•Azure•

"How is this possible?" Cerise huffed in discontentment, as we approached the clear doors of Freemount High.

Her amber irises were clouded, as she attempted to sort through the information we'd collected. "First the Umbra didn't show up for days, then they attacked with a battalion, and now they've just disappeared like they were never here!"

"I don't know," I replied, unable to offer any sort of answer. I was sure my expression echoed her vexed one.

We'd sort of put the Umbra situation to the side while training Blaine this week, but in between we were able to address it as a major cause for concern. We'd planned and prepped for an attack everyday. Discussing what to do if Blaine was with us and if he wasn't, how to protect the people he might be around, and how to ensure no one would be exposed to our magic.

But all of our planning appeared to be in vain. The Umbra hadn't made any moves since we started training Blaine.

We'd just finished patrolling the perimeter of the school. After finding no trace of the Umbra, we decided to check the forest clearing where we last encountered them. To our surprise, there was absolutely zero fresh activity there. The only essence we could pick up on, was the stale scent of Umbra from the initial attack.

We'd lit that clearing up with our essence, the fact that no Umbra had even passed through it since then was strange.

I grabbed the handle to one of the glass doors to the school, pulling it open. My eyes briefly scanned the outside area as Cerise crossed the threshold before I followed her inside.

The door shut softly behind us, and we were met with the loud bustling atmosphere of high school.

People were mulling about in the halls, socializing and loitering by their lockers. For once, the familiar feeling of eyes on the two of us didn't draw my curiosity. My mind was fixated on the Umbra's peculiar behavior.

We moved past the crowd of students, heading deeper into the school and towards Blaine's next class.

"How could all the Umbra suddenly disappear again?" Cerise questioned her gaze darting to me, "If the whole fleet is here, they should be following our essence like blind mice sniffing out cheese."

"Maybe the whole fleet isn't here," I offered, glancing down at her, "Maybe we took out the majority already."

Even as I said it, the notion felt unlikely. Battalions didn't usually attack without the support of a fleet, and it seemed evident that there was a fleet behind them.

This whole thing was off and while it was nice to train Blaine without them attacking, there had to be a reason why they weren't.

Umbra weren't intelligent creatures. They operated based on numbers. The higher their numbers the more aggressive they acted, and they usually hunted us as soon as they picked up our trace. There was no strategy behind it.

We should be fending off attacks daily. Why they hadn't attacked since the initial onslaught was a mystery.

But truthfully, nothing that had taken place regarding the Umbra here on Earth was normal.

"We should consult our superiors on the matter," Cerise stated firmly. "This is now something that requires outward resources."

"I agree," I nodded, "During the lunch period we should contact them."

It seemed we'd be spending more time on Earth anyway. Our bosses needed to know of this abnormality.

There was one more class prior to lunch. We could guard Blaine for the next hour, before taking turns to speak with our superiors.

Unfortunately, that meant sitting in class. Guarding Blaine in his class was a bit overkill. However as 'students' we had to play by the rules laid out here. Cerise and I had constructed a rough back story for the school's faculty. It turned out getting into a public school wasn't all that difficult, but some kind of appearance was necessary to keep questions from arising.

All of this human activity, was making it hard to check in with my boss. With how often I was around Cerise these days, and the busyness of our schedules, it was proving difficult to stay in consistent contact with Vienna. I needed to update her on Blaine's progress, as well as the Umbra's mysterious disappearance-

"Wait," Cerise stopped walking suddenly.

Her whole body seemed to perk up, as her eyes shifted back towards the front of the school.

"I sense something..." she trailed off, turning her head as she extended her senses. Her eyes fluttered closed after a moment, and her brows furrowed.

I let my hearing stretch beyond the halls and to the outside of the school. I trailed through the various different sound waves:

Feet shuffling-

A door opening-

Gossip in the girl's bathroom-

Small talk in the front office-

A group of students smoking marijuana at a shed outside the school-

Finally...

"The Umbra are here," Cerise muttered, eyes shooting open to reveal an intense shade of amber.

"I can hear them," I said, focusing on their distinct sounds.

Umbra made low, almost grotesque noises. From far away it sounded like a deep hum- and I could hear that hum loud and clear.

"Did they follow us?" She questioned, "Where had they been hiding and why come after us now?"

"I don't know, but we need to stop them before they find an entrance into the building," I whispered to her.

"I got their location," she replied, "They're outside the gym."

"Let's go."

We quickly made our way to a quieter hallway that was out of people's view. We both then expedited the rest of the way, maneuvering past the sea of people and into different corridors to get away from the masses. We headed towards the gym and fortunately minimal students resided there. We stopped right next to a glass case filled with shiny gold trophies.

The gym itself was not currently being used for P.E. classes or any sort of activity. The school was renovating after the football stadium 'malfunctioned' due to Cerise's manipulation. During school hours they didn't do reconstruction to avoid a loud learning environment- leaving it completely empty and void of people during the day.

I could feel Cerise smirking next to me.

"Well good thing the gym is not currently being used." She crossed her arms, a satisfied gleam in her eye.

I rolled my eyes and began to walk towards the gym entrance. I grasped the metal handle and pulled the door open, allowing Cerise to walk in first.

"I'm never going to agree that putting people in harms way is ok as long as it offers some sort of benefit."

Cerise shrugged, "Your loss."

And I was fine with that.

I followed Cerise into the gym closing the door behind us. The sound echoed softly, before silence swallowed up the faint noise.

We began to walk cautiously into the gym, which held an entrance to the outside of the school.

The space was dark. The only light provided came from the small windows near the ceiling. Golden sunlight came down through them in small rays. The gym was quite large, easily fitting all the construction equipment. Layers of saw dust rested on the floor, growing in mass near the walls. There were small piles of rubble near certain marked parts of the gym as well. I used my foot to slide a small brick out of the way, and continued into the center of the gym.

Cerise and I stepped out onto the large court. The sound of our footsteps echoed around the empty space. The sound bounced off the walls and back to our feet, encircling us.

"What are you picking up?" Cerise asked as we came to a stop in the center.

"Um," I took a moment to trace through the dark essence present. "Four, maybe five Umbra. It seems like it's just a party."

It didn't seem like there were too many Umbra- a party or maybe a squadron at most. I could probably deal with them myself, and Cerise could go guard Blaine. The Umbra could realize he's here. I didn't want to take a chance and leave him alone if we didn't have too.

Cerise shook her head in disagreement, "I think there might be more than that."

I listened to the movement of the Umbra. They began to inch closer to the entrance near us, the humming was turning into distinct pained grunts.

"They're close," Cerise stated looking to me, "We should head outside."

"Wait," I put my hand on Cerise's shoulder to stop her from dashing out of the gym.

"Wait for what?" She asked, unable to hide her annoyance.

"I'll go," I said, "Alone."

Cerise's expression went from annoyed to confused- her brows knitting together. "Why?"

"One of us should stay with Blaine and make sure he's ok. I can take on a party of Umbra." 

"What if it's a squadron?"

"I'd rather not leave Blaine unattended. So you should stay with him, and I'll get rid of the Umbra."

Cerise let out a frustrated sigh. "Azure I get it, you like to be all heroic and selfless-

"That's not what this is about. It's just one party."

"We don't know that!" Cerise stated pointedly, "We should just take them out together, however many there are, and be done with it."

"That's not necessary," I reiterated, "There's no need for us both to fight them. I'll get rid of the Umbra and you can give Blaine protection. It's the best use of our combined resources."

"It sounds to me like we're spreading ourselves too thin," Cerise retorted sharply. 

I couldn't help but sigh, "Can you not argue with me for one moment?"

"Can you consider a different strategy that's not your own?"

"I don't see the point of us both fighting when only one of us is required to defeat them."

"And I'm pointing out that you're not considering the fact that we don't know how many there are exactly! It might require us both!" Cerise's eyes were narrowing with a stinging annoyance. She was getting angrier by the minute, no doubt feelings from our past arguments were resurfacing. I realized we were approaching dangerous territory.

"Cerise, calm down," I advised gently, "You can't enter a battle like this."

"Who's going to stop me?" She scoffed.

"I will," I stated seriously, "If I have too."

She shook her head, a bitter smirk tugging at her mouth, "And you'd be a fool to waste your energy on me when there's Umbra present."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "I'm not letting you be so reckless."

"That's not your decision."

"What do you think an alliance entails?"

"I don't know, compromise!" She seethed, "Certainly not you bossing me around."

"Cerise, all I'm saying is that the state of your emotions will affect your combat."

"Please don't go into another lecture." She groaned, her eyes rolling to the ceiling and back.

"Look, you have to be in a good frame of mind before entering a battle. I know Lunars engage in anger as a tool, but negative emotions could make you more aggressive or sloppy when defending-"

"Oh would you shut up!" She yelled.

I turned to see that her annoyance level had reached its brink. Her eyes glistened in anger, while flashing in frustration. I could tell she was gritting her teeth by the way her jaw stiffened.

I didn't know what she was thinking, but from the look on her face I could tell it was nothing good.

"Cerise I'm just trying to-"

"No!" She pointed a finger at me, indicating for me to be quiet.

"It's my turn," She stated, "Stop trying to impose your values on me. I do not commit the same actions as you and I do not believe in the same things. I am done with the lectures and I am certainly done with you accusing my side of the war of being soulless monsters, or being cruel and ignorant!"

"I've never called you a monster," I stated.

"But you thought it," she whirled, "You think that about all the Lunars and don't you dare try to tell me you don't."

"When have I ever-"

"The other night, with your thorough analysis of my 'kind' being completely ruthless, manipulative beings with no souls."

"I told you that I thought you were different than the other Lunars," I defended.

"And I told you that was complete bullshit," Cerise crossed her arms, glaring at me intently. "You view all my actions that don't fit into your stereotype of what a Lunar is, as me being somehow morally better. You can't even consider that we're not like this cruel image in your head."

I didn't know what to say. To be honest I was at a loss for words. Of course I found the Lunars to be cruel: they were! That didn't mean I believed Cerise was all bad. I definitely didn't believe she was a monster.

"When you realized I cared for the people of Akai," she continued, "You were surprised that I had the heart to. You jumped to the conclusion that I should be fighting with the 'good' side, the 'noble' side, your side!"

"Fine. Yes, I'll admit that I didn't fully understand how much you cared for Akai's people. But that's not the only reason I believe you'd be a good fit as a Solar."

"You want to know what I believe about Solars?" She bit back lowly, her voice chilling despite the inferno in her orbs. I gathered this wasn't a question I was supposed to verbally answer.

Cerise's lips were pulled down into a scowl- her amber eyes flaring hotly. Every now and then her jaw seemed to tighten, anger pulsing through her.

"I think that you all are prideful, pompous asses!" She hissed accusingly, pointing a finger towards me. She began to step closer, the fury in her eyes becoming more and more out of control. "Solars are arrogant and self righteous fools that buy the lies Vienna feeds. Truthfully, I pity how blind you all are!"

I felt my blood start to boil the slightest bit. 

I'm the one who's blind?

"You believe in upholding honor and nobility that doesn't actually exist on your side."

Who was trying to kill Blaine when we first got here?

Cerise took another viper like step towards me, poking my chest repeatedly. "You are a puppet and you are naive, and you are delusional to think you are not!" 

As she pulled her finger back to poke me again, my hand shot out- grabbing her wrist. I lowered her hand and met her enraged amber orbs.

"You know, it's hard to take you seriously when you're clearly fueled by so much anger," I noted calmly.

I felt tense frustration stirring in me as I glared down at her. A scowl was still planted firmly on her face and her eyes were blazing, looking up at me.

Cerise scoffed, "You're an arrogant prick."

"And you're a hypocrite," I shot back, "I may have had preconceived notions about you, but you clearly have them for me too. Have you ever considered I'm not like your definition of a Solar?"

"No," she grit out instantly, "Because you're exactly who I thought you were."

"Really?" I challenged, "Nothing I've done since this truce has surprised you?"

"What," she sneered, "Do you want a medal for being able to admit when you're wrong?"

"What I want, is for you to recognize that we're not so different!"

"We're polar opposites!" She retorted, the words like verbal venom.

"Really? You don't want peace for Akai? Safety for our people? You're not willing to do whatever it takes to end this war?" I leaned in closer to her, bringing my voice to a low tone, "Admit it, we're more alike than you thought sweetness."

Cerise's entire expression hardened to steel, the only heat present was coming from her now molten amber irises.

"I hate you."

"I hate you too."

We stared each other down, like victory would come to the one who could pierce the other by their glare alone.

The tense heat seemed to crackle all around us, like an internal fire was taking place. The flames sparked violently- licking the taught air...

...and then simmered.

The heat remained, but it was now clouded by something that made warmth spread along my chest.

My nerves were suddenly aware of how close her body was to mine. The flames in her orbs danced.

I could feel the energy from her wading into me, sending prickles over my skin- all leading to one point of contact.

I still had my hand wrapped firmly around her wrist. It felt hot, like her touch burned and yet I felt zero inclination to let her go. In fact, I felt quite the opposite.

Cerise glanced down at my hand holding her's briefly, before her amber gaze flickered back to mine.

Her eyes had widened slightly as she seemed to register just how close we'd gotten too. There was a mere couple inches between us.

Her scowl had faded, but her intensity remained. I could see the golden flecks and slight brown to her irises. Her orbs were searching mine, uncertain but unwilling to ask any sort of question.

Then her lips parted like she might say something. My eyes dropped down to her mouth almost by some instinct.

Whatever she had been going to say was quickly snuffed out.

Her plump, pink lips shut and my mind was suddenly flooded with ways I could coarse them into parting once more.

That pull I felt earlier tripled in strength. I was overcome by the desire to taste her. To swoop down and press my lips to her's. To see if they were as soft as they looked or as sharp as her words.

My gaze wandered back to Cerise's eyes. I was surprised to see her attention had flickered down to my mouth.

I let myself drift closer to her, watching her watch me shrink the little distance left.

My gaze fell back to her full lips. I wanted to know what it would feel like to-

Riiiiiiiiing!

We sprung apart at the sound of the school bell signifying the start of the next period.

Cerise shook her head and inhaled a sharp breath. The sound ripped me out of my trance like stature.

She pulled away from me, and I let her hand slip from mine.

As if it were glass, the delicacy of the situation shattered. Reality came crashing down on the both of us and I took a step back from her as well. The air around us was heavy.

What was I doing? What just happened?

I blinked a couple times. The Umbra! We were supposed to be fighting the Umbra!

When I looked back at Cerise, she avoided my eyes.

She crossed her arms, the action almost seemed like some sort of shield to place in front of herself. She took another breath, and lifted her chin bringing her gaze to mine.

Her mouth was set in a thin line as she tried to replicate the previous resentment that she possessed before...whatever just took place.

However her eyes showed confusion, and a desperation to get out of this large gym that somehow felt way too small now.

Cerise began to back away from me.

"Go ahead Azure. Fight the Umbra," she muttered. "I won't follow."

She then turned on her heel and quickly walked out of the gym.

Just as I opened my mouth to call her back, she expedited away: leaving me alone. I found myself looking after her in a stupor.

I had wanted to kiss her. But where had that come from?

I let out a sigh and tried to regain some focus. I was about to fight Umbra. I needed to concentrate.

Still, as I walked out of the gym entrance to the outside- the image of Cerise's eyes and plump lips were etched into my brain, and I didn't see it disappearing any time soon.

•••

They're such teases, hehe but what can you do?

Thanks to those continuing to read! I know it's slow progress but that slow burn tag is for real.

Please comment and vote if you feel so inclined, it means the world!

Until next time, Berly