Chapter 10
Ten
Kanik
R ymar promised he'd send Ayla out back when she was dressed, so I hurried to clear a space. The targets for her bow lessons took up a bit of room, but since they were a pain to take down, I left them. The table got pushed closer to the house. A few chairs were moved out of the way. Then, once I was sure I had a large enough space for Ayla to move, I started pacing, waiting for her.
She slipped out of the house only a few minutes later, wearing her dark brown set of leathers. If anything, that shade made her hair look even more golden, but I liked the color on her. Even better, the close-fitting fabric showed off the curves she was quickly gaining.
"Okay, so what am I supposed to do?" Ayla asked as she made her way to me.
I gestured to the open space around us. "This is our training area. We're going to start with defensive maneuvers, because if you can get space, you already know how to use a bow or gun."
"Okay," she agreed. "That makes sense."
"Now, when Moles come at you, they usually have knives."
"Because they're out of bullets," she agreed. "Although I think they're carrying more now."
"Right," I said, even though I wasn't honestly sure about any of that. "So, what do you do if a man grabs you?"
For a long moment, Ayla looked at me. Her brow creased after a moment, then she clenched her jaw. "I curl up, but I'm sure that's wrong. See, if we bend over -" She proceeded to demonstrate, pulling her arms in and bending at the waist. "- it makes it harder to kick us in the stomach, grab our throats, or break a nose."
Lifting a hand, I dragged it across my eyes. The things those men did to the women in the compound were disgusting. That kicking women in the guts was considered normal punishment? No. There was so much wrong with that, but Ayla already knew my feelings on it. Right now, I was trying to teach her how to fight back - not simply take the abuse - and maybe she'd teach the new girl it was okay.
"It's a good defense if you have no other option," I assured her. "But let's give you some other options, okay?"
"Okay!" she agreed eagerly.
"To start with - " I paused as the back door banged open. When Rymar and Zasen piled out, I couldn't help but sigh. Granted, I hadn't expected anything else. "Okay." I pulled my attention back to her. "When someone comes at you, you'll want to get your arms up. That works similar to curling and helps to protect your body."
"Up?" she asked, lifting both hands over her head.
"More like this," I assured her, demonstrating a typical defensive position.
My arms were about shoulder height. My hands were spaced a bit, but still covering my chest. With my elbows down, that also protected my belly. Nodding at Ayla, I encouraged her to mimic the posture.
"And hands in a fist?" she asked, because I'd done that without thinking.
"Yes," I said, "but there's a trick to making a fist too." I shifted closer to show her. "You want to keep your thumbs back, but not tucked inside. When you need to hit someone, you'll use your knuckles. But if your thumb is poking out, you could break it - or at least make it hurt badly."
"Okay." She matched her other hand to the one I was adjusting. "So good fists, arms in front of me, hands up. Right?"
"Exactly," I agreed. "Next, you need to spread your feet out and bend your knees just a bit."
"Like this," Zasen said, shifting into a fighting position.
Part of me wanted to make him go back inside. Zasen was a natural-born fighter. He made it look easy, and he was a big enough guy to have the power to back up his threats. Me? I was short, lean, and dull-colored. I was quick, though. I had a feeling Ayla would be too.
"Okay, is this right?" Ayla asked, doing her best to stand the same way Zasen was.
"Perfect," I assured her. But if Zasen wanted to stick his nose in, I was going to conscript him. "Okay, Zasen. Come over here and be the aggressor?"
"Kanik..." he tried.
Rymar just chuckled. "That's what you get for speaking up. Go help, Zasen."
"I was just..." He groaned, but made his way over.
Yeah, he'd just been showing off. He liked the notoriety, it seemed. Even the Moles knew his name - and it was the same in either language. His sign was a beast from ancient myths, and he'd stamped it on enough dead hunters to make one hell of a statement.
That meant Ayla knew he was dangerous. Me? No one ever heard about the Dragonfly, but I was actually okay with that. I didn't want to be known as a killer. I wanted to be a teacher, someone children could trust, and a man who was educated. I wanted to be known for my mind, not the number of Moles I'd left to rot - and there had been quite a few.
"Okay," I said once Zasen was close enough. "The most common attack is for someone to grab you from behind. If they come from the front, you should see them in time to stop them. But from the back?"
"I don't have eyes back there," Ayla agreed, nodding to show she understood.
"So Zasen, grab her from behind."
He huffed once, the sound a smothered laugh. "Yes, sir," he muttered as if fighting his amusement.
Zasen wrapped his arms around Ayla's shoulders, pressing in close against her back. Surprisingly, Ayla was completely calm about it. Considering how she'd once told me that touching her was improper, I couldn't help but be amazed at how far she'd come. Then again, she likely saw this as necessary. Did that make it okay to her?
I walked Ayla through how to keep Zasen from picking her up and carrying her off. I carefully explained locking her leg behind his, how to get her hand in between his arms to add pressure and possibly break the hold, but once I got to the part about flipping him if she couldn't get free any other way, she froze.
"What?" she asked.
"You step back onto that leg." I pointed at the one behind Zasen, where she'd hooked it earlier. "Bend down, grab his legs, and flip him backwards."
Her head jiggled again, an obvious refusal. "I don't understand."
"Zasen, grab me," I ordered.
So he let go of Ayla. "Let's show her how it works in real time?" he suggested.
I nodded, so he charged in behind me, grabbed so that my arms were pinned against my sides, and heaved. I hooked my shorter leg on his - refusing to use my tail. Then I pulled down, forcing my weight lower. The moment I had my weight on that back leg, I bent forwards, grabbed behind Zasen's knees, and lifted.
Zasen flipped, landing on his shoulders.
The whole thing happened in less than a second, but Ayla's mouth was hanging open, and Rymar gave us a slow clap of approval. A moment later, Ayla joined in.
"That was so good!" she said. "But I'm not as big as you, Kanik!"
"It works even if you're little," I assured her. "The goal is to get him off-balance, because his grip will release. Once that happens, you're free."
"And can shoot him," she said, a devious little smile taking over her lips.
Damn, that was adorable. Okay, and kinda sexy. This innocent and naive girl was honestly excited about being able to finally get her revenge, and I was going to make sure she had every tool at her disposal. Zasen was already teaching her the bow. She knew how to use a gun - when few Dragons did. Now, if she could just master hand-to-hand combat, she would be unstoppable.
So I sent Zasen to grab her again. With her, he moved slowly. I talked Ayla through each step, giving her the time to put her hands in the proper position before moving to the next step. When she tried to heave him, Zasen actually stumbled - and Ayla wasn't putting her full force into it.
"Okay, again. Faster this time," I told her.
She did it again, then again, then a few more times after that. Each time was faster. Every attempt was good, with her repeating her movements exactly how I'd shown her. And when we finally ran it all together smoothly, she managed to drop Zasen on his back, breaking his hold.
"I did it!" she squealed before turning to give Zasen a hand up.
He let her, but when she pulled him to his feet, the pair ended up chest to chest. Their eyes met, and for a moment, both of them paused. The very tip of Zasen's tail twitched, then his lip curled. When Ayla's teeth clamped down on her lower lip, I nearly groaned.
Fuck. Why had I asked him to help her? The man had kissed her after the last battle. I was pretty sure they hadn't talked about it since, but clearly the girl remembered. Granted, Ayla remembered everything.
"Sorry," she breathed, ducking her head and moving back.
"You're doing great," Zasen assured her, his voice just a little deeper than normal.
And now my own tail was lashing. Damn it!
"So!" Rymar said from his seat at our backyard table. "Speaking of fighting Moles, Ayla. I have a question about Meri."
"She didn't have the chance to tell me yet," Ayla shot back quickly.
Rymar just lifted a hand, begging her to wait. "My question was if you wanted me to show you how to find your way there on your own, or if you'd rather one of us always goes with you."
"Oh." A dozen expressions flickered across Ayla's face. Most of them looked excited or hopeful. "Is it a problem if I go alone?"
"Nope," Rymar promised. "I have to take her paperwork to City Hall, so I'm already heading that way today. Jeera doesn't live that far away."
I nearly scoffed, because City Hall was approximately halfway between us and Zasen's sister. Rymar was bending over backwards to make this sound completely casual, but I understood why.
He wasn't trying to show off the way Zasen often did. Instead, he was doing his best to keep Ayla from feeling like she was imposing - and encouraging her to have a little independence in the process. While our little Phoenix had come a long way, she now only checked to see if it was a problem instead of simply refusing so as to be polite. My tail lashed again just thinking about why.
But Rymar kept going. "I bet we could also arrange some girl time with you and your sister."
"Saveah?" Ayla asked.
Rymar nodded. "Taris is nearly four months old now - "
"Not quite," I corrected. "Three and a half."
"I said close," Rymar said, flashing me a little smirk. "But Meri's pregnant, and Saveah has been learning a little English. Having someone to talk to about the baby might be nice, right?"
But instead of agreeing, Ayla made a face. "I'm not sure what Meri would think about the women in quarantine."
"Why?" Zasen asked.
Ayla turned to him. "Because they're from here. We always thought they were Righteous women who'd been possessed. Women who'd allowed evil to corrupt them." She paused, grunting a little. "Moles, I mean." Then she huffed in annoyance. "It's so hard to keep it all straight, and those shitters are not Righteous!"
"Fuckers," Rymar corrected without thinking.
"But doesn't that word mean sex?" she asked.
"Not in the same way," I hurried to explain. "Sometimes fucking is used negatively. Think of it like someone who doesn't care about anything else and is horrible."
"Like the Moles," she grumbled. "Okay, that makes more sense, but it's just hard. I keep messing it up!"
"Trust me, I understand," I assured her. "Switching between English, Vestrian, the terms you used, and the ones we did? I kept thinking I was confusing you, Ayla."
"But you didn't," she hurried to assure me.
Which made me smile. "Just like calling them Righteous no longer confuses us," I promised. "Ayla, we know you don't think they're good or wholesome. We also know that's the term you grew up using. It's fine."
"Yeah?" she asked meekly, looking at Zasen to make sure.
I wanted to groan at that, but it was stupid. This was my own problem, and I certainly didn't need to dump it on her. But when I shoved my tail to the ground, I realized Rymar was watching me.
While Zasen reassured Ayla about the words she used, Rymar looked from my tail up to my face, and his gaze was pointed. Yep, I was being a fucking moron, and he knew it.
But I went back to work soon. Ayla was already leaning more on Zasen than me, and if she spent all day with him, would she even remember I existed? Not to mention how being broke, brown, and boring weren't exactly the best qualities in a person - not even as a friend.
I wanted to do something to make her look at me the way she used to. Instead, her attention was torn between learning how to kill and helping her friend - and I understood. I truly did, yet old habits died hard. That was part of what made it so easy for me to understand why Ayla reverted to her manners when she was lost or confused.
For me, I reverted to feeling like I was being pushed out. Back when I'd first met Zasen, Rymar, and Tasult, I'd been so excited to have popular friends. That they hung out with all the beautiful girls had been a very nice bonus. Then I'd realized having impressive friends didn't change a thing about me.
But these guys liked me for who I was. They'd included me because we were friends, and now we were a sort of family of our own. I couldn't even imagine a life without them, and I hoped I'd never have to. I also didn't want to lose Ayla to the bigger, stronger, richer, or better-looking guy either.
"So," Zasen was saying, "maybe bring up the women in quarantine as proof of how the men lied to you women?"
"But what if she's afraid Gideon will come for her?" Ayla countered. "I want her to feel safe here first."
"So play it by ear," Rymar suggested.
"We trust you," I told her, pulling my mind back to her problems instead of my own. "You also need to explain Vestrian to her and that no one will understand her." I smiled. "If she'll give me a chance, I'll teach her like I did you, but it will have to be in the evenings."
"Yeah?" Ayla asked. "And maybe you can show me how to teach someone?"
"Of course," I assured her. "Do you still have those books I gave you?"
Her eyes dropped to the ground. "Yeah." She sounded oddly shy about that for some reason.
"Well, if you want to loan the English version of a story to Meri, we can get the Vestrian copy so she can compare them."
"Like my first one?" she asked. "But do I have to give her that one? It's the first thing I got in Lorsa."
"You can just loan it to her," I said. "Or I can find a copy of another one if you'd like?"
"In English?" Zasen asked, sounding dubious.
"I'll find one if Ayla wants it," I said, but the words came out just a little too emphatically.
"I can loan her my book," Ayla assured me. "Meri is very careful with things, so it'll be okay. And then she can bring it and we can talk about the story, right? And I'll read it again in Vestrian, just so I learn how to read easier, because that's still the hard part."
"And it should help her realize that falling down a rabbit hole isn't as horrible as she first thought," Rymar added.
But Ayla gave him a confused look. "Do rabbits really make holes?"
Rymar just pointed at Zasen. "Ask the hunter."
"Dens," Zasen told her. "Well, warrens, but yes. Shallow ones, though. I'll point out a few when we go hunting, okay?"
"Okay!" Ayla agreed, sounding much too excited about it, but then her eyes came back to me. "And you'll help me with hand-to-hand after your job?"
"Any time you want to learn," I swore.
Which made her smile grow again. "Maybe now?"
"That is why we came out here," I agreed, gesturing towards the grassy space I'd made. "Want to try a few more rounds?"
"I want to do it again, but faster," she said. "Then I want to try full speed with you, Kanik. "
"Let's do it," Zasen said, stepping back and gesturing before him. "Ready when you are."
I only felt a small flare of jealousy, but it was smothered by pride for this girl's determination. Nothing stopped Ayla, and that was the best thing about her, even if Zasen was using that to his advantage.
"So is this why the elders said I shouldn't wrestle with boys?" she asked as she moved before him.
Zasen chuckled, but Rymar barked out a full-throated laugh.
"No," Rymar said.
Just as Zasen told her, "Yes."
So I groaned. "That's not what they meant, Ayla. The elders were talking about sex, but the guys are right. Those elders didn't want you wrestling with men because they didn't want you to realize how powerful you can be."
"More powerful than any Mole," she breathed, then nodded for Zasen to try again.
This time, when she flipped him, Zasen hit hard enough that it forced out a grunt.