Faithless Memories

Training

Chapter 7

The next morning, Kris was woken by a yell. She didn't even bother trying to figure out what it was. Instead, she turned over and tried to go back to sleep. She was prevented from doing so when Zack shook her roughly. She rolled back over and only opened one eye. That was enough for her to be able to give him a death glare. "What do you want? It can't be time to get up yet."

His eyes widened at the sight of her glare, but he still managed to give her an exasperated look. "Yes, it is time to get up. Plus, why was I in your bed?"

At his question, Kris finally remembered what had happened and sat up with a groan. She yawned and stretched before she gave him a grin. "Don't look at me. You're the one that fell asleep over here, and I wasn't about to sleep in your bed. Your sheets smell."

"Hey! They do not!"

She gave him a deadpan look before she stood and threw her pillow at his head. "Maybe you're just used to it. Now move and let me get dressed." She heard him grumbling as he went back to his side of the divider.

By the time they were both ready, they had found they had just enough time to grab some of the food that Sarah had made and run. They were both running late. Him for school and her for the daycare, but they both still paused long enough to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek before they took off. She watched their retreating forms with a smile for a few moments before she turned and started her day as well.

It seemed like their late start carried through their whole day, and it ended up being later than they hoped by the time they were ready to head to their designated clearing. Zack was still grumbling when Kris stopped him and gave him a curious look before she chuckled. "I was going to ask you what it is you do to be in better shape, but then I remembered that you are never still. I guess I'll have to figure it out on my own."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not."

She laughed at the look he was giving her before she responded. "I admire your energy, so take it while you can." He grinned at that, but she gave him a serious look. "Really, though, I think that just running won't be enough. I can start with a few laps before we get into the other stuff, but maybe we should think about spending a couple of days on strength too. What do you think?"

His eyes had lit up when he realized she was taking his suggestion seriously. "Yeah! I'm sure we can find something out here that will help. How many laps do you think?" She laughed when another thought struck him, and he started nearly jumping in place. "Oh! Also, you know that if we're running out here, the ground isn't even. You'll have to watch out for roots and stuff, but if you don't break stride, that can help your agility too!"

She smiled at him. She knew he had been excited about learning the staff, but seeing him really get into the whole thing got her excited too. His energy was always contagious when he really got going. She gave him a nod before she leaned her staff against one of the targets they had set up the day before. "You're right. But if we plan on getting anything done today, we need to get started. It's already late."

He leaned his next to hers and then started jogging backward with a grin. "Think you can keep up?"

She glared at him but didn't say anything. Instead, she tried to put on a little speed when he turned around. She lost count of how many laps they had done at about twenty, but every time she started to lag, Zack would slow down just enough to taunt her. It worked most of the time too. The sky had started turning a deep red by the time she finally stopped and sat on the ground. He jogged to her with a grin. "Giving up already?"

She huffed a tired laugh and nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure my legs will even carry me back to the house, you slave driver."

He sat down beside her at that and gave her a contemplative look. "You know, I am super excited to get started, but maybe it's a good idea if we whip you into shape first. I get the feeling that you probably were before, but you were down so long that you, I don't know, lost it, I guess? I don't see how you could have trained before without being in better shape."

She stared at him in silent shock for a few moments before she laughed and ruffled his hair. "Sometimes, it's easy to forget that you're only thirteen, oh, wise man."

She could tell he knew she was teasing when he grinned and stood with his hand out to help her up too. She took it with a groan. "Oh god, I'm going to feel that tomorrow."

He laughed at her before he turned and grabbed both of their staves. "Sometimes, I wonder where you're really from. Some of the things you say make no sense."

She shrugged and tried to take her staff from him as they started walking. He held it out of her reach, and she shrugged again. "Fine. I'm not going to complain if you want to carry them." They walked a little further before she finally looked at him with a contemplative look. "You know, you might be right about my way of talking. I may not remember, but when you compare it to everyone here, it is odd. I don't think I have met any of the merchants that talk that way, either." She looked up at the sky and admired the first stars that had come out. Zack thought she was done, but after a few minutes, she looked back at him with a smile. "It doesn't really matter, though. I'm here now, and I can only take it a day at a time." He grinned at her when she bumped his shoulder with hers.

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Over the next few weeks, there were several times that Kris was forced to wonder how such a sweet young boy could turn into such a monster. Every time she felt like quitting, he would figure out a way to make her keep going. As often as not, it was usually with some sort of barbed remark. She reminded herself several times that she needed to start watching her sarcasm around him as he was picking up on it fast, and he was good at it too.

They took to running through the woods on alternating paths, and he had her start carrying random things while she ran after the first few days. They would also take a couple of days each week and work on climbing. They would either use one of the small cliffs near the village or simply use the trees. He had her focus on using her arms as much as possible when they did.

For the first two weeks, she was dead on her feet outside of their training, and several people commented on it. When she told them why they all found it hilarious. She found that every time she winced when she reached for something or limped for the first few steps after she had been sitting for a while, there was always someone there with a smart remark. She finally stopped letting them get to her when she realized it was all part of being a citizen of their little community. She was now as much a part of the village as any of them, and she found that thought satisfying.

They kept that schedule up for six weeks. Kris was amazed that Zack had gone that long without asking about training even once, but she knew it was because he had set his mind on helping her first. Once he made up his mind on anything, he was full steam ahead. At six weeks, though, they decided that she was in good enough shape that they could start the actual training at least one day a week.

It was the beginning of autumn by that point, but luckily Gongaga was far enough south that the weather was pleasant most days. The worst was when it rained. Sarah wasn't too fond of it either because they still trained. It was the muddy laundry that was the problem, but Kris did her best to make sure that she and Zack cleaned up after themselves. They were really getting into their schedule, but that didn't mean they had to make extra work for anyone else.

By the time winter set in, the two of them already had a plan. Most days, they still did some training, but the days were shorter, and they didn't have as much time to spend. Wintertime also meant extra chores, and Zack convinced her to help him chop firewood for as many people as would let them. They didn't charge for the work, but they often were given things in return anyway. That was how Zack got a new set of gloves, and Kris got a new scarf. The cold inevitably ended up putting a damper on their schedule, but on the days they couldn't do anything, Sarah and Zeke often watched with bemused expressions as the two young people would get lost in their plans for the next nice day.