Extra Terrestrial

To Pass Thine Thyme

Three days into the miniature vacation, Olivia was settled, bonded, and bored. She spun in Bloom's desk chair and waited for her sister to return from a class she simply couldn't miss. Something about earning Olivia's visit in real time. 

But the blonde never did well with boredom, hence the job she took getting involved in other people's business. She didn't like drama close to home, but she got paid for others to be unable to keep the drama at bay. So, with ne'er another thought, the blonde wandered from her sweet confines. She found a yard she was sure she'd never find again. It had a lake covered by a flat bridge in the middle and armor-clad combatants on every flat piece of land. And there was a platform, elevated and surrounded by a healthy audience. A man stood at the corner of the platform, watching a blonde and brunette boy duke it out in basic hand-to-hand combat. 

It was an even battle and it must've gone on for a while because Bloom had stepped up beside her before the fight was over. 

"I was just heading back to the suite to get you." 

Olivia raised her head. "Hm. I got bored," she finally answered, eyes glued to the boys. 

Musa stepped up beside Olivia. She had begun to cling to the girl shortly after her arrival. The other girls had gone to get dinner from the canteen and deliver it and the blonde had been too easy to open up to. She'd seen how Musa reacted to every day instances and how her eyes glowed, followed quickly by a headache. Lending the girl her migraine medication, they talked about her powers for a while before the brunette broke down. Olivia had held her while she cried and Musa found an inner calm within the woman much like her mystery boy. So, the girls returned and they chatted about the guys at the school. 

And the little sloth wrapped her arms around the blonde's arm, watching the fight with her chin on Olivia's shoulder. 

"What's wrong with guy?" the blonde asked, nodding to the man standing on the platform who wasn't fighting. He had a sort of walking stick, making him seem older but definitely more ill. 

Aisha sat beside them; she liked watching the guys. Made her feel less alone knowing someone else on campus was exercising as religiously as she had. She had already come to adore Olivia too. They were up late one night - she was studying and in true Bloom fashion, Olivia was distracting her - and Olivia told her her young mind's ability to think it was that of a mermaid. They'd laughed for a while, and eventually woke the other girls, but Olivia was good at explaining her brain doing multi-tasking. And Aisha managed a little planetary orbit with several orbs of water. The girls were handing off the cups they held under the orbs in jest and the night was spent well, in laughter, but they were exhausted today. Not the day for a pop quiz in one of the non-magic using classes. They were intros into every element, a Freshman class, but one needed for every fairy to better understand their element and to decide their next to learn. 

And so she piped up and explained, "Headmaster Silva was injured a few days ago." 

Bloom leaned in from behind. "We were there," she added. 

Horror flashed through Olivia and she faced the (her) girls. "Oh, God," she started. 

Terra reached out, standing a few feet away and unable to actually touch her. But she was way better with gesturing, something she shared with Olivia. But what bonded the two of them was Olivia knowing intimate facts about random plants. She wasn't an expert like Terra's dad, but she knew just enough to shock Terra every time they bring up medicinal properties. And she loved that Olivia people-watched in a garden. She said she liked the aura it gave people; they were kinder, gentler around an abundance of nature. So Terra promised she'd take Olivia to the greenhouse before she left, but warned it was desolate unless there was a class. "Oh, no. Not during the attack," she attempted to soothe the eldest among them. "We helped get him back to the school here." Unlike the other girls who liked to watch the Specialists train for more specific reasons, Terra just liked to watch the guys get all hot and bothered. She also liked tripping Riven when he least expected it. 

"Probably saved his life," Aisha commented. 

The blonde finally pinned the brunette and the darker haired boy scowled, clearly displeased to have been beaten. 

Headmaster brightened significantly at witnessing the victory. He had dark veins crawling out his arms, trying to touch his hands. But he was proud nonetheless. He let out a clearly unwilling laugh. "Would anyone like to challenge the champ?" he asked almost sarcastically. 

Olivia's heart sped up and she only felt two beats before she shouted, "I'll take a whack at it!" 

The boys turned to the group of girls and the schoolgirls giggled and turned away, embarrassed to be caught staring. 

Olivia walked over to the platform and stood just below the blonde, using him to block the sun. "You got blunts?" 

The fellow blonde nodded. "Staffs." 

"Twins?" 

"Short," Sky answered. 

"I'll take it. B.Y.O.W," she spelled, stepping up onto the platform. He hopped down to fetch the staffs. He threw Olivia's up at her, still bunched together. She caught it with both hands, pulling the two apart and spinning them expertly. She let them rotate through her fingers before crouching into a combatant pose. 

Sky just stepped on and he was prepared for a straight forward, two at one time, from the same direction approach. 

When Olivia spun the staffs in her hand again, he felt a bit of fear. She came from two sides and Sky immediately disregarded his plan to go easy on her. He was struggling to keep up, having to kick her back a few times. But she was small and quick. And she saw his poses to kick coming now. She began another near Japanese spin with the staffs and Sky took his opportunity to wind up. He spun, bringing his sword up. By the time he was facing her again, she had her left staff ready to block him and her right was swinging behind him. Arm propped on his left shoulder, her wrist bent to hold its staff by his right carotid. Wood met wood and Sky stared at the blonde, shocked. 

Olivia broke her stance and stepped back, laughing. She handed him her staffs and Saul, behind him, was staring at her, also in awe. 

"Our human guest," Saul guessed. 

Olivia stepped up to him, hand out. "Olivia Holland, resident human," she agreed, shaking his head. 

And a jolt sent even more shock through Saul. She was... family.