The Dragon's Scale (COMPLETE, EDITING)

||Chapter 30.1||

JOSH HIT THE ground with a grunt. Laughter echoed around him, some of it in the air and some of it in his head.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? You haven't let me do that in a long time, Joshie."

Sucking in a breath, Josh pushed to his feet. He grimaced, muscles locking and whining. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just treat me for an old man today, okay?"

Zaina stood before him, a wooden sword in her hand. She had a hand on her hip, a large grin on her face.

"But in my defense," Josh continued, "you do have help this time." He nodded to Zaina's side where Eli stood, also wielding a wooden sword in one hand, trying to smother his laugh with the other.

Josh tried to glare, but it was hard. Even four days after returning from the other dimension, earning a genuine smile from Eli had proven hard. Yet here he was, laughing so freely.

"Just give it time. As long as Boomer doesn't cheat, I'm going to put both of you on the ground instead."

It isn't cheating if I'm trying to protect two children from a cruel monster trying to attack them, Boomer argued, mock offense in his voice. Despite that, he didn't even raise his head from his position nearby, lounging in the sandy training ground. All he did was raise his eye-lid a bit more.

"That's right." Zaina returned to her stance and raised her sword. "You are a cruel monster, and we will end you here."

Josh grinned, dodging and parrying with his own wooden weapon as the two children charged him.

It took less than ten minutes before Josh was on the ground again, sand biting at his exposed forearm, taking deep breaths to ease his aching body.

At the very least, the children were sitting on the ground as well with uneven breaths. Eli left the wooden sword on the floor and shook his hands. He scowled.

"Did you have to swing your sword so hard?"

Josh beamed. "I didn't. I blocked. You swung too hard."

Eli huffed. He glanced away, his lips stuck out in a faint pout. "If I was, maybe someone should have told me to stop it."

"Josh used to do it too," Zaina said. "You should have seen all the times Cale tripped him up because of it--"

"Hey!" Josh rolled up into a sitting position. "It was only twice."

"Three times, actually."

Josh twisted his head toward the staircase leading into the training area. Cale and Mara descended the steps.

Mara had been the one to speak. She grinned softly at Josh. "But it was all in one day. You learned quickly."

"On some things," Cale added, quiet enough Josh barely heard it. Mara elbowed him, but the barest lift of his lips rid any edge from his words.

"Oh yeah?" Josh pushed to his feet, and Boomer's eyes fell on him. "You want to see just how much I've learned?"

Cale quirked an eyebrow. His eyes slid over Josh's seated form. "You don't look like you're in a condition to..." He glanced at the children. "To spar anymore."

Josh shrugged and put on his most confident grin. "That depends on if you're more of a challenge then these kids."

Cale's eyes narrowed, though not in irritation as Josh would have expected a month ago. Instead, he appeared confused. "You are determined to spar."