A Surprise at Training
Alex saw the happiness in Rel'Tir's eyes and didn't understand what the boy was feeling. He had a good build for his age and almost the same size as Alex, but he had already shown weakness. Alex didn't look like a fighter on the outside, but he was one on the inside, and if the man thought it would be easier to fight him with a sword, he was wrong.
"Three touches and you are out. No head hits and no dirty moves, alright?" Ravi asked, and the trio replied in affirmative; then he continued, "Make it as fast as possible. I want everyone fighting, not an extent of your stupid spat,"
Alex halted before Rel'Tir and stood his ground the way Ravi had taught. The other elf didn't do the same and got a reprehend from the drunk,
"What's the point of me teaching you how to stand if you're not going to use it?" he asked angrily while drinking one more gulp, "this wine is so delicious that I can forget about how bad you are making me look in front of the other students, Ril'Tar."
"It's Rel'Tir—"
"Whatever, just fight," the drunkard waved his hand, and Alex attacked fast, aiming for the boy's right arm. The enemy couldn't deflect and flinched with the impact. Alex pressed, thrusting against Rel'Tir's guts, but this time, the other man deflected the movement, but he was too slow. Alex's sword touched the other elf's belly with force. Alex swung again, taking advantage of the momentum and striking Rel'Tir's hand,
"Ouch!" Rel'Tir exclaimed, raising his arm, but Ravi was quick to shout,
"The skinny one is the winner! Next!" Alex looked towards the drunk, and he was stoic. Alex matched his state of mind. He wouldn't get carried away for a small victory like this one. He would win every match against Rel'Tir today. Only then would he celebrate.
Tina stood in front of the other elf, and they traded glances. Once again, he had his smile stamped on his face. Alex was getting sick of him already. Tina stood in a perfect position, just as Ravi had taught them. She waited for the human's shout and attacked, but Rel'Tir was faster, hitting the girl on the hand like Alex had done with him before. The elf girl had no chance; Tina tried to deflect a swing but got hit on the arm. She tried to dodge a swing aimed at her shoulder, just to get hit on the tigh.
"The purple nose won! Next!" Ravi's voice came from the back.
Alex sparring with Tina was as fast as the one with Rel'Tir. She had a good grip on the sword, good posture, and strength, but the lack of speed and quick thinking diminished her abilities. The young elf hit her thrice on the shoulder as she tried to dodge or deflect, and she sighed deeply. Alex had held part of the strength of the hits but not the speed.
"Don't hold back," she hissed between her teeth, and Alex nodded,
"Valther won! Next!" Ravi shouted in a sleepy voice,
"Us again," Rel'Tir said, assuming his position, but Alex didn't reply. He put his sword up and waited. The boy would try to run him over this time, and Alex was prepared.
First, Rel'Tir struck, aiming at his shoulder. Still, Alex deflected and dodged simultaneously, half turning and hitting Rel'Tir in the back with force, who returned with violence in an ample swing. Alex ducked it and raised his wooden sword with strength, smashing the armpit of the enemy. Rel'Tir was so surprised by the hit that he instinctively moved the other hand to the aid of his wounded arm. Alex took advantage of it and hit with even more force the other man's arm, making him stumble to the side and almost fall to the ground,
"Ha-ha-ha! That was good! The skinny fellow won! Again!" Ravi shouted all the sentences and, taking a gulp of wine between them,
Alex stepped back and waited for the fight between Tina and Rel'Tir to end,
Tina once again stood in her perfect position,
"Be smarter, be faster…" Alex muttered behind her, knowing she had heard.
She struck Rel'Tir, and the boy dodged. She did it again, aiming for the shoulder, and he deflected the wooden sword. Enjoying the momentum, he tried to hit her thigh, but she stepped back, swinging the rigid blade, which connected with the Rel'Tir's arm. Yes! Good! Alex cheered internally, but the other elf didn't. He took the hit to his heart and started swinging violently against Tina.
One, two, three hits to her arm. She moaned with pain and almost fell to the ground. He was raising his arm to deliver a fourth swing, his face full of rage. Alex was already running to stop him. Before he could get close to the elf, before he could even blink, Ravi was there holding Rel'Tir's sword hand with one fist and the neck with the other. His hair fell over his head, and spit escaped his lips,
"What are you doing?" He hissed under his teeth, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you deaf?" Ravi hissed again, pressing his fist against the boy's hand. Rel'Tir crumbled over the grip's weight and lost his sword to the ground. "Do something like this again over my watch, and you'll head back home. In a coffin," the elf had an utter shock stamped in his face, eyes bulged, jaw dropped, and sweat all over. He had shown his true nature; he was a coward and would pay for that.
Alex didn't need the following words from Ravi, but hearing them was good nonetheless, "I'll not stop Valther when he hits you six times in the next round, I'll not stop Valther even if he hit you in the balls or in your forehead,"
Ravi lost the grip on the other elf's arm and neck and put a smile on the face as if he hadn't just looked like a psycho killer for the last ten seconds,
"Now pick your swords and fight, my pupils," he said, hiccuping at the end of the sentence and sitting on the ground to watch.
"Good," Alex muttered, assuming his position waiting for Rel'Tir to pick his weapon off the ground. His hand was visibly shaking, and Alex stood there some seconds longer. He didn't need this guy to be nervous for him to win; he was more interested in winning against him at his best, but he would be glad just by smashing his head in any way possible.
Alex struck against the sword, and Rel'Tir deflected. Alex swung, aiming for the shoulder, and stopped midway, catching Rel'Tir ducking, and he attacked in a down motion, hitting the base of the neck of the elf,
"Ouch!" Tina exclaimed behind Alex, but he pressed further. The other elf was now trying to get back on his foot while rolling on the ground to dodge Alex's attacks. He finally got up, but not without taking a hit to the gut and almost vomiting on the spot. Alex pressed on. No mercy, only victory. He thought as the other man deflected one more swing to be hit again on the hand.
Rel'Tir almost dropped the sword but clenched his fists and swung back. He was already defeated but still had his pride. Ravi kept the promise and remained away from the fight, feigning he was asleep.
Alex dodged to the side, then to the other, feeling the speed on his feet. No Devil's Hand was involved in this fight; it was just a desire to humiliate the bully. A pathetic strike came from below, aiming for Alex's groins, and he deflected it just for Rel'Tir's sword to hit himself on the testicles.
"Ouch!" Once again, Tina shouted on the back, laughing hard at the expense of Rel'Tir's demise. Laugh as hard as you can, Tina! Alex mused while striking the man's belly once more. He had done five already. Alex needed only one more hit to seal the deal. He would aim for the head and maybe knock out Rel'Tir to end on a high note.
Alex took three steps back and waited. Rel'Tir didn't have much strength left, but he still had hatred, which made the elf strike, aiming for Alex's head. Predicting the movement, Alex deflected the sword to the skies and struck hard, but another thing hit him before the blade could connect with the elf's head and knock him down.
"Get down!" Alex heard Ravi yelling, and he initiated the movement to crouch, feeling as if the world was in slow motion.
Alex couldn't see the projectiles coming. He could only listen to the hissing of arrows flying in the sky. One hit Rel'Tir in the chest and dropped him to the ground. The elf bled and gurgled while agonizing on the spot, not understanding what had just happened. Alex looked to the side and saw another arrow flying directly to his position. The projectile was just too fast for him to dodge.