"The bag, the bag," Sabrina cries, running to Daphne.
Fumbling, the girl reaches to her side and quickly opens the small silver bag. Emptied of most of its magical items, the group had stuck their weapons inside of it just in case.
Sabrina sticks her hands in and comes out with a sword for each. She starts running for where Puck disappeared. "You need to find a way to injure this thing from far away," she yells over her shoulder. "The ravine is too slick for you to get down without getting immediately caught by a vine." With that, she leaps off the edge, desperately hoping she won't immediately crash. Thankfully, the wings spring from her back, flapping twice before she dives after the boy inhabiting her body.
Puck tries to dig his hands into the side of the incline, but the dirt and scraggly plants tear through his fingers, hardly slowing his descent.
Sabrina appears from above and reaches out as she shoots past. Their hands miss.
"I'm gonna need more help than that," he shouts, trying once again to find purchase in the rocks.
Sabrina lands haphazardly on the ground, far too close to the main mass of monster plant for comfort. With one good swing, she severs the piece attached to Puck. He slows considerably, but still rolls to the bottom of the ditch.
Sabrina runs to him and helps him to his feet. "Can you hold a sword?" she presses.
Dizzy and disoriented, Puck glances at his arms. They're scraped and bleeding some, but manageable. He accepts the weapon from Sabrina.
"We have to stab the taproot," Sabrina snarls, hacking at a thick section of snapper that protrudes from the ground. "That's how Jake and I got the last one."
Puck has barely found a good grip on the sword when vines begin to assault him. It's easy enough to destroy them, but they keep coming. "Easy enough," he jokes, trying to make his way closer to the mouth.
Something hisses through the air, nearly hitting Sabrina.
"Woah," she says, jumping back.
She looks up to the top of the rut, spotting an apologetic Daphne with a crossbow.
"Sorry," the girl calls down, "it's harder to aim than it looks."
Sabrina focuses back on mowing down plant matter. "I know," she mutters, "it really is."
The two keep up their offensive but make depressingly small progress.
"I have an idea," Puck growls, standing back to back with her. "And I don't like it."
"I'm game for anything," she replies, stomping on a creeping vine.
"You need to fly above it and draw its attention."
"You mean be bait?"
Puck scowls, sweeping his sword through three separate attackers. "Yeah. Sure. You get your wish."
"I don't want to be bait," she complains, but rises nonetheless. "Be careful," she advises, zipping into the sky.
"Daphne!" Puck raises his voice as loud as she can.
"Yes?" comes the response.
Puck dances away from a set of whipping vines. "In the bag there should be a blue ring–it has an ice touch enchantment. Slide that onto one of the bolts, and fire on my command." He's just glad they left some goodies in there.
There's a bit of lag, and all the while, Puck watches Sabrina erratically zoom around the air, dipping in and out of the snapper's reach. Watching her be in danger makes his heart crawl into his throat and whimper.
The vines twirl and shift, trying to follow her patterns. The spiny mouth wriggles, biting at nothing, ravenous.
"Ready," Daphne says at the same time Sabrina yelps in pain.
Terrified, Puck searches the sky for her. There–with a wing caught in a vine covered in razor sharp thorns.
"Oh no, oh no," he says, shaking–he runs forward a few steps, but, of course, he can't fly, not how he is right now. "Shoot, now," he shouts.
The crossbow twangs but the bolt appears in the ground ten feet away from Puck, a small patch of ice spreading around its base.
"I'm sorry," Daphne wails. "I missed."
"That much is obvious," he pants, sprinting for the bolt. He chances another look up. Sabrina has managed to free herself, but she's obviously struggling, bobbing unsteadily.
Puck tucks and rolls under a whipping vine and snatches the projectile, wrenching it from the icy earth. He ducks and weaves through the plant's defenses, using his shorter height and lower center of gravity to his advantage.
At the thick base of the plant, the mouth shifts slightly to the side to gnash at him. Ignoring the danger, he slides the last few feet and sticks the bolt into the side of the snapper. The thing immediately writhes, trying to twist as a coating of ice creeps over its surface. It is effective, but not enough.
Raising the sword, Puck stabs it deep into the ground against the base. There is no death scream, but the sound of hundreds of tendrils whipping through the air and against the ground. Puck tries to get to cover, but there's nothing to hide behind. Unexpectedly, someone swoops down, taking him out of the hailstorm.
"Thanks," he gasps, "not bad."
Sabrina doesn't say anything, hardly dodging the dying vines. Finally, she clears the danger zone and lands near Daphne, who's moved away from the edge to avoid the mess.
Sabrina staggers, dropping Puck inelegantly to the ground. He scrambles to his feet, unsteady.
Lux yips, approaching them, sniffing Sabrina's wings before whining and backing away.
"Puck, Sabrina!" Daphne says, running forward then stopping. "Woah, woah, are you okay?"
Sabrina tries to grunt in the affirmative, but without adrenaline, the deep, aching pain overwhelms her. She groans, falling to her hands and knees.
Puck immediately goes to her side. "What were you thinking?" he exclaims, fussing over the large rips and tears in the pink wings. "That is not good." He gently dabs at one cut, but winces.
"Don't touch it, Stinkpot," she growls, flinching away. "Ugh, this is awful."
Daphne frowns. She doesn't pay particular attention to the insults Puck and Sabrina toss around all day, but she was pretty sure 'Stinkpot' was something Sabrina called Puck, not the other way around. That, and, hadn't Puck called out his own name when he saw Sabrina falling over the edge?
"Just try to stay still," Puck offers, gently placing a hand right above the base of the wings.
Sabrina's eyes flutter shut and she falls to her stomach, the sense of relief is so intense.
Surprised by her sudden collapse, Puck draws his hand back.
She moans, the aching coming back full force. "What's happening?" she gripes, hands curling into the grass.
Puck frowns, hesitating. "Wings are super important to fae. They are a manifestation of magical energy. When they're damaged–" he stops, shrugging. "It sucks." He sighs loudly. "You should have practiced more before trying flying again."
She scowls, forcing herself to her elbows to glare at him. "It went well enough the first time, and flying was your idea this time."
"Wait a second."
Both teenagers whip their heads around, having forgotten the younger girl was there.
"Uh–" Puck starts, trying to find a good excuse, a proper defense, but he's been doing nothing but fighting and coming up with ideas for the past few days.
"You two," she waves her hand over them, aware of the apparent pain for the fairy, but also far too confused to know what to do about it. "You two are not making any sense. Spill. It. Why are you acting like you're different people since you got back?"
A heartbeat of silence. The teens stare at each other, Puck glowering.
Sabrina heaves a sigh, running through her own excuses. But everything feels so unbelievably horrible, she gives up. "Daphne," she says shakily, "you're right; things haven't been normal since we got back. That magical device thing we broke? It's more than just important or valuable. We're...that device–it switched us."
The girl stares at them, mouth gaping open. Sabrina winces, expecting a palm to come to her mouth any second. But, instead, Daphne seems to take her time absorbing this.
"Okay." She pauses, then nods. "Okay. I can see that. So you," she points at Sabrina's body, "are Puck."
"Unfortunately, yes," he grumbles.
"And Sabrina is..." she stops herself, the concern rushing back. "What's wrong with her–you, um–your body?"
"The wings," Sabrina mutters pitifully. "God, it hurts like hell." The last word is muffled as she smushes her face into the ground.
Puck and Daphne share a look of worry. Sabrina very rarely admits to pain.
"It's because of how sensitive my wings are," Puck explains again, "they're magical manifestations or whatever you want to call it. She's never had to deal with being me without full magic. It's super draining. I mean," he shudders, "you remember the Jabberwocky incident." Puck reaches out, pulling up Sabrina's shirt to the wings.
Daphne hisses, feeling second hand pain upon seeing the extensive bruising. "That's bad."
"Yes," Puck agrees. "She'll be out of commission for a week, at least."
Daphne's brow furrows as she asks, "why don't you tell everyone?"
"'Cause it'd be way too embarrassing?" Puck offers, but upon looking at Sabrina's ashen face, he's suddenly less sure.
Despite her pain, Sabrina shakes her head. "No, I can't tell them." She drops her head, panting. "Don't you see? If they find out, they'll never let me do anything with Puck and Jake again." She takes a ragged breath, "it took me so long just to convince them to let me do this–and that was with granny's help. Sometimes, I swear they still think I'm ten years old."
Conflicted, Daphne looks away, biting her lip. Of course she understood Sabrina's plight. They'd had to fight tooth and nail for every inch of respect and responsibility from their parents. Being involved with a magical mishap could really taint that for her older sister.
As the group digests Sabrina's admission, Jake comes crashing through the trees. "Is everything alright?" he demands, running over to the group. "I heard a bunch of commotion and headed over–" he stops short, seeing Sabrina's state. "Oh, man," he mutters.
Daphne and Puck take turns quickly filling Jake in on what happened.
Lux comes over and nudges Jake's hand for petting. "So," he says after they finish, patting the dog's head, "is that dragon okay now? And what do we do about–" he gestures at Sabrina's prone form, "that?"
"I'm not dead," Sabrina growls, trying to rise to her elbows.
"Doesn't mean you should get up yet," Puck counters, placing a hand on the base of the wings.
Instantly, Sabrina relaxes, eyes fluttering shut. "Oh my–" her voice goes very loose and calm. "Don't stop," she moans, "that feels so much better."
Jake and Daphne both pointedly look away.
Puck, for his part, honestly doesn't know what to make of hearing his voice–even worse, knowing it's Sabrina–say something like that, regardless of the circumstances. He doesn't move the hand, however. "I won't move. Promise," he says, deciding that he can berate her about her reaction later. "Just...try to be still."
The grin of discovery finally comes to Daphne's face. She turns to Jake. "I can't believe," she gestures to the teenagers, "this."
"Can't believe what?" Jake asks, out of the loop.
"The switch," she bursts out, giggling to herself.
Jake turns to the teenagers, incredulous. "You told her?"
"Had no choice," Puck complains. "Kind of got life-and-death dicey back there."
Daphne shakes her head. "I can't believe you guys have managed this well so far. I mean, mom and dad aren't sure what's going on, just that something is. And I didn't even consider this."
"I have been pretty convincing," Puck preens.
Jake snickers. "Yeah, sure he has. You should have seen him at Raken's."
While Daphne grills Jake for more details on the situation, Puck turns his attention back to Sabrina. Without their eyes on him, he allows himself to soften. "The pain should get better if you put your wings away," he offers. "You'll reabsorb the magic it takes to keep them out."
Sabrina closes her eyes, a crease appearing between her eyebrows. She opens her eyes again, looking utterly exhausted. "I–I–" she blinks hard, "I can't."
"Yes, you can," he encourages. "You just managed to fly through all of those vines. This will be way easier."
Sweat appears on her brow. She attempts to focus on the warmth and relief emanating from where Puck's hand is on her back.
Puck grins in triumph. "There you go, Grimm."
Sabrina forces every inhale and exhale. That initial pulling in of the wings hurt, but Puck was right. Now that it's settled, things are a smidgen better. "A week like this," she huffs, "is that what you said?"
Puck squirms. "Well, yeah."
"But you usually heal so fast."
He sighs. "With regular cuts and breaks and things. The wings are more intense. You're just lucky they can be healed on their own."
As Sabrina considers this, Puck looks up at the others. "We need to get her somewhere she can rest." He shakes his head in irritation. "I can't believe I have to do this whole 'being Sabrina' thing for so much longer."
Daphne tilts her head in confusion. "What do you mean? You've got two out of three of the items accounted for."
"Yeah, but no way am I switching back to this."
Sabrina manages to claw up a handful of grass and dirt and hucks it at him.
"Anyway," Puck says, uncaringly swiping the mud from his face, "what's the plan?"
Jake pauses, thinking. "The family is expecting us for lunch in the next hour or so. No way she could sit through that with the pain she's in."
"A pawn shop disaster?" Daphne suggests.
Jake shakes his head. "Way too many questions. The story would have to be too complex."
Daphne glances at her sister, trapped in another body. Despite her reservations about keeping things from everyone else, she determines to help her hide the truth.
"We joined you after finding out the nail salon was closed," Daphne starts, making it up as she goes along, "and you guys found something potentially magical that I got really interested in. So interested that I had Puck," she points to Sabrina, "fly me home just to sate my curiosity."
The four people consider the idea, trying to decide if it's too flimsy to believe.
"No," Puck insists, "it should be me. I need to take her home." He pauses, faced with the knowing scrutiny of Jake and Daphne. "I mean," he can't stop the flush, this stupid body is way too ready to blush at a moment's notice. "They're my wings. I can take care of it."
Daphne shakes her head. "It won't work. It'll be too suspicious if you two are the ones who are gone."
Jake frowns. "Daph is right, Puck."
Puck bites his lip. He doesn't want to agree, but what choice does he have?
Daphne sees the conflict there. "Don't worry," she assures, "I'll take good care of him–her, I mean," she blinks, trying to set her mind straight on who's who. "Wow," she laughs in her bemusement, "this is confusing."
Jake leans in towards her. "I just try to remember whose brain is where. Makes it less complicated." He swipes a hand down his face. "Now you get to join me in trying to say the correct things around the rest of the family." Quieting his mirth, Jake reaches into his coat and takes out the Ruby Ring. "I'm glad I kept this on hand." He holds it out to Daphne, who slips it onto her thumb, the only finger it will fit on.
She joins the teenagers on the ground. "Can you stand?" she asks gently, "or at least sit up?"
Sabrina nods, pushing off the grass until she's kneeling.
Puck finally takes his hand away from her back, and, almost immediately, she's hit with an intense wave of nausea from the lack of contact. Her stomach flips uncomfortably, and she covers her mouth with a hand.
"Oh come on," Puck complains, "don't you dare throw up."
"I'm not–" she holds back an instinctive convulsing feeling, "trying to."
Puck frowns, glancing at his slim hand. What was going on? Sure, when he was in his own body her touch could definitely feel–well, nice. But she's acting like it's a lifeline. Luckily, Daphne and Jake haven't seemed to notice the correlation.
Daphne wedges herself under one of Sabrina's arms and heaves, helping her to her feet. "Oh my gosh," Daphne says, a bit strained, looking at Puck. "You're freaking heavy."
He shrugs. "All muscle."
"Okay," Daphne shudders, "I am getting a little weirded out realizing that you've been the one in there for the past few days."
Puck grins, but softens, seeing Sabrina's slightly trembling form. He forces himself to step back. "Take care of Stinky for us, okay? I need that body back in as pristine condition as possible."
Daphne smiles, although it's a bit strained due to the effort it takes to keep the fairy upright. "I will."
With a flash of red light, they're gone.
.-.-.-.
AN: Okay, I may be a sadist (what writer isn't just a bit) but I do love exploring a character's reaction to pain. Also, Daphne knows now! I'm very much enjoying this project and I've got more chapters fresh and hot. I can't believe I ever thought this would only be 10 chapters. Oh, well. You guys won't complain right? If you feeling like complaining or otherwise I'll see you in the reviews. I love reading and responding to your thoughts.