Rift

You're stood in the courtyard of the Watford school. Your name is Simon Snow, known to the magickal community as the Chosen One. You certainly don't feel very //chosen// but you guess there's a reason your magic feels different to everyone else's. It's the beginning of term and you've managed to arrive for your final year mostly intact. There was that business with the handsome goblin taxi driver you beheaded but perhaps we shouldn't linger over that. Your good friend Penny left you a message to find her because there was something she needed to tell you. Rhys was the one to tell you as you passed him. However there's a nagging feeling in the back of your mind as to what Baz, your roommate and possible vampire, is up to. The old building almost surrounds you but there is an exit to a pathway. This, from experience, you know to lead towards the dormitory buildings some distance from the main building. You would likely find Penny in the entrance hall of the main building, possibly even Baz too. However you have a feeling that Baz would already be at the dorm. Where do you decide to go? [[The Main Building.<-♦ The Main Building.]] [[The Path to the Dormitories.<-♦ The Path to the Dormitories.]]

Instead of heeding your best friend's message you instead decided to head over to your room. But before you get there you have to take the path. It gives you time for contemplation. Should you head back to the main building? Or would you rather head to your room and drop off your bag and meagre belongings and perhaps run into Baz? Or does a swim in the moat take your fancy, surely your unreliable spell casting can save you if something goes wrong? [[♦ Head back to the main building and meet up with Penny.->The Main Building.]] [[♦ Carry on along the path.->Home Sweet Home.]] [[♦ Swim in the moat.->Eaten by Merwolves.]]

You wandered through to the Entrance Hall of the main building. Penny looked up on you entering. "Oh Simon, you got my message!" she exclaimed, smiling as she approached, "What took you so long?" "It would have been a lot quicker had you told me where to meet up with you," you replied, fighting to keep the mild irritation out of your voice. "Oh don't give me that look, it's not like I'd have been waiting for you in my dorm. Crowley, Simon, I wouldn't spend any more time with Trixie and her other half than I absolutely have to." On succeeding to keep the irritation out of your voice, it only ended up written all over your face, of course. With a sigh, you addressed her again. "So what's the matter?" "Well…" she began and you immediately raised an eyebrow. This could take some time. [[♦ Keep Talking.->Talking with Penny.]] [[♦ Brush her off.->That was mean.]]

Due to poor decision making you find yourself alone and unable to move on. GAME OVER. Fortunately, like many things in life excluding death, this is only temporary and we can pick things up from the place we began. If you stupidly put your life in danger let's assume someone smarter than you just saved your ass. You still have to start over from the beginning. [[Start over?->The Courtyard.]]

She seemed hesitant but it must have been important or she wouldn't have asked you to find her. "Well what?" You asked, hoping to get an answer from her quicker. "Look, I know that we should be focusing on the Humdrum and that nonsense but something's come up. You know how I almost tolerate Agatha? Well I can't seem to find her anywhere. Whilst I wouldn't normally be concerned, it's just that her friends can't seem to find her either," Penelope explained. "So you thought that maybe I would have some idea that they might not have had?" You gave her a sceptical look. "Maybe?" "Maybe she's in the Wavering Wood with Baz, that's where she was last time I went to look for her," you said flippantly and you regretted it the instant Penelope gets that look on her face. "You might be onto something there, Simon." "Please no." She took a look at you in your trackies and with your bag over your shoulder. "A place for everything and everything in its place." She casted the spell with a rub of her magic ring and your bag disappears from your shoulder. "Crowley, Penny, you can't just vanish someone's bag." "It's not vanished, it's in your room. Now hop to, we've got places to be." "Please no," you begged her again. [[But she ignores you and drags you along anyway.->The Path to the Wavering Woods - A]]

You finally reached your room and found that there's nobody else there, as far as you can tell. It wasn't a completely wasted trip at least, you dropped off your bag. Well you can either stay here and look around some more for your not so friendly neighbourhood vampire roommate. Wow that was a mouthful, aren't you glad this is text-based? And your other option is to head back to the main building and look for Penny. What do you do? [[♦ Stay here, maybe clean yourself up a little.->Home Sweet Home, scene 2.]] [[♦ Look for Penny.->The Main Building.]]

Now that you're scented like a medical ward after refreshing yourself in the bathroom you take a closer look around the room. You considered getting changed into the uniform but you feel more comfortable in your trackies for now and classes don't start until tomorrow so there's no real rush. On Baz's side of the room there doesn't seem to be much disturbance, just a few things of his on the bedside table. So he's arrived but that doesn't exactly help in tracking him down. Amongst the things on his table, there's a small sheet of notepaper and there's something written on it. 'I knew you wouldn't be able to resist looking at this Snow. If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm not here. Don't bother trying to find me. I'll be back soon enough. - Baz' Fuck him and his pretty handwriting, you thought. So, do you take his advice and instead head over to Penny? [[♦ Yeah, what's the point?->The Main Building.]] [[♦ Hell no. You're going to find him.->Home Sweet Home, scene 3.]]

Ha, that showed him! Or didn't because he's not actually there to see you ignoring his note. It's a hollow victory really. But now the question is how to track him down. Whilst he's particularly fragrant because of his expensive taste in aftershave, you can't workably track him down by scent since you're not a bloodhound or other sniffer dog. Perhaps he's in the Wavering Wood. You could search the school grounds, maybe even the catacombs. [[♦ Try the Wavering Woods, there was that time you found him there with your girlfriend.->The Path to the Wavering Woods - B]] [[♦ Try the School Grounds, there's a chance you might bump into him if he's hanging out with his minions.->Wandering around Watford.]] [[♦ Try the Catacombs, because it makes sense to search for vampires near dead things.->The Catacombs.]]

As you headed along the path you heard your name being shouted. You turned to the voice and realised it's Penny. She picked up her pace to catch up with you. "I was hoping to run into you, Simon." "Oh yeah, I got your message." You had the decency to look sheepish. "You're lucky I'm impatient and headed over then. I needed to talk with you because we can't find Agatha. And by we I mean her friends and I haven't exactly seen her." "It must be serious if you're asking for my help. I'm pretty sure I'm the last person she wants to see right now. I was actually looking for Baz but two heads are better than one I guess." "Two missing people hmm?" "Well he's not missing, he left a snotty note in his room saying not to look for him." "So that's exactly what you're doing." "Yep." "So where are you going to look for him then?" "I thought I'd try the woods. I don't want to find the two of them together again. Fuck, this was a bad idea." "Hey, lightning never strikes twice in the same place. Even you can't be that unlucky." "This coming from the girl that got dragged with me by the Humdrum. I think we know exactly how unlucky I am." Penny linked her arm with yours and you're given little choice but to go along with her to the woods. [[No point in resisting now.->The Wavering Woods with Penny - A]]

Penny linked her arm with yours as you're walking. It's a little awkward as first but you found a rhythm that suits the both of you as you head towards the woods. "What's eating you?" Penny asked, looking up at you. "What, aside from being made to go to the one place I'd really rather not go?" "Even you can have more complex thoughts than your immediate concerns." "Wow, thanks." You gave her a flat look. "So out with it then." "It's Baz too. I'd feel more at ease if I knew what he was up to." Penny looked at you for a moment with a vaguely confused look. "Now I'm not going to lecture you on why you shouldn't be so concerned with him but come on, Simon! You don't make it easy." You just glared at her, ignoring that comment. "Whatever, I'm just not thrilled at the idea of possibly running into them like that again." "Well you know lightning never strikes twice in the same place. Not even you can be that unlucky." "This coming from you who got dragged along with me when the Humdrum decided to summon me. I'm unlucky, okay?" "If you say so." The woods loomed ahead of you. The pair of you stopped and Penny's arm fell from being linked with yours as you stop and stand before the boundary of the trees. The football pitch behind you was devoid of anyone and there's a sinking feeling in your stomach that has nothing to do with your anxiety of running into Baz and Agatha again. Something doesn't feel right, you can't explain it. You looked at each other, wordlessly deciding to push on ahead. [[Into the woods.->The Wavering Woods with Penny - A]]

There's plenty of people here now wandering between the buildings. Some were clearly taking their stuff to the dorms and others headed to the main hall. Plenty of the faces were familiar by now but nobody stands out. Baz is usually very distinctive from a distance but nobody caught your eye. You spotted Dev and Niall in their usual spot and in casual clothes. Well they still looked like posh pricks to you but they're not in the school colours. They didn't seem to be concerned at the lack of their leader and were more than happy to give you dirty looks when they noticed you looking at them. At the other end of the courtyard there's a few girls that you recognised as being some of Agatha's usual crowd, outside of you and Penny. Agatha wasn't there though. Maybe she's late arriving or traffic was bad or something. It's still pretty early in the afternoon, everyone has usually arrived before the evening meal in the hall when the Mage addresses everyone as a whole. Moving on you headed along one of the paths that lead toward the football pitch. It's a good a guess as any as to where he'll be but he's not there practicing like you'd hoped. That's a poor word for it. You'd rather just know he's not plotting something nefarious. Turning back on yourself, something bright is in your peripheral in the trees of the Wavering Wood. You turned to try to catch another glimpse but it isn't obvious what created that light. There are magickal creatures in the Woods, this is common knowledge in the school. Not all magickal creatures are benign though. It could be a trick. It's not something like the Insidious Humdrum, you reasoned, it tends to be more obvious. Something subtle like this could be something else entirely. It could even be nothing or a trick of the light. Knowing this rarely dissuades you from running head first into things though so it's not surprising that you found yourself running across the football field towards the Woods. Once you're in the trees you began to realise that the light must've been coming from much further into the Woods than you thought. It's also silent. You could hardly hear any birdsong at all. You reached to your side, ready to call upon the Sword of Mages at any moment. Steadying yourself with a deep breath, you headed further into the woods. [[Next.->The Wavering Woods alone - A]]

So against your better judgement you decided to search the catacombs. It's cold and dark down here, there's a little bit of light filtering through from the entrance. You probably should have brought a torch. There's one on the wall but you suspect you can't get it to light without blowing up the place. Instead, you stepped forward slowly and carefully, staying close to the wall as you let your eyes adjust. As you get deeper into the tunnels, you get a sense that you're being watched. The skin on the back of your neck prickled and you froze in place for a moment. What do you do? [[♦ Call out "Who's there?" and hope the answer isn't terrible.->Conversation with Baz.]] [[♦ Try and summon some kind of fire to light up the area.->Argument with Baz.]] [[♦ Back away slowly, not saying a word.->Startled by Baz.]]

That was mean. Let's try that again like it never happened, eh? Penny would forgive you but for the purposes of this story you're gonna have to suck it up and actually listen to your best friend. [[♦ Sure.->The Main Building.]] [[♦ I'm gonna ignore you.->Game Over.]]

You decided to call out into the darkness. It took a great deal of effort not to show how nervous you are and even with that effort you're not really sure you managed it. "Who's there?" you said, hoping you only imagined the tremor in your voice. "Your fairy godmother, Snow. Who the hell else would I be?" said a voice who is decidedly not your fairy godmother, incredibly sarcastic and male. Sure enough, you turn around and spot the owner of the voice, Baz. He's leaning against the wall, cool as a bloody cucumber. "Why are you here?" you asked him. "I could ask the same of you. I should have known not to leave that note. It's not like you'd listen to me in person so why did I expect you to pay any attention to the note?" You were about to respond but he just waved a hand dismissively. "I wasn't looking for an answer since I already know it. Couldn't you have just been a good little Chosen One and been obedient for once? Or is it only the Mage you listen to?" "Oh fuck off Baz. I'm not obedient. Why are you here?" you asked him again, hoping the repetition would actually get an answer this time. You gave him your best glare. [[Next.->Talking with Baz.]]

You decided to try to shed some light on the situation. You thought back to the fire spells you were taught and started to cast the spell when suddenly a cold hand grabbed your wrist and another clamped over your mouth. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" the familiar voice of Baz hissed in your ear. You tried to tell him to get the fuck off you but it's a little hard to do so with your mouth clamped shut. "Oh," he realised and moved his hand away from your mouth, releasing your wrist in the process. He's quiet now and you supposed he wanted an answer to his question. "It was dark," you said simply, silently cursing that you didn't have time to come up with a better reason. "Congratulations Snow, you have eyes," Baz sneered, "so what? You thought 'I know what this place needs, some fire' despite your terrible track record with being able to cast the spell, let alone control it." You flushed with annoyance. He's right, you are pretty damn hopeless with spells. That doesn't mean you have to admit it though. "What the hell was I supposed to do then?" "Not attempt to kill us both, perhaps?" Baz suggested. "Don't you have a torch or something?" "I left it in our room. I wasn't planning on coming down here at first but then I saw your note." "Give me strength, Snow. The whole purpose of the note was to tell you not to bother looking for me. Clearly you're a much bigger fool than I thought." "Why are you down here?" you demanded, not budging and with what you hoped is a stubborn set to your jaw. [[Next.->Talking with Baz.]]

Deciding you'd rather not find out what's causing that creepy feeling, you slowly backed up. That's when you bumped into something. That something was cold but decidedly not a wall. You let out a yelp and, without thinking about it, somehow you summoned the Sword of Mages. You whirled around to strike whatever it was but you're stopped by a strong pale hand on your wrist. "Take it easy Snow, I know we're not fond of each other but I'd rather you didn't remove any of my limbs," Baz's cool unaffected voice sounded. "Merlin, Baz, what the hell are you doing down here?" you blustered. "I think that is decidedly none of your business Snow." Realising that you still had the Sword of Mages raised, you dismissed it and relaxed your arm. Baz looked at you for a moment with that unreadable look of his before he released his grip on your arm. "Don't you have your ladies in waiting to entertain? I'm sure Bunce and Wellbelove are missing your company." You shot him a glare, wishing you had something better to retort with than: "Fuck off." A smirk crept onto his face. "Run along Snow, before Bunce reports you missing or something." "I'm not going anywhere." "Geographically or with this conversation? Because please start going somewhere with either of the two." So which would you rather make progress with? [[♦ Geographically. (Straight up leave the Catacombs, giving a rude gesture to Baz as you do so.)->Leaving the Catacombs.]] [[♦ Conversationally. (Talk to the smug git, demand to know why he's here.)->Talking with Baz.]]

He looked at you for a long moment before heaving a sigh. He muttered something under his breath and he conjured a flame in his hand so you can see him better. "Looks like you're not budging so fine, just this once, I'll tell you. I was lurking in the dark hoping for some hapless victim to wander down here on his own. Oh look, here you are." "Cut the shit, Baz." "Fine! I was having a wank." "I mean it." "I was visiting my mother's grave. Apparently I can't even do that in peace." He made a gesture to where he set a small bunch of flowers. So he was telling the truth. This seemed to come as a surprise to you. "Now would you kindly get lost? I'm not in the mood to deal with your pious face, Snow." "And you do this in the dark?" "Some of us have better night vision than you do, I do this often enough that I know not to walk into walls." "Because you're a vampire." "This again? Come off it Snow, you've got no evidence." "You'll make a mistake one day." "Will I? I wouldn't hold your breath then Snow. You'd be waiting a long time. Now it's my turn to ask a question, why aren't you with Bunce? I didn't think you were mature enough to be allowed to wander without your keeper." "I don't need a keeper!" you hissed at him, your magic started to boil under your skin in the familiar way it does when you're pissed off at Baz. "She's back at the school, you know, where you should be right now?" "We don't actually have to be at the school until tomorrow, you know that right? And I thought you'd be stuffing your face in the dining hall by now." After a summer of ignoring your hunger pangs, you belatedly realised that you were actually quite hungry. It would have been a good idea to stop by the dining hall. Lo and behold, your stomach made a noise of complaint and you felt heat rush to your face. "It seems even your stomach agrees that you shouldn't be stalking me right now." "That's- You-" You wanted to give him some kind of sharp quip but as usual your tongue betrayed you. Baz had a wicked smile on his face, obviously delighting in your discomfort. "Well I'm just about done here. If you'd like to stop gawking maybe you should come with me, hmm?" You couldn't come up with a reason why not to and the pair of you left the catacombs. [[Next->Leaving the Catacombs with Baz.]]

You've solved the mystery of Baz's whereabouts. It wasn't something that necessarily needed solving but you solved it anyway. He can be a creepy vampire wherever he damn well pleases, for all you care. You walked back towards the courtyard and the main school buildings but something caught your eye as you walked back. At the other side of the moat there's movement by the Wavering Wood. Something glowing but it was gone before you could get a good look at it. Your hand twitched at your side but you're unsure of what to do. The urge to call on the Sword of Mages got stronger and there's a feeling in your gut that there's something not right. You thought back to your message from Penny. It didn't seem all that friendly a request now you think about it. There's something wrong. That's all that you know for certain. You have a decision to make: [[♦ Follow the light into the Wavering Woods before it gets away completely.->The Wavering Woods alone - A]] [[♦ Or find Penny, maybe this could be related to what she needed to talk to you about.->Finding Penny after Meeting with Baz briefly.]]

Agatha is kidnapped by fairies, something about wanting to catch the Chosen One and gaining power. Perhaps they're being controlled by someone. They don't like Baz. Simon tries to mount a rescue with Penny alone at first in the Wavering Wood, doesn't turn out well and Baz finds the pair and helps them. He has to tend to their injuries and a few of his own after fending them off Simon. Simon is suspicious of Baz, Penny sees that Baz was genuinely trying to do some good and warms up to him a lot quicker. They work together to create a plan to get Agatha out. (Will need to figure that part out later on) OR Baz and Simon wander into the Wavering Wood and find out the fairies are acting aggressively toward Simon. They end up fleeing the Wavering Wood and finding Penny, who is very put out at Simon ignoring her message. She informs them that Agatha is missing and they work out that Agatha has been taken by them. Simon wants to mount a rescue but it's Baz that reels him in and tells him to be cautious, not eager to be attacked again either. OR Simon finds fairies far from the woods and ends up following them back. He discovers that they have Agatha and is almost completely overwhelmed until Baz makes an appearance, having sensed Simon's magic going haywire. He swoops in and picks up an unconscious, bleeding Simon, taking him back to their room. He casts some healing spells and grabs Bunce from the Entrance Hall. Possible methods to defeat the fairies: ♦ Brute force? - Most likely ♦ Enlist the help of other Wavering Woods residents - Less likely ♦ Trickery of some kind, perhaps a bait and switch with either Penny or Baz disguised as Simon - Quite possible ♦ They talk to Ms. Possibelf, because she's possibly an elf and they could have a long standing rivalry with fairies so know things - Now we're thinking ♦ Pixie dust - Trixie. Could be a defence and the solution to the Fae magic. Ms. Possibelf can tell them about its properties as a ward against being frozen by the mist. Booyah! I think I fixed the problem. Also kudos to you nosy folk digging through the coding behind this. Obviously I didn't code ALL of this myself since I can barely get the gradient shit working and the colour changing links and all. But yeah hope you enjoyed the mixed up passages.

If Baz sensed your discomfort with him being nearby then he didn't make comment of it, for a change. You've never really seen him shaken up over anything, most certainly not by anything you've said or done. You tried not to dwell over how infuriatingly calm he is. "So why haven't you met up with your better half?" he asked, a little out of the blue. You wondered why he cares about Agatha's whereabouts but then remembered his flirting with her over the past few years. "Agatha and I-" you started but he quickly interjected with a huff. "I was referring to Bunce, the brains of the Mage's little crusaders. And trust me, I am intimately aware of your current relationship status. I certainly don't need to hear it from you." He seemed annoyed. That's strange, you thought. You thought he'd be delighted that you and Agatha had split up again. "Just had a feeling I needed to be down here." You couldn't think of anything better to say and it's the truth. "More like you haven't grown out of your irritating fifth year hobby of driving me up the wall," Baz retorted. "God forbid you actually have a real reason for being down here." "It's spite, mostly. I saw your note and figured I wouldn't pay any attention to it." "As good a motivation as any," Baz drawled, completely insincerely. "Seeing as you can't stay away from me, I'll keep you company just this once. Who knows, maybe you'll be better for it?" You flush, irritated at his pompous attitude. "I don't see how hanging out with a vampire would make me a better person. If anything you'd be a bad influence." "So is that why you cling to the Mage? Hoping his so-called greatness rubs off on you? Should've known the Chosen One doesn't have a spine of his own." "Oh fuck off Baz, like you're any better with the Old Families." "Oh please, you're nothing but the Mage's attack dog. All he's gotta do is point you at the enemy and you'd go after them. Doesn't it ever occur to you that the Mage might just be using you?" "Oh and you wouldn't, I suppose? The Mage brought me here; this is my home." You could keep going but something about the way Baz's expression twists stopped you before you can go on. It didn't last long enough for you to get a read on him but something you said had finally got to him. You can't figure out why though. His face went completely cold again and he didn't even give you any kind of reply before veering off the path and down towards the Wavering Wood. What do you do? [[Follow him->The Wavering Woods with Baz - A]]

You chased after him, the bastard has stupidly long legs so it takes some effort. You burst through the trees and nearly stumbled right into Baz who was rooted to the spot, not literally but you caught yourself on his shoulders. He let out a noise as the air is shocked out of him by your impact but he immediately moved a hand back to stop you moving further. "What the hell Baz?" you demanded. You had no idea why he's suddenly stopped there. "Shut up Snow," he hissed, glancing over his shoulder at you. He fell silent again and you're aware his hand has now grabbed at your shirt, so you couldn't move away either without struggling. He was looking ahead into the trees. "Have you seen Wellbelove recently?" he asked quietly, voice barely above a whisper. He was referring to Agatha. You shook your head in reply. "No, it's not like she wants to see me right now anyway." Your answer was equally quiet. Baz's shoulders stiffened even further than they already were. You felt yourself getting more nervous with each passing second as he remained quiet. "You might not want to hear this but… I think I can feel her magic somewhere in the woods," he explained. "This doesn't feel right." "Can you smell her blood?" you asked, unable to stop the question. Baz shot a glare over his shoulder. "No, of course I can't," he huffed. "Unlike you I actually listen to my gut and right now it's telling me to get the fuck out of here." "So why haven't you moved?" "Wellbelove." He gave a faint shrug. A flash of anger shot through you and you pushed past him only to be stopped by his cold hand on your wrist. "Wait Snow, this could be a trap from the Humdrum for all we know." "Or from the Old Families," you added, unhelpfully judging from the scowl that got from Baz. "I think I would know more about whatever is going on if it were the Old Families. Besides, kidnapping isn't our… style." He slowed down as he said the last bit, his eyes widening with some kind of realisation. "So you say. What's with that face?" Baz tightened his grip on your wrist. It became uncomfortable. "Shut up Snow, you ever hear of magickal creatures that would steal away children?" "Sounds like some kinda twisted fairy," you muttered. "Exactly! And Wellbelove is an ideal target, apart from her age. She's a little older than they prefer." "Are you trying to tell me you believe in fairies?" "That's such a Normal thing to say. Are you a Magician or what? Of course they're real and they have Wellbelove." "Somehow I don't believe you," you said stubbornly. He just heaved a sigh and dragged you forward by the wrist. [[Next.->The Wavering Woods with Baz - B]]

You bust through the first line of trees. It seems normal so far however there's a feeling in the back of your neck. Your hairs stand on end and your gut twists. You call the Sword of Mages to you, feeling it materialise in your free hand. This felt like a really bad idea and you began to wonder if you should turn back when you hear something. You couldn't quite make out what it was exactly but it was definitely a voice. You hope it's just a dryad. They might not like you very much but they won't do you any harm if you don't give them reason to. You try to tread lightly. You feel twigs break under your feet despite your best efforts. Baz always said you were shit at sneaking. You reckoned that's probably because of his vampire hearing though. You didn't so much stumble into a clearing as awkwardly side-step through some bushes and that's when you see her. Agatha was there but something's wrong. She's surrounded by light and she looked beautiful but it was like she's asleep. When you tried to get closer your feet were stuck in place like a 'stand your ground' spell but you didn't hear anyone cast it. Dread weighed heavy in the pit of your stomach. You wished you'd brought someone with you. Penny would know how to get out of this probably. You look down at your stuck ankles and see there's a mist swirling around them. It's cold against your skin and you look back at Agatha and realised that it's coming from her. Whatever it was that's frozen her has also made you unable to move. The feeling of being watched became apparent and you raised your sword, looking about at the trees surrounding you. "Looks like we've caught ourselves a Chosen One," a voice trilled from somewhere behind you and you twist to look in that direction. You spot the sharp face of a fairy as they drop from a low hanging branch to stand on the floor. You stayed silent for now. You had little doubt that this creature wants something from you. Best not to push your luck, you thought. "We were hoping for this." "What were you hoping for exactly? If you wanted help you should've just asked," you spoke up, standing taller as you twirl your blade. You're not afraid, not yet. There's only one of them showing their face at the moment, even if they refer to more of them. "We want you dead. We don't need someone like you or the Emptiness threatening us." "By 'Emptiness' you mean the Insidious Humdrum? And I'm not trying to threaten you. I just want to make it through school without dying." "Whatever you magicians call it, it makes no difference! A hole is a hole, we can't live without magic. You magicians can." "I'm not a threat to you if you just let me and Agatha go!" Your patience has worn thin enough that you snapped at the fairy, consequences be damned. "We can't do that." And then you realised why this fairy kept referring to them as a group. More sharp faces appeared around you from behind trees and between the undergrowth. This didn't look good. [[Next.->The Wavering Woods alone - B]]

An uncomfortable silence settled over both of you as you walk through the underbrush and between the trees. Something stopped you from chatting with Penny right now and it might have something to do with the way your skin prickles with the unseasonable chill on the breeze. You expected it to be a little darker in the shade of the trees but shadows were deeper than they should be. You're not entirely sure if your mind is what's convincing you that this is a bad idea or the fact that it seemed to be written over Penny's face too as she edges closer to you. A quick utterance of the summoning spell called the Sword of Mages to you and you took the lead, keeping Penny behind you. "Do you think that's necessary?" she asked nervously and you only glanced back at her briefly. "It feels like it. Don't you have that feeling too?" "Yeah but it feels worse now you've said it out loud," she mumbled, taking light hold of your arm. You could tell it's not the hand with her ring on, she'll be keeping that ready just like you're keeping the sword ready. Trouble has found you both too many times now that it feels foolish not to be prepared. Here goes nothing, you think. Leading the way, you picked your way through the trees. "You don't think we should've let someone know where we were going, do you?" you ask Penny as the knot in the pit of your stomach tightened. "Simon, you're not helping," Penny complained, her grip on your arm tightened. "I know," you sighed, "but the silence is worse. I thought there were birds in these woods." "I need to come up with banned phrases for creepy situations, don't I?" Breaking through another group of trees, you stepped into a clearing and freeze. [[Next.->The Wavering Woods with Penny - B]]

Why you chose to do this, you don't know. A brief moment of insanity perhaps? The moat is filled with merwolves. They swarm you like piranhas. You tried to get away and even in your panic you couldn't manage to make your magic explode. (Don't ask why, I'd rather not write a version of this where you actually survive this silly stunt.) You are [[eaten alive.->Game Over.]]

Fortunately for you it didn't take you long to find Penny. She was heading out from the main school buildings too and she immediately picked up her pace when she saw you further along the path. You met her halfway. "Hey Penny," you greeted her. Your tone was a little tight as you notice her anxious state. Gently taking hold of her arms, you gave her something to focus on. "Simon, oh Simon, thank Merlin you're okay. I- I was worried that something had happened to you." Your face twisted with guilt. "Yeah sorry, I was um… I put my stuff in the room and found a snotty note from Baz so-" Clearing your throat, you looked away awkwardly. "So you forgot about everything and chased after him?" she laughed, despite her obvious anxiety. "That's so like you. I've been trying to find Agatha as well. You haven't seen her have you?" You shook your head. "Sorry Penny, I haven't. I don't think she wants to see me anyway." Her lips pinched tightly together and she looked away towards the Woods behind you. "I want to find her, if only to know if she's okay." "Yeah, about that, I… have an awful feeling about the Wavering Woods. I think I saw something bright in the trees." "Knowing our luck, that's where she is." You nodded grimly. "Yeah, I was hoping you wouldn't say that." Penny looked back at you. "Well, what are we waiting for? Trouble isn't going to find itself." You let out a startled laugh. She smiled and hooked her arm through yours. The pair of you turned around and headed towards the Wavering Woods. [[Into the woods.->The Wavering Woods with Penny - A]]

Baz paused. "Get your wand or something, I'd rather you were ready for whatever is about to happen," he said quietly. You called the Sword of Mages to you, the blade felt good in your hand. You can't cast spells very well but you can use this just fine. Baz glanced at you as he pulled his wand from his pocket. "Figures," he huffed with a soft laugh. He let go of your wrist, trusting you'll follow him deeper into the woods. Whilst you really don't want to walk into a trap, there was a slim chance Baz was walking into the same thing and that gave you a faint sense of comfort. If it was a trap of his own devising, you'd just have to stick close to him so he suffers the same fate. If it's not, well you'd both end up getting caught up in it anyway. He's a far better spell caster than you anyway, it might prove useful. You walked close behind him, letting him lead the way. His serious silence only added to your frayed nerves. You wanted to believe this is just an act but you could see the way his hand was clenched around his wand and the tightness in his jaw. He stepped into a clearing ahead of you, there's some kind of bright light but Baz was blocking the view. He took a few paces and then stood still and you moved to step around him but he twisted and shoved his hand against your chest. His eyes were wide, almost fearful. "No don't step closer, I can't move and you'll get stuck too," he hissed quietly. You leaned to look around him and you could see her. It's Agatha. But something was wrong. There was a light coming from her body and it's like she's asleep but stood upright. Her fair hair flowed as if being toyed with by a gentle breeze. "I think I know what Penny wanted to talk about now," you said quietly. "Helpful." Baz sneered, turning back to a more comfortable position, trusting you'll listen to him. He waved his wand. He tried a few spells to free himself and struggled to lift his feet. He even tried a soft 'as you were'. It did nothing to help. "Get out of here, Snow. It won't do us any good if we're both trapped." You need to do something, what do you try to do? [[♦ Try to drag him out of there. Now's a good a time as any to get out of here.->Try to escape with Baz.]] [[♦ Cover his back. It might come to a fight and you'd rather he wasn't completely defenceless.->Stand and fight with Baz.]]

"Not alone I'm not," you grumbled and vanished your sword. You wrapped your arm around his stomach and tried to lift him up. He made an undignified squeaking sound as he was lifted. You were able to drag him back a few feet but it looked like Baz was still unable to move his legs. "Does it feel like it's wearing off?" "I don't know, it's like they're made of lead," he grumbled. "Don't just bloody manhandle me!" You looked at the floor where Baz was stood. It wasn't all that noticeable before but there was some kind of mist coming from Agatha. It's probably what's keeping her in that sleeping state and probably what caused Baz's paralysis. "Well I can't just leave you here!" You argued back. He glanced around, starting to show the first hints of panic. "Just go, you idiot, before whatever it is-" He cut off as his eyes fell on something. You turned to look at it too. There's a fairy stood before you with a wicked looking blade raised towards you. "Shame, we were hoping the Chosen One would be the one to fall into the trap and not you, dead one," she said with her lips curling into a cruel smile. "Bite me," Baz snarled, raising his wand. Not wanting to find out who would win, you grabbed Baz and hauled him over your shoulder as quick as you can manage. You ran and you know you're being pursued but you can't think about that right now. Baz was firing off spells as quickly as he could manage to pronounce them. You could see the bursts of flame he's firing lighting up the trees. You turned down a more worn path knowing the edge of the woods was near. What you didn't expect was a sudden tackle from the side, knocking you and Baz to the floor. "Baz!" you called out, whirling to your knees. Baz was sprawled out across the floor and there was a fairy stood above him. A reddened blade held aloft, ready to strike. "You should have stayed dead, foul creature. I don't know why you're defending him after what he did to the goblins. How long will it be before he's sent to kill you too? Why don't I save him the job?" They snarled, voice inhuman as they bring down the blade. Your magic seethed and swirled as they spoke under your skin and, before you knew it, it burst out in an explosion. The surge blasted the fairy back before the blade could meet its mark. You thought you saw them get impaled on a tree branch but you're not sure. Your vision was blurry and you crawled over to Baz and shook his shoulders. "Baz, you okay?" You tapped your hand to the side of his face, hoping he's not knocked out. His grey eyes opened and he managed to sit up. He's looking pained but he seemed to have escaped being caught up in the wake of you going off. "Oh thank fuck," you cursed, relieved more than anything else. You're feeling drained, on the verge of passing out. Going off always takes a toll on you but it has never been quite like this. Your arm gave out and you stumbled onto your side. For that moment, all you know is white hot pain. It lanced through your stomach. You touched your side and your hand came away warm and wet. A look confirmed that you're bleeding heavily. "Oh," you murmured just as your eyes droop closed. "Snow? No, don't you dare pass out. Snow! Simon?" He slapped your face a couple of times, just enough to feel a sting. Your eyes fluttered open but it's just too much effort. In spite of his efforts, you felt yourself slip away. [[Next. ->Waking up in the infirmary + Baz Injured A]]

"No, I'm not moving," you told him stubbornly. You stood with your back to his. "For once in your life you'd better listen to me, Snow. Get the hell out of here. Can't you see that this was meant to be a trap for you?" he hissed back in answer. "I might hate your guts but I'm not about to let you get hurt in my place." "Crowley, Snow, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard and I've been your roommate for seven years. Get the fuck out of here, don't make me spell you!" It's not like him to use Normal curses but while you want to argue, movement in the trees quelled the urge to argue back in an instant. Baz remained quiet, you didn't doubt that he also heard the noise. "Well, what do you know, the trap worked… sort of. Didn't the green one tell you about not wandering through the woods? Not all who live here are friendly." The voice certainly didn't sound human and your suspicions were confirmed as you spotted the speaker crouched up in a tree. "In my defence, I never was one to listen to the Mage," Baz spoke up coolly. "Was I talking to you, dark creature? I didn't think so. We're not after you." "You're after Simon then. I thought as much. Who sent you?" "Silence! I'm not interested in talking to the walking dead. The Chosen One, such a sweet and pathetic little hero. We learned what you did to the goblins so we're just taking precautionary measure." "Who is 'we' exactly?" you asked the creature. "Information comes at a price. Kill the dead one and I will tell you." The creature steps into the light and you can see her wicked smile. Her teeth were too sharp and her grin too pointed to be friendly. You froze up. The fairy meant Baz, you're sure of it. Sensing your hesitation, you heard Baz take in a shaky breath. "I swear Snow, if you kill me for Wellbelove I will haunt you until your dying day," he growled. The thought made you sick. The fairy wanted you to turn on each other. "Forget that I asked. I can find out another way." You raised your sword, twirling the blade as you refamiliarised yourself with it. "Simon?" Baz sounded uncertain, only adding to the ball of anxiety in your stomach. "You might be my enemy but it doesn't make it right to trade your life for information. No information is worth that much. I'm not an idiot." "That's debatable but thanks? You must be swift as a coursing river, with all the strength of a great typoon." he casted and you could taste the grease-fire tang of his magic as it hit you. It gave your body a weightless feel and you grinned. "Thank fuck for Disney," you laughed and charged at the fairy. You vaguely remembered Penny saying something about strength boosting spells being short-lived so you have to tie this up quickly. There's a strange distance between your mind and your body as you fight. Things were moving faster than your mind can keep up with. All you know is that you were matching this fairy move for move, keeping them from taking advantage of Baz being stuck. Because of this distance, it took a while for you to realise that your opponent has backup now and that you and Baz are outnumbered. You're back to covering his back now and he's throwing fire like a man possessed. Your strength boost was dwindling and you knew Baz was too tired to do it again. "Baz I can't keep this up." "Then get out of here!" He yelled at you. "Not without you," you growled back. "Crowley, Simon! Just get the fuck out of here! Spare me the hero bullshit." Not bothering to reply, you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. This overbalanced him and you used your temporarily boosted strength to drag him up and over your shoulder before you turn tail and ran the way you came. Baz hit his fists against your back and you could feel the sharp jab of the base of his wand between your ribs. You'd be concerned he was actively trying to stab you with it but there's only so much you can focus on. You're more concerned that you're being pursued and the last thing you wanted was to be swarmed by fairies. You took a sharp turn just as the last of your boosted strength runs out. A sudden tackle sent both you and Baz sprawling over the ground. You whirled to your knees, your sword rematerialising in your hand. There's a fairy stood over Baz with a blade dripping with blood. Baz was on his back and he's too slow to raise his wand in his defence. Your chaotic magic burst out of you before you could even think to ask. The explosion of magic sent the fairy into a tree and it hung limply from a broken branch. There must've still been some of the strength magic left because you still managed to crawl over to Baz. There's pain blooming up your side and you realised you must've had a hit slip past your guard earlier and you've been steadily bleeding out since then. Baz's eyes were wide when he saw you collapse next to him. He's on his hands and knees next to you in an instant. "No, don't you fucking dare. Stay awake Snow! Simon?" You turned your head towards him and your vision went dark. You thought you heard him call out your name again. [[Next. ->Waking up in the infirmary + Baz Injured A]]

You came to your senses slowly and one at a time. Your ears picked out the sound of songbirds in the distance and a conversation that you can't follow. The voices were familiar though and it sounded like a hushed argument. The next thing that came back wasn't quite so polite in how it manifested. A sharp sensation of pain at your ribs took the breath from you and you writhed onto your side, curling around your injury protectively. The arguing stopped and you recognised the soft voice that followed. "Simon, breathe. It's okay," Penny soothed. "Get well soon." The pain didn't disappear but it eased up considerably. You could breathe a little easier and you didn't feel the need to curl up so much now. Penny's voice seemed exhausted though and you could smell her magic heavy in the air around you. You faintly recognised someone else's magic there too but Penny's felt the most intense right now. Penny was always one to prioritise your needs over her comfort. It took you a while and a lot of discomfort but you managed to sit up on the bed. It's then that you could see who Penny was arguing with. "Baz?" You asked, dumbfounded. Of course, it made sense that Penny would be arguing with him. He's not one to explain himself and if she found you with him then she'd have a lot of questions. Though you reckoned it doesn't take much to ignite Penny's particular brand of righteous fury. "Snow," Baz responded coolly but you caught how his face hardens into his usual sneer. You probably shouldn't comment on that, he'd only have some awful retort that you're not willing to listen to right now. Instead you let out a sigh, relieved to see him despite your usual animosity. "How did we get here?" You turned to Penny. "All I can remember is the woods, fairies and…" You trailed off, touching your bandaged chest. There's also the fact you remember Agatha's perfectly frozen body though it wasn't frozen with ice. The thought made you shudder. You'll deal with that shortly. One thing at at a time. "You were brought here by me, Dev and Niall. Baz sent up a flare with his magic. I went to investigate and there was so many scorch marks and small fires that I knew it had to have been Baz. I figured you wouldn't have been far away. You guys were lucky I managed to rope Dev and Niall into helping me along the way though I think they had their suspicions that it was Baz that sent the flare. We found you in Baz's arms and bleeding." "Is that what you were arguing about? If he was the one who hurt me?" Penny abortively opened her mouth to answer but Baz cut in. "She was. I'd personally prefer an audience for when I eventually end your life but she didn't believe me," he drawled, that perfectly posh accent grating your nerves. "Baz didn't hurt me," you explained instead of rising to the bait. "That was one of the fairies in the wood, actually." "That explains why it's been so hard to heal you. Fairy weapons are tricky," Penny explained. She got up suddenly and started rummaging through the nurses cupboards. "You've been bleeding nearly constantly since you got here so we need something to counteract the enchantment on the fairy steel. Baz, you should have told me!" "When exactly should I have done that then? Between being unconscious and arguing with you even you had to notice I've been preoccupied!" Baz fired right back, voice scathing as he glared at her back. "Besides, I tried to tell you when you found us." Penny ignored him in favour of finding whatever it was she was looking for. [[Next. ->Waking up in the infirmary + Baz Injured B]]

The effort of staying sat up was too much for you. Dizziness hit you again and you felt your body start to sway despite your arms braced on the bed. Baz noticed the movement and moved carefully from his bed to yours and you felt his cool hand support your back. You couldn't see what he's doing but you could feel him rummaging behind you and you guess he was moving pillows about. With surprising gentleness he laid you back against the pillow and you're now resting at an incline. "Thank you," you murmured, "you didn't have to do that." "I didn't," he agreed in a neutral tone. "If you need to sleep, Bunce will protect you from me. There's no need really. It'll be some time before I have the energy to kill you anyway." You managed a huff of laughter. "One person is hardly an audience, right?" Baz's face twitched like he's surprised by what you're saying and you got a feeling of amusement as you look up at him. "That's right." He glanced away toward Penny and his face closed off again. He backed away and sat on his bed again. "Aha!" Penny exclaimed proudly and rushed back towards you. She's got a small dusty vial in her hand. When she's back at your side she gently tugged down the sheets further to expose your bandaged chest. Her hand blindly reached on the table beside your bed and she found the scissors. She cut away at your bloodied bandages and gently peeled them open. "Wait, is this gonna hurt?" You asked nervously and your eyes moved from where she's cutting off the bandages to land on Baz's face. He looked about as tense as you feel and when you looked back at your now exposed wound you realise why. You were still bleeding, albeit slowly. "It will. I'm fairly sure that pouring anything on your wound is gonna hurt no matter what it is," Penny answered you a little too honestly for your liking. "Baz, can you help me keep him still?" Your eyes widened and you looked at Baz who looked equally as afraid. He saw your fear though and just like that he shut down, jaw tense and he moved closer. Penny was holding the vial in her hand now without the cork in the neck of it. "Have you done this before?" Baz asked her. "I've done similar, with this I won't need much magic and it'll be easier to heal him once it gets to work." "Is that the same stuff as that time with the goblins?" You asked. "Yeah, they used fairy steel," she nodded. "Oh fuck no!" You started writhing to get away but there's a cold hand on your chest in seconds and though you tried to fight him, Baz just pressed down harder. "Make it quick Bunce, I can't keep this up forever," he muttered. "Yeah, just keep him still. There's not much of this so I need to make sure it all gets on." Penny instructed him. She looked at you with a soft, concerned look. "Take a deep breath Simon. I know it hurt last time but try not to fight me. Baz, put your other hand there." She pointed to your thigh as she said the last part. "What?" Baz blurted. You swore he looked flustered. Penny just let out a huff of frustration and grabbed Baz's wrist and pushed his hand to your thigh. It took a moment but then there was the same unbending pressure there too. You couldn't help the nervous swallow. "Deep breath now Simon, this will be over soon," Penny said softly. You did as you're told. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. "Now breathe out." Again you did as you're told but the pain still came as a shock. All you knew was white hot pain and your eyes opened wide as you grabbed Baz's hand on your chest and tried to fight him off. He gritted his teeth in frustration and fought back. He was too strong and you've been steadily bleeding out for Merlin knows how long. "No! Please!" You yelled, trying your best to get away from the pain. Your efforts were in vain against Baz's strength. You looked up at him through tear filled eyes and you could see how guilty he looked. Penny moved back and you only just caught the sight of the empty vial in her hand. It still took some time for the pain to become manageable. Baz's restraint loosened. You looked at him again and he's frowning at your wound. You're not sure but he seemed concerned. You fell limp against the pillows and that's when Baz's gaze shifted back to your face. His concern was still there, he's not shut himself off yet. "Si-Snow…" His voice was barely above a whisper. He looked as if he's about to ask you if you're okay but then he snapped his jaw shut. He frowned again and you could see him attempting to put his mask up again. You found yourself wondering if this was difficult for him with all the blood. You didn't have the breath to ask yet. He moved his hand from your thigh and reached to his pocket. You saw him point his wand at your wound and he uttered a soft. "Get well soon." It sounded so heartfelt that you felt a flutter in your chest. You looked up at him and his grey eyes met yours. He looked so exhausted. You felt better as his fiery magic danced over your wound. "Thank you," you murmured so quietly that you thought he might not have heard you. His eyebrows raised though and his face softened a little. You raised a hand to the one still on your chest and gave it a gentle squeeze and offered him a weak smile. The moment broke again with Baz shutting himself down completely and he pulled away as if he was burned. He went back to his bed and laid with his back to you and Penny. You looked to Penny and she was looking at him with as much confusion as you're feeling. [[Next. ->Waking up in the infirmary + Baz Injured C]]

"Did it work?" Penny asked you in a quiet voice. You looked at the injury and it just looks sore. It certainly didn't look as severe as it did before. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine," you answered. She looked relieved. "Good, that's… good." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "So, what happened?" "We found Agatha. The fairies still have her though." Penny nodded at that. "Is she alright?" Is she? "I don't know. They had her but it was like she was frozen and this strange mist was coming from her," you tried to explain. "Baz walked through the mist and he was paralysed or something. He stopped me from getting caught in it." Penny looked thoughtful. "She's okay then. Frozen, granted, but okay. That's… some good news at least. That's what I wanted to talk to you about before. People had seen her arrive but nobody could find her after a while. I guess the fairies took her after she arrived here." "It was a trap meant for me. They see me as a threat. I don't understand. I haven't done anything to the fairies." "Your presence is a threat to everyone, Snow," Baz huffed. He still had his back turned to you both. "What exactly did you do to the goblins?" "I'm not talking to your back," you growled. "So they targeted you by taking Agatha?" Penny asked as if Baz had never spoken. "They'll be expecting you to try to save her again." "Not that we did a good job of trying to do that the first time. They just overwhelmed us completely," you mumbled. "We stumbled upon her mostly by accident. Baz was the one that felt her magic." "And how exactly did you manage that Baz?" Penny asked the back of his head. "It was just a feeling," Baz growled, turning to face you both. "You know that feeling you get when something awful is about to happen? Forget that, I know neither of you listen to things like common sense. So I figured I'd let it play out how you would." You couldn't help the surge of anger that arose and, whilst you'd love to act on it, the ache in your stomach meant you can't. "You're such a piece of shit," you seethed. "You just can't help yourself!" Baz's eyes flicked toward you and the git had the gall to look bored. "I'm sorry, what should I have said? I'm just helpfully reminding you that you hate me so I don't see a problem here." "Enough!" Penny snapped. "The last thing I need is the two of you at each others throats when there's something more important to be concerned with. So the both of you can shut up and, Merlin help me, work together for once. Baz, I know you don't have much care for all of this but the fact that you helped Simon gives me a little hope that you're not completely selfish. So please help us get her back. I don't think I will be enough to face fairies and there's strength in numbers. We need all the help we can get." Baz seemed to be stunned into silence after Penny's tirade and you're not much different. Guilt was written all over your face and you saw something similar flash over his. "Why don't you speak to your Mage about this? He's responsible for the safety of his students." Penny let out a dry laugh. "You think I haven't already tried that? He's busy with something that he wouldn't tell me about." Something made Baz frown at that but you're not sure what to make of it. "He doesn't deserve his post. Very well, I'll help but only because I'm already halfway into this mess so I might as well see it through." You let out a quiet sigh and relax into the pillows. It's odd that you feel relief at that but you try not to think too deeply on that. All you want to do right now is sleep. You looked between Penny and Baz. You know which one you'd like to talk to before you go to sleep. [[♦ Talk to Penny.->Baz injured - conversation with Penny]] [[♦ Talk to Baz.->Baz injured - conversation with Baz]]

You wanted to talk to Penny. You cleared your throat. "Penny, uh, can I talk to you please?" She looks at Baz who holds his hands up as he backs away. "I'll go get something to eat then I guess." He muttered mostly to himself before heading to the door. She sat beside you on the bed and took hold of your hand. "What's up Simon?" "I'm… worried about Baz," you said hesitantly. "How was he when you found us?" Penny's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Honestly it's hard to say. He was… terrified I think. He was holding you and I could swear he was shaking." That didn't come as much of a surprise as you thought it might. "He had no problems with mouthing off at the fairies," you huffed. "So there's something else up with him. I don't think he enjoyed the fact I was bleeding out despite hating me." Penny nodded and smoothed her fingers over your palm. It tickled somewhat but it was a nice gesture. "He looked pretty close to tears probably, it's kind of hard to tell with him though." You considered this and let out a sigh. "If I were the one in his shoes, I don't think I'd want him hurt. I'd be even less useful too with this stupid magic." Giving you a lop-sided smile, Penny seemed to be in agreement as she listened to you. "Hey Penny?" "Yeah?" "If I'm not awake and if he comes back, could you let him know that I'm grateful he was there? I know it can't have been easy for him and I… I don't know really, I just hope he's okay." "Of course Simon," she agreed. "I'll let him know if he comes back." "Thanks Penny," you said with a tired smile. "I think I'd better get some rest." "Alright, I'll be here when you wake up. I'll bring some books from the library so we can work on this fairy situation." With that she leaned over to press her forehead to yours before leaving you alone. You must have drifted off for a while but you partly woke up when the door to the infirmary opened. You thought it was Penny returning but when you turn your head you see Baz. He stopped dead when he noticed you looking. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked, smirking a little as he stepped further into the room. "Shouldn't you?" You retorted before yawning. "That's fair I guess." He shrugged before coming closer. You just watched him before your tired brain remembered something. "Baz, I wanted to say thank you. If it weren't for you I think things would've turned out a lot worse than they did," you said quietly. Baz froze up so you know he heard you. He looked surprised. "Penny said you wanted to thank me, I thought she was just being polite." You give a tired shrug. "I mean it. You don't have to help us you know? 'S nothing stopping you from leaving." Baz stood next to your bed. "I know." It was a simple phrase and you let out a tired laugh. "So that's it then?" You asked. "That's it." "Alright. You should rest too." "I'll think about it." [[Next.->Baz Route - waking up]]

You wanted to talk to Baz. Craning your head towards him, you paused for a moment to consider what you wanted to say. "Baz." A name is a solid start, you thought. Also just about all you can manage while you scrambled to put together what you want to say. Penny got up and moved away, giving you both some space and privacy. She flashed you a quick smile before heading out of the room, mouthing the word 'library' as she closed the door. He looked towards you and you thought he looked like he's bracing himself for something. It confused you for a split-second but you can't lose momentum now. The lure of sleep was getting strong and you needed to ask him something. "Are you okay?" Your question seemed to surprise him because the guarded look fell away completely and he's staring at you with his mouth slightly open. He recovered quickly and cleared his throat. "I'm not the one you need to be concerned about. You were run through with fairy steel," he deflected calmly. "I'm still asking," you insisted. He opened his mouth to speak, looking as if he were about to argue with you again but he decided against it. A soft sigh passed his lips and he started to speak up. "I gained a few scrapes from falling after you got- after the… I'm okay or I will be once this nasty business is sorted out." You thought over his words for a moment and gestured for him to come closer. He looked at your hand as if wondering if you were planning some kind of trap. You rolled your eyes and dropped your head back against the pillows. "I don't bite," you told him. "My neck aches and it'd be easier to talk if I can see you." He muttered something under his breath but obediently sat beside you on the bed. You looked up at him and offered a weak smile. "See? It's a bit hard for me to off you like this," you joked weakly and it made his lips twitch into a faint smile. "So now that you've got me here, what did you want to talk about?" "I wanted to know if you were okay- don't look at me like that I know I've already asked. You just…" You blew out a frustrated huff of air as you considered the best way of putting it. "There's something different about you and even if you hate me it's probably pretty upsetting to have someone bleed all over you. Even I can manage to work that one out. So I'm asking again: are you okay?" Baz looked paler than usual and you could practically see his thoughts running behind those slightly panicked eyes. You reached out and set a hand on his. He turned away, pulling his hand back and held it to his chest. "Snow, don't do this," he spoke up tiredly. "You shouldn't- I'm fine." "Baz, if it wasn't for you I'd be dead so thank you for that." Baz's face snapped back towards you and he had that shocked look on his face again. "Si-… Snow, I didn't do much. I sent up a flare and that's it. I- I didn't know what to do," he confessed quietly. "My spells didn't do much and I was already so tired." Your heart twisted with sympathy. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I mean it though, Baz, thank you. You don't have to help us, you know? You've done more than enough." Baz lowered his hand from his chest as he looked at you, considering your words. "No, I can't believe I'm about to say this but I want to help. I just don't know if I'm the right person for this." "You're already more qualified than me," you said with a smile, "your guess about it being fairies was spot on." "That's not what I'd call qualified, Snow," he drawled sarcastically. You felt your smile widen now that he sounds more like his usual self. His eyes flicked over your face and he returned the smile. "You look terrible, Snow. You really should get some rest." "I will at some point." You shrugged. "But you decided to annoy me instead?" He asked with a smirk. "Something like that." "I'll be okay when this is over, Snow… Thanks for asking though," he said quietly. He reached up and squeezed your shoulder. "Seriously, rest. You need it." You caught his wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze in return. "You need it too." "I'll think about it," he said with some amusement in his voice. [[Next.->Baz Route - waking up]]

You were outnumbered and trapped. It's been some time since the last time things were this dire. Beheading a goblin in a taxi was pretty standard fare, this was the special occasion kind of dire. You raised the Sword of Mages, adjusting your grip as you assess the group that partially surround you. None of them have moved from their positions in the trees but you know that won't stay that way for long. Your only chance of escaping disappeared the moment you stepped into that strange mist currently lapping at your ankles. You took a deep breath and let it go slowly. There's no need to start panicking now. You've been in tight spots before, you'll manage to muddle through again. Normally you'd have the advantage of being able to move though. "Come on then, you and me, one-on-one," you challenged the one that spoke to you. "I don't think so," came the reedy reply. "It's a good effort but I've heard whispers of you. You're the Green One's dog, a dog's death will suit you nicely." Now that wasn't very nice and you'd love to tell them so but like usual the words are caught in your throat. You'd love to cast something to even the playing field but your magic is uncooperative at the best of times. "Fuck you," you snarled. "Just get on with it then, let's see how many of you I can take out before you kill me." You lowered your hips, ready to defend yourself. With a nod of the fairy's head, you're surrounded on all sides. There was a beat where nothing happened but then one of them behind you made a move, you're barely able to deflect them before another comes at you from the front. Then another. And another. You're reduced to reacting on instinct. The Sword of Mages flashing in the low light. The sword rings as it strikes their smaller blades away. The only thing you're thankful of is that you're not completely out of the underbrush so it restricted their paths toward you. You managed to deflect their blades well enough for now but it's starting to take its toll on you. You're getting fists, elbows and knees slipping past your guard. It's brutal and it's unrelenting. Your arms screamed for a break. Your thighs burned. It's too much. Blinding pain made you howl. There's a short sword in your gut. You sliced at the hand holding it. The pain is all you know. "Stay back!" you yelled, magic thick in your voice. The resulting shockwave knocked the closest to you away, for now the magic seemed to be following your intention. Those that were flung back lay unconscious on the floor. The rest have backed off for a short moment in the shock of seeing the small hand still holding the blade and its previous owner has fallen to the floor, screaming in agony, half a dozen others in heaps on the floor. Their sharp eyes turn on you. "No," you gasped out. It's too late to stop the surge of your magic rising. It's building in your chest. The fairies started advancing again. "Stop," you warned them. They don't listen. It broke free. The power inside you exploded outward. You felt nothing but its terrible power as it rushed past the barrier of your skin. Light filled the clearing, too much light to be able to see and just as quickly it faded. In the wake of its explosion, the fairies were strewn about the clearing and you fell down to your knees. Somehow the magical surge had interrupted whatever it is that's in the mist that paralysed you. Using the final reserves of strength you had, you crawled out of the reach of the strange mist. You only just made it before you slump to the ground in a heap. The Sword of Mages dematerialised shortly before the world faded to black. [[Next.->Waking up in the infirmary with Penny and Baz - 1.]]

TO BE CONTINUED. [[Return to the start?->The Courtyard.]]

It took you some time to wake up and the first thing you noticed is the murmur of an argument. Then the pain hit. It's enough to punch out a pained noise and the arguing stopped. "Simon!" Penny's voice was the first thing you hear clearly and you felt cool hands gently hold your shoulders down. "Don't move Snow, your wound is still raw." That's Baz talking and that confused you enough to look at him. "What's going on?" You said with a slurred voice. "How did I- Where…?" "You're in the infirmary. Baz found you in the Wavering Wood with fairy steel in your gut. Between us and Ms. Possibelf we've managed to stop your bleeding," Penny informed you. You blinked slowly as you take the information in. Wait there's something missing. "Agatha, she was- didn't you find her?" You asked them. Baz shook his head when you look at him and you turn to Penny. "There was nobody else there. Just a trail of blood where you'd tried to drag yourself away from the clearing near where we found you." "That can't be right, she was there!" You tried to sit up but Baz was quick to put pressure on your shoulders, stopping you. "There was only you and a couple of dead fairies. It looked like they broke their necks when you went off. That's how I found you," Baz clarified. "There was also a severed hand." "That's from the one that stabbed me," you explained. "Simon, what happened exactly?" Penny asked. "I was hoping to find you so I could explain that Agatha was missing, now you say you saw her in the Wavering Wood?" You nodded. "Yeah the fairies have her. I went into the Wavering Woods and when I saw her she seemed to be frozen somehow. Like she looked normal but there was this white mist coming from her. As soon as I stepped into the mist, I couldn't move my legs at all. I couldn't escape. That's when the fairies ambushed me. I fought, I went off and then I passed out." Baz was looking down, he was definitely listening to you intently and he had his plotting face on. Or rather he was just thinking deeply. You looked to Penny and she was doing the same. "Oh, they did say it was a trap to get to me," you added. "It's not some random kidnapping, they're after me." Baz looked up then and you were caught in his gaze. "Why are they after you?" he asked. "They mentioned the goblins I killed before. Said that I was too big of a threat and that I was the Mage's dog." It looked for a moment like Baz just flinched at your words but you had to be imagining it. "Those goblins were using fairy steel too, maybe the two groups knew each other." Penny seemed to be thinking aloud but she looked at Baz. "I don't think Simon will try to move now, you can let him go." Baz definitely flinched that time and he carefully moved his hands away from your shoulders almost apologetically. "We're dealing with pissed off fairies who have it in for me," you summed up, "they have Agatha under some kind of freezing magic and I got stabbed with fairy steel when I got caught in their trap. Did I miss anything?" "No I think that just about covers it," Penny said cheerfully and you shoot her a smile. Baz looks between the two of you in disbelief. "You're not seriously thinking of just going back out there, right?" Baz said incredulously. With a shrug, you just chuckled. "Obviously, who else will get Agatha back?" "The Mage is dealing with some kind of important coven business so it's us or nobody," Penny added. "You're going to get yourselves killed," Baz said with a thunderous scowl on his face. He stood up and moved towards the window. You're not completely certain but you're pretty confident that he's dramatically looking out towards the Wavering Woods. He's certainly catching the light prettily enough for it. [[Next.->Waking up in the infirmary with Penny and Baz - 2.]]

"Careful, I might start getting the silly idea that you give a shit about me," you grumbled. His dark eyes snapped towards you and there's a coldness there that you're not used to. "If I didn't, you'd still be bleeding out in the Wavering Wood," his voice was quiet but it didn't need to be loud to carry across the silence of the room. You feel a flush of guilt and you lower your eyes. "Baz I-" "Shut up, Snow," he snarled and gracefully stalked towards you. He grabbed you by the collar of your shirt and bared his teeth in your face. Your side flared up in pain as you're pulled upright but you tried to bite it back. "You have no idea what it's like to find someone bleeding out. So yes, I might actually give a shit given what I've gone through to get you the help you needed." "You're right, I don't. I'm sorry Baz," you apologised. He backed off and let go of your shirt. You winced and raised your knees to lean into without even thinking about it. His eyes widened. "Fuck, I'm sorry Simon," he cursed and fumbled for his wand in his pocket. He tapped it to your side. "Get well soon." He sounded so sincere and the instant pain relief it provides is enough to make you gasp. His fiery magic left your side tingling in its wake. "Wow," you blurted and leaned into him. "Should ask you to heal me more often." You broke out into laughter, only stopping when it tugged too much at your still not completely healed wound. Fairy steel, you know from experience, is particularly nasty. It's enchanted to be resistant to healing magic. So even with a potion to counter its effects, it was still going to take a lot of magic to get you back to top condition. Baz gently smoothed a hand over your back before carefully reaching behind you to rearrange the cushions. He laid you back against them and you were now laying at an incline, able to see both him and Penny more easily. Baz had a slight smile curving up the corner of his lip. "Get some rest, Snow. I'm sure Bunce and I can come up with some kind of strategy for when you're feeling like storming the Wavering Wood again." "You're going to help us?" You asked. Baz blinked and doesn't answer for a moment. His eyes sharpened. "What? I can't do something out of the goodness of my heart? I've got to have some kind of angle, is that what you're asking?" You frantically shook your head, that's not what you meant at all. You were just surprised. "No, it's not that. I mean you- We- Shit," you cursed and wish you could just get the words out. Seeming to realise, Baz's face softened slightly. "Yes, I'm helping you. If only so you don't become a pin cushion for fairy steel again." He waved a hand dismissively. You looked at him, a frown on your face as you try to read his motives. He was keeping a tight lock on his emotions though. He's hard to read at the best of times. "If you're quite done with your bickering, I was going to let you know I'm going to fetch some research material from the library along with food." Penny spoke up. You'd almost forgotten she was there, having been so absorbed by your almost argument with Baz. At the mention of food you started to realise you'd barely eaten all day. "I'll fetch the food Bunce. Cook Pritchard loves me." Baz stood up and glanced towards you. Something flashed across his face but you're not quite sure. "I take it you're hungry, Snow?" "Very," you replied. You made no effort to disguise your scrutiny of him which only mades him almost break into a smirk. "I won't poison it." "I know." "What's the look for then?" "No reason." Baz just hummed in response to that. "If that's everything, I'll go fetch the food then." Penny moved towards your bed and gently held your hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'll try not to take too long, just don't try to get up just yet." You gave her a soft smile in response. "Alright. I'll let you get to it then." Actually, this would be a great opportunity to talk to one of them alone. Who do you call back? [[♦ Penny.->Simon injured - Conversation with Penny.]] [[♦ Baz.->Simon injured - Conversation with Baz.]]

You decide to call out to Penny. "Hey Penny, can I talk to you for a second?" Baz only spares you a curious glance before he carries on heading out of the room. Penny moves back to your bedside and sits beside you. "What's up?" She asks, laying her warm hand on your arm. "I just wanted to know a bit more about what happened while I was unconscious. So Baz was the one to find me?" She nods. "Yeah, I mean a lot of us in the school felt the surge of your magic but Baz must've been closer to the Woods than the rest of us because he was able to tell where it came from. He said he found you then sent up a flare with his wand." You nod as you mull that over. It makes sense and he's the one most familiar with your magic because of having to share a room with him. You'd know the taste of his smoky magic anywhere by now. It still doesn't quite explain his behaviour though. It's very uncharacteristic for him to offer his help to you. "Hmm… how bad did I look?" you ask. Penny winced as she remembered. "That bad huh?" "You were so pale and you were barely breathing," Penny murmurs. "I almost thought you were dead." You nod again. So it would've been a shock to Baz too. "How was he?" you ask and Penny jolts as if that were the last thing she'd expect you to ask. "I… I think he was scared. He kept casting healing spell after healing spell like he was possessed or something." You nod once more. You felt sorry for Baz. Even if you never really got along with him, it must've been hard seeing someone you know like that. It must be hard acting normal after something like that. "I'd have been scared if it were him that was hurt," you admit eventually. "I can understand the way he's been acting." Penny gives your arm a gentle squeeze. "I think he cares about you more than he'd like to admit," she said with a wry smile. "It's not hard to care about you though, Simon. You're very likeable. Also I don't think it's impossible that you actually care about him too. It doesn't hurt that he's nice to look at either." You huff and gently bat at her arm with no real effort behind it. "Oh sod off and go get your books," you laughed, not sure where her comment about his looks came from. You're sure your face is a little pink but you refuse to acknowledge that comment. "He'd just miss the constant arguments anyway." Penny smiled and leaned in to give you a careful hug. "Okay, if you're sure," she said with a smirk. "Yeah, go geek out. You know you want to." "That's not what I meant." "Whatever, just- I'll talk to him, okay?" "Yeah, you better. You never know, you might get on good terms with him yet." "Off with you now, I don't wanna get between you and books," you tease, returning the hug carefully to avoid pulling at your wound. "Alright, I won't be too long but I think at this rate Baz will make it back before me." "Alright, in a bit then," you say with a yawn, settling back fully into the pillows. [[Next.->Simon injured - Conversation with Penny. 2]]

You decide to call out to Baz. "Um Baz, could you wait a minute please?" you speak up. Baz stopped walking towards the door and looked at you. With a subtle shrug, he turned and approached your bed. Penny looks over her shoulder at you with a raised eyebrow. You just gesture with your head to carry on. She gives you one last concerned look before heading out of the room. Turning your attention back to Baz, you carefully scoot over on the bed and gesture for him to sit. "Is there a reason you asked me to stay behind?" Baz asked, looking at the space you vacated for him. "Yeah, I just need to ask you about what happened while I was unconscious," you state. There's a definite tension in his shoulders now but he finally accepted the space you cleared for him and sat down. He looked out of the window closest to you both. This boy loves his dramatic silences, that's for sure. "Ask away, I guess," he murmured. There's a few questions lining up to be asked but you get the feeling he's trying to brace himself. You study him for a moment and he's obviously uncomfortable. You're not stupid. It must've been hard on him seeing someone bleeding out. "Baz, are you okay?" you eventually decide to ask. You feel him flinch through the bed springs and then his eyes are on you. "What?" he blurted in shock. You rub at the back of your neck and look down towards where you were stabbed before. "I'm asking because you saved my life, so things must've been pretty bad. I know you might hate me and I get it if you don't think the same but… if our places were swapped I don't think I could be brave about it." Baz's eyes roam your face, there's still a lot of suspicion in them but that lifts fairly quickly. He looks back towards the window as he considers his next words. "…I wasn't brave," he admits eventually. That surprises you. He's not one to react emotionally to things so this is unheard of. He glances towards you and those grey eyes of his catch the dim sunlight. He looks away again and it looks like there's more he wants to say so you remain quiet but you tentatively reach out and place a hand on his arm. "Do you want to know what I did when I found you?" he asked quietly. You're torn between saying 'yes' and staying quiet in case saying something breaks whatever this is that's happening. He glances towards you again and it seems you didn't have to speak. "I fell apart, Simon." He places a cool hand on top of yours and attempts to gently remove your hand but you grip his arm more firmly. "I survived because of you," you urge, keeping your voice quiet and gentle. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." He looks at you and bites his lip, looking pained. He wants to say something else but doesn't at the same time. Whatever it is, you're not going to pressure him for it. "Thank you, Baz," you say after a moment with all of your conviction. "Just don't make me go through that again, please," he says softly. "I won't, if I can help it." You give him a half-smile and he lets out a tired laugh. "Good, I'll hold you to that. It's hard to convince people we're enemies when I go about saving your life." You laugh and lean back against the pillows. "Of course, of course." You grin back at him. He stands up and looks down at you and there's a faint smile playing on his lips. "I'll get the food now, I know what your appetite is like," he said, reaching to give your shoulder a squeeze. You reach up and hold it there for a moment. It's the closest you've both gotten to expressing any kind of affection and it's surprisingly sweet coming from him. "Alright, see you in a bit then Baz." "In a bit." He nods, hand slipping from your shoulder as he leaves. "Get some rest, Snow." He called out from somewhere down the corridor outside. You lean into the pillows behind you and slip into a light nap in no time. [[Next.->Simon injured - Conversation with Baz. 2]]

Somehow you managed to doze off and you come around to the sound of the door being fumbled with. There's a loud sigh before you hear Baz cast an 'Open Sesame' on the door and he comes in bearing a large tray covered in a clean cloth. He kicked the door closed behind him before setting the tray down on a nearby table. "Hey Baz," you greeted him with a sleepy smile. He looked over his shoulder at you and looked a little confused. "Uh, hey," he muttered in reply. "I've brought the food, it's mainly sandwiches of different kinds. Just give me a moment and I bring some over for you." "Cool, thanks." You carefully pushed yourself more upright. It's just a bit uncomfortable now and you felt you might be able to move about on your own soon. Baz approached you with a plate in his hand and sure enough there's a selection of Cook Pritchard's sandwiches on there. Your stomach gave you a none-too-polite reminder that you've neglected it and Baz raised an eyebrow at your audible stomach growl. You flushed with embarrassment which made him laugh into his fist as he hands the plate to you. You set it in your lap before scooting over a little. "Grab yourself something and sit with me," you invited. He looked a little conflicted but decided to do as you wanted and got a couple of sandwiches for himself before tentatively sitting on the bed beside you. "So… what gives?" He asked, clearly not sure where you're going with this. "I asked Penny what happened while I was unconscious." "Ah, okay. Do you have questions for me?" "No, no I don't need to ask you. I know all that I need to about that. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I put you in that position." He looked at you with wide eyes. That surprised him. You can't help the slight smile on your face at that expression. You took a bite of a tuna mayonnaise sandwich, swallowed it down and waited for him to get over that shock. "The way she described it, well if I'm honest, if it were you that I found injured, I don't think I'd have handled it so well. It's much easier staring down something that wants to kill you than having to deal with someone you know being hurt. So yeah, I'm sorry that I put you in that position." Baz shook his head and there was a tired smile. "Idiot." He muttered but it didn't feel like the usual insults he gives you. It was almost fond. "I'm… glad I found you alive at least." You reached out to him and laid a hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for saving my life," you said with conviction. He looked at your hand and then your face. "Just don't make me do it again any time soon. It's hard to convince people I hate you when I go about saving your life." He said it with a teasing kind of smile and you couldn't help the laugh that comes out of you. "Consider it done." "Good." He slipped his hand from underneath yours and flicked your forehead lightly. "Oi," you protested but he just gave a cryptic smile before moving away and taking his plate with him. You huffed a sigh but you're smiling as you finished the rest of the sandwiches on your plate. Baz seemed to realise you've eaten all of them and wordlessly brought you another plateful and you flashed him a grateful smile. He also set a cup of tea down on the bedside table for you. He caught you watching him and raised an eyebrow "Don't get used to this, Snow." "Wouldn't dream of it," you retorted with a grin. It's then that Penelope returned with a stack of books. She looked pretty haggard though. Come to think of it, so did Baz. He seemed to be dragging his limbs more than walking with his usual light grace. You frowned as you watch both of them. Penny helped herself to several sandwiches and you've not seen Baz touch a single one. It didn't surprise you much, he's not one to eat around other people. "Hey Simon," she greeted you and she smiled towards Baz who nodded back at her as he sipped a cup of tea. They started talking over the best way to attack the problem of the fairies. You decided to let their exhaustion slide for a little bit, at least until you finished your cup of tea. "You've been telling me to rest but you've both exhausted your magic, you need rest too," you announced just as you set the cup down on the bedside table with a distinct click of china. Both of them looked at you in unison. After a beat they exchanged a look with each other but they turned back to you just as quickly. "We will but we need to figure this out," Penny said, sounding like she had no intention of stopping any time soon. You felt your jaw clenching as you're about to argue but Baz gives Penny a nudge. He said something that you can't hear but whatever it was had Penny sighing. "We will," she relented. You looked at Baz, a little confused but he's deliberately not looking at you. He stood up though and approached to take your plate and cup from you. "We'll work on it a little longer so we'll keep our voices down if you want more sleep. But I'll make sure we all get some rest," Baz said once he was stood beside you. You looked up at him and give him a grateful nod. Baz looked at you a moment longer before turning to take the crockery away. You carefully shuffled into a more comfortable sleeping position and [[Simon route - Waking up. 1<-Next.]]

You wake up to the door creaking and you jerk your head up, startled. "Hey Simon!" Penny greets you as she comes in with her arms laden with books. You groan and wipe a hand down your face. "Hey Penny," you return the greeting. She laughs at your groggy sounding voice. "So how did your chat with Basilton go?" she asks, predictably curious. You push yourself to sit upright and your side doesn't hurt terribly whilst doing so at least. Still it makes you hiss. "Pretty good, I think," you answer vaguely. It didn't feel like something you should share with her, even if she is your best friend. She looks at you once she's set the books down on a table. Her eyes are narrowed behind her glasses. "Good. I know you're not going to tell me what you talked about but I'm also not stupid. I'm glad you checked in on him. He might be a pretentious arsehole but I'm actually quite fond of him." You snort a short laugh. "Same here, believe it or not." "Oh and Simon, if you almost die on me again, I'll kill you." That gets a full laugh from you and you have to force yourself to calm down enough to stop the protest your wound is making. Penny is stifling her own giggles into the palm of her hand. "It's not that hard to believe," Penny speaks up eventually once you've both calmed. "What?" "No, I'm serious. He kinda grows on you after a while and I don't think you're immune to that. It doesn't hurt that he's pretty," she teases lightly and you feel a bit of heat in your face. She grins like a shark at your reaction. "I'm done talking about this," you grumble, rolling onto your side to face away from her. You're saved from her scrutiny a moment later when the door creaks open again and Baz carefully toes the door open. You sit up and watch him as he edges his way inside, holding the door open with his elbow. His concentration is on the tray he's carrying and Penny is quick to help relieve him of a teapot and several cups. "Thanks, I cast a 'Stay Put' on them but it seems to have worn off quicker than I'd have liked," Baz said gratefully. Penny just nods at him, waving her hand like it's nothing to be thanked for. He looks over towards you after putting the tray down and you smile a little without thinking about it. "I've brought mainly sandwiches, any preferences?" He asked. You shake your head, you're hungry enough now that you're not bothered what's in the sandwiches at the moment. "Just lots of them, if that's alright?" "I think we can stretch to that." He smirks at you and starts loading up a plate. It doesn't take him long and he brings it over to you. After he's set it down in your lap you give it a quick glance over. He's put a selection of different sliced sandwiches down but you noticed he's put a few more beef ones on there for you and you flash him a grateful smile. "I think after seven years, I might have learned your food preferences. Oh and only half of them are poisoned," he joked. You snort with laughter. "Thanks Baz." Without hesitation you bite into a sandwich and Baz pats your shoulder before he heads back to the table to pour tea. He briefly returns to set a cup down beside you without a word. As you watch him though you can see he's lacking his usual grace. It's almost like he's dragging his feet. He sits with Penelope as she is beginning work on flicking through books. Penny also looks tired, you can usually tell because of the way her brow is furrowed behind the frames of her glasses. They're chatting to each other and you can't quite fully follow what they're talking about but you presume the reason they're researching is to find their weaknesses. You decide to leave them to it until you finish off your plate of food, feeling quite full now almost to the point of discomfort. "I hope you're going to rest too, both of you," you speak up. Both of them look at you in unison. They exchange a look. It's Penny that speaks up. "We will, just focus on yourself first." You're not pleased with that answer and it must show on your face because Baz gives Penny a nudge. She looks towards him and Baz must murmur something you can't hear. "Alright, alright, we will," Penny relents, no longer trying to pacify you. You're not sure what Baz said but you're glad it had the desired effect. "Do you want any more food, Snow?" Baz asked, getting up from his chair. You almost consider it but you know you've had more than enough to eat. Hopefully by the time you can stomach more food, you'll be able to get up to get it yourself. "No, thank you," you tell him. "Alright. We'll keep the noise down if you're getting some sleep but we won't stay up much longer." "Okay." He takes the plate from you and takes it back with him to the table. You settle back into the pillows and manage to fall asleep fairly quickly. [[Simon route - Waking up. 1<-Next.]]

You woke some time later, barely any pain registered as you stretch your arms over your head and yawn widely. "Yawn any wider and you'll swallow Bunce up," Baz dryly commented. You turned your head to see him rolling his head side to side, clearly having just woken up himself. Remembering he mentioned Penny, you looked around for her and found her on a chair and her head and upper body resting somewhere near your waist. Smiling softly you reached out and stroked a hand over her brown curls. "Sleep well?" you asked him, ignoring the yawn comment. He groaned a little and you heard a subtle pop as he lifts his head back up straight. "I've slept worse. Crowley that felt good." He made that last comment while lifting an arm to rub his slender fingers to the back of his neck. You guessed he was referring to the cracking of his neck. "Well that's something, why didn't either of you take a spare bed?" He averted his eyes. "I… We-" He covered his mouth with his hand. "Penny didn't want to leave your side." That didn't fully answer your question and when he glanced towards you he seemed to flinch at the look on your face. To be honest you weren't sure what your face was doing, only that you're fairly confident your eyebrows were making their best attempt to meet your hairline. "And your reason?" you pressed. He looked faintly red in the face. "I just fell asleep here, stop looking at me like that Snow." "…Right." You rubbed your hands over your face and tried to relax your forehead. You turned your attention to Penny and she's softly snoring against your side still despite the talking you were doing. Her brow was a bit furrowed even while she's sleeping and her glasses were loosely held in her fingers. "How's your side feeling?" Baz asked. "A lot better, I'm guessing that's thanks to you two even though I told you both to rest." He had the decency to look a bit guilty. "Yeah. Just a few more 'Get well soon's." "I appreciate it but your magic isn't like mine. You can't just keep exhausting yourselves." "Just trust that we know our limits then." You're not sure what to say to that and you let your gaze fall back on Penny. There's a ringlet of hair obscuring her face so you gently brushed it back and tucked it behind her ear. "So how do you usually go about these rescue missions?" Baz asked after a moment. You looked up at him and he was watching Penny too. He seemed a little softer so you don't assume he's asking for the opportunity to insult you. "Penny's the smart one so we tend to bounce ideas off her a lot. She's the one that stops me from just charging in. We all know that didn't work out so well the first time." Baz's mouth pinched but he nodded slightly. "Charging in is off the list then. Though I'm struggling to see how we can deal with the mist, was it, that you mentioned. It took you going off to free you, I presume. So we can safely assume that it's not something a spell can undo easily." You looked at him as he's mulling it over. The odds were definitely against you and it's sinking in just how stacked they are. "I can't exactly go off on command either and it's probably not the best idea." Baz nodded again at this and looked at you. "Bunce and I have been reading whatever we can find on the nature of Fae magic." "They can't survive without it in the landscape." "How did you know that?" His eyes were wide and he's visibly taken aback. "They said as much when they called me a threat." You shrugged. "But you bleed magic nearly constantly. I don't understand." "I don't either. Maybe my magic is… wrong somehow." You reached for your sleeve and tugged on it anxiously. It's something you've thought about a lot. You can't control it like other magicians can. It's unheard of. "Whether your magic is wrong or not doesn't matter. What matters is that they see you as a threat," Baz said calmly. It reassured you that he's not poking at that glaring weakness of yours for once. "We might be able to back them into a corner somehow but we're going to need more information than what we can glean from books. We might need you to play the 'Chosen One' role for that." "Are you suggesting interrogation?" you asked, snorting in disbelief. "Maybe, if it comes to that. We need a source of Fey information, that won't come easily. Someone will know something." That's… not a bad idea. Penny says more information is always better than less and you can imagine she'd come up with a similar idea eventually. It must show on your face because Baz actually cracked a smug smile. "I know you're impressed but it's not like I'm a total stranger to seeing your little Scooby gang in action," he said with a wry smile that shouldn't look so damned pretty but it does on him. Penny was probably right about him being pretty. You hate that. "Whatever, we can ask her about it when she wakes up. Maybe you should find an actual bed to sleep in until then." "No point, I'm as well-rested as I can be for now," he shrugged before standing up. "I'm going to the bathroom and I'll see if Ms. Possibelf can come by and check up on you." "Huh, sure. In a bit then." Baz just nodded and left the room. TO BE CONTINUED. [[Return to the start?->The Courtyard.]]

TO BE CONTINUED. [[Return to the start?->The Courtyard.]]