Coming Back Down

Can 'O' Whoop Ass....But No Can Opener

  "Pakstoka?" A voice spoke as the thick curtains were thrown back off of the windows. Groaning, I rolled over and covered my head with a pillow. "It is time to begin your training. I have already prepared an arrangement of weapons for you to learn how to effectively use." The voice was definitely from a woman, and her tone was rather rough before she grabbed the blanket covering me and threw it to the end of the bed.

  Laying there, I ignored her presence while trying to return to sleep. However, this woman was not having it and literally dragged me out of the bed by my ankles.

  "If I were an enemy, you would be dead already." She growled as I sat up while glaring at her.

  "Is that how we're doing this?" I popped off as I pulled myself to my feet.

  "Hurry up and get dressed. I'll be waiting outside the door." She shoved a pile of clothes into my arms before stomping out. Her long, light brown hair went halfway down her back and was full of braids. Her eyes, from what I briefly saw, were a stormy blue, and I huffed when she slammed the door closed.

  Getting dressed, I made sure that my shoes were on properly so that they wouldn't fly off or make me trip and fall. Exiting the room, I saw the woman standing there with her arms crossed. She had a sour expression as she looked at me.

  "I have been sworn to secrecy about your training, but that doesn't mean that I will go easy on you." She stated. "You will learn to fight and to speak our language- training will be early in the morning to late in the day. From there, you will study until night and only have breaks for meals. Do you understand?"

  "I understand." Replying, I crossed my arms while raising my chin in a gesture. "Roan told you to do all this?"

  "'King' Roan." She corrected. "And I'm only training you in the ways of battle and nothing more." The woman then began to walk down the hallway as I followed. Narrowing my eyes at the back of her head, I tried to figure out whether or not she would actually train me or just beat me down until I learned to fight back the hard way.

~

  Panting as I laid on the ground, I had gotten the answer to my earlier question. I laid with my limbs outstretched as the warm sun shined down on me. The woman had wanted to gauge me first in hand-to-hand combat before getting to the weapons, and since I had always fought with my knife, she kicked my ass.

  "Is this all you are, Pakstoka?" She jeered. "You have no skill, no sense of what your enemy is about to do- You are like a fawn trying to defeat a bear." The woman continued as I kept my eyes closed while trying to regulate my breathing. I felt sore all over, knowing that I was covered in bruises as I bled from my busted lip, cut cheek, and even my nose. Though, thankfully, nothing was broken for the intentional purpose that I could continue my training the next day.

  "Alquin, it is time for Pakstoka to begin her other lessons." A man's voice called out as he stood a good distance away.

  "Take her....if she can even move." The woman replied, and I grunted while sitting up. Shooting her a glare, she returned it with equal ferocity, and I grunted again while getting to my feet. Limping over to the old man with a shaved head, I followed him back inside.

  The man remained silent as he led me through the halls. I knew that a majority of all Grounders hated Skaikru, so it wasn't surprising when that woman beat the shit out of me.

  "In here." The man finally spoke while waving his arm toward a room. Walking inside, I glanced around as the old man went to a shelf and grabbed a book. The room looked like some sort of study with the books and the table set in the middle of the room with a few chairs around it. "Sit." He pointed at the table before flipping open the book in his hands, and I took a seat.