The Children of Destiny

Chapter 19 - Training Time

(A/N: I'm still alive, you guys! Just took an accidental hiatus, lol.)

When Maxine finally woke up, Scout suggested we exercise our fighting skills, since he was pretty sure we'd need them to stop a war. We all agreed to that and headed right outside the cave we'd slept in.

"Alright, here's how this is gonna go," Scout began. "We play by elf rules, which aren't very hard to abide by."

"For some of us, maybe," Maxine muttered, and glared at me.

"Shut up, hothead," I shot back. "At least I don't have anger issues."

"Rule number one," Scout said, making it clear he'd heard us both with just his tone. "You can't kill anyone. Simple enough, right Max?"

Maxine looked startled that Scout directed his explanation at her despite me having killed a lion the previous day, but I reminded her of what she'd done to the crocodile and she decided it wasn't too shocking.

"Rule number two," Scout continued. "No fatally injuring anyone, because I don't wanna deal with a dying human, or half-human. Rule number three: It's one on one, not two on one. No one helps anyone, meaning I won't come to your rescue if Max is mopping the floor with you, Evander."

"I'm fine with that," I replied. "I can carry my own in a fight."

"And finally, rule number four," Scout sighed. "This is the most important rule, and if you break it, everyone involved is screwed. You may draw blood, but not enough to attract vultures. If that does happen, we scatter because those things will carry off anyone they can get their greedy talons on, and we don't want to scatter at a time like this. Alright, are we clear on the rules?"

"What about having fun?" I asked jokingly.

"You'll have plenty of that," Scout said. "I guarantee it, trust me. Okay, I'll fight Evander first. First guy to tap out or get knocked out; either one works for me; loses. Ready, sweetheart?"

"Of course," I smiled brightly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Max, you call start when you think we're ready," Scout ordered.

Maxine nodded and stood off to the side while Scout and I got ready. I stared at Scout, looking him up and down to see if I could guess what he would do first. He seemed to be doing the same, but when we caught each others gaze, we smiled.

"Okay, go!"

The moment Maxine spoke, Scout seemed to disappear. I glanced around, checking to see if he'd run off, but then I felt a tap on my shoulder and knew immediately where he was. Before I could get away from him, Scout sent a gust of wind my way and I flew forward, falling face first into the sand. I scrambled to my feet just in time to see Scout bolting towards me. Before he reached me, I raised my hand and a pillar of ice launched him backwards, then melted quite quickly. I watched as he flew through the air, and as he went he grabbed something from behind him.

He held it out in front of him and suddenly something came flying towards me so fast I didn't have time to react. The thing sliced my cheek as it flew past my head, and I felt blood trickle down my face.

An arrow?

The thing caught on a rock, but was pulled back to Scout as he used the wind to bring it back. It was about to hit me again, but I stepped away before it could touch me.

"Coward," I teased.

"Then, come get me," Scout replied.

He aimed his bow at me again and shot another arrow. This time, I was ready. I dodged away from it, but it curved and stuck in my arm. I pulled the arrow out and made a pillar of ice behind Scout, shoving him towards me. When he was close enough, I stabbed his leg with the arrow and pinned him to the ground with my foot.

"You give up yet?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"You wish," Scout hissed.

I was about to respond when he bit down on my leg and I let out a yelp instead. Why did elves have to have fangs, and why were they so sharp? Scout removed the arrow from his leg and scrambled to his feet, then leaped behind me and lifted me up with a rush of wind. He threw me at the cave and I felt my back hit the wall, blood trickling from my nose and the wounds on my body. I felt the pressure from the wind lessen and was about to regain my footing when an arrow caught on my sleeve and stuck into the wall, meaning I was stuck there. I looked over at Scout to see him preparing to shoot another arrow, and shielded myself with a wall of ice.

I relaxed for a moment, about to try and get the arrow out of my shirt, when I heard a cracking sound and turned just in time to see an arrow break through the wall of ice and head straight for my face. I ducked down, but the arrow curved and caught on my other sleeve, rendering me defenseless as both of my arms were basically pinned to the cave wall. I watched as the ice wall melted in front of me to reveal Scout walking calmly towards me.

A wave of panic hit me and I immediately sent small shards of ice flying towards Scout. His eyes widened; clearly, I'd caught him off guard; and he jumped up, aided by the wind. I looked up to see where he went to see him land gracefully right in front of me. I flinched and began thrashing against the arrows, but Scout had somehow used his power to make them stay in place.

"Do you surrender?" Scout asked, his voice threatening.

"Nope, you'll have to knock me out if you wanna win this," I sneered.

"Then, so be it," Scout gave me an evil smile and I gulped, already feeling nervous about what he'd do.

Suddenly, I felt pressure on my neck and the same sensation I'd felt when I'd almost been choked by a crocodile came over me, but Scout hadn't put his hands on me. I tried to ask what he was doing, but the only thing that came out was choking sounds and a few gasps for air.

"Yeah, I can do that when I want to," Scout said calmly. "But, hey. I could've done far worse, like force the air you breathe in to go straight back out, then it would be far more torturous. Or I could've removed all air from the space around you, but then your lungs would explode by the time I stopped. Plus, that's way more tiring."

I felt my eyes get heavy, but fought against the voice in my head that said to let sleep overtake me. I didn't want to give up, but I was also to stubborn to let myself pass out.

"The more you fight it, the more it'll hurt," Scout warned. "Or I'll just throw you against a wall again. Head first this time."

He sounded insane, and it was sort of scary, if I have to admit it. Scout told me he was a good fighter, but I didn't expect him to be this good, or for him to be so psychotic. Also, I found how insane he seemed in the moment attractive, in a way. So nonchalant about the thought of me in pain, or bringing me so close to death. What a guy... Finally, I allowed my eyes to close and felt sleep overtake my mind.