Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 18

Flying is an addictive experience. The rush I felt while in the sky made me want to stay there. I felt like I belonged up there as I felt the wind against myself while I hover over the abyss without a care in the world. It was a freeing experience once I let go of my fears and just faced things head on but reality reminded me that I was still tied to a pole as I felt a tug in my hips

Damn, I really wish I could just reach out higher. Maybe get past the thick omnipresent smog separating Piltover and Zaun for just a few seconds

Looking back, I watched Jinx and Vi from down below. Jinx clapped enthusiastically while Vi gave me a grin

"You're doing great, Ark!" Vi shouted as I hovered over them a dozen or so feet up in the air

"Yeah, this feels great! I dont get why Floofington doesnt like this"

"Of course he wouldn't like it, he lives underground!" Shouted Jinx

"But we live underground!" I shouted back, making Jinx pause. That gave Vi a chuckle

I looked at the rope before shouting "Hey Vi, can you untie me? I kinda want to fly. You know, make some loops here and there?"

Vi shook her head and gestured a negative just to be clear. "No can do Ark! Didn't you say it was still unsafe?"

I let out a sound of disappointment but Vi held on to what she said. It was my idea to have this rope tied around my waist. "Yes dear". I got a tug from the rope for my cheek

And so I stayed up in the air for a while. Of course, I couldn't stay there for too long as Vi and Jinx reminded me that I had to go down once again. "Ark, you've been there for hours. Get down" Vi looked tired, nodding off while Jinx was just bored out of her mind as she slumped against a sleeping Mr Floofington

"I'm flying" Even a balloon tethered to a pole was still flying

"Ark, get down" Vi shouted and this time Jinx decided to join in

"I'm boreeeed! Let's go already" Jinx hollered as she bonelessly rolled off Floofington

"I'm flying and your not" Come on, just let me fly for five more minutes? Is it too much to ask?

"Damn it Ark, stop being such a child!" Vi shouted as she finally got up.

"Your not my mom" I probably shouldn't have said that as Vi grabbed the rope and started pulling me down

"Ok, you asked for it"

"Vi come on! You know I was just joking right!?"

After some mishaps, I finally landed down without much fuzz. We walked home afterwards with Jinx just running off with Floofington in tow. Even Whump couldn't wait to get back home as he jumped on top of Floofington leaving just me and Vi to walk home alone.

I looked away from Vi while nursing a bruised shoulder. I felt her arms wrapped around me as she said "Oh come on Ark, it wasn't that hard"

I stayed silent, I was mildly annoyed right now "Forgive me?" She asked as she pressed against me

My defense wavered but I had to show her that she should have allowed me to fly and I was not being a child about it. This off course couldn't last as she gave me a kiss in my cheeks

"If I didn't love you this much…" my ears burned but that only made her want to cuddle up to me more

"But you do"

"And I do forever and ever"

"You're such a sappy romantic Ark"

That I was, that I was and I was more than happy to admit it

I had to admit, maybe my schedule was a bit too much. Vi was right that I had barely enough time for my own. Ten hours in the Cultivair, two hours cleaning, one hour of getting taught magic, another hour teaching Vi and Jinx some basic stuff like Math and maybe another language, an hour or two hour of getting taught how to fight and maybe an hour on the inbetween of all the stuff I do before I could finally get to actually wind down a bit or do some tinkering with my wings

Sure I had seven or eight hours to sleep but the day was jam packed and I felt like I needed more time with Jinx and Vi to teach them. There was also my training with Vi

Thankfully, it seems that my contract with the school is finally over as Miss Irene invited me over for one last lesson. I didn't have to clean anymore as she gave me a "day off".

"Mr Ark, you have been a wonderful student." It was probably her first true genuine praise to me. It was usually adequate or acceptable but now it was this. I felt like I actually earned that instead of it just being a normal praise. Months of training finally paying off

"Thank you Miss Irene" and I meant every single last word.

She smiled before she gestured for me to pick up several boxes worth of papers. Vi's strength regimen was paying even if it was just a week since we started as I bent down to pink up the stack of boxes. Knees bent before lifting the entire stack

We walked to the back of the school, out in the covered court where the physical fitness classes were held. I paced down the large boxes and wondered what was in them

"Now we will be holding our last lesson. You might be wondering why we will only have one lesson for the last part of the basics of magic and the reason for that is simple '' Miss Irine then picked up one of the boxes from atop the stack and plopped it down on her feet. Opening it revealed stacks upon stacks of exam papers

With one hand, she picked up a stack while her free hand started shaping the mana within. First came letting the mana flow as the silk like thread of her mana flowed between her hands. Second came the shaping of the mana, storing it and giving potency to her spell and finally she swept her hand and the papers flew out of her hands. They swirled around us before they were suspended in the air with the same silken threads she had been working with

"The final step is merely putting your intent and letting it all flow out. It doesn't require concentration but rather the will to force what you desire upon the world. Sure there are spells that one could learn but the steps I taught you is how my school of magic taught things. Chants and magical incantations, runes and and magical circles are there to help people get into the mindset to cast these spells and get the same effect" She casted silently, pulling up stacks after stacks of exam papers and lining up for target practice

"Now Mr Ark, I want you to let your magic flow. Let your intent be known. Let your magic sing!" She started slinging spells destroying the paper. The smile on her face showed the glee she had as the papers with low scores were shredded to pieces by her spell.

I couldn't help but get swept up as I started slinging spells as well. I started off slowly, gathering my mana before picking my shot but slowly I got used to it. Magic felt as easy as breathing as lances of a shaped lighting started cracking across the yard.

I laughed out as we made a veritable snowstorm of shredded papers. These exams will not be missed. It was cathartic just destroying stuff, almost therapeutic even. Soon we ran out of stuff and all that was left were scraps of papers along with blackened bits of things I burnt

"You know Mr Ark, if you weren't a boy, I might have just taken you as a personal apprentice" She casually said as she gathered the paper with her thread

That got me to pause as I looked at her. "You would have fit nicely in my Alma Mater but they only specifically choose one gender."

"You studied in the College of Techmaturgy?" I asked

"Oh no, if I had I might have gone half mad with how pretentious people are there. I studied in a private Noxian institute." I nodded. I was a bit surprised that she studied in Noxus of all places but then again, has Piltover and Zaun ever produced a local mage of renown that isn't using Hextech?

"You know, Noxus could use mages like you. Even if you can't make the cut to the coven I studied in due to your gender, I'm sure the Noxian High Command would find a place for your in the Mage Corps"

I briefly taught about it. Me in Noxus? Come to think of it, Vi and Jinx can join with how the Noxian power structure was made. It was a martial meritocracy but then… there was the likes of Katarina and Talon in the shadows and then there's the like of Swain

"I'll keep that in mind Miss Irene" I kept my options open. It's good to always have a backup option even if your current one is going smoothly.

"Of course Mr Ark. Just remember, the doors to the Sister Rose Private Academy is always open and ready to help you in getting to Noxus"

I thanked Miss Irene one last time for that day before heading out. I was now at least competent enough to do the basics of magic, now all I need was to be good in fighting just like Vi

Strength training was the easy part and will always be a part of her workout or rather our workout.

If you said to me back then when I was still all alone that I would be doing squats, burpees, push ups and pull ups then I would tell you I would starve to death before I could even gain muscle mass. Now with all the money we have, we could at least workout and not starve from all the energy we spent

Today, I was dodging lessons. It would have been easy considering how light I was on my feet but Vi decided to have me wear my flying pack and had Jinx throw things at me.

I bobbed and weave and still Jinx could throw more than I could dodge but I was getting there

"Come on you can do it" Vi shouted in encouragement but the weight of my pack was making it too hard. I was flagging as my legs started to waver

"Jinx! I need to rest!" I shouted as I tried to dodge the ever increasing hail of junk

"I'm not throwing~" Jinx replied in a sing sang tone

"Then who's throwing!?" I couldn't dodge anymore and used my wings as a shield against my shoulder. The cana clanging against the metal surface

"It's Mr Floofington off course!" I stared incredulously at Jinx and lo and behold she isn't holding anything and there just in front of me was Mr Floofington using his tail to launch accurate shots at me

"Vi! Do something" Vi laughed at the sight of me being pelted by Mr Floofington. The rat had the gall to look all to smug about things right now. The god damn rar was a crack shot

Thankfully, Vi got him to stop. I was tired and beaten but I was still learning. I was getting a bit more fleet footed and stronger each day. With less time spent cleaning floors and toilets, I had a lot of free time to spend with Vi and Jinx.

For now however, all I wanted was to lay down with Vi. Jinx of course didn't want any part of it as she stayed on the other end of the bed now while Vi and I slept clinging to each other. I was the little spoon and she was the big spoon.

"I'm a big girl now so I can sleep on my own." Jinx said as she erected a small pillow barrier between us and her.

"Sure Jinx, sure" Vi said as she rested her head against my forehead

"Goodnight!" With a huff, she went to sleep. We spent a few minutes of silence to make sure she was at least partially asleep.

"Bets on how long she'd stay there before she sleeps on top of us again?"

Vi hummed for a bit before replying "I give it an hour. Just move when she decides to sleep ok? She can be quite pointy"

"At Least she's not all skin and bones now" Vi nodded in agreement to that. "She's really trying to push that she's all grown up now huh?" I added.

"Let her be. Her birthdays coming close"

"Her birthday huh?" That brings me down memory lane. Birthdays brought back good memories of that life. I only celebrated my birthday in Runeterra once, my new birthday that is, and only once. I didn't really have to celebrate afterwards as I was put in the street. It sucks really

"Hey Vi, think we can give something for Jinx that day?" Vi nodded before she snuggled closer to me as she wanted to catch some shut eyes before the days started anew. Celebrating Jinx's birthday would be nice. Just a normal celebration for our little family