Focus on Training

Dawn decided to leave at night. That was the perfect way to enter the town unnoticed. Moreover with her trait, she wouldn't be easily found out. I also gave her a map, just in case she got lost. Me, Tara and Teri stayed behind in the Yeran Village. Besides the Mira business, Vick received a 'no' from the woman he fell for. He was annoyed, or rather angry at me, because it was my idea after all.

*knock, knock*,"Vick, can we talk?". "Haven't you done enough?", he answered through the door. "Doesn't that simply prove she's not worth your efforts? I'm here to talk, that might be the cure for moving on. Come on, open the doors", I said. Vick didn't reply for a while, but then the doors opened and he invited me inside.

"I'm not going to lie, I don't know how that feels. Tell me, why didn't she agree?", "She said we were just friends, and that she didn't even consider me as a partner. She 'wants to aim higher', as if I wasn't a warrior already", Vick replied. He then explained the whole event to me, which to be honest was ridiculous.

"Heh, your grandpa is the head of a town. Your uncles are very strong warriors, you already reached the Outer Limits stage, and yet she's not satisfied? Doesn't that prove she's just an empty shell of a woman? Vick, forget about that bimbo. I'm actually glad she refused, because you'd only suffer in the future", I said.

"Take your mother as an example. Your mother is actually stronger than your father, but did it stop her from loving him? That's true love, not some fake emotions. Since she wants to be rich, famous or whatever, let her go with whatever man she finds. I'd like you to find a woman, who will love you for good and bad. No matter who you are, kind of like my parents", I added. "... I know, it just feels bad to be rejected like that. We were always on good terms… I guess her words hurt more than the rejection itself", Vick said, saddened.

"Hey, come with me for a moment", I grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. "Where are we going?", "Just outside. Don't worry, I'm not going to go to that woman and say anything. She's not worth my time", I replied with a smile. Me and Vick stepped outside, and found an open space.

"What are we doing exactly?", "Hehe, take out your sword, and you'll see", I replied. Vick didn't feel like sparring at that time, but he had no choice. "Ow, what the! I told you, I'm not interested in fighting right now", "Take your mind off of it, forget about her and focus on your opponent, me. What happened to your usual self? You'd jump at the chance to have a bout with me, and now you cower? I thought Wintersteeds were warriors, not little girls", I taunted him.

"Yea, whatever. I'm not fighting you", "Hehe, little girl. Turns out my cousin is a little sissy. Hehe, little sissy, how about that nickname from now?", I taunted even more. He couldn't take it anymore, after all, everyone had their own pride. "I'm not a sissy! You'll spit these words out", he exclaimed while rushing at me. *Swoosh*, "That wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Your basics need some work, while your technique… Well, you'll need to develop a better one", I said.

"Come on, show me what you have. Forget about everything else, focus on me alone", I added before throwing a punch his way. He managed to avoid it, but only because I wasn't serious. Vick on the other hand, tried a bit harder, and harder, until he really focused on fighting me. 'Good, this should take his mind away from that woman', I thought while exchanging a few moves with him.

There were two reasons for the bout. Besides him forgetting about the woman, I really wanted to check his improvements and suggest a thing or two. We fought like that for quite a while, until Vick got exhausted. "Feel better now? Getting rid of the frustration, defeat and whatnot, is a great way to move forwards. Besides, I've seen the extent of your abilities, and now we can improve on them", I said with a smile.

"You aren't even tired. How strong are you anyway?", he asked confused. "Hehe, stronger than you for sure. Besides, I've exhausted some of my energy too… I'll stay here for a few days, wanna train with me? I'll help you improve your basics, and maybe we can work on a movement technique?", I proposed.

"Haah, sure. I'd like to learn from you. After..". Before he finished, I interrupted him, "No, learning from me will get you nowhere. All great warriors develop their own skills and techniques. I can help you with ideas, maybe even show you the direction, but not teach you my skills. I'd like you to be a great warrior, like our uncles, aunts or parents".

"Hehe, yea, you are right. I'm up for it, so don't be too shocked when you see my greatness!", he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Vick! Stop shouting like a moron. You know how late it is?", aunt Haily reprimanded him. "Hehe, it's late, so let's go back. We'll start tomorrow morning, alright?", "Yea, don't be late, hehe", he agreed.

The following day, I dragged Vick out of his bed and asked, "Who's late?". "Huh?... Wait a minute. It's still too early, why the hell are you even up?", he complained instead. "Better dress up, I don't want to look at you naked… I'll be outside", I said as my face went a bit red. shortly after leaving the room, Vick exclaimed 'Wah!' loudly, and got busy dressing up.

"You've seen nothing, understood?", he stated very seriously. "I agree", there was no point for me to remember that, but the event prompted a note to myself. 'Never go to a man's room without knocking. Moreover, don't drag him out of the bed'.

"So, what are we going to do?", "First, let's go outside the village. I don't want to disturb others. I'd like to check your balance, and then demonstrate some of the basic sword moves. I'm aware you know them, but maybe my demonstration will give you some ideas how to improve. There's more stuff, but, you'll find out later", I replied.

With that in mind, we left the village, and Vick's training began. His balance wasn't bad, but he could surely improve. I designed an exercise for him to do just that. "This isn't difficult, or rather very difficult, but once you master that, your balance will improve a lot. Why do you need balance? All stances and techniques will require that to a certain extent. Good balance is the basis for a lot of techniques", I explained.

"Right, I've seen the basic swings too, but yours are really great and flow better. I'm not sure how to improve that, except practicing for like years", "Well, I've practiced them for years, hehe. Anyway, you can improve the flow, just use your imagination. If you calculate and think too much, the flow will get disrupted. The key to that is going with natural motions. For example, a 'hack' shouldn't be followed by a 'horizontal'. The flow doesn't seem natural, right? First, learn which moves flow the best with each other, and then you can apply these moves during combat", I said.

"Yea, but what if I have to make a certain move, which breaks the flow?", "Hehe, that's where your eyes come in. You watched me when we fought, but your eyes aren't trained properly. You can't discern what your opponent's next move will be, because you can't keep up most of the time. Also, fighting a swordsman is different from fighting an archer. You focus on different things during the fight", I replied.

"Moreover, your hearing could improve as well. Being able to catch slight noises could save your life. What if someone ambushed you? If you can't hear anything, you'd be injured or dead. Ears and eyes are really important. Don't worry, I'll give you something that will help you improve those things", I added.

"Right, what about the movement technique?", "Balance first. Movement technique requires balance. You need to know how to properly balance your body in all situations. I'll give you some ideas based on what you have, but nothing else. It will depend on you, to develop your own technique properly", I replied.

Vick agreed, since the tips were really useful to him. "Do you always train by yourself?", "Well, yea. My mother's not interested. Remi left to learn Formations, and dad's working all the time. I'd sometimes visit Savala Town, but yea. I'm mostly alone. There aren't many strong people here in this village. Other than a few old men in their Outer Limits stage, no one else here can match my strength. The strongest people are my parents, but everyone's busy with something", he explained.

'Maybe aunt should do something about it. Her son wants to improve, but what can he do alone? She's quite strong from what my father said', "I'll talk with aunt about this. You'll need some help, especially with your sight practice. She shouldn't complain, it's not that difficult", I said with a smile. "Hehe, I don't have my hopes up. She became quite lazy, but you are free to try", he replied.

We returned to the village in the afternoon. Tara and Teri were on a date, but couldn't go spending, since they didn't have any money. "Hehe, you seem bored", "Well, we can't go for a meal. We can't buy anything, and there's not much to do around this place", Tara replied. "Haah, I shouldn't give you this, but here. Go on a date, have fun", "Huh? You had money all along? I thought we were dirt poor", Tara replied, shocked.

"I don't have a lot, just a few coins, alright? I'm keeping them just in case, so don't ask for more", "Yea, yea. Let's go have some fun, Teri". Tara's mood improved, since they could go around and barter with people. She really liked that.

"If you don't have money, why didn't you ask grandpa for some? Or you can ask my parents. We're not poor, you know?", "Hehe, it's fine. Don't worry about it… How about we get some rest, maybe eat something then continue your practice? You seem a bit tired though, maybe we should stop", I replied. Vick assured me we could continue, he seemed determined and happy someone would train with him.

Our days in the Yeran Village slowly passed. When Vick told me that aunt Haily became lazy, he wasn't lying. She agreed to help her son with the practice, after we chatted for a while. Wintersteeds usually yearned to become warriors, my aunt wasn't different. She reached Inner Limits stage, which wasn't little, but she got tired of all the training, practice and whatnot. She simply wanted to enjoy herself and live a slow life.

She didn't urge her son to train, but when she realised how serious Vick was about it, an old flame of passion seemed to reignite itself within her. Maybe she wouldn't continue her practice, but she decided to help her son achieve his goals.

Dawn returned after three days. Her investigation brought forth some weird results. "That couple is… weird. I don't know, maybe Humans are like that". I asked her to explain, since 'relationship' wasn't my strongest subject. "They never got intimate. I never saw them kiss, hold hands or anything. It's like, they are together, but not together at the same time. Moreover, that guy is weird indeed. I think he even noticed me once, which shouldn't be possible? Maybe it was just a coincidence".

"Either way, he never hurt her, because he doesn't do anything with her really. Your cousin acts the same all the time. What we saw back then, is pretty much her usual demeanour. You said she wasn't like that before, maybe that weird guy changed her indeed", she added.

"I'm not sure why she became like that either. Could one person change that much? Well, he's not hurting her, so we can't do anything about it. Asking Mira to break up that relationship, would only harm our relations instead. She spoke good words about him, and seemed annoyed that we were there. Haaah, anyway, thanks. There's nothing else we can do. I'll wrap up the things here, and we can go back to Savala Town. A few more days there, and we'll leave for Ortava", I replied.