บท 19: COLOSSEUM
They walked up to a big building. It was circular in design. Lexine ran her fingers over the rough surface of the stone absentmindedly and blew on the white dust that accumulated on her fingers. It was a bad habit she had. Her mom always complained about how her fingers would get dirty, but Lexine just could not stop her fingers from doing so, no matter how hard she tried.
They went through a gate that was run by students from the school. Aurinda walked up to a blonde female that sat at the booth that sold some kind of snack, "A good morning Sheea," The female was large even as she sat at the booth, she filled up all the space with her muscles. She was beautiful though. It seemed like everyone she met was aggravatingly beautiful. Her blonde hair was cropped to her shoulders and her eyes were a bright brown. Her cheekbones were high and she was taller than Lexine although she was clearly seated.
The female's eyes lit up brighter on seeing Aurinda and she smiled, "Aurinda! You're late. The fight's about to begin. As a second year, you should have been the first in here!" Lexine raised a brow, didn't she say second years were going to pick reading materials from their lecturer?
"Our last housemate arrived yesterday, I am in charge of giving her a tour today since she missed the tour that was on the first day."
Sheea's eyes fell on Lexine. She sniffed the air surreptitiously and frowned for a microsecond. Her smile returned almost immediately. "A good morning." she stuck her hand out and Lexine took it. "I am Sheea Mackle of the Brashwa pack. Nice to meet you."
"Lexine Woods." Lexine forced out a smile at the girl who could probably crush her with one hand.
"Is this your first colosseum fight in Eirene academy or have you ever come to one with your parents before?"
Lexine, who had never been to anything like this before, felt her eye twitch. Did MMA fights count? She had watched a lot of those with her father who loved to shout at the t.v. saying that they were terrible fighters. He still watched them anyway.
"This is my first." Lexine forced out a smile.
"Oh." Sheea frowned again for a second longer this time before turning to Aurinda. "Are you buying anything today?"
"The usual, please," Aurinda said. "This is the last day I will get the sugar apples anyway for a long time. So make them four. What about you Lexine, do you want anything?"
Lexine looked at the treats that were behind Sheea. There were three others working on treats and two other stands. Lexine who had always been a sugar lover immediately blurted out, "Cotton candy."
Aurinda looked at her her head cocked to the right. Lexine immediately realized her mistake. They probably didn't have cotton candy in this place. She coughed into her hand, "I mean, one of whatever Aurinda is having." She had not had any breakfast yet. She could feel her stomach rumble.
Sheea scribbled down on a piece of paper a frown on her face and handed it to another blonde-haired female.
"Tell me more about this cotton candy. Does it come from where you are from?" Lexine nodded slowly, afraid of revealing too much and giving people the chance to figure out she is human.
"Where is it you're from?" Sheea asked leaning her elbows on the stand.
"Um..." Lexine looked to Aurinda for help.
"It's confidential Sheea. She is a special student."
"Oh?" Sheea's eyebrow shot up. Lexine facepalmed internally. If anything, Aurinda's explanation just piqued the interest of the beautiful buff blonde.
This made her speak up although she had never lain her eyes on the layout of the map of the world she had been dragged into. "I am from the West," she said with a poker face despite the turmoil that was brewing in her.
"West of where?"
"West of the East."
"Specific place?"
"Next to the forest."
"Which forest?"
"The one next to the waterfall."
"Which waterfall?"
"The waterfall that drains next to the lake."
Sheea groaned in aggravation. Aurinda held back her laughter. The only indication of Sheea's irritation was her clenched fists. Lexine took a small step back. Maybe speaking up was not a good choice?
She gulped. She should have just kept her trap shut. Now she'd made the tall being mad.
Aurinda, who seemed to have finally sensed the tension that had arisen laughed softly and took a step in front of Lexine. "So Sheea, have you seen Meddy? He should be getting ready for the match but no one has seen him since early morn. Artin says I shouldn't be worried, but I just cannot help it." The name rang a bell. Lexine matched the name to the pink-haired being who sat next to her the night before. He was also the one who acted as a fight mediator between Christana and Cardial. He was the one who was fighting?
Sheea let out a hearty laugh clutching her stomach. "You should not be worried about that wimpy boy! He is more durable than he seems."
Aurinda nodded although she did not look the slightest convinced. Lexine was relieved that the attention had moved from her. The blonde who was working behind Sheea handed her three small brown bags. "Here they are. Five sugar apples."
Aurinda received them and handed them back to Lexine. The scent of melted sugar assaulted Lexine's nostrils. Her mind drifted to Ceeret. Was her best friend doing well without her?
Aurinda handed five coins to Sheea and smiled at Lexine. The coins were smaller than the silver coins and less shiny than the gold ones. Maybe they were copper. "As a welcoming gift, let me treat you."
Lexine was in no mood to object. She was going to save all the gold she could. After she went back home, she and her mother would be rich. She smirked at the thought. They said their thank-yous and Aurinda led Lexine down a dim-lit hallway. At the end of the hallway, there was a heavy wooden door which when opened led to a set of stairs. Aurinda turned to Lexine. In the darkness of the staircase, Aurinda's gray eyes gleamed, "Close the door behind you."
Lexine handed her the brown bags and shut the door. The heat from outside the door was canceled out immediately. The stone staircase winded up in a circle making her feel like they were going up a tower belonging to a certain princess with extremely long locks of hair.
They stopped at a window. The window showed the interior of the colosseum. It looked like a football stadium. Instead of a grass field, however, the field was all sand. All the seats were full. The students chattered amongst each other. It seemed the fight was really hyped up. "The Colosseum is full today." Aurinda sighed. Didn't she say this was an important event, so of course, it would be full? The atmosphere felt weird to Lexine who watched Aurinda lost in her own thoughts.
"Isn't it supposed to be this full. I thought you said it is a good way of learning"
Aurinda's face darkened. "It is. But the fights are not compulsory to come view. It is only this full because of his background."
Lexine wondered who she was referring to. Was it Meddy or his opponent? Maybe he was a superior being compared to the pink-haired one?
This made Lexine curious. Was it possible to know the different species just by looking at them? "How do you know the difference between the different species?"
Aurinda's gaze moved from the circular window to her. "It is really simple. You just need to feel for the different energy signatures." Lexine frowned at the answer. How on earth was she supposed to do that? She shot a glare at Aurinda for the shitty explanation. "But you don't know how to do that yet, do you? Well, werewolves are very bulky. They naturally have more muscles than any of the others. Drakkons tend to be really tall and lean. For sylphs, search for a ring, any kind of ring, earring, nose ring, lip ring, navel ring, or just a normal ring. It assists them in controlling their power, so they always have it on them."
So that was why Desire gave her the weird-looking earring the night before. They had decided to go with her being a sylph to ensure everyone had the same background about Lexine. It was about blending in.
"Anthropoids are short if you compare them to all other species and Shadow beings usually have dark-colored hair. From dark blue to dark brown. But never black. In this academy, only you and Desire have black hair."
Lexine processed the information. So if someone did not fit into the category of a werewolf, drakkon, anthropoid, or sylph, they were a shadow person. It was simple enough.
Aurinda glanced at the window once more before using her free hand to drag Lexine up the steps. "Come. It's about to start. We have to join the others."
Lexine frowned but allowed herself to be pulled up the steps.
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