Chapter 2
After the instructor had talked a little more about the different classes, he dismissed Crystal, allowing her to leave. Wandering down the hall, her boots left a loud echo, making her feel uneasy. There were other doors she walked by, but they were all empty, due to most of the students leaving to go spar with someone.
Receiving a signal to go to the sparring grounds as well, Crystal came to the VERY large hard steel field, a faint smell of sweat hitting her nose. The sounds of grunts and metal hitting metal were everywhere, but it wasn't that that bothered her, it was the sweat. Scrunching her muzzle for a moment, she did notice the heat as well, probably from the amount of soldiers in the room. Flicking her hands upward to the dark grey ceiling, she cooled the room down by a few degrees.
A rust colored echidna approached Crystal, the armored wings of a Decurion on her back.
"Have you been ordered here?" She questioned.
"Yes."
"Very well, you may pick a sparring partner."
"I've never had one, usually they are told to do so."
The echidna nodded curtly, her wings humming for a moment before she rose up from the ground and swept over the sea of other students. Crystal looked on emotionlessly, seeing the Decurion land too far for her to see what she was up too. After a few minutes she came back, landing softly in front of her.
"Wait here, someone will come for a quick sparring lesson."
Even when she had cooled the large room, the heat came back quickly from all the movement everyone did. Crystal felt slightly disgusted by the drying sweat on her neck and under her quills, already thinking of getting another cold shower. The rest of the 'morning' in the training facility was a blur, learning strategies assassins needed to know to which part to cut at on the gelatinous body of a N'rrgal warrior, which was horrid. The acidic smell of its decaying body was nearly overwhelming for her, clawing away at her nose. The smell kept her from thinking straight so she forgot all about her helmet and the benefits it had of filtering air. Thankfully the lesson didn't last long and she was finally able to breathe properly when the instructors had dumped the body away and filtered the air.
Lunch was announced so Crystal left for the mess hall. Food was served on the left wall where the entrance doors were at, to the right were the long rows of rectangular tables where anyone could sit wherever they wished. Some form of protein was always available, whether it was in the form of mush or a gritty grey square. Ivan had told her that it sorta tasted like meat, or that's what he thought the taste was like since he hadn't had some in so long, they didn't typically have meat, only on very rare occasions. The thought of that mush having that kind of taste gave Crystal a twist in her stomach, shaking her head quickly before grabbing a bowl and filling it with some foreign fruits and vegetables. Some would say it was unhealthy to not have any form of protein in one's body, but Crystal didn't care, she had made her mind up to not consume any ever again and she intended on sticking to it.
Sitting on the corner furthest from anyone, she grabbed one of the vegetables and bit off a chunk. The taste was sharp and herby, giving off the smell of celery. She looked around quickly at the other tables, spotting Ivan several tables away chatting with others. The bright look in his eyes said he was probably proud of something he did earlier and he was impressing the other soldiers who enjoyed his company.
Crystal felt the edge of her lips tug up a little, happy to see her brother happy. Finishing the vegetable, she grabbed one of the fruits and checked to see if the soft skin was edible. It seemed to be, so she bit off a chunk. It had a near similar taste to the fruit she had in the morning, but this one had an odd aftertaste. Turning it in her hands, she picked up the conversations of others.
Two girls were a couple tables away wearing grey jumpsuits, occasionally glancing at Crystal which she could see from her peripheral vision. They would look at each other in confusion and sneak a glance at her again.
"I can't believe Iving is related to her, she's so strange," the darker girl said, passing a hand through her quills.
"Right? I don't get why Ivan sticks around with her, he can move closer to the center if he wanted too. They don't look like the talk at all, and I wouldn't talk to my sister at all if she left a scar like that on my eye," The other agreed.
Poking around at the other contents in her steel bowl, Crystal did begin wondering why Ivan still lived with her. He was old enough to know how to care for himself in her eyes, and he was well liked enough to get a nice house closer to the city with some of his friends. She sighed mentally, she shouldn't complain about the company Ivan gave her. After all, he was the only family she had and the only person who had a good read on her. He knew her like an old worn out book you had read over and over and knew by heart, because of that, she could speak her mind easily and Ivan would understand, simply sitting there and absorbing every word she said. Afterwords, he would give a comment or two and a smile, which always comforted her.
Although, them talking about his scar did darken her mood again, reminding her of what she did that day...
Flashback
A young echidna stood outside of the city, breathing slowly and carefully. She wore a light grey jumpsuit and had medium-length vermillion quills tipped in blue and she was constantly pushing away the smaller quills in front of her face. She hated when they covered one of her eyes, usually the left one. Taking in a deep breath, she extended her left arm out and made her hand into a fist, coating her entire arm with ice to make a form of a sword. She made a few slices to the air, striking an invisible opponent. But she got frustrated when she realized her arm was beginning to fall asleep from being motionless for so long so she made the ice break off into thin air. A much younger echidna was watching a few feet away, having a similar jumpsuit with three thick tangerine quills tipped with green and one little stub of a quill over his lilac eyes. They were wide with curiosity at seeing his sister perform her inexperienced moves, which he thought were amazing. Soon enough, he noted that she was so deep in her concentration that she must've forgotten that he has there because she had formed a long whip of ice with her right hand and began swinging it a little to test it. One swipe was a little too close to him for comfort and he stood up to back away. Her back was completely facing him when she swung the full length if the cold whip forward and then back, striking his face faster than he could blink...
Crystal felt a mix of emotions flow over her at the thought of that day, anger, hatred, fear, remorse, she had struck her brother down and gave him that mark on his face and the change in his eyes. He had forgiven her quickly as he recovered, trying to make it seem like it never happened, but she had never forgiven herself. As means of reminding herself of what she had done, she allowed her bangs to settle over her left eye no matter how much she disliked it and promised herself to never get close to anyone else for the fear of making that mistake again. The announcement that lunch was over was given and Crystal quickly pocketed the fruit, as it was her dinner and possibly breakfast for tomorrow, along with pushing that flashback to the back of her mind again.
Now that the morning exercises were over, next came the afternoon 'exercises' which were not working with your physical strength, but instead with your mental state.
A/N: Now you know of Iving's scar and you see how Crystal is treated by her peers, what's your opinion on it? Reviews are welcome! :D
Keep in mind that Sonic and the gang will come in, but all in due time :3
