She ducked away from his hand instinctively, more like a flinch than anything else, but it didn't matter, in the next moment he pressed his low hand into her gut with ease. Had he been holding his blade, she'd be dead in moments. She shivered. That was a frightening way to consider fighting, seeking the quickest way to dispatch an opponent. The method that would prevent them from finding a chance to strike back. It was nothing like unarmed combat where it was easy enough to spare your opponent serious injury while still dispatching them from the fight.
She imagined an opponent, someone she wouldn't mind maiming, and one man came to mind rather more quickly than she would have thought. With her wicked witch in mind, she practiced what he told her, trying for the idea of false attacks, and sneaking in to catch a killing blow before they knew what had happened. Her practice target was suddenly an opponent she wouldn't mind gutting once or twice, and so she became more willing, imagining all the situations she had been in where she could have taken out her adversary with a flashing blade.
She practiced distractions and even imagined scenarios where she could feign injury only to spring up to attack. With a weapon so small, really she didn't intend to use it often, her bow being her preferred weapon, but once something got close enough to stab, it was good to know how. And where.
Gut, chin, neck, groin, Bayon had said, soft spots that would dispatch an enemy in moments. She practiced a bit more, aiming at and ripping through the weak spots in her target before the call for the nearing end of the class came. How long had they been fighting? She hardly felt tired, sure her arms were sore, and perhaps her legs too, a bit. She felt good though, like she had just started and was ready to keep fighting all day.
She wiped sweat from her brow as Bayon approached, waving Amunet to join them. He spun his blade in his hand in a trick that Naiya envied, then showed them a new grip, one reversed from the first, made for grappling and defense once the attacker was already too close to get a good stab on. She took a few swings, trying to imagine how the attack would feel without impaling herself on her own weapon.
Amunet was digging with the blade, the new hold like what she used to dig up herbs. Naiya bit back a giggle as she recalled the way the girl's face had fallen the first time she had laughed.
Naiya could see how that could be useful, her one attempt at digging with her blade had been messier. She tried altering her stance and her arm positioning to make the reverse grip something she could cut through a gut or a throat with as opposed to just something she stabbed down or towards herself with. That felt powerful, the outwards stabbing motion. She wondered if it would work as well in a real fight as it did in practice.
Eventually she began working with Amunet, putting their blades aside to practice the intimidation and motions provided by the new grip. They were in close corners, Naiya roaring and clawing at the woman while she, in turn, stabbed at spots that Naiya didn't think to protect. When they switched, Naiya tried to mirror some of the spots, inner thighs, behind the knee, under the arm, places she had been 'stabbed' by the healer, they were often unprotected, and once the other girl even caught her hard enough behind the knee to knock Naiya to the ground with a thud.
She seemed surprised, and Naiya was too, more at ending up in the dirt than at the person who had done it. Amunet was apologetic about the entire affair, bemoaning the necessity until after a number of long chimes of fighting she asked,
“Rak’keli teaches that we must be at our best and strong. This makes me stronger, right?”
Strong positive, agreement, encouragement, all the signs flitted though her hands in a dance far more beautiful than the dancing blades. "You can't heal others if you're dead." She agreed, getting closer to the girl before mock stabbing her in the gut.
"If you really want to be strong, you should practice everyday. Form some strong muscles, be ready for anything."
She imagined an opponent, someone she wouldn't mind maiming, and one man came to mind rather more quickly than she would have thought. With her wicked witch in mind, she practiced what he told her, trying for the idea of false attacks, and sneaking in to catch a killing blow before they knew what had happened. Her practice target was suddenly an opponent she wouldn't mind gutting once or twice, and so she became more willing, imagining all the situations she had been in where she could have taken out her adversary with a flashing blade.
She practiced distractions and even imagined scenarios where she could feign injury only to spring up to attack. With a weapon so small, really she didn't intend to use it often, her bow being her preferred weapon, but once something got close enough to stab, it was good to know how. And where.
Gut, chin, neck, groin, Bayon had said, soft spots that would dispatch an enemy in moments. She practiced a bit more, aiming at and ripping through the weak spots in her target before the call for the nearing end of the class came. How long had they been fighting? She hardly felt tired, sure her arms were sore, and perhaps her legs too, a bit. She felt good though, like she had just started and was ready to keep fighting all day.
She wiped sweat from her brow as Bayon approached, waving Amunet to join them. He spun his blade in his hand in a trick that Naiya envied, then showed them a new grip, one reversed from the first, made for grappling and defense once the attacker was already too close to get a good stab on. She took a few swings, trying to imagine how the attack would feel without impaling herself on her own weapon.
Amunet was digging with the blade, the new hold like what she used to dig up herbs. Naiya bit back a giggle as she recalled the way the girl's face had fallen the first time she had laughed.
Naiya could see how that could be useful, her one attempt at digging with her blade had been messier. She tried altering her stance and her arm positioning to make the reverse grip something she could cut through a gut or a throat with as opposed to just something she stabbed down or towards herself with. That felt powerful, the outwards stabbing motion. She wondered if it would work as well in a real fight as it did in practice.
Eventually she began working with Amunet, putting their blades aside to practice the intimidation and motions provided by the new grip. They were in close corners, Naiya roaring and clawing at the woman while she, in turn, stabbed at spots that Naiya didn't think to protect. When they switched, Naiya tried to mirror some of the spots, inner thighs, behind the knee, under the arm, places she had been 'stabbed' by the healer, they were often unprotected, and once the other girl even caught her hard enough behind the knee to knock Naiya to the ground with a thud.
She seemed surprised, and Naiya was too, more at ending up in the dirt than at the person who had done it. Amunet was apologetic about the entire affair, bemoaning the necessity until after a number of long chimes of fighting she asked,
“Rak’keli teaches that we must be at our best and strong. This makes me stronger, right?”
Strong positive, agreement, encouragement, all the signs flitted though her hands in a dance far more beautiful than the dancing blades. "You can't heal others if you're dead." She agreed, getting closer to the girl before mock stabbing her in the gut.
"If you really want to be strong, you should practice everyday. Form some strong muscles, be ready for anything."
