Nightshade Academy | Episode 11 | Her Voice (Audio)

I vowed to obey orders from the emperor and orders from the Guardians appointed above me something's wrong he set his bread down and pressed the bruises on his face they were sore but not horribly three days had passed since the first phase and he thought the healing process was moving along fine I didn't mean the bruises you haven't been sleeping is it that obvious it's the eye bags and the oily hair Yoshi ran his fingers through his hair he had showered that morning so he didn't believe Val's Claim about the oiliness but the eye bags were likely true over the past few days he had been so preoccupied with pinto slow recovery and his personal essay that sleep had sunk to the bottom of his priority list do you think he'll show up today Yoshi figured she was referring to his roommate and shook his head Pinto had already accepted that he wouldn't be well enough to participate in the second phase of their sparring filtration which meant he'd have to rely on the final opportunity three days from now to earn his pin Yoshi and Val finished their plates in silence before heading to the lecture hall together quacks and KO passed them as they scaled the staircase and Yoshi caught a glimpse of the golden pins on their collars today I need to win I have to Val shivered and Yoshi crossed his arms it was cold despite the hot weather but perhaps the chill was only in their minds when they enter the lecture hall Bell made a beeline for her seat while yashi crept toward Professor ember's desk his slipped his Rewritten paper in front of her he waited for a glance of acknowledgment but it never came so his stomached her indifference and made his way down the aisle for the second morning in a row sana's empty chair stole Yoshi's attention as he took a seat next to it hopefully son is doing okay he had overheard quacks and KO badgering limbo for updates on senna's condition as limbo now shared a quarter with him it was relieving to know that Sana hadn't been one of the trainees to get hospitalized and filtered but yeah she's still worried about him was he recovering faster than Pinto the bell rang cueing the trainees to stand they sat back down but Professor Ember remains standing I see more empty seats than I'd like to if your roommate is still recovering I ask that you passed today's news on to him Yoshi counted seven empty seats when there should have only been three Seventeen trainees remained in the program but four were still too sickly to attend classes Yoshi wondered how many of them would make it through the week you have a History exam The Day After Tomorrow Professor Ember paused and Yoshi folded his hands together in his lap hoping for anything but another filtration the trainee with the lowest score will be filtered from the program Yoshi and Quack shot their hands into the air as Whispers filled the lecture hall Professor emberlock dies with quacks first yes what topics Professor I will say only this study smart not hard she paused for dramatic effect before finally making eye contact with Yoshi and gesturing for him to speak go ahead that's the table for our final sparring opportunity Commander Ross Professor Ember smiled all the more reason to earn your pin this afternoon agreed his vision blurred as the room began to tilt so he closed his eyes to keep the dizziness at Bay he couldn't believe the academy Guardians would purposefully overlap filtrations like this you said it yourself Yoshi's eye snapped open at the sound of cow's voice the lecture hall had morphed into the woods by Citrus secondary and he was standing with a sturdy Log In His Hands you need to win today yeah she looked around but couldn't find her leave me alone he flinched his Chima appeared in front of him blood dripping down his face do it hell stop what are you waiting for Yoshi's grip on the log tightened against his will he jumped from his seat with a gasp and found himself back in the lecture hall pinching his pinless collar all eyes were on him quacks raised his brows Cal Yoshi studied his hands he wasn't holding a log anymore is something wrong I'm sorry Professor sit down he took a seat ignoring the amused stairs of his fellow trainees when Professor Ember began a lecture their attention shifted back to preparing for the new filtration but Yoshi didn't take a single note Cal's presence was becoming more frequent and he could no longer ignore it while the others wrote furiously in their notebooks Yoshi scanned the room for cow's face paranoid that he'd spot her sitting in one of the empty seats watching him I'm not like you cow you should be he closed his eyes trying to mentally will her presence away he had never initiated a conversation with Cal before and the new development made his hands sweaty Professor ember's words muddled into a blur as he tapped his boot against the floor and bit at the end of his pencil when the bell for medical class rang he was the first trainee out the door Val caught up to him in the hallway you're seeing things aren't you hearing mostly what are you hearing voices voices or just one Yoshi watched his boots as they started to climb the staircase to the fifth floor he wouldn't allow himself to tell Val about Cal's voice because doing so would lead to a discussion about the incident and the discussion about the incident would always leave him feeling worse he was finally committed to the program and the last thing he needed was to fall back into that rabbit hole and dwell on the one memory that had always held him back well whatever you're hearing It's Not Unusual hallucinations are a side effect of Belladonna intoxication Yoshi raised his head to face her it started after the first dose right um yeah I think so that explains it then he caught himself fidgeting with his vest buttons and shoved his hands into his pockets well it's nice to know I'm not going crazy but I hope the effects were off soon I miss relying on the morning boat to wake me up I like just mocks me after medical class Yoshi informed Pinto about the upcoming research filtration before heading to the training room with Val she has suggested skipping lunch to avoid exercising on a full stomach and get some extra practice in which Yoshi had considered a sharp move but the pinless brackle twins had the same idea limbo and Salen were already sparring together in the training room when he and Val arrived Yoshi used the opportunity to study their fighting styles limbo was clearly the sloppiest and angriest of the trainees in their cycle he had lost his match against Durland OZO in the first phase because he tripped over one of his boot laces they were tied in triple knots today in contrast salen's level-headed nature made him the stronger of the two he was always one step ahead and whether limbo knew it or not Yoshi could tell that Salen was leading the match stringing his brother along and teaching him in the process limbo's presence held more weight in every room yet secretly he was nothing but his brother's shadow well shall we get started Vel faced Yoshi and raised her hands let's do it he had only practiced with Val the previous day but she was already improving her stance was stronger and her strikes were faster and lacked hesitation but she was still an easier opponent than either of the brackle twins getting paired with Vel was technically Yoshi's best case scenario but it was also the scenario he dreaded the most that's what happens when you get too close to people you lose sight of what matters Yoshi ignored her voice perhaps if he pretended she wasn't there she eventually wouldn't be the four trainees stopped practicing when Commander Roz entered the room his golden stopwatch in hand she glanced at the clock as he and the other trainees gathered around the sparring range and his shoulders stiffened he had expected Pinto not to show for the second phase put Sana and two other pinless boys were absent due to the first dose as well velpatura and limbo bracel you're up first please enter the sparring range Yoshi turned to Vel good luck thanks she stepped forward joining limbo in the green zone Yoshi bit his lip as the pair faced each other hands raised you may begin Val's gaze dropped to limbo's Boots and his lips parted when he looked down to check his laces fell sprinted toward him he stumbled backward before coming to a stop near the edge of the sparring range thou ready to push him out of bounds but limbo raised his chin his eyes narrowed he ducked under her arms and struck her in the side Salem folded his hands together good job brother Yoshi shook his head monville she recovered quickly jolted out of view and jammed her boot into the back of limbo's knee a move she had tested on Yoshi the evening prior her opponent nearly lost balance but he crouched and set his palm on the floor to ground himself Vel backed away her breath racing she close limbo hopped to his feet and proceeded to jog around the edge of the sparring range from the center of the green zone fell spun in place eyes locked on her moving Target he's trying to make her dizzy Vel came to the same conclusion she started to run behind lembo keeping an even distance between his back and his face they had each other in check but after a few Loops Vel ran faster aiming to close the gap and shove him out of orbit from behind before her Palms could meet us back limbo pivoted stepping toward the center of the green zone and disappearing from Val's view with his opponent near the edge and himself planted inward he now had the upper hand and when Vel turned to face him he pushed her with the force that left her flying out of the sparring range Yoshi flinched as well struck the black Zone with a single roll as Commander Ross approached Limbo with a Golden Pin to declare his victory Yoshi circled around the sparring range and helped Val to her feet she attempted to move her shoulder and winced great that was impressive really you almost had him with watery eyes she watched Commander Roz attach the PIN to limbo's collar Vel please see blimery in the infirmary you should take a look at that shoulder sorry fell limbo apologized but his eyes were on his newly earned pin I'll see you at supper good luck she made her way toward the door with a tight grip on her shoulder but limbo lingered to spectate his brother's match piashikanya and Salem brackle you're up next Yoshi clenched his hands in the fists as he joined sailing on the sparring range I'd have to stay focused you may begin he waited for salen's first move a punch which he dodged Yoshi blocked Salem's second attack and ducked under the third why haven't you struck back I hate fighting without a good reason to you have your reason you want to graduate don't you to keep the innocent safe to prolong peace on the island that's a different kind of Reason how so a knife-jabbing pinch in his ribs knocked Yoshi back to reality his breath caught in his throat as he doubled over clutching his torso Salem knocked Yoshi off balance before he could recover from the strike and his head slammed into the floor with a thud you're too soft Yoshi that's why you lose Yoshi tried to break free but the pressure of Salem's bony knee against his chest was making it nearly impossible to even breathe I can't win he tied the floor twice forfeiting the match are you okay Salen unpinned him immediately and helped him up but Yoshi ignored his question as Commander raw is attached a PIN to Salem's collar the metal doors slid open pinto and Sana wobbled into the room their face is bright red Yoshi should have been pleased that Pinto managed to show up or at least grateful to see Sana for the first time in days but he felt nothing it's nice to see the two of you Pinto Dempsey and Son of rickaby please enter the sparring range Salin gave his brother a high five before passing the late comers and leaving the training room but once again limbo stayed behind to spectate he smirked as pinto and Sun had dragged themselves onto the green zone and faced each other clever I must admit I'm impressed with the grin Commander Roz clicked a button on a stopwatch you may begin although Yoshi wasn't in the mood to stick around leaving might offend Pinto so he took a seat on the floor our research exam is the day after tomorrow what are the odds I pass it and earned my pin during the Final Phase Yoshi hardly watched he spent a majority of the match pulling at his boot laces peeking up occasionally to see the boys fighting and so they'd spun around a hundred times beforehand eventually he looked up to see Pinto walking toward Commander Roz to receive his pin while Sana stood shamefully with one foot in the black Zone why didn't I try harder even Pinter was matched today so what am I doing wrong when binto faced him with a shiny pin on his collar Yoshi offered an unenthusiastic nod of approval limbo would you help pinto and Sona to the infirmary limbo looked away fine Yoshi stood to join them but Commander Roz caught his gaze and held it firmly is something wrong Commander the guardian waited for Pinto Sana and limbo to exit the room before speaking do you know why you keep losing Yoshi thought of Cal and her voice I'm not sure during your matches against quacks KO and Salen you hesitated at every opportunity to strike what are you afraid of I'm not afraid I just I've seen what happens when people go too far I wouldn't want to hurt anyone like that you know what hurts me the most in my field of work seeing talented trainees like you ignore their potential Yoshi was dying to look away and break the tension but he didn't want to appear ungrateful for a private critique he forced his eyes to widen instead you have more combat experience than most rainies here but the moment you're in the green zone it all goes down the drain if you want to succeed here that's a big problem for you of course you wanted to succeed here the program was his only path to move on and feel better and do good the Guardians had given him the opportunity to secure a respectable future for himself and honor his mother's memory and he would not be so ignorant as to pour that down the drain he was done being the star student turned lowlife the witness corrupted by trauma the boy who never left the woods that day he was ready to be selection material how do I fix it I want you to think about the moment you punched quacks on selection day Eve you had a strong drive a fire within you and I appreciated that only five trainees will graduate from the program and I want you to be one of them but to earn your spot in the final five you need to light that match again he gripped Yoshi's shoulder and shook it lightly can you do that for me Yoshi lowered his head knowing Commander Roz was right if he had fought to his full potential perhaps he would have earned a pin by now he had helped develop quiet her mind during combat but he had yet to quiet his own he had not moved on completely not yet I can't graduate from the academy as the same boy who entered I need to change yeah she raised his chin I can do that for you Commander after leaving the training room Yoshi headed to the infirmary to check on Pinto and Val he was climbing the staircase when he stopped spotting limbo who was making his way down Yoshi suddenly despised everything about him his tightly laced boots his melodramatic bird tattoo his punchable frown limbo came to a halt a few steps above Yoshi overshadowing him what the hell are you staring at halsville well she's not my sister so why should I care she's hurt because of you I didn't choose to fight Vel did I he crossed his arms what's the real problem here she needs to win more than you do we're in a competitive program not a charity group did you expect me to lose on purpose just because you fancy her I don't it's your fault you lost today don't take it out on me Yoshi gritted his teeth his limbo passed him he's right it is your fault if only you'd listen shut it cow he waited for the echo of limbo's footsteps to fade before climbing the remaining steps to the fifth floor in the infirmary pinto and Senna were lying on two beds while Val was sitting on a third icing her shoulder oh Yoshi it's good to show here ice your face please yes doctor as Yoshi scooped ice from the chest into a bag he observed Sana his eyes were closed he was breathing unsteadily as Dr blemery wrapped his arm in a bandage Sona are you still I'm still breathing sorry to break the news but he didn't kill me yet Yoshi took a seat next to Val and spoke to her quietly so the others couldn't hear that didn't go as planned it went horribly how's your shoulder hurts do you think you'll be able to practice this evening now that's fine Yoshi pressed the ice against his bruised cheek and flinched we should prioritize the History exam for now anyway I guess Val stared at her boots a foreign dullness in her eyes don't give up Val I can't afford to then what's wrong I'm just considering the odds Vel stood from the bed I have to go Belladonna book one Nightshade Academy written and narrated by Mel Tori Franca produced by Mel Tori Franca and Wilson Hensley edited and Mastered by Juan Pablo Diaz [Music] at all cover art by mad Studio score by Judah puspida ozri theme song composed and produced by James Sinclair stodd starring Jason Brown Anthony Andreas echeveri Philip kryianov Melissa white Alex Bowie Patrick virsba Julia risto David John bores Connor Blanc Cody Keel Ellie Chua Ben Autry Walter Mack with us [Music] if it's really true that Heroes [Music] featuring the voices of Gwyneth Evans Jeff Rosenau Lucas Hensley Levi Titus Angie Eggers Willem dagar Allison Prophet Maria palmo Knight shield Academy is produced in association with Lost Island press [Music] children if it's really true