Something Amity didn’t expect, was two figures who looked to be crossing the bridge to the ruins, awaited by a third with a pointy hat.
“Hey… HEY!”
Amity’s feet hit the sand, harder and faster than before. She dropped some ice, gliding down it with grace, yet speed. The figures didn’t notice her yet, but they were in for a shock. Himiko especially, when she could find a way to get the witch alone. Amity did hope that her shock would be positive, though.
Even with her speed and skill, when she felt a sharp pain in her back run through the rest of her body, it ended up sending her flying down the abruptly ended path and into the sand, staining it red.
“You filthy nomad!” The voice was sharp against the wound in her back, weapon removed.
“Go-” Amity’s attempt at shooing the woman immediately ended in failure, as she brought down the rock-tipped spear directly to the right of Amity, barely missing the girl as she dodged. Lightning was quick, straight at the lady’s chest.
Collapsing on the sand, the spear jammed itself into the already scorched foot from earlier, making her wince and yell for help.
Unfortunately, Amity didn’t want to leave someone with a hole in their foot, so the girl who was still wounded walked up to the grown woman, now frantically trying to get away, but there was no stopping it. The spear, removed. The hole, not fully healed but as best as she could do, along with most of the burns. She did this quickly to give time to make a full run for it. The woman did try to catch up, but her foot gave out on her after just a few steps.
“Himiko! Katie! Raleigh! Kaiya!”
Himiko turned her head, Amity having made significant progress towards the ruins. Immediately, the sight of Amity made Himiko collapse, but rather than run towards the girl, she darted inside the ruins, stumbling as she stood back up mid run.
“Himiko! Please…”
She quickly crossed the moat, spotting Raleigh and Katie sitting just inside the castle. Amity noticed the tears still in their eyes.
“Oh my god, are you guys okay?”
“..? WAIT OH MY GOD AMITY!!”
Katie jumped from the spot in the corner she had sat in, enveloping Amity in a hug.
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“Amity! What happened?” Raleigh stood up too, beside the hugging girls.
“I’m not sure, I-” Amity looked forward. “I’m sorry, can this wait? I want Himiko in here to hear the story, and Kaiya, too!”
Katie and Raleigh looked down.
“Is… she here?”
Raleigh shook his head, and she understood. Before it really set in though, and before she could walk even a few steps, her leg slipped from under her and she barely caught the impact with her hands, before falling unconscious.
***
“Shoot- She’s up!”
Katie ran over, looking worried. Raleigh had been sat at the end of the… probably a couch, that she had been laid on while she slept.
“Amity! Are you okay?” She didn’t talk, reaching to the wound on her back. Somehow, in reuniting with her friends, the pain of her injury took a backseat.
“I’m… fine? What did you do?”
Himiko stepped from behind the couch, hands messy with the colored mixture of a green rock, blue rock, and water. “Amity…”
“Himiko!” Although she knew it would probably hurt, she stood up and leapt towards her. “Hey!”
“Shoot, Amity! What happened? How are you.. here?”
Amity had them sit down on the various chairs, and she laid back down on the couch, and recounted the events…
“Ah, where do I start… When I fell into that hole, I couldn’t exactly stop myself. My magic… didn’t seem to work all that well. I could hold a small flame, but it wouldn’t stay for very long. When I neared the bottom - where it ended up being for me, anyway - I… didn’t hit the ground hard. I don’t fully understand what or how but I slowed down before I landed.”
Nobody asked any questions, and Amity shifted in her seat.
“Someone down there… helped me get back up, but I didn’t come out in the same place. The pit I left was literally the entire island away, but I think we’re like right in the center of it now.”
Raleigh blinked.
“Honestly, I thought the story would be more exciting,” he stood from the chair.
“Well, that’s just what happened.”
Tense silence filled the room, broken by Himiko asking Amity something.
“Amity, could you come here?”
She gestured for Katie and Raleigh to stay down on the first floor as her and Amity walked the steps to the second. She took deep breaths, opening the door to a small room with a bed and a seat, Amity taking the latter. “So, what did you want?”
“I wanted to say, how happy I am that you’re back. We weren’t prepared to do.. this without you, so…” Himiko scratched the back of her neck.
“I’m happy to have found you guys, I honestly didn’t think I’d find you guys this quickly.”
Amity took a breath. “Ah…”
“Hm?” Himiko’s neck turned back towards her.
“I… do you wanna go complete that ‘job offer’ and take out Winter?” Shit, why did I chicken out…
“Lets ask the others, but we should probably take a break and deal with her tomorrow… we all need a rest after these past few days, I think.”
Amity agreed, and they all walked back down to the bottom floor, greeted by Katie and Raleigh sitting where they were, mostly doing nothing.
“So, tomorrow, do you guys wanna go deal with Winter?”
Katie sat up from her slouch, and sharply yelled; “Are you insane?! We just got out of a low level facility, and barely even did that! Going to Winter in a high level facility like that means death when every single employee knows our”
She leaned a bit back, shocked at her own outburst. “Sorry, I, uh…”
“No, I get it, sorry. We can probably put it off, for now.
They all sat around for a bit, but Amity quickly realized something…
“Hey, when’s the last time you guys ate?”
Stunned silence gave her the answer, and she stood up, stepping out to search for something, anything. Unfortunately, the place was pretty barren, and it was looking like her voltfruit find was the luckiest thing to happen to her the whole time she was here.