A little slice of heaven and hell

19. Swords and skills

The two looked up, seeming a bit surprised to see her so soon. Then Aziraphale smiled warmly. "What a lovely surprise to see you so soon. How has your day been?"

Samantha shrugged. "Well you know, the usual. Nothing spectacular much. Though, I was messing around with my miracles a bit and there was this kid who was being really mean to his sister. So I made his ice-cream drop. That was about the highlight of my day. How was yours?"
"I am proud of you." grinned Crowley. "What a mastermind. So much evil in such a small gesture." he continued dryly. Then the two chuckled.

Aziraphale frowned however. "You two are awful."

"Hey, to be fair. That kid really had it coming." said Samantha defending.

"Oh let her be angel. My day was quite interesting though. Do you remember I talked about that old grumpy guy and his old mansion? Well, he passed away in an unlucky trip off the stairs and now the mansion is ours. I went to check on him and made quick work of getting the papers ready, so once we are back in London we can move in. I actually already moved my stuff over for good measures." said Crowley and showed a soft smile.
Samantha seemed surprised. "Well, that is fast. Was that tripping part you're doing tough? It sounds very coincidental that you just so happen to check up on him as he had tripped off the stairs."

"It is fast indeed. But you know I quite like a fast pace sometimes. The only thing I go slowly for is Aziraphale." he said teasingly and winked at Aziraphale, meanwhile cleverly avoiding Samantha's question.
Aziraphale let out a soft shy chuckle and he glanced away with a soft blush on his cheeks.
"Anyhow, tonight is my night to teach you some moves. So let's start. The faster we start, the faster we are done with this. I want to see what you are made of." continued Crowley and he got up, then he went at the door to the garden.
Samantha nodded. "I understand. Let's do this." she said and followed him outside. Aziraphale followed too, curious about Crowley's way of reaching and of how this spectacle would turn out. Now it was his turn to take place on the bench and he went to watch the two standing on the grass patch in the garden.

"All right." started Crowley. "First off is your balance. Of course this works quite like what Aziraphale told you yesterday. All of your fights will get just that little bit more easily with a stable pose. Even firing a gun will. So, stand like you think you will stand most stable and I will judge."
Samantha nodded and did as asked. Then Crowley walked around her and observed her, poking her and pushing her into the correct position. "You are close, but there is still a lot of improvement too. But you'll figure that out on the go. Now watch me closely."

Crowley went to explain different tactics to her. He told her about his own experiences and what situations he had been in and in what situation a certain move would be the defining action between life and death. He showed her a couple of moves, then asked her to copy them. He walked around her when she tried them and he corrected her, much like what Aziraphale had done. Then he asked her to come and try to hit her. She was hesitant at first, but tried again after an annoyed growl of Crowley. She attacked with what she was learned, but was quickly blocked and pushed back by Crowley. He told her what she did wrong and demanded her to try again. This was his way of teaching. Samantha would try to attack him and he would block her, hit back or throw her against the ground, telling her what she did wrong. Aziraphale was pretty nervous he would hurt her too bad, but it was fine. She did get hurt a few times, but didn't seem to mind. Eventually Crowley took a step back and nodded.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I might not mention it while I train you, but you are doing pretty okay for a start. Just know, everything I don't mention, you are doing right. Everything I say to you, you need to work on. All the other stuff is fine. Got it?" he explained and watched her seriously.
"Yes, I understand." confirmed Samantha.