Faction Showdown XIX

The Lumis team got back during the absolute dark of night; most of them hadn’t gotten any rest at all and they could no longer depend on William White to stand his ground throughout the dusk. White was usually the one to stay awake no matter what; his muscle memory gave him the ability to fight physically just as well as any other person could at the time. The rest of them didn’t truly have that power. They were all regular Lumis beings, and close to half dropped out like lights upon reaching their designated rooms. Drake had assigned every member a single room after realizing their one room could be spontaneously assaulted, should someone become all the wiser. Better to have assured safety to most than cohesive, possible safety to the many.
Drake moved back to his room slowly, having trudged away from seeing Lloyd, Nak, and Tracy to their rooms. His eyes felt heavy and his body was weary from having to cast so many spells during the course of a night. Unlike the others, most of his spells were time-consuming and difficult to cast on the fly. Not only that, but he lacked the magic blood that kept the Lord magicians from suffering magic drain. Yes, Drake felt weathered – he had a creeping headache which fazed in and out and a strange feeling in his stomach, as though he were simultaneously incredibly hungry and yet not hungry at all.
He opened his door and was about to go inside when he heard someone go into Bill’s room. Out of pure curiosity, he took a few steps back and stood a few feet away from Bill’s door. Inside, he could hear Bill talking to Tracy Bentohls. His eyebrows rose then dropped with ease. Curiosity was getting the better of him.
“No, no, no; bad psychology,” Bill was talking to her as though tutoring her. “You think I would be afraid of something like that, when we have no idea what it is we’re actually fighting? The mastermind figured as such: we would fear something we have no idea about. I’ve heard the kinds of things Drake’s said about Slatford-”
“But you mustn’t keep such confidence if we haven’t got a clue.” She sounded desperate. “In a strange way, Jay’s put it in the right situation. If we don’t know what we’re taking on, how could we not be afraid? What’s wrong with fear?”
“Well, that’s one likely point down the drain.” Bill sighed. Outside, Drake’s eyes were slowly shifting from left to right. “Don’t you worry, though, my dear girl; I’m fairly sure that most of us will get plenty of rest before tomorrow. Enough rest, for example, to protect you and to protect our captain.”
“Why must I be a priority?” Tracy almost sounded offended. Subconsciously, Drake’s index finger twitched.
“For me, you are a priority.”
For a few moments, there was a strong pause. Silence gripped the room before Bill began once more.
“I mean, I-I haven’t exactly been able to say much, but you can plainly assume that I do everything in my power to protect you above the others in the group. It rather seems like somebody has to.”
“Well, that’s awfully kind of you, but aren’t you overlooking my own powers of defense?”
“Oh, one never does.” Bill was taken aback. “I mean no offense, it’s just…well, I can’t rightly help myself. But never mind, just uh…know that I care and that I’d like to talk more about this situation after this contest is all over. Give it some thought.”
She had said something back, but at that moment, Drake had nodded once in a lack of pride and walked away from the door. In a way, Bill was right: somebody had to, and it didn’t exactly seem like he was doing that. It was his priority to protect the whole of the group, and he couldn’t really do that, either. If any of the other teams wished to spring a counter-offensive, the time would be in that exact moment. All would face fatigue from sleep, but his team would suffer magic drain more quickly. Again, Drake figured, no single team would want to take the first blows.
He found his room once more and opened the door when he heard Bill’s door open once again. He turned to see Tracy on her way out. He gave a weak smile and a small hand wave.
“Night, Tracy. Sleep well.”
Drake turned to enter.
“Hold it right there, nerd.”
Nearly instantly, he froze, his eyes gripped shut with shame. He’d heard that voice before. Tracy made her way over to his side and attempted to look at him; into his eyes as she usually did. They were closed.
“You were listening to us, weren’t you?”
“I’m not about to get involved.” Drake moved inside, but she followed quickly after him as he stood by the window.
“You’d better not be trying to avoid me.” She waved a hand and the door shut behind her. Nearly forcefully, she took hold of his shoulder and turned him to face her. “You were listening to us.”
“I was doing no such thing.” Drake frowned, drowsily.
There was a pause as she took careful notice of everything he did, from any eyebrow movement to any shift in weight. He swayed slightly as his eyes went from her to outside, and for a long while his gaze remained on the outside of the windows. It was dark; nearly the only thing illuminated was that small circle in the middle. The marked core. The symbol of surrender. Drake almost wanted to chuckle at the irony. The only piece of light he could spot was the symbol of failure.
“Drake, what’s wrong?” She asked, in a sudden break of the silence.
She had asked him that question, previously, on the occasion when his mother died. It had been approximately two years in the past, possibly three. He still remembered it. She knew something was up and wouldn’t let it go.
“It’s really cold,” Drake said. “And I’m tired. And I’ve got a mean head pain.” Another weak smile came to his face. “Well, Tracy? Are you satisfied with my responses?”
“No.” She took her hand to his head. “No fever.” She then lifted one of his hands and felt no jitters, only cold. “You’re cold, but so am I. And you’re not sick, so I want none of that speech coming along. Really, what’s wrong? Tell the truth.”
Drake continued to give his weak smile and his gaze avoided hers as he looked out the window once more. Almost in a refusal to speak, he waved his left hand and shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, you don’t know?” Tracy frowned, perhaps one of the few times she would frown at anyone.
“No. I haven’t got a clue.”
Tracy tapped one foot on the floor for a moment, before taking in a deep breath and letting it out again. She repeated that process once more and Drake turned to look at her, intrigued.
“It’s always hiding with you, isn’t it? If you do have a problem…for God’s sake, tell me.”
Drake’s eyes revolved around her to the floor, then to the lower window and back to her. This reaction was new.
“Tell me!” In that instant, she shoved him lightly and still he stumbled back and held himself up using the back wall of the room. Out of fear, he raised his hands chest-height and his eyes were wide.
“I…” Drake swallowed and tried again. “…I can’t protect you.”
Tracy’s eyes widened a bit.
“W-What?”
“I…well, I…I can’t protect anyone.” Almost in forfeit, he let his hands drop and the weak smile returned. “We…we’re slowly losing, out here. And I’ve dragged you into this. And now…I’m losing you.” He let out a small laugh and then threw his hands again, his head shaking. “I…I’m done. I don’t want to play, anymore.” He turned and sat down on the side of the bed in his room. Slowly, Tracy approached him and stood in front of him. At this time, she spoke softly once again.
“…so that’s what this is about, then…you think…we’re losing.”
“Look at me, Tracy.” Drake’s head dropped. “I’ll get little sleep, I’ve got a headache, I’ve got drain, and my team…my team feels inferior to the enemies.”
For a moment, Tracy felt guilty. Not only was he shorter than she, but at times, he was more emotional than most she’d met.
“…and it’s freezing in here,” he added with irritation. “Bill couldn’t have been more right. I’m not cut out to protect like he is. I’m not cut out for this competition. If I were you, I’d ask me to quit.”
There was another patch of silence in that second. Tracy lowered a hand and tapped Drake’s shoulder.
“Stand up.” Drake sighed and looked up at her. She calmly repeated herself. “Come on, stand up, nerd.” Without wanting to use the effort to think twice, he stood up and tried not to droop his head. For a moment, she looked at him and then gave a small smirk. “Boy, do you look cold.”
“Don’t play games.” Drake slightly frowned. “Don’t torment me.”
“Torment you?” Tracy smiled a bit more. “’m not sure what you mean.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” Drake continued to frown. “I’m on the verge of quitting and you watch me squirm?” He became angry. “You’re twisted, sadis-”
In a blink, Tracy closed the gap between the two of them and planted a kiss on Drake’s lips. It was quick, if only because Drake lightly pushed her off. In the moment, her gaze could only signify being cheated.
“Wait.” He was still frowning. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” She frowned back. “I’m not doing anything.”
“No, you did something. I said don’t lie to me.”
In just as swift a movement, Drake pulled her back in and kissed her. It felt invigorating, even though he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. He wasn’t sure he could stop. For that reason, he stopped, let go, and pulled back.
“Hold on, hold on…” He took in a breath and sat back down on the bed. Timidly, she sat next to him. She rolled her eyes and nearly giggled.
“Yeah, you’re really cold, Drake.”
He smiled and let out a short laugh before he placed a hand on his forehead and nodded, once.
“I, uh…I needed to let off some steam…and I’m sorry if I was about to say that you were…”
“Oh, perfectly fine.” She nodded, as well. “I was asking for it.”
“…so, you and Bill…” He looked over at her, cautiously. “…not, I mean, you know?”
“Oh, you’re as bad as they come, nerd.” Tracy put an arm around his shoulder and leaned onto him. “I just…kissed you, Drake. A girl can’t do much more to say how she feels, and I’m not quite ready to run that extra mile.”
“Neither would I be…” Drake grinned, quietly. “…thank you, Tracy…”
“Hey, anytime.” She pat his opposite shoulder lightly before she left a peck on his cheek and rose to leave. Almost as soon as she was out the door, Drake rubbed a hand over his entire face and dropped onto the bed to instantly knock out.

> CVah