Fourth Wing/X.R./ The forgotten one

Friend or Foe?

"You and you." 

I glance towards Emetterio to find him looking at me then glancing towards a black haired woman. She has a small build and most of her muscles are in her legs, meaning she'll be more prone to kicking rather than punching. I get into a fighting stance while she steps onto the mat, and we start circling each other. I try to ignore the eyes of others and look for a rebellion symbol on her but I don't see one. 

"We don't have all day cadets." Emetterio says clearly frustrated. 

She lunges and I quickly step back, maneuvering out of the way. I take a step forward and elbow her in the  jaw, hearing a crack ring out from her face. She takes a step back, her knee coming up to make contact with my left side. The strike forcing air from my lungs as I greedily try to inhale as if I had just been underwater for three minutes. Once again taking three steps back and circling each other. I ignore the pain shooting up my torso and examine her. She has dull grey eyes, black hair, a straight nose, and— I gasp as the realization dawns on me. This is Melgrens daughter. I've heard of her and how she's been training for being a rider since she was nine. 

Still circling each other I taunt her, "You gonna to land a punch or am I going to have to wait for you?" I hear some snickers from around the mat but I keep my focus on her in case she decides to give me another bruise. She tries to hide it but I can see her fighting a smirk. Shaking her head she charges at me throwing a series of hits that I can only dodge half of them. Doing probably the most stupid thing for anyone to ever attempt, I let out a quick grunt and headbutt her right on the nose. 

"Fuck!" She exclaims and her head jerks back, blood already seeping from the wound and her nose is bent at a disturbing angle. I take this opportunity to sweep her off her feet and knock her on the ground. I scurry to get on top of her but she flips us around and locks her arm under my jaw, cutting off my airflow. My fingers make imprints on her arm from my attempts to push her off but unsurprisingly, she makes no move to get off. My vision is blurring and I distantly hear people talking while my body has gone into fight or flight mode, forgetting all the training i've learned. "Get up!" A voice snaps at me. I give in. 

"I yield," the words seem foreign and they're probably not even audible but when the weight is suddenly gone I know she heard me. I start coughing wildly and turn to the side, my lungs burning with exhaustion and it seems like every nerve is on fire. Soon enough I calm down and force myself to breath. When i've finally managed to gain control of my functions I look up and see her standing there staring at me with her hand outstretched. She nods and I take her hand using it to anchor me. 

"Both of you to the Healer Quadrant immediately, you both did splendidly." Emetterio says but his eyes aren't even directed at us. I scoff and Melgren pulls my hand in the direction of the quadrant but soon releases me. Wait...Healers Quadrant. My body fills with dread but still, I force myself to move and follow her. 

It's awfully quiet and the only thing I can hear is the sound of our footsteps as we cross the distance so I decide to break the silence and hopefully spare us both. "I'm Maiven," I tell her. She pauses and looks back at me, her gaze anything but friendly. I watch as her eyes pride at my soul seemingly to assess me. She walks back to me and grabs my hand once again to tug me to follow her. 

"My names Aurora," she mumbles although I can hear it as if she's regularly speaking. Her voice is light and slightly high pitched, not at all what I expected. With that she lets go of my hand and wipes the blood off her chin. I grimace and try not to pay attention to how painful that must feel. The adrenaline of the fight is slowly leaking out of me and all I can feel is pain. 

"Is it true?" Her voice cutting though the deafening silence once again. My brows furrow and I tuen towards her.

"Is what true?"