Speed Away the Pain.

They needed to talk. Not just some lame chat, but a deep, thoughtful talk.

Maria's mission had taken a toll on her, and Freya had a hard time getting her out of the infirmary. Her older sister was the one who usually did the dragging, and Freya had never seen her so miserable. It had been a few days and thanks to the schools abilities, her wounds were healing but Maria's broken spirit wouldn't. Now she knows how I feel. Freya had always thought when the day comes that Maria was "bellow" her, she'd feel nothing but satisfaction, but quite truthfully, she felt somewhat bad. Maybe this is a bad time to talk... No. They needed this and if she didn't do it now, they might never get a chance to. Besides, she'd been getting over depression herself so maybe that could help Maria feel better about herself.

Damn Freya was stubborn. Couldn't she just leave her alone? Everything still ached and although the doctor said walking was good, it hurt like hell. "Why are we going to the forest of all places?" She asked in a pissed tone, walking next to Freya. There was no answer. Great. Not only is she taking me to the forest to kill me, she won't tell me why. Giving a sigh, the two walked on for quite a while, passing by trees. "How far do we have to go?" She whined, starting to get tired. Although her body had been healing pretty fast, she still needed to take it easy and being whisked away by her sister into the farthest part of the forest was not helping.

"Just shut up." Freya snapped, coming to a halt and turning around to face Maria. "We need to talk."

Edward had called his twin and cousin out to the forest without telling either of them what they were going to be doing. He was going to train them to fight. Not just ordinary hand-to-hand combat, but he'll teach them how to use their speed and momentum to take down their opponents with virtually no resistance. He leaned against a tree, waiting for his family to arrive.

Barry scanned the forest, looking for his brother. What did he want now? It's not that he was busy, but they weren't exactly on the best of terms. He vaguely remembered passing the Rylen sisters on his way around the forest, but he didn't think anything about it. Finally, at the farthest edge of the forest, he found his twin leaning against a tree. "Why did you call me out here?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was kiiiinda on short notice, Ed. I was right in the middle of a football game," Noah chipped in after Barry, sauntering along next to his younger cousins with his hands tucked nonchalantly into the pockets of his shorts. It hadn't really been a fair football game - at least, for whoever opposed Noah's team - but it was always fun to see people try to pull the 'cheating' card, despite the fact that he'd been born with his gift. All of a sudden, when stopping in the bleachers for a sip of his water, Ed had texted him, asking to meet up in the forest. As it turned out, he'd asked Barry to come along, as well.

Noah could still sense tension between the two Jackson brothers, but strained sibling relationships were nothing he wasn't used to. His sister and him were probably on worse terms than Barry and Ed were currently, anyhow. "And why the forest? You plannin' on murdering us?" Noah scratched his neck, sniffing amusingly.

Facing Maria, there was barely a hint of remorse for her injured sister. What should she say, or better yet, how should she say it? Freya thought it'd be easy talking to Maria and even had everything planned out, but now... she wasn't so sure. She's hurt so she wouldn't want a fight, right? Usually talking to he sister meant a fight. Then again... she's in a pissy mood..."Listen, sorry for dragging you out here but-" Before she could say anything else, a group of guys walked into the clearing that they just happened to be in. You've got to be kidding me, of all the places, they choose this spot of the forest? All she wanted was to talk with Maria and she was so close! But now these bozos had to come into the picture.

Finally they stopped walking. Maria slumped against a tree, ready for what ever Freya was about to say. Though honestly, she could most likely predict what her younger sister was about to rant about; their past. Of course, the only thing Freya ever thought about. Jesus, couldn't she get over it already? Ever since Maria had left home, she'd forgotten about her family and being free of the memories was a blessing but now, Freya had to ruin it all. About to intervene Freya's attempt at starting to conversation, a group of familiar guys walked into the clearing. She could tell her sister was equally pissed, though unfortunately, Freya could never deal with the vermins that scurried through her life. "Jesus Christ, can't we ever get some peace around here?" She mumbled loud enough for Freya to hear, a grin grew upon her face. Standing up a bit more straight, Maria turned her head to the boys. "What are you guys doing out here?" Maria called out. "Go find somewhere else to have your little 'speedy reunion.'" It was a bold statement even for her, but although she was injured, might as well have a bit of fun.

Edward rolled his eyes. Great. Maria. "Excuse me, but I've been here for a good 10 minutes. Find your own part of the forest to go gossip." he said, turning away from the sisters. "I brought you two out here because, unlike anyone else at this Academy, I know how to fight like a speedster. Regular hand-to-hand combat is great, but unless you know how to use your speed and momentum to your advantage, fights will go on longer than necessary." he told Barry and Noah.

Barry nodded. It made sense, and plus he was going to have to learn how to fight properly anyway. "Can you also make us faster? I know you're faster than me. My top speed is around Mach 1." Barry replied, crossing his arms. He was going to need to be faster if he was going to go after Cadence.

Noah redirected his attention from his cousins to the duo of girls that had appeared. One of them spoke up, sounding quite unhappy that there were already people present in this part of the forest. The Autumn scoffed lightly at Maria's request, turning his body to face the two sisters. "Sorry, we weren't aware that this place belonged to you. Sorry for trespassing," he called over to them, voice heavily-laden with satire. "Maybe you should write your names in big letters in the dirt, or something, to signify that it's yours."

With hints of a grin tugging at his lips, he turned back to Barry and Ed.

Did Maria have a death wish? Freya wanted to intervene but no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself get in the way. Maria would kill me if I did. That was no understatement, for her sister loved to fight and she'd even turn on Freya if she tried anything funny. "Hey now, Maria..." She mumbled, barely audible.

Now they were talking, just the reaction she was looking for. "I'll write our names alright, with your blood." The intrepid girl said with a sneer, ignoring her sister. The excitement of a soon to be fight soon overtook her injuries and low spirits. "But then again... I rather use something more appealing than some nobodies blood." Maria pushed farther and farther into this guy's nerves. At this point, she didn't care if she was injured, a little spar would definitely pick her mood up.

Edward barked out a laugh. "Wow, some nerve you got there." he said, not moving from the tree he was leaning on. Suddenly, without warning, and in less than a second, Ed was in Maria's face, a mere inch away. "Listen, girl, you have no idea who exactly you're messing with. If I wanted it to happen, you and your sister would already be knocked out, or worse." he said, his tone even and unwavering. His whole demeanor made him seem bored, but on the inside an anger was just beginning to boil.

Barry watched the events unfold, only a few seconds in total. 'Typical,' he thought, 'Ed wants to show off as some sort of badass.' But the Autumn knew better. He knew how Ed really felt. Feigning a yawn, Barry went along with Ed's bored charade. "Is this gonna take long? We've got stuff to do." he said. The only thing that gave away the fact that he was faking was a slight twitch in his hand, unnoticeable to anyone except speedsters.

Noah laughed dryly, stepping towards the duo of girls along with his cousins and throwing his hands up in mock surrender. God, he'd seen less edge from alleyway grunge kids. What was her deal? "Whoa, watch out, we've got a bad-ass over here. How do you plan to do that, exactly? Write your names in our blood, I mean. I'd be impressed if you're quick enough to be able to do that." The Autumn's smile widened, and he placed his hands on his hips. Were these girls asking for a fight? That certainly wouldn't last long. It'd be boring. "Go get some sleep or something, girlie. You don't seem to be thinking straight."

Maria knew who these guys were and what they were capable of, but come on, couldn't they lighten up a bit? "Oh come on, lighten up." The mischievous girl said aloud. With a flash of light, two battle axes appeared in her hands and hung at he side. The weight of holding the weapons hurt her shoulder, but there was no turning back now. "Oh I'm thinking straight alright." She grinned. Some might say she was insane and... well, yeah, she was. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Maria turned to Freya who was standing behind her.

"What are you look at me for?" Freya replied to her sister in a bored tone. "You're the one who wants a fight." Unlike Maria, she found no fun in fighting. She's fought so much in her lifetime that is was almost boring. Throw a punch here, take a punch there, it was all the same to her.

Edward leaned back, putting his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt, grazing the injection gun that held a few dosages of Velocity X. His fingers twitched, he wanted to use it so bad. 'Not yet.' he told himself. 'Not until they make a move.' "Lighten up? Who's got the battleaxes again?" he retorted. He looked to Freya with a bored look. "What, aren't you the same way? That's what I hear. You can be just as violent as Miss Choppy over here."

Barry smiled coldly. Edward certainly knew how to feign being bored. Absentmindedly he grabbed his Escrima sticks that were strapped onto his sides. Maybe he'd finally be able to release some anger after all. He could use some of that. It would be pretty easy too, just a few swings here and there and both the Rylen sisters would be out for sure. But who knows. Maybe they could find a way to keep up with the three speedsters.

Noah's smile only widened as Ed fired back at Maria and Freya. One didn't even have to look at Barry. who was readying himself, to sense that a fight was coming. It'd been a long time since Noah had been in a scrap.. Not that this would be much of a scrap, though. Three guys, who could all easily outrun race cars, versus two short-fused sisters? They don't stand a chance.

Instead of preparing himself, Noah crossed his arms and continued to smile condescendingly at the girls. Whatever they could throw at him, he could surely avoid.

Wow, what a dick. Did he seriously think she was like Maria? "Tsk, you're wrong. Unlike Miss Choppy, I have no desire to go around causing fights." She replied with her usual expression, although it was tinted with anger. With a flash of light, three throwing daggers appeared in her hand. It wasn't a big weapon, but bigger wasn't always better. Besides, she'd have more flexibility than smashing around some battle axe. "But if a brat like you brings the fight to me, it'd be rude not to oblige." Guess I'll have to talk to Maria later. The blonde let out a sigh.

Now they were talking! She knew she could count on Freya. Maria held a smile upon her face, looking from each of the boys. Honestly, she knew it wasn't a fair fight and that her reputation was on the line, but too late to back down now, and besides, what was wrong with a little spar deep in the forest? Looking at the guy who made the snarky remark to her sister, she raised her ax, preparing to throw it. Unfortunately, that guy got lucky this time. Instead of throwing it at the student she was looking towards, she threw it towards Noah, with all her might. A wave of pain ran up her arm, but she kept from wincing. Once she was sure it had hit something, Maria turned to her true target. "Well then, let's get started."

Edward laughed as Freya spoke. Everybody knew the Rylen sisters were famous for fights. "Oh, honey, if that were true you wouldn't have those knives in your hands, now would you?" he told her. The Winter watched as Maria threw one of the axes at Noah, unmoving. He could handle himself, he knew that well. When the Autumn girl turned back to him, he smiled coldly. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He ran backwards, back to be alongside Barry. Digging into his pocket, he grabbed his bo staff, still unextended. With a simple press of a button, and a whoosh, it extended to its full length. "How cute. She thinks she can fight us." he told him.

Barry smirked. It was true, they'd have a hard time keeping up with them. "I don't know, maybe we should toy with them a bit. Make it more of a fair fight. This could be fun." he responded. He stifled a yawn. This wasn't very interesting so far. He relaxed himself, crossing his arms. "What do you think, Noah? Should we humor them?"

Noah nearly laughed aloud as Maria pulled an axe out of her pocket dimension and sent it flying towards his face. He easily evaded it, sidestepping rapidly - Just enough for the blade to almost graze the ginger hair on the right side of his head. The axe hit a tree somewhere behind him, biting into the bark with a dull thunk. Pathetic. "What are you expecting to do with that, exactly? It would be more helpful to cut fruit with than try to hit us with, if you want my honest opinion." He straightened his shirt out and then glanced at Barry. "Yeah, why not? Fighting won't be any fun for us, but watching 'em flail around might be." He looked directly at Maria again, a shit-eating grin plastered to his face.