Chapter Thirteen: The Empowerment of Defenders

"I think that you are not being challenged enough here," Samari's combat instructor has said. "You already have a fighter's instinct, and you learned the all basic stances and moves that I have shown you. Since you learn by example, I believe that you can improve twice as fast in the next class."

The words said to Samari the previous day rang in her head. She had gone to combat training only to be told that she was being moved to the next level.

She had not been in the class for long, just a few weeks, and only once a week at that. The next level class met twice a week, the first time being today. Samari had seen them training sometimes, and the class seemed kind of intense. They were usually sparring, moving faster than her eyes could follow.

The thought of having to be on the receiving side of those speedy attacks made her knees lock. Sure, she had been in plenty of fights herself--with sluggish drunkens and commoners under mind control. Her guildmates probably had more years of practice than she had.

"Hey, Sam!" Dillian's voice called out to her. She turned to see him running up to her. "I heard that you, uh, you got promoted to the next class. Congratulations! Are you heading there now?" he asked.

Nodding, she said, "Yeah. Are you in that class?"

"No, I'm working on armed combat in the next level. I'm trying to find some weapon that suits me."

Her shoulders dropped. Dillian noticed the change and noted, "But, hey, you know who is there? Cy and Lorilie and Cheryl and sometimes Addiv too."

Samari gave him a halfhearted smile. While she was grateful for him trying to make her feel more comfortable, whether or not she knew people in the class was not the reason she was nervous.

"Don't worry. I will...be alright. This is nothing that I can't...uh, cannot handle, anyways," she lied.

Although doubt crossed his face, it disappeared with a returned smile. He was not entirely convinced that she was alright, but he did not want to intrude on her if she was shutting him out--for now, at least, he would let her be.

"Well, there's no surprise in that," he replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'll let you go before you are late. Make sure you tell me how it goes."

With a nod, they departed ways. Sighing, she continued to the meeting place in the field.

A group was already there when she arrived, some chatting and others doing stretches. Samari felt a chill down her spine from a presence she could not see. She looked around to find the source. Noticing her friends in a group doing warm-up exercises, she decided to silently join them in their routines.

"Alright, gather up! I do not want to yell, so come close and listen," a woman called out after some time.

Samari obeyed with everyone else. They stood closely in a semicircle around the woman, a meaty Sander probably in her mid-thirties.

"Today we are focusing on a parry. So, the attacker will come at you with a straight punch, like so," she motioned for her assistant to punch at her, "and what you want to do is direct it away from you while pivoting. During this pivot, you move your foot to behind theirs so you are cradling them like so. Next, you want to bring your other arm across your chest and push them to the ground." She stopped right before pushing him to the ground.

She showed the motion again, this time more fluidly, noting, "And this should all be done in one fluid motion. If you pause between any part, you could alert the attacker of what you are doing, and they could then counter or stand guard against it."

She showed the motion a few more times, turning so all could see what she was doing. After she was done demonstrating, she said, "Alright, we'll pair off and practice it. Everyone should do it at least ten times successfully. After the first five, feel free to change it up. Defend against it if you can and keep going after it's complete. Let's stick to punch and compact dodges, though. You guys can spar later anyway."

A hand shot up into the sky. She nodded towards it. "Um, could we go over what compact dodges as a refresher?"

Samari sighed in relief. Thank you, random person, she thought.

The Sander smirked. "Sure, why not. Compact dodges refer to keeping yourself in one spot while dodging and diverting punches. Most people will guard or try to get the attack as far away from them as they can, but that takes a lot of energy and movement that you could use for something else. Instead, we only need to move just enough to not get hit. Make sure that you are pivoting rather than leaning in with your shoulders. You want to get comfortable with just barely being safe. And as usual, attacking can go both ways.

"Any more questions? No? Then pair up and get started."

The group started to disperse, leaving Samari looking about for someone to partner with. She did not want to ask the people nearby her, but no one near her was asking her to pair up either.

"Uh, you, new girl with the brown hair!" She looked to see the instructor calling for her. "Yeah, you. Come here!"

Slightly relieved but also worried, Samari walked over to her. She put her hand on her shoulder, making her flinch.

"I want you to feel comfortable here, so I set up for Timothy to train with you for the first few days. He'll try to match your level, won't you Timothy?" she growled the last part, her sweet eyes tense.

He chuckled nervously. "Yep, I'll be sure to keep up with her."

The instructor glared at him all while she walked away, but he tried not to let his gaze follow her. He let out a breath after he was sure she was gone.

"Sorry about that. She can be a bit intense sometimes, especially regarding me," he folded his arms across his chest. "We've met before, right? You're Samari, the new girl? Well, newish."

Her lips curled up. "Yeah, at the, uhm, the lake...that day," she replied.

He chuckled lightly. "Oh, that's right. Well, would you like to get started on the motion? I'm guessing you haven't really tried compact dodges, so we should start on that first."

Samari nodded shyly. He stepped in place to face her as she set her feet in the correct stance. Her hands came up in fists to guard her chest and face.

Timothy threw out a slow punch at her, to which she pivoted and pushed it to the side.

"Alright, so see how you are pushing my hand so far away from your body? Well, now that arm will have to come all that ways back, when you only need to keep me from hitting you. Just pivoting should do it," he noted, swaying to show her.

Samari felt jittery, self-conscious about people watching her mess up despite the lack of audience.

"Uhm, ri-right, sorry...try again-uh, let me try again," she replied.

Nodding, he started again with slow punches. As she started to dodge successfully, he sped up a bit.

"There, now you're getting it," he encouraged her.

Smiling, she continued in her pivoting. Timothy mixed up the pattern so she was not simply doing the same thing again and again, but actually watching him and dodging.

A shot came at her chest, and she rotated away to avoid it. As she was moving she realized her mistake.

Growling, she said, "I messed up," as she held up a hand to stop him from hitting her exposed side.

He smiled as he pulled back. "Yeah, but you caught it too, so you still could've done fine in a real fight. Let's try that again, shall we?"

The took their positions again and began the cycle of punching and dodging. This must be a good workout for him too, even if he's just hitting open air, she thought.

She read his movements, waiting tensely for him to strike in a certain pattern. Her eyes went wide when he followed through with it, and she moved. Pivoting towards his arm, she stamped her foot behind his as she pulled his wrist away from her.

THUMP. His back hit the ground with the force of her push, the sound muffled by the grass.

"Ow, yeah, that should do it," Timothy groaned.

Panicked, Samari abruptly dropped his hand, which fell on his face. "I'm so sorry. Should...should I not have, uum... not have gone through with...it?"

Waving his hand, he sat up. "No, you were fine. Good to know that you have the strength to push me down."

She stepped back as he stood to his feet, her hands clamped near her chest.

"I was not expecting that, I'll tell you. Next time, I'll be ready," he said, a challenge edging his voice.

"Well, do you...do you want to take a break? We can, uhm-I mean, I can...wait for you to be...to get your breath back."

"And let you forget what you just did? No way."

Groaning, he stood to his feet, hands ready in front of him. He didn't wait for her to be ready before striking again. It took her off-guard, causing her to step backward instinctively.

"See, you went right back to what you did before," Tim stated. "We need to make these motions habits so your body will move this way on its own."

Nodding, Samari set herself and resumed the pattern that she had done before. It was shaky at first, but she got it under control.

Again, she pivoted to take him down. This time, he resisted her push, but it did not stop her force against his chest.

They went through the same cycle multiple times. Each time, Samari focused to see what little things she could do to ensure that he fell.

"Girly, are you sure that you need help? You seem to be doing just fine to me," Timothy said as he lay defeated on the grass.

Samari bit her lip. "Well, you see, you, uh, are just letting me...do the action," she replied.

"I'm just letting you do it? Don't downgrade yourself. I tried stepping on your foot, pulling my hand back to me, twisting your arm--even blocking your hand--and you still knocked the breath out of me."

Her eyes averted to the side, trying not to feel his smile in her mind. She rubbed her wrist, making her way down to play with her fingernails.

"Bu-but it, it wasn't a real fight. If it were, there's no way that...someone like you ca-would lose to someone...like me."

She winced at the sound of Timothy slapping his fists on his thighs. In a flash, he was standing.

Her eyes caught sight of his kick before her mind could keep up. Her arm flung up defensively as eyes shut. His leg hit, and she twisted it away with a flick of the wrist.

A chuckle coaxed her to open her eyes again. Timothy fixed himself, pulling his feet together from their awkward spread.

"You may not be as bad as you think," he smiled. "Now, we have got to do something about your flinching."

A/N: Hello faithful readers!

What do y'all think of ya girl Sam's skills? I mean, she just soaks this stuff up!

Tim seems eager to help her out. How do you think this will go?

Is anyone interested in my giving out random facts about these lovelies, or would you rather just try to find them in the book? Just seeing if y'all would enjoy something extra at the end of each chapter.

Well, time to vote, comment, and trip a little light fantastic!