Dust To Dust [M] (Whim!)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Beatrix's eyes widened as her fist passed through the boy's face. "A fairy trick?" she cried angrily. "That's just- AHH!"

A strong blast of wind knocked Beatrix off her feet. She waved her arms in front of her, causing a shadow to spring up and cushion her like a pillow. "Damn you..." she snarled, glaring in the direction of the attack. "You think you're the only one who can play that game?"

In an instant the girl had sunk into the shadow, disappearing from view...

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

Susie struggled to move as the upperclassman moved in on her, pleading for her body to cooperate. The pain in her face was close to unbearable, and it was a challenge to even think straight. Tears silently rolled down her face, puddling onto the floor. She had to do something- but what could she do do without her wand? It's not like her dust magic would...

"The dust..."

With great effort, Susie rolled onto her back to stare up at Obedience. The tiefling had her arm outstretched towards her, a nasty grin on her face. The redhead hesitated, then steeled herself as she thrust her arm forwards in an attempt to conjure dust into the tiefling's eyes...

But the dust never came. Instead, a small, white ball materialized in it's place, launching itself at the upperclassman's head. It bounced harmlessly off of Obedience's horns, falling to the ground with barely a sound. "W-w-what?" Susie whimpered. "B-but..."

Obedience paused, then bent over to pick up what Susie had just conjured. "Pfft, what is this supposed to be?" she snickered. "Some kind of... dry snowball?" The tiefling tossed the object into the air and caught it, laughing. "It's like, so light! Was this supposed to hurt me?" She non-chalantly tossed it to the side, shrugging. "And for a second there I was actually a bit spooked! Guess you really are useless!" Susie squirmed and tried to back away as the Obedience reached for her neck. "Goodbye Susie."

*THUNK*

A loud crack could be heard as a bronze pipe collided with the back of Obedience's head. The tiefling blinked in shock, then slumped over in a daze. From the end of the hall stood Aahva, breathing heavily. His hands were filthy, apparently having disloged the pipe from underneath one of the sinks in the washroom. "Stupid... cunt..." he said, chest heaving. "I... don't belong here either..."

[Whim]

A broad grin of satisfaction crossed their illusory costume's face. Both Kana and Liam were smiling at the prospect. But where the hell was she?

Liam shut his eyes and focused, reaching out for the presence of other minds. There were lots of small ones chattering away: spiders and mice, bugs and bats, and something else nearby. It was human but felt wrong. It was like when he went to Arca as a little boy and saw clowns; human but not human. Was this Beatrix? Liam didn't like it. The boys turned and darted outside the room. Now it was just a matter of not being caught...

***

'Aahva' darted down the hall fast as he could. Luckily Wyrdwood was a vast maze with numerous side-passages and reading rooms. It wasn't long before the glimmer of Beatrix's mind faded it into the distance. Kaliam darted into a dark alcove, and in the shadow of dust-covered gargoyle shed their disguise. Liam let out a heavy sigh. "God that was close..." their shared heart was pounding.

"You did great!" Kana grinned, nudging his sort-of-brother's head.

"Thanks. I mean, you did knock her down." Liam's flushed, offering a shy smile. "We'd better find Susie. She should have been there watching. Do you think she's okay? Maybe at her room?"

The coast was clear now, so Kaliam walked back toward Susie's room. As they neared it a plaintive sobs and hushed voices coming from a washroom. "Susie?" they called out in unison, softly.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Beatrix remained unseen, the shadow she'd conjured seeming to disperse across the room. Slowly she pulled herself towards the bed, in hopes of startling the imposter by jumping out from underneath it...

Too late. The fake Aahva had dashed out of the room, moving too quickly for Beatrix to swipe at. The girl emerged from the shadows, breathing heavily. "What... who... was that?" she asked nobody in particular, resting her hands on her knees. After a few seconds she straightened herself up, picking her plush Yale off the floor...

"Aahva. Where's the real Aahva?"

Immediately the girl tried to peer through the schools shadows, but found herself unable to- even trying felt like swimming through molasses. Had she expended too much energy it the scuffle? She'd never had this issue before- but she'd also never used the Pure Black Punch on an actual target. Beatrix's shoulders slumped, inky black tears welling up in her eyes. "N-no! Not now! I-I..." She clutched the stuffed animal tightly, chewing on a lock of her hair nevously. "I need to find him! Why won't it wooooooork?"

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

"Yeah... Haha, yeah that's right! Who even fucking needs wands?"

Susie slowly stood up, eyes wide. Did Aahva just save her life? She stared at the Thanati boy, feeling at her face. The flowers hadn't disappeared, and the girl's cheek and neck felt wet. She winced as she pulled her hand away, fingers now covered in her own blood. "Um..." she said slowly, glancing down at the unconscious tiefling. "Th... Thank you?"

Aahva glanced at her, lowering the pipe he'd been admiring seconds before. "Eh?" he grunted. "Yeah... whatever." The boy's expression became slightly less pointed. "...Don't try to magic the flowers out. You need to pull them out like weeds."

Susie gulped, taking a step back. "Is... is that gonna hurt?"

The boy groaned. "Yes it's gonna hurt, retard! That's the whole fucking point!"

The redhead grimaced, retrieving her wand and the strange orb she'd conjured off of the floor. "R-right... what do we do about Obedience?"

"Not be here when she wakes up." Aahva said, rolling his eyes. He turned to leave, then paused. "Hey... Don't go thinking that-

"Susie?"

Aahva sneered, then dashed away withought finishing his sentence. "Kana? Liam!" Susia cried back. "I-I think I just got in a lot of trouble..."

[Whim]

"Uh-" Kana blushed, hesitating. "Do you want us to come in?" From tribal life he recalled women and girls as very private creatures. Even though it was a man's place to make decisions and fight, there were some places he simply did not go. Liam was not so apprehensive about a girl's washroom and continued on.

"Are you hurt or-" And then Aahva sprinted past. The two-headed boy might have checked him, but the sight of Susie standing over a bloodied obedience left them in shock. Liam knew the tiefling to be a mostly useless creature.  She certainly did not belong at Wyrdwood. Probably some mage's pet or illegitimate off-spring.

Blood on her. Blood on Susie. Aahva sprinting off. The Thanati boy was usually buzzing around her; Liam's own sister usually had to corral him into spending time with her. "Did you hit her? We should go if you did. Or maybe hide her." Was she dead? His heart was racing for some reason. If they were caught it would be bad. Or he could save Susie! Or maybe he had never been this close to danger, real danger, ever...

"Are you okay?" Kana asked in a small voice. He hadn't seen people, hurt people like this, since Zantaric and his tribe. Worry creased his voice, the life-less obedience very different then the sort of sparring and wrestling pins he preferred. "We should go... why does your face have her flowers?"

Liam gave him a look. Surprised himself at the whiny tone. "Well I think she will know who hit her." All eyes settled on Susie for an explanation.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Um..."

Susie wasn't sure where to even begin to explain what had just happened. It had been less than five minutes, but it had felt like an entire year had passed. She reached up to touch her cheek, feeling the flowers that had sprouted. "I... I lost my temper..." she said quietly. "And.... and I lost..." She shook her head, a few loose petals falling from her face. "I-It was her. She was the one who did it... And Aahva-"

Whether or not Susie realized she wasn't making much sense became irrelevant as a quiet groan could be heard coming from the unconscious tiefling. The redhead's eye's widened. "Shit. My room, now!"

Susie would grab Kana's hand, dragging the two boy's behind her as she turned the corner and ran down the hall...

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

Aahva rushed down the hallway, bronze pipe still clutched tightly in his hand. Had it been the right thing to do? It seemed right at the time, but now he was unsure. Yes, he'd saved Susie- oh, how he was going to hold that over her head- but at at the same time the boy felt an impending sense of dread. "There's no way that demonic cunt-sludge will let this go..." he thought, mind racing. "She's gonna try to get back at me, or Susie, or...

The boy threw the door to Beatrix's room open. "Trixie!" he said loudly, slamming the door behind him. "We've got- ack!"

Aahva flinched as the blue-haired girl pulled him into a tight embrace. "It's you! It's you, it's you, it's you!" she squealed, sounding very relieved. "I forgot... you never knock."

"Trixie... Trixie I can't breath..." the boy gasped, squirming in the girl's arms. "You're hugging too tight..."

Beatrix quickly let go, cheeks flushing. She'd been a pretty touchy-feely person ever since they became friends- something Aahva still hadn't quite gotten used to. Not only was the girl uncomfortably taller than he was (his forehead only came up to her nose), but she had a habit of hugging with both her real body and her shadow at the same time. There was also the fact that she somehow managed to feel below room temperature whenever they touched, and never seemed to warm up even after prolonged contact with her...

Beatrix held her arm awkwardly. "Myahaha, sorry..." she said. "It's just... our mutual friend finally made her move."

Aahva nodded, grimacing. "Yeah she fucking did. Were you watching?"

The pug-faced girl's eyes rippled. "No! What happened? Does, erm..." She glanced at the bloody pipe in Aahva's hands, having seemingly just noticed it's presence. "Oh Faryion, what happened?! Are you okay?!"

The Thanati boy shifted on his feet, exhaling. "...Yeah. Let's... let's sit down..."

[Whim]

"Wait! You know someone is going to get mad. We really should-" Liam flushed a little. He felt Susie take his hand. Or rather, it was Kana's in an unspoken sort of way, but he felt her touch all the same. Speaking with her was always strange in the sense she noticed him but didn't with her eyes always on Kana. It crushed him.

And off they went to Susie's dormitory, racing through the narrow halls, until they were inside and the door slammed shut. That horrible sick feeling had left the pit of their stomach, and Kana back to his own self. "Aw no, your face!" Kana stared at Susie, perplexed, reaching out to brush away the flowers. "Wow though, you really got her huh? I didn't know you had it in you!" The boy was shaky in spite of the bravado.

***

"Mister Anwen! Come! Come! Come-come-come-! Now! Blood and fighting and Obedience! You must!" Idiot was flapping about in a tall, narrow chamber which spanned three stories of the castle. From floor to ceiling there stood nothing but shelves arrayed with thousands upon thousands of sanguine phials.

A young woman, with dark red hair and a freckled face, was seated at a desk. She seemed unshaped by the imp, calmly adding a drop of Red Manticore vitrum to a flask of blood. "Just a moment, Idiot. And its Mist-ress." She gave a cheerful smile, eyes never leaving her work. Her face fell as the imp began to jabber.

***

Obedience would find the washroom dark when she stirred, but for a few candles, limbs wracked with pins and needles. Anwen ferch Rhys stood blocking the doorway. She was a junior lecturer at Wyrdwood under Magistrix Fenbreath and expert in the primitive rituals of goblins, ogres, and the like. Her expression was blank, studying the Tiefling as if a zoological exhibit.

"Why do you think we have you here?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

As Susie got further and further away from the washroom, the more it dawned on her just whose hand she was holding. By the time they'd reached her dorm, her cheeks had flushed beet-red. She slammed the door behind them, letting go of the boy's hand immediately. Her bunkmates weren't in the room- probably at dinner, Susie figured. It certainly made things easier, at least...

"Ah, yeah... It wasn't me..." she said, chest heaving as she sat down on her bed. She wrapped her arms around her knees, rocking back and forth slightly. "It was actually Aahva... He, um... kinda saved me..." It had been such a confusing turn of events, the girl honestly had no idea how to process it. Was Aahva a good person deep down?

She shook her head, trying to push that thought out of her head. "I heard her admit to it..." she said softly. "Obedience, I mean..." She looked at Kana and Liam, her grey eyes like steel. "She was the one who killed my dog. She's been egging Aahva on, too..." Susies eyes drifted, a disturbed look on her face. "I just... I just really wanted to hurt her."

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

"...The application I sent in when I was twelve?"

Obedience sat up groggily, rubbing the back of her head. A dull pain responded to her touch, causing the tiefling to wince. It'd certainly come as a shock- she wasn't used to losing fights with children. How Rainfeather had even managed it in the first place was beyond her, the girl, unless that item she'd conjured had some kind of "hit you in the back of the head" curse on it. "Weird..."

Obedience rubbed her eyes. She was still in the washroom, though it seemed Anwen had decorated it for this meeting. She snorted, the image of the redheaded woman hurriedly setting up candles before the tiefling woke up flashin through her mind. "Sooooo..." she began, a sheepish expression on her face. "Can I assume it was Evans who tattled to you? I feel stupid now, shoulda guess she'd be watching..."

[Whim]

"Are you sure it was Obedience and not-? Susie I'm, um, sor-" Liam stammered. A lot was going on right now. Had Obedience, who was always a bit of a joke, really killed Susie's puppy and not Aahva? It was so hard to imagine. But the evidence was right there wasn't it? And Susie was just miserable. How could he miss all that? And now it was Liam's chance to do something nice for her, to help, but the words or what to do didn't come.

"Its going to be okay Susie. No one's gonna let her get away with that." Kana sat on the bed beside her. "I don't even know where to start, though. Did she make Aahva do all those things? To everyone? And why was she so awful to you? I mean you're great." Kana smiled, flashing a playful smile. Silly jokes and games were how you dealt with these things as a slave. "And I bet you could've got her if you wanted to.

"Me and Kana can vouch for you and everything" Liam piped up, mind still racing. How was all this so effortless with Kana? All he did was talk and smile and people liked him. Liam always had to do things. It was baffling. "And I- we're sorry about the dog. We'll... we'll get it fixed."

***

"We are always watching." Anwen sighed forcefully. Normally their agents and initiates had no idea, but could Obedience be trusted on a long leash? "My family in Ravensway owns lots of pastures. They're good for sheep. But where there are sheep there are wolves, and so our farmers had dogs. One of the dogs was called Sable. He was a big thing with shaggy black fur, and fierce, he chased off a bear once.

"But that is when the trouble started. My brother was friends with a shepherd boy called Kieran; they'd pal around the village turned into animals and causing mischief." Anwen rolled her eyes. She was always left out of those games. "But one day Sable near mauled the pair of them. No more playing dogs, and a switching, came after that. No one thought much of it; it was the boys' fault for turning into animals wasn't it? Sable was simply a beautiful, fierce herding dog and it was in his nature to be ornery.

"But then, one day, our friend Kieran found Sable had bitten a sheep. The poor thing had nearly lost its leg. What do you think happened to Sable after that?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"You're great."

Susie's entire face flushed bright red, and she found herself staring at her feet. "I... I..." What did she say to that? If they had been alone, Susie would have known exactly what to say, but Liam being around made things too awkward. "You- you're great too... Both of you." That last part was audibly an after-thought, though it sounded good in Susie's head.

The girl lifted her hand to her cheek, tugging on one of the flowers tenatively. After a few seconds she yanked it out, whimpering in pain as the roots dislodged themselves from her skin. "I- owwwww- I don't know what's going on with her Aahva..." she said, trying desperately to hold back her tears. After a moment she pulled out another, wincing again. She dropped tje two flowers onto the floor, where they lay in a bloody pile. "He seemed a little nicer after- owowow- after it happened, though."

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

Obedience stared blankly at the redhead in front of her, visibly confused. "Um... The dog, uh, was put down? I'm not a freakin' shepherd, Anwen." she said, squinting. "Wait, wait, hang on. Am I supposed to be the sheep?"

The tiefling shook her head, scowling. "Ugh, god. Could you be less obtuse? Like, I do not need this today."

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

"I can't get in."

Beatrix lay on her bed, eyes closed. Aahva sat next to her, a worried look on his face. "The fuck? What do you mean, you can't get in?"

Beatrix wrinkled her nose. "I mean something is blocking me. Some kind of ward, like the ones in the basement." The girl opened her eyes, pulling her consciousness back into her body. She sat up, frowning. "That's... not good. I hope Susie's isn't still in there..."

Aahva grimaced. "Check her room, just in case."

"On it." Beatrix wrapped an arm around Aahva's shoulder so as to steady herself, then closed her eyes once more..."

[Whim]

Kana reached toward Susie's face, almost speaking but stopped himself. Over the course of a year they had gotten good at picking up subtle queues from each-other. Sometimes Liam might jog Kana's muscles when the Duhjari mage was put on the spot to work a spell, springing forgotten trivia to mind. "Here. Hold still. Let me- we'll get it!" Liam squeaked out, reached to pluck the roots from her face.

***

"I wonder if you are being deliberately obtuse sometimes yourself." Anwen frowned. "You're the dog. Its why you've been allowed to rise so far. But a sheepdog is just a means to an end. Without a flock of sheep, placid and stupid as they are, what is the point of the dog? This school is here to ensure Serendipity endures. And you? If you aren't going to be useful, why should you even exist?"

Three. Two. One. The smallish woman uttered a word of power. Magic coursed through the tiny sample of blood she had taken -- painfully twisting flesh -- and not in a good way: the mottled skin, long nose, and pointy ears of an imp or other pathetic creature might soon to come light. "Keep hurting our purpose, and people, and we will take everything about you. You will not even recognize yourself." Her gray eyes were fixed on Obedience, jaw clenched, trying to hide fascination and elation.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie blinked, then looked away. Her blush would be clear as day had her face not been covered in blood and flowers. "You- hou don't have to do that!" she sputtered, ripping more of the buttercups out of her cheeks. "R-really! I got it!"

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

"So I'm just an animal to you? Oh, I'll show you..."

Putting on a smile to mask her rage, Obedience opened her mouth to retort. "But Anwen, I am being useful!" is what she wanted to say. "If the weakest links aren't culled, the flock will wither and die! I was doing the country a service!

However, all Obedience could manage was a pained whine as her face suddenly began to writhe and twist of it's own accord. The tiefling grasped at her cheeks, trying desperately to make whatever was hapening to stop. Tears of agony ran down her face and onto what was now an elongated nose. Her ears had now doubled in size, and ended in sharp points. The girl's eyes were burning with hatred as she looked up at Anwen, teeth grinding furiously. "I understand." she blurted out robotically. "Make it stop."

"You'll pay for this, bitch. I'm kicking your ass in badminton this weekend!"

[Whim]

"We can-" Kana opened his mouth and shut it. The boy knew if he offered maybe Susie would've let them help. Part of him was proud Liam worked up the courage, but almost relieved he'd failed. You couldn't get closer to anyone than he and Liam were? Why would you need anyone else?

"Are you sure? Well I can get you a- a mirror maybe?" Liam retracted his hands, weaving a tiny illusionary mirror into existence. It flickered a bit but showed Susie's freckled, bloodied, and flower-speckled face well enough. As if such a thing mattered. It was supposed to be something nice he could do...

"Aahva still seems like a cock to me. Just because he wouldn't let her choke you with flowers doesn't mean he wasn't having fun with the rest." Kana interjected. Whatever little moment of tenderness he hoped give Liam had thankfully passed. "So what do we do now? Tell a matron? Nothing?"

*** 

"You don't look very sorry, or like you even understand. I think you're just going to bite me or someone sel the very moment you get loose. Isn't that what you're thinking right now? Just that you'll wait and you'll get free-

"And you'll try and do something stupid like touch me with those flowers?" It was a question for Anwen as much as Obedience. Creatures like this never truly changed. Whatever it was, its mind was churning at how it might inflict more pain. And girls of this age, they were so stupid, especially at Wyrdwood. The smallest hint of praise, a look from a boy, and they got it in their head they were special or interesting. It was pitiful. This was her first time playing enforcer in truth, and her heart was pounding. The young woman shifted to hide the ever-blooming pink-and-blue Yoreiqi flower around her neck to seem more menacing.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie looked into the mirror Liam had conjured, inhaling sharply at the sight of her reflection. Her injuries looked much worse than they felt- and they felt pretty bad already. Her shock quickly turned uncertainty, which then morphed into anger. It was one thing to get hurt, but like this...

"I'm done with him." she said done. "If he wants to play nice, fine. If he doesn't..."

"He'll be the one looking like this." finished the voice in her head.

Susie sighed, wincing as she pulled out a few more flowers. "But yeah. We should probably tell somebody about Obedience- even if it's just another upperclassman they might be able to do something."

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

"Is that fear? You have me at your mercy and you're scared?"

Thoughts were hard to form when your face felt like it was melting, but those ones managed to get through clearly. Obedience looked up at Anwen, attempting to give her a reassuring look. It made her appear slightly demented. "Anwen, I swear I won't! You know I'd, like, never do that to you!"

"Your brother Canwen, on the other hand..."

Tears began to form in the tiefling's eyes as her horns crumpled and began to reshape into antlers. "Please... How do I make this right?"

[Whim]

"I'm sure the Headmistress would want to know..." Liam trailed off. Her stern ways and perfectionism made sense to him. He did not think she particularly liked him but felt driven to impress her nevertheless.

"We just got in trouble with her, dumbass." Kana grinned, nudging Liam with his cheek. "Maggie is nicer."

"Yeah but would she do anything? Nettlefield or Maergath would be mad."

"Fine. We'll find one of them." Kana lept off the bed. "You should come, Susie, in-case she wakes up or something." he touched her arm, carefully nudged her out the door...

***

The hex she used to make Obedience a mewling imp had faded as they spoke. As the girl began to cry Anwen gritted her teeth, anger welling up inside. "Haemothrax!" the spell was meant to send wracking, arthritic pain through the tiefling. It was a dangerous spell beyond mere agony, but she did not care.

"If you're stupid enough to think a year girl crying will melt the heart of anyone but a young boy, I don't know why we have you. You're smiling and five minutes later you're butchering a puppy." Anwen regained her composure. She was being observed much Obedience was. The sorceress had always guessed the imps and gargoyles of Wyrdwood were more than simple statues. Now that was confirmed. "How can a word you say be trusted?

"Its even more insulting you don't think! Why aren't you at least trying to make a real bargain? If you had not took it too far I would be fine with your amusements. This is just grotesque. If you're going to constantly be testing us, I don't know why we should even keep you about anymore. Can you tell me that?" she trailed off, in a quiet sort of voice that oozed menace.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"...yeah."

Susie nodded, slowly following the two boys. The bleeding was beginning to slow, though there were still a few flowers left unplucked. Little red spots dotted her face like pimples, marking where each root had sprouted. With any luck they'd scab over and blend in with her freckles...

"With any luck?" said the negative voice. "You don't have any luck, remember?"

The girl reached into her pocket, gripping the strange object she'd conjured earlier. "No. That's wrong." she decided. "Things are going to start looking up. I know they will."

For the first time in months, Susie Rainfeather felt a sense of confidence...

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

"Bitch!"

What should have been a scream came out as a gasp. Obedince writhed in pain, the tears in her eyes now genuine. She looked at Anwen darkly, no doubt planning a hex of her own...

The doorknob jiggled, and somebody began to rap on the door. "Is somebody in there? I really need to go!" said a panicked voice. "Come on! Hurry up!"

Obedience glared at Anwen, smirking madly. "Shall we finish this later?"

[Whim]

"No. Not later." She uttered another word of power, to strengthen the blood binding - leaving Obedience's limbs with pins and needles. A delicate hand produced a strange-looking lancet from her robe. "If you can't be reasoned with we will simply need to make you behave. Not just a tighter leash. We will have to change you.

"And stop smiling, if you want to keep your teeth. I can't stand the sight of it."

The girl did not knock again...