Listening to the Storm

Thinking outside the Box

It's presentation day , and in order to get on the flight field , we'll have to climb the gauntlet first. The riders quadrant is designed to weed out the weak , and today is no exception. I stare off into a daze, trying to come up with a way for Violet and I to make it . Completely ignore my squad mates squabbling about keeping fear out your voice.

I'm jerked from my musings by a shout
" fourth wing!"
It's Xaden . I look at Violet to see her looking through the crowd to try to catch a glimpse of him. I roll my eyes at her . She's smitten.

" Move out!"
We file out , each section moving forward. There's a bit of congestion at the gate but then it straightens out , everyone moving towards the tunnel , lit by mage lights, that we take each morning to the gauntlet.

Aetos falls behind, to stand with Rhiannon and Violet, effectively pushing me behind them. He leans down near Vi and says three words that makes me see red.
" Change your mind."
She shakes her head and confidently says
" No."
he grabs her hands concealed by our formation and reinforces his words.
" Change. Your. Mind."
Then more desperately " Please."
She sakes her head but I step between them breaking his hold.
" that's enough Aetos. You know she can't leave. So stop asking her to be something she's not. She isn't the same weak, girl you knew growing up! So give her some respect and treat her like a grown woman. Because that's what she is. Stop treating her any differently from the other cadets! She doesn't need you to look out for her! She needs you to help her do better but you want her to conform to this picture inside your head! So respectfully . Fuck off."

He stares down into my angry face and looks back at her . " your going to get your self killed."
She steps towards him and quietly says " at least its my choice. Let me make it ."
He stares at her for a few long moments then shakes his head and walks away.

" What changed between parapet and now?" I ask her as we watch him walk away.

" Me."

I pull her into a hug and say
" I've got a plan on how to get us up the vertical wall..."

She smiles a devious smile. As she listens to my idea.

**🐉***🐉***🐉***🐉**

An hour later I watch as Violet flys across the spinning post of the staircase and jumps to the safety of the gravel path. Third ascent complete two more to go.

Rhi shouts down at her.
" You can do it!"
As she reaches the chimney structure.
" Or you can do us all a favor and Fa..." I turn and punch him in his fat mouth. He falls unconscious.
Rhi smirks at me . And yells over her Shoulder " Medic!"

Violet grabs the rope and positions it so she can use it to walk up the chimney vertically.

Someone asks
" Can she do that?"
I turn to look at them
" You gonna try and stop her?"
He shuts his mouth .
This was the hardest part for me. But I'm a little taller than her and even I nearly fell.
She's nearly at the top and the rope slips a little , but she quick to take up the slack.
She uses what upper body strength she's worked in n and pulls herself up the remainder on her hands and knees.
" He'll yeah!" Ridiculous cheers. " that's our girl!"
" Get up!" Rhi shouts down at her.
She gets to her feet and accesses the ramp that curves up like a bowel. She u sheaths her dagger like I told her too. She does the same thing I did. And from the murmurs they know what's to come.

She takes off running up the ramp and just as she takes the last step she plunged her dagger into the ramp and uses it to give her just enough leverage to reach the lip of the cliff and pull her self up.

I smile at her knowing that Xaden was right . We had to think outside the box. And he was right .

" They can't do that!" Someone shouts . I whirl around and glare at the outraged voice. To see Amber Mavis , the strawberry blond Wingleader of third wing who was Aetos' close friend

" Cheating! They cheated!"
She's absolutely furious as she charges towards Xaden.

Garrick steps intercepts her
" Back the hell up Mavis!"
The sun flashes off the two swords he keeps strapped to his back.
" The cheaters clearly used foreign materials not once but twice!" She yells
" it's not to be tolerated! We live by the rules or we does by them!" She seethes at them.
Garrick rumbles down at her
" I don't take kindly to anyone call someone from my section a cheater."
His massive shoulders blocking her view of us.
" And my wingleader will handle any rule breaking in his own wing."
He moves to the side but is two in front of Violet meeting Ambers glaring blue gaze.
" Sorrengail?" Xaden asks us arching any eyebrow in challenge.
" I expect the thirty second penalty for the rope." Violet says
" Ask do I" I affirm.
She asks through gritted teeth " and the dagger they both used?"
Her gaze narrows " their both disqualified."
But Xaden doesn't answer, she turns that glare on him. And continues.
" Surely their out! You can't tolerate lawlessness in your own wing Riorson!"
But Xaden never looks away from us waiting for us to respond.
" A rider may only bring to the quadrant the items they can carry-"
" You're quoting the codex to me!" Amber shouts
I continue as if she hadn't interrupted.
" and they shall not be separated from those items no matter what they may be." I smirk at her as Violet picks up where I left off.
" For once carried across the parapet they are considered part of their person.
Article three, section six , addendum B."
Her blue eyes flare wide and she's says
" that addendum was written to prohibit thievery an executional offense."
I look down at my nails and say " You would be correct. But in doing so any item carried across the parapet the status of being a part of the rider."
We both pull out our blades that our mother gave us for our twelfth birthdays .
" These blades aren't challenge blade . These were blades we brought with us . So essentially.. it's apart of our person. So ..... no Wingleader, we didn't cheat. We kept to the Codex. Explicitly."

Xaden smirks as I say " The right way isn't the only way."

He turns to her and says " They have you Amber."

She throws her arms up and says " On a technicality!"

Garrick emphasizes " But they still have you."
She crosses her arms and sneers at us
" You think like a scribe and you bend the rules to fit your way."
Violet and I look at each other then back at her
" We know."
She storms off and I turn to look at Garrick. Pride shines through his emerald eyes .

" Sorrengail?"
Violet turns to Xaden
" Your leaking . Do something about it."
I look down at Violets hands to see her finger tips are shredded. I smile as I help her bandage them.
We watch was the last two of our squad mates make it.
We all made it.