Muffled mumbling in the background like there was water in her ears varying the sounds in intensity. Some felt far away while others were so close. Blade couldn't move at first. The smell of flowers and herbs sweet and strong and yet calming was prominent. Beneath her fluffy pillows or something similar fine cloths like silk, a blanket, it felt like she was wrapped in clouds. Her body didn't listen to her though. 'What's going on?... Where am I?' Blade's thoughts started to race to try to recollect. Her eyelids were so heavy refusing to follow her commands. She could hear a voice growing louder and even if her eyes were closed she felt the light dimming.

"B...de..."

A repeating voice in Blade's ears and a gentle touch on her arm as someone sat down. Shortly after a cool and damp towel tapped along her forehead trying to stimulate her senses. Blade still struggled to open her eyes but she felt her body waking up.

"Blade?" A gentle low voice that finally became clear.

With tired eyes, Blade stared at a white, blue and golden blur right next to her.

A nagging voice further away was a bit more demanding, "Wakey, wakey, little Fairy. You don't want me calling the King so he can boss you around."

Blade squinted her eyes and reopened them the world growing into focus from its foggy mist. It was Grandmaster Parcival who sat beside her a glance to the side revealed an eager Votzaak ready for action and Ilrune plus Cei and Gwaine at the far walls all three staring at her so intensely yet no words crossed their lips.

The room itself was neither small nor big. A table with several medical herbs, and white stone walls carved with runes and ornaments of the White Jade. Lots of couches, benches or armchairs compared by size surely some had been simply summoned rather than being part of the original décor.

"By the Great Dragon, what happened…?" Blade tried her best to sit up but her body still was groggy.

Parcival laid his hand on Blade's back to support her, "I think that is what we should ask you, Blade. What is the last thing you remember? Anything is fine and if there is nothing that's also an informative fact." His green eyes analysed her every move, word and aura fluctuation.

"I…was on my date with Amal… hotel evenetually… I slept and made my way back to Alfea for nature class… and… and…I…." Blade blinked and stared at her blue trousers. Her mind ran the scenario through. Her phone had rung. She had forgotten to put on her bracelet after the system update overnight. 'I landed on the roof and then…everything went black. No, even before I fell,' Blade picked her nails nervously.

"Breathe," Parcival led her into a breathing exercise while nothing escaped his piercing eyes. Unlike Votzaak who wanted to get to the bottom of this as fast as possible, he also had enough experience and restrained himself to wait this out.

It just was like at the annual meeting when Parcival had talked or was even in proximity. Blade just couldn't freak out or end up in a spiral of rapid thoughts. She glanced up right at him a scrutinizing gaze as she tried to figure that effect out. It was enjoyable at least more than flipping out nonetheless it wasn't normal, "How do you do that…?" She asked straight forward.

The Grandmaster chuckled bemused, "It's a skill based on a spell that takes a very long time to acquire. Don't worry it won't hurt you. Simply helps you to stay calm and focused. So, want to share what you remember?" He asked once more while he enhanced his aura effect by a margin.

Blade's shoulders relaxed in an instant and her nervousness was blown away. It was kinda scary that she couldn't feel fear. "That's some magic trick…" Blade sighed, "Well, all I remember is that my phone rang to remind me to put on the bracelet as the system update was done and I landed on a random rooftop to put it on right there and then since I am required to due to Shadion and other affairs to more or less be at all times monitored. Well, monitorable. You do protect my privacy as far as I know."

"Of course we do. Was that ever in question?!" Votzaak seemed rather surprised, maybe even a bit offended. It was always fun to see what people said in Parival's presence when they were relaxed and comfortable not second-guessing or sugarcoating their answers. It wasn't anything like a truth serum if she would decide to lie or remain silent she simply would do it calmly, which made any spell affecting another one's aura a double-edged sword. Only with other keen senses and above all knowledge and practice could minimise that downside not to mention that clashing emotions could cause hick-ups if the gap was too great especially if the affected knew about what was done to him.

Blade brushed away a dreadlock behind her ears. "Well, nothing is stopping you from misusing it. I know the benefits and reasons behind it all. Still, if you'd ever use it to spy I'd be none the wiser. That has nothing to do with mistrust it's simply a fact," Blade answered without restraint a bit startled by her harsh unwavering tone.

"Well, if you ever have doubts. Tell me and I'll take care of it," Votzaak with similar intensity promised. "Now, since we couldn't use the bracelet on Sunday till Monday morning. Please, Blade, try your best to recall. Truly anything you say could help us to understand Shadion since our dear Pixis are assholes." He still grimaced even thinking about those four.

Blade gave a tired smile they were of one mind in that regard, "Well, I was about to put it on and then I …saw… A shadow? Or something it was just too fast, I barely realised. It darted at me from my left flank and before I knew it… I fell from the roof and my Winx vanished...And… well, the rest is a blank. I went unconscious, didn't I? Did any cam record something? Was it retaliation? The police? The strangers from the reward ceremony? But they all had no reason to expect me to land on that roof…maybe a coincidence?"

"A shadow? Anything else about it? How did it look? Size? Magic?" Ilrune asked in between the girl's mumbling considering the state he had found her in several of her ideas were less likely.

Blade shoved the blanket away as comforting as it was, it felt weird with all the grownups here. Still, she looked at it as she spaced out shortly. 'A form…no… not this time, not a troll for sure… but the whispers…nah impossible. Surely I just imagined it… I checked with Shanna, the cloud never looked like how I remembered it.' Her thoughts intertwined deeper and deeper. Fane had ripped her away so fast; everything had been so fast in fact; her senses had been all a jumble even with Shanna's help in their session. "…" Blade bit her lip nothing came to mind which made her grow tense before she felt it instantly subside through a tiny magic pulse from Parcival next to her he had strengthened his spell. "No. Sorry, it was just a black blur. I didn't even notice the shadow before it was right in my face, figuratively speaking. I just felt so tired all of a sudden and fell…"

"Hmmm, so it seems our assumptions are correct. Black Magic affects Shadion more than it does Winx," Gwaine caressed his brown beard.

Cei corrected stoic as ever, "Differently. We have no base to say it affects more since we don't know who is affecting whom." He pulled on the blue sleeves of his Order garments to adjust them.

"Want to loop me in?" Blade deadpan stared at all of them. It was a bit counterintuitive that it didn't upset her like it normally would so she gave Parcival a side glance, who in return eased up in response. Blade's heart skipped a beat as she felt the full range of her inner turmoil of course this was nerve-wracking. That black hole of the unknown scared the shit out of her before she noticed her hand reached out to claw into the Grandmaster's robe.

"It might be scary but we'll understand it," Parcival, giant as he was, had indeed the most comforting smile as he took her hand and let magic directly flow into her and one could watch Blade easing up again. "Ilrune, please update Blade. She should hear it from you."

Ilrune nodded as he pushed of the wall his green Council cloak uncrumpling. "Of course, well, as you expected Blade you never reached Alfea. Considering when your alarm went off on your phone you were unconscious for two hours. You didn't manage to activate the bracelet and we pinged your phone to find you. You were in the industry district inside a dumpster under some new trash bags. People didn't even notice that you had fallen in."

"So, that's the reason for the prominent flower smell," Blade snickered at first, "Wait, what has a dumpster to do with Black Magic?" She frowned as she watched their reactions her hands squeezing Parcival's robe harder.

"Simple, some knuckleheads threw in pigeons cadavers affected by Red Crystals and some rats joined in to snack on them. Basically, you landed in a makeshift trap where you didn't wake up cause apparently your magic pool was depleted instantly and the Red Crystals sucked your regenerating magic away and that kept you from waking up." Votzaak raised his hand in a reassuring gesture, "Don't worry in those quantities there is nothing to be afraid of. You didn't even get corrupted in the slightest." He stepped closer to her anyone would be spooked by that thought of course.

"So, it was because of those pigeons that I went unconscious," Blade squinted her eyes slightly trying to grasp her realisation.

Cei glanced at Gwaine shortly, "What makes you say that?"

"You just said-"

"We said you fell into a dumpster with infected animals. Why do you think they were the original cause of your magic depletion? Intuition is not to be underestimated, Blade. A lot of things are intuitive to Fairies. Be specific," Cei pushed a bit to move the conversation along. They of course had made an in-depth aura reading in the cistern, but that was simply a base for later comparison. They had hoped for more but nothing had shown up wrong or different from their prior readings but nothing had been that detailed until now.

"Well… isn't that kinda obvious? Both times Black Magic, both shadowish thingys, both out of nowhere or well super fast… how could it not be Black Magic? Unless you think I got mind hacked again or well, met some salty Police Officers that lost their jobs... But if that be the case you'd be more riled up," Blade somewhat defended her statement even if there was no need to do so.

"You're fine Blade," Gwaine chuckled, "We found no traces of someone screwing with you in any kind of way." He ruffled through his hair a bit worried. "That means we got to do some experiments with Black Magic…" A long gaze to the Grandmasters. Cei and Ilrune already nodded reluctantly.

Blade jumped from the resting space and pulled her hands away from Parcival, "Heck no! Are you crazy?! YOU always tell us not to play around with that shit. Now you want to poke the dragon?" She flinched as she felt a magic crackle behind her.

Parcival laughed so hard, "Well, seems I still underestimated how intense your emotions can escalate. Glad to see you so energetic again." He reduced his own aura to a background minimum to let the poor Fairy vent at least a little bit about this.

"… That's the only right reaction," Votzaak declared proudly and stepped up to Blade his white hair whipping around. "Don't worry, I'll personally make sure you stay safe, but we got to do it. We can't have you go unconscious in the middle of nowhere. Remnants might not hurt you - a fall from the sky does." Then he summoned a piece of paper closed his eyes shortly his tattoos on the hand reforming into a glyph and ink spread across the piece of paper before Blade could even make out a letter it set blaze and vanished into nothingness. With a smirk, he glanced at the young Fairy. "That's my Order's version of a bracelet. Much more secure. One can't hack that magic trick as easily as a chat room. Needs Red Jade though, but sadly we can't spy on little Fairies with it." He smirked to loosen the poor girl up who grew stiff as a statue each second that past.

Blade rolled her eyes, the dumb comment did what it aimed to do. She breathed through, "Easy for you to say. You don't have to hear creepy whispers…and think you're going insane…" Utter silence. Starring eyes. Blade gulped her mouth had been faster than her mind once again, "I'm… you got it all wrong. It's just my imagination. Shadows; magic; can't talk they have no consciousness and the bracelet data didn't show any psychic activity or aura changes and even today you just checked me through!"

"Blade…" Ilrune resounded vary, "What whispers?" His elven ears perked this was something even Shanna hadn't talked about.

"It's stupid. It's noth-" Blade tried to play it down again.

Votzaak kept his cool but one could feel him fuming inside, "NOTHING you should have left out! Foolish girl! There are plenty of reasons besides psy and insanity that make you hear things. It could be the spell itself. Even an aura or imprint by magic, do you learn nothing at school!?"

"IT'S YOUR TRACK, TOO!" Blade hissed back and promptly felt a hand on her shoulder and she got slightly dizzy while her outburst promptly faded. "Woah…"

Parcival let her bump into him as he caught her, "No one's accusing you of anything, Blade. It's new to you and," his eyes darted to Votzaak, "new to us. Mistakes are TO BE EXPECTED." He admonished the Leprechaun they hadn't asked about such things it never crossed anyone's mind. He paused with intent before he continued, "What did the whispers say?"

"I can't help you," Blade growled her instincts fighting Parcival's aura spell intuitively but right now it was just so strong that she couldn't quite build up enough motivation to fight it.

"Blade… refusing to tell us won't help anyone…" Ilrune sighed deeply. He understood her reluctance though. It wasn't something one saw or even heard of often. And she was more or less still new to magic and the use of it. She barely had been at Alfea for around one and a half years after all.

"NO. The whispers said, I can't help you," Blade rolled her eyes wanting to pull away from the giant Paladin behind her yet he held her firmly in place.

"The shadow can't help you?" Votzaak let his Red Jade tattoos wander along his skin ever reforming as he tried to recall anything of possible interest.

"Yes, and I shall find the others… well not a command more an others might know stuff kinda vibe…" Blade grumbled. This was so awkward and Parcival didn't let her out of his hold. She felt the magic he sent through her a constant flow like a trickle. "Please…" She tried it the formal way.

"Give yourself a minute, Blade. I don't want you to end up in a panic attack or anything like it," Parcival smiled at her as she looked over her shoulder at him. He understood why she wanted to be away from him, for him to stop. Yet it wouldn't help her at all. "Hmm, find the others… pigeons?" He murmured himself, "But we already burned so many…not to mention we don't know how many are left. Or how many more might get infected. Is this even about the pigeons?" This was bad, really bad. 'If only she had told us sooner.' A gaze to Cei and Gwaine.

"How should I know?!" Blade growled back. "Sadly, no one wrote a manual!" She felt more sparks flare up between her and Parcival. "Will you stop?!" She demanded as the chaos in her grew with every step of this discussion leading down into that unknown dark hole of questions. All in contrast to the calm the Grandmaster instilled in her.

"Calm down, Blade," Parcival gently answered as he turned her to face him. "Please, let me help you, Blade. Don't fight the aura spell without it you'd be in a panic attack already." He explained once more the reasoning of his choice of actions, "That's the last thing you need. I'm just trying to calm you down." His gaze almost lovingly he truly cared.

"We'll figure this out," Gwaine without a doubt answered. "I fetch Professor Avalon. He'll surely want to help you through this. It'd be unfair if you got to do this with only us strangers." He already activated his golden wings. "Unless..."

Blade's corners of her lips arced indeed Avalon always had a plan. He never was without one and he was smart. 'He would never let them do anything shady,' Blade relaxed a bit and the magic sparks faded slowly as she let Parcival in.

"... Well, Cei, Ilrune, let's go and do some pigeon hunting. We'll find some 'others'," Votzaak gave a nod to Parcival and already activated a teleportation spell. "See ya, soon."

Blade watched them vanish, "Votzaak's way too eager... What if we are wrong...?" She looked at Parcival a bit pained. She was as eager as Votzaak for sure however when she had fought Black Magic it always had been a horror show or going terribly wrong in the past.

Parvical in a gesture of understanding pointed to the resting area. "That indeed may be true, but if it doesn't work Votzaak simply will burn the pigeons to a crisp and we'll do some more intel gathering." He paused. "You should rest a bit more, child. It's a lot of stress you're under. I can call Shanna if you want me to. My ears are always open as well." Finally, he saw the change in her aura that showed that his intervention took root on its own and ebbed down the spell again.

"It's fine. I just want this to be over..." Blade closed her eyes and breathed through.

Parcival smiled at her, "Understandable," he stood up to clean the mess on the table and refresh the burning flowers and herbs incent. He took his time. Minutes passed. Of course, he wouldn't leave her alone now.

Blade just couldn't fall asleep she rolled around in that resting area. Eventually, she turned and faced the wall her back to Parcival. Blade's head ached from all that chaos in her mind - those racing thoughts. A deep sigh escaped her. All of this was ridiculous. "HOW can you all be so CALM about this!?" She sat up. It wasn't them she was upset about it was herself and she knew that, still. "I… How?… I faced so much! I fought Black magic! I saw a whole kingdom fall! Why? Why am I…"

As if the Great Dragon answered her call the door handle lowered and Professor Avalon stepped in an ever so gentle gaze full of understanding and compassion, "Cause this is not something to fight – but to accept. To find peace with it. To make it your own. Shadion is not your enemy it is yours to command." Avalon only stepped through the door but didn't close it. No, Avalon gave a nod to her to get up and take a walk with him. Blade jumped up from the mattress and walked past him. "And you WILL command that power in time in all its nuances, Blade. I know you. You're more than capable. And THAT'S the reason why we stay calm." He gave his Grandmaster a nod and closed the door behind them.