Stefan’s recovery went by fast, and he was soon back to being able to use his hands again. He went about his chores with Anwen normally, and the routine quickly became engrained into his mind.
“At this rate, you might as well take over all of the household work.” Anwen said as she and Stefan tended to Esperance.
“You’re happy about that?” Stefan wondered. He turned over Esperance’s water trough, allowing the murky liquid to spill onto the floor and run into a drain that was in the corner of the horse’s room. “I thought girls enjoyed doing chores.”
“And you probably thought that girls don’t enjoy beating up rude, annoying people when you first came here, didn’t you?” Anwen asked, sarcastically.
“Erm… kinda?” Stefan asked, not so sure of how to answer the girl. “But that was like a month ago. I know better now.”
“You must’ve grown up around some weak ass girls who let themselves get pushed around a lot, huh? You know, the type of man a boy grows into depends on the kind of girls he’s with in his youth. It’s a fact.”
“There are no girls where I’m from,” Stefan explained. “Only kids in Derban are my brother and me. Besides Mum and Uncle Ruben, everyone else is super old.”
“I guess that’s normal up north,” Anwen guessed. “Angels come in and pick off pretty much all the able-bodied adults. They either kill them or ship them off somewhere. Well, technically this is still north, just not so far inland. Hey, I got a question for you.”
“Ask.” Stefan said.
“What type of woman is Kallista Laine?”
“Why?” Stefan asked, wondering why the girl was suddenly interested in learning about his mother.
“Just answer the question. You ask questions all the time, so don’t get annoyed when someone does the same thing.” Anwen said with disappointment.
“Right, right.” Stefan said. He crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling in thought. What words could he use to describe his mother? “Well… she’s strict. Never lets out leave the house alone, makes us come inside before dark. I understand now why she does all that, but… she really loves us, too. Joakim and I are all she has, so…”
Stefan’s eyes started to water up. Just thinking about his family made him emotional. Other than a few trading trips, he’d never been separated from them for so long, but this was different. He didn’t know if he’d be able to return to the same home he’d lived in his whole life. He quickly blinked away his tears, as there was no way he was going to cry in front of a girl.
“I hope you find them again.” Anwen said nonchalantly as she continued cleaning Esperance. She didn’t sound sympathetic, nor derisive.
“Thanks,” Stefan said. He attached a hose to one of the bathrooms’ faucets and allowed clean water to flow slowly into the trough.
“Do you know what your family’s like?” Stefan asked out of the blue while he watched the trough fill up.
“Gareth is the only family I have,” Anwen said, in a tone that sounded unsure. “You already know how he’s like. There’s not much to him.”
“Well, yeah, but… your real family. You know, the one you were born to?”
“I don’t know,” Anwen shrugged. “And I don’t really care. Gareth’s my only real family.”
‘But you can’t even call him dad.’ Stefan remarked mentally.
Suddenly, the man himself appeared before the two youngsters. Stefan whipped around and worried that he’d be punished by the intimidating-looking man for speaking about him behind his back. Instead, Gareth addressed him in the only tone he’d ever used towards him.
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“How good are you with weapons, Stefan?” he asked.
“What do you mean, like swords and guns?” Stefan asked. The question got him excited.
“Yeah.” Gareth confirmed.
“I… can’t put it into words. Could I show you?” he asked.
“We’re going into the elevator,” Gareth announced. “I took the time to tailor my old coat and boots to your fitting last night. Put them on and come.”
“Yes, sir!” Stefan said eagerly.
After ascending to the plains above them using the advanced device, Gareth presented Stefan with two weapons. One was a pistol, while the other was a sword.
“Why would I need a sword to fight the Angels?” Stefan wondered.
“Guns don’t really help when it comes to very close-ranged combat. Swords also don’t run out of ammo. Pick up the one you’re more comfortable with and show me what you can do.”
Disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to learn how to shoot yet, he picked up the sword, which he already had some experience with. He and Joakim were allowed to play with Ruben’s replica swords and spar with one another.
“What now?” Stefan asked.
“Come at me with full strength. Don’t hold back. Try to kill me.” Gareth instructed stoically.
“F-Full strength?” Stefan asked worriedly.
“You heard that right. Come at me.” Gareth beckoned.
“Yes, sir.” Stefan said, swallowing his fear and positioned himself.
He lifted the sword in front of him. He leaned forward, putting one foot in front of the other. Digging his back heel into the ground, it only took a few moments to gather his strength and push off his back foot, thrusting all his power before him as he sprinted at Gareth. With one upward swing, he prepared to slice into Gareth’s throat, even though he didn’t want to. An arm flashed in front of him just before the blade could plunge into the flesh, suddenly knocking both the boy and his weapon into the ground.
‘What fast reaction speed! Who the hell is Gareth?’ he wondered as the seasoned veteran offered him a hand.
“Not terrible,” Gareth noted. “If you were just a bit larger and faster, that might’ve done me some real damage. But I can already point out some issues.”
“It has to do with my size and speed, right?”
“It does. I’m guessing you’re too used to fighting people with the same parameters as you. But the enemy will not come in one form. They will face you with every kind of body they possess, and you must be prepared for that.”
“How exactly do I do that?” Stefan asked.
“When people fight others who are smaller or the same size as them, they usually try to aim for the vulnerable regions, like the throat. You just did that yourself. You can’t do that with larger opponents, they’ll just shove you away and cut you down easily. So, what you want to do is aim for a lower extremity. After that, you go for the kill as quickly as possible before they can recover. Give it some thought, then try again.”
Stefan returned to his original position. He examined his sword, the space between him and Gareth, and Gareth’s body. He had to change his technique. Simply lunging and going for the slice wasn’t enough. He readied his footing again, then charged. At first, it looked like he made no changes. About two meters between the tip of Stefan’s sword and Gareth’s body, he suddenly dove forward. His body rolled frontwards over the snow, and he stomped hard to stop the momentum. The moment his body became still he stayed low and swung at his left, cutting Gareth’s ankle. Red liquid splattered the ground around him. The giant man fell forward, putting out a hand before he could slam into the packed snow. Still, he toppled onto his side.
“Gareth!” Stefan cried, rushing to his side. His eyes were shut, and he was immobile. “Get up. Stop messing around.”
He shook the man but to no avail. He gathered snow in his hands and was about to sprinkle it over his master’s face in a desperate attempt to return him to senses. He really did hurt the man. Or so he thought.
Gareth suddenly leaped up. He knocked Stefan down, simultaneously unsheathing a dagger he hid inside his coat. Terrified, Stefan held his hands in front of him in a futile attempt to protect himself.
Gareth dropped the dagger to the side, then helped the boy up again.
“Stefan, you must go for the kill immediately. You wouldn’t try to see if the enemy was okay in true battle. Other than that, you did well. You took advantage of your small size and struck somewhere the enemy can’t react fast enough to.”
“Th-thank you.” Stefan said with humility. “But are you okay? You’re bleeding from the ankle.”
Gareth removed his boot and turned his leg around to show Stefan a small leather bag strapped to the back of his foot. Red liquid oozed out of it, but it wasn’t from him.
“Bear blood,” Gareth explained. “Looks and smells just like ours.”
“But what if I really hurt you somewhere else? You couldn’t possibly be wearing that many bags.” Stefan noted.
Gareth lifted his coat, revealing a thin plate of armor over his abdomen.
“Even if you were to get a hit on me somewhere else, you’re not strong enough yet to penetrate this armor.”
Stefan took his explanations to heart and made sure not to forget them.
“When are we going to move onto guns?” Stefan asked.
“Not today. I just wanted to see where you are in terms of your sword skills. We’ll do more comprehensive lessons later.”
Stefan nodded as Gareth told him to take his gun and sword, since they were now his. They returned to the base, where Anwen was no longer in sight at Esperance’s pen. She must’ve finished her chores much earlier and returned to her room.
‘He doesn’t look it, but he is very smart. Ms. Laine, you may have created a special child.’ Gareth thought.