Killer Lessons

A Teaching in Murder
"Alright, Ira, today is the first day of teaching! So, I want you to listen carefully" Rhea exclaimed to Ira, who was sitting on a chair, as Rhea stood infront of him, with a chalkboard behind her, much like in a classroom "Considering you need to be somehow useful to the group, I'm gonna be teaching you three important things, how to fight, how to survive, and most importantly, how to kill" Rhea's tone seemed to be much rougher at the end, however, Ira didn't seem shaken by it.

Ira merely tilted his head in confusion "Kill...?" And said in a confused manner, as if it was the first time he never heard that word.

"Oh god, I'm gonna have to teach you things in detail now..." Rhea said, taking a chalk and writing the word "KILL" on it "Now, this isn't something hard to understad, kiddo, kill, or killing, is the action of taking one's life. There are numerous ways of doing so, from stabbing the heart, to slow and painful deaths. Ya might feel a bit guilty at times but for the most part....No, actually, scratch that, I never felt guilt killing someone, unless you count that one squirrel...Anywho, it's basically the act of murder, which is what you'll be learning now" Rhea explained to Ira rather nonchalantly, speaking of murder and such things to a mere 10 year old child.

"Isn't that a bit, I don't know, rough for a kid to know?" The blonde woman asked, standing behind Ira "Wouldn't it be easier to just make him carry stuff?".

"Then we'll get attacked one day and what? He'll hide in a corner crying? What if someone caught him, eh?" Rhea asked Diana, her tone becoming much more harsh "True, this kid survive outside in the wild for, god knows how long, but that won't be enough when facing other humans"

"Ugh...alright, fine" The blonde woman replied, knowing she couldn't convince Rhea otherwise "I'll go make something to eat for later, you two be careful" She said as she walked away.

"She's gone, good. Now..." Rhea walked over to a chest, openning it and pulling out a sword, and putting it next to Ira "Ya know how to use a sword, right?" Rhea asked Ira, who looked at the sword and picked it up from its handle, not appearing bothered by it's weight.

"Looks like you can carry it well without much of a problem. Stand up now, and point it at me" Rhea said to Ira, who did just as he said. Firmly grasping the sword as he stood and pointed it at her direction "Hmm..." Rhea looked into Ira's eyes, noticing he had a rather blank expression, even if most of his face was covered in bandages.

Rhea kneeled down next to Ira, grabbing his hands and fixing his posture "You'll drop it if you hold it too high. Point it directly at your target in a straight line, rather than upwards" Rhea said, taking one of Ira's arms and putting it behind his back, while one hand held the sword, as well as fixing his posture to stand up straight "Now you have a free hand in case anything happens, and..." Rhea pulled out a knife with its sheathe from her belt, and tied it to Ira's pants, under his cloth, hiding it "Now, if anything happens, just pulled out the knife when they least suspect it, and since it's hidden, they probably won't notice it...probably." Rhea finished explaining, and stood up, walking infront of Ira.

"How 'bout a lil' test run?" Rhea asked Ira, who nodded "Alright then, kiddo, come at me" Rhea said, as she stood with her arms crossed.

Later, everyone sat in the dinning room, Ira having a noticeable band aid on his forehead, as Rhea sat next to him, holding his hand and patching it with bandages "Sorry about that, kiddo, went a bit too rough" Rhea apologized to Ira, as he looks at her, only to give her a thumbs up as a reply.

"What a sweetheart...." Rhea thought to herself, finishing bandaging Ira's hand "All done. You should be getting better soon. Luckily, I went easy on you" Rhea said to Ira.

"I knew I shouldn't have left him alone with you!" The woman said, standing next to Rhea "Now look at him, injured from your lesson!" The woman scolded Rhea.

"What else should I do then, eh? He's gotta learn how to tolerate pain and fight back, otherwise he'd die" Rhea replied to the woman in a calm manner.

"Hmph, tommorow, I'll be teaching him how to use magic. The right ones to help him both fight and stay safe" The woman said to Rhea, crossing her arms.

"Oh, is that so? That'd be useful. So, did we get anything new today?" Rhea asked the woman.

"Not much, really, but we did manage to catch that wolf we were after yesterday" The woman said, to which Ira looked at her upon her mention of a wolf "And there he is now" The woman said, turning around to see two men carrying a cage with a white wolf in it.

As the wolf turned, his right eye was missing from its socket, as it noticed Ira, it began to bark in a fit of rage, shaking the cage and making the two men drop it, as the wolf tried to bite through the bars, still remembering Ira stabbing his eye.

Ira hid behind Rhea, his expression becoming terrified, as Rhea patted his head, calming him down "Don't worry, I'm here" Rhea said to Ira, as the two men grabbed the cage again, carrying the wolf away.

"Odd...that wolf looked like it recognized you" The woman said, turning to Ira "Met 'em before?" Ira nodded in reply "I see...don't worry, it can't get you, it's locked up tight, like all the other rare animals we capture" The woman said, reassurring Ira.

Wash Between Your Ears
The next day, Ira sat on a small chair, with Rhea sitting next to him, as the woman stood infront of them, with a chalkboard behind her, much like how a teacher would during class.

"Why are you here again...?" The woman asked Rhea, who was nonchalantly picking her nose.

"As a mother, I need to keep an eye on my son, shouldn't I?" Rhea replied to the woman.

"Since when are you his mother...? Infact, when did you even adopt him? You pointed a gun at his head when you first met him!" The woman shouted at Rhea, as Rhea looked at the woman with an intimidating look in her eyes.

"Are you saying I can't be his mother? Even though I apologized, took care and even named him?" Rhea asked the woman, who's expression went from anger to fear.

"No no no no! Not at all! I didn't....say that...at all...hehe..." The woman replied, terrified of what Rhea could do to her.

"Good" Rhea said, crossing her arms "Now go ahead, teach Ira his magic" Rhea said to the woman, staring at her as if waiting for her to do something wrong.

"Alright...first off, Ira, I need to know if you're even capable of using magic, then the amount of magic energy you contain, that way it'll be much easier for me to teach you" The woman, holding a lacrima in her hands "This lacrima will glow if you have any magic energy, and depending on how bright it becomes, it'll show how much magic energy you have too" The woman said, putting the lacrima on a table for Ira to touch.

As Ira stood up, he walked over to the table, touching the lacrima, as it began to glow a faint, but noticeable light "Hmm....you're a kid, so I didn't really expect much magic from you anyway, but we can fix that through some trainning! Ain't that right, Rhea?" The woman, turning over to Rhea, who simply glared at her.

"Just teach him what he needs to know" Rhea said to the woman as if ordering her.

"It...it won't be that easy though, after knowing his magic is rather weak, I'll need a while to find a suitable magic he can actually use well enough, so let's call this a day, okay?"

"Alright then" Rhea replied, standing up and holding Ira's hand "Let's go take a bath, I think everyone finished, so no one'll bother us" Rhea said to Ira, as the woman blushed.

"Wait, you're gonna take a bath together?!" The woman asked in shock, as Rhea turned to her.

"Yeah, I need to wash his back for him, and make sure he's nice and clean" Rhea replied rather nonchalantly to the woman.

"Ah...Is that it? Hehehe...I think I should take a bath too, actually" The woman said.

"Come on then, we'll hog all the water if your late" Rhea said to the woman, beginning to walk away.

Later, Rhea, Ira and the woman were in the bathes. Ira sitting in a tub while Rhea washed his back for him "Don't move too much, I won't be able to clean you properly if you don't stay still" Rhea said to Ira, as the woman was inside another tub, with only her head out.

"This is why I don't like bathing with people...." The woman said to herself.

"Oh, hush, it's only you and a woman and a kid, what's to be so shy about?" Rhea said to the woman, who turned around, her face crimson red from embarrassment.

"I can't look into people in the eye when I'm naked! Even if it is another woman or a child!" The woman replied.

"Oh, for God's sake..." Rhea said to herself, sighing.

"Mo...ther..." Ira said, albeit with a bit of a stutter in his words.

"Hmm? Something the matter, Ira?" Rhea asked Ira, as he gestured her to lower her ears to him, as he whispered into them, causing her face to slightly blush "...Uh huh...I'll teach about that later...maybe tommorow, but not today, okay?" Rhea asked Ira, to which he gave a thumbs up for in agreement with his mother.