Omake: Great Teacher Blake - Disciple

Salem was panting again, sweat dripping off her brow, her blade darted forward in the basic forms of combat. Salem had been going for almost an hour of this exercise in a series of blocks, strikes, and counters against an invisible opponent. There was a certain rhythm that Blake had Salem going at that had her muscles ache just a little bit as she held each position. As the exercise had progressed, Blake had been helpful in keeping time so that Salem didn't hold a position too long. The practice was meant to help Salem with her form with her chosen weapon and how to hold herself, Salem had done it numerous times before with Veve when her sister had been in charge of her training but this time was different.

As much as Salem admired her sister there was always that barrier between them where her sister did not want to push Salem the way that she just knew she needed to be pushed. Her sister had been afraid to push her this way, after all her nature prevented her from filling the roles that members of nobility traditionally held. Was she going to fight the beasts by herself? The idea had seemed so preposterous to her and her sister, that Salem had eventually ended those lessons because Veve could not fix Salem's problem. Despite what she had said on the matter, Salem had been depressed by the fact that Veve had let her quit, as if agreeing that this was one area of responsibility that Salem would never be able to match up in.

Salem would have wallowed in her melancholy if not for the arrival of the cat wilder Blake. She was formidable, mysterious, and perhaps most surprising of all, friendly to Salem. Salem had been the black sheep of the family for years, perhaps as much due to her own attitude as the reactions of others and the only person she had acted socially without duress in the past few months was Veve. It was nice and despite Veve's worries about sharing information with Blake, Salem had found herself warming up and sharing anyways and in turn Blake had shared about her magic, her teacher, things that Blake obviously considered important secrets in her own right. Maybe it was not prudent but Salem actually felt like she had made a friend with the older girl.

Right now her big mouth had turned that friend into her teacher and as Salem felt the shakes going down her arms and causing her blade to tremble she struggled to hold it still but Blake noticed, "Alright that's good enough for now. Drink some water, we'll talk some, and then we spar."

Salem had to keep herself from dropping to her knees or even worse dropping her blade. Veve considered that kind of action a cardinal sin to swordmanship, and Salem did not want to find out if Blake held that same opinion. It was kind of funny to Salem, when she was learning under her sister she had not been shy in voicing all sorts of complaints and gripes to her sister or any of the other instructors she had been assigned before. After all she was more of a scholar than a fighter and her nature was more of hindrance than a benefit in a large scale combat situation.

Salem did not want to make those same complaints to her friend and teacher, have Blake think less of Salem after she was so adamant in volunteering for this. Salem would never admit this to anyone but the last thing she wanted is for the warrior that had saved her life to think less of her. Salem staggered over to a table in the training hall that had a pair of silver chalices with water, a glass pitcher with more water, and a brass bowl with fresh fruit in it. Salem had to keep herself from drinking the water so fast that she'd spill more of the liquid on herself than she got past her lips.

After Salem was finished drinking and sat down in the chair Blake asked, "You said a couple days ago that Veve was teaching you how to fight, is that normal in Ciel? To keep that sort of training in the family?"

Salem was feeling better and now down to just sipping her water, "Not for the normal fighting force but for awakened, she was the best option in the city and who I was most willing to accept instruction from even if her style wasn't a good fit for me. Which is why I stuck with her as long as I could. I did not want to disappoint her but in the end we both agreed that I should take a break and just never came back to it. I kept myself occupied with my studies and Veve had her patrols."

Blake nodded, "I suppose that makes sense why you'd be asking me to teach you."

Salem asked, "You mentioned that you have had two people teach you how to fight, why did you choose them?"

Blake became thoughtful, "Ever since I was a little girl, I've been going from one fight to another. Eventually by my own choices, I found myself in a violent tribe. I was finally seeing results in our fight to getting my people respect and a man a little older than me decided to take me under his wing. Teach me how to fight and how the world worked, but he liked me and I liked him played the biggest part in it."

Salem looked at Blake and saw that her friend was a little upset about the subject, and Salem asked, "Are there any lessons from him that you plan to teach me?"

Blake shook her head, "No, he had a poisonous viewpoint, about the world, about himself, and about us. A hatred grew in him that only grew worse over time as he justified more monstrous action as time went on until he no longer bothered with the justification. It was just what he was and what he wanted to do. I disagreed with the lengths he went to and I ended up parting ways with him because I was afraid what he would do to me or force me to do if I stayed."

Salem's eyes widened at that, just how dangerous had this man been that Blake had run away from him?

Blake continued, "It wasn't long after I left that I was saved by my second mentor. She protected me from his vengeance and trained me first, and eventually four others. She was different than anyone I had met before, taught me magic, a different way of fighting, about dreams and surviving. The two most important lessons about fighting. I like to think that we helped her learn as well. I suppose that the reason I chose to stay with her is because she made a simple promise to me and she has never broken it. She has always been there for me. You've had enough time to rest, lets get to the that spar."

Salem protested, "But you are a lot fresher and already such a better combatant then me."

Blake agreed with Salem which didn't make the princess happy at all, "That can happen, which is why I had you exhaust yourself earlier. Sometimes you're going to be so tired that you don't want to stand and face something you know you can't handle on you own. You need to know the kinds of mistakes you're likely to make in that state. Lets begin."