It's two days later; Ori taught the Potek kids how to swim with the help of the sea serpents. Now, Niko goes to the new home of the Potek family to collect Teyluk, Nevan, and Akit. When she gets there, they are eating breakfast, so she knocks on the door of the house to alert Neyt. He sees her and goes outside to speak.
“Good morning. I apologize if I interrupt your meal,” Niko says with her hands behind her back.
“Good morning to you too. No apology is needed; we were done eating,” he says, smiling gently.
“Well, I am here to collect Teyluk, Nevan, and Akit. I am teaching them how to fight today,” she speaks.
“Of course, thank you for doing this,” he replies.
“Also, the chief would like to train with you and your wife himself,” she says, smiling gently at Sur, who just nods at her and tells him, “And also how to swim with our serpents.”
“Take your time, and when you're done, please meet him at the shore where you landed the day you arrived,” Niko continues, “And I will be waiting for them on the beach when they're done.”
“As soon as they're done, I will send them right away,” Neyt says, excusing himself as well as Niko.
Niko leaves to wait by the shore, where she finds Ori teaching Nero how to swim. When Ori notices Niko, he excuses himself and goes to sit beside her, still watching protectively, as Nero starts to play with the fish. Even though Ori is just sixteen and the youngest, he is so protective of his sisters. When Niko was young, sometimes she would get bullied for having an unusual eye color; they called them ‘demon eyes. Even though she can stand up for herself well, Ori has always stood up for her. Imagine an eight-year-old standing against a bunch of ten-year-olds. She has admired him ever since and believes that no matter who he's up against, he will always stand up for the people he cares about. As they sit on the sand, Niko hears footsteps behind them—multiple, to be exact. It's Dhati, followed by the three Potek children she had been told about the day before. Teyluk, the oldest, is nineteen years old, a year older than Niko. Akit, the middle child, is Niko's age. And Nevan, the younger middle, is Dhati's age. By the looks of it, none of them want to be here, including Niko. Dhati then gestures to them to sit in front of Niko; they hesitate at first, but Akit sits down first.
“Three skills are essential to acquire when learning how to fight,” Niko continues as she raises three fingers. “Attacks on the move, distant attacks, and arm-to-arm combat.”
“As you've probably noticed, earthers have guns that help them attack from afar, plus they can be lethal.” She notices that Akit grimaces, and Niko gets that she might have lost someone dear to her in that attack.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTAGMv0vRQ
“I am sorry about your village,” she says to all the Potek kids. Akit looks gently at Niko, to which she replies with a nod.
“That's why the chief asked me to teach you how to fight; I’ve come to know that your parents are soldiers, but we’ll start from the basics. So, in case that happens again, we'll fight back.” She says that part more to herself; Dhati notices and clears her throat.
“First things first, grab a bow and arrows. Stand how you think you should stand.” She points at the bows laid aside.
She goes to each one to correct their positions. She goes to Akit first, pushes her head back a little, and straightens her arms. She then goes ahead and approaches Nevan, pulls his arm back more, and tells him to aim a little higher. Lastly, she heads toward Teyluk. He has a slouched back, so she puts one hand on his lower back and the other on his shoulder to straighten it. She notices that his breath has quickened. Other than that, his posture is rather good.
“Now put the bows back on the ground,” she says as they put them down in front of them.
She then tells them to quickly grab them again and stand to aim; she keeps demanding that for two hours to get them on guard quickly and perfectly. All that time, Dhati is watching from afar and helping when needed, but she happens to notice something. Teyluk keeps looking at Niko even when he doesn't need to; she doesn’t know if he looks at her in fear or anger, but she keeps that piece of information to herself. After training is done, Niko goes and throws herself on the sand beside Dhati.
“That was exhausting,” Niko says, sighing.
“Weren't you too harsh on them? I mean, to grab the bow and aim for two hours straight is a bit much,” Dhati says, pointing at them from afar as they lay down on their backs out of breath.
“I had to teach them the basics first; besides, I wasn't trying to make friends,” Niko replies.
“Never mind, do you have any plans for tomorrow?” Dhati asks.
“Other than the usual lookout? No, nothing. Why?” Niko replies.
“Ori and I wanted you to take us flying for a bit,” she continues. “We miss flying.” Niko looks at her for a couple seconds, thinking it through.
“Fine, but only after I finish the lookout first. I am not taking you and Ori there; it is dangerous,” Niko replies firmly.
“Okay, I'll go tell him,” she jumps up and down excitedly, rushing to tell Ori.
Niko giggles, looking at her lovingly, when she turns her attention back to the Potek kids. She finds them already looking, but they avert their gaze quickly as she makes eye contact. Niko is perplexed at this time. In any case, she gets to her feet and tells them to go home but to be prepared for another session soon. They nod and start to head back.
Niko sits with her dragon on the beach, thinking about the reason the earthers might be changing locations. The island they ambushed had a lot of Ninipie trees; why would they leave? She hates that these two are still alive and are leaders there. Joe and Mitchel are the two monsters who are the reason her family is dead. That's why she's going on a lookout tomorrow to try to find where they might be going.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
