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Jade and Amethyst (Chapter 3)

By

3669AD and BlazeLucivar

She gasped, jerking back an instant too late. She slid into a low stance that should allow her to move quickly in any direction. It was definitely a much different stance than Alaric's. His body was loose, without tension, his left hand was up, six inches from his face. His right hand was down, six inches from his solar plexus. His eyes were alert to her entire body, constantly seeking out each individual limb to see what they were doing. "Come at me, and see . . ." Giada nodded and sprang from her stance, aiming a right-handed punch at his abdomen. Alaric watched as Giada shifted her stance slightly, the muscles in her legs coiling as she prepared for her lunge. Her right shoulder, which she most likely was unable to perceive as moving, moved with her torso to roll forward and strike out toward his midsection. All of this happened in less than five seconds, but to Alaric it may as well have been five minutes. His right hand, down by his solar plexus, snaked out and grabbed her wrist, the muscles in his forearm bunching as his hand wrapped around her limb. He sidestepped and allowed her momentum to carry her forward, but he did not let go of her. He whirled her round to face him once again and then let go. Instinctively, Giada's body tensed at the pressure on her wrist when Alaric grabbed her, but her momentum was too much to simply stop. She let herself move with the motion and stumbled a couple steps when he let go, but she quickly regained her balance and slid back into her earlier stance. "Do you see?" he asked her as he took up his stance once again. "Again." Giada nodded and tried again, shifting her weight lightly between her feet before springing at Alaric. As before, she aimed a punch at his abdomen with her right hand, but instead of following through, she stopped the strike sharply and brought her left leg around in a kick aimed for his hip. She shifted on her supporting leg, turning into the kick and twisting her hip so the top of her foot would connect rather than the side. To a certain point, her attack was the same. His right hand began to go after hers, but his amethyst eyes picked up her right foot landing and the movement of her left leg coming up. In that instant, Alaric's right arm bolted out to grab the upper thigh of her left leg and he leaned forward, his left hand slipping behind her to rest on her back. He pushed her down to the ground gently so as not to hurt her and smiled. "That was better," he said before standing, pulling her up with him. "Improvisation is important in any fight. After all, if you stick to the training, anyone who has taken the time to learn your style will know how to react." He took up his stance once more. "Again." She gasped at the pleasant shock his hand on her thigh sent through her, but she tried to ignore it and concentrate on training. They continued training in this way until the sun had sunk below the horizon. Of course, being in an underground cavern, Giada had no way of knowing night had fallen. She only knew she was more exhausted than any day of diving or instructing the children of her village had ever made her. During the training, Alaric's adrenaline had been running high, and his hard penis had pressed against Giada's body. He continued with the training as though it were the most natural thing in the world, which, to him, it was. She seemed to do well enough, even after claiming she would be distracted by his nakedness. She had given him a better workout than he had had in almost seventy years, when he had to take part in the war. "I look forward to training you again." In truth, she had most definitely noticed what was happening with Alaric's lower half, but she'd put it out of her mind, realizing it was better to focus on staying on her feet than on that one part of him. She smiled. "Thank you. I look forward to it as well." A few weeks went by, and she came by about two days a week for training. He would have rather she came by four or more, but he understood her responsibilities, and he continued to keep the training on an as-able basis. Despite how little she came by, she was learning quickly, and he was glad for this. Yes, Giada was learning quickly, and she was as glad for it as Alaric. However, as her combat skills grew, so did something else. She was starting to develop feelings for him beyond their master/apprentice relationship, and she wasn't sure how to deal with those feelings. Sure, she'd been attracted to others before, but those were almost completely different situations. The dragon awoke late in the morning, near noon, and went out of his cave to go and eat. When he got out into the open air, he noticed the sounds of children playing on the beach near his lair. He was glad he chose to come out in his true form. He took flight and lit in the ocean, near the shore so he might speak with Giada. Giada was watching the children playing in the water or making constructs in the sand and saw the dragon plunge into the water, sending a larger wave toward the shore. The children who were caught by the wave laughed and turned toward the shore as they were carried toward it. "Giada, I wanted you to know that I am proud of how far you have come in your training." Giada smiled. "Thank you, Alaric. I've always been a quick learner, but I'm actually a bit surprised at how much I've learned from you within the past few weeks. I have to thank you for that." A couple children screamed as they finally realized what had caused the wave only moments ago. Giada turned and called to them. "It's all right, children. There's no need to fear." "I must admit, though, that if I had decided not to teach you, the style would have died out. Nobody has used it for nearly five hundred years. So it is you whom I should be thanking." He looked around at the children and smiled his toothy, draconian smile. "Are the younglings benefitting from the additional training of their master?" The children trusted Giada and saw that she was talking to the dragon calmly enough, so they went back to their fun. Giada smiled at Alaric again. "Yes, the children are benefitting greatly." "I am pleased. I must eat now, but I will be at home later, if you wish to visit." "Well, since you've invited me I certainly can't refuse," Giada smiled. "You could, but it would be slightly rude. I will see you later in the day, then," he said before walking into the ocean and diving down to catch his breakfast. A few minutes later, Giada heard one of the children scream, "Giada! Giada!" Giada whirled, and the child pointed frantically out at the waves, where a small form could be seen floundering too far from the shore. "Nashita!" Giada ran and dove into the water, striking out strongly for the girl, but the undertow had caught the child and was carrying her farther away. Giada wasn't getting close fast enough. The aural conductivity of the water plus his own sensitive ears allowed him to hear Giada screaming. He recognized the name, it was the little girl whom he had met during his visit to her village. Once he had spotted the little girl, Alaric flapped his mighty wings, which propelled him full speed through the currents, even stopping the movement of the ocean momentarily. He caught the girl in his mouth as gently as he could and swam to the shore, depositing the girl on the beach. Giada saw Alaric rescue the girl and let out a breath of relief. She swam back to shore and knelt beside the child, who was coughing and gasping. Giada turned Nashita onto her side so she could spit up the seawater she'd swallowed. "Thank you, Alaric," she said, looking up at the dragon. "She would have drowned if you hadn't gotten to her. I wouldn't have gotten there in time. Thank you." It showed in her voice how much she cared for the little girl. Alaric nodded his massive head and walked up onto land, making sure not to step on anyone. He took off and flew around for awhile, enjoying the midday sun on his amethyst scales. "Sissy," Nashita whimpered, clutching at Giada's dress and burying her face in her lap, weeping. Giada pulled the little girl close and whispered soothingly. "Shh, Nashita. It's all right. You're safe now. You're safe now." Nashita must have been terrified. She rarely ever called Giada "sissy" unless she was extremely upset. "It's all right, Sissy's here, sweetie. It's all right, Nashita." Giada looked up as she held her sister, watching Alaric flying above and marveling at the beauty of such a creature as the dragon.