Days two through four blurred into intense rhythm—dawn conditioning, demon theory, practical sparring, evening reflection. Alice's body adapted to Northwatch's brutal schedule, muscles strengthening from sustained exertion, mind sharpening from constant tactical education.
Day two brought combat sparring. Adrian simulated Soldier behavior while Alice applied yesterday's theory practically.
"Soldiers fight with intelligence," Adrian reminded her, circling in the practice yard. "They adapt, evaluate, exploit weaknesses. Not like the Imps you handled. Ready?"
He attacked with controlled aggression—faster than human opponent, strikes angled to simulate Soldier reach, movements telegraphed just enough that she could read them if she focused.
Alice defended, forcing her body to implement demon-specific responses. Angle blade upward. Create more space. Lateral movement, not direct retreat. Her instincts fought her constantly, wanting familiar patterns that wouldn't work here.
"Better," Adrian said after the first exchange. "Your spacing improved. But you're still thinking too much—responses need to be automatic."
"My body wants to revert to human-opponent patterns."
"I know. Keep drilling. Eventually demon responses become as natural as human ones."
They sparred for an hour. Alice managed moments of genuine success—clean strikes to simulated vulnerable points, defensive positions that actually worked against Soldier height. But between successes came frustrations when her training betrayed her, when muscle memory insisted on wrong responses.
Nearby, Mira worked with Garrick on different focus.
"Your guardian forms are excellent," Garrick observed, watching Mira's defensive positioning. "But don't let demon-specific training erode your fundamentals. You'll face human threats far more often than demons. Maintain both skill sets."
He demonstrated—standard defensive stance, then demon-adapted version, then back. "Switch between them smoothly. Most combat will be human opponents. When demons appear, adapt. But never lose your human combat excellence chasing demon specialization."
Mira nodded understanding, drilling transitions between standard and demon-specific forms. The challenge wasn't just learning new patterns but maintaining old ones while adding different responses.
"This is harder than learning from scratch," she admitted.
"Much harder," Garrick agreed. "But more valuable. You're becoming comprehensive fighter—multiple skill sets you can deploy as situations demand. That's rare capability."
Day three emphasized theory refinement. Adrian covered demon behavior patterns in depth—how Imps coordinated, how Soldiers evaluated threats, how to recognize when demons were testing versus committing to real attack.
"The caravan General coordinated Imps verbally," he said. "That's advanced behavior. Most Soldier-class demons lack that level of tactical sophistication. But all speaking demons share one trait—they think. Plan. Adapt."
Alice absorbed the information, cross-referencing with caravan memories. The General had commanded, yes, but also evaluated their formation, probed for weaknesses, adjusted tactics when initial attacks failed.
"How do you counter adaptive intelligence?" she asked.
"Unpredictability. Demons learn patterns quickly, but struggle with truly random responses. If you establish rhythm, they exploit it. Keep them guessing—vary timing, mix techniques, never settle into predictable sequences."
"Like fighting you at the trials," Alice observed. "You constantly varied approach. Never let me establish comfortable distance or timing."
"Exactly. Principles that work against skilled human opponents work against intelligent demons—just applied differently because of their physical advantages."
Afternoon brought Garrick's fundamental combat review. He worked both women through human-opponent scenarios, ensuring demon training hadn't degraded their core skills.
"Muscle memory is malleable," he explained. "Add new patterns without erasing old ones. You'll fight humans ninety-nine times for every demon encounter. Don't sacrifice reliable capability for specialized technique."
They drilled standard forms—the human-height combat that had served them for years. Alice felt relief in the familiar movements, her body relaxing into patterns it knew intimately.
"Good," Garrick observed. "You're maintaining separation. Demon forms when needed, standard forms as default. That's correct approach."
Day four brought patrol participation. Not observation this time—active involvement with Northwatch guards on standard circuit.
Alice moved with the patrol naturally, her conditioning more than adequate for the pace. Sergeant Marcus explained territorial markers, demon sign recognition, watch station protocols.
"You're learning the practical side," Marcus said approvingly. "Theory and sparring matter, yes, but understanding actual operations completes the education."
They found fresh Imp tracks at the third watch station—multiple sets, recent movement through the buffer zone.
"Scouting party," Adrian confirmed, examining the sign. "Four to six Imps, passed through last night. Standard reconnaissance pattern."
"Do we pursue?" Alice asked.
"No. They're gone by now, and chasing Imps into their territory is how people die. We note the activity, report to command, adjust patrol routes to account for increased scouting presence."