Rising Shards

Aira sifted through the pile of rocks she’d gathered before going with the tried and true, a flat stone perfect for skipping. It was brisk on the beach, and a layer of snow coated about half of the sand. She took aim and chucked her rock across the water, hoping to hit a patch of ice. After three skips, she teleported over, barely stepping on the ice with the tip of her toe as she reached down to catch the rock just as it skidded onto the ice. As soon as it was safely in her hand, she teleported back, landing safely on the sand without even feeling the cold water.

A whistle stopped her from feeling proud of her accomplishment. Naomi Ratuna approached, clearly in full prefect mode as she shook her head.

“Please refrain from using your powers in that regard!” Naomi said.

“I’m being super careful,” Aira said.

“And I’m just telling you the rules.” Naomi said. “You’re not allowed to use your powers to go out into the water in winter. You’re not even supposed to be near the water without a licensed lifeguard nearby.”

“Geez, sorry.” Aira said. She had hoped that Naomi being nice to her during finals would have caused some change between them. Instead, Naomi was back to being the strict prefect and Aira was back to the student doing everything wrong.

I guess this is what I get after I screwed everything up. After Aira had joined Laenie in defecting to Wildfire Hearts, and the painful journey that followed, every choice she made seemed to be the wrong one. Following Laenie only pushed the two further apart, culminating in Laenie going full Exa and almost crushing Aira. Helping Caya spy on Ovie’s group led to a huge mess where she helped Zeta’s parents capture her. Deep down she knew it wasn’t all her fault, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that a lot of it was. And the downer mood she’d been in since returning hadn’t brightened. Maybe it’s punishment or something.

Aira must have looked especially sad while she contemplated, as Naomi’s expression softened.

“I’m being strict for your own protection,” Naomi said. “The last time the Recreant Protocol was enacted, a massive brawl broke out on this beach. Ideally we’d avoid everyone out on the shore until things stabilize.”

“It gets that bad?” Aira asked.

“It can,” Naomi said. “And as a prefect, I would like to prevent such things.”

“I see…” Aira said.

Naomi looked past her, and Aira whirled to see what caught her attention. It was Amara Allegro, standing in a lifeguard tower as she scanned the area with binoculars.

“What’s she up to now?” Naomi sighed. “She’s determined, but she isn’t an official prefect. She could get into trouble up there.”

“Can I come with?” Aira asked.

Naomi tilted her head, the words not immediately sinking in. Aira wasn’t even sure why she asked.

“Er, if that’s alright?” Aira asked.

Naomi thought about it for a moment. “Sure.”

Amara didn’t answer when Naomi called up to her from the base of the tower, and didn’t hear her as she loudly climbed up, with Aira following.

“What in the world are they planning?” Amara asked.

“Excuse me,” Naomi said.

“I’m busy, leave me alone!” Amara snapped, doing a double take before she realized who she was talking to. “Oh, Naomi! My apologies!”

“It’s…well, not fine, but. What are you up to?” Naomi asked.

“It’s those miscreants Chumbler and Zorta Orca Korbley, ma’am.” Amara said. “They’re up to something. Rain’s at that danged extreme event with her family, they got a skybox. And KJ has an upset tummy from eating too much Ultra Taco so she’s lying down. So it’s up to me to make sure the two don’t try to preemptively counter Rain’s revenge attempt on them.”

“That’s…a lot,” Naomi said.

“Revenge attempt?” Aira asked.

“Yes! They’re at the train station, which I’m fairly certain isn’t allowed without explicit permission from faculty, is it?” Amara asked. “I was getting some more intel before I confronted them.”

“It’s absolutely not allowed,” Naomi said. “But spying on people through binoculars is also rather creepy, so knock that off, too.”

***

Chumbler hummed to herself as she and her longtime companion entered the train station near campus.

“These robes are kinda funky,” Z.O.K. said. “I thought they’d be scratchy, but they’re really comfy.”

“Right?” Chumbler said. “They make me feel like some kind of powerful, gambling focused witch.”

Due to shortages in students available for the Recreant Protocol games, some students from Rising Shards would have to be on the opposing school’s team. Chumbler and Z.O.K. ended up volunteering, partially to get away from Rain, and partially to wear the uniform.

“We’re not full students though, remember that.”

“We might be if they expel us.” Chumbler said. “Or if our team wins so hard, the whole school district is gonna be in these wizard robes.”

“What are we doing back here?” Z.O.K. asked.

“I’m just in a train mood,” Chumbler said. “You know that kid’s show, Trian the Train? I’m vibing with him.”

“We’re not gonna wander on the train tracks again, are we?” Z.O.K. asked.

“Not this time,” Chumbler said. “I have an idea.”

“Is this gonna be another weird thing?” Z.O.K. asked.

“When isn’t it?” Chumbler asked. “I got some intel about a void dimension you can only access via a special, train related manner. And this train could be the key to defeating Rain and her cronies.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out two pieces of gate rosin and a wooden train whistle. She shoved the rosin into the front of the whistle and attempted to toot on it, making two pathetic sounds. “Alright, it should be any second now.”

“And we’re just going to do this now?” Z.O.K. asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Chumbler asked.

“It’d be cool if we had a plan or something.” Z.O.K. said. “Or a plan you’d explain to me in advance.”

“Fine, step one of this plan, when the train gets here we get on it, it takes us to the void node where we can solve our Rain problem.” Chumbler said.

An eerie whistle howled through the station. A steam engine pulled in, making the whole station foggy.

“And here’s our ride.” Chumbler said.

“Stop right there!”

Chumbler and Z.O.K. flinched as Naomi Ratuna stepped out through the smoke, with Amara and Aira beside her. As the prefect and her allies approached, Chumbler and Z.O.K. darted onto the train.

“Ha! Lost em!” Chumbler said, pumping her arms in victory as she got into one of the train cars.

Almost immediately, Naomi, Amara, and Aira joined them. “Hey, wait.”

“I think that’s quite enough,” Naomi said.

“Ooh, you should say something like ‘this is your last stop,’” Aira said. “That’d be pretty good.”

“I like that, but now isn’t the time for one liners,” Naomi said. “You two may be Wildfire Hearts students, but you’re expected to follow the rules all the same. And the rules say no boarding trains without permiss—”

The doors of the train shut, and the train started to rumble.

“Too late,” Chumbler said, grinning widely. “Guess we got at least one more stop.”