seventh day of exhausting training, the teens faceplant onto the living room floor. Dove sips from her coffee mug in the recliner. '#1 Mom' it says. "Really? You two couldn't make it to the couch?" *groans* Little Penelope walks over to the tired teens and begins to hop on their backs. POP! "Ack!" POP! "Oof! Make her stop!" Percy slides the back door shut and says, "Massages are good for you. Keeps you nimble and relieves a lot of stress after a good workout." *groans*

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Later that night, Gren lays in bed in his light blue pajamas. With three taps to his phone a group call with three other members begins. "Komo!" he shouts to the wall. "What!?" "Join the call!" "Uugghh..." The annoyed girl in a black tee and shorts joins the top right corner, then Delle and Ellia fill the bottom two squares. "Hi Gren! Hi Ellia!" the joyful Delle lays on her bed in a pink, bathrobe with her red hair up in a ponytail. She then realizes that the shield bearer that took her out of the tournament is also in the call. "Oh...Hi Komo. How are-" "I'm hungry."

Komo leaves the camera's frame, giving Ellia the chance to voice her frustrations. "Ugh, she's so rude. Can't we have this call without her?" Gren frantically waves his arms to get her to stop and says, "Shh!! She can still hear you!" The pixie in a purple tank-top rolls her eyes, the background in her camera being a lake view. "Ellia, where are you right now?" asks Delle, trying to change the subject. "Above Bron's house. See?" The phone angles down to show the multiple homes below, then flips out of her hand. "Oh sh-" A few dizzying seconds later, the camera points to Ellia's wide eyes. "Phew! That was close!"

At this point Komo returns with a bag of chips, and Delle starts the apprentice chat with an idea. "So let's go around and tell each other about our training so far. Who wants to go first?" Ellia smiles big in front of her phone as she says, "Meeeee! So I already knew I was good at archery, but I've been hitting the targets and-" *munch* "And the scores I've been-" *crunch* "MY SCORES ARE REALLY GOOD!! Can someone mute her!?" Gren's camera shows him trying to figure out how, while Komo puts her phone under her chin at an unflattering angle. The crunch of a single chip overloads the mic. "Nope! I'm done!"

Ellia's square goes blank, causing Delle to become upset. "Komo! Look what you did! You need to tell her you're sorry." Instead of listening, Komo drops her phone on the couch and replies, "Nope." She then proceeds to fake punch the camera and ends her call by landing on it butt first.

Only two remain in the team meeting, and the call's format adjusts to show the videos larger. "Umm," Delle nervously says, "I imagine she's fun to train with." "Ugh, she's like my complete opposite! In every way!" The girl in a pink robe giggles. "You know people say opposites attract, right?" Gren blushes and repeatedly denies the theory. "No! It's not like that! She just doesn't get along with me. I've tried to get her to be friends, but she's...we're too different."

Delle looks somewhat sad as she rolls over in bed with the phone. With her red ponytail falling up she asks, "Have you tried hanging out with her?" "Yeah, we train together every day." "No, not that. Like, going somewhere. Anywhere you can do fun stuff. Playing arcades, watching a movie, going to the lake pier." Gren scratches his neck as he thinks of what to say. "Percy doesn't let us leave the house after dinner. He's kinda strict on us. Is Kurt like that?"

The suggestion of her mentor being strict makes Delle roll her eyes and laugh. "I don't even think Kurt knows I'm here half the time. Honestly, I teach myself a lot of the training material because he's...he's umm..." The sound of Kurt yelling, "wooo!" in the other room could be heard through her phone. "He's drunk...a lot, but you don't have to worry about me." Gren tries to say something, but a loud thud is heard through Delle's phone. "Ahh!! My leg!" "He fell again. See you soon, Gren." "Bye, Delle." The girl hangs up, leaving Gren alone in his room.

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The tower of clothes Percy holds refuses to go into the laundry machine, but Gren steps around the corner just in time. "Percy?" "Gren! Perfect timing! Can you lend a hand?" The mentor and apprentice push hard against the pile, and eventually it's forced inside. "Thanks, kid. Now what were you saying?" "Umm, so Komo and I have done pretty well I think..." "Yeah?" "...And I was wondering..." "Yeah?" "...Can we go hang out at the lake tonight?" "No, sorry." As his mentor leaves, Gren's entire body slumps over in disappointment. However, Dove notices this and follows her husband upstairs.

A castle made of colorful, plastic bricks is capped off with a blue piece, making Penelope clap in joy. Percy lifts her up and places her inside. "Look at you! You're a little princess in a castle now! Little P!" "Can I have a pony?" she asks with adorable eyes. "Umm, maybe when you're older." Dove enters the room and clears her throat. From the floor, her husband turns his head to see her smiling and curling her finger back. Percy's eyebrows raise, his wife drawing him towards her like a magic spell.

The door to Penelope's room is closed, and Percy wraps his arms around his wife in the upstairs hall. "We need to talk," she says, but her husband has something else in mind. "You know I'm better at negotiating in bed." "No, not that." Dove laughs and shakes her head. "You need to let the kids go out and have some fun." "Huh? They already have fun." Dove gives him a look. The look that says, 'seriously?' "Honey, no one finds eight hours of training fun...except you."

Percy visibly wrestles with the decision. However, his mind is made when his wife holds him and says, "With them out of the house we can do some of that negotiating." The husband smirks and yells down the hallway, "Gren, Komo, go have fun at the lake!" A distant "YES!!" is heard before the bedroom door is shut.