“Uh,” Maxwell said, looking nervously over at Yura. Gwendoyln and Aleste were talking shop about Gwendolyn’s match still, with Aleste trying to get a leg up on her own future match, but Yura was just hanging around the other two, listening in. The events of her match had already been mined by Aleste for strategic data. “You’re friends with Rachel, right?”
Yura shuddered upon realizing that she was the one being addressed. She withdrew her chin into the collar of her cape, pulling the excess fabric tight around her, and spoke more into it than towards Max. “… Yeah.”
Maxwell did his best to figure out whether he should even keep talking to Yura. If someone was that shy, as shy or moreso than Maxwell was, they’d probably want to be left alone, and- “… You’re friends with Gabriel, aren’t you?”
Max nodded. That was good enough encouragement, right? He could just get right to strategic thought. “How do you think she’ll approach this?”
Tabbitha had overheard her Pair talking, and leaned over. She towered over Max, and even moreso over Yura, but looked like she barely weighed more than either of them. “Do you think it’ll be okay?” The worry was apparent in her voice.
Evidently, the last match had shook her. Alex, listening in, took this chance to interject. “The last match was an anomaly. Gabe’s a gentle sort.” He thought back to Gabe’s gushing about how great Rachel was back on the night of the Pairing.
Up on the battleground, Isabel, Gabriel and Rachel’s Guardian, was helping the two of them square off, protectively insisting that it be done right. Instructor Leor seemed to be enjoying himself rearranging the backboard on which the tournament matches were arranged.
“… Yeah, and yeah,” Yura said. She furrowed her brow in concentration, thinking back to the night of the Pairing. “She kind of… spent more time with you,” she said, looking to Tabbitha, “I think, because we-“ gesturing to Gwen and Aleste - “knew more of her crush… I mean, I wouldn’t tease her, but…”
Aleste, a girl with fiery hair and confidence even brighter, jumped in. “I would.”
“Okay, GO!” Instructor Leor said, and everyone’s eyes whipped around to the battlefield.
Rachel raised her fists, as did Gabriel, but neither of them made a move, either physically or magically.
“Um, do you-“ Gabriel started.
“Yeah?” Rachel interrupted, loudly and hopefully.
“I don’t know if I can hit you,” Gabriel said, blushing furiously.
Rachel blinked. “W-what? I mean, you probably could, you’re so fast-“
“No,” Gabriel interrupted, “I mean I couldn’t make myself do it, I mean, I don’t think?”
Rachel blushed. “It’s um… It’s okay if it’s you, you know…”
Gabriel was, effectively, stunned. It took him a few moments to recover his senses, moments which, Alex thought, Rachel could have used to win the match, but she didn’t pursue that course of action. “Yeah!” he said. “You can, uh, y’know, too, right? Like, whenever you want to, I mean…”
The two of them were entirely unable to proceed.
Isabel cheered. “You two are PERFECT!”
There was a minor kerfuffle amongst the Guardians, and while the two combatants kept murmuring sweet nothings to each other, doing everything possible to not do anything at all, Instructor Leor asserted himself. “You do know,” he said, “That the rest of the class can’t proceed until one or the other of you wins, right?” He was standing in front of the Guardian bleachers, and rather than being condescending, he was gently prodding them to move forward, knowing that they didn’t want to aggress towards each other. He’d been the same way, on the same day, so many years ago - wanting to protect his Pair, and her wanting to protect him.
“I…” Rachel started. If it was anyone else, she’d be able to move forward, to at least mess with him, or something. “How do you wanna do this?”
Gabriel, more than willing to take charge in any other situation, had to think hard about her question. “Well, I can’t sneak up on you, you’re too clever for that.”
Rachel blushed, and reacted aggressively. “Well, I can’t come right at you, you’re too strong!” This was objectively true, but Gabriel still wasn’t used to the compliment. “And I’d have to like, I dunno, go for your eyes or something, and you look too cute for that, and-“ She immediately shut up upon realizing what she said. Gabriel had nothing to respond with, either.
Instead, completely overloaded and unable to process anything, he attempted to move forward without significant thought. Alex recognized the move, and smiled as Gabriel shaped the ground behind him into footholds, and poured his mind into enhancing the strength of his leg muscles before kicking off, launching himself towards Rachel. He flew past her, but neglected to grab her bandana. She stepped aside, and he just didn’t adapt.
“Good move!” Rachel said, smiling. Now that Gabriel had made the first move, she could work. She yanked the moisture out of the ground around her, all the way out to where Gabriel had landed, and the ground shifted beneath him. Rachel balled that moisture into a high-pressure blast of water, aimed directly at Gabriel’s torso.
Alex smiled. That would have worked, if he and Gabriel hadn’t been good friends for so long. Gabriel sidestepped the blast of water, but at the same time, kicked up dust from the suddenly dry ground around Rachel, who started coughing and pawing at her eyes. Gabriel kicked off towards her, and landed just next to her, snatching the bandana off of her wrist in one smooth motion.
“Sorry,” he said, and immediately worked towards settling the dust.
“Was that just extended flirting?” Elza asked Tabbitha. If she wanted a real answer, she probably would have asked Rosaline, and Tabbitha just made a somewhat flustered noise.
Instructor Leor motioned to Isabel, who was clapping at her Wards’ performance. “Do you have any criticisms or advice for the class, Isabel?”
“Nope!” she replied.