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I hold my breath periodically as my group creeps through the forest. I keep an eye out behind us, making sure that no one is watching us. I pray to whatever god exists, that Pluton is okay and he isn't hurt.
The cut in my arm throbs now that the adrenaline has passed, and I wince with every footstep.
Ranboo comes up beside me.
“Do you need a healing spell or something?”
“You know healing magic too?” I ask, tilting my head.
“A few. Tevinda taught me once.” Ranboo replies.
I smile, then shake my head. “It's fine,” I tell him. “Better to do it when we get back to the cabin. We still don't know what’s going on.”
Ranboo nods, and falls back into step with Yara, leaving me at the back of the group. Rocky and Elizabeth are whispering at the front.
We reach the clearing in front of our cabin, and Sigurd gathers everyone in front of himself. I share a glance with Yara, whose ears twitch uneasily.
The night breeze brushes against my face, and I shiver, watching all the young kids whisper excitedly among each other about what happened in that cabin back there. The sight haunts me. Those two figures, locked in a ritual that never should’ve gone so wrong. The fist ramming through the window where my face had been merely seconds before, the glass shards spraying over me. The smaller shards cutting my face, and a bigger one lodging itself into my upper arm.
These kids shouldn't be excited. They should be sleeping in their beds, unaware of the dangers of the Ministry, Carolus and just what this forest brings. It never ends well when they take us out here.
I never expected to be on the Ministry’s side. I remember boasting about my neverending loyalty to the school’s administration mere months before this, preaching the ways of our idiotic current principal, unknowing of what was to come. I run a hand through my hair. Sigurd yells out commands, trying to calm the group of rowdy kids when someone grabs my hand.
I turn and see Elizabeth, who meets my eyes, then looks behind me and points. I turn once more, and on the hill by our cabin I see Pluton.
He’s in his wolf form, black fur covering his arms, hands, legs. He holds his arm as if he’s been injured, and he’s limping slightly. As more people around the clearing notice the shapeshifter, I notice a moving shadow behind him. I don't have time to warn him before Anthony pounces on him, burying his teeth in the shapeshifter’s neck.
Pluton howls, a guttural sound which draws the attention of every wizard and creature in the clearing, and we all watch in horror as the two creatures on the hill fight. Anthony looks positively horrible. His hair is dishevelled, he’s covered in blood and the veins in his skin seem to be redder. He’s growling inhumanely, as he chases Pluton back into the forest. The shapeshifter runs with his tail literally between his legs.
Anthony stands hunched over himself, watching his opponent run, unaware of our presence. Until, of course, an idiot kid decides to yell out his name.
The vampire turns towards us with inhuman speed, and bares his teeth before absolutely sprinting at the poor kid who’d called his attention. I quickly draw my wand, and point it at Anthony. A non-verbal tripping spell shoots from it, sending Anthony flying to the floor. It gives the kid enough time to run and hide behind some of her friends, while Anthony turns his eyes on me.
“Toby!” Ranboo shouts. “Get outta the way!”
The vampire gets on his feet and bounds towards me, sharp fangs bared and claws at the ready. I stand my ground with my wand drawn, ready with a redirection spell that won’t harm him, nor me. Several other voices call out my name, one including our incompetent and completely clueless teacher and guardian.
Anthony reaches me quicker than I’d expected, and he grabs my shoulders with such force that I drop my wand. I scream as he digs his fingernails into my skin, and spins me around so that my back is against him. His nails drag across and through my skin as he pulls me backwards, and I see everyone in the clearing point their wands at us.
Anthony’s arm wraps around my neck, and I know that if anyone tries to stop him, they’ll hit me too.
The zombified vampire growls in my ear, cold breath on the exposed skin of my neck and shoulders and I suddenly wish I’d dressed better for the night. My t-shirt doesn't protect me from shit, and the tie around my neck could be a piece of thread for all Anthony cares.
“Toby!” Sigurd calls out, panic in his already rather high pitched voice. “Stay calm, and don't let him bi-”
He doesn't get to finish his sentence before Anthony digs his teeth into the spot just between my shoulder and neck, and the screams of the children mix with mine as he rips my skin apart. He pulls his head back and rips the chunk of flesh from my body. I hear the disgusting sounds of the vampire chewing before he spits out the chunk of flesh on the ground in front of my feet. Blood flows down my chest, soaking into my shirt and the fur on my chest. I want to vomit.
He goes down with me when my knees give out and I hit the grass with Anthony on top of me. His grip around me loosens and when he tries to bite me again, his teeth hit my upper arm and tear out an even bigger piece of flesh. I scream again as the red hot pain flares up through my muscles and I know that no healing spell will rid me of these scars.
The sharp teeth of the zombified vampire pierce my skin again, this time on the side of my back. He bites through the thin fabric of my shirt, and rips my skin and fur out along with the fabric, spitting out the chunks he pulls off within seconds. He’s not in it for the meal, he’s in it for the kill. The screams that rip through my throat are barely audible, yet I cannot seem to stop.
I hear my name screamed with mixes of spells, all hitting my ears like an orchestra of pain, and the weight on top of me is ripped off as spells blast him several metres back. A few stray spells of Light hit me which only serve to make my injuries burn hot.
I pull myself up to my knees and turn, watching as Anthony pushes past kid after kid, and a pair of legs cover my field of vision as Ranboo falls to his knees in front of me.
“Holy shit, Tubs- I-” he stammers, hands hovering over my body. I wave him off.
“‘S fine,” I mutter, as I pull myself up, using him as support. “I’m chilling.”
“You’re bleeding and missing chunks of flesh, Tubs let me help you!”
I look my husband straight in the eyes. “I’m. Chilling. ”
Ranboo raises his hands in defeat. “Suit yourself.”
“Where the fuck is my wand?” I ask, looking around on the dewy grass, ignoring the kids running around trying to fight off Anthony. Ranboo holds out the wand, and I take it in my hand, thanking him wordlessly. I take a deep breath.
Turning my attention to the battle at hand, the sight that meets me fills my head with horror and pure disappointment. Anthony, with his teeth in Sigurd’s neck. I grit my teeth as Anthony tears out the flesh of our teacher’s neck, only to take another bite, this time out of the teacher’s throat.
As the terror fills my head while the children scream, I cast a group blindness spell on all the kids, leaving only myself and a few Seniors with sight. Yara parries my spell with a group deafness spell and I give her a grateful nod as the kids start panicking over their loss of senses.
While the kids scream, and Sigurd lays gurgling on the ground from the loss of throat, the few of us with our senses and bodies intact start to tackle Anthony.
Together we manage to physically pry the vampire off Sigurd, and the others use a magic spell to bind his limbs together as Ranboo and I start to combine several healing spells to get Sigurd’s throat back together and stop his swift death.
While we work, Yara, Rocky, Elizabeth, Alice, Eira and a few other Seniors work on holding Anthony down and reapplying the spells onto the younger kids. Ranboo and I work swiftly, and soon enough we’re helping Sigurd sit upright.
“Take it slow, man,” I say through gritted teeth. He looks around, confused as fuck and his eyes widen as he sees Anthony, who is actively snapping his teeth towards Yara’s throat. “We need your help.”
Sigurd looks at me, desperation clear in his eyes.
“We don’t know how to fix this.” I plead.
The teacher runs a hand through his dirty hair. “I… I can try fixing him. But…” his voice is barely even audible. It’s raspy and I know he won’t be able to raise it for a while. Anthony most likely snagged his vocal chords, and that takes more extensive healing magic to fix, more than a clueless goat and vampire can do.
“What do you need us to do?” Ranboo asks.
“I need every one of you to help.”
I shoot a glance towards Yara, who stares at me with rage in her eyes. I mirror her emotion, but blink at her, and she shrugs before nodding, silently allowing me to lift the spells we’ve cast on the kids. Most of them have sat down, clinging onto the nearest other child, recognizing the spells cast on them and waiting. Most of them let out screams at regaining their senses, and I wince as the one closest to me yowls.
I stand up and clap my hands together loudly. “Hey!”
They all shut up. “Need your full attention now!” I gesture towards Anthony as Sigurd stands up, leaning heavily on my shoulder to pull himself to his feet.
“Everyone get your wands at the ready, Professor Blix is going to teach us a spell so we can help Anthony!”
I watch as all the kids pull out their wands, and Sigurd leans down to whisper the spell in my ear. He shows me the wand movement, and I turn back to the group of kids.
“Alright!” I yell, all the children turning their attention back at me. “I’m going to teach you this spell, so pay attention!”
I lift my wand, waiting for the kids to follow along, and say the spell slowly, demonstrating the movement of the wand.
“ Adiuva immortuos ,” I say, all the while flicking my wand up, into a loop and down again. The kids all repeat after me like some weird sounding roll call. “Great job, let's try it again.”
I repeat the spell, and once I hear the majority of the kids pronounce the spell correctly, I smile. “Let’s try it, shall we?”
Rocky, Elizabeth, Alice and Eira keep the binding spell on Anthony, as we all turn our wands on the writhing vampire. He growls at me, bearing his bloody teeth, and I want to vomit at the thought of my blood staining his tongue. I take a deep breath.
“Adiuva immortuos, ” I say, loudly and clearly as all the kids chant the spell with me. Purple sparks fly out of every wand in the area. Anthony clamps his teeth together and writhes, probably in pain, fighting against the restraints harder than before.
“Again!” I shout to the kids. “ Adiuva immortuos !”
The chorus of children saying the spell sends a blinding purple light through the forest, and then it’s quiet. I stare at Anthony as the vampire heaves for his breath. “Step away,” I tell the seniors holding him down. They lift the spells on him, and I watch in anticipation.
Anthony sits up. He looks around at all the frightened children in the clearing. He smacks his lips, tasting his mouth, then grimaces. He looks up at the first thing in front of him which just so happens to me. His eyes fall to the wounds on my neck and arm, then his fingers brush against his lips as his eyes widen in horror.
“What…” he says softly. “What happened?”
I suck in a breath as I realise the spell worked, and as the adrenaline wears off, my knees go wobbly from the pain searing through my body. Someone grabs my uninjured arm and helps me to my knees, directly in front of Anthony.
“Did I…?” he meets my eyes, panic evident in his.
I nod slowly, wincing at the agony the action creates. “But you didn't have control.”
Anthony furrows his brows in agony, then he rises to his feet with only slight difficulty. “My mouth tastes like dog and goat.”
I bark out a strained laugh. How he can find humour in this situation, I don’t know. I watch as he gives Sigurd a look before bounding off into the forest.
The kids start protesting, and a few even try to follow the vampire, but the other Seniors quickly put a stop to it. Yara takes charge and starts to escort the children back into our cabin. At last, the only remaining people in the clearing are me, Ranboo, Sigurd and Elizabeth.
“Are you…” Elizabeth hesitates as she sits down in front of me. “Okay?”
I chuckle softly. “Yeah,” I say, slight sarcasm lacing my voice. “I just had several chunks of flesh ripped off my body, but I’m fine.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologise.”
Sigurd coughs.
“Elizabeth, can you help him up?” I ask, gesturing vaguely to the professor. The eager Taurus student quickly starts helping her house leader to his feet. Ranboo puts a hand on my uninjured shoulder.
“Can you stand up?” he asks softly. His tone matches that of which he used the night before our wedding, calming my nerves.
“I think so,” I reply. “Help me?”
My husband wastes no time, offering me his arm to pull myself up while he snakes his other arm around my waist to help me. His arms hold me securely, and even so, as I straighten up, my vision goes spotty and I realise I’m falling before Ranboo even does.
…
“Engaged!?” the voice cuts through the quiet sanctity of the forest clearing. “To a vampire!?”
“Puffy, please, lower your voice-”
“Have you any idea what your grandmother would say! Your ancestors?”
…
I don’t wake quickly, nor painlessly. White hot pain, like fire, burns through my body the moment my mind reconnects with it, but I don’t have enough control of my throat to scream. I can barely even breathe, every sharp inhale sending a spike of agony into the side of my neck. My arm thrums with pain and so does my back, and the memories all flood back into my mind like some fucked up waterfall or twisted ice bath.
The only thing keeping me from imminent panic is the cold hand squeezing mine. A soft whisper forces its way into my ears, the familiar voice warming me more than the hand ever could.
“And Yara stood up, looked Felix right in the eyes and called him a bumbling hippogriff,” the voice whispers, a gentle chuckle following. “She walked right out, leaving Felix a blubbering confused mess as Alice and Kai followed her out. Rocky and I stayed put, mostly just to get the last of the notes for the exams.”
My eyes flutter open slowly, and for a few seconds the lights blind me, before I regain focus again. I stare drowsily up at the ceiling as the voice carries on, distracting me efficiently from my pain.
“She’s dropping out,” the voice continues, and I shift my eyes so they fall on my husband. He’s looking down, on our fingers intertwined. One of his pointy nails trails along one of my many tattoos. “She said she won’t do any more classes with Felix apart from the mandatory ones.”
His hair, unbrushed and unkempt, keeps me from seeing his beautiful red eyes. Yet I can see the contours of his nose, his lips, his jaw. His pointed ears poke out from underneath the fluffy locks of hair. There’s a speck of dirt smudged across his cheek, and I want to reach out and wipe it off, but I can’t move my arms. My fingers twitch around his, and he flinches, looking up.
His eyes meet mine and he smiles and I feel like I’m falling in love with him all over again. Those gorgeous eyes, the colour of the blood stuck beneath his fingernails, fill with tears and he grins wider.
“Hi,” he whispers.
“Hi,” I reply, my voice raspy and unfamiliar, yet still mine. Dark circles trace underneath Ranboo’s eyes. “You’ve got dirt on your face.”
He giggles softly, and reaches up to wipe at his face. He only smudges the dirt along his cheekbone. A strained laugh escapes my lips as he squeezes my hand, teasing.
“I need to call the nurse,” Ranboo says softly, before gently letting go of my hand. I frown at the absence of his touch, but he gives me a reassuring smile while standing up. He walks away and I eagerly await his return while I look around the room. I now recognise the temporary infirmary set up in the basement of the old cabin we’d been staying at, and I notice that I’m stationed in the bed closest to the door. Several other beds are occupied by mostly sleeping, mildly injured children.
In the bed next to me, a disheartened-looking Sigurd Blix is glancing over at me. He looks like a dog that’s been caught eating off the dinner table, or a kid confronted with an empty cookie jar. I can see the blue/purple/yellow bruise around a bite sized scar on his throat, and then our eyes meet.
“Toby,” he says, and his voice is infinitely raspier than mine. “I’m so s-”
“Stop it,” I reply. He shuts his mouth immediately. “It’s not the first time this has happened, Sigurd.”
The teacher hung his head. “I know.”
“You can’t keep relying on little kids to stop this whole petty argument between the school and the Ministry,” I continue, voice regaining some power the more I use it. “Pick a side, and fight for it, yourself .”
At the last sentence, he picks his head back up. “I have picked a side,” he says, voice hushed, weary. I tilt my head in anticipation. “If… when it all comes down to it, I’ll fight alongside Charon.”
I stare at him. “You? You pick the Ministry’s side? After everything?”
He only stares back, as I hear the footsteps of Ranboo and the nurse approach.
I’ve always regretted never learning much about the nurse. I barely even remember her name, Olivia, yet she smiles at me with such endearment it feels like she’s known me since I was born. She’s known me since I was ten, so it’s still a big chunk of my life. Still, seventeen is very young for Goatfolk, so realistically school won’t be a huge part of my life.
Olivia has me sit up while Ranboo draws the curtains around my bed. After the nurse removes my bandages, she performs another set of healing spells on the injuries, claiming one more time while I’m awake will only benefit me. The spell strips the last bit of pain from my skin and bones, leaving me feeling light again with only a slight ache in my muscles.
“It should heal up fully within a few days,” Olivia says, smiling softly at me as I slip my shirt back on. “I won’t force the process, so you’ll have to be careful for a bit, but you should be alright to return to your classes tomorrow.”
“Can I leave?” I ask softly, as Ranboo intertwines his fingers with mine yet again.
“Yes,” Olivia smiles. “We are going back to school tomorrow, though.”
“I’ve already packed all your stuff,” Ranboo says.
The Nurse leaves us to it as Ranboo helps me get dressed, and together we say our goodbyes to Sigurd and Olivia before leaving. We walk out of the cabin, which is eerily empty and quiet. The sunlight hits my skin and before I know it, I’m surrounded by kids and grownups alike.
The voices all blend together in my already aching head, but one voice stands out in the chaos and I look up to meet the eyes of the nearest thing I’ve had to a good mother figure.
Tevinda’s eyes are tired, yet filled with love and tenderness as she walks towards me with her arms reached out like an angel. “Tubbo,” she says, voice like a thousand songbirds. “You were so good.”
She lets me melt into her embrace, squeezing in her strong arms. I can’t get over how much I love this woman. Hell, she welcomed we with open arms when I was a scared elevel-year-old kid, having no idea what I was doing, she made me feel at home, she even walked me down the fucking aisle at my wedding!
“You were so brave, honey.” Tevinda whispers to me, as she pulls away from the hug, laying gentle hands onto my shoulders. I try to fight the tears that rise in my eyes, but she holds my gaze and I let them fall.
“Bet I looked like shit when you saw me,” I mumble, and she lets out a gentle laugh.
“I was horrified,” she admits. “But glad to see you still breathing.”
I notice the crowd has dispersed, leaving only a select few people in the gravel clearing in front of the cabin. Tevinda takes a step back as Rocky and Elizabeth both run forward to get each their hug.
“You scared us to hell, you know that?!” Rocky scolds, and I have to laugh and hug him once more. I meet Yara’s eyes over his shoulder, and she smiles softly at me.
“Sorry,” I tell Rocky. “Didn't plan on being eaten.”
“It sure as hell seemed like it.”
I spin around so quickly I nearly lose my balance at the voice, spotting Anthony leaning up against a post, sheltered by the shade of the veranda attached to the cabin. He looks like shit.
“You look like shit.”
He barks out a bitter laugh. “Ditto.”
I smile. “You alright?”
“Fine,” he shrugs. “I feel like shit.”
“Physically or emotionally?”
“Both?”
Ranboo leans in and whispers in my ear; “He visited you every day while you were out.”
“Shut up,” Anthony snaps back, looking away. I giggle. “I just… wanted to apologise.”
“You don’t have to,” I say, taking the steps to close the distance between the vampire and I. He’s the same height as me, yet it feels like he towers over me. “You had no control. If you wanna blame anybody, blame-”
I shut my mouth and glance towards Tevinda. However, she is conveniently walking away, shooting me a soft smile and a wink before disappearing into the cabin.
“Blame Pluton.” I finish.
“Already am.” Anthony reaches out an arm, and I’m unsure what his original thought was, but he ends up patting my shoulder awkwardly. “Glad to see you up and runnin’ again, kid.”
He disappears, and I turn my attention to Yara.
“I haven't heard from him,” she says immediately, as I step back down to join the other four. “We can only hope he’s alright.”
“I sent Michael out looking for him last night with a letter,” Ranboo says. I grimace at the thought of our dragon son flying around all by himself, but he does have an inane ability to find people, so I trust him.
“We’ll hear from him,” Yara reassures. “I promise, if Michael can’t find him I’ll go out looking.”
“Man,” I sigh, resting my head on Ranboo’s shoulder, letting the sunlight soak into my skin and fur. “Isn't this a whole shitshow of a school year?”
“Almost over,” Ranboo reminds me. I straighten up and frown at him.
“Which means I’ll have to leave.”
“You’re coming back, though, right?” Rocky asks carefully.
“Of course!” I assure him. “It’s just… so much can happen, and I won’t be able to be around you all.”
“Tubbo,” Yara says softly. “You will be able to protect us. And if you for some reason can’t, I will.”
I know that Yara is more than capable of taking care of herself and others. And even when I graduate, as Tevinda holds my hand into the air and hands me a mask of invisibility, I know everything will be alright.
Even though the tears run down my cheeks and sobs wreck through my body as my house- my family- cheer for me, I know that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. And we'll be alright.