?/?/? - ? - ?
The world isn't that big a place...
You tend to bump into familliar faces all the time.
So don't take my warning lightly when I say...
...careful who you make enemies with...
They can be your worst nightmare...
Hilda
"And that's what he told me..." Hilda reiterated, bracing herself for the reaction of her two friends.
She had convinced them to take a detour on their route to school, leaving David confused and Frida more than skeptical. It wasn't until Hilda described what Eric had told her that they finally understood... though they were definitely less than enthused once they realized.
"A journal? Left somewhere out here?" Frida's facepalmed her face in disbelief, "perfect, that's just perfect, so I suppose now our identities and involvement in all this are out there. It's just one giant pitfall after another, isn't it?"
"Frida..." Hilda rubbed her eyes, understanding Frida's frustration over the matter. However, it was way too early for Hilda to be debating like this, so she settled with trying to reassure her instead, "listen, I know it sounds bad, but he told me he didn't write any of our names in it, especially not any of you guys. You're still in the clear."
"B-But it's still outside in the city, right?" David pointed out, nervously tugging on his school uniform since the cold was setting in, "what if someone turns it in for the cops? Or just takes it for themselves?" He stiffened in impulse at this, forcing Hilda to stop and reflect on the idea.
"That is possible," Hilda sighed, trying to think logically so as to not worry him, "but if someone did turn it in, the writing would be bizarre out of context, and I doubt someone would want to keep a random kid's journal for themselves. I mean, you wouldn't, right?" She perked up, hoping she would at least calm his nerves.
"Maybe to return it to its owner..." David replied quietly, but he reluctantly seemed to accept her idea after a second passed, "I suppose though... it wouldn't be too bad though if someone got it."
Frida didn't appear convinced though, her expression wavering for a split second as she spoke, "even knowing that, I still can't believe he didn't tell us last night."
"A lot of things happened last night Frida," Hilda reminded with a sad look, "I doubt the last thing on Eric's mind was to tell us about some journal he used to have. All we can do now is help him."
Her friends grew silent then, and Hilda herself had to mull over what she was doing to them. Dragging them along on such an anxious journey... she really started to feel the weight of what she was putting them through, especially since now at every corner as the group walked she felt as if someone's eyes could've been on them. But at the same time, Hilda had to trust herself that she could help Eric, as well as reassure her friends they weren't in danger by joining her
But presently, the best she could do was hope her instincts on what park it was in were right, because now they were approaching it rapidly enough. The early sun had finally come to rise, awakening the trees around the area into their bright colors of orange and god. One tree stood up amongst the rest... a tree that housed a hundred birds of different flocks.
"Well... it was at a park," Eric said, "I don't know the name, but it has a big tree with a lot of birds on it... and some buildings around it, some benches. It kinda looked a bit empty..."
Seeing as the park was smushed between a few buildings, it was indeed pretty empty, housing only a few benches and tables where other birds fluttered around at. The entire place screamed abandoned, and to anyone else, it might've seen like an unassuming place.
But Hilda stood silent at the entrance, no longer focusing on her friend's bewildered expressions. All she could see were the birds on the tree peacefully sitting around. This park... how did Eric come to find the exact place she had some unpleasant memories about? How did he stumble onto the exact meeting ground where she and Raven met?
...
...why did he have to lose his book at the place Trevor and his friends frequently visited?
When Eric had originally described the park to her, she had an uneasy suspicion of exactly what he was talking about. All at once as he did so, the unpleasant memories of Raven's attack plagued her mind... and to avoid those thoughts she hurriedly left him behind. But now, she was here, taking in the past with full force.
"Hilda, is everything alright?" David suddenly asked. He stood at the entrance with a worried expression, as did Frida who wearily glanced around the area.
Hilda realized their concern and forced a smile, "...I'm okay, really," she expressed quickly, "onto more important matters, I think the journal is around here somewhere. We just gotta be fast and find it first." She hoped that getting back on topic would make up for her worrying them.
David and Frida gave each other a small look, but didn't pursue it further. "Sure... sure okay, let's make this quick then," Frida said as she readied herself to search, "if we're late, my parents will start asking questions again, and I BARELY managed to get them off my case about yesterday."
Hilda raised his eyebrows and smirked at the statement, "now that's an achievement, how'd you accomplish that?"
"Honestly, I blamed a night of studying with you guys," Frida sighed, "if that backfires, I apologize, but it made them back off for now at least. What about you David?"
"They stopped asking questions at around midnight" David answered, his voice exhausted, "but they were still freaked out though, so who knows what'll happen later. I'll j-just come up with the same story you did."
Though they were still shaken up from yesterday, Hilda was a little happy they were able to get home unscathed, "considering the situation, I say you earned a freebie from parental wrath for a while."
"Definitely..." David agreed, "but let's get this done before we make them any more suspicious, y-yeah?" And just like that the three spread out, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything that resembled a journal.
But, even with the extra pair of eyes, nothing came up. Hilda searched under the benches, tables, and around the tree about three times... but still nothing. There was nowhere it could be hidden around either since the whole space was open. Hilda even looked over the next few houses nearby to see if it was on the ground anywhere but didn't see anything noteworthy, leaving the adventurer confused about its placement as she grouped up with a grumbling Frida and David.
"Nothing on my end," David declared with a frown, "s-someone must've taken it already," he breathed uneasily then, mirroring Frida who seemed worried as well.
"I feel like that's the case," Frida sighed, "I swear I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find it at all, and I feel like while I was looking someone's eyes were on me as I searched.
"Talk about c-creepy," David stumbled in his words, and Hilda had to admit Frida's comment freaked her out too. Could someone have been watching them search for the book they might've taken? She felt as if all eyes were on her since yesterday too, but now it might actually be true. Or perhaps she was overthinking it after such a disappointing search for Eric's journal. It was unrealistic to think the book would still be here, but she had some small hope she could find it for Eric's sake. But now she was freaking out about a potential book nabber.
"Well then, what's the plan after this disaster?" Frida sighed..
Hilda debated for a few seconds before sucking up her fear as she always did and whispering to them both, "we stick to the same plan as before. We go to the Crazy Lady's house, then go to the library to see what we can find on alternate-dimensional travel. As for the book..." she paused for a second and sighed, "I'll stay here to look for it briefly, you two have to get to school early, yeah?"
"You're going to try and look for it all by yourself?" Frida questioned, "Hilda, we're supposed to be figuring this out together."
"I know that," Hilda addressed, feeling a tad guilty, "but it would look pretty bad to your parents if you showed up late to school, and I don't want you guys to take the fall for something I dragged you into. I promise to meet you there, just wait for me"
David and Frida both gave questioning glances before David nodded, "you do pose a good point there. My parents freaked out about me hanging outside yesterday when that shooting was reported. W-We'll just see if you find anything."
Frida looked a little more pressed over the issue, but forced herself to tag along with David anyway, "fine... but if you find the book, we should go over it and see what Eric wrote down, just to understand the scope of what happened to him, and maybe see if there's anything he's keeping from us."
"'Keeping from us'?" Hilda repeated, almost defensively, "Frida, I'm sure Eric told us everything he knows about, and we can't just go into someone's journal like that-" But just as the words left her mouth, she instantly knew she made a mistake once she saw Frida's annoyed expression.
"Sure, let's just assume he told us everything he knows," Frida entertained the idea, "we still have no way to verify that chain of events. All we know is that something led up to Victoria Van Gale capturing him, but that happened late on Sunday, he arrived here Friday. That leaves a whole two days time unaccounted for before we met him, and personally, I find it unrealistic that he just stumbled around the whole time until Victoria got him. He had to have met someone else."
"But he told us he met with a few people Frida," Hilda reminded her, "remember that Claire girl? He said she helped him find us."
"Yeah, and we have no idea who she is," Frida countered, "but it's not about the people he has met, it's about if anyone else like Victoria is keeping an eye on him. If they know more about him than us, we can't help him. I'm sorry, but that's a fact.:
Hilda, once again, didn't answer. She wanted to try and defend Eric, but Frida's rebuttal made sense. He had only told them how he met Victoria... but nothing before that. She believed he had no ill intent with keeping his journal secret, but clearly, there was more going on with him if his... powers... had anything to say about it. Just what was he hiding from them... from her? Who so adamantly stuck up for him?
The silence grew uncomfortably long, and Frida backtracked briefly at Hilda's reaction, relaxing her annoyed expression into one that was more understanding, yet stern, "Hilda, I really do want to help Eric in any way I can.. I want to figure out what's going on with him. But we got to know EVERYTHING about him or we can never do him justice. Just... think on that." And with that Frida left the park, hurriedly heading off to the school, the questions she left behind still floating in Hilda's mind.
David lingered behind a few extra moments before giving Hilda a sympathetic pat on the back, "for what it's worth Hilda, I think Frida is just on edge about everything going on. She just wants to figure out the truth and fast, and... Eric is an odd case."
"I mean, we've all seen that," Hilda nodded with a smile, slightly glad David was still there "and I get it, this whole thing is so weird, it's a far departure from what we usually do. Well... sort of," she corrected, "but I've talked with him and he seems genuine about his fear, so I really don't think he's hiding stuff from us on purpose, otherwise, that would hurt his goal on getting home... right?"
Thinking for a moment, David seemed to nod at something, "I don't doubt he's scared, but being scared does things to people. Trust me, I know," he nervously laughed, "it makes you secretive... and it makes you mean sometimes. That's why Frida's a bit antsy, and why Eric... might be hiding stuff. So I think we're all a little scared and handling it differently. I mean, not everyone can be as chill about this stuff as you are."
Scared... but handling it differently? Was that why everyone was so on edge in the city? She knew Trolberg wasn't like the wilderness when it came to a lot of things, but could it be that she truly was so far removed from this place that she didn't feel the fear Frida... her mum... and the city felt? Or was she actually afraid to... and coping with it by helping Eric?
She didn't have an answer for herself, but David still managed to give her one last assuring hug before he left, "even knowing that, we still got your back though Hilda, okay?"
And with that, David hurried off to reach Frida, leaving Hilda in the park as the wind tossed the leaves aside. She stood conflicted, and unsure over her priorities. On one hand, Hilda really didn't want to invade Eric's privacy by reading his journal, especially after he was putting so much trust in her. But on the other... it could prove useful to know what he was doing before he came here...
What was the right call?
She shook her head at the thoughts that overwhelmed her and got back to searching the park. She would choose to believe in Eric, but also believe in her friends as well. If they could come together and figure out the truth behind Eric's circumstances, they could finally rest and do things as they used to do. Now all that she had to do was find this darn book.
But before she could even get searching, a twig snapped behind her. Her gaze honed in on the noise expectantly, wondering if David or Frida come back.
That wasn't... exactly the case, however.
There was another girl there, a girl with curly blue hair that seemed to be dyed since orange strands stuck out naturally. She looked as if she was a tad bit older than Hilda, possibly a teen, and was looking at the park carefully with bright green eyes. It was pretty jarring to see a girl randomly appear there, and also a little distressing as her eyes reminded Hilda too much of a... Marra's eyes... so much so that Hilda took a startled step back at the sight of her.
"Um, can I help you...?" Hilda spoke cautiously, keeping watch of the girl as she tried to appear calm.
The girl blinked then, realizing Hilda was speaking and turning to her, "oh, sorry. No, I was just taking in the scenery. What about you?" She eyed Hilda up and down and raised an eyebrow at her school uniform, "you look like you should be in school."
Hilda crossed her arms, covering her school badge. The fact that she even pointed that out was... odd. Maybe she was perceptive, but that didn't change the fact Hilda had NO clue who this girl was... though she did seem sort of familiar. Only vaguely though.
"I could say the same for you," Hilda pointed out, noting the school backpack the girl had on with a serious look, "you clearly look like you've got somewhere to be."
The girl smirked at this and nodded her head, "yeah you're right, I actually was in a hurry to get there." But the girl did another careful sweep of the park with her eyes, not even bothering to "hurry" like she said, "this is a nice place though, you skipping school to chill here? Or are you searching for something?"
"..." Hilda didn't reply, choosing instead to study the girl's weird green eyes. The way they moved about as she talked to Hilda, she must've been looking for something as well, but Hilda wasn't sure what. She was hoping it was unrelated to her search for Eric's book... but the way the girl was addressing her didn't give Hilda a lot of confidence in that idea.
"You gonna answer me or what?" the girl asked, frowning at Hilda as if she'd been disrespected, "it's rude to ignore people talking to you, you know?"
Admittedly, this made Hilda a little peeved, and she decided to risk her suspicions on the girl, "well you're a stranger, so forgive me if I seem impolite if I don't address you right away."
"It was impolite, yeah..." the girl confirmed, again, frowning, but more so in a satisfied way now, "I'm guessing your mother told you to not talk to strangers right?"
Hilda narrowed her eyes at this and took a step forward now, "well that's just common sense. If you don't know the name of another person, how can you trust them?"
"Oh, smart logic," the girl grinned, "so if I tell you my name, than you'll tell me what you're doing? Sounds like a fair trade, right?" She seemed completely innocent with the question, but her eyes gave off anything but that. It was like a sickening flame was coming out of them.
But Hilda held steady, now even more curious of the bizarre individual, and determined to figure out what was going on, even if she stood alone, "it depends. Who really are you?"
The girl paused for a few seconds, seeming to debate if she should answer from Hilda's perspective. However, the girl eventually nodded at something and turned to Hilda, a relaxed smile on her face.
"The name's Claire..."
Hilda thought for a few seconds before gasping slightly, as she remembered why the girl felt so familiar. That's the girl that Eric told her about, the one who helped him figure out who Hilda was. And that wasn't just it... the reason Hilda knew about her was because she worked as a coworker with her mum in that hardware store! Hilda never paid attention to that place when her mum worked there, but she vaguely remembered Claire slacking off in one of the aisles once.
No, there was no doubt about it, Hilda definitely knew who she was. The question was then, did this girl remember Hilda? If not, then why was she here so conveniently in the place where Eric's journal could be? Hilda crossed her arms, conflicted that the girl was plotting something.
Wait... why would she think that? Frida's skepticism and Raven's paranoia were really getting to her now. But they were usually right to assume things. Hilda sighed at this thought and looked away, "well Claire... it's... nice meeting you," Hilda tried to say
"Feelings mutual," Claire smiled way too calmly, "and what about you? I didn't catch your name, if I told you mine, it's only courteous to share yours as well."
"Hilda," that's all she chose to say since it seemed clear Claire didn't intend to leave without an answer.
"Hilda..." Claire repeated, clicking her tongue, "I feel like I've heard about you somewhere before. In fact, I think I met someone who was looking for you. I forgot their name though... maybe you can fill me in?"
Hilda narrowed her eyes at Claire. Why was she prying for her information? Unless...
A sudden chill ran up Hilda's spine once she realized what Claire was talking about. That "someone" she must be referring to Eric, right? Why else would she say something like that? If Eric hadn't told Hilda everything about Claire, she might've immediately figured this girl was talking about someone else. She might've even figured it was an innocent question. But Eric had told her, every single detail in fact. How helpful she was, how she told him about the city, how she seemed concerned for him.
...but now, Hilda was wondering if Claire was trying to refer to Eric as "someone" as a means to get her to start blabbing about him. But, why would she approach her this way? Did Claire actually not know who Hilda was? Hilda doubted it now, she had to have known. If Claire knew about her own mother, she'd connect the dots soon enough.
All that mattered now though was getting this girl off their trail.
"A lot of people are always looking for me," Hilda derailed the question, attempting to play it off honestly, "I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about."
Claire squinted her eyes briefly before shrugging, "my mistake, I must've been thinking of someone else. But what a coincidence Hilda, I actually think I do remember you now. Your mom, her name's Johanna, right? I used to work with her and this blue-haired girl always visited to talk to her. She said that was her daughter. So... you must be her kid then."
"...that's right," Hilda reluctantly said. It was clear Claire remembered Hilda now too, she'd be foolish to lie to her about that, "I didn't expect to see a coworker of hers out here."
"Me neither," Claire smirked as she pointed at Hilda, "that's why I'm a little surprised to find you by yourself. It's quite dangerous out here. Did you hear about that shooting yesterday? It's over the media. Your mother would be worried sick if you weren't at school. What reason would you have to be out here... unless, you were trying to cover for something?"
Hilda's eyes narrowed at the insistence of Claire's questions, "I'm not covering anything," Hilda denied, "and I'm not alone out here, I'm meeting up with some friends in a bit," Hilda bluntly declared, trying to mask her worry about Claire's words, "I should be catching up with them now actually."
Claire's face surprisingly seemed to soften at that comment, "friends huh?"
"Yeah..." Hilda voiced again, albeit quieter this time as now she was wishing that David and Frida were here to offer some kind of backup, but she forced herself to hold strong and stare at Claire. Whatever her intentions, she didn't want to cause trouble for her friends by getting someone suspicious of them, especially if that same person had met Eric in the past.
But Claire no longer looked so ominous, instead, she tipped her cap and gave off a friendly smile, "they must be nice if they're willing to wait for you."
"Well, of course, that's what friends do..." Hilda pointed out, "you can't really call yourself a friend if you rush them."
"Right..." Claire nodded in agreement, "you have to be understanding... and all that. Like how moms usually can be, although comparing a mother to your friends might sound a little odd, huh?" Her voice kind of dipped a bit then, sounding almost vulnerable.
"Uh, kind of..." Hilda hesitantly answered, looking at Claire with concerned eyes. The teen seemed troubled now to Hilda, could it be that she was distressed over something? "Are you going through something right now?" Hilda picked up.
"Me?" Claire seemed a little surprised by the question.
"There's no one else here, is there?" Hilda joked before composing herself, "but, in all seriousness, you're acting... well weird. I mean, you went up and talked to a random kid. Normal people don't do that."
"You say that so bluntly," Claire chuckled.
"Well, I'm not really normal either, so I can say that," Hilda nodded, a bit embarrassed that she said that so casually.
Claire's eyes however went wide at this, "seems you've got yourself all figured out. That must be nice. As for me though… I guess I'm not normal either," Claire looked at Hilda, her eyes suddenly intense again which forced the adventurer to return her guard a little bit, "but I'm fine by the way. I don't want to get some kind of therapeutic talk from a kid. That's just weird."
"Really? I was just asking a question like you were before," Hilda sighed, pointing out the obvious hypocrisy, "and you were all talk before, why clam up now?"
"I only talked to you because you're Johanna's girl," Claire answered, "I know you... well, sort of. We've both seen each other before, you being Johanna's kid and all, I thought it would be fine to approach you. She spoke so highly of you back when I worked with her."
"Now that's… that's…" Now it was Hilda's turn to clam up as her mother was being brought up like this, especially after what she did yesterday, "well she's my mum… she loves me, obviously."
"Yeah, that's nice to hear," Claire suddenly said softly, "she really cares for you… she's really understanding."
Hilda was forced to watch as the teenager turned silent for a few seconds, her demeanor seeming a lot more conflicted than Hilda would've initially thought. Even if she was suspicious, there was clearly a lot going on with her.
Maybe… something also regarding her mother, just like Hilda.
"I guess getting back on topic though," Claire suddenly blurted out, her expression now appearing satisfied, "you should probably leave this area now then and go to school. A criminal's on the loose still, so your mother might be worried if she figured out you were out here alone."
On the surface, the statement seemed friendly enough. But Hilda still felt uneasy. The vulnerability that Claire seemed to have before vanished now, replaced with that same ominous glow in her green eyes, "wow… that's very kind of you," Hilda politely deflected, "but I still have some business-"
"I don't think so," Claire interrupted with a cold look, actually sounding a little dangerous as she walked forward into the park, "it was for a short time that I knew your mother, but I still know the type of person Johanna is, and she wouldn't want you out here alone. Given the… incident that happened yesterday, I'm surprised she's even let you out of the house."
"…" Hilda could only back away as Claire approached, the memories of Victoria Van Gale's attack flashing into her memory as brightly as the bullets once did.
"Everyone's talking about it," Claire mulled over with a worried look, "it sounded horrifying. Shots… in Trolberg. It doesn't sound real. That incident has shaken everyone in the city. But you don't seem phased at all. Is that why you're out here? To get away from it all? What about your friends? And your mother?"
…Hilda's heart sank a little bit. The looks on her friend's face back at the lab… the look of her mum when she found out.
…
It started to gnaw at her a little bit. It started to scare her.
"A word of advice Hilda," Claire suddenly got up close to Hilda, her emerald eyes practically shimmering, "from another weirdo to another, you should keep the people who understand you close… and reevaluate the ones you want to help. In the long run, it just hurts the ones who actually matter."
Hilda stared back, her emotions now running rampant. But one stood out the most. Fear. Hilda was fearful of knowing what Claire was doing right now. It seemed like she was trying to persuade Hilda to leave the park… stop her search for Eric's book by probing her fears about her mum and friends being worried for her.
This tactic... it was a lose-lose for Hilda. Claire so clearly knew about Eric and was teasing his existence to her. But what exactly did Claire want? Did she really want his book for herself? But Hilda couldn't understand such an idea. Eric said she was kind, that she helped him! And Claire shouldn't be acting this way if she knew Johanna. So was Hilda just overthinking this whole interaction?
…
…
...no, Hilda could tell from Claire's eyes alone, how they shined a misty green... giving off a horrific... almost intoxicating look that she was all too familiar with.
The look… of fear itself.
Hilda knew exactly what Claire wanted.
Hilda's fist balled at the new dilemma in front of her, she couldn't stay here, not unless she wanted a whole new set of problems her friend's way. So she looked down, and in the fakest voice of politeness she could muster, said, "you're absolutely right Claire. I shouldn't keep them waiting. I'll... go catch up with my friends then. Thank you... for your insight."
"No problem, Hilda," Claire smiled, her green eyes glowing as she watched Hilda begrudgingly leave, "hope to see you around when times are safer."
…
"Oh, and tell Johanna I said hi," Claire called out from Hilda's earshot.
Hilda walked a bit ahead of the park before sprinting down the corner and catching her breath. She was breathing heavily, but not because she was tired. No, she was angry now. Angry that she wasn't able to find Eric's book, and angry that Claire stopped her before she could continue searching.
But it wasn't just that, she was also a little upset at Eric, although not on purpose. She actually felt bad for him. All that sweet talk about Claire that he told her about probably was true from Eric's perspective, but he didn't have the full picture that Hilda just acquired.
The picture that revealed that Claire... was clearly a Marra. And it seemed that she had chosen poor Eric as her target
Eventually
Hilda had barely made it to school as the first bell rang, a flurry of emotions racing around her as she contemplated what to do next.
Claire was a Marra, it was clear as day given the attempts of fear she was trying to instill. Unluckily for Claire though, Hilda knew exactly what she was up against. In fact, she could infer a few things from the idea that Claire was one.
Firstly, she had to have been new. Only an amateur Marra would reveal themselves so early… or at least reveal themselves unintentionally as Hilda could only pick up the signs after dealing with two other spirits before this.
And secondly, Hilda knew Claire had clearly picked Eric as a target. Being new in this world… naturally, he would have no idea a Marra was after him by the time she started giving him nightmares, heck he wouldn't even know what a Marra was during that time. He'd have no way to defend himself.
But Hilda didn't intend to let Eric fight this thing alone. She WAS going to help Eric, and she'd stop Claire from whatever she was planning to do.
That was unless the police stopped her if she was connected to the shooting incident yesterday… or if her mother decided to kick Eric out onto the curb after not wanting to deal with Hilda's adventure nonsense... or if whoever found that journal decided to do something horrible with it… like spread its secrets all over to Trolberg!
…jeez now she really was taking in Raven's paranoid traits. She just needed to focus on getting to Ms. Hallgrim's class
She held this conviction close to her as she made her way to her locker. There she saw Frida and David patiently waiting, talking about something out of earshot of her. They turned around before she could hear what they were saying, their expressions both concerned, and a little expectant of her.
"Was there anything there?" David quickly asked. his voice and face wearily.
Hilda froze a bit in her tracks, realizing that she had been so occupied with her encounter with Claire that she hadn't found Eric's book. If anything, that MARA probably had it right now!
"Nope… nothing that matched the description he gave anyway," Hilda answered with a downcast look, balling up her fist in anger, "I truly believe it was at that park, but you might be right David, someone might've taken it."
"I-I didn't want it to actually be true…" David protested silently.
"But that's had to be what's happened though," Frida sternly nodded, "I'm not sure who could've taken it, but there isn't really a place you could drop the book without someone seeing it."
Hilda nodded, feeling a small bit of dread… but also hope. It was true someone might've already taken the book far from the park, but if that was the case, maybe Claire actually didn't get the book like Hilda thought. If even Hilda and her friends couldn't find it first, then that meant Claire similarly didn't get it.
So… at least she didn't have it. But… who did?
"What are we going to do?" David asked, snapping Hilda out of that question.
Hilda glanced between the two, seeing the worry in their eyes and sighing, "we'll just have to look at other parks with him later, after meeting up with um... you know." She hopefully glanced at Frida. "You sure you still can't come with us for that?"
"Again, tutoring," Frida sighed, "can't skip it sadly. Not that I'd want to since I'd feel a tad bit guilty."
"R-Right," Hilda closed her locker, her hands slightly shaking. Although she didn't say it out loud, she secretly wished Frida would join them on this mission now. David was a good anchor for the situation, but at the same time, Hilda also knew Frida would help keep her focused… or at least ready to charge in head-on with her.
And given what was just revealed to her at the park…she couldn't get her mind off it. That Marra, that smile… her mother and her friends worrying for her.
She started to walk away without even looking back.
"Hilda?" Frida suddenly called out, "where are you going?" But she ignored her, the voices getting too loud.
"Um... quick question guys, is it too late to change my mind on all this?" David asked nervously behind them, "I-I really don't think going to a woman who kills birds is our best course of action here. Do we really have to do such a thing?"
"…we have to, now more than ever…" Hilda declared quietly, quickly walking away from her locker. At this rate, the stress from Claire's conversation was bubbling over.
"Hilda!" Frida grabbed her by the shoulder and looked her in the eye directly, clearly confused, "um… what is going on? You look terrible right now," but Frida quickly stopped after seeing Hilda's fatigued expression… the kind that screamed problems are arising, "Hilda, something happened back there, didn't it?"
"W-Wait, something else happened?" David repeated, nervously glancing at Hilda, "I didn't even realize, I'm sorry… are you okay?"
Hilda turned to look at them and sighed. She wanted to lie, to say she was fine and not involve them. But simple words like that wouldn't cut it, Hilda knew that. She had to include them, they looked so worried already…
…she just hoped she wouldn't regret this more later, "I…I think Eric's being haunted by a Marra."
That was it. That simple sentence was enough to make David's face go pale and caused Frida to briefly stop walking in shock.
"…you're joking…" Frida looked nervously amused, even grinning a bit as she gestured to Hilda. But Hilda had no jokes to reply with, she only looked down with a resigned sigh.
"No, it's not a joke," Hilda established quickly, "she talked to me at the park when you guys left, and she forced me to leave, and stop my search for his book. I think she already has an idea of the things Eric's gone through, but she might've been looking for his journal-"
"A Mara h-has Eric's journal?!" David sputtered. He honestly looked more afraid of the fact a Mara was on their trail than Eric being haunted by one.
"No! I don't think she does anyway..." Hilda reassured. It wasn't exactly assuring, but if she could say it with confidence, she hoped it'd calm him down.
But David looked anything but calm, understandably to Hilda given his… history with them, "I…I thought they'd leave us alone after what happened. Hilda why is a Mara coming after us again?!"
"David…" Frida tried to say quietly, "don't worry, they're not after us specifically. They're not going to give us nightmares after what we pulled. It's Eric they want."
"But… Eric is one of us, right?" David asked, looking back at Hilda with a horrified look, "I'm sorry I… I just know by association they'll target us. What… What happens then?" He shook a tiny bit, and it was all Hilda could do to not try and hug him and tell him everything was alright.
Because truthfully, it wasn't. And after hearing that question about Eric, Hilda wasn't sure about anything but the desire to protect her friends
Especially the two she had standing here right now.
"No, Eric isn't us…" Hilda reminded, "to them he's another random kid in the city. And if we don't do anything… they'll have him in their clutches soon. But I promise I won't let anything happen to you two. If I have to face this Mara alone, then I can."
"Hilda…" Frida started to say, but she couldn't continue. She and David looked at each other, both as tense as statues, and both probably thinking the same thing as Hilda walked into Ms. Hallgrim's classroom.
But Hilda knew she wasn't thinking like them at the moment. All she wondered now was…
How the heck were they going to overcome this obstacle?
"H-Hey you! Stop right there-!"
There was no time to even think about that as a loud… and obnoxious familiar voice called out to them. Hilda froze, stopping her friends in place as they turned around in sheer shock.
Especially Hilda… whose eyes widened to confirm her worst suspicions about who called out to them. No it wasn't Claire, or the police, or anyone who would reasonably strike fear into her heart.
It really was one nightmare after another today…
…because standing behind her, was Trevor.
Next update will be on the HTTYD fic! I'll also be back with Trevor's chapter soon! ANd don't worry, we will see Eric soon enough!