Orphan 6
“You’re here early, Hunt.”
SoYa’s cheerful voice seeped into the quiet depths of KiNa’s slumber. The boy shook himself awake, at first not remembering his appointment with the Ingway. The creature’s voice took care of that, though.
“Here to train. Where is SnoopyTu?”
Train? Oh! That’s right! Today is…
The boy scuttled out of bed, quickly grabbing his clothes. The last thing he wanted the Ingway to think was that he was a lazy good-for-nothing who was easily pushed around on the training field.
“I haven’t seen him yet, Hunt,” SoYa said, unfortunately painting the wrong picture.
“I told him first thing,” the Ingway grunted. “Cannot train if no disci—”
KiNa burst into the room, tucking his shirt in his trousers. “Hunt! There you are! What took you so long? I’ve been waiting all morning!”
Both mind mage and Ingway paused to look at him. The boy didn’t know if his ruse worked, but Hunt said nothing more. Just flicked his tail.
SoYa smiled and handed him a breakfast roll, “Well, in all that time, you could have run a brush through your hair, yes?”
The boy blinked, shoving the roll in his mouth and raking through his hair with his fingers.
Hunt looked on with a curled lip, “Is this grooming behavior of your people?”
“Not usually,” the mind mage grinned wider. “Young ones sometimes need a bit more encouragement, though.”
“Kits not seen public with frizzfur,” the Ingway muttered critically. Then his eyes flicked to the boy before walking out the door, “Eat fast. Meet Hunt outside.”
KiNa sighed, trying to wolf down his food and drink at the same time.
“Don’t worry,” SoYa encouraged. “It’s always the hardest at the beginning. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Says you,” the boy sighed again. “You don’t have to deal with the beastie.”
“He’s not so bad. Just get to know him,” the man offered, gathering up his traveling sack. He was heading to the Manor.
“I’ll try,” KiNa gave a dubious frown.
When he finally walked out of the house, SoYa followed, slinging his pack over one shoulder. The man squinted through the sunlight towards where the Ingway knelt.
“I have another half-day of instruction, but I plan on coming back after lunch,” SoYa said. “Try to keep KiNa in one piece if you can, Hunt. I want to introduce him to some magic theories later. I can’t do that if he doesn’t have all his limbs intact.”
“That up to him,” Hunt rose slowly, peering over his shoulder.
“Be gentle,” the man answered. “He’s just a boy and he’s a long way from home.”
The Ingway turned away for a moment, then nodded.
“Do your best,” SoYa encouraged him before heading off down the path.
KiNa watched the man disappearing with a sinking feeling. Now he was alone and at the mercy of the beastie.
Hunt wasted no time, striding across the glade, “You have staff?”
The boy straightened for a moment, blinking. Then he realized what Hunt wanted. “Oh! That! Yes, hold on!”
He scurried back into the house, grabbing the small wooden staff the Ingway gave to SoYa the night before. Then he scurried back outside, showing it to Hunt.
“Let me see it,” the Ingway reached for the staff. The boy obligingly gave it to him.
It came faster than he could see, the butt of the staff rapping sharply against his shoulder. The boy gave a yelp from surprise more than pain. It only stung, but he didn’t expect the Ingway to hit him.
“What was that for?” KiNa demanded.
“Two lessons,” Hunt told him. “One. Always have weapon ready for practice.”
The boy paused, waiting. Finally, he asked, “What’s number two?”
The Ingway gave a smirk, giving the staff back to the boy. “Don’t hand weapon to opponent unless want to get hit.”
“Very funny,” KiNa scowled and blew his hair out of his face. “Now are you going to actually teach me something useful?”
“If learn those two, learn something useful already,” Hunt told him. “Now. Hit back.”
The boy froze, staring at the Ingway in disbelief. “What?”
“Hit back,” he repeated.
“You mean hit you? With this?”
Hunt nodded, “Hit me. I want to see how you swing.”
“But…” the boy hesitated.
“Have permission,” the Ingway made taunting motions with his claws. “Come. Come. See if you can hit me.”
He’s as big as a tree. How could I miss?
Gritting his teeth, KiNa gripped the staff near one end and lifted it in both his hands. Then with a sharp swing, he swept it around in front of him, expecting the worst. The staff whistled through the air, but didn’t hit anything. He wouldn’t know if it did, though, having clamped his eyes shut halfway through.
Hunt stood calmly, just outside the range of the staff. “Is best you can do?”
“I missed?” the boy blinked.
“By many-a-mile,” the Ingway gave a cattish grin. “Try again. This time, keep eyes open.”
KiNa frowned, dug his heels into the ground and did as Hunt prompted, swinging at the Ingway as hard as he could. He forced his eyes to remain open, but saw nothing except a blur of fur as the creature deftly dodged his strike.
“Whoa! How did you do that?” the boy boggled.
“Am fast,” Hunt told him, looking smug.
“Yeah, you are… for being so big.”
“Not big,” the Ingway sniffed. “You just tiny.”
“I’m not tiny!” KiNa protested, motioning around with his staff. “I’m the right height for my age!”
Another lightning fast motion. The Ingway snatched the staff from his hand and gave him a sharp rap on the other shoulder.
“OW!”
“Nother lesson,” Hunt told him with a serious face.
“Whaaaaat?” KiNa whined, rubbing his shoulder.
“When practice and fight, stay focused,” the Ingway said. “Enemy say things. Do things. Anything to make you drop guard. Don’t listen. Don’t be frustrated. Don’t let emotion in the way.”
The boy opened his mouth, trying to think of a retort. It was sound advice, he decided, and much more serious than he expected from an impromptu training session.
“You make it sound like I’m going out to fight on a battlefield,” KiNa grumbled, taking the staff back from the creature.
“Can never tell. Must be ready… always enemies and bad things in world,” Hunt advised.
“Not everyone is,” the boy pointed out.
“True,” the creature tapped his head. “Use special power to determine. Then follow through.”
“I don’t have special power,” KiNa pouted a bit.
“SoYa said so.”
“He thinks so. But I don’t know. It’s just something I’ve always been able to do,” the boy frowned, digging the butt of the staff into the dirt.
“And make the Stone-glow?”
“I don’t know what that was. I told you. I’ve never even seen a Stone like that before,” he jabbed the staff against the ground to accent his words.
One large paw reached out, covering the boy’s hand to stop the motion. Instantly, KiNa grasped the staff more tightly, determined not to lose it to the Ingway again.
Hunt smiled, “Learn quickly. Was not going to take, though.”
“What do you mean?” KiNa narrowed his eyes.
“Weapon only care for you as much as you care for it,” the creature pointed at where the butt of the staff marked a spot in the mud.
“Huh?”
“Respect weapon,” Hunt told him. The instruction was somewhat softer this time. More teacherly. If that was a word.
“Sorry,” KiNa said, abashed. He turned the staff over and wiped the dirt off the wood to prove that he meant it.
The Ingway nodded. Then he murmured, “SoYa may be right about you. My people curious about Stone-glow. Not see many times before. I teach so you keep self safe. You learn to keep self safe. Understand?”
“I understand. And I’ll try,” the boy looked at the staff in his hands. “I’m just not very good at things like this.”
“No one good at things to start with. Take practice. Time. Effort,” Hunt told him.
“Even you?”
The Ingway nodded, “Practice every day. Lots of effort. Even Hunt must learn and get better.”
“I guess,” KiNa leaned his head to one side. “It’s just very different here from the city.”
“Do you miss?”
“The city?” the boy asked.
Hunt nodded.
“Yes,” KiNa answered at first. Then after a moment of thought, “No. I don’t know. Not all that much, really. Things are a lot better here. I just worry that SoYa expects me to be something that I can’t be.”
“Doubt,” the Ingway answered. “SoYa knows who you are. He knows each of us, maybe senses more than we know ourselves.”
“You think so?” the boy blinked up.
“I do,” Hunt nodded again. “He not say much, but he powerful with the mind. He bring changes here, to my people. I believe he bring changes to your people, too.”
KiNa thought about it for a long moment. SoYa seemed so unlikely, especially on first glance. But once you got to know him, you realized how much there was under the casual, laid back exterior. There was a sort of wisdom. A relentless drive to learn and know and understand. A compassion and courage. Things that drew the boy to him. Things that the man maybe couldn’t see in himself because he was always looking at others.
“Do you think I can help him?” the boy finally asked.
“Mayhaps,” Hunt looked over. “He brought you here to be student. I think he want someone to learn and work with him.”
“Really? Me?”
The Ingway nodded, “That start somewhere. That start here. With this.”
The creature reached out and carefully rearranged the boy’s hands on the wood staff.
“What are you doing?” KiNa asked.
“You hold it wrong. Won’t do much for you like this,” Hunt told him. “Put hand here and here.”
This time, the boy watched and studied the creature’s input. It felt like the start of something important. KiNa just didn’t know what. The Ingway was right. He needed to learn these things if he was ever going to help SoYa.
“Now,” Hunt took a step back. “Keep eyes open. Right on me. Try again to hit.”
KiNa took a deep breath and swung.