Chapter 196
“There she is! I was hoping to see you today.” Warrior Nickolas walks over and gives me a tight side
hug. “I’m glad you’re finally here, I wish the reason for it was better though. Let me know if you need
anything.” He whispers the last part and gives me a pointed look. I figured he would, but it still bugs
me a little that he knows why I’m really here too and had probably been given all the details.
“Alright folks, let’s get started. Skylar here is new to the ranks, Nickolas and I will be catching her up
this week, then she will be added into regular rotations.” A chorus of ‘yes, sir’ comes from the large
group. “Let’s go.” He points at me and I follow. We start with a light jog and soon the path becomes
familiar. At least running like this, at a normal pace, I can notice my surroundings and start to learn
the territory.
We ran the loop twice which took almost an hour. My lungs are burning from the exertion and lack of
use, but I refuse to look like it on the outside. Especially after everything that Audrina implied. I am
out of shape and going to have my ass handed to me today, but I won’t look weak.
After the group run we broke into three smaller groups and true to their word, Warriors Osiston and
Nickloas kept me with them, but I was by no means separated from the group.
We were sparring one-on-one in human form for the first rotation.
“Alright Little One, I want to see the extent of your injury recovery. You haven’t grappled in over a
month and we need to see what muscles are still healing. I want you to start slow. Don’t look at me
like that.” Clearly my face isn’t doing a good job of hiding my irritation of being told to take it easy.
“This is a body and movement assessment. Once I see how everything moves, I will let you know
what you are allowed to do at full force and what we need to get stronger before I allow that. I will
not have you reinjuring yourself just for your pride. If you are out with a serious injury you are
useless to us. At least working slowly you can actually train and be an asset. Got it?”
I fight an eye roll. He’s right, but I don’t want to go slow. I’m tired of not being able to move and
work, it’s becoming frustrating and I didn’t realize how much I rely on the release from the workout.
“Got it.” I grumble moving into position.
“Alright, let’s start with arm blocks, holds and releases. Then we will move into leg work. From there
we will start to grapple full body.” I just nod. I want to talk less and move more.
For the next three hours Nickolas pushes my body to the limits. I hate to admit that he was right,
even in my own head. I needed to go slow, I have lost so much muscle and flexibility, but the muscle
memory is there, I know what each move is supposed to feel like which is helpful.
This time, I think we have been going for at least five minutes. He has finally let me start to use my
full body and he is trying to pin me on the ground. I was just told I have to hold him off until Warrior
Osiston calls time and who knows how long they are going to let me go.
Finally a whistle blows and Warrior Nickolas stands from his attack position. “Great work, we have a
few things to work on, but far better than I expected. We’ll do this again at your next training
session, then I think we can start to mix you into the rest of the group.” He pats me on the shoulder
as we walk over to where the water station is.
“Thanks. Is there anything I can do on my own to make this recovery crap go faster. I hate that my
training is broken up.” I look over at him before I basically start chugging water.