Alton and Luca were more interested in glaring at Evan rather than coming up with a battle plan. Basil was muttering to himself as he looked through his spyglass. Veximarl was standing next to him. It seemed like the trap party had outdone themselves this time. Forget a team battle, only a blessing from the gods would allow them to survive crossing the field.
“Look at him,” muttered Alton to Luca. Their opponents were standing on the opposite hill, in full view of their team. Evan had them lined up and was telling them his plan. “He thinks he can take charge and expect us to be okay with it...”
Luca patted Alton’s shoulder reassuringly. “It's disrespectful to treat female squires as though they're the ones that need protecting.”
“Exactly,” agreed Alton with a firm nod.
Veximarl interrupted their moping session with his own opinion. “I agree with Evan's assessment. Their side needed another swordsman in order to make the two teams more balanced.”
“I disagree,” replied Basil as he lowered his spyglass. “What they are lacking in is range, which can be essential for dealing with Alton’s magic. Our group has three archers and you have your summoning ability, which they also have no counter for. Peter would have been the best choice. Gwyn could use her vines to remove Irving’s explosives, and Peter would be far enough away to take care of Alton and call out your beast’s locations.”
“I won't be using my summoning ability. It doesn’t seem fair to make them suffer as we do. At least we have somewhat of a choice to participate in these practice sessions.” Veximarl only bothered to summon his foxes every few days because they got angry with him if he didn’t.
Basil frowned. “... And now I need a new plan.” He lifted up the spyglass again. “You should guard Alton. Focus on survival rather than a counter-attack. Atwater should stay near Moontear and act as a barrier for when Sybil comes.”
Veximarl tilted his head. “I believe Sybil will focus on Alton. He has a weakness when it comes to fighting her seriously.”
“I do not!” Alton shouted from his side of the hill.
Basil agreed with Veximarl. “He does, but she knows that we'll be expecting that. She’ll attempt to be unpredictable, so she’ll head to my squad first. Sybil can be shy at times which means her biggest weakness is dueling against people she doesn't know. That's why we need Atwater.” Basil turned to his squadmates. Emery had his eyes on Chickadee and Irving while Peter was sulking. “Is that plan suitable for you, sir?”
Peter clenched his jaw. “You should have spoken up if you thought I should’ve been set over!” He let out a whine as he watched Stonetoe and Millie approach the field. “... Cully's sister is going to be watching? At least let me do something impressive!”
Emery spoke up next. “The plan is fine.” He stood up and dusted himself off. “Prepare for combat.”
The Moontear captain was feeling tired. He had grown up with Basil and Peter and had always been lumped together with the two. It didn't help that Peter was his cousin and Basil was also somewhere in the family tree. A common trait for towns that were mostly shut off from the rest of the world. The three of them could be mistaken for brothers and everyone left them alone because of how close they all seemed.
It would've been fine if there had been more to do with their time. The miasma had been purged the moment the lights began to appear. Their tasks had been reduced to fruitless patrols and training. Without Grimstone here to cause trouble for their knights, Moontear was able to work more with their weapons. Everything else had grown mundane. Emery was in need of change.
Meanwhile, Stonetoe was tired of not being able to sleep. “I told you, Cully, I am not your supervisor. Find some other knight to bother if you're bored.”
“But Sir Trewarne said that I should get my training from you until he comes back.” Trewarne had sent out that morning to investigate a tainted beast sighting in the north. This left Millie without anything to do.
“I ain't accepting another trouble-making idiot in until I drag the five I already have through graduation," complained Stonetoe as he lifted his wooden cone. "I know all of you morons are within hearing range! I'm giving you five minutes to finish messing around! You better report to the field before that time is up!"
Sybil clicked her tongue as Stonetoe's voice echoed through the hills. “I don't agree with Cress," she quickly spat out...
Evan had “taken care” of all of their planning. Ivy and himself would take point. Gwyn, Tish, and Anais would stay towards the rear. Sybil was expected to break off from the group and prioritize Alton as her target. They absolutely couldn’t afford for him to sing, which Sybil agreed with, but she also knew that this plan wouldn’t work.
“You believe you can do a better job?” Evan asked with a sneer.
“Basil would have already considered that to be our strategy and have a plan set against it,” replied Sybil. “Stonetoe aims to make this a real combat experience, like what he had during his time as a soldier for the war. That’s why he asked the others to create traps along the field.
We’ll have Gwyn give a bag of seeds to Tish, who will then fly up in the air and spread them about. She’ll be out of range of Alton’s music and Gwyn’s vines should be able to cover any pitfalls as well as get rid of Irving’s traps. It might be better for me to focus on Moontear since they will be expecting me to go after Alton, but disabling Irving’s bombs is our top priority.”
“Irving has bombs?!” Ivy exclaimed in a panicked fashion. “Why does he have bombs?!”
Sybil shrugged. “He likes making them. The ones in his room won't go off as long as the chemicals aren't mixed.”
“He keeps them in the dorms?!” Ivy put a hand to her chest. “My bed is above their room! I sleep in that bed!”
“The pots have two separate chambers in them that mix and combust when broken. He doesn’t fill the pots with both chemicals until it’s time to use them. It really is safe.” Though Sybil made a mental note to report that to Stonetoe later. She had a feeling that Ivy was going to complain to a knight and she was somehow going to be blamed for it.
Evan stepped forward, using his height to reaffirm that he had been the one who was elected as their leader. "We do not have time to change the plan. Follow through on my orders."
“I'm afraid I have to agree with Sybil on this, Evan,” replied Tish softly. “You've been acting rather irrational as of late, and I don't like-”
“I don't like having a captain who disrespects the members of her squad!” Evan snapped back.
“What are you-” Tish took a step back as Evan drew out his longsword and pointed it at her. “... Evan?”
“Let it be known, priestess, that I am challenging you for the position of squad captain. Today at dusk. Fort field. If you fail to appear, I will assume that you withdraw from your position of leadership and will claim it for myself.”
Tish was stunned. Nearly all of them were, except for Gwyn. There were more important tasks at hand, and she had been told to get ready for a fight. She pulled a set of pouches loose from her belt. The first was offered to Anais, who took it with a small nod.
“No one is going to be aiming for you. Scatter the seeds for me.” Gwyn then tossed Ivy the second pouch. “We don't have time to argue. The formation Mister Cress suggested will suffice. I will concentrate on disabling traps while Sybil seeks an opening to strike at Alton. Now let us go to the field before Sir Stonetoe causes trouble for us.”
Evan headed down the hill first. He was followed by both Ivy and Gwyn. Anais took hold of Tish's hand and gave it a soft squeeze. Sybil also chose to linger behind for a moment. Tish was left feeling so numb that she didn’t even notice the pat Sybil gave her shoulder.
“Sit this one out, okay? If Stonetoe gives you trouble for it, I'll handle it,” said Sybil.
“... I see.” Tish nodded. She was left unable to stop the tears from dripping down her cheeks. “... You don't trust me either. I-I understand now that not everyone… Surely I am to blame for...”
Sybil frowned. “It's not like that at all. You're great, Tish. People depend on you and you work hard to pull through for them. It’s just that sometimes you spend so much of your time worrying about everyone in the distance instead of realizing that you’re hurting the people next to you. You think you know them so well that they'll always support you, but you need to give them a nod once in a while and listen to what they have to say.
Sit this fight out and figure out what you need to do to help your squad. Go see Lady Blu about this or even take a moment for yourself. Being stressed out in the middle of one of Stonetoe’s lessons is only going to mess with your head. You'll end up making mistakes and hating yourself even more for it. Let’s avoid that, alright?”
“The only one who has a problem with you is Mister Cress. Alright, Tish?” Anais added. “We'll be fine on our own. Don't worry.”
The two of them exchanged quick hugs with Tish before they headed down the hill. Stonetoe watched as Millie handed out the pendants. He let out a sigh. Twenty minutes of fighting, then he’ll have them run a few laps while he took a nap in the sunlight. Though he did end up with a nasty sunburn on his nose the last time he did that. Blu refused to heal it for him because she found it to be so hilarious. That was something he did want to avoid.
“Alright, listen up.” Stonetoe pointed to Millie. “I need one of you to take mini-Cully...” He looked between Chickadee and Millie with a strained face. The two were the same height but one was definitely curvier. “I need one of you to take female Cully as an apprentice so I don't have to deal with her. No, she won’t stay in your squadroom since she has one assigned to her already. Yes, she will be your shadow during all of your waking hours.
I don't want to deal with you fighting over her, so the winning team gets to decide which poor soul does it." He frowned when Chickadee raised his hand. “Yes, male...” Stonetoe's face became strained again. “Blacksmith Cully?”
“What if neither side wins?”
“Then the defensive team can decide who gets to be in charge of her.”
A fire lit up behind Chickadee's eyes.
Sybil knew that look. She didn't like that look. She had grown to fear that look. Instinctively, she took a couple of side steps until she was hiding behind Alton. He gave her a frown and gestured for her to meet with her team, but she replied with a shake of her head.
Stonetoe yawned. “Everyone gets three lives. If there is ever a point when your whole team is off the field at the same time, you're disqualified. Everyone got that?” There was a resounding yes from the group. “Where are Krogastein and Maplehammer?”
Sybil’s hand raised from behind Alton. "Tish said she was going to brew some rosehip tea. She said would find a way to make up for practice later,” replied Sybil.
Brewing rosehip tea was the code Stonetoe had given Sybil and Zaniyah to use if they were having female hygiene issues. Apparently, they needed a code word for it because Stonetoe didn't like the way Zaniyah would loudly announce that she needed to take a break due to the raging blood storm in her nethers. He could only overlook so much of her behavior but that's where he drew one of many lines he never thought he’d have to draw during his career.
“Tell her to do some stretches and that she'll be expected to run extra laps tomorrow,” he replied. “Teams get to your places! Get ready to move on my mark!”
The two teams moved to either side of the field. It looked like Chickadee had relocated some of the ruins that had been used in the other training fields. There were small buildings in different states of decay, ponds of muddy water, and tall walls that divided up the area. Some of the ice holes were hiding spike traps, and those were underneath a thin layer of ice. Other pitfalls had ice thick enough to walk on, but they could easily be melted away by a nearby explosion.
At Stonetoe's mark, chaos imploded on the field. The only calm one was Irving, who had notched an arrow and was waiting patiently for his opportunity. As the teams moved forward, they were forced to immediately scatter as rocks were launched at their heads. Veximarl barely dodged one of Mila’s arrows, only to realize that it was aimed at a pot that was embedded in a wall next to him.
The resulting explosion set off a chain reaction that resulted in a fire tornado at the center of the field. Stonetoe winced at the sight. Traps involving a combination of explosives and magic were common during the civil war. Those of the south had smaller armies but they knew the terrain and could use traps to their advantage. Meanwhile, those of the Lustro army had been taught to idiotically march together as a unit. This only succeeded in making sure they all died together.
A part of him was glad that Irving chose to implement this strategy. He was never fond of traditional battle formations. This was real combat. It’s what these kids were going to have to get used to if they planned on staying alive once they became knights.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Veximarl was already used to fighting in real battles, but this was more insane than going against tainted beasts. There wasn’t even a place to hide. If he attempted to go into a building, it would try to collapse on him. Everything else was either on fire or full of frigid air threatening to freeze him solid. Before he realized it, he had lost track of where everyone had gone. His only remaining company was Alton.
“Forget fighting the other team,” snarled Alton. “We need to concentrate on surviving.”
Veximarl peeked around the wall before having to duck behind it once more as another arrow flew by. Without Tish to help their defenses, Gwyn was having to use her vines to protect everyone. Sybil was likely pinned in place due to Chickadee being able to find her through her stealth spells. Everyone else was likely in a similar situation as themselves, which meant that they wouldn’t have to worry about an attack from the opposing team anytime soon.
“Our best opportunity would be to ensure that Luca survives,” muttered Veximarl.
Alton shook his head. Chickadee was the real enemy here. In the worst-case scenario, Chickadee would relent to having the women choose where Millie went. That put his team at a disadvantage. It was live or die by the mage's whims.
“We're cut off from the others,” he replied. “Can we agree to lay low until something big happens? There's only so many explosives Byers could have put in place. Chi is likely to set them all off soon, especially if Gwyn is also working to disable them.”
“... Agreed,” muttered Veximarl. Though cowardly, hiding was something Veximarl felt comfortable with.
Across the field, Gwyn had to keep herself from crying out from shock when she felt a pressure against her shoulder. “It's Sybil,” said a voice that seemingly came from nowhere.
Ivy had rushed about and immediately lost all three of her lives. Evan had nearly done the same and was on his last. Sybil had attempted to scout about but couldn’t get around the explosions. It didn’t seem like Chickadee was targeting her or Anais, which meant that they might be in the clear as long as they could avoid the bombs and arrows. She couldn’t guarantee that happening unless the other team was quickly taken out.
"I need a distraction to get to the other side,” said Sybil. “There's a chance I can stay over there and remove them one at a time.”
That was their advantage. Chickadee’s priority should be getting rid of Moontear Squad as quickly as possible. He’d leave only one team member alive on each side, likely Alton and Anais, then take them both out at the same time. Though Sybil didn’t mind if that happened, she didn’t want Stonetoe to yell at them for giving up without a fight.
Gwyn felt the same way. “When do you want it?”
“Anais is in the left building. I believe she’ll be safe in there as long as nothing goes boom around her. Count to ten and I'll be ready to go.”
Gwyn felt the pressure leave her shoulder but still wasn’t able to see where Sybil was. She let out a long sigh and began to count to ten. When she was done, she thrust out her hand and began to sense out where her seeds had been placed.
Vines burst out of them, seeking out stone and clay before attempting to choke them out. More explosions were added to the already burning fire. As Gwyn's vines were burnt away, she opened another pouch and tossed it about the air. The wind currents from the heat carried the seeds upward. These burst into new vines, which fell and began the process anew.
Sybil began to dash through the plumes of flame. This should be enough of a distraction for even Chickadee to lose sight of her and she was going to use that to her advantage. She leaped over a wall and hooked Alton about the throat with her elbow, using the force of her fall to yank him to the ground. Spinning about, she slid her dagger between his ribs and pierced his heart, then rolled off to the side when he vanished in a glimmer of light.
Veximarl let out a yelp as Sybil came into view. She took a step forward and he was forced to hold his spear sideways due to her being too close for him to use it properly. He stood up to defend himself and a set of arrows thudded into his back, forcing him towards her.
Sybil quickly ducked down and stabbed upward and into Veximarl’s sternum with both hands. A flick of her hand tossed the gold light off her dagger and a flood of mist overtook the area. Chickadee may not target her but she had no guarantee that Irving and Mila would do the same.
"That cold-hearted bitch!" Alton exclaimed from the side of the field. He would’ve bothered to be more prepared if he had known that Sybil was going to take this so seriously.
Hanging his head to the side, Veximarl agreed. “She can be rather cruel when she has an agenda in mind.” Seeing how that agenda was making sure Chickadee didn't kill anyone after this, he was at least thankful that Sybil made their deaths quick. He also didn't mind if Sybil treated Alton poorly, as the squire certainly had done enough to her to deserve it.
“Two more lives left, Tuton! Get back in there!” Stonetoe shouted in his cone. “Toval, you’re out!”
Arrows had stripped Alton of his first two lives. Alton had mistakenly believed that Veximarl would have offered some form of protection. At least he wouldn’t have to go back in, but he also knew that he would be in for extra laps due to losing so quickly.
Veximarl winced as he attempted to find an opening to reenter the fray. Perhaps he should risk regrouping with the others. Would that be wise? He now had to avoid the defensive team and Sybil. The risk didn’t seem the reward.
Sybil's sudden appearance and disappearance had made Moontear scatter. Luca had chosen to stay with Emery while Basil and Peter went their separate ways. Veximarl acknowledged that Sybil was going to end this as quickly as possible. He felt that he would survive longer if he chose to play traitor and become partners with Anais.
Anais was easily visible and slowly making her way across the field. She had only been accepted into Braytons because her dad was the mayor of Crookstead. This level of combat training wasn't something she had expected to participate in. Despite both Chickadee and Naiov training her during their time in Carapace, she hadn’t actually improved.
Ducking behind a wall, she was surprised by the harsh cold that started to bite her cheeks. She peeked around the corner and found Chester huddled against a corner. The explosions from Gwyn’s distraction had left him wounded. His left side was littered with glowing marks from where stone shrapnel had hit him and his right arm had gone limp. He was clutching it to his stomach as he breathed in a labored manner.
She crawled to him to have a better look. Chester's eyes were glazed over. There was also something odd about the way he was twitching. “Are you alright, Chester? Do you need me to get someone?”
His eyes flicked towards her and Anais let out a brief exhale as an icicle pierced her chest. It spiraled up into the air until it was as tall as the barrack’s wall, with Anais’ lifeless form hanging from the top. After a moment, her body burst into light. Anais reappeared outside of the field, clutching onto her chest while gasping for air. Something was wrong. She never knew Chester to be frightened or nervous about anything.
“Reese! Get back into the field when you can!” Stonetoe's voice called out.
Anais scampered to where Stonetoe and Millie were sitting. “I think something has gone terribly wrong for Mister Compton. He’s hiding in a corner and he doesn’t appear to have his head on straight.”
Stonetoe squinted to get a better look. It was difficult to see where he was, even with the giant icicle next to him. “Compton's injured, right?” Anais nodded. “He's probably in shock. He'll be fine once he gets knocked out of the field.”
Another massive icicle shot up into the air, followed by another. Ice started to spread out from Chester's position, overpowering the flames and covering everything with frost. Millie glanced over to Chickadee, who had lowered his cane. He was staring out at the field with the most dumbfounded look upon his face. That was enough to let her know that this wasn’t normal.
“I think he's going to have a blowout,” muttered Millie. “Walter used to get them all the time when he was younger… Wouldn’t it be better to keep him in the field? It’s better to let him explode there rather than outside of the field where people will actually die.”
“What do you mean blowout?” Stonetoe had never heard the term before, but then he remembered how Chickadee had blown out part of the barracks wall last year. “Uhh… Whoa! Hey, Cully!”
Millie had begun to skid down the hill. “Don't worry! I got this!”
Stonetoe held up the cone and started to shout into it. “You don't have a pendant, Cully! Don’t you dare go in that field! … I said stop! You're going to get yourself killed!”
Chickadee went into a full-blown panic. He lifted his cane and began to follow his sister's path. “Irving.” A glance was given to Irving and then back into the spyglass.
With a nod, Irving flicked his bow and it shifted into a sword. This was placed into a harness on his back. He began to run down the hill as Chickadee attempted to stop his sister with magic. At first, a stone dome formed about her, but she managed to kick a hole through it. She wasn't as strong as Chickadee with magic, but he was weaker at a distance. The only thing he could do was slow her down.
The others had begun to piece together that everything had gone out of control. Alton watched as Millie run past him and began to chase after her. All around them, the icicles were twisting about into spirals and those spirals were sprouting spikes. The wind began to pick up, the spikes snapped off, and the field was suddenly being swallowed up by a deadly blizzard. It was happening quicker than most of the others could react.
Tackling Millie, Alton held her in place until Veximarl caught up. The necromancer conjured a shield to cover both of them. It only protected one side, and he let out a grunt as an icicle hit him from behind. He was pierced through one of his lungs, spilling gold out from his chest as he stumbled to one knee. Instead of fading away, he moved closer to the pair, using his body as protection where his shield failed.
Millie’s eyes widened at the sight. She kept glancing between the gaping wound in Veximarl’s chest and his strained face. “... Whoa.” Her face flushed red as Alton leaned into her ear, and the eyes rolled back into her head as his melody made her lose consciousness.
Alton adjusted Millie so that his shield and body were also protecting her. “What is going on?!” Veximarl wasn't looking good. He was making that weird face that he always did whenever he was feeling overwhelmed. Without him, Alton doubted he could carry Millie to safety. “Keep it together until-” A stone dome formed around the trio and he let out a sigh of relief. Veximarl's shield faded away, leaving his golden blood as their only source of light. “Can you manage to keep it together? It’s not going to be safer outside the field.”
Veximarl wheezed out a reply. “Which is precisely why I need to leave.” He faded from inside the orb and reappeared outside the field. As he feared, the storm was already spreading out past the field’s boundaries. He thrust out his spear and summoned the first of his beasts. “Get behind Martyr for shelter!” He cried out to the others. “Alex! Rite!” The two foxes appeared behind them. “Find those in the field and shelter them!” Teleporting out of the field now would mean death. That was something he wished to avoid.
Sybil had found shelter with Emery and Luca. The cleric had formed a shield around them and they had their backs to a wall. She spotted Alex running off and shooed him away. As long as Luca could maintain his shield, the three of them should be safe here.
“Something must have happened to Compton and caused a blowout!” She called out over the howling wind. “All we can do is wait it out and hope no one else is injured!”
“How does one even lose control of their magic?!” Luca hadn't heard of anything like that happening before.
“I don't know! It used to happen to Chickadee all the time until they made him some tools to keep it under control! Don't worry! I'm sure he has a plan that he's already working on! He’s an expert when it comes to this sort of thing!” Sybil lied through her teeth to keep the cleric calm. Anything to keep that shield in place.
Chickadee was forced to keep his eyes on Irving. He put a dome around anyone Irving past, but his main priority was to ensure that Irving made it to Chester safely. There had to be a way to disable Chester before the storm got any worse. No matter the cost.
Irving went into the heart of the storm and spotted Chester. He was curled up in a ball and clutching onto the sides of his head. The headache was getting worse. He was straining to get his magic under control but it was getting the better of him. His own spells were now harming him, and his clothes were torn from both debris and ice.
After accessing the situation, Irving thought it best to reach over and cut the pendant loose from Chester’s neck.
Gold light was replaced with blood. The storm around them began to worsen. Seeing how that didn’t solve the problem, Irving swiftly knocked Chester unconscious with a blow to the side of the head. He couldn’t risk Chester appearing outside the field, which is why he removed the pendant, but now the two of them were still within the middle of a dying storm. Everything was made worse when the massive icicles were beginning to collapse. Irving let out a sigh of relief as a stone dome swallowed the both of them. He then pulled out his letter so that he could report back to the others.
Chickadee winced as he lowered his cane. Casting that quickly was never good for him. His hands stung and the back of his head was full of throbbing pain. It was fortunate for him that Entomb was able to last this long, despite the wood already starting to crack.
Mila smiled gratefully at him. So far, no one seemed to have suffered life-threatening injuries. "I'll fetch Lady Blu."
Veximarl unsummoned Martyr and sighed to himself. His work wasn’t done yet. He glanced over to where Rite was letting out a series of yips. Peter cautiously stood up next to her and looked around. Once he spotted Veximarl, he began to wave his hand about wildly.
“Vex! Injured here!” Peter gestured next to him, where Basil was crumpled up and breathing heavily.
Basil had attempted to flee from the storm and fell inside one of the pitfalls. The spikes had forced him outside the field, where he was then pelted by the winds until Rite bounded up and laid down on top of him. Veximarl ran over and placed his hand Basil’s neck. He had some internal bruising and broken bones, but nothing that needed emergency surgery.
“He’ll be fine until help arrives. Locate Luca and tell him to see to Compton first.”
“Uh…” Peter looked Veximal over. “Are you sure you don’t want Atwater to fix you up?”
He had some severe cuts to his back and legs, but Veximarl could use his magic to slow down the bleeding until more help arrived. “Waiting for the others to be treated first won’t bother me.”
Chickadee had skidded down the hill so he wouldn’t have to use his cane to take down the stone domes. He was relieved to see that his sister was uninjured. “Thank you,” he whispered as he petted Millie's hair.
“I hope it's not too late to get her kicked out of the barracks,” muttered Alton. “If that's how we act all the time, no wonder Stonetoe hates us so much.”
Stonetoe had already run over to where Chester and Irving were. A series of curses left his lips when he saw how much blood there was. “Atwater! Here first!” He waved over Luca. “Kid did a number on himself... You good to move?” Irving gave a nod. “Message Maplehammer and tell her to bring Blu. Have Fletch bring Pegasus here. Report directly to Till and attempt to inform her what happened.” He gestured to Chester as Luca ran up. “Fix him up. Keep him out.”
After they had their orders, Stonetoe held his cone to his mouth. “If you aren't dying or helping the injured, clear out and head back to the barracks! Stay in the mess hall until you receive further orders! Tuton! Toval! One of you has to have something that will keep Compton unconscious! I need you here!”
Alton glanced over to Veximarl, saw the blood, then strained his face. He then looked over to Sybil, who had just now found the pair. “Are you alright, love?” He caressed her cheek, planting a kiss on her forehead as he did so.
“Mhm.” She frowned when she noticed that Millie was unconscious and that Chickadee was hovering over her. “Is Millie going to be okay?”
“I knocked her out with a song. She'll wake up after a few hours.” His eye twitched as a spree of curse words echoed from the top of the hill. He looked up and made a wry face. “I guess Zan is back.” Alton didn't feel like explaining the situation to someone who was absent the whole time. “I need to go whisper a song in Chester’s ear to make sure he stays asleep. After that, Chi, do you want me to carry Millie to the infirmary?”
Chickadee stood up and gave a nod. “Yes. Need to gather materials for project. Will disappear for a time.”
"By the core, by the beard of Grimhawk, by Tria's saggy tits, what in blazes happened?!" Zaniyah half skidded, half ran down the hill to get a better look at the situation. "Can't a girl get a nap around here without something blowing up?!" Sybil frowned at her. “I'm being serious here... Someone please tell me what's going on.”
Sybil waved at Beat. He was still standing at the top of the hill. “I'm going to tell Beat what happened so he can report it to Dalkirk. Go ahead and follow me up there if you want to know.” She then turned to Alton. “I'll catch up with you in the mess hall as soon as I'm done.”
Sybil gave him a peck and he gave her a light bite to her bottom lip as she pulled away. He wanted to scold her for being so cruel to him earlier but that could wait until later. “I'll drop Millie off at the infirmary and wait there until Chi is done. Look for me there if you don’t see me in the hall.”
They parted ways and went about their separate tasks. No doubt they'd get yelled at for finding a way to end class early yet again. Seems like all of them were in for a lot of running tomorrow. Even with all the safety precautions in place, dueling was just too dangerous a lesson for them all.