Joint Lessons
"Right, Serena, we have something new for you to try today. Joint fighting."
"Joint fighting?"
"Yeah, partner work. Remember Ryan, your partner? Well, he's been training a bit with the staff and other forms of fighting, and Kherron and I think that it is time that you two had a match against each other."
"A match?" Serena didn't think she was ready for a match against someone else. Besides, she was still a bit tired after school, and after Alina's snubs today, she didn't know if her heart was in it.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. It'll give you a chance to see how the other fights, and get used to each other, which you need, as you two are partners. It'll also show you just how well you are doing against someone your own age. Anyway, we've gone through more than just the basics of almost every fighting art you need, so now you start to train your fighting together. Once you've mastered fighting in human form, we can begin on your shifting. But we'll continue to teach you about witchcraft separately, and other things to do with your secret heritage. But now that we can combine you with your partner, we can teach you different things, and you can take shifting lessons together, along with things like mind-speech and Night World History. So, shall we? Kherron said to meet them in the main hall."
"Okay. But this is a staff fight, right?"
"Yes. I think that you should use a staff Lignum Vitae, because you seem to do better with that, but it's up to you."
"But we don't have to... touch?" Serena had vivid recollections of what had happened last time they brushed arms, and right now wasn't sure she wanted to repeat the experience under the eyes of her trainer.
"No." Raksha was looking at her oddly. "Why?"
"Um, no reason." Serena tried to sound nonchalant. "Just last time brushed past each other, we gave each other some sort of shock. Static I think." -And the whole world disappeared,- she added silently.
"Right. Um, well, no you may tough when you're fighting, but I can't give you gloves to prevent static, because your hands would slip." Raksha was worried. She knew what the shock was, but didn't think that they had realised it yet. And they couldn't. It was dangerous. "The shock was probably not static, but power transference, because you aren't fully trained, and your power seems to have a way of managing itself sometimes. I can do something about that. Let me see the pendant that I gave you before." Serena held it out, while Raksha muttered some words and gave it back to her. "There. It's now spelled against that kind of thing. Okay? Right let's go to the main hallway. Bring your staff."
*~*~*
"A Match. Against someone else? You've got to be kidding me! I'm not ready."
"Yes you are, Ryan. Trust me, this will be good for you. Your partner, Serena, has been training a short while, just like you, and this will give you a chance to train together, and get a measure of they other's style. You can help each other improve, and learn to fight together, which of course, you need to be able to do, being partners. From now on, the two of you will fight together... you won't really need us trainers as much for your physical fighting, as you can train each other. You need to practice, and set each other up against the other, until you can both master the arts. You need this, if only to see how far you've come, and how much more work you need to do. Only once you've done this can we begin to work on shape- shifting and mind-speech and other talents. You're the most promising pair in the circle, and technically, you should eventually become so good that you can both fight against a different person one handed, while holding on to the other person."
"What?! That's impossible. And you mean that we have to hold hands?"
"No, it's not impossible, and don't be a baby, it's not that bad to hold hands with a girl."
"It's not that." Ryan realised that he sounded a bit sulky. "We just keep shocking each other somehow when we touch."
"Oh, do you?" Kherron sounded thoughtful. "Well, that's probably static or some stray magic or something. Nothing to worry about, but I'll raise the protections on your key-ring to stop magic leaking in or out, okay?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, then come on. We're to meet them in the main hall."
"Okay, but which staff should I use?"
"I don' t know. Whichever you work best with. You're good with all woods, I know, which is slightly surprising as you are a vampire, which means that you have to be careful, but I thought you did best with Japanese Oak."
"Okay, I'll use that one." Kherron tossed one to him.
"But I warn you, Ryan, remember that you are a vampire, and that if you do get cut or scratched by the wood, you will feel it quite a bit. But they don't know that. Keep your temper, and make sure that you don't accidentally transform, and come to me afterwards, and we can take a look at any injuries. Also remember that Serena isn't as... able as you are, and that you have supernatural strength. You have to be careful, and go gently at first, to see if she can deal with you fighting at full power. Okay? Now, let's go, we're late."
*~*~*
Serena was standing in the main hall with Raksha, waiting for Ryan and his trainer Kherron to appear. Nervously, she shifted her weight onto one foot and then back to the other. She was feeling... apprehensive. She wasn't entirely sure how ready she was for this. Sure, she'd mastered the basics and could give Raksha a pretty good fight, but this was against someone else. Her partner, no less. What if she made a fool of herself? It would be so humiliating. It-
Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of a door opening. Turning round, she saw Ryan and Kherron coming through a different set of double doors to the ones that she had entered by. She couldn't help but stare at Ryan. He looked good. He was dressed as she was, with a black turtleneck sweater, and tracksuit pants to give them freedom of movement. He wore black sneakers, she wore white. She made sure that she didn't meet his eyes, not wishing to see if the charm Raksha had put on her was working or not. Looking down, she saw that he was carrying a staff just like her own, just over four feet in length and an inch in diameter. Most fighting sticks had blunt ends on both sides, and originally, Serena and Ryan had trained with these, but they had quickly adapted to being able to use disarming sticks at the same time. Now both of them carried one of these, with one end tapered to a narrow angled tip, which was fire-hardened. Hers was of a slightly paler colour to his, but otherwise, they were almost exactly the same. All of a sudden, she felt very nervous.
She tried to distract herself by looking around. The hall wasn't entirely bare, and there were some pieces of furnishing around them, including wooden boxes used as stands and seats, and a few benches lined up against two walls. There was also a small raised platform at one end of the hall, used as a stage, she supposed. She took note of all these, as she realised that she might have to manoeuvre around all these. This meant that the staff fight would incorporate some of her other fighting techniques such as basic fitness and agility. This was going to be even harder than she had thought.
Kherron cut off her thoughts by clapping loudly, and telling them to get ready to fight in a couple of minutes. As she moved to one side of the room, a sense of panic settled on her, and her stomach balled up in nervous apprehension.
*~*~*
Ryan walked over to the other side of the room, opposite to Serena, and put his staff on the bench there and bent over to retie his laces. As he did so, he watched as Serena his partner, put her staff down and began to go through her stretching exercised. He began to do the same, admiring her all the while. She looked just as beautiful as before, he couldn't help but think. And that was almost weird, because last time she'd been wearing fashionable clothes and her hair had been loose. Here she was wearing the same thing as him- training clothes- and her hair had been tied up into a ponytail, although some stray wisps had escaped, and framed her face. Her eyes were closed in concentration, he noted thankfully. He wondered exactly how good she was. She looked like she knew what she was doing, and had a feeling that he was going to be surprised by how much she knew. He tried to force those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to focus, or he wouldn't fight as well as he could. Tearing his eyes from her, he tried to focus elsewhere. He saw that Raksha and Kherron had moved to a corner, and were discussing something in low voices, looking at him and Serena as they did so. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his racing pulse, and tried to focus, finishing all of his stretches off. He felt good today. He was in terrific form, and was itching for a good fight.
He picked up his stick and tried a few practice drills while he waited for the adults to finish talking. After a couple of drills, he sat down, and meditated for a few moments, taking the remaining time to fall into his power, and draw on his sources. He did this almost every day now, as he found it calming and a good way to focus on difficult things. It gave him patience. Now he just breathed, soaking in the feeling of his power, and trying to find what Kherron had called 'Zanshin' inside himself- the feeling of being aware of everything and nothing at the same time, the perfect combination of awareness and detachment. Once he had calmed down enough, he just sat, breathing evenly, not stirring until Raksha called them to come to the middle of the hall.
"Now shake hands, as a sign of good sportsmanship." Raksha was saying.
Ryan was shocked. He couldn't touch her. Not after what had happened last time. But Kherron was giving him a stern glance, so he slowly and reluctantly extended a hand to Serena, who was reluctantly doing the same.
Their hands met. And that was it. There were no sparks or anything, and the world stayed exactly where it was. There was only a slight tug inside him, like the one he had felt before, but that was faint, and felt muffled, and it gradually faded away. The charm had worked. Her hand just felt normal, small and cool, with a firm grip. He felt some of his apprehension fade away. He didn't have to worry about things happening if they touched. He could fight her properly.
"Right. Now both of you take your start positions." Raksha was saying. Ryan and Serena both turned away and took their positions. Ryan sank once again into a state of awareness, of perfect Zanshin. "And, begin."
*~*~*
Serena circled warily, mimicking what Ryan was doing opposite her. She was feeling slightly tense, but in a good way. She really wanted to fight now, and she felt like she was in great form. She could beat him, she hoped. She didn't even have to worry about touching him. The charm had worked, thank God. But she couldn't think of that right now. She had other things to attend to. She and Ryan circled slowly getting closer and closer, their footsteps mere whispers on the worn floor. They moved almost noiselessly, both of them deep in concentration, each watching the other for the first signs of an attack.
She had to admit Ryan was hard to read. Most people gave signs away about how they were going to move and when, normally from the muscles in the chest and torso, but Ryan didn't give out those signals. It made it that much harder to anticipate his movements, which meant that she would have to be agile and quick to keep from getting hit. As they kept circling cautiously, she calmed her breathing down, into a form of active meditation, one which Raksha had taught her, where she could meditate as she moved, anticipating nothing and everything at the same time. She tried to get into that frame of mind now, breathing evenly and slowly, and trying to lose awareness of everything.
Suddenly, Ryan lunged towards her, his stick lashing out, trying to knock hers away. She saw it coming, just in time, and moved her own staff, blocking his thrust and deflecting his staff away from her, causing him to step back a little. Trying to catch him while he was uncoordinated, she immediately swung her staff round in an arc, aiming for his dominant wrist, the right. He blocked easily, and instantly tried for a trap, but she withdrew her staff, whipping it out of the way, and returned to circling, almost as if she had never moved. And so the match continued...
*~*~*
Ryan watched Serena carefully. She was good, he had to admit, he couldn't help but think, even as he lunged back to avoid her sweeping his feet from under him. He feinted towards her wrist again, and tried for a head strike, but she blocked him easily, and the two staffs met with a dull thwack. She was immediately moving again, attacking from all angles at such speed that he could barely defend himself. Her face was twisted in concentration, and she attacked with increasing fervour, slowly but surely forcing him towards a corner of the room. He caught one of her middle strikes with a hard block, and the two of them were then locked, both pushing their sticks towards the others, in a deadlock. As soon as she put more of her weight behind her strike, he slipped his stick out and jumped to the side. The loss of his stick caused her to lose her balance and fall forward, but she just flipped herself back up and whirled around, ready for the next attack. God, she was quick.
He decided to try the one ended approach. Gripping his staff like a sword, he attacked, and she did the same, and something that resembled a fencing match then ensued, each still trying to knock the stick away from the other. Brandishing the pointed ends of their staffs at each other, they chased each other all around the room, defending and attacking, striking and blocking in turns, neither willing to give an inch. They manoeuvred around chairs and tables, up and down stairs and along the length of the stage, trying to use obstacles and height to give them the advantage. The adults watching them were extremely impressed with their resourcefulness, determination and skill, and saw that the pair of them were well matched in levels of ability. It was impossible to say who was the better fighter, because just as you thought one of them would win, the other would make a surprising comeback, and the combat would ensue.
On and on they fought, for nearly an hour continuously, never giving up, relentlessly parrying blocks and strikes. The only sounds in the room were their panting and the noises of wood hitting wood. Neither of them had been struck yet, and you could see the sweat glistening on their faces as they continued to fight.
Ryan was getting tired. He could see that Serena was tiring too, but he could also see the determination in her eyes, and kept going. This was a lot harder than he had anticipated. He was giving it his all, not holding back any of his extra strength, but she was just as good. He wondered briefly if this would ever end. It didn't seem like it. You had to get the other person to yield, not just disarm them. It didn't seem like it could happen.
He saw an opportunity for an attack, and seized it, attacking from all sides varying his strikes, switching back and forth from strikes to lunges to make his moves more unpredictable. He forced her to retreat, and become defensive, giving him the upper hand in the combat. He attacked faster and harder, unconsciously letting his body take over his mind, repeating countless drills one after the other, until all she could do was just about block him, before he slid his stick in quickly and flicked it upwards suddenly. The jerk caused her to let go of her stick, and he used his own staff to flick it high into the air behind her. He then tried to lunge for her throat, but she ducked, and he missed. Quick as lightning, she used her own leg to make him stumble back, and as he fell, he saw her flip backwards and catch her staff, ready for another attack. He scrambled back onto his feet, but he had lost his advantage. Now she pressed in, forcing him to defend himself. He tried to block her, but she deftly twisted her stick and forced him into a trap, pressing his own stick against his thigh. He knew better than to back out of the trap completely as she would just attack again, but he took a small step back, and whipped his own staff up, pushing it against hers in a deadlock. They were both pressed against each other, and he could feel her heat, and the small tremors in her body from the exertion. He could feel her breath as she panted lightly, but she didn't give in. She pushed harder against him, and he did the same. They were locked together. He met her eyes, willing her to give up and back down, but they met, he found himself staring into orbs that changed colour, and he was lost again.
*~*~*
Serena was tiring fast. She knew that she couldn't keep up the deadlock much longer. Ryan was bigger than her, and stronger, and he had a lot more weight to put behind the block than she did. But she didn't want to give up. If she could just hold on... She looked up at him. He was tired, she knew. His muscles were trembling a little, just as hers were, and she could feel his breath on her cheek. He met his eyes, expecting to see that they were as determined as ever, but as they met, she saw them change. Suddenly he wasn't putting as much force behind his staff, and she fell forward a little. Only this time she didn't fall to the floor- she fell against him instead. Her entire body was caught up against his, and though the electricity and the shock didn't appear, she still felt herself becoming lost in his eyes. Now neither of them had any weight behind their staffs. They were still gazing into each others eyes, and it didn't seem like they had any intention of breaking the contact. Serena certainly didn't. They were both breathing heavily. His face moved closer to hers, his lips only inches away from her own. He whispered almost silently, "I yield", and moved even closer, but just before their lips met, Raksha's voice cut in.
"Well done! That was amazing. Both of you." She looked a little worried, and her voice wasn't as pleasant as it had been before, and at the sound of her voice, the moment vanished. Serena tore her eyes away from Ryan, and stepped away from him reluctantly. Raksha carried on, as if she hadn't noticed the moment that had just passed. "Brilliant. Do you know that you were fighting for over an hour?"
Silence. She was obviously expecting an answer. After a pause Serena heard Ryan answer.
"Um, yeah.... It went on for a long time." How he could actually form sentences after what just happened was beyond her. She was still breathing deeply, trying to control her racing pulse. It was faster and louder than she'd ever heard it, and she doubted that it was because of the fight.
"A long time? You could say that!" Raksha seemed pleased about something. "You two... you'll make a great team. Don't you agree, Kherron?"
Until now the man had been silent, but now he spoke up. "Yes, I do think so. You two are probably the best fighters in the circle. With constant training, I think that the two of you will easily become masters of the arts. From now on, I think that you two will practice the fighting arts together. You don't need a lot more individual tuition from us, you will teach each other well, and it will make you work better as a team. So from now on, the two of you will appear in this room at 9 o'clock every night. Every other day, there will be circle meetings, training sessions and lessons, which you will need to attend together, and during the other nights, you can practice together. I know that every night at nine is going to be difficult to arrange, but it is just for now, until you have learnt more of what you need to know. Then we can start to decrease hours and days, okay?"
Both of them just nodded, too exhausted to speak much more. Well done. You did very well indeed, and you will make us proud. I know that you are tired now, and I think that you should both go home now and rest. For the next few weeks, the schedule will be a little disrupted. Raksha will take you for a couple of hours at 9, and teach you how to shape-shift and mind- speak, and practice working as a team, and then you will split off with your trainers for separate lessons. But tomorrow will be the biggest day. You are to learn to shape-shift into all your shapes, so be prompt. If you can, try and get some sleep before you come, because you will be here for longer than normal. Although you will not miss any time in the Day World, you will be very tired. Okay? Good. Now, goodnight, both of you."
Serena tiredly picked up her stick and moved towards the door, pulling her hair out of the ponytail it had been in, and shook it out, letting it loose around her shoulders.
*~*~*
Ryan followed Serena out of the door, exhausted. She looked just the same, shaking her hair out of its ponytail and allowing it to tumble down her shoulders. Ryan clenched his fists, to stop himself from reaching out to touch it. He didn't know how she would react to that, and he didn't think he could trust himself around her. And he'd made a promise to himself, remember? So what had he been doing back there in the hall? He'd nearly kissed her. He sighed. He just wanted to go home and try and sleep it off. As he pulled out his key-ring, ready to transport himself home, a soft voice interrupted him.
"I... I just wanted to say well done. That was a good fight."
"Yeah, it was. You're really good. And well done to you- I mean, you won. I yielded"
A pause. "No, I think it was a draw." Another pause ensued before she spoke again. "I think that we could make a good team, don't you."
"Yeah, I do." He paused, unsure of what to say. "Well, I'd better be going."
"Me too."
"Well, see you."
"Bye." As she turned away form him, she pulled something out form under her turtleneck sweater, some kind of pendant, he couldn't see the design. At the same time they both whispered the word "home", and in a flash of white light, they were gone, and the hall was left empty.
*~*~*
Raksha watched them transport anxiously. She'd seen what had happened at the end of that fight. Even the charm hadn't been enough to stop the sparks... what was she going to do? The rules said that the dampeners had to come off, and soon they would recognise each other in the day world, and the rest of the circle would be able to know that they were Night Worlders too. That wasn't a problem. She just had to get rid of the spark for a while...
Muttering a few words, she increased the charms on their transportation keys a little. It had to keep them apart. It just had to.
"Right, Serena, we have something new for you to try today. Joint fighting."
"Joint fighting?"
"Yeah, partner work. Remember Ryan, your partner? Well, he's been training a bit with the staff and other forms of fighting, and Kherron and I think that it is time that you two had a match against each other."
"A match?" Serena didn't think she was ready for a match against someone else. Besides, she was still a bit tired after school, and after Alina's snubs today, she didn't know if her heart was in it.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. It'll give you a chance to see how the other fights, and get used to each other, which you need, as you two are partners. It'll also show you just how well you are doing against someone your own age. Anyway, we've gone through more than just the basics of almost every fighting art you need, so now you start to train your fighting together. Once you've mastered fighting in human form, we can begin on your shifting. But we'll continue to teach you about witchcraft separately, and other things to do with your secret heritage. But now that we can combine you with your partner, we can teach you different things, and you can take shifting lessons together, along with things like mind-speech and Night World History. So, shall we? Kherron said to meet them in the main hall."
"Okay. But this is a staff fight, right?"
"Yes. I think that you should use a staff Lignum Vitae, because you seem to do better with that, but it's up to you."
"But we don't have to... touch?" Serena had vivid recollections of what had happened last time they brushed arms, and right now wasn't sure she wanted to repeat the experience under the eyes of her trainer.
"No." Raksha was looking at her oddly. "Why?"
"Um, no reason." Serena tried to sound nonchalant. "Just last time brushed past each other, we gave each other some sort of shock. Static I think." -And the whole world disappeared,- she added silently.
"Right. Um, well, no you may tough when you're fighting, but I can't give you gloves to prevent static, because your hands would slip." Raksha was worried. She knew what the shock was, but didn't think that they had realised it yet. And they couldn't. It was dangerous. "The shock was probably not static, but power transference, because you aren't fully trained, and your power seems to have a way of managing itself sometimes. I can do something about that. Let me see the pendant that I gave you before." Serena held it out, while Raksha muttered some words and gave it back to her. "There. It's now spelled against that kind of thing. Okay? Right let's go to the main hallway. Bring your staff."
*~*~*
"A Match. Against someone else? You've got to be kidding me! I'm not ready."
"Yes you are, Ryan. Trust me, this will be good for you. Your partner, Serena, has been training a short while, just like you, and this will give you a chance to train together, and get a measure of they other's style. You can help each other improve, and learn to fight together, which of course, you need to be able to do, being partners. From now on, the two of you will fight together... you won't really need us trainers as much for your physical fighting, as you can train each other. You need to practice, and set each other up against the other, until you can both master the arts. You need this, if only to see how far you've come, and how much more work you need to do. Only once you've done this can we begin to work on shape- shifting and mind-speech and other talents. You're the most promising pair in the circle, and technically, you should eventually become so good that you can both fight against a different person one handed, while holding on to the other person."
"What?! That's impossible. And you mean that we have to hold hands?"
"No, it's not impossible, and don't be a baby, it's not that bad to hold hands with a girl."
"It's not that." Ryan realised that he sounded a bit sulky. "We just keep shocking each other somehow when we touch."
"Oh, do you?" Kherron sounded thoughtful. "Well, that's probably static or some stray magic or something. Nothing to worry about, but I'll raise the protections on your key-ring to stop magic leaking in or out, okay?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, then come on. We're to meet them in the main hall."
"Okay, but which staff should I use?"
"I don' t know. Whichever you work best with. You're good with all woods, I know, which is slightly surprising as you are a vampire, which means that you have to be careful, but I thought you did best with Japanese Oak."
"Okay, I'll use that one." Kherron tossed one to him.
"But I warn you, Ryan, remember that you are a vampire, and that if you do get cut or scratched by the wood, you will feel it quite a bit. But they don't know that. Keep your temper, and make sure that you don't accidentally transform, and come to me afterwards, and we can take a look at any injuries. Also remember that Serena isn't as... able as you are, and that you have supernatural strength. You have to be careful, and go gently at first, to see if she can deal with you fighting at full power. Okay? Now, let's go, we're late."
*~*~*
Serena was standing in the main hall with Raksha, waiting for Ryan and his trainer Kherron to appear. Nervously, she shifted her weight onto one foot and then back to the other. She was feeling... apprehensive. She wasn't entirely sure how ready she was for this. Sure, she'd mastered the basics and could give Raksha a pretty good fight, but this was against someone else. Her partner, no less. What if she made a fool of herself? It would be so humiliating. It-
Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of a door opening. Turning round, she saw Ryan and Kherron coming through a different set of double doors to the ones that she had entered by. She couldn't help but stare at Ryan. He looked good. He was dressed as she was, with a black turtleneck sweater, and tracksuit pants to give them freedom of movement. He wore black sneakers, she wore white. She made sure that she didn't meet his eyes, not wishing to see if the charm Raksha had put on her was working or not. Looking down, she saw that he was carrying a staff just like her own, just over four feet in length and an inch in diameter. Most fighting sticks had blunt ends on both sides, and originally, Serena and Ryan had trained with these, but they had quickly adapted to being able to use disarming sticks at the same time. Now both of them carried one of these, with one end tapered to a narrow angled tip, which was fire-hardened. Hers was of a slightly paler colour to his, but otherwise, they were almost exactly the same. All of a sudden, she felt very nervous.
She tried to distract herself by looking around. The hall wasn't entirely bare, and there were some pieces of furnishing around them, including wooden boxes used as stands and seats, and a few benches lined up against two walls. There was also a small raised platform at one end of the hall, used as a stage, she supposed. She took note of all these, as she realised that she might have to manoeuvre around all these. This meant that the staff fight would incorporate some of her other fighting techniques such as basic fitness and agility. This was going to be even harder than she had thought.
Kherron cut off her thoughts by clapping loudly, and telling them to get ready to fight in a couple of minutes. As she moved to one side of the room, a sense of panic settled on her, and her stomach balled up in nervous apprehension.
*~*~*
Ryan walked over to the other side of the room, opposite to Serena, and put his staff on the bench there and bent over to retie his laces. As he did so, he watched as Serena his partner, put her staff down and began to go through her stretching exercised. He began to do the same, admiring her all the while. She looked just as beautiful as before, he couldn't help but think. And that was almost weird, because last time she'd been wearing fashionable clothes and her hair had been loose. Here she was wearing the same thing as him- training clothes- and her hair had been tied up into a ponytail, although some stray wisps had escaped, and framed her face. Her eyes were closed in concentration, he noted thankfully. He wondered exactly how good she was. She looked like she knew what she was doing, and had a feeling that he was going to be surprised by how much she knew. He tried to force those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to focus, or he wouldn't fight as well as he could. Tearing his eyes from her, he tried to focus elsewhere. He saw that Raksha and Kherron had moved to a corner, and were discussing something in low voices, looking at him and Serena as they did so. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his racing pulse, and tried to focus, finishing all of his stretches off. He felt good today. He was in terrific form, and was itching for a good fight.
He picked up his stick and tried a few practice drills while he waited for the adults to finish talking. After a couple of drills, he sat down, and meditated for a few moments, taking the remaining time to fall into his power, and draw on his sources. He did this almost every day now, as he found it calming and a good way to focus on difficult things. It gave him patience. Now he just breathed, soaking in the feeling of his power, and trying to find what Kherron had called 'Zanshin' inside himself- the feeling of being aware of everything and nothing at the same time, the perfect combination of awareness and detachment. Once he had calmed down enough, he just sat, breathing evenly, not stirring until Raksha called them to come to the middle of the hall.
"Now shake hands, as a sign of good sportsmanship." Raksha was saying.
Ryan was shocked. He couldn't touch her. Not after what had happened last time. But Kherron was giving him a stern glance, so he slowly and reluctantly extended a hand to Serena, who was reluctantly doing the same.
Their hands met. And that was it. There were no sparks or anything, and the world stayed exactly where it was. There was only a slight tug inside him, like the one he had felt before, but that was faint, and felt muffled, and it gradually faded away. The charm had worked. Her hand just felt normal, small and cool, with a firm grip. He felt some of his apprehension fade away. He didn't have to worry about things happening if they touched. He could fight her properly.
"Right. Now both of you take your start positions." Raksha was saying. Ryan and Serena both turned away and took their positions. Ryan sank once again into a state of awareness, of perfect Zanshin. "And, begin."
*~*~*
Serena circled warily, mimicking what Ryan was doing opposite her. She was feeling slightly tense, but in a good way. She really wanted to fight now, and she felt like she was in great form. She could beat him, she hoped. She didn't even have to worry about touching him. The charm had worked, thank God. But she couldn't think of that right now. She had other things to attend to. She and Ryan circled slowly getting closer and closer, their footsteps mere whispers on the worn floor. They moved almost noiselessly, both of them deep in concentration, each watching the other for the first signs of an attack.
She had to admit Ryan was hard to read. Most people gave signs away about how they were going to move and when, normally from the muscles in the chest and torso, but Ryan didn't give out those signals. It made it that much harder to anticipate his movements, which meant that she would have to be agile and quick to keep from getting hit. As they kept circling cautiously, she calmed her breathing down, into a form of active meditation, one which Raksha had taught her, where she could meditate as she moved, anticipating nothing and everything at the same time. She tried to get into that frame of mind now, breathing evenly and slowly, and trying to lose awareness of everything.
Suddenly, Ryan lunged towards her, his stick lashing out, trying to knock hers away. She saw it coming, just in time, and moved her own staff, blocking his thrust and deflecting his staff away from her, causing him to step back a little. Trying to catch him while he was uncoordinated, she immediately swung her staff round in an arc, aiming for his dominant wrist, the right. He blocked easily, and instantly tried for a trap, but she withdrew her staff, whipping it out of the way, and returned to circling, almost as if she had never moved. And so the match continued...
*~*~*
Ryan watched Serena carefully. She was good, he had to admit, he couldn't help but think, even as he lunged back to avoid her sweeping his feet from under him. He feinted towards her wrist again, and tried for a head strike, but she blocked him easily, and the two staffs met with a dull thwack. She was immediately moving again, attacking from all angles at such speed that he could barely defend himself. Her face was twisted in concentration, and she attacked with increasing fervour, slowly but surely forcing him towards a corner of the room. He caught one of her middle strikes with a hard block, and the two of them were then locked, both pushing their sticks towards the others, in a deadlock. As soon as she put more of her weight behind her strike, he slipped his stick out and jumped to the side. The loss of his stick caused her to lose her balance and fall forward, but she just flipped herself back up and whirled around, ready for the next attack. God, she was quick.
He decided to try the one ended approach. Gripping his staff like a sword, he attacked, and she did the same, and something that resembled a fencing match then ensued, each still trying to knock the stick away from the other. Brandishing the pointed ends of their staffs at each other, they chased each other all around the room, defending and attacking, striking and blocking in turns, neither willing to give an inch. They manoeuvred around chairs and tables, up and down stairs and along the length of the stage, trying to use obstacles and height to give them the advantage. The adults watching them were extremely impressed with their resourcefulness, determination and skill, and saw that the pair of them were well matched in levels of ability. It was impossible to say who was the better fighter, because just as you thought one of them would win, the other would make a surprising comeback, and the combat would ensue.
On and on they fought, for nearly an hour continuously, never giving up, relentlessly parrying blocks and strikes. The only sounds in the room were their panting and the noises of wood hitting wood. Neither of them had been struck yet, and you could see the sweat glistening on their faces as they continued to fight.
Ryan was getting tired. He could see that Serena was tiring too, but he could also see the determination in her eyes, and kept going. This was a lot harder than he had anticipated. He was giving it his all, not holding back any of his extra strength, but she was just as good. He wondered briefly if this would ever end. It didn't seem like it. You had to get the other person to yield, not just disarm them. It didn't seem like it could happen.
He saw an opportunity for an attack, and seized it, attacking from all sides varying his strikes, switching back and forth from strikes to lunges to make his moves more unpredictable. He forced her to retreat, and become defensive, giving him the upper hand in the combat. He attacked faster and harder, unconsciously letting his body take over his mind, repeating countless drills one after the other, until all she could do was just about block him, before he slid his stick in quickly and flicked it upwards suddenly. The jerk caused her to let go of her stick, and he used his own staff to flick it high into the air behind her. He then tried to lunge for her throat, but she ducked, and he missed. Quick as lightning, she used her own leg to make him stumble back, and as he fell, he saw her flip backwards and catch her staff, ready for another attack. He scrambled back onto his feet, but he had lost his advantage. Now she pressed in, forcing him to defend himself. He tried to block her, but she deftly twisted her stick and forced him into a trap, pressing his own stick against his thigh. He knew better than to back out of the trap completely as she would just attack again, but he took a small step back, and whipped his own staff up, pushing it against hers in a deadlock. They were both pressed against each other, and he could feel her heat, and the small tremors in her body from the exertion. He could feel her breath as she panted lightly, but she didn't give in. She pushed harder against him, and he did the same. They were locked together. He met her eyes, willing her to give up and back down, but they met, he found himself staring into orbs that changed colour, and he was lost again.
*~*~*
Serena was tiring fast. She knew that she couldn't keep up the deadlock much longer. Ryan was bigger than her, and stronger, and he had a lot more weight to put behind the block than she did. But she didn't want to give up. If she could just hold on... She looked up at him. He was tired, she knew. His muscles were trembling a little, just as hers were, and she could feel his breath on her cheek. He met his eyes, expecting to see that they were as determined as ever, but as they met, she saw them change. Suddenly he wasn't putting as much force behind his staff, and she fell forward a little. Only this time she didn't fall to the floor- she fell against him instead. Her entire body was caught up against his, and though the electricity and the shock didn't appear, she still felt herself becoming lost in his eyes. Now neither of them had any weight behind their staffs. They were still gazing into each others eyes, and it didn't seem like they had any intention of breaking the contact. Serena certainly didn't. They were both breathing heavily. His face moved closer to hers, his lips only inches away from her own. He whispered almost silently, "I yield", and moved even closer, but just before their lips met, Raksha's voice cut in.
"Well done! That was amazing. Both of you." She looked a little worried, and her voice wasn't as pleasant as it had been before, and at the sound of her voice, the moment vanished. Serena tore her eyes away from Ryan, and stepped away from him reluctantly. Raksha carried on, as if she hadn't noticed the moment that had just passed. "Brilliant. Do you know that you were fighting for over an hour?"
Silence. She was obviously expecting an answer. After a pause Serena heard Ryan answer.
"Um, yeah.... It went on for a long time." How he could actually form sentences after what just happened was beyond her. She was still breathing deeply, trying to control her racing pulse. It was faster and louder than she'd ever heard it, and she doubted that it was because of the fight.
"A long time? You could say that!" Raksha seemed pleased about something. "You two... you'll make a great team. Don't you agree, Kherron?"
Until now the man had been silent, but now he spoke up. "Yes, I do think so. You two are probably the best fighters in the circle. With constant training, I think that the two of you will easily become masters of the arts. From now on, I think that you two will practice the fighting arts together. You don't need a lot more individual tuition from us, you will teach each other well, and it will make you work better as a team. So from now on, the two of you will appear in this room at 9 o'clock every night. Every other day, there will be circle meetings, training sessions and lessons, which you will need to attend together, and during the other nights, you can practice together. I know that every night at nine is going to be difficult to arrange, but it is just for now, until you have learnt more of what you need to know. Then we can start to decrease hours and days, okay?"
Both of them just nodded, too exhausted to speak much more. Well done. You did very well indeed, and you will make us proud. I know that you are tired now, and I think that you should both go home now and rest. For the next few weeks, the schedule will be a little disrupted. Raksha will take you for a couple of hours at 9, and teach you how to shape-shift and mind- speak, and practice working as a team, and then you will split off with your trainers for separate lessons. But tomorrow will be the biggest day. You are to learn to shape-shift into all your shapes, so be prompt. If you can, try and get some sleep before you come, because you will be here for longer than normal. Although you will not miss any time in the Day World, you will be very tired. Okay? Good. Now, goodnight, both of you."
Serena tiredly picked up her stick and moved towards the door, pulling her hair out of the ponytail it had been in, and shook it out, letting it loose around her shoulders.
*~*~*
Ryan followed Serena out of the door, exhausted. She looked just the same, shaking her hair out of its ponytail and allowing it to tumble down her shoulders. Ryan clenched his fists, to stop himself from reaching out to touch it. He didn't know how she would react to that, and he didn't think he could trust himself around her. And he'd made a promise to himself, remember? So what had he been doing back there in the hall? He'd nearly kissed her. He sighed. He just wanted to go home and try and sleep it off. As he pulled out his key-ring, ready to transport himself home, a soft voice interrupted him.
"I... I just wanted to say well done. That was a good fight."
"Yeah, it was. You're really good. And well done to you- I mean, you won. I yielded"
A pause. "No, I think it was a draw." Another pause ensued before she spoke again. "I think that we could make a good team, don't you."
"Yeah, I do." He paused, unsure of what to say. "Well, I'd better be going."
"Me too."
"Well, see you."
"Bye." As she turned away form him, she pulled something out form under her turtleneck sweater, some kind of pendant, he couldn't see the design. At the same time they both whispered the word "home", and in a flash of white light, they were gone, and the hall was left empty.
*~*~*
Raksha watched them transport anxiously. She'd seen what had happened at the end of that fight. Even the charm hadn't been enough to stop the sparks... what was she going to do? The rules said that the dampeners had to come off, and soon they would recognise each other in the day world, and the rest of the circle would be able to know that they were Night Worlders too. That wasn't a problem. She just had to get rid of the spark for a while...
Muttering a few words, she increased the charms on their transportation keys a little. It had to keep them apart. It just had to.