I slowly opened my eyes to guage the state of my head. Feeling no pain, I sat up, massaging a kink in my neck. The sun was streaming in through the window adjacent to the bed. I looked out into the yard, the tree line I can barely see from here giving me nostalgia. I really want to explore the forest and know if it's the same as home, and if not, what's the difference. 

I grabbed a change of clothes, rushing through my morning routine and hurried out of the room. An insistent growl from my stomach diverted my steps towards the kitchen. The house was quiet and the kitchen empty, but there was food in the store room so I made a plate for myself, absently wondering where everyone was. I can't tell the exact time, but it feels like morning. Did I take a short nap, or a really long one? I finished my meal as fast as I could, rinsed out my plate and rushed outside.

I stopped to raise my face to the sun, appreciating the warmth on my face. A repeated sharp thud drew me towards what I've named Zenon's torture field. Rossi stood a significant distance from a wooden board lightly palming a small knife, one moment her posture is loose and almost care free, the next, the knife is flying right into a circle painted into the center of the board with a sharp thud. A few others already there creating an arc. Her speed and precision made me want to give her a wider berth. 

"I wouldn't go there, if I were you," she said, as i began walking towards the forest and I froze. 

Turning to her to ensure I heard right. "Are you talking to me?"

"You see anyone else here?" She said, still not looking at me. 

"Why?" I asked, shuffling my feet.

She shrugged. "You're already dying, want to make it faster? Not my problem."

I gritted my teeth fed up with all these rude people. "Why are you all so mean?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "I'm pretty sure my father told me you don't talk to people like this, not unless you want to be mean," I said. 

She shrugged again, then threw another knife. "Mine didn't. He gave me knives and taught me to kill things."

I gulped and took another step back. She didn't really mean it that way right? I watched her throw yet another another with just a flick of her wrist and hit the circle again. Yeah, she's probably killed a few things. I looked around, not knowing what to do with myself, now too scared to brave the forest. "Have I been sleeping long?" I asked still wondering the time. 

"It's another morning."

"Right," I muttered. I sat watching her for while before standing and moving closer. "Can I try?" I said, hand stretched out to take the knife.

She glared at my hand. "Touch my knife and die." 

I gulped, immediately retreating. She eyed me again then sighed. "Have you done this before?"

"Does peeling apples count?" She narrowed her eyes. "No I haven't," I immediately added.

"Get blunt ones from the barn," she said, pointing towards the outbuilding I had always wondered about. 

I moved immediately before she changes her mind. I pulled the door open, waiting a moment for my eyes to adjust from the brightness outside, and my jaw dropped open. Different types of weapons lined the walls, and a few were propped on small wooden stands. There were knives and axes and swords of different sizes and shapes, some things here I didn't even recognize with my limited knowledge. "Uhm... Rossi, how do I know which knife?" I asked, eyeing the collection of knives. There were too many. 

"The ones that are not sharp," she called back like that made perfect sense. I shrugged and grabbed one, hoping for the best.

"People keep their animals in a barn, but you people use yours for weapons?" I said as I approached her.

She frowned. "Why would you keep animals in the barn?"

"For meat? Well... sometimes and produce."

"If you want meat, learn to hunt."

I raised my brow. "And for people that can't hunt?"

She shrugged. "Pay someone to hunt. Or go to trading center. Why would you kill an animal you raised?"

I frowned, realizing she's right. It does seem cruel to raise an animal, only to kill it. I don't know what the earth people were thinking. "So... the knife," I said, raising the knife I had brought and trying to imitate what I had seen her doing. A flick of my wrist had the knife flying into the air and spinning right towards me. I squealed and darted to the side just as it landed in the dirt where I was.

She frowned and picked up the knife. "The weight is all wrong for you. I'll go get you some samples to choose from," she said, testing the edge of the knife. "And something a little more blunt, Rowund would probably not too happy with me if I let you kill yourself," she added under her breath.

"I heard that," I said, and she shrugged not even looking sheepish, and casually walked towards the barn. 

"What is wrong with these people?" I grumbled. 

I watched with curiosity as Rossi strode towards me, a set of knife in hand. She came to a stop a few paces away, closer to the target than she had been practicing at and turned to face the wooden target. 

"First, test the weight of the knives, the most suitable for you should have a balanced weight and comfortable grip," she said, holding out the knives. I picked them all up checking the weights in my palm and testing the grip before finally picking one. She nodded in approval. "Acquaint yourself with that weight and balance, you need it to become an extension of your arm." 

I nodded, gripping the knife for dear life, my heart pounding in both excitement and terror. For the first time I'm finally learning something useful that might be considered dangerous. Something my father forbade. 

"The first thing to know is proper grip," she said, holding up one of the knives. Her hand wrapped firmly around the leather-wrapped hilt. "Balance is key. You want the weight centered so it flies true."

I mimicked the grip, feeling the unfamiliar shape in my palm. She nodded in approval. "Good. Now keep your wrist straight and loose. Throwing is all in the snap of movement, not strength." 

She demonstrated with an underhand toss, the knife spinning end over end to land with a thunk at the target's center. I watched her with wide eyes, wishing I could do what she can, determined to learn.

Stepping closer, she adjusted my stance with surprisingly gentle prods. "Feet shoulder-width apart. You want your weight spread between the two legs or you may land on your face when you move. Knees soft. When you throw, follow through with your entire body towards the target." She nodded towards the knife in my hand. "Now you try. Make sure your hold is firm but relaxed. Maintain a calm and steady mind, arm parallel to the ground with elbow slightly bent. Just an underhand for now - aim for that knot in the wood."

I swallowed my nerves, grasping the hilt as instructed. On an exhale, I snapped my wrist forward in imitation. The knife tumbled through the air and stuck quivering in the dirt short of the target. A smile broke across my face in surprise. I know it didn't hit the target, but..."I did it!"

"You certainly did. Almost as good as the summer i turned five. With practice, you'll be a fine knife thrower yet." She said approvingly. "Again!"

I was selecting a knife to try again when loud pounding steps from the front of the house interrupted us. I was about to speak but noticed Rossi has drawn a knife, so fast that I had missed it, and I had been facing her. My entire body tingled, and in that moment I knew. I didn't know how I was going to do it yet, but I was going to get strong and fast, enough that people would think twice about wanting to kill me, or use me for whatever reason they brought me here.

A black bear came running towards us from the front of the house, a small cloud of dust billowing behind it. My hand twitched, wishing I still had the knife on me, even if I didn't know how to use it. I sure couldn't run. While I was panicking, Rossi seemd to have relaxed, and I realized why when a moment later, Baltha was standing where the bear once did. 

"Right, we live with a shifter," I muttered, but then I saw his face. The man who seemed to always have a smile, wasn't smiling. Sweat poured down his body soaking his shirt that I'm realizing has a large blood stain on the shoulder. I took a few steps closer, unsure if he would want me near. "Are you okay?" I asked, unable to help myself. He was essentially the first person to show me kindness aside from my father. 

"What happened?" Rossi asked.

He threw a tight smile my way. "I'm fine Iz." Then turning to Rossi. "I think we might have a problem."