Chapter 116: Under Pressure

Ann had an appointment with Remmi. Her teacher had been busy with, as her letter put it, “stupid shit that needed doing”, so they hadn’t worked together for a few days. Ann getting called away to the Seed didn’t help their structure, but the dark-skinned woman seemed less frustrated by that.

Breakfast that morning had been informative. Kremdol announced that they would be called in as material witnesses two days from now regarding said Seed. Their interviews and questioning of the party responsible for the false report had gone well, but there were a few points the magistrate needed clarified from the rescue effort.

Junia had been playing with little Kierran and Jonathan for most of the meal. She was awkward, as Ann expected at this point, but the two youngest Farraghers clearly adored their oldest sister.

“By the way, the ball is in a week’s time,” Junia said, sketching out a game not unlike tic-tac-toe on a sheet of paper for Jonathan. “Do you two have dresses?” she asked Ann and Rosalyn. “Three, I guess I should say. Lucia, you are more than welcome. I must insist, actually.”

“No dress. Don’t like them. Pants ok?” Lucia asked. The Thrundol woman, after getting more comfortable with the royal family, had reverted to her preferred posture when sitting. Namely, perching on her chair like some bird of prey. Bren sat beside her, and the first few times it had happened, cast her disapproving glances. Now, though? Now he just accepted it, passing food her way when asked, and sometimes even before.

“That would be a deviation from social norms, but with Katlyn attending, that’ll be easy to overlook.”

“I definitely have a dress,” Ann said, remembering her slinky black thing she’d gotten back in Graven Keep. “Rosalyn, we still need to get you one. Wait, Kat, you’re not going in a dress?”

“Feck no, I’m goin’ in this,” Kat said, gesturing at her normal outfit of a somewhat loose top and tight leather pants.

“Katlyn,” Kremdol groaned. “Would it be so terrible?”

“Aye, it would, and I don’t wanna,” Kat insisted. “Makes me feel all awkward an’ shite. Not in me right skin.”

Ann felt the grin spread before she even opened her mouth. “Would you, maybe, do it for me? Maybe I could wear a suit to the next one and we can be all dashingly handsome together. Rosalyn, the black beauty between us?”

“I…” Kat faltered, eyes flicking back and forth. Ann hit a weak spot, and she knew it.

“The three of us in dresses would be nice. Could get a blue set up to match your eyes and…” Rosalyn held herself back from mentioning the scales. “And I think it’d just look good on you.”

“Me? Big ol’ muscly me in a dress? Frilly skirts an’ all?”

“Honestly, think you’d look ridiculous in that type,” Ann said around a mouthful of pastry she washed down with juice. “You definitely want something that shows off your build. Closer to mine. Maybe strapless, even. Get those shoulders out.”

“That’s… not entirely proper,” Junia said, “but this is Katlyn. I doubt anything she wears will be seen as proper. Close to the mark should be fine, I think. Should I send you a list of seamstresses to work with you? I have several here.” Junia turned and rummaged in her bag before pulling out a scroll, handing it to Ann.

Unrolling the thing, the list was exhaustive with notes on specialities, prices, and openness to bartering. It even included a little about the tailor themself, family members, children. Ann rolled it back up before her already stuffed head could get any more overwhelmed with names and connections. “That’s an insane list,” she said. “Insanely good!” Ann corrected as she saw Junia wilt. “Thanks. We’ll definitely use this.”

“We’ll drag Kat kicking and screaming to a tailor,” Rosalyn nodded. “I definitely want to see her in a dress. Her muscles would look so pretty under the right clothing, and just the elegance of her build while also strong. Oooh, definitely blue. Maybe a darker one? Or just match your eyes, but that’s kinda light for your everything else. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll just have to see when we get there? Ooooh I’m so excited!” Rosalyn clapped enthusiastically before placing her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with anticipation.

“We can probably do that this afternoon,” Ann said. “I’ve got some make up I’ve gotta do with Remmi, and with the drills and sparring she wants me to do, I’ll be there until lunch.”

The other two nodded. Dress fitting was definitely something all three of them wanted to be there for. Maybe five, if Lucia was going to get some fancier clothes.

“Hey, how about all of us go to do the clothes thing? Lucia, you don’t need a dress, but getting something fancier wouldn’t hurt.” Ann pointed out.

“Yes. Should work,” Lucia nodded from her perch on her chair.

“Ye’re comin’ too,” Kat informed Bren.

“But I do not need clothes.”

“Neither does Ann, but she’s comin’. Suck it up an’ ‘elp Lucia figure out somethin’ ye both like,” Kat retorted. “Ye know high society much better than she does. Shite, ye an’ I are the only two who do. Ye’re comin’ willin’ly or I’m draggin’ ye wit’ us.”

“Fine, I get it,” Bren threw his hands up in defeat.

“Then we can split up and go on dates,” Ann said.

Bren and Lucia both choked on their food simultaneously.

Way too easy, Ann giggled to herself. “I meant Kat, Rosalyn, and I. Never got to go have that date Rosalyn wanted back in the Keep, so we really should do that.”

“Oh, the one where we go outside and just kinda walk around? YES!” Rosalyn cheered. “Oh, it’s not all fancy or fighty, but I think we’ll have fun. I’ll see if I can talk to Zidane today and see if there’s anywhere we can go to see some of the more docile Warped and just have a good time. I’ve gotta go. Gotta go plan and look things up. Love you both, I’ll be back!” Rosalyn hurriedly kissed Kat and Ann full on the lips. Then, with another pastry clenched in her teeth, bolted from the room.

“Ye set ‘er off,” Kat laughed, joined by Junia and Kremdol. “Well, this evenin’s gonna be fun then. If ye’re busy wit’ Remmi, I’m gonna go catch up wit’ our little lamb. We’ve not spent much time together as a pair. Figure today could be a good thing.”

“Alright, then I’ll get going too,” Ann said as she rose from her chair. “Thanks for the list, Junia. We’ll put it to good use. And you,” Ann said, leaning down to kiss Kat, then whispered. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

As she pulled back, Ann saw the blush in Kat’s ears. She’s totally going to do something to that poor girl, Ann thought, giving her girlfriend a toothy grin. “Later!”

Ann found Remmi in their usual meeting spot. The training ground covered in sand with a few sturdy trees and boulders scattered around. It was growing to be a comfortable place for Ann, and she sighed as she felt the sand between her paw pads. Tail swishing behind her, she walked around before spotting Remmi working through a warm up on a punching bag. Standing to the side, Ann admired the fighter’s body as she worked on the heavy tool.

Every part of Remmi’s body was corded muscle, honed to serve a singular purpose: fighting. Kat was strong, with huge muscles, yeah, but she was a generalist type of strong. She could be doing anything and be mighty. Remmi’s form was purposeful and trim. There was no extra bulk where she didn’t need it.

A couple minutes later, Remmi slicked back her red hair with the sweat from her brow, finally noticing Ann standing there. “Heya. Glad you could make it, oh important one,” Remmi called, giving Ann a mock bow. “Princess had you running all over the damn countryside, was worried you’d never come back.”

“And skip out on getting my ass handed to me on a regular basis?” Ann shot back. “Nah, why would I do that?”

“Har har,” Remmi laughed. “So, heard the Seed went well. Took down the Guardian an’ all that?”

“Yup. Interesting fight. Apparently, a new form that no one’s seen.”

“Damn. Association’s gonna pay out a fortune for that report.”

The parcel with their reward for clearing the Seed had arrived the other day. It was a, frankly, staggering amount of money to Ann. Kat had explained that they were also compensating them for fixing the fuck up of the previous group, which made some sense.

“Sure did. So, what’s the routine today?”

“We’ve got some fun stuff. Gonna start working on you actually taking your Dexterity into account when you’re fighting. I’ve been working on the basics of actually hitting something with you, but that’s fundamentals. For now, we warm you up. Run!”

Ann took off running as Remmi started chasing her. The last time they’d practised together, they’d found that this was more fun for both of them, so today Ann knew what to do.

Ten minutes later, Ann’s legs were loose, and she had started up a sweat, while Remmi wasn’t even winded. Once she caught her breath, Remmi put her through the rest of their warm up routine.

Ann was made to do the normal pushups, situps, crunches, stretches, squats. Her body felt warm and ready to really get moving once they were done.

“Cool, you look ready,” Remmi said, prodding Ann’s shoulder with a finger, testing pliability as she’d explained prior. “So, pressure points and weakness are the name of the game today. Your last seed had human Warped, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ann confirmed. “Some dusty asbestos zombies, a freaky hand centipede, casters, and the human-centaur-thing as the second form of the Guardian.”

“Alright. Well, human type Warped aren’t all that uncommon, and the human body can be a good start to figuring out other creature’s weak spots. Now, generally, squishy bits are the fucking best and what you want to target. Eyes, stomach, lower back and sides. Warped make this difficult with how fucking random their anatomy is, but it doesn’t hurt to take the easy shots.”

Ann nodded as she listened. Her body wanted to move after that warm up, so she was slowly shifting her weight from one paw to the other while keeping her pointed ears trained on Remmi’s voice.

“Nerve clusters are even fucking harder for Warped, so you can’t expect it to be a guarantee. You’ve already got that Predatory Sensuality thing that lets you force an enemy’s guard down and increase your damage. Imagine that damage to a vital area. So, let’s get started with the studies.”

Remmi walked up to Ann, grabbed her arm, and rapped a knuckle on the back of her elbow. Tingling, burning pain shot up Ann’s arm, and she cried out. It didn’t hurt that much, but forced her to clench the arm and hold it still.

“That’s one of the easier ones. Nerve runs all the way down your arm, but it’s weakest at the elbow.”

“Yeah, called it the funny-bone,” Ann nodded, flexing her arm until it relaxed. “I remember knocking it against tables and stuff when I was growing up.”

“And now you know how easily you can distract an opponent with a well-placed tap,” Remmi said. “Could you keep fighting with that feeling in your arm?”

“No, not really,” Ann admitted.

“Others will be. That’s definitely one thing I need to make abso-fucking-lutely clear here. Just because it works for most people doesn’t mean you’ll be able to hit it, and if you do, that it’ll affect them the same way. Kinda like kicking someone in the bollocks. Yeah, for most men that’s gonna crumple them. Then you’ve got eunuchs or races that don’t have the balls outside their bodies. Inlon, for example, have internal testes if you weren’t aware. Don’t try kicking any of their guys in the crotch, it’ll just piss them off. Grrn too, but that’s mostly ‘cause they’re made of rock and it hurts.”

“Got it,” Ann nodded. She guessed it made sense. Her testes were internal as far as she could tell. Hells, now her cock was mostly internal when she wasn’t using it.

“Punting a cunt can also get you good results. That all falls under squishy bits, though. Nerve clusters. Hit knees. Right here,” Remmi said, before flicking Ann hard enough to have her entire leg kick out.

Ann crumpled to the ground, holding her leg. “Ow!”

“I know, right?” Remmi laughed, crouching down next to her. “Way easier to hit, too, if your target doesn’t have armour covering the knees. Ah, right, sorry, here,” Remmi said, reaching out and massaging Ann’s leg. After a moment, it let go and Ann could move again. “Figure the best way for you to know what it’s doing is to experience it.”

“Yeah, and you totally don’t like inflicting pain,” Ann grumbled, rubbing her leg.

“I mean, I’m a fighter. It’s in the job description,” Remmi shrugged. “I’ll hurt anyone I need to. You have a good pain tolerance for someone at your experience level. Pain is a scale, though. The tougher you are, the harder you can fight back.”

“Shouldn’t I also know when my body’s hurt?” Ann asked, shaking out her leg, then standing up.

“Hah, yeah, pain’s crazy important, but too much is just noise and a distraction. Making sure you recognise the pain and can decide what you need to do with it is the important part. Next pressure point is here,” Remmi said, pinching the side of Ann’s neck hard.

It hurt like crazy, but as soon as Remmi let go, the pain faded.

“That’s more abusing sensitive muscles that aren’t beaten to shit all the time. Again, a gorget like the one you wear stops that. Honestly, armour sucks to fight against.”

“So what do I do when I go up against it?” Ann asked, now rubbing her shoulder.

“That’s where your style should have an advantage over mine, actually,” Remmi said. The teacher darted away so fast Ann was blown back a few steps by the wind pressure. Just as quickly, Remmi popped back into reality, blasting sand away. She held a dummy with flimsy looking metal chest armour, arm armour, and a helmet.

“So, me? I’ve gotta go brute force. All of my shit just makes me hit harder and faster. With this chest plate, I’m slamming into it and any enchantments it’s got. That’s not going to work for you. Give it a shot,” Remmi said, patting the dummy.

Ann cocked an eyebrow, but took her stance and swung at the metal breastplate. Her fist made contact, and while the metal dented slightly, her hand exploded in pain.

Remmi handed her a healing potion. “Alright, so that’s what happens when you do that. I’ll show you how I do it after we get through things here. You want to focus on the gaps in the armour. Points of mobility like the knees, ankles, elbows, and neck. Shoulders are a good spot too if you can find a gap, and hips, but those are usually better covered. What that means for you is that we need to practice your manoeuvrability in dodging. How you set up your next strike is as important as not getting hit.”

Remmi swung a fist slow enough Ann could dodge it no problem, stepping to the outside of the arm.

“See, yeah, you can nail my funny bone no problem, but if I had gauntlets and other armour on, you’re just out of the way and have to brute force a strike. If I were in armour, what would be your smartest play here?”

Ann thought for a moment. “Inside, like this,” she said, stepping inside the blow so her shoulder was at Remmi’s chest.

“Good shit, and then?”

“Inside of the elbow’s vulnerable. You need to bend there, so claws and,” Ann stabbed at Remmi’s elbow with a knife hand. It didn’t make contact — Remmi was too quick to dodge — but the smile on her teacher’s face told her she’d gotten that part right.

“And if you hit, the poor fucker you’re fighting is down an arm. What would you do after that?”

“Maybe knee next?”

“Good thinking, but with you being so close, it’d be an awkward hit. Personally, I would move back.”

“Wouldn’t that give them the advantage back?”

“Oh yeah it would,” Remmi nodded. “Problem is, they’ve always had the advantage if they’re out gearing you. You’ve taken away a good chunk of their body, though, and they’ll be more wary. This is when you start thinking about feints. A wary mind is about as easy to take advantage of as a complacent mind.”

“So, I should probably try to strike somewhere obvious, then correct to a weak spot? I’ve done that with Kat a few times.”

“Good, then you’re a natural at that part. Alright, well, you’ll pick that part up by just fighting. So, here’s what I have to do,” she said.

Remmi fell into her fighting stance, then slammed her fist into the breastplate. It and the dummy inside exploded in a spray of metal and wood shrapnel. Puffs of sand kicked up as pieces landed.

“Holy shit,” Ann whistled.

“That’s just how weak that thing is,” Remmi laughed. “Though you’d probably go all splat like that too if I hit you. Oh well. Let’s get back to other pressure points.”

Remmi was exhaustive with her teaching. First she hit the point on Ann, showing her the exact place she’d need to hit and how much it hurt. Once that was over, she’d get Ann relaxed, then let her do it back, congratulating when Ann got it right.

Once things wrapped up, she’d learned fourteen different places on the human body she could use to cause pain. None of it was lethal, as Remmi explained, but distraction could allow Ann to use her skills or claws to attack a vital area.

As soon as Remmi felt Ann was comfortable with the practice, Remmi had her work on using the knowledge on a moving target. Hitting Remmi was already a challenge for Ann, but by the end of their time together, she’d scored a few hits. Remmi was obviously holding back, but Ann was proud of her progress.

Together, the two women stretched and cooled their bodies down after their lesson. “You gonna be skipping out on any lessons for a bit?”

“No, don’t think so,” Ann said, stretching her legs in a sitting position, tail swishing the sand around lazily. “Got to be in court day after tomorrow for the whole Seed thing, then a ball in a week. Doesn’t leave much time to go after Seeds.”

“Careful you don’t get stuck,” Remmi advised. “If you let them, they’ll wrap you up and you’ll be stuck in the city until you’re even more grey.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ann chuckled.

“Alright, that’s it today, pup. Good work,” Remmi said, clapping Ann on the shoulder as they rose. The simple action sent Ann stumbling forward as Remmi used some of her true strength. “You have time tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Don’t think I have anything scheduled, so we’ll be fine.”

“Alright, see you then. No being late next time,” Remmi said, waggling a finger at Ann.

“Definitely won’t. Later!” Ann said, waving at her teacher as she walked away.

Bells told her it was almost noon, and she’d need to run to meet up with the others. Her legs complained, but Ann ignored them as she dashed back into the city.