Alitia: Hellfire and Blizzard

XII: Tense Agreements

Nebula had seen better days. 

Over the course of the last few hours, she had searched through the woods near Sacred Heart with the rest of her group. Ann, Cerise, December, and Altina had all wandered away from the school grounds with her in search of any evidence that could lead them back to Minerva... And yet, they found nothing. Nebula wished she could have said she was surprised. If anything, this made perfect sense. Minerva had been caught up in something far larger than any of them could have ever expected, and they would need more than just a bit of luck to find her. 

Nebula wished she knew what to do about it. She was certain Minerva was still alive, but she didn't know if she should trust her instincts on that or not. Minerva was one of the strongest mages out there, so she wouldn't die as easily as Brynn would have wanted her to, but Nebula didn't know if that was enough. Minerva was strong, but was she powerful enough to push through the massive army Brynn had brought to herald her destruction? Did any amount of strength matter when faced with the overwhelming numbers of the armies of Pyre? Would anyone else stand a chance if Minerva had fallen so easily?

No, Nebula couldn't let herself think like that. There had to be a way to set all of this right. She just needed to keep fighting and keep pushing. Minerva was still out there. She had to be. Nebula would look for her no matter what it took and no matter how long it took. The entirety of Sacred Heart was counting on her to find the headmistress and deliver her home safely. Granted, Nebula still didn't know how she was going to do that, but she owed it to herself to try. She owed it to the entire world to try. All of them did. 

And yet, Nebula felt her hope begin to dwindle against all odds as she continued to push through the trees. She could see the signs of battle, but none of the singed trees seemed to lead to anything particularly noteworthy. There were too many fire mages on the field for Nebula to be able to assume that this was where Minerva had fought Brynn. Practically every soldier in the army of Pyre used the same element Minerva did, and there was no evidence that made it seem as if any area stood out as being the place where Minerva and Brynn had dueled. It was clear that they had fought now, but the details remained yet obscured, and Nebula had no idea what to do about it. 

Throughout the searching process, Nebula did her best to not look over at the rest of her group. She wanted their advice, wanted to know if they all believed in Minerva the same way she did, but she couldn't bring herself to ask for the details just yet. She knew it would only make things harder for Altina, and the headmistress of Acadia was suffering enough as it was. She had lost her school so recently, and as soon as Acadia fell, she was struck by the news that the love of her life had gone missing. It would be a lot of pressure for anyone, but Nebula couldn't imagine facing all of it at the same time. She didn't know how anyone could withstand information like that. 

"Maybe we should head back," December suggested carefully. Apparently, Nebula wasn't the only one who was losing faith in the idea that they would pull through in the end. "We've been out here for ages, and we haven't made any progress in finding her."

"But if we go back, then she could come out, and we wouldn't be there to help her," Altina argued. It was a weak excuse to keep the group searching for a little bit longer, but no one referred to it as such. Somehow, that felt like too much to have to face at once, and Nebula wished she knew what to do about it. "If we leave now, then..."

"By that logic, Minerva could appear anywhere, and if we weren't there to help her right away, then we would be in trouble," December countered. "The fact of the matter is that she must be alright somehow. If she had been captured, we would know about it by now. We haven't found a body either. I'm certain she's still out there. We just can't keep looking right now. It's going to invite danger, and we've been through enough in the last day."