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swellwriting · 5 years

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Polyjuice

Fandom: Harry Potter (Marauders Era)

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader Warnings: None Request: Hey can you do a Remus x reader where they bet each other that they couldn’t last a week in the other’s place so they use Polyjuice (sp?) potion and Lily is asking the reader (Remus) why she hasn’t mentioned Remus and James/ Sirius is asking the same to “Remus” And they realize they like each other? Sorry it’s kinda specific A/N: This weeks edition of “Karli makes her own potion rules and invents a new use for Gillyweed”, it's not canon but oh well, none of this really is :)) Also reader sees “after full moon Remus” and thinks “it just be like that with boys sometimes” because she’s a dumbass. Shoutout to my mom @diggorysghost for proof reading this <3 <3

Word Count: 5.2k

It was harmless, really. All meant in good fun, good competitive fun. But that's what you’re friendship with Remus was like. Some called it sexual tensions, like Sirius, but you saw it as a competition. A competition of what exactly? Well, Everything you can name. It was always who got the better grade, who got the potion perfect and on and on.

Maybe it was just a weird excuse for you guys to hang out all the time because the world would end if you guys admitted to just wanting to be together, or at least admitted it to each other. So when someone asked why you and Remus had been in the Quidditch pitch for three hours in the cold fall weather you would say you were challenging each other, to see who was better when you had actually found yourself fooling around on the brooms not really accomplishing anything.

Today you sat in the library with him, seeing who could finish this chapter of the potions textbook faster, he always won.

“I wish we could brew this potion in class,” Remus muttered while still half focused on reading.

You put your book down, completely stopping reading as you knew you were too far behind anyway to win and conversation with him was much better. “I mean, we could.”

“Slughorn would never let us do it in class or after, Lily, on the other hand, he would definitely let her.”

“But if we manage to get the ingredients we could totally find somewhere to brew it, we could do it during the next Slugclub meeting so we know the classroom will be empty...”

“So we are just going to brew Polyjuice potions and see who’s ends up better? How will we know?”

You smiled mischievously at the idea that immediately popped into your head, your folded your hands together and leaned to the edge of your seat. “We could brew one of each other and then drink it.”

“How long will it last?”

“Well, shouldn't you know that? Haven't you been reading your chapter Lupin? If it’s good enough it will hopefully last an entire day.” You teased as you pushed his book out of his hands and onto the table, grabbing his full attention before completely diverting yours to the new task, taking out a notebook and writing notes down.

“What are you doing now?”

“I'm doing my potions assignment and reading the chapter so I know as much as I can about the potion, so I can be better than you of course.” You teased as you quickly looked back down at your notes scribbling a few important details to remember, Remus quickly mirrored you, the two of you stayed like that until Pince kicked you out just before curfew.

That night you had asked Lily when the nest Slugclub meeting was, stating that you were simply curious so she quickly forgot without asking too many questions about why you wanted to know.

You told Remus the next day at breakfast before going to sit with your friends, you planned to meet up outside the classroom and wait until Slughorn left so you would have the whole night to brew it as the Slugclub meetings often went until curfew, and then Slughorn would go back to the classroom after. To be safe you looked up a charm to lock the door and had an excuse ready and rehearsed in case you got caught.

Your friends and housemates were all gathered in the common room, reading, talking and enjoying their night. Lily had just left five minutes ago so you looked across the room getting Remus attention by tilting your head towards the exit and he followed you out the door and into the hallway. You handed him the bag of ingredients to carry.

“Are you sure you got everything?” Remus asked timidly, he seemed a little off.

“Yes, with no help from you mister “oh I'm sorry Y/N I'm sick.” You finished the teasing with a terribly fake coughing noise to playfully mock him.

“I really was sick, I still am a bit actually.” He shrugged with a sorry look on his face.

“Sick? You look more like you got in a fight, but I imagine that's what it’s like being friends with those boys.” You waved your hands gesturing to the group of boys who were back in the common room.

“What are you saying?” He sounded defensive over his friends thinking you meant that they had purposely hurt him, or that you believed in the reputation they had.

“Isn’t that what boys do? Fight because they think it’s fun?” The way you asked it wasn't accusatory at all, you just thought boys did that. Remus quickly nodded accepting your excuse for his current beaten up appearance. The reality was he was so busy getting ready for making this potion and spending time with you that he had almost forgotten the full moon was coming, so the night you two were to gather ingredients he had to get Sirius to tell you he was sick. You almost didn't believe him until you saw he didn't come to class for a few days after that, you thought he must have the weakest immune system because it seemed like he got sick every month.

“You know next time you’re sick I can make you a Pepperup potion?” You offered kindly and he smiled down at you chuckling to himself, “I think Madam Pomfrey has more than enough of those to shove down my throat.”

“Well of course she does, but I make the potion perfect so it would have a stronger effect.”

“I’ll let you know next time then.” His heart warmed knowing that you cared, even though you played it off like you were just trying to show off your skills.

You looked both ways down the long hallway and then grabbed Remus’ hand quickly pulling him into the classroom. You took your wand out of your knee high sock and started the charm to lock the door.

“You think that will keep someone out?”

“I know it will, do you know anyone better at charms than me?”

“Well I haven't had the pleasure to meet myself so-” You smacked him on the arm, oh so lightly, interrupting him. “Hey, no need to resort to violence, I know the truth hurts.”

“Oh shut up and set up your potion station Lupin.” Grabbing the ingredients and portioning them out evenly you set up your pewter cauldron and all the small flasks and tools needed. Remus looked over at your from across the table and let his eyes linger a little too long on your focused expression, you looked up and met his eyes. “It's not a race but our time here is limited so, eyes on your own cauldron Lupin.”

“You don't have to call me Lupin all the time Y/n you know my name.”

“I know, I just like the way it sounds.” Remus didn't respond to that and you both looked down at your busy hands to hide your matching red cheeks. For some reason unbeknownst to you, that wasn't a far enough trip into “flirting territory” so you opened your mouth again. “You should get used to it anyways.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, when you’re a professor someday your students won't be calling you “Remus”.”

He felt his heart flutter in his chest at your words, you really saw him as capable of being a professor someday? He hadn't told anybody he wanted that in the future, mostly because he knew he could never have it. “You think I’d be a good professor?” He asked like a little boy whos insecurities seeped through every word.

“Of course, second to best to me of course, pick your class wisely because I’ll be your competition for the first open teaching spot after graduation.” You teased catching a glimpse of his perfectly rosy cheeks and a wide grin that took up half his face.

“Okay less talking more brewing before we get caught.” He spoke in a more serious tone.

After an hour or so the sweat collected on your forehead from the hot steam of the liquids, your hair curled into a mess but Remus still kept looking up just to see your face, you looked a bit messy but it was still cute. He knew he looked like a mess too, the sweat on his forehead irritating the fresh scar on the upper left side of his face making it bleed again. You looked up at him and saw the small trickle of blood and instead of telling him it was there you stopped what you were doing and walked over to him taking out the small cloth you had tucked into the waist of your skirt. Remus looked up when he noticed you walking over and stopped what he was doing. Maybe it was the potion fumes that had you in a daze or maybe how much you truly cared for the boy was coming out. He looked at you and raised a brow but stayed silent as you grabbed his cheeks lightly but enough to squish his face, not that you needed to but you couldn't help it, you turned his face away from you and lightly patted the area, he winced a bit from the light pressure. You realized how awkward you had just made it so you tried to say something more typical of yourself. “You really are putting blood sweat and tears into this potion aren't you?”

“Well, I haven't started crying yet.”

“I can push on your cut a little harder if you need some help with that one?”

“I’d rather not.” He said as you both chuckled at yourselves before you changed the subject a bit, “I'm so excited to be you for a whole day, I get to walk around with all your cool scars and I don't even have to brush my hair because you haven't done that since first year!”

“Hey, I brush my hair it’s just messy because it's curly.”

“Excuses excuses.”

“I can't wait to be you so I can feel what it's like to be a teacher's pet.”

“I am not!” “You so are.” Remus retorted with a grin.

“Well, you couldn’t last a day in my shoes.” You tried to argue with no real reasoning to back yourself up.

“Oh, all the girl talk will really be the death of me.”

“Well, let's see who can last the longest without anyone finding out?”

“Sounds good, now get back to your brewing station Miss.Y/L/N”

You turned swiftly and made the finishing touches to your Polyjuice potion before pouring it into a cup and going to sit beside Remus as he finished his. It only took him a few extra minutes, you grabbed him a cup and held it as he poured the potion in, he took his cup and held it to his lips before you pulled his hand back down. “Wait. You have to ‘cheers’ me dummy.”

“Oh sorry, I'm not up to date on my Polyjuice drinking etiquette.” Remus clinked his cup to yours and you both mumbled a timid “cheers” and drank down the liquid.

“Ew yuck,” you commented on the thick consistency and bitter taste of the liquid.

“Doesn't Polyjuice taste bad when that subject is a bad person? I think it's quite offensive that you say the Polyjuice potion for me is gross, maybe you brewed it wrong.” Remus joked but then realized his probably had a bad look and taste, not because of him but because of the wolf inside him, for a minute he worried if you taking a Polyjuice potion of him would hurt you, if you would feel all the pain he felt all the time, what if you felt the pain he felt when he got bit?

The questions raced through Remus’ mind until you spoke up. “The taste and colour can be affected by the essence of the person who it’s made to replicate, but not always. What did mine taste like.”Remus escaped the maze of his head and spoke before he could filter himself. “Strawberries.”

You laughed as you started to feel the change happening inside of you, “Surely that's because I'm so sweet.”

The change was quick, almost record-breaking how fast the two of you became almost perfect replicas of each other. You tried to hold in a laugh as you saw yourself in front of you, dressed in Remus large sweater which looked even larger on your smaller frame, especially the arms, you noticed too that you were looking down at him and the height difference was strange from this new angle. You wiggled your arms about giggling to yourself, “I feel so lanky.”

“You look like a proper idiot.” he tried to suppress his laugh but couldn't at seeing himself dressed in a very short skirt and knee socks. “I look like you!” You turned your skirt to see the zipper has already undone itself from the change of waist size, you struggled to slide it off as Remus covered his eyes. “Why are you closing your eyes? I'm you!”

“But you're still you, but I'm you. Oh, Merlin, you’re me! You should be closing your eyes too.”

“Are you starting to regret what you signed up for Lupin?”

“I'm not Lupin I'm you, just please close your eyes.”

“Only if you do the same.”

You both quickly undressed with eyes clamped shut as you tossed each other the different articles of clothing. “We really should have planned for this.”

“I seemed to have forgotten about the actual effects of the potion,” Remus commented as he struggles to do up your bra on himself, he had the skirt loosely around his waist as he couldn't do the zipper up for that either.

“Need some help there? Not experienced with women's underwear are we?”

“You're supposed to have your eyes closed.” he rolled his eyes turning to you.

“They were, but now your just me and I've seen me naked before obviously.”

“But I'm still me, and I feel very naked right now.”

“And what's so wrong with me seeing you naked?” You teased as you walked up behind him, he had no response to that comment. Your now much larger fingers fastened the clip effortlessly and you also pulled up his skirt, zipping and fastening it. You picked up your sweater off the ground and held it out for him.

You turned, almost tripping over your now long legs and grabbed two small baggies.

“Now this should make it easier for us to pretend to be each other.”

You grabbed the small bag with your name scribbled on it and gave it to him then took his and opened it pulling out a clump of Gillyweed.

“And how is Gillyweed supposed to help us? Unless your plan is to hide in the lake until the potion wears off.”

“It's not just any old Gillyweed, it's charmed. Chew it until its dry and then spit it out. Then you should have my voice for the next 24 hours, it should wear off when the Polyjuice does.”

“You made this?” Remus said looking wowed at what was in his hand, examining it as if it would look different.

“Yes now eat it.” You pushed his hand up to his mouth as you chewed on yours. It took a few minutes for the slimy plant to get completely dry in your mouth but once it did you spit it up and threw it out, Remus did the same.

“So you thought to make special charmed Gillyweed but didn't think to bring each other an extra change of clothes?” Remus teased as he was taken back by his change of voice.

“Merlin,” You mumbled at seeing yourself in front of you and hearing your voice, “Do I really sound like that?”

“Yes. And I guess I sound like that.” He shrugged like this was normal.

“But your voice is normal mine is so high pitched.”

“It's not, you just aren’t used to it so it sounds weird to you, it’s the same for me. Don't worry I wouldn’t talk to you so much if you had an annoying voice.”

“Gee thanks.” You mumbled as you gathered the stuff and lifted your wand to undo the locking charm. After a minute or so Remus took your wand from your hand and replaced it with his own.

“It would seem a little weird to see us with each other's wands wouldn't it?” He suggested and you took the wand, moving to tuck it into the knee sock that was no longer there, “How do you carry this thing?”

“I wear these things called pants, you should try it sometime.”

“If you are more comfortable in pants you can find some in my room.”

“Wait which room is yours again?” He asked realizing he didn't know where your room was or which bed would be yours either.

“You will have to figure that out yourself Y/n” You called him by your name and opened the door leaving him in the classroom alone to ponder about what he had gotten himself into.

You made it back to the common room before curfew and just in time to see James heading up the stairs to his room so you casually followed him so you would know where you were going.

You tried to walk as casually as you could, you felt like your now long arms were flopping about and tried to think about what Remus looked like when he walked so you could copy his body language a bit. You tried to drag your feet slightly and slouched your shoulders, it seemed to work because as you approached the room James called out, “Moony there you are!” He walked into the room but pushed the door so it would stay open for you and you hurried a bit to walk into the room.

You tried to quickly figure out which bed would be Remus’ without standing there looking like a lost idiot in their own room. James went straight for his own bed jumping into it and smashing his face into the blankets, so it wasn't that bed. Then there were three more beds, luckily Peter came out of the bathroom and made his way to his own area of the room, searching through his trunk for something. Only two left, one was half made with books on the nightstand and a pile of sweaters folded on the top of the trunk and one didn't even have sheets on it at the moment but you noticed some black t-shirts on the floor around it, didn't take long to realize which one belonged to Sirius. You chose the bed with the sweater and books and sat on the edge taking your shoes off. You looked through the trunk for some type of pyjamas but realized Remus probably slept in a t-shirt and boxers like you heard most boys do, Marlene had told you Sirius did that at least.

Grabbing the clothes you made your way to the bathroom and closed the door behind you, placing the clothes on a dry spot on the counter, you relaxed a bit knowing no one could see you. You looked in the mirror and examined your face, the harsh lighting of this bathroom did no justice to the soft kind face you usually saw on Remus, you looked tired, the scars on your face pale and you weren't used to having curly hair falling into your eyes. You brushed back the curls and slipped off your sweater pulling a lighter shirt over top. When you pulled it down you noticed a slight pain in your rib, a ghost pain that almost felt like it wasn't really there. Maybe Remus was injured in his ribs to and the potion tried to replicate that as well. You leaned against the sink and caught your breath for a moment. The shirt smelled nice, it smelled like Remus did whenever you sat close enough to smell him.

The bathroom was a mess, you looked down and thought about taking off your pants, you had a sudden realization, what if you had to pee, oh god that's so wrong in so many ways, maybe this was a bad idea after all.

When you went back to your bed you opened the potions book, you read over all the notes he had written between the margins and pulled his blanket up to your face, falling asleep quite easily.

Remus wasn’t so lucky when he got to the empty common room a few moments after you had. He sat on the couch and read over a book until Lily came down looking for you.

“Y/N why are you still in the common room?” She yelled from the top of the stairs.

“I must have lost track of time,” he closed the book so loudly he startled himself and then quickly followed Lily back to the room, he discovered which bed was yours much more easily because everyone was in the room already, thankfully already all wearing their PJs so he didn't have to awkwardly avert his eyes.

He felt weird as he sifted through your trunk, finding you PJs, avoiding touching your lacy underwear, he grabbed a set of soft flannel pjs and a pair of fuzzy socks before going to the bathroom to change. It was weird that he felt colder as you, so the warm pyjamas were much appreciated and he pulled your sweater off and unzipped your skirt. He accidentally looked up meeting his own reflection in the mirror cursing to himself after shutting his eyes quickly. He was unable to get the image of what was basically you in just your underwear out of his mind, it felt wrong but he imagined you would have seen him in the same state, or maybe less. He was suddenly self-conscious though he really had nothing to worry about, if you had taken a peek down his trousers you would be anything but disappointed at the sight.

When you passed each other in the great hall the next morning you exchanged knowing smiles, you thought it was cute that he had actually found a pair of your pants to wear instead of your house skirt, he had worn your hair down and you noticed he hadn't attempted makeup at all which was probably a good idea.

You sat beside Sirius and tried to keep quiet as to not out yourself right away by saying something completely stupid. The rest of the day went on like this, you almost slipped up in potions when you automatically made your way to sit beside Marlene but luckily caught yourself, not before Remus noticed as he had entered the classroom right behind you. He took the seat beside Marlene and turned to wink at you.

Remus almost gave himself away after lunch, he was walking with your friends just a few feet in front of you as you walked with James. Sirius was walking down the opposite end of the hallways towards you and James when he passed Remus you noticed that Remus almost acknowledged his friend but caught himself when he realized why he was willingly listening to Marlene gossip about his own friends.

Later on, everyone was back in their rooms, curfew was soon approaching and Remus was sat reading in your bed as he waited until the time you had set to meet up. When the time drew closer he got up, awkwardly looked around the room and gathered all his things before walking towards the door silently until Marlene noticed. “Where ya off to Missy?”

“I'm going to do the assignment with Remus.” He quickly explained trying to keep on his path out the door,

“Ooh Remus, you guys got another study date?”

“It’s not a date.”

Lily laughed from where she was sitting on her bed and accusingly pointed at him, “You know, you have been acting weird today I wasn't sure what it was until now.”

Marlene joined in the mixture of loud laughs and giggles as she spoke, “She hasn't mentioned Remus once until just now that's what's weird.”

“What?” Remus said trying not to sound so shocked.

“Oh Y/N, just go to your date we can tease you later, we have enjoyed our day without having to hear about his cute curly hair or how he looks particularly cuddly today, You are worse than Lily gushing about James.”

Lily threw a pillow across the room at her friend and Remus took the opportunity to rush out the door, mindlessly walking to meet up with you, his cheeks probably burning red from the strange interaction. There was no way you fancied him, he also felt like he should be guilty for getting information like that about you.

“Remus! Come help me with the Transfiguration assignment!”

You looked over Sirius’ shoulder examining the papers on the table and then looked at him, “That's the one from yesterday if you wanted my help you should have asked me then because I don't have mine anymore. I have to leave anyway, I'm going to meet Y/n.”

“Have you shagged her yet?” Sirius asked with a stupid grin on his face as he beamed up at you like he wasn't bothered at all that you didn't want to help him.

“I don't want to shag her you git.”

“Really? That's not what drunk Remus confessed to us last month, we've been over this we know you're mad about her, you can't keep lying to us.”

“I'm not lying.” You tried to keep your composure after hearing this new information but found yourself wanting to escape this conversation as fast as possible.

“Sure mate, now hurry you don't want to keep the lady waiting.” Sirius teased as he waved his hand shooing you out the door, completely unaware of what he had just openly admitted to you.

You quickly took the opportunity and scurried out the door, making your way back to the potions classroom where Remus would be hopefully waiting for you, or maybe you hoped he wouldn't be there so you would have some time to calm your nerves.

You weren't just going to see Remus, you were going to see Remus who had some sort of feelings for you. You had to admit you had some sort of feelings for him too, a dumb crush with no potential. Well, that's how you thought of it until now.

When you opened the door Remus was sat waiting for you, it was not weird whenever you saw him today, basically seeing yourself. You wish you could blame that surreal feeling as to why you stood there silently, your mind not allowing your body to move. Remus mirrored you, both staring awkwardly at each other, faces growing redder by the second until you felt something swirl in your stomach and not the usual type of swirl you felt when his elbow brushed yours by accident.

Remus stood up quickly as he realized he was about to be himself again but stuck in your clothes, “We forgot again!”

You threw him a bag of his clothes you had grabbed and took out some you had managed to steal of your own while looking like Remus. He caught the bag and smiled, looking a bit relieved, “You still better close your eyes.”

“Only if you do.” You agreed with a wink as you turned away from the boy and started undressing.

You quickly changed back to yourself as the potion wore off, slipping on the right sized clothing. “Are you done?” You asked quietly, now remembering the information you had accidentally gotten about him.

“Yeah.” He mumbled as you both turned around to face each other, awkwardly fiddling with your hands unsure of what to say next. “So that was weird.”

“Yeah really, really strange.” He mumbled again, agreeing with you.

You decided to go sit on the stool beside him avoiding his gaze as you crossed the room. He wanted to just confess to you how he felt but you started to speak before he did.

“So, Sirius um. Sirius mentioned something odd just now.”

“Did he? That sounds like him. Was it something weirdly dark and fucked up from his childhood but he phrased it like a joke?”

“No, well I mean he did that earlier, but this particular comment was about you.”

“What about me?” He asked the question like he had no clue of what you would say, what you didn't already know about him before today, he wasn't scared of the words that could leave your lips because he trusted you.

“Something you admitted to them when you were drunk.”

“Oh, that.” Remus realized as a smile spread across his face. “Funny, your friends told me a similar thing.”

Your awkward fidgeting stopped as you grabbed his hands quickly. “No, what did they say?”

“Something you said about me having cute curly hair, or looking cuddly, something like that.” You jumped up placing your hands over his mouth, “Shut up!”

“I mean you're the one who said it.” He mumbled from under your hands, you felt his smile against your fingertips.

He grabbed your wrists moving your hands away as you both giggled at how silly this whole thing was.

“I guess we are both hopeless.” You admitted.

“Well if you want the truth, a not drunk confession. I spent my entire day looking like you and it was terrible because for the entire day even though you were there, you looked like me and I couldn't see your cute stupid face.”

You brought your hands up to your face this time, unsure of how to take the compliment so you hid behind them until Remus pulled them away again. “You git, I just said I had to go all day without seeing your face and you try to hide it from me?”

Your hands lingered in his hold until you intertwined your fingers, like shoelaces that had never been tied before but they felt so different now that they had. “Sorry.”

“Don't be sorry, instead you should let me challenge you to something else?”

“And what would that be?” You asked, almost bouncing in your seat from how happy this entire conversation was making you, how freeing it felt knowing your feelings were not being forcibly dimmed or hidden.

“Let me take you on a date.”

Oh now it was even better but you tried to keep your cool composure, instead of tackling him to the ground and smothering him in kisses you simply said, “Barely a challenge but I'll take it.”

Everything Tags: @theseuscmander @theboywhocriedlupin @diggorysghost @wanna-see-my-lease @fortisfiliae @moonynprongs @bluemadcnna @niffleurs @dyngflwrs @jamcspotters @siriuslyimmoony @lonelyhufflepufff @heartbeats-wildly @whysoseriouspadfoot @thisismysecrethappyplace @carolinesbookworld @finnofamerica @blimey-ron @wizardwritings @xinyourdreamsx

HP Everything: @babyplutoszx2 @sleep-i-ness

Remus: @evyiione

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sorceress-coffee · 5 years

Text

Trollhunters Episode 4 Pt. 1

Draal x OC This is based on the first half of episode 4 however, since this is from River’s POV this will be mostly ‘behind the scenes.’ Thank you for reading!

Episode 1

Episode 3 Pt2

Episode 4.2

I watched as Draal stood, growling lowly at Jim. “5 days,” he snarled, “we will fight in the forge.” He turned, huffing through his nose blowing out a cloud of steam. He walked out, head held high, nodding slightly to me as he passed. I tilt my head in recognition, debating on following Draal to ask what happened. As I stepped to follow after him, I was suddenly lifted from the ground and into a group hug with Toby and Jim, Aaarrrgghh had already caught them.

Blinky clapped two of his four hands, grinning up at us, “Excellent, Master Jim! We should start your trying right away if you are to defeat Draal!”

Aaarrrgghh laughed deeply as he walked out of the bar before setting Jim, Toby, and I down again.

Toby punched Jim’s arm, grinning “This is gonna be awesome! Right River? Oh! Hey River, when did you get here?” he asked.

“I walked in during your confrontation. What made you snap?” I asked Jim, frowning.

Jim was scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, “Well, I got in a fight with Steve, and-”

I raised my hand to cut him off, “No, why did you challenge Draal?”

“He was talking shit about his and Jim’s sparring yesterday!” Toby almost yelled, glaring at the memory.

Blinky clasped my shoulder as he guided us to the forge, “Come now masters, we have much training to do!” He took notice of the metal rod in my hand. “River? What do you have there?”

I lift the rod, looking over it confused for a moment, “Oh,” I held it out and tightened my grip slightly, as I did the rod began to glow blue and the lance I had forged with Vendel sprung to life, the veining in the staff giving off a faint sapphire glow. “Vendel and I found a way to channel my magic, he told me to find Jim to practice, but I think I’ll pass for today, he needs to learn troll fighting, not how hard I can bash his skull in.” I teased, lightly whacking Jim on the top of his head with the non-bladed end of the lance.

Jim laughs, smacking the lance away from him. “Those were the drawings you were working on Friday night, right? It looks amazing River!

“No way! I thought your magic was gonna be your cool superhero thing, now you have a weapon too?” Toby asked, pouting slightly.

I shrugged, “Think of it more as a really sharp wand.”

Blinky held his hands out, “May I?” I smile and place the lance in his hands. He tests the weight, swinging it slightly before looking over the sapphire veining closely. “Incredible Lady River! You made the gems for this?”

I nod, reaching into my black satchel and grabbing the extra gem I took, not the one that looks like Draal’s crystalline back. I hand it to Blinky, taking my lance back. “You should see the one in the center of the Heartstone. I went a little overboard.”

Blinky inspects the gem closely before handing it back. “I will once Jim’s training is finished for the day, thank you Lady River.”

I nod then notice Toby’s eyes are locked on the crystal now in my hand, I chuckle before handing it to him. “I thought you could add this to your collection.”

Toby grins taking the crystal, he starts jumping, listing off various gems, trying to place what it could be. Aaarrrgghh taps the stone, smiling “Not normal gem. Magic.” He explains, letting Toby know he won’t be to categorize it.

Jim shakes his head at his best friend’s excitement, “He’s not going to stop talking about this for a while,” he smiles to me before patting my shoulder. “Why don’t you head home River, you’ve been here for two days straight.”

Smiling, I nod, letting the lance collapse again. “I’ll be heading out soon. Is it daylight?”

Blinky shakes his head, “sunset, actually. You’ll want to hurry home before Bular is out running around.”

Nodding, I hug Jim and ruffle Toby’s hair. “I’ll see you later tonight! Bye Blinky! Bye Aaarrrgghh!” I take off running towards the exit for Trollmarket, keeping my eye out for a certain blue Troll. I frown slightly when I don’t see him, but shrug it off. Draal had a fight he probably wasn’t too worried about preparing for, but still, he was probably getting ready.

I climbed up the crystal steps to the canal exit of Trollmarket, playing with the lance as I walked, twisting it around my hand and back, slowly at first, trying to get the motions down. As I went to flip the lance over my hand it hit part of the stone wall and bounced back, hitting me in the head. “Ow…” I quickly grab the side of my head, trying to dull the throbbing. A sudden burst of laughter ahead caught my attention. I look up to see Draal, bent over laughing, at the canal exit.

I huff at him, giving him a mock glare, “Oh, come one! I’ve barely had it an hour! Did you think I’d be doing backflips by now?” I asked, pouting a bit, still rubbing my head.

He straightens up, slowly getting control of his laughter, “You were just doing well, and then you were bested by a wall.” Snickering, “That’s two walls that have it out for you.” He remarked, referring to my destroying a wall in the forge during his and Jim’s spar.

“And here I thought you were supposed to save me when the walls decided to attack.” I snarked back.

He smirked before opening the exit, walking through. “I remember saying not to launch yourself off of walls when I can’t be there to help you, not that I’d protect you if they attacked.”

I followed him through the exit, walking beside him as we head in the direction of my house, laughing. “Well, I kept up part of my deal!”

“Still bested by the wall.” He smirked down at me.

Rolling my eyes, I collapse the lance, slowing my pace. “Well, I don’t have any training yet, of course, the wall is going to win! That’s like me trying to pick a fight with you!”

Draal slows to match my pace, snorting at the thought. “You’re too smart to try that. Even for a fleshbag.” He tilts his head in thought. “You will be training with the troll hunter?”

I shake my head, “Nah, Blinky’s gonna have all four hands full trying to keep Jim in line, I doubt he’d be able to handle us both. Besides, he has to train for whatever fight you agreed to earlier. Fighting me won’t help with that.”

At the mention of the fight, Draal stops short, watching me. “You don’t seem worried.”

“You’re sparring with Jim again, I’m more worried about falling off another wall.” I joke, frowning when I look back to Draal, a serious expression etched on his face.

“This isn’t just a spar River.” He began slowly, “Honor was questioned. I will answer the call.” He began, “This is a fight to the death.”

I could feel the color drain from my face, going cold at Draal’s words. “Death…” He nods, watching my reaction closely. “He doesn’t know that!” I yelled, throwing my hand in the direction of the canal. “He probably thinks this is just another sparring session!”

Draal huffed, “If his teacher has any sense, he will explain the mistake he made.”

“Mistake?! Draal, one of you could die!” I started to panic, scared for both of them. “Please Draal, I understand there are things Jim and I both don’t know yet of your culture, but please reconsider this fight. If either of you…” I trailed off, hands shaking. I did the only thing I could think of to calm down, I rushed forward, hugging Draal tight, hiding my face. “Please, just… consider it. I don’t know if asking this is acceptable for Trolls, but losing my family or my friend…”

Draal had gone stiff when I rushed him, moving into a defensive stance. When he realized I was hugging him, he didn’t know what to do. After a while of silence, he finally reached up to pat my head, “If asked by anyone else, I would take insult, however, I will consider it. Though if he continues to insult, I will not hold back.” He stated.

I nod my head, still hiding against his chest. “Thank you Draal,” I slowly pull back when the shaking in my arms subsides. “Sorry for rushing you…”

He merely pats my head again, continuing our way to my house. “You need a trainer for that weapon, and I need to train, though I doubt it will be much of a fight to train for. I will train you how to wield your weapon properly, starting tomorrow. You’ve been locked in a forge with the old goat for two days straight. Get some rest.” He paused at the back door of the house, nodding to himself.

I yawned, nodding to him. “I will see you tomorrow then. Good night Draal.” I smile and pat his forearm before heading in.

“Goodnight River,” He called, leaving for Trollmarket.

I quickly grab a granola bar, eating as I head up to my room. I kick off my shoes before crawling under the covers, sitting up long enough to grab the gem I made that resembled Draal’s back and setting it on my nightstand before passing out for the night.

The next morning, I woke up early to do my chores, sweeping downstairs and dusting before Jim wakes up. Once I was done, I rushed upstairs to get ready for the day, I changed into black baggy cargo pants, my combat boots, and a dark purple long sleeve. Grabbing my backpack and satchel, I filtered through everything I needed for school and training. I grabbed my collapsed lance and walked out of my room as Jim’s alarm went off.

Jim was dragging his feet as he was walked out, mumbling in Spanish. Grabbing his book bag off the banister he headed straight into the garage. It looks like we were leaving right away. I quickly stuffed the lance in my backpack and took off after Jim.

Toby was already out front with taco truck bags. “I grabbed breakfast and lunch!” He grinned, handing me a breakfast burrito and diablo maximus for later.

Jim yawned, taking his bag, “Thanks Tobes, next time they’re on me.” We ate as we walked to school, having decided to nix the bikes since Toby’s was crushed by Bular’s, and he was too nervous to ride with Jim or me.

“Thank you, Toby!” I grin taking a bite. “Ironic choice since Jim woke up speaking Spanish.”

Toby, “Yeah, we have that comprehension test this week. Speaking of, any tips, teacher’s aide?” he looked up to me hopefully.

I shook my head, “Sorry Toby it’s a comprehension test, you’re speaking the entire time, no scantrons.”

Jim groaned, rubbing his eyes, “Besides, the last time we asked River for help, she would only communicate with us in Spanish for a week Tobes.”

Toby shuddered, “Remind me never to ask for language help again, I had a killer migraine trying to figure out how to ask for toast!”

I laughed as we walked into the school, “I’ll see you two later, trying not to cause trouble.” I headed off to my art class.

After a long day of classes, I was finally in Senor Uhl’s class, listing to Mary stumble over both her Spanish and English. I cringed, between Senor Uhl’s chalk screeching on the blackboard, and Mary’s terrible story about playing two guys.

“Little did anyone know; Maria was juggling two hombres. Manolo was muy guapo, but Joaquin had muchos musculos.” As Mary spoke, I glanced around the room, glaring as I see Steve harassing Jim. “And poor Maria had a pedoso heart.” I flinched hearing Mary, Senor Uhl’s chalk snapped once she said ‘pedoso.’

He quickly turned around, arms held behind his back, “What kind of heart did Maria have, Miss Wang?” He questioned Mary, walking around his desk.

“Um, a heavy heart. ‘Pe-Do-So.’ Or is it-” Mary was beginning to panic.

“I would hope Maria wouldn’t have a pedoso heart, because that would mean ‘gassy’” He interrupted Mary, lecturing her. “Did Maria have a gassy heart, Miss Wang?”

Mary was embarrassed and almost on the verge of tears, “Of course not Senor Uhl!”

“You were trying to say ‘pesado.’ ‘A heavy heart.’” He stated, “And it is with a heavy heart, Miss Wang, to tell you, that you have not shown the slightest comprehension of the basic Spanish.” He grabbed the tissue box, holding it out towards her. “If you can’t even finish the exam, I have no choice but to fail you.”

Mary’s face fell, she grabbed a tissue quickly as she began to cry over her failing grade. I sighed, writing down the grade next to her name on a spreadsheet Senor Uhl gave me to record the student’s grades as he focused on listening to their exam.

As the bell rung everyone got up to leave, I waited for all the students to exit.

“Mr. Lake, I look forward to your presentation tomorrow.” Senor Uhl commented to Jim as he passed by to leave, stretching.

“Yeah,” Jim chuckled nervously, quickly moving to the door, “I’m ready…”

I shook my head, handing the sheet to Senor Uhl before heading out. I found Jim and Toby by the lockers, Jim looking upset. “What happened? You look like you just failed instead of Mary.”

Toby shook his head, “He just got guilt tripped by Claire for missing rehearsal yesterday.”

“She thinks I’m a jerk!” Jim threw his hands up as we started the walk to the canal.

“Two days in and you’re already skipping.” I shook my head. “How was training last night?”

Toby sighed, “Before or after the gnome stole the amulet?”

Jim groaned, “That’s right, we need one of them gems you made, Blinky said it would help with getting the gnome.”

I nodded, “There’s a few stored in the Heartstone chambers by Vendel’s study, Blinky can grab whichever one he needs.” I pull out a horngazel that Vendel gave me. Opening the entrance and walking through

Jim frowned slightly, “You’re not going to hang out with us? I thought Vendel was giving you a break to train with the lance?” he asked, following me in with Toby.

I smile and nodded, heading down the stone steps, “He is, but you need to train for your fight with Draal, someone offered to teach me how to properly wield the lance.” I state, leaving out the part that I was training with Draal, not sure how happy Jim would be about it.

Toby looked at me confused, “Can’t be Vendel, I don’t think he’s that spry.”

I shook my head, waving them off as the met with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh, “I’ll see you later, good luck with the gnome!” I called, running off to find Draal.

I scoured Trollmarket for almost an hour, asking other Trolls if they had seen Draal, most of which just snorted at me and kept on with whatever they were doing before. I sighed, walking through a part of the market dedicated to different types of Troll cuisine, wondering if Draal had to leave for something important. As I made my way through the stalls, I was suddenly hit by something large and wall like from behind. My feet were swept off the floor as whatever ran into me decided to grab me. I quickly grabbed my lance, angling it so the staff would ram into whatever grabbed me as I activated it. As calculated, once I activated the lance, the staff quickly shot back and I was launched out of the grip, landing on my feet about 8 feet forward. Swinging the lance into a defensive position as I turned, ready to face whatever attacked me, and I was met with laughter.

Draal had been my surprise attacker. Though he was laughing, I didn’t sense that he was mocking me. “What the hell Draal? What if I had stabbed you instead?” I asked, pissed at being caught off guard.

Draal clasped his hand, his laughter had died out, but he was grinning. “You weren’t aiming for anything vital, so it wouldn’t have done much harm. I’m impressed at your quick reflexes though. Good to know you’ve got some fight in you too.”

I groaned, realizing why I wasn’t able to find him, and what the other Trolls were looking at me like I was crazy when I had asked for Draal. “You were following me the entire time.”

Draal nods, placing a hand on my back to guide me as we walked. “Since you entered Trollmarket with the Trollhunter and the other fleshbag.”

“Toby,” I remarked, noticing how depending on who Draal was referring to, ‘fleshbag’ either sounded endearing, usually towards me, or annoyed, Toby and Jim.

Draal snort, “Right, To-bee.” He drawled out on purpose, smirking down at me. “We’ll be training in the caverns since you haven’t told the Trollhunter I was training you, I figured the forge wouldn’t be available.” He stated a slight irritation in his tone.

I sighed, “Sorry, he knows we get along, but with the outburst in the bar, and your fight coming up, I don’t know how he’d react.”

Draal hummed, leading me into the caverns, large dark caves only illuminated by the glowing gems embedded in the walls. “You are worried he will disapprove.”

I snort a laugh, “Hell no, I just don’t want to psych him out.”

Draal smirked at my answer, seeming to be in a better mood. We stopped in a large cave, a little smaller than the forge. It was well lit compared to some of the other caves we had traversed through. Draal motioned for me to face him, pulling out a training staff. “Mimic my movements.” He started out by holding the staff in both hands parallel to the ground at arm’s length. As I took the position and copied his stance, he swung the staff down to the side, then pulled it up over his head, standing on one foot.

I mimicked Draal for a few hours, the movements became fluid, more stances were varied. Soon he was instructing me on lunging techniques and blocking. Around midnight we were sparring fluidly. As Draal curled into his ‘boulder stance’ as I began to call it, he set off to ram into me. I quickly dug the end of the lance into the ground as Draal was a few feet away, closing in fast, and I vaulted myself over him, swinging the lance around to whack his side with the staff end, landing behind him.

Draal landed on his feet and grabbed his side where I had hit, then cheered turning to me, “Well done River! Similar to your evasion of my surprise attack earlier.” He nodded to himself, going over the maneuver again.

I dropped to sit on the floor, chest heaving, covered in sweat. “Thanks, Draal. You’re a really good trainer, I’m surprised how far I’ve gotten.”

Draal smirked and sat next to me, “You need a break. We’ve been training since the sun was up.”

I grin, flopping back on the ground, looking up at him. “Thank Deya! I’m exhausted!” My stomach growled and I groaned.

Draal barked a laugh, “Looks like you’ll need to move or your stomach will keep screaming.” He poked my stomach as it growled again. I yelped whacking his hand away quickly. Draal frown, “You can’t be injured, you never sustained a blow to that side of your torso.”

I huff, hugging over my stomach before he could decide to prod and look for injuries, “I’m not hurt, that just tickled.”

“Tickled? What is tickled?” Draal had a look of utter confusion etched over his face.

I tilt my head to face him, trying to explain what tickling is, “Well, being ticklish means that when you’re touched certain ways, it sets of nerves and you get this feeling under your skin, your skin jumps, but in a really weird way it's not a bad feeling. People’s reactions vary though. Some people laugh uncontrollably, others kick and punch, trying to get away from the tickling.”

Draal’s face was etched in morbid curiosity as he looked from his fingers to my stomach again. “Why do fleshbags have such weaknesses?” He begins to poke at my leg when he doesn’t get a reaction, he pokes my arm. When I fail to react again, he starts poking at my sides that weren’t covered by my arms.

I screech, laughing. Quickly trying to wiggle away from Draal as he continued to poke at my sides. Squirming, tears flowing down my cheeks, and gasping for air, I grapple his arm with my arms and legs, hanging off of it like a sloth. “STOP!”

Draal laughs at my tactic, lifting his arm so I’m dangling in the air. “How is this helping you?”

“Well you stopped, didn’t you?” I stuck my tongue out at him indignantly.

“Careful, you don’t want to lose that.” He smirked as I squeaked, quickly pulling my tongue back.

“Are you threatening to rip or cut my tongue out?” I ask in mock disdain.

He hums in thought, tilting his head slightly, “Possibly…” He suddenly shakes the arm I’m hanging from with a smirk.

I yelp at the sudden movement and let go, landing on his lap, glaring up at him. “How dare you, sir! I was hanging on that!” I gesture to his arm dramatically.

Draal shook his head and stood as my stomach growled again, picking me up off his lap so I was sitting in the crook of his arm. “Let’s get you some food.” He began to head out of the caverns.

Holding my collapsed lance close, I squirm in his hold, not used to being carried. “Um Draal, I can walk.”

He glanced down at me but made no move to set me down. “You trained well past your limit today. I doubt you’d be able to walk far,” he reasoned. We quickly made it back into Trollmarket, stopping at a stall that had food that was safe for humans to eat. Draal handed the food to me, walking through the market. “Eat this, it might taste like rocks.”

I took the food and began eating quickly, tilting my head at the taste, “not rocks, but nothing I’ve tasted before.” I spoke up. I pulled my phone out to check the time, groaning. “I have to get home, it’s 3am, and I have school tomorrow… well, today.”

Draal nods and heads out of Trollmarket to that canal. “Why do you attend this school, surely you are learning well under Vendel.”

“If I had a choice in the matter, I would love to run off to Trollmarket and focus on magic studies, but as I grew up human, well, we are forced to attend learning institutions until we are 18 years old, and if we don’t, we can get into trouble.”

“Bushigal!” He sneered, “Fleshbags and their idiotic rules.”

I shrugged, “Yup, and with mom being a doctor, well, she’s all about getting an education. I don’t think she’d be okay with me dropping to study magic any time soon.”

Draal hummed, “It is best she remains unaware, the fewer humans know, the better.” Climbing over the fence and into the backyard, Draal finally sets me down. “You said you could leave at 18 years of age, how old are you currently?”

“17, I’ll be 18 soon though. I’ve been thinking, Vendel said I would begin to age like a troll, would that mean I wouldn’t be able to stay around humans for long?” I asked Draal.

He hummed, thinking for a moment, “It depends on how long it takes for the fleshbags to notice you aren’t changing as fast. Worried? It's not like you won’t have anywhere to go.”

I looked up at him confused, “Where am I supposed to go? I can’t exactly afford to move around to different cities or states.”

Draal rolled his eyes at my question, “Trollmarket. You’re a sorceress, not a human, you’d be welcomed and respected in Trollmarket. Why do you think the Trolls leave you alone yet go out of their way to mess with the other fleshbags?”

“Because Toby can be loud and invasive and Jim is the first human Trollhunter,” I state with a blank look.

Draal shook his head, “You are more Troll-like, than you are human. You were recognized and taken in by the leader of Trollmarket, you study the arcane under him. The most fearsome warrior in Trollmarket took you under his wing to train you in weaponry,” he smirked, boasting, “and you’ve forged your own weapon in the short amount of time you have been coming to Trollmarket. I’m surprised you haven’t moved there yet.”

I laughed at his boasting, grinning up at him, “Thanks Draal, maybe once I can get away with dropping school, I’ll take you up on that.” I paused, yawning. “I’ll see you tomorrow for training my most fearsome warrior.” I tease hugging him, lifting my head slightly under his chin before heading inside, “Goodnight, Draal.”

If I had stayed a moment longer, I would have noticed that Draal had gone stone still at the gesture, once I had shut the door behind me, his jaw dropped, staring at the door, a hand rose under his chin where my head had been. Draal had to remind himself that I still didn’t know much about Trollish culture and that I most likely had no idea what I had just done.

#Trollhunters #Draal #DraalxOC #River Marie Lake #River Lake #JamesLakeJr #Blinky #Aaarrrgghh #TobyDomzalski #vendel #Fanfiction #original character #ClaireNunez

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pyromania2667 · 6 years

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The Trials

This is one of the first stories I’ve written, far before I even had a Tumblr.

“Are you ready to face the tower of trials, my young pupils?” Archmage Andrea asked.

The trio of sorceresses exchanged glances with each other, looked up toward the towering structure in front of them, they looked back at each other and nodded in unison.

“I think we’re ready, after all, this is what we’ve been training for all this time, right?.” Laura replied

“Ah, good luck my dearest students, I know you will do well.” With that being said, the Archmage opened the doors, allowing the girls to pass in

The interior was blackened once the doors closed behind them. In a flash, torches light up the room in a warm glow

A disembodied voice echoed throughout the circular room, “Welcome to your first trial, here we’ll test your combat capabilities, demonstrate your skills and vanquish your enemies.”

A gate on the east and west side of the room opened, allowing a flurry of icy elementals out.

“Elementals,” Amber noted, “Usually you’d want to try to use the opposite type of magic they are against them, So it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

With a whim and a whir from her wand, Amber conjured a fireball to strike down the ice elementals.

With a loud crash, the blazing sphere crashed in the middle of all the elementals. Embers of fire spread out in all directions.

“It’s a good thing I specialize in pyromancy.”

“Nice one Amber,” Kayla replied, “But try to be more careful, you nearly hit me! You know that I have poor elemental resistance.”

“Save some of your stronger incantations for later Amber, It’s only going to get more difficult...” Laura warns. “Do you have any idea how many people have failed the tower of trials?”

“I’d bet many do,” Amber replied, “but remember, the tower of trials is different for everyone and every group.”

The gates opened once more, allowing a pair of imps to emerge from each side.

“Imps? Imps are just like corrupted pyromancers right?”

“Yeah, kind of?” Laura replied, “They do seem to like setting things ablaze.”

Just then a pair of fireballs came darting toward Laura

Kayla reacted quickly and raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, a translucent shield appeared beside Laura and Amber, blocking the impact of the fireballs. Kayla winces as she takes a few stray blasts to the legs.

“Good one, Kayla.” Amber cheered

“Thanks, but we need to be more careful.” Kayla replies as she brushes off her leg

“Let’s not let our guard down so fast,” Laura stated as she raised her wand. With a whim and a whir, she shackled the imps by the wrist, preventing them from casting spells with their hands. “It’s not like they’re going to wait for us.”

“Right,” Amber replied

Kayla raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, rays of incandescence beamed from her wand, a direct hit to one of the imps left it in the dust; casting the same spell, Kayla defeated the remaining imp.

The door at the opposite side from where they entered slowly opened and the trio advanced.

“Welcome to your second trial, here we’ll test your ability to work as a team and reach the end of the room.”

Torches near them lit up, a lengthy chasm stretched seemingly endlessly across the room

Kayla and Amber simultaneously cast a spell, illuminating the room.

In front of them was a single platform not too far ahead of them floating motionlessly above the gaping abyss.

“Hmm, I don’t have a spell to get us across... safely...” Amber pouted.

“There are many ways to get across, but the using the platform may be the safest option” Laura noted, pausing for a moment. With a whim and a whir from her wand, a pair of spectral figures appeared atop the floating platform, With a wave from her hand, she signaled for the apparitions to push the platform toward her, but the platform would not budge.

“And what was that supposed to do exactly?” Amber asked.

Laura doesn’t give any reaction.

“There might be something keeping it in place...” Kayla replied.

“If my familiars can’t move it, then whatever is keeping that platform in place is probably quite powerful.” Laura exclaimed.

“Maybe we can try to build a path to the platform? It’s only like 10 feet away, that’s not too far.”

“Yeah, but the end of the hall is like 50 feet away, and the platform doesn’t want to move.” Laura replied.

“Let me try something...” said Kayla. With a whim and a whir from her wand, a translucent path of light connected from the platform to where the trio stood. Kayla cautiously tapped her foot against the path. “It seems sturdy, I’ll go first.” Gingerly, Kayla advanced across her path and carefully set one foot atop the platform. Kayla gave a quick yelp as her foot was encased in ice. “AH! Freezing trap!”

“Hold on Kayla!” Amber shouted as she raced toward her.

“No! Stop! Don’t!” Kayla plead.

But it was too late, with a whim and a whir from her wand, Amber shot out a small burst of flames, but as the ice melted, new flakes were fresh on her feet.

“Wait! I’ll try to neutralize the ice magic, stop casting spells!” Laura shouted. With a whim and a whir from her wand, Laura attempted to counterspell the icy field that covered the platform. “Okay, now you may free Kayla.”

Once Kayla was freed, the trio took a moment's rest upon the platform.

“I can’t make a path that long to reach the other side, I was lucky this one was stable enough to for us to pass,” said Kayla.

Laura gave Amber and Kayla a stoic stare as she reacher her hands out toward the two of them. The two of them exchanged glances before looking back at Laura.

“Laura..?” Kayla asked, “Are... wait... I know that look, you want to try levitation again. Come on, at least try to say something next time.”

“Are you crazy?! Levitation?! You know how draining that can be since none of us have are even good at it.” Amber complained.

“While there might be another way, levitation may be our best option right now.” Kayla replied, “Laura’s phantoms don’t interact well with organic creatures, so they can’t carry us, and I can’t make a path stable enough for such a long distance. So levitation just might work...”

“Ugh, fine...” Amber pouted.

The trio formed a circle and held hands with each other, channeling their powers together, the force of their magic combined is enough to allow them to steadily rise above the platform. As they advanced forward a problem quickly emerged.

“There’s no platform.” Amber blurted, “Just a... *gasp* doorknob..!”

“Remain calm...” Laura replied, taking a deep breath, “We can’t break concentration... slow breaths.”

“Amber... don't...” Kayla said, shaking her head softly, “That’s not...”

It was too late, Amber used all her might to swing her foot at the door, the trio simultaneously winced as her foot connected, almost breaking the connection. The door still stood firm.

“We... have no... choice..!” Amber squeaked.

Laura nodded

Amber made a desperate attempt at the doorknob, letting go of Kayla’s hand, the circle was broken.

All at once the girls fell while Amber pushed the door open with everything she had left. Amber fell in, Laura fell atop her, but Kayla fell, grasping her hand at the bottom of the door frame, barely hanging on. Laura and Amber scrambled to their knees, grasping at Kayla’s wrists, hoisting her up.

“That was too close.” Amber said as Laura comforted Kayla.

“Well... well at least we made it...” Kayla replied, letting out a deep sigh.

After about a minute of respite, a familiar voice echoed through the room. “Welcome to your third trial. Here we’ll test your ability to function separately.”

With that, the room went pitch black followed by a low rumbling noise. The torches lit up the room once more.

The trio was separated.

Kayla checked her surroundings, the room she stood in was dead silent. Checking around for a moment, there was only a wall behind her. “Amber?! Laura?!” She shouted, but she got no answer, figuring there was nothing else she could do, she knew she had to move forward, while it was dim, she could make out something far at the end of the hall.

Laura examined her surroundings, critters were squeaking and she could hear a faint murmur from down the dimmed hallway, Treading lightly, she approached the voice, upon reaching closer the voices halted. The pressure of dozens of eyes was upon her, Laura raised her wand defensively and prepared for combat as figures emerged from the shadows. Looking down Laura gazed at a rodent very close to her, “It’s not real... it’s just part of the trial...” she said under her breath. With that, Laura squashed the rodent from beneath her foot and tried to raise it to fight for her, but before she could finish the spell she was stricken with an unnatural fear as the shadows emerged. They didn’t gain any form, but rather a black mist that encroached upon her, it’s presence paralyzed her. Laura looked down at the dead rodent by her foot and put all of her efforts into raising it by her force of will. Suddenly several rat skeletons burst out from the corpse and swept Laura off her feet and carried her off her back, she could feel herself move again as she grew further from the black mist, finally able to stand up Laura saw a door at the end of the dim hall and sprinted toward it.

Amber looked around, walls surrounded her sides, but as she looked up, she noticed a rather low ceiling that had holes in it. She had a premonition of danger as she looked toward it, followed by a faint rumbling sound. She began walking forward at a brisk pace, careful not to cause too much noise. A tiny rock fell from the ceiling and hit her head, looking up, Amber saw that it was not a rock, but rather water dripping from the ceiling. Amber felt a sharp jolt of energy for a moment and noticed her wand sparking, “That’s NOT good.” Amber thought to herself, “There’s definitely something extraordinary about this water.” Soon the water came rushing down, and Amber picked up the pace into a sprint. She ran as far as she could before being stopped by a door at the end of the hall. “This is it... a dead end...” She thought out loud. She looked at her wand, sparks of fire emitted from it, “I don’t know how much longer this my wand will last, but I must press the water back.” With a whim and a whir from her wand Amber streamed out a torrent of fire at the water. Steam hissed at her as the fire repelled the water, how much longer she could hold this for, Amber did not know, as she looked back at the door there was a handle near the floor. Frantically Amber leaned down and attempted to open the door with but it wouldn’t budge.

Kayla continued down the dreary hall, she heard something faint call her name, “Laura? Amber? Is that you?” She shouted back, but whatever was trying to communicate with her was indistinct. Kayla looked back at where she began walking from, the voice emanating from there. Torn, she didn’t know whether to continue down the hall or return to the voice. Empathy got the better of her and she returned to the voice she heard. The voice grew softer as she approached it until she was at the wall she started at, Kayla looked around, but the hall felt emptier than before; Kayla flinched as something tugged on her robe’s hem. A small light aberration stood at her foot, she picked it up and it vanished. A warm glow emanated from the wall beside her and a small handle appeared at the base of it. Kayla looked at the small handle and reluctantly pulled on it. The door flew open and a tsunami of water rushed in, Amber was barreled toward Kayla as the water dissipates into the hall,

Amber coughed and sputtered, “Kayla! I’m so glad you’re here!” She said hugging her tightly, “I don’t know how you made it to me, but you came in the nick of time!”

Kayla looked around for a moment, “I’m so glad to finally be with someone again! Have you seen Laura by chance?”

“No, I hope she’s okay!” Amber responds letting go of Kayla, “We need to help her wherever she may be...”

There was a loud scratching at the end of the hall.

Kayla looked toward Amber for recognition, Amber nodded back and the two of them ran toward the noise.

“How do we know this has to deal with Laura, and not something terrible?” Amber asked

Kayla shook her head, “It’s our only chance. I don’t want Laura to deal with some terrible fate on her own.”

There was a door at the end of the hall, and a small rat skeleton slid out from the slit beneath the door

“Necromancy...” Kayla noted, “This has to be her!”

Amber gazed at the door, a shroud of inky blackness coating the door.

Laura kept running, nearly tripping over her own feet as she reached a door at the end of the hall. There was no handle, but only a slit underneath the door. She cautiously knelt down and looked beneath the door, only to see 2 pairs of feet.

“Amber? Kayla? Is that you?” Laura shouted eagerly.

“Laura?! It’s us! There’s some weird enchantment covering this door.” Amber replied.

“It’s resisting my magic.” Kayla chimed in.

“There’s no door handle,” Laura responded, “Give me a moment to think...”

A shallow murmur followed closely behind Laura, looking back, the shadows were quickly closing upon her, “No, no no..! I need to think! FAST!” she thought to herself

Amber chucked her wand at the inky black enchantment covering the door, the wand bounced softly off of it, as it hit the ground it explodes in a puff of smoke on impact.

“My explosive wand isn’t working!” Amber shouted.

Laura looked beneath the door again, and reached one hand under, “Someone! Grab my fingers!” With a whim and a whir from her free hand, Laura readied a spell

Without thinking, Kayla reached under the door and grasped at Laura’s fingers. An overwhelming sense of dread invaded Kayla’s thoughts as Laura entered her body. As the rest of Laura’s body flowed into Kayla, the apparitions grabbed at Laura’s leg.

Laura’s desperate attempt at possessing Kayla’s body was interrupted, and she felt herself fading out of their plane of existence. Kayla’s will to hold onto Laura was stronger than the shadows grabbing at her, putting all of her thoughts into who Laura is, she kept her being within her. As the possession failed Laura was violently ejected out of Kayla’s body, her body was only a black silhouette of herself, before she starting regaining color after a moment.

Laura lies on the ground, incapacitated. Kayla is breathing heavily after dealing with the trauma of a failed possession and keeping Laura intact.

Amber looks at the door, the inky black coating began to fade away. She looks at the ground and picks her wand back up.

“You guys alright?” Amber asks.

Kayla knelt on the ground, dazed, as Laura lie down, drifting out of consciousness.

The door behind them slowly opens, Amber is the only one able to notice it.

Desperately she looks back at her friends, whom of which are unable to respond to the problem at hand.

A shadow lurks out from the crack of the door and slowly approaches Amber.

Amber raises her wand, and with a whim and a whir, flames shoot out at the apparition, repelling it only for a moment. Looking back at her friends, Laura is still unconscious, and Kayla struggles to regain her composure.

Amber desperately tries to remember a spell to use, a slowly raises her wand. With a whim and a whir, the trio slowly melted into the ground beneath them.

Unsure on how long, or safely she can keep everyone inside the floor, Amber pushed herself toward her friends and pulled them toward where she reunited with Kayla.

Traveling through solid objects with her minimal knowledge of the spell is an agonizingly slow process, but after what felt like ages, Amber finally reached the door at which she reunited with Kayla. The spell suddenly ended and the trio was shunted out of the ground atop the floor.

Kayla looks around, “I feel... weird... Did you bring us here?” She says turning to Amber.

Amber nods softly, the efforts of the spell has worn her out as well.

Laura wakes up, jolting upward, “Where... Is everything okay..?”

“Amber has brought us here with one of her gambits, fortunately, it worked out well for everyone this time.” Kayla replies, reassuring Laura.

Amber reaches her hands down to Laura and Kayla, helping the two up.

“Group hug!” They shout simultaneously.

“It’s so good to finally be safe with the two of you again!” Kayla exclaims, tearing up.

“Me too,” Laura replies.

“Same,” says Amber

“But now’s not the time for sentiment, I don’t know how much we have left, but we should get going, who knows what’s still waiting for us, wherever it may be in this room.” Laura states

The trio advances past the door and down the hallway where Kayla started. There’s a door at the end of the hall. 3 wand shaped holes fill the wall, the trio exchange glances and place their wands into the according slots. The door slowly opens and the trio advance past it.

They look around the new room, it’s incredibly tall, but otherwise, it has a relatively small diameter.

A familiar voice echoes throughout the room, “Do you wish to take a moment to rest?”

The trio looked at each other, Kayla nodded her head while Laura and Amber shook their head.

“No.” Laura responded

A familiar voice echoes throughout the room, “Here we’ll test your ability to take out a larger foe.”

“That doesn’t sound so good.” Kayla responds

Stomp Stomp Stomp Stomp Stomp

The room lit up revealing a colossal sized skeleton, easily twice the height of the trio stacked on each other.

“Holy...” Kayla muttered

“What... The heck?!” Amber mumbled.

Laura looked at the being in shock and awe.

The colossal skeleton stood there, wielding a club half its size, without warning it swung at them.

The trio had just enough time to jump out of the way as shockwaves from the blow shook the entire room.

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall!” Exclaimed Amber.Kayla raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, ropes of light erupted from her wand, wrapping themselves around the legs of the risen giant.

Amber followed, with a whim and a whir from her wand, she evoked a massive ball of fire, aiming at the skeleton’s head, she shot it out, hitting the colossus directly, shards of ember and fragments of bone spewed out in every direction, its club hit the ground as the giant collapsed.

Amber cheered and Kayla gave a weak chuckle as Laura raised her hand to Amber, “You know you can’t really kill the undead, right?”

The fragments of bone shook, the room trembled as each individual fragment flew across the room only to reform the colossal. Now enraged, it hurled the massive tree at Amber.

Without missing a beat, Kayla raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, Amber was wrapped in a protective hemisphere. The massive tree hit the bubble with a resounding thud, the barrier quickly faded out and Kayla collapsed to the ground, the sheer amount of force her ward took was enough to daze her. Completely overexerted, Kayla fell forward, out cold.

“Distract it! Now!” Laura shouted.

“Communicating now, are you? This isn’t the Laura I know.”

“This is no time for chatter, Kayla is imperiled, we need to distract it so I can dispel the magic holding it together.”

The colossus, now disarmed, resorted to using its feet, it swept its foot across the ground, attempting to kick Amber to the wall, but she was prepared. Amber threw her wand at the massive skeleton, and it exploded on contact, disorienting the beast.

Seeing her chance, Laura raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, she tried to dispel the magic holding it together. With a whim and a whir, she raised her wand in the air, channeling her own magic to tear apart the magic that kept the undead construct intact. The being held still for a moment, as the magic holding it together was unleashed, and the bones holding it together fell apart to the ground.

The door on the opposing side of the tall room opened, allowing access to their next challenge.

Amber knelt by Kayla, waiting for her to regain consciousness while Laura brought Amber’s wand to her.

A few minutes passed, and Kayla jolted up, nearly headbutting Amber.

“What’s going on?! Is everything okay?!”

“Everything’s okay now... I’m so sorry Kayla, it was my fault, we should have given you a moment to rest, and the skeleton knocked your ward so hard that you passed out... fortunately, Laura actually communicated for once,”

Laura glared at Amber

“and she dispelled the skeleton, allowing the fight to end safely.”

“Well, I’m glad everyone’s okay,” Kayla replied

“I’m sure we got this, I’m positive we’re at least half way there... I think...” noted Laura

“There can’t be too much left, right?” Amber asked, but Laura could only shrug

“It’s different for everyone,” Kayla chimed in, “so who knows how much is left.”

As the trio entered the next room, they discovered it was significantly smaller, and lit only by three glowing orbs floating in the air, each a different hue.

“Welcome to your fifth trial. There will be no additional information for this trial.”

“No additional information... what could they want from us?” Amber asked

“Who knows, but it must deal with those orbs of light... something about it feels... familiar to me somehow.” Kayla replied

“There’s seemingly so little in this room, I think I-” Laura was cut off

“I’m gonna grab one of those spheres.” said Amber, as she marched fearlessly toward one.

“No, wait!” Kayla tried to halt her, but it was too late, Amber had already grabbed one of the orbs.

“It’s sorta... warm and cuddly. You know, for a ball of light...” Amber noted

“Do you feel anything trying to take over you... or..?” asked Kayla.

“Just... really... tired...” Amber replied with a yawn, subsequently falling forward, asleep on the ground, light in hand.

The door onto the next room opened.

“Hmm, this seemed far too easy, but... perhaps that’s all it wanted? To be fearless?” Laura stated, “We should wake up Amber before advancing.”

Kayla raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, sprinkles of dust fell out of the tip of her wand, in which she let fall atop Amber, but as she did, the door closed.

Amber woke up, “What... did... did I miss anything?” Amber said, stretching briefly, the sphere still in hand. She glanced at the orb, it appeared cracked for a brief moment, but in a blink, it seemed completely fine. She tried to hold on, but the orb drifted back into the air, still within arms reach.

“When you fell asleep, the door closed,” Laura explained, “I’m not sure if we should let you sleep or if it’s something else...”

“Are you alright Amber?” Kayla asked, “I thought I heard the orb break, but it appears perfectly intact.”

“I think... I’m pretty sure, at least, that the ball actually repaired itself, I could’ve sworn I saw a crack.” Amber replied

“Let me try.” Laura said, as she reached for the orb that Amber recently held.

She grabbed onto the orb, standing in place. “I don’t really feel anything...” Laura noted, “Well, I mean, I am fairly resistant to magic so...” She stated, turning around to look at the door to the next room. The door stood in place.

Laura became unsteady, the magic slowly reaching her, she teetered back and forth before falling on her side, dropping the orb. The orb shattered onto the ground as Laura put all her weight on it, trying to keep awake.

The door opened slightly but closed as the orb repaired itself.

“It looks...” Laura stated, with a yawn, “It looks like we have to break all the orbs at the same time before they can repair themselves.”

“But it seems that the orbs will just put you to sleep, how will we wake up... or...?” Kayla replied, but she was suddenly interrupted by Amber unleashing a blood-curdling scream.

The two turned around, to see Amber, kneeling down on the ground, clenching her hand. “KAYLA! KaylaKaylaKayla! I’M LITERALLY ABOUT TO DIE!”

Kayla sprinted over, pressing her wand over Amber’s hand, Amber let out a sigh of relief as Kayla held her hand, examining it for any wounds.

Kayla sighed softly, “It was just an agony spell, you didn’t suffer any real physical damage... Amber, you need to be a little less reckless, your impulsiveness has caused a lot of problems you know, and I won't always be here to save you, I mean, I’ll try, but there are times when I simply won't be by your side.”

Amber exhaled slowly, slightly miffed at the truth in the statement, “I supposed I should try to be a little less impulsive and ask before I barge in, but come on, it works out in the end, most of the time anyway.”

“Sometimes the consequences may be irreversible, what if that was a death orb?” Laura replied, “I mean, I do have a detect magic spell, but you didn’t give me any time to consider anything.”

“Alright, just tell us what the last orb is then.” Amber replied

Kayla glowered at Amber.

“...please?”

Laura walked over to the orb in the middle, with a whim and a whir, she raised her wand over the orb and spent a moment examining it.

“Paralysis, I’m confident it’s paralysis.” Laura stated.

“Prepare a cleanse paralysis Kayla, I’m going to see if Laura’s right.”

Kayla raised her wand, with a whim and a whir she readied a spell.

Amber fearlessly grasped the orb, she waited a moment, but nothing happened.

“There’s some serious delay-” Amber was petrified mid-sentence.

Kayla unleashed her spell against Amber, immediately she regained control of herself and let go of the orb.

“Let me think, we know what each orb does now, so how will we break all of them at the same time?” Laura thought out loud. “Kayla can’t dispel agony when it’s a continuous effect... but you can give protection against sleep, right?

Kayla nodded

“And Amber... stoneskin gives you protection from paralysis, right? I’m sure you have learned stoneskin”

Amber thought for a moment, “Right, I think it does actually.”

“Great, then that just leaves me... with the agony orb...” Laura let out a disgruntled sigh. “Alright, every one into position, we need to make this quick, I’m sure we all know how horrible agony can be, especially if it’s an extended experience, that can be lethal...”

“I... I can take on the agony orb... I can cast sleep protection on you.”

“It’s okay Kayla, you’ve been through a lot, I can handle this.”

“If... if you’re sure, I just don’t want you to suffer.”

“It’s alright Kayla, I know you’re by my side, and that’s all I need to get through it.”

The trio lined themselves up against their respective orb.

“Cast what you need to now.”

Amber raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, her skin hardened into stone. Kayla followed, raising her wand, with a whim and a whir, her head was wrapped inside a translucent bubble.

“Throw it against the ground with everything you have, I don’t want to do this multiple times”

“NOW!”

All at once, the three of them grabbed the orb and hurled it against the floor with all their might. Laura hesitated briefly, but was able to regain control quick enough and through her tears, she managed to break the orb on the ground with the rest of her friends.

Kayla rushed over, pressing her wand against Laura’s hand, as relief washed over her and the pain subsided.

“Thank you, Kayla...” Laura sighed.

The door on the opposing side of the room opened, and the trio was allowed passage to their next trial.

The next room was fairly standard size compared to the previous rooms, lit by its own source of light.

“Welcome to your sixth trial, here we’ll test your ability to take out foes in a dampened magic arena.”

“Dampened magic... I hate low magic, it’s so annoying.” Amber pouted

“It could be worse, it could be a null magic field.” Laura replied

A duo of harpies flew from the sky, their razor talons ready to shred through skin and bone.

“Harpies! Watch out for their claws!” Kayla shouted, “I... I can’t protect more than one of you guys!”

“Kayla watch out!” Laura shouted, with a whim and a whir from her wand, she attempted to bind one of the harpies wings to her torso. Her magic was barely strong enough to keep them chained long enough for the harpy to fall to the ground.

Amber threw her wand at the harpy that is not yet prone, the explosion, while much weaker, was enough to burn the harpy a fair amount. She sprinted to get her wand back as quickly as possible. “My explosive wand can’t keep them at bay forever, this too will eventually be too much for me.”

The enraged harpy dove toward Amber.

Kayla reacted quickly, raising her wand with a whim and a whir, she protected Amber within another barrier. The harpy crashed against Amber as she picked up her wand, raising it with a whim and a whir she began to evoke a fireball strong enough to slay the harpy.

The other harpy broke free of its bindings, but Laura had the advantage, as she was already firing a small barrage of arcane missiles at the harpy. The harpy, unflinching, dove toward Laura.

Kayla strained as she brought upon another barrier to Laura as the harpy frantically scratched at the dome.

“Kayla! Watch out!” Amber shouted

The harpy that was attacking Amber was now firing a barrage of feather needles at Kayla.

Unwilling to transfer one of the barriers to herself, Kayla took the full force of each individual needle penetrating her cloak.

Amber managed to evoke fire strong enough to defeat the harpy that was harassing her, but it was too late, Kayla had already taken a serious injury.

Thinking quickly, Laura jutted her wand through the barrier, stabbing the harpy that was attacking her. The wand drained barely enough energy to disorient the monster for a brief moment. Laura raised her wand, straining herself significantly, with a whim and a whir, she bound the harpy again, this time in stronger shackles.

Laura staggered her way to Kayla, resting her wand on her, transferring the drained life into her as she passed out from exhaustion.

“Amber... quickly..! to my side!” Kalya barked

Amber rushed over, as fast as she could, given her fatigue.

“We have to unite our magic, we can’t finish it off separately...”

“Right” Amber replied, “Take my hand, I’ll channel the fire, you just help me empower it.”

The harpy struggled to break free of the binds, but Laura put every last drop of energy into entangling it.

Amber raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, the two strained, and conjured up a ball of fire. Amber shot the flame at the harpy. The harpy shrieked as it burned and the shackles holding it was broken, but it wasn’t enough to defeat her.

Kayla passed out from exhaustion, and the harpy, still determined to finish the job, was crawling toward the trio.

Amber didn’t have enough strength to cast any spells, in a desperate attempt, she tossed her wand, it barely landed a few feet in front of her, lifelessly on the ground.

Amber grit her teeth as the harpy still crawled her way toward the incapacitated trio, as it grew closer to the wand, Amber released her magic, a puff of smoke emerged, flameless, but it was enough to choke out the remaining life from the harpy.

Amber was exhausted, she slowly looked into her cloak, and quickly uncorked a potion, ready to drink it, but before she did, she glanced over at Kayla, her friend was nearly gone, as much as she needed the potion herself, Kayla needed it more, and she was willing to give up her strength to keep her friend safe. She lifted Kayla’s chin and poured the contents down her throat.

The trio slept for an extended period of time

Amber woke up before the others, the three of them were piled up on Kayla. Amber stretched but was suddenly taken aback by her aching pain.

“Right, too much magic... I strained myself so hard... dampened magic is such a pain..” Amber thought to herself, unable to talk for the time being.

Laura was still lying atop Kayla, so Amber gently set her aside to take a look at Kayla.

There were several needles sticking out of Kayla’s back, the blood dried a long time ago.

Amber thought to herself if using magic to take out the wands was worth it, because she had already given her the potion. Remembering all the things Kayla had done, it most definitely was.

Taking a deep sigh, Amber raised her wand, with a whim and a whir, she shook her wand above the needles, one by one, they melted and harmlessly fell out of Kayla’s back.

Amber closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Even more time passed and there was a loud blaring sound, and the room was flashing red. Amber jolted up,

“You will fail the trial in twenty-two seconds.”

“GUYS! GET UP! WE’RE BEEN ASLEEP FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG AND WE’RE ABOUT TO BREAK THE TIME LIMIT!” Amber shouted

“Nineteen seconds”

“Huh, what?” Kayla replied groggily

“Oh no! The time limit!” Laura exclaimed, “Each room has a 36-hour time limit, we’ve been asleep for nearly 2 days!”

“fourteen seconds”

The three of them stood up, collecting themselves as they rushed to the next room.

The room was dark and silent for a moment

“Kayla,” Amber said, breaking the stillness, “You should be more careful with yourself next time, I really do appreciate your kindness and selflessness, but you really need to think about yourself from time to time, you are just as important as we are, and you need to think of yourself as part of the team and not an expendable pawn. I know you could have transferred the barrier on myself to you, I just want you to be safe. Always remember to think about your safety too.”

“But... but what about your spell?” Kayla replied.

“I was finished with it by the time the harpy attacked you, I was fine, just remember Laura and I are not the only two in the team.”

Kayla nodded

A spotlight emerged, revealing a book on a pedestal

“Welcome to your final trial. We’re glad you’ve made it this far. Here we’ll test your ability to work as a team despite any hardships.”

“Wait, let me use my detect magic,” Laura said as she raised her wand. With a whim and a whir, she focused her intent on examining the book, “Strange, I don’t sense anything...”

The trio advanced toward the pedestal. The book flipped open, pages turned and written text was already on the pages.

“One of you have been dishonest with your feelings toward another.”

“What does that mean? I’ve been honest about my feelings toward you guys, and I thought you were doing the same...” Kayla replied

“Hold on, we don’t know if this book tells the truth.” Amber stated

“Or if it means feelings between us because I’ll be honest, I tell my brother he’s a smart guy, but honestly I fear for him, he’s really simple sometimes.”

The book turned to the next page, “And so is your word, let it be heard.”

“Does that mean this book is going to tell my brother what I just said?” Laura asked sheepishly.

“Well, I think you did what it wanted, let’s not think about what could go wrong, we need to finish this, we’re almost done!” Kayla replied

The book turned to the next page, “One of you have been doing what should not be done.”

“Necromancy? Come on, sure I didn’t ask for permission to practice it, but it’s not that bad.” Laura stated.

Nothing happened.

“I’ve been talking to Constantine a lot when you guys aren’t around.” Kayla blurted

“What?! Talking?! Constantine?” Laura replied, confused, “He’s mute how are you talking to him? You know how your parents feel about you talking to boys!”

“I know, it just happened... It was after class one day, I’ve had a crush on him for such a long time that I made an effort to learn sign language to understand him.”

The trio looked at the book, but nothing happened.

Kayla blushed, “Sorry Mom, sorry Dad.”

“Ugh, fine, I cheated... I snuck in and drank a vigor potion after the dampened magic fight, it was all me.” Amber muttered

Kayla and Laura gasped.

“You brought in a vigor potion?!” Laura shouted, “We’re going to be in so much trouble!”

“I know... I... I was just... I was weak, I snuck one in, I know it’s illegal here, but I wanted to make sure we’d get through... and... and after that fight, I knew I was so tired... I’m so sorry, I’ve put our entire trial at stake.”

The page turned, “Let it be said, soon you’ll be dead. A price to pay for the rest to stay.”

The book violently began jumping atop the pedestal, the trio slowly backed away.

The book turned around, razor teeth emerged from the cover as it formed a mouth-like shape.

“Mimic! It’s a strong one too, I couldn’t even detect it.” Laura stated.

“If... if I sacrifice myself, the rest can go..?”

“Amber, you don’t have to, we can just forfeit now and retake it in a year or so.” Kayla replied

“No, we’ll be in so much trouble, they definitely know I cheated now...”

“It’s not worth it. We win as a team, we lose as a team, that’s why we came together, remember?” Laura replied

The book is jumping violently, slowly encroaching on Amber.

“Right! Let’s show this mimic why we’re wizards!” Amber shouted

The trio raised their wands, with a whim and a whir, they each fired a powerful barrage of magic at the mimic.

The mix of Amber’s fire, Laura’s wave of decay, and Kayla’s searing light crashed upon the book.

Smoke subsided, but the book was completely unscathed.

“It... It’s resisting our magic! I knew it was powerful, but I had no idea it was this resilient!” Laura exclaimed.

“Grab my hand, we are stronger when we’re together! Remember, we’re a team, not 3 individuals working in tandem.” Kayla replied

Kayla held out her hands, Amber and Laura joined in. “Think, what’s the strongest spell we have combined?”

“Disintegrate!” They all shouted in unison

Laura and Amber thrusted their free arm out, and a bolt of raw arcane energy emerged from the two, completely annihilating the mimic by the sheer force of power the three had spent.

A scorch mark was left on the ground were the book once was. The trio collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted again from the exertion of their magic.

“Phew, that was fun.” Amber gasped.

“We used up basically everything we had, I hope that’s all.” Laura replied.

The entire room lit up, and the roof of the tower opened, allowing fresh air to pour in.

“This is it, right? We did it! Right?”

An orb of light flew in from the sky.

In a flash, a well-groomed man appeared, his brown hair greying.

“Archmage Arav!” The trio said in unison.

“Ah, so you have finished the tower of trials, It’s always exciting to see students emerge victorious.”

“So... you’re not mad that I cheated?” Amber asked sheepishly.

“Mad? Of course not! We knew you had that potion on you the entire time, and the act of selflessness when you gave it to your friend, we made sure that you’d make it through the night, after all, we still have an impact here even though you can’t tell.” Arav replied. “The important thing is that you were honest, you were even willing to take the entire blame.”

“You... you gave me your vigor potion?” Kayla asked, “I... I didn’t even notice...”

Amber nodded her head softly, “Yeah, I did, I knew it’s not for everyone, but you needed it, despite any consequences that might have emerged.”

“The three of you showed tremendous bravery, skill, and teamwork. I am proud to announce each of you, Amber, Kayla, and Laura, official graduates of RiverFalls Aracna Academy! I know you will do well out there, for your journey is not yet complete, it has only just begun.”

#my oc #my ocs #wizardry #long reads #fantasy

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cunyappliedtheatreblog · 4 years

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Countdown Profile : Week 1 Shanté Skyers (’20)

We’re kicking off the countdown to the MA in Applied Theatre application deadline for Fall 2020 with final year student Shanté Skyers!

You were saying before we started recording that your office is having a party and that makes you joyful. Where do you work and where does the joy come from?

I work at an organization called Harlem Stage. We are a performing arts organization where we commission and produce work from artists of color. We are the only institution in the nation that focuses only on artists of color. And we have an education program. And I've been here for, gosh, over a year.

This is the longest time that I've been at a job in the U.S., and I really like my coworkers a lot. And here we are, not only an organization that works with artists of color, most of the staff are people of color. So that makes a big difference in how I feel, how I can enter this space. I can be more my whole self.

I work in development here as a development associate. I work in grant writing and grant management. So, you know, I'm really worried, honestly, once I do decide to leave, if I will find a workspace that is similar, being mostly people of color, being comfortable.

So what would make you leave?

You know, I'm graduating [from the CUNY SPS MA in Applied Theatre] in May. And I've been thinking about like, what am I going to do? Do I want to solely commit to applied theatre or do I want to stay here in Harlem Stage? Or at least stay in the field of development?

I'm really interested in working at an organization that is more a social justice focused and more community based. And I think being in the applied theatre program has activated that part of me where I see how beneficial it is to have folks in that space, with as many people who are committed to doing the work in that space as possible. And I think in my next chapter, I would like to do more of that.

Well, what is your dream? Suppose that you had a magic wand and could create a really fulfilling life that weaves together all your passions. What would that look like?

I think it would be a mixture of me living in different places across the globe and doing pretty much what I entered the Applied Theatre program to do, which was to work with young girls and women within the African diaspora.

With a magic wand, I'd also magically be able to speak whatever language they needed me to.

Beautiful.

Yeah. I entered the program because I wanted to find a way to connect black people, especially black women, girls, and identified folks across the globe.

How I entered the program was: this woman, I met her at an event, Margo, I know she's an alum of the program.

Margo Brooks (‘13).

I live in a place called Co-op City, which is not too far away from City Island [both in the Bronx, for non-New Yorkers -MW]. And so I occasionally volunteer with the City Island Theater Group. I think I went over to her, either we were introduced by the director or I went to her because she was like the only other black person in the room. City Island is pretty white.

And so I told her about this dream that I had. I had no idea how I wanted to work with people—the form—I just knew I wanted to connect black people across the globe. But it would be like a fun sort of way. And she was like, “oh, have you heard of applied theatre?” I was like, “No, I have no idea what this is.” I don't really even have a theatre background. And she was like, “you should look into it. You should apply.”

I had returned from Korea not too long before that. I was unemployed. I was at home. I was feeling really stuck. And so I thought, well, I'll just apply for this master's program. And so I applied and, um [laughs] I got in.

You sound surprised.

I didn't think I was that great of a candidate. Now that I'm in the program, I know you don't need to have a theatre background, but I really didn't have a theatre background or anything like that. I just wrote about what was essentially a dream.

I deferred my enrollment for a year because I was like, “that's cool. But what is this really?” I wanted to get a job first to save money. And so I did that. And also, I read a couple of things about applied theatre and I started to see more theatre shows. I was like, okay, I think this is pretty interesting.

I actually looked in into the program at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, at the University of London. I interviewed with them. I went to an informational [session]. I got accepted. I was like, OK. So now I need to decide if I'm going to stay in New York or go to London. And I bring this up because I'm really, really, really happy that I stayed in New York. You know, being in the program has given me...this is the first time in a school setting where I have felt comfortable, or like, that I have been able to make community—which out of all my years of school I was never able to do. And even though I have had my moments of being insecure in class, I know that I am a valued member of the MA program and of my cohort and that is so important to me. And just, you know, recognizing that I, too, can have a space wherever I feel I deserve.

That is really important.

Yeah, it really is. And I don't think I understood how important it is and how much I needed it and would value it until it happened.

I want to know more about the vision that you have. Tell me more?

Maybe close to ten years ago, maybe eight, I began volunteering with an organization called Girls Who Rock. They put on benefit concerts in support of an organization called She's the First, which supported girls who were the first in their families to go to school. Whether that be like high school or college, they supported girls in developing countries. And up until that point, I was honestly trying to get a job in the music industry. I'd gone to school for arts management and I'd worked in college for a label, Warner. My plan was just to continue in that world. And I began volunteering with them, helping them plan the concert. I learned so much about the impact of girls' education worldwide. I knew at that point I wanted to work in service for young women because we are at such, such a disadvantage globally. When you train women who are helping the community, that is the gist of how communities not only survive, but thrive and go on for generations and generations.

Then I moved to Korea and I got to meet so many people—

—this was to teach English?

Yes. Yes. And I met so many people, especially black people from so many countries. And it really expanded and changed my idea of like what blackness was, what it looks like in other countries, the black identity. And while I was in Korea, I also did plan benefit events as well for girls' education. And I just knew I wanted to combine those two things. By the time I left Korea, I knew there had to be a way to combine giving attention and serving girls and women, black women, across the globe.

Let me wind back a bit. Teaching English in Korea. How was that for you?

I love Korea. I said I would do the first year [of teaching] and then I would make a decision. But I felt like the first year went by so quickly. And at the end of that year, I just thought, well, I don't think I'm ready to go back home. I don't know what I'm going back to and why not just stay here and try to figure it out.

So I was in Korea for nearly four years.

Oh my gosh.

I think that's where I really began to learn about myself. I didn't have the space to do that in college. I had really bad anxiety. I was severely bullied as a child, and so even though I'm a friendly person, I still, internally, could be jumbling all around.

And so college just wasn't a place for me to grow as a person. I ended up being just another number. Maybe if I'd gone to a different college, I would have gotten that room to really grow and be challenged. But that just didn't happen. For me, that happened in Korea. I had no choice but to grow: I was surrounded by nothing that looked familiar.

You started the interview talking about black community being so important, and that's been a thread throughout the conversation. Did you have black community in South Korea? What was that whole scene for you?

Yeah, I did have community. So my first job [in Korea], community was sort of built in. I worked at—it's called a Yeong-eo mal. That's an English village, like a year-round English camp. I not only worked there, but I lived there. We would teach English on the first floor. The students stayed and slept on the second floor. And the teachers, we lived on the third floor.

That was my first, I think my first real sense of community. We had each other. Korea was all new to us. We all handled it in different ways. We all had different experiences, but we stuck up for each other. And so not only there, but also in Korea, there are black people in Korea.

There was a Facebook group called Brothers and Sisters of South Korea. They would have meet ups and events. And that was another thing that I really, really grew to cherish.

My last Thanksgiving there, we had a bunch of people go over to my neighbor's house and we all had Thanksgiving together. Korea was…now that I really think about it, the first place that as an adult, where I was able to build community.

Since our time is coming to a close, let me rapidly change subjects. Thesis. What's your project? And I know you're working on your proposal right now, so it probably seems cracked wide open, but introduce it simply?

My partner Kamrin and I are working together with an overarching question of how can applied theatre explore what blackness is in New York City.

And my personal thesis question is something along the lines of, what is the role of applied theatre in exploring blackness and self-perception? Like how, how do you build these ideas or determine that you're black?

It seems simple on the surface level: "well, you're black." But I've been really curious about what makes someone black.

I can imagine, especially with all that international experience.

Yeah, it could be so many things. Is it phenotype? Is it like physical features? What is it? Is it a culture? Is it just identity? Like how? How are people black? Because it is different, like you say, internationally. Even in New York City. And it's a sensitive and personal topic that is filled with joy and pride, but it's also filled with trauma. I'

m really excited. I'm really excited to see what people are going to do, how they're going to express it, how they're going to take to applied theatre, because as of now, my partner and I aren't too sure about what type of applied theatre frameworks are going to use. We're thinking about some playbuilding, we're thinking about some process drama and/or some TO.

And we're going to be doing the project in the Bronx, which I'm also really excited about, because so many of these things happen like in Brooklyn or something, but none of this, like artistic development work doesn't come to the Bronx.

Thank you. Anything else you'd like people who are thinking about the program to know?

I want to say, reach out to Chris or Adeola. I mean, that's sort of a given. But like, if you really have doubts or questions, they will be able to help you. I know I called and e-mailed Adeola and stopped by her office. Like multiple times when I was trying to make a decision on whether I wanted to enter the program or not. And she always made time for me.

Thank you so much for your time, Shanté. Now go back and enjoy the party.

Well, it might be over now. But I had a wonderful time with you, Michael, so this was a party in itself!

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foryourimaginationonly · 7 years

Text

Dark Secrets - Part 2

Context: You are a Slytherin who enjoys long walks in the Forbidden Forest, keeping dark secrets, and falling for a guy you never thought you’d fall for.

Warnings: This talks about spiders for all my arachnophobes out there.

Part one

A week passed before you took another trip out to the Forbidden Forest. The last time was when you stumbled upon Draco’s dark secret. After you two left the forest, you checked on him daily to make sure he was okay. Today was no different, except he was nowhere to be found, so you decided to take a quick stroll through your favorite forest to clear the clouding thoughts and memories in your overflowing mind.

It was pitch black out but your wand was your guide, giving you light while you brushed through trees and bushes, finding a good spot to sit down and stare up at the dark shapes the trees made. You reminisced about the times before terror took hold of Hogwarts and how easy it was to sneak through the quiet corridors and out into the silky night. The dangers that lay before you were nothing but adrenaline rushes that kept you moving, never stopping to rethink your decisions. If you got caught, it could mean life or death, but you had no intentions of chickening out. Your thoughts traveled to last week and how Draco held onto you, needing someone to comfort him. Your mind reeled at the thought of his blonde hair soft against your cheek as you rocked him back and forth, his scent still lingering in your senses.

You shot up from where you were laying, shaking your head vigorously trying to forget what you just thought, but the feeling you just experienced lingered. A branch snapped and you shot your eyes in the direction of a tall figure. You stood up with your wand at ready.

“Who’s there?” You demanded.

Draco stepped out of the darkness and into sight and you sighed, letting your wand fall back to your side.

“You scared the living daylights out of me.” You said, sitting back down onto the fallen tree.

“Sorry.” Was all he could manage before sitting next to you. There was a piercing silence before he spoke.

“I just wanted to thank you for being there for me.” He said, twiddling his wand in his hands. “I didn’t think that I could go through with it and I still don’t, but it’s nice to know that someone cares for me and doesn’t see me as a monster.”

You looked into his pale blue eyes, finding truth behind his words. “I could never see you as a monster, Draco. You have a heart like everyone else, it’s just the way you show it is a bit…different.”

He smiled and you felt your chest tighten. Why did you feel these things? Surely you hadn’t started to like him.

“What are you doing out here?” He asked.

“I like to take nightly walks in the woods when my anxiety is high to clear my head. I can’t sleep when nights like these are upon me.”

“It’s dangerous out here. You sure you know what you’re doing?” He gave you a sloppy smile and it made your heart skip a beat.

“Of course. Danger is my adrenaline rush and I guess I’m a junkie for it.” You said, relaxing a little. You weren’t aware of how tense you were. “What are you doing out here?”

“I saw you leave the castle and decided to follow you. I was curious as to why you would leave all alone at night and enter a forest with a reputation.” You both smiled.

“It’s like a comfort for me. It sounds weird, I know but I really enjoy coming out here, surrounded by the mysterious.” You felt him move and looked over to see him straddling the tree, facing you, his eyes intently watching you.

“Well, I can see why. You’re a mystery yourself.” He said. You too turned to straddle the tree, facing him.

“Am I? What makes you think that?” You asked, giving him a cheeky smile.

“Well, most people would run after seeing the dark lord give someone a dark mark.” He paused, pain washing over his face for a split second before it disappeared. “But you didn’t. You stayed and helped me and took care of me and I really do appreciate it.” He touched your hand lightly.

You felt a shiver run through your spine as his cold fingers gracefully trailed across the back of your hand. “Why weren’t you in your classes today?” You asked him, distracting yourself.

He shrugged and looked away. “’S nothing.” You knew he was doing deeds for that vile beast and you understood. He was Voldemort’s property now and had to obey his every command or his family and his friends lives would be in danger.

“I’m sorry.” You said. “I can understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but please don’t forget that I am here for you.” You reached out and touched his cheek, not knowing that you had the ability to do so, but you felt the urge to comfort him.

There was a moment, between the two of you, that sparked a fire deep inside you, and for some reason, you both started to lean towards one another as though gravity was pulling you both into a space between the two of you. Your hand was still on his cheek and his hand was still on your other one. You were inches apart when you heard voices in the distance. Breaking the trance, you both quickly got up, Draco pulling you to his side.

“We have to hide. If they find us, both of our heads will be on the headmasters desk for display.” You said, taking Draco’s hand and running. You didn’t stop running until you felt as though your heart would beat out of your chest. You paused and bent over, hands on your knees trying to catch your breath. You glanced over to see Draco doing the same.

“I didn’t know you could run like that.” He said, in between breaths. You let out a small laugh before straightening back up.

“What can I say? I have a knack for adrenaline.”

He smiled at you before you both started to take in your surroundings. You hadn’t been looking where you were going and ended up in a part of the forest you hadn’t seen yet.

“Well this is new.” You said, trying to lighten up the mood. He side eyed you before taking out his wand and lighting up the area. You felt the air tense as things started to take on shapes.

“What the hell..” You said, trailing off before gasping.

The biggest damn spider you ever did see was standing only feet away. You felt fear rise in your chest as your anxiety overtook you. You backed into Draco, never taking your eyes off the giant.

“Y/N, you alright?” Draco asked you, taking your hand and pulling you behind him.

You weren’t aware of your body literally vibrating with fear. “Have I ever mentioned my biggest fear is spiders? Like biggest fear?”

“Well, now was a great time to have told me.” He said, pushing you back until you both hit a tree.

The spider started to delicately move towards you, taking light steps before you both decided that now was a good time to book it.

Taking off into the woods, holding hands, you both ran without a real destination in sight. You peeled behind you to see if the giant was still following only to realize it was right on your heels. You screeched, running faster than your body had ever gone before, dodging branches and fallen trees.

If you had really been paying attention you would have noticed the giant person standing in front of you before you and Draco both slammed into him.

“Whoa there, what are two kids like yourselves doing this deep in the forbidden forest?” You heard Hagrid’s voice and immediately stood up from the spot you had fallen to get behind him.

“Hagrid…Sp..SPIDER!” You screamed. Hagrid looked up to see the giant spider standing there.

“Oh this fellow? Hey, go on back to your pack. They’re not food. Sorry.” He said to creature before it turned and sulked back into the darkness.

Draco was stunned as he sat at Hagrid’s feet.

“Now, mind telling me what you two are doing out here? Hope no funny business, if you know what I mean.”

Part Three

A/N: I have the biggest fear of spiders on the planet earth. I hated writing the part but I literally wrote it as if it were me facing the big spider. Also, i locked my keys in the car the other day and there were some really nice people to help me unlock it. But turns out they messed up a locking mechanism in my driver door and now my driver door doesn’t work so i literally dukes of hazard my way into the front seat. Moral of story: Have a spare key located on your car for reasons like that.

#Draco Malfoy #Draco #imagine draco #draco malfoy imagine #draco x reader #IMAGINE HARRY POTTER #Harry Potter #harry potter imagine #imagine

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