𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦²

30.

Laya only had two thoughts in her head. Shoot and run. She was training with Jake, and she had never run so much. After every arrow he would make her run a lap around the border of the forest, then come back and shoot again. It was exhausting and she couldn't wait until she was done. Her arms, legs, and shoulders were all extremely tired. Every time she asked to stop, Jake told her to run another lap.

She knew this kind of training was ingrained in him, but she hated it. She came back from her lap and pulled back her bow string, aiming another arrow.

"Last one then we'll finish with some spear practice."

She barely nodded at him and released the string. The arrow cut through the air and landed at the target, precisely in the middle. Not paying attention to her triumph, she sprinted off to the border of the forest. The more she ran, the more she understood why the Omaticaya were so skinny and slender. They had to be. She was certainly not appreciating her thick tail right now.

Finally running back to Jake, she put her hands on her knees and panted. "Good job, that was better." He nodded and checked something off of the list that he was carrying.

"That-" She panted. "Was terrible-"

Jake looked at her and smiled. "Now you know the classic Marine training. Congrats."

She shook her head and spit onto the ground. "I'm never doing that again." She tried to catch her breath and ran a hand through her hair, standing up.

He chuckled. "You're gonna thank me when you get an ikran."

Taking a deep breath, she felt her heart rate slow down. "You said something about spear practice?"

He nodded and threw her one of their practice spears. "Now I know you have some experience with spears, but have you ever fought with one?" She shook her head. "That's what I thought. Hold it like this-" He showed her how he was holding it and she copied his actions. "Good, now a spear can be used to attack and deflect, that's what makes it so useful." He stepped a few feet in front of her and showed her how to hit properly.

They spent the next hour training with spears. He taught her different ways to grip it, different ways she could attack or deflect, or do both. She started to get the hang of it, so he offered to spar. She hesitantly said yes, not knowing what to expect.

He immediately jumped forward and attempted to strike her with the blunt end of the spear, but she easily deflected him. She pushed him to the side with her spear and turned around, pretending to stab him in the stomach.

"That was good, keep that up." He complimented her.

She nodded, and they tried again. This time he let her attack first. She sprang forward and tried to push him onto the ground, but he dodged and instead forced her onto the ground. She felt the dull throbbing course through her body and let out a groan. He offered her a hand up, which she took, and checked to make sure she was okay.

He looked up at the sky and saw how dark it was getting. "I think we're done for today. You did great."

Laya wiped dirt off of her chin and nodded. "Okay, thanks. I'm gonna head back home."

He nodded. "I'll clean up, you go and rest." She nodded and walked to home.

She felt her head ache creep up on her again, and she remembered the events of last night. Embarrassed of the memory, she felt a need to apologize to Benity and Ayakam. Her and Neteyam had jumped on each other the second they got any alcohol in their system, completely ignoring the others. It was a tad embarrassing to have others see you in such a state, but she doubted they would remember it. The only reason she remembered was because of the stronger tolerance she had, probably because of how she was Metkayina.