Chapter 38 : A Shift in Power

Tecna awakes when she hears a voice calling her name softly but anxiously.

"I'm here," whispers Tecna so not to wake Bloom and Flora who are asleep on their mats beside her and the frowning face of the Witch of Storms peers around the doorway. "Keep your voice down, the others are still asleep."

"I'm awake," mumbles Bloom through a yawn as both she and Flora sit up, stretch and then lay back down again on their mats. "Good morning."

"Good morning?" questions Stormy. "You mean good afternoon. The Huntress is an hour past zenith."

"You're kidding me," says Tecna but then consulting her internal clock she finds that Stormy is telling the truth. "We have slept the morning through, girls," she tells them.

"It looks like the tea did its work," says Flora, stretching and yawning again. "I guess we needed the beauty sleep."

"Whatever," says Stormy. "Icy sent me to go look for you and tell you to come to the Comm Station for a meeting. We had no idea where you got to. What are you doing here anyway?"

"It was my decision to move ourselves here to allow you Witches some privacy to work things out," replies Bloom.

"A smart move," admits Stormy. "You should be glad you missed the hullabaloo. Even Alysoun and Vulpa got involved. But I never got a chance to say one word in the matter – after all, Goddess forbid that someone as junior as I could possibly contribute to a discussion among adults," she adds sourly and with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tecna tells her, "but among us Faeries is the expression that even the Sacred Tree was once just a seed. You're time, I'm sure, will come."

"Maybe so," says Stormy, yawning. "Goddess, I'm beat! The shouting and screaming lasted until the early morning and then I was so upset that I hardly got a wink of sleep before Icy ordered us all up," then seats herself beside Tecna's mat, snakes her arms around her neck and leans her head against Tecna's chest.

"I can hear your hearts beating," whispers Stormy. "I never thought I would ever hear that."

"Ahem!" says Bloom. "I hate to break up this tender moment but, if Icy wants to see us, then we'd better get going," and all arise to share a group hug and exchange kisses of greeting which included a much surprised Stormy.

"Is there anything we should be aware of before our meeting with Icy?" asks Bloom.

Stormy rolls her eyes to the heavens. "The short version is: Shego is the leader of The Quadrix – at least for now until Icy is well enough to resume her role as leader. Icy is second, Darcy, despite being stripped of her powers, is third and I, as usual, am at the bottom."

"Darcy's been stripped of her powers?" asks Bloom incredulously. "So that's what happened… but how?"

"It appears to be a new power shared between Icy and Shego because of their bond," replies Stormy. "And Darcy is one unhappy camper at this moment."

"I can imagine," says Tecna.

"I don't think you can, Tecna," continues Stormy. "On the positive side: Darcy has accepted for now that we are a quadrix – as if she really had any choice in the matter. On the negative side: Vulpa had better watch her back from now on because Darcy is going to be out for her blood."

"But Vulpa just saved her life, did she not?" protests Flora. "Why then would Darcy seek to do her harm?"

"Darcy is not thinking about that," replies Stormy. "She's just looking for someone to take out her anger on for being deposed from second place in our trix. She is too terrified of Shego to confront her. And even though Icy is in a weakened state, since her bonding with Shego, Shego has become so possessive and protective of her that Darcy won't dare harm her. I'm so low on the totem pole that she won't even bother with me. Alysoun would slash her into mince and eat her for breakfast… so that leaves only Vulpa."

"I see," says Bloom.

"I think we should watch Vulpa's back for her," says Flora. "She may be a Witch but she is one with a gentle spirit like Mirta."

"Yes, she's kind," replies Stormy. "She is one of the few who has never picked on me or tried to push me around. I would hate to see her come to harm."

"Then it is up to us to see that Vulpa does not come to harm," states Bloom. "Now we'd better not keep Icy waiting any longer."