"Hoo boy," Grim says, shivering at the words. "Angel, you really go for the jugular sometimes."
"I'm with Little Jellyfishy on this one," Floyd admits. "Sea Otter, you're like...TOO nice, even nicer than Jellyfishy here. It's kinda grating."
"Huh?" Kalim says in shock. "Is it?"
"Yes," Jade answers. "If I were betrayed by someone the way you were...I'd lash out with a torrent of unmitigated verbal abuse to break them down mentally, then bind them and drag them beneath the waves," he smiles, making Angel shiver at his words. "The way you blame yourself and try to excuse his behavior is, quite frankly, a tad galling."
"Galling? Really?" Kalim questions. "But, I mean...Jamil would never betray me, ever."
"Uh, news flash: he did," Floyd says. "In fact, he was gonna make you out to be the bad guy and get you expelled. He's an enormous dirtbag!"
"When it comes to underhanded ploys, Azul at his worst still couldn't hold a candle to that," Jade states. "That's quite a feat, you know. It's okay to hold your head high and denounce him for the traitor that he is."
"That's...not much of a compliment," Angel sweat drops at the twins.
"You carry yourself like a goody-two-shoes, laughing off conflict with a flippant word or two," Azul states. "To twisted individuals like myself and Jamil- ah, I mean, to calculating individuals, those remarks are like barbs digging under our skin. I'd say you've been pushing Jamil ever since your formative years." Kalim becomes shocked at the news. "It's not your fault in the least, of course. You were born into a very high social class. As showered as you were with affection from your family and everyone around you, you grew up with honesty and integrity. An upbringing like that would make anyone take certain things for granted."
"I would argue that in Kalim's case, it might simple be a case of a naturally innocent disposition," Jade says.
"Oh..." Kalim thinks. "So...Jamil is...bad?
"I don't want to think it, but after going through something like that, extremely," Angel states.
"In that case, I better get back fast!" Kalim declares. "I must punch him and yell, 'Traitor!' I owe him that much."
"One punch ain't enough!" Grim angrily adds. "You oughta also make him march to the oasis and back ten times!"
"That, and we need to bring him to his senses fast," Azul says as he looks around. "If we don't, his life will be in danger. We have to get back before his magic reserves run dry so Angel can help him."
"That puts us right back where this conversation started," Floyd says with arms crossed. "How do we get back? Walkin' really fast?"
"My nose is gonna freeze over if we stay out here much longer!" Grim exclaims.
"If there was a river, we could swim back," Jade says as he look around the desert. "Sadly, the rivers around here are all dried out."
"So..." Kalim speaks, "a lack of water is the problem?"
"Yes," Azul answers. "Floyd and Jade can easily outpace brooms when they're in their true forms, but we can't exactly restore a dry river..."
"Maybe you can't, but I can," Kalim confidently announces.
The announcement make the three look at him in shock. "HUH?!"
"Oh, yeah, Oasis Maker!" Angel exclaims and Kalim nods.
"My signature spell, Oasis Maker, can produce and enormous volume of water with just a smidgen of magical power," he explains to the trio. "If I make you a river, you can get us back to the dorm, right?"
"Y-you mean to tell me THAT'S your signature spell?!" Azul exclaims in bewilderment. "That's insane!"
"Aha ha!" Kalim laughs. "It's pretty useless when we've already got running water."
"Don't 'aha ha' me!" Azul sternly states. "Some countries don't HAVE that sort of infrastructure. Your power would make you nothing short of a hero to those people! That's...That's....ABSURDLY marketable!" He says, still shocked by the news.
Angel and Grim could only sigh at Azul. "I think we can leave Azul to his get-rich-quick fantasies for a bit." Jade says as he looks to Kalim. "Kalim, if you would oblige us?"
"You just need a river, right? Okay! I'm on it!" Kalim says as he gets ready, summoning his spell. Just like before, a sudden rain comes pouring down from the sky, the area around the six beginning to fill up with water, quickly filling up the riverbed.
"Holy mackerel..." Grim says as he watches the river. "The river's fillin' up with water right before our eyes!"
The twins enter the water, turning into their merforms. "Let's get moving before the water freezes over, Floyd. Now, Azul and Grim, grab hold of my back."
"Little Jellyfishy and Sea Otter, you're with me!" Floyd says as Azul heads to Jade, starting to get on Jade's back. Kalim and Angel hesitated for a moment before getting on Floyd's back with Angel taking longer to get on. After all, riding on a sentient magic carpet and the back of a person's back where two completely different experiences, and it made her feel weird that she was basically using a person as a means of transportation, no matter how dire the situation was. She carefully got on Floyd's back, hugging Kalim from behind for support, hoping that she wouldn't fall off of Floyd's smooth body, which makes her question the ride even more. Will she fly off? Can they even stay on? How is she even sitting straight on Floyd's back?
Grim jumped on Azul, a thought popping up in his mind. "Wait, but I thought Azul was a merman. Can't he swim himself?"
"Azul isn't a fast swimmer, even in his mer form," Jade says with a smirk as he glances at Azul.
"Yes, well, not all of us have tailfins like yours," Azul quickly defends. "Now, off we go to Scarabia!" He announces as Jade and Floyd swam off, making Kalim and Angel shocked when Floyd sped off from the start, Kalim tightly holding onto him with Angel hugging Kalim tightly, hoping that her questions weren't about to answered so soon, but was surprised when they stayed on despite the speed. She sighed in relief, seeing that some, or most in this instant, questions were useless to ask. She looks around Kalim, seeing that they were quickly heading towards Scarabia Dorm, seeing that it might take them at least 30 minutes to finally see the dorm in the horizon and about 40 minutes to actually get into the dorm. She glanced at Kalim, seeing that he wasn't wearing the smile he was wearing earlier; instead, he looked a little distraught and sad from the conversation earlier. She glanced at him, thinking about the situation. All his life, Jamil was more than a servant to him, he treated him like a friend, yet having that friend betray him, all without knowing about it or not even knowing the shift of change, it must have hurt him deeply, but here he was, determined to get him back no matter what, even after everything that just happened. What would she have done? If someone she trusted betrayed her, would she even try? Would she try to reconcile their relationship? Or would she just be heartbroken at the news, not wanted to even try anymore? She wanted to ask him why, but how would she even ask? She didn't want to put more salt on the wound, especially since they are all on a mission to try to stop Jamil from basically killing himself, but she wanted to know Kalim's thoughts, his real thoughts on the matter. Kalim glanced down, noticed her worried look and smiles at her.
"Don't worry Angel!" He reassures her. "We're going to stop Jamil, no matter what!"
Angel hesitated for a moment, thinking if she should say something about it. "Um..." she starts. "Are you...actually doing okay, Kalim? Like...are you really okay after everything...?" she quietly asks.
Kalim looks down. "I didn't expect that my carelessness would cause Jamil to betray me like this. It hurts, but I still consider Jamil my friend, and I'm willing to what it takes to bring him back!" He says with a determined tone. "I just don't like how I brought everyone else in this. My doormates must think I'm pretty stupid. I guess I was a pretty lousy housewarden." he sighs.
"That's not true," Angel speaks. "Everyone in your dorm actually respects you. You were with them throughout their hard times, gave them a sense of comfort, and they appreciated you for that. Sure, you might be careless, naïve, and a little thoughtless, but your doormates are glad to have you, despite your qualities, and they appreciate everything you do for them. They even said it."
"They did?" Kalim asks. "But I'm not a good housewarden. I'm not smart, commanding, or-"
"That's okay," Angel interrupts. "It's just what Azul said. 'Everybody makes mistakes.' No housewarden or person is perfect, you know. Riddle is stern with his rules, easily angered, and is willing to punish anyone who breaks the tiniest of rules. Leona is lazy and don't even want to be bothered with the rules of the school or even his doormates, and Azul is greedy, always looking at opportunities to benefit himself than other, but people still respect them despite their flaws. They respect you for what you are and were quite angry with Jamil when they found out he was manipulating you. In fact, they wanted to help you deal with Jamil. Don't bring yourself down, because your doormates wouldn't want to see you like this."
Kalim thinks about her words and smile at her. "Yeah, you're right! Thanks Angel!"
She nods, acknowledging the thanks and kept focusing on the task at hand. They needed to stop Jamil, no matter what. She watches the desert pass by, her eyes caught a brief glance at a figure in the distance, her body froze as she look at them, feeling a stare on her as she moves. The moment was brief at a glance, but for her, it felt like minutes as the figure stare at her with their eyes, the encounter giving her a familiar nauseous feeling, briefly remembering the scene from earlier. They smirked and she shivered, not knowing if it was from the cold or from the look on his face. They mouthed something, leaving her confused until she blinked at the sight, the figure disappearing in the distance, leaving behind words for her ears only.
"It will happen to you...soon."