Sparks

Chapter 22

Jacob stands in front of me. Grinning. Which usually isn't a good sign, especially if he's holding weapons. Which he is.

"Alright," Carrie says from over on the side. "Today's lesson will mostly be focused on dodging, but also on incapacitating an armed attacker without weapons." I sigh.

"Do I get padding or something?" She laughs.

"You won't have padding in the heat of battle."

"I'll have weapons in the heat of battle," I mutter.

"Now, now, that isn't a guarantee. What'll you do if they disarm you?" I sigh and shake my head.

"So is this a lesson or a crash and burn?"

"Crash and burn the first time, then I'll give you some pointers and a lesson." I nod. That's the standard around here. "Alright, I'll count you two down. Three, two, one... go." I roll out of the way of Jacob's attacking slash. Thankfully he's only using a short sword so he hasn't got all that much reach. He backs me up a few steps, trying to corner me, and I fake to the left then dive to the right and somersault to my feet before trying a standard leg sweep. Jacob catches my leg with his own legs. Crap. He flips me around and grabs my ankle, then lifts me completely off the ground. I struggle and try to kick him in the face as he's only holding one ankle but he blocks me with his arm. My elbows can still touch the floor so I use that as leverage to do a more powerful kick while struggling madly. Jacob swears and drops me and the back of my head and then my shoulders thump quickly against the floor. Slightly dazed, I stand up and try punching him in the stomach but he dodges my fist and I very slightly overbalance. In the background, I can hear Carrie calling us both idiots and I turn around to ask what she means but when my back is turned Jacob smacks me on the side of the head with the flat side of his sword. I fall and curse quietly as I realize Jacob's won.

"Aryn, didn't we tell you not to turn your back to your opponent? Didn't Jacob and I tell you that so many times?" I grin sheepishly.

"Perhaps."

"You guys are both idiots. Jacob, why would you pull someone up by their ankles in a fight? You were actually asking to get kicked."

"Sorry. Guess I wasn't thinking straight. She was attacking me after all."

"Sorry won't save your life when you get yourself knocked unconscious and killed. And yes. She was attacking you. That's the point of a battle. Have you never been in a battle before?"

"You were there. You know I've been in battles."

"Hey, can we get back to training me?" I cut in, still on the floor. They both glare.

"Get up first. You can't fight when you're laying down." I grumble a bit but stand to my feet.

"You really gave me a good wack there, Jacob. I could've gotten concussed or something. We're not actually trying to injure me, right?" He shrugs.

"Concussions build character. I've had three." I stare at him, mildly horrified.

"Concussions cause brain damage, Jacob."

"Eh, we have tech to fix that. Not a problem." I sigh and shake my head.

"You guys are insufferable."

Carrie folds her arms. "Insufferable or not, we're the only hope you've really got now for surviving this mess." I roll my eyes and decide not to comment. "Anyway, Aryn, what you need to do is stay a bit lower. You already have the advantage here because you're shorter and lighter than most fighters. But most people aim generally upwards so you need to be downwards, or sideways, or whichever way they aren't." I nod.