The Learning Twist [Closed]

[Breaker]

The Fallieni woman struggled a moment longer and then settled into stillness as Breaker re-tightened his grip. They lay together in an oddly intimate embrace atop the ice floe, him controlling her entire body. Their breath formed a single cloud of mist in the air as their faces came close together.

“You do not respect me as an opponent,” she hissed, eyeing him venemosly. “If you thought there was any chance I could overcome you, you would finish me.”

“I know you have a chance to overcome me,” Breaker said warily, “that’s why I’m being so careful. That’s why I desire your friendship. You could benefit greatly from my support. I am well versed in the ways of this land, I am wealthy, and I can teach you to fight better than you ever imagined. Now be quiet, and watch for the mist cloud.”

They careened down the frigid river, his large body wrapped around her smaller one, his smile mere inches from her scowl.

“This is not a proper way to finish a fight,” the tiny dancer growled. “If you will not finish me, let me stand so I may finish you. It is the purpose of the Citadel’s magic. It is my destiny to kill many warriors in these enchanted chambers.”

“Well you won’t be killing me,” Josh said almost apologetically. “But if you let me teach you, I can promise you you’ll never lose a battle here. You have the potential to become one of the greatest warriors in the history of Althanas. I saw it in your movement, and your magic. But you must sacrifice your pride, and submit to me as your teacher. You must take the teachings of your people for what they are… the mere first step on a great adventure. You must be wide eyed and empty minded, ready to learn anything new I may teach.”

“And what are you teaching me now?” She cooed, eyes suddenly soft as they gazed into his. “How to lay with a man? I know that dance as well as any other.” She gyrated her hips within his hold and leaned her face closer. “Come let me kiss you…”

Breaker made as if to comply, and then pulled back as she attempted to bit him. Her teeth clicked together audibly over the sound of the raging rapids, and anger shone in her eyes once more.

“I’ve fought better seductresses than you,” he chuckled, “and I won’t fall for that again. Is there nothing I can say that will calm you, and convince you my intentions are true?”

Her eyes bored into him for a moment, and then softened in a different way, swollen by a slim ray of wonder.

“How did you complete Suravani’s Trial?” She asked, as if she were trying to figure him out like a puzzle. “They say you did not even take a waterskin with you.”

“I can summon and control water to my will,” Josh told her freely. He felt a moment of elation. Perhaps he’d found a crack in the woman’s resolve to loathe him. “And I can run very fast, for days on end when necessary. Suravani’s Trial would not have even been that difficult, if not for the adventure I’d got swept up in part way through it.”

“What happened?” The dancer asked, eyes wide. She finally stopped struggling.

“A griffin flew me over the sea to Hybrid Isle.”