Half of Two

2 : Threats

Two beds, two dressers, one bathroom, one door, and two pillows, one for each bed. Natalie counted the items in her and Vice's shared room as he dropped his pack onto the bed farthest from the door.

"First training exercise tomorrow." Natalie pulled a spare set of clothes from her bag and placed it in the top drawer of a dresser. She slid it shut and turned to face him, smiling hesitantly. "Are you excited?"

"No." Vice emptied his own pack into his dresser.

Natalie nodded, sitting on her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head against the wall. "Why're you here? The only people who sign up either have a death wish, have no where else to go, or don't have a choice. Which are you?"

Vice tugged at the hem of his shirt. "I'll see you in the morning."

He crawled into bed and turned his back to her.

Natalie blinked before saying, "Of course. Goodnight."

A She stayed up a bit later than him, even though she knew she'd regret it in the morning. Her mind was filled with swirling thoughts and fears of what was to come.

And when she finally fell asleep, she was plagued with nightmares.

They were put in groups of eight, with four groups of two. Vice was wearing a long sleeved shirt that was apparently uniform. It had no symbols or writing in it, and was just plain black. Natalie was given her own set and after she changed into it, she stood next to Vice.

The rest of their group seemed kind enough. There was a set of two girls, one with bright green eyes and red hair, and the other with curly brown hair and a button nose. They seemed nice.

There was a boy with hair blonde enough that it seemed white, quietly talking with his partner, a girl with short black hair. They stood next to a muscular looking boy who had his arms crossed, facing away from his partner, who was tall with a mischievous smile.

"Hey. You're the one that showed up late, aren't you?" The girl with the bobbed hair approached Natalie. She took in Natalie's dark brown hair and cheeks that were pink from the cold. Natalie wasn't used to the chill in the air, coming from a desert region.

"Yes. My name is Natalie." She smiled warmly.

"Cassandra." 

Natalie pointed her chin at Cassandra's partner, the blonde one. "What's his name?"

Cassandra glanced over her shoulder. "Jayce. He doesn't talk much. He seems shy."

Natalie gestured at Vice. "Mine just doesn't talk because he has a stick up his ass."

Vice glared at her. "I can hear you."

"Keep it down!" The redheaded girl hissed. "I'm trying to hear the instructions!"

They went silent and tuned in to what Master Ingrid was saying. She was standing in the front of the room, near a training mat.

"Millennia ago, we were able to harness magic." Ingrid laced her fingers together in front of her. "But we grew lazy. Weak. We lost that ability. Now to access that power, two must work together to be able to tap into their combined magic. That's why we work in twos."

Natalie's eyes flicked to Vice for a moment. It would definitely be interesting to see what their magic looked like together.

"You and your partner will train to be able to control that magic," Master Ingrid continued. "In a year, you will be sent to the front lines to defend Decian. The war will kill at least a quarter of you before your first month in battle."