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Long ago, a long time ago indeed, humanity was at the peak of industrialization.
It was a glorious revolution. A period of significant technological advancement that propelled humanity forward. Pushing us away from the natural world and into industrialized, urban homes.
It was a terrible period for Mother Nature, that's for sure. Mother Nature, Earth itself. You could say that the earth is her body. Just imagine what that implies as we tear down forests, run out wildlife from their habitats, and hunt them down en masse.
Surely there must be another way. For humanity to evolve and not have to tear down her body like this. But Mother Nature had a plan.
~
“Thanks again, Succulenta.” Nurse Miêu sighs as she plops down onto her swivel chair, sliding a bit. “Seriously, first day and already these rascals are chewing each other out.” She runs her fingers through her bright orange hair.
“Its no problem, Ms. Long.” The girl, Succulenta, walks over to the sink. The faucet squeaks as she turns it, the coolness of the water rushing over her fingers.
She pats her hands dry with a paper towel. Then crouches down to reach her bag, taking her notepad, and hands it over to the nurse. “Please sign here.”
“Always on top of those hours, I see.” The nurse scribbles her signature quickly. Then turns to her desk.
She folds her arms on her desk and slouches down to rest her weary head between them. “It's really admirable, you’ll be a great role model for this year's batch. Mother Nature knows they'll need it.”
“I hope so…” Succulenta murmurs.
“Now, that doesn't mean I’ll let you make this a habit. I know you’re a cracked healer, but you’re still a student here. The energy it takes to heal even bruises like that is a lot, even by your standards.”
She reaches for her mug on the desk, taking a generous sip of her lukewarm coffee. “Besides, can’t let these munchkins get too comfortable with exploiting your abilities.”
“I can handle it.”
The nurse shakes her head in exasperation. “Always with the same excuses, I have your medical records, you know.” She sets her coffee down, turning her chair to face her computer. “Don’t push yourself too hard. Now go home, the bell is about to ring.”
“Thank you, Miss.”
~
The sun beating down on her skin would have usually felt nice. But right now, she’s tired. Tired and yet there's too much energy pent up inside her.
The air is fresh at least, and the occasional breeze is much appreciated.
Succulenta sighs in relief as she pushes open the door to their club room. The room is occasionally cramped from meetings between their division and other divisions, but today it should be empty—perfect time to shred some dummies in the training room.
The young lady slips into the changing room, placing her bag on the bench, and walks over to her locker. She considers her gear; she's going solo after all, so there shouldn't be any risk.
There's a loud knock on the changing room door. Immediately, her day has become just slightly more miserable.
“Succulenta, are you in there?” The floral voice of who could only be Rosalia grates her ears. The door swings open, revealing the girl in question. Still wearing her regular school uniform, her rose buns all messy from the long day.
She should have expected this. It's not that she dislikes Rosalia…
She’s just a bit much.
It was surprising not to bump into her the whole time during school hours. But she supposes it's reasonable. As upperclassmen, most of their focus was on helping new students. Of course, she had a part in it too, but she’d actually croak if she ever missed a class.
“Hey, Rosalia.” So much for anticipating a solo session.
“Lets hang out, girlie~” She skips over to her own locker, swinging the door open. She should really consider getting a new lock for that. “So, get your full uniform ready. You won't have to deal with your everyday dummies today.” Her usual dumb, smug look creeps onto her face. “Still, there's no holding back against me!”
Succulenta sighs. “You're too eager. We do this every week.” Despite that, she grabs the rest of her uniform and begins to change. As they change, Rosalia continues speaking.
“Of course we do! We can't afford to slack off. There's a city to protect after all.” She rummages through her locker, grabbing her own uniform. “I know that you of all people should be passionate about that, so cheer up! It'll be quick.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get too sappy on me. It's not your style.”
~
The room is spacious. Over the years, the school had received enough funding from the main division of their fencing club.
“Our usual setup.” Rosalia steps in front of her, reaching out to plant a fresh rose in her uniform's top pocket. “Same old rules.” She steps back, placing her own rose in her pocket, too. “Would you do the honors?”
“Alright.” Succulenta clears her throat. “As per the fencing club’s code of honor, this is a duel between squadmates. No maiming, no stabbing, no killing. It's all in good fun, for the sake of improving.” She scoffs, “But of course, there won't be any risk of an incident as long as you use the appropriate sword for this.”
“That was one time, Succulenta...” Rosalia whines. Like a little kid.
“One time too many. You’re lucky I could handle it.” She remembers that back then, in her excitement for a chance at a duel, she had forgotten to forge the tip of her foil, and it had already come out too sharp from the start. But that's a story for another day. “Finally, no free use of chlorokinesis is permitted. Just for the forging of the sword.”
“Hrmm. Well, the one who manages to either land five touches, or snags the rose in its entirety wins the bout.” Rosalia affirms confidently.
She considers it for a moment. “Fine by me.” Still holding her helmet, she slips it on. Rosalia does the same. And with that, they both summon their swords. An aloe pup sprouts from her palm, and she eases the blade from the center at the bottom of the pup. Carefully making sure that the tip of the sword comes out blunt enough.
From the corner of her eye, she sees Rosalia form her sword too. A rose blooms from her palm as the blade springs from the center. Eyeing that she forms the point properly
“Ready?” Their swords ready, they get into position. Facing each other on the piste.
Rosalia immediately thrusts her foil towards her chest, but Succulenta blocks it, attempting to parry, but Rosalia steps back just in time.
Rosalia and Succulenta were locked in a fierce duel, their blades clashing in a flurry of strikes. The two girls were evenly matched, each skillfully parrying and riposting the other's attacks. For a while, neither was able to score a touch, the tempo of the bout quick and intense.
Succlenta's first touch is landed as she attempts to snag Rosalia's rose, but lands a few inches away as Rosalia attempts to dodge, landing a touch.
This goes on for a bit, both girls dodging each other's attacks, landing hits when the other slips a bit. The sharp sound of their swords echoes in the salon. Their movements flowing like a dance. Rosalia is slippery. She’s landed a couple touches at this point, but the other is deadset on snagging the rose in her pocket.
“Trying to win the easy way, huh?” Succulenta says, blocking another attempt at the rose's demise.
“Not at all~” Rosalia blocks her attempt at what would be her final touch. “It's proving to be quite difficult.” And she takes the opportunity to riposte, managing to land a touch on Succulenta, “I wonder whose it you’ve been training with?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” The girl scoffs at Rosalia. Their swords clash again, and again.
It's getting harder to react at the speed their swords are clashing at, until finally…
Rosalia thrusts her sword toward her chest, the angle making it awkward to dodge against, and the sword manages to pierce the rose. Before she can push back against the sword with her own, Rosalia is already retreating. The petals of the rose cleanly pierced through as Rosalia inspects her foil. She smirks.
“Looks like I win this round, Succulenta.”