The House on the Hill.
Thankfully, nobody jumped on Adora for having ties with 8th St. Though, she wasn't Edict! She knew they were probably harboring some deep-down feelings or thoughts that they were waiting to throw in her face at the perfect opportunity. However, that wouldn't stop her from doing the right thing, and this was one hill that Adora would die on. Though she was far from impressed by Luna, Edict had a more sensible plan/idea/whatever (even though she didn't trust him). However, there was one thing that she had an issue with.
"Lila to... Act as bait a little bit."
”... We're not using Lila as bait,” Adora added, crossing her arms. She couldn't care less about what Britney did because if she got hurt, she probably deserved it.
”I'm cool with working on the 8th St front. I doubt I'd be of much help recovering the notes.” She finished that statement with a shrug.
"I refuse to be a part of plans involving the cooperation of 8th Street members. They all smell of Emily; even if their ideologies no longer align, they did at one point! Someone must be responsible!"
Adora turned towards Kenshiro. She had a lot to say, like how people need a second chance (and a third and fourth after that) or how people's past actions do not define them
if they're no longer doing it. However, she kept her mouth shut as Luca asked him the tough questions, and she felt slightly proud of the little guy. Adora realized that a majority of these people, these magic users, have become
so invested in magic that they have no clue about
people.
”I think this is the most organized since I got here!” Adora laughed.
”But, let's take things slow. Like Anya said, we don't have all of our-”Dramatically throwing the door open, like a bolt of annoying coincidence, was none other than Drake Blackmore. He strutted in, wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and some black and yellow Jordans - naturally, shades indoors. He said,
”What's up, gang!? Sorry, I'm late! I had to watch the triplets until 'Toria got home from work.” His eyes then landed on Lila as he grinned and said,
”... How do you like the new jacket, bird-homie? I loved that thing so much it might as well be my channeler!” He laughed before he said,
”Take good care of it for me!” Drake said before he turned to Sully, and shouted,
”Sully! Did you forget... the... beer...” Drake slowed down as he noticed Luna.
Drake then pointed at her and looked around as he asked (no one in particular),
”... Why is she here?” He tilted his head.
Lynette Domínguez
Interactions: I guess the Coven.
The House on the Hill.
Did Lynette want to attend a Coven meeting?
No, no, she did not.
She did more independently and heard about their
amazing track record so far.
However, circumstances changed, and Lynette needed to speak with Sloane for help. Was it selfish to
finally decide to attend a Coven meeting after she finally required them? Yes, it was, and it was
also suspicious for the former third in command of the 8th St Coven to attend a meeting after they attacked Sycamore - Lynette wouldn't lie about that. She pulled into the House on the Hill parking lot in her black jeep with tinted windows and stepped out. She was wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and some combat boots that she tucked into the jeans. Around her waist, she had a black fanny pack, not just any fanny pack, but a fanny pack with a
holster. She kept her Glock hidden in there, just in case, along with some scraps of paper with some glyphs - in case she needed magic.
Speaking of which, she gently unzipped it and pulled out a scrap of paper with an earth glyph drawn on it. It began glowing with a soft, gentle blue glow as she pulled the back door of the jeep open, and a chunk of concrete was pulled out of the ground (she'll put it back later!). Lynette reached inside the jeep, pulled out donuts, chips, coffee, soda, and other snacks, and placed them on top of the rock. With a sigh, Lynette walked up the stairs to the House on the Hill, with the rock carrying her snacks behind her.
Lynette walked through the doors naturally. Most of the Coven hadn't assembled yet, but she saw Sloane, perfect. However, she would talk with Sloane about her little problem later since she didn't want to draw a lot of suspicion onto herself. Amara wasn't here, so that was good for her so Lynette stepped in and smiled.
"Hi, everybody! It's been a while," Lynette said. "Sorry, I missed the first... three get-togethers? It was three, right? I was busy with work, you know. "I got snacks for you all..."
Lynette stepped aside, and the chunk of concrete with all her snacks floated to a nearby table. Lynette gently placed all of the things she got. Before she turned to the group, "So, what did I miss?"
Interactions: None.
Cascade Pines National Park.
It was the morning of the meeting, where Britney,
ideally hoped that the Coven would stop taking lame-ass digs at each other and devise a plan to handle the 8th St Coven. Britney never expected to ever run into Emily G. Reed and Vashti Nour again, but it seems like all hell is breaking loose, and all of her past mistakes are coming to haunt her at once. Not that she shouldn’t have handled them before all of this got out of hand, but there are
sooooooooo many things that Britney should have done better.
There’s not enough paper on this planet to write them all down.
The fact is that, as it stands, their current capabilities aren’t sufficient to handle threats like 8th St. Britney knew that they weren’t ready to take on anyone beyond that - there was always someone better. She wasn’t like Jack or Stormy, who felt they could take on the world because they defeated the Stygian Snake ten years ago (with an artifact designed to defeat beings like the Stygian Snake). Britney knew that she was
very out of her element because after mastering Floramancy, she just gave up on learning new spells. Looking back, this was an unwise choice, but she can’t do anything about that now.
What she can do is learn from the other Adepts and train in preparation for the next time they get into a fight with 8th St, the Wolfpack, or any of the other psychopaths that roam the streets of St. Portwell. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, but Britney knew it would, regardless of how hard they tried. So, Britney waited in the Cascade Pines National Park… a location she’s trained in several times for her Floramancy.
Britney heard some footsteps approach.
Britney pivoted.
Britney smiled…
”Good, morning-” Britney’s jaw dropped, as she was utterly stopped in her tracks.
”... Why in the world are you two booty-out naked?!””Don't act like you haven't seen it all before,” Linqian laughed, winking at Britney. She then held up her hands. There was a gentle heat radiating off her, her body
temperature manipulation stopping her from completely freezing.
”I can't afford to lose another set of clothes, so I left everything in my car.””Oh am I still naked,” Aryin joked as she looked over her body,
”and same. With the 317 going all hands on deck for some coming war I can’t lose any more clothes,” Aryin paused as she stared off in the distance,
”do you know how hard it is to find clothes that fit both bodies shapes, sizes, and still look good both ways?” Aryin
”... You haven’t met Bean, have you?” Britney chuckled.
”And, uh, I hope you don’t mind me asking but who are the 317? I know Greenwood’s leader lady brought it up when we met last night.”Then she paused again.
”... And what war?””I have not, would she be able to help with my unique problem,” Aryin chuckled as she rubbed her arms with her hands. She wished she had more control over her green lux like Linqian to heat herself up.
“The 317? We’re a supernatural art collective bro,” Aryin said with a raised eyebrow,
“By day we sell our art and make money and during the night we’re usually busy training lately. We’ve been the group behind the industrial area restoration. We try to keep out of coven business when possible,” Aryin paused as she looked around,
“I don’t know much, but we think something is coming our way. Trying to prepare ourselves for whatever it is before it gets here, you know. Thus, we’re friends with Greenwood now,” Aryin paused as she looked at Linqian. Aryin embraced Linqian in a tight hug to warm herself.
”Basically some kind of artsy nerd group,” Linqian laughed, hugging Aryin back to spread that warmth a little bit. She lowered her temperature a little so she could keep it going longer, and as the light glow off her skin reduced the marks
all over her were obvious. Some were a few days old, but plenty weren't from the night with Edict and Britney… rope burns, bruises, bite marks (so many)… Linqian didn't seem bothered at all about how obvious they were. She turned towards Britney with a grin, patting Aryin's back.
”Maybe they'll help us with our little Emily problem?”Aryin smirked as she looked back at Britney.
“I think we have a few people who would want to help. If you wanted introduced to the leadership let me know and I can set something up”Sure,” Britney said with a smile.
”We could use some more friends - though, I’m questioning how good they would be in a fight.” She laughed before playfully rolling her eyes.
”Okay, yeah, that’s rich coming from me, I know,” Britney laughed again.
”And yes, Bean can help you out. She’d be happy to - but let’s get to work already!”Britney turned both palms upwards and shot a burst of various foliage, flower pedals, and pollen out of her hands.
”... Who’s ready to learn some Floramancy!?” ”Do we get to learn the cactus?” Linqian asked with a smirk, before laughing.
”Let’s fucking do it. I also got a spell I want to develop, I'll need your help with that, bitch.” Saying that, she slapped Aryin's back.
“Were not the worst fighters, but we have a lot who have not had to fight,” Aryin paused as she let go of Linqian,
“which is why I’m ready to learn. I’ve fought George twice now and lost, fought Greenwood’s best and lost. I need to be better in this form, and I need to be able to fight back without swapping.”No, you’re going to learn how to connect to Gaia and generate plant-life including the cactus,” Britney chuckled, though she continued.
”Now, listen up, Floramancy isn’t just wrapping people in vines and cactuses; it’s understanding life itself and channeling it.” Britney gestured towards a cluster of flowers and smiled,
”First lesson, understanding life-force, now watch closely.” Britney extended her hand as a wheat-colored light surrounded the flowers… she hoped these two would understand what she’s saying, though sometimes, while she loved them, she felt like she was talking to a wall!
”With Floramancy, you’re not commanding the plants or forcing them to do anything but forming a bond between yourself and the plant. And with this bond, you can… command it to do whatever you want because I just ruined my own metaphor,” Britney slapped a hand on her forehead as the flowers began to grow much more significant than they naturally would.
”Just like, you gotta feel the energy between you and a plant - and I know that sounds crazy, but you gotta try it!” Britney began before she lowered her hand.
”Now, each of you try, just close your eyes and reach out not with your mind, but your soul. Form a connection. Feel the connection. Use the connection. Once you establish it, you can do anything.””Righhhhttt…” Linqian raised an eyebrow. That shit sure did sound crazy. Feel the energy? Form a bond with… a plant? She could barely form that with fucking people! But it was worth a try.
”Don’t be too disappointed when this doesn't fucking work.”Linqian stepped towards a different cluster of flowers, crouching down in front of it. She then reached out her hand and closed her eyes. Feel the energy between her and the plant… yeah she wasn't feeling shit. But it was kinda like temperature, right, something she could just sense in the air. She reached out a little further so her fingertips brushed the flowers. She could literally feel it, obviously. There was an energy or whatever… just try communicate with it?
Grow. She concentrated before pulling back her hand and opening her eyes. Nothing. Still the same amount of flowers.
”Well that did fuck all,” Linqian rolled her eyes, gesturing with the hand she'd held towards the flowers… except it was now a whole fucking vine from the elbow downwards, with little flowers dotted across it identical to the ones she'd been trying to grow. She just hadn't realised yet because it didn't feel all the different.
Britney laughed, putting a hand to her mouth as she said,
”You’re a natural!” She pointed at the vines.
”When I first learned Floramancy, they just died a lot.” Linqian looked heated though,
”But you have to let go of your anger, you have to replace it with a nurturing spirit. I know you see me hurting people with plants a lot but with Floramancy you gotta have ‘building’ in mind.”"The fuck you mean natural- oh shit!" Linqian finally looked at her hand, eyes widening at the vines it'd turned into. It really hadn't felt all that different from when she changed her temperature, but now that she was looking at it… she wriggled the bottom of the vine arm, where it split into four, experimentally.
"Right, lemme just conjure up a nurturing spirit right now, sure that's real fucking possible."She laughed before furrowing her eyebrows, eyes closing again. Nurturing… She thought about Henri when he was younger. The warmth she'd felt raising him, the pride whenever he did well. As she thought about it the vine arm grew, extending out as it got longer. Flowers bloomed along it, and the split ends curled as if to grab something, even if it was only air. But then Linqian started to think about the danger he was in. All the ways she'd have to protect him, everything she'd have to do to not leave him worse than nothing if she died…
The vine arm retracted, Linqian's body heated up, and it burst into flame. Her eyes shot open. She twisted herself to hold the now flame coated arm away from Aryin and Britney.
”Shit.””Wow, you got a funny idea of what plants are!” Britney laughed as she walked around Linqian without fear and playfully laughed. She used her developing Aqua Bloom spell to splash some water on the fire and kept splashing water on the fire until it was all gone.
”Now, we have experimented, and we found out that plants do, in fact, burn when you set them on fire!” Britney teased, sticking her tongue out.
”I didn’t do it on purpose,” Linqian rolled her eyes with a groan, shaking her arm - even though it was a plant, she could still feel the water hitting it.
Aryin watched it unfold and was impressed with how easily Linqian was able to summon the vines. She knew that she wanted to show that she could do that too. In her own way. Aryin closed her eye and took a deep breath and reached out to the forest around her. She felt nothing. No connection, no feeling, and no sensation. She tried again, feeling out with her life force to try and connect with a more spiritual level but the forest did not budge. Shit. This was already harder than she thought it would be and that made her concerned for the rest of this training day. She knew she had another every source she could use for this, Leon had gotten her fully charged last night and some of the stored energy remained from that. Maybe she could use that energy instead?
Aryin exhaled as she opened her eye and looked at Britney and then Linqian. She took another deep breath and reached out but lowered her hands towards the ground more. The ground was her base, it was what allowed her to be this immovable force, and maybe it would hold a better connection with the fauna underneath. She reached out and pushed the connection and found something reaching back. Interesting. She could not tell what she was making a connection with but she could tell it was not that strong of a link, at least yet. Her hand trembled as she groaned. She sent commands of growth to the fauna but she could not tell if was doing anything. Aryin dropped to her knees and sat down on the ground below, placing her hand firmly in the dirt. She pushed for the plant life to follow her command, grown, and she felt it listen. A second later she opened her eyes and saw that she was now in the middle of a perfect mushroom circle. The mushrooms were a vivid red color and seemed to almost glow Not quite plant life but a close mistake.
“I think I made a mistake,” Aryin joked as she looked at the mushroom circle.
”Oh shiittt, you made a bunch of shrooms!” Linqian laughed. She squatted down just outside of the mushroom circle, narrowing her eyes at them.
”You think we can get high with them?”As she asked, she experimentally moved the vine arm she still had, sending out a small tendril from the split end to tap one of the glowing mushrooms.
The glowing mushroom glowed even brighter at the tap before it exploded with a small bang, no louder nor bigger than a firecracker.
“Oh shit!””Fuck,” Linqian laughed as the tip of the vine was caught in the explosion, the nearest bit burning off and leaving it gently smouldering. It hurt a bit, but not that much… thankfully.
”Good thing I didn’t just fucking grab it.”Britney facepalmed, before laughing. These two goofballs really didn't get it.
“I am so so so sorry, I used some of the stored energy I had to fuel that connection so it must’ve made it explosive.” She put her arms back to the ground and, this time, tried to make the connection the way Britney intended. She reached out with her soul this time completely, devoid of intention or any other thought which was very easy for her to achieve. And then she felt the connection. It was the same network that bore the explosive red caps but this time she felt like the connection was more subtle. She gently pulled on it and guided it until, at long long last, another fairy ring appeared around her, this time the mushroom caps were as white as snow.
”Ahhhh, you’re getting it!” Britney shouted, shaking with excitement. A wide smile on her face as if she was a parent finally proud of her disappointment for a child! Though, there is a lot more to her magic than just making plants.
”You two are getting there! Making baby steps! First you begin with making plants that don't explode! Then you gotta learn how to materialize the exact plant you want, then shaping, then moving - then it’s all up to your imagination!”Linqian rolled her eyes at Britney's over the top excitement and smile, clamping down on her more irritated reaction - she didn't really want to set her arm on fire again, even if it hadn't hurt… and could be useful in a fight in a different way.
”Y’know, just cause we're not academically brilliant or whatever doesn't mean we're shit at spell casting. We were the ones fighting in the front fucking lines before- I only stopped working on my magic cause I didn't have time around working multiple jobs.””I never said you were,” Britney calmly answered.
She took a step back, holding up her normal hand to her forehead, taking a deep breath.
”Sorry, barely slept last night. Let's keep going… different plants, right? I think I'll have to keep mixing it with green lux, shit just feels more natural like that, but I can still do all that.” To demonstrate her point, she flexed the vine arm, stretching out one of the four split tendrils. It shifted, growing thorns and blooming with blood red flowers.
“I was a much better student back when,” Aryin paused as she frowned. She was a much better student when she had her friend Ella by their side. Ella had helped Aaron develop his spells and they had hoped that she’d be able to help Aryin do the same. Yet fate had another path in store.
“I had a friend back in the old coven who helped me expand my red lux. I am ready to put in the effort to do the same with my green.”“I hear what you’re saying Britney but it just,” Aryin paused as she reestablished her connection with the fauna and commanded it to grow bigger. It responded by following her command, quickly erupting up to the size of a very small tree trunk.
“How do you go from this, to bringing out something I want? Something that makes me more useful in this form?””You practice!” Britney shouted, walking over to Aryin and touching her shoulder.
”How did you make this form in the first place? Did you pull it out of your coochie?! I mean, I hope not but you took some time to develop these spells, right?”“Well the kindling got me started about what I could do and this,” Aryin pointed to her body,
“this spell came intrinsically from there. Felt like this was just another part that was ready to come out. Like I knew I was fluid young, and when I needed to swap for the first time she was the one that was waiting.””Your affinity,” Britney said.
”You didn't just make the spell, you felt it.””You could just fucking throw the exploding mushrooms at people,” Linqian suggested with a laugh.
”But maybe you gotta… combine it with your green lux? You don’t use red much in this form, do you? Like think of this shit as an extension of your body… that’s how I got it to work. Sorta.”She held out her other arm, expression screwing up in concentration for a moment. From her fingertips to her shoulder, her skin turned green and hardened, sharp thorns pushing out through the new plant skin. Sap leaked sluggishly from where the thorns had pushed through, and it hurt, but she pushed through it. She raised the second, much thornier vine arm and elongated it to wrap around a branch well above her head and well out of reach. It snapped it and she pulled it down with a grin.
”Shit, I dunno how to explain it better, I just kinda will my body to change. Don’t you do shit like that with your durability?” ”You know, this is a random-ass thought, but what if you threw mushrooms that exploded into spores?” Britney began, letting her intrusive thoughts out.
”If someone huffs it, they start tripping balls. Wouldn’t that be nuts?””That would be so fucking cool,” Linqian grinned, twisting her head around to look at Aryin expectantly.
”Then you can give those 8th Street assholes a taste of their own fucking medicine.”“Oooooh that is a good idea Britney, though I’d want that trip to be as bad as possible,” Aryin said as she cracked her knuckles. She looked to Linqian with a smirk.
“I can also learn how to make the trip as good as possible.”. Aryin winked at Linqian.
”But, that’s an aside because mushrooms, technically, aren’t plants,” Britney playfully said, sticking her tongue out.
”They’re fungi. They just act a little bit like plants.” She pinced her fingers together.
”Ooo, Aryin failed the plant exam, gonna have to retake,” Linqian joked, laughing.
”... even if they're not plants, definitely make us some shrooms later, yeah? After we’ve mastered plants… like the cactus. Especially the cactus.”“I just felt called to them shut up.” Aryin looked off to the side.
Linqian paused, turning to Britney. She raised her hands… except they were still vines, with one comedically more spiky than the other.
”Speaking of cactuses, I’m surprised Greyson isn’t hanging onto you like a fucking barnacle, all things considered. You abandon him in a ditch somewhere?”Britney was silent for a moment… narrowing her eyes, and that smile erased itself from her face. She knew where he was; he was with Leon and the Temple. Despite their conversations, she still didn’t approve of them, and she didn’t want Greyson to hang out with them. However, she would stay out of Greyson’s business, just like he was staying out of her business (... when requested).
”... He said he had business,” Britney answered, and left it at that. Britney’s smile returned as she clapped her hands together and said,
”Let’s sate your obsession with the cactus in the meantime, yes?”“I have heard about this cactus, I never saw the appeal but who am I to judge.””Don’t know it till you try it,” Linqian laughed, slapping Aryin’s shoulder, completely unbothered by Britney’s non-answer. She didn’t care that much about where Greyson was, there was just a bit of curiosity there.
”Wouldn’t do much for you, but the possible pain, you know?”She turned back to Britney.
”Let’s fucking do it.”Britney facepalmed.
”... You know I used a spineless cactus, you know? Key word here: spineless!” Britney laughed.
”Fuck, that's kinda boring,” Linqian rolled her eyes good naturedly.
”But y'know, I ain't looking to use it on people like him, y'know what I mean.”She winked, before looking down at her arms. With a frown, the less spiky one slowly turned back to normal.
”I’m guessing it's kinda similar to this, right? Just… trying to make a cactus.””Yes,” Britney said.
”But, I meeeeeeeean, sis, a cactus isn’t the best weapon you can use with Floramancy. Have you ever heard of the manchineel? Or you can just shank someone with a vine.””I can already shank someone with this,” Linqian pointed out, stretching out the vine arm they had until the end turned into a sharp point.
“Can I turn parts of myself into a plant like that with this magic,” Aryin asked with a blank look on her face.
”I mean, you have Green-Lux, so you can turn your whole body,” Britney said with a shrug.
”I don’t know how that’s going to work, but hey, it’s magic!” ”Yeah, just like you’re normal shit, y’know? You just gotta combine it… shit it’s hard to explain cause that bit comes naturally to me, it’s the separating I struggle with,” Linqian frowned, trying to figure out an easy way to explain it.
”Just like with how you got the shrooms, but use that energy on yourself.” “Hopefully this training will allow me to bring a little more power to my kit,” Aryin focused on her hand as she tried to summon forth this undiscovered power. She felt the connection with the fauna around her and with a surge of focus and energy she forced a change to her knuckles. Out of the tips of her knuckles were a few of the vibrant red mushrooms.
“Well that’s not a cactus,” Aryin joked.
”... They’re not even plants!” Britney laughed.
”I don’t think magic cares,” Linqian shrugged, and laughed. She then turned to Aryin, turning her arm back to normal and holding both up in front of her. At the same time she started to cool down, trying to channel the coldness into a tougher exterior.
”Punch me! Let’s see if they explode too.” ”I care! But, let me get back!” Britney laughed, before she took a few steps back until she was a good distance away. She gave them the thumbs up.
”... Go crazy!”“Let’s see what they can do,” Aryin raised her fist up and sent another light jab Linqian’s way and on contact, the mushrooms exploded with more force than before.
Linqian’s attempted durability enhancement using the cold worked a little… that was until the mushrooms exploded. The coldness offset the heat that came with the explosion but it knocked Linqian back, her back hitting hard against a tree trunk. The bark scraped her bare skin, and the outer layer skin where they’d been hit had been torn away. She grimaced. At least her skin was cold enough it didn’t particularly hurt or start bleeding.
”Fuck, you know, I think you’re onto something with that,” Linqian commented, stretching out her arms.
”Now you help me with something - how the fuck do you do the hit tanking? I’m trying to fucking… make my skin tougher with the cold but as you can see, didn’t do shit.”“It’s two things really,” Aryin paused as she looked towards Linqian,
“the first thing is this form is a spell you know? I’ve made myself just incredibly durable within just the body. The second is I use my body to absorb the impact of attacks, and store that energy for use like these mushrooms. As long as I’m like this, and expend energy, it’s really hard to hurt me,” Aryin stuck out her tongue with a chuckle.
Linqian nodded, frowning slightly. How Aryin explained it made sense, but figuring it out in a way she could use it was the difficult part. She'd just have to keep trying.
”Alright, fuck, I think… I can use that. Fucking hit me again.”She held her arms up in front of her again, temperature cooling down further. As it did she concentrated on how it affected her whole body - the slowing down of everything, using the loss of energy as a form of protection. More than just hardening her skin.
Aryin channeled her new found power again and, without problem, another row of mushrooms grew across her knuckles this time they were bigger. Aryin wanted to see how durable her friend could get, and while these would not be that much stronger than the last they would be noticeably stronger all the same. She punched out a moment later towards Linqian.
Linqian took the punch full on again. This time she felt the explosion ripple across her skin as the blow was spread out. It pushed her back, but nowhere near the same as before, and the damage wasn't as bad. Visible cuts still appeared all across her arms but… it was progress.
”Fuck, I think I can get it with more practice.”She put her arms down and turned her head towards Britney.
”Brit, how much time we got till that fucking meeting? I want to grab food on the way first, haven't had a chance to eat since…” she frowned.
”Sometime yesterday.””It's at six so we got all day!” Britney playfully said, before she raised a finger and then added,
”But, one, we have to remember we on black people time, and two…” Britney laughed before she pulled it together,
”… And two, you know we ain’t getting shit done no how!””Fuck, you're right, can be on fucking time, that shit wouldn't be right,” Linqian grinned.
”Fucking miss me with the bullshit they always start with.”“Did you manage to absorb any of that impact,” Aryin said with a chuckle.
”A bit,” Linqian nodded, stretching out her arms.
”Spread it out more than anything… fucking finicky this lux combination thing. But if I tried it without the cold it wouldn't do shit. I don't have that separation shit you got.”She crouched again, arms once again in front of her, body temperature lowering even further as she channeled it even more across the surface of her skin.
”Just gotta keep practicing! You're favourite fucking thing, punching me- I quite enjoy the impact, y’know.” She laughed and winked at Aryin.
”Brit says we got the time, so beat me up till you're fucking exhausted! Maybe when you're done you'll be punching with some actual plants.”“You forget, I never get exhausted,” Aryin winked as she once again summoned forth the new spell and this time instead of five smaller mushrooms she had one large on erupting out of the top of her wrist like an extension of the bone that connected to it. She raised back her fist and sent it flying towards Linqian.
Linqian crouched, stance widening as she took the blow with her arms. The explosion was even larger this time, once again knocking her back a couple of steps. She felt the damage rippling outwards across her arms as some of it was negated, some of it spread. More wounds opened up but they’d spread even further this time - all the way up to her shoulders. Just surface wounds, too. Nothing awful.
”Fuck, that was definitely stronger - but I’m getting the hang of this shit. It’s hurting less every time.”She seemed unbothered by all the blood sluggishly dripping down her arms - she was. It didn’t really hurt. Honestly, compared to the bruising and bite marks all across her body it was nothing. But still…
”Lemme try something else. I, uh, found Jinhai’s spellbook this morning. He wrote down how he thought I could use his self-heal… may as well give it a shot.”Linqian closed her eyes and tried to do what Jinhai had suggested in his spellbook. Channel her need to survive to protect her brother… combine it with heat. Her body temperature ticked back up to normal before continuing upwards, skin going from pallid to glowing hot. She concentrated the temperature on only her arms and the various wounds started to
glow. Intense, burning pain seized her. It was much worse than when she got hit- it was so excruciating that her vision went black for a moment. Linqian knees buckled underneath her as she continued to heat them up.
”Fuuuccckkkk!”She cooled back down, and looked at the results which were… clotted up wounds, still there. Not healed at all.
”Fucking- alright, fuck that, let’s keep practicing the not getting hurt in the first place shit.”“You got this Linqian. The stored energy is, like, apart of me? You know? I’m not storing the energy anywhere in particular but it’s like the energy infuses into my body at its deepest level,” Aryin paused as she held her hand up,
“I’m not taking the energy and storing it myself, but my body is always ready to take in that energy at a moments notice,” Aryin paused as she made a fist with that hand,
“and my spells are always ready to draw from that energy as well. You need to have your body ready before impact, and not try to make it ready during you know?””Bitch, I am, that wasn’t from your fucking punch,” Linqian rolled her eyes up at her friend - clearly not actually pissed about it. She pushed herself back to her feet.
”I was tryna fucking heal myself and it did the complete fucking opposite!” She was more irritated by that failure, clenching her fists as her temperature came back down to normal. But it made sense. She had to do the cooling and the durability at the same time, rather than one then the other. It was all part of the same spell. But she held up a hand.
”I need a few moments. If I go cold now I’ll hurt myself more. But then, you can fucking punch me again all you like.” ”... You two have a weird friendship,” Britney giggled.
”Well we did become friends after beating each other to shit,” Linqian laughed.
”Which I won, by the way. Just someone’s in fucking denial about it.” She then grinned.
”Y’know what they say, friends that fight and fuck together stay together. Actually, that means you’re both fucking stuck with me.”“One that’s lasted the decade since the coven,” Aryin smirked as she looked at Linqian.
“How about we keep practicing the plant spells and once you’re ready we’ll get back to it?””Actually, there was an idea I had in mind for a Joint-Cast,” Britney said as she rubbed her chin before she pivoted towards Linqian.
”With her, though. Sorry, Aryin.” She gave Aryin a catty smile as she grabbed Linqian’s hand and turned towards the clearing…
The House on the Hill.
The doors were thrown open as Britney held them open for Linqian and Aryin. After they were through, Britney stepped in, a warm smile on her face as she saw the group assembled... and her eyes landed on Luna as she put on a bit of disappointment. Of course, she was here, and so was
Leon... though, she went back to forcing a smile. Everyone here was probably looking for a reason to jump on her after the disaster that was Kari's house, so the last thing she wanted to do was pick a fight with one of them.
”Heeeeeeeeey everybody! Sorry, we're late!” Britney announced herself before she turned to Jack and raised the Noble Vow in the air.
”I still got Reza's sword, Jack! I didn't lose it!”Then Britney grabbed the nearest sat and then said,
”What did we miss?”Who am I kidding? I can already tell a pointless meeting when I see one.
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