Every once in a while, they’d wind up in a magic-based competition, and invariably someone would have something uncouth to say about Kaia’s ability to shapeshift. Kits would brush those comments off, not only because they didn’t affect her directly—same soul didn’t mean same mind—but because she knew Kaia used her ability well. The fact they were still alive after so many trials was proof enough of that. From Kits’ perspective, they had nothing to prove.

But Kaia was sensitive about it. She was in humanoid form, blue-skinned like Kits but with yellow eyes and the reddest hair you’ll ever see, and her opponent was giving her grief about the upcoming match while they waited to enter the gladiator-style arena. Rumor had it Kaia’s opponent had control over the elements. Assuming that meant the classic four, Kits mused that at least she and Kaia wouldn’t have to worry about fire. Sharing a soul meant not only did they share pain, they also shared some effects of each other’s magic. In this case, because Kits could control temperature, both of them were immune to its effects. Not flammable. Couldn’t be frostbitten either.

“Just a fox?” asked the armored opponent in a mocking tone. What he was wearing was polished to blinding levels of shine and he held an equally shiny plumed helmet under one arm. No weapons though. This match was purely between magics. “And only one species? That’s it?”

“Yes,” said Kaia. And it’ll be more than enough to beat you. Already she was analyzing the style of his armor, noting any chinks to take advantage of during the fight.

“Want me to go easy?” He put on the helmet. It covered his head but not his face. “Only use one element?”

Kaia shrugged. That didn’t deserve an answer. Her skill would speak for itself. Maybe she couldn’t do a lot of things, maybe her magic wasn’t top tier, but she’d learned to adapt. She was fast. Nimble. Ruthless. She could shift in and out of fox form in seconds, torqueing her position midair, even mid-shift if she had to. This was supposed to be a fight to the death, but Kaia wasn’t worried about surviving. Foxes were stealthy when they had to be. If it came to it, she could shift and escape the arena.

She and Kits might’ve done that already except Kaia wanted to wipe that pompous grin off Mister Armor’s arrogant face.

Horns blared. The gates to the arena opened, and the roaring, whistling crowd got louder as the sunlight stretched over Kaia’s feet. She was going into this barefoot, and though she felt the warmth of the sun, felt the heat of the sand under her soles as she took that first step, the temperature didn’t affect her. She imagined Mister Armor breaking into sweat thanks to all that metal he wore. She grinned.

“Show ‘em how it’s done,” said Kits, who wasn’t allowed to spectate from the stands because she was a competitor too.

Kaia made a gesture of acknowledgement without turning back. Another few steps and the gate closed behind her and Mister Armor with a boom that shook the earth. The horns sounded anew, and the crowd quieted. The competitors approached the center of the venue, just the two of them for this match. Kaia surveyed the arena and noted that because it was mostly sand she might have to watch out for earth magic in particular. No water source, so it should be mostly against earth and air. Unless Mister Armor was skilled enough to pull moisture from the atmosphere. Or from Kaia herself.

It pained her to not be able to drag this out and show off, but if he could mess with her physical makeup it’d be best to get this over with swiftly. Strike fast and hard, hit him in a way that kept him down.

The signal of the match beginning wasn’t a horn. It was a gong.

Kaia sprinted at him, intent on covering as much ground as possible before he manipulated the earth against her. He took a stance, raised his arms, and the sand swirled underfoot, so she launched herself through the air, shifting as she went. With a flick of his wrist he sent a blast of wind at her fox form. She tucked in her limbs and straightened her tail, imitating the aerodynamics of an arrow, but it wasn’t enough. The wind caught her and thrust her backward, past where she’d been standing when the match started.

To avoid a bad landing, she spun herself around and used the momentum of her twist to shift back into a humanoid. If she were Mister Armor, now would be a good time to mess with the earth again. He did. Beneath her, sand swirled and rose. It hardened to glass as it shot up at her in a point sharper and sharper the closer it got.

Kaia was ready. She turned her nose to the ground and shifted—a fox again—coming down on her two front paws on the un-manipulated sand next to the glass protrusion. Pirouetting on those paws, she shifted once again to her humanoid form and kicked, cracking the glass in two with the back of her heel. Soon as her foot burst it open, the glass dissolved into sand, and Kaia had one second to collect herself before Mister Armor could try another tactic.

He sent a torrent of air at her.

She felt it coming and dodged, but not all the way. The gust caught her at just the right angle to send her sprawling. She landed on her belly and the sand moved across her skin in the wrong direction—no time, no time! Kaia pushed herself sideways and rolled.

Sand wrapped around her ankle and tightened, hardening toward glass.

Another shift to a fox shortened her limbs enough to slip free. She dashed toward Mister Armor again, wondering if this would be a battle of endurance more than strategy.

She lucked out. The next thing he tried was fire.

She ran through the flames unhindered, and he let out a surprised yelp as she closed the distance enough to pounce. Mid-jump she shifted back to humanoid form and caught him in a momentous tackle that took them both to the ground. Before they hit the earth, she shifted again into the fox and placed her teeth over his eyes.

He froze. She could smell the fear, the water welling in his eyes as he kept them wide, probably too scared to blink. The crowd gasped.

Then they cheered. They roared for her to finish it, for her to sink in her bite.

She pulled back. She’d made her point.

He didn’t move against her.

One last shift to her humanoid form, and she got all the way off him.

“Forfeit and I’ll spare you,” said Kaia.

“That’s not what the people came for.”

“But it’s what I came for.”

He scoffed. After a long moment, he gestured his surrender.