BXBX NOVEL Chapter 457 456: Noticeable Changes
Sensing that my mate was deep in thought, I gave her a few moments, using this time to study her expression ad try and decipher just what had made her act like this.
Whilst I might not be able to sense her emotions like I could with Jahi, there was certainly enough time spent between us for me to understand some of what she was thinking, especially when her black eyes shone with that familiar light as she met my gaze.
Confidence radiated from her again - more than it had before - and I bit my cheek as I felt her gaze shift even further, something about it speaking to my Beastkin blood as I needed to now resist the urge to lower my weapons, like me trying to fight her was just... not right, even as a spar.
A small smirk tugged at her lips, and the olive skinned, black furred Jackalkin raised her scimitar once more and said "Come on then, let's see if we can break this tie, hmm~?"
I nodded, slightly off put by this feeling in the pit of my stomach as I raised my daggers up, trying to overcome that odd feeling.
I knew what it was; I wasn't stupid, and I could tell what emotions laid inside Anput's eyes now, but I was certainly surprised by how overpowering her 'control' over me was.
Either way though, I dashed forwards once more, closing the gap between us and dancing around the heavy swing of her scimitar, my arms still aching from when I had managed to block her initial downswing.
Instead of blocking, I would rely on my speed and dexterity to avoid her attacks and go for swift, shallow cuts, deciding that would be far easier than trying to breach her guard once more.
Anput had certainly smartened up to that, meaning that my previous trick was a one off...
Leone and I may joke about her and Jahi being muscle heads, but they were both incredibly sharp thinkers, especially when it came to combat; something that I did once would be something she'd be ready to guard against for the rest of our spars together.
That was something I could guarantee, so there was no need to bother with it.
Pivoting away from a cleaving swing, I lunged my Protective Fang forwards and nicked her forearm, the Jackalkin shifting her entire body around to protect the initial target - her chest.
Before I could even retrieve my dagger, Anput released one of her hands from the scimitars hilt and slapped my arm away, almost sending the heavy dagger flying.
That slap sent me off balance a bit, something that Anput took advantage off quickly.
That same hand grabbed me by the collar and yanked me forwards, while her scimitar snaked behind me, its sharp, keen edge resting against my back, prepared to sliced through my spine.
Her smirk widened, and she murmured "Three two, me." before pushing me back, giving her scimitar a spin, shifting it as soon as it returned to its normal position.
In her hands now was a khopesh, the heavy belly of the weapon giving it some real chopping power compared to other blades, while the hooked tip made it a lethal stabbing weapon as well.
Anput decided to one hand the blade, her free hand now adorned with a small buckler perfect for parrying.
I stared at the smirking Jackalkin, searching for openings as she stood opposite me, her arrogance so similar to when we had first met.
She made no move as I began to stalk around her, the Jackalkin not even bothering to track me as she held her weapons loosely, her ears twitching as she listened instead.
Aiming for her right arm, I lunged forwards before returning to walking around her, the Jackalkin not even reacting to the feint, only smirking more at me as I returned to her line of sight.
Annoyed, I lunged again towards her chest, the two daggers in my hands arcing towards her sides as I attacked her left and right.
As expected, her buckler smacked my right hand away, while her khopesh tried to hook around my outstretched arm and slice cleanly through my forearm, the hooked tip perfect for that.
With two choices before me, I chose the one that went for mutual harm, committing to the stab even if it meant that her khopesh would easily 'take' my arm.
However, instead of it playing out the way I wanted, her buckler blocked the stab perfectly, and Anput took full advantage of that as she continued her forwards momentum, resting the khopesh's blade against my throat.
Her eyes sparkled with a few different emotions, and her "Four two, me." sounded less playful than before.
Wordlessly, she shifted her weapons once more, a gladius and pugio - a short sword and dagger - appearing in her hands this time, the Jackalkin mirroring my normal stance.
Our spars continued onwards, and I managed to land a few wins here and there, the rust I had accumulated from fighting only monsters during my time away flaking off with each defeat, my body recalling the movements necessary to spar against another person.
The end score was twenty to nine, Anput's different fighting styles too difficult for me to acclimate to each time we began anew, but each one being more fruitful than the last.
When Jahi was finished with her session against Lady Fenryas, Anput walked over towards me and yanked me forwards, her hands trailing below my waist as she gave me a deep kiss, muttering "Prepare yourself for tonight, Kat... I'll be needing you..."
Her self satisfied smirk as she gave me a firm squeeze made me glare at her, though my heart skipped a beat as she tilted her head, her black eyes firm as she said "Answer me."
The low tone of my mate made me shudder, and I moaned as the lithe woman trailed her fingers towards my tail, pinching at the sensitive flesh.
"Y-Yes, Anput..."
"Good~! Now... I'll be seeing you soon~!"
She released me and pranced off towards Lady Fenryas, who was just watching with a bemused expression, while Jahi stood beside me and smirked, whispering "You're cute when you act so demure like that, Kat..."
I glared up at the Demoness, who just chuckled as she wiped the sweat from her brow, wincing slightly as her bruised arm made contact with her head.
"Well... Come on then. I got a slight view on your progress back home, but I am rather curious to see it once again, and alone this time. From what I can recall, we need to get you back into shape, my dear little puppy~! Those fangs need sharpening~!"
I sighed at her amused, teasing tone, understanding full well that she wanted to move past thinking about what happened to me during those months, and instead focus on the here and now; a sentiment that I shared.
Raising my daggers, I prepared for a new sets of spars, my body burning with different fires as I clashed against the blue skinned Demoness that I was bound to.