[[Boof!!]]

A muffled explosion erupts, creating a cloud of debris thick enough to blind spectators from the ring below. A faint shockwave expands out, and to the surprise of the viewers, it is cold. A frosty wind carrying with it shards of ice and diamond dust blows across the arena. Groans and shivers echo in place of cheers as people find themselves experiencing a sudden, unexpected, and extreme drop in temperature.

As the cloud comes to settle, all eyes peer toward the ring. They see Crow Knight's black armor gleaming in sparkles of white crystals, and his sword edge resting on Teresa's neck. He does not move. A magic circle forms beneath Teresa and Crow Knight. It glows with rays of white as it creates a bed of ice that begins to engulf Crow Knight.

"Y-you ..." Crow Knight stammers.

He has questions, but he can hardly move his mouth to form the words. There is a sense of disbelief that this is the doing of his opponent. A rogue capable of this level of element magic? Is he misunderstanding something about the class? He looks at Teresa, her frosty eyes that glow like a fine jewel, and her cold and expressionless demeanor, it leaves no doubt in his mind of the fact that this is certainly her magic.

"H-h-how...?" he struggles again.

"I wonder," she responds and steps away from the blade on her neck.

Crow Knight chuckles. His opponent is not one to say much, not a dialogue to explain her abilities, or even to boast in the face of victory. Bound in ice, Crow Knight struggles to break free. The cold seeps through his armor and begins to burn his skin. Within moments, a buzzer concludes the battle with Crow Knight unable to move, and an announcement granting Teresa her victory is made.

A surge of energy clears all magic effects in the arena and everyone watching bursts into overzealous cheers. Crow Knight stands upright to congratulate Teresa,

"I can see why you are an Aegis. Congratulations. You have quite the talent," he says.

"... So do you," Teresa responds.

"And yet I did not get the chance to show it in full force," he chuckles. "Perhaps next time, your win will not come so easy."

"Perhaps," she says calmly.

The two competitors make their way off the ring with Crow Knight proudly waving goodbye to the audience and his fans. It is not in his personality to wallow in a loss, especially against someone whose talent he acknowledges. An Aegis.

 

************

 

Standing in the lounge area of the arena, Carrie and Logan discuss the events of the battle as they wait for Teresa to arrive. Carrie is still jittery with excitement for her squad member's win,

"If it were up to you, we would've missed all that," she says to Logan.

"She won, like I said she would," Logan shrugs.

"Don't sound so 'meh' about it. You looked like you were enjoying the fight," Carrie retorts. "I bet deep down you're happy a mage won against a warrior class in a competition."

"You know damn well I don't care about that stupid debate," he grumbles.

"Well, I know I'm happy," Carrie says with a grin on her face.

Logan shakes his head with a judgmental look on his face, "you're so childish when it comes to Tess," he huffs. "Who would even believe she's a Mage class when she fights the way she does and her records list her as a rogue? " 

"Those records say that because she had to choose a designation when she became an Aegis and a member of our team," Carrie reminds him. "We needed someone to balance out the squad, and she had the skills for it."

"Right, she's a trickster."

"She's talented!"

"I don't disagree," Logan shrugs, "but at a glance, a mage who prefers abilities that aren't necessarily for the class can't really be called one. It's either her bow or her swords, and deception upon deception ... classic rogue tactics."

Carrie scowls, her face contorting into a look of discontent toward Logan. He instinctively steps back sensing Carrie's displeasure.

"What? What are you getting worked up about?" he fires back.

Carrie shakes her head, "It's my fault," she says while rolling her eyes. "I don't know why I even bother talking to you about anything really."

"Did I say something wrong?" Logan protest, "or you just don't like it when I'm right?"

"Just be quiet, before you get on my nerves even more," Carrie groans.

Just then, Sam shuffles his way back to the group. His focus peering at random places in the lounge, taking it all in for the first time.

"Did you get lost?" Logan asks him.

With his attention still elsewhere, Sam shakes his head, "I made it there just fine," he says, panning over to Logan with an amused grin on his face.

"What?" Logan asks curiously.

"I half expected your restrooms to be paved in marble or something. Get the royal treatment..." Sam chuckles, "how disappointing."

"What are you on about?" Logan reacts.

Sam shrugs him off, noting that he was only joking. He looks at Carrie silently staring at the double doors just ahead.

"Are we still waiting?" Sam asks.

"She should be here soon," Carrie replies.

She has her hand on her waist and a presence of someone trying to ignore a bothersome thought. Logan, on the other hand, has his arms firmly folded across his chest as if trying to put up a barrier around himself. There is an awkward silence in the air, and Sam is curious to know what he missed.

"So..." he pauses.

Eyes turn to him.

"Do I want to ask why the mood?" he says.

His question is immediately met with a dismissive wave from Carrie. "Don't bother, or you'll get a response that stems from a close minded view suggesting mages should only play supporting roles."

Consfused, "what are you talking about?" Sam asks with an eyebrow raised.

"That's not what I said," Logan sneers.

"Right," Carrie scoffs. "What was it? 'Mages who hold swords can't be mages?' Did I about sum that up?"

"You said that?" Sam turns to Logan.

"Context matters," Logan says to Carrie.

He turns to Sam, "You know about classes in sorcery, right? What class do you think the girl in the fight we saw is?"

"Obviously she's..." Sam pauses, questioning if the answer is that simple.

The glares from Carrie and Logan are sharp and he can feel their impatience trying to pull the answer they want from him. Sam cracks a nervous smile as he glances back and forth between them,

"Nah, I'm not taking a side," he says.

"See?" Carrie turns to Logan, "things aren't so 'obvious.'"

"He said he's not taking sides. That doesn't mean he agrees with you," Logan retorts. "Besides, we know exactly what he was 'obviously' going to say."

"Do we?" Carries asks in a snippy tone, "maybe he should clear it up, right, Sam?"

"Maybe he should," Logan echoes her. "Sam?"

They both call out to him, but he does not respond. They turn to ask him again when they notice that Sam's attention is elsewhere. His eyes fixed toward the doors ahead of them. Carrie and Logan pan over to see Teresa standing there, silently looking back at them.