Earth and Shadow (read desc)

What it takes to win

I nodded
"Yeah, I do."
"Ok, then show me. No magic, no chopping off limbs or hurting each other beyond a scratch." He let go of my hand and backed away, giving us room. He brought out his scythe. I made my spear appear in my hands. I was not at all confident I could beat him.
"Ready?"
I nodded, feeling nervous. I didn't want to hurt him.
"Yeah.."
He got ready, studying me, then lunged forward and sliced horizontally. I jumped back before he sliced, narrowly missing getting hit. With out breaking stride he swung his scythe around then snagged the shaft of my spear with his blade. He yanked, knocking the spear out of my hands. I desperately tried thinking of another option to fight him with, but before I could he swept his scythe around and rested the blade under my chin. I felt a chill creep through my body at the touch of the metal. Something was off about it.
I sighed and looked at him.
"You obviously win."
Nightmare grinned and lowered his scythe.
"I would be surprised if you beat me, after all, I had years of practice. But that's alright, because it means I can give you a few pointers."
He stooped down and picked up my spear, handing it to me. I took it and held it again.
"When your fighting, make sure to give no room for your enemies to attack your weak spots. Always keep moving, attack with speed and precision, and don't hesitate."
I had no clue how to do that. It sounded so complicated, and I was still nervous. Especially now that I know he's not going to be TOO easy on me. I swallowed.
"O-okay."
"You left the middle of your spear wide open, right there." He tapped the middle of my handle with the edge of his scythe, showing me. I nodded, showing I understood. He backed away again.
"Want to try again?"
I nodded.
"Sure."
"Alright, get ready." He got into position, facing me. After a moment he shouted.
"And go!"
He lunged forward again, but this time he gave me some time to react. I Moved my spear, positioning it so that the middle of my spear wasn't open. I jumped back and to the side. Nightmare smiled at me, seeing I listened, but then he stepped forward and sliced his scythe across the ground, making me trip over the handle of his weapon.
I fell, hard, onto my back. He waited a second, then put the blade under my chin again.
"You did good. Your definitely learning."
Easy for you to say, I thought. I was very obviously outmatched by him. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I didn't think I would lose this badly.
"Thanks.."
"Against a normal enemy you would have fended off at least three attacks."
He held out a hand and I took it. He helped me up.
"Three's better then nothing." I smiled. He smiled back.
"Its all it takes to win. As useful as defence is, however, offense is key. Unless your strong enough and quick enough to hold out a defense for at least a hour, you can't win a fight. I've met and fought many warriors, each with their own style and weapon. I think you would do well if you balanced your attacks. Here, let me show you."
He put down his scythe then went behind me and held my weapon as well. I blushed a little, he was pretty close. Although I knew he didn't mean it as anything more then something to help me, it was still a bit distracting
"If someone's going to attack you from above, you should do this."
He moved the spear so that it was angling to the side and downwards, bracing against the ground.
"A-alright"
"Then if they have long reach, like my own weapon, you'll get the chance to move the butt of your weapon and hit them in the ribs. Here, let's try it."
He let go and picked up his scythe again. He got into position.
"You ready?"
I nodded, but in fact it was the opposite. I was nervous, my hands sweaty. I didn't want to hurt him, yet that's exactly what this maneuver would do. I swallowed, and got ready.
Nightmare jumped up and swung his scythe downwards. Just as I was about to hit him I hesitated. Seeing my hesitation, he moved his scythe at the last second and it stabbed into the ground instead.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I didn't know what to do, so I thought about hitting you but I didn't want to hurt you, so I hesitated.."
Nightmare hesitated for a moment, thinking on something, then he rested a hand on my cheek.
"Hey, its alright. You don't need to worry. I've had a lot worse injuries before. So don't worry ok?"
My face felt warm. I nodded.
"Do you want to keep practicing? If your not comfortable with this then we don't have to."
I shook my head.
"No.. I've been meaning to get better at this."
"Alright then, let's continue. Want to try that last move again?"
"Yeah."
"Ok."
He got back into position, and I did too. After a moment he jumped up and swung down again. I deflected his blade then hit him in the ribs, hard. he stumbled back a bit and rubbed where I had hit him. Instantly I felt guilty, why had I hurt him..?
He just smiled and my guilt vanished.
"Good job."
"T-thanks."
"Hmm, we'd better stop for the day actually. I don't want to bore you with the same attack over and over. You did a great job for your first time training."
He ruffled my hair and I giggled.
"Okay!"