Editing Eldramin (section)

== Chapter 6 ==
''Fannara''

The rest of the week passed in a blur of activity. I went from class to class, learning and getting used to the different styles of teaching each professor had. I quickly determined that my mandatory magic class and healing forum were my favorite classes. The Lathran healing methods worked much better than the Alithosian ones, and I was advancing quickly. More quickly than anyone had thought I would. 

I mostly kept to myself in my classes where I didn’t know the other people in them. Thankfully, I had at least one of my friends in most of my classes, but I was the only healer for our group, which left me alone. I had worried about the healing class. It was mandatory that I take the sophomore class even though I hadn’t been able to take the freshman one, because I needed to be at the same level as my peers for Training; but I had caught on to the class. 

One of the most useful methods we learned the first week was how to heal without touching the wound. It wasn’t too hard, you just had to concentrate and it would eventually come without thinking about it. 

The magic class had gone rather the same. We had just gotten the overview of Lathran magic and were getting ready to dive into the different conspiracy theories about the Eldra. 

The weekend had mostly been homework and buying more notebooks. Ari still thought it was weird that I wanted to use paper to take notes, but she always went with me to buy more. 

I awoke Monday morning with a feeling of dread resting in my stomach. Today was the day we would have to start extended Training with our partners, and I was not looking forward to it. All my interactions with Moren had been less than friendly, and he still tried to avoid interacting with me. Aside from the few snide remarks on the first day, he hadn’t said anything to me. 

I heaved out of bed and started getting ready for the day. Arienna was still sleeping. She was practiced in the art of being ready for class in under five minutes after waking up and used the gift often. I got dressed and left the room to get something to eat from the dining hall before class.

The morning sped away from me with irritating speed as I began to get nervous about extended training. My leg kept jittering in my afternoon classes as the clocks clicked away and the sun began lowering into its bed. 

Once my last class let out, I sped towarded walked to my dorm to get ready for Training. They had given us a unique uniform of sorts for Training. B, breathable black fabric with a colored emblem of what our power was on the sleeve that ran three-quarters down myyour arm. The pants were made of a stretchy fabric. The mark for healers was an outline of a circle, but with only four curves in a bright green that didn’t connect. A stripe in the same green ran up the other sleeve. Stealth was by no means the goal. 

 Ari came in as I was brushing out my hair to re-braid it. 

“Whoa, why don’t you ever wear your hair down?”

I looked at her, confused. “Why would I?”

“Are you kidding? It’s so pretty!” I looked at the black waves that brushed my waist doubtfully. 

“It’s also really long.”

“That’s pretty!”

“That’s a choking hazard.”

“What’s a choking hazard?” Mara walked into the shared bathroom with a puzzled look on her face.

Arienna crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Fannara says her hair is a choking hazard, but I think it’s gorgeous.”

“Well, duh, it’s Fannara.” Mara laughed.

“Being a choking hazard or the other one?” I was getting lost.

“No, we think you’re a choking hazard,.” Ari’s voice dripped with sarcasm,. “No, you dumb dumb! Of course it’s the second one!”

Mara burst out laughing. “But for real, you’re really pretty, Fannara. Not at all like a choking hazard,.” She giggled again and went back into her room. I just stared at the sink, trying to figure out what in the world they were going on about. No one had ever called me pretty, much less gorgeous, and I had no clue how to take the compliment. I certainly didn’t feel pretty. 

I brushed it off as them just being nice and finished braiding my hair. Ari had changed into her uniform and was twisting her hair into a tight bun. Her sleeve had a sliver emblem of three narrow triangles touching at the tip.     

I waited in the hallway with Ari as we waited for Mara to come out. Mel had class right up to Training and couldn’t make it to the room in time, so she just used the bathrooms near the arena. 

Mara came out of her room, bouncing happily. Her emblem was an elongated, golden rhombus. Her curly brown ponytail was waving around the hair tie as she practically skipped to the elevator with us. 

“So, we start extended training today.” Mara’s bouncing slowed as Ari brought up the subject. “How are you two feeling?”

Mara huffed. “I really don’t think it’s going to be as bad as you seem to think. Sure, Bryce is a bit of a jock and Moren is a little...rude sometimes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change.” She looked over at Arienna and saw her unconvinced expression. “Change for the ''better'', Ari.”

She shrugged. “I’m not the one who has to deal with him.” She looked over at me. “Good luck.” The doors slid open, and we strode out. 

The air outside still clung to summer; it would for a few more weeks, then autumn would come in its golden glory. I loved the fall. It was a season of changes, preparation for growth while still being familiar. 

We sped through campus in an undeclared race. None of us ever broke into a full run, but there was plenty of speed walking to the Elquar Training Tower{nickname for the building that I just spent a good 7 min trying to find the name of only to realize that I DIDN’T NAME IT smh} We squeezed into the elevator with some displeased upperclassmen on their way to class.

“At least we aren’t sweaty yet,” Mara giggled as the doors closed and the other students exited. Ari and I joined her in the giggling as more upperclassmen joined us on the next floor with similar expressions. They were deposited on their respective floors, and we finally reached our destination.  

The arena was already filling with people when we arrived, but our brother team wasn’t there yet. Neither was Mel, but that made sense, since she had her class and all. 

Ari drilled us through our now routine pre-Training stretches. Loud popping was heard from all of our joints, followed by either gasps of disgust or sighs of relief. Ari slid into the splits without batting an eye. Mara and I tried to follow suit but ended up falling on our rears. A loud crackling sound came from Mara’s hip.

“Ooh, Mara, was that you?” Ari’s face wrinkled into a sympathetic grimace. 

Mara sprawled out on the floor, giving a pained chuckle as she lay there. “Yep. You know, I thought that after a whole week of doing this every day I would be more flexible by now.” She sat up with a grunt. “I guess my body just isn’t built that way.” She shrugged and crossed her legs. 

“And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.” Ari raised her eyebrows at Mara, waiting for a response. “Right?” 

“Sure.” Arienna looked unimpressed with the listless response, but didn’t have time to continue the conversation. Melody walked in right as Ari was about to say something. Mel’s insignia was a very simple purple sphere. 

She joined in on our stretches, being slightly more flexible than me and Mara. 

“So, Mel, how are you feeling about extended Training?” Ari’s back cracked as she bent backward. 

Mel shrugged. “Eh, Raymond is shy and pretty quiet; it shouldn’t be very eventful.” She straightened and raised an eyebrow at Arienna. “How are ''you'' feeling? Still haven’t had that follow-up conversation with Lindin, right?” Ari sucked in a quick breath and her face reddened.

“No,” she mumbled. Ari being awkward was one of the strangest things. My normally confident and self-assured friend immediately quieted when her training partner came up in conversation. I had yet to receive an explanation. 

As if on cue, our brother team came over. Mara sighed with relief since the arrival of the boys meant stretching was over. By an unannounced routine, we all fell into our normal positions; Bryce was doing something stupid and Moren was laughing at him, Lindin was talking with Ari and Mel, with Raymond standing close by and avoiding eye contact. Mara would go between the two groups and me depending on the day. I still didn’t fit in well with my group, but also wasn’t willing to try to talk to people.

Mara chose me and stood by my side as we waited for Training to begin. She brought a strange feeling of being safe wherever she went, making even the most uncomfortable situations bearable. This being an uncomfortable situation, I was extra grateful for the company.

“So, are you ready for stuff to get intense?” Mara nudged me playfully, pulling me from my thoughts. 

“Hmm,” I shrugged. “Depends what’s going to get intense next.”

Mara blinked. “Oh, I guess that’s fair. Let’s narrow down the question then, are you ready for Training to get intense?”

“Will it be any different than normal today? Aside from extended Training?”

She nodded. “Yep. They have the weapons out today.” I looked to the middle of the arena, and sure enough, organized racks of weaponry were arranged there. 

“Oh. Are Eldran weapons reliant on magic or technology?”

“A mix of both, you’ll probably get to chose what kind of weapon you’ll use.”

I frowned. “Are there times when you can’t?”

“Yeah, healers with gold magic aren’t allowed to learn a weapon because they’re expected to only heal.”

“Why only healers with gold magic?”

“It’s stronger than green.” She glanced at my hands. “For Eldran at least, I’m not sure about Alithosians.”

I nodded. “That makes sense.” I looked over my shoulder as I heard approaching footsteps. “Here comes Valraea.” 

Mara smiled up at me. “Good luck.”

“You too.” I gave a small smile and turned to Valraea to begin.