very good chapter, as always the group chats are chaotic and i lomve them
i still have two questions
what's gas gas gas from
and who gave ash enough power to do that

Chapter Fourteen
[now playing: princess peach by Shawn Wasabi]


Corvus didn’t mind spending his study hall in the library. It was peaceful and gave him the perfect opportunity to finish up homework. Plus, he cherished the break from prying information out of people and flirting to get out a dark secret. It was times like these where he could sit back, finish off his bottled black coffee, and take a moment to himself.

Which was not the case today.

The second Corvus entered the library, he could sense the presence had shifted. No longer could he feel the energy of just a bunch of dead trees. Instead, there was a slight undertone of...mushrooms.

Corvus hated mushrooms, he decided, when he looked up at the ceiling and saw another mushroom circle plaguing the ceiling. That would make seventy-three mushroom rings that he had counted across campus in total.

This certain ring wouldn’t bother him at all if it was, say, in front of the library entrance. But no, it could absolutely not be there. It had to be right above his favorite chair, the one tucked into the corner of the library where no one could bother him.

Corvus let out a frustrated puff of air, biting on the cap of his blue pen as he stared down at his Government homework. According to section 37 of Aldaen law, no citizen can--

A mass of long, black hair smacked Corvus in the face, making the sheep hybrid let out an accidental panicked bleat. The sheep hybrid realized his noise and his face went pale as the mass of hair turned around.

“Hello, Chan,” Corvus said with a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why did you make another mushroom ring, and why specifically over my chair?” 

Chan collapsed from the ceiling, fluttering down to stand on her goat legs. She hit the ground with a soft clop and the fairy turned on one hoof to face Corvus. 

“Oh, this is thaaaat chair?” Chan said, cocking her head to the side. The eyes peeking through her twintail buns seemed to stare directly at Corvus, making the sheep hybrid shudder. “I didn’t notice.”

“Yes, you did,” Corvus said, pointing up to the ceiling. The mushroom ring was thrice the size of its normal companions, this one encompassing the chair in its entirety. 

“You’re right, I did,” Chan said, flopping her blazer sleeves for dramatic effect. “But I don’t care.”

Corvus placed his head in his hands. All I wanted to do was get my homework done. “Did you do this to purposely annoy me? You already have two rings in the library, what’s the point?”

“Well, if I spawn in this ring, my hair will hit you directly in the face. And it’s funny to listen to you bleat in panic!” the girl said, finishing her statement with a giggle.

Corvus was sure of it. He absolutely despised mushrooms.

“Chan, I will get that homicidal library bird to take down your rings in here if you don’t stop,” Corvus said, tilting his head to look up.

“No you won’t,” Chan said, voice still cheery. “Because people gossip in the library and I can get dirt on people if I hold my hair!” the girl said, throwing her arms up into the air in joy. Her hands somehow didn’t come out of her blazer sleeves. “Once, I was eavesdropping and I accidentally hit someone in the face with my hair so I had to spawn halfway across campus--”

“That is great, but I literally don’t care,” Corvus said, frustrated. The boy played with a strand of his white hair, looking back at his textbook. “Now, can I finish my government homework? I have at least twenty more laws to get the gist of down or I’ll get a bad score on my test.”

“Oh, sure,” Chan said with a shrug, rifling in a hidden pocket in the uniform skirt she wore. The fairy was infamous for her uniform modification; the navy blue skirt had a petticoat underneath it so the fairy could keep her gothic lolita aesthetic up. The fairy seemed to find what she was looking for, her semi-opaque wings fluttering as she grasped it and threw it at Corvus’ chest.

“Lollipop,” Chan said, pointing to the candy that had fallen into Corvus’ lap. “Good for studying.”

“...Thanks,” Corvus said, the thank-you clearly pained. “Now, leave me be.”

Chan hummed, watching Corvus turn back to his textbook.

A minute had passed before Corvus looked up.

“Are you seriously not going to leave me alone?”

“Noooooope,” Chan said. Corvus swore under his breath. I swear, that smile gets more annoying every time I see it.“Why not?” Corvus said, closing his textbook with resent.

“Well,” Chan said, rocking her weight back from hoof to hoof, “I heard that someone got dirt on Kaori from his middle school years, so like, teeeechnically I’m supposed to be viciously interrogating them right now. Whoopsies!”

Corvus wanted to hit his head against his textbook hard enough that the textbook would clip through his skull. “You’re kidding me.”

“I can always teleport and jump them,” Chan said with a careless sigh. The eyes in her buns blinked in unison, their focus all trained on Corvus. “If all else fails, we can take out the rumor at the core.”

Corvus groaned. “No murder, Chan. You know that's illegal.”

“Pity,” Chan said, letting her back lean against a bookshelf. She kicked one hoof in front of the other, tilting her head to the side. “We could always drop the whole blackmail act, you know.”

Corvus grimaced, playing with the binding of his textbook. “Dunno. It’s the only kind of thing I’ve got going on.”

“You could join me in cryptid acts,” Chan said, cocking her head to the side again. “Wanna scam a kid out of his darkest secret and only do half of his math homework in return?”

“...I’d much rather get another coffee,” Corvus said, looking at his watch. “School ends soon, right?”

“Yeah, free period is up in like, ten minutes,” Chan said, pulling out a dramatically-oversized pocket watch. No one ever questioned the clock’s size. “Want me to get Kaori and Spec to come along? We haven’t had a night all together in a while.”

“I guess,” Corvus said, still off-put. “What do you even wanna go do?”

“Aquarium got some freaky big crabs in,” Chan said with a more devious smile than before. “Want to see if I can make mushrooms grow in a tank?”

“We are going to get kicked out of the aquarium.”

“Good thing is, I don’t care!” Chan beamed, moving towards Corvus and climbing up on his chair’s armrest. “Now, boost me up. I need to spawn away.”

“Chan, you can fly.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to. Now, uppity,” Chan said. Corvus groaned, standing up and putting his hands together for the fairy to stand in. 

“By the way,” Chan said, reaching for the roof, “How do you like the new chat names?”

“You changed them?!” Corvus exclaimed, watching the raven-haired fairy hop to skim her fingertips against the ceiling. The second the fairy had gotten a good grasp, she sprung off the sheep-hybrid, proceeding to warp through the ceiling and, hopefully, to her own study hall classroom.

Corvus sighed, sitting back down. No point in trying to keep studying, he thought, pulling his backpack up into his lap. He focused on finishing packing up his back, shoving his textbooks in and jamming his pencils into his pencil case. The few last minutes in school were spent of him secretly on his phone, keeping an eye out for Ms. Santiago (or the three strange ones who roam the library. Corvus was deathly scared of that mechanical bird-- what was it screaming for? Why did it need to scream? What was the purpose?). 

The Westminster bell chime rang throughout the school, signaling the end of the final period of the school day. Three in the afternoon and somehow, Corvus had made plans with his strange friend group.

The boy shook out his hair, brushing it out of the way of his eyes as he walked out the front door. Finally, a moment of peace--

“Hey Corvy!” a familiar voice exclaimed, making the tall hybrid let out yet another bleat of shock.

“I swear to god, Specter, I am going to fight you,” Corvus hissed, jabbing his finger in the same direction of the vampire.

Specter shrugged, trying to whistle inconspicuously and failing. “Who, what, me? Widdwe ol’ me? You’we gonna fight me--”

“If you don’t stop speaking in that outdated baby talk, I will take you down in the Dionysus parking lot instead of eating a healthy family dinner with you all,” Corvus said, glaring at Specter, jabbing his finger again. 

Specter snorted, starting the duo’s walk towards the train station exit. “Did...did you just call Denny’s Dionysus?! Oh my god, it’s true, you’re an outdated old man.”

Corvus groaned. “You’re not even pathetically short like Chan and you still have insurmountable gremlin energy.”

“Aww, thank you!” Specter beamed, their hand lightly placed over their chest as if he had just complimented the vampire’s hair.

Corvus grumbled to himself, tossing his coffee bottle out in a plastic recycling bin. “First Chan, now you? How much do I even have to deal with today?”

The tingling in the back of his neck was back. The stupid brain alert that went off like a foghorn combined with a raid siren whenever a mushroom was remotely close to nearby.

Specter was mid-ramble about some raccoon-themed dating simulator they had pirated online when Corvus snapped his head upwards, immediately finding the upside-down mushroom ring.

“Chan’s gonna spawn here in like, three seconds,” Corvus said, cutting Specter off from their ramble about how Tanner Tanuki was the most misunderstood character in the entire series.

Specter stopped in their tracks, looking up. “Oh. Was that ring there yesterday?”

“I swear, she must break into school grounds at night or something,” Corvus said, pressing his palm to his forehead. “Alright, okay, that’s cool. We can just wait here till she gets here.”

Specter hummed in response, leaning against the railing they had stopped near. The train station was underground, and their perch was located on the floor above the staircase. Students passed by the duo without bothering to look in the other’s direction. Corvus could make out a dragon-winged senior with a snake wound around him, the scary bird man from the library, and a fairy with vines woven into her wavy, brownish-black hair.

Corvus didn’t notice the fact that Kaori had tackled him till he was on the ground. The elder groaned, cradling the back of his head as Kaori climbed off of him.

“Was that necessary?” Corvus wheezed from the ground, quickly turning to stand back up. He was immediately smacked back onto the ground as a pair of goat hooves nailed him in the skull, sending him into the dark.

When Corvus came back to reality, he found absolutely no one staring at his unconscious body. Instead, Chan, Specter and Kaori were chatting like Corvus wasn’t unconscious for however much time had passed.

“You are lucky I have a literal thick skull, I would be dead if I was a human!” Corvus attempted to spit from the ground, despite sounding about as intimidating as a small cat with a gun.

Chan shrugged, her bun-eyes blinking indifferently. “Well, at least you’re alive.”

“You guys are the worst.”

“We know,” Kaori responded. “Wanna go out for dinner? We were thinking that Asian food sounded good tonight.”

Corvus let out a noncommittal noise from the ground. Apparently, his entire friend group took that as a yes, because he was hoisted to the ground in seconds and already on their way to the train station.

Ah, yes, Corvus thought to himself, watching his friend group race each other down the stairs. Kaori was using fire to attempt to propel himself, Specter was sliding down the rail, and Chan had literally thrown herself down the staircase.

I hate mushrooms. 

~


[now playing: how many stars are there by Idealism]



The Vietnamese restaurant that the group of seniors frequented was small. The size of two bedrooms placed next to each other for seating at best, with a small portion of that being taken up by the register. The walls weren’t overly decorated, just a few scenic photos here and there, mirrors on some wall. It was an honest, if not a bit outdated interior. It felt comforting.

The food made up for the interior. The air was thick with the smell of meat broths, the slightly starchy smell of rice noodles accompanying the heavier tones of proteins.

“...So let me get this straight,” Marshall said, leaning back in the booth seat and setting his chopsticks on the side of his bun cha plate. “You got an ominous tape recording in your locker, found out that you could see your mom for the first time in ever, and your first reaction was to not tell us right away?”

Rebel gave a tired sigh, nodding and taking a sip from her water glass. “Pretty much.”

“And I thought I was the stupid one,” Marshall sighed, moving to take another bite of his food. “Dude, you really gotta stop being so secretive around us. You can trust us, man.”

“How else do you think I got away with the chicken incident?” Ark said, setting down his Goi cuon.

Rebel shrugged, gazing down at her Bun bo Hue. “I know. It was just...confusing. I wanted to figure out what was left there for me before I brought it up to you guys.

“It makes sense,” Time said, taking a bite of the meat in his pho. “You were coming from a logical standpoint, so your decision was well thought out.”

Rebel murmured her thanks, taking another sip from her water. “I honestly think I’m gonna go see her. I’ll try for train tickets at the end of the month, so we’re not too close to finals when it all happens.”

“Alright! That’s cool and we’ll support you the whole way,” Marshall said with a grin, vampire fangs peeking out. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“You sound like my dad,” Ark groaned. Ark realized he had interrupted and bowed his head. “Sorry. Continue, Rebel?”

Rebel shook her head. “Don’t worry, it’s alright. Actually...if anything, I’d like for you guys to come with me.”

Silence.

Rebel couldn't tell if that was heat from the spice causing her to sweat or her nervousness. She kept her expression calm and straight, looking at the others.

The guys...all seemed to be in deep thought. This was the most philosophical she had ever seen Ark, or the hardest Marshall had ever thought, Rebel realized. The only person who wasn’t out of their norm was Time, and Time always looked like he was contemplating the theory of relativity.

“Alright, sounds cool,” Ark said with a shrug. “My dad’ll be fine with it. I’ll tell Ri that I’m leaving as well. I can get paperwork for us to transfer to online briefly, do you think we’ll have data?”

Time tapped through a few apps on his phone before setting it down. “Yeah, no plans magically appeared in my agenda. My parents will take a bit of convincing--”

“I can falsify field trip paperwork for you,” Ark said, turning to Time. “You too, Marshall and Rebel. It’s really not that hard to do, especially since I saved a copy of the last format.”

“Are you sure you won’t get expelled?” Rebel questioned, looking at the earth bender.

“Rebel, I haven’t gotten caught yet and I sure as heck won’t now,” Ark said with a determined nod. “Plus, the school thinks we’re going to do school in isolation due to sickness. We’ll just have to register in two separate days so it doesn’t seem suspicious.”

Rebel looked at the trio in front of her. “...You guys are really supportive of this, huh?”

Ark scoffed. “Well, duh. If I had the chance to see my mom, I’d do the same.”

Time nodded in affirmation. “A break would be good, and getting out of town has always sounded appealing.”

Marshall shrugged. “Dude, we’re heading out by-- wait, what are we traveling on?”

“Train,” Rebel repeated, fixing a lock of her hair. “It’s cheaper and less suspicious than a plane flight.”

Time made a noise at the back of his throat. “Sounds about right. I’ll pay for my own ticket.”

The table erupted into murmurs of agreement, discussing payment methods, traveling, and packing as they continued to eat their food.

Rebel is smiling, Marshall noticed. She looks happy. That’s...so good to see. She hasn’t smiled like that in a while.

“Alright,” Rebel said, corners of her mouth upturned as she softly clapped her hands together. “Uh, I guess we’re really doing this, huh? I...can’t thank you enough.”

The boys at the table returned the thanks with soft whispers of “you’re welcome”. Ark quickly scanned the table for his water glass, holding it up in the air.

“To Rebel,” he said in a mock British accent, before stifling a laugh and continuing in a normal voice. “And her mom, and uh...trains? Yeah, trains!”

The other guys raised their classes, clashing them against Ark’s with cheers. Rebel mimicked the motion, a warm feeling curling up in her stomach.

It’s going to turn out alright.


~


[now playing: Dreamer by Night Tempo]



 Corvus was glad the group had opted to eat at a small Vietnamese restaurant instead of potentially getting banned from Beat’s aquarium. The restaurant was cozy, the food was great, and there was practically nothing that he needed to stress about except for if one of his friends violently choked on their food.

Corvus was mid-water sip when Specter opened their mouth to speak. “Okay, so, guys, don’t be obvious,” Specter said, setting down their chopsticks, “But you remember that tip we got about the redhead getting a cassette? I think that’s her over there.”

Corvus and Kaori fully turned around to squint at the table; while the eyes in Chan’s buns shifted to look to the side and at the table. There sat a girl with hair the color of dark roses, chatting with what seemed to be three other guys.

“Do none of you understand the meaning of ‘don’t be obvious’?” Specter stage-whispered in embarrassment, pinching the bridge of their nose. “It’s a small restaurant, we’re gonna get noticed.”

“Oh my god, is she eating with Ark? And...isn’t that Space or something?” Kaori hissed back to the table, turning to focus on his bowl of noodles again. “Hey, someone pass the cilantro.”

Chan wordlessly handed the plate to Kaori, taking a sip of her jasmine tea the second it was out of her grasp. “There’s Marshall as well, yes? Did you all hear about his big rumor from about a year ago?”

“I can’t be bothered to keep track of them all anymore,” Corvus said, taking a bite of his banh mi. 

“Heard he got suspended for beating up some homophobes,” Chan continued. “Someone said something and he got mad, I guess. I don’t care.”

“What a Chad move,” Specter said, staring at the vampire in thought. “Wait, doesn’t he have two moms? I think I saw them at the bake sale once.”

The table fell silent as the group all exchanged eye contact. Well, eye contact between the vampire, fire elemental, and sheep-hybrid; Chan’s hair just stared back. Anyone could tell that Specter was contemplating doing another one of their infamous deep-searches on the other vampire.

“No gender or sexual identity dirt, remember?” Corvus said. “We may have no standards, but at least we have a variation of morals.”

Specter jolted, almost dropping their chopsticks. “Oh my god! Right, I forgot that’s part of our policy. Alright, so if you hear anyone spreading his middle school rumor, deter it with a bigger and stupider one.”

“Like what?”

“Like, uh,” Specter said, their hand gesturing wildly as they attempted to come up with a story, “Like he beat someone up for making fun of...there was a fighter who came out then, right? Just say that.”

The table hummed in agreement, everyone going back to focus on their food. 

“So...anyone willing to do digging on the redhead?” Specter said, picking up conversation again. “We could get something interesting. Extra--”

“Material never hurts, we know,” Corvus and Kaori chimed. Chan didn’t say anything, opting to continue sipping on her tea instead.

The table fell into silence as the group continued to eat their food. Specter was chewing when Chan butted in with “Spec, did you steal that game off the internet that I told you about?” Thus launching the table into a conversation about the cursed raccoon dating simulator. 

In the back of Kaori's head, he tried to tune out the conversation to listen to the murmurs of the table across the restaurant from them. Faint words slipped out, but only a few caught his attention-- specifically "field trip" and "train tickets".

Interesting.


~ 


[GROUP CHAT: Salmon Squad]
bunniii_: hey so metaphorically if i burnt my fingertips on caramel 10 seconds after it came off the stovetop while baking what would you guys do
Armata_Strigoi: That statement had a lot to unpack
solamoon.ra: I’d show up at your house and physically fight you.
bunniii_: JOKES ON YOU YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE I LIVE  O R  WHO I AM 

Chan’s that one fairy who deals rumours to everyone else, about everyone else. While sipping Jasmine tea.

Last edited by Ephemeris (8/04/2020 10:02 am)

Beautiful beautiful beautiful

I'd dare to say that the rumor squad is just as chaotic as the Enten gang :eyes:. I love Chan OH MY GOSH.
Also they  have morals!!! We stan that.

Plot getting more interesting huh OwO.

Enten has clearly terrified Corvus before XDDD

Also!! Gossip group having morals!!! Big yes!!

H2JFK1KJTK2 love this chapter <3

OwO I stan both squads

I wasn't expecting a chapter so fast! And it's still pretty great!

Also I'm pretty sure that the disappearance of 4 students and 4 fighters will be pretty easy to connect

Last edited by Time (8/04/2020 2:08 pm)

THIS WAS SO GOOD


DID I SEE A REFERENCE TO MY B O I

I knew it was going to be a great day the second I read ‘mushrooms’

chan is goth princess peach with magic and short change my mind

haha real corvus back at it again with the disappearing for 6 weeks

new chapters are extraordinary
he's pretty jazzy im liking the gaunt sheepman and his hatred for Bold Brass Birds and Musky Mushrooms
foreseeing the Information Collectors(Tm) stalking Thunderstorm stalking Bunni for the x2 stalkception 

Chapter Fifteen
[now playing: Tek It by Cafuné]



If you were to ask Echo, he would say yes, hanging from the ceiling in a hammock while playing the guitar is a valid hobby. 

This statement would also explain his current predicament (or comfortable seat, as Echo would call it). The siren was singing to the air, strumming his guitar and kicking his foot to keep the hammock rocking. His voice was soft but entrancing, enough to put someone to sleep. If his voice had a flavor, it would be like lemon whipped cream; light, sweet with a slight bit of sour, and the remnants of his voice in the air felt fresh.

Echo continued singing, plucking and strumming the guitar to create a melody he had heard from a playlist that was decades old. The electric guitar he had affectionately named Apollo was a pale blue with a black base, steel strings making the noises he had learned to perfect ever since he was a child. He always played the guitar if he was stressed. Music was a common anxiety-reliever for many sirens; and Echo was no different.

A loud knock at the door snapped Echo out of his miniature jam session, the siren given no time as his sticker-covered door was thrown open.“Letter came for you, dummy,” a thirteen-year-old girl said, throwing an envelope onto the siren’s bed. 

Echo wrinkled his nose at the sight of his little sister. “Oh, it’s you.”

“You love me,” the girl shrugged, walking back to the door. “Dinner’s ready in half an hour. Stop angsting on the guitar, we can hear your anguish from downstairs.”

“Thanks, Sona,” Echo said, not getting a response as his little sister slammed the door behind her. A sticker of Solamoon’s mask drifted down from the back of the wall, landing on the floor.

Echo turned back to his guitar, briefly strumming as he looked at the envelope atop a navy-blue duvet cover. Shifting in the hammock, he was quickly faced with the results of gravity as he hurled downwards, his foot caught in the loop holding the hammock up. His guitar clattered to the ground right next to the siren, who groaned in pain. He flopped onto his back and tugged at the hammock, getting his foot untangled from the woven fabric. 

The siren crawled over to his bed and stood up, picking up the envelope. He wasn’t expecting mail, only a package from Bosawas…

The return address is what caught his attention. Well, specifically the name of the sender. “GENERIC CARPET COMPANY”? What’s up with that?

Echo shrugged. The mail was addressed to him, so there wasn’t much reason for him to not open it. 

Echo read over the first sentence and blinked. It was one of those blinks where it feels more like that you’re resting your eyes from the glare of a computer, if anything. Echo opened his eyes again and stared at the paper, eyes wide. 

Dear Echo Archer / Mortum Flos, 
Here at Rhythm Access we only select the prime fighters from our auditions who have proved themselves physically and mentally worthy of competing in our elite tournaments. We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into the Under 18 fighter program— 

Echo let out a loud squeak, arms shaking violently as he continued to pore over the paper. Oh my god, no way, this has to be a prank! 

—and will be in training for approximately two weeks before your debut trailer will be filmed. Your debut date is set for February 12th, alongside the two other fighters who have passed the auditions. Of course, this data only applies if you choose to accept and sign the contract.
Rest assured that this letter was delivered to your family in utter secrecy. No one except for your family will know of your status as a fighter. 
You have a contract meeting scheduled for January 21st. Please show up if you wish to take the spot, or call to reschedule. Our contact information is attached below.
Alongside this letter are notes written by the top tier fighters. These notes cannot be exchanged for monetary value. If you attempt to sell them, your potential contract will be terminated immediately. 

Sincerely,
Amandla Khumalo
CEO of Rhythm Access 

Echo was physically shaking. His heart was in his throat and it felt like he could barely breathe; a result of the adrenaline dump coming over him.

He was a Rhythm Access fighter now. Mortum Flos could become a reality— not some OC he had created years ago. The smile on his face almost made his cheeks hurt, but he didn’t care anymore.

Quickly looking back in the envelope, he was faced with three more small notes that he swiftly dumped onto his comforter. The three notes were distinct. One was done on fancy, star-bedazzled stationary with the “Solamoon” scrawled in loopy handwriting. The second was on a piece of pastel-pink construction paper, a small papercraft bunny head glued to the corner. The third had a lollipop taped to it and seemed to be written on paper made from recycled candy wrappers.

He unfolded the first note from Solamoon with great precision, careful not to tear the metallic golden sun sticker attached to it. That’s so going on my door.

The note unfolded on its own and Echo greedily read over all the words on the paper. 

Congratulations on passing auditions! It’ll be a pleasure to fight alongside you in the Rhythm Access tournaments. In the heat of battle, stay strong and focus on the beat.
Best wishes,
Solamoon 

He set the letter down to the side, hastily unfolding the second that was clearly written by Bunni. A ribbon made from lace fell out of the note, landing in the siren’s lap. He picked it up, leaning closer to examine it— made from cheap material but was pretty at the superficial layer. A good choice for something given away for free. Echo turned his attention back to the letter at hand. 

Congrats, fellow fighter!! We’ll be fighting side-by-side now, and that’ll be super cool ;D If all else fails, spam X until you’re out!
Seeya,
Bunni <3 

The third letter was bubblegum-scented, Echo noticed as he unfolded the letter. Yep, the strong scent of fake bubblegum with a vague hint of mushrooms practically knocked him unconscious, but still gave him room to squint at the letters scrawled on the page. 

Congrats on m8king it!! Hope you have Fun(™) as a fighter and don’t die lol
Stay Spooky Or Something,
Grimmalkin 

How like the story-themed fighter, Echo thought to himself. With gentle motions, he pried the butterscotch-flavored lollipop off of the letter and set it to the side. He could feel his heart calming down, the shaky feeling in his arms settling into a surge of pure happiness. 

He threw the extra notes down on his bed, removing the sticker from Solamoon’s note with precision and clutching the acceptance letter in his hand. Echo hurried over to his door, finding an empty spot on the panel to press the sticker on before throwing the door open.

“Mom, Dad, you’re not going to believe this!” 

~ 

[now playing: Refel by Sakuzyo]



“M’home,” Time called, hiking his bag further up his shoulder as he kicked off his shoes in the front hall. A muffled call of “welcome home” from his stepfather and mother sounded from the living room, which he called a thanks back to as he made his way up the stairs.

The thrum of bass erupted from his brother’s shut door, but Time ignored it as he opened his own bedroom door. Time’s bedroom was much different than his brother’s. While his brother’s room was covered in trinkets, building materials and posters of random technology and fighters, his room was covered head-to-toe in spells, rune references, diagrams for weapons and loose sketches of concepts or spells he had hoped to master. There was a summoning circle painted on the hardwood floor of his room, and the ceiling had fake vines draped from the ceiling.

Time tossed his school bag to the side, throwing himself face-first onto his bed with a groan. He grasped for his headphones, not looking up from the darkness of his pillow. He grasped the foam-padded headphones, sliding them on his head and turning on the sound-muting feature to block out his brother’s antics.

Rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling, his peace was quickly interrupted by his door getting kicked open wide.

“What do you want, Myst,” Time groaned, sitting up and slipping his headphones off. There goes my moment of peace.

“Hey, bro, you’re home late,” Myst said, leaning down to pass through into the room. “You at the stadium or something?”

“Went out for dinner with m’friends, nothing you need to worry about,” Time said, folding his legs so he could sit with more support.

“Do you have any battles soon?” Myst said, leaning against the wall and crinkling a paper.

Time squawked, standing up and swatting at Myst’s arm. “Don’t crumple that! It’s—”

“Valuable magic, I know,” Myst groaned, unimpressed by his brother's nagging. “Anyways, battles?”

“I’m not taking part in any for a while,” Time said, shrugging. “Going on a class trip that’s pretty long.”

“You’re not?!” Myst sputtered, taken aback. “But, what if people but your identity together?!”

Time paused, looking to the side. “I...hadn’t thought about that. I don’t have many other options, though.”

“Well, what if I substituted in your spot?!” Myst asked, pumping his fists in a hopeful motion. “It’s not like people would notice, you wear a helmet—”

“Too risky,” Time interrupted, waving at Myst as if to wave away the notion. “You’ve never been in a fight, Myst. You’d get injured on stage and it’d set down my reputation.”

“How do you know I don’t know how to fight?” Myst challenged, shrugging. “I can fight just fine.”

Time scoffed, rolling his eyes. “With all that time you spend tinkering, I doubt the probability of that being true.”

“I can fight!” Myst said, his voice tilting into an almost-whine. “I could beat you up any day!”

“Oh yeah?” Time questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, too bad. I’m not letting you substitute on stage.”

“If people put together that you’re away on a class trip, you could have your identity exposed! It’s not that hard to deduce it down to a small group of people,” Myst pleaded, throwing his hands down. “Come on. You can even duel me if you want to try and deem me worthy.”

“Not happening.”

Myst puffed his chest out. “Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

Time wrinkled his eyebrows together as he watched his stepbrother storm out of the room and run to the top of the stairs.

“MOOOOOM!”

“Wait, no—” Time shouted, but it was too late.

“WHAT?!”

“TIME WON’T LET ME BATTLE HIM!”

“OH, COME ON, TIME, LET THE POOR KID TRY! YOU’LL BEAT HIM AND THE BASEMENT HAS THE FOAM MATS SET UP!”

The expression on Myst’s face could only be summarized like an abstract work of art. A circle of knives surrounding an overly smug cat, and Myst just so happened to be the cat. If the cat had dragon wings.

Time groaned. “FINE,” he shouted down the stairs, scowling at Myst just to make the extra emphasis. Myst’s expression hadn’t changed and didn’t change as the younger scurried into his room, pulling out—

“Why do you have an exact replica of my gauntlets?” Time asked, expression deadpan.

“Two pairs,” Myst corrected, holding up another duo. “If I’m battling you as, well, you, it needs to be fair game, no?”

Time rolled his eyes yet again. “Fine. Let me change out of my uniform and we’ll fight. Bring that annoying speaker to the basement, will you?”

Myst beamed. “Oh, absolutely!” he shouted, running into his room. “Hope you’re ready to lose!”

“Fat chance!” 


Half an hour later and Time was not enjoying the fight. At all.

There was no feasible way that his step brother was beating him, he tried to reassure himself. The music was loud, his pulse was thrumming in his skull and he was pretty sure he had bit his tongue after his brother had hit him in the upper shoulder.This...was not a good idea.

“Look,” Time groaned, cradling the fresh bruise that his brother had landed on his side. “This isn’t a logical way of deciding how this should go. There aren’t any protective suits like in the fights, we just have sparring gear; can’t we just—”

Myst landed a kick that swept Time’s footing out, causing the elder to tumble onto the foam mat with a muffled “oof”.

“See?!” Myst exclaimed, voice almost desperate. “I can beat you! All I want to do is a shot at being a fighter! You know how the auditions went, can’t you just give me this?”

Time didn’t respond, closing his eyes. I’m still unsure about—

The broken “please” his stepbrother uttered was the lid on his casket.

Time stared at the ceiling in defeat. “I’m so mad at you that I just want an out of this. I’ll talk to Mom and Dad about it, but the second you do anything to threaten my career…” Time stood up, still clutching his side, glaring at his stepbrother. The younger's fear-laden swallow was loud enough for Time to hear.

“If you threaten my career,” Time continued, “I will make sure you never step foot near those stadiums again. This is how I make my funding for spellcasting, you and I both know this.”

Myst gave a choppy nod. He knew about Time’s pastimes, his desires for college— the human wanted to make a name in the world through mastery of magic. “I swear I won’t do anything.”

Time nodded, face still serious. “We’ll talk to Mom and Dad about it this weekend, and if they approve, then we go to administration.”

Myst’s beam was bright enough to light up a room as he bolted forwards, wrapping the human in a hug. “Thank you so much! I can’t believe this, I’ll do my best—”

Time was not reciprocating the hug, his arms stuck up in an awkward angle. His mouth was drawn into a thin line and his face looked mildly alarmed by the physical contact.

“You’re sweaty and gross, let go,” Time said, attempting to worm out of his stepbrother’s arms.

Myst gasped, letting go. “Oh, yeah! My bad, my bad. Sorry!” he said, a sheepish grin on his face. “So...now what?”

“Now you go shower and go to bed because it’s a school night,” Time said, motioning up the stairs. “We talk about it on Saturday. Got it?”

“Got it!” Myst said, giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up and bolting up the stairs. “Seeya!”

Time hummed in response, moving to pick up the gauntlets. They were lighter, a more casual version of his own metal gauntlets. There was more fabric and padding. Had Myst made these solely for if this opportunity came? Time speculated, flipping a gauntlet in his hand. He shrugged, waving the thought away. There’s no chance. 


~ 

[now playing: Mirrors by Arrested Youth]


[TW: non-graphic bullying, mentioned past violence]

“Stupid mutt.”

Jack could practically taste the blood in her mouth from biting her tongue so she couldn't let out any of the noises. She was small, she hadn't grown into her full size yet. Any of the humans could overpower her. There was no use in trying to fight back.

Laying on the gravel after getting into a fight wasn't a favorite pastime of hers. The humans attending her middle school decided to make it a habit for her. The scratches on her side and the scribbled-out notebooks that she carried on her only proved more of the awful tendencies, but the administration wouldn't believe her. They never did.

She knew that her paycard for the train ride home was gone. She watched it clatter out onto the ground as some human girl emptied her bag's contents. 

"Why do you even go here?" the girl to the side groaned, leaning her head against the wall. "You should just leave this place already, no one would care if you left. Go get a start in a fairy county or something, they would actually accept mistakes like you."

Jack didn't say anything, opting to attempt to sit up and cradle her face. The slap mark from before wouldn't go away well, and she didn't have any coins on her to buy cheap BB cream. Guess I'll wear a mask again.

A girl to the side let out a loud "tch", tossing the younger’s wallet to the side. "Barely enough to buy a pack. How the hell do you even get home?" she said, snatching the plastic from the ground and examining the paycard in her hand like a jewel. "Bet there's half a buck on here."

Jack pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, trying to bite back tears. "Just leave me alone already. Don't you have better people to harass?"

"They went home already," the first girl said again. "Besides, we're not harassing you! We're just encouraging you to go get lost in another town and never come back."

Jack's nose scrunched up, her ears pressing flat against her head. She couldn't find anything in her to say, her nails digging into her sides as she sat still. 

"Let's just go," a guy said with a shrug. The same guy who had stuck tape in her hair and on her ears hours before. "There's nothing left here."

The other two harassers made hums of agreement, making their way out. Jack watched as the first girl walked away with her paycard in hand, leaving her stranded, alone in the stupid yard behind the cafeteria of the school.

Staggering up, Jack fought back a whimper, her tail hanging between her legs. The trio was growing fainter in the distance. There was no chance she could run after, get her paycard, and take the train home, not in this state. 

She moved to the side, picking up her bag and starting to collect the pieces to the side. The sudden shriek of the lead girl made her ears perk up, Jack hesitantly looking over her shoulder.

The humans were scattering and there was a familiar brunette hurtling towards her, paycard in hand.

"JACK! I got it!" the girl yelled, her smile clear as day. Her eyes were fogged over, hazy, why couldn't Jack see them? "Are you alright?!"

"I'm good, don't worry," Jack said, wincing as she finished packing her bag and rose from her squat. "Thank you...you didn't have to do that," she continued, trying to get a better look at the girl.

The girl shrugged, still smiling at Jack. "We're friends, aren't we?" The girl's hand reached out to Jack.

Jack was hesitant. Her hand moved at a snail's pace to touch the other girl's, but when she touched, there was no warmth to the other girl. Jack watched in confusion as the girl blew away like dust in the wind, small grains left in Jack's palms as she looked up at the hazy red-blue sky.

Everything flashed white. 


Jack's eyes opened, jolting her out of her dream. She hated those dreams, the dreams about middle school, what she had fought so hard to avoid and leave behind.

We're friends, aren't we?

Her eyes were blurry from sleep as she looked at the glow of her clock, the time beaming a neon red 1:32 AM. Grasping blindly, she managed to snatch her phone and type out a quick message. 

[not a furry → barbie in a mermaid's tail]
not a furry: can we talk tomorrow? i had another dream 

It surprised Jack with how quick the second response came, her phone buzzing. 

barbie in a mermaid's tail: yeah sure, on the train or at lunch?
not a furry: lunch please
barbie in a mermaid's tail: gotcha. go sleep, it's late
not a furry: okay 

Jack set her phone on the bedside table next to her, rolling over. At least my alarm doesn't go off for the next five hours. 


~ 


Kat rubbed the sleep from her eyes, squinting at the contract in front of her. It was the last one she had to go over for Solamoon's career, and she'd be furious at herself if she didn't have them reviewed by two in the morning minimum. She knew that she'd have to get half of them turned in by tomorrow, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying to finish it all. 

She ran a hand down her face, glancing at the message from Jack and tossing her phone to the side on her desk. Now isn't the time for personal affairs. I have to stay awake. 

Kat clicked her pen, staring at the paper with newfound determination— and promptly fell onto the desk. She was asleep. 


~


[GROUP CHAT: Salmon Squad]
Thursday 6:13 PM
bunniii_: GUYSGUYSGUYS
bunniii_: STRIGOI BENCH PRESSED ME
Pendulum: That’s statistically impossible, he’s built like a twig
bunniii_: COME TO THE TRAINING ROOM YOU’LL SEEFBHKFBHJEFEIUWNA#I$(@)*%Y$
aurora-borealis: LMAOOOOO STRIGOI JUST DROPEJD BUNNI I CANT BRHAEJTHE

"don't die lol" fskfsknfnkf

Thank you again for the wonderful chapter riri! It was a joy to read, even if this one was whipping from one emotion to the next fekfskf we get happy, uh oh, sad, funny all in one journey

and Refel!! that's an amazing song