I didn’t know any humans personally, but I’d watched their television shows and it was clear that something set us supernaturals apart from them. It wasn’t just that most supernaturals were exceptionally good looking – even the demi-fey with all of their differences were still incredibly mesmerizing. More than that, it was this energy which was infused into us. We glowed with it and the shine of our skin and the gleam in our eyes foretold how we differed from regular Joes in the human world. A few humans seemed to have a glow to them – from my television watching anyways – and were probably half-breeds, but the majority faded to nothing beside us. I wasn’t being vain, it was simple fact.
The demi-fey, who would be considered ugly by human standards, weren’t, they were just different. But if you truly studied them, the knobby knees, the foreign features, you found a uniqueness. Humans thought the stranger of the demi-fey were ugly because they did not understand them. And like all creatures, they feared what they did not understand.
Mischa ended up next to me, on my right side, against a pixie. Her partner was one of the demi-fey who could change her size at will. She had very big, round eyes, and her nose and mouth were small, fading into the rest of her features. Her hair was coarse, standing up in spiky twirls around her head, and her skin the color of a sunset. In the past, demi-fey had been hunted almost to extinction by the very humans that we tried to protect. Now I was glad the supernatural communities provided a sanctuary for them.
Lincoln was at the front of the room, his voice loud and bellowing. Typical horse. “Alright, we are on rotation today. Hand to hand.”
Usually we trained with all types of weapons. I was able to hold my own with pretty much anything, but was particularly proficient in crossbow. I liked the power and ease, although it lacked accuracy when on the run. I sized up my opponent. Candice was vampire and would be quick, strong. I needed to use my shifter strength, otherwise she’d crush me. She came straight at me, her arms elevated in front of her and her strides strong. I didn’t hesitate, ducking her first blow and using my elbows to clip her unguarded chin. She was an offensive fighter but not great with keeping her guard up. I was distracted by Mischa hitting the mat next to me. The pixie had zipped around behind her and planted both feet into her back, slamming my twin face-first into the stinky, squishy floor.
Of course my moment’s distraction was all Candice needed to crash into me, and, using a wrestling hold, flip me over and twist my arm behind my back. She held it at the point that the slightest exertion of pressure would break the bone. I’d be pissed, because even for me a broken bone took twelve hours to heal – unless I called in a healer. Luckily I was sneaky, and she’d left my other arm free. Stupid move really. Pushing down for leverage, I bucked, which loosened her hold. Seems she hadn’t had a true grip on my wrist. Swinging my legs around, I twisted my body for enough leverage to uppercut her. I followed through with my entire weight – well, the best I could from my position on the ground. Her screech was cut off as she slammed back into the mat. I was up and moving, but the whistle sounded before I could beat on her some more.
“Move to your left,” Lincoln shouted.
This continued on and on, each opponent with a different advantage depending on which supernatural race they were from. Vampires were so fast, and super strong. Shifters had unparalleled senses, our speed and strength not far behind vamps. The magic users had extra energy and the ability to use spells if they were quick enough – although Lincoln didn’t encourage spell-casting in hand to hand, it was supposed to be more about physical abilities. The fey were magical without needing any spells. They could blur themselves and almost act chameleon-like to blend into surroundings. They were so in tune with nature that the very air itself whispered, helping them gain advantage. In Stratford, we were low on female fey, who we called Sirens. They had the ability to enthrall the mind with their calling song. It seemed to mainly affect males … go figure. Probably a reason we had so few. Men did plenty of stupid things without additional help from a clouded mind.
Lastly, the demi-fey were all different. The pixies could fly, zap with energy, and be-spell with pixie dust. The trolls were like brick walls. You could hit them and they wouldn’t even move. Sometimes I wondered if they even noticed me hitting them. There were about twenty different demi-fey, but Stratford only had six species. Though others had come and gone through the years, so I’d met most of them. The mermaids were the strangest. They preferred places with large bodies of water, not forests, so despite our large tanked area, we never had long term mermaid residents.
We continued to rotate. I was starting to feel the bruises. There’d been a few lucky hits in my distracted state. Maximus had somehow maneuvered himself next to Mischa and was helping her out. Which, luckily for her, resulted in her opponents going easy as on her, thinking her vampire bodyguard might pound them into the ground. He’d done that for me before, and I kind of felt a little put out that I no longer had him watching my back.
Damn sisters, always stealing your favorite toys.