Angel With Broken Wings

111 - Mash Burnedead, Kat Ride and the Shadow Eater (1)

[THIRD PERSON POV]

The Day of the Final Exam.

Grief Manor.

"Heh, it looks like the time has come."

Mash spoke proudly, not showing a hint of anxiety, the teen was seated on Dot's back with Abyss and one of Abel's dolls stood behind him. Lance, Margarette, Abel and Kat stood off to the side from the three, the girl holding back her laughter at the more bewildered expressions from those from Walkis. 'On piggyback, really?' Lance couldn't help but wonder, remaining silent despite his embarrassment at the predicament. Kat glanced over to the Walkis students carefully, flickering her eye over to the still shrouded member.

She wanted to go over there and drag Fang away from those at Walkis, from Innocent Zero entirely, but she couldn't just do that quite yet. Knowing how they acted before she was certain they'd leave Fang here too when they were done, it seemed that those from the Flock weren't entirely necessary but it confused her on why they seemed to want her so desperately. 'There's something more to this than what meets the eye...' She shook her head once before shooting her gaze to Levis Rosequartz, the blonde male beginning to speak,

"Congrats on not running away like chickens despite knowing you're gonna lose." Kat saw his eye twitch before turning her head back to her three friends, a hand going to cover her mouth as she felt her shoulders tremble as she urged back her laughter. "Let me know before you stand up, it's safer that way." Abyss spoke seriously, prepared to catch Mash in case of an emergency. "Just gimme the word when you wanna move forward." Dot urged next, keeping a good grip on Mash's legs as the black haired teen speaks up next,

"It's called chicken fight, not chicken run." Kat coughed loudly as some of the laughter slipped through, unaware of members from Walkis and Easton glanced her way at the sound. 'They're not listening!' Finn shouted mentally, watching the interaction from the large mirror in Easton's Grand Hall with trembling hands. Kat finally let out another cough as Mash, Dot and Abyss went back to regular positioning. Mash was chewing on a creampuff with a bored expression, Kat standing between Abel and Dot and gently fiddling with the red haired teens hand, unaware of how the boy's facial features twitched in glee.

"Well, well...I can already tell, your group doesn't stand a chance." Levis spoke up once more, his expression cold as he watched the small interaction between Kat and Dot, Charles and Domina regarding the redhead coldly while allowing their blonde classmate to speak, "This'll be so one-sided and I hate to be a bully, guess I'll have to go easy on you, huh?" Mash shuffled over to Dot at that moment, beginning to whisper something into the redhead's ear and causing Kat to halt fiddling with the boy's hand to listen in.

"Yup, yup..." Dot muttered, nodding to Mash before turning his head to Levis, "He says it's pretty clear you don't have any friends." Kat held back a sigh as she shook her head slightly, casting a small glance over to the blonde teen who seemed to flinch at the insult. Finn and Lemon, where they stood watching within Easton, also couldn't help but sigh as the dual hair coloured teen muttered, "Mash..." At that moment the voice of the announcer broke through, the words reaching the ears of both the contestants and the onlookers as an explanation got presented,

"The rules are simple, find the five star keys scattered throughout the manor and use them to unlock the treasure chest! Whoever opens it and claims the Wand of Beginnings will be this year's Divine Visionary!" Kat grinned at those words, 'So that's how they're gonna protect the wand...by making it the target for the exam.' She felt oddly proud at the decision, glancing over at Mash when the boy hummed out, "I think I figured it out...we need the key to open the box." She held back another sigh as Dot commented back, "Yeah, he said that."