Elemental Witch: Child of the Earth (Part I)

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"Get up! You are not done!" Sencha screamed at her as she gasped for air, his expression unforgiving, "You will not survive if you do not get up, right now!"

Verana felt her breath shudder painfully, choking as he pressed his foot down on her throat a little harder. She could give up, the fight would be over if she dropped her blades. It could be that simple, she would finally know she was not quite as good as the Feysha. That she would never move out from the shadow of her teacher, or that difference between her and her people. It would be so simple... as easy as letting go.

She screamed at that thought and the rage it brought, bringing her feet to the ground and rocking her hips up, throwing him off balance with the power of her movement. He was faster, but she had the upper hand when it came to sure physical power, throwing him forwards, Verana grabbed Sencha's leg and twisted it, pushing him up and over her, sending him flying through the air. 

He caught himself in a slide on one knee in the dirt, bringing his blades up to catch her attack just in time, but she wouldn't let him stand, forcing to fight from there, using the force of her blows to prevent him from getting to his feet. She caught one of his blades with her own, throwing it wide and bringing her knee up into his jaw, sending him tumbling backwards, dazed.

Sencha's back hit the earth, his swords flying from his hands as he sprawled backwards, opening his eyes as she followed to the ground, straddling his chest with her blades to his throat. Her body was wracked with the fury that coursed through her.

"I am not what you said I was." She growled roughly to him, her anger clouding everything but her desire to make him pay for the pain she had lived with for years. "I'm not a freak, I am not worthless, I am not better left to the wolves. I never knew the Feysha could harbour such hate until I heard you speak those things... when you told the council to abandon me... I trusted you. You were the only one who accepted me and then you broke my heart. I hate you."

He blinked, his eyes slowly focusing on her as the sounds of the crowds began to reach them through the fading haze of their adrenaline. "You have won, Verana. You never had to prove any of this, but you won. You have beaten what held you back." 

There was only understanding in his eyes then, as his words softened. "Just know... those weren't my words, I remember saying them, I could never forget saying them, but they were not mine. My anger came from having to repeat what I had heard. I was making a report to the Council. You heard the reason why I killed one of my warriors. I had to use a direct statement."

His words hung in the air for several moments, his eyes never leaving hers, the pain and understanding in his expression breaking through the anger and hate she had been holding for the man for decades. 

She didn't doubt him for a moment, she knew that he told her the truth, though she didn't know if he would have clarified the story before this very moment. His expression was sorrowful but resigned, as if he had known, all this time. As if he had accepted the fact that she spent most of her life hating him for something he didn't do, because it was necessary. Because the council would not let him fix it.

Verana blinked in shock and stood up, sheathing her blades and taking several steps backwards, shaking her head, glancing around the arena, seeing the shocked faces on those who she had come to know combined with  the looks of thrilled amazement from the rest of the crowd. 

Waves of disbelief, awe and fanaticism waved over her senses from the humans. She was stunned, the world seemingly foggy, separate from where she was. Her movements were automatic as she reached down to haul Sencha to his feet,  then mutely retrieved his swords for him before they both offered a salute to the King's booth with their blades. She turned away quickly, barely acknowledging the surprised expressions of the humans she had begun to call friends.

She caught Shaktay's look as she climbed through the fence, but merely shook her head and continued away from the arena, vaguely hearing Sencha muttering to someone to leave her be. She heard the crowds yelling and the announcement from the heralds that there would be a break for lunch before the next fight. 

She didn't know where to go, or where she was planning on going, but when she reached the river and looked across to where the Feysha were gathered, interacting shyly with a few humans at a time, seeing their peace and knowing she could not fathom it, nor the comfort from the Wild, she turned and started down the river bank, following it in near blindness until she found a tall rockface that reached into the sky above the river.

Still, she didn't stop, climbing relentlessly, scrabbling for hand and foot holds, hauling herself until she reached the top of the cliff. She closed her eyes into the breeze, panting as she lay down along the edge, feeling the wind rush around her, soothing her confused brain. She didn't know what had changed, she didn't know if anything actually had changed, but she felt as if she had shifted, that the world had shifted and nothing would be the same when she finally returned to the world below her.

Verana heard the sound of a bird and opened her eyes, watching an eagle float in the updrafts created by the cliff, reaching up one hand and feeling bereft of something she desperately felt like she needed. Those wings above her, the air around her, whispered a secret that she couldn't quite make out, telling her things in a language that she couldn't discern. 

She felt as if the wind could soothe her confusion, settle her thoughts, if only she could reach the same heights as the bird. But she was helplessly stuck on the ground, doomed to watch the eagle soar away from her.

After several more moments of self pity, she sat up and dangled both legs from the edge, leaning into the wind and closing her eyes, seeking comfort in what little solace she could reach. The world would be alright, she just had to have peace of mind and faith that she was exactly how she needed to be, she wasn't born to have wings and soar above the ground, the world didn't need her to be able to fly.