Shell shocked was an understatement. The three adventurers sat on the edge of Galinda's bed, staring blankly into space. No one had dared to speak a word in at least 15 minutes; the events of the last hour were too busy replaying in a loop in each of their heads.

Finally Elphaba broke the silence.

"What should we do?"

Fiyero raised an eyebrow and the ghost of a smile flickered across his face while Galinda's mouth fell open as she turned towards her in horror. "Do? I never want to think about that horrendible building ever again, Elphie!"

Elphaba rose passionately to her feet before turning to face the other two. "Well we have to do something! We can't just let those men get away with—"

"Elphaba!" This time Galinda got to her feet too, she looked slightly harassed at what Elphaba was saying. "Those men were committing murder! And we weren't even supposed to be there, we could get into so much trouble if we're found out."

That was something Elphaba hadn't considered. The entire way back to the dorm her mind had been racing with thoughts of what they should do , but it had never occurred to her that there was nothing they could do.

She knew Galinda had a point, but still she probed. She turned to Fiyero hopefully, "Come on, Fiyero, when have you ever backed down from breaking the rules?"

"Ah," he ruffled his hair nervously while both girls glared at him. "I have been known to put the well-being of myself over that of others from time to time," he chuckled uncomfortably. Elphaba's face grew stony and Galinda looked as if she could have kissed him right then and there.

"You two are insufferable," Elphaba snapped, stalking across the room to her side where she plopped down on the bed aggressively. She couldn't fathom not wanting to help poor innocent creatures. Yet both Galinda and Fiyero seemed more than happy to forget they ever saw anything.

Neither of the others followed her and after a few minutes she heard them hurriedly whispering back and forth. She felt her temper begin to rise as she stared moodily at the vanity in the middle of the room; it was blocking Galinda and Fiyero and she was extremely grateful for it in the moment.

She didn't think she could look at them right now. How could they be so alright with letting the horrors of the night persist? How could they be okay with doing nothing?

Laying down, she rolled on her side to stare, sightlessly, out of the window while she chased the hundreds of thoughts racing around her mind.

Who were the poachers and how had they set up camp inside Thrumwich Hall? How could she possibly help save the animals? If she went to a professor she would have to explain how she had come to find out about the poaching ring, but if she didn't the poaching ring could take out even more animals without being stopped.

Eventually Galinda and Fiyero's hushed whispering stopped and Elphaba listened as they crept across the room to her bedside.

"Elphie?" Galinda whispered nervously.

Elphaba clamped her eyes shut tightly, she wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. The two waited silently for a moment before quietly walking away towards the door. There was more whispering and then the door opened and closed.

It was a moment before Elphaba heard Galinda change, slide into bed and switch off the lamp, throwing the room into darkness. The air felt thicker than usual. The silence more pressing.

Where before they fell asleep in tense quiet, now it was most unusual for the girls to go the night without saying goodnight to each other.

Elphaba lay awake, staring out the window as a heavy ache grew in her chest. Tonight more than ever she wanted to be laying beside Galinda, but her annoyance at her lack of drive to help the animals kept her firmly in place.

She wasn't mad, but she did wish her new friend would show a bit more compassion.

After what felt like hours she fell into a restless sleep filled with dreams of animals and men with faces she couldn't remember.

————————-

Over the next few days Elphaba found herself withdrawing back to her usual habits. She woke early, creeping out of the dorm to breakfast before Galinda was awake, trying her best to avoid talking. She still sat beside her in each lesson, but conversation was kept to a minimum. She wasn't sure why she was having such a hard time talking, but she was barely speaking to anyone.

She developed the habit of taking her lunch to the lawn outside Thrumwich Hall where she would sit, glaring at the seemingly empty building and its hidden inhabitants while she slowly picked at her food. The poachers were taking up her every thought and she felt as if it was slowly driving her crazy.

She was utterly helpless and still she couldn't decide if she should go to someone for help.

When she wasn't outside Thrumwich or avoiding Galinda and Fiyero she could be found in her old spot in the library (only after a long apology to Miss Greyling), hidden behind stacks of books on animal history and animal law. It was slowly becoming an obsession. How could she actually make a difference?

So far her constant reading and researching hadn't helped her at all. If anything it proved to her just how horrible the people of Oz had grown towards the animals. She was becoming more hopeless.

A few times she had nearly gone to Dr. Dillamond, but she couldn't help but remember the conversation she had overheard between him and the other animals. And he had expressly told her to not mention it to anyone. She was sure finding the poachers most definitely fell under the don't mention it to anyone category.

But not mentioning it felt like a great injustice.

Four days had gone by since the night they entered Thrumwich Hall the second time and still Elphaba was doing her best to avoid talking to her friends. All she wanted to talk about was the animals, but she knew it was a topic neither of them were keen to approach.

She was sitting in the library, scratching away at an potions essay when someone cleared their throat behind her stack of textbooks. She looked up, slowly peeking around the stack to find Galinda with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"Elphaba Thropp," she whispered loudly, doing her best to keep her voice low despite her upset.

"Hi," Elphaba sighed; even if she didn't want to admit she was glad to see Galinda.

Galinda moved around the table and took the seat beside Elphaba. She pulled her bag into her lap and took out some bread, hiding it behind the stacked books and offering it to Elphaba as she checked Miss Greyling was nowhere near. "You weren't at dinner," she stated.

"I wasn't hungry," Elphaba responded though she was eyeing the bread ravenously. She couldn't help it, she grabbed a piece and tore it up before popping it into her mouth. "Thanks," she mumbled once she'd swallowed.

Galinda didn't respond, instead she fixed Elphaba with a beady stare. "Why haven't you been talking to me?"

Elphaba hadn't expected her to be so straightforward. She took another bite of bread and slowly chewed while she pondered her answer. In all honesty she wasn't too sure why she was completely avoiding her roommate. Sure, she was annoyed with her unwillingness to help, but ultimately she missed her.

"I've just had a lot on my mind—"

"I wish you would talk to me about it, Elphie," she reached for Elphaba's hand, taking it in her own gently and rubbing the back with her thumb.

Elphaba squeezed Galinda's hand, grateful for the contact she had been missing. "You don't want to talk about it," she said sadly. She knew Galinda was serious about her offer, but she also knew she wouldn't want to hear about their night at Thrumwich again.

Galinda wasn't thrown off. "Elphie, I'm worried about you. And this stuff with Thrumwich…it's eating you up; it's like you're a whole different person." Elphaba fought back a smile; Galinda was far more observant than she gave her credit for.

She chewed on her lip, avoiding eye contact with Galinda who looked extremely determined to get to the bottom of their issues. It seemed like this was a conversation Elphaba wouldn't be getting out of.

She sighed as she glanced around the empty library, "How can you not think about it every second of the day?" As she spoke an image of the bound fox ran through her mind sending a shiver down her spine.

"You think I don't?" Galinda seemed almost hurt that Elphaba thought such a thing.

Immediately she felt guilt spread through her chest, she hadn't bothered to think how Galinda was taking their nighttime adventure. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "that wasn't fair of me…I just…it's hard for me to see you not want to help them—"

"Elphie, it's not that I don't want to help…I'm scared," she said earnestly, "and I'm scared for you too. Those hideotious men…we don't know what they're capable of." She put her other hand on Elphaba's, "if something happened to you…I don't know what I'd do."

Elphaba felt her stomach twist into knots. Galinda really did care about her; she almost couldn't believe it was true, but from the way the other girl was looking at her, it was impossible to deny. "You'd be alright," Elphaba offered a crooked smile that Galinda didn't return.

"Elphaba Thropp, I mean it. You're more important to me than some animals I don't know!"

She knew she should be touched by the statement, but Elphaba couldn't help her disappointment with Galinda's lack of care for the animals. "Galinda, I can't sit here and do nothing…that's just as bad as killing the poor things myself."

Galinda pouted, "So you think I'm as good as killing them—"

"Well you're not helping them," Elphaba retorted, but immediately wished she had maybe held her tongue when she watched Galinda's face fall. She sighed heavily and ran a hand over her face, "Look, I'm sorry I see it that way, but I'm really struggling with this all…I wish you saw this through my eyes."

Tears started to brim the surface of Galinda's lids, she nodded her head ever so slightly. "I understand, Elphie, and I do too…I'm sorry…I wish I was braver for you."

"Hey," Elphaba leaned forward and reached up with her unoccupied hand, tucking a strand of yellow hair behind Galinda's ear. "You are plenty brave, Galinda Upland," she winked at Galinda who ducked her head down as her cheeks flushed pink.

When she looked up again she had a small, nervous smile on her face, "I—I miss you, Elphie. I wish you would come back to me a little.

Elphaba cracked her first genuine smile in days, it felt almost foreign. "I miss you too, Galinda."

Galinda looked thoroughly pleased, "I have my Elphie back?" She asked with her eyebrows raised expectantly.

Elphaba rolled her eyes with another playful smile. "You have your Elphie back."

With a high pitched squeal that earned a glare from Miss Greyling, Galinda threw her arms around Elphaba's neck and pulled her in close. Warmth erupted in Elphaba's stomach and she held Galinda tightly; really she had missed her.

After a few moments Galinda released her with a satisfied smile. She sat up straighter, "So what are we going to do about these animals?"

"You don't have to do that."

"I know," Galinda crooned, "that's what makes me so nice." Her eyes sparkled as she smiled and Elphaba had to clamp her lips together to stop her own smile from forming.

"Well…I don't really know what to do besides going there and try to stop the bastards myself—"

"Elphaba!"

"I know, I know. It's not safe," she threw up air quotes around the last word with a roll of her eyes. "But, Galinda, something weird is going on…I've been doing my research," she scooped up her essay and shoved it in the textbook before tossing it out of her way. She searched through her bag for a minute before pulling out a few sheafs of paper covered in her neat handwriting.

"These are all the animals that have gone missing within a twenty mile radius of Shiz in the last three months alone." Galinda scooted her chair closer to Elphaba and leaned over as she peered at the surprisingly long list of animals. A frown slowly formed on her face as her eyes went down the list.

"They're gone without a trace…I bet more than half if not all of them are in Thrumwich Hall," her face fell, "we need to find out who those men are—"

"Elphie, we need to go to someone…this is way bigger than us," there was no way for Galinda to hide the fear in her voice, she stared in horror at the list then back up at Elphaba. "I want to help them, but we could really get hurt."

Elphaba shook her head, "we can't go to anyone." Galinda started to protest when Elphaba cut her off, lowering her voice greatly as she checked that once again they were alone. She wanted to be entirely truthful.

"I overheard Dr Dillamond and some other animals talking about the disappearances one night…it's happening all over Oz, Galinda. Animals are disappearing and losing the ability to speak everywhere. I thought the poachers were supposed to have died out…but something's happening. And Dr Dillamond doesn't seem to think the wizard could even help—"

"But the wizard can do anything," Galinda countered, as if it was preposterous to think otherwise.

"He told me not to tell anyone—"

"Tell anyone what?"

Both Elphaba and Galinda nearly jumped out of their seats; they looked around the books, each clutching their chest to see Fiyero, a crooked grin in place, standing holding a slice of cake. Elphaba glanced over at Miss Greyling who seemed too smitten with Fiyero to tell him off for bringing food into the library.

He placed the cake down in front of Elphaba and passed her a fork, "I know it's not dinner, but better than nothing," he took a seat on the other side of Galinda and smiled at the two women who still looked shocked at his sudden appearance.

"Thanks," Elphaba said sheepishly as she started to pick at the slice. She couldn't help but feel an overwhelming wave of affection for Galinda and Fiyero as she tucked into her plate.

Fiyero threw his arm around Galinda's shoulders and leaned back in his seat, "So…tell anyone what?" He repeated when neither girl had answered him.

They exchanged a look. It would be unfair to exclude him from their conversation. He had been with them after all and maybe he would have an idea she hadn't thought of.

Elphaba immediately told him about the animals, the more she talked the more concerned he became, subconsciously pulling Galinda closer to him with each new piece of information.

"So that's why I don't know what to do…" she trailed off anticlimactically.

"Well we have to tell someone—"

"But Dr Dillamond—"

Fiyero shook his head, "Who cares? You don't have to mention his little meeting, but we should at least try to tell someone."

"We can't go to him, it will just put him in danger too," Elphaba said wearily, burying her head in her hands. It was starting to really feel hopeless. The librarian walked past and the three of them grew silent, waiting until she was no longer within ear shot before they spoke again.

Elphaba stabbed a bit of cake on her fork and pushed it around the plate. She was churning through her thoughts trying to think of who she trusted enough to confide her discovery in.

"What about Madame Morrible?" Galinda piped up, taking the fork out of Elphaba's hand to take a bite of the cake. "She didn't get you in trouble for…" she looked around and lowered her voice, "turning Miss Greyling into a chicken. Maybe she can help us this time?"

Fiyero and Elphaba glanced at each other, he shrugged, nodding to Elphaba to allow her to decide. She didn't know how she hadn't thought of Madame Morrible right away. If there was someone who could help it would most definitely be the sorceress.

After a tense moment she finally nodded. "I don't think we should tell her we went in though," she said slowly.

The other two wholeheartedly agreed. It would be best to remove any chance of getting in trouble from the equation.

Together they made a plan: they would tell Madame Morrible they'd seen someone sneaking into the building one night, hopefully Madame Morrible would have someone investigate and then just like that their problem would be solved.

The plan seemed solid. After all, Madame Morrible wouldn't deny them the help, Elphaba was sure of it.

——————-

That night she and Galinda sat on Galinda's bed, one in front of the other. Elphaba was running her hands through her long braids, de tangling them carefully while Galinda sat, crosslegged, closely behind her. She was humming to herself as she watched Elphaba work each section of braids, before massaging her scalp with a sigh.

"My turn," she sang happily, pulling Elphaba's hands away from her head. "You said you're teaching me to do your hair—"

"Yeah, teaching you to do my hair, not requiring you to massage me," Elphaba said dryly, trying to once again reach her scalp. Galinda held fast to her hands and pouted. Even with her back to her she knew what expression Galinda was making. "Fine," she said gently. Galinda nearly squeaked in exitememt.

Elphaba took her time explaining how to care for her braids, and Galinda sat at rapt attention asking questions when necessary. Elphaba wanted to smile; she'd never even seen Galinda pay this much attention in class before. Finally, after telling her about the different oils she used she handed the bottles over to Galinda with only slight trepidation.

She had to have faith in the other girl.

To her surprise, Galinda set to work almost expertly following her directions. "What, like it's hard to do?" She giggled, working the oils into Elphaba's braids with care. Elphaba smiled, she should have known better, Galinda was good at anything that had to do with cosmetics.

"Thank you for doing this," she mumbled, interrupting Galinda's humming.

"Of course, what are friends for?" Galinda sang back. They fell into a comfortable silence while Galinda worked her way around Elphaba's head. "You know something, Elphie?" She asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"I really admire your braverism…I've never met someone like you before, you know. So brave and passionate."

Elphaba's cheeks burned hot, she was extremely thankful Galinda was sitting behind her.

"It's nothing," she deflected. Something about the praise was making butterflies erupt in her stomach. "Someone has to be the voice for the oppressed," she added, almost bashfully.

"Well, they're quite lucky to have you," she said honestly as she finished the last section of Elphaba's hair. She had worked quickly, but it was still an arduous task and Elphaba wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't want to continue. "And now I can just braid it normally?"

Elphaba tried to ignore the change in topic, "oh, yeah," she said distantly, barely hearing herself over the compliment from Galinda ringing in her ears.

Once again Galinda's hands moved nimbly through her hair, parting it down the middle before she set about braiding her hair into two French braids.

"I wish I was more like you, Elphie, so willing to help others. It just scares me," she finished the first braid and paused for a moment. "It scares me to not do what's expected…if that makes sense. But you make me want to do more."

Elphaba thought about it; she knew Galinda cared about the animals that were dying, but she understood the fear that came with knowing there's a corrupt system you're going up against. It was scary, but to her, it was worth it.

Galinda started braiding the other side, gently brushing her fingers along Elphaba's neck at the same time. A line of goosebumps erupted each place her fingers passed.

"I think you're braver than you give yourself credit for," Elphaba said, trying to ignore the way she felt like she could still feel Galinda's fingers on her neck.

"That's very kind of you," Galinda said sweetly, though Elphaba could tell she didn't believe her. "There, all done…what do you think?" She dropped the second braid onto Elphaba's chest with a satisfied smile. Elphaba could tell she was proud of herself.

She got up to look in the mirror, soon she was beaming at her reflection. "You did great," she turned to face Galinda who flushed pink at the compliment.

"Really?"

"Really," Elphaba assured her. "Thank you," she couldn't keep the smile off her face if she tried. Galinda was one of the most thoughtful people she knew, but she couldn't help but be surprised still.

"It's nothing," she waved a hand dismissively. "We should get to bed," she said after a moment's pleasant silence. "The sooner we fall asleep the sooner we'll see Madame Morrible," she rose to her feet with a stretch and a big smile at Elphaba. "Hug," she demanded, reaching out towards the other girl.

Elphaba's heart thudded in her chest. This was exactly what she had been missing. She held Galinda tightly to her, dreading the moment they would let go.

"Goodnight, Galinda," she said for the first time in days.

"Goodnight, Miss Elphaba," Galinda murmured into her shoulder with a small smile. Everything felt right between them again.

——————————

The next morning Elphaba woke up early, she dressed quietly and scribbled a note to Galinda. Going for a walk, see you at breakfast.

Today was the day. Today she would be taking a chance to help the innocent animals that were being slaughtered by the mysterious group of poachers. The group of poachers who had so confidently set up camp on Shiz's campus, right under everyone's noses.

Once she was ready she slipped out the door, closing it noiselessly behind her. She set out for the grounds, ready for a walk in the crisp morning air as she headed toward Thrumwich Hall. She needed to see it one more time before she sent Madame Morrible in after the poachers.

She was halfway there when she heard her name being called out. "Wait up!"

It was Fiyero, he smiled brightly as he jogged to catch up to Elphaba. "I thought you might be up early this morning."

"You did?"

"Galinda said you've been up early every day this week," he explained, breathing heavier as he tried to catch his breath. "Headed to the hall?"

She nodded, pulling her bag higher onto her shoulder. She wanted to ask why he had come to find her, but she kept the question to herself.

"You really care about this," he commented as they continued the walk together.

"Someone has to," she shrugged. To her it just made sense.

"It's great..you're something else," he commented, shoving his hands in his pockets as they strolled. "There should be more people like you."

Elphaba laughed, "you're just saying that—"

Fiyero smiled bashfully, "I am not. You inspire me to be better, Elphaba. I would never have put myself in this situation if it weren't for you."

"Don't act like you're actually so deeply shallow and self absorbed," she rolled her eyes. In her opinion Fiyero was playing a role, nothing more; she knew deep down he did actually care about what was going on.

He ruffled his hair, "I actually happen to be deeply shallow and self absorbed," he joked.

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't care," she pointed out, something he couldn't argue with.

"Thanks to you," he insisted. "You change things, Elphaba."

She didn't know what to make of this statement, but she felt her heart rate pick up slightly. Luckily they arrived at Thrumwich right then and she was able to avoid answering.

"It doesn't look so scary from the outside," he said as they stood in the shadow of the building. He was right, it was a monstrous, but unassuming building. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She nodded resolutely. "This is the last day those men terrorize a single animal in Oz."

"You're a brave one," he sighed, looking at her with nothing short of admiration.

She shook her head, "if I was brave I'd go in and handle it myself."

"I know you would…but you're too smart for that." He paused, suddenly fixing Elphaba with a hard stare, "promise me no matter what you won't go after them."

"Fiyero, Madame Morrible—"

"If for some reason it doesn't work out…promise me you won't go after them," he repeated sternly.

She sighed, "Fine…I promise." With a straight face Fiyero held out his pinky. "You're not serious?" Elphaba couldn't help but crack a smile.

"You can't break a pinky promise," he explained as if this was a binding contract. Still his finger remained extended towards her. Clearly he wasn't going to move until Elphaba humored him.

Slowly she locked their pinkies together, "Primise."

——————————————————

"Madame Morrible?"

It was the end of their sorcery lesson, Galinda and Elphaba exchanged nervous looks as they prepared to approach their professor about their supposed suspicions. The lesson had gone well for both the girls and Madame Morrible was in an especially good mood.

She looked up from the paper she was reading over to peer at the girls who were grouped together, holding hands.

"Ah, we wanted to talk to you about something," Elphaba said cautiously, suddenly much more nervous than she had previously felt.

"Yes, deary?"

Immediately Elphaba launched into her story about seeing men making their way into the abandoned building. Madame Morrible listened closely, her eyes narrowing the longer Elphaba spoke, it looked as if she was growing slightly alarmed.

Once she was finished Elphaba felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had done it, she had told the professor she trusted over all others. Evenbefore Madame Morrible answered, Elphaba knew she would help them.

"You're sure you saw this?" This time Elphaba saw it plainly, Madame Morrible was shaken by the information.

She nodded silently, Galinda squeezed her hand lightly. "Galinda too." The blonde nodded like a bobble head.

"Well this is most concernible," she muttered, shaking her head at the same time. And she did in fact look extremely concerned.

"Is there something you can do?" Elphaba asked tentatively.

"But of course. We'll search the building tomorrow morning," her brow furrowed. "Thank you for coming forward, deary, Ill of course keep you updated on our findings." she suddenly seemed very distracted. She cleared her throat, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll need to talk with Miss Coddle."

She rose with a sweep of her magnificent robes, shuffling the two girls toward the door at the same time. "Don't worry, dears, we shall take care of this."

The three of them went out to the hall, Galinda and Elphaba turned right while Madame Morrible headed to the left. For the first time in days Elphaba felt overwhelming relief coursing through her.