She was minding her own business, walking down the hallways before coming to a wall and stared at it, wondering what it would be like to go out of them as she sighed softly.
"I wish I could go outsideā¦and escape from this cage..." she muttered.
She was suddenly grabbed from behind, cold hands holding her down as she struggled to yank herself free as another hand covered her mouth with a foul smelling cloth, too overwhelming for her nose to handle as she held her breath. She felt her lungs scream for air and finally she let out a breath and took in another, the scent making her head spin. And before she lost consciousness, there were only four words she heard.
"You can never escape."
A young female woke suddenly, biting back a scream as she blinked three times at the ceiling, letting out a gasp as she panted heavily, her brow dripping from cold sweat as she tried to calm down from that dream. She attempted to fall back asleep, but her efforts were futile.
Cheryl sighed quietly to herself as she rose from her bed, pulling on a dark hood with fake cat ears on it, slipping her own real ones into the spaces before silently walking out of her room to the kitchen.
She moved without sound through the long hallways, her tail swishing this way and that under her cloak. If she made a sound, then the other kids in the building will no doubt make her life a living hell.
In the training facility she grew up in since forever, she was always shunned by the other kids training in magic, all because of her strange appearance.
She had dark brown curly hair that fell to her waist, with matching dark brown eyes. Her fur that ran all over her body was a very light tan and slightly creamy, her ears that were under her hood flicked back and forth, hearing for any possible noise that might signify that someone was up. Her whiskers twitched slightly as she sniffed the air once before quickening her pace. She wore a simple blue blouse along with black pants and a pair of snug boots that fit her perfectly, barely making any sound at all, which she was grateful for.
When she reached the kitchen, she held up a glove covered hand and the door swung silently open to let her in, which she did so. After scanning the kitchen for any life forces that weren't her own, she grabbed a teapot and started boiling water in it, adding some herbs and tea leaves into it while it did.
Once it was done, she poured herself a teacup of the steaming liquid and added some milk before stirring it all with a spoon. She sniffed at it once and took a small hesitant sip, letting it swirl in her mouth and then swallowed. Her eyes brightened up and she drank the tea eagerly, licking her lips once to savor the taste.
'At least it's a good batch this time,' she thought, pouring herself another cup. She had gotten into a habit of making her own tea blends since Kael let her have a taste of the drink many years ago and it stuck.
She sighed as she leaned against the counter, staring into the light brown liquid swirling in the cup. It had been nearly fourteen years since she had been brought to the facility as a baby. Only a few hours old.
Kael was the one who brought her there, who had pitch black hair and piercing blood red eyes that seemed to stare into your soul and not in a very good way. He ran the magic user training facility here, in an alternate dimension where we could protect the trainees and train them in peace without interference. Cheryl was no exception.
All the kids here had very potent magic, all of them rare and hard to find, which was another reason why Kael didn't want others to have their hands on them. They all knew what kind of special magic they had, but she had yet to figure out just why exactly the man had brought her there for training.
And whenever she tried to approach him on the matter, he would simply brush her off and say that she was being trained for a good cause and that her particular magic was still taking time to develop. It always left her with more questions than answers and it frustrated her to no end. But she was at least proud of one thing; her skill at using combat magic.
She would never say it out loud, lest she wanted to be beat up by the other kids for boasting about her abilities and she had enough bruises and injuries to last her a lifetime, hidden away by her fur. It only added fuel to the fire when the fact that Kael always seemed to treat her kinder than the others was made aware. She sighed and finished her tea, washing both the teapot and teacup before heading over to the training arena.
She entered and immediately scaled up to her favorite spot that allowed her a clear few of the training ring below her. It gave her privacy and prevented the other kids from going up to bully her again. But out of all the kids, she hated Tristan the most. He had a very potent nature magic; able to command the trees and plants to do as he willed.
His favorite past time would be making the vines grab her by the tail and hang her upside down, while letting the other kids use her as a live punching bag and training dummy, leaving her unable to fight back. Kael scolded them when he found out, but it was never enough for them to stop anyway.
It was one of the reasons why she never liked the place, but she couldn't do much while she was stuck in this separate dimension, wondering what the actual one was like. If it weren't for the high walls and the magic seals around the area, she would've gone out in a heartbeat.
She always felt like a caged cat in the facility, an abused one at that. She never felt safe, never had any friends or the warmth of parents and what it felt like to have them. But if that was the case, why does she always seem to remember strong or protective warmth around her? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up at the ceiling of the arena, wondering how the sky looked like from outside of the facility.
'I'd give an arm or a leg just go outside of this place and see the real world for just once...just once is all I ask...'
She was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard the other kids enter the arena, tugging her hood down to hide her face. Not that it was much use; they always knew that she was there in that one spot. Cheryl instead focused on the large screen by the entrance.
Kael would randomize battles for them to train and better their skills. Then it would be down to the final two to battle, then the winner of that battle would go against the champion. It wasn't required but it was better experience than plain old dummies. The half-cat had waited till she honed her combat magic to the best of her abilities before joining.
The other kids filled the seats, waiting eagerly to show off their skills to the others and to Kael, hoping that the crimson eyed man would choose them for the elite group of magic users, which was the highest honor one could receive after intensive and extensive training.
The board lit up and every single trainee's faces were one there, including hers. Then they shuffled randomly before showing everyone's first opponents. Dark brown eyes scanned the board, looking for her first opponent and groaned.
'Of course, my first match just has to be against Tristanā¦.'
Her gaze shifted to the green haired, blue eyed boy, who was smirking up at her. He was obviously glad he had another excuse to beat the female half-cat up and in front of everyone. She felt her blood boil and her eyes sharpened into slits, clenching her gloved covered hands into fists.
'Oh I'll show that jerk that when push comes to shove, I'll choose shove...'
Tristan moved down to the arena with the help of his vines lifting him up and settling him down in the ring, earning a couple of cheers from the other kids. He was the most well-liked of the whole facility so everyone was rooting for him. Cheryl stood from her position and simply jumped off, doing a couple of flips before landing gracefully on her feet, straightening herself and dusted herself off.
She heard all the boos and the jeers from the others, all of them wanted her to lose while Kael simply watched, interested. Well, this will be the day that she would go against what they wanted her to do. She'd win against Tristan today. Plus he was considered the best out of everyone, rumors spreading that he might get into the elites that very year.
"I hope you're ready to be crushed, kitty," Tristan sneered at her, icy blue eyes glinting with malicious intent.
Cheryl simply gave him a calm look as she flexed her hands, shifting her weight from one foot to another constantly, getting into a stance.
"On the contrary, I intend on proving you wrong. This will be day that you fall. I'm not a kitten anymore," she replied smoothly, "and I fully intend on kicking your sorry butt thoroughly to make up for all the times you did the same to me."
"Ooh, the kitty's baring her fangs at me. I am so scared!" he said mockingly to her and her eyes turned into slits.
'Why that little...'
"Let the match begin in 3...2...1...now!"
With a battle cry, both opponents rushed each other, magic blazing in their fists as they prepared to strike the other. The Bully vs The Outcast. The crimson eyed man watched from his post and smirked wider.
'Let's see what she can do.'
A/N: Special Thanks to YarningChick who helped me with the plot of the story! Thanks a lot!
