Paws Up!

Prologue: Before The Cloudy Skies

Boom! Crash! My great blade smashes all of the training dummies in one go. My strengths been increasing since the last warrior meet, which means I'm one step away from being a Master!
I'm super duper surprised my instructor, Mr. Fiore, didn't flinch when I broke everything in one go.
"Your form is off. You're still quite petite and could use extra classes." He mumbled. Ugh... I can never do anything right in this guy's eyes. He always nags on random things I don't notice.
"C'mon Mr. Fiore, give me a break. Did you see how fast and strong I was?" I groaned.
"You are getting better, I'll give you that. But I'm always on your case because I'm worried for you." He replied. Mr. Fiore had begun to set up the dummies again when my buddy Xander walked in early for his session.
"Xander!! What are you doing here? Aren't you training?" I exclaimed.
"I finished my study early and decided to come down here." He smiled. "Good after noon, Mr. Fiore!"
"Good afternoon, Xander." Mr. Fiore had walked over and nudged me to get back to work. I grumbled, and walked over. I've gotta remember, I'm one step away from my dream. This is all in good effort!
-
Finally, the day was over. I got to relax at home, safe at last. I decided to text my cousin, Selen, and Xander in our group chat. What else was I gonna do, study? That stuffs for low lifes.
(*Hiiiii*)
(*yo, what's up? XP*)
Oh wow, Selen actually responded this time. He's always so busy doing Master Training Camp that he never responds until hours later.
(*nothin, just bored on my bed*)
(*you should prob study, if you wanna be a master you gotta put the effort in.*)
Ugh, another person telling me to study. Why am I surrounded by smart people? I always feel dumb.
(*yea yea*)
(*well, duty calls. There's a new kid in my camp, gonna go meet them*)
(*Ooooh ok, bai*)
I sigh. I'm so tired of being left in the dust just being told to "study". It's not that easy! I try to focus but then...
"Wow, what if I started a new manga? Or drew one myself?"
Then I focus my energy on something else, not on purpose! Ugh, whatever. Might as well try again.
-
Well, I didn't study. But I did make a new story up!
*Ring, Ring* The sound of my phone ringing made my ears perk up. I hadn't gotten a call in a while. I check the number, and it's one I don't know?
I answered and said a short "Hello?" Before I only heard static. Probably a spam call, I thought. I put my phone at the edge of the bed and walked to the fridge to get some food. I had leftover things from yesterday's dinner that Mom made. I started to heat it up in the microwave when I heard another ring from my phone. It fell off of the bed, and so I went to pick it up. I then saw a name I didn't recognize.
*Call From: Val*
-
I picked up hesitantly, wondering who in the world Val is. Do I even know a Val? I probably forgot and left their number in my contacts.
"Hello there, apologies for the abrupt call."  Val spoke. They had quite a calm, relaxing deep feminine voice. "I believe I am friends with your cousin, Selen?"
"Yup, that's my cousin.  Are you friends from the training camp?" I stuttered. That's the only place I thought that they would know each other at.
"Indeed. I was going to call because I heard that you are going to the training school that I will be transferring to next week, and ask if you had any tips." Val questioned. I didn't really know how to give a full response, but I did remember that I had a virtual map layout of my grade's classes.
"I can send you a map if you'd like? Sorry that I'm not the best helper." I apologized. What else was I gonna do? They probably called the first time and I hung up. Hm, but the static was uncanny...
"Ah, thank you! That would help quite a lot." Val giggled. They seemed really excited to come here, but why? Surely it'd be better at the advanced training camp.
"How come you're switching schools? If it's not too much to ask." I inquired.
"Let's say I want to... learn different techniques. I researched, and found that this school matched what I wanted to pursue and fix about myself." They answered, quite a solid answer. They seem so dedicated to their work, switching schools just to become even more well rounded.
"This was excellent, thank you. Let me know when you send the virtual map, I have business to attend to." They informed.
"Alrighty, bye bye!"
-
Val was on my mind the rest of the day. They seemed so smart and elegant, why would they come to a school like this? Surely there wouldn't be much to round out here, even in the top classes.
There's gotta be an ulterior motive, and I know how to find out. Befriend them! They seem cool anyways, and I might just learn more about them.