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What more was there to say? You stared down, then up as she was helped unsteadily to her feet.
“I win.” It hardly needed to be said, but somebody had to declare it. One for one.
Yuliana glared at you, eyes still wide and pupils narrowed, her face flushing again with what little color it originally had. “You actually weren’t intending on steering or stopping, were you?” Yuliana panted, “I did not think you to be <span class="mu-i">utterly mad</span>.”
You gave her a small shrug. “Yeah. Maybe a bit.” When you’d enrolled in the Academy, they’d had you take a few psychological tests. You didn’t pay them much mind, else you’d be more certain. The tests were probably made by quacks anyways.
Yuliana shook her head vigorously. “Senseless idiocy. What happens if you try to match suicidal wills with a stone?”
An accusatory finger was outstretched. “I knew well enough before this,” you said, “You’re not stone.”
Yuliana leered at you, then looked away. “Tch,” she closed her eyes, “We shall see. It will not be over until the moon is bright. Neither of us have shed blood, and that will be what decides this.”
“Nah.” You said, “Magnus is the one who decides it.”
“Oh?” Yuliana snapped immediately, “I think not. Whom is more skilled and whom is bolder has been shown, but the matter of who is stronger remains. Only when that is shown would I ever accept his judgment as decisive.”
“You are both vexing me,” Magnus interjected finally, “I doubt that a miracle such as this where nobody is hurt would happen twice, especially in what you plan to do next.”
…It made you wonder. Was it really a <span class="mu-i">miracle</span>? A glance to the VAM-6C that had fallen revealed that it was pretty badly beaten up in the spin-out. One that would still at least scrape up somebody in heavy leathers, let alone in the new getup Yuliana had donned, which was…some attempt to outdo you from earlier, you expected. Maybe it had affected Magnus enough for him to speak of it after all.
“Enough of this,” Magnus said further, “I do not care how much you hate each other, do not act mercilessly towards one another again, lest you make a difficult choice easy. Am I understood?”
“…” Yuliana seethed silently.
You were about to say your own piece, but Magnus grabbed you by your jaw and stared into your eyes. “That includes towards yourself. I did not take you as companion in battle so you could fling yourself into danger. There are plenty enough dead to mourn and crippled to be shamed for. Who would I revenge myself upon if you were not taken from me by an enemy?”
