"Okay, okay. That's enough. This teamwork thing clearly isn't working!", Katarina ruffled her long, pink hair in frustration.
It was true. The tournament was in two weeks and the Academies had allowed both teams to train privately in order to come up with a strategy that combined their greatest idividual strengths.
"Guys please.. We have to try", Lux tried to encourage them as she wiped some stray droplets of sweat off her forehead.
"You can try all you want Luxanna! I'm sure you don't mind being paired with your boyfriend", she gestured over to Ezreal. Him and Lux had been sparing together when they weren't target practising. Katarina huffed out. "I refuse to work with beyblade over here!", she shouted as Garen was swirling his huge sword around. He didn't even stop when he heard what she said.
"Well. Perhaps he lacks technique", Ezreal sniggered.
"Technique?", echoed Katarina irritated. "This guy is just spinning around! What are we supposed to do in the match? Let him twirl like a ballerina and hope the other team is dumb enough to go anywhere near a huge ass sword?", she grabbed a purple towel and placed it around the back of her neck.
Garen had finally let his sword down.
"Laugh all you want Katarina. My skillset hasn't failed me yet. And that's a fact", he responded in a calm voice.
"Skillse-", she let out a hysteric laugh. "You're the only one who calls it that. Trust me", she mocked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Calm down now.. Alright? All of us want to win. But. We NEED to do that as A TEAM. The rules were pretty clear", Lux chimed in assuming the role of the voice of reason amidst chaos.
"Why don't you do what you did in the duels? The flaming sword bit?", asked Katarina completely ignoring the light mage's words.
Garen and Ezreal exchanged a guilty look.
"That was a one time thing. I don't think I can do it again", he said defensively.
Katarina let out a grunt as she kicked down a target dummy filled with holes. Frustrated she walked out of the room with a Garen following suit.
"She'll come around", was all he said as he pushed the heavy gym door open.
Ezreal took a step closer to Lux with a sly smile plastered on his face.
"I guess.. that leaves just the two of us", he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer. His sapphire eyes shined with mischief.
Lux chuckled as she pretended to push him away.
"Now is not the time.. Jarro", she smirked as he leaned over her ear.
"I want you to call me by my name", he whispered and she could hear the smile on his lips.
"Are you insane?", she retorted playfully.
"Why not?", she could feel his hot breath against her neck. "No one's listening", he planted a small, tender kiss on her collarbone.
"Well, you can't know for sure", she said as his gauntleted fingers traced the line of her cheekbone.
"Come on..", he begged her. "Just do me this one teeny tiny favor.. I love hearing you say my name", he pouted his lips and gave her the puppy eyes.
"Flattery isn't gonna work", she teased putting up her long staff between their bodies.
"Gah.. You're such a prude", he said with a smile. "It kinda turns me on when you play it hard to get not gonna lie".
Lux stared in disbelief.
"What?", he shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle. She had folded her arms on her stomach. "You like it too. Admit it", he said in a low voice.
Lux was forced to avert her gaze from his blue eyes. She just knew she'd do something stupid if she didn't. Her cheeks were already getting hotter. Along with her body temperature. There was this unease she always felt when Ezreal came dangerously close to her. She couldn't tell exactly what that was but she was always filled with excitement. And something else. Something entirely foreign and new to her.
"Alright then.. Ezreal", she said in a low voice.
The boy grabbed her by the hips and lifted her off the ground causing her to let out a childlike scream.
"See? I knew your voice could go higher!", he teased her.
"Put me down!", she was hitting him on his shoulder with one hand and holding her staff with the other one.
"Nope!", he said smuggly. "Say it louder!", he said as he was spinning her around the room.
"Ezreal stop!", she yelled. He put her down immediately with a wide grin on his face.
"Now I can go to sleep at night", he said with a satisfied smile.
Luxanna rolled her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was still beating fast.
"You guys really need to take it down a notch on the PDA", Katarina's voice startled Lux. They hadn't even realized they were back inside the training room.
"You're just jealous Kat", Ezreal stuck his tongue out. "It's not a bad thing. Garen's sitting right next to you. Go for it", he said with a wink.
Katarina's face froze as she opened her mouth to speak. She was actually blushing.
"I don't have time for this", she brushed it off, regaining her cool.
Without notice Ezreal took Lux's baton from her light grip.
"Hey", she yelled as he swiftly ran away from her. He arcane shifted and sat at the top of a blue metal structure.
"How does this thing work?", he shouted as he hit it repeatedly against his palm. Lux covered her eyes with her palm. Embarassed.
"Give it back!", she shouted.
Ezreal appeared right next to her at once with tiny sparks circling his body for a short moment.
"I will. Don't worry", he smiled. "Do you wanna try and change weapons? I'll give you the gauntlet", he said mischievously.
"We're not supposed to fool around!", Katarina intervened frustrated.
Ezreal shrugged. "Meh. I mean.. What's the worst that could happen?", he asked as he was already taking off his gauntlet.
Lux took it in her tiny hands. It was surprisingly heavier than what she had initially expected.
"Are we supposed to go along with this?", Garen asked irritated as Ezreal was (arguably) practising karate moves with Lux's staff.
He was spinning it around and jumping everywhere as he let out weird sounds.
"What are you doing?", she asked confused.
"Wu-Kong cosplay", he said with a cocky smile. Lux blinked. "Eh.. You wouldn't get it", he chuckled. "Come on put it on!", he urged Lux without ever stopping his "practice".
"Fine", she sighed as she hesitantly put it on her left hand. It felt big but it was still warm from Ezreal's body heat. "What do I do now"?
Ezreal came behind her back and straightened her arm before a target dummy.
"You aim and you shoot", was all he said.
"Instuctions unclear", she blinked puzzled.
"Just try to focus all of your mana into the gauntlet. It's probably same thing as your staff", he replied as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Now do me"!
"Excuse me?", Garen butted in but Ezreal ignored him completely.
"How do I use it?", he asked as he shifted the staff from one hand to the other.
"You aim and you shoot", she sniggered.
"Ha. Ha.", he raised an eyebrow.
Lux focused all of her mana into Ezreal's gauntlet but nothing was happening. Just when she thought she could make it work only a few yellow sparks came out. And it seemed like the blue crystal's light was fading.
She could see her brother messing around with Katarina's knives out the corner of her eye. "I can't even lift this thing!", Katarina whined trying to pick up Garen's sword off the floor. It was tragic.
Ezreal didn't seem to have much luck with her staff either. His fringe was sticking on his forehead from all the sweat. He had been really trying.
"Did you guys see that?", he asked excited.
"See what?", Katarina asked back.
"Yeah. Just my imagination. Thought so", he said as he gave Lux her staff back disappointed.
"I don't know what you guys expected. I mean you have God - Weapons. Chosen specifically for you. I don't", Katarina shrugged indifferently.
Ezreal put his gauntlet on eagerly then hugged his hand.
"I'm never leaving you again bud. You're my one true love", he kissed the blue crystal as he was met with Lux's furious glare. "I mean..", he chuckled nervously.
"This. Is a disaster", Tianna Crownguard's voice destroyed any feeling of ease in the room. "I've brought you here to do something that's worth praise for our school. Not to fuck around. I'm disappointed in you Luxanna". The door closed with a loud thud behind her as Lux tried to swallow the feeling of guilt stuck in her throat.
"You told me to bring you the God- Weapons. I did. You told me to bring you the Morellonomicon. I did. I need results. And I need them now!", he said in raspy voice.
"I can't perform the ritual", she said taking a small bow. "The language it contains.. "It's Ochnun," she called out. "The language of the dead, composed beyond the mortal veil, and spoken only by those in the afterworld".
"I hope you aren't trying to tell me that I have an entire arsenal of useless weapons", he shouted startling the raven on his shoulder. His bottom lip quivered. His eyes glowed menacingly.
"What about Marcus DuCuteau"? Am I pushing my luck right now?
"He's as good as dead after what I've done to him", he spat out the words like fire.
"We need someone. Anyone. To recite these passages. Or else.. I'm afraid that the weapons are indeed useless".
Swain stood up and grabbed her by the throat. His claws digging in her pale flesh. He looked at her straight in the eyes as he was choking the life out of her. Her vains were popping out on her forehead.
"You're expendable. Don't ever forget that", he whispered in her ear before casting her limp body aside.
He had turned his back on her as she desperately gasped for air. Her vision was still blurry.
"There.. might be.. someone", she managed to say in between violent cough fits.
"Then find him. And bring him to me", he said stroking a crow's black feathers.