You try to grab her, but she drops, collides with your legs, and knocks you to the ground. Before you can react, she straddles you, pins, and presses her face to your neck. It's a brief touch, her lips and breath are soft against your skin.
"That's a bite," she whispers in your ear and retreats. "You lose."
"You distracted me," you accuse.
"So?"
"Just pointing out facts. Also..." You twist under her, throwing all your weight into the motion. She doesn't fight it, allowing herself to be thrown and rolling away from you when she hits the mat.
You lunge after her, an animalistic snarl ripping out of your throat.
She moves fast, avoiding your attack and racing back to the far side of the room. You follow. Your body is still human, but moving faster and more gracefully than any human could.
You can see the approval in her eyes. You don't let that distract you as you swipe at her with your left hand.
She catches the blow on her arm.
"If my claws were out, you wouldn't have a limb," you say, and maybe there is a touch of smugness to your voice.
Vicky smiles and steps close, her body inches from yours. "I'm a vampire. I can put it back on later."
Before you can say anything, her foot hooks around your ankle, pulling your legs out from under you.
You blink as you find yourself back on the ground, Vicky on top of you, pinning you despite the arm she has folded behind her back.
She brushes her lips against your neck again. "That's twice you've died now."
"That's twice you've distracted me."
"Well, then you know what you need to work on. Don't get distracted."
She rolls off you without prompting this time, straightening and stretching as she returns to the middle of the room. "It's a good instinct though, attacking the limbs. Not having all its arms or legs limits the vampire's ability to fight. Just make sure, before you rest, you remove the head from the heart. That's the thing that keeps them together. Sever that connection, and a vampire has seconds to put itself back together before they turn to ash."
"I'm not a cub," you remind her. "I know this."
She pauses, a frown flickering across her face. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to talk down to you. I jus—"
You leap at her.
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