Surely, Sveta won’t be angry… Annie followed the directions on the map in the central hall of the UNU, coming before the metal doors leading to the training halls. UNU boasted a huge number of teams that were involved in national games and scored not an insignificant number of victories in both professional and teen sports. Baseball, football, martial arts, swimming, basketball, chess, singing, painting, even cooking, any important sport or hobby that was spread around the state was also officially present in this university, students were encouraged to join sports sections. All students were provided with uniforms and training for free, costs of the training programs was covered either by the government or by the sponsors of the UNU.
I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? I was in the barracks of the Alpha pack, and everything ended up being fine. Annie nodded to herself before pressing her card against the slide near the doors and entering the training halls. She ended up in the narrow corridor that was split into several directions. Annie checked the map on the wall, finding the shortest way to the swimming pool. As mister Till said, this place was connected to another two massive halls, one for martial arts training and another that led to the training area for the basketball team.
That’s where Sveta ought to be. Annie walked through a wooden door into the swimming hall. This place was massive, center of the room was taken by a pool, filled with crystal clear water. The nose of Annie caught the thinly veiled smell of some chemicals in the water. A group of students, dressed in strict swimsuits and protective goggles, were busy racing each other in one part of an enormous swimming pool, under the supervision of the trainer. In the other part of the pool, the orais trainer was busy showing young athletes how to jump from great heights, making numerous critical comments about the students' form during their jump and occasionally giving dry praise. Annie walked alongside the pool, heading to the doors on the other side of the hall. Mercifully, barely any of the students spared even a glance at her, all were too busy training or chatting with each other. When Annie passed by the doors leading to the hall of martial arts, splashes of water nearly fell on her when one of the orais students leaped into water. Out of curiosity, Annie looked at the sheer size of the rising tide that followed this jump, to her it looked like someone exploded a bomb underwater and now torrents and splashes of water were covering even the people who stood behind the safety rails. Catching one drop of water on her finger, the scout discovered with surprise that the water was actually warm. She half expected it to be bitterly cold or of a similar temperature. The boomed-echoed sound of the young orais' jump was gradually dying out, and a youth appeared on the surface, swimming to the edge of the pool.
Huh, so this is… The thought was left unfinished when something pushed Annie forward, hard enough to send her cartwheeling over the safety rails. The world spin around, she could see water, ceiling, surprised faces behind, her, water…
Water! A panic thought came when the wolfkin landed in the swimming pool. Never before had she encountered large enough quantities of water to learn how to swim. Her clothes became heavy, dragging her beneath the surface of the water, liquid filled her mouth and nostrils, something in the water caused the wolfkin to feel light burning in her eyes. She pressed her eyelids together, more annoyed than hurt, feeling that her heart was about to jump from her chest. Air, she needed air and…
Wait, what am I panicking about? Annie questioned herself and forced her eyes to open. During one of their fights, Ultis choked her for several minutes. And even then, Annie had given up, rather than lose her conscience. Given the depth of this pool and the fact that she was only here for about fifteen seconds... A smile came upon the lips of Annie, she ignored the annoying wet sensation all around her body, allowing herself to descend upon the bottom of the pool, feeling how the edges of her skirt and jacket flowed up, grabbing her cap before it could swim away. The hood left her head, but she did not care, exited, rather than afraid of what might happen next. In theory, she could mimic the movements of students and swim to the surface… But there was also a far funnier way to get out. Her left leg touched the bottom stone, muscles pressed in her leg as she ducked down on one leg, looking around for a general sense of her position. And finally, her leg released like a bow string, propelling Annie upward like a projectile at an angle of 70 degrees.
Her body broke the barrier of water and the wolfkin allowed herself a breath of air, making a full turn in the air to land on her two feet. She saw how someone raised paws, covered by fur, to catch her. Instincts took over, before the scout could even think about what she was about to do, she used the open palms before her as a platform to jump away from the person, landing first on the safety rails and then stepping on the stone floor.
"Sheesh, lady, you are one tough cookie." Smiled a wolfkin of the Ice Fang order, rubbing away the pain in his palm.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"You are a freaking idiot, Zeke!" Shouted one of the students, coming close to Annie, "How many times has the teacher told you not to charge into these blasted doors? Fool, moron, shit for brains! Are you ok?" The scout took the towel from the hands of the student, wiping the water off her head.
One of the trainers was already in the water, along with several students. They were moderately surprised at Annie’s feat, while the orais trainer standing on the wooden tower meant for jumping down loudly exclaimed that the scout passed as average and that she must work on her grace. One of the students shouted to him that Annie was not part of the group, and the new breed spewed insults, looking fiercely at the wolfkin named Zeke. Several students surrounded Annie, apologizing for the situation, asking if she needed any help or medical attention. Scout thanked them all.
"It’s fine, this was my mistake, truly. Nothing bad happened," The scout said, feeling how her skin turned crimson from embarrassment. She was soaked to the bone, half of her clothes were probably ruined, but at the very least she preserved her ID cards. But the mere thought of the involvement of the officials of the UNU sent her into a panic. She was not meant to be here, what if she just made the situation worse for her sister? "Think nothing of it, I will leave…"
"Sorry about what happened, miss," The white-furred wolfkin said, scratching the back of his head nervously, "I will of course compensate for any ruined clothes and repairs. My name is Zeke, of the Sunblade household, mind if I ask…"
"Name’s Annie. There will be no need to pay for anything." Annie responded icily, sizing him up. Ice boy, of course. This can’t be a coincidence at this point, Dragena was right all along. That, or I am a magnet for disaster. They just can’t leave her alone, they just have to try and ruin the best day of her life. Why do they hate us so much?
"I will not accept no as an answer, lady," The teen bowed courteously, pressing one arm to his chest, putting one leg behind the other and extending the free arm aside. All his nervousness was gone, and before the wolfkin stood a young man with the grace of a noble. His movements were elegant, orange skintight suit that covered his body from neck all the way to knees and elbows had done little to hide the truly impressive musculature and sturdy build of the young man. He was easily as tall as Annie, his crimson eyes burned like sparks of the night flame. The short hair of the young man was colored in yellow, with a few strands of his hair colored in green. Still looking down, the youth continued, "My family would never forgive me if I decided not to repair the damage caused by my actions."
"You will accept no as an answer, mister," Annie muttered, forcing herself to be calm. She prided herself on never judging people based on their gender, but right now, The Wolf Tribe instincts roared in her, demanding that she jump at this idiot, feel the meat of his neck beneath her fangs, dominate him, and prove her superiority. She shrugged the howling beast deep inside her back into the darkness of the cave that was her soul. Wolfkins were better than that, they had raised above basic instincts years ago and let Spirits curse her if she ever let bloodthirst take over her, "Your family will have to accept this fact as well. I… I can afford to buy new clothes." This was half true. The scout saw prices in the Core Lands. Yeah, she could probably find something affordable, but what will Sveta think upon seeing this? Sveta already paid once for her sister, Annie would rather burn than allow such a thing again. She was not poor! She just can’t afford sudden monetary spending.
Annie looked herself over. Maybe everything wasn’t so bad. Sure, her clothes were wet, but nothing unfixable had happened, from the looks of it. With proper care, clothes can be salvaged... She noticed a minor tear in the jacket, just below the armpit on her left arm. That too can be fixed with sewing, all was well.
Shit, what will I say to Sveta? Oh, hi sis! Me? Just decided to try diving. Yes, while in clothes, why do you ask? What normal person would not dive deep into water while dressed in everyday clothes? A burning sense of humiliation flowed over Annie’s body like a wave. This was supposed to be a great day, Abyss take it! But, being the stupid idiot that she is, she had to sneak a peek at how her sister trained, and now everyone will mock her, and rightly so! Useless, stupid trash. Don’t you dare do anything to make the situation worse for Sveta, you misbegotten spawn.
"How about a deal then?" Zeke smiled, throwing his hair back. Annie looked at him suspiciously, unsure what to say. The Ice Fang looked strong and regal, but he did not look like someone outright malicious, "I know a bit about the Wolf Tribe. How about you and I have a sparring session…"
"You nearly drowned her and now you want to beat her up too?! The fuck, man?! Do I need to call the police on you?" One of the students asked in disbelief.
"… And the loser of the sparring session will have to pay for the damage to your attire that I caused." Zeke looked desperately at the talking student, silently begging her to be quiet.
"How do I know that you will not throw out a fight?" Annie narrowed her eyes, weighing the pros and cons of this situation. Winning here would please the shamans. Hurting the student will displease Sveta, claws and fangs are out of the question. Winning would annoy Dragena and probably captain Scorpio as well. But Scorpio mentioned that she was allowed to take challenges… Maybe if she tries to be gentle? But no, look at him, the males of the Ice Fang were not beaten down beings like the ones in the Wolf Tribe, the scout can’t afford to half ass this challenge.
"You can’t grow without climbing over the obstacles before you." Zeke simply responded, and Annie nodded to him. She could understand this much.