"Hey. You need to stop or you will get into trouble."
Rockie stood behind watching Blue hit the shield continuously with a plank wood he had no idea where she had gotten it from.
Every hit caused the shield to vibrate and a blue-whitish tint appeared on every spot it was hurt. He looked really worried for her and only wished she could listen.
"Blue!" he called out.
"Just f*ck off!" She yelled,
"I know how this feels." He said,
"You know nothing! I can't be here. You were there, I am not wanted here, the silver hair dude just made me a f*king target!" she vented.
"Well, you use the F word quite a lot. You could get suspended for that but I won't tell, now could you just stop—hitting— the shield? Can't you see you are hurting it?" He asked her.
"It's just a damn shield, okay! Why won't it break? Just break!!" She yelled at the shield while hitting it one more time.
"It won't break, at least not that way." He told her.
She stopped, catching her breath.
"How then? You better start talking before I get something much much bigger." She threatened.
He became reluctant to speak and it pissed her off.
"Arrrrghh!!!" She voiced out in frustration and lifted the wood one more time.
"Just— stop!" He got in front and had his back against the shield. She hit him, it couldn't be averted.
She found herself swept away on the dry leaves that lay on the ground. They made a sort of crunching sound as she did.
"Oh, my God." She voiced and breathed at the same time once she realized she just might have killed someone.
She rushed up and headed back to the shield.
"Rockie! Rockie!" She called out while running.
She found no one where she had left him and now she turned only to find a pretty large rock shaped into the form of a man.
Everything had happened so fast that she couldn't tell what caused her to fall or sweep off, if she hit him, or if it was all in her head.
"Rockie?" She called out in confusion as she marveled at the sight of what was before her.
He ran behind a bush which caused the trees and the earth to shake. She became unsteady trying to maintain balance.
"If you could just— pass me my backpack over there," he said,
She could see him bare from head to the chest once what seemed to be like an earthquake had stopped and understood why he needed the backpack.
"So— you like always go around with one of these for every time you go rocky?" She asked while approaching him with the blue-colored backpack she had picked from the ground.
"Don't come too close." He said, bothered that she would see him in full view.
"Oh. Sorry. Have it then." She said, handing it over with her face turned to the other side.
"Thank you." He replied, collecting it and assuming a squat position.
"And yes, I always go around with one of these. Never know when turning into a pile of rocks could come in handy and I wouldn't want to locate my room all bare, you see," he said,
"Yeah, I see." She replied walking farther away from the bush.
"Why won't it break?" She asked in an exhausted tone.
"It's not glass." He replied,
"It looks like one." She said,
"But it isn't." He replied, stepping out.
"That was quick." She turned to him.
"I had to learn to be in case of an emergency." He said, heaving a sigh afterward.
She rolled her eyes sideways and folded her lips inwards in her mouth while taking her eyes from him to the shield.
"This shield is the sacrifice of the ones before us," he told her.
"What does that mean?" She inquired with raised brows.
"It wasn't always here. This place was once—vulnerable to attacks from many enemies.
Years ago, enemies tried to take over this land for their selfish interests and the elders and higher specials gave up their lives by sacrificing their powers, fusing it to create this shield to protect the remnants and the specials to come.
So when you hurt this, you hurt their spirits." He said, placing his hand on the shield softly.
"That's… Sad. Why? Why would anyone be willing to lose their own life for people they don't even know?" She questioned in a tone that revealed she was about to break down in tears.
"Love."
Madam Claris responded as she appeared from one of her portals with a straight face.
"Look, I am sorry for trying to hurt the spirits of your ancestors but— I can't be here. The one you all call master doesn't like me.
The way he introduced me there was like telling a bunch of hungry people that he has a chicken on his farm that should not be touched.
They will come for me, and what do I have to defend myself? Fists that don't bring fire and a mouth that doesn't breathe ice?" she said,
"What you do not seem to realize is Master Edric happens to be the only one at the table wanting you here.
With you he sees hope." Madam Claris told her.
"Hope? For what?" Blue inquired.
"For a world where both human and special humans can live in harmony." She replied.
"That is not possible. You told him that right?" Blue asked her with a mocking look on her face,
"I don't get you. How is it not possible?" Rockie asked her,
"What do you mean how? A world with humans and special humans like the ones you have here? Partly, we are all humans and every human has good and evil inside of them.
Now being a special human only makes matters much worse. Considering our nature, we will hate, be angry, and feel pain and when all of this comes to play, we only think of one thing— revenge.
Humans think of revenge in so many ways but when a special human does think the same, who knows what to expect?" Blue told them.
"Which is why this school, this place is set on grooming, not just the individual but the mind of that individual towards being at peace with themselves." Madam Claris said,
"And how many individuals do you think will adapt to that ideology?" Blue asked, walking up to Madam Claris with focused eyes.
"As many as we can." She answered.
"Is that the fallacy you choose to hold on to? You were there! They only expressed their hate for my kind! Tie me to a stake and see what they do to me." She told her and then walked away.
"We all carry pain. Even you." Madam Claris said,
"Which is the reason behind your desperation to leave," Rockie added,
"It's not that you don't like here, you just don't— like us," he said,
"There is every possibility according to your Master Edric that my parents could have been killed for saving your kind!
They — are dead! Because of you! That is my pain, yes! And I would very much like to grieve outside the premises of the same people they died for." She said, picking up the plank wood.
"Or they could be selling our kind to the highest bidders. Or worse, using us for experiments, or using us for freak shows.
Until your parents' innocence is proven, you will remain within this premise. Trying to escape only sends the wrong message or maybe the right one." Madam Claris added,
She began opening a portal.
"You two, get in." She ordered,
"Me too?" Rockie inquired,
"Yes, you too. You seem to love her company so much so yes, I thought to myself, you could also enjoy sharing in her punishment." She answered him.
"I am not going anywhere, don't get ahead of yourself, Queen portals," Blue told her.
Madam Claris shut her eyes for a while and once she opened them, Blue could only find herself moving towards the portal as well as her companion.
"What? Let me— go, Witch!" She struggled but to no avail. The portal only got closer and closer to her eyes till she found herself sinking inside of it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
"It's—so quiet."
Blue voiced while walking towards the one window that was in the room they found themselves.
Rockie was all quiet in a corner and on the floor, he sat.
"I have been here before," he said,
"Why?" She turned to him.
"My first days here. I was out of control. They bring you here to learn control and calm." He said,
"This is torture and no one should have that right over another." She said in a defensive tone.
"It helps. It helped." He said,
She heaved a sigh before taking a seat on the bed.
"So what happens when you all get to graduate from Callans academy?" She asked in a spiteful tone.
"Then you are free to live in the Ark." He answered her.
"I thought the school was the ark." She turned towards him,
"No. The school is the school, the Ark is somewhere I would have loved to show you but can't anymore because you just got us sent to the 'behave room'. Are you always going to be this much trouble?" he asked her,
She found his words funny and a smile forced its way onto her face.
"You smile." he sounded delighted.
"Of course, I smile. I am not some bitter witch opening portals to prisons." She said,
They laughed.
"I tried my best to not let her notice how severely I was trying to not burst out in steamy laughter when you called her Queen portals." He said,
They laughed again.
"I'm sorry — by the way," he added with apologetic eyes.
"For what?" she inquired in surprise.
"I didn't mean to push you— back there," he said,
"Oh, it was you. I was beginning to think I was losing my mind. Thank you for telling me this and don't apologize. You were only—trying to stop me and — it happened." she told him.
"She isn't a terrible person you know," he said,
"Who?" Blue inquired.
"Madam Claris. She—just loves order and sanity," he responded.
"Oh." Blue voiced, adjusting herself on the bed to properly look at him.
"She had a daughter once. A sweet girl, I heard. Named her Angel but she passed. Heard she had powers she couldn't control and it drove her — insane. She killed herself before her mom came home." he told her.
"Wow… That's… Awful." Blue voiced,
"Exactly what I said when I heard it and I didn't know how to react when I heard the other part," he told her.
"What other part?" She got curious.
"She killed her dad and baby sister before killing herself." He told her.
Nothing triggers the heart as much as bad news and on hearing this one, she couldn't help but feel bad.
Remembering the words she had said to her earlier on, she had no idea she had such a story.
Her eyes flickered away from Rockie and then to the wall. She felt—disappointed in herself and wished she could take all those words back.
"I didn't —know." She voiced out.
"Yes. We all carry pain." He said, seeing how remorseful she was.
"Just try. Try to blend. Try to prove to everyone here that you are different. Give us a reason to trust in humans again." He said to her,
She was silent. All his words sank in and felt like what she needed to hear.
She smiled at him.
"Can we start with I love your brown curly hair?" She said,
"Oh, this?" He touched his hair.
"I love it too. Oh, sorry, I mean, thank you. It's—nice of you to say." He said,
"And I like your eyes. They are— rare." He added,
"Thanks, I got them from my Mom." She said,
"She must have been really pretty." He told her.
"Yup, she was." She said in a sad tone.
"So can we be— friends now?" He asked her.
"I think I like you so yeah, we can be friends." She replied to him with a smile.
"Like, you like me?" He got excited.
"Oh, no, no. Not that way, gross. " She responded.