Rhythian stood there as the man waited for his response. I kept hiding behind him as fear engulfed my whole body. He then clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He kept quiet as the men looked at Rhythian. The man in charge sighed deeply as he unsheathed his sword. He then looked at Rhythian with a malicious intent.
I recoiled as I couldn't handle the fear. I grasped for Rhythian's waist cloth to slightly relieve my fright. Rhythian then turned and knelt down in front of me.
"Why don't you sit in the house for a while?" He whispered as he gave me a gentle head rub. I nodded and walked back to the house. He closed the door behind me.
In a fit of worry, I rushed to the window and looked at Rhythian and the man.
"So...That's how you want to play...Good..."The man chuckled as he turned around and walked a few steps away from Rhythian before quickly spun around and struck Rhythian from the shoulder down to his waist. He was faced towards the men with horses after his strike.
A loud scratch sound was heard as it echoed throughout the forest. The man with the sword laughed in his own amusement as he stood up straight from his position, sheathing the sword. The men on the horses looked and sounded shocked, and for good reason.
The man turned to see what had happened. In his hopes that Rhythian would be bleeding down on the floor would be considered as imagination as Rhythian stood there without a scratch. The man in charge then sounded scared after finding out such truth. Rhythian then stretched his neck and reached his hand outward.
"Was that all? Now, if you are done, I would ask you to leave the property..."Rhythian spoke in a clear and angry tone as he summoned a great sword and stabbed it into the ground. As I saw this, I was amazed and confused. On the other hand, the men were outright frightened. The man was shocked at first as to how he summoned a magical sword on the palm of his hand. The man then got his composure back and yelled at the men on the horses to attack him. Rhythian took the sword and readied himself. The men on horses then went to stab Rhythian with their spears, but Rhythian either dodged them or blocked them with ease. As the men went for a second run, Rhythian was already running towards them and knocked 2 horsemen down with the hilt of the blade. He then landed back down on his feet to prepare for the third one to strike again. As the third horseman galloped towards him, Rhythian shouldered the blade and just simply punched the horse, knocking the it down along with the man on top of it.
Rhythian then faced the man in charge, who seemed confident at first but then was cowering in fear as he saw Rhythian fight without getting injured or getting a scratch on him. He then stumbled and fell as he tried to run away from Rhythian.
"You will regret this!" The man yells as he finally got on his feet and ran for the wind. Rhythian's sword disappeared into glowing dust as he went into the house. He then looked around in search for me. That wasn't needed as I immediately ran and hugged the ironclad man. He then placed his hand on my back as I stayed there. I looked up at him with a massive smile on my face.
"Thank you..." I said quietly.
He then knelt down in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I did promise didn't I?" He replied as I nodded enthusiastically. He then chuckled a small bit as he looked at me again. "Now young draconian...I may have fought them off easily, but there are times in which I can't be there..." He spoke in a worried tone as I looked at him in a confused and worried state.
"So, I can teach you how to fight, if it's that okay for you?" He added. I looked at him with multiple questions in my head.
"F-fight? I-I can't..." That was all I could say as I looked down. I have always felt like running away from trouble will always solve my problem, so I have never fought back. Rhythian then let out a sigh upon hearing my reply. Compassionately, he looked at me.
"Alright, If that is your decision." He said as he let out a soft sigh. He then stood up and gave me a soft rub on my head. "I'll leave you to think about it, for now, why don't we call in for the day?" He said as he headed upstairs, leaving me in a confused, worrying and questioning state...
The next day, as dawn breaks, I jumped out of bed and headed downstairs to where Rhythian was. I turned the corner while taking a few breaths, stopping a few feet behind Rhythian. He turned to face me, clearly wanting to ask what was wrong. As he was about to speak, I interrupted him by raising my finger up.
As I take a deep breath, I finally let out the words I wanted to say.
"I-...I want to learn h-how t-to fight..."
"I-I want to learn h-how to survive..."