A Millenial's Path - Present Time

Stay in bed, Claire

[Season 3, Episode 2, Part 2]

If Diane could've chosen a spell to use on herself right at this moment, it would've been no doubt a memory-erasing spell. She wanted to erase all those moments of fast heartbeats and small glances, and yet they felt important...

But for God's sake, she couldn't do that, not with Umbreona walking beside and having a clear sight of her. Umbreona didn't seem to notice, her dark blue eyes focused to watch around in case someone was following them. Although Diane could feel Umbreona was alert and tense, the female elf's posture nor face gave nothing away. Umbreona's long, black braid swang from side to side. She looked completely different from her natural form of sunkissed tan skin and curly light hair, but they had to go with her human form in public.

"Diane, are you...alright?" Diane's train of thought was interrupted by Umbreona finally opening her mouth. Diane blinked her eyes slowly in confusion, but then managed a half-genuine smile.

"I cannot lie to you, can I?"

Umbreona's eyes flickered. "Nope. You won't shake me as easily as you did to James."
Diane let out a frustrated (but somehow tired, Umbreona noted) sigh for the tenth time that day. "It's just...We separate our paths, are absent from each other lives for four centuries, but now he thinks he can make it up to me by...by blinking his eyes and speaking softly!"

Diane didn't mention his name, but Umbreona understood immediately. Diane had been reluctant to share anything about her past and the small tad bits that Umbreona knew were built on centuries of trust.

''I don't know much about your relationship with him, but maybe you should make up with him.'' Diane knew of her familiar's boldness but still stared at Umbreona in disbelief. The latter didn't even bat an eye from her glare.
"You should at least talk with him. Sort out things."

                                                                     ⊰――☽◊☾――⊱

       "Alright. Toby is chased by police, and he stole their car. 'Kay...", Jim murmured as he put his phone down where he picked it up to answer Toby's call.

Diane was sitting on Claire's bed next to the latter, frowning at the young girl's health condition, and paid barely any attention to Jim's words. Instead, Umbreona, who sat cross-legged on the floor, seemed already to plot the plan.

"I have to go and search Toby", Jim finally sighed after getting no straight answer. Claire perked up on the bed, and said: "I'll go with you."

"No, you're not." Diane rose from the bed turning to look at Claire. "You're still sick, and you need rest. Running at night time in the sewers is not what you need."

"But-"

"No buts, young lady. You do as I, currently, the only one with enough medical knowledge, say unless you want your health to go downhill."

"I can't leave Jim going alone!" Claire protested, unhappy at Diane's demands.

"You're not leaving him alone in danger, Claire. As I recall, he's the trollhunter."

As soon as Diane finished her sentence, Jim came in between, his sigh sounding just straight-up tired.

"Can't you guys-"

"Don't 'guy' me", Diane shot him a stare, still rather agitated.

"-just calm down for a sec?" Jim turned to Claire. "Claire, Diane is right about your current state." Claire opened her mouth to have her say, but Jim continued.

"I'm not stopping you from going with us–"

"James!" Diane's eyes grew as wide as grapefruits.

"Diane", Jim sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Could you stop interrupting me?"        He then turned back to Claire. "As I was saying, I'm not gonna stop you from going. But are you very sure you are going to manage this trip? You didn't seem well last time either–"

Knock knock.

Diane turned her head towards the knock, and there she saw Toby on the other side of the window, knocking it to get inside. Jim headed towards him as Diane, with a frown, glanced at Claire again. She's definitely not alright.

"Toby, what are you-" Jim pulled Toby inside. Toby didn't answer Jim directly. Instead, he decided that panicking was a better option. Diane didn't listen to his rambling, but what she got out was mostly him thinking about whether Jim and Claire should hide him at all and talking about who actually stole things in the city. Jim sighed after Toby finished.

"I'll call Blinky."

When Jim was on phone with the mentioned troll, Diane pulled Claire aside and hissed at her: "You're feeling way too sick to even consider going, Claire."

Claire brushed Diane's hands off of her wrists, glaring at the sorceress. "I'm fine. Dr. Lake said so."

"Must I remind you, that you're talking about a mere mortal doctor who has had, what, seven years of medic studies in comparison to my centuries, no experience in the field of magic, and no idea about this whole world?"

And with this whole world, Diane meant trolls, magic, and other relating things. "You haven't even let me examine you."

"I don't need your medical and magical check. I'm fine", Claire huffed.

"Claire, dark magic is nothing to play with." Diane kept her stare, although the hope of having Claire stay at home was already vanishing. "You used a shadow staff to teleport us out - and might I add, I could've done it without you risking yourself, I have mastered my wizard studies - and it did no good for you."

Claire's face had darkened and she looked away. Diane sighed and pulled out a piece of paper.

"When you're ready for my, what'd you call it again, magical check, call me." She wrote numbers on the parchment as Claire sneezed again. Diane pressed her lips in a thin line, stopping for a moment to eye the teen. Claire noticed it.

"Don't look at me like that."

Diane shrugged in defeat and handed the paper over. "Or if you're in the condition, you can come to your nearest oak or ash tree and I will answer. I can run a check in my house too."

Claire murmured something inaudible that the sorceress took in as an agreement. In satisfaction, Diane turned to Jim.

"Well, James, what now?"

"We'll go and catch the real burglar."

Claire bends and lifts her bedsheets - "I'll just take my shadow staff", she said - only to freeze for a brief moment. So brief that none of them notice.

Expect one, who had trained with the assassin elves. The one, whose eyes flickered to the teen girl for just a moment.

[1, 092 words and 6, 149 characters]

(A/N): Guys. I've made a discovery.

Okay, I think everyone knows Douxie's nickname is Doux (as if Douxie wasn't already a shortened one from Hisirdoux lmao). I googled. Doux in French means LITERALLY soft or sweet. So Douxie's like, called, soft or sweet.

I love it. I know, that someone might have noticed this before. But I discovered it today (6/14/2020), and I don't give a frick. (How did I discover this? By listening to J'en ai rêvé (A.K.A. Once Upon A Dream in French) and paying attention to the lyrics.)

Also, I just watched Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans trailer. And I screamed so loud my sister thought I was dying or something. :D

(03/28/2022) All that above happened almost two years ago, geez. Also, you who saw the big ass paragraphs? You saw nothing 😉