"How did I lose?!" Asim wailed as he emerged from the medical tent, dragging his longsword with him in a remarkable show of disrespect for his usually beloved weapon. The Demi-Djinn slumped onto his class's bench by the arena, glaring daggers at his victorious opponent in the distance.

"Well, you went against an archer for starters," Dani said, holding up a finger. "And then you let him get range on you because you hyper-focused on the monster. Plus you were against a Desert Sand Spirit, which are notoriously hard to hit even if your weapon is enchanted, which yours isn't. You kept losing focus due to your shitty temper so you couldn't keep imbuing your sword-"

"Alright, alright!" Asim grumbled, storing his weapon away and covering his ears with his hands.

Simon patted his shoulder in sympathy. "There there, darling. We can't all be Dire Bear Druids."

"Or Kobold Healers," Dani pointed out with an almost malicious grin, and Ribbon turned pink in pleased embarrassment. Her puffy little tail started wagging, which made more than a few classmates snort with barely suppressed laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I screwed up royally, I get it!" Asim groaned, sinking even lower on the bench.

Simon waved a little white handkerchief to shoo everyone away. "Okay, break it up! Show's over, on with the next match."

"Meriandra Arvex," Delicia Tarveux purred, drumming her fingers against the focus crystal on her cane-like staff. "It's so lovely to see you again. Imagine my surprise, finding an Arvex in a General class? A branch of the once-mighty Arvex House, but still..."

Meri gave Delicia a cool glance but didn't bother to speak, summoning her own staff from her inventory.

Seeing her silence only made the other girl laugh. "What, no retort? Nothing to say to an old friend?"

"We were never friends," Meri pointed out, rather proud of how calm and smooth she kept her voice. She didn't sound ruffled at all, her facade of a composure remaining firm in the face of a fellow Demona's mockery.

Demona Houses were close-knit, a complicated mess of rivalries and alliances, oaths and betrayals. There were seven Key Houses, and Arvex was once one of them. They were supplanted by another family, and House Tarveux was one who promised to help before the downfall.

Of course they never fulfilled their promises once Arvex was no longer useful to them, but that wasn't anything special - the other Houses didn't help either.

Still, Meri couldn't help feeling bitterness sting her heart at seeing a familiar face. If Arvex remained a Key House, Delicia Tarveux would be vying to get her attention. If their House hadn't fallen, if the heiress chose her as a handmaiden, if she were still an Aquamancer...

Meriandra clenched her hands around her staff until her knuckles whitened, and took a deep breath.

The illusory Clouded River Guardian they were supposed to fight was finishing its formation. The creature looked a bit like a cross between a lion, a dog, and a serpent, with long fangs and delicate fins.

It let out a roar, and Delicia swept her cane out in a semi-circle in front of her. Runes followed along the path of the cane, shimmering yellow that flickered like candlelight. The runes lifted off the ground, turning into sparks of flame that created a lattice of fire around Delicia.

The Clouded River Guardian spat out a globule of water that sizzled into steam before it could even touch the flame barrier. Seeing that didn't work, it turned to spray water at its other opponent.

Meri scoffed. Using water against her? At such a low level?

She ducked under the stream of water and spun away on her heel, twirling the staff with one hand. The illusory foe didn't have strong enough control over its own water once the spell was cast, and Meri easily overtook control of the element with her own mana.

The stream of water raced in a weaving pattern around her body, no longer seeking to do harm, but to protect. It glowed with the faint blue of her mana, jumping and splashing against her skin like it was happy to see her.

With both opponents in her field of vision, Meriandra began to dance.

Delicia wielded fire with grace and accuracy, swinging long gouts of flame like deadly ribbons across the stage. The Clouded River Guardian hissed and roared as the flames struck its scales, leaving scorch marks in their wake. It lashed back with streams of water, whipping them around like the frenzied tentacles of an enraged sea beast.

Through it all, Meriandra danced. She twisted and spun, evading flame attacks while redirecting water into her own arsenal. The spiral of water around her body was both offense and defense, shielding her from attacks while simultaneously lashing out at the opponents when either one showed an opening.

She never stopped, her bare feet tapping a lively staccato against the arena floor. If Mint's dance was a skilled musician playing an instrument, Meri's was a whole orchestra. There was no comparison in how she controlled the water, smooth and delicate yet forceful when needed, just like her own movements.

Delicia snarled and focused her attacks on Meri, but her flame wasn't hot enough to bypass Meri's liquid shield even if they somehow managed to get close enough to be a threat in the first place.

For one brief moment, Meriandra gave a cocky half-smirk toward her Demona opponent. Then the expression faded to her usual calm one, and she increased the tempo of her dance.

Minthe wept silently as she watched Meri fly across the stage, dodging a massive firebolt tossed her way by the other Demona. Her hands trembled as they covered her mouth, silencing the pitiful mournful sounds that tried to escape her lips.

To others, the dance was beautiful. Water weaving between streams of fire in an intricate series of movements that almost created a soundless rhythm purely through their undulations.

To Mint, it was a tragedy.

What if Meri were allowed to remain an Aquamancer? How much closer would her relationship with water be?

Every step Meri made, every spell cast, was a forceful and jagged knife tearing open old wounds with the slightest move. A reminder of what she'd lost and could never regain.

A connection severed.

Her dance was beautiful and painful. Exquisite and devastating.

Mint turned to Kira, who was watching the dance with rapt attention, and found the girl looked...

Sad. Sympathetic.

Why?

Why could that dense girl see what everyone else overlooked?

Was it...

Of course. Mint wanted to laugh at herself. Of course that girl, of all people, would sense the difference.

She was a Mancer too.

Kira turned and met Mint's gaze. The girl's eyes held a question, a morbid curiosity she was wisely unwilling to voice. Minthe's complex emotions churned, tangled, and she found herself whispering something.

"Don't ever change your Class."

Kira's eyes widened. Then her expression turned serious, and she nodded firmly. "Never," she quietly promised, and turned back to watch the last of Meri's dance as the match finished.

The opponents fell, and Meri stood victorious.