As the referee carried the Grudgby ball back to the launcher, Banshee fans all throughout the stadium found themselves on the edge of their seats. In most cases figuratively. In some overly excited cases, very literally.
What had started as a total, complete failure of a match that had looked utterly doomed, had morphed into a neck-and-neck game right before their eyes. Their abysmal score of absolutely nothing whatsoever in the first half had transformed into twelve points inside a quarter. A practically unprecedented recovery in a game like Grudgby.
Glandus were still winning with sixteen points, and there was only part of one quarter left. Not a lot of time at all. But throughout the entire last quarter, Glandus hadn't been able to score once. Caught off guard as they were now, all they could do was defend, and their defense wasn't as good as their offense.
Skara had been the crux of their original strategy - Take her out, split the team in two, and then just plow right through whatever measly defenses Hexside could put together. But now that she was fighting back, their plan was falling apart. Worse, Skara was using Bard Magic, something no one even really considered worthwhile when it came to Grudgby because of its variety of weaknesses in the sport. But now, Glandus was paying for that. She was forcing them onto the back foot, with no time to come up with a counter-strategy.
A tension filled the air as everyone started to realize that it was possible that if they kept playing like this, Hexside could win. It would be an immense comeback that no one could have foreseen, and there was still every chance that they could still lose. The odds were still against them.
Still, the hope was present.
And one of the most hopeful people in the crowd was WIllow.
Much to her own surprise.
Not all that long ago, she had tried to offer Skara some encouragement after their disastrous first half, to help her push through all the voices from the booing crowd. To offer her, well, something. Even if she didn't know exactly what she could offer.
Prove them wrong. That was what she'd told Skara to do in the end. Give her something to focus on. Prove that she wasn't just this frail thing that everyone seemed to think that she was. That even her own teammates seemed to think she was. That she wasn't this burden that weighed down on people.
It was the same thing Willow told herself now to keep herself going whenever the doubts started to sink in. To prove them wrong.
Since she had stepped back onto the stadium, Skara had done just that.
When she scored the first goal for Hexside, Willow had stood up and cheered alongside the rest of the supporters, and since then, the jeering and mocking had turned into raucous cheers and encouragement. Everyone saw what she was doing, how she was contributing, and how she had helped to stem the tide. No one was mocking her now.
"Dang!" Luz seemed to have changed her own tune on the game as well. Originally, the sheer brutal landslide that Hexside had suffered in the first half had broken even her warm cheer, but now that the game began to go Hexsides way and the Banshee's were fighting back, it had returned, full force. "Skara went from kinda bad to pretty rad fast! It's awesome!"
Amity nodded. The former Banshee captain seemed fairly impressed. "I'll say. Usually a team not scoring in the first half would be a death sentence."
"Unless you grab the rusty Smidge."
"There is a reason they don't use it in official matches."
Willow allowed herself a smirk at that comment.
"Well, hey now." Amelia cleared her throat from the lower bench. "Skara's awesome, don't get me wrong, but the others are doing well too. Cat's been amazing since the game began."
Next to her, Bo hummed. "Yeah. Sure, Skara's getting better, but-"
The sudden sound of flying slop sloshed and whistled, and all the discussion faltered as a pile of purple goop flew through the air and began to block out the sun. Glandus' Gavin stood atop it, like a surfer on the less-skin-blistering sections of the Boiling Sea. It flew to the Glandus goal, and Willow watched it until her eyes caught sight of another two sights; Boscha and Skara.
Both girls had seemingly been forced to the ground by stones that came up from nowhere, one of them on Skara's back! She appeared to be looking up, intact, but Willow couldn't stop herself from immediately thinking of the worst case scenarios.
Oh, Titan, is she alright? Is she -
"WOOOO! THAT'S MY CAT!"
Amelia leapt onto her feet as best she could, while Bo supported her, helping her to wave her sign. The end-of-quarter bell roared.
Willow stood on her seat, trying to get a good look at what had happened with everyone else standing up around her. She looked back to the field, and though the Abomination goo had blocked most of her view of what had happened, as it began to rescind, she could see that Gavin had gone from surfing a large wave of the stuff, to lying on the ground, surrounded by it, clutching his sides, as Cat stood over him, triumphant.
Looking up to the scoreboard, Willow saw the board shift; Now, Hexside was up to thirteen points.
Cat scored. But Skara-
As she looked back on the field, thankfully, Willow's anxieties were put to rest. The Bard had gotten the stone off of her, and now was hugging Cat in celebration. Willow saw the sight, blinked, then laughed. It was good to see that Skara was okay.
"AND THAT'S THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER FOLKS! WITH SKARA'S CONTRIBUTIONS HELPING TO SUDDENLY TURN THE GAME AROUND, CAN THE BANSHEE'S CLAIM THIS ONCE IMPOSSIBLE VICTORY?!"
Willow looked back onto the field, seeing Skara looking out at the crowd, waving. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost swear that Skara was looking directly at her.
There was something so… weird about their relationship, Willow thought to herself, in what she had to call a bit of a bizarre moment of clarity. After a lifetime of Skara encouraging Boscha's bullying and participating in it, all of those walls had been broken down over the past few weeks. Underneath it, Willow discovered someone who just… Someone who needed to learn what an actual friend was.
Both of them had been through a lot, Willow pondered as the Grudgby players ran up to their positions, ready for the next round. Finding her under the stairs at Hexside, the Witch Trap, the Cabin, and all the way up to now. It was hard to go through all of that without feeling like they understood one another better now.
None of that meant that Willow had to feel happy at the sight of Skara doing well though, she knew. Everything that had happened throughout their lives still happened. She didn't have to be okay with that.
But, here she was. And she was okay with that.
As the players got themselves ready for the next round, Skara and Boscha discussed something briefly, before Boscha took up her place. Skara took her own space, but seemed… Willow couldn't quite tell. Distracted? Some sort of strategy disagreement or something, Willow assumed.
Everything that happened next happened quickly.
Willow kept her eyes on Skara as she lunged for the ball, rushing it down the field. She gasped when Skara tripped over a sudden rock formation, the ball flying from her hands. She internally rooted for Skara to pick herself from the ground, to take back the ball and prove everyone wrong.
She watched as Skara did pick herself up, and ran like the wind across the stadium towards-
The ball. That was now right in front of Willow.
For a moment, everything seemed to just slow down to a crawl as Willow's brain registered exactly what was happening. While she had focused on Skara, the Grudgby ball had been sent hurtling towards her, with a force and speed hard enough to leave an impact.
It had shot past Cat, who had also turned to follow its trajectory, and seemed to realize what was going on too. At a mere glance, it looked like the ball had been shot with too much force, that it was a pass that had had too much force thrown into it, and was going to miss its mark.
But Skara wasn't the one who had thrown it, and nor was Cat. That meant Boscha had-
Just beyond the field of view Willow had, she could see Boscha. And there wasn't even a moment's doubt in her mind. Boscha hadn't missed. She was right on target.
Willow's body started to lurch back. She tried to raise her hands to protect her face, but they just stayed rooted to the seat, her body flinching before she could react. She couldn't stop the ball, she-
From nowhere at all, and just before the point of no return, Skara appeared. A loud crack followed, the sound of the ball impacting the Bard. She had jumped, blocking the ball just before it hit the stands.
Skara had protected Willow.
Time resumed its normal speed - Willow's body continued to lurch backwards. She found her back pressing against her seat, but her body continued to reel back, even though it had nowhere to go. A gust of wind that she had to assume was from the ball suddenly hit her. For a moment, she found that she wasn't able to move.
Everything just felt very, very still.
Her eyes were wide open, and her brain had to take a moment to just… process what had just happened.
"...What-"
"WILLOW!"
Her friends finally seemed to register what had just happened themselves, and all of them realized just how close the ball had come to hitting Willow. Immediately, they all crowded around her.
"Are you alright, Willow?!" Without thinking, Luz grabbed hold of Willow's face, and started to tilt her head, inspecting the whole thing for any sort of damage. "Did anything hit you?"
"Luz!" Amity interjected, taking Luz's hands off of Willow's cheeks. "Don't just grab her like that!"
"Sorry, sorry, I just-"
"What happened?!" Gus asked, apparently just as confused as Willow was. "I didn't see it, what-"
"Hold on, I can help!" Bo said, climbing over her seat to join Willow's row. "Tell me where it hit you and I can-"
"GUYS!" Willow shouted. With everyone around her like this, she felt trapped, crammed inside a tiny bubble. Almost immediately, she felt bad about it though. "Guys… sorry, but… what just happened?"
She wasn't entirely certain what she was asking. She knew what had happened. At least, what events had occurred. The only thing she could think was that she was asking for an… Explanation.
Although, no one in the stands could really provide one of those.
"Boscha overshot the ball."
Amelia's voice. Willow turned to see her lab partner staring out into the stands. Her eyebrows were furrowed, like she was trying to make sense of what had just happened herself.
"She must have been aiming for Cat, but she… it went for the stands and…"
Her voice wavered, as if a part of her knew she was lying. As if a part of her knew what she was saying was wrong.
As if a part of her didn't want to admit Boscha had just attempted to throw that Grudgby ball at her face.
"What?" Gus was the first one to react, and his voice was rising. "It was Boscha? That-"
"WAIT, WHAT'S THIS?" The announcer's voices finally returned to Willow's ears, and the mutterings and murmurs of the crowd followed suit. Willow looked past her friends, back onto the field.
Willow realized that everyone's eyes were directly on Skara. She had the ball in her hands, and she… She wasn't playing anymore. She was just stood there. There was a brief moment where she looked back towards the stadium, towards Willow. Then, she looked back towards Boscha.
Then, she dropped the ball. And began to walk.
"SHE… She's throwing the ball down? And… and stomping off the field? Wait, she's heading out of the stadium? Can someone explain this strategy to me?"
"There is no strategy. Only the Banshee's defeat at their own cruel hands."
"Well… that's depressing."
"I do get that a lot."
Willow just… sat, for a moment. Her brain needed the moment to just make sense of everything, because everything was happening at once and everything around her was making noise and she felt cramped by everything and she just -
"Oh."
Was all she said, before she made herself stand up.
"I um, I think I'm going to get some fresh air."
Luz blinked. "We're… already outside?"
Rather than replying, Willow just shrugged, before scooting her way towards the stairways, attempting to avoid the legs of fellow Hexsidians mumbling about what just went down. "I'll er, see you guys later."
"Wait, hold on." Luz said. "We can come with you if-"
"I'm fine." Willow said, quickly and as firmly as she could bring herself to be. "Thanks, But I'll be fine."
"Willow-"
Mercifully, as she scooted away, Willow saw that Amity had grabbed hold of Luz's wrist. Amity gave the Human a look that said 'Please don't. Just leave her to it.' And though it didn't seem like Luz was happy about it, she retook her seat, and didn't press any further.
"...Just message us when you're ready." Gus called. Willow gave him a thumbs up, but didn't say a word.
Her friends were concerned - And she was grateful for that, really, she was. Luz always insisted on helping if she could, and her friends would always leap to her defense, and Willow appreciated it but she just -
Right now, she just… Didn't need that. She didn't want that. What she wanted right now was to be on her own.
Because for the first time in a while, she really did not feel safe here.
Skara hadn't planned anything out. How could she? She hadn't known Boscha was going to go this far. She didn't think she'd be this spiteful. She couldn't have imagined something like that, even when Boscha was at her worst.
Here she was though. And Skara was furious.
When she passed a trash-can, she ripped off her Grudgby armour and threw it in without a second thought. The chest armour flew over her head, her shoes were kicked off vigorously, and her kneecaps and gloves were ripped at the seams. It had all been practically new, all of it fairly high quality, and now, it had been discarded, thrown in with such a force it nearly knocked the trash-can over.
Next, she stormed the nearest restroom, walked to the nearest sink, turned the faucet to full blast, and splashed water onto her face, rubbing it in as deep as she could. It was cold as ice but she didn't care. All that mattered was removing as much of this stupid 'war paint' from under her eyes as possible.
As she finished, she looked at herself in the mirror. She knew she looked like a complete and utter mess; mascara ran down her cheeks, her eyeliner was just black circles, and her foundation was dripping like sweat off her face.
But the 'war paint' was gone. And in that moment, that's all Skara cared about.
Leaving, and making her way down one of the corridors, she reached the locker room proper. She all but threw the doors open, marched to her locker and tickled it. It took a few tries, since her fingers were clumsy and her anger made her apply more pressure than necessary. But eventually, its mouth opened, and Skara grabbed her duffle bag, pulling it out with enough force that, had it got caught on the teeth, would have ripped the bag wide open.
Again, Skara didn't care.
She changed quickly, switching back into the only clothes she had in her dufflebag - Her school uniform. Skara hadn't thought that she'd want to be out of this Grudgby uniform quite as badly as she did right now. Her school uniform was dirty, hadn't been cleaned, or even removed from the duffel bag since yesterday's classes, and she could not physically care less about it at this particular moment. She threw the shorts and shirt into the locker. If nothing else, they'd work for gym class.
That's it, Skara thought. That's all. The armour. The makeup. The outfit. Everything.
I'm done with all this.
She slung her bag over her shoulder, turning to the door.
Done with Grudgby.
She marched on towards the exit.
Done with Glandus.
She reached a hand to the doorknob.
Done with Bos-
She froze.
Boscha…
How long had they been friends for? A decade? Almost, at least. She'd been a part of Skara's life for as long as she could remember. Through thick and thin. Through the best and worst of both their lives. Even if Boscha wasn't always… the best, she was still Skara's closest friend, right? Skara couldn't just…
The memories of how long they'd been around one another clashed with the ball of sheer anger that Skara felt. She was absolutely livid with her beyond words, but at the same time, could she really just…
Maybe… maybe we can talk this out. She's my friend, right? Maybe she'll understand that this all went too far. I'm sure she'll understand.
"Boscha, calm down!"
Skara stopped. That was Cat's voice, out in the hallway.
And as she listened closely, she heard loud, heavy, angry footsteps.
"Oh, she is so DEAD!"
There was a brief moment where Skara felt a surge of panic sweep through her, where she felt trapped in this room. She stepped back from the door, and froze up.
"Look, maybe you should just breathe. Try to relax, don't-"
"WE LOST!"
That yell was so loud, Skara could hear the reverberations that echoed throughout the hallway, even behind a closed door.
"WE LOST, AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE SKARA HAD TO BE A BABY AND JUST LEAVE! And why, oh WHY did she leave? Because she THREW OFF MY SHOT!"And just like that, the surge of anxiety was gone.
"She's too terrible a player to actually win, so she just had to fake some accidental wind blow to throw that stupid ball off course!"
"Uhm… I'm not sure that-"
"Oh JUST SHUT UP CAT!" Boscha was snapping behind the door like a cornered animal: pure, instinctual anger at everything around her.
"It did fly above my head, you know. I saw what happened." Cat carried on, apparently not all that intimidated either. "You were aiming pretty high for a low-shot, Boscha. Nevermind Skara, if it had gotten into the crowd-"
"WELL IT DIDN'T" Boscha's indignity, her resentment and rage… And the outright lies. It angered Skara in a way that it never had before.
Skara tightened her grip around the duffel strap. This wasn't just a one off incident. Boscha tried this stuff before. Tried to hurt people, tried to break them in all ways she could. Her first thought went to that day Luz had challenged her to a Grudgby match, and then surrendered before anything happened, and Boscha just took advantage and attacked someone who couldn't fight back.
Skara had just stood by and watched it happen. Watched as Boscha delighted in attacking a girl who had dared to stand up to her. She had tried to not think about it too much. Luz had made the deal and failed to keep it after all. And it's not like Boscha would-
Now, Skara wished more than anything she'd done something back then, too.
Because Skara knew, honestly, that Boscha would keep doing it.
And maybe this wouldn't be happening now if she had said something then.
The doorknob began to turn. Skara grasped her dufflebag's straps tighter. .
The doors flung open with enough force to almost throw the door off its hinge. "I swear to the TITAN, the next time I see… her, I WILL-"
"You'll what?"
Boscha's eyes fell onto Skara. A complete set of emotions flashed over Boscha's face - Surprise, confusion, hurt and disbelief. Like she didn't quite register what she had just heard, or what she was seeing in front of her now.
Behind her was Cat, who looked just as surprised, if not as offended. Though Skara couldn't tell if she was more surprised by her standing there, or by her standing her ground.
No one moved. For what felt like a solid century, Skara and Boscha simply stared each other down, as if breaking their silence, their stillness, would be a sign of failure, of a weakness so strong and obvious the other could lunge at it, destroy it right there.
Of the two of them though, Boscha broke first.
"THREE POINTS!"
Anger finally made its presence known on Boscha's expression. Her face went a dark shade of red, her eyebrows furrowed, and she bore her teeth wide and clear as day. She stormed towards Skara, towering over the Bard. From Skara's perspective, she also towered over the lockers, and somehow even the whole room.
She didn't flinch.
"BEFORE YOUR LITTLE STUNT," Boscha continued, "WE WERE ONLY BEHIND BY THREE POINTS!" She leaned in close, and Skara had to yield some ground as Boscha came so close that hot, ragged breath could be felt against her skin. Through gritted teeth, her voice lowered, "Do you know how many points we just lost by?"
The words came out questioning, but the bitterness and barely restrained urge to just lash out was clear.
Even if Skara had planned on saying anything, Boscha yelled again before she even got the chance.
"THIRTY! WE LOST BY THIRTY FREAKING POINTS!" Boscha took a finger and jabbed it into Skara's collarbone with such force it made Skara involuntarily stagger back. "We were SO CLOSE! We almost had it! We could have won! And because of YOU, we got absolutely FLATTENED!"
"Hey!" Cat stepped in. "Sure she left, but she was ALSO the reason you got your score that high in the first-"
"I didn't ASK YOU!" Boscha turned on her heel and yelled. "Stay out of this!"
"Don't talk to her like that."
All eyes returned to Skara.
"What?"
"I said, don't talk to her like that."
It wasn't loud, at all. Skara was literally too angry to even raise her voice. It felt like something was tugging at her, stopping her from raising it any louder. She spoke like she normally would, but the weight behind what she said, and how she said it, commanded attention. This wasn't the first time Skara had disagreed with her or tried to keep her in line, but this was the first time that Boscha actually looked like she was paying any attention.
Finally, she let out a dry laugh. The sort of laugh that made Skara wish she was deaf. "You're going to tell me what to do after that display? Now that's tough. And where was all that out on the field just now, huh? Maybe then you wouldn't have felt the need to run all the way back here-"
"Maybe I wouldn't have if you hadn't tried to attack Willow!" This time, Skara did raise her voice.
Again, Boscha looked surprised. Cat didn't, though she did look like she was wincing at what Skara had just said - Like she expected Boscha to flip because Skara had just said the quiet part out loud.
"What." Boscha gritted her teeth again. "What in the Titan's Mercy are you-"
"Do you actually think I'm stupid, Boscha?" Skara asked, one part infuriated, and the other legitimately asking. "You were trying to hit Willow with the ball!"
"What are you BABBLING on about?!"
"You were going to hit her because of what I said to you on the field!"
"You have no idea what you're -"
"I didn't imagine what I saw, Boscha! I didn't imagine where the ball was going to hit! When I blocked it, I didn't imagine who I was trying to block your ball from hitting, and I sure didn't imagine the impact! And if you had any spine at all, you wouldn't be lying about it right now!"
"So now you're accusing me of lying?!"
"It's not much of an accusation when I know for a FACT that's what you were trying to do!"
"You really wanna do this?" Boscha growled. Her hands balled up into fists, and for a second, Skara actually expected Boscha to try to hit her. "You really wanna do this over Half-a-Witch-"
"Don't you DARE call her that!"
"Again with her!" Boscha threw her hands into the air. "What? You get trapped with her for one day on a mountain, you chat at the food court, and suddenly, you two are the best of friends?"
"She barely even talks to me, and she's STILL been a better friend to ME than YOU'VE been in YEARS!"
Boscha's expression turned incredulous, insulted. "You-"
"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean." She raised a finger, jabbing Boscha right back in the collarbone with every word she put emphasis on. "I have put up with everything you've thrown at me for years! Just in the last few weeks alone, you left me on my own after Ves and I broke up, I got lost on the Knee and you didn't help at all and you force me to do the most absurd stuff to train for this stupid game that you know I don't even LIKE!"
"Hey, I gave you a day off when Ves broke up with you!"
"Yeah. You did. You also told EVERYONE ABOUT IT!"
Silence.
"...Who told you that?"
That was it. The final nail in the proverbial coffin.
"I knew it." Skara said, quietly, and more to herself. Then she spoke louder. "I knew it. You really do think I'm an idiot, don't you? You were the only other person close enough to hear when it happened, Boscha, and then rumors started spreading about it? What, am I supposed to think that Ves started them himself?" .
"Well, it was a slow day, not much else to talk about, I thought telling one person wouldn't-"
"Every time I made the connection in my head I forced myself not to think about it because for some reason, I thought that just maybe, you'd have a bit more class than that! But no!"
And the worst part? She knew it was Boscha the entire time. She'd always known. Who else could it be? But because she always tried to see the best in Boscha, she forced herself not to admit it.
Finally, Skara felt herself let out a bitter laugh. Now, all she could do was feel her blood boil.
"You humiliated me. We're supposed to be friends, and you humiliated me because you couldn't think of anything better to do!? What in the Titan's Name is WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Another moment of silence passed. Skara was still riled up - She hadn't even said a tenth of the things she could drill into Boscha for, and her head was a jumbled mess with all of them. Things that happened years ago, that always present scale that weighed against Skara, or anyone else in favour of Boscha. Of what she wanted, rather than what anyone else around her wanted. And Skara wanted nothing more than to just throw it all out there at once. Shout until her throat was raw, until there was nothing left to say.
Boscha took a deep, unnerving breath, before placing a hand onto Skara's shoulder. "Look… it's been a long day. A long day, for everyone."
Look… Maybe friendship isn't just… about being powerful or the top or whatever.
Skara remembered something.
"Things got heated, everyone's made some mistakes…"
Maybe it's about caring for each other, about helping build each other up without any power dynamic stuff involved.
"So I suggest we all just take the rest of the day off and meet back up Monday." Boscha's words, and the fact she said them in an almost calming way, sounded almost reasonable. Almost underhandedly so. As if all of this was Skara just being overly emotional. As if Skara just needed more time to clear her head, to let all her frustration and rage subside. As if all this came down to Skara's actions, and not Boscha's.
But Skara recognized what Boscha was doing and what she was really saying. Because she remembered the cabin. And what Willow had said.
Maybe it's about more than just social hierarchies and the like.
Willow had been right.
All of the things that were spinning around inside Skara's head suddenly just vanished. She was still furious about all of them, but yelling them right now, to Boscha, like this - It wouldn't matter. Because Boscha wasn't going to change, even if she laid everything out bare.
"I've tried, Boscha. I've tried… so, SO hard." Skara's eyes left Boscha's for the first time. "I've tried to be there for you. And to help you. Because I cared." She glanced back up, but this time with a well deserved glare, shooting daggers at Boscha. " When was the last time you cared about anyone but yourself?"
That finally broke Boscha.
"How. DARE you?" She shook, really shook, with a rage even Skara was surprised by. "After EVERYTHING. After Amity left us, after I have to work to single handedly keep us at the top of the school? You're gonna accuse me of not caring? Of being a bad friend because I actually know how this school functions, know how we're supposed to act, to stay on top?"
"Maybe I don't want to be on top anymore!"
Skara grabbed Boscha's wrist, lifted it off of her shoulder, and all but threw it off of her.
"I'm done, Boscha." She declared. "I'm. Done."
"Everyone's going to hate you."
Skara froze. Boscha's voice was low, but it had all the resentment and anger as any of her yelling.
"You forget that detail? We just lost one of the biggest games of the season because to everyone else, you cost me a shot and stormed off. What d'you think is gonna happen?"
Boscha was right. Skara knew that by Monday, even Hexside's least school-spirited students would be jeering her. She'd be a target. A monster to be loathed and mocked.
She'd be like what Willow had been for the longest time.
"You stay here? We can hug it out, like… friends. And I'll tell everyone Gavin or that cat…demon… thing, cast some mind control spell on you or something. Who knows? If that's illegal, maybe we can get the win back on a technicality." There was an almost sing-songy quality to Boscha's voice. A forced, hideous noise that sent shivers up Skara's back. "But you leave?" And there again was Boscha's natural anger. "And we're done. You're done. Our friendship, your reputation, everything we've worked towards? Gone."
Skara turned her head. Boscha's arms were open, like she was inviting her in for a hug. But her face harbored a look nearing then she looked beyond Boscha.
Cat had stayed silent throughout much of the argument, and had even taken a few steps back from the two of them. But to Skara, she nodded. And there was the slightest hint of a smile on her face.
Then, she thought to Willow. To the kind of person she was. The kind of person she had pushed herself to protect throughout all of this.
"I told you Boscha. I'm done."
And then, she turned and walked out the door. Still angry, still frustrated, and unsure what in the world she was going to face when it came to the rest of Hexside.
But she managed to do it with a smile.
Willow sat on a knee high wall, attempting to clear her head of just… whatever in Titan's name just happened.
Every couple of minutes, she felt a pang of anxiety clutch at her chest, and she took the deep breaths that her dads had taught her as a child, counting the number of seconds on her hand.
One, two, three, four.
Before exhaling, putting the fingers down as she did so.
Four, three, two, one.
Still, no matter how much she breathed, the image Boscha's Grudgby ball being thrown at her face stuck in her mind.
Maybe anxiety wasn't the right word. Anxiety was there, sure, but that wasn't all there was.
Boscha wanted to hit me. During a game! She hates me THAT MUCH?
What was she thinking? Of course Boscha did.
Her mind strayed from Boscha's latest attack down a long procession of moments from her past. All of them with Boscha mocking her, belittling her, laughing at her.
Half-a-Witch Willow can't even make a little Abomination! Guess not even goop wants to be her friend!
You really thought you had a secret admirer? HA! Priceless.
Weak little Half-a-Witch Willow, can't even handle-
Willow smacked her hands over her ears and gritted her teeth. "No, no. I'm not going down that road again."
Honestly, what was really getting to Willow more wasn't even the idea of the ball hitting her. It would have been awful and it would have hurt, but that wasn't even the worst Boscha had done. At least the ball wasn't on fire this time.
What upset her was the shattering of safety. Even with Boscha leading the team, she thought she could just go to the games and have fun cheering for Hexside. She loved to support the school and she loved watching the sport. And Boscha had always seemed dedicated enough to the game to keep herself during a match. Willow never thought Boscha would try anything during a league game of all places. And even if she did, certainly not like this. Boscha had always been petty, but this was a whole new level.
What was she supposed to even do about it? Tell Principal Bump? He'd never clamped down on this sort of thing before. Why would he start now? And it would come down to her word against Boscha's. It always did.
And even putting that aside, what really got to Willow, more than anything else, was that she hadn't even been able to defend herself. She had just sat there, completely oblivious to what was happening.
That ball would have smacked her square in the face if not for Skara's interference. No one else was close enough to see the ball was going at the wrong angle until it was too late. If not for Skara, she'd have been hit for sure.
Luz told me I'm one of the strongest Witches she knows. But what could I do to stop Boscha's attack, or the spider at the Knee! Skara saved me both times, and she didn't even need magic this time!
The Bat Queen, the Basilisk, Grom, Luz getting captured by Lilith. Every time, I should have been able to do… do so much more! Do something!
And I COULDN'T!
It wasn't anxiety that was getting to her - It was anger.
Anger at herself for being so useless during all the moments. When it really mattered, when push finally came to shove, when she had to actually do something. Everyone around her, they always said that she had that strength, and there were even times when Willow believed it herself, and felt like she had proven it to herself - But so many times over the last few months, she just couldn't do it!
What good was any of her supposed strength or skill or anything if she couldn't use it when it mattered most? What good was it if her reaction time wasn't good enough, or if she flinched, or if anything else got in the way? What good was it if she couldn't even keep a ball from hitting her in the face?
Willow grit her teeth. She felt herself growing more self deprecating, more self destructive. All her feelings of failure, all her self loathing, her weakness. All boiled down to a single stupid ball.
No, Willow, don't keep thinking those things. Try to calm yourself, okay? Just keep breathing.
She removed her hands from her head, tried to relax. She did her breathing exercises once. Twice. A third time.
And it helped. But only a little…
As she set foot outside the player entrance to the stadium, Skara took a deep breath of glorious, terrible, stuffy, humid, foul smelling air. Even just a minute after the end of her breaking off her friendship with Boscha, Skara could feel herself becoming… Weirdly rejuvenated.
Like she had pulled out a splinter in her hand - It had hurt, and pulling it out had also hurt, and it still hurt now, but it was already starting to heal. Like it was something she should have done a long, long time ago.
The world seemed bigger, the sun brighter, the breeze cooler. Stepping out of the locker rooms almost felt like stepping into a whole new realm.
Until she was reminded that everyone hated her.
"That stupid Bard!"
Skara blinked at the angry gaphowing of a nearby Grudgby fan. Putting herself against the wall of the stadium to hide in the shadows, she peeked around the corner to spot the people talking about someone that she could safely assume was her. Her suspicions proved correct, as she saw two Hexside students, walking out of the stadium in a huff. One was a girl Skara had seen around, an Abomination student with comically oversized horns on either side of her head. The other was a fellow Bard; a one eyed goat Demon with a much smaller horn on his forehead.
"Hey, don't look at me," the goat mumbled. "We don't claim her in our track."
Well, that's… a bit harsh.
"I can't believe we lost. Stupid Skara, ruining our stupid sport."
It made sense, Skara supposed. She'd dragged them all on a roller coaster ride of emotions, from resigning to failure to joyous underdog victory to what to them looked like a complete betrayal. And also failure. They didn't know what had happened, and there was no way they were going to take Skara's word for it, so, that was what made sense to them.
Making sense or not though, that didn't mean she felt like dealing with those people. Especially not now.
I should probably try to blend in a little, just to be safe.
She pulled her uniform's hood up over her head. It managed to cover up most of her hair, though she had to mess with the ponytail a little to make it all fit and not look too conspicuous to anyone passing by her. It was no Illusion Stone, but it would probably keep her hidden until she got away from the school at least.
Right. Now, to make my way out of here and-
Her train of thought crashed, along with her physical form, as she tried to walk away, and instead collided with someone.
"Oof! Hey, watch where- OH AMELIA!" Skara realized rather quickly that she'd crashed into the very Grudgby player she'd replaced. She laid sprawled out on her back, crutches on either side of her as she groaned. Thankfully Bo was right beside her, leaning over to lift the poor girl up, as Skara scrambled over to help. "I am SO sorry, really, Ame, I-"
"Pft, it's fine, it's fine." Amelia waved Skara's apology off. "Don't worry. Only cracked about two of my ribs. Ow." She looked towards the auburn grass. "But, uh, can you do me a favor and pick, er, that up for me? I, er, can't."
She kicked towards where one of her crutches had been lying, and as Skara looked, she spotted… a bouquet? Like, a full blow assortment of the least deadly plants the Boiling Isles had to offer? It looked beautiful, each flower seemingly chosen to make it all appear as beautiful as possible.
Well, looks like Cat's not the only helpless romantic here.
"Aww, for me? You shouldn't have." Skara joked. .
"U-Um, a-actually-"
Skara just laughed, picking the bouquet up before handing them back to Amelia. "I'm kidding, don't worry. You better not let Boscha see you with these, though. She'd… probably snap them in half right about now."
Amelia let out a chuckle. A dry, humourless chuckle, with a hint of nervousness. " Ha, she, uh, probably would, wouldn't she."
"Oh, don't worry. You're one of her star players." Bo rolled her eyes. "Worst she'll do is force you through the ringer of an endless parade of petty and stupid attempts at so-called 'Grudgby practice' that may well break the rest of your ribs."
Her tone suggested that Bo was not, in fact, a particularly big fan of Boscha today. That was reassuring to Skara, at least. She didn't have to worry about Bo being upset with her over what happened.
"Pretty much, yeah." Skara nodded, and then paused. "I er… actually just got done dealing with her."
"How er…" Amelia stammered for a moment. "...How mad is she, exactly?"
"Extremely." Skara said, flatly. "Extremely, extremely mad."
"I er… I might wait a few minutes before going in, then."
"Probably a good idea, to be honest."
"She's probably going to be upset for the next week." Bo muttered. "Losing, and… That whole thing." She shook her head. "I wouldn't want to be either of you for the next few days."
"I'm just gonna give her a wide berth for a bit." Amelia shrugged.
"And I'm done with it, anyway." Skara said.
Bo blinked. "Done with what, exactly?"
"All of it.." It felt… Weird saying it out loud, to other people. "We're done. I'm not on the team any longer, and I'm not her friend anymore."
"Oh… Wow!" Amelia looked genuinely surprised. She'd been part of Boscha's crew for a far shorter time than Skara had been. To see it was Skara who snapped and left first clearly surprised Amelia. She didn't seem entirely sure how to react. "Oh. Well… congrats, I… guess?"
"Yeah!" Bo seemed more enthused at Skara's statement, gingerly punching her in the arm. "Way to go, Skara!"
Skara rubbed where the Healer had punched. "Thanks. I uh, should probably get going though. If Boscha catches me out here, I uh… probably don't want that."
Amelia furrowed her brow. It had taken her a few seconds to process what Skara had said, but now she was looking a bit more determined. "Yeah. I wanted to give her a piece of my own mind, actually. I know she's always been a bit of a jerk to Willow, but I didn't think she'd ever do something like that-"
"Do either of you know where Willow is?" Skara asked, suddenly, cutting her Plant Track friend off before she had even finished speaking. She realized what she had done though, and stopped herself. "Sorry, just, I saw you two were in the stands next to her and I…"
Are you okay?
"...I wanna see if she's okay."
Bo blinked. She glanced towards Amelia, and then back at Skara. "I, well, we did see her on the way over here but, she told us that-"
"Got it!" Skara nodded. From the stadium to here, there was only really one path that one could take, and somehow, Skara had a feeling she knew where Willow had ended up. She waved goodbye as she stepped away "Later guys! Good luck asking Cat out!"
Amelia turned a glorious shade of scarlet and sputtered. "I, er, what-"
"...That she wanted to be on her own. I should have opened with that." Bo finished, to no-one in particular. She then sighed. "Good luck, I suppose."
But Skara didn't hear as she ran off, into the crowd of everyone leaving the stadium.
You spent weeks trying to make sure I was alright every chance you could, just because.
Now I guess it's my turn to return the favour.
Okay, I… think I'm doing better.
Willow had remained seated on the wall for who knew how long, finally finishing what had to be her hundredth breathing exercise at least. Thankfully, it seemed to be working. Her nerves were a lot less jittery, her mind more at ease. She still wasn't perfectly calm, but at least she was verging on 'Okay'.
She sighed. This was probably the best she was gonna feel for a while. Might as well savor it.
"Jeez, what a great big flop that was!"
Well, that didn't last long.
Looking back to the stadium, a crowd was beginning to pour out, a very obvious split in emotions between the two schools: Glandus gloating and smug, Hexside deflated and bitter.
So, looks like Hexside lost, huh?
"There's a reason that kid was an alternative."
"It was nice of that girl to just give up for us."
Feeling her face scrunch up in frustration, Willow also felt her teeth starting to grit together. These jerks, gloating and mocking Skara. They didn't know what had actually happened. She was just-
She was just trying to protect me.
She put her head into her hands and sighed. A thought had occurred to her, and it didn't help her mental state in the slightest. "Great. Skara's gonna get herself bullied throughout the school, and it's all my-"
A tap on her shoulder.
"Pst!"
"GAH!"
Willow squealed and jumped off the wall in shock, surprised to be so ripped out of her thoughts. As she landed, she felt a sudden shift in the ground beneath, followed by a shrill scream. Looking back up, she saw why - one of her vines had grabbed them by the ankle, and pulled them up so they were dangling upside down.
When she saw who it was, Willow blinked. "What the - Skara?"
"Er, yeah. Hey." She almost looked nonplussed about being dangled upside down, scream aside. She put a finger to her lips "But uh, don't say that too loud, please?"
Looking back to the crowd of grumbling sports fans, too caught up in their own frustrations to notice the girl who was dangling upside down, Willow agreed it was probably best not to mention it.
Quickly, she recalled the vine, so that it dropped Skara - in an admittedly undignified way. She just collapsed onto the ground unceremoniously. The Bard quickly scrambled onto her feet, hopped over the wall, and sat down next to Willow, so that the wall blocked them both from view.
There was a brief, awkward moment of silence between the two of them. Both of them understood what had happened back during the match, and they both knew that the other did as well, so there wasn't any point in bringing it up. But then again, what were they supposed to say to one another?
There were half a dozen questions Willow wanted to ask, but didn't know how she was supposed to ask them. And Skara had wanted to make sure that Willow was alright, but now that she was here, she found that basically every thought that she had had on the way over here had completely dried up.
Of the two of them though, Skara was the first one to find their voice.
"...Interesting place to go." She said. When Willow looked at her blankly, she elaborated, "I mean, like, y'know. Last time we were here, you were the one looking for me."
Taking a second to poke her head over the wall and look around, Willow realized that Skara was right - This was the same place that they had spoken not too long ago. Where she had told Skara to 'Prove them wrong'.
And she had certainly done that.
"I… didn't even notice." Willow said, honestly, slumping back against the wall.
"Ah. Right. So, er… Are you, like… okay?"
Willow blinked. Her mind immediately jumped back to the cabin on the Knee, where the situation had been reversed. She allowed herself the smallest of smiles. "Yeah. I'm… okay."
She couldn't quite make it out because Skara's hood was in the way, but Willow thought she spotted a small twitch of a smile on her lips. "That's good. I was… worried."
"...Thanks. I… Thanks."
Then, she saw Skara's silver eyes narrow, and her eyebrows knit together. "I'm er… guessing you didn't stay in the stadium?"
"...No." Willow shook her head.
"Makes sense. But… What're you still doing here? I mean, aren't you worried about running into Boscha or something?"
Silently, Willow pursed her lips. Right now, the last thing that she wanted was anyone knowing that she had just spent the last however long just sitting here, getting angrier and angrier with herself. In a brief moment of clarity, she wondered if this was how Skara had felt when she was the one asking her if she was okay all the time .
"Well, I… had to see how Hexside did, didn't I?"
Skara peaked out at the crowd of people who no doubt wanted her head. "Well, from what Boscha said, we lost."
"Er… yeah, looks like it."
"Sounds like it, too." Skara rolled her eyes, and sat back down. "Looks like everyone is gonna hate me on Monday."
"I uh… I'm sure not everyone does. There were probably a couple of students who didn't come to the game."
"As if they won't hear from the ones who are here." Skara shook her head. "It's fine. I don't…" She stopped, confusion evident on her face, as if what she wanted to say wasn't quite registering. She just stood for a second, trying to think of what to say.
Then, she chuckled. A hearty, surprisingly happy, chuckle.
"I guess I just don't care anymore."
Willow felt an eyebrow raise. "Really?"
"There you are!"
Both girls turned at the annoying sound of Bria, accompanied by Gavin and Angmar. The Glandus Phoenix's each had a smile that radiated such a smug aura that Willow could almost physically feel it.
"Man, that was some strategy, huh." Angmar snickered at Gavins words. "First you suck, then you suddenly get good, and the next you literally just hand us the game?"
Skara's expression shifted, not into one of intimidation, like it had been before the match, but of sheer exhaustion. Out of the corner of her eye, Willow saw Skara roll her own, pull her hood down further over her face, and turn away from her former opponents. "Just leave me alone, please."
"But we just wanted to thank you!" Bria's voice was a weird, creepy one that was just so sincere that Willow could only take it as insincere. "You actually almost had a chance to win!" The purple-haired captain placed her hands over her heart, smiling. "But then you gave it up!"
"You're welcome." Skara replied, sarcastically, flatly, and with a sigh.
"Did your friend Boschy tell you to give it up? That's so thoughtful."
"She's not my friend."
Skara's words were so sincere that Willow was genuinely surprised. Skara and Boscha aren't… really?
"Aww! Then did you throw the game for me?" Bria feigned flattery.
"If I say yes, will that make you go away any faster?"
Willow scrunched her face up. Skara threw the game because of me. I'm not gonna let these three bully her because of it.
"Probably not, no."
"For Titan's-" Skara exhaled again. "You got what you wanted. You won. And I really couldn't care less. So could you please just-"
"Back off. All of you. Now."
Willow stepped in front of Skara, staring down Bria. All three of the Glandus Phoenix's looked directly at her, and Skara did as well, all four equally as surprised as each other.
Bria just raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"
"The person who's about to shoot you into the stratosphere if you don't leave us alone."
All the Phoenix's eyes widened, genuinely surprised at Willow's words. Willow assumed at the sheer audacity of someone other than Boscha speaking to them like that. Frankly, she was surprised by herself. But she stood her ground. She'd spent enough time getting toyed with and bullied to know she wasn't about to let these guys do that to Willow..
After a second, Bria rolled her eyes. "Really?"
"Really."
"Wanna bet?"
Bria glanced over the wall, then smirked.
Then, she waved her hands in the air and began to shout. "HEY EVERYBODY! LOOK!"
In the corner of her eyes, Willow saw Skara getting up onto her feet, suddenly jolted.
"WE FOUND SKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
The words turned to screams as Bria and her lackeys were grabbed by vines, and sent flying through the air. They flew over Willow and Skara's heads, and above the crowd, who snapped to stare at the flying students. They eventually stopped, but only once they smacked into a sign advertising "Tibbles Slime-Dunk-Tank Game," a stall with a rather large tank filled with a noxiously… green substance. Then, as one giant clump of teenagers, they plopped their way right into the slime, making one big splash as they did so.
There were exactly three seconds where Willow and Skara both just watched this whole event take place, before registering what happened. And then, conceptualizing the consequences if anyone actually realized what had happened, they turned to the other, clearly the same idea on their mind.
Skara spoke first. "That er… might not have been the best idea."
Willow blinked. "Uh… Probably not, no."
"We, uh… we should probably run."
"Yeah, good idea." Willow nodded. Then, with a wave of her hand. "Come on, I got a way out."
The route through the woods Willow and her friends took every day home from school was a relatively quiet one. It wasn't as hidden as Hexside's Secret Room of Shortcuts, but whenever the gang walked along it, they never saw another student. And thankfully, despite how busy the school had been, no one else seemed to have taken this route. At this point, Willow was starting to wonder if anyone else even knew it existed.
Still, she wasn't complaining. Because now, it meant that both girls were alone and didn't need to deal with the threat of an angry mob descending on them. A now hoodless Skara followed Willow down the path, trying to avoid all the branches and bugs that came with the forest. After a few minutes of Skara being grossed out by the monsquitos, she finally spoke up.
"Hey, er, thanks. For saving me back there. It… thanks."
Willow turned to Skara, shrugging with a tiny smile. "I should be thanking you for stopping Boscha."
Skara shrugged herself. "I er, guess we'll call it evens, then?"
To that, Willow nodded. Then, she paused. "Hey, what you said back there to the Glandus jerks, about you and Boscha not being friends. Was that true?"
At that question, Skara's expression tore itself between one of seriousness, and another of a light-heartedness. "Yu-P." She popped the last letter, just because she could. "I told her off. She lied about trying to hit you, and after so much other stuff I…" She shrugged. "It all just sorta built up and… I guess I just decided to say 'Screw it, I'm done.'"
Willow knew what Skara was saying, but even then, it was hard for the words to register correctly. "You really mean it? Boscha and you aren't-"
"We're through. Me and Boscha ain't friends anymore." Skara seemed to be almost pleased to say the words. Maybe it was just a sort of giddy elation from the sudden change, but Skara seemed elated at it.
And it surprised Willow. She'd seen Boscha and Skara together all her life. They'd been friends since before even their days in the Baby Class. In all the years she'd known them, it was always Boscha and Skara together. She never thought she'd see the day they separated. Like so many big changes to almost life-long fixtures, hearing that Skara was no longer going to be friends with Boscha… a part of her couldn't believe it.
And yet, a part of Willow couldn't help but chuckle with her.
"Huh. Wow. I'm… that's - I'm- " She paused. "I - Is it weird for me to say I'm happy for you? I mean, given the circumstances and… everything?"
And she meant it. After seeing how Boscha treated Skara, it was good to hear her finally leave.
"A little." Skara smiled. "But I get what you mean. And honestly, I am too. So, thanks." There was a light-heartedness to her voice that Willow hadn't heard in a long time. She was more like the Bard that Willow heard when she was talking with her friends in General Studies, or during a break, or anything else before her breakup. "Looks like this Bard is gonna be singing a different tune." She began a small, happy whistle, as if to emphasize the point.
Of course, it wasn't going to just be that easy. Everything that she had gone through wasn't going to just disappear, and the reality and full weight of what happened would eventually hit her, and she would have to adjust to it. That was something that Willow knew all too well.
But there was an optimism to Skara's voice and a spring in her step that just wasn't there before. Somehow, Willow had a feeling that Skara's readjustment period wouldn't be as harsh as her own had been.
And to that, Willow smiled.
But as Skara's statement sunk in, something else came to her mind.
"Hey, Skara? Why did Boscha… why did she try to attack me?"
Skara stopped. First her whistling, then her walking.
"Oh. Yeah." She sighed. "Okay, so, when the final quarter was starting, Boscha and I got into a fight. She was mad at me for suddenly getting good for… some stupid reason. And when I got mad and yelled at her back I… I guess she saw you as a good target to take her frustrations out on."
Somehow, Willow wasn't entirely sure what she had been expecting. "Well that's… petty."
"And stupid." Skara said, flatly. "Very stupid."
"Oh, yeah." Willow chuckled. "Very stupid."
Both of them had to chuckle at the absurdity of the whole scenario. It was such a mess that they couldn't think of anything else to do other than laugh.
Up until Skara, in her distracted state, caught a tree branch to the face.
"GAH!" Skara tried to shove the branch out away from her face, but it bounced back as soon as she let it go. Skara ducked before it could hit her in the face again, but her hairpoof wasn't so lucky. It got caught by the branch, and Skara's silver strands got stuck in its twigs. She grabbed the branch to try and pull herself away and hissed in annoyance and discomfort. "Ow! Titan dang it!"
"Stay still, I've got it." Willow said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She formed a small spell circle with her other hand, and the branch shrunk, slowly retreating from Skara's hair. It caught a few small strands, but as it retreated into the tree, Willow hoped it was less painful than just full force ripping it out, both for Skara and the tree.
"There we go." Willow smiled as it finally disappeared entirely. "You okay, Skara?"
"Yeah." Skara turned to Willow, and ran her fingers through her own hair. "Tha-" She froze. "Oh for - Dangit! ! That stupid branch got my hair tie!"
And Skara wasn't wrong. The branch had indeed taken her hair tie. Now, her silver hair, rather than its normal poof, instead fell slightly past her shoulders, curly and poofed out towards the ends, and a few strands flopped in front of her face.
Willow felt strangely nostalgic at the sight. In all her years of knowing Skara, she'd only seen her with her hair down once; at the cabin, when she was getting ready for bed. But, given her tired state, she hadn't really thought about just how strange it was to see Skara's hair like this. Not that there was anything weird about her hair. Mostly that after so many years of seeing it all tied up, having it just free and open felt like she was seeing something completely new.
As if she was seeing a different side of Skara.
"Think you can help me find it?"
After a pause, Willow shook her head. Her pondering about Skara's hair had distracted her for a moment. "Sorry, what?"
"My hair tie? Can you help?" Skara bit her lip, trying to hold her hair back with one hand as she turned to the tree, falling to her hands and knees. "I just, I really hate not having my hair up. It looks gross and messy, like just, bleh, and-"
With a shrug, Willow walked over to join Skara in her search. "Well, for whatever it's worth, I think it looks nice."
Willow turned her attention to the dirt, rubbing her hands along the ground in an effort to find it. With the light fading, and the hair tie being a darker shade of red than the surrounding grass, it was a bit difficult to see it.
Without warning, a loud chime emanated from seemingly nowhere. Willow turned her head in confusion, until she realized said beep was coming from her own Scroll. Summoning it with a small spell circle, she grasped it in her hands. On screen, she saw a notification from one World's Greatest Illusionist.
'Hey. Didn't see you when we left, probably at home. If you want though, everyone's at TOH. Here if you're up for it.'
Oh? Willow smiled. They must have gotten Owlbert to fly them back. I'm already like, three quarters of the way there.
"Found it!" Skara announced. Willow turned as the Bard began to slide the hair tie back on, returning it to its original poofy position before giving a small twirl and a smile. "There! That's better."
"Good." She glanced back towards her scroll, bit the inside of her lower lip, and then looked back up. "Hey, uh, Gus just messaged me. Apparently everyone's at the Owl House. Do er… Do you wanna come?"
Skara's smile faltered. "Oh… really?"
Willow faltered herself. "I mean, you don't have to." She shrugged. "Just… I thought maybe you could use the company, and we're already near there, so…"
"...Thanks, Willow." Skara offered a smaller smile. "I appreciate it, really. But I just… It's been a long day." She sighed. "I kinda wanna just go home now and… Process everything. And sleep."
Willow pursed her lips. "Well, alright then."
"It's not - I really do appreciate the offer, just -"
"No, no, I get it." Willow assured her. "I'd probably say the same honestly. You think you'll be okay getting home?"
Skara looked down the trail, humming. Then, she smiled. "Yeah. I do. I think I got it."
"Good. Okay then." Willow raised a hand in a small wave. "See you Monday then?"
"Yeah." Skara nodded. "See you then."
With that, Willow began to walk further down the trail.
"Oh, hey!"
She stopped, and turned back to Skara.
The former Banshee, former top girl at Hexside, former best friend of Boscha, smiled. "Thanks. For telling me to prove them wrong. For… I guess, believing in me."
Willow blinked. She hadn't expected… that. It felt strange, getting thanked by her.
It didn't feel bad, though.
"No problem. When you try… you're an easy person to believe in."
Willow waved again, and this time, Skara waved back, as the former finally left for the Owl House.
When she was out of sight, Skara allowed herself to exhale.
Easy to believe in, huh? That's… not the first thing I'd think to say about myself.
Leave it to Willow to leave on a good last word.
Prove them wrong.
Her arm slowly flopped to her side. Now, another pair of Willow's good last words entered from her memories. The ones she'd told her to help motivate the Bard during the game.
Prove them wrong, huh? Well, I guess I kinda did that. I made them think we could win, and then I blew it.
All the words rolled around in her mind as she pulled out the paper from her bag. She unfurled it, creating out the edges.
The Glyph that Willow had given her, back at the start of the week. Before, she'd felt that holding onto it was some sort of weakness. That there was something wrong with her for not tossing it in the garbage can the moment she got the chance to.
Now though, she felt that maybe she understood. That maybe there had been a reason she hadn't gotten rid of it, and why she focused on it the way that she had.
I mean, I proved Boscha wrong, too, I suppose. She thought I'd fail and get us all to lose, but turns out I… well I kinda did do that. BUT I almost didn't.
She stared at the paper a moment longer. Not necessarily because of some deep, symbolic reason, but mostly because she couldn't remember how to use the thing. She'd only seen Willow do it once, and even then, she wasn't entirely sure what exactly she had done.
Do I say something? Tap it? Spit on it?
Skara sighed.
I guess I kinda did prove a lot of people wrong today, huh?
I mean, I proved a Bard could handle Grudgby well. I proved I could stand up to Boscha and leave her. And I proved that I…
I guess that I could be friends with Willow.
At that thought, her thumb grazed against the edge of the circle, and the paper began to shrivel inward. Skara dropped it, but it had already turned into an orb of light, shining against the darkened forest at twilight like a star. Skara stared at it for a moment, before smiling.
She hadn't thrown it away because it was a lifeline. A way in which Willow had reached out to her. Something that, if she used, it felt like she was admitting that she needed someone else's help. Like it was something that she was supposed to be ashamed of. But she held onto it because she wanted that lifeline, deep down.
Because now, she wanted to accept that offer of help. Because it wasn't a weakness to accept it.
It was a strength to know when to reach out.
And Skara did now.
Thank you, Willow.
She held out her hands to the orb, cradling it in between. Then she began to walk down the trail, back to the school.
I guess I proved a lot of people wrong today.
Including myself.
And Skara felt a small, sweet smile on her lips.
QuirkQuartz : A'ight the season is over my anxiety can just not for a little while, and we get to be the main Owl House thing for a while. Welcome to the Cult of Skarlow!
Would you believe that this is finally the end of the preamble? The stuff that we felt we needed to do to justify basically everything else that's going to happen in this story? We're at nearly 150,000 words, we er - When we said we're long Hauling this, we meant it. We've been planning this one since very early on and it is very satisfying to see it come to fruition!
So now, we move into the new "Arc" of the story - Oh boy am I looking forward to this!
DesmondKane: So first, wellness check: Everyone survive the season finale? Good! Cause we're not going anywhere.
Thus ends the Grudgby arc, and begins a new era of Guitar Strings! We're happy to have this bit wrapped up nice and tidy. Plus, now we can get MORE Skarlow scenes with them. Heck yeah!
Anywho, thank you all for reading! We hope to see you again in the next chapter.