Several hours had passed since we started our training. To keep it simple I only taught her two throws. She could guard, punch, and do everything else just fine, but with a couple of takedowns, she would be able to win much easier against larger opponents. Bear was more than a little curious, being self-taught, so I more or less took him on as a pupil too somewhere down the line.
We practiced in mind-numbing fashion with 500 repetitions of each technique… Just how I learned… I had them try using the move on Isy… Who I rather quickly started to feel sorry for yet again… But… She was really the only one large enough for Bear to practice on…
When all was said and done it was well into mid-day and Bear called for a break so that we could eat. I had no problems with it but…
“Not hungry,” Mo said bluntly, continuing to track her body through the motions against the air like she was addicted and just couldn’t stop.
‘I’m sure she needs to eat too… The question is how to get her to start rebelling against all the things she’s been bullied into making habit… Kids should eat real food… No bitter pills…’
Bear picked her up with one hand and threw her over his shoulder like a duffle bag. “Too bad,” he said boldly as he walked over to us. “We’re ready to eat. And you’re paying for the meal.”
“THAT’S NOT—”
I cut off Isy’s yelling. “That’s fair. I’ll pay for you both If you join my guild.”
“I’ll pay for myself then.” He grumbled.
All I could do was sigh. In reality, my magic no doubt cost him a lot of energy and size, regardless of his questionable genetics. So I couldn’t help but feel at least a little responsible. “Don’t worry about it… I’ll pay for you anyway…”
We went to the same stand that Isy and I had gone to before and as soon as Mo smelled the food you could see the drool come out of her mouth. “Thought you weren't hungry…” Bear said with a gruff look.
“Shut up!” she yelled, timidly nibbling away at the food, only getting a few bites in.
He on the other hand, practically ate like an animal, almost like he had developed his own special technique and muscle memory just for eating… Even though she only got a few bites in before holding her stomach, he didn’t complain. “Right then,” he said standing up upon finishing. “Pick one.”
After a long pause, Mo finally responded. “What?”
“Pick someone to fight. There are plenty of folks around here. Doesn’t matter if they are in the academy. They’ll probably still give it a go.”
“Wait but–”
“You need to learn that you don't need weapons to win a fight. Your daggers don’t make you who you are, even when you were using them, those daggers were being controlled by your hands… So…. Pick someone to fight…” His voice deepened, almost startling her into pointing in a seemingly random direction. “Sure… He’s fine. Go challenge him to a duel.”
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I rose a hand to block the bright sun and leaned to the side to get a better view. ‘Hey… That guy looks familiar… Wait… Wasn’t I supposed to fight him a couple nights ago or something?’
She hesitantly got up and walked over, timidly approaching like a girl about to confess her feelings… It was hard for me to watch… But Bear seemed to enjoy it at least. “You’d think a stone-cold killer would have more of a spine.” He said slowly, leaning back on the counter and patiently watching.
“She probably would if she was sneaking up on him… At the end of the day, you’re still asking an 11-year-old girl to go do something she’s never done before, in a way she’s never done it… She’s probably less nervous about fighting him… And more nervous about what she’s supposed to say to him…”
Bear almost laughed, but judging from their interaction it became pretty clear I was right. She could hardly get the words out. When she finally did, even I felt relieved.
‘Of course, the man accepted…’ It was hard to feel bad for him because of how nervous Mo was… And the fact he accepted the challenge. But… He was so outmatched it was also hard not to… The fight was over in one move. It wasn’t even one of the moves I taught her. She just jabbed him in the throat and he fell backward on the ground, leaving us both speechless.
‘Now I feel a little sorry for him…’
After taking his marks she timidly walked back over, coming up to us like a middle schooler showering her dad her first report card with straight A’s “I-I fought him… And I won…”
It was a little too precious given the circumstances… I just didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully Bear responded for me, patting her on the head as he stood up. “Good job Mo, let’s head to the duling grown next.”
She inhaled so fast out of shock I could hear her squeak, but she didn’t ask any questions, silently following along despite her nerves.
As we walked I pulled him aside. “Like you said… The only real issue with her is how self-conscious and unconfident she is… Winning fights would be great, but wouldn’t losing one reverse all our progress?”
He scoffed again. “Not on someone like her.”
“Someone like her?”
He growled again, his lack of explanation starting to remind me of someone else…
‘So no answer then?’ I sighed as we walked past the man on the ground who was dusting himself off. “Oh, hey. Real quick, did you still want to like fight me? Or… Sorry… I kind of forgot.”
He chuckled nervously. “No! No… It’s fine… I’d… Rather not embarrass myself again so soon thanks…”
My eyes widened slightly with surprise, unsure of how to respond before I suddenl felt a flick on the back of my head followed by me being lifted off the ground, turned around, and pushed forward. “You’ll have time to flirt later, you gave me a job so let’s get it done.”
‘What… Just happened?’ I blinked several times finding myself walking along side him. “Uh… Right… Work is most important.” ‘What did he say? Flirting? I wasn’t was I?’ “Uhm Bear… What exactly is flirting?” ‘I should probably find out the general reference for this culture… So I don’t make any mistakes…’
He glanced down at me, somehow scowling, squinting, and widening his eyes all at the same time, but ultimately not saying anything.
‘The quiet type I guess… Honestly I’m not a fan… But he’s still better than most people I’d say.’ I sighed. “I’m the one that asked for your help… So I’ll trust you…” I felt chills run down my arms as I said those words, instinctually expecting my trust to be betrayed… The reality was that it was a gamble. The chances of her winning were quite high though, and if she didn’t… I’d figure out a plan… I looked up at him again, flinching away slightly as I noticed his eyes staring back at me.
“Sorry…” He grumbled. “What I meant was, that she’s already mastered a certain skill set. How many times do you think she messed up or failed when doing so… She wouldn’t be discouraged by a single loss when trying something new. Especially if she is expecting to be bad at it.”
‘How can he just continue our conversation like that?’ I felt another wave of chills. ‘He apologized? And explained his thinking. He isn’t always teasing me… He doesn’t mess with me. He’s strong, he uses his brain, and he calls me by the cutest nickname I’ve ever had…’ “Are you sure You don’t want to join my guild… Pretty please?”
He groaned, turning away. “For now, we should focus on the task at hand.”
Bear
Loyalty: 5
Opinion: 80
Intimacy: 5
Attitude: Slightly protective/indebted/appreciative
Mental state: cautious
‘Protective… Of who? Of me? No… He already treats Mo like a little sister, so probably of her right?’ I jumped up to his side and leaned forward to get a better look at his face while we walked. ‘Seeing the intimacy stat increase on a guy feels weird when I still don’t know what it means… Loyalty is good though. And his opinion keeps increasing too. I wonder what stats he will have to be at to join.’
He glanced down and I flinched upright again, returning to normal. ‘And he knows how to keep priorities straight… Seriously, he’s like, perfect… Or, you know… Like a normal human being… That’s probably half troll… But still, he’s the best!’ I sighed after holding my breath. “Focus on saving Mo first. Everything else is secondary right now.”
His brow narrowed for a moment, but he didn’t say anything back. ‘I said that last part out loud didn’t I…’