...What the hell is in my ear, is the first thought I have before I almost jump out of bed in fright and confusion. How can something be slimy, wet, and weirdly rough all at the same time… staring at the culprit for my rude awaking in a voice somewhere between dead tired and pissed off I say, “Notch, why did you just violate my ear with your tentacle?” I don’t know why but even saying it made me squirm in discomfort. To make matters worse he just points at the old clock in my room, looking over I see I only have ten minutes to get to the training area to meet Lea. “...I guess I should say thank you, Notch… but really… wasn’t there a better way to wake me. Like by hitting me with a mana bolt or just slapping my face a few times…,” now the little guy is just shaking all over in his version of what I know is a giggle… jack ass…

Deciding just to drop it because Lea will probably skin me alive if I’m not there on time. So I rush out of my room and to the training room, seeing that Lea isn’t there yet I relax a little and do a lite jog over to the training weapons but only make it halfway there when I trip over something. Falling face first I see the floor getting closer and closer when smack I hit something hard and… furry? This is not the floor... I can still see it about a foot below me. Before I can have delusions of floating in the air the seemingly empty air below me changes into a light blue colored fur and I hear a very angry growling. Looking over to my right I see the massive head of a cat with foot long clear canines glaring at me menacingly.

“Ah… sorry,” Is all I get out before it throws me off its body and onto the floor where it puts one of its front paws on my chest growling even louder now. Feeling its claws starting to poke into my chest I hear the most beautiful thing in the world, at least for this moment anyway.

“Dagger, stop playing with Nox,” Lea calls out as she is walking down the stairs. “What has gotten into you? You’ve seen him the few times he has been in my office.”

With the pressure of Dagger’s paw leaving my chest I take a shuddering breath before sitting up and telling Lea, “It's my fault, I ah, tripped over him in my rush to get a practice weapon.”

Lea, now petting the purring Dagger’s head, “Is that right Dagger did the mean old Nox trip over you,” Dagger’s response was to purr louder and rub against her leg. “Ha, you can't-fool me Dagger I know you better than that you were invisible and purposely tripped him.” Dagger’s purring stops momentarily and he seems to hunch down like a child that has been caught in a lie. “I swear, Bubo is a bad influence on you…” Patting him on the side, she walks over to me helping me to my feet. “Sorry, about him Nox ever since he evolved into a Crystal Ice Tooth Dagger likes to turn invisible to mess with people,” giving a playful glare towards the huge blue-tinged tiger.

“It’s fine; he only gave me a small scare, you said he'd seen me before? Oh, that large pillow in your office I was wondering what that was for,” I say without thinking, I'm still stunned over what just happened.

“Yup, that’s where he likes to spy on all my guests, anyways get a saber and I’ll show you some forms that you will have to practice until well, really you’ll always have to practice these forms they will help with flexibility and some muscle memory,” Lea tells me this first in an overindulging mothers voice while looking at Dagger then in a very serious tone in the end looking me in the eye.

Running over I grab a wooden saber and face Lea, “Alright first I’ll show you the first ten movements and after you’ll copy with me correcting.”

Drawing her saber out of its sheath I gasp in shock then in a hushed worshiping voice, “That’s a Dragon’s Weapon.”

“Hmmm? You’ve seen one of these before?” Lea asks in shock.

Damn, what was I thinking very few commoners will ever be able to identify let alone see a Dragon’s Weapon up close. But I just couldn’t help myself seeing the Ice Dragons imprinted on the sides of Lea’s saber surprised me too much. With a few seconds passing before I answer in a lame, even to me, lie, “I uh, heard them described before by a bard…”

With a scrutinizing stare, she says, “Uh huh… but yes this is my saber Icecicle a Dragon’s Weapon. So you know what that means then right?”

In awe I reply, “Yes, you’re a master of the saber…”

“Correct, so now forget about it and close your mouth before you catch a fly, observe carefully, and I’ll start,” after saying this I was stunned even more what does she mean forget about it? SHE WAS A WEAPON MASTER, A GOD DAMNED DRAGON’S WEAPON… what the hell is she doing in this backwater town she at the very least should have been adopted into the Waterstorm family. Very few people ever become a Dragon’s Weapon it’s mostly just the heads of the family and maybe there one of their top generals… Before I can continue down this rabbit hole, Lea stops moving.

“Alright, now your turn don’t worry about getting it perfect on the first try.”

Staring at her, I have no idea what she is talking about… my turn for what?

After a minute of us looking at each other Lea has on a confused expression and says, “Nox? Do the forms…”

With dawning realization, I remember why I’m here... why didn’t pay attention this person in front of me is the same as a Noble what if she decides to punish me as Axel did she’d have every right to do it too, so with a pained expression try to lie, “I was ah, mesmerized by your skill can you please do them again but slower, Ma’am?”

“Nox, you weren’t paying attention were you?”

“I’m sorry, I was just shocked about your identity as a Dragon Weapon, ma’am,” I reply very formally with a bow.

“What the hell are you doing Nox?”

“I don’t understand Ma’am,” I say trying not to remember how many times I was disrespectful to this powerful individual. I called her by a nickname…

“Nox, come here.”

Running over to obey her as quickly as I can, I stand in the exact spot she pointed to, and before I can even say anything, she knocks me on the head with the pommel of her saber. Falling to the ground, I look up at her in confusion… I followed all her orders did I do something wrong?

“Nox, let me make this very clear, I am a normal human being, not some goddess of war you are to treat me just the same as you have been before you knew,” she tells me this with the tip of her saber lightly poking me in the chest effortlessly cutting through the material of my clothes and even drawing some blood.

Thinking that maybe I should use her proper title, I say, “But Dragon Weapon, it would be improper of me to do so.” I continue to stay on the ground bowed down in complete terror shacking with flashbacks of Axel and his spider Arachne.

Seeing my state Lea gets on the ground with me and grabs me into a hug, “Nox, what is wrong why are you acting this way, you're shaking more now than when Dagger was threatening you with his massive claws.”

Unable to reply I am trapped in a cycle of terror seeing the Black Mist Spider in my mind's eye staring at me in hunger. When I feel a slap across my cheek I stare dumbly at Lea, noticing for the first time that she is holding me in her arms I start to become terrified again when Notch slaps me again on the cheek seeing, and my partner I am able to gain a semi-balance of normalcy.

Seeing reason return to my eyes Lea says, “Nox? Are you okay?”

I nod and try to leave her embrace, but she doesn’t let go.

“Okay, I’m sorry if I scared you with my poke, but I wanted to make sure you knew I was serious about you treating me like a normal person or at the very least like your boss. Got it?”

I nod again, and she lets me go, standing up I turn to her and say, “Sorry, I was just uh, overwhelmed a little…. Lea.”

“You scared me; you were shaking all over, should we do this later?”

“No, I’m fine now thank you,” I say as confidently as I can.

“...Alright, but Nox if you need to talk about anything you can come to me okay?”

I nod again.

“Okay, now pay attention, and I’ll do the first ten forms again,” after saying that she picks her saber back up and starts moving in a slow almost dance-like formations.

A short time later I try moving in the same way she does, but my body seems to stutter as I move about. Lea doesn’t say anything until I finish what I remember of the ten forms.

“Alright, not too bad for your first time do it again but this time I’ll do it with you.”

Starting again I realize all of my body is aching, and after only mimicking the first four forms I have to stop, or I would fall in exhaustion.

Seeing my state Lea says with a small grin, “It’s a lot tougher than you thought it would be right?”

Tiredly I reply, “very much so, you make it look so easy, but my muscles feel like they are on fire already and I'm not even able to do it fluidly like you.”

“Practice, now did I say you could stop start again,” she says in her serious tone.

Standing up straight I start again but this time I was able to make it to the fifth form before I had to stop but before I could even rest properly, “Again!”, “Again!”, “Again!”, “Again!” over and over until I am unable to get up off the floor.

“Well, it’s a start we’ll do this again tomorrow,” without any more sympathy her and Dagger leave me on the floor still gasping for breath and unable to lift a single finger.

After what feels like a lifetime I am finally able to sit up only to see Notch cleaning the gym. Shaking my head, I call him over, and we slowly make our way to the inn for breakfast and back again more painfully to the guild. Entering I see Adile waving me over.

With a massive grin on her face, she says in greeting, “Hey Nox, Lea told me to tell you to make sure you move around a lot today, or your muscles will become stiff and tomorrow’s training with being even more painful.”

I am unable to build up the effort to reply with anything more than a nod and a, “Thank you,” I walk back to my office and try to get some work done. With a break now and then I move around stiffly and make sure to go back down to the training hall to shoot a few mana bolts. Before getting food, a Talon, and collapsing into bed exhausted only to awake with nightmares of spiders multiple times in the night with Notch calming me back down each time.