Expectations When Expecting

Chapter 16

Deuce, she concluded, was the reckless type. These kids are gonna kill me... She thought to herself, watching as Deuce picked his go-to spell.

The cauldron spawned above the monster's body, dropping just behind it as it stepped forward to swat at Deuce.

"Begone! Begone! Begooone!" The monster howled, launching a rock that barely missed the reckless boy. Deuce gave a yelp of surprise as he rolled out of the way.

"Aw, crap! He's got Loosey-Deucey on the ropes!" Ace muttered in shock. "Not on my watch!" He called out, throwing a wind spell at the grotesque creature. It, in return, turned toward the ginger giving a ground-shaking roar that made the group stumble in place.

Ace stumbled, falling as he barely avoided the boulder that was launched at him.

"Stay away from me!" Grim hissed, puffing up slightly as he ran around, trying to look for an opening.

The monster bellowed angrily, throwing another hit at the cat who barely dodged. "It's like nothin's even hurtin' it!" Grim hissed.

Yuu stood in the same place, watching the boys fight while she felt the familiar presence of her deceased lover attempting to pull her out of the cave. She simply stared across the cave at the sparking in the distance.

"Either I'm seeing things, or there's something sparkling over there." She remarked, making Ace follow her gaze.

"No way..." He yelped, rolling to the side to avoid being crushed. "There! Behind the monster! There's something sparkling in the mineshaft!"

"Could that have been a magestone?!" Deuce exclaimed, alerting the monster, who threw another hit toward Deuce, suddenly more irate.

"GWAAAAAAAH! Nooo giiive yooouuu stooooooone!" It bellowed angrily.

Grim ran up to her with the intent to cower behind her. "Yuu, we need to book it, and fast! That thing's gonna pound us into tuna paste!" He hissed, tail puffing.

She looked to the monster who bellowed, throwing an inky fist at the boys. "Y-yeah. Okay..." She stated, signaling for Ace and Deuce to follow before she grabbed a stone off of the ground.

"SCATTER!" She hissed, launching the rock with deadly accuracy at the monster's head before running out. When she heard the monster howl in outrage, she feared it chasing after them. However, by some miracle, she and the others managed to make their (not so grand) escape.

.

.

.

"Th-This should be far enough, I think?" Grim wheezed, curled on Yuu's lap, seeking comfort. She scratched behind his ears while keeping her posture slightly curled in on herself protectively.

Ace collapsed onto the ground next to her, wheezing slightly. "Owww..." He whined, massaging his muscles. "What was that thing? No one said there'd be anything like that!"

Deuce, being the only one who remained standing, took large gulps of air. He was clearly exhausted. "That was no normal ghost, that's for sure."

"I'd assume so given the large amount of goop coming from it." Yuu agreed.

"Let's just give up and go home. I'll happily take the expulsion if it means never having to fight that thing again." Ace muttered, massaging his shoulder. Yuu watched him wince as if he'd hurt it during the fight.

Deuce, however, cried, "What?! Nuh-uh, not happenin'! I'd rather die than get expelled from Night Raven!" His sight fogged by fear of getting expelled.