Icy's Delivery Service, Chapter Three
That Dark Abyss In My Mind
Thanks and Stuff: Thanks to Chibi Horsewoman for her idea. Maybe it wasn't exactly what she was thinking I would do with it… but oh well. I also borrowed her idea for footnotes, as I made way too many references in this one chapter alone.
AN: My daddy says I have anger issues. BUT I DON'T, OKAY?
You'd think that getting expelled would have severed the bond between Professor Griffin and her best and favorite student, Icy. In reality, it only made the two powerful witches closer. Griffin had a rule about getting close to her students (the Magix Ethics Committee didn't need any extra ammunition against a school for dark arts), and now that Icy wasn't learning there anymore… well, the two were close.
Sure, there were strains on their friendship. When the Trix Coven tried to overturn the hierarchy at the school, that was bad. But it all turned out to be one giant misunderstanding. They didn't really steal the Dragon's Flame. They just borrowed it for a while (1). And of course there was the whole issue with Icy copying Griffin's stiletto boot trend. But the two pals always got over it.
It was only natural that Icy was the first person Griffin would confide in after a really wild night.
Three nights after the beginning of term, the headmistress of Cloud Tower took a night off. Dealing with a school full of witches was hard on the nerves. So she headed out with Faragonda and Saladin to the Hex Café, which after nine pm was over-eighteens only. Faragonda looked more natural than she had in ages… and younger, too… in the small bar and restaurant, reliving her witchy roots (2).
They had a few brews and reminisced a little bit. Then they drank a bit more, and then they drank a little more until they couldn't remember anything at all. And the next morning, Griffin was in her comfy bed, with a piece of the Codex tramp-stamped on her back. "Great Dragon damn it…" Griffin had cursed, along with some other words that produced very vivid imagery of the offspring of the Ancestresses(3).
She called up Saladin and Faragonda, only to find that they both had them too. "You know, it might not be so bad if Athena had one too," Sally (a childhood nickname for the old headmaster) joked.
"Yes, but she doesn't. That just makes it trashy," Faragonda noted.
Griffin thought (all witches think a lot)(4). "I could brew something."
"No more alcohol," Faragonda said quickly.
"A potion, actually. Something high-grade to cover the tattoos. It should conceal it until we're able to get them removed… or forever… you know, I've heard the removal process hurts quite a bit." Griffin started mentally compiling the things she'd need.
A day later, she had a cauldron full of beautiful concealer, something so powerful that you needed a prescription just to get enough to cover one zit. She tested it out on herself, first… safety reasons, not selfishness. And then she called Icy.
"Ice Ice Baby, could you do me one tiny little favor?" she requested when her BFFL picked up.
Icy thought, then realized that not only could she use it as leverage later, but it would also be nice and kind. That was what friends did. "What do you need, Griffy?"
"I need a potion delivered to Saladin and Faragonda. I brewed it last night for… dignity reasons."
"I can do it," Icy decided. She grabbed the old broom that she had never returned to Knut and made her way to CT.
Griffin met her at the gate of the school, and handed her two vials with the potion in it. "Remember, don't let the students see you. It would ruin my rep."
Icy was personally of the opinion that true friends shouldn't be ashamed of each other, but knew that it was more than popularity at stake for the Griffster. It was her job.
Icy had no problems getting it to Faragonda- she had sent Livy to collect it for her, so Icy remained unseen, and she knew it could be trusted to get to Alfea safely. But going through Red Fountain's security was annoying. Nothing to be particularly worried about (in fact, she felt that the one they destroyed was much better, if less impressive), but definitely annoying.
And that was it. The day (and the dignity of the three teachers) was saved, Icy made about $30 USD, and there wasn't a little bit of ink left visible on anyone.
Except for one certain pixie in the Pixie Village. "Great Dragon damn it(5)!" Athena sighed as she tried to get a look at the tattoo she had no clue how she had gotten.
(1) What? It's true!
(2) Yep, that's true too. Look it up.
(3) Translation: Son of a Witch
(4) My favorite book when I was little, "Owl Babies," had a recurring line that went, "The baby owls thought (all owls think a lot)." It's making a little fun of that.
(5) You may notice my Winx characters (that is, Iginio's characters that I control, mwaha) say this a lot. I figure, the Great Dragon is their equivalent to a god, right?