Raging on the Range [Eli]

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

There he was, wondering what kind of person would challenge him with a vague note at all, when he was met with a completely unfamiliar face. Admittedly, Yoru was not exactly paying attention to people outside his circle of acquaintances, namely his classmates. He only met a handful of students from the other classes, like Chise from support studies, but one person stood out among them. An ugly monkey called Darren from class 1-C. He remembered the guy like anyone would remember a bad memory, and since that was his one and only experience with 1-C, he was usually expecting the worst from that class. Not to be prejudiced, of course, but one person among many could build an image already, negative or positive. That was a lesson while he was in a gang, and one member represented all of them. So when Eli introduced himself as a student from 1-C, Yoru expected calamity.

On top of all, it was his luck to meet with a guy that talked just too much. As Eli monologued, Yoru’s face was growing more and more unimpressed, almost comically judging the guy mid-sentence for not shutting up. “Ugh, what’s with the speech? You sound like some bad teach lecturing me. Take a breath, or something.” He scratched the side of his head, fingers digging into that messy brown hair as he listened. “You could’ve pinged me on the school chat, you know.” Because really, why bother with a note when all of the students were on the server, reading the chat and the school messages all the time? Admittedly, Yoru wasn’t chatting much, if at all, but he was always reading. Or, a bunch of his classmates would notify him of a challenge when they saw it. He was pretty sure that either Ryuusei, Jasmine, or Rin would tell him if someone was trying to reach him.

In any case, it was a done deal now. They were out on the range, and the guy named Eli already stated what the purpose of this meeting was. That much was at least pretty straightforward. He wasn’t exactly sure who this Alex was that he mentioned, not being well-versed on the members of other classes, but he already sounded like an asshole. He laced his arms in front of his chest, raising his head lightly as he was considering the rules of the challenge. He was emanating a calm confidence with the loose stance, but arrogance was far from his expression. He seemed interested, curious, taking the words seriously instead of mocking Eli as he did in response to his first words.

“Sure.” He replied with a shrug. “I am all about maneuver and speed.” Which was essentially true. He was a creature that lived to move, to roam free, to overcome any obstacle and run to his heart’s content. If anyone, he was the symbol of freedom. Turning his head toward the mountain, he looked at the gently ascending slope leading to the base. “I’m fine without my quirk, unless you aren’t. A second run could be with full power, after we see what we can do without weird abilities.”

Stepping on the middle of the dusty, worn road, he dug a line across it with his foot as a makeshift starting line. Waving Eli over, he assumed a loose starting stance, one leg two feet behind the other. Their goal was only vaguely mentioned as the “base of the mountain”, but Yoru decided to give a more exact finish line. “There is a small ranger shack at the end of the road, about half a kilometer away. That will be our goal.” He lowered his stance just a bit.

“Ready? Go!” Without waiting for an answer, just like how he did when he ran with Ryuu, he leaped forward, already using his top speed while they were on open area. Dust was kicked off the road in his wake, and when the road turned, Yoru continued going straight. The road itself was snaking around the range to curl against patches of the woods, but their goal was straight ahead. Since this was about maneuverability and speed, it was okay to cut through the wilderness instead of following the path. At the sides, the trees were scarcely spaced, but as they ventured further, more and more lone branches and still attached, overgrown roots would make their run harder. Yoru grabbed into low branches and jumped or hurled himself over lower ones, not stopping his run even for a minute, or let the obstacles slow him down. He would pay attention to the sounds from his running partner to try and figure out where exactly Eli was compared to him. He wouldn’t take his chance to actually look, considering a small mistake or distraction could cause an uncomfortable fall in the woods.

words: 806 ● Eli Bantis ●

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Well, that sounded like a stupid reason to use old fashioned way of challenge instead of the chatroom, but Yoru just shrugged it off at this point. No need to fret over it more than necessary. “Will you stop with the explanations? It happened, I will get over it.” He also belatedly noticed he forgot to introduce himself to the guy while he gave his name, but he figured Eli must have been aware of it anyway. He had to ask around and found his locker after all, and his name was written on it pretty obviously as well. The melted door was always more noticeable though, so who knows.

In any case, a race was a race, and Yoru was always up for that. Quirk or no quirk, he was fine with both as well. His quirk didn’t exactly help him with speed, but it was certainly useful for maneuvers over difficult terrain. As for Eli, he had no idea what to expect from the boy, but after challenging him, he kind of expected abilities that had to do with speed. It seemed he was a little bit wrong.

He gained a head-start, but once he tried to glance back and see where Eli was, he didn’t find the 1-C boy right in his heels like he assumed, but just a slight bit behind. Unlike Darren, who prowled through an obstacle course with sheer force and endurance, Eli was lighter, and his movements seemed less sure, less practiced. If he had to compare the boy to someone, it would be Ryuusei. Yoru had the chance to run with Ryuu early in their school year, and the boy was admittedly a complete rookie in parkour. Although Ryuu was learning fast from watching Yoru hurdle above benches and railings, he still had much to learn. Eli seemed to be the same, and hopefully, he was also the kind that learned from experience rather than theory. Yoru was really bad at theories. He could do things, he can show how he does things, but he can’t explain.

No matter. He just had to run, because that was the point now. Looking strictly forward to see what was coming, Yoru picked up the pace, burning just enough of his energy reserves to stay at a comfortable distance from the hunter behind. Hurling himself over low branches and roots was as easy as getting through railings and steps in the city. Once the road outside turned, and they momentarily stepped on its surface again, Yoru kicked up dust and jumped back into the wilderness. Grabbing a branch he swung himself forward, and continued on after a smooth landing as if nothing could stand in his way. Fluid movements and swiftness were both an important aspect of parkour, and Yoru already had the jumping power as an extra to leave many parkourers in shame.

The shack designated as their goal was already in sight through the trees, only a bit ahead, and if Eli didn’t pick up the pace, he would come in second in this two-person race!

words: 513 ● Eli Bantis ● Kind of a stalling post, but you can have them reach the finish line!