Chapter 23: You’ll Be Fine...
John's meeting with the Heda went over pretty well. Due to my stressed order of showing her respect as well as being so cooperative, Lexa had taken a liking to John. He had provided us with some very useful inside information on the Skaikru that Lincoln was unable to provide. Hopefully, Lincoln has made some leeway with the Skaikru girl. We haven't received any new information on that front yet, but it will come soon, I suspect.
My new second has informed us that currently there are two individuals leading the camp, one Bellamy Blake and a Clarke Griffin. Apparently, Clarke is the daughter of The Ark's head doctor. We could potentially take advantage of that information should the need arise. Bellamy Blake however, is a wild card at the moment. A thing to note though is that he is the only individual on The Ark or ground belonging to Skaikru with a sibling. Whether or not that information can be used against them is currently undecided though.
The next day, I arrived at John's newly assigned quarters just as I had promised. He was given a room that was located a little ways down the hallway from my own, to keep him close. Knocking on the door, I received no answer. I started to feel like he made a run for it but those thoughts quickly left my head. He was untrained and loud, there was no way he would have made it out of the tower let alone the city. Making my way into his quarters, I stalk towards his room. Once inside his bedroom I see him sleeping soundly on his bed.
Seeing him dead asleep, I smirked evilly to myself as an idea slithered it's way into my head. Quickly heading back to my quarters I fill a large bucket with cold water. Using man powered pumps, running water was easily accessible throughout the tower. The only issue that was yet to be figured out was how to effectively heat that water. At ground level, the water was heated via fire and was then carried up to our quarters by servants so we could take warm baths. It wasn't exactly the most ideal, but it worked.
Making my way back to John's room, I dumped the water on top of his sleeping form. With him waking as a sputtering and flailing mess, I made my presence known. "Rise and shine sunshine, you've got some bruises to collect!"
Finally collecting himself after his wake up call, John looked at me like I was crazy before groaning as if he was in pain. "Get dressed in the training gear I gave you last night and meet me in the hallway, you've got five minutes." I command, sweeping out of his room without another word.
I knew that he wouldn't be awake on time the first morning, it will take a few days before he is adequately fixed to the new schedule. While John was getting ready, I thought over what I wanted to accomplish with him today. It is his first day of training and so it is the most important. Whatever I do today will set the pace for the rest of his training, until he becomes proficient in what I teach that is.
Today John would be picking out his weapon. Even though my weapon of choice is a spear, I am very proficient with other weapons such as swords, knives, and many others. Being in the position that I am, I need to be deadly on multiple fronts. That was one of the reasons that Lexa and I use different weapons to spar, rather than use our usual weapons of choice.
Once John picked his weapon, I would go over all of the best forms and techniques to use when training. I didn't expect him to be a natural or even all that good for the first week or two, but I will not give up. Even when he finally impresses me with whatever progress he makes, I will push him further.
Stepping out of his quarters, John looks exhausted. He had large bags under his eyes and his hair was bed ridden. Releasing a rather loud yawn, he raises his hand to greet me. "Are you ready?" I ask, annoyed at having to wait on him.
"Yes. Ready to learn how to kick ass." He answers confidently as we head towards the training area. Honestly, I was kind of excited myself. I finally get to train someone the way that Matthew trained myself. I finally get to teach someone other than Lexa my techniques, and how to be a true warrior. Just the thought alone was enough to bring a smile to my face.
Once we arrived at the training grounds, I looked to my left and saw John slack jawed. He was staring at the training nightblood in a kind of awe. I'm not really surprised at his reaction, there was definitely training and fighting like this on The Ark or back at his camp.
"Am I going to learn how to fight like that?" He inquires, staring at two nightblood sparring with a pair of dull swords. I grimaced when I looked at who he was watching.
The two nightblood that John was watching were a couple of the more less talented members of the new group. I could see how John was impressed by them though. He was untrained, and unfamiliar with our type of fighting style. I shook my head at the thought of my second fighting like a bunch of flailing children. Under my watch he would be a very talented warrior, I'd make sure of it.
"Definitely not." I said indignantly, drop kicking whatever dreams John was currently building up in his head. "You will be better."
With those words I set the bar for John. As my second, he would be protecting the Heda and that meant he would need to fight as one of the best. I could see the determination growing within his eyes the more time that I spent around him. I knew he wouldn't let me down.
"Where are we starting first?" John asked me, eager to formally begin his training. I looked at him as if saying, 'Isn't it obvious?'
"We are going to pick your weapon of course. Well, you are going to be picking your weapon." I reveal as if I was revealing a grand surprise.
Following me over to the weapons stand on the far side of the training grounds, John would stare at every training nightblood we passed. It was similar to how an infant looks around every time he enters a new area. If this was his reaction to how a bunch of children fight then I was eagerly waiting for his reaction for when Lexa and I would spar.
Once we reached the weapons, John started to rub his hands together excitedly. He was looking over each weapon critically. One by one he would pick a weapon up and examine it intently before he would try a few practice swings with it. For a second I almost thought that he would choose a particularly nasty looking axe, but he eventually decided on a simple single handed sword.
Picking up his sword, John formed a rather wide smile, it seemed to suit him well. The sword that he picked out was quite simple in design and lacked any extravagance. It looked to be forged to look similar to how the ancient Roman Gladius looked. The main difference that I could point out was the blade itself. The blade of his sword was slightly curved for slashing rather than stabbing and had a serrated edge on the back, while the Roman Gladius was a more straight edge for hacking and stabbing.
Nodding at his choice of weaponry, I grabbed a random sword from the rack and then I led him towards an isolated corner of the training grounds. There, I could show him how to hold it in combat, how to block with it, how to attack with it, and how to parry.
After about two hours of basic instruction and practice, I figured it was time to far a small spar so he could try what I had taught him on an actual opponent. Standing across the sparring circle John didn't look as confident as he did a second ago. He had taken to what I had shown him like a fish to water, but he knew that I wasn't someone that would take it easy on him simple because he wasn't experienced.
Nodding to each other, the battle had begun. John quickly rushed towards me as soon as I had given the signal to start. Sighing to myself at his erratic attack, I simply sidestepped him and smacked him on the back of the head as he passed. Stumbling from the sudden attack as well as the realization that I was no longer in front of him, he turned back towards me with a look of embarrassment. Laughing at his face, I urge him to attack me again with a "come hither" motion. He takes the bait and sends a sloppy side swipe at me.
I forgot how easy it was to spar untrained individuals, having never sparred against anyone besides Lexa and Matthew. Both of whom were already trained by the time I started my own training.
"Is this how I was?" I wonder to myself, grabbing John's arm and stopping his attack all together before I twist his wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon. Fueled on determination and the want to prove himself, he still doesn't give up regardless of being disarmed. Seeing his left hook coming a mile away, I lean my head back dodging it. Not one to waste time in battle, I use that same movement to launch my own attack.
The top of my head connects with his nose in a sickening crack, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground accompanied by a pain filled groan.
"Today's gonna be a long day…"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone