Hoodwinked

1: Blight Meeting

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"Hah!" Edric laughed as you cheekily put down a plus four card directed towards Emira. His grin fades as Emira grins before putting down another plus four.
"I won't do it! I never win in uno!"
"Do it or Batric sleeps outside tonight."
The midnight eyed bat squeaks before flapping into Edric's emerald hair, burying himself amidst the green. 

Before your brother could respond, the door slams open, to reveal Amity, carrying a huge stack of books.
"Sorry guys, am I late?" she asked anxiously, and the books floated to the ground, piling up neatly. Now without the books hiding her face, you could see her mint-green hair disheveled and dark eyebags gracing her face. 

"Titan, what happened to you?" gasped Edric, pointing at her face. "You look like a zombie!"
"Do you need a face mask, Mittens?" you ask, laughing a little as you throw her a selection of face masks. "Join the club."
Amity's eyes shift from your face to Emira's to Edric's, each one adorning a different face mask. She sighs, yet a grin on her face. 

Amity unties her half-ponytail and plops herself on the ground, surveying the game you were playing. "Who's winning?"
Emira raises her hand.
"What's all the books about, Mittens?" you ask, grabbing the top book.
"Oh, you know, abomination books. Complex Abominations, Ten Ways to Summon, Abominations: Rise. I'm studying for Emperor Coven tryouts—they're two months away only!" she stresses, "And I'm already old enough to try out."

"Ew, a coven?" you feign a disgusted look. "That's for losers."

Amity raises an eyebrow. "What coven are you joining, then?" 

"None," you shrug, "I'll be a Wild Witch!"

Emira snorted, placing down a card. "As if Mom'll let that happen." 

"She won't know! Edric will make me a fake sigil, won't you?"

Your brother grins at you, pulling a thumbs up, "Hell yeah!"
As Emira places the golden face mask on Amity, you take it upon yourself to skim through the pages.

"Woah, Mittens, this is really complex shit!" you exclaim, showing Ed and Em the equations for....the seven properties of Abomination Goo?
"Are you even planning to sleep tonight?" Ed jokes, "Come on, relax! You've got two months still."

"Two months only." She corrects him, prying the book from your fingers and placing it back on the pile. "And no, I'm spending the night in the library, reading up on equations." she compiled the books, summoned a small abomination, and laid them on it. "Just wanted to check up on you. Good night!"

And with that, she ran out of the room.
You three exchanged anxious glances. Em was the first to break the silence. "I'm worried for Amity, honestly."
You nod, "She's been overworking herself a lot lately. These studies have been taking a great toll on her."

Edric's smile drops, and Batric hops off of his head. "I know. I've tried lightening her up, trying to convince Mother to let her relax. Nothing works." he shook his head and sat up, Batric in his hands. "Nothing works."

Emira collects the uno cards and begins to shuffle them. "It's all their fault. Mother and Father's. They've implanted this idea that she needs to work all the time and achieve something great, and that she's useless without. It's dumb."

You sat, quiet, while you considered these words. It was true, no doubt.
The rest of the night was spent in silence.

                                                         ─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────

You open your eyes and the early morning light spills across your face. You yawn, still slightly tired from the all-nighters you pulled with Ed and Em.