Love Bites (Rewrite)

Chapter 14: To Be Human

"To be human is to make mistakes and since you are adamant about us being a team, we will need to minimize the number of mistakes as much as possible."

It was so early in the morning that the sun had just come up minutes before. From where she sat on the floor Bex watched as Lyssa paced back and forth. Bex sat with her legs crossed and her arms behind her. She was wearing workout clothes, per Lyssa's instructions. She hadn't the first clue as to why she was in Lyssa's in-home training gym so early.

She just yawned and rubbed her eyes, blinking slowly at Lyssa.

"Are you even listening to me?" Lyssa asked.

"Something about mistakes?" Bex yawned again.

Lyssa halted in her steps and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Why am I here so early?" Bex whined.

"Because Rebecca-"

"Hold on, before you go on can I ask you something?"

"Once again, you just did, but continue."

"Why do you keep calling me Rebecca?"

"Is that not your name?"

"I mean yeah, it is. But like, everyone calls me Bex."

"Would you prefer that I call you Bex?"

"I mean it's not a big deal or anything, I was just curious as to why you use my full name."

"I think Rebecca is a beautiful name and shortening it to Bex detracts from that beauty," Lyssa said firmly.

"Oh. Thank you, I think..." Bex pondered the backhanded compliment.

"Moving on, I will not always be there to protect you when you need it. Meaning you need to learn how to defend yourself."

"Is this about Joan? I told you she wants to make peace."

"Ha! That slayer is just biding her time until she finds her chance to strike again. Of course, I will protect you if I am able in the instance that she does try anything again. But there may come a time when I am not there and that is why you should learn to protect yourself."

"Are you worried about me?" Bex smirked up at her.

Lyssa quickly averted her eyes and began to pace again, ignoring Bex's previous comment she went right along.

"Since you have expressed your desire to be treated as an equal, I will do as such. Slaves need to be coddled and cared for, an equal can hold their own. Which is what I want for you. Today we learn how to fight slayers and when you are ready, I will teach you how to ward off vampires as well."

"You want me to fight vampires!"

"Of course not. That being said many threats lurk just around the corner. I've known vampires out there who seek out and destroy those with blood bonds. They like to make a mockery of them. They see it as a weakness. If ever such a vampire were to come for you, I would hope you could defend yourself until I came to your aid."

"Maybe I should get Joan to teach me, she is a vampire slayer."

"Joan," Lyssa scoffed and paused in her steps. "What better way to learn how to incapacitate a vampire than from a vampire herself?"

"I guess so," Bex frowned.

"Great. Starting today you will meet with me every day after school so that I can teach you how to defend yourself."

"Every day! It's bad enough I have band practice. This is going to be torture," Bex whined.

"Silence! You lack discipline, Rebecca. You are lazy, sloppy, and dense. The amount of errors that could have easily been avoided during the day if you had practiced even the slightest form of self-discipline is astronomical. When I am through with you, you will be able to protect yourself and perceive threats on your own."