All the Whispers

Chapter 4

I was rudely awakened the next morning by a hand grabbing my shoulder, pulling me to my feet. “Whazz goin on?” I said groggily, blinking in a milky light.

            “You start training today, apprentice.” A voice responded. My eyes snapped open to see Ronan standing in front of me, arms crossed. His wings were trailing behind him like some sort of cloak.

            “Oh. Hey.” I said, my voice small.

            “There’s been no sign of Her, so I believe it will be safe to stay here and start your training. Kana is coming to our first session.” He said this all matter-of-factly, but I noticed his voice change pitch by a hair when he said Kana’s name. I smiled internally. Without another word, he turned, wings trailing, and led the way into the forest. I followed, not failing to notice Genora giving me an evil eye as I walked by. I smirked; she fumed. We walked to Kana’s tree, where Ronan called up. “Kana! We’re ready!” There was a rustle and Kana descended, looking awesomely badass. Her hair was in a low side bun, the circlet was still there, and her tunic was made of red petals this time, her leggings made of flattened stems. She still had the bark boots, though. The wicked sharp sword was at her waist, and she lowered her wings as she landed.

            “Adrianne.” She smiled at me before her eyes turned to Ronan. I noticed her jaw clench. “Ronan. Lead the way.”

            Ronan didn’t say anything, but for a moment a heavy tension hung between them; I felt like I was intruding on something private.  After a few seconds of uncomfortable squirming, Ronan turned, clearly expecting me to follow. Kana took up the tail.

            We walked through the forest for a long time, before finally coming up to a sandy clearing. It was a circle; about twenty feet in diameter. A few small clovers poked though the sandy ground, but for the most part it was clear of plant life. Ronan walked to the center of the clearing, turning to face me; Kana walked to the edge of the clearing, observing.

            “First, you have to learn how to be comfortable with your weight; understand how to balance yourself.” Ronan walked over to me. “Stand straight, separate your legs to about shoulder-width; move your dominant leg forwards a little.” Following his directions, I moved my right foot forwards by a few inches. “Good. Now put your arms like this.” He demonstrated with his own arms; I did my best to copy him, but he shook his head and quickly lifted my arms into position. I glanced at Kana watching us, she gave me a small smile. “Now, I’m going to give you this sword.” Ronan took one of the samurai blades from his waist. “Hold your right hand out, palm up.” I did as told, and he gently placed the handle in my palm, curling my fingers around it. The moment he let go of the blade, the tip dipped alarmingly low.

            “Ack!” I snapped my wrist up, and up went the blade, alarmingly fast. Ronan leaned away from it, shaking his head.

            “Hold it like this.” He demonstrated with his other blade and then moved my fingers around the handle. His fingers were oddly soft. But you shouldn’t be thinking that, I mentally scolded myself, and turned my attention back to the lesson. It was much easier to hold the blade like this; the tip only quivered a bit.

We spent most of the rest of the day with the blade; Ronan taught me moves, how to block and how to jab in to your opponent. As the day wore one, I got tired, but he kept up until Kana interrupted, saying that she wanted to “duel” with me, to see how much I had learned.

            I gulped nervously as she drew her sword. We saluted and she started moving in, twirling her tip with ease. I tried to hit the blade out of its dance, but she avoided my hits, dipping and twirling with her sword as if it were part of her. Something Ronan had said floated into my mind, “The sword is an extension of your arm. It moves with you; as part of you.” Kana definitely moved with blade is if it were a limb. She spun on her toes to avoid my jab, and her arm flew out, the blade catching on my sweater, tearing it. It missed my skin by a hair. I spun around, trying to locate her, but she was at my back, cutting another tear across my sweater.