Lily noticed Danny's hair first. It was tied up in a messy ponytail, leaving his face on full display. What appeared to be multiple scars was actually just one. It cut through his right eyebrow and moved down around the eye before hooking up at the cheekbone. From there, it split in two. The smaller section continued straight down from the hook while the larger section curved and continued along his cheekbone, stopping just short of his nose.

From his face, Lily scanned down to see a black sleeveless shirt that stopped a little ways up his neck. The shirt was tight, nearly skin-tight, and it revealed a bit more than Lily was used to seeing. Danniel's body was on the skinnier side. At least she thought. As it turned out, his build was rather athletic. A set of abs could be seen through the tight top, and his sculpted arms were dotted with small scars. Eventually, Lily was able to pull herself away from his upper half to his bottom. There, on the right leg of the purple gi pants was a larger version of the crest Danniel wore. 

"So," Lily started as she panned back up to Danniel's face. Danniel knew immediately where she was staring and turned his face away, his expression quickly souring. "That's why you wear your hair like that," Lily rattled off, trying to break the tension. 

"Yeah," Danniel said, sounding slightly deflated. "It's not really something I like talking about.

"Oh. Well, it looks cool if that helps."

"Appreciated," Danniel forced a smile before turning and heading into the space proper, "but it doesn't. Come on, let's get started." 

With Lily close behind, Danniel led them out of the waiting room and out into the cavernous space. They stepped onto a wide balcony before a flight of stairs. No matter how much Lily craned her neck, there was no ceiling to be seen. Only a blank void hung over their heads. From the center of the darkness hung three banners on a circular frame. Each banner was a single color and bore an ornate crest.  All ended in five descending points, with the middle being the largest. Two of the banners, forest green on the right and goldenrod on the left, weren't ones Lily was familiar with. The one nearest the entrance was a tad more familiar, being dark purple with the same crest Danniel always wore. 

"Okay. What are those flags and why do you have that crest on, like, all your stuff?" Lily asked. 

"Those are the flags of the Wolven military caste. My family is a member of Clan Wholshire who also owns part of the store. Which is why there's all the purple. It's also why I wear the crest. You can thank them for my training and, by extension, yours. Any other questions?" Danniel asked, crossing his arms. 

"Actually, yeah. Speaking of purple, what's with that door in the basement? The one with that weird purple crystal on it," Lily asked, as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Just past the steps, Lily stopped and waited for an answer. 

"Random. Why do you want to know about it?" Danniel asked. 

"We were talking about purple, and getting a straight explanation about something in this Goddess-blessed place would be nice for a change. Not to mention you seemed uncharacteristically transparent. Can't blame a doe for trying." Lily said with a smirk and a shrug. It was clear on the wolf's face the question was a bit of a surprise. Surprise became a glare as the shot finally hit. 

"Listen," Danniel started. He placed a paw over his muzzle and let out a tentative huff.  Silence gave way to a sigh and nod before the wolf started again, "I will need to speak to Gonzi about it, but yeah, after work tomorrow. It requires a little explanation. Let me get that in order."

"I can live with that."  

"Anything else?" Danniel asked and was answered with a quick shake of the rabbit's head. "Good, come on. I would like to get home before sunrise."

The solid stone floor was cut into equal, huge squares.  Around them were sparring fields. The massive cavern was filled with these fields, the smallest around fifty feet across and the largest easily five times that size. The increasingly excited rabbit had her eyes set on the other end of the training floor where the largest sat. The beaming rabbit felt her heart drop as she watched Danniel turn off far shorter than she hoped.

"Wait, aren't we going to use the big field?" Lily stopped walking and watched the wolf get further away. 

"Maybe later. These are big enough for what we need. Come on." Danniel answered while stepping onto the field. 

"Fine." Lily groaned while stomping off behind him.

The fields were all rectangular and arranged in rows of five. Each had a short wall of clean white stone around the edges. In each corner was a floating crystal that reflected anything nearby like a mirror. One had drawn Lily's attention as Danniel moved toward the center. 

"Field three, awaken," Danniel spoke into the air. The crystals responded first, releasing a soft hum, then a bright flash. Caught completely off guard, Lily let off a surprised yelp as her vision went white. When her sight soon returned, aided by aggressive blinking and eye rubbing, everything past the wall was a solid black void. 

"And everything's black now. What's going on?" Lily remarked, turning to look at Danniel. Seeing that the wolf, or really anything within the projector field, was not consumed by the darkness. 

"The field is booting up. It's creating a space for us to use our magic safely. Fantastic little piece of technomancy," Danniel said while rolling his shoulder, "It can protect you from any damage, but it can be set to let you feel the pain you would feel from taking a spell. Best way to train, in my opinion." 

"Cool. Also a little psychotic," Lily quipped, 

"Field Three online," Spoke a feminine-sounding voice. "Please provide an Arcane court registry code or equivalent now."

"Arcane Court?" Lily asked, looking around for the source of the voice. 

"Add that to the explain list," Danniel whispered before clearing his throat, "Arcane court register NOC721." 

"Code accepted. Noting second occupant. Would you like to register them?" 

"No," Danniel answered back. 

"Accepted. Please choose a setting." The voice continued. 

"I'll let you pick," Danniel looked to Lily. 

"Pick what?" Lily asked. 

"What this space will look like. The sparring fields have powerful illusory magic, so we can pick anywhere your mind can think of." 

Lily stared blankly at Danniel for a moment before her eyebrows jumped up. Out of the blue, she spoke, "Emerald Vale." 

"Come again?" Danniel asked, tilting his head.

"I swore I told you about it. It's my hometown. Since this whole Quila thing started, I've been thinking about a lot. Do that one."

Danniel nodded and gave the system Lily's choice. The smell of flowers filled the air as sunlight began to pierce through the dark void surrounding them. The darkness quickly gave way to a verdant grassland. Colorful flowers were in brilliant bloom, creating a disorganized pattern of dots on a carpet of green. Overhead, fluffy clouds drifted, casting shadows on the valley below. The projector field had also changed. The field's floor changed from cold black stone to soft clay. From where they stood, past the ocean of flowers was a mighty blue river. The size of the valley they found themselves in was nothing short of colossal. So large that the river, which was pretty sizable in its own right, started around a blind corner and continued off into the horizon.  

"Not half bad," Lily said while looking around them, "Though it's a lot quieter than home. Doesn't smell like river moss and manure either." 

"Some shortcomings can be seen as a blessing, it seems, "Danniel remarked. He was distracted by the place Lily brought them to. While Lily looked at the place with nostalgia, Danniel was dealing with something else. Like her, he was looking at a place he knew, but unlike his friend, he didn't know why. Under the floral scent, Danniel could smell smoke, and soft screams could be heard on the breeze. Giving his head a shake, Danniel softened his expression and looked at Lily. "So this is your home, huh?

"Eh, 'home' might be a strong word," Lily said with a shrug, "It's in the middle of nowhere and full of stuffy hayseeds and gossips. Just remembered I need to call Ma on the way home. It is nice seeing the place, though." 

"I get that. The whole home thing." Lily's answer didn't bring Danniel any relief. He crossed his arms and watched as a bright orange tulip swayed in the gentle breeze. It seemed more logical to stow that away for now. Pulling at this particular thread didn't seem that interesting. That, along with Lily's excited gaze and soft clicking, motivated him to start the training.