BXBX NOVEL Chapter 456 455: Drive
Anput PoV
After having listened to the things that Belian and the Marquess had talked about, I was curious as well about the specifics of the Demon clans, what with how interesting Jahi and her Mom were already, I couldn\'t imagine entire clans of Demons...
However, for the moment I needed to focus on something else; the beginning of our spars for today, which would last until the sun set if I had to guess - just like last night in that regard.
Patting the metal rod hanging on my belt, I stood with the rest of the Knights as we looked towards Lady Fenryas, who as on the prowl once more, her black mane and red veins giving her an eery vibe as she silently walked around, looking each of us over.
"Knights, pair off for an hour warmup. Choose someone whom you haven\'t faced recently; trust me, I know who you have and haven\'t sparred against on these training grounds!"
All the Knights nodded, moving towards one another and finding space available on the gigantic field of sand - something that reminded me of home, honestly - while Lady Fenryas clapped her hands and approached us, her scythe resting over her shoulder.
"Now, you three. Really, I am only obligated to train one of you - the little blue brat - but I\'ve been intrigued by each of you in some manor from yesterdays initial spars. All three of you bring something interesting forwards, so do your best to keep my interest piqued. You might hate me to my core by the time we\'re done here, but I\'m not standing where I am today to be loved. What you feel means fuck all to me. All I care about is seeing three unpolished gems shine more brilliantly then before they fell into my hands.
Again, it\'s up to you whether or not you retain my interest and receive that polishing; hell, it\'s up to you to determine if you are even wanting to be polished. If you\'re alright with mediocrity, with being left behind, then don\'t even bother. Now, blue brat, you and I are going to start the rotation; when I\'ve decided to give you a breather, the Begum can step up and have her fill, followed by the other pup."
Beckoning Jahi forwards, Lady Fenryas glanced at Kat and I and shoo\'d us away before squaring off against the blue skinned Demoness, hefting her giant scythe.
While I was immensely curious about seeing Jahi against Lady Fenryas again, I had my own spar to attend to - Kat.
Unholstering the rod hanging from my waist, I shifted it into a thin sword and stared at my mate, who had already unsheathed her two daggers.
"Ready, Anput?"
Her expression was one of concentration and seriousness, making me smile as I nodded, giving the sword a few tweaks as I waited for her to begin.
Kat had certainly improved during her time away, but...
Parrying the dual thrust towards my stomach, I slipped the sword beneath her guard and pressed the edge to her throat, smirking widely at her.
Kat gave me a dry look as I leaned forwards and placed a quick kiss on her nose before stepping back, resetting my posture.
"Just give me a few rounds..."
Her soft growl was adorable, and I smirked more as I gestured for her to begin again, giving her the first move.
The twitching of her ears and tail, paired with the narrowing of those amber eyes spoke far more than any curse as she glared at me, her pride and ego wounded by that simple relinquishing of priority to her.
It was fun to tease her like this, and I - of course - paid for it as Kat stabbed her daggers at me from two different angles, feinting one of them and pricking my oblique, her smugness just as adorable.
"Now that we\'re even again..!"
Whilst I decided to enjoy the opening of our spar, I got serious afterwards, wanting to actually hone myself against my mate as best I could.
We separated once more, and I raised my blade and darted forwards, starting with a stab towards her throat.
Kat displayed her speed as she darted forwards to meet me, ducking beneath the sword and attempting to slash her daggers across my abdomen, only for the two blades to cut into only air as I arched myself out of their path.
Reaching forwards with my freehand, I pushed her back and went on guard, watching her movements intently before reacting to her next attack.
Her speed was far greater than before, slowly reaching the same level as mine, and the power behind her attacks were enough to make me wary.
The usual finesse of a fighter wasn\'t present in her moves though, suggesting a greater time spent fighting mindless monsters or going for instant kill strikes, not prolonged engagements...
I frowned as I watched her rush an attack towards my ribs, all while her other dagger snaked towards my throat.
Parrying the strikes were easy, and I pushed her back and pressed my advantage, slashing at her chest before pulling back and stabbing at her stomach.
She tried to catch and redirect my blade away from herself, but I pulled back from her quickly and created space, resetting everything.
The Dogkin grit her teeth in frustration as I slipped away so easily, and I felt a slight pang upon seeing that, though I squashed down on it for now.
Deciding to switch it up a little, I lengthened the sword in my hand and gave it a curved edge, weighing it more at the tip as I copied the scimitars favored by my people.
With a two handed grip, I rushed forwards again and cleaved downwards, deciding to contest Kat in strength instead of speed.
Something that neither of us were great in, but something I knew I outclassed her in.
She caught this attack of mine easily, before grunting as I pushed down on the heavy blade, her knees buckling slightly.
As I pressed down on her, I delivered a swift knee to her stomach and forced her to her knees entirely, the Dogkin grunting once more as she blinked in surprise, not expecting that.
Pulling the scimitar away, I backed up and said "Again.", resuming my stance as I looked her over.
Kat got up without a word, her amber eyes narrowed as she focused on me once more, her knuckles whitening around the hilts of her daggers.
Taking a deep breath, the Dogkin dashed forwards again, not wanting to fall victim to dealing with the weight of my blade once more, opting for her strong suit - speed.
In a flash of brown and black, the Dogkin maid appeared in front of me, her two daggers arcing up towards my chest and impacting against the flat of the scimitar, before she flipped the grip of her thinner dagger and slipped the blade beneath the mine, pressing it against my chest.
"We\'re even again, it seems..."
I chuckled as I nodded, pulling away as I stared at the Dogkin for a few moments, thinking to myself as she took a few steps back.
Perhaps she had gotten far closer to me than I had thought; I was still certain that I was faster than her, as well as stronger than her, but...
That gap that we used to have has only shortened in distance, and all it takes is for her to begin honing her technique to close that gap completely...
I wasn\'t afraid of having my mate be stronger than I; after all, I was entirely alright with Jahi, even if I was the \'submissive\' in that relationship, whereas I was the \'dominant\' with Kat.
That wasn\'t something I cared for; no, instead I was worried that by being on par, or weaker than my mate, that I wouldn\'t be able to protect her as well as I wanted, that I couldn\'t be the person that she relied on for things.
I needed to continue growing stronger, so that I could hold my head high as her mate...
Though, seeing her improvements - on a more physical level, anyways - sparked my desires to be stronger than her just for the reason of being stronger.
To have that pride once again of being her better; that natural instinct I felt of being her superior, to be stronger and make her mine through force.
That more feral urge inside me that came with my Beastkin blood, and the urge that I used to give in to so frequently years ago.
Looking Kat over, I tapped my fingers softly against the flat of the scimitar before grinning at her, deciding to... \'return to my roots\' in a way.
I knew what I had, the skills I had so desperately honed over years of training; I knew I had them, knew that they were superior to most people around my age.
So why shouldn\'t I show pride in it?
Now that she was back, that would certainly be much easier to do...