Get down to the training grounds now!

I almost fell over as hearing the command from Lord Edmon ring through my head. I was able to mind-link now that I had my wolf, but I was still not used to it.  Finishing the last basket I was on, I left the laundry room to go to my room to change before running down to Lord Edmon's courtyard where we trained.

Lord Edmon sat in his usual corner clearly in heavy thought. I stood there waiting for him for a few moment before he finally looked up to me.

"First formation sequence," he snapped. I looked around for Dalton. Usually I practiced my formation with him so I had someone to counter off of, but he hadn't arrived yet. Shouldn't I wait?

Lord Edmon seeing my hesitance spoke up. "Is there a problem?" Ok so obviously he doesn't want me to wait. I quickly got into the first formation of the sequence and paused before starting.

"Widen your legs." Lord Edmon barked. I scuttled to comply. "Lower your form." I squatted down but my bad leg began to shake under the stress. Lord Edmon got up from his seat with a long wooden rod in his hand and circled around me critiquing. After a simple nod his stepped in front of me and went into his own fighting stance with the rod opposite of me the intention clear. I was going to spar him. I became alarmed at the thought. I had never spared against him before. Why now?

We stared a each other for a moment before he spoke with a simple "Begin." I started going through the steps of the form and within the first three steps he hit my leg with the rod.

"Your leg should be back."  I took a step away from him and rubbing where he hit my leg. It wasn't hard but I definitely felt it.  He didn't give me a chance to relax before he barked at me to reset and try again. This time I made it to step five before he hit my arm. "Dominant hand forward next time...again"

We did this over and over again. I would go through the sequence until he found a mistake and would correct it with the rod. I knew I would be covered in bruises by the end of this. Despite his brutal method I was improving. Every attempt I made I got a little further than the last. I still wasn't a fan of his method but It was getting results. By the 20th try I was able to finish the whole form sequence without a mistake. When I had completed it, I looked to Lord Edmon with a smile on my face surprised I was actually able to do it. Lord Edmon kept his scowl and gave me a simple "good...again"

I was able to complete the form four more times without a single mistake. Each time Lord Edmon would give me the same response of "good...again." During the fifth completion something changed. About halfway through the sequence Lord Edmond changed the form and stepped right instead of left. I was caught off guard by it and stumbled my next step which gave him an opening to pulled me forward. He hit my back with the rod as I tumbled forward to the ground.

I rolled over and scrambled back to my feet scowling at Lord Edmon. He stood calmly scowling back at me while holding the rod behind him with both hands. 

"You pulled me down," I accused him.

"You made a mistake," he replied simply.

"I didn't make a mistake you didn't follow the sequence."

"When you fight against a real enemy they will not follow a preset sequence. You will need to learn how to adapt as you fight." I was angry now. Obviously I knew that isn't how real fighting occurs but he should have told me that was what he was going to do before he did it. Lord Edmon didn't seem to take notice of my anger when he called out "again!" to me.

We spared a few more rounds, him throwing various kicks or his towards me and me trying to counter them. I never got very far before he would hit me with the rod and demand to try again. After an hour of this my body began to grow tired. My reaction was slower and my kicks and hits weren't as strong. After the third time I fell to the ground I had enough.

"Why am I even doing this?" I yelled at him. Lord Edmon simply raised and eyebrow to question me. "Why am I learning fighting stances and formation drills. Shouldn't I be focusing on developing my abilities or something?"

Lord Edmon stood stoic and still as he replied to me. His voice was calm but with a hidden undertone of anger.

"How do you know what enemies you'll face? You need to be prepared for anything. We only have a limited time before you'll need to be presented to the court and you need to be prepared for all scenarios."

"Why do I even need to be presented to the court? Isn't the whole point of this just to learn to control my abilities and then go back?" Lord Edmon clenched his jaw but refused to answer. I didn't like that. We both stared at each other in anger. Me breathing heavy while he barely moved.

"Again," he whispered before bringing the rod forward again. Nope. Not ok.  I charged at him blocking the rod with my forearm before kicking at his feet. Lord Edmond stepped back to avoid it but I didn't hold back. I gave him another series of jabs at his face. He kicked at my feet which I spun around before giving a kick of my own. He blocked them with his foot before swinging the rod holding hand. Without thinking I stopped and grabbed the rod with my hand then ripped it out of his hand before breaking it across my knee. He will not strike me with it again. Without thinking I let me body move on its own, hitting and kicking where it felt right. Lord Edmon blocked the first few but soon I was making contact with him. After a few jabs I used my good leg to sweep his, causing him to fall backwards. I watched in triumph as he fell on his back with a grunt. I made sure to walk into his line of sight before speaking.

"I don't know what you are going through, or what stress you are under, but take it out on me again and you will regret it." I then walked away without waiting for a response. This session was done.