Win by KO

Rapunzel and Thrush watched Havolian and Wrath spar against each other. Havolian was without a doubt the better fighter. But both Thrush and Rapunzel could see that the Zabrak teen had gotten much better. They'd noticed Wrath seemed to be growing close to the Sephi. And from what they could determine Havo was training regularly with Wrath during their free time.

Wrath parried a slash from Havo before striking back with a horizontal slash. Havolian ducked and swung upward for a strike. Wrath leapt back and dropped into a crouch. He took in a breath and locked eyes with the Sephi who smirked confidently. On the sidelines the other initiates watched excitedly as the two boys fought. The battle had been going on for a few minutes and it looked pretty intense. Wrath had gotten so much better.

Joining the viewing were some of the younger Kinnaran warriors. The young Kinnarans were in training themselves. Learning the warrior way of their people. At times Thrush would have some of them spar with the initiates to help them improve their swordplay.

Wrath glanced sideway, eye falling onto one of the young Kinnarans. Wrath had noticed her around. She had sapphire blue feathers with sparkling aqua eyes. His stomach did a flip flop as he locked eyes with her. She blinked, long eyelashes fluttering as she gave him a smile. He smiled back, red rising to his cheeks.

There was a whistle through the air as Havolian's stick collided with the side of his head with a loud crack. Everyone gasped and remained still. Havolian pulled his stick back as Wrath remained frozen on his feet.

Havolian cocked his head to the side. "Uh...Wrath? You ok man?" Wrath remained silent. His eyes glazed over as he suddenly fell forward and onto his face. "Oh frak!"

Wrath blinked blearily, drifting in and out of consciousness. Faces appeared before him and he head voices.

"Wrath! Dude? Are you ok? I'm sorry man. I thought you'd block it!" Havolian said frantically.

"Wrath. Can you hear me? Wrath, how many fingers am I holding up?" Rapunzel said as she held up some fingers in front of Wrath's face. The Zabrak gave a groan before blacking out.


A few hours later Wrath came to. He sat up, feeling around the back of his head for a welt. He felt nothing, confusing him for a moment.

"I healed it." Wrath flinched before glancing to the side to see Rapunzel there. "Are you ok?"

"Yes Padawan Rapunzel," Wrath said respectfully.

Rapunzel nodded before standing up. She walked over to him, staring at him intently. "You got distracted Wrath. What were you staring at that you completely forgot that you were in the middle of a duel?"

Wrath started to blush. He fidgeted awkwardly as he started to babble excuses and nonsense. Rapunzel cocked a brow, sensing his nervousness.

"Hmm. The Kinnaran class was watching today," Rapunzel realized. She sensed his nervousness spike. The red in his cheeks grew redder. Rapunzel pieced it together. "You like one of the Kinnarans don't you?" Wrath froze, eyes wide.

"Aww, that's so cute. You have a crush," Rapunzel cooed. Wrath blushed a deep scarlet in embarrassment. "It's ok Wrath. You're a young man. The Kinnarans are a very pretty race-"

"Ok well I'm fine. I guess I'll get back to training," Wrath said as he got up from his cot. Rapunzel gave a chuckle as she let it drop.

Wrath rejoined his fellow initiates. They asked if he was ok. He shrugged and said he was fine. Havolian apologized to him. Wrath flushed and waved it off, saying it was his own fault for getting distracted.

Thrush got the children back to sparring. And to Wrath's mortification she paired him with the very same Kinnaran girl that he'd been gawking at. He did not like this match up in the least. He defended and parried, staggering back with wide eyes. He couldn't bring himself to strike out at her. Something the Kinnaran noticed.

She narrowed her eyes into a glare. "Why aren't you fighting back?" she asked in indignation.

"Uh well," Wrath said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He yelped as she suddenly started attacking him. Their sticks collided as they continued to spar. But Wrath only defended as the Kinnaran girl pressed the attack. Her glare continued.

After a few more minutes Thrush ended the sparring session. The Kinnaran girl angrily stormed out of the ring after throwing Wrath one last glare. Wrath hurried after her.

"Uh..." he didn't know her name. "Ma'am," he said awkwardly as he followed behind her.

She whirled around, seething in anger. Her wings flitted in agitation as she rose up off the ground to hover above him. "Why didn't you fight back?"

Wrath froze awkwardly, pressing his hands together and fiddling with them nervously. Heat crept to his cheeks as he tried not to look directly at her. "Uh-I-ah...well-"

"Why aren't you looking at me," she snarled as she moved closer. Wrath's heart began to race at her proximity. "Do you think you're better than me? That you can go easy on me just because you're a male. I'm a warrior. And I expect-"

"I think you're pretty!" Wrath blurted out. The Kinnaran girl flinched, moving back before touching down and staring at him.

She cocked her head to the side. "You think I'm pretty?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. That's kind of why I got knocked out earlier. I was sort of...looking at you and I forgot about the duel. So..." he said awkwardly.

The Kinnaran girl hummed, placing her hands behind her back. She stared at him, looking up through her lashes at him. "So...what happens now?" she asked curiously. Kinnarans were an all female species with little to no interaction with males. How courtship worked was largely unknown to the younger generation.

"Well," Wrath began. He paused to swallow a lump in his throat. "Maybe we can hang out. Get to know each other a little?" he suggested. Wrath had never had a girlfriend either. So this was new territory to him as well.

"I'm Saphine," the Kinnaran said as she extended a hand. Wrath extended his own and grasped hers. He noticed how warm and how small her hand was in comparison to his. But she also noticed the calluses she had from sword practice. He gave it a shake, holding on a little longer than he intended to. She giggled as he let go and dropped her hand.

"Saphine!" Wrath and Saphine glanced back to see several Kinnarans waving at her. She flapped her wings and hovered off the ground. "Bye Wrath. See you around," Saphine said with a grin. She batted her eyes at him, making his flush before she flew toward her friends and out of the temple.

Wrath watched her go with a goofy smile.

"Dude." Wrath flinched before whirling around to face his friend. Havolian looked at him curiously, brow arched in question. "Something good happen?" Wrath gave him a quick recount of the events. "Ah, so that's why I was able to knock you out so easily," Havolian realized. Wrath flushed and nodded.

Havolian stared at his friend, but he smiled at him goodnaturedly.

"Nice," Havo said as he presented his closed fist to him. Wrath gave a chuckle as they bumped fists.


new chap. request from HardWrapping