The next day, in the early afternoon, the first training session started. One-eye's group was put with Divine to train. They'd left the big clearing to go to a much smaller one in the forest.

The pups sat in a line, while Divine paced to and fro in front of them.

"Alright. I've shown you this fighting move five times now. I think that it's time for you to do it yourselves. You can't learn fighting by watching; you learn that by practice, practice, and...guess what? More practice," she said, and she stopped for a while, after which she continued walking.

"I want you guys to take on each other. Diggs, you go with Arall. Maud, I want you and One-eye to try the move I showed you before on one another. You are allowed to bite, but I don't want to see blood. Do it swift and practically painless."

She stopped at the end of that sentence, and stared at them expectantly.

She's expecting us to attack one another already? We've been here for like...a few minutes! Stress made the hair on One-eye's neck and hump rise.

He saw how Arall and Diggs had gotten up and started to circle one another, growling softly.

Maud looked at One-eye, who put his tail between his hind legs, and then at Divine. "Ugh...why me?"

She obviously didn't mean for the trainer to hear that, but Divine looked disapprovingly. "Because I told you to do so. Remember, that's one of the first things Jera told you yesterday. Now don't sit there like a bunch of useless grouses! Get to it!" She spat out the final words and stomped her paw on the ground.

One-eye stopped looking at the two other Lone One assassin trainees, and tried to look at Maud. Whaah!

She was already flinging herself towards him while screaming, "Hey, hunchback! Take some of this! GRAAAH!"

One-eye yelped in fear and jumped to the side, and he saw how Maud missed him by a centimetre. He tried to get away, but the she-wolf grabbed his hind paw and pulled him back, causing him to stumble.

"That's not the move I showed you!" Divine shouted, but the fight was on. Maud released One-eye's paw and got ready to jump on him.

Within a second, One-eye's brain and instincts started to work. What was the move like? Do I know any other defenses? No! The move went like...no...I gotta—

There was no more time. He saw Maud launch herself again, preparing her move, but, all of a sudden ignoring his emotions, he did it.

He jumped at her, as well, crashing into her mid-air. She screamed, but he remained calm, climbed on top of her, grabbed her neck between his jaws, and they landed, dust and red leaves flying up from the force.

One-eye panted, still holding her neck. I did it...I did it! I pinned her!

He released Maud carefully. He hadn't really bitten her; her fur was only a bit ruffled, but the black wolf thought otherwise.

"Ouch! He bit me! He bit me!"

One-eye lay back his ears. But...there's no blood! She bit harder in my leg! I just grabbed her neck, that's all!

"I didn't bite deep! There is no blood! She's alright!" he protested, as he saw Divine, Arall, and Diggs approach him.

Then, the trainer spoke softly. "Good job on using that move. But it was a clumsy performance. Do it swifter, more agile."

I wasn't even prepared for it! I was just doing it on the spur of the moment! One-eye kept quiet, though. Divine was right, after all. He'd been clumsy, and their landing hadn't been all that great. He'd slightly twisted one of his paws and he was pretty sure that Maud had hurt something, as well; she got up a bit stiffly, glaring at him furiously with her amber eyes.

She looked at Divine and started limping even more, clearly overreacting. "But he bit me! It huuuuurts!" she whined.

Divine didn't take any of it, though. "Oh, shut up, whiny pup. Yelping won't get you anywhere in training. Try it again!"

Arall and Diggs got back to fighting once more, and Maud, after rolling her eyes, took the battle stance, too. She held her shoulders high, head low, ears back, and eyes half-shut. One-eye took the same pose.

"I won't let you win again, monster! That was just good luck," she snarled.

One-eye looked at her, uncertain. He really hadn't meant to hurt her. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

Maud replied by jumping at him. One-eye lunged, as well, but missed her. Maud turned around quickly and tried to grab his neck, but she was a bit too low, and his hump was in her way. As soon as One-eye felt her teeth on his oddly-shaped back, he took advantage of it and rolled over, squishing Maud under it. "Uch! Oof!"

Sorry!

As soon as he got up again, he went for Maud's neck again, pinning her down while holding her scruff, this time even more loosely than before. She pulled herself free instantly.

One-eye stepped back, ears down. "I...I'm sorry! I really don't want to hurt you."

Maud got up, and One-eye saw some of the colourful leaves clinging to her ruffled fur. "I do want to hurt you," she snarled.

What am I doing wrong? I'm only doing the right move... He decided to speak up.

"What did I do wrong? Did I bite you too hard? Please, I'll try to change whatever I'm doing wrong! Just tell me!"

"You can't change the fact that you are a Frick!"

"But I—"

Divine interrupted him.

"Well done, Arall. But don't carry your weight that much on your hind legs. Try to divide it. Nice one for you, as well, One-eye. You are not as hopeless as I expected you to be."

One-eye stared at his deformed front paw. Thank you, he thought sarcastically in mental pain.

He suddenly heard a faint mutter of, "Now it's my chance!" As he looked up, he saw that Maud was almost on top of him. He dodged and ran away.

"Come back, you coward!" Maud howled as she bolted after him.

"Maud, One-eye, stop this nonsense!" Divine ordered.

But if I stop running, Maud will... He'd seen the ferocious look in her eyes. This was no longer training to her--it was war.

"For crying out loud, stop running and fight!" Divine's shout sounded shrill.

Fight? I'll show her. A sudden burst of anger unleashed in One-eye, and he turned around, facing Maud, but his determination suddenly vanished. She was ready for him, head-butted him until he fell over, and went for his right eye.

NO! He howled in fear and pain as he dropped to the ground. Maud ran past him, turned back, and went for his neck, grabbing his scruff and shaking him firmly. "Thot woll tooch yoh!" she growled with a mouthful of fur.

Divine interjected and grabbed the black pup by her own scruff, dragging her off of One-eye, who still lay, whimpering.

"Maud, get off that pup! We're not here to rip each other's eyes out, we're here to practice agile fighting! If you want to fight like this, fine, but wait a few weeks, until you get to train with Naar."

"Oh, I'm soooo sorry," Maud faked an apology.

Divine shook her head and growled.

One-eye heard her approach, but pain, both mentally and physically, and fear kept him laying down limp. Not blind...I can't be blind...

Divine rolled him over with a push of her muzzle. "Hey, it's not nap time, hunchback. She didn't take your eye; it's just a small gash near it. Get up!"

I'm not...blind? One-eye opened his right eye, slowly. It hurt, and everything he saw was blurry, but he could see.

"You just got some dirt in your eye. Stop whining."

One-eye got up, whimpering, and nodded. After blinking a few times and letting the tears get out, he could see again, properly.

Divine turned her back on him and Maud as soon as he was standing again, and she looked at Arall and Diggs, who were also done with their practice.

"That's some improvement, Arall, but you're still too hesitant to put some weight on your scarred leg. It doesn't look that bad. Try again.

"And, Diggs, I'm expecting more of you. You're much bigger than Arall; you should be able to pin her down."

She nodded approvingly towards the four of them. "Let's do this again."