Learning to Fight Back

Writers: Jelena, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 30th May 2016

Characters: Genna, A'kua
Description: Genna decides to make a personal change.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 21 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Varlene (NPC), Minamari (NPC).

Genna

Genna tugged her sleeves a little further down as she left her weyr. It was probably a bit paranoid, but she didn't want anyone to see the bruises and start panicking. It really hadn't been that big of a deal, she kept telling herself, and raising alarm wouldn't do anyone good. But inside, she was still shaking with anger and - most dominantly - fear. Fear wasn't something she was very familiar with, but the helplessness of that terrible moment of the Gather had made it a nest deep in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help replaying the scene over and over in her mind and every time she did, her heart still pounded in her chest. She needed to talk to someone. But she couldn't talk to Minamari or Varlene after having just barely convinced them to let it slide. There really was only one person in the Weyr right now she'd trust with those innermost awful feelings and she was so grateful he finally had his own place for quiet conversation.

Knocking quietly on A'kua's door, she waited for an answer, heart pounding again at the thought of retelling her story of the Emerald Falls gather.

If Genna was coming straight to his weyr on a seemingly normal day, something had to be up. So A'kua put aside his tiredness from weyrling training, drew open the curtain across the opening of his weyr- and something was definitely wrong here. He could read his friend very easily right now. "What happened?"

"Stuff," Genna said with a sigh a she stepped inside. "Promise not to freak out and make a big deal out of it? I just need to talk about it."

Uh-oh. A'kua got a sinking feeling in his guts. "I can try," he ventured.

Genna moved into the weyr and took a seat quickly. "I went to the Emerald Falls Gather with Minamari and Varlene. We got harassed by some stall holder. Nothing much happened, but it was enough to scare me a great deal." Genna took a deep breath before continuing. "I was so scared, every time I think back on it, I get nervous all over again."

Red started creeping through A'kua's vision, and his hands curled into fists. He dearly wished he could find whoever was responsible and make them pay-

}:Calm down!:{ Zeiranth yelped, alarmed by the shift in his partner's emotions.

The weyrling swallowed hard. "Excuse me, please," he said in a strangled tone, and stepped outside, pulling the curtain shut behind him. A moment later, he returned, jaw tight and left hand held partially behind his hip. "What do you need?" was all he asked.

Genna instantly grabbed for A'kua's left hand to inspect the damage, her brow furrowed in an accusatory frown. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell people. There is no need for this."

The knuckles were bleeding sluggishly, and the middle index joint looked swollen; A'kua had accidentally dislocated it and snapped it back into place. "What do you mean, no need?!" he exclaimed indignantly. "You said you were harassed, but there's obviously more to it if you're so shaken up. I'm allowed to be angry if one of my best friends is mistreated." He shook his head and tried to pull his hand away. "No, I'm sorry; how I feel doesn't matter right now. I asked what you need and the question still stands. There has to be somethin' I can do."

Genna shook her head in silent disbelief, realizing she had probably made a mistake in trusting A'kua with this, if only because it had caused him harm. "Do you have a first-aid kit here? And I just, I don't know.. You have been in fights, right? How did you stop yourself from being scared?"

The questions were like getting a dash of cold water right in his face. The red haze ebbed, and A'kua sobered in a hurry. "I wasn't scared because I was always too angry. There was only one time I got worried, and that was when I was cornered by four boys moments after I stole some Marks back at the hold."

"I was angry too, but that didn't stop me from being terrified," Genna said with an unhappy smirk. "What did you do that one time, then?"

"Reminded one of 'em of the time I nearly strangled him, which made him back off, and then I fought the other three like a wild wher," A'kua said. "Why do you want to kn-" He paused. "Genna, are you thinkin' of tryin' to learn how to fight?" he asked worriedly.

"Ah," Genna said, realising that wouldn't work for her. When he guessed her motives for the questions, she looked down at her hands. "I know it sounds ridiculous. But I have to learn how to defend myself, don't I?"

"I guess it couldn't hurt, if stuff like this is liable to happen again," A'kua said very quietly. "But before you start to learn, think about it very carefully and make sure it's just because you genuinely want to protect yourself, not because you want revenge. Once you learn how to read someone and look for trouble before it starts, things change. Distrust becomes an issue. I would know."

"Why would you start to distrust people when you know how to read them?" Genna said with confusion in her voice. Wasn't distrust an issue for A'kua for entirely different reasons? She didn't think that would apply to herself.

"Because then it gets so easy to figure out who's lyin' to you, and so hard to _stop_ anticipatin' trouble." A'kua checked his knuckles; the bleeding had stopped, but his hand would look a mess for a short while. He was used to that, though. "But if you think it over and find you still want to do it, send for me. I'll be your teacher."

"Hmm," she would think it over, but not because she heeded warning. She'd think it over because she didn't think she could actually do it. "Do you think I could learn? Or is it a matter of trying to find in what way I can manage it a little?"

"Aye," A'kua said. "But you can learn. Just about anyone can." He paused, then added, "Sounds like you've already made up your mind." He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sad, perhaps. Why did bad things keep happening to the women in his life?

"I think I have," Genna said with a nod. "But I'll sleep on it. Maybe I'll feel different again in the morning."

The weyrling hoped so. But he didn't think it was likely. Fear could leave powerful impressions. But he didn't say anything; as he'd said, his feelings didn't matter at the moment, and if Genna wanted to learn, then he would teach her to the best of his ability. He pulled her into a hug and hoped for the best.

Genna hugged A'kua back tight, forcing a smile to her face as she did. How crooked was it that when she'd finally decided to just go out and have some fun, all this had happened? Maybe she should just stay inside and wallow more, that would be safer at least. But then again, that wouldn't be true to herself. She always had been a fighter, in a figural sense of the word. But now she'd go for the litteral one.

~*~

Last updated on the June 1st 2016

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