The morning saw all four members of the family gathered in the courtyard, the sun’s heat unmitigated by clouds or wind. The rays set the world shivering, the torrid air contorting around us, making it impossible not to sweat. There was no doubt in my mind that despite my perspiring, I had it easiest; the twins’ pale skin would turn red as tomatoes before the day was out, and Ma’s leathery rolls of skin provided too much insulation to be comfortable. Of course, she didn’t show it, but I knew she must be boiling.
Ma kept the restaurant closed at least one morning a week in order to train us. It seemed different this time – usually she would already be commanding us to demonstrate various techniques or be trying to teach us new ones. Usually the twins would practice on me, and I on her. Ma had a lot of faith in my sturdiness, though she always laid thick rugs out to protect us from any falls. Given that yesterday’s tussle had left me none the worse for wear, she seemed to be correct.
I groaned. “What are we doing here, Ma? Can’t we train on a cooler day? Maybe one with clouds?”
Sash nodded in agreement, Dash too much of a suck-up to support my obviously excellent proposition.
“No,” Ma stated, “this is the best kind of day to prepare for a real fight. There are no optimal conditions in-“
“Actual combat,” I finished her sentence. “Absolutely, we hear you. I don’t know about you two” - I looked at the twins - “but I’m not planning on getting in any battles for the foreseeable future.”
Dash kicked at an invisible pebble as Sash shook her head.
“Wait, have I missed something?” I asked Ma.
Her face, deformed as it was, still managed to convey a sense of disapproval. “Sash and Dash want to join the Old Guard when they are of age.”
I spun on them. “What? Are you stupid? Do you want to die?”
The pair flinched. Sash immediately drew herself together for a rebuttal, however Ma cut her off. “It is their choice to fight. It is their right as humans to try and hunt gods.”
“Such is our duty!” my sister proclaimed proudly.
“Shut up.” I seethed at her. “Who’s putting these ideas in your head? Jackson?”
Dash had a good poker face, yet our sister did not. She looked at my bare feet.
“Jackson? That…” I let out a low growl. “After all Ma’s done for him. Ungrateful-”
“No, not just Jackson,” Dash interjected. “It’s just, with him joining up we realised we actually could, you know, fight.”
“You are stupid.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so against this,” he argued, somewhat bemused. “The Raven’s Cult killed our original parents. We’re only alive because Ma saved us.”
“It’s not- that’s-“ I stuttered, then paused, gathering my thoughts. “You’ll die.” I stated. “You’ll both die.”
Ma cleared her throat. “That is why I have made the two agree only to join after they can beat me.”
The words caught in my throat. Desperately, I tried to think of something to convince her. “You’re not as strong as you used to be, Ma. They might not survive.”
“Even so, I cannot stop them. They do not require my permission.” Dash looked uncomfortable at such a rebellious thought.
“It is true, Orvi!” Sash agreed. “When we reach sixteen, no one is allowed to stop us.”
I spluttered, still furious.
“I’m simply preparing them, Orvi,” Ma said, gently. “Them defeating me is unlikely.” At Sash’s indignant look, she continued. “And even if they do, hopefully we can persuade them over the coming years.”
“Fine,” I spat. “But you have to be able to beat Ma and me.”
Sash’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “But we’ve already beat you before.”
“At the same time.”
“That’s unfair!” Dash protested.
“Do you think you’ll never fight two people simultaneously? You’re smarter than that. The Old Guard doesn’t just hunt. They’re also, you know, guards.”
Sash sniffed. “We agree to your terms.”
Her twin whirled. “Sash!”
“He is correct. And if this is the only way to get Orvi’s blessing, then we need to beat them.”
Ma clapped her hands together. “Then it is done. The plan for today is to hold three battles. You will face one another once. There will be two bouts for each of you. The fights will be to submission or until I call a stop."
"We have to fight Orvi alone?" Sash muttered.
"Correct. The victor will gain the right to name our restaurant this week.”
“But it was my turn to make a name!” Dash complained.
“From now on, that privilege will be reserved for winners only.”
It was obvious she had made that rule to give me a reason to join. However, I would have fought anyway; I needed to beat it into their skulls that fighting gods wasn’t for them. There was only one problem with that idea: they were both far more talented than I was. I needed to thoroughly thrash them before they grew any stronger.
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Dash and I went first. We both stripped down to our pants, donning makeshift padded helmets and hand wraps, which would assist in protecting us from any serious damage. The helms were made of stitched leather stuffed with cloth and linen. I was glad for them – I could take a hit, but hopefully it would curb any serious damage to Dash’s head. The hand wraps were mostly for me, though, as I had a habit of punching improperly and injuring my fingers. As we did this, the ladies rolled rugs across the small courtyard.
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Ma and Sash watched from the opposite side of the well as we squared off. “Are you ready?” our mother stated, and we both nodded.
“Then begin.”
Dash went right for me, immediately attempting a low kick. I stepped backwards and struck at his face, but my retreat stole most of the momentum from the blow. Taking it on his guard, he kicked again, this time at the side of my torso. Instead of dodging I moved forward, punching the side of his head. He stumbled, the kick interrupted, and went down.
I looked to Ma, standing a few paces away, to make the call. She smiled faintly as I felt my legs being swept from underneath me and I crashed into the ground, barely managing to slow the fall with my hands. Then a weight fell on top of me as Dash jumped on my back, wrapping his arms around my neck in a chokehold.
His hand tightened the hold by gripping one of my shoulders, and I could already feel the world dimming. I struggled to my feet, Dash still on my back, and then stumbled backwards, slamming him against one of the shutters. His grip loosened slightly and I felt blood rush back into my head, though only for a moment as it tightened again. I slipped one hand underneath the elbow around my neck, but his hold was just too good. Instead, I stumbled forward, pressed an elbow against his kidney, and leapt backwards, slamming both of us onto the ground.
My elbow sunk into his torso, making him gasp, and I heaved his weakened arms off my neck. I rolled onto my feet as he coughed, then placed a foot on his neck. “Over!” Ma bellowed. “The match is over! Orvi has won!”
I helped my brother to his feet as he pouted, eyes slightly damp from the pain of my blows. I was the victor, but I felt more like a loser; the fight had only been mine because of my greater weight. It felt hollow. I just hoped Dash was less confident in his ability to fight gods.
“Dash, mostly decent work. You took advantage of Orvi’s openings and performed an excellent rear choke. However, you should always account for your opponent’s strengths. Orvi is nearly half again your size – any choke that does not immobilise him will open you to a counter. Any Blooded, however weak, would punish you in such a position. An Oxblood would tear you in half, and a Foxblood would simply twist out of it. If your grapple is not effective, do not give your opponent the opportunity to use it against you. Be more careful.
“Orvi. You should know better than to stop fighting before the match is called. Your reactions to falling should have been faster – Dash should have not had the opportunity to gain the position he did. It should also be obvious that it would not have worked on anyone larger – be sure to not form bad habits.”
Sash and I were next, given I was mostly unharmed. She was the more dangerous of the two, at least until they both got older – her grapples often made my strength irrelevant, while her reflexes and flexibility helped her avoid my blows. As she waited, I rested against the lip of the well, and slowly began tugging its bucket upwards. I straightened as Ma made the call to begin.
Sash began cautiously approaching, then stopped outside my range, wary of any punches. I stood still, not wanting to attack and give her an opening to counter. I was content to lean against the well; with a wall to support me it would be harder for her to throw me onto the ground. And if I fell in, I was holding a rope.
She read the situation in the exact same way, and so for a good thirty seconds we stared at one another, doing exactly nothing. Patience was never Sash’s strong suit, so she began edging closer once again. As soon as she drew close, I whipped the bucket out, flinging it at her.
As she flinched away I pressed my advantage and caught her in the face with three quick jabs. However she tucked her head downwards, letting my fists hit the hardest part of her skull. Stepping forward, I continued with an uppercut, attempting to ignore the pain in my fist. She rocked backwards slightly, letting it slip past, and then she was in my guard, grabbing at me.
Bare-chested as I was, she had nothing to grip, so instead Sash snaked her leg behind mine and pulled, forcing my knee to bend. She slipped behind my panicked punches, proceeding to use my disadvantaged position to wrap her legs around my neck. I managed to put both arms up, having learnt from the previous fight, but the sudden change in weight tipped me backwards, sending me to the ground.
Unlike with Dash, I was on my back, robbing me of the leverage needed to rise again. We stayed there for a while, her in the better position, with myself the stronger of us two. Sensing the stalemate, Sash began throwing blows at my unprotected head. None were powerful enough to affect me significantly, but they were uncomfortable. I shifted slightly, trying to catch most of them against my guard. She used my slight movements to catch my right arm between her legs, and, hugging it to her chest, began using all of her body strength to heave it backwards.
I struggled, slowing the progress, and attempted to pull the other side of my body around, but her legs crushed it downwards. I swore and tried again, clawing at her as pain lanced through my arm, which bent in unnatural ways. My eyes bulged and with a roar, I rose, using both arms to pick her up and slam her against the well. She screamed, and dropped. I blanched. “Over!” Ma yelled, and I rushed over to Sash, ignoring the pain in my arm.
Damn her eyes. By all the blood, it shouldn't have gone that far. Ma should have called it - but she never does, not is spars. I should've stopped, but it was difficult to hold back against her. If Sash could see something coming, she could avoid it, while anyone who grabbed her would usually get taken down. It was what made her so hard to fight.
Her eyes unclenched, and she rubbed her back, grunting slightly. There didn't seem to be permanent damage. Still. I should have let her win. That was stupid.
Ma began her lecture. “Sash, well done. Given Orvi’s positioning, you should have known he was planning something, yet you recovered well. However, the same points apply as with Dash: account for your opponent. Your arm bar would be effective against those of similar size, but anyone larger might simply be able to throw you off. With your current weight, your only real option in such a scenario is to flee or acquire a weapon. The bucket may be a good choice, if you had nothing else. Besides that, excellent work.
“Orvi, your opening move was decent. However - and I hate to be repeating myself so much but it needs to be said – account for your opponent. Sash is most dangerous in close range; you should have stayed against the well and fought her at reach. You have the better stamina, and unless she could somehow take you to the floor it would have easily been your win.
"I think I will give this one to Sash; if only because Orvi played this so badly.”
I felt like an idiot. I had thought Sash impatient, yet had barrelled towards her like some lizard-brained idiot. Ma shouldn’t need to outline all that; I had already known it, which was why I was positioned against the well in the first place. Scowling, I stood and took my place against Ma, watching the final bout.
Dash and Sash squared up against one another. My sister had chosen to stand against the well, probably looking to take the advantageous position, while Dash stood loosely, next to the bucket. Ma announced the match’s start and he scooped it up by its wooden handle and approached Sash.
What followed was slightly painful to watch. Dash stood, slightly outside her range, and began hitting his sister with the bucket, over and over again. She blocked and moved forward, but every advance was followed by him retreating just a little bit more, smacking her all the while. It appeared absurd – a boy retreating from a slightly smaller girl, too scared to get within her reach – but it worked.
They pranced throughout the yard for several minutes, Sash, despite several attempted tackles, failed to hit her brother even once. Every miss was accompanied by howls of frustration while Dash whacked her, her arms already bruising. She tried to steal Dash’s makeshift weapon multiple times, however his grip on it was good enough to yank it away from her each time. Eventually she burst into tears. Wiping at her face, she ran inside.
Ma stared after her, then looked back at the guilty-looking bucket-wielder. She scratched her head, slightly deflated. “Dash. Don’t feel bad. Her retreat marks your victory. That was excellent, truly. You could not have played that match any better. It should be less simple next week; we will be sparring with staves. Still, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I’ll talk to her later.”
For a second none of us said a word, before I spoke the question that had chased me throughout their bout. “So. Who gets to name our place, given everyone won once? Is there a tie breaker, or...”
Ma’s face split into a wolfish grin, revealing her massive teeth. “I do. I’m thinking of calling it…” she paused, her smile growing even wider. “’Orvi, Dash, and Sash’s Lovely Little Family Restaurant.’”
Dash put his head in his hands as I groaned.