An Initiates Baby

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Sun

Luna was left with Tori one day during the combat training, Eric and I watched the initiates throw punches and kicks at each other. I watched them and turned to Eric as he got angry as none of them was actually winning the match, it was like they were purposely hitting each other weakly because they were friends. Eric sighed angrily.

"Stop playing and one of you hit properly!" He yelled, impatient. I rubbed my eyes with a hand, not wanting to watch this anymore. Two more initiates left and now, the ones who were left had to literally fight for their final rankings. But yet, there two didn't want to hurt each other.

"Perhaps they're both compatible, that can't learn off each other if they're both blocking each other." I explained to him and he glanced over at me, before looking back at the initiates on the mat. He glared at them before telling them to get off the mat and instructing two other to get up and start. I sigh as I avoid a angrier Eric. The initiates start throwing punches and kicks at each other, the two guys started to get bloody fast, I look over at Eric and he grins a little, obviously liking the progress he's seeing in-front of him.

I turn my attention back to the fight, one of the guys uppercuts the other, causing him to jerk backwards from the force of the punch. He falls back onto the mat, the other one stays on his feet, he glances over to us and I see Eric nod from the corner of my eye.

"Woah wait." I say, stepping forward, "We fight until one concedes." I say, turning to Eric, wide eyed. He looks at me emotionless.

"That's the old rules, new rules are we fight until one is knocked out." Eric informed me, and I gaped at him, Eric looks at the winning initiate and nods at him to continue, I turn to watch him hit the initiate on the floor, his foot connecting with his face, breaking his nose, knocking him out. I sigh and draw a circle around the winners name on the board. I cross my arms across my chest, another thing I was never told about, if I was a leader, why wasn't I getting told about these things, and when was they ever mentioned in meetings?

I didn't want to argue with Eric about it so I didn't mention it again, at all. I continued to watch the initiates beat each other with a inch of their life to spare. By the time the fights had finished, half of them were in the infirmary and the rest were sent to the Pit for a break as Eric and I cleaned up the training room. I could tell that Eric knew I was slightly annoyed that I didn't know about this rule also, he walked over to me as I moved some gear around the room, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this too, it was apart of the new things going on around the faction, you know, the kicking out and now this." He said to me, his mouth close to my ear. I sigh and turn to face him, not giving any sort of clue to what I'm feeling.

"I don't get why that you're being apart of all these new rules and regulations and none of the other leaders apart of Max know about them, and he's agreeing and overruling the rest of us, not telling us anything." I explained to him. He just looked at me, not answering me, just staring.

"I don't know what to tell you." He said, looking into my eyes. I just shrugged, biting my lip.

"I guess there's nothing to add." I said, sighing, "I'm hungry, let's get Luna and get some food." I suggest and he nods, giving a small smile, knowing I was probably thinking of what we just discussed. Eric grasps my hand tightly as we both walk towards the tattoo shop, I hadn't been in there in a while, but smiled at Tori widely, seeing her holding Luna, playing with one of her toys, waving it around, keeping her occupied.

"Hey, thanks for looking after her." I said, sounding tired when in reality, I was, I was exhausted. Luna had waking up earlier and earlier, only sleeping an hour at a time, and Eric and I alternated each hour but he seemed used to it, I couldn't get a hang of it and it was takings it's toll on me.

"It's no problem, I got her to sleep a little but not much, other than that we stayed here and played, didn't we." She said to me, then turned her attention to Luna, talking to her in baby voice as she finished talking. Luna just looked at her with wide eyes, through the months of having her, I realised she was always looking at everything with wide eyes, as if taking in all the details she could get.

"Well, we're going for food and I think it's time to try baby food." I said, looking over at Luna, her head turned to me as if she understood what I had said, I grinned, "This is where is gets fun, and when we find out if she's a messy eater or not. If she is, Eric can feed her in the future." I joked, causing Tori to laugh. She hands Luna to me and Eric takes the bag full of spare nappies, clothes and toys from the floor.

"Thanks again, I'll come by more often, I promise." I tell her and she waves me off.

"It's nothing I can't handle, plus with the next initiates, I'm expecting a newbie here soon, so you can focus more on leadership and Luna." She said, giving me a quick hug before going off to a customer. Eric and I walk to the Pit, and I get some baby food, it was often in the kitchen, just behind the main food area in the Pit, so I grabbed a couple of different small pots of food, different flavours to try her with to figure out which she would prefer, but yet it all looked the same to me, looked like mush.

I spent a while trying to get her to eat, but she would move her head to the side, even when Eric tried, cooing at her, she would gurgle and turn her head away, I sighed, frustrated, trying to think why she was acting out, not wanting to eat, not wanting to sleep.

"Hey." Eric said, gaining my attention, "She's still young, maybe she just doesn't want to have this." He said, waving around a food pot, "Let's keep her on milk for now." He said and I nodded, not having much to say. He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"She'll be fine, she's just being fussy." I nodded, letting it go. He was right, she's still a baby, she's only two months old, I was pushing her to do things she wasn't ready for and I was tired.

"Let's go home." Eric suggested and I nodded. He grabbed my hand and held Luna as we walked home, I tightened my hold on his hand, thankful that I had someone like him in my life, I knew from then on, maybe before that point in my life, that I needed him to survive. He kept my grounded and sane at this point.