Daughter of Medusa

2

Natalie's reception wasn't the best she and Alec hoped for. Just like he said, only some of the fae welcomed her, mostly for Alec's sake, the wood nymphs being the friendliest. The rest of them, the monsters were mostly wary of her

She kind of blamed Avery, which Alec tried to exonerate at every turn, which only made Natalie resent her more

Avery didn't say anything to the others, but they considered her one of their underground leaders, so when she ignored Natalie and kept avoiding her, they followed suit

Dryden, being a peace maker, tried palcating each of them when she pissed the other off

After a few weeks of ignoring her, Avery just marched to where they were sitting together and addressed Alec: You should teach her how to fight

Natalie: I'm right here! Why don't you talk to me directly?

Avery gave her a cold stare: You must learn how to fight

Alec: Ave, is that such a good idea?

Avery: She needs to learn how to survive. The fighting is getting worse every day. We cannot afford to assign a bodyguard to her, or have any of you distracted if we get attacked

Alec: But I thought our current location is secure

Natalie: What do you mean, a distraction?

Avery: It is secure, mostly, but you can never be to sure. We are in and out a lot. What can make us very sure none of us has been followed. We, need to be vigil and not become lenient

Natalie muttered bitterly: Who can be lenient with you standing over everyone like a drill Sargent

Avery: It is best to be prepared. We are being hunted, the pure bloods want to enslave us, or even eradicate us. We cannot afford to become complacent no matter how safe we feel here. If we get attacked, Alec will have a hard time defending himself. He cannot worry about you too, or you will both get killed. The pure bloods are stronger than us. We need every trick we can learn to defeat them

Natalie shut her mouth

With that, Avery turned around and left

Alec: I know she sounds harsh, but she's right. She's only doing her best to prepare us

Natalie scowled, so he pulled her into a hug

Alec: Now what do you say to sparring lessons? They might be fun.
He waggled his eyebrows

She smiled and nodded
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Dryden: Maybe you should try to be a bit nicer

Avery: I'm not here to play nice

Dryden gave her a pointed look

Avery muttered: You dryads are always annoyingly the voice of reason

Dryden grinned: And that's why you love us

Avery snorted
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Training with Alec was so much fun, mostly because half the time they were being lovey dovey, instead of training seriously

Alec just didn't have the heart to push Natalie

Avery wouldn't have it

Avery: Alec, you're not pushing her hard enough

Alec grimaced and Natalie scowled

Alec: Come on Ave. She's a beginner at this, I have to teach her gently

Avery: The way you're going takes forever, time that we do not have. She needs to learn fast. "Gently" won't cut it

Natalie put her hands on her hips: What do you suggest then?

Avery: You need incentive to learn how to fight, perhaps I should be the one to teach you

Alec: Ave, you can't be serious! You're leagues apart. I've been training for a long time and I still get nowhere near beating you

Avery arched an eyebrow: Are you saying I can't hold back?

Alec shut up

Avery: If you prefer I can get someone else to teach her, someone who won't go easy on her, or as hard as you think I'll be. Dryden is a very good teacher. Or maybe one of the newer recruits

Natalie: No

Alec: What?

Natalie's gaze was challenging: Bring it on Avery

Avery gave a mirthless smile: Be here exactly on 7 am every morning. Don't make her late Alec, tardiness has consequences