(This is the second to last extra upload for pride month! We'll be going back to our regular schedule Sunday!)
{The Next Day}
~Darius POV~
"Good morning." Uncle Desmond said as I was about to leave for school.
"Good morning." I replied.
"You're not leaving without having breakfast, are you?" He asked.
"What? No. I-" I tried to lie but couldn't.
I forgot about breakfast.
"Come on. I'll make you something." He said.
"No! Desmond, you're not allowed to cook! You almost burned down the house last time you tried!" Micheal shouted from the other room. "You weren't even near the stove!"
"Micheal will make something." Uncle Desmond said.
{Half An Hour Later}
We finished breakfast, thanked Micheal, Eber jumped on my shoulder, then I left for school.
"Hey!" Someone said as I stepped outside.
Startled, I jumped back and looked at them. Alador laughed.
"Sorry. Sorry." He apologized.
"It's fine but what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I thought we could walk to school together." He answered.
"Uh-huh. Are you sure it's not to make sure I actually stayed?" I asked.
"Okay, you caught me. I was nervous you left." He admitted.
"As you can see, I didn't." I said.
He kissed me on the cheek.
"Yep. Now can we walk to school together?" He asked, grabbing my hand.
I smiled at him.
"Of course, Surdoué." I answered.
Eber asked if we forgot he was here too.
"No, we didn't forget you were here." I said, patting her head with my free-hand.
Ben and Ace popped up from my school bag.
"Oh, right. You forgot Ben yesterday." I told Alador.
"No, it was a conscious decision." Alador shrugged. "He really likes Ace. I thought it wouldn't hurt to let him stay with them for one night, especially after what you all have been through recently and this place being so new to Ace. It's silly, I know.'
I smiled.
"That's sweet." I said.
Ben squeaked at Alador before jumping in Alador's school bag. Ace followed after him. Ace jumped back in my bag, grabbed the packet with 2 crackers, and jumped back into Alador's bag. Ben squeaked happily.
{Several Hours Later}
Alador has a class right now and I don't. Honestly, I'm thankful. I love him but he's been by my side all day. Usually that'd be endearing and cute but today is just an off day for me. I don't like to worry people and I know I did so I feel bad. It's just a stupid thing my brain does. The worst part is I know it's stupid and they have a good reason to worry but I still feel bad about it. My brain is just cruel.
"Hey, Darius." Lilith said.
"Sup, Ravenette." I said.
"I'm sorry for complaining to you about my parents. I shouldn't have." She said. "I should've realized how bad-"
I sighed.
"Don't apologize. Everyone has different issues." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "Just because you now know about my issues, it doesn't mean yours are any less valid than they were before."
She kept trying to apologize but I shot her down with reasons why it's not necessary. Eventually she nodded, obviously out of things she thought she needed to apologize for, and walked away.
{A Few Hours Later}
Grudgby practice. Finally. As I walk on the field, I noted Alador, Eber, and Raine in the stands watching. I smiled at Alador and he smiled back. Lilith, being the team captain, started practice.
{A Couple Days Later}
Porter has been getting on my nerves. He's being too cautious about what he says around me. If parents come up in any way in a conversation, he'll try to change the subject and if he slips up by mentioning his parents, he'll stop and awkwardly fix it. It's annoying. Everyone else just exchanges looks when he does this. I don't care if parents are mentioned, as long as they aren't mine. Everyone except Porter gets that.
"My da- I mean- um..." Porter stumbled over his words. "I forgot something in class."
He walked off.
Eber said his suffering was funny at first but this is getting old.
"You can say that again." Raine muttered.
They translated for him.
"Mhmm." Lilith said.
"I wanna punch him every time." Eda stated.
"It's frustrating." I said.
"He's still kind of new and hasn't spent much time with you. Obviously he doesn't get the dynamic." Lilith stated.
"What do we do?" Raine asked.
"Next time he does it, I'll say something." I answered.
Eber said this'll embarrass him.
"Eber, Perry embarrasses himself by doing that, this is nothing." Raine told him.
Eber nodded then said it is still going to embarrass him.
{An Hour And A Half Later}
"My dad said-" Alador started.
"Did you guys hear about-" Porter tried to change the topic again.
"Porter." I sighed.
"...what?" He asked.
"Stop. Just stop whatever it is you've been trying to do." I told him. "It's not helping anyone with anything except you embarrassing yourself."
"I thought you wouldn't want to hear about parents after what happened?" He said, confused.
"Dude, I don't care at all. As long as my parents aren't mentioned, I do not give a fuck if anyone mentions a parent or parents." I told him.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized.
"Don't apologize, just stop with whatever that whole scene is." I said.
He nodded slowly.
"Thank you." I stated.
"What were you talking about, Alador?" Eda asked.
"Hm? Oh, right. My dad said that next week there will be a seminar or something coming up soon." Alador said. "One of the coven heads is supposed to show a new hybrid creation from their coven. I don't know which coven it is but it sounds cool. We should go."
"Yeah. We should." Lilith said.
{Several Days Later}
"Come on, it'd be fun." I told Alador. "You'll love it."
"No! You'll drop me!" Alador countered.
"No, I won't! I'm stronger and more careful than you think." I said. "Ben trusts Ace to carry him, why won't you trust me the same way?"
"Promise you won't drop me?" He asked.
"I promise I won't drop you." I answered.
Nervously, Alador climbed on my back. He held his arms around my shoulders and neck and I held his legs around my waist. He tensed up when I stood.
"Now we meet up with the others." I said
"Are you gonna put me down?" He asked.
"Nope!" I answered.
"Don't drop me..." He mumbled.
"I won't. I won't." I said.
{A Few Minutes Later}
Eda laughed when Alador and I showed up at the library.
"That looks fun. Rainestorm, get on my back." Eda said.
Without hesitation, Raine climbed on Eda's back. They held onto her shoulders and she held their legs around her waist.
"...why are you like this?" Lilith asked her sister. "You're going to hurt yourself."
"Hey!" Raine protested. "I'm small!"
"Yeah! And light! Hey! That's why your name is 'Raine'! Because you're small and light!" Eda exclaimed.
Alador let out a small yelp when Eber jumped on my shoulder. I laughed and Eber snickered.
"Jerk...it's not funny." He mumbled.
"It's a little funny." I whispered back.
"Hey! Sorry I'm...late...what is going on right now?" Porter asked.
"Those two showed up like that then Eda thought it would be fun." Lilith answered, pointing to who she was talking about. "That's it. I don't know what led up to that."
"Okay then." Porter said. "Let's get going...are you two going to carry them all the way there?"
"Yes." Eda and I answered.
Porter and Lilith looked at us as if we were a different species.
"Darius, wanna race?" Eda asked.
Alador made a small sound, tightening his grip slightly.
"Eh. Not really. Alador's already scared I'll drop him." I answered. "I don't wanna scare him too bad."
"Thanks." Alador whispered.
"That's no fun." Eda protested.
"Can we just go?" Porter asked.
{An Hour Later}
"We're here!" Eda stated.
"I can't feel my legs!" Raine noted.
Eda laughed as Lilith took a couple photos. On the way, I noticed Lilith took some pictures of everyone with the camera Eda and Raine stole a few months ago. The fact they still have it is Impressive.
Alador's grip loosened. I looked back. His eyes were closed and he slumped his head on my shoulder. He's asleep.
"Alador fell asleep." I said.
"What? Really?" Porter asked.
"Yeah, he's out." Eda answered. "He is completely knocked out."
"Alador. Wake up." I said, trying to elbow him. "Wake up!"
"Hm...?" Alador said.
He slowly opened his eyes.
"When did we get here..." He said then looked at me. "I fell asleep, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did." I answered.
Alador's face went red from embarrassment.
"How do you fall asleep like that on someone's back?" Lilith asked.
"He trusts him." Porter suggested.
"It's also relaxing. To be honest, I would've fallen asleep too if Eda hadn't been running." Raine stated.
"Damnit, I shouldn't have run!" Eda snapped at herself.
"You guys are weird." Lilith rolled her eyes.
"It seems like you're the weird one, Ravenette." I told her.
Alador climbed off my back and Raine climbed off Eda's. Both of them ended up falling when they tried to take a step.
"You weren't kidding. You really couldn't feel your legs, Raine." Eda stated as she helped Raine up.
"You guys did carry those two for over an hour." Porter reminded us as I helped Alador up.
{Half An Hour Later}
We found 7 seats together in the audience. As we all sat down, someone zoomed Alador and took the last seat.
"Hey!" Alador told the person. "I was here before you!"
"So what?" The person asked
"So move." Alador said.
"I'm not gonna move." The person stayed. "This is my seat, Asshat."
Yeah, no.
"If you don't want to die, I suggest you move." Porter told the person.
"Tsk. You're a twig and he doesn't look that strong, what are either of you going to do?" The person asked.
"Oh, not us. Them." Porter answered.
Raine, Eda, and I got ready to cast spells and Eber started growling. The person seemed to get the picture. They got up and left faster than they'd shown up. Alador sat down. Eber made a comment.
"Eber said that he'd have sat on my lap so you could have had the seat he's on but the guy chose to be such an asshole." I translated.
"Welcome! Welcome! I am Tara Snapdragon!" The head witch of the plant coven announced.
"...can we leave?" Raine mumbled.
"No." I whispered to Raine.
Raine slouched in their seat.
"The plant coven has a new creation it would like to show you all today!" Head Witch Snapdragon announced. "With the DNA of a slitherbeast injected into a venus flytrap..."
She ripped the tarp of a plant that looks like the titan would want it dead. From here it's hard to get a good idea of how big it is, I'd say it's about the size of Eda or Lilith. Normally a venus flytrap doesn't look too dangerous but with the slitherbeast so DNA, it has teeth and eyes. It looks like it could kill someone.
"...The venus demonkiller!" Head Witch Snapdragon shouted.
"Whoa..." Eda mumbled. "So cool!"
"Oh no." Lilith muttered.
{2 Hours Later}
"You want to do what?!" Porter shouted.
"Shhhh!" Eda snapped at him.
"You want to do what?" Porter asked, quieter.
"Steal that plant." Eda said.
"Are you crazy? No, wait, you are crazy. That's illegal and that thing could kill us." Porter said. "No one actually wants to go with her on this, right?"
"Actually, I'm with Edalyn on stealing it. That plant looked really interesting, I'm interested in seeing what it can do." Alador said.
"The idea alone of Tara Snapdragon having a plant like that makes me feel unsafe and scared." Raine sighed.
"It just sounds fun." I said.
Eber nodded.
"She'll do it anyway, I just want to make sure no one gets killed." Lilith said.
"You're the only one against it, Corbeau." I said.
"'Corbeau'?" Porter asked, kind of excited. "Do I have a nickname now?"
"Yep. It means 'Crow' in French since you always say something bad is going to happen." I told him.
"What's French?" He asked.
"It's a human language. Darius managed to learn from a book the bookstore accidentally put on the shelf." Alador piped up. "Speaking of that book, it's in my locker and I keep forgetting to give it back."
"Darius gave you a nickname, you have to go with our shenanigans." Eda told Porter.
"Alright." Porter sighed.
{A Few Hours Later}
We all met up outside the covention center where the venus demonkiller is being stored.
"Now we should probably come up with a plan." Lilith said.
"Nope." Eda told her. "No plan, just go."
"Seriously? We need a plan." Raine said.
"No. No plan." Eda said. "Let's go."
She started sneaking towards the back of the building. The rest of us followed afterwards. She used a spell to unlock the backdoor and we went inside.
"We need a plan." Lilith whispered.
"Sh!" Eda said.
A few coven scouts walked passed.
"That chick is wack." One said.
"What does that even mean?!" The second said.
"Shorty be trippin'." The third said.
"That doesn't help!" The second snapped.
"They find Head Witch Snapdragon annoying and crazy." The fourth one clarified.
"Finally someone who speaks English!" The second exclaimed.
The scouts went into another room.
"We need a plan." Lilith said.
Eber ran off, Raine and I crept after here. He growled at the tall plant that was hidden in the closet. The new hybrid plant is hidden in a closet. Really? Actually that's kind of smart, who would really expect it? Especially with no guards on the door.
"No one's here so..." Raine said.
Knowing what they meant, I used abomination slime to pick up and carry it out.
"We don't even know where this thing is. For all we know it isn't here." Lilith told Eda.
"Yeah, we do." Alador pointed at us.
"Go, go." I whispered.
They all nodded and tried back out the door. I sent the plant out first.
"Stop right there!" A random scout said, walking into the room and seeing us.
We all ran for the door. Unfortunately, another scout blocked it.
{10 Minutes Later}
"Well, shit." Eda stated as the scouts closed the door of the jail cell.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Porter snapped.
"Eh, it's worth it." Raine said. "The plant isn't in Head Witch Snapdragon's possession."
"True." I said.
"How many times have we been arrested now because of Eda?" Lilith asked.
"1...2...3...4...I've lost count." Alador said. "We've been arrested so many times because of each of us it's become a blur."
"My parents are going to kill me." Porter sighed.
"That's if we're not petrified!" Eda laughed. "Or Tara doesn't kill us."
"How is that funny, Edalyn?!" Alador asked. "Either way we're dead!"
I put my arm around Alador and leaned him on my shoulder. Eber whimpered that he doesn't want to be petrified. I patted his head.
"We're not gonna die. Maybe we'll spend a couple months in the conformitorium but we aren't going to be killed." I told them.
"None of you would survive a day in the conformitorium." Eda said.
"Be nice, Edalyn. You're scaring Perry, Eber, and Alador." Lilith snapped at her sister.
Eda shrugged.
"What little flies have we caught here." Head Witch Snapdragon said.
Raine hid behind me and Alador. Do they have some kind of history with her?
"She likes you, Raine. You can get us out." Eda whispered to Raine.
Eber growled then tackled Raine, causing them to fall into view of Head Witch Snapdragon.
"Sprout?! You were behind this?!" Head Witch Snapdragon asked as Raine tried to crawl back into hiding.
"Damnit..." Raine muttered.
Raine stood up.
"Yeah. It was...um...my...my idea." Raine attempted to lie. "I thought the...plant was...so cool that I...um...want to know how it...works? We'd have returned it! Right, guys? We just...want to study it."
We all nodded. This isn't going to work. Raine can't act.
"Oh, if you just want to study it, you could've just asked, Sprout!" Head Witch Snapdragon said. "This is all just a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, you seedlings have to spend the night here since you didn't break into the covention center but in the morning your parents will pick you up."
How the actual fuck did that work?! She actually believed that?! Is she an idiot?! No, she is an idiot. It's not a question. That was such an obvious lie and she believed it!
"Head Witch, you can't do that!" A coven guard snapped.
"I can and I outrank you, you can't do anything." Head Witch Snapdragon said.