"Helllo? Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll-oh!" I called out to the vast chamber I was in. And, I smiled when my voice echoed back to me. Then, I looked down into the strange square that was below me in this carefully put together room. Something also perplexed me, because, I had a feeling this place needed music.
But, I was left crossing my arms and pouting before long. No one was here and I did not want to leave this place until someone had come. Yet, it had been a short while and still, no one had come since the wall snatched me away. I couldn't even annoy my sister...
"This is BORING!" I then spoke before I screamed in frustration. If I left here, I might miss one of my friends! So I could not leave this place until something interesting happened, at the very least... But no one had come yet!
"AH!" someone then all of sudden yelped before they just suddenly appeared on the floor. A clear sense of relief went across their face when they found out their instrument survived the brief drop.
"Hello?" I said with a small wave as I leaned down from the stage-like place to look at them.
"What House!?" she asked me with an alert voice before light suddenly flooded the place. My answer did not even need to come as my hair gave it away. And my skin tone. And my clothes.
Basically, everything about little, special, old, but not actually me!
"Hello!" I repeated again with a smile as a bunch of others with instruments suddenly appeared.
"Clarman!" the boy with the large, metal, barrel-like instrument let out when he saw the girl who had ignored me.
"There's an Oddity!" this Clarman, pointed out rudely. And, I cross my arms and frowned at her.
"I have a name!" I said with a gentle stomp of my foot before they all suddenly set themselves up.
"And we're Dangerous Sound!" Clarman said to me without even asking for my name first.
"Rude!" I said before I blew a raspberry at them, sick of them already. Only to then dance around a spell that formed out of the long whistle one of them had. Well, it wasn't a whistle, but it reminded me of one!
"A dancer, hm? Well, let's see if this will help you escape." she confidently said to me before she started to play. And while she did not sing, it was clear she was really eager to. However, despite how seriously they were all taking it, I was quite enjoying the game-like nature of it all. Their attacks matched the sounds and beat of the music.
So it made my favourite thing to do all the more fun because now there was a sense of tension! A kind of excitement you did not really get when dancing. Well, there was the entrance exam, but I was worried for my friend there.
"Come on, give me a faster tempo!" I taunted them with before I laughed as I span around their three-dimensional, magical music notes. The guy who was on the large instrument, however, I had to use my magic to block as his spell made a big one.
"You heard her!" Clarman sang before she furiously danced her fingers about while her ear listened closely to the instrument. And that stick thing she had, I thought it was going to burst alight! That was how fast she was going!
"Oops!" I let out before I used my magic to block some kind of attack from under me. The one playing this strange box with keys on it was making the floor dangerous too! And, even as the spells steadily started to wear me down and sometimes scrape me. I was still having fun as it was still music.
"NOW!" Clarman shouted before a large blast suddenly sent me flying into the wall.
"Ow..." I let out seriously before I shook my bleeding head. A few tears in my eyes as that had interrupted my fun. I know I really should have taken this seriously, but I couldn't help it. This was music!
I had to dance to it!
"AGAIN!" that same girl shouted before another such blast came at me. A smaller one from under blasting me towards it. But, I cut through the larger spell and crashed down with a magnificent splash.
"Very well, I will take this seriously." I said to my not-present sister who would've likely been telling me off. She did not like it when I joked around during moments like these. And that blast that had hit me reminded me why I needed to take this seriously. The safety measures helped prevent death, they did not stop injuries from happening.
"Dance until you drop, then!" Clarman told me before she conducted her group into a far more aggressive tune. One that had sudden spikes in pitch and an almost scary atmosphere to it. I was even worried that what I heard would hurt me too! Thankfully, it did not.
So, any spell that neared me I could kick and dodge. The larger ones I had to dance in preparation before a stunning final move stopped them in their tracks. And, what I usually used to enhance my performance, the flicks of water. Had become my means to predict what they were going to do.
The slightest disturbance on those bubbles of water and I spun out the way. Or, I stomped the air and let my magic build up. Soon, a whirlwind of violent water was surrounding me and it was growing. Each twist and turn only making it go faster.
And, then, it exploded with even greater force than when it was spinning!
"Are you alright!?" Clarman asked her band and clearly, her dear friends while I was picking myself up off the wet wall. They had set off another large spell, but, it just collided with mine and backfired on all of us. I hadn't even realised they had done so!
So I guess I still wasn't taking this seriously...? Or, had my love of dancing blinded me to such a development...?
Yet, now was my chance to interrupt this group and pick them off. I only needed a source of music, they needed each other. So, I first went for the one I felt like was the worst one. The boy with the drums.
"ANZHUB!" some of them screamed in shock when I slid under the others and sent him flying. My feet having struck his own instrument and making it a weapon for me to use. Yet...
Being in the air did not make him defenceless. And he picked up his drums before his landing detonated the surrounding landscape. An earthquake-like feeling soon began to rumble through the arena now as well. As each hard slap or rapid tap reverberates powerful magic throughout the place.
"W-W-Woah!" I let out in surprise as my throat shook from all the vibrations and tremors. Then, I was suddenly flung to the ground when a powerful blast emanated from him. I was unsure if it hurt, but, it was disorienting. And I was soon trapped between his magic and the others.
But that only made me dance with more skill and determination. I even began to spin in the air and somersault through the gaps in their magic. Each roll or hop brought me ever closer to the drummer who was calming down. So, maybe, I had to deal with the others first?
Yet, he also kept making me want to get rid of him as all this shaking was upsetting my tummy.
"Left, right, one, two!" I started to repeat over and over until I was close enough to hook my foot around his instrument slightly. Yet, that was still enough to send it crashing away from us.
"Dirris!" I heard spoken before I was suddenly lashed at by enhanced strings. So fine that they cut into me like a sword or knife might.
"AH!" I screamed in pain as I began to get tangled up in the potent string. But, once I was done shivering in pain and crying a little, I noticed they had to sacrifice their instrument to do this.
"GET HER!" Dirris cheered as the others began to focus their magic on me once again.
"Come on, come on!" I begged the string as I tried to break free of it. Just barely slipping out with a mixture made of my greasier blood and my limitless water magic. An unsettling sensation, however, filled me when I saw my blood in my magic. It was distracting and worrying.
"GET HER!" one of them then shouted when I finally broke through the string. But, in doing so, I had dug it deeper and had gashed open my legs.
"Some help would be appreciated..." I tearfully joke as I tried to clog up the wounds with my water magic. Yet, I was given no room to breathe and I was quickly back on the defensive.
"KEEP HER OFF-BALANCE!" one of them sang before a blast of magic flew up from under me. Yet, I was able to flip over it before falling down when the impact made my wounds squirt. My vision was even growing hazy at this point...
Too much blood...?
"No, come on, I have to last so I ca-" I began to say to myself before another blast of magic crushed me against the wall.
"AGAIN!" one of them shouted before my stumbling form was flung back against the wall. Then, I just fell down and silently cried as my magic wavered before it spilt out around me. With it, the colour of my blood that it was trying to hold back.
"Aw... I wanted to do this with my friends..." I whined with a sniffle before I rescinded myself to being kicked out of the event. But, when I suddenly started to feel cold, I felt life fill me up and I shot up to my feet. Jittering about, hoping to find my sister somewhere ready to help.
It wasn't, however, it was just my body giving up. Yet, this might've been my sister helping me after all. Because I was no longer treating this with any kind of brevity. It might have been spilling, but, I could feel my heart pounding ferociously.
I could do this... I could!
"One final song for you." Clarman uttered before she tapped her foot so her group would gather around her. And, of course, as they did that, I struggled to maintain form. Because, if they were going to sing for me. I could at least dance for them.
Their gentle tune started off soft, but, I could see the magic building up. This truly was their namesake. Yet, as the rhythm and power slowly travelled towards me, I began to move. One step forward, another step back. A slide to the side and a twist to bring it back around.
And while my face contorted and warped with each bit of pain I felt, I kept on going. I kept on dancing until I was ready to start moving towards them. The main spell had yet to come, but, they were not just using one method to stop me. Smaller projectiles were also getting in my way.
There was a pattern to them, a chorus as it were. And as they kept their song going, I figured it out. What started as me painfully trying to avoid attacks turned into a learned dance. One that dictated where I would go to be safe while I built up magic of my own.
Each twist and wobble and swivel swirled that power around me while the chamber filled with green light. To counteract their own harassment as well, I started to call on the water I had spilt prior. My blood, corrupting as it may be to my water's beauty, it was helpful. Because the blood helped me grasp onto it and manipulate it.
Then, all of a sudden, a yelp, a scream of surprise and the stutterings of shock. That magic was interrupting them and the larger spell was growing slower and slower. The music even had to change because some instruments were called away. Yet, they could not stop my magic from building up.
I may have wanted to be with my friends like these lot were. My magic, however, did not need friends to be strong. I used my magic to entertain them. And an entertainer had to be able to stand on their own!
"Shkcias porll ala mewcika!" I thanked them in my own tongue before I leapt towards them. Twisting and turning with my gathered up magic swirling about me. And, I brought it down upon them before they could stop it. A booming crash then interrupted all of the music.
And I heard the crashing of the waves once again as my magic flooded the area. A disturbing mix of choking and other noises one might hear from a drowning person also could be heard. So, I quickly dispelled the spell once I had heard enough of it. Then, I slowly started to smile as I was of the impression I had just won!
But, the sound of coughing and choking quickly brought me back into a serious state. Yet, no spells would come at me and no magic could be sensed. Most importantly, no music. It was just coughing.
"Are you alright?" I asked Clarman as she laid before me, weakly clutching onto the wall.
"No... No..." she said before she spat out some of my magic. I was left frowning yet she was smiling once she had finished coughing.
"Why are you smiling?" I cautiously asked her just before looking about. Was she smiling because the rest of her group were about to attack!? Was she just bait!? How did they come up with a plan like this!?
"It's alright, they're all gone." she uttered with awe as she continued to smile. A small trickle of blood made it down her head as it became clear she had gone head-first against the stone.
"I repeat my question..." I say, unsettled by the smile right now.
"You are an incredible dancer..." she answers with a gaping smile as her eyes look at me as if she had fallen in love.
And, I blushed as if we were, "Th-Thank you..." I beamed out while twisting my foot on the wet stone.
"Truly, you are amazing... You beat us by learning our music... I couldn't dream of a better way to lose!" she cheered before she flinched in pain. And, despite my sudden attempts to try and heal her. It being my instinctive reaction.
She declined for an obvious reason, "Your music was nice too... When it wasn't..." I said back to her, not wanting to be the only one being complimented. Yet, I could not ignore the harsh truth about that music. My legs and body were a torn-up mess now and it hurt badly...
I could clot the wounds to some extent. But, there was no way I was making it through another fight. Especially if that fight lacked a rhythm for me to get used to! Even then, I was probably going to just get kicked out of the event.
"Say, when this is all over. How about you come to Exceptional House and dance for us? We won't try to kill you as well." she offered with a joke at the end. I even still giggled at it despite what it referred to.
"That would be nice." I chirped as I began to shake my hips a little at the thought of it.
"Anyway, you best get me out of here. I'm no good on my own. Our magic works best as a full band!" she told me, full of pride at what she and her friends could do.
"Uh, I'd rather not play a role like that..." I nervously told her as the idea of just hitting her with magic to get her out was unsettling. It was like I was being asked to just execute someone!
"Then, at least be the one to tell the entirety of Suhurlodst Academy of Arcane Learning and Understanding that you earned this!" she said, encouraging me with eager flicks of her wrist. That device we were all given shook about her wrist as she did so.
"Okay then." I relented as I moved closer to her wrist and held it in my hands.
"That button there yes."
"Okay..." I quietly uttered while my finger hovered near the button.
"But, those words you said, what were they?"
"I said 'thank you for the music' in my tongue." I answer with a small smile. I did enjoy finding a moment to speak the tongue Mummy spent so long teaching me.
"I see..." she sighs out happily, "Then, let me say it again, thank you for the performance. It was excellent!" she complimented once again. And, in a fit of embarrassment, I slammed my finger on the button and she just vanished like that.
"Ow... Ow..." I let out as I slowly got up to my feet. Hobbling to the nearest exit as now it was clear I needed to seek help. I couldn't just wait for it, so, hopefully, I could wander to my sister. I was familiar with her magic and she was with mine.
So, maybe calling out to her with it would bring us back together. And, then that could roll into us finding the others! We could win this event and enjoy the victory party! And even if there wasn't one, we could still make one ourselves!
"I even know where I can get music for the party!" I giggled as my hand slapped the walls as I slowly moved down a passageway.