Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🍋 Bittersweet [3/5] 🍋

Tia's POV:

Blast, swing, sweep.

Three words, but one has changed.

Now it's blast, swoop, and sweep.

As usual, I breathe my frostbreath over the battlefield to turn it into an ice skating rink.

However, because Marshall has zero experience with being a figure skating fighter like I am, he contributes to the strategy by swooping down and setting fire to whatever I missed.

Then we sweep the field and take the victory.

Seems easy enough, right?

Wrong.

Not with a weak phoenix like him.

Both of us were in the training room, practicing some hand-to-hand combat.

Normally everyone's supposed to be asleep by now, which significantly lessens the chances of someone walking in and witnessing me slam the poor bird into the ground.

If Arthur were to see me now, he'd be intrigued but also mildly disappointed.

I'm not liking the position I'm in either.

Marshall was struggling to pin me down, keeping my arms above my head and holding my legs in place but forgetting the fact that I have a tail.

Every time he tried to flip me over and push my belly into the training mat beneath us, I'd knock him back with a slap or two and he'd have to start from square one.

"Quit being so difficult to work with!" The blacksmith hissed between his gritted teeth, practically sitting down on my back.

"Your opponent won't obey your command," I argued, breaking my wrists free from his grip and successfully snagging him by the collar of his polo. "Don't be a soft beluga whale and at least try!"

"I am trying!" He protested, only to receive a sharp slap from my tail flukes. "OW!"

"Don't let your guard down." I warned him, sharply tugging on his shirt. "Also, take off your vest. You can't always have your armor on."

Marshall let out a stubborn huff, pulling his fireproof vest over his head and tossing it to the side. "Before you ask, no, I'm not taking my polo off, too."

"There goes my late night plans," I snorted, earning an amused chuckle from my fiery counterpart. "Anyways, sorry if I'm being too hard on you. I keep forgetting you're not as experienced as you look."

After making sure he was okay, we continued our sparring session.

This time, I decided to show a little mercy (which I usually don't give since I have a reputation to uphold) and handle his blows less forcefully.

He was genuinely struggling to get the high ground, wildly flapping his wings like a seagull covered in tar in an attempt to distract me.

As always, I end up overpowering him with ease.

Pinning his arms back over his head like he did with me, I rolled my eyes at the phoenix. "Oh no, there goes your privileges to live. Game over."

Marshall groaned. "It's like you're forgetting to struggle."

"You wish," I teased, straddling his waist. "Also, before my conscience bothers me any further, I'm getting off of you."

Before I could move, he abruptly snagged me by the hood of my coat, pulling my chest firmly against his and rolling over.

With my back pressed against the ground, I found myself in a vulnerable position.

If this was a real battle, I'd already have my tail flukes chopped clean off.

"Oh no, you let your guard down." The blacksmith mocked, imitating my playful tone. "There goes your... Cool privileges."

"Ironically, you're implying that I'm-" I was going to say hotter than him, but he simply glared me down and that shut me right up.

He tucked his blazing wings close to his back, which were still exposed since his vest was still off to the side. "You're such a lunatic, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know I'm insane. Don't need a reminder." I huffed, feeling his gloved hand cup around my cheek. "I'd say that you're also crazy, but I don't want my face incinerated off."

Heat radiated from his face, which was awfully close to mine... Too close for comfort.

"Personal space?" Marshall smirked, reading my mind. "Surely that doesn't exist on the battlefield, does it?"

I growled at him, which made me cringe on the inside. "I'd come up with a witty comeback, but I rather channel my energy into something more useful than arguing."

Fighting dirty was a last resort, but if someone annoys me enough, then I won't just be all bark and no bite.

Lunging at his arm, I promptly bit into the palm of his leather glove, attempting to pierce the thick fabric to take him by surprise.

It worked.

He let out a startled yelp, throwing himself off of me as I rolled to the side, catching my breath.

Once I swiftly got back on my feet, I leaned against the wall, watching him realize that he wasn't injured. "Surprised?"

"Definitely," The phoenix mumbled, rubbing the palm of his glove against his khaki shorts. "By the way, you did basically no damage to me with that bite."

"I'm saving my strength for something that matters," I replied bluntly, turning towards the door. "Go take a shower or something. Er, uh, go dive into the snow for a bit. Just get yourself clean..."

Hopefully he understood what I meant, since I was already halfway down the hallway by the time those last words came out of my mouth.

Stars shone high above us, illuminating the indigo sky beyond the towering archway windows.

A thick blanket of snow covered the entire town in the outskirts of the Silverstorm Stronghold, shrouding the kingdom in a sheet of frosty white.

Arthur would love to sit here and paint such a picturesque scene with me.

Oh, Arthur...

I feel like I'm replacing him.

Blanco and I have gone pretty distant too, and that doesn't help at all.

Then there's Addison, who's supposed to be my closest friend, and she's turned into an enemy.

Edward's just a narwhal.

Sophii? I have nothing against her.

Sometimes I wish I could curl up into a ball and cry, but then again, I have a reputation to uphold.

Be strong. Be steadfast. Be fierce.

I realized I was staring out the window for far too long; I was getting distracted.

Wiping away the tears welling up in my eyes with my coat sleeve, I continued my soundless trek down the hallway, letting out a heavy sigh.

My conscience tends to bother me at the worst possible times.