Ma Neteyam

7

" Let's begin."

~~

" First things first, I need to see how you fight."

" Alright, easy enough." Vareya said preparing once again. Before she could pounce, he held a hand up.

" Without a weapon." he said pointedly.

Vareya rolled her eyes but complied begrudgingly, throwing her knife roughly on the ground, " You've already proved your point that I'm useless without a weapon, flea."

Neteyam didn't take her comment to heart, already getting used to the constant jabs and name calling.

He was ready to brush it off when it suddenly reminded him, " Neteyam."

Vareya gave him a confused glance, " What?"

" My name isn't forest boy or flea, it's Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan." he spoke confidently.

She only stared at him, and Neteyam shifted his weight between his feet uncomfortably. Everything he says feels wrong under her judgmental eyes. Although he's expecting nothing even close to kindness from her, his skin still crawls under her gaze.

A hint of a smirk appeared on her face, answering in a mocking tone, " Alright Neteyam, show me what I need to know."

Vareya did her best to hide it, but even Neteyam could see the way her fists clenched and body kept unstill, her tail up and wagging, revealing her eagerness. What Neteyam was unsure of was if the eagerness came from wanting to learn a more powerful way to fight, or having an excuse to beat him up.

Not that she'd care to have an excuse anyway, but he supposed it gave him a little reassurance that she wouldn't attack randomly... at least right now.

" okay, come at me." he urged her, but there was no hesitation as she charged at him.

Vareya was fast, tackling him to the ground and straddling him, a wave of familiarity hitting him at their position.

Only this time she didn't have any weapons. No axe, no knife, no arrow. Vareya did the right thing by debilitating him as quick as possible, but the way she froze slightly once she was entirely on top of him, showed that she was unsure what her next step was without a knife in her hand.

A spark lit in her violet eyes as she brought her hand down on his face and he turned away, yet only her fingertips grazed his cheek.

When he turned to look at her, already breathing heavily, he sucked in a breath of surprise at her close proximity,

" I'd scratch the flesh right off, then pluck their eyes." she said with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, and leaving her glistening fangs on display.

Neteyam couldn't help but smirk at her, " And if they're faster?"

" Faster?"

Vareya hardly had time to finish before Neteyam gripped her arms and rolled them so he was on top of her, locking her arms above her with the strength of one hand.

She growled lowly and kicked her legs to break free but Neteyam held true.

" That may be effective, but it also takes too much time. You finish off one enemy, and the next would be ready to attack. You need to neutralize them quickly with two punches, then you can concentrate on the others."

" Get off." she growled irritated at him and the situation.

Neteyam obeyed and lifted himself off her, offering a hand to help. Vareya only glared at it, getting up on her own and wiping a streak of dirt on her hands.