Aiki looked up when Farah returned, sitting more upright. At the question, he flushed lightly. "Um… yeah, of course. Just sat here, worried sick." They insisted with a decisive nod. My lying needs some work… "How did it go? Are you okay? She wasn't too hard on you, was she?" He asked.
Farah looked them both up and down with a smirk. "Alright," she conceded though she knew better than to believe that was really the case. "But really, I'm… I'm okay. She didn't hurt me." Farah glanced at Saul, and she saw the pride behind his eyes. She smiled weakly. "But I did get a text from Luna. She's nearly here and wants us to meet her by the gateway, so we'd better get going."
"That's good… getting hurt is bad." Aiki replied awkwardly. He seemed a bit reassured to hear that Luna had nearly arrived and got to his feet. "Right! Gotta get moving so I can go home as soon as possible. I don't like Rosalind looming around every corner…"
"I don't either, but there's not much I can do about it for the time being, so let's get you as far away from her as possible, shall we?" Farah asked, pressing her lips into a smile. "Do you want to gather your clothes? Is there anything else you have? Anything we can give you?"
"Um… I should probably bring my clothes home, yeah. I don't think I need anything else? I didn't bring anything but myself with me, anyway." Aiki shrugged, scratching behind his ears as he looked around. "Uh… where exactly are my clothes?" They asked.
"Did you leave them in the washroom last night?" Farah asked. "I can't think of anywhere else they would be."
"The bathroom?" Saul teased.
"Oh, you and your words," Farah shot back, adding a dramatic eye roll for extra effect.
"Um… yeah, probably. I'll be right back." Aiki left the room and headed back to the one they'd been in originally. They found their clothes in the bathroom, picked them up, and started heading back down the hallway.
(An opening where he's alone since I don't know when you wanted Rosalind to be problematic lol)
(I was piecing something together, but this is much less complicated lol)
Farah and Saul waited at the end of the hallway by the door to the main courtyard. "Do you think Aiki will be able to find us?" she asked.
"Yes," Saul assured her. "Be patient, my love."
Farah nodded, but she still looked down the hall.
–
Rosalind paced to the door and observed the Cryo-Inducement Veil Farah had placed. After a moment of inspecting it, she went back to her desk, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Andreas, I need you to come to my office. Now."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
A few moments later, Andreas entered the office and passed through the doorway. The second he stepped in the door, his body shuddered and he fell against the doorframe. As he slid down to a seated position, his lips turned pale blue. Rosalind knew it. She rose from her desk and walked over. "Sorry," she murmured as she stepped over him, using a small bit of her magic to heal him as she did so.
She walked through the halls as if she was on a mission. She rounded a corner sharply, saw Aiki alone, and her eyes narrowed. She quickly headed towards him.
(Sorry this is really quick and bad. I'm not really feeling the motivation, but I wanted to get a response up.)
(Np aha)
Aiki yawned as he kept walking, thinking to himself. I'll get to leave… even without Rosalind's help, I get to go home. Because… because this princess Luna lady is here or almost here and she has a gateway ring too. They smiled softly, feeling a bit reassured, but their smile soon fell.
Upon hearing footsteps behind him, although they were quiet, he paused. Their ears twitched and swiveled to catch the noise behind them before they turned around, yelping when they spotted Rosalind. At that point, he was already too late to try and run away.
Once she got close enough and was sure they weren't going to make an attempt to run, she let a bit of her magic loose to paralyze them. She stopped when she reached him and smiled wickedly. "You think you're going home?" she asked, almost mockingly. "You thought Farah had the power to save you?" The smile disappeared, and her fingers curled into a fist at her side. "Farah is weak, and she is no match for me."
Aiki stared at Rosalind, wide-eyed and pale. They would be trembling if it weren't for Rosalind's magic paralyzing them. No, no, no, no, no! I can't move, I can't move…! What is she going to do to me?? Oh God… He definitely didn't have the mental fortitude that Farah did, and he wasn't very good at hiding the fact that he was absolutely terrified. They whimpered and closed their eyes, feeling like helpless prey being slowly devoured by its predator.
"I saw your ability," Rosalind purred, taking pleasure in Aiki's terror. "I know you have some kind of magic in you. I tried to get Farah to tell me the truth, and she refused. I can't imagine what secrets you're hiding if Farah wouldn't allow me to see. So… I guess I'll have to see for myself." An almost sadistic glaze coated her eyes as she lifted her hand to press her fingers against Aiki's left temple. "Shh," she whispered. "Don't be afraid."
(Assuming she's going through his memories and such aha)
Aiki whimpered softly and closed their eyes, their terror only growing and becoming steadily more unbearable. No, no, no! Don't touch me, please… please… As soon as Rosalind touched his temple, he gasped in pain and his memories flashed through his mind. Most prominently shown was them pushing their power into the flame pillar to help Farah and Saul kill the Burned One. Their memories showed them talking to their brother and helping Saul spy on Rosalind and Farah, and them panicking when Farah was hurt. He whimpered again, trying his best to push Rosalind out of his mind, but unable to.
The deeper she went, the bigger Rosalind's grin became. "Ah…" she murmured quietly. "I see. I'll have to have a chat with Farah and Saul…" After a few agonizing moments for Aiki, Rosalind withdrew her powers but left the fox boy paralyzed. "Your powers are immense and incredibly… interesting," she remarked. "And you have a twin brother with powers as well." An unreadable expression crossed her face. "Farah blocked so much from me… Well, she doesn't know half of my powers. I never would have let her in so easily unless I did it for a purpose." The older fairy was bluffing hard, but she figured it would be a useful intimidation tactic. Even the mention of her name had seemed to put this creature on edge. "And she thought she could send you home without me knowing? How foolish of her."
Aiki exhaled shakily when Rosalind pulled away, feeling like they were going to pass out. His head was throbbing and, and his ears were ringing pretty badly as well. They screwed their eyes shut, trying to calm down and failing miserably. No, no, please… let me go home… don't do anything to Eiji, please. He repeated over and over in his head, absolutely terrified at this point. They wanted so badly to run away, but they were literally paralyzed. He was stuck until Rosalind decided to release him, and he couldn't see that happening.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt your brother," Rosalind responded as though their entire conversation was verbal. "Currently, he's not of any interest to me. You, however, have a tremendous amount of raw power. Your abilities are greater than any fire fairy I've ever encountered, and I'm curious. I'd like to see what you can do. Now…" Aiki was taller than her, but Rosalind looked up a few inches with a fierce gaze. "I will release you, but you will come with me. And if you don't… I'm afraid I will have to have an unpleasant encounter with two of my battalion members when they come looking for you." She tilted her head to the side. "One that may be… deadly?"
Aiki looked down at Rosalind meekly, his heart racing. Despite her being shorter, they felt cornered and terrified. If he didn't obey her, Farah and Saul would get killed, and he couldn't let that happen. He hated to vanish without so much as a warning to them, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice here. It took several seconds of consideration and building up the courage to speak before they were actually able to respond. "…F-Fine… I won't… I won't run…" He whispered weakly.
Rosalind simply smirked and waved her hand, causing her paralysis spell to disappear. "Follow me," she said simply before pacing down the hallway towards her office.
–
Farah checked her watch for the sixth time in five minutes. "Where is he?" she asked quietly, pulling the sleeves of her jacket down to hide the shaking of her hands.
"I don't know, but shouldn't Luna be getting here by now?" Saul asked. The couple had been waiting for what felt like an hour or two, but in reality, it had only been about fifteen minutes that had passed.
"Yes, but I'm not leaving without Aiki. They could get lost," she worried.
"Hey," Saul murmured, gently rubbing her back to soothe her. "It'll be okay. I'm sure they'll find us."
Farah nodded absently, her gaze focused intently down the hall. "Yes."
As soon as the paralysis vanished, Aiki was shaking violently. They weren't even entirely sure if they could walk at all. Nevertheless, with a numb mind and trembling legs, Aiki followed Rosalind. He looked terrified and he felt like he was going to be sick, but he didn't have a choice. They knew that Rosalind was making it seem like they had some choice, but they knew they didn't. He wrapped his arms around himself as he followed her, biting back tears and fighting away the memories of when he'd been captured when he was younger. This was dangerously similar.
Every few steps, Rosalind shot intimidating glances over her shoulder to make sure Aiki was still following her. She let a bit of her magic outwards in an attempt to locate Farah, but she couldn't, so instead, she cursed and walked faster. "Keep up," she snapped as her short legs made long strides down the corridor.
–
Farah, however, felt Rosalind's magic. She stiffened and looked around quickly.
"Farah?" Saul asked worriedly. "What is it?"
"Rosalind," Farah murmured. "I thought I trapped her, but she's loose in the halls."
Aiki cowered a bit every time Rosalind glared at them. He knew that being afraid was what she wanted, but he couldn't fight the feeling. They had their ears flattened back against their head as they trotted along behind Rosalind to keep with her quick pace. He rubbed the tears out of his eyes, although he was still shaking pretty badly. What is she going to do to me…?
Rosalind opened the door to her office and was pleased to see Andreas was no longer there, meaning he had recovered from the cryo-inducement veil. "Inside," she ordered. Her eyes darted down the hall as she suddenly felt a bit of Farah's magic in use. "Now."
Aiki shivered at Rosalind's sharp tone and quickly obeyed, heading into the office. Their tail was bristling with fear, and they were visibly trembling as well. "W-What… what are you going to do to me…?" He asked in a weak, shaky whisper.
Farah shook her head. "I'm worried, Saul. He should be here by now."
Saul sighed and looked down the hallway, hoping by some miracle Aiki would suddenly appear and Farah could stop worrying. However, the fox boy still had yet to turn up.
"I'm going to go look for them," Farah stated decidedly. "You stay here. Wait for Luna. I texted her to let her know that we're still at the school, and she said she would come here to meet us instead."
"Alright," Saul conceded. He gripped Farah's bicep quickly before she could walk away. "Farah," he murmured, searching her eyes with his. "Just… be careful."
They drew close and shared a short but deep kiss before Farah broke the contact.
"I'll be back soon," she whispered before hurrying off.
–
Rosalind's eyes turned grey, and she felt Farah approaching. Quickly, she stepped into her office. Behind her, the door shut and locked, and she turned her focus back to Aiki.
"If you cooperate," she answered, "I won't do anything to you. Not in the way you're thinking. I'd like to understand your powers, that's all." Her voice was promising but equally dangerous.
Aiki fidgeted nervously with their hands, looking up at Rosalind with heavy distrust. He didn't like the way she tested her words, and how carefully they were constructed. She was keeping something from them, and that definitely kept them very on edge. When she looked at him, he took a step back and turned his ears back again, glaring up at her with as much confidence as he could muster through his terror. Their eyes practically glowed for a moment when they caught the light. "…What do you want to know?" He asked warily.