POV Seraphina

"Aaron watch out!", I could only shout as he was smashed to the ground by a shadow and his head hit the ground hard.
I had only heard a gasp and when I quickly finished off the last shadow in my corner, my eyes immediately fell on Aaron, who was probably surprise-attacked by another shadow.
My eyes widened in shock and I quickly ran over to him.
With swift movements I catapulted the shadow away from Aaron, killing him with a quick stab in the chest.

I turned back and knelt down next to Aaron to see how bad the damage was.
Tears welled up in my eyes and I covered my mouth as I saw that he was struggling to stay awake.
It was clear that he was in tremendous pain and small spatters of blood adorned the rough asphalt floor.
He looked at me with narrowed eyes and was breathing heavily.
"Phina...", he managed to choke out, but I could tell that it was causing him incredible pain to speak.

I quickly grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "I'm here Aaron, everything's fine."
Eventually his eyes closed and tears streamed down my cheeks.
I was still clutching his hand and just couldn't stop my tears. 
I'd never seen Aaron hurt like that, and certainly not because of a shadow.

Micah came running around a corner and stopped short at the sight of Aaron on the ground.
He must have felt his pain through their connection.
"What happened? Is he unconscious?", he asked quickly and sprinted towards us.
I slowly got my emotions under control again and had to think back to the brutal beating that happened not even a minute ago.

"A shadow got him and knocked him to the ground, his head smashing onto the pavement", I said holding back tears and Micah nodded at me.
"Come help me, we have to get him back home right now", my brother said to me and I pulled myself together to help Aaron.

I skillfully worked on Aaron's wounds, which spread almost over his entire body.
With Micah's help we were able to get Aaron to his room and I was busy cleaning his wounds while Micah reported the accident to the headquarter.

In addition to a concussion, Aaron had a small laceration on his head and numerous small wounds littering his body.
Unlike me, his small wounds would heal quickly and fade away since he was only brushed and not grabbed for a long time like me.

Still, he looked really bad and just looking at him made my heart sink.
His head wound, of course, was a whole different story. 
It would heal way faster than other peoples wounds, but it would take a while before he was completely fit and ready for action again.

"I reported the incident and we're supposed to keep them informed", goes Micah's voice as he entered Aaron's room.
He also looked stressed and restless, which was probably due to his connection to Aaron.
I just nodded and then continued to work on Aaron's wounds, which were all cleaned now.

"Pass me the green paste, please?", I asked in his direction, and not a second later he handed me a bowl of green substance.
I gently dipped my fingertips into the paste and began applying it to his wounds.
"You made them fresh, right?", Micah asked softly and I nodded, "the effects are stronger with a fresh mix and it's more relaxing."

My brother watched me from Aaron's couch and when I finished I sighed deeply.
Aaron had never been so distracted or surprised that this could have happened.  So what exactly was different today? 
"How could that happen?", I asked shaking my head and putting away the bowl of paste.

Aaron had always been precise and grasped every little detail of his surroundings. 
In the academy he often put his skills to the test and I never would have expected that something like this would happen to him of all people.

Micah patted a spot next to him and I sat down on the couch as well.
"That's what happens", he said and I leaned against his shoulder, defeated.
"No one is perfect. Everyone has a bad day sometimes, even him", my brother explaimed calmly, but I knew that a storm raged within him just as great as in me. 
He could just hide the whole thing better than me.

"He always told me to stop dreaming and then this happens", I said waving my hands in Aaron's direction.
My gaze went back to my team partner, who I had grown very fond of over the years.
"I just slipped", a harsh voice suddenly emerged and I quickly ran to Aarons side. His eyes tried to get used to the daylight that was still visible and he tried to brace himself.
"Just slipped!?", I hissed raising an eyebrow wryly.

"Oh please you're acting like I'm about to die, that's nothing", he coughed to himself and I shook my head in disbelief.
Really no one could match his stubbornness. I was convinced even a donkey would lose.
"God please help me not to kill this fool myself", I prayed to myself hearing Aaron and Micah laugh in the background.

"You can do whatever you want, you won't get rid of me", I said with my arms crossed and looked at Aaron who was just about able to sit up straight and even that only with help.
"I'll stay here with you tomorrow and take care of you too, so you don't have any more injuries at the end of the day", I ended the discussion and sat down on Aaron's couch.
Someone had to take care of him, otherwise he would easily break his arm in our absence, only because he had accidentally slipped.

"Are you looking for my company so much that you can't be without me?", he asked mockingly in my direction while a grin graced his face.
I just gave him the middle finger, which made him laugh.
"No but really, you don't have to stay here with me Phina", Aaron now said softly and looked back at his TV, which was showing a favourite series of his.

"And I already said that I won't leave you alone with your injuries under any circumstances!", I explained immediately and went back to a book I had started reading.
"Ok", Aaron finally gave up and a comfortable silence spread between us.

After a while I glanced in his direction and saw a gentle smile gracing his lips before looking down at my book page with my own smile.

POV Jasper

Spellbound, I waited in front of the bus for Seraphina, which was supposed to take us to the greenhouse.
After Alice told me that she had asked about me in class, I felt a little more hopeful about my attempts to talk to her.  I hadn't had much success up until now, but since we both went on the trip to the greenhouse and Aaron wasn't in either class, my chances were better than ever.
I really wanted to talk to her and hoped she would sit next to me.

More and more students arrived, but no sign of Seraphina and an indefinable feeling spread in the pit of my stomach.
I nervously waited for her to arrive, ignoring the many other students who were giving me funny looks.
Finally, I recognized the outline of Micah and tried to look past him in hopes of Seraphina, but it seemed like he was alone.
"Yo," he said as he walked past me and got on the bus.

Incredibly tense, I stood rooted to the spot, slowly realizing that Seraphina wasn't coming anymore.
Alice appeared next to me and also looked around a little questioningly, "she's not coming right?"
I swallowed hard and nodded rigidly as countless ugly scenarios played out in my head.

I sat down silently next to Alice, fear spreading through me.
Did something happen to her?
Had she had an accident and couldn't come because of that?
Uncomfortably I sat rigid as a board and the bus full of people didn't make the situation any better.

I thought back to her bandage and prayed that nothing else had happened to her.
When I find out who did this to her, I will be his last encounter.
My mind was racing and all I could think about was Seraphina and her safety, which also seemed to weigh heavily on the Major. 
He wanted to take control and go straight to her to see what was going on, but there was no way I could lose control on the bus full of students.

So, grinding my teeth, I sat next to Alice who looked at me worried and tried to calm me down.
She gently grabbed my hand and projected her calmness onto me, letting me focus completely on her emotions.
I was slowly regaining my control again and was able to reassure the major that I would look into the matter as soon as possible.

My gaze wandered around the bus and I let it linger on Micah.
He sat relaxed alone in a row and listened to music, not wanting to engage with the other students.
I just needed to know what happened and he was the only person who could give me answers.

I had never spoken to him personally, but many described him as a quiet handsome fellow who was happy to help others. 
Of course girls in particular were after him, which didn't surprise me at all.
He had the same blonde as Seraphina and his eyes looked confusingly similar to those of her. 
With one glance, one could immediately tell that the two were definitely related, if not twins.

He appeared to be the same height as me and seemed to be just as muscular as Aaron.
His hair gently framed his face and his face in particular radiated a certain friendliness that probably made him particularly attractive.

However, he seemed to appreciate solitude because he didn't like to be out in large crowds and, according to my siblings, avoided conversations as much as possible.
Despite his popularity, he often managed to slip unseen from one room to the next or suddenly appeared in the canteen at his regular table.

But as I had learned, you couldn't rely on rumors and I preferred to form my own opinion of him.
With that, I couldn't wait to get as fast as possible to the greenhouse so I was finally able to ask for my Seraphina.