Norbert looked across, gulping as Grosly came at him. Panicking, not having any experience fighting people or anything at all backing off. Sliding his feet on the ground, dust kicking up, Norbert stared at Grosly, trying to see his next move. Grosly continued moving forward, waiting for a chance to strike. Norbert looked up at what was happening, skirting to the side and slowly circling.
Out of the corner of his eye, Norbert saw Chip and Carmen exchanging blows, deflecting blades from each other in a shower of sparks. Before Norbert could turn around, Grosly appeared in his vision, charging towards him. Before even being able to move, Norbert felt a jolt go up his arm. Reflex, he opened his hand, his dagger dropping from it. Looking down, Norbert saw it sink into the ground.
Before he could even move, Norbert felt cold resting against his neck, Grosly holding one blade, gulping. Norbert stared at Grosly, waiting for something to happen. With a laugh, the man returned, sheathing his dagger, "You are so bad at this", he stated.
Bending down to pick his dagger up, Norbert looked at Grosly, unable to have a good comeback. "This is the first time I've used a weapon like this: Norbert whispered to himself."
"First time", Grosly said, "What have you been doing with your life?"
Norbert looked at him, annoyance forming; before he could utter one more word, Lily said, "That's enough; I know at least Norbert's level."
"Which is nothing," said Chip, stepping back from Carmen and looking at the interaction between the two boys.
"Now then, let's start with the basics, the very basics for all of us here. I imagine you will hear this more than once," Lily said, not disagreeing with Chips' comment. "Now face me and swing the dagger, like there is a dummy in front of you like this", Lily demonstrated by holding a dagger above her head as she hit an imaginary target before moving to the side and going again.
"I will ask you to do this until the movement is fluid with both hands." Hearing sighs from around, Norbert didn't argue, knowing they were doing this level of demonstration because of him. Standing up, Norbert swung it down, nearly falling on his face the first time. "You need to make sure you balanced, and it's a fluid motion", Lily said to the class.
Nodding, Norbert tried again, going slower and trying to get the movement down pat. Doing ten strikes with each, Norbert swapped to his left hand before doing another ten and swapping to the other hand. Continuing this, they went throughout the day, being shown the basic techniques of knife-wielding.
As Lily looked, seeing the sunset, "Now, for the last time today, and the true test of your level, it's time to have some fun." Once more, she threw out a cube, accepting the dust once more. "You will either accomplish in taking down the scharve in front of you or will be put out and need to make your way back to camp tonight."
Fully forming was one of the massive squirrels Norbert had seen before. Remembering from the previous lesson and trying to identify it was futile, as there was no way to discern what type of tail it produced other than dirt and dust. Thinking back, Norbert knew there was no dust or dirt type he was told of, so Norbert went and removed that from his thoughts.
"Norbert, you're up first !" Lily shouted at Norbert. Moved to action, Norbert looked up at the creature. Standing two meters tall and on its haunches, it stared at Norbert. Grabbing a dagger in his right hand, Norbert reversed the grip, not taking his eyes off the beast before him. As he stared across at it, Norbert looked, trying to make a plan to take it on. Thinking back to the last one he caught, the deer, he was severely outclassed in weight, knowing that if he tried to take it on again, he would be slammed against the ground.
He was thinking of what to do, the scharve charged at Norbert. Getting down on all fours, it went up to him before turning to the side and letting its tail spray across him. Norbert stood still, waiting to feel what hit him. And what hit him was just dust. Norbert closed his eyes, covering his face with his arm. Happy that the leather was protecting his body. After what felt like a lifetime, the dust slowed to a trickle, then a stop.
Norbert whipping his face, looked down at his hand. Pieces of dust and dirt had caked into the skin; whipping his hands off on his pants, it didn't come off. Looking more closely, Norbert saw that the dirt had seemed to imbed itself into his skin, a small amount of blood already coming up. Norbert looked across, happy he had the semblance of covering his face. As Norbert looked back at the scharve, Norbert knew he would not be able to take another one like that without punishment.
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Looking back, Norbert saw the scharve standing there; Norbert stared back and started to breathe in, focusing on the air in his lungs all around his body. Waiting, Norbert saw the scharve come back around; Norbert still waited. As the scharve came towards him once more, Norbert dashed forward in the last moment; feeling the tail come down, Norbert went to the side of the body, placing the dagger across its side as he dug in as deep as it could go, whipping his body in turn, to have the knife cover the most distance in the body as possible as the beast slowed down beside him.
Looking back to see the damage Norbert looked, dirt and dust trickle out of the wound before it stopped a second later; the area around it has closed up. Norbert breathed out, not realising the breath he was holding in; staring back at him, the scharve looked, once more charging. Norbert stood there, holding his breath and waiting; the beast raised its arm in the air, about to strike at him. Leaping forward, Norbert hit the ground on his back, spinning himself halfway in the air.
The scharve over his body Norbert held the dagger up, supporting it with two arms as it rushed forward. Norbert felt like his arms would be ripped off at the point of impact. The blade dug into the beast only slightly as it passed off.
Turning around and getting up, Norbert rushed towards the scharve, hoping that he would be able to get an advantage in the lack of time. As he neared the beast about to strike, the tail came around it, protecting it in a dirt wall. Too late to stop, Norbert dived head-first in, feeling get battered again. Pushing forward, it decreased, and Norbert could breathe freely once more. Looking around, I saw no dust, not even on the ground. Norbert looked at the beast, not knowing how long it could hold the wall for jumping for its head.
Knowing that he would not win in a battle of attrition, Norbert went for his old strategy of riding on the head and stabbing as many times as possible.
Circling, Norbert saw the eye in front of him, or what he assumed would be an eye, as this creature had no wet orb. Norbert, knowing it was the quickest way to the brain, stabbed down on it, wrapping his legs around the beast's body as much as he could. Raising his arm, Norbert let it fall back again as he had done before. Twice he was able to hit the beast before it moved on him.
Feeling his body move down, Norbert went for a third strike, knowing the oncoming body slam was about to happen. As he hit the ground, Norbert heard cracks go throughout his body, the arm with the dagger a twisted mess, pain shooting from his legs; Norbert still held on.
Raising the dagger again, he stabbed it down, not thinking about his body, just about breathing and hoping the purple light would protect him. Norbert is no longer thinking about it, just a machine carrying out the parts.
***
Norbert felt the pain finally stop; cracking his eyes open, he saw a white ceiling far above. Looking at the lights, they seemed weird, unlike any bulb he was expecting. Thinking it was an antique bulb, he looked down at the room around him. Lying down on a bed with white sheets, feeling the fabric on his body as he moved his arms, like riding on a marshmallow. Norbert looked up and saw a white curtain, thinking it strange that his hospital didn't have any walls. A nurse walked in.
Holding a device, he had never seen, she looked through it at his body, saying something to him, the words not making any sense. As he stared at the nurse, the brain fog on it lifted, and his memories from the last moment of the ground rushing towards him entered his body. Jumping from the memory, he knew he was in The Frontier's medical wing; the nurse approached him, still talking nonsense about this place.
Norbert, not understanding a word, reached for his chest, trying to feel the pendant but not feeling anything on his chest. Norbert looked around at the table, seeing nothing there.
"Well, this sucks", Norbert said aloud, knowing that the person in front of him would not know what he was saying and hoping he would get another pendant to translate again.
Looking back at the nurse, she nodded sagely once again before walking back outside. Norbert rested his head down, waiting for whatever was to come. As he looked around, Norbert realised something was missing; he could not find his little black and white speckled friend anywhere. Twisting his face in annoyance, Norbert felt the blankets again, happy that at least that was good. He moved his legs and arms around, feeling it brush all .. over ... his ... body.
Norbert lifted the covers, stopping his movement, and there, with all its glory, was Norbert's unclothed body. Quickly Norbert covered his body again, turning beet red. The heat from his face felt like a furnace in front of him. Norbert looked out again, and a head popped around the curtained corner. Looking down, Norbert looked in horror at who had entered, for in front of him was his instructor, Lily, spinning his pendant around her finger by the necklace; on her shoulder sat Obsius, who quickly took to flight and sat on top of Norbert's head. Moving his hair around, Obsius sat in, quite content with his location.
As Lily came around, still wearing the same clothes, not wearing the leather top or pants, the clothes shifting constantly, the pattern always changing, she opened her mouth.