Day of the Witches

With the combined force of both of them, along with Serila's magic, they were able to throw the small fireball clear into the sky. It went quite far with everything added to it, and Dot was expecting it to blow any second, mentally counting the seconds as they went by as she waited.

And waited.

Why wasn't it exploding? That's what she thought would happen. That's what usually happens. Something didn't feel right, here. Was her prediction...wrong?

An overwhelming sense of dread was coming over her as she considered the possibility. "...SERIL GET BACK!" She shouted as she threw her out of the way, a familiar ball of flame slowly starting to become visible again in the sky. She had a moment's breadth before it hit the ground in front of her, looking quite a bit more...volatile. And growing brighter, extremely fast.

"Man, this has just not been our week."

The blast was powerful, strong enough for the sound of it to be heard by the nearby village. The giant pink cloud coming from the spot was extremely noticeable. Dot had taken the brunt of this one, head on, as it flung her backwards into a nearby tree, colliding so hard that it left an indent in the large fir, and collapsed on the ground.

Her vision was shaky. Her ears were ringing. It was hard to hear much of anything. It hurt to breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed...blood, on the ground? Her mouth was sticky. Was that her blood? She couldn't remember. It was getting really hard to think, and her arms and legs shook as she tried and failed to pull herself up. She tried so hard to stay conscious, to keep going.

As the ball exploded, Serila's face went pale, she froze in the spot, Dot was on the ground, laying on a pool of blood. "DOT!!" As she finally managed to snap out, the red haired witch ran to the girl's side, taking Dot on her arms. "Dot! Dot! Please... Please Dot!" Serila was in shock, she was holding Dot on her arms, looking at her wounds.

"Aww hell!" The point blank explosion that struck Dot was enough to cause the gun witch to push herself off of the tree she was leaning against. Her usually relaxed gait was gone as she rushed over to where Dot was lying with Serila cradling the wounded witch.

"Serila, reckon you know the pill back at your town is? We need them to get a wiggle on o'er here. Gal looks concussed." Camli opened her hand and focused mana to a fine point. In an instant, a 2 inch small ellipsoid ice formed. She reached over below her belt and took a red and white checked handkerchief and wrapped it around the ice thoroughly before she applied it gently to where Dot hit her head.

Dot groaned as she was held by Serila, just being lifted hurting basically everything. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to focus on any one thing. Her ears were still ringing and all of the voices going on around her seemed muffled and distant. She felt something cold on her forehead, but couldn't quite make it out.

Her eyes centered on Serlia, who looked distraught. But, one thing stuck out to Dot's addled mind: she looked unharmed. That stupid ball of fire didn't seem to have hurt either of them. Something about that made her really happy, even if she felt like her lungs were on fire and it hurt to live. That feeling drowned out what her mind went to otherwise: the familiar laughter and mocking from back then.

"Ser...il..." She weakly said, shakily reaching her hand to the older witch's. She clasped her hand in hers, giving a weak smile, before coughing violently and throwing a little more blood onto her shirt. If she wasn't distracted by everything else right now, she'd probably be upset: she made this shirt herself. Dot was trying extremely hard to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle, as even now she could feel herself fading, fast...

Dot would soon feel something cold dripping on her face, a quick look would soon show her the source, Serila was crying, the older woman held Dot close in a warm embrace while her tears ran down her cheeks to end up falling on Dot's face.

Camli's voice seemed to break Serila from her shock. "Y-You are right... Let's go back to town..." Gently carrying Dot on her back, Serila started the way home being careful not to make Dot's state grow worse.

With Dot being safety carried in Serila's back, Camli herself moved herself off of the ground before reaching over to her holster and pulled out her pistol. She reckoned that she probably won't be able to fight properly, if at all, without causing too much ruckus to poor Dot and worsening the concussion. It'd be up to her to pump some lead into any lunkheads that wanted to prey on them. That and keep Serila a hold on herself as she was pretty down all of this happened.

She wondered, though, what else is going to turn over the horizon. This new development with Dot blowing herself up, Serila playing the School Ma'am, and this napping of folks by other witches. One thing for sure, it ain't gonna be quiet in town.

With Serila lost in her thoughts about the situation, it was up to the vigilant Camli to keep her sharp eyes out for any sign of trouble. All accomplished users of magic could use it to sense surrounding movement, but even among them, none could do it as masterfully as the gunslinger witch. In a crowded city, it was simply a waste of mana, but here, in an isolated forest, Camli could precisely pinpoint what was moving around them in a large radius.

And indeed something was moving, towards them. Its shape was that of a person - and judging by the curvy features, a woman. She was close, yet did not choose to reveal herself, stopping barely out of sight. Was she trailing them? It very much looked so. Although with no visual contact of her own, Camli could only assume she used other means to track them.

Still trailing behind Serila, her eyes and ears kept tabs on anything around them while the spell tracked of anything beyond that in a 360 range.  While her lazy posture didn't look it, she was one of the most potent sentry and watcher in the academy.  

It wasn't too long before something was creeping up on them.  She didn't think too much on it at first as it could be someone curious.  It was not until that said person kept her distance constantly out of sight and continued to shadow them, even long before curiosity would normally be sated.

"Ya knew Serila.  Ma always knew I was always a dabster.  Could hit a hummingbird a mile 'way, or a moonshiny juniper trailing the dust."  Until now, Camli had been silent.  And though Camli was still speaking in a languid relaxed tone, there was an odd edge to the last part of her words.  The clicking of her revolver loaded up hammered in what she meant.  It was a warning.

Serila noticed the hidden message in Camli's words and nodded. "You were always a hawkeye, Cam. Where you put your eye, a bullet always followed." The red haired witch continued the conversation while getting closer to the village her top priority was to treat Dot and she was really glad that Camli was there with her, she couldn't fight seriously while carrying Dot.

The figure stood still, listening to their conversation and trying to make sense of that Cam person, just what was that girl saying? Did they notice her? Their conversation partly sounded like it. Nonetheless, she decided to remain hidden, just in case. It would be ideal if they reached their house without confronting her.

"Well after Dot is back to being hearty as a buck, I'll play to the gallery and pluck a can or varmin and plug it and all the hullabaloo. Even will let you have a crack at the 6 shooter if ya wanna." Camli laughed though not as loud as she usually do. No sense in causing more headaches for Dot. Her eyes looking over her runed revolved to make sure everything is working properly.

Without even looking at their would-be follower, she knew exactly where the stalker was at, thanks to her spell. Now she could take a crack shot or fire off a warning shot and would love to stir things up, this was the exception where she held herself back. A confrontation mow might put Dot and even Serila in jeopardy. Even worse is that they were headed to town which her spell is useless with all of the presence noise. She's going to have to possibly lose her unless she was dumb enough to show her face while in town.

More of that strange dialect. It truly sounded like an alien language, but some words were recognizable. Better for them to get a move on, she thought, that girl Dot was heavily injured. Her hands curled up in frustration; their footsteps became rarer, they were slowing down, she was slowing them down.

Enough was enough, this was just silly. From behind a few lined up bushes came a woman holding her hands up. She wore a red coat, with a silver fox tail lying over her shoulder, matching her ivory hair. "Peace! I mean no harm!"

The figure was approaching and Camli turned around precisely the moment she shows up while her hand had her revolve ready to point towards the direction of the person. But she stopped short of threatening her with it when the woman popped from the bushes with hands raised and proclaimed her lack of hostile intention. If she was intending to ambush them, this was a terrible way of doing it. The gun was lowered but was not holstered yet.

"Well. Color me buffalo'ed. Ya look like ya going 'bout bushwacking long ago but end up poppin' up biddable. Waiting for candle-light or just rattled with us?" She placed both hands to her hips while waiting for the response impatiently. It was clear she wasn't wanting to wait around for too long since they need to Dot treated.

Serila turned her head towards the newcomer. "What do you want, we are in a hurry." Her tone show how little patience the witch had at that moment as her only thought and top priority was to treat Dot.

"Y-Yes, precisely that!" the woman stepped forward, not even trying to figure out what Camli said this time. She surmised it was probably more of what her friend did. "I noticed you were sensing me, so I stopped hiding and slowing you down. We can talk later, once she receives medical attention. I'd also like to come with you, if at all possible."

"Well I reckon that ya gotta trail either way so might as well battering the eyes 'fore us. But best not be yammerin' a thumper or be a high binder less ya want a lead plumbin' " Regardless if whether the woman understood her, Camli's stern and almost harsh tone and the twirling of her pistol on her fingers before the woman was crystal clear of what she means. Her glance moved to Serila. "Your opine?"

Serila was rather skeptical of the woman. "Fine but we are watching you..." Giving Camli a look of acknowledgement resumed walking towards the town.

"Thank you!" The woman did her best impression of a bow, but it came out so bad she clumsily stumbled forward. Using that momentum, she fell in line with the other two and didn't say anything for the remainder of the trip.

Without a missed beat, the two witches plus follower resumed their progressed towards getting Dot treated with Camli keeping an eye on the stranger while Serila continuing to lead them back to town. Without slowing down, Camli looked over to the woman that followed.

"So while we ride, might be best to let out your yarn, stranger. And no corral dust, ya hear?" While Serila's main focus was to get them back to town, Camli's focus is on their safety. She had not let the woman off of the hook yet if her pistol still being out of the holster is any indication.

She wants me to talk, doesn't she? I think that's what she's saying. Oh dear...

"Y-Yes, madam." She practically felt the gun poking her backside. Camli could tell the woman was shivering with fear, even if she tried her best not to let it show. "I-I'll try to answer any query as best I can. Though regrettably..." she gulped. "... I cannot comprehend what you are saying most of the time. I'm sorry!"

The gun witch tilted her head briefly as the woman confessed to not understanding her. She doesn't look bothered by it seeing it happens quite a lot.

"A'ight if ya at loss with trying to twig- to understand what what I am yammerin' bout, let me try to ease up. Whats your story and why ya bushwackin' at the back there? Ain't nothing but us beating the road." Camli decided to finally lower the gun away from her so that she wasn't too spooked to talk properly. Although her pistol wasn't pointing at her anymore, it still didn't go into the holster yet.

Unfortunately for Camli, the woman seemed too tense to even notice her lowering the gun. She was stiff as a log, shaking and losing her balance occasionally as they walked. "Y-You see, I am at an impaaaaaaaa-" she stumbled again, covering her mouth as to not disturb the unconscious Dot. "Impasse. I came here to investigate... w-witches?"

"Easy there.  Breath and watch yer toes.  You're more rattled than a cat in a roomful of rockets.  First off, what's the brown studies...your thoughts on witches?"  Second, why are you trailing witches?"  Camli asked, omitting the fact that they are technically witches.  "Ya ain't looking like a bull rounding up varmins from the badlands."  Camli decided to finally holster the gun seeing she finally made her point and deciding that spooking the poor girl was not needed anymore.

Serila raised a brow. " So you are investigating witches? I guess it's because of the kidnappings?" Serila finally broke the silence she kept during the journey back, if this woman was investigating the kidnaps, maybe she could tell them something about the witches behind it.

The woman, still shaking and still focusing her vision on Dot rather than Camli - thus unable to see there was no gun to worry about anymore, had as much trouble walking as before. It was like she wore the longest heels known to man, but was actually wearing lightweight boots.

"Kid naps? Is someone's child... hmm..." The strange woman mumbled to herself incomprehensibly, snapping out of it as she tripped and almost fell flat on her face, were it not for a tree she used as support. "Ah! Abductions! Yes! Yes, that is why I'm searching for witches."