Chapter 13: Dark Encroaching

Zel woke with a start to a sharp rapping on the door.

She turned over and lit her lamp once again. The light revealed that Miriya had woken as well, and was already lazily moving towards the door. Zel, fearing that perhaps they were late to their first classes, looked at the Tiltwilt by her headdress. It was still wilted, they were not due to class for a long while yet.

Miriya reached the door and opened it, slowly. Standing outside was Jammy, who was making a noise that neither Miriya nor Zel had ever heard a Clickfolk make. It was a repetitive tapping noise, three taps and then a pause, then three more. Jammy had her head hung low and was looking down at something in her hands.

"Jammy?" Miriya asked while rubbing her eyes, "why are you up so late?" Zel walked towards them with the lantern held aloft. As she approached she became able to see what was in Jammy's hands and she gasped.

Jammy was holding the remnants of the dress that she had bought at Kitty's. It was entirely ripped to shreds as though by a wild animal. Zel was shocked but moved quickly to get on her knees and give Jammy a hug.

"Are you hurt?" She asked after a moment in the embrace. Jammy shook her head no and the tapping sound continued.

"Did the big Clickfolk, do this?" She asked, her grip tightening around Jammy. Jammy took a second to respond between the tapping sound, but she slowly nodded her head. Zel shot up and walked out the door.

"I'll be right back." She said, her voice was calm, but a fire was lit in her eyes. Miriya brought Jammy into their room as Zel marched down the hallway. She was still wearing her nightgown that she wore to sleep, but she didn't care. The air around her crackled and sparked as she made her way to the end of the hall, she was producing a purplish light that dwarfed that of the lamp she held. Her hair stood on end as she reached the room the Clickfolk had been using. She smashed her fist into the door several times and waited. Just as she had hoped, the largest Clickfolk answered the door.

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"Who the fuck do you think you are, asshole," she yelled in the massive Clickfolks face, "what the fuck is wrong with you? You're some kind of racist fuck who doesn't like Splitfolk? So you don't let anyone else hang out with any of us? You fucking hit me when I tried to talk to Jammy! But you know what? I would forgive all that, all that other shit that makes you a dick, but whether you like it or not, scumbag, Jammy is my friend, and if that means that you think she can't have a nice dress that she bought from a Splitfolk vendor then you have to fix something in that fucking thick skull of yours! Jammy is staying with us, tonight and forever, and if you ever do something like this again I won't be so fucking nice about it!" Zel stormed off as the large Clickfolk remained at the door and watched as Zel left before quietly going back in their room without a sound.

Several of the students in the hallway had come out to see what the commotion was, but each of them quickly ducked back into their rooms as Zel's lightning was arcing out from her body indiscriminately blackening parts of the walls. She stormed back into her room and slammed the door violently before she finally tried to calm herself down. It took some concentration, but she was able to bring herself under control. Her hair loosened and the room grew dark as Zel allowed her mana to subside. Miriya was on her bed comforting Jammy who was making the same tapping sound, but quieter and less frequently.

"Did you hear all that?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Both Miriya and Jammy nodded.

"Is everything I said fine with you, Jammy?" she asked. Jammy looked at Zel, her eyes shimmering in the gently light of the lantern, and she nodded.

"Then you don't need to be afraid of that loser anymore," Zel said, "Stay away from that fuck and we'll go find Flint as soon as we can after classes tomorrow to sort this out. Here, this bed is yours, I have extra sheets in my bag…"

Zel prepared the bed for Jammy who was still tapping quietly. After Zel was finished, Jammy whispered something in Clicktongue that Zel could understand, a quiet word of thanks, before she climbed underneath the blanket that Zel gave her and the three of them went to sleep.