An Offer She Can't Refuse

"Mom, I appreciate the offer…" Honey tried to find the words.

"Good." The teen's reticence made Noble dig in her heels. "Because it wasn't as much of an offer as a promise. Until your regular trainer returns, I will take over your training." 

"Are you sure?" Fort studied his wife carefully. Every time they had discussed this topic, Noble had seemed as against it as her daughter. 

"It saves us money, and I get quality time with my daughter. I see that as a win, don't you?" The floating Awakened could sense her husband's uncertainty. Honey's emotions were less mixed. She did not like the idea at all. Noble sighed. "If it doesn't work, we can find a different trainer. But for today, this is happening." 

"Lucky! You get to have Mom train you!" Brock pretended his cone was a sword. 

"Mom, can you teach me a thing or two also?" Blaze begged. 

Fort and Honey looked at each other, having a silent conversation. The girl blew out her cheeks and looked away. 

"Fine. I guess we can try it." Honey finished off her snack.

Noble sipped the last of her hot chocolate and plopped it down on the table with a satisfied grin. "Good. Let's get home and get started." 

--------

Two hours later, Honey and Noble were in the small dojo of their home. 

"I don't know that I have ever been in here," Honey marveled. She was dressed in a tracksuit with a wooden practice sword. 

Noble held a dummy sword gracefully at her side. She also wore comfortable clothing. "Nobody comes in here normally except Fort. Too many pieces of delicate equipment and chances to get hurt." 

The girl nodded in understanding. Children, especially her rough-and-tumble younger siblings, were good at breaking things. A broken pod could mean disaster when their mother was forced to enter the Dream Realm. 

"Shall we begin?" Noble leaned on the wooden sword with one eyebrow raised. "Show me what you've got." 

Honey hesitated. "You want me to attack you? Shouldn't you get ready?" 

"The best defense is a good offense. That means getting in the first strike with a Nightmare Creature. Now, try to catch me off guard." Noble turned her back.

"But just you saying I should try to catch you off guard inherently makes you on guard. And you have that emotion thing going on. You will know I am coming the instant I move." Honey whined. 

"Then I guess you have your work cut out for you," her mother gave her zero sympathy. "A Nightmare Creature will give you no advantages." 

Sighing heavily, Honey lifted her practice sword and held it in position. She waited. And waited. 

"Any day now would--" Noble heard her daughter's light footsteps coming toward her. Her lips twisted into a smile. 

Turning, Noble easily blocked the overhand swing, and then the two that followed it. Honey was agile and knew how to string attacks together. That was a very good sign. 

Her footwork was impeccable as well. Most people would have tripped themselves in the movements which she completed with ease. 

The professor continued to block her daughter's strikes until she had seen enough. Then, with a swift, decisive movement, Noble knocked the practice sword from Honey's hand and held the dull blade to the girl's throat. 

Honey's eyes opened wide in surprise. 

"Hm..." The Awakened studied her daughter. 

Wisps of grey tinged Noble's blue eyes. 

"What?" The girl stared helplessly at her mother's unreadable expression.

 The vulnerability on Honey's face reminded Noble of just how young the girl was. 'Be gentle in your critique,' the professor reminded herself. 

"Your form is very good. Your footwork is clean. You have really been studying." Noble nodded slowly. 

"But?" Honey knew that the news could not be all good.

The processor tapped her chin. "Your tutors, have they all been men?"

The dark-haired girl was surprised by the question. She thought for a moment. "Yes."

"That explains it. You fight like a man. Which is not a bad thing, except you aren't one." Noble noticed her daughter's confusion deepen. "What? You aren't a man, are you?"

 "No, but I don't understand what you mean," Honey relaxed slightly as the wooden sword fell away from her neck.

 Noble passed the girl some water. "The way you are carrying yourself. That first overhanded strike. Your whole stance would work better if you were a tall, or at least muscular, male. I don't know if you have noticed, but ladies are shaped differently." 

Honey rolled her eyes. "This isn't going to turn into a biology lesson, is it?" 

"A little bit. I know it is hard, especially since you are still growing, but you need to have a better sense of where your center of gravity is. Unless you someday get an Aspect that changes things, your upper body strength will never be equal to a man. Don't try to force it. Sit in the power of your legs as much as you can, and let them do more of the work." Noble bent her knees slightly and showed her daughter a more appropriate stance for her build. 

Although the Awakened was unable to touch the ground to fully demonstrate, Noble was probably better able than most to describe what the body should do.

For her flaw to remain above detection, she had studied the fighting methods of more Awakened than she could count. 

Noble adopted those things that were useful to her, like Fireshing's family move, and adapted the rest to suit her flaw. 

The professor knew how every muscle should be manipulated and placed to be most effective. That was what made her so deadly in the Dreamscape.

Setting down the water, Honey mimicked her mother's stance. Already she could feel more control than she had before. She shot her substitute teacher a questioning glance. 

"Better. Another thing. That strike of yours. The one over the top. You need to stop that. Or at least change it slightly." Noble showed Honey the move from her original assault.

The girl wondered how her tutor had seen it with her back turned. Perhaps mothers really did have eyes in the back of their heads. 

Honey tilted her head. "What was wrong with that attack? It's quick and has a lot of power." 

"It is made for a taller opponent to strike downward at another's head. You will likely never be taller, and the head is a terrible place to aim, especially if you are inexperienced. It moves too much and there are Nightmare Creatures whose head is missing or in weird places."

Between the information she had gained at the Academy and her personal experience, Noble had seen all kinds of foul creatures. Aiming for a humanoid head was usually not an option. 

"What should I do instead?" Honey still seemed skeptical of her mother's advice. 

But she was still listening. That was a good sign.

"Look for soft spots. And aim for the places that will get you the most bang for your effort. When it comes to people, that means center mass. Try doing this instead." Noble demonstrated a better angle for the girl's small frame. 

Her daughter practiced the strike a few times in the air, shrugging out her shoulders in between to get a feel for motion. 

Noble sipped at her water as she watched Honey repeat the slash over and over. 'She has a lot of determination,' the professor noted with deep satisfaction. 

After a few dozen repetitions, Noble held up her hand. 

"Alright. Let's give it a try. Fight me."