"Come on, Torrent, show me what you got. I really want to see how godly you have gotten with that rapier of yours," I said as he looked at me nervously as they faced each other with wooden weapons that I bought from the peddler a while back.
"Okay, I got this," he said as he started side-stepping in an almost crouth position.
So I followed up on the right side, stepping as he looked at me up and down. Getting bored, I rushed him, spooking him as he jumped back, almost tripping, which gave me an opening, and I wacked him on the top of his head, hitting pretty hard, making him tear up.
"OW," he yelled as he held his head.
"No pain, no gain, but I do feel bad, so once we finish our training, I'll make you your favorite dish, okay?" I said, feeling guilty looking at that sad face.
"Okay, but let me get a few jabs at you, but you can dodge but not hit back," he said, smiling, forgetting about his injury.
"Fine," I said, walking a few steps away from him.
*****
Well, I will look at him on the ground with bumps and bruises. I need to up his training just a bit, but he seems ready to help me in the dungeon. Walking up to him, I help him up, carry him inside, give him some water then seating near him I started reading a book about some long-lost kingdom in another country across the water or something—just some fantasy book.
"So how did you find me, Torrent?" I asked, wanting to know how he got here.
"Hmmm… Well, my last father traded me away. He was a gambler, or maybe he became one after Mama died. He loved her deeply, and when she was gone, he fell apart. He blamed me for her death, saying my birth was what killed her," he began, his voice trembling as he clenched his small fist, tears welling up in his eyes. "He ran out of money from drinking and gambling, and since he was human and I was a wolf person, I fetched for a lot because of our work ethic, he said, and then some men came and took me, but some other people came and tried to stop them, but one of the bad men used a paper with a magical circle, which surprised the people that came to stop them, and they threw a knife at the paper as we were all covered in light. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the forest, and after a few days of wondering, a bear found me, and when I was running, I got here, and you know the rest." He said he was getting happier toward the end.
"So a failed teleportation spell? Well, I am glad you got here. I was so lonely until you showed up," I said, hugging him as I played with his hair.
"Me too," he said, smiling and hugging me back tighter.
After a hug and a bit more talking, he fell asleep next to me as I read this odd book It talked about a powerful kingdom of non-humans that looked like humans but had many different colored skins, from pitch black to purple or red. They were much smarter and stronger than your average human, but they suddenly went to extremes after a failed large magical project on getting something similar to electricity, and all forms of contact were lost once every race went to war, so I wonder how old this book is. It is made of some kind of animal hide cover and old pages that look like they can be torn at any strength really easily but hold on strong. It was with the books that I got the house, so what is Jared trying to tell me?
****
Its been a few weeks since our talk, and he's more open about things and wants to be independent. I do not know why, but I do know he is about six, his wolf form has gotten bigger, and he has been practicing his magic and getting more spar that he asks for. Now that I have gotten glimpses of the bear outside of the barrier, so has Torrent, but he seems ready to fight, which scares me. He might act irresistible, so I have been keeping a closer eye on him, scared he might go fight the bear.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
It must be the peddler, so I walk to the door, and I do see the~.
To Be Continued. . . .