Arik stretched her arm across her chest, “Anyways, let’s head back. We’ve done our part for today.”

“I dunno, maybe you wanna try to get another pair of horn tips today? After all, you didn’t get the experience you wanted from fighting a fire user today, right?”

Arik popped her neck, “Not like I don’t wanna keep fighting, but the thought of doin’ it for that Deka kid more than once a day makes my skin crawl. I don’t even know how much a bunch of old dusty scrolls are gonna help us get any stronger. Plus we don’t have enough time left in the day to find someone else. Best if we head back now and worry about more matches tomorrow.”

“That doesn’t sound like something the old Arik would say.”

“Ya think so? Is that a bad thing to you?”

Kaara shook her head, “No, it shows you’re thinking about things more. That was, like, your only weakness before.”

Arik giggled, “Yeah right. If Rux showed me anything it’s that I’ve got a long long way to go before I’m even close to being considered invincible.”

“You think we could watch Rorik fight if we hurry up and find them?”

“Might be a good idea. Who knows, we could probably give them some backup if they need it.”

“Aw, but that would be cheating!”

“All’s fair in war! We’re not in this war game for fun, we’re here to win in the end.”

Kaara pouted, “Guess you’re right, but I don’t think Rorik and that other guy need our help, personally.”

“Maybe not, but you know how bull headed the boys can be.”

“True, maybe we should hurry up to watch them. Just in case.”

The two jogged through the snow, Arik listening closely for the sounds of a fight. She led Kaara to a hill near the camp. They both peeked out from behind the trees to see Raktus and Anitus in the middle of a brawl.

“Huh, guess that’s where these guys are,” Arik said.

“You think they need help?”

Arik watched the multi-xio melee, “I can’t even tell who’s on our side and who’s not. I say leave it to them.”

“They either got a few people to work under them, or they’re in some big trouble,” Kaara said.

“It would serve them right for biting off more than they could chew. Wanna try and find the others?”

“Yeah.”

Kaara followed Arik’s lead through the camp, “Hang on Arik! You’re running too fast!”

“Aw cmon Kar-Kar! Keep up!”

“Not everyone’s a wind user- look out!”

Arik turned, slamming into one of the refugees.

“Whoa there!” He said, catching Arik and stumbling about.

“Sorry sir!” Kaara said jogging in place.

“It’s alright. Hey aren’t you L’maya’s kid?”

Arik pushed away, “I am, who’re you?”

The refugee pointed two thumbs at himself, but that was only half of the thumbs he had, “Name’s Gornax, I was at the table last night. I came in at the end, though so I’m not surprised you don’t remember me.”

Kaara had never seen someone with two pairs of arms before. She leaned in, “Where’d you get so many arms?”

“That’d be my dad’s doing. Where’re the two of you off to so quickly?”

“Not much of your business,” Arik said.

“We’re gonna watch some fights!” Kaara said.

“Kaara!”

Gornax laughed, “I appreciate your trust, Smalls. I’m guessin’ it’s because of that whole war game thing in camp right? Well I won’t keep you two, I’ve gotta help out with the kitchens.”

“You’re certainly lending twice the hands, huh?” Kaara said.

“Oh I’ve never heard that one before,” Gornax said, rolling his eyes with a smile, “Have a good one you two. Feel free to stop by our table tonight if you see us again. We’d be happy to have company for dinner.”

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Arik grabbed Kaara’s wrist, “Yeah, we’ll think about it. Let’s go Kaara, we might miss it!”

“Oh! Right! Bye-bye Gornax!”

The two went near the dragon tooth cemetery her father had taken her to earlier. Arik and Kaara took a seat on a large boulder nearby, watching as Rorik and Amaro carved lines in the snow with their bodies.

“I told you not to get too far ahead of me!” Rorik shouted at him.

“You can’t keep up with that? I’m slowing down as much as I can.”

“Ugh, this isn’t working, just stop trying team work, we can beat them in a one on one!”

Arik and Kaara watched as their opponents took advantage of their bickering to deliver hard blows to them.

“Lightning and Earth vs Wind and Water huh?” Arik said, resting her cheek on her palm.

“Seems like an even matchup on paper.”

“You say that, but it’s pretty clear they’ve got Rorik and Flashy on the ropes.”

“Flashy?”

“I don’t remember his name.”

“It’s Amaro.”

“I prefer Flashy. S’More fitting.”

“Fair enough I suppose.”

Rorik and Amaro each had large cuts on their arms and legs which were in the middle of healing. There was blood in the snow, and that snow was a vicious maelstrom of glass to the two of them. Made all the more dangerous by the highspeed winds which swept each of them off balance.

Whether it was Rorik’s stone walls, or Amaro’s speed, neither could avoid the combination and teamwork of their opponents. On the other hand, their opponents were not untouched either. Each of them had clear signs of damage. It was a close duel, and if anything, Kaara could call it a war.

“Maybe we should go in and help them out?” Kaara said.

“You think either of them is gonna appreciate us stepping in? Seems like there’s more than horns on the line to me.”

“How do you mean?”

“Think about it. You know how Rorik is. He hates losing, but the only thing he hates more is the thought of someone else saving him. At least if he loses, he gets to go out on his shield.”

Kaara gnawed the inside of her cheek watching as the two of them tripped over one another.

“Quit getting in my way!” Amaro said.

“I can say the same to you!”

“Not to mention, that Xirxus kid can’t seem to think of anyone but himself in the end. His technique always looks so half-assed. Like he’s always just getting by on his talent. A guy like that deserves to lose even when they don’t want to.”

“Don’t say that,” Kaara said, “They’re still our allies at the end of the day.”

“Maybe I’m just being harsh or whatever, but man boys are annoying sometimes.”

“Well, if we can’t help them physically, then I say we cheer them on.” she said, standing up, “Come on guys! Finish them off! You got this!”

The two of them turned to see Kaara atop the rock. There was a silent conversation between the two of them before they turned their attention back to the fight.

“You get the wind user, I’ve got the water user.” Amaro said.

“You took the words right outta my mouth.”

“Well go ahead and take the horns from their head then.”

Kaara turned to Arik, “See?”

Arik smirked, “Only you could’ve done that.”

As she sat back down next to her, Kaara wondered what she meant by that. They watched as Amaro and Rorik split their opponents up with a rock wall. A lightning quick tackle sent the water user tumbling away. Their water could not block electricity, nor could it raise a strong enough defense in time to avoid Amaro’s aggressive offensive.

Rorik shut down the Wind user’s attempts to reunite with their ally with rock walls, mud pits, and rough terrain. His training with Arik had given him more than enough experience to counter his opponent.

“Atta boy.” Arik said, her arms crossed, “Don’t you go losin’ to a wind user that’s weaker than me.”

Amaro and Rorik delivered their final strikes in unison, severing the horn tips from their opponents. They exchanged one more glance between each other, the cuts and scrapes on their skin evaporating.

“It’s our win then,” Rorik said.

“That it is. Good luck with my brother tomorrow, I’ll be rooting for you.”

Rorik nodded, hooking his axe on his belt, “Oi, Kaara, make sure those two alright, will you?”

“Geeze, using me like a medic, huh? What about the two of you?”

Amaro perked up, “Well I suppose I could use a bit of healing-”

“We’re fine, worry about our opponents.”

Arik snickered, “Like I said, only you could’ve made them fight that hard Kaara.”

Kaara was already busy trotting over to the others, “Hey! Sorry we had to beat you guys up, hope you enjoy the other festivities while you’re with us.” she said, coating the two of them with healing water.

“The opposition is strong this year.” The wind user said.

“Well, it’s up to Tadios and the others now, I guess.” The Water user said.

“How did the two of you do?” Rorik asked.

Arik showed him the handful of horn tips she had, “Got ours pretty easy.”

“What about Anitus and Raktus?” Amaro said.

“Oh yeah, we probably should go and help those two now, huh?” Kaara said, “They were in a big brawl when we checked up on them.”

Amaro’s eyes hardened, “Which way?”

Kaara pointed, “The hill Northwest of here, go get ‘em speedy.”

“I will.” Amaro said with narrowed focus. His legs tensed as electricity arked from his heels.

“Camp’s crowded at the moment, you’ll go faster if you go around it.” Arik said.

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll be going on ahead, then.” He said, ripping through the snow at blinding speed.

Arik whistled, “I think he might be faster than me when he tries.”

“That’s high praise coming from you.” Kaara said.

Arik smirked, “Don’t get me wrong, I’d still beat his ass if we fought.”

“Well let’s see what he fights like when he’s serious, shall we?”

“Lets.”