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Dogs have always made Magpie at least a little nervous. She respected the fact that they are creatures of great intelligence and loyalty but, she had first hand seen the wreckage that a rabid mutt can cause. It's not like she could be blame them for it. The decrease eradicated everything they once were, turning them into a senseless, scared creature who can only bite and foam at the muzzle.
Looking at Aj, truly taking in all of her mannerisms, it had become harder and harder for Magpie to not see the resemblance. It was the way she would stalk about in the sprawling halls of the academy like a predator on a hunt, or the way she would then antagonize her nearest victim. Other times AJ was a pathetic, caged animal who would look at her with the most pitiful eyes she'd ever seen.
If Megii was to ask herself, what was the worst thing about Aj was, she would probably say that it was the fact she'd show up outside of her door with her toothy grin and cause mischief. If Megii were to ever be honest with herself, she'd had to concede that the truly worst thing about Aj was how she'd endeared herself to them. The selfish little shit had shown just enough of her humanity to make her unfortunately precious.
Recently, she had been looking even worse than usual: her eyes were sunken in, one of them still bruised from the time Megii had beaten that stupid smile off of her face. Her stance was one of a loaded spring, on the edge of snapping and hitting the nearest person with her collateral damage.
On some days, Megii would've done everything to save her, tame her, or at least try her best to truly get to know her. On other days she'd be more than willing to be the one to finally euthanize the mage and call it a mercy. Aj used vulnerability as a weapon and saw kindness as a threat. Aj was a forest, a fire and the one who set it ablaze.
A knock on the door snapped them out of their thoughts. At that point, they have lived in the academy long enough to tell who was knocking. Ros would knock on the door like if she was scared to hurt it and Drift knocked on the door exactly three times in a way that was clearly rehearsed. There was only one person in the academy who would knock hard enough to scare the bugs in the room and then barge in without so much as thinking about asking for permission: the person who had been gnawing on her mind.
As soon as she walked in Megii felt the energy in the room shift, as if a fox had entered a chicken-coop. Although truly, between the two of them, it was hard to know who the fox was going to be.
Aj had walked with her sad smile and jittery posture. Magpie knew as soon as she saw the expression what it meant. It was something reserved for them, and them alone.
"Hey Magpie, join me on a walk?" She asked, her voice cracking under the weight of whatever she was feeling.
"I'm not going to the pub with you Aj." Magpie replied curtly.
"I don't want to go to the pub! I want to go on a walk Magpie," she explained, this time with a hint of desperation.
"Say please"
"Please"
Magpie of course obliged, despite her best judgement. The day was surprisingly pleasant, a little sun and a soft breeze that blew past tree branches. It would be a perfectly lovely walk if she had chosen to walk with literally anyone else. Aj was trying to get on her nerves or, under her skin as she would put it.
First she made fun of Ros for only caring about the war. Then, she had made another joke about not knowing who Jibble was. Megii could handle that by now, they'd learned to simply not indulge her and she'd eventually drop the topic by herself.
"Amber looks good in that bandit uniform." She said in a tone that made something irrational inside of Magpie want to punch her.
"Hmm." Was all Megii could muster herself up to reply. It was a warning and Aj knew it.
"I mean if she wants me to pretend to be kidnapped again, she should at least tie me up next time!" Aj said, her voice laced with something rotten.
Before AJ knew what was happening, she had been shoved hard enough to almost lose her footing. They both stood in shock for a moment, not daring to move. Megii didn't know what came over her, as soon as she regained her senses and tried to say something, anything but, the words seemed to get lost in her throat.
"Magpie?" Aj begged, her voice barely above a whisper. They knew what she was asking for. The air between them became thick with unresolved tension. The rational part of Magpie's brain knew she shouldn't go along with it and yet, the primal need of release overtook her once again.
It was Magpie who threw the first punch.
Sweet, sweet, pain spread instantly through Aj's face.
They both started throwing fists in their unrehearsed dance. It was impossible to tell who was winning. Magpie could tell there was blood spilling from somewhere on her face, it was pooling in her upper lip. She knew her knuckles were bloody but it was impossible to tell who the blood belonged to.
Aj was smiling in a way that made Megii's skin crawl. They couldn't stand to look into her eyes anymore. There was no sane reason why Aj should have looked that relieved.
Magpie grabbed Aj's scarf and yanked on it.
She instantly lost her balance, her feet buckled and her knees hit the ground with a jolt of pain. Megii was now barely standing, using Aj's shoulder as an anchor to hold themselves up. They were aching all over but the high made it seem almost pleasant.
AJ was on her knees, heaved over. She looked so vulnerable, so uncharacteristically submissive that it made Magpie want to throw up. That wasn't Aj, I couldn't be, it categorically shouldn't be Aj. They lowered themself until they were eye level, as if to check that the woman in front of them was in fact real.
Magpie moved her bloodied hand, her fingers ghosting over the woman's cheek. The touch was a feather light touch and yet Magpie could still feel the powerful hum of the decay magic wisp underneath the Aj's skin. For a split second Magpie could almost feel the way the rot writhed somewhere deep in Aj's bones. It was like an orchestra of out of tune instruments that never made it to crescendo.
Magpie took a labored breath and closed her eyes for a second. She moved Aj's head gently until it met with her own forehead. Neither moved for a moment. The only sound audible was the ringing in their heads and the sound of the hot air they were now sharing, as they tried to catch their respective breaths. Megii moved her head back and balled her fist.
It was becoming unbearable to keep standing. Magpie's body stumbled into the last punch, her whole weight behind it. She let herself collapse beside AJ, now left drained for her strength and cares.
They laid in the grass for an amount of time that neither was eager to track. Aj was laid out flat on her back, her head to the sky as the sun had now begun to go make its way behind the horizon. Magpie laid with her cheek against the soft grass, content to watch the rhythmic rise and fall of Aj's chest.
For once both of their minds were quiet. There was no more reason for words or doubts. At least not for that little moment in time that was theirs, and theirs alone.
Later on they would have to stumble their way back into the academy and nurse their wounds, then they'd both have to explain why they looked beaten half to death. Magpie knew her friends would be concerned but, that was for later. For now they had each other and that was almost enough.