Fire in Her Eyes - Charlie Weasley

Chapter 16 - Darkness

The next few weeks flew by for Kai. She slowly got to know Charlie a little better and he got to know her too. They kept things easy, since she had started to train with him so he would trust her to interact with dragons and they had to spend a lot more time together. They still had their arguments and butted heads frequently, but it was easier when they weren't also getting into personal details. It was an unspoken rule that they had both come to agree on.

She learned his favorite foods, colors, what he enjoyed about his work and what he didn't. They avoided everything to do with their pasts for the time being. She didn't want to talk about hers and he made it clear that topic was off limits for him as well.

Kai also managed to finally feel prepared if anything were to go wrong. She had finished the burn salve, and it was perfect. The fire mite and hangover cures were also made as well. She had even pulled together a bruise balm. All of her supplies had gotten to the sanctuary and she had treated every animal in the vicinity for any kind of illness. Most of the people had been able to be seen by one of the previous healers, but the animals had not. Some had general illnesses, but she did have to fix an old cat with kidney disease and a dog with a heart problem.

Overall, she felt accomplished and ready. Most of all, she felt settled. She and Kellen were close friends, but she had managed to keep it to just that, avoiding any situations where they could be left alone together. Chelsea had become a close confidant and was officially dating Cooper. She loved the sanctuary as her new home and she was happy to be a part of it.

It took Kai three weeks to get fast enough that she didn't get hit by the tennis balls anymore when Charlie chucked them her way.

She grinned triumphantly at him as the last ball sailed past her, knowing she had finally completed what was asked of her.

He raised an eyebrow, "Not bad."

She rolled her eyes. He wasn't one for compliments, but that was as much of a "good job" as she had ever gotten from him.

"Now I get to meet the dragons?" She teased. She knew she was nowhere close to "ready", but they had an easy banter sometimes.

He just rolled his eyes, "Now we move on to boxing."

Kai hesitated. She didn't love the idea of hitting someone else and she knew herself well enough to know that she was tired of getting hit.

"I don't think I'm going to need to spar with a dragon, Weasley," she drawled, carefully sarcastic. She kept her voice light and easy going, but she was honestly petrified.

"I promise, it helps with your reflexes. And it's the next step that all trainers go through," Charlie's voice was calm. "Plus you just start with the bag first until you're ready for light sparring."

He led the way over to an old bag that had been hanging in the corner. As far as she knew, Kai had never seen it in the gym before, but it changed so often when she was with Charlie that she stopped being able to keep track of what was or wasn't there.

"Show me your stance," he ordered, watching her.

"I don't have one," she snapped at him, rolling her eyes, "I've never done this before." She knew he wouldn't tease her or make her feel bad for not knowing something. He was truly an annoyingly good teacher, but she felt defensive about not knowing how to fight. It could have saved her so much pain, and she was incredibly ashamed of the fact that she didn't know how.

He simply raised his eyebrows, surprised by her tone. They stared each other down for a minute, Kai silently refusing to apologize for her tone, while Charlie imposed his commanding presence, reminding her who was in charge.