Back in her dorm building. Minx went to the second floor, to room 215B. This was where she was heading when she received the message. She didn't realize she had blood on her, but she acted as though nothing had happened. When she knocked on the door, it was answered by an incredible blond man, and she tried to smile but just had trouble with it.
"I know you're probably busy but, do you have a minute? I was wondering if you could tell me how to counter a teleport ability."
His eye twitched. Vorden noticed blood, a spectral arm, disheveled hair and her arm wasn't moving the way it should if she was walking normally, "please come in."
As the door closed behind him, he invited her to sit. She looked around the room and now had a confirmed face to go with the name Peter. There was an ability book open in front of him, and he had an expectant expression as he looked toward Vorden. That expression faded to one of dashed hopes when he noticed her enter the room.
Minx gave her intended prize points for helping Peter practice his earth ability. It demonstrated his good character. She sat down slowly. A brief thought entered her mind then left just as quickly, maybe I should've waited to do this tomorrow when the pain would be gone…
Vorden sat opposite her, "who wants his arse kicked?" Only, it wasn't Vorden.
Minx smirked as the words resounded in her ears like a symphony and noticed the change in energy. She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "that was kind of sexy, Not-Vorden." She leaned back, wincing as she moved wrong.
He looked in her eyes, "why are you in pain? You know you can fix it, why suffer?"
"I treated myself already. I'll do it again before bed. Besides, I left my pot of dirt in my room."
Peter heard this and immediately offered the ball of earth in his hand that he had yet managed to form into anything useful. "Will this help?"
She looked taken aback then smiled, "actually, yeah! I had never thought of that before. Do you have a bowl for it?"
Peter brought her a bowl, and she placed the dirt in it. She cultured a plant and treated herself once again. Relief washed over her face as the pain was flushed away, then she addressed, "Vorden". "I'm not asking you to take action. I know you have your own problems."
She sighed and withered her plant. Handing the bowl back with a smile of thanks to Peter, she took a deep breath.
"There is a guy here, a second-year. … He has a level-7 teleport ability. Tonight was the second time he attacked me. The first was not as bad. Tonight…"
She took another deep breath, "My brother, our friends and I were taking a walk in the park, enjoying the beautiful weather. He teleported to us then grabbed me. He teleported away with me and beat me. I couldn't do anything. He had me by the neck and gut-punched me. He broke my arm and shoulder. I managed to get my vine around his throat and he teleported away. How do I fight such an ability? While I appreciate your generous offer, you don't exactly fit in my pocket on the off chance he attacks again."
Not-Vorden examined the girl in front of him with his critical eyes. This was not the same energy he had seen when she healed them. He felt the rage, the desire to go beat someone up. Then Vorden tapped him on the shoulder.
"We need to switch before you do something stupid," as he glanced behind him at the other boy who was paying attention rather than sleeping or crying like he usually did.
While she was talking, she felt the energy shift as Vorden took control back. "Do you have time to go for a walk in the park tomorrow, just you and I? Do you have reason to think he's targeting you?"
She bit her lip a little wondering at the wisdom of it. She liked him, especially the one on her right but she wasn't sure if she wanted him directly involved in her troubles. She hesitated but decided it would be best to agree. If being alone with a handsome man would help keep those she cared about safe, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make. In a secluded park, with the two of them, they had better chances.
"Yes, he wants revenge for me offending his brother in the canteen that day. Tomorrow sounds okay. But aren't you helping Peter? That's what it looked like." She glanced Peter's way then back to Vorden, "I don't want to take you away from your friends."
"I'll be okay for a while," Peter smiled. "I haven't needed a babysitter in years," he chuckled. For some reason he felt comfortable in her presence. She wasn't like any of the other girls he met.
Minx looked shocked, "I'm so sorry, that's not what I meant!"
Peter smiled, for the first time since he arrived at this school, it reached his eyes, "I understand. I'm not used to people caring about me, except my parents and sister Emily," his voice trailed off, sadness replaced the moment of happiness.
The change in emotion wasn't wasted on Minx or Vorden. Minx wanted to give Peter a hug but wasn't sure if that was appropriate. She just met him and didn't know him well.
Looking back at Vorden, she continued, "After dinner, Raven, my roommate and I spend an hour practicing what she learned in Beast weapons Class but I'm available after that if that's okay?"
Vorden nodded, "I'll work with Peter while you do that. Come up when you're done and we'll head out."
She nodded and noticed her arm was normal again. She raised an eyebrow and left, returning to her room to think about the strangeness that happened today. She lay in bed, trying to study since things didn't make sense, finally setting the books aside. She closed her eyes and she allowed her mind to replay what the tree shared with her.
It was fast. Far faster than she thought the tree could move. She was impressed that it was able to move faster than Mono could react because his ability was foresight. It had done its job proficiently as if it wanted to make her proud of the job it was doing. She could feel a hint of that in the emotions she observed. She didn't expect this level of loyalty from the tree.
It learned what its target looked like, sounded like and frequent movements. When Mono was alone, he took one last look around after beating up a first-year, before turning toward his dorm building.
The tree's branches snatched Mono from the ground in a swift swooping motion. Even those six seconds of Mono's ability wasn't effective enough for him to react and get out of the way. The vice-grip-like branches crushed his arms and legs with ease while wrapping branches around his mouth to keep him silent. The action was rough. Dirty. Angry. The tree chucked its victim into the tiny space provided for this purpose. Mono's back hit the far wall, head impacting the hard wood, and he slid down, moaning in pain.
The tree sent a message with intense satisfaction in its voice and waited. Minx felt the satisfaction. She felt the tree's pride in the memory. She wondered if trees had any emotions or thoughts on bullying but had never asked. Her curiosity sated. Trees liked bullying as much as she did. Perhaps she could use that at some point.
Minx slept peacefully and dreamlessly that night.
The next day, classes went as normal. Her bubbly personality returned as she skipped and sang between classes, drawing looks from those around her. She even swayed her head side to side to enhance the effect. There were people in this school that needed to see her a certain way. She would not disappoint them.
She attended the first half of Agricultural Class with the second half spent in her tree. Ten minutes in, she pulled a book off the shelf, already having learned the lesson for the week. She got the academics, even enjoyed some of them, but the practicals were usually excessively easy for her. She valued the knowledge she gained but self-study was more beneficial in the long run.
At the very least, she could include her new knowledge in a book if she ever chooses to teach her ability to others. Right now, that concept was too far in the future for her to contemplate. If she struggled so much to understand it, to control it; how could she teach another to do so?
She decided today to lean against her tree and read the book on conducting research. She really wanted to make a successful energy bar and there was really only one way to make sure it was done correctly. Leo had said 3 months before the portal outing, so she had that much time to make a good product. Which wasn't that much time when she really thought about it. The approval of the study took time. She didn't need funding; the ingredients were grown by her. It just took her time and energy.