Grace of An Elder

Chapter 9

T'ahrou walked along the streets of the city, the jungle canopy visible in the distance. The sun would be rising soon, and he would need to hurry in order to make it to training at his usual time. Nearing the markets, an unusually small form caught his eye. His amber eyes tracked her movements from behind his mask as she was about to enter the market as she always did in the mornings. She took the first step inside, seemed to catch a glance of something and quickly stepped back out before continuing on her way to the training arena.

T'ahrou watched her for a few more seconds and then he saw it: two of the males from yesterday. The followed her out but stopped at the entrance and waited for the third. "Dahdtoudi!" The two other males watched him from across the street as he jogged towards the small female. "Dahdtoudi, wait up!" She did not wait, however. She didn't even acknowledge his call to her. T'ahrou caught up to her quickly and slowed his gait to match hers, a soft trill of clicks slipping from his throat as he noticed she was donning the mask he'd given her, and the dagger was strapped to her thigh. "Dahdtoudi, don't you usually stop by the markets on your way? Why did you not get food today?"

"I'm running late and didn't have time." A quick lie, he knew. "Besides, my mother will be making s'pke tonight and she gets angry if we don't eat all that she makes." T'ahrou was all too familiar with the traditional fruit stew, and his mouth watered at the thought of it. "Why are you doing this?"

The male tilted his head to the side as he contemplated her words. "Talking?"

"Walking with me." Her tone was flat and emotionless, and T'ahrou faced straight ahead as he kept at her side.

"We are going to the same place, aren't we? I figured we could talk on the way."

"I don't like to talk while I'm walking, T'ahrou."

"From what I've seen you almost never seem to talk." She nodded in agreement and T'ahrou tightened his grip around the two containers in his hand. "Bhihtu is away on a hunt and won't return for several days, so I am down a sparring partner. Would it be alright if I spar with you in his absence?"

Dahdtoudi gave no response, so he opted to let silence fall between them the rest of the way to the training area.
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When they arrived, the combat master had chastised Dahdtoudi for her shortened tresses, and he mocked her for being such a poor fighter that she would allow someone to dishonor her in such a manner. The tiny human had not argued with the master, but T'ahrou noticed his mask display her elevated heart rate.

After the reprimand, the master had directed the 30+ young bloods to practice their various battle stances and weaponry attacks, and they would put the skills to use against one another within the hour. T'ahrou began with his gauntlet blades and then switched to his dagger, saving the combistick for last. Occasionally he would glance in Dahdtoudi's direction and noticed that she only used her combistick. She looks strange, he thought, her form is off.

The hour passed quickly and the young bloods began to claim partners. A female with yellow eyes approached Dahdtoudi as she always did, but stopped a few yards away as the human waved her away. The Yautja jogged toward another female and they began to spar as Dahdtoudi moved to attack a wooden dummy that was placed in the corner.

T'ahrou made his way across the ring toward the masked human, his combistick at his side. She pretended not to notice him as she focused on her task. "Do you mind if I cut in?" She paused briefly before returning to her strikes on the defenseless mannequin.

"You want to practice with the dummy?"

"Actually, I was asking the dummy...I would like to practice with you." She said nothing, only kept up her attacks.

"You could train with the master." He opened his mouth to respond but the human cut him off. "It will hurt your reputation further to spar with me, young blood. You already have enough problems with that since you keep interfering with my fights."

"You will call me by my name. We are equals, Dahdtoudi." He hadn't meant to sound as harsh as he had, but it finally got her attention away from the dummy. His mask registered her elevated heart rate and spike in adrenaline levels.

"I will call you by your title. That is the way, young blood. Do you forget?" Her tone was laced with malice as she advanced on the much larger male. "I don't know what game you're playing, but you need to stop. Whoever you placed a bet with, call it off. We are not comrades. We are not friends. I do not need you to fight my battles. Just stay away from me..!"

T'ahrou closed the distance between them, stopping only when they were less than an inch apart. He glared down at the girl as she craned her neck to look at him. He didn't need to see her expression to know that she was furious. "Make me leave, Dahdtoudi." Before he could register what was happening, the human struck the side of his head with all her might. A sickening CRACK echoed throughout the training hall as his head snapped to the side, his beaded tresses arching through the air with the action. The remaining young bloods were now directing their attention to the squabbling pair and even the master looked on with curiosity.

A low growl rumbled from T'ahrou's chest as he slowly pushed her combistick aside and popped his neck."You will need to do better than that..." T'ahrou lashed out with his own weapon but the small female side-stepped, narrowly dodging his powerful attack before she landed a harsh kick to his abdomen. The male in turn grabbed her lower leg and attempted to throw her off-balance but she pushed off with her opposite foot and connected a quick spin kick with the uninjured side of his face.

T'ahrou unleashed a deafening roar as he released his grip on the human to clutch his bloody brow bone. Dahdtoudi took full advantage of the situation and swiped her combistick at his legs, knocking him flat on his back with a heavy thud before she pulled the serrated dagger from her thigh and pressed it firmly against his throat.

"Yield..!" She snarled the word, but T'ahrou chuckled as he unsheathed his gauntlet blades and pressed them against her own slender neck.

"ENOUGH!" Both turned their gaze to the approaching combat master whose mandibles clicked in frustration. "Get up before you kill yourselves! What is the meaning of this nonsense?!"

"Just a challenge, Master." T'ahrou gave the excuse as Dahdtoudi was pushing away from his large body, her chest heaving with rage and labored breathing. "I made a bet with Dahdtoudi that she couldn't beat me in a fight."

The master hummed in thought before looking at the tiny human as her opponent moved to stand beside her. Dahdtoudi stood level with the bottom of T'ahrou's chest, and he had to be nearly twice her weight. "How was she able to get you down, young blood?"

"Dahdtoudi has considerable skill, Master. Her form could use some fine-tuning, but otherwise she is a formidable fighter." The Master thought on his words before waving a dismissive hand.

"Very well...since your sparring partner is not here, you will train with her, T'ahrou. While you're at it, see if you can clean up her form." The young blood bowed respectfully as their master walked away and the other spectators returned to their previous tasks. Dahdtoudi turned and kicked the dummy hard in the abdomen which sent it tumbling to the ground. Were all humans this easily enraged, or was this some strange quirk of hers?