Slade, not to be deterred, returned his hand to her shoulder. "Would that please you?"
Terra nodded.
"All right." Slade led the way out of the control room, making sure to shut off and lock the system before leaving. He didn't think Terra one to snoop around behind his back, but he didn't want to chance her wandering into his control room when she was bored.
Now in the training room, Terra's eyes glowed yellow as she lifted a rock and aimed it at Slade. Slade, however, held up a hand to stop her.
"Did I do something wrong?" Terra asked, letting the boulder fall.
"For now, you will refrain from using your powers," Slade said.
Terra blinked in confusion. "How am I supposed to fight?"
"In this session, we will work on your hand-to-hand combat skills," Slade said.
Terra's face flushed at this. "Hand-to-hand?" she asked in a small voice.
"Yes. Does this bother you?" Slade asked.
Terra looked at him, looked away, then shook her head.
"Then we will begin." Giving no warning, Slade rushed her to attack. His first hit was a direct contact with her stomach, and she was thrown backward with a cry. Struggling to her feet, Terra resumed her stance before Slade rushed again, sweeping her legs and causing her to fall again. "Fight back, Apprentice," Slade commanded.
Nodding and trying not to wince in pain, Terra rushed Slade with a cry and tried to hit him with a punch. Her technique was pathetic to say the least, and Slade dodged the attack in laziness, grabbing her arm and throwing her head-over-heels into the floor. Shaking his head, Slade allowed Terra to get to her feet before he approached her. Terra tensed up, ready for another attack, but Slade quickly slipped behind her, grabbing both her arms. "Your technique is wrong," Slade said. Even though his gloved hands, Slade could feel the intensifying heat on her arms. "Widen your stance, and hold your arms higher. Be stable on your feet, and quick with your blows."
"O-okay," Terra said.
Leaving her side, Slade resumed his attack, noting with satisfaction that when he struck her next, she managed to keep her footing and not fall down. When Terra raced toward him, Slade back flipped out of the way.
"I can do that, too!" Terra said. In an instant, she back flipped as well, but Slade noted that she didn't get as much air during her handspring as he would've liked. "Was it good?" she asked after doing three more backflips.
"It will get better," Slade said.
Terra, who took anything Slade said as a compliment, pumped her fist in the air. Then she rushed him again, this time trying to land a kick to his side.
Slade blocked the kick, instantly locating a weak point and sweeping under her remaining leg. "Never allow yourself to be caught off guard," he reprimanded.
Terra nodded and got to her feet. She rushed Slade again, but this time he pushed her backwards and pinned her against a wall by her wrists. He held her against the wall for several seconds, while her face steadily became more and more pink.
"Break free," Slade said.
Realizing that she couldn't pull her arms free, Terra attempted to pull her legs in and kick Slade away. Once he saw this motion being performed however, Slade stepped on both of her feet with his own, effectively trapping her.
"Break free," Slade said again, leaning toward her.
Her face was now quite red. Slade wondered if she would yield, but out of nowhere a rock hit him in the stomach and forced him two steps backward. He was about to reprimand Terra when he saw that she had placed her hands on her knees, panting as though thoroughly exhausted.