[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oQJAsoY.png?1[/img][/center]

Considering I came to him for combat training, so far Richard Dragon, or "Sensei" as I'm supposed to call him, has taught me very little combat. So far it's been a lot of mdeitation, a lot of trying to "center" myself, and a lot of nothing, if I'm being honest.

"You're not relaxed," he says beside me as the two of us sit quietly in the dojo. It's become like a secon home to me in the past week, and I've been spending most of my Christmas vacation here, much to the chagrin of Peter. But if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right, even if it is driving me crazy up to this point. "If you are not relaxed, you will not do what you need to in order to succeed."

I almost feel the frustration rise to my throat like a bitter pill.I know he knows what he's doing, but that doesn't lessen my annoyance with all his talk of being centered and calm.

"Sorry, Master Yoda," I respond sarcastically. "I'll go back to lifting rocks."

Speaking to his own centered and in control persona, he never seems to get annoyed at my jabs. Maybe he knows I'm not trying to be all that annoying, but I didn't come here just to sit around.

"You know I'e seen Star Wars, right?" he shakes his head. "I may be a master of martial arts, but I don't live in a cave. Luke leaving Yoda's training because he's annoyed is specifically shown to be a mistake. Just saying."

My face scrunches up under the mask, "Don't throw nerd knowledge back
in my face. That's my thing! Don't steal my thing!"

He chuckles softly. When he does, the greying-red beard that hugs his face contorts, making him look like a happy dragon himself. He's been a decent mentor so far, I have to admit, even if he's being far more secretive about his motives than I would like.

"You joke, but your emotions are what get you in trouble," he harps on his favorite criticism of me. 

"I haven't heard that one before."

"Yet you continue to let them control you," he waves his hand, as if presenting me with my failures. "If that does not change, our time here will have been for nothing, and you will not be ready for the challenges that are to come."

"I don't understand why you harp on the emotions stuff," I finally say out of frustration. I haven't really pushed back against him, not in any significant kind of way. I've been trying to keep my cool, to show him that I can do what he says I can't. But I can't hold back any more, and it comes flooding out in a torrent of words that only a teenage girl can summon up. "My emotions and drive are what have kept me alive. They've pushed me forward and allowed me to get out of situations I've never would have gotten out of otherwise. Now you come saying that's my biggest problem? Why?"

Another smile creeps across his face, "Finally."

"What do you mean 'finally'?" 

"I've been waiting for you to ask me why I do anything. To be curious. To want to learn," he explains. "I learned a long time ago that a student who sits and merely listens will never get what they need to get. Even you with your snark would never have succeeded with me until you were willing to ask questions. So now we can truly begin."

A smile flickers at the corner of my mouth. But I don't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that, "So are you gonna answer my question, or no?"

"You're not wrong that your raw will has protected you up until now," he concedes. "But that has also gotten you in trouble. You tend to throw punches when you don't need to. Normal people can't take a beating from you, nor should they need one. You have the power to stop them without violence. That will win you the love of the people you're currently missing."

I consider what he's saying, and realize it doesn't sound wholly different than what Tombstone had told me as well. That me taking down guys with my fists is going to create more problems than they will solve. It's something I've been considering, but to hear it from someone like the man training me makes it an extra poignant point.

"And when you come up against someone who does require you to fight them head on, while your grit may help you survive when you're back is to the wall, you should never be there in the first place," he becomes serious at this sentence, driving home how important he thinks it is. "You go head first into these fights with no preparation and a head full of ego and emotion. You're lucky that you have a second gear to go to when you need it, but you tend to need it too much. If you went in with a level head and an ability to fight with skill, you could save that for very few emergency situations. That's where you should be when we're done, and that's only going to happen when you get your emotions under control. Until then, no matter how much I tell you about martial arts, every fight you have will be a fight for your life."

It all makes so much sense. Even I don't have a snarky reply or a comment for that. He's right. That's about all I can say about it.

"Yes, Sensei," I nod. "I'll try to do better."

"Good," he motions for me to sit back down. "Let's meditate some more, in that case."

"You really enjoy testing me, don't you?" I shoot back at him.

"I do," he smiles. "I really do."