The Hidden Mark

Poisoning Duty

The sparring ring is where riders are made or broken. After all, no respectable dragon would choose a rider who cannot defend themselves, and no responsible cadet would allow such a threat to the wing to continue training.

-Major Afendra's Guide to the Riders Quadrant

(Unauthorized Edition)

Kitchen duty two times a day sucks and made tutoring Rhi and Vi rather difficult. Having to be up an hour earlier wasn't terrible on its own. Staying after dinner for two hours is where it is hard. That is some of the only time available to us to practice our sparring, unless we stay out after curfew, which Dain is a stickler about unlike the other squad leaders. Staying up late isn't a problem for me, so tutoring Rhi isn't hard to do, it's just facts that need to be memorized. I have gotten good at memorizing facts thanks to Vi and her father. Rhi would be learning faster if not for the fact that she likes to go out and get a few much-needed orgasms, not that I can blame her. If I could find someone I find attractive enough, I would be getting down and dirty too.

My punishment for breaking Imogen's leg is over, but Dain has gotten my squad leader to hate me as well. He has convinced her to continue giving me kitchen duty at night for the last few months, even when I haven't done anything wrong. Luckily the professors all seem to want to avoid me as much as possible, if they aren't around me then they can't see anything that might lead to having to punish me. I haven't had one since assessment day, since I have won all of my challenges, pass all my tests in regular classes, and ask 'inciteful' questions during Battle Brief according to Professor Markham. He is the only one who isn't afraid to look me in the eyes, he watched me grow up and knows what it looks like when I'm about to cause problems that might lead to punishments. All he has to do is give me a look, and I know it is time to shut up and walk away.

I try to walk Violet down to kitchen duty in the morning, but Dain is always standing there, waiting for her outside her floor's dorm door. Always waiting. I can't seem to figure out what Dain expects to gain from Violet. He doesn't love her in a relationship way, he doesn't even look at her the same way Liam does. Yet he can't seem to keep his hands to himself either... Always finding an excuse to touch her face. It's weird, he was never like that before. He is also making it impossible for Violet and me to spend any time together outside of classes.

"It's not like I don't have enough crap to do to survive, help Violet survive, and tutor Rhi. Now I have decided that I'm going to investigate the one person who truly hates my guts. Well besides Xaden that is." I snark back and forth with myself quietly as I trail after Dain and Violet to kitchen duty.

"It's the only time I get to see you when I'm not your squad leader," Dain counters something Violet said while walking down the empty hallways, past the halls that will lead to our individual rooms if we survive Threshing. "Trust me, it's worth getting up an hour early, though I still can't figure out why you'd choose breakfast duty over every other assignment."

Violet shrugs, "I have my reasons."

Really, really, really bad reasons, if I do say so myself. She has been sneaking out after curfew to check the board and see who she will have to be challenging the next day and poisons them during breakfast, making it a guaranteed win for her. Just like her brother wrote in his journal that Mira gave to her and me to survive this death college. I have been trying to stop her, because she won't learn how to defend herself and survive once we graduate and go to the front lines. Violet won't listen to me though; she seems to think that since I am training her every day for two hours after dinner duty that she doesn't need to take the challenges seriously when it will probably just lead to her breaking a bone or something instead.