Dawnpoint

Chapter 23

After that conversation, Micah had asked Phoenix if he could make him a bow when he and Liliana returned from the mansion. He had agreed after Micah scraped an image of one into the concrete flooring, both unfazed by the scratching noise that it caused. They had spent a few hunting trips looking for materials that would be useful, and worked together, experimenting with different designs until the found the most effective one.

He had practiced shooting it in the kitchen – mainly when no one else was around – standing further away from the empty barrels used as makeshift targets as he managed to land each hit whether standing still or moving. Using a mixture of throwing knives, his usual weapon, and his arrows, he trained in switching between ranged and close combat, accepting any tips the others offered him in their one-on-one sessions.

He had hardly slept, opting to improve his endurance and tone his muscles more, exercising while the others were asleep.

"Come on," Oryn said, walking into the room and standing at the bottom of Micah's mattress.

"We going already?" he asked, grabbing his bow and knife and standing up, muscles still aching.

Oryn shook his head and took the bow from him, placing it back on his bed. "You may be good at shooting things, but you still need to improve your physical fighting skills."

Micah followed him past the kitchen, expecting to go outside when he took a left turn, heading down a corridor he hadn't noticed before, and he realised this must be the extra space he hadn't had time to find. It was dimly lit, a single lantern at the end illuminating the entrance to another room. Once inside, he realised it was empty aside from a few rocks and slabs of wood brought in from the kitchen

Oryn took his knife out of its sheath and twisted it in his hands, opening his fingers to let it twirl with his wrist. Micah clutched his own and readied himself, standing with his right leg slightly behind him, bent knees, and held his arms out with closed fists.

"Rules?" he asked, remembering when Phoenix had first sparred with him, exaggerating the importance of them to avoid any serious damage.

Oryn shrugged. "No faces, no stabbing, no biting."

"Biting?" he repeated, amused, and Oryn nodded with a grimace.

"Don't ask."

As they readied to fight again, Oryn took the first step, moving slowly as they circled each other. Micah tried to predict his movements, Liliana's words echoing in his head as Oryn lunged forward in favour of his left side. He stepped to the left, recognising the technique, and easily dodged the knife slicing through the air.

He ducked and moved to slice at Oryn's leg, but he was quick to knock him off balance with a sharp kick to the shoulder, bringing the handle of his blade down at the same time. Micah grunted as he fell, quickly pushing himself back up and circling Oryn again.

He was silent as they sparred, focusing on dodging the attacks and listening to Oryn's advice and words of encouragement. When Oryn started attacking him relentlessly, however, the blade caught his arm and left a small trickle of blood falling as Oryn pulled back. He hissed but didn't check it as he swung again, aiming for Oryn's side, and threw a punch with his opposite hand, landing a blow on his ribs.

Oryn chuckled as he retreated and held his hand to his side. "You're a lot stronger."

"I've been training." Micah shrugged and lunged again.

Their blades crashed together, Micah using both of his hands to try and push it away with his own. He yelled as Oryn kicked his stomach and spun around, slamming the same leg into his chest and threw him halfway across the room. He landed awkwardly on his side and dropped his weapon.