VII. Training

Marille noticed two things in today's combat class. First one is Cray still continued to live up to his own hype, struggling against another of their classmates in a one-on-one spar for the third time this week. Second one is she could hear the girl seated beside her grit and grind her teeth despite their cheering classmates and through the sounds of dust and weaponry being used.

The leader of Team MACL looked to her left and to see Amber Solarys intensely watching the match happening. The teeth grinding or the glare she was aiming at the sparring students was not what concerned her. This was actually part of the regular routine to a certain extent. What got her attention was Amber's balled up hands shaking from her lap with her feet needlessly tapping on the floor.

Her head turned to the right where her partner, Lashe Sherwood, sat wordlessly. His gaze was straight and sharp towards the two dueling teenagers in front of him. The sound and physical reactions of his teammate didn't seem to bother him. It made her think that she's only concerned because she was their leader.

She thought it might be wise to get Amber's thoughts about what's gotten her tightly wound up. However...

"Dust damn it, duck and weave, know where they're swinging! You're giving us a bad name!"

...she couldn't contain herself any more.

Marille jumped from her seat to her partner's lap when her ear got suddenly assaulted. Before she could get properly embarrassed at her current place, Lashe merely took her by the shoulders, gently pushed her off his lap, and placed her back on her seat. She was barely able to express her thanks before her other teammate started shouting again.

"What are you doing, Cray!? Get in there and break their guard!" Amber had leaned past the railing as he voice reached her competing teammate. She was close to tipping over it, but Marille had reached and held one of her feet to avoid that from happening.

It made Marille wince, not just because Amber was shouting but because some of their surrounding classmates were starting to give them dirty looks. Not because she was being loud, but because she was distracting both fighters.

"Amber, can you please tone it down. The professor might send you out if you keep it up." Marille suggested.

"Like how he did three weeks ago?" She rolled her eyes.

"That and having to fill five pages all by yourself." Her team leader reminded him.

The memory of having to write an essay about efficient combat tactics made her groan. It took her an entire day of looking at books and trying to put it in long enough sentences to fill space made her want to drive her head through her desk. What made it worse was she was not allowed to have no help. Doing that again is currently sitting on her 'never to do again' list.

"Fine," Amber raised her hands in surrender and finally sank back to her previous spot beside her. She then continued with a sigh. "I just can't help it. You know how that guy is."

Both of them peered over to the ongoing spar and see that he's stuck in a clash against the other student's thief swords. Cray got kicked in the gut and was overwhelmed in the clash, being knocked down on his back and forced on the defensive. His Aura meter took a hit from that attack, putting him in the yellow while his opponent was still in the green. He rolled away from an attempted finishing strike as he tried to plan another approach.

"I'd be here sitting quietly if he wasn't constantly bragging to us that he's better than all of us and do THAT." Amber pointed at the action happening in front of them.

Marille would have agreed because it was true. Cray's confident tendencies tend to...exaggerate his skill. "He's trying his best." Yet she tried to defend him nonetheless. Leaders should believe in their teammates whatever their attitude is.

That got Amber to scoff. Then she spotted her teammate being disarmed and scrambling to evade any attacks coming his way. Cray found himself slipping behind his opponent, wrapping his arms around their body and arms to prevent any more attacks. It resulted in an awkward struggle between the two that both girls found embarrassing to watch while their other male teammate kept his gaze unwavering despite what he saw.

"If it doesn't work on an Ursa, it doesn't work in the arena! C'mon Drillbit, get that in your head!" She yelled once again and this time she got shushed by their refereeing professor.

"One more outburst like that Solarys, and you're gonna spend the next week outside the amphitheater working on another essay!" He warned her. Good thing he didn't notice her growl as she sank to her seat again.

"My mentor wouldn't even let that guy touch a weapon with that kind of skill..." Amber mumbled to herself, nodding at the direction of her partner.

"Mentor?" Marille can't help but repeat. This was the first time she heard Amber mention this part of her past. When it comes to the smaller girl, they frequently talk about their battles as well as some strategy when it comes to approaching Grimm. Any personal history is usually mentioned casually and never elaborated on. That would be changed today.

Amber picked up on Marille's curiosity and nodded. "Definitely! He didn't let me touch a weapon until I knew how to fight with just my hands." She did a few fast punches in front of her and grinned. "Then he made me fight Grimm without weapons until I could do it competently."

"Dangerous." Lashe commented whilst keeping his eyes forward.

"Yeah! That sounds less like a lesson and more like a punishment!" Amber noticed how alarmed her leader is regarding this reveal in her former training regimen.

She waved her hands defensively. "Oh nothing like that! It was actually fun."

The usage of the word 'fun' with the same thought of wrangling with live Creatures of Grimm made Marille question it more, whether it was the mentor's type of lessons or Amber's own definition of 'fun'. Her confusion was clearly evident from Amber's position while Lashe kept mum about it as he focused elsewhere so his face wouldn't give himself away. However, the smaller girl tipped the small hat on her head and was determined to paint her mentor in a better light.

"Look it wasn't all that bad. Our teachers here are even weirder than him." That had Marille nodding in agreement. It's easier to count the teachers who were normal than those who weren't. "He's drilled a lot of his sayings into my head, like that last one I sent Cray's way. If it weren't for him you guys wouldn't have lil' ol' me as the way I am today. That reminds me on how that one lesson went when I was younger and just learning..."

- MACL -

Back when I was just starting off, I really wanted to get my hands on any weapon that's in front of me. it can be anything! Swords, maces, axes, with or without any gun modifications, as long as I can hold it in my hand I wanted to use it. But old man Solarys basically said no and would swat at my hands every time I went for a weapon.

He used to tell me the importance of learning how to fight without any weapons, that there will be a time that hunters and huntresses don't have the luxury of being armed in every encounter or you'd be disarmed and forced to fight. You're gonna have to fight with just skill, strength, and brains. And I didn't have any of that except energy and enthusiasm. I had no problem with training my plain fisticuffs skill.

So he showed me some clips of hunters and huntresses fighting without their weapons, whether it was out in the wild or competing in tournaments. He says I can learn a bunch from watching these fights. Now I like me some hunters duking it out in sanctioned fights like the Mistral Tournaments and the Vytal Festivals. One on ones, team fights, specialty matches, all out rumbles! They always get my attention whenever I see it on TV.

The particular clip we watched before going out was this match with two dueling hunters of different styles. First is The Dragon, and yes that's the name he's known for. He goes around in spandex tights, has a face full of beard, and fights with just his quickness, technical skill, and bare hands. His opponent looked more like he belonged in a castle in some kid's fairy tales. Even his name, Olivier Gainsboro, sounded like it. But he did swing a good fire sword. No gun version since his 'lineage' believe in pure bladed weaponry, whatever that means.

Anyway, Solarys lectured me while we watched this match, pointing out possible techniques while The Dragon would slip into Gainsboro's defenses after dodging a lot of his combination attacks and when he would break his guard with precise strikes.

"Momentum has no loyalty, anyone can use it. Just make sure you can use it better than your enemy." He said after The Dragon utilized his enemy's momentum against him.

He did notice some good points for Gainsboro's tactics, using some unconventional ploys to get the advantage over The Dragon. Any hits he scored on the technical grappler would have seared any Grimm his sword touches, but it seemed his Aura was stronger than his small frame let on.

"The Grimm don't fight fair. Most of them operate on pure instinct. Go for everything you can until you get called out." He told me. Sure he has a point since the Grimm can't be bitter about sportsmanship, but I've never done anything that low in a sanctioned fight or in a spar.

When he wasn't telling me techniques or pointing out flaws in the competitors' approach and how he would do it better, we would be sitting there in silence and just watching the match. I knew I enjoyed it because I was pretty much doing whatever the hell The Dragon was doing, jumping around and attacking the air like kid my age would when they see the hypest fight ever. What I didn't notice was old man Solarys leaning back and looking like he was actually relaxing and enjoying what we were watching. Man's always tense and focused on training if we're not going from point A to point B. Picture me surprised when he ended up cheering with me when The Dragon overpowered his opponent by putting his arms around him and throwing him over his head. He then made Gainsboro surrender with this unique hold that nearly broke his arm, and that was when the knight dude still had half his Aura! We watched much more tournament fights casually soon after.

The next day, we were walking through some forests to start our early morning training, yoyu know, just blazing through a trail until we're sweating. Well, at least until I was. He looks like he barely broke a sweat after my little legs started to shake at an hour. We'd been at this regiment for close to a few months so by then I've been able to stand afterwards.

What we didn't expect was finding a group of Ursas patrolling by the trail.

Solarys holds me back as he takes both of his axes into his hands, instantly ready before it could even lay its eyes on us. The first Ursa was the traditional one anyone would see in books, big, burly, and claws that could cut through any Aura-less person like butter. Behind it there were like three smaller Ursas...Ursae...? Whatever. They were like a third as big as the first one, but they still towered over me if it stood on their hind legs if they weren't growling behind their pack leader.

"I can take them on!" I confidently declared and pointed at the big one, stepping up to the plate right after my target roared at us. Solarys, on the other hand, disagreed and pulled me back by my ear. That was one of the things I'm not gonna miss now that I'm not training with him.

He disagreed, brandishing his axes and was already staring a hole at the big Ursa, probably painting a bullseye on its face. "You're not ready for the big time just yet." But he did point his axes at the smaller ones. "You can try the small fry though, small fry."

I pouted at being redirected to the smaller Ursa at the back of the pack. I knew I could take them, pummel them to the ground or at least beat them even without any weapon. I was probably TOO eager to prove that, and I might've died then if I just jumped in there, but Solarys knew I wasn't ready. So I watched him drive the larger Ursa back, dividing the pack from its smaller brethren. One of the smaller Ursa followed him though, it probably thought it'd have the others follow its lead so they can overpower my mentor.

But nope! It was too distracted to see me come in with a dropkick where the back of its head was. The other one growled and lunged to avenge its victimized brethren. I rolled out of the way until I had a tree behind me, preventing a scenario where I'd get flanked after I dodged.

"Alright, first hit! Which one of 'ya wants another taste of my boot!?" I yelled at the two. My gesture for them to come at me was met with an eager charge from both monsters. I circled around the tree behind me and felt it shake against my back, the sound of two heads bonking together made me chuckle. The sight of two claws coming around the tree didn't look fun though so I went on the move to escape being cut up.

Looking back on that whole impromptu fight, I thought I was doing well. Weaving left and right, punching the Ursai when I can in the face or in their bellies when they leave it open, sliding under them when they get too excited in their lunges. But what Solarys didn't teach me at that point was being too cocky. Get in too many hits and it gets to your head. That's exactly what happened when I got both of them on the ropes.

When you're too busy proving a point, it gets to 'ya and it makes you wide open for a sneak attack. My eyes were focused on the two smaller Ursa when I should've paid attention to my environment. That's why I didn't see the third one come back and slash at my back.

Thank Dust my Aura covered for me, but I could still remember how painful Ursa claws to the back were when you're just a kid. Being younger meant you take in the lessons you get, painful or fun they may be in the end. That was the first one that hurt like hell. I could still even feel my back ache just from thinking about it.

The damage was already done and I'd been overpowered. All three of them looked down on me with hungry eyes ready to chow down on the poor human kid who thought she could fight them on by herself. My last gasp came from a lousy punch to the nearest one. It hit it right in the snout and it recoiled in pain just as I was about to scramble for an escape, but one of them jumped right in front of me to stop that right away.

I would've been dead if Solarys didn't send the pack leader flying at its two subordinates, wiping them out and sent them through a few trees. The Ursa in front of me was too surprised to see the axe get thrown into his gut. It didn't have time to register when Solarys lunged and sliced its head off.

Its body fell down and black wisps started to escape it as my mentor helped me up. "You're reckless, kid. Didn't I tell you to always pay attention to your environment? It's sometimes the small things we see or don't see that can make or break a fight."

"Sorry..." I apologized as I let my hand feel the spots I'd gotten cut. My Aura was starting to close up the wounds so I didn't need to worry about that. However, we still had two more Ursai to take care of.

Solarys walked forward, putting his axes away on his back as he approached the Ursai trying to get up. "Here's another lesson. There's certain things I believe one can do in a fight that and it can be determined by a simple process. A Litmus test that would prove effective for fighting people and Grimm." One of the Ursa had recovered enough and saw the man going at it. It saw my mentor as a target and attacked him, but it didn't know it was being used to prove a point. "Listen carefully, Amber, and remember this…"

He ducked under a massive swipe and executed this combo on the Grimm, hammering it with just his fists and feet. I stood there and looked in awe, the student taking in what the master was executing right in front of her. Even the other Ursa can't help but stare. He landed with one last spinning kick in its face, stunning the Ursa long enough to slip behind it and lock his arms around its torso. With a mighty yell, Solarys lifted the Grimm off its feet in a feat of strength until it went over his head. The old man kept his arms locked with his back arched and bridged during his throw. The Grimm's head impacted against the ground with a crack.

My mentor released the now disintegrating body and kipped up to his feet. With a grin and a thumbs up, he proudly proclaimed one of lessons that stuck with me. "If it doesn't work on an Ursa, it won't work in the arena!"

- MACL -

"Oh man, I was pumped up after seeing what he did! Then I wiped the floor with that last Ursa and actually threw it into a tree and snapped its neck. I was going for that suplex old man Solarys did, but I got too excited and wasn't able to lock my arms right. But it was a good throw nonetheless!" Amber concluded her story, the memory of her lessons with her mentor put a big grin on her face as she recalled that specific time of her life.

Marille and Lashe exchanged looks with the shared sentiment about Amber's past training. It was rough that she had to fight weaponless at first. Her mentor is right in a way that one would need to be ready to fight without any form of defenses ready but your fists and feet. Still that doesn't sound like a good entry point in training. But she can admit one thing though.

"You're right. That sounds a lot normal than most of our teachers here." Marille admitted, prompting a proud nod from the girl.

"Crazy," Lashe would have gotten away with that remark if it wasn't for his partner getting used to his low voice. That got him a sharp nudge from her elbow.

"True. He says a lot of tips like that and a lot of people think he's crazy, but I think he's more awesome because of it." She defended her mentor. "Not everyone can be normal. Sometimes you gotta stand out from the rest, and he sure stood out a lot."

Marille thought the glimpse Amber gave her with that one lesson made her think that Solarys' methods were unconventional, however, not all teachers have the same methods of teaching their students and Solarys obviously taught his lessons his way. She could tell that his influence definitely molded Amber into the tough girl she is now. Perhaps that is how she should judge the effectiveness of her mentor.

"He sounds like an incredible man and a great mentor." Marille said once her smaller teammate had calmed down.

Amber looks forward into the arena at the match ahead now approaching its last moments, her grin giving way to a wistful smile. "Yeah. He sure was."

A/N: There you have it, a short one-shot done that explores a bit of Amber's background. If you guys know what I follow and watch in my free time, you might notice some references to a certain person. They are the reason why I made this chapter. Anyway, that will be it for now. I should get back to writing more OLaF.