NOVEL WEB 25: And Then They Attacked
Cuddling up and watching the dance team perform after the sword swallower, Astrid zoned out. Of course, she was still paying attention—the dancers were amazing! Yet, because she didn’t need to analyze and dissect the dancers’ performance for deeper meaning, Astrid just let herself sink into relaxation and bask in Valencia’s warmth.
It was... a pretty nice performance to say the least.
At the end of each song, the dancers always struck a formation, some sort of powerful pose akin to cartoon superhero groups. Plus, with how in sync the dancers were, Astrid couldn’t help but clap more and more as the performance carried on.
Following the dancers’ performance though, Astrid thought the stand-up comedian was a little... underwhelming.
“Her jokes just aren’t landing...” Astrid sighed, squeezing Valencia’s hand, “You’re much more funny than her, Cia.”
Chuckling, Valencia gave a couple hand squeezes back. “Really now? I wouldn’t consider myself that humorous.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.” Astrid sighed as a yawn slipped out of her mouth. “It just speaks to how bad I feel like she’s doing. She’s making problematic jokes but I can’t even tell if she’s joking or genuinely believes it.”
With her mouth agape, Valencia sat there in silence as Astrid’s slight jab registered. “... Aren’t you cheeky? That was subtle...”
Giggling as a “My pleasure,” escaped her mouth, Astrid reached up and ran her hand through Valencia’s hair, brushing it back in the process. “I just think you’re very witty. You can really think on your toes and roast people. It’s not very funny for that person, but I think it’s quite entertaining from a bystander’s point of view.”
“I’m... honored.” Valencia shook her head with an amused snort. “But yeah, this lady is making some interesting jokes, to say the least. At least she’s laughing at them? Though I’m not sure it’s good for a stand-up comedian to be dying at her own jokes.”
“Maybe a chuckle or a smile?” Astrid pondered, tapping her chin as the standup comedian clutched her stomach laughing. “I feel like the laughing’s getting a little in the way of her set...”
“Just a little...” Valencia agreed with a faint murmur.
Making some faint conversation until the comedian finished their set, Astrid made sure to at least give the comedian a round of applause as they walked off stage. After all, just standing on stage in front of so many people and trying something was already quite commendable.
With the conclusion of the standup comedy though, the academy performance team took the stage.
Watching them march out in a neat formation, Astrid and Valencia sat up as some of the post-dinner food lethargy disappeared from their eyes.
Marching into centerstage with their matching outfits—from the robes, to the pants, to the boots—the team came to a quiet stop. A couple seconds of silence later, one member stepped forward. “Good evening, esteemed audience. My name isn’t important; however, as the captain of this team, I’ll be the one speaking to you all tonight.”
With a round of applause breaking out, Astrid leaned over, whispering to Valencia’s ear, “Aren’t they... older than us? Isn’t it an academy? I sort of expected them to all be teenagers...”
“Ahh, yeah, I think most of them look to be around their late twenties or early thirties?” Valencia murmured, “Their aging has slowed down like ours, so I don’t really know how old they are in reality, but probably a fair bit older than us.”
“Huh... So these academies are the type of places we were sort of considering going to after university? Like, larger institutions where people just train to become more powerful to fight monsters and join a faction?” Astrid sighed, resting her elbow on the table and using her hand to prop her chin up.
Getting a nod from Valencia, Astrid murmured a “thank you~” while leaning to the side and resting against Valencia.
With the first section of the performance starting though, Astrid put a stop to the conversation.
It was... interesting to say the least.
The first part of the performance felt similar to the acrobat team’s show. Including, of course, acrobatics, but also synchronized dancing, Astrid could tell each member of the team was handpicked for their powers.
Watching a member flip into the air and shoot out a faintly starry jet of energy from their hands in the air, Astrid couldn’t help but clap as a separate member created an ice bridge for them to land on in mid-air before sliding down.
With the show continuing along similar lines Astrid’s eyes widened in amazement as each maneuver was carried out. Whenever someone was launched into the air, one of the many ice-using team members would trail ice behind or create a structure to catch the performer.
Then, with ice-users themselves snaking in circles—while skating on ice—to ensure they were in the right position, a whole castle came into being.
There were towers from launching people, bridges from catching people, and walls from the ice users themselves!
“Holy...” Astrid sighed, admiring the castle gleaming under the starry night sky. “This is amazing, Cia...”
“I know, right?” Valencia murmured in agreement as she wrapped an arm around Astrid. “I just had to bring you when I heard this was going to be happening.”
“Yeah... it’s crazy, I wonder how much practice went into this...” Astrid tapped her chin, wrapping her own arm around Valencia, “The performance goes on for a while after all.”
“I wonder as well,” Valencia laughed, disentangling to give the performers a grand round of applause as they came to a stop and bowed.
Being a little miffed because she had to detach right after she wrapped her arm around Valencia, all Astrid could do was laugh and dismiss the thoughts as she watched the ending.
With the performers sending fireworks into the sky above, Astrid joined in with the rest of the audience to give the academy team a final standing ovation for their performance.
“I can’t believe that’s only the first part too...” Astrid laughed, giving Valencia a one-armed hug. “The next part they said was sparring, yeah?”
Returning the side hug, Valencia nodded and gave an “mhm” before leaning forward and giving Astrid a kiss on the cheek. Opening her mouth to continue the conversation though, Valencia froze as the situation down below seemed... off.
Having also noticed the awkward tension forming down below, Astrid fell quiet as some members of the performance team ripped their icy-blue academy robes off to reveal crimson undershirts emblazoned with a mysterious symbol.
With the previous sword-swallower running onstage as well with a crimson undershirt of their own, Astrid’s eyes widened in horror as he began tossing a sword to each of his... allies? On the stage...
Astrid felt it wasn’t that big of an assumption to assume they were allies...
