Enough!


It was freezing cold, and everyone's teeth chattered, well besides Iolas's. The map had led them to a valley filled with fog and their next checkpoint was right in the middle of it. The fog was freezing, melting and refreezing within seconds. Their own breath turned into snow not to mention the rain that was more like hail although it melted just to refreeze again as well. It was a remarkable place if one had not to walk for ages in it. Blade had to take the lead because it was impossible to look further than one could take a step. But even with voice of nature she had problems navigating the group. The fog was filled with magic. There were Frost Wings all around, tiny glittering butterflies that froze the air around them. And while Blade had experience with the spell, this was beyond her. She picked up magic basically everywhere it was not just foggy for the eye but her senses as well. It was extremely hard to distinguish things. Plus, the constant nagging and the now starting to chatter teeth behind her didn't help her concentration.

"F-f-f-fu-fuck-k-k-king c-c-col-d," Mercury was right behind her. "Ca-can't w-we g-g-go any f-f-faster?"

"D-Depends, do you want to run into a monster or ditch? It's nearly as foggy with voice of nature as it is for the eyes. Y-You okay?" Blade turned around. Mercury was covered with tiny frost crystals on his face. 'Holy electron! They are not using enough magic, they'll freeze to death, this is bonkers.'

"W-What's the holdup-p?" Keith asked from behind. He was weakening. He was struggling with the body enhancement but somehow it barely worked out.

Blade for once concentrated on the boys she had faded out before. 'So low! Shit… They'll never make it that way…'

Iolas was eyeing Blade closely, 'Ha, she noticed after all. What are you gonna do now, Blade? Go beyond what you can do? Or order the retreat, well request it.'

"B-B-Blade…?" Julius asked from the middle confused. 'Don't tell me we got lost…'

'Shit, what do I do?!' Blade bit her lip. 'This is ridiculous…' Blade sighed, "Julius, we need to t-turn around. You won't make it. We aren't even at the ch-check point and that's midway." Blade hated to give up, but this was training, not life or death. 'There's no point to this…'

"T-t-t-turn a-around?!" Kai wasn't sure if he should be happy or not.

"Oooh, j-just w-w-walk on…" Dean tightened the cloak around him. They all used them to cover themselves completely and pinned them together on top of using the body enhancement magic.

Michael rubbed his shoulders, "W-w-why d- d- did, w-w-w-we even trrry?..." He was freezing cold.

"Oh, marvellous, you finally accepted defeat. Wonderful, I can't wait to report to Master Codatorta. He'll be pleased," Iolas added sarcastically and walked up to Julius and crossed his arms. "So, leader, can I call this trip off and get the Owl?" He stared him down. 'Let's see if he still is putting the task above team spirit and health. He also could retreat and try again once they have a better plan… not that they have a lot of options.'

Julius could barely see Iolas's face. He balled his fists, 'We can't… if we fail here… we truly might get expelled… shit, shit, shit…stupid guard… Blade, what the heck did you do to piss him off that much!?' He knew they might not make it if the cold wouldn't let up, but he couldn't get them expelled either.

"Heck no!"; "Let's just move on!"; "We won't give up!"; "In y-y-your dreams…" The boys protested.

"You heard them, Blade. K-Keep going," Julius was relieved, that voting had saved him from a hard decision. He was so tired it was hard to think straight.

"That's the spirit!" Iolas resounded seemingly pleased and smirked, 'To get you all killed if this was a real situation… he is so used to using the group consensus. A real leader is there to keep an eye on the big picture. Trainee missions don't teach that unless something goes horribly wrong. He is as blind as a Blood Bat… Oh, boy…'

Blade stomped over to Julius, "This is crazy. Y-You all are using way too less magic to even get to the checkpoint. I won't be able to carry you all."

"Your leader gave you an order," Iolas cut her short. 'Smart to contest that decision. But it should have come from Mercury and he knows it…'

"I'm not talking to you," Blade hissed, 'Fucking retard.'

Iolas flared up some magic and the fog parted slightly so the group could see each other clearly, "Watch your tone, Fairy. You still can't control her, she even disrespects you, I told you what would happen if…"

"B-Blade!" Julius reached out and pressed her head down, "Her apologies." He tried to please the Guard and whispered to Blade, "I'm so sorry, just please… for the team…"

'Fuck, I just want to punch the shit out of him.' Blade had it, "My apologies…Eques Iolas, I didn't mean to be disrespectful," Her eyes burning with anger. Blade turned towards Julius, "Still, my opinion stands. I won't lead you into an icy death you can't escape. You have to see reason, all of you."

But she could see in their faces, they wouldn't give up, they were hellbent on impressing that Guard, or rather pleasing him because they feared he would get them expelled.

"Blade, I g-g-gave you my order," Julius sighed. 'We just have to make it…damn it…I know this is risky…'

"I'm calling Master Codatorta this is ridiculous…" Blade opened up the call list on her bracelet. 'They'll get themselves killed, is that his plan!?' A shiver went down her spine.

Iolas chuckled, "Go ahead, get them expelled yourself. Fine team player you are. I couldn't care less who makes the call." He started his walk back the way they had come from. 'Be smart guys. Chose reason, not emotions…'

"S-s-seriously?!" Dean stopped her hand, "Y-y-you want to l-leave, f-fine… I won't quit." He ground his teeth, 'She's right…for the rest. I should be able to make it…probably…maybe…shit…'

Michael shook his head, 'We're scratching each other's eyes out and for what?! Freezing? …stupid guard…he doesn't give us another choice, but to walk on. Shit!'

The fog slowly crept in again as Iolas moved away. Mercury got closer to the group, "So, w-w-what do we d-d-do?" He rubbed his hands.

Keith stepped closer, "Even if-f we wanted to… we c-can't Blade…"

No way in Magix would she leave them behind. Blade rubbed her nose bridge, 'Standing around is costing them precious magic. I can't leave them, and they won't listen… What is that Elf up to?! If he wanted us dead, he could have killed us by now… Faragonda said that Order is trustworthy… still there always can be bad apples…' She had a hard time holding a straight thought herself and nothing made sense anymore.

"B-Blade, l-l-let's g-g-go…" Kai was shivering so much.

'I can use magic share on their armour again…. But then I need to use a trance to meditate while walking… still… I'm not good with that at all. We just had our sessions with Avalon about it… a theory lesson, no less… I could save some magic if I go down with my enhancement… I didn't test how low I can go here if push comes to shove. I was able to save some when the mosquitos attacked…' Blade clenched her fists. "F-Fine." She growled, "But first I want to know something Eques – please," Blade called out to him.

'Oh, boy, they will try… this is going to end in a disaster…' Iolas turned around, he hadn't gone far, "A question?" he rose an eyebrow, 'Just now they start to ask me stuff? They should have done so, soooooo much sooner…'

"Yes, a question. You said you'll answer them if we have one. H-How long does it take to get the Owl here? I won't r-risk their lives and it's your job to get us home in one p-piece after all. It would be foolish to do anything l-less," Blade asked a bit too aggressively.

'Smart question…still they won't make it, this is a fool's arrant. They'll never make it, they just dropped below the point where they keep themselves warm, geesh, all that teeth chattering…' Iolas smirked, "Owl takes a bit, it's a bit further out and I have to secure that it gets here in one piece. But I can bridge that gap with fire spells. So, no, none of you will freeze to death. But if I have to use those, you'll officially have flunked this test and I make some CALLS." Iolas explained and still kept up the underhanded warning. 'Calls to the infirmary…hm, probably a squad from my Order is faster.'

Everyone nodded, they would give it their all. But Blade halted the boys again, "Wait, I n-need to adjust something at your armours… It's a bit risky, that's why it's not officially k-known, but that way, you all should feel warmer at least for a bit we can do it more than once, but please w-we need as much time between the boosts as possible," Blade stepped to Michael first and checked the back of the armour. She pretended to tinker around under the cloak and infused a good amount of magic. She would split her magic amongst them. 'Just will have to converge my dark magic to light, even if that costs me stamina. Lucky me, Griffin just blocked the Shadion transformation not the dark magic for this mission. But will it be enough? We're so slow, it has to work…plus a trance…it just has to…'

Iolas silently watched as Blade diminished her magic pool greatly, 'Oh, that girl… she'll collapse… I should stop this right here and now, but then she won't learn her lesson. What should I do?' He wasn't sure how to best handle this to give them the best learning curve, so he kept a keen eye on Blade. There was no immediate danger for her or the boys after all. 'Foolish kids…' He wasn't happy at all. 'Definitely was a smart choice to bring more herbs with me.'

The rain or rather hail still wouldn't let up. Blade had slowed much through the trance and sharing her magic was taking its toll, she couldn't regenerate enough in such a short span of time while doing so many other things. And so, the cold had crept into her specialist suit over time. Her teeth were chattering more and more, but like a soldier, she guided the boys on to the checkpoint and from there they had to move on quickly, no time for a break. Blade checked the map instantly once they had reached it; the next checkpoint was just at the end of the valley. 'No, no, no, no… we won't make that…' Blade looked up from the map at the boys sitting back to back exhausted and half-asleep.

Julius and the rest sat down just for a minor break, "I- I'm f-freezing…"

Kai's eyes were falling shut. He was too tired.

Dean rubbed his hands, his fingers were getting number and he was shivering. 'Stupid… …. island…we should boost the armours again.'

Michael felt drowsy and had a major headage, "H-how f-far? Where… t-to… "

Mercury had no concentration left. He tried to meditate but there was no use. He felt as if he could fall asleep any second, "Blade? ..." he asked whisperingly he was right next to her.

Keith frowned as he brushed off the frostbite from his armour, 'Shit, I am nearly out, weird, I somehow regenerated more? For sure I held out longer than expected, though, how?' He gazed at Blade, 'Wait, why is Blade chattering so much? She of all of us should be fine… is it that cold? But then we should be down on the ground…'

"…" Blade didn't know what to answer Michael. 'Shit… I'll never be able to boost them for that long…' Her gaze fell on Iolas who stared at them all. 'Damn it…'

Iolas gave them all a furrow check-up as he sensed their pools. 'They're getting low again, boost is nearly gone. Blade can't possibly boost them throughout the valley. They'll pass out, time to stop this. To image, they got this far after all. They hated each other's guts and yet, here we are… I'd hoped Julius would see reason and call this off, guess I underestimated them after all. Sadly, he is not thinking clearly anymore, none of the boys are. They are simply walking like brainless puppets after Blade. They are so stubborn, they got willpower alright...too bad they can't put it to proper use – yet.' He breathed in, "Well, then-"

"That way!" Blade pointed to her right. "Next checkpoint is the straight line out of here," Blade closed the map and stuffed it away before anyone else would check.

Iolas stared at her, 'That's a lie. But it's the best call for all of them. Even if that rout takes way longer. Normally this would be the leaders call…' But Mercury as well as Julius were barely keeping their shit together their concentration and bodies were failing them after nearly three days of permanent stress and use of magic, which compared to Blade they weren't used to at all. 'They won't like that when they find out, you lied Blade… that's the problem with keeping secrets.'

"F-f-f-fairy of blad-d-d-des. C-C-C-Charmix," Blade activated her magical boost. "Let's g-g-get out of h-h-here." She glared at Iolas with a burning fire in her eyes. 'I won't let you fail them not in a million years. Not after coming so far, you, asshole.' She went around and touched each of them on the shoulder plate to infuse them with another shot of magic and pulled them up, "Y- you can d-do this..." a wave of cold hit her as first her Charmix and then her Winx form vanished. 'Cold…' A shiver went down her spine. Her hands tingled. She smiled brightly for a second there.

"Y-You alright?" Keith was super confused. 'Did she? But I don't have more magic… no way she would, that be crazy, Blade isn't that …. still, I feel warmer… girl's smile, I guess?' His brain was putty, he couldn't put two and two together. He just wanted to get out of this death trap.

"Y-Y-Yeah," Blade smiled to reassure him, they had no time to waste with a senseless discussion about sharing magic now. She could feel the brunt of the cold the boys must have felt when their magic had been too low. 'Shit, that's so cold…Gotta hurry my Charmix is gone for the next few hours… I hope that cliff is not too high to climb…'

"O-Okay…let's get a m-move on…" Julius nodded eagerly to get out of the freezing cold. 'Ah… end in sight, gotta pull through.' He felt a warm tingling feeling, for him that was due to the good news, he like the others had no clue that it was because of Blade. After all, Blade never shared magic because of her small pool size.

They reached the cliffs that led out of the valley, Keith flew up to tighten the rope again. And got the bags up this time around, it wasn't a high cliff to scale but they were out of breath and it was iced. Blade stayed on the ground. Ready to transform and catch someone if need be.

Blade watched closely as the guys made their way up, using some phanto-knifes to get some hold at least. She was shivering. She had nearly dropped her body enhancement completely so she would have enough magic to transform at all. But that also meant that she had to rely solely on the training suit. And down here it wasn't just cold like in their summer camp mission. It was magically induced cold. Those Forst Wings were still all around and came closer to her as she was not projecting her magic outwards.

Iolas presented as unimpressed, but he was super tense, scaling that cliff so exhausted could end in a disaster even if it was nothing compared to the first one not higher than a house or two. He was on high alert. They were on their last breaths, but camping down here was not an option with the tents destroyed either, it would be more likely they would freeze to death in their sleep. 'All of them are so desperate…' He didn't take his eyes of them, yet he could sense that Blade was not using her magic to counter the cold. 'That she can still stand… I thought she'd collapse by now. She got way better in managing her pool, to think she got them all to the checkpoint and this cliff…oh no, the Frost Wings.'

A Frost Wing sat down on her leg, a stinging pain rushed through her leg, 'Fuck…' She swiped it off. 'Holy electron their touch is…,' Blade's leg gave way, but she caught herself. She flared up just a bit of magic and warmed up the spot, 'Just a bit further… come on guys… hurry it up…' She gazed at her friends nearly at the top the fog was lighter here at the edges. She slowed her breathing and looked around trying to spot those Frost Wings. 'Just a bit longer…'

Mercury was the first to reach the top, then Julius, and Dean was third in line. A warm brunt hit them as Kai and Michael barely made it. It was still raining up there but there was no freezing fog. It was easily a couple of degree warmer. "Finally, … Oh how I missed the rain…" Kai fell to his knees.

"Blade…" Iolas stepped closer to her. They were still down on the bottom of the cliff. Deeply concerned he reached out to give her a boost of magic as more of the Frost Wings were closing in. Draining magic and freezing animals that wandered into the fog was how they caught their prey after all.

Blade raised her arm and blocked him, "D-d-d-don't t-t-touch me. I still can s-s-t-t-tand," She glared at him, "We'll f-f-f-finish your stup- this t-t-t-test. J-j-j-just you w-…w-w-a-ait…" Yet her tough play couldn't hide her stumble, she was half frozen herself by now and had been for quite a while since the boys' climb had taken longer than she had expected.

'Okay, enough is enough they'll truly get themselves killed,' Iolas reached out yet again to pick her off the ground and fly up. 'Why isn't she using her leftover magic already for body enhancement… is she so low on concentration?'

"W-W- Winx-x-x…" Blade transformed and dashed to the side and then upwards. 'You'll not fail us…'

Iolas flew close behind her, 'Is she crazy? … What if she faints and I wasn't here?! Reckless.'

Blade landed on the cliff top, "K-K-Kieth, f-f-f-f-fire…" She was shaking, but they had to secure the camp first and get a fire started. And he was the least frozen of them all. She dropped out of her fairy form and converted her leftover mana back into Drion to keep herself going and bolster her stamina again. 'Made it…' She moved towards the backpacks and pulled out the ripped tent tarpaulins and covered the boys with them,

Keith tried to muster some magic to get a fire going but failed, he had nothing left, "Sorry Blade… I just…c-can't…need more magic…'

Blade nodded, "O-kay… go meditate."

Keith sat down and instantly dosed off. Never ever had he used so much magic at once and Blade had boosted him less than the others.

Mercury barely kept his eyes open, "Use… one of the… flares…" He rummaged and pulled himself out of his backpack, but his muscles were acing even though that cost him so much.

Iolas was super tense, they just barely had made it, he had feared the worst, after all, more than half the team was cold out on the cliff the rest barely awake. 'Her will is something else… I saw grown men tumble, fall and falter. Not to mention the boys, they know even less of magic and still made this climb. Their applied survival training has so many holes, and their team spirit is easily rattled, but I didn't give them enough credit after all. They all have a will of steel to see things through to the end. To go beyond… is that all because of what happened to the Queen of Desertia? Their losses?' He checked their conditions, 'No actual dangerous frostbite, mostly grade one and few spots of grade two… amazing, they already have improved in the usage of body enhancement magic without even noticing. And Blade has regulated her pool admirably under these circumstances. She's not the fool she once was,' He bit his lip, 'I can't call it off now. That would be too devastating for their egos. Still…' His gaze wandered to Blade. She was pushing herself hard and ignited a fire with the flare from Mercury. 'They are in the open… and it's still cold here… hmmm… If they are not moving off this cliff in the next half an hour. They are done for. If she falls asleep…'

'That bastard…' Blade glared at Iolas who would stop staring at her. Somehow that made her feel all warm and fuzzy. She set a timer on her bracelet. 'Ten minutes, that should give Keith enough time so we can move…' Shaking she set down as close as possible in front of the fire and throw some stones in as well to heat them up and put them on the spots where the Frost Wings had gotten to her.

Somehow Blade and Keith had managed after their super short break to walk the boys further into the forest, they were soaked through. And with some close-standing trees even managed to get some walls and a roof together with the tarpaulins. Luckily for them, the wind wasn't so strong in this part of the jungle. Keith had managed to set up a new fire with what they had saved from the cliff and some of his magic. Slowly and steadily they had warmed up again. But their old problems were not gone. The boys barely regenerated magic as they still had to use body enhancement magic to weather the elements. They had munched down the berries in no time while they had walked through the fog. And their bodies were in dire need of something more savoury.

"Keith…" Blade tried to get his attention again. But he was exhausted.

"Hmm…" Keith glanced at Blade. "Just give me a sec, I'll be…" His voice already began to fade out, "…right with…. you…."

"I'll be b-back in a minute… I'll check for f-f-food…Watch the c-camp, kay?" Blade watched as he slightly nodded. 'He's going nowhere fast…' She felt tired as well and rubbed her cheeks. 'Focus… Blade… just like in Phere-Moan, you can sleep later…first things first, food.' She unpacked the tripod and pod and ready some soup water from her drinking bottle and basically through anything in from her herb bag that could be used as food. "That will taste like shit… ahh, damn…" She pulled out her trophy from the herb collection. It was a handful of tiny nuts, she had gathered on some trees. "That will need to boil a bit …" She stood up and closed in on the entrance.

"And where are you going?" Iolas cut her off from leaving the tent. 'She's not seriously considering going outside now…'

"Getting more food, Eques, they need it, so do I," Blade walked on unphased.

'Splitting up, again…. Great… and they won't be able to fend anything off…' Iolas let her pass. 'Gotta build a barrier and follow her…'

To the group's luck rather than planning, they weren't attacked by any monster, beast or faced with harsher winds. The fire was crackling and the warm steam was rising from the pod and filling the makeshift tent.

Julius opened his eyes, 'What, when?' He could barely remember that they had managed to set up a camp, so exhausted he had been and still was. His head was aching and so were his sore muscles. He looked around. "Where is Blade?" he rubbed his eyes.

"…" Keith sighed, he wanted to go with her, but once he was awake she had been already gone. "She said she'd be back in a minute."

Mercury was woken by the conversation, "How long was that ago? I didn't even hear her leave…" He pulled himself up.

"Don't quite know," Keith's head hurt so much. He barely could keep his eyes open, he had taken the first watch. After all, he had remembered that Blade said something about that.

"Don't know?" Julius was already lost for words. "Why didn't you go with her? ..." Julius rose and looked around.

Dean growled as he got disturbed in his slumber, yet he sat up as well, "What's that smell?"

Michael stared at the makeshift roof of theirs, "Not me… that frost did wonders against that stink."

Kai spotted the hot boiling pot over the fire, "Smells like food…" He crawled up to the pot and spied inside. "Woah, you made soup? When?" He already was drooling.

Keith frowned, "What no? We barely got here… and meditated…" But with the now rising steam, it was undeniable. Someone had cooked something up and it smelled good.

Mercury walked over to Michael, "Hmm… But if Blade has been gone for only a few minutes and you took first watch… he? That would leave… No way, I very much doubt that the Council Guard cooked for us…"

"Oh, and why is that?" Iolas came back inside. He had heard the ruckus and just had checked up on Blade, who had made her way alone to the river nearby. Yet he knew that Keith was constantly falling asleep and his spells had alerted him to some monsters that were roaming around and Blade was safe at her location.

"E-Eques!?" Everyone got startled.

"Are you saying I am not taking care of you? That I am training you too harshly? Judging you unfairly?" He asked superiorly. "We can call Codatorta if you like to file a complaint. I told him what we'd be up to beforehand," He grinned. "I could file mine as well."

"No, of course not!" Kai laughed tensely. 'Fuck him…harsh is no word for this!' he spotted some herbs clearly Blade had collected before. 'That was her or maybe not… hmm, that is a lot… did she have enough time to get… but even then, she needs it to please Griffin…. She wouldn't give up on one mission for another, would she?'

"I'm not saying that at all…" Mercury averted his gaze, 'I'm just thinking it… asshole…food is a good idea though…'

"Wow, hey, isn't that… what's it called?" Dean pointed some purplish-white striped nuts out.

"Oh, right, … that's that fancy food you see in castle banquets. It makes food taste amazing…" Julius's empty stomach rumbled so did the stomachs of the others. 'I'll better eat before they all shove it down their throats.'

"It's also very expensive and hard to come by…" Michael pondered. 'Why would he of all people… well don't look a gifted horse in the mouth… better get some before they'll empty it out.'

"Well, you're hungry, dig in…after that icy plain you should," Iolas laughed, "I mean if you don't want it I can take it away again…"

"NOOO!" everyone screamed in synch and rushed to get their bowls. No one would pass up a free meal, they were ravished.

Iolas sat down in the corner and closed his eyes, keeping track of the monsters, 'Keith has no idea that she is gone since over half an hour… and before she had set up the soup… eating should be the last thing they should be doing if they don't know what their teammate is up to.' He opened one eye as he already could hear some squabbling around the soup pot. 'Oh boy, like starving wolves…this won't end well…will they even leave some for her?'

And as predicted the boys didn't hold back at all. The soup was hot and warming them up. Plus, it tasted amazing. Even if it was missing something meaty to complete it. Yet, they went for seconds, thirds, and fourths. Their bowls weren't so big after all. They easily had diminished about half in just a few minutes.

"Hey, slow down, Dean," Michael complained. "You're like on your sixth bowl!"

"Am not," Dean hissed back, "Besides, I'm bigger and I do more around here."

"Don't forget to leave some for Blade," Julius reminded them as he stood up to get his next serving.

"Where is she?" Kai was still confused. "You said she'd be a minute…"

"Yeah, Keith?" Mercury stood up, "BLADE?!" Nothing.

"Dude. She's a girl, they always take longer in the bushes… You know that…" Keith stood up.

"Hey! Don't just hog all the nuts!" Michael hissed at Dean and tried to grab the soup spoon from him.

The giant growled, "I simply dug the spoon under, not my fault I got so many…"

Kai stared at the bowl of his teammate, "As if! Put them back!"

"You already had like ten," Julius shook his head. "I on the other hand had like three."

"Well, with your bad decisions that's the least you could give up…" Michael mumbled half-loud.

Mercury balled his fist, "Hey! That's enough complaining from you. We are doing our best."

"Best?" Dean chuckled.

Keith snatched the soup spoon, "Well, it wasn't stellar, you have to admit that…"

"Then why don't you contribute a suggestion for once," Julius got so triggered by those comments. He knew he had fucked up, but they didn't make it any easier and were constantly looking to him for an answer. It was so much pressure.

"I did, slow down, take breaks," Keith spat back raising his hand.

Michael jumped backwards, "Hey, watch it!"

Dean tried to get the spoon back, "Don't waste the food!"

"Woah," Kai got bumped by Dean and fell, "Dude?! Stop pushing, you glutton!"

"Hey, that's enough!" Mercury tried to get in between.

Iolas stared at them deadpan, 'And here we go… Blade should have taken the pot with her, ahahaha. Typical teenage boys and their food.' He stood up and vanished. He had to take care of the wolf pack closing in.

"Stupid fish…" Blade growled. She breathed in again. She was too slow with the Phanto-Knife. Her concentration was shit and her reflexes non-existent. 'Fine magic dart it is…' She aimed and shot. After over thirty failed attempts to catch one of those vast beasts she finally decided to resort to using her precious magic. Swoosh. "YEAH!" Success. Quickly she jumped into the stream to catch dead fish before it would be washed away or those other fish would gobble it up. "Ouch!" She jumped away and flared up more magic because something had nipped her in the boot. "Ahhhh!" Hurriedly she dragged her catch out and laid down in the rain, panting, rubbing her foot, thankfully the boot had held the hungry fish teeth off. 'That will get them back in a good mood, together with the soup it will be the first good meal since… eh… since coming here. Good thing that a river was close by the camp this time around.' Blade breathed in deeply. She was tired and her legs were heavy. 'Come on, Blade, just a bit longer.' She pulled herself up. 'At least we don't have zombies here…'

"Stop!" Julius seized Kai who in return was glaring at him.

Iolas just came back through the intended entrance from scaring the wolfs off. One of the tent sides had loosened and was flattering in the winds, but that fact got completely ignored. 'What the heck happened I was gone maybe five minutes?!' The guys were at each other's throats and in each other's faces.

"Hey, watch the pot!" Kai ripped himself loose and tried to pull Dean back who stomped towards Keith, who flared up some magic, just for good measures.

"Oh, you! That's it!" Michael trembled in anger, the boys had shouted at each other for the last minutes and he finally truly had enough and lost it. He threw his bowl at Mercury.

Mercury ducked away and chuckled, "Fine sniper you ar-" The bowl flew past him and through the ripped-open tend side.

'SHIT!' Iolas had not expected Mercury to simply doge it instead of using his Phanto-Axe he had at hand already. And now he was too late to save Blade, who had not expected an attack and was too slow and tired from her hunt.

"Ouch!" Blade's voice resounded from behind them all but stayed unheard by the riled-up boys.

"LET GO!" Dean shoved Kai who pushed back and Julius tried to get them both apart stumbled and crashed into the tripod holding the soup pot over the fire in place. The whole contraption collapsed and a good amount of the left-over soup spilled all over the fireplace.

Blade had fallen to her feet something had hit her from the bowl that had shattered on the impact with the tree next to her. She rolled to the side to take cover and hid behind the tree. 'What in Magix?!' She pressed down on her forehead shortly where it hurt. 'Sticky?' Irritated Blade took her hand off a shard that had scraped her forehead. Red. Blood. And it already dripped down into her eyes. 'Shit.' While it wasn't a bad cut or deep. Due to the many blood vessels so close to the skin surface like all head wounds it tended to bleed a lot and this was no exception.

"ENOUGH!" Iolas voice thundered. 'That's it. Attacking each other over soup.' He couldn't believe it. He had expected some bickering but assaulting each other. The guys stopped dead in their tracks. Iolas asked concerned, "Blade? Everything alright?"

'No, no, no… he will fail them! If he sees the blood. That's just the excuse he waited for…crap, crap…glamour!' Blade mustered her just regained magic and glamoured herself to cover the wound and the pouring blood. "Stupid fish crate," Blade theatrically cursed from behind the trees and stood up and walked around the tree through the ripped side of their makeshift tent. Only now she spotted the fighting boys, the spilled-over soup and Iolas who finally had it.

The boys watched as Blade came in with a huge fish at hand. "Blade…" Mercury was flustered, "I didn't see you… if I had known…"

Michael embarrassed looked to the ground, 'Damn it. I didn't mean to...'

Julius stepped forward concerned, "Are you hurt?"

"Ah… the poor soup," Blade put on a smile. "Don't worry guys. I told you I'll fix my mistake, look what I caught, no more empty stomachs." Bravely she walked on and pressed the fish into Mercury's hands. "Cut that up and prepare it, please. I'll get some fresh water from the river," Blade picked up the soup pot. The expensive nuts she had found were all dirty and half charred now in the fire. 'Oh, come on… what a waste, should have saved some to pacify Griffin, damn those, urgh, … got to stay calm. It's just plants and herbs...' She swallowed her anger, this wasn't worth it. She didn't want them to get expelled and the Council Guard already looked like doom was upon them. "Be right back!" Blade smiled brightly yet again and turned around. "Get the fire going again, okay? I can't wait for a good meal." Blade simply left the camp again and hurried away, running as fast as she could, 'Have to get that bleeding under control before Iolas will pick up on it...' She panted heavily.

The boys silently stood there, biting their tongues unable to speak or follow. They were so embarrassed and angry with themselves.

Iolas shook his head, "That's it. This is the end of this test."

"What?! But we-" Julius heart sank to his boots. 'He'll fail us! Damn it, Michael!'

"There is no WE here," Iolas shut Julius down. "All I see are egotistically teenage boys, who aren't even able to spot that their teammate is bleeding and faking a smile. – For your sake I might add! Not to mention the three thousand Maggi worth of nuts you burned to a crisp," He wouldn't have it.

"Three thousand…? Wait, what bleeding?" Keith eyes widened as did those of the others. "But there was no blood. She would have said so…"

"She used a glamour because she thinks and knows that you lot can't take any more pressure. You have been complaining and not taking this seriously at all," Iolas scolded them and pulled the tent tarpaulin straight, which revealed some bloody fingerprints on the edges. "She can glamour herself, but not her surroundings."

"As if you care!" Kai hissed. "You talked her down and cut her off all the time!" He wouldn't let him get insulted by that guard. "Blade!" He was ready to follow her.

"Hedera," Iolas used the vines of the jungle to tie them all up. "YOU stay PUT. And think what you have actually achieved, here. And what learnings and feedback you have for yourself and each other."

"Learnings? You wanted us to fail from the start, this mission is impossible for us, and you know it! There was no end to the locations we were supposed to go. How are we supposed to reach the finish line in time!?" Julius got upset. "You can't fail us for the impossible!"

Iolas knew Blade needed some time to cool down first. There were no monsters around he had checked and that head wound was nothing life-threatening at all, just annoying. So, he would deal with the guys first. Calm yet firmly he started with Julius, "Exactly, this was not a mission to finish. There is no finish line. Just another checkpoint to get to. And when did I ever say you had to reach the finish line in a certain time frame? I said you as leader are there to guide your team over the finish line, you could have taken all week for the first checkpoint for all I care; and that had been the finish line, but no you all just wanted to impress and make a reputation and raced into your doom. This was a stress test to see and learn, find strengths and bond. Yet you Julius, didn't lead. You didn't listen to your team when they requested breaks; when you listened, it was so you could escape making the hard choices. What do you think a leader is for? I'm not even sure if you want that position, besides your talents for it," Iolas paused, "You should think hard about what kind of leader you want to be and if at all? Is this your family? A military squad? Just people you have to stick with for a few years? As leader, it is your job to have oversight of what your team needs. Every single member. To mediate and find the middle ground. To keep people in line and stay cool-headed and implement the tools from your training. Tag teams for example…that are basics. I don't care if you hate each other's guts, tag teams save lives. You already know that, first lesson in Red Fountain. At least implement that."

Julius was lost for words. 'Do I want to be a leader? I just got the position, nobody asked me if I wanted it…' He started to the ground ashamed.

Iolas turned to Michael and raised his voice slightly, "You never ever ATTACK your teammates on a mission. Not for jokes, giggles or because you are pissed, especially then. That gets people hurt. IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes…" Michael was already regretting it he felt awful. He hadn't seen Blade. And if he was honest he hadn't even thought about what he was doing. He just had let his anger rule over him.

Iolas stared at him and breathed out deeply and lowered his voice again, "What is it you truly want? You have such focus and will even if things are tough, I saw it in the mud lands, you went as far as you could even if Blade had to carry you in the end. Yet besides being a good shot - most of the time. I don't see anything you use that strive yours for. The kingdoms are full of strong fighters. Orders are not searching for strong fighters unless you are in the top crop. But they always search for team players, people with vision. Find yours, think about what intrigues you. You are that kind of person that needs a set goal to truly unleash your full potential, think beyond Red Fountain, pick some decent elective subjects. Find something and stick to it."

'My goal… I just want to finish Red Fountain and become a Specialist. Then… then…' He truly had no answer to the question.

"And you, Mercury, you're Co-Leader, when Julius is gone his job is yours. Yet you two are so used to the group consensus that you have no idea how to keep order than it gets tough. Every team has hard patches. You can't just lean back when the team has an argument and pretend it doesn't happen. Some day you might even have to escort a criminal and have to protect him. Lose friends for such a cause, what will you do then? Let your escort get killed by your own team, do it yourself? Also, you are Julius's consciousness, you are there to give him feedback, always. If you think his decision is bad, tell him and even better give him another option and help him. Count on each other and have an open ear for your team, collect feedback."

Mercury closed his eyes shut, 'I…no one listened… I …just… I was just fed up…'

"Dean, you know your strengths. You know what you are good at. But just doing those things is no excuse to simply say 'fuck you' to the rest. Step up. You will not be able to enter any Order with that attitude. You either are part of the team and help where you can or you're no help at all. Not every mission is about fighting or lifting things as you may have noticed these past few days. Don't let your emotions out on the rest of your team. Pulling your weight doesn't mean just doing tasks you like. Being strong is not a task and no excuse to slack off. If the rest is struggling and you have the energy help them however you can no need to fall into the victim mode and do nothing more… I'm not saying you need to do everything, but there is enough small stuff to be done on missions. You can't threaten your own team members just because something pisses you off, learn how to deal with your emotions, talk to your leader if you need help to clear things up, be honest, but don't drag your team's morale down. There are constructive methods for this." Iolas sighed.

Dean ground his teeth, 'I did my job, I even carried their stuff, they are the ones slacking off… what else could I have…' He looked to the fireplace and spilled soup, the loose tent line. Blade had done so much besides playing compass in the fog and being tired herself, 'All I cared for was to get nap. Shit…' He was upset with himself.

"Keith," Iolas looked to the upstart Wizard, "I know you are trying to be a healer and yes wasting magic on missions can be fatal. But you had Blade in your team. This is training. At least ask her how spells work, how she does things and when. Some spells overlap. At the very least you could have trained voice of nature, even if it wouldn't have worked in the start, you would have gotten the hang of it eventually, but you are too scared to try. Also, as healer it is your job to do check-ups on your team, inspect them from close up and far away. Not just the body but also the mental state. Leaders and Co-Leaders don't always have the focus to spot such things or are impaired themselves. You are their safety net. That's the job of a healer." He explained to him calmly, "Also, if the team is exhausted it is your right and job to order the team to take a break. You can't heal everyone at once even if you could use healing spells. You need to ensure that you can save all if necessary, especially then there is no time limit."

Keith averted his gaze. 'I did so many mistakes… I just… Blade…' He looked to the direction she had vanished through.

"Kai, you are a happy soul, a goofball, normally. You keep up the good morale with your jokes and ease tension. Why stop, just because it gets hard? Learn when and how to use your wits. Also, you are not the strongest fighter or have the biggest magic pool. Your dream is to become a specialist. That you will be, don't worry so much about it. Rather think what you want to learn, contribute to this team or any team you will work with in the future. There are tons of good fighters stronger than you. So, what can you bring to the table? You have so many talents and yet you haven't even considered using them for your team in any of your past missions, besides playing pranks. Don't be shy, you can be a goofball and a brain. Those are not exclusive."

'Talents?' Kai looked at the others and then back to Iolas but had no answer for him, 'Easier said than done…'

Iolas had been harsh but he hadn't screamed or anything. He breathed out. He sensed through the nature connection that Blade had safely made it to the river again. "No one is failing or getting expelled. Don't get me wrong, okay? I was harsh, I triggered you, I pulled and nagged at your team's morale and spirit. This was a stress test, not just survival training. And I did this because all you boys had, were easy archivable missions. Guys, you don't win every time. If this is how you react to failure. You still have a lot to learn about the real world. Even Blade, made mistakes. But she knows that failing gets people killed, she is the only one who truly pulled herself together, she knows reality, she has lived through it. You all want to support her. You share some of her goals, won't be her backup, just as she is to you. Well, if you can't even have her back here in a forest, where it's just us. How will you help her fight against politicians, black magic or traitors? Those aren't easy opponents…" He sighed, "You can't ace through life, don't expect that of you. Sometimes it gets so tough and there is no good solution and you will have to choose between two evils. That is when the team has to stick together and face the threats together. What good are you as a team if you finish the task but your trust in each other is shattered afterwards? You lay your lives in each other's hands. The leaders must trust that you have their back and your members must be able to fully trust you that you will make the decisions that get them home safely."

Iolas looked into silent faces they took this hard and they were worried. "One last thing before I go to check up on Blade. You are specialists. You CAN'T let your Fairy or Wizard pull all of your weight. It is your job to protect your casters and make life as easy as possible for them. You already noticed that there are many tasks only full casters can do. They don't have the time or the resources to waste magic on menial tasks, that you should do yourselves. Has any of you even noticed that Blade used her magic to boost you? No. She nearly collapsed under the pressure. You kept pressing her to use more and more magic because you let yourself be agitated by me and so did she herself." Everyone stared at him wide-eyed they had no idea. "If she hadn't improved so much at managing her pool she would have collapsed…" He made sure to get that point across, everyone looked horrified by the thought. "She did push beyond what is good for her to help you, to save you from me. She could have fainted when she flew up that cliff in the fog valley. If this was real and she had. She would have died down there. Still, after all that, it was she who build up the tent mostly alone, cooked, and went out on a food hunt alone, because you lot were oh so tired. You want your Wizards and Fairies at full strength for fights or special tasks that need magic. Your healer shouldn't use magic unless utterly necessary or it is safe and you are not in a hostile area. He needs to heal you in the worst-case scenario. Every magic user class has its own strength and weaknesses. You need to cover for each other. That way you'll have a balanced team."

Iolas breathed out and released the vines, "Don't be devastated by this. This happens every time I am asked to take trainees on a stress test. Even grown-ups. Laciport has that effect on people even my team." Iolas stopped his preaching and bowed deeply. "My apologies for putting you through this ordeal. From now on I'll take the lead and help you improve on those things. Don't think you fucked up everything. You are a great team with flaws, yes, but there is no team without flaws. This mission was set up to fail any team. And this mission is actually used to find candidates to join our elven Order. So, for people who have years of experience under their belt. Not trainees, so holding out as long as you did is a major achievement nonetheless. If you work on all the points I told you and ask for help – count on your teachers as well, get more feedback, ask stuff beyond classes and you surely will improve a lot." He smiled at them pleased. "Now, please, prepare the fish. I'll get Blade and please don't leave camp. There is a wolf pack out there to the west, you are in no condition to fight it. I have set up runes to keep them away if they stay unprovoked," He rose from his bow and summoned up his staff and stomped it on the ground, "Terra Carverna." The earth around them rose and formed a round mini hut with one entrance and a tiny hole at the top which was covered with another little roof to let smoke out. "Be right back. Julius, you have the lead till I am back. Get the camp ready for a longer stay, we'll discuss this in depth once everyone is back. Oh, and lastly no one is going anywhere alone, I don't care if you are taking a piss or whatever, tag teams ALWAYS this island is dangerous. Calcei ala!" And off he was with his winged boots to catch up with Blade.