A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed. I need feedback, good or bad!
Pete ran through the halls until she came to the stairwell. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Alex was slowly following her. She stuck out her tongue at him, calling out "Move your ass! Can't have you getting lost in my house!"
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Alex was slowly approaching her with a pouty look on his face.
"I'm hungry, and I bet you are too since you never had a chance to eat your roll. After we eat, I'll give you a tour of the house, and then... well, I don't know yet. So come on!"
Alex was standing next to her now, and motioned for her to go first. Pete had her suspicions that he was going to take his revenge on her now, if she went in front him. Grinning to herself, she went on down the stairs, acutely aware of Alex at her back. Let's just see what he'll do. She kept her guard up as they made their way down the stairs. She was just about to take another step down when Alex shoved her. Just before she fell down, she reached behind her and grabbed Alex's arm. The fell down the stairs until painfully tumbling to the bottom. When they landed, Pete was straddling Alex, with her forearm across his neck, preventing him from moving.
"You really ought to stop attacking me from behind. One: it's cowardly, and I don't tolerate cowards very well. Two: one of these days you'll end up with my dagger in your stomach when I mistake you for a pirate." Cocking her head to the side, she leaned closer to his face and whispered, "Got that?"
Pete blinked in surprise when she a drop of blood fall down onto Alex's face. Releasing his neck, she sat up and gingerly touched her fingertips to her face. Wincing slightly, she felt the cut that now ran along her eyebrow.
"Ha, what was that about your reflexes and supreme fighting skills, Pete? Looks like they weren't good enough to save you from getting hurt," Alex proudly said, smirking up at her.
"Oh, don't sound so pleased with yourself. It was a stair edge, not you, that cut me." Pete stood up and glared down at him. "Now come on, I need food." She walked away, muttering to herself about ingrates that tried to show her up.
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Pete made her way to the kitchen, purposely ignoring the pain that was now emanating from her eyebrow, and refusing to clean it until after she ate. She entered the kitchen, knowing that Alex would follow her once he was done gloating over his so-called victory.
She rummaged through her cupboards, looking for food. When she found some dried fruit and bread, she took it over to the table. Grabbing for the pitcher sitting on the table in center of the table, she poured water for herself into a wood cup. She opened the shutters in the far side of the kitchen and sat on the window ledge, tearing off pieces of bread and dried fruit, eating them. She gazed out of the window, staring into the trees.
The wind played in the tree, making the leaves dance in the wind. The sun was unable to penetrate the thick canopy of leaves overhead, casting the forest around her into a gloom. But that gloom was full of life. Birds twittered amongst themselves, bugs skittered along the ground. Predator and prey played their everlasting fame along the forest floor. A sparkle of fairy dust could be seen here and there, as fairies made their way about the forest, attending to their business.
Pete looked back into the kitchen when she heard Alex come in. He looked around the kitchen, observing the simple furnishings. The walls were covered in wooden cupboards. A large wooden table stood in the center of the room, the extra bread, dried fruit, and water pitcher sitting in the middle of it. Stools, not chairs, surrounded the table. Windows were placed along two of the walls.
Pete gestured at the food on the table, "Help yourself. If you want water, there are cups in the top cupboard behind your head."
She watched as Alex grabbed a cup and some food before sitting at the table.
"So... how's that gash?"
Pete snorted, "A gash? Hardly. More like a paper cut. Anyway," she said, standing and brushing the food crumbs from her lap, "I'm going to go train. You should come spar with me when you're done. You obviously need the work."
"Hey! I do not! I pushed you down the stairs remember?"
"Oh, how could I forget?" She said sarcastically. "Pushing a person down the stairs is such a great display of your fighting skills. Now, if you want to learn how to fight for real, from the master, I'll show you how. Just go down the hall to the right, and in the second door on the left." Pete then sauntered out of the room, laughing at Alex's red face.
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Pete had wiped up most of the blood from her cut with a wet rag, Only because it was getting in my eye. She grabbed a dagger from her weapons case, and was soon fighting against an imaginary enemy. She spun, and darted, did flips off the wall, and parried against the pretend foe. Taking a break to wipe the sweat off of her forehead, she glanced in the doorway to see Alex standing there, watching.
"Well, are you going to stand there all day, or do you want to learn what an actual fight is like?"
Alex walked towards her. "Then let's start. I think you'll be surprised at my skills."
"What, I don't see any stairs for you to push me down," Pete scoffed.
She walked to the weapons case, slipping her dagger back into its case. She looked thoughtfully through the various weapons, wondering what she would instruct him in first. Grinning, she grabbed two wooden swords.
"Oh, you're going to be so sore tomorrow," Pete said as she threw one of the swords at him. She got into her fighting stance, her feet going into the proper positions automatically. She chuckled when she saw Alex look at her position, and then quickly copy it, facing her. "Okay then," she said, "Bring it."