Scotty leaned away from her, and the pretend knife—because they were bring careful, because she did not want to hurt him and she did not want him to her her—and she smiled. Maybe she had beaten him at last. Oh. No, she hadn’t. Helena grunted, stumbling back from the punch. That was stupid, and she realized her mistake a few seconds later when Scotty grabbed her arm, twisting till she dropped the knife. Before she could collect herself, he was moving again, knocking her feet out from under her, sending her toppling over.
Most of the time, Helena was grateful for how Scotty treated her. He did not treat her like a delicate baby who knew nothing, and he did not treat her like a monster who would attack at any moment. He treated her like a friend, and he acted as if she were a normal person. Most of the time she was grateful—but sometimes, she wasn’t. Sometimes, she wanted to bite him. Or dive at his ankles. Or slide in between his legs and ram her head up into his—well, usually she did not think about doing that unless she had lost several rounds. Other times she thought about hiding in his attic and tackling him from the opening in his ceiling. Now was one of those times, and she eyed his outstretched hand for a few seconds too long before she took it and let him pull her up.
She wouldn’t, because they were friends and she would be honorable when they sparred. Also, he might also know how to fight dirty and that could get messy. Still, she did not like losing—though she was not as bad as Sentra Alison. Maybe being a sore loser was genetic. Well, she was not only her DNA. So she smiled and said, “Thank you,” and, “You are very good at this, also,” and, “Yes.” Then she asked, with a grin, “We still are not biting, yes?” and she chuckled.