Ivan Kal - Onslaught

She charged him, lowering herself to catch him in his midriff, but he simply dropped to the floor and rolled, tripping her legs with his body. Anessa placed her hands on the floor and threw herself over her head, landing on her feet. She turned immediately, ready to defend herself, but Adrian was standing out of her range, watching her.

Anessa grinned at him smugly, and Adrian quirked an eyebrow before running straight at her. He jumped and twisted in the air, swiping his left leg at her torso. Anessa blocked and went in for a grab with her free hand. Adrian caught her hand, then placed his leg on her chest and pushed himself into a backflip, landing on his feet just as Anessa reached him again and tried to grab him. Her hands caught only air as Adrian danced away, hitting her in the side as he moved behind her. The punch barely stung her, and as she turned, he made a gesture with his hand that she didn’t recognize but whose meaning was apparent: ‘Come.’

She narrowed her eyes as she was thinking of likely strategies. He wasn’t slower than her by much, but it was enough that she should’ve caught him already, yet he somehow managed to avoid all her attacks. It was as if he knew what she was going to do before even she did. No, it wasn’t that, she realized; it was as if he read her moves just as she started them. In theory, that was what every warrior trained for, but to actually do it in combat at those speeds was another thing entirely. But if he was reading her so fast, then there were things she could do to mitigate his advantage.

What felt like hours later, Anessa and Adrian were still locked in a never-ending struggle. She was still trying to catch him and he still evaded her. She knew that she could’ve landed a few blows, but by some unspoken agreement, they had established that was not the purpose of this training exercise. And that was exactly what this was; Anessa had realized that Adrian was indirectly teaching her his way of fighting, and she was soaking everything as fast as she could.

His style was unlike anything she had seen, fluid, ever-changing to the situation. It didn’t rely on strength and speed, but on controlling his opponent’s movements, by using her strength against her. It was amazing. And as more and more time passed, she tried to stop relying on her strength and instead tried tricking him into a position favorable to her. She never did manage it, of course; he was always just a breath away. What she in the beginning had believed was him barely evading her, she now realized was intentional; he never made a move that was more than what was required, evading only enough to be out of her reach, taunting her, forcing her to be better.

Both of them were covered in sweat, their breaths coming quicker, but both of them had wide grins on their faces as they enjoyed the challenge, and Anessa couldn’t help but compare this to her own training in the Shara Daim.

Her training had been nothing like this; it had been a painful ordeal, and it had never been restricted only the physical aspect of combat. Their trainings always included the Sha, as there was never a time when they were without it, not until now. Anessa now knew that Shara Daim hand-to-hand prowess was lacking. They had never had the need to train it; why would they, when they could just throw their opponents with the Sha or keep them frozen long enough to land a hit?

She had been trained since she was a small child, since her talent with the Sha was discovered, always taught that Shara Daim were superior. She knew that one day she would be the first among the Shara Daim, a Dai Sha. She had been trained in the use of the Sha, pushed to her physical limits countless times, and always she’d returned stronger from that edge. But now, she could feel herself getting better, without the physical pain, all the while doing something that she enjoyed—fighting a worthy and strong opponent. She did not remember the last time that she had felt such simple joy.

Anessa’s goal was to restrain her opponent, and by now she had gotten a feeling for his movements. She prepared to make her final move. While she now had a basic understanding of her opponent’s style, she was nowhere near proficient enough to mimic it. But she had other advantages. Over the course of their ‘fight,’ she had slowed her movements to match his speed, used less strength, giving him a false sense of security. She allowed him to dictate the tempo of their movements.

And then she suddenly changed it; she moved faster, changing the target of her attack mid-way through. Her palm slammed on his wrist and she grabbed with all her strength. For a moment, she was surprised that she managed it. The moment was enough that she lost her balance. She reached over and took his other hand in hers, and Adrian took advantage of it. He pulled his hands back, her own hands following; she tried to regain her balance by leaning her weight on her opponent, but in the end both of them fell to the floor with Anessa on top of Adrian.

Her weight pinned him to the floor, her hands still holding his. Both of them were breathing hard, and she could feel his muscles tremble, just as hers were, from the effort of their exercise. She looked into his eyes. They were not like the eyes of Shara Daim; he had a brown ring surrounding the black pupil, and the ring was surrounded by white tissue, unlike her eyes, which were a white ring surrounded by black tissue. Humans did not appear to have secondary eyelids, although the few Nel she had seen seemed to have them.

For a moment she gazed down at him. He was looking back at her with a grin on his face. It surprised her how similar they were, despite the differences. She’d caught him, and that single act made her feel extremely proud, especially since she knew that her opponent was much better than her in terms of fighting. She returned his grin with one of her own. They stayed like that, time lost to them as their breaths mingled, and then Anessa remembered where she was. Her grin disappeared and she stood quickly, taking a few steps away from her enemy.

Adrian remained on the floor for a moment, his smile frozen in a half grimace, and then she saw understanding in his eyes. His face settled into an emotionless mask and he stood.

“Well, I hope that this was an educational exercise,” he said. “I know that I have learned a lot.”

“Yes, I too have learned a lot,” Anessa said tersely. She had forgotten, lost herself in their dance. Her attraction to him was more than she had initially thought. They watched each other for a few moments, until the doors to the training room opened, interrupting them.

“Lord Sentinel?” the Nel said. “We couldn’t reach you on the comms; you are needed at the command center.” Five armed guards followed the Nel, probably there for Anessa.

Adrian turned to face him. “I shut them off, I’ll be right there.” He then turned to look back at Anessa. “The guards will escort you to your quarters,” he said expressionlessly, and started walking towards the exit.

Anessa followed behind as the guards took positions around her, still replaying the last hours in her head.

Adrian walked quickly, leaving the young Nel adjutant trying to keep up with his pace. He reflected on what had just happened. For a moment he had forgotten who she was, and what he was planning to do to her people. Had forgotten why he needed her. He was attracted to her, had been almost from the beginning, but as he spent more time with her, that attraction had grown. It had snuck up on him. He wouldn’t have called it love, or even affection, but she fascinated him.

She was strong, powerful… beautiful, and she sought the same things that Adrian did. It was not such a surprise to him that he had grown… interested in her, and if he read her right, she felt the same. It would not change his plans, and he doubted that it would change hers. Both of them were the type that could put their emotions aside and do what they believed to be right.