Chapter 5 - Training
A pair of
figures fought in a clearing, far from any prying eyes, or any help.
The bigger, more heavily armored man swung his sword round and round,
trying to keep the lightly armored fair-haired woman at bay. If there
were an observer, he may have noticed that the man was sweating
profusely, his hands shaky, a frightened look in his eyes.
This same observer may also have noticed that the lithe blonde
was completely at ease, as if her opponent posed no threat, which in
truth he did not. She was currently circling the man, her sword making
lazy circles. Our imaginary observer could have compared the scene to a
tiger playing with a fear-frozen deer.
After a few lazy swipes with her sword, which the deer blocked
with great consternation, the observer would have heard the reedy
girl's banshee-like scream, seen her charge her antlered prey, then
watched as she jump-flipped over her toy, come down tiger-like, then
kick backwards to send her eastwhile plaything sailing into a nearby
tree, knocking him out.
Callisto turned
around and saw Joxer lying unconscious on the ground. She cocked her
head to the side, looked closer at the still form and realized that her
partner was really unconscious and not faking like the last time.
"Oops," she said with a twinkle in her eyes, "looks like he
couldn't handle the rough stuff."
|
The blonde
warrior walked over to the edge of the clearing and stopped at where
their equipment rested. She picked up a waterskin and drank from it.
With a mischievous grin, she strolled to her sleeping sidekick and
poured the rest of the waterskin on his face. Joxer woke with a start,
sitting up and sputtering water all over himself.
"You didn't have to wake me up like that," he complained to his
tormentor.
She flipped her sword into the air, sunlight glinting off the
blade as it made three lazy revolutions before she caught it. "And just
how would you like me to wake you up?" she inquired politely as she
flipped her sword again, faster this time.
Her helmeted companion mulled over the question. At last, he
decided there were far more painful methods Callisto could use to wake
him up. He didn't want to experience any of them, although he feared he
eventually would. His dangerous companion liked to come up with
entertaining ways of waking him up, entertaining for her, that is.
"Err, never mind," he said sheepishly. "Well, let's get back to
work."
Joxer carefully got up, trying to ignore the bumps and bruises he
had aquired today. He was tired and sore all over, there being few
places on his body that had not yet been whacked in one way or another
by his demanding teacher. Calluses were forming on his hands from using
his sword so much and he could barely hold his sword still. At least he
hadn't broken anything, yet.
|