"Do you remember?" Lonara asked, getting Kirin's attention. "My father once brought me and my mother camping when I was little? It was the only time he was free from his duties, the only time he didn't have much to think about. We traveled from the north to the south-eastern region, where there is a vast wilderness, a very big desolate area, just like these sands. We set up camp and he told us about camping trips. I was bored, there was nothing much to do, but I liked my parents' company. So it was worth it" Lonara paused for a second.
She sighed. "Who would have thought, that was the final camping, like the very last outdoor activity done on this planet before it dies out completely due to the Zakana inhabiting here and rendering the wilderness dangerous? I wished I enjoyed it to the very last because when I asked my father out camping again, he said it was now impossible, and that our camping was the last and such activities outside any civilization are no longer allowed for safety reasons" She buried her face on her pillow for a second before facing Kirin again.
"It was not fair, it took me long before I realize how fun camping was. If there weren't Zakana, I would have been asking you out camping a lot" The two chuckled a bit. "How are they doing?" She asked. "Oh... They're doing fine" Kirin looked at the tents. "They just ate their meals and now resting on the tents they assembled on their own". Lonara nodded. "You need to get them to tolerate the conditions of the wild. Especially Miss Terra" Kirin laughs when she heard Terra's name. "She'll adjust, they will. They have no other choices" She shook her head. "Right... Well, it's nice catching up with you, Kirin. Good night" "Get me a bed already!" The two laugh as they terminate their call.
Kirin checked herself, she doesn't feel like laying down on her own tent yet. She stood up with a groan, shaking off the sand from her pants. "Niela..." She called out for Niela as she heads for their tent. "Niela!" "Yes...?!" The two met in front of the tent, almost bumping into each other. "It's too early for rest, get out of here" Kirin motioned for her to leave and walk towards the fire. "Um... I'm tired right now, Miss Kirin" Niela timidly replied. Kirin turned around and scanned her with her eyes.
Her eyes started working on gathering information about Niela's vital signs. After a few seconds, Kirin had detailed information about how Niela's body was currently doing. Her temperature is slightly increasing, rate of breathing is slightly fast, heart rate is definitely higher... She checked on other information. "There!" 'Fatigue build-up minimized' 'Adrenaline increase detected' "It says here you're not tired, come on, get on here" She motioned for her to get out again. Niela loudly sighed as she steps out of the tent and rolled up the zipper up behind her.
"I want to teach you something" She says as she started stretching her body sidewards. Niela walks up to her and waits for her words. After a few seconds, Kirin deeply exhaled. "Well... not exactly 'teach you something'. It won't be much but it will increase your survival" She crossed her arms as she looks at Niela. "What would that be?" Niela waits for her answer.
"Have you ever been to a fight?" Her question asks startled Niela. "N-no... Are you going to teach me how to fight?" Kirin nods to her. "Yep. I know that fighting with your bare hands and melee weapons rarely happens nowadays, but that doesn't mean you will never get into one" She began punching the air, avoiding non-existent strikes and countering with a punch. "Are you good at martial arts, Miss Kirin?" Kirin looked at Niela, slightly flushed. "No... I don't know any martial arts, but I can swing a punch, dislocate a bone, or straight-up put a person to sleep" She steps back a bit and faced Niela.
"It's because of your eyes, right?" Niela asked. Kirin shook her head. "I've been into some bare-knuckle fights and melee combats way back before I lost my eyes" She raised her hands up and forms them into fists. "Come on here, let's begin" Kirin's order made Niela anxious. "O-okay..." She nervously walks in front of Kirin. "Raise your hands like this" Kirin shook her hands, motioning her to do the same. Niela did what she was told. "I always put up my fists like this close to my face, either ready to hit my opponent's or defend mine. You can put your fists somewhere else, but be always ready to defend your face" Kirin lightly taps her cheeks with her fists.
"A hit in the face is always fatal. The blow will disorient you, stagger on your feet, and lose your balance, especially if you're not trained. Anyone can follow up with another strike and another once they hit you, so if you can't recover from a blow to your head, you will be at a huge disadvantage, so it's safer to guard your head and protect it from any blow. It doesn't matter if you're a professional at it, it's still bad getting hit in the head"
"Pretty sure you know what is a jab right?" Kirin asked. "Maybe..." Niela shrugged, unsure. "Well, a jab is a straight blow of your fist. Like this" Kirin thrusts her fist at Niela. "It's the basic way to deal pain to your opponent. Of course the more you put strength on the punch, the more it hurts" Kirin then swings her fist. "Now that's called a hook punch. You swing your arm to hit your opponent from an angle instead of a direct punch, which is the jab" She proceeds to mix up the two styles, hitting in front of her from every direction.
"I want to see you swing a punch, Niela. Do it" Kirin puts away her fists and stands still to watch Niela. "Okay..." Niela imitated Kirin's way of throwing punches, first a jab, then a hook with her right fist. "You have slender arms, but you still have your knuckles, they're bones, and they hurt to be hit by. You might not deal enough force to stagger an opponent, but you can use your slender figure and be very agile" Kirin raises a finger. "Remember, it's not always the big buff guy who wins a fight, sometimes an agile tiny man can win if he's fast enough. Tire the big guy and you can use your agility to your advantage. Throw agile punches and they will be sitting duck, trying to fend off your hits" She lightly scratches her cheek.
"Though there are barely any buffed-up soldiers in the Narukh'za, so you don't have to worry about being outsized" She slightly chuckled. "Was it difficult fighting the Narukh'za with fists?" Niela asked. Kirin smiled as she thinks back. "The normal grunts can throw some punches, but it's based on their instincts. There were barely any styles, and they like to take out short blades if they can't win with bare hands. Blade weapon fights are always the case with the Narukh'za" The two went silent for a moment before Kirin snaps back.
"Right! Try hitting me!" Kirin instructed her to throw punches at her. Niela looked up to her. Kirin was fifteen centimeters taller than her, she thought it would be hard to hit her head. "If your opponent is taller than you, you will have to make them lower their height" Kirin proceeds to throw a punch upwards, followed by swinging her right leg. "You either punch the opponent's ribcage or their gut or their his leg to lose their balance" She raises her fists back up. "Now try it" Niela raises hers the same way Kirin does. Kirin watches Niela carefully.
"One more thing, it's best that you stare at your enemy's eyes. Sometimes they can read your next move by simply staring at where you're going to land your next hit" Niela nods to her words. "Hah!" Niela swings an uppercut, aimed at her stomach. Kirin let her blow hit. "Harder!" Kirin shouted. "Hah!!!" Niela shouted louder as she puts more strength to her punch. Her fists hit Kirin's stomach once more. "Oof..." Kirin felt pain from the last punch. "Hiyah!!!" Niela followed her punch with a low kick as Kirin demonstrated. "Wah!" Kirin felt a powerful blow to her left leg, making her lean lower.
"Hnn...!" With a groan, Niela throws a hook the moment Kirin's face was on a perfect level. "Whoa!" Kirin quickly moved back, evading her hook. "I felt the wind from that!" She pointed at Niela. "Whew..." She stood straight with a sigh, slightly rubbing her left thigh. "You needed to adjust the power with your fist, but you certainly hurt me with your low kick" She said as she continue to rub the spot Niela had kicked. "S-sorry... Did it hurt? Does that mean I can do better with my feet?" Niela asked. "Well, everyone can kick, you can do more damage than that. But that surprised me a bit, you threw a punch the moment I went low for the slightest moment" Kirin slightly raised her brows.
"At first you looked very timid, but you can actually throw hits!" Niela was flushed at her words. She slightly scratches the back of her head in embarrassment. "Say, have you been practicing all along? Before you decided to join the Arkula?" Kirin asked, very curious. "Well..." Niela thinks back.
"Niela! You promised to watch Fierce Fights with me!" In the kitchen of the Harvon residence, Niela is standing before a cutting table with ingredients on it, wearing an apron, has her hair tied up short, and holding a phone. Without looking back, she responds to her sister. "Is it today? I'm a bit busy, Chirlin" She sighed slightly as she scrolls down the page she was reading. "It is! Can't you hear that?!" Chirlin stayed quiet to let the television play the intro theme of the show. Niela slightly groaned. "I wanted to try this one out, it takes a while to make, we won't be eating at twelve if I don't do it now..." Chirlin stares behind her sister.
"I can wait..." Niela turns to her sister to find her smiling. "A promise is a promise, you will watch it with me" Chirlin added. Niela paused for a second. "Oh well..." She then proceeds to remove her apron and untie her hair while Chirlin excitedly hops back to their television. The two sat on their coach and watches the show with opposing looks, Chirlin was really fascinated by the actions shown, while Niela looked disturbed. After the show finished an action scene, Niela spoke up. "Chirlin, why do you enjoy stuff like... beating down people?" Chirlin snapped to her. "Huh?" She looked surprised at her question.
"Beating and hurting people... Look at his face and hands, he's bleeding" Niela points at the screen. It shows the aftermath of the recent scene, the main character was shown to have bad wounds on his face and his knuckles slightly bleeding. "And the men he fought is struggling to move from all sorts of wounds..." Niela groaned. "D-don't you get it...? They're beating down bad people! With style! It's about dealing with evil with amazing techniques!" Chirlin stood up and began copying the moves from the show in front of her sister. "Styles and techniques...?" Niela raised a brow. "Like this!" Chirlin swings her right leg at her sister.
With a quick reaction, Niela raised her left arm to block her leg. Chirlin's eyes widen. "Oooh! You looked cool doing that!" She said as she lowered her leg. "You were really going to hit me, Chirlin?" Niela sighed. "Of course not!" Chirlin furrowed her brows at her. "So let's try again!" Chirlin swung her left leg and Niela blocked her with her right arm. "Haa!" After her leg is blocked off, she immediately thrusts her right fist. Niela catches her arm and raised it up in the air and quickly went for her sides. "Hyahahaha!!!" Chirlin laughs out loud as she gets tickled by her sister.
"...So by action movies, huh" Kirin chuckled slightly. "That's not too bad. It's nice knowing that you care about what she likes, Niela" She smiled at her. "At first, I thought I would just watch or play whatever she likes, but I always end up enjoying it together with her" Niela sweeps her toes at the sands. "And it seems like your patience rewarded you. You know some crazy moves. The movement and hits you see from those movies are definitely real, even if they faked it for the show. If you do them for real, it will definitely hurt... But of course, you will need training to perform those moves, otherwise you will hurt yourself"
She paused for a second. "But that's not all!" Kirin raised her fists. "Before I teach you further on blowing hits, I want you to evade mine! I know those movies show you some cool ways to evade attacks!" Anxiously, Niela raises hers and looks straight at Kirin.