Perilous Flames [clifford a.u]

chapter twenty four - pushed over the limit

[some parts may contain unedited grammar/spelling mistakes]

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR - PUSHED OVER THE LIMIT

For the next several days, it was all the same. Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, condition, practice fighting, lunch, help Ashton research for Scarlet and Crystallos, practice some more defense moves, learn how to use a weapon, eat dinner, and then sleep. We would be done with everything by nine pm, and by then, we were all too exhausted to take advantage of our free time after that. 

It was repetitive and intense, and Ashton took this the most serious out of anyone. He made sure we all went through the exercises at the same pace as him. He added extra moves and times for us if we were ever a little minute late to our training. He showed no mercy to any one of us. 

Because of this, Michael's dislike for him grew more by the day. He didn't hate him yet, but Ashton had pushed his buttons way too much. He pushed him over the limit so much that sometimes they would spend about thirty minutes during each training arguing with one another. By then Calum and I would need to break them up and remind them what we were here for. 

Calum had softened up to Ashton after the third day of training, actually looking happy to be training even though he may have looked like he was going to pass out more than once. They actually began to get along with each other, which was a relief. 

And I, I was just trying to get through each and every day the best I could. 

"You have to push with your arms Calum," Ashton snapped, for the hundredth time today. 

It was another session of weapon training, and Ashton's patience with us was thinning. We were being sloppy today and Ashton wasn't liking it. Our moves were slow and choppy and every single second Ashton was yelling back at us, telling us what were doing wrong.  

Calum and Ashton were locked in position where both of their arms, each holding a medium sized sword, were crossed over and pressed up against each other. Calum grunted, straining his arms and pushing with all his might. "You're loosing grip Hood," Ashton shouted, and suddenly the right sword in Calum's hand slipped and clattered to the floor. 

Patience vanished on Ashton's face and he pushed Calum to the floor. Calum fell on his back with a grunt and Ashton pointed the tip of his sword so dangerously close to Cal's throat. "If this was a real combat, your head would no longer be attached to your body." 

"Fuck you," Calum muttered and swat away the sword with his left one. Quickly, he got to his feet and stormed off of the blue mat and to the benches on the edge. 

A small snicker came out of Michael and he pat Calum on the back as he passed him. 

"Alright," Ashton said, picking up the fallen swords from the ground and placing them on the counter on the other side of the wall. "Clifford, you're up next." 

All our eyes moved to Michael. The smile on his face lessened, but he nodded and slowly came to the blue mat, his fingers already closing into a fist. 

Ashton this time, grabbed two long iron swords from the wall of weapons. Each were beautifully crafted with blue jeweled hilts. They looked like any normal sword though, nothing special like an Incendian or Glacian weapon. Quickly, Ashton threw the sword at Michael and in a quick swift reflex, he grabbed the hilt. 

They both came inside the center of the large circle painted on the mat, and immediately went in their defense positions. Grinning, Ashton whirled the sword in his hand, the kind of things you would see in the movies by professional ninjas. I saw Calum's jaw drop open and I felt mine open a little in surprise too. We were always shocked when it came to Ashton. We hadn't gotten use to the fact that he could fight and do things like a pro.