A Warrior's (Clumsy) First-Steps

Zora had heard about everyone picking up jobs from a friend, and had immediately grown curious. Alchemists, Farmers, and Warriors? That sounded pretty cool… 

They felt like they were too clumsy with their paws to become an alchemist. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to pick up a trade where they could potentially hurt themselves with…poison, or explosions, or something. They weren’t really sure how all of that worked. They didn’t really have a green thumb, either. They were much better at sniffing flowers than growing them. As neat as it sounded, Farming didn’t feel like their thing, either. So, that left one final class: Warrior. 

Being a warrior sounded fun! Fighting monsters, saving the day…They loved the idea of being a hero one day. They could help keep other Luminites safe, too! That sounded like something worth pursuing. With a pep in their step, they sought out Jiahao at the training grounds to ask for his assistance. 

…

Yeah, things didn’t go…that smoothly, at first at least. Zora kept stumbling, they couldn’t get their sword held right in their maw or paw, and while smacking a training dummy, they managed to wack themselves in the face. Thank the stars that their sword was just a wooden training sword; otherwise they would have had a nasty scar. Luckily, they just had a little bruise between their eyes that no one could even see under their fur. It was still embarrassing, though. It made them feel…anxious.

What if they weren’t cut out for this? What if they were never meant to be the hero they wanted to be? The idea made them…sad. They wanted to help people, and be something that their friends could be proud of! They didn’t want to just…do nothing but forage for the rest of their life. They wanted to make a name for themselves! But…things were going so…poorly. Could they really achieve their goals at the rate they were going…?

Zora continued to train non-stop for several long, winding days. It was the dawn of the second week of their training when they finally had a breakthrough; they finally managed to knock Jiahao off balance! …Slightly. Only a bit. He only wobbled a little— But who cares! That’s totally a win! While he was…kinda off his paws, Zora bolted in and clashed their sword with his, which they were sure would have made a cool clang! if their swords were actual, serious swords instead of wooden ones. That was okay; they could imagine it. One day, maybe they wouldn’t have to anymore!

The two scuffled for a moment, blades pressed together in an attempt to overpower the other. Zora was briefly knocked back, paws sliding in the dirt to halt themselves before they could fall, and then they launched themselves forwards once more. They ducked under a swing of Jiahao’s sword, swiftly bolting to his side, and pressing the dull, rounded tip of their own “blade” to his shoulder. Checkmate.

The two stared at each other, panting from the energy spent in their spar, before Jiahao smiled. He ruffled Zora’s hair with a paw, causing them to snort, and told them to go take a break; they were getting better! Zora let out a happy noise; then promptly covered their mouth with a paw– Warriors were supposed to be serious, after all! Still, they couldn’t hide the wagging of their tail as they wandered off to the side, stopping at a small spring of water to hydrate themselves. 

They eventually settled down by the spring, still panting. Despite their exhaustion, they felt giddy… They were getting somewhere! They really were! Maybe if they kept training, they’d be able to actually wield a real, cool sword! That would be so…cool! Maybe…Maybe one day they’d even be considered a hero…? Hopefully, they would at least. Until then, they’d just have to keep working hard and improving, bit by bit.