Hi! Caput X is here!

Thanks to my two main reviewers: Dog Lover 645 and Faerie Tales 4ever. You guys are awesome!

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Faba

"Faba?"

"Unh? Whoisit?"

"Me, Veeleta, like always. Breakfast!" For a week and a half now, Aiistia had insisted on Faba staying in bed. This, of course, was met with great protests. After all, Faba thought, it was her arm that was broken, not her leg! But, Aiistia could not be swayed, and Lukas added that if Faba tried to get out of bed, he would tie her to it. Veeleta, a Gorilla nurse who strangely reminded Faba of Glinda, was the one who volunteered to cast Faba's arm and take care of her. The most annoying thing about Veeleta was that she insisted on feeding Faba, despite Faba's protests that even though she was left handed, her right hand worked perfectly fine, thank you very much. Oh, well. Faba supposed that she should be grateful that she had people who cared about her.

She sat up. "Right. Can I finally get out of bed today?"

"That's Aiistia's decision, not mine," Veeleta said with a shrug. "All I know is, you need rest for those bones to healify. Here, open up. Cereal."

Faba groaned. "I really can feed myself, Veeleta."

Veeleta scoffed. "Tish! Stop being so difficult! I've never had a patient as difficult as you. Just calm down, eat your breakfast, and then you can worry about other things. K?" Faba sighed and reluctantly opened her mouth to a spoonful of stale Sponge's Cornflakes, imported from Munchkinland probably during the reign of Pastorius. They had been kicked out of St. Prowd's Inn a few days after Faba's accident, so now they were roughing it in the grasslands with tents that had holes and random bits of food and supplies that Aiistia had in her possession.

Lukas came into Faba and Veeleta's tent. "Hey ladies!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "How's your patient, Veel?"

"Headstrong and difficult as usual," Veeleta replied with a sigh, yanking the spoon out of Faba's mouth to emphasize her annoyance.

Lukas chuckled. "That's Faba for you."

"Lukas," Faba started desperately. "You have to tell Aiistia that if I don't get out of this bed today, I will literally go crazy! Please!" She grabbed his paw with her good hand.

He smiled affectionately. "I'll tell her, Faba." He touched his snout to her cheek, and then left the tent with a yell. "Yo! Anybody seen Aiistia?"

"You have a boyfriend!" Veeleta giggled.

"No, I have a Lukas," Faba responded drily.

"Well, do you want him to be your boyfriend?"

The green girl sighed. "Honestly, Veeleta, I have no idea what I want. I'm not the type of girl who just lives for romance, and …" She was interrupted by Veeleta shoving a rather large spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"If this is about your complexion, then cut it out! I know Lukas, and he wouldn't care if you were green or purple or rainbow colored!" She stirred the cereal around angrily. "You're going to be nineteen in two months, Faba. It's time to stop hiding behind your skin."

Suddenly, Lukas came rushing back in. "I am victorious!" he said happily. "Aiistia says you can go for a walk!"

Faba bounded out of bed. "Thank Lurline!"

"Wait!" She stopped short. "I have to go with you."

Faba raised her eyebrow. "Aiistia said that?"

"No. I did."

"Oh."

And so, Faba and Lukas walked around camp, with Lukas holding onto Faba's injured arm as if it would break again. Animals nodded at them as they passed, for everyone respected Faba greatly, to the point that some of them were calling her Saint Aelphaba after the famous saint who went into the waterfall to pray. But this small pocket of adoration did not keep her from thinking about the majority of Oz, who were all out for her blood. Shiz's graduation had just happened, and the newspapers said that Glinda Upland was going to the Emerald City to work for the Wizard. Faba assumed that Fiyero was accompanying her.

The two got farther away from camp, and settled beneath a tree. "Good shade," Lukas remarked. "Wouldn't want you to overheat."

"Oh, stop it, Lukas!" Faba scoffed. "I'm not a fucking china person!"

Lukas chuckled. "You are to me."

"Lukas …" She gathered her courage. "Do we … have romantic stuff between us? Oh Oz, that sounds really awkward, but do we?" She was not good at this.

"We can if you want to," Lukas said with a shrug. "Do you want to?"

For once, Faba was at a loss for words. "I … want …" But before either of them knew it, their lips met. Kissing a Bear was not as strange as Faba had thought it would be. She wasn't really kissing his lips, since he didn't really have them, but his tongue. Yet it was an exhilarating experience still. They didn't break apart until about five minutes later, their hair and fur disheveled.

"That … was fun," Lukas said between breaths. "We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah," Faba agreed. "We should. Let's go back to camp."

"Let's." All and all, it had turned out to be a more satisfactory day than Faba had originally thought.

Finally, the day of the protest came. Faba's arm was all healed, and she and Aiistia had agreed that her broomstick was not meant for a Tigress to ride on. But the Birds were very honored to be flying with the Witch of the West. They all rallied outside the western border of the Emerald City, with Aiistia roaring out orders and passing out signs. "Be careful," Lukas told Faba for the one millionth time.

"Aren't I always?" Faba said with a smirk.

Lukas copied her expression. "Right. So careful that you broke your wrist."

"Shut up."

"Love you too, Faba." Their laughter dissolved into a kiss, which was very satisfying until …

"Yo! Lukas! Faba! Honest to Lurline! Do I have to get a chaperone for you two?!" They quickly broke apart, blushing, as Aiistia came towards them. "Lukas, here's a sign for you to wave and stuff. Faba, get into position. The Birds are ready when you are."

"Right," Faba said, already bracing herself. "I'm ready. See you on the ice, Lukas." And she strode over to where the Birds were before Lukas could tell her to be careful again.

"Ready, Saint Aelphaba?" Dozzo, one of the Birds, a Cockatoo, asked her.

"On three," she replied, trying not to sound nervous. "One, two, three!" Faba rose into the air, heart pounding, and the Birds followed in a V formation. They flew over the walls of the city, and immediately, the citizens went into complete panic.

"It's the Witch!"

"She's got rebel Birds on her side!"

Well, Faba thought. If they really think I'm a Wicked Witch, I might as well live up to my reputation, at least a little bit. So, she let out a loud, high pitched cackle, and as if by magic, the Ozians froze in utter terror. Getting an idea, the Birds emitted cries of their own, and the fear grew even more. Good. They were distracted. Preoccupied with Faba and the Birds, the people didn't notice at first when Aiistia and the others came rushing in.

"TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, TEN! ANIMALS ARE FULL OZIANS! TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, TEN! ANIMALS ARE FULL OZIANS!" From what Faba could tell, Aiistia looked completely in her element.

Faba joined in the chanting. "TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, TEN! ANIMALS ARE FULL OZIANS!" The other Animals followed Faba and the Birds east to the center of the city, spreading terror in her wake. Her hair was in a bun, but the wind still managed to make some strands escape out from under her hat. The feeling filled her with an exhilaration that was unlike anything. She could have been shot out of the sky at any second, but all that mattered was that she was doing something she truly loved, something right. The Birds at her side saw this as plain as day, and they knew that the Witch's reputation couldn't be further from the truth.

They reached the Palace, and the Animals, under Aiistia's instructions, stayed across the street with their signs as the Gale Force started to line up outside the Palace. Lukas looked up nervously at Faba, who was writing in the sky, as planned. LISTEN, YOUR OZNESS! ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN AND HEARD! Though personally, Lukas thought that Faba was going a bit over the top with the cackling and the "Wicked Witch" persona, he couldn't help but grin proudly as his girlfriend defied all his notions about humans.

From above, Faba could hear the Gale Force beginning to harass Aiistia. "Back off, Cat!" one of them told her. "This is the property of His Supreme Ozness!"

"No, it's not!" Aiistia retorted. "His palace is over there. We're ten feet away! This is a peaceful protest!"

"A peaceful protest? With the Wicked Witch of the West?"

Aiistia straightened up in defense. "With Elphaba Melena Thropp, my very good friend and ally, possibly the most non wicked person in all of Oz!" Nice sentiment, but really bad idea, Faba thought.

The Gale Force soldier turned to his cohorts. "Arrest them all. They're in cahoots with the wicked sorceress!"

All her wits temporarily leaving her, Faba shot a single flame into the air, and then managed to levitate part of the Palace gate, and throw on top of some of the Gale Force soldiers. The effect was as desired. Most of the soldiers abandoned the Animals and pointed their guns at her. "FABA!" Lukas yelled. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"LUKAS, AIISTIA, EVERYONE, RUN!" Faba hollered back. "I'LL HANDLE THIS!" Some Animals did not need to be told twice as they ran for cover. Others, like Aiistia and Lukas, lingered until Faba screamed for them to get the hell away. Faba circled the Palace once more before following her friends. Had the protest been successful? If nothing, she hoped it had raised awareness. But they still had an awfully long way to go.

And there you have it, my pretties!

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Elle Dottore