Chapter 13
There was a surrealness, finishing his stew under the watchful eye of Lox. It was as if the Lion thought he might try to poison the dish. Even when he was just cleaning used utensils while waiting for the stew to be done, Amber eyes never left Fiyero’s. Rain had said he was a friend of Elphaba’s. That should mean he was trustworthy, right? Fiyero still would rather hear it from Elphaba herself before letting the lion in the room with her.
With a finishing touch of crushed, dried basil leaves, he poured the soup into several sealed cups, then washed out the pot and ladle. He walked through the men’s dorms quickly. Lox followed behind, and much to Fiyero’s chagrin he could barely hear the beast. It was expected, it was the body of a predator far stealthier than man. When he went into the room, the Lion wasted no time entering, stopping the door from closing and locking him out.
“I thought we were heading to Phabala,” the Lion grumbled.
“I’m dropping off the excess stew,” Fiyero grumbled right back. “I need to take a shower, anyways it’s been 3 days and I doubt my building putrid odor is good for anyone.”
Lox’s muzzle pulled up in an asymmetrical scrunch, his left canine clear on display. He gave out the whisper of a growl but said nothing. Instead, he merely settled on the floor, letting out a large yawn, which seemed more an intimidation tactic than anything.
“Be quick, Arijkian,” Lox said. “I’m only have so much patience on an empty stomach.”
“Then eat some stew,” Fiyero sarcastically proposed. “Just leave me alone.”
“Not till you bring me to Phabala.”
Fiyero let out a groan as he grabbed the clothes out of his dresser and made his way to the bathroom. Why did Rain have to make this annoying, gigantic cat his problem? The irritation of the whole situation made the first hot shower in days unenjoyable, and he found himself spending only enough time to clean himself off and getting out as quickly as possible. He didn’t like being rushed, especially now that he was sure Elphaba was safe in her room, with Glinda taking care of her.
He dressed quickly in a long-sleeved blue shirt and black pants. It was a go-to color palate for many Arijikians. They wore blue the pride of being the strongest tribe in the Vinkus. He wasn’t only Arijikians though, and often he would catch the look in his mother’s eyes when he draped himself in blue. There was a sadness there, knowing that as much as he was also Scrow, it was his father’s tribe that he was raised in, not her own.
Without so much as acknowledging lox, Fiyero walked back into the main room. He grabbed a box from the top shelf of his cabinet. Then he went to the box of food he kept for when the dining hall wasn’t open, grabbing a small sealed of bread, adding it to the box along with a spoon. Then he made his way out of the room and towards the woman’s dorm.
Of course, Lox silently followed him as he left. Though Fiyero didn’t have the energy to put so much thought to him anymore. When he finally made it to Elphaba’s room, he knocked on the door. A moment later, Glinda swing the door open, appearing before them.
“Is she sleeping?” Fiyero asked.
Glinda shook her head, then speaking quietly then Fiyero had ever heard her before, said, “She’s exhausted but she can’t seem to fall asleep. I think we might need to being her back to the infirmary.”
“Let me talk to her.”
She moved over to let Fiyero in and he gladly took the opportunity. Very intentionally, he did not mention the Lion following after him and Glinda closed the door before he could move fast enough to get inside from his position further down the hall.
A growl rumbled from behind the door. Much to Fiyero’s relief, Lox didn’t attempt to break the door. Probably because he didn’t want to disturb Elphaba or cause a scene, though Fiyero didn’t care much for the actual reasons. The Lion merely slumped in front of it, waiting.
Taking care to be quiet, Fiyero made his way to Elphaba. He placed the box on her bedside table. He took out the contents, watching as her eyes followed over to them.
“You shouldn’t have,” her voice was so quiet, and beginning to crack, days of dehydration catching up with her. “I can take care of myself.”
“I never said you couldn’t,” Fiyero replied, sitting down on the side of the bed. “But just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to.”
She sat up, leaning against the headboard to better look at him. Despite all her complaints, the jacket he gave her was firmly against her, with hands pulling it closer than it naturally could be. There would be no admiring how warm it was, how it smelled of saltwater and the earth after a rainstorm. That it soothed her somehow.
His hand reached out, slowly, enough so that she could easily tell him to stop. She didn’t though. Nor did she pull away when the pad of his thumb ran across her cheek bone. It felt like fire on her skin, and yet she craved it. Something so simple as touch, had her mind so tangled she could barely think straight.
“There’s a Gale force member outside your room,” Fiyero said, causing Elphaba’s brows to knit together in confusion. Before she could ask Fiyero continued. “He’s an old friend apparently.”
“Lox,” she said, her face relaxing into a smile. “I can’t imagine you too got along particularly well.”
“I almost stabbed him with a kitchen knife,” Fiyero affirmed. “In self-defense of course.”
Then she was giggling. Actually giggling, as if she was Glinda or Pfannee. Fiyero didn’t know if he should be happy or worried, but the way her smile widened was so beautiful, he could watch it all day.
“Let him in.”
Fiyero nodded, though his pursed lips showed he was none too pleased. There was no point in getting up though, as Glinda was already opening the door. She let out a high-pitched sound, which caused Elphaba’s face to scrunch into itself ever so slightly, as if trying to escape it. The blonde girl stumbled back as the Lion walked into the room. Without much commotion, he made his way to the bed and laid down on the stone floor, looking towards Elphaba.
“You could have told me he was a Lion!” Glinda yelled but was only met with Fiyero laughing.
“Tip sent you?” She asked, and Lox nodded in response.
“They worry for you.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Elphaba sighed. “How have you been, my dearest Lion?”
“As I always am.”
Fiyero realized how sad Lox sounded as he said the words, as if there was something wrong with him, not superficially, but to the core.
“Shush now,” Elphaba ordered. “Say such a thing again and I will burn off your mane.”
The Lion let out a chuckle, pushing himself up ever so slightly. With a step forward, his pushed up against Elphaba. She let out a breath she hadn’t seemed to be holding. Fiyero realized how her body relaxed, the usual tenseness she always seemed to carry fading away entirely as her hand reached out, petting Lox’s head. Gently, Lox slowly moved away, settling on the carpet next to her bed.
“I’m tired,” she whispered, her voice breaking ever so slightly. “So very tired, and everything around me is so very loud.”
It wasn’t actual sound she was talking about. It was the way magic vibrated. Everyone had their own bits of magic inside them, though only some were born able to intentionally use and manipulate it. No one’s magic was exactly the same, and they all resonated differently, as did the magic of the air and the earth whether it was organic or not.
It was so hard to get any quiet. Usually, Elphaba could raise a shield against it, but her magic was close to exhausted at the moment. Then there was Glinda who was rather vibrant on her worst days, and Elphaba did not have the strength to ignore it. Lox had a deepness to him, one that almost shook her bones and had her bones rattle. While it often relaxed her muscles, the strength of it was not something easy to sleep next to.
Then she turned to Fiyero. What did he feel like again? She couldn’t remember for the life of her. She couldn’t feel much of him at all. She took his hand, thinking she might feel the magical vibration within. It took focus to feel him, and when she did, it was life being under water, everything muffled and muted. With large waves passing through every so often, as if some large water animal was singing into an endless abyss.
Travelers from Eve, who came through the emerald city once every blue moon, spoke of the sea, of the enormous creatures it housed. It sounded like something out of nightmares, but they never seemed scared. There was a peace to it, one that Elphaba wished she could grasp. Now, it seemed so close, but it ached to focus so hard, to try to reach this calm through all the noise. She let go of Fiyero’s hand before the headache grew anymore, and the rest of the magical vibrations became loud again.
“Why don’t you have something to eat?” Fiyero said, taking the sealed cup and spoon from the side of the table. She began to shake her head, to assure him that she did not need him to take care of her like she was a sick child. Like she could allow herself to rest without worry. Lox was ready to start pulling teeth, so to say, but he had very little chance as Fiyero replied.
“If it’s really so horrendible that I made you food then I can wait for you to get dressed outside and we can go get breakfast in the dining hall. Truthfully though, I don’t think you have the will or the energy for that right now and you need to eat something.”
Her green eyes dropped, staring down at how she enveloped she was by his clothes, his scent. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, still tasting the strawberry flavor of Glinda’s gloss. She looked at the blonde girl, who watched from her bed. Clearly, she was worried, with a slight tilt inward of her brow and a frown starting to make its way against her lips. The two of them confusifyed her, both oddly intense with her in such opposite ways. Her head ached so loudly, and she was hungry than she might care to admit. So, maybe, just this once, she would let them take care of her.
“Okay,” she said hoarsely.
The seal opened with a ‘pop’ as soon as she said it. He placed the spoon in the cup and handed it to her. She ate slowly. The taste was familiar. She had eaten something similar enough when Mombey’s circus had made its way to the Vinkun. This version was far superior, at least, in her opinion. The bread he passed her was soft, the clear wrap having kept it from going stale, though it wasn’t fresh. Elphaba didn’t care, of course. She remembered times when she would eat moldy bread thrown away by bakeries at the end of the day. It wasn’t a meal for a king, but it was handmade just for her, and warm, and that had been more than she had been used to for so much of her life.
“Well? How does it taste?” Glinda asked. “I can only imagine. I’ve never had food from Winkie Country before.”
Elphaba coughed slightly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard the term Winkie before, but usually she was in the Vinkun district of the Emerald City, where most people had some knowledge of the cruel usage of the word. In other words, it wasn’t common to hear it unless it was intended as a verbal attack, not as an ignorance. That was far more common in Munchkinland or Gilkin Country. Quadlings country was a bit more varied, depending whether one was closer to the east or west.
“I’m used to Vinkun food,” Elphaba emphasized the ‘Vinkun’ in her sentence. “It’s one of the more enjoyable cuisines of Oz, in my opinion.”
It was obvious that a look was being shared between Elphaba and Fiyero. That Glinda was being left out between the two. Much like her frustration, every high-pitched waves of her magic rose in feeling and sound. It had Elphaba flinching. She barely managed to hold onto the cup of stew, which Fiyero took from her hands as soon as he saw the reaction.
“Oz, you’re loud,” Elphaba said, glaring slightly at the bubbly blonde.
“Well, I can’t help it,” Glinda said. “You really can’t put up so much as a wall?”
Elphaba found herself a bit taken aback by the comment. Glinda knew exactly what Elphaba had been talking about. It shouldn’t be a surprise. The girl was still a witch, even if a relatively weak one. Most witches could hear and feel the magic around them. It was often the first unconscious bit of magic they learned how to do, tuning it all out. It was rare to use so much power that not even a simple spell like that would break. It was more than rare; it was impossible really. Spells like that, they weren’t ones that took constant energy or thought. They just were. They were placed, and they stayed, like a painting hung on a wall and promptly forgotten about. It wasn’t the lack of energy that broke it. Likely it was the cursed energy, biting away at the settled spell. Elphaba hadn’t even though of that, or what other spells she may have cast without thought in the past. What other part of her life had been shielded and may very well now be exposed.
“She’s smarter than she lets on,” Lox commented. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Hey!” Glinda hmphed at the Lion.
“I won’t hear you chastise me for saying the obvious truth.”
Hiding her mouth behind her hand, Elphaba couldn’t hide her laughter at the two of them. It gave her a rather nostalgic feeling. As if she were watching Tip and Lox fight over the morning drool Mombey called porridge. It felt familiar and safe, almost.
“Anyways,” Glinda quickly changed the subject. “I could try to cast one on you, if you’d like?”
“Do you know how to?” Elphaba asked, warily. “Have you ever casted an intentional spell?”
Glinda gave a sheepish look, her eyes turning to the pretty pink rug on the floor, with tufts so fluffy they might as well have been cloud. Elphaba lost focus, her hands going to her ears, as if she might stop the screeching sound that came with Glinda’s embarrassment.
“Well , no,” she admitted. “But it’s such a simple spell, and I’ve read how to do it a thousand times over.”
“I don’t think that’s a wise idea.”
It was Fiyero who cut off the line of thinking. He didn’t understand what they were talking about, and assumed it was some magical phenomena Dr. Mair had yet to go over in class, or maybe she had in the first two weeks, and he had missed it. As much as Glinda was elated at the idea of getting to use magic, and did want to help Elphaba, the red-headed witch was in no state to be used as a practice dummy.
“We should go get Rain or Margarette-”
“NO!” both the girls and the Lion screamed in a terrifying faction.
Fiyero did not know what he had done or said, but it was clear he had made a misstep. If he had been knowledgeable in the vibrations of magical signatures, he would have known that the powerful the witch, the louder the signature. Which for Elphaba at the moment, would be like bringing a bell the sound of an earthquake to her door. She hadn’t mentioned that she knew Rain had briefly been in the area, hearing and feeling he vague outline of her signature. Elphaba couldn’t imagine what it would be like if Rain had been right next her.
“You still need to get sleep,” Fiyero reminded her. “Which, while I don’t know what you are hearing, can’t imagine it’s not exactly conducive to that end.”
“I just need somewhere to sleep where there isn’t so many people. An empty room would probably work, given no one too magically endowed is present.”
“I could find somewhere else to stay,” Glinda offered. “Pfannee and ShenShen would probably let me stay with them.”
Elphaba shook her head.
“I’m not kicking you out of your own room Glinda. I wouldn’t do it even if I still thought I hated you.”
The room went quiet for a moment, and Elphaba realized she probably shouldn’t have said those exact words. Fiyero’s face was confusifying, and clearly, he did know exactly what the relationship between the two of them had been before. Elphaba didn’t have the energy to try to pull it apart, and so she decided not to touch it at all. Lox was the one who mercifully put everyone out of their misery when he spoke, though only with a slightly less uncomfortable option.
“You could stay in the Arijakian’s room,” Lox said as if it was an obvious choice. “He has no roommate, and a couch I can imagine is comfortable enough to sleep on.”
“No!” Elphaba said. “I can’t just take over his-”
“That should work,” Fiyero said before Elphaba could fully get the thought out. “If I’m not too ‘loud’, whatever that means.”
“You’re oddly quiet, actually,” Elphaba admitted.
Fiyero’s blue eyes ate into Elphaba. They were filled with such care and worry. Of a softness, to which she was not used to being on the receiving end. Since the first time they met, it seemed he had taken to her as quickly as she had taken to magic. Like she was something that just made sense for him to be near, and yet, she couldn’t understand why. Worse, she couldn’t understand why she felt the same around him. Why she didn’t want to push him away as she did so easily to everyone else.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you can’t exactly hang out in the men’s dorm until you’re feeling better,” Glinda reminded them.
“I’m sure Madam Margarette will understand,” Fiyero said, “Given the circumstances, you need a comfortable environment to rest.”
Elphaba didn’t respond, unable to particularly fight back against the knowledge. There was also the overwhelming theory that Fiyero wouldn’t let up on the pressure, given how he acted when she wouldn’t eat a simple cup of stew. Instead, she simply nodded and began to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t going to be allowed to mismanage her recover, as she often did.