Aiki closed his eyes once he was slid down the wall, trembling for a few seconds before he was still. He was completely drained, and upon closer inspection, he seemed to have passed out as well. Their breathing was a bit easier, thankfully, but they still weren't exactly doing great. They really needed to get some food in their system, and rest as well.
"Damn it, Farah, why do I always have to be the one to carry you?" Saul asked jokingly, sweeping her up bridal style and setting her gently down next to Aiki. She moaned quietly, and her head lolled to the side. He looked between them and sighed heavily. He made quick work of navigating the barn and finding the door Rosalind had used as their gateway. He opened it, and immediately, Ben's head jerked up in surprise.
"Andreas! Rosalind!" he cried out. "Saul and Farah are back!" Ben leaped up and wrapped Saul in a crushing hug. "I was so worried about you two," he muttered before Rosalind and Andreas could hear. Saul chuckled slightly, but as Ben retracted his embrace, his expression changed from joyful to worried. "Wait, where's Farah?"
Rosalind appeared behind Ben, Andreas on her heels. "Saul. Where have you been?" she demanded.
"Uh, see, we got a little–" Saul began, but he was quickly cut off by Rosalind.
"Where is Farah?"
"She's back this way," he motioned. Serious looks formed on the faces of Rosalind, Ben, and Andreas, and they quickly entered through the gateway and followed Saul to where Aiki and Farah both lay slumped against the wall with the Burned One lying in the middle of the floor.
Aiki started to stir a bit in Saul's absence, fighting to wake back up. He was clearly struggling, but his eyelids faltered and his ears twitched. When Rosalind, Ben, Andreas, and Saul came through the gateway, he managed to open his eyes. They glanced up and around, noticing the four of them with a soft yelp of fear and surprise. His eyes widened and he pressed himself against the barn wall, his head still feeling very fuzzy and foggy. They couldn't see incredibly well, but once their eyes focused, they were able to make out Saul as a familiar face, at least,
"Um…" He glanced to the Burned One in the middle of the floor, gathering that they had made it to the barn and that Saul had presumably fetched the relevant people to the matter. "H… Hi…? I-I'm… uh… my name is Aiki…" They stammered awkwardly, clearly not entirely sure how they were supposed to act in this situation. I've never met fairies before? What's the right etiquette??
"It's okay," Saul reassured Aiki with a subdued grin. "This is the rest of my battalion. This is Andreas." Andreas crossed his arms over his chest and nodded a greeting. "Ben." Ben smiled kindly and waved. "And this is… Rosalind."
Rosalind's presence seemed to take up the entire barn from the moment she stepped inside it. She was an older woman with hair a few shades lighter and blonder than Farah's, and while Farah had warm, dark, brown eyes, Rosalind had piercing icy blue ones. She was shorter than the rest of her battalion, but what she lacked in height, she overcompensated with demeanor. She lifted her chin in the air, seemingly as a power move, and looked down at Aiki with arched her eyebrows. "Saul, who is this?" she asked in a crisp, cool voice that suggested she knew everything and they all knew nothing, even while it was her who was asking a question.
"This is Aiki," Saul explained. "We met in the forest, and he helped us." His description was vague for a reason, and he seemed to pray that Rosalind wouldn't question it any further.
Thankfully, she didn't. Instead, she hummed curiously, and the corner of her lip twisted upwards. From someone like Farah or Saul, the action would have been kind and somewhat playful, but from Rosalind, it seemed almost menacing. "Interesting," she murmured. Her gaze locked with Aiki's for a brief, intense moment before she diverted her gaze to Farah, who Ben was already crouching beside.
Even though Aiki had woken, Farah was still out cold, which concerned Saul greatly.
"What happened to her?" Rosalind asked. Her eyes quickly noted the ripped jacket sleeve and still-healing wound and narrowed at the sight of them.
"She… was cut by the Burned One before we killed it," Saul explained. "And she used a lot of her energy during the fight and–"
Rosalind held her hand up, and Saul instantly fell silent. "Ben," she addressed the other man. "What does it look like?"
Ben looked up at the sound of his name, but he initially looked to Saul instead of Rosalind. His gaze shifted quickly, and he answered, "I believe she's just exhausted. She should wake up shortly."
Aiki nodded in greeting to each person as they were introduced, his heart still pounding a bit. He wasn't really entirely sure what to do in this situation, but he was trying his best to stay calm and not be weird. After all, they weren't really supposed to be here from what they could gather. The Otherworld and his world weren't supposed to interact much.
They looked over at Farah, clearly confused as to what had happened to her that would have made her pass out. Was she more hurt than we thought? He tried to get to his feet, but his legs were shaking a lot and he just fell back to the ground. They winced and simply pushed themself up onto their hands and knees. He felt dizzy and a bit sick, and covered his mouth with one hand, which just made him fall back to the ground from the lack of support.
Saul knelt by Aiki's side in an instant. "Hey, hey," he murmured. "Relax. It's okay." He looked over at Ben, then to Rosalind and Andreas. "Do you have any food?" he asked, doing his best to maintain calm like Farah always could. But he wasn't Farah, and the request came out a little too urgent.
Like a shark, circling its prey, Rosalind latched onto the emotion. But before she could speak, Farah came to and sat bolt upright, nearly colliding her head with Ben's. Her eyes widened immensely at the sight of her battalion, but most of all, she made eye contact with Rosalind and her face slipped into an almost emotionless state.
"How kind of you to rejoin us, Farah," Rosalind greeted, almost bitterly. "We were just getting to know your friend here." She swept her hand in Aiki's direction, and Saul, who was still by their side, tensed as she did so.
Farah inhaled evenly and nodded. "Yes, I found Aiki in the woods," she remarked just as vaguely as Saul had. Her head pounded, but she didn't say anything. She knew what was good for her. Her eyes shifted to see Ben, and she smiled weakly. "Hello, Ben," she said before darting her gaze to Andreas. "Andreas," she acknowledged him coolly.
"Farah," he replied in kind, speaking for the first time since he'd entered the barn.
Aiki relaxed a little bit at Saul's reassurance, slumping against the man's side as they tried to settle back down. He was dizzy and breathing heavily, and he was visibly pretty out of it, but he was still doing his best to listen in on the conversation.
Why are they being so stiff and weird? Was their first thought. After all, to his knowledge at least, these people knew each other pretty well. And yet, he could cut the tension in the air with a knife. It was definitely an uncomfortable atmosphere, and they didn't know what to do about it.
And… why are they being so weird about me in particular? He wondered. They had been helpful, of course, and clearly had magic, so they weren't about to get and get anyone in trouble for anything. It was definitely strange how vague Saul and Farah were being in regards to him.
Rosalind paced over and knelt in front of Farah. She tilted her head to the side and smiled. Farah didn't smile back. “Oh, God. Don’t pout, Farah." Rosalind meant to tease, but it was delivered in a way that made Farah's spine stiffen. The condescending tone was almost imperceivable.
"We brought the dead Burned One," Farah stated, blatantly changing the subject. "We should get it back to the Otherworld."
Rosalind maintained eye contact for a moment longer before she squinted once and stood up again. She looked to Andreas. "Saul, would you help Andreas move the Burned One through the gateway?"
Saul let out a quiet huff that only Aiki and Farah could hear as he stood up and joined Andreas. The two men were wearing the same Specialist armor and had dark brown hair and lighter skin. From the back, they looked extremely similar, nearly identical.
Farah shifted her position a bit and looked over at Aiki with a soft gaze. "Do you need anything?" she asked quietly. "Anything at all?"
Aiki was clearly uncomfortable with the dynamic amongst the battalion members. He felt incredibly out of place here amongst them, and if he were to be suddenly attacked (not that he expected to be, but he didn't really know what to expect at this point), he was in a far too weakened state to properly defend himself. They were exhausted, and the growling of their stomach was audible throughout the barn.
They were slumped against the wall of the barn, hugging their stomach when Saul came up to them. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, and he looked pretty pale and shaky. Their breathing was pretty erratic as well. He looked up when Saul addressed him and sat up a bit more, wincing. "Mmngh… j-just food and sleep, probably… can't think of much else that might help. Maybe a shower…?"
Farah pushed herself to her feet, not daring to look weak in front of Rosalind any longer. She looked to Aiki, then Ben. "Could you help me?" she asked in a quiet tone. Ben understood and nodded. Together they helped Aiki up and wrapped each of his arms around their shoulders.
Rosalind watched, her blue eyes glittering. However, she stayed planted where she was as her battalion did the work.
As soon as Farah, Ben, and Aiki were out of earshot, Ben murmured, "What is going on?"
"Not now," Farah mumbled back. Into Aiki's ear, almost inaudible, she whispered, "You don't have powers, got it?"
–
Andreas and Saul reached the Burned One and lifted it from the ground effortlessly together. Saul could've moved it by himself, but when Rosalind suggested Andreas' company, it was like a knife in his side. Both Rosalind and Andreas worked hard to make Saul feel… what was the word? Inferior, he guessed, wincing as Andreas's eyes followed Farah as she helped Aiki through the gateway.
"So, you let the Burned One hurt her?" Andreas remarked casually. "Not a very good Specialist, are you Saul?"
Saul gritted his teeth and noted Rosalind watching them with her usual hawk-like gaze, so he said nothing.
"Rosalind apologized to me the other day," Andreas continued.
This time, Saul bit back. "For what?"
Andreas grinned. "She told me Farah should have been paired with me."
Saul felt the anger build inside of him, but just as he was about to spit out a rebuke, Farah glanced over at them. Andreas smirked, but Farah's gaze went right past him to Saul. This time, Andreas seemed to be put in his place, and when he looked away, Farah seized the opportunity to send Saul a little look. Saul had come to learn Farah's microexpressions, and seeing the one she made now made him concerned.
Aiki tried to stumble along with Farah and Ben's help, not wanting to be too cumbersome. He didn't have much feeling in his legs at this point, and his whole body was pretty tingly and numb. Their eyes were pretty hazy and they generally didn't look like they felt great.
When Farah addressed him, he looked up a bit, seeming confused.
"Ah…? Um… yeah, sure. Okay. I guess that's just so that they don't see me as a threat as much?" They replied just as quietly, figuring that they shouldn't be heard if Farah was being so secretive.
When they came through the gateway, he looked around tiredly, curious as to what kind of place he was liable to be stuck in for a while until these people decided what they wanted to do with him. They could only hope that they wouldn't end up being killed, but they didn't exactly have much choice.
Coming through the gateway, they emerged into the middle of another forest, but this one was considerably less dense. As they took a few steps into the woods, Farah spoke again, her voice still hushed. "Only trust me, Saul, and Ben. Rosalind and Andreas cannot find out you have powers. Andreas would tell Rosalind, and she would–" Farah's words were interrupted by Andreas and Saul coming through the gateway right behind them with the Burned One.
Farah quickly stopped talking as the men let the creature drop to the ground briefly. Andreas left Saul and approached Farah, Aiki, and Ben. As he came closer, Aiki and Ben both noticed her tense, and Ben squeezed her shoulder discreetly and reassuringly.
"I'm sorry Saul let the Burned One hurt you, Farah," Andreas said. His tone was serious and deeply apologetic. "I would have never let that thing hurt you. Are you okay?"
"Yes, Andreas, I'm fine," Farah replied coolly. "Thank you." Her eyes darted to Saul, who stood by the Burned One's body, looking over at them with an unreadable expression on his face.
"What are we all standing here for?" Rosalind's crisp voice asked from behind them. She came through the gateway and closed the door behind her. Once it was shut and secured, she pressed her hand against the wood. The ring on her finger illuminated, then she turned and began walking through the forest.
"Um… okay. I guess he's Ben?" Aiki looked up at the man who was also helping support him. "Mmngh… there better be some sort of actual living space in this place…" He groaned and closed his eyes, taking a few seconds to try and regain himself a bit. They looked exhausted and pale, and possibly a bit nauseous despite there being next to nothing in their stomach.
He felt pretty out of place here with all of these powerful adults. He had powers too, of course, but he was much younger than all of these people, and not nearly as strong. Especially not when they were so low on sugar and weak like this.
He seemed pretty uncomfortable as well when Andreas came over, but definitely noticed Farah's discomfort. What can I do to make him leave her alone? Um… "Uhhh… oh no, um… I'm lightheaded." They said awkwardly before just falling forward onto the ground, managing to slump over more convincingly than his vocal improvisation.
Farah gasped softly as Aiki went down. The way her arm was supporting them, they pulled her down with her, so she broke the eye contact she had with Andreas. For that, she was immensely grateful. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.
Rosalind turned to look at them, and Saul saw a furious glare darken her face for a split second before she wiped her face of emotion and spoke. "Why are you so lightheaded anyway?" she addressed her sharp question to Aiki. "What in the Otherworld could you have done to make you so tired?"
Aiki lifted his head a bit when Farah asked the question, nodding tiredly. Some of it was an act to get Farah away from Andreas, but they really didn't feel well. "I'm fine… s'nothing…"
He glanced up upon hearing Rosalind's question, wincing at the sharpness in her voice. "W-Well… um… I've been lost out there for a little bit and I'm like… super Hypoglycemic, so I'm not doing great on that front. I'm not great at finding food that can deal with… with that situation…" Their eyelids fluttered again and they fell to their hands and knees. "S-Sorry… I don't mean to be an inconvenience. Farah and Saul had to help me…"
Rosalind listened to Aiki, a shrewd look on her features. She glanced at Andreas, who shrugged back as a response.
Farah gently rubbed Aiki's back as they fell on their hands and knees. "You are not an inconvenience," she reassured him kindly.
Saul strode over and joined them in caring for Aiki. He also took advantage of being closer to Farah by gently gracing his fingers across her back, which he knew she liked. He made sure to hide the touch from Rosalind and Andreas, who both seemed to scrutinize his every move.
Farah bit her lip discreetly to avoid smiling at Saul's gesture, and she relaxed significantly with him beside her. It was the polar opposite of her reaction to Andreas.
"Let's go. We should be getting back," Rosalind stated without room for questioning.
Aiki leaned against Farah weakly, their breathing erratic and heavy. His heart was racing and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. "Y-Yeah, right… of all the people to get stuck in the woods with, you got me." They laughed weakly. "Sorry, I just… I know I'm not the greatest in these kinds of situations. I'm not used to being stuck out here like this, you know? I'm… um… I'm only sixteen, so I don't have a whole lot of experience…"
He closed his eyes and drew up one hand to run through his hair, visibly trembling. Their ears were ringing and their head felt fuzzy and heavy and so full of pressure that they could scarcely hear or think at all anymore. His head was throbbing and his stomach was growling, and he really just wanted to get some rest.
Farah smiled softly, using her ponytail to hide her face from Rosalind as she did so. "It's alright. Do you think you can walk just a little longer? Alfea isn't that far away," she promised.
"Or we could carry you," Saul offered quietly. "But once we get back to Alfea, you can rest as long as you need to."
"I can try…" Aiki attempted to get up, but they were wobbling dangerously. He looked dizzy, and his limbs felt a bit numb, so walking was very difficult. They couldn't even push themselves up into a standing position in this state, but continued trying even though they fell back to their knees every time.
The entire group watched Aiki struggle, but Farah quickly placed her hand on his back to stop him from trying to get up anymore. "Take it easy," she whispered, glancing up from Aiki to Rosalind. The two made eye contact, and Rosalind's eyes glittered wickedly. Farah quickly looked away.
"Here," Ben suggested, crouching in front of Aiki. "Get on my back. I can carry you."
Aiki looked up at Ben weakly, his eyes still very hazy and distant. They were trying not to be embarrassed by their current failures to accomplish a simple task such as standing. After a bit of hesitation, he managed to get on Ben's back with a bit of help. They looked exhausted, and their eyelids still occasionally flickered as they fought to stay awake.
Ben rose to his feet and nodded toward Rosalind, but the older woman was already heading down a roughly recognizable path. "Let's keep up," she called over her shoulder, and the rest of the group moved to follow her.
Ben went first, carrying Aiki, then went Saul and Farah with Andreas bringing up the rear.
"Hey," Saul murmured, bumping his shoulder against Farah's. "Are you okay?"
She glanced over at him with a now-guarded smile. "Of course," she replied easily, but her eyes darted for one second back to Andreas. Saul noticed and took the hint. He looked forward and walked in silence, wanting nothing more to speak to Farah freely but knowing that he couldn't.
Aiki did his best to stay conscious as long as possible, listening in on the conversations around him idly. They couldn't help but wish that Eiji was here to help them out with his powers and his snacks and his encouragement… Aiki shook their head slightly, clearing the thoughts. Wishing Eiji was here wouldn't bring him here, after all.
Despite his efforts, Aiki did pass out after a while. They were drained and there wasn't really any food for them here, so their body demanded rest in its stead. At the very least, when he was unconscious he didn't notice his headache.
Ben could feel the moment when Aiki went limp with unconsciousness. While he was concerned, he also had an estimate of how tired the fox boy was, and he figured it would be best for now to let him rest. Once they got back on the school's grounds, he would attempt to wake them up for food and water. So for now, he only kept moving forward after Rosalind. Pretty soon, a few more minutes of walking finally proved to be beneficial. Rosalind lead the group to the edge of the forest, and there, across a small field was Alfea. She set out for it without checking behind her to make sure the rest of her battalion was there.
Farah's eyes fell on the school, and mixed emotions swirled inside of her. While the school represented safety and a source of strength for her as she had learned to use and grow her powers, it also came with a multitude of negative feelings as well. The hours upon hours of private sessions she'd spent in Rosalind's headmistress office, working herself continuously to hone her abilities in, still haunted her. Some sessions were better than others, but most times, Rosalind worked with Farah until the younger fairy passed out completely. Farah used to have bruises down her arms and back from falling since Rosalind never attempted to catch her. All Farah had wanted to do as a student was impress her headmistress. The woman had given her guidance, albeit it wasn't the guidance Farah really needed. Rosalind had made it abundantly clear on multiple occasions that Farah’s natural power was the only reason she was valued at Alfea. Now that she had graduated and was a member of Rosalind's premier battalion, she felt a different kind of allegiance to Rosalind. She was terrified of her mentor and former headmistress – Rosalind had molded her protégé perfectly to her liking.
Saul also had mixed feelings about the school as he gazed at the historic building. He and Andreas were the top 2 Specialists to come out of Alfea, so naturally, they were both invited to join Rosalind's premier battalion. But Saul always found himself in second place to Andreas in everything they did. The men were good friends, but Andreas was the prince of Eraklyon and Saul was… just Saul. He didn't have girls swooning for him as Andreas did, and there were times when he certainly didn't have the best performances on the battlefield. Oh, how he longed to outperform Andreas in anything, anything at all. Just one thing, whatever it may have been. Then maybe he would be able to shut the man up for at least a day or two before Andreas went back to belittling Saul for his efforts. Wherever Andreas succeeded, it seemed that Saul failed. Their previous conversation resurfaced in his mind. "Farah should have been paired with me," Andreas had said. It wasn't the first time Rosalind had brought this up, but every time it was mentioned, Saul's heart would begin to race. He was terrified of losing her – losing Farah. She was his rock – the one certainty when everything else was murky and confusing.
As they stood there at the edge of the forest and looking at the school, Andreas brushed past them to follow Rosalind and Ben, who were already a decent way across the field. As he passed Farah, Andreas made sure to brush her arm in a casually flirtatious way. Farah winced. It hurt knowing that Andreas only wanted to date her because he knew of her capabilities and saw her outward beauty. His ego wanted possession of the woman who held such powerful magic. But Saul, seeing the look on her face didn't hesitate to lace their fingers together and look deep into her rich, brown eyes.
Unlike his colleague and several others at Alfea, Saul looked at Farah and just wanted her as she stood before him. It had never mattered to him that she was the strongest fairy to come out of Alfea since Rosalind. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It did matter, but it was because he was so proud of her, and it wasn't the only reason why he cared about her so much. He loved her witty comebacks, her intelligence, and her humorous side she rarely showed. She was by far the smartest person he had ever met, and while he appreciated her figure and commercial beauty as any man would, he adored her freckles she tried to hide with makeup and the crinkle in her nose when she laughed that she hated. With Saul, Farah didn’t have to be powerful to be valued. To him, being herself was enough.
Farah stood in a trance, her fingers threaded through Saul's and her eyes staring deep into his. Most people thought his eyes were blue, but Farah had spent hours looking into them and knew that they were truly grey. She had always loved the natural grey color that was so uncommon. She thought back to the beginning of their battalion's "adventures." Rosalind, Andreas, and even Ben had doubted him before (with Ben it was only once, but still). They had thought he wasn't good enough. Wasn't capable. Ranked him in second place. But with Farah, Saul was never second best. Unbeknownst to him, he had been Farah’s top pick for her Specialist, which was why her partner was not Andreas. He was always the first person she thought of when she had something to share, and in training or battles with Burned Ones, she put his safety before hers (much to his chagrin), which was why she had been so quick to pull the Burned One closer to her and left herself exposed and vulnerable to its attack. As long as it hadn't been Saul who was in danger, or in that case, also Aiki. And no matter how much Andreas flirted with her, or asked her out, or tried to woo her with fancy gifts or reminders that he was going to be the king of Erayklon, she was only ever interested in Saul. With Farah, Saul never had to compete. He was already the best. To her, being himself was enough.
(I'm sorry this is so long, but I was on a roll with inspiration from a Tumblr post 😂)
(Np aha, I can't write that much though since I've only got one character and he can't do much here ^^;)
Aiki was unconscious for a while, his fainting slowly fading into sleeping instead. They needed the rest, to be honest; they hadn't exactly been getting much sleep back at home either, even if they'd been eating alright. Having next to nothing to eat here had pushed him over the edge, and he wasn't doing very well.
It was only when he was purposefully awoken that he stirred again, blearily opening his eyes to look around. They were still very limp and clearly had nothing left to go on, but they smiled weakly as an attempt at a reassurance. He hoped that there was somewhere to properly sleep for a few hours and something to eat, because his stomach was growling and his limbs felt numb and heavy. His ears drooped and his gaze still looked pretty distant.
"Mmmnhh… what's going on…?" They mumbled weakly, glancing around to attempt to make something out of the blurry figures surrounding them. He didn't mind the company of Farah and Saul, and maybe Ben, but the others made him pretty uneasy, and he couldn't stay here forever. He didn't live in this place after all, and he had a home elsewhere that he really wanted to go back to.