“Since you are obviously bored with hand-to-hand combat, we will begin your sword training?—”
Our cheers cut him off, and he rolled his eyes with exasperated affection. “Yes, yes. I know this is what you have all wished to learn. Come, retrieve your weapons.”
He beckoned with a wave of his hand to the box at his feet. We all rushed forward, shoving each other to get our weapons first. Tavik, being the biggest of all of us, got to the front first and groaned when he saw what was inside.
“They are wood!” he complained.
“What? Did you think I would give you the real thing?” Kraus scoffed. “You start with these until I can trust you not to kill each other.”
With a grumble, Tavik grabbed two wooden daggers, passing one to me as we left the group surrounding the box. My chest warmed at the gesture, and I smiled at him, nudging his shoulder. He teased me plenty about my stature, but it was all in good fun, and whenever he got ahead in line, no matter what we were doing, he pulled me up there with him or got me something instead of forcing me to wait in line. It was one of the reasons he was my best friend.
Brandishing my weapon, I narrowed my eyes at him. “What will I win when I best you?”
He narrowed his eyes, a smirk already pulling at his lips. “What makes you think you’d win?”
“My father told me using daggers requires speed. You know I will excel. You should admit defeat now.”
“We shall see!”
Lunging at me, he attempted to tap me with his wooden dagger, but I knew it was coming and spun to avoid him, laughing as the big lug tripped over his own feet and fell to his knees. I forgot for a moment the length of his arms, though, and I wasn’t standing far enough away. He managed to grab my tunic, taking me down with him, and I knew the minute he rolled on top of me, I’d have to give up. His weight was enough to pin me.
The thought sent a thrill through me, and my cock began to swell. Embarrassed, I wriggled to get free, managing to slip out from under him before he could drop his weight. My reaction to his playfulness surprised me; he’d done it many times before. But lately, the feel of his body against mine had started to… affect me. I didn’t want him to know, so I played it off with a grin, keeping out of reach as he pushed to his feet again.
Kraus barked at us to get our attention, giving my blood a chance to cool as he explained the basics of dagger usage. Tavik and I both wished to become warriors for the clan, so I paid close attention to the lesson, practicing with Tavik when Kraus insisted we try it for ourselves. Tavik was very rarely serious, so he tried a few times to trip me or snatch away my weapon, but I used my speed against him, making us more evenly matched despite our size difference.
After weapons training was done, Kraus demanded that we train hand-to-hand for the rest of the day. And because he knew Tavik and I would cause trouble, he split us up, forcing Tavik to train with Uttin while I was forced to train with Orn. Hewas an asshole whose jokes about my height were often cruel in nature. I usually ignored him, but when he started in on his usual shit, I figured now was a good time to get even.
“This will be an easy fight,” Orn sneered. “You should just give up now.”
“You wish,” I shot back with a scowl.
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, his expression too smug for my liking. “You enjoy getting hurt? That’s good to know.”
Anger threatened to get the best of me, but I shoved it down, focusing on the fight instead. Kraus constantly told us not to let our emotions cloud our heads in battle. I had to remember his words now, or Orn would win no matter how hard I tried to defeat him.
Orn wasn’t anywhere near as big as Tavik, which made it a little harder to use his weight against him. Instead, I did my best to stay out of range of his meaty fists while going for the spots I knew would cause the most pain. A punch to his lower back, an elbow to his gut when he tried to grab me, and a painful twist of his wrist when he lifted his fist to punch me in the face were all good moves, but I was out of breath trying to keep up with him, and he wasn’t kind like Tavik to allow either of us a break to breathe.
“What’s the matter? Tired already?” he said scornfully.
“Says the cheat,” I gritted through clenched teeth. “What’s the matter? You can’t win against me unless you ignore the rules?” He knew as well as I did that we weren’t allowed to hit faces. The potential risk was too great, and Kraus refused to allow it.
“I am no cheat, drukikk!”
He lunged at me again, a snarl on his face, letting his anger get the best of him. I dodged out of the way, but took too long trying to come up with an idea on how to immobilize him without causing permanent injury, and he tackled me. Ihit the dirt with his body weight on top of me, knocking the wind out of me. He took advantage of my moment of weakness, pinning my wrists against my chest with one hand while he punched me with the other hard enough to make my ears ring. I could barely hear Kraus’s bark for him to stop over the sound, disoriented enough that when he punched me again, I didn't have a chance to brace for it. Blood filled my mouth where my cheek cut on my teeth, pain making me curl in on myself as much as I was able, with him sitting on top of me.
I expected another blow, as Orn was known for being hotheaded, but Orn’s weight disappeared before the next hit could come. When I finally opened my eyes to see what was happening, he was pinned by Tavik, who was beating the stuffing out of him without mercy. It took Kraus, Rhos, and Orvak to pull him off, and he still fought against them to finish the job.
Kraus shoved him, snarling something low that I couldn’t quite hear over the ringing in my ears. Godr knelt beside me, his expression worried as he looked me over, but I waved him off. The asshole took me by surprise. He hadn’t permanently injured me.
With a growl, Tavik jerked away from Kraus, moving to stand over me protectively instead. I couldn’t see his face as he stood with his back to me, but I could see the tension in his shoulders and the flex of his hands as he fought the urge to hurt someone. All because that someone had hurt me.
Orn scrambled to his feet, glaring at us both, a bruise already forming around his eye. “We were training! You cannot interfere just because the little thurat cannot handle a fight!”
Stump leg? That asshole. I wasn’t that short.
“He is my best friend. Touch him again and you die,” Tavik snarled back.
My heart skipped at Tavik’s response, and I felt my cheeks warm as butterflies filled my belly. Tavik had always been protective of me. No one was allowed to make fun of me but him; that was what he always said to me. I hadn’t realized just how far that protectiveness would go for him.
