"Be more alert." Ash responded.

"Your awareness of your surroundings is too dull. You react too slowly. You need to know where your opponent is at all times. Even if that means you are aware of them seconds before they strike. Those seconds can save your life, or turn the tides of battle." he said further.

"Remember, if you can't hit your opponent, at least make it so they can't hit you, either." he summarised.

"Just try and work on your alertness and awareness." he went on.

"Your body will catch up invariably, but all the toughness in the world, all the bulking up means nothing if you can't fight, or are too slow." he said further.

"Look at our brother." he told her. "Is he stronger than me? Yeah. He's a LOT stronger than I am, physically, but... the only times he wins, is if I let him, or I'm feeling a bit under the weather." he whispered.

"He telegraphs his hand-to-hand maneuvers from a mile away, and by the time he's aware of where I am when we fight or spar, I could have hit him and been moving to another position." he finished, REALLY hoping it didn't sound like he was bragging about his own skills, or diminishing his brother's.

It was just to provide a practical example for Alice, one she would be able to understand more easily.

"You have good reflexes on the whole." Ash responded.

"Just not great COMBAT reflexes." he told her.

"For what it's worth, you dodged better than Lindsay does." he then shrugged.

"As for any tips, spend time with your eyes closed." he suggested. "Just close them. Become aware of your other senses and let THEM tell you of your surroundings. Listen for subtle audio cues, feel slight changes in air pressure or wind direction, become aware of different scents and odours coming from all directions." he continued.

"In due time, those senses will be heightened on their own, and you'll be able to tune into them WITHOUT closing your eyes."

Ash nodded.

"All right." he said.

"Next time we spar, I'll get you a blindfold." he told her.

"We'll see what happens at that point." he said further.

He then stood up, and stretched out his arms skyward.

"That was a refreshing spar, though." he added.

Ash shook his head a little.

"Well, with Jaden... yeah. He knows how to sword fight... and that's about it." he agreed.

"Demi... hm." he then mumbled. "Demi's a strong woman. An independent woman. She takes orders from no-one." he continued. "...but everyone's scared of Aunt Rocky." he then admitted.

"And an empath being a detriment? Hardly!" he then exclaimed.

"You'd be able to sense murderous intent or overwhelming malice. Trained right, NOBODY or NOTHING would be able to get the drop on you!"

Ash was silent for a moment as he heard that, before he sat down beside Alice, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't hate yourself for being what you see as 'weak'." he told her.

"Yes, if you were physically stronger and had more fighting experience, that might have ended a lot different." he admitted.

"But lamenting the past is no way to live your life." he reasoned.

"If you want to get stronger, do it because you truly want to, NOT because of some regrets in the past." he went on.

"...also, by the time I'm through with you, you'll be one of the best Fyrane fighters out there." he then chuckled.

"That's what I like to hear." Ash responded.

"Soon enough, YOU'LL be able to outfight Vicki, and hold your own against your parents." he told her.

"...our parents." he corrected himself.

"Well... yes. Yes. Our parents. Ugh, our family tree is like a damn creeping vine." he grumbled, shaking his head a little.

"And I'll take any heat from Aunt Rocky over this." he assured her. "Demi will have no reason to really go after me. Jaden is... well, he's Jaden. Odds are he feels the more distance he places between himself and this situation, the better." he reasoned.

"Can't blame him for that." he admitted.

"But if Aunt Rocky comes looking for me because she's discovered this... I'll handle it." he promised.

Ash shook his head a little.

"Am I scared of Aunt Rocky? Oh yes." he replied. "Most everyone with rudimentary intelligence that know her are." he chuckled. "However, I know she won't do anything serious over THIS sort of thing... if anything at all." he reasoned.

"If she DOES disagree with it, then we'll discuss it as adults. I don't fear her, like most other people do. Maybe I'm a bit complacent because she's actually told me, a long time ago, that I was stronger than her. And since then, I've gotten even stronger." he shrugged.

"But I am confident I can take whatever she dishes out... even if it's verbal beatdown that leaves me feeling like shit afterwards..." he then mumbled.

"However, she's not going to stop me from training you." he insisted.

"The only one that can stop what's been put into motion... is YOU." he finished.

"We're holding off." Ash said.

"You're sore and bruised and cut." he told her.

"I appreciate the zeal, but... we need to wait for your body to repair itself until we do another session." he insisted.

"At the very least, wait 24 hours." he said further.

"...and yes, you can hold me to that." he sighed.

"....I said once you've stopped being sore." Ash responded.

"And that generally means 24 hours." he told her.

"I am NOT going to believe that you're just NOT sore any longer after THAT." he insisted.

"I CAN believe 24 hours." he went on.

"Or perhaps less. Regardless, your body will need to recuperate. If you just keep pushing yourself, it'll end up doing more harm than good." he reasoned.

"This'll take time, Alice. You'll see improvements after... maybe a week? But nothing huge. But don't worry, I promise you'll improve."

Ash thought about that for a moment, and nodded.

"Yeah." he said.

"Yeah, that makes a lot of sense." he told her.

"I'll do that tonight, actually." he said further, and she could see he meant it.

He was going to be taking this seriously. And this was further proven when she heard his mutterings and mumblings.

"...need this... stock up on electrolyte water... make meals for this... and this..." she heard.