Invitation By Leaf

Sirks' and Wompa's fight turned out very unexpectedly. After seeing what Kies was capable of, the other contestants seemed to be afraid of getting near the two and avoided them at all costs. They were scared of accidentally provoking a hidden tiger and didn't take the risk. Needless to say, the two of them just stood at the edge of the arena and watched as everyone went at each other. A few did try their luck with Sirks but he quickly put them down, and after seeing that, the rest didn't have the guts to try for themselves.

The fight ended in a couple of minutes and the winners were told to leave quickly so that the next group could start. Kies and Iris waited at the same spot for the two to arrive and when they did, the two of them got up and went over to greet them.

"I have to say, I wasn't expecting for the fight to be that easy... It wasn't even like a fight at all. Everyone was too scared to touch us, and I guess I have you to thank you that," Sirks looked at Kies. "So, how did you do all of that?" Sirks and Wompa also wanted to know how exactly Kies pulled something like that off. "Another magic item, I reckon?"

"No." If he had used one then he would risk the referees detecting it. It was actually his magic that he used back in the fight. As for how the referees couldn't detect that when they probably would've detected his magic items if he used them, it was because he wasn't controlling the winds with his magic.

At will, he could call upon a small amount of wind to aid him without having to use his magic to control them. It was something that he didn't know he could do until recently, and ever since this discovery, he had been discreetly adding these winds into his normal fighting style with the sword. By doing this, Kies is able to swing his sword faster and also hit harder. He could also create a defensive barrier around his body and speed himself up if he wanted. Overall, Kies relied on these winds a lot now when fighting and couldn't manage without them.

"Then what was that? You just magically have that much strength as a human?"

"Hm?" Kies glanced at Iris. Had she not told them about it yet? The fact that he was not actually human?

Iris knew what Kies was asking when she looked at her and she just shook her head. "I haven't, yet... You need to have a bit more trust in me. I know just how important those secrets are to you, alright?" That was surprising. Kies really thought that she would've spilled the beans considering her personality, but it seemed that she could keep things to herself.

Sirks caught on very quickly to what the two were talking about and asked Kies, "What are you talking about? What haven't you told us yet that you told her?"

"Something unimportant."

"Huh. I don't think it's unimportant if you were able to win against all those guys with it," Sirks disagreed, but he didn't ask Kies any further on what he was hiding from them. "Hmph, whatever. What matters is that we made it through the first round. Now we can choose to either leave or continue watching. I don't mind either, so choose whichever one you want to do."

"We should probably leave," Kies suggested. All around them, people were staring at them and making a big commotion. Even the elf that attracted a bunch of attention before was no longer the center of attention and she was also staring at them, obviously impressed by what Kies did. They should leave while they still can.

"Agreed." Sirks felt uncomfortable about all the people looking at them as well and wanted to get out. If they stayed any longer, there was probably going to be trouble.

The group quietly left the colosseum with everyone's eyes on them. It was very awkward, and the moment they made it out, everyone sighed collectively in relief.

Outside, they found Nell waiting for them. She waved when she saw them. "Hey, I saw your fight, and I have to say... Just what in the world was that!?" she asked Kies, waiting for him to explain to her what she witnessed. "Didn't you say that it was your magic item that allowed you to do that!?" How was it that the referees didn't catch Kies? Unless, it wasn't his magic tool, but something else instead...

"Yeah, I also want an explanation for that," Sirks chimed in. "But I don't think you're going to give us one..."

"Yeah, I rather not," Kies admitted.

"Well, as long as it isn't against the rules then I guess it's fine..." Nell scratched her head. "Well, I guess a congratulation is in order then. Drinks are on me! Er- Are you three even old enough to drink?" she asked, referring to Kies, Iris, and Wompa.

"No," Sirks answered for the three.

"Huh, I thought so. I guess treating you to dinner, or is it still lunch? Ah, whatever, it's food."

"Yeah, that will be fine," Sirks accepted the offer.

"Alright. By the way, who are you? Their guardian?" This was Sirks and Nell's first time meeting each other, and Nell didn't know who he was, but Sirks on the other hand already knew Nell from Wompa telling him about her.

"You can say that."

"Okay..." Since Sirks didn't sound very friendly, Nell refrained from asking any further and just waved her arm. "I'll lead the way. Just follow."

The four followed Nell through the city with their masks on, which drew a little too much attention. When they made it to the place that Nell wanted to show them, they took off their masks as it wasn't needed anymore. And even though insisted that Kies stayed with them and ate, he didn't want to and wanted to leave.

"Come on... You're not even paying for it. It's all on me, and you don't have to worry about ordering too much," she told Kies, trying to reason him to stay.

"Sorry, I don't like eating with people..." Kies told her.

"But-"

"Just leave him. He's always like this," Sirks told Nell to forget it. There was no use in trying to convince Kies since he never liked eating for whatever reason. If Sirks didn't know any better, he would've thought that Kies never ate at all.

"Yeah, well, enjoy."

"Kay, bye!" Iris waved goodbye and Kies left the restaurant and went outside. The streets were crowded and the sun was starting to set. It wasn't going to be long until more people started coming out here. He needed to get this done quickly.

Kies reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green leaf. This was something that was impossible to find in the desert as the leaves here were huge and had a faded green color from being exposed to the sun for too long. And if that wasn't enough to tell that this leaf wasn't from this place, it also had a faint amount of magic on it. This wasn't any normal leaf. The elf gave it to him on their way out, and he had a pretty good idea of what it was for.

Kies walked around until he found a wide-opened area with few people and let the leaf fall from his palm. It fluttered down, and just as it was about to touch the sand, it stopped all of the sudden in the air, and it hovered back up until it was around the same height as his eyes. It was almost like the leaf was trying to get Kies' attention.

It danced around for a bit before it suddenly took off in a random direction. Kies almost lost track of it right there and then, and would've, but luckily, the area was empty enough and he saw where it went. The leaf was small, but the green color didn't match the color of the environment, making it rather easy to spot. Kies ran after the leaf and followed it through the city.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry!"

Woah! Son, open your eyes!"

"Sorry!"

Kies bumped into a bunch of people while chasing the left and quickly apologized to them, and continued to pursue the leaf. After several twists and turns, and almost losing track of the leaf twice, Kies finally reached the end. He walked up to the leaf and picked it up.

"Hello there."

Kies jumped away from the direction of the voice and instinctively went for his weapon, only to remember that he didn't have the sword on him. But that didn't matter. He was far from being defenseless. He still had his black sword that he could summon at any given time and his magic to aid him if needed. Kies looked in the direction of where the voice came from and saw a person emerge from the dark corner.

"I'm surprised that you followed the leaf. Did you not think that it was going to be a trap?" the elf waved her hands around, showing Kies where they were. Kies hadn't noticed it before since he had been too busy following the leaf, but they were in an empty part of the city in an alley. Kies sent his winds out to scout the area and discovered that they were the only two people here. "Or maybe you're confident in your ability to get out of situations like these..." she continued. "So... Which is it?"

"Both," Kies answered. He knew that this wasn't a trap since there were only two of them here. And second, knowing how elves were, they usually avoided picking fights in the first place, especially against people whose strength is unknown.

"Interesting... But you're right. This isn't a trap. I've asked you to come here for a talk."

---

Grammar errors, story errors, other errors, and advice, email flightless05@gmail.com

Thanks!