White woods

6

We stopped target practice, then Kota showed me the weapons. He let me try them out, but I don't know how you can hold a sword or something in your mouth. The only thing I could figure out was the claws. They hooked onto your paws like a bracelet, then four leather cords ran down your paw. Leather rings connected to them wrapped around you paw, and connected to those were sharp, iron claws. Like four knives.

I loved them, but Kota wouldn't let me do anything with them besides walk around.

We went upstairs. More animals had come to train, but plenty of room was left. Brutus glared at me, but I ignored him. Kota led me to the corner opposite of the stairs.

"Alright. I'm not going to take forever teaching you how to lunge, scratch, blah blah blah blah blah, all that stuff. I find you learn faster with tips."

He took his scarf off with his teeth, then threw it in the corner.

He put his paws shoulder length apart. "Attack me. But don't use your claws or teeth. No fatal moves either."

I hadn't really fought before. A little with my siblings, but mom said fighting was men's work. But, I did figure out a trick for pinning my brother.

I jumped at him, and he whacked me away with his paw. I was much lighter than I thought.

"You're not heavy enough to do any real damage that way. I'll attack first this time."

He whacked his paw at my face with lightning speed, but I ducked. It grazed my ears harmlessly.

I swung my paw up, and hit his chin. Before he could do anything, I tried swiping his legs out from under him. They were hard like bricks, and I couldn't. He stepped on my leg, and the rest of my body rolled on it's side. With his other leg, he pinned my shoulder down.

"Better. That would have been a good move, but you're not strong enough. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Try going for speed, since you're so small."

I growled. I didn't stop and think about what I would do, I just did it. I made a curved jump and hit his side with my shoulder. He turned his head around, hoping to get me, but I slid under his belly. I grabbed his back leg with both paws, and used my momentum to pull it out from under him. I jumped on his back,making his back legs fall out under him. Before he could get back up, I sprang off his back, making sure to kick off hard. I landed on my fore legs, and grabbed his tail in my mouth. Using what little weight I had, I swung him around once before he yowled, "Okay! Okay, I get it! Just stop!"

I let go of his tail, tasting blood in my mouth.

"That was good. But don't-"

Before he could finish, my stomach made a dying whale sound. I had really thought about it, but I was starving. The last food I had was that scrawny rabbit from last night. I bet I had burned the calories off just by running away from the horses, let alone walking around and fighting.

Kota looked at me like really?

"You know what? We should go get some food. The stuff they have here is super good."

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Kota led me to a slightly smaller building that looked much cozier than the training room and Santa's workshop. The sign dangling in front of the door had a roasted bird of some kind. The scent coming from it was delicious and warm.

When we entered, the place was bigger than it looked. Elves worked at a bar with food at it, serving people, other elves, and chasers. Many circle tables littered the place. The building didn't have too many people or animals, leaving the air clean with the scent of food.

I noticed that a tray a dog was carrying on his back, had a full chicken.

Saliva dripped from my tongue, and I licked it away.

"C'mon, let's get in line." Kota said.

The line was short, so we didn't have to wait. A skinny elf looked at us behind the counter. "What can I get you?" She asked.

"Two turkeys, please." Kota said.

"Any seasoning?" She asked.

"No."

The elf grabbed two, roasted birds the size of my head and put them on a tray. She put it in front of Kota, and he slid it in his back.

"Enjoy!" She said.

Kota didn't reply. He walked to a table near the corner, balancing the tray carefully.

As soon has he slid it onto the table, I grabbed a turkey in my mouth and started mauling it. It was soooo goooood....

"Where are you're manners?" Kota barked. "Sit down child!"

I did so, not pausing to adjust my self.

The turkey was down in minutes. I didn't put it down until my teeth were clashing on bones.

Unlike me, Kota was ripping pieces off the turkey. "So," he said between mouthfuls, "You were hungry. What did you eat last?"

I swallowed. "A little rabbit from last night."

"Well, I hope this fills you up. As soon as I'm done, we're training again"

I sighed. Of course, this place was the most amazing place I've ever seen. I have never had so much fun fighting, and throwing orbs. That sounded lame, but it's true. It felt so natural; like I was born to be here.

But it was getting... a little boring. I wanted to run around and explore, or even better, actually fight someone bad.