Sneaky and Brutal

Writers: Estelle, Miriah
Date Posted: 8th November 2019
Series: The Assassin's Husband

Characters: Lorican, Lusilk
Description: Lusilk starts to teach Lorican to fight
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 11, day 8 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: G'ran

Lusilk

Lorican waited outside the dining hall as he'd been told, glancing
warily around as he watched the weyrhold folk come and go. He'd eaten
little at dinner, preoccupied with thoughts of whether Lusilk had
changed her mind about their deal. He could be walking with blind
obedience into a trap.

**She'll want the marks,** he told himself. But what if someone offered
her more? There was no doubt in his mind that she would betray him,
maybe buy her own safety and her son's with his life. He had to make
himself harder to kill, and quickly. He couldn't trust her.

She approached silently behind him, waited until he turned his back
completely to her, then gave a quick jab with her finger to his ribs.
"Lesson one, don't leave your back open to anyone. That was your
mistake with me, remember." She stepped around with an arched brow.
"Come on, then. Follow me." She gestured to a copse of trees across
the open field. "There's a clearing we can use until the sun goes
down."

Much against his better judgement, Lorican walked after her. He
wondered if he should have told someone where he was going. But what
could he say? **I think someone is trying to to kill me, so I'm going
to learn to defend myself from a retired assassin. At least, I hope
she's retired.** If they didn't laugh at him, they'd send for a mind
healer, and if by some chance they did believe his story then they'd
send for the guards and his loved ones would be in danger from her
revenge. He couldn't tell anyone.

They moved into the shadow of the copse, out of sight of the Weyrhold,
and his heart immediately began to beat faster. He kept his eyes fixed
on Lusilk's hands, wondering how quickly she could spin and send a
knife flying at him. His tension only eased slightly when he saw the
trees thinning as they approached the clearing. It looked as though
the woodcrafters had been at work here, he could see freshly cut
stumps and neat pile of logs awaiting transport.

As they entered the copse, Lusilk turned to face him and gestured for
him to come and face her. "First things first, Smith. This isn't going
to be easy on you. You can't afford me to go lightly, not with who
they might send after you next. One thing you need to get immediately
through your head is that there is no such thing as an honorable
fight, not when someone is trying to kill you, so get that out of your
head right now." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now...attack
me."

Lorican stared at her, all his instincts protesting the very notion of
attacking a woman. Though she'd just told him to forget about honor, it
wasn't as easy as that. It went deep, an almost physical revulsion. He
tried to visualize her as she had been in the smithy, her cold eyes as
the flames had leapt up, trapping him inside. Not as she'd been with her
son...

**She wants you dead. Do something.** He thought back, trying to
remember what he'd learned from G'ran. **Get her off balance.** But he
wasn't sure how; even just standing there, she had a kind of coiled
agility that he'd seen when she'd leapt at him over the desk with the
knife. Perhaps just sheer weight... Not knowing what else to do, he
feinted as if to throw a punch, then flung himself at her, hoping to
knock her to the ground.

And he did exactly what she'd expected him to. Waiting until the last
moment, Lusilk sidestepped, gripped his arm and using his own
momentum, flung him around and away. The moment she released him she
waited for him to stumble, then levered a light kick against the back
of his knee to bring him down. She followed, placing her lighter
weight against pressure points along his back to keep him pinned.
"What are you, twelve? I saw that coming a dragonlength away. Think
with your brains, not your muscles. Lunging at me like that is a waste
of your energy and I can use that against you." She hopped up, tapped
him lightly in the ribs with her toe, then stepped back. "Get up. Try
again."

Lorican pushed himself to his feet, brushing soil and fallen leaves from
his knees. Instead of getting her off balance, he'd let her do it to
him. He could feel the burn of shame and annoyance growing inside him,
his reluctance to hurt a woman replaced by determination not to be
beaten by one. He forced himself to put that aside and think. She was
too fast; large movements weren't going to work. Instead, he edged
closer, trying to keep his weight centered, then aimed a tentative blow
at her head.

Faranth, had the man never really fought before? Lusilk shook her head
and when the swing came at her, she caught his hand, twisted it just
enough to be uncomfortable and held it. "No. You punch from the
shoulder. It's a strong blow and less tiring. And if you're going to
try to hit me, actually mean it. " She let him go and exhaled. It
looked like she was going to have to start from the very beginning.
"Look. " She mimed his blow. "Hitting like that isn't very powerful
and it's going to wear you out quick. You've got enough muscle on you
that if you hit someone just right, you'll knock them out with one
hit, but you've got to know how to make that hit. You ever fought
anyone before besides me?"

He frowned, thinking back. "I fought a boy at the Smith Hall once, when
we were apprentices. One of the masters caught us and broke it up." The
boy had been a bully who'd picked on the juniors - but that must have
been more than twenty Turns ago. He wasn't sure he should count Jilmon,
either. The thief had been half his size and cowardly. "At Dolphin Cove
I went to a self-defense class, but there wasn't much time, so I only
learned ways to stop someone attacking me."

"And that obviously didn't really make much of a difference. " She
snorted and shook her head, thinking and mulling over what she would do
and had done. "Whoever might come for you is going to be quick and
vicious." She paused grinning, " like me. Likely it won't be a flat out
fight, and they 'll watch you just like I did to know where you go,
when you go, and any patterns you follow. Even getting a flit won't
help you. A bit of jerky laced with fellis and bye bye flit. You can't
afford to ever be alone and you're going to have to learn to really pay
attention to your surroundings. And to use a knife for more than just
eating. I'll lay you good odds that it's already known that you went to
the Weyr. It's a simple matter after that to get in, get information
and find out where you were sent. Weyrfolk gossip like fishwives. And
they'll know you have a weakness there and that you were sent here.
Lucky for you, it's a fair distance from here to Dolphin's Cove.
You've some time, but not much."

She rubbed her chin, then drummed her fingers over her mouth. It would
have been easier if Lorican had any experience fighting. "I'll teach you
how to take and land a blow and how to watch the body to tell where a
blow or kick is coming from. I'll teach you how to disarm someone like
me. It won't be expected of you. "

"That's what I'm hoping. That no-one will expect it." Mostly, he was
hoping that Lusilk would deal with any attackers, but he didn't think
that was in the spirit of the training, and she couldn't be with him
always. He thought back. "At Dolphin Cove, they suggested I learn how to
defend myself with my tools. Hammers and suchlike. I'm more familiar
with using them, and they're likely to be to hand."

"Hm." She paused, considered it, then nodded. "Not a bad idea,
actually. Next meeting, bring your hammer and we'll see if how it
works against my blade. But first..." She gave a quick jab to his
middle, but pulled the blow so it was merely a firm tap against his
midsection. "Did you notice how you didn't see that coming? That's
important. No wide swings, no bluster. Just a quick strike. I could
have taken your air with that blow, you would have bent over and I
would have brought your nose to my knee. Broke the nose, blind you
with pain, you're done." She tapped his shoulder. "That's where a
powerful strike comes from. Your shoulder, not your arm muscle. You
know that from forging, right? Same with fighting."

"Yes, of course." Lorican felt like an idiot - he'd told the apprentices
to strike from the shoulder enough times. Of course the same would apply
here. He hesitated, knowing there was a good chance he'd end up on the
ground again, but there was only one way to learn. "Can I try it again?"

"Yes, but I'll know it's coming. Wait until you think I'm not
expecting it, then try and we'll see how well you do. You've got to
learn to be sneaky, Lorican. Sneaky and brutal if you have to be" She
finally offered him a bit more of a smile, a crooked thing that
flashed a dimple. "That's how you're going to survive." It was how she
had survived; she wasn't overly muscular, but she was quick. It had
saved her life more times than she could count.

The smile startled him, conflicting with the part of his brain that was
repeatedly warning him not to trust her. It seemed as strange as seeing
her sitting behind a desk or caring for her child, and he wondered how
she'd ever ended up in the life she appeared to have lived.

"All right, then. Sneaky and brutal." Two words he'd never have used to
describe himself - well, perhaps a little sneaky, he thought, thinking
of how he'd trapped Jilmon. He took a deep breath. "What next?"

Lusilk cracked her knuckles and her smile widened. "You're going to
practice dodging."

Last updated on the December 18th 2019

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Sneaky and Brutal