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Summer vacation elapses, and sees their storefront doing one heck of a business in the Avalon with the help of their griffin employee. There is a suggestion box for new spells they should invent, some of which have to be long-term projects but others of which are converted into new product fairly promptly.
School starts up again. Darren and Bella are both skipping straight into twelfth grade. (Bella looked into just starting college early, but while she does technically have the sort of resume that can lead to that kind of thing, she can't exactly write an essay about how she saved the life of another person and this caused her to have Moral Character, let alone about how she started a small business - so skipping one grade it is.)
They apply to colleges. They both get into University of Washington and get sufficient scholarships to accommodate both going there.
Summer ensues again.
One afternoon, Bella is over at Darren's, and has fallen asleep - in purring fullform - across his lap on the couch.
shesepankh
morethanimaginary
Savannah takes care of the second guard, and then she's in the air and heading towards Darren -
castmyown
Darren barely dares to breathe.
He needs to shield himself and Bella from gunfire, but - but they'll hear him if he chants. So he stays absolutely still and just - waits. To see what they'll do.
He needs to shield himself and Bella from gunfire, but - but they'll hear him if he chants. So he stays absolutely still and just - waits. To see what they'll do.
"Sphinxes?" asks a guard dubiously.
"Doing what? Well, step careful."
They go over the ice, step by step.
"Doing what? Well, step careful."
They go over the ice, step by step.
morethanimaginary
Savannah - doesn't know if Darren's inside that ice circle, but she has suspicions. That wasn't an accident, he deliberately did that, it must have been to protect himself and Bella from the ink monster. Worth giving up the element of surprise if it means her brother doesn't get shot.
"We're doing stuff," says Savannah, in her own voice, from behind them in the air, adding a laugh for theatrics. "The others are gone with her, we win, fuck you. You can tell 'cause of the ice circle, for future reference, it means they teleported."
"We're doing stuff," says Savannah, in her own voice, from behind them in the air, adding a laugh for theatrics. "The others are gone with her, we win, fuck you. You can tell 'cause of the ice circle, for future reference, it means they teleported."
morethanimaginary
Of course there are. She expected that. She expected that, right? Fuck, this was a bad idea. Darren owes her one.
One of her wings catches a bullet, and she hisses and uses the other to - spin to the floor, shifting mid-way to full human to get her delicate wings out of the way of any more harm. She's had better landings, certainly, but this one's hard to hear over the gunfire.
She hopes to hell Darren is actually there and can use the distraction she just bought him.
One of her wings catches a bullet, and she hisses and uses the other to - spin to the floor, shifting mid-way to full human to get her delicate wings out of the way of any more harm. She's had better landings, certainly, but this one's hard to hear over the gunfire.
She hopes to hell Darren is actually there and can use the distraction she just bought him.
castmyown
Darren is both there, and he can use this to his advantage.
A scroll, a mumbled chant, and then - the guards are all on fire.
A scroll, a mumbled chant, and then - the guards are all on fire.
morethanimaginary
That's time enough for Savannah to get another knife and - well, rush in to do some stabbing while they are dealing with this 'on fire' problem.
"No AoEs!" she growls, for Darren to hear. Then she realizes what she just said, as she is slicing open a guard's throat. Oh, hell, it is spreading, she's becoming a nerd, too, she just used a word that Darren would use and used it perfectly. She'll nerd out every full moon and go running off to live in a basement or something. Great, just great.
"No AoEs!" she growls, for Darren to hear. Then she realizes what she just said, as she is slicing open a guard's throat. Oh, hell, it is spreading, she's becoming a nerd, too, she just used a word that Darren would use and used it perfectly. She'll nerd out every full moon and go running off to live in a basement or something. Great, just great.
When one of them sees another's throat opening up he gets up, still slightly on fire, and tackles the general area Savannah's in.
morethanimaginary
Oof. Down Savannah goes.
She struggles, and then she starts trying to stab her attacker.
She struggles, and then she starts trying to stab her attacker.
morethanimaginary
It hits her shoulder. Ow.
Savannah, unlike the guard, has a much better idea of what to aim at. Knife, knife to heart, knife to face, knife to literally anything she can reach, get the gun away from her she doesn't want to die.
Savannah, unlike the guard, has a much better idea of what to aim at. Knife, knife to heart, knife to face, knife to literally anything she can reach, get the gun away from her she doesn't want to die.
castmyown
Darren has finally retrieved another scroll that will not blow his sister up along with the other guards -
Chant, chant, and a guard goes down from having a very severe case of brain freeze.
Chant, chant, and a guard goes down from having a very severe case of brain freeze.
Death. Death.
One live'un left.
He isn't on fire anymore; he scrambles over the ice towards the source of Darren's voice, firing.
One live'un left.
He isn't on fire anymore; he scrambles over the ice towards the source of Darren's voice, firing.
castmyown
Darren abruptly realizes that he probably should have created a shield before speaking and letting people know he's here. This is about the same time that a bullet enters his right arm. Ow. Pain. Lots of it.
morethanimaginary
Savannah shoves the corpse off of her, huffing and ignoring the pain in her shoulder -
Darren.
She doesn't think, she just reacts, and then there is a knife in her hand. Then it ceases to be in her hand, because it's buried in the guard's back. Then she retrieves her kill's gun, because she is officially pissed and if they touch her brother they get to die with extreme prejudice.
And then she gets up, and she stalks over to the guard, and she shoots him.
Over. And over. And over. Until she is out of bullets.
Darren.
She doesn't think, she just reacts, and then there is a knife in her hand. Then it ceases to be in her hand, because it's buried in the guard's back. Then she retrieves her kill's gun, because she is officially pissed and if they touch her brother they get to die with extreme prejudice.
And then she gets up, and she stalks over to the guard, and she shoots him.
Over. And over. And over. Until she is out of bullets.
shesepankh
Bella chooses this moment to stir slightly, whimpering. (This may jostle Darren's bullet wound.)
castmyown
Darren winces with pain, but he doesn't undrape his wing from Bella, he just - grabs a hold of his right arm in pain. Which, ironically, makes it worse. Ow.
"That could have gone better. Bella. Bella are you awake?"
"That could have gone better. Bella. Bella are you awake?"
morethanimaginary
Savannah doesn't say anything for a while, she just - breathes. Heavily. And then she sinks to the floor in a heap.
"Dare, Dare tell me you are all right," she whimpers.
"Dare, Dare tell me you are all right," she whimpers.
shesepankh
"Oh god I hate the smell of blood - what's -" She squints in the dim light of the dropped flashlights. "What's going on -?"
shesepankh
"Are - are you okay - I can probably heal you - which one of you is hurt worse, bleeding more - are there more people, did you get the monster -"