Disclaimer: For once, I think I own about half the characters in this chapter. The other half are Chibi's, and the universe, of course, belongs to the Winx Club
Dedication: To the readers of the last fic, and to Chibi, my co-author, for proofreading for me. Thanks, guys!
Passing the Torch
3. Collide
"No way!" Miriam let out a laugh as she, Lori, Lucia, Ryan, Will, and Onyx exited the shuttle. They had agreed to head out to Mad Cow and reserve tables for their friends who had yet to arrive. The blue-eyed flame specialist looked over at Ryan, mirth shining in her eyes. "You mean he seriously changed into a duck!"
"Believe it." The boy smirked. "We have the photographic evidence to prove it."
"Speaking of photos, did you send that picture of Sean the Garden Art Sculpture to my sisters?" Onyx asked, looking to his cousin. She nodded.
"Of course! Lapis thought it was a stroke of genius, turning him into a lawn ornament." She looked over at the group. "She said there would probably be six in her group. Add in Amber and her three suitemates, that means….three tables, at least."
"Which means we reserve four or five, just to be on the safe side." Will put in.
"Correct." Lori nodded as the group entered the hamburger parlor. It wasn't long before another group joined them.
"Miri!" Lapis' blue eyes lit up as she ran to hug her cousin. Miriam didn't even have time to process the blue-haired girl's reaction until she was trapped in the older girls' arms. "It's so great to see you!"
"You too." Miriam winced. "Now will you let go before I crack a rib or something?" The older girl gasped, letting go of the redhead and offering an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. Just happy to see a relative who doesn't think I'm a traitor to our family."
"Don't sweat it." Miri waved. "Why don't you all help us pick out tables?"
"How many will be required?" Tatiana asked, surveying the group and doing a headcount in her head.
"At least three." Lori said. "I suggest you find your favorite spot now, before the others get here."
"Others?" Lapis shot the dark-headed girl a confused look before setting her eyes on her cousin. "You didn't."
"Didn't what?" Twila blinked, totally confused by the conversation.
"You did, didn't you?" Talone groaned as his sister shrugged.
"What can I say; I want you two to work it out."
"Excuse my rudeness, but who are these people and how do they know you?" Leilani shot Lapis a look of distaste and confusion.
"Oh. This is my cousin Miriam from Domino. The black haired guy is my brother, Onyx, and that over there is Lori from Linphea…we've known each other since we were small children."
"Isn't that the truth!" The dark haired specialist exclaimed. "The two lovely gentlemen here are my cousins Will and Ryan O'Neill from Eterna. And last but not least, we have mine and Miriam's roommate, Lucia DiAngelo."
"You know a lot of people." Twila scrunched her eyebrows together. Miriam shrugged.
"Comes with being a royal, I guess." She looked at Ailani and smirked. "So, how's your first day?"
"Amazing!" Ailani exclaimed. "Lapis is going to teach us all how to send text-hexes!"
"When did I say that?" the Dark Fire fairy asked in confusion.
"Great Dragon, we'll be getting hexed for the first month, I know it!" Onyx groaned, causing Ryan to burst out laughing.
"Watch it, Ry, or you'll be next on the list." His relative warned.
"I'd listen, since she did get that Sean kid entangled in the front lawn yesterday." Lucia spoke up for the first time.
Ailani gasped. "That was you? Thank you so much!"
"Why do you care?" Lori crossed her arms.
"He's my older brother." The Solar fairy made a face. "Been acting like a total brat lately, so he needs all the spelling he can get!"
"Who got spelled where?" A new male voice asked. The group looked up from their tables to see four girls and a boy about their age walking up. The boy had shaggy dark blond hair and bright green eyes.
"Prince Sean of Solaria." Lori waved. "Nice of you to show up, Jase."
"That's Jason?" Lapis stared with wide eyes. "Damn, he got tall!"
"I couldn't stay short forever!" Jason smirked. "That's your job."
"I think I'm done here." Amber stated, attempting to turn around and walk off. One of her friends, a short girl with long black hair, caught her arm and held her steady.
"Why leave the party so soon?" She asked.
"Because I don't much feel like staying in the same room with a quitter." The blond spat.
"She's not a quitter, Amber, we've been through this." Miriam looked at her relative. "Laps just needed a change. You know how horrible she felt at CT."
"That doesn't give her the right to walk away." The air around the angry young witch started to heat up.
"Look, why don't you guys come in and sit down so we can talk this out." Talone said calmly. "You don't even have to sit at the same tables."
"Good!" Amber snarled, stalking over to a table and sitting with her back toward her twin.
"Well, I see why your sister went to Alfea now." The raven-haired witch smiled innocently. "It was to avoid you!"
That did little to improve Amber's mood. "Take it back." She hissed.
"No." The other girl said, earning groans from her suitemates.
"Here we go again." One with brown hair and eyes the same color sighed.
"Raven vs. Amber, round two." The other brunette, this one with green eyes, frowned. "Lovely."
"Gods, did you have to bring all of your trash with you?" Sean asked rather loudly as he entered with a group of specialists about his age. One was an average-sized kid with curly auburn hair and violet eyes sporting a Star Trek t-shirt. The one next to him was a bit taller and bore dirty blond hair and eyes the same green as a cat's might be. The remaining pair bore a resemblance in facial structure, but looked otherwise different. One had brown hair and gray eyes, the other with black hair and green eyes.
"You do realize that they don't allow dogs in this establishment, right?" Ailani asked her older sibling flippantly, earning a dark glare.
"Be nice." The green-eyed Nature witch chided.
"Fee, I don't think Nice is in his vocabulary." The dark-haired boy who'd just entered spoke.
"Yeah, his manners already got him tangled in the lawn." The gray-eyed boy next to him smirked.
"Girls, meet my overprotective brothers, Adon and Austin." Fee said with a brilliantly sweet smile. Raven cracked up as soon as the other girl got the words out of her mouth.
"So you're the guys who feel the need to text her every five minutes!"
"Fiona!" Adon groaned. "I thought you were supposed to stay out of the bad crowd."
"No, for Cloud Tower, that's as good as you're going to get." Lapis spoke up as a smirk landed on Twila's face.
"Let me guess, Raph…you lost a bet and got stuck babysitting Mr. Attitude for the day?" She asked her older brother, who let out an exasperated sigh.
"He's in the room across the hall from me! And Doug's the one that asked me to come, thank you very much."
"Leave me out of this!" Doug put his hands up and backed into the open seat next to Fiona. The other specialists followed his lead and scattered out into any available seats. Sean, notably, could not remain still and bore a look of discomfort.
"What's the matter Sean? Got an itch you can't scratch?" Lapis teased.
"None of your business!" The blond prince glared.
"That means yes." His sister added. "Sounds like someone's been text-hexed."
"Must have been a gift from someone who really knows you." Talone added as Sean turned a lovely shade of pink.
"All right, who sent out that hex?" He glared from his sister, to Miriam, to Lapis and Amber. They were, after all, the most likely candidates.
"Nobody disses family but family, jerk." Lapis shot the prince a cold gaze. "Remember that.
"Why you witch!"
"Actually, she's a fairy now." Raven piped up. "Didn't you get the memo?"
"Butt out!" He said angrily.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch. All I did was correct your facts." The Music witch stated.
Sean blushed. "What the hell concern is it of yours how accurate my facts are?"
"Well, if you're going to go about insulting someone, you should do it right." She smirked. "Like…You're being a royal pain."
"And he's royally itchy, too." Miriam smirked.
"I'll make you wish you'd never said that!" The Solarian prince hissed.
"Enough!" Lucia shouted, standing up out of her seat and slamming her hands down on the table. Her eyes glowed as her powers kicked in. Trays, utensils, and other light, unanchored items floated up in the air and swirled around Sean and Raven. A napkin holder whacked Sean hard on the back of the head, while a pair of salt and peppershakers kept landing on top of Raven's scalp.
"Whoa!" Twi gasped, backing away from the redheaded girl.
"Both of you stop this now before I turn you into little yellow rubber duckies!" The girl from Gardenia growled.
"Fine, but stop hitting me!" Raven exclaimed.
"How dare you…Ow!" Sean yelped.
"Dear brother, I think you should just apologize and drop the issue before you wind up in the Emergency Room." Ailani said as she checked her manicured nails. He sighed in resignation.
"Crazy women…" he muttered.
"Why don't we just order our food and eat in silence?" The brunette, brown-eyed witch asked, trying to end the fighting.
"Great idea, Miranda." Fiona nodded. "I'm sure we can all keep talking to a minimum, right?" She shot a meaningful glare at Raven and Amber. The blond princess sighed.
"Yes, we can." She answered, but didn't turn to look at either her twin sister or her younger brother.
"Whatever." Raven shrugged. "So long as I get food, I'm good."
"Exactly." Tatiana nodded in agreement, having heard the other girl's comment about food.
"I like that one." Raven smirked, contemplating trading the magenta-haired fairy in for her current blond suitemate.
"No." Fiona shook her head. "The answer is no. And don't you ask what for!"
"Fine, Mother." The shorter witch sighed. "I'll be good…for now."