FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Chapter 9

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I let out a long sigh of satisfaction, Cody's steady breathing told me he was sound asleep, it had been an intense session. The room was heavy with the scent of sex and musk, my cock was slowly retreating back into my body as it continued to soften. The room was pitch dark since the fire had not been relit since I got up this morning, but I didn't need to see, I could feel Cody next to me and I knew that I was beginning to fall for him. It felt right, but I didn't know how wise it was, I wonder if Cody felt the same way? He was a bit of a free spirit, perhaps this was nothing more than a bit of fun for him?

I would talk to him later about it, when the moment seemed right, I wanted to talk about it now but I didn't want to waken him either. More to the point my training session with Aceh was approaching, we had arranged to meet in the the training room here in the Anaris household. My father had graciously offered it to us to use so that we wouldn't be disturbed, it was back down the corridor towards the family room, the door had a carving of two swords crossed on it. I knew exactly where it was even though I had never been in it, it stood out since it was one of the few doorways that had two doors rather than one.

I carefully rolled out of bed and grabbed my loincloth from the foot of the bed where Cody had undone it. Once dressed I slowly opened the door and slipped out, closing it gently behind me. I smiled as I thought about my fox laying sound asleep on my bed. My fox? Yeah... that sounded good. With an unfaltering smile I began to walk back down the dimly lit hallway to the training room where I knew Aceh would be waiting for me, hopefully I wouldn't be too late, I had lost track of time while I was with Cody.

I pushed open the doors to the training room, the room was lit by several large urns around the perimeter of the room, Aceh stood in the center of the room going through several one-steps; a sequence of moves practising the motions. He finished his sequence and turned to face me, giving a stern glare, a look I had come to recognise as his teaching face. His normally stoic expression was gone and now I was under the harsh scrutiny of his stare, a stare that picked up every detail.

"You are late!" He declared, he didn't want a reason or an excuse and I wasn't going to give him one.

"Sorry Master..." I bowed my head and stepped forward. I stopped a few feet away from him and raised my gaze to match his. We stared at each other for several moments before he grunted and turned away from me.

"Ready yourself!" He commanded.

I knew what was coming, he was going to attack, out of reflex I defaulted to the first stance of Tigers Palm. He spun round and launched himself at me using Tigers Fist, the sixth stance of Tigers Palm and the most aggressive. He threw several fast jabs at me but I easily blocked them, he threw another punch but I swatted it away with my right forearm and immediately lashed out with my left.

He blocked my punch with his forearm and rammed his knee into my gut, the blow caused me to double over and lower my guard just long enough for him to lash out with a right hook and follow up with an elbow across my jaw. I spun round and stumbled but remained standing, all that balance training he had me do atop the wagons coming into play.

I slipped into the fourth stance in time to block another punch, shoving him back a step, then attempted to sweep his leg. Aceh gracefully leapt over my leg sweep and back stepped away from me. I stood back up and looked him in the eye, his expression still that same stern glare, taking in everything I was doing.

"Know your own weaknesses, your opponent will exploit them, use them to lure opponent into trap!"

I knew what he was saying, he knew Tigers Palm better than I did so he could predict my moves since each stance followed a certain pattern. If I kept switching stance then I become harder to read, but he wants me bait him, wait for that moment where he thinks he's going to exploit my weakness to attack. But how? What were my weaknesses?

First stance is good at keeping your opponent at a distance, waiting for an opening to strike. Second stance was about luring your opponent, drawing them out to attack you by backing away from them. The third stance was all about pressuring your opponent, not attacking but always stepping forward, forcing your opponent to panic; but that wouldn't work on Aceh, he was too composed.

The fourth stance was all about throwing your opponent off guard, often using leg sweeps and grapples. The fifth stance was all about movement, it's primary goal lash out with a strike and back away before your opponent could strike back; hit and run. The sixth stance was the most aggressive, focusing mostly with kicks.

The seventh and final stance of Tigers palm was still unknown to me, Aceh had never shown it to me or told me anything about it, I was certain it was not Tigers Fist as none of the other stances were named.

Was he trying to teach it to me now? Was this something I had to learn for myself? But how can I learn something I know nothing about? It was hard enough learning when to change stances, to predict my opponent, but now he wanted me to predict what my opponent predicts and use that to trap my opponent?

I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, that elbow had really hurt, but it wasn't anything to worry about. I stepped forwards and into the fifth stance, I wasn't going to stand here and let him hit me without at least landing one good hit myself!

I raised my arms and began to shift my weight from one foot-paw to the other, lifting my paws off the ground as I got into the motion. This was the most uncomfortable stance for me, it took me time to get used to the motions after using the other stances. It reminded me of the Striking Tiger technique, but instead of throwing myself forwards I had to be ready to move in any direction.

I began to circle Aceh, moving to my left, and he mirrored me. We paced round until we came back to our original starting points and I lunged forward, stopping and shifting my weight to throw myself to the left, I changed direction in the nick of time as Aceh's left came flying out to greet me. Dodging his fist I lashed out with my own left and once again was blocked by his right forearm, I shifted my weight again and threw myself backwards our of his reach.

Aceh didn't move to attack, he just stood there watching me, waiting. He knew all my weaknesses, his eyes didn't miss anything. My heart was pumping hard in my chest, fighting Aceh like this was always frightening and exhilarating at the same time. I knew I didn't stand a chance against him, and it felt like every move was life or death, but that was both the scariest part and also part of the enjoyment. If I could one day become strong enough to beat him then I knew I'd be strong enough to protect my friends and everyone I cared about.

Aceh is the strongest fur I know and have ever met. I also know that even now he was going easy on me, pulling his punches, but one day I would force him to use his full strength and then and only then would I know I had reach the point where I was his equal.

I lunged forward again and immediately Aceh reacted with a short fast kick with his front leg, I couldn't stop myself in time, I knew that he had read me; I was being predictable. But that didn't mean I had to let him have his way. I dived forwards, barrelling head first at Aceh's sternum, he managed to dodge. I rolled forward on to my foot-paws and immediately turned to face him. He just continued to stare at me, he was waiting for me, showing me that I was being too predictable. In a battle of wills I knew that Aceh was more patient than I, that I would move to attack first, he knew it and I knew it.

My mind flashed back to my sparring session with Loire, that dragon was good at fighting but he was no where near Aceh's level. But he did show me a few tricks that Aceh wouldn't know, after all Aceh didn't have any wings. I allowed a brief smile to cross my muzzle, a smile that earned a flick of an ear from my master who's sharp blue eyes wouldn't have missed it. I flexed my wings slightly, I was so used to having them drawn in during a fight that they felt stiff and rigid when I tried to move them, but they were my best chance of landing a blow on Aceh, I'd wait for the moment he moves in to finish it and then spring my surprise.

I sprung forward, weaving my body from side to side, ready to move the moment Aceh did. Aceh stepped towards me and once again kicked with his front leg, but this time I was ready for it, I leapt to my left away from his leg and jabbed at him but he pulled his head out of my reach. He stepped back and I was quick to pursue, stepping in and kicking with my forward leg just as he had done, he back stepped a couple more times away from me; and out of reach of my kick. I stared Aceh in the eye, his piercing blue eyes so focused on me I felt like he could read my thoughts, I had to remain on the attack. I knew that I had to use my trick at the right time or it wouldn't work, I would show Aceh that I was getting stronger.

I sprung to Aceh's right side, avoiding that fast left jab of his, he tightened his guard on his right and swung at me with a left hook. This is what I was waiting for! I ducked under his punch and as he drew his arm back I spun on my heel and fully extended my wings, I felt my wing collide with him, it was not enough to move or hurt him, but it gave me a moment to catch him unaware.

As I spun I extended my right leg and swept his leg, he made a sound of surprise that I had never heard from him before. I watched as he stumbled backwards, it hadn't been enough to knock him to the ground, he was off balance now was my chance!

I dashed forward and raised my knee, driving it into his stomach, he grunted and bent over slightly. I lashed out with a left hook and then a powerful right elbow across his muzzle; the same combo he had hit me with! The sensation of the solid hits felt good, but I couldn't let it end there!

Aceh attempted to grab me but I batted his arms away and hit him in the gut with a solid punch, it felt like I was punching a brick wall. I tried to land another left hook but he ducked beneath it and rammed his shoulder into me, knocking me back.

I stumbled back a few steps and locked eyes with him, the moment was gone, he had recovered from the surprise and was ready for me now. I didn't miss the trickle of blood that leaked from the corner of his maw, he wiped the blood with the back of his paw, the red blood staining the whiteness of his fur. I expected him to get mad and attack, but he didn't, he did something I hadn't expected; he smiled.

The alien expression caught me off guard, he smiled and nodded his head at me, he was praising me! I felt a surge of pride and smiled myself. I would treasure this moment, because I knew that that trick wouldn't work twice, I was back to where I started but, by Asurmen, it had felt good!

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Kassandra glared at me, raising her fists. He expression twisted with unbridled rage. I readied myself. She wasted little time. In a second she had closed the distance between us and struck me in the gut.

Like before her punches were light, lacking power, but somehow shook me to the core. I grabbed her but she easily twisted away from my grasp. I wasn't going to let her control the pace of the fight. I followed her, closing the distance, throwing a few punches to keep her on the defensive.

She was fast, she ducked under one of my punches and slipped behind me. I turned to face her, but I was too slow to defend myself. She kicked me hard in the sternum. I staggered back, my back hitting the hard stone wall crushing my wings. I grunted in pain.

Before I could regain my footing she was already upon me. She lashed out with a huge round house kick, which would have hit me in the head, but I managed to get my arms up just in time to block the worst of it. Another kick to right side made me buckle and fall to my knees. The stabbing pain from where she kicked me made it difficult to catch my breath.

I looked up just in time to see her fist flying at me, she struck me across the jaw, I could taste blood. The look of anger had not eased, she was not going to show any mercy. I stopped the next punch by grabbing her wrist. She snarled and attempted to punch me with her free paw, but I grabbed that wrist as well. She tried to pull away but I had a firm hold. I moved to get back up but she stopped me with a swift knee to my chest. I fell back onto my knees, but managed to keep my hold on her wrists.

"LET ME GO!" She snarled, trying to pull free.

But I wouldn't, that last attack of hers had really hurt my breathing, every breath caused a stabbing pain in my chest. If I let her go now it was over. She kicked me again and again, holding her arms like I was meant I couldn't defend myself against them, I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost my grip. I used all my strength and yanked her towards me, wrapping my arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

"RELEASE ME YOU FREAK!!"

With her arms restrained and her kicks ineffective in her current position she resorted to the only weapon she had left. She head butted me. The move caught me off guard, and her head was a lot harder than I imagined. I reeled from the hit, my vision blurring for a couple of moments, but there was no way she wouldn't have been hurt by that herself.

We stared each other down, my muzzle level with her breasts, but I kept my eyes locked on hers. Her muzzle screwed up, I awaited for the coming head butt. I couldn't move lest she broke free, my only hope was to restrain her till she gave up or until her head butts knocked one of us out. I closed my eyes and braced for the blow, but what I felt wasn't her head hitting mine, it was her muzzle meeting mine in a clumsy kiss.

The kiss was rough and sloppy, our current position not allowing for an easy kiss, I kept my eyes shut and welcomed the kiss. I opened my eyes and met hers, her half lidded eyes told me everything I needed to know. This is what she really wanted. I pushed up and kissed her again, releasing her, hoping that this wasn't just some rouse. But happily she returned the kiss, her arms wrapping round me. Unsurprisingly she was a rough kisser, almost taking control of the situation, but I wasn't going to let her do so easily. I fought back, both of us trying to take control of the kiss, until we were both breathless and needed to breath.

Both of us panting heavily, our fore heads pressed together we both laughed. Her laugh was beautiful. Surprisingly girly, but music to my ears. Suddenly she didn't seem so scary. I could only imagine what this was going to lead to, wondering what sex with her would be like.

"This is a surprise." I whispered.

"I hope the kiss was okay..." She said, almost embarrassed.

"It was." I assured her.

"Good..." She whispered, I felt her relax in my arms. "Because now you can die!"

With incredible force she shoved me, sending me crashing back into the wall, the force driving the air from my lungs and I collapsed to the ground. I looked up at her, wheezing as I tried to draw breath. Her eyes glowing a bloody red. She grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up, holding me above the ground, squeezing my throat so now I could only gargle as my lungs burned desperately for air.

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I jolted awake, my body covered in a cold sweat and my breathing heavy and ragged as my heart pounded hard in my chest. Another nightmare. I let out of breath of relief and lay back down. I turned my head to the side of the bed that was noticeably absent of a certain fox. Cody had gone away with the others tonight, a fact that I had conceded with grace but was selfishly thinking about how I didn't want him to go. The bed still had Cody's scent on it, I pulled an armful of the blanket to my snout and inhaled.

His scent helped to calm me and take my mind off my nightmare, but that wasn't going to help them go away. They were becoming more frequent and more intense. What time was it? I had no idea. The fire that had been burning proudly when I retired to bed was nothing more than a few glowing embers. Living in these caves all day was beginning to get to me, I hadn't seen daylight in what seemed like years, I would have to make a point of going outside.

After a while it was obvious that I wasn't going to fall asleep again any time soon. I got up and left my room, the hallway was dark since all the torches had gone out, but my eyes were well adjusted to the darkness, I began to walk with no particular destination in mind. Walking in the dark took all my attention and focus, it helped to clear my mind, eventually I stopped and turned to face a door. I couldn't read the sign on the door but I knew what room it was.

I opened the door and was welcomed by the beautiful blue light that emanated from the very walls themselves. The forge stood proudly at the back of the room, dark and cold.

I walked over the right hand wall where racks of weapons stood on display. Swords, spears and maces of different sizes sat idly on the wooden racks, each one a master piece in itself, intricate designs had been etched into the steel. I ran my paw over several of the weapons. I wondered what it would feel like to create weapons like these? These weren't just weapons, these were art. Created by a master of their trade.

As I moved from rack to rack I noticed something, each weapon rack felt different. It wasn't in the types of weapons, it was the weapons themselves. I continued to stare at them, trying in vain to figure out why they appeared to be different.

"Found something interesting Young Master?"

"Hello Jovani." I smiled, not looking away from the weapons. I listened to him move closer towards me, giving him a cursory glance over my shoulder as he approached.

"Nightmares again Young Master?"

"How did you..."

I shook my head and didn't bother to finish my question. Jovani just seemed to know these things, I was pretty sure that he knew what I was thinking all the time. It made me feel uncomfortable around him at times, but at the same time it made me feel safe since I didn't have to hide anything from him. So I decided to ask him about the weapons, it was better than wasting my time asking questions he wouldn't answer anyway.

"Why do these weapons seem different to the others?"

"Ah! So you noticed, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since you are an Anaris." Jovani grinned. "Each rack is filled with weapons created by different members of your clan."

"Every rack?!" I mused looking round the room. There was easily over three dozen different racks in the room, including the ones mounted on the walls above my head.

"Oh yes, it has become a long standing tradition. The finest weapons created by the finest smiths of the Anaris clan are kept here. Only one smith in every generation is chosen to have their life work proudly displayed here!" It struck me just how long standing my fathers clan was, one smith every generation. There was centuries worth of history here!

"How can you tell who's work belongs to who?" I asked, looking at the fine steel with renewed respect.

"Every master smith has their own signature. Some like your great, great grandfather here would etch a design into the weapons themselves." He gestured to the rack we stood in front of. A beautiful design was carved into the blade of the swords near the hilt. "Others like Xerxes Anaris, one of the most revered smiths even to this day, were not so brazen. He let the quality of the steel do all the talking."

He lead me to the stand were just by looking at the weapons you could see that they were of a higher quality than most of the other weapons, they almost felt like they were ready to come alive, as if they had a life of their own and not just a lump of steel to be used as a weapon. I carefully ran my paw down the blade of one the swords, respecting it, admiring it. Jovani chuckled and drew me from my daze.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, you just remind me of your father. When he was learning to smith he would spend hours examining the weapons of his forefathers, as if hoping to gain insight and knowledge from them."

I didn't know what to say to that, I suppose he meant it as more of an observation than a compliment or insult. I just smiled and returned my attention to the weapons. Jovani continued to follow me as I moved from rack to rack in silence.

"So what are you doing up Jovani? Don't you sleep at all?"

"Oh I don't need much sleep. Plus I enjoy walking the halls at night, it gives me time to think."

"Do you know Xavier?"

"Xavier? Why yes I do! Very pleasant fellow, very skilled as well. The youngest named master bender as far as the Valelor house records tell us."

"Valelor house records?"

"Oh yes, well the Valelor house are well known scholars and record keepers, just as the Anaris house is known for its smithing." Jovani explained. "The Valelor house has kept records about Zangars history for centuries. They have quite the extensive library as you can imagine."

"Okay, well Xavier is supposedly going to be training me in bending." I explained. "But I suppose you already knew that." His sly smile told me that he did, but he wasn't going to admit to it.

"If Xavier is training you then you are in good paws Young Master. I have some duties to attend to, so if I may beg your leave?"

I was a little flustered by his question but eventually gathered my wits enough to nod. He bowed his head before turning and heading for the door, I stared at his back until he was gone from sight. I don't think I'll ever truly understand that dragon, I chuckled silently to myself. I gazed round the room one last time before heading for the door myself, I was feeling tired again and in just a few hours I would be training with Xavier. It was best to try and rest up, I had a feeling that it was going to be an exhausting day.

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"So tell me about yourself Malakye." Xavier asked as he lead me to the place where he would be training me.

"Well what do you want to know?"

"Anything you want me to." He said with an amused tone, looking over his shoulder at me. "I don't want to know things about you Malakye, I want to know 'you'!"

"I don't get it..." I said confused.

"Okay then, what do you know about me?" He asked.

"Uh... you're a wind bender... and your the youngest master bender to be named as far as anyone can tell."

"I also like spicy food and spicy females." He joked. "Knowing things is fine but you don't know me. I could be an aggressive drunk or like hurting others for fun for all you know! I don't by the way."

"Okay... I think I get it."

"Good, good! Now then tell me about yourself."

"Well... I don't like talking about myself all that much..."

"Touché!" He chuckled. "But that's the kind of thing I wouldn't have known if I just asked you questions! So from that I can tell that you're a bit of a loner, and probably not by choice given that I've heard you were raised in a wolven village. More than likely you don't let others close to you very quickly, but once they earn your trust you are fiercely loyal."

"I... I guess that does sound a bit like me..." I sighed. Was I really that easy to read?

"Don't fret about it, I'm just good at reading others." He patted me on the shoulder. "You've got a good heart Malakye."

"How can you tell?"

"I told you, I'm good at reading others. But I also took the liberty of chatting to a few of your friends last night down at the tavern. Big white stallion with a patch of brown fur on his neck?"

"Jason..." I sighed and shook my head. Knowing him he probably chatted Xavier's ear off about me. He just loves to talk!

"Yes, Jason. He was very forth coming with your story. His partner Michael kept telling him off for telling particularly personal details... but your friends care for you deeply, which means you've proven yourself to them. Particularly that tiger, to tell you the truth he kinda scares me a little." I chuckled. I could very much picture Aceh sitting across from Xavier, staring at him the whole time Jason was telling him my life story.

"So why ask when you already know everything about me?"

"Something to pass the time while we walk."

"Where are you taking me anyway?" I asked, looking round I already knew I hadn't been this way before, in fact I hadn't seen a soul for a while, there was no lit torches mounted on the walls down this way, the only light came from Xavier's torch.

"Oh I have a little hide away, makes a great place for training."

We walked in relative silence for the rest of the journey. It wasn't long until we rounded a corner and we stepped into a large open space. The torch light only lit a few feet in front of us so it appeared that we were surrounded by darkness, but I could tell that this place was big from the way the air felt. It was different from the claustrophobic tunnels we had waked through to get here, and there was a slight breeze as well.

I continued to follow Xavier as he walked through the large cavern, he walked round the room in a practised route lighting several large urns which lit the space up so I could see just how big this place was. It was easily thirty yards across in nearly a perfect circle, the three urns spaced evenly around the room.

"This where we shall train." Xavier announced. "Now, please take a seat." He said as he sat cross legged on the ground in the center of the room. I mirrored his action and sat cross legged across from him.

"Here!" He tossed a smooth black stone to me, I caught it, it was the size of my palm. "That is called a perception stone."

"Perception stone?" I asked taking another look at it.

"Yes, it is highly sensitive to spiritual energy. As you may know all young dragons are taught the basics of controlling their spiritual energy. When they are able to draw on that energy they are tasked with channelling their energy into the perception stone, where it will glow. The colour it glows allows us to tell what element they have an affinity for."

"Oh so it will tell you if they are a fire or water bender?"

"Precisely!" Xavier smiled. "We will begin our lessons to see if you are able to channel your energy through the stone."

"Okay."

I closed my eyes and held the stone between both of my paws, focusing on drawing out the power I had felt yesterday. It didn't take me long to find it, almost immediately I felt the energy flowing out from within me, through every fibre of my being and surrounding me. This time however I focused on pouring my energy into the stone, and like before the energy moved to my will. I opened my eyes and saw the stone glow with an almost blinding white light.

"Malakye..." Xavier said with a tone of amazement.

"What?"

"You're a wind bender!"