keevathescaledshadowâ:
~
Keeva nodded hurriedly at the elfâs words. Pale eyes still watching every movement, every shift in weight as if she were one of the wild cats they had heard earlier. Her heart thrummed heavily in her chest, not from effort but from excitement, the small thrill that came from combat whether that be mock or not.Â
But it quickened as Gwen asked her to swing at her. Not that she expected to hit the woman- she could always pull back if need be- but she did feel that small inkling of fear at the thought of accidentally hurting her. She swallowed that fear as she was motioned forward. Taking a fraction of a second to decide before she lunged and swung her arm out towards Gwen.
To her surprise, the movement wasnât halted though, and the other wildling used that momentum to set her off balance. Keeva found herself quickly about to meet the ground and instinctively she breathed out darkness to stop the impact. As she would have made contact with the ground, she instead sunk into a cluster of shadows, quickly solidifying a few feet away from her original position. She looked up at Gwen apologetically. âSorry, I didnât mean to, well I mean I did- but it was just a reflex kind of. Do we need to do that again? I can not use shadows this time.â
âNo, you should use your innate abilities more.â Gwen confirmed, âBut work on the underlying skills as well. Use everything you have in whatever capacity you can.â She continued on, explaining basic techniques, footwork, hand movements, where to stand firm and where to be agile. If she could save at least one dragon⌠or give her the skills she could use to save herself⌠maybe sheâd do something good with her life.
They trained for hours more, until the sun was cresting against the trees. Sweat pouring, muscles aching, screaming, Gwen finally stopped. In the distance, there were voices calling out for the dragon and though she could always push herself more, harder, work longer, hunt and train further, she knew the humans would be looking for their friend. âTheyâre calling for you. You should take the deer, have a few good meals.â
Sheathing her blades and adjusting her leather armor, Gwen shrugged her bow back onto her quiver. She could attempt to connect with the dragon again, perhaps teach her some more hand to hand combat. But she likely had others who could teach her as well. A light blonde brow raised as Gwen looked to Keeva. âPerhaps Iâll run into you again, spirits guiding.â She began for the trees, to start on her hunt to lead the wolves further away from the refugee camp. Pausing as she grasped at a low branch, âKursal bek, movdar eik, drakonafala.â














