Love Potion

Capture the Flag

I pretended to ignore the influx of rude growling that then came from in front of me, Viper snapping his head to sneer every so often. I heard him demanding Kenzie and Tatiana that he definitely did not jump at the sluxfang, and was cool as a cucumber the whole time. Such fragile pride.

I was so absorbed in an imaginary scenario in which I was hitting him repeatedly over the head with a guitar, screaming about magist blood, that I didn't notice we had arrived at a clearing. There were no trees, so the sky was clear: iron-grey, threaded with wispy clouds like washing lines, where a whitened sun hung. 

Muet was striding (though with his short kid's legs) into the centre of the grass, whence dropped his bulging sack onto the grass. "Gather," he said. He plucked open the bag and let its insides roll out: a heap of wooden sticks, a couple of which were flags. "You may or may not be pleased to hear (I don't care which) that today we'll be playing capture the flag."

Everyone around me exploded into excited burbles. I snapped a look at Ermis, and he, Erik and Troy were exchanging fantastic grins. Viper, behind him, smirked at Kenzie and Tatiana in turn. Me... I was fucking jellied to my knees.

"It will be Creepseek versus Snellicary," Muet said plainly, as he handed each of us a stick. He still had a spot of blood above his cheek that he hadn't gotten yet. "You can use these sticks to fight each other. Remember the techniques you've learned when I taught you swordfighting..." I didn't have no swordfighting lesson! "You can also use your specialities to dual each other, but if I hear of any major injuries caused by one of you, I will be solely furious." At least twenty throats gulped. "You cannot use your wands, unless you need to send a warning signal, if you're in danger. 

"Now, in this part of the forest there are some pixies, surblaps, mushroom dragons and if you're really unlucky, a sluxfang, which I suppose you've just seen. You don't have to worry about surblaps or mushroom dragons: if you don't hurt them, they won't hurt you. Pixies aren't particularly dangerous, but they are very irritating. If you do run into a sluxfang, you can obviously fend for yourself with your speciality, stick or wand, and kill it, if you must. Sluxfangs are nasty creatures. If you can't defeat it, send a warning signal with your wand and I and hopefully a classmate will come to help you. Oh, and whatever you do, do not climb a tree. Sluxfangs can slither up a tree before you say slimy. Poke it in the eyes with your stick, or make it chase you in circles. Then you can run for it.

"Anyhow.. yes. I've marked out the game area with a red line. If any of you pass it, you'll immediately teleport back to your flag. The dividing point of both team's areas is shown by a white line. Once you go into the other team's area, it's a fightout. If you are beaten by an enemy member you must return to your flag.

"I will appoint each team a captain. You can discuss team tactics and where to hide the flag, but the last say goes to them. Creepseeks, your area is to the left, ending with the rocks and waterfall. Snellicary, yours to the right, with the marsh grove. Everywhere else is forest. I'll give you five minutes to go and place your flag, and then blow the whistle. The game starts then. It only ends when a flag is captured, or when the lesson is over. Understand? Good. Now, for captains..."

We were all absentmindedly stood in a line before him, with our feet apart and hands behind our backs like soldiers. Muet began striding the length of us, glancing at squeamy eyes and rattled nerves. "Felsie, Sacha, Ermis, Troy, Erik, Herm..." he named as he passed them, not saying everyone. When he passed Viper, I saw him pump out his chest a bit and smirk, as if waiting for his name to be called, but Master Muet passed him without noise. His smirk twisted into a snarl. Then, "Kenzie..." he named, and Viper snapped at him as soon as his name was said. Kenzie secretly looked rather pleased with himself.