A fight between the two of them wasn't a question of if, only when. And truthfully, I had no intention of stopping it unless things spiraled into something extreme. Conflict like this, when managed, had a way of forging strength rather than destroying it. After all, steel needed friction to be honed.
If anything, I was… eager.
A little rivalry wouldn't hurt. Best case, it would push them both to grow faster, sharper, and more aware of their limits and how to break past them.
Worst case, it could fester into resentment or outright hatred.
But I didn't think that was what this was.
Or was it?
I hope not.
Gobbo shook his head to the side, clearly finding the back-and-forth exhausting, his expression caught somewhere between annoyance and resignation.
Ariel stood nearby as well, unusually quiet. The fox hadn't said a single word since returning, which struck me as odd, considering she was normally one of the more talkative ones.
