"God, I would rather be anywhere but here," the first knight grumbled, his torch flickering against the damp, jagged walls of the cavern.
"No use in complaining, man," the second knight replied, his hand resting nervously on the hilt of his sword. "It's better than being assigned to the Silent Mist. At least here you can see what's trying to kill you."
"I know, but..." The first knight leaned closer, his voice dropping to a frantic whisper. "What if that thing is in here?"
"By 'that thing'? What are you talking about? This damn place is filled with monsters. Be more specific."
"The Silent Whisper!" he hissed, looking over his shoulder at the encroaching shadows.
The second knight stopped dead, spinning around to glare at his comrade. "Are you insane? Why would you say that name out loud? What if one hears you? Then what?"
"Relax, dude... it won't happen. I hope," the first knight muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "Let's just get out of here. We're finished with our patrol anyway."
"Tsk. If you jinx us again, I'm going to kill you myself."
"Well, if that happens, you won't have to worry about it, since we'd both be dead anyway."
"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves."
The voice was like grinding glaciers, deep, resonant, and impossibly cold. The two knights spun around, their weapons clearing their scabbards with a frantic metallic shink.
"Relax. It's only me," the man said, stepping into the circle of torchlight.
"Oh... Commander!" The second knight exhaled, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest. "What brings you all the way down to this sector?"
"I'm making sure everything is as it should be," the Commander responded. He was a mountain of a man, encased in imposing white plate armor that seemed to glow in the darkness. "We have a lot of clearing to do. These tunnels seem to stretch on forever."
"Isn't the Kaizen Academy sending its fifth-years and 'White Coats' to aid in the clearing?" the first knight asked, trying to regain his dignity.
"Yes," the Commander replied, his gaze unreadable behind his visor. "So, be on your best behavior. They may be brats, but they are elite. They can kill you in an instant if they so wish. They won't—but you'll end up in the infirmary for months if we don't have healers available. Do not provoke them."
"Yes, sir! We won't!" they responded in unison, snapping a crisp salute.
"Good. Return to the camp and rest." With those final words, the White Knight turned and marched deeper into the labyrinth, the sound of his heavy boots echoing like a funeral march.
"He is so cool," the first knight whispered, fanboying as he watched the Commander disappear into the gloom.
"Yes, he is. And we aren't. So let's get moving before something shows up and rips us in half," the second knight said, dragging his friend by the shoulder toward the surface.
The atmosphere inside the Headmaster's office was suffocating, thick with a mutual hatred that years of shared training hadn't managed to dull. Alexis, the elven White Coat knight, and Rixsa, the wolf-kin knight, stood on opposite sides of the room, two of the academy's most elite third-year students who looked like they were seconds away from tearing the office apart.
"If you're going to say something, then say it, bitch," Rixsa spat, her tail twitching with irritation as Alexis continued to glance at her with obvious disdain.
Alexis didn't blink, her pale eyes as cold as ice. "Oh... my apologies. I didn't know the mutt could talk. I thought all you did was grovel and bark, you filthy animal."
"Oh, so you can speak?" Rixsa countered, a sharp grin revealing her fangs. "I guess the whole 'silent warrior' act was just a fluke. But honestly, I'm surprised to see you here. Aren't elves all about purity and magic? Yet here you are, playing knight."
"We aren't all about magic, child," Alexis said, her voice dripping with venom. "But I guess you wouldn't know that, seeing as your intelligence is so pitifully low."
Rixsa's eyes narrowed as she struggled to contain her fiery temper. "Really? Is that what you think?"
"It isn't what I think; it's the truth. Your kind is only good for fighting like wild animals and seducing men," Alexis said, gesturing vaguely at Rixsa's silhouette. "All that food clearly went straight to your body instead of your brain."
Rixsa looked down at her chest, a wicked smile creeping across her face. "Oh, these old things? Yeah, they're quite large. My people aren't exactly 'intellectuals' as you said, but our bodies are something else, aren't they? Large breasts, abs, thick legs, strong claws, tails, sharp teeth... all the qualities of a real fighter. And then there's you."
Rixsa shook her head, faking a look of deep pity. "You have nothing. It's just not fair. You don't have shit; you're as flat as a board and have the build of a walking sentient tree. Shit, you don't even have a face to save you." Rixsa chuckled darkly. "You aren't pretty at all. You look more like a guy than a girl, you androgynous skank."
Alexis spun toward Rixsa, her face flushing with pure rage. "Excuse me? I'm sorry I'm not built like some walking sex-bot or a sow whose only purpose is sucking dick!"
"Yeah, yeah, cry all you want, light pole," Rixsa mocked.
"Light pole? Light po—bitch, you're supposed to be a 'strong' wolf-kin warrior? 6'6" of muscle and strength? Yet you're built like two watermelons stacked on a stick with a wig placed on top. You act all confident, but everyone can see you're overcompensating for your height with those big-ass boots. Without them, you're just some five-foot shrimp."
"The fuck did you say?" Rixsa snapped, her claws digging into her palms. "Are you just jealous that I'm not some skinny stick?"
"Jealous of you? Please be for real. I would never be jealous of you."
"Oh? Is that right? I wonder if your boyfriend felt the same way..."
The room fell deathly silent as Rixsa began to laugh, a harsh, jagged sound.
"Oh, that's right! He left you, didn't he? Was it for a demon? No... a fox? Hmm, what was it? Oh, right! It was a goblin. A fucking goblin. A damn monster-kin! You can't even be mad at us beast-kin for that, girl—we didn't do a thing. That's a whole other classification!"
Alexis stared at Rixsa, her hand trembling with the urge to draw her sword and strike the wolf-kin down, her eyes stinging with unshed tears of humiliation.