Saviour

8. I Beat A Record

Chapter 8.

It was about two weeks before I got to start training again. Tydus and I stood alone on the training field. A heavy gust blew through the grass, flattening it to the floor. My hair was being held flat against my head, buffeting around my face.

Gripping my sword in both hands, I lunged forwards again, hoping to catch him off guard. Of course, it would be difficult. I'd been training for a matter of weeks altogether whereas he'd been training for centuries. It was a wonder I hadn't been beaten black and blue at each training session. He lifted his sword up lazily and my weapon clashed against his. A metallic clang rang out across the field, travelling further in the wind.

The words that Tydus had said to me in our first ever training session repeated over and over in my mind. I had loosened up a lot since then. At that moment I was about as loose as it was possible to be, but I still held my guard, meeting each attack with my own sequence of difficult moves, spinning and slashing at him.

The cool wind rushed against my leg through a rip in my khaki trousers, chilling my body and relieving some of the warmth from my muscles. We powered on, testing each other blow for blow as I became more confident in myself, allowing myself to try out more difficult moves to hopefully land a hit to him. Sparks flew as our swords clashed and scraped against each other.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed forwards again, keeping his sword at bay with my own, knocking my not-so-big body against his muscular form, twisting my sword and pushing it harder against his, knocking it from his grasp. As his sword hit the ground, we both stared at where it lay in the long grass, both of us equally impressed. With a small smirk, I lifted the tip of my blade to his throat, just as he had done to me when we had first met. I even mimicked his laugh.

Rolling his eyes, he raised his hands defensively. "Ok, ok. I get it. I've already said that I'm sorry for that." A sharp laugh escaped his mouth and he tried to bend down for his sword. I kicked him back onto the ground and pressed my sword against his chest, grinning brightly down at him and laughing.

After a whole lot of persuasion, Tydus got me to try the obstacle course again but this time no one was watching me. Every training item towered over me and looked twice as big and perilous as before. Each one seemed to have developed seven times as many spikes, prongs and rungs as the first time I'd tried.

He had told me to take my time with it to avoid any mishaps, but going slow isn't in my nature, especially if there was any chance of those wolves coming after me again. When he told me, I bolted off from the start line and dived down into the tunnel, scrambling through it as quick as possible. Thick mud soaked in to my shirt, chilling my stomach, chest and upper thighs.

I sprang to my feet at the other side and raced off again as quick as I could, knowing that the ditch was coming up next and if I wasn't going quick enough I wouldn't clear it without impaling myself on one of those spikes. As it came into sight, I powered on, letting my legs carry me at a constant pace. Using my arms to help propel me off the ground, I leapt over the ditch and hit the ground at the other side, clambering back up onto my feet.

The harsh wind had blown storm clouds over from the West, bringing them right over us. And it was when I was halfway between the ditch and the swing bars that the rain began to fall, almost horizontally. The wind whipped around me, raindrops pounding against any skin that was exposed. I tried to dry my hands on my shirt to give myself extra grip when I reached the swing bars, leaping from the board and grabbing onto the bars, making my way across. My legs kicked forwards to help my body swing towards the next bar.

As the lactic acid in my forearms burned at my muscles, almost making my arms give way, I touched down onto the board at the other side of the bars. The sheet-like rain obscured my vision but I knew that the rest of the course was easy going, with a five hundred metre run to the finish line. I guessed that Tydus would be waiting for me there, but due to the fact that I couldn't see more than two metres in front of me I'd have to find out when I got there.