I shared her laughter and slammed my lance on the ground before me, leaning a portion of my weight onto the obsidian spiral of its stem with a wry smirk. "No crying when I win," I taunted. I had to teach Felic as much as possible. She would have to learn how to fight on her own even without me if there ever came a time when I couldn't defend her or if she were stolen from me by a Laruae. Even under the facade of fun, the skill I was embedding into her were tools of survival. Though neither of us would admit it, it was the harsh reality of our situation.
No further warning submitted to offer her an advantage I plunged into the match head long, kicking my weapon up into my hands and using the full force of my momentum to kick up a shock wave of air and dirt. (7) The faster I moved to strike, the faster she would be forced to think and act on her own. I had to push her to the utmost limit. Closing the distance between us in a spurt of stamina and haste I followed my mild distraction with an armored foot flashing out to kick the air from her lungs. (9)