A/N: The third chapter is quite long compared to the first two, but Kira (aka Jacklyn) finally meets several other characters ;)

I do not own Storm Hawks.

The following morning, I was awoken by a blaring siren at six. I jumped out of bed, instantly thinking it the fire alarm. When the sound only lasted a few seconds, it dawned on me: the wakeup call. I'd totally forgotten. I grabbed my class schedule but it only confirmed that classes started at eight.

"That can't be it," I muttered, and flipped the page over.

Breakfast: 6am. Morning warm-ups: 6.30am. Now that made more sense.

I didn't have a uniform yet, so I changed into a black tank top and grey track pants. Hopefully I wouldn't stand out too much. Then I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves for the coming onslaught of curious eyes. I hated being the new kid.

I made my way to the cafeteria, wary of everything. The first student I saw wore a navy blue polo shirt and light grey pants, and it finally hit me that that was the outfit I'd be wearing for the next couple of weeks. Could be worse.

By the time I'd reached the cafeteria, the noise level had gone from a peaceful quiet to a cacophony of voices talking, laughing, calling out, and even whistling.

Oh wait, that was directed at me. I spotted the blond-haired, blue-eyed whistler grinning at me from across the room. I turned my back on him and lined up for breakfast.

When my plate was full, the next challenge was finding a seat. No one had said a word to me yet – whistling not counted – so I had no indication if anyone was looking for a new breakfast buddy. I scanned the room, but there were few spots left. I heard the whistle again and found the whistler motioning to his table. For lack of a better offer, I weaved between the tables and approached him and his group.

"Hey, new girl. Looks like you need a seat," he said, and patted the spot beside him.

"Thanks," I said, and sat. I looked around the group, all eyes on me.

"I'm Finn, by the way," said the whistler, "but most people call me the Finnster."

A blue-haired girl opposite me leaned forward. "Nobody calls you that except you, Finn." She turned to me. "I'm Piper."

The redhead beside her said, "I'm Aerrow, guild captain, and the other two are Stork and Junko."

"Jacklyn," I said. "Thanks for the seat."

"No problem," said Aerrow. "What year are you in?"

"Fifth."

His eyebrows rose. "Same as us. It's unusual to transfer here so late – what school did you come from?"

"I didn't. I was home-schooled by my uncle."

"What!" said Piper. "But this is the hardest year to complete. How can you suddenly dive into the deep end without any prior experience in defence?"

"I do have experience, but it's just second hand. My uncle graduated from here years ago, and I wanted a new challenge."

Finn shook his head. "Dude."

"You must have loads of questions," said Piper. "Ask me any time you want; I'll gladly answer them."

I nodded.

"And if you need help with homework, I can do that, too," she added.

Aerrow asked, "What fighting skills do you have?"

"I'm good at blades."

"Me too! We should compete some time."

"Sure."

"Are you good with firearms?" asked Finn. "Because I'm what they call a sharpshooter – I never miss!"

"Sounds good." Admittedly, I felt a little overwhelmed with the kindness, but I was waiting for Stork and Junko to participate so I could get a sense of character from them. Stork had a gothic edge to his appearance while Junko had the physique of a body builder.

"So what guild do you belong to?" I asked.

Piper answered. "We're the Storm Hawks."

The name was familiar. "Is that a new guild?"

"Oh no, it's been around for decades. In fact, several years back, it was the best guild in the entire school with all the top students. Of course they've all graduated and moved on."

"And now the guild has me, so you just know it's gotten better," said Finn with a wink.

I looked to the remaining two members. "So Stork and... Junko, was it? What are your skills here?"

Junko chuckled nervously. "Well, I'm no master yet, but I've got some strength to make up for that."

I looked to Stork, who sighed. "Fighting isn't my forte either, but get me behind the wheel..."

The hairs on my arms raised as his eyes glinted. I cleared my throat. "Driving is a fantastic skill – I have no doubt you're many times better than I am."

He shrugged, but the compliment sunk in when he smiled a fraction.

"Who could possibly be better than you at this table?" said a snide familiar voice.

I looked up to see Dark Ace towering above me.

Aerrow stood. "You're not welcome here, Dark Ace. You know that."

"I certainly do. But don't be surprised when I say this isn't about you, Aerrow. I've come to ask Jacklyn if she'd like to join me at my table."

Aerrow's eyes flew to mine. "You know him?"

I winced. "'Know' is a strong word."

"She's not interested, Dark Ace," said Piper.

Dark Ace tutted. "Jacklyn, I didn't see you as a person who let others talk for you."

I stood to meet his red eyes. "I'm not. But you see, I've already settled and I'd rather not get up again."

His lips thinned. "I guess I'll see you around, sweetheart."

I sat down as he walked away, unable to help myself admiring the strength behind his movements. When I turned back to the others, they were all staring at me. "What?"

"Sweetheart?" repeated Piper.

I rolled my eyes. "I have no idea. He just started calling me that when I first met him." They still stared at me, so I continued, "What? You want me to report him for sexist nicknaming?"

"You can if you want," said Piper.

I paused, realising that she'd taken it literally. "I was joking. If a little name can get me seeing red, then I wouldn't be here."

"Speaking of which," Stork spoke up, "you've got five minutes to finish your breakfast before the next siren."

I walked next to Piper as we made our way to the Academy's grass oval where the morning warm-ups took place.

"So what poor soul teaches this class?" I asked.

She grinned. "You'll never guess. Have you, by any chance, heard of I. J. Domiwick?"

I stopped in my tracks. "You're kidding."

"Nope!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me along. "Famous explorer who's written numerous books – I've read them all! He's smart, brave, adventurous, scientific, handsome, charming, successful..."

Aerrow looked over his shoulder. "And humble – don't forget humble!"

Piper groaned. "Okay, so he's a little narcissistic..."

"He's almost as narcissistic as Finn!"

"Hey!" objected Finn, narrowing his eyes at Aerrow.

"But what made him plant his feet in the ground here?" I jumped in.

"He decided he needed a break, that the life of an explorer was always in constant movement and he needed to stop for a bit," Piper answered. "He's been here for almost two years now, but I reckon he'll be gone by next year."

"Pfft. That's what you said last year, Piper," said Finn. "Even I remember that."

"Jacklyn, I'm going to leave it to you to gather your own opinion of Domiwick," said Piper with a wave of her hands. "Just disregard this whole conversation."

I smiled. "I have a habit of not judging people by their covers. I also believe in second chances, too. Unless they tried to kill me, of course."

That earned me a lot of looks.

Stork shrugged. "Works for me."

We joined a large group of students at the edge of the enormous oval. The grass was green, lush, and immaculately trimmed.

"Line up! Groups of ten!"

Aerrow grabbed my wrist. "Come on, you can run with us."

The students moved quickly, totalling four lines. I stood between Aerrow and Piper in the third row. I finally glimpsed Domiwick pacing before the group. He still wore that dreadful explorer's outfit I remembered from the last time I saw him.

He stopped at the end of the first row, staring down a gangly kid. "Hamish, does that look like a row of ten to you? Move back! To the fourth line where there's an empty space!"

The kid scrambled back, almost tripping over his own feet in the process.

"Now, let's start again," said Domiwick. "You have five minutes to stretch, then the first row will start running. One minute later, the second row starts, and so on and so on. Today, you will all complete twenty laps of the oval. If, by some miracle, you all finish with extra time, then as soon as the last runner crosses the line, you will be completing a series of push ups and squats until I say so. Are we clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the students shouted.

"I said are we clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"You're stretching starts now!"

I was so shocked by Domiwick's transformation from cool and calm explorer to loud and serious training coach that I was the only one still standing as others knelt to stretch their legs.

Domiwick's eyes leapt to mind. "You! Where's your uniform?"

"I'm new," I replied.

He motioned for me to approach him and I obeyed. He looked down at me with a seemingly-sweet smile, and said, "I'm new, what?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

It clicked. "Forgive me, sir, I'm new here."

"Clearly. Since you figured out the problem in seconds, not hours–" He raised his head to look in Hamish's direction. "–then I will forgive you for your blundering. Here, have a spot in first row."

He stepped closer, forcing me back between two students. He looked down the length of the first row before his eyes settled on someone. "You! Move back to the third row!" he barked. I didn't see who moved.

"What's your name, newbie?" Domiwick asked, his attention back on me.

"Jacklyn, sir."

"Enjoy being in first row," he finished, and turned to pace again.

I almost flinched when I recognised the student to my left. Ravess. A good chance to see how she ran. On my right was– "You've got to be kidding me," I groaned, shoulders slumping.

Domiwick spun around. "Did I ask you to talk, newbie?"

"No, sir, you didn't–" I started.

"Then why are you still talking?" He looked up and down the front row. "Five extra laps for first row."

"But–"

Domiwick stepped up until he was almost nose-to-nose with me. "Listen, newbie, until I tell you otherwise, you're here to run, so run. Run, run, run."

I locked my jaw to prevent myself from saying any more, ignoring his mocking tone.

"First row, start!"

And suddenly we were running. I relaxed my jaw and pushed the anger out through every step.

"You had to open your mouth," said Dark Ace as he kept pace beside me.

"No, I actually wanted to run five extra laps," I said drily.

"Forget Domiwick. He's just an ex-explorer who's past his golden years."

My eyes snapped to his. "I heard he was taking a break."

"Please. He would have left twelve months ago if that were true." He looked away. "So you and those Storm Hawks, huh?"

"Before you interrupted, I'd met them only five minutes earlier. What's it to you?"

He scoffed. "Know thy enemy." He caught my look. "As in the Storm Hawks, not you. I've still to figure out where you stand."

"I'll make it easy for you: I'll be in front." I took the chance to up the pace, despite a little voice in my head telling me that he'll catch up quickly with those long legs of his.

Somehow I was still surprised when he appeared beside me.

"You had me worried back there that you might be a slow jogger; we were practically walking."

"Oh, I figured you usually started slow," I quipped.

He smirked, about to reply, when his eyes shifted past mine at something else, and I followed his gaze. Ravess had decided to tag along.

"Who's your new friend, Dark Ace?" she asked, not meeting my eyes.

I spun back to face Dark Ace. "You have a new friend? Who?" When he only rolled his eyes, I said to Ravess, "Oh, you meant me! What, mummy doesn't want you talking to strangers?"

Dark Ace snorted a laugh.

Ravess stared daggers at me and raced ahead. I watched her for a moment and, spotting no weaknesses, turned to Dark Ace, who eyed me with a half-grin.

"What?" I said defensively. "Little Miss Pink Hair had it coming for her."

I upped the pace even more but he kept up, to my annoyance.

"I'll tell you a secret," he said. "I'm the fastest runner here."

"Just because you're fast doesn't mean you have the stamina to keep it up."

One look at his face and I knew he was thinking about something else entirely, so I took the opportunity to stick my foot out and trip him. His face was priceless as he fell, but as I watched over my shoulder, he recovered nicely with a roll and was on both feet in no time. I laughed freely at his stunned features; he seemed to be conflicted between being furious and laughing with me.

"It's okay," I called back. "You can cry. Having two left feet would suck."

His eyebrows rose, and suddenly he was catching up very quickly. Unsure of what his response would be, I kept a wary eye on him as he ran alongside me. He didn't say anything for a while, and I wondered if he harboured a grudge against me now. His school mates had just witnessed him trip.

"I think...," he started, "that I may have misjudged you."

I shrugged. "And...?"

"And if there's a next time, there will be no mercy."

"Ha! Right."

His eyes locked onto mine. "You're not intimidated by me, are you?"

"Why would I be?"

"Some people say it's the eyes. Others... well, they choose from the list."

"Sure thing. You wear coloured contacts, right?"

"Possibly."

"So are they purely for the redness or the poor eyesight, too?" I shot him a wicked grin.

"My eyesight is perfect."

When he didn't continue, I snuck in a few more questions while we jogged the rest of the twenty-five laps. By the time we reached the last lap, only the first row runners were still going, and Dark Ace and I were well in front. My breath was laboured and my lungs screaming but I wasn't letting up, and neither was Dark Ace. We entered the part of the track that deviated from the oval through a short bush area.

"So," I started, "if your nickname... had a nickname... would it be Dark... or Ace?"

"What?!"

"Or something else entirely?"

"You ask... the strangest questions."

"Humour me."

"Um... I don't know." He shook his head, trying to think.

I used his distraction to trip him again. Only this time he saw it coming and pulled me down with him, catching me off guard. I rolled sideways, earning myself a face full of grass, and coming to a stop on my back. I looked side to side for Dark Ace, and then pulled my head back to look behind me.

As soon as I met his eyes, I cracked up laughing.

"You have issues, you know that?" he said half-heartedly.

"Who doesn't? Besides, I'm just making things fun."

He fought back a smile. "How can you be bored? It's your first day."

"Running bores me. Though you make it slightly more interesting."

"I'm flattered."

I rolled over and got to my knees. I stood and offered him a helping hand. He eyed it briefly before accepting it, rising to his full height.

I grimaced. "I preferred it when I was taller than you."

"Oh?"

"That way I'd be the one looking down on you."

"Is that why you've tripped me twice?"

"No, that was out of boredom. And it was hilarious, both times."

I started jogging again, a sense of relief sweeping over me as I realised the finish line was almost in sight. Finally.

Dark Ace caught up but kept quiet. When the finish line came into view along with the other runners, I instinctively sped up, eager to finish this. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed I wasn't the only one. At the sight of Dark Ace slightly ahead, a streak of competitiveness shined through, and I upped the pace until I was flat out sprinting. He still kept up, but clearly at his limits, too.

The line approached. Intrigued heads rose at the sight of us coming, and when it was clear that neither of us were backing off before the line, the students scrambled to get out of the way.

I powered on, my eyes focused on the white painted line. And then we were across. I took the long stretch of lawn to slow down, my throat hoarse and my lungs on fire. I spun around, looking for Domiwick.

I headed back towards the finish line, where he stood. "Who was it, sir?" I called out.

He looked up from his clipboard. "What?"

"Who won?"

"It wasn't a race, newbie."

I stopped before him and waited, panting hard.

"Fine, it was a tie."

I looked up at Dark Ace beside me. "Could have been worse. I mean, you could have lost to me."

"Keep dreaming."

"Hold on," said Domiwick, "why are you two covered in grass?" When we didn't answer immediately, he continued, "This is my class; whatever you kids do outside of school can stay outside of school."

I ignored the few gawking looks and jumped in quickly. "Actually, sir, what really happened was Dark Ace and his two left feet." I slapped Dark Ace on the back. "Luckily for the other runners, they weren't close enough to become collateral damage."

Dark Ace's gaze shot daggers at me, but he didn't object.

Domiwick snorted. "The Dark Ace, clumsy? That's a first." He turned to the see the last runners finishing. "Come on, you lot! My grandmother can run faster than you!"

When the last stragglers had crossed the line, Domiwick said, "Somehow, all of you have finished before your first official class of the day. You have ten minutes to change. Go."

I looked to Dark Ace. "What class do you have now?"

He gave me an odd look. "I'll let you in on a secret here: All forty of this warm-up group is in the same year, meaning we're in the same class."

"Meaning we all have the same timetable." My Jacklyn identity faded for a moment as I remembered my time at the Academy as a kid. It had all been different for me. My timetable had never matched anyone else's.

"Jacklyn?"

"Hmm?" I looked up at Dark Ace.

"You looked like you were somewhere else."

I shrugged, pulling myself together. "It's nothing."

"Dark Ace," said a soft voice, "a word."

I looked behind me. The Cyclonian guild captain herself had snuck up on me. She wasn't even looking at me and my instincts were telling me to hide. She started walking off the oval – though "glide" seemed to be the more accurate term.

Dark Ace smiled at me. "I guess I'll see you later, sweetheart." He turned to follow Cyclonis.

Sweetheart. It hit me that he hadn't called me that the entire time we were running. Now I was uncertain by what he meant by it. Fantastic.

I started walking, remembering all the times he'd called me that.

"Jacklyn!"

I looked up to see Piper approaching.

"I know you just ran twenty-five laps, but you might want to seriously hurry for the next class." She grabbed my arm and dragged me along. "Come on!"

A/N: I've been unsure about the rating of this fanfic - so far it's rated as T, but let me know if you think it should be different. Again, if you enjoyed it, let me know!