[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200601/9d2d0c98a2d87bf1928264c71df98f4f.png[/img] Punching Summer square in the jaw admittedly felt incredible, almost liberating in a way. The look on her face was absolutely priceless. But as the rest of the newly-inducted witchlings flocked around them, with Jeremy and Charlie trying to break up the fight, and some of the others commenting about her absolute stupidity from the outskirts, Dakota realized that she had probably made a mistake. She panted deeply, her anger levels lowering slowly as she saw Calypso holding Astro safely in her arms. Astro was safe. [color=SkyBlue]"I..."[/color] Dakota started, her normally bravado-layered tone weaker than usual. Dakota had a habit of acting impulsively, a habit that often got her into trouble- once, in middle school, Billy Jenkins had cut her in the lunch line and told her off when she tried to take her spot back. Billy Jenkins would be found screaming later that day hanging from the monkey bars by his shoelaces (Dakota ended up buying him a McFlurry, and all was forgiven). Dakota looked around her, her quick breaths slowing as she regained her cool. [color=SkyBlue]"You're right, Cal...not worth it..."[/color] Dakota muttered, deep in thought, but her words were quiet, hard to hear, certainly if the witches weren't paying attention. All hope of the situation being resolved peacefully, though, was dashed as Summer walked over, her confidence soaring. Dakota instinctively shifted her weight to her back leg, readying for what she thought was a punch as Summer told her off. Dakota, in truth, did not want to continue this fight. She was ruining everybody's night, and letting her drama ooze over everybody else. Maybe she would confront Summer some other time, and Dakota certainly did not regret her decision in the slightest, but as for right now, she wanted it to end. [color=SkyBlue]"If you shut your mouth for one second, I-"[/color] Dakota began, but didn't finish as Summer tapped her on the forehead and cast a spell. [color=SkyBlue]"What the-"[/color] Dakota tried to say, but she quickly realized what Summer had done to her. She couldn't see anything. She was blind. Dakota was not the type of person to be easily shaken or easily afraid- she had, after all, suggested minutes earlier that the girls do drugs in the forest at midnight- but this was a different level, and she started to panic as she staggered clumsily, her footing clearly uncertain as she stumbled across the forest ground frantically. She quickly discovered that her ability to walk was not very solid when she had no vision, and so she soon toppled over, hitting the ground roughly. The fall hurt, and she could feel that she had definitely scraped her hands and knees, but that was much, much less critical than the other major issue she was grappling with. Her panic rose as she fully came to grip with what was happening, and she began to call out, her head twitching back and forth like a rabbit that had just heard a snapping twig. [color=SkyBlue]"Callie!"[/color] Dakota cried out to her friend, her voice no longer the same as it was just minutes earlier. She was frantic now. Her words came out disjointed and overwrought. [color=SkyBlue]"Summer...my eyes...gone....[i]blind[/i]..."[/color] Dakota said in a near-moan, each word followed by a sharp gasp, and though she couldn't see, she could feel water rim around her eyes. This was not good. Dakota Lawson was [i]not[/i] a crier. She never cried. She had sat stone-faced through broken bones and bad bleeding- she was not going to let this rattle her. She would figure it out- maybe there was some magic that would get her vision back, or something, or maybe she'd figure out how to echolocate or something, turn into a real-life bat. That would be cool! Her own positive thoughts seemed to betray her very negative experience, though, as she was still on the floor and still, despite her best efforts, crying somewhat. She wasn't sobbing or anything close to it, but for anybody that knew Dakota, it was a highly unusual occurrence. Thankfully for Dakota, her vision came back, though the manner it did was quite annoying- just as Dakota was getting to her feet, her vision came back with a jolt, so suddenly that it sent her back down to the ground again. This time, though, Dakota was much quicker to recover, wiping her eyes as she staggered to her face, a thin smile of relief on her face as she regained her bearings. Her knees and the bottoms of her wrists were scraped up a bit, but this didn't bother Dakota in the slightest as she gave the group a melancholy smile.[color=SkyBlue]"Sorry for the hysterics,"[/color] she said weakly as she removed the bracelet from her wrist, chucking it as far as her arm could throw, before smiling a little wider. [color=SkyBlue]"Feeling better."[/color] [hr][hr][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200712/edf0998ad01154ef42e41d95654c9a27.png[/img] The dark-skinned youth watched silently as the altercation quickly devolved. It all happened so suddenly- Summer pushed Dakota, Dakota got up, Summer stole the ferret, Dakota punched Summer, Calypso grabbed the ferret, Summer hexed Dakota, Dakota fell like a wounded animal, Summer ran off into the woods, Dakota got back up, pretending nothing had ever been wrong and disposed of the bracelet with some flair. It was quite entertaining to watch, but Jean-Luc couldn't help but feel just a little bad for the two of them. It was clear that Summer valued the bracelet, and Dakota, like most, valued her vision. Despite the obvious entertainment value of the conflict, the girls were quite beat up about it. Jean-Luc's eyes followed the arcing path of the bracelet, which landed in a tall patch of grass a way's away from the campfire. Dakota had a good arm, if anything. Sighing to himself as he rose, Jean-Luc's hunched and eerie figure made its way past the group, walking through the campfire in the direction where Summer had fled to, like the Phantom of the Opera retreating from the scene after dropping a chandelier. Smiling to himself at his reference, Jean-Luc held out his right hand towards the patch of grass where Dakota had thrown the bracelet and cast a spell, enjoying the feeling of the sudden reservoirs of magic that he had inside himself now. His Magic Hands- a shadowy, translucent purple-black gnarled hand, like one would expect of a storybook witch, snaked from underneath Jean-Luc's right arm, slinking towards the grass and gingerly snapping up the bracelet. It then retracted, depositing the bracelet into Jean-Luc's hand before vanishing. Jean-Luc continued to walk, following Summer into the woods, stepping carefully over branches and brambles, sticks and stones, as he made his way through the forest. He was grateful that he had chosen the nice, comfortable flannels over something thinner, as the cold was quite nippy, surprising for a Virginia summer day. He moved swiftly, knowing he had ground to catch up on, and eventually he called out, [color=DarkMagenta]"hey!"[/color] into the forest, his deep voice resonating between the trees as it echoed through the area, bounding into the darkness. [color=DarkMagenta]"I have a bracelet...I have [i]your[/i] bracelet,"[/color] he added, staring into Summer's general direction and into the dark forest. Silently waving his hand, he snapped his fingers and let what felt like endless amounts of magic flow again, and opened his palm, a small glowing sphere of golden light emanating from within. A simple spell for illumination, one that Jean-Luc had used countless times to read while in the dark. [color=DarkMagenta]"If you want your bracelet, come and get it. It's cold here,"[/color] Jean-Luc yelled out, his voice layered with irritation as it stood on a large, smooth rock. [color=DarkMagenta]"And just to let you know..."[/color] Jean-Luc added on, his voice now adopting a cool, unsympathetic overtone to it, [color=DarkMagenta]"I am doing this for you not out of the kindness of my heart..."[/color] Those last words were spoken with near mocking, his lips taught as he stared into the night. [color=DarkMagenta]"...but out of pity. Now take it."[/color] He carelessly dropped the silver bracelet underneath the glowing sphere of light, giving the mobile candle enough energy to last a few moments longer, before turning on heel and walking back towards the campfire, eyes as stony as they always were. He promised himself that would be the last act of charity for the night, for sure. [/center]