Red My Mind

by The Black Mage of Phantasm

While hunting for Christmas decorations, Diana learns a lot about the red team

Chapter 1: Always the Same

She had been expecting it, but that didn't mean she wasn't…exasperated, to put it kindly, by what she was seeing.

"Sucy, you better put that potion away right now!"

"Hey, you're the one who wouldn't let me use it on the trees here. Ergo, I'm left with using it on a certain guinea pig. So, open wide."

"Heck no!"

"It'll be fun."

"For you only!"

"Exactly."

"Sucy!"

"G-girls, please…"

Despite her efforts not to, Diana Cavendish let out a small sigh, eyes closing shut.

"Seriously, again?" She heard Hannah mutter from her left, tone indicating just how tired—or "done", as she would put it—with the antics in front of them.

"It's almost impressive at this point," Barbara added, sounding equally as exhausted.

Diana couldn't help but agree with her words, even if she said nothing. With another small exhale, she slowly opened her eye, once again taking in the scene.

Akko, Sucy, and Lotte were all arguing. Well, no, it was more like Akko and Sucy were arguing, and Lotte was trying to reign them in; rather poorly, at that. What made this argument somewhat different than the many, many others Diana and her two closest friends had been seeing more and more of, was that this time, it was in the snow.

The red team were also wearing their winter clothes. Akko was wearing an orange jacket—different from the one she wore in warmer weather, this one a lighter shade of orange and with a popped collar and thick yellow buttons lining up from the center. Underneath was what Diana was fairly certain was the short purple skirt of her Luna Nova uniform, accompanied with a pair of thick tights fit for winter on her legs, and pair of tan snow boats. Her hands had on a pair of pink gloves, ones that matched the pink scarf wrapped around her neck.

Sucy had on a very long, somewhat dark maroon coat that reached all the way down to her ankles, with a pair of black pants peeking out just from the small opening on her coat, right underneath the last button that lined the center of it near her thighs. A pair of dark purple snow boots adorned her feet, and she had on a yellow scarf along with surprisingly pink mittens that looked the same shade as Akko's.

Lotte wore a tan coat, one that didn't have any buttons like Akko's or Sucy's, but did have a slit like Sucy's, even though it was more average sized than Sucy's own, along with brown pants with dark pink boots, and complimented with a light-red scarf. And peaking jus underneath her the green beanie she wore—one that actually looked remarkably similar to the pink and white one Akko had on, and even Sucy's maroon-colored one—was Will-O'-Chan, looking like they were just as "done" with their arguing as Hannah and Barbara were. And Diana herself was too, if she was being honest.

Though, the implication that it was all three of them that were arguing was inaccurate. Lotte was very obviously trying to quell both her friends' ire, something she usually pulled off with startling ease. Most of the teachers at Luna Nova couldn't do that, but Lotte did it like it was second nature, even better than Professor Chariot could manage. It made Diana respect Lotte all the more, even if today, she was having some trouble stopping her friends from continuing their bickering.

Stars knew most people in the same spot having to constantly hear her friends argue might've considered just muting them with a silence spell. Or maybe just mute their sense of hearing so they couldn't hear them.

Was that unkind? Yes, and normally Diana wouldn't permit those kinds of thoughts, least of all to people that she considered very good friends. Well, mostly Akko and Lotte, Sucy was something of a work in progress, though things were getting better between them, thankfully. Regardless, Diana normally wasn't one that let herself make quips in her head. She was usually able to let whatever annoyance or negative emotions she felt flow through her until it ran its course, never letting it show on her face, or influence her actions and thoughts.

But, normally, she didn't have to deal with the same group of people disagreeing constantly at seemingly every given chance, and slowing down their process and making what was otherwise a simple trip into a rising headache.

"Sucy, can't you go one day without whipping up some probably-dangerous-for-humans-to-drink potion!?" Akko shouted, nostril flaring angrily .

"Probably?' Sucy actually sounded offended at that. "Don't insult my work, Akko."

Akko made a strangled, rage-filled sound, hands out like she was trying to strangle the air. "Why does your 'work' always end with poisons or mushrooms or explosions or me getting hit with some weird magic junk or all of that stuff at once!"

"The third one is your fault most of the time," Sucy pointed out, her expression once again neutral. "And as for the rest…" She trailed off for a moment. Then, shrugged. "I like poisons and mushrooms, making alchemic solutions that are maybe a little illegal, and using you as a test subject. Sue me."

"Sucy, I'm gonna do more than 'sue you' if you use that thing on me!"

"What? Are you gonna whine and complain even more than you already are?"

"No, I'm gonna go 'Savior-of-Magic' mode on you and make you drink the potion!"

"Akko," Sucy said, her one visible eye flat. "Stop saying that like it's some transformation you have, and not just you flailing around like a maniac."

"Don't insult my skills, Sucy!" Akko, for some reason, suddenly lifted her leg up, arms held above her head and fingers pointed to the side and down.

"Oh god, she's doing the crane pose thing," Barbara muttered. Diana looked at her. The what?

"Approach me at your own peril, woman!" Akko shouted, making Diana look back to the red team.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Sucy grinned with such malevolence, Diana all but felt it even from so far away. Beside her, she could hear Hannah and Barbara shivering in fright. "Because if it is, know that I'm not gonna go easy on you, my adorable little guinea pig."

"I am adorable, but right now, I am not your guinea pig! I am a lethal weapon!" Akko's eyes shined with defiance, even as she had visible trouble continuing to stand on one leg, starting to teeter to one side before she quickly corrected her balance with a growl. "Now, let me show you the moves I've studied from Professor Chariot and about two dozen kung fu movies she showed me!"

Diana was absolutely positive Professor Chariot hadn't meant for Akko to study whatever impossible move she saw from a movie.

Sucy's grin widened, and Akko's glare grew fiercer. It might've made for a tense standoff if Akko wasn't wobbling to keep standing.

"Akko, Sucy, c'mon, there's no need to fight!" Lotte said, moving to stand between her friends with a nervous smile.

"It wouldn't be a fight," Sucy said. "It'd be a slaughter."

"For you!" Akko shot back.

"It's amazing how you make yourself look dumber with every sentence."

Akko growled, Sucy cackled, but Lotte spoke before either could say anything else.

"Girls, we really shouldn't be fighting!" Lotte said, desperately looking from Akko to Sucy. "Don't forget why we came here in the first place!"

Akko and Sucy did pause at that—though, whether it was because of Lotte's words or how frantic she sounded, Diana wasn't sure. Akko frowned, looked to Sucy, who looked back at her with a blank expression. Then, Akko moved out of her odd stance, and sheepishly grinned at Lotte.

"Sorry, Lotte" Akko said, though, to Diana, she didn't sound very remorseful, more awkward than anything. "Guess we kinda got caught up in the moment."

"Yeah, our bad," Sucy said, not looking at Lotte, and she didn't sound remorseful in the slightest. Diana knew Sucy wasn't very emotive—it had been the source of some arguments in the past—but surely her friend was worth the effort to at least sound sorry.

But Lotte didn't seem to mind her friends' lackluster apologies. As her familiar retreated back under her cap , realizing the fight was resolved and could enjoy Lotte's warmth, Lotte smiled. "It's fine," she said.

Was it, though?

Diana stared at the red team, mouth in a small frown. Before, when she and the red team had been on…unpleasant terms, she always noticed how they—well, mostly Akko and Sucy—bickered. She hadn't cared much about it at the time, but now, she couldn't help but feel like it was…a bit more frequent than friends should be fighting.

It especially shouldn't have been Lotte's job to put a stop to every single one of those fights.

"Would've been bad if we missed the magic-penguin-thingy if I was kicking Sucy's butt," Akko said, laughing a little.

Sucy turned to Akko, her eye narrowing. "Akko, your delusions aren't funny any more. I'd win. We know that."

Akko turned, frowning. "Sucy, you're built like a twig. I'd win."

"Unlike you, I have a brain, and I fight really dirty."

"I can fight dirty too!"

"I'd still win."

"No, I would!"

"I would!"

Akko and Sucy were glaring at the other—Akko's glare far more severe and enraged than Sucy's relatively cold one—their face inches away. Lotte was fretting over them, eyes wide with rising panic. Just as the two opened their mouths, Diana smoothly cut in.

"I believe you two can settle this another time," she said firmly. Akko and Sucy paused mid-word, and turned to look at Diana. With her lips in a stern line, Diana crossed her arms and put as much command into her voice as she could. "We've already wasted enough time with these arguments. So unless you two want to miss our chance, or further trouble Lotte with your pettiness like you've been doing all morning, we need to prepare the area as soon as we can."

Akko flinched a little, looking to Lotte, and then looked down in clear guilt. "Sorry," she muttered, but Diana didn't know who she was apologizing to.

Sucy's visible eye lingered on Akko, and then she glared at Diana. Diana raised an eyebrow at the reaction. Now she had a problem that Akko was upset? Her words were harsh, yes, but they needed to be said. And at least she didn't try to needle and mock Akko and get her to lose her temper like Sucy had been doing all morning.

"Er, Diana" Barbara spoke up. Diana turned, and saw her friend, wearing a purple, puffy snow jacket with a fur lining at the collar, matching pants, and dark purple snow boots. It matched Diana and Hannah's own outfit, save that Hannah's color scheme was yellow and she wore a beanie, and Diana's was blue, and on her head was a blue knitted cap with a puffy white ball at the top. Barbara was squinting at the snow covered trees, a hand over her head to shield her from the sun. "These are a lot more trees than I was expecting. Not that I'm doubting you, but, will we have the time to get the bird before we have to go back to do the rest of the setup for the party?"

Diana took in their surroundings. Pure white snow that easily went above her ankles decorated the ground, glittering in the sunlight like hundreds of icy crystals. The trees scattered around—of various species, both magical and normal—towered over them all, some still with leaves and others completely bare, but all of them covered in snow from their trunks to their branches. There were some animals scampering around on the ground or climbing the trees, but what little sounds they made added a kind of gentle, almost rhythmic ambience to all the other noise in the forest. Like the snow crackling on the ground, or the swaying of icicles, or the cold breeze that dances and fluttered through the trees and prickled her skin, making her breath white and puffy, and making her all the more glad for the warmth around her.

All those sounds and sights seemed to carry one simple message: "this is winter; take it all in."

Rather fitting for a forest in the Himalayas. Diana had always wanted to visit the legendary mountains at some point. She was just surprised that she was visiting not to explore the old magical lands here, or how Yggdrasil's revival affected it, but because of a much simpler reason.

They needed decorations for their Christmas party.

It had been Akko's idea to have one. She had fiercely argued that they had to celebrate "the most magical Christmas in probably forever", since Yggdrasil had been revived, and to not celebrate it with "the bestest friends in the whole wide world", would be heresy. And if there was one thing Akko excelled in, it was sweeping up all those near her in her excitement and joy, and getting them to follow her lead.

Not that doing so this time was particularly difficult. All of them—even Diana, though not to the same degree—loved the idea of having a Christmas party. They all discussed their ideas for one, finalized the details, talked to their families if they needed to, and thus, a date was made for a party that all of them were sure would be delightful.

Even if one of them—Amanda—had put it far more crassly than needed, and right as Professor Finnelan was passing and heard her use that kind of language. Surprisingly, it didn't lead to more beyond a sigh and a minor reprimand from the teacher.

Diana, though, did much more than that, and even if they both knew her lecture wouldn't stick, it was the principle that mattered more.

Regardless of Amanda's crassness, it didn't change that Diana was rather excited for this party. It wasn't going to be a very large one, not a social gathering among strangers instead of a celebration of the joy the holiday brought—as was most, if not all, of Diana's experiences with Christmas parties. This one would just be between the nine of them—well, ten, depending on if Professor Chariot got back in time from visiting Croix in prison, and maybe some of the other students they were close to who stayed over break, if they could make it—held in one of the smaller classrooms the professors gave them permission to use, since classes were on break for the holidays. And once it was finally settled who had what jobs to do, they all went to work

There were some hiccups, of course. The biggest one had come, not from the red team, but from Amanda. It had led to a massive, red-faced argument on Diana's part, and ended in the enforcement of a strict dress code that banned anything like the "costume" Amanda had brought.

How one woman could wear an outfit so scandalous, one that showed off so much midriff without blinking…

Amanda's adequate abs aside, outside of a few more issues—Akko tripping and causing a mess, Sucy trying convince everyone to let her serve up her "special punch," Lotte and Barbra trying to convince everyone to make the theme "steam-punk, Egyptian, post-apocalyptic gothic werewolf" based on a party in one of Nightfall's Christmas volumes, Constanze trying to "harness the power of Christmas Magic" to make her soundboard more powerful and causing a small fire, Jasminka making far too many sweets they gave away to the staff and food drives, and Hannah wanting to actually wear one of the less scandalous but still completely indecent outfits "just to try it on, come on Diana, it's cute, and it's not that bad!"—everything went well.

But then the day of their party came. And once again, the biggest problem, was completely Amanda's fault. And why they now hunting a rather elusive bird

"We should have plenty of time, Barbara," Diana said, inspecting all the trees with a keen eye. "The waddling giverwing definitely hasn't been here recently to consume on any of its favorite animals or plants here, as there would be signs if it had. And considering the time of day, weather, and the sheer distance it'll take to get here from its nest, we should still have…" Diana ran the numbers in her head. "I'd say an a hour-and-a-half before it comes here. That should be more than enough time to prepare."

Barbara nodded. But then, she shot a not-so-subtle glance at the red team. They weren't arguing right now, and Lotte was even gently patting a still-slumped Akko on the shoulder with a small smile, Akko saying something Diana couldn't make out and Lotte responding back to whatever she said. Sucy was still glaring at Diana.

It was obvious Barbara thought that if the red team started arguing again, it might slow down their process, or worse, mean they'd lose their chance to trap the waddling giverwing. Considering how much Sucy and Akko had been arguing today, that was a legitimate concern.

Luckily, Diana already had a solution.

"We'll be fine," Diana assured her friend, and Diana could see the nervous tension leaving Barbara the moment she said that. Although, she had a feeling that wouldn't last with what she was planning to do. "As I said, we have plenty of time to prepare."

"I wish we had less time," Hannah grumbled from her left, rubbing her arms a little for warmth. "Even with these clothes and heat enchantments, it's still way too cold here."

"I'm pretty sure that's just because you don't like the cold, Hannah," Barbara said, a teasing lilt to her voice.

"No one likes the cold!" Hannah snapped, whipping to glare at Barbara's smirking face. "All it does it freeze you down to your bones and makes you want to stay inside all day because being outside might kill you!"

A cold breeze suddenly blew by the three of them. Diana and Barbara didn't react, but Hannah violently shivered. She gritted her clattering teeth, hands gripping her shoulders tightly as she exhaled a white, angry breath. "I hate winter!"

"Well, if it makes you feel better," Barbara said, giving her friend a hug to try and help warm her up. Diana thought about doing the same, but, well…hugs were things she wasn't all that good with, despite efforts to recently change that. "Amanda's probably not having fun right now either."

"Amanda's basically just shopping and doing chores inside warm buildings!" Hannah let out another angry hiss, leaning into Barbara's hug, eyes clenched shut. "Damn you, O'Neil! Why did you think it was a good idea to go on Gumtree to get Christmas stuff!"

"Language," Diana reprimanded.

"Sorry," Hannah muttered, and she genuinely did sound like she was.

"It's fine," Diana said. Then, under her breath, muttered, "It's not as though I don't agree with the sentiment."

Yes, she really couldn't blame Hannah for being mad at Amanda. Diana was a tad miffed as well, and she knew the feelings were shared with the rest of them. And the reason being was because Amanda thought the best place to buy key element for their party was on Gumtree.

If Diana was feeling charitable, she could admit that Amanda had good intentions. While they had found quite literally magical decorations from Luna Nova and other magical stores that were wonderful for decorations, they were still missing quite a bit. When Amanda had explored more traditional shops nearby, she had said that those stores didn't have that "pizzazz" that their party needed, so she looked online to try and find better ones. And she seemingly did, and also seemingly made sure that the seller was legitimate by checking their reviews. So, after asking for the rest of them to "pitch in some cash", she bought them. And about a few days later, they arrived.

Entire boxes full of rocks.

Amanda had been scammed.

Furious and embarrassed, Amanda instantly tried to figure out how this happened. It took about fifteen seconds for Akko to point out the users on the review page had very similar names, and not five seconds for Constanze to click on the usernames and see they were all created on the same day, and only left reviews on the seller's items. Also, she clicked on the seller's name, and saw on their profile multiple people accusing them of being an alternate account of a well known scammer.

Embarrassment soon won over fury, and Amanda wilted under everyone's intense glares. It was less about the money—as with nine people chipping in, some of whom were rich, it hadn't been that much—and more that Amanda had constantly bragged that these decorations would be "awesome" and had brushed off every concern her friends had, not even letting know where she was buying them from, all while assuring them she wouldn't have made a mistake, or been duped. But she had. Throughly.

By a person named "YDAHS RELLES ." Which, as Akko pointed out, was backwards for Shady Seller.

Akko made it very clear that Amanda lost any right to call her a moron from now on.

So, there they were; not even eight hours away from their party, and missing some of their key decorations. Ones that had been sold out in seemingly every store nearby. The biggest one, was a star that would fit for their Christmas tree. It was looking more and more likely that they would have to use some of the rather cheap looking tinsel ones as a last minute substitute, as they were running out of time to find one, and also get the remaining decorations for their party, and still set it up in time before they had to return the classroom to the faculty.

Which was one Akko had gotten an idea.

She and Ursula had apparently been studying magical creatures heavily associated with Christmas during their training sessions, and one of them, was the waddling giverwing. It was a rare creature, and one that, when captured or throughly terrified, gave people a star that had been described in the past as "one that seemed to glow brighter than any celestial body in the sky."

Akko had pointed at the picture in the book and said it would be perfect for their tree. After doing a little research, Diana discovered that, as fate would have it, now was when it usually left its nest in the Himalayas to go to its favorite hunting grounds to snack on plants and magical creatures before going to hibernate. If they took the leylines, they could make it to those ground and set up a trap for it, and be back in time to take care of the final preparations for their party. Some—Hannah, Barbara, Amanda and Sucy—were hesitant to go somewhere so far and work so hard to get a star.

One look at Akko's determined face and the endless joy in her smile convinced them otherwise.

And so, that led to now: with her team and Akko's in the Himalays to capture a magical avian, at least for a short time, and the green team tasked to get the rest of the decorations and set up as much of the party as they could. Though, Diana had some doubts about how much they could get set up in time. Especially with Amanda convincing Constanze to get revenge on the merchant using drones and magical glitter bombs.

But she really shouldn't be thinking about Amanda right now. Not when she had other issues that needed to be dealt with.

Diana glanced at the read team. Akko no longer looked so glum, and Lotte was now smiling at her as she kept talking. Sucy was still glaring at her. No surprises there.

"Girls," Diana said, and instantly she had Hannah and Barbara's eyes on her. "We're about to start our 'tutoring session' soon, so be ready."

Hannah and Barbara nodded at the same time. Without another glance, Diana walked towards the red team, her friends by her side and following.

"It would be best if we started preparing for the arrival of the waddling giverwing," she said, raising her volume so that it wasn't too loud, but carried in the forest, and grabbed one's attention. Akko looked up at her, and Lotte did too. Lotte then gently elbowed Sucy as she kept glaring at Diana, and when Sucy looked back at Lotte's stern expression, she rolled her eye, and settled her expression back into its normal neutrality.

"So, how do we do that?" Akko asked, tilting her head to the side. "You said you show us the spell to help, but you never said what it'd do."

"That's because you were arguing to much to give her a chance!" Hannah snapped, glaring at both Akko and Sucy. Akko flinched again, muttering guilty apologies, and Hannah muttered a somewhat loud "Moron," under her breath; Sucy frowned, and suddenly all but glided towards Hannah in a way that Diana has come to associate as her warning for imminent chemical warfare.

"Regardless," Diana said, stepping between the two. She gave Hannah a very pointed look, and Hannah wilted as she slumped in on herself, looking to the ground. She looked back at the red team, and saw Akko pulling Sucy back by one arm with a somewhat wide eyes. "I'll explain the spell we all need to work together to use properly, if we want to catch the waddling giverwing in time."

Sucy was still glaring, and for the first time, Diana gave a slight one of her own.

"We understand, Diana!" Lotte said, quickly moving in front of Akko and Sucy, the former whispering something into Sucy's ears. Lotte then reached back, grabbed her friends by their coats, and pulled on them with surprising strength. Akko and Sucy stumbled forward in surprise—Akko yelping loudly as she did so—and Lotte gave Diana a rather forced smile. "So, the spell?"

Deciding not to comment about how Lotte was still grabbing her friends in vice-grip, Diana nodded. "Barbara," She said, looking to her friend. "If you wouldn't mind helping me demonstrate?"

Barbara's eyes lit up. After Akko helped convince her to return to Luna Nova, Diana had learned that Barbara actually liked helping Diana whenever she could; when Diana chose to rely on her and Hannah, instead of the other way around. It was something Diana was working on doing more often. "Of course!" Barbara said, all but skipping to Diana's side.

Hannah, meanwhile, pouted, crossing her arms. Diana knew Hannah also like it when she relied on her to help. She supposed this might look like she was punishing Hannah for the earlier comment about Akko. And, in part, she was.

Mostly, though, this was part legitimate demonstration, and part apology for what she was about to do to Barbara in a few minutes.

When Barbara was by her side, Diana carefully took out her wand from the pocket of her jacket. She then looked at the red team to make sure they were paying attention. Lotte had let go of Sucy and Akko, both of whom were all staring at her—and in Sucy's case, she had stopped glaring. Diana then extended her arm, wand pointed at a tree and Barbara copied her arm movement perfectly, her own wand out as well

"Carchadh Dùnailte is one of the simpler trap spells out there, but still requires a touch of finesse and concentration," She explained. "To cast it, one must usually have a partner, as that ensures the enchantment takes effect instantly."

Diana lifted her arm, and Barbara did the same. Green energy appeared from nowhere yet everywhere, and began to pool at the very tip of her wand. It quickly took the shape of a ball about the size of an apple, pulsing in spikes of green every few seconds like a strange heart. Diana let her magic pool there, not actually casting a spell yet, calmly waiting as Barbara channeled her own magic at a slower pace.

"First, you must concentrate your magic to the very tip of your wand, and refine it there. Compress it into as small a point as you can." The ball of magic quickly grew smaller, becoming barely the size of a twenty pence coin, but it still pulsated rapidly. "Then, because of all the energy you've gathered, you must change the nature of the magic within in the sphere into something more calming." Diana let out a slow breath, closing her eyes. "Calm your mind, and let your inner peace gently flow into it."

Diana could feel her heart beating at a steady, calm pace. That same calmness slowly left her, and went to the sphere at her wand. After a moment, she opened her eyes, and saw it was no longer pulsating, and now, gently rotated on its axis. With a glance, Diana looked to Barbara, and saw her own sphere slowly losing that frantic throbbing, and after a few moments, it too began to gently rotate.

When Barbara met her gaze, Diana moved her arm in a slow, wide arc, magical energy trailing behind her wand, leaving a half-circle of green filament hanging in the air. Barbara mirrored her movements, leaving her own half-circle, and their arcs met at the very top as they formed one whole circle.

"Now comes the most important part," Diana said, eyes completely trained on the circle in front of them. "Having a clear image of what you want the target of the spell to be." There was a glow from both their wands. "And letting one's magic fully mix with your partners at a steady rate…"

As Diana trailed off, tendrils of green magic wrapped around her wand, and the same happened on Barbara's own. Then, like the world's most elegant snake, the tendrils moved from their respective wands onto each others', and slid down them, all the way to their hands. Then, they wrapped around their wrists into twin bows, like ribbons on a present, before quickly dissolving into their skin in motes of green light.

A rush suddenly filled Diana—the sudden onset of feelings not her own, but ones that belonged to her friend. The joy of helping Diana, the assurance that all would go well just because Diana was standing next to her. That was just a sample of Barbara's feelings she felt. And even those emotions were hidden under the immense presence that was Barbara's magic. She let it flowed through her body, carefully allowing her own to mix with Barbara's. If Diana had to describe what her friend's magic felt like, she'd describe it in one word.

Loyalty. A steady hand that would always be there to support her; help her stand tall.

It made Diana smile. And a glance confirmed Barbara was too, far more widely.

From the tips of both their wands, a small bead of dark green light materialized. The bead slowly floated away from their wands, and towards the circle. When they touched, the circle started to hum with energy, and the bead made a slow revolution around the circle. Then another, its pace quickening, followed by an even faster revolution. The bead was all but a blur now, the circle humming louder than ever.

And then as one, Diana and Barbara spoke.

"Carchadh Dùnailte!"

The bead stopped, and the inside of the circle filled with pure green.

And then, the circle blasted off towards the tree like a jet. When it hit the tree, there was a bright green flash—one everyone save her and Barbara had to shield their eyes from, as it wasn't their magic—and as it faded, for just a moment, the tree was covered in a ethereal white glow.

Then that glow was gone just as quickly, and all was quiet in the forest.

It was broken by applause. Diana turned, and as she expected, Hannah was clapping and smiling at her. Lotte and Akko were too. Sucy just stared blankly, and it was even odds if that was just her usual apathetic look at work, or if she was especially bored with Diana's demonstration.

"That looked really cool!" Akko said, still clapping. She paused, looking at the tree. "But, uh, it doesn't look like anything changed?"

"That is the intent of the spell," Diana replied, walking back to the group. "To the naked eye, the tree looks like it always did. It's only when the target of the spell—in this case, the waddling giverwing—touches the tree, that it will activate."

"Or," Barbara said, walking right next to Diana. "You could manually activate it." Barbara looked to Diana, grinning eagerly. It was easy to see she wanted to show off a little.

Well, it was just one tree, and the effects weren't permanent…

Diana slowly lifted her hands, and Barbara's grin widened as she did the same. As one, they clapped their hands together twice.

There was a flash of blinding white from the tree, and the unmistakable sounds of bark being crunched together, of branches twisting and curling in and a trunk being uprooted. The sounds vanished as quickly as they came, the bright light slowly fading.

And where there was a once a tree, was a now a intricate, magically enhanced cage made of pure wood about half as tall as her. It's design vaguely made Diana think of some of the birdhouses at her manor.

"So cool!" Akko shouted, eyes all but sparkling.

"Yes we are," Barbara said, crossing her arms with a smirk. Diana's mouth tugged up for a moment at the adorably smug look on her face.

"So how exactly is this gonna work?" Sucy said, speaking up for the first time. "None of us"—she pointed at herself, Akko and Lotte—"have much experience with this kind of trapping magic. And if you think Akko somehow learned to do it from just one demonstration, you vastly overestimate her abilities."

"Hey!" Akko shouted. Sucy smirked at her, opening her mouth, but a rather pointed cough from Diana had her looking back at her. And the glare she shot Sucy had one simple message: "Be nice, or else."

Sucy frowned, but at the very least, she didn't add more fuel to the fire. For now.

"To answer your question," Diana began. "While none of you are proficient at this magic yet, myself, Hannah and Barbara are familiar enough with this spell that we can teach you how to properly cast it. So, we'll split up into groups of two, one from each team."

That got all of their attention, even Sucy's. "Wait. We'll be splitting up?" Lotte asked, gesturing at herself and her two friends.

"For the time being, yes," Diana replied. "From there"—she reached into her breast pocket, and pulled out a piece of parchment paper that quickly doubled in length the moment it met open air—"you and your partner will follow this map. All the areas highlighted here," she said, tapping her finger agains the various spots of blue that decorated the map. "Are the trees the giverwing will most likely come to. Hannah and Barbara have their own maps, and to cover the most ground, we'll each be taking different parts of the forest."

Oddly enough, it was Sucy that had the most visible reaction to that. Nothing all that obvious, but Diana saw her stand up a bit straighter, her red eye darting from Akko, and then Diana. Diana raised an eyebrow at her.

Akko, meanwhile, rubbed her chin in thought, eyes squinted. "I mean, I was kinda hoping to learn awesome magic with Sucy and Lotte without splitting up…" She suddenly smiled widely. "But learning with one of you guys should be pretty fun too!" She turned to Lotte and Sucy, pumping her fist into the air. "Let's learn some magic, girls!"

With a shy laugh, Lotte hesitantly pumped her fist into the air. Sucy just stared at Akko, unblinking. Akko stared back, equally unblinking. Then, smile still in place, she slowly reached out, grabbed Sucy's hand, and raised it into the air. "Yay!" Akko shouted.

Sucy grumbled something under her breath.

"So, who's teaching who?" Akko asked, lowering her own and Sucy's hand, and Lotte did the same.

"Akko, you'll be going with Hannah," Diana said. Akko looked a little surprised at that, and so did Hannah. It wasn't that they never interacted just by themselves, but those times were rare. But, when they did, for all that Hannah had a bit of a temper, she got along quite well with Akko.

Akko looked at Hannah for a moment, and then her smile was back and just as wide as before. "I'll be in your care, Hannah!" she said, letting go of Sucy's hand and giving her a quick bow.

Hannah looked a little surprised at that smile being aimed at her. Most likely because she probably remembered her earlier insult to Akko, but Akko didn't seem to either remember or, much more likely, didn't care. She just kept smiling.

Hannah almost shyly looked away, crossing her arms as she muttered, "Just try not to explode anything, Kagari."

"I'll do my best!" Akko saluted Hannah. Then, she let out an awkward cough. "But, uh, you still remember that fire extinguisher spell, right?"

Hannah let out a groan. But, after a moment, she said, "Yeah. And the first aid one."

"Great!"

Lotte giggled, and Sucy looked…surprised? Her eyelid wasn't as droopy as before, and her eye itself was perhaps a bit wider than usual. But if she was surprised at her pairing up Hannah and Akko, Diana didn't know why. Not a second later, the expression was gone, and then she gazed at Diana, and now just looked resigned to an irritating fate.

Barbara walked forward, already smiling as she stared at Lotte. "So I guess I'll go with Lotte—"

"Actually," Diana said. "I'd prefer to be the one to teach Lotte."

That made everyone stare at her. Lotte blinked. Several times. "Me?" She asked.

"Yes." Diana tilted her head. "Is that a problem with you?"

"Wha—no! No, no, of course not!" Lotte was frantically waving her hands, eyes wide. "I, just, was um…surprised?"

Yes, she supposed that was fair. Of all them, Diana arguably interacted the least with Lotte, at least one-on-one, ever since they all started spending time with each other.

"But you're fine with me tutoring you?" Diana asked.

Lotte's face shifted with emotion that came and went to fast for Diana to decipher. But then it settled into nervousness, and she said, "I…yeah, I'm fine with you t-tutoring me But…"

She trailed off, and her eyes went to Barbara.

Diana looked at her friend as well. "Do you mind if I go with Lotte, Barbara?"

"Huh?" Her words seemed to bring Barbara at of her shock, and she blinked at Diana. Then, her eyes went wide. "O-oh, yeah! Yeah, of course you can, Diana!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" She laughed, and smiled at the two of them. "Why wouldn't I be okay with some of my besties hanging out?"

"So, you're perfectly okay with teaching Sucy?"

Barbara froze, and went white as a sheet.

"Ah," Akko said, looking from Barbara to Sucy. "Right."

Sucy gave no visible reaction.

Barbara very much did.

"WHAT!?" She screamed, so loud some of the snow fell off the tree branches. Instantly, she was in Diana's face like she just teleported. "Diana, no, please, not Sucy! I don't wanna know what her magic feels like! It's probably all weird and slimy and horrible and mean and evil and literally poison!"

"Hey," Akko said, and—oh. It was still surprising to see just how fiercely Akko could glare at someone.

"No, no, no," Sucy said, holding up a hand, just as Akko started to stomp towards Barbara. "She's not wrong."

Everyone stared at her with varying levels of concern, and horror.

Except for Barbara, who was still looking at Diana like she just sentenced her to be burned at the stake. "And she'll probably try and use me for some weird experiments or maybe cut me up into little chunks or shave me bald for all the mean stuff I used to say about her!"

"Ooh, that last one's a good idea," Sucy said, wickedly grinning like she was the devil herself. Diana could all but taste the aura of death that came from that grin.

Barbara looked like she was about to cry.

Diana quickly stood in front of Barbara, arms crossed, a stern, unyielding frown on her face. "Sucy, do you promise not to do anything untoward to Barbara should you partner with her?"

Sucy lost her smile. She grumbled something about "ruining her fun," and then rolled her eye. "Look. I have one Guinea Pig. And that"—she pointed a dismissive finger at Barbara, who was now crouching low and hiding behind Diana, tightly gripping her jacket—"sure as hell isn't Akko."

"Language," Diana chastised, tone becoming a bit clipped, and cold. It made it clear she wasn't about to let any more insults to her friends go unpunished.

"Yeah, yeah," Sucy said, and she didn't even bother hiding her annoyance.

"Sucy," Lotte whispered harshly. Sucy glanced at her friend, saw the harsh glare on her face, and after a moment, sighed. She looked back at Diana.

"You still haven't answer the question," Diana said, a touch forcefully.

Another, even bigger sigh left her. She looked past Diana to Barbara, who hid herself even further behind Diana's back. "No. I won't do anything to you, Barbara. If I do, I'd have to deal with an angry Lotte, and a jealous guinea pig. And that's not worth it."

While she very, very much doubted that part about Akko being "jealous", Diana nodded, and turned to Barbara. "Is that acceptable?"

Barbara was still shaking, hesitantly peaking around Diana's hip to look at Sucy. Barbara then made a "come here" gesture with her hand. Diana crouched low, and Barbara leaned close to her ear.

"Diana, why?"

"Barbara, I understand Sucy scares you—"

"Scares me? She terrifies me! She's the scariest witch in the whole school!"

"Yes, she is," Diana said, with no hesitation. "But of the three of us, you're the one Sucy"—Diana wanted to say "like," but that felt too strong of a word; also not sadistic enough—"is the least likely to get into an argument with. Hannah's temper may get the best of her, and my relationship with Sucy is…" Diana was at an even bigger loss to find the right word. "Is still rather rocky despite the progress we've made." Said progress might've been more if Diana could figure out why Sucy sometimes acted more hostile to her for seemingly no reason at all. "Besides, do you really think I'd let her anywhere near you, or anyone for that matter, if she genuinely wanted to hurt you?"

Barbara leaned back, and Diana saw just how pale her face was. "I don't think she needs to hurt me to scar me for life."

…Well, no, probably not.

"But you didn't answer me." Diana raised a confused eyebrow at Barbara. "Why do you want me to go with Sucy? I know you two aren't as close as you are to Akko and Lotte, but you're still way better at dealing with her than me! Do, do you really want to hang out with Lotte that much?"

Ah, that was what she meant.

"I do want to spend time with Lotte quite a bit, yes." Barbara's eyes went incredibly wide, and Diana continued. "There's something I've been concerned about for a while now with her, and today hasn't eased those concerns."

Barbara suddenly looked worried. "I, Diana, is something wrong with Lotte?"

"No, not with her," Diana assured her friend. "And it's nothing terrible, Barbara. In all honesty, I could save them for later, or perhaps even ask you or Hannah to ask Lotte my questions. But…"

"But….what?"

Diana paused. A quick glance over her shoulder saw everyone looking at her with varying expressions. Although, she paid more attention to the confusion in Lotte's eyes behind her glasses. But it wasn't as big as the concern in her blue eyes. She really was a kind girl.

Diana glanced back to Barbara. It took her a moment to put what she was feeling into words.

"I suppose I rather get my answer sooner than later," she said. "And I want to be the one to ask her."

Barbara stared, not saying anything.

Diana frowned, struggling for a second to meet Barbara's gaze. "I know this is a rather selfish request. Especially when I consider how much Sucy likes to scare you and Hannah. If you're genuinely uncomfortable teaching her, I'll go with Sucy and you can go with Lotte, and later have a more serious talk with Sucy about her attitude towards you."

Diana started to stand up. But a gloved hand shout out and grabbed her own. Diana blinked.

Barbara's eyes were locked onto her, none of the fear from before anywhere present.

"Diana…how important are these questions?" she asked.

Still a bit surprised by her intense expression, it took Diana a moment to compose a reply. "Barbara, it's okay, if you don't want to—"

"How important?"

When was the last time Barbara interrupted her? "I can ask them later—"

"But do you want to?" she asked. "Like, you really don't want to wait to ask them, and feel like you need to talk with her as soon as you can. Because that's what it sounds like to me, Diana. It sounds important."

Diana paused. Well…when she put it like that…

She sighed. "Yes, I suppose when you put it like that…" Diana frowned a little. "They are a tad important."

Barbara suddenly rocketed to her feet, taking Diana with her. Diana was so startled that she almost let out a yelp.

"If she Sucy poison and/or kills me, you owe me macaroons from that bakery near your house, that plum tea Akko makes that's really good, and that limited edition Nightfall Volume 23 book we saw when we were shopping!"

Wait, what?

Barbara about-turned and marched towards Sucy. The lack of fear was so surprising that Sucy could do nothing but stare with a somewhat wide eye as Barbara grabbed her hand, and dragged Sucy along as she made her way to a nearby set of trees. "Let's go, Sucy! I'mma teach you how to make a tree into a prison before I have the chance to regret this!"

"That's gonna happen soon if you don't let go."

"I would if I could move my fingers even a little!"

Barbara and Sucy kept marching on, with Sucy ineffectively swatting and Barbara's terror-strengthened grip.

Everyone stared at the two. Diana didn't think anyone, least of all herself, expected this turn.

But still, it was…touching, seeing Barbara put aside her own fears—however exaggerated they may be—just to help her out. She really was loyal to a fault. It made her smile.

"So," Hannah started, tearing her eyes away from Barbara dragging Sucy as she looked to Diana. "I guess that means we should start teaching?"

Diana quickly straightened her back, focusing on the task at hand. "Yes, we should," Diana said, gazing at Hannah and the remaining red team members. Lotte was listening, but Akko was still staring at Barbara and Sucy. At this point, Sucy had reached into her pockets and pulled at a few vials, and Barbara yelped, finally letting go of her hand like it burned her.

Diana politely coughed. "Akko."

Akko startled, and whirled around. "Huh? Sorry, did you say something, Diana?" she asked.

"I was just about to say that we should follow Barbara and Sucy's lead and start practicing." Diana pointed at a nearby section of trees. "It would be best if we practice a good distance away from each other, just in case the spell goes wrong while we work on synergizing with our partner."

"Oh, okay!" Mouth in a wide smile, Akko turned to Hannah. "Let's go and practice on that one over there!" Akko pointed.

Hannah squinted in the general direction. "Which one?"

"The cool one!"

"The what?"

"The cool one!"

"Akko, saying it twice doesn't help me—"

"Ah, she means the one that kinda has a bunch of icicles hanging from it, and that kinda looks like the snow's making a beard on the face," Lotte spoke up.

Hannah blinked, looked back at the trees, and blinked. "Oh, that one?" she asked, pointing at the tree in question.

"Yeah, that one!" Akko said, eyes bright. "I bet it'll make a really cool birdhouse too!"

"It's not a—"Hannah cut herself off. She sighed. "There's no point in arguing, you're just gonna keep calling it a birdhouse, aren't you?"

"Yep! And I mean, it kinda is."

Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Akko, just be sure to be careful practicing," Lotte said, and her tone reminded Diana of a somewhat stern mother. "She's not me or Sucy, so don't expect her to be able to keep up with you as well. Or know when to duck in cover to avoid an explosion."

Hannah quickly muttered something about "Making sure the fire extinguisher's on standby."

"C'mon, Lotte, have a little faith in me!" Akko was pouting a little. "I'm not that dumb, and I promise to be careful with Hannah!"

"I'm just making sure." The expression didn't change on Lotte's face.

"Then why don't you look like you believe me!?"

Lotte sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm just mentally preparing myself for when you, or Sucy, or both of you drag me into trouble." She gave Akko a small, tired-looking smile. "It's basically inevitable, at this point."

She said it like a joke. Akko even giggled like it was one.

Diana didn't. It wasn't all that funny. She stared at Lotte, and wondered if Lotte thought it was funny. Or even a joke.

Akko stepped to Lotte, leaned down, and gave her a big hug. Lotte let out a surprised little yelp.

"You say that like you're not just as big a troublemaker as we are!" Akko said, laughing again. Her lips thinned, and she pulled Lotte away so she could look right at her face. "But, seriously, don't worry, Lotte. Me and Sucy won't cause you or anyone else trouble from here on out! Promise."

Normally, Diana would've taken Akko at her word, especially when she looked genuinely serious. But an entire morning of her and Sucy causing Lotte and all of them trouble had rather drained her faith in Akko maintaining that promise.

Lotte didn't seem to think so though. After a moment of staring, her lips slowly moved into a small smile. "I'll hold you to that, Akko." She nudged her head to the ground. "Also, could you…",

"Oh, sure!" Akko gently put Lotte to the ground. Lotte nodded in thanks, and walked towards Diana, rubbing at her nose slightly. Akko walked to Hannah, who looked a little impatient, and waved to Lotte. "Have fun with Diana, Lotte!"

"I will!" Lotte said, waving back. She turned back to Diana, and once she got close to her, she gave her a polite smile. "So, I guess we should find some trees to practice on, huh?"

Diana spared Akko a glance. Then she looked to Sucy, who was giving a somewhat shivering Barbara a bored stare as her friend talked about something Diana was to far to hear.

"Diana?" Lotte asked.

Diana blinked. "Ah, apologies, Lotte," she said, giving the shorter girl her full attention. Lotte was rubbing her nose again, and was clearing her throat a little. "You're quite right. We should begin now." She crossed her arms behind her back, and did her best to look respectable. "I'll do my upmost best to instruct you."

At the very least, for now, Lotte could rely on her more than she could her own teammates.

"Okay." Lotte smiled. "So what's the first thing we"—Lotte's face scrunched up—"th-that we"—"her nose was twitching—"we—"

Diana lifted a single eyebrow. "Lotte? Is something—"

She didn't finish as Lotte suddenly unleashed a massive sneeze into her gloved hands. A messy sneeze.

Because not only did spittle fly as she sneezed, but when she pulled back her hands, multiple thick, horribly viscous trails of snot connected from her nose to her hands.

Lotte stared at Diana.

Diana did her best not to look throughly disgusted. But she did take a step back.

Lotte suddenly blushed pure crimson, her glasses starting to fog up from the steam she was emitting. "I-I'm so sorry!" She all but screamed, her embarrassment clear even through her nasally, snotty voice. "T-This doesn't—it's allergies!" Another sneeze left her that she just barely covered with her hands, more snot shooting from her nose. "I, they sometimes act up in winter—especially if, if I'm near t-trees l-like evergreens or"—she sneezed again—"cedar trees be-because of the pollen they release an-and I think I saw some around he-here—"

Lotte was sneezing non-stop now, and did so so hard her entire body shook. By the time she stopped, there was even more snot trailing down her face, gloves completely covered in mucus.

This time, despite efforts not to, Diana was sure a bit of revolution leaked into her expression.

Lotte looked like she was going to die from sheer embarrassment, tearing up in way Diana was sure wasn't just because of her allergies.

Diana quickly searched her pocket for her handkerchief. It wasn't that good of a tissue, but she wasn't about to leave the poor girl like this. She'd definitely be putting it in a baggie afterwards though, and would need to remind herself to wash it thoroughly when it was done.

But she didn't even have time to pull out her handkerchief before Lotte's nose twitched again, and Diana froze. Her eyes widened behind her glasses, but before she could even try to stop here, with no time to cover herself and a clear line of sight to Diana, she let out the loudest sneeze she'd made yet.

Right into glowing tissue that was thrust into her face just moments before she did.

Diana blinked. So did Lotte, once the tissue flew off her face. As one, they looked down.

A floating packet of tissues, one that came in a purple plastic with a cartoon drawing of a plum on it, was right in front of Lotte. From the packet, several more tissues suddenly flew out, and rushed towards her face and gloves. Lotte let out a little yelp, moving back in shock, but the tissues followed, cleaning away at the snot on her face, jacket and gloves until they were spotless.

"You okay, Lotte!?"

Diana turned to voice that shouted, and saw Akko, her wand extended and the tip aglow, and with concern shining in her eyes.

"I-I'm fine!" Lotte squeaked out, just as the tissues returned to their packet, and headed to Lotte. She grabbed the from the air, and quickly stuffed them into her pocket. Lotte fiddled with her glasses, her blush fading a little, but her eyes were still on the ground. She was obviously still embarrassed. Diana felt like she should say something to comfort her, but what—

"Lotte, remember that time when I was accidentally made my nose-hairs really big"

What?

Diana looked to Akko. She was pointing at her nose with two fingers. "Remember? I messed up that hair growth potion and it made me look like I had tusks coming out of my nose! Sucy kept calling me a 'Snotty Mammoth!'"

Lotte's head was still hanging low, but going by how she tilted her head, she seemed to be listening.

"And remember when I kept sneezing and got nose-hair everywhere? I was all like"—Akko stuck out her tongue, making "tusks" with her fingers—"'Achoo! Oh no, I got nose hair on your stuff, my bad girls! I didn't mean to—wait, Sucy, where did you get those shears? Why are you getting closer!?' And then she chased me around and around the room with those shears that were just fake ones, but I didn't know that and I was scared out of my mind, and I kept sneezing and snotty nose-hair got just everywhere, especially on my face, and I looked like such a mess! Even more than usual, and that's saying something!"

The reflection from Lotte's glasses hid her eyes from view, but Diana could see her shoulders shaking.

"And I think you got an idea about what must be like now, huh, Ms. Snot Walrus!"

Diana's eyes went wide.

Lotte's shoulders were shaking even more. Diana turned fully to Akko, a scowl tugging at her lips. "Akko, I think you should stop—"

But she didn't finish as a high-pitch laugh interrupted her.

Because Lotte was laughing. Hysterically.

"S-snot walrus!" She said in-between her laughs. She was starting to double over, arms around her stomach. "Th-that shouldn't be so funny! Why is it so funny!?"

"Because it's always easy to laugh at yourself when you're with your friends!" Akko shouted, smiling widely. "I was laughing like crazy after Sucy got my nose-hairs trimmed down, remember! Especially after you said—"

"'D-Don't sneeze next to Ilo, you might blow him out of existence, Ms. Mammoth!'"

"Yep!"

Akko and Lotte were both laughing loudly, seemingly having the time of their lives.

Diana stared at Hannah, who had been looking at Akko with increasing incredulity. When their eyes met, Hannah gave her a helpless little shrug that seemed to say, "I don't know what's going on, but at least they're happy?" Diana felt the same. And she was also wondering who 'Ilo" was.

Lotte adjusted her glasses, wiping away at the tears at her eyes, and a bit of snot that leaked down her nose; she smiled warmly at AKko. "T-thanks, Akko!"

"No problem!" Akko shot her an equally wide smile. The smile faded as she frowned in concern. "But did you take your allergy medicine yet? I think it's about time."

Lotte blinked. "Oh. Oh, right!" She reached into her pocket, sniffling a little, and pulled out a glass, sphere-like dome full of a deep, purplish-red liquid. Sphere-like, because Diana could see it was made up of lattices of tiny little triangles, and with the little indents at the front and the light-green color of the glass, it looked vaguely like the smiling face of Lotte's familiar.

Lotte pulled off a little cap at the stopper located on the top of the glass, and then pulled off the stopper with a little "plink." She frowned in concentration, still sniffling. "How many have I—"

"Four!"

Diana almost startled. Because that shout had come from someone she had never heard raise her voice before.

She didn't even think Sucy could shout.

"You've taken four cups so far!" Sucy shouted again, and behind her, Barbara looked as shocked as Diana felt. "Take another cup, and if you don't feel better in ten minutes, take one more! After that, you can have another shot after an hour has passed. But no more than that!"

Sucy's face wasn't set in her usual disinterest or apathy. With how her visible eye narrowed slightly and the lines under it bunched up, she looked more stern the Diana had seen her in…ever, honestly.

Lotte just smiled at the intense look. She even giggled. "Okay, got it!" Lotte tilted the glass, and poured the liquid into the cup, and once it was full, brought it to her lips and downed it in one gulp. For a moment, there was a little red glow that surrounded her, and when it faded, she took in a big, deep breath through her nostrils.

"Ah," she said, sighing in content. She put the stopper and cup back on the glass, and put it away in her pocket, the same one she put her tissues in. "Much better." She sounded perhaps a tiny bit congested, but still far better than she had perviously, and there was no more snot running down her nose. Lotte turned so that she was facing both Akko and Sucy. "Thanks girls!"

"No problem!" Akko shouted, and Sucy just raised a thumbs up.

And with that, they all turned away, going back to their partners without another word. Akko skipped to Hannah and dragged Hannah away with as she let out a yelp, and Sucy went back to blankly staring at Barbara as her friend boldly met the stare and tried not to shiver under her gaze.

And Lotte approached Diana with a small, shy smile. "S-sorry you had to see that." She laughed, and while it sounded a bit embarrassed, it also seemed genuine. "Guess that was a little gross, huh?

Diana blinked. Not at the question, but more at just what she witnessed. She didn't know why, but there was something about the red teams interaction that felt a bit different than normal. Not in the sense that they helped Lotte, but more that there seemed to be a…deeper meaning, hidden in their words and actions, that she was missing.

But she could analyze that later.

Diana gazed right into Lotte's eyes. It took her a moment to come up with what to say "I've, seen grosser," she said plainly, and had to fight back a wince at her unhelpful that was.

But Lotte just laughed again. "Thanks," she said, and Diana wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Lotte then took out her wand. "So, what's the first thing we should work on, Diana?"

Right. Teaching. She could do that. That was what she actually excelled in.

And hopefully, as she taught Lotte, she'd get a chance to ask Lotte her questions, and would do so without sounding like… her old-self. As in, as Akko had once described her, "a cold jerk." Hopefully, anyway.

She was starting to see firsthand that the bonds of friendship between the red team might be a bit more complex than she first thought. And she hoped she wouldn't accidentally ruin them, or her own with the team, with some carless words.

AN: Hello there! Black Mage here, coming at you with a new story!

This story is pretty special! You see, I recently took part in the LWA Secret Santa gift exchange, where a bunch of wonderful artists and writers join up to write and/or draw Little Witch Academia content asked for by the participants. And I was assigned to make a gift for thewholekittyandkaboodle , who requested something centering the red team with one of the major themes being teamwork. And this gave me the idea to do a character study of the red team through the eyes of Diana!Thus, this story was born, and I teamed up with a good artist friend of mine, Pili, to make the cover!

I tried to get this out by Christmas, but my job got busy, and this story took a life on its own, and what I had planned to be a one-shot turned into a three-shot. But still, I'm sorry for the delay; I'm gonna do my best to get out the next chapter in about a month.

For those of you who follow Envenomation, know that there might be a one/two week delay because this fic has taken up a lot of my free time lately. Again, I'll do my best to get it out soon, but, right now, I'm honestly feeling a bit sick, so I'm not sure how much writing I'll be able to get done.

And with that, these notes come to a close. Don't hesitate to tell me what you liked and/or didn't like about this chapter in the reviews! And if you can, please support me on pa tre on!

Also, in case you didn't know, I recently made a Ko-Fi page, so if you prefer to donate there, you can!

Any donations really help support both myself and my family, and makes it so that I don't have to take so many jobs and gives me more free time to write. This is Black Mage of Phantasm signing off. Peace!