Riven

I lunge at Sky, rage filling me.

I swing towards his head, blocking his blow to my side as I go. The clang of metal reverberates around my head and I grin in savage delight at the sensation, Helios I love twin blades.

I twist kicking at his feet watching as he falls to the ground before he rolls back up.

"You going to tell me what's really bothering you then?" Sky asks. He advances swiftly, strike, block. His eyes flash with triumph as he sends a kick to my chest, forcing me to step back as we circle each other.

"Other than you." I point a sword in challenge at his direction .

Sky swipes my sword to the side, using his other to jab at my stomach. I twist away, curling around his arm to flip him over my shoulder. Sky's on his feet in seconds. He attacks, left, right, block. A swift lunge has me darting to the side. I bring my swords up to strike, he blocks. Our blades slide close with momentum until we are face to face. So close I can feel his breath against my face. His eyes bore into mine.

"Is it the body?" I shove against him, forcing him back before I run at him, blades swinging. I force his blades apart, leaving his chest open for me to kick. Sky stumbles back. ha, hurts like a bitch doesn't it.

Distantly I can feel eyes upon us. I charge at Sky as he regains his footing. He blocks my blow, swinging down to sweep my feet from under me. I crash to the floor before rolling to the side, standing up in one fluid motion as we circle each other again.

"Or is it the omadas?"

I move forwards, our blades clashing as we trade blow after blow. I lose track of time as Sky and I fight, swinging, blocking and trading blows. I swing at Sky's head, he barely ducks in time to escape the killing blow. I falter slightly, shocked at what I did but Sky just swings back with equal ferocity.

Good.

We both want to leave a mark on the other then.

Our fight has lost all pretense of being training. Something dark and twisted filled me with delight. We're fighting to work something out now. We'll both be alive by the end of it but I'd like to think Sky will walk away with a few new scars. Maybe I will too.

Our blades clash again as I force Sky off the platform, not hesitating for a second to jump down after him. Sky blocks my blow from his positron on the ground before kicking my leg out to give himself time to stand back.

He doesn't wait for me to do the same before attacking.

We're moving around the training grounds now. Using the natural obstacle course to our advantages. Jumping up against platforms, using left out throwing knives. Anything is fair game now.

The sound of our fighting fills the area with such startling clarity that I begin to notice our surroundings. Sky and are still fighting ferociously but it appears we have gained a crowd. A rather large crowd.

Fairies and Specialists alike are standing around us in a wide circle. Gaping in horror and curiosity.

Sky uses my distracted state to his advantage and flips me over his shoulder. I roll away, clambering to my feet as we both regain our breath.

Slowly we begin to circle each other. I tighten my grip on the swords.

Sky points at me with one of his blades. His eyes flashing with irritation. I can't stop the thrill of glee at the sight of his normally perfect hair messy. Petty, I know. But I'll take whatever wins I can.

"It's about the little girl, isn't it."

My thoughts pause but my body keeps moving, what girl?

"The one in the photo," Sky stops, getting into a fighting stance as he braces himself. "This is about your little sister isn't it?"

I freeze.

Sky uses the distraction to flip one of the swords from my hand.

Moving as fast as I can i duck, slash, jab, anything I can think of that will cause damage. Rage fuels me and I quickly knock both swords out of Sky's hands. Undeterred, Sky bats away my sword arm before tackling me to the ground.

Swords long forgotten, we begin to fight once again. Trading punches and kicks causing us to move back towards the training racks and platform.

I take a running jump at Sky to land a blow from above.

The world tilts-

Flashes of orange sky and dark trees-

I slam into the ground a crushing weight constricting my chest as I struggle to breathe. I can't move my arms or legs, it's as if I'm tied up. Being crushed from all sides.

Distantly I hear shouting and Sky's voice. I look towards the sound seeing Sky pinned to the floor by vines.

Fairy-

Shit.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

I stare in shock at the sight in front of me.

Sky and Riven are pinned to the ground by Terra's vines as Silva and Harvey stride towards the two boys.

I don't know what finally made Silva step in but seeing them trapped like this. My stomach churns at the thought, picturing them on those tables instead of the ground, leather straps instead of vines. Shivers roll up my spine.

Silva has crouched down beside Sky who has mercifully stopped struggling against the restraints.

But Riven. Oh Riven.

He's still struggling against the vines, his movements more sluggish and minute each time as Terra tightens the vines in response. I feel my magic stir inside me. Rage coiling in me, ready to pounce.

Why hasn't she stopped yet? I question desperately.

She's not his biggest fan. Darkling replies. From what I gather, he hasn't exactly been nice for the past week.

Typical, the one time I actually feel remotely interested in someone and they turn out to be- well, this. 

I pause, the rage has begun creepy upon me and my shadows shift and swirl in response. Some primal instinct similar to my magic taking over. Terra is still tightening her grip on Riven. I step closer, approaching slowly so I don't draw attention to myself. The last thing I need is Terra losing control and attacking others. I look around, observing silently as I drift through the crowd towards Terra, still keeping an eye on Riven who has started to turn pale.

I reach Terra and her group of roomates, seeing Stella standing with them. I glance at my sister watching remotely as she smiles grimly in greeting, confusion flutters over her face as she looks at me. Sees something in me, because she straightens up and subtly glances around herself. I'm close enough now to hear their murmured voices but the words don't register in my head. All I can see is Terra strangling my Riven. Sky is still pinned to the ground and appears to be having a heated conversation with Silva. She had tightened her grip on him as well, not like she has with Riven but there will be marks.

Rage coils in my gut, I feel it wash over me, burning through my veins. A dead breeze drifts through the training grounds as my shadows swirl to life.

Reason with her. If that does not work, Asmodeus pauses. We'll take care of it.

I agree silently as I sidle up to Terra standing shoulder to shoulder with the younger girl. She's still staring intently at Riven and Sky, hand raised in the air. I turn away from the boys, I won't be able to concentrate with them in view.

"You need to loosen your grip Terra." I command calmly. My voice is low and filled with a sharp edge.

Terra startles slightly but only looks at me from the corner of her eye. I don't bother looking at her, content to observe the growing shadows in the Dusk light. They were fighting for a while, my boys have stamina.

"Headmaster Silva asked me to keep them down while he sorts this." Terra's voice is strong, she is resolute in her decision.

I hum gently watching as Aisha walks away with Musa, presumably to head back to their dorm. Stella and Bloom remain, Stella's gaze drifts towards me every now and then, she knows something is wrong, but Bloom, Bloom's eyes fixed on Sky. I snarl. Terra's head jerks towards me, loosening her grip slightly. I see Riven in the corner of my eye inhale sharply.

"And you have done an admiral job at that Terra." Terra's face fills with hurt at the condescending tone. "But you've done enough."

"She's doing a good job." Bloom butts in, looking at me in offended confusion at my treatment of her suite-mate.

"Oh?" I ask mockingly. "Is that my friend has turned blue?"

Terra's head whips towards Riven, her eyes widening in shock at how truly pale he has begun to look. She stumbles back in surprise and my chest eases as she releases the vines from her control.

"I- I." Terra stutters, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm so sorry, I- I don't know what came over me."

I watch silently as Terra rushes back towards the school, stumbling through the dusk light.

"Ter-" Bloom calls out quickly, taking a step towards her friends before glancing back at Sky.

I scoff, turning away from the redhead to look at the boys myself. Riven has sat up and is now being lectured by Silva while Harvey looks tends to Sky's wounds. The training grounds have cleared out now that the fight is well and truly over, especially with the area being quickly smuggled in darkness. Feeling begins to come back to me, my body slowly un-tensing as the adrenaline leaves me.

Sky's coming over. Little Shadow whispers. You're the only student still here... Stella waits for you by the equipment

Bloom must have followed Terra.

"I'm surprised you stayed." 

"I was worried." I say as I look up at Sky. His blue eyes shine gently in the evening light, exhaustion has softened his features in a way that sharpens some primal instinct in me.

"Did you doubt me?" he asks in mock offence, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Something tugs at the sight of that half smile. I grin back.

"Never," I rasp. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't get too bruised up. I hear Riven packs a punch."

Sky sags a little but I see him smile at my words.

"Just tired, Tavi." He shrugs, still staring at me in that way of his. The one that makes my stomach fill with butterflies.

"C'mon," He murmurs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and steers me towards Stella. "Let's get inside, you'll need your rest if you want to keep up with me on our run tomorrow."

I scoff in offence, shoving his side gently. We reach Stella and I feel Sky tense above me as she walks towards us.

"What were you thinking," She fusses, worry clouding her eyes.

She reaches up to touch the rope burns on Sky arms from Terra's vines.

Sky jerks away. "Stel." he warns, voice sharp.

"Oh hush." She snaps. Shocking both myself and Sky. "Stop being a baby and let me see."

Shocked, Sky does as she says. We both watch with rapt fascination as Stella brings a light filled palm to the burn. Sky hisses slightly when her hand makes contact but doesn't move further. My stomach clenches but I remain surprisingly calm.

Stella wouldn't hurt Sky.

"There," She says, smiling proudly as she looks at the now healed arm. "Good as new."

"How- How did you." Sky stutters.

Stella blushes. "Just a trick I worked on over the holiday."

A trick she learnt to help me.

But Sky still looks curious. My sister isn't normally interested in studying, especially not after Ricki.

Stella sees this. "I needed something, after- after we broke up. I needed to stay busy."

I tense. Damn, she straight up said it.

Smart move though. Great distraction.

Sky clears his throat as he shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

"Shall we?" he indicates to walk.

The three of us begin to walk back to Alfea. Sky politely asked what else Stella studied. Something tugs at my gut and I quickly turn back to see Silva walking to the specialist hall and Riven looking at the three of us walking away. Harvey is tending to his wounds and I pause, guilt filling me as I realise that Stella only healed Sky. Riven looks up, sensing my gaze.

I smile. He smiles back.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"Don't you look peachy this morning."

I grumble unintelligibly at Sky. He merely laughs in response.

"Was that supposed to be words?" he mocks.

"Oh piss off." I mutter as we begin to stretch before our morning run.

"No one should be up this early on a weekend." I grumble

We begin to jog around the course, I look around at the dewy morning filled with the morning sun. It's a stunning view. Sky begins to steadily speed up, forcing me to match his pace. Distantly, I hear the crunch of gravel.

Riven. Little shadow says in delight. He's calm but nervous.

A peace offering then. I slow down slightly, Sky glances at me in confusion but quickly glances behind us as he hears Riven. Sky turns back ahead, jaw clenching as his brows furrowed slightly. He doesn't make a move to speed up and I feel my chest ease slightly- I hadn't even realised I was tense.

There's a moment of awkward silence as Riven levels with Sky and I on my left. I glance over at Riv, giving him a welcoming smile. He smiles awkwardly in return before facing forward again.

The three of us continue around the course in silence. I exhale silently and start practicing my shields as we enter deeper into the forest. I start by building a physical shield around the three of us. It's harder using the shadows but I'm not taking the risk of building a shield without them. I watch as the sphere of protection surrounds us. It looked bubble-like in quality thanks to the effects of my light magic. Shadows provide the sheer power and light provides the looks and translucency. Stella and I had been practicing when we realised that my shadow shields came with a tint which is less than ideal for shields in the day.

"What the hell?" Riv muttered quietly.

"It's just Tavi's shields." Sky murmurs. "She practices while we run."

"Huh, you just got a whole lot cooler pixie."

Relief fills me at the sound of their conversation. Exhale, lower the shield. Break for 3. Inhale, raise the shield. Hold for 3.

The sun is fully in the sky as we come to a stop in front of the specialist hall. I stop, sitting down on a nearby bench and leaning forward to rest my forearms against my knees. My hands tremble softly at the exertion, magic takes a lot out of fairy. Not just the sheer power contrary to popular belief- the control. The concentration and effort it takes to leash magic in, to mold and shape it to your desire. I watch as a pair of black trainers step into my view.

"You good pixie." Riv whispers lowly.

I nod feebly as I feel my magic thrash around inside me. Helios, I hate this bit. The more powerful the magic the more the user leaves an impression. This isn't just about where you use it or how you use it but about the magic itself. Magic remembers its fairies. It learns their little intricacies and tendencies. It also learns to recognise certain commands used in certain situations.

Such as a shield being used when danger is nearby. The plus side is it can predict what you are going to command next. Downside, it's currently trying to create weapons to use against the 'threat' I was shielding us from.

"Tavi," a calm voice whispers. "Calm down now, sweetheart."

Two familiar hands clasp mine firmly. I tense before focusing on the sensations.

"Good girl," they murmur, the praise coiling something low in my gut. "You can stand down now, sweetheart. There's no threat. Just copy my breathing"

I copy their over exaggerated movements, clutching at his- Sky's hands as I do. Relaxing, I look up to see Sky's face clouded with pain and worry.

"Sorry," I mutter. "My power gets overprotective sometimes."

"I know. It's okay." Sky reassures me with a small tense smile.

"Still, there's no need for the claws." Riven jests, but there's something tense there.

I glance down quickly at my hands before gasping in shock at the sight. The ends of my fingers have turned into dark ebony claws, claws that are digging into the soft flesh of Sky's hands. I jerk away, stumbling quickly to my feet.

"It's okay, it's fine." Sky's hands are reached up placatingly but all I can see is the crimson red of his blood.

It's dripping grotesquely down to his wrists.

"I- I. I'm so sorry." I blurt out.

I can't stop staring.

Won't stop staring.

What did I do?

Sky reaches towards me, Riven following behind him. His mouth is moving but I can't hear a thing. All I can hear is the ringing in my ears. I did that. I hurt Sky. Sky who has been nothing but kind to me. I stumble away from Sky as he walks towards me.

Mistress?

I flinch, quickly bringing a hand up to grasp my head.

Are you okay? Little shadow asks, voice hesitant.

No- no I'm not. I hurt my Sky.

I turn and run.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I race through the forest as fast as I can. Legs burning and arms pumping, I don't dare to stop. Sky and Riven's calls echo around the forest behind me. I push through the barrier, feeling it press against me like a wave.

What did I do? For Helios sake, what have I done?

If they didn't already question my heritage they will now. And my powers, how did they do that? Unless it wasn't my magic. Either way, I know how Dowling thinks, she's the same as my mother and Rosalind, contain and observe. Learn as much as possible, if it cannot be controlled, detain or remove the threat before replicating its power.

I stumble over the tree roots catching myself against a tree and my palm stings. I curse lowly, glaring at the cut. Blood, great. The last thing I need is to attract some creature looking for a quick meal. I hastily move along, looking for a place to rest and wrap the cut. I pause at the sight of a familiar rock.

The shepherd's body-

Arm burnt beyond recognition, his face twisted in agony-

MISTRESS

I snap back to the present clawing to catch myself against a tree as my legs collapse beneath me. I'm shaking, unable to stop the visions of Ricki and the Shepherd from blending together. They were so similar, yet so different. Both killed by monsters that hunt in the dark.

I sink to the floor looking up at the morning sun in thought. I really need to stop running from my problems.

A/N: Don't forget to comment and vote.

Who do you think would have won the fight had Terra not intervened?

Sky or Riven?