A Rational Magic || ONC2022

Thirty-One || Turning The Tide Together

Honestly, you get yourself kidnapped for maybe a day or maybe two... and then everything happens all at once.

Without you.

Because of course it does.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," Mercury said weakly, watching Longhurst turn to stone.

"I thought you'd worked that out already?"

"Well... yeah..."

"Keep this lot from trying to help, please," I told him, trying to work out what the hell was going on. One man was struggling his way out of a bush, looked extremely dazed — definitely not up for a fight anymore. We had our Longhurst-statue, of course, so that was two down. Then there were three other men, one of which looked vaguely confused, and Adalia... which meant it was currently five against four.

I was almost surprised nobody on our side had been taken out of the fight, until I noticed the stranger.

Who wasn't really doing all that well. In fact, they were doing literally nothing but dodging, and sometimes trying to speak...

On second thoughts, that explained it.

"Are you mad?"

"Immolentis."

The speaker burst into flames, and the stranger almost smiled when they heard his screams.

"Oh my god!"

Almost everyone — MALIS and Lantana alike — stopped to stare, because this was clearly the most interesting thing so far.

And that was the thing.

It kind of was.

"Vesperesco!"

Well... someone was paying attention to the situation.

Okay, that was officially four on three. Kat, Cira, Vaeri and Felaern against Adalia and her two companions.

Now that MALIS had actually taken someone out, they seemed to be a little more confident. Adalia herself was leaving the other two to fight the elves, apparently so determined to get rid of Kat herself that she didn't bother considering the logic there.

"Lani."

"I can do something! What are you going to do, punch one of them?"

"Well—"

"Keep them out of this."

And I joined the fray — deciding that the fairy siblings were probably meant to be prioritised.

"Depresuno," Adalia said calmly, as if this was just a regular sort of argument... or even any kind of fight at all.

And honestly, I couldn't tell what she was trying to do.

Until Kat's face went perfectly blank.

Like... scarily expressionless.

"Didn't expect to see you here, Lani."

"Honestly? Didn't expect you to be here either." Which... I wasn't sure how surprised I really was. "What did you do?"

"How did you do that?"

"I assume we're talking about the... yeah. Good question."

Adalia sighed, shaking her head. "If I'm not going to get a straight answer out of you... attack her."

Something's telling me that I have made a really bad decision.

"Expulasis."

"Lasonia!"