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kekeke Levi crouched, looking down the side where West fell into the water with a splash. He really had done well, but she just couldn't help herself. What would he do now that he'd fallen? Ragequit?

No.

West wouldn't do that right?

...

She waited for it. A part of her believed he might but another said he would do the exact opposite; the latter would prove correct. That same expression she'd seen from him time and time again forced her defensive up. Yep, he wanted to attack her; retaliation was something West could be counted on for. Atta boil! C'mon then! A wide grin spread over Levi's face. When he was close enough, she performed a cartwheel off tot he side of where West dove. She did have to crouch again for stability at the sudden change in the log's positioning due to the brief use of her hands.

She peer at the boil again to see what her dodge had resulted in.

Yer expectin' too much too fast, boil. West was indeed one to act before he really thought. Whadid 'I tell ya 'bout learnin' eveythin' that took me years ta'learn?! AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN IN'A FEW DAYS, DANGIT!!! The tatzel ghoul clenched her teeth, hissing back at the outburst. If West was going to question her teachings...

Look. Them wings git ya 'out 'a lot'a messes, I reckon. N' I'm glad ta see yer usin' 'em fer keepin' ya'outta trouble n' back inta tha ring but YA KNOW there're gonna be times. Of course he knew; he wouldn't be here otherwise. Can't depend on 'em. Just like 'I reckon can't jump with'this. Her tail had gone limp before in situations, making it impossible for her to jump out of danger to safety.

What I'm tryin' ta show ya'll is that there ain't no limits ta what they can do to ya. Yer only limitin' yerself with thinkin' they're just gonna shoot ya'with somethin'. They're hidin'. They're in tha school. Them humans 'er bein' tricky. Really, there was no way to merit her laughing at him, but it was a sign of her enjoying herself. Levi was a bit prickled about his foul mood just because she'd-

...

okay.

So she wouldn't have liked that sort of treatment either. The ghoul sighed before continuing on; he had to understand that she did mean to show him something important.

If they're gonna do somethin' to ya' ere ... it's gonna be a surprise. Ain't to yer face. That time they all ran after the mysterious red cloaked figure, it was indeed a trap. Had she been more careful about seeing it for what it was rather than chasing after the figure...

at that time, she herself had even been caught off her guard. Never again. If they were going to try and trick her on Halloween grounds, she'd be more careful about what she played into from now on. She'd learned from her hasty mistake, thinking exactly as West was now.

If yer just worried 'bout me humiliatin' ya- well... Levi placed her hands on her hips now, making a sour face at West's pouty nature. Smartin' up n' keep yer head outta that Jack'dang hole all'a'y a boils git stuck in. Ya fall n' git back up. Ya git bruised n' ya heal. Someone calls ya' a name, ya take it like ya' ain't bothered none 'cus yer STRONGER than that! Don't be given' me none'a yer sass when I'ain't hurtin' ya!!! Or had she? His pride, sure. But that wasn't something Levi typically fed into.

Levi's strict stance softened, allowing her arms to cross in front of her now, a serious stare aimed at West. C'mere, we're wastin' time with'is. Ya either wanna do this or ya'don't. Don't gimme a half'arsed 'ttempt thinkin' yer already done. Levi knew West wasn't going to half-a** anything. He just needed to be pushed to react. If he was going to be a boil and stop, this was his time to do so.

The ghoul stepped back toward her end of the beam, offering out an arm like she wanted West to grasp it. She looked from one wing to the other but said nothing further about them.

If there was a vein ready to pop in her forehead, the ghoul concluded it was entirely West's fault. What came out of his mouth was contrary to how he functioned. It sounded like he considered all of this a waste of time yet there he was following her instructions.

Typical boil as far as she could tell. If not just exceedingly more head-strong.

He'd walked over to her this time without any difficulty, but it was with his wings he did so. It still allowed Levi a glimpse of his potential.

Just shut it, n' lets git on with'tha lesson. I want ya ta try 'n walk back. I'm walking with ya so ya gotta keep up ma pace, got it? Remember- look forward n' keep ta knowin' tha tree fer steppin'. Don't need ta think 'bout how ya step none. Just that yer on tha tree. On'it n' lookin' ta yer 'opponent, got it? Without further instruction, Levi moved to brace his other arm and took her first of what would be a series of footsteps forward, not waiting on West to move back. He had to or risk her pushing him out of her way as her arms braced his for both stability aiding as well as to keep him focused on her rather than himself.

She would have no problems knocking him off with his current attitude.

Yeah, yer 'alright now. Levi braced his arms tightly, relieving a bit of her own frustrations by clutching him in her claws a bit more than was really necessary.

But she sure felt better about it.

If the ghoul smiled, that was why. Like West, she kept eye contact as they walked. Her feet didn't wait so much as linger on her toes a bit when there were inconsistencies in West's step. It was his first lesson; she'd let that slide for now. When it felt like the log had begun to widen, she stopped moving. The end was close by. See? made it without lookin' nowhere else. The death grip on the boil loosened. Don't seem like much 'ltogether, but ya know- it'sa good start. If ya'll can do this much, 'imagine not needin' ta look 'lot 'a tha lookin' 'round ya normally do when yer fightin'. She though for a moment, sliding her hands and forearms off of his before adding. Well- She turned her back to him, making her way down the length of the beam.

In yer case, it'll help 'lot more with yer focusin' too. Always wantin' ta hit hard but never really hittin' anywhere'in particular. She folded her arms at her back, looking behind to gauge a reaction. Whadda'ya think? Ready ta'attack me 'ere? Levi wasn't moving; as if to prove it was a free shot, her tail curled in a spiral behind her, off the offense.

Or do ya wanna learn yer footin' a bit more? Yes, it was all a test, young grasshopper demon.

kekekeke~ Had this been any other time, the ghoul would have been glad to hear West was going to keep focus on the training. It was exactly the sort of response she was wanting but doubted he'd actually give. When it came to fighting, that was what West wanted most, right? To attack!

No.

... No?

No. ❤

That wasn't what he wanted, the tiny voice inside Levi said. At first, she moved forward to take just his hand to guide him back again across the beam, but that itty bitty voice urged her on. The thing was- she didn't question it. It was as if ~*something had taken over*~ her usual sense of reason and willed her to do something outlandish.

He does it for contact, of course. ❤

Contact.

Yes, contact. He fights better when you're closer to him. Closer you are, the better he'll learn. The better he learns, the stronger a fighter he will be. ❤

Again, she didn't question it. The jerk of her outreached hand as it backed away from his instead was guided upwards to his shoulder. What was a sly smirk softened without her knowledge. Her other hand came up to lay over West's other shoulder and she stood but inches away , allowing her forearms to rest against his upper arms. West... I wanna try 'nother sort 'a trainin'... She had thought of one way that contact was made in this sort of paired situation.....................









dancing.

...dance with'me. The voice screamed at her.

Explain why, Levi. EXPLAIN WHY. TELL HIM WHY. ❤

I THINK- Her voice came out a little too high and she had to look away from him to continue on. ...it'll help ya. Ya know, balance.

She couldn't do it. The words were stuck. Levi felt such an overpowering push to tell West that her contact was helping but instead the mere thought of saying it came out as a flush of color on her face. The tatzel blushed in front of a boil opponent. That just happened.

His touch was refreshing. Energizing. Maybe the voice really did have something going with this contact talk.

Why now? Why was this any different from her previous confrontations with him where she'd been close enough to feel the ribs beneath his skin. ... Now Levi thought of his wounds- when she'd bandaged him after the fight. All sorts of curiosities were called into question but the tatzel shuddered when West pulled away, completely forgetting. This pull into the present had her staring into him when she felt the brush of his hand on her face.

It felt cold, aside from the fact that it was as damp as the rest of him, but not in a displeasing way. Cool and bright- his hand was surprisingly gentle and Levi was both shocked and relieved by it. Over her own heated cheek, it soothed her. The tatzel nearly purred to it. Thank Jack she didn't.

This was contact, right? ... So he did want it- this was helping him.

Your help, your attention and your touch are making him stronger. Keep it up! ❤

Then West pulled away from her completely; the contact was gone so shortly after it had begun. Now the displeasing cold set in. Levi folded her arms and held at her elbows like she was keeping out a chill that visibly made her shudder. Did the weather really change that drastically? Her ears perked to his voice as a rush of words came out of him. Oh... yer leavin' then. Yea, 'alright. We 'can do it...

He's just being a silly boil like usual. Don't let him go; you're so close. Just take him back on with you and- ❤

...'nother time. It became so hard to accept his leaving. Levi didn't want him to go but if he had something important to do, she wouldn't stop him. He had something more important to do. Her tail fell motionless on the log and her ears folded down. So cold...

But watching him move away at least held a sort of promise- not only that he was going to keep practicing but that he was doing what she'd been teaching him. He moved without faltering and this at least brought her tail back up to a spiral behind her. If ya gotta'go... guess we better take 'ya 'out, eh?

At that very moment, she felt repelled. Levi didn't want to touch him; West had to go do important things now. It was understandable but not without a touch of melancholy. Her ears kept down; the flush on her face not leaving. Levi jumped offside of the log rather than walking over the steps West had just taken. The ghoul put her sandals back on as a tentacled cat came up and wriggled up onto her shoulder while she waited for the boil to gather his things.

C'mon, follow me. It's this way out. Levi wasted no time, beginning her way back without looking back at him. Please, follow me... Her tail swished low to the forrest floor, the ghoul again clutching her arms at her chest. For feeling a shivering cold on the outside, her chest was unbearably hot inside. Was she not feeling well?

You're fine. Just keep breathing. ❤

The tiny voice comforted her as she awkwardly tried to decipher something to say next. Levi tried to keep her breathing even and unnoticed.

She chuckled again when they came to the clearing of the field through the trees. It was an automatic reaction to his thanking her. The walk through the woods had been a fairly silent one considering Levi was focusing on trying not to burn up internally. Anythin' ya want, I'll teach it to ya' next time.

Was she still a bit pained to leave him? Yes. Was she going to? Yes.

It was too much an she needed to be alone with her thoughts now. I'll see ya next time..'or just 'round, West. It burned through her shirt; the heatwave of emotions. As abruptly as she had come here, Levi was leaving first with haste. Maybe she WAS coming down with something.

Not another word came from the tatzel. She began her way back to the monster dorms in a series of jumps... away.