Chapter 1
Jade stretched her arms above her head, yawning she heard her jaw click. She rubbed her eyes with her palm, exhaustion making her vision blurry. The quiet air of the library wrapped around her like a blanket as she entered.
The late afternoon gave way to a near empty space. The libary was almost completely empty during Saturday's and honestly Jade was greatful for it.
With barely enough energy to greet the librarian Jade trudged further inside the great building toward the Pyromancy Section. The teen yawned a second time as she scanned the shelves though her eyes barely registered the titles.
"History of Fire Magic....Fire Dancing....Ah, here it is; Pyromancy: Casting and Technique." Nodding to herself Jade plucked the leather bound book from its perch on the shelf and moved to sit in her sister's secret hideaway.
She entered the Romantic Section as the pace of a Slay-Sloth, feet seemingly weighing heavier with each step. Opening the passage with a stifled yawn Jade almost swallowed her tongue when she realized who was inside.
"Hey, Little Blight," Victoria greeted with a tired grin. She was resting comfortably in a bean bag chair with a book open in her lap. "Seems great minds think alike," she motioned to Amity and Luz who were sharing the only other bean bag in the room. She also noticed a fire blazing in the hearth.
The younger Noceda greeted Jade with a friendly wave which the older teen returned. Amity was curled into the human, fast asleep as Luz held her by the waist.
Jade quirked a brow at the sight. "How long has she been here?" She asked Tori. She hadn't even realized Amity had left the mannor and judging from her sister's state she could guys that she got there much eariler than she did.
"Cute, huh?" The older human stated, the comment earning a blush from Luz and an eye roll from Jade. "She's been asleep for almost an hour now. She passed out quite quickly actually." The Latino grinned and shifted in her seat. "Guess her girlfriend must be pretty comfortable."
Jade chuckled as Luz fummed, well at least tried to without waking up Amity.
"She is not my girlfriend!" Mouthed Luz.
"Pfft sure," Tori saud sarcastically, "So what brings you here Little Blight? You studying for exams too or just to grab your sister?" Asked the human, gaze fleeting between the book in Jade's arms and her eyes.
Jade shook her head, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her hair. "Just came here to study but I can leave," just as Jade turned on her heel Tori grabbed her hand.
"Who said you had to leave?"
"Um," the witch looked about the cozy room, confused. "But there's no place for me to sit?"
Tori released her hand, the lose of warmth causing Jade to feel ice cold, and shimmied to the side. Patting the now empty spot beside her Tori smiled up at the girl, eyes sparkling in the fire light. "It's cold today," she said simply, eyes shifting to the floor shyly.
A moment of silence filled the warm atmosphere. The pair heard shuffling and turned in time to see Amity shift closer to Luz. She barried her face into the crook of the Latina's neck as her arm found it's way around Luz's abdomen and unconsciously pulled her closer. "Warm..." Amity whispered.
Victoria chuckled behind a hand. The sight of her sisters red face reminded her of a tomato. "You okay there, Luz? You look a little - flustered."
"Shut up, Tori!" The younger girl growled. Bringing her book up to her face she barried her nose between the pages to hide her embarrassment.
"Who would have guessed that Amity was a cuddler." Jade shook her head, a loving smile on her lips. "If the twins saw this poor Amity would never hear the end of it."
The sound of a click turned Jade's attention back to Tori who was taking a picture of the scene with her phone. Smirking wickedly she shove the evice in her pocket and ignord Luz's wild gestures.
"So Little Blight, you gonns take a seat or what?" The human's lopsided grin gave way to the nervousness she was trying to hide. Her shoulder's we stiff too and he brow was slightly ceased.
Without hesitation Jade unceremoniously fell on the bean bag chair, landing slightly on the other girl. "Sorry." The witch tucked her chin to her chest and tried to move more to the edge, away from Tori but the human wrapped an arm around her shoulder's. When the witch cocked a brow at the action Tori cleared her throat and quickly retracted her arm.
"Sorry, I..." the human trailed off. Shaking her head, she sighed and curled around the book the book she had been reading.
Jade couldn't help but smile at the sight of the usually confident girl's hesitation. Blowing out a puff of air the Blight tentively took Tori's hand and guided it back aroun her shoulders, ducking under the Latina's arm as she did so.
"Relax, Noceda," Jade pulled her legs onto the bean bag and leaned completely into the human's side. She realized she fit almost perfectly in Tori's tall frame. "It's cold, remember?"
"Yeah," Tori nodded, dumbfounded, "it is."
The Blight proceeded to open her book. Nestling into the other's side Jade leaned her head on Tori's shoulder and held her hand that was resting on her shoulder's.
Luz watched the pair with a happy grin. She was glad the two weren't in a fighting/flirting mood and simply wanted to be near each other. The younger teen went back to reading, eyes drooping with every word she read.
*_*_*_*
Amity slowly opened her eyes. Vision blurry with sleep and struggling to stifle a yawn, she blinked. Looking around the room she realized Luz was fast asleep beside her, arm still secure at Amity's hip. The action made Amity smile.
The human's head was leaned back, mouth hanging open but face relaxed. She seemed content to Amity. Peaceful. Happy.
The witchling shifted and moved her legs in a more comfortable position. She glaced at the rest of her surroundings. The fire in the hearth ha burned till nothing but ambers remained. It Amity had to guess it was somewhere around evening or latr afternoon.
Shrugging she moved her gaze to Tori and was pleasantly surprised to find the older girl asleep at her side.
Jade's legs were resting on Tori's lap, the Latina's arm hanging limply on them. Her sister was also tucked under Tori's chin, the taller girl's head resting on top of hers. The Noceda's free arm was also wrapped around Jade's midsection with the witch gripping her shirt as though it were a lifeline.
Amity laid her head back on Luz's chest. She felt happy. Napping with her best friend's as well as her sister cured her pre-exam exhaustion but she couldn't bring herself to get up. Yawning, she nuzzled the human. The scent of earth and freshly cut grass invaded her senses. Eyes becoming droopy again Amity allowed sleep to take her.
Sleep came more easy than any answer.