Light-tainted skin like Steela's. High heels so high only Rise would even consider wearing them as long as they were in fashion. Glittery shorts from which with the wrong movement the butt cheek could flash through. Nice golden chains played along as a distraction from that as they dangled from Blade's curves. The crop top was strapless and covered the entirety of the chest, nothing to see there. And all was rounded off with some scarf-neckless contraption that let her look like a mix of some dancer girl. The make-up was with a tough of Desertian colours with all those whites, sand and gold. The only thing that made her look more like some adventure game character was the huge flat bunny ears that draped along her back beyond the short-cut hair that ended at her shoulders. And that stupidly annoying chubby bunny tail that she simply couldn't get used to in these few minutes.
Currently, she rushed through the corridors. Glaring at every gangster that was short of whistling at her. She hadn't even noticed the teleportation runes at first. As fast as she had been at that strange costume room, as quickly she had been teleported back to the fighting bar. Her heart was pounding. This was more than just a rushed job but she looked the part nonetheless. Whoever that had been, they knew what they were doing. She stopped right before the door to the VIP lounge. 'Okay… breathe, Blade. You can do this. This morph spell is flawless…just, play the part. Bunny ears…' She growled, it was the definition of cliché for an asshole rich guy.' She closed her eyes fading out the already muffled shouts from the arena. Then she straightened out her back. All she had learned in all those Joined Track classes she could use it now. 'Just one rich little dipshit. Easy,' she told herself and opened the door.
Lobster Mobster chuckled as she walked in so sassy and high class despite the flimsy outfit, "Keep that up, you could fool me. I wonder what Riven or that mage friend of his would say to this…" He snorted as she gave him the most murderous death glare. "Chill. I'm no teacher snitch. Anyways…" He pointed to the changed buffet that was even bigger than before. Desertian tarts among the pallet.
"Wait…" Blade stared at it all, she knew a lot of those treats from the palace banquets. She nearly overlooked the fact that there were two chairs, thrones, now.
"Shhhhh," Lobster gestured to the side of the buffet where the liquours were. "Take your place, bunny. Let's see what your loyalty is TRULY worth. May the best deal win." He smirked dangerously.
Blade's heart pounded. 'Who the heck is visiting him? Madu? Shawaka?... Someone of Philopa's faction?' Before she had considered kicking Lobster her heels into his butt crack if this would turn out a joke. However – Blade barely had moved to take her place next to the drinks as another knock on the door followed.
A man entered and pulled the cloak away that had covered his entirety in addition to a morphing spell. Fourth came flawless skin a bit lighter than Blade's. Plenty of golden bracers around his arms like a nest of snakes, wrapped around them. Here and there was the occasional magic stone hidden beneath the plenty of ornamental ones. Robes of fine Desertian silks layered into a canvas worthy of a king and one mighty wizard staff, that was not only ancient but also crafted by a master smith. The man had long cascading black hair that contrasted strongly with the Desertian crown colours. To soften their dark touch there was an unpretentious diadem around his head in dulled gold with fine runes inscribed upon them. His strides into the room were long and powerful. His feet not wavering on this unfamiliar ground.
"My best wishes, to you, Ashfar Minster of Interior Affairs of Desertia. Or have you perhaps come as a Commander of the Desertian army today?"Lobster Mobster offered the equal-looking but slightly smaller in size throne next to his.
Ashfar chuckled, "One might think you have high-ranked guests on a regular basis." His yellow eyes pierced Lobster's like a spear, but he found no fault in them and proceeded to sit down.
Blade's breath hitched a bit. 'Indeed, what is a newly anointed Desertian noble of his rank doing in this dump?' Her eyes followed Lobster Mobster. Only now it hit her as odd that he actually wore attire that was meant for finer circles. Their speeds to sit down matched perfectly although Ashfar had started to walk before him. Blade's nails bore into her palms. She was outgunned for sure. That Ashfar guy was no joke. He wasn't as strong as she remembered Shabaka to be or maybe that was simply because she wasn't as weak as she once was. Still, a fight was out of the question here.
"Bunny, darling," Lobster Mobster snipped with his fingers, "The drinks." He glared over his shoulder not to make such foolish mistakes and lose herself in thoughts.
"Of course," Blade gave a cute forced smile and turned to the table with the drinks. Etiquette demanded that she be fast and precise. "Something sweet to go with the…crabs? Or rather something more dry to go with cheese? … Boss." She overflew everything quickly from food to drinks. Professor Dufour surely would already have beheaded her for the propositions.
"Oh, dear, it's hard to get good caterers, isn't it? Not to worry, my young lady." Ashfar calmed her down with only a quick check over his shoulder. There was something predatory in it, but in general, his gaze was unreadable. "I am in no need of any baverage. You're strengths apparently lie elsewhere," Ashfar chuckled bemused as he looked out of the window and at the raging ring fight, which he ignored in the next second altogether and refocused on Lobster.
"Well, some get brains, some got brawns and the ones favoured by luck, boobs." Lobster Mobster laughed loud before he softened his expression just ever so slightly and his voice turned a bit more playful like a kid got caught. "Please forgive the little lady. It's her first time, my personal babe got ill and you came on short notice. I had to pick someone to fill the spot. She has such a nice ass, I am sure it will make up for any blunders, will it not? I know she can dance, maybe some entertainment?"
Blade blushed red from anger but tried her damn hardest not to show how ticked off she was. 'I won't be anyone's bunny and certainly not for some shady noble from Desertia of all places!' She cussed inwardly. Normally she'd go into rampage mode, however, this was not possible right now. And so she picked up on things that otherwise would have gone unnoticed by her fierce tenacity and pride. Lobster and Ashfar were searching, poking…but for what eluded her. It was clear though that Lobster looked a lot more pleased than Ashfar.
"You let me sound like some devious pig," Ashfar echoed Losbters hilarity, "You aren't aiming to hurt my reputation now, are you?" He laughed it off but his tongue was sharp, "You'd be wise to choose a fool, not a nobleman. I have a family at home and we are happy."
"Hah," Lobster chuckled, "You didn't even mention your wife in person. Oh well, seems families no matter where are always the same. Ts. Ts. Ts." He threw his hands into the air in mock surrender as Ashfar was ready to execute him for that comment. "Come now, it would be bad for business, it's hard enough to keep the fight club running with so many eyes watching. I don't plan to become a den making the newspapers. Now that be a waste of my resources if there ever was one. She's just the little sis of one of my guys. She can be trusted. She won't tell a soul. You can't have her for the entire night though, she's booked." Lobster Mobster licked his thumb and with it across his lips. "Bunny, dear, I still would like some Elf wine. The good bottle." He addressed Blade playfully.
Blade's blood vessel twitched in her forehead at that comment. She couldn't hide the fury that was boiling inside her. To a noble, a waiter was air, so that saved her. It was a joke, sure, but with her past, she was short of losing it. 'It's all for Seth. Seth, he needs me… Seth. Jewels… Clam down…' Her chest heaved. All she managed was a weak polite smile and not make a sound. If Ashfar were to turn around now she'd be screwed. Her hands searched for the bottle. Lobster was weaving her into this evening like a fine ornamental gold string in a carpet. It could have been so easy just standing there being pretty.
Ashfar looked appalled yet didn't turn his head to her as he heard the clinging sound of glass bottles as Balde searched for the right one, "You, with your subordinate's sister?... No wonder gangs swap rankings like noble women their shoes..." A bit of a commander sounding through. "You should watch that head of yours. I'd – have a word with you if she were my sister…"
"Oh, would you now?" Lobster Mobster chuckled, "People tend to OWE me. So, those discussions run a lot differently when what would be 'noble'," The gangster looked over his shoulder, "Don't keep me waiting, bunny. The gentleman has patience, I don't," A bit bored he placed his head on his fist as he looked at the fight that was still going on. "Uuuh, he always loses against that guy… seriously… I can find babes anywhere. Competent fighters… that's a whole different story."
"Fighters? Hm…" Ashfar let his eyes wander the crowd down in the arena, "You truly need more? You seem to have ample people who can bash their heads in."
"Yeah, but you need to make it look good. Paying healers is a pain in the ass," Lobster got a scoff from Ashfar, "You as a Commander surely have someone who got fired on interesting charges. Those fit in well even as bouncers, no?"
Blade made her way over balancing on those high heels with the silver tablet was easy even with a bottle on top. What was actually annoying was that stupid costume. As she had to bow low enough to hand the glass she could feel her butt cheek flash through and that stupid smirk of Lobster's.
"Thank you, darling," Lobster stared into Blade's eyes. He wasn't interested in her curves either. He had made her dress up for nothing. Or so it seemed, he surely was a tat disappointed.
"Only the best for you, boss," Blade husked his way a firey glint in her eyes. 'I'm gonna kill him! Lobster thought that guy was a stupid prig noble and it turned out to be a false! Asshole!'
Ashfar frowned shortly, of course, his gaze took Blade's appearance in, analytically so. "You're a fighter of this bar."
"What? No," Blade flinched and quickly balanced out the tray before it fell. Startled by how Ashfar had picked up on her combat skills.
"Don't lie to me, that's poor manners," Ashfar sighed deeply as he used his magic. At the whisk of his fingers, he let the tray and bottle float and set it down on the stands next to the thrones. "Those are the eyes of a combatant. I'd be a poor Commander if I wouldn't recognise a private guard even if hidden behind bunny ears…." He was so utterly unimpressed.
"Got me," Lobster Mobster chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender, "She does make for a good bunny though." He pulled her onto the arm of the chair. His hand rested on her upper arm that dangled to the side, hidden from Ashfar. He could feel her tremble, her nervousness. "Stay, the military gets nervous when there's a potential threat behind them." He addressed the Fairy with a fake possessive smile. 'She lost her cool already….wonderful.'
"Threat?" Ashfar laughed out loud when he had his attention again, "I could blast this entire complex to pieces without a sweat. As far as I am concerned you can get as many bunnies in here as you like. If that makes you sleep better at night." His features grew darker. "Well then, before this drags out…unnecessarily, Dreadlock."
Lobster Mobster's hand clamped around Blade's arm in the blink of an eye and held her steady in place as if he was saying no to her. "Yes? Want an autograph?"
"No," Ashfar looked at Blade, "The girl."
'Shit! He is here for me?!' Blade was short on grabbing the bottle from the mini table as Lobster drew her onto his lap propping her up as he used the dangling chains and scarf to control her slightly in a fake play of lust. 'What is he!?' He threw her off so much that her facial expression got unreadable before it got taken over by a blush of vulnerability. 'He isn't. Wait…' Saved again.
"Shhhhhhh," Lobster pressed his finger strongly on her lips. "No need to be so jealous. My dear, not everyone can be Blade Ashfallow, saviour of Desertia and one of the key players in the police arrests." Lobster Mobster pulled Blade closer towards him, her fake bunny ears covering her face as he leaned in for a kiss.
Blade's heart raced but Lobster's lips fell short and never touched hers. Only felt his warm breath on her skin. 'What's going on?!' She was so out of her depths. Lobster was staring into her eyes waiting, demanding. Ashfar was eyeing them closely, she could feel it. Her mouth opened before her brain caught up. "But… boss…" She complained, whined naggingly even and leaned in closer. "I am every bit as pretty as she is, prettier even!" Blade simply mimicked Aurum of all people, that stupid bitch Fairy from that other class. Somehow it made so much sense to copy her here. "It's always Blade, here, Balde that…You said I could get the limelight tonight…but he's not even looking at me…how can I lose against a newspaper face." She pulled back tightened her arms around her hips and looked away all pouty.
"Blade? Didn't think that be public knowledge of your…employees,' Ashfar raised an eyebrow. Though didn't tell how he knew. "Well, without backing she is just a commoner…" He only shook his head, "If you want to attract a noble you need to learn a lot more than flaunting your hips in the ring, young lady. Your etiquette is lacking. Besides, you don't want to be her…believe me. Ashfallow got more enemies than the girl can fight."
"Like you?" Lobster Mobster shifted in his seat and pressed Blade into the corner. The girl was stuck between him and Ashfar facing away from the Desertian noble. So he could look her in the eyes, always.
Ashfar rolled his eyes at the display and the audacious implication, "Please. I know my battlefield and its players." He answered full of confidence. "I am here to procure what is still in Blade's possession. And doesn't belong to her."
"Which is?" Lobster Mobster looked up at Ashfar. Though most of his presence, he used to overplay Blade, whose face turned into the wish to kill someone. With every eye bat of Ashfar's, he closed in on Blade again. Completely emerged in the role of a savage gangster boss.
Ashfar tipped on the arm of the chair of his own thrown. He watched the spectacle before him long enough to be disgusted by the 'foreplay' and turned his head back to the fight in the arena. "The diadem ring of Desertia." He spoke evenly.
"The late Princess's Jewels? Isn't that a national treasure?" Lobster pulled Blade up by the chin, "Cheeky. Normally people land in prison, if it's stolen goods." He looked her deep into the eyes, searching for the truth. Her truth.
Ashfar grumbled, "Nothing was normal about the passing of the Princess. Desertia is still in shambles." He swapped his legs folding his hands together in his lap as his bracers jingled. Eyes pinned on the fight. That display beside him made him uncomfortable. Threw him off a little.
"I heard a lot of the damages are already repaired, that's what the newspapers say," Lobster raised an eyebrow and looked up from Bade, "How can a little ring make a difference? Is it really that powerful of an artefact?"
"Its meaning doesn't lie in magical power. Desertian artefacts were always bloodbound to the royal bloodline," Ashfar only stated what was generally known from the hearing and history books.
Lobster Mobster chuckled anew and placed a hand right above Blade's shoulder to restrict movement in his pretentious play, "So, you're trying to find an orphan's family? I thought it already enough trouble that the farmer was instated as a Regent."
"What? No," Ashfar got caught off guard. "The Princess was an orphan of lowly status. If there had been any family left to take care of her, she wouldn't have been pulled from an orphanage. Besides, no one would accept another commoner as King or Queen. That's what started the Coop de 'tat in the first place. No one needs a repetition. Desertia needs a strong King and Queen now more than ever."
Lobster Mobster shortly kneaded the fabric bunny ears Blade was wearing, "I see your point. But there is no telling what King Rock did to the artefact to make it work again. Or did you find out?" He searched Blade's eyes all while looking so lustrous playing two parties at the same time.
"King Rock was a talented smith, the ring was dormant for generations which means it can be used again. It is of the utmost importance that it is to be returned to Desertia. If there is a chance that it can find traces of the true royal bloodline it will end fruitless discussions for the right of succession." Ashfar stated facts just like any good minister would.
"But that would mean flinging another commoner into a seat of power without prior knowledge," Lobster's eyes glinted at Ashfar. His hands traced the chair just above Blade's arm, from Ashfar's direction it looked like he was tracing her skin.
Ashfar didn't show any reaction to that statement, "It will prove what noble family has the right to rule."
"Ah, right, the incest problem of royalty…" Lobster snorted bemused and made Ashfar even more uncomfortable.
'Incest? Heck no, they will pull one over and kick Madu back to his corn fields,' Blade's eyes were wide in shock. That line of thought wasn't a revelation to her. No, how fucking close they were cutting corners for hiding the ring was. If Ashfar already showed up at her fight bar where she was Dreadlock. 'How much more have they figured out already? How far along is their plan compared to ours?!' Her breath hitched inadvertently in her panic. Her eyes locked with Lobster.
"Hmmm," Lobster Mobster moved his hands to fake it was something he had done that made her breath hitch to cover for her screw-up. "Devious little bunny, getting off on someone else's predicament. Ts. Ts. Ts..." He leaned in and blew cold breath against Blade's hot skin at her shoulder which made her squirm shortly. From Ashfar's perspective, it had been her neck.
"Can you please stop? Surely you have some… love bed somewhere else…" Ashfar looked away, clearly unnerved to be next to the display.
"I could," Lobster Mobster straightened up again. His hand pinned Blade's shoulder down so she'd not turn to face Ashfar. "I am just not sure what exactly you want from me. I doubt it's in her locker here."
"It is not," Ashfar answered dryly.
The gangster boss's voice grew dangerously aggressive, "Oh? Sneaking around are we?"
Ashfar shook his head his yellow eyes scouting the crowd in the arena before focusing back on Lobster, "Blade Ashfellow wouldn't be as doltish as your bunny here."
"Hm, true. Besides, it'd be a shame if I had to let go a fighter 'cause he got blackmailed. I do not like to give away the strings of my puppets. I hate to share and get jealous easily," He growled deeply. "Bunnies are plenty, fighters are hard to come by." He caressed over the bunny ears tugging at them a tad ungently.
'They already searched here!?' Blade winced shortly at the tug, which masked all her emotions of rage and anger in an instant. It was vexing how easily Lobster read her reactions and was able to use her screw-ups to amp up his own disguise.
Ashfar tensed slightly avoiding his gaze from the twitching legs, which he could see, "If you say so." He readjusted in his seat to put slightly more distance between them, "You keep a clean house, that's admirable. The reason I came. You might delight in many things..." His voice disapproving. "However, you are thorough." He looked at the bunny with a bit of pity not that he could see much.
"A necessity," Lobster Mobster answered steadfastly as he used the bunny ear to play around Blade's face and cover her mouth. "If the ring is not here. Then it's nothing I can give. So… what services do you require?" A question aimed not only at Ashfar.
'Fuck, we need this smokescreen! Now!' Blade's heart raced. Now it all made sense, 'Loyalty or greed. Me or him. We came at the same time with opposing propositions!'
"Information," Ashfar pulled out a pouch and placed it on the arm of Lobster's throne. It was heavy and the sound of coins among other things was unmistakable. "She and her friends frequent here. Plus, they might come to you for help. The ring belongs officially and historically to Desertia. I get that the girl wants to hold on to it. It's simply not plausible. The Kingdom needs peace." He moved to stand up.
Blade's mind was a storm of emotions if Ashfar were to look at her now, he'd see through her through Lobster's playful distractions. 'Greed or Loyalty. What am I willing to pay to make this smokescreen work?!' She could see Ashfar's shadow fall on Lobster. Ashfar could pay now making it worth Lobster's time and effort. One word, and she'd be trapped with the Minister in this room alone without backup. 'Prove loyalty. Now, how?! Smokescreen!' Blade's hand shot out grabbed Lobster's neck roughly pulled up with a fierce gaze and kissed him in a storm of desperation. Her other hand clawed into his chest as she held him in a lock, "I'm always for riches, boss. Blade's but one fighter." She husked roughly, playfully. "Besides…if it's official won't the Council knock on the bar's doors anyways?" she asked half loud. She was just barely holding it together.
"Oh, you can't wait to see her gone… can't ya?" Lobster chuckled as he pulled away from Blade's lips with a fake big fat-ass grin as he pressed down on her again to hide her frame. "You heard the bunny," He looked up to Ashfar. "If I find anything of worth your while, I'll contact you. Don't expect much though. Blade Ashfallow is smart and driven. So, are her classmates. You'd be wise not to underestimate them. And I'll hold you to that pricing."
Ashfar shuddered at the display and eagerly turned to the door, "I won't. There are many threads to follow. I wish you… a well-spent evening…" He tried to sound sincere but there was no denying that this display was revolting to him with the prestige of a noble he quickened his steps to get the heck out of whatever this was to become.
"Oh, Lobster. Pinch me…" Blade layered thick on top of her performance as she giggled worthy of a movie performance and short of going manic, short of panicking. Tears swelling up.
"Ahh, such a horny little rabbit you are," Lobster raised his voice to overshadow her quiet sobs. She was grasping for straws and unrevealing.
The door barely had fallen shut for a few seconds. In an instant Blade pressed her leg between Lobster and her, kicked him off her with a push to his stomach muscles.
Lobster skitted shortly before he drew his feet to a stop, "Pinch me? What are you? A porn star?"
"Says the guy who put me in a bunny costume!" Blade fired back swung up and over the throne and ran to the beverages coughing and retching. She drank booze from the bottle just to gargle it in her mouth and spit it out into the cooling ice of the bottles. Her entire body began to shiver violently and she slipped to the ground. She couldn't help but puke.
Lobster moved around his throne got a hanker chief from the stack next to the crab claws and chucked it from a distance towards her. "There was no need to go that far… got to say though, gutsy…" A bad-timed joke as the girl emptied out her insides on his floor. "Next time ask for consent, maybe?" He shook his head. "I do have my own boundaries and you're way out of my preferred age range… I could go to prison for this shit. Seventeen, right? Fuck me…" He grabbed a bottle himself and poured himself a glass eyeing the girl closely. "You really do anything to keep that ring away from these guys, huh…"
Blade had a hard time catching her breath. Tears dripping to the ground. "Will you do it?!" She only hissed in her turmoil.
"The sugar rings? Yeah, I hate it when people try to mess with my business. Gotta find that mole fast… blackmailing my fighters… he'll pay for that," Lobster Mobster cracked his knuckles. It was the only way Ashfar could be so damn sure the ring wasn't in the fight bar.
"Great." Blade summoned her Charmix pouch and pulled out the other satchel of rings and the silicon form and memory crystal. "The Denied Shop will be ready to sell a bunch." Her throat was still sore and the acid stung in her mouth. She ripped the bunny ears out of her hair and used her own magic to get back her dreadlocks.
"Woah, woah, chill! Don't strip in front of me," Lobster Mobster tried to slow her down a bit.
Blade glared at him, "Shadion," The costume vanished under the transformation. the Charmix pouch's colour turned darker. The ghastly eyes pierced the gangster. The black ripped clothes were more of a mirror to her inner turmoil now. She pulled out the Amulet of the persona Amal had created for her. She flared up her magic and broke the morph spell that had been placed on her by the shapeshifting magic user. She put on the amulet that turned her back to the punk girl. She wanted to pull up but her legs were still unsteady.
"Hold on," Lobster Mobster blocked the door instead of coming close to the Fairy. "My men will check if that minister is gone first. Can't have you going stupid on me now." He ordered before he vanished through the door and some runes activated and locked her in.
Blade sunk back to the ground her hand tightening around the bottleneck before her the booze spilt and mixed with her puke. 'What am I doing here…?' She pushed away only to lay down on the floor. Her breaths pressed her back into the floor. At least one thing was clear. If Ashfar had come to Lobster to ask for information she hadn't been tracked to John's place. 'Everything went just… as… planned…'
Blade was stuck in that VIP room for at least an hour. She used some magic to disintegrate her own puke. Eventually, Lobster opened the door and stepped in but stayed at the door inspecting the Fairy from top to toe.
"He went to the Council. Can I rely on you not being a stupid drunkard?" He counted the bottles, but to his relief, Blade was neither drunk nor had she emptied the one bottle she had taken to flush out her mouth.
Blade only stared at him sitting on the ground. Her feet were drawn in as she leaned against the wall. She held his gaze for an uncomfortable amount of time before she looked away in silence.
Lobster shook his head, "Should have known you're not capab-"
Blade gave him a glare, "Shut. Up. Let's get back to the deal…" She pushed her hair behind her ears.
Lobster chuckled in disbelief, "I'll make it happen not to worry. How? That's the part that you don't need to know. Trade secret." He smirked superiorly. "You better keep it together. And it goes without saying if you refuse favours too often, the deal's off. You owe me a Fairy's loyalty after all."
"Yeah, yeah…don't worry," Blade grumbled into her knees as she let her head fall on them. Her breathing still unsteady she clawed into her trousers of the morph spell.
"How do you plan to be safe from PSI?" Lobster asked right out of the blue.
Blade's head shot up, "Why? How? Stupid question…" Of course, PSI was a problem for the underground world. Probably the unsanctioned one more than the official version. "Can't tell, what I don't know…" Blade massaged her shoulders but nothing could ease that tension.
"Ahh, the safe but crude way. Nice. Well, then, you seem ready to storm out of here. And remember - somehow - from now on I don't want any of your class to show up here uninvited. You can't completely vanish from the fight bar but dim it down. It's better when they think we are at odds after that little visit. Maybe I sent a note at some point where you can pretend we had a true fall out… ala I screwed up in spying on you… Hmm… not that you will remember this discussion…." He murmured irritated. "You're a lot of trouble you know that? Oh well, having a Fairy under my thumb is kinda nice." A big fat smirk.
Blade squinted her eyes at him. Silence. "I'll sic Votzaak on you if you overdo it."
"I. Know." Lobster Mobster opened the door to the hallway. "And now get out of here before I change my mind."
The forest was dark and deep at night times. Blade had to hurry the shield would come down soon. Such a long day. School, crafting the medallions… betraying Seth…Late afternoon trip to the city, John… Lobster… Ashfar…the deal… the promise…
Blade clutched the shirt at her chest. She wanted to puke. Her head hurt. 'How many evils… how much was in the name of good… or did I truly do the right thing…?' She bit her lip as she whipped away another set of tears. She took a big breath and closed her eyes.
Jewels stared at her. Standing there rubbing her upper arm next to one of the trees, "You know this is crazy?"
"Not more than breaking a Sorceress out of your own prison…" Blade mumbled to herself. Jewels. Seth's sister. She was so vivid in her mind. That unsure yet determined gaze to the ground. The frustration and desperation to solve a problem bigger than themselves. "Don't worry… it will be fine…" Blade husked into the night. Her promise joined with the chirping of the crickets. Her eyes opened and Jewels was no more, just reality. Unsure if it was a lie she told herself or a victorious promise. So far, they were on track. Even if their enemies were already snapping at their heels. She took a random branch from the ground. The tiniest bit of magic and she engraved 'Ashfar' into it and let it vanish into her pocket.
Alfea was just in sight. The towers grew beyond the tree line. Blade's hand reached into her pouch. She clasped around the flask. Unlike Seth, she couldn't keep her memories and even he had erased the time in Hoggar and probably more. In the end, there was no way to tell. Everyone had to do what they thought was best. There wasn't a way to check another. Nor to read the notes everyone had written to themselves. However, if anyone would be submitted to PSI or any other questioning it'd be Blade and Nebula first in line. And with so much done today and these past days she had to erase a lot more. 'At least I forget that kiss… I'm so sorry Amal…' She was so short of writing him, yet it'd be pointless. She could already hear him say it was for the good of the mission. A necessity. She didn't agree. 'Nothing can be changed now anyways…' Blade clicked her tongue. 'One kiss… to save a life… worth it.' She clenched her hands trying to shake off the nagging guilt.
Alfea drew closer, she already had made her main note. She didn't need to adjust anything. The name of her enemies was safely tucked away in her trousers. It was a quiet but hastened walk towards the window of their room from which she had escaped this afternoon. Always looking at the bracelet making sure that the virus kept it still in check. Afraid now on the last meters it would fail and ruin everything. She reached the pinkish wall. Her hands pressed against the cold stone. She turned around like a spooked Digmole. Nothing. One check with nature and she was pretty much sure no one had followed her. She summoned some magic as she clawed into the amulet with the morph spell. The other pulled the flask and it hit her lips. Only the tiniest spark of magic to counter it, but too weak to stop it. One last jump up high to get through the window frame.
Solid ground under her feet. The removed amulet burst into a million glimmering glints like fireflies against the night sky. She turned back into her own self. A magic thrum in her chest that knocked the breath out of her. She stumbled and caught herself. The biggest headache she had felt in ages. She barely managed to use her magic to change into her pyjamas and fall into her bed.
…
"Blade?" Nebula lowered next to Blade already in her pyjamas. "Come on get up. We're going to be late to breakfast." She frowned at Blade. "Say were you sleepwalking?" She pulled a leave out of her hair. "Get going. The Professors already hate us… don't give them more fodder. We need to be extra splendid to get them back on our good side."
"Hmmm…" Blade pulled the pillow over her head, "Just five more minutes…"
"No," Nebula pulled the blanket away. "Chop, chop." She snatched the brush on the nightstand and brushed through her lavender hair. "Come on. I don't want homework. That unsanctioned training session was a stupid idea."
"Training session?" Blade blinked at Nebula.
"Yeah…" Nebula shook her head. "Just what-?" She went silent. It was only a suspicion but considering the note she had written to herself, Blade had most likely done something similar. "I go and get the water bucket for you… that'll wake you up!" She tossed her the brush. "Now… get going… read your notes for class and let's go already." She at least tried to drop a hint.
Blade rummaged through her stuff quickly. Just to find the note… in her backpack.
'Zero successes. Rabia. Shrimps. Date?!'
Her eyes wandered to the bracelet. "What?! But yesterday was… fuck me…" She cursed. She knew exactly what all this meant. Such a stupid code she had come up with months ago. Zero, like a circle, a ring. Rabia, a truth seer; shrimps, a seafood. Success spoke for itself. "The game is on…" Victoriously she huffed. They wouldn't lose, not to them. She checked for the date on her bracelet again, "Well… at least no session with Shanna today…" With haste, she grabbed all the other stuff. She was just about to throw her trousers into the laundry basket. When she saw that it was dirted and a bit sticky at the knees. "Huh?" He patted them down a bit confused. And felt something inside her pocket. A little stick from the forest. "Ashfar…" She frowned. "Ashfar?" No matter she burned it into dust just in case. It would make sense. Probably.
"BLADE! I will leave you behind!" Nebula rang out from the front door of their shared mini apartment.
"Denied! We don't leave anyone behind!" Blade roared back swooped up her bag and chased after Nebula.