Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait for stories. Been kinda out of it recently, but I promise that I'll release a slew of stories this week. Including this one, of course. Enjoy!
"I'm going out again.." Carol quickly glanced over at her companions, "You guys want anything? Milla?"
"I'm alright, Carol, but thanks for asking!" Milla's head perked up from her habitual routine, giving Carol a small smile.
"Needing anything from you? Did you really just ask me that?" Lilac's scornful chuckle sent waves of rage coursing through Carol's body, "I can look after myself, thank you very much."
"Fair enough. Then why don't you go find a job and a new house if you're so confident?" Carol growled, "Unless, of course, you want to prance around and steal off the kingdom like the dirty little thief you are?"
Lilac slammed the book she was initially reading shut, casting it aside with a flick of her wrist, "And you think you're anymore helpful? Don't act so sanctimonious and pretend you didn't half as much enjoy stealing as I did. Hell, knowing you, you probably went out on midnight runs so you can feel that thrill of being a criminal. Just like The Red Scarves, it never leaves you, does it? It's always going to be in your nature to be a criminal!"
"Well, I'm sorry that we were actually given a place to call home! Before you had a falling out with your boyfriend Spade!" Carol spat, "Just because you had to be Miss Goody Two-Shoes, like you always are!"
"What did you expect me to do? Watch Spade kill someone?" Lilac's slammed her fist on the table, sending a web of cracks scurrying along the surface, "Yeah, great idea Carol. Why don't we just let that crazy warlord Brevon take over the planet? Oh wait, that's right, you were more concerned about going home!"
"I was more concerned about my best friend, who was throwing herself into something dangerous!" Carol swung open the door, "But obviously, I should've known better. Miss Hero Pants can save everyone! Just a shame she can't save herself..."
With that parting riposte, she slammed the door. Moments later, Lilac could hear the roar of a motorcycle slowly echoing off in the distance.
"Tch. Good riddance, you jerk. Find some other idiot who's dumb enough to take you in," Lilac retorted blithely, "Oh wait, no one cares!"
She settled back down in her chair, folding her arms in front of her, "Idiot. That's what I am. Why did I think she would be a good friend? Selfish brat. I oughta-"
"Ahem."
Lilac turned to find Milla's indignant expression, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Milla, I'm sorry you had to see that. It's just tha-"
"No, no, it's not just THAT," Milla interjected, her firm tone silencing Lilac, "What the heck is going on between you two? This has been going on for a week. You two have been ignoring each other, and then it just turns into... this."
Lilac's eyes fell in dismay, folding her arms, "It's... complicated."
"Not... really?" Milla sat beside her, her hands daintily clasped together, "If you've guys been best friends for years, then whatever happened recently obviously affected both you and Carol."
Lilac let out an outward groan, "Milla, me and Carol know the problem. Remember that argument in the cave?"
"Yeah...?"
"Well, me and Carol haven't exactly made up over that. So Carol's been kinda mad at me since, and in turn, I've been mad at her for focusing on this problem."
"Then you both need to apologize," Milla concluded, "How hard is that?"
"I'm not apologizing to her. She's the one that needs... to...
Lilac's sentence faltered as Milla sniffled, tiny tear droplets rolling down her cheeks, "Milla?"
"It's just that..." She sniffed, rubbing her eyes tentatively, "You guys are such best friends, a-and you sh-should st-still be f-friends.."
"Okay, okay, Milla. I'll go talk to her, and we'll work something out, okay?" Lilac sighed in defeat, "Or try to, at least.
"Y-You will?"
Lilac gently rubbed her head, "Promise."
Milla, ever so peppy, cavorted out of the chair, "Great! Now get going!"
With an eager push, Lilac immediately found herself outside the tree-house, "Hey, wait! I might need my-"
The door was immediately flung shut in her face, negating her plea, "...jacket."
She sighed in defeat, "Why can't I just resist Milla's adorableness?"
Lilac glared into the distance, her rekindled anger accompanied by ominous clouds rolling over the horizon.
"Now, if I was Carol, and if I was sulking, where would I be?"
Carol brought her motorcycle to a screeching halt, impulsively parking it adjacent next to a large tree stump. She brushed her hair back, walking solemnly to a familiar cave opening.
She stood in front of the opening, taking in the grandeur of the snow-capped mountain it was embedded to. The wildcat shut her eyes tightly, the painful memories of the argument she and Lilac had rushing back to her.
"Why did it have to be this way?" She muttered quietly to herself, "Why are we so different?"
Carol bent down, observing a myriad of purple flowers that swelled from the grassy cracks in the ground. She bent down, plucking one of the wild flowers.
With care, she rolled it between her fingers, staring absentmindedly at the corolla. Carol placed it in her pocket, bending down to pick the others.
"Hey."
Her back stiffened at the sudden intrusive voice, claws extending threateningly from the tips of her fingers.
Carol slowly stood up, barely giving Lilac a curt nod in acknowledgement, "Did Milla... convince you to come here or something?"
Lilac scratched the back of her head awkwardly, "Yeah, she... she did convince me. B-But Carol, I do want to talk with you-"
"What's there to discuss?" Carol turned, glaring daggers at her best friend, "You want me to admit I'm wrong. You say you're wrong to hide the fact that you think you're right. We hug it out. The cycle continues. That's what you want?"
Lilac was taken aback by the sheer bluntness of the statement, "Carol, that's hardly fair..."
"Hardly fair...? Was ignoring me for the entire week fair? Was insulting me this morning fair?"
"That's because we didn't apologize to each other before hand, and I thought that you were mad at me!" Lilac clenched her fists, her tone now defensive, "I didn't think you'd perpetuate this notion that we hate each other, but you did! That's why I was angry this morning!"
"Why didn't you just say sorry then? Was it your pride in knowing that you saved the planet stopping you? Did you expect me to praise you? 'Good job Lilac, you saved our planet, but you also destroyed our only source of energy! Oh, but don't worry, just because it sprinkled across the sky it'll make things better!' If anything, you made things worse!"
Carol's voice rose to a shout, her feet instinctively shuffling into an offensive stance.
Lilac's bottom lip trembled in fervent fury, an expression of anguish spreading across her face, "I... I don't believe this, Carol. I was beaten, electrocuted, and you don't even think that my efforts helped in the slightest?"
Carol inhaled deeply, ambivalence briefly disarming her rage, "T-That was your choice, Lilac. I-I tried to stop you, and you wouldn't listen."
For the first time since their conflict, the wildcat shamefully dropped her gaze from Lilac's.
Lilac felt her anger surge past any form of control, inciting an abrasive cry of rage. She dashed forward, whipping her rope-like tendrils at Carol with unprecedented speed.
Carol ducked to the left, barely missing her razor sharp tendrils. She rolled backwards as Lilac threw her head forward, her ponytails slamming ferociously into the ground. She dealt a sweeping kick to Lilac's ankles, forcing the dragon onto her knees.
She stepped back, panting as she awaited Lilac's next move. Lilac slowly stood up, seemingly imperious to the kick. A seemingly evil glint tinted her eyes, sending a sharp flicker of fear through Carol.
Lilac pounced on that opportunity, flicking her hair ever so gracefully as so to cut Carol's brow. The stunned wildcat recoiled from the blow, a steady stalactite of bloody dripping from her forehead.
With only minimal time to register, she flipped out of the way as Lilac soared through the air. The dragon's boot landed squarely on where Carol's head had been, using her momentum to let loose a devastating uppercut.
The wildcat crossed her arms in an attempt to defend herself, the sheer shock of the hit sending her backwards. Her arms ached relentlessly, unwilling to move out of the tremendous pain.
'Fine then, I'll guess I'll have to make do with my legs,' She collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to resist the streaks of agony that ran through her arms, 'Not like I can do much anyway...'
"How dare you say such a thing, you brat!" Carol could barely make out Lilac's silhouette from the steady stream of blood clouding her vision, "I went through hell to save this planet! I put my life on the line, and it still means nothing to you!"
She forced herself to stand up, a tempestuous growl escaping her throat. She stared daggers at Lilac, wincing as she pressed her arm against her wound.
"You don't have to do this, Carol. We can go home now, and forget about all this-"
Carol threw her arm forwards, her reignited anger manifesting itself in the form of a downwards strike. Her protruding claw left deep, red slashes against Lilac's cheek, following quickly by a roundhouse kick to her neck. The dragon fell to her knees, evidently hurt but ultimately sturdy.
"You don't get it, do you! This isn't just about you trying to be some hero!" Carol clutched her arm, swaying ever so slightly, "You keep throwing yourself into these situations, like you think you're invincible!"
Lilac pressed her boots deep into the soil, tentatively tapping the side of her head, "I've... had training, Carol. I knew what I was getting into when I fought Brevon. But you, you just had to keep on pushing..."
She lunged forward, tackling Carol to the ground. With one knee, she pinned Carol's left arm to the ground. She clutched the collar of Carol's jacket, yanking her forward until she was an inch away from Lilac's face.
"You kept on complaining, 'Oh, let's go home, it'll be okay! Let's just curl up together and watch a movie, and NOT pretend that a crazy warlord is going to destroy our planet!'"
"I almost died, Carol! Brevon electrocuted me! It was the most painful experience I've ever endured, in my entire life! But that still didn't stop me from saving this planet! All you wanted to do was to just ignore it and prance around like nothing was wrong, and you expected me to follow suit? Knowing how much was on the line here!?"
"I'm your best friend, Carol, but I can't just keep playing around with you all the time when it's convenient to you! Try and think about that before you act so selfish when I'm forced to make these decisions! Can you be any less considerate, or can you start acting like a real friend-"
Lilac felt a sharp slap sting against the wound on her cheek, accompanied with the sudden sensation of being pinned. Carol sat on top of her, holding her arms down in a vice-like grip.
"Do you think that I would still be here if all I cared about was just hanging around with you!? IS that how insignificant you truly think I am?"
Lilac glanced upwards, witnessing a hurtful expression contorting on Carol's face.
"I do care about you, you idiot! That's why I ran off! I thought that if I did, you'd realize that I was trying to stop you into running off, fighting that... that freak! I'm not nearly good enough to fight you, and I can't convince you with words, s-so I..."
Lilac flinched as Carol pulled her fist back, her claws on full display, "I-I th-thought that... it w-would... m-make you think. A-About what would h-happen if you had no best friend by y-your side..."
Carol felt her voice tremble, unwanted tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, "Th-that y-you'd have no one to c-come home to, af-after your victory."
Lilac let out a gasp as the pressure on her belly lifted, giving her ample opportunity to sit up and recover. She turned her attention to Carol, the wildcats' face hidden as she sat on her knees.
"But... then I saw you after you were electrocuted.. I knew. I knew that I had given you incentive to risk your life, so that neither me or Milla had too. It was always in your nature to risk your life for the little guy, after all."
"S-So, I came up with a plan after this whole adventure was done. I..." Carol sniffled, feeling her voice waver uncontrollably, "I-I w-wanted t-to leave you, s-so t-that I w-wasn't a pest. B-But I c-couldn't do it right away."
"T-That whole apology e-excuse? I-It was a sham. I-I always knew you were right, w-when we had our argument in the cave. I-I j-just w-was angry at the fact y-y-you couldn't s-see it i-in a non-heroic light. B-But it's true that best friends always bail each other out of tough situations, and you've always been there for me. Always taking shots for me when I agreed to go on this crazy adventure. You always do most of the work."
"And then..." She huffed, tears rolling down her cheeks, "I knew I was being an inconvenience to you. S-So I d-decided to b-be mad at you, s-so that y-you'd become sick of me, a-and then you could be the hero you've always wanted to be."
Carol stood up, her whole body quivering violently, "If y-you d-didn't come, th-that w-would've b-been it. I-I would've ran o-off, an-and th-then you could be th-the hero."
Lilac kicked a pile of dirt to the side, her cheeks burning in shame.
"S-So, h-here's your chance, Lilac. M-My present to you," She limped over to the cave entrance, leaning heavily against its sturdy surface, "F-For all it's worth, y-you've been the best friend I've ever had. The closest thing to family... I-I've ever had. I-I'll m-miss you a-alot, and I j-just want you to know th-that I... I'm so sorry!"
Carol finally broke down, sobs racking her body as she sped off into the murky confines of the cave. With her best friend left helplessly staring.
Author's End Notes: Sorry if the pacing leading up to the conflict seems rushed, and if Milla's character has been somewhat butchered. Next chapter should be up soon.