Into The Woods- Bellamy Blake

Chapter 73

"Are you sure about this?" Clarke asked, eyeing Ember from the table a few feet away.

Ember shook her head, a dull spear in her hand that she twirled around with disinterest as she focused on her conversation with Clarke. "She wants to learn though, and I can't tell her no. Not with how much I've helped Madi train. If Tavia wants to learn, I'll teach her."

"She's three, Ember. Don't you think that's a little young?"

"Our friends might be down in five months, and then we'll get in the bunker. I'm still their commander, but that doesn't mean any of us are safe. Too many commanders have died from their people for me to ever feel safe. But I trust myself to survive a hell of a lot more than I trust the twins to."

Clarke leaned her elbows on the table. "Ember, they're just kids. They should be having fun. Not training for a war that may or may not come."

Ember bit her lip, leaning against the spear. "If Tavia wants to learn, then I'm gonna teach her. I'm not denying my kids the right to protect themselves."

Clarke shook her head as Madi and the twins walked out of the house. Lincoln ran over to the table that Clarke sat at, a book in his hand. "Read to me?"

She gave her nephew a smile, grabbing the book from his hand. "Let's take the rover to the lake, then I'll read to you there, okay?"

Lincoln turned to look at Ember. "Mommy?"

"Go ahead, Little Angel. Listen to Clarke while you're gone."

As Lincoln and Clarke left, Ember kneeled down in front of Tavia. "Are you sure you wanna do this, Tiny Warrior?"

Tavia nodded quickly, a small spear in her hand, a bigger one in Madi's. "Okay, then you'll be training with Madi. Madi, show your sister the correct way to hold a spear."

Madi turned and smiled down at Tavia. "Okay, so this is what we're gonna do." Madi kneeled down in front of Tavia, explaining where to put her hands and why that spot was the best spot.

Ember smiled, sitting on the table Clarke had been sitting out. If Clarke was here, she would yell at her for sitting on the table. She was always talking about how the table was probably a hundred years old and not stable enough for someone to sit on it, but Ember never listened to her.

"What now?" Madi asked, turning to look at Ember.

Ember glanced at Tavia to make sure her fingers were in the right position. "Defense," Ember said finally. "She needs to know that more than offense."

~~~

Tavia was a natural. She learned quickly. Over the past few days they'd taught her all they knew about defense, and now Ember and Clarke, mostly Clarke, was gonna teach Madi and Tavia how to shoot a gun.

After talking about it the previous night, they decided that teaching them how to use a gun was better than a sword. Madi could use both, but Tavia would only be able to learn how to use one by the time they opened the bunker up, and a gun was more dangerous, but it could protect her more. Lincoln wouldn't be learning, but he was with them anyway.

Ember made the three kid sit at the table before going to learn, making sure that they knew the dangers of a gun before using one. "Okay kids, I wanna make sure all of you understand that this isn't a toy."

She pulled out the small handheld she had, showing it to them. "This is a powerful weapon that has the capacity to kill someone. One wrong move, and you could seriously hurt someone, understand?"

Ember waited for the three to acknowledge her. "Good," She said when Madi nodded last. "If I even think one of you is going to use the gun as a toy, you'll lose all access to using it for however long Clarke and I see fit."

Clarke pulled out three guns from the rover. "You guys ready?"

"Mommy, do I have to?"

"Yes, Lincoln. You don't have to use the gun, but Clarke and I think it's best if you're there while we teach it."

Lincoln groaned, holding his hands out. "Hold me?"

Ember shook her head, fixing the goggles on her head so they weren't crooked. "I gotta help make sure they're safe with the weapons." Lincoln's lips turned down. "Don't pout, we'll do something later, okay? Just you and me."

Lincoln quickly smiled. "Swimming!"

Ember laughed, shaking her head. It was nearly winter, and while it still wasn't cold, it was too cold for him to go swim. "How about we go for a walk? Look at animals?"

"We can see a deer!"

Ember nodded. "If we're lucky."

She turned towards Clarke just in time to see her carefully handing them guns. Ember didn't like it, she wasn't ready for any of them to be using weapons, let alone a three year old. She barely knew how to use a gun herself. Swords she could handle, but they were too heavy for the twins to even hold let alone properly use.

Clarke used her own gun to show the kids how to properly hold the small pistol. Ember watched uncomfortably, glanced at her sword next to her that she still carried around out of habit. Lincoln sat down in the chair in front of her.

Tavia fired the first shot once Clarke gave her the okay. She lowered the gun and turned to Ember quickly. "Mommy! Look!"

Tavia hadn't t hit the target at all, but Ember still gave her a smile and said, "I'm proud of you Little Warrior!"

They did that all evening, their aim was improving, and by the end of the night, both Madi and Tavia could hit the target. Ember figured with a few more weeks of practice, they'd be able to hit the middle if they tried.

As the sun was setting they finally decided it was time to stop. Clarke started the fire so they could make dinner for them. As they waited for the fire to get big, they told stories of their friends.