Finally something that makes the Writing section not look like a garbage bin

nah it not a garbage bin with this in there.

Very sad. F in the chat for Echo.

yes

F : (

Y'all shouldn't let me write because this post is so emotionally stiff it's almost not emotional imo

Why do you guys let me write this is

Yea

Ehhh could be better written imo

*wipes tear with a handkerchief*

SpecterTheGreat wrote:

*wipes tear with a handkerchief*

 
Oof

Whoo! Here is more cringe from your loveable piece of trash: Me!



Warning: Gore! :D


Thorns choking, poking right through his neck. The thorns pierced and pinched his skin, thick blood oozing slowly and silently. He could feel it, the vines deep in his lungs, crawling and growing, forcing their way through his airway and out of his mouth, the taste of horrid metallic spoiling the air he could barely breath in.

He could feel the vines tear through his chest, shredding his flesh into pieces in an agonizing, drawn-out depression. He could see the vines continue to grow downwards, flourishing in his stomach, his intestines, entrails like thin ribbon decorating the ground in a repulsive, foul display. Red and pink body mixing with the green earth, morbidly becoming one in an appalling, messy array.

He couldn't scream, not even a whisper of a whimper could pass his lips. All there was sounding out was a ragged, breathy wheeze with each gasp for air that he longed for so badly. He watched as rose buds slowly peeked out from beneath his skin, pulling up his veins and steadily breaking them. He could view them on his arms, he could feel them on his legs, he could sense the flowers pushing out of his innards and organs, destroying more of him.

In a slow pace, the horrifically beautiful blood red roses bloomed, covering the vines and his body. He felt the petals slowly touch his face, and slowly cover his eyes.

Darkness, he couldn't help but close his eyes. He couldn't breath anymore, he didn't need to.

Never again did he need to.

Alma woke up, his thin hands immediately going to his neck, touching where the plants once were. He felt nothing but the smooth skin, no cuts or scrapes. He felt... nothing there at all. Alma inhaled quickly, then exhaled in a very slow manner.

He was fine. He wasn't dying. That... that was good.

He didn't need to worry.

Not at all did Alma need to worry.

:3

Ah, beautiful stuff Echo. It really shows what was going on in Echo's mind at the same time as well.

It's great writing. Great stuff as I know some would say *chef's kiss*

gosh I love this so much
the part with the apologies really got to me
10/10

A soft wind beckoned her, messing with her hair playfully. Snowflakes swung and toppled through the air in childish fumble, bringing the sharp nip of chill to her skin.

      Echo didn't move from the ledge of the towering building, but instead remained to think about the events of what happened. About herself. About her... friends?

      Friends, sure. They were friends.

      That's a weird word.

      Echo wrapped her wings around herself, the feathers tips with ice not bringing warmth, but a bit of protection from the cold. Despite being a winter deity, for some reason Echo felt the cold. She didn't like it. Her body had become more "mortal" now.
     
      For some reason she knew she hadn't felt cold before death. Maybe it was intuition, whatever the heck intuition meant anyway. Echo wasn't sure, really. Maybe her past self didn't have good education.

      Echo gave a short laugh at herself, finding some humor in that. Strange, empty humor that only she would feel. Humor in her strange body that bled silver when she got paper cuts, humor in her empty chest that held no beat, humor in her own stupidity.

      Why was she alive?

      Echo wasn't sure if she believed in fate. She had once asked Alma what he believed, but the man didn't give a straight answer. No, he made everything too poetic. Echo could see past his wise facade, see past his cool mask.

      Alma didn't know anything about fate himself.

      Echo sighed, watching her breath float up in the cold air. She tried to think about what other differences had happened to her body when she woken.

      When Echo cried, it was normal, like a human's tears. No steam, nothing to hide behind. Silence told her about that and about how it freaked them out the first time they saw Echo cried.

      "Never saw anythin' like it," they said. "Lika thing out of the fantasy genre!"

      Echo looked up into the grey sky, trying to remember.

      Just to remember something.

      Somehow, Echo still felt emotional connections to things and people, both negative and positive.

      When she had first seen a stuffed dog neatly sitting in her bag, there was a wave of strange fondness and joy that came with it as she gently held it in her arms. When Echo watched Alma and Alois play cards (they swear that they weren't playing poker before she came over, then they both sternly said to never gamble for money) she relaxed and felt a smile tug on her lips when Alma dramatically sighed in defeat and Alois pumped his fist into the air in excitement. When Silence ruffled Echo's hair, she felt a joy and a bit of childish embarrassment while she whined about Silence calling her "kiddo", claiming to not be that young! When she watched over people in the shadows with Apollo to keep mortals safe, Echo couldn't help but feel a strange weight in her chest that amounted into strange affection for each human and mortal humanoid. When Francis happily rambled while painting, Echo found herself clinging onto every word to make sure to remember the little details. When Malaika was praying at an alter, Echo made sure to stay quiet and watched as the room became peaceful.

      When Silence, Francis, and Echo were walking on the sidewalk and passed a woman holding a beer bottle, Echo burst into tears from pure, sheer fear and grief from the smell of alcohol. When Echo heard a couple people fighting, she held a bit tighter to Alma's arm. When seeing Malaika's sacrifical knives, Echo hyperventilated. When finding her own dagger, she immediately put it where she couldn't see it and cried the rest of the day from the ache in her chest. When finding one of Francis' darker portraits on accident, Echo gone lightheaded and passed out...

      What was the portrait?

      Francis had explained that it was a self-reflection of himself, what he felt sometimes when he was emotionally hurt. He said that sometimes it helped him to paint out all his sorrows like that, all onto one canvas. He had apologized, he had said that he thought he had put it away.

      The painting was monochrome purple, it looked a lot like Francis himself... but there was so much more. On the canvas, he looked to be in excruciating  pain, wounds mangling his chest and carved into his sides. Wings, large wings, were ripping apart his back. His body was twisted unnaturally, such so that the viewer could see both his lower back and from the mid-stomach up, as if his bones were broken. His arms were in terrible positions, looking knobby and contorted. His head was tilted in an awful angle, his mouth agape as if screaming something. It looked too real, too realistic. It looked like it would move into reality from the canvas.

      It was gore, pure gore, some kind of sadistic gore that Echo wouldn't have ever imagined Francis painting. He looked embarrassed while talking about it, like he could tell Echo was making a judgment on him. He was such a kind, gentle fellow. Echo had once watched him cry over a bunny he thought was too dang small. The painting felt like an unrealistic contradiction against the sensitive but eccentric painter.

      Strangely, the horrific painting gave some kind of... memory. It was fuzzy, yes, it was a fuzzy, blurry memory.

      Echo felt her breath catch in her throat, and she pushed down her thoughts. No. She didn't want to think about her memories. It only made her head explode with pain. No more, no more thinking about that.

      Echo nearly jumped out of her skin when Silence sat down by her, holding a couple cans of soda.

      "Whatcha thinkin' 'bout," Silence asked, holding a soda out to Echo with a sleepy grin.

      Echo shrugged, "Isn't it too cold for soda? I don't think Alma would think highly of us drinking something like that while it's freezing out."

      "Perhaps, but Alma doesn't need to know," Silence winked. Echo took the soda and held it between her gloved fingers. The deity noticed that Silence wasn't wearing anything warm. In fact, the demigod was wearing leggings and a t-shirt with slippers.

      "Hey, aren't you cold?" Echo questioned, opening the soda. She brought it closer to listen to the fizzling of the bubbles.

      "Nah, barely cold out anyway."

      "What if you get sick?"

      Silence opened their soda and took a long sip.

      "Eh, I'll just bother Malaika and Alma. They know the quickest methods of healing, yea? Anyway, they both enjoy my company so it'll be a win-win!" They added a sharp laugh at the end.

      Echo stared at them then took of her scarf, quickly putting it around Silence's neck before they could resist. Right after came out their words of protest.

      "Hey, kiddo! I don't need this!" Silence said, trying to untie it.

      "Yes you do."

      Echo smacked their hands away from the scarf, readjusting it to fit better. They sighed.

      "Not as much as you! Ya just a little kid!"

      "Ain't I technically older than you?"

      "You're body is physically younger, makin' ya much more not-immune to disease and a bit weaker in the lungs! C'mon, kid, take the scarf back!"

      "Not-immune? Also, no."

      "Ya know what I meant!"

      "Leave the scarf on."

      "Why do ya want me to wear it so bad?"

      "You're going to get frostbite."

      "Frostbite's nothin'!" Silence frowned. They tried to take the scarf off to put it back on Echo again but paused when seeing the anxious expression on Echo's face. Silence slowly put their hands back down.

      "Okay, okay, I'll wear the scarf," Silence said, taking another sip of their soda. "Just stop makin' sucha sad face, ya makin' me sad."

      Echo slightly smiled, the rush of anxiety slowly drifting away. She always felt it when dealing with someone much more mortal than her, or whoever she thought was mortal, anyway.

      Echo finally took a sip of her own soda, making a face from the sudden sweetness. She wasn't very accustomed to eating or drinking things, so it felt strange to swallow. Echo liked the taste, though, and the fizziness of the bubbles made her feel happy.

      After a moment, Silence spoke, "How 'bout we go to Francis' and Malaika's and all four of us walk around to look at the holiday lights?"

      "Only if you change into something weather appropriate."

      Silence snorted.

      "Alright, alright, I will."

It's suppose to be the first time Alma and Alois met you lol, it lowkey sucks but idk enjoy it I guess lol

Curse and blood warning


      Dim candle light met Alois' vision, the last of sleepiness leaving his body. His consciousness slipped in, and Alois was whole. Ah, he must have died from dehydration, Alois thought, and this was his new life as someone else's familiar. He wondered what hell in this life was waiting for him now-

      "Hello! I'm Alma!" a young kid, maybe eight years old, cut off Alois' train of thought. The kid sat down in front of Alois, criss crossing his legs and leaning forward a bit. He looked beyond excited.

      "Uh...hello," Alois said, narrowing his eyes at the kid. Was this pipsqueak of a child his new master? Wait, no way this kid learned how to summon his familiar at such a young age! Gods, the youngest master Alois had was around sixteen at best, so how did such a young child-

      "What's your name?" Alma asked, rocking back and forth a bit in his excitement.

      "Alois… excuse me, but who has summoned me?" Alois said, looking around.

      The kid puffed up his chest proudly, pointing at himself with his thumb, "I did, sir! It was real easy too! What's your favourite colour? Do you like sheep? We have a lot of sheep and cows! What's your favourite animal? I like sheep, but I dunno if it's my favourite. Do you like flowers?"

      A woman spoke up, "Alma, sweetheart, slow down a bit. They need some time to adjust to their new home."

      Alma nodded, suddenly sitting still and watching Alois with large, curious eyes. Alois raised an eyebrow at the kid and then looked over at the lady. She had a crow on her shoulder that stared Alois down with almost an interested but cold glint it it's eyes. The crow must be her familiar, as it certainly wasn't just a plain old bird. Alois looked back at the kid sitting before him, wondering what in the world was going on.

      "I like your hair, it's super pretty!" Alma smiled. "I like that colour of blue."

      Blue? Alois lifted a bunch of his curly hair into hand, examining it. It indeed was a baby blue hue rather than a shade of black or grey. Also, why was his hand so small…

      "Master, tell me, how old do I look?" Alois questioned.

      "Uhhhm… nine? Ten?" Alma tilted his head as Alois went into shock over his new age. "Master? Uhm, my name is Alma."

      "Y-yes, I know, but you are my master," Alois said, wondering why he started out so young in this reincarnation.

      Alma frowned a bit and said, "Nah, just call me Alma! And I'll call you Alois! Because those are our names! I like our names! Hey, hey, they both start with an 'A'! That's cool!"

      Alois slowly nodded, not quite sure of what to think of the small, energetic boy before him except for the fact that he did not trust the kid.

      Alma jumped up and asked, "Can I show you around?"

      Alois slowly got up, wobbling a bit. Alma helped him stand completely, holding onto Alois as Alois' legs woke up.

      Alois brushed Alma off of him a bit coolly and monotoned, "Sure."

      Alma, unaffected by Alois' rather distant attitude, grinned. He led Alois out of the room, and the woman from before followed behind both of them.

      As Alma showed Alois around the house, yard, and barn excitedly, the woman and crow discussed the two from afar.

      The crow shifted into a humanoid form after circling Alma and Alois for a while, smirking as they gave their opinion.

      "The wolf seems rather untrusting."

      "Wolf? Is that what he is?" the woman wondered.

      "Yes, I can foresee it," the crow nodded, fixing their lace gloves. "And he has been very serious this whole time, a bit jumpy too. He keeps calling young Alma 'Master'; he got a bit hostile when young Alma moved too quickly towards him. I'd say that it'll be a while before young Alois takes any liking towards young Alma."

      "Ah, I see. Anything else?"

      "From what I can foresee, young Alois might attack young Alma out of fear, so it'll be best to keep a close eye on both of them until young Alois settles in. Perhaps they could share a room, but it's hard to tell if any of them will get any sleep due to young Alma's talkative nature. Of course, it might help them bond better the more they are around each other, decreasing young Alois' chances of lashing out."

      The woman nodded, watching as Alma pointed at the pond and named off some surrounding plants. Alois looked disinterested, keeping a good distance from Alma.

      "Lady Violeta, tell me, what do you think of young Alois?" the crow asked.

      "His past lives must have been horrible for him to be scared of his witch," the woman said. "And for him to be so… indifferent from Alma... It's almost like he wants nothing to do with him. I have never met a familiar like that before, so it concerns me a bit."

      The crow hummed, thinking for a bit before saying, "Both of them are probably hungry at this point. We should cook something. I'll go tell them."

      Violeta nodded and headed inside as the crow shifted into a bird and flew over. They landed near the two boys and changed back into their humanoid form, grinning as politely as they could.

      "Hello Mx. Solaris!" Alma waved frantically. Alois didn't give much of an acknowledgement to the crow as they stalked up to the boys.

      "Young Alma, young Alois, we need you both to stay in the garden while we cook," Solaris said.

      Alma nodded and turned to Alois, smiling, "Let's go! I can show you the different vegetables we grow!" Alma ran off and Alois followed slowly. Alois looked up at Solaris and glared, perhaps wanting to scare the crow off. Solaris only beamed instead, which was a tad bit intimidating as Solaris never learned how to smile gently or kindly. Due to the intimidation, Alois scampered off quickly to Alma, who was waiting patiently in the garden.

      In the midst of cooking, Violeta looked out the window into the garden to see Alois sitting far off while Alma was pointing at a vegetable. Alma was talking, which meant he was rambling off facts about the vegetables and how to take care of them. Alois, a few times, yawned, seeming to be purposely bored of Alma. This didn't discourage the young witch from continuing to talk, though, but instead encouraged Alma to talk more.

      Violeta turned from the window and went back to cooking, smiling at Alma's persistence to befriend Alois, but she was rather worried of what they should do for if the time when Alois actually did lash out at Alma.

       Alma sat down by Alois, who inched away. Alois bared his teeth and growled.

      Alma thought about this for a moment before trying to bare his teeth and growl too. In the middle of it the kid giggled, grinning rather than actually baring his teeth.

      Alois rolled his eyes and said, "No, like this." He snarled and growled again, this time much more harshly. He was hoping to scare Alma with it, but instead Alma clapped and smiled.

      "Okay! Like this?" Alma tried to copy, but he couldn't stop giggling at himself.

      Alois huffed, "What's so funny?"

      "You sound really cool while I sound weird!" Alma laughed, trying again. It sounded even worse than before. Alois hid his on-coming laughter with a cough.

      "No, no, like this."

      Alois got up and hauntingly stood over Alma, moving his hair so Alma could look him in the eye. He shifted his being to look terrifying, extra eyes dotting his face and tongue-like tentacles with toothy, drooling mouths ripping open his throat. Alois snarled and leaned close to Alma, a deep growl rumbling in his throat as he slowly reached up to Alma's face with sharp claws.

      Alma looked amazed, which slightly upset Alois. Alois stepped away, sighing in frustration.

      "Why aren't you scared?!" Alois question, exasperated.

      "Huh? Should I be?" Alma tilted his head, rocking back and forth.

      "Yes! You are!" Alois cried, shifting back into his normal humanoid form and hitting his palm against his forehead.

      "Sorry, I just think you're really cool."

      Alois sat back down, huffing and keeping a distance. Alma scooted closer, smiling.

      Alma said, "Can you do that again?"

      "No."

      "Oh, okay! Hey, hey! Watch this!"

      Alma held his hand out, palm up. The center of his hand bubbled a bit before a rose bud sprouted, opening slowly. Alma's hand started to shake as it grew, a bit of blood spurting.

      Alois noticed Alma starting to breathe a bit quicker, looking up to see that Alma's face had paled. The kid looked sick. Alois warned, "Don't push yourself so hard."

      Alma shook his head, continuing to grow the plant, "No, I can do it! It's really cool!" More blood started to spill over the side of Alma's hand as more rose buds sprouted out of his palm. Alma gritted his teeth and forced those as well to grow, ignoring the fact his palm was dripping with deep red blood.

      Alois grabbed Alma's wrist and growled, "Stop! You're hurting yourself!"

      "No, it's fine!"

      "Stop!"

      "N-no! It'll be really cool! And then you'll like me, right?" 

      "Young Alma," Solaris hissed. Both boys looked up at the crow familiar. "Do what young Alois says and stop it this instant!"

      Alma shook his head and argued, "I can do it this ti-" He suddenly started choking. He felt sharpness cut his throat before spitting out thorns, and he started to tear up when thorn-covered stems came up. He then threw up, choking out large rose vines and stems, blood and saliva covered blossoms hitting the ground disgustingly.

      "Shit! I'll get Lady Violeta!" Solaris ran off into the house.

      Alois panicked, patting Alma's back as the boy continued to throw up roses.

      "I'm fine," Alma raspily cried in-between gasps for air before throwing up again. Alois cringed at how much blood covered the ground in front of them.

      "No you're not!" Alois screamed, more panic rising as now the main content of what Alma was puking up being blood.

      Alma sobbed, his voice becoming more and more scratchy as he tried to tell Alois he was fine. He kept cutting himself off with wracking coughs and more choking up petals and flowers.

      Violeta got on her knees beside Alma, getting him to sit up a bit. She put a bottle into Alma's mouth, forcing the kid to drink down its contents. Alma complied, gasping and shuttering as the potion started to work and clear up his chest. His body started convulsing a bit, so Violeta laid him down in the grass carefully. Slowly, Alma stopped moving and fell asleep.

      Alois watched as Violeta lifted up Alma into her arms, not moving as she silently went inside. He slowly realized he was shaking, tears running down his face as he stared at the blood before him. He felt pain in his body, in his lungs and throat and mouth. It was one of the most terrible pains he had felt before, as if he was actually experiencing the cuts in his body himself.

      Solaris spoke, perching beside Alois, "Do you know why he did that?"

      Alois didn't reply, still staring at the blood.

      And then you'll like me, right?

      Solaris sighed, "Young Alma is very talented in magic, but he doesn't quite know his own limit. He believes that if he pushes himself hard and overworks himself, he will achieve his goal. Young Alma is a bright kid who can perform powerful magic, but he doesn't quite take care of himself like he should. He's reckless at times, but he genuinely has a good heart. That's why he needs you, to get some common sense into him and so he can have a friend. I can tell young Alma already has a strong liking towards you."

      Alois growled, looking away, "We're not friends, and I'm not a babysitter for some witch brat."

      Solaris snorted, "So that's how you see him." 

      Alois made a low growling sound, kicking at the ground. 

      Solaris sighed "I know it doesn't sound that fun, but he truly likes you and wanted to impress you. Why else would he put himself in danger?"

      "How many times has he done that before? How many times has he done that until he started bleeding like that?"

      "Hmm… from what I know of, one time to that extreme. Any other time he would only do it until he had only a bud sitting in his palm. We found him behind the barn laying in a huge puddle of his blood the first time he overworked himself. Young Alma almost died that day, and he probably would have today without me noticing through the window. He's stubborn, isn't he?"

      "He's… willing to die just to impress me?" Alois whispered.

      "Hmph, he's a bit of a hard head too, yes? Let's go inside now."

      Solaris stood and walked away, not waiting to see if Alois was following or not. They heard Alois quietly follow them inside.

      Once sensing Alma in a room, Alois silently passed Solaris and headed into it. He sat down at the end of the bed, glaring at Alma's sleeping form.

      Alois mumbled angrily, "Idiot."

      Solaris snickered, "Keh heh heh he, Lady Violeta and I will be continuing to cook. You can go wherever you want, but we'll have soup ready in about an hour."

      Alois shrugged. With that, Solaris left. Alois continued to stare at Alma for five minutes before he started mumbling.

      "Stupid witches and their stupid magic. Magic isn't even that impressive to me anymore, it's all used the same. Each witch is greedy and will use it for their own interests. You'll grow up and be just like the others, won't you?"

      Obviously, there was no response.

      "And then you'll kill a bunch of people with it, including me because I'm not a desirable familiar. I'm not a black cat, I'm nothing that powerful. You'll dispose of me and force some animal to bond with you. Hmph, I bet so, that poor cat."

      Alois turned away and stared at the wall, not wanting to look at the boy before him anymore.

      "You'll corrupt, you'll satisfy yourself… all witches are nothing more then a bunch of lowly, greedy, stupid bunch of people who are just lucky if they aren't rightfully burned at stake by a village. Hell, if you turn out to be good, you'll die anyway at the hands of someone evil and more powerful. After all, you unfortunately got the worst familiar someone could get."

      Alois rubbed his throat, the burning sensation still there.

      "If you died today, I would have too, you bastard. I was only panicking because I would have died, so you better get that into your damn thick skull. We aren't friends and we will never be friends."

      Alois stood up, feeling a mix between being more upset than before and satisfied. He stormed out, not caring to be quiet when he shut the door. He went on his way to the pond.

      After a few minutes when Alois left, Alma sat up, sniffling. Alma had woken up in his mother's arms shortly after falling asleep. He was good at faking a nap, as he was actually trying to get himself to continue to sleep, so Alois had no idea Alma had heard the whole rant.

      Alma wiped tears from his eyes, feeling very upset over what Alois had said.

      "Well… fine…" Alma cried, his feelings bubbling up uncontrollably. "We aren't friends, then… I g-guess…"

      Alma knew his own words were only causing him to feel worse; he knew he actually wanted to be friends with Alois very badly. It didn't take long for Alma to decide that he would try again to befriend Alois, his words from before disappearing from his mind.

      With his conclusion, Alma got up from the bed. He found a way to sneak around Violeta and Solaris. Once outside, he ran around in search of Alois.

      It didn't take Alma long to find Alois stuck in a tree, dangling over the pond.

      It also didn't take long for Alois to admit he couldn't swim, but getting Alois to agree with Alma helping him was much harder.

      "Go away!" Alois growled.

      "I'm going to go get Mamá, okay?" Alma yelled back.

      "That's not what I meant!"

      Before Alma could turn around to run to the house, the branch snapped.

      Alois thought he was going to die. There was no way Alma would make it to the house and back in time, which would take six minutes in total. He couldn't hold his breath for more than one minute, and after that he was going to drown. Great, Alois thought. Just great. He didn't really enjoy the process of dying. It was painful and he always woke up groggy.

      What Alois didn't expect was for his body to be suddenly floating in the air, water droplets spilling off. He saw Alma with his arms up, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. He looked to be in pain, but he was successfully lifting Alois up in the air.

      Alois was safely set on the ground. Alma staggered forward, smiling at Alois.

      "Hah… that was hard…" Alma rasped, coughing. Alois watched as Alma fell, passing out from overworking himself again.

      Gods, this kid's an idiot, Alois thought, walking over to Alma. He poked Alma with his foot before rolling his eyes and lifting the kid up.

      Damn it, Alma was making it harder for Alois to hate him. Alois found that could be another reason to despise Alma's existence. The kid was stupid and irresponsible, his stamina low as hell. Alma was annoying, bothersome, and Alois did not like him. Alois refused to like Alma even the slightest bit.

      "Here's your kid," Alois spat as he entered the kitchen. "He passed out again."

      Violeta gasped and quickly took Alma from Alois, carrying him away into his room. Alois huffed and leaned against the kitchen counter.

      "Don't say a word, you pigeon," Alois grunted at Solaris.

      "Hmm, that's the first someone has called me that," Solaris grinned, standing beside Alois.

      "Shouldn't you be helping?"

      "I could say the same. Isn't young Alma your witch?"

      "Master is nothing more than a fool. If he dies, he dies. I don't give a damn."

      "Then why did you bring him inside?" Solaris looked very smug saying this, as if leeching off of Alois' anger.

      "B-because! Because… shut up! You're a crazy bastard!"

      "Maybe so, but I can tell you at least have a smidgen of care towards young Alma. Even if you don't want to admit it, it still lives and lingers! Keh heh he!" Solaris threw their head back, their voice scratchy and painfully irritating.

      Alois snarled and left the kitchen, going straight to Alma's room to possibly complain.

      There, he was greeted with a little wave from Alma and a slight nod by Violeta. Violeta was cleaning Alma's face with a wet rag, humming a bit.

      Alois sat down in a nearby chair and said, "You woke up fast."

      "The village doctor says I'm super resilient! Oh, Mamá, we need to bring him potions again in a couple days, right?"

      Violeta agreed, "Yes, we do."

      "Yay! He's real nice, Alois! You'll like him."

      "Hmph, if you live that long," Alois huffed.

      Violeta said, as if reminded by Alois' statement, "I'm making a new rule that both of you can't go outside without either me or Solaris. I think it'll be safer for Alma." She looked at Alois and added, "Not that you're dangerous, dear. I've been thinking about making this rule long before you were summoned."

      Alois made a face at being called "dear", looking away in annoyance. He crossed his arms and growled, "I don't care what rules you make, I can't willingly break them anyway. And I am dangerous."

      Violeta smiled gently at that, checking Alma's temperature. Alma jumped a bit at Violeta's cold hands, giggling due to his ticklishness.

      Violeta said, "Your temperature is high."

      Alma shrugged, "I feel okay."

      "You're still taking medicine."

      Alois snorted at Alma's grimace.

      Violeta raised an eyebrow, looking over at Alois, then said, "I must check your temperature too, Alois. You're soaking wet and it's chilly out."

      Alois scoffed, "I wasn't in the pond long enough to get sick. Touch me and you're going to lose some fingers."

      Violeta didn't seem bothered by Alois' threat.

       "Oh, you should be fine if you weren't in the pond for a long time, but you both need to take a bath and change into clean clothes. After that, you both can eat. Alois, you can take a bath first while I try to get Alma's fever down, okay? You can borrow some of Alma's clothes, you both are about the same size."

      Alois shrugged, jumping up from the chair, "Sure."

      Alma waved bye at Alois, who only stared at Alma for a bit before leaving.

      After Alois was gone, Alma looked up at his mother.

      "Mamá?"

      "Yes?"

      "Will I be a corrupted witch?"

      This caught Violeta off guard.

      "Where did you get an idea like that?" Violeta asked, sitting back down.

      "Uhm… I dunno…just… wondering…?"

      Violeta sighed, already guessing it was something Alois had said. Violeta took Alma's hands into her's, gently flipping them over to look at his scarred palms.

      "I believe that as long as you try to do what's right and cleanse yourself after spells, you'll be a fine witch. You still have a long way to go, but I do not believe you'll become corrupted. You're still learning."

      "Mamá, why did you become a witch?"

       "I wanted to help people. The village nearby needed help, so when I was a young girl I decided to study witchcraft to help them."

      "Why do people kill us?"

      "Oh, many reasons that not even I know. But don't you worry about that, the village trusts us and I trust them. They're real friendly, aren't they?"

      "Yeah! I wanna see the baker again. When will we go to the Modern Sect again?"

      Violeta thought a moment, making a silly face to get Alma to giggle. She smiled when he did, and then she answered, "Maybe next week, on Thursday. I'll take you and Alois to the park."

      "Yay! Solaris came from the Modern Sect, right?"

      "Mm-hm, they did! You have a good memory."

      "Can I help cook?"

      "No, you need to rest. Which reminds me, you need some medicine, don't you?"

      Alma groaned, "Medicine is icky!"

      "It's important, though."

      "Still icky."

      Violeta smiled, patting Alma's head, "I'll give you a cookie after dinner if you take the medicine."

      Alma gasped, nodding frantically, "Okay!"

      Violeta nodded back and went to the kitchen, finding that Solaris was stirring the soup. She went around them and grabbed a medicine bottle from a cabinet.

      Solaris saw the bottle, their nose wrinkling as they said, "Nasty stuff, eh? So nasty it chases fevers right away!"

      "I swear, both you and Alma overreact when it comes to taking medicine," Violeta shook her head.

      "Have you ever had your own medicine?!" Solaris squawked.

      "Plenty of times."

      "Ughhh, how are you not disgusted by it?!" Solaris shuddered.

      Violeta shrugged, "No idea."

      "Poor young Alma, having to take that stuff."

      Violeta shook her head, saying, "I guess you should consider yourself lucky, then."

      "Very lucky!"

      Later on, after both Alois and Alma had a bath, Alma decided to read to Alois to pass time until dinner was ready.

      "Please?" Alma asked for the hundredth time.

      "Fine, fine! Just stop being annoying!" Alois growled.

      Alma brightened up, grabbing Alois' hand and dragging him to the living room's couch. Alois looked around the room, wondering why the Amor family owned so much Modern Sect items and furniture when they lived in the Medieval Sect.

      Surely, this was the weirdest witches Alois had met. They weren't cruel, but they were surly weird enough to be interesting.

      Alois looked at the book Alma was reading. It was thick, Alois noticed, much too thick for such a young kid in his opinion.

      "Master, are you sure you can read that?" Alois asked. "Won't that be… a bit too hard for you?"

      Alma looked confused. The young witch said, "No? I've read it before."

      "Okay… then…"

      Alma added to the conversation, "Just call me Alma. I don't like being called 'Master'. I'm just Alma."

      "Hmph."

      Alois listened to Alma read the book, surprised by Alma's decent pronunciation and emotion put into his tone. It felt as if he was in the story himself, feeling the same feelings the characters felt.

      Alois jumped, startled, when Solaris interrupted to tell the boys that dinner was ready. He was so absorbed by the story that he didn't notice Solaris come in.

      Alma put the book up, grabbing Alois' hand, and led the dazed wolf familiar into the kitchen.

      Once everyone got a bowl, they all sat down to eat. Alois gulped his soup down, his bad habit of devouring food as quickly as he could surfacing. Once he finished his bowl, he sat there silently and waited.

      What caught Alois by surprise was Violeta asking him, "Would you like some more?"

      Alois looked up and questioned, "Is that okay?"

      He was met with confused stares from everyone else.

      Solaris said, "Well, of course it's okay! Get as much as you want."
     
      "Yes please, then," Alois quietly said. Violeta took his bowl and went to retrieve him more.

      Alma said, "The soup is good."

      Alois replied awkwardly, "Yeah."

      "I like cooking, it's really fun."

      Alois didn't say anything to continue the conversation, so Alma quietly continued to eat. Violeta came back with Alois' bowl, giving him more soup.

      Solaris watched as Alois ate much slower than before. The room was too quiet to their liking, so Solaris said, "Today was eventful."

      Everyone looked up at Solaris, who continued, "The young witch overloaded, the wolf sank like a rock. Tomorrow, the young witch will ease up, the wolf will float. I foresee a future in which the youth of this household have a strengthened bond."

      Alois snorted, "Poetic."

      Alma said, "Will the future you see be true?" Alois glanced over at the kid. Alma looked very hopeful. Alois looked back down at his soup.

      Solaris tilted their head, putting a finger up to their chin as they answered, "Only if you will it, young Alma. Only if you will it."

      "Ooh, okay! I'll will it very hard, then."

      Solaris was satisfied with Alma's response, although it was a bit humourous. They looked to Alois and asked, "What about you, young Alois? Do you will that future?"

      "I doubt your future," Alois replied flatly.

      "Why so?"

      "I do not believe in it."

      "The concept of the future is a strange one, no? Hmm, it's strange indeed, but it's always certain for there to be a future. Just how it plays out is what you believe is untrue, yes? My predictions are made in observation, so I am not surprised you would doubt it."

      "...Yeah." What Solaris said went through one of Alois' ears and out the next. Alma looked confused.

      Solaris laughed, finding the boys' expressions funny.

      Alois muttered under his breath, "Stupid pigeon."

Hi Echo, the nicknames are better than "beefcake" at least and also do you want me to change "angle" to "angel" because I'm pretty sure autocorrect is at it again

-Galaxian-