Original - With Wrath, the Fall

Lane - Chapter 13: Friends for a Time, Family Forever

I lost myself in the gentle waves of the fountain near my dorm. Its glistening coins shining brightly in the sunlight. How many weeks had it been since the No-Rule Arena? Three? Four? The time just seemed to fly by. The entire arena zone had been rebuilt in three days after No-Rule. Thank technology for that.

Of course some things can't be rebuilt. Some things like broken hearts. At first everyone couldn't believe that someone had actually died during the arenas. People said that it was unheard of. Death unheard of during something that chaotic? Crazy. Given the technology throughout the university though it made sense. Here people could even grow back appendages. Of course it's hard to save someone from just their ashes.

The pain he felt... I would never forget it, I felt it too. We all did. It'd seemed to bother Keagan and Randal more though. Hell, even I could see that. I had mostly gotten over it. People die every day. Somehow, I still felt a twinge in my heart. Not Randal or Keagan though. They felt something more. Keagan thinks about him every day, I can see it in his eyes. My closest and once only friend had fallen in love. The one who got all the ladies and always got his Golden One had fallen in love with a guy.

What a joke.

On the plus of everything that blasted binding spell was lifted. We all just drifted apart after that, even Keagan and I. A week without it felt unusual. It was nice being able to go where I wanted without risking anyone's life yet we all always managed to run into each other but we never talked.

Thinking about it now, I haven't seen Randal for days.

I felt a slight pain in my heart.

After all we've been through. Just like that, we split. Even Keagan and I... Damn...

I understood it though. Us being together always lead to trouble of sorts. I mean the entire time with the binding spell was absolute hell. So we just parted. We all still lived in third year housing but different buildings and areas.

I heard a girl laughing. It drew my attention. It was Keagan. He had a sleek black panther with odd markings with him. He saw me and gestured with his head. His eyes seemed lost. A sort of emptiness fell on me as they slipped into his housing building.

Yep... Friends for a time, family forever.

My mind flooded with memories of us from when we first met to just after the binding was lifted. My eyes started to burn. Keagan used to say that.

Why would I care? I don't even need him. I don't need anyone.

Those were my thoughts but not my feelings. I wanted things to be different.

Damn this university. Damn it to hell.

I put my hands in my pocket as I turned from the fountain. My fingers touched something rugged and cold. I pulled it out. It was a penny. I stared at it. It was hypnotizing. It seemed to draw all my emotions from me. I turned back to the fountain.

I wanted everything back. I wanted my only true friend back. I even wanted that punk kid and fox back.

Fucking here I thought I was a hard-ass.

I knew I couldn't have it back but I wanted to try.

I can't have them back. So... I'll do this instead.

With quiet words to myself I spoke as I flicked the penny into the shimmering waters, "I wish for them to be happy. Even if it costs me my life."

With several flips the penny flew through the air. Plop. It landed right in the top of the fountain. For a moment I thought I saw something as it plopped in the water. I felt something too, like an immense concentration of magic.