Chapter 9 – Training

RPOV

The next few days passed in a blur, I was still trying to get on to a vampire schedule, the kids had started classes but because of their fighting level they were in the combat lesson with the seniors.

Trixie had been painting a lot and helped out in the infirmary when she could, she was medically trained after all, albeit with mothers and babies but she could still help out the doctor.

I was now helping out in several classes but I didn't feel like I was really needed, they were all training well, the only thing I think should be added was a bit of imagination. An extra flip here, a spin there, I told them to do the unexpected, it always threw the opponents concentration off.

We'd now been here a few weeks, I was settling in. My sleep cycle was back to normal, the twins loved the social aspect of school. Which I was happy about, they already were the life and soul of their classes. Luca had just enough cheek to be funny without getting into trouble, I didn't have that knack of knowing when to stop, they got that from Dimitri. He had the girls fawning over him. While Ari studied hard and worked hard the guys tried talking to her but she ignored them. That's my girl.

I knew they had classes with Dimitri and they had extra classes with him, only in the evening, just to make sure they had the schools 'techniques' down. They knew how to fight and could spar with any of the guardians and win almost every time, but guidelines said they needed to learn certain ways of doing things. The twins always came back exhausted but happy.

"I like him. He's always making us run, just like you said he would." Luca told me after a couple weeks of lessons.

"Yeah but we also spar every lesson, he moves well for someone his height." Ari finished for him.

Luca carried on, "yeah I expected him to be reading but I haven't seen one book yet." I looked at him, Dimitri always read those books when I was training, maybe its cause there's two of them. Hmmm.

"He's made me laugh a few times, he's witty." Ari added.

"You guys seem to be having it easy, he worked me to the bone, so hard my hands would blister. He's going soft in his old age." I told them even though I didn't believe it, I was now curious, maybe I'd pop to one of their sessions.

Now I was settled I mainly helped down at the elementary school, I was supposed to be teaching combat, but the hell with that instead we played games, mainly flag tag.

It wasn't to the extent of how the kids and I played but it was a great way of teaching reaction times, defence, when to go on the offense and when to work as a team and to think independently. Apparently their favourite lesson was mine; I was a little smug about that.

I loved watching those kids have fun running around, I knew the guardians that trained them were happy that I was able to bring fun to the kids.

How hard was it? Then I remembered most of the guardians hadn't experienced what I had. So sometimes I'd put some music on and we'd dance. I really enjoyed teaching those kids. Who'd have thought it? Word travelled, obviously, as often other guardians would find an excuse to help out in my lessons. Even Stan came once, he told me he wanted to make sure I wasn't corrupting the next generation, I could tell he was joking as there was a glint in his eyes.

Life soon became teaching, working out, and socialising with my friends and family. I still hadn't met up with Adrian, I knew he'd be here soon and he'd still visit me in my dreams. But I was looking forward to seeing him the flesh.

I needed a run, I felt irritable if I hadn't ran in a few days. It was sun rising, I like to run this time of day, it was quieter about and it would be easier to see soon.

I yearned for miles of fields to run through, a bit of cross country. I needed a challenge; the kids were in bed so I couldn't run with them. I was running my usual circuit of the perimeter when I had the most amazing idea. I could go running in the woods, there's always obstacles there. I was changing direction when I caught sight of Dimitri, he was by the cabin again. Did he spend a lot of time here? He heard me coming and looked up.

"Hey." I said brightly as I came to a stop not far from him. Things were becoming relaxed between us. We'd never broached our pasts together but I was being a coward and though I had questions, loads in fact but I couldn't face the answers, so stayed mum.

"Rose." He said with a nod in my direction. Was that really his idea of a hello? He made it tense in a matter of seconds.

"Sup?" I asked forcing a nonchalant voice out. I began stretching my muscles out I needed it to help with the jumping I'd be doing soon. He was quiet for a moment.

"Thought I'd go for a run." Sure enough he was in his workout clothes. "But I don't want to disturb you." He said stretching his own muscles.

"I was headed for the woods anyway." He cocked his head to the side a puzzled look on his face.

"Why the woods? Surely you can't get you're speed up running through trees." I smiled at him; he'd been watching me run.

"It's not always about speed. I'm bored of the same track, it's more fun." I said, he didn't understand it. I think it was that parkour was in my blood now; I liked the spontaneity of not knowing what I'd find on an expedition. The jumping, the leaping, the thinking on your feet, always thinking. It made me feel free, just like being on the silks or pole. I liked the soreness after; the feeling that I'd worked my body to the max.

"Can I join you?" He asked, I was intrigued as to why he wanted to run through the woods with me. I nodded slowly and without another word I took off with Dimitri close behind.

The area immediately around the school was clearer than it was as we got deeper. The only sounds I could hear were our breathing, our footsteps as we ran through the brush and the few scatterings of birds as we flew past them. Soon it was getting harder to pass in between trees without jumping over brush and things. Dimitri still let me lead, letting me set the pace.

Up ahead I saw the way was blocked but I quickly eyed a fallen tree. I used the fallen tree to propel me up to a branch that I used to swing me past the thickened brush.

I landed with a roll on the other side. I stopped waiting to see how Dimitri would do it, he was too heavy to use the branch that I had used to swing across.

What he did instead was jump on to the fallen tree, kicking off from the tree that was still upright, tucked himself in as he rolled through the air and landed gracefully next to me. I was impressed. He'd been teaching himself parkour.

DPOV

Seeing her move through the woods was a very alluring sight. I'd noticed that her fighting style had evolved to include a lot of parkour techniques, which made sense. And although parkour wasn't a fighting style it helped move the body in ways I wouldn't have thought about.

If I ever wanted to spar with her again and stand a chance of beating her, then I needed to evolve my own fighting habits. As it was, I knew she'd take me down easily with her new knowledge. I'd been studying parkour for a few weeks; practicing in the night, well daytime, when everyone was asleep. I had the basics down, but wanted to try it out. I knew that Rose would be running soon, she favoured sunrise.

I'd seen her as she passed the cabin every evening, sometimes doing flips and leaps through the immediate under growth. But as I taught myself more I found I wanted to watch as she handled herself first hand, and the only way to do that was to train with her again. But would she let me?

I was nervous asking her, I'm surprised she didn't see my hand shake. I was surprised when she said she was going into the woods today, I'd not seen her enter the thicker parts and wondered why she wanted to today. But I was happy when she agreed.

I let her set the pace I was still new to free running and wanted to see how she worked things out, it was awe-inspiring watching her throw herself through the air over obstacles, her body could do amazing things. She came to a particularly thick part of under growth, I slowed down thinking we'd go another way, but without hesitation she swung on a branch and landed on the other side, she was so graceful. I knew she was waiting for me, I couldn't use the same branch I was too heavy, I saw my plan and hoped I wouldn't land on my arse in front of Rose.

I kicked out from the tree, summersaulting through the air about the undergrowth landing next to Rose. She slowly looked my body up and down, nodded then ran on. If I didn't know better I'd say she was checking me out.

An hour later we were back at the gym grabbing water. I sunk to the ground.

"I don't think I've ever felt this sore after a workout, I have muscles sore that I didn't even know I had." I puffed out catching my breath. She laughed sitting next to me. She hardly had any hard breathing except I could see perspiration on her skin.

"It's great isn't it? The feeling of being free, just running and reacting. Makes you feel alive doesn't it?" I gazed up at her from my position on the floor. She looked stunning, even if we had just been working out, her hair was trying to escape her bun, she had a few scrapes and scratches, taking an inventory of my body I felt a few on me too.

I can see the appeal of free running for people like us, it really did help with reaction times, but it was more than that, as dhampirs we naturally graduate towards the risky things, this helped with that natural instinct. I think I may have found a new lesson for novices.

"I found Peters in the infirmary the other day." Rose didn't even try to hide her smile.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." She said with mock innocence. The night staff had found Peters unconscious near the church. I knew Rose had bided her time and got her payback for Peters hitting Luca.

"Well apparently he can't remember what happened." I carried on, she was smiling. She couldn't keep herself out of trouble.

"And I hear you're causing a stir in the lower campus." I added sitting up. It's true she had, she refused to teach combat skills, saying they had lessons in that already, that the kids also need fun before being turned into brainless machines.

"Nothing they can't handle." She said grinning and taking a mouthful of water.

"I also see your game of flag tag has taken over the school." She openly laughed at this.

"Yeah Liss is not happy, some of the juniors were trying to climb the roofs. I had to lay down some rules for them." I remember that talk, I was in the back of the room, watching as she spoke to, easily 60 teenagers, every single one was watching her every move. She was the inspiring teacher and didn't even know it.

"It's not about going up onto the roofs, it's about the evading, the thrill of the chase. Use what you know; do you know how to land if you fall from a height of 30 feet?" She'd asked the room, I swear every child shook their head. "But do you know the layout of the grounds? Do you know where the spots are that can help you evade your opponents? Do you know the training you've all had? And do you know each other?

You've all trained together for years, you should know each other's personalities, how to trap them to get their flag. The point in flag tag is to have fun, but don't put yourself in unneeded risk." A few started to protest saying how she'd swung down the flag pole, but it didn't faze her in the slightest. "True, but did any of you spent every waking hour for two years training in acrobatics?" I was engrossed in her story; she'd learned acrobatics? Shaking my head back to the present, I looked at Rose.

"Yeah I remember." Bring me back to the present. She was shocked to hear I was there, she obviously didn't see me.

"Where did you learn acrobatics?" I asked she seemed to have led some mysterious exotic life.

"With the circus." She said taking another sip of water, this time spilling a bit down her chest, I watched it fall, mesmerised. She hastily wiped it away.

"You travelled with a circus?" Trying to not concentrate on the water that went down her top, I asked what she'd done. "What did you do there?"

"A bit of this and that. Being what I am, I could do more of the daring things that no one else would go near, the pole, silks and the trapeze were my favourite, but I did the bars and rope too."

"The silks? Pole?" I asked I had no idea what they were. She smiled.

"Yes the dancing pole." I wracked my brain trying to think of a dancing pole, it wouldn't come, then it clicked.

"You mean like a lap dancing pole?" I asked shocked. She laughed at my face.

"Don't make that face at me. I never stripped and its hard work. 30 foot up, just trusting the strength of your body to move and hold you. And the silks are like two ribbons hanging, you knot them around you so you don't fall." I really wanted to see her do this, I bet she wore little outfits. She laughed again at my face.

"Stop being a perv, I can see the cogs working behind your eyes." She laughed again getting up. "It's getting late, see you later comrade." She walked out the gym. I had the biggest smile on my face, I could feel it. I haven't laughed like that for ages. My dampened fire had reignited, and it was all because of my Roza.