A special class was being held for those who are unwanted. Not just combat with hands and feet, but also exercising the tails, making them dexterous and nimble. For those with wings, using the wings like bludgeons in combat, using horns. Using weapons.. people never figured could actually be used as weapons. Expect the unexpected. -- Anon Guest
"I cannot teach you all the same," said the teacher. Battle-scarred and bent with age, they could nevertheless still hold their own in a fight. That was why their class had gathered here. "Look around. Some of you are small. Some are large. Some have something extra, and others have something missing. You can't fight the same way. What I can teach is how to use what you have."
The large, the small, the horned and be-tailed glanced around, already trying to work out how each of them would be fighting.
"First, and most important... defense. In a surprise fight, your goal is to get away. You protect yourself so that you get away. You hurt them to slow them down enough to get you away. Don't worry about making them angry. They're already angry that you exist and you're never going to change that. Understood?"
Twenty Unwanted kids looked around. Most of them already knew the trouble they had in staying alive. Any edge was better than no edge at all. They knew they were alive this day through luck alone. They knew they needed skills.
A Hellkin sprite raised a hand. "Do we get weapons?"
"Do you have weapons?" countered the old Fighter. "I told you. I'm teaching you to use what you've got. That's why the training ground's full of things you'll find in any street."
One of the earliest lessons was: anything can be a weapon.
The immediate following lesson was in how to use anything as a weapon. As well as all the places someone could strike to disarm or disable an attacker.
In a practice session, the teacher grabbed a Hellkin. The point was to get them to think of the vulnerable spots they could reach. The Hellkin tossed their head and drew blood. They also made the teacher let them go.
There was a collective cringe. The Unwanted all knew what happened when kids managed to hurt adults.
Their teacher just laughed. "Well done. Well done. I hope you all were paying attention there, that is what I call some excellent improvisation. Use. What. You've. GOT. Our fighter over there used their horns. Now I ask you... ever thought of using your tail?"
Many of those who had tails twisted to ponder their own rears. Many flicked their tails to and fro, considering the possibilities.
That was when the old fighter introduced their Adventuring friends. A Drakkonbred and another Hellkin. Both knew how to use their tails to their advantage.
It would take months, but each and every one of these Unwanted would be able to hold their own.
[Photo by Stephanie on Unsplash]
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