Fourteen

“Okay Dove, the first thing you need to come to terms with is that you're small. So, your strongest weapon is your head.” Daire pressed two fingers into my forehead. 

“If you get into a situation where you can’t fight your way out, you need to finesse your way out.” Daire’s eyebrows rose high. 

“ The first step to finesse is to know your opponent and If you don’t know them. Then learn them.” He took a step in and pushed my left shoulder lightly. I stumbled back, almost landing on my butt.

“Good you didn’t lose your balance. Helping me build the room has been useful with your back and core muscles.” This time he stepped into my space. As I took a step back he took one forward not letting up. I started to panic slightly. Before I knew it my butt hit the floor.

“What could you have done to stop my momentum?” I shook my head. 

“That’s not good enough. You need to think.” I replayed the moment in my head. 

“Think Dove.” I stood up.

“I could have shoved you.” I said tentatively. 

“Do you think you're strong enough to shove me?” I stammered. 

“The answer is no.” Twice more he got into my space and twice more I ended up on my butt. I did try to shove him away from me but It was like coming up against a brick wall. I was on my butt for the third time and again he asked what I could do. The fourth time is when I realized that Daire had a bad foot. It was slight but it was still something. I stopped backing away and stepped clean on his foot. It didn’t stop him completely but it did slow him down.

“Now Dove what do you do? I’m injured.” I tried to shove him again. 

“NO! You already tried that. If you get into this situation you run. You are light and small. Someone my size would have a hard time catching you.” I was a bit shocked by his tone. 

“Daire! Look, Look what I did.” Cedar was jumping up and down in front of the tree he used for practice. An arrow was sticking out of the target. It was slightly off to the left but he hit the target. Daire gave me a smile and ran to Cedar. 

“Good job little man. Now all you have to do is hit the bullseye.” Cedar made a determined face and knocked another arrow. Daire moved away from the target completely. In rapid succession Cedar fired off two arrows both missing the target completely. 

“Practice my man.” Daire jogged back to me laughing. 

“Back to your training.” He brought out a knife. The sharp metal glinted in the afternoon light. 

“Okay soft spot that should slow your opponent down. The eyes. The knife doesn’t have to be too long to cause a lot of damage. The left side of the chest is where the heart is located. The neck is soft and finally the gonads." He came up behind me and slid the knife into my hand. It was heavier than I thought it could be. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I shivered.  His other hand slid to my hip. While his foot moved my legs into a wider stance. He slowly pulled my arm back and then jabbed it forward. The momentum threw me a bit. 

“You need to stay grounded dove.” Again he showed me. This time I hugged the ground with my toes curling them into the lush grass. I didn’t stumble.Slowly he let me go and I was practicing on my own.

 He stood watching both Cedar and I. Every time one of us made a mistake he corrected it swiftly. 

“Okay both of you, the sun is going down, let's get some food in our stomach before we go into Grimsfell.” Relief washed over me as I put my burning arms down

“I'm proud of both of you.” He grabbed me into a warm cinnamon hug. I leaned in, his soft chest felt like home. 

Cedar grabbed my hand. We raced to the cabin.