I woke up staring at the now-familiar ceiling of our little hut. As I raised my body into a sitting position, I felt pain all over my body.
"Urgh... What did I do last night? I feel like I got hit by a truck..."
"What do you mean?"
I flinched and searched for the owner of the familiar, soft, and concerned sounding voice.
"Mom!"
She sat right next to me and is looking at me with a complicated expression.
"Mom? What is wrong?"
"I always thought, that my Arn is somewhat unusual and very smart, but..."
She heaved a heavy sigh and looked at me shaking her head.
"Mom? What is wrong?"
"Do you know why Elder Irvin is the one overseeing the fights?"
Ahh! So that is his name, huh? Better remember it, he seems more or less important... Argh! Remembering names is such a hassle!
"Uhm... Elder Irvin is the oldest?"
Mom just shook her head again.
"I did tell you about the one blessed by Uisce, didn´t I?"
"Hm... Yeah, you did mention one very old guy blessed by the God of Water..."
"And those blessed ones do have the ability to heal people."
She added to my explanation.
That is good to hear, that they won´t risk their children to suffer serious injuries and ...
"Do you understand now?"
I looked up at her, trying what she wanted to say until it dawned upon me.
"Do you mean my foot, mom? But that wasn't a serious injury though?"
Yeah, I mean it hurt like hell, but in the end, it was just a sprain.
Mom heaved another very heavy sigh and leaned in until her face was directly in front of me. Staring me into my eyes she stressed every word.
"Your leg was broken, Arn!"
Wha....? Nonsense! Didn´t I touch the feet and confirm that nothing was amiss?
"But I did check, if..."
"And you had your foot broken so often, that you can assume that it isn´t? Promise me, Arn! Until you get a good feeling of your own body's condition and knowledge about treating injuries always check with Elder Irvin to heal your serious injuries!"
Ugh... I can´t stand Mom's intensity... Remorse swelled in me and threaten to overwhelm me. Like a bad stomachache working itself up my stomach to my head... especially my eyes.
"Yes... Mom? I am sorry. I simply didn´t notice..."
She tightly hugged me and whispered in my ear.
"I know. I know, Arn... And that is dangerous!"
She loves me. I could feel it in her hug, I could hear it in her voice. The remorse had long ago dissolved into a warmth I really missed and never acknowledged. I nestled my head into her strong arms, clinging to her. Just feeling protected, I indulged in her warmth. I couldn´t hold it. My eyes burst open. My silent crying stained my mother's shoulder. She didn´t push me away. She just held me, whispers of comfort sneaked into my ears. Here is my home.
After I calmed down she let me go of me and gave me a thoughtful look.
"Another thing, Arn."
A shock ran through my body. Just like in school when you didn´t do your homework and the teacher instead of collecting the work is working through it after asking the students. You hope and hope, that she won´t pick you but...
"Yes, Mom?"
I tried not to look guilty.
"Where did you learn to fight like this? It is... unusual. Especially how you took some of her punches was very strange."
I tried to look at her mood from the corner of my eyes while seemingly concentrating on her stomach. Here it comes... How? How? How should I explain? I wanted to prepare, but here I am and I didn´t do my homework...
"Uhm... I just thought of it because..."
I shifted my eyes around looking for an excuse... There is none. After realizing that my shoulders dropped and the tension left my body. Let´s just roll with it and hope for the best. That did work in my past life surprisingly well.
"I´m weak."
Squinting up at her I could see her look to turn more and more sympathetic. I could feel a lump in my throat and my eyes watering again. Annoyed I blink the tears out of my eyes. I don´t want sympathy! I think...
She put her hands on my shoulders and gripped them softly and reassuringly.
"You are... for now. But you haven´t received your blessing yet. Everything can change after that."
Yeah... Everything might change after that. Let´s put aside if I should accept such power. I am not even sure if I can get this power and which one I would get. It is still possible, that even if I accept such a blessing that I would still be weak as... Wait? Did I get around explaining how I know to fight like that? Should I ask or better to let it be? Well better grow some balls and get to it.
"Mom. Your... That training method isn´t quite fitting for me. It isn´t bad! It´s just... I don´t think it is for me."
She narrowed her eyes at me seemingly contemplating the pros and cons of the only god knows what. Until coming to a conclusion she lightly shook her head.
"I can´t help you, Arn. This training is tradition! And even was introduced by one of our greatest heroes, Blidmar, destroyer of mountains."
She sighs throwing me an apologetic look.
"Normally I could train you myself and let you train by yourself wouldn´t be a problem, but my standing in the tribe is a little bit strained right now."
I dropped my head guiltily. I can imagine why she would have difficulties. She must go through a lot because of me.
"If you want to train differently, you need to do it after your training with Erwin. We can reduce our training together, but I do have a few conditions."
She tried to look stern and serious, but since I know her this new look was almost comical to me. Others would perhaps feel a little bit intimidated, but once you get to know her... She can´t be taken that seriously anymore.
"Conditions?"