In the end, after everything was done, we walked back together in silence. Sora held her head higher and stood straighter as if some great weight has been lifted. I supposed it had, in a way.
I fell back into my bed. Lately, I'd had too many midnight excursions and my body was aching for rest.
The next morning we were all sitting at the table, silently eating our breakfast.
Sora was the first to say something. "It feels weird without Alastar here."
I nodded. "I think we got used to training every day." We didn't know what to do with all the free time we now had.
Jinx got that look in her eye, the on that told me I should probably run for cover. "I know what we can do."
There was a collective groan from all of us.
"Don't tell me we're going to do something like what happened at practice that one time," Ash said, messing with his hair in an attempt to take it. I wanted to reach out and pat it down but restrained myself.
He was referring to one of the solo practice sessions we'd had before. Alastar had left us to work on our minute control and Jinx had gotten it into his head to pull another prank.
He thought it was a good idea to round up some wild critters and release them into the halls. When Alastar got back, he'd made us spend the rest of the night capturing them.
"No, not like that. This is even better," Jinx said and winked.
"Oh no," Sora muttered under her breath.
Jinx heard. "I swear it won't be bad! It's just a little activity for today and maybe tomorrow." Someone coughed. "Oh come on, what else would we do for the rest of the day?"
"Sleep," I responded with a grin. We all knew that we'd go along with Jinx anyway. If we didn't, he'd just bug us until we said yes.
"Alright," Jinx started, clapping his hands together. "I was thinking we should have a little free for all. A little tournament of sorts. We've all gotten stronger and better at using our abilities, so I think we should test them out."
"On what?" Sora asked, some of her competitive spirit returning.
"On each other," he replied, sending up a wave of questions. He held his hand up to stop us. "I'm not saying we kill each other or anything, it's just a friendly contest. And there are plenty of rules to keep us from hurting each other too badly."
Ash narrowed his eyes. "But we shouldn't use our special abilities. We all know what would happen."
A hush came over us before Jinx broke it, lightening the mood.
"Of course!" He exclaimed. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Over the past month, we'd tested different things to try to figure out what Jinx's ability was. It turns out that he could disappear.
No, not like figuratively.
He could literally turn invisible. Even I couldn't sense him then, besides hearing his footsteps. His scent would just fade away and all that was left were his footprints in the mud. It fit his prankster personality well. He never used it though, following our trainer's strict instructions to the word on that subject.
"So, are we all in agreement?" Jinx questioned.
I shrugged. "It's not like we have much of a choice, do we?"
He winked again. "You, my dear, are correct." He ignored me when I rolled my eyes and proceeded to announce the rules.
"Here's how it's going to work. First, there will be a bracket kind of set up. Sora and I will fight first and then Ash and Melody will." There was a mischievous shine in his eyes. "And then the winner of the two battles will fight and we'll see who's the strongest of us all."
We all looked at each other. Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Am I the strongest?
Against better judgment, I had already decided I would try my best. I was going to defeat Ash...or could I even? He was extremely smart and I didn't know if I could combat that. I'd try anyway, but I think we all knew who would win the match.
As for Jinx and Sora...that was trickier. Jinx didn't have as much training as Sora but was light in his feet and good at improvising. Sora had been training all of her life, though, and knew her ability inside out and backward. She was better with fine control and he was with silent force.
Either way, this should be interesting to watch.
"We all have ten minutes to prepare," Jinx stated with a sly smile. "After that, Sora and I are up first. Besides that, it's the usual rules. No severe injuries, no dirty tricks, etc, and we go until the other yields or is too exhausted to fight. Or if the two who aren't fighting intercede and decide that the fight should stop."
I was mulling over the possibilities in my head, so when Jinx started the time, I wasn't paying attention.
"Go!"
Grabbing my elbow, Ash nudged me. "Nice haircut. Come on, don't you need to get ready?"
I shook out of my stupor and nodded. "Right. And thanks."
He left me in my room and I did the basic weapons checks and such. I decided to leave the clothes Sora had given us in the closet. I opted for a more practical set of long pants and a tunic. I already had on my leather boots and sheath with my new daggers. I would be at a slight disadvantage since I wasn't used to the weapons yet.
There was a knock on my door. Jinx's enthusiastic voice filtered through the wood.
"Time's up! Let's go, Melody!"
He led the way down to one of the bigger chambers in the tunnels. The tunnel widened in all directions until we were in the middle of an enormous underground room. The ceiling stretched so high, even Ash could wheel around the air and not hit the walls. There was ample space to run and dodge incoming attacks, and somehow Alastar had planted a sturdy tree in the center who's towering branches scraped the roof.
There was a slight rim around the arena that Alastar had used to watch us while we had practiced. It was just wide enough for Ash and me to sit on the edge of it. How Alastar balanced on this thing day in and day out, I had no clue, but it would suffice for now.
Jinx positioned himself on one end of the arena and Sora on the other so that the tree blocked the view before them. They both looked to us on the sidelines and we gestured for them to begin.
Sora made the first move, circling around to the right. She slunk down low, crouching among the bushes and looking for any movement. She held her choice of weapon, a whip, at ready. I'd seen from training sessions that in a moment's notice, she could set it alight and deliver a painful lash. I sensed rather than saw her pupils narrow as she shifted to her semi-form and prepared to pounce.
On the other hand, Jinx already knew where Sora was. He'd known long before Sora had even started moving. One thing I hadn't counted on when assessing their abilities was their second form. As a Serpentine and green mamba, he could probably see Sora's body heat as clear as day.
Ash made a muted noise and I looked at him questioningly. He pointed and the tree and I realized that Jinx had shifted and slithered up the branches in seconds. He tossed an object to the floor and Sora's attention snapped to it.
She pounced and a soft explosion rang. Smoke filled the air where Sora was and I heard an annoyed roar.
We'd noticed weeks ago that Jinx didn't possess any weapons in the norm. His style was quick and quiet, preferring small smoke bombs and needle projectiles to swords and spears. He hid them in his sleeve and, with the right plant, could put a person to sleep or make sure that they never woke up again.
He was scary that way.
But he was always lighthearted and his pranks never resulted in anything more than a few fixable bruises. He could easily be the most powerful in our group, depending on how he used his power.
Jinx jumped down from the branch he had been perching on and threw a few on his needles as he fell. There was a yowl and when the smoke cleared, Sora was in her human form and pinned to the tree by her coat.
"I think this fight is over," Jinx said with a smirk.
Sora grinned. "Neither of us has yielded and there's one thing you're forgetting."
"And what's that?"
"The whole point is to use our ability," Sora responded, and the needles -- which were wood instead of metal for this fight -- were set aflame. In the blink of an eye, Sora had shaken them off and readied her whip.
Flames raced down the enchanted leather and Sora charged.
(Side Note: Almost there...)