Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of death and war
Sorry for the late post everyone! I had some trouble with this chapter, but hopefully it's worth the wait! Please enjoy!
I do not own Twisted Wonderland, it belongs to it's owners. I only own my oc's.
Chapter 5: Secrets are best told at night
~The next day~
"…End it with a period here….and done. Now just press that button right there…and…" Ace said as he looked over Tanza's shoulder while instructing her how to use her new magicphone.
Tanza did as Ace said and pressed the send button near the text message. After a moment of silence, Deuce's phone made a noise and he unlocked it to see Tanza's message.
"Got it" he said with a smile.
"I see. So that's how texting works…" Tanza said as she looked at her phone. She then looked back through the numbers that she had in her contact list. She then turned to both Ace and Deuce, "Thanks for teaching me guys" she said with a smile.
"Sure. It's a bit hard to believe that you don't know how to use a phone…but then again I don't think Hollytinne has any towers that give service, do they?" Deuce asked.
Tanza thought back to her home, "We do have some service to at least keep in contact with those beyond our home, but as far as any of the fancy extra stuff, no, we don't use that. We only use the latest technology for the sake of communication or for online selling, which we do a lot of as I have seen my aunt do" she explained.
"I see, that would make sense as Hollytinne is said to be a very old-fashioned community" Ace said as he thought back to what he was told.
"I wouldn't call it old-fashioned, as we do try to keep up with trends that would be helpful to us. I think traditional modern is more of the right word, as we try to combine both the modern ideas and aspects of society and our own cultural ways to try and help people understand us" Tanza explained as she took a bite of her grilled chicken breast.
"Gotcha. Oh, speaking of your home, I did mean to ask you this yesterday when we were talking," said Ace. He then looked around for a bit and brought his head low, motioning to the others to crowd in to talk quietly. Yuu, Grim, Deuce and Tanza all closed in, keeping their ears open.
"It is true…that your people use overblot as a form of magic?" Ace asked Tanza, keeping his voice at a whisper.
Tanza's eyes widened at that, but she kept silent. She then looked to the side and gave a sigh. She then looked around before pulling her phone out and sending a text to Ace, Deuce and Yuu. In a moment, their phones activated.
'I'd rather talk in a different place about that if possible. Is there a place where we could meet in private away from prying ears and eyes?' her text read.
Yuu then looked at the trio and said, "Lets meet at my dorm and talk there. The ghosts shouldn't interfere with us if we wished to speak in private" he offered.
Tanza nodded, "That should work. I have been curious about the Ramshackle Dorm on the property anyway, so that should work out fine" she said. She then looked to the other two, "Will that work for you guys too?" she asked.
Ace shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, fine by me" he said.
Deuce nodded, "Yeah, lets meet up after- oh wait. I got club today so I can't come after class, but if you got time after that I can do that" he offered.
"Club?...Ah, shoot, I forgot about that" Tanza said as she snapped her fingers, "I need to sign up for a club soon or else I'm going to be placed in a random one…but I can't decide which one to go with…" she said.
"Well, what exactly do you like to do?" Ace asked.
"Lets see….I love to dance, I do capoeira, I can ride deer….I also like running, I often run with the deer along the fence and we often race…." Tanza explained, thinking back to her home life.
"Hmmm….well if you like to run, you can always join the track and field. I'm in that too so if you feel bullied I can back you up" Deuce said as he gave her a smile.
"Hmm….I was thinking about that, but I got nervous at the thought of boys being around a girl…and of course me in trackwear…" Tanza said thinking about those track uniforms that she had heard about with the short shorts and t-shirts. "Well...as long as I can wear something modest for the club I can probably go with that one…I'd have to talk to the headmaster about that…" she said as she thought about joining.
"Cool. And I think that you would have to wear something rather modest anyway, although your outfit is a bit…umm…" Deuce said, unsure of what to say.
Tanza caught on, "Yeah well blame my tailor aunt. She didn't want me to be dressed like a boy if it could be helped, so I'm stuck with this. Plus, if I was awake instead of in a coma for 3 weeks I would've had some say in the design" she said, the last part slipping out without her realizing it.
"Oh…wait what?! You were in a coma? What happened?" Ace asked, shocked.
Tanza tensed at that, "Shoot, let that one slip out…" she said. She then lowered her voice, "I'd rather talk about that after school if possible" she said, looking at the group. "Too many eyes and ears lingering around" she added.
"Uhh sure, that works" Ace said, not sure as to why she would keep quiet about that, but he respected her decision.
Soon the bell for the next period rang and the group made their way to their classes for the rest of the day.
-*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v-
It was later into the evening and thankfully it was a Friday night where no one had classes to attend the next day so a slumber party was planned for the evening. Tanza was a bit nervous at the idea, but when Yuu and Grim suggested that everyone would sleep in separate rooms to prevent overcrowding and trouble, she relaxed at that. Excited about the idea, she gathered a few items from the boxes she couldn't unpack due to there being no room for it and took it with her to the Ramshackle dorm. When she was sent away to NRC, the people of her village sent some of their hand-made crafts with her to give out to her new friends and dorm mates. But since she was all nerves and walking on needles the past few weeks, she had no need to pass out such items. But now she had an excuse to at least give some of the items away, as she figured the group of 4 might like something from her village, or at least Yuu and Grim might. As she walked along the walkway from the hall of mirrors to the Ramshackle Dorm, sadly something dropped from her grasp and fell down the stone walkway, a simple bar of goat milk soap, which caused her to stop and set her bags down. She turned to go and grab the item when she saw an unusual figure picking it up from the ground.
The person in question was quite tall, clad in the colors of Diasomnia. Skin pale as the full moon, eyes green like that of poison, hair black as the dark of night with hints of midnight blue, and upon his head a pair of black horns that curve back and up around with the ends pointing to the sky. Overall, he had a striking appearance, but while Tanza did feel a powerful aura coming from him, she didn't sense any malice. She gently approached the man in question who held the fleeting bar of soap before he turned his direction to her.
"Hm? Who's there?" he asked, turning to her.
Tanza froze for a moment but then relaxed as she gave a small bow to the man in question.
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude, I just came to get that soap that fell from my bags" she said.
"Oh, I see. Well then, here you are" he said as he handed the soap back to her.
After taking the soap into her hands, she noticed his grip on the slippery cleansing product and how it lessened as it was placed in her palms, the gentle transition from his to her own seemed to be different than what she was expecting from such a powerful being, but she kept silent. She gently took it and placed it in a cloth that she had in her purse in case the soap would slip. She then turned her attention back to the man before her, carefully looking at his uniform.
"Pardon me for asking, but are you from Diasomnia? You're wearing the same uniform colors of Lilia Vanrouge-senpai" Tanza stated as she kept looking at him.
"Hm? You know Lilia?" he asked, but then he relaxed as he realized who she was, "Ahh, so you're the one that teleported after Lilia scared you, plus, he also was there at your entrance ceremony. I've heard quite a bit about you, miss…?" he asked, waiting for her name.
"Tanza, Tanza Frallen" she said with a smile, "And…you are?" she asked.
"I am…well…perhaps it's better if you don't know. After all, my name might make you shiver in fear" he said, a small smile adorning his face.
Tanza quirked an eyebrow, "Why would I do that? The only person who would make me shiver in fear is my bastard father. As for you, sure I sense a powerful aura from you, but I sense no malice. Unless you're secretly a jokester that likes to play with other's emotions, but I doubt that" she stated rather bluntly.
The eyes of the horned man before her widened a fraction at hearing her words, catching him off guard a bit.
"Oh ho? That is an interesting way of seeing people, but what if you're wrong? For all you know, I could be a very dangerous person" he said, a smile adorning his face.
Tanza gave a smirk, "If that was so you wouldn't have been so gentle in returning that soap to me. The way you released the soap into my hand gave me an indication that you were holding back a bit, as if you didn't want to harm me. That tells me that yes, you are powerful, but you also don't wish harm upon anyone, thus making you a kind person and one who shouldn't be discriminated by fear" she said.
The horned man showed a hint of surprise upon his face at her words and smiled before giving a laugh, "You are interesting. But yes, you are right and those are some kind words. Therefore, in return for them, I shall grant you my name" he said. He gave another small smile as he hesitated for a moment, but then spoke, "I am Malleus Draconia, the next heir apparent to Briar Valley" he said.
Tanza paused at that but then her eyes widened in surprise, "Ahh so you are Malleus. I remember hearing about you from Queen Marolga" she said, "I didn't know that you were going here, that's amazing" she said with a grin.
"Hm? Queen Marolga? Ahh, the ruler of the bug colonies in the Rose Kingdom. You're acquainted?" Malleus asked.
"Indeed. Her finest scholars teach different lessons to the children in my village, one of them being Insectia, the language of insects" Tanza explained. She then had an idea, and gave a small smirk before speaking Insectia, a language that consisted of vibrations and mores code – like pauses and beats.
"-.- - ..- / -.- -. - .- / - - - ..-.. (You know too?)" she asked.
Malleus jumped a bit in surprise but he returned her grin, ".. / -.. - .-.-.- (I do)" he said, ".. - .-. .-. . ... ... .. ...- . (Impressive)" he added.
Tanza then gave a sigh and rubbed her throat, "I'm still working at it as the longer I use it the harder it is on my throat, but on a good day I can do much better" she said as she looked back at Malleus, "But I'm glad to know you know it too, Lord Malleus" she added, speaking as polite as possible.
"Haha, well hopefully we can communicate more in Insectia. After all, for a human to know a Fae language is quite rare" Malleus said with a smile, "Plus, when Lilia said that a young lady was in our school I was honestly quite worried about what might become of you, so I wanted to seek you out sooner. But after the whole issue with Lilia, I thought it would be best to talk to you after you were a bit calmer, but now we're here. Are you heading somewhere?" he asked.
Tanza nodded, "I was on my way to the Ramshackle Dorm just up the road. We're having an overnight get together" she said, motioning to the currently boarded building.
"Hm? That building there? I didn't know that there was someone living in it" Malleus said as he frowned at the thought.
"Yeah, it's a bit weird, but I guess if you're not from around here you need someplace to stay out of the ran. The headmaster is quite kind…to an extent" Tanza said. Suddenly her phone gave a notification and she pulled it out.
'You coming?' said the message from Yuu.
'Yeah, just a moment' Tanza said in a message back to Yuu.
She then turned back to Malleus, "I have to go, can't make the boys wait, but perhaps the next time we have a get together we can invite you, Lord Malleus" she suggested.
Malleus still had a sad look upon his face, but he then said, "Perhaps, but for now, I'll have to find another place for my evening walk. I bid you good night, Miss Tanza" he said with a small smile.
"You as well, Lord Malleus" she said, returning his smile.
After the two departed, Tanza went on to the Ramshackle dorm with her supplies.
-*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*-
A few hours had passed after Tanza arrived and the group just finished in doing a ton of cleaning of the dorm at her suggestion. After all the hard work, the boys munched on the potato croquettes that Tanza cooked earlier to serve as a snack.
"Meow meow thanks for the chow!" Grim said as he took another croquette from the pile on the tray.
"These really are good, Tanza. Thanks" Deuce said with a smile as he took another bite of the one in his hand.
"I could totally eat these as a full meal on a lazy day" Ace said as he took a swig of soda.
"These are very good, Tanza" Yuu said as he thanked her.
Tanza gave a chuckle, "Think nothing of it. Better to give these out for friends since Vil is very strict about me eating these. So if I can't eat them myself, I'll let others eat them in my stead" she said with a grin.
"By the way, that cleaning magic really sped up the process. Do you use that at Pomefiore?" Ace asked.
Tanza sighed and shook her head, "Sadly I cannot use it as Vil sees that as cutting corners, or cheating in building a beautiful body. But though I can't use it at Pomefiore, that doesn't mean I can't use it at all at the school" she said as she also munched on an apple in the kitchen. She then cleared her throat, "So, now that we've taken a break, I'd like to discuss what I had meant to tell you at lunch earlier today, about my village using blot as a form of magic" she suggested to the boys.
"Fine by me", "Sure, that sounds fair", "Nyah, if I have to", said Deuce, Ace and Grim respectively.
"Lets head out to the main lounge area, as there is more space there than in the kitchen" Tanza suggested. She then brought the tray of croquettes with her to set on the nearby side table so the boys could eat while she prepared a coffee table with a few items. She then set a small stool on one side of the table and sat on it while the boys sat on the couch on the other. Once the items were gathered, she then looked up at the boys and began her lecture.
"So, blot in the body isn't considered a good thing and there are ways to combat the overblot that form in a crystal. A good night's sleep, food, moments of rest, anything that allows the body to recover. And of course if you end up using too much magic and include negative emotions with it, then overblot occurs. But I believe you guys already know this, correct?" Tanza asked, earning a nod from the four at present. "And of course, if a person overblots a first time then the chances of overblot happening again is increased compared to a person who hasn't overblotted before and it could happen at any time. However, if you knew what triggered it or what caused you to go into overblot in the first place, that would decrease the chances of overblot forming again" Tanza stated. "This is the best way to try and contain blot as well as prevent it from occurring again, or at least it's the best treatment according to those of blot research" Tanza explained. "However, my people have discovered a way to actually use blot as both a means of magic as well as a psychological step toward understanding yourself as a person and growing from it" Tanza added.
Grim spat a little bit of his potato croquette out as he heard that, "Fyna! Wait, does that mean you come from a blot research group too?!" he asked.
Tanza thought about his words, "Well….not exactly. Rather than a research group, we're more of an isolated information community, mainly because of what our territory is infamous for, land that is so tainted by blot that even a person who has never overblotted before can immediately overblot and possibly die from the exposure" she explained.
Yuu and Grim swallowed at that, hearing how dangerous it could be to visit Tanza's hometown.
"How can that be? Did something happen?" Grim asked nervously.
Ace and Deuce leaned in, as they wanted to hear the story too.
Tanza gave a sigh and started to tell the story of her people, "The reason for that occurred several hundred years ago, when the Rose Kingdom wanted to conquer our lands for it's own gain. However, through practices of magic that were considered unknown at the time, we won our independence and drove the Rose Kingdom's knights away, never to have them set foot again on our grounds. But sadly the cost of war was too great. Thousands died, many from weapon wounds, but the majority was due to overblotting and not controlling their blot before death took them. And without the proper ritual materials to 'expel the blot' per say, our people did something that many of us would come to regret for years" She paused, wanting the boys to take in what she was saying. She then took a breath to continue her tale, "The corpses of the fallen were taken to the tallest mountain in the area, which happened to be an ancient inactive volcano, and they were dumped inside the entrance of the volcano without a proper ritual. A few nights later, when everyone was asleep, the people awoke to hearing cries of ghouls, ghosts and goblins roaming the land and causing an uproar, damaging crops, killing game stock, shouting to the moon, it was all a mess. Turns out the blot from the bodies that were dumped in the volcano melded together and created a blot demon as big…well bigger than the school campus itself with large black bat-like wings, horns like a devil and a grin like a monster. The blot up there accumulated into this being and it's influence spread throughout the land, cursing us with the increased chances of blot, and it would've destroyed us as well if it wasn't for Crystal Henge" Tanza said.
"Crystal Henge? What's that?" Grim asked.
"It's an ancient circle of stones that was made by the Crystaliam people. It protected us from overblotting and becoming demons ourselves, but as a result, certain creatures were created from the demon's influence, such as the Headless Guardian, once a soldier on the battlefield who lost his head in an attack who now rides through our land as it's last protector, and the River Leviathan, an ancient stone creature from the Crystaliam era that prowls our waters for intruders. However, over the years since then, many negotiations with the mountain demon have been made and our people have become more open to the gift of overblot. Over time, more people have entered our lands due to our entry ritual to appease the ancient mountain, and much greenery has returned as well, all except for the area around the volcano and the battlefields where many of the blotting took place. As a result of these tales of demons and monsters, my homeland obtained it's notorious name…The Baldlands" Tanza explained.
"The Baldlands? That actually sounds pretty cool, but I don't know if I would want to go there, at least with the story you're telling…" Grim said.
"I wouldn't say that. Sure the lands themselves have an unstable history, but the truth is now most of the lands save for a few small patches have been cleansed and turned into farmland, or more fittingly, game land. Many herds of deer and boar graze the lands not to mention the many small game and water fowl farms we have around the area. It's more accessible and less blot enticing, but the ritual is still required for entry, save for certain holidays of the year. It's actually to become a rather interesting tourist adventure" Tanza said while smiling, happy to talk about her homeland.
"Good to know it's not as bad as before, but why is it called Hollytinne now?" Asked Deuce.
"Because when the late head of our village, Wilhelm Plantaga, wished to see our village have better connections to the kingdom our home was based in, he agreed to not only opening up the borders during said certain times of the year but also to changing our land's name to match some of the cities in the Rose Kingdom, in exchange for us keeping our traditions alive. Hence when people hear the name Hollytinne, they don't think of it as being the new name of the Baldlands. But mention it's former name to anyone and people will immediately go crazy out of fear. And we've had our share of people who call us murderers and life sacrifiers. But none of that is true, they just allow fear to discriminate what they choose to not understand. But when you look past that fear, you might discover that there is more to us than meets the reputation. We're not bad people, we're just like you, just with different beliefs. Nothing wrong with that, right?" Tanza said, her voice full of both passion and defense.
Ace and Deuce listened well to her story, taking in the pain that she and her people feel from the discrimination that they have received over the years, and it made them feel guilty in the process.
"Yeah, you're right. We all have the right to different opinions and to different beliefs and no one should be denied that" Deuce said, agreeing with Tanza.
"And you're right about looking past what we fear, cause I can say that helped me. When I first heard that a girl was in our school, I wasn't sure if I could approach you because I thought either you were here against your will and were going to attack us every chance you got or that you were here for another reason that I will not say out of respect, but I think you get the idea" Ace said.
"Eh? Oh, you mean the 'S' word, right? The word that isn't salmon" Grim said, earning a glare from Ace.
Tanza looked at both Ace and Deuce and smiled, "That does give me some hope, especially since you are both from the Rose Kingdom" she said.
Grim then spoke up, "So um…how does this have to do with blot being a form of magic?" he asked.
"Hm? Oh, right, we got off topic for a while. So, let me explain with something that might make things easier" Tanza said as she pulled out what looked like a star map. After rolling it out on the table, the parchment was opened to reveal the different phases of the moon in a circle around the star map. Tanza cleared her throat and moved her hands across the map.
"So imagine us wizards as like the moon. None of us are completely filled with light as we all have our dark moments or moments of negativity, but we're also not completely filled with darkness as we have our quirks and good things about us all. We all have light and darkness in us. We have magic and we have blot. Blot comes from using magic…but magic can also come from using blot. It might be considered dangerous, but only if you let it be dangerous. After all, sometimes it's alright to feel sadness, to feel anger, to feel fear, to feel any negative emotion, it's just what makes us living beings. But if people say that blot is dangerous to both the mind and the body, then that's just saying that it's a bad thing to feel negative emotions within you…it's like you're being told to cast aside a part of you that many people find dangerous. But for my people, blot doesn't have to be destroyed in order for a person to live a good life" Tanza said. "My people believe that overblot isn't so much of an evil thing as it is more of a…coming into your own or a chance to grow, for lack of better terms. For us, we believe that overblot occurs when we need to face a part of ourselves that we're ashamed of, or a time in our lives that we have to face and try to overcome, if that makes sense" Tanza explained, "Basically, rather than viewing this as a means of a magic related problem, we view it as a means of a psychological related problem" she said, trying to think of better ways to explain it.
Yuu then spoke up, "Like a conquering of your inner demon?" he asked.
"Yes, to an extent" Tanza said. She looked at Ace and Deuce who seemed to be lost in the conversation.
"Perhaps an example is needed instead. Take me" Tanza started, "I myself have overblotted before, not once, but twice. Once when I was awake and the other when I was in a coma. I was only…7 or 8 when my first overblot occurred. As an orphan….with a mother who was 16 when she gave birth to me and barely past her 17th birthday when she died, I was often picked on, especially by a certain son of the head of my village, the second son, Johan Plantaga. By that time, I had already discovered my unique magic and had started learning how to use it. Around that time I was also starting to learn Capoeira and often got into fights with Johan and the other boys. But after a certain period of time, I started getting sick of the teasing, name-calling and more and so my overblot occurred. It took a long time for the adults of the community to take me down, but eventually they succeeded and thankfully the teasing, from all but Johan, stopped after it was discovered that they caused me to overblot" she paused for a moment, taking a breath to collect herself before continuing, as this was hard for her to tell them, but she kept going.
Once she collected herself, she continued, "For many weeks I had nightmares about the person I had become, but the more I tried to ignore it, the more it came to me in my dreams or during meditation, almost like it wanted something. Finally I decided enough was enough and I decided to give this being a chance to talk. The darkness within, who I call Judith, kept saying that I should get revenge against those who looked down on me and teased me after all these years. Sure I wanted that, I wanted it so badly…but then I thought to myself, if I did that to them then it would be no different to back then when they did it to me. I would've become the bully and I didn't want to be that, and neither would my mother want me to be like that. So I communicated with Judith many times and it wasn't until a few months later that Judith and I finally came to an understanding. It wasn't worth our time to get revenge as it wouldn't change interpretation of what people thought about me and my mother. Instead, we would try and fight back poor interpretations and change what the people think of all three of us, if we could. And after many years, almost all of the village sees me as a person who is a strong fighter, a hard worker, a great sister figure and more. And though it didn't change all perspectives about my mother, our hard work did do some good. But what happened exactly is a story for another day, but basically, I wouldn't be the person I am now if it wasn't for Judith. She is now like the dark side of the moon for me, neither evil or negative, but still an important part of me" Tanza explained.
She then gave the boys a moment to think about all that they have heard, as it was a lot to take in.
After a moment of silence, she spoke, "Does what I say make sense to you? Or did I throw you for a loop?" Tanza asked, fearing that they were lost on her.
"S-Sorry, it's just a lot to take in...and the part about your mother really sticks out to me" Deuce said.
"Yeah, me too, but I get what you're saying about the overblot. In fact, I wonder if this might help Riddle-senpai at all?" Ace said, recalling what he saw earlier this year.
"Huh? Riddle?" Tanza asked.
"Our housewarden of Heartslabyul" Deuce said, "He went into overblot a couple of weeks ago" he added.
"He did? Has anything happened to him since then?" Tanza asked, curiousity and concern filling her voice as she asked them.
"Well, before he overblotted, he was a very hard stick in the mud when it came to the rules, all 810 of them and he expected all of us to follow them to the T, which got both of us kicked out for a while. But after the overblot, he learned to be less strict when it came to the rules and learned to forgive mistakes. If anything, he became more reasonable" Ace explained, thinking back to the past few weeks.
Tanza relaxed a bit at that, "Well that's good, it sounds like he found a way to not let overblot come back around, at least for the time being. However, I'm a bit concerned about the idea of teaching how to overcome overblot to him as I myself am no expert and the fact that he isn't from Hollytinne, where overblot training is often taught" she said.
"Why do you say that?" Deuce asked.
"Because I'd rather not risk the chance of him passing away from a failed attempt. There have been people who died because of inexperienced blot using wizards, or blot warlocks as we call them, not doing things right" Tanza explained. "And as one who is still going through overblot training myself, I don't think I would be the best person for the job…" Tanza said, trailing off a bit.
"Oh don't sell yourself short. You're being way too modest around these guys"
Everyone jumped at the sound of an unknown female voice talking out of nowhere.
"What the- Was that a ghost?" Ace asked.
"That wasn't one of the ghosts here. We would know if it was" Grim said as he looked around, his fur bristling in uncertainty.
Tanza gave an irritated sigh, "Judith, I thought we agreed that you wouldn't pop out like this when I'm among friends…" she said. She then looked at her left arm, pulling up the sleeve where a strange looking tattoo, shimmering with both blot black and crystaliam blue, written in a language the boys didn't recognized.
"I got bored and I want to meet the boys myself. Come on…Tan-tan~…" the voice called out in a teasing tone. As it spoke, the tattoo glowed in rhythm to its words.
Tanza flinched and her cheeks became pink at her childhood nickname, "D-Don't use that nickname! Only the orphans can call me that!" she shouted, embarrassment lacing her tones.
"Tan-tan? Aww that's a cute nickname" Ace said jokingly.
Tanza jerked a glare to Ace, "You use that nickname in class and I will kick you in the nuts" Tanza said threateningly, tanzanite eyes glaring spears.
"Woah, woah, ok. I'm joking Tanza" Ace said as he held up his hands while giving a nervous laugh.
"Anyway, who said that?" Grim said.
Tanza gave a groan, "Judith why do you have to embarrass me like this?" she said as she put her fingers to her temple.
"Huh? Wait, that was Judith?" asked Deuce.
"Oh I could do much more than that. But if you let me out then I would refrain from doing so~" the voice said, clearly loving how Tanza was reacting. "Pweaseeeeee?" the voice called out.
Tanza growled at the thought of having more embarrassment being placed upon her, but gave a sigh in defeat, "Fine, but only for a few minutes, you know what happens when you're exposed to others for too long" she said as looked back at the tattoo on her arm. "Dele sigillum, emissio (Blot Seal, release)" Tanza said in Latin. Just as she said that, the seal on her arm changed from shimmering black and blue to pure black and slowly ink started to pour out of her arm and manifest into a puddle in the middle of the Lounge area. From the ink a figure began to appear, a female form that was like a black silhouette of Tanza. As the darkness and ink faded, a figure began to appear, one with a similar skin color as Tanza, strands of curly black hair poking out of her white coif while a veil of transparent black covered her head. Her body was dressed in a typical nun outfit, but the big differences came from both her habit skirt, where instead of it being down to the floor it was a high-low skirt that reached a half inch above her knees and the edge was fringed and frayed, and the sleeves which only reached down to her elbows, with the cuffs of the sleeves being the same fringed style as the skirt. Her legs were covered by a set of thigh-high transparent tights and a pair of high heels covered her feet. Her face was a spitting image of Tanza's, only this time it had a mask of black ink and a right eye glowing cyrstaliam blue. Once she was fully out of the ink, the figure gave a stretch and a yawn.
"Ahhhh, finally I can stretch my legs. You've been so tense lately that I thought I was going to become paralyzed" she said. She then did a couple of stretches to try and relax her muscles as the boys watched on.
Tanza looked at the group and gave them a semi-glare, "Not a word about this to anyone, understand?" she said, earning a nod from all the boys and Grim.
Once done with stretching, the nun-looking ink-being turned to the group, a cheery expression shown across her face.
"Hello dears, I'm Judith, it's nice to meet you" she said, giving a wave to the group, the slightest hint of a twang in her tones.
Ace, Deuce and Yuu watched on uneasily as they gave a wave.
"So you're Tanza's blot form, right? How come you look like her so much?" Grim asked, looking nervously at Judith.
"Well since I'm practically her when she overblotted, of course I'm gonna look like her. Think of me as like a twin sister but not at the same time" Judith said in a rather cheery way.
"Don't let her happy tones fool you, when she gets in a bad mood, she can be quite the sadist. And if you're an enemy, you better watch out" Tanza explained. She then looked to the group, "Now, tell me, do you sense any negative emotions from Judith right now?" she asked them.
No one said anything for a few seconds, but soon the boys began to relax one by one.
"No, at first I thought that this would be a bad idea, but now that it's been a few minutes, I don't sense any form of negative energy from her…rather…I sense a more…positive vibe…" Deuce said, his nervousness fading little by little.
"Yeah, compared to when Riddle-senpai went into overblot where negative energy was everywhere, with this it just feels like I'm in the presence of….I don't know… some weird fairy…." Ace said, unsure of how to describe what he was feeling.
"It's a weird feeling…but I don't feel like I'm in danger…rather….like there is a strong protective force….or protection magic…" Grim said as he relaxed too.
"It's like my body says to fear but my heart says that everything is fine…" Yuu explained.
"And that is what blot training can do for you, but only if you put in the effort to make it happen" Tanza said to the group.
"Yep, with enough conversation and learning about each other, it can bloom into a beautiful friendship, or even a strong partnership" Judith explained. "As long as you work at it, miracles can happen, or however that saying goes" she added, "And speaking of miracles, please do keep being good friends with Tanza, she really needs to come out of her shell more" Judith said as she gave a bow to the boys. She then went over and placed a hand on Tanza's head, "She can be quite dense when it comes to her potential, not realizing what all she can do and holding back so much out of nervousness" Judith said as she ruffled Tanza's hair.
Tanza then moved her hands to swat Judith's own out of her hair, "Stop messing up my hair, will you? Vil-san will have a cow if it gets messed up again" she said as she tried to fix her hair.
Judith gave a chuckle, "Come on Tan-tan, you know I'm looking out for you and I know what you're capable of, but you're letting your mother's story hold you back more than you realize. And if I can't help you get past that then maybe they can" she said as she gave the boys a wink with her glowing eye. "For example, next time you're in the cafeteria, see if you can challenge someone to a dance off. Tanza would win that by a landslide with those magical feet of hers" she suggested.
"Ok, that's enough! Redi statim (Return at once)" Tanza said in Latin while raising her left arm.
"Oh well, ta ta for now boys~!" Judith said as she returned to the seal on Tanza's arm.
Once she was gone Tanza gave a sigh while trying to hide her flushed cheeks, "She can be quite enthusiastic when she gets a thought in her head…anyway, so that is what blot training can do, but only if you put the effort into it" Tanza explained.
"I see, but still, that was pretty cool, getting to meet your overblot form without the madness and such. I wonder if Riddle-senpai could achieve the same thing…" Ace said while deep in thought.
"Perhaps, but it would be based on the effort he would put into the process, if he chose to do so" Tanza explained, "Anyway, I think that's enough explanations for tonight. However, Ace, Deuce, I would ask you to refrain from telling Riddle-senpai about what I talked to you about tonight. I'd rather not cause a ruckus with this information being thrown about if you know what I mean" she requested.
"Sure, we can do that, right Deuce?" Ace asked.
"Of course. I have no intention of going back on a promise" Deuce said as he gave a smile.
"Thanks guys. Now then, I do have one last thing to ask before we move on to the next thing, whatever that might be. I have some merchandise from my hometown that they told me to pass around to friends and dorm mates, but since I have yet to do so, I thought I'd let you guys take a crack at it. It's all from small town shops and they're all hand-made, so if you need gifts for someone or want something for yourself, feel free to take it" she said.
"Whoa, really? Then I'll take a look!" Deuce said as he got up.
"Me too! Maybe I could find something for my room" Ace said.
"Yuu, Grim, maybe you guys might find something that would spruce up the dorm here a bit. Feel free to take anything that you see for your room or anywhere here" Tanza said, "It's all on the house" she added with a grin.
"Fyna! I want free stuff! Gimme Gimme!" Grim said as he rushed over to the boxes.
Tanza gave a chuckle as she watched the boys go through the boxes. As she did so, she saw the light of the moon start to come through the window. She then made her way to the window and stood in the light the moon gave off, closing her eyes and smiling, feeling completely at ease.
"You really like the moon huh?" Yuu asked as he went to her.
"Hm? Oh, well…I guess. Truth is, I've always had a strange fascination with the moon…probably because of my mother's name. Purnima, it means 'full moon', so anything involving the moon makes me feel like my mother is with me….but…I don't know about now…it feels like I'm…off about something, but I don't know what it is exactly….but whatever the case, whenever the moon is out and I stand in it's light, I feel more relaxed about everything…" she said, "I know that's weird, but I can't really describe it any other way…." She added.
"Oi! Grim! I wanted that macramé tapestry!" Ace said as he tried to grab the monster cat imp.
"Fyna ha ha, it's mine now!" Grim said as he tried climbing higher out of Ace's reach, "First come first serve!" he said as he taunted Ace down below.
Yuu gave a sigh as he watched Grim's antics, but Tanza gave a chuckle.
"Oh, don't mind me, just memories of home popping up. Anyway, best we get Grim down before he harms himself" Tanza said as she tried to help Yuu get Grim down from where he was perched.
As this went on, Judith, who was inside Tanza's shadow, gave a smile as she heard all of this going on.
'She's on the right track with the right group of boys. I can't wait to see where this leads' she said to herself as she settled back into her 'sister's' shadow.
Author's Notes
Alrighty, another chapter up. Hopefully you guys liked it. I had to redo it a few times to get it right, so hopefully it was worth the wait.
Now for some fun facts
-The name of Queen Marolga is inspired by a certain character, keep watch for future chapters to learn about her.
- Insectia is inspired by Morse Code. I figured that if bugs use vibrations and sounds, they may go with one to three words or text talk in order to communicate efficiently. Since bugs then to make buzzing noises anyway, it seemed like a good fit.
-I believe Malleus would know Insectia since the earlier concepts of Sleeping Beauty have Maleficent dressed more bug-like. Plus, since fairies like to talk with bugs, they gotta talk to them somehow, so this made sense to me.
-Tanza's homeland and the demon in the volcano are inspired by Chernaborg and the whole segment of Night on Bald Mountain from the first Fantasia movie. However, it won't be the only movie that inspires her homeland.
-Crystal Henge is a combination of the crystal from Atlantis the Lost Empire and Stonehenge
-The River Leviathan mentioned in this chapter is inspired by the great lobster-like sea monster from Atlantis as well
-Judith's appearance is a spin on the character Judge Claude Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame, except that she's a nun instead of a judge.
I think that's it. If I missed something, let me know in the comments. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and getting to know more about Tanza's homeland and her views on Overblot.
