Skara first met Boscha in the woods, when they were both little.
The Woods. Beautiful, serene, and, when you discounted the occasional bloodthirsty demon, peaceful. But to the people who knew Skara O'Hara, the woods would not have been her scene. She was a high society girl! Her time was better spent in her family's manor, wearing oversized dresses, or...doing whatever it was high society girls did, not out walking in some dusty, dirty woods!
But in truth, nobody outside of her family really knew Skara all that well. To her parents' friends, she was just the little girl who sat quietly in the other room, occasionally coming by when her father called. To the people who passed her on the street, she was just the O'Hara girl, always right on her father's heels. And to her six younger siblings, well, they weren't really old enough to see her as much of anything yet. And her friends at school? They didn't see her as anything. Because she didn't really have any.
It was the strangest thing, everyone always said. She was such a sweet, bouncy girl, she should have easily befriended her entire class by now. But no matter how many times she tried, none of her classmates really seemed to want to be around her any longer than was necessary. Skara herself didn't really mind, of course, but her parents were starting to worry. Were they just put off by her personality? Or was it because of the family she came from? Either way, more often than not, Skara was alone.
Again, though, she didn't mind too much. When you have six younger siblings, and your parents always seem to be having guests over, sometimes being alone can be a blessing. Which is exactly why Skara could often be found in the woods. When they weren't filled with hellish monsters or the aforementioned bloodthirsty demons, the woods were always a reliable source of peace and quiet. Not that Skara minded the monsters and demons either, though. She had always liked the creepy creatures of the Boiling Isles. In fact, if she hadn't been so musical, she might have joined the beastkeeping track instead of the bard track!
But today, there were no monsters, demons, or creatures in sight. Just Skara, the way she liked it: alone. Alone, among the sounds of the woods. Chirping birds, a babbling creek, the rustling of leaves in the wind...and a powerful impact that shakes the ground? That, she had to admit, was a new one.
So powerful was the impact that Skara fell off of the log she was walking across and into the babbling creek below. She wasn't bothered by being wet; she was far too curious about that strange noise to care.
And there it was again. A loud pounding that made the water ripple. Skara stood up, listening again to determine where it was coming from. When the same sound shook the forest yet again, she set off towards it. The birds had gone quiet now, no doubt scared off by the sound.
But what was it? Skara's mind raced with possibilities. Her first thought was that it was a giant monster of some kind, shaking the ground with its massive footsteps! She sped up to a light jog, excited by the possibility of seeing something like that. I hope it is a big monster! she thought to herself. I can't wait to tell Mom and Daddy About this! But...will they be mad I snuck off to the forest again? And that I got all wet? When faced with the choice between seeing a giant monster, or getting in trouble with her parents, Skara eagerly continued on. Daddy never stayed mad at her for long anyway, even on the rare occasions when he did at all.
After a few minutes of following the noises, Skara soon came across what was unmistakably where they were coming from. She was now close enough that each time one of the noises rang out, all the nearby trees were pushed back slightly, and the ground shook even more than before. She ran up to a tree, clinging close to the bark. "Giant monster, here I come!" she whispered excitedly, peering around to sneak a peek.
The first thing she saw was another tree, one that was noticeably different from the others. Mainly because of the gigantic scorch mark on its front, as well as the fact that much of the trunk had been worn away by repeated impacts. She leaned in closer to determine what had caused it to look like that, when her question answered itself: some sort of fireball flew out of nowhere, violently slamming against the side of the tree. The force of this strange fireball colliding with its target caused a burst of air to fly outwards, pushing back not only the trees, but Skara herself. Her hair billowing behind her, she just barely managed to avoid falling over.
"Woah…" Skara leaned around the other side of the tree, looking for the source of the fireball. That was when she saw it-or rather, saw her. "Hey, that isn't a giant monster, that's a girl!" Indeed, another little girl stood in the clearing, looking to be about Skara's age, maybe a bit older. All Skara could make out at this distance was her striking pinkish-red hair, tied up into a small ponytail. She had leaned down to pick up the fireball, which was now no longer on fire. It was a small, brown, leathery ball that Skara instantly recognized as a grudgby ball.
The mystery girl drew a spell circle above the ball, causing it to light on fire. Skara watched, transfixed, as the girl lifted the flaming ball over her head, and, with a shout of effort, hurled it at the tree with a surprising amount of strength. Another loud boom, along with another rush of air, followed.
Impressed, Skara stepped out from behind the tree as the girl set the ball on fire again, preparing to throw it. In perhaps an act of poor timing, Skara made her presence known just then. "That was so cool!" she exclaimed. The other girl, surprised by the sudden shout, missed her target; the grudgby ball sailed past the tree, out of sight.
The girl stomped the ground in irritation, spinning around to face Skara; this showed her that the girl had three eyes, something that made her look familiar somehow. "You messed up my shot!" she said, pouting.
"Sorry!" said Skara. She was apologetic for only a moment before her cheerful demeanor returned. "How come you're out here all alone?"
"Hmmph." Arms crossed, the girl turned away. "Because I like to be alone. Why are you out here?"
"I like to be alone too," she answered. "You know...sometimes…" It seemed like Skara's cheerfulness was about to falter, but with a shake of her head, it returned just as quickly as before. "Hey...I know you! You were at our house when Daddy invited Mrs. Trioptes over! Is she your mama?"
"Maybe." The three-eyed girl glanced over at Skara, seemingly annoyed that she was still waiting for an answer. "Who are you?"
"I'm Skara!" she answered. "What's your name?"
"...Boscha." She waited for a few moments, almost surprised that Skara didn't immediately launch into another question. "Can I get back to practicing now?"
"Whatcha practicing for?" Skara asked. "Do you play grudgby? I love grudgby! I always watch all the games when they come on the crystal ball!"
"Yes, I do play grudgby!" said Boscha. She smiled proudly, placing her hands on her hips. "When I get old enough, I'm gonna join the Banshees!"
"Woah...that is so cool!" said Skara. She bounced up and down on her feet, looking positively starstruck. Boscha couldn't help but grin at this; sure, this girl might be annoying, but she could appreciate a little grovelling!
"It is, isn't it?" Boscha said smugly, examining her nails. "Now beat it, I need to keep practicing." Her icy demeanor was back. "Now I have to go and find-"
"I'll go get it!" To Boscha's surprise, Skara ran off in the direction of the wayward grudgby ball. She disappeared into the bushes beyond the tree. "Okay, I think-ow!-I can see it, it's-ouch!-just past all of these-ow!-thorn bushes!" Moments later, Skara reappeared, covered in thorns, scratches, and, most importantly, she held the grudgby ball in her hand. "Got it!"
Boscha stifled a laugh, both at this girl's scruffy appearance, and her willingness to retrieve the ball for her. "You're not so bad, Skara," she said, taking the ball. "Okay, back to practicing…" She drew a spell circle, lighting the ball back on fire, but turned back around when she noticed Skara was still there. "Um...you can go now."
"Can...can I watch?" Skara rolled back and forth on her feet when she asked, her arms behind her back, as though she was afraid to ask. "Watch you practice, I mean."
Boscha raised an eyebrow. "Um...why?"
Skara grinned bashfully. "I like grudgby," she said. "I think...I think I'd like to play it, too, once I get old enough. Maybe I'll even join the Banshees, too."
"Sure, whatever," said Boscha, rolling her eyes. She went back to practicing, lighting the ball on fire again. She hadn't said that the other girl couldn't stay and watch, however. So she stayed.
Skara sat down by the roots of a nearby tree, eyes locked on the ball as it was repeatedly thrown against its target. She would let out a cheer each time it did; "Whoo! That was awesome!" she would say. "Yay! Cool!" she would say. "Nice shot!" she would say.
To Boscha's surprise, she found herself not growing annoyed with this constant feedback. If anything, something about being cheered on...she enjoyed it. She had expected to eventually get tired of this annoyingly cheerful girl, but she didn't. She glanced over at her: that shine in her eyes, that admiration, it was real. "You play grudgby too?" she found herself asking.
"...No," Skara answered. "Not real grudgby, anyway. Daddy says he doesn't want me getting hurt. Sometimes I pretend, though."
Much to both girls' surprise, Boscha held out the ball. "Do you want a turn?" She didn't know why she offered. It had just happened, spur of the moment. She briefly reconsidered, but still held out the ball; Boscha was never one to take something back.
On the other end, Skara looked like she had just been offered the world. Her eyes lit up even more than they already had, if it was possible-Boscha thought she might start crying then and there. "Yes," she said, barely audible. She took the ball as if it was a priceless treasure. Her eyes raised to meet the other girl's. "Boscha?" she said, just as softly.
"What?"
"We should be friends."
Boscha didn't even need to think about her answer: "Fine, sure, whatever." Skara took this quite well, however, hugging the ball to her chest and hopping up and down. "Can we get on with this? I don't have all day!"
Skara was pulled back into reality. "Huh? Oh, right!" She ran a few feet ahead of Boscha, facing towards the tree with a determined expression. Imitating the other girl, she raised the ball over her head, and threw it with all her might.
The ball traveled only a few feet, bouncing along the ground and stopping a ways before it reached its target. Nevertheless, Skara turned towards Boscha with an expectant expression. "...What?" asked the latter.
"How was that?" asked Skara.
"That…" Boscha was never the type to pull her punches, either. "...wasn't very good." She expected Skara to be upset at this news, maybe even cry.
But Skara didn't even frown. Instead, she ran over to the grudgby ball, before hurrying back. "I'll try again, then!" she said. "Unless you want it back!"
"No, try again," said Boscha. "But this time, use your back instead of your shoulders…"
A few days later, Skara was distracted from her current task of making her stuffed animals fight each other by voices coming from downstairs. Two of them were clearly her parents, but there was a third, one that sounded a little bit familiar, but she couldn't place it. Curious, she left her room and headed down the stairs.
Not wanting to interrupt them, she peered around the door frame into the living room. Inside, her parents were talking with another woman, whom Skara recognized as Mrs. Trioptes. She had the same eyes as her daughter, who Skara noticed was sitting beside her, not listening to the adults talking. Skara waved, trying to get Boscha's attention, but instead gained her dad's.
"And there she is now!" he said. He and the two women looked in her direction. "Skara, would you come here a moment, please?"
Skara slowly walked into the room, wondering what this was about. She didn't ask, however. As Boscha still stared down at her scroll, her mother seemed to study this girl before her. Meeting her in person, Mrs. Trioptes was quite intimidating; still, she waved at the woman, trying to be friendly.
"We have someone we'd like you to meet," Mr. O'Hara said. Mrs. Trioptes nudged her daughter, who reluctantly dispelled her scroll and stood up. "Skara, this is Boscha, Mrs. Trioptes' daughter. I'd like you to start spending some time with her, okay?"
Skara offered no resistance to this whatsoever. "Okay, Daddy!" she said, walking up to Boscha. "Hi again!"
For a moment, Boscha didn't say anything back. "Now Boscha, say hello to the nice girl," her mother said. "Just like we practiced."
Boscha cleared her throat and held out her hand. "Hello. It's nice to meet you," she said, clearly parroting words fed to her.
Rather than take her hand, Skara pulled her in for a hug. At first, Boscha was surprised by this gesture, which eventually turned to annoyance. She didn't try to break free, though. She eventually returned the hug, albeit awkwardly.
"Awww," said Mrs. O'Hara, holding her hands over her heart. "They're already getting along so well!"
And that is how Skara and Boscha became each other's (first) friend.
AN: I've always found myself attracted (no, not like that!) to side characters in shows, especially villainous ones. Boscha and her gang are no exception. Since I realized that none of them made an appearance in Luz Noceda vs. The World, I decided to do a little story featuring them, focusing on how them may have all met. Nothing too major, just a little drabble-hope you enjoy!