The Elements of Rage | ✔

• S E V E N •

"I was not made to be subtle."

• • •

"So, what do you say?" He asks, sticking his arm out. 

Grinning, I clasp his hand. He returns the grin, his brown eyes gleaming.

"Deal."

Together, we walk into the ring that is separated from the crowd for their safety as the announcer calls, "Today we have the newcomer, Raven, and Dodge! It seems they have made a deal! Let's see what happens with this fight!"

I adopt a fighting stance and the fight starts. Dodge turns his skin to stone and cocks an eyebrow at me as if waiting for me. I smirk and tip my head back. Closing my eyes, I open my mouth. Stones fly out of my mouth and hover in the air as my skin turns to stone. Turning your skin to stone is a skill that is tricky for those with earth powers. Creating stones is almost unheard of. Dodge pales, his eyes wide.

I love it, you know. That moment when they realize that I am stronger than them. That I will win. I know that I am not the best, it just isn't a realistic thought. There will always be someone better than you. However, I do love the thrill of winning. I will fight hard to win, but I will accept it if someone truly is superior, I'm not a sore loser.

We had agreed that we would both use earth powers. Dodge realized that I had multiple powers and would win easily and came up with the idea. I agreed, knowing that I have been trained in every power that I have, except shadows, that one I had to teach myself with the knowledge I knew of the other powers and experimentation. This way, it is a closer of a match. I love to win, but I also love a challenge.

I fling my hand forward sending the stones flying at Dodge. The slam into him, but his stone skin takes most of the damage. He sprints toward me, trying to tackle me. I drop to the ground on my back just before he gets to me and drive my feet into his gut to propel him further past me. He sails past me and I scramble to my feet and get to him right as he is standing up again. Not giving him time to recover, I throw punches at, but they don't do much. His stone skin protects him from the majority of my punches and my stone skin protects my fists as they hit him. I give up trying to punch him and he does the same, hitting the same problem.

Then I screw up.

I think.

Some people do better when they think in fights. They need to plan their movements right before they execute them and keep emotions from the fight.

Others, like me, can't think. I have to rely on my instincts and training. Emotion propels me. Thinking only slows me down.

Dodge takes advantage of my mistake and snakes out a hand and grips me by the throat. He has had training as well and does not hesitate. He squeezes, trying to choke me until I pass out, just as I did with Dove in my last fight.

The stone helps protect me, but the lack of air makes it so I can't focus and can't break myself free properly. I thrash around and try to kick him as my fingers scrabble at his hold. I am not scared, though.

I am enraged.

Screaming a terrible and breathy scream, I throw everything I have into my earth power and take hold of his stone before he even notices. I soon have control of him, something that no one has ever done. No one has ever taken control of someone else's stone, and certainly not the stone of their skin. Using the earth power, I clench the stone, tightening his skin until he is gasping for air himself.

I almost don't stop.

But control is oh so important.

The last time I lost control, I killed people. Some deserved to die a thousand deaths, the others didn't. They didn't deserve to die at all.