Child of the Moon

Not So Small

"That was on accident," I said, smiling nervously. I looked over at Amethyst and Circo, seeing Steven talking to Amethyst. I looked at Circo and asked, "Hey Circo, you watching?"

He looked up from his notepad and asked, "What?"

"Dude, were you watching the fight or no?" Amos asked. Circo smiled nervously and said, "Ah not really...but I will now." I nodded and faced Amos. I moved the water around my hands and changed them into small punching pads. "Okay, practice throwing your punches."

Amos charged and slammed his fists into the water pads. I kept my feet planted as he threw punches. I moved my hands around to have Amos not be so open when punching. But as he swung his fist, he was left completely open. I flicked my wrist and a splash of sea water hit his face. He coughed and sputtered the water out, saying, "What was that for?!"

"You were open," I said, letting the water fall from my hands. "Really open. You need to be focused on not leaving opportunities for attacks while also focusing on your enemy."

Amos nodded and I looked over at Amethyst and Circo. Neither of them were watching us. The four of us turned to them and Steven asked, "Did you see that?"

Circo looked up from his notepad, looking slightly nervous about answering. But Amethyst shape shifted into a purple version of Pearl. She clapped her hands, saying, "Excellent! Amazing! Pearl-fect."

I giggled and Steven blushed. "Oh I don't know," Steven said modestly.

"Not really," Connie said, looking at her sword. "My stance is all wrong, and my grip is a little soft."

"I was constantly open on my attacks," Amos said, looking down at his hands. "Luna was able to easily get me if her water." Circo looked up at Amethyst who was looking at the four in worry. She shifted back to her normal self and said, "Why are you worried about that little stuff for? It's not gonna matter in a real fight."

"It does, though," Connie said. She lowered her sword and said, "I blew it on my first, real magical mission! I was face-to-face with a monster and I froze. Maybe if I trained a little harder... I- Could've handled it."

"And I charged in, not seeing any openings when there was one," Amos said, looking at his hands. "Maybe if I focus on training more, it'll help in a fight."

Circo stood up and shook his head, "Sounds to me like you're too in your head. In a fight, you never know what's gonna happen, You just gotta go with it. How can you get ready when you don't even know what you're getting ready for?"

Amethyst nodded and grinned, "Yeah, you can't be ready. What you gotta be is loose." Amethyst shape shifted her arms to be more noodle like and loose. Steven beamed, saying, "I want to be loose!"

"Then you gotta go with the flow! Fighting's all about that feeling deep in your guts. What do your guts feel like?!" Amethyst shouted. At that moment, Steven's stomach and my stomach growled. My face grew red and I laughed nervously, "Maybe I'm a bit hungry."

Amos chuckled and said, "I wouldn't mind some food."

"Snack break, snack break," Amethyst chanted. We all looked at Connie and Circo. Circo rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. We can go get a snack."

"A break sounds nice right about now," Connie admitted. Amethyst, Steven, and even Amos started chanting, "Snack break! Snack break!"

I giggled and glanced at Circo, who smirked at our antics. He stood up and put his notepad in his back pocket. "Let's head into town and see what snacks we can get," He suggested.