It was hot out, but Iris was a master of keeping cool with her Ice abilities. An “abuse” of magic? Perhaps to the strictest of mages, but she firmly believed magic ought to serve the wielder. And hers most definitely did, to the tune of three victories in a row. Needless to say, she was flying high on the way home.
It was one thing, winning a fight. But something was off today - because she barely made it. White knuckled, skin-of-your-teeth sorts of fights where she eked by on sheer stubbornness and determination. Fights that it felt like the powers that be had flipped a coin to decide.
But in the end, she won. And that had to count for something.
While Iris had not competed in the tournament (this time, too busy with her writing) she couldn’t let herself slack. Her skills needed to be there for the next time she competed, or something dangerous came up. This time, she cleared all three fights with ease and came back with a bit of a confident swagger.