Ore stood in one of the many 'arenas' that were sunken into the floor of the training area. Pounding in her chest, her heart had started to beat harder once the teacher had picked Liril's male water dragon. A fine specimen, he nearly moved with the grace of a young air dragon, a superb achievement for any dragon, the dragon's muscles rippled with each movement. Not only that, but Ore was permanently in the older dragon's shadow.

   In other words, Ore just wanted to get out of this clash with her dignity intact.

   The other dragons and humans were watching from a safe distance outside of the arena. The arena itself could make a simple fall fatal if landed incorrectly; shards of rock and ice from previous fights surrounded the arena, some were stuck into the walls, others were broken on the ground. Water had pooled in small pockets of small indents, adding to the broken feel of the arena.

   Staring at the water dragon looming before her, Ore's confidence showed no signs of returning. Like it or not, she needed help, her jaws tightened as she realised what she must do if she didn't want to be stricken down.

   'We made a deal earlier, so I have to help you. Losing would be embarrassing anyway, even for me,' Uliel said, their voice softly echoing through Ore's mind.

   If we win, it is more likely that we will be able to strike some sort of alliance. Tell me how to do this. Ore pleaded into her mind, following the water dragon's circling movements with her own.

   Ore's mind was silent as the dragon watched the staring water dragon. 'Go for his tail and strike your wing with your own tail, do it when he strikes, it won't be lo-'

   Liril's water dragon leapt forwards, but Ore ducked under his paws and leaped for the dragon's tail whilst whipping her own at the big blue wings. A deep roar filled her ears as her tail pierced the wing.

   Then she was dangling by her tail as she was lifted into the air. A squawk left Ore's mouth as her heart skipped. The ground rushed away then towards, becoming a giant blur as roars filled her ears.

   'I meant slash his wing! Grab onto his wing and rescue your tail before you whack your head!'

   Closing her eyes for a moment, Ore started to sort out a plan. Her eyes raced open when she felt herself gaining altitude. With a flap of her wings, she angled herself towards the dragon's scaly wing before sinking her claws into the outer area.

   Wiggling her tail to release it, Ore's ears were being deafened by the roars of the water dragon, who was starting to roll over when Ore flapped away from the dragon. She landed on a clear part of the floor away from the thrashing dragon, watching his movements become slower and more controlled.

   'Strike now!'

   And that she did.

   With a few helpful flaps of her wings she flew for the panting dragon's neck, there, she latched on with her claws. Blood ran over her paws as her tail flicked up and hovered under the base of the dragon's jaws.

   "Stop moving or you may die," Ore snarled.

   The dragon stopped struggling allowing Ore to release him and jump to the floor, narrowly missing an ice spike. Ore started walking towards the other dragons and humans as Uliel's voice echoed around her mind.

   'See, we need to work on the teamwork, but we make a great team!'

   Then she was flying. Against her will, again.

   When she hit the ground, her body froze in pain. Blood ran from her back where she lay, her wings stretched out from her attempt to slow the fall.

   "Ore!" Malim shouted, but Ore stared at the stone ceiling way above her silently. Her breathing grew slower as her tail twitched.

   "No, no, no, don't die on me," Malim voice reached Ore's ears, his fingers stroked her head before resting at the back before pulling her up from the ground.

   A shriek left her jaws, one that she had never made before. Pain ripped through her body once more, making her tail twitch constantly for a few seconds.

   'Let me come forwards, let me take some of this pain for you.'

   And that Ore gladly did.

   Her eyes sharpened, picking out the chunks taken out of the ceiling along with scratches. Her ears picked out Mercury's whimpering and the other dragons' shuffling as well as the humans' murmurings. She closed her eyes.

   She smelt so much blood.

   'Now I see what you mean, dragons aren't so great either are they? You let him go, he nearly killed you,' Uliel sighed in Ore's mind. 'Let me tell you a secret, dragons don't just fall because they aren't in touch with their angel. They also fall from their actions, and their angel's actions.'

   Warmth spread through Ore's body, replacing the pain as her angel shrunk back in her mind, but Ore didn't push her angel back. Her senses dulled to how they usually were, but Ore was fine, she was alive.

   Once the warmth left her body, pushing the remains of the pain away with it, Ore opened her eyes. Faces both human and dragon looked down upon her, casting her into darkness. Ore's eyes jumped from face to face, before staring into the eyes of the water dragon, a growl built up in her throat.

   Malim's hands wrapped around her and picked her up, but Ore's eyes never left the water dragon's, neither did her snarl leave. The distance between the two dragons grew as Malim carried Ore away, but her growl did not quiet down.

   "Ore, you are lucky that the spike didn't go through your spine, it hit your side, although I didn't go all the way through. You are with me now, you can stop growling," Malim said as he hooked Ore's leg up with the strap attaching her to him.

   He stopped in the area where they had lined up before as Ore sat growling on his shoulder pad. Some of the other trainers had been waiting there, probably to give Ore some space, and Ore caught their glances before they edged slightly away from her.

   "And that is why you don't walk away from a fight until you are told to, or until your enemy is incapable of fighting back," the teacher said, looking towards Ore. Her silvery eyes stared right into the man's, as she moulded her face into being completely blank.

   The various dragons and humans glanced towards Ore, who fended each one off with a glare. Eyes wandering around, Ore wondered where the light was coming from, there were no visible sources, just air and stone.

   "So, which of you ten trainers are the best at fighting close-quarters?" The teacher said, eyeing up the pommel of Malim's sword. Silence followed the man's words. Ore's eyes watched the riders and their dragons, who were watching the trainers, many with smirks and grins.

   The riders' dragons were sat behind their riders, watching the scene unfolding with blank expressions, so Ore didn't know what they were thinking. Trainers moved together and started discussing the subject. Malim's hair brushed against Ore's scales as he shook his head again, intriguing Ore to the trainer's conversation.

   "There must be someone else that can fight, just because I have a sword does not mean that I can actually use it well," Malim said, looking at the other trainers, most of whom were on the slimmer side with their muscles.

   "You must be able to fight, all riders can. Don't give us the 'I did not finish my training' excuse, riders are some of the best close-quarters fighters to walk," Ore noticed that the man who had made the calculations a few days ago was said this.

   Silence reigned as the trainers watched for Malim's reaction.

   Sighing, Malim eventually broke the silence that the riders and the teacher had helped to make. "Fine. If you must know, I was never the best, I preferred the academic side."

   Malim turned around, avoiding the faces that some of the trainers were making and stepped towards the teacher. Watching her trainer closely, Ore noticed that he had his hands clenched together before relaxing. Malim reached up to Ore, who stepped onto the glove before being placed on the stone floor and detached the leash from her leg.

   "Do not do anything stupid, your wounds can still open up," Malim murmured before walking away. Ore stared at his retreating back, her heart hammered in her chest as she watched her trainer and the teacher walk over to a rack of weapons that emerged from the floor.

   Was what happened to Ore a regular occurrence, or was the teacher always so calm? Ore thought as Malim pulled out his blade and the teacher gently took it by the handle before examining it. The teacher's scarred hands ran over the metal of the blade before twirling it around, light shining across the silver blade.

   Ore glanced towards the humans and dragons, most of their eyes were locked on Malim's glimmering blade.

   'It looks like moonlight on the still surface of water.'

   Never labelled you as poetic.

   'You know nearly nothing about me.'

   A plain wooden shield, chunks and scratches marking its surface was picked up by Malim, the light reflected off the metal edges as another shield was picked up by the teacher. Moments later, the teacher drew his own sword from his back, something Ore hadn't noticed earlier. Making a mental note to note everything about each living being, Ore's eyes scanned the rest of the riders and trainers down, but the rest had no weapons.

   A soft thud followed by something scrapping across stone brought Ore's eyes and attention back to her trainer's fight. The teacher, who still hadn't announced his name, watched as Malim stepped down into the arena, sending a spike skidding across the floor when he stepped away from the edge.

   "Begin," the teacher said, his voice echoing around the great hall.

   Similar to how Ore and Liril's water dragon had started their fight, both teacher and trainer circled each other. Trying not to misstep on the treacherous ground, the pair moved slowly, their eyes fixed upon the other.

   Within a second, the teacher lunged out at Malim, who caught the brown-haired man's sword with the shield before striking out himself. Ore's eyes were fixated as the pair parted back to their small circle, her heart rising in her chest.

   The two fighters lunged at each other, their blades clashing with a clang that echoed throughout the whole hall. Their shields groaned as the two men clashed.

   Ore's breath got stuck in her throat.

   The teacher disarmed Malim in a twist of the blade, sending the sword clinging to the ground. Ore's tail wrapped around her two back legs as Malim struck out with just his shield, sending the teacher stumbling backwards.

   As Malim quickly bent down to grab his sword, the teacher sprung forwards, causing Malim to raise his shield. And Ore saw what was going to happen.

   The teacher's leg swept under Malim, sending Ore's trainer to go crashing onto the floor with a sword pointing at his neck. Both breathing heavily, Ore's eyes watched as Malim dropped his sword and shield onto the floor. Clanging against the floor, the sound easily made its way to Ore's ears, making her heart sink.

   "Over the next few weeks, you will improve. Now I know what to expect from those that you deem to be the best without using powers. We will have the best dragon at elemental battles up now before you move on," the teacher said, walking out of the arena and looking at the dragons.

   Mercury started to move forwards, her scales shining brightly in the dazzling light before halting after she had managed to get away from the other dragons. Ore's eyes watched as the air dragon looked up towards the teacher, who merely glanced down to the dragon.