Moving Objects

Chapter 2

They had me pinned down, my shoulders grinding against the wooden floor beneath me. I was able to grapple with them, but I flailed around trying to get them off of me. An irrational part of me was scared and wished I had something to fight them off with.

The practice stakes!

I continued to grapple with the person above me as I pictured the stake in my head, willing it to meet my fingers. I heard the sound of wood clatter against wood before I felt the stake in my hand, and I swung the blunt end up.

"Fuck!" a feminine voice exclaimed and the weight above me was gone. The lights came on and momentarily blinded me before I jumped to my feet to find that the person who fought me was Alberta.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" I gasped as I dropped the stake to the ground and crouched down beside her. She looked up at me with her hand to her head and waved me off.

"Don't apologize! You did fantastic, but you hit like a man," she groaned while pulling herself to her feet. I got up to my feet and rubbed at my shoulder blade when a familiar presence settled behind me.

"I told you that learning to grab a stake mid fight would save you. You hit Alberta right as she was going in for the kill strike," Dimitri said, handing me a towel. I nodded in appreciation and took the towel, wrapping it around my shoulders.

"You did really good, Rose! I can see why Dimitri has been so insistent on continuing the training sessions. It's beneficial," Alberta praised, and I silently glowed under it. It wasn't not often the Head Guardian praised a Novice, and I was going to drink up every bit of it.

"Thank you," I said while Alberta rubbed at her head. "Alright, I'm going to the clinic. You hit really hard," Alberta said with a laugh. I nodded while Dimitri walked back with Alberta to the door and shut it tightly.

I groaned and stretched my back, knowing that I was going to have bruises tomorrow. I pulled my hair out of the braid and roughly put it up in a ponytail.

"You know, these sneak attacks are getting predictable," I said to Dimitri with an eye roll, turning to face him with crossed arms. Dimitri raised his brow at me, the corners of his mouth hitching up at one side.

"Yes, but this one wasn't as predictable. But I am very happy that it worked. You did exactly what I wanted you to," he said, taking the towel from me. I shook my head and poked him in the stomach, though there wasn't much to poke and my finger came in contact with the hard muscles there. I gave myself just a moment of touch, resting the pads of my fingers on his abs for a moment before pulling away.

Dimitri caught my hand and held it for a moment, letting his thumb brush across my knuckles. "Is your shoulder ok? You fell pretty hard," he asked. I shrugged and winced, giving him a small smile. Not much was going to get past him.

He tugged my hand and pulled me towards the small office attached to the gym where they keep the first aid kits and supplies.

"Take your shirt off," Dimitri said, opening the cabinet to get the first aid kit. I rolled my eyes and pulled my shirt over my head.

"If you wanted me naked Comrade, all you had to do was ask," I joked as I set my shirt on the table. I could practically feel Dimitri roll his eyes at me as he prodded at my back. I held back the small groan that bubbled up in my throat, but the gasp slipped through. Dimitri gently stroked my side in apology before going back to work on my shoulder.

"It's not horrible. You broke the skin here," Dimitri said as he brushed his fingers over two spots, "and you are going to bruise. But you should heal up in a few days."

I turned my head to look over my shoulder at him, meeting his eyes so he knew that I heard what he said. Although, he used that as a distraction to press the gauze doused in alcohol against the torn skin and I hissed.