Deuce, she concluded, was the reckless type. These kids are gonna kill me... She thought to herself, watching as Deuce picked his go-to spell.
The cauldron spawned above the monster's body, dropping just behind it as it stepped forward to swat at Deuce.
"Begone! Begone! Begooone!" The monster howled, launching a rock that barely missed the reckless boy. Deuce gave a yelp of surprise as he rolled out of the way.
"Aw, crap! He's got Loosey-Deucey on the ropes!" Ace muttered in shock. "Not on my watch!" He called out, throwing a wind spell at the grotesque creature. It, in return, turned toward the ginger giving a ground-shaking roar that made the group stumble in place.
Ace stumbled, falling as he barely avoided the boulder that was launched at him.
"Stay away from me!" Grim hissed, puffing up slightly as he ran around, trying to look for an opening.
The monster bellowed angrily, throwing another hit at the cat who barely dodged. "It's like nothin's even hurtin' it!" Grim hissed.
Yuu stood in the same place, watching the boys fight while she felt the familiar presence of her deceased lover attempting to pull her out of the cave. She simply stared across the cave at the sparking in the distance.
"Either I'm seeing things, or there's something sparkling over there." She remarked, making Ace follow her gaze.
"No way..." He yelped, rolling to the side to avoid being crushed. "There! Behind the monster! There's something sparkling in the mineshaft!"
"Could that have been a magestone?!" Deuce exclaimed, alerting the monster, who threw another hit toward Deuce, suddenly more irate.
"GWAAAAAAAH! Nooo giiive yooouuu stooooooone!" It bellowed angrily.
Grim ran up to her with the intent to cower behind her. "Yuu, we need to book it, and fast! That thing's gonna pound us into tuna paste!" He hissed, tail puffing.
She looked to the monster who bellowed, throwing an inky fist at the boys. "Y-yeah. Okay..." She stated, signaling for Ace and Deuce to follow before she grabbed a stone off of the ground.
"SCATTER!" She hissed, launching the rock with deadly accuracy at the monster's head before running out. When she heard the monster howl in outrage, she feared it chasing after them. However, by some miracle, she and the others managed to make their (not so grand) escape.
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.
.
"Th-This should be far enough, I think?" Grim wheezed, curled on Yuu's lap, seeking comfort. She scratched behind his ears while keeping her posture slightly curled in on herself protectively.
Ace collapsed onto the ground next to her, wheezing slightly. "Owww..." He whined, massaging his muscles. "What was that thing? No one said there'd be anything like that!"
Deuce, being the only one who remained standing, took large gulps of air. He was clearly exhausted. "That was no normal ghost, that's for sure."
"I'd assume so given the large amount of goop coming from it." Yuu agreed.
"Let's just give up and go home. I'll happily take the expulsion if it means never having to fight that thing again." Ace muttered, massaging his shoulder. Yuu watched him wince as if he'd hurt it during the fight.
Deuce, however, cried, "What?! Nuh-uh, not happenin'! I'd rather die than get expelled from Night Raven!" His sight fogged by fear of getting expelled.
Ace wrinkled his nose in disgust when looking at Deuce, scoffing. "Big talk from someone who's not even half the mage I am. You want that stone so bad, go get it yourself." The ginger stood, dusting himself off. "I'm out."
"Oh YEAH?! Fine, go back to your coop, you big chicken!" Deuce taunted angrilly. Ace turned on his heel to face the dark haired boy, eyes filled with outrage.
"Whaaaaat?!" He growled, marching toward Deuce. "Who the hell are you callin' chicken, huh?!" He hissed.
Grim stepped in, slightly concerned about the blue-toned boy. "Whoa, Deuce... Is it just me, or did you, like, turn into a totally different person just now?"
Deuce gave a bewildered yelp, coughing. "Sorry... Lost my cool for a second there."
Yuu sighed shakily, turning to the group. "So now what? We sure as hell can't go in there anymore."
"Can't you guys just blow that thing up with magic?" Grim chimed, curling up by Yuu's feet.
Deuce gave them a sigh of exasperation before explaining. "Using magic at a greater scale, or using different types of magic - those things require training." He looked pitiful to Yuu.
"That's why magic academies exist." Ace mentioned. "It takes a lot of training before you can snap your fingers and turn your thoughts into magic. Not to mention, the more flustered you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes."
Yuu thought for a moment, her hand resting against her chin. "I'm guessing this is why Grim's only able to use fire, right?"
"Hey!" Grim protested, looking up at her. "I'm gonna learn how to use WAY cooler magic than that, for the record!" He stood up on his hind legs enthusiastically. "I'm just hittin' my stride here!"
"Sure thing, Grim." She gave him a small smile.
"Anyway," Deuce cut in. "We need to find some way to defeat that creature and get the magestone."
"Yeaaaaah. Just like the time with the chandelier, right? You 'found some way,' and now here we are." Ace grumbled coldly, referring to Deuce. Yuu's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"We just fought that thing and it creamed us. So what exactly is your plan here, genius? Because I sure don't trust you to improvise!"
"What?! You're the one who-" Deuce bickered.
Grim rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Yuu sat there for a moment, feeling her heart jump slightly, and she felt her body become warmer. Her patience had finally worn out.
"Would the two of you just quit it already?!" She growled, her eyes shooting daggers at the boys, making Grim jump at how her tone had hardened.
"Woah, that was loud..." Grim stated.
"You two have been fighting since we got here and I, for one, and fucking tired! Give it a rest, suck it up, and work together!" She stood up, pacing in an attempt to bring back her temper.
"With Loosey-Deucey? No way. He'd get me killed!"
"Like it'd be some treat for me to work with you?!"
"Boys." She warned before taking a deep breath. "What if we came up with a proper plan first?"
"A proper plan? Like some kinda buddy move?" Ace scoffed. "Is that a joke? You always say the lamest things with the straightest face, Yuu."
"Agreed. No way could I work together with him." Deuce stated.
Grim paused, before he gave a cat-like smirk. "I mean... I guess, but... Gettin' expelled on the first day... That's pretty lame too. Maybe even lamer." Yuu noticed the boys flinch slightly, giving her an opening.
"Oh, definitely. Nothing cool about getting yourself kicked out of a school on the first day."
"Ya know what? Fine. Let's just get this over with, then." The ginger gave him. "All right, Yuu. What's the plan?"
"I knew you'd come around." She teased slightly. "Okay, so. Here's what I've got..."
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Standing in front of the entrance, Yuu watched the inside with newfound excitement. She felt the familiar ghostly presence brush her hair and she felt a warmth in her hand, almost as if he were holding it.
"H-hey, Yuu... Is this plan of yours really gonna work? I'm sca- I mean, I'm a little... uh, hungry." Grim questioned, standing behind her leg.
"Don't worry about it, okay Grim? This could work." She stated. It has to. For my child, for me.
"It really could. Let's go, Yuu!"