Winter tugged on her earlobe as M.J. playfully tackled Leo, "We have another merged gym class next period." They kept rough housing, "So?" Winter watched them, "Don't you want to get those snacks to Brenna before it starts?" M.J. took the hint and nonchalantly strolled out of the cafeteria. Winter rose her chin and Leo said, "The thing that gets him like that is talk of his soulmate." Winter noted his ability to predict what she wanted and began sifting through her memories, "The girl who died?" Leo's eyes widened, "I really have to stop being surprised by you knowing everything." He recovered quickly and continued, "Yes. No one is allowed to mention her in his presence. Someone probably did and so he ended up like that." Winter fiddled her thumbs, "What happened to her?" Leo scratched his head, "Well to be honest with you, I don't know much about that." Winter squinted at him, "What do you mean?" He shrugged, "No one is really allowed to mention her so I don't know the details about what happened." She nodded, "Could you help me find out?" Leo tilted his head, "What has you so interested?" She grinned at him coyly, "I can't stand leaving any questions unanswered. You know that." Winter inspected the bracelet on her wrist, "Speaking of, do you know Xander?" Leo scoffed and turned over his hands, "Winter, of course I do. Xae is in my class. And we've known each other for years. I know everyone. I'm in their heads." Winter smiled, "Okay okay. Silly question." He watched her, "What about him?" She twirled a strand of her hair, "What can you tell me about him?" Leo looked up as though searching through his memories, "He's quiet and shy. Bit of a loner, but ultimately he's a really nice guy. Loves helping people." Winter nodded, "I think I might be able to get him on board then." "To help spy, you mean." Winter kept the surprise from her face and waited for him to continue, "Well after you spotted him earlier, you got up and followed. There are only two possible reasons. To watch him or to request something from him. Seeing as he came to our class late, when he is usually on time, I assume he was waiting for you. And you wouldn't go up to someone that you couldn't gain something from which means you saw him use his power. Shapeshifting, useful for gathering intel." "Impressive," Winter smirked, "You're learning." He clamped a hand on her shoulder, grinning, "I've got to keep up with you somehow."
Winter and Leo left the cafeteria and ambled towards the gym. "Why do we have so many merged classes with Star's Potential? Is Mrs. Scrimen on sick leave again?" Leo nodded, "There's no telling when she'll come back. Looks like you're stuck with us." Winter rolled her eyes. The bell rang and when they made it inside the gymnasium, Winter's eyes met his. Red eyes that burned like the softest flame, full of malice. She glanced at Leo as he moved away from her and approached Sam. Winter found Mandy and Layla conversing with Jax and Lucas a few feet away. "I heard we're doing an obstacle course today," Layla grumbled. At that, Winter glimpsed at Xae who was standing off to the corner by himself. She was tempted to call him over, but she couldn't risk them being seen together. For him to achieve her goals, he had to stay forgettable and undetected. Which meant she wouldn't be able to befriend him in public. They would have to perceived as strangers. Winter looked away from him.
The bell rang and Coach Russo's voice boomed, "Today we're doing the obstacle course. Everybody fall in line." The silence caused the scuffles to echo throughout the gym as they separated into their respective groups. Winter stared at the course in front of her. There were some classical aspects to it like the tire run, the tall wall, the barbed wire crawl, and the net climb. The more abnormal parts of the obstacle course were created and specialized for different kind of magic users. There was one part of the course designed for elementals to use each kind of element to get through. Another required shapeshifters to turn the size of an flea. Winter yawned. She thought this would be a better opportunity to observe than participate so she slinked off to the side hoping Coach Russo would overlook her. "Winter Knight." All eyes turned to her as she was mid-stride. Winter glared as Coach Russo crossed her arms, "I have a stomach ache." Coach Russo eyed her, "I don't care. If you're not sick enough to go to the infirmary, you do the course." Winter bit the inside of her cheek. Going to the infirmary now would be counterproductive. When she didn't say anything, Coach Russo grinned and said, "Good. You go first." Winter glanced around the gym before making her way to the first obstacle. Coach Russo jeered, "Preferably today Knight." The first obstacle was the tall wall scale. Winter made a feeble attempt to scale it and immediately fell. Coach Russo boomed, "Again." Winter tried again, sloppier than last time. The fall came easier. She made six more terrible attempts before Coach Russo said, "Enough." She signaled to someone standing behind Winter, "Sit on the bench and watch how it's done. Abbot you're up." Brenna pranced to the front and scaled the wall easily, moving to the next obstacle in a fraction of the time Winter spent. Coach Russo shouted, "Alright, you've all seen it can be done. Let's get a move on."
The sound of a horn blared and students dashed through the course. Winter sat on the bleachers watching. Mandy and Layla went through the obstacle course looking after each other. Sam and Leo stood close by as Jax and Lucas made their way to the course. Winter observed as the rest of the class seemed to make space for them. Jax made a face at Sam and zoomed through the first few obstacles competitively. Completely unfazed, Winter watched as Sam bypassed all the obstacles a half second quicker than Jax. They seemed so compatible with each other and yet so strangely at odds. Winter noticed Leo staring at her and met his eyes, shaking her head. He understood and scaled the wall slowly. M.J., his complete focus on Brenna, didn't need the memo. He already moved through each obstacle slowly, his attention behind him. Winter rolled her neck. If they recently went through the mock war, why was this obstacle course necessary? She licked her lips. It was necessary for the same reason all the magic classes and sparring sessions were, to keep them on their toes. Winter's eyes lost focus as she let her thoughts roam. It seemed the headmaster was sharpening them all into weapons. Her eyes snapped back into focus as she stared at the scene in front of her blankly. Maybe that's exactly what they were.