The view from Skara's bedroom window had always been quite scenic - Her house was on one of the upper cliffs, on the outskirts of Bonesborough. It was built near the edge of a cliff, but not directly atop it, and had a fairly wide berth from other buildings around.
Still, it was close enough though that when she looked out her window, Skara could see one of the streets that ran near the cliff's edge, and saw people going about their days. From the angle her house was at, she could also see the edges of the forest, and the reds and browns that made up the flora that marked the end of the town borders off in the distance.
Beyond the cliff's edge, she could see out to the Boiling Sea. See the waves sparkle as the sun or moonlight hit against the water, and bounce back into the air. Sometimes she could spot giant, multi-limbed aquatic monsters jumping into and out of the sea, doing… Monster things, she guessed - She didn't know the life cycles of half the creatures on the Isles, and honestly, she never really thought about it.
Sometimes, she was happy to just do that - Just sit and stare out the window for an hour or two, with a song playing over the speakers. She found it relaxing. Calming. And it normally helped her to think.
She watched the ocean waves under an orange-fading-to-black sky in silence today though, with a heavy weight on her chest. Her head rested in her left hand, her other hand balled up into a fist, tapping against the windowsill at a steady three-four tempo. In the back of her mind, she absently knew she was hitting maybe sixty-five beats-a-minute, but she didn't pay any real attention to it. Skara had never thought that she'd reach a point where she'd say it, but right now, music would be of no help this time. It would be a distraction.
This wasn't one of those times where she was 'happy' in any sense of the word.
There was just… Too much in her head for her to think clearly, either.
Prominently, what had happened between her and Ves occupied her thoughts. The wounds were still fresh, and she knew that they would be for a while. In her head, Skara second guessed every interaction she hadn't even paid a second thought to at the time throughout the past month, looking for some sort of explanation for why he broke up with her. At the very least, for some sort of closure.
As much as she tried though, she couldn't find anything. Ves really had never given her so much as a hint as to what had led to… This.
Things had seemed fine, for so long, and then they just… Weren't, anymore.
A groan escaped her, and her tapping increased it's speed to seventy-three beats-per-minute. Not knowing was just… It was eating her up. It bothered her, to the point she struggled to focus on any of her schoolwork, and made it impossible to focus on playing any of her instruments properly. And that in turn just frustrated her even more.
So she sat down, trying to think it all through, even though she'd rather be doing just about anything else. Wanting to try to resolve some of the thoughts that were running around in her head like a gaggle of gryphons. But that didn't work either. There just wasn't enough information to make sense of anything.
And it was bad enough she had that on her mind… But it wasn't the only thing she was thinking about, either.
She still found herself wondering what was going on at Hexside.
By all rights, Skara knew her reputation at Hexside should have been dust by now. That she should be the school's laughing stock. That she should be spending each day just gritting her teeth and waiting for someone to make fun of her, or try to cut into her with some kind of personal attack, or just try to make her life miserable. And maybe that would happen eventually - The rumour mill didn't wait for anyone. Maybe they were just whispers now, but rumours still had a way of spreading, quickly, and ferociously.
It should have been like an explosion though - Immediate, loud, and ringing in her ears for hours on end. But it wasn't like that.
And if it were down to Willow… It wouldn't have even caught on at all.
Plants had personalities - That had been something Willow had learned very early on when it came to her fondness for them. Even the ones that didn't have eyes or mouths, they still had their own needs and requirements in order to bloom. Some needed to be trimmed and pruned, while others needed more water than others. A few needed special soil, and more stubborn ones required different kinds of Magic as a source of food and energy. And these weren't always requirements that came with the varying plant species either; sometimes, individuals of the same species had different needs.
It was a part of her routine to make sure that all of those requirements were met at least once a day. She normally did so during the evening, when things were calm, and any heat from the day had faded as the sun began to set. None of it was especially difficult, but figuring out what each plant needed was more a trial-and-error issue more than anything else. She had looked after plants for much of her life though, and knew what she was doing. At this point, daily maintenance was something that she could do in her sleep.
Doing this under the orange-fading-to-black sky usually made Willow feel more relaxed than anything else. It let her contemplate her day, what she had left to do, what chores needed to be done, and what homework she may or may not have left to complete. A calming way for her to assess her day, and to make sure nothing was outstanding.
Today though, the normal calm that came with tending to her little ecosystem didn't come. Too much clouded her mind.
As she tended to the plants, one of the smaller, more aggressive ones, hissed at her as she tried to reapply Magical energy to the soil. When that didn't stop Willow, it lunged, bitingher.
"Ow!" Willow shook her hand as she pulled away from the plant - It was only a minor injury though. The plant was small, and could only really nip her. Under normal circumstances, when her mind wasn't full as it was today, it wouldn't have even hurt. Still, it had caught her off guard. With her unbitten hand, she pinched at one of the petals on the stem of the plant - Not so it would hurt it, but so it would calm itself down. "No. Bad Bitey. I keep telling you not to bite people."
The combination of being scolded and having it's leaf pinched calmed the plant right back down again. It made itself smaller, and stopped baring its teeth. Willow sighed as she cast a small spell on the soil, making it glow ever so slightly. This was a habit of Bitey in particular - Hence the name. Small but aggressive, and lashing out when it didn't know what was happening.
Like how Skara had acted today.
Willow sighed, and picked up a watering pail, and began to water another set of plants. As she did so, her mind wandered back to earlier that day, and her interactions with Skara. No matter how much they had occupied her thoughts throughout the day, something about the way that the Bard had acted just didn't sit well with Willow. The way that she assumed people acted, the perception of Hexside's student populace, and, well, everything that she had said.
Maybe it was just the fact that she seemed to be utterly dejected by her break-up, and that was it. Willow didn't like seeing people upset. But if that was all it was, she wouldn't be considering… Doing something about it. That would be Skara's situation to deal with.
But the way that she had automatically assumed the worst, and thought that the only logical thing that Willow could do in that situation was to expose everything that had happened - That didn't sit right with her at all.
Did any of her friends even know about this, or that she was having a hard time? Skara had hidden away from everyone when Willow first came across her under the staircase. Had she even told anyone about what had happened?
She said that people knew. And Luz had even reinforced this by saying she'd heard rumours about the situation too. This whole thing was confusing, and the only thing Willow was really certain of about the entire affair was that she didn't understand exactly what was happening, or why Skara acted the way she had.
That, and Skara didn't have anyone else.
Two times, and in just as many days, Skara had found herself being… Thrown off by Willow. By the things she said, and the things she did. By the way that she just…
...It didn't make sense to her. It just didn't.
Willow didn't act the way people were supposed to. Skara had spent enough time around Boscha to know how it worked, how the social hierarchy operated. For the Titan's sake, Willow had obeyed the way that it was supposed to operate for almost as long as Skara had even known of Willow's existence - It was only recently that she had stepped outside those boundaries.
Certain actions had certain consequences. If you showed that you were weak, you got mocked for it. And if you showed that you were strong, then you stood above the rest. And that was just how it worked. How it had always worked. That was just how people worked.
Skara thought.
But Willow… Willow wasn't acting in accordance with that rule. Not dealing with the way that… Any of Skara's social circle treated her. Not anymore, anyway. Willow had done so for so long, but ever since the Human had shown up, and ever since Amity had started to get along with her again - Ever since that Grudgby match - Willow had been acting different. More…
...Not like the Willow that Skara had been aware of for the last decade now.
And Skara knew in her head that it shouldn't make a difference. That it was still the same Willow underneath all of that new bravado. The same person. The same Half-a-Witch that needed to learn her place…
...She thought back to the Grudgby match, though. How they had faced off against one another on opposing teams. And while a part of her knew that they were supposed to be opponents, and while she didn't even like Willow, there was just… Something about how she acted, how she played, that made those thoughts evaporate. She was… Approachable? It had been fun - At least for a short while. It made her want to approach the Plant Witch. She even had, touching her shoulder, congratulated her.
In hindsight, a mistake, she thought.A moment of weakness. One shared with Amelia and Cat, but nonetheless, a moment of weakness.
And certainly not one that Boscha had let anyone live down since.
Especially now.
When it came right down to it, Skara knew the dynamic they had - It was the same as anyone else in Hexside. If you were weak, your were walked all over. If you were strong, you did the walking. And Willow was weak, and Skara was strong.
Until what happened with Ves. Then, Skara was weak, and Willow was strong.
And Willow stopped to ask her if she was okay.
That went against… Everything that Skara knew about how people worked. That wasn't how it was supposed to work. Willow should have used it as ammunition against her, but instead she just… Didn't. It didn't make sense. That wasn't how it worked anywhere else in Hexside. That wasn't how it worked in Skara's friend group. That wasn't how people worked.
But it was how Willow worked, apparently.
Speaking of how someone acted, Willow still didn't know what in the world to make of seeing Skara watching herself, Gus, and Luz earlier that day. Especially after the two of them had run into each other earlier that day. If she wanted to be entirely selfish about this, Willow would confess to wanting an answer to what that had been about.
If Willow had been able to leave this alone, she would have done it back when she found Skara under the staircase.
Amity was right when she said that Willow had no obligation to care about what happened to Skara, but the idea of doing nothing was one that Willow found that she couldn't stomach.
She wanted to do something.
What exactly she could do in this situation was something that she contemplated, as she clipped away a few pieces of parasite-bark off one of her plants. She didn't have even a remotely comprehensive understanding of the situation, what was going on in Skara's head, or what she could do to make the situation better without making it worse.
Plus, it didn't seem all that likely that Skara would want her getting involved in her personal life. Good intentions or not, Willow didn't like it when other people tried to do that with her. She'd had to tell Luz to not get involved when it came to her and Amity for that exact reason. The two situations were at least slightly equivalent, when Willow thought about it.
So… What did that even leave her with?
Not a lot, honestly.
Was there even anything that she could do?
Before she could contemplate anything further though, her ears began to twitch as the Crystal Ball in the corner of her room began to chirp, telling her that she was being called. With everything in her mind, it took her a few seconds to register what was happening, but once she did, the Plant Witch made her way over to the Crystal Ball, and answered it.
An image of Gus flashed within the Crystal. "Hey, Willow! How's my favorite Plant Witch bestie doing?" He asked, flashing her a toothy grin and what Luz at one point called 'finger guns'.
Willow chuckled at Gus's enthusiasm. Willow didn't know how she ended up friends with not one, but two of the Boiling Isle's most infectiously happy people, but she wasn't complaining. "Gus, I'm your only Plant Witch bestie."
"Eh, I don't sweat the small details," Gus said, waving his hand dismissively. "I mean, it doesn't make it any less true, right?"
"I suppose."
Gus's grin fell, if only a tad. "Hey… So, I was actually calling cause…" He sighed. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay."
"Oh?" Willow figured that, honestly. With everything on Willow's mind, it wasn't surprising Gus could see it. And after mentioning Skara...
"Just... You seemed off. Sad, I guess." He shook his head, then beamed. "And no bestie of mine is gonna be sad if Gus Porter, happiness expert extraordinaire, has anything to say about it!"
The Plant Witch shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "Is that what you're calling yourself these days?"
"I mean, I'd say it's the tiniest bit better then "Agustus Porter, Boy of Mystery." He posed, looking up at Willow with wide eyes and comically puckered lips.
Again, a smile spread across Willow's lips, and she let her eyes roll slightly. "Well, 'happiness expert', you'll be happy to know that I'm doing okay now. Just a little tired."
"...If you say so. But, just remember, I'm always here for you if you need to talk. About anything on your mind. Okay, Willow?"
Gus bit her lip. "Yeah. I know." She smiled, though with a twinge of guilt and sadness behind it. "Thanks, Gus. You're… You're an awesome friend."
He blushed a tad, waving the compliment away. "Oh, you. Think nothing of it. After all, what are friends for?"
Willow only nodded in response. "Gotta go finish taking care of the plants! Talk to ya tomorrow, 'Kay?"
"Oh, but which 'me' will you be talking to?" Gus stepped aside to reveal another Gus behind him, waving. "Hey, Willow." The equally possibly illusionary Gus said. "Talk to ya tomorrow."
Once again, Willow chuckled again before turning her crystal ball off.
What are friends for, indeed...
Skara groaned. It felt like the last couple of days had just been one thing after another. One problem after another, and an incident that she couldn't wrap her head around.
Her body shifted, and turned so that her back leaned against the windowsill. Another creature, one with large wings coated with a thousand eyeballs, jumped from the sea and fell back into the water as she did so.
It was an incident. That was it. That was all it was. Why Skara was letting it bother her so much was honestly beyond her. In comparison to the situation with Ves, or the rumours that were starting to circulate, whatever the heck Willow did or didn't do was entirely irrelevant.
If that was how Willow wanted to play the game that was Hexside, then as far as Skara was concerned, it wasn't any skin off of her back. It didn't make any sense, but if it meant that she didn't have to worry about Willow spreading rumours, then fine. It was just unusual. It had just caught her off guard. That was it.
That was it.
Still, why Willow acted so differently to how Skara was used to stuck in her head. Why her group of friends seemed to be more like…
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Skara cast a spell to start her music playing. Louder than usual.
She'd had enough of thinking for one day.
The next day had started as regularly as any other day for Willow - She got up, went about her morning workout routine, got ready for school, and left to meet up with Gus and Luz. They then met up with Amity when she got to the school, and after waiting for the first bell to scream, began to make their way to their respective classes.
Though today, even by her normally high amounts of excitement, Luz seemed to be a lot more enthusiastic about today than she normally did.
"Alright! Bring it on, Hexside! I'm ready for whatever you wanna throw at me today!"
When it came to showing eagerness about basically anything, Willow honestly didn't know anyone who had more of it than Luz. Today though, she sounded like she was on a mission. Challenging the school directly was usually considered bad luck - Not that the Human seemed to be letting that stop her.
Amity's hand was covering her face as Luz yelled at the building around them. Both Gus and Willow glanced at her, and Amity sighed.
"I… Last night I mentioned I was feeling a bit anxious about today's Abominations Class to Luz." She explained. "Because of what happened the other day. Now she's determined to," Amity's other hand rose, and as she spoke, made small quotation-gestures with her fingers, "'Have such an awesome day that A.P forgets all about the Abomination-Glyph incident.'"
Willow let herself smirk lightly, and roll her eyes, amused. "Well that's… Sweet of her."
"She's going to get herself into trouble." Amity replied, flatly. "Or hurt. You know what she's like."
"Oh, c'mon, Amity!" Gus piped up. "When has Luz ever not been able to take care of herself?"
Both Willow and Amity just blankly looked at Gus.
"...Okay, fair point." The Illusionist conceded.
The group walked through the corridors of the school, eventually splitting up from one another as they headed towards their respective classes. Luz and Amity first towards the Abomination home room, and Gus shortly afterwards towards his Illusion class.
For her part, Willow headed for her locker, wanting to retrieve some of the textbooks that her first class of the day would require. The space was full, with a dozen or so other students doing the exact same thing. Quickly, she approached her locker, tickled it open to get her books, and closed it again just as fast. She turned around, ready to make a beeline straight for the Plant Track home room, when another student caught her eye.
Skara again. By her locker, doing much the same as Willow had done; gathering her books, and a Bard instrument from inside. For a moment, Willow paused, as their interaction from the previous day filled her head yet again.
Just watching her, somehow Willow had a feeling that the Bard hadn't slept. She was moving sluggishly, slowly, without even a modicum of the energy that other students showed even towards their most hated classes. And from the angle she was at, the Plant Witch could only see just the slightest portion of her face, and didn't spot even the slightest bit of… Anything. Maybe a hint of mild annoyance as she rummaged through her locker, but that was it.
That same desire from yesterday to… Do something sparked in Willow's gut. No matter their history, seeing someone like this just didn't sit well with Willow. Skara was obviously hurting, and the way she seemed to expect the worst out of everyone around her only made Willow feel more compelled to do something, even if it was just a small thing.
Tepidly, she approached Skara. As she got closer, she could hear the Bard muttering to herself as she rummaged through her locker.
"No… No… Definitely not. No… Aha, there you are, you little - "
"Uh, hey."
The response Willow had hoped for was another "Hello."
The response she'd expected was a bit more negative than that.
She certainly didn't expect Skara to be so startled she jumped, slammed her arm into the roof of her locker, hissed in pain -
"Ow!"
- And finally, get the locker to shut its mouth with her arm still inside.
"What the - Hey, let go of me!" Skara yelled as she tried to pull her arm out. Attempting to get more leverage against it, she brought her leg up and pushed her foot against the door, though it didn't accomplish anything - Her locker remained firmly shut.
Quickly, Willow moved to help, grabbing hold of her trapped arm, and pulling as well. Again though, it didn't achieve anything. Skara's arm was firmly trapped.
"Try using your other hand to unlock it?!" Willow suggested, still tugging all the same.
Skara followed the suggestion, using her free hand to coax the locker open in the way she normally would. For a few seconds, it didn't seem to do anything. Thankfully after that though, the sentient storage space started to emit a low-pitched giggle, before finally opening its mouth wide again.
Once it did so though, both Willow and Skara were sent tumbling backwards, and onto the ground.
"...Ow." Willow muttered, getting herself onto her feet quickly again. She turned immediately to Skara, and offered her a hand up. "Are you alright?"
For a second, Skara just looked at the hand. Then at Willow's face. She didn't accept it - Instead, getting back onto her feet herself. "I'm just peachy."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"...Whatever." Skara sighed. She walked back to her locker, stuck her hand in again, retrieved what she had been looking for in the first place - Some kind of Bard Brass instrument - closed the locker, and then turned back to Willow. "What do you want?"
An awkward beat passed. "I… I wanted to see if you were alright."
"Until about twenty seconds ago - "
"I meant about yesterday."
That made Skara stop talking. She just looked at Willow for a few seconds, with an expression that Willow found extremely difficult to read.
"...I'm fine." The Bard finally answered. Her voice was a bit more… Strained, though. "About as well as I can be, considering."
"That's… Good." Willow... Didn't really know what to say after that. She hadn't actually thought through what she was going to do once she had approached Skara.
Another few awkward seconds passed.
"...I'm glad you're okay. Considering."
Skara's expression shifted again. An eyebrow was raised ever so slightly. It was still unreadable, but the closest expression Willow could compare it to was confusion.
"...So is… That it?" The Bard asked, her voice still strained.
"...More or less."
"...Cool. I'm going to class now."
With that, Skara speed-walked right by Willow, and in just a few seconds, went around the nearest corner. Willow sighed. It hadn't exactly gone as planned, but at least Skara had spoken to her.
That was something. Even if it had been, well, awkward.
Awkward had to be better than being more or less completely alone though, right?
It wasn't like she had gone out of her way to look for Skara - Skara had just been there at the time. But it seemed like a good idea, and, aside from the whole arm-trapped-in-locker thing, it wasn't like Skara had told her to get lost or anything. So, that was something, right? It was an improvement if she considered their history, at least.
Maybe that was all she could do. Just make sure she was okay if they ever ran into one another. Not to pry, but to let her know that if she ever needed it, at least someone who wasn't part of this weird… Thing that Skara thought Hexside was, was there. Someone who wasn't into this weird, stupid 'strong versus weak' mentality Skara seemed so adamant about.
And if that was the case - She was going to have to get used to a little awkwardness.
It didn't take too long to get used to feeling a little awkward. Willow had spent most of her time at Hexside being picked on by people - She'd gotten used to dealing with feelings she didn't like a long time ago. This wasn't anything new.
Over the next few days, Willow made it a point to, whenever her and Skara's paths crossed, just check in with her. Only once or twice on the same day. Sometimes, their paths didn't even cross all day. It wasn't anything too intrusive - Just approach her, and ask her if she was holding up okay. Skara normally told her that she was fine, and Willow would leave her to it.
Progressively though, these interactions got slightly friendlier. One thing that Willow had learned from Luz was how to just power on through awkwardness and just be friendly to people, even if she didn't know them. That was how she had made friends with the 'Troublemakers from the Detention Track, after all. Heck, it was how Willow and Luz had become friends in the first place. It was an effective template, and one Willow tried to use when it came to Skara… If slightly less intense.
Sometimes, it seemed to work - Skara would talk a little more on some days than on others, but Willow never pushed her luck. At the first visible sign of discomfort, she backed off.
She couldn't tell non-visible signs of discomfort though. The heightened pulse, the steep breathing, the racing thoughts. Every time Willow came to ask Skara how she was, the Bard felt a wave of anxiety rush through her.
These non-visible signs of discomfort affected Skara every single time Willow approached her. She didn't say anything, though, because what exactly could she say? The words never came to her, the first time in her life a Bard just couldn't find the words. So she let Willow walk to her, let her ask her dumb questions, and let each other go their separate ways.
And it worked out. Mostly.
For a while...
Right after the final bell screamed, a tired and bored Skara picked herself up from her desk and wandered out of her Practical Magic 101 class.
It hadn't been the worst day, admittedly. Just the longest one she's experienced in a while. First she'd had a big test over the various different meanings of musical notes for Bard Magic, which she'd had to study all weekend for. Then, she had to attempt casting a wind spell for her Elemental Magic's class, which ended up with it quite literally backfiring and sending her hurling into a wall and turning her hair into an untamable mess.
And the day wasn't even over yet. She still had to dread the upcoming training for the team's next Grudgby match: Glandus.
Boscha was well known for her… Incredibly stringent attitudes on Grudby practices. She earned her reputation not just at Hexside, but across the entire Isles' school leagues for demanding every practice be as tough as possible, believing it was the only way to keep her team in the proper shape for such a demanding sport. Fifty times dodging the slicer, avoiding twenty fireballs, and scoring a hundred goals without being hit by an abomination!
And that was just for the rookies.
But even by those standards, Boscha went wild when it came to Glandus. She wasn't sure if Boscha got possessed by a school spirit during this time, or if she had a bone to pick with the Glandus Phoenix's, but Skara always felt that the triclops became even more intense in her training whenever they were the next match. Her yelling got louder, her insults more personal, her throws more impactful. Boscha's already intense training began to make even the most professional of coaches raise an eyebrow and wonder if she was overdoing it just a tad. Her regime was unrealistic even at the best of times, but when it came to matches against Glandus, it was like she expected them to single-handedly face down the Emperor.
Least I'll get the shorter end of the stick.
Skara was a bench warmer; her job was to sit on said bench and wait for an injury that the Healing Coven members couldn't fix in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, even for a sport as intense as Grudgby, a few healing spells were enough to fix a student right up, so Skara didn't really play much. It had been Boscha's call when Skara had first joined the team, and well, Skara couldn't argue it.
Boscha's right. That's for the best, Skara thought to herself, as she stepped into the locker room to change. The last time she tried practicing on her own, she had been the one who had been thrown into the goal, rather than her throwing the ball into it. I'm not exactly built for a game like this. I'm too wiry, too lean. Best I just sit back, use it to look good on a resume. 'Played on the best Grudgby league in the Boiling Isles high school circuit.' Not too shabby I guess.
She hadn't thought about it in a while though.
After a quick change from her school uniform to her Grudgby uniform, Skara stepped out onto the field. Cat was already running laps around the track, a pair of gryphons close behind, and looking quite hungry. Skara began to walk out to join her.
"You're late." A harsh voice spat out with enough venom to put a Slitherbeast to rest. "Two minutes and twelve seconds late, to be exact."
Freezing up, Skara turned to spot Boscha, leaning right outside the entryway behind her, just lying in wait. Her face was etched with a glower that still sent a shiver up Skara's back whenever she saw it. Her 'war paint' as she'd taken to calling it, usually made her appear to be crying, to match with the Banshee mascot. But today, Boscha had drawn it on more angularly, making it appear as if her eyes had fangs underneath them. She looked just like how Boscha always acted:
Dangerous.
"Sorry," Skara muttered. She'd gotten here as quickly as she could. "I only just-"
"Look, we didn't have a game last week, and yeah, you kinda had the whole breakup thing to deal with." Boscha stepped away from the wall and wrapped an arm around the Bard's neck, in an almost-but-not-quite friendly manner. "So, out of the kindness of my heart, I let you skip practice then."
The crook of her elbow tightened slightly, and Skara could feel her neck tighten at the pressure.
"But!" Boscha hissed. "This is the Glandus game, Skara. The biggest game of the year." Her arm tightened again for a couple of seconds, but she removed it, stepping out from next to Skara to stand in front of her, arms on her hips, all three eyes glaring at the silver haired Bard. "We can't afford to cut anyone slack. Not even the bench warmer."
Skara looked down, nodding. "Yeah. Sorry Bosch."
"You can show you're sorry by you and Amelia joining Cat in laps. Fifty of them."
Looking back into the field, Skara blinked. The sight of gryphons hungrily swiping at teammates as they tried to outrun them wasn't new to Skara. But she noticed something was, in fact, off about today's run.
"Uh... Where is Amelia?"
The Grudgby Captain gave her a look. "I thought she was with you. Thought you got caught up gossiping or whatever."
Skara winced, but shook her head. "Does it look like she's with me?! Haven't seen her since lunch."
Boscha blinked, then groaned. "Well, ain't that just swell…" She pinched the bridge of her nose, and exhaled. "Okay, I gotta stay here and make sure Cat doesn't end up as gryphon chow -"
"YOU TOLD ME THESE WERE VEGETARIAN!"
"-You, meanwhile," Boscha continued, poking Skara in her uniform's gem, "are gonna have to go find our teammate and get her here, so you both can do your seventy-five laps as punishment."
Skara sighed. "Yeah. Sure. Okay. I got this." She turned to the entryway. Then, she turned back to Boscha. "Uh… Any idea where that girl might be?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be telling you to go find her, now would I?" Boscha groaned. "I don't know, go check the Plant Track greenhouse or something. Probably trying to photosynthesise herself a way to get out of her hundred laps."
If only for a moment, Skara felt her heart clench. The greenhouse? Where Plant Witches are?
Well, Amelia's in the plant track so… Yeah, duh.
But what if… What if Willow's there?
The Bard wanted to kick herself. In Boscha's voice, she asked herself, What's that, Skara? Scared of half-a-witch?
"No, 'course not."
"I'm sorry, you say something?"
Skara froze as Boscha glanced back at her, her attention off of a screaming Cat, who was now being carried off in the talons of the two gryphons, alongside a very unlucky Beastkeeping student.
"Nothing."
"Good." Boscha sneered. "Now, get going."
Following her orders, Skara only nodded and walked away, as Boscha began to yell angrily into the sky.
You're not scared of Willow.
That's the dumbest thing ever!
As she wandered Hexside's halls, Skara's mind furiously tried to justify this strange, unsettling anxiety she felt as soon as she was sent on her way to the greenhouse.
She's not intimidating. I'm not even remotely scared of her!
She's just, kinda…
Annoying!
Yeah! That's it. She's just kinda buzzing around me, all "You ok, Skara," "Everything alright, Skara." It gets so irritating. Like, we get it, you don't have anyone else to bug around, but shoo!
That's why I keep feeling so worried about seeing her!
After a bit of walking, and accidentally walking down a wrong corridor because she was so wrapped up in her thoughts, Skara finally reached the greenhouse door. Stepping up to the window, she peered inside.
The first thought was that Skara had never seen so much green. Among the copper and rusted colors of the Isles' flora, she rarely saw plants that weren't red or orange or yellow. Yet in this room, wall to wall, the room was covered in some of the greenest, liveliest plants the Bard had ever seen.
And green was, by no means, the only colour there. Only the most common one. Blues and pinks, the usual reds, golds, silvers and indigos… It was so pretty. Maybe, she thought, and if she didn't have to worry about Willow in the future, she could ask Amilea to let her in here to study sometime.
The second, thankfully, was Amelia - Her fellow Grudgby player stood with her back to the door, scribbling notes in front of some kind of large looking flower. Skara pumped her fists at the small, minor victory.
Found her! And with Willow nowhere in sight!
She took a deep breath, forced on a smile and peppy attitude. Opening the door, she waved furiously. "Yo! Amie!"
The green haired witch spun on her heels, puzzled, before beaming. "Skara!" She began to rush over.
"We gotta go girl, Boscha's probably gonna-"
But Skara didn't get to finish, as Amelia pulled her over to the large plant she had been taking notes next to. "Check out this unbelievable plant for my paired project!"
Skara looked up and had to admit that, size wise, the plant was certainly amazing. It towered over the rest of the plants, almost reaching the impressively tall ceiling. It's stalk was large and thick as a tree, with a variety of sharp and pointed thorns. It wiggled though, clearly still flexible. At its bottom, it's roots were so massive that part of them leaked over it's pot. And at its top, a large, violet bud lay closed, unopened to the wider world.
She whistled at the sight. "Dang. That is impressive, I'll admit."
"I know, right!" The smile on Amelia's face was so wide and joyful that Skara had to wonder the last time she'd seen Amelia remotely this happy. And honestly, she was drawing a blank. Amelia twirled, then presented the flower, arms outstretched, grinning. "A real adult Vehemence Witch Trap! One of the single largest plants this side of the Boiling Isles!"
"One of?" Skara asked, nervous to see whatever plant could possibly top this.
"Yeah!" Amelia could hardly contain her excitement. "Can you BELIEVE our teacher let us study this thing as freshmen? "I call this one Amelia II. It's AMELIA-ZING!"
Skara groaned at the pun, but let herself smile, just a little. "Oh? So that's how we're putting it now?"
"Trying something out, seeing if it sticks, ya know," Amelia said coyly, still unable to repress her abundant glee.
Skara had to admit that, honestly, it was nice seeing Amelia so excited. She never acts like this with Grudgby.
"Must really love this plant stuff huh?"
Amelia nodded. "Yeah! It's really neat. And especially awesome if you have a partner to help you study it."
"Really?" Skara asked, glancing around the room. "Cause it looks like they're... Kinda not here right now?"
Amelia shook her head. "Oh, Willow'll be back in a bit. Just needed to grab some blood meal's all."
The Bard's blood ran cold.
"What did you-"
"Okay, I'm back, I - Oh! Hey, Skara!" An all too familiar voice called out, coming out from behind the Witch Trap, carrying two large, whole bags of blood meal on her shoulders. "Whatcha guys talking about?"
Feeling her nails and fingers dig into her thighs, Skara made herself grit that friendly voice.
"How Amelia and I should be at Grudgby practice.". Her demeanor shifted, with her body attempting a casual exterior, while her inner self tensed. Right now, her goal was to just get out of here with Amelia.
"Wait… That was…" Amelia stuck out her tongue, visibly trying to remember exactly when the next Grudgby practice was. Then, her eyes widened. "Oh, Titan! That was today!" Amelia slapped her forehead, groaning. "I got so lost in my project I completely forgot about practice!"
Skara turned her eyes to Amelia, trying to avoid looking any further at Willow, nodding. "Yeah. Probably should get a move on. Boscha's not happy on a good day, but with Glandus? We'll be lucky if we can feel anything at all in the morning." She tried to keep her voice full of that faux-peppiness. With Willow around though, that was a failing effort now.
Amelia sighed. "I'll head out - I just need to check up on a few of the plants in the back, a few minor things is all. Promise, won't take more than five minutes!"
Skara tried to protest, to tell her that, no, they had to leave right now - But before she could say anything, Amelia had already shoved her notes into Skara's hands and ran to a door in the back of the greenhouse, leaving Skara and Willow alone.
Skara looked down, trying to avoid looking at Willow, attempting to ignore her, pretending she wasn't there.
If I can't see her…
But of course, that logic didn't exactly pan out.
"Hey," Willow said. Her voice was gentle. Insufferably so. "You doing ok?"
Skara remained silent.
"...I'll... Take that as a no, then?"
Skara glanced up slightly, trying to avoid looking directly at Willow, but failing miserably. She saw the Plant Witch looking at her with a concerned face. That same concern she'd shown time and time again, ever since that day she found Skara all alone, crying over Ves. That progressively more and more kind-sounding, and friendly-seeming concern.
The same concern that… Annoyed Skara.
"No, actually." She mumbled. "I'm fine."
The smallest hint of doubt crept onto Willow's face. "That's… good. But if somethings bugging you-"
"Yeah. You."
Something in Skara snapped.
She looked up, scowling, at Willow. "I am fine," Skara repeated. She held up a finger, and as she spoke, rose one after another. "Just like I was the last time you asked me. And the last time. And did I mention the time before that?"
"Skara-"
"I am FINE!" She yelled. Where this had all come from, she didn't know, but now that it was pouring out, it wouldn't stop. "I've been FINE this entire time, but, what, you just think I can't handle myself, is that it?"
"I didn't even-"
"Well I CAN handle myself!" She shouted, even louder. "I don't need you buzzing around me, checking up on me like you actually care!"
"Skara, calm down ple-"
"I. AM. CALM!" Skara shouted. In the ultimate display of just how calm she was, Skara slammed her hand full of Amelia's notes down onto a nearby table on her last syllable. Her breathing could be heard from behind gritted teeth.
Behind her eyes, Skara suddenly felt a strange sensation. One that wiggled into her brain and burrowed its way into her mind. She rubbed her head, trying to push it out. No luck.
"Ergh, great." She muttered, her fingers digging into her temples. "Great. Now I've got a headache. Shows how much good you've done for me."
"Skara," Willow stated, slowly, deliberately. She took a single step, and held both her hands in front of her, open. "Back. Away. Very. Slowly. From. The. Giant. Plant."
"Oh?" She asked, her voice mockingly mimicking Willow's. "And. Why. Should. I. Do. That?"
Willow slowly pointed above Skara.
Skara lifted her head upwards.
The giant bud atop the monstrously large flower had fully opened, revealing an even more monstrously horrifying face underneath. Each of its dozens of thin, wiry petals were dotted with dozens of eyes, and the outer reaches of its petals dotted with sharp, carnivorous teeth. The teeth wobbled, some sort of plant-saliva coating them, and the irises shook as they darted in a dozen different directions. Its titanic roots, once trapped underneath its soil, were now so massive they overflowed from it's pot, leaking over the sides and onto the floor. And surrounding it, a shadowy crimson aura, adding a touch of demonic energy to the already frightening appearance.
It growled at Skara.
"...Oh. That's why."
The Witch Trap roared in response, shooting out a dark purple liquid from it's gaping maw.
"GET DOWN!"
There wasn't any point to remaining still or quiet anymore - Willow sprinted towards Skara and dragged the pair of them out of flower's way. She dragged the Bard from the open, and behind the nearest solid object that she could put between them and the plant - One of the pillars that held the roof up.
Having lost sight of the two of them during its attack, the plant continued to screech it's horrific screech, lashing out around itself randomly.
Shaken from what had just happened, and why in the Titan's name that the flower had just started to lose it's mind and become so aggressive all of a sudden, Skara whispered, "What just happened?"
No answer came. Willow just turned, and pressed her finger against her lip, telling Skara to hush. "Follow me." She said, rushing to a nearby table lined with other plants, most of which were cowering from their larger cousin. Skara did, rolling underneath the table.
"What just happened?" Skara repeated with a hiss. A loud clatter followed as a table on the other side of the room was flipped over. "And more importantly, how do we stop that thing?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure I know why it became aggressive," Willow muttered. "But I'm not sure you're gonna like it."
"What? What is it?"
"It's reacting like this because of you."
"...What." Skara asked, incredulously raising an eyebrow. "How-"
"Look closely." Willow whispered, pointing back to the now flailing flower. "Look at the colors of the aura."
"Well, it's very red…"
"Anything else?"
Squinting slightly, Skara noted the darkish red color again. She was going to ask what she was looking for before she noticed something. Another color, less apparent and much smaller, in tiny specks, but still there in the glow.
"Ok, I think I see some silver."
"Yes!"
"And that means… What exactly?"
"The Vehemence Witch Trap's usually a docile flower," Willow explained. "But if it senses intense emotions, it'll worm its way into your head, sense all your emotions, and it won't stop until the emotions are gone. And the aura uses the colors of the Witch the Vehemence is associating with." Willow pointed at Skara's silver hair. "And, given your track, your hair, and your attitude, I think it's associating with you."
"Well, is there any other way to stop it?"
The flower began to hack and wheeze, and a second later, out flew a witch's skull.
"...Not unless you wanna be the next skull it hacks up." Willow muttered.
"Why would they give a plant that eats people based on how intense their emotional state is to teenagers?!"
"Don't you play a sport where you almost get sliced in half once a quarter?!"
"Okay, but - "
"Oh WOW!"
The two turned their attention away from the flower to right next to it, where Amelia stood, holding her Grudgby uniform and face paint.
"You're awake! Ooooh, I've never seen a Vehemence Witch Trap so lively before!"
A small root slithered towards Amelia's leg, but she didn't seem to notice.
"AME!" Skara shouted, no longer caring if she gave away her location. "RUN! THAT THING'S GONNA EAT YOU"!
"Oh, don't be so silly," Amelia said, dismissing Skara's fear - Also apparently not questioning why her friend was hiding under a table. "Amelia II would never try to eat it's own mother, right?"
She then noticed the root wrapped around her ankle.
"Uh oh."
With a flick of its root, the second Amelia flung the first into the air, launching tendrils from its jaws to wrap around its new prey.
"AMELIA!" Skara and Willow cried in unison.
A single second passed.
Then the plant swallowed her whole.
"HEY!" Skara shouted, running out from under the table. "LET MY FRIEND GO, YOU OVERGROWN WEED!" As the Trap turned to her, Skara spun a spell circle, summoning a harp from thin air.
"SKARA, WAIT!" Willow shouted.
But the second Skara grabbed her harp, Willow's plea fell on deaf ears. Clutching the strings, she began to play a fierce battle tune, a riff that roared to life and sent waves of magic-infused sound waves to reverberate inside the Witch Trap's cell walls.
A direct hit.
It roared at the sensation, but before she could so much as grin at the success of the hit, Skara's headache suddenly, and very sharply returned in full force. She fell to her knees, dropping her harp and clutching the sides of her head.
"Owwww!"
Willow rushed out after Skara, standing between the Bard and the plant. "That thing's in your head! If you hurt it, it'll only hurt you worse!"
"Yeah," Skara mumbled. Her hands gripped against her skull. "Kinda… Wish I figured that out a bit sooner…"
The flower roared again, this time growing up to the ceiling as its roots thickened and writhed along the ground. It was like a feedback loop - The more Skara's head hurt, and the worse this made her feel, the more the plant continued to grow. Pretty soon, the room wouldn't be able to contain the thing.
"Can't you… I don't know!" Skara cried. "Get it to stop with plant magic?"
Willow held out her hands, a green glow emanating from them as she tried shoving them forward as hard as she could. From around her, the surrounding plants became imbued with power, some growing in size, some growing from seemingly nowhere. They began to tackle the flower, throwing themselves at the Vehemence to combat the attacking monstrosity. The flower only screamed louder.
"I can hold it back a bit, but I can't stop it!" She hissed, straining as though she herself were fighting the attacking plant. "If I try to, it'll only hurt you, and maybe Amelia inside of it!"
"Then HOW DO WE GET OUT OF THIS?"
"First you need to calm down!"
One of her arms fell to her side, and for a second, she grunted with strain as all the weight of her Magic was transferred into the one arm. With that done, Willow was able to turn to face the Bard Witch. Skara's own eyes widened as she saw the Plant Witch's eyes glow green, but neither mentioned it.
"Skara, I think whatever your problem with me is, it's what's causing the Vehemence to go crazy!"
"What are we supposed to do about that?!"
"Just - Just tell me what the problem is!"
"Wait, seriously?!" Skara shouted, shuffling back to her feet. "This thing's only gonna stop trying to kill us if we have a therapy session?!"
"I don't know if it'll work!" Willow grunted, and her body jerked slightly, as though being pulled by an invisible force. "But do you really want to waste time on trying to find something else?"
For a moment, Skara stroked her chin, genuinely considering which would be more painful.
"SERIOUSLY?!"
"Ok, ok! Fine!" Skara relented and groaned. It wasn't like they had much of a choice. "Well… Well, you've been pretty annoying, with all your going out of your way to check up on me! I don't like it!"
"Fine!" Willow grunted, clearly losing the battle to keep the Trap under control. "I'm sorry, okay?! I won't do it again! Does that help?!"
Skara thought about it for a moment.
"...No," She realized. "No it doesn't…"
It didn't do anything for her - Not in the slightest.
And that in and of itself bothered Skara far more than any interaction they had. Every time Willow spoke to her, that irritation, that wriggling, skin crawling feeling always made itself known to her. Getting rid of Willow should have gotten rid of that feeling, shouldn't it? But it didn't.
Why in the Titan's name didn't it?
"Then it's got to be something else!" Willow shouted. She stepped back, hung her head a tad as she tried to push back again. She swung her free hand back into things, trying to steady the incoming assault. "Skara, think! It's gotta be something more than that!"
"Well, what more could it be?" Skara shook her, rubbing her temples. "You keep coming to me, trying to talk to me, poking me and prodding me, ever since…" Skara stopped, and turned to Willow. "Wait! That's it!" She looked at Willow, pointing a finger. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME TO FESS UP STUFF ABOUT VES TO DATE HIM?!"
For a second, Willow didn't move.
Then, she spun around, eyes no longer glowing, a face of utter bewilderment.
"WHAT?"
It was all the Vehemence needed to break free of Willow, launching a tendril at the two girls, knocking them atop table, Willow collapsing on top of Skara. Both of them laid for a moment in a daze. The plant's continued to attack the Vehemence, but now with Willow so weak and distracted, the flower was able to slap most away like they were nothing.
"I'm sorry, what," Willow repeated, pushing herself off of Skara. "You.. you think I like Ves?!"
"Well, why else would you be going after me ever since we broke up?" Skara scuttled off her back, trying to avoid touching the dirt from fallen and broken plants. "You probably saw an opportunity to learn allll about him and took it, right?"
"That's... First of all - I don't - I don't even like g…" Willow shook her head. "Skara, I don't like Ves, I don't even know the guy!"
"Then, then you're trying to humiliate me!" Skara snapped back. "You want to try and make me look weak and stupid so you can get everyone to laugh at me!" She was grasping at straws.
She knew it too.
Willow blinked again. "I told you this when you thought I started the rumours, I'm not-"
"Or, or you're trying to make me think you care, then just pull the rug from under me and-"
"Skara, why would you think any of that?!" Willow looked stunned again, though the original horror was replaced with something closer to the concern she showed whenever she asked if she was okay.
This was why Willow had been so concerned, so determined to make sure Skara was okay - Because whatever this was about, whatever this was - This wasn't okay.
"Do you actually think I'm that sort of a person?!" She questioned. The plants defending the two began to get weaker and weaker. "I don't care about that kind of thing! I keep telling you that! Why do you think that I -"
"BECAUSE WHO AM I IF YOU'RE STRONGER THAN ME?!"
The two grew silent. Skara clutched herself, as if she was the only life preserver in the whole of the Boiling Sea. She looked away, trying to avoid eye contact with anything.
"Just… I… I should be able to handle this by myself, should be able to just get over this stupid breakup but… But I can't. I can't, okay?!"
Her hands gripped onto herself and her teeth gritted further. She felt so beyond weak, she hated it.
"I'm supposed to be tough, supposed to be able to handle myself, supposed to not be broken up by stupid things like this but - But I can't! I'm on the Grudgby team, I'm one of the top Bards in my class! I hang out with Boscha for Titan's sake! You don't get to show any weakness around them - You don't get to! I should be able to handle this! And!... And it sucks, because…"
Teeth gritted together even tighter.
"...You've been the only person who seems to genuinely care about it. Amelia, Cat, even Bo, they've asked, but you're the only one who just keeps making sure, asking me if I need anything, and I feel so helpless, so frail and… And I gotta know. Why? After everything, why do you keep asking? It can't be 'cause you like me. It can't be 'cause we're friends. So… So just-"
"Because I know what it's like."
Skara blinked, cocking an eyebrow. "To break up with Ves?"
Willow sighed, shaking her head. "To feel alone. To have no one to care about you." She looked Skara dead in the eyes. "Skara, I told you this back when I first found you crying, didn't I? I spent a lot of my childhood with barely any friends. After Amity left, I didn't have any friends. Just… A lot of bullies."
Like her. Skara winced..
"...Look, Skara. I'm not trying to be your therapist. I know I don't owe you anything, that I can leave you alone and be… Totally fine. But when I saw you, crying, all alone…"
She sighed.
"...I saw myself, Skara. When Amity left me alone. So, I decided to be the kind of person I needed back then."
Skara looked deep into Willow's green eyes. No matter how deeply she looked, though, Skara never spotted anything resembling a lie in them.
"And… Maybe that was wrong of me. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to get involved in your personal life. If… If you want me to stop, just say so. We can stop talking, go about our separate lives. Pretend none of this happened. All you have to do is tell me."
There was a beat. Skara took a moment, lost in thought as she contemplated what exactly Willow was asking.
She opened her mouth.
And then she blinked. "Hey, uh… W - Wasn't there like... A giant flower trying to murder us?"
Willow's eyebrows raised.
Both girls turned, then gasped. The once monstrous flower, though still large, had shrunk to its original size. The bud had returned to its original closed shape, and the aura had disappeared. The few plants that hadn't been knocked over or been destroyed seemed to raise their leaves in victory, before collapsing entirely.
"...Huh. I think calming down got it to let you go," Willow said, triumphantly, and with an exhausted smile. "Can you still feel it in your head?"
Skara raised a hand to the side of her head. "I… I don't think so, actually." She grinned. "No more headache, no more weird tendril feeling… I… I think it's gone now."
"I'm… Surprised that it worked to be honest." The Plant Witch shrugged. "Okay, let's see about getting Amelia out of that thing before-"
"Before what, exactly?"
The two girls jumped, turning to spot a very angry Boscha, accompanied by a very scratched and torn up Cat, leaning against the Grudgby Captain, her hair erratic and her glasses crooked.
"So dizzy… So many claws… So little blood… In my system…"
"Boscha -" Skara began, but Boscha glared at her.
"So, I send you out to find my missing player, and I find you canoodling with half-a-witch while Amelia's 'stuck,' apparently?"
"We weren't-" Willow began indignantly, then stopped, sighed, and rubbed at her forehead. "Nevermind. I'm gonna try to save Amelia." She jumped up onto a nearby desk so that she could reach the head of the enormous plant, and then raised her hands up to Amelia II's bulb. Her eyes glowed green, ever so lightly. "C'mon, Amelia II. Spit out mommy."
The flower began to hack and flail, until finally, it spat out Amelia's Grudgby uniform, where it fell unceremoniously onto the ground.
"AMELIA!" Cat cried out, whatever intense haze she'd been under from the blood loss temporarily overtaken by horror. She rushed over to it, clutching the slime covered uniform to her chest, sobbing. "Amelia… why… you were so young…"
The flower began to hack again, and this time it hacked out the original Amelia. She slid across the floor, to Willow's feet, before stopping.
"OH THANK THE TITAN," Cat cried, dropping the uniform and rushing over to the unconscious Plant witch. "ARE YOU OK?" She took her friend's arm, placing two fingers against her wrist. "Oh, Titan's mercy, I got a pulse!"
"I… I now know the smell of Death," Amelia mumbled, slowly opening her eyes. "It's… A lot like vinegar, actually."
"Okay, Amelia, how many fingers am I holding up?"
The correct answer to Cat's question was three.
Amelia's answer was to bite them.
"Ouch!" Cat hissed, shaking her hand.
"Hmmmm… Tasty…"
"Ooookay, what's wrong with her?" Skara asked, kneeling over her. As she did, she noticed Amelia's eyes. Normally a dark olive green, her pupils had now overtaken the surrounding color. And the rest of her eye to boot. "Oh, Titan! Anything we can do?"
"I - I don't know." Cat sighed. "I'll... Take her to the Healers Office." She helped Amelia up to her feet, then wrapped an arm over her shoulder to steady her. "C'mon, girl. Let's get you some help."
"Okay, pretty bunny," Amelia muttered, toying with Cat's hair.
"Uh, it's Cat."
"Okay, very pretty Cat."
If Skara didn't know any better, she could have sworn that she could see the faint outline of a blush on Cat's cheeks.
Boscha watched on as Cat limped out of the room with Amelia, her back to Skara and Willow. She didn't make any move for a moment.
Then, she spun around, all three of her eyes filled with fire and brimstone.
"You!"
She pointed a very angry finger at Willow's chest.
"You did this!"
Willow stood, somewhat shocked at the fierce anger. "What? Boscha, I didn't-"
"You did this to try to ruin our big Glandus game, is that it," She growled. Even by Boscha's standards, she was angry. She spun around, quickly forming a spell circle. A purple fireball formed in front of her, and she aimed it directly at Amelia II. "Well, if THAT'S how you wanna play-"
"NO!" Willow shouted. Her eyes began to glow, but before she could act-
"STOP!" Skara shouted, stepping in front of Boscha's fireball. "Willow didn't do it! I did!"
The other two girls stared at Skara, clearly surprised. Even Skara didn't entirely understand what she was doing. All she knew was that, in this moment, standing directly in front of a fireball was the right thing to do.
And also probably very stupid but she was there now, and had already all but hung herself with her own words, so, no backing out now, anyway.
Boscha glared down at Skara. She said nothing, then sneered. "Oh?"
Skara pursed her lips. "Well, I… I kinda got angry. And that apparently makes the plant act wild and well, it... Went wild. And…" Skara looked over, and spotted her harp, still lying where she'd dropped it during the fight. Holding her arm outstretched, it came flying towards her hand. "And if you want to burn anything, burn this! I hurt Ame, so..."
For a second, it looked as if Boscha was about to do just that.
But the purple flame was snuffed out, and Boscha's sneer turned into a smirk.
"...Okay then." Her tone was much more relaxed. Friendlier, even.
And it chilled Skara to her bone.
"W-wait. You're not gonna burn my harp?"
"Why would I?" Boscha said. She wrapped an arm around Skara's shoulders. "After all - I'm down a man."
Skara froze. "W-what?"
"Oh, didn't ya hear me, benchwarmer?" Now the voice showed hints of Boscha's usual anger. Her arm tightened again. "I can't train a full team with only two people - So until Amelia is back and ready to go…"
A grin appeared.
"...Guess who's filling in for her."
And everything that that entails, Skara realized.
A hundred laps while being chased by hungry gryphons suddenly didn't sound too bad. Or fighting a giant emotion-eating plant monster, for that matter.
Boscha let her go, and all but marched out of the Track room. "Come on." She barked, firmly, not waiting for Skara at all.
"...Great." Skara muttered to herself. "Just… Great…" She turned to look back at Willow, and then around the utterly disarrayed room. "I er… Sorry. About the room." And that was all that she said, before sighing, and following Boscha back outside.
Leaving Willow to ponder what she had just witnessed.
And the fact that she never got an answer to her question.
QosmicQuartz : Desmond and I have been working on this one solidly for the last week, and considering that this amounted to 10,600 words, I'd honestly say we're doing pretty damned good - It's been nice to be able to write stuff again and I ended up extremely happy with this chapter in particular - Here's to hoping the rest of the chapters end up going the same way!
DesmondKane: Hi again everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We worked our arses off on it and I think I did a solid job at least (Quartz too, little bit). And now we're hoping to bring you more and more awesome chapters like this to you all as soon as we're able. I'd like to thank Quartz for their awesome edits, and thank everyone who heard of this story from my big solo work, The Wrong Blight (and hey, if you haven't read it yet, you really should...). Here's hoping we can get next chapter out soon, and to you all enjoying it. Remember to kudos, comment, and bookmark (am I doing this right?). (Quartz calls Desmond a shill - And should do it more often. Seriously TWB is amazing - Quartz)
Song of the chapter that has nothing to do with it but I adore anyway: "Heretic Pride" by The Mountain Goats.
