uncle's advice

prompt: A child moves in with an elderly person (aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandpa . . . etc.) This oldster is constantly giving advice.
Does the child learn something or discard all such pearls of wisdom?
word count: 597

***

Katarina sat on the grassy bank and looked out over the creek waters, darkened black from the night sky above, the only light coming from the crescent moon hanging overhead. She took a deep, slow breath, letting her lungs fill to their capacity until her chest ached. She closed her eyes and released the air through her nose, pulling her knees tight to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She repeated taking methodical breaths, letting the oxygen spread to her weary muscles, the repetition serving as a mechanism to calm her rattled thoughts. A crack of a stick made her jump, hand immediately reaching to her dagger holstered on her hip.

“Kat?” Daniel's familiar baritone called out to her and she relaxed her posture again.

“Over here, Danny,” she said as her friend's tall figure emerged from the darkness. Daniel sat down on the bank next to her.

The pair was silent for several minutes before Katarina spoke again.

“Well?” she asked, turning to look at him.

“Well what?” Daniel responded, raising one eyebrow.

“Did you not seek me out here to talk?”

“I came out here to make sure you weren’t dead,” he answered with a shrug, “Did you want to talk?”

“No, I do not,” Katarina answered, turning away from him to look at the water. Daniel shrugged again and laid down on his back, his hands folded under his head.

“It is just… sometimes I wonder if we are doing the right thing?” Katarina began, turning towards him again.

“What do you mean?”

“What if we are wrong? What if we lose?”

Daniel sighed and sat up. “It is normal to be afraid before a big battle -” he began.

“I am not afraid - I have been in battles before.”

“You did not let me finish, Kat. It is normal to be afraid before a big battle, not whether we live or die, but whether we live or die for nothing.”

“That does not help.”

“My uncle used to say that if you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of battle.”

“But what -”

“Kat - we are prepared for this. These warriors have been waiting for this moment their whole lives. We are as ready as we could possibly be.”

The moonlight reflected off his bright, cobalt eyes, giving him an otherworldly appearance. Katarina found it both calming and unsettling.

She gulped.“How can you be so sure?”

“I don’t know if you remember this, but I have been in a few battles before, too, Kitten.”

Katarina glowered and gave him a light shove, “Yes, I remember. The good ole days when we were trying to kill each other. It was much simpler then... And what did I tell you about that nickname?”

“That you hate it and if I call you that you will kill me.”

“And I meant that.”

“Oh, I know you did. I just figured that you need me for tomorrow and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” Daniel stood and extended his hand for hers, “Let’s go back to camp. We will need our strength.”

Katarina accepted his hand and stood, but instead of releasing it, held onto it tighter. “Tomorrow everything will be decided," she said softly.

Daniel gave her hand a light squeeze. “Only a fool doubts a woman with a plan. And only the biggest fool in the world doubts you.”

Katarina wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her chin on his chest as she gazed up at him. “More sage advice from when you traveled with your uncle?”

Daniel nodded with a smirk. “And after we win tomorrow, I will share some more.”

Katarina chuckled. “I would like that.”