‘Hey, Cali, I have an end-of-semester SC meeting. I’ll be at Guild Training a little late. You have access, so you can go and warm up with Li, if she’s there. I won’t be more than twenty minutes late.’
Calista’s AIDA band shone with the message after Lunch. She’d been getting along well enough with Lílitha, but she wasn’t sure about being alone with her in the training room. She worried the little woman would start making her do more grueling exercises— she always said that Harrison went too ‘easy’ on Calista, in her opinion.
She’d made a new uniform in the morning during Breakfast period, despite the exhaustion from the short sleep she had. She was half-done with the bra-and-pants combo, still debating on some of the touches, but she’d completed one that played to her Ninja Ballet skill.
It was a blue bodysuit without sleeves or legs, much like a swimsuit, but with thinner fabric. The school logo was on the right chest and ‘FISTBORN’ was in white on the back. Her Guild patches were replaced by an orange Pet belt that had ‘KAPPA’ written across it. She wore white leggings and special red shoes.
She’d done some research on the strange outfits she’d seen on the ballerinas in the old footage Harrison showed her. The shoes they used were called ‘pointe shoes’ and allowed them to stand on the very tips of their toes. She’d reinforced the tip with layers of extra mesh fabric— steel fabric wasn’t offered in the selection and was much too expensive to buy on her own. Elastic ribbons were laced up her ankles.
The outfit had earned her lots of stares, but allowed her flexibility and ease in moving. Lílitha had stared at her and said, “Where in the galaxy do you get the time?”
Calista had shrugged and replied, “It’s a lot faster than you think it is.”
Camelithia had fangirled over the new uniform, rambling, “You have to teach me that, love! It’s a completely different outfit! And have a look at your muscles! You’ve developed so much in so little time. And the belt— I can’t believe it doesn’t break any code!” Lílitha looked just about ready to die as she listened to the excited chatter.
Belinda had also complimented Calista, though not with the same chattiness. “Most fighter fashion comes from the last stages of the tournament. It’s kind of a privilege to choose your own style in the last rounds so people can remember you. I’d love to see what you’d come up with if you got to that point.”
Calista hoped to do so. In a way, she was glad she was staying for Thanksgiving break. It allowed her more time to develop XP and perhaps increase her chances of getting on the team.
At the end of the school day, she went to Guild Training by herself. Lílitha hadn’t arrived for Dinner period, so Calista figured she’d come later. Among the crowd, she caught Rosalina Wiasod’s eye as she walked to the end of the hallway.
She wanted to look away, but she lingered a bit. She didn’t want to show her fear of her. The Hajjian woman had simply given her a condescending once-over and turned. Hillary was at her Guild’s door, chatting away, and Calista made sure not to look at her.
“Welcome, Calista Medley.” The door opened and she entered the empty training room. She did her stretches for about ten minutes, but Lílitha still hadn’t arrived by then. Maybe she was getting an early start on studying for Theory class finals.
Going to the AIDA screens, Calista looked through her files, seeing the exercises she’d done and the exercises Harrison had planned in remaining lessons. She couldn’t believe how much progress she’d made in so little time. Dozens of exercises and techniques were highlighted in green, indicating completion and addition to her Skill Tree, which was growing bigger and wider every day. It curled and wrapped into different combinations, reaching towards the ceiling with different skills hanging off the branches like fruits. She couldn’t wait to see what else she could unlock.
She went to the old footage of ballerinas and skimmed through the performances. Watching the original dance strengthened the foundation of Ninja Ballet, showing the grace and beauty that combined with strength and stamina to produce a marvelous art, one that could be converted into something deadly and dangerous through sharper kicks and closed fists.
As Harrison had taught her, she chose a weapon to do her exercises with. She’d become partial to the Standard Baton, thrusting it forward and spinning it in her fingers when she fought, but had also acquired some skill with nylon sashes, which were kind of like whips, but flatter and more flexible. She also liked throwable blade fans, but she had to practice her aim with throwables and shooters.
She decided on the baton and brought up one of the old films from centuries ago. It was a flat hologram of a woman with a shiny, silver tiara and a purple ballet dress— a ‘tutu’, as Calista learned from some of her research into the dance. It was sparkly and fluffy, something she would love to wear, but she wasn’t sure how to incorporate it yet into an outfit. It was suitable for dancing, but not for fighting. The title of the film file was ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’.
‘Sugar plums’, huh? They sounded delicious.
As the dancer tiptoed forward, gently dancing to the music of tingling bells, Calista followed her carefully. It was easy to copy the movements, but a few of the turns and stretches she did were hard with the difficult balance and strength behind them.
She jumped, kicking her legs forward, and landed on her pointes. The force of her toes hitting the floor hurt like glitches, but she took a breath and continued the dance, watching the woman carefully. She stepped to the left, stretched her leg out, and gracefully waved her hands, repeating the step over and over.
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There was something about ballet that felt so alluring. As much as it hurt her toes and her legs, and as exhausting as it was to try and maintain softness and grace despite the strain of the movements… Calista found herself yearning to dance more. She wanted to learn more, be as beautiful as the dancer on the holo-screen.
They didn’t body-mod back then. They didn’t thicken, thin, or curve their waists. They didn’t sparkle their eyes or tint their skin. Did they feel as insecure as Calista did? Was there still pressure to look as perfect as they danced? Calista saw them as angels, always wearing smiles and never faltering in any of their steps.
A step forward— stretch— another step— stretch— another— then spin… a ‘pirouette’, Calista believed it was called. She didn’t know how the dancer spun on her toes without a sign of dizziness, because she instantly tipped over.
Instead of the floor, a pair of hands caught her shoulders and she looked up at Harrison’s upside-down face. “The Nutcracker, huh?” he said with a smile as he gently lifted her back to her feet.
+2 Rel-P
“Huh?” Calista said cluelessly.
“The Nutcracker. That’s the ballet you’re watching.”
“I thought it was the Sugar Plum Fairy?”
“No, that specific dance is the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Nutcracker is the whole performance. There’s lots of dances in the same one, telling a story. We should watch the whole thing sometime— or maybe you could show it to your family for Christmas.”
Calista stared at the ongoing film, mesmerized by the dancer. “Why Christmas?”
“It’s a Christmas ballet.” Harrison went over to the AIDA and closed the film out, looking for a different file. “Here’s another one.” He opened it and it showed the same dancer, but with a male dancer beside her. The music was soulful and romantic as they mirrored each other’s movements and the male dancer spun the girl around like a top.
Calista read the title: “Pass… dey… dee-you… dee-ux?”
“It’s French. ‘Pah-dey… do’, I think,” Harrison pronounced it. He tapped the title to translate and define it.
‘Pas de deux— meaning step of two in English. A ballet dance duet between a male and female dancer.’
Calista stepped closer, her eyes unblinking as she watched the two dancers. They moved in an arc around each other, then ran to each other. Her breath hitched when the girl jumped, but was promptly caught by her partner, who lifted her into the air as if she weighed nothing. Her arms and legs were stretched out in a pose. The male dancer then seemed to flip her over and catch her, gently putting her down.
“They trust each other…” Calista whispered, watching them move.
“Sorry?”
“Those dancers… she just knew he’d catch her. He didn’t drop her at all. They’re so… in sync.”
“That’s a partnership,” Harrison told her. “You’re expected to have that level of trust with your duo in the Games. Even people who don’t like each other have trusted each other enough to get far before. The pairs that don’t try and work together are always the ones that get cut.”
“Do we choose our pairs?”
“No, the coaches do, but they’re usually good at picking out who works best with whom. They can switch people, but it’s not likely.” Harrison smiled at her. “You don’t have to worry.” He winked.
Calista felt her knees melting. If she made it… could she be paired with him? Could they be fighting alongside each other as an unstoppable team? She never even thought about it. She was so focused on making the team that she forgot about the other categories in the competition.
“Alright, do the run.” Harrison backed away from the screen.
“Run?” Calista asked dumbly.
“The run-and-jump. You just nodded,” he chuckled.
“Nodded? Wait, what?” Her face heated up. What had she just nodded at? Was he talking to her?
He laughed. “I asked you, do you want to try that catch thing they do in the dance, and you said yes. Unless you don’t want to?”
Calista looked at the holo-screen and realized he’d rewound it to the beginning. She watched the two run to each other again, the woman confidently posing as her partner lifted her.
She looked at Harrison, who waited patiently, his sapphire eyes gazing at her with mirth and… something else.
“S-sure…” Her heart raced so fast that her hearing was distorted. She felt dreamlike as she floated to the opposite end of the gym.
Harrison restarted the film again and watched. “Okay… go for it!” he said, his voice distant to Calista.
She wasn’t even looking at the screen for reference. Her body acted on its own as she ran towards him. Her face was on fire and her ears blocked out every sound. The training room seemed to disappear, only focusing on his dimpled face and handsome, sapphire blue eyes.
“Welcome, Lílitha Houdge.”
The announcement teleported Calista back to reality. She realized she was ramming right into Harrison. Hastily, she jumped.
They tumbled achingly onto the floor, Calista landing on top of Harrison and squeezing the wind out of his lungs. She felt something punch into her shoulder and her ankle nearly twisted. Harrison took most of the blow, though.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry!” Calista covered her mouth and moved, looking at his torso. His shirt had folded up, revealing his defined abdomen. She scanned it for any bruises or cuts.
“It’s fine- ow,” Harrison strained. “Good news, though… you’re a healthy weight now.” He lifted himself onto his elbows, taking a breath and grunting in pain.
At that, Calista shoved him back on the floor. Giggles bubbled up her throat and she snorted. She smacked her hand over her mouth with wide eyes, instantly embarrassed. She’d never laughed like that before.
Harrison started laughing at her in turn, and the two of them guffawed like never before. Calista wasn’t sure what they were finding so funny, but she welcomed the giddy feeling in her stomach.
+10 Rel-P
Approaching Close Friend Status
“Ahem.”
Looking up, the periwinkle-skinned face of Lílitha stared at them from above. Her brow was raised high and her ears twitched inquisitively. “Are you two done? What on Earth were you even doing?”
“Dance class,” Harrison joked, still on the floor.
“Dance class… got it.” Lílitha cocked her head at their position.
Calista realized she was still sitting on top of Harrison and scrambled away. “Sorry. I didn’t- sorry. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Harrison chuckled, standing and straightening his shirt. “We were just trying something.” His face was red, probably from not being able to breathe for a few moments. Somehow, the rosiness added to his perfect face, brightening his eyes.
Calista’s heart skipped a beat when her UI gave her a new pop-up she’d never seen:
+10 Rom-P
Achieved: Attraction Status
+Flirting I
+Check-Out I
