Chapter 5 - Departure

Chapter 5: Departure

“Insufferable rat, low-life, miserable uppity mongrel . . .”

Darkon rolled his eyes as Pong continued his rant about Ferran. “Will you just pack already? You don’t have a lot but I’m sure Korinne doesn’t want to make you a whole new wardrobe when we get there just because you were too busy complaining to be ready in time.”

Pong flipped a loop in midair so he could meet Darkon’s eyes.

“Honestly, Dark, I don’t know how you put up with the guy – he’s a downright jerk!” Pong said, frowning.

“He wasn’t always,” Darkon murmured, stuffing the few shirts he owned into his bag. He usually wore wrapped bandages instead of a shirt (like he did instead of socks) because it was easier to move that way in training, but he didn’t know if it was accepted among humans – even in his own world it wasn’t common.

Pong’s frown grew more pronounced. “That’s right; you guys are year-mates aren’t you? Have you known him since you entered the Academy?”

His master nodded. Year-mates was the term used for Academy students that were the same age. You went through all of training together until graduation (from age five to fifteen), then, if you failed, you had one year to prepare and try again with the class under you. Ferran, Darkon, and Jair were all year-mates. When they had failed the assignment the year before, they had all been on the same team. Ferran had been leader.

“Well, if he wasn’t always a lower-than-dirt, wanna-be, disrespectful, failure at life–”

“Pong,” Darkon said warningly.

“I was gonna stop there. Yeesh. Anyway, if he wasn’t always like that, what changed? Did he get smacked in the head on your test or something?”

Darkon sighed heavily; he didn’t like revisiting the past. He thought it was better left alone. So he said simply, “Something like that.”

“Did you do the smacking?”

Darkon growled and turned to glare at him. “Will you pack already?! You can pester me in the human world just as easily as you can here.”

Pong held his hands up in surrender. “Yeesh, can’t a guy ask a few questions?”

Before Darkon could swat at him he darted up to the ceiling and disappeared into the cubby hole where he kept his things – but not before he stuck his tongue out at his master of course.

Darkon dropped to the floor in his meditation pose, rubbing his temples fiercely. Pong had been with him for a year now – once you were appointed team leader you were given a fairy – and sometimes Darkon found the pipsqueak more trying on his nerves than any grueling training exercise Carmos could think up.

“Uh-oh,” Hex’s voice said suddenly, causing Darkon to look up, “what’s going on?”

“How long have you been there?” Darkon asked irritably.

Hex slapped a hand to his heart dramatically. “Such a cold tone for your most loyal and caring friend! I was only worried about you, oh sharp one!”

Darkon rolled his eyes. “Where are Jair and Korinne?”

“Coming,” his team member answered, dropping his pack by the door, “you know how girls are, they have to take forever.”

Darkon raised an eyebrow. “And . . . what about Jair?”

“Well he’s practically a girl,” Hex said, grinning evilly. “He just needs to fill out a little– AHH!”

He was interrupted by Darkon throwing a shoe at him. He ducked just in time and the sandal hit the doorframe with a loud smack before falling to the floor.

“Respect your elders, twerp,” Darkon said coolly.

“Elder my butt,” Hex grumbled, snatching Darkon’s sandal and chucking it back at him. “You and Jair need your heads deflated – you’re only a year older than the rest of us.”

Darkon was ready for the return throw and he caught it easily.

“Me?” He faked a horrified look, pulling Hex’s trick from earlier. “Me, have a big head? You wound me, my friend!”

Hex rolled his eyes and knelt next to his pack, digging around for a moment. When he found what he was looking for, he tossed something to Darkon.

The team leader caught it in surprise. “An apple? I thought you didn’t like heights.”

Hex shuddered. “I didn’t climb. Amazingly enough, when I was walking back here I noticed a certain apple tree in the courtyard had been rather vandalized. Broken branches, disturbed leaves, and quite a few apples littering the ground that I seem to remember hanging on limbs earlier today.”

He bit into an apple of his own as Darkon blushed in embarrassment.

“Care to tell me why you showed up to the briefing with leaves stuck in your hair and scratches all over, almighty elder?”

Trust Hex to figure something like that out, Darkon thought. Everyone else probably just dismissed it as “had to run through a few things to avoid being late”.

“I did have a sort of . . . run in with the apple tree,” Darkon muttered, biting into his apple.

Hex snorted. “Judging by your startled reaction to Pong popping up when you usually aren’t caught off guard at all, I’d say you had a sort of “fly in” with the tree. I must admit, I admire your creativity at using the enlarging hex we learned in our last lesson.”

At a loss for something to say, Darkon took another bite of his apple. How did Hex always seem to know these things?

“Speaking of which, where is Pong?” he asked, looking around. “The pipsqueak is usually helping you torment me.”

“I’m being forced to pack against my will!” came a shouted reply from the cubby.

Hex had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep his food in as he laughed. Darkon chuckled at the rage in Pong’s voice as well. The fairy was anything but organized – packing was absolute torture for him.

“Careful, you may choke,” someone said from the hallway, sounding amused.

Hex stepped out of the way so Korinne could enter the room, Jair right behind her. Darkon smiled at the new arrivals.

Hex swallowed audibly and grinned at Korinne. “Now now, Kory, that’s not nice. You just want me to choke to death because then you won’t have to owe me any more.”

“Owe?” Darkon raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Hex nodded. “I saved her from the terrible wrath of Ferran earlier.”

Korinne rolled her eyes, brushing the statement off, but Darkon frowned. He’d had a sneaking suspicion for some time that his rival was trying to trap each member of his team alone and intimidate them. Darkon wasn’t worried about Jair or himself because Ferran knew better than to try it on them – but he worried about Korinne and Hex.

“Ferran cornered you?”

She looked uncomfortable. “I had been doing some form exercises before arriving so I was washing the solution off my hands when he entered the courtyard. I did not mean to be alone.”

“No, it’s nothing you did wrong,” Darkon assured her. His voice turned quiet as he continued, “It’s just that Ferran never used to play dirty. When he was my team leader he never tried to get the other team members alone – he always faced the team as a whole.”

Jair nodded slightly, looking down. Darkon knew that Ferran’s change bothered the other boy as much as it did him.

“Well, he’s a cheater now,” Hex said. His lips parted into a feral smile. “Which is just one of the many reasons why we’re going to kick his butt!”

Korinne giggled and held out a hand, two fingers spread wide. Hex copied the action in a heartbeat.

“Who’s the best team at Academy Hex?” he demanded loudly.

Darkon rolled his eyes. “Must you repeat this silly thing every time you think about graduation?”

Hex’s face fell into a sad puppy-dog look. “Darkon . . . who’s the best team at Academy Hex?”

Darkon sighed as dramatically as he could, slowly raising a hand with two splayed fingers. Secretly though, he enjoyed the team spirit Hex showed every time he did his little “ritual”.

“Team two,” he said slowly.

“YES!” Hex clapped his hands once and then pointed at Darkon with both pointer fingers, arms extended all the way. “And who’s the best team leader at Academy Hex?”

“Darkon Andros!” Korinne said, enthusiastic as always.

Darkon felt himself blush a little and he looked down, supposedly straightening the bandages wrapped around his chest.

“YES AGAIN!” Hex spun around and pointed at the cubby near the ceiling. “Who’s the best fairy a team leader’s ever had?”

Darkon groaned. “Please don’t! His head doesn’t need to be inflated any more!”

It was too late though, Pong had been listening and the fairy darted out of his cubby, beaming cockily. He flipped a summersault in the air and shouted, “Pong vi Capella!”

Hex stopped short, looking confused. “Wait, Pong who what?”

Darkon snorted in amusement as Pong’s expression deflated slightly.

“It’s his “full name” as far as fairies can have one,” Darkon explained. “The “vi” means that he serves someone and the “Capella” is which fairy province he came from.”

“Oh, right!” Hex said, grinning once more. “Awesome name, Pong!”

Pong beamed again and Darkon shook his head. It looked like Hex was determined to make Pong pompous no matter what.

Hmm . . . on the other hand, “Pompous Pong” had a kind of ring to it. He stored away the nickname for future use.

“Soooooooooo,” Hex continued, spinning back to face everyone. This time he was the one wearing the cocky grin. “Who’s the best hexer this Academy’s ever seen?!”

“Wait, le’ me think about this one, the name’s hard to remember,” Darkon teased.

Hex cuffed him on the head lightly, his attempt at looking cross failing miserably.

Korinne smiled mischievously. “Darkon, I believe it starts with an “S”.”

Hex paused, utterly bewildered. “No it doesn’t.”

But Darkon had caught on to what she was saying.

“You’re right,” he said slowly, “something like “Sven” . . . or “Seven” . . . or maybe . . . “Steven”?”

Hex had been paling ever since he said “Sven” and he was now whiter than a ghost in the Nightlands. “Come on guys, no fair.”

Korinne nodded firmly. “I think that’s it. Steven. Yes, that must be it. Steven Chaffer!”

Darkon laughed and slid to his feet, slinging an arm around Hex’s shoulders. “Stop cringing every time you hear the name Steven, we’re just saying the truth.”

Hex shuddered again at the use of his real name. Then he leaned close to Darkon and whispered in his ear, “I can’t help it – I’m allergic to that name!”

Darkon laughed and punched him in the arm playfully. “Whatever you say. The best hexer this Academy’s ever seen is my best friend Hex!”

Hex’s ears turned flaming red and he tugged at his headband a little, looking down.

“Carmos’s underwear, now you’re just embarrassing me,” he muttered.

Darkon laughed again, this time with Korinne. Pong howled above them, no doubt logging away the “Carmos’s underwear” oath for later use. Hex and Jair grinned.

Hex picked back up again after a minute, “Also! Who’s the most academically advanced student that can kick anyone’s butt in hand to hand combat?”

“Korinne Gina!” Darkon and Pong said in unison. Pong dived down to sit on Darkon’s head.

Korinne blushed proudly.

“Aaaaaand, who’s the silent giant who can make Ferran Conner rethink everything he thought he knew with just a word or two?!”

Jair ducked his head as they all said, “Jair Derom!”

No one cared that he had identified Team Member Three after Team Member Four.

“So which team’s going to graduate and go on to show everyone just what’s possible?!” Hex crowed.

Wearing happy grins, they all threw their hands in the air (even Jair), two fingers raised, and shouted, “TEAM TWO!”

“Come on,” Pong said, leaping into the air, packed back held in his hands, “let’s get to that rune!”

They all grabbed their bags as well and were out the door in seconds.

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