The Damned

Chapter 8

As winter ended, tryouts for the mystic games began. Onyx had spent the few months prior preparing, practicing frequently and improving her grades that had faltered since she discovered her new powers. She was back at the top of her class and was determined to make it to Greece by the end of the year for the championship games. Since her nineteenth birthday party, her following on social media had doubled but no matter how hard she looked, she still couldn't find any trace of Ava online.

The reality of her bond with Ava hit her harder each day, as she realized her normal sexual cravings subsided as her thoughts were enveloped by the mysterious girl. She wondered if Ava's thoughts were filled of her as well, or if she had moved on and forgotten about her. Onyx asked Dimitras to get her number from Kira or to arrange a meeting for them but her mother's response was vague as she basically told her daughter that her powers didn't work that way. That she was only able to summon the supremes or the council alone and them alone, that it was only made possible by spell, then reminded her that her fast traveling abilities could only reach so far.

Onyx practiced tirelessly, wanting to impress Kai and show her mother that she was worthy to compete at a national level rather than the pre-games she was used to at Greenwood, playing against other students in her year that also wanted a spot on Premier year's unit. Kai had seen her practice and even without her hybrid powers, knew the girl was already stronger than most if not all of Prost and Prime year's units, units two and three.

She considered allowing Onyx to skip units one and two, knowing she would at least be with students that were somewhat near her weight range and skill. The girl had grown and was already larger and stronger than Kai was during her Premier year at Greenwood.
Kai then thought of the potential repercussions, knowing a student hadn't been asked to skip a unit, let alone two, in more than a century. She didn't want students to pick on Onyx and assume it was only because she was Kai's daughter, the coach's daughter, which was a feeling she was all too familiar with when she was her age and was compared to her father. She knew if she were to consider this, she would have to discuss it thoroughly with Onyx and remind the girl of the possibility that she would receive negative attention. She figured it would be best to still have her try out with the rest of the students, that maybe if they saw the raw strength and skill she contained, they wouldn't think she was offered a position on tier three's team strictly because of her relation to Kai.

Onyx remained friends with Cyndi and Bethany, but didn't see them in the same light as she had before. She was happy to find that this did not falter their friendship, and the three of them continued to hang out as friends and studied together regularly.

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The first week of tryouts were a breeze for Onyx. The student's results weren't being kept competitively but she knew she was the best. Although she was teeming with confidence, she decided to listen to Kai's words and played the field humbly. Each time she broke a record, she didn't yell or fist pump, she didn't flex her muscles for the crowd of student who came to watch and she didn't rub her wins in the faces of others. She simply smiled and shook it off as if it meant nothing to her.

This gained her respect from the students in the other units. They saw her as a strong component, and knew she would be an important asset to their teams. This way, when she was offered a spot on tier three, she felt as though she could accept it without any side eyes or mean remarks whispered under the breaths of others, so accepting the position was exactly what she did and she wore her jersey with pride.
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She trained so much that her wardrobe had to be replaced as she had grown two sizes. She stood in front of the mirror and watched as she rubbed Aquaphor up and down her freshly tattooed sleeves, chest and neck. She then set the bottle down and stared at her naked form, admiring the muscles she had grown in places she didn't even know muscles existed. Her team had just won game one of this year's mystic games, she was still high with pride and adrenaline.