Kalımıty

Chapter 6: Hand on Hand, or Hand on Heart?

Kali sits on the floor of the training room among the guards, watching two men twist and turn as they spar, their swords clanging as they clash together. Their movements are fluid and precise, every motion intentional as they switch between the offensive and defensive maneuvers.

Her mind can't help but wander, wishing she was still in the soft, thick comforter of the bedding in her room. She hadn't slept much the night before, having had a hard time silencing her mind. Fae had woken her up this morning gently, but she still couldn't hide her irritation at the kind healer.

While the cold shower and clean clothes did ease her mood, she still feels unsettled. In this room full of men in their guard attire, she certainly stands out. There is no clothing for women in this field, leaving her to wear simple garments. Skintight pants of sorts that feel more like a soft second skin, then a short-sleeved top in the same style. It wasn't magnificent, and it left her feeling revealed despite the complete skin coverage, but she can at least accept the comfort of it. Her feet are bare, along with all the other men in the room, with their boots staying by the door to the room; it's not too uncommon for it to be customary to wear no shoes indoors.

"Alright, Lennex, Ash, sit down, you both did well," Altear says, standing off to the sides with his arms crossed. The two guards stop their assault on each other and nod to him, returning to their spots on the floor with the rest of us. "Next up, Finn and Kali. General, I want you to go easy on her, she is new to sword-fighting."

Her heart stops with his words, a blush running to her cheeks as she looks over at the annoyingly handsome human, now standing up and walking toward the middle of the room. A sword is sheathed at his side and his eyes meet hers- chocolate brown staring her down. He's not going to go easily, is he? She bites her inner lip.

Standing up she approaches him hesitantly. She is trained in hand-on-hand combat for self-defense purposes, but she has never been allowed a sword. The heavy weight of the metal dips her hand as Finn hands it to her, disinterest resting on his face.

"Both of you will do a set of three, the one to lose will need to run additional laps," Altear's tone is flat as he looks them up and down.

"You can't possibly think I can beat him, can you?" Kali asks incredulously, looking between the two men. "How do I even hold this correctly-"

Finn lunges at her, her reflexes swinging the sword up to block his blow, the metallic screeches ringing out in the room as she stumbles backward. "What the hell?" She yells at him, but he keeps coming. Thrust after thrust he pursues her, each cut grazing her skin as a frown steadily grows on her face.

His onslaught is persistent, barely giving her a chance to use any type of offense, defense after defense is all she can muster, guarding herself from each blow as her cuts start healing themselves one at a time. He isn't letting up.

"Fuck..." She forces out, shoving her sword towards him, using it to knock him back a little before aiming it straight at his chest, "off!" She holds her ground, breathing heavily as he watches her, his brown hair falling into his face as her own hair is sticking with sweat to her forehead.

Trembling hands try to stay firm as she looks him over, trying to think about a move, anything to be able to get him down. She bites her lip, debating on if she should go for it, drop the sword and disarm him. They're supposed to be using the weapon, but she can't keep up if she does it this way, she needs to get him down and, in this position, she is at a disadvantage.

Finn takes a breath and runs at her again. At the last minute she makes her decision, throwing the sword to the ground and ducking, twisting her body and kicking him straight in the stomach with her foot. A grunt leaves him as he stumbles backward, his eyes bulging from the sockets from the air being knocked out of him.