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“God, Flick—“ AJ groaned, walking along the scratchy sand beneath her. The night was dark, the only lights around the Mage being those of her friend’s village. “I know, okay? You don’t have to keep reminding me…”
The crow chirped again, flying a bit ahead of AJ, as if she didn’t want to look at her. They were nearing the treehouse now, the place that AJ had turned into her home-away-from-home. Like, seriously, when was the last time she actually slept in her own dorm, or village? “Yeah, I know she’s upset. But Magpie’s…”
AJ shook her head softly, not even knowing what to say. There was no word she could use to describe Megii that wasn’t just— Megii.
Instead of finishing her sentence, the girl just let the words drift away. She watched them leave her mouth, flying in the air, before going off into the ocean. It was often easier to imagine it that way.
“You think she’s here?” AJ muttered to the crowd, glancing at the lights on in the nearing treehouse. “Lights are on, but I swear she was supposed to be with Drift today.”
Flick said something in reply, but it didn’t really reach AJ’s ears.
Silently, the two made their way over to the trunk of the treehouse, the sound of waves crashing the shore just barely audible as crickets cricketed.
Please don’t be up here, Magpie. I can’t— deal with it today. It wasn’t that AJ hated Megii, at all. It wasn’t even that she had a bad day today. Sometimes, the Mage just couldn’t do it. Sometimes, her feelings were too much, and the numbness weighed too heavy on her fingers to deal with anything more than the bare minimum.
This was one of those days.
But as the Death Mage climbed up the ladder, Flick flew up ahead. Immediately, she began crowing loudly, and AJ winced as she realised what that meant.
The lights were strong up in the treehouse, but, surprisingly, the first thing that hit AJ's nose was the strong stench of alcohol. Of wine, gin, vodka, whiskey, beer… all of it mixing and twirling around in the air, so strong it began to sting the Mage's nose. She didn't even have to be on the main level to smell it.
Oh, fuck.
Don't tell me…
Shit, Magpie. Again? Seriously?
A small void of doom opened in AJ's stomach, the feeling eating her organs and sucking the blood out from her, as she finally pulled up from the ladder. The smell only got stronger, a headache gracing AJ's forehead.
Oh, Megii. Megii, Megii, Megii…
The moment AJ saw her, she felt a part of her heart physically decay.
The Woodland Mage was curled up on her easel, a black painting in front of her on the easel, wet with dark oils. At least twenty bottles filled the floor, all of varying sizes — beer bottles in one corner, vodka in another, even some red solo cups lying about, some still having drinks in them. There were so many that AJ found it hard to see the floor, not knowing if she could walk towards the Mage without stepping on them.
Several paintings sat around the room, AJ noticed. A couple new ones hung on walls, the strokes painful and long, while smaller ones, almost unfinished, laid around the balcony. With each painting, AJ found herself feeling increasingly worried, her stomach eating itself more.
Megii, curled up, seemed to be humming something. The sounds of it cracked at random words, sniffles in between each verse, as AJ stared in silence. She didn't seem to hear, or notice, Flick flying around the treehouse, even swooping down to catch Megii's attention.
No, the Mage just took another sip of a beer bottle in her hand, back facing AJ, shoulders slumped, and head hanging down.
"Shit…" AJ whispered under her breath, not able to move as she stared. Why…
The humming continued, but this time, it finished with a sob.
"I… hey, Megii?" AJ spoke slowly, softly, her face softening so as to not scare the crying, drunk Mage. There was no reply. "…Magpie?"
Instead of saying anything, AJ could see Megii's body flinch slightly at the mention of her own name, her head shaking slightly. But, still, she didn't turn around, or say anything.
Don't be crying. Don't be crying, please, Magpie. I don't like it when… when you both cry.
"Megii?" AJ tried again, her body moving. She put her foot down between two empty bottles of whisky, the sound making them clink with each other, breaking the quiet atmosphere. It just made Megii twitch again, the humming getting louder. "Love?"
She regretted it the moment it left her mouth. Why would you say that? AJ, you idiot! Fucking— oh my God.
Somehow, it was the only thing that caught Megii's attention. The Mage turned around in her easel, her head still touching her curled up knees, but she finally saw AJ making her way towards her. "AJ?"
"Yeah? Hey, hey there." The Death Mage tried to smile as kindly as she could, and she saw Megii smile, beginning to lift her head. "What's all this, Magpie?"
"Hm?" Megii squinted at AJ, looking like she didn't even notice the bottles were there. Only now did AJ realise how bloodshot her eyes were, how her cheeks were wet and pink. She looked down at the floor and smiled. "Oh, I got, hm… thirsty? Yeah…"
More glasses clinked as AJ walked between bottles, needing to pick some up, just to make a path to the easel. "Pretty thirsty, Megii. These are, um, a lot of bottles."
"Oh…" She looked down before glancing up at AJ with a drunk smile. She was just crying— why is she smiling now? "Yeah."
"I— alright. Um," AJ took a deep breath, now almost next to Megii, arms moving empty glasses away for her to sit down next to the easel seat. "…I think this might be too much, Magpie."
AJ could feel her brows crease concern, feel her breathing become more shallow as Megii only giggled at her, her head shaking happily. "No… I feel— I feel… better."
"Yeah, but—" She exhaled, hand moving to take the beer bottle out of Megii's hands, which the Mage tried to keep with her. "Sometimes, we feel good, but we don't realise how bad it is for us, you know?"
Megii's hair was sticky, sweat clinging to her forehead while her eyes continued to shine. "But I feel better…" she spoke sadly, eyes falling down.
"And you'll feel better if you talk about it. About— I don't know, whatever's going on with you right now, Megii. Drinking, it— it isn't the answer. Trust me."
Boldly, Magpie rolled her eyes, laughing harder. AJ felt her heart constrict. "Trust you… can't trust—" she hiccuped, "you. No, AJ. You're— a liar."
"I'm not a liar, Megii. I can take care of myself, you know? Been doing it for a while now."
"Liar. Liar." She sniffled at AJ, but still smiled. It was as if her body and feelings were confused with each other — too much alcohol in her system to know what she was truly feeling. "I don't know— hm. I…"
"Yeah?" AJ whispered, smiling back. "What's up?"
"I wish you loved me." Megii laughed harder, her eyes closing briefly as she giggled. "Really. Really."
Oh.
Oh, fuck.
Great. No, no, this is exactly what I want. This is my dream night.
It took a moment for AJ to recover, to let the shock and horror roll off her back.
A pine cone-sized lump formed in AJ's throat, and she found it impossible to look into Megii's eyes. "I… know." What the fuck do I say to that? That I might love her? That I might love her too much to tell her the truth? It's not like that's… true.
"And… I liked it when—" More giggles came from the drunk girl. "When you— hm, called me… wait, what… oh. Love."
Fuck you, AJ. Why would you do that? Why the fuck would you do that?
"You're just— so pretty. Like Drift… and, I wish— I wish, hm… me and Drift and you were, uh— all friends, you know? It'd be… so nice. In the treehouse. My treehouse…" Magpie's speech slurs, making it hard for AJ to follow along. She needed to almost guess what the Mage was saying. At the mention of Drift, AJ began to move from her sitting position next to the easel, moving more bottles out of the way, organising them closer to the balcony.
"But we are friends. Me, you, and Drift are all friends, Magpie, no?" AJ asked with her head turned, eyes searching the littered and dirty treehouse for water, or food. Something to soak up the alcohol and lessen the hangover Megii was sure to have tomorrow morning.
"No…" She shook her head, still sounding drunk. "Because you— you and Drift are— fight. And, that makes me… so, hm— sad. Because I love you, uh, both, and… I want the best! For you! Both! So, it would be nice if," giggles broke her words, "we were all friends. Do— hm, think that could happen?"
There was only one answer for a girl as drunk as Megii.
"Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, love." FUCK! Stop it, AJ! Stop! "I mean— Megii. Yeah. We can all be friends." She tried to give her the most comforting smile she could, not believing her own words a bit. Seriously, why was she doing this? AJ wasn't… she didn't comfort people like this. She didn't lie to them, or promise impossibles, or say everything's going to be okay! And we're all going to survive, and be friends, and live happily ever after!
Because it was going to end that way. It never was.
But with Megii's eyes shining in the moonlight with tears, her hair messy and stressed, fingers fidgeting with the tired paintbrush she'd been using all afternoon, AJ—
She couldn't bring herself to do it. Not tonight. Not with her.
Megii sighed fondly at her, lips quirking up. "That's… good."
"Yeah, and, hey, me and Drift were talking just now." An idea came into AJ's mind. "And we said that we could all be friends, if you went to bed right now."
The Woodland Mage gasped dramatically, her eyes widening in horror. "No…!"
"Yeah…!" AJ made the same tone of her voice, grinning. "She did, Magpie. So, I think…" She stood up, most of the nearby bottles between the couch and easel cleared away. "It's time for bed."
"But I don't want to go to bed…" The Mage mumbled as AJ felt her hands out for her to take. Megii didn't take them, only pouting slightly, before giggling when AJ rolled her eyes.
"If you don't, you're going to feel horrible tomorrow, Magpie. Like, wish you were dead bad." A bit of her hair fell forward, beginning to cloud Megii's face, but AJ tucked it behind her ear. "And trust me, no one wants that."
"Mm… you do." Magpie laughed at the Death Mage.
"I do?"
"…yeah. You drink—" there was another hiccup, "more than— me. So, you want… hm, it."
I drink, so… I want to die? Or I want to be hungover?
Oh, whatever. She's too drunk to know what she's talking about.
"No, I just…" AJ bit her lip, trying to find a way to properly explain her relationship with drinking. "I'm used to this, Magpie. Not just drinking. I'm used to needing to drink. But you? You don't have to be, you know? It… there's hope, for you."
Megii looked up at her, not saying anything. AJ extended her hands to the Mage again with an expectant eyebrow. Immediately, Megii took it. "You have… hope, AJ! So much. Hope." Her words were still slurred, slipping over themselves as they came out from Magpie's lips, but AJ only smiled sadly at the idea.
"Let's hope so, yeah?" She, with Megii's hands in hers, pulled Megii up to her feet. Immediately, the drunk girl stumbled, her feet finally planted back on the ground after god-knows-how-long of drinking and sitting. "Off to bed now."
Megii whined loudly, shaking her head with a laugh. "…really? Really?"
"Yes, really, Magpie." AJ smiled at her, calculating the amount of steps it would take to get Megii to the couch, since there was no way she was making it all the way downstairs. "Okay, you have to hold onto me, alright?"
"Hm…?" Megii squinted at AJ, not understanding what was happening in the slighest.
"Okay. Okay, um." The Death Mage took one of Megii's hands, the paintbrush falling onto the floor, and wrapped her arm around her own waist. It felt oddly warm, oddly… sensitive. "Okay, Magpie, we're going to walk, alright? You think you can do that?"
"Walk?" The Mage whispered, sounding confused. "…where?"
"Just to the couch, lo—" Stop it. "Megii. It's only a couple steps, I think we can do it, yeah?"
She giggled at AJ, pursing her lips. "Okay…"
"Alright." AJ whispered, mostly to herself. Slowly, she took a step forward, her hand on Megii's hand, which rested on her waist, being pulled with her. Except Megii didn't take a step forward as AJ expected, instead falling to the wooden floor once again, her face down. "Megii!"
The drunk girl only laughed on the floor, turning slightly to face AJ, who leaned over her in worry, but not getting up. "Hey… I fell!"
"Yeah, you did." She can't walk. Great. Fucking great, Magpie. "Okay, I'm going to need to pick you up. Is that okay, Megii?"
There was no other option.
"Pick me up?" She whispered, words slurring with each other. "Where we going?"
"No, like—" The Mage couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. "I'm going to hold you in my arms, so you don't have to walk. To get you to bed."
"Oh…" She frowned. "Okay…"
"Okay? Good. Arms up, Magpie." AJ instructed, bending down slightly so she was in a squat position. Megii, drunk out of her mind, did not lift her arms up. Instead, AJ had to wrap her hands around one side of Megii's back, lifting her up into her arms in a bridal-style carry.
As AJ hoisted her up, Megii gasped, her eyes widening. She looked around in confusion, then at AJ, before giggling a bit. "Yay!" She laughed, head lolling back with a smile.
"Yay." AJ almost rolled her eyes, ignoring the smirk on her face. Megii wasn't as heavy as the Mage thought she'd be. Honestly, she was surprised she could pick her up at all, considering AJ hadn't been working out recently, and that the decay had been accelerating the atrophy of her muscles. "Alright. Seriously, Megii, you need to sleep."
"With… you?" the Mage gasped again. "Cuddle..?"
"Uh—" AJ chuckled, taking steps between clinking glasses to get to the couch quicker. "Yeah, maybe not."
"Why…" Megii whined, writhing around in AJ's arms. "You'd be… comfy, you know? Drift said— hm, that."
"Drift said that, did she? Good to know."
"So… yes?"
"So… no. Last thing you need is waking up in my arms, hungover, Magpie." That wouldn't end well. AJ didn't know how, but it just— wouldn't.
"But I don't want you…" she began to say something, but frowned as her voice trailed off, like she forgot something. "…leave."
"I— I won't leave, tonight. I'll stay with you, Megii. Does that make you feel better?" AJ began to lower Megii down onto the couch, bending down and ignoring how her spine didn't feel connected to her body, the pressure and decay of it making her lower back feel numb. Eventually, Megii was properly lowered onto the couch, her head resting up on a pillow. "I'll sleep on the floor, yeah?"
"No…" Megii whined on the couch. Her body moved awkwardly, arms swinging slightly like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
"Yes.." AJ mocked. "I'm just going to get you some water. Alright, Megii? Just for a second."
"Don't leave, AJ…" Somehow, before the Death Mage left, Megii's hand found hers. It wrapped around it, tugging AJ closer to her. "…scared."
AJ squeezed the girl's hand, giving her as comforting a smile she could. "I will be one minute, Magpie. Promise."
"Ugh!" She groaned, covering her face with her arms. "Fine."
AJ shook her head softly as she walked to the sink in the corner, grabbing a random ceramic mug and filling it up. The durnk girl was still mumbling something in the couch, but it was too far away for AJ to make it out.
How'd she even get all this?
I already… confiscated all the alcohol.
"Hey, Magpie." AJ called out to her, beginning to turn around with the mug of water. She got a durnk mumble in reply. "How'd you get all the drinks? I thought I already had… drank them."
Already, AJ had made it back to the couch, handing the mug back down to Megii, who lazily extended her hand to take it. "Mm… Ambear." The Death Mage snorted, guiding the mug to Megii's mouth, the two hands wrapped around it. Hesitantly, Megii sipped at it, before frowning. "Bleh…"
"It's water. It'll help you." AJ kept the water by her mouth, urging Megii to have another sip.
"But I want…" A hiccup, "more."
"Why, Magpie?" She finally pulled the drink away, content with the amount of water that she had drank. In response, Megii only pursed her lips, looking down and away. "…why did you have so much? Trying to follow in my footsteps?"
The giggling nature of the drunk girl seemed to disappear, a frown gracing her forehead now. "…I wanted it."
"But—" There's no point in arguing now. "We'll talk about this tomorrow, Megii."
Her eyes had already fluttered shut as AJ spoke, mouth just barely agape. In the quiet air, Megii's soft breathing could be heard — loud enough for AJ to know she was close to sleeping, but not even enough for her to actually be alseep.
"Why.." The sleepy girl muttered, eyes squinting open to show AJ the tears that were still welled up inside. "Don't you like…"
"Why don't I like it when you drink?" AJ raised an eyebrow, doing her best to guess Megii's question. The drunk girl just nodded, her eyes about to sleep again, and AJ looked out to the treehouse. To the floor filled with bottles, to the dirty clothes tossed in floors and corners, to the tired and depressing walls…
It looked all too similar to her own dorm. To her old house— her old life, honestly.
AJ didn't want to see herself in Megii. It wasn't nice to go through what she did, was it?
Not that I can say that. Not like I can just tell her — I don't want you to end up like me.
"I just— I don't like it, you know?" AJ stuttered over herself slightly, taking a moment to think. "You're different, drunk, Megii. You're not you. And I want to talk to you. This drunk girl, even if she's happier, or nicer, or better, she isn't Megii. And drinking Megii away isn't going to make me like drunk Megii any more. Especially when I know that the drunk girl is only there because Megii is upset."
Too much, AJ. It was the truth, but… still, the Mage felt like she had given the drunk girl too much information. Still, she moved to sit on the floor, perpendicular to how Magpie laid on the couch, AJ's back leaning on the green sofa.
"Hm." Megii hummed, her voice entirely fatigued. "… interesting."
"Yeah?" AJ watched the moon outside the balcony. "Why's that?"
"…dunno. Just sounds like how I feel about you…" Magpie's voice slowly began to filly drift off, her voice becoming smaller, breath heavier, until eventually, all that AJ could hear was her soft, drunken snoring.
"I know, Magpie." The Death Mage whispered into the air, hoping she truly was asleep. "…sorry."