“Alright! Alright already!” the bird familiar cried. He waddled over to the black sludge on the ground and inspected it, shifting his head curiously. It continued bubbling, but this time it was flowing back into a center point, amassing into a tangible form once again. “Hey buddy,” Carthas called out to it. “Let's chat. Avian to avian.”

The black bile had finally risen backup from the snow and taken an amorphous bird-like form. Its natural features were still indistinguishable—as if the Caladrius felt more comfortable not taking its full form just yet. The inky silhouetted shape of a bird stood before Carthas, staring silently at him.

“Not that I've got any beef with you but,” continued Carthas. “My… master here really just needs your help. See, she has this condition that boosts her magic, gives her extraordinary abilities and makes her practically invulnerable. But the downside is that it looks slightly unflattering and we can’t have that apparently—So, do you think maybe you could spare her a wee bit of your old magic curative and make her all better?”

“I can't hear you!” Heloise shouted while coughing from a few feet behind them. She continued struggling to remove the gunk off her head. “What are you saying to it? Can't you just, like, incapacitate it already or something? I don't need it in one piece or anything. What’s taking so long?!”

“Ahem. You’ll have to excuse her. She’s an idiot. Which is exactly why I’m here to, err… mediate.”

The Caladrius tilts its head.

“Not very talkative, are you? Lemme say this in words you’ll understand then.” Carthas began by unfurling his wings and letting out a series of powerful caws that shook the trees, causing large piles of snow to drop down around them.

At last, the Caladrius responded in kind with its own otherworldly array of cries.

“That so?” responded Carthas in regular old human language.

By the time Heloise’s familiar had returned with news, she had sat up, cross-legged, and had almost gotten all the phlegm off from her forehead and the hood of her jacket. “Well? What’d that connard tell you? Its damn crying was making my head spin. Is it gonna help me get rid of this damn curse or what?”

“I don't know.”

“Incroyable ! I give you one job and this is what you come back with?! The fuck did you two talk about over there?”

“Can you let me finish a blasted sentence, woman?! He said if you want anything from him, you'll have to apologize first.”

“Apolo—?! How about he kisses my tight little ass instead? Apologize… Quelle horreur !”

“Is that really what you want me to tell him?” Carthas turned back to check on the other bird who was still standing unnaturally still, waiting for their response. “Doesn’t seem like your best bet. I mean, look at you. You’re really not in any position to be throwing insults.”

Heloise groaned, hanging her head in defeat. “‘Kay. You're def right. I got a little desperate and the bitch in me came out. Now that I've had my emotions thrown into a blender, I've really had time to think about and process my actions. I guess… it wouldn’t hurt… if I… apologized.” The word hung on her tongue with thinly veiled disgust as she stuck it out.

“Well don’t look too excited.” retorted the bird as he walked back.

The witch reached over to grab her staff and used it to balance herself as she stood back up. Her body continued to feel weak and woozy. Her legs trembled from the sickness infecting her, and all her energy was being used just to keep herself from falling over. Using her staff as a walking cane, she hobbled over to where the two birds were waiting.

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The Caladrius looked at her with no eyes in particular and tilted its head around a few times. Despite being a major threat mere moments ago, it now appeared quite placid.

Heloise mumbled a swear to herself before finally speaking up. “Hi… you. Whatever you call yourself.” The witch struggled to get the next few words out. “…You were like, so strong! Gosh. Of course I wasn’t gonna beat you. And so totally gorgeous! You’ve got it all, babe. I wish I could be like you. Listen, we totally got off on the wrong foot earlier. Things got a little heated… I said a lot of things I don’t mean. And I’m sorry! Kay! That’s all cleared up now! So, what do you say? You gonna help out a cute little witch in need?”

The Caladrius flapped its wings in an irritated manner while singing a loud, discordant tune.

Heloise looked to Carthas. “What in nature’s name is it saying? Is it gonna help me or not?”

“Oof,” said Carthas. “Uhh, well. It seems like your apology wasn’t satisfactory enough. He’s saying he wants you down on your knees and begging for his forgiveness. He also wants you to address him as—”

Radices Invasor Ex Natura!

The witch didn’t bother waiting for him to finish translating. Staff braced, glowing at its tip, directed the roots sunken in the earth to rise up from the deep. They slithered around the black bile shaped like a bird.

Penetrat!

At her utterance, the roots stiffened and penetrated through the inky mass of the Caladrius from each side.

Penetrat! Penetrat! Penetrat!

One after another, thick roots rose up from the ground and immediately thrust themselves into the avian foe from all sides. The tarry ichor of its body slowly melted off the various vines penetrating it.

“You sure that was such a good idea?” asked Carthas.

“I don’t care. This proud witch bows her head to no one.” Heloise pointed to herself, her breathing becoming enraged and even more ragged. “I’m done messing around. Carthas. Whatever happens now, don’t interfere.”

The puddle of black bile simmering under the crossed roots shot upward with explosive force and raining down all over the surrounding forest. From the remaining obsidian liquid rose the fully formed Caladrius. In an instant, a torrent of blood shot forth from its mouth and straight at the witch.

Heloise quickly erected her earthen barrier to block another of the bird’s sanguine attacks. For a while, the wall stood firm, but the stream flowed relentlessly.

“Now would be a good time to do that fancy trick of yours, wouldn’t it?” Carthas suggested, watching intently from the sidelines.

“I can’t… ngh... CONTROL IT!” Heloise’s pained yell cut through the clashing of the thick liquid gnawing at her shield. It was boring deeper and would reach her any second. Her steely resolve had kept her from giving up, but she knew that willpower alone wasn’t going to be enough to win the fight. She began to pray to Azotha. She prayed that he would watch over her if anything were to happen. To accept her into his realm should her soul pass on from this one. As the spray of blood finally reached the other side of her wall, an enormous power suddenly surged through her. A dark layer of magic swallowed the light of her eyes, painting them almost completely black while a smug smile spread across her lips. The ends of her beautiful blonde hair burned and lost their color as the rest of her skin turned a chalky white. The extra phlegm that was on her head had quickly begun burning away.

“No more Miss Nice Witch. I’m done pissing rainbows and glitter. Die for me, please~.”

Terrae Murus Moliti Ex Natura!

Two large slabs of hardened dirt rose diagonally from beneath the snow and closed in on the Caladrius, crushing it between the twin walls and instantly stopping its attack.

“Normally it would take me several minutes to recite the incantation for that spell, but this makes it so much easier!” Heloise giggled. There was an otherworldly cadence in her voice. “I’ve only used this power once before, so I’m still not completely sure how it works or why I can use it… But! That doesn’t mean I have to understand it very well to take you down~. Now don’t you regret not curing me of this sooner? Heehee! The irony is delicious!”

“Now your outside finally fits your inside!”

“Fuck off, idiot. I don’t need to hear that from you.” Heloise scoffed while watching over the results of her handiwork in front of her. “I know full well how ugly this makes me look.”

“I think you look pretty cool actually.”

The witch smiled and clenched her first tightly. “I guess it does feel good. It’s almost a shame that loser Alma will never see how much cooler I am than her.”

From the impossibly tight squeeze between the two slabs came a sudden burst of that same fetid yellow gunk from before, strong enough to slowly separate the walls from each other. The witch blocked the excess spray from hitting her with an instant wall from the ground in front of her.

“It’s time to put this little birdie down for good.”