Now that Austin finished his instruction of the camp, he spent almost all his time with Maya. He did not have many tasks to do for the lead up to the contest. This gave Austin plenty of free time for one-on-one training with Maya. It even seemed like the mothers of the camp were understanding and accepting of Maya’s decision to learn to fight. They even seemed eager as they offered to watch over Elliot.
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“So what sort of tricks are you gonna show me now that you are all big and tough?” Maya teased as the pair walked away from camp into an open space within the trees. The camp was busy and filled with people. So, the pair decided it was best to find a place where they were not in someone else’s way.
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“I guess we could spar,” Austin nervously scratched the back of his head. “Feels kind of weird to fight with you, though.”
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“Not a bad idea,” Maya smirked as she kicked off the ground.
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Maya’s hair flew backward as she charged Austin. The sudden charge caught Austin off guard and he was barely able to throw his arm up to block the attack. Austin’s block threw Maya’s arm to the side and broke her stance. Despite this, Austin did not capitalize on the opening and allowed Maya to recover her stance.
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Immediately after recovering, Maya sent a fist in an uppercut at Austin’s jaw. This time, Austin was not caught off guard. He stepped to the side of the punch and grabbed Maya’s wrist. With a quick motion, Austin pulled Maya to the ground.
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Before she could hit the ground, Maya tumbled into a roll and recovered. She quickly spun around to face Austin. She used the momentum of the turn to send her foot flying towards Austin’s face. Austin covered his face to mitigate the damage of the kick, but he was still pushed away by its force.
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Austin quickly recovered from the attack but did not take his opportunity to strike back. Maya seized the moment and came in for another punch. Austin was no longer caught off guard, and he smacked the punch to the side with his arm. Maya was not deterred by Austin’s defense and continued her assault. Each time Maya threw a fist, Austin smacked it to the side but did not take the chance to counter.
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The exchange went on for several seconds before Maya took a step back from Austin. As she stepped back, she exited her fighting stance and looked at Austin with a flat stare. “I know what you are doing.”
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“I don’t know what you mean,” Austin tried to feign ignorance.
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“You are not trying to fight back at all,” Maya rolled her eyes. “Every time you create an opening, you don’t seize it.”
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“That might be true,” Austin admitted. “I just feel weird about trying to hit you.”
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“If you don’t try to hit me now. Someone else will later. I would rather get used to it now than get injured later,” Maya said.
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“I guess you’re right,” Austin sighed.
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“I am right. If you are going to help me learn to fight, then you have to treat me as an equal.” Maya’s eyes were like piercing daggers.
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“Fine, just don’t complain when I beat you,” Austin grinned.
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“Let’s see what you can do, tough guy,” Maya smirked.
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The pair flared their Essence as they charged into each other. Their sparring match turned into an exchange of punches and kicks. Each time one of them dodged or blocked, they immediately went in for a counterattack. It quickly turned into a situation where neither of them had the upper hand. While it gave Maya a good chance to have a challenge, it also proved to be good training for Austin as he learned how to better control his Essence output. He had to keep it under control, but also had to keep the match challenging for Maya.
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As their match went on, it became more obvious that Austin was the better fighter. Maya was slowing down, and it became more difficult for her to dodge and block Austin’s attacks. Austin had gotten wrapped up in the adrenaline of their fight and miscalculated the force of his attack as his fist struck Maya’s rib. A loud crack was released, but for some reason, Maya did not seem to falter. Instead, she smiled broadly as Austin backed away.
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“About time you landed a good blow,” Maya’s smile turned ferocious. She almost looked like a wild animal. “I wanted to test this out.”
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Another cracking sound could be heard from Maya’s ribs as an amber glow surrounded her body. Despite the unsettling sound coming from her ribs, Maya let out a breath of relief. It made Austin feel somewhat disgusted. He had healed his wounds with his Essence before, but the Maya seemed so satisfied with the way she healed.
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“Don’t worry, the pain is completely gone,” Maya said. “That story I was reading inspired me. You see, that woman actually used the same type of affinity as me. When she fought, she used a Beast technique that could heal her wounds as fast as they came. Because of the life affinity, it also removed any pain from the wounds.”
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“So, it’s like a more effective healing technique?” Austin asked, still trying to get over the creepiness he felt at the technique.
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“Basically, yeah, with proper flow it will allow me to fight longer too,” Maya said, but her expression turned into a frown. “Now, could you stop being so weirded out by it? It’s just a technique. I would rather you not act that way. I was really proud of figuring it out.”
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“My bad, I guess I’m just not used to Beast techniques,” Austin admitted. “It is really cool that you figured out a technique for yourself.”
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“Much better, I just want some support too,” Maya sighed.
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“I know, that’s completely my fault,” Austin frowned. He felt awful for his earlier reaction.
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“You’re just gonna have to get used to it,” Maya demanded. “I have all kinds of ideas.”
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“Oh, yeah? Like what?” Austin’s eyes lit up in anticipation.
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“Most of it is about general enhancement of the body. Life affinity is strange for Beast techniques because it presents itself as something that a lot of people can do. But it does it so much more effectively,” Maya explained. “There is a cool thing, though. Life affinity is specifically tied to animals. So, I can also modify my body to take on the form of animals.”
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“Sounds like it can be surprisingly versatile,” Austin said. “Especially if you get a good feel for the variety of animal forms you can take.”
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“Oh, I definitely have been working on it,” Maya grinned as she flared Essence throughout her body.
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Austin was shocked to see that Maya still had good reserves of Essence. He wondered if she just pretended to slow down. Just so she could take a hit and show off her technique. If that was the case, Austin wondered how strong Maya had gotten. He had purposely made sure she was not in any fights. So, he really was not sure how strong she was.
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Maya’s Essence took the form of amber light. While at first it flowed off her body in wisps, it soon collected together and formed a shell around her body. Austin could barely see Maya as the shell finished forming around her.
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Maya’s hands exploded out of the shell and tore it open. The amber shell broke like glass and fell to the ground as pieces before disintegrating in a shower of sparks. Austin was shocked when he saw the form Maya took. Her auburn fur-covered arms ended in fingernails that extended into long, sharp claws. Fur grew across her chest and extended to her lower face. She snarled and revealed a mouth full of sharpened teeth. The snarl made Maya look incredibly beast-like as Austin noticed Maya’s ears grew longer and pointed as well.
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“What do you think?” Maya dropped her aggressive stance and smiled cheerfully. “I call it Wolf State. I have some other forms in mind, but this one is meant to be like an all-rounder.”
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“That’s really cool! So you have fangs and claws, but what else does it do?” Austin asked.
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“It runs Essence through my body to give me a pretty big increase in speed and strength,” Maya explained. “My goal is to create other versions that focus more on strength and speed, but I think this is a good one to start out. The only thing that kinda sucks is that I can’t use my Healing Body while I am in Wolf State.”
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“Wow, you really thought this all through. I can’t believe how much training you already got done,” Austin said.
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“Yeah, I was really excited about it. I’ve been doing everything I can when I get the time,” Maya said with a broad smile. “I’m glad you like it.”
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“Of course, I was really worried at first. But this makes me feel a lot better,” Austin smiled.
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“Good, now you get I’m very serious about this. So, let’s continue sparring. I haven’t gotten the chance to use this technique in action,” Maya suggested.
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“Sure, we can keep going if you’re up to it,” Austin agreed.
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“Oh, I’m up to it,” Maya said eagerly as she entered an aggressive stance. Her stance was very different from before. She crouched forward with the upper half of her body like an animal ready to pounce.
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Before Austin could enter a fighting stance, Maya already threw herself forward in a pounce. Her claws scraped across Austin’s chest as she flew past him. She landed not far from Austin and quickly twisted her body to face him once more. Her mouth was twisted in a snarl as her hair fell over her face. Austin was not only shocked at her speed but at how bestial she became. Maya’s technique was not just for show but seemed to have a massive change on the way she acted.
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Maya did not hesitate to continue her assault, and she threw herself forward once more. Even though Austin was more prepared for the attack, she still was able to catch his arms with her claws. Austin realized that Maya moved faster than anyone he had fought. He would have to take it more seriously, or he would be covered in scratches.
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Maya’s attacks came one after another as she dashed around Austin. Not only was she fast, but the way she fought and moved was so different from anyone else. She did not let Austin get the chance to counter her. He could barely dodge or predict the way she moved. Maya’s style combined the intelligence of a human with the instinct and speed of a beast.
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As scratches accumulated throughout Austin’s body, he realized that he needed to do something to counter. As Maya turned around for another dash towards Austin, a flash of light surrounded his arm. Maya’s claws bounced off as Austin quickly threw his shield up to block the attack. As adrenaline raced through his body, he threw a punch at Maya. The punch hit so hard that she was thrown into a nearby tree.
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“Oh no, I’m sorry!” Austin’s eyes grew wide in a realization of the force he used. “I did not mean to hit you that hard.”
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“No, it’s okay,” Maya’s smile revealed her sharp teeth. “I was wondering when you would take me seriously.”
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“Wait, really? You aren’t mad I hit you so hard?” Austin asked.
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“Of course not, I need you to take this seriously,” Maya said. “How else am I going to get better?”
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Austin did not respond because he knew that Maya was right. Instead, he prepared himself to continue the sparring match. He allowed more Essence to flow through his body. If he was going to try to keep up with Maya’s attacks, then he needed to stop holding back as much.
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“Much better,” Maya smirked as her body swayed forward and entered her pouncing stance. “Let’s do this!”
