Tavia was pensive for a while before replying, �When do we start?�
�Today, if that�s alright with you, my dear.�
�That�s fine. The sooner the better.�
Lora and Marius looked on their young charge with pride as she nodded her head decisively. �Good. That�s settled then. Was that so hard, love?� Lora addressed the last to her mate, looking askance at him.
Tavia lifted her eyes to pierce her uncle�s, �Did you think I would be averse to work, Uncle?� her voice sounded only half-offended. The other half was amusement.
�Well, I�I� Marius stuttered, lost for words for a moment before admitting with a lowered head, �I just didn�t want to have to think about you leaving just yet. We still have 8 more years and we�ll miss you once you�re gone.�
Tavia smiled and got up to hug her uncle�s neck, her small arms barely able to wrap even halfway around. �Thanks. I�ll miss you too, Uncle Marius.� Tavia replied.
Marius was happy that his young charge was finally coming out of her mourning and smiling and he relished her hug, hoping that she wouldn�t stop as she got older. But for now, there were more important matters to deal with. �Alright, Tavita, I love you too, but we really should get started on at least some training.�
Tavia unwrapped her arms and turned so that she could see both of her guardians, �What are we going to be doing, anyway?� she asked.
Marius looked expectantly at Lora and his mate did not disappoint, �Fighting� she replied promptly and led the way out the back door to the cleared yard that served as a backyard. The two others looked at each other for a moment and then shrugged, following the blue dragon outside.
�How are we going to practice fighting if there�s no one my own size here?� Tavia asked curiously once they all stood in the backyard, bathed in the unfiltered sunshine that accompanied life on a mountaintop.
Lora turned to face her, �Well, I got the idea from Kara�s mother, actually. I was wondering how we would be able to teach you fighting skills since we�re are both so much bigger than you and the younger dragons wouldn�t fight the same as a human which would probably be what you�d be facing in a fight. So, Shasa, Kara�s mother, came up with the idea of using an illusion of a human and allowing you to fight that. That way, I could control it�s movements to show you various things you would need to know, but you would still get the effective training.� Lora positively glowed with excitement at this clever solution.
Even Marius was impressed, �Wow. You�ve put a lot of thought into this, haven�t you Lora?�
The blue dragon nodded, �I have been thinking about it for a while now. I just wanted it all figured out before we started.�
�OK, but there�s only one problem, Aunt Lora: how do you know how human or a fire-mage should fight? Your training has been in how a dragon should fight and, forgive me, but I don�t have four claws, really sharp teeth, and I�m not nearly as big as you.� Tavia asked
�That�s a good question, Tavita, and I�ll tell you. I�ve been reading up on all forms and facets of human combat and I�ve also seen a lot of fights in my day. Especially before the Age of Chaos began. I think I have enough knowledge to not only teach you but reproduce the same tactics and motions in my illusion.� Lora responded with a certain amount of pride in her voice.
�Very good, then. Well, now that it�s all figured out now, so why don�t we get started?� Tavia asked impatiently. She had been following her mother�s advice and searching her heart for the answers to all the questions that chased each other around her head, but no great revelations came to mind at all no matter how hard she tried. This had left Tavia frustrated and slightly angry. She had some rudimentary fighting skills in case of an emergency, and while she knew that there was much she needed to learn yet, she had longed to simply beat on something since the funeral. This situation would suit her purposes perfectly since an illusion would feel no pain so she could pound it and not get any readings off of it that would make her feel guilty.
Lora smiled indulgently at the young fire-girl, �Alright, Tavia, hold on just one minute.� With that, the blue dragon closed her eyes in concentration and bowed her head. The air in front of her began to shimmer as though over a flame. Slowly, the shimmer seemed to gather in a human sized pillar of shuddering light that swirled and formed the form a person. Arms and legs defined themselves, stretching away from the main form and an oval-shaped lump rose from the top of a long lean torso. The silhouette of a man about a head taller than Tavia�s 4�8� stood before the dark blue dragon outlined in light. In the next moment, however, color flooded the image before her, smooth peach for bare arms and head, black for long pants and short-sleeved shirt, and short cropped hair. Once the illusion was completed, a well-built man stood before Tavia. He looked like any other human man, or fire-mage for that matter, except his face bore no features whatsoever. Pale skin stretched over a face devoid of eyes, nose or mouth.
�What�s�� began Tavia, pointing vaguely at the faceless parody of a person who was to be her sparring partner.
�One drawback of creating an illusory person is that there�s no way that you can put any features on them. That�s much too specific for a simple illusion. Although some have been able to do it, it simply took them many days to complete it. I didn�t think you�d want to wait that long.� Lora flashed her niece a half-smile as she opened her huge yellow eyes and finished her explanation.
Tavia was torn between being glad that there was no possibility for expressions on this feature-less face and being disappointed that she couldn�t break a nose that it didn�t have. She decided on the former since there wasn�t anything she could do to change the fact of the illusion�s make. So, she nodded once and dropped into a defensive fighting stance, indicating without words that the lesson was ready to begin.
Lora nodded at her silent statement and the illusion, too, dropped into a fighting stance, but this was offensive.
Without warning, it lunged at her, swinging a right hook to her head, rising unprotected over her balled fists. Tavia, however, was ready and promptly ducked the blow, letting the momentum of the swing carry him to her right side.