Page 71 of Reforging Onyx

He followed Shane into the gym, getting into the ring and starting to stretch without uttering a word because he couldn’t think of anything to say. He was there to exercise, and maybe they’d figure out where to go from there… but he needed to get out some of his nervous energy first.

Shane stretched as well before getting into a casual defensive posture and gesturing for Onyx to start.

Onyx’s attack was light, not full force like he sometimes did, but instead like he tended to do when he was more relaxed. This was an attack, sure, but not a full frontal assault.

Shane countered the initial strikes easily, moving into one of their usual warm-up bouts of trading strikes and blocks, slowly stepping up the speed and intensity until they were almost at full speed. He waited for Onyx to break form first, going from pre-coordinated movements into a free-form spar.

Onyx loved sparring, especially right after he’d had his latest dose of vampire blood, and he could practically feel the blood singing in his veins. It was great exercise, but more than that, it was one of the few things that made him feel powerful when his magic was beyond his reach. He’d initially learned out of necessity, but he’d ended up having the knack for it.

Maybe he couldn’t do school things very well, and maybe he wasn’t as smart as he wished he was, but he could handle himself in a fight. A lot of that was thanks to Shane these days. If he was to go up against Paul Franklin or Marcos Sandoval now, he was pretty sure he would still have come out on top despite their years of specialized training.

It was a strange thought.

“Good,” Shane said when they paused to catch their breath. “What do you want to learn today?”

He pursed his lips, considering. What did he want to learn? Or was he just content to trade blows?

Instead of deciding, he said, “I’m sorry I got mad. You weren’t wrong, with what you said. I keep forgetting that things… aren’t like they were.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not my business,” Shane replied gruffly.

Onyx sighed but nodded. He’d expected that much, really, and… Well, as much as he tried to be friends with Shane, it probably wasn’t a very good idea. Dominic definitely wouldn’t like it, though Onyx had been able to shield Shane in the past and could probably keep doing it.

“Ah, Dominic said I could give you weapons training. If you wanted,” Shane said after a pause.

That bombshell had him blinking and outright staring at Shane. “What?” Even Dominic wouldn’t be that suicidal, would he?

Then again, was it suicidal if Onyx wasn’t even trying to take a single shot at him?

Shane huffed a soft laugh. “Yeah, I’ve got practice knives and short staves to start with.” He shrugged one shoulder. “If you want. We can do something else.”

“No.” Onyx didn't even hesitate. “I want to learn. Either one, both, whatever.” His eyes shone with eagerness, with the need for more knowledge of how to make himself an even more lethal weapon than he already was. “Do you know how to use swords?”

Shane cracked a smile. “Some. I can teach you the martial arts styles of sword fighting, but I don’t have practice blades. If we start with staves though, I can teach you some of the moves that translate easily into swords.”

Onyx nodded. “Yes, please." He wondered what else he could talk Dominic into… and fuck, all of this was happening even before Onyx ever gave up his ass.

What sorts of things could he get away with if he went all the way?

No. No, no, no.

But he was starting to think Dominic really would hand him the universe on a platter if he asked for it. Anything at all… except his magic outside of a controlled setting.

At least learning more about defending himself and offense physically made the ache of missing his magic less profound.

Shane nodded, climbing out of the ring and going to where practice weapons had been left. He grabbed the two staves and climbed back into the ring. “These are hanbo staves, or short bo staves." He handed one to Onyx.

Onyx examined the staff when Shane handed it to him, and he tested the weight of it in his hands. It was solid, and it seemed like it could deal a good blow to someone — probably Onyx himself for a while, as he learned how to use it. Training had always been difficult, and he’d gotten hurt so many times until he’d learned his body better. This was going to be no different.

But that didn’t stop him from wanting to learn anyway.

“They’re used in several styles of martial arts, and many of the strikes will be similar in form to ones that will eventually be used with swords.” Shane held his bo out in front of him, evenly balanced between his hand grips, which were at shoulder width. “Start here, and I’ll show you the basics.”

Onyx mimicked how Shane was holding the staff, watching him intently.

“The first three strikes are shin, hip, shoulder.” Shane made each motion clearly as he demonstrated each one. “Keeping your hands in place, do the first three on the left, and then the same ones on the right; shin, hip, shoulder.” He put his staff down to circle around behind Onyx and adjust his form as he went through each of the strikes, making little corrections to his grip and stance until he had them right.

Shane always had new things to show him, but this delighted and amazed Onyx in new ways, too. He was eager to learn, eager to make those corrections and patiently learn how to hold it and do the basic strikes. “And now we do this forever until it’s instinctive?” he ventured.