Jasper had told Dax to do his best and he’d be fine, but his best at volleyball was pretty bad. The ball came his way too frequently for comfort, and with all his focus spent on not getting smacked in the face, it was difficult to come up with excuses to talk to Aymes.
To make matters worse, today’s class wasn’t practice, but an actual game. They were being visited by the Blue Trench Tardigrades, one of the top high school volleyball teams this side of the planet. And on top of that, it turned out that Sa Renian volleyball wasn’t quite the same as Earth volleyball, which only made it harder for Dax to follow.
Aymes, on the other hand, was great at the sport. He did most of the work for the team, and had their opponents agitated only a few minutes in.
Partway into the game, a buzzer went off, and the teams left the court. Half time, maybe? Whatever was happening, Dax was eager for the break. He followed his team members toward the sidelines.
One of the opposing team members picked up the ball and chucked it. Dax, at the back of the group, was the only one to see. Eyes wide, he shouted, “Look out—!”
The ball hit the back of Aymes’s head and knocked him face first to the floor. His teammates immediately started yelling at the kid who’d thrown the ball, until the ref stepped in and ordered everyone to calm down.
Dax darted to Aymes’s side as he climbed to his feed. Blood trickled from Aymes’s nose. Dax winced. After a quick glance up to make sure no one had looked their way yet, he lifted a hand. “Hold on.”
The blue glow wiped away the injury. Aymes, stunned, asked, “You have healing powers?”
Dax nodded. Aymes grabbed his water bottle off the ground. “Follow me to that fountain.”
Once they were out of earshot of the rest of the team, Aymes held out his palm. A small sphere of energy shimmered in the air, transforming into a silver ring. “Me too,” he said. “A form of manipulation.”
“Where’d you get it?” Dax asked.
Aymes shrugged. “Born with it. You?”
“Me too.”
“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere,” Jasper said over comms as Aymes turned to fill his bottle from the fountain. “Dax is doing great work out here, everyone.”
“Thanks!” Dax said. He was promptly hit in the face by a ball.
“Hey, watch it!” the ref shouted before returning to his conversation with the coach. The kid who had thrown the ball shrugged, picked up another, and threw it again in Dax’s direction.