Dust To Dust [M] (Whim!)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Crud, now what?"

Beatrix racked her brain, trying to think of something she could ask for. Asking about Aahva was out of the question- revealing how much she knew about his situation could put both of them at risk. Asking for something physical like a wand or broom seemed pointless- she had never been particularly materialistic, social status always being a more appealing alternative to her. "Yeah, I can ask for that! That'll make me look super dedicated..."

"Well.... there is something that's been bothering me lately." Beatrix said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Um... So, in my black magic class, I've been getting top marks pretty consistantly. I really don't feel like I'm being challenged by the material anymore." The girl's shoulders slumped, as if just thinking about it was disappointing. "I've tried talking to Magistrix Fen-Breath about it, but she was really dismissive and coddling about it..."

Beatrix, for once, was being entirely truthful. Dark magic came naturally to the girl, and while she did do a lot of extra-curricular studying in the library, it was no replacement for learning hands-on. She looked up at the headmistress nervously, now genuinely hopeful that the favor she was about to ask could be granted. "Could... could you maybe talk to her about moving me up a year? Or at least extra lessons?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"No. It's neither of you guy's fault." Susie said darkly. "It's all Aahva. If he wasn't here, I might actually enjoy it here."

The girl began to scratch at her wrist, picking at a rather long scab. "Pantsing him isn't gonna make him stop, he'll just get worse in retalliation." Her eyes narrowed. "We need to really scare him." Her shoulders slumped. "...but then Beatrix would just tell on us, huh?"

[Whim]

"Coddling is not the word you're looking for. I'm sure excessive comfort and pampering for fear you'll break or become horribly unhappy is not what you mean, is it?

"It is more the sort of thing you want to ask for over a private lesson on an insignificant cantrip. Of course you realize we take into account that students will be more talented in some schools than others? This new challenge may cause hidden weakness and vulnerabilities to surface. I will make the recommendation. But is this something you want?" Nettlefield's eyes fell on Beatrix. She seemed very tall in that moment, like a queen out of some painting ready to pronounce a terrible judgment.

***

"He really isn't that clever, or even that good at magic. I don't even think I've seen him do a spell right." Liam worked furiously on one of the larger pots, rust giving way to clean black iron. It was mindless work but kind of relaxing. The dull burn in their muscles was oddly satisfying. "If it wasn't for Beatrix he wouldn't be able to do much. He wouldn't know secrets, or even have the nerve to retaliate I'd bet."

"So? Everyone already laughs at her and hates her. She's got nothin' to lose. And nobody gets expelled here except for really bad stuff. And if we framed her it would be bad."

"Well, what if we got them to hate each-other? Or ruined her grades?" Liam mused softly, canting his head to the side.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Myahaha, you're right!" Beatrix laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "That probably isn't the right word! Sorry..."

"This is a magic school!" she thought angrily. "Don't tell me I need to study vocab too!"

Beatrix looked the headmistress, her black, swirling eyes locking with the headmistress's own. "But... yes. I'm sure, Magistrix."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Susie went back to scrubbing pots, mind racing. Was it really okay to hurt people if they hurt you first? She only could imagine what her parents would say, the image of her mother and father's disappointed faces floating through her head. What if she was caught and they got a letter explaining what happened? She didn't want that!

But at the same time, she really, really wanted to hurt Aahva and Beatrix for everything she'd been put through.

"What if we told Aahva that Beatrix has been telling on him this whole time?" she said, narrowing her eyes as she attacked a particularly difficult stain with her sponge. "Or is that stupid?"

[Whim]

Nettlefield paused to regard Beatrix. Interesting. Shadow magic was, in her expert opinion, more the absence of everything than the presence of something. Rare for it to physically manifest for so long. Rare and rather annoying to look at for very long. The headmistress turned her gaze to the courtyard garden.

The girl's request was ultimately pointless, of course, as one way or another she would complete the course. A year at school was nothing, really, though children did not know that. Hopefully the girl had learned to appreciate the value of a favor over some mewling attempt at ingratiation. No one would ever find the little thing pretty or even endearing; she would have to learn to be useful. "I suppose you should be off to lessons. The process for excusing tardy underclassmen is not something I care to learn.

"You did well." A curt nod followed. And mewling. Had been spending too much time with Maergath of late?

***

"It would be hard to frame her for that. And he doesn't really get in trouble very often, you know?" Liam paused. "Maybe sometimes with Arthur or someone important."

"Well what if we framed him, yeah? What's it called when you use magic to look like someone else? Glamour! We glamour into him and wreck her stuff." Kana really did pay attention. He just sort of liked that he and Liam had their little roles, and somehow were combine into an even better person. But sometimes it was nice to be smart, too.

Liam's mouth fell open with mixed surprise and admiration. Wasn't he supposed to do plans and stuff? Normally this sort of impasse might make him angry or jealous, though in a way maybe it was his plan too. "I think that might work. Do you live with Beatrix or know anyone who does? Does she have anything that's, I don't know, important? Journal? Spell she's working on?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Beatrix nodded hastily, puffing out her chest in pride. It felt good to be praised, even if she had ulterior motives. "Yes ma'am! Thank you!" she said, giving the headmistress an odd sort of curtsy with her school robe. "I promise I won't waste it!"

Turning on her heels, the girl gave one last wave as she walked away. "Yeesh, what a pill..." she thought, melting into a shadow of a bookshelf. "This manipulation stuff is harder than I thought it'd be..."

Traveling from shadow to shadow was faster than walking, and soon Beatrix found herself back in her dorm. Class was optional this period- she'd turned in her paper on wards early, and didn't particulary want to attend what would end up being a glorified study hall anyways. Besides, if she'd be moving up a year, none of that material would really matter anyways, right?

The girl flopped onto her bunk, a loud sigh escaping her lips. She picked up the plush yale that had been laying neatly on her pillow, looking at it intently. It was the only thing she had from her parents- it had been in her crib when the Order of the Moon raided her house, and was probably as close a friend as Aahva was at this point. "Well Mr. Hooves," she said, a look of both hopefulness and uncertainty passing over her face. "Looks like we're finally getting started."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh my god!" Susie exclaimed, a devious grin on her face. "Can we do that? This- oh Myyla, we could be so awful to her like that!" She giggled. "You know what we need to do? We need to make it look like Aahva tore up that stupid teddy bear she has! I bet she'd hate him forever!"

[Whim]

"She has a stuffed bear? Well, I guess everyone needs a friend." Liam snorted, rolling his eyes. "That's a real good idea, though." The boy offered Susie an encouraging smile. He didn't think anyone really even knew Susie existed. He would be like that, really, if it wasn't for Kana.

"Like how you finally got me to keep you company!" Kana grinned, nudging Liam with his cheek.

"I, uh, we know a pretty good disguise spell. Its really easy. Siwan's Stolen Visage. You just need a mirror the person used; does anyone know where his room is? Beatrix is in your corridor at least, right Susie?"

"He's in the attic with us. He just gets his own for some reason. Probably real nasty!" That was saying quite a bit, considering the cramped little room they shared with Arthur, Taig, and Dylan. "Probably has all kinds of traps..." He imaged buckets of glue, scorpions, filthy playing cards of girls or whatever...

"Well they'd be non-magical. He's not that talented. Can't you just build a little elemental to go in first?"

"Oh yeah! Um, what do you think Susie? Could you be lookout or something?" Kana felt rude leaving her, or anyone really, out of the fun.  The alchemy classroom was, thankfully, empty as the trio left. A few jolts of static was the least of what uppers might do to humiliate you. Thoughts of Dylan's clothes being animated and made to run away sprang to mind. The castle was in sort of a pre-dinner lull when class was over but everyone was too tired to have fun. The Duhjari boy knew this was Liam's favorite part of the day, and was content to let his other half read and do boring quiet stuff. It was nice when he read aloud, though, sometimes. At least he liked playing cards with Arthur.

It was four flights of stairs before they reached the lower boys' corridor, high in the attics of the eastern hall.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie nodded, an uncharacteristically dark glint in her eyes. "Yeah. You can count on me."

The climb to the attic dorms was a long one, and the strain it put on her legs was nearly enough to get Susie to turn back. At one point the girl caught a glimpse of Aahva himself hastily descending the opposite staircase- "Probably off to harrass another girl", Susie figured, fists clenching. "At least we won't have to worry about getting him out of his room."

Finally, the three students stood in front of Aahva's room, neaty tucked into the corner of the attic. Taking a deep breath, Susie opened the door a crack and poked her wand inside. Nothing happendd, and she soon pushed the door open all the way. "Go, quickly!" she hissed. "I'll knock if somebody shows!"

Aahva's room was suprisingly clean, all things considered. The floor, while dusty, was free of any sweet wrappers or used paper. The small dresser was slightly out of place, scratch marks on floorboards leading from it to the door. Monster Mash cards- no doubt stolen- were stacked neatly on the boy's bedside table, organized by monster type. On the boy's bed was a worn looking sketchbook- which was odd, because Aahva had never indicated having any hobbies apart from bullying other students. On the open page was a small ink portrait that was clearly recognizable as Beatrix, as well as a Thanati girl with a sour expression on her face. A small mirror hung from the opposite wall of the door, it's glass cracked down the middle...

[Whim]

There was no official rule against girls walking in the boys' corridor, or vice versa, but such a thing simply wasn't done. Of course, the Housemasters would put a stop to anything unseemly.

Nevertheless, Susie Rainfeather was an awkward sight meandering outside Aahva's closet, and none of the ratty tapestries and defaced-then-repaired portraits offered a suitable hiding place. Two boys, blonde and willowy and round and red, gave her cock-eyed looks in passing. "Hi Susie!" boomed Carwyn ap Rhys, a loud and stocky boy who could turn into animals. He could do bears and wild boar really good at least.

"Going to ask Aahva to the dance?" Dylan mumbled as they passed. The shy ice mage was convinced the sort of whispery deadpan made him seem mysterious and grown-up. No one ever seemed to get his jokes, or liked him very much.

***

That's our Wyrmkragg Chinchilla! Kana's eyes widened at the card. It was a coal-colored rodent, printed on hexagonal card-stock, with a plume of smoke erupting from its wiggly little nose. Kaliam had one just like it that had gone missing some weeks before. It was a rare card but not so rare no one else had it. Kana mostly enjoyed it because he enjoyed the little creatures that summer he went to Altas Verde; one of the best things that had ever happened to him. But Kana always chewed the top tight corner of his cards. And pencils. The boy narrowed his gaze.

Liam found the whole thing peculiar too. Austair. How he loved that word. But something was definitely off about the whole thing. Green eyes darted to the sketchpad as he flipped through. "Did you know he could draw? Its not bad for a moron, really." It was actually pretty good but Liam never would have said so. Who was the other girl? It was hard to imagine Aahva caring about anything that wasn't pointless cruelty. Though he must really like Beatrix if he drew her and stuff. She looked almost cute in a gangly kind of way. Like a baby horse.

"Nope. And they look like horseshit anyway. I say we rip it all up." It was enough that Aahva was mean to make his artwork bad in Kana's eyes. A wicked grin crossed his face as their right arm went for their drawstring. "We should piss in his bed or something while we're here."

"You're gross!" Liam butted his head against Kana's, swatting the hand away. "And he'd know. We need to be sneaky!"

The two-headed boy hurried to the cracked mirror. Both, really, were pretty eager to sift through Aahva's things. The sketchbook and general neatness that seemed to defy his being a juvenile male, lazy student, and nasty bully. But first there was work to be done. Liam traced his left hand through the air and uttered Siwan's Stolen Reflection. It had to be done slow and carefully, of course, since their right wasn't in his control. It took tries to get it right. Before their eyes the last month's work of reflections flashed through the mirror: Aahva in various poses, presumably...

"You could help you know. I am right handed."

"I leave the boring spells to you. And you just gotta practice being lefty." Kana tossed Aahva's sketchpad up in the air and caught it, deftly, with a smirk.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie stood outside Aahva's room, grasping her shoulder awkwardly as she kept watch for any teachers or upperclassmen who might try to foil their plans. While that alone was a nerve-wracking idea, scarier still was the possibility that Aahva himself might return. "What would I even say? If I tried to stop him, he might hit me! Or he'd hit Kana!" she thought nervously. "He's never gonna leave if I just- Eep!"

Carwyn's loud voice snapped her from her thoughts, causing her to flinch. Her eyes watered, and she looked at the two boys defensively. "N-no!" she cried, folding her arms. "I am not asking... that asshole to the dance!" Susie's lips trembled, hands balling into fists. "Y-you take that back, Dylan!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Fuck, I'm gonna be late!"

Aahva rushed down the stairway, laughing as he pushed the Clearwater boy into the railing. He heard an angry cry from behind him, but he ignored it- he promised to meet Beatrix at her room in fifteen minutes! Smiling gleefully, the boy turned down the corridor leading to the girls dorms...

"Aahva! Just who I was looking for!"

Aahva's heart skipped a beat, and the boy froze in place. Heart racing, he slowly looked over his shoulder to see Obedience Barebone walking towards him, hands in her pockets. The boy's eyes widened as he tried to speak, but all he could manage was a small stuttering noise. "Damnit, fuck, shit!" he thought, desperately willing himself to move. "Demonic cuntwad, vet lost! Go away!"

Stepping towards him, the tiefling rested a hand firmly on the back of Aahva's neck. She gave him a goofy grin. "C'mon little dude, walk with me!" She would begin to lead him along, the boy too frightened to try and break free from Obedience's grasp...

[Whim]

"I-I was kidding!" Dylan's voice went about an octave, manufactured apathy vanishing alongside it. Even the mousiest little first year, apparently, hated him.

Carwyn nudged his pained-looking friend along, but not before offering Susie an apologetic shrug. "You should probably go before he gets back, hey?"

***

A boy who resembled Aahva Chatterjee, but was not, stood before the mirror making numerous faces. "This is so weird. I can feel your cheek squished against mine. But then we're also sharing a face? You can feel me doing this right?" he sneered and pried his lips apart. Kana had no understanding of the strange glamour that had transformed the into Aahva. Normally he didn't much care for magic. The novelty of floating books and talking cats had long worn off on the Dujhari. "Man you did this good!"

Liam's cheeks grew warm. "I think there's more space in the costume than outside. So we're sort of stuffed inside it but also experiencing what the illusion ought to experience. Shoruff-!" Liam slapped their shared face, which now had its tongue sticking out and lips pulled aside. "Stop!"

"Can't we have some fun? Gods his voice is annoying. Like he's trying to sound big and tough to make up for being such a scrawny rat."

"We're going to! We just can't mess up. We need to pull our faces from the mirror and send Susie ahead." And Liam did just that. He stole the reflection of them rifling the room, and conjured forth a shimmering note which slipped underneath the door. This was all coming together so good!

***

An ethereal slip of paper darted from underneath the door, spiraling through the air until flapping before Susie's face. It was common for students to enchant little paper birds to carry notes and homework to and fro.  Kaliam's chicken-scratch hand-writing was scrawled upon it.

Peak ahead to Beatrix's room and make sure the coast is clear. We should not go together.

KL

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie scoweled at the two boys as they left, nose wrinkled in disgust. "Me and Aahva, really?" she thought, eye twitching furiously. "Like I'd ever ask him to the dance!" An image of the Thanati boy wearing a suit and holding a swooning Susie popped into the girl's head, and she forced back a gag. "How could anybody think that?"

As the boys disappeared, a scrap of paper fluttered past Susie's face. Initially started, the girl quickly regained her composure and snatched it out of the air and read it. She flipped over the note, heart racing as she took out her quill and scribbled a response.

ok meet me there in 15 mins

A tap of her wand send the note flittering back under the door, and Susie quickly began to walk in the direction of the girl's dorms...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beatrix lay on her bed, kicking her feet back and forth. "C'mon, where is he?" she muttered to herself, frowning. "He said he'd be here by now!" Pulling herself into a sitting position, the girl closed her eyes and ler her consciousness slip into the shadows. "Where are you..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few minutes, Susie had nearly reached the girl's lower corridoor. Beatrix's room was towards the end, all she had to do was-

"I-I don't fucking know!"

Susie froze. Aahva? Here? Her head slowly turned in the direction the voice had come from- the corridor that led to the washroom. What was Aahva doing there, of all places? And why did he sound so... scared?

Against her better judgement (but trembling all the same), Susie moved to listen in closer...

[Whim]

It was weird being someone else. Kaliam didn't get the sorts of friendly smiles and hellos as usual, or the bug-eyed stares from shocked first-years. Instead the two-headed boy, now disguised as Aahva, found students gave him a wide-berth and avoided eye-contact for fear of being drawn in a match of insults or painful groin-kicks which would no doubt go unpunished. It was also hard being someone else. The boys agreed they would need to make a scene so everyone knew it was Aahva. And that meant acting the part.

"Hey, um, asslicker!" To a passing boy with long hair. It was hard for Kana to come up with insults, especially for innocent people.

"Is it true you make your boyfriend grow a horse dick?" 'Aahva' grinned wicked as he passed Sunny, a Duhjari girl. Liam hated how she thought she was so clever. That one came from the heart.

A very astute observer might have noticed how 'Aahva' passed by a cringing Arthur Clearwater, his favorite punching bag, without saying a word.

***

Just where was Susie? She was supposed meet them outside the girls corridor to check if Beatrix's room was empty. Minutes ticked by and it felt like an eternity. What if the spell wore off or Aahva came by? Was Susie okay? Anxieties raced through Kana's mind. The worst of it was he couldn't talk to Liam. Their faces were, in some extra-dimensional space, smoothed side by side. Yet the silence and loneliness drove him crazy. Finally the girls' corridor cleared a bit as dinner went underway, allowing him to mutter to himself.

"Where do you think she is?" came a raspy, fearful mutter.

"Maybe she ran into Bea- Susie. You know. To distract her?"

"Should we wait?" Few people had ever heard that plaintive uncertainty in Aahva's voice.

"No time."

***

One. Two. Three. Kaliam took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Three loud bangs. "Open up thundercunts. Its me!

"Oh, hey. Trixie." That was a good catch. He always called Beatrix Trixie. They were doing it! Maybe this would be even better? Kaliam's heart pounded and Aahva's blue eyes widened with fear and excitement.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Beatrix's conscious slipped through the shadows, searchimg for any trace of her friend. Aahva simply wasn't late like this- which meant something had to be holding him up. After minutes of slithering through the dark corners of the upper halls, Beatrix finally heard his voice coming from near the girl's washroom...

*BANG BANG BANG*

The knocks startled Beatrix, her consciousness snapping back into place. Even more startling was that it was Aahva's voice at the door! Didn't she just hear him someplace else?

Beatrix slowly opened the door, brow furrowed as she saw that it was, indeed, Aahva. "Heyo..." she said, her eyes quivering. She gave the boy a worried look, moving aside so as to let him in. "What took you so long? Is something going on?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Come on dude, relaaaax. I promise you aren't in trouble."

Susies heart raced as she pressed herself to the wall, body shaking. She strained her ears, trying to make out what had her bully so scared. It was hard to hear over the sound of her pounding heartbeat, and soon enough the girl meekly peered around the corner to see what was going on...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aahva stared timidly up at the upperclassman, back to the wall. The tiefling was leaning with her arm on the wall, smiling contently. He knew from experience that her relaxed posture was a ruse- one wrong move, and she'd use that awful flower hex on him again. "Well? What t-the fuck do you want then?" he stammered, hoping he didn't sound as frightened as he felt. "Fucking get on with it!"

Obedience giggled. "Dude, chill, seriously! I just wanted to talk about Susie." She shifted her weight, leaning in closer to the boy. "I heard about what you did today. You're really killing it out there!"

Aahva paused, blinking. This was about that, of all things? "Uh... thanks, I guess..."

The demonic student beamed. "You're welcome! Actually, I kinda was wondering..." She leaned in even closer, her gaunt face inches away from his own. "Do you think you could go, like, even harder on her?"

"Uhh..." The Thanati boy's mind began to race, and he inhaled sharply. "Do the opposite!" a voice in his head screamed. "Whatever she says, do the fucking opposite!"

"She'll kill me if I don't!" cried another. "She's a fucking psycho!

Obedience pulled away, laughing. "Hahahaha! Dude, the look on your face!" she said gleefully. "I swear this isn't me trying to get you in trouble, I mean that!" The tiefling began to to twirl her already tangled hair in her fingers. "It's just that I'm gonna have to start cramming for finals soon, y'know? I'm not gonna have time to mess with her myself anymore." The girl sighed. "Plus, I really think I topped myself by killing the dog. Like... nothing else I could do will ever be funnier than that."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Nothing else I could do will ever be funnier than that."

The words rang inside Susies head, echoing over and over again. She slowly slumped to the floor, eyes wide. She began to scrach her wrist, peeling off the scab and digging her fingernails inside the cut. "I want to die." she thought abruptly, tears falling silently from her eyes. "I don't want to do this anymore..."

"Do it." said the voice in her head. "You won't have to feel anything bad ever again.

It was at that moment that something inside of Susie Rainfeather finally broke...

[Whim]

'Aahva' stated at Beatrix for several moments, bewildered, as his imposters tried to find the words. They had to be ones Aahva used. "What could be wrong, dipshit?

"Why are you so weepy lately?" I thought bled out LAST week! That was what Aahva would really say, but Liam knew he'd have stuttered or mumbled it.

They edged toward the bed. Kana saw her stuffed yale. It was nice for raggedy old child's toy. Not a stitch out of place. He imaged her parents must have chosen it especially for her, and how her face lit up when she got it and it made her think of them on lonely days. He never had anything like that in his village. There would be treats at festivals but never anything of his. Even the unspoken inheritance of Liam's property, most of his old toys stuffed in a messy closet, didn't quite fill the need.

They snatched the horned toy, running their fingers over the coarse tarycloth, flexing it by their neck as they neared the window. "What's this dumb thing called again? A yox? And do you seriously sleep it with it like Arthur? Kia's cunt, next thing you know you're going to be pissing the bed."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"A-Aahva, no! What are y-you doing?"

Something was not right. Beatrix stared at her friend with wide eyes as he grabbed Mr. Hooves from the bed, her breathing sharp. When Aahva first found out about the toy she made him promise he wouldn't laugh or make fun- and up until now, the boy had kept his word. "You- you put him down now!" the girl cried. "What's gotten into..."

"Kia's cunt..."

The words ran through her head like an alarm bell, and Beatrix's arms went limp. "Aahva never says that- he can barely tell our gods apart as is!" she realized, her mouth twisting into a grimace. "And I don't say it either, so there's no way he could have picked it up from me." The girl's fists clenched, and the entire room seemed to get darker. "I just heard him by the washroom. I know I did."

Beatrix narrowed her eyes, leaving only her pitch-black irises visible. If whatever was pretending to be Aahva didn't move or cast a ward, the shadow of the bed would quickly tie itself to his own, immobilizing his legs. "You're not him." Beatrix said softly, mind racing. "You're one of her tricks, aren't you?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mom... I want my mom..."

Susie sat on the floor, blubbering softly. She could hear Obedience and Aahva talking still, but she was too depressed to pay attention to what they were saying. "What... what the fuck... I-I barely even know her!" she thought, tears streaming down her face. "Why? Why?"

The image of the dog's corpse flashed through mind once again. Chunks of it's flesh had been missing when she found it, it eyes still open wide with fear. She'd been told that the school's zombie had done it, an explanation she'd been too despondent to question at the time.

Come to think of it, hadn't it been Obedience herself who told her that?

Susie squeezed her wrist, a few droplets of blood oozing from her cut. It hurt, but she was the one doing it- an oddly comforting idea. "Just end it." a soothing voice said. "You'll feel so much better when it's all over." Susie nodded to herself. It did sound nice...

"No."

A voice Susie hadn't heard before spoke up, and the girl froze up. It sounded like... her, except this Susie sounded brave and confidant- emotions the girl hadn't felt since entering Wyrdwood. "Are you just going to let this stop you? Really?" the other Susie asked. "The dog was taken from you, yeah- the dog you made. So what, can anybody just take your stuff now?"

Susie's eyes narrowed. She stood up slowly, resting her hand on the wall for balance. Her hair messily covered her eyes, damp from her tears. "It's hopeless." the other voice said. "Just let-"

"Shut up." Susie muttered under her breath. "I never asked you." She pulled her hair out of her eyes, tying it back in a loose ponytail. "Atta girl." said the confidant voice. "Don't listen to her."

The redhead took a deep breath, pulling her wand out of her robe pocket and looking at it darkly. Then, with a scream of rage, she ran down the corridor towards Obedience...

[Whim]

Why the hells did he go in? Liam knew he couldn't act and it wasn't part of the plan at all. This was some stupid brash thing that Kana would do. Why did he want to be like him so badly? They just had to stay calm. Even if she thought they were a ruse he could still hurt her, or made a rift between her and Aahva.

"Tricks? What do do you mean?" He leaned forward, feigning concern. "That sounds gay as-"

While they chatted 'Aahvas' right eye swiveled toward a corner. Kana spotted movement in the darkness. She was calling a demon! Kana clenched his fist, enveloping them in a corona of heat and light. If there was no darkness she couldn't use her magic right? There was no way anyone was beating him in a fight. The illusory boy's lips twitched into a half smile.

It took a moment to register Beatrix had cast a spell and Kana had too. "Trixie what the fuck? If Obedience wanted to fuck with you she would, like, make me stick a knife up his ass and leave it on your pillow.

"Just for that? Maybe I should!" A devilish grin crossed his face, left hand clenched around the stuffed toy's neck. Three. Two. Should he do it? He was so close to getting back at Beatrix for every cruelty she'd done, but hesitated all the same...

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Isn't that Byskov's Blinding Barrier? But Aahva can't..."

The bed's shadow quivered and retreated, no longer able to ensnare it's target. Beatrix's eyes widened, then narrowed as she took a step back. "I knew it!" She shouted, jabbing her finger at imposter. "I knew you weren't him! Aahva can't cast! He doesn't even have a wand!"

The girl grit her teeth, slowly lifting her left hand into the air. Her shadow rippled like water, dark particles splashing out of it as... something emerged from it's depths. A solid black mass rose like a pillar, twisting violently as it moved to follow Beatrix's hand. Small appendages sprouted and clenched together, resembling a wildly deformed fist. "Didn't you know?" she asked, eyes rippling angrily. "Darkness isn't the absence of light- it's the absorption of it!"

"Oh Faryion, I bet I look so cool right now!"

Her swirling irises expanded, sclera vanishing entirely. "Take this! Perfect Black Punch!" The writhing construct shot forward, piercing the light barrier effortlessly. If it connect, it'd feel like the imposter had been hit by a feather pillow...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Wysteria's Rending Wind!"

Susie slashed her wand through the air as she ran towards the tiefling, a strong gust of wind rushing towards her target. Aahva yelped and scrambled away, but Obedience didn't budge. Holding onto her hat to prevent it from blowing off, she gave the underclassman an sheepish grin. "So you, uh, heard all that, huh? Man, that sucks..."

"Shut up!" screamed Susie, sending another blast of wind at the older girl. "You killed him! He was mine and you killed him!"

Obedience groaned, flicking her wand in the air. The wind calmed, and the tiefling stepped towards the redhead. "Susie, stop. Acting all self-rightous and stuff is lame, I'm not gonna have fun this way."

"I said shut up!" Susie yelled back, raising her wand a third time. "I'm gonna make you- huh?"

The girl's wand flew out of her hand, landing on the other side of the hall. Obedience sighed, shaking her head. "Man, you really need to calm down." she said, putting her own wand in her pocket. In an instant, she brought her fist crashing into the redhead's stomach, causing the girl to cry out in pain. Yellow flowers began to sprout from Susie's sweater, roots getting tangled in the fabric. "I can't believe this," the tiefling muttered. "I was so close to getting you to do it yourself..."

[Whim]

A look of shock came over 'Aahva's' face as the wave of shadow devoured his cantrip. Horseshit! Only some sort of demon magic could eat light, and demon magic was not allowed. Kana was fuming, and raised his hand defensively to block whatever she was doing. This disguise thing was so stupid-!

Stupid. Of course Aahva never did magic! Oh-god-what-to-do?! Liam's mind raced. If her shadow ate light it had to be solid or some kind of transdimensional spell. What would counter that? There was no time to counter it! Instead Aahva's left hand dropped the Yale and began tracing sigils in the air, trying to weave an escape glamour.

And with that Kaliam vanished from sight. But not before the Beatrix's fist of darkness slammed into him.

"Beatrix that was so gay," a voice came from behind her. Apparently Aahva had teleported, clutching the yale. "And if darkness is the absorption of light why do candles work, idiot?!" Liam couldn't help himself. They had to beat her at something. If only Kana would catch on.

Kana wished he could say something. Nudge him. Bite him. He was being really dumb and this wasn't going to end well. They could sneak out the door right now, but Liam's foot was anchored in place. It made 'Aahva' twitch and sway.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Beatrix's nose wrinkled as the fake Aahva vanished, her chest heaving. Controlling that amount of solid darkness at once took a lot out of her, and for it to have barely any effect...

"Gotcha!"

The black-eyed girl knew where the imposter was before he'd spoken- he'd passed through her shadow on his way there. In an instant she spun around, aiming a punch in the direction of the voice. She had to end this fast and find the real Aahva- wherever he was, he was likely in danger.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Susie doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. She glared up at the tiefling, eyes wide with fear. Why had she thought she could beat her? It was suicide! She had to run, now!

Obedience's gaze softened, a relaxed smile playing on her lips. "Aw. Yeah, that's more like it." A second later she'd brought her fist colliding into Susie's face, giving the girl no time to react before she collapsed onto the floor. "Try not to make too much noise, kay?"

Susie desperately tried to push herself up. She had to escape somehow, find a teacher! A searing pain suddenly hit her as flowers began to spout where the upperclassman had punched her, causing the girl to let out a pained whine. She could feel the roots spreading underneath her skin, threatening to tear through her cheek and into her mouth. "W-why?" she sobbed, tears mixing with blood as she looked up helplessly. "Why are you d-doing this to me?"

Obedience shugged. "I 'unno." she said. "I thought it'd be pretty funny. Mind games just seemed like a fun change of pace compared to how I normally do it, y'know?" The tiefling aimed a kick at the struggling girl, flattening her against the floor. "If it's any consultation to you, if I hadn't done it,  something else would." she said, her voice eerily sweet. "You never really belonged here."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aahva sat in the corner or the girl's washroom, clutching his knees to his chest. He could hear the fight coming from the hallway, and it wasn't sounding good. Susie was lame, but he didn't want her to die! But what could he do? Obedience was too strong to fight- and even if she wasn't, the awful soul magister would probably show up to defend her! Aahva breathing grew sharp as he began to panic. Why couldn't he be brave like her? Why did he have to be so fucking weak!

"You never really belonged here."

Aahva clenched his fists. "Oh, so she doesn't belong?" he said softly. The words echoed in his mind, fear being replaced with rage. "You fucking cuntwad..."

[Whim]

"Aahva" seemed all wrong now. His frame was thicker and his skin a shade off. And he winced just a little too much at her blast of shadow. The boy's sleeve just clipped her dresser, passing through it as he balled a fist. Liam's glamour had projected their sound, image, even tactile sensation to the other side of the room. It was made all the more real by the tension and hot tempers in the air. The two boys remained in place, imperceptible.

Kana knew what to do. As Beatrix whirled to blast Liam's illusion, Kana sent fist of wind and sand into her back. A solid hit could knock Taig down sometimes. Surely the gangly thing would be thrown from the bed.