Fantasy The Owl House - Statice and Oak

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey heard Thomas clear his throat and she looked up at him, listening to what he had to say. She was quiet while he spoke, and her hands were resting on the table, one in a loose fist and the other, her thumb was rubbing the crook of her index finger. Once he finished speaking, she glanced down at the table, noticing her hands. She stopped her thumb and consciously grabbed her cup of tea to bring it closer, and she looked back up to Thomas after a pause of thought.

"... Is for us for getting through our first day at Hexside together." She completed, "I said it was going to be my treat so I just went ahead, it's nothing much." She said, glanced down at her pink-red tea and found herself rubbing her thumb against the cup. She stopped herself from doing that. "And you're right. It's okay. No harm done, no harm will be done." She said, getting quieter as the sentence went on. Audrey took a deep breath with her eyes closed. Thomas definitely heard what she griped about earlier, no way he couldn't have heard, especially since she wasn't being subtle about it at all. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, "It-..." She began, "... You know custard tarts are my favorite pastries? They only ever made them at one place where I come from. I had to be sneaky whenever I wanted to go there, it was just easier that way. Lots of things were, so I don't like getting caught. Old habits don't go away easy." She said, then she took a sip of her tea. It was a bit sweeter than she was used to, the barmaid must have added sugar, but the familiar tartness of the tea that she loved was still the main flavor of the drink.

She inhaled sharply, "So! These tarts." She said, eager to move on, then reached over to pick up a tart, and she examined it closely, noting the imperfect tart, spotted browning on the egg custard, and the slight unevenness of the browning over the tart shell edges. All hallmarks of a handmade treat, which explained why they were so expensive, but she didn't voice that. She gave it a deep sniff, detecting slight scents of spices and vanilla. It was fun to her, examining and deconstructing food. An activity she could do alone, with nobody else required, where ever and whenever. And Master Liberi encouraged it, saying that what she was doing was actually constructive to spellcasting as well. He said that the precision required of the senses would make her a better witch. Though, she admitted to herself that, even to this day, she didn't exactly know what he was on about with that. To her it was just harmless fun, a thinking exercise, but there was apparently a deeper benefit to it, according to her eccentric mentor. She didn't question it. She bit into the tart slowly, only taking half of the small tart, and it was flaky, buttery, crispy. The custard was soft, sweet, melt in your mouth, had a hint of cinnamon, and notes of lemon! A smile grew on her face, and she closed her eyes in delight, letting out a content sigh after she swallowed. "Much better than my old place." She said.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas let that thought sink in for a little bit. "It's for us getting through our first day at Hexside together," the girl had told him. His eyes widened a bit as he thought about that. It was true- he had done what he had dreaded, what he never thought he could do- get through his first day of school at Hexside. But they had done it together, just like she had said. That was certainly a bit of food for thought for the young witchlet boy. He nodded his head in agreement as she spoke, going on. He chuckled a bit as she recalled her being sneaky at an old place she used to go as he took one of the custard tarts for the first time. He'd never had one, nor had he really ever been ALLOWED to have one. He took one of them in his hands and eyed it for a few moments as Audrea continued speaking.

As she moved on eagerly, the boy was still hesitant, having second thoughts in his head. Surely mother would be disappointed in him, he thought, and oh of course, his father would be fuming if he learned of what he was doing and about to put into his mouth! The boy held the custard tart in front of him for a little while as Audrea spoke. He was listening to her but at the same time, battling the conflicting thoughts of hesitation in his head about eating the pastry and about what his parents would think, all while analyzing the custard tart before him. He almost looked like an alien who had dropped in from a different planet as he eyed the pastry. He almost forgot he was with someone as he spun the tart around in his hand, getting a better look at it from all angles as his partner in front of him happily munched on the pastries without a care in the world. He raised an eyebrow as Audrea finished speaking, still eyeing that pastry.

"No, you shouldn't Thomas," a voice in his head told him. "But your parents aren't here! What's the harm in eating just one! Or two...." he thought to himself in his head, the voices conflicting with each other. It was as if the old cliche of the angel and the devil were on Thomas' shoulder, whispering to him, the devil tempting him. He probably looked pretty odd right now in front of Audrea, seemingly conflicted about something as simple as consuming a yummy pastry. Just put the damn thing in you mouth, most people would probably think, and rightly so. But of course, Thomas had apprehensions since he wasn't allowed to regularly eat sweets, and he sure as Titan couldn't do it without his parents' permission first. Besides, sweets were only for special occasions.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey finished her tart, savoring the second, and last bite with obvious pleasure, and she washed it down with her tart hibiscus tea. After a breath, she reached over to pick up the strawberry cookie. She had no idea what a macaron was, and she ran through the same examination she did with the tart. Smelling it, feeling its texture with her fingers, she applied a little bit of pressure, squeezing the cookie just a little bit, and the shell of the cookie cracked under her fingers. That surprised Audrey, the cookie was much more delicate than she expected. She looked to Thomas to see if he was on the strawberry cookie as well, but instead she found him looking at his tart strangely. He didn't seem to be analyzing it like she did, he seemed to be looking at it as if it was something he'd never seen before. It was a little silly to Audrey, Thomas was probably a native of Bonesborough, one of the biggest cities on the Isles, home to some of the wealthiest families. And Audrey came from Latissa, a port town, a bit of a rough and tumble place, known for its tough population and seafood, not it's baked goods.

She suppressed a giggle. "Thom, it's not going to bite you." Audrey said with a smile, "Unlike some seafood." She commented, "Try it, it's my favorite for good reason." She encouraged. She spared a thought to the Latissan Chomping Skullfish dish, a plate of seafood unique to the port towns of the Isles. A freshly caught skullfish head with it's mouth open served on a plate, with it's own fried fillets and accompanying sides like salads or potatoes around it. What made the dish 'chomping' was the popular trick of suddenly tossing salt onto the skullfish head, causing it to bite down. A dish that could literally bite back.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas' thoughts were distracted by Audrea's voice. He raised his eyebrows with slight surprise as he lowered the tart, which he had raised to his head level, and looked at the girl sitting across from him. He felt a bit embarrassed because he must have looked really silly there looking at the thing like he had never seen it before. After all, he was from the more fortunate, perhaps even rich area of Bonesborough, of course he had seen a sweet tart before. But the boy had moral complications over something so seemingly small. He looked at Audrea and then nervously at the custard tart and then down at some of the strawberry cookies. "I- I really shouldn't...." the boy said softly before trailing off as he looked over at Audrea. She wore a smile that almost prodded him on to try one. He gulped nervously as he looked at her and then back at the custard tart in his hand again.

With that, Thomas looked around, instinctually, as if to make sure his parents weren't around. He knew they would most likely be at home at this hour, but of course, you could never be too sure. Once he had quickly deemed that the coast was clear, the boy looked back at the tart again. Then, he ever so slightly began slowly moving his hand with the tart to his mouth at almost an agonizing speed. Thomas then closed his eyes and winced as he slowly began to take the first bite- a very tiny bite on the side of the custard tart. Finally, as the food entered his mouth, he began to chew. At first, it was a slow and almost hesitant chew, but then, the flavor began to grace Thomas' tongue and taste buds. He immediately opened his eyes upon feeling the sensation of the sweet taste of the custard enter his mouth. It tasted amazing, and the boy began to pick up his pace of chewing to a more natural one, maybe even a pace that was eager and perhaps very much enjoying the sweet. Soon, Thomas popped the rest of that first custard tart into his mouth, chewing, and swallowing, savoring ever morsel and loving it. Thomas then reached his hand out to take another custard tart, not even realizing it. "This is good!" Thomas said with a huge grin and his eyes wide with surprise, as if he wasn't expecting it to be good in the first place. He popped the other custard tart into his mouth and ate it, forgetting about his previous apprehensions from before and about what his parents would think of this.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey watched Thomas succumb to the desserts allure with interest. It was amusing to her to see someone else try, or about to try her favorite treat. She never really knew anyone else who ate these kinds of tarts, nor had she ever actually seen anyone buy them. Admittedly she never went to the bakery when it was populated with people, preferring the earliest crack of dawn or going later in the night just before closing time. As he glanced around, searching for a spectator who wasn't there, doubt crept into Audrey's mind. She decided she liked these custard tarts on her own, having not heard any recommendations for it or seen anyone else enjoy it. Could they have a reputation she didn't know? Was that why he was hesitating? Were these tarts actually good or was her taste just weird? She felt a tinge of anxiety at the thought, if he didn't like it, she tried to predict how she would feel. Hurt? Probably. Confused as well. Audrey played with the coin sized cookie in her hand, resting it on her palm, and she rubbed the uncracked surface of the cookie with her thumb, unconsciously. And then he bit into it with hesitation and uncertainty, Audrey took a deep breath, and then Thomas seemed to like it. A smile grew on his face as he ate the rest, declaring, "This is good!"

Audrey let go of a breath she wasn't aware she was holding and smiled back, "Well of course! I wouldn't feed you something nasty." She said confidently, "I wonder how they make them, I've always wanted to learn baking but I just," She remembered training with abominations, swords, camping out in the woods to learn how to survive in the wild, evading Glandus students who held a grudge against her, Liberi taking her along exciting adventures going after wild Griffons, Slitherbeasts, and Spider-Demon packs to teach her about them. She briefly wondered how Thomas's childhood was, and was struck with the realization that maybe her own childhood wasn't very normal. Just like how she discovered custard tarts. She chuckled, "Hah, just uh... was doing other things." She gave a slightly pained smile. Maybe here in Bonesborough she could dedicate the time to learn how to bake and cook, the lack of Glandus rivals certainly freed up a lot of time, she thought hopefully. "So what do you like doing for fun? Or, what would you want to do?" She asked curiously. If she learned anything at Glandus, it was that people liked talking about themselves, making it all about them, like they were the center of the world. She had a suspicion that Thomas wasn't like that, that he was more of the keep your head down sort, but everyone liked talking about their passions, she was sure of that.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

One eaten tart turned into two eaten tarts, and then to three, four.... It was safe to say that Thomas was very much enjoying the custard tarts- a very rare sweet treat for the young boy. Thomas just nodded and smiled as he put another tart into his mouth. "Mmph," he grunted with a full mouth in response to her. He was too busy enjoying his tarts. As Audrea spoke, she seemed to almost trail off and stop whatever thought she was going to finish. Thomas raised an eyebrow over the other slightly as he wondered what she was going to say. He would have questioned her and pressed her further, but one, he was chewing and quite enjoying his meal and two, he figured it wasn't his place and that it wasn't right to press her on that. They'd only been friends for almost a day now, was it ok to ask something like that? He tried not too think too much of it as he continued chewing, swallowing and popping yet another tart into his mouth. He ate them care freely, forgetting about his previous apprehensions and what his parents would think of him committing this most egregious of sins and crimes.

Then the girl pitched him an interesting question: what did he like to do? "Oh uhh what do I like to do?" Thomas asked, his mouth full and voice muffled slightly from all of the food that was currently in it when he was speaking. He realized how he had spoken with his mouth full and widened his eyes, quickly chewing the rest of it and swallowing, not wanting to be rude. He remembered what mother and father taught him: never speak with your mouth full. Oh how they'd be cringing right now, he thought. Once he had finished swallowing and had an empty mouth once more, he spoke. "Sorry," he said softly, apologizing for his talking with his mouth full instinctually, "I uhh, well I don't do much..." the boy admitted, looking off to the side and rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "I guess I like to read and stuff..." he said softly, trailing off, realizing what a nerd and what a loser he sounded like right now in front of her. But, he was telling the truth.

The 15 year old's version of fun was quite different from the rest of his peers or many boys and girls at that age. Thomas enjoyed reading, in fact he did it quite a lot. While other kids were going outside and exploring, having adventures and practicing magic, Thomas much preferred to stay inside and go into his room to read a good book. He was the more studious type, enjoying to read from a very young age. He had his parents to thank for that. He wasn't allowed to do much as a kid and was very sheltered, so the boy took to doing one of the only things he could do around the house- read. His father and mother being avid readers, there were plenty of books around the house. So Thomas took it up as a hobby of sorts, often preferring to be secluded in his room, reading a damn good book. He particularly enjoyed either non-fiction and historical types of books, or one of his personal favorites- adventure and action books, which was ironic for a boy who would never be seen going on any type of adventure. Thomas was a sheltered little boy who feared new things and stepping outside of his comfort zone, so it was a bit ironic that one of his favorite genres was action and adventure.

But right now, he had just realized what a nerd he sounded like in front of the girl across from him. He could tell just by spending his time with her as a friend throughout the day that Audrea was no typical student or kid. But she did seem like the type of kid who was always up for some sort of adventure and probably a kid with high energy who just couldn't sit still. Surely she wasn't doing something as lame as reading a book like Thomas did. She probably had cool hobbies, he thought, while here he was saying that all he did for fun was read... He felt a little stupid now and blushed slightly, his cheeks turning the ever so slightest shade of bright rosy pink. Maybe Thomas wouldn't be so lame, he thought, if his parents had let him do things. When he was young, he actually once wanted to play grudgby. He remembered watching his father watch the grudgby games in the house when he was a young boy. Little Thomas would sit and watch with his father, his eyes wide with wonder and amazement, glistening with admiration for the players and the sport. Of course Mr. and Mrs. Vlasic were surprised when one day their little 5 year old boy told them that he wanted to do grudgby. The idea was immediately shot down by them and with that, Thomas' hope to play grudgby and love for the sport shattered, extinguished. Sometimes, Thomas wondered if only his parents had let him play grudgby. Would he be happier? But for now, Thomas just locked himself up in his room and read.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey watched in silent amazement at how fast Thomas put away the tarts, she was certainly glad that he liked them, but maybe he liked them a little too much. She was for sure coming back to this place later, having decided that this would be her new spot, and she would probably bring Thomas along too. It'd be good to have another person with her to try out new treats here. Thomas then spoke up, repeating her question back at her with mild surprise, though his mouth was full, and after a quick swallow he continued, saying that he liked to read. Though, not very confidently.

Audrey smiled, "I like reading too." She said with a dreamy sigh, "But nowadays I mostly just read comics on my scroll, they're much more bite sized. I used to read books, like real books, but I got busier and it got harder to find the time to finish those. So. Comics, for now. I'll probably get back into books now that I'm here in Bonesborough." She replied with a smile, noticing him embarrassment, "I should probably start building up a reading list. Anything you recommend?" She asked him, if he liked reading, then surely he had a few good picks. It would get him talking about what he liked, and Audrey could start filling up her read later list. "I'll read anything, except horror, and poetry." Audrey added.

In her room, in her many packed boxes, she had a whole bookshelves worth of books. But those were years old, and she hadn't touched them in a similar amount of years. She tried to remember what she had exactly, but none of their titles came to mind, only vague memories of characters and events. It pained Audrey, just a little, that she gave up on one of her passions because of other witches. And that gave her more resolve to try and get that passion back, to actually do it, now that she was in Bonesborough. Where she was supposed to have been born, where she was supposed to be. And she wondered what kind of witch she would be if she actually was born here, perhaps a potions brewer, like her mother? Or a healer, like her father? Or maybe a gardener in the plant coven, like her aunts. She glanced down at her sleeve, where her abominations goo bracelet was hiding. Would she have even thought about abominations? About Master Liberi and his strange ways? She stopped thinking about that train of thought, either way, she was Latissan born and raised. Trained in Abominations and sword. No helping that, since it already happened. The only way was forward, and she had to figure out who she wanted to be, between her real Latissan self, and her Bonesborough ideal. But for now, books, and baking, and cooking, and allies.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Once he had finished speaking, he took another custard tart and popped it into his mouth. He must have had around eight or nine tarts at this point- he was absolutely loving them. It was definitely more than his mother and father would EVER allow him to have. He made a mental note to surely come back to this place again, maybe with Audrea, and surely without his parents knowing. His eyes widened with surprise as he wasn't expecting to hear that Audrea too liked reading. He honestly thought it might be a little bit too tame of an activity for her, since she seemed to be quite the adventurous type. He nodded as she told him she liked comics. Thomas personally wasn't much of a comic book guy and was more into traditional types of books, but still, he was at least glad to see that she didn't seemingly think he was a nerd or a loser for enjoying reading.

Thomas finished chewing and then swallowed what was probably his ninth or tenth custard tart as he decided to tell her a little bit about this one book he was currently reading and really enjoying. He was pretty surprised when she asked him for a book recommendation. "Well, there's this one book I'm currently reading. It's about this young witch boy, I think he's actually our age, and he's a student at some fictional magical academy, kinda like Hexside in real life. It's this cool action and adventure book and I'm really liking it," he told her. Thomas was anything but talkative. He was a shy, timid, quiet, and mostly reserved boy, so the fact that he was even talking this much about his book that he was enjoying was pretty huge. He didn't often open up or come out of that shy shell of his. "Basically, he's an average student, nothing too special, just like us, and he gets thrown into these crazy adventures," the young blonde witch told his friend with a tiny smile that was ever so slightly beginning to show as he talked to Audrea about this book. Thomas quite enjoyed the the book because the protagonist reminded him of himself so much- just an average student of his age. Of course, Thomas was glad that the adventures were sticking to the fictional character and not him in real life. Thomas wasn't the adventurous type or one to enjoy action like that. He instead preferred to read about it in books. "The title's called 'The Chronicles of Rosebane,' and it follows the adventures of the main character, a kid named Edmund Rosebane." Thomas explained.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey noted that Thomas seemed surprised when she said she liked reading. Did she really come off as such a person? She thought to herself, after thinking for a bit, she admitted that she kind of did, amusingly. Then Thomas recommended an adventure series of books, based on the exploits of a young witch named Edmund Rosebane, apparently an average student thrown into crazy adventures. It kind of sounded like every other week at Glandus to Audrey, but she didn't know a thing about the series. She idly ate the strawberry cookie as he spoke, noting its crisp shell, chewiness, and decadent sweet strawberry cream accompanied with the nuttiness of the cookie. She was definitely going to have these macaroon cookies again in the future, she decided. When she glanced back down at the table to gauge how much more food they had, a significant portion of it was gone, and she noticed that he ate all of the tarts already, leaving just his strawberry cookie, and the two small fried orbs. She smiled, it was like he was making up for lost time.
"Slow down there Thom, we'll be coming back here again." She commented, glancing down at the empty tray where the tarts used to be, "I know they're good but we can get them again later."

She took her fried orb and moved it over to the empty tray, and pulled the tray closer to her, then pushing the other tray with Thomas's fried orb closer to him. "So what kind of stuff did Edmund get up to? I'm curious." She asked, wondering if Edmund's own adventures mirrored her own. Battles between different cliques, going on a literal training arc with a mysterious swordmaster and abominations magic master, stalking massive creatures. Her own adventures were varied, dangerous, and she knew it definitely left its mark on her. She wondered if Edmund went on harmless, whimsical adventures, like having to chase down fairies or something. While she did miss adventure, she definitely didn't miss the danger, and the idea of harmless whimsical adventures appealed to her. Or if this Edmund character was like her. A marked individual, who had to struggle tooth and nail to get through to survive. Or maybe somewhere in between? She wouldn't mind that either. She paused, thinking, pushing around her fried orb with its skewer, and then she asked, "Would you like to go on adventures like Edmund?"

There were relatively harmless things they could do. Wild griffin egg hunting, griffins themselves were protective of their eggs, deceptively fast despite their reputation, and their claws were certainly dangerous. But they were simple creatures, not particularly intelligent, and were easy to daze or trap, once a Witch knew their behaviors. Which, Audrey knew about. There was also domesticated Spider-Cow demon milking, and farmers often let young Witches try their hand at milking them, knowing that the witchlings would likely trip over themselves trying to catch the Spider-Cows. She knew that Spider-Cows, while not particularly violent, were incredibly agile and difficult to catch, as well as being wary of any newcomers. Spider-Bulls however, while easily only half the size of a Spider-Cow, were very territorial and ready to fight at a moments notice. She remembered Master Liberi instructing her that earning the trust of a Spider-Cow was easy, a day or two of showing that you were no threat, and then the Spider-Cows were fine with your presence. Spider-Bulls however, were far more difficult to deal with, their territorial behavior meant that you had to come to blows first, you had to win, assert your dominance, but not slay them. You had to prove that you were powerful, capable of slaying it, but instead you had to show it mercy, and generosity. Only then would a Spider-Bull accept you. And another issue, that Liberi stressed, was that Spider-Demons are social creatures. Where one Spider-Bull walks, half a dozen more are likely nearby. Meaning you had to fight an unfair test of ability against the strength of not only one or two, but easily up to two dozen depending on the pack size of the wild Spider-Demons. An afternoon trying to corner a single domesticated Spider-Cow to milk it was probably a good time, but having to do anything with wild Spider-Demons was crazy.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas' eyes widened as he realized just how many tarts he was eating. He hadn't realized how carried away he was getting. His cheeks turned a slight shade of rosy pink as he blushed out of embarrassment. He had his hand hovering over the tray with the custard tarts on it but stopped himself as Audrea told him to slow down a bit. He then looked down and realized that the tray was practically empty! He didn't remember eating that much.... Now all he had left was his strawberry cookie, which looked very appetizing, and his two fried orbs as well.

The boy picked up his strawberry cookie in his hand and played with it a bit as Audrea asked him about this Edmund Rosebane character from his book and what sort of adventures he got himself in to. "Well, umm, he starts off as just this normal student, ya know? But then he gets into this whole series of action and adventure. The whole adventure part kicks off when one day, Edmund is exploring this old forest just a few miles away from his magical academy, and then he stumbles upon this odd portal in the middle of nowhere. This portal is apparently one that leads to a realm unlike any other- one filled with lots of danger but also adventure. He quickly finds that the people there are different- much different from our own. Their technologies are odd but advanced, a lotta fictional stuff that couldn't possibly be real. The people there, they have round ears, it's a pretty weird realm but it makes for some cool adventures, seeing this average student like you and me thrown into this crazy realm of unknown dangers and adventure." Thomas explained to her. He paused when he was done explaining about the book to her and raised his eyebrows, reflecting upon her question, which he had a quick answer for. "No," the boy replied swiftly, "Definitely not..."

Thomas was anything but the adventurous type, which of course, was why it was so ironic that he enjoyed reading mainly action and adventure books. All of these adventures filled with action were ones Thomas would never be seen on, ones he had no desire to go through in real life. He preferred for that type of stuff to stay in the books- to stay in fiction. He'd be terrified if he were put through all of the things Edmund was put through in the book, in real life. Plus, Thomas knew for a fact that his mother and father would never let Thomas on any of those sort of adventures. They were a bit protective over him, he was their one and only child, their little baby. He was a sheltered boy growing up, that was for sure. While other kids might be off in the woods exploring, having fun, skinning their knees and getting a little scratched up out there, as a kid should be, Thomas was kept inside or mostly restricted to his front lawn and backyard, not allowed to go out too far from their lovely home. Thomas' father would always tell him: "You have such a nice big house here, what more could you possibly want out there?" Indeed it was true to an extent- luckily Thomas and his parents were very fortunate and somewhat wealthy. They had a large house and lived in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bonesborough. So whenever his father shot down his desires to go out and play with the other kids, he'd just sigh, believing his father's words. They had a nice big house, what was not to love?

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey rose an eyebrow. Technology? Wasn't the technology of the Isles advanced enough? They even had airships to carry heavy objects and cargo loads, so people didn't have to use magic for it. It piqued her curiosity further, it didn't seem like Edmund encountered things that were inherently dangerous, it was the environment itself. It reminded her of the wilderness, where you had to learn the rules of the forest, mountains and rivers. Not so much action, but more problem solving. She liked that, and was familiar with the feeling. And round ears! She thought for a moment, she remembered hearing about them, and she tried to remember what they were called. Humans? Humans. Their trash was always washing up on the shores of the Isles, but she never really thought about them. She took out her scroll and activated it, pressing the Notebook function, and she wrote in the name of the series, 'Chronicles of Rosebane'.

"There, now I won't forget to look for the books." She said, then taking more sips of her tea, "Could they fly? Like we can on our Palismen, or on Airships? I've never been up there, to be honest." She said. Her parents never took her up to the skies, even though they had palismen. They were always cooped up in their home, busy with potions and healing, and the town. Of course they would go out for groceries, or for visiting family and friends, but they never really took Audrey out to the skies. And even her mentor, Liberi, preferred the ground, taking every opportunity during travel to teach Audrey. She looked forward to having her own Palismen, and often daydreamed about having one. She wanted to be a good flyer, because of the sheer fact that she wasn't able to fly before. Then an idea struck her, "You know what? I've never been on an airship either. I bet Bonesborough has some kind of airship service, wanna go on one? Given, if I manage to find an airship to take us to places. It won't be as crazy as Edmund's adventures, but it'll be fun, and safe." She asked. At least, should be safe, she imagined that any number of things could go wrong, the airship breaking, a flying creature with a bad attitude, a poor pilot, but she didn't voice those concerns. Thomas seemed hesitant to try new things, and she wanted to convince him to go, not to stay away.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

He watched her as she seemed a bit fascinated by what he had to say about the book. She then took out her scroll and typed something in it. He smiled ever so slightly as she told him that she had put the title of the book in her scroll so that she could go check it out later. Audrey then asked if they could fly in the realm that Edmund had traveled to. He racked his brain and tried to recall anything about flying technology in that world. Of course, Thomas knew that in real life, they flew around on big airships or even palisman staffs. In the realm that Edmund Rosebane had traveled to, there was brief mention of how the round eared people seemed to get around in the skies of their world. Tom nodded his head, "Yea, they fly with some weird technology in that world," he told her, "It's not mentioned too much in the book, but I think the round eared people got around in the air with these weird large metal bird things." Thomas said. "I've also never been up in the sky either," he said, sighing as he he looked out the window and up into the clouds. Thomas' parents never took him on an airship nor did they fly him around on their palisman. The rare time they DID fly Thomas around on their palisman, it was low to the ground and slow- certainly not soaring quickly through the air high up above everyone. But to say that Thomas didn't want to be up in the air wouldn't exactly be a lie. Of course from a young age, young little Thomas wasn't exactly allowed up high in the air due to his protective parents, so he learned to be cautious and wary of flying, not exactly wanting to jump into it right away and take a trip on an airship or a palisman.

Suddenly, it seemed as if an idea had formed in Audrey's head. Thomas' eyes widened as he felt his stomach sink, as the girl asked him if he wanted to go on one of the airships. Never being one to step outside of his comfort zone and try new things, Thomas knew his answer: a big fat no. The thought of firstly, going on an airship high up above in the air and secondly, without his parents' permission, terrified the boy. Even if he did ask his parents if he could go on an airship, they'd more definitely say no. That would most likely mean that Tom would have to do it without his parents knowing, with Audrey. Sure she said it would be "fun and safe," which was true, but Thomas was a nervous and timid boy. The thought of doing something so crazy like flying in an airship scared him quite a bit. Thomas looked back at Audrey, a nervous and concerned look on his face as he nervously payed with his fingers under the table, feeling the custard tarts seemingly bounce around in his stomach. "I- I uhh, d- don't know about that..." he replied, stuttering. "Besides, my pare-" Thomas began, but he stopped, holding his tongue and pausing mid-statement. He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Never mind," he said softly. He was going to voice his concerns over the potential reaction of his parents should they find out that he was planning on going on an airship, but decided not to. Flying on an airship would most likely be safe in most circumstances, and while things of course could go wrong, Audrea was right. It was much safer than say maybe something Edmund in the book might get himself into. But Thomas, ever the worrier, didn't see it that way, and was hesitant to try it with her and step outside of his comfort zone. But the boy had a gut feeling that she might not be willing to accept no as an answer and would probably try to nudge him on a bit and convince him to do so. She'd already gotten him out to this cafe- yes a very small step, but a step nonetheless. Thomas would have gone home by now if it wasn't for Audrea wanting to treat him at the cafe. He thought of his parents now, hoping they wouldn't be angry that he was coming home relatively late.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Weird large metal birds. Perhaps much like their own airships? But airships had large balloons, and she wondered how they, in the book, were able to forego those balloons. Sheer fantasy perhaps. And then Thomas admitted that he'd never been in the sky either, he looked longingly out the window into the clouds, but when she suggested that they take an airship, he hesitated again.
"Don't worry Thom, I'm not asking you to go on one with me right this moment. It was just a thought, besides, I'm still settling into Bonesborough." She reassured, taking the pause in conversation to stab her fried orb with her skewer, and finally take a bite out of it. It surprised her, it was soft, sweet, from the caramel, and airy, and also crunchy from the tree seeds. She smiled, "The fried orbs are good." she said, almost expecting it, mid chew. She swallowed, "Of course the fried orbs are good. This place is going to be the end of me." She joked, "We'll have to exercise a good amount of self restraint to stop us from going here after school everyday." She took another big bite out of her fried orb and enjoyed it, finishing it rather quickly. She wiped her lips with a napkin and took a big sip of her tea, letting out a content sigh.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side slightly with curiosity. "Besides, I'm still settling into Bonesborough," she said. "Wait, you just moved here? You say you're still settling into Bonesborough?" Thomas asked, surprised she didn't hail from the same part of the Boiling Isles as he did. This was news to Thomas, he was a bit surprised. The young boy had lived all of his life in the suburbs of Bonesborough, it was all he knew. But he had assumed she was from here since she knew of this great cafe tha twas practically hiding right under his nose his whole life. He looked down as Audrey poked a fried orb with her skewer. She mentioned how good they taste. Of course they tasted good, he thought, the tarts tasted amazing, he wolfed all of them down so quickly. But she was right, they would probably need to exercise each day if they were going to come here often. All of that junk food and sweets were surely unhealthy for their little growing bodies. Then it hit him, and Thomas' eyes widened. Her words made him think of his parents, his parents who were probably expecting him home right now, and probably have been for at least an hour now.

The Vlasic parents had always told little Thomas from a young age the dangers of eating too many sweets or just generally too much unhealthy food. It was ill-advised by Bella and Andrew to eat unhealthy, so from a young age, they fed their little witchlet a balanced diet with not too much time for sweets. He cringed and also panicked internally- his parents would be extremely disappointed in him today. Not only for being late to home on the first day of school, but mostly for eating a copious amount of sweets without their permission. Thinking of their reaction just then and there, a terrified look on his face, he wanted to hurl his custard tarts up out of his stomach, feeling sick thinking about what they'd say and how much trouble he'd be in. As she sighed, Thomas cleared his throat, looking a bit anxious to get out of the cafe. "Y- yea, r- right. Uhh, I- I think we're good to go, r- right?" Thomas asked nervously, stuttering and twiddling with his fingers now up above the table and unconsciously visible to Audrea. Thom now set his sites on getting out of there and home as fast as possible. He quickly grabbed a napkin and began vigorously wiping his mouth and hands as to remove any and all traces that he had just eaten around ten custard tarts. He took his cup of water and downed it quickly, sending it down his gullet quickly as to wash his mouth of any trace too.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey blinked in confusion, she thought she brought it up before, but it may have slipped her mind. "We just moved here about a week ago. I haven't really done much since then though." She commented, remembering the boxes full of her things still in the corner of her room. The only things she really unpacked was her furniture, bed, blankets, pillows, a desk light, and a single box of things. Her walls, shelves, and desk were mostly bare, still, even after a week. She gave it some thought as to why she hadn't unpacked yet, it was uncharacteristic of her, and she came up blank. She had no explanation for it, she just didn't really care to do it. "And yeah, we can..." She looked at Thomas, noticed how nervous he was acting, and something clicked in her head. He was wiping his hands and mouth like he'd just been caught doing something wrong, and he started to gulp down his water quickly. "Hey," Audrey leaned forward and put her hand over his once he put the water down and held onto it tightly, "Slow down Thom, look at me, focus on me, and do what I do. Deep breaths, in..." Audrey inhaled, holding it for a second, "Out...", she took several more deep breaths, encouraging Thomas to follow suit. She slowly loosened her grip on his hand after a few long moments, but keeping her hand on top of his. "Any better? When things get dicey for me, I take deep breaths and focus on something I can see." She gave him a sympathetic look.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas nodded as she said that. Maybe she had told him before that she was new to Bonesborough, but he couldn't exactly remember. It was a little surprising to hear that she had just moved here about a week ago. Thomas had lived here his whole life, so it was really all he knew. He would have asked her more about her backstory such as where she was born and originally hailed from, where she grew up, but he was to focused on his nervous and racing feelings.

Audrey seemed to notice that Thomas was panicking internally and externally and soon, Thomas felt a comforting hand touch the skin of his own hand as he set down his drink of water. His eyes widened as he looked down at his hand where Audrey's was over his, and then up and into Audrey's eyes as she spoke softly and comforting to him. For a moment, Thomas' whole world slowed down. As he looked at her into her eyes occasionally and back down at the hand she had placed on his, he listened to her words. They were calming, like a warm hug from a fluffy blanket in times of trouble. She spoke, looking at him sympathetically as Thomas tried her guided breathing exercises.

He took a deep breath in, closing his eyes, and a long exhaled breath out, feeling his belly rise and fall with each slow breath. He felt Audrea's grip on his hand loosen, but her hand still lingering on his, their skin touching each other. Eventually after a few deep breaths in and out, Thomas had calmed himself down, thanks to Audrea. Thomas looked at her, his breathing now calmed and the racing thoughts mostly out of his head, but his eyes wide with shock. "Th- thank you, Audrea," he said softly, "That helped.... a lot," he told her surprised. He slowly got up from his seat, "I- I think I'm ready to go now. How about you?" he asked, much more calmly now.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey watched him closely as he responded and followed her instruction, and was relived to find that it seemed to be working. His breathing slowed, as he forced it to to take deep breaths, his hands stopped fidgeting, partly in thanks to her holding one of them tightly, he visibly calmed, even closing his eyes for a moment. A good result, and she was happy to see that it worked. She then made a mental note to ask her father for one of his journals later. Audrey gave his hand two pats, then lifted it away.
"I'm okay to go." She gathered the trash from their table and piled it onto one tray, and grabbed the last tray with the last fried orb on it. She put her cup of tea in the paper so she could hold all of it on one hand, and then she took the last strawberry cookie and put held it out to Thomas. "You should keep it for later, but your fried orb..." She continued with a small playful smirk, "I think I'll be taking it. You had a more than a few tarts." She said. She hated wasting food, and she was giving him an easy out. "Besides, we can come back later and get another sometime." She said.

She grabbed her things and disposed of the trash, leading Thomas outside so they could go their separate ways.
"Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed, stopping. She set down her tray of tea and orb on a nearby table, and she brought up her messenger bag. "I have something for you." She said, opening the large front pouch and rummaging through it. The pouch had blank notecards, pencils, pens, a decently sized dagger, two granola bars, and her scroll, at least as far as Thomas could see. She eventually pulled out a small black stone, it was flat-ish and oval shaped, with a smooth thumb sized groove on one side. "My mentor gave this to me when I was younger. It's a soothing stone, not enchanted or anything, it's just a rock in a particular shape. But whenever you feel nervous or just fidgety, rub the groove, and take deep breaths. I don't really need it anymore. So you can have it."
She glanced down the road behind her, "I'm that way." she said, turning back to Thomas, "See you tomorrow then?"

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thom felt two very light pats on his hand as Audrea noticed him finally starting to calm down. He was both incredibly grateful and incredibly surprised that Audrea's little breathing exercise had worked to calm him down quite a bit. He watched as she too started getting up from her seat, gathering their trash and some things on the tray. Soon, he saw something out of the corner of his eye- it was Audrea, and in her hand she was offering Thomas the last strawberry cookie. His eyebrows raised as he slowly and gently took it from her, fiddling around with it in his hands. He nodded his head once as she gave it to him and also told him that she'd be having the last fried orb. It was only fair since he had consumed a large amount of those custard tarts- at least around ten! He internally groaned, thinking about how out of shape he would be and how unhealthy it was that he had let himself get carried away like that today. Surely, another trip to the cafe would be the death of him. Thomas nodded, cracking a soft little smile, "Th- that's fair, thank you," he said quietly as he still clutched the cookie in one of his hands. She had mentioned something about coming back to the cafe. He wondered if they would. Certainly, his parents wouldn't approve of such an arrangement...

Eventually, the pair cleaned up their table, threw away their trash, and exited the cafe, both full and satisfied, filled with lots of sweet baked goodies. But suddenly, Audrea stopped, taking out her messenger bag and digging through it. Thomas raised one eye brow over the other in confusion as she did so, tilting his head to the side curiously, almost like a puppy as he watched her go through her bag. "Hmm?" he hummed ever so quietly as he too stopped and waited for her. What could she possibly have for HIM, he wondered. He looked down at her hands as she pulled out a small yet smooth looking black stone. Thomas tilted his head to the side even more, curiously eyeing the stone in Audrea's hands. What could that be, he wondered to himself. He looked down at the smooth black stone as Audrea explained to him what the stone was and its significance to her. It was a kind gesture for sure, causing Thomas to once again wonder why Audrea was being so kind to him, considering they had only really just met. Was it that she pitied him, or was this what a real friendship was truly like? Thomas knew he was certainly a bit of a lost cause, so maybe it was that this poor girl felt bad for him. But on the other hand, Thomas wanted to tell himself that this was a true REAL friendship. The latter of the two is what Thom leaned more towards believing.

Thomas took the stone from her gently in one of his hands, the strawberry cookie hanging down at his side in the other hand. He clutched the black stone in his hand, fiddling around with it a bit. Thomas couldn't help but form a slow smile on his face as he looked up at Audrey, smiling softly and gratefully at her. "Th- thanks Audrea," he said quietly, still looking at her and smiling, this gesture seeming to truly touch his heart, "You're great... thank you, a lot...." he added softly. He nodded once, looking at her as she turned to go her separate way on a path back to her home. "Y- yea, see ya tomorrow," he said back to her, smiling slightly still. With that, the two new friends parted ways, Audrey traveling back along the path back to her own home, and Thomas going to opposite way back to his. On the walk back, Thomas sighed, looking down at the stone. He put it in his pocket for later use. Surely this was something that he was going to secretly carry around everywhere and use when he truly needed it. His eyes widened as he then realized what was in his other hand- the strawberry cookie. Thom looked around, almost frantically, suspicious of being watched, as he held the cookie now close to his mouth. He figured he'd better get rid of the cookie before he went to face his parents, so in an act of quick thinking, Thomas began nibbling on the cookie, then shoving it into his mouth and gobbling it down, eating it and swallowing, finishing the cookie. Now it was all gone- the evidence and traces of the cookies had been removed.

------- (The Vlasic Household) --------

The young blonde haired witch boy continued to walk along, back home. Eventually, his house came into view. It was a fairly large house in an upper middle class neighborhood in Bonesborough. His house was one of the bigger ones on his block, his parents- especially his father- being very successful and wealthy as they got into their adult years. Thomas felt the custard tarts anxiously bouncing around in his stomach as he felt his heart beating out of his chest as he approached his front door. He slowly brought his hand to the door knob, his hand almost shaking now. He felt a lump beginning to form in his throat as his heart sunk and stomach leapt. Thom slowly clutched the door knob, carefully and quietly turning it, opening the door. He made a wincing face as he slowly opened the door and stepped into his house. His eyes widened as he gulped nervously, hearing a familiar voice. It was his mother.

"Oh Tommy, you're home?" his mother Bella asked, calling to him from another room it seemed.
Thomas cleared his throat nervously, "Y- yea mom, I- I'm home," he called to her, a guilty look on his face. His eyebrows raised with surprise as he felt a bubble rise up from within his stomach and escape his throat, belching softly. Luckily it was a quiet burp, but it scared Thomas, since it smelled like sweets, his breath having traces of the custard tarts and cookies from before.
Thom sensed his mother smiling from the other room, "That's great!" she called back to him, "Come in the kitchen! Your father and I have a few questions we want to ask you! We want to hear about your big first day!" she said to him sweetly from the other room.
Thomas gulped nervously again, "Oh- ok mom!" he replied as he set his bag down and started making his way to the kitchen where he had heard his mother's voice coming from.

Inside the kitchen, Thomas saw his two parents, his mother seemingly washing a stray dish and his father sitting in his same spot at the kitchen table, his glasses on as he looked down at his scroll, seemingly pre-occupied with work. It was almost a near identical scene from this morning before school, Thomas had observed. He prayed that he wouldn't have another one of those belches in front of his parents, internally yelling at his stomach to keep quiet for now. Thomas looked to his father and then to his mother again. His father didn't look up, his glasses sliding down to his nose as he seemed to be writing back one of his clients from work.

Soon, the lower pitched voice of an older man spoke, surprising Thomas a bit. "You're home late, Tom," said his father Andrew, raising one eyebrow over the other, suspicious of his only son. Yet still, he didn't look up from his phone. "Any reason why that is?" Andrew asked.
Thomas' eyes widened as he felt his heart leap once again. "Uhh ummm," said Thomas, trying to think of an excuse and internally panicking. His "uhhs" and "umms" surely didn't help his case here, but Thomas was never one to lie to his parents. The mere thought of doing so scared him to the core. But what other choice did he have? The last time Thomas can think of that he had lied to his parents was when he was a much younger little boy. He had accidentally been playing with a grudgby ball in secret, since he wasn't allowed to by his parents, when he was 5, and he had accidentally thrown it at one of the windows of the house. Of course, when confronted by his parents, the little young boy told his first lie of his life, denying that he had broken the window. Unfortunately for Thomas, his parents saw right through the lie and grounded him, taking away his grudgby ball forever.
But he needed to compose himself now. Maybe he needed to lie, for the second time in his life... He figured maybe a little white lie wouldn't hurt to much. His eyebrows raised as he realized how long he was taking to answer his father's question and now, Andrew had looked up from his scroll and was looking directly at Thomas, raising a suspicious eyebrow in his son's direction.
"Uhh, I- I was staying after for a bit with this one teacher, d- doing some extra credit," he said, lying to both his father and mother. He felt bubbles gurgling within his stomach as his stomach fought his nervous feelings and trying to digest the vast quantity of sweets that he had consumed. He put a hand on his belly temporarily as if that would calm his gut. His stomach tended to get all anxious and gurgling whenever he was really nervous or under pressure, like now. It didn't help that he was in the process of trying to digest all of his food ion there.
But Andrew seemed disinterested, not caring too much enough to ask his son more or question him further on his lie- which he seemingly bought. "Hmm," he grunted in acknowledgement as he returned his gaze to his scroll. "Good...." he added softly under his breath.
Thomas sighed an internal sigh of relief. It had worked- but he still felt awful, still felt guilty, about lying like that to his parents. He thought he'd never live it down...
"So," said his mother, looking down at her one and only precious son, smiling sweetly, "How was the first day of school at Hexside, little Tommy?" she asked him.
Thomas felt himself cringe internally as she called him that stupid baby nickname- "little Tommy." He sometimes loathed how his parents still treated him like a little baby, particularly his mother. But it was hard not to, the short little guy had a baby face despite being a 15 year old, almost 16 now.
"I- it was fine, mom, fine...." he replied softly to his mother.
Bella now raised a suspicious eyebrow at her son, but a more concerned look coming across her face. "Aww sweetie, I know that look, are you sure everything's ok my little sweet pea?" she asked, a caring tone in her voice.
Thomas kept his lips tight and nodded, "Yes mom," he simply replied.
The answer didn't seem to satisfy his mother as she just frowned, looking down at her little witchlet boy, the pride and absolute joy of her life- her one and only son. "Little witchlet," said Bella softly, Thomas never liking that she still called him that even at 15, "If something's wrong you know you can always tell mommy, right?" she said, looking down at her son, willing to do anything to help him and make him feel better if he needed that.
Thomas closed his eyes and shook his head quickly, "No mom, I promise, everything went fine. The first day was- was good." he replied respectfully, thinking about the day he had, his classes, his short comings- his new friend, Audrea. He anxiously tugged at the pale blue sleeves of his illusions coven uniform.
Bella smiled softly, "Ok my little witchlet, I'm glad you enjoyed your first day." she said. Thomas nodded, cracking a very slight smile as he looked at his mom, happy that this seemingly was the end of the "questioning period" from his parents. But he was soon to realize that he was mistaken.
"So, Tommy," his mother said in a sing-songy voice, "How were classes?" she asked with a huge grin on her face, excited to hear about Thomas' day some more and in a bit more detail, "How were illusion classes?" she asked.
Thomas gulped nervously and raised his eyebrows. "Uhh they were good, I guess," he replied simply.
His mother's smile didn't falter. "Oh excellent Tom!" she exclaimed, "How did you like your illusions coven classes? Following in mommy and daddy's footsteps, my little witchlet?" Bellas asked.
Thomas just frowned slightly, nodding slowly, "Y- yes mom," he told her.
"Excellent!" proclaimed Bella. She then looked to her blonde haired husband. "Hey Andy, did you hear that? Our little witchlet is following in our footsteps- and loving it!" she said, her voice all cheerful and giddy as she jumped up and down slightly on her toes.
"Mhm, that's great," said Andrew in passing, again, not looking up from his scroll as he seemed to mutter something under his breath, his wife's question obviously making him lose a little bit of focus as he was reading presumably emails and messages from various different clients. Andrew seemed quite disinterested right now.
Thomas looked from his father to his mother periodically, that nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach never faltering.
Despite her husband's apparent disinterest, Bella still managed to wear a soft smile. "Oh I'm so proud of you," she said smiling, leaning down to pinch her son's little cheeks, causing him to blush from embarrassment, flustered and holding back a slight bit of anger at his mother still treating him like a baby.
"You know you look just like your father did when he was starting in St. Epiderm at your age," his mother told him.
Thomas rolled his eyes and nodded. He had been told countless times before that he looked like his father when he was younger. "Yes mom, I know..." he groaned.
Bella still smiled down at him, "I think you look even cuter," she added with a slight giggle, causing Thomas to just roll his eyes. Soon, a short awkward silence befell the family of three as both Thomas and Bella stood awkwardly in the kitchen as Andrew kept to his scroll, dealing with work. Someone had to pay the bills, after all, Mr. Vlasic would always say if Bella would calmly suggest to him to spend a little bit more time with the family.
Bella decided she'd take action and break the silence. "So, Tommy," she began, looking down at Thomas again, "Make any friends?" she asked. Oh how she hoped her little witchlet boy had made friends, she knew how timid and shy he was, how quiet and reserved he tended to be.
Thomas' eyes widened at the question. Yes, he had made a friend, but surely his parents would get the wrong idea about him and his relationship with Audrea should he tell them that Audrea was a girl. He knew his mother would start gushing over him and getting the wrong idea- that they were girlfriend and boyfriend or something, which they were not!
He nodded slowly, "Y- yea mom, I made a friend," he replied softly.
Bella's eyes widened as a big grin came across her face. "Oooo that's great little witchlet! What's his name?" she asked, anticipating an answer from her son.
Thomas gulped nervously, "Well, i- it's actually-" he paused. Was he really going to tell his mother that it was a "she?" But, he wasn't about to lie to his parents AGAIN. He sighed, frowning, anticipating the taunting from his mother. "He's actually a she," added Thomas softly, looking down and not wanting to face his mother.
"Oooo a she?" his mother asked in a childish tone, a mischievous grin already forming on her face. Thomas cringed as he heard his mother. When he didn't respond, she took the opportunity to speak some more. "Andy, did you hear that? Our little boy made a female friend!" she said looking at her husband, smiling, "Aww he's a little charmer, just like you were, Andy! I knew those good looks of yours would pay off, Tom!" she said, looking back down at her cute little boy and gushing over him.
Thomas' face went warm, red from blushing due to the embarrassment he now faced.
"How cute...." muttered Andrew. Thomas just twiddled with his fingers awkwardly.
"Soooo?" began Bella, "What's her name?" she asked, her eyelashes fluttering. Thomas once again cringed.
"Audre- Audrea," he replied.
Bella smirked playfully, "Sooo, this 'Audrea,' is she cute?" his mother asked him.
This caused Thomas' eyes to widen as he blushed even more. "Wh- what?! N- no! I- it's not like that! I- I swear! Mooom stop!" Thomas shouted defensively.
This just caused Bella to laugh at her little boy, seeing how flustered he was getting. "I'm only kidding, Thom! Lighten up!" she said.
Thomas rubbed his warm blushing red cheeks. He clearly wasn't as amused.
Bella grinned, "You know though, Tom, your father used to pull ALL the ladies back in St. Epiderm," she said with a chuckle.
Thomas furrowed his brows. He thought of saying, "But I'm not my father," but held his tongue.
"And you know," added Bella, "You look just like-" she stopped as she was cut off by her son, finishing her sentence for her.
"Just like he did when he was younger, yea yea, I know mom, you tell me this a lot," said Thomas.
Bella just shrugged and chuckled, "Alright sweetie," she said. "Well, I'm glad you made a friend, Tom. You're a good looking kid, don't forget that. You'll go far if you just open up out of that little shell of yours," his mother advised him. He'd been told this countless times before.
He just nodded, "Yes mooom, I know..." he moaned, rolling his eyes slowly.
Bellas chuckled, "Alright, my sweet pea," she said, patting little Thomas on the head and ruffling his soft blonde hair a bit. He certainly had inherited his father's good hair, and hair color.
Bella looked to her husband. "Andrew? Anything to add?" she asked.
"No, I think we're good here," replied Andrew, putting his scroll down on the table. He turned to look at his son, directly in the eyes, causing Thomas to raise his eyebrows and stiffen up. "Tom, good work today," he said, looking at his only son, "You keep this good performance up, ok?" Andrew asked.
Thomas just gulped nervously and nodded, "Y- yes father," he said respectfully.
"Good," said Andrew, seemingly satisfied with his son's answer as he picked back up his scroll again and returned to work.
"Ok Tommy, dinner will be ready soon. You look tired, sweet pea, maybe go to bed a bit early tonight?" Bella suggested.
Thomas nodded slowly, "Yes mom, I will, thank you," he replied.

Eventually, Thomas went back up to his room and waited for his mother to cook the whole family dinner. He sighed as he sat on his bed waiting for dinner, feeling something in his pocket and then remembering the smooth black stone that Audrea had given him earlier at the cafe. He took it out of his pocket and fiddled around with it, clutching it in his hand. He closed his eyes, the stone in hand, and tried the deep breathing exercise that Audrea had guided him through when he had his little mini panic in the cafe. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in, and then out, feeling his belly rise and fall with each breath. It was calming, helping to ease his intense stress that he was feeling temporarily. Soon, the family ate dinner in relative silence. For tonight, Thomas decided that he'd go to bed extra early, feeling tired and wiped out from the stressful day of classes. The boy changed from his Hexside uniform into a pair of comfortable pajamas as he slipped into bed and let his head hit the pillow, falling asleep quite soon after.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano
- Sano's Salves Clinic -​

Audrey had just smiled at Thomas and waved when he left, and once he was out of view, Audrey's smile dropped. Her day wasn't about to end just yet, and getting to know Thomas, while certainly wasn't boring, definitely added to the things she wanted to do today. She glanced at her scroll to get the time, it was a few hours before dinner. She began to speed walk back home to her parents clinic. She decided to get her workout and training in as soon as she got home, then dinner, then her homework and study, then sleep. Running the times in her head, it should all work out. It definitely helped that the homework from Hexside was actually less than she expected. It wasn't long until she made it home, just a few streets and blocks over from The Blood and Bread cafe. As she approached the front door, she peered into the window, noticing a distinct lack of patients, which was good, her parents were still settling in, making their stock of medical supplies, and it meant she didn't need to help around the clinic tonight. It also meant she didn't have to greet anyone else, which was a gift from the Titan, she socialized enough today to feel exhausted, and she definitely felt herself slipping by the school days end. Thankfully she just kept Thomas as company by then, and he didn't seem terribly bothered by any changes in her behavior, which she definitely appreciated.

She opened the front door slowly, listening carefully, but nothing happened aside from the door being opened. So her parents hadn't installed the front door bell yet. Audrey continued through the door and walked into the clinic, spotting the bell, a hammer, and a small bowl of nails on a nearby chair. So the bell was going to be installed soon, likely tonight. She made a note of that information and continued to the pharmacy section, opening the door to the workshop, where the stairs leading up to their home were. Passing by rows and rows of herbs and ingredients, she made her way to the stairwell, going up the stairs as quietly, but as swiftly, as possible. As she went up, she heard chatter, her parents were likely talking. So she just continued up the stairs into the living room.

"Audrea! I didn't hear you come in!" Deron, her father, asked. He was currently kneading and forming balls of dough already. Audrey just gave a tired smile in response. "We're going to have curry and potato flatbread for dinner tonight. How was Hexside?"
"Make any friends?" Astra asked as she was cubing poultry meat.
"Hexside was fine. Plenty of friends. Dad could I borrow one of your journals?" Audrey asked, she was walking through the living room towards her room. Along the way, she put her tea and fried orb on the dinner table. Then she opened the door to her room, not bothering to close it fully. Inside, she tossed her bag onto her desk chair, and she began to change out of her Hexside uniform into comfortable clothes. Black shorts and a grey tank top.
"By plenty of friends do you mean...?" Astra asked from across the house.
"Real friends mom, not witches I've had disagreements with and beat up." Audrey replied, knowing full well the reason why her mother asked that question. Historically, her definition of 'friend' was very loose, and it was often a surprise to Astra to know which of her classmates were actually friends, and who were 'friends'.
Her dad spoke up next, "Which journal do you need?"
Audrey paused, holding up her hair in a ponytail, "Maybe... Journal 3?"
"Okay, I put the journals in the new study on the left bookshelf."
"Thanks dad!" Audrey replied, finally typing up her hair with a hairband. She grabbed a small bag full of weights, hefting it over her shoulder, and then grabbed her sword bag. She walked out of her room and headed back downstairs to the workshop, towards the backyard door, grabbing her hibiscus tea along the way. "Gonna train for a bit. Call me for dinner." She said as she walked by them.

The backyard door was close to the stairs, she only had to take a couple more steps to reach the door. It was strange having a backyard, she used to train in her room, which wasn't ideal at all, given that the amount of space in there was limited. Out here in her new backyard though, she easily had more than ten times the space to work with. In the corner of her grassy backyard was even a couple of sizable trees, with branches sticking out to hang stuff off of. It was perfect. She put down her sword bag and bag of weights and got to stretching, taking in the fresh air and relative silence. The sounds of the city were always present, but compared to Latissa, it was much quieter. After a couple of minutes stretching, she grabbed the weights from her bag and got to exercising. This was a daily thing, conditioning, then training, and it was a welcome distraction from her day. She focused on her movements and breathing, making sure not to neglect any muscle groups. After an hour or so, give or take ten minutes, she set the weights down panting. She sat down next to her sword bag and rested, sitting cross legged, putting her hands on her knees and closing her eyes. She meditated for a moment, while catching her breath. Thinking on her strange teachers, how Professor Ursa spoke with familiar words to her, but she couldn't quite tell exactly why. The wide variety of connections she made throughout the day, she had a positive relationship with her Abominations professor, as well as either positive or neutral interactions with the rest of her class. It seemed to her that she was acting like a glue that was connecting the class together, which was fine. She just didn't want to be that glue forever, as long as they stuck with each other after, and recognized Audrey for her efforts, that would be good. She also had a few conversations with students in other coven courses, though not many. One of them was Thomas, an illusionist, though by his own estimation, not a very skilled one. Even if he wasn't a skilled illusionist, he was still a person, and that was where many witches who wanted social power made their mistake. By not offering a hand to the meek and isolated, they miss out on potential, and another pair of eyes and set of hands. To them, social elitism was their goal. To Audrey, all that mattered was victory over those who opposed her, it didn't matter to her if her friends were nerds, geeks, loners, or 'uncool and unskilled' witches. So meeting Thomas was a good thing, in her book. By helping him, he would be far more likely to want to help her, and that was what she was banking on, with all of these people she met today.

She sighed, opened her eyes, and finished her tea. She unbuckled the clasps on her sword bag and unrolled it. She had three practice swords, each one functional but dull. The Late Deadwardian Rapier, she was already proficient in, so she left it strapped to the bag. The Late Deadwardian Sabre, she hadn't even begun to learn yet, Liberi's manual was still in her room, on her bookshelf. But the last one, the Early Deadwardian Longsword, she was still practicing. She unstrapped the longsword from the bag and unsheathed it, checking its edge, and straightness. Once satisfied, she walked over to the trees in the corner of the backyard. One of them had a rope tied to a branch, and spaced out on the rope were four wooden blocks. She was good at the rapier, it emphasized measured movement, observing your opponent, precision over speed or power. The footwork was reactive, but explosive. The longsword however, was almost the complete opposite, but at the same time, very familiar. The longsword was all about flow, moving seamlessly at different speeds from once stance to another, from guard to parry to attack all in one fluid move. The footwork was like being water, moving as necessary in response to your opponent and according to your own techniques. So she stood in front of the rope and blocks, taking a deep breath, and holding the sword up, the flat of the blade facing her. Then she went into a low guard, keeping the tip of the blade near to the ground, while having the sword in front of her. She performed an upward strike, hitting the lowest block of wood with the false edge of the sword, sending it to the side as she flowed into a defensive high guard, then performing a block against an imaginary blow from her upper right. She stepped to the right as she flowed into an offensive high guard, binding the imaginary opponents blade with her own, and then she stepped forward into a high thrust, stabbing the highest block of wood, sending it swaying back. This flow was all she could practice, there were more advanced longsword techniques, but those required a sparring partner, and while she could, and did practice on her own, they often needed a second person wielding a sword so she could actually do it against a physical object. Not just an imaginary opponent. Those advanced techniques were like a rapiers lunge. Explosive, violent, but unlike a rapier, far more akin to wrestling than sword fighting.

She lost track of time when her mother called for her from the second floor window, and she spent a few minutes winding down, then sheathing the longsword and buckling it back into her sword bag. When she got back to the dinner table, which now had three plates of curry, and a large dish full of round flatbreads in the middle, she had already put away her bag of weights and sword bag. The Sanos got to eating, with Audrey on her Scroll as she ate slowly. She was flipping through her comic updates, catching up.
"So why did you want to look at one of my journals?" Her father asked curiously.
Audrey stopped mid chew and looked at him, blinking once. She looked back at her scroll and rolled it up, setting it down on the table as she continued chewing, then swallowing. "Met a boy named Thomas. He displays signs of mild anxiety attacks, or... panic, but I'm not sure. If either could even be mild." Deron nodded. "Focusing and deep breaths seemed to work for him during one of these attacks. They seem to trigger whenever he thinks he's done something wrong." She continued, "Not bullying from similarly aged students, I don't think. Maybe social pressure from family to be perfect." She wondered aloud, remembering his loss of appetite from admitting that he was lost during Illusions class, and when he ate the custard tarts at the bakery, indulging in them like he had never had them before, then suddenly trying to erase all evidence that he had eaten them. She forked a cube of meat and popped it into her mouth.
"I see." Her father replied, "Well Astra can brew a potion for anxiety, with varying levels of strength." He said, looking to his wife. Astra, who was biting into flatbread made noises of confirmation. "I can teach you a calming spell too, a derivative of a sleeping spell. Less strength, so the patient doesn't fall asleep, only calms down."
Audrey nodded, "The weekend, for the calming spell. And I don't want to give him any potions or anything, especially since I don't know exactly why he's suffering from anxiety, or panic." She said, and her mother nodded in agreement. This brought her back, it had been more than a few weeks since they did this together. Discussing a patient and how to help them. Even as a child, she sat in on their discussions, and as she grew older, she contributed. Of course, as she started training, she started participating in these talks less, and then they started talking like this during dinner. She thought that because it was one of the few things that all three of them had in common, her parents wanted to hold onto that, as Audrey had less free time to spend with them. She honestly didn't mind.

When they were done with dinner, Audrey went into the bathroom, taking a long bath. She idly scrolled on her Scroll, finishing her comics, and then going on penstagram to chat with her few old Glandus friends. Once done, she changed into her sleeping clothes, a baggy t-shirt and comfortable pajama pants, wrapping her long hair in a towel. Before heading to her room, she made a stop into the new study, seeing full bookshelves. She found her dads journals quickly, pulling out Journal 3 - Afflictions of Anxiety, Panic and Wounds of The Mind. Then she walked to her room, closing the door behind her. She started up on her homework, finishing it quickly, then she unwrapped her hair to let it air dry, and she got to flipping through her dads journal. She looked through the index and flipped to the sections about anxiety and panic, noting symptoms and solutions that worked and those that didn't. After a while, long after the sun had set, she yawned, and left the journal open on her desk. With her hair now completely dry, she crawled into bed, covering herself with blankets and went to sleep. With probably not enough time for a full nights sleep.

 

[Skyrte]

Episode 2 - The Lonely Clubhouse

After the first week of school, the Club Fair goes into full swing, with students of all years beckoning newcomers to their clubs in an effort to get more members. To share their passions, and show off their amazing hobbies like gardening, casket weaving, art, and more. The Club Fair is almost like a festival, with cooking clubs offering food and drink, crafting clubs selling knick knacks, music clubs playing tunes, and physical clubs performing tests of strength against each other.
Though far off from the rest of the stands is a single lonely one, with no student near it. The black, white, and wood stand was nestled next to a tree, separated from the rest of the fair. Despite existing, students seemed to look right through the stand, as if it weren't there at all. The raggedy and dusty stand only had a blank book on the table and a sign overhead with the letters RoGH written in black paint...

​

---

Etheldreda Sano
- Hexside, Bonesborough, 5 days later -​

The second day of school was just as eventful as the first one, though for different reasons. She had lunch with Thomas, and the rest of the Abomination students. And then Physical Education. It was split into two groups, the less athletic witches would go on runs and play sports, the more athletics witches however were given the chance to practice magic on each other. A bit of self defense mixed into the class. Audrey jumped on the opportunity to duel quickly, but she purposely lost all of her matches. Putting in just enough effort for her opponent to have a hard fought win. It was an exercise in gauging the ability of her opponent, as well as gauging the abilities of the other witches on a personal level. Their Spelling Class with Professor Ursa continued with fire magic, with many students still struggling to produce even a spark. Audrey continued to help around the classroom, encouraging others, and checking in with Thomas. By the end of the week, aside from Thomas, only one other student had managed to create fire.

The Club Fair was very well advertised during the week leading up to it. Posters were all over the walls of Hexside, and the professors reminded the students often. If the school was trying to make Audrey excited for it, it was working. The promises of food at the very least was enticing, posters of what they were making were dotting the halls, photos of salads, fruit cocktails, and waffles dotted their poster. And while she had no intention of joining a club, she really couldn’t turn down an opportunity to go shopping.

So when she finally reached the front doors of Hexside, she was beaming with delight. The Abominations class was in the middle of the school, so some students were already there, walking the rows of club stands. She noticed that some students were let out of her class an hour early, and she suspected that they were club members, so they could have time to set up. Standing on the stairs of Hexside confirmed her suspicions, as she spotted three of her classmates running a club for abomination engineering, the three saw her and they waved, Audrey waved back with a smile but she stayed put, sitting down on a stair with a smile on her face. She rested her head on her knees while hugging her legs, just people watching. The Illusions classroom was a little farther away from the front doors than her own classroom, and she practically ran to look at the fair. So she sat, waiting for Thomas.

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Eventually, around a week had passed. The second day of Hexside was more of the first- Thomas had once again sat with Audrea at lunch, and had mostly felt like he wasn't performing at the top level in any of his illusions class. The only class that he think he was doing surprisingly well once again, was in Professor Ursa's class. Thomas and Audrea were one of the few students able to create a stable fire spell in class. If he had to take away anything from his first week of school- it would at least be that he was seeming to excel in that class. His illusion skills were a bit lacking, certainly something to be a cause for disappointment with Thomas' two illusionist parents, but so far, so good with grades- the boy hadn't failed yet- not that there were many grades being given out besides a few homework assignments. Luckily, Audrea had been there to help him in the classes that they shared, being somewhat of his rock and foundation to keep him calm. Conversely, Thomas knew he had a mission to do- a promise to uphold for Professor Ursa. He had to keep a close eye on Audrea and make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Sometimes when Audrea would get a bit rowdy, Thomas would be there to reel her ion a bit and prevent any further chaos. So far, there were no glaring incidents involving Audrea, so Thomas saw that as a success on his part. Audrea also was unaware, to Thomas' knowledge, of his talk the first day with Professor Ursa and therefore, was unaware that Thomas had essentially been "assigned" to keep a watchful eye on the ambitious witch girl. All was going well and running mostly smoothly though as the days passed by.

Today was the date of the big annual club fair here at Hexside. The school had been advertising it fore a little while now, so even if Thomas wanted to avoid anything talking about it, he couldn't. The school had done a great job getting the message out there and trying to get the students to come and participate, to be active and engaged with the big club fair. It was a yearly tradition here at the Hexside school. But just before the fair, Thomas had an illusions class. When that let out, Thomas seemed to be the slowest of his classmates to flood out of the room. Thomas took his time a bit, not as eager as his fellow illusionist classmates to head on down to the fair, as he left the room casually. He figured he really had no choice and that'd he'd go see what this big club fair thing was all about. Besides, it was a big tradition at Hexside, and Thomas' mother even told him he should go check out a few clubs and get engaged in a school activity. "It would be a great way to make some more friends!" his mother had told him this morning with a smile. Plus, maybe something WOULD catch his interest a bit, by some chance. A little voice internally told him to look at the grudgby club stand that would surely be there at the fair, but of course, he tried to shut up his little desires to be a grudgby star. The ambitious part of Thomas that was so often shoved away and silenced within him even dreamed of dawning the "C" on a grudgby team uniform, the "C" denoting his status as and meaning that he was the captain of the team.

But of course, those were only silly childish and unattainable dreams, Thomas had told himself. As he exited his illusions classroom after all of the other illusionist students, he sighed, walking down the hall casually- certainly no pep in his step like many of the other students in the hallway blowing past him and eager to get to the big club fair. He continued walking down the hallway as he found himself thinking about his friend Audrea. He assumed that surely she had bolted to the club fair and was already checking out some wild and crazy club with her abomination coven friends. He wore a slight frown as he walked down the halls, eventually reaching the place where Audrea was sitting in the hall and people-watching, waiting for Thom, unbeknownst to the little blonde haired witchlet. The boy walked on, just missing Audrea sitting there down on the ground. It would be the last place Thomas would expect to see her, especially since he believed that Audrea was already there at the club fair with some of her other friends looking at some of the clubs.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

Audrey found that people watching wasn't as boring as she thought it was going to be. She was able to see a good portion of the fair from the stairs, and she noticed more than a few interesting things by just observing. Over by the Pet Club, a beast keeping student had just opened two clear glass cages, and a swarm of spiders emerged from the openings, covering his arms, much to the horror of several onlookers. He flexed his arms and the spider swarms faked muscles for him in a cartoonish way, to the continued horror of the onlookers, while the Oracle witch behind him howled with laughter. The absurdity of it made Audrey grin. While she would never want to put spiders on her arms, it was admittedly a funny trick, especially since she was a distant observer, not up close to the swarms. She looked over to the right, back towards the cooking clubs booth, which was placed purposely right next to the gardening club. The both of them were a powerhouse of foot travel, with the cooking club selling freshly made waffles, candies, and other assorted snacks. The gardening club on the other hand had flowers, and some of their members would create fruit right in front of the eyes of passersby, to their amazement. She also spotted small wooden charms carved in the shape of various objects and animals, and some students had tied them to their bags. From the stairs, she couldn't see any stall related to woodworking, so she would have to look around with Thomas once he got there.

There was also one strange stall, farther away than the rest, and not in any row. It was old, looked like it was hastily and sloppily made, and no students were even near it, much less manning the post. Audrey squinted at the stall suspiciously, thinking it strange that no witch was near it, and it being placed separated from the rest of the club booths. Her attention was pulled away by someone walking by her, and she recognized the height and hair of the witch walking by. Audrey jumped up to her feet and reached out to the witch, grabbing his sleeve.
"Hey! Thom you almost walked right past me." Audrey said with mock indignance, crossing her arms. She let the act stick for a second before smiling at him and dropping her arms, "Do you have any clubs you want to go see? You can actually see a lot of them from here."

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas walked along the halls, unsuspectingly. In his mind, he'd be at the fair for 5 minutes alone before he went off and did something else, presumably since Audrea was off with all of her abominations coven student friends. Unlike him, she had made plenty of friends outside of himself. But for Thomas, all he had was Audrea. He hadn't really made an effort to make any friends with the illusions coven students in his classes, and conversely, no one in his illusions classes really made the effort to come and talk to the shy meek and timid boy sitting in the back corner of the room alone. But suddenly, Thomas felt a tug on the pale blue sleeves of his illusions coven Hexside uniform. His eyes widened with some surprise initially, a bit startled but the sleeve grab, but his eyebrows raised once he turned an saw the source of the tugging. It was Audrea, to mostly Thomas' shock.

"Oh umm- A- Audrea! Hi!" he said, a small smile forming on his face. At least he wouldn't be alone for this big club fair. He thought about saying something like, "You're not with your abomination coven friends?" but decided against it and zipped it up. He looked at her, his face spelling "pleasant yet unexpected surprise." He smiled softly and couldn't help but chuckle as she pretended to be almost a little angry and irritated that the boy had almost completely walked past her. What could he say, she WAS on the floor after all- the last place he'd expect! Thomas just chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck slowly, "Heh, s- sorry," he replied softly. He noticed her demeanor change as she smiled, clearly joking before. Then she asked him if he had any particular stand or club he wanted to go take a look at. The smile wiped off of his face and turned into a more casual look. "Uhh, n- no. I- I'm good. How about you?" Thomas said, lying. Obviously, he wanted to see the grudgby team stand, but he figured she'd laugh at him and that it was a stupid dream. Thomas, playing grudgby? It was nonsense! He was far too small and timid to be playing such an aggressive sport.

 

[Skyrte]

Etheldreda Sano​

"I wanna see the cooking club!" Audrey said excitedly, she pointed out the club towards their right, just noticing that a long stemmed jawed plant had leaned over and started eating some of the waffles that the cooking club had made and stacked up on the side. And just as she and Thomas noticed, the members of the cooking club and gardening club noticed as well, and in that little section of the fair, chaos erupted. One of the gardening club members started to try to pull the very animated plant back, to not much success, several of the cooking club members started screaming, along with several witches passing by, the witch using the waffle iron threw it at the plant, and the iron bounced off its head landing on the ground. Audrey blinked in disbelief, "Okay maybe we'll go there second!" She said.

"Casket weaving!" She said next, pointing to the left side of the fair, "We can buy baskets for our stuff. I've seen small wooden charms around, but I don't know where they're from, there must be a woodworking or carving club somewhere." Audrey shared, "And I know the art club is offering paintings and sketches of people. We could go there too! I'm also curious about the Fear Book club." She said quickly, "There's so many interesting clubs, maybe we should just go through the whole fair. That way we don't have to worry about which ones to go to first."

 

[Edric Blight]

Thomas Vlasic:​

Thomas looked at Audrea as she claimed that she wanted to see the cooking club. She, unlike him, seemed very eager to check out almost all of the clubs this fair had to offer. Her enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming to the young timid boy, but, he had known Audrea for about a week now- he knew what he was getting into most of the time being friends with such an ambitious young girl. He looked at her, a little nervous, "Umm, yeaaa we can go see all of those," he said, looking over at the chaos unfolding near the cooking club stall with a concerned look. He stood there in a stunned silence, snapping out of it as Audrea spoke, saying they could go visit that second. He nodded his head in silent agreement.

The boy looked in the direction that his friend was pointing too. She seemed very eager to visit all of these clubs' stalls. Again, he was overwhelmed by the girl's seemingly unending interest in so many different things, so many different clubs and activities. When Audrea finished quickly speaking, swiftly naming any club that seemed to escape the tip of her tongue, Thomas chuckled a bit and put a hand out in front of him and in Audrea's direction, as if to calm her down. He wore a slight smile as he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Ok ok," he said softly with a slight smile, "We can get to all of those, I guess. Let's just take it a bit slow, ok?" Thomas suggested. He figured they could briefly skim and walk down the aisle to get a quick look at all of the clubs. But of course, Thomas knew exactly which club He wanted to sit and stare at with awe- the grudgby team club and their stall. He internally debated with himself- should he tell Audrea that he was interested in the grudgby club? Surely she'd laugh at him, seeing such a small, meek, and timid young boy wanting to play such a rough and tough sport like grudgby. But on the other hand, the boy had a desire to tap into his once childhood dream of playing grudgby. But no, he thought, it was a silly dream. Even his parents had told him it was a silly- and dangerous, dream. That's all it was.... a dumb dream, he sadly thought to himself with a frown.