Discord Isles: Black Ice Island

Ch 1. The Household

"They can stay here for one week, but after that..they need to leave. I don't need any borderhoppers living in my house....I'm not feeding them either..."

It had been almost a month since the infamous group moved in with Lily Green. Nobody mentioned the fact that they had overstayed their visit. The tension in the household had died down: the group relaxed a bit, and Lily wasn't as suspicious of them anymore.

After the events, the group seemed to be recovering with the aid of Oliver's sister, although Lily was still cross with her brother for putting his life at stake by joining this group of criminals. Due to this, Oliver had been taking any and every chance he could get to make it up to her. He was doing the dishes, cleaning her room, making her tea, and picking her flowers (which did end up having thorns.) Yet it seemed his efforts were in vain. Oliver was in the midst of repairing his awkward relationship with his sister, Lily was busy trying to keep everyone alive and well-fed, and the others were busy with shenanigans.

Taube seemed to have a great influence over Max. She was still very impressionable after becoming a Ghost Elemental: somewhat of an idiot. That was probably why Taube and Max got along so well now. Taube had been educating the girl on pranks, puns, and every single pickup-line he knew. The two had become a pranking duo, "Double-Trouble". Everywhere the fairy went, Max was sure to follow and mimic his mannerisms. At times, the fairy found it annoying, but for the most part, used it to his advantage when pranking everyone else in the household, even Lily. Maya had found herself getting onto Taube for "being a bad impression" on Max many times. She didn't approve of the shenanigans the two were causing, though she couldn't help but join in every once and a while. For the most part, while Taube and Max broke things and ran around in Lily's garden, Maya would be busy learning new fighting skills.

In fact, that's how Maya and Lily had begun to get along. Lily was a master at hand-to-hand combat, and in her garage she had a punching bag strung up with a chain. Maya had improved her combat abilities since Lily had been training with her, and the two would practice daily.

That leaves one person in the household.

Oliver Green.

Oliver often found himself feeling a bit lonely. He even found himself being jealous of the time Taube was spending with Max, and Lily with Maya. The thing he yearned for the most was a strong relationship with someone he could trust. A sibling relationship was something he had been fighting for since he arrived, and at first he'd longed for a relationship with Taube. Yet it seemed whenever he tried to talk to Taube about anything at all, the fairy would be so busy in his messes he would end up ignoring the bug elemental.

So despite Lily's declared deadline for the group, she had let them overstay for their own safety and for her brothers. They were healing and they were happy.

On one particularly evening, it seemed what was the last orange leaf of the colder season fluttered below the brisk clouds. One curious eye remained glued to the leaf as it danced in the breeze and swayed to the frosted grass.

"Whatya lookin at, kid?" A husky voice asked.

"A leaf." The owner of the curious eye, a young girl with pink hair, responded. "It's orange."

"Mmhmm." The teenager with dark black hair and alluring red eyes puffed on his cigar, crossing his legs. He hovered in the air, a translucent shadow in the corner of the girls eye. His black hair was in shambles on his forehead, dried blood still encrusted around the bullet hole in the sides of his head. A toothy grin poked out from beneath his chocolate skin.

"Why is the leaf orange, Wilson?" Max asked, spinning around and sitting cross-cross on the couch with a grin. A white eye-patch covered her grey eye, leaving a faded yellow one gazing at him with curiosity. Her pale pink hair had grown out and remained half-up: a short ponytail on the top of her head while the rest fell to below her shoulders.

Wilson shrugged in a cloud of smoke. "Same reason I'm here. It's dead."

"Oh." Max said.

She turned her attention back outside the window. After a moment, her eye widened, lightening in a reflective white. She let out a quiet "huh?" then grew silent for a minute.

"Guys!! Guys!! Come quickly! Hurry!" She shouted, jumping up off the couch. Three pairs of footsteps thudded- one from down the hall, one from the kitchen, and one from the garage.

Maya burst in through the garage door, a pair of red boxing gloves still strapped to her hands. Her long white hair was in strands across her face. Her mismatched eyes jumped wildly from Max to everything else in the room.

"What?! What's wrong?!" She exclaimed.

Max opened her mouth to respond but Oliver and Lily burst in through the kitchen door.

Lily's eyes, darting around the room, were glowing a dangerous green and red, and her long dark green hair was floating behind her head. Oliver clutched onto his sisters arm, looking nervous and fiddling with his greenish hoodie string. His green hair was a fluffy mess atop his head.

Max waited to speak until Taube appeared from the top of the stairs, yawning as he trudged down. He was wearing an oversized pale pink hoodie and too many pink bracelets.

"What is it?" Lilly hissed.

"It's raining ash!!" Max exclaimed, pointing out the window with wide eyes and pursed lips. Maya slipped off her gloves and climbed onto the couch, peering out the window with one vibrant red eye and an icy cobalt one.

After a moment, she chuckled softly. "Max, that's not ash. That's snow."

Taube gasped. "It's snowing?! I love snow!"

"No!" Oliver exclaimed, his voice cracking, "You love throwing snow at people!" He hid behind Lily once more, who shoved him aside and left the room.

Taube chuckled deviously, "maybe you're right. Let's get our coats on.", then he disappeared up the stairs.

"What's snow?" Max asked, locking eyes with Maya.

"Ah, that's right. This is your first time experiencing snow, isn't it?" Maya asked, face solemn. Max nodded.

The psychic smiled and stood up.

"Well then, get your coat on!"

Wilson hovered, sitting criss-cross in the center of the room, still with a cigar in his mouth. Max cocked an eyebrow at him and he responded with a shrug. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran through the ghost to put her coat on.