Should Have Walked Away | Aarmau Vampire AU

𝔱 𝔴 𝔢 𝔫 𝔱 𝔶 - 𝔱 𝔥 𝔯 𝔢 𝔢

Malachi's green eyes search the floor for a minute. "Kick them. If I can kick their knee or between their legs, I can throw them off."

I liked his pride already. He didn't state his answer as a question but didn't say it as if it were the only right answer. "That could work. However, you could also bite, scratch, and try to jab at their eyes. If you had the strength, you could also consider throwing them over your shoulder. . ."

He watched and nodded along with my speech. "Now, what's the first thing you want to do when someone is attacking you?"

"You try to get away, or protect yourself if you can't."

Shaking my head, his eyes sparkled in curiosity. "No, before that." He didn't have an answer, and I continued. "First you have to start by observing the other person, or people. Try ti estimate their aggression levels, and how strong they could possibly be. It's easier than you think, and it'll get even better as you practice it. Do they seem flexible? Which of their visible muscles seem strongest, and which seem weakest? Which foot do they step with first, and how's their balance?"

The young orphan seemed fascinated and hung on my every word.

"You are right though, don't fight if you don't have to. You can try to talk it down, but a lot of vampires will attack while you speak. So, run if you can. Speaking of which, practice your cardio if you can. Running fast is an important skill and vampires are almost always faster than you unless you teach yourself better. They were born with these talents, so they're at a disadvantage. Someone is always at a disadvantage.

"If you can't get away and your only option is to fight, then stay alert. Keep yourself centered; make your body small by bringing it as close together as possible. Even for vampires and hybrids, this will make you harder to hit because you're a smaller target, and it gives you more control when you need to go on defense. Nobody likes a smaller target," I winked and he smiled.

"The defense position is something you cannot afford to forget, so here," Malachi stood with me and copied my actions. "Your non-dominate leg goes in front and points outward. Keep your center of gravity low and have your front fist closed to block your face while you stay balanced and ready to pivot if you need to.

"You know how to kick?" I asked as I moved to grab a leather pad from the bench. He nodded with determination and showed me by kicking the pad when I said so.

"Great, that was perfect," His small frame grew taller and he seemed happy with my praise -- again, not egotistically.

Next, he demonstrated a punch, and after I helped him with folding his fist, he landed another perfect hit against the cow-skin.

We went through another ten demonstrations before the sky brightened with daylight.

I got home ten past sunrise and refrained from collapsing into bed. My body was slightly tired, but my mind won't stop running, so I had to fuel it to hopefully calm down and eventually get sleep.

Sitting in my usual spot, I stacked a few books to my left and opened one in front of me to a random page halfway through.

This book was a study of werewolves, on my shelf for whatever reason, and the next few pages and chapters were on their impact in Tu'la.

It didn't much matter to my life, but I enjoyed the lessons regardless, enthused with the differences between Ru'an and our sister country across the sea.

Werewolves in Ru'an had larger ears and tails for winter adaptation, while Tu'la wolves could have tails short enough to resemble rabbits. In addition, Ru'anian wolves couldn't hide their tails as Tu'lan ones could.

This book must be old because it spoke as if wolves still wandered Ru'an with their ears and tails out in the open.

Before vampires, they were hunted for their "monstrous tendencies." Unfortunately, only a small portion of them actually had the pride to act on their fear and anger. They were hunted regardless.

I'd heard stories for so long that a lot of Ru'anian werewolves had escaped our country and gone to the bigger one of Tu'la, but I also knew that Tu'la didn't like wolves either.

The large country with different currency and weather also had a large difference in population; most of Tu'la was made up of meif'wa.

Cats don't like getting hunted by dogs, so the meif'wa attacked first and drove them all into hiding. . . or was it extinction?

My knowledge didn't go as far as I wanted it to.

I read more about werewolves and their skills, identifying features, and even their origin for the next few hours.

Then I got very suddenly dizzy and fell asleep on the open book.

Guess I was tired.

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Word Count: 1510