One month writing challenge!

Fight Smart Not Hard (Day 22)

(Feat. Kyle and Sasha and Charles)

 "Hey Kyle, come spar with me!" Sasha yelled, causing him to jolt up in surprise. Kyle was sitting near the extinguished campfire, a quill in his hand and reading his spell book. He had tried several times, yet for some reason, none of the sigils he drew on himself would work. He turned around to face Sasha and she started laughing at him! Only then did he realize why; he was covered in ink from head to toe.

"Why me? Wouldn't it be better to wait for Charles to get back, he'd be a better matchup. Where is he anyway?" Kyle asked, looking around. The sun shone brightly into his eyes causing him the squint. He must have been sitting there for hours now, he'd been trying to learn new spells since the sun began to rise. Now it was midday, and the half eaten pancakes he had made were cold and stale. He didn't even realize Sasha had woken up or that Charles had gone somewhere.

"He went to 'gather intel' so he's probably day drinking and flirting with gals stupid enough to fall for his looks. Charles won't be back for a while and I'm not going to be fighting him while tipsy, he's already enough of a douchebag without the alcohol," She said, the annoyance slipping onto her face. She shook her head and slapped Kyle on the back, knocking the wind out of him. Sasha didn't seem to notice though, she's often unaware of her own strength, and Kyle's fragileness, a dangerous combo. He couldn't lie, that was a big reason he avoided sparring with her, Kyle would never say it to her face though. "Come on, I bet you're way better at fighting then you say you are! Especially since you have magic and all."

With that, he was dragged away from the campfire and to his demise. How was Kyle supposed to beat Sasha of all people? Her strength rivals those of back home, and she's almost as fast as Charles, even with her armor. Not only that, she was skilled in sword fighting, her greatsword might as well weigh as much as him. All Kyle had was one spell he could use decently. In comparison to her, Kyle was a twig and in a moment, about to get snapped in half.

The sparring grounds weren't anything special, with having to travel constantly, Sasha and Charles don't spend much time making them. It was just a minute or so from camp, in an opening in the forest. The actual arena was just a big circle made of various sticks and stones. It didn't look anything like the one's Kyle had back home, big and majestic to honor Aemillios, the god of strength. Sasha didn't care at all though, "It's not like I'll be paying attention when I'm too busy beating his ass!"

Sasha let go of Kyle and grabbed her greatsword sitting in the middle of the arena. She warmed up by slashing the air with it effortlessly, moving her arms and twirling her weapon with elegance. Kyle just stood on the opposite side of the arena, dreading the moment she would finish, how was he supposed to prepare himself? Flex his fingers? Practice talking?

"You ready Kyle? Remember I'm not going to go easy on you so you shouldn't hold back either." She told him, getting into position.

"Uh yeah, I'll try my best!" he said, a nervous laugh coming from him. I don't think I'd be able to beat you even at your worst, he thought as sweat rolled down his face. He said a silent prayer and hoped for the best, though even he knew that hope wouldn't be good enough. Sasha began to count down.

"3..

"2..

"1!"

In less than a second, she was in front of him. The sword barely missed his body and he stumbled to the ground. The sigil on his shoulder glowed brightly as he threw up a shield of crystals. Her sword ricocheted off of the crystals and Kyle could see a faint smile on her lips before she was gone. He yelped as he felt a kick to his back, causing him to fall forward. He rolled to the side and was able to get up barely avoiding her strikes and kicks. He tried to conjure up more shields, but couldn't focus because of the barrage of slashes. An idea came to him as he fell to the ground, he chanted as fast as he could but by the time crystals shot out of the ground, snaking around Sasha's legs, her sword was already to Kyle's throat.