Author's Greetings: Well this chapter came out much bigger than I anticipated, and took much longer to make too.
No grand excuses, I'm busy with college stuffs and other stuffs real life, mainly moving out to a new place. It's pretty hectic when you live alone and have literally zero baggage! And I've finally had the initiative to join the archery club in my university and the recruitment process consists of a lot of fitness tests. It's not hard, but it ain't easy either! Hope I can pull of a Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor along the way.
Anyway, the chapter, it took a different turn as I wrote it. I had a big change of idea after I finished writing it, so that contributed to the late release too.
Another reason is I'm trying to improve my earlier chapters, more specifically, the first to the fifth chapters! I know, rework after rework after rework am I right? I should rename my whole fanfic to Ryze reworks at this point.
But a writer's duty, gotta make the story better for the newcomers y'know? And since it's the first chapters, it will have zero plot heavy changes, just better execution of the story and dialogue overall. But just like my last rework, it'll be different from the original that if you're bored waiting for my next chapter release, you can read it!
I'm not sure what's ahead, but one thing's for sure, I'll be pretty busy this month, so maybe I won't be able to spend my time on my keyboard being busy with writing things that has no relation or contribution to my college grades, but who knows?
Also, there's one wee POV change going on in this chapter. There you'll notice the switch and I'm wondering if it's better for me to use something like that instead for the rest of the story?
Anyway, enjoy this, you nerds.
"I can't believe I got this… thing". Hannah groans as she stares at her pixie for the millionth time today.
Keep trying. Maybe if you complain hard enough your pixie will magically change colour. I do really hope so honestly.
Unfortunately with Sucy being as talkative as a rock, Hannah is the only person that I can have any conversation with. So, forcing a warm smile, I remark kindly. "It matches your hair colour, though".
However, it got shot down by Hannah immediately. "It's auburn, you dimwit, not brown".
I feel my eye twitch. Still forcing the same kind smile, I respond. "A-ah, I see"
So what's this task that the teachers had given us? It's to locate and extract a rare flower that naturally grows within this mythical forest of Deepwoods – the forest within forests. Each team received different assignments on what kinds of flora or fauna they'll have to gather, and they're mostly found in different parts of the forest, most are not even tasked to go to the Deepwoods. So the chances of running onto other teams will be quite slim.
We seem to have unconsciously assigned roles between the three of us. Sucy is almost instantly in charge, despite Hannah's initial ego making it hard to happen. She's in charge not out of popular vote, but due to her experience with forest exploration which she gained from the numerous explorations she did to find mushrooms; Hannah on the other hand is in charge of being our bloody bane of existence, with her endless complaints and less than nice remarks since the start of our trek; and I'm the very valuable pack mule, who carries this oversized backpack that I've convinced myself be vital during the trek.
The forest is a perilous place. One has to be prepared before entering it after all.
The part of the forest we're heading to, the Deepwoods, is an area within this forest where the trees had grown incredibly tall and its thick and layered canopies cover the entire sky above it, shading everything underneath them and putting the forest in a perpetual state of night like darkness day and night.
Many kinds of nocturnal animals had taken advantage of this, thriving in this perfect environment for them. Some of them even developed unique attributes that no other animals outside this forest has, most notably is their luminescent abilities to attract prey, similar to fishes deep in the midnight zone. Some rare floras here too are luminescent, providing some light for us during our trek.
The atmosphere is quick to change once we stepped into the Deepwoods. The transition from the sunny forest into the Deepwoods' permanent night time was gradual yet somehow instant as well, palpable. It's comparable to stepping into an entirely separate and different room. The haunting darkness of the forest is only staved by the light from our wands and the luminescent floras that we sometimes found in our path.
"This flower better cure cancer", Hannah grumbles as she hastens her pace, eyes ever searching her surroundings.
Pray that you won't get cured then.
Just now I realized that that was the first complaint she's made after we stepped into the Deepwoods, and if the sudden decline of complains indicated anything, it's that Hannah is properly spooked.
I couldn't possibly poke fun at her for that one. Her fear isn't unfounded, after all.
"If you're scared just wait by the bus", Sucy says offhandedly. Her suggestion might've come off as a challenge more than anything else, as now Hannah feels more irritated than scared of her surroundings.
"I can handle myself just fine", Hannah spat back, unsurprisingly earning minimal reaction from Sucy.
"If this will help ease your worry…" I begin with a sigh. "Official records indicate that the last Scottish wolf was killed by Sir Ewen Cameron in 1680 in Killiencrankie, but there are reports that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century, and a tale even exists of one being seen as late as 1888. But of course, that was a long time ago, so I doubt any will come our way today".
Hannah rolls her eyes. With zero effort to hide her sarcasm, she says. "That's very freaking helpful".
Sucy who had been pretty silent for the entire trek suddenly decides to add in to the conversation. "Wolves should be the least of your worries, considering the kinds of beasts you'd find in places like this".
Hannah's expression quickly turns grim after that, her irritation fading away almost instantly at the mention of anything spooky. "Oh please don't start".
Hannah's reaction only serves to make a toothy grin make its way to Sucy's lips, revealing her sharp shark-like teeth. Knowing this will upset the yellow bowed girl, Sucy ignores the look Hannah is giving her and starts her story. "There are creatures that long resided in this world far before humans ever stepped foot on it, and when they do, they drove the monsters away, banishing them from the light of the day to the dark corners of the earth. They had to hide themselves away from the humans to save their skins, and the monsters grew spiteful because of that. Their hatred for their banishers never cease as they watch the humans thrive, it only grew".
Sucy had mostly kept her head forward during the whole trip, disinterested with our redundant conversations and only focused on the assignment, until now where she finally turns to us to deliver her story with a grin. "They favour dark places and woodlands, guess where we are now?"
Hannah could only cover her ears and shake her head repeatedly as Sucy continues to tell her story, noticing this only encourages the pale witch to continue worsen the yellow bowed girl's day.
"Of course, this all sounds like tall tales to scare the kids, but it's not like unexplained attacks and abductions never happened all over the world. In fact, there's one that's happened right here in this very forest! It was back in the 19th century, three girls went missing".
"Oh my god! I don't like this sort of stories", I grimace and admittedly recoil a bit, but soon I find myself silently drifting closer to Sucy. "What happened next?"
Sucy shrugs, a devilish smile still present on her lips. "They're never found, but they said that the search team found their belongings intact, without any sign of conflict. It's like the girls went missing on their own will without resistance".
"Gosh, stop it!" Hannah's desperate cry cuts through the story, and we see her cover her ears as she stomps away, pushing past us and leaving us behind.
"H-hey, don't go too far on your own"
"Shut up! Better than being with you two!" Hannah barks back at me without looking back. She disappears between the thick foliage ahead, her hands still covering her ears even then.
"Aren't you going after her?" Sucy asks, and I can already tell from her indifferent tone that she has no intention to do so on her own, which means we're going to be left with no one but the two of us if this keeps going.
I reply her question with a sly smile.
Sucy shrugs in response and continues her pace. Following the path we've last seen Hannah going. I hoist my backpack up and follow her not far behind.
It's gone terribly quieter with Hannah out of the picture, I don't celebrate too much in this blessing as now there's no time to waste, this is the perfect time to get down to business.
A sly smirk makes its way to my lips and I say. "There's this thing that I've been meaning talk about with you…"
Sucy sighs, annoyance already present in her voice this early. "If this is the reason you're not going after Hannah, then I'll go and look for her myself".
"Such assumptions!" I say, faking a dramatic surprise. "I want nothing but information, really! I was just wondering if you know whether the school stores preserved blood or the likes, any type of blood".
Sucy's impatience gradually dies down when she realizes I'm just asking questions. Her tone starts to ease when she finally answers. "They do have them, fairy blood, goblin blood, gnome blood, snake blood, troll blood, even chicken blood. But the school's pretty low in stock with most of them, probably because of low demands from the students and teacher, but I still don't think they'll just give it away if you ask for one, considering how much work is put in collecting them".
I already hate where this is going.
"How hard is it to get one?"
"You just got to prove that you're decent enough in alchemy so that the teachers will know you won't waste their precious ingredients for something redundant and stupid".
I smell practical tests, it's enough to make me nervous and derail my focus. I scratch the back of my head and nervously laugh. "Heeeeh, Sucy, it'll be easier if someone like you helps a struggling friend by borrowing the blood and then lending it to him?"
"In your dreams", Sucy's answer was instant. It comes complete with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. But as instantaneous as it came, her irritation suddenly switches to that of interest. "What's in it for me?"
Well I caught her interest so far, but really, what do I have that Sucy doesn't?
Sucy's frown begins to return as I continue to ponder nervously. The girl begins to lose interest in the conversation when she starts to realize that I do not have anything worthwhile to offer.
Only when I'm sure I've hit a dead end do I use my last card. I blink a few times and try to do a charming smile. "Y-you know, one of the most beautiful aspects of friendship is helping–"
"No thanks", Sucy answers offhandedly, she's already has her back turned to me.
I run up beside her. "W-wait, Sucy! You're mistaken, the reason I need those blood is for a very interesting reason! So interesting you'll like it"
Sucy turns again and asks with guarded curiosity. "What do you need them for then?"
Wait, wait, wait, is this the moment I'm supposed to tell her? Am I supposed to spill the beans here?
Do I trust her enough? I trust her skills but no matter how much I try to convince myself, Sucy's allegiance so far is unclear for me. She'd shown the tendency to side with her own self even when it comes to her closer friends like Akko and Lotte, so what chance do I, a mere lesser acquaintance, have?
But this is the moment that I have to be brave and tell the truth. I'm asking for this girl's help, it's only natural that she knows that help means. It may be counterintuitive, but this time, maybe telling the truth is the right way.
I take a deep breath and prepare my next few words carefully. With this new conclusion, I find the strength to smile and I answer.
"Cooking!"
Sucy's curiosity starts to shift into that of a narrow-eyed suspicion. "What kind of cooking?"
"There's this one family cooking recipe I've been meaning to make myself, see. I'm far from where I come from and eating it always reminds me of home".
By now I could tell that she's wondering what sort of family has a traditional family dish with blood as part of its recipe. She doesn't need to voice her question for me to know and answer it.
"I know what your next line is… 'steamed hams'".
Sucy squints her eyes at me, her suspicion now laid open. "Riiight".
"My dad always made them every time the whole family got together or an important guest comes to visit, nothing better to lift the spirits more than good company, a table full of warm food, and the gentle sound of the waves outside our house. I remember the last time we had it was when my superintendent and school principal visited us for a luncheon!".
"I still can't see how your family comes together to eat… something made of blood".
"Well, clams and oysters have blood even after you clean them, they're even better with the blood still there, in fact. That's why I want to add as much blood as I can to them, you know?".
"Clams, despite you said its steamed hams?"
I frown at the girl and say my words slowly, as if talking to a child. "No, I said steamed clams. You know you're not making any sense here, right?"
Despite the overwhelming signs of my bullshit, the growing convoluted explanation I'm throwing at her has done enough to convince the witch that the conversation is not worth wasting her time arguing with.
Regardless of what I want, I'm forced to agree that it's time to stop the conversation. Hannah's sudden return makes it impossible to continue.
Hannah walks up to us, too busy dusting her clothes from twigs and leaves to look up. "If you two are done talking about weird food, I found the flowers".
I'm impressed. I didn't think someone like Hannah would be the one who's actually working on the assignment right now. I mean, with Diana normally in her team, it's easy to think she'd never done any part in group works and would be deadweight to ours.
"I didn't take you as someone who works on group assignments, seeing how you always rely on Diana", Sucy remarks, hitting close to my own thoughts. I had to turn away so Hannah couldn't see my grin.
"Shut up, Manbavaran", Hannah snaps.
I notice a smile grace Sucy's lips at her success of getting under Hannah's skin a bit.
The thick bushes behind us suddenly start to rustle and it made me jump to my feet and hide behind Sucy. In a complete contrast to me, she stands there motionless staring at the source of the sound without any worry. The same can't be said about Hannah.
"Wh-what was that?! Something is there!" Hannah cries and points to the bushes.
We wait in dire anticipation, none of us making a move or another word as the noise comes closer and closer and the bush begins to shake as something is stirring inside it.
Something exited the bush slowly, and all breathes held are now released when a small bipedal creature now stands before us, its head tilting curiously as it notices us too.
It's as tall as a gnome or goblin, but as pretty as neither. Its skin is brown and seems thick, almost leathery. And its beady eyes study the three of us ever so curiously, no sign of alarm or hostility in them.
Whatever it is, it's small and doesn't seem to pose any threat. It looks dumb even.
The thing isn't a monster, but it isn't a beauty either. Yet Sucy decided to kneel in front of it and closely inspects it.
"Eh, Sucy, don't you think you're getting too close?" I ask, still holding cautiousness.
She doesn't respond but she does get up and had already continued forward when she says. "Come on, show us the way".
Upon being addressed, Hannah snapped her cautious gaze away from the creature and catches up to the pale witch. "R-right!"
I linger here longer than the two, somehow transfixed on the small creature. It tilts its head sideways, mimicking mine when I do so. I would turn around to follow the girls but stop in the last second and look back to check, and as expected, found it following my steps.
The creature stays silent and immobile when I look at it. I threw a stick far off the distance in hopes it's of a canine descent and would follow it on instinct.
Unfortunately it's not.
I turn and hasten my pace to catch up to the girls, hoping it'll just go away some time later once it gets bored with me or if it's tiny legs fail to keep up.
"&"
We follow Hannah's lead to a small clearing where a large tree stands tall in the middle, its branches spread wide above us, providing a dark and cool canopy for the whole clearing all by itself. The air's cold and clear, and the tall grasses brush gently against my legs. The sound of distant nocturnal animals also fills my ears, reminding me that no matter how dreary this place might seem, we're not alone, and I find comfort in that. And there at the foot of the large tree colourful flowers grow, what stands out among them is a magnificently blue crowned flower that seems to emanate a faint blue light from its crowns.
It's like the flower couldn't be any more obvious that it's our assignment.
The view is quite captivating, at least for me and probably Sucy (I can't tell what she feels about anything, really). As for Hannah, having been in this place just minutes ago, she already has her head on the right place.
"Right, that's the one we're looking for, right?" She asks and turns to us. "Just so we're clear, I'm not going to volunteer on the 'unearthing' part".
Hannah stops on her tracks when she got a glance at me. "What is that... animal doing here?"
Sucy arches her brows. "That's harsh, even for him".
"No", Hannah reiterates. She points somewhere close to my leg and says. "I meant that".
We follow her direction and see the creature from before hugging my left leg tightly. I lift my leg up but the creature won't go, it hangs in the air, holding onto my leg like a fish out of water.
"I don't… like this thing". I say.
While Hannah and I are quite disturbed by this creature's uncomfortable clinginess, Sucy chooses to ignore its presence and goes for the flowers.
Thankfully, one of us is pretty much immune to being disgusted. Sucy goes on to inspect the flowers, intending to unearth it in our stead. She extends her hand towards me and without looking, asks. "Glass jar".
"Sure, sure". I sling the backpack off my shoulder and take out a medium sized glass jar from inside.
Sucy then extends her other hand. "Trowel".
"Your will be done".
Reaching further inside my bag, I try to find it by feeling my way through the messy jumble of items. It's not exactly the easiest thing to do, in fact it's quite the difficulty. "That's the flashlight, no that's the spoon, no this one's a rope".
Both Hannah and Sucy begin to grow terribly impatient as I continue rummaging through my backpack without any satisfying result.
"No, that's the scalpel, nope that's the live frog, nope that is Francis's fish food, and… no this is my wand. Wait, wait I think I got it…. Nope! This is just my reverse hyper kinetic particle matrix arranger I borrowed from Constanze…"
Hannah groans and reaches inside the bag too. "Gosh, can't you do anything fast?"
"It's like a Ley Line in here, everything's mixed up! Seriously I've tried and there's no trowel in here".
It takes only a second for Hannah to find the trowel.
"Ah… never mind". I say. I take the trowel from the scowling Hannah and hand it to Sucy. "See? Found it".
The pale witch swipes the trowel from my hand. She eyes it for a moment before looking up and sending a death-filled, irritation-induced glare my way. "I should murder you with this trowel".
Hannah sighs. "Please do, I won't tell anyone if you do it here".
Despite her overwhelming irritation, Sucy chooses to ignore me for the time being and returns her attention to the flowers. She kneels on the ground in front of it and begin carefully extracting them from the ground.
"But won't you need gloves? Or disinfectants?" I offer and return to rummaging through my backpack.
Sucy seems to not hear me, or just outright ignores me, and digs the trowel deep into the soil with reckless sanitary abandon.
"We need to get the flower entirely, even its roots". She explains.
"Still… just don't forget to wash your hands after this, okay?"
Hannah's skin immediately pales as Sucy unearths some unexpected visitors alongside the flower's roots. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand and says. "Ew, that's a worm".
"Sucy, seriously, wash your hands after this", I remind her in a more serious tone.
"Seriously, shut the hell up, you two!" Sucy growls. She digs deeper into the dirt and creepy critters continue crawling out of the ground, this time in a more alarming frequency.
"Happy thoughts, Hannah, happy thoughts", I tell her. It does a moderate job in calming her down.
"Happy thoughts", she listens and tries. But then, the creature that's been watching the whole ordeal from the safety of my feet suddenly dives into the insect invested soil and begin to devour them. The crunching sound the insects made as their hard carapaces are chewed by the creature is enough to make me grimace and turn Hannah even paler white.
"Excuse me", the auburn girl hastily excuses herself before she separates herself from the group and runs into the treelines.
My eyes hesitantly go back and forth between Hannah's shrinking figure and Sucy. Hannah is squeamish, there's that, but I cannot understand how Sucy could stand such horrid sight without any difficulty to stomach it.
Sucy had to pause as the creature hinders her digging. She didn't try to stop it, however. Once done with its meal, the creature wipes its mouth with its tiny paw-like hands, bits of insect carapace and wings still dirtying it.
"That's not nice", I grimace slowly. "Not aesthetic at all".
Sucy grabs the creature before tossing it behind her back. It flew a good distance away from us.
While I don't share Sucy's constitution or Hannah's squeamishness, like any normal and sane human person, the sight I just witnessed here is good sign to keep my distance.
Not before throwing another helpful fact, of course.
"Did you know that earwigs have no relation to ears, like at all?"
"I thought they crawl into your ears?" Sucy asks, actually so interested in this piece of information that she pauses her digging and looks to me.
"No, it's a myth, apparently. And those pincers? The males use it to fight over females and the bigger they are, the bigger chance they'll be able to mate".
Sucy takes a momentary pause to take this one particular information. When she finally does, she returns to her digging and without looking back says. "I see…"
With Sucy now too busy with the flowers and Hannah too busy getting as much distance from the insects as much as possible, I'm left alone with no one to bother or be bothered with.
I look at the creature Sucy just tossed away, it's currently digging to the ground next to a flower. I figure it's trying to search for food, one that he doesn't need to be tossed away just to enjoy it.
What catches my attention more is the flower its digging next to, however.
The flower doesn't seem like anything I've seen in books, its sharp crimson petals sway along the cold forest wind that carries with it its strong yet welcoming smell. The crowns feel cold and silky smooth to the touch, and my impulse made it obligatory for me to pick the flower.
I gingerly put it on my chest pocket and, after a moment of consideration, uproot a few more, making sure to not damage the roots, and load them into another jar I had.
Done with my own thing, I give one glance at the still burrowing creature. I shake my head at its silliness.
I note that Hannah hasn't yet returned and Sucy seems less occupied with her flower, so I approach her again.
"About the blood", I start, and Sucy's silence convinces me she's listening.
The words I was about to say lingers at the tip of my tongue, but last minute consideration made me retract and modify it. "Do you… do you take yourself as a magically responsible student, Sucy?"
Sucy doesn't answer my question directly, instead she says, more so a statement than a question. "You're trying something forbidden".
"More or less".
Sucy turns and raises an amused brow. Perhaps she's amused, perhaps she didn't take me as someone who's willing to break rules, seeing how I acted a few days ago when I tried to stop her team and Amanda's from breaking one.
"You're going to tell me about it?" Sucy asks. The absence of command in her tone leads me to believe she doesn't expect me to answer it.
I lean myself on the tree and let the silence take over for a while as I try to think of a response.
In my defence, it's not easy asking favours to someone while not telling them what they're in for.
"I'll tell you what it is, if it works…"
Again, Sucy shoots me an amused look.
"…So that I won't look like a fool if I fail doing so". I answer with a believable smirk. It's something unspoken between us, but I feel like the two of us knows that's a lie.
Sucy turns away from me again, but before I could think she's lost interest, she speaks up again. "You're serious about this cooking, huh?"
"Tell you what. I'll let you have a taste if you help me cook it".
With her back turned, I can't tell whatever expression or thought Sucy's holding. But from this end of our conversation, I somehow have a good feeling that she didn't take my proposal too badly now.
Sucy had just finished gathering the flowers. Straightening her back, the witch places the jar inside her own satchel and turns to me. "That's enough flowers, let's head back".
As if on cue, the creature too had just finished his lunch and returns to us with a happy stomach.
I look around but I'm surprised to find Hannah hadn't yet returned.
"Hannah?! We're done with the unearthing part so you can come back now!" I shout. With my attempt meeting no result, Sucy tries her own luck.
"Hey, idiot! We're done here so come back!" Sucy shouts, but same as mine, hers came unanswered, save for the chirps and chitters of the nocturnal animals.
For a moment, none of us bothers to say or do anything. The two of us understood what sort of troubles we'll get if one of our teammates got herself in trouble, but another part questions do we really want to waste our energy for that girl.
The first to speak out of this moral dilemma is, naturally, me. "This sound like a terrible plan, but one of us should stay here in case she comes back while the other search for her".
"I'm not looking for her". Sucy, without a trace of hesitation, says. She's quick to kneel back on the ground and get her trowel out again. "The mushrooms here are pretty rare, so go ahead and search for her while I wait here".
"When I said one of us, Sucy…" I begin slowly, trying my best to supress an exasperated sigh. "I meant we should discuss on which one of us should go"
"I just did".
I no longer hold my sigh and ask myself why I even bothered. I'll never win any arguments with this girl.
The creature runs up to the digging Sucy, but is immediately stopped as the girl reaches out to it, grabs it by its face, and throws it behind her back.
I shake my head at her behaviour and place my focus back on the direction Hannah went into. From here, it's hard to discern anything beyond a few metres before the unnatural darkness takes over. Very little luminescent plants guide the way.
With a deep breath, I leave the clearing in search of the yellow bowed girl.
"&"
"Hannah?! Hannah?! Come out please, I just want to head back!"
What felt like a minute of searching had led me deeper and deeper into the forest, I would often stop to get a bearing of my surroundings, making sure that I won't be stuck in a fit of irony by getting myself lost in the process of searching for a lost person.
In one of the stops I made, I realize that the creature had followed me instead of staying with Sucy. But I don't mind. I would do the same if she threw me like that.
I acknowledge and approve the creature's presence with a nod and resume my thoughts.
There are a few new things I notice in this new area I've found myself in.
When I turn around, I can no longer see the clearing from here. Here I finally realize how far I've searched and how foreign this part of the forest is.
Second is the silence. The first thing I noticed when the three of us stepped into the Deepwoods is the unexpected liveliness of its inhabitants that counters the eerie look of the forest. Crickets, geckos, bats, and other nocturnal animals, they all did their part and made the forest unexpectedly bearable.
But now there's nothing. There's no chitter from the bats, no hoot hoots from the hoot hoots birds (or some would call them, owls), no chirps from the crickets nor from the geckos.
There's nothing. It's as if the whole forest, or even, the world, had gone quiet except for me, and this odd creature trailing behind me.
Before I could put my mind deeper into this strange phenomenon, a distant voice pulls my head out of uncertainty.
I whip my head to where the sound came from. "Sucy? I told you I don't need following, right?"
"Come here!" Sucy yells again, this time loud and commanding enough that I already move towards her voice before I could think about it.
This could only mean that Hannah must've gone back to the clearing before me.
I should be thankful to the girl for giving me a direction to head into with her voice, but the girl proves doing so takes no meagre amount of patience.
"Come here, idiot!"
"Yes, yes, I can hear you!". I yell back.
I try to quell the growing irritation at Sucy's nonstop yelling just for the sole reason that it's the only thing that could guide me back to her, and I'm beginning to think the girl is aware of this and is the reason she uses such choice of words.
If anything, I'm soon relieved to find Hannah's yellow bow emerging from the thick foliage ahead first like an antenna.
"There you are, we've been looking all over for you", the pompous girl says, brushing a few twigs and leaves off her clothes just like earlier.
Hannah notices the creature and shakes her head. It's been beside me the entire time and I note how it seems to sniff the air like a dog would when it caught scent of something meal worthy.
Despite the situation we're in, I couldn't resist the amused smirk that curves lips. "You were?"
Hannah furrows her brows and crosses her arms. "Look, I wouldn't be searching for you even if you went missing for days unless the teacher said it'll affect my grades, and even then I'd do it begrudgingly".
I felt like I should sigh, but I'm amused more than anything. "Why are you so mean today?"
Hannah crosses her arms, she wears an unimpressed frown. "To you? Do I really need a reason?"
I reckon it's partly because of today's revelation. Hannah was never that friendly to me in the first place, so knowing that might just give her more reason not to be so.
Regardless, the situation we're in just so reminds me of something.
"You know, being stuck with together, does it remind you of something?"
Hannah frowns—she clearly knows what I'm talking about. "Do you really want me to remember something like that? Hunting a killer golem is not good memory material at all".
"I thought you're dumb but not this dumb". Hannah says and shakes her head. "Also, what kind of idiot decides to split off from the group anyway? Maybe being an un-pureblooded wizard has something to do with it!"
Despite her jab at me, I couldn't help but smirk. It's exactly her jab and how forced it is that amuses me. Holding a snicker, I say. "Hannah, weren't you the one who split off from the group first?"
Hannah quickly glares at me – it was a weak glare that makes me more amused than anything. "That's besides the–"
She stops midway and just stares at me with narrowed eyes. Her mouth moves as she tries to make a rebuttal, but in the end, she couldn't come up with anything.
"Shhhut up"
I shrug my shoulders. "I'm fine with shutting mine if you promise you'll shut yours".
Hannah snorts and seems like she's going to try another jab at me. But whatever Hannah wanted to say was cut short when Sucy's growingly irritated voice calls out again.
"Are you two idiots done talking?"
Hannah instantly whips her head to the source of the interruption and shouts back. "Shut up, you freaking creep!"
Her voice was so loud that I had to cover my ears.
Only once the ringing stopped do I uncover my ears, yet my hand still lingering close to my ear in case she decides to try and pop them again.
I suppose, she was about to deliver some mighty rebuttal at me if she's this pissed at the interruption.
"Sorry, what was it you wanted to say, Hannah?"
Hannah turns to me and just as I thought, she looks quite agitated with the interruption. "Never mind! Let's just head back first".
As she turns away from me, Hannah took a brief glance at me but it turns to a full wide-eyed stare almost immediately. Confused, I couldn't say a word before Hannah immediately reaches out her hand towards me. "W-wh- watch out!"
I turn to look where she is and I could feel my heart leap.
There's something on my shoulder, and I didn't care to register what it is. What I did register is the glint that came reflected from its fangs that inches closer to my shoulder.
I instinctively smack the creature away and the two of us looks at it falls and tumbles in the grass.
Only after the surprise had fused down do we really get to see what that thing was.
It's the creature from before. It pushes itself up from the ground and looks at me.
It's exactly the same creature, I'm sure of it. But as it pushes itself up the ground and looks up to me, I could literally feel its hostility towards me.
Did I agitate it? And if I did, was it after or before I smacked it away from me?
I couldn't linger at these thoughts any longer when the creature suddenly leaped to its feet and lunges at me, surprising both Hannah and I with its agility.
It leaps straight to my face and I was just so caught up with its surprising speed that I nearly didn't have time to react. Reacting as quickly as I could, I hold my right hand up to cover my face, and I could feel something puncturing it immediately.
Hannah could only look in horror as I clutch my right hand tightly.
Its now heavy. The creature has bitten it good, and it won't let go.
I raise my hand and see the creature still clinging onto it with its mean teeth hooked in, its body dangling in the air and like a ragdoll as I swing my hand around trying to shake it off.
I had stayed silent, thinking this is nothing but a small misunderstanding. But as I feel the creature not letting go, fear begin to set in me. "Hannah, I can't take it off".
My words pulled Hannah back into focus and she finally starts to move. "H-Hold on, let me try to–"
"G-get a rock, get a rock".
"Are you crazy?! Are you trying to–"
"Hannah, I'm serious this thing isn't letting go".
The creature suddenly tightens its bite and I'm dead certain it dug deeper into my arm. I wince and certainly felt that but I didn't fail to notice one odd thing: I did not see any blood dripping out or spreading through the white bandage.
I fall to the ground from the sudden jolt of pain and that's enough to convince Hannah to take out her wand. She carefully aims it at the bloodsucker and fires off a Murowa spell. It barely scratches the creature.
"It's not working…" Hannah says, looking at her wand as if it's broken.
The two of us didn't even notice Sucy's arrival, The pale witch's eyes went wide as she assesses the situation.
Without a word, Sucy kneels next me. She studies the creature closely in silence, and from the look in her eyes, I know she has a better understanding of what's going on compared to the two of us. So I patiently wait for her verdict.
Hannah and I wait in dire anticipation as to what she has to say, which only makes her next course of action all the more alarming.
As sudden as the way she arrived, the girl suddenly stands up and starts walking away. "We got what we came, lets head back now". She says so with such indifference that it amazes me.
"Wh-whoa, Sucy! Can we address this thing first?".
"I've read about it somewhere". Sucy explains, glancing back at us. "It does bite anything that it sees as a threat, but it's just a nuisance and not harmful in the end, it'll let go".
"So I just walk back with this?" I ask, lifting the hand the creature is biting to emphasize my point. "It tried to bite me in the neck though, how was I a threat?"
"No idea what you did, but it now sees you as a threat. But what I do know is the more threat it thinks it's in the tighter its bite will be, it'll eventually let go once it's sure it's out of harm".
Without waiting for me to object any more, Sucy already resumes her walk.
Sucy's way to deliver her explanation might not be the best, but it's enough to make me less worried now that I know that this isn't as big as a problem as I first thought it was.
I turn to Hannah. "Well, that's a roller coaster of emotions".
But the girl doesn't return my humour. She still stares at my hand and the creature attached to it in worry. But I choose to believe in Sucy's words and try to forget about it.
"Come on, maybe if we show the creature how chill we really are it'll let go sooner than expected!" I say and follow Sucy. With the creature latched on my hand, it's sort of hard to balance myself properly.
I notice Hannah trailing close behind me. She hasn't spoken a word and I often forgot she's even there during the journey back.
"You really have bad luck with killer animals, huh?" Hannah mutters quietly.
"&"
Hannah strides closer towards Sucy. Once she's sure she's distanced herself enough from the third member of the group and is out of earshot, she whispers to Sucy quietly. "I don't know, Manbavaran, but that thing unsettles me".
Sucy closes her eyes briefly before opening them again and answering. "I'll give you the truth. We're in a bad situation here".
Hannah blinks. Her eyes search somewhere else for a moment but soon returns to the pale witch and murmurs. "The bite…"
Sucy nods. "You need to know, I didn't lie about it tightening its bite when facing threat. But what I didn't tell him is that it's not just a bite, that thing's having a meal as we speak".
Sucy gives Hannah a sidelong glance. "It's sucking his blood".
Despite not being the one having her blood drained, Hannah still feel her blood leaving her body. But she quickly shakes herself out of this and says. "Th-then we should take it off him!"
Sucy turns to Hannah and furrows her brows. "Keep it down, you don't want to–".
"Keep down?!" Hannah cries incredulously. She couldn't possibly think of any reason why Sucy wants to keep all this a secret.
"I'm aware, Hannah", Sucy hisses. "You've seen it yourself. That thing's durable, we can't do anything to that creature with what we currently have. We need to go back and find help".
"Then why are we walking like slowpokes? I thought this is serious!?"
Sucy is at the edge of her patience. She looks to Hannah with a sharp stare and half-growl half-whispers. "That thing is sucking his blood, the last thing we need is him knowing the danger he's in and have his heart pumping like crazy and quickening the process. And running would do just that too so we have no other choice but to walk, and none of us should show any indications that he's in danger and make him panic".
Hannah gulps and could only take this new information in silence. She couldn't dare look back to the boy who she now discovers could be in peril.
"Flare?" Hannah suggests.
Sucy shakes her head. "Thick canopies, you'd burn the whole forest first before help will arrive. And seeing the height of the trees, it'd take too long to climb up pass the canopies".
Hannah looks up and realizes with dread that the pale witch's words are completely correct.
Hannah keeps her face forward and says nothing to the girl beside her. She's trying hard to take all this information in, and the gravity and reality of the situation begins to weight on her slowly but surely, and she hates it.
Its hard for her to believe that she, Hannah England, is in such a messy situation without her friends anywhere near her to help her out of this. Why does it have to be her that got stuck in this situation and not someone else?
Its unfair, she thought to herself. How could she get grouped up with these two and far away from her friends? All this wouldn't have happened if the teachers didn't decide to do something as ridiculous as team-switching. She wouldn't even have to deal, she wouldn't have been involved in this ridiculous situation if it wasn't for the teachers.
And damn the forest and its thick canopies that it makes it impossible to fire off a flare and just be done with it, and now that she thinks about it, double damn the teachers who think a forest that makes it impossible to ask for help with a flare is a safe place to have an educational field trip!
Truly, this feels like the worst day possible for Hannah England. She feels like the whole universe is plotting to make this day so, and she despises it.
After a while, Sucy finally speaks again, this time in a more neutral tone. Its enough to pull Hannah away from the unpleasant thoughts that's brewing inside her head. "Anyway. Do you remember the way from here?"
Hannah nods. "Y-yeah, I think I do".
Sucy's advice might be intended for Jerry, but Hannah found that it could work for herself too. She knows it's best to not panic in such a situation, something she's terribly bad at doing to be frankly honest. So being busied with helping Sucy guide them out of here might take her mind out of the perils they've found themselves in.
Hannah did think this trip is already ruined the moment her teammates are revealed, but she didn't expect it to be this terrible. And as much as Hannah hated to admit it, she had to be thankful that the level headed Manbavaran girl is part of her team. She couldn't imagine herself keeping a clear head like her in a situation such as this.
But still, she's still a weirdo and a creep.
"G-guys", a raspy voice calls to the two girls, cutting off Hannah's thoughts. "Can we stop here, for a minute?"
The two girls turn and see the miserable form of Jericho. His skin pale, cold and sweaty, his laboured and sharp breathes shows his exhaustion, and his trembling legs shows just how little energy he has left. Its clear as day that he won't be able to stand upright for long.
Hannah felt like covering her mouth out of horror, but she quickly reminds herself not to show any signs that could lead him to a panic. And so, biting back any natural reaction, Hannah tries to answer his request. But she finds it impossible almost immediately, she has no idea how to do so with a straight face while keeping such a weighty secret away from him.
And so she's thankful that the Manbavaran girl takes the initiative and answers.
"We can't, the assignment's deadline will be up in a few minutes". She says, so calmly that Hannah looks to her with wide eyes.
No holes in her lie and no trace of nervousness. Hannah wonders if this is an act or that's her true feelings.
"I really… don't feel right". The boy moans, clutching his temple as cold sweat dribbles down from it.
Sucy sighs in annoyance, it's so convincing that whether it's a faked or genuine one, Hannah will never know.
Sucy continues to fetch a mushroom from her satchel and hands it to Jerry. "Eat lots of this, and water too, it'll get you through".
Jerry takes the mushroom without a second thought and begin eating eat. Feeling confident with himself now, he continues the trek once he finished taking a good amount of water.
"Shanks Shuushy", he mumbles while he's chewing a mouthful.
It's incredible, Hannah thought, how he could still wear a cheeky smile with what he's going through.
Something inside Hannah stirred, and she didn't like to admit it. Seeing him in such a miserable and lesser state (not that he's that great to begin with, mind you), she begin to think that she shouldn't be the one complaining.
Just a super tiny bit, though. She still mostly think that he's a mega dork and a total loser and that she's still the one who deserves to complain the most since she's in this situation thanks to him entirely and that he's not a pureblooded witch like her and the family she's born into.
And so, because of that, Hannah had no idea what reason made her slow down so he can keep up with her. She wears an unusually soft expression than she had never shown when he's within her field of vision and it only serves to make him uneasy.
"Give me your backpack" Hannah says. The lack of any soft tone that contrasts her otherwise kind offer serves to make it far from convincing.
Jerry suddenly pauses as he notices this, and he seems uneasy at the thought of handing her his bag just because she made such an unconvincing kind offer.
"But it's miiine", the boy whines in protest.
Hannah had to resist the temptation to just drop her offer and leave him be. "Just shut up and hand it over to me".
Hannah had to wrestle the backpack from him. And to her amusement, even in his state, Jerry tried to put up some resistance.
It was futile, of course. When Hannah England went out her way to be kind to someone she normally wouldn't, she won't accept the mockery of being denied.
It took a good minute to finally win the backpack and Hannah almost felt bad. She basically just took a sick person's belonging by force.
Just almost.
"If you make it dirty…" the boy drawls and points at Hannah with his right hand – the one the creature is still on. "Literally, I'll sue your entire family".
Hannah almost felt she regretted offering him help in the first place. But he's sick, so for once, she'll let this slide.
Hannah lets the boy walk in his own pace and she catches up with Sucy, oversized backpack now on her back.
"I thought you said we can't do anything?" Hannah whispers once she's close. "About the mushrooms, I mean".
"I did. It's just a placebo".
Hannah blinks. "P-placebo?"
She's mostly surprised that the girl could come up with one so quickly and seamlessly during that brief and sudden conversation.
"It does nothing", Sucy explains. "Basically it serves only to make him optimistic, nothing else".
Hannah's thick brows quickly shape into an annoyed frown. "Yes, I know what it meant, Sucy. It wasn't a question".
Hannah's very certain the girl has more snide in store, so she's puzzled when the pale witch says nothing more. She later realizes that the reason for that is the backpack she's carrying, and how Sucy is giving it an amused sidelong glance.
Hannah didn't need her to say it to know what she's thinking.
"Just… don't ask", Hannah sighs.
As the journey back continues, the thick canopies begin to thin little by little. Hints of sunlight slip through the tiny crevices of the canopies, bathing the dark forest with growingly common rays of warm sunlight.
They're like fleeting strings made of light and hope, telling the three that safety is close.
However, just when they thought things are getting better, the sound of something heavy falling onto the ground reaches the girls' ears.
Hannah already knew what it was and didn't even want to turn around. Sucy however, doesn't miss a beat and pulls out a retractable cot from her satchel (which just now Hannah realized is already enchanted) and brings it near the unconscious boy's body.
Sucy uses her magic to levitate Jerry into the cot and uses another to make it move and follow her. She'd already resumed her trek, enchanted cot behind her, while Hannah is still baffled.
"Nojitto mushrooms", Sucy explains as she moved pass Hannah. Unlike her, Sucy seems unfazed by the whole situation. "I sort of lied when I said it was placebo earlier".
In fact, it was a double placebo, if you think about it. She managed to fool not just the patient!
"Now that he won't have his heart race in any way, is it safe to run our way out of here now?" Hannah asks.
She almost hated herself for saying that. The last thing she wants to do now in this already miserable day is to tire herself by running – one of the many un-ladylike activities she hates to do.
This flower better cure cancer! Hannah thought to herself.
So in rush are the two now that they have no room to focus on anything else. So in rush they were that they fail to notice a leaf that had landed on the boy's temple.
Not that such a thing warrants any attention. But, if you take the shape of the leaf into account, it probably should.
A crescent shaped leaf had descended through the thick canopies and landed right on the boy's temple.
That's unusual, unnatural, even.
No such tree that grows such leaves grow anywhere near this forest.
It's impossible for such a leave to appear here naturally.
He felt odd when he woke up.
He knew he was unconscious, but he's already standing on both his legs when he opened his eyes.
Jericho Franklin Jr. looks to his surroundings, hoping to find a clue on where he could possibly be.
He's somewhere foreign, that's for sure.
But there's nothing to describe the place he's in. In fact, that's the only description he could think of this strange place; nothing, just a dark landscape of nothingness.
He calls out, but found his voice drowning in the dark.
Drowning? That's an odd word to describe it.
He couldn't even hear his own voice! He tries to shout louder, harder, but he couldn't hear anything, save for the dripping of water.
Water, here?
Drip, drop.
Once, twice, thrice.
But he couldn't find the source.
It goes on again.
Drip, drop.
Once, twice, thrice.
He turns and turns but can never find where that noise came from. He even began to think his mind is playing tricks on him.
But the sound won't disappear, and he knew it's real, somehow.
He moves his legs and felt water, ankle-high, limiting his movement.
He looks down and would've grumbled about his now wet and dirtied trousers if he could hear his own voice.
But something catches his attention. He saw something on the corner of his eye that distracts him from his dirtied trousers.
Leaves, crescent shaped ones, ones he'd swore he'd saw somewhere before but can't figure out where.
They're numerous, floating on the water and leading to the distance, leaving a path-like trail for him to follow.
And he did. Leaves after leaves he follows, until it leads him to the only thing that exists in this place other than the nothingness, the leaves, his partially wet trousers, and the endless drip drop of water.
A stone door stands in front of him. It's tall, towering. It's thick, deep. It's cold, freezing. It's old, ancient, archaic…
Primordial.
Primordial, he thinks to himself. He likes the sound of it. It's one of those words you'd hardly hear or use daily, but he loves the sound of it. It just sounds awe inducing and ominous, and it felt like the perfect word to describe this door.
But, he has no idea why that word drifted into his thought the moment his eyes lay on the door. He has no idea why he thought this door's age deserves such a word.
He just knew.
He reaches to the door. He barely touches it and could already feel it shudder.
The door moves, sliding heavily inwards, and a draft of cold air sweeps through, and he recoils from it.
There is something behind the door, something that the door wanted him to see. And he felt there's no need for resistance. He felt that he could trust the door and where it leads to. He felt whatever is behind it deserves his utmost and full attention.
The door wants him to see something.
He wants to see that something.
He passes through the door, and his footsteps will soon vanish from this nothingness and everything becomes silent.
The door slowly closes shut behind him with a heavy shudder that spread ripples across the still water. The ripple travels through this seemingly endless nothingness, and just like this unnatural place, the ripple itself is unnatural in a way that it seems to show no sign of losing momentum. At this rate of no disturbance, the ripple might just grow endlessly, forever.
In this nothingness, nothing could've disturbed this growing ripple. But something did.
A lady in green observes as the ripple softly parts and dissolves after it hits her legs. Her eyes wander slowly from the water and back to the distant door.
She felt what she thought to be anticipation, the pleasant kind. It's a feeling she thought she'd forgotten long ago.
She'd been observing the boy's actions, and she'll continue doing so.
Author's Addendum:
What lies beyond the door, no one but she knows.
Well, isn't this a choice of trio combination that rarely happens. I wonder what you guys think of it, and do tell if any of the interactions seems odd or OOC, especially Hannah. She has little material to work with as a writer after all! So feedback is appreciated.
And the POV, do you think a third person like so is better? I'm worried about head-hopping if I try to do that. Just give me a piece of your guys thoughts on it and whether I should go back to first-person or third.
And also, har har, yes, steamed hams is old now but I thought of that interaction back when it was still fresh, and like hell I won't make it here.
Anyhow, wow, this chapter is 9000 words long, far more than I anticipated when I decided to cut it in two. In fact, I've decided to cut it again! The end part of this chapter, about ¼ of the original chapter, has been cut and fitted in the next upcoming chapter instead.
I've no clear idea where I can have it released. Like I said, been busy lately and going to be more busy with midterm exams coming in. So hopefully I'll do great with it and can go back working on this baby with a clear and unburdened conscious.
Also also, those who read my rework chapters might recognize that Hannah callback!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, ladies and gents. As always, review, and if you haven't, favourite and follow this baby.
Also, this writer just binged a full season of JoJo part 3, and is now on episode 29 of Diamond is Unbreakable. I'm awakened now, I feel like I'm born a new man.
Kakyoin is best brojo, fucking love that man.
Next time on Discount Little Wizard Academia: the kindling of a destiny prepared since the dawn of magic!
P.S. Sorry, Ted, it wasn't a skinwalker after all :(
TO BE CONTINUED