It had been a week since they had extracted Mr Silva from the sight of the onslaught that left at least twenty trained Solarian guards dead in a massacre. Averie found it lucky that they didn't have three dead fairies added to the body count of the Burned One's victims that day- as she found at that Bloom and Aisha faced the creature due to Bloom's 'connection' with the infernal creature. The other fairy who could have been killed was Stella, who Aisha split up with so that she could get help. If she had wondered off to the wrong spot, that would be her offed due to her temperamental magic.
The Princess still didn't know of Averie and Sky's encounter in the greenhouse. Terra could keep secrets when she wasn't threatened by royal blondes. Nobody but the three of them knew and they wanted to keep it that way. Sky didn't need it with Headmaster Silva still infected, and neither did Averie- who didn't need another clash with Stella. The Princess was lucky that she walked away with her hair still attached to her head.
Averie had been pulled out from attending that morning's lesson. Especially because she had been asked to go to the specialist training ground. Her feet trailed up the gravel path. The weather was... interesting. The light was dim, as if the time had been reset to the dawn that had been and gone several hours prior.
She saw the running vision of her blonde friend. "Ave..." His arms engulfing her in a swift hug, before moving his position to her side. His hands in the pockets of his specialist's hoodie- she didn't blame him, she wish she had worn more than the t-shirt that the faculty had given to her the meeting, which occurred the previous day.
"You're what?!" Averie attempted to prevent her voice from going shrill, but the sound was still present as she exclaimed to her two superiors.
"You have shown potential and with the Burned Ones reappearing- we need more able specialists." The Headmaster had stated in his accent.
"You will be attending early morning lessons to catch up on your magical training." Averie was relieved to here she would be able to continue on with her training, but didn't like the sound of early morning lessons. Yet she'd have to get used to it.
The memories dulled into the back of her memory as she paced her way up to the weak, yet standing Headmaster Silva, who had been waiting for her arrival whilst surveying his specialists' movements as they fought one another. "Miss Alexander." His northern accent was dominant in his voice.
"Headmaster Silva." The brunette greeted in the polite manner that wasn't expected from her, but was much appreciated by the teacher- who began to rest his weight partially on the staff constructed by Professor Harvey so that he could manoeuvre his way around.
The two teenagers followed after their trainer and leader, walking at the same pace. Averie earnt looks from all of the figures wearing black, even those who thought dared a glance. The girl walking had been handed the privilege on a silver platter whilst they had to train most of their lives for such an opportunity.
The suffering man came to a halt in front of a platform, which had the recognisable crest of Alfea College printed out into the middle of it in monochrome. The mat was empty, however, offering her no opponent. "I have assigned a second-year student to you, Averie." She felt Sky's arm brush past her side- his figure jogging up the noir steps, up onto the training platform. "Now, show me I haven't made a mistake by hand-picking you into the specialists." His empty, unused arm patted her on the back.
She inhaled deeply as she worked her way up the inclines- until she faced the visage of Sky. "You do realise I'm not going easy on you, right?" He stated whilst removing the hoodie, tossing it to the side of the mat. Perfectly landing next to the brown-haired, jade-eyed specialist, who was leaning on the stage.
"Mate... I think you're gonna regret saying that to her..." Riven stated, clicking his tongue- shaking his head as he finished. His blue-eyed roommate peering down at him and then at his girlfriend- who was seated on the timber bench only ten metres away. Her own icy azure orbs holding a cold gaze at the pair of sparring partners.
"First, I want to assess your combat training without a weapon and without your magic." The war veteran explained, Averie listening to him. Stella smiled... knowing that the girl she refused to admit she was jealous of, was nothing without her magic.
The truth is, after the incident that left her brother in a wheelchair and caused her to move away from the Otherworld when she was nine-years-old - Averie's aunt and uncle found an outlet for her to express her pent up emotions. Martial arts were the way that she channelled her feelings and she portrayed proficiency in combat.
The blonde boy was faced with a grin opposing him. "The bigger they are the harder they fall..." Her tone was menacing.
"Is that so...?" The boy stated, lunging his way at the girl- who dodged his action, but barely. Her being was now behind the male's. Her feet pivoting- expecting her opponent to have his back to her. Alas, Sky had been trained better than to let his guard down. Especially to the girl in front of him.
Her eyes analysed his movements- the way his left side was always defenceless in some way, shape and form. She had yet to attack- strategizing her next motion.
The teacher stood beside Riven, making an analysis of his own. Silva saw the way in which her eyes darted across Sky's body as he marked each shot, made every action but he had yet to lay a finger of the fairy. "Why isn't she using offense?" The bewildered specialist seated as the side-lines pondered to his mentor.
"She's making a strategy..." Silva stated to his student, his tone hushed, "Sky's a larger opponent, she's analysing his attacks." The part he had left out was that the method she used- he had only fought alongside one other person who used this tactic whilst actually in the field.
Stella watched at how with every movement, she blocked her boyfriend. "Just as I thought... she's not cut out for this..." Her eyes lingered back onto her social media account, rolling her make-up covered eyes as she did so.
But in that moment, Averie knew her plan of action. Sky was taller, stronger and well-trained- so she'd have to use enough momentum and weight to bring him down. The strategy she had conjured impressed even herself... if it worked out, that is...
Sky couldn't make out why she was running straight as him, but took this as his own opportunity to take her out. Her defence no longer there, she was an easy target. Averie had anticipated what would come next and was banking on it for her manoeuvre to succeed.
He always moved with his right foot, and as the girl saw that foot lift off of the flooring- her being leapt. Her thighs bringing themselves to cling onto his hips. With enough strength to get a grip on his clothing, but with enough agility to cause rotation.
The boy felt the force that pivoted his entire body; only seeing the tail end of the brunette's hair as he felt the sensation of gravity weighting him down- his ears rang from the thud and his nerves ached from the pain that spread in his shoulder blades.
The specialist still felt the pressure on his hips- his neck raised his head as he saw Averie- a smirk carved into her features. Her ears picking up the disgruntled sigh of Stella and the joyous sound coming from the boy leant over the matting. "Said she was gonna make you regret sayin' that..." The weight lifted off of the boy.
A shadow appeared in front of his eyes, blocking the sun's light from blinding him. A hand outstretched to him. The deja vu of that first day of his second-year. And like that day, he held onto the limb- the same static emitted from those exact fingertips. "Nicely done, Averie..." The man's forward was sweating, beads of the fluid sticking to the rows of crease lines that positioned themselves there. His eyes were darkened- reflecting the time of his rescue from the Burned One. The Burned One which had yet to be killed.
The blonde's expression lost as he saw the state that the man was in, knocked out of it as a hand cupped the side of his face. His vision peering down into the ochre eyes. "Nothing good comes from worrying. It does Silva no good, and it does you no good."
Riven was seated next to the girl he found intolerable but still called a friend. "How do ya feel about that?" The self-centred Princess of Solaria peered up from her phone, only to see Averie holding the blonde boy's face. The brunette removed her palm from her friend's face. Hands fidgeting in awkward manners, as she had no pockets to retreat them into. Her feet jumped off of the stage onto the grass. Her new mentor peering down at her with those alluring eyes of azure.
"Averie..." Despite her reluctance to position her body so that she could see the face of the person she disliked the most, the girl- who's name was called- proceeded to anyway, "you are coming to the party tonight, right?" The girl gave a simple nod- her mind figuring why she would be concerned about her attendance at the Specialists' Senior Party- however, she didn't really care. Whatever Stella threw at her, she had thick skin unless a topic that provoked her was brought up.
Her face turned back to the boy, who was now on the same level as her. "Meet here for training before the party?"
The shorter girl smiled, bringing a fist to hit the straight palm- impacting gently together whilst bowing. "Okay, sensei..." Her expression failed as her grin peered through her mockery. Feet pacing away.
"Mocking me, are we?" Sky shouted, not hearing the conversation that was taking place behind him.
Riven's forearms leaned on his knees- towards the girl dressed in all pink. "What are you planning to do to her?" His voice was in a hushed manner- a rare sight for anyone to see.
A look that could only be described as evil lurked on her lips as she tapped away on her phone screen, glancing to see her boyfriend still unknowing of their current conversation. "Just airing out some dirty laundry." The way she said it sent a pang of guilt within Riven.
He didn't know what rumours she was about to leak.
What closet she was about to let skeletons out of...
What she was going to unleash one of his friends...
The leant over boy looked at the girl he had grown to like in a platonic manner. "Make sure you can still sleep at night, princess..." He mumbled. The second-year rolled her eyes at his comment.
Sky turned around, whilst Averie walked her way back to the Winx Suite to change before she went to lunch. "I've got class, gotta go." The female stated. Her lips meeting Sky's cheek as she stood up- not asking the question she was going to- remembering what he had said to Averie.
The boy sat down on the opposite of end of the bench whilst his brown-haired best friend. "She must be mind-blowing..." The blonde ignored his friend, "or, maybe she does crazy shit with her tongue...?" Riven had a ponderous tone in his voice.
With his hands in his pocket, Sky looked around to his friend, "what?" His voice exasperated a breathy laugh whilst he spoke.
"I just can't understand why you started stuff up with her again!" He raised his hand, whilst Sky remained sat, hands in the noir hoodie. "Especially with Averie in the picture..."
The blonde's knee fidgeted, bouncing up and down. "Who said anything was going on with Averie?" He queried, not knowing that he was making his affections pretty obvious.
"You've got to learn about girls, mate..." His voice dwelled. His body up straight again. His face in a sudden sense of realisation- grin lurking on his lips. "She's lets you do butt stuff."
In a reflective action, Sky's arm pushed out to his friend before contacting and shoving his friend off of the bench, "Riven..." His voice playfully warning- his eyes on the new specialist who was in the distance, walking in the opposite direction.