Belligerent (Vicara)

by B. N. Mauldin

  “Why don't we run drills in the gym instead?” Eva suggested, wanting to keep the others as relaxed as she could until classes resumed and made it impossible for her to guarantee their safety.

  Mackenzie shook her head. “It's time we pulled ourselves together. Classes start in a week and we can't afford to be caught off guard. Besides, Shifter summoned you and Logan already. That means he'll be calling on the rest of us soon enough.”

  “Will you be joining us?” Eva asked hesitantly. Out of all of them, Mackenzie was grieving the most. Normally, she and Clarisse made a point of attending every one of the pit games, even if they were not fighting that day. But lately Mackenzie had taken to locking herself in her room to study. They had all been throwing themselves into their specialties lately, but Mackenzie's obsession was driving her to a new level of isolation.

  “I'm not the type of leader to ask something of my team that I wouldn't do myself,” Mackenzie replied with no heat to her words, but Eva knew she spoke from her heart. “I'll be on the sands as well. We'll have a quick tea today, rest for a half hour, then head out. None of the other teams should be out there.”

  Mackenzie left the room, supposedly to go inform the others of her decision and Eva stood there for a few moments not wanting to hear the reactions.

  “You think she realizes that it's raining?” Clarisse asked, leaning into the room from the doorway.

  “I don't think she cares.”

  “True,” Clarisse murmured. She lightly tapped the toe of one rocking horse shoe against the floor and looked expectantly at Eva.

  “Did you and Aria hear all the plans?”

  “I heard. Aria doesn't make it a habit to eavesdrop,” Clarisse replied.

  Eva smiled and reached over to affectionately stroke the girl’s hair. “Go finish setting up tea and be sure to change into your armor right after. If you're late again, she'll tell me to order you to run laps.”

  Clarisse turned to head towards the kitchen, her tutu bouncing with every step with the grumblings about laps growing more explicit as she disappeared into the hallway.

  Slightly more than ninety minutes later, after an extremely rushed tea, the rain had stopped and the seven of them were gathered out on the training grounds. After leading everyone through the warm up drills, Eva began to call out their assignments for that day.

  “Aria and Clarisse spar first. The rest of you work solo for now. I'll call the switch.”

  She stood to the side and watched as Clarisse and Aria circled each other. As usual the two girls couldn’t resist bantering. Witty remarks flew back and forth from the two as swiftly as Clarisse's two tessen fans flicked out in an attempt to block Aria's whip. They were too good at predicting each other's moves and could dodge most attacks the other threw. There was rarely a serious injury when the two went against each other. The lack of wounds didn't mean it was any less fascinating to watch how they moved against each other. When they sparred, it was like observing a dance where the two worked as partners rather than opponents.

  Clarisse moved to the offense and rushed toward Aria. Her fans were closed to inflict injury by blunt force rather than opened to cause a distraction. In a new move that Eva had never before seen, she cracked the whip past Clarisse's body and caused it to wrap back around, encircling one of Clarisse's delicate wrists.

  Aria grinned widely. “Looks like you're all tied up.”

  Eva watched while holding her breath, wondering if for once there would be an actual victor between the two. Instead of giving in, Clarisse used her ensnared hand to grab hold of the whip.

  “Luckily, I have some experience with that,” Clarisse said as she pressed the tessen on the line and then twirled, using her entire body to jerk on the whip. Frowning, Eva had doubts about the move. Clarisse was petite and lithe, and while many tiny fighters could be powerful, she was the type to use speed and distraction to her advantage.

  The force wasn't enough to pull Aria off balance, but it was sufficient to effectively stop the whip's attack. As a result, Clarisse was able to easily free her wrist. The two stood apart and the whip’s line pulled taut. Each held an end of the whip with their eyes locked on each other as if daring the other one to move. Clarisse gave in first, no surprise to anybody watching. She dropped the whip and somersaulted over to Aria landing behind the girl. She swiftly brought one tessen up to attack. Aria blocked the fan with blurring speed of her own, and the two were once more locked in another stalemate.

  Clarisse had one arm wrapped around Aria's shoulder with the tessen pressed firmly against the front of her opponent’s throat. Clarisse's other arm was locked behind her back kept there by the tight pull of Aria's whip which the girl had managed to wrap around her waist again. Neither could move without giving away their edge and being unable to block the other's attack. So, instead, they stood panting and giggling. Clarisse was even balanced on her tiptoes in order to be able to reach over Aria's shoulders while Aria couldn’t move either arm since one was occupied with keeping the tessen from pushing any harder against her throat while the other maintained her whip's hold on Clarisse.

  “Good match,” Eva called out to the two of them before approaching. “Those were some interesting new moves. They'll need polishing though.” She waited for a few moments. “You guys can release each other now.”

  The two girls slowly disengaged and untangled.

  “You okay?” Aria asked giving a nod toward Clarisse's wrist. The whip left a nasty burn a few inches above her Belligerent band. Clarisse twirled her wrist around for a few moments.

  “I've had worse,” she said with a wince. “I'm beginning to think you have a thing for tying people up, though.” She smirked at her sparring partner. “What about you? Are you okay?” Her eyes were locked on the bruises darkening on Aria's neck and shoulder.

  “I've had hickeys that did more damage.”

  Eva rolled her eyes. “Okay, you two go practice over there. Kenichi, Daylan, you guys are up.”

  Similar to Clarisse and Aria, Daylan and Kenichi could provide an entertaining show. Kenichi fought with throwing knives. Actually he tended to fight with any small, sharp objects that he could hurl at his opponent. He depended on his swiftness and aim to emerge victorious. Daylan's weapon of choice was a scythe. While Aria and Clarisse could easily pull their attacks and leave only harmless bruises and abrasions, the boys had to be careful to not slice each other open. After years of training, they could avoid the worst of the injuries, but back when they had been ten years old and new at the academy, they had all received several injuries and clocked numerous hours inside the healing pods. A few of the injuries had been severe enough that even after the healing pods, they had silvery-pink scars marking their bodies.

  Kenichi and Daylan were whirlwinds of glinting metal when they fought, and Eva made sure to keep an eye not only on them but also on the others in case anyone wandered too close to the match. The boys were quiet when they sparred, though Kenichi had a tendency to curse in excitement, frustration, or for about any reason that he felt justified tossing out a vulgar comment. Daylan would typically stick to chuckling under his breath at certain moments which only served to make Kenichi curse more often.

  That day Daylan won their match, but it was a close call. With Kenichi pinned down to the ground, and the scythe poised just over Kenichi's pale neck, Daylan and Eva both knew that Kenichi's only choices were to deliver a killing throw or surrender. He held up his hand in the gesture that signaled a forfeit.

  Eva nodded, calling for Mackenzie and Logan to take their places.

  Mackenzie's weapons of choice were a pair of cestus swords. While she favored strategy in battle, Mackenzie was better with close combat styles of fighting that relied more on instinct than intricate plans. She had particularly awful aim, and her eyesight could have been a little better. Paired against Logan and his harpoon, their sparring matches were often brute force with very little elegance.

  Logan and Mackenzie eyed each other up and down b
efore moving in for the attack.

  “Mac, perfect one style before switching to another!” Eva said after a few moments of watching the combatants. She then turned her attention to Logan. “If you're going to throw that harpoon, then you best be sure it at least lands within three feet of your opponent!”

  She didn't shout or bark orders like other combat specialists preferred to do. When she had first arrived at the academy, she had barely spoken. It had taken her half a year to be able to offer constructive criticism without feeling like she had offended someone. It had taken another year before she had started speaking loudly enough for them to not have to ask her to repeat herself.

  She glanced over at her other teammates. Kenichi and Clarisse had set up targets and were working on their aim. Clarisse's tessen had long ago been modified to work similarly to a boomerang if she so desired. Eva wasn't sure if the weapons could be considered tessen any longer, but versatility of her training allowed her a better choice when she had to pick from the coliseum's weaponry. Aria and Daylan had put their weapons aside for the moment and were both running around the edge of the grounds, likely racing.

  As she was conducting a perimeter check, an ingrained habit that left her always aware of her surroundings, she saw people moving down the path towards them.

  “We have visitors!” she announced.

  Everyone froze. Logan, who had plopped down on the sand almost immediately after Eva's announcement, looked relieved at his reprieve from the stressful cardio workout.

  Mackenzie joined Eva at the edge of the arena. “Shifter's finally gone and lost his mind,” she murmured having apparently noticed the stranger walking with the man.

  “You don't think he could really be planning to-” Eva’s voice trailed as she recognized the boy with their Owner. “The car thief from Darton.”

  Mackenzie swore softly. “If he's already here then Shifter must have had one of us setting up for him.”

  They both glanced over at Clarisse, who mouthed a silent “I'm sorry” before maneuvering behind Aria, as if she planned to hide behind the other girl.

  Mackenzie stood up a little straighter. “Guess that confirms it, then.”

  *

  “There's your team,” Shifter announced when he and Ryan had nearly reached the training grounds. Four girls and three boys stared back at them.

  Ryan recognized Eva immediately. She stood slightly in front of the others. Her cinnamon skin still held some signs of bruising on its surface. She appeared to be the most athletic of all the girls, perhaps a little more muscular than most people would consider attractive. When she noticed Ryan staring at her, she looked at the ground as if a bit embarrassed before staring back up at him with a neutral expression. Ryan immediately felt like he should apologize, though he didn't know what for, so he turned his observations to someone else.

  Another girl of about average height stood next to Eva. Her blood red hair was tied back in a messy French braid and a slight flush covered her pale, freckled cheeks. She glanced at him then glared at Shifter.

  “Who's your friend?” the redhead asked once they were standing on the edge of the grounds.

  “Ryan, meet Mackenzie. Mackenzie, team, this is Ryan. He'll be your eighth member.” Disbelief and anger covered most of the group's faces at Shifter's words. Only a small, blonde girl standing in the center of the group seemed unsurprised by the announcement.

  “Shifter, you can't be serious,” Logan spoke up from where he was seated on the ground with his harpoon. His auburn hair was still flopping into his eyes.

  “I'm quite serious,” Shifter replied. “Let me at least get through the introductions before you all voice your complaints. Mackenzie is your team's strategy specialist. She's kind of my protégé.”

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes at the remark and shoved the two swords she was holding into the ground. “Nice to meet you,” she said sarcastically.

  Shifter ignored her attitude. “I'm sure you remember Eva. She's the combat specialist and it’s her job to whip you into fighting shape in short order.”

  Eva didn't say a word to him as she silently measured him.

  “I believe you also remember Logan, who is your team's technology specialist.”

  “Hey, man,” Logan said, apparently too comfortable from his spot on the ground to stand and greet.

  Ryan was surprised to hear that Logan was a technology specialist, as he seemed quite fit for someone who spent most of their time indoors working with computers.

  “The brunette over there is Aria. She's the science specialist. She mostly deals with chemicals.”

  Tall and lean with wide blue-green eyes, Aria flashed him a smile. “Nice to meet you,” she said, her voice lacking the sarcasm leveled at him from Mackenzie. Her workout clothing revealed tan lines and she clearly spent as much time out of the labs as she did in them.

  “The girl practically attached to Aria is the darling Clarisse. She's the information and rhetoric specialist,” Shifter said.

  Clarisse was the one who had looked unsurprised at Ryan's appearance. She was a pixie of a girl and she reminded Ryan of a doll come to life – complete with porcelain skin. Her hair was honey blonde, slightly too long of a length, and was tied into two low ponytails. Over her workout clothing she had on a sleeveless, bunny-hooded, black jacket.

  “It's a pleasure to finally meet you,” she said.

  Shifter nodded to one of the boys and said, “Not too far from her is Kenichi, the retrieval specialist.”

  Kenichi was smaller than all the other guys. In fact, probably the only two people he was taller than were Mackenzie and Clarisse, and despite Kenichi's lean muscles, Ryan doubted he weighed as much as Mackenzie. He wasn't scrawny by any means, but he was much more likely to be swimmer than a weight lifter. If Kenichi's hazel eyes were any indication, then he was only half Japanese. His brown hair had been cut in a punk style that required gel to keep its shape, but somehow it still looked rather flawless for someone who was supposed to be in the middle of training. Kenichi barely glanced in Ryan's direction. Instead he stared at Shifter. He shook his head as if he couldn't believe what was happening then moved towards Clarisse.

  Ryan was clearly missing something important.

  “The last, but assuredly most important, person on your team is Daylan. He's the medical specialist.”

  Daylan was barely paying attention to Ryan either, but that was because his attention was too focused on the other members of his team, probably observing them for possible injuries. Daylan was tall with well-defined muscles. He had jet black hair which was tied back in a neat ponytail though some strands had fallen loose at some point. His entire right arm was covered in tattoos forming a sleeve that included a green and gold dragon, pale pink cherry blossoms and what appeared to be a black, thorny vine. Apparently, Belligerents weren't required to follow the same age restrictions for body ink that Commoners did.

  “I trust you will all be able to work together and I'd prefer no bloodshed,” Shifter said after allowing everyone a moment to gauge each other.

  “No bloodshed if the kitten puts away his claws,” Daylan said lowly, staring over at Kenichi, who was gripping a handful of throwing knives a little too tightly. Kenichi loosened his grip on his weapons but did not drop them.

  “Kenichi always has his claws out,” Shifter remarked in a manner that was rather affectionate. It reminded Ryan a bit of a parent who had tried to lecture their child, only to be too amused by the mischief to be taken seriously.

  “I'll be leaving you from this point. I do have some business matters to take care of and I have a rather long flight back. Mackenzie, I trust you will do what is best for our team.”

  Mackenzie didn’t look pleased, but she assured him without any hesitation. “Of course. I always do.”

  “Then I'll be off. Enjoy your break until classes start. I'll drop in later this semester to see how things are going.” With that said, Shifter turned to head back to the main part of campus, twirling hi
s cane as he walked despite the fact that made his limp even more pronounced. Ryan watched him go then turned his attention back to the other teenagers. Everyone was staring at Mackenzie as if awaiting instructions.

  “Guess that's it for training today,” Logan remarked with a grin.

  Mackenzie shook her head. “We'll go for another half hour. Clarisse, you can take Ryan back to the villa and help him get settled.”

  Clarisse strolled toward him. “This way,” she said heading in the direction of the lake. Behind them, Ryan could hear Eva telling the others that they all needed to work on their defense and to pair off again with a new partner.

  After a ten minute walk, Clarisse led him to a pier. “We'll take a boat. It's faster than walking all the way around the lake.” She motioned to one of the several boats tied in place. “You first,” she said. Ryan did as he was told and carefully stepped from the pier into one of the boats, hoping the entire time that he wouldn't misstep and fall into the water.

  He glanced up at Clarisse waiting for her to take a seat in the boat as well. “Well?” he asked when after a few moments she didn't move.

  “Aren't you going to offer me your hand?” she said expectantly.

  Ryan thought that was a little strange, but he did reach out a hand to help her step off the pier. “I prefer chivalrous transportation specialists myself,” Clarisse remarked once she was settled.

  “Does that mean you expect me to hold open car doors for you?” he joked. It was impossible to maintain his sullen attitude around the girl. After all, she was in the same situation as he.

  “I expect everyone to hold open every type of door for me,” Clarisse replied and while the statement could have come off sounding arrogant, the tone of voice was nothing other than playful. “Maybe you would like to give this a try since it's more your field than mine,” she pointed to the engine.