Thanks to everyone reading and everyone who signed up to have a character in the story! I couldn't thank you all enough!
Characters
Wolfia Heartsoul - @Wolfy (Character song: Cry Wolf - Bebe Rexha)
Arabella DeLaney - @strawberriess (Character song: Party Tattoos - dodie)
Teddie Wilson - @Boriiii (Character song: Hard Times - Paramore)
Eleanora Clarke - @Aaci (Character song: My Demons - Starset)
Saskya Sunshine - @GlowingLights (Character song: Hey Soul Sister - Train (cover by Marilou))
Wren Claren - @HelloColdWorld (Character song: Knock Back - Jaxson Gamble)
Donovan Savage - @Fox (Character song: Waving Through A Window - Dear Evan Hansen)
Lhaka Unerserus - @WaddlesThePig (Character song: Wonderland - Taylor Swift)
Aitoku Rheatari - @Kaitenko (Character song: Immortals - Fall Out Boy (cover by Arianne Via))
Eryn Storm - @TheFqllen (Character song: Devil On My Shoulder - Faith Marie)
Raya Sunshine - @GlowingLights (Character song: Losing a Friend - Nylon)
Aaron Reaper - @Winter_Wonder (Character song: Sick Boy - The Chainsmokers)
Owen Welles - @JustGlowy
Loki Steel - @Hyrotis (Character song: How Far We've Come - Machbox Twenty)
Britt Venus - @xXBri_BurritoXx
Mollai Bush - @krystelle :) (Character song: Paper Crown - Alec Benjamin)
Jason Moon - @Sushi (Character song: Viva La Vida - Coldplay)
An explosion erupted from over the horizon, causing the children to stumble. The two girls fell flat on their faces, screaming in the process, while the boy kept his balance; looking back in the direction that the shockwave hit. The girls climbed up off the rocky, pasty-peach surface and patted themselves clean to collect their Barings before glancing in the same direction as their friend. The wreckage of their old home was gigantic, and the Demon army below was even bigger. On hand, an army of demon soldiers and warriors, armed with poisonous swords that were able to cut through a Dragonblood with a single slice. The fight was beginning to unfold now, the wreckage becoming greater. Slowly, one of the girls took off their glistening tiara and held it in her hands, tears streaming down her face. Engraved in small letters was ‘Mollai’. Other than the dragon ears, tail and wings, Mollai looked nothing like a princess; more like your average teenage girl. Her glossy brown hair draped over a crimson-red crop-top. Her brown eyes twinkled with the little watery stars in her eyes. Her black joggers and white sneakers were barely presentable for a princess. In fact, the only thing that hinted at the fact that she was a princess was the tiara in her hands. After wiping her tears from her face, a sigh broke from her mouth. Suddenly, she stumbled again; only to find her arms being pulled. She pulled with all her might, struggling to let go of both her friend’s tight grips and strengths.
“Loki! Bri! Can you not?” Mollai shouted, her face once again flooded with tears, her toughness flooded away by guilt.
Bri let go of Mollai’s sleeve and Loki did the same, his facial expressions showing a fed up mood. Other than the usual Dragonblood features: he had green eyes that shouted “determination”, scruffy brown hair - held up by a headband -, a black and green jumper with some unknown logo printed in white on the front, white ripped jeans and black sneakers. The boy folded his arms, obviously fed up and done with Mollai’s behaviour.
“Oh, cry me a river Mollai!” Loki grumbled, “Everything will be fine anyway, our species are so evenly matched it's ridiculous! We have to focus on getting to the overworld to meet the guardian of our species, get to safety and become the future of the Dragonblood species! You can't let greif cloud your vision, you have to realise that we have to keep moving forward. Come on Bri…”
Bri, or Britt - as her birth certificate states, nodded confidently, skipping in front of Loki and continuing onwards with a confident smile. Her brown eyes sparkled with passion, which reflected all over her body and personality. Her brown hair faded into blonde from the top to the bottom, flowing onto her red crop-top and red jacket. Perched on top of her head was a small red hat. Clapping against the ground were her brown, high-heeled boots, and over her legs was a short white skirt. One noticeable feature was that she didn’t have any Dragonblood features, which were the ears, tail and wings. Mollai obviously noticed this.
“Hey, Bri?” Mollai called to her, causing Bri to stop and turn around, “Where are your ears, tail and wings? Is there a reason you're hiding them?”
“Oh,” Bri replied, her voice higher pitched than the others, “I just didn’t want to make a bad impression in the overworld. I’ll still hang out with you guys, but I don’t want to look weird since you don’t usually see Dragonbloods in the overworld and…”
“Oh, would you SHU…” Loki began to interrupt.
“LOKI!” Mollai yelled, causing Loki to jump back a little bit, “That’s enough! Bri’s reason is actually a very good one. It’s her choice whether she decides to show her ears, tail and wings or not.”
“Fine,” Loki huffed, “let’s just go.”
The two girls nodded in agreement. Mollai sighed. Loki could be annoying sometimes, but she knew he cared about the group. This was just his way of protecting them. Behind that rude exterior, she knew Loki was a great person.
After about a whole hour of non-stop walking, the group had their eyes on the portal to the overworld. Surrounded by the same sandy-yellow stones they were walking on, the portal was at the surface of the ground. Its size was small, only a meter in length and width. In the centre, a pillar made up of an obsidion-like stone rose up from the middle, short but sturdy and easy to spot. However, something wasn’t quite right. On top of the portal's pillar usually held only the legendary dragon egg, dating back to millions of years ago and not set to hatch for the next 1000 years. But there was something else atop the pillar. A shadow was stood on top of the portal with the egg, using some sort of machine to pick it up. The shadow, who's figure strongly resembled a girl's, grabbed the egg and then looked around frantically, finally making eye contact with the group. Loki and Bri were looking at Mollai, while Mollai was looking straight at the shadowy figure. The shadow gasped, and with a puff of smoke she was gone, but she didn’t leave without giving the group a farewell present.
“Demons!” the whole group shouted, which obviously wasn’t a good idea, as the whole horde instantly turned to face the group. These demons were shadowy with blood-red eyes, no sense of any sane emotions left. Each one of the teenagers looked scared, even Loki. After a short while, the enemies charged towards them. Bri and Loki screeched in panic, while Mollai’s eyes lit up; a plan.
“Loki, grab on to Bri’s arm,” Mollai commanded.
Loki knew he didn’t have time to complain or protest, as he clutched his hand around Bri’s, and Mollai did the same.
“What now?” Loki asked, the undead monsters almost upon them.
“On three,” Mollai instructed to Loki, “we fly. One… Two… Three!”
Loki and Mollai both propelled themselves into the air, the army looking up at them below; some even trying to poke at Bri’s feet with their swords but missing by a few inches. When they were above the portal, the two stopped flying and let themselves plummet with Bri into the portal's abyss.
After waiting for ages, a werewolf girl stumbled backwards as the screams of the three dragonblood teenagers echoed through the basement as they were flung out. Loki and Mollai both landed on their faces, while Bri did a summersault and landed on her feet with a smile.
“Are you ok?” The werewolf asked, helping Loki and Mollai onto their feet.
The werewolf girl looked too cocky for her own good. Other than her purple ears and tail, she had silky brown hair and cyan blue eyes. She was also wearing a uniform of some sort, which was a white blouse with purple ribbons, a purple skirt and purple shoes with white socks.
“Uh,” Mollai asked, “who are you...?”
“Oh, me?” The girl replied, “I’m Raya! I’m the dragonblood guardian!”
Loki let out a snicker, causing Raya to give him an aggravated glance, which made him step away immediately.
“Anyway, let me explain where we are right now,” Raya began with a cough to clear out her throat, “Welcome to Burrows High! As this is my school and it’s the safest place for you, this is officially your new school! This here’s the basement and where you’ll be staying. Sadly, I can’t have you at my house due to my sister, Saskya.”
“No way…” Loki said, obviously annoyed, “THIS is where we’re going to be living? In a dirty basement under a high school?”
“You better believe it!” Raya told him with a slightly amused smile, “Now put these uniforms on and I can show you around!”
Raya chucked three uniforms at the Dragonbloods, which Bri and Loki caught but Mollai dropped hers on the floor and had to bend down to pick it up again. Bri’s and Mollai’s were the same as Raya’s, while Loki’s was a disgusting brown-orange blazer with a red tie and black trousers. Once the group had gotten changed, Raya gestured for them to follow. The group sighed, they knew this was going to be a long ride.
“Loki! Bri! Can you not?” Mollai shouted, her face once again flooded with tears, her toughness flooded away by guilt.
Bri let go of Mollai’s sleeve and Loki did the same, his facial expressions showing a fed up mood. Other than the usual Dragonblood features: he had green eyes that shouted “determination”, scruffy brown hair - held up by a headband -, a black and green jumper with some unknown logo printed in white on the front, white ripped jeans and black sneakers. The boy folded his arms, obviously fed up and done with Mollai’s behaviour.
“Oh, cry me a river Mollai!” Loki grumbled, “Everything will be fine anyway, our species are so evenly matched it's ridiculous! We have to focus on getting to the overworld to meet the guardian of our species, get to safety and become the future of the Dragonblood species! You can't let greif cloud your vision, you have to realise that we have to keep moving forward. Come on Bri…”
Bri, or Britt - as her birth certificate states, nodded confidently, skipping in front of Loki and continuing onwards with a confident smile. Her brown eyes sparkled with passion, which reflected all over her body and personality. Her brown hair faded into blonde from the top to the bottom, flowing onto her red crop-top and red jacket. Perched on top of her head was a small red hat. Clapping against the ground were her brown, high-heeled boots, and over her legs was a short white skirt. One noticeable feature was that she didn’t have any Dragonblood features, which were the ears, tail and wings. Mollai obviously noticed this.
“Hey, Bri?” Mollai called to her, causing Bri to stop and turn around, “Where are your ears, tail and wings? Is there a reason you're hiding them?”
“Oh,” Bri replied, her voice higher pitched than the others, “I just didn’t want to make a bad impression in the overworld. I’ll still hang out with you guys, but I don’t want to look weird since you don’t usually see Dragonbloods in the overworld and…”
“Oh, would you SHU…” Loki began to interrupt.
“LOKI!” Mollai yelled, causing Loki to jump back a little bit, “That’s enough! Bri’s reason is actually a very good one. It’s her choice whether she decides to show her ears, tail and wings or not.”
“Fine,” Loki huffed, “let’s just go.”
The two girls nodded in agreement. Mollai sighed. Loki could be annoying sometimes, but she knew he cared about the group. This was just his way of protecting them. Behind that rude exterior, she knew Loki was a great person.
After about a whole hour of non-stop walking, the group had their eyes on the portal to the overworld. Surrounded by the same sandy-yellow stones they were walking on, the portal was at the surface of the ground. Its size was small, only a meter in length and width. In the centre, a pillar made up of an obsidion-like stone rose up from the middle, short but sturdy and easy to spot. However, something wasn’t quite right. On top of the portal's pillar usually held only the legendary dragon egg, dating back to millions of years ago and not set to hatch for the next 1000 years. But there was something else atop the pillar. A shadow was stood on top of the portal with the egg, using some sort of machine to pick it up. The shadow, who's figure strongly resembled a girl's, grabbed the egg and then looked around frantically, finally making eye contact with the group. Loki and Bri were looking at Mollai, while Mollai was looking straight at the shadowy figure. The shadow gasped, and with a puff of smoke she was gone, but she didn’t leave without giving the group a farewell present.
“Demons!” the whole group shouted, which obviously wasn’t a good idea, as the whole horde instantly turned to face the group. These demons were shadowy with blood-red eyes, no sense of any sane emotions left. Each one of the teenagers looked scared, even Loki. After a short while, the enemies charged towards them. Bri and Loki screeched in panic, while Mollai’s eyes lit up; a plan.
“Loki, grab on to Bri’s arm,” Mollai commanded.
Loki knew he didn’t have time to complain or protest, as he clutched his hand around Bri’s, and Mollai did the same.
“What now?” Loki asked, the undead monsters almost upon them.
“On three,” Mollai instructed to Loki, “we fly. One… Two… Three!”
Loki and Mollai both propelled themselves into the air, the army looking up at them below; some even trying to poke at Bri’s feet with their swords but missing by a few inches. When they were above the portal, the two stopped flying and let themselves plummet with Bri into the portal's abyss.
After waiting for ages, a werewolf girl stumbled backwards as the screams of the three dragonblood teenagers echoed through the basement as they were flung out. Loki and Mollai both landed on their faces, while Bri did a summersault and landed on her feet with a smile.
“Are you ok?” The werewolf asked, helping Loki and Mollai onto their feet.
The werewolf girl looked too cocky for her own good. Other than her purple ears and tail, she had silky brown hair and cyan blue eyes. She was also wearing a uniform of some sort, which was a white blouse with purple ribbons, a purple skirt and purple shoes with white socks.
“Uh,” Mollai asked, “who are you...?”
“Oh, me?” The girl replied, “I’m Raya! I’m the dragonblood guardian!”
Loki let out a snicker, causing Raya to give him an aggravated glance, which made him step away immediately.
“Anyway, let me explain where we are right now,” Raya began with a cough to clear out her throat, “Welcome to Burrows High! As this is my school and it’s the safest place for you, this is officially your new school! This here’s the basement and where you’ll be staying. Sadly, I can’t have you at my house due to my sister, Saskya.”
“No way…” Loki said, obviously annoyed, “THIS is where we’re going to be living? In a dirty basement under a high school?”
“You better believe it!” Raya told him with a slightly amused smile, “Now put these uniforms on and I can show you around!”
Raya chucked three uniforms at the Dragonbloods, which Bri and Loki caught but Mollai dropped hers on the floor and had to bend down to pick it up again. Bri’s and Mollai’s were the same as Raya’s, while Loki’s was a disgusting brown-orange blazer with a red tie and black trousers. Once the group had gotten changed, Raya gestured for them to follow. The group sighed, they knew this was going to be a long ride.
“…and that’s where this tour ends!” Raya announced, before pretending to be a flight attendant, “Your exits are here, here and here.”
Raya began pointing every-which-way, a dorky smile on her face. Bri burst out into fits of laughter, while Mollai and Loki just looked at the two judgementally. After Bri wiped her eyes and stopped laughing, Loki looked at Raya with a questionable look, like he was a bit annoyed so many of his thoughts hadn't been answered during the tour. Aggravated, he decided to speak up.
“So,” Loki asked, “You haven’t actually told us why we’re here of all places. I at least want a good reason, since these uniforms are so tight.”
“Well,” Raya began, “You wouldn’t believe how many secret security cameras there are in this place! It’s a bit like Big Brother if you think about it, always being watched. Apparently, this school is right under the location where a famous pirate stored his treasure. Of course, all students and adults are forbidden to search for it. That's why the cameras are here, to watch out for any thieves. Also...”
Suddenly, a ringing noise began to echo through the hallways. To the sensitive ears of Werewolves and Dragonbloods, the bell sounded like someone constantly scraping their nails against a chalkboard. After the ringing stopped, the three girls sighed, while Loki looked like he was about to explode. Breathing heavily, he decided to take his boiling anger out on whoever was closest… Raya.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Loki shouted, causing Raya to jump back and let out a slight scream, “You call that safe?!”
“You’re not the only one who hates that,” Raya sighed, “Werewolves and Meif’wa are always sensitive to the sound of the bell, so we always wear earplugs to muffle the sound a bit, and I just had to forget my plugs today. Looking at your reactions, it looks like Dragonbloods feel the same way about it. I’ll make sure to get you all some for tomorrow. Anyway, we should get going.”
Mollai and Bri nodded, while Loki replied with, “Fine.”
The group began walking to their first class. During that time, Mollai turned her head around and ended up an eerie shadow in the distance, but after a small blink, the shadow was gone. Mollai shrugged. It was probably nothing anyway, she thought.
English class was just around the corner. When the group of four were walking down one of the corridors, looks of shock, surprise and anger suddenly masked over their happy and excited faces. What they saw was… shocking to say the least. In front of the pack’s faces were four people, one girl and three boys. The three Dragonbloods instantly set their eyes on the boys, while Raya turned towards the girl. Her eyes widened in surprise, while the other girl just stared blankly at her. Human, obviously. Her black hair rested upon her uniform, her black eyes looking across from her friends next to her and the group in front of her. Raya blinked twice, checking if this was reality or a dream. Could they have possibly done the exact same thing as the Dragonblood species? And of all the people to help them, it had to be the girl she was staring at right now.
“Eryn?” Raya asked, perplexed.
Eryn just stared at Raya, but in her eyes, you could see a slight sense of disbelief and pure anger. One of the boys grabbed onto Eryn’s arm and began to pull her away.
“They’re not worth our time,” They boy told her, although she instantly broke out of his grip.
He sighed and just decided to step back and watch the scene unfold. His brown bangs flowed partially over his right eye. He had no demon features, but the dragonblood group could easily assume he just hid his horns and tail like Bri did with her ears, tail and wings. He also had emerald-green eyes, which sparkled as bright as the moon on a cold winter night. Another guy looked at him straight in the eye.
“Who cares Aaron?” the boy stated, “There species started the war, and we can help stop it right here, right now.”
Now, this guy was easily recognisable; in his hand was a golden crown. Engraved on the front was his name, Jason Moon. Other than his horns and tail, Jason had jet-black eyes and a skeleton skull covering half of his face, a pair of glasses resting on top. His snarky smile reflected his personality perfectly; he was rude to the people he hated the most. Bri and Mollai quickly turned to face Loki, who looked like a tiger ready to pounce on his prey. If this was a cartoon, the girls wouldn’t be surprised if his face turned bright red and bursted like a balloon. The two of them quickly latched onto Loki’s shoulders, while he was struggling to break free and punch Jason in the face.
“Take that back you liar!” Loki yelled, causing Jason to laugh under his breath, “The demon people started the war and you know it!”
Jason opened his mouth, about to shoot a comeback right in Loki’s direction. From the looks of her stance, Eryn looked ready to back him up. However, before they could speak their minds, the last boy jumped in.
“That’s enough,” he said timidly, “we’ll be late to class if we don’t hurry up.”
He was… different. He wasn’t a demon, but you could tell he came from the same place as Jason and Aaron. He had no legs, rather a red wisp. He was a ghost. The ghost had either dark-green or greyish eyes, it was hard to tell. His scruffy black hair styled neatly on top of his head.
“Owen’s right,” Aaron agreed, “let’s just go before we get into trouble.”
The group slowly turned their backs on Raya and the Dragonbloods, walking in the other direction. For a split second, Jason looked to his right and his eyes widened. However, after he looked away for a second, he shrugged his shoulders and caught up with his friends. Mollai and Bri were still holding Loki, who was still swearing at the demons and their supposed guardian. Raya just stood there, her eyes still wide. You could hear her whispering things under her breath, such as “what the...?” and “I thought we were friends.” Loki finally calmed down, patting the dust off of his clothes and breathing in and out slowly to try and keep his composure. Mollai and Bri were now with Raya, who looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Loki also came over and heard what Raya had to say. With each word and each thing Raya said the two girls had been through, it only made the three dragonbloods more shocked and angry that Raya’s old friend would help demons like that. All the hard times, all the times that they were there for one another. Was it all for nothing?
“The best thing to do is forget about her, Raya,” Bri told her, with agreement from Loki and Mollai.
The girl sighed and nodded, walking forwards and gesturing the others to follow.
English was the first class on the list. Jason, Owen, Aaron and Eryn came upon the classroom. There was already a large group of students waiting there. In fact, the only people who weren’t there yet were the Ender folk they had encountered just a few minutes ago. Owen and Aaron began talking to each other happily, while Eryn leant her back against the wall and pulled out her phone, idly playing games. However, Jason seemed to be staring at someone. A human girl with pastel pink hair and a small flower crown holding it back, her glistening green eyes complimenting her look. She was talking to another girl, who looked like her complete opposite. An older girl with brown hair and black eyes, brown ears and a brown bushy tail confirming her to be a Werewolf. The girl towered over most of the other students and wore no make-up, showing her tough exterior. Jason just blankly stared at the girl with the pink hair, his face starting to turn a pinkish-red. He snapped out of his little trance, however, when the teacher opened the door to the classroom. He also didn’t notice when the Dragonbloods had got there. Everyone rushed into the classroom like a heard of cattle. The teacher stood at the front of the class, a box on her desk. She cleared her throat and began to address the class.
“Ok,” she said, her tone of voice suggesting her to be nice and cheerful, “for the new students who have arrived here today, my name is Miss Wilson. Today's lesson will be an introduction to creative writing. We will discuss our favourite book genres and why we like them. Later, we will read some books I have in this box for inspiration on a story you can write for your baseline test tomorrow.”
The class groaned. A baseline test? The most useless type of test.
“Come on, don’t be like that!” Miss Wilson encouraged cheerfully, “Let’s start discussing our favourite book genres! How about you, Arabella?”
The girl with the pink hair looked over at the teacher. She then looked at her desk, as if trying to think about the question for a moment.
“Well,” she replied, “I like fantasy the most, although I also enjoy adventure and romance novels as well.”
“Ok, a very good taste in books Ara,” Miss Wilson smiled, “Urm, Wren?”
Wren looked up. Her appearance was very dark and eerie. Her hair equally as dark as her black eyes. The girl answered simply, “Horror.”
“Alright then, one more person,” The teacher smiled, looking around the room, “Teddie?”
Teddie quickly sat up in her chair. Her hair was a light shade of blonde, which complimented her pastel-white Werewolf ears and tail. Her eyes were black and sparkled with insecurity. She sighed and finally spoke.
“Well, I like fantasy as well, like…”
“That’s a big lie!” someone cut in.
Teddie looked over to see a Meif’wa girl standing on her chair. Her hair was red, and so were her cat ears and tail. Her blue eyes looked straight at Teddie.
“You can’t deny that your favourite book genre is Manga!” she called out, eyes still on Teddie as if looking for a reaction, “I saw a whole collection in your locker the other day!”
Teddie stammered a bit as most of the class began to either snicker or death-stare the Meif'wa girl. Teddie then sighed and slumped back down into her chair, trying hard to blink back her tears.
“Aitoku!” Miss Wilson shouted, “That’s enough.”
Aitoku smirked and sat back down, happy to see that Teddie had reacted.
For the rest of the class, the students just sat quietly and read. However, for most of the class, tensions also felt high. After class, once everyone had left, Teddie walked up to the teacher. The two of them talked for roughly five minutes.
“Ok,” Teddie smiled, “See you after school.”
“You too,” Miss Wilson smiled, as Teddie exited the classroom.
The hallways were quiet. Teddie quickly and quietly walked across to her locker, looking around before opening it. Inside were quite a few boxes filled with either Anime box sets or Manga collections. She carefully grabbed one of her books from the locker and closed it, making sure she locked the iron cabinet behind her. She then proceeded to carefully place the manga in her bag.
“Hey Teddie,” A familiar voice called over to her.
Teddie looked around to see Aitoku standing opposite her in the quiet hallway.
“Hey,” Teddie replied, knowing that something bad was going to happen.
Aitoku walked from the end of the corridor to Teddie. Every time Aitoku stepped towards her, she would step backwards as if to try and avoid her.
“Where’re you going weeb?” Aitoku sneered, “Going to find some imaginary friends to watch your stupid cartoons with? Maybe some fictional boys?”
“No, I…” Teddie stammered, her back hitting a wall.
Aitoku laughed, happy she could finally beat someone up without a teacher interfering. Aitoku was almost right in front of Teddie now, who had closed her eyes and was preparing herself for impact with Aitoku’s fist or foot. However, nothing happened. When she looked up, Aitoku’s fist was clasped in her protector’s hands. After a second glance, this person black hair, black eyes and pale skin were easily recognisable as…
“Wren!” Teddie cried. Thank goodness.
Aitoku’s didn’t even have time to react as Wren’s foot made contact with Aitoku’s chest, sending her stumbling backwards. Aitoku rushed back at Wren, her fist hitting her face. Wren stumbled to the floor, but quickly got back up again and began delivering punch after punch to Aitoku’s stomach. Aitoku also started hitting Wren as hard as she could in the face and arm. The two were evenly matched, so it was more of a test of stamina than strength. After a while, Aitoku fell to the floor, Wren looking down at her.
“Run coward,” she said menacingly, "before you leave this school with a broken bone."
Aitoku did. She picked herself up off the floor and sprinted in the other direction. Wren dusted herself off and patted the bruises on her arms. Slowly, Wren turned around to face Teddie, whose eyes were sparkling so bright they could have lit up even the darkest of rooms.
“That was amazing!” Teddie beamed.
“Thank you,” Wren said blankly, beginning to walk off.
Now, Teddie wasn’t going to lose the possibility of making a new friend, so she decided to do the thing she could do well… beg.
“Hey, can I sit with you for lunch today?” Teddie asked.
“No,” Wren replied.
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Urg, fine,” Wren finally agreed, which caused Teddie to jump up and down with excitement.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Wren began to walk to the lesson, while Teddie walked along next to her. Wren sighed, her day of peace and quiet ruined.
Raya began pointing every-which-way, a dorky smile on her face. Bri burst out into fits of laughter, while Mollai and Loki just looked at the two judgementally. After Bri wiped her eyes and stopped laughing, Loki looked at Raya with a questionable look, like he was a bit annoyed so many of his thoughts hadn't been answered during the tour. Aggravated, he decided to speak up.
“So,” Loki asked, “You haven’t actually told us why we’re here of all places. I at least want a good reason, since these uniforms are so tight.”
“Well,” Raya began, “You wouldn’t believe how many secret security cameras there are in this place! It’s a bit like Big Brother if you think about it, always being watched. Apparently, this school is right under the location where a famous pirate stored his treasure. Of course, all students and adults are forbidden to search for it. That's why the cameras are here, to watch out for any thieves. Also...”
Suddenly, a ringing noise began to echo through the hallways. To the sensitive ears of Werewolves and Dragonbloods, the bell sounded like someone constantly scraping their nails against a chalkboard. After the ringing stopped, the three girls sighed, while Loki looked like he was about to explode. Breathing heavily, he decided to take his boiling anger out on whoever was closest… Raya.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Loki shouted, causing Raya to jump back and let out a slight scream, “You call that safe?!”
“You’re not the only one who hates that,” Raya sighed, “Werewolves and Meif’wa are always sensitive to the sound of the bell, so we always wear earplugs to muffle the sound a bit, and I just had to forget my plugs today. Looking at your reactions, it looks like Dragonbloods feel the same way about it. I’ll make sure to get you all some for tomorrow. Anyway, we should get going.”
Mollai and Bri nodded, while Loki replied with, “Fine.”
The group began walking to their first class. During that time, Mollai turned her head around and ended up an eerie shadow in the distance, but after a small blink, the shadow was gone. Mollai shrugged. It was probably nothing anyway, she thought.
English class was just around the corner. When the group of four were walking down one of the corridors, looks of shock, surprise and anger suddenly masked over their happy and excited faces. What they saw was… shocking to say the least. In front of the pack’s faces were four people, one girl and three boys. The three Dragonbloods instantly set their eyes on the boys, while Raya turned towards the girl. Her eyes widened in surprise, while the other girl just stared blankly at her. Human, obviously. Her black hair rested upon her uniform, her black eyes looking across from her friends next to her and the group in front of her. Raya blinked twice, checking if this was reality or a dream. Could they have possibly done the exact same thing as the Dragonblood species? And of all the people to help them, it had to be the girl she was staring at right now.
“Eryn?” Raya asked, perplexed.
Eryn just stared at Raya, but in her eyes, you could see a slight sense of disbelief and pure anger. One of the boys grabbed onto Eryn’s arm and began to pull her away.
“They’re not worth our time,” They boy told her, although she instantly broke out of his grip.
He sighed and just decided to step back and watch the scene unfold. His brown bangs flowed partially over his right eye. He had no demon features, but the dragonblood group could easily assume he just hid his horns and tail like Bri did with her ears, tail and wings. He also had emerald-green eyes, which sparkled as bright as the moon on a cold winter night. Another guy looked at him straight in the eye.
“Who cares Aaron?” the boy stated, “There species started the war, and we can help stop it right here, right now.”
Now, this guy was easily recognisable; in his hand was a golden crown. Engraved on the front was his name, Jason Moon. Other than his horns and tail, Jason had jet-black eyes and a skeleton skull covering half of his face, a pair of glasses resting on top. His snarky smile reflected his personality perfectly; he was rude to the people he hated the most. Bri and Mollai quickly turned to face Loki, who looked like a tiger ready to pounce on his prey. If this was a cartoon, the girls wouldn’t be surprised if his face turned bright red and bursted like a balloon. The two of them quickly latched onto Loki’s shoulders, while he was struggling to break free and punch Jason in the face.
“Take that back you liar!” Loki yelled, causing Jason to laugh under his breath, “The demon people started the war and you know it!”
Jason opened his mouth, about to shoot a comeback right in Loki’s direction. From the looks of her stance, Eryn looked ready to back him up. However, before they could speak their minds, the last boy jumped in.
“That’s enough,” he said timidly, “we’ll be late to class if we don’t hurry up.”
He was… different. He wasn’t a demon, but you could tell he came from the same place as Jason and Aaron. He had no legs, rather a red wisp. He was a ghost. The ghost had either dark-green or greyish eyes, it was hard to tell. His scruffy black hair styled neatly on top of his head.
“Owen’s right,” Aaron agreed, “let’s just go before we get into trouble.”
The group slowly turned their backs on Raya and the Dragonbloods, walking in the other direction. For a split second, Jason looked to his right and his eyes widened. However, after he looked away for a second, he shrugged his shoulders and caught up with his friends. Mollai and Bri were still holding Loki, who was still swearing at the demons and their supposed guardian. Raya just stood there, her eyes still wide. You could hear her whispering things under her breath, such as “what the...?” and “I thought we were friends.” Loki finally calmed down, patting the dust off of his clothes and breathing in and out slowly to try and keep his composure. Mollai and Bri were now with Raya, who looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Loki also came over and heard what Raya had to say. With each word and each thing Raya said the two girls had been through, it only made the three dragonbloods more shocked and angry that Raya’s old friend would help demons like that. All the hard times, all the times that they were there for one another. Was it all for nothing?
“The best thing to do is forget about her, Raya,” Bri told her, with agreement from Loki and Mollai.
The girl sighed and nodded, walking forwards and gesturing the others to follow.
English was the first class on the list. Jason, Owen, Aaron and Eryn came upon the classroom. There was already a large group of students waiting there. In fact, the only people who weren’t there yet were the Ender folk they had encountered just a few minutes ago. Owen and Aaron began talking to each other happily, while Eryn leant her back against the wall and pulled out her phone, idly playing games. However, Jason seemed to be staring at someone. A human girl with pastel pink hair and a small flower crown holding it back, her glistening green eyes complimenting her look. She was talking to another girl, who looked like her complete opposite. An older girl with brown hair and black eyes, brown ears and a brown bushy tail confirming her to be a Werewolf. The girl towered over most of the other students and wore no make-up, showing her tough exterior. Jason just blankly stared at the girl with the pink hair, his face starting to turn a pinkish-red. He snapped out of his little trance, however, when the teacher opened the door to the classroom. He also didn’t notice when the Dragonbloods had got there. Everyone rushed into the classroom like a heard of cattle. The teacher stood at the front of the class, a box on her desk. She cleared her throat and began to address the class.
“Ok,” she said, her tone of voice suggesting her to be nice and cheerful, “for the new students who have arrived here today, my name is Miss Wilson. Today's lesson will be an introduction to creative writing. We will discuss our favourite book genres and why we like them. Later, we will read some books I have in this box for inspiration on a story you can write for your baseline test tomorrow.”
The class groaned. A baseline test? The most useless type of test.
“Come on, don’t be like that!” Miss Wilson encouraged cheerfully, “Let’s start discussing our favourite book genres! How about you, Arabella?”
The girl with the pink hair looked over at the teacher. She then looked at her desk, as if trying to think about the question for a moment.
“Well,” she replied, “I like fantasy the most, although I also enjoy adventure and romance novels as well.”
“Ok, a very good taste in books Ara,” Miss Wilson smiled, “Urm, Wren?”
Wren looked up. Her appearance was very dark and eerie. Her hair equally as dark as her black eyes. The girl answered simply, “Horror.”
“Alright then, one more person,” The teacher smiled, looking around the room, “Teddie?”
Teddie quickly sat up in her chair. Her hair was a light shade of blonde, which complimented her pastel-white Werewolf ears and tail. Her eyes were black and sparkled with insecurity. She sighed and finally spoke.
“Well, I like fantasy as well, like…”
“That’s a big lie!” someone cut in.
Teddie looked over to see a Meif’wa girl standing on her chair. Her hair was red, and so were her cat ears and tail. Her blue eyes looked straight at Teddie.
“You can’t deny that your favourite book genre is Manga!” she called out, eyes still on Teddie as if looking for a reaction, “I saw a whole collection in your locker the other day!”
Teddie stammered a bit as most of the class began to either snicker or death-stare the Meif'wa girl. Teddie then sighed and slumped back down into her chair, trying hard to blink back her tears.
“Aitoku!” Miss Wilson shouted, “That’s enough.”
Aitoku smirked and sat back down, happy to see that Teddie had reacted.
For the rest of the class, the students just sat quietly and read. However, for most of the class, tensions also felt high. After class, once everyone had left, Teddie walked up to the teacher. The two of them talked for roughly five minutes.
“Ok,” Teddie smiled, “See you after school.”
“You too,” Miss Wilson smiled, as Teddie exited the classroom.
The hallways were quiet. Teddie quickly and quietly walked across to her locker, looking around before opening it. Inside were quite a few boxes filled with either Anime box sets or Manga collections. She carefully grabbed one of her books from the locker and closed it, making sure she locked the iron cabinet behind her. She then proceeded to carefully place the manga in her bag.
“Hey Teddie,” A familiar voice called over to her.
Teddie looked around to see Aitoku standing opposite her in the quiet hallway.
“Hey,” Teddie replied, knowing that something bad was going to happen.
Aitoku walked from the end of the corridor to Teddie. Every time Aitoku stepped towards her, she would step backwards as if to try and avoid her.
“Where’re you going weeb?” Aitoku sneered, “Going to find some imaginary friends to watch your stupid cartoons with? Maybe some fictional boys?”
“No, I…” Teddie stammered, her back hitting a wall.
Aitoku laughed, happy she could finally beat someone up without a teacher interfering. Aitoku was almost right in front of Teddie now, who had closed her eyes and was preparing herself for impact with Aitoku’s fist or foot. However, nothing happened. When she looked up, Aitoku’s fist was clasped in her protector’s hands. After a second glance, this person black hair, black eyes and pale skin were easily recognisable as…
“Wren!” Teddie cried. Thank goodness.
Aitoku’s didn’t even have time to react as Wren’s foot made contact with Aitoku’s chest, sending her stumbling backwards. Aitoku rushed back at Wren, her fist hitting her face. Wren stumbled to the floor, but quickly got back up again and began delivering punch after punch to Aitoku’s stomach. Aitoku also started hitting Wren as hard as she could in the face and arm. The two were evenly matched, so it was more of a test of stamina than strength. After a while, Aitoku fell to the floor, Wren looking down at her.
“Run coward,” she said menacingly, "before you leave this school with a broken bone."
Aitoku did. She picked herself up off the floor and sprinted in the other direction. Wren dusted herself off and patted the bruises on her arms. Slowly, Wren turned around to face Teddie, whose eyes were sparkling so bright they could have lit up even the darkest of rooms.
“That was amazing!” Teddie beamed.
“Thank you,” Wren said blankly, beginning to walk off.
Now, Teddie wasn’t going to lose the possibility of making a new friend, so she decided to do the thing she could do well… beg.
“Hey, can I sit with you for lunch today?” Teddie asked.
“No,” Wren replied.
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Urg, fine,” Wren finally agreed, which caused Teddie to jump up and down with excitement.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Wren began to walk to the lesson, while Teddie walked along next to her. Wren sighed, her day of peace and quiet ruined.
After a few more lessons, it was lunch. Wren was beginning to get tired of Teddie following her around everywhere, but she did allow her to sit with her and her friend at lunch. Hopefully, after that she would go away. Wren did have to admit though, she was cute. However, Wren also knew she was too kind for her own good. Teddie was trying everything she could to start a conversation, but it was hard as the two were practically opposites. As they walked along the corridor, Teddie finally thought of a conversation topic.
“So, Wren,” Teddie began to ask, “You’re new here right? Have you made any friends yet?”
Wren didn’t answer, although she had made one. The only reason they had become friends was that they both joined the school at the same time and have learned to put up with one-another. Teddie looked at Wren and saw she was just looking forwards while they were walking. Teddie sighed. She knew making a friend would be difficult, but not this difficult. She just hoped that Wren had at least one friend she could socialise with so that she could make an ally in the school other than just her mother. Teddie then looked down to the floor, her mind racing. She stopped walking, leaving Wren to walk on without her.
“This was a terrible idea,” Teddie thought to herself, “she just wants to get on with her life, not babysit some younger kid. I really should just eat on my own. This was a mistake.”
Teddie’s eyes sparkled as the mini water droplets appeared in her eyes. She had always doubted herself in everything she did, and today was no exception. Wren turned around, noticing that Teddie was missing. Not long after, she saw her down the corridor, tears in her eyes. Wren sighed and walked back over to her. She grabbed onto Teddie’s arm and pulled her along. Teddie was still crying, but she looked up and saw Wren looking at her, slightly annoyed.
“I don’t understand why the heck you’re crying,” Wren told her, “it makes you look vulnerable. I would suggest you stop crying if you’re going to eat with me. If not, you can kiss that thought goodbye.”
Teddie wiped her eyes and nodded. She knew she had overreacted a bit, she just didn’t want to force anyone to like her. She wasn’t very likeable anyway.
Mollai, Bri and Loki sat around at the lunch table, enjoying their food and chatting to one another. Bri was getting into the habit of telling weird jokes. Some of them were funny, causing her friends to laugh, but most of them were just terrible. Both Loki and Mollai knew she was trying to hard to be funny, but that just made her personality shine through even more. Being such a carefree and positive soul, she always put a smile on everyone’s faces one way or another. Suddenly, Mollai waved to someone in the distance, causing Bri and Loki to look over. Raya waved back at Mollai and came over to the table. She sat down in the empty seat next to Bri, while Loki and Mollai were sat across from them.
“So, how was Math you guys?” Raya asked.
The way Burrows High works is kind of weird. Each subject is mixed between all years, and grouped into 4 sets depending on knowledge for each of the subjects. Each year, the students would be grouped into 4 random classes and given a few lessons before a baseline test. After that, the sets would then be sorted out. Math, however, was different. They had the baseline test in the exam hall for the first Math lesson and then they were grouped straight away. The reason for this is because Math is one of the most complicated subjects. And now with finals becoming more challenging, education became that much more important. In relation to tests, the top two sets were given harder papers than the bottom two sets, but they can get higher grades even if they get a few questions wrong as the subjects were harder. For Math, Loki was in the top set, Raya was in the second set and Bri and Mollai were in the third set. Loki was the first one to answer Raya’s question.
“We were doing more Algebra,” Loki groaned, “I swear, it’s so easy! I felt like falling asleep!”
Raya, Mollai and Bri looked at Loki with widened eyes. For them, Algebra was terrible. Bri and Mollai then explained what they did, and Loki obviously started boasting, saying he would be able to complete their Math questions in no time at all. Raya just watched them bicker about the subject while enjoying her food. To her, this was better than going to watch a movie at the cinema. Not long later, someone else called over to the table.
“Raya!” the person called, their voice high pitched.
A Meif’wa girl, otherwise known as a Neko Girl or a half cat half human girl, ran over. She had long blue hair, blue ears and a blue tail. Her phone was in her hand, with headphones plugged in and around her neck so she could hear the music and the world around her at the same time. Her black eyes sparkled with a positive vibe. Her makeup was on fleek, which seemed like something that had become natural for her. Behind her was another girl. She had purple hair, the left side being dark purple and the right side being light, a sort of crimson colour. She was extremely unique, as she had small rabbit ears and a small rabbit tail that was as soft as the clouds dotted in the sky. She kind of hid behind her friend and showed Loki, Bri, Mollai and Raya a shy smile. She had a gorgeous flower crown made up of buttercups and yellow lilies in her hair. Her orange eyes were the colour of pumpkins and looked like they were a portal to a whole other world of deeper thoughts. In her hands, a thick book which looked like it had over one thousand pages in it. Raya smiled at the two.
“Hey Saskya,” she smiled, “Hey Lhaka.”
Saskya, the one with the blue hair, smiled back. She kept taking odd sideward glances at the three Dragonbloods on her table with her. Saskya then grabbed Raya’s hand and pulled her out of her chair, almost hitting Lhaka in the process. Saskya put her hand up to Loki, Mollai and Bri as if telling them that they would be back in a second. She then dragged her to an empty table at the other end of the dining hall. Lhaka and Saskya sat down, their bags were already there, while Raya stood up, her hands resting on the end of the table.
“So, what did you need me for?” Raya asked the girls, who then looked at each other.
“Well,” Lhaka began, her voice higher than Raya’s but Lower than Saskya’s, “I read a non-fiction book not too long ago on Dragonbloods and Demons, and I found out that…”
“Really you two?” Raya asked, removing her hands from the end of the table, “you called me to warn me about who I’m friends with? I know I’ve been friends with you guys for much longer, and Saskya you’re my sister. However, I can hang out with other people as well, no matter what you think of them.”
“Well,” Saskya stuttered, “We also noticed that you and Eryn hadn’t been getting along recently and our whole friendship group is falling apart! We know that Eryn has Demon friends and that you two had been getting involved with disputes that you didn’t need to get yourself involved in. We just want you guys to be friends again and…”
“Ok,” Raya cut in again, “I really don’t care. Eryn made her choice and I made mine. You can still be friends with both of us, but I don’t think the two of us want to be friends anymore. If you want to bring this up again, bring it up with Eryn and not me. Now, I’m going to go back to my table. Have a good day you guys.”
Raya began to walk back to the table as Saskya and Lhaka sighed and began talking to each other. Fed up, Raya sat down in her seat and put her right hand on her head. Bri and Loki continued talking to one another after glancing at Raya for a split second, but Mollai knew something had happened. She knew this because Raya was bubbly before and was now looking miserable.
“What happened?” Mollai asked.
“Saskya and Lhaka talked to me about you guys,” Raya replied with a sigh, which caused Bri’s and Loki’s attention to focus on what Raya was saying, “They were saying about how they were sad that me and Eryn weren’t friends anymore and how they believe it’s because of you guys and us getting involved in the whole Nether and End war.”
Loki slammed his hands on the table, his eyes blazing with anger like a furnace had just been lit inside his body.
“How can you call them friends if they judge who you are friends with?” Loki asked, yelling in the process.
“To be honest, I don’t blame them,” Raya admitted, “None of them know I’m the guardian of the End, same with Eryn and her being the Nether Guardian. If I was in their shoes, I probably would do the same thing.”
“Why not just tell them that you’re the End Guardian?” Bri asked through a mouthful of food.
“Because I don’t want to get them involved, especially Saskya,” Raya answered honestly, “she’s my sister and I don’t want to see her get hurt. I hope you guys understand that and promise not to tell her or Lhaka.”
Mollai and Bri crossed their fingers, while Loki nodded in agreement. They knew Raya had to do everything she could not just to protect them but her friend and Sister as well. They all knew that she was there for them, so they would be there for her.
Wren sat down at a table in the corner of the Dining Hall and patted the chair next to her, offering Teddie to sit down. Shyly, Teddie took up the offer and sat down next to her. The situation was very awkward, the two girls said nothing to each other as they ate. The silence was finally broken by a guy walking up to the table, smiling as he sat down opposite Wren. He was a Werewolf with a pair of chocolate brown ears and a tail of the same colour. His eyes were strange, one being green and the other being orange. His neat brown hair flowed down, almost covering part of his right eye.
“Your late Don, as usual,” Wren stated, as Don laughed.
“Sorry, my bad,” he replied, “who’s this?”
Don looked over at Teddie and smiled, causing Teddie to give a weak smile in return.
“This is Teddie,” Wren sighed, “I helped her fight of who I presume is her bully today, and she pleaded me to allow her to sit with us today. She’s annoying and vulnerable, but annoying cute.”
Teddie gave a small wave, not really annoyed or phased by anything Wren said. Don nodded, agreeing with each word Wren said. Don could easily tell those things from his first glance anyway. However, if Don had learned anything from past experiences, there was more to a person than meets the eye.
“So, Teddie,” Don began to ask, “what exactly happened?”
“Well,” Teddie began, but she was quickly interrupted by someone in the distance.
“Hey weeb!” the person yelled from the table next to her, “eat this!”
They then flung some sort of mashed potato at Teddie using a spoon. Don’s and Teddie’s eyes widened as Teddie instinctively proceeded to duck the flying projectile. Teddie’s look turned into anger, as she did something she never thought she would do: fight back. She grabbed some mash from her plate and did the same thing as her attacker did. Only, this time, it hit. The girl wiped the blob of mash off her face, revealing the face of Aitoku. Don and Teddie started laughing, while Wren plastered a small smile on her face. Aitoku’s Meif’wa ears and tail twitched in anger. She pointed at Teddie.
“Today. After school. Outside. Be there.” Aitoku announced, before walking out of the Dining Hall to clean herself up.
Teddie had stopped laughing now, and so had Don. Instead of pride, Teddie’s face showed true fear. Tears had appeared in her eyes, her face going red.
“No no no,” Teddie started to panic, her hands resting on her face as the tears trickled down her face.
Don put his hand on Teddie’s shoulder while Wren clenched her fists.
“I have a plan,” Wren told the others, “Teddie, meet me at my classroom after the last lesson. Don, you go and meet Aitoku. She won’t win this.”
“So, Wren,” Teddie began to ask, “You’re new here right? Have you made any friends yet?”
Wren didn’t answer, although she had made one. The only reason they had become friends was that they both joined the school at the same time and have learned to put up with one-another. Teddie looked at Wren and saw she was just looking forwards while they were walking. Teddie sighed. She knew making a friend would be difficult, but not this difficult. She just hoped that Wren had at least one friend she could socialise with so that she could make an ally in the school other than just her mother. Teddie then looked down to the floor, her mind racing. She stopped walking, leaving Wren to walk on without her.
“This was a terrible idea,” Teddie thought to herself, “she just wants to get on with her life, not babysit some younger kid. I really should just eat on my own. This was a mistake.”
Teddie’s eyes sparkled as the mini water droplets appeared in her eyes. She had always doubted herself in everything she did, and today was no exception. Wren turned around, noticing that Teddie was missing. Not long after, she saw her down the corridor, tears in her eyes. Wren sighed and walked back over to her. She grabbed onto Teddie’s arm and pulled her along. Teddie was still crying, but she looked up and saw Wren looking at her, slightly annoyed.
“I don’t understand why the heck you’re crying,” Wren told her, “it makes you look vulnerable. I would suggest you stop crying if you’re going to eat with me. If not, you can kiss that thought goodbye.”
Teddie wiped her eyes and nodded. She knew she had overreacted a bit, she just didn’t want to force anyone to like her. She wasn’t very likeable anyway.
Mollai, Bri and Loki sat around at the lunch table, enjoying their food and chatting to one another. Bri was getting into the habit of telling weird jokes. Some of them were funny, causing her friends to laugh, but most of them were just terrible. Both Loki and Mollai knew she was trying to hard to be funny, but that just made her personality shine through even more. Being such a carefree and positive soul, she always put a smile on everyone’s faces one way or another. Suddenly, Mollai waved to someone in the distance, causing Bri and Loki to look over. Raya waved back at Mollai and came over to the table. She sat down in the empty seat next to Bri, while Loki and Mollai were sat across from them.
“So, how was Math you guys?” Raya asked.
The way Burrows High works is kind of weird. Each subject is mixed between all years, and grouped into 4 sets depending on knowledge for each of the subjects. Each year, the students would be grouped into 4 random classes and given a few lessons before a baseline test. After that, the sets would then be sorted out. Math, however, was different. They had the baseline test in the exam hall for the first Math lesson and then they were grouped straight away. The reason for this is because Math is one of the most complicated subjects. And now with finals becoming more challenging, education became that much more important. In relation to tests, the top two sets were given harder papers than the bottom two sets, but they can get higher grades even if they get a few questions wrong as the subjects were harder. For Math, Loki was in the top set, Raya was in the second set and Bri and Mollai were in the third set. Loki was the first one to answer Raya’s question.
“We were doing more Algebra,” Loki groaned, “I swear, it’s so easy! I felt like falling asleep!”
Raya, Mollai and Bri looked at Loki with widened eyes. For them, Algebra was terrible. Bri and Mollai then explained what they did, and Loki obviously started boasting, saying he would be able to complete their Math questions in no time at all. Raya just watched them bicker about the subject while enjoying her food. To her, this was better than going to watch a movie at the cinema. Not long later, someone else called over to the table.
“Raya!” the person called, their voice high pitched.
A Meif’wa girl, otherwise known as a Neko Girl or a half cat half human girl, ran over. She had long blue hair, blue ears and a blue tail. Her phone was in her hand, with headphones plugged in and around her neck so she could hear the music and the world around her at the same time. Her black eyes sparkled with a positive vibe. Her makeup was on fleek, which seemed like something that had become natural for her. Behind her was another girl. She had purple hair, the left side being dark purple and the right side being light, a sort of crimson colour. She was extremely unique, as she had small rabbit ears and a small rabbit tail that was as soft as the clouds dotted in the sky. She kind of hid behind her friend and showed Loki, Bri, Mollai and Raya a shy smile. She had a gorgeous flower crown made up of buttercups and yellow lilies in her hair. Her orange eyes were the colour of pumpkins and looked like they were a portal to a whole other world of deeper thoughts. In her hands, a thick book which looked like it had over one thousand pages in it. Raya smiled at the two.
“Hey Saskya,” she smiled, “Hey Lhaka.”
Saskya, the one with the blue hair, smiled back. She kept taking odd sideward glances at the three Dragonbloods on her table with her. Saskya then grabbed Raya’s hand and pulled her out of her chair, almost hitting Lhaka in the process. Saskya put her hand up to Loki, Mollai and Bri as if telling them that they would be back in a second. She then dragged her to an empty table at the other end of the dining hall. Lhaka and Saskya sat down, their bags were already there, while Raya stood up, her hands resting on the end of the table.
“So, what did you need me for?” Raya asked the girls, who then looked at each other.
“Well,” Lhaka began, her voice higher than Raya’s but Lower than Saskya’s, “I read a non-fiction book not too long ago on Dragonbloods and Demons, and I found out that…”
“Really you two?” Raya asked, removing her hands from the end of the table, “you called me to warn me about who I’m friends with? I know I’ve been friends with you guys for much longer, and Saskya you’re my sister. However, I can hang out with other people as well, no matter what you think of them.”
“Well,” Saskya stuttered, “We also noticed that you and Eryn hadn’t been getting along recently and our whole friendship group is falling apart! We know that Eryn has Demon friends and that you two had been getting involved with disputes that you didn’t need to get yourself involved in. We just want you guys to be friends again and…”
“Ok,” Raya cut in again, “I really don’t care. Eryn made her choice and I made mine. You can still be friends with both of us, but I don’t think the two of us want to be friends anymore. If you want to bring this up again, bring it up with Eryn and not me. Now, I’m going to go back to my table. Have a good day you guys.”
Raya began to walk back to the table as Saskya and Lhaka sighed and began talking to each other. Fed up, Raya sat down in her seat and put her right hand on her head. Bri and Loki continued talking to one another after glancing at Raya for a split second, but Mollai knew something had happened. She knew this because Raya was bubbly before and was now looking miserable.
“What happened?” Mollai asked.
“Saskya and Lhaka talked to me about you guys,” Raya replied with a sigh, which caused Bri’s and Loki’s attention to focus on what Raya was saying, “They were saying about how they were sad that me and Eryn weren’t friends anymore and how they believe it’s because of you guys and us getting involved in the whole Nether and End war.”
Loki slammed his hands on the table, his eyes blazing with anger like a furnace had just been lit inside his body.
“How can you call them friends if they judge who you are friends with?” Loki asked, yelling in the process.
“To be honest, I don’t blame them,” Raya admitted, “None of them know I’m the guardian of the End, same with Eryn and her being the Nether Guardian. If I was in their shoes, I probably would do the same thing.”
“Why not just tell them that you’re the End Guardian?” Bri asked through a mouthful of food.
“Because I don’t want to get them involved, especially Saskya,” Raya answered honestly, “she’s my sister and I don’t want to see her get hurt. I hope you guys understand that and promise not to tell her or Lhaka.”
Mollai and Bri crossed their fingers, while Loki nodded in agreement. They knew Raya had to do everything she could not just to protect them but her friend and Sister as well. They all knew that she was there for them, so they would be there for her.
Wren sat down at a table in the corner of the Dining Hall and patted the chair next to her, offering Teddie to sit down. Shyly, Teddie took up the offer and sat down next to her. The situation was very awkward, the two girls said nothing to each other as they ate. The silence was finally broken by a guy walking up to the table, smiling as he sat down opposite Wren. He was a Werewolf with a pair of chocolate brown ears and a tail of the same colour. His eyes were strange, one being green and the other being orange. His neat brown hair flowed down, almost covering part of his right eye.
“Your late Don, as usual,” Wren stated, as Don laughed.
“Sorry, my bad,” he replied, “who’s this?”
Don looked over at Teddie and smiled, causing Teddie to give a weak smile in return.
“This is Teddie,” Wren sighed, “I helped her fight of who I presume is her bully today, and she pleaded me to allow her to sit with us today. She’s annoying and vulnerable, but annoying cute.”
Teddie gave a small wave, not really annoyed or phased by anything Wren said. Don nodded, agreeing with each word Wren said. Don could easily tell those things from his first glance anyway. However, if Don had learned anything from past experiences, there was more to a person than meets the eye.
“So, Teddie,” Don began to ask, “what exactly happened?”
“Well,” Teddie began, but she was quickly interrupted by someone in the distance.
“Hey weeb!” the person yelled from the table next to her, “eat this!”
They then flung some sort of mashed potato at Teddie using a spoon. Don’s and Teddie’s eyes widened as Teddie instinctively proceeded to duck the flying projectile. Teddie’s look turned into anger, as she did something she never thought she would do: fight back. She grabbed some mash from her plate and did the same thing as her attacker did. Only, this time, it hit. The girl wiped the blob of mash off her face, revealing the face of Aitoku. Don and Teddie started laughing, while Wren plastered a small smile on her face. Aitoku’s Meif’wa ears and tail twitched in anger. She pointed at Teddie.
“Today. After school. Outside. Be there.” Aitoku announced, before walking out of the Dining Hall to clean herself up.
Teddie had stopped laughing now, and so had Don. Instead of pride, Teddie’s face showed true fear. Tears had appeared in her eyes, her face going red.
“No no no,” Teddie started to panic, her hands resting on her face as the tears trickled down her face.
Don put his hand on Teddie’s shoulder while Wren clenched her fists.
“I have a plan,” Wren told the others, “Teddie, meet me at my classroom after the last lesson. Don, you go and meet Aitoku. She won’t win this.”
The end of the day. People weren’t rushing out to get home today, however. There was a big crowd of people, approximately 100 students or more, who overheard the news. A girl stood in front of the crowd, her red hair waving in the wind. Aitoku smiled. Her pray shouldn’t take that long to get there. If she did take a while, she would only have to assume that she ran. Aitoku’s eyes were fixed on the door, looking for any glimpse of Teddie Wilson. She had also asked the people in the crowd but all of them hadn’t seen a glimpse of them since the last lesson ended. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing a boy that Aitoku recognised too well. His expression was confident, but his eyes told a different story. He was still in his uniform, but his blazer had been replaced with an orange jacket and a brown scarf. He looked back at the door, now showing his fear more. Aitoku laughed, causing the boy to turn back around to face her. The group of students now formed a circle around the two, creating an arena. Aitoku smiled, her eyes sending fear into the boy and a few of the students around them.
“Hello Donovan,” Aitoku smiled, “how are you?”
Don was taken aback by the passive opening. The tension was high; he felt like he was the target and not Teddie. Don was still unsure why he had to do this since he had only met Teddie today. However, the look of fear in the girl’s eyes made Don determined to help in some way. He just hated how Wren had told him to be the bait. However, he knew that Wren had a plan and that he should trust her.
“Uh,” Don muttered, “good.”
“That’s great, but let’s cut to the chase,” Aitoku sneered, “Where is Teddie?”
“I don’t know,” Don stuttered, “I haven’t seen her since lunch time.”
Aitoku stared into Don’s eyes for a moment, checking for any proof of him lying. She knew that if he had lied to her, she would make him pay. Weirdly, she always got this adrenalin rush whenever she got into a fight. She also loved how, no matter how much people hated her, they would always support her in a fight unless the pray was their friend. Another boy came through the door and pushed through the crowd, his face excited for the fight ahead.
“Aitoku,” he started to say, his eyes bright with excitement, “I saw Teddie around back with Wren a few minutes ago.”
Aitoku turned to Don, an enraged look plastered across her face. She pushed past the circle of people, telling them to keep Don inside. Don looked up at everyone around him, sweat beginning to pour down his face. Some people were smaller than him, excited Freshmen kids looking for some fun. Most of them, however, were Seniors, making them much taller than Don was. He decided to sit down on the concrete floor to calm the nerves that were bubbling inside of him. He just hoped Wren knew what she was doing.
With the wind blowing through their hair, Wren and Teddie stood behind a tree just outside the back gate. Teddie was having a mini panic attack while Wren surveyed the area. After a while, Wren sat down next to Teddie, whose eyes were speckled with so many tears that they could fill a small fish tank. Wren knew that Teddie needed some good news.
“It looks like nobody is coming,” Wren stated, “for now anyway. You really need to be less cocky! I know you were defending yourself, but did you really think about the consequences? Rule number one and two of dealing with bullies: ignore them and only fight back if you know you can beat them in a fight! Either don’t fight back or get stronger. Also, you need to stop being a wimp.”
“You think I haven’t tried ignoring them?” Teddie sobbed, “It never works. You think this only started when you and Don came? This has been going on ever since I started Freshman year. I thought it would’ve stopped by now, but it hasn’t. I just…”
Wren stood up, dragging Teddie up with her. A skidding noise. Wren peeked around the tree to see Aitoku dashing around the corner and heading towards them. Wren’s eyes widened. Instinctively, Wren began to run towards the street in front of the school’s back gate, dragging Teddie along with her. Teddie looked behind her, her eyes widening as Aitoku began to give chase. Wren knew there was a chance of this happening. Teddie looked at Wren like she was insane. However, Wren just had to move to plan B, which was very risky. After seeing the shop called ‘Flame Land’, she darted into it, hiding herself and Teddie behind a stack of shelves near the till. One of the store staff, a cashier, went up to them. Teddie began talking to the man, tears trickling down her face, while Wren peeked through the shelves to see Aitoku stood outside the window. Aitoku was trying to decide whether the two of them were in the shop, down the street or in the alley next to the shop. Wren looked over at Teddie, who was trying to negotiate with the man.
“Please sir,” Teddie pleaded, “I really don’t want to get hurt.”
“I would usually say no to something like this,” the man sighed, “but I would feel horrible saying no. However, if my manager finds out, you need to pay me back. Is that ok?”
Teddie nodded, while Wren replied with, “thank you, sir.”
Teddie and Wren quickly followed the man into what looked like a meat locker, except it was for meats that were in crates, obviously shipped from other stores and countries. The man entered a code into the keypad, opening the door. The girls dashed inside, allowing the door to close behind them. After roughly 5 minutes, Aitoku came out of the ally, her eyes filled with rage. The one other logical place that Wren and Teddie could be was inside the store. Aitoku swung open both doors and walked up to the one cashier that had an empty lane. She rested her elbow on the desk and smiled.
“Hello,” Aitoku said to the man, “I’m looking for a girl. Blonde hair, black eyes, pasty skin, a werewolf with white ears and a white tail and the same uniform as me. Seen her?”
The man turned to the other cashiers, asking them if they had seen anything. One of them said that they had darted out of the shop and back towards the high school when she had gone into the ally. Aitoku took her arm off the desk, her eyes blazing. She ran out of the shop and back in the direction of Burrows High. One of the cashiers came back and opened the door for Teddie and Wren. After the two gave their thanks, they exited the shop and made their way down the street. Their conversation was normal for them, Wren lecturing Teddie on things she could do better while Teddie listened and gave her own thoughts and opinions. Weirdly, the two of them could be considered friends at a glance. After a while of talking, Teddie remembered something.
“What about Don?” Teddie asked, “Do you have any way to contact him and tell him we’re ok?”
Wren looked back, hinting at the fact that she didn’t have a way to contact Don. Teddie sighed. She was worried about him; she hoped he was ok.
Don, who was sat quietly on a bench on his phone, was one of the only people still left in school now. Most of the students had left, expecting the fight to happen elsewhere. However, he had decided to wait for Teddie and Wren. He was glad that he hadn’t been hurt, but he was worried that Teddie and Wren might have been. A small sigh broke from out of his mouth, the cold October air making a small cloud whenever he breathed out through his mouth. Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder, causing him to look up. Aitoku stared down at him, her fists clenched. Don had no time to react before she grabbed hold of his shoulders and pinned him against the wall, causing him to drop his phone on the floor.
“Where are they?” Aitoku asked, gripping Don against tight, “Tell me!”
Don shook his head, a tear filled with fear and worry falling down his cheek. Aitoku grunted, clearly annoyed at this point, and decided to take her anger out on the person in front of her. She gave multiple blows to his arm. Don easily took the pain, refusing to fight back. After a dozen futile punches, she delivered a strong punch. The crack echoed throughout the front of the school, and so did Don’s scream. Aitoku let go of Don’s arm and ran off. Whilst leaving, she saw a shadow of a girl behind a tree; after looking away it was gone. Meanwhile, Don was gritting his teeth, trying to fight the pain. His arm was limp and weak like it had just turned to jelly. Tears poured from his eyes, making mini waterfalls that trickled down his face. Suddenly, someone grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him off the bench, her pastel pink hair flowing in the wind. Behind her was another girl, whose arms were crossed in an irritated way.
“Hey, I’m Arabella,” the pink-haired girl smiled, helping Don put his arm in a comfortable place, “are you ok?”
Don nodded, blinking back the tears that were in his eyes. The girl with the brown hair now rested her back against the wall while Ara continued talking to Don. Don explained to the two girls what had happened. Ara listened well, while the other girl played with a phone she had found on the floor.
“Do you have anything to contact your parents with?” Ara asked.
“I do have my…” Don began to say, before his eyes widened, “My phone! Where is it?”
“You mean this thing?” the brown-haired girl asked, chucking the phone to Ara.
“Yes!” Don smiled, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Ara smiled back, “Take this, just in case anything goes wrong. Wolfia and I have to go. See you around!”
Ara waved while Wolfia smiled as the two walked away. Don had just noticed how long he had been here, as the two of them were completely dressed in non-school uniform. Ara wore a cute green dress with a pink jacket, her boots were green and pink. From afar, she looked like a strawberry or some other kind of red fruit. You could also tell that this girl was into pastel colours. The girl next to her, whose name was apparently Wolfia, wore a black shirt, denim shorts and black gloves. He specifically remembered her as the girl who was with Ara before English yesterday. Don wondered how they weren’t cold in those clothes. Don looked at the piece of paper, a series of numbers written on it. Ara’s phone number. Don sighed, trying to stay positive. However, there was no way he could even try.
“Hello Donovan,” Aitoku smiled, “how are you?”
Don was taken aback by the passive opening. The tension was high; he felt like he was the target and not Teddie. Don was still unsure why he had to do this since he had only met Teddie today. However, the look of fear in the girl’s eyes made Don determined to help in some way. He just hated how Wren had told him to be the bait. However, he knew that Wren had a plan and that he should trust her.
“Uh,” Don muttered, “good.”
“That’s great, but let’s cut to the chase,” Aitoku sneered, “Where is Teddie?”
“I don’t know,” Don stuttered, “I haven’t seen her since lunch time.”
Aitoku stared into Don’s eyes for a moment, checking for any proof of him lying. She knew that if he had lied to her, she would make him pay. Weirdly, she always got this adrenalin rush whenever she got into a fight. She also loved how, no matter how much people hated her, they would always support her in a fight unless the pray was their friend. Another boy came through the door and pushed through the crowd, his face excited for the fight ahead.
“Aitoku,” he started to say, his eyes bright with excitement, “I saw Teddie around back with Wren a few minutes ago.”
Aitoku turned to Don, an enraged look plastered across her face. She pushed past the circle of people, telling them to keep Don inside. Don looked up at everyone around him, sweat beginning to pour down his face. Some people were smaller than him, excited Freshmen kids looking for some fun. Most of them, however, were Seniors, making them much taller than Don was. He decided to sit down on the concrete floor to calm the nerves that were bubbling inside of him. He just hoped Wren knew what she was doing.
With the wind blowing through their hair, Wren and Teddie stood behind a tree just outside the back gate. Teddie was having a mini panic attack while Wren surveyed the area. After a while, Wren sat down next to Teddie, whose eyes were speckled with so many tears that they could fill a small fish tank. Wren knew that Teddie needed some good news.
“It looks like nobody is coming,” Wren stated, “for now anyway. You really need to be less cocky! I know you were defending yourself, but did you really think about the consequences? Rule number one and two of dealing with bullies: ignore them and only fight back if you know you can beat them in a fight! Either don’t fight back or get stronger. Also, you need to stop being a wimp.”
“You think I haven’t tried ignoring them?” Teddie sobbed, “It never works. You think this only started when you and Don came? This has been going on ever since I started Freshman year. I thought it would’ve stopped by now, but it hasn’t. I just…”
Wren stood up, dragging Teddie up with her. A skidding noise. Wren peeked around the tree to see Aitoku dashing around the corner and heading towards them. Wren’s eyes widened. Instinctively, Wren began to run towards the street in front of the school’s back gate, dragging Teddie along with her. Teddie looked behind her, her eyes widening as Aitoku began to give chase. Wren knew there was a chance of this happening. Teddie looked at Wren like she was insane. However, Wren just had to move to plan B, which was very risky. After seeing the shop called ‘Flame Land’, she darted into it, hiding herself and Teddie behind a stack of shelves near the till. One of the store staff, a cashier, went up to them. Teddie began talking to the man, tears trickling down her face, while Wren peeked through the shelves to see Aitoku stood outside the window. Aitoku was trying to decide whether the two of them were in the shop, down the street or in the alley next to the shop. Wren looked over at Teddie, who was trying to negotiate with the man.
“Please sir,” Teddie pleaded, “I really don’t want to get hurt.”
“I would usually say no to something like this,” the man sighed, “but I would feel horrible saying no. However, if my manager finds out, you need to pay me back. Is that ok?”
Teddie nodded, while Wren replied with, “thank you, sir.”
Teddie and Wren quickly followed the man into what looked like a meat locker, except it was for meats that were in crates, obviously shipped from other stores and countries. The man entered a code into the keypad, opening the door. The girls dashed inside, allowing the door to close behind them. After roughly 5 minutes, Aitoku came out of the ally, her eyes filled with rage. The one other logical place that Wren and Teddie could be was inside the store. Aitoku swung open both doors and walked up to the one cashier that had an empty lane. She rested her elbow on the desk and smiled.
“Hello,” Aitoku said to the man, “I’m looking for a girl. Blonde hair, black eyes, pasty skin, a werewolf with white ears and a white tail and the same uniform as me. Seen her?”
The man turned to the other cashiers, asking them if they had seen anything. One of them said that they had darted out of the shop and back towards the high school when she had gone into the ally. Aitoku took her arm off the desk, her eyes blazing. She ran out of the shop and back in the direction of Burrows High. One of the cashiers came back and opened the door for Teddie and Wren. After the two gave their thanks, they exited the shop and made their way down the street. Their conversation was normal for them, Wren lecturing Teddie on things she could do better while Teddie listened and gave her own thoughts and opinions. Weirdly, the two of them could be considered friends at a glance. After a while of talking, Teddie remembered something.
“What about Don?” Teddie asked, “Do you have any way to contact him and tell him we’re ok?”
Wren looked back, hinting at the fact that she didn’t have a way to contact Don. Teddie sighed. She was worried about him; she hoped he was ok.
Don, who was sat quietly on a bench on his phone, was one of the only people still left in school now. Most of the students had left, expecting the fight to happen elsewhere. However, he had decided to wait for Teddie and Wren. He was glad that he hadn’t been hurt, but he was worried that Teddie and Wren might have been. A small sigh broke from out of his mouth, the cold October air making a small cloud whenever he breathed out through his mouth. Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder, causing him to look up. Aitoku stared down at him, her fists clenched. Don had no time to react before she grabbed hold of his shoulders and pinned him against the wall, causing him to drop his phone on the floor.
“Where are they?” Aitoku asked, gripping Don against tight, “Tell me!”
Don shook his head, a tear filled with fear and worry falling down his cheek. Aitoku grunted, clearly annoyed at this point, and decided to take her anger out on the person in front of her. She gave multiple blows to his arm. Don easily took the pain, refusing to fight back. After a dozen futile punches, she delivered a strong punch. The crack echoed throughout the front of the school, and so did Don’s scream. Aitoku let go of Don’s arm and ran off. Whilst leaving, she saw a shadow of a girl behind a tree; after looking away it was gone. Meanwhile, Don was gritting his teeth, trying to fight the pain. His arm was limp and weak like it had just turned to jelly. Tears poured from his eyes, making mini waterfalls that trickled down his face. Suddenly, someone grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him off the bench, her pastel pink hair flowing in the wind. Behind her was another girl, whose arms were crossed in an irritated way.
“Hey, I’m Arabella,” the pink-haired girl smiled, helping Don put his arm in a comfortable place, “are you ok?”
Don nodded, blinking back the tears that were in his eyes. The girl with the brown hair now rested her back against the wall while Ara continued talking to Don. Don explained to the two girls what had happened. Ara listened well, while the other girl played with a phone she had found on the floor.
“Do you have anything to contact your parents with?” Ara asked.
“I do have my…” Don began to say, before his eyes widened, “My phone! Where is it?”
“You mean this thing?” the brown-haired girl asked, chucking the phone to Ara.
“Yes!” Don smiled, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Ara smiled back, “Take this, just in case anything goes wrong. Wolfia and I have to go. See you around!”
Ara waved while Wolfia smiled as the two walked away. Don had just noticed how long he had been here, as the two of them were completely dressed in non-school uniform. Ara wore a cute green dress with a pink jacket, her boots were green and pink. From afar, she looked like a strawberry or some other kind of red fruit. You could also tell that this girl was into pastel colours. The girl next to her, whose name was apparently Wolfia, wore a black shirt, denim shorts and black gloves. He specifically remembered her as the girl who was with Ara before English yesterday. Don wondered how they weren’t cold in those clothes. Don looked at the piece of paper, a series of numbers written on it. Ara’s phone number. Don sighed, trying to stay positive. However, there was no way he could even try.
"Have a good day at school!” The woman called out of the car after Don, who sighed and nodded in agreement.
When he had thought yesterday couldn't get any worse, he was instantly proven wrong by screams of pain coming from his arm when Ara and Wolfia had left. He was forced to sit down, grit his teeth and wait around for his mother to arrive. Sure, he had received one of the popular girl’s phone numbers. However, that would never make him feel good about what happened. He just hoped Teddie and Wren were ok, and that the pain he went through wasn’t for nothing. He couldn’t even take a run to calm down because of this! Instead, he sat on the same bench that he was on yesterday before his arm was broken by Aitoku, the school bully. Don was worried about the problems his arm might have on his everyday life for the next six or seven weeks, not just his physical ability but his mental state as well. Just as the gloom was beginning to drown him, somebody woke up his senses by smiling at him. Arabella was holding a small chocolate bar out at Don, offering him to take it. Her smile shined as bright as when the sun reflects onto the water and creates a ripple of light that waves at you when you look at it. Don hesitantly took the bar of chocolate and smiled his thanks. Ara quickly turned around when she was greeted by Wolfia, who Don had just noticed was much taller than he'd thought. Ara smiled back at Don and waved before turning away and beginning to talk to her best friend, her face was slightly red for the whole conversation the two had. Don just stared at the chocolate bar with wide eyes and a smile, feeling happy that Ara and Wolfia were helping him.
“DON!” A high-pitched voice called over.
Teddie ran up to Don and wrapped her arms around him, startling Don a little bit. Looking at both Teddie and Wren, who was standing behind Teddie, and seeing they were ok made Don’s pain go away by a small amount. He used his working arm to hug Teddie back, smiling while he did so. Being able to see his friends safe put his mind at ease. He still had no idea as to why he agreed to do something so reckless, but something inside of him had told him to help Teddie. And he was glad he did. This warm feeling inside of him knew he had done the right thing, as it had helped her.
Eryn sighed. She liked her demon friends so much, however, they could be loud and annoying sometimes. Jason walked along, making jokes about stupid things. Aaron, as well as Eryn, remained quiet for most of these jokes while Owen seemed to find entertainment in them. Jason was just about to continue joking around when he stopped and turned slowly to his left to face someone who caught his attention. A girl with ginger hair in a plat, draping down over her shoulder. Her dark-green eyes narrowed in concentration as she wrote in a book. She was smaller than Jason, her demon horns and tail visibly showing. Jason was taken aback when he saw this girl. He knew everyone in his kingdom, but he had never seen this girl before. Jason narrowed the glasses that sat upon his head and approached the girl, eager to find out more about her.
“Hey!” Jason smiled, “I’m Jason, prince of the realm of Nemrakt! What’s your name?”
The girl just stared up at him, not moving or speaking. When Jason peeked at the cover of her book, a name was written on the front. Eleanora Clarke. The girl closed her book and quickly tucked it under her arm, still looking at Jason. Her face was trying to make a fierce expression, but she couldn’t pull it off. Aaron, Owen and Eryn stopped walking and turned around, realising that Jason wasn’t with them anymore. The three saw him in the distance with Eleanora.
“Jason!” Eryn called over, “Let’s go!”
Jason turned to his three friends and then turned back to Eleanora, who was looking in the other direction. Jason turned to face the same way she was, causing his eyes to widen in shock. How could a shadow stand out in this light? The shadow wasn’t black, more like a deep purple. The shadow suddenly let out a menacing but quiet laugh before disappearing into thin air. Jason and Eleanora stepped backwards, a chill running down both of their spines. Eleanora looked at Jason and then looked back at his friends. Quickly, she took off down the hallway in the other direction. Jason walked up to his friends, still shaken up by the shadow.
“Oh my god,” Jason shuddered, “Did you guys see that?”
“See what?” Owen asked him, Aaron and Eryn looking at Jason with a perplexed look.
Jason’s eyes widened again. There is no way he was the only person to see that, other than Eleanora. Suddenly, Aaron grabbed Jason’s arm, clearly fed up, and pulled him along while Owen and Eryn followed.
After two lessons of pain and torture, it was finally time to take a well-deserved break. Wolfia was the first one to rush out of her math classroom, sprinting down the crowded hallways to reach the outside world. She didn’t worry about Arabella, as she would always know where she was if they weren’t in the same class before recess or lunch. Finally, she reached the door leading to fresh air, fun and care-free sports. She opened both doors at the same time, her eyes sparkling as she did so. Usually, the soccer field would be filled up with the usual people. However, there were some new faces on the pitch. Loki and Bri were being taught by the vice-captain of the football team about the basics, while Mollai and Raya sat by the sidelines and watched. Saskya was jumping up and down next to Bri, obviously trying to help the vice-captain train the new members. Wolfia knew it was her job, as the captain of the team, to help as well. She jogged over to the group and smiled, telling the vice-captain that she would take it from here. Explaining the rules and how to play to Loki and Bri was hard at first, but only because Saskya kept interrupting her. After ages of telling Saskya to shut up and start moving, Saskya finally gave in and went to talk to Lhaka, who had just come from her lesson with food in hand. The two then sat next to Raya and began to chat with her, completely ignoring Mollai. Once Bri and Loki had learnt the basics, a full game started. The game only lasted for five minutes because of the time spent teaching the two new members, but the game was still action-packed anyway. Most of the goals came from Wolfia, but Bri was able to score one as well. Once the game was over, Wolfia wrapped up the club meeting. One thing on her mind though was that Arabella was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Ara came through the doors, a giddy smile on her face. Wolfia ran over to her.
“Where were you?” Wolfia asked, “The club meeting is over.”
“It is?” Ara asked, her face sort of red, “I didn’t keep track of time, sorry.”
Wolfia gave Ara a suspicious look, obviously knowing what was going on.
“You’re not thinking about that again, are you?” Wolfia asked, still annoyed that Ara didn’t make it to the club in time.
“Maybe,” Ara sighed, her face returning to its original colour, “I just never looked for this kind of thing, so I’m surprised I feel this close to...”
“Ara, listen to me,” Wolfia began, “you can’t just jump into this without help. First, you need to…”
“Sorry Wolfia, but what would you know about this?” Ara asked her.
Wolfia sighed, knowing that she had a point. Still, she knew that Ara was opening a can of worms. Before she could give any more opinions, the bell rang. Ara grabbed onto Wolfia’s arm and pulled her in the direction of their class.
At the end of the school day, things were quiet. A person walked down an alleyway next to a shop, their heart pounding. They had no idea if they was doing the right thing, but they was willing to take that risk.
“You here?”
“Of course. I would never back down from a deal”
“I need your help”
“What for?”
“My friend has been acting weird for the past couple of days. I know why, but I don’t feel like sharing that information with you. I need someone to help me fix her by giving her what she wants.”
“And what does she want?”
“Like I said, that isn’t your business. I need your help taking out the girl in this photo.”
“In what way?”
“In any way possible?”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I know you don’t like this girl, and you have been trying to get under her skin for a while now. Since she got away from you the last time with that other girl, I figured you could also use some help.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“So, are you in or out?”
“I’m in.”
“Good. Now, don’t try anything or test me. If you do I will…”
“Calm down, I won’t disappoint.”
When he had thought yesterday couldn't get any worse, he was instantly proven wrong by screams of pain coming from his arm when Ara and Wolfia had left. He was forced to sit down, grit his teeth and wait around for his mother to arrive. Sure, he had received one of the popular girl’s phone numbers. However, that would never make him feel good about what happened. He just hoped Teddie and Wren were ok, and that the pain he went through wasn’t for nothing. He couldn’t even take a run to calm down because of this! Instead, he sat on the same bench that he was on yesterday before his arm was broken by Aitoku, the school bully. Don was worried about the problems his arm might have on his everyday life for the next six or seven weeks, not just his physical ability but his mental state as well. Just as the gloom was beginning to drown him, somebody woke up his senses by smiling at him. Arabella was holding a small chocolate bar out at Don, offering him to take it. Her smile shined as bright as when the sun reflects onto the water and creates a ripple of light that waves at you when you look at it. Don hesitantly took the bar of chocolate and smiled his thanks. Ara quickly turned around when she was greeted by Wolfia, who Don had just noticed was much taller than he'd thought. Ara smiled back at Don and waved before turning away and beginning to talk to her best friend, her face was slightly red for the whole conversation the two had. Don just stared at the chocolate bar with wide eyes and a smile, feeling happy that Ara and Wolfia were helping him.
“DON!” A high-pitched voice called over.
Teddie ran up to Don and wrapped her arms around him, startling Don a little bit. Looking at both Teddie and Wren, who was standing behind Teddie, and seeing they were ok made Don’s pain go away by a small amount. He used his working arm to hug Teddie back, smiling while he did so. Being able to see his friends safe put his mind at ease. He still had no idea as to why he agreed to do something so reckless, but something inside of him had told him to help Teddie. And he was glad he did. This warm feeling inside of him knew he had done the right thing, as it had helped her.
Eryn sighed. She liked her demon friends so much, however, they could be loud and annoying sometimes. Jason walked along, making jokes about stupid things. Aaron, as well as Eryn, remained quiet for most of these jokes while Owen seemed to find entertainment in them. Jason was just about to continue joking around when he stopped and turned slowly to his left to face someone who caught his attention. A girl with ginger hair in a plat, draping down over her shoulder. Her dark-green eyes narrowed in concentration as she wrote in a book. She was smaller than Jason, her demon horns and tail visibly showing. Jason was taken aback when he saw this girl. He knew everyone in his kingdom, but he had never seen this girl before. Jason narrowed the glasses that sat upon his head and approached the girl, eager to find out more about her.
“Hey!” Jason smiled, “I’m Jason, prince of the realm of Nemrakt! What’s your name?”
The girl just stared up at him, not moving or speaking. When Jason peeked at the cover of her book, a name was written on the front. Eleanora Clarke. The girl closed her book and quickly tucked it under her arm, still looking at Jason. Her face was trying to make a fierce expression, but she couldn’t pull it off. Aaron, Owen and Eryn stopped walking and turned around, realising that Jason wasn’t with them anymore. The three saw him in the distance with Eleanora.
“Jason!” Eryn called over, “Let’s go!”
Jason turned to his three friends and then turned back to Eleanora, who was looking in the other direction. Jason turned to face the same way she was, causing his eyes to widen in shock. How could a shadow stand out in this light? The shadow wasn’t black, more like a deep purple. The shadow suddenly let out a menacing but quiet laugh before disappearing into thin air. Jason and Eleanora stepped backwards, a chill running down both of their spines. Eleanora looked at Jason and then looked back at his friends. Quickly, she took off down the hallway in the other direction. Jason walked up to his friends, still shaken up by the shadow.
“Oh my god,” Jason shuddered, “Did you guys see that?”
“See what?” Owen asked him, Aaron and Eryn looking at Jason with a perplexed look.
Jason’s eyes widened again. There is no way he was the only person to see that, other than Eleanora. Suddenly, Aaron grabbed Jason’s arm, clearly fed up, and pulled him along while Owen and Eryn followed.
After two lessons of pain and torture, it was finally time to take a well-deserved break. Wolfia was the first one to rush out of her math classroom, sprinting down the crowded hallways to reach the outside world. She didn’t worry about Arabella, as she would always know where she was if they weren’t in the same class before recess or lunch. Finally, she reached the door leading to fresh air, fun and care-free sports. She opened both doors at the same time, her eyes sparkling as she did so. Usually, the soccer field would be filled up with the usual people. However, there were some new faces on the pitch. Loki and Bri were being taught by the vice-captain of the football team about the basics, while Mollai and Raya sat by the sidelines and watched. Saskya was jumping up and down next to Bri, obviously trying to help the vice-captain train the new members. Wolfia knew it was her job, as the captain of the team, to help as well. She jogged over to the group and smiled, telling the vice-captain that she would take it from here. Explaining the rules and how to play to Loki and Bri was hard at first, but only because Saskya kept interrupting her. After ages of telling Saskya to shut up and start moving, Saskya finally gave in and went to talk to Lhaka, who had just come from her lesson with food in hand. The two then sat next to Raya and began to chat with her, completely ignoring Mollai. Once Bri and Loki had learnt the basics, a full game started. The game only lasted for five minutes because of the time spent teaching the two new members, but the game was still action-packed anyway. Most of the goals came from Wolfia, but Bri was able to score one as well. Once the game was over, Wolfia wrapped up the club meeting. One thing on her mind though was that Arabella was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Ara came through the doors, a giddy smile on her face. Wolfia ran over to her.
“Where were you?” Wolfia asked, “The club meeting is over.”
“It is?” Ara asked, her face sort of red, “I didn’t keep track of time, sorry.”
Wolfia gave Ara a suspicious look, obviously knowing what was going on.
“You’re not thinking about that again, are you?” Wolfia asked, still annoyed that Ara didn’t make it to the club in time.
“Maybe,” Ara sighed, her face returning to its original colour, “I just never looked for this kind of thing, so I’m surprised I feel this close to...”
“Ara, listen to me,” Wolfia began, “you can’t just jump into this without help. First, you need to…”
“Sorry Wolfia, but what would you know about this?” Ara asked her.
Wolfia sighed, knowing that she had a point. Still, she knew that Ara was opening a can of worms. Before she could give any more opinions, the bell rang. Ara grabbed onto Wolfia’s arm and pulled her in the direction of their class.
At the end of the school day, things were quiet. A person walked down an alleyway next to a shop, their heart pounding. They had no idea if they was doing the right thing, but they was willing to take that risk.
“You here?”
“Of course. I would never back down from a deal”
“I need your help”
“What for?”
“My friend has been acting weird for the past couple of days. I know why, but I don’t feel like sharing that information with you. I need someone to help me fix her by giving her what she wants.”
“And what does she want?”
“Like I said, that isn’t your business. I need your help taking out the girl in this photo.”
“In what way?”
“In any way possible?”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I know you don’t like this girl, and you have been trying to get under her skin for a while now. Since she got away from you the last time with that other girl, I figured you could also use some help.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“So, are you in or out?”
“I’m in.”
“Good. Now, don’t try anything or test me. If you do I will…”
“Calm down, I won’t disappoint.”
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only noises you could hear were the occasional mutters and the sound of pens dancing across different papers. Everyone was in deep concentration, putting their heart and souls into their stories for their English test. Ara was writing a romantic fantasy, including herself and a few others. Wolfia was passionately creating an action-adventure tale including a few murders. Eleanora’s was a mix of fantasy and adventure, including fights against shadowy figures. Saskya’s was an adventure of a boy trapped in a virtual world, fighting to escape the game’s clutches. Wren was writing a horror story about a girl being kidnapped from a post-apocalyptic town and their friends had to find her and stop whoever was behind her kidnapping. She called it ‘They’re Among Us’. Don was writing a romantic adventure story, where two werewolves had to travel the world together as fugitives and try to discover their purpose in the world. Lhaka was creating a diary-like story about events that had happened over the past few days. Eryn, who was unexpectedly an amazing writer, was passionately writing about a group of around six ‘elites’ who had to save Queen Aura’s kingdom from doom. Raya was writing about a high school that had drama, cliff-hangers and mysteries. Aaron was writing something truly inspirational, where the main character evolves from introvert to a world-changer, aka the president of America. Owen didn’t really know what he was writing about, but it was based on ghosts in some way. Loki was writing about a bunch of students who were trapped in a murder high school by some psychotic bear. Bri was happily humming quietly to herself whilst creating a world full of sugar and candy. She didn’t know whether it was because she was so cheerful or because she was hungry. Mollai and Jason were writing about similar things; time-travelling adventures caused by mysterious shadows. Teddie wasn’t writing a regular story. She was doodling storyboards and making her own manga. Aitoku, however, wasn’t writing a story. She was writing something in bold letters across her paper. Once she had written her message, she folded the paper into a large aeroplane. Once the teacher had gone over to help Lhaka, Aitoku threw the aeroplane at her target, hoping it would land where she wanted it to. However, the plane flew downwards to soon and flew right next to Don’s desk. Don looked away from his book, hearing the plane falling, and looked down next to his desk. Aitoku looked down at her desk, annoyed that the plane had flown to the wrong person. Don looked around the classroom and spied for the culprit. After finding out that his search was futile, he opened the plane to double check it was for him. Inside the plane, it said, “Stay away from him weeb!”. Don read the text a few times before sighing. Judging by the word written at the end, the plane was obviously for Teddie. Quickly, he folded the paper and stuffed it into his blazer pocket. There was no way Don was going to give that piece of paper to Teddie. However, Don did wonder who ‘him’ was. Did Teddie have a boyfriend or something? Don looked back at his book and continued to write.
“Ok, everyone!” Miss Wilson smiled, “put down your pens and stop writing.”
Don looked up again. There was no way that it was the end of the test already.
“That is the end of the test!” Miss Wilson announced, “I will not be providing extra time. You have two minutes to pack up and chat with the people around you.”
Everyone dashed into their friendship groups. Teddie was talking to Wren about her story, while Wren patiently listened. Since the incident with Aitoku a couple days ago, Wren and Teddie have gotten to know each other well. Wren was telling Teddie what she could do better while Teddie was taking notes in a notepad. Don walked over to join his two friends, trying to hide the fact that he had a note meant for Teddie in his pocket. Wren was just finishing up explaining her story while Teddie was giving her feedback, even though Wren didn’t really listen to the things Teddie thought she could do better.
“How did your story go, Don?” Teddie asked.
“Uh,” Don began to answer, “I didn’t finish.”
“Good job dork,” Wren said, putting her hands on her hips, “Have fun getting a zero on your test.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Don sighed.
“Hey, have any of you read manga before?” Teddie asked, her eyes lighting up at the opportunity to ask her friends if they are into the same thing she is.
Wren and Don shook their heads, which caused Teddie to sigh. However, her smile appeared again.
“How about you both come around mine tonight?” Teddie suggested, her smile wide across her face, “We can read some manga and maybe watch some anime! We could also look at some of the things you like as well!”
Don nodded his head, agreeing to join Teddie at her house. However, Wren shook her head again, denying the offer.
“I can’t come,” Wren apologised, “I, uh, have family members coming to my house.”
“That’s fine,” Teddie smiled, “We can walk to my house after school. Ok with you, Don?”
Don nodded and smiled. Just him and Teddie hanging out.
After a pointless assembly wishing everyone a happy Halloween break, everyone had a free period before school was over for a week. Eleanora knew this was the perfect time to get home unseen without having to wait for everyone else to leave first. After looking around the atrium to see if anyone was watching her, she made a mad dash towards the dining hall. However, she didn’t notice the one person watching her from a distance.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” Jason told his friends, “I’ll be back soon.”
Jason ran through the corridors after Eleanora, trying to find where she went. After catching her in the corner of his eye, he sprinted as fast as he could towards the dining hall. Eleanora used some sort of key card to access the kitchen. She then slid one of the tiles to reveal a staircase that Jason knew too well. He knew there were two basements in the school, one with a portal to his realm, Nemrakt, and one with a portal to the Dragonblood realm, Pekelo. However, he had no idea where the basement with the portal to Pekelo was. He swiped his own key card, given to him by Eryn, and followed Eleanora down into the basement. After running down what felt like three stories of stairs, he had reached the basement. Eleanora jumped into the portal, not taking any glances back. Jason was just about to follow her when he was interrupted by his own thoughts, spiralling through his brain. He skidded to a halt just before entering the swirling portal. He couldn’t go back. If he did, he had the risk of being under heavy fire from Dragonblood troops. He also needed to get back to his friends. With a sigh, he turned away from the portal and began to walk back.
With a click, the door opened. Teddie smiled, twirling as she entered her house. Don slowly followed behind her. The building was small, just big enough to fit two people. The living room was cute and tidy. The walls pastel-white with blue flowers. The carpet matching the walls. In the room was two leather couches and a wide-screen TV. The kitchen was spotless with no sign of being used. Suddenly, Teddie grasped onto Don’s arm and pulled him up the stairs. With Don’s arm in hand, she swung open her bedroom door. Don stumbled upon entering the room. Don studied his surroundings. He could see that this room had blue walls and a blue carpet, the walls dotted with posters of multiple anime-like characters. Don could definitely tell this was Teddie's room. She had a dark-oak bookshelf littered with Anime and Manga. Teddie’s bed had multiple stuffed animals: A bear, a penguin and a wolf. Teddie also had a blue lamp on the side of her bed.
“Wow,” Don said, his eyes wide open, “Your room is amazing.”
“Thanks,” Teddie smiled, “I always try to keep it clean. Anyway, let me pull out a manga for us to read together!”
Teddie happily pulled out a few copies of manga from the shelf and placed them on the bed, giving Don a wide variety to choose from. After selecting a manga, Teddie sat down on the bed and patted down next to her, offering for Don to sit down. Teddie put the book down in-between her and Don. Teddie took one side while Don grasped onto the other, helping each other to read the manga. The pair’s shoulders were practically touching as they both leaned in to read the book. Teddie was extremely focused on the manga while Don couldn’t concentrate well at all with Teddie sitting that close to him. After around two hours of reading some of the manga in the series, the two called it a day for reading. When Don stood up, a folded, creased up piece of paper fell out of his pocket. Before Don could react, Teddie picked it up, unfolded it and read through it. Her eyes began to sparkle with sadness.
“This was meant to be for me wasn’t it?” Teddie sighed, looking up at Don.
Don sighed and nodded his head.
“Someone threw a paper aeroplane meant for you across the class in the English test,” Don admitted, “It came to me and I opened it, finding out it was for you. I decided to pocket it since I didn’t want to see you hurt.”
Teddie wrapped her arms around Don. Her hug was warm and caring. Don could only hear her whisper “thank you” before silence. Don slowly returned the embrace with a smile. Although, Don had no idea why he was being thanked in the first place.
A ringing sound echoed throughout a small room.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Oh. How are you doing? Any progress on doing what I told you to do?”
“I tried to send a note to her earlier, but it went to the wrong person.”
“Who did it go to then?”
“Don…”
“Really? Urg! Useless… Can’t even trust a delinquent to do a girl’s job.”
“Excuse me! I’m the one getting into this because it helps both of us.”
“Good point. I guess I might have to step in as well. Continue to try and upset the victim while I’ll help in my own way.”
“Alright.”
And with a press of the button, the conversation was over as soon as it had begun.
“Ok, everyone!” Miss Wilson smiled, “put down your pens and stop writing.”
Don looked up again. There was no way that it was the end of the test already.
“That is the end of the test!” Miss Wilson announced, “I will not be providing extra time. You have two minutes to pack up and chat with the people around you.”
Everyone dashed into their friendship groups. Teddie was talking to Wren about her story, while Wren patiently listened. Since the incident with Aitoku a couple days ago, Wren and Teddie have gotten to know each other well. Wren was telling Teddie what she could do better while Teddie was taking notes in a notepad. Don walked over to join his two friends, trying to hide the fact that he had a note meant for Teddie in his pocket. Wren was just finishing up explaining her story while Teddie was giving her feedback, even though Wren didn’t really listen to the things Teddie thought she could do better.
“How did your story go, Don?” Teddie asked.
“Uh,” Don began to answer, “I didn’t finish.”
“Good job dork,” Wren said, putting her hands on her hips, “Have fun getting a zero on your test.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Don sighed.
“Hey, have any of you read manga before?” Teddie asked, her eyes lighting up at the opportunity to ask her friends if they are into the same thing she is.
Wren and Don shook their heads, which caused Teddie to sigh. However, her smile appeared again.
“How about you both come around mine tonight?” Teddie suggested, her smile wide across her face, “We can read some manga and maybe watch some anime! We could also look at some of the things you like as well!”
Don nodded his head, agreeing to join Teddie at her house. However, Wren shook her head again, denying the offer.
“I can’t come,” Wren apologised, “I, uh, have family members coming to my house.”
“That’s fine,” Teddie smiled, “We can walk to my house after school. Ok with you, Don?”
Don nodded and smiled. Just him and Teddie hanging out.
After a pointless assembly wishing everyone a happy Halloween break, everyone had a free period before school was over for a week. Eleanora knew this was the perfect time to get home unseen without having to wait for everyone else to leave first. After looking around the atrium to see if anyone was watching her, she made a mad dash towards the dining hall. However, she didn’t notice the one person watching her from a distance.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” Jason told his friends, “I’ll be back soon.”
Jason ran through the corridors after Eleanora, trying to find where she went. After catching her in the corner of his eye, he sprinted as fast as he could towards the dining hall. Eleanora used some sort of key card to access the kitchen. She then slid one of the tiles to reveal a staircase that Jason knew too well. He knew there were two basements in the school, one with a portal to his realm, Nemrakt, and one with a portal to the Dragonblood realm, Pekelo. However, he had no idea where the basement with the portal to Pekelo was. He swiped his own key card, given to him by Eryn, and followed Eleanora down into the basement. After running down what felt like three stories of stairs, he had reached the basement. Eleanora jumped into the portal, not taking any glances back. Jason was just about to follow her when he was interrupted by his own thoughts, spiralling through his brain. He skidded to a halt just before entering the swirling portal. He couldn’t go back. If he did, he had the risk of being under heavy fire from Dragonblood troops. He also needed to get back to his friends. With a sigh, he turned away from the portal and began to walk back.
With a click, the door opened. Teddie smiled, twirling as she entered her house. Don slowly followed behind her. The building was small, just big enough to fit two people. The living room was cute and tidy. The walls pastel-white with blue flowers. The carpet matching the walls. In the room was two leather couches and a wide-screen TV. The kitchen was spotless with no sign of being used. Suddenly, Teddie grasped onto Don’s arm and pulled him up the stairs. With Don’s arm in hand, she swung open her bedroom door. Don stumbled upon entering the room. Don studied his surroundings. He could see that this room had blue walls and a blue carpet, the walls dotted with posters of multiple anime-like characters. Don could definitely tell this was Teddie's room. She had a dark-oak bookshelf littered with Anime and Manga. Teddie’s bed had multiple stuffed animals: A bear, a penguin and a wolf. Teddie also had a blue lamp on the side of her bed.
“Wow,” Don said, his eyes wide open, “Your room is amazing.”
“Thanks,” Teddie smiled, “I always try to keep it clean. Anyway, let me pull out a manga for us to read together!”
Teddie happily pulled out a few copies of manga from the shelf and placed them on the bed, giving Don a wide variety to choose from. After selecting a manga, Teddie sat down on the bed and patted down next to her, offering for Don to sit down. Teddie put the book down in-between her and Don. Teddie took one side while Don grasped onto the other, helping each other to read the manga. The pair’s shoulders were practically touching as they both leaned in to read the book. Teddie was extremely focused on the manga while Don couldn’t concentrate well at all with Teddie sitting that close to him. After around two hours of reading some of the manga in the series, the two called it a day for reading. When Don stood up, a folded, creased up piece of paper fell out of his pocket. Before Don could react, Teddie picked it up, unfolded it and read through it. Her eyes began to sparkle with sadness.
“This was meant to be for me wasn’t it?” Teddie sighed, looking up at Don.
Don sighed and nodded his head.
“Someone threw a paper aeroplane meant for you across the class in the English test,” Don admitted, “It came to me and I opened it, finding out it was for you. I decided to pocket it since I didn’t want to see you hurt.”
Teddie wrapped her arms around Don. Her hug was warm and caring. Don could only hear her whisper “thank you” before silence. Don slowly returned the embrace with a smile. Although, Don had no idea why he was being thanked in the first place.
A ringing sound echoed throughout a small room.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Oh. How are you doing? Any progress on doing what I told you to do?”
“I tried to send a note to her earlier, but it went to the wrong person.”
“Who did it go to then?”
“Don…”
“Really? Urg! Useless… Can’t even trust a delinquent to do a girl’s job.”
“Excuse me! I’m the one getting into this because it helps both of us.”
“Good point. I guess I might have to step in as well. Continue to try and upset the victim while I’ll help in my own way.”
“Alright.”
And with a press of the button, the conversation was over as soon as it had begun.
A small noise echoed when Wren dropped her bag on the floor after entering her house. The house was dull, boring and plain. After walking into a corridor, which had doors that led to the basement that was under the staircase, there were doors to a living room and kitchen. Wren ran up the staircase and looked around. There was a bathroom and three bedrooms. Wren was suspicious; it was awfully quiet. Wren entered her room, which she shared with her two older sisters. In there was one girl. She looked like Wren, but she was much older. Roughly 20. Her black hair draped down over a denim jacket and a black crop-top shirt. She also wore denim shorts and black heels. Her grey eyes sparkled with maturity.
“Hey Wren,” the girl said with a smile.
“Hello Raven,” Wren replied, brushing her off like she was nothing, “Where’s Robyn and Finch?”
Raven sighed, obviously disappointed that Wren forgot about this. Wren had always been like this. She never focused on the important things; she only cared about herself.
“Oh my god Wren,” Raven sighed, taking a seat on a chair in the room, “Robyn and Finch are out collecting ingredients for another potion.”
Wren sat down as well and moved her chair so she was opposite her sister. Wren had an intense expression on her face. Raven was surprised by the sudden tension that had risen. However, she knew there was something on her younger sister’s mind.
“What about mom and dad?” Wren asked, a lot obviously running through that mind of hers.
“They’re with them as well,” Raven answered.
“What about you?” Wren brought up, “Why didn’t you go? You’re 20 now and I can handle myself.”
“You know we can’t trust you by yourself, Wren,” Raven pointed out to her sister, “Not because of your age or maturity, but because of your capability. Your power is too strong to be let out of hand. As for me, I would love to have gone out with the others! However, since I’m the second youngest, I have the responsibility of looking after you.”
“I understand,” Wren said bitterly, “However, I would have been fine on my own. I don’t care that I’m different.”
“I beg to differ, Wren,” Raven replied, “There is no way you can be trusted alone with that kind of power!”
“Raven,” Wren asked, looking up at her sister with a blank look with a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes, “Why did we move here in the first place? Why did I have to join Burrows High?”
“I’ll be honest with you Wren,” Raven said after a few seconds of hesitation, “I don’t know. I asked Robyn and she doesn’t know either. I don’t know about Finch. However, he probably knows since he is the most trustworthy.”
“Ah,” Wren sighed, “Thanks for the talk, Raven. I’ll make myself some dinner.”
Wren and Raven then got up out of their chairs. Once Wren moved her chair back to its original area, she left the room and rushed downstairs to get a bite to eat, leaving Raven alone again in the bedroom.
Ah, Sundays; the day where most people love to get out and shop. Arabella pressed her head against the glass of a shop window. Inside was a mannequin wearing the prettiest dress Ara had seen. The dress was a sparkly, light green dress covered in white polka dots.
“This would go great with my pink socks!” Ara squeaked in excitement.
Wolfia was by her side, looking around at the dressed with an uninterested look. Ara didn’t pay attention to Wolfia. After all, she knew that Wolfia hated dresses. Ara guessed that Wolfia would probably be wearing a formal shirt of Ara’s choice and a pair of jeans. Of course, the pair of girls were in their casual clothes.
“Come on!” Ara smiled, jumping away from the glass window and grabbing Wolfia’s arm,” Let’s go inside!”
The two of them entered the shop and their eyes widened. The place was extremely glamorous. Chandeliers were dotted all over the place. The walls were painted silver (fake, of course) and the clothes looked designer and expensive.
“Are you sure we can afford this?” Wolfia asked, looking at Ara with a surprised look.
“Yup!” Ara smiled, “I just got my allowance from the go… parents! My parents! We have plenty of cash to have fun with!”
Wolfia was surprised Ara would let here share that kind of cash with her. Maybe because it was her job to buy her a shirt that didn’t make her look like she wasn’t dressing smartly for the Halloween party. The two girls practically ran around the store, trying to find the best clothes at the best prices. Ara would spot something and point at it so Wolfia could run as fast as she could to the item of clothing and make sure nobody else could grab it before them. Ara took out the green and white polka dot dress that she saw earlier and a red bow, whilst picking out a red top with frills on the bottom for Wolfia. Wolfia knew she wasn’t going to wear the shirt again after the party. However, she was going to wear it to the Halloween party to make Ara happy. After purchasing the items, the pair walked out of the store with smiles on their faces and new clothes in hand.
“So,” Ara began to ask Wolfia, “Who do we still have to invite to the Halloween party?”
Ara and Wolfia always hosted parties at Ara’s house. Wolfia would come up with a theme and plan who would be invited to the party and Ara would plan food, drinks etc. The theme of the Halloween party was ‘undead’. There would be a costume contest, apple bobbing and a dance contest. Ara and Wolfia didn’t like dressing up, so they were going to be dressing as zombies. They would be wearing regular clothes with some face paint to make them look the part.
“Let’s see,” Wolfia said, pulling out a notepad, “Raya, Saskya, Lhaka, Eryn, Teddie, Don and Wren.”
“Awesome!” Ara smiled, “Let’s try to find them!”
Teddie, Don and Wren stopped at Starbucks for a drink. Teddie was wearing a white dress with a blue bow and white shoes. Donovan was wearing the same jacket and scarf he had worn when Aitoku had broken his arm. However, he also wore brown trousers, his sling still wrapped around his broken arm. Wren was wearing a dark grey jacket over a light grey shirt. She also wore white and black striped leggings and black sneakers. The group walked over to the line, deciding what they wanted to order. Whilst Wren was trying to peek over Don’s shoulder and see what was for sale, she saw three people that she recognised in front of Teddie. However, Teddie obviously didn’t recognise the three people.
“Great,” Wren sighed, causing Don, Teddie and the three other people to turn and face Wren, “Unwanted company.”
“Raya? Lhaka? Saskya?” Don said with surprise that the three just happened to be in the same shop as them.
“Well,” Raya huffed at Wren, ignoring Don’s surprise, “We were here first, and there's no need to be rude.”
Raya’s casual clothes were surprising, to say the least. She wore a blue crop top and a red and white checked jacket. She had denim shorts and blue sneakers.
“You want to say that again you little…”
Suddenly, the two girls were pulled back. Wren was pulled by Don, his strength coming in handy despite his broken arm, while Raya was pulled by Saskya and Lhaka. Saskya was wearing a blue shirt and black shorts with blue tassels, complimented with blue flat shoes. Lhaka was wearing a denim pinafore with a brown jacket and brown boots.
“Calm down you two!” Don yelled, still grabbing on to Wren.
The two girls turned away from each-other, refusing to look each other in the eyes. Don, Saskya and Lhaka slowly let go of the two, who continued to ignore each other when someone else stormed into the coffee shop. Eryn Storm. She was wearing a grey checked sweater with black jeans and white shoes. The girl’s blank expression flowed over her face. The girl began to walk forwards towards the line. However, she bumped into Teddie, causing both to stumble to the ground.
“H-hey!” Teddie yelled, clutching her thigh with her hand.
“W-watch where you're going,” Eryn stammered before getting up.
“Leave the girl alone Eryn,” Raya said angrily to Eryn.
“Try not to get into something pointless,” Eryn said calmly with a hint of anger, shooting a death stare at Raya.
Eryn was just about to throw the first punch at Raya when a distant cry stopped the impact.
“Hey!” Ara yelled, her and Wolfia running up to the group, “Good thing we found you guys! We have some things to give to you!”
The tension of the fight that almost happened died down quickly. Ara and Wolfia handed out invitations to the Halloween party to each person. Ara and Wolfia talked to the group for a while before the group all departed in separate ways. Eryn walked away alone while Ara and Wolfia raced each other to the exit. Raya, Saskya and Lhaka sat at a table whilst Don, Wren and Teddie sat at another. Saskya and Lhaka sighed, still surprised that the fight was easily stopped.
Roughly an hour later, two people were talking in a dark alleyway.
“How was your day?”
“Eh, it was ok. Here is your invite as promised. I still can’t believe I was able to get one for you.”
“Thanks. Any progress with the target?”
“All will be revealed in time.”
“Really? You were the one who asked me to help you and you’re not telling me anything???”
“Patience.”
“Urg, fine.”
“Hey Wren,” the girl said with a smile.
“Hello Raven,” Wren replied, brushing her off like she was nothing, “Where’s Robyn and Finch?”
Raven sighed, obviously disappointed that Wren forgot about this. Wren had always been like this. She never focused on the important things; she only cared about herself.
“Oh my god Wren,” Raven sighed, taking a seat on a chair in the room, “Robyn and Finch are out collecting ingredients for another potion.”
Wren sat down as well and moved her chair so she was opposite her sister. Wren had an intense expression on her face. Raven was surprised by the sudden tension that had risen. However, she knew there was something on her younger sister’s mind.
“What about mom and dad?” Wren asked, a lot obviously running through that mind of hers.
“They’re with them as well,” Raven answered.
“What about you?” Wren brought up, “Why didn’t you go? You’re 20 now and I can handle myself.”
“You know we can’t trust you by yourself, Wren,” Raven pointed out to her sister, “Not because of your age or maturity, but because of your capability. Your power is too strong to be let out of hand. As for me, I would love to have gone out with the others! However, since I’m the second youngest, I have the responsibility of looking after you.”
“I understand,” Wren said bitterly, “However, I would have been fine on my own. I don’t care that I’m different.”
“I beg to differ, Wren,” Raven replied, “There is no way you can be trusted alone with that kind of power!”
“Raven,” Wren asked, looking up at her sister with a blank look with a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes, “Why did we move here in the first place? Why did I have to join Burrows High?”
“I’ll be honest with you Wren,” Raven said after a few seconds of hesitation, “I don’t know. I asked Robyn and she doesn’t know either. I don’t know about Finch. However, he probably knows since he is the most trustworthy.”
“Ah,” Wren sighed, “Thanks for the talk, Raven. I’ll make myself some dinner.”
Wren and Raven then got up out of their chairs. Once Wren moved her chair back to its original area, she left the room and rushed downstairs to get a bite to eat, leaving Raven alone again in the bedroom.
Ah, Sundays; the day where most people love to get out and shop. Arabella pressed her head against the glass of a shop window. Inside was a mannequin wearing the prettiest dress Ara had seen. The dress was a sparkly, light green dress covered in white polka dots.
“This would go great with my pink socks!” Ara squeaked in excitement.
Wolfia was by her side, looking around at the dressed with an uninterested look. Ara didn’t pay attention to Wolfia. After all, she knew that Wolfia hated dresses. Ara guessed that Wolfia would probably be wearing a formal shirt of Ara’s choice and a pair of jeans. Of course, the pair of girls were in their casual clothes.
“Come on!” Ara smiled, jumping away from the glass window and grabbing Wolfia’s arm,” Let’s go inside!”
The two of them entered the shop and their eyes widened. The place was extremely glamorous. Chandeliers were dotted all over the place. The walls were painted silver (fake, of course) and the clothes looked designer and expensive.
“Are you sure we can afford this?” Wolfia asked, looking at Ara with a surprised look.
“Yup!” Ara smiled, “I just got my allowance from the go… parents! My parents! We have plenty of cash to have fun with!”
Wolfia was surprised Ara would let here share that kind of cash with her. Maybe because it was her job to buy her a shirt that didn’t make her look like she wasn’t dressing smartly for the Halloween party. The two girls practically ran around the store, trying to find the best clothes at the best prices. Ara would spot something and point at it so Wolfia could run as fast as she could to the item of clothing and make sure nobody else could grab it before them. Ara took out the green and white polka dot dress that she saw earlier and a red bow, whilst picking out a red top with frills on the bottom for Wolfia. Wolfia knew she wasn’t going to wear the shirt again after the party. However, she was going to wear it to the Halloween party to make Ara happy. After purchasing the items, the pair walked out of the store with smiles on their faces and new clothes in hand.
“So,” Ara began to ask Wolfia, “Who do we still have to invite to the Halloween party?”
Ara and Wolfia always hosted parties at Ara’s house. Wolfia would come up with a theme and plan who would be invited to the party and Ara would plan food, drinks etc. The theme of the Halloween party was ‘undead’. There would be a costume contest, apple bobbing and a dance contest. Ara and Wolfia didn’t like dressing up, so they were going to be dressing as zombies. They would be wearing regular clothes with some face paint to make them look the part.
“Let’s see,” Wolfia said, pulling out a notepad, “Raya, Saskya, Lhaka, Eryn, Teddie, Don and Wren.”
“Awesome!” Ara smiled, “Let’s try to find them!”
Teddie, Don and Wren stopped at Starbucks for a drink. Teddie was wearing a white dress with a blue bow and white shoes. Donovan was wearing the same jacket and scarf he had worn when Aitoku had broken his arm. However, he also wore brown trousers, his sling still wrapped around his broken arm. Wren was wearing a dark grey jacket over a light grey shirt. She also wore white and black striped leggings and black sneakers. The group walked over to the line, deciding what they wanted to order. Whilst Wren was trying to peek over Don’s shoulder and see what was for sale, she saw three people that she recognised in front of Teddie. However, Teddie obviously didn’t recognise the three people.
“Great,” Wren sighed, causing Don, Teddie and the three other people to turn and face Wren, “Unwanted company.”
“Raya? Lhaka? Saskya?” Don said with surprise that the three just happened to be in the same shop as them.
“Well,” Raya huffed at Wren, ignoring Don’s surprise, “We were here first, and there's no need to be rude.”
Raya’s casual clothes were surprising, to say the least. She wore a blue crop top and a red and white checked jacket. She had denim shorts and blue sneakers.
“You want to say that again you little…”
Suddenly, the two girls were pulled back. Wren was pulled by Don, his strength coming in handy despite his broken arm, while Raya was pulled by Saskya and Lhaka. Saskya was wearing a blue shirt and black shorts with blue tassels, complimented with blue flat shoes. Lhaka was wearing a denim pinafore with a brown jacket and brown boots.
“Calm down you two!” Don yelled, still grabbing on to Wren.
The two girls turned away from each-other, refusing to look each other in the eyes. Don, Saskya and Lhaka slowly let go of the two, who continued to ignore each other when someone else stormed into the coffee shop. Eryn Storm. She was wearing a grey checked sweater with black jeans and white shoes. The girl’s blank expression flowed over her face. The girl began to walk forwards towards the line. However, she bumped into Teddie, causing both to stumble to the ground.
“H-hey!” Teddie yelled, clutching her thigh with her hand.
“W-watch where you're going,” Eryn stammered before getting up.
“Leave the girl alone Eryn,” Raya said angrily to Eryn.
“Try not to get into something pointless,” Eryn said calmly with a hint of anger, shooting a death stare at Raya.
Eryn was just about to throw the first punch at Raya when a distant cry stopped the impact.
“Hey!” Ara yelled, her and Wolfia running up to the group, “Good thing we found you guys! We have some things to give to you!”
The tension of the fight that almost happened died down quickly. Ara and Wolfia handed out invitations to the Halloween party to each person. Ara and Wolfia talked to the group for a while before the group all departed in separate ways. Eryn walked away alone while Ara and Wolfia raced each other to the exit. Raya, Saskya and Lhaka sat at a table whilst Don, Wren and Teddie sat at another. Saskya and Lhaka sighed, still surprised that the fight was easily stopped.
Roughly an hour later, two people were talking in a dark alleyway.
“How was your day?”
“Eh, it was ok. Here is your invite as promised. I still can’t believe I was able to get one for you.”
“Thanks. Any progress with the target?”
“All will be revealed in time.”
“Really? You were the one who asked me to help you and you’re not telling me anything???”
“Patience.”
“Urg, fine.”
Do you have any threes?” Loki asked Mollai, cards above his face as if to hide both what was on them and his expression.
“Go fish,” Mollai replied as Loki reached down for a card.
“Loki,” Bri started to ask with a giggle, “Do you have any threes?”
“URG!” Loki yelled, chucking his cards across the floor in anger.
Mollai and Bri laughed as Loki went on and on about how Bri must be cheating. They had played five games now and Bri had won every single one of them, with Loki and Mollai following behind. Bri then proceeded to chuck her cards in the air like confetti and continue to laugh happily.
“Could you guys keep it down?!” Raya yelled from another room, “You guys can’t even play Go Fish for ten minutes before fighting or annoying Loki!”
The Dragonbloods instantly calmed down. Loki and Bri slumped down on the floor. Whenever Bri tried to talk to Loki, he would turn away. After a while, Bri decided to stop trying to talk to Loki as he was obviously in one of his ‘moods’. Meanwhile, Mollai was picking up the cards from the floor and sorting them into a pile so she could slot them into the box. The Dragonblood trio were not in their humble basement home. They were in a small house. They were all sat on the landing area outside Raya’s and Saskya’s room. The walls of the house’s interior were cream coloured, and the carpet was a lime green. There were four doors: one leading to the bathroom, one leading to the guest bedroom, one leading to the master bedroom and one leading to Raya’s and Saskya’s room. The Dragonbloods were staying at Raya’s house before they had to be snuck back into the basement at Burrows. Sneaking in and out of Burrows High wasn’t easy, but they were able to do it nonetheless. Suddenly, a higher-pitched voice yelled from the room.
“Are you Dragonbloods ready to be amazed?” Saskya yelled excitedly from the room.
“Yeah!” Bri and Mollai answered, while Loki just sat there and didn’t answer.
The door opened, and three girls appeared from the room. Raya, Saskya and Lhaka all posed with smiles. They were all wearing matching outfits. Black cloaks, Red shirts, black skirts and black boots. Bri, Mollai and Loki looked confused as to why the three girls were dressed up like that. The three stopped posing and just stared blankly at the three Dragonbloods.
“Why the heck are you dressed like Vampires?” Loki asked judgementally.
“Uh,” Lhaka said slowly, “for Ara’s Halloween party…”
“Oh,” Mollai realised, “I was meant to ask you about that. We were invited, but we have a problem.”
“And that is...?” Raya asked.
“Dragonbloods don’t celebrate Halloween so we have no idea what it is or what the party is going to be about,” Bri told Raya.
“WHAT?!,” Saskya gasped, “You don’t know what Halloween is?”
The three Dragonbloods shook their heads. Loki then looked at Raya, annoyed at how shocked her friends were about the situation. Raya shrugged at Loki and mouthed “Sorry”, knowing that Saskya was about to rant about the holiday. And she was right.
“Well,” Saskya started, “Halloween is a holiday all about sharing candy with others and dressing up in creepy costumes! Most people either go trick or treating with their friends to hunt for candy or stay in their homes and give candy to people. However, we’re going to be spending our Halloween at Arabella’s Halloween party!”
The Dragonbloods had no idea what Saskya was rambling on about, but they pretended to listen for her sake. After a while, Lhaka and the Dragonblood trio left to head back home while Saskya and Raya continued to chat at home.
Jason walked into the coffee shop, looking around for either a free table or his friends. After a few glances, he saw Aaron and Owen waving at him from one of the tables. Jason took his seat gladly and smiled at his friends.
“Where's Eryn?” Jason asked.
Aaron pointed to the counter. Eryn was buying four cups of coffee and four chocolate cakes. She came back to the table moments later and placed the cakes and coffee down, one cake and one coffee cup for each person.
“Here,” Eryn said, her face expressionless as always, “A treat from me to you.”
Owen’s face lit up as he quickly scoffed down the cake while Jason and Aaron slowly sipped on their cups of coffee. Aaron then slowly put his cup down.
“Jason,” Aaron began to say, “You were the one who called us here, even though you were fashionably late as usual.
“Oh, right,” Jason said, “Eryn. I wanted to ask you why you of all people are the Demon guardian. There isn’t anything wrong with you! However, I was always curious. I wanted to ask you this with everyone else around so that we could all know.”
“Uh,” Eryn stuttered before becoming defensive, “Why do you need to know anyway?”
The three boys just stared at Eryn. Jason had already stated why they were asking. Eryn sighed, giving in.
“I suppose you guys should be allowed to know,” Eryn began, “I do trust you guys after all. I was never meant to be the Demon guardian.”
Jason's and Aaron's eyes widened while Owen spat out some of his coffee. They certainly didn’t expect that answer. The three Demon boys edged closer, ready to hear the rest of Eryn’s story.
“When I was younger,” Eryn continued, “I used to be in a gang that was run by my parents. Some children would love to be in a gang with their parents. However, it wasn’t your typical parent gang that went to baby showers. My parents and the rest of the gang abused me into the killing of others. The number of lives that have been lost because of me is ridiculous. One of our tasks was the brutal slaughter of this man. This was when I was 15. This was also the one time we got busted. The cops arrested my parents and the other gang members while they interrogated me. After a while of investigation, I was proved to have been forced into the gang. They pardoned me and let me off with a warning. I had the choice of either being provided with my own small flat or living in the local orphanage. I chose to live alone, and I settled in, moving schools to Burrows High and meeting Raya, Saskya and Lhaka. However, I received a letter the next day saying that I had killed the person chosen to be the Demon guardian who was supposed to protect you when you came to the overworld. I was visited by your parents, Jason, and they said they would have to execute me. I pleaded them not to and asked if there was any way I could make it up to them. They asked to see some of my personal documents, including the classified information from the interviews. After talking to each other, they decided to make me the Demon guardian instead. Of course, I protested. Sadly, it was either that or death.”
Eryn put her hands on the desk, finishing her tale. For the first time in god knows how long, Eryn’s eyes were pouring out with tears, sobs escaping from her mouth. The three boys’ jaws were wide open in shock. After waiting a while to take in what Eryn had just said, Jason got up and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Aaron and Owen came to Jason’s side.
“Don’t worry Eryn,” Aaron said, still shocked by the turn of events, "we're here for you."
The boys continued to talk to Eryn, cheering her up by making jokes and buying her another drink. The Demon kids never knew Eryn had been through so much. They knew they needed to be there for her.
Don sat quietly on Teddie’s bed while Teddie reached up to the top shelf, trying to find the TV remote. Don was just about to get up and help her when Teddie yelled from the other side of the room, “Found it!”
Teddie tried to get down from the chair she was standing on, but it wobbled when she tried to move. Suddenly, one of the chair legs broke and Teddie was sent tumbling to the floor.
“Teddie!” Don said, shocked, “Are you ok.”
Don was surprised to see Teddie just laying on the floor crying, not answering him. After laying on the floor for a good 30 seconds, Teddie sat up, tears still pouring from her eyes.
“Y…yeah,” Teddie sobbed, “I’m just still a little shaken up from yesterday.”
Don nodded, helping Teddie up to her feet. The two sat on Teddie’s bed as Teddie tried to find an anime for them to watch. After a while of looking but having no luck, Teddie slumped onto her back, causing Don to sit on the floor next to where she was laying.
“Don,” Teddie said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” Don said, laying down next to Teddie, “What’s up?”
“What do you know about me, Don?” Teddie asked, “What is it about me that you can see?”
“Uh,” Don stuttered, “Well I can see that you’re an amazing person who cares about her friends. You're is also sweet, cute, funny, kind and unique. Your Mother must have raised you well because you’re such a positive person. The sad thing is that people put you down for being different, and that’s hurt your positive mental attitude.”
“No,” Teddie sighed, “My Mother didn’t raise me well.”
“What do you mean?” Don asked, “Miss Wilson is so nice!”
“I know she is,” Teddie noted, “It’s just that Miss Wilson is my adoptive mother, not my real one.”
“Huh,” Don said with a surprised tone.
“I was born in a dysfunctional family,” Teddie began, “My father never treated me in the right way. My mother believed that I was the one making my father angry, so she never treated me correctly. When I first came to Burrows, it was the only place where I wasn’t hurt for doing things that meant no harm. But, of course, my luck just had to make me Aitoku’s perfect victim. Last year, my parents were planning to give me up, so Miss Wilson took me in.”
Don just stared at Teddie before being dragged into an embrace. The two sat there for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. After a while of hugging, Teddie asked Don another question, “Why didn’t you protect yourself from Aitoku? You could have easily defended yourself from her.”
“I suppose I can tell you,” Don told her, “Me and my family move from place to place, on the run from danger. There are some ‘people’ following us and we're constantly trying to not be found. My parents told me to never fight. “Fighting spreads negativity” is what they would always say.”
“How long have you been on the run for?” Teddie asked
“Ten years now,” Don sighed.
“I guess we can protect each other then,” Teddie smiled, squeezing Don tighter.
Don smiled, nodded and blushed. The Halloween party was tomorrow. Maybe that would be a good time. On the inside, Teddie was shaking. On the run? Permanently on the move? Does this mean that one day, Don might leave for good? She hoped that day would never come.
“Here’s the plan.”
“That is the dumbest plan I have ever seen.”
“The good thing about it is that I can flee if things go wrong.”
“And blame it all on me, which isn’t going to happen.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Go fish,” Mollai replied as Loki reached down for a card.
“Loki,” Bri started to ask with a giggle, “Do you have any threes?”
“URG!” Loki yelled, chucking his cards across the floor in anger.
Mollai and Bri laughed as Loki went on and on about how Bri must be cheating. They had played five games now and Bri had won every single one of them, with Loki and Mollai following behind. Bri then proceeded to chuck her cards in the air like confetti and continue to laugh happily.
“Could you guys keep it down?!” Raya yelled from another room, “You guys can’t even play Go Fish for ten minutes before fighting or annoying Loki!”
The Dragonbloods instantly calmed down. Loki and Bri slumped down on the floor. Whenever Bri tried to talk to Loki, he would turn away. After a while, Bri decided to stop trying to talk to Loki as he was obviously in one of his ‘moods’. Meanwhile, Mollai was picking up the cards from the floor and sorting them into a pile so she could slot them into the box. The Dragonblood trio were not in their humble basement home. They were in a small house. They were all sat on the landing area outside Raya’s and Saskya’s room. The walls of the house’s interior were cream coloured, and the carpet was a lime green. There were four doors: one leading to the bathroom, one leading to the guest bedroom, one leading to the master bedroom and one leading to Raya’s and Saskya’s room. The Dragonbloods were staying at Raya’s house before they had to be snuck back into the basement at Burrows. Sneaking in and out of Burrows High wasn’t easy, but they were able to do it nonetheless. Suddenly, a higher-pitched voice yelled from the room.
“Are you Dragonbloods ready to be amazed?” Saskya yelled excitedly from the room.
“Yeah!” Bri and Mollai answered, while Loki just sat there and didn’t answer.
The door opened, and three girls appeared from the room. Raya, Saskya and Lhaka all posed with smiles. They were all wearing matching outfits. Black cloaks, Red shirts, black skirts and black boots. Bri, Mollai and Loki looked confused as to why the three girls were dressed up like that. The three stopped posing and just stared blankly at the three Dragonbloods.
“Why the heck are you dressed like Vampires?” Loki asked judgementally.
“Uh,” Lhaka said slowly, “for Ara’s Halloween party…”
“Oh,” Mollai realised, “I was meant to ask you about that. We were invited, but we have a problem.”
“And that is...?” Raya asked.
“Dragonbloods don’t celebrate Halloween so we have no idea what it is or what the party is going to be about,” Bri told Raya.
“WHAT?!,” Saskya gasped, “You don’t know what Halloween is?”
The three Dragonbloods shook their heads. Loki then looked at Raya, annoyed at how shocked her friends were about the situation. Raya shrugged at Loki and mouthed “Sorry”, knowing that Saskya was about to rant about the holiday. And she was right.
“Well,” Saskya started, “Halloween is a holiday all about sharing candy with others and dressing up in creepy costumes! Most people either go trick or treating with their friends to hunt for candy or stay in their homes and give candy to people. However, we’re going to be spending our Halloween at Arabella’s Halloween party!”
The Dragonbloods had no idea what Saskya was rambling on about, but they pretended to listen for her sake. After a while, Lhaka and the Dragonblood trio left to head back home while Saskya and Raya continued to chat at home.
Jason walked into the coffee shop, looking around for either a free table or his friends. After a few glances, he saw Aaron and Owen waving at him from one of the tables. Jason took his seat gladly and smiled at his friends.
“Where's Eryn?” Jason asked.
Aaron pointed to the counter. Eryn was buying four cups of coffee and four chocolate cakes. She came back to the table moments later and placed the cakes and coffee down, one cake and one coffee cup for each person.
“Here,” Eryn said, her face expressionless as always, “A treat from me to you.”
Owen’s face lit up as he quickly scoffed down the cake while Jason and Aaron slowly sipped on their cups of coffee. Aaron then slowly put his cup down.
“Jason,” Aaron began to say, “You were the one who called us here, even though you were fashionably late as usual.
“Oh, right,” Jason said, “Eryn. I wanted to ask you why you of all people are the Demon guardian. There isn’t anything wrong with you! However, I was always curious. I wanted to ask you this with everyone else around so that we could all know.”
“Uh,” Eryn stuttered before becoming defensive, “Why do you need to know anyway?”
The three boys just stared at Eryn. Jason had already stated why they were asking. Eryn sighed, giving in.
“I suppose you guys should be allowed to know,” Eryn began, “I do trust you guys after all. I was never meant to be the Demon guardian.”
Jason's and Aaron's eyes widened while Owen spat out some of his coffee. They certainly didn’t expect that answer. The three Demon boys edged closer, ready to hear the rest of Eryn’s story.
“When I was younger,” Eryn continued, “I used to be in a gang that was run by my parents. Some children would love to be in a gang with their parents. However, it wasn’t your typical parent gang that went to baby showers. My parents and the rest of the gang abused me into the killing of others. The number of lives that have been lost because of me is ridiculous. One of our tasks was the brutal slaughter of this man. This was when I was 15. This was also the one time we got busted. The cops arrested my parents and the other gang members while they interrogated me. After a while of investigation, I was proved to have been forced into the gang. They pardoned me and let me off with a warning. I had the choice of either being provided with my own small flat or living in the local orphanage. I chose to live alone, and I settled in, moving schools to Burrows High and meeting Raya, Saskya and Lhaka. However, I received a letter the next day saying that I had killed the person chosen to be the Demon guardian who was supposed to protect you when you came to the overworld. I was visited by your parents, Jason, and they said they would have to execute me. I pleaded them not to and asked if there was any way I could make it up to them. They asked to see some of my personal documents, including the classified information from the interviews. After talking to each other, they decided to make me the Demon guardian instead. Of course, I protested. Sadly, it was either that or death.”
Eryn put her hands on the desk, finishing her tale. For the first time in god knows how long, Eryn’s eyes were pouring out with tears, sobs escaping from her mouth. The three boys’ jaws were wide open in shock. After waiting a while to take in what Eryn had just said, Jason got up and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Aaron and Owen came to Jason’s side.
“Don’t worry Eryn,” Aaron said, still shocked by the turn of events, "we're here for you."
The boys continued to talk to Eryn, cheering her up by making jokes and buying her another drink. The Demon kids never knew Eryn had been through so much. They knew they needed to be there for her.
Don sat quietly on Teddie’s bed while Teddie reached up to the top shelf, trying to find the TV remote. Don was just about to get up and help her when Teddie yelled from the other side of the room, “Found it!”
Teddie tried to get down from the chair she was standing on, but it wobbled when she tried to move. Suddenly, one of the chair legs broke and Teddie was sent tumbling to the floor.
“Teddie!” Don said, shocked, “Are you ok.”
Don was surprised to see Teddie just laying on the floor crying, not answering him. After laying on the floor for a good 30 seconds, Teddie sat up, tears still pouring from her eyes.
“Y…yeah,” Teddie sobbed, “I’m just still a little shaken up from yesterday.”
Don nodded, helping Teddie up to her feet. The two sat on Teddie’s bed as Teddie tried to find an anime for them to watch. After a while of looking but having no luck, Teddie slumped onto her back, causing Don to sit on the floor next to where she was laying.
“Don,” Teddie said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” Don said, laying down next to Teddie, “What’s up?”
“What do you know about me, Don?” Teddie asked, “What is it about me that you can see?”
“Uh,” Don stuttered, “Well I can see that you’re an amazing person who cares about her friends. You're is also sweet, cute, funny, kind and unique. Your Mother must have raised you well because you’re such a positive person. The sad thing is that people put you down for being different, and that’s hurt your positive mental attitude.”
“No,” Teddie sighed, “My Mother didn’t raise me well.”
“What do you mean?” Don asked, “Miss Wilson is so nice!”
“I know she is,” Teddie noted, “It’s just that Miss Wilson is my adoptive mother, not my real one.”
“Huh,” Don said with a surprised tone.
“I was born in a dysfunctional family,” Teddie began, “My father never treated me in the right way. My mother believed that I was the one making my father angry, so she never treated me correctly. When I first came to Burrows, it was the only place where I wasn’t hurt for doing things that meant no harm. But, of course, my luck just had to make me Aitoku’s perfect victim. Last year, my parents were planning to give me up, so Miss Wilson took me in.”
Don just stared at Teddie before being dragged into an embrace. The two sat there for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. After a while of hugging, Teddie asked Don another question, “Why didn’t you protect yourself from Aitoku? You could have easily defended yourself from her.”
“I suppose I can tell you,” Don told her, “Me and my family move from place to place, on the run from danger. There are some ‘people’ following us and we're constantly trying to not be found. My parents told me to never fight. “Fighting spreads negativity” is what they would always say.”
“How long have you been on the run for?” Teddie asked
“Ten years now,” Don sighed.
“I guess we can protect each other then,” Teddie smiled, squeezing Don tighter.
Don smiled, nodded and blushed. The Halloween party was tomorrow. Maybe that would be a good time. On the inside, Teddie was shaking. On the run? Permanently on the move? Does this mean that one day, Don might leave for good? She hoped that day would never come.
“Here’s the plan.”
“That is the dumbest plan I have ever seen.”
“The good thing about it is that I can flee if things go wrong.”
“And blame it all on me, which isn’t going to happen.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Ara and Wolfia stepped towards the front door of the house, turned around and looked at their amazing interior work. Their effort had certainly paid off as the house looked as spooky as it should be. The walls of the foyer were painted a dark purple. The floor was solid oak wood with a dance floor in the centre. There was a bar in the corner assorted with drinks; a few being alcoholic beverages. There was a staircase at the back of the room leading to the upstairs bathroom, the bedrooms and a balcony. There were also two corridors, one that led to the bathrooms and the living room and one that led to the kitchen and garden. The area was decorated with jack o'lanterns and other assortments of decoration to do with the holiday. Ara’s eyes widened at the sight of their almost finished product, her smile growing wider and wider. Wolfia stood next to her with a proud look. Ara was just about to say something to her Werewolf best friend when a banging noise sounded from behind them.
“What was that?” Wolfia asked, spinning around to face the door and performing a defensive stance.
“Nobody is supposed to be here yet,” Ara answered, taking a step back from the door.
Wolfia looked at Ara, who nodded in return. Wolfia crept up towards the door, which had now stopped banging, and carefully placed her hand on the handle. With careful yet shaky movements, she pushed open the door very slightly to see who was outside. After a glance, she could see exactly who was there. Outside the door was a group of six people, each holding a piece of paper in hand.
“You guys are early,” Wolfia sighed, aggravated that these people had shown up while they were preparing, “What do you want?”
Two of the people outside shoved one of their friends forward. While the people outside argued about who should be talking, one of the girls at the back shoved through the crowd and poked her head through the door, taking both Ara and Wolfia aback.
“Sorry about them,” Mollai smiled in apology, her tiara complimenting a silver dress, “They argue over everything. Sorry we’re early, by the way. We knew that we got here sooner than expected, so we decided to come and ask if you needed help instead of awkwardly standing outside, waiting to go in.”
“Well,” Wolfia began to say, “we don’t need any help, so if you could just…”
“Come in!” Ara smiled, interrupting Wolfia and causing her to receive an annoyed glance from her best friend, “The more help we can get, the better.”
Mollai smiled and gestured for the others behind her to step inside. Mollai was followed by Raya, Saskya, Lhaka, Loki and Bri. Bri walked up next to Mollai, thanking Ara for agreeing to let them into the house. Meanwhile, Loki and Lhaka were trying to stop the dispute between the two sisters, Raya and Saskya. The girls finally stopped bickering when Wolfia stepped in, helping Lhaka and Loki break up the fight. Raya, Lhaka and Saskya were wearing the matching Vampire outfits they wore the other day. Whereas, Bri was wearing an adorable purple dress with sequins and a black pair of boots, her ears, tail and wings on show for the first time since she had been in the Overworld. Loki was suited up in a casual shirt and jeans combo, obviously not the party type.
“Nice costumes you three,” Ara smiled, looking at Lhaka, Raya and Saskya.
The three girls smiled their thanks, doing the same pose that they had done to the Dragonblood trio when doing their big costume reveal. This caused Ara to giggle a little bit, while also receiving a judgemental look from Wolfia. Ara then turned to look at the three Dragonbloods. Their outfits were quite normal. It made Ara think that they had put less effort in than she and Wolfia had. The only similarity that the three had were the dragon ears, tail and wings. However, the most noticeable thing was the uncomfortable look on Bri’s face.
“Hey Bri,” Mollai smiled, “are you feeling ok?”
“Oh…” Bri smiled back, her voice shaking, “I’m just nervous about showing my Dragonblood features for the first time…”
Mollai gave Bri a hug, causing her to giggle. Mollai had succeeded in lightening Bri’s mood.
“So,” Raya said, walking towards Ara and Wolfia, “Anything you need help with?”
“Well,” Ara pondered, waiting for an idea to pop into her head.
“We do need help with the fake cobwebs,” Wolfia mentioned, “We can’t reach the top of the room without a ladder.”
“We can take care of that,” Loki said, a determined look on his face.
“We can help with the ones near the floor!” Saskya jumped in, Lhaka and Raya nodding in agreement.
Ara smiled her thanks while Wolfia gave the group of six in front of her a thumbs-up. The eight of them got to work. Ara and Wolfia finished up the other preparations, while Raya, Saskya, Lhaka, Mollai, Loki and Bri put up the fake cobwebs around the room.
“So, you finally decided to pick up.”
“I was busy, ok? Are you nearly here?”
“Almost. Are you ready?”
“Of course, I am.”
“Good. See you there.”
“Bye.”
“WAIT, IS THAT A BAR?” Loki screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes widening.
“Loki…” Mollai said, “I don’t think that’s a good…”
Suddenly, Loki pushed past Mollai, running as fast as he could to get a drink; even some Alcohol. Mollai sighed. When Loki gets his hands on a glass of Alcohol, things don’t always turn out well.
“People should be arriving soon!” Ara squealed with excitement, “Where is Wolfia?”
“Right here!” Wolfia smiled, coming out of the kitchen with her phone in hand.
Ara pulled her phone out of her bag and started to take pictures of the spooky scenery she had created with the help of Wolfia and the others. Ara’s smile was shining brightly, her body language showing her enthusiasm for the party. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Wolfia peeked outside before smiling back at Ara.
“Everyone is here!” Wolfia called to Ara and the others, “Should I let them in now?”
“Go on!” Ara responded, “Let’s give them another night to remember!”
The queue of people was long, and the suspense was filling up inside of Arabella. She was always so stressed when the guests were beginning to flow in. Ara breathed in and out slowly as an attempt to calm her nerves. Meanwhile, Wolfia was talking to Eryn, Jason, Aaron and Owen. Eryn was wearing a hoodie and jeans, Jason was dressed in a tux, his golden crown sparkling every time the disco lights pass over it. Aaron and Owen were wearing jeans and a casual top. Eryn handed over all their invites to Wolfia, who let them through straight after. Raya noticed the group walking in and began whispering to Mollai and Bri, Loki not paying any attention to the girls since he was enjoying a cold glass of cider, while Saskya and Lhaka got up from next to Raya to go and talk to Eryn. Wolfia gestured for the next person or group of people to step up and hand their invites in. Teddie and Don stepped forwards, dragging Wren by the arms. Teddie was wearing a white dress with a vail, her face smeared with green face paint and fake blood. Don stood next to her with a black hoodie and white joggers, his face painted white with black circles around his eyes. Wren was behind the two in her regular clothes, obviously annoyed that she was dragged there by Teddie and Wren. With a smile on her face, Teddie handed over her invite to Wolfia while Don handed over his and Wren’s. Teddie almost skipped inside, but her eyes told a different story. She was obviously nervous. Don noticed this clearly. The boy sighed and grabbed onto Teddie’s hand and pulled her to a set of chairs to talk. Don then gestured at Wren to join them. Wren looked back at the exit to the party and then back at her friends. She sighed and walked over to Don, taking a seat next to him. The next person to walk up to Wolfia with their invite was Eleanora. Wolfia was kind of taken aback. She didn’t expect Eleanora to show up. Ellie was wearing her casual clothes: A white shirt, a brown leather jacket, blue jeans, brown boots and a small grey hat. As well as this, Ellie held a small book. She looked at Wolfia and handed her the invite. Hesitantly, Wolfia took the piece of paper and let Ellie inside. After a while of looking around, Ellie walked towards the bar and sat one seat away from Bri. She opened her book and grabbed a pen, writing inside the lined pages. Finally, Aitoku walked through the door wearing all black. Ara ran over to Wolfia and glanced at Aitoku.
“Why are you here?” Ara asked, her glair ice-cold.
“Well, I was invited,” Aitoku sighed and smiled, holding out her invite, “see?”
Ara and Wolfia flinched and looked at each other. Wolfia sighed, letting Aitoku through. Teddie noticed Aitoku walk through and ducked behind Wren. Wren just simply stared at Aitoku. When Aitoku noticed this, she just simply smiled and walked on. Wolfia then called to everyone.
“Alright, everyone!” Wolfia called down from on top of the stairs, “Welcome to the mine and Ara’s 3rd Halloween party! Usually, our games would be more fun: taking shots of alcohol and playing Manhunt in a dark forest at midnight. However, those things aren’t appropriate for this party zone. Anyway, the first game will be Musical Chairs, then apple bobbing. Snacks will be available halfway through the party. Remember, the hosts are not responsible for anyone who get’s drunk tonight. Thank you and have a great time!”
Wolfia smiled widely as she's answered by claps and cheers.
“Now,” Wolfia yelled, “We’re going to play Musical Chairs! If everyone who wants to play goes down to the dance floor now, Ara should have set everything up!”
Everyone stepped to the centre of the room with Ara except for Wren, Loki and Eleanora. Ara smiled and ran back to the DJ booth. She quickly picked a song she liked and turned to Wolfia, giving her a thumbs up. The music began to play, and the group began to circle around the chairs. The game continued for a while until only two people remained: Aitoku and Teddie. The two girls circled around the chair, Aitoku staring straight into Teddie’s soul. When the music stopped, Teddie tried to rush to sit on the chair. However, the chair was pulled away from her and Aitoku sat down firmly on it, Teddie landing on the floor. Laugher echoed through the room as Teddie saw specks of water filling her eyes. Wolfia turned back around after looking away and saw Aitoku on the chair.
“Aitoku is the winner!” Wolfia called out.
“But Wolfia,” Don called up to her, running to Teddie’s side and helping her up, “Aitoku moved the chair away from Teddie!”
“I’m sorry but I can’t do anything about it if I don’t have proof or I didn’t see it with my own eyes,” Wolfia said, a frown on her face.
Don frowned and nodded. He helped Teddie up and walked back to Wren and the chairs in the corner where they were sitting. Wren looked at Aitoku, her eyes almost piercing through Aitoku’s soul. Aitoku just smiled and walked off.
After the food was served, it was time for Apple Bobbing. Everyone stood in a line to have a go. However, when Teddie stepped up to the bowl, Aitoku pushed her head straight in from behind and held it there for a while. Teddie was set free from Aitoku’s grip when Wren came up and punched Aitoku straight in the face, causing Aitoku to stumble back and drop Teddie. Teddie lifted her head up, most of her face paint now washed off. Tears were flowing from Teddie’s eyes like little waterfalls. Suddenly, Don grabbed a hold of Teddie’s arm and rushed up the stairs and through a big door. Wolfia tried to follow the pair when she tripped and stumbled onto the floor. Ara quickly rushed to her friend’s side.
“Wolfia!” Ara cried, helping her friend up and wrapping her arm around her shoulder to help her stand, “Are you ok?”
“Yeah,” Wolfia sighed, “I… I think I twisted my ankle.”
Ara and Wolfia looked over to see that the crowd had formed a circle around the fight. Countless shouts of “FIGHT”, “Yes! Some action!” and “I hope Wren will be ok” echoed throughout the crowd of people. Aitoku gained her balance and looked up, quickly ducking another punch that was sent by Wren. Aitoku stumbled to her feet, kicking Wren in the stomach and causing her to stumble into a member of the crowd: Eleanora. The girl whispered something into Wren’s ear and pushed her back into the circle. Wren smiled, looking more confident than ever. Aitoku threw another punch at Wren, who dodged quickly and returned with a few consecutive blows. Aitoku tumbled onto the floor and got up again. The fight looked like it could last for a while.
“Where are we going?” Teddie asked.
“Away from there!” Don yelled, “Here!”
The two of them ran through a set of doors and onto a balcony. Teddie instantly stopped running and let go of Don’s hand, looking up at the stars and the beautiful crescent moon. The girl walked slowly forwards and leant on the railings of the balcony. Don walked next to her and looked up as well. The two Werewolves were in awe of the beautiful sight that was before them. The midnight air was cool, but not cold. Don looked at Teddie, who had reached into her purse and grabbed a cloth to wipe her face. Don looked forwards at the scenery again.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Teddie asked Don, who quickly turned around to face her.
“Yeah… it is.” Don sighed. However, his hands were shaking on the balcony railing.
Don had never felt so nervous in his entire life. There she was, standing right next to him, alone on a gorgeous night like this. Even after a catastrophic night, Teddie always found some way to stay positive. Don knew well that he wanted to say something, but he just couldn’t work up the courage to do so.
“I wonder what it would be like up there…” Teddie said slowly, her voice soft.
“You don’t mean…” Don started to say.
“I mean,” Teddie sighed, “Why not? Nobody seems to want me around anyway. I’m just a burden to everyone. Heck, even my parents didn’t want me... What’s even the point anymore? The stars seem such a better option.”
“Teddie,” Don said, grabbing Teddie’s shoulders and pulling her towards him (The boy was scared, but his need to help overpowered those nerves), “Don’t say that. Your parents were jerks, you said that yourself! You are not a burden to everyone and people do want you around! I do! And so does Wren! If she didn’t, then why would she have helped you?”
Teddie just stared at Don, tears trickling down her face. Don sighed. He knew this was the perfect time to tell Teddie what he felt. However, his nerves were shot. Don sighed.
“I love you,” Don said inside of his head.
He repeated this message inside his head for a while. It gave him confidence, even if just a bit. Then he breathed in and out slowly.
“I love you,” Don muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Teddie asked, “I didn’t hear you.”
“I SAID I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT!” Don shouted.
The boy let go of Teddie and covered his mouth with his hand. Teddie stepped back a bit, her eyes wide with shock and surprise.
“Don, I…”
“No, I’m sorry.” Don sighed, tears filling his eyes, “I shouldn’t have said anything…”
“Don…” Teddie smiled, looking at the boy, “You shouldn’t feel sorry. Look… I can’t say I feel the same way. But, I’m willing to give it a try… maybe we should have a date first? I know this is sudden! However, I just want to see for myself if I feel the same way…”
“T-that’s fine,” Don smiled back, wiping her eyes.
“We should get back,” Teddie said, receiving a nod of agreement from Don.
Wren kicked Aitoku so hard that she slammed into the floor. Both girls had a lot of wounds. Aitoku knew she couldn’t win, so she rushed out of the house and down the street. Wren collapsed onto the floor, out of breath and exhausted. Teddie and Don opened the door and rushed to the top of the staircase. Down below, the two could see Wolfia sat on a chair with Ara and Wren laying on the floor, panting heavily. Don and Teddie rushed downstairs and helped Wren to her feet. Wren had blood trickling from her mouth and was very limp between her friends’ grip. The two friends said goodbye to everyone else and rushed outside, beginning to take Wren home. Halfway to Wren’s house, Wren gained more control over her balance. Although, she still had to be held by Don and Teddie to stay upright. Wren smiled at her two friends, happy they had come to help her. For that walk home, Wren let her toughness sit back and she let her passion lead the conversation.
“Thanks for the help you two,” Wren smiled.
“Don’t mention it!” Teddie smiled back, “That’s what friends are for!”
“Anyway, what were you two doing when you rushed off?” Wren asked.
“Uhhhh,” Don said, sweat falling down his face.
“We have decided to go on a date to see if I like him back,” Teddie said to Wren.
“So, where are you going then?” Wren asked again.
“Not sure,” Don pondered, “Maybe the café?”
“Yeah, that’ll be fine,” Teddie said cheerfully.
Wren was delivered to her house. Teddie and Don waved goodbye as Wren locked herself in. Wren sighed, home alone again. She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed some plasters, sticking them over her wound. She then grabbed some cloth and wrapped it around her head. The bandage quickly turned red due to the blood. Wren sighed, quickly opening the door to her basement. Teddie and Don helped her, now it was time to return the favour.
“There, you should be alright now.”
“I can’t believe you just left me there.”
“I told you I would get away if things went wrong.”
“And I’m not happy about it.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“Meet me at the café tomorrow, and we can talk about our next move.”
“And nothing else?”
“Nothing else, I promise.”
“…Alright.”
“What was that?” Wolfia asked, spinning around to face the door and performing a defensive stance.
“Nobody is supposed to be here yet,” Ara answered, taking a step back from the door.
Wolfia looked at Ara, who nodded in return. Wolfia crept up towards the door, which had now stopped banging, and carefully placed her hand on the handle. With careful yet shaky movements, she pushed open the door very slightly to see who was outside. After a glance, she could see exactly who was there. Outside the door was a group of six people, each holding a piece of paper in hand.
“You guys are early,” Wolfia sighed, aggravated that these people had shown up while they were preparing, “What do you want?”
Two of the people outside shoved one of their friends forward. While the people outside argued about who should be talking, one of the girls at the back shoved through the crowd and poked her head through the door, taking both Ara and Wolfia aback.
“Sorry about them,” Mollai smiled in apology, her tiara complimenting a silver dress, “They argue over everything. Sorry we’re early, by the way. We knew that we got here sooner than expected, so we decided to come and ask if you needed help instead of awkwardly standing outside, waiting to go in.”
“Well,” Wolfia began to say, “we don’t need any help, so if you could just…”
“Come in!” Ara smiled, interrupting Wolfia and causing her to receive an annoyed glance from her best friend, “The more help we can get, the better.”
Mollai smiled and gestured for the others behind her to step inside. Mollai was followed by Raya, Saskya, Lhaka, Loki and Bri. Bri walked up next to Mollai, thanking Ara for agreeing to let them into the house. Meanwhile, Loki and Lhaka were trying to stop the dispute between the two sisters, Raya and Saskya. The girls finally stopped bickering when Wolfia stepped in, helping Lhaka and Loki break up the fight. Raya, Lhaka and Saskya were wearing the matching Vampire outfits they wore the other day. Whereas, Bri was wearing an adorable purple dress with sequins and a black pair of boots, her ears, tail and wings on show for the first time since she had been in the Overworld. Loki was suited up in a casual shirt and jeans combo, obviously not the party type.
“Nice costumes you three,” Ara smiled, looking at Lhaka, Raya and Saskya.
The three girls smiled their thanks, doing the same pose that they had done to the Dragonblood trio when doing their big costume reveal. This caused Ara to giggle a little bit, while also receiving a judgemental look from Wolfia. Ara then turned to look at the three Dragonbloods. Their outfits were quite normal. It made Ara think that they had put less effort in than she and Wolfia had. The only similarity that the three had were the dragon ears, tail and wings. However, the most noticeable thing was the uncomfortable look on Bri’s face.
“Hey Bri,” Mollai smiled, “are you feeling ok?”
“Oh…” Bri smiled back, her voice shaking, “I’m just nervous about showing my Dragonblood features for the first time…”
Mollai gave Bri a hug, causing her to giggle. Mollai had succeeded in lightening Bri’s mood.
“So,” Raya said, walking towards Ara and Wolfia, “Anything you need help with?”
“Well,” Ara pondered, waiting for an idea to pop into her head.
“We do need help with the fake cobwebs,” Wolfia mentioned, “We can’t reach the top of the room without a ladder.”
“We can take care of that,” Loki said, a determined look on his face.
“We can help with the ones near the floor!” Saskya jumped in, Lhaka and Raya nodding in agreement.
Ara smiled her thanks while Wolfia gave the group of six in front of her a thumbs-up. The eight of them got to work. Ara and Wolfia finished up the other preparations, while Raya, Saskya, Lhaka, Mollai, Loki and Bri put up the fake cobwebs around the room.
“So, you finally decided to pick up.”
“I was busy, ok? Are you nearly here?”
“Almost. Are you ready?”
“Of course, I am.”
“Good. See you there.”
“Bye.”
“WAIT, IS THAT A BAR?” Loki screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes widening.
“Loki…” Mollai said, “I don’t think that’s a good…”
Suddenly, Loki pushed past Mollai, running as fast as he could to get a drink; even some Alcohol. Mollai sighed. When Loki gets his hands on a glass of Alcohol, things don’t always turn out well.
“People should be arriving soon!” Ara squealed with excitement, “Where is Wolfia?”
“Right here!” Wolfia smiled, coming out of the kitchen with her phone in hand.
Ara pulled her phone out of her bag and started to take pictures of the spooky scenery she had created with the help of Wolfia and the others. Ara’s smile was shining brightly, her body language showing her enthusiasm for the party. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Wolfia peeked outside before smiling back at Ara.
“Everyone is here!” Wolfia called to Ara and the others, “Should I let them in now?”
“Go on!” Ara responded, “Let’s give them another night to remember!”
The queue of people was long, and the suspense was filling up inside of Arabella. She was always so stressed when the guests were beginning to flow in. Ara breathed in and out slowly as an attempt to calm her nerves. Meanwhile, Wolfia was talking to Eryn, Jason, Aaron and Owen. Eryn was wearing a hoodie and jeans, Jason was dressed in a tux, his golden crown sparkling every time the disco lights pass over it. Aaron and Owen were wearing jeans and a casual top. Eryn handed over all their invites to Wolfia, who let them through straight after. Raya noticed the group walking in and began whispering to Mollai and Bri, Loki not paying any attention to the girls since he was enjoying a cold glass of cider, while Saskya and Lhaka got up from next to Raya to go and talk to Eryn. Wolfia gestured for the next person or group of people to step up and hand their invites in. Teddie and Don stepped forwards, dragging Wren by the arms. Teddie was wearing a white dress with a vail, her face smeared with green face paint and fake blood. Don stood next to her with a black hoodie and white joggers, his face painted white with black circles around his eyes. Wren was behind the two in her regular clothes, obviously annoyed that she was dragged there by Teddie and Wren. With a smile on her face, Teddie handed over her invite to Wolfia while Don handed over his and Wren’s. Teddie almost skipped inside, but her eyes told a different story. She was obviously nervous. Don noticed this clearly. The boy sighed and grabbed onto Teddie’s hand and pulled her to a set of chairs to talk. Don then gestured at Wren to join them. Wren looked back at the exit to the party and then back at her friends. She sighed and walked over to Don, taking a seat next to him. The next person to walk up to Wolfia with their invite was Eleanora. Wolfia was kind of taken aback. She didn’t expect Eleanora to show up. Ellie was wearing her casual clothes: A white shirt, a brown leather jacket, blue jeans, brown boots and a small grey hat. As well as this, Ellie held a small book. She looked at Wolfia and handed her the invite. Hesitantly, Wolfia took the piece of paper and let Ellie inside. After a while of looking around, Ellie walked towards the bar and sat one seat away from Bri. She opened her book and grabbed a pen, writing inside the lined pages. Finally, Aitoku walked through the door wearing all black. Ara ran over to Wolfia and glanced at Aitoku.
“Why are you here?” Ara asked, her glair ice-cold.
“Well, I was invited,” Aitoku sighed and smiled, holding out her invite, “see?”
Ara and Wolfia flinched and looked at each other. Wolfia sighed, letting Aitoku through. Teddie noticed Aitoku walk through and ducked behind Wren. Wren just simply stared at Aitoku. When Aitoku noticed this, she just simply smiled and walked on. Wolfia then called to everyone.
“Alright, everyone!” Wolfia called down from on top of the stairs, “Welcome to the mine and Ara’s 3rd Halloween party! Usually, our games would be more fun: taking shots of alcohol and playing Manhunt in a dark forest at midnight. However, those things aren’t appropriate for this party zone. Anyway, the first game will be Musical Chairs, then apple bobbing. Snacks will be available halfway through the party. Remember, the hosts are not responsible for anyone who get’s drunk tonight. Thank you and have a great time!”
Wolfia smiled widely as she's answered by claps and cheers.
“Now,” Wolfia yelled, “We’re going to play Musical Chairs! If everyone who wants to play goes down to the dance floor now, Ara should have set everything up!”
Everyone stepped to the centre of the room with Ara except for Wren, Loki and Eleanora. Ara smiled and ran back to the DJ booth. She quickly picked a song she liked and turned to Wolfia, giving her a thumbs up. The music began to play, and the group began to circle around the chairs. The game continued for a while until only two people remained: Aitoku and Teddie. The two girls circled around the chair, Aitoku staring straight into Teddie’s soul. When the music stopped, Teddie tried to rush to sit on the chair. However, the chair was pulled away from her and Aitoku sat down firmly on it, Teddie landing on the floor. Laugher echoed through the room as Teddie saw specks of water filling her eyes. Wolfia turned back around after looking away and saw Aitoku on the chair.
“Aitoku is the winner!” Wolfia called out.
“But Wolfia,” Don called up to her, running to Teddie’s side and helping her up, “Aitoku moved the chair away from Teddie!”
“I’m sorry but I can’t do anything about it if I don’t have proof or I didn’t see it with my own eyes,” Wolfia said, a frown on her face.
Don frowned and nodded. He helped Teddie up and walked back to Wren and the chairs in the corner where they were sitting. Wren looked at Aitoku, her eyes almost piercing through Aitoku’s soul. Aitoku just smiled and walked off.
After the food was served, it was time for Apple Bobbing. Everyone stood in a line to have a go. However, when Teddie stepped up to the bowl, Aitoku pushed her head straight in from behind and held it there for a while. Teddie was set free from Aitoku’s grip when Wren came up and punched Aitoku straight in the face, causing Aitoku to stumble back and drop Teddie. Teddie lifted her head up, most of her face paint now washed off. Tears were flowing from Teddie’s eyes like little waterfalls. Suddenly, Don grabbed a hold of Teddie’s arm and rushed up the stairs and through a big door. Wolfia tried to follow the pair when she tripped and stumbled onto the floor. Ara quickly rushed to her friend’s side.
“Wolfia!” Ara cried, helping her friend up and wrapping her arm around her shoulder to help her stand, “Are you ok?”
“Yeah,” Wolfia sighed, “I… I think I twisted my ankle.”
Ara and Wolfia looked over to see that the crowd had formed a circle around the fight. Countless shouts of “FIGHT”, “Yes! Some action!” and “I hope Wren will be ok” echoed throughout the crowd of people. Aitoku gained her balance and looked up, quickly ducking another punch that was sent by Wren. Aitoku stumbled to her feet, kicking Wren in the stomach and causing her to stumble into a member of the crowd: Eleanora. The girl whispered something into Wren’s ear and pushed her back into the circle. Wren smiled, looking more confident than ever. Aitoku threw another punch at Wren, who dodged quickly and returned with a few consecutive blows. Aitoku tumbled onto the floor and got up again. The fight looked like it could last for a while.
“Where are we going?” Teddie asked.
“Away from there!” Don yelled, “Here!”
The two of them ran through a set of doors and onto a balcony. Teddie instantly stopped running and let go of Don’s hand, looking up at the stars and the beautiful crescent moon. The girl walked slowly forwards and leant on the railings of the balcony. Don walked next to her and looked up as well. The two Werewolves were in awe of the beautiful sight that was before them. The midnight air was cool, but not cold. Don looked at Teddie, who had reached into her purse and grabbed a cloth to wipe her face. Don looked forwards at the scenery again.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Teddie asked Don, who quickly turned around to face her.
“Yeah… it is.” Don sighed. However, his hands were shaking on the balcony railing.
Don had never felt so nervous in his entire life. There she was, standing right next to him, alone on a gorgeous night like this. Even after a catastrophic night, Teddie always found some way to stay positive. Don knew well that he wanted to say something, but he just couldn’t work up the courage to do so.
“I wonder what it would be like up there…” Teddie said slowly, her voice soft.
“You don’t mean…” Don started to say.
“I mean,” Teddie sighed, “Why not? Nobody seems to want me around anyway. I’m just a burden to everyone. Heck, even my parents didn’t want me... What’s even the point anymore? The stars seem such a better option.”
“Teddie,” Don said, grabbing Teddie’s shoulders and pulling her towards him (The boy was scared, but his need to help overpowered those nerves), “Don’t say that. Your parents were jerks, you said that yourself! You are not a burden to everyone and people do want you around! I do! And so does Wren! If she didn’t, then why would she have helped you?”
Teddie just stared at Don, tears trickling down her face. Don sighed. He knew this was the perfect time to tell Teddie what he felt. However, his nerves were shot. Don sighed.
“I love you,” Don said inside of his head.
He repeated this message inside his head for a while. It gave him confidence, even if just a bit. Then he breathed in and out slowly.
“I love you,” Don muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Teddie asked, “I didn’t hear you.”
“I SAID I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT!” Don shouted.
The boy let go of Teddie and covered his mouth with his hand. Teddie stepped back a bit, her eyes wide with shock and surprise.
“Don, I…”
“No, I’m sorry.” Don sighed, tears filling his eyes, “I shouldn’t have said anything…”
“Don…” Teddie smiled, looking at the boy, “You shouldn’t feel sorry. Look… I can’t say I feel the same way. But, I’m willing to give it a try… maybe we should have a date first? I know this is sudden! However, I just want to see for myself if I feel the same way…”
“T-that’s fine,” Don smiled back, wiping her eyes.
“We should get back,” Teddie said, receiving a nod of agreement from Don.
Wren kicked Aitoku so hard that she slammed into the floor. Both girls had a lot of wounds. Aitoku knew she couldn’t win, so she rushed out of the house and down the street. Wren collapsed onto the floor, out of breath and exhausted. Teddie and Don opened the door and rushed to the top of the staircase. Down below, the two could see Wolfia sat on a chair with Ara and Wren laying on the floor, panting heavily. Don and Teddie rushed downstairs and helped Wren to her feet. Wren had blood trickling from her mouth and was very limp between her friends’ grip. The two friends said goodbye to everyone else and rushed outside, beginning to take Wren home. Halfway to Wren’s house, Wren gained more control over her balance. Although, she still had to be held by Don and Teddie to stay upright. Wren smiled at her two friends, happy they had come to help her. For that walk home, Wren let her toughness sit back and she let her passion lead the conversation.
“Thanks for the help you two,” Wren smiled.
“Don’t mention it!” Teddie smiled back, “That’s what friends are for!”
“Anyway, what were you two doing when you rushed off?” Wren asked.
“Uhhhh,” Don said, sweat falling down his face.
“We have decided to go on a date to see if I like him back,” Teddie said to Wren.
“So, where are you going then?” Wren asked again.
“Not sure,” Don pondered, “Maybe the café?”
“Yeah, that’ll be fine,” Teddie said cheerfully.
Wren was delivered to her house. Teddie and Don waved goodbye as Wren locked herself in. Wren sighed, home alone again. She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed some plasters, sticking them over her wound. She then grabbed some cloth and wrapped it around her head. The bandage quickly turned red due to the blood. Wren sighed, quickly opening the door to her basement. Teddie and Don helped her, now it was time to return the favour.
“There, you should be alright now.”
“I can’t believe you just left me there.”
“I told you I would get away if things went wrong.”
“And I’m not happy about it.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“Meet me at the café tomorrow, and we can talk about our next move.”
“And nothing else?”
“Nothing else, I promise.”
“…Alright.”
With a small click, the key unlocked the door. Wren took a deep breath in and opened the door slowly. After standing at the top of the stairs for at least a minute, she began to take slow steps downwards into the darkness below; her basement. Wren was usually the kind of person who would suck it up and let her nerves flow away. However, every step downwards sent a chill down her spine. Wren put her hand on the right wall, feeling it until she could feel it no more. She had reached the basement. The room was pitch black, it was almost impossible to move around. Wren reached to the right wall and felt around until she felt a lump on the wall. With a flick, the lights came on. The room was small, which wasn’t surprising. The room had spruce walls and worn spruce floor boarding. On the left of the room was a corkboard filled with rules and regulations. For example, one that stated, “You are only allowed in this room if one of your family members is here with you”. On the right, a bookshelf filled with non-fiction books. However, Wren’s focus was set on the table in front of her. After a few steps forwards, Wren stopped and slowly looked down at her feet. Under her left foot, which she had just moved forwards, was a book. Covered in dust, of course. She cautiously picked up the book and glanced at the title. The book was named “Wren Kleos by Mr and Mrs Claren”. Wren looked at the cover of the book for a while before throwing it at the bookshelf, causing some of the books to topple down onto the floor. With a deep breath in, Wren made her way towards the middle table. A book was rested on a small stand while the table was scattered with glass bottles filled with various liquids. Hesitantly, Wren picked up one of the glasses and mixed it with another before leaving it on the table.
“This should do,” Wren said, leaving the basement and walking up the stairs; the new mixture left on the table in the basement.
“Bye Mum!” Teddie called out.
“Bye sweetie,” Miss Wilson smiled, “Remember, I am so proud of you! Don’t be nervous!”
Teddie waved as the door closed behind her. Her smiling face quickly turned into a sigh followed by a nervous look. She had read through most of her romance manga and had watched a few anime films to try and get her confidence up. However, all of that had just made her more nervous. She hadn’t had any text messages from Don since yesterday either. Whilst walking into town, Teddie looked to her right to see Burrows High. Of course, Teddie knew that they would be back at school tomorrow. All that meant was that Teddie had to make this day last. After all, she knew that Aitoku would love to get back at her and Wren for what happened last night. After walking through the town for around 5 minutes trying to find the café, the girl stopped suddenly.
“Hey, Teddie,” The voice called.
“W-who’s there?” Teddie stuttered, her voice shaky.
“It’s me you dummy,” The voice told her, “Wren!”
“Wren?” Teddie said, slightly perplexed, “What are you doing here? And why don’t you come out here?”
“Because I’m not actually here Teddie,” Wren sighed, “I’ll explain tomorrow. For now, I’m going to help you. Try and talk to me in your head so you don’t look like an idiot.”
“O-ok,” Teddie said, nodding her head.
The girl eventually made her way to the door of the café. With trembling hands, she was about to open the door when Don ran up to her.
“Hey, Teddie!” Don smiled, “You ok?”
“Y-yeah!” Teddie stammered, obviously nervous.
Don smiled and opened the door of the Café, allowing Teddie to walk in behind him. Teddie took a deep breath in, keeping her composure. She stuck on her cutest smile and began to walk into the café. Don found a table and invited Teddie to sit down before standing up to find a menu.
“Teddie,” Wren said, “Look to your left.”
Teddie looked over and gasped. Aitoku was sitting at a table. It was one of those high tables, where you had to sit on a metal stool instead of a comfy chair. Aitoku had not one, but two drinks with her. Teddie’s eyes widened, obviously not expecting this.
“Grab Don and hide somewhere,” Wren told Teddie, “Quickly!”
Teddie knew she had to be fast so she wouldn’t be spotted by Aitoku. Teddie decided to go quickly but at a walking pace. She patted Don on the shoulder, who turned around quickly with a perplexed look on his face. Suddenly, she grabbed onto his arm and dashed behind a wall of a corridor which lead to the bathrooms.
“What’s going...” Don began to say before being shushed by Teddie.
The café’s entrance door swung open. The person who walked through was all too familiar to Don and Teddie. The question was: what were they doing here? The couple’s suspicions were suddenly confirmed when they walked straight up to Aitoku.
“Hello Wolfia,” Aitoku said, her fed up expression reflecting all over her body, “You’re late again.”
“No duh,” Wolfia said, “Faking an injury is hard you know!”
Teddie and Don’s faces both turned to shock. Wolfia faked her injury? Why would she do that?
“Anyway,” Aitoku sighed, “let’s get to the point. Your plan failed. What do you suggest we do now?”
“Plan?” Teddie whispered to Don, “What does it mean?”
“I know what it means,” Don whispered back to his friend, “It means that Aitoku isn’t the only one who wants you gone.”
Wolfia looked at Aitoku with a smile, sipping her coffee. Aitoku wasn’t shaken by Wolfia’s tone, she merely shared that tone. However, Aitoku knew that Wolfia’s confidence wouldn’t last long.
“Well,” Wolfia smiled, “I don’t think you’re really needed anymore… I mean, you couldn’t even take out Teddie! That Werewolf is so meek! Really, I don’t want to do this to her. However, if this is what I must do for Ara to be happy then that’s good enough for me. Besides, who needs a delinquent to do a girl’s job?”
“You can’t break out of this that easily,” Aitoku smirked.
“There is no possible way that I cannot break out of this!” Wolfia said, banging her hands on the table and leaning closer to Aitoku, “You may be strong, but I’m stronger and smarter.”
Aitoku just stared back at Wolfia, her eyes as cold as ice. A small giggle escaped from her mouth.
“I can’t believe how much you underestimate me,” Aitoku said, her smile still wide.
Wolfia took her hands off the table and sat back in her chair, slightly phased by Aitoku’s statement. However, she kept her composure.
“What do you mean by that?” Wolfia asked.
Aitoku laughed. She then reached down into her pocket and grabbed a few photos. After smiling at them, she handed them to Wolfia. When Wolfia laid her eyes on these pictures, her eyes widened. Wolfia looked at Aitoku, her once confident look had now completely vanished. Her hands were trembling, and her words came out as mere stutters. Aitoku laughed at the werewolf in front of her.
“Interesting photos…” Wren said to Teddie, lost in thought.
“W-where did you get these?” Wolfia asked, her voice shaky.
“That’s the least of your problems,” Aitoku sneered, “Wow, I thought wolves were brave and not cowardly and full of themselves. Now, are you going to stop fooling around and start listening? Or, are you going to allow me to spread this all over the school.”
The answer Aitoku got was silence. Wolfia then slowly nodded, dropping the photos on the table. Wolfia’s eyes were wide and full of fear. Aitoku knew she now had a loyal ally if she kept those photos close to her. Aitoku snatched the photographs from the table and put them back in her pocket. She then leant backwards, her face turning serious.
“Ok, let’s cut to the chase,” Aitoku said, “You’ve seen them, haven’t you?”
“S-seen what?” Wolfia asked, her voice shaky.
“The shadows,” Aitoku answered, “The shadows that lurk around Burrows High. Not everyone can see them, but you and I can. Of course, there are others who can. That’s why I need your help to get them all to me.”
“W-why?” Wolfia asked again, trying to piece together what was going on.
“I’ll give you that information in a more private place,” Aitoku replied to her new puppet, “As of now, this meeting is over, no more questions. Meet me tomorrow in the IT area at lunchtime.”
“B-but,” Wolfia tried to say, “I have football to coach…”
“NOBODY CARES!” Aitoku shouted, “You don’t have a choice in the matter, got it? Now, I’ll be taking my leave.”
Aitoku jumped off her chair. With a smile and a wave in Wolfia’s direction, she walked out of the café and left Wolfia on her own. After sitting in the café alone for a while trying to collect her bearings, Wolfia decided it would be better to think about this at home; she got up off her chair, collected her things and walked straight out of the café. Don and Teddie proceeded to come out from where they were hiding, trying to take in what they had just heard.
“Teddie,” Wren said, “Take Don and come to my house, we need to talk about this.”
“We should tell Wren about this,” Teddie told Don, who nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked out of the café and proceeded to Wren’s house.
Don tried to knock on the door to Wren’s house, but it just slid open when he pushed against it.
“Wren!” Don called, “Where are you?”
The place seemed barren. No sounds answered Don’s call. The boy sighed, obviously concluding that Wren wasn’t home. Teddie, on the other hand, knew that Wren was somewhere nearby.
“Come on Don,” Teddie commanded, “Let’s search for her.”
“Isn’t this classed as breaking into her house?” Don asked.
“Trust me,” Teddie told him.
After that, Don reluctantly followed Teddie into the house and they began the search. Don ran up the stairs while Teddie searched the bottom floor. However, there was no luck. At least, not until Teddie stumbled across something strange.
“Uh Don,” Teddie yelled, “Can you come here?”
Of course, Don was down there as quick as a flash. When he got there, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. What the two saw was a staircase that looked like it went down for ages, it would take a while to walk all the way down.
“W-what do you think is down there?” Teddie asked, grabbing onto Don’s sleeve.
“Wren!” Don yelled, “Are you down there?”
“I’m here,” Wren replied, the response was quiet because of the distance.
“Hold on Wren,” Teddie shouted down to her, “we’re coming!”
Teddie took a few cautious steps towards the black abyss but squealed when she was walking down the darker area, resulting her to climb back up again. Don grabbed onto Teddie’s hand and walked down first, using his other hand to feel the wall. Teddie walked behind him, her grip tightening around Don’s hand the further they went into the darkness. Soon, they could see a light in the distance. Once they had reached the bottom of the staircase, their eyes widened. Wren was standing in front of a table in the middle of the dusty basement, reading a book of some sort. She turned around slowly to face Teddie and Don.
“Ah there you are,” Wren sighed, “You’re late, as usual.”
“Late?” Don said in a confused tone, “How would you have known we were coming?”
“About that,” Teddie began to say, fumbling with her words, “She was sort of… uh, how do I say this without sounding crazy? Uhm, she was…”
“I was sending messages to her subconsciously,” Wren interrupted, “I was also able to see what she saw. However, I could adjust my view slightly. I saw everything in those pictures and everyone on that list. What I don’t know is the business with these ‘shadows’. However, we can suspect that things might not be good if Aitoku gets her way.”
“I have so many questions,” Don frowned, “I can’t believe any of this is real. Heck, it’s just too much to take in at once.”
“Well, I’m here to answer your questions,” Wren said, a serious tone to her voice.
“O-ok then,” Don said, thinking about what to bring up first, “What’s with this basement? Why is this place so weird?”
“It’s for training,” Wren explained, “My family dabble in the dark arts, and it’s easy for someone to pick it up in this family. However, it’s not training for the dark arts. You see, my parents told me that I have a similar ability to this thief named Wren Kleos. Kleos was a demon summoner and she is much more skilled with dark magic than most others. After finding out this, my parents and my three siblings were tasked with training me to control these powers and use them well. There is always a possibility that these powers could become too powerful for me to control unless I train at a young age. That’s why I’ve been training for around 10 years now. It’s a hard skill to master. The reason we moved here was that our home was too small, and this place was ideal for training. As you can see by the notes on that corkboard, I’m not actually allowed down here without another member of my family.”
“Then why did you come down here?” Teddie asked her friend.
“To help you,” Wren sighed, “After yesterday, I wanted to repay you both. To be honest, you two are the only friends I’ve had that I’ve been able to share this with. I had a few friends at my old school, but I never felt confident enough to tell them. Heck, I’m not confident now. I just know I must tell you both because of these recent events.”
“Quick question,” Teddie said, “What’s up with this ‘Kleos’ person? What happened to them? And, most importantly, why do you have their powers?”
Wren looked at Teddie and sighed before walking over to the bookcase on the right side of the room. Most of the books were in a pile on the floor. Wren began digging through the pile until she found a specific book. She picked it up and help it up so that Don and Teddie could see it.
“This book holds the answer to your question,” Wren told them, “However, I can’t let you open it. You might be wondering why. This book… whenever I hold it, it gives off this strange aura. It honestly petrifies me. I know that a lot of questions would be answered if I opened this, but I just can’t. I know opening it now would be the best time but…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Don smiled, putting his hand on Wren’s shoulder, “You can open it when you’re ready. Besides, we’ll be with you.”
“Yeah!” Teddie smiled, jumping slightly.
“T-Thanks you two,” Wren said, smiling slightly, “But we need to get back on topic.”
“Right,” Don agreed, “Tell us what you saw.”
“Well,” Wren began, “Those pictures disturbed me, to say the least. I’ll give you a detailed description. There was a barren wasteland, masses of corpses in all the pictures. There were 4 photos in total, all of them seemed to be from security cameras. In one of the pictures, a building could be seen. It looked like a laboratory of some sort. There was a drawing in the background of the same photo. I believe that Wolfia might not be a Werewolf at all…”
“N-no way,” Teddie stammered, “That’s impossible!”
“No, it’s possible,” Wren told her.
“What about the list?” Don asked, “Who’s names were written on it?”
“There were three people written on that list,” Wren said, “Jason Moon, Eleanora Clarke and Mollai Bush.”
“Oh my lord,” Don gasped, trying to take everything in, “We have to do something, or something will…”
Don was rudely interrupted by a sound coming from upstairs. Wren, Don and Teddie just looked up at the stairway that lead to the basement entrance and listened.
“…Well, I’m glad your back home,” Raven said with a smile.
“Well it’s only us,” Another girl said, a lot snobbier than Raven, “God.”
“Calm down Robyn,” A boy said calmly.
“Oh, please shut up Finch,” Robyn snorted, “I’m trying to text my boyfriend and tell him I’m home.”
Wren covered Don’s and Teddie’s mouths with her hands and started to quicken her breathing.
“My siblings are back,” Wren whisper-shouted, “If they find us, we’re dead!”
“This should do,” Wren said, leaving the basement and walking up the stairs; the new mixture left on the table in the basement.
“Bye Mum!” Teddie called out.
“Bye sweetie,” Miss Wilson smiled, “Remember, I am so proud of you! Don’t be nervous!”
Teddie waved as the door closed behind her. Her smiling face quickly turned into a sigh followed by a nervous look. She had read through most of her romance manga and had watched a few anime films to try and get her confidence up. However, all of that had just made her more nervous. She hadn’t had any text messages from Don since yesterday either. Whilst walking into town, Teddie looked to her right to see Burrows High. Of course, Teddie knew that they would be back at school tomorrow. All that meant was that Teddie had to make this day last. After all, she knew that Aitoku would love to get back at her and Wren for what happened last night. After walking through the town for around 5 minutes trying to find the café, the girl stopped suddenly.
“Hey, Teddie,” The voice called.
“W-who’s there?” Teddie stuttered, her voice shaky.
“It’s me you dummy,” The voice told her, “Wren!”
“Wren?” Teddie said, slightly perplexed, “What are you doing here? And why don’t you come out here?”
“Because I’m not actually here Teddie,” Wren sighed, “I’ll explain tomorrow. For now, I’m going to help you. Try and talk to me in your head so you don’t look like an idiot.”
“O-ok,” Teddie said, nodding her head.
The girl eventually made her way to the door of the café. With trembling hands, she was about to open the door when Don ran up to her.
“Hey, Teddie!” Don smiled, “You ok?”
“Y-yeah!” Teddie stammered, obviously nervous.
Don smiled and opened the door of the Café, allowing Teddie to walk in behind him. Teddie took a deep breath in, keeping her composure. She stuck on her cutest smile and began to walk into the café. Don found a table and invited Teddie to sit down before standing up to find a menu.
“Teddie,” Wren said, “Look to your left.”
Teddie looked over and gasped. Aitoku was sitting at a table. It was one of those high tables, where you had to sit on a metal stool instead of a comfy chair. Aitoku had not one, but two drinks with her. Teddie’s eyes widened, obviously not expecting this.
“Grab Don and hide somewhere,” Wren told Teddie, “Quickly!”
Teddie knew she had to be fast so she wouldn’t be spotted by Aitoku. Teddie decided to go quickly but at a walking pace. She patted Don on the shoulder, who turned around quickly with a perplexed look on his face. Suddenly, she grabbed onto his arm and dashed behind a wall of a corridor which lead to the bathrooms.
“What’s going...” Don began to say before being shushed by Teddie.
The café’s entrance door swung open. The person who walked through was all too familiar to Don and Teddie. The question was: what were they doing here? The couple’s suspicions were suddenly confirmed when they walked straight up to Aitoku.
“Hello Wolfia,” Aitoku said, her fed up expression reflecting all over her body, “You’re late again.”
“No duh,” Wolfia said, “Faking an injury is hard you know!”
Teddie and Don’s faces both turned to shock. Wolfia faked her injury? Why would she do that?
“Anyway,” Aitoku sighed, “let’s get to the point. Your plan failed. What do you suggest we do now?”
“Plan?” Teddie whispered to Don, “What does it mean?”
“I know what it means,” Don whispered back to his friend, “It means that Aitoku isn’t the only one who wants you gone.”
Wolfia looked at Aitoku with a smile, sipping her coffee. Aitoku wasn’t shaken by Wolfia’s tone, she merely shared that tone. However, Aitoku knew that Wolfia’s confidence wouldn’t last long.
“Well,” Wolfia smiled, “I don’t think you’re really needed anymore… I mean, you couldn’t even take out Teddie! That Werewolf is so meek! Really, I don’t want to do this to her. However, if this is what I must do for Ara to be happy then that’s good enough for me. Besides, who needs a delinquent to do a girl’s job?”
“You can’t break out of this that easily,” Aitoku smirked.
“There is no possible way that I cannot break out of this!” Wolfia said, banging her hands on the table and leaning closer to Aitoku, “You may be strong, but I’m stronger and smarter.”
Aitoku just stared back at Wolfia, her eyes as cold as ice. A small giggle escaped from her mouth.
“I can’t believe how much you underestimate me,” Aitoku said, her smile still wide.
Wolfia took her hands off the table and sat back in her chair, slightly phased by Aitoku’s statement. However, she kept her composure.
“What do you mean by that?” Wolfia asked.
Aitoku laughed. She then reached down into her pocket and grabbed a few photos. After smiling at them, she handed them to Wolfia. When Wolfia laid her eyes on these pictures, her eyes widened. Wolfia looked at Aitoku, her once confident look had now completely vanished. Her hands were trembling, and her words came out as mere stutters. Aitoku laughed at the werewolf in front of her.
“Interesting photos…” Wren said to Teddie, lost in thought.
“W-where did you get these?” Wolfia asked, her voice shaky.
“That’s the least of your problems,” Aitoku sneered, “Wow, I thought wolves were brave and not cowardly and full of themselves. Now, are you going to stop fooling around and start listening? Or, are you going to allow me to spread this all over the school.”
The answer Aitoku got was silence. Wolfia then slowly nodded, dropping the photos on the table. Wolfia’s eyes were wide and full of fear. Aitoku knew she now had a loyal ally if she kept those photos close to her. Aitoku snatched the photographs from the table and put them back in her pocket. She then leant backwards, her face turning serious.
“Ok, let’s cut to the chase,” Aitoku said, “You’ve seen them, haven’t you?”
“S-seen what?” Wolfia asked, her voice shaky.
“The shadows,” Aitoku answered, “The shadows that lurk around Burrows High. Not everyone can see them, but you and I can. Of course, there are others who can. That’s why I need your help to get them all to me.”
“W-why?” Wolfia asked again, trying to piece together what was going on.
“I’ll give you that information in a more private place,” Aitoku replied to her new puppet, “As of now, this meeting is over, no more questions. Meet me tomorrow in the IT area at lunchtime.”
“B-but,” Wolfia tried to say, “I have football to coach…”
“NOBODY CARES!” Aitoku shouted, “You don’t have a choice in the matter, got it? Now, I’ll be taking my leave.”
Aitoku jumped off her chair. With a smile and a wave in Wolfia’s direction, she walked out of the café and left Wolfia on her own. After sitting in the café alone for a while trying to collect her bearings, Wolfia decided it would be better to think about this at home; she got up off her chair, collected her things and walked straight out of the café. Don and Teddie proceeded to come out from where they were hiding, trying to take in what they had just heard.
“Teddie,” Wren said, “Take Don and come to my house, we need to talk about this.”
“We should tell Wren about this,” Teddie told Don, who nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked out of the café and proceeded to Wren’s house.
Don tried to knock on the door to Wren’s house, but it just slid open when he pushed against it.
“Wren!” Don called, “Where are you?”
The place seemed barren. No sounds answered Don’s call. The boy sighed, obviously concluding that Wren wasn’t home. Teddie, on the other hand, knew that Wren was somewhere nearby.
“Come on Don,” Teddie commanded, “Let’s search for her.”
“Isn’t this classed as breaking into her house?” Don asked.
“Trust me,” Teddie told him.
After that, Don reluctantly followed Teddie into the house and they began the search. Don ran up the stairs while Teddie searched the bottom floor. However, there was no luck. At least, not until Teddie stumbled across something strange.
“Uh Don,” Teddie yelled, “Can you come here?”
Of course, Don was down there as quick as a flash. When he got there, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. What the two saw was a staircase that looked like it went down for ages, it would take a while to walk all the way down.
“W-what do you think is down there?” Teddie asked, grabbing onto Don’s sleeve.
“Wren!” Don yelled, “Are you down there?”
“I’m here,” Wren replied, the response was quiet because of the distance.
“Hold on Wren,” Teddie shouted down to her, “we’re coming!”
Teddie took a few cautious steps towards the black abyss but squealed when she was walking down the darker area, resulting her to climb back up again. Don grabbed onto Teddie’s hand and walked down first, using his other hand to feel the wall. Teddie walked behind him, her grip tightening around Don’s hand the further they went into the darkness. Soon, they could see a light in the distance. Once they had reached the bottom of the staircase, their eyes widened. Wren was standing in front of a table in the middle of the dusty basement, reading a book of some sort. She turned around slowly to face Teddie and Don.
“Ah there you are,” Wren sighed, “You’re late, as usual.”
“Late?” Don said in a confused tone, “How would you have known we were coming?”
“About that,” Teddie began to say, fumbling with her words, “She was sort of… uh, how do I say this without sounding crazy? Uhm, she was…”
“I was sending messages to her subconsciously,” Wren interrupted, “I was also able to see what she saw. However, I could adjust my view slightly. I saw everything in those pictures and everyone on that list. What I don’t know is the business with these ‘shadows’. However, we can suspect that things might not be good if Aitoku gets her way.”
“I have so many questions,” Don frowned, “I can’t believe any of this is real. Heck, it’s just too much to take in at once.”
“Well, I’m here to answer your questions,” Wren said, a serious tone to her voice.
“O-ok then,” Don said, thinking about what to bring up first, “What’s with this basement? Why is this place so weird?”
“It’s for training,” Wren explained, “My family dabble in the dark arts, and it’s easy for someone to pick it up in this family. However, it’s not training for the dark arts. You see, my parents told me that I have a similar ability to this thief named Wren Kleos. Kleos was a demon summoner and she is much more skilled with dark magic than most others. After finding out this, my parents and my three siblings were tasked with training me to control these powers and use them well. There is always a possibility that these powers could become too powerful for me to control unless I train at a young age. That’s why I’ve been training for around 10 years now. It’s a hard skill to master. The reason we moved here was that our home was too small, and this place was ideal for training. As you can see by the notes on that corkboard, I’m not actually allowed down here without another member of my family.”
“Then why did you come down here?” Teddie asked her friend.
“To help you,” Wren sighed, “After yesterday, I wanted to repay you both. To be honest, you two are the only friends I’ve had that I’ve been able to share this with. I had a few friends at my old school, but I never felt confident enough to tell them. Heck, I’m not confident now. I just know I must tell you both because of these recent events.”
“Quick question,” Teddie said, “What’s up with this ‘Kleos’ person? What happened to them? And, most importantly, why do you have their powers?”
Wren looked at Teddie and sighed before walking over to the bookcase on the right side of the room. Most of the books were in a pile on the floor. Wren began digging through the pile until she found a specific book. She picked it up and help it up so that Don and Teddie could see it.
“This book holds the answer to your question,” Wren told them, “However, I can’t let you open it. You might be wondering why. This book… whenever I hold it, it gives off this strange aura. It honestly petrifies me. I know that a lot of questions would be answered if I opened this, but I just can’t. I know opening it now would be the best time but…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Don smiled, putting his hand on Wren’s shoulder, “You can open it when you’re ready. Besides, we’ll be with you.”
“Yeah!” Teddie smiled, jumping slightly.
“T-Thanks you two,” Wren said, smiling slightly, “But we need to get back on topic.”
“Right,” Don agreed, “Tell us what you saw.”
“Well,” Wren began, “Those pictures disturbed me, to say the least. I’ll give you a detailed description. There was a barren wasteland, masses of corpses in all the pictures. There were 4 photos in total, all of them seemed to be from security cameras. In one of the pictures, a building could be seen. It looked like a laboratory of some sort. There was a drawing in the background of the same photo. I believe that Wolfia might not be a Werewolf at all…”
“N-no way,” Teddie stammered, “That’s impossible!”
“No, it’s possible,” Wren told her.
“What about the list?” Don asked, “Who’s names were written on it?”
“There were three people written on that list,” Wren said, “Jason Moon, Eleanora Clarke and Mollai Bush.”
“Oh my lord,” Don gasped, trying to take everything in, “We have to do something, or something will…”
Don was rudely interrupted by a sound coming from upstairs. Wren, Don and Teddie just looked up at the stairway that lead to the basement entrance and listened.
“…Well, I’m glad your back home,” Raven said with a smile.
“Well it’s only us,” Another girl said, a lot snobbier than Raven, “God.”
“Calm down Robyn,” A boy said calmly.
“Oh, please shut up Finch,” Robyn snorted, “I’m trying to text my boyfriend and tell him I’m home.”
Wren covered Don’s and Teddie’s mouths with her hands and started to quicken her breathing.
“My siblings are back,” Wren whisper-shouted, “If they find us, we’re dead!”
Silence. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Well, rather than a pin, you could hear the shuffling of footsteps and the distant murmur of conversation. Wren had her hands wrapped around the mouths of her friends to stop them from blurting out the stupidest things. Teddie and Don both glanced nervously between their friend and the staircase in front of them. All three of them knew that they were going to be found sooner or later, but the question was when they would find them. Wren looked at both of her friends and realised the mistake she had made. The danger that she has put these friends in is immense. At her old school, she was seen as a bully, a delinquent. The reality was the fact that Wren wasn’t a bully, she was a protector of the weaker people who couldn’t defend themselves. She had never told anybody about what she was capable of. Now Teddie and Don knew, they probably would never look at her in the same way. Wren let out a small and quiet sigh, causing her two friends to look back at her again. All she wanted was to be left alone so she wouldn’t hurt anybody. All she wanted was to be somebody normal… she never got that. Wren began to shake, her grip loosening slightly around her friend’s mouths. These were the only people she had ever really became friends with and now she had put them in interment danger. She knew her siblings weren’t bad people, but the trouble her and her friends would get into would be immense. She probably wouldn’t be able to see the two people that made her welcome ever again. Suddenly, Wren felt something wrap around her back. She looked at Teddie and Don, who were staring at her with comforting looks, their hands wrapped around her back. Wren flashed both a weak smile, taking her hands away from their mouths and instead wrapping them around their backs. The three of them were united as best friends. None of them said anything; all remained quiet other than the voices in the distance.
“Found anything yet?” Finch yelled.
“Don’t rush us!” Robyn yelled back. Her voice was farther away, notifying to the three friends that Finch was on the first floor and Robyn was on the second floor.
“'Nothing so far' is what she meant to say,” Raven called down, also on the second floor.
“Alright,” Finch called up in reply, “keep looking.”
Finch suddenly stopped in his tracks. Turning slowly to his left, he could see the basement door. Carefully, he gave it a small tap, causing the door to creak open. Finch sighed and began walking down the stairs, hoping Wren wasn’t hiding down there. Wren quickly heard the footsteps getting nearer. She stood up and pulled Teddie and Don up with her. Before one of them could say anything, Wren carefully dragged them into the corner of the room near the staircase.
“Stay there,” Wren whisper-shouted, a forceful but worried tone to her voice.
Don nodded, grabbing hold of Teddie’s hand. Teddie’s breathing was restless; filled with worry. Wren turned around to face the table in front of her, fiddling with something on the table. Don looked at Wren with confusion, but soon saw what she was doing. The glass she was fiddling with was empty, she was only pretending. Finch reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Wren straight away.
“Wren!” Finch said, running over to his younger sister, “What are you doing down here? You know you aren’t allowed to come here unless one of us is with you.”
“Sorry,” Wren replied simply, now facing her brother, “it was important.”
“You’re just lucky that one of the others didn’t find you here,” Finch sighed, “they would have gone ballistic.”
“True,” Wren nodded.
“What did you mean by ‘it was important’?” Finch asked Wren.
“I’ll talk to you about that later,” Wren told her older brother, “while my friends aren’t here.”
Don’s and Teddie’s eyes widened as Finch turned around and locked eyes with them.
“And who are you then?” Finch asked, his tone serious.
“Uh,” Don stammered, “I’m Don and this is Teddie.”
Teddie gave a shy wave. The two werewolves were still pressed against the corner of the room.
“Do they know?” Finch asked, raising his eyebrow at Wren.
“About what I’m capable of?” Wren asked, “yes.”
“We have some serious talking to do, Wren,” Finch sighed, putting his hands in his pockets, “For now though, I should send your friends outside and get you upstairs so none of you get into too much trouble.”
“You’re not going to tell mom and dad?” Wren asked, now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Not until I find out what you were doing down here,” Finch told her, “If it’s something ‘not important’, then I’ll tell them.”
“Alright,” Wren replied simply.
“First things first,” Finch said, “We should get your friends out of here. If you two would come here please.”
Wren gave the two a look as if to say, “It’ll be ok”. Don and Teddie, still clutched onto each other’s hands, walked over to Finch. Finch held his palm out to the two werewolves, signalling for them to stay there. After grabbing some chalk from the shelf, Finch drew a circle around the two. The two friends just looked down at the white chalk, unsure about what might happen next. Finch put his hands out and closed his eyes, a purple-like black smoke just barely escaping from under his eyelids. He muttered a few words, possibly Spanish or Latin. In a flash, the chalk began to glow. As quick as a lightning bolt, everything within the circle was gone. Finch then gestured for Wren to follow him. The two siblings slowly exited the basement.
Teddie slowly opened her eyes. Don was looking down at her with a worried look on his face. Teddie sat up, putting her hand on her head. Her vision was blurry and unclear, but she could feel herself being hoisted to her feet by Don and being helped over to a nearby bench. When her vision cleared, Don was now sat next to her, his hand on her shoulder.
“W-what happened?” Teddie asked Don, her hand now resting on her forehead, “What was that? W-was that all a dream?”
“I’m afraid not,” Don sighed, “I’m just… so shocked by it all. Wolfia blackmailed? Black magic? Wren’s secret? It all seems so hard to believe. I know life is nothing short of abnormal. However, I never would have thought that all this magic malarkey was… real.
“I know right,” Teddie said, looking at the floor, “However, no matter how farfetched it may seem, we know that Wren would never lie. So… you’ll be able to help her in whatever way you can.
Don’s face quickly turned to a frown. Teddie stared down at her lap, tears filling her vision. Small sniffles and breaths gasping for air could be heard escaping from Teddie’s mouth.
“Teddie…” Don began to ask, “Are you ok?”
“N-no,” Teddie sniffled, “All of this is my fault, Don. You may not believe it, but all of this links back to me. It’s all because of how much of a failure I am. How… weak I am. If I wouldn’t have been so weak, then Aitoku would’ve never come after me. Then Wren wouldn’t have saved me. Then I wouldn’t have ever had a chance to hurt you, Wren, Wolfia, Arabella, or anyone else! All I do is cause problems and mess things up. I…I don’t know what you’re able to see in me, because I don’t see anything other than failure.”
Don grabbed onto Teddie’s right shoulder, forcing her to turn and face her. Teddie’s face was still flooded with tears dancing down her face. Don and Teddie stared at each other, Don’s face serious but also nervous.
“None of this is your fault,” Don said seriously, “You are one of the nicest people I have ever met. You’re not weak. You’re so strong that you never let anyone affect what you’re like and what you’re into. You’ve been put through a lot; none of that can be put on you. You’re not weak because you’re able to live with Miss Wilson without breaking down over your old life. You could’ve let it drive you to insanity! Instead, you kept going… that kind of attitude will make people look up to you, Teddie. Trust me when I say that you are one of the strongest people I know.”
Teddie wiped her eyes and looked at Don, a slight smile appearing on her face. Don just stared at her, his cheeks turning slightly red. Teddie then looked at the floor for a moment, a giggle emerging from her mouth. Slowly, her head moved to look at Don again.
“T-thank you, Don,” Teddie smiled slightly, grabbing onto Don’s hand, “I really needed to hear that.”
“Y-you’re welcome,” Don stammered, his face turning redder, “However, I think we might need to get some rest after… what happened with Wren. M-maybe we should move our d-date to another day? Also, instead of trying to go out, maybe we could just s-stay inside and watch anime? J-just the two of us?
“Sure,” Teddie giggled, “That would be nice.”
“Should I walk you home,” Don asked Teddie, who nodded in reply.
Raya looked at her calendar. Monday 2nd of November. Raya sighed, obviously annoyed about heading back to school. Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from her phone. Picking it up, Raya began to turn on the phone. She had one message from Mollai. It said, “Hey Raya! Loki, Bri and I can’t wait to see you. I know it was only a couple of days since we last talked, but who cares about that? Loki said I should shout at you to hurry up and get here, so I’m “shouting” at you. Haha, I’ll see you when you get here.” Raya smiled and ran down the stairs of her house, calling up to Saskya and Lhaka, who had stayed round last night.
“Saskya, Lhaka, you ready?!” Raya called up.
Quickly, Saskya and Lhaka ran down the stairs. When Raya saw them, she smiled. Lhaka looked at Saskya and nudged her forwards. Saskya took a deep breath in.
“Raya,” Saskya began to say, “We were going to… erm… we have decided to…”
“We would l-like to walk with Eryn today,” Lhaka finished shyly, “if that’s ok with you, anyway.”
“Oh,” Raya said, looking down at her feet, “That’s fine, you guys do what you want.”
“Great!” Saskya smiled, “We’ll meet you at school!”
Raya nodded, plastering a fake smile on her face. She picked up her bag from the floor and headed out, waving goodbye at Saskya and Lhaka as she left. Lhaka sighed and turned to Saskya.
“I don’t think she’s very happy that we’re doing this,” Lhaka said.
“I could tell,” Saskya nodded, “However, she said back in September that we could hang out with whoever we choose to hang out with. She also said that we could be friends with both her and Eryn.”
“True,” Lhaka replied, “However, that was roughly two months ago now.”
Saskya and Lhaka suddenly looked out the window to see Eryn, Jason, Aaron and Owen walking past their house. Raya, Saskya and Lhaka always try to leave early enough so that Raya and Eryn wouldn’t run into each other. Saskya and Lhaka ran out of the door and tried to catch up with the group.
“Eryn!” Saskya called, causing Eryn and the demons to turn around and stop in their tracks.
“Oh, hey guys,” Eryn waved, her face still expressionless, “What are you guys doing here? Aren’t you walking with Raya?”
“Well,” Lhaka began to say, “not today. We wanted to walk with you for a change, like old times.”
“Uh,” Eryn said, kind of shocked that they still considered her a friend, “I’m alright with you coming with us. It just depends on if the others are ok with it.”
“I’m alright with it,” Aaron smiled.
“S-same,” Owen nodded meekly.
“Eh, I don’t know,” Jason said admittedly, “If they hang out with Raya then they might be friends with the Dragonbloods. They could be spying on us to find out our secrets…”
“These two are not the kind of people who would do that, Jason,” Eryn sighed, “They’re about as innocent as a pair of baby birds. Besides, I trust them enough.”
“Alright…” Jason finally agreed.
“Awesome!” Saskya said joyfully.
The group began to walk together for a while, chatting and getting on well with one-another. The demons, Lhaka and Saskya got along well and they all had a lot to talk about. Their conversations trailed on.
“Hey Eryn,” Saskya began to say, “What do you think about me getting a makeover?”
“It depends,” Eryn replied, “In what way are you thinking?”
“Well,” Saskya began, “I got this really cute new hoodie that was blue, pink and white and I then thought about dying half of my hair pink. What do you think?”
“I think it will look cute, “Eryn replied simply.
“Hey Saskya, Lhaka,” Jason began to ask the two, “How do you like the Dragonbloods and Raya? Just curious…”
“Well,” Saskya began, lost in thought, “Raya and I get along really well because we’re sisters. However, she always drags the Dragonbloods with her. Mollai and Bri are kind of annoying and Loki is too hostile.”
“HEY!” Somebody shouted, causing the group to stop for a second time that day. Raya stood in the middle of the pathway, her face glared with anger. Saskya and Lhaka stepped backwards, a look of worry on their faces. Aaron and Owen also stepped away, but they didn’t have worried looks. Jason and Eryn stepped towards Raya, their faces annoyed.
“No Jason,” Eryn said simply, “This is my fight.”
Jason nodded and stepped back towards the other demons, Lhaka and Saskya.
“What are you doing here,” Eryn asked, annoyed that Raya made an appearance.
“You and your demon friends were trying to change my friend’s opinions of me!” Raya yelled, anger raging through her voice.
“We did no such thing, you imbecile,” Eryn sighed.
“I heard Jason talk about it,” Raya shouted, “I’m not death Eryn.”
“All you heard was Jason asking your friends a question,” Eryn told her, her voice slightly more annoyed, “They answered honestly. But, of course, you have to hang out with the Dragonbloods, so they’ll have to deal with it.”
“Raya,” Saskya began to ask, “what is she on about?”
“Wait, you mean Raya hasn’t told you yet?” Eryn laughed, “Oh that’s too funny! Let me enlighten your ‘friends’ then. Lhaka, Saskya, Raya has been hiding what I am about to tell you from you for ages now! She’s the Dragonblood Guardian, meaning she must protect those poor Dragonbloods from the demons. It’s such a shame that she didn’t tell you for this long!”
Raya’s jaw was wide open. The girl was speechless, unable to muster out any words. Lhaka and Saskya just stared at her in disbelief.
“Raya,” Lhaka said shakily, “How l-long have you hidden this from us?”
“I-I-I…” Raya tried to say, but the words couldn’t come out.
No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t muster a single word to come out of her mouth. Saskya pulled Lhaka back to stand with the three demon kids. Raya’s sadness and speechlessness didn’t last long, however. The reason? Those feelings had turned into unbearable rage. Without warning she ran up to Eryn and punched forwards, only to find her attack caught in the hands of her enemy.
“You’re going to wish you never tried to do that, Raya,” Eryn scowled.
Quickly, Eryn ungripped Raya’s hand and jumped out of range of another blow. Raya’s anger burned brighter. She ran towards Eryn again, this time throwing multiple punches. However, her rage caused her accuracy to mess up. Eryn quickly avoided every single punch and then returned a blow to Raya’s side, causing her to tumble over to the ground. Raya tried to get up from the floor, but her attempts were futile as Eryn tried to stomp on her with all her might. Raya rolled from side to side, trying to avoid Eryn’s foot. However, it wasn’t long before Eryn pinned her down. Raya’s eyes widened as Eryn brought her fist down onto Raya multiple times: once in the eye, three times at other parts of the head and multiple times at other parts of the body. Raya was battered and bruised, tears flooding from her eyes. Eryn took her foot away from her old friend.
“Looks like my work is done,” Eryn smirked, “Come on, guys.”
Jason, Aaron and Owen began to follow Eryn, taking sneaky glances at Raya as they did. Saskya and Lhaka walked up to Raya, tears in their eyes.
“I can’t believe you lied to us,” Saskya sighed, “Come on, Lhaka.”
The two of them left their old friend injured on the ground, crying in pain. Her whole world was crashing down around her. Her tears continued more, unable to do anything. She tried to lift herself off the ground, but she instantly fell back down again. Raya just laid there, crying herself away, when a voice called over to her.
“Raya!” Ara called, running over to her and helping her up, “Are you ok? What happened to you?”
Raya couldn’t speak; she could barely make a facial expression. Her bruises and grazes were beginning to swell, and her eye was starting to turn a disgusting purple colour. Her tears were refusing to stop flowing down her face.
“You poor thing,” Ara sighed, supporting Raya by putting one arm around her, “Come on, let’s get you to school.”
Wolfia sighed, walking towards the IT department of the school. Looking at her phone, she still couldn’t stop reading the text that Aitoku had sent her yesterday.
“Meet me at school early in the IT department, I need to talk to you about the plan I have. I also have a few rules that I want to talk about to you before you come.
1) While you are my puppet, you are forbidden to talk to Arabella DeLaney.
2) You are not allowed to run football practice and you are not allowed to tell anyone why.
3) You are not allowed to miss any meetings I ask you to have with me.
4) You are not allowed to tell anybody that you are my puppet. This rule should be obvious.
If you disobey the rules, you will be punished. Everyone will know who you are. If you don’t want that, you better follow these rules. See you at the IT department, Wolfia.”
Wolfia had no idea why fate decided to put this on her. She didn’t want to be a puppet, she wanted to be free to make her own decisions. However, as of now, she knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Wolfia made her way to the IT department and opened the door slowly, Aitoku waiting for her in the room.
“I’m glad you decided to show up,” Aitoku smiled, standing up from her chair, “I have a few things I need to talk to you about.”
“Well, you better start,” Wolfia said, “I don’t have all day."
“As long as I have these pictures, you have all the time in the world,” Aitoku sneered, “Anyway, let’s start with the plan. You remember the names on my list, right? Your job will be to befriend Eleanora, then bring her to a certain place when I tell you too. I’ll handle Jason and Mollai. Now, I have something to show you. This was in here when I walked in, any idea what it might mean?”
Aitoku handed Wolfia a white sheet of paper. The handwriting was neat and easily readable. Wolfia was impressed by the neatness of the handwriting and the all-around layout of the note. Wolfia began to read the note out loud.
“Two emeralds glow forever, glistening in the moonlight. The shining is reflected by the shadows, commanding and directing. The shadow master sees all, the shadow master knows all secrets and endings. One tragic regret, one team takedown, one epilogue. Two friends part ways and minds crumble. The world remembers, the world always does.”
Wolfia read over the note multiple times, unable to decipher it. She looked at Aitoku and shook her head. Handing the note back to the puppeteer, the two exited the room, their first meeting coming to a close.
“Found anything yet?” Finch yelled.
“Don’t rush us!” Robyn yelled back. Her voice was farther away, notifying to the three friends that Finch was on the first floor and Robyn was on the second floor.
“'Nothing so far' is what she meant to say,” Raven called down, also on the second floor.
“Alright,” Finch called up in reply, “keep looking.”
Finch suddenly stopped in his tracks. Turning slowly to his left, he could see the basement door. Carefully, he gave it a small tap, causing the door to creak open. Finch sighed and began walking down the stairs, hoping Wren wasn’t hiding down there. Wren quickly heard the footsteps getting nearer. She stood up and pulled Teddie and Don up with her. Before one of them could say anything, Wren carefully dragged them into the corner of the room near the staircase.
“Stay there,” Wren whisper-shouted, a forceful but worried tone to her voice.
Don nodded, grabbing hold of Teddie’s hand. Teddie’s breathing was restless; filled with worry. Wren turned around to face the table in front of her, fiddling with something on the table. Don looked at Wren with confusion, but soon saw what she was doing. The glass she was fiddling with was empty, she was only pretending. Finch reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Wren straight away.
“Wren!” Finch said, running over to his younger sister, “What are you doing down here? You know you aren’t allowed to come here unless one of us is with you.”
“Sorry,” Wren replied simply, now facing her brother, “it was important.”
“You’re just lucky that one of the others didn’t find you here,” Finch sighed, “they would have gone ballistic.”
“True,” Wren nodded.
“What did you mean by ‘it was important’?” Finch asked Wren.
“I’ll talk to you about that later,” Wren told her older brother, “while my friends aren’t here.”
Don’s and Teddie’s eyes widened as Finch turned around and locked eyes with them.
“And who are you then?” Finch asked, his tone serious.
“Uh,” Don stammered, “I’m Don and this is Teddie.”
Teddie gave a shy wave. The two werewolves were still pressed against the corner of the room.
“Do they know?” Finch asked, raising his eyebrow at Wren.
“About what I’m capable of?” Wren asked, “yes.”
“We have some serious talking to do, Wren,” Finch sighed, putting his hands in his pockets, “For now though, I should send your friends outside and get you upstairs so none of you get into too much trouble.”
“You’re not going to tell mom and dad?” Wren asked, now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Not until I find out what you were doing down here,” Finch told her, “If it’s something ‘not important’, then I’ll tell them.”
“Alright,” Wren replied simply.
“First things first,” Finch said, “We should get your friends out of here. If you two would come here please.”
Wren gave the two a look as if to say, “It’ll be ok”. Don and Teddie, still clutched onto each other’s hands, walked over to Finch. Finch held his palm out to the two werewolves, signalling for them to stay there. After grabbing some chalk from the shelf, Finch drew a circle around the two. The two friends just looked down at the white chalk, unsure about what might happen next. Finch put his hands out and closed his eyes, a purple-like black smoke just barely escaping from under his eyelids. He muttered a few words, possibly Spanish or Latin. In a flash, the chalk began to glow. As quick as a lightning bolt, everything within the circle was gone. Finch then gestured for Wren to follow him. The two siblings slowly exited the basement.
Teddie slowly opened her eyes. Don was looking down at her with a worried look on his face. Teddie sat up, putting her hand on her head. Her vision was blurry and unclear, but she could feel herself being hoisted to her feet by Don and being helped over to a nearby bench. When her vision cleared, Don was now sat next to her, his hand on her shoulder.
“W-what happened?” Teddie asked Don, her hand now resting on her forehead, “What was that? W-was that all a dream?”
“I’m afraid not,” Don sighed, “I’m just… so shocked by it all. Wolfia blackmailed? Black magic? Wren’s secret? It all seems so hard to believe. I know life is nothing short of abnormal. However, I never would have thought that all this magic malarkey was… real.
“I know right,” Teddie said, looking at the floor, “However, no matter how farfetched it may seem, we know that Wren would never lie. So… you’ll be able to help her in whatever way you can.
Don’s face quickly turned to a frown. Teddie stared down at her lap, tears filling her vision. Small sniffles and breaths gasping for air could be heard escaping from Teddie’s mouth.
“Teddie…” Don began to ask, “Are you ok?”
“N-no,” Teddie sniffled, “All of this is my fault, Don. You may not believe it, but all of this links back to me. It’s all because of how much of a failure I am. How… weak I am. If I wouldn’t have been so weak, then Aitoku would’ve never come after me. Then Wren wouldn’t have saved me. Then I wouldn’t have ever had a chance to hurt you, Wren, Wolfia, Arabella, or anyone else! All I do is cause problems and mess things up. I…I don’t know what you’re able to see in me, because I don’t see anything other than failure.”
Don grabbed onto Teddie’s right shoulder, forcing her to turn and face her. Teddie’s face was still flooded with tears dancing down her face. Don and Teddie stared at each other, Don’s face serious but also nervous.
“None of this is your fault,” Don said seriously, “You are one of the nicest people I have ever met. You’re not weak. You’re so strong that you never let anyone affect what you’re like and what you’re into. You’ve been put through a lot; none of that can be put on you. You’re not weak because you’re able to live with Miss Wilson without breaking down over your old life. You could’ve let it drive you to insanity! Instead, you kept going… that kind of attitude will make people look up to you, Teddie. Trust me when I say that you are one of the strongest people I know.”
Teddie wiped her eyes and looked at Don, a slight smile appearing on her face. Don just stared at her, his cheeks turning slightly red. Teddie then looked at the floor for a moment, a giggle emerging from her mouth. Slowly, her head moved to look at Don again.
“T-thank you, Don,” Teddie smiled slightly, grabbing onto Don’s hand, “I really needed to hear that.”
“Y-you’re welcome,” Don stammered, his face turning redder, “However, I think we might need to get some rest after… what happened with Wren. M-maybe we should move our d-date to another day? Also, instead of trying to go out, maybe we could just s-stay inside and watch anime? J-just the two of us?
“Sure,” Teddie giggled, “That would be nice.”
“Should I walk you home,” Don asked Teddie, who nodded in reply.
Raya looked at her calendar. Monday 2nd of November. Raya sighed, obviously annoyed about heading back to school. Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from her phone. Picking it up, Raya began to turn on the phone. She had one message from Mollai. It said, “Hey Raya! Loki, Bri and I can’t wait to see you. I know it was only a couple of days since we last talked, but who cares about that? Loki said I should shout at you to hurry up and get here, so I’m “shouting” at you. Haha, I’ll see you when you get here.” Raya smiled and ran down the stairs of her house, calling up to Saskya and Lhaka, who had stayed round last night.
“Saskya, Lhaka, you ready?!” Raya called up.
Quickly, Saskya and Lhaka ran down the stairs. When Raya saw them, she smiled. Lhaka looked at Saskya and nudged her forwards. Saskya took a deep breath in.
“Raya,” Saskya began to say, “We were going to… erm… we have decided to…”
“We would l-like to walk with Eryn today,” Lhaka finished shyly, “if that’s ok with you, anyway.”
“Oh,” Raya said, looking down at her feet, “That’s fine, you guys do what you want.”
“Great!” Saskya smiled, “We’ll meet you at school!”
Raya nodded, plastering a fake smile on her face. She picked up her bag from the floor and headed out, waving goodbye at Saskya and Lhaka as she left. Lhaka sighed and turned to Saskya.
“I don’t think she’s very happy that we’re doing this,” Lhaka said.
“I could tell,” Saskya nodded, “However, she said back in September that we could hang out with whoever we choose to hang out with. She also said that we could be friends with both her and Eryn.”
“True,” Lhaka replied, “However, that was roughly two months ago now.”
Saskya and Lhaka suddenly looked out the window to see Eryn, Jason, Aaron and Owen walking past their house. Raya, Saskya and Lhaka always try to leave early enough so that Raya and Eryn wouldn’t run into each other. Saskya and Lhaka ran out of the door and tried to catch up with the group.
“Eryn!” Saskya called, causing Eryn and the demons to turn around and stop in their tracks.
“Oh, hey guys,” Eryn waved, her face still expressionless, “What are you guys doing here? Aren’t you walking with Raya?”
“Well,” Lhaka began to say, “not today. We wanted to walk with you for a change, like old times.”
“Uh,” Eryn said, kind of shocked that they still considered her a friend, “I’m alright with you coming with us. It just depends on if the others are ok with it.”
“I’m alright with it,” Aaron smiled.
“S-same,” Owen nodded meekly.
“Eh, I don’t know,” Jason said admittedly, “If they hang out with Raya then they might be friends with the Dragonbloods. They could be spying on us to find out our secrets…”
“These two are not the kind of people who would do that, Jason,” Eryn sighed, “They’re about as innocent as a pair of baby birds. Besides, I trust them enough.”
“Alright…” Jason finally agreed.
“Awesome!” Saskya said joyfully.
The group began to walk together for a while, chatting and getting on well with one-another. The demons, Lhaka and Saskya got along well and they all had a lot to talk about. Their conversations trailed on.
“Hey Eryn,” Saskya began to say, “What do you think about me getting a makeover?”
“It depends,” Eryn replied, “In what way are you thinking?”
“Well,” Saskya began, “I got this really cute new hoodie that was blue, pink and white and I then thought about dying half of my hair pink. What do you think?”
“I think it will look cute, “Eryn replied simply.
“Hey Saskya, Lhaka,” Jason began to ask the two, “How do you like the Dragonbloods and Raya? Just curious…”
“Well,” Saskya began, lost in thought, “Raya and I get along really well because we’re sisters. However, she always drags the Dragonbloods with her. Mollai and Bri are kind of annoying and Loki is too hostile.”
“HEY!” Somebody shouted, causing the group to stop for a second time that day. Raya stood in the middle of the pathway, her face glared with anger. Saskya and Lhaka stepped backwards, a look of worry on their faces. Aaron and Owen also stepped away, but they didn’t have worried looks. Jason and Eryn stepped towards Raya, their faces annoyed.
“No Jason,” Eryn said simply, “This is my fight.”
Jason nodded and stepped back towards the other demons, Lhaka and Saskya.
“What are you doing here,” Eryn asked, annoyed that Raya made an appearance.
“You and your demon friends were trying to change my friend’s opinions of me!” Raya yelled, anger raging through her voice.
“We did no such thing, you imbecile,” Eryn sighed.
“I heard Jason talk about it,” Raya shouted, “I’m not death Eryn.”
“All you heard was Jason asking your friends a question,” Eryn told her, her voice slightly more annoyed, “They answered honestly. But, of course, you have to hang out with the Dragonbloods, so they’ll have to deal with it.”
“Raya,” Saskya began to ask, “what is she on about?”
“Wait, you mean Raya hasn’t told you yet?” Eryn laughed, “Oh that’s too funny! Let me enlighten your ‘friends’ then. Lhaka, Saskya, Raya has been hiding what I am about to tell you from you for ages now! She’s the Dragonblood Guardian, meaning she must protect those poor Dragonbloods from the demons. It’s such a shame that she didn’t tell you for this long!”
Raya’s jaw was wide open. The girl was speechless, unable to muster out any words. Lhaka and Saskya just stared at her in disbelief.
“Raya,” Lhaka said shakily, “How l-long have you hidden this from us?”
“I-I-I…” Raya tried to say, but the words couldn’t come out.
No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t muster a single word to come out of her mouth. Saskya pulled Lhaka back to stand with the three demon kids. Raya’s sadness and speechlessness didn’t last long, however. The reason? Those feelings had turned into unbearable rage. Without warning she ran up to Eryn and punched forwards, only to find her attack caught in the hands of her enemy.
“You’re going to wish you never tried to do that, Raya,” Eryn scowled.
Quickly, Eryn ungripped Raya’s hand and jumped out of range of another blow. Raya’s anger burned brighter. She ran towards Eryn again, this time throwing multiple punches. However, her rage caused her accuracy to mess up. Eryn quickly avoided every single punch and then returned a blow to Raya’s side, causing her to tumble over to the ground. Raya tried to get up from the floor, but her attempts were futile as Eryn tried to stomp on her with all her might. Raya rolled from side to side, trying to avoid Eryn’s foot. However, it wasn’t long before Eryn pinned her down. Raya’s eyes widened as Eryn brought her fist down onto Raya multiple times: once in the eye, three times at other parts of the head and multiple times at other parts of the body. Raya was battered and bruised, tears flooding from her eyes. Eryn took her foot away from her old friend.
“Looks like my work is done,” Eryn smirked, “Come on, guys.”
Jason, Aaron and Owen began to follow Eryn, taking sneaky glances at Raya as they did. Saskya and Lhaka walked up to Raya, tears in their eyes.
“I can’t believe you lied to us,” Saskya sighed, “Come on, Lhaka.”
The two of them left their old friend injured on the ground, crying in pain. Her whole world was crashing down around her. Her tears continued more, unable to do anything. She tried to lift herself off the ground, but she instantly fell back down again. Raya just laid there, crying herself away, when a voice called over to her.
“Raya!” Ara called, running over to her and helping her up, “Are you ok? What happened to you?”
Raya couldn’t speak; she could barely make a facial expression. Her bruises and grazes were beginning to swell, and her eye was starting to turn a disgusting purple colour. Her tears were refusing to stop flowing down her face.
“You poor thing,” Ara sighed, supporting Raya by putting one arm around her, “Come on, let’s get you to school.”
Wolfia sighed, walking towards the IT department of the school. Looking at her phone, she still couldn’t stop reading the text that Aitoku had sent her yesterday.
“Meet me at school early in the IT department, I need to talk to you about the plan I have. I also have a few rules that I want to talk about to you before you come.
1) While you are my puppet, you are forbidden to talk to Arabella DeLaney.
2) You are not allowed to run football practice and you are not allowed to tell anyone why.
3) You are not allowed to miss any meetings I ask you to have with me.
4) You are not allowed to tell anybody that you are my puppet. This rule should be obvious.
If you disobey the rules, you will be punished. Everyone will know who you are. If you don’t want that, you better follow these rules. See you at the IT department, Wolfia.”
Wolfia had no idea why fate decided to put this on her. She didn’t want to be a puppet, she wanted to be free to make her own decisions. However, as of now, she knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Wolfia made her way to the IT department and opened the door slowly, Aitoku waiting for her in the room.
“I’m glad you decided to show up,” Aitoku smiled, standing up from her chair, “I have a few things I need to talk to you about.”
“Well, you better start,” Wolfia said, “I don’t have all day."
“As long as I have these pictures, you have all the time in the world,” Aitoku sneered, “Anyway, let’s start with the plan. You remember the names on my list, right? Your job will be to befriend Eleanora, then bring her to a certain place when I tell you too. I’ll handle Jason and Mollai. Now, I have something to show you. This was in here when I walked in, any idea what it might mean?”
Aitoku handed Wolfia a white sheet of paper. The handwriting was neat and easily readable. Wolfia was impressed by the neatness of the handwriting and the all-around layout of the note. Wolfia began to read the note out loud.
“Two emeralds glow forever, glistening in the moonlight. The shining is reflected by the shadows, commanding and directing. The shadow master sees all, the shadow master knows all secrets and endings. One tragic regret, one team takedown, one epilogue. Two friends part ways and minds crumble. The world remembers, the world always does.”
Wolfia read over the note multiple times, unable to decipher it. She looked at Aitoku and shook her head. Handing the note back to the puppeteer, the two exited the room, their first meeting coming to a close.
"Ack!"
Raya winced as the freezing cold ice pack was placed on her arm. Ara grasped onto her hand, trying to help Raya know that she wasn't alone. After the fight with Eryn, Raya's skin was left battered: bruises, grazes and cuts clearly visible. Ara was extremely worried about Raya's health, both physically and mentally.
"It looks like you haven’t broken any bones," The nurse told Raya, "However, you will definitely need to take it easy. You stay here with your friend until you feel better. I'll go and tell the year office that you're here."
Raya and Ara nodded as the nurse exited the medical room. Raya let out a heavy sigh, her aches and pains stinging.
"Who hurt you?" Ara asked, knowing that asking if she was ok was a pointless question to ask.
Raya remained quiet. Ara turned her head, now looking at Raya. What Ara didn't expect was a sudden noise. A sob, escaping from Raya's mouth with eyes filled with tears. Ara put her hand on Raya's shoulder, trying her best to comfort the werewolf girl. Just the other day, she was so cheery and bubbly. Ara wondered who could have made her that sad. However, Ara knew that she and Raya didn't talk much.
"Raya!" A familiar voice called over.
Mollai, along with Loki and Bri, ran over to their friend, worried looks on their faces. Raya looked up at her friends, which only caused her to cry even more. Bri carefully wrapped her arms around Raya, comforting her friend as much as she can. Mollai turned to Ara.
"Thank you so much for your help," Mollai smiled, "but we can take it from here."
Ara nodded, keeping her uneasiness inside of her. Ara exited the room, wishing she could have done more to help. Mollai sat where Ara once had, resting her hand on Raya's thigh. Loki sat next to Mollai and Bri sat on the other side of Raya.
"What happened Raya?" Bri asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Who do I need to beat up?" Loki chipped in, cracking his knuckles.
"You don't need to beat anyone up, Loki," Raya said, wiping her eyes, "It was Eryn who..."
"So, Eryn's the one we need to beat up!" Loki growled, "I had a feeling those demons did this, they ruin everything."
"N-no," Raya stammered, "You don't need to hurt anyone."
Raya breathed in and out heavily, trying hard to find a way to get her thoughts across to her friends.
"At least tell us what happened, Raya," Mollai said with a comforting tone.
"Well," Raya began, her voice shaky, "Lhaka and Saskya wanted to walk with Eryn today. Now I wasn't alright with this, but they do have the freedom to hang out with whoever they want to. However, I listened in just in case one of the demons tried to ruin my friendship with them. I heard Jason talk about me, so I knew I couldn't let it stand. However, Eryn was acting... abnormal. It might be because of the influence the demons have had on her, but I know for a fact that Eryn never hurts someone on the ground unless they are armed. She also prefers to do it without saying a word. That wasn't the case. Not only did she expose my secret to Lhaka and Saskya, but she also hurt me while I was on the ground, clearly not fit to fight. I would love to think that, behind this mask that the demons have obviously made her wear, she's still the same person I've been friends with for the past three years."
Mollai, Bri and Loki nodded.
"Hey," Bri said to Raya, "who knows? Eryn might feel the same way."
The loud chatter filled the dining hall. Lhaka and Saskya sat next to Owen and Jason, thanking them for allowing them to sit with them. Eryn rested her head on hand, looking down at the table. A small sigh escaped from her mouth.
"Hey Eryn," Jason called over to her, "you ok?"
"Yeah," Eryn told him bluntly, "just... tired."
Jason nodded, turning back around to talk to Owen, Saskya and Lhaka. Aaron, however, was still focused on Eryn.
"You're not tired," Aaron said to her, moving to the seat next to her, "you're upset, I can tell."
Eryn looked up at Aaron and then shrugged, breaking eye contact.
"Do you want to go somewhere private and talk about it?" Aaron asked, his voice caring.
Eryn nodded, still not looking Aaron in the eyes. Aaron put his hand out to Eryn, but she pushed it away gently. The two of them got up out of their seats and snuck off; it was like they had never left. Aaron led Eryn out of the dining hall and into the hallways. Soon after, Aaron brought Eryn into a small cleaning closet, filled with shelves full of cleaning utensils. Aaron sat down against the wall, patting the space next to him for her to sit down. Eryn shook her head, instead leaning her back against the wall. Aaron opened his mouth, but Eryn was the first one to speak.
"How did you know?" Eryn asked him, looking down at the floor, "How did you know that I wasn't acting like… myself?"
"Let’s just say that I'm pretty good at paying attention to other people's emotions," Aaron replied, "And I could tell that something was up when you were fighting with Raya. You were acting completely different, and you broke some of your strongest morals. What happened?"
"W-well," Eryn sighed, still looking at the floor, "Do you remember how I told you about my past; my parents? I-it felt like they were there... It felt like they were pressuring me, just like before. I could hear their voices in my head, fogging my thoughts. They were telling me to kill her, keep attacking. Even after she was down. I only stopped hurting Raya after those voices had gone away. I hid their voices by acting tough even after I had stopped hurting Raya. They also told me to torture my target, make t-them pay, so I exposed her to Saskya and Lhaka. B-but... T-they- I... I thought they were going to hurt me again!"
Eryn slumped down next to Aaron, now in tears. Aaron knew that these voices were probably caused by PTSD or something along those lines. He put his hand on Eryn's shoulder. He could feel her shaking, he could hear the sobs escaping even louder. He moved his arm from her shoulder and slowly wrapped it around her back. To his surprise, she didn't push his arm away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Aaron. Aaron was taken aback by the sudden mood swing, a massive change from Eryn's usual emotionless personality. Was this also caused by PTSD? Aaron thought carefully, then it hit him. She just needed someone to be there for her when nobody else was there, and that person was him. He smiled slightly as the two sat there with each other. Suddenly, Eryn pulled away and looked at the floor, her hands resting on her lap.
"I-I’ve been wondering," Eryn began, "I've been wondering if Raya's been missing the old days like I’ve been. After school, me, her, Saskya and Lhaka would always head down by the lake near the park, telling stories and messing around. Lhaka would really come out of her shell then, joking around just as much as Saskya did. None of them knew... about who I was. Only you, Jason and Owen know about that. Sometimes, I just wish..."
"Do you know what I think?" Aaron cut in, causing Eryn to face him, "I think that the Dragonbloods never started the war. Irrational, I know. However, the way that both species acts indicate that both sides feel strongly about what they're saying. Neither side hints at lying. I think someone, or something, stole the relics from both realms to start the dispute so they could flee the scene without any suspicion."
"That makes sense, actually," Eryn said, lost in thought, "So, that means some person would have to have stolen these artefacts and... wait, what are these artefacts?"
"I'm not sure about Pekelo," Aaron told Eryn, "But where I live, we have the legendary star of Nemrakt. It might just be a star-shaped stone. However, legend states that it has the power of a legendary beast locked away inside."
"Wow," Eryn said, before changing the subject, "Aaron, can you promise me that you won't tell anyone about this conversation?"
"Of course," Aaron nodded, not even breaking a sweat, "we should probably head back now anyway."
Eryn nodded as both lifted themselves off the floor. With smiles on their faces and moulds broken, the two exit the room.
Nemrakt was a scorching place, filled with lava and monsters that had an undying lust for blood. The only good species that lived around Nemrakt were the demon people who usually lived in big cities or towns where the monsters were non-existent. The corrupt air of Nemrakt could turn any human into a demon in about an hour. In the middle of nowhere, a girl came out of a portal that was carved into the edge of the cliff face. Her plats bouncing against her back, her book still grasped in her hands, as well as a bag of marshmallows. Eleanora opened the door to her small cobblestone home, sat on the top of a small hill near a lava lake. She threw her bag down next to the door, a sigh escaping from her mouth. A small white dog bounded up to her, greeting its friend. Eleanora simply brushed her hand along her dog’s back before walking up to a small cupboard under her staircase, taking out a few logs of wood from there. Walking outside, she dropped the wood into a pile on the red-rocked floor. She stepped back a bit and took a deep breath, lifting the palm of her hand towards the clump of timber. A few sparks of light began to disperse from her hand, then a whole ball of heat and light shot out, lighting the wood on fire. The campfire was made. A mysterious grin shaped on Eleanora’s face, the fire crackling strongly within the heat of Nemrakt. Eleanora sat cross-legged in front of the fire, feeling the sparks of heat touch her face gently.
“Ellie!” A voice called over to her.
Eleanora turned her head to the source of the voice. A boy was running over to her, a sword slung onto his back by a sheath. His hear was ginger, like Eleanora’s, and was spiked over to the right. His eyes were emerald green and freckles dotted his face. Like Eleanora, he wore a black jacket and a white shirt. He also had blue shorts and brown trainers. The boy had a slab of meat in hand and blood splatters on his face and shirt. The blood obviously belonged to the beast that had been the source of the meat he was carrying. The boy finally came up to Eleanora, holding up the shank of meat.
“I caught dinner,” he smiled, “did you bring it?”
Eleanora nodded, holding up the bag of assorted pink and white marshmallows. The boy’s eyes glistened.
“Great job, sis!” he said, sitting down next to the fire, facing opposite her. He then wiped the patch of blood off his face with his jacket sleeve.
“Valdus,” Eleanora began to ask, “Where exactly did this meat come from?”
“A pig mutant,” Valdus shrugged as he held the shank of meat over the fire to cook, his tail curling onto his lap, “Anything interesting happen to you at school today?”
“Eh, not really,” Eleanora sighed, “Same old same old… loneliness… another day without a friend.”
“Maybe it’s because you’ve always had your head stuck in your diary,” Valdus pointed out.
“First of all, it’s a journal, not a diary,” Eleanora stated, “Second, I’m just careful with who gets close to me. Like, someone approached me before the Halloween break and…”
“You mean someone said hi to you?” Valdus said in shock, sitting up, “Who? What happened?”
“Well, that’s the problem…” Eleanora trailed off.
Valdus stared at her, a signal for her to continue. Meanwhile, Valdus took the meat off the fire and began to slowly carve away at the meat with his sword, handing some of it to his younger sister.
“The guy who spoke to me was nice, but I’m awkward anyway,” Eleanora signed, “Also, it was Jason Moon so…”
“WHAT!” Valdus interrupted, almost spitting out the chunk of meat that was in his mouth, “You mean the prince of Nemrakt. Eleanora you know overworld travellers who turn into demons are technically fugitives and are meant to be executed to prevent overworld substances from getting to Nemrakt, right? We’re here illegally, so going anywhere near that guy and the other pure demons is a bad idea.”
“I didn’t go near him, he came up to me,” Eleanora told him.
“Still though, it’s risky biz,” Valdus said, scratching his head and almost pricking his hand on his horn.
“You want to forget about this and enjoy the marshmallows I brought over?” Eleanora smiled, handing him the bag of marshmallows.
“You bet!” Valdus smiled, “I haven’t had marshmallows in forever!”
Valdus stuck a handful of mallows into his mouth, his eyes sparkling over the taste.
“These mallows remind me of Lily,” Eleanora sighed, “she used to have a massive craving for them…”
“Ellie, I’ve said this to you before and I’ll say it again,” Valdus said, “We can’t look back on the past, it’ll only hurt us. It still haunts me to this day that I was never able to save her… Your friend saved us that day, Ellie. And now we have to let her loss empower us, not make us sad. Let’s just stay happy, alright?”
Eleanora picked up her head and gave a slight smile, a small tear specked in her eye. The two dug into what food they had, as they know eating well was an unusual luxury. It was hard for Valdus to find fresh meat that wasn’t rotten in Nemrakt without going into the demon colonies and risking getting caught. Eleanora may have a part-time job in the overworld, but that usually doesn’t get them much. However, as long as they had each other, Eleanora knew they would be fine.
Raya winced as the freezing cold ice pack was placed on her arm. Ara grasped onto her hand, trying to help Raya know that she wasn't alone. After the fight with Eryn, Raya's skin was left battered: bruises, grazes and cuts clearly visible. Ara was extremely worried about Raya's health, both physically and mentally.
"It looks like you haven’t broken any bones," The nurse told Raya, "However, you will definitely need to take it easy. You stay here with your friend until you feel better. I'll go and tell the year office that you're here."
Raya and Ara nodded as the nurse exited the medical room. Raya let out a heavy sigh, her aches and pains stinging.
"Who hurt you?" Ara asked, knowing that asking if she was ok was a pointless question to ask.
Raya remained quiet. Ara turned her head, now looking at Raya. What Ara didn't expect was a sudden noise. A sob, escaping from Raya's mouth with eyes filled with tears. Ara put her hand on Raya's shoulder, trying her best to comfort the werewolf girl. Just the other day, she was so cheery and bubbly. Ara wondered who could have made her that sad. However, Ara knew that she and Raya didn't talk much.
"Raya!" A familiar voice called over.
Mollai, along with Loki and Bri, ran over to their friend, worried looks on their faces. Raya looked up at her friends, which only caused her to cry even more. Bri carefully wrapped her arms around Raya, comforting her friend as much as she can. Mollai turned to Ara.
"Thank you so much for your help," Mollai smiled, "but we can take it from here."
Ara nodded, keeping her uneasiness inside of her. Ara exited the room, wishing she could have done more to help. Mollai sat where Ara once had, resting her hand on Raya's thigh. Loki sat next to Mollai and Bri sat on the other side of Raya.
"What happened Raya?" Bri asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Who do I need to beat up?" Loki chipped in, cracking his knuckles.
"You don't need to beat anyone up, Loki," Raya said, wiping her eyes, "It was Eryn who..."
"So, Eryn's the one we need to beat up!" Loki growled, "I had a feeling those demons did this, they ruin everything."
"N-no," Raya stammered, "You don't need to hurt anyone."
Raya breathed in and out heavily, trying hard to find a way to get her thoughts across to her friends.
"At least tell us what happened, Raya," Mollai said with a comforting tone.
"Well," Raya began, her voice shaky, "Lhaka and Saskya wanted to walk with Eryn today. Now I wasn't alright with this, but they do have the freedom to hang out with whoever they want to. However, I listened in just in case one of the demons tried to ruin my friendship with them. I heard Jason talk about me, so I knew I couldn't let it stand. However, Eryn was acting... abnormal. It might be because of the influence the demons have had on her, but I know for a fact that Eryn never hurts someone on the ground unless they are armed. She also prefers to do it without saying a word. That wasn't the case. Not only did she expose my secret to Lhaka and Saskya, but she also hurt me while I was on the ground, clearly not fit to fight. I would love to think that, behind this mask that the demons have obviously made her wear, she's still the same person I've been friends with for the past three years."
Mollai, Bri and Loki nodded.
"Hey," Bri said to Raya, "who knows? Eryn might feel the same way."
The loud chatter filled the dining hall. Lhaka and Saskya sat next to Owen and Jason, thanking them for allowing them to sit with them. Eryn rested her head on hand, looking down at the table. A small sigh escaped from her mouth.
"Hey Eryn," Jason called over to her, "you ok?"
"Yeah," Eryn told him bluntly, "just... tired."
Jason nodded, turning back around to talk to Owen, Saskya and Lhaka. Aaron, however, was still focused on Eryn.
"You're not tired," Aaron said to her, moving to the seat next to her, "you're upset, I can tell."
Eryn looked up at Aaron and then shrugged, breaking eye contact.
"Do you want to go somewhere private and talk about it?" Aaron asked, his voice caring.
Eryn nodded, still not looking Aaron in the eyes. Aaron put his hand out to Eryn, but she pushed it away gently. The two of them got up out of their seats and snuck off; it was like they had never left. Aaron led Eryn out of the dining hall and into the hallways. Soon after, Aaron brought Eryn into a small cleaning closet, filled with shelves full of cleaning utensils. Aaron sat down against the wall, patting the space next to him for her to sit down. Eryn shook her head, instead leaning her back against the wall. Aaron opened his mouth, but Eryn was the first one to speak.
"How did you know?" Eryn asked him, looking down at the floor, "How did you know that I wasn't acting like… myself?"
"Let’s just say that I'm pretty good at paying attention to other people's emotions," Aaron replied, "And I could tell that something was up when you were fighting with Raya. You were acting completely different, and you broke some of your strongest morals. What happened?"
"W-well," Eryn sighed, still looking at the floor, "Do you remember how I told you about my past; my parents? I-it felt like they were there... It felt like they were pressuring me, just like before. I could hear their voices in my head, fogging my thoughts. They were telling me to kill her, keep attacking. Even after she was down. I only stopped hurting Raya after those voices had gone away. I hid their voices by acting tough even after I had stopped hurting Raya. They also told me to torture my target, make t-them pay, so I exposed her to Saskya and Lhaka. B-but... T-they- I... I thought they were going to hurt me again!"
Eryn slumped down next to Aaron, now in tears. Aaron knew that these voices were probably caused by PTSD or something along those lines. He put his hand on Eryn's shoulder. He could feel her shaking, he could hear the sobs escaping even louder. He moved his arm from her shoulder and slowly wrapped it around her back. To his surprise, she didn't push his arm away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Aaron. Aaron was taken aback by the sudden mood swing, a massive change from Eryn's usual emotionless personality. Was this also caused by PTSD? Aaron thought carefully, then it hit him. She just needed someone to be there for her when nobody else was there, and that person was him. He smiled slightly as the two sat there with each other. Suddenly, Eryn pulled away and looked at the floor, her hands resting on her lap.
"I-I’ve been wondering," Eryn began, "I've been wondering if Raya's been missing the old days like I’ve been. After school, me, her, Saskya and Lhaka would always head down by the lake near the park, telling stories and messing around. Lhaka would really come out of her shell then, joking around just as much as Saskya did. None of them knew... about who I was. Only you, Jason and Owen know about that. Sometimes, I just wish..."
"Do you know what I think?" Aaron cut in, causing Eryn to face him, "I think that the Dragonbloods never started the war. Irrational, I know. However, the way that both species acts indicate that both sides feel strongly about what they're saying. Neither side hints at lying. I think someone, or something, stole the relics from both realms to start the dispute so they could flee the scene without any suspicion."
"That makes sense, actually," Eryn said, lost in thought, "So, that means some person would have to have stolen these artefacts and... wait, what are these artefacts?"
"I'm not sure about Pekelo," Aaron told Eryn, "But where I live, we have the legendary star of Nemrakt. It might just be a star-shaped stone. However, legend states that it has the power of a legendary beast locked away inside."
"Wow," Eryn said, before changing the subject, "Aaron, can you promise me that you won't tell anyone about this conversation?"
"Of course," Aaron nodded, not even breaking a sweat, "we should probably head back now anyway."
Eryn nodded as both lifted themselves off the floor. With smiles on their faces and moulds broken, the two exit the room.
Nemrakt was a scorching place, filled with lava and monsters that had an undying lust for blood. The only good species that lived around Nemrakt were the demon people who usually lived in big cities or towns where the monsters were non-existent. The corrupt air of Nemrakt could turn any human into a demon in about an hour. In the middle of nowhere, a girl came out of a portal that was carved into the edge of the cliff face. Her plats bouncing against her back, her book still grasped in her hands, as well as a bag of marshmallows. Eleanora opened the door to her small cobblestone home, sat on the top of a small hill near a lava lake. She threw her bag down next to the door, a sigh escaping from her mouth. A small white dog bounded up to her, greeting its friend. Eleanora simply brushed her hand along her dog’s back before walking up to a small cupboard under her staircase, taking out a few logs of wood from there. Walking outside, she dropped the wood into a pile on the red-rocked floor. She stepped back a bit and took a deep breath, lifting the palm of her hand towards the clump of timber. A few sparks of light began to disperse from her hand, then a whole ball of heat and light shot out, lighting the wood on fire. The campfire was made. A mysterious grin shaped on Eleanora’s face, the fire crackling strongly within the heat of Nemrakt. Eleanora sat cross-legged in front of the fire, feeling the sparks of heat touch her face gently.
“Ellie!” A voice called over to her.
Eleanora turned her head to the source of the voice. A boy was running over to her, a sword slung onto his back by a sheath. His hear was ginger, like Eleanora’s, and was spiked over to the right. His eyes were emerald green and freckles dotted his face. Like Eleanora, he wore a black jacket and a white shirt. He also had blue shorts and brown trainers. The boy had a slab of meat in hand and blood splatters on his face and shirt. The blood obviously belonged to the beast that had been the source of the meat he was carrying. The boy finally came up to Eleanora, holding up the shank of meat.
“I caught dinner,” he smiled, “did you bring it?”
Eleanora nodded, holding up the bag of assorted pink and white marshmallows. The boy’s eyes glistened.
“Great job, sis!” he said, sitting down next to the fire, facing opposite her. He then wiped the patch of blood off his face with his jacket sleeve.
“Valdus,” Eleanora began to ask, “Where exactly did this meat come from?”
“A pig mutant,” Valdus shrugged as he held the shank of meat over the fire to cook, his tail curling onto his lap, “Anything interesting happen to you at school today?”
“Eh, not really,” Eleanora sighed, “Same old same old… loneliness… another day without a friend.”
“Maybe it’s because you’ve always had your head stuck in your diary,” Valdus pointed out.
“First of all, it’s a journal, not a diary,” Eleanora stated, “Second, I’m just careful with who gets close to me. Like, someone approached me before the Halloween break and…”
“You mean someone said hi to you?” Valdus said in shock, sitting up, “Who? What happened?”
“Well, that’s the problem…” Eleanora trailed off.
Valdus stared at her, a signal for her to continue. Meanwhile, Valdus took the meat off the fire and began to slowly carve away at the meat with his sword, handing some of it to his younger sister.
“The guy who spoke to me was nice, but I’m awkward anyway,” Eleanora signed, “Also, it was Jason Moon so…”
“WHAT!” Valdus interrupted, almost spitting out the chunk of meat that was in his mouth, “You mean the prince of Nemrakt. Eleanora you know overworld travellers who turn into demons are technically fugitives and are meant to be executed to prevent overworld substances from getting to Nemrakt, right? We’re here illegally, so going anywhere near that guy and the other pure demons is a bad idea.”
“I didn’t go near him, he came up to me,” Eleanora told him.
“Still though, it’s risky biz,” Valdus said, scratching his head and almost pricking his hand on his horn.
“You want to forget about this and enjoy the marshmallows I brought over?” Eleanora smiled, handing him the bag of marshmallows.
“You bet!” Valdus smiled, “I haven’t had marshmallows in forever!”
Valdus stuck a handful of mallows into his mouth, his eyes sparkling over the taste.
“These mallows remind me of Lily,” Eleanora sighed, “she used to have a massive craving for them…”
“Ellie, I’ve said this to you before and I’ll say it again,” Valdus said, “We can’t look back on the past, it’ll only hurt us. It still haunts me to this day that I was never able to save her… Your friend saved us that day, Ellie. And now we have to let her loss empower us, not make us sad. Let’s just stay happy, alright?”
Eleanora picked up her head and gave a slight smile, a small tear specked in her eye. The two dug into what food they had, as they know eating well was an unusual luxury. It was hard for Valdus to find fresh meat that wasn’t rotten in Nemrakt without going into the demon colonies and risking getting caught. Eleanora may have a part-time job in the overworld, but that usually doesn’t get them much. However, as long as they had each other, Eleanora knew they would be fine.
The rocks crumbled from the side of the mountain and slid down to the abyss below. The snowy gales blew harder at the top of the rocky ice-cream cone. The harsh light from the vicious sunset shined down, but it was hardly visible in the blizzard. It was calm, quiet. Only one difference was seen. Compared to the massive stone structure, the black cloth of the small ant scaling the snowy rockface. Their black hoodie covered their face and hair, and their blue jeans did not look like the correct attire for scaling a mountain. Soon, the black-clad figure had reached the mountain’s peak. The white blanket protected the rock surface. Other than that very blanket, the peak was undecorated. However, there was one distinct feature: a small stone pillar with a small silver cup placed upon it. The person ignored it, walking to a flat part of rock and dropping their bag onto the floor. They unfolded a roll-up inflatable tent and used their small pump to blow it up. The tent was small and lime, only able to fit one person in it. By the time the tent was fully pumped up, the moon had dropped the temperature drastically. They wrapped their arms around their body and shivered, their raspy breath creating small clouds of mist. Suddenly, a small light shone from behind them. Turning around quickly, they were blinded by the light that was being emitted from the small silver goblet. They winced, reaching into the light and seeing what they could grab. When they pulled their arm back to them, the glowing stopped, and their eyes could relax. In their hand, a small black and silver stone glimmered. It was roughly the size of a tennis ball. They smiled, and their eyes glimmered a light-green tinge. The figure slowly looked up at the sparkly abyss of fire in the sky. Those stars sent a small tear down the cheek of their face, which they proceeded to wipe quickly. Bad memories must be ridden of quickly. The temperature was still declining, and they knew that sleep was the only way to conserve their energy for the morning. And with that, they submerged themselves in their tent.
“Alright, give me the full story. If you don’t, things won’t turn out well.”
Wren sighed, avoiding eye contact with her older brother. A small sigh escaped from her mouth, her hands trembling in her lap.
“Wren, please,” Finch sighed, “I want to understand your actions. If something really is up, then you shouldn’t be nervous.”
“I know,” Wren nodded slightly, “I’m not worried for myself.”
“Then talk,” Finch said, his tone of voice forceful yet understanding.
Wren let out another sigh. She knew that Finch wouldn’t tell her parents, Robyn or Raven if he believed Wren’s reason was justified; she knew it was. She was more worried about the problems arising. Nonetheless, Wren cleared her throat.
“I think… something might be terribly wrong at Burrows High…”
“What do you mean?” Finch asked, resting his head on his palms.
“Well,” Wren began, “There’s this massive problem arising with the bully, Aitoku Rheatari. Before, she was just what anyone would expect… a normal bully to a T. Targeting the weak and manipulating those around her when they wanted action. However, some of her actions over the past few days have been more than dangerous. It seems she, and a few others, know something we don’t.”
“And what would that be?” Finch asked.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure, since I have no idea what she’s talking about. If it was only her, I would think she was crazy. However, Wolfia can see these things Aitoku called “shadows” as well. And trust me, Wolfia’s no pushover. In fact, she’s pretty smart. Anyway, back to the point… Aitoku used blackmail to have the ability to manipulate Wolfia. She did it using pictures. Using my powers to see the world around Teddie clearly, I was able to catch a glimpse of these photos. It makes me believe that both Aitoku and Wolfia are dangerous and a risk to the whole school. I can’t just let that slide.”
“What was in those photographs?” Finch questioned Wren, still trying to obtain as much information as possible.
“I don’t know for sure, but I have an assumption. If my gut feeling is correct, we could have a really bad situation on our hands. The photos seemed to be freeze-frames from video footage taken at a lab of some sort. If it’s a lab, then there’s no way these kinds of photos would be open to the public. My guess is that it’s a research facility of some sort, and Wolfia was the test subject. That’s not even the worst thing these pictures could be, but it’s my logical guess. Either way, Aitoku must either have a high authority or the ability to break into high authority areas. And sadly, it’s easy to guess that she isn’t authorised personnel.
“So, you’re saying we’re dealing with someone who has illegal access to highly-confidential information and someone else who could be potentially dangerous?” Finch asked, his voice slightly shaky.
“Correct. As well as this, they have a hit list of sorts. I have no idea what they want with the people written on the list, but it doesn’t seem good. The people they want are Eleanora Clarke – a demon girl who nobody really knows at all –, Mollai Bush – princess of Pekelo –, and Jason Moon – prince of Nemrakt. They do have things in common, but that still doesn’t help us piece together why Aitoku could want them. It’s also weird how before, Aitoku’s only target was Teddie. Now, she doesn’t even seem interested in Teddie at all.”
“Makes sense as to why you were down at the basement without permission then,” Finch nodded, a small sigh of relief escaping from his mouth, “however, something doesn’t add up. You said you were able to see the photos and the list through your friend’s eyes, right? Did you know Aitoku was going to be there, or did you use your powers on Teddie for another reason? Also, why did you decide to tell Teddie and Donovan about your powers in the first place?”
“Ah, I thought you would ask that,” Wren said, “Well, no point hiding things. I used my powers to help Teddie. She was going out with Don and I didn’t think she would be able to do it on her own. Honestly, these two are the only friends I’ve had… and I wanted to help out in a way that didn’t result in meaningless words or violence. I know Don cares about Teddie a lot, but Teddie’s shyness was almost certain to end their night in failure… that’s why I stepped in. It was a mere coincidence that Aitoku was there with Wolfia. I knew from the moment I used my powers to help Teddie that I needed to tell them both about me. I don’t want to lose the only friends I’ve ever had…”
“Hm,” Finch said, thinking hard, “Your reason for using your powers in the first place and telling your friends seem a bit stupid. However, I guess I’ve felt those emotions before. I can’t think about these problems now anyway since this seems like a big problem.”
“So, you’re not going to tell mum and dad?” Wren asked.
“Not right now, anyway,” Finch said with a stern look on his face, “we’ve got bigger problems to discuss.”
Eleanora carefully sat down in the corridor, her back against the wall. It was morning time before lesson, so a lot of people were walking across the hallway, some talking and some glaring at her as they walked past. They weren’t really glaring of hatred, just glaring of confusion. Eleanora had gotten used to it anyway. Besides, she had been through more painful situations than this. Eleanora viciously scribbled in her journal, doodles and sharp words filled the page. Her concentration was sharp, like the edge of a small blade. However, something cut straight through the steel of her concentration.
“Hey! Eleanora, right? You were at Ara’s Halloween party not long ago.”
Eleanora tilted her head upwards. Wolfia stood before her, a chill expression on her face. However, Eleanora also noticed a line of sweat on Wolfia’s forehead. Wolfia let a sigh escape from her mouth as she slumped down next to Eleanora. Eleanora shuffled away from Wolfia, looking back into her book.
“Lord, why me?” Eleanora thought to herself.
“What ya writing about?” Wolfia asked, “Of course, you don’t have to tell me.
Eleanora didn’t answer.
“Okay then…” Wolfia said, her voice trailing off slightly, “What’s up?”
“…Nothing,” Eleanora said bluntly.
“Ok look,” Wolfia sighed, “I know you’re kind of shy, but you seem lonely all the time. Don’t you get lonely sometimes…? Look, you can join me for food this lunch today if you want. If we do though, we should stay in the dining hall and not go outside, trust me. You don’t have to come, but I’m just offering.”
Wolfia stood up and leant against the wall. Eleanora looked up at Wolfia. Why was she being so nice to her? Something Valdus said to her the other night echoed in her mind, “Maybe because you’ve always had your head stuck in that diary”. Maybe all she needed to do was give it a go…
“I’ll be there,” Eleanora told Wolfia, a shy tint to her voice.
“You… will…?” Wolfia asked, sweat dripping from her forehead, “A-awesome! I’ll see you then!”
Wolfia took off down the corridor quickly, leaving Eleanora alone with her journal. Wolfia skidded around the corner, leaning her back against the wall. Her breath was raspy, and her facial expressions were harsh.
“I… can’t do this much longer,” Wolfia sighed to herself, “This is… too much… dammit. When will… these lies be able to end? Eleanora… Arabella… I’m so sorry.”
The sun had almost reached its highest point in the sky, but the snow almost stopped the sunlight coming through. The black-clad figure sat atop the mountain, a fire lit to keep them warm. The white blanket resting on the rocks showed no sign of melting, even if the sunlight was coming through. The figure held the dark stone they had obtained last night in their hand. The tent they had set up was now deflated and stuffed into the bag next to the fire. Suddenly, the sun reached the highest point in the sky. The small silver goblet once again began to shine brightly, causing them to stumble backwards. Quickly, they once again reached into the glowing light and pulled something out, causing the blinding rays to quickly stop. Another stone, the same size and shape as the other stone they had already obtained, that glistened with an orange tint. It was as if the power of a thousand fires was packed into one gem. The figure gripped it tightly, the other stone they had obtained held in their other hand.
“Glad that’s over,” They smiled, “now, phase four can be put into action… lord, phase five is ages away… god sake…”
“Alright, give me the full story. If you don’t, things won’t turn out well.”
Wren sighed, avoiding eye contact with her older brother. A small sigh escaped from her mouth, her hands trembling in her lap.
“Wren, please,” Finch sighed, “I want to understand your actions. If something really is up, then you shouldn’t be nervous.”
“I know,” Wren nodded slightly, “I’m not worried for myself.”
“Then talk,” Finch said, his tone of voice forceful yet understanding.
Wren let out another sigh. She knew that Finch wouldn’t tell her parents, Robyn or Raven if he believed Wren’s reason was justified; she knew it was. She was more worried about the problems arising. Nonetheless, Wren cleared her throat.
“I think… something might be terribly wrong at Burrows High…”
“What do you mean?” Finch asked, resting his head on his palms.
“Well,” Wren began, “There’s this massive problem arising with the bully, Aitoku Rheatari. Before, she was just what anyone would expect… a normal bully to a T. Targeting the weak and manipulating those around her when they wanted action. However, some of her actions over the past few days have been more than dangerous. It seems she, and a few others, know something we don’t.”
“And what would that be?” Finch asked.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure, since I have no idea what she’s talking about. If it was only her, I would think she was crazy. However, Wolfia can see these things Aitoku called “shadows” as well. And trust me, Wolfia’s no pushover. In fact, she’s pretty smart. Anyway, back to the point… Aitoku used blackmail to have the ability to manipulate Wolfia. She did it using pictures. Using my powers to see the world around Teddie clearly, I was able to catch a glimpse of these photos. It makes me believe that both Aitoku and Wolfia are dangerous and a risk to the whole school. I can’t just let that slide.”
“What was in those photographs?” Finch questioned Wren, still trying to obtain as much information as possible.
“I don’t know for sure, but I have an assumption. If my gut feeling is correct, we could have a really bad situation on our hands. The photos seemed to be freeze-frames from video footage taken at a lab of some sort. If it’s a lab, then there’s no way these kinds of photos would be open to the public. My guess is that it’s a research facility of some sort, and Wolfia was the test subject. That’s not even the worst thing these pictures could be, but it’s my logical guess. Either way, Aitoku must either have a high authority or the ability to break into high authority areas. And sadly, it’s easy to guess that she isn’t authorised personnel.
“So, you’re saying we’re dealing with someone who has illegal access to highly-confidential information and someone else who could be potentially dangerous?” Finch asked, his voice slightly shaky.
“Correct. As well as this, they have a hit list of sorts. I have no idea what they want with the people written on the list, but it doesn’t seem good. The people they want are Eleanora Clarke – a demon girl who nobody really knows at all –, Mollai Bush – princess of Pekelo –, and Jason Moon – prince of Nemrakt. They do have things in common, but that still doesn’t help us piece together why Aitoku could want them. It’s also weird how before, Aitoku’s only target was Teddie. Now, she doesn’t even seem interested in Teddie at all.”
“Makes sense as to why you were down at the basement without permission then,” Finch nodded, a small sigh of relief escaping from his mouth, “however, something doesn’t add up. You said you were able to see the photos and the list through your friend’s eyes, right? Did you know Aitoku was going to be there, or did you use your powers on Teddie for another reason? Also, why did you decide to tell Teddie and Donovan about your powers in the first place?”
“Ah, I thought you would ask that,” Wren said, “Well, no point hiding things. I used my powers to help Teddie. She was going out with Don and I didn’t think she would be able to do it on her own. Honestly, these two are the only friends I’ve had… and I wanted to help out in a way that didn’t result in meaningless words or violence. I know Don cares about Teddie a lot, but Teddie’s shyness was almost certain to end their night in failure… that’s why I stepped in. It was a mere coincidence that Aitoku was there with Wolfia. I knew from the moment I used my powers to help Teddie that I needed to tell them both about me. I don’t want to lose the only friends I’ve ever had…”
“Hm,” Finch said, thinking hard, “Your reason for using your powers in the first place and telling your friends seem a bit stupid. However, I guess I’ve felt those emotions before. I can’t think about these problems now anyway since this seems like a big problem.”
“So, you’re not going to tell mum and dad?” Wren asked.
“Not right now, anyway,” Finch said with a stern look on his face, “we’ve got bigger problems to discuss.”
Eleanora carefully sat down in the corridor, her back against the wall. It was morning time before lesson, so a lot of people were walking across the hallway, some talking and some glaring at her as they walked past. They weren’t really glaring of hatred, just glaring of confusion. Eleanora had gotten used to it anyway. Besides, she had been through more painful situations than this. Eleanora viciously scribbled in her journal, doodles and sharp words filled the page. Her concentration was sharp, like the edge of a small blade. However, something cut straight through the steel of her concentration.
“Hey! Eleanora, right? You were at Ara’s Halloween party not long ago.”
Eleanora tilted her head upwards. Wolfia stood before her, a chill expression on her face. However, Eleanora also noticed a line of sweat on Wolfia’s forehead. Wolfia let a sigh escape from her mouth as she slumped down next to Eleanora. Eleanora shuffled away from Wolfia, looking back into her book.
“Lord, why me?” Eleanora thought to herself.
“What ya writing about?” Wolfia asked, “Of course, you don’t have to tell me.
Eleanora didn’t answer.
“Okay then…” Wolfia said, her voice trailing off slightly, “What’s up?”
“…Nothing,” Eleanora said bluntly.
“Ok look,” Wolfia sighed, “I know you’re kind of shy, but you seem lonely all the time. Don’t you get lonely sometimes…? Look, you can join me for food this lunch today if you want. If we do though, we should stay in the dining hall and not go outside, trust me. You don’t have to come, but I’m just offering.”
Wolfia stood up and leant against the wall. Eleanora looked up at Wolfia. Why was she being so nice to her? Something Valdus said to her the other night echoed in her mind, “Maybe because you’ve always had your head stuck in that diary”. Maybe all she needed to do was give it a go…
“I’ll be there,” Eleanora told Wolfia, a shy tint to her voice.
“You… will…?” Wolfia asked, sweat dripping from her forehead, “A-awesome! I’ll see you then!”
Wolfia took off down the corridor quickly, leaving Eleanora alone with her journal. Wolfia skidded around the corner, leaning her back against the wall. Her breath was raspy, and her facial expressions were harsh.
“I… can’t do this much longer,” Wolfia sighed to herself, “This is… too much… dammit. When will… these lies be able to end? Eleanora… Arabella… I’m so sorry.”
The sun had almost reached its highest point in the sky, but the snow almost stopped the sunlight coming through. The black-clad figure sat atop the mountain, a fire lit to keep them warm. The white blanket resting on the rocks showed no sign of melting, even if the sunlight was coming through. The figure held the dark stone they had obtained last night in their hand. The tent they had set up was now deflated and stuffed into the bag next to the fire. Suddenly, the sun reached the highest point in the sky. The small silver goblet once again began to shine brightly, causing them to stumble backwards. Quickly, they once again reached into the glowing light and pulled something out, causing the blinding rays to quickly stop. Another stone, the same size and shape as the other stone they had already obtained, that glistened with an orange tint. It was as if the power of a thousand fires was packed into one gem. The figure gripped it tightly, the other stone they had obtained held in their other hand.
“Glad that’s over,” They smiled, “now, phase four can be put into action… lord, phase five is ages away… god sake…”
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