cw// spoilers for chapter 4, water, hypothermia, whump, one session therapy
The feeling of betrayal honestly hurt more than the rough landing directly into the near-frozen sand at the edge of Scarabia. Years upon years of trusting someone, only to find out that they hate you will always sting more than a serrated knife to the back.
The sand puffed up around them as the little group hit the ground, and while the merfolk seemed to recover quickly, the humans of the group took a little time.
“Sea Otter?” Kalim heard a voice gently say, with a prod to his side, “You alive?”
“‘M okay.” Kalim said quietly, finally shifting to sit up.
Floyd was hovering beside him, crouched down and leaning over to catch his eyes. He looked…genuinely worried, actually. His hald moon eyes were mournful, lips pointed into a light frown. Floyd wrapped one arm around Kalim’s back, helping him sit as he reoriented himself. “You hit the ground kinda hard. Does anything feel broken or wobbly?”
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Jade asked and- wait, when did he get over here? He was flanking Kalim’s other side, holding up three fingers. He, too, looked worried, though it was less plain to see than on his twin’s face.
“Three.” Kalim said, wiping his eyes with the heel of his palms. He found they were wet, and unfortunately extremely cold.
Jade nodded - not that Kalim could really see, he was not focused on the sand in his eyes - and Floyd began to tug Kalim to his feet, softly shushing his protestations.
“You’re alright, Sea Otter, we’ve got you.”
“Jamil hates me.” He whimpered, beginning to cry again, “He overblotted and its my fault, I should have…”
“It’s seriously cold out here, it’s like we’re under the ice floes.” Floyd commented, rubbing at his arms. He turned to look at Azul, who nodded slightly in agreement.
“Grim is a ball of fur, and we merfolk have some innate cold resistance, but…” Azul began. The scarabia housewarden began to shiver against the cold, his dorm uniform doing nothing to protect him. Short sleeves weren’t meant for freezing temperatures after all. He turned to find the Prefect in the same condition, and frowned. “I fear Yuu and Kalim will not last long in this cold.”
“We don’t have any brooms or carpets to fly out on. What does that leave us for options?” Jade asked, a slight bitter note to his voice. He took off his scarf, gently draping it around Kalim, who was softly weeping.
“It’s a slog, but walkin’s our only way back.” Floyd grumbled.
“We spent quite a while in flight before we landed. It could take hours - possibly days - to trudge back on foot.” Azul pointed out, watching their companions with a keen eye. He removed his glasses and gently cleaned some condensation from the temperature changes from them, frowning.
“Jamil…I trusted you…” Kalim whispered, his tears leaving bright red streaks down his cold cheeks.
“You cryin’, little Sea Otter? Your tears are gonna freeze over, y’know.” Floyd gently prodded, pulling Kalim closer for warmth, a little pat on his shoulders in an attempt at comfort.
“It’s all my fault. I drove Jamil to the brink without even realizing it.” He sniffled and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. “The real Jamil would never do such things! He’s a good guy, he’s always helping me, giving me a shoulder to lean on, and-”
“Isn’t that attitude what drove him to the brink to begin with?” Yuu asked, interrupting him, an unimpressed look on their face.
“What?” Kalim asked, freezing to stare at them.
Grim let out a noise like he was being strangled, as he said, “Hoo boy, Yuu, you really go for the jugular sometimes.”
“I’m with little Shrimpy on this one.” Floyd admitted, “Sea Otter, you’re like…TOO nice. It’s kinda…grating.”
“Huh? Is it?” Kalim asked, looking genuinely surprised. He recoiled away from Floyd for a moment to catch his expression. He was mournfully serious, and it only served to make Kalim feel worse.
“Yes,” Jade spoke up, “If I were betrayed by someone the way you were…” He paused, looking down at Kalim, face set in a smile but eyes reading completely different, “I’d lash out with a torrent of unmitigated verbal abuse to break them down mentally, then bind them and drag them beneath the waves.” He smiled, a little bit more toothy, “Perhaps you should try something like that? As the way that you blame yourself and try to excuse his behavior is, quite frankly, a tad galling.”
“Galling? Really?” Kalim asked, voice wavering between upset and angered, “But, I mean, Jamil would never betray me. Ever.”
“Uh, newsflash, he did.” Floyd pointed out, tilting his head. “In fact, he was gonna make you out to be the bad guy and get you expelled. He’s an enormous Douchebag.”
“When it comes to underhanded ploys, Azul at his worst couldn't hold a candle to that.” Jade said, keen eyes watching Kalim. The poor boy hadnt stopped shaking, and it came to the point that Jade went to Azul and took his decorative coat, draping it around Kalim in an attempt to starve off the cold. Kalim was rapidly going from warm pink to pale-ish grey, which was not at all comforting.
“...know. It’s okay to hold your head high and denounce him for the traitor that he is.” Jade had said, though Kalim felt like it was underwater for a moment.
“You carry yourself like a goody-two-shoes, laughing off conflict with a flippant word or two. To twisted individuals like myself and Jamil- ah, I mean, to calculating individuals, those remarks are like barbs digging under our skin.” Azul adjusted his glasses, watching the panic rise on Kalim’s face as he continued, “I’d say you’ve been pushing Jamil since your formative years. Though, it’s not your fault in the least, of course. You were born into a very high social class. As showered as you were with affection from your family and everyone around you, you grew up with honesty and integrity. An upbringing like that would make anyone take certain things for granted.”
“That’s…not much of a compliment.” Yuu said.
“I would argue that in Kalim’s case, it might simply be a case of a naturally innocent disposition.” Jade added on, frowning slightly.
“Oh…” Kalim said softly, lips taking on a tint of periwinkle, “So Jamil is…bad?”
“Extremely.” Yuu said, shivering rather hard themself. They had bitten down on their cheek, forcing themself to muddle through it.
“In that case, I’d better get back fast!” Kalim said with newfound determination. He did his classic pose, fist clenched and all. He began to feel warm again, chalking it up to the coat and scarf around his neck, “I must punch him and yell ‘traitor!’ I owe him that much.”
“That, and we need to bring him to his senses fast. If we don’t, his life will be in danger.” Azul agreed. He covered his face with his hand, though it was clear there was a burning emotion eating at him. Guilt? Fear? Sadness? “We have to get back before his magic reserves run dry.”
“That puts us right back to where this conversation started.” Floyd grumbled, “How do we get back? Walkin’ really fast?” His sarcastic tone cut through the cold, letting a bit of levity hit Kalim, who giggled slightly.
“My nose is gonna freeze over if we stay out here much longer!” Grim yoweled, frowning.
“If there was a river, we could swim back.” Jade said, “Sadly, all the rivers here are dried out.”
River…river…water…Water! Kalim turned his attention to Jade, “So…a lack of water is the problem?”
“Yes,” Azul hummed, “Jade and Floyd can easily outpace brooms when they're in their true forms. But we can’t exactly restore a dry river…”
“Maybe you can’t, but I can.” Kalim grinned, teeth chattering against the cold.
“HUH?” Each of the mermafia asked at once, taken aback at this claim.
“Kalim, has the cold perhaps gone to your head?” Jade asked hesitantly. He reached out to touch him, finding that his skin was cold enough to be felt through his gloves, and frowned.
“My signature spell, Oasis Maker, can produce an enormous volume of water with just a smidgen of magical power. If I make you a river, you can get us back to the dorm, right?” He said confidently, brushing off Jade’s hand.
“Y-you mean to tell me THAT’S your signature spell? That’s insane!” Azul gaped.
“Don’t ‘aha ha’ me! Some countries don’t HAVE that sort of infrastructure. Your power would make you nothing short of a hero to those people! That’s…thats…ABSURDLY marketable!”
Jade rolled his eyes and shoved Azul away gently. “I think we can leave Azul to his get-rich-quick fantasies for a bit. Kalim, if you would oblige us?”
“You just need a river, right?” He nodded to himself, gathering his strength, “Okay, I’m on it!”
He called down the rains, hands held out as the sparkling water fell down around them, quickly filling up the trenches of rivers long before, and long since dried. He smiled in wonder, ignoring the shaking in his knees and the overwhelming heat blooming under his skin. He wanted to take everything off, to cool down. It burned, it made him feel feverish.
“....and Sea Otter, you’re with me.”
Kalim looked over to see his allies transformed into their true forms, and nearly laughed. He had almost forgotten they were merfolk, nearly forgotten why he had called the rain. He came over quickly to Floyd, gripping onto his arm, the Ramshackle prefect by his side. Both climbed onto Floyd’s back, legs wrapping around his middle for stability. Kalim was up near his neck, clinging with his arms wrapped around him in a hug, while Yuu did the same to Kalim.
They began to move as the ice cold rain kept beating down, stinging against the skin like tiny glass shards.
The world was a blur as Kalim drifted between being underwater and just above the surface. His hands began to feel numb and his eyes drooped. He found his shivering had returned, but barely noticed it, instead focusing on the pain.
He felt his eyelids grow heavy and his grip began to slip, leaving him limp against the prefect as Floyd swam as fast as he could. He felt the weightlessness of being underwater and heard several screams before he felt arms around him again, pulling him up and to the surface. Everything beyond that was a mystery.
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“Kalim? Kalim, are you alright? Please, speak to me.” He heard a voice calling him distantly, with warm hands tugging him up.
He looked up to find Jade staring at him and - oh, this seemed familiar. Hadn’t this happened before?
“He’s alive.” Jade breathed to a group beyond him. Kalim noted that he was no longer in eel form, but rather back to being dressed, yet his hair was damp. He turned to look and found they were back in Scarabia, in the dining hall, and he was laid out on the table. He groaned, and Jade hushed him, “Quiet. Jamil is looking for you, and you are in no shape to fight.”
Por cosas del destino paro en el dormitorio más peligroso de todos, Savanaclaw, y es que debido al buen olfato de ellos fácilmente la podían descubrir, darse cuenta que no es una "fantasma", ahora mismo está usando hojas en el cabello y ropa, pensando que así va a encubrir su aroma, mientras se la pasa escondida detrás de un arbusto, observando a Jack quien parece estar estudiando.
—¿Estamos jugando a las escondidas?.—Una infantil voz escucho, se dio la vuelta y nada menos que Cheka era quien le habla. —No sabía que habían niñas aquí.—
—N-No lo soy... Bueno si soy una niña, pero no estoy viva.—
—¿Eh?.—El menor se vio confundido y picoteo la mejilla de Isabel, después de todo estaba sentada así que la alcanzó fácil. —No eres un fantasma.—
—Si lo soy, solo que una diferente.—No sabe realmente que inventar, por si fuera poco nota como Jack empieza a escuchar. —Estoy medio muerta, y para ya no estarlo debo ser una princesa.—Que vergüenza, y que mentira más estúpida.
—¡Mi oji-tan podría ayudarte!.—Oh no, aunque creyó su mentira el pequeño sigue hablando mucho.
—¿Quién está ahí?.—Al fin el moreno noto la presencia de Cheka.
—Por favor Cheka que no me vea, soy muy tímida, me congelo cuando veo un chico.—
—¿Oh?.—La inocencia del niño le hizo creer que es así, aparte que no se cuestionó el hecho de que sabía su nombre, a pesar de que ni siquiera se presentó. —Dejamelo a mi señorita fantasma. —
El pequeño salió. —¡Aquí estoy!.—Alzo sus manos alegre, corriendo hacia Jack.
—Oh, el sobrino de Leona... No deberías estar solo ¿Sabes?.—
—¡No lo estoy!.—Rayos, bueno también fue su culpa por bajar tanto la guardia, no debería decirle a un niño que mienta. —Estoy con una amiga.—
—¿Amiga?.—Jack se veía intrigado por eso, e Isabel lo escucho viniendo hacia ella.
—¡Espera!, Ella es tímida... No le gusta que la vean.—
—¿Así es?.—Jack empezó a creer que solo se trataba de una amiga imaginaria. —En todo caso, no te separes de tu guardaespaldas, o ven, te llevaré con Leona.—
—¿Puedo despedirme de mi amiga?.—El moreno sonrió.
—Por supuesto.—Cheka corrió hacia el arbusto. —Me tengo que ir, juguemos alguna vez ¿Si?.—Levanto su meñique. —¡Promesa de meñique!, Me lo enseñó mamá.—E Isabel correspondió a su gesto.
—Me encantará jugar contigo.—
—Y sabes algo... No te preocupes señorita fantasma, puedes ser una princesa en donde vivo.—
—O-Oh.—Ahora se sentía mal por haber mentido de esa manera, solo espera que la olvidé, bueno eso cree que sea lo mejor.
—Asi ya no estarás medio muerta, y seguro que dejaras de ser tímida... Oh me tengo que ir, nos vemos.—Y ella solo soltó un suspiro de alivio, gracias a él sigue aquí.
...
—¿Una amiga dices?.—Leona dijo, aunque con su típica voz despreocupada y tranquila.
—¡Si, es muy bonita!, Oji-tan deberías hacerla una princesa, ella sería muy feliz así.—El mayor no dijo nada más, puesto que Cheka se le lanzó encima para jugar.
—Si, si... Lo que digas.—Dijo sin más, a pesar de ser pequeño vaya que era fuerte su sobrino.
