Noticing Kyy had begun exploring, Sephira stayed where she was, keeping to herself. Besides the crowd of people wandering about, it was calm, even Sephira felt a little relaxed by the constant level of activity going on around her. Her silver eyes scouted the area around her, before her eyes met with all too familiar white ones.
It was them.
They were the prestigious group of the wind users, the best of the best. They all possessed white hair, but their skin tones ranged. The tallest, burliest one had a light tan on him, and his eyes were a icy bluish white. The other man next to him was not as tall as him, but he was one of the quickest within the Wind user population, he was the palest and possessed blue eyes. The last one possessed the darkest tan and gray eyes, he was overall balanced within his abilities. He was someone no one wanted to infuriate. And they were coming her way.
The long haired girl began to walk away from that spot, her walk brisk and quick. She dared not look behind her, she knew they were following and were walking just as quick. Sephira pushed and shoved the people who were slowing her down, her heart was pounding against her chest. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She wasn't a threat of any kind to them, physically or mentally, so why did they seek such amusement from the ongoing problem? The footsteps behind her appeared to be growing louder and louder as she walked faster. The crunch of the dirt beneath their feet growing louder and louder.
Crunch crunch crunch Crunch Crunch
Sephira broke into a full on sprint, and the footsteps soon followed. With a wave of her palm, she summoned the winds to increase her very speed. The wind making her appear to be gliding through the crowd, cutting through and running to the direction of the forest in hopes of losing them there. With her wind abilities, she sling shotted herself into the trees, her feet rolling off each branch as she made a dash from one branch to the next.
This was her fatal mistake.
The men had split apart, each going their own directions. One to the left, one to the right, and one right behind Sephira to keep her from turning around. The two that flanked her left and right were almost a blur within the branches and twigs, the trees doing wonders to disguise the two men chasing the purple haired girl. Sephira frantically looked both ways, having lost the two within the trees. Her heart thumped rapidly, she could have sworn her heart would break through her chest. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the other man had disappeared as well. Large silver eyes widened at the disappearance of the other. When she turned her head forward, she was greated with a harsh punch to her cheek, causing her flee to come to a abrupt halt. Them men carelessly allowed Sephira to fall from the trees to the ground with a loud THUD.
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Sephira laid on her side, one stream of tears rolling over the bridge of her nose and the other rolling down the side of her scraped face to soak into the muddy dirt beneath her. The beating was finally over, and Sephira almost couldn't see straight. She had been lying there for who knew how long, tossed and beaten. The tender pink flesh around her right eye stung in protest to the salty tears, the silver eyed girl knowing exactly that a bruise as dark as her hair would form. Multiple scrapes were evident on her cheeks, some on her forehead, and present on her chin. This was from when the burliest man shoved her face in the dirt, telling her "Scum did not belong within the Wind". Blood had flowed through her mouth, still fresh. This was from them kicking her abdomen so harshly, perhaps she was internally bleeding. Her bruised and scraped muscles ached from the brutality she received from the people who were supposed to treat her like family. She quivered as the tears flowed from her eyes, the watery substance the only thing to comfort her during times like this. Her white robe was filthy from trying to get away, they had thrown her back to the ground when she managed to get back on her feet.
Silver eyes only looked ahead of her to the forest, they were no longer lively or shining, they appeared dead as she mindlessly looked ahead of her. Sephira could very well pass off for a dead person if she really tried to feign it at the moment. The only proof of life was her breathing and blinking every now and then. She felt pathetic, disgusting to the vision... The list could go on. Once again, she could not defend herself against those monsters. Why couldn't she? Because she was weak. Weak... A term often used to describe her. Something she can not go a day without hearing. Something all wind users made sure she heard at least five times a day, a painful reminder of what she really was. Her hand clenched into a fist, trapping some dirt within her palm and fingers. The words of the others ringing through her mind.
'Weak, pathetic, scum of the Wind, you're better off dead.'
They were right. She could not deny it.
Sephira attempted to stand on her feet, but the pain overwhelmed her. She fell back down to the ground, more tears spilled through her eyes as the sting of a crash landing embraced her injured body.
She was weak. Pathetic. Scum. Worthless.
Weak. Pathetic... Scum... Worthless... Hope.
Hope. There was hope.
A fire burned within Sephira and her eyebrows furrowed into the look of determination. Why should she have to stand around and take the insults? Why should she have to take the brutality by the "most proper and sophisticated of the element users"? Who were they to treat her like this? She was just like them! She used the same abilities, used the same fighting style, wore the same robe. It was time she was treated like an equal than just some filth. Never again will they call her pathetic. Never again will they beat her into the bloody and bruised mess she was now. Never again will they call her weak. Sephira tried again, the aching pain stung and protested her movements, but she didn't care. She pushed herself up from the ground muddy from her tears. She used her robe's white sleeve to wipe away her tears of pity for herself, she wiped the dirt off her cheek. She could not walk upright due to her abdomin injuries, her legs quaked and threatened to collapse, but Sephira kept herself standing. She cringed in pain, but the determination that burned within kept her standing. She will not give up until every wind user knew Sephira Celestra Authrelago was NOT weak. And she will do this without the help of any Wind masters.
'Never again. Never again!' was what screamed within her mind as she trudged back to the town she was in before the men chased her down.