Hana Hasdrubal entered her home, her three eyes scanning her surroundings as she walked inside and placed down her bag filled with new products for her store that still needed testing. When she wasn't working at the shop or at home, her time was spent perfecting her new formulas to sell. Her large workshop behind the home was the perfect place for it with the reinforced walls she had put in as well as the soundproofing so as not to disturb Boscha when she had friends over. Hana moved to the kitchen to begin dinner as she suspected her daughter would be hungry after her big Grudgby match.
As if on cue, the front door swung open violently as a pair of boots dragged a disheveled body inside. Her violet hair hung uncharacteristically free and frayed at it's charred edges as she dropped her duffle bag filled with her gear at the front door. "Oh, you're home early." Hana called from the kitchen as she heard the bag drop and saw Boscha entering. "How did the game go?"
Her inquiry was met with a short glare. "Don't talk to me." Boscha grumbled under her breath as she shuffled down the hall to her room.
"Well dinner will be ready..." The mother was cut off by the loud slam of Boscha's door.
Boscha threw herself on her bed, landing face down in her pillow as Maya crawled up beside her. "Four. Four losses in a row, Maya." She muffled as she was in the same position before turning her head to face the palisman. "This has never happened to me. This shouldn't happen to me. I'm Boscha Hasdrubal. I don't lose."
The last two weeks had not been good since reforming the Banshees with the new members. They lacked any of the ability, the synergy that made the girl's old crew so effective and it showed in the matches they had played since forming. Thinking about the last few games only made her think about Skara and the others and how that all ended. That was something that she just wouldn't have and she rolled over only to find Maya crawling on her chest and looking sadly at her. A hand rubbed the tiny creature as it continued to stare at her in concern. Even if Boscha would never say it out loud in front of anyone, she was happy to have at least one friend still with her.
Her small peace was abruptly ruined as the house shook and a familiar loud screech echoed through the air. The girl hopped up in a rage as Maya landed atop her head. "Not again!" She placed the palisman on the bed and immediately marched back down the hall and out the front door. Upon exiting the home she took a few steps forward and turned around to find a griffon perched on her roof, scratching off the tiles and making all manner of call.
"Puddles, no. Down girl." A voice called from the next house over as Boscha spotted the multi-track student, Viney calling out to the creature. Viney noticed the three eyed girl and the two promptly traded angry glares.
"Keep that thing off of my roof!" Boscha shouted.
"SHE!" Viney corrected as she hopped over the fence dividing the two yards to retrieve her assistant.
"Do I look like I care?"
"No, you look like something the slitherbeast dragged in." Viney countered as she sniffed the air and promptly covered her nose. "Yuck, and what's that smell. Oh wait, that's the smell of a four-time loser." The girl's joke was falling flat on the triclops as she gritted her teeth.
"Excuse me?" Boscha asked with a balled right hand into a fist.
Viney smirked lightly. "Oh, the whole of Bonesborough is talking about it. This is the worst losing streak Hexside has had in a while. Everybody is talking about how you're losing her touch. And the sad part is you brought this on yourself." She managed to coerce Puddles down and began to stroke her neck as she turned away from the still angered Boscha. "You're hurting her, you know?" The question caused the three-eyed girl to look away. "Skara still cares about you despite everything. Why are you doing this to her? Acting like she means nothing to you?"
Boscha's gaze shifted back up to look at Viney, who had turned back to her, the smile on her face having vanished. "She doesn't. She made her choice."
"Uh huh." Viney said unconvinced by the answer. "You made yours too, just remember that. I hope it's worth it to you." She mounted the griffon and the two flew back over to the other house just as the front door opened and Skara walked outside. "Ready to go?"
"You betcha." Skara said joyously before noticing her next door neighbor casting a disapproving scowl in her direction. The girl had a worried look before turning back to Viney, hopping aboard the griffin and putting on smile to mask her concern. "Let's get going." The duo flew off on Puddles as Boscha watched with silent anger as she turned and went back into the house.
"Was everything..." Hana attempted to ask again only for her daughter to march passed and into her laboratory. "...okay?" Seeing Boscha so miserable, her mother wanted to say something that could help. She knew, however that the girl would only let someone help her when she was good and ready. The Hasdrubal matriarch just worried that the girl would have to suffer a great deal by that point.
Down in her lab, Boscha slid away several different projects outside of the one that had taken up many of her waking hours outside of school. One had a warning on it that was highlighted that read "Risk of damaging bile sac". Another had an image of a heart jaggedly sheered down the middle with pictures of Amity Blight and the human Luz, respectively, attached to it. The others were all second fiddle to what she was currently working on as she pulled out her scroll and began recording her voice.
"Recording #49. Results from the last test subject proved unsatisfactory. The control only lasted several minutes and the subject was far too suggestible. I literally had to order them to breath in and out so I'll need to lower the dosage so they can use even rudimentary thought processes. I'll have to balance that out while trying to make the potion permanent. I don't need zombies, I just need ..." Boscha's thoughts paused for a moment. Did she really want to go through with this? A few moments of thinking helped cement her reasoning: Skara, Amelia and Cat leaving her, here popularity taking a nose dive, and her skills as a Grudgby player coming into question. Even a loser like Viney was taking her opportunity to make jabs at her. She'd make this work and everything would go back to normal.
She then turned to the first project she had brushed away. "Side note on project #7: I've made some progress on the beast fusion serum. But I'm still having trouble with a strong bonding agent. I mean how hard could it be if that kooky Owl Lady figured it out. How else could she have turned into that bird thing at the brawl last week."
She stopped as she looked over at a small cage next to her that housed her pet pixie. "Perhaps I'll pick up on that since I seem to be at a dead end with my compliance potion at the moment. If I'm right, it'll put a witch on par with even a beast-keeping coven member like Eberwolf. Log end." She ended the log as she took the notes from this fusion serum and began working on it. She began brewing up the current mixture of ingredients before lifting up the cage and bringing it close as she held it over the boiling liquid. "Carefully. One good shake ought to do it..." She held her breath as she began the attempt.
"Boscha!" Her mother's shout caused her to rattle the catch as more than the needed amount of pixie dust rained into the cauldron and resulted in the mixture bubbling over and promptly exploding. The loud bang masked the girl's screams of pain as smoke bellowed out of the homes secondary chimney.
The three-eyed girl stood over the now empty pot, covered in soot and blinked slowly. Meanwhile the pixie's cage had been tossed across the room though the creature seemed no worse for where as the hook on the top of the container had snagged on a rafter. Boscha soon got her senses about her as she looked up slightly to find two odd things dangling from her head. Her third eye looked up and shifted between them to find a pair of antennae that began to move up and down. She felt a tingling in her shoulder blades as the girl felt brief gusts of wind from behind. A look over her shoulder revealed a large pair of blue pixie wings adjusted for the size of the new owner.
"MOM!" Her angered yells shook the house as she marched up the stairs and out to the hall. "Do you have any idea what you just ruined?!"
"Sorry honey, but your little friend came over to visit." She heard Hana respond from the kitchen as Boscha had a raised eyebrow. What "friend" could she possibly be referring to? For Boscha, she didn't have any friends, just people who haven't stabbed her in the back just yet.
She rounded the corner and entered the kitchen where her mother was pouring their guest some tea. "There you are, dear. Is there anything else I can get you?" Hana inquired of their guest.
"Oh no, but thank you Ms. Hasdrubal. It's delicious." The one-eyed, crescent headed girl said as she sipped her warm drink before noticing Boscha's arrival and meekly waving to her. "Hey, Boscha. Um, I like the new look." Boscha groaned a bit in annoyance as her new wings flapped involuntarily and her antennae perked up.