Theo wanted to question Eric. She had lots of questions concerning what she had just witnessed, and she was so angry at Eric for never mentioning he had a brother for all the years she's known him.
But she didn't want to bring it up with Finn around. Maybe after class.
They eventually split up, and Theodora followed the map in her schedule book and found her way to her first class: Training and Combat.
The hall was enormous, larger than any cathedral she's ever seen. The ceiling was so high it disappeared at some point, but dangling chains returned down, with climbing ropes that led to only God knows where.
The floor was divided into sparring zones, and different sections, each designated to test students with its own kind of brutality.
The air smelt of sweat, iron and blood. Even the floors were bloodstained. The place simply screamed 'Survival of the fittest'
She stepped inside with the rest of her class. The weight of their stares was heavy, sizing each other up.
Her amber eyes scanned the room, staring at the different brutal weapons stacked up at each corner of the room and the faint gouges clawed into the metal floors and walls.
She was fascinated. It was much more than she had expected. But then again, Gravemont has always been the best. After all, this was the same school that carved her father, maybe Cain, too.
"It seems like a lost little pop just stepped inside a lion's Den,"
Theodora looked to her right to see three guys approaching her. The one in the middle, who had just spoken, was huge and Broad-shouldered with a large scar running through his face. The other two boys looked like enforcers, their cruelty reflecting each other.
Theodora sighed tiredly. They looked like the kind of guys who believed that they owned every room that they stepped into. They probably think they're running this class.
Heads turned their way as they approached her. She wasn't intimidated at the very least, not even when he began to circle her, his eyes dragging over her features with an exaggerated disdain, "A New kid resuming on the second week. You must be the one who got haunted yesterday, right?" His grin widened.
Theodora stared at him lazily, "Get to the point,"
His eyes flashed at her words, "I didn't realise Gravemont was so desperate to let tiny runts into the Program. What are you? Five foot nothing. You look like you'll snap in half if I breathe too hard,"
His friends snorted, elbowing each other, "Careful, Ronan. Don't break the Academy's smallest guy,"
Smallest guy? Theodora squared her shoulders. Maybe their words were actually getting to her. Seraphina had tweaked her features, but she didn't make her any taller than before.
Her amber eyes locked onto his with a dangerous calm, "For someone who thinks he's an Alpha, you talk a lot like a hyena. I'm guessing an actual Alpha gave you that filthy scar because you ran your mouth too much,"
A nearby student burst into laughter, and Roman's smile dropped.
Someone muttered, "He's dead,"
Before Roman could grab her collar or shove her, a whistle cut through the air, pulling everyone's attention.
A bulky man stepped into the hall, shirtless and scarred. Everyone quickly fell into order.
"Line up!" Professor Arnold barked, "There will be no excuses this week. You're all here to bleed and not gossip. Pairings will be called and you're expected to line up in the sparring ring!"
Theodore stepped back with the other students, but she could feel Roman's glare following her. It was as though he was trying to burn holes through her face.
Soon, Arnold began calling out names, "Clarke with Bennett. Vance with Mirella. Quill with James,"
The boys stepped into the three sparring rings, facing each other. In her eyes, they could only see prey standing in front of them and were ready to strike any any time.
"Here are the rules today," The Professor continued, "There are NO rules, except that you're not allowed to kill your opponents and you're to beat your opponent in under five minutes. Use your fists, claws, weapons, anything. And if you interfere in someone else's fight, you'd better make damn sure you finish it, because I won't stop it. Clear?"
A growl of 'yes sir' rattled the walls a bit.
'They can interfere in each other's matches?' Theo thought.
He blew the whistle for the match to commence, and they struck at each other. Theodora watched with undivided attention as Alphas tore and ripped at one another, blood spilling and howls echoing.
Soon enough, Theo understood the essence of the match. It was meant to mimic real battle chaos.
The fight went on with many outcomes. Some Alphas were beaten before the time limit, some couldn't put down their opponents before the time limit and in rare cases, other students who were done with their match before the time limit interfered in another match.
To cut it short, it was a brutal display.
These boys were simply out for blood. To make the weak feel weaker.
And Theodora only got more excited. She couldn't wait for her turn.
The fourth and final round came, and Arnold called out the names, "Davis and Beckham, Thaddeus and Roman, Blake and Sebastian,"
She had seen this coming. She could tell the pair-up had been planned by the professor. He has obviously been pairing up those who weren't on good terms and must have heard her exchanging words with Roman before he walked in.
The six fighters lined up accordingly, and she saw a sneer on Roman's face. What he didn't know was that she was most excited for this matchup. She might as well bash up his nose like Eric predicted this morning.
Roman glared at her, cracking his knuckles.
Then, the whistle was blown.
He lunged for her, and the pits became warzones, "Look at you," Roman jeered as he smashed into where she was standing just a second ago, his claws digging into the ground hard, "Those pretty little eyes won't save you,"
Theo scanned his footwork. He noticed her calm and swung again, his fists smashing into her ribs. She staggered back and the crowd roared as they watched.
"Seems like the only thing you've got is a bad mouth!" Roman spat.
Theodora smiled back at her with an evil look. She had intentionally let him hit her tongue gauge his strength, and she had to admit, he was pretty...weak.
That blow was like a tap to her chest.
His next swing came instantly, but she easily ducked under it and slammed her fists into his gut, showing him what a proper blow felt like. He gasped, thrown back as blood spewed out of his mouth.
The crowd went silent. No one has been expecting that.
Across the pit, another student was sent rolling back. His opponent was Dax, one of Roman's friends. Then, Dax glanced at Roman's fight, and he narrowed his eyes when he saw Roman on the floor.
Ronan growled back to his feet, careful with his next attack. He now saw Theo in a new light and moved with more stealth and calculation.
This time, she charged for him. She was more into defence than offence. She used her small body to move efficiently around him, dodging him every swing at her. He growled in frustration, swiping at her again, but she danced back, light on her feet.
"Stop playing with me, runt!" Roman snarled, his eyes flickering to one of the stacks of weapons close by.
"You want me to get serious and give you another punch? Fine by me," She retorted and gripped his arm, twisting her body around him. Before he could grab her, his feet came smashing into his face - his nose, in particular.
Roman stumbled back again, now with a nosebleed.
Dax, who was done with his match just three minutes in threw himself into Theo's sparring ring and hurled himself at Theo. She didn't see him coming at first and barely dodged, snarling at him.
Ronan grinned, seizing the chance. He grabbed a thick wooden staff from the rack and swung hard. The blow cracked across her shoulders, sending her sprawling.
Theodore hissed, pushing herself back up. Her shoulders burned, but her gaze was steady with a smirk, "Don't tell me that's all, or else I'll be so disappointed,"
That shook Roman. He lurched again, staff slipping through the air while she ducked. Her attention was now between Roman, swinging the staff relentlessly, and Dax, cutting through to attack her with any opening he found.
Theodora spun back from another swing, only for Dax to hook her arms from behind. He was about to say something to Roman when she rammed her head back, smashing her head into his nose, too.
He yelped, loosening his grip and she tore free.
Roman was waiting. He caught her before she could duck and tackled her down with the staff scraping her throat while pinning her down, "Not so tough now, are you?" His face twisted with rage, "I'm gonna teach you a huge lesson, runt!"
"Yeah?" She ragebaited and twisted underneath him. Her knee drove up to one of his legs, and he howled, loosening his hold.
She seized the staff, rolled out of him and sent it cracking into his nose again. The sound of wood smacking against bone echoed through the hall, and Roman crumpled to the floor.
Dax lunged again from behind, but she saw it coming this time. She didn't need to turn and sent a leg behind, smashing his throat with the sole of her foot.
That blow would have killed him, but she had controlled it.
Dax began to wheeze, struggling to breathe as he grabbed his throat. Blood ran down his nose and eyes, before she fell to his knee and onto his stomach.
The whistle blew again, and silence took over the hall.
Arnold jumped into the pit to survey the wreckage - Roman passed out and Dax still struggling to breathe.
And of course, Theodora standing over them. She was breathing fast, still looking as alert as ever.
"Lesson one," Arnold began, his voice deadly, "The pit doesn't care how big you are, or how many friends you have. The weak are eaten and the strong survive. Douglas stays standing. Dax, take Roman and get out of my sight."
Laughter and mutters rippled through the students. A lot of them were staring at her very differently now.
Theodora stepped out of the pit, her body aching, but her heart hammering with victory. She had survived her first combat class.