Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🪄 Foresight [3/7] 🪄

Tia's POV:

When I woke up, I was laid down on the Weeping Willow's platform, my body limp against the cold, hard marble.

I was staring up at the tree's canopy, half-awake and my body sore all over.

My head was being cushioned against something soft and warm; I couldn't figure out what it was.

The last thing I remembered before blacking out was Marshall dropping me from the sky; We had this intense fight.

Everything really hurts...

"Did you really think that through?" I heard someone whisper beside me.

I groaned. "Shut up, I don't wanna talk about it."

I turned to the side, only to see Marshall laid down next to me, looking me in the eyes.

"Tch, you're practically screaming 'stubborn' right now," The blacksmith crossed his arms. "Tell me, do you know your name?"

"Do you take me for an idiot?" I snapped, feeling a stab of anger shoot through me.

"Maybe." He snorted, sitting up. "What got into you, Tia? Why would you try attacking Addison like that, out of all people?"

I couldn't come up with a good answer to that; I was blinded by rage in the heat of the moment. "I..."

"You're no better than Edward." Marshall scoffed. "Never mind, I'm not wasting my energy on you. I'm going to go back into the forge to focus on something that's actually important."

Ouch.

The blacksmith pushed himself off the ground, flapping his wings and soaring away.

I slowly sat up, examining myself.

My whale tail was limply sitting between my legs, dressed in several layers of thin bandages.

Dried blood stained the cloth; Probably from where I was burned.

I arched my back in a quick stretch, reaching out to feel my rubbery tail.

"Son of a... Beluga..." I seethed, gritting my teeth in pain.

It hurt to try to move myself even the slightest bit.

I examined myself further, and realized I was badly bruised almost everywhere.

My left hand was wrapped in gauze, exactly like it was when I was alone in the ocean.

Handprints were singed into my skin, creating blisters and sores that made me look like I expired decades ago.

How was I even still alive?

"That's what I'm asking," I heard Sophii meow from somewhere above me. "How are you still alive, Tia?"

Tilting my head up, I stared into the willow's canopy, squinting as I tried to find out furry companion in the shadows. "Hello?"

"Meow," the shadowshifter replied, bounding down from a tree branch. "I saw the whole ordeal unfold. Marshall was pretty brutal."

I sighed, shaking my head. "I deserve it. I'm a pain in the neck when it comes to this whole Great War thing. Y'know how Baywharf and Spiritvale have bad blood, right?"

"I would know." Sophii smiled, pawing at my shoulder. "He would know, too."

I blinked at her. "Who's... He?"

"Him," the cat gestured just beyond the guard railing with one paw. "Look."

Peering closely into the distant shadows of the second floor's bridge, I was startled to see a figure staring back at me.