Tallyho Abel's Story

The past two weeks had been Hell.

Absolute. Hell.

Harper had seriously wondered if he had actually died. Back in the park. Maybe he'd actually drowned, or the alien had eaten him after all, and now he was in Hell. It made so much sense, with the portal and this terrible, god awful mountain. It had to be Hell. What else would it be?

Hypothetically, if it was Hell, Harper would be able to kill himself without actually dying. He had considered in, in hopes that he'd end up in a different layer, or at least be given some respite for a little bit before being forced back. But he had been too scared to try it. And, fortunately or not, he wasn't entirely convinced he was dead. Plus, he was too cowardly to do himself in.

And the fear...the fear was very, very real.

Each morning he woke up feeling awful. For the first few days he'd throw up, like some pregnant woman. At least once in the morning, and then periodically throughout the day whenever he caught sight of the edge or the lands below. It had been so bad that they'd given him medicine to take daily. It wasn't exactly a pill. They were leaves, dark green and very, very bitter. Years of drinking black coffee helped him stomach them. He chewed them in the morning, spitting them out before brushing his teeth, and they worked wonders with the vomiting issue, although they did nothing for his jitters. The only thing that helped that was a very strong tea that didn't smell that bad at all. He'd taken to drinking that once a morning with breakfast. While he still hated being on the mountain, the tea kept him sane.

He still stayed away from the edges, though, preferring to stay within the school, where it was easy to forget he was on a very high mountain. Even better was the baths and fountain, which he swam in twice a day (if he could get away with it) and also helped his nerves. If he could, he'd just stay there all day long.

Surprisingly, the work they made them do wasn't the worst part. Harper had been on a swim team for years, where average routine was early mornings with laps and strength training, so the push ups and running was familiar and not awful. At least he could do a push up properly. Anything that was on the mountainside always made him anxious, but focusing on the physical activity helped a lot.

It was at night, when they'd go to sleep, that was the worst. Every night since they'd arrived here, he'd had nightmares. Usually they involved him falling off the mountain in various ways. The first few nights he'd woken screaming, but since then he'd just wake silently, in a cold sweat and breathing hard. They'd grown predictable, and he had grown to expect them, but they were still terrifying. Lately he'd taken to just staying up and carving more things out of various pieces of wood or stone he'd pick up.

The combination of his lack of sleep and phobia led to him being much less outspoken than before. He'd still make snarky comments and offer his own unwanted commentary on various things, but whenever they were outside and the mountain was in full view, he'd keep quiet, all his focus on keeping calm and not panicking. Not that it helped his relationships with the others. It seemed they'd only remember his snarkiness and assholery, and his moments of silence went unnoticed. Or at least, that was how it seemed, based on how they continued to treat him. Not that he blamed them. His douchebaggery, although limited, had been concentrated to make up for its lack of presence. Meal times in particular were always fun.

Currently, though, Harper was mentally cursing. They had been made to run rocks up and down the mountain, something he absolutely DID NOT enjoy. Running up was awful, each step up flipping his stomach, but the run down was ten times worse. He'd decided the best thing to do was just get everything over with as fast as he could, and as such was one of the first people done, and he waited for the others with his head between his knees, staring at the grass and trying to convince himself he was on a level field somewhere. Tallyho and Autumn were some of the last ones to finish, but when they finally reached the top, they returned to the school. He joined Tallyho in the fountain, and stayed there as Haru pulled out a cage.

He nearly jumped when the Cyclopean was revealed, and he grimaced. They were so...so ugly. And the way it jumped and shook the cage...

Yes, this had to be Hell.

At the prompt for questions, Harper raised a hand. "I got one for ya," he said, "Supposing I come across one of these completely unarmed. How long does it take to kill you? On average? And approximately how would it go about it?"

Haru raised a brow.
"Well... That's an interesting question. I guess it would depend on how far it has to run to get you. If you're close, no time at all really... They go for the head."
Tallyho glanced at Harper. While that particular question was admittedly pretty unsettling she had to agree that over all she enjoyed a Harper who stayed out of her way. And that's exactly the Harper she knew ever since they got to the top of the mountain.
Tallyho was torn from her thoughts when Haru flicked open the latch to release the cyclopoen. Though the cyclopoen had only been out for a second, it felt like longer. As the monster moved to gain its bearings and lunge at the group, Haru, without too much effort, nailed the creature in the chest with his sword.
The cyclopean faltered. In no time a pile of onyx shepards we're sanding at the redheads feet.
"When you kill them they do this." As Haru sheathed his sword the students rolled the cage away. "If you have any questions how about you walk and talk? It looks like you guys are hungry."
Tallyho almost shot up from the fountain. The mention of food was enough to get her walking.
But it wasn't like the food was really that great. Honestly she envied the higher ranked students when it's came to mealtime. It should be a crime to let them eat in the same room as everyone else. When you walk through the entrance of the mess hall the first thing you are forced to see is a titanic wooden table weighed down by fruit, meat, and other delicacies. Then you just had to keep walking right until you met the smaller tables where you were served bread and soup or some other simple thing. Such meals wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the beckon of beef and white grapes at the other end of the room.
Tallyho situated herself at one of the tables. It was unfortunate what the underclassmen tables could only seat four--not that any of the warriors were particularly endowed with friends. It's just that the elite table looked more like a feast of fellowship. The only thing the two dining experiences had in common was that the tables were so low that everyone had to sit on floor cushions.
One of the kitchen attendants came to her table almost as quickly as she had. Lunch for today was... Pretty much what Tallyho expected. Bread, a thin slab of fish, a small bowl of water and a small bowl of milk.
Tallyho devoured it like it was nothing. If someone were watching her closely enough they might not think she chewed a thing and before she knew it she was done. She stared at her empty dish set. Usually after lunch the warriors got a little bit of free time and Tallyho was starting to have some strong considerations about taking the forest trail.

Even if no one had told Dorian that Ryou was a part of an Academy of any sort he would have assumed that he was a teacher or, at the very least, the parent of several trouble children. It was the never-ending grace he used to deal with the more difficult members of the group, answering silly questions and fits of pique as if they were seriously asked or thoughts to be considered. It was the look of serenity on his face in that crowded cart with new arrivals, shrieking month warriors, and an insulted ox driver all packed in together like a tin of particularly rude and obnoxious sardines. Dorian's best explanation, therefore, was that Ryou had been so exposed to insanity of the teenaged and young adult variety (or of the children variety depending on which month warrior you were referring to) that this cart of chaos seemed disturbingly commonplace to the Guardian. Either that or he'd managed to procure earplugs, which was doubtful since he seemed to be privately laughing at all of them when they said something ridiculous. The only change in countenance he experienced was to give the new arrivals a cheery wave and a pleased exclamation of greeting before settling back into his spot to wait out the storm of emotions.

Dorian, for his part, tried to make the best of an incredibly irritating situation by privately pretending he was on the New York subway during rush hour, crammed in between the masses of the major city. It was about as noisy as the subway between the various conversation and occasional shouts, and with the oxen driving the cart, the foul smelling berries raining down on them as they trundled along, Harper's vomiting, and the fact that no one had had a decent bath in what felt like ages, it certainly smelled similar. Closing his eyes, he was almost able to trick himself into believing the lie and, yes, it might have seemed a little bizarre, but at least he was coping quietly and taking up as little room as possible. Well, not that it was the best coping mechanism- he hated the subway; it was just that he hated being here even more.

The eventual arrival at the Academy greeted the group with a change in terrain as bumpy dirt roads made way for cobblestones and their journey was now more horizontal in motion than vertical. A forest made itself known, looming over one side like an organic wall of the square they found themselves in. As soon as the cart came to a halt, Dorian climbed out, stretching cramped legs and generally enjoying the feeling of his personal space being returned to him. He was so caught up in alleviating the pins and needles feeling in his legs that he almost missed the arrival of two new people. They, unlike all of the strangers he'd met so far with the exception of Haru with his authoritative leadership style and Ryou who had been greeted more as a savior to the teenager than an intruder to be thrown together with, were unobtrusive and didn't seem to have the hint of trouble that seemed to follow each of the month warriors every step of their journey.

"Dear Ji Na, your confidence in me is inspiring," Ryou replied, exiting the cart with far more grace than Dorian. It was all in good fun, apparently, a light sort of joke as opposed to withering sarcasm. Ji Na, the only one of the two to speak, was like an image plucked from an ancient roll of tapestry, ornaments and fine cloth decorating her like a doll, but she walked with too much grace and her eyes looked too knowing to ever be mistaken as just another pretty ornament. The other, the stranger even to the Academy's master, was stronger looking muscular and dressed far more plainly than her counterpart, but she held her own sort of beauty in an intriguing out of the norm sort of way.

"I trust your judgement, Ji Na. Welcome to my Academy, Katarina." Ryou didn't seem perturbed in the least by the new face, accepting it as he had nearly everything else on this journey.

Soon enough, Harper had made his final obtrusive act for the day, fainting dead away before being carted away alongside Kwasi who, Dorian was pleased to see, was finally getting both the treatment and space he needed after being (un)lucky enough to find his way into the group. Little chitchat followed revealing Ji Na to be a doctor- no, healer- of some sort, and in the midst of the quiet chaos, Ryou slipped away, vanishing from the group. It was hard not to be jealous. Despite being dead tired, Dorian did his best to familiarize himself with the Academy on the tour, futilely clinging to little details to remind him exactly where to go; it wasn't his fault that he was absolute bollocks with directions. The room was uncomfortable to the New Yorker, too open and lacking in privacy to give him any sense of peace. Regardless, when he laid down that night, he fell near instantly into a dreamless world of sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next two weeks were agonizing in a way that Dorian couldn't quite express. Yes, he prided himself on being relatively fit(well, before his solo adventure in Aires took hold of him), but this was like extending his Tae-Kwon-Dog classes to cover almost the entire day. His muscles ached, first a sharp pain that labored his every movement, before fading into a constant throb. Cuts and scrapes joined the nearly healed wounds and bruises that had just begun to fade, but at least he was kept busy and oftentimes was too tired to do anything but sleep and eat in the breaks they were provided with, which was just fine with him. The less time he had to think, the less time he remembered just how desperately he wanted to go home.

Today was no different- sweat didn't so much trickle as it did pour from his face as a mix of heat, exhaustion, and muscle strain attempted to take him down. He persevered however, heaving his bag of rocks for a last mad dash up the mountain to complete his final lap. He let the heft bag fall where it may before seating himself, holding onto just enough dignity to keep from collapsing, wonderingly vaguely what Haru had in store for them.

He had not expected a Cyclopean.

A primal sort of fear tugged at his heart, urging him to run, run, run from the creature. It was an idiotic notion, perhaps, given the cage separating them and the lackadaisical way Haru treated being so close to the monster, but, Dorian told himself, at least his fight or flight instincts were still stubbornly active. The initial fear gave way into a morbid curiosity as Haru lectured on the Cyclopean, gray eyes following every gesture, but never quite leaving the monster. The only weak point… He'd been lucky, all that time ago, that he hadn't gotten himself killed, armed with only that little pocket knife and facing down something like… that. If he tried, even just a little bit, he could remember the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, the layer of blood- mostly the Cyclopean's, but not this- coating his body like a second skin. Well, maybe he didn't want to remember that.

He wasn't particularly hungry at the following meal time, a mix of the heat still clinging to him and the lesson only a short while before making his stomach churn with disgust bordering on fear. Luckily, meal time for the beginning students was never too heavy, and today was no exception as Dorian seated himself as a table with Tallyho. Out of almost everyone in the group, he found her the most pleasant to be around in that she seemed to encourage the notion that there wouldn't be any problems if you don't make any problems. He allowed himself, between a sip of milk and a bite of fish, to glance up at the Elite's table. It was generally something he didn't do if only because he found himself irrationally irritated by the difference in treatment despite understanding and approving of the idea of improving oneself to improve your situation. Today, however, it was different.

For one, Ryou was actually there, seated in the middle of the table, just as vibrant and pleasant as ever. And, on another note, there was a new occupant at the table, scarfing down the fine food voraciously with hardly a breath in between bites. He looked, well, vaguely like a scarecrow. Tall and lean, the adjective "raggedy" seemed to apply itself perfectly to the young man, his dark green shirt a patchwork of where it had been mended many, many times and brown pants and shoes in no better condition and all of it just slightly too big on his frame. His short brown hair curled and spiked every which way, his nose slightly crooked from where it had been obviously broken a time or two before, an assertion backed up by the sword sheathed next to him. The sword and its sheath looked particularly out of place, effortlessly clean and, from what Dorian could see, without the same mended, ragged quality that the rest of the young man's possessions . But, for all that, he seemed to give off an air of friendliness- perhaps it was his wide, green eyes sparkling with mirth at something Ryou whispered, or the fact that, for all of the raggedness, his face was actually handsome in a boyish sort of way.

It was only after most of the month warrior group had started their meal, however, that Ryou made his way over, the scarecrow-like stranger following behind at an easy pace.

"I suppose I should apologize for not being around very often recently, but I'm sure Ji Na and Haru have been taking good care of you," Ryou hummed, his ever-present smile lazily spread across his face. However, he didn't offer an explanation for his absence.

"From what they've told me, all of you have been working very hard-" At least he hadn't lied and said they were doing wonderfully. "And it's come to my attention that you haven't been given a traditional Academy greeting. So, after you've finished your meals and rested, tonight we're going on a bit of an adventure. I wouldn't worry about it- all of the Academy students go through it usually within their first week of training, isn't that right, Dae?" He clapped the tall young man on the shoulder and, to his credit, despite his lean body, he didn't give an inch.

"Ta. Had me do it day two. Suppose that was my own fault, though," he snorted good-naturedly, smiling rather crookedly. His voice was slightly raspy and a thick brogue clung to each syllable.

"Indeed it was," Ryou agreed quite readily, before turning his golden eyes back to the group. "By the way, I don't suppose you've been introduced yet. This is Dae Grimm, one of our resident elites and the person you should be thanking for bringing in your Cyclopean today. Dae's been kind enough to offer to come along with us tonight. Now, the sooner you finish, the sooner we can get this done and you can head off to bed, which I'm sure all of you are looking forward to after today." It was interesting the way he spoke- not patronizing in the least, but genuinely like he understood what they were going through. Then again, given that he ran this Academy, it was fair to say that he'd seen it many, many times before.

Really, the sight of that table was ridiculously luxurious. It looked like a freaking last supper trope with Ryou as their jacked up Jesus figure. Haru also ate at the elite table. Placed between Ryou and Ji Na, he had to suffer Ryou’s games without accidentally elbowing Ji Na in the face. But it wasn’t like he was never used to this sort of behavior from his friend. Nonetheless, when Ryou tried to airplane feed him like a baby, Haru had to sock him in the throat. When was the last time that crazy monkey even went to earth to see an airplane?
Ji Na was a pretty neat eater. She sliced her meat in clean, small, vertical cuts before consuming them. With a controlled jaw she made chewing look like butter melting in her mouth. Occasionally she would cut pork for the loud obnoxious member of the table— little girl with pink hair. Pink hair! One might wonder if there was such thing as hair dye on Aires. But judging by the girl’s attitude it didn’t seem like it was really worth asking. When Ji Na finished cutting the meat the young girl stuck out her tongue, yelled, “you need more practice!” and lovingly threw herself under Ryou’s wing to make him redo it. Ji Na could be seen quietly gritting her teeth.
When Ryou and the scarecrow warrior approached the table, the little pink haired girl made it her business to join them. But not without a loaded plate that she intentionally ate in front of them.
It sort of worked on Tallyho and the kid knew it. As Ryou spoke of…whatever it was…Karma slowly stuffed a bacon-like dish into her mouth. And she was pretty gross about it too—slathering the grease all over the table with her tiny fingers.
When Ryou and the warrior finally finished their exchange, Tallyho tuned back in to the conversation. The most she caught was that they were doing something that night.
At a nearby table Kat and Kwasi sat. Kat dug into her meal prisoner’s style. She guarded her food—arm rested around the circumference of her bowl—her elbow in the air and utensil ferociously digging into its contents. Kawasi gave a nervous laugh. He didn’t really plan on sitting next to Kat but it didn’t make sense to start a new table for him. And after all, she was a new student too, right? Wouldn’t it make sense if the two non-warriors became friends? Kwasi and Kat didn’t attend the cyclopean demonstration simply because they weren’t warriors.
“So what do you think the Goddess has in store?”
Kat stopped. Her fork pursed into the meat of her fish. She looked up at the monk from a downturned faced. Kwasi sensed that she was deeply offended and tried to clarify himself.
“The event tonight. What do you think it is?”
The dark ginger muttered something that seemed to be in another language.
Kwasi responded instantly in the same tongue and Kat briefly popped her brows up in surprise.
“You know I speak the languages too. I was born in Nomansland,” he said.
“I’m surprised. You look watered down,” she said.
Their conversation ended there.
Tallyho didn’t really know what to do at this point. Her eyes drifted towards Dorian who sat in front of her. She stared at him for a while before fumbling with her plate. She probably seemed weird, but honestly what else was there to do?
Haru called from the other table. "Basically, meet us at the square by sunset.”
That was just enough direction for Tallyho who, without a word, pulled herself up from the table and made her way out the door.
Tallyho stood in front of the trail, studying the way the brown path winded and faded and speckled into the green. She took a step forward and didn’t look back.
This was peace. She was happy to see colors that didn’t belong to flesh. The blonde kept walking until she reached a clearing. In this clearing there was a small pond that looked very much like a puddle. She stepped in to wet her feet. The water found her ankles. Microscopic water beings nibbled at her soles. The bottom of the pond was smooth, unnaturally so, and she wondered why there were no twigs in the mud.
She dragged her feet at the bottom before scraping her foot on what felt like a sharp stone. She did not bleed but she cussed as she bent over to pick it up, the ends of her locks dipping into the water. This stone didn’t look too sharp. It was an orangey-gold and looked like a nugget of crystalized honey. She wondered if there were any more stones l like this in the pond and she padded her food around in search of more. And indeed she found them!
She began a collection by pulling up the skirt of her dress and making a hammock. There were honey stones the size of her fingerprint and the size of her palm. She was finding them in places she hadn’t seen them initially. It was like they were being dropped from the sky and her skirt was becoming heavy. There was a wetspot in her dress from where stones rolled down into the dimple of her hammock and the excess water splattered back into the pond.
“Where are these coming from?”
Tallyho’s collection of these stones was becoming an action of mania. She once picked them up because she was intrigued, but then she began to pick them up because somewhere in her gut she knew they weren’t supposed to be there. She took deep breaths and the stones continued to speckle the ground around her. This pond was so small! It was as long as Tallyho was tall and wasn’t even deep enough to water her knees.
Tallyho—fed up—dropped all of the stones she collected in her skirt. She looked down at the pile with disgust. She couldn’t see the earth of the pond floor anymore everything was orange. She heard a crackling noise around her.
The blonde’s brows furrowed and she turned around to see that the eastward trees surrounding the clearing were on fire. She turned to the west and those trees were on fire. She looked for the path leading back to the academy but she could not find it.
She could hear soft laughter coming from the trees. Her feet felt hot. The stones were burning her feet—they left a singed opening in the pond-stained part of her dress.
Tallyho clumsily backed away, too breathless to scream for help. Her green veins convulsed and her green eyes widened. She fell onto her back side, her feet still ankle deep in the warming pond and heard grass singeing behind her. Footsteps actually. She slowly turned her head and the sun blinded her. It was setting—everything was orange. She turned a bit more and saw the silhouetted legs of a man walking towards her slowly, leaving black grass at his heels. She did not dare to look any more. She looked forward again—
the fire was gone.
And it didn’t look like it had ever been there. She looked down into the pond and saw the dark earth. No honey stones in sight. She felt her dress and there was no longer a hole burnt through it. It was dry like she never touched the water. Tallyho gathered the courage to look back and see if the man was still there.
No, he wasn’t. But she could still smell the burning grass and the sun was still setting.
The blonde pulled herself onto her feet and without hesitation ran back down the path towards the academy.
She was greeted by the sight of Haru and the pink haired girl waiting around in the courtyard. Kat and Kwasi soon arrived. It seemed that it was time for the event. Tallyho attempted to regain her cool.
If anyone asked, nothing happened.

Double Post

Autumn gave a nod back, though it probably looked more like her head was about to fall off. Was training supposed to be this exhausting? When she finally was finished, she dropped the rocks like they were made of fire. Panting, she nearly ran to the fountain. At least, she would if she could. It was more of a strange hobble. She wasn’t sure if drinking the water was safe, but at this point she really didn’t care. Water was water, and she needed it desperately.

Her time to rest didn’t seem to last long enough. Before she knew it, Haru was already calling the group to do something else. She sighed audibly, but didn’t complain. After all, there were other warriors with plenty of energy who would most likely do so later. Plus she couldn’t think of anything clever.

If she did have any clever complains, she would have said them the moment the cyclopean was unveiled. Instead of carefully thought words, however, she let out a fearful gasp. If she wasn’t so tired, she would have screamed. Tallyho didn’t seem that phased, though she was probably used to such things. Even so, Autumn couldn’t help but admire the girl’s bravery.
Autumn listened carefully to Haru, though she did so as far away from the cage as she could while still hearing him. Eleven feet, flying cyclopeans, now that was a horrible thought. Before she could get too scared, however, Haru quickly killed it.
Just how was she supposed to be able to kill these things if she could hardly look at them? It wasn’t like she could rely on Haru forever.

She slowly trudged to the dining hall, still tired and a bit frightened. It felt a little like finals week back on earth. Exhausting and terrifying. She sat down wherever the closest seat was, not wanting to even try to socialize today. In fact, she hadn’t been in a social mood that much lately. As she ate her fish, she couldn’t help but mull over the fact that no one had seemed to form any friendships. In fact, everyone seemed rather distant. It was a bit sad, she thought, and a bit lonely. She had tried to befriend Kit, but he seemed to want no part in it. She glanced over at the Elite’s table, surprised to find him smiling. Since when did he smile? Was he secretly a pleasant person when she wasn’t around?

He ate slowly, savoring every flavor. This actually wasn’t a rare occurrence during meals. He genuinely enjoyed the food and relished every bite. Today, however, was rather special. Not only was he able to wake up earlier, even the food seemed to taste and smell better. For a moment, he thought about the kitchen. Maybe if he had some time, he could bake something? He did feel up to it. Then again, he was here to train, not take part in his hobbies.

It was a good day in general. Kit chuckled at Ryou’s antics and gave a welcoming nod to Dae. He was actually rather proud of himself.

Chuckling, now that was something Autumn didn’t expect. She finished her meal and went back to her room. Opening up her pack of cards, she suspected that she had enough time to do a reading by sunset. It was strange, however. She was still so tired. Looking at the cards, she didn’t even have the will to do anything with them. The most she could do was shuffle them and look at the pictures. Swords, Cups, Pentacles, Wands, The Major Arcana, she knew all of this already. It was actually a bit nostalgic. She smiled, thinking back on her time on earth. Back when she used to give readings to her friends and decorate her room with candles. Before she knew it, the sun began to set. She quickly scrambled to the courtyard, finding that many others were there already. Kit arrived soon after her, his pace leisurely.

Even with her good friend’s encouragement of patience, Ji Na couldn’t help but feel more that a little tested. She mumbled something under her breath, an unspoken language that was nothing like the one Kat and Kwasi sung but was strange nonetheless. As groups began to file out of the dining hall, Ji Na prepared to leave also.
“Huan,” she said, “will you be going to the event tonight?”
She didn’t wait too long for an answer before adjusting her robes and looking towards the door.
It didn’t seem like Ji Na was easily angered. But when she felt stressed or irritated she often took to a strange addiction. It was pretty hush-hush around campus to be honest. Some say they’ve seen Ji Na hanging out of her room’s window, a long, ornate pipe balancing between the idle pinch of her middle and pointer finger.
If Ryou knew about it there would be no doubt that he would disapprove. But there wasn’t much of a doubt that he already knew.
Ji Na was one of the privileged ones.
Not only had the elites earned a better dining menu but they also owned better rooms. The building at the center of the campus blueprint, and the only multi-story building on the premises, was elite housing where the hardened students had plenty of room to live and relax.
Ji Na’s room was both simple and complex. While she didn’t necessarily have, or even want, an elevated bed like Karma’s she still had a reasonable collection of ottomans and large pillows. Her room was filled with medical paraphernalia—dried herbs half-ground by the mortar and pestle. Empty glass jars, and jars flooding with medicines, potions, powers and creams. Above desk there was a layered shelf weighed down by clusters of jars with rare bugs drowned in preservation fluid.
The dark haired woman entered her room and struggled out of her soft, decorative over-robe. She knelt down to a basket in the corner of her room where she kept her pipe.

After a short moment of peace Ji Na came down to the courtyard. She re-covered her white under-robe with the fancier one and it looked like she hadn’t even removed it. She seemed just as pleasant as she had been before, and she greeted the others with grace.
Tallyho sat at the fountains edge as she tried to forget her ordeal in the forest. She wondered if the same thing would happen but felt safer because she wouldn’t be alone.
Ryou hadn’t made it to the courtyard yet and Tallyho was getting impatient. What on Aires was he preparing and when would they be able to do it? Haru was tapping his foot frantically. The blind kid was wandering around the outskirts of the group not really knowing WHAT to do. And that kid just arrived, the one with pink hair and greasy fingers.
But then Tallyho caught sight of Lillian who, like Ryou, wasn’t too involved but just involved enough and naturally she was hanging around Haru, the only other guardian in the square so far. The woman’s hair was bunned loosely and the sunlight blew a halo on her silhouette that made the color orange look comfortable.
Tallyho didn’t know anything about Lillian, yet she decided that she was instantly more tolerable than some of the other characters in their whacky group.

On the way through the forest Tallyho noticed that they passed through the clearing. She veered away towards the brush as they walked by, not wanting to get anywhere near that pond. She swore she saw a patch of singed dirt in the shape of a shoe’s sole.
Meanwhile, Karma made it her business to run about and whack the month warriors on the thighs with sticks. She felt no same.
“If your leg giggles that means your huge and you should work out more,” she announced to her captive audience. Tallyho wondered if the child was only around to make people feel self-conscious and uncomfortable.
“But at least if you have like…maaaasive thunderthighs, you’ll make a super big splash tonight!”
What. The actual. Hell?
Not only was this kid just openly insulting everybody but she mentioned big splashes, which meant water. Deep water. Tallyho took Karma by the shoulder firmly and slightly leaned to the side as they walked. Her comment didn’t seem like something Ryou would approve of as this event was probably supposed to be a pure surprise. But Tallyho had to know for her own safety.
“Karma,” the blonde whispered, “A splash? Is there—“
“Yeah, a splash,” the pink-haired girl nearly yelled which more or less blew Tallyho’s cover, “when you’re fatter you make fatter splashes.”
The girl rolled her eyes with arrogance. “Duh.”

She didn’t even answer the question… Tallyho left her alone.

Harper ate quickly, burping loudly when he finished, despite the somewhat meager serving.

He had eaten worse.

He wasn't sure what to think of the supposed outing tonight, but hoped that it wouldn't be much worse than running rocks up the mountain. He stuck around the cafeteria, hoping to hear snippets that would give it away, but didn't have much luck.

He caught up with the group--on time for once!--and followed along, trying to keep his spirits up and praying they wouldn't do anything height related. The pink-haired girl, Karma, ran around hitting everyone's legs with a stick.

The wood stung against his leg, but there was only so much force a small girl could have, and thing stinging didn't last long, and in a minute was forgotten. Some of the others squeaked and squawked, and he rolled his eyes. Babies. It was just a little girl. Albeit, a bratty little girl, but a little girl nonetheless.

Harper had always had a soft spot for children, even if they were snot-nosed little terrors. Kids were simple. They could be sassy, snappy, and stuck-up, but there was always an honesty about them. Like there wasn't a second agenda behind their words. And the world was so easy for them, that they never thought twice.

Karma was, admittedly, harder to get along with than someone like his sister, but in the past two weeks he'd been here, he still smiled at her, laughed at her retorts and offered some of his own in response. Even when she pointed out his vomiting and nausea, those first few days, he'd taken it in stride. After all, it wasn't like the other warriors had any kinder words, if they had anything to say to him at all. At least Karma said what she thought.

"A splash?" he repeated, and his tone brightened up, "Are we going swimming?" he asked the little girl. The thought of it raised his hopes, and his smile grew in anticipation. "If that is the case, than being fat doesn't necessarily mean bigger splashes. It's all about entry. I'm bigger than you are, but I'd make a smaller splash than you if I dove in and you just belly flopped." He moved his hands about in front of him, outlining an invisible square. "All about the surface areaa..." he drew out the A for a while before putting his hands down. Still grinning, he announced in a louder voice, "By the way, I'm a certified lifeguard, so if anyone's worried about drowning, I've got you covered!"

“You heard nothing from me, green man!” she said in a prideful cheer to Harper as she marched forward without paying too much attention to his gestures. She called him green man because he threw up so much.
Tallyho clammed up at the chatter about deep water. She didn’t even know what a lifeguard was. It sounded like some sort of spiritual entity and Tallyho really didn’t like the idea of Harper being a transcendental being that had any form of control over her life. She pressed forward—eager to see what was in store at the end of their walk.
The group stopped in what seemed to be another clearing. But something was different. She heard water and she could hear a lot of it too. She spun around, eager to find the death trap but there was nothing but brush and trees surrounding them. Haru encouraged to group to rendezvous around the clearing.
Tallyho skeptically moved along the edge of the brush until she was standing next to Haru. Once the group formed a semi-neat circle Haru spoke.
“What would you do if we told you that you absolutely had to jump off of a very high cliff?”
The redhead didn’t really expect much of an answer so he continued his question with very little pause.
“Into water?” He figured that addition would alleviate some fears and induce others.
Tallyho swallowed with a dry throat.
Kat seemed indifferent. She crossed her arms and asserted her stance. It was like she had performed such a stunt a dozen times.
Kwasi was probably less nervous than Tallyho but more nervous that Kat. However, one wouldn’t be able to tell by the way he filtered his emotions away from his face.
“Well some of us can’t swim,” Tallyho bargained. A long breath escaped from her lungs as she slid into a seat on the roots of a grand tree. She was short of breath as she spoke, “I-I mean. What about the…the blind kid, huh? He wouldn’t even see where he’s swimming!” The blonde offered a rough gesture towards Falke.
Even though it was so super obvious that she was uncomfortable with the test she had to find some other way to justify why they shouldn’t be required to jump.
“Clam down,” Ji Na said. “He isn’t saying that you will be performing such a stunt tonight.”
“Right,” Haru said.
“It’s just an analogy. The test you will be enduring is very much like jumping from a cliff. When you become a piece of this academy, your dedication should be a downward plunge locked by gravity. But for most of you, this test is about more than the brotherhood of this institution. It is the brother—and sisterhood of your team. Of you month warriors.”
After her soliloquy Ji Na offered a pleasant nod.

Even though he had definitely taken his medicine today, Harper still nearly threw up at Haru's words.

Nausea still overcame him, and his confident self drowned as the fear tsunami'd in. It took every ounce of power to tell himself that he hadn't actually seen the cliff, that it was just a question, that it was just...

The addition of "into water" did help, a little. He closed his eyes hard and forced himself to breathe slowly. He hadn't even realized how shallow and quick his breaths had becoming. He wanted to sit down. He wanted to hurl. He wanted to turn around and run right back, splashes be damned.

Harper was oh so thankful at Tallyho's protests. At least SOMEone had their head on right. He would have added, but talking proved impossible.

"Clam down. He isn't saying that you will be performing such a stunt tonight."

He isn't saying otherwise either... Harper thought. He thought he might faint again as Ji Na continued talking, her words tumbling through and not making sense. He clenched his fists, trying to ram out the images of falling from a cliff, high diving, and the like. The highest he had ever dived from was 6 feet. Hypothetically, he knew how to dive from higher, but had never done it. Six feet was pretty high as it was.

He finally lowered himself, squatting on his haunches, head in his hands, trying to get a grip. Not that he cared if the others thought him strange or attention-grabbing, but he hated this feeling. The helplessness and fear. He hadn't had a panic attack since that first day, and he sure as hell didn't want another one.

Fumbling in his pocket, he pulled out his small knife and the hunk of wood he'd been carving into a fish. Shaking, he started whittling away, hoping it would hold his focus. The knife was clumsy in his trembling fingers, feeling too small and too big all at once, and after only two chips the blade slipped and dug into his thumb. He gave a shout of pain, jumping to his feet and shaking his hand. His thumb throbbed, the cut sharp and stinging much worse than Karma's stick, but he was glad. A distraction, and a welcome one at that.

"Sorry," he said, raising a hand, and he ducked to pick up the knife and wood (he'd dropped it, and now the fish was speckled in blood). Standing back up, he replaced the two in his pocket and sucked at the wound, hoping the topic would change to what they were actually doing. He didn't dare ask for clarification yet, all of his thoughts drawn to his bleeding thumb, the cliff lurking in the background.

Autumn paused for a moment, a bit surprised that someone was speaking to her. The group had always kept to themselves, especially around the other warriors. She looked over at the person next to her, remembering her as the girl who complained about everything. Lux, if she remembered correctly. Not that she blamed her. The blonde would complain as well if she felt a compelling desire.

So it was rather strange that Lux’s words were comforting. Autumn didn’t expect it in the slightest. Her expression softened and she smiled.

“Thanks.” It was all she could think to say. Even though she wanted to say more, to spark a friendship, she wasn’t quite sure where to begin. She was far too tired to think clearly. Still, her warm smile remained. Maybe it wouldn’t be so lonely, after all. Even Harper seemed to be in a better mood, offering help to those who needed it.

She took a deep breath, unfolding her arms and doing her best to look ahead. Whatever was coming couldn’t be that bad, right?
Nope, it was bad. Jumping off cliffs was very bad. Even Tallyho seemed concerned. More than concerned, actually. Autumn frowned. She had always thought of Tallyho as the bravest member of the group. If Tallyho was worried, so was Autumn. After all, the girl was from Aires. She knew better than anyone what was or wasn’t dangerous. Before she could side with the other blonde, however, Ji Na spoke.

It was comforting to know that it was simply an analogy. Autumn let out a small sigh of relief. In fact, teamwork was what she had been hoping for. Brotherhoods, sisterhoods, teamwork, family, whatever it was called it was what she wanted. As long as no cliff jumping was involved, it seemed like a brilliant idea.

Xabier felt tired. He was sure he looked it too.
It was all he ever felt nowadays. He hadn't expected to be so weak after working on Abuela's farm for most of his childhood. Still, his limbs ached and the minor cuts on his arms multiplies as he unknowingly brushed past sharp rock.
He didn't want to admit it but his chest hurt more than the petty injuries from mountain climbing.

He missed home, Bilbao that is, not his father's house in Madrid. He missed his mother and his brothers and his little sister, Amaia. He even missed the ridiculous religious holidays.

Ever since the training started, he found himself more and more contemplating running away. Maybe it was loyalty or maybe it was cowardice -he was sure it was the latter- but every time he was about to take a chance and run for it he ended up pathetically retreating like a puppy with his tail between his legs.

And then the leader woman had mentioned jumping off of a cliff.
Bad idea! Bad idea! His head screamed. He had dived off cliffs into the ocean every summer with his friends ever since he was five.
Still, this was different... He'd have to remove his shirt in front of the others.
He could walk about stark naked in front of his friends with ease. But with these people... He couldn't bear it. They'd stare. Or worse, use it against him. Just the thought of it niggled in the back of his head like a snake.
Xabier hated distrusting people. He'd have to just keep his shirt on and hope no one would notice.

And then- relief!
They wouldn't be jumping in after all. Instead they'd be doing something to do with "brotherhood", whatever that word meant.
He wondered what they were going to do. Since they had arrived at the center Xabier had kept to himself. As much as he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of many people together, he wanted to watch from the sidelines. That and the fact his English kept failing him every time he wished to speak.
It was annoying because he longed for some sort of family. He knew that he'd have to participate wholeheartedly.

He would try his best. As long as it didn't involve going shirtless or dealing with fire of any kind, he'd deal.

"Okay. What are we doing?" He asked the pretty leader woman.

Tallyho eyed the newer new-comers. She still wasn’t that used to seeing Dae around and the new faces only made her more confused. Though, the most pressing inquiry she has was about why Ryou had such… colorful children hanging around. Did no one else notice how strange the Mori boy’s pallet was? And Karma was just mean enough to make people accept the way she looked without much question.
“Nope. Nope. Waaaait a minute. Karma. Goes. First!”
Though nobody was really in front of her, Karma made it her business to push pairs of legs away from the cliff’s edge for the dramatic effect.
“Karma. Always. Goes. First!”
She waved her finger as she proudly marched towards the cliff. Haru shared a glance with Ryou. He hadn’t really gotten the opportunity to sit down and chat with his old friend but he really had been wondering where in the world he dug Karma up from.
The little girl flexed briefly before sprinting over the cliff’s edge. Her screams were more like hoots and hollers as she belly-flopped into the water below. Karma actually made it look fun at least until the person she fooled realized that she was at high risk of growing up to be a psychopath. Haru peered over the cliff’s edge just to see if she made it. Karma was already marching to shore with her head held high. One could hear her chant “losers” from the island below. Charming.
Tallyho couldn’t believe any of it. And it wasn’t that her face conveyed a form of traditional disbelief. It was more like a purée of disbelief, confusion, and the aftertaste of witnessing sheer stupidity. Not only were they going to be forced down this cliff but they would have to be teased because an child was more willing to dive in before they were.
Then came Kat. She hadn’t said much of anything since they began the walk to the cliff. She brushed past Tallyho with a cool breeze before pushing herself into a jog, a sprint, and then a freeform. Despite her brutish demeanor she was actually very graceful, and barely made a peep as she strained jump as far out from the cliff’s edge as possible. Her toned body did not leave limbs out for the air to splay at its will. She kept her hands pointed in prayer towards the water. And like a rock she fell into a stable nosedive, sporting the splash of a pebble skipped across a pond.
Kwasi pressed his lips into a thin line. It was sinful for a monk to feel prideful. But Kat’s comments about him being “watered down” really took a stake to his heart.
“My tribe loves nature… We are the water people, right? Or was it fire?” The pensive monk thought to himself. He felt shame and deiced that he’d pray on it.
After a few minutes of bowing his head in silence he decided to make the leap though his wasn’t nearly as well-crafted as Kat’s. He went down with a crack in his voice—the yelp of a prepubescent boy—before landing in the water with his heels above his head and a huge splash. His robes didn’t make it any easier getting out. They became very heavy and he was winded before he even reached the shore. Karma was still doing a creative victory dance on the shoreline and Kat was leaning against a tree, unamused by just about everything. Kwasi rolled onto the sand like a walrus, offering a meek wave to the dry-folk from below.
“I-It was nothing!” he assured. His voice was still cracking.
Tallyho was pretty much done at that point. Kat’s flawless completion of this test and Kwasi’s eager but embarrassing flawed attempt pretty much assured Tallyho that she wasn’t going down. The blonde stood up from her seat at the tree and turned to leave—her face slightly red and breath short.
Haru pulled her back by the shoulder.
“I’ll push you if you can’t do it yourself,” he said.
That had to be the most uncomforting thing ever.
Ji Na piped in, “Remember, your friends can help too.”
Tallyho chuckled. The earthlings? She still wanted to think that they would laugh at her drowning but because of certain acts of kindness she couldn’t necessarily say that about them. But that didn’t mean she thought they liked her enough to drag her flailing and likely dangerous body out of deep waters.
“Fat chance,” she hummed as she shrugged Haru’s hand off of her shoulder. There was a sudden crash in the brush and Tallyho caught a glimpse of Harper’s feet scampering away. Haru shook his head and glanced at Ryou before going after to boy. And boy was he grateful for being the cat guardian, speed being an asset in this situation. It didn't take long for Haru to catch up. It was grabbing him that was the problem. He didn't hesitate in attempting to physically restrain Harper.
“I might need some help here,” he called through the green. It seemed that the only way to get Harper in was to catch him and toss him like a fish.
Tallyho was starting to think Harper had the right idea though.

Haru knew what to do in situations like these. The first February was prone to extreme out bursts and after way too many failed attempts at restraining her he learned how to handle his body in a way where he was less likely to get hurt. Like a cat that doesn’t want to be held, he kept his body still but limp, slowly creeping for the best route in which to escape the rough hands of a reckless owner. And that route was Ryou.
When his fellow guardian yanked the armed fool off of his person Haru reassumed his position as the capturer and assisted Ryou in the tossing.
“He called himself trying to cut me,” Haru shrugged, “I anticipate this isn’t the end of his show, however.”
Tallyho caught a gander at Harper’s face as he was dragged to the cliff by the guardians. She wasn’t sure how he did it, but Harper managed to take an already uncomfortable event and make it ten times worse with his sporadic outburst. While she might have tried to run too, she would have never tried to cut a guardian. And he could, at the very least, swim!
Then came some lick of sense. Dorian, in a reasonable fashion, asked Tallyho if she wanted to jump with him. Though she didn’t want to filter all of her emotions through her face, she couldn’t be any more relieved. She was already red-faced from lack of air and wanted to find low ground before she combusted or something.
“Sure… Thanks.” she hummed, not quite sure about any other way to respond. Another score for the earthlings... She nodded. Ready to follow grey-eyed Dorian to the edge but not willing to approach first for fear of suddenly being thrown over by her lonesome.

Tallyho was just about done. Harper went down the cliff like a roach being traumatically knocked off of a wall—his hairy legs wriggling with desperation and antennae zooming about in counter rotations as he rolled around on his back desperate to find his footing. Then he went limp. Then he wasn’t coming up.
She and Dorian were perched at the cliff side and between the two of them Dorian was more than likely going to be the one to save him. In fact, he had to be the one to go save him because even if Tallyho could swim, she probably wouldn’t.
Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe she was just selfish. But Tallyho actually got someone to help her with this on their own free will and Harper…. basically stole her ticket down the falls. Not only was the June month warrior drowning, but he had the audacity to drown after countless mornings hogging the central fountain for “swims”.
Then Dorian just jumped. Tallyho understood why, but she couldn’t help but feel more than a little peeved. With the March warrior gone, Tallyho wordlessly stepped away from the cliff and went back to her tree. There was bad news and good news.
If she had to be pushed she’d have to spend the night in the woods with the others regardless. But! If she had to be pushed she’d more than likely just drown and die, which, for her headache’s sake, sounded like a pretty good deal.
“What am I doing?” she hummed. She was disgusted. Disgusted by the churning in her stomach. By Harper. Her newfound reliance on others. Where did it all come from anyway? She didn’t need them. She could do it on her own, right? Right?
The jump was far, but not that far. And Tallyho wasn’t going to let a little girl jump in without being harmed yet come out with her own scars. Emotional or not. Tallyho thought quietly. She dragged her finger in the dirt and drew pictures.
Haru wouldn’t just let her die. Even if she couldn’t swim. She glanced over at the redhead. He didn’t really seem like he was in that big of a rush to throw people overboard. He just stood around silently, waiting for someone else to take the plate.
The blonde stood up, her downcast expression seeming more pensive than depressed, or angry, or whatever. She began a slow pace towards the cliff but she hoped that someone else would opt in to take the dive before her so that she would have a chance to reconsider and change her mind. Alas she was already at the cliff side. Note, not close enough to where her toes were dangling over the edge like Ryou’s but just damn close enough for her not to have a heart attack.
She was unsure of what to do with her body. She began by pinching her nose. She stopped when she remembered that none of the others had gone in that way. Perhaps it was a bad practice? She pivoted back and forth from one foot to the other trying to imagine herself jumping. She concluded that she would never make a jump as long as Kat’s. She wondered if she could keep her body in control so that she wouldn’t be tossed any old way by the incoming wind intensity. She had lean muscle but she wasn’t strong enough to do that. She turned her back to the water and wondered if falling backwards would get her killed. It might but she couldn’t find any other way to successfully jump in without being hyper conscious about how far out she was jumping, etc.
She briefly made eye contact with Haru who popped his brows up for a brief second. He was asking if she was going to go down that way. She pressed her lips thin and adverted her eyes as she relaxed her posture. She was telling him yes.
This wasn’t the place for Haru to instruct her on her form. The fact that she was going in alone was a miracle. But he felt that it would have done her good to know that falling face first would have been better. But it facing the other way was what it took for her to take the leap? Well… that was good enough for him. Before he knew it she was over the edge. Her fall probably seemed the least dramatic. She was stiff and looked like a mannequin who had simply been tipped over by a careless shopper in New York. She was silent too.
But that certainly wasn’t by choice. Tallyho would have preferred to scream just to remind herself that she was still alive. But in the midst of her fall she ended up turning over so that she was face up instead of upside down. Now she was facing the cliff’s wall and the red rocks were plummeting past her. She couldn’t scream because so much air wanted to find its way into her body. It was trying to make up for every breath she missed upstairs on the edge. Then there was water. A sudden burning sensation ran into her nose and by then she learned to stop inhaling. She swung her arms and legs but it wasn’t very coordinated. She wasn’t kicking hard enough or parting her arms fast enough. She thought of failed swimming lessons from her childhood. The white blonde of mother’s hair and the way her underskirt stuck to her white, white thighs and hips as she pulled herself out of the ocean.
Tallyho kicked harder. She didn’t need saving because she was going to save herself. She could feel her body pushing forward in the water! She was teaching herself how to swim. She could not feel her fingers. Her eyes were still closed; she did not dare open them for fear that she might sink like a stone. And she did feel like a stone—like she was being pulled up by a stone. Or maybe down. She did not know. She did not dare open her eyes.
From behind her eyelids she could see that light was approaching. Everything was bright red like her mother’s lips. Swimming was becoming easier. It was nothing really—just lightly waving arms and legs until she felt safe again. Everything became cold and she could feel the sand in her toes, someone’s arm latched to her waist, and fingers laced into her’s. She was still being pulled forward. She thought she was still swimming kept her legs limp, her shins dreamily skidding into seashell encrusted mud. Suddenly she was settled on something dry and hot.
“Open your eyes,” a voice said. And Tallyho did. She knew that she was safe now. It was Kat kneeling next to her with her unchanging expression.
“Did I swim?” Tallyho asked her voice was hoarse and throat sore.
“No.” Kat said.
Tallyho let out a soft defeated grunt and she did not try to get up. Instead she laid there with her head turned, fingers, toes and right cheek stuffed in the sand with her back exposed to the sun.

They were jumping off a cliff after all.

Xabier enjoyed swimming. Obviously not as much as Harper though, since the guy never seemed to leave the water. The others had lept off with varying rates of success.
The monk had stumbled, the kid had yelped with delight while Harper went down screaming. He had screamed so loud that Xabier was surprised when it suddenly got quiet.
Weird.
One by one the others made their journey down.

He'd have to do it. He'd have to jump.
Xabier would just have to pretend that it was back in the good old days, before he got burned so badly that he was unwilling to show his back.

He was almost too caught up in his fears of revealing his back to notice the friendly exchange between Dorian and Tallyho. Almost.

Then his thoughts flitted back to the whole topless issue.
Dorian suddenly broke away and dived off leaving Tallyho alone.
Xabier knew he could dive better.
He braced himself and took off towards the edge.

His feet pushed through the rough grass and hit the smooth warm rocks, still racing to the end of the rocks; his last foot slowly and gracefully leaves the edge of the rock. He was soaring. It was like cliff diving with his siblings and his friends in the summer time.

He missed home. Sometimes when he heard the high voice of that little pink haired girl, he was transported back to a warmer place in a better time. The times they'd dare each to dive off higher ledges into perilous depths of the turquoise water below.
Always holding his brother Aitzan's hand and his best friend Inke's in the other, he'd lose his senses and jump.

Falling, this time he was on his own. No one surrounded him, just air and a view of forever. His shadow on the ground. Its arms wide open mimicking his own, as if they were welcoming him into a sweet embrace. A promise of transporting him back to the past.

His head was pounding.
It's too reckless! Think it through!

His thoughts were pounding.
Stupid! Stupid Idiot! You are going to die!

His heart was pounding.
He never felt so alive.

He peeked down at the water.
Trying to time his last deep, desperate gasp of air, He tried not to think of anything.
His dilemma with his shirt long forgotten.

He felt the butterflies fluttering throughout his body. He took in the last source of air. Suddenly, the touch of the water that had been waiting for patiently, strikes him.

The deep water gently consumed his body and the darkness behind his eyelids was almost comforting.
It was as if the water had transported him home. No, not the water exactly. But the quiet split second when he was truly alone but didn't feel lonely.

Nothing but water surrounded his body.

He swam up through the bitter water to the surface. His eyes opened wide taking in the surroundings.
He rose from the water quietly gasping for air, breathing heavily with adrenaline. He just conquered the cliff. “Again!” He shouted, exhilarated. His hair had slicked off of his face and his mouth was turned up with glee.

And then he noticed that no one seemed to have seen. They were gathered near the shore clustered around something or someone.

He was surrounded with people but felt lonely. For the first time in a long while, he felt numb.

And then horror, he realised that the thing that everyone had focused on was actually a person. Harper to be exact. He must have drowned when he was busy enjoying himself.
Xabier swam as fast as he could towards the shore where Harper lay. The water was dragging his already tired muscles down. Like it was calling him.
"Come back down to the dark, it is safe and warm," it seemed to call.
He pushed on.

He had nearly reached where Harper was on the shore, when a rock snagged his shirt.

He couldn't help anyone without ripping his shirt. Precious seconds ticked by like hours.

They'd all see his scars.
But if he didn't move, Harper could die.

Xabier couldn't stand the thought of either scenario.

He knew he was being selfish, first with showing off and then assuming that everything was about him while Harper drowned.
He couldn't be selfish anymore.

And then it just kind of happened without thinking.

He pulled at his shirt and reached the shore at what felt like a painstakingly slow pace. His clothes dragged down to the sand.

"Is he breathing? Does he have a pulse?" He asked pushing past Dorian to check for himself.
Harper didn't seem to be breathing.

Shit.

He couldn't die. As much as he was annoying and didn't seem to know when to stop talking, Harper HAD to live. Xabier checked for his pulse, it was there but only barely. He turned him over onto his back and began to pump down on his chest rhythmically with the heels of his hands.

It was at times like these that he worried about every move he was making.

Pushing down. 10, 20, 30 times.
And then he tilted Harper's head back and lifted his chin to free the airway.
Pinching his nose, he began CPR. He stopped after two breaths and checked to see if his chest was rising. He heard some exclamations from behind him. Someone else had almost drowned too.

He couldn't focus on anything other than helping the one who was in immediate danger: Harper.

Pumping his heart again, he leaned back down to try CPR again when he saw a flicker of life in Harper's face.
It was working.
Harper would live, and Xabier's shirt was ruined.

"I thought you could swim, idiot." He sighed.

Haru watched the scene from below with a confused expression. Part of him really wanted understand Harper’s effect on other people but the larger (and probably better) part of him genuinely found that not caring was the best protocol. Xabier might as well have just dived into Harper’s person as far as Haru was concerned. Did he even check to see if Harper needed CPR beforehand? Nonetheless, between the gnarly expression on Harper’s face and Dorian’s deed being upstaged by Xabier’s ripped clothes (and don’t act like they didn’t steal the show) the entire exchange was more than a little hilarious.
The redhead turned to the others.
“Welp… Who’s next?”

Tallyho rested in the sand for a few more minutes before deciding to stand. She and Kat were perched farther off on the shoreline, nearer to the forest brush. The blonde glanced at the tribal woman before beginning the chore of dusting white sand off of her face. She licked a piece of her dress to get a sizable amount of grains off of her tongue and ran her palms down her arms.
“Thanks or that,” she said.
Kat only nodded.
“Was I at least sort of swimming?” Tallyho asked. She was hesitant to start a conversation with the quiet character but she was curious.
“I guess… If you meant to swim downwards.”
There was a long pause.
“Did I look stupid?” Tallyho asked.
Kat did not answer. This probably meant yes.

The blonde made her way to the water’s edge and rinsed the sand out of her hair.

Tallyho chuckled softly at the group, just as she expected, they congregated over to Harper who was, in all cases, the star of every hour. She listened to some congratulate his saviors and looked over at Kat again. Though the woman seemed disinterested for the most part, Tallyho was still a little put off by her lack of recognition in almost everything she did in the weeks the warriors knew her.
"I'm sorry to say you chose to save the wrong person. Had you gone to that fool you'd be the hero of the hour."
Not that Kat saving Harper would be any better. Tallyho would bet a lot of liquor that Harper didn't thank a soul after he had his last fainting spell. And she had a feeling that Kat was used to being under-praised. Though admittedly, it didn't seem to bother the woman much.
"You were the best diver you know?"
"Thanks was enough,"Kat said sharply. She pulled herself onto her feet and started towards the forest.
"Where are you going?"
"Fire wood."
Tallyho forgot that they were sleeping outside tonight and figured that she should start preparing for the night too. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.
"Do you need help?" Tallyho asked.
Kat said no and soon she was gone.
The February warrior pressed her lips into a thin line before deciding to find another way to help, anything to get away from the earthlings. She caught sight of Kwasi wringing his robes dry form the corner of the shore line.
"You," Tallyho said. "Come help me find useful things."
"Useful things?"Kwasi asked. He wasn't quite sure what she meant but he was willing to help either way.
He followed Tallyho into the forest.

As the last of the warriors started their decent, Haru veered away from the cliff.
“Welp, my job is done for the day,” he hummed.
During the commotion Karma eventually stopped her dancing and went to go pick up the warrior’s food. Another student left it halfway down the trail for the small girl to find and drag back and within moments the she was approaching the small collection of warriors. She dropped the sack before them before turning on her heels.
“Have fun come back up in the morning,” she chirped, “I’m gonna go home and eat my potatooeesss, and cheeeeese, and porrrk…”
She disappeared into the brush, her announcement of soon to be eaten food fading away from listening ears. The sack she left was full of bread and dried, jerky-like meat.

“So what exactly are you looking for out here?” Kwasi asked.
“I don’t know… Fruit or something?”
“I’m not sure that there are many fruit trees on this island.”
“How about you pray for some then?” Tallyho’s tone was half-mocking, she even rolled her eyes.
“Good idea. Could we stop here?”
“Ugh! No. I wouldn’t be caught dead in this forest by dark.” To be more precise, if she did get caught she probably would be dead.
“Well shouldn’t we get back to the others?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I feel like we should try to stay in one big group I guess…”
Tallyho turned around swiftly, her palm pressed against a tree and teeth pinching the inside of her cheek.
“Okay…” Tallyho said, faux pleasantness drifting through her lips. “How about you go back to them? How about you go back, sit down, and keep quiet while I go find something, anything for the night? And if they ask I am, you never saw me! Get it?”
“Well I don’t—“
“Got it?”
“I think—“
“Good!” Tallyho whipped into a turn and continued to stomp through the brush. Leaving the monk behind.
“…Okay.”
As a monk, Kwasi never had much interaction with females and he was beginning to wonder if all women were like the ones he met these past few weeks. Confused, he wandered back to the shoreline until he made it to the rest of the group.
“What’s in the bag?” He asked them as he gestured towards the brown sack.

It didn’t take long for Kat to come out of the forest with an abundance of wood under each arm. Without greeting she began to make the proper preparations, forming the pit and stacking the wood.