Spiritmal, By The Light Of A Star

15. Showdown in Town!

"Good job Star!" I stopped the timer, reading the numbers on it. "You've improved tremendously! In fact, you've gotten a new record of 56 seconds!"

"I did?" Star peeped at my stopwatch, her face full of disbelief. However, one look at the results made her eyes glimmer with joy, the bird-equivalent to smiling.

"Yippie! Another new record!"

I smiled. The race was only one day away.

"You did great Star!"

"I'm sure you're the one with the low expectations."

That voice...

I quickly turned around, seeing Felix a few meters away from myself.

"You again."

"Yep. Me." He was sitting on a nearby stone, his face leaning on one of his hands. If I didn't know better, I'll think that he was bored seeing me in the area.

Wait a moment. Knowing him, there was a high chance he was.

"Are you done staring? What brings you here in the first place peasant?" He questioned, his lionblitz yawning as he did so, sending a mocking look towards Star.

At this, the little yellow bird gave a battle cry, charging straight at the lionblitz.

"You little... I'm not going to let you tease me anymore!" She dived head first into the spiritmal.

Surprised, the lionblitz was sent back by a furious peck attack, causing Felix to look at the action, his face a picture of shock and a tinge of... amusement?

Shaking away the feeling, I guessed that it was normal for him to be surprised. I myself was surprised, not knowing that Star could use that move.

"She's turned rebellious huh?" His facial expression changed to that of a blank stare for a second as he continued watching the battle, shaking his head slightly at Star's behavior.

"Not... exactly..." I answered, watching as the lionblitz sent a shot of water towards Star.

Instinctively, the little bird dodged it, sending a full blast Starbeam at the lion. Seeing the commotion getting out of hand, I decided to stop the tussle before it turned into something serious.

"Whoa there Star! That's enough!" I rushed towards the little battle, wanting to pull Star out of it.

"Let me do this Emily. Please... I need to give Topaz there a little bit of revenge..." she started up a strong wind, sending a air cutter towards the lion-like creature.

"Topaz?"

"That's his name ok?" Star lashed out once more, this time using swift.

Enraged, the lionblitz returned it with an ice beam that Star dodged once more. The beam barely missed me, reminding me of the chilly encounter I had just a few days ago.

"Star, you can go after him another day! This isn't the time!" I pleaded with the bird, watching as she sighed and returned to my shoulder. Of course, not after giving Topaz one last glare.

I looked at Felix, realizing that he really had been watching all the action with a look of amusement on his face.

"Umm... Sorry about that... Star kind of got out of hand. Is... is Topaz ok?"

His head turned at my words, his face suddenly unreadable as he looked at me with a weird expression.

"What?" I asked. Confusion washing over me.

"I never told you the name of my Lionblitz." He answered, his face obviously demanding an explanation. "How did you know that that's his name?"

I froze. Wondering what I should tell him. Of course, I could say something like: Oh! I'm just able to talk to Star that's all! No biggie.

However, I knew that that would be a spell for disaster.

Should I tell him?

I pondered my choices for a moment, wondering if I should tell him. A few seconds later, I came to the conclusion that he certainly did not owe me anything and did not need to know anything about my personal life.

"I have my ways." I answered simply. Watching as he grew slightly frustrated at my answer.

"Tell me." He insisted, his voice firm as tried to squeeze the answer out of me.

"Nope." I answered just as firmly. "Now, if you would excuse me, me and star would like to get back to our training."

That left him speechless as I got star to fly another lap around the area.

"36 seconds?! That's a big improvement!" I blinked, stopping the timer as Star returned back to me.

"Well... I couldn't embarrass myself." Star answered, giving Felix a cold look that obviously spelled revenge. However, I was able to spot a hint of fear in Star's eyes, having known her for some time.

"So, you two losers would be competing in tomorrow race I presume?" Felix asked, having seemingly forgotten about the earlier topic.

I found myself nodding.

"What do you know? Me too. Let's see how this plays out, shall we?"

I sighed a little. "Yea yea I know. You're the all mighty Felix and I'm this little noob that isn't even a certified racer." I rolled my eyes, refusing to let him make me angry. After all, it was the truth. I had never been a racer.

Leaving him to ponder my words, I walked away, deciding to train with Star at a quieter area.