Alfea - A Rare Magic (ARM)

Burned-one

~ There are rumors at school about a burned-one being seen outside the barrier... ~

After the first time, doing the bowel wash-out every second day becomes quickly a routine. However, because she waits until everyone is fast asleep, and sometimes that takes a while, she is tired and not as concentrated during class as she could be. Once she actually felt asleep, she was quite embarrassed. Her friends and Miss Dowling have asked if everything is okay with her, but only got vague answers, not giving away anything. Her mother suggests she should simply talk to the headmistress, but that's easy to say if you are not the one concerned. Although she knows she shouldn't, she still thinks her handicap is embarrassing. Certainly, nothing to talk about easily.
Fortunately for Liora, just then rumors start to grow about a body being found. Apparently, the victim of a burned-one, although the adults tried to keep it a secret. So nobody takes the time to inquire her tiredness further.

However, the thought of burned-ones coming back isn't exactly nice either. Soon there are theories among the pupils about the burned-ones. Sky is sure that he overheard the headmistress and the headmaster, Mister Silva talking about holding a burned-one captured in the barn outside the barrier. Terra, fuels the rumors when she tells the others that her dad is producing Zanbak again. Zanbak is made of a special plant and used to treat the infection caused by burned-ones, but also to tranquilize the burned-ones. And of course, somebody has to come up with an absolutely reckless idea to make a dare to go and take a look at the burned-one in the barn, alone of course. Not many, but still a few take the opportunity. If it is because they want to prove themselves something or because they want to show off, we won't know. Most surprisingly, one of them is Stella. After a quarrel with Beatrix, a classmate, about her skills, the other girl dares her to use her magic and make a selfie with the beast using her magic to light the barn. Because, as Beatrix put it, while being nearby such a scary creature Stella won't be able to do it. According to her Stella's magic is erratic and she's only able to use her magic in a safe environment. Normally, Stella would have laughed about such a suggestion or made one of her snarky comments, but somehow Beatrix got to her.
She doesn't tell anyone about her plan until afterwards, when she comes back into the suite in tears. The others are sitting around the table in the common room, playing a game when she enters. Musa is the first one to become aware of her entrance and her state. "Where have you been? What happened? Stella?" The others look curiously at the girl. Stella is always looking so much for her appearance they have never seen her less than perfect and certainly never upset. "I made a huge mistake. Oh, I'm so stupid! I planned to ignore Beatrix dare, but than I had a quarrel with Sky in the afternoon and he probably didn't think and made a hurtful comment about my abilities too, and I snapped...and I...I wanted to prove to myself that I am capable of performing my magic even if I am scared, and I am scared of those monsters...but appearance is such an important thing for my mom... ", she sniffs." "So you actually did go to the barn?", Liora asks surprised. Stella nods:"Yes, I know it sounds silly. Yet, at the beginning, everything went as planned. I got there, used my magic to illuminate the place and even took the picture.""And then?", Musa asks empatheticaly. "Then the damn thing suddenly woke up and almost got me and in the heat of the moment I lost my ring somewhere in the barn. My mom is killing me if she finds out I lost it!" "That's bad luck! Fortunately, you didn't got hurt! Sure queen Luna will see it the same? You could have been dead?! ", Aisha tries to point out the positive thing about the situation. Though Stella shakes her head:"You don't know my mum the way I do..." and pours out everything from the impossible standards her mum helds, to the magical accident with her best friend the year before and her mom's reaction. "Well, if things are as you described, we'll have to go to the barn tomorrow evening and get it back", Terra says after listening to Stella. "I'll make us Zanbak just in case. Yet now I am going to bed, because it's already awfully late and we won't get up tomorrow if we keep staying awake any longer..."

Their plan about going to the barn to get the ring back, got speed up, when Sky tells them that the Solarian-troops are on their way to take the burned-one in custody. Instead of waiting for the evening and with a plan in their minds, they now hastily make their way to the barn right after the last afternoon-lesson. Just to be sure that none of the soldiers could find the ring by accident. Luckily, Terra made the Zanbak during lunchbreak, so they at least have that with them. On their way, almost at the barn, Musa suddenly gets distracted. She flinches. Pain, mortal fear washes through her mind. There is somebody nearby and that someone is in a terrible condition. She grabbes Terra's shoulders. "Musa? What's the matter with you?", she asks worried. Musa points her fingers in one direction. And then Terra sees it too. Like a war-field. The others are already at the barn so she decides to not bother them and quickly makes her way towards the soldiers lying on the ground. Musa behind her. So much death. She shudders by the thought what might happened there. Suddenly a movement on her left side catches her attention: Headmaster Silva is leaning in front of a tree, seriously hurt and with the infection quickly spreading through his body. He must have been the individual Musa felt. Terra takes Musa's hand and drags her over to the headmaster. "Hold his head, so I can pour Zanbak in his mouth to stop the infection", she orders her friend. "Musa? Musa, concentrate on me, not him. He is in pain, scared... I am calm." Musa nods and and goes a step forward to hold Mister Silava's head, while Terra pours the Zanbak in his mouth.
Meanwhile, the others have entered the barn and found the ring, surprised that there was no sign of a burned-one. Now they come towards Musa and Terra, looking shocked about the sight in front of them. "What happened here?! Was that the burned-one? We thought the soldiers have been faster than us and it's already transported back to the capital. How did it escape? ", they exclaim. Together they carry Headmaster Silva back to the school. Liora and Musa running ahead to alert Miss Dowling and Professor Harvey. "That's odd", Musa whispers while they run towards the school. Liora gives her a questioning look. "I feel love. There was so much death and pain, but with you I feel safe. I can't put it into words, but I am feeling better..." "Possibly because we are away from that place now", Liora says. "You get Professor Harvey and I got to alert the headmisstress!" Soon they run, accompanied by Professor Harvey and the headmistress, towards Saul and his helpers. They adults guide them to the greenhouse, but the teens are ordered to stay outside. Ben and Farah are tending Saul Silva's wounds with Zanbak. Not even Sky, whose surrogate father Saul was and still is, is allowed inside.

Although after what happened nobody is really into the mood they decide it's a good opportunity to distract themselves with planning what to wear at the party the next day. For weeks the older students have planned the senior party, which is going to be held the next night. So they spend their evening trying different outfits, hairstyles and make-up for the party, while discussing the events of the day. Because the next night is the night of the party Liora decides to reschedule her bowel wash-out to this night. With a handicap you always have to take so much more into account when scheduling your life and still be flexible for sudden changes in your plans...
She patiently waits until she hears the regular breathing of her sleeping suite-mates and goes on to follow her routine. Everything goes fine except when she is on her way back to the suite she bumps into Miss Dowling, who just comes back from Mister Silva's sick-bed. Damn, she hasn't thought about that. She totally forgot about what happened at the day for a short while, and therefore didn't consider the possibility of anyone going around so late...