32- Hida's Future

                                        

                                              
Less than a month ago, the now former-Knight Denerim tried to kill her, but Hida was not only still alive but she was once again back to training. Everyone wanted her to take more time off to recover, but since the medic responsible for her admitted she was capable of returning to training despite expectations, Hida chose to return to her cohort. 
"Hey Pinky," Bruno came to speak to her first, his huge frame a good disguise for his gentle heart.
"Hey Bruno, what'd I miss while I was away?" she asked as if she'd simply been on vacation.
"Nothing you don't already know how to do; stand in the face of overwhelming force without faltering," this time it was Anto joining her. 
"Shield bashes and body checks, it's been riot control training all month," Antonia added both her voice and her presence, the now very obviously pregnant belly she bore still not precluding her from these latest training activities. "It's actually been fun," she had a black eye she seemed unbothered about.
"You just like throwing yourself at us while screaming," Andre argued with her. 
"Yes," Antonia agreed, "and you can admit how much you enjoy catching me, and my fist."
"And your belly, or your knew, or your elbow; I think I've caught your shoe once," Baltan added on, and Hida realized her whole cohort was now collected around her.
"Have you ever seen a riot?" Cosmo sounded like he was trying not to shudder at the memory, "it's brutal. Catching Antonia, even when she's scream and flailing and we can't hurt her or the baby, it's far more fun than an actual riot."
"None of us are old enough to have seen a real riot," Adessa pointed out, "the last historical riot occurred under King Fujiwara, and not even Knight Conrad is that old."
"Your confidence is enjoyable," the Knight Instructor addressed them, looking like human leather; old, wrinkles, and permanently tanned. "But I actually am old enough to have started my Knight training when King Fujiwara was still alive."
"You knew historical figures?" Ghannam spoke up finally. 
Knight Conrad laughed, voice as weathered as his skin was, all the rough edges had been smoothed out long ago. "Anyone can become a historical figure if they make themselves memorable enough."
"What was King Fujiwara like?" Andre demanded at the same time Hida heard Cosmo ask, "do you know why Queen Ebina abdicated the throne so early?"
Knight Conrad ignored the questions, "time for training, get in line and set yourselves to resist a shoving."
Hida had missed a fair amount of training, and despite her best efforts at home she'd also lost some strength and conditioning while she had to recover. She was already the smallest cadet, as well as being the youngest, and now she'd been off training for a month; Hida expected to be very frustrated by the day's efforts. Knight Conrad was letting each cadet brace themselves before he bodily rammed into them. Given their relative sizes, Anto and Bruno had the easiest times not being sent flying, though Antonia obviously was exempted from actual impact. 
"You'll find that the female cadets have an easier time with balance," Knight Conrad was a solidly built man, and he had no issue acting like a battering ram while talking. "That's because a woman's balance is set at her hips, while a man's is up at his navel," despite her small size, early return, and newness to the lesson, Knight Conrad didn't hold back at all when he bashed into Hida.
She hadn't faltered when Denerim's sword shattered against her training blade, and Hida didn't willingly give ground now. Unfortunately though, she was on sand and Hida's form remained solid even as Conrad's momentum pushed her back. She simply wasn't heavy enough to stop it.