The courtyard behind the academy was quiet at first — too quiet for what was about to happen. Dust hung in the warm air, sunlight spilling through the thick canopy of trees overhead. The silence broke with a sharp gasp, followed by the rustle of clothes and the dull thud of bodies hitting the dirt.
Rena had Sarafina pinned beneath her, white hair streaked with crimson tips tumbling forward in a wild, untamed curtain around her face. Her crimson eyes burned with a beauty so sharp it felt like a weapon. Her pale hands gripped a fistful of Sarafina's hair, pulling with merciless force, the strands straining and crackling under the tension.
Sarafina, trapped beneath, snarled — a deep, feral sound — and clawed at Rena's wrists, her own ice-blue eyes flashing with rage. Her nails scraped against Rena's skin, leaving faint red marks, but the Amperhart girl didn't flinch.
"You think you can keep me down, you pale little bitch?" Sarafina hissed, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.
Rena's lips curled in a half-smile that was equal parts taunting and cruel. Instead of answering, she leaned down and sank her teeth — not blunt, but razor-sharp — into the soft flesh of Sarafina's palm. Her canines pierced skin with a sudden, wet resistance, and the metallic tang of blood filled the air.
Sarafina let out a sharp, guttural cry, jerking her hand back, eyes wide with both pain and outrage.
"What the hell are you, a dog?" she spat, shaking the wounded hand.
Rena didn't release her grip on the girl's hair. "A dog?" she said, voice low and mocking. "Dogs are loyal. I'm something far worse."
The slap came fast — a vicious, open-handed strike across Rena's cheek. The crack echoed in the courtyard, a harsh punctuation to the fight. The force loosened Rena's grip just enough for Sarafina to twist her hips and shove upward. In a burst of movement, the positions reversed — Sarafina now straddling Rena, her knees pinning the other girl's arms to the dirt.
Sarafina's breath came fast, strands of her platinum hair clinging to her damp forehead. "You want to bite?" she sneered, leaning down so close that their noses almost touched. "I'll give you something to chew on."
But Rena only laughed — soft, melodic, utterly maddening. With a sudden twist of her hips and a violent shove, she bucked Sarafina backward, sending her sprawling into the dirt. Both girls scrambled to their feet, brushing off soil and leaves. The air between them felt electric, charged with heat and spite.
They stared at each other for a long, loaded moment, each one daring the other to make the first move.
Rena's smirk deepened, her crimson eyes glinting under the sunlight. "Frost… He told you, didn't he?" she said, voice dripping with mock sympathy. "He ignored you. The great Sarafina Frost, left on the sidelines like a forgotten toy. You're a loser."
Sarafina's laugh was sharp and humorless. "If I'm a loser, then what does that make your precious husband-to-be? He's marrying garbage. Trash like you, Amperhart."
Rena's laugh was a low, dangerous sound. "If I were garbage, Naoko wouldn't have chosen me, would she? Why didn't she marry her son into the oh-so-great Frost family?" She tilted her head, feigning innocence. "Oh, that's right — she probably doesn't even know your pathetic little family exists." She leaned forward slightly, the smile turning razor-sharp. "Maybe because you're just a pack of cheap whores."
Sarafina's eyes narrowed, a muscle in her jaw twitching. "And who the hell cares what that cold witch thinks?"
Rena began smoothing the front of her white skirt, knocking off dust with deliberate slowness, as though Sarafina wasn't even worth her full attention. "I wonder…" she said sweetly, tilting her head. "Do you even own underwear? Or do you just keep your legs ready for anyone with the right equipment?"
Sarafina's grin was wicked. "Maybe I do. But tell me, Rena… does that mean you'll take any size, as long as it's your precious husband's?"
The words were meant to sting, but Rena only laughed — a sound like silk tearing. "I only take my husband, dear," she said, turning on her heel. Her hair — white like fresh snow, the crimson at the tips glinting under the sun — swayed behind her like the tail of a predator walking away from a kill.
She glanced over her shoulder, her crimson eyes narrowing in a promise. "We'll finish this on the island."
Sarafina stood under the dappled shade of a tree, her lips curling into a slow, mocking smile. The air around her began to change — a creeping chill spreading outward, the grass at her feet frosting over in delicate patterns. "Better," she murmured, her voice low and dangerous. "On the island, no one will stop us. And when no one's watching, we'll see whose blood runs first."
Her breath fogged in the suddenly cold air as she began walking away, the faint crunch of frost beneath her boots.
The courtyard was silent again, but the silence felt heavier now, like the moment before a storm breaks.
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Heat: Who do you think won this verbal battle, Rena and Sarafina or a draw?