Willow took Elijah's first bit of advice when fighting. Get angry. She had been punching and kicking a punching bag, just as a warm up. As getting into a cage with the first ever vampire created didn't seem too appetising.
But willow couldn't really let her anger flow properly, she had bursts where she was stronger but then she calmed back down.
"Are you ready?" Elijah's voice interrupted her as she tried to get into that zone where she felt like she could fight.
No.
"Sure" she turned around just to catch Elijah buttoning his shirt sleeves up above his elbow. "Gotta start somewhere" she shrugged, leaving the punching bag to swing gently to a halt. Willow shook her hands out, thanking her past self for thinking it best to take some fingerless gloves to save her knuckles from hurting.
She stepped into the ring, her vision held firmly at her feet to look around at the blood stand, and was that a tooth? Or a fang?
The harsh rattling of Elijah's fingers intertwining with the wire and closing the door shut brought her back into reality. The dreaded reality that she was in an enclosed space with someone ten times older than her and ten times as stronger than her, someone that would not lose anything if she was killed. Her paranoia started to creep again as she didn't know where to put herself.
"We shall start slow" Elijah circled her. The only light that came in came past the stained glass windows and created a spectrum of colours along her skin. Willow felt him stop behind her and then his hands snake around her, one hand grasping her wrist, and the other one around her waist, in a tight hold. It wasn't the tightest he could do, but it was still quite hard to get out off. "What should you do, if Tristan or one of his men, grab you like this?"
Willow wriggled her shoulders, trying to push them back to hurt him, to make him let go of his grasp. It was a pathetic attempt really, she knew that.
"Your legs" Elijah felt her struggle and after a few moments he decided to give her a few hints "what do you do with your legs?"
Willow stumbled on her feet for a second, scrambling for thoughts. She lifted her right leg and kicked back into Elijah's knee, sending him stumbling backwards.
What did she do now? In the split second Willow took for herself to think if she wanted to stay and fight or run, Elijah had jumped back up and now held his hand over her mouth. "You can't think" he whispered "game over, they've taken you"
He let go and allowed Willow to breathe, she vowed over and rested her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths.
"Again" Elijah demanded, trying to be as tough as he could with her. But the human had turned red, sweat glistened on her skin and her body moved as she breathed. She wouldn't be strong, she wouldn't be a challenge, but she needed to learn resilience.
"I don't really regret not asking Christopher to help me" she wheezed as she turned around and allowed Elijah to take her again "he wouldn't be this hard on me"
"You think this is hard?" Elijah smirked playfully "oh you haven't seen nothing yet"
His grip tightened and Willow knew her next few steps, and then winging it would be her plan. She kicked back and sent Elijah stumbling back again, Willow thought Elijah put it on, obviously he would have seen her next steps.
The door had been locked so she couldn't get out, was this his plan? Willow completely avoided the escape and turned around just in time to see the original jump back up.
He sped her into the barrier, the wire smashing against each other, his fangs baring. "You have an advantage" he let go, taking Willow shutting her eyes and cowering as a victory "you bleed, they're dead. They won't let you die, they need you"
It took Willow and Elijah another few goes around in the ring, it took Willow constant losses for her to give up. "You know, just leave it" she held her hands up "how am I even going to defend myself against a vampire?"
She stormed over to the gates, rattling it, intertwining her fingers and fiddling with the lock to try and get it open. Willow took a deep breath and let go, before looking at the lock once more with new eyes and opening the door.
She stormed down the steps and to her things, bundling them up into one.
"Willow..." Elijah knew she could be capable of defending herself, he could see the fire in her. He just needed to ignite it, give her some confidence with it. "...Get angry" he repeated once more.
Willow glanced down at the time on her phone. But she didn't really read the numbers, instead she analysed the screen saver, a selfie she took with her Aunt just days before the accident. She unlocked her phone and scrolled through the pictures she was allowed to keep, the photos of the life that had now ended.
"How am I supposed to get angry when my first instincts are to suppress it?" She put her things down and flopped her hands to the side, tilting her head and expecting an answer from him.
"Come in here, and tell me what makes you angry" Elijah said calmly, pushing the door open for her to step back into the ring. "We'll start off slow, and we'll progress at your pace. You're in control now Willow"
She sighed "fine" Willow stepped back into the ring, locking the door and facing Elijah. She thought about all the other things that made her angry, just so she could dodge the awkward moments about her family.
Elijah held his hands up, for Willow to practise on her aim and her force, hopefully she'd increase the force soon.
"I'm angry because I left all my favourite clothes back at my old house" her right hand hit Elijah's left, not as hard. She wasn't trying much. "I'm angry because my phone has been setup for no internet..."
Eventually, as her list got longer, her force became a lot stronger, alternating hands and hitting Elijah's. "I'm angry because you've turned this beautiful church into a gym for vampires! And that's disrespectful!"
He could see it now, Elijah could see how Willow's eyes flared, she could see nothing but red. Her teeth gritted together when she wasn't shouting.
"I'm angry because my whole life has gone down the drain. I'm angry because I never got to know my parents. I'm angry because the people who raised me, died because of me" the list went on longer, until Willow was bored of the same routine. And Elijah knew this.
He sped and turned her around, holding her in the same position as he started with, waiting for her retaliation.
"I'm angry because I'm stuck in a city I don't know" she kicked back, sending Elijah back, yet she held onto his wrist "with people I don't know" Willow pulled Elijah back and pressed his face against the wire "and vampires wanting to use me as a human blood bag, to kill others"
Elijah pushed back, but to his surprise, she had already predicted his move. Though he was strong, the power of unpredictability got the better of him.
Elijah flipped over and now his back was pressed against the wall, and then he finally gave up.
"I'm angry because everyone I know, everyone I love apart from Christopher is either dead, or thinks I'm dead" she sniffed, not finding joy in her victory.
Elijah put his hands up in surrender as her grip loosened on him. Willow did have it in her all along, even if she had to channel some events in her life that she'd preferred to stay buried.
Her eyes darted around the room as she stepped away. She felt a wave come across her and all she wanted to do was cry, but not in front of Elijah. She wanted to be alone.
"Um.." she stuttered "thanks" Willow escaped the ring and swiftly took her things before walking around the corner.
Elijah knew she was going to break, it was the way she changed subject from the petty things to the larger things in her life.
He went after her.
Fire Breather - Laurel