Aisling showed up the following evening for training, looking intimidating in her grays. The grounders gave her a wide berth, having learned to fear her after her show at the battle with the Langur.

  Grey was pleased with their reaction. An important part of ascending from grounder to riptide, or any other position with more responsibility, was recognizing the real threats around you. Only fools were distracted by the loudest. She did not want fools on her team.

  Though grounders typically had their own training with the rippers, they were encouraged to watch Callum and Grey work through more advanced techniques. Many of them were circled on the beach in front of the sunveils, and Callum had invited Raya and Nile to join them for the session. After the skirmish with the Langur, everyone was looking to learn more, and there was an excited energy as the small group warmed up.

  Lotti and Nessa trained combat with Grey privately. For this event, they were laid under shade sails on fabric chairs. They had a tray of sliced mango from the market and sweetened fresh coconuts on a crate between them. Lotti had convinced Nessa to add rum to hers, and the Tide Sage’s cheeks were already red. If Nessa was already drunk, and unwilling to reel Lotti in, there would be no roof to how obnoxious the whisper got.

  Grey had decided the week would be for grappling. The hard deck of the Paso Fino made ground practice difficult. It would be ridiculous not to take advantage of the sand while on shore, especially since their next shore leave would be, Order-willing, Mayacar. She had no idea what their environment would look like there.

  The session started the way it always did, with Grey, Callum, or Finnian teaching a technique. Grey was the strongest grappler, so it would be her leading today. She chose an area where the sand was well-packed. A soft landing was nice, but they still needed to be able to move efficiently.

  Aisling removed her cloak and sat down next to Raya in the sand. Grey noticed the scar forming on her right arm and that it was healing with little mark. That was a bit strange for as deep as the wound had been, but she had no doubt the merchant took better care of herself than she did.

  Finnean sat on the other side of Aisling, balancing shells in an intricate tower. Callum lounged on the opposite side with Nile, who looked pleased to be there.

  Grey stood in the center and called Aisling forward.

  Grey addressed the group seated. “Madame Byrne is an experienced grappler. I will extend her the respect of not presuming she does not know a better way to perform the techniques I’m going to teach today.”

  She turned to Aisling. “We’ll work this together, Madame, and you correct me anywhere you think I could use improvement.”

  Aisling gave her a small smile, but didn’t respond.

  So, Grey continued, “We have a larger, more diverse group, so I’d like to drill balance, grips, and takedowns. Knowing when to execute a throw is just as important as knowing the throw.”

  Grey named three techniques that could be executed from different angles and then explained that Aisling would demonstrate them on her in order. For the first round, Grey would be in a beneficial position for the ebbjack to throw her. In the second round, she would move her body in a way that was not conducive to the throw, so the group could understand when not to apply it.

  It was a little basic for Callum, but if she paired him with Finnian, and then eventually escalated the training to live drills, he would benefit. More importantly, she suspected the exercise was the right level for Raya and Nile.

  Grey continued, “Alright, Madame Byrne and I will give you the demonstrations.” She turned to Aisling. “Let’s start with the spring hip toss if you like.” Aisling just nodded.

  As Grey advanced, she intentionally approached in an ideal manner for the throw. Aisling shot forward, and with a strength uncommon for a human her size, sent Grey in an arc over her torso and then slammed the Riptide into the sand below. She followed with a knee on Grey’s sternum, her full weight holding Grey to the earth.

  Lotti whooped loudly from her chair, which set the grounders off. They cheered at seeing the Lieutenant hurled like a fish. Even Finnean looked up from his shell tower.

  The only thing that saved Grey from the embarrassment of getting the wind knocked out of her was her learned response to a hard throw. She slammed her arm and foot against the hard pack, landing well despite the surprise.

  She looked up at hard celadon eyes. She was sure her own squinted in concern. She liked the merchant, and this felt a little personal. Grey thought perhaps there was a miscommunication, or that Seawardens trained differently.

  After a moment, they reset and continued the drill. Grey continued with the demonstration, now advancing on Aisling with the dictated throw at a disadvantage.

  Instead of solely demonstrating that the throw wouldn’t work, Aisling snapped into a follow-up technique, using Grey’s balance to benefit her. Grey slammed into the ground again.

  Though she was prepared for the ferocity of the next few throws, Aisling did not ease up. The grounders yelled excitedly while Lotti flat-out harassed Grey. Even Nessa looked amused.

  Grey certainly appreciated the more advanced sequences, especially for Callum and Finnean, but she had no idea what technique the ebbjack would apply. This meant she was hitting the ground harder. She wasn’t meant to be defending herself in a drill, so Aisling got the benefit of launching her without worrying about retaliation. Grey was starting to get pissed off.

  She jumped up and snapped, “Alright, spread out and practice, live drills as you’re ready. Reset when a back hits the ground.”

  Grey whipped to face Aisling, setting her topaz eyes to points. The ebbjack met her gaze and then crouched and extended her hand. Grey tapped it to signal that they would indeed skip practicing and go straight into drilling.

  Aisling’s features didn’t change as she burst forward. She did nothing to give away what she was going for. Grey thought, not for the first time, that this was the most dangerous part of fighting an Ebbjack.

  Grey had to rely on her instincts to counter Aisling. The two cycled through a series of complicated throws and counters, butting heads at a standstill. That was fine with Grey, she was about to show Aisling why you didn’t grapple with a riptide.

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  It didn’t take anything particularly fancy if you were willing to sacrifice your own comfort to win an exchange. During Aisling’s next attack, Grey let the ebbjack take her back. She would be moments from losing the drill in this position, normally, but Grey was willing to launch herself into the earth, twisting the ebbjack viciously into the ground.

  She pulled her punch, still not willing to potentially hurt the smaller woman. The grounders cheered while Lotti accused Grey of cheating. The two women regained their feet.

  “Don’t do that again,” Aisling said, brushing the sand from her greys.

  Grey’s hard features didn’t change. “Throw you? It’s the drill.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. No. If you land the throw, send it through. Don’t insult me.”

  “This is training, Warden, we don’t set out to injure each other,” Grey replied. No one else could hear her, but everyone was watching them. She didn’t want a dangerous standard set for the grounders.

  Aisling ignored the response. “Fuck this. I want a fully live round, Lieutenant. Combat force.”

  Grey was fuming, which, despite appearances, was actually pretty rare for her. Though Aisling still did not speak loud enough for anyone else to hear, Grey was in a bind. Whether she declined or accepted, she would look like an asshole. Might as well appease her temper. Grey yelled, “Clear out! Madame Byrne and I are having a full round.” Lotti went absolutely feral in her chair.

  The rules of a full grappling round were simple: no strikes, no time limit, make your opponent surrender with a submission. It was their problem to tap in time, else wind up with a snapped knee or similar.

  Full rounds were common, but it was rare Grey used combat force against a training partner. She certainly hadn’t since she had been in charge of their training program. She didn’t find that trainees learned very well in those conditions. Clearly, something other than learning was going on here.

  The round started with a hand tap. Aisling once again came in hard. Grey was used to her speed now and tried not to overreact or overcommit. A minute passed while Grey defended against her throws, and Aisling was getting frustrated.

  “You’re a coward,” Aisling said low enough for only Grey to hear.

  Grey was used to opponents using jeers to get a reaction in their favor. She imagined Seawardens were not. She simply laughed, pretending that she took no offense.

  Once again, Grey employed a ripper tactic to win the takedown, though she may have done more damage to herself than Aisling implementing it. The grounders cheered again, and Lotti voiced her displeasure from the shade sails.

  Before Grey could apply enough pressure to trap her, Aisling spun out and attacked Grey’s arm. As Grey defended, the ebbjack immediately switched to attacking her neck. This went on for an impossible amount of time, and Grey thanked Chaos for her strength advantage and for how often she drilled with Callum. They traded advantageous positions, Aisling never letting up her barrage of attacks.

  The ebbjack was employing ground techniques that wouldn’t make sense in a real fight, at least not for someone without Aisling’s speed. They were catching Grey by surprise. She was worried that if she let this continue, she would be tricked into something she was unfamiliar with.

  So, she chose to go on the attack. She left her arm as bait, not exactly knowing what technique Aisling would go for, but knowing she wouldn’t leave it alone. Once the ebbjack grabbed it, Grey rolled into her, getting on top and pressing her forearm into the woman’s throat. Aisling put up a solid, textbook defense against the simple move, which Grey had expected.

  Instead of fucking around with her any longer, Grey powered down with her full strength, pinning Aisling’s shoulder blades to the sand. She attacked the Ebbjack’s good arm, dragging it low to threaten popping the fragile ligaments of her shoulder. Grey waited for Aisling to tap. No matter how the ebbjack acted, Grey would not intentionally injure the woman.

  Shielded from the group, Aisling looked furious. Grey didn’t know why. A riptide should certainly be a better grappler. The fact that the ebbjack had been such a challenge was actually moderately embarrassing for Grey. She knew why the woman was technically sound, but her strength, and especially her speed, were incredible.

  For the first time in her life, Grey felt awkward this close to her opponent's face. For some reason, it didn’t feel right to hold Aisling down. Whatever emotion was rolling over her eyes was not a normal reaction from a training partner, even one about to lose. Aisling didn’t want Grey on top of her, and not just in a competitive way.

  As Grey was on the cusp of just removing herself, the woman tapped, and Grey hopped up like she was jumping from a snake. She offered a hand she didn’t expect Aisling to take. Aisling grabbed it and allowed Grey to pull her to her feet.

  Lotti used her good arm to throw a spent coconut at Grey’s head, nailing a grounder several feet away. “You’re a fucking cheater, Osprey. Someday someone will send you on your ass.” She may have continued her assault, but a man arriving with more coconuts distracted her.

  Aisling’s face was back to normal, and if anything, she looked more collected than when they had started. She said nothing to Grey and cycled in with Finnean and Callum for the rest of the session. She worked patiently with Finnean, who always struggled with wrestling. Callum did a decent job of keeping up with her, but Grey was pretty sure Aisling was letting him work.

  The session wound down, and Grey was very pleased with Raya and Nile’s progress. She also appreciated that Nile seemed to harbor no ill will and was receptive to corrections and input. Callum had really taken a liking to him, and that was good enough for Grey.

  The grounders stayed on the beach drinking, but eventually Grey thought it was time to walk Lotti to her inn. If the Sage stayed any longer, Grey would have to sling her over her shoulder to get her back. Nessa had left an hour ago, and Lotti was causing havoc with the new recruits, forcing them to wrestle in the surf and running bets. One of them would drown trying to impress the beautiful Archsage.

  Grey started up the cobbles with Lotti tucked under her shoulder, and Aisling filled in on the whisper’s opposite side. Lotti was the only one who talked as they made their way through Barlosa, but she knew how to fill the silence. She rambled mostly about ship drama, pastries, and the complexities of magnets.

  They dropped Lotti in her room and exited through the inn’s front door, turning to each other on the cobbles.

  “I appreciate you coming with us. She walks until she doesn’t.” Grey said, rubbing the scar on her shoulder. It ached from supporting the Sage.

  “Of course, Lieutenant. I enjoyed the training today.” Aisling responded. “There is a lot to learn from your experience.” The setting sun bounced off her auburn hair, even as it was tied back.

  “Oh, I doubt that, Madame, all of your techniques are sharper than mine. I just have a harder head.” Grey smiled.

  Aisling smiled back, seeming to have shed some of the tension.

  “Are you headed for an inn?” Grey asked. “I can accompany you.”

  “Only if you care to. It’s the opposite direction of the sunveils.”

  “Oh, I’m not heading to the sunveils tonight. It’s no trouble.” Grey extended her arm, and Aisling took it, turning her face forward so that Grey couldn’t gauge her response.

  After a moment, Aisling said, “You must enjoy the bookkeeper’s company, Lieutenant.”

  “She’s lovely,” Grey replied. “Obviously very well-read.”

  Aisling barked a laugh. “Ah, right, that must be what attracts you to her, her intricate mind. Definitely not her features.”

  Aisling looked up at Grey with a tight grin, but when Grey looked down, she replied seriously, “I think you’ll find, with me, that an interesting mind takes priority.”

  Aisling’s face grew distant. She looked back at the street and didn’t reply. The two reached her inn after a few quiet minutes and said their goodbyes underneath the wooden sign swinging in the sea breeze.

  As Grey made her way to the bookkeep’s shop, a thought nagged at the back of her mind. This trip was far too dangerous to have a complicated relationship with the merchant. If Aisling’s anger tonight was real, it would need to be addressed.

  For whatever reason, Grey was looking forward to the conversation.