Dragons, Dystopians, and Denial

Elias barely managed to grab the cob, and had to quickly most his hands over to the end so that his fingers wouldn't burn from the absorbed heat.

"We'll be passing by some towns, right?" he said, thinking out loud. "When we're low on supplies, there are other things we could buy that will last. Dried fruit or vegetables, granola, lentils, rice, beans... stuff like that."

He tried to offer a sympathetic smile, even though he was sympathizing with someone who was crazy enough to eat meat.

"Maybe it's not as easy, but it's not impossible."

"Mmm..." Jerica poked at the fire and threw on some more branches, trying to think of how to answer him. You, of course, know far more about how traveling in Beirania works than I do. She tried not to let herself get annoyed. He just seemed naive just then rather than condescending.

"I'm aware what foods will keep while we travel." She gestured vaguely at the food still spread on the blanket in front of them as evidence that she'd already packed accordingly. "But we'll have to see how towns go. We might need to stick to Swaltou, in which case it's not likely we'll have much luck foraging. Hopefully, we'll be able to stop by some towns. But I'll also not be surprised if I have to hunt for us eventually."

Elias quietly took a bite of the corn, not wanting to prod the topic of this any further. If it came down to it, he would eat an animal if it meant his survival. But he wouldn't do it without grief.

"What's Swaltou like?" he softly asked after swallowing.

"Heh." She smirked, but it wasn't funny. Maybe it was a little funny that he didn't know what they were walking into, but it wasn't going to be funny once they got there. "It's a forest. The majority of towns are intentionally built at least a two day's ride from the edge. And every single person we meet will be some sort of a criminal. Mostly thieves, but some are actually rough."

Elias took more bites of the corn, slowly chewing to let her words sink in.

"Sounds like a fun place," he deadpanned after swallowing.

Jerica laughed and pushed herself to her feet. She stretched her back and wandered over to where the weapons were still bundled together in the packs and began unpacking them as Elias nursed his corn.

She pulled the wooden swords out and tossed one into the dust by Elias's feet, then began stretching her arms.

Elias quickly finished the corn and then tossed it away from their camp. He dusted himself off and then slowly got up, grabbing the sword.

"So, another sword lesson, huh?" he said, stating the obvious as he balanced the wooden sword in his hand. "When will you teach me how to use the bow?"

"If you want to call earlier a lesson, sure." Jerica smirked, stepping back to give him some space in the clearing. "We'll work on the bow eventually, maybe tomorrow. It's too dark for that now. And it's more important that you're able to defend yourself in close quarters than for you to be able to use a bow."

Jerica took her stance and gestured for Elias to do the same.

"I showed you earlier how to stand," she said. "And to swing. We're going to practice that a bit then we'll ease into you trying to hit a moving target... also, you need to actually swing at me. I promise you're not going to be able to get past my defenses, no matter how hard you try. And you need to get used to actual sparring. I'm not going to play nice much longer."

Elias grimaced, listening to Jerica drone on. He didn't like to fight, and he had no desire to use the sword. But one, he was a a smidge too proud to admit that he was basically a coward, and two, Beirania sounded dangerous. Too dangerous. He'd rather be able to defend himself instead of being an open target.

"Okay," he said in defeat, then paused. "I mean, I know how to spar with my hands. Self-defense. I've been taught that, but not use a sword. Is it common for people to use swords?"

"Most people who can hurt you will be carrying a sword," Jerica confirmed. "I'll teach you how to take someone's sword from them eventually, but you're gonna get hit a lot when you're learning that." She wouldn't exactly mind that part of the training. She continued dryly. "Listening to me is going to be the least painful route for you."

Elias sighed. "Okay," he said. "I'll try to learn, then. And... hit you."

What a strange way of being nice.

"What would you like me to do now?" he said as he gripped the sword and stood in the proper stance.

Jerica walked him through step by step what to do, just as patient as she was with her recruits. They worked through the static drills dozens of times. Her holding perfectly still. Commenting on what he was doing well -- and what he needed to improve -- each time that he made a pass at her.

He still wasn't actually trying to hit her, but he was applying enough force that she didn't bother yelling at him. Yet. The intensity could come once he had basics down. She was sure once she actually started hitting him, he'd have more motivation to hit her back.

Once she was satisfied that he was more or less sufficient with his skill in the single pass, she worked into a bit of motion. She started stepping forward and making a back-handed pass towards his right side -- the easiest one for him to counter. Literally all he had to do was raise his arm at the right time. And yet.

She moved progressively faster the longer they went. She wasn't anywhere close to moving fast yet, but she still got past his defense easily. She gently swatted his shoulder with the sword, and then explained what he should have done to counter her, then got set again.

They practiced more and more, until he was getting whacked more times than he was managing to block her blows. She took pity and stepped backward with a nod. "I think that's enough for tonight. Do you have questions?"

"Yeah," Elias said as he relaxed his stance and patted down a spot where she whacked him with the wooden sword. "Are you going on easy on me? Because if so, I'm not looking forward to hard mode."

"Hah, I'm not sure you want to know the answer to that," she laughed, good-naturedly. Then hesitated. He was clearly joking, but she felt like she should warn him. She kept grinning as she tossed a canteen at him and flopped down with her own. "But I do provide, let's say, progressively stronger motivation for you to develop a strong defense."

Elias smiled. It was nice to hear Jerica laugh, even though she probably gave him a few small bruises today. He caught the canteen and guzzled half of it down, making a mental note to refill it at the canteen.

"Oh yeah?" he said after quenching his thirst, shutting the cap. "Is the motivation 'not dying'?"