Chapter 52 – Pretty Witchy Arly-chi
Arle's POV
What was with those two? They were kinda acting weird before I spoke up. What did they mean by Ally being "on to them"?
…
…
…
Oh, whatever. It's probably something about their relationship. I can't think about those two today, anyway. I've got something else on my mind.
"Let's see…she said to meet her right around here…Oh, there she is. Hey, Feli!"
"Arle! You made it. Thanks again for taking this job with me."
"No problem. I should be thanking you for asking me to do it. I've been running low on these Credits that this world uses."
"Oh, yeah. I guess you didn't get much when you first came here."
"Much like with the rest of my stuff. But I've moved passed that by now."
But I still miss Carby…
"I see."
Today, I was meeting up with Feli to start working at a job she had found recently. She said that the person that's hiring is a friend of Lemres and is also studying magic at this place called a "community college".
I'm not really sure what this place is. But it sounds like this world has magic, too. At least it's not completely different from home.
"So, who's this friend of Lemres that you told me about?"
"I'm not sure. He didn't describe the person. All he said was that the person was a friend and a classmate…and that the same person is hiring at their shop."
"So, you just took it?"
"Hey, I need money, too. I need supplies for the new school year and food for Bal. Not to mention that I could use some more stuff for my charms. Fufufufu."
"Your charms? Like the one you did to Melody's computer, right? What was it called again?"
"Occult Art of Divination. I've been studying and practicing it for about two years now. So, I'm pretty much still a novice at the whole thing."
"I see."
"Raffina told me that you're a sorceress that uses magic. Is that true?"
"Yeah, it is. I was one of the best in my world." Then a thought came to me. "So, is that why you asked me to join you in this job?"
"Well, kinda. I mainly want to see these magic spells for myself. But on the other hand…if this is a friend of Lemres, then this job might be magic-related. So, when I heard that you use magic, I thought it was perfect for you."
"That…does make sense." I said after giving that some more thought. "Then I really gotta thank you for letting me take this job with you, Feli. If I can improve my magic, even in this world, then it'll really make me happy."
Mainly because…I can keep my promise to this Rubelcrack. To Carby.
"You're welcome, Arle." Feli said with a smile. "Glad to help out a friend."
"*giggle* Same here, Feli." I returned the smile.
After a few more minutes of walking, we arrived at our destination. An old-looking building near the outskirts of town. Not gonna lie, it gave me an unnerving feeling. As if I should turn back before it's too late.
And I've had MANY of those situations back home, too.
"Uh…Feli. You sure this is the place?" I asked her.
"I followed the directions Lemres gave me. But I do agree. This place looks…off."
"Maybe we can find another job somewhere or…"
*CRASH*
"Wh-What was that?!" I asked as we heard a crashing sound coming from inside.
"Uh…hey, Arle. Why is your necklace glowing?"
"Huh?" I looked at the Rubelcrack gem around my neck and it really was glowing. I was about to panic. Thinking that it was going to do something again. But after like a minute of not doing anything besides glowing…it kinda got me thinking.
No way. The essence of the Rubelcrack. I can feel him talking to me. Is it really…him? Telling me to go inside this place?
…
C…Carby…
"Hello? Arle?"
"H-Huh?" I came to once I heard Feli's voice.
"You okay? You started crying all of a sudden."
"O-Oh, um…" As I was whipping off the tears from my face, a sudden burst of confidence came to me as the Rubelcrack continued to shine. I can't really say if this is true or not, but I have a pretty good feeling about what it's telling me to do.
"Come on. Let's go see what that was."
"Huh? You want to go in there?"
"Why not? You brought me here."
"Look, Arle. I like creepy places as much as the next girl. But even I draw the line at places like this. I really don't think it's a good…"
*CRASH* *BOOM* *BANG*
"More noises. I'm gonna go check it out."
"A-Arle! Wait! *sigh* Damnit." Feli said as followed me inside the creepy old-looking building.
"Hello? Anyone here?" I said as I entered through the old squeaky door.
"Damn, this place is dusty. It's going to *achoo*…flare up my allergies. *sniff*" Feli whined.
"How long has this place been here?"
"No clue. I never lived in Primp until recently. There are stuff here that I don't even know."
"I see."
Looking around the place, it looked like some kind of store. Tables and shelves with weird stuff on them (granted, they were dusty as hell). and there was even a front counter with an old cash register on it (again, dusty as hell).
"It doesn't look like anyone is here, Arle." Feli said.
"If that's the case, then what were those noises? The booms, the crashes, the bangs…"
*RUMBLE*
"Huh?"
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
"And now we got rumbles." Feli said.
"It came from behind the counter." I said.
We both inched closer to the old dusty counter as the rumbles continued to go on. They kept getting more erratic as we got closer and closer. And as we inched over the counter, approaching a huge pile of boxes…
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
…
…
…
"GAH!"
"WAAAAAAA!"
"Woah. There are people here." Said a girl with long orange hair and amethyst purple eyes. "Sorry for scarin' ya just now. These here boxes fell on top of me and I got stuck underneath."
"I-I see…" We both said. Still trying to recover from the jump scare as the mysterious girl came from underneath the boxes. It was then that we saw the outfit she was wearing. A tank top with pink on the front and white on the back, black shorts with white paw prints, and a pair of blue & white flip flops.
It was…kinda cute. To be perfectly honest.
"So, imma go on a whim and say that y'all are the girls good 'ol Lemres told me about, right?"
"Uh…yeah." Feli said. "I'm Feli Kuromi. And this is Arle Nadja."
"Hello." I added.
"Nice to meet ya, Feli and Arle. Name's Kish Mandel. Imma newly appointed witch."
"Huh?! You're a witch?!"
"That 'bout right, good suga. I graduated from the Witch Academy just last year and imma 100% official."
"Wow…"
"You seem pretty amazed by hearin' such a thang. You into witches, too?"
"Oh, um…I just happen to know another witch, that's all."
Granted, her name IS Witch. But I guess it still counts.
"Woah…you even know a witch. My boy Lemres was right 'bout you girls. Come along now. I'll give ya a grand tour."
"Grand tour of what? This place is a dump."
"Feli!" I whispered to her.
"What? It's true. This place may not be scary, but it sure is dirty. Let's just bail already."
"Look I agree with this place being dirty. But we can't leave. I feel like…I have to be here."
"Huh? For what?"
"Well…"
"Hey, come on come on. Don't let ya girls get left behind now." We heard Kish's voice.
"C-Coming. Just trust me on this, Feli."
"*sigh* Fine, I guess. Maybe 10 more minutes or so."
"Thanks a lot. I'll explain why soon."
"Yeah, you *achoo* better."
We then followed the weird girl known as Kish deeper within this place. And the more we went in, the more the Rubelcrack glowed (and also Feli continued sneezing. But that's beside the point). It was getting harder to hide it. So I had to put it in my pocket so it wouldn't be a distraction.
Geez. If this glowing really does mean Carby is here, then he sure is talking a lot. Even in the afterlife.
"So, uh…Kish, was it? How exactly do you know Lemres?" Feli asked.
"He didn't tell ya? Imma classmate of his. Right ova at the commune college."
"It's "community college"."
"That's a what I said, ain't it?"
"Uh…"
"You sure have a…interesting accent there, Kish." I said.
"Oh, yeah. Imma not from here. I lived in the Noboruru Highlands before commin' on down here."
"Noboruru?" I asked.
"It's a country town in the same district as Ryoku Isle, the place where I'm from." Feli explained.
"Oh, I see."
"That 'bout right there, Feli. I may be livin in the city now, but imma country girl at heart. Nothing gonna change that, y'all."
"If that's the case, then why did you stay in the city after graduating, started attending community college, and I'm guessing bought this dump of a store?"
"Sorry, Kish. But she's right. This place is a mess." I added.
"Eh, I don't blame ya for thinkin that. This place is a pigsty. But I kinda need it for something, you know."
"For what?" We asked.
"You see here, girls. Imma studying to be a witch instructor."
"Witch instructor?"
"That 'bout right. There been a huge shortage of witches nowadays and I wanna fix that by becomin' a witch instructor. Thang is…becomin' one ain't easy. In order to start studyin' to be a witch instructor, I need a couple of witch apprentices."
"Witch…apprentices?" It was at that moment that Feli and I realized what this job was about. And it was rather hard to believe.
"W-Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Lemres referred us to a job…to become witches?" Feli asked.
"A witch? Me? B-But I'm already a sorceress. Why would Lemres want me to be a witch alongside that?" I was greatly confused. Was this what the Rubelcrack was telling me? To become a witch? Why would it tell me that? Was I missing something important here?
…
N-Now that I think about it…why am I listening to the gem of my dead best friend? It's just gonna make me sad again. I really do miss him, though…
"Hmm…you said your name was Arle, right? You're the girl that came out of that there Dimensional Mirror, ain't that right?"
"Huh? You know about the Dimensional Mirror?"
"Lemres did yap around 'bout it. He also said somethin' 'bout a gem called a…Rubercrakku?"
"R-Rubelcrack. I-It's pronounced Rubelcrack."
"Oh. Sorry 'bout that. Big 'ol city words ain't my specialty."
"City words…?" Feli and I gained a sweatdrop.
"Anyway…you gots the thang, right?"
"Uh…yeah. I have it right here." I said as I took the Rubelcrack necklace from my pocket. "It's been glowing ever since we came here and I honestly don't know why."
"Hmm…" Kish inspected the gem. "…I ain't no expert on gems and stuff. But I do sense an aura in this here gem. Like the soul of a lost friend or somethin' like that."
"C-Carby?!"
"Wait, you can sense that?!" Feli asked. Just as shocked as I was…but for a completely different reason.
"I can too. It be a special power you get once you become a witch."
"Woah…"
"S-So, you really can sense Carby in here?" I asked.
"Who's Carby?"
"Carby…o-or rather Carbuncle…is my best friend. He and I were together before we got sent to this world by that mirror. But shortly after coming here, I learned that…he didn't survive the trip."
"O-Oh. Arle, I'm so sorry…"
"I-It's okay." I said as I tried to hold in my tears. "This gem managed to survive. It rested on his head. So, I kinda have a part of him with me at all times. And as long as this Rubelcrack necklace is with me…I can be happy as I start a new life here."
"Wow, Arle…"
"That there is real deep, Arle." Kish said.
"So uh, Kish. What exactly do I have to do to be a witch apprentice?"
"You still want to do it?" Feli asked.
"I…I think I get it now. Why this thing has been glowing this whole time. It's Carby. He wants me to become stronger. Not to give up on my magic because he's no longer with me. He knows that I'm sad without him. Near close to depression, even. Maybe he knew that he wasn't going to make it and sent his gem with me instead. And now…his soul is guiding me to a new and better life. So, if it says that I should do this, then I can't ignore it. It's Carby helping me as always and I'll respect it no matter what. This is my key…to a happy new life."
"Woah there, Arle…" Kish said.
"Damn, you're just hitting all the feels today! *sniff*" Feli said. I couldn't really tell if she was crying or if it's her allergies again. They sound so similar.
"So…are you still hiring, Kish?"
"If you are, then I want in, too. Thinking about it some more, it all sounds too interesting to pass up. I could possibly merge my charms with these witch spells. Just thinking of the possibilities…Fufufufu."
"Woah." Kish said. "Feli's gone wacko like a cuckoo running on them sparky black doohickeys."
"You mean batteries?"
"That the name of those thangs? Huh. I never knew."
How has she never heard of a battery? Just how country is she? I gained a sweatdrop.
"Anyway. If you two girlies truly want to do this, then I ain't complainin'. Just give me a few minutes and I'll get ya both everythang y'all need for now. Wait right here y'all, ya hear?"
"Okay." We both said before Kish went off to the far back of the store to get this "thang" that we need.
"Our new boss is kinda interesting, huh?" Feli asked me.
"Yeah, no kidding. I've never met anyone with a country accent before. This world sure has some interesting people."
""Interesting" is a nice way to put it…" Feli gained a sweatdrop.
Feli's POV
"Imma back!" Kish yelled out after we waited about 10 minutes or so for her to get back. "Sorry for takin' too long. Kinda misplaced these when I moved in this here place."
"Uh…what exactly are these?" I asked once we were given these badge-like things that had a lot of rainbow-colored buttons around it. And then in the center was a big yellow button with a musical note on it.
"This here is your Comet Summoner. Comes with them works. Dress, hat, boots, broom, and all them other stuff witches tend to have nowadays."
"You mean there's an outfit to wear?" Arle asked.
"Of course, there is. Though, I will tell ya girlies…it's kinda difficult to put it on for newcomers like yerselves."
"Difficult to put on?" We both asked.
"Well, ya see here…the thang's actually timed. Ya hafta put everythang on before the music stops playing. Or else it won't stay."
"Why is putting on the outfit such a tedious thing?" I asked.
"I don't have a clue. This thang here was made like that. It even took me a good while to do it."
"Do you still have yours? I mean, I know you graduated. But it could help to see it in action."
"Oh, yeah. Good point there, Feli. I actually still have mines, as a matter of that there fact. I could give y'all a preview on how to dos this thang here. Pay attention here now, ya hear?"
"We will." We both said.
And with that, Kish took out her Comet Summoner and pressed the big yellow button in the center. Like she said, music began playing in the background while an orange witch dress and hat spawned from the device.
Kish quickly shoved her head through the dress. Making orange pearl earrings appear on her ears. Then a magic ring made her shorts disappear and made a pair of orange boots replace her flip flops. After putting her hands through two more magic rings, making a pair of orange gloves with a rainbow bracelet on each appear on them, she grabbed her hat and placed it on her head. All on par with the music, I must add.
"Pretty Witchy Kishi-chi!" She yelled out while making a heart with her hands.
…
…
…
"W…Woah." Was all Arle and I could say to what we just saw.
"And that there is just 'bout it. Y'all girlies got questions?"
"Uh…LOTS!" I yelled out. "But I guess the main one is…do we have to do that pose at the end?"
"And with that tagline, too?" Arle added.
"Well, not really. That right there is just an instinct that just comes to ya whenever you finish. Not one person has ever done it without doing such thangs. So, it eventually became a staple."
"I see. So, we just gotta remember not to do this thing in public."
"It ain't bad once y'all get used to it."
"That one part is something we'll never get used to, Kish." I gained a sweatdrop.
"So, which one of ya girlies gets to go first?"
"I guess I will." Arle said. "I just press this button here, right?"
"That's the ticket. Give it a go." Kish said with a thumbs up.
"Welp…here goes." Arle pressed the Comet Summoner's big yellow button and the music began to play. A light-blue witch dress and hat spawned from the device and she quickly shoved her head through the dress. Making light-blue pearl earrings appear on her ears while a magic ring made her outfit disappear and made a pair of light-blue witch boots replace her normal ones.
After putting both her hands through two more magic rings, making a pair of light-blue gloves with a rainbow bracelet on each appear on them, Arle grabbed the witch hat and placed it on her head. I'm just shocked that she managed to all of that within the time limit of the music.
I mean, yeah. She's a sorceress. But still…
"Pretty Witchy Arly-chi!" Arle yelled out while making a heart with her hands.
…
…
…
"D…Damn…" Was all I said. Too shocked to say much else.
"Geez. I don't think I'll ever get used to that last part." Arle said with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Well, slap me some butter and call me Lucy! You did it on your first try, Arle! That there is impressive." Kish said.
"Thanks, Kish. I'm rather surprised myself."
"Alright there, Feli. Now it's your turn."
"*sigh* Here goes nothing." I said before pressing the button on my Comet Summoner. As the music began to play, a purple witch dress and hat spawned from the device. I quickly shoved my head through the dress as purple pearl earrings appeared on my ears. The magic ring made my black shorts disappear and made a pair of purple boots replace my pink & white ones.
After I placed both hands through the two other magic rings and receiving my purple gloves with a rainbow bracelet on each, I grabbed the witch hat with one hand and placed it on my head. Again, all within the time limit of the music.
"Pretty Witchy Feli-chi!" I yelled out while making a heart with her hands.
…
…
…
"Wow." Was all Arle said.
"H-Holy crap, I did it! I did it on the first try! Alright!" I then jumped up in excitement…which then revealed one HUGE problem with the dress.
"Ah! Feli!"
"Your panties are a bit exposed there, girly." Kish said.
"Huh?" I then looked down…and grew the biggest blush a single person has made in history. "*really loud embarrassed scream* Wh-What the hell?! Why is this dress so damn short?!"
"That's just how them thangs were made. I advise not jumpin' or doing anythang acrobatic while wearin' these here dresses."
"*whine* Damnit!"
"Hey, by the way, Kish. How do we get out of these clothes?" Arle asked. "It's not as tedious as putting them on, is it?"
"Oh, no. You just push the button again and it all just comes off in seconds. None effort at all."
"Okay…" Arle and I pressed the button again and just like that, our normal clothes had returned. It really was as simple as Kish had said it was.
Still wish it was just as easy to put it on…
"Well, then. Now that you got the dressin' part down, y'all are ready to learn the basics of being a witch apprentice."
"One quick question, Kish." I said. "You said that you're studying to become a witch instructor, right? So, once we eventually become witches, you'll pass your class?"
"That there's the gist of it, Feli. Though it can't be just y'all two. I need to make five of these here witch apprentices into witches by the end of this year. Otherwise, I ain't gonna be a witch instructor."
"Five, huh? We just get three of our friends to do this, right?"
"Unfortunately, it ain't that simple. The Comet Summoner is rather fickle about who becomes a witch apprentice. It has to feel that the fella is right for the title and not just some random scrub. So, it's a-gonna take a while to have the other three here."
"I see." Arle said. "Well, don't worry, Kish. We'll be good enough to show them the ropes."
"Yeah, Arle's right." I said. "We'll help you become a witch instructor. No problem."
"Oh, really?! Aw, thank ya much, sugas! I knew my boy Lemres wouldn't let me down! And he actually sent some real cuties, too."
"C-Cuties, huh?" We both reacted to such a compliment.
D-Does Kish…sw-swing that way?
"Well, enough of my here rambling. I'll let ya girlies go for the day. Come back the day afta tomorrow now, ya hear?"
"Sure thing, Kish." We both said as we made for the front door. "See you later."
"Bye now, y'all!"
*SOME DISTANCE LATER…*
"Kish is a really interesting person, isn't she?" I asked Arle.
"Yeah, no kidding. I've never met anyone as unique as her before. A witch who wants to bring more witches to this world. Along with that accent, she's a pretty cool person."
"Yeah, she is."
Still can't believe she's Lemres' age, though…
As we continued walking together, one thing from earlier came to mind. Something that…kinda touched me deeply.
"Hey, Arle. That thing you mentioned about your friend. It must be tough being here all alone, huh?"
Arle didn't answer. She just sunk her head low and gained a depressed aura around her body.
Cr-Crap! Did I strike the nerve too early?
"A-Arle…"
"Ah. No, Feli. It's fine. It's like I said before. Carby may be gone forever…but as long as I have this Rubelcrack necklace, I'll always have some part of him with me."
"I see."
"And besides. I'm not the only one here. Thanks to that mirror, a couple of my other friends made it here, too. And with new friends like Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, Ally, and many others…I can't truly be alone anymore. It may sound sappy and such, but that's how I feel."
"No, I get it. Completely understand."
Especially since I can somewhat relate to it.
"Thanks again for letting me in on this job, Feli. I'm really excited about this witch thing."
"Yeah, me too. It'll be fun to see where this goes. See you later, Arle."
"See ya, Feli."
We each said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Not only were we oddly satisfied with becoming witches in the near future, but I think I've made a strong bond with someone, too.
And yet, Amira said that I have no friends. She can totally suck it! Fufufufu!
Arle's POV
"*yawn* I'm beat. I think I'll take a shower and call it in early."
I was near home after a…very interesting first day at work. And I was ready to relax. Being this tired did bring back some memories, though. I haven't felt this tired since I had to rescue Car…
…
…
…
No. If I finish that thought, I'm going to get sad again. I really need to move on if I'm going to accept this new life I've been given. I need to. For Carby's sake.
Carby…I won't let you down. I promise.
I approached the house and one thing came to mind that kinda made me happy.
Oh, yeah. Ally, Rafisol, and Melody are out of town. So, it's just going to be me and Amitie, huh? I wouldn't mind that…
"I'm home!" I called out as I entered the house. But for some odd reason, I didn't get a response. Which is weird because Amitie is normally home around this time.
"Amitie. You home?"
I then started hearing odd noises coming from one of those empty rooms in the back. The sound was almost like…moaning.
"Amitie?" I called out again. This time getting closer to the room where the noise was coming from.
Is she in here? For what? It's an empty room.
With that question in mind, I opened the door with little hesitation…
"Hey, Amitie. Why are you in…here?!"
…And immediately wished I didn't.
"Ah! Arle!"
"Th-This isn't what it looks like!"
"A-Amitie…R-Raffina…n-naked…d-doing…m-making…h-having…s…se…waaah…"
*THUD*
"Arle?! Arle?!" Amitie yelled.
"Arle?! Are you okay?! Please wake up! Arle!" Raffina yelled.
I felt their naked bodies close to me as I was slowly passing out. My dark and saddening memories of my dead friend slowly being replaced with a memory I NEVER signed up for to have.
This is all for Carby…somehow.
Author's Note: Arle and Feli begin their new jobs as witch apprentices for a college girl and Lemres' classmate named Kish. It sounded weird to them at first. But now they're willing to see where this goes.
So, a few things with this chapter:
You know how I say that I give a certain amount of time in advance whenever I add a character from Quest into these stories? Well, it wasn't the case with Kish. She's actually a catgirl. And I actually had a different character in mind to use for this chapter. But that character…ended up being a boy when I thought he was a girl. So, I had to find a new one last-minute and I came across Kish. Managed to make her work in the end.
The concept of this chapter was based on a really old anime called Ojamajo Doremi. I came across it when (oddly enough) Quest did a collab with it sometime last year. Despite it being 20 years old at this point, it's pretty good (I mean so far. I've only watched 9 episodes as of right now. And there's 151 episodes + a movie. I'm nowhere near close to finishing it). Give it a watch, if you're interested.
Last new chapter coming up next. Then it's back to rewrites. Thanks for reading. Later.