"I can't believe I have to take part in student council rankings" Crescent mumbles, and Estelle laughs.
"Don't worry about it. The pin fighting isn't until tomorrow. Be thankful that as a waterbender, you can get the soreness out quicker" Hatsumi smiles. Crescent nods.
It was the same as yesterday. But unlike merging brooches, you had to deliver it to your brooch on the floor. This meant there was space for people to fight and steal. It would be just like the old days for Crescent. She eyes the scroll, and she moves a mirage so that it was like food. Something she had to get for her family to survive, even if it meant hurting her friends. Her pupils dilate.
Ice notices the change in atmosphere when Crescent's eyes seem to change. The announcer finishes the countdown, and Crescent moves the fastest. She scales the walls without her bending, and she grabs the scroll first. Had she had her pin, she would've won the title. Mint earthbends rock to stop her, and Ice sends an influx of water. The water is easily stopped, and when Estelle sends sand her way, she isn't bothered. She's moving downward fast, and Mint and Estelle have to work together to keep her at one level.
Hatsumi sends fire her way, and she isn't scathed or hurt. She airbends it off as a reflex, and Crescent doesn't even realize she's on her way down until she narrowly dodges Hatsumi's lightning. She zones back in, and she starts bending her gravity. Center of mass, center of mass, center of mass, drop. She drops suddenly, and Ice and Mint lose their balence as well. Estelle firebends, and she gets down quickly while propelling herself. Crescent raises ice, and she tries to merge the scroll with her brooch. It glows, but only half of it was absorbed. Crescent hisses when she spots Ice holding her hands down with the ice. She bends it, and she keeps a sharp hold on the scroll. Mint sends rocks her way and Estelle lavabends. Crescent wears it out with the ice on her chains, and she reaches for Ice's grasp on the now fallen scroll. He merges the scroll immediately, and his brooch glows softly as well. A tie. Depending on who ranked higher but lower than the champion, the winner would be decided then.
"Ladies and gentlemen we have a tie!" the crowd goes wild. Mint and Estelle pant for air, and clean up his bruises from Crescent's gravitybending. Hatsumi smiles, and she's first to congratulate Crescent and Ice.
"You did good!"
"Nice final trick with the chains Ice. I nearly thought you were into bondage" Crescent warms up her wrists, and the four watch in confusion.
"Aren't you cold?"
"The lack of heat in my house is enough thank you" Crescent smiles.
Ice and Mint stop to observe her hands. They glow a soft blue, and it looks like waterbending. Estelle shakes her head, and she shrugs. Hatsumi leaves to change and wash up. Crescent follows her and she whines about how she barely got any bruises. Hatsumi assure her that it would be worse tomorrow.
"She can bend fire" Estelle speaks up when she's sure the two are gone. "Her hands were not glowing from water, she can bend blue fire"
"That's impossible. She isn't even part of a firebending bloodline" Mint deadpans. Ice thinks about it.
"She's unaffected by fire, and she has a phoenix as an animal guide. Is that not enough evidence?" Estelle hisses.
"Wait for now. If she really is a trialbender then we can swap her brooch. She hasn't used firebending yet which means she probably doesn't have a grip on it. If she can really bend blue fire, then she has to be careful" Mint states. "We can keep an eye on her for now."
Mint and Estelle clean up to prepare for round 2 for vice president. Crescent wishes them luck, and she watches from the stands with Ice.
Mint moves fast, and when he merges the scroll with no issues, Estelle and Hatsumi slap him on the back. Being a dualbender was always advantageous among trialbenders. Hatsumi and Estelle rush to treasurer, and when Estelle wins, Hatsumi slaps her back by winning secretary. Everyone had swapped titles. It was just up to whether or not Crescent could take the title of champion or rank higher than Ice. Ice smiles at her softly, and she nods.
-(☆)-
Crescent dodges all of Kenma's attacks, and she skillfully lands a hit on his waist. Pressure point one as Kenma called it. Kenma staggers a bit. She had just blocked his earthbending. Kenma lands a hit near her head, but she narrowly avoids it. Her hands move fast, and she traps Kenma in water. He burns at the ice, and she hits pressure point two. His earthbending was trapped. Kenma sends a whirlwind in her direction, and she sends one back his way. Mizu watches on the side, and he makes a mental note to remind Crescent that Aaron is capable of firebending and waterbending. Crescent pants, and she falls from exhaustion.
Mizu sends her into the water, and he starts healing the girl. Kenma pants, and Mizu reverses his pressure points. Kenma moves, and he tries out all his bending. Kenma lets the girl nap for awhile.
"Do you think she'll win?" Mizu mumbles.
"She has the persistence. She could do it. From what you've told me about Adam, we know that she'll have the upper hand once she masters firebending" Kenma smiles softly.
When Crescent wakes up, she's energized. Kenma trains her fire again, and she grabs control of it easily. Her first opponent tomorrow would be Crécelle. A hard opponent, and if she managed to make it to the next round, she would be fighting either Estelle or Astaria. She sighs, and when she masters the fire, Kenma teaches her flight. She tries and she succeeds in an hour. Crescent sighs when she gets home. Her parents draw a bath for her, and she sinks in gratefully.
Her parents recall their times. Bending hadn't been so strong and hard, and they had just been having fun. The education in bending at the school was now to make them efficient workers. Crescent had been lucky to not have earthbending. Her dad smiles softly and assures her mom that she would be ok. She was strong, and she was going to bring the change they couldn't.