Hidden Truths - Ethan

14 - The Accident

Lyall laughs at me again. "Then let me see, what kind of fighter you are!" He shows me his greedy fangs before he suddenly attacks me.

I wished for it to happen but can't believe it really does. He does not seem to care that we are still in the cave and comes at me like a rolling stone, trying to press me down with his sheer weight. I yank up my arms to cover the first force and fall to my knees within the same movement to let Lyall stumble over me, taking the momentum of his own weight and force to shove him above me.

A dark and deep growl comes out of my mouth, out of the physical effort. I hurry to get back up and turn around to see Lyall. He is falling over me with such a speed and energy that the whole cave seems to shake from the impact his body weight has to the ground.

I really need to be careful with him. His size is indeed an advantage on his own, but it's also his weakness. Lyall keeps on laughing like a lunatic and rubs his claws when he gets up again as if nothing happened.

"I'm going to like this one!" he announces before he attacks me again, and again, and again. It soon is clear that we are pretty equal despite our different build. It is either a matter of luck or about who has more stamina. Right now, I have to move far more to not get hit, but the way and strength he uses to deal out blows and kicks also looks very tiring. As he doesn't care about the damage we do to the interior I also don't hold back.

The first time he gets a hold on my foot, he catapults me out of the cave onto the open field in front of it with just one swing. Instead of just falling like a stone I make a roll and come to a weak stand out there. The dust underneath my feet swirls up, coming to stick to my sweaty body. To my surprise, I can see a lot of beasts standing around here. Did they watch us the whole time?

They start to cheer up Lyall when he steps out of the cave in a nearly royal manner. "Well, well, where have we been?" he asks and jumpstarts once more at me.

I can't suppress my grin. This is really fun. He doesn't hold back but still, we seem to have agreed on a few rules of how we attack each other. There are no deep wounds, but both of us leave their marks in some bloody fine lines where we were able to land a hit. There is a lot of respect and at the same moment, it is plain honest. I get the feeling that this shows me so much more of Lyall than the talk we had before. It's challenging and I love a good challenge.

Then it happens – he tricks me into a headlock and presses me against the outer stone wall next to the entry of the main cave. All of the air in my lungs leaves at once at this final move and I feel a bit of a spin when my head clashes with the rough stone in front of me.

Relieve comes as Lyall gives me some space and finally placing me on my feet again. They give in and I slide down to the ground for a moment; coughing and trying to breathe steadily. I lost, but I can see Lyall also panting hard, when I roll around to lean against the wall for a moment. I'm not sure yet how to take that outcome.

"Holy... you are like a ferret! Hard to get," Lyall says in between breathing heavily. He starts to chuckle and rubs his neck while cracking with it.

"Good fight," he adds and offers me his claw. I take it to get up more easily.

"Yes, indeed; and you are like an act of nature. What did you say; you've been in your first life? A mountain?" I have to cough once more. Lyall laughs.

"I like that title - Lyall the mountain," He pats my arm in a brotherly manner.

I straighten out and start to brush off the dust on my clothes, very well aware that this won't make too much of a difference. I like that he is acting completely different than I am started to get used to with my current training partners. I grin while licking my lips and can taste a bit of a metallic flavor in my mouth. I wipe off the blood that is drooling out of the corner of my mouth.