Magus Bloodlines.-Chapter 45: tournament announcement.

Gavin stood there, panting and trying to catch his breath. He was a little bit tired, but he felt more angry and upset at the fight being interrupted. He wiped at the sweat on his brow as he walked over to Professor Okeeba. His stern glower made Gavin hesitate as he approached.

"I'm not really sure what caused things to start before we arrived." Gavin began to speak before he was interrupted by the thin girl with light strawberry hair.

"The twins were walking around, boasting about how strong they were. That students of Allario are too weak to do anything but cower, and that reason was why we were attacked and lives were lost," she spoke, fighting through her tears and sobs as she managed to explain. "Some of us nearby tried to argue with them, tell them they were wrong. But that was when the fighting began. They overwhelmed me and some others. Then, then that's when these guys showed up and intervened." she managed to get out as she looked up at Professor Okeeba.

"Please sir, don't be angry with them. They only wanted to protect me and the school," she said in hurried words. She didn't want these new guys to get in trouble for trying to defend her and the others from these new students.

Professor Okeeba thought for a moment as he looked around from Gavin's group to the young girl. "Report to your first period classes," Professor Okeeba called out to all the students nearby. "On the double!"

The students hurried to scamper off, obeying the orders of the professor. Gavin and the others stayed behind a moment as Erza walked over to check on the new girl with them. "Are you alright?" Erza asked her quietly as she checked her for any injuries.

The girl nodded and smiled weakly at Erza. "I'm alright, thanks to you guys. I'm mostly just shaken up," she informed Erza.

Gavin looked over and noticed that Erza still looked sickly pale. She was panting and breathing hard as she stood near Helena and the new girl. He frowned as he walked over, ignoring Professor Okeeba as he wanted to check on Erza. He brushed the back of his hand to her forehead to check her for any temperature. She swatted his hand away in annoyance. "I'm fine wolf boy," she said irritably as she looked at him.

"You look sick," Gavin protested concerned. He didn't like the way she looked or acted right now.

Before Erza could say anything further, she held up a finger and dashed away to the bushes nearby. She emptied her stomach in the bushes as Helena rushed over to rub her back and pull her hair back. Erza nodded gratefully as she wiped the back of her hand against her mouth and took the offered bottle of water from Helena. "Thanks," she said gratefully as she took a long, deep drink.

Professor Okeeba raised an eyebrow but decided to say nothing as the girls walked back to the group. Not his business, he decided. "Report to first period class on the double for important announcements," Professor Okeeba said as he turned and walked away.

Gavin ignored Professor Okeeba as he focused his attention on Erza. Did she get hurt worse than he expected during that fight, Gavin wondered. Erza offered him a soft smile. "I'm alright baby," she reassured him. She stood tall and walked over, color already seeming to return to her cheeks. She hugged him tightly, feeling his rapid heartbeat. "I promise, Gavin, I'm all good," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

Gavin simply nodded as he hugged her back, grateful it appeared to be nothing serious. She took his hand as they started walking towards the building for class. The newcomer went back to her dorms, deciding to stay home for the day. Helena stayed back to whisper something to Jackson. Jackson shrugged and laughed quietly. Gavin wasn't able to hear what was said and turned back in confusion. Helena looked at him innocently and laughed. "What's up?" She asked him with a brow raised.

"Just wondering what was so funny," Gavin said.

Helena laughed, a glint in her eyes as she said, "Nothing wolf boy," she said dismissively. "Just something between me and Jackson," she explained.

Jackson laughed good-naturedly and walked up to Gavin, "It's nothing important bro, promise," he said as they continued their walk towards the building.

Once everyone had arrived in class and was seated, Professor Okeeba walked to the front, the door echoing closed behind him with a thunderous crash.

"Good morning. I trust you all heard about the excitement earlier that involved some of our more troublesome students," Professor Okeeba said in greeting as he glared at Gavin and Erza. Both of them had the sense of looking slightly sheepish under his glare.

"As some of you may be aware, the students of Daedalus academy will be joining us today. Some of them have already arrived. Starting at noon, the inter-academy competition for the first quarter begins," Professor Okeeba announced to the class. The students started whispering and talking excitedly among themselves at that announcement. Many of them were looking forward to testing their abilities and proving their school was the superior one.

"Alright, settle down. That's enough," Professor Okeeba called out as he tried to quiet the class down. "For the rest of the week there will be a series of events held daily from nine in the morning until the early evening. So, naturally, classes are suspended for the week. The only class you have to attend is the morning home room class. Each morning we will review the competition from the day before, and those that were involved to see how things went, what could be improved on, and what was done well," Professor Okeeba informed them all.

"For the first competition this semester, only Daedalus academy will be joining us. They can be an aggressive and condescending bunch. But do not underestimate them. Each one of them is trained to be a skilled Magi in their own right," Professor Okeeba warned them grimly. "As it was witnessed this morning when two of our own battled against two students from Daedalus academy, they are no pushovers when it comes to skills and abilities."

Gavin looked at Erza in concern. He didn't know what it was, but something about her sickness this morning still concerned him. She didn't often get sick, but in the last week or so, she had been getting sick almost daily. Right now she appeared to be fine. Her skin was as pale, and there appeared to be life back in her eyes as she listened in on the announcement from Professor Okeeba. Gavin leaned in to whisper, "Hey, you did amazing in that fight this morning." Gavin's words made her smile and blush slightly.

"Why do you sound so surprised, Gavin?" she asked him. She turned to face him, eyebrows raised as she looked at her mate.

"It's just that I haven't seen you really fight much before. You never busted out those kinds of moves when we were training." Gavin said quickly as he noticed her irritation.

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She laughed softly. "Well duh, I didn't want to actually hurt you when you were just learning everything," she responded with a soft laugh as she looked at him. She nudged him with her shoulder while her hand rested on her stomach. "You know, you're getting better every day, baby. I have no doubt you will find the strength in order to accomplish your goals." She said quietly to him. She was impressed every day by his progress. To think that less than eight months ago, he had no real skills. No knowledge of being a shifter, or magical skills. Yet here he was, a skilled warrior in his own right, and keeper of her heart.

She smiled knowingly as she looked at him. "We need to listen, now hush," she berated him gently as she pointed to the professor.

"The first three days will be a series of one-on-one battles. Each student will be randomly selected from each academy. It will be a no-death rules match. Everything goes with the only rule being, you can not kill your opponent. That will defeat the entire purpose of the two academies coming together in a friendly competition. The purpose is to push yourself against an equal adversary. See what you are skilled at, what you excel in. Then to realize brutally where you are lacking. Then once the competition is over, you will begin working on addressing your shortcomings and weaknesses," Professor Okeeba said through the whispering of the students.

He knew these kids were excited about the competition. He remembered all the years ago when he was their age. These competitions were the perfect thing to break up the monotonous studying each quarter. Someone fun, exciting and capable of giving them a clear end goal.

"Report to the grand arena at eleven for further instructions and your first match," Professor Okeeba declared, his voice rising above the chaos of the students' excitement. He sighed as it appeared no one was listening to him as they all chattered between themselves. He raised his voice, imbuing it with mana as he called for attention again. Quickly, the students all quieted down. Professor Okeeba repeated his final orders to the students, then dismissed the class with a sigh.

Gavin rose to his feet and waited for Erza. Together they left the room and headed off to find Helena and Jackson. Together the four of them would discuss and plan strategies for the upcoming fights. This was going to be an exciting week, Gavin thought.