PHOENIX

Chapter five: Specticle

It had been weeks since we had heard anything from the Dream SMP, and the transition from July to August had been slow and blistering. It was almost worse than an actual war, not knowing if or when they'd attack. Fortunately this time gave us a way to prepare. The walls had been fully built, we were stocked up with supplies, and some training was done. Wilbur didn't exactly support violence, he prefered using words over fists. So when I say little training had been done, I meant a couple of citizens getting together during their free time and sparring with each other. Tommy had been helping them out secretly, although he couldn't begin to teach them what they needed to know to go against Dream. I knew if we were led into war, it would be a bloodbath, and Dream would leave without a scratch.

I myself didn't know much about fighting, I had always been someone to support from the sidelines with a bow and bad aim. Being raised by Wilbur didn't really help my skills very much, although it did mean I was musically inclined.

Just this morning, I went down to visit Tommy in the field where he was practicing with a couple L'Manbergians. Tommy was definitely winning against the people, but I could tell they were slowly getting better. Opting out of standing in the sun, I decided to look for a place to sit.

I found a shaded patch of grass under a tree, and plopped myself down to watch the training. Tommy was definitely getting his aggression out by fighting them, because every now and then he would take a break and show them a more efficient way of fighting. I never thought I'd see the day where Tommy was being a good teacher.

Just getting to sit and think under this tree made me so relaxed, I almost forgot about the war. Keyword; almost. I knew things were only going to go downhill from here, we obviously couldn't take on Dream and win. But there was something about L'Manberg, like an invisible force pushing me to stay motivated. I could feel that even if we lost, somehow we could still win.

"Nix!" Tommy yelled out from across the field, breaking me from my thoughts.

I sat up, shielding my eyes from the warm sun while I squinted to find him. Tommy gestured for me to join the group, and with a small sigh I brushed off my pants and started towards the center of the field.

"I need a sparring dummy!" Tommy said, shouting even though I was only a couple steps away. The group of trainee's were watching from the sidelines, taking a water break.

"I'm sure Fundy's around here somewhere" I smiled, giving Tommy a look that said, hell no.

"Too late bitch!" Tommy exclaimed. He tossed me a sword and advanced before I could even blink an eye. I barely avoided his first swing, and backed up to gain some space between us. He swung again, almost hitting my arm. I didn't have a shield, or any armor for that matter. I was feeling very, very underprepared.

"Tommy, I don't have armor!" I warned, getting a little nervous. I wasn't a pussy, but a sword fight against someone better than me that had full armor and a very real sword made me a little unnerved.

"You're fine" Tommy dismissed, completely ignoring my concerns. He gave me a second to adjust my grip on the sword, and then returned to a ready stance.

We continued to fight, Tommy showing off his skills with me narrowly missing his lethal swings. At one point the theatrical side of me took over, and I started to jump over various barrels around the field, adding a little bit of flare to the duel. Tommy smiled brightly and caught on quickly, because if there was one thing we had in common, we both loved to put on a show. He followed me around, balancing on a haystack before jumping over me to attack from behind. I ducked and swiftly turned around, cutting off his surprise attack. The group of people watching doubled in size as we bounced off of each other, Tommy allowing me to win for a little bit before he resumed the upper hand.