Safi, No (a Witchlands Fanfiction) - Chapter Eighteen
Written with @un-empressed, who wrote Safi’s POV for this chapter.
Read the other chapters here: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Chapter Thirteen | Chapter Fourteen | Chapter Fifteen | Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Summary:
Another revenge plan might occur and Iseult has feelings.
Also on Ao3!
Safi came to the conclusion that whatever she did Iseult would support her. She also came to the conclusion that her friend's support was often mocking.
Iseult told her to be nice to her former nemesis, and Safi was. And then Iseult proceeded to mock her for it. Apparently it was worth an I told you so as well. Iseult wasn't usually like that, but it was different when it was just the two of them. Safi knew her friend loved her and didn't mean the insults that could barely even be called that.
As unfair as their playful arguments were towards her, Safi enjoyed them. She didn't enjoy anybody else mocking her, especially because she was an unrecognised genius.
And being so very clever as she was, Safi came to another idea.
Her first plan failed because of faithful (and one not so faithful) friends. And there was only one person annoying enough to drive absolutely everyone away.
Safi didn't say that about a lot of people. Maybe just Corlant and some girl who border line stalked Iseult last year, whatever her name was. But since she didn't know anything about that girl, Corlant was her new target. It was perfect. She wouldn't even need to bribe and corrupt people into it. There wasn't a single person in the school that even tolerated the guy. And Vivia already started with throwing him off the damn table.
Obviously if Vivia joined so would Stix. Safi didn't know if the two were together yet but they would be eventually. That went for Iseult and Aeduan too. As much as her best friend denied it, Safi knew that there was something between them.
And Merik said he and his friends would help out, too. His answer was probably just as sudden as Safi's question, but he said it and she was certainly going to bother him about it for the rest of eternity.
Now that she thought about it, the only person she'd really need to convince was Vaness. She didn't exactly say that she was going soft when it came to the group, nor did she show it in any way, but Safi knew. Call it intuition, or, if you're Vaness, imagination, but Safi knew.
She sent a message into the group chat. Not saying Corlant deserves to be miserable but that's exactly what I'm saying.
Needless to say, everyone agreed.
Well, not really, but in her head they called her a genius.
Iseult: No
Vivia: He deserves it but we're not going to do it
That was really confusing to Safi. Vivia gave her the idea, with her frustrated attack on the world's most useless religious fanatic. Honestly, how anyone could stand the guy was beyond her. Apparently nobody else could understand it either because nobody tolerated him. It took a long time for people to stop coming up to Vivia, calling her their hero.
Safi found the idea of Vivia not participating ridiculous. But you have to! You started it! Come on, it'll be a fun group activity!
Vivia: Maybe I don't want to have fun with this group
Leopold: Ouch
Vaness: She's right, all of you are immature and insufferable
Lev: You say all of you like you aren't the exhausted older sister in this chaotic family
Vaness: Please, you lot aren't nearly pretty enough to be my siblings
Stix: Ouch
Vaness: Especially you
Safi knew that it wasn't really directed at Stix. If anyone else said that the response would have been the same.
So you're all in?
Safi felt like she would probably get yelled at if she said it out loud. Her friends really were lovely. But since they couldn't yell, they sent passive aggressive messages. It was way more entertaining for Safi to see them try to convey their anger without using emojis. She personally overused them, but all the others thought they were overrated. They had a long discussion about it one day, and Safi came to the conclusion that they were all insane. Who didn't like emojis? There were so many, and there were some very unnecessary ones, and some creepy and bizarre ones as well. It was so fun.
Vaness: I am going to have your head. Of course we're not in. If we were in we would've said so. You're insufferable and irresponsible and I haven't the slightest idea as to why I'm even here
Lev: Is somebody going to tell her there's no word count for threats?
Iseult: The word count is under zero. Safi was just joking
Aeduan: Yeah, didn't you know that no one is allowed to call Safi an idiot? Except when Iseult does it, which is completely right
Iseult: Precisely
Safi was definitely not going to let this go in at least the following ten years. It wasn't like she overly liked Aeduan as a person or enjoyed his company too much but Iseult obviously did and Safi, as a good friend, had to show her how perfect they would be together.
But her pride had been a bit wounded because of the complication that her loved best friend could ever call her an idiot. She sent them the middle finger emoji, which resulted in everyone attacking her.
Caden: Not emojis again!
Vaness: Just when I thought this whole conversation couldn't possibly be any more draining
Safi loved seeing them annoyed. She knew for all of Vaness's fancy words that she probably just groaned out loud. Just for the sake of being even more 'draining', Safi changed the name of the group chat.
Bribery And Corruption ⚔🗂
Vaness: Ignoring my obvious obvious dislike of this atrocious title, what is the folder for?
Safi decided to copy Vaness's pretentious messaging style. Our plans! I'm pleased that you think all this genius comes at once but I plan it out. Or rather ✍🏼 it down
Vivia: Must you?
Safi was having so much fun with this. 👍🏻
Caden: You're horrible
That made her laugh out loud.❤ you too
So what do you say? We can 🔪 Corlant ⚔
Stix: What does that second emoji mean?
They were all so uncultured when it came to emojis. Safi had to fix that. Together!!
Vaness: Isn't there an insane person emoji? Because that's what you'll make me by the end of your insane plans
Does that mean you're in?????!!!!!
Vaness: This is the first and last time I'm ever doing this...👍🏻
[x]
Iseult was beginning to wish Safi was joking with the new revenge plan against Corlant, but she knew Safi well enough to know that she wasn't joking about it. Of course she wasn't - she enjoyed the last plan a lot (perhaps too much). Well, she didn't like the apologising part of it, but no one would really make her apologise to Corlant.
She had spent all night watching as more and more notifications came in through the Bribery and Corruption group chat discussing it - Leopold suggesting people push him off more tables, Safi suggesting that simply wasn't enough - and now she was forced to go through it at school, too.
Of course she was. Safi would've begged her to come if she didn't - "We're a whole new team, Iseult!" Safi had said when Iseult had only slightly suggested she wouldn't join in. "You can't just leave now!" Besides, Iseult was curious to see how this larger group worked out - Merik's group and Safi's group was not a thing she had ever imagined together. Mainly because of the revenge plan, to be fair.
Either way, the two groups worked well together. Safi still insulted Merik, but Merik seemed okay with it - in fact, he fired right back at her. Ryber seemed to get along with all of them, and took part in all their conversations and discussions. She was the rational side to the scheming - if a plan wouldn't work, Ryber could tell and would come up with a better one. Vaness still sat there and told them that they were all horrible people, but that was to be expected. Kullen didn't interact as much as she knew Safi hoped he would, but Iseult guessed he was still mad at Stix.
Strangely enough, Stix was no where to be found. Iseult usually noticed her glued to Vivia's side, but not this time. Even Vivia seemed a little down, too - she didn't really participate in any of their group conversations. Iseult was worried about her, but was unsure how to approach her. They didn't talk that much, after all.
Besides, Iseult was a little bit preoccupied with a few other things. Namely, Aeduan. She wasn't sure how he didn't know about Safi and Leopold setting them up - surely it was obvious? Iseult had figured it out in a few minutes!
And she wasn't sure how she felt about Aeduan not knowing, either. He truly believed that Safi and Leopold needed to simply do their own thing, and hadn't left her when they left them. Instead, he had taken her elsewhere - of his own free will. And he didn't have to. He was under no obligation to.
Then again, she was under no obligation to stay when Safi and Leopold's plan had come to light, but she had. Why?
She thought that maybe she enjoyed his company. That was strange, because she didn't enjoy the company of many people. Safi was a given - and that was because Iseult felt like she belonged with Safi, in a way she couldn't quite explain. She tolerated other people's company, and that wasn't quite the same thing.
But she seemed to enjoy Aeduan's. Probably because silence with them wasn't awkward - they both seemed to prefer that to small talk. And Aeduan's stories about Leopold were incredibly amusing, too. Aeduan never made her feel uncomfortable, so that was a plus.
That didn't change the fact that she didn't know what being comfortable around him meant, not really. She wished she did, because feelings were often hard to work through.
Aeduan appeared later that lunch time and sat next to her instantly.
Iseult laughed slightly at his expression that screamed why the hell am I here? "How'd they get you here this time?"
Aeduan waved his phone at her. "Leopold kept sending me messages."
She laughed again. "Poor you."
He sent her a glare. "Don't laugh at me. It's not funny. This was not the reason I gave him my number for!"
"What did you give him your number for, then?" Iseult asked, raising an eyebrow.
That made him pause. "I didn't even mean to."
She snorted. She had heard that story before, yes, but it was still hilarious.
Safi caught her eye and winked at her while gesturing between them. It wasn't even subtle! And when she turned back to Aeduan, she knew he had noticed it.
"Wait," he said. "Is that why she kept looking at us like that? Because she was going to set us up?" Not quite, but it'll do. "Pretty much."
"Oh."
She wasn't sure if that was a good 'oh', and they fell into another silence only disturbed by the Corlant-revenge-plan being discussed around them. Once again, she was struck by how she still felt comfortable with him, even if they weren't saying anything, and wondered if it would be the same as last time if they were alone.
Iseult turned to him suddenly, trying to stop herself from chewing her lip. "Would you like to go somewhere after school?" she asked him. What was the worst that could happen, really?
Aeduan raised an eyebrow. "In what way do you mean?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted.
He seemed to consider for a few seconds, then nodded. "Okay."
She grinned slightly. "Okay."
