Sky: The Truth Untold (III)

Extras: Trustworthy

It was a cold night in Flockya. The stars lit the sky, and Nathan couldn't fall asleep with the darkness around him. He looked at his knife, having absolutely nothing better to do. He got bored eventually, so he decided to go for a walk. He wandered around the Forest, hoping that he would find something interesting. When he least expected it, he heard something that caught his attention.

"Oh, come on! Why can't do I do it like he did!?" Someone screamed at the distance.

He felt like he knew that voice, but he didn't think about it too much. As he started to walk towards the voice, he also started to hear someone punching the air. He got closer, and he saw an unexpected surprise.

"God damn it! I'll never be as strong as him..." Emily screamed and she dropped to the floor.

"Wait, Emily!? Why are you here so late at night?" Nathan asked.

"AGH!"

She quickly turned around to throw a punch which Nathan was barely able to dodge. She was scared, and he tried to calm her down.

"Woah! Calm down! It's me, Nathan!"

"Eh!? Why are you here?"

"I was just walking around since I couldn't sleep, but what were up to here?"

Emily pouted and turned around. It seemed like she didn't want to talk about it.

"None of your business!" She said.

"Oh, come on! I could help if you want!"

"Wait... Really?"

"Sure! But you'd have to tell me for that to happen!"

She thought about it for a second, and she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She now had a smirk in her face, and she decided to let him help her.

"Ok, fine!" She said. "I've been trying to gain fighting skills, but I'm so bad at it... Seeing Eli fight inspired me to become stronger, but I just don't know where to start!"

"Oh, so that's what it is!" Nathan said as he remembered the punching he had heard before. "You know, Demille taught me how to fight in case I had to. Maybe I can show you what he showed me!"

And so the training had begun. He made Emily carefully grab his knife and stand on what he called a fighting stance: Left foot in front, right foot back, and hands to the height of her chest.

"Alright! Give me a right punch!" Nathan said.

She threw it against the air, and she immediately felt how her stance helped the punch be more firm. She threw another one to see if it wasn't just her imagination. And as she expected, she felt like she was stronger.

"Haha! Good job!" Nathan said as she noticed she felt excited.

The training passed from punching to kicking, then dodging, then parrying... Believe or not, despite being her first time training, she was getting really good at it. Nathan was proud of what she was accomplishing, and she thought she was was ready for a bit a challenge.

"Alright! Knife down!" He said with a smirk, and so she followed his order.

"That was amazing! I'm ready for something new!" Said Emily.

"I was actually just thinking about that! I have a challenge for you..."

"Oh? Bring it on!"

Nathan laughed a little, and he placed himself in a fighting stance. He looked at Emily, and he lifted his arms to create a guard.

"You'll have to pin me down! Every time you do it, it'll get tougher and tougher!"

"Seems like a good challenge! Let's do it!"

Emily cracked her knuckles, and she was ready to attack. Without saying anything, she quickly ran to him and tackled him instantly. He didn't have time to react, but he laughed a little and got ready to start truly playing the game.

Emily tried pushing him down, but he dogded her attack. She tried kicking his feet, but he jumped with perfect timing. The objective here was to read the opponent's defense and their movements. For Emily, it seemed like her movements were not working, so she started trying new things that helped her.

She faked a punch for him to duck, and he then grabbed his shoulder to push him down. He was able to move from it though, but it seemed like she was getting the hang of it.

"Woah! Not bad!" He said, actually caught off guard.

She then faked a kick for him to jump, and she kicked him away while airborne. He dropped to the floor, and he was ready for the final level.

"Amazing job! Time to finish this!" He said.

"Give me all you got! I'm ready!" Said Emily.

This time, Nathan would try to knock her down as well. It was a challenge to see who would break their defense and offense the slowest, and so the battle had begun. Nathan rushed towards her, but she moved out of the way. She tried to knock him while he was still running, but he knew that would happen. He turned around and tried kicking her legs, but she jumped perfectly. She threw punches that he could evade, and he interrupted her barrage with a right punch which she was barely able to dodge. She lost her balance, and Nathan tried to push her back to make her fall. However, she jumped to one side and punched his shoulder. It wasn't enough to make him fall, but in the end she had won that round of the fight.

"Woo! Pretty good!" Said Nathan as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Sorry if I hit you too hard!" She said as she stepped back.

"Don't worry, it's nothing! Now, let's end this once and for all!"

He jumped and took flight with his cape around her. She was confused at first, wondering if she should go high or stay low. In the end, she decided to keep her feet on the ground. He flew in peculiar patterns, dropping from time to time to try and tackle her. Since she had all her five senses focused on him, she knew when to dodge and try to attack. When in one of his attempts, she had figured it out.

Nathan tried to rush down again, but she didn't until the last second. She quickly jumped and threw her foot to the ground, catching Nathan in his move. It was a kick that landed on his back, making him lose the force to keep flying. He fell to the ground, rolled over and saw Emily on top of him with her fist ready to punch.

"I guess that means I win... Doesn't it?" She asked.

"Hah! Of course it does!" He replied.

She, as a humble winner, lended her arm for him to stand up. When he did, he hugged and gave her a pat in the back.

"That was incredible! Amazing work!" He said.

"Thank you! You think I'll be able to fight like Eli one day?" She asked.

"Of course you can! I bet you'll become even more powerful than him!"

"Oooooh! I can't wait!" She said with excitement. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go back home to get some rest!"

She flew her way back home, and Nathan looked at her from afar with a smile. When she left, he thought deeply about what she had mentioned. As he did, he remembered the fire Eli could control and tried to find an explanation for it. It just made him get tired, but he was really curious.

"That power... Is it something we can all develop? Or is he... Meant to be a god or something like that?" He thought out loud. "Hmmm... I guess I'll keep training to figure that out."

And with that thought in his head, he flew back home to get the rest he was mainly looking for.