Stage 2

--LEONA--

Drat. Drat. DRAT.

This is NOT how I wanted this to go.

Damn that guy.

Damn both of them.

By the gods of old this is ridiculous.

The silvery-grey haired one, Zev, could definitely keep his hands and thoughts to himself next time. Honestly. Why did he have to see me? And why did he have to tell the one that actually WANTED to use long range weapons.

Blasphemy, absolute blasphemy.

They're all back on the platform now and even though Lady Lycan could be less than pleased, her crooked smile still seems to be fooling everyone.

"Excellent!" she claps her hands together and the crowd falls silent again.

"Those in the coloured squares will stay, the rest will be removed and then the next stage will begin!"

She waves her hand purposefully at the arena and suddenly it is filled with a number of unmarked, simply dressed, arena aids. They scramble around scooping weapons up left and right and hustling out the opposite door before returning.

I know that I am the only weapon on this strip of wall that was chosen so I hope to get swept up in the chaos.

A few younger ones sprint my way and I grin. They pull weapons from the wall and disappear several times before reaching my particular section.

The little one runs up, practically out of breath and grasps my handle before carefully removing me from the wall.

Just as they grab my quiver strap a sharp and unfortunately familiar voice barks at the boy.

"Not that one boy! Don't ya see the square?"

The boy startles, shocked and I growl. Menace. The silver-haired, sign ups man appears from seemingly nowhere.

Again.

He grins at me knowingly, and if I was in any other form I'd be glaring daggers into his skull. Unfortunate they can't see it.

I swear he has a "that Koyal is escaping" notification whenever something goes remotely my way.

He takes my bow form from the boy and shoos him off. He then hooks me back into my place and makes a quick sweep of the area around me. I do as well and note that all the others have been removed already.

Curses.

Menace pats my handle patronizingly before disappearing into the crowd. I allow one more glare in the general direction of menace before taking in the entire stadium one more time.

There are 3 collectors left, and soon they amble out, arms laden with ex-participants. When the last stadium door closes, Lady Lycan speaks again.

"Cover the stadium once more!"

The tarp shoots out from the far side and drags itself towards us, blocking out most of the sunlight. This time though, we can hear everything clearly.

"The contestants left will shift into their animal forms from their weapon forms. Once everyone-"

The crowd roars in defiance.

"Difficult! Practically impossible!"

"Preposterous! They're children!"

"How could you expect-"

"Insane."

I assume that Lady Lycan raises her hand to silence the crowd again as the screams taper off.

"Whether they can do it or not will not eliminate them. It merely puts an added bonus on them if they can."

The crowd grumbles.

"Once they are all in their animal forms, we will reselect the contestants. Those that remain will continue to the next part. Those who do not, will be escorted out."

She pauses dramatically I suppose.

"They will stand in rows of ten and show off any talent they wish to sway us."

I snort.

"Begin."

The stadium fills again. This time, the checkers wear colours from every House. I let my eyes wander, zeroing in on my siblings. They'll do excellent, but that doesn't mean I can't watch.

I lose track of the checkers in my zone so when one taps me and calls out a "shift," I do it instinctively.

I let my bow drop as my quiver disappears and feel the familiar pull of magic wash over me. My animal default, like my siblings, is our familial bird. Similar in size to a crow, but lighter, faster, longer tail, with a blue fade woven in between the midnight black feathers.

Skies curse me.

I hover in front of the two checkers and with a quick double flap I rise before diving down towards the newly placed perch.

The blood orange Vulpus rep whistles appreciatively. While the amber Cavallo rep clicks a white collar around my neck. Then they both nod and turn towards the next weapon.

I'm an idiot.

I sigh. Looking back towards the twins, I find two identical birds staring back. I tilt my head and they mimic me, showing off the collar colour.

White.

Well at least they both have the "bonus."