Bernard clicked his tongue. Grass rippled where he stood, an Intra related action. Skunk stood, pocketing the orb.

  “Neat trick,” Skunk backstepped. “ A tad revealing isn’t it.”

  “Stop stalling and hand it over” The snide youth seethed.

  The two pestering youths spreaded out. A semi circle formation, they’re hands inching closer together. Skunk pulse quickened, body twitching in anticipation..

  “ I don’t understand .” Skunk passively opened his palms. Held them spread out towards the group.

  “Bernard,” Skunk cupped the air in a grasping gesture, smirking. “The years have passed, where’s the kid that used to follow me around.”

  Bernard frowned, honest negativity seeping through. He moved in completing the formation. The words were hastily spoken, Skunk was gleeful it wedged in.

  “A mark on my fur that I’m still scrubbing,” Bernard said.

  “Bernard?” The two accompaniers stared, their movement unsure.

  “ Crult, Loft? You’ve wasted enough of my time. Finish this.” Bernard rumbled.

  THe two youth hands started to wea–

  “Wait,” Skunk said, their hands halting.

  “I’ll hand it over.”

  Skunk walked towards them, hands still spread. Crult and Loft posture loosened, cockiness settling into their stature. Bernard stared, eyes never leaving Skunk who similarly did the same.

  “Give it here.” Crult said.

  Skunk hand flew through the air, past the means of normal perception as afterimages was left in its wake. He weaved past those images leaving more where fingers brushed through fake ones. Interacting and cutting across each other, in the time a breath took. His hands nestled into each other. After images sprung around forming the fading image of a skunk.

  60% efficinecy

  Bernard jumped back as the sign sucked Intra, a skunk forming on top of Skunk’s hand. It’s tail rose, spraying a white liquid with a gaseous outer layer. Crult and Loft attempt to weave echoed seconds late. The spray coated the two, dominating their appearance with sticky white.

  “Fools,” Bernard said.

  “Bastard.” Crult drowsily echoed, slumping onto the floor.

  “You're well into the 1st stage of rapid weaves. Impressive Skunk.” Bernard praised.

  “Why thank you trailing genius of the Arstor tribe,” Skunk mockingly nodded, a lavender smell coming off the two sleepy forms.

  He frowned, “Your skunk sign is a decent coarse grade, even if it hasn’t reached high percentage efficacy”

  “It’s name is Mephitis,”

  Bernard chuckled, “ A filthy Skunk giving a skunk sign a name. Why care about the comparison? You formed the sign. Ludicrous.”

  Bernard chuckled turned into a roar of laughter. “ Thank you Skunk. You still have your humor.

  Pin pricks of heat sprouted around Skunk’s body, his face reddening. Bernard poking jest at his name, making a fool of him. Bernard who knew his life formation. Finding humor where none should be.

  “Bernard,”Skunk growled. Hands shivering, wanting to be weaved.

  A hiss came from Mephitis as it nibbled Skunk’s leg. The pain caught Skunk in surprise, making him look down.

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  “Mephitis,” Skunk said, as the little skunk licked where it bit.

  “Thank you” Skunk picked it up, stroking it. Anger wasn't efficient. Rarely did it hone the weaving..

  “You're a wise little sign,” Bernard said.

  “Bernard who sent you three here?” Skunk asked, already tired.

  “ That should be obvious,”

  Skunk, pulled out the orb.“Did you know the market price of this is 3 gold not 8 silver. I got it cheap by using some favors.”

  “Why did you know how much I paid for it?”

  Bernard brow lifted.“There’s more than fart in your skull.”

  “Just as there's bear stool in yours.”

  Skunk cleared his throat, “Tell me Bernard… Please.”

  Bernard cracked his neck, picking up the two sleepers. Nose upturned at the faint pale gas emanating from them. He tossed them past the patch of grass. He faced Skunk, meters separating the two. Mephitis tensed as faint Intra leaked from Bernard. It lacked the neutrality that Skunk weaved with. It lingered with heaviness and coiled in strength. A unique sense of danger touched Skunk, one that only a specialization could bring. Skunk’s interlocked his hand.

  “Skunk?”

  Bernard bursted forward. Compact Intra morphing into bestial claws on all his limbs, extending a foot out. His clothing rippled and wind threw his hair back. His clawed feet simply tapped and yet that tore through the dirt, rapidly accelerating him.

  Rock! Skunk completed his sign in a second, afterimages formed a faint rocks. Its efficacy echoed in his mind 49%. Panic shot threw him at the low number. Intra began flowing through hardening his ski–

  Bernard's fist cemented itself into Skunk's stomach. His contact with the ground was quickly snuffed as the blow delivered him into the air. Bile escaped his mouth, and air struggled to squeeze back in. Mephitis sprayed a yellow gas at Bernard, who disengaged at the hint of it’s nauseating stench.

  Skunk crashed back down, dispelling his rock sign whilst in a fetus position. Mephitis sprayed around Skunk in folds of gaseous white and yellow spray. The intra clouds not interacting with him in any negative way. Skunk sat back up, deathly staring at his hand weaving. Ignoring his bodily pains that begged to be expressed.

  80% rock efficacy.

  Relief washed over Skunk at the number, it was his highest percentage for the rock sign ever. Intra flowed through him, coating his skin in a faint grayish layer of stone. Skunk took deep breaths acknowledging the damage done. He pocketed the gray rock that formed.

  “You fight with fart and pebbles. garbage among coarse grades.” Bernard said beyond the cloud.

  “Step in here and we’ll see who’s coarse grade signs are better.”

  “Signs,” Bernard laughed. “When have I weaved a sign?”

  Realization silenced Skunk, his weaving hands froze. He didn’t see Bernard weave but his intra claws was an intra ability. Was it a 1st rank ability that one receives when reaching 50% chamber completion. Claws seemed too simple for the prodigy of the Arstor tribe. He must’ve weaved beforehand.

  The gaseous cloud permeated enough for the both of them to be visible. Bernard stood there Intra claws retracted, remaining unperturbed at the conflict. His skin was roughed and Intra vaguely seeping.

  “Interesting Bernard. Your Intra doesn’t move like a regular wielder.”

  “A guess from a held back student. Not worth much” Bernard said.

  “You're not here, you’re using a sign with an avatar ability that forms a body,” Skunk remarked, ignoring the insult.

  “Two abilities: an avatar and claw ability. A blatant sign of a coarse grade. Quite a rare one too, maybe even your only coarse grade.” Skunk said.

  Bernard relented, “Good observation.”

  A smile tore onto Skunk’s face “It must be running low on Intra. I wonder what’ll happen when I break it.”

  A brief silence stretched between the two.

  “It’s been fun.” Bernard faintly smirked, turning around.

  Skunk ran at him, Intra further reinforcing his stone skin. Mephitis trailed along, shooting a stream of yellow spray at Bernard. The spray caught the turning Bernard on the forehead. His eyes turned red, breath shortened and nose quivered. Skunk punched his jaw, disorienting him further. Skunk threw an onslaught of blows at Bernard's face.

  Intra claws manifested on one hand. His swipe scraped onto Skunks stomach. The other caught Skunk’s fist into a vice grip. Squeezing with tremendous force, Skunks bone’s rattled and his stone skin vibrated.

  “I’ll crush your ha–,”

  Skunk punched his face. Bernard stamped his foot onto Skunk’s chest. Intra claws extended, a boulder of force pushing Skunk across the grass. Bernard surveyed him, then began walking away.

  “Leaving when the situation is tough, just like you Childhood friend.” Skunk said, intra filling cracks on his chest.

  “I’ve finished what I intended to do.” Bernard said, his form pulsating. Intra bounced around, black fur growing and his body elongating.

  “ The grumpy old Tor is who sent those two, Skunk.”

  Surprised at the information, Skunk looked at Bernard. What stood there was a tall skinny black sun bear. An animal sign. Skunk dispelled all his signs, Intra returning. A simple fact stuck with him, simmering his varying emotions.

  “I got smacked around by this.”