"Huh, that's weird."
The sound of Timmy's voice was the only noise in the otherwise quiet dorm room, the only other sound coming from the low volume of the television that Sky and Brandon were half-watching.
Sky, already uninterested in the program, tilted his head towards Timmy and Riven's room, from where the voice had come. "What's weird?"
"Tecna's not responding to my messages. Maybe she's studying?" he added but he didn't sound very sure.
Sky and Brandon exchanged a glance before curiosity won out and they pushed themselves up from the couch and made for the open door of the bedroom. Attracted by the sound of voices, even Helia poked his head out of his room, before padding after them. Inside Timmy was sitting at his desk, frowning at the Connectix messaging portal pulled up on his computer screen, while Riven lay sprawled out on his bed, one arm thrown over his face, looking, for all intents and purposes, like he might be asleep.
"Does she usually ignore your messages when she's studying?" Brandon asked, coming to stand behind Timmy's chair, while Sky braced a hand on the desk and leaned in for a closer look. Helia stopped a couple feet back, arms folded and expression curious.
"Well, usually she sets her status to 'do not disturb' so she doesn't get messages from anyone…" Timmy said before trailing off, not needing to point out that this time seemed to suggest it was only his messages she was ignoring.
"I'm sure she just forgot to," Sky said kindly, while Brandon just shrugged and wandered away to pick up one of Riven's weights.
"That, or she's just being a girl, Timmy: shaking things up, acting like she's too busy for you, all just to keep the upper hand and make you give chase."
Sky grinned, while Timmy rolled his eyes, and Helia made an amused sound at the back of his throat.
"That's an unfair generalisation," Helia said, when Brandon looked at him. "And an inaccurate one at that."
Helia, Sky thought, had fit in well with their squad, both personally and professionally. He was different from each of them, calm where Brandon had so much energy, confident where Timmy was still timid, in touch with his feelings where Riven ran away from his, and better at conflict resolution than Sky thought he'd ever be. But the differences between him and their squad mates didn't chafe, in fact in some ways it felt like Helia was the balancing puzzle piece they hadn't quite realised they needed.
"And besides," Timmy cut in. "Tecna's not Stella, she doesn't play mind games like that. It's not the kind of relationship we have."
Brandon ignored the slight on his girlfriend and lifted the weight, watching his technique in the mirror. "And what exactly is your relationship with Tecna? Just out of curiosity."
Timmy deflated a bit at the question. "I mean, we never exactly slapped a label on it. But neither have Riven and Musa," he added defensively.
Without moving an inch, Riven muttered, "Don't drag me into this."
Timmy didn't seem to hear him, and gnawed at his lip. "We're friends… I think… I mean I thought maybe we were moving towards something more… but then after what happened in the Veritas chamber… maybe I'm not the kind of hero she thought I was."
His voice was so despondent, his shoulders so hunched that Sky clapped a hand down on one, squeezing gently. "You're braver than you give yourself credit for, Timmy," he said. "And I'm sure Tecna of all people knows that."
"And maybe it's not about that at all," Brandon said with a lazy shrug as he switched the weight to his other hand. "Maybe she's waiting for you to take the relationship to the next level."
"The next level?" Timmy repeated doubtfully. "But how do I know for sure that's what she wants? Maybe she's happy at the level we're at."
Brandon tilted his head, silent for a moment as he considered. "Start by surprising her with a gift or something and see how she reacts," he said decisively. "And hey," he followed up with a grin. "I hear girls also like flowers."
"Flowers?"
"You know, flowers, they grow in fields, come in all sorts of colours and shapes, smell pretty nice."
"I know flowers are," Timmy snapped, then sighed, fiddling with glasses. "I'm just not sure Tecna is a flowers kind of girl."
"You're still thinking of her as Tecna, your friend. You need to start thinking about her as Tecna, potential girlfriend."
"This is getting complicated," Timmy said with another sigh.
"Then uncomplicate it," Sky said, spinning Timmy's chair around so they were face-to-face. "The worst thing me and Bloom ever did was not be upfront about how we were feeling, we wasted so much time guessing what the other was thinking, when we could have just been together. We finally talked and now look at us…" He trailed off as an infatuated smile replaced his expression and Timmy, Brandon, and even Riven, although surely he couldn't see it with his arm still across his face, all groaned.
"Sky's right," Helia said. "Brandon's also right that it helps to be demonstrative with your affection, but if you're worried Tecna might not feel the same way then the best thing to do is just talk to her. It's scary but just be honest about how you're feeling, most people will respond with their own honesty, whether that means talking about what happened in the Veritas Chamber or her feelings for you."
"Honesty's cool and all but flowers are the way to go," Brandon said, clapping Timmy on the shoulder after putting down the weight as he headed for the door. "Besides, who are you going to listen to? The guy who's been with his girlfriend for almost two years," he pointed to himself, "the guy who doesn't have a girlfriend," he pointed at Helia, "the guy who took a year and a half to finally get with the girl he likes," he pointed at Sky, before glancing at Riven, "or I guess you could listen to Riven but who knows what the fuck is going on with him and Musa."
Riven told Brandon exactly where he could shove his romantic advice and rolled over, showing them all his back. Sky snorted and squeezed Timmy's shoulder once more before ambling out of the room, while Helia just narrowed his eyes at Brandon.
"I might not have a girlfriend," he said slowly, not quite sounding angry, but rather something knowing in his voice. "But I do have two older sisters."
Brandon shrugged goodnaturedly. "Two sisters, four sisters," he gestured at himself.
"Four younger sisters who aren't even dating yet," Sky called from the common room.
"Shut it," Brandon yelled back, before shrugging again. "You know Tecna best, Timster, you'll choose right, I know you will."
Brandon and Helia both left the room, leaving Timmy to sigh and settle back in his desk chair, mind spinning with plans and possibilities.
The next afternoon found the girls huddled in their charms class, shivering from the winter chill that they couldn't quite seem to be able to escape. Madame Elaina, their charms professor was swathed in shawl upon shawl, watching her students shiver rather than turn up the heating charms in the classroom.
"Today's lesson will be an introduction to the runic magic that we'll cover more thoroughly next semester," she croaked, before waving a hand and conjuring a comically large padlock to sit on her desk. "With runic magic, the symbology is important of course, but do not forget your pronunciation either. The unlocking incantation is: Etsperldio Helion. That first first 'et' syllable is particularly important." She moved to the whiteboard at the front of the room, uncapped a marker, and drew a symbol that didn't look unlike a leaf. "And this is the rune you'll need to draw. Now, who wants to go first?" Her eyes narrowed and settled on Bloom. "Miss Peters?"
Bloom blinked, thinking she should really be used to Madame Elaina's teaching methods after a year and a half, but still found herself a little surprised every time the professor gave them a few short instructions and expected them to figure it out from there. Nodding, Bloom pushed back her chair and got to her feet, while Madame Elaina, drawing her shawls tighter around her, shuffled over to her chair and settled herself in comfortably.
"So I just…" Bloom trailed off and held up her right index finger as if to use it as a marker. Madame Elaina dipped her head in a slight nod and Bloom leaned over, touching the tip of her finger to the bottom part of the lock. "Etsperldio Helion," Bloom said slowly as she traced a recreation of the rune on the board. To her slight surprise glowing white lines appeared where her finger had been, flaring brighter when she'd completed the symbol, and then with a slight shudder, the lock clicked open.
"Very well done for a first attempt," Madame Elaina said in a rare show of approval. "Your rune was perfect, you just need to clean up that enunciation a little more. Now," she continued, when Bloom nodded and returned to her seat. "Watch what happens when I change one syllable." She leaned forward to push the lock closed again before drawing the rune, this time saying, "Exsperldio Helion."
Rather than opening, the lock sat there completely still, while there was a flash of bright light and three kittens appeared on the desk. The class laughed and cooed as the kittens looked around curiously and one even climbed into Madame Elaina's lap and curled up into a small, fluffy ball. Madame Elaina stroked its fur, a rare smile on her lined face.
"Now, the symbol you draw is the actual rune, while the incantation activates it. But both are equally important. The rune acts as…"
The only person in the classroom not paying attention to the lecture was Flora who found her mind drifting as she doodled in her notebook. Helia's name was written in flowing script across the page as Flora drew blossoming flowers all around it, her mind conjuring images where she was the one saving Helia from a monster, an act he would thank her for with a kiss. She felt her cheeks redden a little at the very thought, wondering if his lips would be as soft as they looked, when Madame Elaina's voice suddenly cut through her thoughts-
"With all that in mind, Miss Salgueiro, would you mind coming up here and demonstrating the unlocking rune?"
Flora's pen slipped from her grasp and she hurriedly shut her notebook as she nodded and stood. "Uh, right, of course." She sheepishly made her way to the front of the room and placed her finger on the lock as she'd seen Bloom do. But as she did, unbidden an image of Helia, his lips curving up in a soft, knowing smile, rose in her mind. "Etsperldio…" she began quickly, drawing the rune haphazardly, before hesitating as she tried to remember the second part of the incantation. "Helia?"
There was a second flash of light and the lock remained closed even as the three cats yowled and began to grow alarmingly large. The class exploded into screeches of laughter as the front few rows leapt out of their seats to avoid the massive kittens leaping off the desk while Madame Elaina, still with a kitten in her lap, was knocked backwards out of her chair. The ringing bell only added more chaos to the situation as the students scrambled to gather their stuff and escape. Still trapped under one of the kittens, who didn't look inclined to get off her, Madame Elaina screamed at them all to practise the rune for homework, ignoring Flora who was apologising and fruitlessly trying to coax the kitten off her.
Bloom and the others were still chuckling ten minutes later while they waited for Flora out in the hallway.
"Did you get in trouble?" Stella asked when she finally emerged.
"Well, I didn't get detention but Madame Elaina told me off for not paying better attention." Indeed, Flora was red-faced and looking appropriately scolded as she twisted her fingers together.
Stella waved off her concern with an airy, "Come on, you guys, let's go lay out by the lake."
"It's freezing," Tecna pointed out, a concern that Stella once again waved away.
"And some of us have to study, Stella," Bloom broke in, an unfamiliar bite to her words. Not all of us can skate by and have our daddy donate something to make up for our poor marks, a mean voice whispered in Bloom's mind. Bloom dismissed the thought with a shake of her head, wondering where it had come from. She put it down to her poor sleep the night before, unsettling dreams full of creeping, stalking figures and Daphne crying out for her having plagued her all night. "I have a study date with Sky," she explained, making an effort to soften her voice.
Stella smiled a little stiffly, and nodded.
"I'm meeting Timmy for coffee," Tecna said, not sounding particularly enthused about the idea.
"Boo," Stella whined, and Bloom was relieved to hear the playfulness already returning to her voice after the awkward moment. "Where are the pixies? Maybe they'll come."
"They said something about playing Bumbalini Ball this afternoon," Musa said, before shrugging. "But I'm in," she told Stella, and Layla nodded her agreement.
"Finally, people who're fun!"
But when they started to walk outside, Bloom and Tecna peeling off to head back to the dorm, Flora touched Layla's arm gently, inclining her head as if to ask her to hang back a bit. Layla smiled and did so, allowing the others to pull ahead.
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
Layla was a little surprised but nodded. "Yeah, sure," she said, before leading Flora into the dining hall.
There were only a few people inside, quickly grabbing afternoon snacks before leaving again, so Layla and Flora found seats at one of the long tables.
"So, what's up?" Layla asked casually, curious why Flora might want to speak to her alone. From her experience in the dorm so far, she'd noticed that her friends kept few things from each other and no topic seemed off limits.
Flora had selected a muffin off a plate in the centre of the table but wasn't eating it and instead was slowly picking it apart, reducing it to a pile of crumbs.
"Well, see the thing is, someone I know, a friend I guess- well, anyway she likes this guy, like really likes him-"
Understanding bloomed in Layla and she cut across Flora's rambling, "This guy wouldn't happen to be Helia, would he?"
Given up on the ruse, Flora sighed and leaned her chin into a cupped palm. "I guess it's written all over my face," she said ruefully.
"Well, that and all your notebooks," Layla said with a smirk.
"I need advice," Flora sighed, sounding equal parts resigned and pleading.
"From me?" Layla couldn't help but question. "I might not be the best person for that," she continued thinking of Stella or even Bloom. Unlike them, Layla had never dated anyone; there'd never really been anyone she'd wanted to that she thought her parents would have approved of. When Flora's pleading face didn't falter, it was Layla's turn to sigh. "Have you just tried telling him that you like him?" she asked, figuring she'd start simple.
Flora shook her head vehemently. "I couldn't do that. What if he doesn't like me?"
"He'd be crazy not to," Layla said automatically.
Flora smiled a bit. "Thanks. But what if he has some cool artsy girlfriend or boyfriend back home?"
Layla shrugged. "Won't know until you ask, I guess." But Flora just shook her head again and Layla tilted her head curiously. "How did you and Liliana get together?" She'd heard brief mentions of Flora's ex-girlfriend around the dorm and just hoped that bringing her up wouldn't be a sore subject.
But Flora didn't seem upsett. "Liliana always took the lead in our relationship," she explained. "She asked me out, then told me how much she liked me first."
Layla hummed thoughtfully. She'd never struggled with timidness like Flora was exhibiting, in fact Layla tended to say what was on her mind and damn the consequences, much to her parents' consternation. "I could do some snooping for you?" she offered, plan starting to come together in her mind.
"Really? But I wouldn't want him to think I was sending you to ask."
"Don't worry," Layla said, smiling a little as the final details clicked into place. "I know how to be discreet."
Later, Bloom was a little surprised when Layla asked, a tad apologetically, if she could crash her study date claiming the need for help with an assignment, but agreed with a shrug, completely unaware that Layla had a whole other ulterior motive.
Tecna wasn't used to feeling nervous around Timmy, but those were butterflies swarming in her stomach as she approached the cafe table he was seated at. She couldn't help but think about how the last time she'd seen him she'd been cowering on the ground, letting the Trix walk right out with Red Fountain's piece of the codex. He, at least, had tried to stop them, but she had done nothing. It didn't help that she'd had another dream last night featuring Timmy where his very touch had made her skin tingle. She'd awoken craving more of that sensation, something she'd never felt for anyone else before, and she wasn't sure she knew how to feel about that. Those conflicting emotions of wanting to be close to him and the fear that he would reject her, warred within.
Tecna reached the table, smiled awkwardly, and slipped into the seat opposite Timmy.
"Hey, Tec," he said, seeming as nervous as she felt.
"Hello. How are you?"
"Good… you?"
"Fine."
Their words were short and clipped, the conversation stilted in a way it rarely was between them, and for the first time Tecna found she had no idea what to say to him. Images of him standing up to the Trix while she stayed on the ground warred with memories of her dreams, the phantom feeling of his fingertips sliding along her skin clouding her mind.
"Oh, hey, I've got something for you," Timmy said suddenly, and Tecna perked up at the prospect.
She'd seen Brandon with Stella, always bringing her flowers or some small gift or trinket, and she'd seen the way Stella's eyes lit up every single time. It would be nice, she thought, to know that someone was thinking of her even when she wasn't with them. Besides, if he'd gotten her something maybe that meant he wasn't still thinking about her cowardly actions in the Veritas Chamber.
"I got you a new heat-sync for your computer," he said brightly, pulling the small device from his pocket and offering it to her. "I noticed you needed a new one last time we studied together."
"Oh," Tecna said, reaching out to take it. It wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind when he'd said he'd gotten her something, in fact it was the type of thing he'd been getting her since the beginning of their friendship. "Thank you," she said quietly, not wanting to seem ungrateful even as disappointment bubbled in her.
She tried to tell herself that the present at least meant that Timmy wasn't mad at her for what had happened with the Codex, but it hardly helped. If his present was any indication, Timmy didn't see her as anything more than a friend; she shouldn't have felt rejected and yet a feeling of hurt cut through Tecna.
"Tecna, I actually want to talk-"
"I'm sorry," she interrupted, finding herself on her feet all of a sudden. "But I think I have to go." Her eyes burnt and there was a lump in her throat and she didn't want to have to explain her tears to Timmy.
"But I- I was going to- our drinks haven't even come yet," he finally said weakly.
"I know, I'm sorry, I just don't feel well. I'm sorry," she said again, and hurried from the table. She could hear him calling her name, but as the first hot tears spilled down her cheeks, she didn't turn back and kept walking.
Bloom moved purposefully through the tall stacks of the library, searching the section on healing spells for something that would help. Avalon had given her an extra credit assignment on the healing power in her bloodline for class and she was looking for a few books, both on the history of Magix's core power as well as a more current book of spells she could try out.
Even though Layla was waiting for her back in the dorm to head over to Red Fountain, Bloom found herself slowing, trailing the fingers of one hand along the spines of the books, waiting for one to jump out at her. If she were slightly more motivated she would have gone directly to Barbatea or the library research lectern for advice, but now that her afternoon pretending to study with Sky had been interrupted by Layla, she found herself in no hurry.
She was just about to sigh and head to the lectern when her fingers touched the edge of another book and a spark of attention zapped through her hand. Bloom snatched her hand back, but cocked her head, looking at it curiously. Then, moving slowly, she finally reached for it again, gasping a little at the sparking sensation that once again flared in her hand. It didn't hurt exactly, but rather was like her magic was thrumming to life at contact with the book. Unsure why exactly, Bloom took the book off the shelf and held it in both hands.
Looking down at the book, Bloom was immediately struck by how ancient it was. All the books in Alfea's library were old of course as many had been there for generations, but this book looked decades, perhaps even centuries older, and had none of the careful maintenance of the rest of the library's catalogue. Its fabric cover was ragged and full of holes, the edge of the pages were rough and uneven, and its title was written in another language, old symbols whose origin at which Bloom couldn't even guess. She flipped open the cover wondering if it would be any help if she couldn't even read it, but found the rest of the book after its title page was written in the common language. She scanned the spells on the first page, assuming that given the section she'd found the book in, that they'd all be healing spells. Satisfied, Bloom tucked the text under her arm and quickly selected a few more titles that would hopefully help with her essay.
Barbatea oddly wasn't at her usual desk when Bloom reached it, and feeling like she'd dawdled enough, she quickly moved to the self-serve computer and swiped her library card. But when it came to scan the spell book, she was surprised that she couldn't find the usual barcode inside the front cover, or anywhere else. She hesitated, wondering if she should find Barbatea after all, when that quiet voice spoke up in her head, Just take it, it whispered. What's the harm? You're going to bring it back. Bloom found herself nodding absently, hand already reaching down to slip the book into her backpack. She blinked away the headache forming just behind her eyes, quickly finished checking out her books, and hurried from the library.
"Professor Avalon," she said in surprise as she stepped through the wide doorway and caught sight of her teacher ducking into the potions lab opposite.
Avalon started, as if he hadn't expected the interruption, but turned to her with a smile.
"Hello, Bloom. How's the essay going?"
"Just picking up some books to work on it this afternoon actually." She hefted the strap of her backpack higher to indicate the books inside, mind flashing to that strange spellbook once again.
"Excellent," Avalon said. "I have some time later if you wanted to come to my office and work on it?" he offered graciously.
"Oh, thank you, Professor," Bloom started, feeling bad that she'd have to turn him down. "But I'm actually going over to work on it at my boyfriend's. He goes to Red Fountain."
"Ah," Avalon said delicately, a funny expression crossing his face. "Well, don't let him distract you too much, Bloom. Now if you'll excuse me, I was brewing a potion earlier and I need to clean up."
"Sure," Bloom said, but Avalon was already gone, closing the door to the potion lab firmly behind him. Bloom frowned after him before turning slowly and heading back to the dorm, feeling a little off-kilter after the exchange.
The sports field set up looked complex but the pixies navigated it with ease as they played a game of Bumbalini Ball. The objective was simple enough; split into two teams and navigate the course on leva-skates and place the ovular ball in one of the three fishes that served as goals at either end. But it was the obstacles, including mazes, tunnels, and dips and rises in the ground, that made the game as hard as it was.
Chatta was technically playing but was having much more fun commentating the game as she raced down the course, ball tucked under her arm. "Look at her go, ladies and gentlemen! Chatta is an unstoppable force on the field! Watch her take on these cones!" Mirroring her words, Chatta came upon a set of cones clustered so tightly that she had to dip in and out of them. She cleared them and punched a fist in the air only to crash into a low hedge, the ball tumbling from her grasp.
Digit timed it perfectly and scooped up the ball. "Interception!" she cried, zipping in the other direction.
"It's not interception if I dropped it," Chatta argued, spitting out a mouthful of leaves.
Digit ignored her and called out for Lockette to cover her as Amore pursued them.
"Get her, Amore!" Chatta cried, watching as she hurried after them. "You can catch her! I believe in you!"
Her fingers itched to take out her megaphone to give Amore some extra encouragement but magic was strictly prohibited in Bumbalini Ball. Dusting herself off, Chatta instead skated over to the sideline where they'd left their drink bottles to refresh themselves throughout the game. She found her own and brought it to her mouth, watching the other pixies until they disappeared from view. Chatta frowned however at the taste of water after she'd taken a long gulp, wondering if it tasted a little funny.
She swayed a little on her skates, dizziness clouding her vision and the bottle slipped from her hand with a quiet, "Oh."
Deeper into the course, Digit and Lockette had found themselves in a hedge maze, puffing and panting as they tried to navigate it with Amore right on their tail.
"We have to be almost there," Digit gasped, muscles straining as she pushed herself faster.
"Amore's gaining on us," Lockette warned her, hating that she couldn't use her sense of direction to get them out of there.
"Here I come," the pixie in question said in a sing-song voice as she sailed around the corner behind them.
But Digit and Lockette found the exit and cleared the maze, rushing for the goals right ahead. Piff, the other team's goal-keeper was nowhere in sight. With Amore steadily gaining on them, Digit sized up the centre goal and pulled back her arm, lobbing the ball with deadly accuracy at the shallow dish. It landed perfectly, and Digit and Lockette held their breath hoping it wouldn't bounce out before exhaling with a puff when it seemed to stay put. They were just high-fiving when the ball reappeared all of a sudden, as if kicked out by an unseen force. They skated closer to investigate, Amore joining them, and all peered into the goal.
"Piff," Digit said with a groan at what she beheld. For, curled comfortably inside the goal was Piff, snoozing away peacefully. At the noise she opened one eye, took them in, before closing it again.
Amore laughed. "Nice going, Piff."
"Not fair," Digit argued. "The rules clearly state that you're not supposed to sleep in the goal!"
"Oh it says that exactly, does it?" Amore challenged.
"Well," Digit floundered. "There is a rule about interference-"
"We need Tune," Lockette said thoughtfully, as the other two continued to argue. They hadn't had enough pixies to have a separate umpire so Tune had offered to double as both player and mediator for the rules.
"I'm here," Tune announced, lugging an armful of water bottles with her. "I figured it was time for a break anyway," she said, her eyes sweeping over Digit and Amore. She handed out the water bottles, eyes narrowing when she noticed Chatta's absence. "Where's Chatta?"
"She fell, that's how we got the ball back, I'm sure she's coming," Digit said after swigging from her bottle. She frowned at it for a moment.
"I hope she's not hurt," Amore said, sipping from her own water absently.
"Does this taste funny to anyone else?" Digit demanded, brandishing her bottle.
Amore shrugged, while Lockette peered down at her own bottle, but before anyone could answer, a wave of dizziness rushed over them all and they were sinking to the ground completely unconscious.
Layla might have felt a little bad about crashing Bloom and Sky's study date if she weren't doing so as a favour to Flora. She'd caught the slight surprise and disappointment on Sky's face when he'd opened the door and seen her standing there at Bloom's side before his royal training had kicked in and he'd schooled his expression into one of polite welcome.
To give credence to her cover story, she asked Bloom to walk her through the tests for their Flying and Physical Defence classes they had coming up at the end of the semester, the first she would experience since coming to Alfea. Bloom dutifully talked her through them both, advising her on what the two professors would be paying the most attention to, and how to study and prepare for them. Layla had nodded the entire time even as she eyed Helia's room. He'd come out briefly when they'd arrived to say hello before disappearing back into his bedroom, leaving the door ajar, and hadn't been back out since.
Once she'd assured Bloom that she felt better prepared for the tests, she sat back with her history textbook, pretending to read up on something for the homework Professor Callas had set. Bloom and Sky immediately found each other infinitely more interesting and Layla was glad for it, happy for them to distract each other as she leaned out from behind her textbook and looked at Helia's door again. She'd been hoping he might come out and join them but it didn't seem he was inclined to.
She glanced at Bloom and Sky again. They turned slightly on the lounge they shared to look at each other, her hand in his, their books forgotten on the coffee table. Layla stood and mumbled something about using the bathroom and didn't receive a response.
"Perfect," she murmured, and made instead for Helia's room, pushing open the door and slipping inside.
Helia had been hunched over, working on something at his desk, but stilled as Layla lazily picked her way over to him. The room was neat but clearly lived in, books stacked on the side table, bed made but a little rumpled.
"Hey," Helia said cautiously, glancing over his shoulder at her, body still a little hunched over something she couldn't quite see. His dark eyes traced over her and under his calm facade Layla thought might lay someone a little more aware, a little more knowing. She wanted to grin at the thought, wondering just what that mask hid.
Instead she forced her voice into the perfect drone of boredom as she said, "Not much." She wandered closer, the picture perfect student who'd grown bored of studying and was looking for a distraction. Her eyes shifted to the papers on his desk. "What are you working on?"
Helia straightened a little. "Just a few sketches," he said dismissively, gathering them up, but Layla didn't miss the way he carefully shuffled the top most drawing to the back.
Layla hummed thoughtfully and reached the desk, leaning against it with a hip. "You really are very good," she commented, looking down at the sketch that now lay on top.
"Thank you," Helia murmured, still regarding her curiously as though he didn't quite buy her act and was wondering why she was really here.
Without asking Layla reached down and plucked the sketch, examining it closer. Helia didn't try to stop her and even leaned back in his chair, watching her.
"It must be strange coming from an art school to Red Fountain."
Helia's shoulder relaxed fractionally, something that many others might not have noticed but Layla, trained to read body language with the intention of helping her when she was Queen, picked up on.
"It is," he conceded. "But I don't miss it as much as I thought I would."
"Oh?" Layla asked, picking up another drawing. There were several in the stack and she doubted she'd make it to the bottom one, the one Helia didn't want her to see, before he stopped her. "It must be hard though, moving away from home, your family, friends…" she trailed off there, thinking it might be a little too obvious if she referenced a girlfriend or boyfriend.
She picked up the next paper, and Helia, who had been about to speak, made an aborted move with his hand as if going to take it back from her but had thought better of it. Layla pretended not to notice as her eyes swept over the paper. Instead of another sketch, this one was a few lines of writing, poetry she realised a heartbeat later.
"I didn't realise you were a poet as well," she teased lightly, before beginning to read aloud. "Your voice is a whisper of wind-swept trees, putting my mind at ease. Your eyes are lit with a new star's aura, I am in awe of your power over-" The poem cut off abruptly there, and Layla glanced at Helia, raising an eyebrow.
"Not a very good poet as you see," Helia said, his voice just the right touch of self-deprecating. He eased the papers from her hands and Layla let him, shrugging lightly.
"I liked it," she said, even if the flowery words weren't necessarily her style. They had however told her all she needed to know. "I guess I'll let you back to your sketching."
Helia dipped his head in thanks as Layla pushed herself off the desk and made for the door once again. But she hesitated when she reached it, glancing back to find Helia still watching her.
"I think you should finish it." Was all she said, smiling a bit when she spied the first touches of red on Helia's cheeks before she slipped back out into the common room.
They studied for a little longer, although Layla wasn't sure exactly how productive any of them were, but Helia never came back out. Finally, Bloom glanced out the window at the darkening sky and sighed, suggesting that they'd better get back before it got any darker, or colder.
Bloom had been feeling good after seeing Sky, the time spent with him having chased away the lingering shadows from her bad dreams, but that good feeling didn't last long once she and Layla got back to Alfea and she saw just how much of her essay she had left to write. She'd managed only a few paragraphs while with Sky and Avalon's words from earlier about him distracting her echoed inexplicably in her head. She sighed and put the conversation out of her head as she pulled the library books from her bag, settling at her desk to work on it some more.
Bloom hesitated however as her fingers brushed against the old spell book, that thrumming power coming to life under her skin. She pulled it from her back and flipped it open wondering if maybe she could test out some of the spells from it and work the results into her essay to really impress Avalon; she didn't want him to think she was bludging the work for his class.
She turned the pages trying to decipher each spell inked into the pages. Although it was written in the common tongue the description for each spell was wordy and full of unfamiliar terms. Finally, she thought she found a spell for rejuvenating plants that looked simple enough.
Casting her eyes around the room, Bloom spied a drooping plant on Flora's desk that looked like it could use some perking up. She leaned over and pulled it closer before reading over the incantation and the instructions underneath.
Holding up a hand and calling her power to her palm, Bloom recited, "Florum Potentia ad Hauriendum!"
Light flared briefly and Bloom felt as though a brief warm wind swept through her even as the plant's leaves turned brown, withered, and died.
"Shit," Bloom muttered, peering at the plant and wondering where she'd gone wrong.
She pulled the spellbook closer and rechecked the passage beneath the incantation, this time taking the time to painstakingly search each of the unfamiliar terms whose meanings she'd merely guessed at before. The true use of the spell became clear as she did, not to rejuvenate plants but to absorb their power to rejuvenate oneself. Bloom felt sick even as a thrill shot through her as she noticed that some of her tiredness had been sapped away. She slowly closed the book, staring down at its indecipherable title and wondered why a book like this had been in the school library.
Before she could decide what to do next, the door to her room burst open and Stella stepped over the threshold, looking uncharacteristically worried.
"Bloom! Have you seen Amore or the other pixies lately?"
Bloom rubbed at her forehead, the effects of the spell already seeming to wear off as her headache returned. She really just wanted to curl up somewhere quiet and think about the spellbook but she forced herself to think over what Stella had said.
"No, I- I just got back with Layla. Weren't they playing Bumbalini Ball."
"That was hours ago," Stella said impatiently. "Musa can't find Tune either."
Bloom looked around the room and realised with an uncomfortable jolt that it was empty apart from Kiko snoozing in his hutch.
"We'd better go look for them." Bloom forced herself to her feet and followed Stella out into the common room where the others were already gathered.
"It's romantic-comedy night on The Wishing Star network, there's no way Amore would miss that," Stella chattered nervously as they trooped down to the quad, hurrying before a teacher could ask them what they were doing out so close to curfew. Bloom's head pounded but she bit her tongue against the urge to tell Stella to stop talking and just trudged on.
At the playing field the pixies were just starting to stir from their fainting spell. Lockette whimpered and sat up with a groan, hugging her arms around herself and the hollow feeling suddenly inside her.
"Home," she murmured, squeezing herself tightly. "I have to go home."
The others coming around nodded their drowsy agreement and Chatta arrived staggering and looking unsteady on her feet.
"We have to go back to the village," she said firmly, touching the centre of her chest.
Piff too was coming around and watched them curiously even as she yawned and tried to regain her bearings. Through her lingering sleepiness she noticed that she wasn't feeling the same pull to the village as they were, and even thought that there was a reason they weren't supposed to be going back. But sleep had her in its clutches once more and she drifted back off before she could bring the reason to mind.
They were so intent on their goal that they didn't even notice they'd left Piff behind as they headed towards the nearby forest. Nor did they see the girls arrive at the playing field and spot them.
"There!" Flora cried, pointing at them. "Where are they going?"
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling," Layla said grimly. Without another word she broke into a run, the others following suit, and within moments they had surrounded the pixies, forcing them to stop.
"Where are you guys going?" Musa demanded, hands planted on her hips and pigtails bobbing with her vigour.
"Home," Tune said simply. "We're going home."
"We have to go back," Chatta added.
"What are you talking about?" Bloom asked. "You know why you can't go back at the moment. You could lead Darkar there and then he'd be able to get a second piece of the codex."
A flicker of unease crossed the pixies faces but it was gone as soon as it arrived. The pixies were still intent on getting back to their village.
"Why do you have to go home so badly?" Flora asked this time.
"Because," Digit said with a petulant shrug. "Just because. I can't explain it, it's just a feeling we all have."
"'Just because' is not a good enough reason," Tecna cut in, her voice edging towards scolding. "What's gotten into you, Digit?"
"You're not the boss of me," Digit snapped and the pair glared at each other. "You can't tell me what to do."
"I can when you're acting illogically and putting your village in danger," Tecna shot right back.
Stella stepped in smoothly to diffuse the tension a bit. "We were going to watch movies tonight, Amore," she said, a lilting, tempting tone to her voice. "I got your favourite popcorn and everything."
But Amore shook her head. "I don't want to do that, I want to go home."
"Forget this!" Chatta broke in suddenly. "Scatter everybody!"
Quick as a wink, before the fairies could react, the pixies zoomed into the air, flying in all different directions.
"Wait!" Flora cried, watching in dismay as the pixies flew away.
"We can't let them get away," Stella said, looking around at the others for a plan.
"We won't," Bloom said, determined even as her headache crested. "Let's go, girls!"
In a flash of light that lit up the darkening sky the six girls transformed into their fairy forms and flew off after their respective pixies. Bloom and Flora, who had seen Lockette and Chatta dart back in the direction of the playing field, flew in that direction, splitting up to search either end of it. Bloom soared over the maze where she quickly spotted Lockette trying to hide herself.
"Lockette!" Bloom called out before swooping down when the pixie tried to get away again. Using a containment spell that Madame Elaina had taught them, Bloom trapped Lockette in a clear, red-tinted bubble.
"Let me go!" Lockette shouted, shoving at the walls of the bubble with an intensity that frightened Bloom. She'd never seen the pixie so worked up before, not even when she'd been scared in Shadowhaunt.
"Hey," she said softly, scooping up the bubble and holding it close, even as Lockette still struggled. "I can't let you go until I know what's going on with you. Please talk to me, Lockette."
But Lockette turned resolutely away and refused to answer.
At the other end of the playing field, Chatta was using the playing field's miniaturised size to her advantage to find hiding spots that Flora was too big to follow. She ducked into a low tunnel where she knew Flora wouldn't be able to squeeze into and paused, panting hard at the exertion.
Watching her, Flora sighed and knew what she had to do. "I'm sorry about this, but it's for your own good." And then before Chatta could realise what she was about to do, Flora conjured vines at either end of the tunnel, trapping her within it. Flora bent down so she could peer at Chatta through the gaps of the vines. "We're trying to protect you, you know that right?" she pleaded, but Chatta just harrumphed and crossed her arms.
Back in the forest Stella was doing her best to chase after Amore. But the pixie's much smaller stature was proving it to be more difficult than she'd anticipated. Amore was able to duck through gaps much smaller than Stella could and she was nimble in the air, zipping too and fro with ease. The sky, which was growing darker with every passing minute, didn't help either and soon enough Stella was having trouble seeing Amore at all.
Stella finally got fed up with the darkness when she collided with a tree branch she hadn't spotted until the last minute. It slammed into her stomach, winding her, and it was all Stella could do to stay upright as she tumbled back towards the ground.
"How's a girl supposed to see anything in this darkness?" she wheezed. She thrust a hand into the air and more than a dozen small orbs of sunlight burst from her palm, brightening the forest until it was almost as light as daytime. Stella looked around before spotting Amore hiding behind a fallen log.
"There you are," she sighed, and hurried over to scoop the pixie up before she could fly away again. "Don't look at me like that," she added, when Amore shot her a betrayed glance. "We're going to work this all out and then you'll thank me for stopping you." Amore didn't look like she was going to be thanking her any time soon, but Stella tried not to think about that as she held her tightly.
Tecna and Musa were having the most trouble locating Digit and Tune, who had gotten away quickly and flown deep into the forest. The fairies had lost them within seconds and flew fruitlessly in the last direction they'd seen them heading.
"How did they disappear so quickly?" Tecna wanted to know, flipping her green visor down so she could activate its night-vision setting. But there were so many small animals rustling around the forest that it was practically useless for finding the two pixies. "Musa, can you use your sonar to pinpoint them?"
But Musa shook her head, pigtails bobbing. "Too much interference with the trees and animals."
Tecna frowned thoughtfully and skillfully brought out her handheld even as they kept flying. "I'm going to check to see if Digit still has her navigator on her. It's synced to mine and even if she isn't using it, as long as she hasn't turned it off I should be able to locate her. Yes!" she cried, angling the screen to show Musa the green dot just ahead of them. "There they are."
The two fairies put on a burst of speed before splitting up, agreeing to go wide to circle around in front of the pixies and wait for them to pass. And just as they'd planned, the pixies flew past completely unaware, allowing Tecna and Musa to jump out from behind two wide trees and snatch them out of the air. Tecna wasted no time summoning a sphere of glowing green lines of magic to keep Digit contained, while Musa held tight to a squirming Tune.
"This is extremely rude of you!" Tune protested.
"Yeah, I know, Tune," Musa said, sounding unhappy, but she didn't release the pixie. "But it's for your own good."
"We should find the others," Tecna said, and the pair of them set off in the direction of Alfea, ignoring the pixie's protests as they did.
They found their friends waiting for them along with Faragonda and Ofelia in the quad, the other pixies all being held in a large cage of glowing magic. Feeling bad at seeing the pixies locked up, Tecna and Musa nevertheless wasted no time depositing Tune and Digit inside as well.
"You can't do this!" Tune shouted, stomping her foot when Musa lowered her to the bottom of the cage.
"Let us out!" Chatta screamed in agreement, and all the fairies felt themselves stirring to do just that as the pixie wove some charmspeak into her voice.
But Faragonda held up a hand, halting their movements. "I'm sorry," she told the pixies sincerely. "But I'm afraid that won't be happening until we get some answers."
The pixies looked mutinous but fell silent.
"Hey, you found Piff," Musa said, noticing the sleeping pixie Layla held cradled in her hands.
"Yeah, she was fast asleep at the Bumbalini Ball field this entire time. I don't think she's being affected by whatever is happening to the others."
"I believe you're correct, Layla," Faragonda agreed, surveying the sleeping pixie. "You were right to stop the pixies leaving, girls," she continued addressing them all now. "Had they been able to get to their village, Darkar surely would have followed them and discovered its location and that would have been a disaster."
"But why is this happening?" Flora wanted to know, gazing sadly at Chatta who was glaring back. "It's like they won't listen to reason."
"I believe they're under the influence of a homesickness potion. If I'm correct they're likely feeling an uncontrollable desire to go home. The potion is so potent that it erases their logical reasoning so even if they know they shouldn't go to their village, they aren't able to resist, and will go through anything or anyone to get home."
The pixies intensity suddenly made sense, as well as the rift that had formed between each of them and their bonded fairy.
"You think Darkar's behind this?" Bloom guessed. No one else would have the motive to want to slip the pixies such a potion.
"But how did he get to the pixies in the first place? They were acting normally before they went to play Bumbalini Ball. Were Darkar or the Trix able to get on campus somehow?"
"No, I would have been alerted if there was an intruder." Despite her words, Faragonda seemed troubled. "Professors Palladium and Whizgiz are inspecting the playing field now, perhaps they'll be able to shed some light on this."
"We need to find a way to break the pixie's spell," Flora said, focusing on the immediate problem. Determination had crept into her voice and there was something fierce about the way she looked at Chatta.
For the first time Ofelia stirred. "Usually the effects of the potion ends after the individual has returned home, but it's possible they might fade naturally on their own."
"I'm afraid we can't rely on the effects fading naturally. The pixies in their current state will stop at nothing to get home in this state, including hurting themselves or others, we need to find a way to counteract the effects of the potion as soon as possible."
Ofelia nodded and waved a hand to levitate the cage into the air. "I'll start researching at once. I can keep the pixies contained in the infirmary."
"Be careful," Faragonda offered, eyes lingering on Chatta and Amore, the two pixies with the ability of charmspeak. Ofelia nodded briskly and made for the front doors of the school, and Faragonda, after a long look out at the dark forest as if she could see their enemies prowling around out there, ushered the fairies inside after her.
The darkness pressed down on Bloom was so complete that it felt like it was suffocating her. She stumbled through it and tripped over something she couldn't see, but she didn't stop, crawling and dragging herself towards the light she could see in the distance.
"Please," she gasped, fear clawing at her insides. "Please." Her voice broke and she threw herself forward away from whatever lurked in the darkness. "Please," she said and this time it was little more than a whisper. "Someone help me."
They seemed to appear between one heartbeat and the next, Bloom blinked and suddenly her friends were all there, standing in a line, looking down at her with impassive faces.
"Please," she begged, trying to pull herself up with trembling arms. She looked from Stella to Sky to Flora to Brandon to Riven to Musa, Tecna, Timmy, Layla, even Helia. But there was no hint of compassion or even recognition on their faces as darkness lapped at Bloom's feet.
Stella's voice was cold when she spoke. "We can't help you out of the darkness, Bloom, if you don't want to be helped."
"No," Bloom shrieked as they turned away from her. "Please! Please, I don't want to be in the dark anymore."
But they didn't turn at her screams, they didn't hesitate as she begged for them to come back, they just stepped into the light and vanished. Bloom sobbed and rolled over, gazing around blindly at the darkness. With her friends gone there was only the sound of her own harsh breathing and the soft shuffling of something hiding in the darkness.
"Asteria?" Bloom breathed, thinking of the figure who had once prowled her nightmares so frequently. But instinctively she knew Asteria wasn't here. Not in this place. And it wasn't Asteria's hand that reached out and sunk long claws into Bloom's ankle, dragging her with a single movement into the darkness, her own scream the last thing she heard echoing in her ears.
Bloom woke with a strangled gasp, chest heaving and fingers clutching at the bedspread as she felt phantom claws still cutting into her ankle. With a muffled sob she kicked the blankets away and drew her knees into her chest, leaning her forehead against them as she tried to shake off the dream.
"Not real, not real, not real," she whispered to herself over and over again, waiting for herself to believe the words.
When her breathing slowed a bit, and she stopped trembling so badly, she tilted her head to the side and peeked at the curtained glass doors that lead to the balcony. From the watery light making it through she could tell that it was early, so early that even Flora hadn't risen yet for her run. But Bloom knew she wouldn't be going back to sleep, not if there was a chance she would slip back into that terrible dream.
Her friends were still sleeping all around her and she dismissed the idea of waking any of them up before the thought could even fully form. She considered Sky or Faragonda for a heartbeat before glancing at the dim light outside and deciding she wouldn't bother them so early. Daphne had featured in enough of her bad dreams lately that she wasn't sure she could explain them to her without making her feel bad, even if it had been a while since she'd spoken to her sister. Which left Avalon.
Bloom was out of bed and finding some clean clothes to throw on before she was even done reasoning her decision out. He'd mentioned to her once that he was an early riser, she reminded herself, and while she didn't know exactly how early he'd meant, she figured she could at least stop by his office and see if he was there. There was no harm in that. She spied the spellbook from the library and snatched it up on her way out, thinking it provided the perfect excuse to be knocking on his door. She could tell him that she'd gotten up early to work on her essay and mention the strange spells she'd encountered in the book.
Satisfied, Bloom tucked the book under her arm, and crept through the quiet dorm, slipping out into the hallway and heading to the staff wing. As she walked, to keep from thinking about her dream, Bloom found herself wondering why it was Avalon she felt most comfortable talking about these dreams with.
She realised with a slight jolt that it was shame that ate at her stomach and kept her from unloading on her friends. Shame and embarrassment that she was still so caught up in the battle from the year before. She'd seen them all process what had happened, grieve their injuries and loss, and move on. But despite her work with Avalon, the spell he'd put on her to confront these feelings, despite how she'd tried to put it past her, Bloom still felt herself plagued by the battle from the year before, the memories, the dreams, the feeling of stalking dark forces. The realisation brought an unpleasant heat to her cheeks and she ducked her head, hurrying down the hallway, so she could confide in Avalon and ask for more advice about what she could do next.
"Bloom?"
Bloom jumped. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Faragonda's approach until her headmistress was right in front of her.
"Oh, good morning." Bloom could feel the red in her cheeks deepening.
"Good morning. You're up early."
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd work on an essay for Professor Avalon's class. It's about the healing power in my bloodline."
Faragonda smiled in approval at her words, but something in her gaze sharpened when she spied the book tucked under Bloom's arm. "Is that one of the books you've been using for your essay?"
"Yeah," Bloom said, shifting it so she could look down at it with a frown. "It's supposed to have healing spells in it, but honestly, I haven't been having much luck with it. Maybe you could have a look at it and-"
Faragonda was already reaching for it, tugging it from Bloom's grasp so she could read the title. For a second a voice seemed to hiss at her not to hand it over, but Bloom ignored it and let it go.
"-tell me what I'm doing wrong," she finished lamely, but Faragonda barely seemed to hear her.
"You found this in the library." The words weren't quite a question but she looked up for an answer anyway, piercing gaze pinning Bloom to the spot.
"Yeah." Bloom's mouth was dry and she had the uneasy feeling she was in trouble although she wasn't quite sure what for. "It was just on a shelf in the healing section. Why?"
"This is an old Spherian spellbook. The witches and wizards of Spheria practised some of the darkest magic this dimension has ever seen. This book is from our collection but it's supposed to be in the Restricted Vault at all times, only to be accessed by seniors, and even then only under strict supervision."
"I didn't-" Bloom began quickly but Faragonda shook her head, cutting her off.
"I know, Bloom. I would like to think it was moved by mistake but I will have to talk to Miss Barbatea about this."
"Right," Bloom said quietly, and shifted on her feet, wondering if she should just go back to her dorm.
Faragonda glanced at the book in her hands once last time before it disappeared with a flash of light. A second flash of light followed and a second book appeared which she offered to Bloom. "Here," she said kindly. "This is a Magixian spellbook from my personal collection. It should help with your essay and you might even find a spell to help cure the pixies."
"Thanks, Miss Faragonda," Bloom said with a relieved gust of breath. She took the book and didn't feel the same thrum of magic as she had with the other book but she thought that that might be a good thing.
She bade her headmistress goodbye and had just turned to head back to her dorm with the book when a sudden shout and the rush of approaching footsteps made her pause, turning back to see Ofelia running towards them.
"They're gone, headmistress," she gasped, when she reached them. "Someone left the pixies out."
"When?" Faragonda demanded, all business. She swept along the hallway, not towards her office, Bloom realised as she and Ofelia hurried to keep up with her, but towards the student dormitory wing.
"Only minutes ago. They were there when I got to the infirmary this morning, but I had to get something from the storeroom and when I got back they were gone. Someone must have let them out."
Faragonda's expression turned thunderous and the three of them rushed along the hallway, not stopping until they'd reached Bloom's dorm where Faragonda wasted no time in opening the door.
"We need to wake the others," she told the others, heading herself for Stella and Layla's room.
Bloom ran for her own, while Ofelia went to wake Tecna and Musa. She shook Flora's shoulder and could hear the quiet rustlings as Faragonda and Ofelia did the same in the other rooms.
"What's happening?" Flora murmured sleepily, peering up at Bloom through a tangle of dark hair.
"It's the pixies," Bloom said urgently, pulling her up by the elbow and finding her robe to put on.
Flora's sleepiness vanished in an instant and she followed Bloom from the room. The others were already assembled out in the common room, Layla the only one who looked anywhere near alert as Flora and Bloom. Faragonda quickly explained the situation and when she was finished the girls waited, half expecting her to insist on calling in the Guardian Network. But she surprised them.
"There's no time to call in help, girls, the pixies only have a few minutes headstart but you'll only catch up if you leave now."
"Us?" Musa questioned, eyes narrowed.
"Forgive me, girls, but I'm not as quick as I once was. It will have to be you six. But you can do this, you have to do this, we can't let another piece of the Codex fall into Darkar's hands."
"What are we waiting for?" Stella asked, looking around at them all. "Let's go."
"You guys go," Bloom said, inspiration striking as she looked at the book still in her hands. "I'll hang back and keep looking for a way to reverse the potion."
"Sounds like a plan," Musa agreed, and without another word the girls transformed and headed out the door.
"Hurry!" Chatta encouraged the others as they zipped through the forest.
"We're going as fast as we can," Digit responded but put on a spurt of speed regardless.
The light filtering through the trees was still weak as the sun rose but they knew the brighter it got the easier they would be to spot for the fairies who would no doubt be on their tail sooner rather than later. Their village was hidden away deep within the forest and they wanted to put as much distance between them and Alfea as they could as they flew towards it.
They were so intent on their goal that they didn't notice the two shadow monsters stalking them between the trees, blending seamlessly into the lingering morning shadows as they followed.
Further back in the forest, Flora was using the voice of nature to navigate their way through the dense trees.
"Are you sure this is the right way, Flo?" Musa asked as they hurried along, ducking under thick branches.
"What's the voice of nature saying?" Stella wanted to know.
Flora resisted the urge to remind Stella that the voice of nature wasn't a voice per se, and simply said, "I'm sure. They went this way." The trees in the forest didn't talk to her in words so much as she could pick up on their senses, feeling the air move as the pixies flew past, feeling the impact as one of them bumped into a branch. The trees weren't talking but Flora could hear what they were saying nevertheless.
Bloom flipped frantically through the pages of the book, skimming the text as fast as she could while still making sure she didn't miss anything. And then, finally, almost halfway through the spellbook, she thought she found exactly what she was looking for.
"'This spell will cure magical longing of all kinds'," Bloom read aloud, finger skimming over the rune that accompanied the spell. "Sounds like the one, now I just hope I can say all the words correctly." She didn't want to risk forgetting what the rune looked like, so she quickly found a piece of paper to copy it onto, and then ran from the room.
The sound of the fairies' voice reached the pixies before the girls themselves actually did and Chatta ducked behind a tree with a curse, gesturing frantically for the others to follow her.
"I can hear them getting closer," she hissed, and the others shushed her quickly, not wanting the girls to hear her.
"We know, Chatta," Digit shot back, keeping her voice low.
"I'm just telling you." There was a bite of venom in Chatta's voice that made it unintentionally carry between the trees.
The others frantically gestured for the pair to be quiet but they didn't seem to notice.
"You're always stating the obvious, Chatta!"
"Well, it's better than-"
"I don't hear them anymore," Tune said, sounding worried.
"It'd be hard to hear anything over those two arguing," came a voice behind them, and the pixies spun around in horror to find that the girls had managed to sneak up on them from behind. Musa was the one who had spoken, hands on her hips and smirking in victory.
"Just leave us alone!" Chatta cried, argument with Digit instantly forgotten.
"We've wasted enough time, we need to get back to Alfea right now," Layla said, a hint of impatience creeping into her voice. "Tecna, can you use your magic to contain them?"
Tecna nodded, and raised her hand, green magic beginning to flare but a sudden and vicious growl coming from behind them stopped her cold. Her magic flickered and faded and it was the girls' turn to spin around to see what had managed to sneak up on them.
Lockette gave a squeak of fright at the two shadow monsters that were standing there with their long, sharp teeth bared. "I knew it!" she shrieked, hiding her face in her hands. "I knew monsters were going to find us. Now we're going to get eaten!"
"Not while we're here," Flora said determinedly, balling her hands into fists.
As if taking the challenge for what it was, the grey monster with spikes lining its back charged at Stella. She held her ground and threw a ball of sunlight at the monster but it proved to be nimbler than its bulk would suggest and neatly sidestepped her attack. It slid to a stop and lowered its head, shooting some of the spikes from its back at her. Luckily, Stella remembered its fighting patterns from Shadowhaunt and spun away through the air, wings propelling her out of range of the spikes which embedded in the trunk of a tree instead.
Tecna swooped in and blasted the monster back with her own green magic, throwing it against another tree. Flora was there in an instant, kneeling down and touching a hand to the ground, where instantly thick vines grew and bound the monster to the tree.
"And now I'll light him up," Stella said with a grim sense of determination about her. She approached the struggling monster and pressed two hands to its exposed chest. Light spilled from her palms, so bright that the others had to look away, and when they turned back they found the monster, and even the vines holding it had been reduced to ash.
"Nice one, Stell," Musa said, grinning.
They'd been so focused on the grey monsters that they'd completely forgotten about the second monster. All of them except Layla, who spied it creeping up behind Flora with a cry of alarm.
"Flora! Behind you!"
Flora whirled around and the monster, even larger than its companion, lunged at her, forcing her to jump backwards with a flap of her wings.
"Choke on this," Layla hissed as the monster bared its mouth to snap at Flora. She shoved a wave of water down its throat, but it seemed hardly perturbed, not even slowing it down as it continued moving. "He just swallowed it," she said in amazement.
She flew higher in the air to avoid it, Musa coming to join her, and as the monster passed underneath them they both saw the row of mouths, each with sharp teeth, along its back, each one snapping and snarling in tandem.
"I don't think that's all he plans on eating," Musa said.
They had their hands so full with the second monster that they didn't hear the distant crashes of Bloom running towards them, nor did they notice that the pixies were unguarded once again and considering sneaking away.
"Come on, let's get out of here while they're distracted," Chatta muttered to the others, eyeing the girls.
"It's a serious breach of tradition for a pixie to abandon her bonded fairy when she's in need," Tune said slowly, but already the thrall of the homesickness potion was consuming her again and she found she didn't much care for customs and traditions for the first time in her life.
"Besides, if we stay they'll just put us in a cage again," Digit said, frowning and crossing her arms.
"Let's go home," Amore agreed, and together they rose in the air and flew away.
Oblivious, Tecna was calling out to Musa, "Can you use a sonic boom to bounce that thing in the air?"
"It'll have to be a big one but let me try."
She gathered her magic and darted down to the ground, slamming her hand against the leaf litter. A powerful sonic blast erupted from her, flinging the gargantuan monster into the air where her friends were waiting.
The monster hung in the air for a moment before starting to fall, but Flora was there, waiting for it. At her encouragement the nearest trees bent with surprising swiftness, bark groaning as their limbs reached out and caught the monster, holding up despite its bulk. It gave a roar of fury but no matter how it twisted and turned, it couldn't get free. Layla washed another wave of water over the monster to distract it, making sure this time that she flooded all of the numerous mouths.
"He's all yours, Stella!" she called and the blonde fairy nodded, using her sunlight once again to destroy the monster.
Only this monster didn't turn to ash as the other had, instead it seemed to absorb her sunlight, absorbing it until it grew even bigger and bigger.
"Uh oh," Stella muttered right as the light the monster had absorbed flared from within it and its skin burst, splattering it's surroundings with a veritable mountain of grey sludge.
And Stella, being the closest, got a front row seat for it all. Not that the others were spared either. They all shrieked and exclaimed in disgust as the sludge gunked up their wings and forced them to return to the ground.
"I really," Stella began, wiping a hand over her face and flicking the sludge away. "Hate it when they do that."
"We have bigger problems," Flora said, pushing her hair out of her face to look around the nearby trees. "The pixies are gone."
"Seriously?" Musa cried after spitting out a mouthful of sludge. "They took off while we were fighting?"
"It's the homesickness potion," Layla said sadly. "They never would have left otherwise."
"Whatever the reason," Tecna broke in. "We can't fly with this stuff on our wings and we'll never catch them on foot."
As if in answer to their problems, Bloom finally burst through the nearest thicket of trees, gasping for air from how quickly she'd been flying. She took a look around her sludge covered friends and grimaced.
"By the Dragon, what happened to you lot?"
"Nevermind that," Musa said impatiently. "Did you find a counterspell?"
"I think so."
"Then you have to go now!" Stella urged. "Darkar really is behind it; he sent two shadow monsters and the pixies got away while we were fighting them."
"Here." Tecna offered Bloom a small earpiece. "Flora can guide you with the voice of nature."
Bloom tucked the earpiece into her ear and took off, Flora's voice now speaking to her directly. "They're moving in a straight line, you just have to be fast."
Bloom called on every lesson she'd ever had with Faylinn as she ducked and wove through the thick trees. They didn't have time for her to slow down and be careful so she just shook off the cuts and grazes she slowly accumulated.
"I think you're almost there," Flora said after some minutes, and Bloom scanned the area around her, aided by the climbing sun. "The trees are losing them, they must be in some kind of clearing."
Bloom cleared the trees, and spotted the pixies grouped together in the centre, as though debating which way to go. She put on a burst of speed and landed near them, summoning the paper with the rune on it, she glanced at it before tossing it away, holding out a hand towards the pixies who were now looking up at her in surprise. "Desiderium tuum dimittere," she recited, drawing the rune in glowing white lines in mid air.
For a moment there was no physical change, then a shudder swept through each of the pixies, and they glanced at each other in confusion.
"What happened?" Lockette asked, holding a hand to her head.
"I wanted to go home so badly," Chatta said, tilting her head curiously. "But I can't remember why."
"Someone slipped you a potion," Bloom explained with a breath of relief. Lockette flew right over to her for a cuddle which Bloom returned but she didn't let herself relax. Despite the bright light of day that the forest was now bathed in, she could still sense a sinister presence lurking nearby and she had no interest in waiting around to see what it was. "Come on, let's get you guys back to Alfea." The pixies immediately flew to her side and together they started to make the trek back to the other girls and Alfea beyond.
A few hours later after a thorough look over from Ofelia the pixies were all given a clean bill of health. "I'm happy to say that all effects from the homesickness potion have completely worn off."
Everyone in the room, the pixies, the fairies, and Faragonda, loosed a sigh of relief at the news, grateful they no longer had to worry about keeping the pixies contained.
"Is the village safe, though?" Flora asked, with an anxious glance at Faragonda. "Darkar knows which part of the forest it's in now."
"That is true, but the village is hidden very well, and the elder pixies have been strengthening the protective enchantments around the village. Unless someone shows Darkar the direct route to the village, they should be fine."
"I don't know what we would have done if we'd accidentally led him there," Lockette said, wringing her hands.
"It's not your fault," Bloom soothed, lifting the pixie onto her shoulder as they made their way out of the infirmary.
"Yeah, but still…"
Layla let the others draw ahead before nudging Flora and inclining her head to indicate they walk the other way. Flora followed her down to the quad curiously where they found a spot in the dull winter sunlight to talk.
"So, I talked to Helia last night," Layla said with a coy grin, before telling Flora all about the poem she'd read.
"You really think it was about me?"
"Unless he has a thing for someone named Dora, or Cora." Flora still looked dubious so Layla nudged her again with a quiet chuckle. "Of course it was about you, Flora. He likes you, so you should say something."
Flora flushed but she was smiling as she said, "Maybe I'll just send him a little something to let him know I'm thinking about him."
Layla shook her head, but she didn't push any further, just happy she could have helped her friend. The friend who found herself flying by Red Fountain later that afternoon and using a sprinkling of magic to encourage a rose in the most pale of pinks to grow from the empty pot on Helia's windowsill. She ducked out of sight when Helia came over to get a closer look but couldn't help the excited thrill that shot through her as he touched a finger to one of the delicate petals before immediately sitting down to sketch it. Flora soared back towards Alfea with a smile on her face and something like hope in her heart.
Not me saying that I want to get back to a monthly posting and then completely ghosting in Feb. No but I have a good reason for that actually, if you didn't already know I participated in Febuwhump and wrote a fic for every day of the month! Including some Winx Club ones so you should definitely go check them out if you haven't already.
I'm posting this super super super fast because I want to get this out before I go to work so I won't write a super long author's note. This isn't my favourite ep (maybe you can tell lol) it feels kinda filler-y so I tried to use it to push forward some of the other storylines like Tecmy and Florelia. Sorry to the Tecmy fans out there I just misunderstandings the fuck out of them. Don't worry, they'll sort themselves out eventually.
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, this time I really should be posting next month! Leave me a review telling me what you thought xx