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sly13
The walk back to the coven house was a sullen and silent one for Summer. The elders words had been cruel and harsh, even if a very small part of her did know that they were true. Waves of emotions overcame her, making her want to lash out. Anger, irritation, embarrassment. The leaves crunched under her feet as she walked, robe tucked underneath one arm. She could hear the inaudible conversations of the other witches in front or and behind her, but it was mere white noise, serving to do no more than further her fury. The fact that others seemed so easily happy taunted her. It always had. It just wasn’t fair.
It was in this manner that she finally reached the house, a swarm of jubilant witches immediately surrounding their newly initiated kin. While most ran straight to their relatives, Summer instead headed back to the porch, keen to collect the most precious thing she owned. The bracelet had been a gift from her father when she had been only five years old. He had called it her lucky charm, although later experience had taught her that it was imbued with magic, such that it provided protection against curses and other magic that was seated in ill will. Maybe there was a part of her father that knew she would attract enemies, or perhaps he just wanted to shield his youngest daughter from the evils of the world. Either way, it was something she cherished deeply, especially now that he was no longer present to ease her fears & worries.
Crouching down, Summer began to rifle through the pile of belongings. She found her phone immediately but her bracelet was nowhere to be seen. With each passing second she became more frantic, tossing items aside, rooting through the pile again and again and again. Finally, with tears of frustration in her eyes, she gave up. It was gone. Lost or stolen she didn’t know. But she was furious. Determined to find out what had happened to it, Summer stood up. She was about to stroll over to one of the elders and demand that it be located, when she suddenly heard an excited squeal. It was followed by a whirlwind of ginger hair and flailing limbs as she was pulled into an overbearingly suffocating hug.
Olive.
“Oh. my. god! Look at you! You are absolutely glowing!!! I can almost see the power of the Wellspring radiating through you. Oh, oh let me look—” Olive, practically bursting with excitement, grabbed Summers wrist, looking down at where one could see a very faint line. The only evidence that she had, only minutes before, cut herself with a blade. “Did you heal that yourself?! It’s perfect! I’m so happy that you’re finally using healing magic!” Clapping her hands together, she turned to look round at their mother, who was strolling towards the pair, an unreadable expression on her face. “Look mother! She’s healed herself!”
Gritting her teeth, Summer bit back the stream of bitterness that threatened to spill from her lips as her mother looked down at her wrist. She didn’t know what was worse - admitting that she had been healed by another witch or pretending that she’d done it herself. Deciding that the latter was ever so slightly more tolerable, she slowly nodded her head.
“Well, it was either heal myself or die of blood loss.” Rolling her eyes, Summer yanked her wrist away from Olive. Neither of them seemed to notice that she wasn’t wearing her bracelet and this only served to make her even more angry. The rest of the conversation was a blur. Between Olives high-pitched exclamations of excitement and her mother’s passive aggressive comments, she felt utterly overwhelmed. It was too much. Fainting, losing her bracelet, always being second best. She wanted to scream and yell and lash out. She wanted someone else to feel the same way she did. Even if just for a moment.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, her family left. Olive clung onto her until the last minute, her endless stream of compliments and praise being audible even as she was making her way to the town car. Her sister really never shut up. Ever. It was surprising that she managed to take pause for a breath, though Summer had, on numerous occasions, wished that she would forget to do so.
Her only relief from this horror of a day, had been the thought that she would soon be tucked up in a warm bed, where she could slip comfortably into wishful dreams. But this was soon destroyed when the elders announced that they would be camping. Outside. In the wilderness. With the dirt and the bugs and the lack of indoor plumbing. It was as if they were purposefully trying to torture her. And maybe they were. She wouldn’t put it past them. Caught up in the hellish idea of camping, she distractedly followed the others, for a moment forgetting about her beloved bracelet.
When they reached the clearing, the others immediately began to spread out, each having their own ideas about what they wanted to do. Summer on the other hand, just stood there. Her body was exhausted. She still hadn’t eaten and the aftermath of being around her sister, left her both mentally and physically drained. For a few minutes she did nothing more than look around impassively. She didn’t move to get changed into her pajamas, nor did she seek solace in the warmth of the fire. Summer was numb. The cool wind blowing through her ginger locks, the gentle sounds of the awakening nocturnal creatures, the pale & haunting moonlight. She was aware of none of it.
"Oooh, bracelet!...It's kind of pretty, actually...here, take Astro, let me try it on!"
The annoying tones of Dakotas voice pulled Summer abruptly from her stupor and turning her head, all she could see was red. A deep mist of fury overcame her as her gaze landed on the pair of witches. Even from this distance she could tell that it was her bracelet that Dakota was slipping onto her wrist. Of course it would be her. That thief had taken something so precious to her, not even questioning that it might belong to someone else. That it might be beloved and cherished by another. She just took it without thinking. Summers fingernails dug into the palms of her hands as she glared at Dakota, drawing fresh blood as she broke skin. And if looks could kill, hers certainly would have. Those who knew Summer well enough would see the warning signs and they would run. After all, anyone that's ever been to high school knows that you never mess with a bitch.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! I should’ve known you were a thief!” Storming over to Calypso and Dakota, she ignored the rest of the witches as she closed the distance between them. Her fury cut through the peace of the clearing, the faint calls of nightly birds silencing in response to her outrage. “That’s my bracelet!” Not stopping for a second, Summer walked straight up to Dakota, before giving her a sudden and surprisingly strong shove.
“Give it back. Now.” Her deep brown eyes, filled to the brim with malice, glanced over to Calypso who had Astro clutched between her arms. Now Summer wasn’t evil but she did know how to hurt people, and she did know how to get her way. Taking a step back, she held out her arm, the air around the scruffy looking ferret shimmering for a moment before he suddenly disappeared from Calypso's arms, reappearing in the tight grip of Summer. Clutching him by the scruff of the neck, she held him away from her body so that he wouldn’t be able to claw or bite her. To be honest, she was surprised that she hadn’t spliced the creature in the process. Inanimate objects were easy enough to teleport but moving something alive, particularly something so uncontrollable, was a much more volatile process. Of course, Summer had no desire to kill innocent creatures but part of her also felt that Dakota would deserve it, if it were to happen.
“Give me my bracelet back now or i’ll be testing whether your rat can survive a 50 ft fall.” Summer didn’t smile as she spoke. There was nothing amusing about this situation and all she wanted was her bracelet back. If Dakota was stupid enough not to comply, then so be it. She could teleport the creature in mere seconds and if she tried anything, well...oopsie daisy.
@hitman @canaryrose
