Amity sat at the back of a dragon bus; a blue and brown creature with a half dozen legs that jutted out from either side of an open bowl-like cavity where riders could sit, that was resting in front of Hexside. She was reading Luz's Azura book while she waited for other students to board. The weather was warm, and the sky was cloudless with its usual purple-orange haze. The bus was nearly packed full of excited Grudgby spectators and players, and Amity still had a place beside her free that she had been saving, casting glares at anyone that attempted to fill it. She raised her eyes when Toddric approached, looking for a seat. She lowered her book and set her bag on the empty space beside her, crossing her arms; heavily implying that she wasn't currently looking for a seat partner, and he moved on with an awkward smile.
She watched the first bus lift off, the dragon head on the bow letting out a roar and a jet of flame as it launched into the sky. The final bus snapped and growled at one of the students out of her view, and a familiar blue and white shirt wearing human passed by the bus to meet Willow and Augustus who were waiting at the foot of the stairs, wearing Hexside Banshees paraphernalia. She couldn't hear what the trio were talking about despite her best efforts to eavesdrop while remaining subtle, though Luz seemed especially excited.
Jentil, a giant of a boy standing five times as tall as any other in Hexside walked through the small group, pressing a finger down on Luz's head, much to her protest, before continuing on to take hold of a cable off the aft of the bus. He was simply too large, being of giant heritage, to be able to ride inside, but he never seemed to mind. Amity watched Luz wander into the school and frowned, feeling the bus shuffle as the dragon bus prepared to launch. She continued to wait, gripping the edge of her seat in her hands. She could tell that Willow and Augustus were getting anxious as well, waiting for Luz to return until the dragon bus let out a roar and spread its wings. It buffeted the area with wind as it leapt into the air, with Jentil shouting "Hexside rules!", still trailing from the back of the bus.
Amity turned away, picking up the book again with a sigh. She was nearly done the novel, having only a few chapters left. She'd never had anyone else to talk about Azura's story before and she had been hoping to have the opportunity to allow Luz to sit with her for the trip to Glandus High for the Grudgby match tomorrow. She opened the book to her doodle of herself with Malingale, pulling her knees up to her chest to hide her project from prying eyes and shading in some details of the picture. Art, much like music, wasn't something she had a natural talent for like she did abomination magic, but she found the practice to be calming at least, and a focus for her thoughts at best.
"Hey, Amity!" Skara sang, grabbing her attention. The bard student stood up from her seat, wobbling back and forth with the motion of the bus, and her ponytail blowing into her face as she approached. Amity rolled her eyes and put her picture back in the novel, putting both away in her bag before anyone else forced themselves into her business.
"Hey Skara." Amity replied when Skara sat down next to her.
"It's good to see you coming to our game. We weren't sure you were going to come out for it after..." Skara began, looking concerned. "After your duel with Boscha in the Magic Defense class, we weren't sure if you were still friends."
"Yeah. I'm not really sure, myself."
Skara smiled, but her eyes still seemed worried. "I hope so. We've all been friends for so long…"
"Skara, doesn't it bother you how much Boscha bosses you around? How she uses the Banshees as her personal servants?"
Skara shrugged, thinking on Amity's words for a moment. "Maybe sometimes. That's just what it takes to be successful, right? Look at our parents, Amity. If you want to be on the top of the food chain on the Boiling Isles, you need to be ready to eat the smaller demons."
Amity looked Skara in the eye, but said nothing for a moment. That was a saying; both figurative and literal, the three of them had heard from their parents nearly verbatim, and Amity was starting to get tired of it. "I guess." she replied, turning away with a sigh to watch the view of Forearm Forest from above. The warm air blowing through felt cooler, and was a pleasant change from the stagnant warmth of the surface of the Titan, and Amity made a point of fixing her hair every time it blew out of place. It made her impatient to finally get her own Palisman staff and be able to fly above the tree tops like Azura does, but there were rumors that palistrom trees were becoming rarer every year. Of course, she also had a birthday next month, and if anyone would gift her with something that could enhance her magical power, it would be her mother. Never mind that it would grant her more freedom, as well.
Skara was quiet for several minutes before she began to fidget and become uncomfortable with the silence. "I mean, she's not much different than other friends I have…" she said before going silent again and frowning. Amity frowned, but before she thought of how to reply, Skara stood and made her way over to where Toddric was sitting, squeezing onto the bench beside her new boyfriend.
Amity watched her leave, feeling called out by her words. It made her think about the years leading up to now, and how she had targeted Willow especially in an effort to show she didn't want any connection to her. She no longer felt like reading or drawing, and just wanted to curl up on the bench seat. Instead, she crossed her arms on the rail of the dragon bus and rested her chin on them, watching the trees go by for an hour before the bus passed over Latissa. She couldn't help but wonder what Brook and Rowena were up to in their little shop, or all of the band members in the Coventicle that had encouraged her song.
She retraced her path through the city, from the edge to the Blight Tower, and felt her lips curl in a smile. The adventure had been harrowing at the time, but eye opening as well. "You're just a kid. But if you find an opportunity to open your heart, take it, okay?" the bard on stage had said to her. She still wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that, though watching Skara happy with Toddric was certainly making her feel more alone than she had before. Skara had always been Boscha and Amity's 'third wheel' of the group, and Amity was coming to realize just how horrible that feeling felt.
The dragon bus banked right, heading alongside the chest of the Titan, and the view of the plume of black smoke chugging out of the Emperor's Castle could be clearly seen now. The attached Conformatorium was the symbol of a terrifying end for most witches and demons, and stood as an incentive for all citizens to fit in with the society that Emperor Belos had constructed in the last several decades to elevate the Boiling Isles out of savagery. "Every tree requires pruning." he was quoted, and was that any different than what the Bard had told her? "Listen, whatever you're going through right now, whatever is keeping your song quiet, I suggest you get rid of it." though the intent behind each felt very different.
Amity heaved a sigh again. She had to admit to herself that she was… afraid. She had spent so long distancing herself from anyone but Boscha and the rest of the Banshees that if she cut any of them out of her life, she would have no one. Maybe that's what Grom would show her, although she couldn't fathom how an amorphous creature like Grometheus could shapeshift into… nothing.
A pair of airships with the Emperor's sigil emblazoned on their side sailed in from the castle, coming up on either side of the dragon bus, their pilots waving at the students that gasped and returned the gesture. The dragon bus growled, clearly unhappy with being escorted by the mechanical contraptions, but behaved long enough for the airships to pass, continuing on their patrol. Amity had always found it odd how much the Emperor's Coven used non magical machines, being the most magically powerful coven, but it seemed to simply be a part of the regime to slowly rid the Boiling Isles of the wild magic that was still so prevalent.
The dragon bus continued on its route through the massive rib cage of the Titan, diving into the Vertebrae Canyon that reached all the way down the spine with a river of fresh water that fed numerous lakes and creeks that everything that lived on the Isles used. Surprised shouts and excited whoops came from the students as the bus picked up speed, flying just above the water level and spraying the passengers in a fine cool mist. Amity winced against the cool sting of the water, but stubbornly refused to move from her pouting position until they exited the canyon within sight of their destination.
The flora began to change from what Amity was familiar with as they sailed into the Titan's pelvic region; with tall, branchless trees that sprouted small armored insects that fell from the tops into the dangerous sand below. Most were consumed by worms that swam through the soft ground that hunted anything pounding the sand, but the lucky few managed to escape to the rocks until they matured and grew their own trees. The dragon bus ascended over the edge of the city, pushing the students to hold onto their bench seats to avoid spilling out, and Jentil could be heard yelling and laughing from behind the bus. The city of Acetabela served as a coastal getaway for the rich and privileged of the Boiling Isles; with the Knee nearby for tourists to visit the snowy peak, fresh water from the spine to swim in, and numerous resort hotels with all kinds of magical amenities. In the center of the city, was the towering structure of Glandus High.
Glandus High Boarding School for the Great and Powerful was in this especially pompous and arrogant region of the Isles, though fortunately it was no substitution for the talent that Hexside had. The Banshees had a habit of making a point of that by humiliating Glandus in the Grudgby championships. As they neared, the three other dragon buses that transported Hexside students here could be seen unloading. The students around Amity began to cheer, stretch, and wake up from the lengthy trip, barely containing themselves until the transport finally landed with another heavy buffet of wind from its wings.
Amity slowly made sure that all of her personal items were in her bag before slinging it across her chest and waiting for the rest of the students to begin leaving the bus, standing and joining the end of the line up. The dragon bus growled at approaching Glandus students, smoke billowing from its nostrils as it began its rest. Mr. Pectoralis pushed past them, each of his six eyes looking over the last of the Hexside students to make sure at least most of them arrived safely. "Okay." he began through chewing a wad of gum. "All you little oozes, you're going to be staying close. We don't want any incidents like last time, alright? We'll be staying at the luxurious Inguinal Inn." He paused, then laughed when he saw the impressed looks on most of the student's faces. "Actually, due to some very recent, unexpected budget constraints, I've been informed that we'll be staying in spare Glandus High bunks and heading back after the game tomorrow." he said to numerous groans. "Yeah, well. Someone decided to make a mockery of our precious scholarly justice system, so there you go."
"Yeah, I helped some students break out of the Detention Pit." Mattholomule said, poking himself in the chest with a thumb and grinning. "I was kinda a hero." he added, looking impressed with himself.
Again, the Hexside students groaned, and began to follow Mr. Pectoralis away from the dragon buses toward Glandus High. Amity followed along, complaining under her breath with the rest of the others. She was debating in her mind whether to summon a raven to call home with and get her parents to get her a room at the Inguinal, or to suffer with her fellow students in the halls of Glandus. Either decision would result in consequences, and she had no desire to be any more indebted to, or give any more control to, her mother. She pushed through the crowd to walk beside Mr. Pectoralis. "Sir, how are we going to be staying in Glandus?"
"Nice to see you've recovered, Blight." he replied, shifting a pair of eyes down in her direction. "I've been told you'll be paired up in bunks. This has just been brought to my attention on the flight here, so no use complaining to me. You can take it up with Principal Bump when we get back if you really want, just leave me out of it."
"Uhm, paired up with who, exactly?" she asked. Suddenly, speaking with her mother about getting a room was looking like the more optimal choice.
Mr. Pectoralis growled, looking at his clipboard. "I don't know. Uh… you specifically? You're bunking with someone named Bria Bradbury. Happy?"
Amity froze, barely noticing the other students brush past her. "Oh no…"