The Dragon's Nest

Chapter Five

Kihomina's night was sleepless. The thought of her dying against Nicohima and failing her parents scared her. How could she live up to such a task? She rolled onto her side and sighed. Tanima was awake too, sensing her friend's restless feature. "What's wrong, Kiho?" Tanima had came up with the name because Kihomina became tedious to her. "It's Nicohima, how do I beat him? I'm so small and he's a big as the cave!" Kihomina sounded like she was going to cry.
Tanima nuzzled her back. "Monosia and Theran said they will train you." She said softly. Kihomina looked at her. "What if I don't make it back?" Tanima sighed. "But you wi-" Kihomina broke in. "What if I don't, Tanima?! What then?! Who will I travel to the clouds with?! I can't do this! I made a promise to you and Nicohima is something I have to fight!" Tanima slapped Kihomina, which echoed through the cave. "That's why you have to make it back, Kiho! You are going to travel the clouds with me! You have to! But this fight comes first, alright?!" She yelled at Kihomina.
The girl sat back against the cold wall of the cave. It was the first time Tanima had ever yelled at her. Tanima sat on her hind legs and looked at Kihomina. "I understand that your scared, Kiho. I am too. Really. But demeaning yourself like this will only lower your chance of winning, okay?" Kihomina sighed. Tanima was right, she was only demeaning herself. "Right." She muttered. "Now, let's try to sleep, before I knock you out to sleep." Joked Tanima. Kihomina chuckled and laid on her side. "Alright." Tanima laid beside her and they both fell asleep.
The next morning, Kihomina's side was being prodded by the familiar paw of Theran. "Wake up, child. Your training begins soon." Theran said softly. Kihomina grumbled and turned onto her other side, earning a chuckle from Theran. "I've got weapons against you." He smirked. From previous experiences, Kihomina's eyes flew open. She scrambled to her feet. "I'm awake!" She yelled. Theran laughed. "Clean yourself up, child." He said and walked away to the pasture.
Nazumi, Monosia, and Kurenai had woken early with Theran as well, each in turn to train Kihomina. He came out and hopped off the platform, waiting for Mina to arrive. After a few minutes, Kihomina came out in her training gear, a determined look on her face. She hopped off the platform as well, a brief "Good Morning" escaped her lips. She fell in step opposite of Theran, immediately getting into stance.
"Alright, show us what you've got." Theran said. Kihomina ran for Theran and as he swiped, she slid behind him, running up his back. Theran easily threw her off, which she landed with her back in the dirt. "Hey! That's cheating!" She yelled at Theran with a pout. "No, it's training." He turned to her, tail behind him. She got up and got in stance again. Running at the male alpha, he used his paw to sweep her feet from under her. "Theran!" She yelled angrily. "Hm?" He asked. "This isn't training! You're fighting me!" Theran sighed. "Yes, I am fighting you to let you show me what you know."
Kihomina gritted her teeth. She tried to go at Theran again before his paw stopped her. "Stop and sit." He ordered. The young girl ploped onto her behind and pouted. "There is a reason why I am going harder on you than usual." Theran said and looked down at her Kihomina nodded. "Yes, it's because I need more difficulty to fight Nicohima, but why couldn't it be only a little harder?" She asked. "It wil, and it will gradually grow overtime but I needed you at your best to see what you could do."
Theran stood up and Kihomina stood up as well. "Alright, I will tell you your first mistake you made. You came at me head on. The first time, you did well in moving over to the side and attacking from there, but that won't always work." Mina nodded. Theran smiled. "Alright. I have taught you this before, what do you do if the target is coming at you?" Kihomina thought. "If the opponent has horns, slide to the left and let it pass you. If it is without horns, you jump and try to kick it's head." Theran smiled. "Mostly right. You see I don't have horns, but if you did kick me in the face, it would temporarily stun me. Now let's try again."
Both of them got into stance. Theran got ready to charge, but before he could, Kihomina already was behind him, grasping onto his tail fur. He whipped around, bringing Mina with and growled. She waited for him to stop before running up with back once more, grasping onto the fur on his neck. He thrashed and she held on. He stopped and relaxed. "Very well done, Kihomina." He praised her as she slid off. "Monosia? Your go or Nazumi's?" Theran asked the female perched on the platform.
Monosia nodded and slid down from the platform just as the male alpha hopped on. Kihomina smiled. Monosia didn't smile however, she ignored the young female, getting into stance. Kihomina, being confused, felt rather offended. Suddenly, Monosia ran towards her, head lowered and teeth gnarled. Mina's eyes widened as she flipped over the approaching head of Monosia. Her feet landed on the brim of Monosia's neck and she ran down, making sure to step on the tip of the female alpha's tail.
Monosia growled loudly and turned to her. Kihomina, on the other hand, had fear supporting her, her bravery slowly slipping away as Monosia charged again. She slid to the side as she ran, but Monosia was fast and turned, snapping at her. Kihomina fell back onto her back as Monosia snarled over her. The alpha stopped and smiled at the young girl, licking her nose. "You need to expect the least out of things and people." The confused Kihomina raised an eyebrow as Monosia got off of her. This was going to be a long day.