Arcadia: Amorphous

Chapter 19: Rush Around the Edges

Today had been an odd day, well not overly odd, but still. It felt less like we had four classes and more like we had one with four teachers. The topic of each class was the same, aura. Aura manifestation, aura properties, aura defense, the history of aura. The reason made sense at least, tryouts for Triny where starting, the school sport. It was an unholy cross between capture the flag, and violence. I wasn't a big fan, my dad tried teaching me and my sister.

Point is, to play Triny and not get seriously hurt requires aura manipulation. Shield charms are too limiting, and pads just won't cut it. It makes sense that they would teach basic aura control before tryouts, but why so late.

I guess if they wanted to do it all at once it made sense. Each teaches taught things at their own speed, so in order to not interrupt other topics they would have to do it after the midterms, that or the beginning of the year, but that's way too early.

Oh well, I don't plan on trying out so I guess it shouldn't matter too much to me. What I do need to do is get a handle on my kestal situation. Find my voice, my map, my unifying thought, this is my goal. My impossible goal, my one job above all others so I'm not deemed the family failure. I'm not sure how I would deal with Gail passing me in school, but I'd probably sew my eyes shut and run naked through traffic if Eldritch caught up.

Sometimes I feel like I might be a little morbid...

I might be able to make a kestal out of one of those sick thoughts, but it might be better to have a different voice in charge. Like any other voice.

In a short time, I found my way back to my secret training spot. This weekend was crazy, but when I needed to practice, blow off steam, or just find some quiet, this rainbow polka-dotted tree was the place to be. Far enough into the trees to make it hidden and so I can't be heard, but close enough to a trail, that I could find it quickly. No loud voices, or judging eyes, it was just me and the trees. As silly as it sounded a part of me thought of this as my safe place. A place where no one could...

"Kya!" A voice cries out as I dropped to the ground. Something had fallen on me from the trees. In my shocked state, I could barely make out the figure that now squatted over me. "You're late." The voice said again as a hand grabbed me and pulled me up off the ground before slamming me against a tree. "Two days late."
I knew that voice, I thought still in pain with my feet barely feeling the ground. "Who..?"

I was lifted again this time by the collar of my shit. I was still in a daze, but I could swear I knew who this was.

"Wait..." I tried as I pinned against a tree, my feet fully off the ground. I had no idea was what was going on, but my attacker's face became clear to me. "Kay.."

She rolled backward throwing me again as I flew headfirst into a bush.

"Get your ass up!" she barked in an almost cheery tone, like the tone a kid might use waking their parents on Christmas. It was not the tone I would expect to hear from someone who was beating the ever-living shit out of me.

I was about to stand when I felt her feet connect, toppling me once more. "Why?" I managed to grown holding my side.

"Because you suck," she said gaily grabbing my hair.

Orange enveloped me, not so much the fruit or color, but the thing itself, a feeling?

I grabbed the hand holding my hair, and in a moment my legs move to wrap around her arm.

This feeling, like my body, moved itself. It was not the first time I felt it.

The weight of my body on her arm pulled Kaylie down, but somehow she managed to slip away before hitting the ground. I sprang back up to my feet and charged her, driving my shoulder into her gut. But she managed to roll to the side, tossing me into another tree.