AN: Sorry about the delay, but I've just rewritten half of the next few chapters, and I needed to make sure everything fit together. Thanks for all those who've reviewed so far!
I'm not good at fight scenes, so please forgive me if it doesn't make a lot of sense. I'll try to post more regularly this week, but classes will be starting soon, and I may not be able to update every day. Anyway…
Enjoy!
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"Teyla? It's Jill Abbot." Jill had arranged to meet Teyla this morning, but she was still slightly uncomfortable standing at the Athosian's door. She had been assured that Teyla would be up at dawn, but she was starting to doubt it when the door opened.
"Good morning," said the Athosian, smiling warmly. "I see you are better at being on time than John is. He and Ronon will meet us in the training room."
Jill smiled back. She was eager to begin training again. She felt slightly nervous as they stretched on the mats, but she just cleared her mind and focused on her body.
Teyla suggested that Jill and John spar first, so that she and Ronon could observe. They circled each other slowly, daring the other to make the first move. Jill responded smoothly when John brought his sticks up and charged. She tapped him lightly on the right thigh before sidestepping his blow to her shins. He grinned as he remembered her comment that she was 'all right' at fighting.
Jill feinted to his left side and then whirled to the right. John had been expecting it, and for the next few minutes, they danced around each other, stick striking stick. Jill faltered and John moved in for the kill, but she rolled under his attack and brought him down with a scissor kick, making him lose one of his weapons. She placed one stick against his neck and grinned.
He groaned, but Jill had no time to cheer, for she felt someone moving behind her. She swung her other stick over her head, hearing it connect with another that had been aimed for her head. She dodged, and then assumed a proper fighting posture as Teyla grabbed the other stick from John's hand. He whistled softly, eager to see how this fight turned out.
This fight was much different. Whereas John had been impatient, Teyla was anything but, and she stalked like a predator seeking after prey. Jill subtly switched her grip, waiting for Teyla to strike.
When she did, she moved faster than lightning, and Jill felt a sting on her arm before she could bring up the stick to block. She focused on defense, taking a few hits but nothing very crippling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ronon grab his own sticks and begin circling behind her.
Whereas John was unpredictable and Teyla was fast, Ronon had brute strength behind his blows, and Jill knew that the fight would not last long if she faced both Teyla and Ronon alone. She also knew that John would never let that happen. Sure enough, just as Ronon swung down, she twisted, and allowed John's sticks to meet Ronon's.
It was still far from a fair fight, though, and soon both she and John were flat on the mat. Jill grabbed the hand Ronon proffered and pulled herself up. She could feel the sweat dripping off of her, but it felt good. She had had an amazing workout, and she felt her muscles burning in ecstasy.
"You fight well." Ronon didn't say anything else, just pulled a towel from his bag before leaving.
"Ronon is correct. We would be honored if you joined us every morning. It has been long since we found such a worthy opponent." Teyla bowed, and Jill, having been warned, touched foreheads with her. Teyla then followed after Ronon.
John frowned comically. "Hey! I thought I was a worthy opponent!" He pouted until Jill laughed at him, and then he grew serious. "They're right, you know. You definitely fight better than any other astrophysicist I've ever known. Where'd you learn?"
Jill draped a towel over her shoulder and drank some water before answering. "My mother was terrified that I'd be taken advantage of because I was smaller than other kids, so she forced me into self-defense classes. I studied jujitsu for thirteen years, along with several other forms of martial arts. Then I was in Afghanistan for a bit, and I did some training with the 101st Airborne. I've just been taking classes off and on for the past twenty years. It's simple enough to merge everything into a unique style that can be used in pretty much every situation."
"You are definitely gonna have to teach me some moves." John hefted his bag onto his shoulder. "I've got a briefing, but I'll walk you to your quarters, and you can tell me how you knew Teyla was coming after you."
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AN: Hit the happy button and tell me what you think. I still need suggestions about where you think this should go.
