AN: Whaddup my peeps? Did you miss me? I know it's been like, less than two days, but I'm an impatient person so I know how y'all must feel. Thank you all for your reviews! I swear I am using some of the suggestions you've given, it's just that you won't see them until a bit later because I'm writing a couple chapters ahead and all. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, Lessons.
Ward wasn't happy when Skye kicked him out of the training room.
"I'm your S.O., I should at least be here to oversee your training!" he protested.
"Well, May said you can't. I'll show you what she teaches me later, but right now you've got to trust me. Trust her. Just, go upstairs and hang out with FitzSimmons or Coulson. You're not going to get close to them again by hiding out in the training room with me."
Ward sighed, but nodded. He gave Skye a quick kiss and a hug before he left the room, passing Melinda in the doorway.
"Okay, May, I mean Mel, I'm ready." Skye said.
"No you're not." May replied. "Sit."
Skye was confused, but followed her teacher's lead and sat down, cross legged on the mats. May closed her eyes, and so Skye did too. She sat there for a moment, then opened one eye to peak.
"Close your eyes" May said, without opening her own. Skye instantly shut the offending eyelid, and kept it closed. She was just starting to relax when she received a sharp blow to the back of her head.
"Ow! What the hell?" she yelled, snapping her eyes open to find that Melinda was no longer sitting in front of her. "When did you even get up?"
"Close your eyes" May ordered again. "Be aware of your surroundings. Don't rely on your sight to tell you where I am. Feel it. There are thousands of nerves in your body. Use them to know where I am."
Skye rubbed the back of her head, but did as she was told. After a couple minutes, she thought that she was getting the hang of it. She had a feeling that Mel was beside her. Then, all of a sudden, May landed a kick, right against the side of her ribs… On the opposite side that Skye had thought she was on. She rubbed the spot, but kept her eyes shut this time.
"Humans are born with instincts, Skye. Use them. When you feel the hair on the back of your neck stick up, listen to it. When you hear a sound but dismiss it as irrelevant, listen to it. When you feel a change in the air, when the minute air current feels different, react to it! Listen to all the information that your body is giving you." All of a sudden, Skye threw her hands out in front of her and grabbed May's foot where it had been about to strike her chest. She opened her eyes and grinned, before realizing that she was holding the leg off of one of the practice dummies, and Melinda's real foot landed in the small of her back. "Better" May allowed, as she offered her hand to help the girl off the ground. "Don't worry, it will come easier with practice. But I want you to practice your awareness at all times. I just might surprise you" she warned.
"I will" Skye promised. "But, weren't you going to teach me how to fight?"
"I am" May told her. "First rule of combat is 'know where your opponent is'. In a real fight, you can't afford to lose track of them for even a second. The third rule of combat is 'hit harder than your opponent does'."
"What's the second?" Skye asked.
"Don't get hit," May replied, as she rushed the rookie. Skye stepped out of the way, but still got dealt a grazing blow. She spun around and lunged at May, who quickly stepped out of the way and sent Skye (who was already off balance from the punch) sprawling on the floor in one graceful motion. Immediately, she offered the girl her hand and pulled her back to her feet. "Anticipate. Before you try to hit me, figure out how I'm going to move to avoid it. Then compensate for that. Try again."
Skye nodded. This time she was slower to attack. She started to move in on Melinda's left side, ready to cross punch her trainer. Before Skye's hands even left her sides, May's arm shot out towards her to deal a blow. Skye grabbed the wrist as it flew towards her, spun around, bent forward and threw May over her shoulder and onto the mat. It was a move Ward had used on her plenty of times, but she'd never been able to use it on him; partially because he was too big and heavy for her to throw over her shoulder like that, but also partially because it was his move, and he was always ready for it.
"Nice fake" May awarded. "You never intended to punch me, did you?"
"Nope" Skye grinned.
Mel nodded. "Good. Now do that twenty more times and I'll call you ready. But for now, you're not even close."
The lesson went on for another hour. Skye received at least 8 blows for every one she landed, and a couple of bruises were already forming when they had finished. She knew she was gonna hurt like hell in the morning. When she mentioned it to May, the woman brought her over to the punching bag.
"Watch… Stand back" Mel warned as she positioned herself in front of the heavy bag. Skye did as she was told, and all of a sudden May's leg shot out from under her, hitting the bag with a loud THWACK. The bag swung out at a more than 45° angle. "That's how hard I can hit" May clarified once the bag had stopped swinging. "I hit you hard enough to learn. You will have bruises, yes, but each mark you receive is a lesson. Take this, for example" May said as she pulled up her shirt to reveal a long scar that wrapped around from her belly button to part way across her back. "I got this in one of my first real fights. I was slow, and I was sloppy. See, when I was in training, they never hit this hard. The hits would sting, but they'd never leave a mark. And so there was no reason for me to be perfect, because it didn't hurt that much when I wasn't. But when it was real, when I got this, I learned pretty damn fast that I had to be faster, had to be better than the other guy.
"This injury almost killed me, Skye. I hit you hard enough that you have a chance to learn the lessons, before your life is on the line. Make sense?" Skye nodded. "Good. Now go take a hot bath, we're done for today, and your muscles will need the soak."
"Thanks Mel" Skye whispered as she gave Melinda a hug. May just stiffened, and Skye laughed as she let go and ran from the room.
AN: Also, I'm not going to hold the next chapter ransom for reviews again, BUT I would really appreciate some! I've started losing momentum and it's getting hard to motivate myself to keep going, so reviews would really help! Thanks, I love you guys! 3