THESE HIDDEN WINGS

[31.1] INTER-COLORS MATCH: GREEN VS SILVER (part four)

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"Begin."

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THE GIRL THAT had given us the wrong direction to class.

Growing up, I was taught to not say the h-word and I tried my best to not outwardly hate anyone but let's just say I developed a strong disliking for the girl and her friend. So maybe it was my fault that she had caught me staring at her ...features.

And yes, that might have been rude of me, but in my defense, I had never seen a convert that had been physically altered as Ari had been.

Okay, so whilst staring at her might not have been exactly ideal, I was not exactly in control of my actions. It was a reflex; anybody could have done the same. The fact of the matter was when one sees something unusual, then 'one's eyes are going to draw together naturally in confusion as mine had. But all in all, it was HER fault we got lost in the hallways, HER fault I met my worst nightmare that day and now have to live in secrecy.

I paused at that thought knowing I was already living in secrecy long before I had even met Ari. My life was one huge disguise, I couldn't blame anyone for it.

"It's her, isn't it?" Claire asked, her eyes narrowing down on Ari.

I nodded, with a slight sigh. As Lira leaned in closer, as if trying to get a better look at the girl, whilst I turned my attention to the second contestant of the night.

Gosh, I had to stop calling them contestants, they weren't on a game show, even though I strangely did wish that the fight would be as harmless as one.

Opponents- that is what they were.

I looked at Ari's opponent, he looked equally dangerous as she had been. They were both dressed in those dark bodysuits with the Kingsland logo on their left breast pocket. I don't believe I had ever seen him before, nor was I getting the best view of him now with his side facing me. I only got a good look at him when the Gravis, got to his feet calling them to recite the very words, Raskei and Thandi had after a short introduction.

"Welcome to the Green and Silver Inter Color Match," Gravis spoke, standing in front of the dome with a mic in his hand. The whole Arena became silent as his voice resounded through it, becoming so deathly silent only the sound of our anticipated breaths echoed throughout the whole Arena.

Everyone's eyes were on him but my ears seemed to be the ones surprised about how demanding and authoritative he sounded.

I had known Gravis all my life and while he didn't talk much, he had said a considerable amount the day our plane crashed, but now, he resembled my father in the way he was addressing the students of Kingsland. Had I been a random convert, I would have never believed he was the same quiet man that followed my father everywhere he went.

"I am Mr. Gravis Herc, prime teacher of the Silvers. I would like to welcome all the students to our first Inter Color Practice Match of the first half of this year" he grunted, "to my left I have Ari, also known as Reptic," he announced and a round of applause sounded from across the Arena.

I realized most of these were greens with a few exceptions stemming from reds and oranges as well as Gold, "and to my left, we have Koran Schneider also known as ...Koran," a few chuckles went up from the Arena, followed by claps from supportive Silvers and any other color which was not green.

The Silver-named Koran raised his hand, and I noticed he was of what seemed like Japanese descent, with jet-black hair and a cute smile. I noted that he carried a pouch of arrows on his back, a weapon I realized may have been part of his power as Thandi's mirrors had been in the first match, watching as he placed his hands on his hips. My eyes moved from them after the clapping and cheering for Koran came to subside, he got on one knee, as did Ari.

Turning slightly to my side, I took notice that Lira had not cheered for any one of the two as she had with Raskei, which I was both grateful and curious about, noticing that she seemed to be studying the two fighters in the Arena, her eyes glowing for a slight moment, which caught me unaware.

I had a feeling she was using her abilities at this moment. It then came to my strange realization that I didn't know what Lira's ability was. I knew it was something that was smart enhancing. She was a blue for a reason I would suppose. I jotted down the question that was bugging me as Ari and Koran recited the words, "Fair, Just, and True," voices echoing from the speakers that hang above the dome, "For Kingsland and Honor."

After these words were spoken. Gravis went ahead and took his seat.

My gaze followed the two figures as they took their positions on either side of the dome, glancing back at Lira who was only now reading my question.

"I can't support any one of them because I didn't prepare for this match," she mumbled, her eyes darting across the two in the dome.

I didn't know what the heck she meant by 'I didn't prepare for the match,' it's not like any of us needed to do anything at all. I wanted to ask her what she meant but a finger on her lips told me I should shut up, causing me to look away, waiting for the signal to begin the match.

Ari and Koran were currently looking at each other fiercely until the horn blasted, Gravis's voice flooding into the Arena with only one word-

"Begin.'

The moment he said so Ari did not hesitate to be the first one to make the moves, taking long strides paired with a fierce look to meet Koran in the middle, her claws swinging at the boy who dodged her attempts swiftly, blocking a high kick but quickly retaliating by throwing a punch of his own which she flawlessly dodged.

I was impressed at how fast she was moving. She hit him with another powerful high kick and he went tumbling back but was able to catch himself before he could fall, his feet steadily digging into the moss that was littered around them. His eyes narrowed on her taking out an arrow and my eyes enlarged when he aimed for her which she quickly dodged moving swiftly into the trees.

She was extremely fast I had to say because I could barely see her outline as she sprinted between the trees, Koran following her, relentless with the arrow throwing, I was sure he was going to run out very soon.

I sure hoped his convert ability wasn't only arrow-throwing. I had honestly expected him to have wings, I mean wasn't he a silver?

Suddenly, Koran paused in the middle of another smaller tree clearing that had been placed all around the pitch-sized forest, his arrow already locked and loaded, eyes on the target, his feet moving skilfully around in a circle, watching for any sudden movement. Just as he was about to complete his rotation, Ari came up from behind a nearby tree. She was not sneaky enough because Koran was on her in an instant an arrow releasing from his grasp so fast it felt like slow motion in front of my eyes as I saw it fly, almost catching Ari between the eyes, but her eyes blinked into that snake-like form, dodging it a millisecond too fast and the arrow lodged into the tree trunk.

I needed a break from that move alone but Koran's fingers had already slid another arrow into place long before the first arrow got stuck in the tree, and this time Ari wasn't fast enough to dodge the second arrow coming directly for the same spot the first one missed, her arms coming out to protect her, crossing her face. The whole crowd gasped at what we thought was going to be an impact until the arrow suddenly bounced off her skin.

My eyebrows furrowed at the site, unable to believe what I was seeing, leaning into my seat to get a better view as what I realized were large green Scales that had formed above her bodysuit, protecting her like Armor.

All right.

That was unexpected.

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