The Vigilant

The following morning, Daisy and I went to the forest outside Lutia. Daisy's dagger sat in its sheath and hung at her side.

"Um. What are we doing out here?" Daisy asked meekly.

I grunted and gestured for her to follow. Daisy followed suit.

"This way," I said, guiding Daisy toward a clearing in the trees. I explained to her what we were doing today.

"Today," I said, pulling SkullHacker from its sheath, "we start with the basics. Originally, I intended to teach you the basics of wielding your dagger in my domain. However, your first foray in the training arena convinced me that would be... better to hold off on training there for the time being. Draw your dagger, and mimic my stance."

I adapted to a base-ready stance Daisy did the same, her red eyes wide as she studied my movements. We bent our knees and raised how arms to shoulder level. Knife and Skullhacker held in our dominant hands, blade tip at the centre of our visions.

"Now, carefully mirror my movements."

I mimicked a slash, and Daisy mirrored to the best of her ability. "Again," I said, and Daisy repeated the motion. I continued until Daisy managed to perform a perfect slash. I did the same with jabs, stabs, and cuts. Within a few hours, Daisy had learned the basic stances and attacks. I could see the strain in her shoulders as she moved, but she didn't complain. Instead, she kept at it, brown hair swaying as she struck with increasing precision. The tricky part was teaching her techniques and actual combat, which I knew she wouldn't learn in a day.

Although, if she manages to pick up on all that as fast as she did the basics, we'd be set.

A fireball with arms and a face flew out of a bush and towards me, Daisy squeaked in fright at the sight of the fiery monster ball. A fire elemental. Sora told me about them. I simply snatched it midair and held it out in front of me towards Daisy.

"Now then Daisy," I announced, "let's put what you've learned to the test. Slash the fireball."

Daisy gulped as she took a stance for a slash. Slightly hunched, knees bent, dagger raised with the sharp edge pointing outward, other arm raised ready to block an incoming attack. "Don't think about it," I instructed, voice steady. "Just do it." She edged towards the fireball in my hand and slashed.

The effect was immediate—the fire split apart, wisps of flame falling to the ground. A small, satisfied grin spread across her face as she landed in a perfect follow-through stance.

"That was amazing!" she said, her earlier fear forgotten as she beamed up at me. "I can't believe I actually did that!"

"Good job, you're learning quickly." I smiled, pleased with her progress.

Four more fireballs flew out from the bushes towards Daisy.

"Neatly," I said, "take your other skills and kill the remaining fireballs."

Daisy shivered slightly, looking over to me. "Go on," I encouraged, stepping back to observe her technique. "You can handle this."

She turned back to the fireballs, getting into a stance. The first fireball longed forward, its tiny arms waving menacingly and was promptly extinguished with a jab from the dagger. The remaining fireballs came from different angles, forcing Daisy to move. She dodged left, slashed, dodged right, thrust, and rolled to avoid one that came from below. One fireball hit her in the shoulder, singeing her shirt and leaving a small burn mark. She hissed in pain but managed to stay standing, her red eyes watering slightly. The second fireball was eliminated as Daisy stabbed her dagger downward and the third she cut open while it was in mid-air. The fourth fireball hit her in the back, leaving more burn marks. Daisy finished the last one off with a single slash but it managed to graze her side as she tried to dodge. When the last fireball faded to ash, she stood panting, her shirt hung in tatters where the fire had struck, her hands braced on her knees. Sweat dampened her forehead as she looked up at me with uncertain eyes.

"Was... was that okay?"

Daisy's hand moved to touch the burn mark on her shoulder, wincing slightly but still smiling.

"Daisy, could you take off your shirt? I need to examine your burns?" I asked. Daisy's face flushed red as she quickly nodded. With some difficulty, she peeled off her ruined shirt and let it drop to the ground, leaving her standing bare-chested in the warm forest air, her hands gripping the hem of her scorched shirt awkwardly in front of her, looking up at me with nervous expectation. I moved to inspect her burns. The scars from her years of slavery were visible across her back and shoulders—raised white lines, crisscrossing like a horrible network. The burns were superficial but would smart for days. Still painful. Daisy flinched slightly as I examined the largest one on her shoulder, my fingers brushing against the scorched fabric, careful not to press too hard. "You did well, Daisy, especially for a first time. You'll need to be more careful next time. Those hits weren't serious, but they'll teach you to be more evasive."

"The second fireball—I was thinking too much. I froze for a second and that's why it hit me."

I nodded approvingly. "The trick is learning to react without thinking, but still staying aware of what you're doing. If you hesitate, you die." Daisy nodded, still holding her shirt like a shield. She lowered the shirt a little, then looked at me expectantly. I applied a small vial of healing salve. I dabbed more onto the second burn on her side, feeling her tense and then relax as I worked. I dabbed more onto the burns on her back, gentle but firm.

"This feels nice," she admitted quietly. "The way you touch me... The way you touch me isn't like the orcs. Not like when they hurt me. You feel... safe."

"Those burns should heal cleanly enough, but will hurt for a few days, but they won't leave a scar." I said, my words rough with approval. "But pain is the best teacher. No permanent damage."

"Thank you," she murmured, finally dropping her shirt to her side, standing naked from the waist up. When I stepped back, she turned fully, still standing bare-chested in the sunlight filtering through the trees, but there was no artifice in it—no coyness, no practiced seduction. Just... honesty. A simple, unguarded moment, as if standing half-naked before a man was not something strange at all, but merely natural. Her movements were slow, hesitant, but there was no shame in her stance, just quiet gratitude. Daisy's hands moved to her sides, fingers flexing as she tilted her head up to meet my gaze.

"You're beautiful," I said, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

Her red eyes widened slightly at my words. A soft, warm smile spread across her face as she stood there, completely at ease with her nudity. "You think so?" she asked softly, lifting her arms a little higher, showing the smooth curves of her young body.

"I do," I replied, stepping closer. "Even with the burns."

She laughed softly at that, a sound like water over stones. "The burns are because I messed up."

"Yes." The distance between us shrunk as I drew nearer, our bodies almost touching.

"May I touch you?" I asked, holding my hand out, palm up.

She didn't hesitate, nodding once. She placed her hand in mine, fingers intertwining with mine. Her red eyes met mine, **** and earnest. "May I kiss you?" I pulled her close, running my hands over her unburned skin. She tilted her head up, her mouth seeking mine. Our kiss was soft at first, tentative, then deeper as I pulled her against me. My hands explored her back, tracing the scars and unmarked skin alike.

"That last fireball hit hard," she admitted, rubbing at her side gingerly. "But they don't hurt as much as when the orcs whipped me. I... I can handle it."

"The fireballs are a good training tool," I said. "They don't injure, but they **** you to react and move quickly. You did well to keep your footing after getting hit."

"I... I don't have a clean shirt now," she said quietly. "So... um... should I keep training like this? Without clothes, I mean."

"For what purpose?" I asked, watching her closely.

She shifted from foot to foot, her hands tightening around the dagger's hilt. "I... I don't know. I just... I want to. I want to feel the wind on my skin." Her ears twitched. "And I want to know what it feels like to do it because I choose to, not because someone's forcing me. And I like the way you look at me when I'm... like this. I like how it makes me feel..." She faltered, then quickly added, "I don't have to if you don't want me to."

I considered her thoughtfully. The thought of her completely naked, sweating and moving through combat exercises, sent a thrill through me. I nodded slowly.

"It's not required, but... Your choice," I said, meeting her red gaze. "Though... I wouldn't mind seeing you train this way."

Daisy's ears perked up at my words, her face flushing a deeper pink. She looked down for a moment, then back up with shy resolve. "I... I want to train naked for now."

Without another word, she set her dagger on the ground and began removing the remainder of her clothing. She moved with swift precision, folding each piece neatly before setting it aside. When she was finished, she stood before you completely nude, her red eyes bright in the dappled forest light. She didn't cover herself, didn't hide.

I circled her slowly, taking in every inch of her body. "Yes. Very nice. And how does it feel?"

"I feel... different like this," she confessed softly. Her hands fluttered at her sides, as if she wasn't sure what to do with them. "But good."

"Different how?"

She considered her words carefully. "Free. But... also... watched. It's... I like it."

My fingers flexed at my sides. "And how do you feel, knowing I'm watching you like this?"

Daisy's face burned a deeper shade of pink, her breath coming in quick pants. She shivered slightly, her nipples hardening in the cool air. "Excited. Like... like I'm exposed, but I want to be." Daisy's ears twitched, and she glanced down at her bare feet in the grass. "The ground feels nice. I like feeling it under my feet." She lifted her head. "I was always naked when they... I hated it then. Now... now I like it."

"Then go like this tomorrow. But if you change your mind, you just need to say so."

Daisy moved into the stance we practiced earlier, red eyes bright and alert despite the fatigue in her limbs. Her bare torso shined with sweat in the afternoon light, her small breasts rising and falling with deep breaths. "You've been at this for a few hours, I believe you're earned a break. You've picked it up faster than I expected."

Then she deflated a little, her ears drooping slightly. "I still messed up sometimes. I wasn't always as quick as I wanted to be."

I chuckled. "That's what training is for—to fix mistakes and improve speed. You can't always avoid getting hit in a real fight, even if you're the best fighter. The important thing is how you recover and keep fighting. Today, you got hit but you didn't let it stop you." I patted her on the shoulder—the uninjured one—and she looked up at me with a small, pleased smile.

I moved to the small pack I'd brought, pulling out a water skin. I handed it to Daisy. "Here, drink this. Hydration is important, especially after exercise. You've sweated out a lot already."

She took the skin gratefully, taking a long drink. She drank deeply, some of the water escaping down her chin and dripping onto her bare chest. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, her movements slow and unhurried. When she finished, she looked up at me, her red gaze clear and bright.

"That's good. Thank you," she said simply, handing the skin back to me.

I secured it in my pack and looked back at her.