Nina's aim was better than Nicky's, much to my relief. I kept tabs on the wind, although it wasn't in my favor. I did know when Daniel came back, although it took him some time to locate us. He seemed somewhat surprised to find Nina shooting a bow.

I glanced over my shoulder as I heard him approaching, "Welcome back. No one is trussed up or being held against their will either."

Nicky piped up, "And we haven't even hit the maximum casualty limit that Trinity set for us."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged, "Nina wasn't sure if her aim was better than Nicky's, so I had to set some ground rules before I let them pick up weapons."

He chuckled and shook his head before going to grab a bow for himself. I watched him take a few shots, "I wasn't aware that you practiced archery."

He shrugged as he hit the bullseye yet again, "I tried it once when I first arrived at Ironwind, but it never really grew on me."

Either he had practiced a really long time, or else his instincts assisted him much more than mine did when it came to using weapons. I suspected the later reason. After his encounter with the three Nightstalkers, he did carry a dagger now. The question is, can he actually use it?

"So you can use a bow. Do you also know how to use that shiny new dagger?"

Daniel made a face, "Not really."

Sometimes the levels of intelligence and common sense around me just left me speechless. His aim with a bow was perfect, yet he didn't carry one. Instead, he chose to carry a weapon that he likely had never practiced with. Brilliant... Trying to use a weapon you have no skill with is sometimes worse than not using it at all. This was particularly true among zombies.

Daniel lowered his bow as he focused on me, "I saw you using that belt knife of yours when we fought those Nightstalkers, can you give me some training?"

He was tentative, partially due to not liking to ask for help, but also partly because he wasn't sure how I would react. I sighed as I considered the stronger zombie in front of me and how my past training attempts with other zombies had gone.

"I don't know much beyond the basics, but we can try. You do realize that any training session will probably frustrate you beyond belief and it will likely end up in a wrestling match, right?"

Now that I thought about it, any time that I had shown another zombie something, or if they had tried to teach me, it had always ended up in a wrestling match. Our instincts simply didn't understand sharing knowledge and they considered any corrections or comments to be a tiny challenge that slowly, but surely riled us up. Our humanity would allow us to redirect that energy into a wrestling match instead of First Strike or an actual fight.

Daniel looked curious, "I wasn't aware of that, but I would like to try. This dagger doesn't mean much if I have no clue how to use it."

At least he had some common sense. I put my bow and arrows on the holders on the side of the building beside us. I looked around, "We had best take this to that more open area over there."

He nodded as he put his own bow and arrows away. I pulled my belt knife off of my belt and ensured that the sheath was firmly secured to the blade. "Leave the sheath on for training like this. Normally there are practice blades to use, but if we ask we might end up with an audience."

None of the locals were within sight, but the archery area was isolated behind the garages. Trees blocked the view as well. This was a good thing as far as I was concerned. Well, if Nina thought I was purposefully riling him up before, just wait until they realize how well zombie instincts tolerate training.

I exhaled gustily as I turned to Daniel, "Okay, first thing is stance."

I moved into a fighter's crouch in front of him with my blade at the ready. He copied me. It looked like the stance was familiar to him, so he might actually have had training of some sort in the distant past. My instincts immediately protested facing off against the higher-ranking zombie. They knew that an attack was basically just a suicide mission.

I tried to ignore my instincts as they clamored for me to get the hell out of this situation. "Yes, that is good. Let's try a few simple moves..."

I moved my blade to show different angles and techniques, as well as basic parrying. I wasn't going at my full speed, so that gave Daniel plenty of time to catch on.

"Okay, let's try at a faster pace." Daniel nodded at my suggestion, clearly finding my sluggish pace too slow for his preferences.

For me, a faster pace was never going to equal Daniel's speed. I would also be unable to block any strike unless he pulled it. My slower speed also ruled out evasion. In short, I could never get into a knife fight with a Terror and expect to come out on top. My instincts knew it and they simply wanted me to get away from what they saw as a fight with the Terror. I had to resist that growing desire to flee in order to keep training.

As a lower ranking zombie, my refusal to back down would be riling up Daniel's instincts, particularly as our practice had us striking toward one another. Daniel's eyes were already going red, a warning sign that he was getting wound up more than he was letting on.

I didn't touch my top speed, since I preferred others to underestimate me if something serious ever came up. Daniel was pulling his strikes to something I could pretend I parried. He was easily blocking my strikes and his blocks swiftly changed as he determined the best angle and place to parry each type of strike. His instincts were clearly helping him more than mine ever did when it came to wielding weapons.

I decided to make one important point very clear. I struck out with my left hand and my knuckles actually succeeded in grazing his arm before he managed to pull back with a growl. That dirty trick had his eyes solid red and lightly glowing. Such an example was needed though.

I bared my teeth lightly at his growl, "Never forget to always watch your opponent's other hand. That is the biggest mistake you can ever make."

Daniel's growl deepened as his instincts were severely insulted that a Nightstalker had managed to get a touch in. As the one getting trained, he was getting riled up much faster than I was. Even his precise control around humans could not have prepared him for something like this and it was showing.

If I got more than one or two tips in before he lost the ability to focus on our training, then I would be lucky. It wouldn't be long before my own instincts prevented this match from continuing. In short, we were both getting riled up rather swiftly.

He closed in and tried a few different types of strikes. He still pulled his blows and I brought out a few different moves for him to pick up on. It didn't surprise me that he caught on within one or two attempts. The glow in his eyes was increasing.

I didn't have time to look at Nina or Nicky, but I couldn't see them missing such a telltale sign that this session was about at its limit. My own instincts were up in arms over the 'fight' that I was so clearly losing against the higher-ranking zombie. Such a situation was like touching a dull needle to a balloon, something was about to explode and it would be sooner rather than later.

I narrowed my eyes as I decided to attempt another common trick. I tried a different move with the knife that involved trying to flip it out of an opponent's hand. Daniel was stronger than me, so it was doomed for failure unless I caught him off guard. He kept a grip on his larger dagger, but while he was focused on that, I swept my foot across his ankle.

He stumbled, but his faster reflexes prevented him from actually getting tripped. His snarl split the air as his eyes locked onto mine, marking the end of our practice. I bared my teeth in an instinctive reaction as I skipped back a few steps. We had both hit our limits.

I dropped my dagger on the ground as I altered my body language. A wrestling match would prevent this from becoming more serious and would also settle our provoked instincts. Daniel instantly recognized my stance this time and copied it as he dropped his dagger. He came forward in a stalk as he started circling me.

I dropped into a lower crouch as my teeth were bared. It didn't faze him and he undoubtedly saw that it wasn't serious as we both fell into the less serious body language that marked a wrestling match. At least both of us were on the same page. I feinted to the side, but Daniel was swifter than me and managed to snag my wrist before tugging me forward.

With a snarl of my own I slashed out with my other hand and the back of my fingers skimmed his arm in a harmless retaliation. He managed to grab that wrist too. Bloody Terrors, why do they have to be so blasted fast?

I twisted to the side before ramming my shoulder into his chest. He grunted from the force and staggered backward a few steps. He returned the favor by whipping his foot across my ankles and taking my feet out from under me. Most would have fought to stay on their feet, but Nightstalkers had no issues taking the fight to the ground level.

I let myself fall down and he released my wrists in his surprise. I kicked his leg, possibly leaving a bruise. He backed out of my range and considered me as I crouched on the ground waiting for him to return. He now realized that letting me fall to the ground while he remained standing may have not been such a smart move on his part.

If he approached, I could easily lash out at him or grab his legs. He would have to bend down in order to reach me with his hands, which would put him slightly off balance. He growled faintly as he realized that I held a temporary advantage. The way I was crouched so close the ground would also allow me to launch myself at him so he instinctively kept his distance.

A few seconds later he started chuckling as he realized that this match had been reduced to a standoff. He shook his head as he stood up out of his crouch. I snorted lightly as I got back to my feet. The wrestling match had not been quite what I had expected.

It had turned into something closer to a practice fighting session as opposed to an actual wrestling match. I suspected that it was mostly due to Daniel's Terror instincts and how he held back since he didn't want to injure me. I had noted in the past that he had usually opted to avoid close range melee rounds. Perhaps I had just associated with other Nightstalkers too much.

It hadn't quite settled things back to normal, but it was close enough that I wasn't going to comment or request a rematch since I was very likely going to lose the next match. Ties were rare in these matches. I was in a better frame of mind than when we had entered this place, so that was a bonus.

I shook myself off, "Feel any more knowledgeable? Or am I better off asking Nicky to hold that dagger for you?"

Daniel snorted in faint amusement, "I wouldn't give her a dagger even if my skill was so bad that I stabbed myself in the toe with it."

Nicky rolled her eyes at the jab, "That is something that I actually have never managed to do and in case you didn't notice, I do carry a sword and have not injured myself with it yet."

"Miracles of miracles..." Daniel shook himself lightly as he dismissed the matter. The zombie-like action was unlike Daniel and probably only because of our recent interaction. He looked at me, "That lesson certainly did help, although I was quite surprised at how my instincts detested it."

I shrugged, "Yeah, it pushes all of the wrong buttons. If you want to piss a feral off, just pretend to use a weapon."

Nina tilted her head in curiosity, "That wrestling game looked quite different from the first one. I also don't recall seeing you wrestle with Luke at all."

I raised an eyebrow to warn her that her curiosity was getting a bit too nosy, "Such matches can vary a fair bit. I wrestled with Luke. You just weren't around those times."

Nina looked disappointed before her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, "Just how often do zombies wrestle? You make it sound as if you and Luke wrestled at least a couple times and he has only been traveling with us for about a week."

I sighed heavily, "It varies by individuals and how well they get along."

"So you are starting to wrestle with Daniel because you two are getting along better?"

I snorted lightly before picking up my dropped belt knife and putting it back on my belt, "Possibly."

I didn't really want to admit it, but it was the truth. Daniel was a bit closer to his instincts now, which meant that a wrestling match wasn't going to end up in serious injury. I also trusted him enough to get into a wrestling match with him.

It was the zombie way of winding down or relaxing. A human usually had no qualms about sitting down with a drink to relax and talk with their friends or acquaintances. Or just goofing around and having fun. The virus had altered our minds a bit and now playful wrestling was a close equivalent for that. Trust or tolerance played a big part in who we would wrestle with though.

Nina didn't respond, probably sensing that she wouldn't get any more information. Daniel looked thoughtful as he picked up his bow again. He was learning, albeit as slowly as an office worker heading to work with hangover, but he was learning.

I had wrestled with Luke twice since he arrived at the Stronghold and only twice with Daniel since we met. The first week he probably would have fought me thinking that I was actually attacking him. Then again, he said that he had only pinned that first Nightstalker when she went after him, so I wasn't entirely sure. That Terror was far too confusing...

I shook my head before grabbing my bow as well.