Twisted Wonderland

Aquatic Support

Everyone turns to you in surprise. You step out of Jade's hold and kneel beside Kalim. "You need to stop blaming yourself. Jamil chose this path on his own. If he had any issues about how you acted, than he should've talked to you about then."

You hold Kalim's hands. "A good guy doesn't throw their friend to the edge of the world."

   Grim smirks. "Hoo boy. Y/N, you really go for the jugular sometimes."

   "I'm with Little Shrimpy on this one." Floyd folds his arms. "Sea Otter, you're, like... TOO nice. It's kinda grating."

   "It is?" Kalim asks in surprise.

   "Yes." Jade agrees. "If I were betrayed by someone the way you were, I'd lash out with a torrent of unmitigated verbal abuse to break them down mentally, then bind them and drag them beneath the waves."

   Note to self, don't ever get Jade made.

   "The way you blame yourself and try to excuse his behavior is, quite frankly, a tad galling."

   "Galling? Really?" Kalim scratches the back of his neck. "But, I mean... Jamil would never betray me, ever."

   Floyd rolls his eyes. "Uh, news flash: he did. In fact, he was gonna make you out to be the bad guy and get you expelled. He's an enormous dirtbag!"

   "When it comes to underhanded ploys, Azul at his worst still couldn't hold a candle to that." Jade ignores the indignant look Azul shoots him. "That's quite a feat, you know. It's okay to hold your head high and denounce him for the traitor that he is."

   "Why would he hold his head high?" You wonder to yourself.

   Azul steps forward. "You carry yourself like a goody-two-shoes, laughing off conflict with a flippant word or two. To twisted individuals like myself and Jamil, I mean, to calculating individuals, those remarks are like barbs digging under our skin. I'd say you've been pushing Jamil ever since your formative years. It's not your fault in the least, of course."

   Azul folds his arms. "You were born into a very high social class. As showered as you were with affection from your family and everyone around you, you grew up with honesty and integrity. An upbringing like that would make anyone take certain things for granted."

   "I would argue that in Kalim's case, it might simply be a case of a naturally innocent disposition." Jade waves a hand.

   Kalim looks to you. "So Jamil is... bad?"

   You nod. "Yes. And it's okay to say it."

   "In that case, I'd better get back fast!" Kalim stands up. "I must punch him and yell, Traitor! I owe him that much."

   Grim scoffs. "One punch ain't enough! You oughta also make him march to the oasis and back ten times!"

   "That, and we need to bring him to his senses fast." Azul informs. "If we don't, his life will be in danger. We have to get back before his magic reserves run dry."

Floyd puts a hand on his hip. "That puts us right back where this conversation started. How do we get back? Walkin' really fast?"

Grim leaps into your arms and curls into the jacket. "My nose is gonna freeze over if we stay out here much longer!"

Jade walks to the edge of the a dried river. "If there was a river, we could swim back. Sadly, the rivers around here are all dried out."

   "So a lack of water is the problem?" Kalim grins.

   Azul looks to Kalim quizzically. "Yes. Floyd and Jade can easily outpace brooms when they're in their true forms. But we can't exactly restore a dry river."

   "Maybe you can't," Kalim points to himself. "but I can."

   Your eyes light up. "Oh yeah, your signature spell!"

   "That's right!" Kalim smiles broadly. "My signature spell, Oasis Maker, can produce an enormous volume of water with just a smidgen of magical power. If I make you a river, you can get us back to the dorm, right?"

   "You mean to tell me THAT'S your signature spell?" Azul runs a hand through his hair. "That's insane!"

   Kalim sheepishly laughs. "It's pretty useless when we've already got running water."

   Azul folds his arms. "Don't 'aha' me! Some countries don't HAVE that sort of infrastructure. Your power would make you nothing short of a hero to those people!" Azul imagines all the possibilities. "That's... That's ABSURDLY marketable!"

  "I think we can leave Azul to his get-rich-quick fantasies for a bit." Jade gestures to the riverbed. "Kalim, if you would oblige us?"

   Kalim steps to the edge. "You just need a river, right? Okay! I'm on it."

   A low rumble can be heard. It quickly escalates to a roar as a wave of water rushes through, filling the riverbed entirely.

   "Holy mackerel!" Grim exclaims. "The river's fillin' up with water right before our eyes!"

   Jade looks to his brother. "Let's get moving before the water freezes over, Floyd. Now,"

   The twins jump into the water and emerge in their eel forms. Jade looks to Azul. "Azul and Grim, grab hold of my back."

   Floyd swims next to you. "Little Shrimpy and Sea Otter, you're with me!"

   Grim looks to Jade skeptically. "Wait, but I thought Azul was a merman. Can't he swim himself?"

   "Azul isn't a fast swimmer, even in his mer form." Jade informs.

   Azul rolls his eyes. "Yes, well, not all of us have tailfins like yours."

   Azul holds your hand as he helps you sit atop of Floyd's back. Kalim sits behind you.

   Now sitting on the back of Jade, Azul grins. "Now, off we go to Scarabia!"

The twins take off at breakneck speeds. You hold onto Floyd's shoulders so you don't fall off. Kalim wraps his arms around your waist. "This is like flying on the carpet!"

"Myah!" Grim clings to Azul. "Just how fast are these two?"

"Grim! I swear that I will toss you overboard if you don't get off my face!"

You quickly make it back to the dorm. Kalim hops off and helps you back on dry land. The twins leap out of the water and change back into their human form. Grim shakes his fur, splashing everyone.

You hold your arm out in attempt to shield yourself. "Ah, come on Grim!"

"Quickly, this way." Kalim leads you to an unoccupied door.

You walk down the long hallway and Kalim leads you into the treasure room. You take the jacket off and hand it back to Azul. "Okay, what's the plan?"

Azul puts his jacket back on. "We need some sort of distraction if we're to get close to Jamil."

Jade nods. "Yes. Someone who could get close to Jamil without him suspecting a thing."

All eyes turn towards you. You look behind you to see who they're looking at, only than realizing they meant you.

"Wait, why me?" You ask.

Floyd grins. "Cause your so small and cute! Jamil wouldn't expect a thing!"

You rub your arm. "I don't even know how to distract him though."

Jade places a reassuring hand to your shoulder. "Don't worry, Y/N. I know you can handle this."

"That makes one of us."

Kalim stands next to you. "You got this, Y/N! I believe in you."

You smile appreciatively. "Thanks."

"Alright, let's move out." Azul says.

Kalim gives you a smile before he hops onto the carpet and out the door with the others. You look around at the piles of treasure, unsure what to do. A flash of red catches your eyes. Walking closer, you see the red is actually a beautiful gown. You grin to yourself.

That'll work.