The Grey Tower

They had left the Grey Tower and the Mountains of Mist far behind. After some thought Dax had taken them east toward Whitebridge. Despite the dangers posed by Lord Riatin and the two Towers Katrie had now left behind, the more peaceful land seemed a better choice to him than the war torn chaos of Almoth Plain. They had not found shelter indoors since Fenton’s men had attempted to abduct his lover, and until they were off the beaten path between Hama Valon and the Erinin he had no intention of changing that. It had been overcast and gloomy for the entire ride, and they had had to take shelter where they could to allow their supplies to dry and their horses to rest.

At least it isn’t snowing, the Gaidin thought wearily as he rolled out of their shared bed into the pearly light of another morning. Katrie still slept, one hand curled against her face, hair tangled about her head, shoulders, and the rolled up shirt she used as a pillow. He leaned down to kiss her temple and felt the bond surge in recognition of his touch, then smooth back to sleepy contentment.

Smiling despite his gloomy mood, Dax stood and readied himself for the day, his eyes straying frequently to the sleeping form of the woman he loved. Finally he ducked out of the ruined cottage they had been calling home for four days, and found his way to the flat place around the side. It had likely been a garden framed on two sides by a stone wall at one time, but grass and moss had grown over the bare earth and tumbled-down rocks. For now it served as an adequate training ground.

He moved quietly through a series of stretches and warm up moves, then reached for the sword he had leaned against a larger rock. He worked through a quarter hour of forms then, flowing from one to the next smoothly, his mind lost in the Oneness and his hands and feet moving with scant hesitation. He set the blade aside, and this time he fell into an extended unarmed defense routine that Malina had taught him.

Turning at last, he found himself facing Katrie, who leaned against the cottage wall with his cloak around her shoulders as she watched him in silence. The ko’di dropped and gold light swiftly took its place, threading through their bond and flooding his mind. He joined her, wiping the sweat from his face with his forearm before pressing his lips against hers. “Good morning, lover,” he whispered softly. For long minutes he lost himself in her embrace, remembering again all the many reasons he had chosen to leave safety behind in favor of her company.

Finally he pulled away, his hands resting on slender shoulders. “I want to show you a few things about self defense,” he said, blue eyes on hers, “so we don’t have to worry so much about the Mandos and the al’Naras of the world.” The bond surged with both remembered fear and curiosity, and he smiled. “Get dressed, kitten. We can start now.” He kissed her again, then turned back to the overgrown garden to wait for her.

As it had been for the last three mornings, Katrie woke abruptly, the sudden physical absence of her Warder next to her rousing her from sleep. Blearily, she pushed herself up, rubbing at her eyes.

Her fingers felt along the rolled up shirt she used as a pillow much like she felt along the bond for Dax. He wasn't far, just beyond the dilapidated cottage walls that served remarkably well to keep out most of the rain and wind. He felt... very still. Very focused. He had explained what that was to her, called this distance in the bond the ko'di. She thought it sounded much like the Void that male channelers used when seizing saidin.

The pretty Cairhienin sat for a few minutes, running her hands through her hair before giving up. The constant rain and moisture made it so that what was normally gentle waves had become full curls, something she'd never experienced before and had no idea how to tame.

I want to watch him.

The thought came suddenly, and she didn't waste any time wondering why. Like she needed a reason or an excuse to watch Dax anyway. Katrie shivered as she left the warmth of their shared bed, the cold passing straight through her shift to touch her skin as if she wore nothing at all. She glanced around, picking up the first thing she could find and draping it around her shoulders. This is Dax's, she thought with no small amount of amusement, her slender frame all but lost as the folds of her lover's cloak swallowed her.

She snuggled into the rough fabric as she made her way outside on silent feet, her entire face lighting up as she caught sight of the Gaidin. She couldn't help the way she smiled, brown eyes soft. She settled in, leaning against the wall, happy just to watch him. Her gaze lingered on rippling muscle, Katrie grinning to herself as she praised whatever reason it was that Dax preferred to train without a shirt on. She bit down on her bottom lip. Light, but he was perfect. She found herself more than a little awed at how effortlessly he seemed to flow from one motion to another and how her body reacted each time he did.

Dax finally noticed her as he turned, the bond flaring with warmth and light, gold dancing behind her eyes. Her gaze followed him as he came to stand in front of her, wiping the sweat from his face with his forearm.

“Good morning, lover.”

Katrie shivered at the gentle whisper, forgetting what she was going to say in reply as his lips pressed against hers, her arms going around his shoulders as she leaned into their kiss. She let out a soundless breath as he pulled away reluctantly, Dax's hands going to rest on her shoulders. The perfect blue of his eyes never left hers.

“I want to show you a few things about self defense, so we don’t have to worry so much about the Mandos and the al’Naras of the world.” Katrie couldn't quite repress the icy shock of fear, but with it came a bubble of curiosity. He was going to show her? Teach her? Like the Drin and Ji? Her head tilted to the side ever-so-slightly, Dax smiling at her. “Get dressed, kitten. We can start now.” He finished with another kiss.

The fear dissipated, replaced instead by a surge of excitement. Dax’s amusement was like a low gentle rumble inside her mind. Katrie darted back inside the ruined cottage and managed to get dressed in record time with minimal rummaging and cursing. When she rejoined Dax at the overgrown wall, she looked up at him a tentative smile. “I'm ready.”

Dax turned to see Katrie emerge from the cottage, clad in the gray dress she had been wearing when they left Hama Valon. “I’m ready,” she told him. He returned her smile, but then gave her an appraising look. There was nothing to be done about her skirts- not only was that all she had, it was all she was likely to have. It would benefit her more to learn to fight in them than any other method.. Her hair, however…

“Your hair will get in the way of practice, and may be dangerous in a fight,” he commented in response to the surge of curiosity he felt over their bond. He circled around her and gathered the messy array of curls in his hands. “This will work for today,” he commented, dividing it into three rough sections and beginning to plait it together, “but it won’t stay in long.” To his surprise, absolute joy worked its way through the bond as his fingers worked over her hair. What’s this? He finished quickly enough, then reached behind him with his free hand. He pulled the leather tie that controlled his own hair free, then used it to bind the end of her braid.

He kissed the side of her neck, then strode past her into the overgrown garden, pushing unruly black waves away from his face with his hand. “Do you remember what I taught you about how to stand?” He asked, his memory sliding back to a particular day before he had gained his cloak, when they had danced together for all the world to see, and no one -save perhaps the Gaidin who had summoned him away- the wiser for it.

“Yes,” she said, her feet and body shifting automatically. Folds of cloth impeded his view, but when he pushed against her shoulder, she remained solid, turning to look at him. He nodded his approval.

“Excellent. Unlike with the sword, you want to hold one arm here, and one arm here, like so, to guard your face.” He adjusted her position. “That will protect your face from damage, but your primary goal in any fight should always be to escape, not to fight.” He touched her face. “You are tall, but you lack the muscles and weight of trained fighters. You do not want to face one head on unless it’s impossible to avoid. So, remember: your first goal is to escape.”

He grinned at her suddenly, facing her head on. “Suppose I was coming at you like Devin did in the inn,” he said. “What would you do first to help yourself get away?”

Dark eyes became unfocused as she thought back, Katrie feeling her lips thin as she tried to recall exactly what Devin - the one with the crescent shaped scar - had done. She clamped down on the fear that bubbled up, shoving that down as she looked up into the perfect blue of Dax's eyes. For a moment, it was all she could do not to think about his fingers working through her hair, or how badly she wanted to bury her hands into the black waves of his hair.

“He was blocking the door,” she told her Warder levelly. “He reached out and grabbed my forearm.” She indicated the spot and Dax's hand closed over it, the flash of his teeth distracting. “I wanted to get away, but he was very much in my way.” Lips twitched at him. “Like you are now. I need to find some way to distract you, enough so you'll let go of my arm and enough so that I can get past you while you're pulling me forward.”

What would you do first to help yourself get away?

“I need to hit him somewhere that'll hurt.” Her gaze fell on Dax's nose, and her face brightened. “Like his nose!” She reached up and touched the crooked ridge on the Tairen.

“Good, kitten.” The swell of pride that came through the bond made her flush from head to toe. “If you are to do that, strike upwards with an open palm.” Dax demonstrated and Katrie mimicked him. “Believe me, he would have seen stars if you'd have hit him like that. Eyes are also a good target - temporary blindness is never fun. Hit them hard enough the the blindness becomes permanent. If you've ever had your ear grabbed as a child, the same idea applies on grown men. And women.” He grinned again. “The neck is vulnerable as well, and if you attack the right spot, will end the fight with that one move. Groin... for obvious reasons, but any fighter worth their spit will protect that area accordingly. Knees make fantastic targets - they can only bend in one direction and will break easily if forced into another. Legs are a good target if you can get to them. Kick one out from under someone and they stumble, off balance, at a disadvantage.”

She listened with rapt attention. “Show me?”

He came around to demonstrate, Katrie riveted to his every move. To hit someone in the eyes required a level of coordination that she was beyond pleased to discover she had, the two curled fingers held almost like snake fangs darting out and hitting the center of Dax's open palm several times in a row. Grabbing someone's ear was self explanatory, the Tairen adding in a twist and a sharp yank upwards. Pull up high and hard enough and the other person was unable to do anything but follow along up onto their toes. She tried not to rub at the delicate shell of her ear after he had released her. Ow. The strike to the neck she had trouble executing, her thumb slipping against collarbone instead of shoving right up against the pulsepoint. The groin area was glossed over; she knew how that worked and it would only be guaranteed successful if her opponent was already reeling from a previous attack.

Dax showed her in theory where to strike along the legs and knees, explaining further that if she did somehow connect with the inside of her opponent's knee, it would take barely any force at all to bring the kneecap out of alignment, dislocating it. The shins and the small bones of the feet also made for wonderful targets.

“But... how do I try and escape the grip Devin had around my arm?” She frowned. “There was no way I was shaking free of it.”

The Gaidin walked his lover through many of the same steps he had dozens of students before her. What most would consider dirty fighting, he considered to be standard tools of his trade. He passed them on to his students as a carpenter might a hammer or a plane...and for Katrie, he made certain she understood their value. She seemed to grasp the concept easily enough: Cause as much pain as possible, as quickly as possible. What she lacked in weight and practice, she made up for in spades with surprisingly ferocious intent. Never again, kitten. he thought, as he showed her on his leg where she might kick to deal the most damage to a man in armor.

A few minutes later she stood before him, rubbing her wrist and frowning thoughtfully. “But... how do I try and escape the grip Devin had around my arm? There was no way I was shaking free of it.”

He smiled ruefully. “What I do not typically tell my students is that sometimes you cannot break a hold,” he admitted, spreading his hands. “If I wanted to hold you,” he wrapped his fingers around her wrist in a firm grip, “you would not be able to free yourself, no matter how hard you tried.” He only maintained his grasp for a moment before releasing her, his fingers brushing over the inside of her wrist in mute apology. “I don’t tell you this to scare you, but rather to prepare you.”

He met her eyes. “The thing to remember is that timing is as important as strength. Grab my wrist as firmly as you can.” She did, giving him a curious look, and he twisted his arm, pulling his elbow low and pulling free immediately. “If you do that the instant you feel a hand on your arm, you have a much better chance than if you wait until after the grip has tightened.” He repeated the move, showing her what he had done until she could repeat it smoothly.

“If you aren’t able to break free, then you must be alert and patient. Most assailants will not expect you to know how to fight- use that to your advantage. Wait until the moment is right, inflict pain as I showed you a moment ago, and use the distraction to break free.”

After a few minutes, he pulled her against back-first against him, his hands snaking around her waist as he took her hands in his. “You form a fist like this,” he said, folding her fingers down over her palms, and her thumb pressed against her knuckles. “Always with thumb out. Keep your wrist straight, and throw your body into the punch.”

Brown eyes studied her hand, closed into the fist that Dax had coaxed her fingers and palm into. “Thumb always out because if it's tucked inside your hand when you hit someone, it could break,” Katrie said out loud suddenly, twisting her neck enough so that she could look sidelong at him. “Wrist straight because you could break it too, if it's not.”

Even without the bond to tell her that she was, her lover's grin was all the confirmation she needed that she was right. “And I know you're not trying to scare me,” she smiled at him for a moment, her head tilting to the side the next as she faced forward again. “What do you mean, 'throw' my body into the punch?”

“Remember when I told you to watch my shoulders at all times because they would tell you where I would move next?” With the sword, yes. She nodded and he continued. “That's the idea here as well. I'm putting my body behind my movements. Shoulders, torso, hips, legs, using all of these properly will make it so that when you do have to hit - or kick - someone, there will be weight and force behind it.”

Oh. Katrie exhaled softly. “And I lack the muscle and weight of trained fighters,” she repeated back to him, her understanding flashing along the bond. “That's why it's even more important that I try to get away rather than fighting.”

“Yes, kitten.” Her Warder's arm tightened briefly around her waist, his lips going to kiss the back of her head. The tall Cairhienin couldn't see his face, but Dax felt pleased. “And what you're learning now will help you do that. So. Always aim a few inches beyond the thing you are going to hit. Again, it'll put more weight behind your attack.” The Gaidin released her then, the small thread of disappointment echoing between them both. “I'm going to show you three types of attack. There are others, but I want you to get comfortable with these first. There isn't a practice dummy for me to square off against so you'll just have to imagine that there is.” Another flash of white teeth.

“Basic punch. Hit straight out with your forward hand. Aim at the head, or you can pivot and drop to aim lower.” Dax demonstrated as he spoke, his fist lashing out to what would be shoulder level on an average person and then to what would be someone's abdomen. “You can punch with your offhand as well.” Again, he demonstrated, Katrie watching the way his entire frame moved with him.

“The hook. Lift your elbow level with your shoulder and turn your entire torso into the blow. Like this.” He did as he had explained, a rapid jerk of motion from his shoulder and the Gaidin's fist would have connected right about jaw level. “Again, you can do this with your offhand. And you can drop lower to hit along the body as well.”

Blue eyes cut to her, then back ahead of him. “The upper cut. Drop low, keep your elbow close to your side, and drive upwards with your fist. You're aiming at jaw or belly, generally speaking. Once more, you can use either hand, depending on how you move your body.” He turned to face her, fingers grasping her chin gently. “Remember your footwork. Start just out of reach of your opponent. Take a step in, punch, then step back out. Don't stand still. Keep moving. Remember that your attacker won't be still either.”

She repeated what she saw, slowly at first, trying to make sure that her shoulders moved with her, and that she kept her wrist straight. Basic punch. Hook. Upper cut. The pretty Cairhienin then repeated the same motions with her offhand, her feet tangling in confusion as she forgot to bring her back foot forward when her forward foot moved.

Dax's hands went to her waist, correcting her posture, lifting to her shoulders to nudge one further up while pulling the opposite one back. She found herself flexing her neck from side to side, the Tairen's amusement causing her lips to twitch a little. Katrie gave a little huff, dropping her arms for a moment to gather herself before trying again.

Fists and shoulders and torso and feet. She kept reminding herself and after a while of repetition, it became easier to remember. She didn't have to think quite so hard about it. After several more sets, she felt less like a stumbling mess and more like... well more like she could really do this. She... was actually enjoying it. The beginnings of something akin to confidence replaced her hesitation, even as the muscles along her arms and shoulders started to burn as she finally understood what Dax meant by “throwing her weight” into her punches. A handful of sets later and she had to stop, letting protesting muscles rest for a minute.

“You make it look easy,” she confessed, giving Dax a rueful smile.

I should have known she would give it her all, Dax chastised himself silently, a slight smile on his face as he watched his bondmate practicing the punches he had taught her. Fierce determination flooded the bond, along with flickers of satisfaction and even enjoyment as she swung her fists. There had been a time before he came to the Tower when he thought women had no place in the art of war. Coming to the Tower had taught him otherwise, though it had not been a lesson easily learned. Now he could both see and feel Katrie’s determination, and he found his prior attitude shameful.

He felt her attention shift a moment before she turned toward him, shaking her arms out. “You make it look easy,” she told him with a smile.

He shook his head as he took her hand in his. “I have practiced every day for many years,” he reminded her as his fingers ran over her arm, then began to gently massage the soreness away. “And before that, I practiced with the sword. It’s strength and endurance I built up over time- you can do the same.” He switched arms, his touch both efficient and caring as he worked his way up.

A tendril of hair had worked its way out of the rough braid, and he pushed it back in place. Katrie leaned toward him, and their lips met in a lingering kiss. For long moments they stood in silence, reveling in their feelings for one another and the freedom they shared, lost to everything outside the space they stood in. Finally he pulled away, breath unsteady.

“Defense is next,” he told her, forcing his thoughts back to what they had been doing. “It doesn’t do any good to learn how to hit people if you don’t know how to avoid getting punched in return. Are you ready?” She did not seem inclined to move, but after a moment she nodded, and they stepped apart.

“Hit me,” he said in a playful tone. She lifted an eyebrow and gave him a look, and he laughed before elaborating. “I cannot show you how to defend without demonstrating, which means you have to hit me.” She balled up her fist and struck; he knocked the blow aside with his palm. “That was a parry,” he said in response to her widened eyes. “Try it.” He aimed his fist at her shoulder, and her hand rose automatically to push it aside. “Excellent.”

He moved on to show her how body movement backward or to the side could make a parry more effective, how to cover from a hook, and how to catch. “I would not recommend trying that one too frequently,” he commented, her fist still planted against his palm. “If you don’t have the strength to meet the blow, it can do more damage than good.”

Once she had the hang of it, he grinned at her. “Shall we dance?”

The last time they had faced off across one another seemed like a lifetime ago; Dax had been a Ji, she a newly made Accepted, and the practice swords they used feeling strange and unwieldy in her hands. Katrie could recall the apprehension, the turmoil, the hesitance... how utterly ridiculous and slow she felt. That was all absent as she distractedly rubbed at the spot along her upper arm where she had 'covered' from a hook.

“Remember kitten, the most important thing is to maintain balance. If you make a move with the left side, your next offensive move should be with the right. It's like a set of scales. If you move too much with one side, you will lose your center and your balance. Be mindful of your feet. There are exceptions, of course, and if you want I can show you later. But for now, let's work on what you've learned.”

White teeth leapt out from coppery skin as she nodded in acknowledgment. This time... was different, for some reason. This time, she felt like she could actually do it.

“You can combine those basic moves into sets. Focus your mind on two things: what you're going to do next and what your opponent is most likely going to do next.” Dax began to move as he explained, and the tall Cairhienin stiffened a moment before letting all of that tension out in one sharp breath, mind curiously still. “If I jab with my forward hand,” he did with his left hand and Katrie parried, brown eyes watching his body. He was going slowly for her benefit. “And then follow with a low hook,” his body dropped, right fist swinging. She stepped back, out of range, before returning to position. “I can then move into a face-level hook from the opposite side.” Dax swung his left arm again, and she stepped back again instead of covering. “See?”

“Yes,” she answered simply, sable orbs glowing.

“Be prepared for your opponent to respond with an attack. Never assume they won't. Be prepared to change your strategy and improvise. Maybe you get too close to me with that second hook and can't get your fist up for that third hit. So instead, you gather your elbow and smash my face with that.” The Gaidin's smile was wide.

“Show me that sometime later after we dance?” Her look up at him was appraising and that only made him laugh.

“Come on then, kitten.”

Katrie grinned and the bond echoed softly with Dax's pleased surprise. The Gaidin let her go first, her face slipping into a mask of concentration. Left jab high, cross right low jab... and then he explained to her that positioned as she was, there was a greater chance she would get hit here. She nodded, frowning a little. He motioned for her to straighten and Dax repeated her two moves back at her, Katrie parrying, then stepping back out of range, immediately stepping back in.

She had no idea if what she was saying in her mind was actually correct, but it helped her remember what each motion was. Step in. Left jab high, cross right low jab, left uppercut, high right hook. Step out. Again, Dax repeated her combination back at her and her thoughts quickly went on the defensive. Parry, step out, step out, cover. Ow. Pivot. Why pivot? Because. Keep moving.

Something... was tickling at her cheeks and falling over her forehead. My hair. Absently, she gave her head an irritated toss, a detached part of her blowing dark locks out of her face. The curling tendrils stuck against her skin. Step in, left jab low, right uppercut, high left hook, high right cross jab, drop body left hook, high left hook, high right cross jab. Step out. Step back, pivot, cover, parry, step back, cover - ow again - parry.

Abruptly, her arms gave a strange quaver and fell down to her sides as if they were made of jelly. Katrie blinked, looking over at Dax in confusion. “They don't want to lift anymore.”

The Tairen's gaze was as soft as his voice, his fingers running over her arms, gently massaging like he had done previously. “Rest a few minutes, love.”

“But I want to keep going!” She huffed again, her irritation short lived as the Gaidin’s warmth and... something else flooded through the bond. What's this feeling? she wondered, stretching out her awareness to touch it. “I like this dance better than the one we had with the practice swords.”

Dax flowed from block to blow to parry to elbow strike and back to block. Katrie's movements were stiff and uncertain at first, but he took care to pause, to correct her positioning, to explain the whys and the hows. To his pleased surprise, he rarely had to repeat himself, and as the spar continued, he found himself spending less time instructing and more time simply teaching by doing. He could see her watching every move, feel her concentration over the bond, and marveled at her intensity. Where has she been hiding? he thought as he stepped back to push his hair out of his eyes.

Fatigue began to creep through her mind, and he knew the spar would not last much longer. His touch grew lighter, his movements slower, and his eyes followed her body with critical care. If she pushed too far she would not be able to move the next day, let alone practice what he had taught her. A flash of amusement crossed his mind as he thought about the frustration she would feel at such a state of affairs. Finally the Accepted reached for him- and her hands fell to her sides of their own accord. Shock rolled through the bond, and his lips twitched. "They don't want to lift anymore," she commented.

He took her wrists and pulled her close, his hands gentle on her arms as they worked through muscles tight and sore from exhaustion. "Rest a few minutes, love," he said softly.

“But I want to keep going!” Irritation washed over the bond, followed by a crisp warm feeling. It took a moment, but Dax's lips spread in a broad smile. Confidence. “I like this dance better than the one we had with the practice swords," the dark haired woman commented, looking up at him almost defiantly. She had worked up a sweat; now she stood so close, the smell of her filled his senses. He closed his eyes and let his head rest against hers, his fingers still working over her arms. Her confidence remained, but it took on a warm glow in his mind.

They stood silently for some minutes, until at last Dax shifted, pushing his hair out of his eyes once again. "Swords are a very different animal," he responded to her previous comment. "They require a different kind of strength, a different kind of focus, and a different kind of resolve." He paused thoughtfully, then continued. "When you attack a man with four feet of double edged steel, you are making a silent agreement to kill or be killed. That is quite a difference from 'debilitate and flee', wouldn't you say?"

He ducked his head to kiss her before she could respond, his pride in her work glowing brilliantly between them. When he pulled away, he cupped her cheek in his palm and whispered softly, "You'll never be helpless again, love. You did amazing."

Brown eyes watched as her Warder finally lifted his forehead away from hers, pushing away at the hair that kept falling into his eyes. Her fingers twitched; she wanted so very badly to bury her hands into the unruly waves, but her arms protested at the very idea of moving.

"Swords are a very different animal," he said, a faint trace of amusement coming through the bond. "They require a different kind of strength, a different kind of focus, and a different kind of resolve." Dax's expression was almost meditative as he paused for a moment, his eyes meeting hers. "When you attack a man with four feet of double edged steel, you are making a silent agreement to kill or be killed. That is quite a difference from 'debilitate and flee', wouldn't you say?"

Katrie thought about it for a moment, but before she could answer, she found her mouth occupied by the Tairen's lips pressing against hers. Her thoughts scattered and she was more than happy to do nothing else but lean into their kiss, her senses humming. Something... bright and glowing with firm edges... coursed through the bond; this was the second time she had felt... whatever this was from the Gaidin.

Dax pulled away, and she found her cheek nestled in one of his callused palms. "You'll never be helpless again, love. You did amazing."

Even with those words, it still took her several minutes before she realized what it was that she was sensing from him. Her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. Pride. He... he was... Dax was proud of her. Of her! The enormity of that realization washed over the tall Cairhienin, amazement and no small amount of wonder racing through her mind.

"What is it?" he asked her, blue eyes studying her intently.

Katrie fumbled to find the words, her hands gesturing helplessly. "You... you're proud" and she still couldn't say the word in anything more than a breathy whisper, "of me."

"Of course I am." That was said fiercely, her Warder's brows lowering a little.

She had to close her eyes at the surge of emotion that burst free at that. She felt Dax's awareness wrap around hers and she smiled, the weather and the sweat accounting for only some of the wetness on her face. When sable orbs finally opened again, they were bright and glistening. "I love you," she whispered, leaning up abruptly to cover his lips with hers. Her arms at last agreed to cooperate as she reached up, filling her hands with fistfuls of his wavy black hair.