The day dawned, the base early in the morning was already full of movement, humans came and went, some of them had bestial features. There were people with limbs that resemble insects, mammals and birds, in addition to having many humans without these characteristics. The mix between species created a very unique and fanciful environment.
In one of the dormitories in this settlement, three young people have just woken up. From their expressions, you can see how anxious they were. Ace, the tall young man, said after yawning:
"I'm dying to see what training is like, it sucks that I'm on the construction team, but I still want to see what it's like. Good luck to you on the 'exploration' team, you shits!" He emphasized the word exploration in a mocking tone.
The other two young men didn't even dare to answer, the girl was used to it, while Lucas, the last one in the room, didn't want to talk right now. He was looking forward, not to training, but to last night's conversation. He knew of the possibility that he was just delusional, but throughout his sleep he felt sick, barely able to sleep properly. However, this feeling passed soon after waking up.
He didn't forget that feeling, in fact, it only intensified his suspicions, but since he didn't have solid evidence, he just left the matter in his mind. He told Ace:
"Ace, can you go shower first? You are the fastest."
Ruby added:
"True, but it looks like he doesn't even take a shower. Haha." Her laughter was like water in the desert, it cheered everyone's hearts. Even though Ace got mad at her, the smile dispelled that feeling. He went to take a shower, leaving Lucas and Ruby alone.
Lucas turned and started to straighten his bed, Ruby following his lead. As she straightened up he said:
"Did you sleep poorly at night too?"
"Yes you too?" Ruby was surprised by the question.
"Don't you think it's weird?"
"Lucas, we finally had a bed to sleep in after a few weeks, I was used to sleeping in the car, going back to sleep in a bed was comforting, but I have to readjust. It's the same with you, stop putting dirt where there isn't any." The girl spoke as she finished making her bed.
"You must be right." He also finished arranging his bed and accepted her explanation.
…
After everyone had bathed and had breakfast, they looked for Gloria to find out where they should go. She had an assistant take them to the training ground. The assistant had no animal characteristics, it was 'normal'.
During the journey to the training area, Lucas paid attention to the faces of each one. Coincidentally or not, he didn't see any irritated or unpleasant expressions. He couldn't get the subject out of his head no matter how hard he tried.
Fortunately, taking their concentration off that subject, they arrived at a huge space of about 200 square meters, where there were four futsal courts forming a perfect square with two courts 'above' and two 'below'. Instead of having players chasing a ball, each court had 2-3 pairs fighting each other. There were also 2 people walking around the courts, analyzing and arguing about each pair.
The trio of youths, along with the assistant entered the training area, some lights and sparks flew towards them, but did no harm. The assistant stopped and said:
"We're here, see those two over there? So they are responsible for the training. The guy with the short black hair is Roberto, and the one with wings on his back is Matheus, we call him Asa, so we don't confuse him with someone else. Good luck to you guys, I'm taking Ace to the construction shed. Until later." He pointed to the two trainers in the distance and then accompanied Ace to the construction department. Lucas and Ruby then headed towards the coaches, circling the courts so as not to be hit by the fight.
When Ace saw them walk towards the trainers, he internally cursed them for their good luck. However, he raised his head and said to himself:
'It doesn't matter, I'll be the best wherever I go!'
Getting closer to the trainers, they could see their characteristics better. Roberto's hands were completely black, darkness was spreading over his forearms, but not all of it. His height didn't reach 1.70 meters, but he had an innate leadership posture, as well as having very visible muscles and white skin, making a nice contrast between his hands and body.
As for Asa, it was very easy to spot him in a crowd. Its large white, plumed wings were 3 meters in span and 1 meter when retracted. He was an average height, about six feet, tanned skin, his hair was brown and his muscles were also very noticeable even wearing a long sleeved shirt.
The young people approached and Ruby introduced herself first:
"Good morning, we are the new recruits for the exploration team, my name is Ruby and he is Lucas. Nice to meet them!" His friendly demeanor and handsome appearance broke any hard heart. However, that was not the case this time. Asa and Roberto didn't even turn around, Asa just replied:
"Okay, wait next door. When one of the pairs is gone, you go in and fight." Her tone was neither rude nor rude, there was just indifference.
Lucas was very surprised by the coach's reaction, but it was Ruby who was most surprised. She wasn't used to being treated that way, more specifically being treated that way by men. Then Lucas pulled her lightly by the arm to step back and wait for one of the pairs to finish their training.
Lucas noticed her astonished state and tried to change the subject by whispering to the girl:
"It's the first time we're going to fight, are you afraid?" He had a teasing smile on his face as he spoke.
"Humph, do you think you're the only one training at night? Don't think you can beat me." She huffed in anger, still hadn't swallowed the trainers' indifference and only got worse when she was provoked.
"Ohh, I'm so scared. Hehe." Lucas didn't care about that.
He took the time to watch the other fights. On the court in front of him, two women were fighting. One of them was black with long white hair, tall and with a body of 'perfect' proportions. She did not have any visible mutations other than her hair, her height was average, about 1.70 meters. She held an iron rod 2 meters long, used it deftly to deliver precise blows to her opponent. Lucas was delighted with her appearance, he even took a second look at Ruby as if comparing something.
The other woman was a brunette with half her hair cut short, dyed blonde, shaved. Her height reached almost 6 feet and her defined muscles along with her revealing clothing gave her a seductive aura for both men and women. She had some feline features, like furry ears, a tail at the end of her back, and giant fingernails on her hands, which she used as a weapon.
Looking from outside the arena, it looked like an experienced warrior was training a newcomer. Because whenever the black woman tried to hit her opponent with the iron rod, she deflected and cut with her claws, but fortunately, at the ends of each claw there was a small gelatinous mass that prevented these nails from piercing the skin of her victim.
The fight continued for a few more minutes before it ended, the black woman with the iron rod immediately fell to the ground, she was panting heavily, her glistening sweat reflecting the morning sun. Lucas's face flushed when he saw this scene. This time Ruby was paying attention to the fight and noticed her friend status.
As if the indifference from before wasn't enough, she still saw it. With a loud voice and quick steps she said:
"Come on, it's our turn! I'll make sure you pray we don't fight again!"