Slave Unbound

Chapter 21: Rising From the Mud

The training pitch of House Firebridge was a slippery mire of grainy mud, cold from the pouring rain and the chill breeze blowing it in. The gladiators were all soaked to the skin from the heavy shower, many dripping with a brownish soup from repeated spills, due either to loss of footing or having a sparring partner send them to the ground. Some seemed to be enjoying it, but most were far less enthused by being forced to train in such weather.

Despite being covered head to toe with mud and muck, Leita was among those who found the chill rain refreshing and did not particularly mind the sludge through which she was stomping. She'd already figured out how to use the slick surface to her advantage, agilely skating about on the slick when she made dodges. Not to say that she'd yet perfected it, as she ended up falling or losing control about as much as not.

Though the hard rain washed off most of the mud, which was already too liquid to be overly sticky, her hair was near black from the filth and wet, slapping about her face like heavy lashes. Rivulets of brackish water flew from her limbs as she swung about, keeping a heavy barrage of attacks going on her current partner. He seemed far less steady on his feet than she was, only barely keeping from slipping every time he took a step.

Leita's secret to a more secure purchase was having abandoned her sandals and going barefoot. Her toes gave her far better traction than the smooth soles of the footwear, something he seemed not to realize or believe. Struggling to stay upright, the unbalanced gladiator was mostly focused on just trying to keep his shield deflecting both of the swords that Leita was using. So focused, in fact, that he was completely unprepared when Leita suddenly pivoted on one foot, tilted her body sideways, and brought up the other foot to plant solidly into the center of that shield, all in a single, fluid motion.

The sudden impact of her kick against the shield sent him sprawling backwards to land with a thick splash. Leita deftly recovered from her motion and stepped up to cross the two training blades around the man's neck. He sighed as he dropped his own weapon, conceding defeat.

"That was sickening to watch." Kalder grumbled as came up, the rain washing down his rock-like body, making him look dark and shiny. "You do realize that this was the first time she's even tried using two weapons, Boske. You looked like some green lot, fresh to the field!" He glanced at the brown footprint in the center of the shield, already quickly disappearing in the downpour.

"Pretty fancy kick, Leita." He said without actually looking at her. "Of course, had he not fallen down, it would have left you completely defenseless." He reached down to help Boske up. "And, if it hadn't been so wet and slippery, I assure you, he wouldn't have fallen down. You need to remember that you're still just a small girl versus opponents almost twice your size and thrice your weight."

He finally turned to look at her. "Fancy will get you killed, little girl. Stop trying to pretend you're a sidil or aljin and leave their frou-frou styles to them. You were already winning, don't start showing off."

Leita frowned at him, but gave a nod to say that she understood him. Inwardly, she mused that this was still the closest he'd come yet to actually paying her a compliment. As he walked away, she looked to Boske, who nearly fell over again just trying to get his footing back in the mud. "Go again?" She asked.

The other gladiator shook his head wearily. "I need a break from all this rain for a minute." He said sourly. "I'm half frozen and sick of trying stand up in this slop." He gave her a sardonic grin. "And, I can't keep up with your 'frou-frou'." He gave a chuckle, shaking his head and glancing towards where Kalder was now shouting at a couple other gladiators about various shortcomings he saw in their own styles.