In A World of My Own - Book One

14. In Summer Air

A cerise sunrise washes through this pink forest we're in and makes the bright pedals on the cherry trees surrounding us seemingly glow. Since I imagine Vyndren will be wanting to wait out the day -per the usual- I stop walking and settle back against the smooth bark of a cherry tree, fully intending to at least rest if not catch some z's when Vyndren's stare makes me open my eyes. "What?" I ask, not really excepting an answer, and absently brush fallen blossoms out of my hair. Pink pedals spiral through the air like snowflakes all around us.

"I was just thinking...it's probably not a hopelessly horrible idea if I teach you a few self-defensive maneuvers..." He trails off, pretending to be not so interested as he picks at the bark of a cherry tree with one of his many knives, the blade of this one is striped like a tiger.

"Really!" I widen my eyes. "OMG, so cool!" Is it pathetic to get so excited? "I mean, yeah, sure..." I smile, trying to sound as chill-'n-whatev as he does. "I guess we could go over a few things." I hop up and stroll over, all cool and casual.

Vyndren smirks. "If you want to, that is, you're not going to break my heart if you say no."

"Let's not risk it," I wink, he rolls his eyes. "So, what are we learning today, Chief?"

"You're going to learn how to stand up for yourself."

I flush. "I-I wish I already knew how."

"I know." It sounds like he means it and when I glance at him, he looks away. "Alright," he says briskly. "I'm gonna guess you've never thrown a punch before so let's start there. Keep your elbows at your sides, keep your stance stable and always duck your chin," he orders, gesturing with his knife as he speaks.

I blink. "Wait, throw a punch? At what? And I thought we would like, be using magic."

He shakes his head. "Oh no, magic is great n' whatever, but you cannot depend on it. Charms and other spell-casters will be able to block whatever incantation you summon; you'll be defenseless unless you know how to fight without magic."

I nervously wring my finger. "I-I don't think I -"

"Confidence is key, Adara. In fact, if someone can sense you mean what you say -if you're confident- then you might be able to avoid an altercation all together. But where's the fun in that?" He sneers.

"Well, I mean, I like, don't wanna get pushed around anymore but... fighting?" I gulp. Will this knowledge make me an aggressive person? Yikes.

He studies me for a moment, now says, "Adara, look, knowing how to fight to protect yourself and the things you care about is important. Being a fighter doesn't make you...well, like me," he smirks knowingly when I smile with relief. "A strong person knows how to fight but a stronger person knows when not to fight. You following?" He returns his knife to its sheath and now takes my hand and curls my fingers into a fist, keeping his hand over mine as he says. "I am the strong, but you have to be the stronger."

I take a deep breath and nod. "Okay, Chief. I trust you."

He stares at me for a moment, now shakes his head. "Trust yourself first, okay?" I shrug and nod again. "Trusting yourself is half of having confidence, can't have one without the other. And confidence isn't only for yourself, it's for them, your opponent, too. When you're confident, they'll sense it. And nine times out of ten, they'll lose their nerve and back off because they don't have a set below deck to back up that mouth they're running." I smother my laughter with only slight difficulty. "But if a fight does come to be, you'll have to trust in yourself to win. Got it?"