When I stepped out, everyone was properly dressed.
"I don't know what they intend by dressing me like this..." Henrique wore black leather pants, and as a top, he only had a fur cape fastened by a cord, leaving most of his torso exposed. The black boots seemed to elongate his legs even further. He was completely uncomfortable; although he had a good figure, he kept pulling the coat to cover as much skin as possible. I was thankful for that.
"Quirky," Clarisse said, laughing at his posture. "Has anyone seen if my cousin left? I'm slightly curious to know how she managed to hide the knife she stole from the ceremony now that we're here." She was referring to Sabrina; she only called her "cousin" when they were arguing. It was an ironic way of celebrating the cherished kinship from childhood, now almost completely forgotten.
"She'll find a way," I replied, and Clarisse shrugged.
Hugo approached, observing the young man's posture:
"I believe that even if D'haime doesn't give you the best of situations, it'll still be better than what you have. Besides, it's not so bad; the drool at the corner of Catarina's mouth is proof of that." The others laughed, and I blushed, shooting an indignant look at Hugo. He ignored me while adjusting the brown fur on the young man's left shoulder, leaving the other part completely exposed, albeit reluctantly. "If they want to see a little skin, show it! You know what your problem is? You're all too stupid to understand why you come here. Isn't that right? Or maybe it's the winter; are you cold?"
Hugo leaned against his bare shoulder, laughing. What was he so insufferable about? I wondered. I distanced myself from them after Henrique pushed the young man's arm away with a look that Hugo knew well and respected, despite everything. So far, Henrique was the only one who had retaliated against Hugo's abuses in the village and come out on top in the fight, but in return, he had an unwanted target on his back. While Clarisse calmed him down, I distracted Hugo. He was right; I was drooling, and I thought no one would notice that. Now I'll wait for him to forget this so I can face him normally again.
Tales shot me a malicious look, which I returned as I went to look for Sabrina to see what had shocked her so much about her outfit. But she hadn't left the closet yet, which worried me a lot and made me go to the spot to check if she was okay.
"What I really want to know today is if anyone here is brave enough to face someone who understands why they came here," I heard Hugo say as he walked toward Sabrina's closet. I didn't notice his approach; I could only see him when he stepped in front of me. "And I warn the girls," he said, looking into my eyes, "that if they're smart, they should make an extra effort beyond fighting in the arenas to avoid being so hurt. Isn't it better to negotiate and exchange a few punches for some caresses? Here, they don't usually spare anyone, but with the right conversation, you don't even need to prepare for battles." His insinuation was disgusting, and apparently, he didn't want to get out of my way.
"And who said we haven't prepared enough?" I replied without looking away. He exhaled warm, fresh breath on my face and left laughing.
"Nothing like D'haime to lift everyone's spirits, right?" Bernardo said, stealing my attention from the countless descriptions of one of his victories in D'haime.
"True, we don't even seem to have lost so many of our..."
"My mother always says that moving forward without learning from the past is repeating the mistake..."
"My grandmother would say the same thing." He furrowed his brow.
"Your mother?" he asked gently.
"She died when I was a child, and my father before I was born, so, well, I guess my grandmother developed what they would say quite well." I chuckled weakly to dispel the tension that would settle in.
"Did they die while hunting?" he asked. I stared at him for a moment; it was strange to hear that question. Most people I told became so embarrassed that they resigned themselves to the only information they obtained.
"Where I live, we're not captive to just one risk of death," I replied weakly, and he chuckled, doing the same.
"But were those the only cases with that cause?" he asked.
"Bernardo! Leave Catarina alone! I have some much better girls to introduce you to! Come here! Unless she's following my advice, then I think she should stay," Hugo shouted, and the young man laughed, but now he seemed slightly embarrassed. After all, Hugo knew how to embarrass people.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to get something from my closet." I looked at Hugo, smiled disgustingly, turned my back, and went to my closet, where I picked up a silver spear. Given Hugo's teasing, I might need more presence to confront him if necessary. Still inside, I could hear from outside when Gregorio arrived, stealing poor Hugo's attention.
"Each of you will go in a different direction, specially designated by the primary icons. From your clothes, you can imagine who your mentor is... if you stand out among the others already there, you'll be the new pupils of that selector." It wouldn't be so difficult if I didn't run the risk of being publicly humiliated in the circuit. The circuit belonged to Esme, better known as the champion. It wasn't clear what she was the champion of, but the various physical and mental challenges in the circuit showed how unattainable her level was for me. I believe Henrique would switch with me without any problems; after all, he would be sent to a kind of party where the only thing he had to show was charm. But I wouldn't ask him for that now.
Sometimes I thought the selectors wanted to destroy our chances. Every time they decided to choose new pupils, they set a criterion that most of us don't fit, and it frustrates me! It makes me more anxious and anguished than usual.
I grabbed the spear and tried to leave without success; I knocked on the door, but no one looked or heard my cries. Great, they were more focused on following the instructions. Icons don't like people who hesitate, Tales used to say. The only person left was Sabrina, who was in an outfit that appeared mirrored, with a helmet in the same shade in her hand, and two retractable swords on a belt. Gregorio was talking to her, and I could see from her expression that she was holding back tears, miserably trying not to appear shaken. He opened two portals and entered one, leaving the girl alone.
When my door opened, she had already put on the helmet and quickly entered the portal. On instinct, or stupidity, I followed her, and when I emerged from all that purple smoke, my legs were weak enough to make me fall to my knees.