"Draw!" Precept Zetta shouted for the second time that morning.

Plia collapsed to her knees as her pallid blue aura turned to dust all around her. Mallory lay flat on her back at the end of a long trail of her blue, but if it had not been for the wall she had crashed into, that trail would have been much longer.

Dueling day had come again, and the two new moons had been ready for it.

I was on the wall again and Vanda was sitting next to me on my right. It had been strange when she had come through the door talking with Tana but had chosen to come and sit with me. It had been even stranger when she had taken my aching hand into her lap. I had stopped caring about how strange she was being when I saw a glimmer of her aura and the soreness had begun to seep out of my fingers.

"Girls, I don't know what has gotten into you, but I'm happy to say that I think we are done with this." Zetta said and snapped her fingers.

The circle of sapphire that every duel I had been in or watched faded away.

"It's not about pushing each other around anymore. We've gotten simpler," Zetta continued, a sharp smile complementing the obvious excitement in her eyes. "The last one standing, the last one able to fight, will be the winner. Understood?"

"Yes, Precept Zetta." Mallory and Plia agreed together as they began to stir.

If she was the type of soul to skip, Zetta would have. She wasn't of course, our teacher was a stride forward confidently kind of sorceress, but her steps seemed just as light as they would have if she was when she walked over to Mallory and helped her onto her feet.

"Listen. Back up some. With your speed, space is an advantage." Zetta said as she pushed Mallory back by her shoulders.

"But I'm supposed to hit her. Why would I want to be further away?" Mallory sniffled, her usually pretty face turned down in one big frown.

Zetta ruffled her hair like she had mine after I had learned the truth of the uniform rule. "Don't cry yet. The battle is not won. You want space because you can close the distance in an instant. She can't. It keeps you out of her range, understand? And Mothers help you, girl. If you ever learn how to stop and turn, you'll be a terror."

Our teacher left Mallory where she had placed her and strode back over to where Plia waited.

The little underwitch was crying silently like she had in the dining hall earlier in the week. My heart hurt because there was no food for her to eat and I knew that was what she needed, but she had been crying since the first draw.

If what I had seen of her afterglows before, she could probably eat every scrap and crumb in the dining hall before her tears dried.

"Who are you and what have you done with Plia? That hand thing you just did was so surprising, it probably would have worked against me." Zetta said as she reached underneath her half cloak and pulled out a small cloth

"Really?" Plia asked weakly as she took the cloth and wiped her face with it.

Zetta shook her head and smiled. "No, but it was still impressive. Can you do it again?"

"I think so, but I don't want to. I hate the taste of it." Plia sighed and dropped her eyes to the floor.

Zetta nodded and patted her on the back. "Listen, one more time today, and we will see what we can learn about your self consumption before our next class, understood?"

Plia nodded in agreement, but she did not speak again.

Precept Zetta whispered something that I could not hear to the little underwitch before stepping back and taking up a spot between us and Tana. "It's win or lose, girls. There is no draw. This is real. Whoever comes out on top gets a question. Ready? Begin!"

The first two duels had not been particularly short, but the days where Lun's new moons would wallow around and struggle to push each other out of the pit were no more. As soon as the shallow echo of our teacher's voice returned from the grey stones of the walls, Plia and Mallory began to fight like sorceresses.

Tears wetting her cheeks once again, Plia brought her right hand in front of her navel like she was holding an apple. Her faded blue filled the space between her fingers and she brought it to her mouth just before it spilled out of her hand.

Mallory sent her cloak fluttering to the floor behind her as she lowered herself into the strange stance she always started in.

Bursts of vivid blue flashed up her arms.

All of her went still.

I blinked.

Her discarded cloak was tossed back into the air behind her as she broke into sudden movement.

Plia's face twisted into a disgusted grimace as she let the final drops of aura drip into her mouth from her palm.

The blue streak that was Mallory sped towards her almost too fast for my eyes to follow.

Just like when I had first seen it in the quest quarters on Silkcradle, Plia got bigger.

Her aura came rolling back out of her mouth and grew over her arms.

The memory of The Mother in Green shifting into some sort of feline with a claw tipped arm jutting out of its back came to the front of my mind. The little underwitch's working was not exactly the same. I could still see her real arms. She had not become something else, just a larger version of what she already was.

Unlike the first two times the moons had collided that morning, Plia did not reach out with her arms of aura to try and catch her opponent. She brought her right down to the floor and lifted herself into the air before turning and clearing herself out of Mallory's path.

It worked.

Mallory streaked right past her and went speeding towards the back wall of the classroom.

"Yes, Plia!" Precept Zetta shouted.

Vanda smiled and clapped her hands in agreement with our teacher's praise.

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They never clap for me. I thought to myself.

I had seen the flirty underwitch crumple against the wall too many times to wish to see it again so I covered my eyes with my hands and waited for the sound of her impact.

It never came.

Peaking out through my fingers, I looked back just in time to see her slam her hand into the floor and drag a broken line through the stone. More and more of her aura burst up with the dust and the chips as she went. Her upraised heels settled against the wall I had been certain that she was going to collide with and her vivid blue flared even brighter as she kicked herself off of it.

"Smart girl!" Zetta shouted again and sent Vanda into another round.

Mallory's shade of blue was so vibrant that it left bright spots in my eyes, but no matter how much it burned, I could not look away.

With her feet half her height off the ground, Plia turned herself around and let her arms of aura bring her back down.

She made no move to evade Mallory that time.

The bottom of her black laced boots back on the floor, the little underwitch raised both of pallid hands and brought them together in front of herself like she was trying to kill a fly.

I did not think she was capable of it, but even if she was, Mallory did not turn or shift. She leaned forward and slipped underneath the working a moment before she was caught within it.

Then she stopped.

Less than a hand away from Plia's face, she stopped dead.

"Mallory! You stopped!" Plia shouted, her hair blowing back from her face like some gust of wind had snuck into Lun.

Vanda began to clap again, and that time, I joined her.

Mallory snapped her around and then back again before shouting in surprise. "I stopped!"

"I'm gonna give you a big hug when this is over." Plia said. Her expression was about as happy as I had ever seen her be, but the faded blue glow in her eyes was nowhere near as light.

Mallory shook her head in confusion. "When what is over?"

Both of Plia's arms closed around Mallory. Her blue tightened as the caught underwitch's fell to dust at their feet.

"Hey! Let me go! This isn't fair! I stopped!" Mallory shouted.

"You shouldn't have! I'm not missing lunch today! Give up!" Plia shouted as she squeezed even harder.

Mallory opened her mouth to yell again, but all that came out was a painfully short exhale.

The wild movements of her struggling slowed and weakened.

Her face grew red as she went limp.

Plia's arms of pallid blue were all that was keeping Mallory upright.

"Enough! Plia is the victor! Release her!" Precept Zetta commanded as she went to the two underwitches and caught the limp one before she could hit the ground.

All at once, Plia's working fell away, and our teacher found herself holding both of them.

She did not seem to mind.

For all her edges and sharp features, Zetta was nothing but gentle and soft as she lowered herself to the ground. Supporting both new moons all the way down, she let their weight settle onto her. And as their afterglows took them both, our teacher could not have looked happier.

"That was inspired work, girls. I am very proud of you. It makes me sad that we only have a week left in this phase. Both of you were on the edge. This is how you grow. If I was the crying kind, I think my eyes would be wet right now." Zetta said, her voice so full of what I understood to be pride that I felt the same feeling welling up in my chest.

"We made a pact," Mallory coughed as she wiped at her eyes. "Why do you smell so good? It's not fair. You can't be so strong, beautiful, and smell good."

Zetta laughed a full laugh.

"I'm going to eat." Plia said, her little arms wrapped around her middle and her silent tears flowing once again.

Vanda sighed through a smile and gently put my hand back on my lap. "I should go help, good luck today."

"Wait," I said as I grabbed the end of her cloak. My words almost failed me, but I found a way to ask her what I had been thinking about. "Why don't any of you cheer when I win?"

"I don't really know," Vanda shrugged and furrowed her brows in thought. "I think we just all expect you to win."

I had not thought about what I thought her answer would be, but the one she had given me was still unexpected. "Oh, alright. Thank you for helping with my hand. It feels normal now."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Vanda said as she winked at me and turned away.

They expect me to win. I thought as she left. I knew that Precept Zetta thought me to be the strongest of the new moons, and that everyone but Tana had been hesitant to duel me, being expected to win felt so much different.

"Puddles, Ire, when I get back it's your turn. And after what these two just did, I hope you were a part of whatever pact they made." I heard Precept Zetta say, but I did not look up at her.

I kept my eyes on the floor, tracing the lines of my sandals down my legs and losing myself in the rose red of my nails.

I had been a part of the pact.

I was supposed to try really hard to become a first crescent so the three of us could stay together for as long as we wanted.

All the dust and broken stone that littered the floor of the classroom was evidence that the others had taken it seriously.

I had too as well.

"Stand up." I heard Tana say as her bare feet came into my sight.

The blue that was not hers and the red that was not mine could not have been more different, and the fact that I had wanted to paint my nails because I had seen hers put a sour taste in my mouth. I looked up slowly, knowing that I could not look into her eyes without being reminded of everything I knew about her.

"Do not make me wait all day. It is not that difficult." She spoke again with her hand offered to me.

I took it and let her help me up, waiting for something to happen without knowing what it was I was waiting for. When I stood fully, she let me go and glanced back over her shoulder.

"I will win again today, do you understand?" She asked in a hushed tone.

I kept my eyes down and did not answer her.

She took that as a silent agreement.

"Good. I would hate it if you made me do something I did not want to." She said as she turned away from me and went to the dusty center of the room.

Precept Zetta came back into her classroom with her smile still spread across her face. "Come on, Ire. I can't wait to see this."

I did as I was told.

"How is your hand?" Zetta asked when I reached her.

"Better." I answered honestly.

She placed her hand on my back and lowered her voice. "Good. I'd hate for things to go like they did last dueling day. You feel good? Rested? I'm certain that Puddles has been doing some training with that wolf of hers. This might be difficult without the circle."

It wouldn't be.

I truly could not think of anything that would be easier.

I met her eyes. "I'm ready."

"Strong girl," She said and gave my back a small pat before she walked away from me. "It's the same as it was with the other two. The duel ends when one of you can not continue or gives up. Understood?"

"Yes, Precept Zetta." Tana and I said in unison.

"Begin!"

I was a strong girl.

I was expected to win.

I had made a pact.

I would not lose.

Not to Tana

I no longer cared what threat she had given me.

If she pushed me, I would ruin her.

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