Herbal Grace KS: vote! O:

[freakazoid]

Added the banner from my profile to the first post, hope you guys like it! Made it myself.
Anyways, there should be more up soon. I went through and fixed most of the chapters, the crash messed up the quotations and apostrophes. Just thought I'd pop in and let you guys know. :3

[freakazoid]

Chapter 39: Disappearing Act
April woke up as a bright sun ray hit her face, blinking and shielding her eyes with her arm. She sat up and stretched, yawning and looking to her side. There was no trace of Kayla, not even the bed was dented from her body. That's weird, she slept with me last night.

The water magi got out of bed and wandered into the kitchen, unnerved by the silence of the castle. April shrugged and ate a sack of peanuts, settling into a chair and relaxing. She looked out her window, hoping to see her creatures frolicking in the meadow. It is a nice day out, maybe Alexander took them somewhere or something.

A gentle nudge alerted April to Tempete's presence. The dark raiju's eyes were dreary and filled with sorrow, which was unusual for the normally-peppy dog. She stroked him softly, running her fingers through his black and yellow fur. "What's wrong, boy?"

Tempete whimpered and backed away, his head and tail drooping. April's face was twisted with confusion - she couldn't figure out what was upsetting the raiju. She got up and walked over to the dog, only to see him back away again. "Tem, what's wrong buddy?"

The dark raiju trotted to the door, scratching at it's wooden surface and whining. "Oh, you just want outside, that's it." April smiled, walking to the door and opening it. Tempete shook his head, sparks flying off his fur slowly. "No? Well then what's wrong?"

Tempete barked, leading the magi to his outside den. It was strangely cold, and the raiju couldn't scent Nikki - his light raiju mate - anywhere. April peered inside and frowned. "Maybe she's out on a stroll, nothing to worry about, buddy." Tempete whimpered again and laid on the floor of the den, looking up at April with sad yellow eyes. "She'll be back, I promise." April said reassuringly, even though she was confused herself.

Patting the raiju, April walked over to the door and trotted inside, standing still for a moment to think. Okay, so Nikki and Kayla are gone. They probably just took a walk, it's nothing. April tried to comfort herself, but something felt wrong. There was a hole in her stomach, and it was unsettling.

Sighing to herself, the magi walked to the backyard to check on her garden. It was silent, not even the friendly chirps of talvars were to be heard. April frowned again. She disliked the quiet, mainly because she always woke to her talvars singing in the morning. April sighed, bending down and looking into her herb garden. All was well, and she was relieved to at least be greeted by her rose imps.

Next, April checked her flower garden - which was exceptionally large. She peered inside to see the normal creatures stalking about the stems and leaves - vasant beetles, farir, and elephant snails. However, the speedy beat of the hummingbird's wings was absent. They're gone, too? Okay, this is getting really upsetting.

April stood up and looked around, deciding to check on her tienkos next. She went back inside and upstairs, where she found them all playing at the end of the hall. April smiled - at least her tienkos were there. Wait, there's only nine of them! What happened to the other two?

She hurried over to the group and bent down on her knees, looking through the mass of cats to see which ones were missing. Two of her calicos - Buttercup and one unnamed kitten - were nowhere to be found. She could feel her heart beating faster; this had gotten a little too suspicious for her to handle. Suddenly, she felt anger rise in her chest, and April couldn't help but stand up and clench her fists. The magi stomped down the hall and to her bedroom, where she found a small winged cat hatchling sitting on her bed. The kitten squeaked and flew away as April sat down, her eyes an icy blue from her rage.

"Where the hell are my creatures?!" She whined, the anger suddenly replaced by sorrow. "Where could they be? Did they run away? Do I really treat them that badly?" April wept, the tears streaming down her cheeks freely. The winged cat poked its head out from behind April's dresser and meowed, scrambling over to the magi and poking her foot. April looked down at the kitten and smiled, grabbing it in her hands and hugging it to her chest. "What happened to them? Am I really that bad?"

[LightningRip]

Daw poor April *wonders what your gonna write that happened to them* aka the apocalypse?

[freakazoid]

lol I dunno yet. xD
I'll probably have them all come running back in a huge mass of pets. :3 lol.

[LightningRip]

Haha lol ^^

[freakazoid]

Chapter 40: Reassurance
There was a gentle knock on April's bedroom door, followed by the sound of something slithering. April looked up to see Deathdrop, a worried expression on the naga's face. She slid over to the magi and sat on the bed, patting the kitten softly before looking up at April.

"So you've noticed; I don't know where they-" Deathdrop tried to console the upset magi.

"It's fine." April's voice trembled as she smiled weakly, her tear-stained face full of sorrow. "They'll come back, right?"

Deathdrop sighed, looking forward and staring out the window. "One can hope." After seeing the look on the girl's face, she cleared her throat and continued. "I'm sure they will. Why wouldn't they? They've got the best magi in the world looking after them."

April laughed feebly, biting her lip to hold back the tears. "It's just...where could they have gone?" She looked down, shuffling her feet.

"I don't know." The naga said admittedly, using her staff to help her up. "I'm sure they'll come back, April; in the meantime, we need to look after the others. We can't let a simple disappearance bring us down when there are thousands of other creatures to look after, right?"

The water magi nodded, looking down at the hatchling in her lap and blinking. "What do you think I should do?" She whispered, clutching it closer to her chest and chuckling. "I don't even know; or at least, not anymore."

The kitten mewed, batting at April's hair innocently. April grinned and stood up, turning around and setting the winged cat on the bed before leaving the room.

****

April sighed, sitting up and wiping her brow. She had been working in the garden for at least two hours now, and it was getting tiring. April took a deep breath and bent down to continue working, but stopped halfway. In the distance was a pink serpent, looking lost as it slithered the grasses of Herbal Grace.

The water magi smiled; that was her light basilisk, Pearl. She stood up and made her way over to the basilisk, bending down to say hello. "Hey girl. What are you doing all the way out here?" April chuckled, extending an arm for Pearl to slither on. The basilisk flicked her tongue out and crawled up her magi's arm, wrapping herself around April's shoulders comfortably. April smiled and made her way back to the garden to resume her work.

After a long afternoon of pulling weeds and planting new herbs and flowers, April was finished for the day. She trudged inside and laid Pearl down on the chair, going into the kitchen putting her hands on her hips. "I'm starving, what's to eat?"

Scouring the cabinets, April sighed as she couldn't find anything that suited her current appetite. "I guess I could have a salad." She said, reaching into her pouch and pulling out the vegetables that she harvested from her garden. It didn't take long for her to make a salad, grabbing her favorite dressing and using a simple spell to make it cold. She enjoyed a healthy supper before settling into her chair and cuddling with Pearl.

The light basilisk curled into a ball on April's lap as the girl read a book, shifting positions every once in awhile.

[SeaCrest]

*sniffs* Poor April.

This has something to do with the crash, doesn't it?

[Inspirit]

Aww...Poor April

Hope all her creatures would return soon.

[LightningRip]

*hopes they come back soon* April's like " "

[freakazoid]

Chapter 41: The Egg
April woke to a sharp finger poking her shoulder. Blinking her eyes, she looked over to see Deathdrop. "Hurry April, come with me."

Sighing, the magi picked Pearl up off her lap and set her on the chair, walking over to Deathdrop as the naga waited eagerly at the door. The naga led her to the pond, handing April off to Goddess. "Come with me."

The mermaid disappeared under the water and swam upstream towards the waterfall. After a few moments of walking, April could see a group of koi up ahead. As Goddess slowed to a halt, April sat down on the grass near the stream and waited for an explanation. "Why are they all gathering around there?"

"They found something." Goddess gently shoved the fish to the side and brought a dark blue egg with a murky brown mane up to the surface. "It's a kelpie."

April's eyes widened in horror. "A kelpie? Get it the hell away from me! I don't want it! Get it out of here! Kill it, kill it!" She kicked the egg out of the mermaid's hands, scrambling back until she hit a tree. April had many nightmares about kelpies when she was at the Keep, learning from her first experience to always stay away from them.

Goddess leapt for the egg, barely catching it in her hands and rubbing it softly. "Careful! As vicious as kelpies are, they won't hurt anybody if trained properly from birth."

April sat, staring at the egg with light turquoise eyes. After a few moments, her eyes reverted back to their normal ocean blue. "I-I still don't like them...I don't want them anywhere near my Keep!"

"But April-"

"NO BUTS! I said I didn't want it anywhere near my Keep!" April promptly stood up and glared down at Goddess, hoping to scare the mermaid into getting rid of the kelpie egg. Instead, Goddess stared back up at April, running her fingers through the damp mane of the egg.

"If I can keep it under control, can we keep the egg?" Goddess questioned, her voice calm and undisturbed. April sighed, putting her hands on her hips and glancing at the egg.

"Fine. But if it hurts anything, it's gone. Got it?"

Goddess nodded, smiling and diving underwater with the egg. The mermaid started for Herbal Grace, but stopped mid-stroke and looked back at April. "You coming?"

The frown on April's face slowly merged into a smile, followed by a 'yes' and laughter as the two raced back to the castle.

****

A scratch on the door caught April's attention as she prepared her lunch, wiping her hands on her jeans and walking over to the door. It certainly didn't sound like anything she had ever heard before. She opened the door slowly, looking around to see nothing there. "Hmph."

She shut the door and walked back over to the counter, only to hear the noise again. "Dammit!" April hissed, stomping over to the door and opening it. "Who is it and what the hell do you want?!"

A gentle neigh came from below, and April looked down to see a dripping blue foal sitting on her doorstep. She screamed and jumped back, stumbling over to the counter and grabbing the knife that she was using previously. The foal just cocked its head and stared up at the magi, blood-red eyes full of curiosity. With an abrupt huff, the foal trotted off to the pond. April followed it with her eyes until it plunged into the water and left her sight.

April stood in silence for a brief moment, setting the knife on the counter and staring at nothing. She glanced over at the door, conducting a simple air spell to push it shut. "Oh my goodness..."