TW: Violence, Alcohol,  claustrophobia, abandonment

Chapter One

"Have we got any rowan saplings left?"

She could hear Nilesy pause in whatever he was doing. "I don't know, have you checked the sapling chest?"

"Of course I have! I'm wondering if there's one up there with you."

"I don't think so, Lomadia."

She sighed, staring out the window. It was pouring rain outside, and late at night. "Are you sure?"

The sound of Nilesy rummaging through a chest drifted down the stairs. "I can't find any."

"Ah, flippin 'eck." She stood up. "I guess I gotta go out in the rain."

His head popped out from the stairwell. "I can make you an umbrella, if you want."

She waved him off. "I'll be fine. Water never hurt anyone."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Lomadia pulled down her owl hat tighter around her head. Throwing open the door, she stepped out into the rain.

The rain was really coming down, and it hammered into her arms. She shuddered. Grabbing her shears, she bee lined to the gate, running into the circle and chopping leaves off the scattered rowan trees, hoping to find a seed.

A zombie growl distracted her, and she turned to see a zombie lumbering towards her, a shoddy lapis sword in its grasp. She pulled her sword from her hilt and quickly dispatched it. She turned to continue cutting, but saw more zombies in the distance.

She frowned. They didn't seem to be interested in her, but the look in their eyes meant they had prey in their sights. She followed their eye line.

A dark figure was stumbling through the wood. The person looked injured, and was limping.

"Hello?" she called out, trying to discern who the figure was.

The figure tripped, and crashed to the ground. The zombies were almost upon them.

Taking her chances, Lomadia ran over, sword in hand.

The zombies were closer now. Swearing under her breath, she ran faster. One reached out to touch the figure.

Lomadia arrived just in time to slice the zombie's arm off. Standing over the person slumped on the ground; she heaved the sword into the zombie's chest. It fell over with a thud.

Sword still at the ready, she glanced down at the figure on the ground. In the darkness, it was hard to make them out, but she could clearly see-

Lomadia blinked. "Nano?"

Another zombie lunged towards her, breaking her from her reverie. Growling, she swung with her sword. It clashed with the zombies' and the impact shot up her arm. She glanced behind it. There was at least four zombies behind this one, licking their lips and eyes focused on Nanosounds' unconscious form.

"Shit!" With a deep breath, she parried the present zombie, and with a clean slice, removed his head. Continuing with the motion, she spun, sword digging into the side of a zombie. It fell over with a thud.

Grubby hands clamped onto her shoulder. With a soft mewl of pain, she unclamped herself from its grip, and shoved it away from her. Behind her, she could hear the other zombie. Spinning around, she quickly dispatched it, and in the same motion, ran the remaining zombie through.

Chest heaving, she pushed the zombie off her blade. She took a moment to try and regain her breath.

With air in her lungs, she turned and hurried over to Nanosounds. She turned the girl onto her back and pushed the hair out of her face.

"Nano? Are you alright?"

Nanosounds didn't reply, only groaned in distant pain. Lomadia frowned.

A growl in the distance caught her attention, and she turned to see more zombies coming their way. She looked back at Nanosounds. She couldn't just leave her here.

Grunting, she lifted her into her arms, and as quickly as she could ran back to the fence, kicking the gate open and kicking it shut behind them. Pushing Nano's body over her shoulder, she used her free hand to open the door. Leaving it open behind them, she stumbled into the house, thumping Nanosound's body onto her bed.

"Did you get any saplings?" Nilesy asked as he came down the stairs. "What did you need them for any-" He cut himself off as he saw the two girls. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Lomadia panted, as she sat down on Nilesy's bed. "I found her out in the woods, she passed out."

He came over to her bedside. "Is she alright?"

"With any luck." She pulled a spare blanket out of her bedside chest, and started drying off Nanosounds with it. "I think she might have a fever."

"If she's out in weather like that, I wouldn't doubt it."

Lomadia peeled off Nanosounds' filthy shoes, and tucked the fluxy girl underneath the blankets of her bed.

"If she's there, where are you gonna sleep?"

Lomadia looked up. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

"Hey now, don't you go commandeering my bed-"

With a small chuckle, she pushed past him and reached up to the bookshelf, grabbing her witchery book. She flipped it open and thumbed through the contents.

Nilesy looked over her shoulder at the book. "Is there a healing spell?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Nilesy walked back over to the bed where Nanosounds lay. He put a hand on her forehead.

"My, she's burning up."

Lomadia glanced over at her. "Crazy girl," she murmured to herself. "What were you doing in that storm?"

——-

Faint sounds started drifting in and out of the edges of Nanosounds' consciousness. Her limbs felt as though they were encased in mud, her mind floating somewhere in space. She tried to focus on the sounds to pull her back inside her body.

The sounds started to clarify into voices, muddy and diluted. She became more aware of her body around her, and the sensation of warmth encasing her.

Blearily, she blinked her eyes open. A face briefly registered in her mind before they shut again. The voices continued to solidify.

"...any more roots?"

"...i've got some.... what else..."

She blinked her eyes open again. The face seemed slightly clearer. She was able to make out blonde hair...

"L...Lalna?"

"Oh bless, she's awake!" The face came closer. "No, not Lalna, it's me, Lomadia."

Nanosounds blinked again, trying to clear her vision. "Lomadia?"

"And me!" a voice called.

Lomadia laughed. "And Nilesy."

The features of Lomadia's face became more clear. Nano looked around.

"Where...am I?"

"You're in our house. I was gonna call Lalna to come get you, but I didn't want him to know where we live. I hope you don't mind."

Lalna....The name echoed in her mind.

Her memories suddenly flooded back to her and her eyes shot wide open. She sat up in a blind panic.

"Lalna?! No!"

"Eh?"

"He can't- don't tell him!"

"Whoa, easy now," Nilesy called, rushing over bedside.

"Calm down," Lomadia said, gently touching her shoulder. "He doesn't know you're here."

"Okay," she gasped, calming down slightly. She sank back into the bed. "Good."

Nilesy sat down at the foot of the bed. "But isn't Lalna your friend? Why are you hiding from him?"

"He was," she spat bitterly. "But then him and that stupid Sjin, they tried to arrest me!"

"Oh riight; I remember seeing you on the most wanted board." He leaned forward. "I didn't know they were actually gonna go after you, though."

Lomadia glanced over. "And when was this?"

"Oh, ummm.... I might've snuck over to the Magic Police HQ."

"Nilesy!"

"What? They didn't catch me."

"But what if they had, you bloody massive idiot?"

Nilesy looked back at Nanosounds. "You were saying?"

"This isn't over, Nilesy," Lomadia said, glaring at him.

"Well... I couldn't take them both on, so, I ran."

"Is that why you were in our forest?" Nilesy asked.

"I guess. I didn't know where I was going," she admitted.

A building feeling of sleepiness was starting to take over.

"Well, you've been out for three days," Lomadia began. "I hope you don't mind, I performed some healing spells on you."

Nanosounds yawned. "That's sweet." She looked up at the two. "Hey, um, thanks for taking me in."

Lomadia smiled. "No problem."

"Anything for a fellow magic user," Nilesy chimed in.

Nanosounds' eyes started to flutter shut. Lomadia smiled gently.

"Looks like someone's still tired." She pulled the covers and tucked them around Nanosounds. "Take your time."

She smiled. "Thanks..."

Safe and warm, she closed her eyes, ready to drift to sleep.

"She's pretty cute, eh?" she heard Lomadia remark.

Nilesy laughed. "She's a little too purple for me."

"Nilesy!"

The rest of the conversation was swallowed by the void as she drifted back into the realms of unconsciousness.

—————

When Nanosounds came to again, the house was empty. She stared at the ceiling for a while.

Feeling ansty, she slowly slipped out of the bed. Her head pounded, but she ignored it.

She poked around the room she was in tentatively. There were shelves everywhere, loaded with strange jars full of powders and liquids, and other miscellaneous guff. She decided it would be a good idea not to touch any of those things.

She tiptoed up the stairs, hoping to find someone. Sadly, all she found was chests, which felt rude to sift through.

Walking back into the main room, she looked around. Where was everyone?

Craving conversation, she found her shoes near the door. Slipping them on, she stepped outside.

The hot afternoon sun scalded her eyes, and she winced, adjusting to the light levels painfully. She looked around the compound. The various plants and grasses sparkled under the sun. She smiled. It was beautiful.

Walking around the house, she found a strange table surrounded by plants. The table was covered by a beautiful red velvet tablecloth, and several items were scattered across its surface.

She walked over to the table, examining the various items. The goblet peaked her curiosity, and she reached out to examine it.

"Please don't touch that!"

Surprised, Nanosounds ripped her hand away from the goblet. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, embarrassment colouring her cheeks red.

Lomadia emerged from the trees outside the fence. "It's alright," she laughed. "If you remove that, though, you'll mess up my spell."

"Spell, huh? What kind of spell?"

"C'mon, I'll show you."

Excited, she hurried over, hopping the fence and joining Lomadia.

Lomadia turned and lead her into a strange clearing in between the trees. Strange markings covered the ground, and a strange sort of moss cascaded off the trees. Nanosounds let out a little gasp. The clearing was beautiful.

The blonde walked all the way to the centre of the circle, bringing out some sort of book, and consulting it.

"It hasn't rained in a few days, so I'm gonna make it rain, to help water the crops."

Nano looked up at the sky. "Should I grab an umbrella?"

Lomadia laughed again. "Don't worry, it only rains outside the circle."

She glanced down at the markings beneath her feet. "What kind of magic is this?"

"Witchery."

"You're a witch?"

"Yeah." She began throwing things onto the golden insignia in the middle of the circle. "Right now, we're working towards making brooms."

"Yeah? Can you fly on them?"

"Yup! They're pretty hard to make, though."

"That's so cool!" She paused. "I wish I could fly."

Lomadia looked over at her. "What kind of magic do you practice?"

She touched her arm and chuckled. "I don't know if I practice it, so much as it practices me."

Lomadia chuckled. "That's flux, right?"

"Yeah."

"Does it hurt?"

She shook her head. "It's harmless. However," she continued, touching her face. "It is spreading."

Lomadia stepped towards her, curiosity and concern glittering in her eyes. "What happens when...?"

Nanosounds shrugged.

Lomadia stared at the purple invasion crawling up her arm. Suddenly, she looked up, smiling. "Wanna try some witchery?"

"Uh... sure!"

Lomadia led her to the centre of the circle. "Just touch that golden chalk."

"That's it?"

She nodded.

With a nervous swallow, she bent down and tapped the insignia.

"You might wanna step back," Lomadia warned.

She stepped back as a bright light and loud noise swallowed up the first object. One after another, the circle seemed to consume them.

The last ingredient went up with a loud crack. Nanosounds looked up at the sky.

"Did it work...?"

"Just wait a second."

They continued to stare at the sky. Nanosounds looked back at the circle.

"Maybe I-"

With a loud crack, the sky suddenly became infested with dark storm clouds, which opened up into pouring rain. It came crashing to the ground, but just as Lomadia said, the entirety of the circle remained safe and dry.

"Wow!" she exclaimed.

Lomadia grinned. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah..." she breathed, marvelling at the power. Lomadia walked over to stand beside her, admiring their work.

"Uh..." For some reason, Nanosounds became acutely aware of the smallness of the circle, and the proximity of the other woman. "How long is the rain going to last...?"

"Not too long." Her eyes widened. "Why? Oh, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh no, I'm fine!" she stuttered, feeling her cheeks go hot. "I was just curious-"

Lomadia frowned. "You don't look so good." She stared out at the rain. "What was I thinking, performing the rain spell with a sick person?"

"No really, I feel fine-"

"Nonsense. As soon as this rain clears up, I'm bringing you back inside and making you tea."

Embarrassed, she clasped her hands together and stared at the floor.

"Here," the blonde said, pulling a coat out of her bag and placing it around Nanosounds' shoulders.

"T-thanks," she murmured, pulling the coat closer to her. She looked up to see Lomadia's gentle smile. She quickly returned her gaze to the floor.

They waited in silence for the rain to cease. Nanosounds knees felt like they would give out at any second, but thankfully, they held out.

The rain finally ended, and Lomadia took her hand and lead her back through the garden and into the small house. Dropping her off at bedside, she walked over to the quaint little stove and put the kettle on, busying herself with the promise of tea.

Nanosounds sat on the edge of the bed, coat still around her shoulders, even though the little cabin was quite temperate. Her cheeks still felt warm. She let out a sigh. Why was she so flustered? She glanced over at Lomadia.

Lomadia caught her eye and flashed a smile. Caught off guard, she averted her gaze again, and continued to stare at the floor.

"Uhm, thanks for saving me, again..."

"Don't mention it. I couldn't just leave you there."

"I suppose." She paused, mind whirring.

A silence began to stretch out between them. She cleared her throat uncomfortably, trying to figure out why she couldn't look Lomadia in the eye.

"Are you.... are you scared of them?"

The kettle shrieked and Lomadia turned back to the stove, removing the kettle and pouring water into the teacups. "Scared of who?" she asked.

"Lalna and Sjin. The Magic Police."

She laughed. "Those two nutters?" She walked over with the teacups in hand, passing over one of them to Nanosounds. "No way."

"Not even a little?"

She shook her head as she took a sip of her tea. "I'm pretty sure me and Nilesy can take 'em."

"Y'know, they're actually pretty powerful..." she murmured, absently stirring her tea. "And I feel like the more time they spend working on their magic... the more powerful they'll get."

"We'll just have to get stronger before them. Besides," she continued, leaning forward. "They haven't found us yet." She placed a hand on Nanosounds' shoulder. "Don't worry Nano. As long as you're here, I won't let them take you."

She stared into Lomadia's determined eyes and found comfort. Energy started flowing back through her. "Yeah, you're right, together, those scrubs don't stand a chance!"

The blonde grinned. "There's the spirit!"

The door swung open and Nilesy blundered in, kicking off his muddy boots. "I got caught in the worst rainstorm on my way home," he complained, grabbing a blanket to dry himself off with.

"Oh, yeah. Right."

Nilesy stopped and stared at Lomadia. "Was that you?"

"...Maybe?"

"Come now, Lomadia, why would you do that when you knew I was out?!"

"I forgot!" she exclaimed, standing up.

"Oh, suuure you forgot."

"I actually legitimately forgot you were out, I swear."

Nanosounds chuckled to herself as they continued to argue. They were so cute together.

She suddenly felt as though she was invading their space. She turned her attention back to her tea.

She cast a sideways glance at Lomadia, who was talking about some high class witchery stuff that she couldn't understand, and from the looks of it, neither did Nilesy. She sighed. What was she thinking? She buried her face in her pillow and willed the day to end.

————-

"Oh, she's asleep."

Nilesy glanced back at Lomadia's bed. "She sure sleeps a lot."

"Oh, hush you. She's sick, she's allowed to sleep."

"Lucky her."

"Oh bless, she didn't even finish her tea!"

"What, you made tea? Did you make me any?"

Lomadia offered him the half empty cup. He shook his head in disgust. Placing the cup back down, she tucked Nanosounds back under the blankets.

"If I get sick, will I get this kind of treatment?" he asked.

"I'm worried that if I say yes, you'll summon a rain spell and stay out in the rain until you're comatose."

"Damn, you got me figured."

She sat down on Nilesy's bed, eyes on Nanosounds' sleeping figure.

"She looks so fragile when she's sleeping," she murmured to herself.

"Hm?"

"Oh, uh, nothing."

"Right. Well, I'm off to upgrade my pickaxe! Do you want one?"

She looked at his pickaxe with a frown. Whatever benefits they may have, all those force tools looked ridiculous. "I'll pass."

He clomped up the stairs. "Sshh!" she called after him.

Her gaze returned to Nanosounds. She pulled herself off the bed and walked over to her bedside. Gingerly, she pushed away the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"Such beautiful hair," she whispered.

She touched her forehead with the back of her hand, pleased to find it much cooler now.

Bringing her hand back, she stared a little longer.

"I hope you stay."

She turned around and headed out the door, worried that if she spent any more time in the house, she might crawl into that bed next to Nanosounds.

Little did she know that Nanosounds had never really fallen asleep, and now laid beet red and scarely able to breathe.

Chapter Two

Lomadia wiped the sweat that was starting to form along her forehead away. With a frown, she stared up at the sun. It was only about 9, and it was already shaping up to be another hot, sunny day. She turned her attention back to the garden. Mature ghast tear plants stretched out in front of her, tears glistening in the morning sun. She grinned, glad she had found out about these kinds of seeds. She'd take gardening over fighting a ghast any day.

She grabbed the stem of the ghast plant firmly, and taking a steady stance, she heaved, trying to free the plant from the soil. The roots resisted and firmly held their ground. With a grunt, she pulled harder, smiling as she heard the roots snap in response. Plant now in hand, she checked for the pods that contained seeds. Only one was on the plant, and she tore it off the stem and cracked it open, glowing white seeds falling into her hand. She put the plant into the basket sitting in the dirt behind her. Kneeling down, she scooped a small hole into the dirt and planted the ghast tear seeds, recovering them with soil. She patted down the soil firmly. Standing up, she moved on to the next ghast plant, firmly grasping the plant's stem.

Heaving it out of the ground, she noticed she had an audience.

"Oh, Nano. You're awake!"

"Yeah."

Lomadia quickly cracked off the seed pouch and tucked the ghast plant away. "How was your sleep?"

"It was great, thanks." She stepped closer. "What kind of plants are those?"

"Ghast tear plants," the blonde said as she planted the seeds in her hand.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, ghast." She brushed the dirt off her hands and onto her shirt before carefully making her way towards Nanosounds. "How are you feeling?"

"I-I feel fine, I- those plants grow ghast tears?"

Lomadia frowned and touched the back of her hand to Nanosounds forehead. "Hmmm, you don't feel hot anymore."

"Honestly, Lomadia, I'm fine-"

"You were unconscious for three days, Nano. I wanna make sure you're better so that you don't knock yourself out again."

"No really! You did such a good job taking care of me, I – I've never felt better!"

Lomadia felt her cheeks go hot. "Really?"

Immediately Nanosounds flushed bright red. "Er, y-yeah."

Lomadia smiled. "Well, if you insist."

Nanosounds bent over to observe the ghast tear plant. "So this grows ghast tears?" she asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Yup." She bent over next to Nanosounds. "They're called magical crops. With the right ingredients, I can grow just about anything."

"Oh, wow! So they're just like normal plants?"

Lomadia nodded. "I was just harvesting them."

Nanosounds stood up. "Can I help?"

"Oh, no, I'd hate for you to get your lovely cheongsam dirty!"

She looked down at her dress. "Ah, it's fine, it washes out."

Lomadia stared at her. "What will you wear when its being washed, though?"

"Oh..." Her cheeks flushed red again.

"I have some spare clothes in the trunk near my bed, if you really wanna help," the blonde girl offered, taking another stem in her hands.

"Oh, okay." With that, she turned and trotted back off towards the house.

A few plants later, she emerged wearing a leather tunic and leather pants.

She smiled. "They look cute on you."

"Thanks!" Nanosounds replied, blushing.

"C'mere, lemme show you how to harvest the essence crops."

She nodded and carefully walked over, following Lomadia to the tall green plants.

Lomadia gave her the rundown, and watched her pull and plant a few plants before, satisfied, she turned back to the crops she was working on.

They worked in silence, focused on the task, each in their own little world. Lomadia glanced over at the other woman.

A bead of sweat fell from her forehead and slowly trickled down her soft face, hugging her cheeks and resting at her chin. The drop was upset by the sudden movement of Nanosounds tugging, and the drop fell, somewhere to the earth. Lomadia didn't bother to track it, too distracted by the look in Nanosounds' eyes as she concentrated on her work. Lomadia felt her breath catch.

Suddenly flustered, she turned her eyes back to the plants, aggressively ripping out a glowstone plant.

Nanosounds stopped and stood up. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm, just fine, thanks," she gasped.

"Oh....alright."

Lomadia spent the rest of the morning with her eyes firmly in front of her, trying to calm her racing heart, too nervous to spare another glance at the flux girl.

.

"Done!" Nanosounds chimed.

"It's about time," Lomadia joked, grabbing her basket off of the dirt.

"Hey! You got a headstart," she whined, also grabbing her basket and walking to join her.

Lomadia set to fanning herself with her hand. "It's piss hot out. I think we could go for a refreshing beverage."

Nanosounds smiled. "Sounds lovely!"

Lomadia turned to the house, still a little too embarrassed to look Nano in the eye.

Plopping the basket by the door, she pushed into the house, washing the dirt off her hands and inviting Nano to do the same.

"So, what are we drinking?"

Lomadia gestured with her hand. "Be sure not to tell the cops," she alluded mysteriously.

"Oh?"

She followed Lomadia out of the house and to the trap door she hadn't thought much of previously.

Lomadia unlocked it and threw the hatch open, descending into its depths. She leaned against the wall and waited for Nanosounds to come down.

"Whoa," she exclaimed, as she turned into the room.

The room was a little small and overstacked, shelves bursting with ingredients were all over the walls, underneath them were large distilling barrels. The room stank of alcohol. She wrinkled her nose.

"Nice, right?" Lomadia walked over to a shelving unit in the back of the room that was full of assorted bottles of alcohol. "What can I get ya? Would you like to try some flux wine?"

"Whoa, what?"

Lomadia grabbed a bottle and held it out for Nanosounds with a grin.

She snatched it from her hands and studied it closely. "I didn't even know you could make this! How is it?"

"Only one way to find out."

The dark haired girl uncorked it and took a swig, swishing it around in her mouth before swallowing. "Hey! That's not bad."

"It's quite nice, yeah," Lomadia chuckled, grabbing a bottle off the shelf and uncorking it.

Nanosounds reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from taking a sip herself. "Doesn't it taint you?"

Lomadia blinked. "I thought you said the flux was harmless."

"Well..." She trailed off. "It's, it's fine for now, right? But..."

"Thanks for the concern," she said, pushing Nanosounds' hand away, "but it is harmless. Trust me, I've had it before."

"If you insist..."

The concern in Nanosounds eyes sent a flare up her spine, and she hastily took a huge swig to hide her blushing face.

Sliding against the wall, she sat on the hard stone floor. Nanosounds joined her, bottle still in her hands.

"So, uhm, have you decided where you want to go?"

"Huh?"

"I mean," Lomadia continued, flustered, "you're more than welcome to stay with Nilesy and me if you have nowhere else in mind, but- I mean, if you have somewhere else you wanna be..."

"Oh..." She stared at the ground for a while, taking another large swig of the wine.

"You don't have to decide right now," she said hastily, feeling bad.

"Maybe I'll decide after this bottle of wine."

She laughed. "Fair enough."

–

Lomadia clasped her hand over her mouth to prohibit the wine from falling out of her mouth as she started laughing. It dribbled between her fingers and splattered onto her shirt. Catching her breath, she swallowed, smile still firmly on her face.

"No way.... he locked you away for three days?"

Nanosounds nodded, giggling, face flushed from alcohol.

"That's crazy!"

"I guess it's not the worst thing he's done to me," she mused, swirling the last of the wine around in its bottle.

"Wow... You must really love him."

"Oh no, no, not like that. I like him, but..."

"Must be hard, when he keeps almost killing you."

She laughed. "What about you and Nilesy?"

"He's a dork, but... he's a good friend."

Her foot hit a stray bottle on the ground, and briefly, she wondered how much they had drank, or even, what she was currently drinking. She observed the bottle.

Nanosounds placed her now empty bottle on the ground. "That stuff is....really good. I don't know if it's the flux or..." She pushed herself off the floor and leaned over, reaching for the shelving unit. She was halfway there when she realized her face was inches away from Lomadia's.

"Oh..." she murmured, face flushing further.

Lomadia blinked, staring into her hazy eyes. "What are you looking for?"

"Another bottle, I think."

"And?"

After a pause, Nanosounds brought her hand back down, and rested it on the ground next to Lomadia, using the extra leverage to lean closer.

Their foreheads touched. "A place to stay."

Lomadia reached up and placed her hands on Nanosounds' shoulders. "Stay with me."

She stared into her deep blue eyes. They looked desperate.

And beautiful.

Nanosounds closed her eyes and leaned in, aiming for those beautiful, unmarked lips-

"There you guys are!"

The sound of another body hitting the ground immediately sent Nanosounds backwards, sliding away from Lomadia, face beet red.

Nilesy paused. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Oh, no!" Lomadia chimed. "You're just in time!" She offered him a bottle.

Nilesy picked a bottle off the ground. "How many have you guys had?"

The blonde shrugged.

"Alright, you're cut off," he announced, prying the bottle from Lomadia's fingers.

"What?"

"You've had enough. Out, both of you!"

With a whine, she stood up, helping Nanosounds off the ground too. Nilesy spotted them as they climbed up the ladder, worried they'd fall down and hurt themselves.

They stumbled into the daylight, hissing in pain at the brightness. Disoriented, Nanosounds leaned into Lomadia, who did her best to support her.

Nilesy lead them into the hut and tucked them into bed, gently telling them off.

Tired and flustered, Nanosounds slowly surrendered to sleep.

Chapter Three

Nanosounds gripped the branches firmly, pulling herself up onto a sturdier branch. Swinging her legs around, she faced the bark, pulling an axe out of her pack. Aiming for the cocoa bean, she swung it gently, cracking the cocoa bean from the trees grip. She caught it, and slipped the cocoa bean and the axe back into her pack. Satisfied, she swung from the tree branch, falling to the ground with a soft thud. She looked around, trying to find another tree with cocoa beans, eyes carefully scanning the trunks.

It'd been a couple weeks since she agreed to stay with them. She'd learned a lot in her time there, and shared a lot in return.

She and Lomadia had also gotten over their initial awkwardness.

Well, mostly. She blushed. It was a little hard to get used to someone so beautiful, and funny, and stunning, -

A distant voice broke her from her reverie. With a jolt, she bolted behind a trunk, more startled than afraid. She opened her mouth to call out, but thought against it.

The voice rose again, louder this time. Another higher voice arose in reply. She peered through the dense leaves of the canopy.

"...are we nearly there yet?"

"We're almost there, jeez, didn't your momma ever teach you to be patient?"

"No."

"Of course not."

Nanosounds blinked. The voices sounded hauntingly familiar, and they were getting closer.

"Ah, I'm so excited!"

"Please don't say that when we get there, you'll ruin the drama."

"No no, course not, but... Just think! This is gonna be our first arrest!"

Nanosounds cursed under her breath. The Magic Police! She peered harder through the trees. She should've known!

Their voices continued to get louder, as they blathered on as if nothing was wrong. Nanosounds swore under her breath and sprinted towards their house, hoping she could get there before they did.

————

"Lomadia!!"

Lomadia looked up from her garden. "Nanosounds?" she called out.

"Lomadia!!" she screamed, tearing through the woods and ripping open the gate. It crashed against the fence. In her flight she tripped over a rock and sailed into the dirt face first. Alarmed, Lomadia dropped her tools and ran over, carefully rolling her over onto her back.

"What's wrong?"

Nanosounds grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her closer. "They're coming! The Magic Police!"

She blinked in surprise. "What?"

Nanosounds pulled herself off the ground, brushing dirt off of her clothes. "I saw them! In the jungle-"

"Shit!" she exclaimed. "We don't have much time..."

She grabbed Nanosounds' arm and ran into the house, pulling her behind her. Holding her by the shoulders, she pushed the fluxy girl down the stairs. "Nilesy!" she yelled as she did so.

"Hey! What gives?" Nano protested as she was pushed.

"I need you to hide in the basement."

Nanosounds shook off her hands. "I'm not hiding! I'm helping!"

Lomadia sighed in frustration. "They don't have anything on us, but they have plenty on you. We'll be fine, but you have to go."

The smaller girl blinked hesitantly.

"They'll be here any second."

With a frustrated grunt, she ran down the stairs. Lomadia could hear her pull the lever, and the staircase closed in on itself, hiding any evidence of the downstairs area.

Lomadia sighed in relief. She turned around to see Nilesy coming down the stairs, swords in his hands.

"Here," he said, thrusting two glittering blades into her hands.

She slipped them into her hilts. "There's no need to go in guns blazing, Nilesy. We might be able to negotiate."

"Right," he said sceptically, but he sheathed his sword.

A gust of wind caught their attention, and they turned to see blue figures landing on their front lawn. Lomadia frowned as one trampled her garden.

The first one to land and turn around was Sjin, and he smiled as he saw them in the doorway.

"Magic police," he announced, brimming with excitement. His hands sparked with fire, mirrored by Lalna behind him. "You're under arrest!"

NIlesy put on his best act. "Under arrest? For what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, mister," Sjin threatened, walking towards the door, fingers still crackling with sparks and smoke.

"But I'm not!"

"Oh? We have witnesses who say you've been practicing witchery!"

"Witnesses?" Lomadia asked. She looked at Nilesy, confused. "We haven't had any visitors."

"There's no magic here," he added.

"Well then, you wouldn't mind if we searched your house then?"

"Yes, I would, actually-" Lomadia protested as the two mages pushed past them.

"Do you even have a search permit?" Nilesy added, stepping back.

"Check upstairs," Sjin said to Lalna. He nodded and slipped up the stairs.

"Hey! Don't you go rifling through my stuff!" Nilesy exclaimed, following him up the stairs. "There's nothing but dart craft up there!"

Lomadia frowned as Sjin threw open a chest. "You're wasting your time, y'know."

Sjin chuckled. "That sounds awfully suspicious, doesn't it?"

"Fine! But don't whine when you don't find anything!"

"Only if you promise to come quietly when we do."

Lomadia snorted. Sjin resumed sifting.

Absently, her hand dropped down to the hilt of her sword. He was right there, back to her, before he even noticed she could run him clean through. Once Sjin was down and Lalna was outnumbered, he'd probably flee. She knew the true nature of the scientist. Vengeance wasn't all that much to him.

She thought about Nanosounds downstairs and decided against it. If anyone was going to run Sjin clean through, it should be her. She took her hand off the hilt.

Lalna came back down the stairs, Nilesy at his heels. "I haven't found anything." He looked out the window. "They DO have a functioning altar, however."

"It was there when we got here!" Nilesy protested weakly. "Leave us alone!"

Sjin sighed. "Let's just book them, and then look for evidence later."

"What?! That's not fair!"

"Hands behind your backs, please," Lalna said, removing a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

Lomadia unsheathed her swords. She glared at them threateningly.

"See that? They're resisting arrest."

"Well then, I guess we'll have to do it by force."

Lomadia lunged forward, aiming for Sjin's throat. He tried to dodge, but she still managed to clip his shoulder. He winced in pain as she turned around, preparing for her next strike-

Suddenly, her sword flew from her grasp and the world went dark. She tried to yell but she couldn't move. Distantly, she could hear Nilesy yell.

Her attention was drawn to the feeling of her hand being grabbed. She couldn't see, but she felt it being pulled behind her, metal closing in around her wrist-

In an explosion of colour, her vision came back, and in one fluid movement she jerked her hand away and decked Sjin across the jaw. Surprised, he flew backwards and crashed against the wall. She turned to see Nilesy and Lalna outside; Nilesy was flying and firing arrows, and Lalna was firing fireballs at him. She turned her attention to Sjin just in time to dodge a fireball he sent towards her. It smashed into the wall and spluttered out as she reached for her sword. Sjin stepped on her hand and cast another fireball. It hit her shoulder and burned through the fabric of her shirt, and she yelped in pain, grabbing at the burn. He grinned.

An arrow hit his calf and the grin quickly disappeared. He doubled over, hand rushing over to his calf. Lomadia took the opportunity to jump to her feet and kick him across the face. He swore loudly as she grabbed her sword. He cast another fireball, but she deflected it with her sword, the flames dissipating onto her blade. Still on the floor, he tried to crawl away from her, casting more fireballs. She dodged all of them, blinking smoke out of her eyes. When she opened them, a strange fish man had appeared before her. Brandishing a sword, it lunged at her.

Acting fast, she parried its lunge. Recovering fast, it acted again. Their blades clashed for a few seconds, before Lomadia's blade ran the monster clean through. As she pulled her blade out, the creature evaporated into dust.

Directly behind him was Sjin, grinning evilly. Before she could react, his spell hit her, and as the world turned black she felt herself flying out the door before smashing harshly into the ground, knocking all of the wind out of her. She moaned and tried to sit up, but a bolt of electricity hit her and she sank back into the ground, coughing.

Her vision soon returned, but she still couldn't move. She looked to her side and saw Nilesy next to her. Half of his clothes were burnt off, and he had burns all over his body. He smiled at her weakly.

" I tried," he whispered. She frowned.

Sjin had pulled the arrow from his calf and threw it in Nilesy's face. He spat as blood fell into his mouth from the arrow head.

A few more arrows landed on him from somewhere behind her, coated in blood, presumably from Lalna.

"Alright," Sjin grinned. "Our first arrest!"

Behind him, through the door, Lomadia could see the staircase open. Her eyes widened in panic as she saw Nanosounds peak out from the bottom of the stairs.

No, she mouthed to the girl. Don't come out here! You can't take them!

"Before we go," Lalna said, and his hand began to crack with flames. Lomadia's eyes widened. There was something different about this fireball-

Just as Nanosounds began running up the stairs, the fireball smashed into the side of the house. The cherry wood caught fire immediately.

"No!" Lomadia screamed, eyes firm on Nanosounds. Alarmed by the fire, she fell backwards and out of sight.

"Let's go," Sjin said.

Nanosounds' terrified face was burned into her mind as her surroundings suddenly and abruptly changed.

Chapter Four

Pain rang through Nanosounds' skull. She moaned, running her hand across her head. Her limbs felt like they were encased in mud.

Blinking her eyes open, she stared at the stone ceiling above her. Streaks of black painted the stone, like burn marks...

Lomadia flashed into her mind, lying in the mud, blood splattered across her beautiful face, staring back at her sadly.

No. she had mouthed.

And then Sjin-

Panic flared through her and she shot to her feet. Immediately, her vision cracked with stars, and her legs gave out, with a groan she smashed once again into the floor.

Disoriented, she felt the back of her head and found her hair matted together in blood. Pushing herself onto her elbows, she found the spot she had cracked her head open.

"Fuck," she exclaimed.

Waiting for feeling to return, she surveyed the room. The stairwell, which she originally thought was closed based on how dark the room was, was actually blocked by piles of fallen debris. A large cherrywood plank, half burnt, speared across the room, wedging the debris out of the room.

Slowly, she worked her way onto her feet, staring hopelessly at her only way out. Could she even move all that crap?

Turning, she rummaged through the chests, hoping to find a pickaxe buried somewhere, or at least the materials to build one.

Her search fruitless, she turned back to the stairwell, analyzing the debris. She pushed and pulled, trying to clear the stairwell, just enough for her to squeeze through, trying to ignore the mounting pain in her head. Every time she felt as though she might quit, Lomadia's face re-entered her mind and spurred her on, desperation fuelling her actions.

With a grunt, she pulled a large log free from the pile. She peered through where it once was. Very faintly, she could see daylight.

She sized up the hole she had created. It looked like she could fit. She certainly didn't have enough time or energy to clear the entire stairwell.

Lomadia's face entered her mind again; No. Don't.

Steeling herself, she climbed through, wincing as splinters almost immediately pierced her hands.

She couldn't give up.

A stick grabbed her cheongsam. Unable to turn around in the tight space, she kept moving. It ripped through her top with a loud wail. Nanosounds flinched. That'd be hard to fix.

A nail met her knee. She spat in annoyance. Unable to get around it, it made a thin cut all the way down her right leg.

The daylight kept getting closer, beckoning to her teasingly. She continued crawling up the shaft, ignoring all the cuts and slivers, pretending not to notice the blood trickling down her skin.

Her hand pushed against some sort of stick and it sunk beneath her. A loud creak sounded through the shaft, the wood shifting around into new positions. She felt the area behind her contract. Panicking, she tried to crawl further.

A support beam crashed into her back, nailing her to the floor. She screamed in agony as the weight grew. She tried to move but she didn't have enough room to escape the weight of the beam.

The daylight continued to dazzle ahead of her. She reached out for it, spitting out blood that was pooling in her throat.

Claustrophobia started to sink in as she writhed, desperately trying to move but unable to, a scream tearing from her lips. She dug her nails into the wood around her, clutching, screaming, writhing, helpless-

A loud crack sounded from somewhere behind her. An earth shattering crack followed, and the weight on her back was suddenly lifted.

Her breath caught in her throat. She tried to turn to see what had changed, but the tunnel was too narrow for her to see.

The floor beneath her rumbled, and a strange tendril shot up from underneath her, punching a hole through the debris above, holding the debris in place so it remained open. Small branches grew, creating footholds.

Deciding not to look a gifthorse in the mouth, she climbed up the tendril. A breeze reached down from the hole to outside, and she breathed in relief, grateful to be free from that hell.

She surfaced, just outside of the back of Nilesy's and Lomadia's hut. Wearily, she stood up, legs shaking, blood still pouring from her many cuts.

She turned to examine what she had just climbed up. With a start, she realized it was dark purple, and so was the grass around it, especially around-

She took a few more steps to be sure. The taint followed, choking the grass around her feet.

Did the taint just... save me?

The memory of Lomadia once again broke her from her reverie, and she dashed around the house.

She stopped as the pond came into view.

Blood stained the grass where Lomadia had lain.

But there was no sign of her.

She collapsed, hands scratching at the ground. She desperately bit back a scream.

Her body ached and her head throbbed. She blinked back tears as she looked around, trying to ignore the grass turning black and foul underneath her.

"Lomadia?" she called, looking around. The yard was silent aside from the twitter of birds and the soft nickering of the horses. She swallowed, standing up.

"Lomadia?" she called again. A lump was building in her throat. She tried to push it aside, but it stung like a wasp.

"Lomadia?! Lomadia!!" She started pacing in circles, the grass arching underneath her feet. She fell to the ground uselessly, grabbing the grass in her fingers and ripping it out.

"God damnit!! God fucking damnit!!" She arched upward, facing the sky. "LOMADIA! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The sun did not reply. Tears burst from her eyes and she curled over, sobbing.

Lomadia's face was still tattooed to the back of her eyes. She screamed.

Eventually her throat went hoarse, and she quieted down.

She blinked her eyes open and noticed it was dark. A little too dark.

How long had she been crying?

She moved her arm, and the sky responded accordingly. She blinked.

What?

She stood up, and the sky retreated, revealing itself to be several tendrils that had apparently been cocooning her pulled away, slithering back into the ground.

She knelt down, touching the earth. A tendril poked back out, swirling around her finger. She stood up, and it followed, holding on tightly.

She pointed her finger, and the tendril lashed out into the air, slamming back into the earth. Intrigued, she balled up her fist, and punched the air in the other direction.

The tendril responded, punching out of the ground and slamming back into the earth.

She stomped, and five burst from the tainted soil, straight up around her. She punched out and they followed, extending out to lash the air. She stomped back down, and they retreated back into the earth.

She stared at her hands in bewilderment. The tips of her fingers seemed to be a darker purple; was it just blood? She felt power surging through her.

A tendril shot up from behind her. She followed the line of action to see two specks in the distance.

She peered closer, trying to make them out. Her eyes widened.

Sjin.

She ran behind the house, pushing her back into the wood. Fury started building in her. They were back! What did they want?

Where was Lomadia?

The grass was wilting beneath her feet. She took comfort in it.

Power thrummed through her veins. She waited.

Conversation drifted through; "wasting our time."

"We need evidence in order to prosecute them."

"We saw their circle, what more do we need?"

"Well, we'd have a lot more if you hadn't of torched their home!"

"I was caught up in the moment!"

She heard them land. "Whoa," she heard Lalna say. "That's a lot more flux than I remember being here."

"Do you think Nano's been through here?"

"Nah. She doesn't leave a trail like this."

She moved further down the house. The grass wilted beneath her – the grass! The flux left a perfect trail to her hiding spot. She cursed, hoping blindly that they wouldn't follow her trail.

"House is busted."

"I told you not to use that spell!"

"What now?"

Sjin sighed. "I guess we can take the altar. It's pretty solid proof."

Nano moved to the other side of the house, staying outside their range of sight. She focused on quelling the rage inside her - she needed to know if Lomadia was okay.

They worked on dismantling the altar, chattering and making bad jokes. Nothing was useful. She was growing annoyed. She considered straight up attacking them, but didn't want to ruin her chances.

"That oughta do it. I'll get the court ready."

"I'll get the prisoners, then."

"Be careful with them!"

"Of course I'm going to be careful with them!"

"Yeah, that's what you said last time! And how did that turn out?"

"Shut up!"

She peeked around the side of the house. They were boarding their air sleds and taking off into the skies. She watched them go.

She stared at the ground, wondering how she could follow them on foot and still catch up. She looked back up to see they were already slowly fading into the horizon.

She swore and ran out from behind the house, trying to keep up.

A swarm of flies emerged from the tainted dirt beneath her, and shot after them. A few tendrils broke out and lifted her from the ground, carrying her in the same direction.

After a moment's hesitation, she smiled, and egged them to go faster. The police stayed in her field of vision.

I'm coming for you, Lomadia. Just you hold tight.

———————–

"Lomadia."

She ignored him.

"Lomadia!"

She continued, hands desperately hammering away at the walls. She raised her fist, and Nilesy caught it, holding it back tightly.

"Stop."

She ripped her hand away, massaging her bloody knuckles. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

"Lomadia, you can't break obsidian with your bare hands."

She raised her fist again. "Watch me."

"Lomadia! Come now!"

Her fist wavered. With a hard sigh of frustration, she stormed into the opposite corner, sinking to the floor.

Nilesy sat down next to her quietly.

"Do you think..." She trailed off.

"Think what?"

"That... Nano's okay?"

"Why wouldn't she? She's safe in the basement."

"But she didn't stay there!"

"I'm sure she's fine, Lomadia. We have bigger things to worry about."

She jumped up, pacing around the room. "But the fire!" she exclaimed. "What if she caught? What if she's stuck? What if-"

"The only way we can help her is by figuring a way out!"

Lomadia pointed at the wall. He sighed and added; "a practical way out."

She sighed again and leaned against the wall. He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle, reassuring smile.

"We'll find a way. We always do."

She frowned. She wished she could believe him.

——-

The train shuddered to a stop.

"It would've been so much faster to have flown," Sjin muttered, pulling himself out.

"Yeah but, where's the fun in that?"

Their heels clicked in unison down the obsidian halls.

"Are you ready?" Sjin asked him, grinning. "These are some dangerous criminals! We don't know what they might pull."

"I think we can handle them."

"Of course we can! We're the Magic Police!" His face got a little more serious as he added, "but really, be careful. I don't want to lose our first criminals before we even sentence them."

Lalna blinked, slowing to a stop. Sjin stopped shortly after, turning around confused. "What?"

"I think..." Lalna glanced out the window. "I think, something is coming."

"What's coming?"

——-

She was imagining things.

Even so, she stood up, eyes wide.

Lomadia glanced over at Nilesy. "Did you feel something?"

He looked up. "Hm?"

She sighed. "Must be my-"

The ground shifted beneath her. Her and Nilesy looked at each other.

"You-?"

He stood up. "Yeah."

"What-?"

Another shockwave sent through the prison, the ground trembling underneath their feet. The sound of glass breaking filled the air. They ran to the prison cell door, desperately trying to see through it. The next wave sent them flyling to their feet, and they bounced off the ground painfully. Bricks flew into the main area, just outside their cell.

Another pound, and another, they could barely stand. The sound of the building being ripped apart filled their ears.

Suddenly, a large, purple tendril slithered in. It fastened itself around their cell door. Four more joined it, coiling together, and together they pulled at the bars, bending them until they snapped in half, and ripping the doors clean off. Her and Nilesy scrambled to their feet. They were free!

A figure rose from behind the tendrils. Lomadia squinted, trying to make them out, her eyes still adjusting to the sudden daylight. Her eyes widened when she finally realized who it was.

Nanosounds hair rippled in the wind, her eyes glossed over and glowing purple. The flux had spread across her entire face and seemed to glow. The tendrils coiled around her, as if protecting her, beckoning to her will.

She breathed. Nano! She was safe! She was -

The glow died and her eyes returned to normal, and a relieved smile spread across her face, triumphant. She opened her arms and Lomadia found herself running into them, folding herself against the smaller girl, clutching her tightly, breathing in her scent.

She was safe, she was alive, she was...

She pulled away and they stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, before Nano grabbed Lomadia's hair and pulled her in for a kiss. She melted into it, eyes fluttering shut, cheeks burning. They held it for what seemed like an eternity, until the need for air became too great, before they had to break free to recover, blushing in each other's arms.

"I don't mean to uh, interrupt, but," Nilesy pointed out the door. "Maybe we should get going?"

"Nilesy," Nanosounds whined as Lomadia drew away, slightly embarrassed. "Why must you ruin everything?"

He opened his mouth to apologize when the police burst into the room, looking slightly panicked and dishevelled.

"What the fuck?!" Sjin exclaimed, staring at Nano's fluxy tendrils. She grinned maliciously.

She hooked her arm around Lomadia's waist and pulled her close. "Let's get out of here."

Three tendrils shot out from underneath them, two aimed directly at the encroaching police, and the third sliding around their bodies, taking a firm hold. She heard Nilesy let out a worried yelp as a fourth secured itelf around his waist. Dodging fireballs, the tendrils shot out from the gaping hole in the wall, leaving Sjin and Lalna to yell and cast piteously.

The prison quickly receeded, slowly becoming a purple smear on the landscape. The wind was flying through Lomadia's hair, and through the violent strands she saw Nanosounds, grinning victoriously. Her face went hot, and she leaned into Nano's arms. As she did so, Nano wrapped her arms around her protectively, and they huddled together through the air, blinking back relieved tears.

Somewhere slightly below, Nilesy was complaining.

———————

A month later-

It was probably noon. Probably.

She hadn't bothered to check the clock. It didn't matter. She was warm and cozy, quietly listening to Lomadia breathe. The golden sunlight lit her hair on fire, and her sleeping face was so peaceful.

She looked like a goddess.

She was a goddess, her goddess, a beautiful ethereal being of light and fury and love and Nano was in a constant state of awe. A surge of love shot through her and she resisted the urge to awaken Lomadia to a shower of frenzied kisses.

The summer heat was seeping in slowly, and Nano pushed some of the covers off of herself in an attempt to stay cool. The sweat beading on her forehead fought it out with the tranquility of her current situation.

Lomadia stirred, slowly turning onto her side. Her eyes gently blinked open, adjusting to the sunbeam that had befallen her, eyes focusing on Nano.

"You're beautiful," Nano whispered breathlessly.

Lomadia blinked, her face flushing. "Um, good morning to you too."

Nanosounds laughed and planted a kiss on her cheek before hopping out of bed and setting the kettle on. Lomadia sat up, pushing covers off herself and rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"What time is it?" she murmured.

Nano checked the wall clock. "One thirty."

"Ah, shit. Why'd you let me sleep in so late?" she exclaimed, jumping out of bed and pulling off her pyjama top. "I have to-"

Nano grabbed her by the waist. "What's the rush?" She spun her around, resting her arms on her shoulders. "Take a day off. You've been working so hard. You deserve it."

"Rebuilding is hard work, Nano-"

"All the more reason to take a break!"

Lomadia glanced out the window hesitantly before sighing and grabbing her pyjama top.

Nano swiped it from her hands. "Hey, I didn't say you needed to put that back on."

"Nano! What if Nilesy comes in?"

"Want to find out?"

Her face went red. "No! Give it back-!"

She pounced on her and they tumbled to the floor, laughing and wrestling. In revenge, Lomadia grabbed Nanosounds' top and ripped it off with a quick movement of her wrist, throwing the shirt across the room. The war was quickly forgotten. The kettle screeched pathetically in the background.

Credit to masterlalna on Ao3d