The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023

35| Silver Oak Academy

Sky sneaks up on the two of them with a vibrant smile on her, still buzzing from the rush of channelling. "I'm taking five, can I join you guys?"

"No!" Casey yelps, running around Cloud to take up the space next to him. "This is a bro zone only."

Sky rolls her eyes, knowing all too well of Casey's silly antics. She takes the space he was previously occupying, peering up at Cloud and noticing the scowl on his face. "What did I miss?"

"Huh, what?" Cloud hums, clearly distracted by something else.

She follows his line of sight, coming up with her own conclusion pretty quickly once she catches sight of Jason Aranborn and his cronies. "Cloud."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asks, charming her with a smile as if waking from a daze.

"Everybody is a Somebody at this school and the ones who aren't yet will be fighting to be. So, if you want them to get off your back, you'll have to peacock a little...y'know, instead of hiding in the corner and hoping no one will notice."

The pupils of Cloud's green eyes dilate as her words brighten his smile. "You've been watching."

"I'm great at multitasking." she utters quietly, avoiding the trap of playing into his hands.

"Alright, bet." Cloud replies, pushing himself off the railing with a playful smirk. "I'll show off a little. But if the big kids bully me some more I'll blame it all on you."

"Deal."

Sky squeezes her lips together tightly as Cloud joggs backwards, barely holding onto her calm demeanor with all the imaginary butterflies looping around in her stomach, letting out a staggered breath from her lungs once he makes it in line for one of the training rooms, commonly referred to as Black Boxes.

Cloud takes a look through the glass, jerking his head back once a giant metal weight is thrust against the wall weighing in at three times his own body weight.

Looking back at the person responsible, Cloud meets Jason Aranborn's eyes, watching their yellow glow dissipate with the blink of an eye as sweat glistens down his shirtless body, revealing the white tribal like markings covering his torso and arms.

Cloud hears the heavy machinery in the door grind together before a gust of steam bursts out of the room.

A second later Jason exits with his white shirt hanging loosely over his shoulder, his tan skin looking less shiny and the shadows around his eyes appearing softer outside of the harsh lighting.

Cloud takes his time going inside, looking around the strange little room thats suppose to be nigh-indestructible.

He would have found that hard to believe two seconds ago if he hadn't just seen his weight and more being thrown against the wall.

Cloud kicks his shoes off his feet, leaving them by the door as he reminds himself to breathe, repeating the same mantra in his head over and over again until the words blur into inaudible static.

"Breathe in. Breathe out." he whispers, eventually pulling on the energy stored inside the Flamestone ring.

Cloud clicks his fingers together, using the friction to strengthen the spark, channelling his concentration into the tiny flicker that lacks form until he holds his hand out with his palm facing the ground.

On command, the single flames zips around him before searing a perfect circle into the unprotected floor, increasing in speed the further it travels until a ring of fire burns around him.

Sky told him to show off a little and there's one moves he's been dying to try ever since he saw it.

Cloud closes his eyes to imagining the feeling of fire emanating from his feet, visualising the amber flames flicking off his heels with every step.

He channels the familiar surge of power into his feet, only opening them once he feels his body lifting off the ground, discovering himself to be levitating a few inches from the ground as the fire churns around him like a fiery tornado.

He opens up his arms, surprised to learn that they too can glow just like his feet, smiling with utter delight at the magical sight until that joy is stripped from him, quickly turning into a chilling dread as the glow spreads across his body at an alarming rate.

He feels the heat kissing his face as his mana starts leaking from his eyes, beginning to lose his vision or remember the taste of the saliva in his own mouth.

He's helpless to fight against it but it's the slightest pleasure he gets from the pain that strikes a sharp note of panic on his heartstrings.

But it all comes to an end once he is pummelled by foam being sprayed from all directions, sending him crashing to the ground.

Cloud holds his head, staggering as he climbs back on his feet, surrounded by a puddle of steaming foam. He catches the entire class, including the mentors, loitering on the other side of the glass, observing him like some sort of spectacle.

"Show off." Neith tuts, choosing to walk away first with a roll of her eyes.