Waging War | The Amber Duology #1

32 | A Sense of Belonging

It had been days since the start of her physical training and yet, Nya couldn't feel any improvement. Although she had been working harder and trying her best to make it through training, there was still the problem of her sloppy kicks and weak punches.

"You alright, Nya?" Pixal asked from where she stood, offering a hand to help her up. "I can play defense if you want."

She grabbed her hand and pulled herself up. "No." She said with a sigh. "You're good at that too."

She didn't want anyone's sympathy, especially when she was meant to be strong during this phase of training. Knowing that someone pitied her was enough of a sign for her to know they found her weak.

"We'll go again." She said after a few moments, taking the time to catch her breath.

Pixal nodded, already positioning herself into a stance. Nya often wondered where she had learned all the things she knew, books were certainly not enough, or perhaps she just had a higher intelligence quote than most people that she was quick to analyze things.

Either way, Nya realized if she didn't want to be defeated, she had to become unpredictable.

Pixal attacked first, throwing a few punches to get her to move backwards, her feet planting forward with every strike. Nya did, and when it was her turn to move closer, the girl's foot found itself striking her chest with a swift kick. She fell onto the ground with a harsh thud.

Nya groaned, a hand to her chest as she laid on the sand. "Okay, I give up." She called, raising her free hand to block the sun that was trying to blind her. "You win, Pix."

The girl shook her head. "You can't just give up." Pixal pulled her up once more. "The Oni would be happy to offer you no mercy."

"Then maybe it's best if I don't put up a fight at all." Her head was spinning from the amount of times she had hit the ground. They've been at it for an hour now, running through the same moves over and over again.

Kai had inspected her technique at least twice now but none of his advice ever seemed to work. Nya always found herself on her back. Maybe I'm the problem. Was it possible that she wasn't ready for this phase of training? But if she didn't go through with it, when would she ever be ready?

"Teach me." She said before Pixal could even try to convince her to persevere. "Teach me to fight. Like what you do." Nya looked up to find a wide smile on her friend's face.

"Of course."

They got to work. 

And with every technique that Pixal taught her, Nya felt her confidence rise. There was no telling when she would ever be able to reach her full fighting potential. With her current state, she could tell there was a long journey of improvement ahead of her.

"Tilt your fist a little more." Pixal advised, fixing her current fighting stance. "That's good." A few more adjustments to her form and technique, Pixal asked, "Think you're ready to spar again?"

Nya smiled confidently this time. "Let's find out."

Pixel positioned herself in front of her, raising her fists and bending her knees just a tad. She blew a strand of silver hair away from her face and nodded, asking Nya to attack first. The girl did so, maintaining her stance with every punch she threw and kick she attempted.

When she fell on her back again, a laugh escaped her lips.

"You lasted longer than any other time, Nya." Pixal chuckled, sitting down beside her fallen form. "I'd call that an improvement."

"I call it progress." Nya smiled, turning her head to face the girl. "Thanks, Pix."

"You are very welcome."