✔ WHEN FISH FLY (OpenNovellaContest2021)

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕣

"How are you doing, water girl?" A voice says from behind me, the sound of two sets of footsteps reaching my ears as they near us.

Standing up, I look at the two approaching girls. They are no longer wearing their identical purple uniforms, instead they have large hoodies on that reach their thighs, baggy trousers and an almost unnoticeable mask under the large hood that is placed over their head. They aren't sticking to their usual purple colour either, each girl dressed differently from one another, showing some personality.

"Really good. I'm ready!" The eagerness I show isn't entirely fake, my desire to get this over with, to finish this mission, gives me the impatience a normal girl in my position would have.

Chuckling, the Caeli Lorem who had been sitting next to me gets up and floats towards her friends before landing next to them. She's the only one of the three of them - four counting myself - who is showing part of her face, the mask she is wearing covering her eyes and nose, leaving her mouth bare.

"You might have passed the first test, but the road to becoming a full member is long, and only a few people make it through,". Based on the tone of her voice, I can tell she is the leader of the group, the Petram Lorem.

Nodding, I say, "I am sure I can make it. I really want to help our city in any way I can,".

It isn't a lie.

During my two months of training, I was taught that the best way to lie, is to hide it with a truth - in this case telling them that I do indeed want to help the city become a better place for everyone, but the hidden lie is that, despite my attempt at becoming a part of their vigilante group, I have a different approach in getting to my end goal.

"I'd say that's a pass for the second test; willing to do anything for the good of Venice," a smile appearing yet again on the lips of the girl with air powers.

Tucking my arms behind my back, I grin, my face hidden behind the mask I had managed to remember to bring this morning. "How many tests are there?".

Nobody says anything for a few seconds, rock girl staring at me as if trying to read what my motives are, "As many as we see fit,".

I smile inwardly. Her answer indicates that they have no plan, that they don't have a specific protocol to follow in order to accept new members. This can hopefully speed my mission quite a lot, my objective no longer being to impress them but to win them over, gain their trust to the level that even if they believe I am too good or too bad to be a part of the team, they will confide in me nonetheless, to the point of giving me their real names, or showing me what they look like under the mask. Yes, the second option is probably what is going to happen first.

I nod again, "Can I know your names? So that I can refer to you without calling you flying girl, or rock girl," I joke, trying to soften the question.

"Sure! My name is Eagle," The Caeli girl says, "this is Diamond," she points to the girl who usually seems to lead the team, "and this is Hemlock, after the deadly plant,". The last girl bows her head, her stance reminding me of the position guards would adopt when getting ready for combat.

You can glean a lot of information from the pseudonyms people make up for themselves. For example, the girl with flying powers believes in freedom, so she has named herself after the bird - flying creature - that represents being free. Diamond on the other hand believes she is strong, or wishes she was strong, and Hemlock; her name is a deadly plant, so she probably believes she is lethal.

"Cool! I have a bad memory, but I will try and remember. You can call me Sailfish,". The fish I have chosen to represent me is the fastest in the ocean. I have used other fish species before, but if any of them know how to interpret pseudonyms they will know that being a quick fish means I believe I'm a quick learner with the ability to react quickly even if it is a bit sloppy.

"Nice!" Eagle exclaims.

"Now that we have exchanged names, let's begin. Show us what you can do," Diamond says, uncrossing her arms and spreading her hands in the direction of the dark water, the sun now too high for it to be able to filter through the small crack between the barrier around a kilometer away and the large building structures hovering over us.

"Okay," I accept, letting out a breath of air and turning around, my eyes staring at the water in concentration. Easy moves - most moves for me - don't require hand movements, but in order to make my act believable, each and every use of my power needs to require a hand flick, an arm gesture, anything and everything I had once had to do in order to get my powers flowing and operating.

Squinting at the water, I imagine a bubble of water climbing out of the water, slowly shifting into a bird, the wings flapping slightly at an awkward angle. "An eagle," I whisper in concentration, laughter filtering through. Grunting, I move my hands to my chest, before breathing deeply and opening my arms wide, water droplets spraying a few dozen meters in front of us.

"I liked the bird, Fish," Eagle grins.

I turn to look at the leader, Diamond, and the quiet girl who hasn't muttered a single word in front of me yet, Hemlock, both of their faces hidden under their hoods. I think I've acted my part out quite well, the reality of most Lorem beginners reenacted in my play. It used to be extremely hard for me to control myself, especially when I was going through strong emotions, but over the years I have learned to dominate that innate need for exploding I always have when using my powers.

"Now take the water from over there," Diamond instructs, "and make it float, steadily," I do as told, not really sure what to expect from the mysterious girl. Based on the way she carries herself I'd have to guess she is around twenty years old or older, maybe even thirty. The rest of the girls seem younger though, maybe even younger than me. I wonder what brought them together to fight, to try and bring lawbreakers to justice even if by doing so they are breaking the law themselves.

My ball of water is staying in the same place, but I'm making sure to wobble it as I keep my arms extended in front of me, my own hands trembling from the strain.

"When I say go, I want you to flatten it into a pancake," She waits for me to nod, "Ready, steady," I get ready, one hand hovering over the other, "go!". I clap my hands together, water splashing everywhere as some, less than half, stays put, a flat circle now in the exact place the ball had been mere seconds ago.

I am on the verge of panting, my arms shaking as I force myself to stay as unsteady as possible. I was always told that doing badly took more energy than doing it well - but up until my training for becoming a member of the undercover department I had always believed they said it to encourage me.

"Good," Diamond sounded impressed, "Now, do it again. Pick some more water," I do as I'm told, "ready, steady, go,".

CHAPTER FOUR WORD COUNT: 1304

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