Do What I Do (Somadin the Tiny)

[wonder123]

There wasn't too many places in the Weyr yet that Trevan could go that 1) he didn't get lost on the way and 2) he felt truly comfortable. The Weyr Smithy was one of those places, if not the only one. His uncle had been welcomed enough by the current smith, and Trevan himself looked in between chores. He wasn't a fool - if this Candidate thing didn't work out (and who was he kidding here), he'd fall behind the other apprentices if his skills got rusty.

That wasn't the reason for today's visit, however. Today, he was going to teach Somadin how to defend himself. Because if anyone needed defense lessons, it was him.

"I heard about the fight in the Hall yesterday." He broke his silence, speaking over his shoulder as his friend followed him. Kess had told him as they ran Solo through some new manuevers. Trevan was furious when he found out. Maybe the fact that Weyrs had been so glorified in legends, he hadn't thought such things as bullying went on here. Or maybe since they were all supposed to be dragonriders, he expected the other kids to have some sort of sense of right and wrong. It had happened, and he wasn't there. Nevermind that he was new, or that they'd even known each other for a short time, Tre should have been there to defend his friend.

Well, now was the time to right those past mistakes. They couldn't be together all the time, so Trevan would give him some pointers to fend the predators off. "Right, this will do." He finally came to a stop in the middle of the workshop and turned to face his small friend. "Now, I want you to copy what I do," Trevan instructed, balling his hands into fists and squaring his feet. There was no movement in the other young man.

"Come on! Just like this." He gestured with his fists down to his planted feet. If Somadin wanted any hope, he was going to have to put in a lot more effort.

"I'm gonna show you how to fight."

[E]

Somadin was wiggling his jaw left and right feeling the unfamiliar pop that was now happening since he had been hit yesterday. Feeling the sickening bone slide past its socket, he quickly put it in again with a wince. He hoped the popping would go away on its own in a few days, he didn’t really want to wander down to the infirmary when he had lessons and chores to worry about. Besides, it only really hurt when he ate or played with it, like he was doing now.

As the silence was broken with Trevan’s statement, Somadin dropped his hand from the jaw and looked at his feet. He had not meant for Trevan to hear about that fight and he wondered who had ratted him out. Somadin had thought it was strange when the holder had taken to talking to him like a friend – even stranger when he grew furious each time Somadin attempted to sneak back into the Barracks to take care of bloody noses. It was foreign to the small boy to have someone care, but he had not pushed Trevan away for it. Instead it seemed to just make their friendship steadfast.

Watching the larger male decide on a spot, Somadin raised his eyebrows in surprise as he lifted up his fists. Taking a step back, Somadin felt his chest tighten for a brief second – was Trevan finally fed up with Somadin? With his insistence, however, Trevan finally told Somadin he was going to teach him how to fight. Looking down at his feet again, Somadin scuffed the dirt beneath his foot.

“I dunno Trevan, if I fight back they will just hit me harder…” Looking up at the taller boy, Somadin sighed. “I won’t even be able to reach them no ways. Look at my arms, they are so much smaller and shorter than everyone elses. I’ll have another bloody before I can even get close enough.”

Somadin knew his friend was trying to help, and the last thing Somadin wanted to do was disappoint his new found friend – but wouldn’t it be just more of a disappointment when he realized how much the others were right about Somadin and his size?

[wonder123]

Somadin made a good point.

Trevan paused, re-evaluating his strategy. As a younger boy, orphaned to boot, Tre had made a natural target for some who fancied themselves as tough guys. After the black eye he'd brought home, he was marched out immediately by his uncle for lessons that went...remarkably similar ti this. It was what Tre'd been using as his guidelines.

But his friend didn't quite have his height, or the smith build in him that Trevan had possessed. And so maybe his style of fighting wouldn't work for him. "Hm." It came out a bit like a grunt. He lowered his hands as he thought long and hard on how to make sure Somadin didn't find himself used as a punching bag anymore.

"I got it. If they can't catch you, they can't hit you. And if they still do, well, you'll just have to get them first." He grinned. "And hard. Where it hurts." He'd decided what he was going to teach the other boy. Some simple dodges, blocks, and then the dirtiest moves he knew - the ones Toress showed him to use in scuffles with the worst sort. Of course, for his uncle that meant the drunkards in a bar who were angry at a lost game of cards.

For Tre and Somadin today, it would mean whoever took it into their head to pick on him.

"Hands up." He reassumed his stance. "We'll start slow. If I'm going to hit you in the face, like this," his right fist slowly moved to just lightly tap under Somadin's left eye, I want you to duck." He waited until he did so. "Now we're your down there, you're goin' to kick me." He eyed his own groin. "There."

[E]

Watching Trevan drop his fists and think upon what he said, Somadin almost felt proud that he had pointed out the problem with the whole idea. Not that it really made him feel better about himself. Maybe he was really worthless – but he wasn’t ready to admit to that till he walked off the sands dragonless.

Hearing his friend exclaim that he had figured it out, Somadin pulled himself out of his own thoughts of the sands and looked up at him again. Listening to Trevan, Somadin wanted to desperately point out that his legs held the same problem as his arms, they were shorter than everyone elses. Opening his mouth to point this out, he found his friend with fists held up again.

Listening to the explanation rather than interrupting it to point out the problem with his legs, he realized that Trevan didn’t mean running away – but simply dodging. Considering the idea as Trevan rested his fist under the smaller boys eye, he looked up and nodded understanding. Well it could at least be a try. Perhaps he could at least not get hit as much.

Raising his own small fists – although he didn’t understand the point of raising them if he wasn’t using them – he ducked with the first swing. He didn’t follow through with the kick, however, standing up suddenly with his face gone white.

“Wait! Wait! Wait! This isn’t going to work!” he told Trevan suddenly very worried. “I don’t WANT to kick YOU!” Looking as if the realization that he didn’t want to hit his sparing partner ruined the whole idea of sparing, he sat down heavily. “If I kick you I’ll hurt you and if I hurt you your just going to really try to hit me and I’ll just end up with another bloody.”

[wonder123]

It was a good thing Trevan had a younger sister. It took patience to have one, what with the constant chatter about meaningless things, to control the feeling of fury every time a boy's glance lingered. It was thanks to Anessa that he could check the impulse to roll his eyes and sigh at the boy in front of him. All these theories...a real punch hadn't even been thrown yet.

"Don't worry..." You can't hurt me. But he didn't say it, realizing at the last minute that if Somadin couldn't hurt him, there was no point in this exercise. "If you hit me, hard, I know you're actually learning. You'll be able to do it when it counts instead of just cowering in a corner and letting them hit you." He didn't quite know his friend's fighting technique, but judging from the last bloody nose he'd cleaned up, Trevan couldn't be far off.

"And shards, if I come out of here dusted up, maybe it'll make them think twice about messin' with you. Did you think about that?" Faranth knew he thought about every other argument there was. "Now...kick...me....!" Talking was doing nothing.

He ran towards Somadin, faking a punch. His arm cocked back like he would deck the younger boy in the eye where moments ago he'd just tapped him. He had no intention of following through, but the only way he could hope to call Somadin to action was to scare him.

Or so he thought.

[E]

Somadin stood back up as Trevan spoke, only half heartedly listening. What was the point? Somadin was small and there wasn’t anything you could do about the size. He knew Trevan’s intentions were good, but it must just be the view from way up there because the shorter boy couldn’t see a point in all of this. Even if someone seen Trevan moving out of the smithy nobody would believe it was little old Somadin.

Of course the nearly foot taller and much bulkier form of Trevan suddenly running at him shook Somadin from his thoughts as the look of surprised terror spread across his face. Shards he’s really going to hit me! was all Somadin could think. Throwing his arms up to protect his face, Somadin ducked attempting to move around the quick moving candidate.

“I don’t… want to… kick you…” Somadin argued back as he found himself forced to duck another blow. Was Trevan honestly getting mad because Somadin didn’t want to hit a friend? “Trevan!... Honestly…” Ducking again, Somadin found himself under the taller boys arms and pushed himself forward as hard as he could into Trevan’s stomach, arms wrapping around him hoping to knock the wind out of the taller boy – or at the very least be too close to be able to swing at.

[wonder123]

There was no time for words in their brief scuffle. Tre had the task of looking like he was trying to hit Somadin without actually going through with it...something much easier said than done. He was just about to pull his punch when the small boy disappeared briefly from view.

He ducked! Somadin ducked! Came the happy thought.

It was followed swiftly by an 'oompf' and the sensation of falling. Nothing registered until his back hit the ground and the air was forced from his lungs for the briefest of moments. He was confused, until he saw little Somadin on him - head practically buried in his stomach.

"That was perfect!" He said as soon as he was able. And then he was laughing. "Ha, just like that!" He looked at the arms wrapped tightly around him, grinning at the hold and then back at Som. "Now, let's do it again."

[E]

“That was perfect!”

Somadin dared to open his eyes at Trevan’s exclamation. Feeling the stomach he clung to start to bounce with laughter he quickly let go and backed off the taller boy. Now it was his turn to hold a look of confusion on his face.

“You were trying to hit me!” Somadin accused, an upset look on his face. It didn’t take long for it to melt away with Trevan laughing, however. It was a contagious laugh and he soon found it spreading to his own lips. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he stood up, still laughing and offered the taller man his hand.

“But I thought you wanted me to kick you.” He finally said once the laughter subsided. “This fighting business is confusing.” Wiping his hand on his pants, Somadin looked up and grinned. “I knocked you down good though.” As confusing as the business of fighting was to Somadin, he couldn’t help but find it fun – once he realized Trevan was not, in fact, trying to hurt him or bloody his face.

[wonder123]

Still chuckling, Trevan took the offered hand. Dust covered his backside, making a trail up his side and back to the little wisps of brown hair that tickled the back of his neck. He could clean himself later. Teaching this boy how to fight, or at least not to get beaten up so badly, was a full time job.

"It doesn't really matter what you do, as long as you do something. It's all about surprise." Like how he had surprised Somadin with his attack. Like Somadin had surprised him by barrelling into him.

"You did good, now I just want you to do it again. But this time, I'm gonna come at you from behind. Try to figure out how to handle it best, and then we'll discuss it afterwards." He tried to stress the last word. It seemed that's all Somadin wanted to do right now - discuss what was happening instead of actually doing it.

He considered his dirty back. Well, he had done something. It was a start.

[E]

Somadin’s smile had quickly been exchanged for a look of worry. How was he suppose to duck something he couldn’t see coming? Now Trevan was simply asking the impossible.

“But…” he started, then quickly stopped as he realized the stress put on the last word. Biting his lip, he frowned at his friend, but turned around anyways. Looking over his shoulder, he gave in and finished his sentence. “But I can’t SEE you behind me…” he whined.

[wonder123]

Trevan hadn't really thought what was going to happen past this. He'd been going for an imitation of a real-life scenario, but now that he stood back here, he was at a loss. Well, he'd just run and grab Somadin, and they'd see what happened from there.

Hadn't he shone ingenuity before?

Ignoring the younger boy's protests, he ran with a dignified "AHHHHH!" and executed what could have been considered a violent bear hug. His arms encircled Soma's pinning them awkwardly to his chest, restricting movements. If he could just swing the momentum right, maybe he could get him off the ground...

[E]

Upon hearing his friend, Somadin had begun to turn around to see what the commotion was about – almost forgetting he was suppose to be facing the other way. With a remarkable “Oof” he found himself caught sideways in his taller friends arms. Trying to wiggle free, he found himself hanging several inches off the ground as his weight did nothing to stop the apprentice smith from lifting him off the ground.

“Okay… I admit it I’m clueless…” he said with a huff, rather rare for little Somadin. “How do I make a person taller and heavier than me put me down?” Squinting his eyes at Trevan, Somadin gave him a playful glare as he wiggled again.





((At least I /think/ the way you wrote it was that you were picking me up… or perhaps you were hoping Somadin was getting Trev off the ground? I couldn’t figure it out thus the delay in post. Let me know if I need to fix it. *hug*))

[wonder123]

(That was totally right. Sorry I wasn't completely clear. Just let me know next time if you're not sure. >.< lol)

"Kick me in the knees," Came the almost too cheery response. Somadin's legs were dangling free, near Tre's knees and other valuable appendages. The older boy hadn't really decided what to do with him after he got him in the air. Maybe he could toss him onto the ground, or squeeze him until he couldn't breathe?

"Or you can try goin' dead weight?" He ventured. As long as Trevan's grip wasn't deadly, the tactic could be enough to get Somadin out of his enemy's grasp. But he wish the smaller boy would actually just fight.

[E]

Somadin hung there a moment, a frown on his face. Again he was at the problem of the fact that he didn’t want to kick his friend. He didn’t want to accidently hurt him at all. He had a funny feeling, however, that Trevan would just continue to argue with him. Taking a deep breath, he kicked his legs lightly, actually closing his eyes in the process hoping he wouldn’t hurt Trevan.

After the half hearted attempt he stopped and let out his breath in a sigh. “Oh Trevan this isn’t going to work… I’m not a fighter…” Going limp in the taller boy’s arms, Somadin was quiet a moment wondering if he had let down his new found friend’s hopes or not.

[wonder123]

Trevan barely even felt the hit. Or tap, as it was really too light to be called anything violent. What was this, a sparring match or a date?

If anyone who could fight knew anything, it was when you were beaten. For someone who couldn't - or wouldn't, as it really was - Somadin had won this battle. Trevan had such confidence too, that if the little guy actually stood up and gave those bullies a taste of their own medicine, they'd back down once and for all. These plans always worked out best if the person you were trying to help was of the same opinion.

"Ugh, fine." He dropped the smaller boy back to the ground quite uncerimoniously. "Then what are you goin' do?! I can't be around you all the time! There's chores, free time...comin' back from the mess hall! This has gotta stop, man. You gotta know when to say when." Well, he didn't seem to have that much of a problem right now.