Ember's aircraft rolled out of his garage, his hands gripping the yoke as the plane slowly made its way to the group of three. They seemed to be chatting but Ember couldn't make out their words, though it seemed to just be casual friendly banter. The night sky had darkened by this time, stars glittering across the sky as deep blues and violets of the beyond filled the endless expanse of space. No clouds would bother to interfere from space's mysterious beauty, nor was there any wind to mess with the quiet sky's tranquility.
Ember stopped once he was beside Enzo's plane, Theodore as well as the fourth mystery man glancing over.
"Why'd you make it a bug?" The fourth man asked.
"Its a wasp, thats why he calls it Hornet" Enzo corrected.
"Still a bug..."
"Why do you care?" Enzo frowned.
"I dunno, I'd make mine something cool, like an eagle!"
"Eagles aren't capable of the same manueverability. If you can make levers that pull the wings in the same way a wasp's muscles would, it gives you more range in flight." Ember chimed in.
The fourth pilot blinked, a beat of silence going by as him and Theodore shared a glance.
"Yeah but wasps aren't cool! They're annoying."
"Then you should love them." Ember replied snarkily, rolling his eyes as he leaned back into the seat of his plane.
Enzo snorted, causing the insulted man to shoot him a glare, the man's blonde pompadour not budging against the strength of his hairspray.
"What Alec? I told you he's snappy."
"I'm not snappy!" Ember pouted, looking away as he crossed his arms.
Enzo frowned, feeling both of the boys turn on him in a matter of seconds.
"How'd I become the bad guy here?"
Theodore smirked, entertained by Enzo's innocent confusion, but more so Ember's burning temper.
"Is Ember always so sensitive? I don't imagine him lasting long with the emotional intelligence of a child." Theodore remarked, relishing in the opportunity to push Ember further. Ember could sense this, assuming that Theodore was simply ruffling his feathers to catch him off guard before their little game.
"Are your friends always assholes, Enzo?" Ember flatly fired back, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand.
"Only when we have to work with pilots who got in through a sob story." Theodore crossed his arms.
"Hey! That is not true! I watched Ember work harder than anyone else I know. He earned his place here." Enzo cut in, glaring at Theodore as Alec snickered.
"You are totally right Theo, Enzo is in love!" Alec teased.
"Oh, is that why you two are being difficult? It takes a pea brain to realize that." Ember replied with a chuckle, causing all three boys to laugh at Enzo's expense.
Enzo's face would heat up, pouting as he crossed his arms.
"Ha ha, very funny." Enzo grumbled, though soon smirking as he focused his gaze on Ember.
"If only they knew who got to kiss you in your garage last night"
Ember became as red as a clown's nose, growling.
"Shut up Enzo! Jesus Christ, can we please just get on with it? I came here to have a flying contest, not a dick waving one." He complained.
"Fine, fine. Here's how it works." Enzo spoke, reaching into his plane with a smile before lifting up what appeared to be a machine gun.
"Yo, what the hell man! You didn't steal those from base, did you? My dad would kill me!" Alec exclaimed.
"Yeah well, he would dishonorably discharge all of us, so get over it." Theodore corrected, taking one of the machine guns that Enzo began to pass to everyone.
"Guys, I didn't even steal them. They're pellet guns that I replaced with ink." Enzo explained, cocking the gun open to reveal soft black pellets inside.
"They'll still sting like a bitch, though."
Enzo winked at Ember as he said this, passing one of the guns to the still annoyed pilot. Ember stared at the weapon, examining the cheap matte black paint that lathered the lightweight gun.
"All right, here's how this works rookie." Enzo enlarged his voice, the three around him focusing their attention on the large man.
"We are going to have approximately one minute to drive our planes to their desired spots. From there, we are going to engage in a free for all, the goal being to ink your opponent's body. If you get inked, you're out. Last man standing wins. Simple enough, right?" Enzo grinned, allowing a breath of silence to settle.
"Though, I'd highly advise not getting hit. The ink tends to... stain." He chuckled, looking to the group for the their reaction.
Ember's eyes widened slightly, reaching the gun out to give it back to Enzo and shaking his head.
"Hell no, if Leech sees any of us covered in that shit, we'll be finished!"
"Thats why if you get hit, you lie and say you got pranked." Theodore chimed in, resting a hand on his waist as he examined his own gun. His gaze then focused on Ember, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Unless you're scared?"
"Oh shut it curly," Ember snapped back, his eyes sharpening onto Theodore. He was beginning to grow tired of the snow haired man's arrogance.
"Fine, if you wanna get inked so badly, be my guest." The rookie decided, giving in to the idea. After all, the last thing Ember wanted to be seen as was a coward.
Theodore scoffed, raising his gun at Ember as he turned. Enzo was quick to intervene, reaching his hand to cover the barrel and lower it, minimizing the other's chances in actually landing a shot on Ember.
"Don't be a dick, Theo." Enzo muttered in a harsh whisper, knowing all too well how both these boy's tempers would clash if things escalated.
Theodore huffed, turning on his heel to make his way to his plane. Alec watched the two, glancing both ways before chuckling and facing Enzo.
"Those two could be brothers or something." He mused before making his way to his plane as well.
Ember sat in the driver's seat of his aircraft, observing his three competitor's airplanes absentmindedly. He recognized Enzo's sharp, black design which always gave the plane a sleeker style then Embers own plane. The wings were long, extending in a forty five degree angle to the length of the craft's body. Two zagged, neon red lines could be seen highlighting across the plane's sides. Ember did admire Enzo's craftsmanship, the plane's larger size making it an intimidating obstacle against the other three competitors. Especially with the sky matching the black craft's dark hue.
Enzo climbed into the plane, sitting in the seat within and slipping on round lense'd sunglasses, finished with a blood red tint. He turned his head, catching Ember's gaze and giving him a toothy smile.
"You better be careful out there! I don't want that cute face of yours all smudged up before I take you out tonight!" Enzo called out.
Ember's eyes widened slightly, only for them to dart away as his cheeks turned red.
"Take me out? For what?" Ember asked, eyes watching his fellow pilot.
"To celebrate you becoming one of us!"
"And you thought that'd be a good idea to do after we shoot eachother with stainable ink?"
"Oh don't worry handsome, it'll be private. I'm not as much of a meathead as you think." Enzo grinned, lowering his head to get a better look at Ember without his glasses casting the pilot in red, then winking at him.
Ember smiled a little, biting his inner cheek as he looked back ahead, revving his engine. Enzo looked ahead as well, a proud smirk on his lips over the fact that he triggered a rare grin from the boy.
"Alright everyone! At the count of three!" Enzo called out, pulling one of a handful of levers across his interface, causing the motor to rumble.