Two months passed. The siblings had not wasted their time. Uncle John had dug out a muddy incline at the bank of the creek which they used for a few different games. Today, however, they were using the slope for a different purpose.

The mud at the bottom would go halfway up Ryan's calf. That was were John stood, legs wide, butt end of a shovel forward. A dulled kitchen knife was strapped to the back of his left forarm.

Ryan held the upper ground. A distinct disadvantage given that he would need to close the distance to have a chance. It was much harder to go down than up. In his hands were the halves of a former rake handle. It had had a split in it, and was thus declared unfit for service, with some enthusiasm that morning. Of course it wasn't the same, but none of them were game to find out what mud, blades and a steep incline would do.

They had done a few times. Last time, he ended up rolling down after three steps. He'd had the presece of mind to grab John around the legs and they both ended up in the water.

The crack of Mia's whip cut the silence.

Ryan decided. If he couldn't walk down, much less parry at the same time, he'd just have to take a different approach.

I'll slide down.

And jumped into the slope. He twisted and slid, wildly swinging against his uncle's thrust with his right "blade". He struck his left hard into the ground to stop from twisting further. He slid past the end of the shovel. His right arm struck John across the chest. John swung the shovel, using it to push him further past. Ryan landed on his side in the water.

Ten minutes later, he sat with a bucket and a rag, trying to work the black soil out of his fur. That's how long it'd taken to get it out of Mia's fur. She hadn't been a part of this training, instead sparring on a relatively flat part of the creek ban. As such, the mud hadn't extended much past her ankles. Not that they minded.

To think he calls this "the forbidden way".

Mia was beside him, working water magic through the fur in his right ear.

"Stop it", she said.

"You try hold still when someone runs magic through your ear. ", he reached over and poked her in the belly, a spark skipping from his finger. She flinched, and water fell from his ear. He wouldn't try what she was doing of course. He couldn't dream of controlling it along the fur the way she had been.

Uncle John passed Ryan a fresh bucket.

"Ryan, how do you think you did?", John asked.

Ryan snorted.

"Well, that's true. I mean on the last run. ", he added.

Ryan switched scrubbing to the other foot. "I thought I was onto something but it was even harder in the slide. The one strike I had ended up as a wild parry. "

"That's right. In a real fight, I'd call that suicidal. "

"And that makes you happy.", Mia inserted.

"Ryan made the right choice. There is no way to slowly inch down that slope without getting skewered. You have to commit to an attack. Of course, your choice of weapons doesn't help. If we had more time I'd have you practice a slow descent while Mia supports you with her whip. "

Ryan nodded. It was a situation where his speed offered him no real advantage.

"But enough of that. Mia, you've also been doing fairly well, considering. You would even be ready for the next stage of your training, but lucky for you the mottled hornet is not found this far from the home country. "

"Wasps", Mia said. Her tail stiffened. She'd been stung when she was ten. Twenty seven times.

"No, its a hornet. And the nests are much smaller than the blue stripes you have here. Three or four, usually. Its really the best way to train with a whip. "

"I'll bet it is. ", Ryan commented and squeezed Mia's hand. Mia caught his tone of voice, and relaxed her tail.

"See? Listen to your older brother. Now then, when you're all cleaned up go and pack your things. We'll head off at sunrise. "

The siblings exchanged glances. They weren't about to question why they were going early. They'd been looking forward to it for months.