Black Sapphire | Xaden Riorson | S/H

VII

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     "Please explain that again."  I give a small laugh and bow my head, pulling the stance back.  Rhiannon stands in front of me with a decent copy of my pose.
     "Swing your foot around and back," I explain as I do so slowly.  She follows.  "Then this foot slides back, and then turns to slide right.  You can't go diagonal, you'll mess it up."  I do so and she attempts it, but I call out.  "No, no," I say.  "You can't put your weight on your left leg."
     "How the fuck do I not?"
     "You need to learn how to fall.  That's the point of this move.  You fall forward and you let yourself."  I look over as Violet attempts it herself but loses her balance and has to slam down her right foot in front of her.
     "I don't feel like that helps," Rhiannon grumbles.
     "It's my entire dodging technique.  You fall out of the way."
     "Fall?" she echoes with raised brows.
     "Yes.  I know exactly how I move when I do these—again, I've been doing these since I was 6—and I know perfectly where I will be when.  I time that with how I predict their movements will be and I fall around them.  The good thing about it is that if my prediction is wrong, it's easier to move because I already have the momentum, and it gives me a lot of endurance because I'm not wasting energy."
     "I didn't know it was this complicated," Violet mumbles.  She's seemingly given up.
     "You just..." I start before sighing.  "You need to learn to let go.  You need to learn to relax, force your body into nothing even when your instincts scream.  That's what this is about."  I turn to Violet with a small smile.  "I know it'll hurt, but seriously, if you go to do the move and can't, try to not catch yourself.  Just go."  She raises her brows and Rhiannon crosses her arms as she stands up.
     "How did you learn to do that?" she asks softly.  I pinch my lips as I glance away.
     "My dad would take me outside, and tell me to fall face-first into the grass.  If I reached out to catch myself, he'd shake his head and tell me to fall.  I didn't fall, I tripped.  Minimize damage but let yourself fall.  And I would do that until I could fall onto my face into the wet grass of the shore without moving a muscle to try to stop it.  But I'm not gonna make you do that."
     "No, that's what we need to do then," Rhiannon says with confidence, then turns to Violet.  "Think you can?"
     "I'm up for it."

     I did not accompany them for that exercise often.  But it was certainly helping, as they were learning the steps much better.  I went out the days before we would meet in the early morning to move over some of them.
     Violet has gotten through three more matches without much issue, so I'm happy for her.  Rhiannon is becoming ever the monster on the mat and I'm glad to have her by my side.  I've gained myself three more daggers, giving back Violet's after I got my second.
     I watch the professor as his face pinches together and then he looks up at me.  He waves a hand toward the mat and I move to step onto it, which seems to be what he means.  Judging by how he lowers his hand after with a small nod, I think I'm right.
     "How do you say your name again?" he asks calmly, a gruff edge to his voice as it drifts over the thin crowd between us.
     "(Y/N)."  He glances away for a moment as he tries to commit it to memory.  I look over as Xaden walks behind him and then moves to stand by his side, maybe two feet away from the elder man.
     "Okay.  Your opponent is in the infirmary today, she seemed to come down with quite the sickness."  I tilt my head and draw in my brows.
     "Should I get off the mat, then?" I ask slowly.
     "No.  It's okay," Xaden answers.  Emetterio looks over as he begins stepping down my breath catches in my throat.  "I'll step in."