Chapter Text
Sam had never felt more relieved when he saw the open sky. The five of them spilled out of the tunnel and collapsed onto the soft grass. The vines had luckily stopped chasing them halfway back up the tunnels. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sam stared up at the trees and the pale orange sky. He was so happy to see non-violent plants. The day was almost over and they'd have to go back to Willa's place soon.
Sitting up, he spotted a reddish-brown cat walk towards Aster. He couldn't hear what the young teen was saying but she handed the small gray kitten to them and the cat carried the kitten off into the woods. Sam was glad the kitten was alright. Glancing over at the others, he noticed that they were all exhausted, even Robin. Alex and Andy had de-transformed, Aster was now laying flat on her back and Robin was on his feet but swaying slightly.
An idea popped into his mind and he stood up.
"We should all go back to Willa's place. You guys can rest before having to go back home," he stated, directing the last part at Aster, Alex and Andy. Robin walked over to him and leaned into his ear.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I don't know if Willa will like if we bring more kids to her place," he whispered.
Sam looked over at his best friend. "I'm sure Willa won't mind, they helped us get the plant so she can't be that mad"
Robin opened his mouth to argue but sighed instead. "Let's hope you're right."
Sam smiled and turned back to the trio of younger teens.
"So what do you think?" he asked, a hopeful smile on his face.
The trio huddled in a circle and had a hushed conversation. After a few minutes of hushed whispering, the trio glanced back over at Sam, standing up.
"We'll go but on one condition; We'll be able to leave whenever we want," Alex stated.
Sam nodded enthusiastically. It was time to head back to Willa's place. And luckily for them, they'd ended up at the tunnel entrance that was close to the older wizard's place which meant they didn't have far to go.
Soon enough, the group were standing outside the doors of the stone mansion. Robin knocked on the door and they waited for an answer. Sam hadn't wanted to just barge in with new people so he'd opted to knock first. After what seemed like forever of waiting, the door opened to reveal a still sick (but not as sick) Willa.
"What are you guys doing knocking? You live here?" she questioned with a tired look. Her gaze went behind Sam and Robin and she'd likely spotted Aster, Alex and Andy. Silence cloaked the area for several moments before Aster spoke up, pointing at Willa.
"I KNOW YOU!"
Everyone else looked over at Aster with a confused eyebrow.
"You're that lady that owns that flower shop. You knew my abuelo!" Aster explained.
Willa's eyes glistened with recognition. "Ah yes, I recognize you now. You're Kane's grandkid aren't you?"
Aster nodded. Willa smiled softly. "I thought so, Kane talked about you a lot."
From the words used to the sadness in Aster's eyes, Sam guessed this Kane person had passed on. He silently sent his regards to Aster.
"I see you also brought the chimera twins with you," Willa continued, glancing over at Alex and Andy.
The two siblings froze at that, looking quite spooked.
"How... How do you know that?" Andy questioned.
"I've met your kind before so I can sense your magic easily," Willa replied.
With that, the twins began spewing out questions like a waterfall. Willa raised her hand which silenced the two snow haired teens.
"You should all come inside, you look exhausted," she stated, stepping aside to let all the teens inside.
Sam stretched his limbs and let out a yawn. Aster and the twins looked around in amazement.
"You live here?!" Aster exclaimed in amazement.
Sam nodded. "Yep. It's spacious, cozy and I get to live here with my best friend"
Robin let out a cough. "Anyway, let's move upstairs."
Robin guided everyone upstairs to the open living room. Everyone sat down on the coach and relaxed. They stayed like that for a while until Willa walked into the room and in front of the group.
"I have a proposition for you three," Willa stated, looking over at Aster, Alex and Andy. The three in question sat up and looked at her with curiosity. Even Sam is curious.
Willa began, "Magic situations happen in Avant City and the world all the time. And every time us magic users have to wipe the memories of the humans so we can preserve the order of magic. And because I like you three, I want to make sure you don't loose your memories when I do a memory wipe."
"Sounds like you've done it a lot," Alex stated and Willa nodded.
"It happens more than you would think, I've even had to do it recently."
Sam couldn't help but side eye Willa. She wouldn't mention the incident with his cursed form, would she? Luckily, no word was said about that event and Sam hoped it would stay that way.
"To prevent wiping your memories, I'll need you to give a mark of magic," Willa explained.
"What exactly is this 'mark of magic' going to be?" Andy questioned.
"It'll be like a small tattoo. It'll not only protect you from the memory spell, it'll allow you to speak to magical beings. And the best part? It cannot be removed by any other being than me," Willa explained while summoning her staff to her hand.
"Will it hurt?" Aster asked, looking a bit nervous. Willa shook her head.
The trio of younger teens looked between each other before looking at the older wizard and nodding.
"Hold out your hands with your palms up," Willa instructed.
The three teens put out their palms as instructed. Willa began muttering a spell and the tip of her staff and her eyes glowed an emerald green. She tapped her staff against each teen's wrist once before standing back. When the light faded, Sam glanced over at the marks and saw they looked like small white stars. The trio marveled at their marks.
Willa gave a warm smile. "If you need anything, I'll be downstairs."
And with that, the older wizard made her way out of the room. Sam leaned back on the couch and relaxed. He felt eyes on him and raised his head to see Aster and Andy looking over at him with curiosity.
"So what's the deal with you two and Willa? Is she your grandma or something?" Andy asked.
Robin let out a laugh and looked over at the younger teen. "That would be something but no. Willa is Sam's friend and she helps train me."
"It's definitely more complicated than that but that's the simple version," Sam explained.
The trio of younger teens looked over at him with surprise. Sam was just confused. "Is something wrong?"
Aster shakes her head. "Nothing's wrong. We just weren't expecting your voice to be like that?"
Sam felt more confused "What were you expecting it to sound like?"
"I guess we thought it would've been deeper and not like a squeaky toy," Andy explained.
Robin burst out laughing and Sam blushed in embarrassment.
"Robin! Please stop laughing!" Sam whined. Robin managed to cease his laughing but still had a smirk on his face. "Sorry sorry, I just find it hard to imagine you with a deep voice."
Sam pouted while everyone else laughed. Sam didn't know if they were all friends but he was sure it was the start of something. Hopefully, it was the start of a wonderful and long group friendship.