Light escaped through the gaps between the trees, and I felt the breeze caress my cheeks in subtle comfort. But nothing could fix the mood I was in.

I lost humiliatingly against Lambert. Worst thing yet... he was right.

I was a weakling compared to everyone here. Here at the Phoenix Academy, everyone was good. You had the team captains and A+ students. The talented benders, acing the class demonstrations... At this school, you need to be even better than all the shining, golden children.

I was once the shining, golden child—but not anymore. And somehow, that bothered me.

In this crowd, I'd be forgotten.

I don't want to be forgotten. I just want to belong somewhere and know that... I can do this.

Great start to a school year, right? It was my first time away from my parents – my fight against them on my so-called independence – and yet on the first-day I already made a scene.

I made my way into the troop area and felt my heart swelling at the sight. Trees lined the path, creating a nice shade for the rows of troop stalls underneath. There were groups and groups of people crowded around the stalls. Newbies like me, I bet, except... I wasn't eagerly asking for information or sign up sheets like them. The troops had tables of pamphlets, weapons leaned or sheathed against their sides, and colourful flags symbolising each troop swayed in the wind.

"Waverly!" One of the stall members waved toward the crowd. "We are top contestants in the National Championship of—"

Someone shoved past me roughly as they ran to a popular stall to sign up.

"—we have swordsmanship coaching and a lab to experiment you powers on!"

I tiptoed, stretching my neck to peer over multiple heads in front of me, except a tall boy walked into my view and blocked my way.

I sighed. I internally regret for sleeping past midnight during my growth peak.

I walked to the side, with the intention to avoid as much people as possible. The different caves lead to different troops, and I eyed a troop flag that snapped straight in the sudden gush of wind. Papers fluttered, the crowd were gasping and unsettled by the wind, but I was calm, my eyes on the golden swan that flew elegantly against an ocean blue background.

A boy sat at the troop sign-up table, and he leaned forward, his words edged with a strange tone. He waved as me as though I couldn't see. "Uh, hello? Can I help you?"

I managed a smile. "Oh, I'm just looking."

"Well, okay." He shrugged and sat back.

Don't think I want to join that one.

I slipped back into the crowd, shuffling along to a troop with a fantail on their purple flag. My eyes met a girl's, her gaze hard and bold. She sat with her elbow leaned on the table.

"Can I sign up?" I said, almost shoved forwards by the people crowding behind me. These people gotta chill.

The girl's eyes wandered over me with a glazed look. She slanted a perfunctory smile. "Sorry, we're out of places."

I muttered a thanks, my smile faltering as I let the others push past me. If she was out of places, why would everyone rush forwards? What a straight-out liar!

Definitely not my kind of team.

I moved against the currents and I was back on search. I took one look at the fantail, my shoulders slumping as I shuffled away.

I padded past a stream, coming close to the end of the line of stalls. It was less busy here, but people were still eager. As for me, my eyes landed on a scarlet flag. It swayed gently in the breeze, sagged towards gravity. It was difficult to spot the troop symbol.

I walked closer, brows furrowed. A hawk. A winged-hawk that refuses to fly.

I looked over my shoulder at the others and back at the cave. There were no troop stalls and there was no one outside promoting their troop.

Strange...

I swallowed, and with a little self-encouragement I slipped into the shadows of the cave.

The cave stretched like a tunnel, the light illuminating through the hanging willow leaves. The tunnel was cold, but a pleasant chill against the warmth. I never even realised that my neck was burning from the sun until then.

When I made it to the end, I pushed apart the leaves and peeked inside.

Inside was a circular, open field. There were wooden benches, a lovely willow tree in the middle surrounded by a running stream. There were stairs carved into the rock walls that had led to individual dorms. I assumed every troop had the same design of dormitories.

I watched everything with intrigue and awe, but that was short-lived.

The whole team stood by the willow tree, some sitting and some standing with their arms crossed. Their expressions were saddened, their stance was sagged and their eyes were out of spirit. Sometimes, one would give a concerned glance at their friend but would downcast their eyes after.

I suddenly didn't know what I should do. Do I approach? Do I leave the situation as it is?

They didn't notice my presence and I decided for the latter. I didn't want to disturb what was happening between them, it seemed wrong to pry about such a depressing moment.

For a second, I imagined them laughing, patting each other on their backs, having a spar with their mates, lighting a camp fire and telling jokes. Except, they were in deep sorrow; unmovable by anyone.

My lips thinned and I began retracing my steps when someone spoke up.

"Hey, look! Someone's here!"

I turned in shock, grimacing at myself. One-by-one, all their stares landed on me. I blushed at the sudden attention. It was not a good time to gain the spotlight.

I attempted my best recovery. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb, I was just leaving-"

My steps were halted by a voice. "No, wait."

I looked back. A dark-haired youth removed himself from the group. He crossed a wooden bridge toward me. When he came close, I realised how gentle his dark eyes were, and his smile made my heart skip a beat.

"I'm Marty," he said, stretching out his hand for me to shake. I took it without hesitation.

"I'm Cassandra," I replied with a hearty grin. "My curiosity got the best of me."

Marty raised a brow and stifled a laugh, "what do you mean?"

"None of you were out there," I half-shrugged, "you know... promoting."

His smile faltered, as if pained, and my smile slipped from my face too.

"Our leader left," he explained. "Everyone's bit out of spirit at the moment. Sorry that we got your hopes up for nothing."

I frowned, shaking my head. "There's nothing to apologise for! You wouldn't know... I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask...?"

"We're not sure either. He just didn't seem like himself last night." He shrugged, putting on a genuine smile.

"I don't know if I'll be much help but... you can let me know what he's called? I can be an extra ear."

"Robin." He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the team. They were clearly expecting an answer from him. And as if they were sending a representative over, a blonde-haired girl stepped out and approached us.

"What's wrong?" She asked, curiosity written on her face. Accompaning her was another youth, his short, wooden brown hair matching his eyes, but there was nothing friendly in his demeanor or tone.

"Who's this?" He shot.

My gaze hardened. "Cassandra."

"I'm Kristen," the girl introduced. I knew she was trying to ease the tension between me and the boy. She nudged the boy harshly and he let out a short cough.

"It's James," he staggered. "James Austin, if you must know."

"Your first name will suffice." I shot back, and internally grinned when I saw him stiffen.

"Marty, don't tell me she's joining."

I narrowed my eyes. Was this guy serious?

"James!" Kristen gasped, sending him a daggered glare. "Don't say something like that!"

He shrugged, raising both his hands. "Just asking honest questions."

"Guys," Marty sounded, and the two immediately shut their mouths. I think I was starting to understand the hierarchy here. Marty, despite not being the leader, held some authority here. Or, he was well-respected enough to make people listen to him. Kristen was a kind and obedient girl. While James... he was another story. Except, I guess I could give him credit for knowing when not to cross the line.

I didn't want to put Marty in a tough spot, so I inputted before anyone could say anything. "I'm going to be heading off now. I just came to see if everything was alright."

Marty's glance softened. "Sorry about James."

"It's him who should be apologising." I glared back at him, then returned a smile at Kristen and Marty. "I'll be off. Hope to see you all around!"

"Of course, me too." Kristen added. The peacemaker. "See you, Cassandra."

I turned around, making my way out of the cave. As the willow blinds closed behind me, I felt my heart ache. I seemed to have grown attached to this team the moment I stepped inside. I wanted to stay, but it was clear I couldn't.

I inhaled a quick breath, straightened my back as I was back outside. I needed to find another troop quickly. No more poking around.

***

"Welcome to Legani! Your new troop!" I watched as our leader had hair pointing all over the place. He continued, "I'm Julian. The leader of your troop. These are the sophomores." He stretched out his hands in a gesture of introducing the five other people standing in line (three girls and two boys to be exact). They all slacked in their posture, looking at their shoes or leaning against the stone wall as if Julian's words held no authority.

I gulped. It can't be that bad, can it?

"This-" he moved his hand to a girl with curly, dark pony-tail "-is our co-leader, Tracy. She will be in charge when I'm absent."

Tracy's jawline was like a dagger's edge, and her protruded cheekbones emphasised her stone-hard gaze. Somehow, I felt as though she had more of a say around here.

I sat uncomfortably on the benches, squished between a girl and a boy (who constantly jabbed me in the ribs whenever he fidgited). The girl had remarkable lavender eyes, and her shyness was one obvious factor. I internally worried for her, scared that people might see her shyness and deem it as a weakness they could tease or exploit.

"Classes start next week. Training starts tomorrow. You've got a day to settle in." Julian said, rather too happily. I wasn't too keen on either option. He gave us a dismissive wave. "Now, go along, chat among yourselves."

Julian hopped off the log he stood on, and everyone sat there in awkwardness for a full minute before we got up. I trailed after the shy girl as she made her move away from the crowd.

I greeted her with a smile, "hey there!"

She blinked, crossing her arms in front of her. "H-hey."

"I'm Cassandra, you are?"

"Velvet." She replied, turning on her back as she kept moving to a corner.

"Velvet..." I repeated silently to myself, letting her be. I thought the name sounded nice, and hoped silently that I'll get to talk to her more later.

"Is she always that quiet?"

I turned around, only to meet two boys standing in front of me, watching Velvet from afar with careful, curious glances.

"I don't know. I just met her," I explained and introduced myself.

"I'm Ted and this is Wilfred, or Will for short." The shorter one pointing to the taller boy with olive-skin.

"Hey, Cassie." Will rubbed his neck shyly and I chuckled at his blush.

"He's not that good with girls," Ted giggled and I mimicked.

"I can call you Cassie, right?" Will asked gently.

"Of course," I said. "Are you both seniors?"

"Sophomores. The leader and co-leader are seniors." Ted explained, looking behind him to see Tracy standing there with an unreadable face while Julian was going on and on about some boring topic.

I stifled a laugh at their expressions before Ted turned to chat more, clearly trying to make conversation (which an introvert like me appreciated a lot).

"Have you heard about the disappeared boy?"

I raised my brows in interest. "You mean, Robin?"

"Ah! News gets around fast!" Ted exclaimed.

"People have been saying he's dead," Will frowned. "No body discoveries so I think we can hold off that statement."

I felt a bit uneasy. "Robin's only been missing for what? A day? And people are already on about his death?"

Ted nodded, looking equally unsettled. "Yeah, people can be nasty nowadays."

"You two seem pleasant."

"On the outside. The devils are always on the inside." Ted said, smirking.

Will chuckled lightly, then continued, "no one knows the details. I'm sure we'll get more news in the next few days."

"Nice sword."

I almost burst out laughing when Ted attempted to save me from the "worry pool". Perhaps he noticed my etched brows and serious look, but honestly I was trying to play detective back there.

"Thanks," I said, touching the hilt of my sword.

"That sword..." Will tilted his head and I knew what that sort of look usually meant. Some recognition or familiarity. Surely, it can't be! Was Will that knowledgable on Iridiscent?

I also tilted my head, hoping to distract him as I shifted my sword away from his view. "Hm?" I added.

"Will!"

Oh yes, go. Please.

"Will, stop flirting and come here!" Julian yelled.

THANK YOU, JULIAN.

I stifled a quiet sigh, watching as Ted gave Will a shove.

"Stop staring and go!" Ted gestured, while Will stumbled in Julian's general direction, looking utterly confused. I waved him goodbye awkwardly.

"I told you, he's not good with girls." Ted laughed. "He'll probably overthink again over this embarrassing moment."

I chuckled again. "Rest assured he's all goods."

And as the sun shined through and people began to warm up to each other, I thought my first-day was going to start nasty but end well for me. But something just had to go wrong.

There was a scream that startled both Ted and I. We snapped our heads towards the girl, tangled in neon tentacles.

Monsters. Common occurrences in our world. Why bother training us to fight when there aren't any threats? Combat, tactics, weaponry were all core subjects in our school.

The tentacles turned and twisted, it clawed it's way around the girl's neck. Her face was changing colours.

"She's going to suffocate," I breathed quietly, but no one made a move to do anything.

Tracy took a step forwards and pulled out her short sword. It glimmered as she gave it a wave in the air. A tentacle fell off under her blade, but the neon monster expanded itself, and grew another limb within seconds.

Tracy flipped back as the monster threw the tentacle onto the ground. She did light hops and was back in battle stance, sword in a hard grip.

Tracy charged forwards and Julian followed suit. He unsheathed his long sword and sliced the air in quick motions. The newbies screamed as the tentacles stretched and moved in their direction. Julian took a quick slice at them before something disastrous happened.

The girl looked like she was going to pass out soon, and from the thumping of my heart, I knew I couldn't just stand here and watch.

"They're not doing it right," I didn't realise I had muttered my thoughts.

Ted was staring wide-eyed at the chaos. "What?"

"They're not doing it right," I said, but louder. I moved forwards against Ted's protest.

The neon monster was distracted, turning the colour of purple as he fed off the girl's fear. I leaped into the sky, light as a snowflake. Then, I allowed my normal weight to return. Gravity sucked me down and I unsheathed my sword, held the handle near my cheeks as the tip of my blade was aimed straight at the neon monster.

"Reflecta, aid me." I whispered to my beloved sword. "In the blue element only, though."

The metal reflected, the crystals inside the blade was shining in subtle, iridescnet lights. No one else could see, but the neon monster did.

The monster was changing colours, it was trying to figure out what it was seeing, but it had no time for that. It let go of the girl, extended all it's tentacles in my direction.

Soon, I was swallowed in it's colours; in it's tunnel of tentacles. I spun in the air, letting my blade glide through it's limbs. I flipped the sword into position, and struck it's fatal spot.

The monster exploded, dissipating into dust. I floated down, landing gently on the ground. Everyone stared at me in awe, their mouths agape.

"THAT WAS EPIC!!!"

The cheers erupted and I shrunk at the loudness of it. I found myself chuckling as they surrounded me.

"How did you do that!"

"That looked magical."

"Epic. Truly epic."

I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. "Ha, thanks... it-it was nothing."

I turned to look at the girl, who collapsed onto the floor with a blank look. I quickly made my way over to her, touching her by the shoulder. "Hey, you alright?"

She looked at me, her eyes glistened with tears. "Yes, thank you."

The girl was taken away by her fellow peers, while I stood there for a moment to watch her.

"Nice job, new girl." Julian patted me hard on the back and grinned.

I rubbed my shoulder. "Thanks, Julian."

My smile faltered when I found Tracy glaring at me, her expression was peculiar. I couldn't read her.

"All clear everyone!" Julian shouted and that was when I broke my eye contact with Tracy.

Ted ran off, shaking his head. "My! That was legendary! It's like straight out of an anime. I'm not sure if I could fight as deadly and elegantly as that!"

"Wow, your compliment is top-notch, Ted."

"I was worried about you charging out like that, but I guess all that worry was for nothing!" Ted exclaimed, throwing up his arms. "We need a celebration!"

"Please, Ted, it's no biggie." I stifled a laugh, honestly not wanting to ask for more attention. I want recognition, but I don't want the spotlight to burn me.

I was truly happy, I felt like I earned some respect in the troop. I probably should've been proud of myself too, but I don't know why... something just felt wrong.

***

A/N

Right, peeps. What is up with Tracy? Was Cassie just overworrying?

Your troops might be calling you for training now, BUT before you go, remember to vote or comment!

See ya!

L