NOT EDITED

Fourteen hours later and they had finally gathered everyone to spill the news. This time, all instructor's, the entire council and even the Elders were joined in one big classroom, all discussing what the possible outcomes were in the situation. They were loud, talking over one another in an uncivil manner, Ava couldn't help but rub her temples. They are worse than students, it was a fleeting thought, as she snapped her gaze up towards Hemway who was seated at the desk, fist slammed against it. He didn't show any emotion other than a frown, one he wore too often. The room went silent, an uneasy breeze carressed them, taunting them. Levi stood next to Ava, a hand on her shoulder, they were the only two to have witnessed everything. Ava couldn't help but let out a shuddering breath, too many people who required respect in one room, it was enough to scare anyone.

"Tell us everything," Hemway demanded, staring at her with cold eyes.

Ava paused, what would she say, that she saw a person, the new girl, sneak into the school and steal objects that might've been valuable, and how she had let Tempest get away? A moment passed before she decided that's exactly what she was going to say. It was silent for mere seconds before a council member demanded to know what objects.

Levi squeezed her shoulder slightly, letting her know it was okay. "It was dark, but I'm sure it was a dagger, the other object was round, more than that I don't know." Her voice was strong despite her wavering mind, her body wanting to flee at any moment. This wasn't the girl, the warrior, they had raised and trained, but looking over the crowd, at all the council members, the elders, including Ker and Hemway, she felt uneasy, unmatched, outmatched.

"And you're certain?" This time Ker asked, his voice was soft, but pointed. He gave her a small smile before returning to a thin line. She nodded.

"I'm certain it was a dagger, and that the other object was round, small enough for her to fit in the palm of her hand, yet big enough to resemble the height of an ale mug." Ava didn't know how else to explain the size, so she assumed they all knew the height of an ale mug. She felt Levi shake next to her, surely from a stiffled laugh.

"Do you think it was the G-" a council member was interrupted by another, pointing at me. Ava sighed, were they going to leave her in the dark, again?

"Thank you Ava, Levi," Hemway stood up, motioning for them to follow him to the door. As they reached the door, Hemway leant down, whispering to the two. "I'll talk to these old men, we'll sort this out, you don't need to worry." He gave Ava a look she knew, 'don't do anything stupid'. Which to her wasn't fair, she had every right to know what was going on, to know the details and what was to happen. If anything. "Now return to your room," he said, still staring at Ava. With a huff she did exactly as he said.

Her head was going round in circles as she made her way to her dorm room, why was Tempest stealing from the academy? Did she work for someone? Was this her plan all along? Where was she now?

She arrived at her room without stumbling into anyone, once inside, she slammed the door, stripped of her clothes, putting a new t-shirt on and got into bed. As she stared up at the ceiling, she could only think of one thing, the one thing she'd already promised herself, she was going to find out what Tempest was upto and put an end to it. No matter what. She felt personally responsible, and not knowing what the grand scheme of it was, she felt worse. What if it was bad? Like really bad? What if she had now put the entire population of Briwor in danger? She couldn't let that happen, so she decided she was going to take action. She knew the faculty weren't going to include her in whatever plans they had. She would have to return to training as normal. She wouldn't do that. To complete her plan, she needed help. And she knew exactly who to ask.

The next morning Ava was buzzing, a fire was lit inside her, she was ready. Ava met with her team at the training grounds, watching them as they sparred against each other. Soon enough she found Raven sparring against one of the younger members, teaching him her tricks. Ava watched for a moment as Raven showed the boy how to swing a punch, one that would leave a mark. Raven looked up briefly, catching Ava's eyes. Ava gestured for her to join her. Raven showed the kid some more moved before joining her.

"What's up?" Rae was sweating under the burning sun, her tank top wet from it.

"We need to meet up tonight," Ava said quickly, eyeing their surroundings.

Raven arched an eyebrow, "this a booty call?" She even had the audacity to grin.

"No, you dirty dog," Ava sighed, but let a smile rest on her lips. "Gather the rest, Tova and Jonah, and meet me at my room, I have a proposal." With that Ava turned on her heal, leaving Raven to continue training. She had an appointment with Alcott anyways, Ava needed to hear about her wound.

Inside the infirmary only a handful of nurses loitered, some were helping a boy on one of the many beds. It didn't take long for her to find Alcott, his red hair stood out among them, he was tall too, easily towering over most of the nurses. He seemed to be staring out the window, in deep thought. Ava took cautious steps towards him, not wanting to disturb him.

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"Ava," he said almost immediately, without turning to face her he continued to stare out of the window.

"That would be me sir," she joked, watching as he slowly turned to face her.

Alcott merely shook his head at her joke, "sit down, lets have a look at that back of yours." He gestured towards the nearest bed, Ava obliged and sat down, letting the man lift her shirt up and removed the bandage. His hands were cold as he traced around the wound. It was sore, but seemed to be healing abnormally fast, not that Ava would complain. He placed a palm just above the wounds, a chill ran through her body as he did.

"Getting any better?" She asked, mainly because it was too silent, an uncomfortable silence at that too.

"It is, very nicely," he responded, removing his hand. "I do have a daring suspicion." Ava turned around at those words, letting her shirt drop back down.

"And what's that?" She arched an eyebrow at him, as he stood there in silence she prayed for a straight answer.

"I believe your body has absorbed whatever dark energy the wound held when I first saw it." He scratched his scruff before sitting down on the chair next to the bed. "I can't explain why, or what it means, but sofar its done more good than bad." Ava almost thought he was talking to himself, staring off into space.

"So its a good thing?" Ava had no clue what he was going on about, yet she was still intrigued.

"It could be, it could also be bad, very bad." Alcott was being blunt and she liked that. Straight to the point. "For now its good." He added, giving her a small smile.

"Great, that means I'm well on my way to being back to normal?"

He nodded. "But if anything feels off, weird or hurts, I want you to report to me or a nurse immediately," he warned. All ava could do was agree, she couldn't exactly say no eitherway.

After that exchange, they put a new bandage on and let Ava run off. Ava had spent the remainder of the day in her room, going through her plan in her head over and over. She realized it wasn't exactly a plan, more of an idea. An idea she was going to go through with no matter what her friends said. As the sun began to set, she awaited their arrival, hoping they'd all come. An hour later they were all pounding on her door. She quickly ushered them in, glancing down the empty hallway as she did. Closing the door behind her, she turned around to come face to face with three sets of confused faces. She wanted to chuckle, but kept it down.

"Alright what's the meaning of this?" Jonah grumbled, laying down on the bed in the process.

"Agreed, what's wrong Ava?" Tova questioned this time, looking at the raven haired girl with concern.

"Look, I have a plan and I want you guys onboard," Ava said simply, gauging for their reactions. Everyone stayed silent, waiting for Ava to elaborate. "I want to go after Tempest." She said quickly, leaning against the wall for some support.

"You- what?" Raven squinted her eyes at Ava.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I don't believe the faculty will do anything. At least not fast enough." Ava argued her case. "I want us to go after her ourselves, put a stop to whatever she's planning to do."

"We don't even know where she is," Tova argued back setting herself on the bed next to Jonah, who was now sitting.

"True, but we'll just go to Windor, and work our way from there, she'd have to go there if she wants to stay safe from the forest."

"You say this as if it were easy Ava," Raven crossed her arms, looking unsatisfied with Ava's arguments.

"Well, it's not that hard." Ava pointed out. "We'll take off tomorrow night, gives us enough time to pack our things, then we'll head to Windor."

"And what do you suggest we do when we get there?" Raven pushed back.

"We'll ask around, see if anyones seen a girl with her description and then go from there." Ava was beginning to get frustrated with the lack of trust from her friends.

"And if there are none?"

"Then we'll head back to school." Ava replied simply.

"We'll I'm in no matter what, need to get away from here for a while." Was Jonah's response, which lessened the frustration that was starting to grow, they barely knew each other and he was willing to join. For that she was grateful, she hadn't had the chance to see his skills in combat but his ever cheerful persona and his intelligence would be a comfort on their journey.

"Same," Tova commented. "Plus you're my best friend, I'll go to the ends of the world with you." Tova winked, forcing a chuckled out of Ava.

"Raven?" Ava questioned, watching her second in command with pleading eyes. "We'll need you Rae." Ava added with a slight beg.

Raven let out a breath, looking around at them all. She rolled her eyes, "you're gonna get yourself killed." Ava scoffed, knowing full well she was the better warrior. She was capable of taking care of herself and her companions, who also were more than capabale with their abilities.

Raven left in a rush after she said that, leaving the group to plan without her. Ava felt a pang of betrayal, she would've thought Raven would be onboard with the plan, show the faculty they were capable soldiers and ready to protect the world. Nevertheless, she refocused on the two that were joining her, telling them to return to their rooms and pack.

"Don't forget to get a good rest, who knows when we'll get to sleep on a bed again," Ava chuckled as Jonah look at her with fear.

"No beds?" He croaked, his eyes wide as he quivered. "How are we going to survive?" Jonah couldn't hold onto the facade, bursting out into laughter as he and Tova left, a slight eagerness in their steps.

Tomorrow would be the day Ava took a step in the direction of righting her wrongs, the guilt of allowing the thief to get away was eating at her, and she wasn't one to go solo, she'd need the help of her friends to track down and apprehend Tempest. Afterall, now it was one versus three, they would get her, sooner or later. Even if Raven had left with a red face, Ava knew she wouldn't tell on them, Rae wasn't that type of person, unless it meant she would get something worthwhile in exchange. Ava took the oppertunity to rid here head of the thoughts, packing a bag with only essentials, it shouldn't take them long, however Ava always wanted to be prepared, packing clothes and other valuables. Laying her gear ontop of the stuffed bag by her door, she headed to bed, eagerly awaiting the day she'd catch Tempest and return the objects to their rightful place.