Fantasy The Owl House - Statice and Oak

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey crossed her arms, "It will. If I spend two or three hours working on this one rock. So we'll look for stuff around this place to use as tools to make that process faster. If this place really does mirror Hexside, the Gym should be just right over there." She said, "The gym storage room should have bats or sticks, so we'll go there first. Then we should go to a few other places." Audrey said, there was more to her plan, visiting the potions classroom, the construction classroom, the healing class, the cafeteria, but she didn't want to explain all of that. It wasn't even a concrete plan, it was just a vague exploration route in the hopes of finding useful supplies in order to get past the rock blockade. If they found any other exit, or any other things of interest, then great. She turned towards the hallway with the gym entrance and began walking, glancing back to make sure Thomas was following.

It wasn't a long walk, especially since the hallways seemed to mirror Hexside closely. A set of double doors were right where they were supposed to be, and Audrey carefully opened the doors. The gym, just like the halls they walked through, was overtaken by nature. The floor was covered with dirt and grass, trees dotted the corners and middle of the gym, luminescent vines hanging off their branches like holiday lights. The large stone stairs, doubling as seats for Hexside, on the two sides of the gym were more like hills now. The only evidence that they used to be used as seating were the occasional stone corner poking out of the grass. The water fountains to her right were both broken, just like the water fountains in the hallways, the water pooling on the ground and forming a small network of rivers on the floor of the gym. Farther in the gym was a handful of Spider-Demons, luckily of the cow variety. Audrey took a moment, just watching the Spider Demon cows, as they watched back, and nothing happened. Then one went back to grazing on grass. That was enough for Audrey to be convinced that they weren't too bothered by their appearance. Audrey walked into the gym, spotting the gym's storage room in the far corner.

"Spider-Cows. They seem to be pretty relaxed right now, we should be able to walk right past them with no issue. Just don't make any sudden movements, they're relaxed, we should be relaxed too." Audrey explained. What bothered her was that this small herd of Spider-Cows was missing it's Spider Demon bulls. Maybe the bulls were off in another part of the school, and they wouldn't have to deal with the bulls at all, if they were lucky. She walked past the first one, the horned Spider Demon being easily twice her weight, and easily ten times her weight. It made a deep thrum as she walked by it no further than a few feet away from it, and Audrey looked at it a little suspiciously as she passed by. But it did nothing more, and went back to grazing.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas nodded quickly, figuring her plan seemed pretty logical. "Ok yea, let's go there!" he said quickly, as if to almost rush her to get to the gym and find something to move the rock with. The boy followed close behind the girl once more, again, practically stepping on the back of her feet. He seemed to almost be an inch from clinging and hugging onto Audrey for dear life. It was clear the boy wasn't handling the situation too well. The boy worried and lamented in his head, having fears that he may die here just before his 16th birthday.

Soon, they eventually reached the gym. The boy's eyes widened as in there, were many demon Spider Cows. "S- Spider Cows?" whispered Thomas loudly, feeling his heart pounding now. "I- I thought those were fake! O- only in books! Legends!" the boy hissed. Right now, he didn't have any time to ask her how she knew so much about these demon Spider Cows and how to deal with them. The boy cautiously walked behind Audrea, seemingly only an inch separating the two as the boy looked very afraid. His heart could practically be heard pounding out of his chest there as he tried to keep his nervous breathing as quiet and soft as possible.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey sensed Thomas get closer once they actually began walking through the herd of Spider-Cows, of course these weren't the Spider-Demons from the Ancient Era, the ones who battled against Stonesleepers and hunting Selkidomus's regularly in swarms of dozens. These were cattle, domesticated thousands of years ago by Wild Witches for dairy and labor. It was a little silly, seeing Thomas be fearful of these common creatures, and Audrey couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Relax," Audrey said, her tone much lighter than before, "These are cattle, not the ancient ones we read about." She explained. The Spider-Demons next to them were the beasts that sustained the witches of the Isles for generations, their milk, eggs, meat, strength and endurance were all boons to witches in every time, even now. Stores all across the isles stored products made from these demons all the time, but Audrey forgave Thomas for assuming these were the ancient variety. The flora and fauna of the place so far had been commonly rare on the Isles, strangely. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume these were the same creatures that locked horns with Stonesleepers. She eyed one more carefully as they passed by it, these really were the modern cattle version, right? She had just assumed they were, there was no way these could be ancient Spider-Demons, those were extinct, and wild Spider-Cows didn't exist anymore. She looked back towards their goal, the gym storage room doors, maybe it was just easier to think of these as the cattle she wanted them to be. She refrained from adding the comment 'that these should be cattle'. Poor Thomas was already out of his element, no need to add doubts onto his plate.

It wasn't long before they reached the storage room doors, thankfully unharmed and without any harassment. The Spider-Demons were completely fine with the two witches walking about their grazing grounds, and that struck Audrey as a bit odd. But hopefully that would be left at that, just an oddity. The storage room doors looked like they hadn't been opened in decades, the dirt and grass was pushed up against the doors, like they were a part of the wall, and there were even a few stray vines draped over the doorway. Audrey looked the doors up and down, then shot a glance behind her to check up on the large Spider-Demons. Who were still grazing. Good. She stepped up to the doors and put her hand on the handle, turning it and giving it a push, but the door didn't budge. She tilted her head and pushed again to no avail, then she took a deep breath, a step forward, and put her weight behind the push. The door swung open suddenly with a cracking sound and she lurched forward into the small room. She quickly turned and looked back at the Spider-Demons, afraid that the sudden noise would have alerted them, but all they did was just look curiously at two witches, and Audrey let out a sigh of relief.

She turned her attention back to the storage room, finding it barren in comparison to the rest of the school. There were no ponds, small rivers, or vegetation of any kind. It was just dusty, dirty, dark and full of bugs. She saw a variety of roaches skittering away from the light, and Audrey made a face of disgust. The pests seemed to have made this room into a refuge of theirs, and Audrey thought about leaving the doors open, so the grass could grow into the room. But for now, they had to search for poles or sticks, of any kind. There was a small cage of balls, and up against the wall was a rack full of wooden bats. On a shelf, she spotted a small open topped box full of training wands, and leaning against the wall, about two dozen training staffs. Audrey stepped into the dirty room and grabbed the box of training wands, while not big enough for leverage, maybe they could use the magic batteries for something. With the box in both hands, she went back to the grassy gym and set the box down in the grass next to Thomas.

"The room is full of stuff we can use. Even training staffs for Flyer Derby, we should take anything that looks remotely useful. Just keep an eye out for the roaches, it's dirty in there." Audrey said, staying on a knee next to the box of wands. She then began to look through the wands, sorting out the ones which had depleted batteries.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas felt himself sigh a little sigh of relief as his shoulders got a little less tense. Audrey had informed him that these were the more docile cattle version of the Spider Cows. For now, Thomas was going to take her word for it. He had no clue if these were the ancient version of Spider Cows or not, and how to tell the cattle form from the more aggressive form apart. His heart still beating relatively fast, and a little too loud for his liking, Thomas carefully followed behind Audrey as the two traversed through the ruins of the old school.

Soon, the two come across an old storage room for a gymnasium it seemed. The boy looked around nervously as they entered the dusty old closet. In there were various sport supplies, all which looked like they hadn't been used in decades. Thomas nodded as Audrey said they should take anything that looks useful. Thomas didn't really know truthfully what to take in this unfamiliar environment, but he was willing to take any random objects in hopes that it would be even remotely useful.

Thomas stuck out his tongue in disgust as Audrea pointed out that there were probably roaches in the room, since it was so old and dirty. "Ew, yea, got it," said the boy with a head nod of acknowledgement. As Thomas was leaning forward and looking at one of the shelves in the storage room with some old training staffs on it, Thomas jumped backwards as he saw a couple of large roaches crawling around near his feet. "Titan!" he yelped as he jumped back, panting, looking at the roaches crawling around. It was disgusting to the blonde haired witchlet.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey heard Thomas shout in surprise and she quickly looked over, but didn't see any immediate danger. What did he shout about? She glanced around him and noticed his gaze, looking down at the ground. She got up and spotted what he was startled about, a small collection of large roaches skittering about, seemingly aimlessly. She grimaced and walked over, further scattering them by waving her foot over them.

"Shoo, shoo. We're bus- AH!" She shouted as one turned towards her and suddenly took flight towards her. She jumped back and fell onto her back and watched the roach soar over her, keeping track of it until it landed somewhere behind her. Thomas and Audrey weren't the only ones surprised however, the Spider-Cattle were startled, and they all began to stampede out of the gym, jumping through the open gym door into the halls. Audrey watched them go, wondering if this would come back to bite them or not. After a minute of rumbling spider legs, the Spider-Cows were long gone now, the only sign that they were there were patches of grazed grass. Now laying on her side resting on an elbow, she looked back at Thomas and huffed, "Bugs. I don't know how Beast Keepers do it." She said, clearly unhappy with what happened. She got up and dusted herself off. "Let's grab an arm full of stuff and get back to the cave in, I have a bad feeling something could happen." She said, looking out the door of the storage room and towards the gym entrance.

Back in the hallway, a smaller Spider-Cow stalked towards the gym entrance. It's horns curved forward like a trident, meant for stabbing and slashing. Despite it weighing less than the cattle it was related to, it was still frighteningly heavy and large, despite it's weight, it's steps were quiet, measured, and full of intent. Something had disturbed it's herd, and the Spider-Bull would fend off whatever it was.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas widened his eyes and quickly grabbed a flying derby training staff before leaping backwards and holding the staff in front of him defensively as one of the roaches leapt and took flight, going in Audrea's direction. His heart was now pounding and he raised his eyebrows as he noticed the Spider Cows getting startled, stampeding out of the gym. The boy then looked back at the girl, Thomas clearly a little spooked by the whole ordeal.

He shook his head, agreeing with Audrea's statement- he could NEVER do Beast Keeping. He hated little creatures, and big ones- they all freaked him out. "Yea, these things freak me out, let's get the hell outta here," said the boy with a nod. The boy clutched his training staff in his hand, figuring he'd use this to defend himself against whatever he needed to and encountered along the way.

The boy then followed Audrey out of the gym and into one of the hallways. Unbeknownst to the poor unsuspecting duo, a Spider-Bull had been agitated, and was very well ready to attack whatever stood in its way and had disturbed the heard. Thomas stepped nervously out into the hallway, clutching his staff quite close.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey gathered her things, a box of training wands and a few staffs, clutching them in her arms, and together they moved out of the gym. Thomas stepped out first, but Audrey was very close behind him. She glanced left, seeing nothing there but an empty hallway, it was the way they came from after all, and then she looked to the right and froze. There was a hunched figure in a dark spot in the hallway, and she took a split second to try to identify it, seeing the knees of a Spider-Demon. Then she spotted the multiple eyes. She immediately recognized it, and the Spider-Demon matched her gaze, staring back at her. A split second passed before they both reacted at the same time.

It darted forward, and Audrey dropped her things, grabbing Thomas and pulling him back into the Gym. Before Audrey could react further, the Spider-Bull was in front of her, and it leapt into her. A horn scraped across her back, digging into her armor and tearing it apart, sending bits of abomination clay flying. Audrey hissed at the wound, making a mental note that the creature hit with the weight of what must have been multiple carts. She and the spider demon flew several meters before landing onto the ground. The armored witch slid on her back a little ways further than the spider demon with a grunt, and the Spider-Bull crawled forward, lifting a leg and sending it crashing down towards her head. Audrey managed to draw a spell circle, forming a circle shield with her left arm, raising it just in time to put it between the spider leg and her head. She reflexively pulled her head away from where the leg was going to land, and watched the leg punch straight through her shield and impact the dirt with a resounding thud. In response, she tried to yank the shield away from the spider leg, to no avail, and she kicked at the body of the Spider-Bull, to very little effect.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas was the first to step out of the gym from the duo. Audrey followed the young witch boy close behind, but Thomas was unaware of the potential danger that lied ahead. He hadn't quite yet noticed a shadowy figure hunching over in the hallway. Suddenly, Thomas' eyes widened as he was pulled back into the gym by something from behind him. "Woah!" he yelped as Audrey pulled him back in. The boy turned around, his eyes wide and panting, his nerves once again picking up as he was put on edge. He stared back at Audrey, confused for a moment as to why she had pulled him back into the gym.

But the witch boy would soon find out the reason for Audrey doing so. She had done it in an effort to protect Thomas from one of the Spider Cow demons that was staring back at her and about to charge the two and most likely attack. The boy's heart leapt as the Spider Cow pushed forward towards them, his eyes widening even more with shock. He watched as it darted in Audrey's direction, grazing her in the back and scraping the abomination goo armor with its large horns. His stomach did a back flip as he winced, seeing Audrey hiss at the blow. He stood there, frozen in fear, feeling quite useless in the moment.

He needed to act- he wanted to act. He had to help the girl, whether or not he was angry at her was to be a fore thought. Clutching the single training staff in his hand from the storage closet, the boy decided to jump in, helping in what he believed was the only way he could, since he wasn't the brave or fighter type. Thomas suddenly charged the Spider Cow that was in the middle of attacking Audrea from behind, aggressively raising his staff and striking the demon on its back as hard as the boy possibly could muster. It wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but Thomas felt like he needed to at least try to help out with defending against this creature. Audrey couldn't do it alone. She was only 16. The boy grunted as his blows seemed to have little to no effect on the Spider Cow.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey was reacting purely on instinct, not realizing she had already tried to yank her shield arm away from the spider leg, and already kicking at the Spider-Demons body. She did notice that she was doing a very good job at avoiding the stomps, bites and fang strikes, and she found herself being very thankful at the long evenings of training she did with Master Liberi. But still, she was on the back foot, more literally on her back with the Spider-Demon right over her, which was not the most ideal place to be. She tried to think up of ways to get back to an even footing with the creature, but her strategizing was always interrupted by another strike from the creature.

Until it stopped, and its attention seemed to be pulled away from Audrey. She looked down along the floor, spotting Thomas's feet behind the Spider-Demon. The creature reared up and screeched, pulling Audrey from off the ground as it rose its forelegs into the sky, making it seem much larger now. The armored witch took the opportunity to detach from the bull demon mid air, and her trajectory sent her flying in an arc over the Spider-Demon itself, and she landed a little ways behind Thomas. Audrey hit the ground with a thud and a grunt, but into a roll thankfully, ending up on her hands and knees.

The Spider-Demon however wasn't one to stay still. It leapt forward, easily creating a distance of roughly ten meters. It quickly put a hind leg onto the patch of fur on it's back, and brushed. Audrey muttered a curse, watching the creature raise its back leg, and once it brushed it's back, a barrage of darts shot out of it's back. The first volley went high and wide, making a rapid staccato of impact sounds on the walls of the gym. Audrey dashed forward, placing herself between Thomas and the Spider-Demon, who was brushing it's back once again. She used her right arm this time, the arm armored by the clay crafted by her and Liberi together. The clay that caught the eye of her Abomination Professor, and the clay that Liberi said no force of the Isles could break. A wide round shield formed, the goo bluer than the rest of her armor, and she rose it in defense of herself and of Thomas.

Five clangs rang out as darts embedded themselves into her shield, but none pierced it. More darts impacted the ground and walls around them, and the Spider-Demon kept brushing it's back, sending more darts into her shield. Audrey looked back at Thomas,
"We need a plan." She said plainly, her breathing heavy, but controlled and steady. She looked forward again, at the back of her shield, and slowly lowered it, while raising her head. Just barely peeking her visor out from the edge of the shield. Another volley of darts came her way, hitting the shield, the walls, and one glancing off the top plate of her helmet with a resonating twang. The dart spun away from her helmet and stuck itself into the dirt at their feet, point down, now clearly seen, it was a thick barbed hair. Audrey flinched away from the sudden impact and sound, but kept steady. The Spider-Demon seemed content with sending barbs their way, at least until it ran out, but the patch of fur on it's back was thick, and she had no idea how much it had. But just beyond the Spider-Demon was the storage room door, and it seemed wide enough that the Spider-Bull could fit through. A plan began to form in her head.
"Thom, the storage room, we can trap it in there. Can you do a Single Player Gambit times two? Once it sees witches on both it's flanks, it'll probably stop throwing barbs and turn to face us. It'll back up, towards the door, so it won't get surrounded. Then I can push it back further." With her left hand she drew a spell circle below her, and a pool of Abomination goo began to form. From it, a rod rose out, and she gripped it. She pulled, failing, and then a second time with a shout of effort. The stone tile underneath them cracked and fractured into pieces, and when she lifted the rod from out of the ground, it held a large piece of white stone at the head, gripped with bands of abomination clay. She had created a stone warhammer. She looked back to Thomas, determination clearly seen in her eyes. "When I get in there back me up with Fire magic, aim at it's center mass, and keep them coming at a steady pace. Don't worry about splashing me with fire, my armor will protect me, and I know the sound of a fireball. Trust the intent. You already know how to summon fire, now you tell it what to do. Your fire will bend to your will." She gave Thomas a nod as her shield rattled with more barbs, coils of abomination clay forming around her feet, ready to launch her into an Abomored Charge. "When you have your illusions in place, I go on your mark."

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

The boy continued wacking the Spider Cow on the. back as hard as. he possibly could, which admittedly wasn't much strength coming from a small 15 almost 16 year old young boy. He didn't even notice that Audrey was now on the under side of the Spider Cow fighting for her life as he agitated the demon creature. Soon, the creature screeched, scaring Thomas a bit and causing him to stop hitting the demon as it reared up. Thomas' eyes widened as it pulled Audrea up from the ground and she went flying up and over the Spider Cow demon, landing behind not only the creature but Thomas himself with a roll and a grunt. The boy turned his head around to see if Audrea was ok. She seemed mostly alright, but it wasn't like Thomas had much time to check on her as the Spider Cow leapt forward.

Thomas felt his heart leap as soon, Audrea leapt into action and placed herself in between him and the Spider Cow, which was a good thing for the blonde boy who had no combat experience, unlike the girl, who clearly did. The thing began brushing its back, and again, Thomas stood frozen and wide eyed, not knowing what to do or how to defend himself in the moment. As it did so, multiple darts shot out from its back. Holy crap, Thomas thought, he didn't know the thing could do THAT! Surely the Spider Cow demon wasn't messing around and was bent on killing the two students.

Poor Thomas felt scared now, too scared to even fight. The boy felt himself cowering and standing even closer to Audrea now as the girl stood on guard. It wasn't too long until the demon began brushing its back again. But luckily for the boy, Audrea was prepared this time and created a wide abomination goo armor shield to protect them both. Thomas felt himself flinch with terror as he heard the darts all hit the shield. But the Spider Cow's attacks only increased and did not calm down, the demon sending more darts from its back hurling towards them, some hitting the surrounding gym walls near the two, many hitting the abomination goo shield that Audrea had put up for their own protection.

Unlike his partner, the boy's breathing was not as steady as hers. Thomas felt himself panting with fear now as he looked to Audrea for options. Surely they couldn't keep staying like this. They were being pinned down from the relentless attack of Spider Cow demon spikes and eventually the abomination goo shield would probably give out. As Audrey turned back to Thomas to discuss a plan, the wide eyed and afraid boy nodded very quickly in agreement. He stood still and listened to what she had to say, his eyes still wide as he occasionally nodded his head very quickly. But he very soon paused early into her explanation of a possible plan. He felt his stomach sink. She wanted Thomas to attempt to make the Single Player Gambit TWICE? The boy stood there silently in shock as she explained the rest of her plan.

When she was done, he finally spoke. "W- wait what?! You want me to try to do the Single Player Gambit thing two times?!" he asked in disbelief. "Audrea, I- I don't think I can!" he said. "I- I'm not yet a skilled illusionist. I- I don't know if I can pull that off correctly- especially under pressure like this!" he told her. He felt his heart beating even faster now as the butterflies seemed to float around in his stomach. But he couldn't chicken out- he needed to do this, or at least try to. It seemed like he didn't have much of a choice.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey finally met his eyes and her flow was halted. She saw the fear in his eyes and remembered that this was Thomas, Thomas who had only just cast his first fire barely a week ago. This wasn't Master Liberi, who boasted he could duel three Spider-Bulls at once, or... Cyre. Who always had her back, no matter the situation, her Oracle-Fire and fists were always ready. Or Eva. Whose step was always in time with hers, like her shadow. It worried her how easily she slipped into that rhythm again, the flow of working with another, who was just as capable as her. She narrowed her eyes and frowned behind her helmet faceplate. On one hand, she had to slow down, Thomas couldn't keep up with her. On the other, the Spider-Bull wasn't about to slow down with them, or for them. She glanced down, then back up to Thomas's eyes.

"You can do it. Go for one first, then the other." She encouraged, another wave of barbs smacked against her shield, "You're safe behind me Thom, forget the Spider-Demon, forget that you're here, focus on the spell. I'll protect you." She said, "I am your shield. No harm will come to you while I still stand." She said dramatically, clacking her left hand against her breastplate, as if making an oath. She remembered that words like those worked, at least, in books, books written years ago, in settings eras ago, with characters who were real knights. She wasn't a real knight, but she was close enough, and just like in those books, she and Thomas were fighting against monsters. So it fit, closely enough, she thought. She looked back ahead, "Remember, deep breaths. Focus." She reminded gently, she knew Thomas could do it. She had been stuck on spells before, only to reach a revelation in the middle of stressful and dangerous situations. To her, danger was a surprisingly good motivator, and judging by how Thomas charged the Spider-Bull with a training staff, maybe it was for him too. Though some part of her wished it wasn't so, despite their situation.

Ahead of her, the Spider-Bull, had relented somewhat. Instead, it tilted it's back upwards and brushed it's fur in a circular pattern. Audrey narrowed her eyes, the barbed hairs were hard to see, being thin and light brown, but after a moment, she realized what it was doing. It was casting! Audrey kept her mouth shut, Thomas didn't need to know this. And it didn't matter anyways. Whatever came at them, Audrey would be in it's way, and her battle-dress had never failed her before. Not even when the Spider-Bull cut her back. She didn't dare imagine what would have happened to her back if she wasn't armored. She tracked the barbed hairs, now scattering up into the air, creating a cloud of barbs. The hairs lingered in the air, bobbing and swaying gently, as if held up with webbing. This was one of the largest creatures she had ever seen actually casting a spell circle, instead of using innate biological features to use magic.

She began to doubt her own claims about these Spider-Demons being cattle. She knew that Spider-Cattle had small barbs, which were brushed out by the farm hands regularly, but they were never the size and length of what this bull had sent at them. The barbs were easily the size and thickness of a wand, with it's barbs visibly large. And she'd never heard of Spider-Cattle being able to cast a spell circle, much less throw the barbs on their backs. But from the descriptions of ancient Spider-Demons... swarms of dozens roaming the Isles, contesting territory with packs of Hand-Dragons, and stampedes of Stone-Sleepers... The image of those Spider-Demons shooting hundreds of barbs at Hand-Dragons, or creating clouds of barbs for Stone-Sleepers to run into, fit all too well in her head. How else would they contest with those incredibly powerful creatures?
And here she was, planning to smack her shield in it's face. It was absurd, but then again, falling into the ruins of an old school right under their current school, and finding it populated by a whole ecosystem of plants, animals, and insects, was equally as absurd.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas closed his eyes and took some deep breaths, trying to calm himself the best he could. Audrea was there for him to defend him, making him feel a little more comfortable and confident. He had to trust her fully on this one. He had no choice, they both didn't. "Ok ok," he said softly, "I trust you," he said with a nod. "Just give me a moment, I'm gonna focus and then make the spell circle," he told her.

With that, the boy took a big deep breath and closed his eyes, letting Audrea defend him if needed while he attempted the Single Player Gambit twice. He didn't know at all what was going on around him, so he had to heavily rely on Audrea to be there for him. He needed now to focus hard on executing the illusion properly and correctly. Danger must have made Thomas go into a serious mode, because the boy focused hard, gaining some confidence now as he put his faith in Audrea and worked his magic. Drawing his first spell circle, he created the first Single Player Gambit illusion.

But two were needed for this plan to work, as Audrea had plotted. So, the boy tried his best to repeat what he had done, perfectly and accurately as well. He felt a bit more nervous about the second Single Player Gambit illusion, but he knew he could do it. He had done it once before, surely a second time couldn't be hard.

"Making the second one now!" Thomas called to Audrea from behind her. The boy focused hard, his tongue sticking out a bit in concentration as he furrowed his brow. The boy straightened and extended his arm out, drawing as perfect a circle as he could, a small pale blue circle being created from his finger tips.

Sure enough, to Thomas' surprise, he had done it again, creating another one of the illusions. Now that the two illusions were set into place, Audrea could work out her plan. "Done! Done!" the boy called, his eyes wide with surprise and urgency as he alerted Audrea, who he didn't know if she was paying attention to him or not since she needed to focus on defending the both of them from the Spider Cow demon in that moment.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

A small smile grew on Audrey's lips, her words seemed to bolster Thomas's spirit, she turned her gaze forward again, peeking over her shield once again. The cloud had been completed, and the Spider-Demon threw another volley of barbs at the two witches, blocked once again by her shield. She drew a spell circle with her left hand pointed downwards, and the coils of abomination clay grew deeper, more numerous. In her mind, she focused, staring at the Spider-Bull like it was her arch-nemesis. Her spell circle persisted, more tension, more compression, more power.

Her breaths were deep and she felt a snarl coming, and she let it come. She focused all of her frustration, anger and hate towards the Spider-Bull, imagining it to be the cause of all of her problems and the root of all everything bad that had ever happened to her.
"Making the second one now!" Thomas called out from behind her.
The Spider-Demon noticed the first illusion now, and turned to throw barbs at the faux Thomas. The barbs passed through the illusion, and by the time it had registered in the creature, a second illusion appeared to the far right of the pair of witches. Now, the Spider-Demon was fighting twice the foe, coming from three different directions. It spin around quickly, each of the four witches opposing it had at least one eye glued to them, taking a step back, watching who would make the first move. "Done! Done!" Thomas reported.

Audrey exhaled, and then sharply inhaled, lowering her body and pulling her makeshift warhammer and shield closer to her. Then she disappeared in a cloud of stone tile rubble, dirt, and grass as the floor in front of Thomas erupted in front of him. A platform of abomination clay shot out of the floor, pushed forward by at least three thick pillars of purple abomination goo. As soon as the platform appeared, it stopped, doing it's duty of launching Audrey forward like an arrow. Vents appeared on the pillars, and air hissed out of them, and then the platform began to slowly melt into a massive puddle on the ground.
Audrey however was the complete opposite of slow. She squinted her eyes and held her shield in front of her as she shot through the air like a cannon ball, in a split second she flew through the cloud of barbs and in an instant, they all aimed towards the speeding Audrey, and shot down towards her. She felt the impacts of several barbs on her legs and lower back, but with her speed, most of the cloud had missed, embedding themselves into the ground instead.

In the next instant, Audrey came to a sudden stop, and she grunted from the shock of the impact. The face of her shield connected with the face of the Spider-Bull, sending the creature reeling back. The armored witch landed on the ground on her feet, and kept up the attack. Aggression! She yelled in her mind. She jabbed the creature in the mouth with her hammer, thrusting past it's fangs quickly, then pulled the hammer back, resting it on her shoulder as she used the twist of her body to throw a right hook with her shield. Aggression! The edge of the shield smacked against the side of it's head. As she pulled back her shield arm to her body she inhaled and stood straight up, pushing her left fist up into the air and with a mighty shout, brought down the hammer down on it's back, using her whole body to drive more power into the blow. The Spider-Demon was backing up with each blow, closer and closer to the storage room.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas watched on as Audrea worked her abomination magic, a pillar of purple goo rising up from the ground. His eyebrows raised as he took a bit of a step back, clouds of dust being kicked up. He looked at the Spider Cow and saw that it was clearly distracted by both of the identical illusions of himself. The faux Thomas' had certainly been doing their job to throw off and disorient the demon.

The boy now kept his eyes on Audrea since his work with creating the illusion had already been done. All he had to do was subconsciously control them to make a distraction for the Spider Cow. He couldn't help but watch in awe as the girl sprung into action, launching forward towards the creature.

It was now that Thomas felt a bit useless, as he had no real combat skills and could only just stand there biting his nails nervously as he watched the girl. He couldn't help but flinch and wince as he saw Auidrea being struck with a few barbs on the leg and lower back. His eyes widened as he noticed her come to a complete and sudden stop, seemingly looking shocked and thrown off her mojo from the hit. She had struck the Spider demon head on with her shield, grunting from the impact as he could hear.

In the back of his mind, Thomas thought the worse. Was this it? Was she done? Were they finished? Was she badly hurt? If she was down for the count and it was only up to Thomas now to defeat the Spider Cow, they were done for. Thomas couldn't fend for himself and would surely be killed brutally.

But soon enough, the persistent and vigilant girl was back on her game, as she kept up her attack. She did not hold back, being as relentless as she could. He wondered how he could help. Was there something he could do beyond making the initial two Single Player Gambit illusions to help? Could he possibly use the identical copies of himself to aid and assist her in in battle?

He continued watching as the girl let out a bit of a war cry as she charged at the Spider Cow demon and laid a huge blow to the creature's back with a large hammer. Soon, she repeatedly delivered more of these blows to the creature, pushing and driving it back closer and closer to the open storage closet with each strike.

The boy widened his eyebrows, pleased with the success Audrea was having and quite impressed with the combat skills and bravery of the young girl. He ran over to her so he was a good distance away and behind her and the Spider creature. "Audrea!" he called, "I- is there anything else I can do to help?" he asked loudly, hoping this question wouldn't throw her off her game or distract her too much.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

"Fire magic!" Audrey shouted back, she had wanted fireballs to be trailing right behind her as soon as she launched herself. Her onslaught on the Spider-Demon was impressive, even to her, and if she were facing off against any witch, she would have defeated them by now. But she wasn't fighting a witch, she was fighting a monster easily five times the weight of one. It was being pushed back, but slowly, and like her mentor said, she wasn't ready to fight one by herself. At least not like this. The Spider-Bull suddenly lunged forward, fangs out, and Audrey leaned back, just barely avoiding the bite. It's fangs went down and scraped across her chestplate as the creature pulled back. Audrey scowled underneath her helmet, she couldn't let the Spider-Bull stop her momentum, she had the advantage right now, but she had to keep a look out for counter attacks.

She imagined, like it's smaller, normal cousins, the Spider-Demon could suddenly lunge forward and grab her with it's legs if it wanted, and then bind her with webbing. Getting trapped like that would be certain defeat, something she couldn't let happen. But since Thomas was slow with his fire magic support, she had to go in again. The beat she expected a fireball to hit it was filled with the Spider-Demon throwing an attack. Audrey grit her teeth and took the next beat, she skipped forward and leaned into a kick, her boot hitting the Spider-Demon in the face just below the eyes. She drew a spell circle as she was kicking, and a small wall of abomination goo appeared behind her. While the Spider-Demon stepped back in surprise, Audrey followed up by jumping up, and using a foot to push off of the wall she'd just made to throw a jumping punch at the bull. The edge of her shield again impacting with the body of her opponent, she punched past the massive spider, and once she landed, she brought her shield to bear once again and lifted it upwards into a backhand strike, hitting with the flat of her shield.
"Come on Thomas, gimme some fire." She muttered to herself.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas' eyes widened. Fire magic?! "W- what? Oh Titan!" groaned the boy. She wanted him to perform fire magic too? The boy looked nervous- he didn't trust his magical abilities at all, especially not a type of magic, fire magic, he barely had a mastery on. He was a first year Hexside student in the upper years! He was only 15 going on 16, he was by no means a capable witch! He only had the very basics down! The poor boy just stood there, hesitant to even take action and internally doubting his own magical ability.

But the young witch boy thought back to his basic magics class. He'd been attending Hexside now for a couple of months, and been doing quite well with some of the more basic non-coven specific magics such as fire magic. He thought back to his first day where he had quite surprised himself and Audrea by pulling off the basic little flame spell in that first general magics class. It was now months after that and Thomas knew all sorts of basics of various non-coven specific magic such as ice and water, but fire was something, even from the first day, Thomas seemed to have a handle on. It was like fire magic just came to him, whether he knew it or not. It was clear that there was something within him.

Maybe that was why Audrea had asked him to perform some fire magic. Had she seen him doing quite well in class particularly with fire magic? Maybe this was the reason for the specific request. Sure, maybe Thomas could have possibly performed some ice magic and assist the girl with a sharp ice pillar, but fire magic seemed to be a good option here. The blonde witchlet must have been standing there debating on taking action and doubting himself for a minute or two, but Audrea was waiting on him- counting on him. Unbeknownst to him she was muttering to herself hoping that the boy would assist her with some fire magic.

His eyebrows soon raised as he realized he needed to act fast. "Fire magic?! O- ok!" Thomas finally replied. Maybe Thomas was second guessing himself, doubting his magical abilities too much. Fire magic seemed to come naturally to him- they saw that on only the first day of classes with his performance of the basic flame spell. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, nodding once and giving himself the confidence he knew he needed. He could do this, he told himself, he was capable of this. He HAD to do this....

Opening his eyes back up again, the boy furrowed his brow in focus but also wearing an expression of newfound confidence on his face. The boy stepped feet shoulder's width apart and locked in as he drew a large spell circle. It was a little slow in happening, not exactly being performed at an optimal time for Audrea's plan, but it eventually came. The fire support she was waiting for. Out from the bright orange colored spell circle came a great large ball of fire to support the attack on the spider demon. It was clear Audrea needed support, so the large fire ball couldn't have came at a better time. "Watch out!" Thomas called out loudly, warning her of the impending fire ball that was on its way towards her and the spider demon.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey grinned and ducked to the left, raising her shield near her ear to cover her head and hair, and with her left hand she drew a spell circle, a pool of abomination goo forming beneath her. The fireball roared past her, smashing into the already backpedaling and stunned Spider-Demon. The explosion pushed Audrey back a step, and she had to place her shield in between her and the flames. The size of the fireball surprised her, it was easily three times the size she was expecting, and maybe three times the size was the way to go. After a quick second, Audrey immediately leapt forward through the smoke with her warhammer at the ready, using the pool at her feet to slide her forward for an extra meter of distance, but she found no Spider-Demon to attack. Instead it was retreating the last third of the way to the storage room willingly, patches of fire sticking to the beast's hairs.

Audrey took off after it into a dead run, drawing a spell circle with her right arm. Her shield disappeared, becoming a rope with a hook on the end of it. She flicked her wrist to the side, and the abomination hook embedded itself into the stone floor as she continued running. The Spider-Demon disappeared inside of the dark storage room, and Audrey, right on it's heels, dropped to the floor and slid into the room. She looked up and saw the Spider-Bull, with embers still on it's back right above her. She grinned at it, and using her warhammer, hooked the edge of the door before pulling on the rope she had left behind her. The abomination rope coiled around her arm, yanking her away from the room, and pulling the door as well, slamming it shut. Audrey landed on her back, the rope loosening itself from the stone tile and wrapping itself fully around her arm.

"Yeah!" She shouted, leaning up and pointing at the door, "Take tha- Oh!" Audrey exclaimed as the door rattled heavily. She dropped her warhammer and drew two spell circles with both her hands, raising an abomination golem from the various pools of abomination goo she had created earlier. She leaned forward and got onto a knee, and the golem mirrored her movements. She pushed her arms forward, and the golem punched its fists into the top corners of the door, pouring clay into the cracks of the door. "This would be so much easier if I was in the plant coven." She commented frustratingly.

Soon the rattling slowed, then ceased, and Audrey broke the spell circles, leaving the abomination golem there to lean against the door. She stood there for a moment, watching the door, but it seemed like it wasn't going to move any further. Audrey dropped to her knees and she sat on her side, leaning on her right arm. She touched her helmet with her left hand and the helmet melted away, she was panting, and she wiped the sweat off her forehead and face. The witch looked back to Thomas, "We did it." She said with a toothy grin, "How're you doing? Okay?"

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas watched as his big fire ball flew out of his spell circle successfully and roared past Audrea, who ducked so she wouldn't be hit by it and engulfed in flames. The boy watched nervously as his world seemed to move in slow motion as the ball of fire moved towards the Spider demon. His eyes widened as the fireball eventually did make contact, instantly lighting up the room as it hit the Spider Cow. It had made a much bigger impact than Thomas could have ever thought. His eyes widened as he saw the great big ball of fire explode. His big chocolate brown eyes glistened under the temporary bright light of the exploding fire ball.

The large fire ball that Thomas had created certainly helped Audrea in pushing the Spider demon back. The girl got to work as Thomas watched her push the Spider Cow into the storage room, shutting the door on it and trapping it in there. His eyebrows raised as he watched her seal the cracks to the closet door with abomination clay. Thomas then watched on nervously, frozen in place as the abomination golem stood outside the door. He was honestly half expecting the Spider Cow to break free and the doors to burst open, but was pleasantly both surprised and relieved when that seemed to not be the case.

The rattling eventually slowed and Thomas could feel his shoulders getting a little less tense. Though his heart was still beating fast and he was a bit on edge, he instantly felt a bit safer now that they had seemingly defeated the Spider Cow demon and both trapped and sealed it inside of the storage room in the gym. Thomas' eyes widened as he looked to Audrea now. The girl dropped to her knees, looking exhausted, admittedly having done most of the combat fighting and the work. But Thom noticed a toothy grin on her face that was reassuring.

The boy couldn't help but smile too as he scurried over to where Audrea was leaning and sitting down, taking a little rest after the big fight. "H- holy Titan! W- we did it!" he said, his eyes wide with surprise but a huge grin undeniably on his face. "No, y- you did it!" he added. "It's finally gone! All gone!" he said, pumping his fist up in the air in celebration. "I- I'm fine, thanks. The real question is, how are YOU doing?" Thomas asked as he kneeled down at her side, looking at her.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey looked at Thomas puzzled, "I'm doing fine, I'm alive aren't I? And we," she said stressing the we, "managed to trap the aggressor. The fireball was bigger than I expected, and it was strong enough to be the final blow to drive the Spider-Bull into a retreat. So good work with that. If you hadn't done that, we'd still be tangling with that monster." She deflected, "And the longer we stay in a fight, the bigger the chances things go wrong." She said. Speaking of things going wrong, she definitely had things wrong with her. Firstly and most obviously, and thankfully concealed by her hair, the gash on her back. The horn was sharp, and managed to dig into her armor and pry it open. That had never happened before, and taking that hit was like getting hit by a speeding wagon. The Spider-Bull had that much power behind it's jumps. She knew she had bruises too, on her left side, where she took the brunt of the first tackle.

Audrey took a deep breath casually, as to not alert Thomas, and she felt... nothing. Which was good. If her ribs were fractured, the deep breath would have definitely made her feel it, even through the adrenaline. And she was definitely going to be sore tomorrow morning. She had to go all out with every blow, making sure every strike had as much power it could have behind it, since she was facing off against a creature easily more than five times her weight. Definitely couldn't have kept that fight on for much longer, Audrey admitted to herself. She turned, twisting her torso to look behind her to see if the sticks and staffs they'd gathered were still there, and as soon as she started to turn, she felt a sharp pain across her back and she winced. She quickly forced a more neutral face on and looked up to Thomas, staying silent for a moment. He definitely saw, he was looking right at her. She sighed, "Maybe less than fine." She admitted, "Can you get a water bottle? I need you to clean the cut on my back, I can't reach it myself." She asked. She reached for her ponytail and pulled her hair to her front across her left shoulder, revealing her back. The armor was still torn open, after a second, the back plate melted away, giving Thomas more access. Her school uniforn was cut, and both it and the wound was dirty with soil. "We should find the Healing Coven's office here. It should be on the bottom floor facing the middle hall. With any luck there should be some bandages and a few healing glyphs." She said.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas chuckled a bit and shrugged, "Erm, I guess," he said softly in response to her being alive. He gave a humble smile and another shrug as the girl stressed the word "we," stressing that they had managed to trap the Spider demon together. The boy laughed, "Heh ya know, the fire ball was a whole lot bigger than ever I expected too!" he told her. He nodded as she stated that the longer they stayed in that fight, the more things could have gone wrong, so it was good that Thomas got that big fire ball out so quickly.

He originally hadn't noticed any of the injuries or the toll that the battle took on Audrea's body as he looked down at her. As the girl twisted her torso, she winced, causing Thomas to raise his eyebrows and become concerned for her. His eyes widened when he noticed that her face was in pain. Although she remained silent and tried to hide it with a neutral expression on her face, Thomas had definitely seen the look of pain on her face. "A- Audrea, a- are you hurt?" he asked her, furrowing his brow with concern. He gasped a little as Audrey mentioned a cut on her back. His eyes widened as she pulled her hair back and revealed her back, which had a cut on it, the armor pierced through. He looked at the gash as her abomination armor melted away to give him a better look.

"Oh Titan," groaned Thomas, "That's a nasty cut..." he said. The boy nodded, "Erm yea, I- I'm sure I can try and find you something," he told her. He stood up and nodded as Audrey gave him directions. He was then reminded about why he was wary of her when they had first gotten into this mess- she knew this place, and was able to give him directions for some reason.... He again had to wonder if it was her doing, her fault that they had ended up in this mess in the first place. He was also a little nervous to venture out into the unknown halls alone. Was she setting him up for more danger and death? He was inclined to trust her a bit more after she had just helped him defeat that large Spider demon creature. The boy made his way out of the gym and to the middle hall on the bottom floor. He looked around nervously through the dark halls as he searched for the Healing Coven's office.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey sat there in silence for a few moments waiting for Thomas. Were their water bottles that far away? Eventually she turned her head and looked behind her, seeing Thomas missing. She blinked several times in disbelief. She just wanted him to wash the cut on her back, and then they could go find the Healing Covens room, but he must've gone to the Healing office right away. The wounded witch sighed and put her hand by her head, forming another helmet, this time with a wider visor. She touched her breastplate and the backplate closed up once again, and she got up, inhaling sharply from the pain. She walked, albeit a little hurriedly, it was her upper back that was injured not her legs, following her own instructions, assuming that Thomas would be somewhere along the path.

Eventually she caught up to him, thinking about what she should say while on the way, and seeing him carefully looking through the dimly lit halls. It seemed darker here. He would have heard her footsteps down the stairs, she wasn't being particularly silent about it.
"Thomas, when I say we, I really mean we. I meant for you to wash out my cut first, then we would have come down here together." She said firmly, "And here I thought I was bad at the whole teamwork thing." She joked, her tone softening, "You'll have to get used to sticking together. Splitting up is a terrible idea, haven't you seen those horror plays on the crystal ball, Thom?" Audrey asked light heartedly. But she knew that it was anything but light hearted. If there was a threat down here, Thomas would have been alone and it would have taken them precious moments to link back up. Or if another threat appeared in the gym while she was separated, she would have had to deal with that alone, already hurt and winded. But he was new to all this, and getting frustrated at him, blowing up on him and yelling at him, would do nothing but burn bridges. She was just glad nothing bad happened, and then she looked away. "Thanks for wanting to get me all patched up right away though." She commented, walking ahead in the hall forward past him. Audrey stopped a few steps in front of him, turning back to check up on him.

Ahead of them just down the hall was the door leading to the Healing Coven's room, and in front of that door were several small ankle high hollow mounds of soil, more like small structures with hardened dirt all interwoven with each other forming complex patterns. They were Occluding Termites, an uncommon species of placid termite, building their homes in the shapes of complex spell circles from multiple perspectives. Their magic was a defensive one, an incredibly complex and almost impenetrable barrier forming a dome over their mound, protecting it against anything that may harm the termites and their home. Legend has it that the first barrier spells were created by witches trying to imitate the Occluding Termite, and to this day, apparently no witch has come close to matching the barrier strength of the little known Occluding Termite.

Inside the Healing office, three mounds as taller than the two witches stood, reaching up towards the ceiling, looking like tangles of string. And behind those towers of soil, there were empty shelves. The glass cabinets however held what they needed. Rows of healing glyphs, bandage rolls, jars of ointment and salve, only a little dusty. The glass cabinets were closed tightly, not letting the termites ruin the healing materials inside.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas felt a bit useless during the fight, admittedly, even despite his big fire ball that had aided Audrea, so he certainly jumped right into action as the girl requested a water bottle. In that moment, he wasn't necessarily thinking of how dangerous and ill advised of an idea splitting up from Audrey was. Seemingly in an instant, he was gone. The boy left the gym and went through the dimly lit halls. He was a bit spooked to be honest, but he told himself he had to do this for Audrea as he went down the stairs.

The witch boy looked around, not really knowing where to go, but that was when he heard something- footsteps, and loud ones. His eyes widened as he jumped, feeling his heart leap as he got startled from the noise. The boy quickly was on edge, standing defensively. He hadn't brought a weapon in his haste, and cursed himself in his head for that. It was a stupid idea to go alone so quickly.

But soon, his shoulders relaxed a little bit as he heard a familiar voice that soothed him in that uncertain moment. It was Audrea. "Audrea? What are you doing down here? Y- you're hurt, aren't you?" Thomas asked with some confusion. He blushed a little as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly out of embarrassment for being so stupid as Audrea pointed out that it was a little silly to split up in a time like this. She was right, and the boy shrugged.

"Yea, good point..." said the boy softly and a little dejected. "S- sorry..." he said quietly with a little frown. He was so focused on helping her and making himself useful he believed, that he had acted without thinking. She was totally right, it was incredibly stupid to trek these dangerous halls alone. He nodded his head a bit, smiling slightly through his little blush as she thanked him for thinking about her and wanting to get her fixed up so quickly.

As the two of them walked to the Healing Coven's Office, Thomas followed Audrea. "A- aren't you hurt? Shouldn't you be resting? I- I'm sure I can handle getting some water for you, you should rest," he suggested, wanting to at least show some bravery and more specifically, show HER that he wasn't going to pussy out. Thomas walked up to Audrey's side from behind her a few steps where he was as they finally reached the Healing Coven room. Thom raised his eyebrows as he looked around the Healing Coven's room. "Where in Titan's name are we gonna find something to clean this cut with?" he asked no one in particular.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey smiled at his concern, it was nice, she thought. "It's just a cut, I've lived through worse." She replied, and once they were in the Healing Covens office, the door opening easily, they saw the mess inside. Three large pillars looking like tangled yarn took up most of the space. Audrey squinted her eyes in suspicion, they were familiar, but why? She got closer to one until she bumped into an invisible wall, knocking her onto her back foot. She shook her head in surprise. She saw small insects crawling over the mound, and then she realized what they were. "Occluding Termites!" She said in disbelief, "I've only heard about these. But if they're here, then... they've probably eaten all the bandages and healing glyphs they could." She side stepped around the mounts, searching for anything useful. Beyond the dark, she spotted glass, and upon getting just that little bit closer, she saw supplies. "There. Everything we need."

It took her a while to navigate past the three shielded towers, but once she to to the glass cabinets, she pulled on them. The doors took a bit of force to open, and once she did, a cloud of dust shot out, causing Audrey to sneeze. She sneezed two more times before grumbling and sorting the supplies into two piles, one for her and the other for Thomas to carry. The supplies were good, might as well take them. She spotted several jars of ointment and salve, and she opened one giving it a sniff. Audrey recoiled from the jar and immediately shut it, the smell of rot hitting her immediately. "How long has this stuff been here? Salves are shelf stable for two years." She commented to nobody in particular, the two piles ended up being full of sterile bandages, medical tape, and healing glyphs. "Here, take this pile." Audrey said, she thought for a moment, "I think... the cafeteria is a good place. Lots of space, we've seen running water, so the cafeteria should have it too, as well as stoves to boil the water. It looked like everyone left here in a hurry, so if they left healing glyphs, I'm willing to bet they left some food too." She reasoned. The Cafeteria wasn't far, just down the hall, less than a minutes walk away. "You can patch me up there."

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas chuckled at her always positive outlook as well as her bravery. As they entered the Healing Coven's office, his eyes widened at the sight he beheld in there. It was an absolute mess. "Titan..." whispered Thomas under his breath as Audrey let out an exclamation of disbelief. Thomas felt his skin crawl as he looked at the insects crawling over a mound. The boy always got the creeps and shivers down his spine every time he saw nasty little (or big) bugs. "Termites?!" Thomas cried, a nervous look on his face, "Oh you've got to be kidding me with these creepy bugs everywhere," groaned the boy.

Thomas stayed behind the mounds, not wanting to step over them lest a little termite crawl up his leg. He watched Audrey step over the mounds and find what they were looking for- supplies to help aid and clean her wounds. "Great," he said as she stated they had found everything they would need, "Now let's get the hell outta here. Like most of the places here in this place, this room and all of its bugs give me the creeps."

Thomas followed Audrey around like a lost puppy, as he felt he often did now. He felt a bit useless admittedly but tried to keep reminding himself of Audrea's words and thankfulness about how much he had helped her with the fire ball support during the big battle with the Spider Cow demon. As Audrey used a bit of force to open some doors, the boy coughed and closed his eyes as he waved a hand in front of his face as a big cloud of dust came up on them, causing Audrey to sneeze.

"Erm Audrea, what is this place?" Thomas asked, "Are you sure we should be using the medical supplies in here? It looks like this place hasn't been touched years! What if everything's all expired and actually gets you infected or sick?" he asked, skeptical about using anything in this old dusty room. The boy just shrugged as he hesitated to take a pile of anything she had seen on that shelf. "Listen, I'm all for patching you up, but call me a worry wart all you want- I just don't really trust using this stuff that's been lying around here for Titan knows how long," he said to her.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

"Well... it used to be a medical office." Audrey answered back, "Now it's an Occluding Termite nesting ground. The termites are harmless though, they don't like conflict. They'd rather hide in their nests." Thomas did bring up a good point though, bandages didn't go bad, their packaging did. And that would compromise the sterility of the bandages. She picked out one in particular and looked it over, there were plenty in the piles that she assembled. "The salves are definitely bad, but if these bandages are cotton..." She trailed off. The curious witch didn't see any expiration dates written on the package, so she tore the yellowed paper wrapper open. The bandage was made of cotton, that was good. She didn't know how to perform any sterilization spells, if she were in the Healing Coven course, she would have learned this year. Instead they would have to do it the mundane way.

"We can sterilize them, ten minutes in boiling water should do." She explained, she took a second look at the medical tape, finding it to be wider than usual, which was good. Considering the cut on her back. She could make butterfly bandages with them, though they weren't sterile, and definitely out of date, it would have to do. She didn't know how to properly suture, she could probably do it, a terrible, amateur job of it, but she didn't have the hook or thread. Even if they did, she wouldn't be able to reach her own back, and she didn't think Thomas had any idea of how to do it. But butterfly bandages were easy. Stick one side, pull over the cut, stick the other side. Though, Thomas might have to get some blood on his hands from cleaning, depending on how bad it was on her back by now.

Audrey took off her helmet, giving Thomas a small smile so he could see. "It's all been sitting here for easily over two years." She answered in confidence, "But we make do with what we got, not what we wish for. My parents are healers and I live in a clinic, so... I think my odds are little better than normal. I've picked up a few tricks." She explained, and she was petty sure he was about to pick up a few tricks too from her, before the day was done.