MIKA POV:
I woke up early the next morning, probably since I fell asleep so early. I barely remember eating dinner. I was surprised to find that I wasn't sore anymore, despite it being only one night. I sat up and looked at the baggy tunic I was wearing. I don't remember changing last night. I got up off the couch and stretched. Isola was passed out on the floor with books, she must have stayed up late.
Last night when I got back we talked about Marshall and I. She says that I have stay away from him completely until I am strong enough to withstand the force of the bond. She told me that the reason I got sick and passed out was because the bond shares vitality between mates, and mine acted like a sort of vacuum. She said that I took in more than I could handle.. it basically sounds like a magical overdose.
She says that I will need to train daily to strengthen my vitality to a 'normal' level before we can see each other. She even forbade him from using the mental link. He will stay in the hut with Dania for the time being.
Speaking of Dania, she has been having a blast in the city, making lots of friends. Isola told me that Dania will be coming over during the day to help her. I already kind of miss her. Her upbeat mood and constant chattering… her cooking…
I found my new 'clothes' not too far away. I really didn't fancy walking around in this knock-off belly dancer outfit. Dania delivered my stuff yesterday so I found the only other pair of pants I had (which were riddles with holes and rips from our journey here). I used a knife and cut them into a pair of short shorts to put under the skirt.
I imagined Ishi losing her temper when she sees me show up with the shorts underneath. She seems to be very particular about things, so I better not wear the shorts today. I'll suggest the alteration to her if she's in a good mood and hope she agrees. Besides, it's just us two in the arena, it's not like anyone is going to be looking at me funny.
I pulled the large tunic off so I could get dressed for the day and noticed that I was covered in yellowing bruises. I knew I felt sore, but damn. I finished getting dressed, tidied my hair, fluffed my tail, and grabbed some jerky from the kitchen. It was still a little chilly out since the sun was only starting to rise. I walked through the still sleeping town, across the wooden platforms and rope bridges, to the center of town. I found the bridge she directed me across yesterday and ended up back at the shower room.
"Shit." I said aloud.
I wasn't really paying attention yesterday when she dragged me to the arena, and I forgot that I went back home from the showers, not the arena. The way we went to get the showers was not a direct path either. I could try to find my way back, but the odds were slim.
I stood there debating when Ishi came out of the shower building. She looked flawless, as usual, without a single hair out of place. She looked surprised to see me. She had on an outfit similar to mine; tan bralette with halter straps and gold crochet accents which drew attention to her chest. She wore a skirt similar to the one I wore but hers looked like the waist was crocheted in an X pattern which crossed below her belly button. She had a leather belt around her waist as well was adorned with various battle trophies which swayed along with her hips. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and back in gentle waves, she had one piece by her right ear braided and decorated with gold jewelry. She looked like a battle princess.
"Good morning, Ishi!" I said happily, glad to have run into her.
She squinted her dark blue eyes at me as she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I tried to retrace my steps from yesterday and ended up here. I don't remember the way to the training area." I laughed awkwardly
She looked like she was about to insult me, however she caught sight of the various yellowing bruises on my body and stopped. Her expression changed.
She sighed loudly before saying, "Follow me, I'll show you."
I followed her around and between the buildings and trees.. There's no way I'm going to remember this.
She stopped and pointed down one of the walkways, "this one takes a few turns, but if you continue on a mostly straight path, you will end up back at the plaza. This way over here, " She pointed in the other direction, "takes you to the arena. Remember this tomorrow. I'm not your tour guide."
How someone can be so nice and so condescending is completely baffling! One minute she's nice to me and the next it's like she wants to kill me. I followed behind her in silence, figuring that the less I say to her the better.
She guided us to the area and to my surprise, she didn't throw me over the edge like yesterday. She looked down at me and merely raised her eyebrows, as if she was saying, 'well? What are you waiting for?'
I jumped down and landed easily on the soft ground with a light thump. Ishi landed next to me without making a single sound. I looked at her in awe.
She looked at me with her usual expression and said, "Clumsy."
I just swallowed my pride and gave her an embarrassed half smirk.
*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.
The next few days were all the same. I met Ishi at the training arena at dawn and we trained. We started with these movements she called Ki maneuvers. They were a lot like Tai-chi mixed with yoga. Ishi painstakingly corrected my posture with every move, as they had to be done a very specific way in a very specific order. She would stand behind me and guide my arms and legs through the sequence. She was surprisingly gentle when teaching these. It was a little awkward at first, as she was pressed right up against me and holding me, but she has been an excellent teacher.
After we the perform the Ki Maneuvers she has me practice my offensive and defensive stances. Yesterday I messed up so bad she made me hold the one stance for 30 mins. It was like the worlds longest squat. My legs were so tired and weak that she had to carry me out of the arena.
And of course every day we have sparring practice. I am getting better at dodging her attacks, however I can never land a hit on her. Sparring started as a one sided pummel fest, where she would beat me black and blue and I would desperately try to defend. Now It's a little more fun, I use my small size and agility to my advantage to dodge about 40% of her attacks. She still gets me good though.
After every practice we head to the showers, where I wash up and she heads home. She insists that the outfit be worn for every practice, she says it 'liberates the body' - whatever that means. Since she wears the same style every day I just go with it. She got me a few more outfits to wear in rotation since mine end up getting muddy and covered in sweat every day.
"You need to attack; if you do nothing but dodge you will tire yourself out." She said to me, as we were sparring.
I was focused on dodging the onslaught of attacks. We have been practicing with modified bamboo poles- which still hurt when they hit. She moves quickly and elegantly, like she can predict my every move and prevent me from counter attacking. She swung her pole at me, spinning herself and her pole in a flourish as if she was taunting my lack of skill.
I decided to just go for it and I charged at her, going for a straightforward attack. She stuck her pole in the ground as i approached, and used her hands to fend off my attacks. I moved as quickly as I could, not giving her a chance to attack. I swung high, hoping to bonk her on the side of the head like she has done to me. However her dropped into a low squat, grabbed my ankle, and pulled my feet out from under me.
I fell into my back with a thud while my pole hit the ground and rolled away. She had pulled on my ankle so hard that I ended up half underneath her while she was poised in a low squat, ready to attack.
"Ughhhh." I groaned, exasperated
"You lack awareness." She said simply, not bothering to move from her victory pose.
"Was I at least close?" I asked, hopeful
"Well.." She said, getting my hopes up. "No." She finished her thought.
"Ishi! You are so MEAN!" I shamelessly moaned like a child. "You can't go easy on your student?"
To my surprise, she actually chuckled. She stood up and reached down to help me up, still straddling me. I blushed. She was so open and free with her body, she had no shame when exposing herself. I could clearly see her thong. I took her hand and she helped me up with a smug smirk on her face.
"Going easy on you won't help you in a real fight." She said.
"So you are going to play dirty?" I said to her, still using her for support as my ankle felt a little wobbly.
"Don't you know the saying, 'all is fair in love and war.' Everything is fair game as long as you reach your goal." She said, with a peculiar look on her face.
A devilish thought came to mind, and I decided it was it time to get even.
"I suppose that's true." I said as I gingerly let go of her and tested my ankle.
She turned around to grab her pole from the ground where she stuck it. That's when I launched my attack. I did a suave 'sweep the legs' move like I saw on T.V once. I dropped into a crouch, balanced on my right arm and leg, and swung my left leg behind her to knock her off balance.
Only, it failed and I looked like an idiot. She turned her head to look at me over her shoulder, like I was a fool. In desperation to strike back I decided to launch my body at the back of her knees and tackled her to the ground.
This worked! Except I got a face full of booty. Every victory comes with a price I suppose.
Ishi broke into loud laughter, "Really? What do you call that move?"
"Does it matter? I got you!" I said, victoriously as I crawled backwards, off her surprisingly soft bottom.
We stood up and I noticed that Ishi got covered in mud and dirt. She landed in the mud where i skidded out earlier, and I got even more dirt on her backside which was rubbed off when I fell on her.
'Uh-oh…' I thought to myself.
'She's going to be pissed' a voice in my head told me.