Chapter 4:

POV: Snapdragon

The trio arrived at their Battle Tactics class just in time. The gym was already full of students crowding around their teacher. Rosemary pushed her way through the lines and went up to Professor Hakone Civet, introducing Alex.

"Wonderful!" Civet said in his usual boisterous voice. "It's not everyday we get guests in the classroom. Mage Country is full of warriors with unique skills – pay attention students, you can learn a lot from those who have different training backgrounds than your own." The students seemed to stand up a little straighter, looking a bit more focused. It seemed like everyone was on their best behavior just as the Triad had warned them to be in front of their guests. Civet went on, "Please feel free to watch and observe as long as you like. You can even participate should the interest strike you!"

Alex took up a place against the wall beside Professor Civet. He was almost statue-like in his stillness as he began to watch the rest of the class gearing up.

Rosemary and Snapdragon headed for the shelves of gear they kept in the gym. As Snapdragon reached for a sparring chest-plate, he heard a familiar and unpleasant voice from beside him.

"Nice nails, freak." Cal pulled down his own gear before heading off again.

Snap cringed, fighting the urge to punch the boy. He quickly pulled a pair of sparring gloves on as well, to cover his newly painted nails. Would it ever be possible to feel good about himself so long as people like Cal existed? If he couldn't even get his classmates to understand him, then what chance did he have of convincing his older brothers and father?

Already feeling dejected, Snapdragon joined Rosemary in line with the other students as class began in earnest. Students were chosen two at a time to spar under Professor Civet's watch. The training dummies could only get you so much practice. For real combat training they needed to practice with one another. Unfortunately, the academy had a strict 'no sparring outside of class' rule. Even he and Rosemary couldn't train with one another without a teacher there to supervise.

It was probably for the best, but it made honing their skills more difficult and time-consuming.

Class was going by like usually, nothing out of the norm. Professor Civet would break the pairs apart after some time sparring, give some pointers or suggestions, and then call the next pair in. Soon it was Cal's turn. He absolutely demolished his sparring partner in a matter of minutes, swinging his sword wildly like he had forgotten this was just a casual training spar.

What made matters worse is his boasting afterwards. "Looks like not everyone's been training over break~ You'll all have to work a lot harder if you plan on becoming guardians!"

Snapdragon rolled his eyes. He could see Professor Civet frowning from the side of the gym. But instead of saying anything, the teacher turned to Alex who was still leaning against the wall beside him.

"Thoughts, Master Mage?"

Alex shifted for the first time in half an hour. The boy closed his eyes and sighed. "Diamonds in the rough", he said, opening his eyes and zeroing in on Cal who was still in the middle of the gym boasting. The bully fell silent though as the Mage Country student spoke. "Rare and valuable in their skills. Once refined properly, they will be unbreakable." His tone was deadpan, not encouraging or optimistic in the slightest.

To Snapdragon, it sounded like a very political answer. He wasn't calling the academy students terrible, but he wasn't saying they were worth anything yet either…

Cal was frowning now, showing his annoyance. "Sounds like you're calling us rough around the edges. Big words for a mage." He smirked. "I hear you scholar-types are pretty soft. Not exactly warrior material~"

"Cal! Apologize at once!" Professor Civet snapped.

But Alex was smiling behind his dark mask. "It is true." His words halted the furious professor for a moment, who looked at the boy in surprise. "I am not strong built like you", Alex continued, now walking towards Cal. "So I utilize other tactics to win in a fight."

Snapdragon tensed. Why did Alexandrite' tone sound so menacing all of a sudden? And why hadn't Cal noticed that yet…?

Professor Civet was smiling in amusement now, seeming to understand where this was heading. "Perhaps you can grace us with a demonstration, Master Alex?" He offered. "Maybe you can show my students what they're lacking better than I can."

Alex took up his place at the other side of the sparring field opposite Cal. The irritating warrior smirked, readying his sword once again. "Sure you don't want to put some REAL armor on first?"

Alex silently shook his head, never taking his eyes off his opponent. The entire class had fallen silent, watching and waiting to see what would happen. Snapdragon assumed he wasn't alone in hoping Alex was about to wipe the floor with Cal's face.

"This will be fun~" Cal said. Then the boy rushed the shadow mage before Civet could even call out the beginning of the round to start.

The moment Cal stepped towards the mage, a large burst of fog erupted out in the middle of the gym clouding everyone's vision of the field. Snapdragon's hand instinctively went for his rapier, but then he realized that the fog wasn't normal fog. It was a spell of some kind. The fog wasn't spreading around the gym or dissipating. The cloud of mist stayed perfectly positioned only over the sparring field.

While beside him, Rosemary was busy 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing over the speed of the spell with the other students, Snapdragon was beginning to smirk. Cal doesn't know what he's in for. If the stories his father told him were even half-true, the Mage's of the north are way to clever for a guy like Cal to defeat. Especially one trained by the Archmage himself.

He could barely make out Cal's form in the mist, swinging blindly through the fog. But Alex had completely disappeared.

Some of the student's were looking to Civet, clearly not knowing if the fight should be stopped or not since it appeared that Alex had fled. But their teacher was smiling confidently and kept his eyes on the match. Snapdragon figured that must mean, in Civet's eyes, the match was still ongoing.

With little to no vision, Cal continued to swing through the fog, tiring himself out quickly. "Seriously?!" He yelled. "What, are you trying to hide because you're scare?!"

Idiot. Snapdragon thought to himself. Between his reckless attacks and his shouting, Cal was wearing himself down all on his own. Alex hadn't even taken a single hit and Cal was beginning to look spent.

"Match!" Civet called suddenly, breaking Snapdragon out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" The entire student body looked confused for a moment.

But then the fog spell dropped completely, and everyone could now see the mage standing behind Cal with a dagger pressed to the side of his throat. The mage had managed to remain completely undetectable within the fog. Cal couldn't fight what he couldn't see. In the end his brute strength had meant nothing.

"You cheated!" Cal accused sharply, unable to move without risk of nicking himself on the dagger. "How is it a fair fight if you're going to hide the whole time?!"

In one swift motion, Alexandrite grabbed Cal's wrist with his other hand and twisted it behind the boy's back. Cal's sword clattered to the gymnasium floor as he was forced onto his stomach and pinned.

"Like I said", Alex reminded him, "I utilize other tactics than mere strength to get the upper hand on my enemies. If you think your foes will use only fair and honorable means to defeat you, then your time as a guardian will be very short-lived."

He got off Cal, and went to return to his place leaning against the wall.

"A lovely demonstration!" Professor Civet broke the silence. "And an excellent point, too! For your assignment class, I want five pages from each of you on alternative fighting methods and their benefits in different combat situations. Due next week!"

The gargoyle clock began to 'chime' signaling the end of class. Pretty much everyone ignored the moping Cal in favor of changing out of their sparring gear and heading to lunch.

"That was really cool!" Rosemary congratulated the shadow mage as the three of them left the gym.

Snap fell into stride on Alex's other side. "Sorry about him", he said apologetically to the ambassador. "Cal, he's um, he's… not the most tactful guy." He didn't want Alex to think all the students were like that.

"He's a jerk." Alex summarized for him.

Snap couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Yeah. Cal's a jerk."

Another quick chapter with our boy Snapdragon. Love his cute face. If we ever get a season 2 for real it would be nice to see his sorry continue. I'd love to know more about his family and future!

Let me know who your fav character is or what you'd like to see from an official season 2!