“Ow! Huh?”


    Algra outright snarled.


    “Wait! I’m with you. I’ve just never heard of the idea of a long-fight and a short-fight before. You’re saying I should stretch it out? Tire out the opponent?” He looked over Algra’s incredible physique. Tiring her out would probably take him several days.


    “No! The long-fight is taking into ount of yourself, your ground, your advantages and disadvantages. Then finding a way to use it all to put your enemy in the dirt.”


    “Well that’s what I’m doing!”


    “No, you are thinking of each punch, each kick, and each dodge. The short-fight. You are letting me set the speed, force you back into bad ground, and take all the advantages whilst you think about these things. The short-fight should not be where your mind is. Act. React. No thinking. Save your thoughts for winning the long-fight.”


    Gregory considered that advice and then finally brought himself to his feet.


    “So, any advice for fighting the short-fight without thinking about it?”


    “You already do. That is why it is so vexing that you do not.”


    Gregory tried to analyse that one but his brain wasn’t ying along.


    “What?”


    “When we first met. You beat me soundly.”


    “Yeah, but that’s because you were desperate, not thinking properly, and you didn’t think I knew how to fight at all.”


    “I was. You saw that. You saw I was too angry and I pressed too much, so when you hit back it was . . . unexpected. I fell. It was a good move.”


    “Well I was pretty shocked, so it was mostly just-”


    “Instinct?”


    Gregory nodded, beginning to understand what she was driving at.


    “When you beat the mad boy. That was instinct too.”


    “That wasn’t shock. That was out-and-out rage.”


    “Why do you think orcs use our anger in battle? It helps to keep our heads out of the short-fight. Let the rage and the power and the training carry that. Keep our brains on the long-fight.”


    “Well, when I lost it with Freddie, I wasn’t thinking about any long-fight. I was way too angry.”


    “Then find bnce.”


    He nodded and took a fighting stance to indicate he was ready. Normally he’d consider which stance to start out in based on his technique but he took Algra’s words into ount and just opted for something that felt good and solid. She let out a low growl of intent and thenunched into an attack. What did he have over her? She was a legendary warrior and he was basically a novice with very little actualbat experience. He studied her as he blocked two of her attacks and dodged the third. Instead of letting her push him back, he shifted to the side and countered. Algra blocked his strike but he hadn’t meant to really take any advantage. It wasn’t time yet. She was aggressive, agile, and incredibly fast. She was also probably stronger than he was. No advantages there. Wait, that wasn’t exactly true, was it? She liked to spend a lot of her time duringbat in the air. Her legs were always in use shifting around to deliver devastating kicks and leaping from one stance to another. That could work to his advantage.


    With a n in ce, he decided to use another of Algra’s weaknesses that had worked for him in the past. Low expectations. They both knew she was the better fighter and she’d gotten frustrated with him for not doing as he was told.


    So, he decided to not do as he was told.


    Her next blow made him shift back onto muddy ground, she pressed her advantage quickly and used hisck of mobility to deliver three hard strikes across his thigh, belly, and chest. That was fine, he was expecting them. They still hurt like hell, but it was a sacrifice for the long-fight. He used all the traction he could get to leap backwards and press his back against a tree. Algra growled with fury as he allowed her to easily take the favourable ground yet again and she leapt up to deliver a finishing kick to his stomach.


    Gregory saw iting. He’d pushed himself back to the tree on purpose. Using it as leverage to push himself off, he went straight for her as she spun in the air and delivered two open palmed blows to her side. The attack immediately unbnced Algra and though she managed to m her knee against his ribs, she didn’t get the full force of the blow and was instead forced to expend all her energy in finding her feet once again. Gregory was shoved backwards against the tree, but Algra managed tond on her feet and stay upright, though now it was her standing in the mud.


    “Better,” she approved. Then sheunched herself forwards again to continue the bout.


    Still hidden in the foliage, U grinned her approval.


    “He learns fast.”


    Ulf nodded his agreement. Though he wasn’t certain that it would be fast enough.


    “If he is well, then he should return to the pack,” Ulf noted.


    “Well if he’s as useful as he wasst time, we’re better off without him.”


    “That’s not the point, U. He has a duty now.”


    “The human is barely a week out of his sickbed, Ulf. And he looks to be training to fight rather than readying himself to run. Give him another week before telling g he’s ready to return.”


    The idea of letting the human have a holiday whilst the rest of the pack trained together hardly sat right with Ulf. He frowned at the decision and considered that Gregory didn’t seem the type to back down. U was right. He wasn’t going to run. Then, when she reached out and put her hand on Ulf’s shoulder, she made his decision easier.


    “He get’s a week. No more.” Ulf said.


    “Good, nowe. We must return. Let us leave the human to his fight.”


    They both heard the sudden sound of a loud thud and a low groan of pain before turning back to see Algra stood over Gregory who she’d just handily dumped into the mud, face first.


    “Maybe we should give him two weeks.” U suggested.


    Ulf let out a passive and unimpressed grunt before turning away to walk back to the camp.


    * * * * *


    Lydia heard the familiar noisesing from within the tent of the courtesans before she evenid eyes on it. As she moved closer, she could discern the familiar deep male grunts sounding out in rhythm with her friend’s almost melodic feminine moans. It did not take a mastermind to figure out what she was about to walk in on, and after knowing both of the suspected subjects for years it would certainly be weird to just drop in on them mid-coitus.Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.