Carcinos hadn't quite hit the canopies as Káel struggled through an unwanted early morning walk. One of his extra-curricular credits wanted him up two hours before class with his combat suit. It was by far the worst thing the Council had done to him, and the name of the game didn't help in the slightest.
'Obliteration ball' didn't exactly scream safe sports.
Sora said they were heading to tryouts, which gave Káel the hope that he'd be cut off the bat and spared the exhaustion - and injuries. He'd visited Ms. Metulas enough times for his forearms to permanently smell like her sapvine healing spreads. And if he survived the morning, he had theatrical arts and his first Council session to look forwards to.
The trail was shorter than most of the ones that snaked through the forest, ending abruptly at the skirt of a large stone structure. It didn't fit Cobalt's style at all, a fresher looking piece of architecture that gave away its purpose off the bat. It was an arena.
The school seemed to have everything but a swimming pool at this point.
"Did you see the tournament listings?" Sora mused, bumping Káel's arm to keep him from gawking at the giant colosseum. "This thing's nothing. I've got to show you the old Karkillos arena in Frigusilvrum some time. Oh! Or the Crown of Venus, that one's in Fairez Stella!"
Káel followed Sora in through the side of the structure, a few students loitering the hall, and the rest of them in the stretch of grass inside. He tried to suck in all the clues to know what he was walking in on, an iron archway without any kind of netting planted to either side of the long field of kept grass. "Is this some kind of soccer?"
Sora made a drawn sound as she slowly shrugged. "It's got nets I guess. You know that Earth game where everyone throws balls at eachother?"
"Dodge-ball?"
Sora snapped her fingers with a nod. "And then that one where you grab a stick and smack a ball? Baseball?" She poised herself as if she was holding a bat, slowly swinging for a phantom home-run. "It's like soccer-base-dodge-ball. Does that help?"
Káel smiled sarcastically. "No."
Sora's laugh drifted to a cackle near the end, her eyes twinkling with excitement as she noticed Mrs. Vienta walking into the arena. "You're gonna have fun, just stay close when you can."
The students were already starting to cluster around Mrs. Vienta before she filled the area with a cattle call to round them up. When she had an audience, she stepped on top of a wooden crate that the two elites behind her had rolled to the middle of the field, pulled up the lock to let its hatch on the side fall open and scatter a cascade of fat dulled swords onto the grass. "Tryouts have started, grab a paddle, sign your name under your house colour, and grab a ribbon that is your house colour."
Káel and Sora knew better than to go right for the orders, watching the hoard of students like they were trying to squeeze onto a bus, shoving, ripping and sneering for something everyone would have eventually. Káel eyed the few students hanging back with them, channeling his surprise into a discreet wave when he noticed Talli shrinking at Alestra's side. As the crowd thinned Káel prepared to enter the fray with Sora, his journey cut short by a random student that presented him with a silver ribbon, paddle sword, and short Fairez Stellan salute.
Káel considered skipping the clipboard to seal his fate, but he'd made eye contact with Sev who was holding the silver house's clipboard, and if his lineage didn't make him immediately recogniseable, dragging a nomad dragon into his room in the first year definitely sealed the deal.
So there he was, paddle sword in hand and staring up at Mrs. Vienta as she conjured up a yellow ball of lumience, bouncing it on the ground once to show its elasticity. "We aren't going to be scoring yet, you're all going to be playing for the elimination tactic as a warmup. Only fourteen will make it onto the team for each house, chosen by the team leaders who's clipboards you all just signed."
"If you're not familiar with Obliteration ball your job is to dodge this." She raised the yellow ball up. "It's called the shocker, the name should explain itself. You get hit anywhere but your paddle sword, you're out, if your whole team is out before the horn the other team gets a point. If people are standing on both teams the team with the most scores on the nets gets the point. No magic, no lumience. The rest is free game." Mrs. Vienta tossed the shocker up, smacking it over the group of students so it whizzed into an invisible forcefield on the other side of the field and bounced back with twice the force. "Game on."
Káel watched the students around him scatter, the elites and team leaders walking their way to the side of the field with their own personal forcefields to sit and spectate. The shocker had hit the other side of the field, one student daring to approach it with a precise swing that sent it bouncing out of control.
"We're gonna be the last ones standing!" Sora hollered, sticking her paddle blade out to slice the shocker in half as it whizzed by, creating two scary projectiles in the process. "Let's destroy them all!"
Káel ducked as a hulking student slammed one of the pieces towards him, blankly watching Sora charge into the fray and cut another chunk in two.
At least she was having enough fun to make up for both of them.
The shards were multiplying, buzzing around like supersonic bees as the hoard of students quickly whittled down. Káel was content in not moving an inch, Lightwood's lessons at least giving him the benefit of being good at dodging attacks from every angle. And that was definitely coming in handy with the amount of students that felt a special need to hit every shocker chunk at him that they could get their paddles on. Or the few chunks that had doubled down on the deadly ferocity after Talli blindly struck them.
He'd lost Sora in the chaos, but found his attention constantly wandering to the flapping white ribbon streaming from a girl's hair. She was tearing around the field, dodging the shocker chunks with ease while she went for the grounded pieces that had struck students, scooping them up with her paddle blade to get precise shots off on anyone that wasn't paying attention. Káel knew it wasn't in his interest to let her come within five skips of him, but he found himself giving her a small wave when she got close.
She didn't return the greeting, but slowed to a walk so she could size him up. "Moving targets are harder to hit."
Káel ducked away from another shot that went barreling at him, giving the grinning student a nervous smile before turning back to the girl. "Are they though?"
She shrugged, planting her blade in the grass with a relaxed stretch as she made sure she had her sights on most of the flying shocker chunks. "Wanna see why?"
Before Káel was able to humour her with a nod she leapt behind him, seizing an armhold to keep him still just long enough for a shocker to wind him right in the stomach. A surge of electricity washed through him, buckling his knees as dropped his blade and hit the grass with a cough.
The cough quickly turned to a breathless laugh as Káel got over the tingles. "I was about to say no."
"Well now you know better." She retorted, grabbing the shocker chunk and stabbing it to the tip of her blade. "Aivrey."
He stuck his hand out with a smile. "Káel."
She forced a smile and skipped the handshake, hauling the paddle blade up over her shoulder. "Obviously."
A sharp whistle cut the air, Mrs. Vienta back on the box with another fresh shocker in her palm. "Everybody back on their feet!"
Káel gave Aivrey a stiff smile as she flaunted the shocker chunk still stuck to her paddle blade, wondering if it was even worth getting up.
"You gonna get up and actually run Unicorn Boy?" Aivrey chimed
He eyed the silver ribbon tied to her belt, flashing his own as a hope of kinsman-ship. "Truce?"
"Nope."
Káel couldn't grab his paddle blade in time, scrambling away from Aivrey's strike as he bolted across the grass as fast as his feet could carry him. A flurry of shockers tried at him from every angle, one in particular forcing him to trip over his feet just before he got to the crate full of paddle blades.
Face full of grass he pushed back onto his feet, Mrs. Vienta's laugh forcing him to frown at his teacher as she stood upon the box slicing every shocker that came near. "Having fun Mr. Aeric?"
"No." He grabbed a paddle blade from the crate, grounding his feet with his back to the safety of the large wooden obstacle. But within seconds he felt another surge of electricity, travelling from his shoulder to buckle his knees again as he gave Mr. Vienta a look of betrayal.
"Gotta move those feet or they'll make you the goalie." She slipped the shocker chunk off her paddle blade, tossing it up to slam it across the field and strike Sora's turned back.
Káel sighed, twiddling with a piece of grass as he watched Aivrey destroy the students around her.
This was going to be a long tryout.
—————
Beat.
That was the excuse Káel wanted for lingering in Cobalt's main theatre like a deflated birthday balloon. But his morning tryouts mostly consisted of him sitting in the grass after a shocker snagged him.
Most of his classes had just been discussions today, so exhausted didn't really fit in either.
Káel read out the lines in the little book he'd been handed, not even listening to the words coming out of his mouth as Ms. Metulas faced him in a ring of students. Comically happy to fit the bill of a theatre teacher, or just thrilled to be out of the nursing quarters for two hours, it was really hard to tell.
Káel sighed.
Dead.
That was the one.
There was no copping out of this one. Everyone that joined theatre club got a role, and counting down the seconds only made the time stretch to twice as long.
"Look upon me!"
Káel smiled as Sora added her arms to the act, cross legged beside him like committed hand puppet.
"Or I'll scoop out your eyes and fix them upon me myself."
And she was very adamant on playing the villain for the short class skit.
Káel felt her nudge his side, quickly flipping the page to realise it was his line again. Traveller number two had a lot more lines than he was hoping for.
"Um. I refuse."
A few snickers rose at his dead tone.
"Then fire will drag you back to oblivion, whore of demons."
Káel frowned at the insult. Traveller number two was also a woman it seemed.
"I will not see you taint me with your desires if fire is the-" Káel held the book closer to pretend he just hadn't seen the pause, sucking in a small breath to blurt the rest. "If fire is the price I pay for freedom then so be it. Oblivion waits for one of us."
"And scene!" Ms. Metulas called, leading a scattered applause as the students started to pack up their belongings. "Very good for a first day, Sora you were an excellent Mad King." She tossed her gaze around the students as she collected the books from them, landing on Káel a little longer than he'd liked. "Practice makes perfect guys."
"I guess this is the perfect warmup," Sora mused, glued to Káel's side as they left the theatre. She saw the fleck of confusion cross Káel's face. "Your first public session. Coming up next, will the unruly prince of Alta Staar be thrown to a lifetime in the dungeons or walk out scotch free?"
"Both scenarios seem unlikely," Stella replied, fueling Sora's grin.
"They're so dry on leads they're arguing mind control," Sora said, her voice loud enough to have Káel staring at the floor to separate himself in front of the whispering students. "I haven't even heard of this Greine guy, Skyfell is going to eat him for breakfast in less than ten minutes."
"Sora Lithraime, I do not believe belittling the Council is respectful to your father's title."
"So what? I'm not my dad, I can do whatever I want." She elbowed Káel's side, "Right Káel?"
Káel shrugged, frowning as Sora laughed at something on his face.
"Look at that second hand embarrassment." She cooed, getting a pinch off on Káel's cheek before he could push her hand away. "Even if they try something you've got me and Vera. Team..." She paused, mouth hanging as she stared at Káel. "Sove? Veso? Oh my god, we can't combine our names."
Káel smirked. "Guess it just wasn't meant to be-"
"Team Ra!" Sora exclaimed, Puff's fur rising at her volume as the dragon gave her a few feet. She chuckled in content at her invention, sticking her tongue out at a few grimacing students before grinning at Káel. "If the Council tries anything funny, they'll be facing the wrath of Ra!"
Káel looked down the path before them, students, teachers, and Council members peppering the final corridor. A set of pulled seige doors beckoning them to the Council session being set up inside.
He sighed, giving Sora one last smile before they had to part ways.
"I feel so safe already."
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Fun and Useless Fact #11:
Obliteration Ball originated in Garaean training camps during the Chiropean war, and was only popularised as a sport when Alta Staar sent peace troops to assist The Garaean Empire's assault on Goldwater.