"So, why will I be trained with a sword, out of all the weapons possible?" I asked, munching on a piece of bread.
Jerr and I had sat down for our lunch, agreeing it'd be wise to let our legs rest for a bit. We were both resting against some trees, facing each other as we were eating and talking.
"I wasn't exactly keen on walking around with wooden axes," he shrugged.
"Fair. But why not something smaller, like daggers?"
Jerr looked up at me from his bread, his intense green stare focused on me. "Why would you want a smaller weapon?"
"I don't know. Wouldn't it be easier to train me with that?"
"It might be," Jerr said, finishing his piece of bread. "But with daggers, it's also easier for a better-trained opponent to get close to you. Swords at least keep some distance between you and your rival."
"That makes sense," I admitted. "But daggers would have looked impressive."
I tried imagining myself on a battlefield, facing whatever enemy our Moon would throw at me, pulling out a pair of embezzled daggers from behind my back. As fast as the daggers would appear, they would slice my foe open into pieces, leaving me victorious over a wounded, dying body, all the while, throwing another one at a second, approaching villain.
It was like an action scene of the books I read, although I was sure those skills weren't as easy or natural as described in the different fantasy worlds.
"A real battle is nothing like a book," Jerr confirmed. "Also remember to still keep your thoughts in line. Just because we're having a lunch break, doesn't mean you should completely let go of everything."
"Sorry," I mumbled. "Have you ever seen one? A real battle, I mean."
"Hmm," he nodded. "As a Beta to a powerful Alpha, I've seen a lot of things. Although nothing will prepare me - any of us - for the war that is coming."
I gulped at the thought of war. It was inevitable, with the tension between two powerful packs exploding. Both looking to hurt each other, and neither caring about the collateral damage that would follow. "Do you think it's coming soon?"
Jerr nodded as his gaze floated off in the distance. "Yeah," he sighed. "It's about time all of this is over."
"Sometimes I wonder if war is the solution to this situation," I contemplated.
"What would you suggest, then? A truce?" His voice was soft, lacking the judgment his words were insinuating.
I shook my head, finishing my last bite of bread. "A truce would never work. Not with what has happened already. But a challenging maybe, somehow limit the war between the Alphas."
"That would never work, either. The hate between the packs runs too deep." Before I could ask if he knew exactly where that mutual hatred stemmed from, Jerr got up and ordered me to do the same. "We'll work on your footwork and balance for a short while before we continue."
I got up as well, leaving the soft underground, covered in fallen leaves, as Jerr handed me one of the swords.
"This isn't as heavy as a real sword," he said, playfully juggling his wooden stick. "But it's good to start, and to get you the basic feel of sword fighting."
"You don't trust me with a real sword, do you?" I teased. I mimicked him and tried juggling the sword, but instead of catching it with my left hand, I felt a hard stump on my foot.
"I barely trust you with this one," he laughed.
Embarrassment filled my face when I had to bend down, to pick up my sword. Just by that failed action alone, I knew this wouldn't be nearly as easy as my favorite book characters made it out to be. "Let's pretend that never happened," I mumbled.
"I might forget if you impress me with those skills Feytan has been boasting about," he said. "But we've got no time to waste. I want to see your natural posture." He nodded his head towards me, signaling I needed to adjust my form.
I pictured the wolves I'd seen sword fighting during my training sessions with Feytan, and I tried copying the image in my head as well as I could. I spread my legs, locking my knees under my shoulders, as I bend them a little bit, allowing my body for a more natural flow of movement during the action. I pointed the sword upwards in front of me, keeping my arms bent a little.
"Good," Jerr purred. He stepped closer to me, that intense stare traveling all over my body before he lightly tapped his sword against my shoulders. "Straighten your back a bit more."
I immediately followed his order and saw content lights dance around in those pools of green.
"Your knees are bending too much," he corrected. "You're thinking about it too much, just let your legs stand naturally."
He circled me as I adjusted my posture to his feedback. "Keep your chin up," he purred over my shoulder, his breath caressing the sides of my ear.
I did as I was instructed, ignoring my heart speeding up ever so slightly, pretending his ever-nearing presence was nothing but a warm, breeze on a cold spring morning.
His hands traveled under my arm, pushing it up a little at my elbows. "Keep your arms locked. Your grip needs to be firm."
I ignored the shivers across my back, and flexed my muscles, and my arms stopped moving as much at his gentle touch. "Very good," he said, the content shining through in his voice. He made his way back to stand in front of me, and I could see his entire face covered with enjoyment.
I realized this would be nothing like training with Feytan.
"You need to look at your sword as a part of you," Jerr explained. "It needs to feel as if it's an extension of your arm, something you can't just drop on the battlefield. Something that won't swing in the way you don't want it to."
"That sounds easy enough."
"Ha," he breathed. "Alright, then. Show me what you got."
I eyed him questioningly.
"Try to disarm me," he challenged. "If it's easy enough, it shouldn't be that hard, right?"
I knew I had gravely underestimated what sword fighting entailed by the playfulness that now danced in his green eyes. But I didn't back down from a challenge. I feared Lotta would find a way to disown me as a friend if she ever found out I denied a challenge, but also an opportunity to beat up Jerr.
And so I went forth, sword in hand, two steps closer before I stopped once more before Jerr. I slowly raised my sword, holding it with both hands. Jerr stood casually, his sword in his right hand, hanging by his side.
I could go for it if I was quick enough. I needed to disarm him - so I needed to try to reach his hand. If I could tap his wrist hard enough-
Without thinking more about it, my sword slid through the air, passing between us and coming back down, my hand guiding it towards Jerr's weapon.
But it abruptly halted mid-air, a loud thump accompanying the end of my attack, and between our crossed swords, I saw Jerr raising his eyebrow as if he was saying, 'Is that all?'.
I quickly withdrew my sword, swinging it below us, trying to hit his hand from the other side.
But with his playful stare solely locked on my face, he blocked my attack effortlessly.
"By the Moons," I grumbled, attempting another charge, this one stemming from an upwards motion.
He had to take his eyes off me for a second, but he was again able to smoothly bar my charge. His green stare found mine soon after, but whereas mine was filled with frustration, his was filled with games and content.
"Not that easy, huh?" He asked.
In answer, I swung my sword again, hitting him on his right wrist.
Or trying to at least, since he was able to stop it once again.
"Right now, I'm not even fighting back. I'm just blocking off your wild swings," he said, his tone playfully arrogant.
"Are you afraid to hit a girl?" I challenged.
His pupils widened lightly, darkening his eyes and indicating I probably shouldn't have asked that.
He took his sword back, and before I could see what he was doing, I felt a hard tap on my hand, forcing it open and my sword dropped to the ground. "No," he said.
"Ow," I grunted. A searing burn traveled through my hand, and I saw a red mark where his sword had hit me.
"If this were a real fight, you'd be dead before your first attack," he said, merciless. "You're lucky it's only me."
"The luckiest wolf alive," I grumbled, picking up my sword with my strained hand.
"Absolutely," he answered, playfully. "Your footwork isn't good, you'd be lying on the ground right now if I wanted to."
"What was so bad about it?"
He tilted his head as I readjusted my posture once again, keeping his earlier pointers in mind.
"As soon as you started walking towards me, you forgot about your stance. When you reached me, it was completely gone. You were only thinking about trying to hit my wrist - forgetting you still need to be able to stand your ground and defend yourself. You need to be able to quickly turn around without losing your balance, in any direction needed. And take hard blows without falling."
"Okay," I said. "So we'll work on that."
"Exactly," he confirmed. "We'll start with an easy exercise first." He raised his sword, pointing it at me to do the same. Our swords lightly touched at their tips, and I kept my stance in check, earning myself an approving glance from Jerr.
"We'll tap our swords during the exercise, so you can get used to the feeling of a sword in your hand," he began explaining. "Meanwhile, I will push you back. Make sure you don't trip, and if you see an opening, push me back, too."
I held my breath, readying myself for my first actual combat training.
Jerr lifted his sword from mine, and I followed his swinging motion, our swords beginning a repetitive dance of thrashing against one another.
Jerr took a quick step forward - the motion so fast it forced me back, or face a wooden sword to my face.
My feet stammered backward, and before I could recollect myself, Jerr already commented. "Keep your feet steady on the ground, but be ready to move at any given time."
I was able to stay up as our swords kept clinging against each other, the sound of wood clashing dancing around us.
Jerr pushed back again, quickly and unexpectedly, forcing me to retreat more, nearing the trees behind me.
Before I had fully regained my footing, Jerr struck again. I wasn't able to step back quickly enough, and I felt his sword nip at my upper arm. I shot him a glare, his sword swinging in my direction again. My own sword followed his movement, and our weapons' dance had resumed.
I tried pushing back, too, but Jerr was able to block off my sword without stepping back. Our faces were now close to each other, our breaths intertwining. But not for long, before Jerr lashed out with his weapon again. "Don't get distracted," he warned.
I was surprisingly good at blocking off his sword, but that was about it.
Jerr kept pushing back in quick motions, and I'd fallen a few times.
The longer we practiced, the more I got the hang of it, but I was never able to push back. Every time I tried, we ended up close to each other again, where our faces were within reach of one another, but never for long before Jerr tried striking again.
My breath got stuck in my throat every time he was so close - mostly out of frustration for another failed attempt on my part.
His seemed to halt a few times, too. And each time he'd lingered when I was near, I struck again, but he was still always able to block off my attacks.
A few times, my footing was great, earning my a heartfelt compliment about a job well done.
But the more the training continued, the bigger the strain in my arms grew.
When the Sun had risen in the sky, and now stood at its highest, Jerr decided it was time to continue walking, so we could get out of these woods by the time the night would fall.
"I think I found what helps you calm your mind," Jerr said, as we were gathering our stuff.
"Huh?" I asked, confused, sipping at my water flask before I stored it away in my bag.
"During training," he clarified. "I couldn't hear anything you were thinking."
I followed him when he resumed our road to Hidden Moon, a pleased smile forming on my lips.
A/N: For the readers who have missed my announcement, due to school starting up again, for the coming weeks I need to adjust to the rhythm of going to class, working, entertaining my social life, ... So I sadly won't have time to publish two chapters each week. I want to make sure that the chapters that I drop, are good chapters, so that's why I've decided to reduce it to one chapter each week, until I get back in the flow of the uni life.
Chapters will drop each Friday. Once I'm caught up with school, I can go back to two chapters each week, but I'm not entirely sure when that will be.
Thanks for following Sari's journey! If you liked this chapter, please feel free to vote and/or comment! :)