21 Too weak (Julia)
After Leo's rules are set, I don't have a choice but to pretend to be following them. I just have to wait for him to break them first.
In the meantime, we learn to live together.
I feel like a dormouse. I sleep eight hours a day, sometimes even nine. Leo, on the other side, just closes his eyes for a couple of hours at midday.
I could conquer the world if I had so much time, but Leo seems quite busy with more than twenty hours usable.
Luckily, he forgot about finding me a room. It's better like this, and I prefer sleeping in his bed. If I wake up in the middle of the night with the sudden need for him, I can just roll and lean on him.
Instead of becoming stronger like a drug, our bond has decreased in pain. It's still irresistible, but it's more on the positive side of the word.
I've also witnessed a couple of training sessions this week, and nothing happened. I just read my book the whole time, waiting for Leo to finish.
If he was the one training, I could at least look at him. But he's not. He just walks among his students, correcting their moves and showing them the right actions from time to time.
I would like to see him fight. It must be a spectacle.
«What are you reflecting about?» he asks me. He notices that I'm not reading the book but gazing at an undefined spot on the wall, on the opposite side of the gym. The trainees are already gone, so we're alone in here.
«You said you would teach me how to fight,» I say, looking for something to blabber before becoming suspicious. I can't let Leo notice that my mind stays weird even when the bond is dormant.
He will find out, sooner or later, but now it's too early.
«I can do that now,» he replies. He nods as to confirm something.
Now? I'm not ready now. I just stopped imagining his sweaty figure making efforts... How can I survive the real deal?
«Come here, I'll show you,» he repeats, and I leave the book on the chair and follow his order. «Throw a punch.»
«What?» I murmur.
«Hit me! Come on,» he repeats, excited to make some movement.
Oh, I'll just embarrass myself like this.
I do as he told me. Something deep inside me stops the punch from being too strong as if I was afraid of getting hurt by using too much force.
Leo observes the place where my fist makes contact with his chest.
«I said punch, not touch,» he complains.
I redo it, but that feeling stops me from doing anything again.
«All right.» He nods, pretending not to be annoyed by my lack of efforts.
It's stronger than me. I don't know how to fight it.
«When you move your arm forward, rotate the fist and focus on being fast. Your strength alone can't take down a vampire, so you need to be fast, precise, and strategic.»
I won't be able to take down a grown human like this. Let alone a vampire.
«Let me see if you understood,» Leo says, and I rotate my hand while moving my arm forward. I'm slow on purpose to see if the movement is correct.
«Good, now try it for real.»
I try the punch, but the end result is always the same: a weak hit.
«You won't hurt me, Julia. And I won't fight back, I promise. Just focus.»
I look at him with a lost expression, and Leo chuckles.
«All right. Let's try this way. Do not think about strength. Become faster. The fastest you can,» he murmurs.
I do as he says, but somehow my punches are clumsy.
«Faster,» he repeats. He says it a couple of times until I only think about the hit.
My arm moves on its own, and I can feel the air hitting when I reach Leo's chest. He takes a step back, and his brows are raised in a moment.
He observes me for a second, and I start to sweat.
Have I overdone it?
Then, he smiles. He cups my fist with his hands and laughs content.
«This is better,» he comments. «You've earned yourself an extra piece of cake!»
I blink, realising that I'm weak even for a human being. Not as weak as before, but the difference isn't noticeable.
Now I know to throw a punch, but I can't expect it to be of any use in this state.
«Leo, can we train together sometimes?» I ask, looking at him directly in the eyes. «I want to learn how to defend myself.»
«Aren't we doing it right now?»
«Yes, but this is supposed to be a one-time thing. I'm referring to periodical training. If you have time, of course.»
«We can train.» He nods, and I hug him all of a sudden.
Training together means meeting even after the bond is weak enough to let us proceed with our life.
«We haven't finished yet,» Leo reminds me, caressing my back with the tip of his fingers.
«Oh,» I stutter. «What's next?»
«The second level...» he whispers, mysterious.
«What is the second level?»
«Two punches,» he chuckles. «In sequence.»
«Sequence? Oh, right, sequences!» That's how he trains his students as well. They have learnt some sequences and try them as warming up before starting to fight each other.
I'm not sure how well-defined sequences can help in a fight, but as long as I do something, it's fine. They can't use the surprise factor while fighting with sequences...
«Don't think about anything and just repeat the sequence a few times. You'll do it without thinking, eventually.»
«Will I become dangerous?»
«You won't. But I can help you if you need to scare someone.»
«Oh, thanks. You're so nice to me.»
«I don't really have a choice,» he points out.
Indeed, but he could just keep me around to soothe his thirst without investing so much time.
