Lily woke up the next morning rejuvenated and ready for her day, laying out her casual and comfortable clothes for when she got out the shower. While the water was running, steam clouding her bathroom, she unwound the bandage on her hand. Aunt Ollie had laid out a fresh one for her to use, knowing it'd be caked and unusable for a second day's wear.
The bandage was smooth and fluffy as Lily rolled it up. She removed the gauze as well, remembering it was good to wash the wound, clean it.
Except her hand was completely healed.
Lily was staring, jaw dropped, as she took in her shaking hand. There was nothing but a faint line of a scar, a shimmer against her pale skin. She blinked rapidly and prayed she wasn't insane, that the impossible hadn't occurred.
What was she?! She hadn't heard of any of the four creatures she knew healing this fast from a wound. Ryan's eye was only just staring to clear up and Lily had punched him four days ago.
Lily took a long, calming breath to stop the panic and fear lacing her bones. She pushed her shaking body into the shower, into her routine, letting the water wash her panic away.
While she was getting dressed Lily decided to put on a clean bandage anyway. What would everyone think if they found out about her rapid healing? The less attention the better, she kept thinking as she wound and fastened the new bandage. Blowing out a shaky breath and tying her hair back in a simple plait, Lily left her home and her anxieties behind.
At Nova High, she was still surprised that Claire, Karen, and Jack were all waiting for her yet again. Lily still wasn't used to the idea of having friends but she approached with a shy smile.
Jack smiled slowly, eyes alight in mischief. "How was dinner last night?"
Lily gulped as Karen turned to her, curious, and Claire jumped in excitement. "Ooh! With the alpha, right? How'd it go? What's the pack house like? Did you see his wolf form?!"
Lily blinked, stepping back from the bouncing fairy as Jack pulled her back. "Give Lily a break Claire, jeez!"
The fairy shrugged off Jack's hand. Claire pouted, jewel-like eyes dancing. "I'm just asking Jack, leave me alone."
Karen cocked her head to the side, hesitating briefly, before turning to Lily. "Did you have a nice time?"
Lily smiled, thankful for the easier question. "Yeah, it was nice."
Claire beamed. "Did Andrew cook? I heard from Orla, who's in Renee's class, that he's a fantastic chef."
Jack looked at her like she was alien. Lily shuffled her feet a bit. "Um, no, Croft cooked."
"What was it!?" Claire's curly hair flew about as she nodded for her to speak, like each detail added an hour to her life. "Was it a French cuisine? Italian? Or did he go with a more Indian specialty?"
"Steak and chips."
Claire's expression fell. "Oh."
Jack burst into laughter, Karen smiling softy, and the witch smacked her legs in hysterics. "Y-Your face!" She wheezed.
Claire scowled. "Shut up." She mumbled, but Jack kept on laughing.
Lily wrung her hands together. "Shall we head to class?" She suggested, seeing there was only a few minutes left before the bell went.
Jack stopped laughing, but rubbed her hands together in glee, those rings practically glowing in the morning sun. "What do you have? Are you with me, Lily?"
Lily shook her head, her new timetable now etched into her brain. "I have Fairy Health."
The dismal fairy suddenly had a change in spirits. "You can tell me all about the dinner in health, then!" Claire smiled.
Karen tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before clutching her binder again. "See you guys at recess then?"
Jack's grin was wicked. "Unless I find a way to pull the fire alarm."
Karen and Claire stared at her disapprovingly before Jack nervously laughed. "I'm kidding, of course!" She chuckled, cupping her mouth and saying to Lily, "I'm not, don't say anything..."
Lily laughed as she followed Claire inside. The fairy led her almost to the back of the school near the old science rooms. They backed onto a courtyard with a greenhouse at the end where the sign for Witch Agriculture hung on a painted piece of wood.
Claire changed directions though and led her into the old science rooms. The smell of rust and stale dust caught her nose followed quickly by the thick and moist smell of damp in the roof.
Lily ran her eyes over everything; the old science benches lining the walls and surrounding the ordinary desks in the middle, the wooden beams running the length of the room, the murky windows letting in a yellowish light.
The twenty eyes that were now on her.
Lily staggered a little but Claire steadied her, leading her to one of the tables. There was only one seat there but Claire shoved her in it while she pulled up another chair. Lily warily looked around at the other five fairies on the table who were staring blankly at her.
Claire waved to her. "This is Lily guys. She had dinner with the Alpha and Croft at the pack house last night."
Lily paled as the fairies turned to her, excitement charging them up like a battery, and their gleaming eyes drank her in in a new light.
Before they could speak, and Lily hide, the teacher walked in. Her hair was a curtain of liquid ink, a stark contrast to her lighter, caramel skin, and her deep earth eyes. She held her chin up as she walked to the front desk with her ivory and fuchsia jumpsuit. She stared the whole class down with a soft and cunning smile, like a snake when it spies a mouse that's stuck.
She did a double take when she saw Lily's red hair - it was obvious in the sea of blondes and brunettes among them. "You must be Lily." She smiled when she spotted Lily's notebook already out. "Welcome to Fairy Anatomy and Health."
"Thank you Ms Marlowe." Lily whispered, unnerved by her unblinking stare.
"How about you stand up and introduce yourself to the class?" Ms Marlowe waved a hand at the room.
Lily gulped and stood on her shaking legs. She wrung her hands together as she stared at the sea of beady eyes. "Um. My name is Lily Morgan. I, uh, don't have any pets. And...my birthday is March 7th."
Ms Marlowe nodded and Lily took that as permission to sit down as quickly as possible, pulling her braid over her shoulder to distract herself and calm her shaking hands.
"Lovely to meet you Lily, I'm sure you'll get to know everyone here within the remainder of the year." She pulled the large textbook from her bag. "I also hope you're somewhat aware with where we are in the curriculum?"
Lily nodded. She'd spent most of her time over the weekend reading and rereading all the textbooks she'd been given. She wasn't completely certain on anatomy yet, hoping more would be made clear in the lessons by Ms Marlowe and Claire.
"Good." Ms Marlowe said before pulling up a powerpoint on the screen. "We're back learning about the epidermis. Turn to Chapter 17 in your books, we'll revisit all the layers."
The class rushed into motion as the lesson began, Lily furiously writing down as many notes as she could to keep up with how fast Ms Marlowe taught. She spoke so fast! Claire wrote down chapters for her to look back on as the lesson went, but Lily's head snapped up when she briefly mentioned how the skin healed.
"The platelets in the blood come together around a wound. It's why often the scratch, let's say, is red and almost inflamed around the outside. The platelets scab the wound over to protect it from any air born infections, or anything getting into the wound, while the cells work together underneath, healing it from the bottom up." Ms Marlowe drew a diagram on the whiteboard. "The cells are new, the skin new as well, which is why scars are lighter, and almost shinier, to the natural skin around it."
She put the pen down and turned to the class, but focused mainly on Lily. "It is adamant that when we have a wounded person in front of us, human or otherwise, we are so careful. You must know the body you're working on. If you don't know how the skin layers itself, heals itself, you cannot coax the body into regenerating. So it is crucial you understand all this. Any questions?"
Lily, after a laps of silence, slowly raised her bandaged hand. "Yes, Lily?" Ms Marlowe called, brows scrunched together when she spied the bandage.
"Is the healing process different for humans, compared to us?" Lily asked. "Like, do wolves heal faster than fairies? Or witches less than vampires?"
Ms Marlowe paused for a moment. "Generally, no." She finally said. "Fairies are the only ones who can accelerate the healing process from my knowledge. Vampires, though, can withstand brutal wounds if there's a blood supply near that they can use to replace the blood lost as quickly as they lose it.
"Werewolves heal as fast as humans - it's actually impeccable that their bones are never broken, and they are fixed and healed completely perfectly before they shift. Some witches use natural resources, like herbs that they grew themselves, believing their magic-grown produce can speed up the process. Us fairies can just heal ourselves, depending on the wound and the depth of the fairy's magic."
Lily frowned, scribbling down her notes as questions rose in her mind. So how come magic didn't work on her? How come Ryan's black eye wouldn't heal? And the scratch on her hand was healed completely already - how did healing work in her case, her creature?
Claire watched Lily as she frowned, scrunching up her bandaged hand, but didn't say anything as the lesson continued. The red-haired nervous girl who'd only recently become her friend was a complete mystery, and someone Claire couldn't quite make her mind up on yet.
When the bell went and recess, that blessing, was finally upon them, Lily scrambled up the new weight of several pages of homework and put them in her bag. Before she could leave, Ms Marlowe called her back.
"I'll wait outside," Claire said, and left Lily and Ms Marlowe alone in the classroom.
"I don't want to take up too much of your time Lily, I just wanted to ask about your hand?" Ms Marlowe looked at her beneath her long thick brows innocently.
Lily picked at the bandage. "I caught it on a jar in science yesterday." She explained. "The nurses couldn't heal it, so they bandaged it up."
Ms Marlowe frowned. "Couldn't heal it?"
"Their magic didn't work on me."
"May I see the wound now?"
Lily paused, dread sinking in her stomach like an anchor in a churning and wild sea. Slowly Lily unwound the bandage and showed the fairy her completely healed hand.
Ms Marlowe stared, slightly skeptical. "You said their magic didn't work?"
Lily swallowed. "I swear, their magic didn't work. You can ask them, I'm not lying! I woke up this morning and changed the bandage and the only thing left was a scar-"
"I believe you, Lily, it's okay." The teacher held up her hands in assurance. "Do you mind if I ask around and do some research?"
Lily took her hand back, hastily wrapping the bandage back up. "Please don't mention my name."
"I won't." Ms Marlowe bared a snake's grin, and Lily bristled at the idea of being the mouse.
Lily just nodded awkwardly, thanking her, before rushing out the door and breathing in deep lung-fulls of air.
Claire frowned at her. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yep." Lily choked. "Yes. Yes I'm okay."
Claire scrunched her nose up. "Uh huh. Totally believed that."
Lily fiddled with her hair. "Let's go?"
Claire shrugged and led them to recess, the little cafeteria area, just in time to see Jack slam her head on the table. Lily tensed when she spotted her green magic twirling around her fingers, a ripple over her arms, but it disappeared when she heard them come over.
"Let me guess!" Claire put her finger to her lips and hummed. "Was it the homework?"
Karen shook her head. "Teacher moved the essay forward to this Friday."
"Damn, so close." Claire hissed, clicking her fingers.
Jack groaned, sitting up in her chair. "He's asking for the impossible! How can I write a thousand words in three days? I can barely write a thousand a month!"
Lily pursed her lips. Writing essays always came second nature to her, she enjoyed homework to a degree. It just seemed to flow from her when she sat down at her desk.
Jack slumped on the table. "Please tell me some good news."
Claire and Lily locked eyes, Karen pouting, but they couldn't come up with anything. "I slept really well last night." Claire eventually said. "You know when you just find that really comfy spot and you're out? That was me. It was great."
The witch scowled. "I didn't sleep well, stupid rain annoyed me."
Karen's eyes widened. "It rained where I was too! Almost all night!"
"Yes, that's cause we live in the same suburb Karen." Jack rolled her eyes. "It's been raining all freaking week."
Lily munched on her food as she listened to the trio bicker. Her mind was still on Ms Marlowe's answer on healing. Her mood dimmed when she realised she was no closer to finding out what she was than a month ago, and all the fast-healing did was label her as more of an outsider.
She put the rest of her food away, losing her appetite. Lily felt hollow and it only felt worse when she reached for her bracelet and it wasn't there. Her sister's bracelet. Her family's secret, that somehow wasn't passed onto her before they died. She was only twelve, surely there was some hint to what they were? Lily had combed every memory, every item, and it hit deep in her gut to realise they were so normal.
They didn't shift into complete creatures like wolves. They didn't have a physical magic like fairies or witches. And they didn't drink blood like vampires. Strength? Yes. Glowing eyes? Natural fighters?
Was her gift and curse just being able to throw a decent punch?
Lily sighed, going unnoticed by the others, as they went again to their next class. Karen stuck by her side. Lily just automatically wrote down notes for the lesson, revising essay tips, and structural advice. She didn't notice Ryan watching her curiously - he couldn't stop his eyes naturally drifting to her, wondering if she was okay.
Karen nudged her gently when they went to second recess, her doe eyes were kind but worried. "Are you okay? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but you seem a bit down?"
Lily sighed, the weight of her books making her curl herself in. "I'm just...tired. I'll be okay, thank you Karen." She tried a smile but it was weak.
Karen smiled back. "I'm here if you need me; I know Claire and Jack can be so caught up in their worlds, but if you need someone to listen don't hesitate."
"Thank you," Lily felt her mood lift a little. "You too, you know, if you need someone to listen. It's a two way street."
Karen dipped her chin, flushing slightly, when they joined the others. Like Karen said, they were too caught up in their own worlds to notice how Lily was a little sadder - Jack was complaining about her essay again, Claire was telling them gossip about how someone had been rifling through the library, leaving books in piles everywhere, but none of it stuck with Lily too much.
Claire also let it slip that the rest of the year found out about Lily's dinner with the alpha last night, Lily then paying attention to the weird stares she was getting. She was too tired to panic about it, but a small bundle of nerves followed her when she went to science with Karen.
She was only just in the door when she heard Isaac call her by his favourite nickname.
"Hey freak!" He shouted. Lily heard the laughter before they entered the classroom. She just sighed, following Karen to their seats. Mr Ren was already in the room and scowled when Isaac entered with his friends.
"None of that language, Isaac." Mr Ren warned. "If I hear words like that directed at a student again you're in detention."
Isaac scowled at him and shrugged it off, his friends finding their seats ahead of him, but he slowed when he walked past Lily's desk. He gave her a feral grin and let his hand rest on the edge, almost close enough to brush her bandage.
"Hey..." Isaac glared at Mr Ren. "Morgan."
Lily clenched her jaw but ignored him. She was too tired to deal with his antics today. Please go away, please go away.
"How's your hand?" Isaac snickered.
"It's fine," was all Lily said, focusing on her notebook. Karen was wary next to her, flickering her gaze between Isaac and Lily. Isaac frowned at her like he was only just seeing her for the first time.
"What?" Isaac snapped and Karen whipped her head away, burying her nose in her notebook. Lily paused at her reaction, that exhaustion stirring into annoyance. She stared up at a smug Isaac who stilled at the glare in her eyes. For a moment, he looked fearful, but then it was wiped away by amusement.
He opened his mouth to speak but Mr Ren cut in. "To your seat, Isaac." He ordered, and Isaac moved away.
The rest of the lesson pained Lily. That annoyance churned in her gut, Karen was still red in humiliation, and her skin sizzled in anger. She tried her breathing techniques, they weren't doing much but they did enough to last them through the lesson.
By the time lunch arrived, the two of them walked to the cafeteria to greet Jack, who had a look of insanity at being confined in school, and Claire, who'd grown bored with the gossip around her, searching for anything new.
Lily let them mind her bag as she went to the bathroom, shaking out her clenched fists. She was grateful that the stalls were empty, she was alone, so she could grip the sink and calm herself down.
Stupid Isaac. Lily turned the tap on, letting the cool water rush over her trembling fingers. Stupid healing. Stupid creature. Freak.
Lily slowed her breathing further and further, the water washing the words and thoughts away. It soothed her sizzling skin and calmed the pit in her stomach. Lily cupped her hands and washed her face, dampening the back of her neck, and sighed while turning off the tap.
She grabbed a paper towel and dried herself off, but parts of her were still dripping when the door opened and the three werewolf girls walked in. Her 'bodyguards' from Andrew.
Lily paused but continued drying her hands, kicking herself for not asking Andrew to stop giving her bodyguards. She was fine. No one wanted to kidnap or kill her - she wasn't valuable.
"Hey Lily," Laura said, and Tricia and Renee stood on either side like bouncers. Lily stilled and scrunched up the towel in her hand, taking in the blonde centurion and her two soldiers. Ah. She thought bitterly. It's another intervention.
"Hey Laura," Lily said slowly, looking at the three of them. "What's up?"
Laura narrowed her eyes. "We know you were at our pack house last night. What were you doing there?"
Lily frowned. "Is it any of your business?"
"It is when the Alpha is concerned." Renee hissed but a look from Laura shut her down. Tricia folded her arms and stared Lily down with disgust. She scrunched the damp towel tighter.
"Why do you want to know?" Lily asked. "It was just a dinner. We spoke. I left. I don't see what this has to do with anything."
Laura cocked her head. "Andrew needs someone to be his equal, to be the alpha pair. Is that what you're after?"
Lily choked, stepping back. "What? No, no, no! No it wasn't a date, I'm not interested!"
"And with Croft?" Laura stepped forward, getting in Lily's space. "Interested in him?"
Lily blinked as they stood nose to nose. "No, I-"
"Because they'll only be paired with werewolves, you know that." Laura spat. "They won't pick you because you're not one of us."
Lily put her fist behind her back to hide her shaking. That anger she worked so hard to keep down was boiling back up. "Thank you for pointing that out for me, I had no idea!" She hissed.
Laura drew back, eyes flashing that notorious wolf gold for a moment, but Lily stepped in her space before she could speak.
"Listen. I'm not interested in your pack leaders. I'm not interested in Andrew or Ryan. I wasn't there for a date, it was a meeting. So why don't you butt out of my life and leave me alone!" Lily snapped.
Laura stared her down for a heartbeat before nodding. "Good." She said with a stone cold glare, and walked out. Tricia and Renee followed, leaving dirty looks as they went.
Lily sighed when she was once again alone and gripped the sink tightly. Her eyes welled up without her consent, her anger and despair clawing at her throat and burning her from the inside out. Her lip wobbled as she tried her best to suppress a sob.
Come on. She told herself. You're strong, you're okay. They're just being mean. It has nothing to do with you. You're okay.
Lily pressed the scrunched paper towel to her eyes, soaking up the tears that had spilled over, pulling the sobs back in. Wait until this afternoon. Get through the day.
After a moment Lily pulled the towel away and stared in the mirror at herself. Her dark eyes were glassy with tears and red-rimmed. Her skin was blotchy in places and her lips were still quivering, but she slowly took control.
When she dropped the towel in the bin a rumble shook the building, the walls rattling as thunder rolled overhead. Another surprise thunderstorm to add to their week of rain - Jack would be thrilled - but the sound that echoed through the school alarmed her.
Thunder she was okay with. Thunder was her friend, her comfort, proof that the sky raged and wailed like she was desperate to.
It was the school alarm which scared her. The rhythm made her bones throb at the sheer octave it rang, but fear clanged in her head. The warnings she'd been raised with, the guide and rules that had been taught by her teachers about the dangers and the schedule that had to be kept when this alarm rang.
Nova High was going into Lock Down.