#2 Fear Not the Forest, but Oneself

Lailee was breathless as she finally caught up to Amara, clutching her side as a cramp had formed halfway to the forest, though she had been unwilling to slow down and let her friend get too far away, for fear she'd lose her. If it wasn't bad enough that Amara had been moving more quickly than she had, Amara also had the advantage of a head start.

She had spent the entire trek thinking of what she would say, and how she would say it. She certainly didn't want to be the next person at the tip of Amara's wand, though she couldn't ignore what had just happened. She had something eloquent prepared, though she doubted anything she could say would make what just happened better.

Lailee had spent years around Amara. Not as friends, until recently, but observing from a distance, sharing a dorm, sharing a classroom....all of that had given her some insight to her friend's mannerisms and reactions, and she felt that if Lucas had not intervened, things would have easily ended differently.

Her eloquent response was lost, though, when she finally looked at Amara, and she simply stated, "He deserved worse than what he got from you. What he said was completely uncalled for."

She took a step backwards, half expecting Amara to attack her just for being there and daring speak to her. She had no idea where they stood at the moment, whether they were friends, casual acquaintances, mere roommates. She supposed she should be scared, because she had been able to feel the power and anger radiating off of Amara at the bridge and one didn't simply let go of that immediately.

At the same time, Lailee didn't really feel anything other than remorse that Amara had to be reminded of her father, when she should be free of that stress at school. Though not the same circumstances (possibly, since Lailee wasn't even completely sure of what Amara's circumstances actually entailed), Amara's feelings about her father were obvious by her actions and reactions to his mention and Lailee could relate to that aspect of Amara's life.

She wanted to ask if Amara was alright, but it was clear she wasn't, so instead she added, "Is there anything I can do for you?" in hopes that Amara understood the sentiment behind it and knew that Lailee was serious in her question, and would do anything Amara asked of her. She wasn't just attempting to check in to gauge Amara's emotional state, she was reaffirming that even if Amara was going to murder a classmate, Lailee would stand by her and offer whatever it was that was necessary.

Lailee paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. When she did speak, her voice was quiet and serious. The absence of her typical uncertainty and self-consciousness would likely signal to Amara that she was certain and serious about what she was saying.

"We're all messed up." Lailee told her friend, not to discredit Amara's feelings, but to remind her that 'normal' was not a word one would use to describe very many of those in their house, at least in their year. "You deserve to not have people get in your face, you deserve to not have idiots trying to probe and find things that may be a sore spot for you. You deserve to be respected on your own merit."

Lailee was trying to choose her words carefully, having been on the receiving end of a conversation not too far off of this the previous year, and knowing how little it seemed to help much of the time. She couldn't pretend she knew exactly what Amara was going through, because she had no idea, but she knew it was bad enough, and if nothing more she was familiar with what it felt like to feel like you weren't worth the effort anyone was putting forth.

"Respect for your talent. Respect for your knowledge. Respect for your bravery--because admitting, even to a friend, that you're messed up takes bravery. I may not be anyone's first choice for a friend and I have no experience in what to do, but I'll always be here because I like you and I respect you. You could put your wand at the throat of every person at this school and I probably wouldn't change my mind about my decision to stand by you."

She tried to think of something that would cheer up her friend, but could think of nothing, so she tried another approach instead, trying to find even the smallest spark of humor in the situation, "Do you think Lucas wet his pants after you walked away?"

Lailee instinctively moved away from Amara when Amara snapped at her, though she tried to brush it off once she realized what she had done. Some behaviors were harder to let go of than others. She relaxed a bit when Amara's body language changed, though, and when Amara sat, she sat beside her, listening as her friend spoke.

She processed everything Amara was saying, relating to it a lot more than she'd ever admit to anyone except, perhaps, the person sitting beside her. There was so much she wanted to say to her friend, but she knew none of it would be well-received, and the last thing she wanted to do was make Amara even more uncomfortable.

Instead, she just commented, "That's reasonable and expected. It's hard transitioning from one life to another. Guarding yourself in a different way here is different than guarding yourself there. I get that, I really do."

She was silent for a moment, then looked guiltily at Amara and added, "I should have realized that you'd need some time to become adjusted to being back here. I'm sorry I've been..." she trailed off, not really having the right word to finish the sentence on hand, "well, demanding. I'll try not to be so annoying and pushy with you."

Amara told her she deserved better, but Lailee ignored it because she didn't feel like that was necessarily true, but wasn't up for shifting this conversation to her own insecurities. She leaned her head against the tree, feeling exhausted. She wasn't lying when she said she understood the transition period, even though she had been removed from her dangerous living situation, the summer with her new family had been stressful in its own way and she still wasn't sure she knew what she wanted or even who she was anymore.

She awkwardly looked away, avoiding looking at Amara because she didn't want to just stare at her friend, but had no idea what to say. Maybe they were destined to be friends because neither of them were particularly good at it.

With a sigh, she pushed herself to her feet, "We need to finish looking for those ingredients before it gets too late. Come on, it's better to have a task to work towards than it is to just sit here and dwell on things we can't change."

Hoping Amara would follow, Lailee walked into the forest to begin her search.

“It’s okay, I understand.” Lailee replied as Amara seemed to struggle with what she was trying to say. Amara was right about words being just as painful, but if she were to be completely honest with herself, Lailee was used to being spoken to in anger, and while she was a bit more likely to snap back now than she used to be, it was something she just expected from most people—friend, foe it family.

“I’m looking for Lariwort.” Lailee mentioned as she carefully searched. She glanced up as Amara mentioned duskcap being found at night, then offered, “If you want to come back out later and try to find it...I suppose I’d be up for that. I mean, if you are, of course.”

Wandering around the forest in the dark wasn’t something she’d typically ever consider, but she had been attempting to try new things in her effort to reinvent herself, and sometimes that meant stepping out of her comfort zone.

Lailee moved to push aside some vines, hyper-viligent of her surroundings as they continued their search, them spotted what they were looking for. Lailee stopped, then said unnecessarily to Amara (for surely her friend had to have seen it, too) “Look, Lariwort.”

She hesitated, not knowing how to proceed. She had heard of the vine before, knew what it looked like, but had no idea how to retrieve it without damaging it or herself. She bit her lip, glancing at Amara to see if she appeared to know what she was doing. She hated not knowing how to do things, asking for help was something she feared more than nearly anything else. However, she knew if she was unsuccessful in obtaining this, she would not be permitted brewing and, unfortunately, failure was also one of the things she greatly feared.

She reached forward, tugging at the vine firmly. No sense in jumping to complex solutions before even attempting simple ones. She doubted it would be this easy, the vine didn’t look as simple to pick as a flower, and she could only hope the magic within it didn’t take offense to being tugged on and retaliate.

Amara let out a squeak of surprise when she suddenly had vines in her face. Swatting them away, she glanced where Lailee indicated. Oh good, lariwort. She considered a severing spell, but wasn't sure if adding magic could alter the vine itself as a useful potion ingredient. It was best not to risk it, as she had more than just lariwort in mind for their trip into the forest but didn't want to still be collecting things when it got dark.

Lailee had her own idea about how to get the lariwort. It seemed like the best option, though Amara had barely opened her mouth to let her friend know she had a sharp blade with her - before Lailee was snatched by the vines.

'Lailee!' Amara stepped forward, then hesitated. She saw the other vines, no doubt waiting for their next victim. 'Hold on, I have a knife.' She retrieved it and unsheathed, yet still wasn't sure what to do. Her self preservation was strong, but no part of her considered just leaving her friend to her fate. Plus, they needed the ingredient.

Though it meant more pain for Lailee, Amara took a moment to think. She got out her wand, aiming it at the vines that hadn't entrapped her friend. 'Diffindo,' she said - intending to sever away the ones that were only trouble. With them gone, she could focus on saving Lailee. There was no way around it, she'd have to risk the integrity of some of them. Maybe there would be a few leftover to salvage as ingredients?

'Stay still,' Amara warned Lailee - her wand aimed right at her. 'I'm going to force it to release you, okay? Relashio!'

Anxious, with a wand in hand and knife in another, Amara waited in hope her plan and spells had worked. If so, she'd keep her distance. 'Are any still good?' she asked Lailee, considering for a moment before showing trust in her friend by offering her knifew. 'Cut some down. I'll stay back, in case it attacks again. No point us both getting grabbed.' Yes, that was believable. No way was Amara taking that kind of risk after seeing it bind Lailee.

'You okay?' she added, checking her pockets. Amara paused, staring in annoyed disbelief as she lifted out her protective gloves. 'Uh...Okay. New plan, next time.' She avoided eye contact and hastily tucked them back into her pocket. In her defensc, they were new and she'd never needed them before.

Lailee shrieked as the lariwort grabbed her and she instinctively tried to pull away, panicking when the vines tightened around her arms and torso. She struggled for a moment, swearing loudly in an undignified manner when she realized her struggling was causing them to latch on even tighter. She felt claustrophobic, hating the idea of being restrained by anything, especially something that she clearly couldn't overpower and she glanced at Amara, panic visible on her face as she cried out, "Amara, help me!"

She barely noticed as Amara cut the other vines, but was very aware when Amara pointed her wand at Lailee and told her to stay still. As if she wasn't panicking enough, now she had to hope that Amara wasn't going to accidentally sever a limb...not that it was likely. If she were to be stuck here with any other student, she would choose Amara any day. Her friend had very good control of her magic and was very talented with her wand. She particularly liked both arms, though, as they helped her hold a broom while flying. These thoughts made it very difficult for her to follow Amara's order to hold still, but she managed to pull herself together enough to do so. The vines seemed to know what was happening around them and reacted protectively, and Lailee hissed as the pain intensified, burning as it dug into her.

As soon as the vines released her, Lailee took a step away, taking a shaky breath and rubbing her arms with her hands, trying to take some of the sting away and make sure they were still completely attached and functioning. She took Amara's knife, hands trembling as she tried to compose herself, then she turned back to the vine. She wanted nothing more than to walk away and forget about the lariwort, but she didn't want to have to admit that she was scared to approach it again, so she summoned up every ounce of bravery she possessed and grabbed it again, holding it with one hand as she cut with another.

She wasn't surprised it was difficult to cut, even with a knife, because it certainly seemed strong when it was holding her hostage moments earlier. After a few minutes of persistence, though, she was able to collect a piece for herself and for Amara. She inspected them carefully, seeing that they still looked like they were in good condition, then handed one to Amara, "I think they're still okay."

Lailee's hands were still shaking slightly as she ran her hand through her hair, offering a half-smile to Amara, "Thanks for, you know..." she gestured to the vines, "I, uh, appreciate it."

She took a deep breath, rubbing her still-painful arms again and asked hesitantly, "Do you still want to look for small fangs?"

Not wanting to seem pathetic for being shaken up over what had happened with the lariwort, she didn't even bother to wait for Amara to respond before going back to their task of searching for ingredients. The sooner they found it, the sooner they could get out of the forest and back to safety, relatively speaking.