“That was well-khontested. You showed admirable form and endurance.”

“Thanks Emokha!” Liuka’s shoulders slumped for a moment. “I still lost though. Hard to win if you don’t have any attacks I guess.” She perked up. “That’s why I’m Team Support! ‘Securing your Survival with a Smile,’ that’s my motto.”

“A well-khomposed and khoordinated unit is the ideal. I would rather field an integrated teams of specialists than throw generalists at the problem haphazardly.”

“That’s good of you to say.” She plopped down next to her friend and stretched. “Not sure I believe it, but I appreciate it. Oh, that feels better.”

“I assure you, I lie to you as little as possible. Both in terms of freqhuency and skhale.”

“But you do lie.” Liuka’s eyes twinkled.

“You once askhed me to tell you the deepest darkhest secrets of the Viluota! I likhe you qhuite a bit but I would never akkhuse you of suffering from an exhess of takht and diskhretion.”

“Mere friendly exuberance” Liuka waved the criticism off airily. “I assure you I am a perfect gentlewoman when I need to be. If you don’t believe me, (which you should since I am an open book,) you can ask my parents the next time they come to visit.”

“Your parents change the subjekht as many times as possible to avoid khontradikhting you. That much is obvious from our prior interakhtions” Emokha said dryly. “Rarely have I seen two parents so obviously devoted to their progeny’s happiness.”

“Yeah, they’re the best.” Smiling to herself Liuka leaned back, then slitted an eye open. “But they wouldn’t lie for me, no matter how much they love me!”

“Noted.” Emokha seemed far from convinced. “Obfuskhation however…”

“Lady Emokha.” It was Piestro.

“Yes sir?”

“You’ll be in the match after this one. Begin warming up.”

“Yes sir.” Obediently Emokha stood and began stretching. It probably wasn’t necessary. Experience had taught her to do small subtle stretches throughout the day to keep her muscles from cramping up. Enemies didn’t wait for you to do a warm-up routine before attacking. Still it didn’t hurt comply in the little things. Much.

“Odd he didn’t say who you’d be facing” Liuka muttered softly.

“Is that unusual?” Emokha fluttered her wings briefly, kicking up snow and releasing a burst of mist.

“Very. I wonder…” her eyes scanned the courtyard. “I only see two other people warming up. One is Leo over there. He’s a good kid with a ton of abilities, but you can take him. He basically has the power of friendship. If he’s not supported by a team all of his techniques are very low-powered. He’s a monster in team games though. He’s genuinely nice so most people like him, and that pumps him up.”

“The other is Elame. I can’t see them pitting her against you though. Her combat abilities are…well…she doesn’t really fight exactly. That’s not her thing. But then…”

The current bout ended abruptly as Mako ruled one of the combatants had taken serious damage to their leg. Piestro motioned Emokha to the center of the courtyard the moment the pair cleared the perimeter of the training area. “I suppose I will find out momentarily. Be khareful not to khramp up. Ori will get you a blankhet if you need one.”

“I know, he’s a sweetheart. Good luck out there!”

“Thankh you.” Emokha moved to the indicated position, but neither of the individuals Liuka had pointed out moved to join her. Instead a door in a nearby building opened and a young woman dressed in an almost overwhelming combination of pink hues emerged. Emokha didn’t recognize her, but the other students certainly did. Murmurs swept through the group.

“Lady Slatany, thank you for joining us.”

“Thank you dear teacher. It’s good to be back. I missed you all dearly.” Her voice was sweet, but there was something just a touch off about. Only if you were really paying attention. It felt put on, just a bit.

“Your opponent today will be Lady Emokha. You both know the rules: stay inside the safety field, no attacks that will prove deadly or take down the field, begin pulling all blows once you have severely weakened your opponent’s Ki. Mako will call injuries. Begin on my signal.”

As Piestro moved away Slatany pulled a small wand from her belt. It was almost obscenely sparkly and ended in an odd symbol. Raising it aloft she cried out “Sparkling Justice!” Dazzling multi-colored lights danced all around her, blurring her outline without completely obscuring it. More lights of various colors began running up and down her body. There was a final flash and she emerged, now clad in a ridiculously ornate and colorful costume. Frills, ruffles and ornaments extended willy-nilly in all directions, but despite all that the outfit was scandalously tight or non-existent in many areas. The wand too had changed, becoming a long thin staff without becoming any less garish.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Most of the students cheered or whistled. Emokha’s mandibles twitched as the sound of heavy retching came from Gloe’s direction. Determinedly she composed herself.

“Begin!” The moment Piestro shouted Slatany sprang into action. “Radiant Javelin!” Her staff whirled and a long shining projectile flew towards Emokha.

Who was no longer there. She leapt into the air, drawing her practice blades in the same motion. She flitted on a sporadic, evasive course, slowly drawing nearer to her opponent while dodging projectile after projectile. Finally she was within striking distance.

“Playful Gust!” A wall of wind swept her back. “Ensnaring Light!” A glowing net appeared directly above her. She dodged it, but Slatany wasn’t finished. “Arresting Justice!” Multi-colored streams lashed out at her from all around. Entwining around her they held her in place mid-air. Slatany smiled beatifically and drew in breath for another attack.

Seeming to tremble in place Emokha let loose a scream. The high-pitched whining buzz was utterly inhuman. Head thrown back and limbs spread out in all directions she burst her bonds and emerged, her fury almost visibly vibrating and distorting the air around her. Dashing forward she cut viciously at her opponent. “Playful Gust!” The wind battered her but she pushed through. The staff blocked one blow, but the other three landed, stopped only by shroud.

Shocked, Slatany retreated backwards and up, hovering mid-air. “Shield of Winds!” A shell of spinning air moved with her, keeping her secure at their center. Emokha was in hot pursuit, her wings a blur. As she began to push through the outer layer another Playful Gust pushed her back. She drew back, hovering herself, assessing the situation.

“Spark Mines!” Tiny points of light manifested between the two as Slatany fell back, dropping her wind shield. “Ensnaring Light! Color Rain!” Emokha twisted sideways, her claws cutting the closing net in two. Flying upward she deftly wove her way through the falling rainbow-hued attacks, avoiding most while extinguishing those about to hit her with precise strikes from her claws.

“Spark Mines! Spark Mines! Spark Mines!” Before long Slatany was surrounded by defensive globe of the small lights. Experimentally Emokha drew near to a fairly isolated one and slashed it with a claw. The resulting explosion threw her backwards trailing smoke.

The smile returned to Slatany’s face. “Color Rain! Radiant Javelin! Radiant Javelin!” Once again she pressed the attack.

Evading and cutting her way out Emokha hovered in place, calmly surveying the aerial minefield surrounding her opponent. After a moment she smiled herself. Sheathing her swords she made a contemptuous beckoning gesture, then folded her upper arms.

“Color Rain! Radiant Javelin! Radiant Javelin! Ensnaring Light! Color Rain!” The attacks came hot and heavy. Once again Emokha emerged unscathed. Stretching in the air, she yawned.

It was clear Slatany was not happy. “Color Rain! Arresting Justice! Justice Reign!” As strands once again reached out to bind Emokha shimmering projectiles appeared all around her, slowly filling in before all plunging towards her at once.

With another scream Emokha burst free once again, twisting into a mad spin, her claws lashing out. Explosions wracked the area she was in, bracketing and obscuring her. The crowd muttered, but only for a moment.

Before the cloud could settle spark mines began detonating above Slatany. Her head whipped up in confusion, which only intensified as the explosions continued. A movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention, almost too late. Emokha flipped through the air, rising up above before dropping through the clear corridor caused by the detonations.

Recoiling in shock Slatany nearly backed into her own spark mines, barely recovering at the last moment. “Blind Justice!” A brilliant flash lit up the courtyard. The safety field protected the spectators from the worst of it but most still rubbed their eyes in pain. Inside the field it must have been overwhelming. A series of explosions could be heard but no one could see well enough to make out what was happening.

“Radiant Javelin! Radiant Javelin! Spark Mines! Spark Mines! Spark Mines! Spark Mines!” When eyesight returned and the dust had cleared little seemed to have changed. Slatany was enclosed in defensive mines and Emokha was hovering outside. The more perceptive observers noticed that Slatany had shifted position, so obviously they hadn’t imagined the dramatic turn of events before the mass blinding.

Composing herself Slatany smirked at Emokha slightly. Cocking her head slightly Emokha looked pointedly around herself, flitting side to side a bit. Turning her gaze to Slatany she shook her head pityingly.

“Radiant Javelin! Radiant Javelin!” For the next half hour Slatany sporadically rained attacks on Emokha, to no effect. She no longer seemed to have the juice for the spectacular assaults she had used earlier, and Emokha was able to evade her lesser techniques without much effort. For her part Emokha seemed content to lounge in the air, flying about aimlessly, stretching and examining the corners of the arena.

After a while Piestro finally had had enough. “Draw!” he proclaimed loudly. The students murmured. As the mines and safety field faded Emokha smiled broadly at her foe, giving a deep bow that looked mostly sincere. Mostly. Then she returned to her former position.

“Are you okay? I never thought they’d have you fight Slatany! She’s one of the aces of the academy right now. I didn’t even know she was back from her study trip. Sorry, for real, are you okay? That explosion looked painful.” The words spilled from Liuka almost uncontrollably.

“I am mostly undamaged, thank you for your khoncern.” She turned to Gloe. “I apologize Zekhow. The prakhtice swords you worked so hard on are gone.”

“It’s fine.” He smiled. “They were just wood, so I figured they wouldn’t last. I have some spares for you. I’ll bring them tomorrow. Those were good throws though.”

“Is that how you got through the mines? You threw your swords?” Liuka was wide-eyed. “I didn’t notice at all! How did you do that?” she said admiringly.

“Trade sekhret” Emokha said, laughing. As she stooped to pick up a towel she whispered “I will tell you some time when there are not so many eavesdroppers nearby.” One of her eyes flicked to the aide drawing near.

“Lady Emokha, Piestro and Mako have awarded you a B- for this exercise. You did well to fight to a draw against Lady Slatany. It was unfortunate that your solution was so energy-intensive and would have tired you out in a long-term battle. Also, of course, you were unable to overcome Lady Slatany’s admittedly superb defense. As such you would eventually have succumbed to Lady Slatany’s attacks, once you were exhausted. Still, fine work.” He almost sounded sincere.

As he left Emokha held up a restraining hand, keeping Gloe from speaking. “I know Zekhow. I know.”