The Azra-El Series Ch. 18.2

"What the hell?! Do you know how much she has improved over this break? She now has as good a chance of winning the tournament as I do!"

"Which is very low, Ms. Blaze. And even if it is not, we pixies don't need you angels teaching us anything."

The way Asherah spoke, with an unnerving nonchalance, made Blaze simmer in anger. The tears that started to pour down Siofra's cheek made him even madder. With balled fists, he took a threatening step towards Asherah.

Fiora stopped him and Asherah simply looked down upon him with a raised brow. "And you are not even a good angel, Ms. Blaze," she said before turning around and pulling Siofra to the carriage.

"I will see you at the tournament, Blazey," Siofra choked, letting her mother drag her away.

Blaze could only watch in mute anger as Asherah took Siofra away without even letting her wave goodbye through her carriage windows.

"Tell me the truth, Ms. Blaze. Did you have anything to do with this?" Fiora asked him softly.

"If it means that it will get Siofra out of trouble then it's all my doing."

Fiora sighed. "If you want another spanking, Ms. Blaze, I will be happy to oblige, but I do not think it will change Ms. Asherah's mind."

oOo

Blaze could not sleep that night. Siofra's unexpected departure seemed like a prelude to the tournament. Would Sky be taken away from him as well?

When the first rays of daybreak streamed into his room, Blaze jumped out of his window and took off towards the stables. He found Sky and Splash playing outside Sky's coop, along with Badava and Tonya.

Sky sensed his approach and flew up to meet him in the air. The Quetzal seemed to have finally learned to not barrel into his chest. He slowed down just as he reached him and wrapped his wings around Blaze. Blaze tightly hugged the bird and descended, as Sky started lovingly nudging his beak against his chin. The bird had grown used to his absences, but like a little kid, he always welcomed him back with great joy.

Tonya pretended to not notice him and began to brush her Pegasi's mane as Splash scrambled over to Blaze's feet. The otter wanted to climb onto Blaze's shoulder, but Sky gave her no room to run up the young angel's body. So, the otter could only hang on to his shirt.

"What are you doing here?" Blaze asked Tonya, waddling over to her with the two animals hanging off him. Tonya always visited her mom over her breaks but was usually gone by the time he arrived. Coincidentally, she had also not been around on the only break he had stayed back to train at Tir, so they hadn't had much chance to talk except for that one fateful incident.

"Waiting for Siofra," she told him flatly, without turning around. "Didn't expect you to come along."

Blaze didn't know when Siofra had last spoken with Tonya, but he was sure it was before yesterday. He knew that the two of them had become friends when he had been training at Mt. Raivataka. "She is not coming."

Tonya turned around and raised her brows at him. He quickly explained the incident, unable to hide the distress in his voice or expression.

Tonya let out a defeated sigh and shook her head. "You know, none of this is your fault. Siofra really wanted to hang out and train with you this break. It's just unfortunate that her mother is a little... prejudiced."

"I know, but I feel helpless, and I can't get rid of the feeling that this portends towards what is going to happen with Sky..." he said gloomily. He had only met Tonya once and he knew that she didn't think too highly of him, but he also knew that Tonya had grown fond of Sky despite her own prejudice towards Quetzals. That made him respect her.

Tonya silently glanced at the storm clouds that seemed to be brewing in the north. "Let's go for a ride on Badava," she said with a little smile. "All four of us."

Though she was a little hot-headed, it seemed she was a kind angel like her mother.

"Badava still doesn't like it when I try to fly her, and those clouds look quite ominous," Blaze pointed out.

"It won't be a problem with me here," she said with surety.

"Oh? Confident, aren't ya? Also, why are you here? Shouldn't you be preparing for your own tournament?"

Tonya was 70 and she had been training for the YAMAT.

"I was disqualified this quarter when my school narrowed down its candidates. Pegasi knights don't usually do well in one on one fights."

"I am sorry."

Tonya simply shrugged her shoulders and pulled out a two-seated saddle from her space ring. The flying horse walked up to Blaze and gently began to nibble at his hair as Tonya saddled her up.

Once done, she smoothly jumped on to the first seat and put out her hand for Blaze. He took it and got into the saddle behind her.

"We will soar over the clouds," she explained, "and slowly descend on them to avoid the turbulence and static. We will be safe. Just don't fly off by yourself. I know the clouds, you don't."

Blaze silently accepted. Splash jumped onto the Pegasi's rump and held on to the saddle with her tiny little paws. It seemed like she was already used to it.

Badava unfurled her humongous brown and white wings and began with a run. When she gained enough speed, she jumped, flapped her wings and soared into the sky in one fluid motion. Blaze had heard that Badava was a good flier, but it was his first time witnessing it. The weight of two young angels and a pet otter didn't seem to bother her in the least, and she seemed to know exactly what Tonya wanted.

The trust between a Pegasus and her knight is of utmost importance, Claudis' words echoed in Blaze's mind, as he looked back and saw Sky tailing after the Pegasus.

"We got off on the wrong foot, Tonya," Blaze suddenly spoke as the Pegasus gained elevation. "I am really sorry for treating Badava the way I did. I can't claim that it was because I didn't know better. It was just that in the heat of the moment, I did not realize the gravity of my actions. I am really sorry."

"Apology accepted. I am also sorry for lashing out at you. Mom explained how you are helping her. Thank you for that."

They watched in silence as the Pegasus continued to ascend over the clouds. A massive cumulonimbus mushroomed in the east, stretching from two thousand feet off the ground to some twenty thousand feet, like a fluffy anvil-shaped mountain in the sky.

Badava and Sky passed through multiple layers of clouds, and when they hit turbulence, they tucked their wings and expertly weathered the pressure.

"I didn't know he could fly so high," Blaze said amazed, watching Sky keep up with the Pegasus.

"She was probably being accommodating towards you. She's a smart bird. I didn't know Quetzals were so intelligent. You only hear about the Angelkillers, and those are only known for their violence."

Finally, the group burst through the moving layer of sallow, undulating puffs -- a mackerel sky -- that looked like it could simply be picked up and wrapped around them like a blanket made of clouds.

Beneath this moving blanket was an ocean of smooth, wispy, hair-like cirrus clouds that lay miles below.

Badava circled around the cloud-mountain and then steered right to face a magnificent and gargantuan cavern made of both white and dark clouds. Sunlight streamed through an opening in the ceiling and illuminated the cloud-walls in gold, making them seem like they were made of precious metals.

"Don't fret about lightning. If it hits us, you won't even know it," Tonya said as she moved the Pegasus into the cave-like passageway.

The Pegasus glided into the cavernous clouds, and the group realized they were nothing but a mere speck in the colossal cloud-cave -- tiny ants crawling up a mural of the Gods. Lightning arced inside the clouds, lighting them up in shades of dark blue and silver.

Sunlight streaming through the opening at the top of the cave formed an ethereal stairway to heaven. It made the clouds making up the floor of the cavern glow in infinite hues of gold and yellow, like a frothy layer of puffs glowing in the colors of ripe mamgi.

Blaze had flown in planes on Earth, but he had never seen anything like it, nor even that close. Flying on a Pegasus made him feel one with the clouds and the air around him.

The vision mesmerized the angels and the animals. The wind rocked the sailing Pegasus, but Badava didn't seem to care. She slowly made her way towards the light.

The damp winds inside the cloud-cavern made the journey cold and terrifying, but it was a beautiful nightmare, one that none of them wanted to wake from.

Finally, after a beautiful eternity, Badava and Sky burst out of the opening in the clouds, and they were met with a clear, cerulean blue.

The glow and the warmth of the sun against their faces contrasted the vision they had experienced in the heavenly clouds of the cave, but at the same time, it possessed something in common -- a grandeur that nothing on the land could hope to achieve.

Blaze, for the first time, felt that he was in heaven, and that if he chose to call out to God at that moment, something would respond. It made him understand why people believed in Gods. For in that moment, he did.

"Do you believe in the Gods?" Tonya suddenly asked him, as if she read his mind.

"Not really," he responded contemplatively, though he was in no mood to talk. He simply wished to sit back and gaze at the view, and just keep flying. His reincarnation had made him reevaluate his atheistic beliefs, but - "I guess I can fathom the existence of God-like beings... though, I am not really sure about the usual concepts of God."

Tonya turned around to look at him with exasperation. "Even after you witnessed this?" she asked him, waving her hand at everything around them.

Blaze began to explain his views, but Tonya cut him off.

"Never mind," she said, "I do. I believe in Mata, the Goddess of creation, and that she has a plan for all beings. You are a special angel, Blaze. No one can deny that. You are young, strong, and have a power that can heal tainted angels, without any side-effects. You are different than all the other angels, but you are, nonetheless, an angel. I have also spent enough time with Sky to know that she truly is an angelic Quetzal.

"Now, you are the angel that found Sky, Blaze. I can't believe that it is a mere coincidence. I don't know what your destiny is, but I do know that you were meant to have Sky. I don't think the Malakim can separate the two of you.

"So, have some faith. If not in my God, then in yourself and in Sky. The same applies for Siofra. I believe you two share a destiny. Any parting can only be temporary."

A quip about sitting back and letting God take care of everything came to Blaze's mind, but he chose not to voice it. Though he didn't agree with her logic, he sensed the heartfelt sentiment behind her words. He didn't want to spoil it. Moreover, her words upped his mood and brought him confidence. I will win the tournament, take my Quetzal, and take my pixie, he resolved.

A tremendous rumbling thunderclap within the cavern behind brought him out of his reverie. Lightning arced through the gap in the clouds, connecting the yonders that lay in between. It briefly lit up the cavern in a brilliant flash, casting a surreal glow on its insides.

As the weather turned more tempestuous and the cumulonimbus began to drop its contents, the cloud-adventures began to make their way back.

However, they were glad. Those fifteen minutes had given the most memorable vision of their lives, and Blaze wanted to do it again. His first thought was about Lynn, but he immediately changed his mind. He wanted to do it with his aunties; Siofra and Elyssa too. A picnic in the clouds. Is that possible?

As the Pegasus began to descend, Sky flew over to the flying horse and settled down on her rump, behind the otter. The two smaller animals had been awfully quiet, as mesmerized by the beauty as their angels. Blaze turned around on his seat and began to pet them.

"Thanks Tonya, that cleared my mind a bit," he said, ready to head back to classes.

"Just do whatever you can Blaze. There is no point in worrying at this point. Have hope. I am sure we all will be celebrating in D'Warka."

"You are coming?"

"Mom needs to take of care of Sky, and I will tag along with her... And oh, I think Badava will probably let you ride her from now on. You better treat her well."

***

A minute after Blaze entered the class, an annoyed Aahna approached him.

"How are we still tied?!" she complained, with her hands on her hips. "Didn't you get the extra question in ethics wrong?"

"Huh?"

"We are still tied in second place with 907/900. Kaya Ammal, once again, first with 910/900. How?!" she whined.

Blaze wondered about it and remembered that there had been an extra question in geography that had been unanswerable for most students, except Kaya and himself. "Kaya and I went to the Agrasen Cavern with Min Circadia. We worked on the script for a bit, so we were both able to answer a question you couldn't. It's not your fault, Aahna."

"What?! That's not fair! I worked so hard to get the first rank!"

"Calm down. Who cares about ranks? You already have perfect grades. Besides, you can still one-up Kaya in the final quarter. Work hard, kiddo. You already lose to her in nerdiness."

***

Elyssa dropped by his combat training class that evening and asked his teacher to let her borrow him, assuring Yulia that she only wanted to train with him.

She led him to the entertainment building, and they borrowed a private training room - a hundred-feet-high space with padded walls.

"What are we doing here, Ely?"

In response, Elyssa brought out a gramophone from her space ring. It was similar to the ones from Earth, except for the power source that was an energy stone.

"We are here to listen to music?" Blaze asked stupendously. Though the walls were padded, the room still had the shape for good acoustics.

"No, silly. Remember our dance at Sekat?" she said, turning on the player. An upbeat 8-beat rhythm of drums surged from the horn. "We are going to fight."

The sound the horn produced was not as smooth as hearing live from an instrument, but the tune was nonetheless clear. It had a certain nostalgic quality to it that made Blaze feel bouncier.

Ely manifested her beautiful golden blonde wings and jumped into the air. He followed her to come into a hover at eighty feet.

"You said you were learning how to berserk, right?" said Elyssa. "The music will help us with our flow. Since Siofra is not here, fighting against you normally won't help either of us. However, we can work on our body reinforcements."

"Huh?"

"We shall fight freestyle. However, we can't use any weapons or flying techniques. No flying away, either. We simply go at it until your reinforcements or you run out," she said, putting up her hands in a boxing guard.

"Think you can outlast me, eh?"

"It's forty years too early for you to keep up with me, brat," she said haughtily.

Blaze's competitive spirit surged at those words. He had also missed the snippety and playful Elyssa. Being on campus at Tir meant that there was always someone around, and Elyssa had constantly donned the prim and poised personality that befitted her status. Gone were the days when he could throw a friendly insult at her, and she would respond in kind.

Now that even Siofra wasn't around and the room separated them from the rest of the world, she went back to being the Elyssa from Varan.

"Show me what you got, brat," she said, rolling the word on her tongue as if she missed saying it. Blaze rushed at her. No weapons and flying techniques meant that Blaze was almost as strong as her.

He threw a sharp Superman right at her face.

Ely deftly dodged to his right, ducked under his arm, and ploughed her left elbow into his gut. He weathered it and swung a left hook right into her head as she came out of her crouch.

Blaze had never held any inhibitions towards fighting against women. To him, they were only two distinctions while fighting: strong and weak. Ely was strong, and to Blaze, it was the ultimate form of disrespect to go easy on her just because of her perceived gender or because she was a friend. He limited his chivalry to angels in distress or when he was out of the ring.

Ely blocked his fist with her forearm before sending an upper cut up towards his chin. Blaze used his left leg to push against her thighs and narrowly avoided her fist. The momentum sent him too far to throw a punch, so he sliced his hardened wing at her chest. It was a brawl, and anything goes in a brawl.

Elyssa fluttered back out of range to make him miss.

That was one 8-beat note.

As soon as Blaze's wing passed her, she rushed in again. Blaze used the momentum to whirl around and throw a well-aimed haymaker at her head. Elyssa caught his arm, swiveled him around and threw him away, only to follow his careening body to finish him off.

However, Blaze managed to control his spiral just before he hit the padded wall. He pushed off against the wall and jumped towards Elyssa to meet her fist.

They were like Superman and General Zod, two supermen rather, superangels -- fighting it out like punches and kicks didn't hurt. Falling into a rhythm with the beat, their movements began to become more fluent each second, and their attacks stronger -- especially Blaze's.

They fought non-stop for almost half-an-hour before Blaze had to call it off, running out of energy resources.

"Hela's Butt! How are you still so energetic? Doesn't your energy ever run dry?" he panted, with his hands on his knees. Elyssa, standing beside him, was merely 'out of breath'.

"What are you complaining about? Which angel under sixty can claim to have the energy resources you have? Maybe Nikolett, but I've never met or fought against her. Will I still be able to compete with you in fifty or sixty years?"

"What fifty or sixty? Give me ten," he proclaimed cockiliy.

"Don't get too arrogant, brat. Do you think I will be mulling around to let you catch up to me?"

"Hehe."

"Anyway, they used to call me a monster... Wait till they find out how old you really are," Elyssa shook her head. There was no envy in her words or expressions — only excitement. Blaze felt the same towards her.

oOo

It wasn't until that weekend that Blaze finally received a call from Siofra on his VP.

"Siof!" he yelled into the speaker. "Where are you? How are you doing? Did you get spanked real hard? Don't worry, this Big Bro has a nice ointment that he can personally apply on your swollen behind."

"I see you are taking my departure quite well," Siofra spoke wryly from the other end.

"Not really. Tell me how you're doing?" he asked again, with real concern. She hadn't called him for almost a week, and he was starting to get worried.

"I am at Celta, Blazey. Mom sent me back home. I don't think we can meet until the tournament."

Celta was the capital of the Eastern Pixie Lands.

"Oh... How is Celta? Do you like it there?"

"Very quaint and rustic. I've only been here once before, so I don't really know anyone. I thought I wouldn't feel like a foreigner, but I do, Blazey. I already miss being at Tir."

"I am sorry."

"On the bright side, I met up with my pixie trainer. She was quite surprised at my improvement. She decided she shall train me more. Watch out, Blazey, I may be stronger than you by the time we meet up again. I am trying to master the Pixie Prick. Hope it will be ready by the tournament."