What is… a break?

Christmas Special #1

Cynthia- 6

Ivory- 5 ½

Atol- 9

"Malice, Trykton, meet Cinder, she's the best fighter we have…" Cynthia tuned out the sound, blending in with the shadows, blue eyes gleaming with untamed fury and violence. The blankets beneath her feet were still warm from having been asleep barely a few minutes earlier and the different things she had earned from winning fights were carefully piled together in one corner. She was squatting, her body tense and ready to fight, willing to fight some more so she could stop the rumbling of her stomach. "Cinder." Her attention snapped back to the conversation in front of her. "Where are you, are you afraid?"

'Afraid?! I not afraid of anything!'

"She's a weakling." Trykton rolled his eyes, seeing no fighter, the cage was empty.

'Weakling?! I show him I strong!' Cynthia sprang to her feet and slammed into the bars with a fierce snarl, briefly startling the slashing blades leader and second in command. "I no weakling!" She snarled like a wild animal, "Get closer and I kill you!" She shook the bars fiercely, blinded by her fighting rage and temper.

Trykton laughed, "My, my, isn't she a feisty warrior?" He looked at the girl with a scrutinizing eye.

"That she is sir." Brian said calmly, before getting someone's attention, "Get her her food, she's done enough this week."

"Yes, sir." The person vanished.

Brian picked up a small stuffed toy from his backpack and poked it through the bars of the cage. Cynthia crouched down, picked it up, and retreated to the back, curious about the new toy. "We train her with the mindset that if she does well in a fight and wins, she gets something in return, one of the things is food."

Cynthia watched them all for a few moments before examining the toy curiously, seeming to analyze it. She heard the sound of a container being shoved into the cage and she moved, the six-year-old girl caught it before it hit the ground, retreating back to the cage she parked herself on the blankets.

Trykton blinked, the girl had moved so fast he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it. "Take her out. I want to see her fight."

"Sir," Brian almost stammered, "She's not fond of being taken away from her cage nor away from her food."

"I said take her out."

"Yes, sir." Brian gulped, turning to one of his men, "Fetch her for the boss, and get another kid to fight her, he wants to see her fight." The guy visibly paled but did as Brian asked, tapping on the bars and getting Cynthia's attention. The girl looked at him over her shoulder, blue eyes violent but calmed, seemingly content with having an option of food. The guy gestured for her to come over and the girl snarled at him, going back to her food and quickly scarfing it down before getting up and walking over to the bars. "She's a bit docile after she eats, she might not fight that well."

"Then make her mad." Trykton really wanted to see her fight.

"Alright. Cinder." Brian said, looking at the girl, "Do you want to fight? Cynthia tilted her head slightly, listening to him. He cleared his throat, "Fight." he demanded. Cynthia's blue eyes shifted from calm to fury and anger, growling at him the girl snarled viciously, wrapping her small hands around the bars.

:( :( :(

Cynthia snarled, shaking the smaller cage, pulling at the bars like a wild animal.

"Cinder vs. Fire to the death! release!" Cynthia registered the words, "To the death", and narrowed her eyes at the sudden amount of light, sprinting out of the smaller cage she crashed headlong into the other fighter and sending the larger kid flying into the fighting arena's bars before attacking him with an angry roar, punching anywhere she could reach. She didn't even bat an eyelash as she snarled and punched the other child's neck, crushing bones. It was over within two minutes, Cynthia was pushed back into the smaller cage and she snarled viciously, angry and furious.

"She has passed. Give her a break." Trykton said to Brian, "I'll have Atol introduce his apprentice Ivory to her, teach her some manners and what it's like to be a human.

:( :( :(

Cynthia's attention snapped to the front bars of her cage when they creaked open. A boy older than her was standing there with a girl who had leaf green eyes and seemed curious about the whole thing. Cynthia snarled, "Fight?" She asked, her voice rough and animalistic from only using it to roar and make other noises.

"No." Atol said, "Play." He knew how to deal with these kids. Despite being part of the Slashing blades and being evil and all, he couldn't help but feel bad for the young girl, he had loved his childhood, but she never had one, his father had told him that she had been kidnapped and taken here at age two, not old enough to remember anything.

"Play?" Cynthia echoed thinking for a moment before it registered and she smiled, blue eyes lighting up with a child-like spark, "Play what?" she asked eagerly, with the vague knowledge of a few games.

Atol looked down at Ivory who seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Tag?"

He nodded and looked at Cynthia who was waiting patiently, seemingly excited and happy to play a game. "Play tag."

"I good at tag." Cynthia smiled happily, "I always win."

"I am it." He said, spacing out his words to make sure she understood him.

"Okay, you it first." Cynthia smiled, getting to her feet and streaking out of her cage with a giggle, "Catch me!" Ivory chased after her laughing,

"Wait for me!"

:) :) :) :)

Cynthia was thinking, wondering why she wasn't fighting, she liked to play with Ivy and At but she didn't understand why she wasn't fighting but was still getting to eat. It had been nearly a month since her last fight and she didn't understand why. "At, why...?" She asked, struggling to put the words together like he and Ivy had been teaching her, "I mean, why am I not fighting? I do not understand."

"I don't know." Atol shrugged from where he was sitting, braiding Ivory's blonde hair, the five-year-old had found out he could do it and so asked him to braid her hair. "It's almost Christmas though, that might be why."

"No, I always fight on this Christmas thing you talk about."

"Well, I have no idea. Be happy alright? Instead of fighting you get to learn and play, isn't that better than fighting?" Atol sighed, finishing up Ivory's braid.

"Yes." She said, blue eyes twinkling happily, "I like playing."

"You're taking a break!" Ivory grinned, leaf green eyes glimmering happily.

"What is… a break?" Cynthia asked in confusion, looking at Atol and Ivory, looking up from her wood carving.

"It's exactly what you are doing right now."

"Not fighting?"

"No, not being told anything to do. That's what a break is." Atol shrugged, Ivory smiled at Cynthia from her spot in Atol's lap, the girl happy to have someone else near her age with her.