Chapter 3

Nightstar POV:

As my team gathered in the gym, I wasted no time putting them to work. "Alright team, let's do some sparring! Stinger and Sparrow you'll duke it out on the right side, Crow and Darkstar the left. As always I'll spar with the overall winner." As my teammates moved to their respective places and I flew around to observe each fight. Both sides were close and evenly matched. In the end it was Sparrow against Darkstar. It was always fun to watch these two spar. Everyone knew these two had a thing for each other. Well, everyone but them. Both Sparrow and Darkstar hate losing, but their feelings for each other cause them to hold back when faced against each other. It's somewhat amusing to see them struggle with their need to when and their need to please. With them it's never about who is a better fighter, it's about who is willing to lose.

They went to the center mat, where they positioned themselves in a fight stance. Their eyes were locked in an intense staring contest. I shouted "go!" and watched the battle begin. Sparrow, as usual, attacked first. She took the form of a tigress (class sheathed of course) and pounced on top of Darkstar, pinning him to the mat. Darkstar used his alien strength to throw her off. Sparrow shifted back to her human form, while Darkstar flew up and then towards her. He knew she would return to her human form, which made her an easy target. Sparrow seemed to anticipate his move and at the last second morphed into a hummingbird and dogged his attack. Darkstar landed on the mat head first and let out a grunt as he lifted himself off the mat. Sparrow immediately dived down and stabbed him on his butt with her pointed hummingbird beak. Darkstar jumped and let out a whelp.

"Oww! Sparrow what the heck?!" Darkstar shouted. Sparrow darted back to her side of the mat and morphed back into her human form. She held herself from laughing so hard.

"Hahaha! You should see your face! I totally got you!" Sparrow laughed. Darkstar rolled his eyes, but wore a smug look.

"Whatever, I know you were just so tempted to feel my nicely toned butt that you couldn't help yourself. It's ok, Sparrow, I don't blame you." Darkstar said sarcastically, still looking smug. Sparrow started blushing profoundly and I could tell that she was caught off guard by my brother's confident response. He saw it too and charged at her. She didn't understand what was happening, until she was pinned down by her appoint. I could see Darkstar smiling at her. He leaned down by her ear and whispered something. By the blush on their faces I could tell it was another suggestive comment.

"Always playing dirty, brother." I thought. I shook my head and prepared to call the fight to an end when Sparrow's eyes suddenly started glowing black. Not a good sign. Next thing I know, Darkstar is trying to fly away, but Sparrow sent out a burst of dark magic that engulfed my brother and slammed him back now on that mat. Sparrow then pounced on him, pinning him down in the same way he had her just moments before.

"I win!" Growled Sparrow.

"O...ok, Sparrow. You win!" Darkstar stuttered, obviously scared. I couldn't see Sparrow's face, but from the reaction she was getting out of my brother, it had to be bad.

"Ok Sparrow, that's enough! Let him go!" I called, signaling the end of the fight. Sparrow hesitated for a moment before jumping off of him. She had a look of horror, like she had just seen a ghost. "Sparrow, it's ok. You won fair and square." I tried to comfort her, but she just looked away from me and made her way towards Crow and Stinger, who were standing on the sidelines with me during the fight. Stinger was grinning proudly, oblivious to everyone else's concern. Sparrow just ignored her and went to stand by Crow. Crow was staring at her, obviously the most concerned. From the way they were acting, I would guess that they were having a mental chat. It bothered me to no end when they did that. It kept me in the dark, and despite my name, I didn't appreciate it. I helped Darkstar up and I could tell he was still a bit shaken up. "You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting that. But really, I'm ok." He said that last part more towards Sparrow than me. His voice was filled with worry. Sparrow simply nodded back to him and he made his way over her.

"I'm really, really sorry Darkstar. I...I didn't mean to scare you." Sparrow apologized. Darkstar sent her a sweet smile, filled with love that honestly made me sick to see.

"Really, it's alright." He spoke softly and then added in a joking fashion. "And for the record, I was NOT scared." That seemed to boost Sparrow's spirit.

"Ha! Yeah right! I totally creamed your sorry butt!"

"Lucky shot!"

"Want me to try again?" Sparrow challenged, eyes glowing black again, but this time in a playful manor. Darkstar threw his hands in the air in defeat.

"Sparrow! You and me! Let's go!" I shouted once the tension went down. Again, Sparrow hesitated before replacing her nervous look with a determined one.

"Coming Boss!" Came Sparrow replied as she made her way back to the mat.

"Hang on Sparrow!" Crow interrupted causing Sparrow to stop and glare at him while the rest of us sent him confused stares.

"What is it Crow?" I questioned.

"Well, it's just that, I think it's best if Sparrow and I did some meditation before our parents arrive." Crow said nervously. I was about to reply, but Sparrow beat me to it.

"I'm fine, Crow! I got this."

"But Sparrow, you haven't meditated all week. You'll lose control if you don't meditate."

"I'm fine Crow! Just leave me alone!" There was a pause, continued with a surprising statement. "I WILL fight, and I WILL win!"

"You see?! It's that kind of thinking that just proves me right! If you would just do as you're supposed to and meditate every morning, you wouldn't need me to force you to do so during a training session!" Both twins were now in each other's faces and sending each other Raven style glares. Even though Crow was more passive than his outgoing sister, they were both equally stubborn.

"Alright that's enough!" I budded in. "Crow, as always, I appreciate you looking out for your fellow teammates, but if Sparrow says she can, and wants, to continue with training than I will allow it." Crow tried to say something, but I cut him off. "That's my final decision. End of discussion!" I declared. Crow looked deflated, but obeyed and Sparrow continued to journey towards the mat.

I was already in my fighting stance when she finally made it over. Once she was ready, Darkstar called out "Go!" I attacked first by lounging at her, sending her blows with a combination of fists and kicks. She managed to dodge most of my blows, but didn't offer any in return. Instead, she stayed on the defense. Only blocking or avoiding my shots. Finally, I got tired of waiting, and I flew up enough so I could fire some star bolts around her. Purposely missing only by a hair, so I would get a reaction out of her. It worked. She shifted into a golden eagle and shot up towards me. I was prepared, though, and so I quickly flew out of her path. We chased each other for a few minutes, both of us in the air with me shooting star bolts every now and then. Eventually, one of my star bolts hit her and she started falling towards the mat. I reacted quickly and was able to catch her still bird-shape body before she landed on the mat. I laid her on the ground and she morphed back into her human form.

"Sparrow, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that." I apologized.

Sparrow didn't respond. She was holding her head and shaking. She started mumbling something unintelligent. "Sparrow?" I asked cautiously while slowly approaching her. "Is everything alright?"

Suddenly, she stopped shaking and mumbling. Then she lifted up her head to reveal wolf-like eyes and a snarl.

"Nightstar, RUN!" I heard Crow yell, but it was too late. Sparrow lounged at me and as quick as lightning she had me pinned down. She started growling at me and I could see all of her teeth, suddenly razor sharp. I panicked and shot a star bolt at her, which blew her off me. I jumped up and took to the sky, my eyes now glowing green, ready to strike. Her eyes turned a blood-red color and she shot out a fist of dark magic. It hit me hard and sent me flying into a wall. She was about to come after me, when dark magic surrounded her holding her in place. I looked around for the obvious choice to thank, but when my eyes landed on Crow, he only shook his head and pointed to the gym doors. There stood a very angry Raven, her eyes and hands still glowing with dark magic, a very worried Changeling, and a very scared little girl clinging to her mother's cloak. "Great," I thought, "dad is sure to hear about this."