Keep Moving Forward

"This is the twentieth time you're ending up on your ass, Hunter. You've got to do better," Circe taunted.

Hunter rises to his feet, coughing out sand from his mouth. "This is only the eighteenth time, miss," he corrected as he prepares to attack her.

"Please, you're acting like it's not only a matter of time before that number reaches twenty," Circe stated.

"We'll see about that," Hunter muttered before charging forward. He throws a punch but the light red-haired woman blocks it with her forearm before using her palm to strike him in the chest. The sprite stumbled backward and the yellow-eyed woman rushes forward before jumping high with her fist raised to deliver a spar-ending punch.

Circe throws her punch but there's suddenly no one there. She turned around to receive an elbow strike from Hunter who follows his attack with a left punch to the midriff.

The yellow-eyed woman spins in the air, performing a 360 turn before replying with a punch of her own but the sprite is quick to get out of the way. 'He's fast,' she thought to herself as the dark-haired boy moves swiftly in a zigzag motion covering the distance between them and hitting her with an uppercut.

'No, that's not it.' She teleports to the front of the sprite, catching the sprite off guard before throwing a hook but the dark-haired boy is quick to react, ducking under the attack, letting her arm go over his shoulder. He put one of his hand on her back, and the other around body and slam her down onto the ground, a move that leaves the yellow-eyed woman lying on the ground with the sprite on top of her. "That was really good," she commended, breathing loudly.

"Thanks."

"My heart is beating so fast," she said. "Listen." She placed his hand on her chest so he could feel her heartbeat.

"That's uh ... Really loud," he noted.

"I know right?" She said pressing his hand lightly.

"I uh ... Ahem," he cleared his throat before awkwardly rising to his feet.

"Help me up?" She said giving Hunter her hand. The sprite helps her to her feet and she began dusting her clothes. "Looks like I'm the one who ended up on my ass," she stated.

"Yeah, bet you feel bad knowing that your lead just decreased from 18 to nil to 18 - 1," he stated.

Circe laughs. "I paid a visit to the house in the Metropolitan city. Met this nice lady; Chelsea," she said.

"That's my friend, she's having a hard time now so I let her stay there," he replied.

"That's exactly what she told me."

"I would have also liked to stay there too but the place is too far from the school and it would be pretty difficult to get to school in time every day," he stated.

"You can't drive? I'll teach you if you want to learn."

"Or ... You teach me how to open one of those transportation portals," Hunter suggested.

"How about both?"

"Sounds great."

A bird lands on the yellow-eyed woman's shoulder and she pets it softly before taking a piece of paper from its back. Circe reads the content of the paper before turning to Hunter. "That's from my mom, she requires my presence," she revealed.

"Councilwoman Hecate? Has she ever heard of smartphones?"

Circe shrugs, "she's old school like that," she stated. "See you later, Hunter," she waved before opening a portal and going through it.

"I really gotta learn how to open one of those."

.

.

.

"Can I ask you something?" said Nova looking onto the sea from the yacht with Hunter next to her.

"You already did," Hunter replied.

"Don't be a smartass dude," she rolled her eyes. "Do you not have any friends?" She asked.

"What are you talking about? I'm here with you, am I not?" Hunter said raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly. I'm glad you asked me to come with you, I really am. But, why ask me? We barely know each other," she pointed out.

"Fine," Hunter sighs. "I'm here with you because all my friends are busy today; you weren't my first five choices," he stated.

"Oh my God, you have no friends," Nova claimed.

"I have lots of --"

"Hey, hey, it's fine, it's fine," Nova assured, placing her hand on his. "Even I had no friends before the accident," she stated.

"The accident?" The sprite queried.

"You know, the one where I fell into a hole and people thought I tried to unalive myself," she stated.

"Oh. What actually happened?" Hunter asked.

Nova looked at Hunter before shifting her gaze back to the sea. "The moon was really pretty and I couldn't fall asleep that night. I thought: 'Well, I might as well climb up to the roof and look at it. When I was up there, I thought I heard something ... It sounded like a stranded cat and I wanted to save it," she stated. "I fell when I went to look," she added.

"If it was dark how did they know someone had fallen?" Hunter asks.

"I don't know but because of everything with my father, everyone thought I was trying to end it. And all of a sudden everyone started to care; 'Nova, how are you doing today?' 'Nova, keep on fighting!' 'I'm here if you want to talk to someone,' 'We love you, Nova, you inspire us all!'" She said rolling her eyes.

"Gee, sucks to be you," Hunter said.

"You have no idea." Hunter laughs.

The yacht comes to a stop and the duo got down from it and began making their way up a hill. "You know what I just realized?" Hunter says. "I never asked what your order was," he stated.

"Oh, I'm a sprite," Nova replies.

"Really? What grade?" He asks.

"It's uh ..." She runs her hand through her curly blonde hair. "Grade F ... But that's only because I never cared about the whole grading stuff," she quickly added.

"Sounds like excuses to me," Hunter stated.

"Really!? What grade are you then, Mr. Heffernan?"

[Ooh]

"I'm unranked but that's only because I started the Met school this year," he stated.

"Sounds like excuses to me," she stated, a smug grin plastered on her face.

"Is it though? 'Cause I'm not graded because the grading office hasn't assigned me a grade not because I suck at being a sprite," he countered.

"Fair," the blonde conceded. "So you're a sprite too huh? Bet I could beat you in a one-on-one," she stated.

"Nice segue and no, you wouldn't be able to beat me if you trained for a million years while my abilities regressed during that time," he claimed.

"Oh someone's getting too cocky," said Nova as they reach the top of the hill.

"I wouldn't be if you weren't such a failure."

"Hey!" She frowned punching him in the shoulders. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he laughed.

"You seem to forget I am your only friend," she stated.

"That is absolutely correct. I am very sorry for that," he apologized, a smile flickering on his lips.

"You better be. Make me mad again and you'll be spending the rest of your life with your sailor moon plushie as your only friend."

"You said it was normal to have a sailor moon plushie!"

"Not if you spend all your time talking to it. What's up with that?"

"It tells me everything is going to be alright."

"Yeah, you're going to have to stop talking to it if you want me to forgive you!"

"That plushie has been with me since I was 2 but I can't live without you, Nova. I'll even throw the plushie away if it pleases you." They both laugh and the blue-eyed girl looked beyond the hill. "The two cities look beautiful from up here," she said.

"Yeah. Heliopolis looks like an ancient city, have you ever been there?" The dark-haired boy asked.

"Never. I'm a Thornbridge girl through and through," she replied. "You?"

"Soon. I've been to so many places in the last two months I know it's only a matter of time before I go there," he stated.

"Bring me with you when you do?"

"It might not be up to me but I'll try my best to make you come along too."

"Thank you."

The two sat on the floor and watched as the sun starts to sets.

[It's beautiful]

'Yes, it is.'

"Train me?" Nova suddenly says.

"Huh?"

"I want to improve my grade and also learn more about being a sprite. Would you train me?"

***

Hunter walks back to his dorm holding a bag filled with bottled water. A car pulls up next to him and its windows roll down revealing Jade behind the wheels. "What did we say about getting a new entrance?"

"Get in, Hunter, now!" Jade ordered.

"Okay? Just FYI, I love happy Jade."

"Well, happy Jade can't be around because I found out why a demon attacked during your study tour," she stated.

"Why?" The sprite asks.

"The demon is a member of the Darkforgers."

"..."

"..."

"I don't know who that is."

"Just get in."

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