sitting in the empty hallways of the Tamaran school, on a sunny afternoon
"My God Blackfire, I am more anxious than you! seriously..."
"Ahhhh Judha, I'm not that confident, I mean, during the whole weekend I spent hours and hours training, I even feel like my energy control is better"
"Actually, Clark told me that you were getting more confident with each new shot. He praised your sphere control, said it was more precise and you controlled the impact well"
"Really? he said all that?" Blackfire stands up from the ground where she was sitting with Judha "Uh? by the way, where is Clark?"
"Hmm I don't know, I think I didn't see him today" Judha answers getting up from the ground as well
"Well, he came, but I didn't see him anymore during the second break" explains Blackfire
"Wait, I remembered! I saw him with someone earlier, he was talking to someone from the class next door... class D? I don't really remember actually"
"Talking to someone? With who? Do you know?" asks Blackfire curious
"It was a short red-haired girl, a girl-"
"WHAT??? CLARK IS TALKING TO ANOTHER GIRL??!!" Blackfire shouts surprised
Judha stays without reaction, blinking her eyes wide open. The hallway stays silent for a few seconds, Blackfire's reaction makes Judha open a smile while making a smug expression
"w-why are you making that face?" asks blackfire embarrassed by her friend's reaction and by the awkward silence that took over the place
"no no, it's nothing..." says Judha walking past Blackfire "I just assumed... THAT YOU ARE JEALOUS THAT CLARK IS TALKING TO ANOTHER GIRL!"
Judha says that while pointing at Blackfire
"W-WHAT?? N-N-N-NO!! I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Blackfire replies stuttering embarrassed while getting completely red
"Awwww Blackfire you don't need to be like that, you can't be so restrictive with Clark like that" says Judha making fun of the situation
"STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!" replies Blackfire shouting in embarrassment
"Oh Clark... how can you talk to another girl and leave your beloved here alone..." Judha says while imitating shy Blackfire
Blackfire widens her eyes immediately
"JUDHA!!!" Before Judha could continue the imitation, Blackfire rushes forward and covers her mouth with both hands.
"MMMMPH—?!" Judha tries to speak, but only a muffled sound comes out
"Have you gone crazy?! Speak lower!!" Blackfire whispers desperately, quickly looking around the hallway as if someone could have heard.
"Hey, you two-" Clark's voice echoes in the hallway
Blackfire freezes. Judha widens her eyes
Slowly, the two turn their heads… and there he is, standing a few meters behind, looking confused
Without thinking twice, Blackfire grabs Judha by the arm and runs down the hallway, practically dragging her along.
"MMMMPH WAIT!" Judha tries to break free, while laughing a lot
Clark stays still, blinking a few times "uh? what happened to them?"
Minutes later, hidden behind one of the external columns of the school, Blackfire finally lets Judha go
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" she says, out of breath
Judha takes a deep breath, fixing her messy hair
"You literally kidnapped me"
"You were going to say that in front of him!!"
"So you admit it?" Judha crosses her arms, with a mischievous smile
"I DO NOT ADMIT ANYTHING!!" Blackfire snaps back, completely red
The silence lasts for a few seconds.
Blackfire looks away, clearly embarrassed
"...just... don't say that to him, okay?" she says more quietly, almost murmuring
Judha watches her for a moment… and then gives a small smile "...okay, alright. I won't say it"
Blackfire lets out a sigh of relief.
"...thank you"
"Let's go to the training field already, it's almost time" says Judha"
"You're right, let's go"
The dirt field where the Tamaran training would take place was more crowded than usual that day
The stands had several students sitting, some excited, others just curious. In the center, the circular arena was marked by white lines and wooden logs that defined the combat space
Blackfire was sitting next to Clark and Judha under the shade of a tree in the stands, with her arms resting on her knees
"You can do it." Clark says calmly
Judha nods
"If you trained all that over the weekend, you're going to do well"
"I… hope so" Blackfire takes a deep breath
In the center of the arena, two students were already positioning themselves
The instructor raises his hand
"First fight. Koruum against Polo. Start!"
The first battle starts intense
The tall boy with brute strength powers Koruum charges straight in, while Polo uses speed to dodge and counter-attack. Impacts echo through the arena, energy and dust spreading with each blow
Blackfire watches closely, shocked by the pace of the fight
"Did you notice?" Clark asks
Blackfire turns to him and just responds with an "Uh?"
"Polo is saving energy, making his opponent get tired"
Blackfire's eyes return to the fight
"Koruum relies a lot on his physical strength, while Polo on his speed. Even though Koruum is stronger, he wastes his energy with his heavy blows, he is getting more and more tired, while Polo just dodges and saves himself to counter-attack" explains Clark
"It's true..." Blackfire replies surprised by the detail of the fight
After a few minutes, the fight ends with a well calculated strike from Polo, knocking the opponent down. The stands react with applause
"Second fight! Cius against Sadeer"
"Pay attention Blackfire, your opponent will be Bara. A former classmate of mine" says Clark
"A former classmate of yours? What is she like?" asks Blackfire
"She is smart, knows how to make great strategies under pressure. She is fast, but she can't maintain the speed constantly" explains Clark "I won't say anything else, otherwise it wouldn't be a fair fight if one opponent knew the other's weakness" Clark smiles while finishing his sentence
Blackfire just watches him, noticing that Clark felt a certain confidence in something, but without understanding why he was so hopeful and happy
Beams of light cross the air, colliding in the middle of the arena and exploding into small shockwaves, the second fight had started and Blackfire hadn't even noticed
Judha points to the fight "look! this combat style looks like yours Blackfire"
Blackfire watches, she analyzes the shots, the recharge time, the positioning
One of the opponents misses the timing… and is hit directly
"Fight over! Please, call a nurse to treat the shot in the chest"
"now the third fight! Magnus against Exala"
Faster, more aggressive, close combat, punches, dodges and spinning kicks
Clark crosses his arms "did you notice how they are not thinking? Just attacking"
Blackfire watches in silence
She realizes. Predictable movements, lack of control...
The fight ends quickly… with both exhausted, but one of them unable to continue
The instructor looks at the list and shouts "Next fight!"
A small pause
"Blackfire against Bara"
Blackfire's heart races
Judha immediately stands up a bit "It's going to be alright, don't be afraid"
Clark gives a slight smile "show what you know"
Blackfire stands up slowly, takes a deep breath and walks down to the arena. Her steps echo on the ground as she enters the circle
On the other side… that short red-haired girl enters as well, she stops and looks directly at Blackfire with a small smile
Her eyes are firm. Confident.
"...so you are the princess of Tamaran Blackfire" says Bara
Blackfire looks back at her "...and you are Bara"
The two stay silent for a few seconds, the energy in the air feels heavier. In the stands, Judha holds her own arm, excited
"This is going to be good…"
Clark, with a smile, doesn't take his eyes off the arena
The instructor looks at both of them, raises his arm and says...
"START!!"