Julian was carefully sharpening his new dagger. Both of us had our attention on the scene in front of us though. One of the other new young men was planning to approach Diane. I had overheard him talking with Julian earlier. Julian had tried to dissuade him, telling him he was asking for more than he bargained for, but Jeff wouldn't listen.

Julian and the other two new people had fit into the caravan well the last week. Jeff struck me as fairly impulsive and not too inclined to think things through long term. I noticed Roland was also leaning against a trailer with a faint grin on his face. I guess he knew where this was going too.

Roland had made it quite clear that anyone who joined us had to wait a minimum of one month before he would allow them to get fired. Jeff just saw the extra speed and strength and thought it would make him an undefeatable hotshot. I wasn't sure why he underestimated Diane so. Perhaps it was because she kept her real abilities under the radar and didn't show off. I wasn't sure.

Either way, quite a few lingered near the campfire while waiting patiently for Jeff to make his request. It was a fighting training night and I could see that Jeff was hyped up with the idea of becoming better than anyone else. He wasn't quite going about it the smartest way though.

He puffed up his chest to look bigger and stronger than he was before he approached Diane. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you the one training us?"

He may have been trying to be polite, but the way he worded it made it kind of miss that mark. Diane tilted her head as she tried to figure out where this question had come from. She had been outside the fence collecting wood when Jeff had spoken to Julian, so she was unaware of his crazy daydream.

"To the best of my knowledge I am the most skilled at using a sword, dagger, belt knife, or spear in this group. Others could probably teach the basics, but why change teachers when we went to something more advanced? This way I can pair up people with similar abilities so no one is being held back or hurried too fast."

Jeff looked curious, "Where did you learn to fight?"

"When I was with Wainwright Fort."

Jeff looked like he was thinking hard, trying to line up details with his wildly unrealistic ideas. "How long did it take you to learn?"

Diane humored him with a response as she realized where this was going, "That really depends how you look at it. I didn't start serious fighting training for at least a year. I did have other training classes before that, like evading zombies, dealing with them in close quarters, and some other weapons training meant more for hunting or self defense. It all gave me a very good base for when I did start training."

Jeff pressed further, "So how long?"

Diane sighed at his persistence, "From the day I asked the trainer for special fighting classes until the day I left, it was about three months, but you must keep in mind that I had the Heartfire virus for at least a year by then and that greatly helped me. The training was extremely intensive and I was the only one being trained so I had the trainer's undivided attention for at least three hours a day.

"It was a good thing I had the Heartfire virus or else I wouldn't have been able to move the next day due to the amount of bruises I got in one session. The Heartfire virus also gave me the endurance I needed to get through those long sessions. For someone without the Heartfire virus, or someone who has not had it for at least three months, they are probably looking at a year or so with this kind of training until they have the upper hand in the average fight."

Jeff's face fell with that news, then he suddenly looked hopeful as he moved onto his backup plan, "Can you give me extra training like you had?"

Diane shook her head, "You would not be standing the next day. I was running at a lope most of the day when I started fighting and I was exhausted at the end of the sessions."

He stood up and held out his hands like a plea, "Please? Just give me a chance?"

I knew how that sentence would affect Diane. I saw her hesitate before giving him a level look. She had warned him and he still persisted. Diane didn't give warnings lightly. Most in the trader group had figured that out by now and we had quite a group of spectators watching. Most were pretending to do something else while hanging around to watch.

If Jeff had been paying attention, he would have noticed how many people were watching and listening in anticipation. That would have been his second warning. His first had been Diane's warning. Diane crossed her arms and regarded him steadily, "You realize that you will be bruised black and blue if I come anywhere close to what I went through, right?"

He nodded, "Please?"

I was so confused. If someone had seriously warned me that I would be bruised that badly, I would have taken time to rethink my plan. How could Jeff be so eager? He had seen some of her training. She paired people with similar skills up, and no one had enough skill to even make her concentrate.

Diane sighed as she gave into the inevitable. She knew he was making a mistake, but was letting him learn the hard way. "Put on your heavy winter jacket while I grab a practice sword for you."

Jeff quickly ran to grab the jacket. Others hid their grins as they made sure they would have a good view of what was to come. It was well known that Jeff thought that fighting was awesome and full of glory and praise. He had obviously needed a reality check. I had a feeling that this was exactly what Diane was about to give him.

Diane started tracing a circle in the sand with a practice sheath. He quickly came back, "So why am I wearing this?"

Diane didn't bother looking up, "It should help prevent bruises."

I noticed that she said 'help prevent' and not just 'prevent'. Ace had been a firm believer that a few bruises helped someone learn and it looked like Diane was following right in his footsteps. Like Ace, she also had no qualms about leaving bruises if the person in question was either being unreasonably dense or was so headstrong that they were a danger to themselves.

Jeff fell in the second category. He blinked as if surprised then shook his head, "So what do I do?" Some others were looking on in anticipation with something new to watch. Roland was openly grinning, not at all bothered by the fact that Diane was about to teach Jeff a lesson he sorely needed.

Diane gestured to the circle as she stepped inside of it, "Stay inside the circle. Try to block all of my swings with what I have shown you so far. Watch, as I will use a new move before showing it to you, it is up to you to try and figure out how to block it at first. Try to get a touch on me if you can."

He nodded, "Okay."

Diane lunged forward and lightly tapped him on the side of the leg before darting to the side. He looked shocked that she hadn't warned him. I had known that this was going to be nothing like the easy practice she had been showing us, but apparently that had not occurred to him.

Diane shook her head at his expression, "An opponent will always try to strike when you least expect it. Don't wait for them to tell you that the fight is actually on. If they are trying to take you by surprise, they will give no more warning than I did."

He nodded and got back into his fighting stance. Diane started to slowly circle him and he quickly realized how difficult it was to keep a proper defensive stance when he was trying to turn. Diane suddenly reversed her direction and lightly whacked his kidneys as she darted by him. "Don't expect an opponent to follow with their current pattern, it can change at any time."

Diane closed in and started aiming blows at his legs, sides and arms. She was going easy on him and keeping her movements closer to his level of ability, which allowed him to block most of them. None of his attempts got past her guard. Diane reached out with a foot and whipped his feet out from under him as he went down in an ungraceful heap.

"Always watch every part of your opponent, do not focus just on their weapons. Most fighters can easily kick, punch or elbow while you are distracted. A solid kick to the kneecap can shatter it. A good stomp to the foot can break the bones in a foot. Your legs have your strongest muscles and they can deal out a lot of damage if used properly."

Jeff scrambled to his feet. I wasn't sure if he was committing her words to memory, but from the expressions of everyone else, they certainly were. I suddenly realized that Diane had intended this to be a double lesson.

She was taking Jeff down a few notches while also showing others to never underestimate an opponent. This was more for the benefit of the spectators than to prove to Jeff that he wasn't as invincible as he thought. Considering that Diane hadn't been around when I overheard Jeff's plans, I wasn't sure how she pulled this lesson out of a hat with no notice. It might have been something she picked up from Ace.

Jeff tried a kick of his own and swung at the side of Diane's leg. It was no surprise to me when Diane grabbed his ankle and held it. Jeff had not been expecting that and lost his balance and fell down. Diane dropped his ankle as she started to circle him once more.

He got back up and tried some moves we had worked on yesterday. Diane parried them easily, before slapping the side of her sword on his left upper leg, "Quit leaving this spot so open. It is a common weakness that most fighters know of and will try to exploit."

Diane kept on going as she chased him around the circle with similar lessons. Within fifteen minutes of the intensive exercise, he was gasping for breath and likely had a dozen good bruises. He tried a clumsy charge at Diane. To my surprise she dropped to the ground as she rolled on her back.

She lifted her feet to intercept Jeff's charge and planted her feet on his stomach before using his own momentum to lift him off the ground and launch him over her into a creek that was just behind them. I had never seen her use that trick before.

Diane easily rolled to her feet and watched as Jeff sputtered to the surface of the deep creek. He halfway crawled out of the water before simply flopping down and panting. Diane blinked slowly at him, "Most fighters never launch into a fight carelessly. There are old fighters and there are reckless fighters, but there are no old and reckless fighters. Patience and observation are key."

That bit of advice would probably have done him the most good had she given it earlier, but her demonstration was guaranteed to make the lesson stick.

Diane glanced at her watch, "Fifteen minutes before your first break, not bad for your first time. How long do you want to keep going?"

I giggled as others chuckled. Jeff looked utterly exhausted. He shook his head, "I think I am done for the day..."

Diane chuckled and bent down to pick up the practice sword he had dropped at the beginning of his unchartered flight, "Apparently our next lesson will have to be about hanging onto a weapon when surprised."

Some of the amused smirks around me dropped as Diane glanced at them with that last comment. Personally, I was glad that Diane didn't really want me swinging a sword or dagger around. It spared me a lot of bruises.

I had no real interest in fighting anyways. I used a wooden staff a bit in case I ever got too close to a zombie, but I was still too small to use it properly. Jeff eventually managed to get out of the creek and stumble towards the trailers in search of dry clothing.