The other combatant was a thin rat, black and white, frail looking, but extremely nimble and lithe. He was wielding a falchion sword with a skill that was great, but not the equal of Blacksword. He had survived this long because he was quicker than Jenny and where she thrust her balde, he was not to be found. The two dueled like this for several minutes, Jenny was fighting the urge to give in to frustration and anger and remained calm. The rat was expending his energy quickly and was unable to gain any respite when Jenny began to launch an onslaught against his defenses. The rat was able to parry her strikes as if he had an invisible shield before him. He moved so quickly it appeared he had dozens of arms, each wielding a sword. He lashed out with his own attack combination, but Blacksword was able to deflect every blow.
Jenny Blacksword could see that her opponent was starting to tire. As he lunged at her with his blade in a quick thrust, she sidestepped and caught his neck with just a nick. He stopped in mid lunge and stood up straight. His shoulders sagged in defeat and he lowered his blade, hanging his head down in frustration, watching as the red stain spilled out of the small wound and stained the white fur on the front of his neck.
"The battle is mine Razor! I have drawn first blood again.", shouted Jenny in triumph.
The rat sheathed his sword in frustration and scowled at Jenny. "I would not be defeated so easily if you would teach me what I am ready to know! Every day I follow your lessons and every day you show me something new or counter what I have been taught!", he growled.
"That is why I am still your mentor, Razor.", explained Jenny, "If I were to show you everything at once, you would certainly be killed by your own confidence. You need to learn patience. Even your fighting style demonstrates that. For all your quickness, you can still be defeated because you do not ration your energy. I only had to wait until you were tired."
Razor wasn't really angry. He respected Jenny more than anyone else he had ever met. He new she was speaking the truth and was not talking down to him. She was an excellent teacher and Razor respected her methods. He also felt that in his own way, he was keeping her skills honed by being obstinate and asking many questions. She was the archetypical teacher, and he was a paragon of studiousness.
"Why don't you clean up and rest, Razor, and we will have dinner together. Red beans and rice." ,suggested Jenny. Razor strode off towards the showers and the first aid kit. Head held high...
Fri Dec 28 18:19:16 2001