River stared down at Raven. He moved gracefully, every step was perfectly across from the other. His hair was short again, but it only made him look cuter. Raven wasn't laughing, not even a slight grin. He was rather frowned, eyes focused on River's movements. His outfit was rather tight, and it looked like it was going to tear any moment. River giggled with a nasty thought she had. She was going to tease him. She grabbed her Waganda Staff and twirled it around. "You think I can't fight, can you?" River teased. "No, I mean, yes, you can but not in the proper way." "Well, what's the proper way?" questioned River. She stepped a bit closer to Raven, circling him. "The proper way to start a fight is to stand your guard and look at your opponent's body and predict their first movement." "Like this?" River put a stop to her movement and leaned her body towards Raven's. She watched his torso bend inward, which meant her was going to step back. She aimed her staff directly at Raven's bellybutton, or where she thought it was, and stabbed him. Raven ducked and swung his Feather Staff at River's face. She leaned away, nearly tripping herself over a tree root. She caught her balance just barely and swung her staff in front Raven’s face, slashing his forehead. A few strands of hair were cut. A bleeding cut formed on the top of his head. Raven yelped in pain, clutching his chest as if he couldn’t breathe. He collapsed in front of River. After that, it wasn’t a lovely morning. Raven was sent to the hospital in a strecher. He had bandages all over him, even thought it was only his forehead that was injured. Since of the doctor shortage every since the bug incident, River had to dress up as a doctor and tend poor Raven. She had her hair down and wore a teal nurse fit. She cleaned Raven’s cut and wrapped it in bandages. Raven was out for a long time. Examining his forehead, River thought of her fight with him. She won, obiviously, but it didn’t feel like a fair win. Hours later, Raven woke up, drenched in sweat. “Raven! You’re awake. I have been waiting for hours.” “I didn’t expect you to learn so fast." River blushed and stared down at the ground. “Why are you here?” asked Raven. “Since of the doctor shortage, I had to take care of you. Even with the anesthsia you kept moving around which made it hard for me to stich up your forehead.” “I see.” The two just sat there in silence. Raven kept shuffling about in his bed, running his hair through his fingers. He felt the rough pattern of stiches across his forehead. As he did this motion, he looked at River and remembered something. “River, the Blue Moon Festival is tommorow night.” She looked up from the ground and just stared with a blank face, which soon caught on what Raven meant. “You’re right! I need to prepare for tommorow night! Mother’s ladies are going to take me to the market and buy me a blue kimono.” As River stood up to leave the room, Raven got up and caught her arm. “I’m not done speaking yet; I want to ask you if you would like to got to the Festival with, me and if you don’t want to, that’s fine but if you d-” “I’ll go,” River interrupted. “Oh, okay.” River ran out of the room and into her bedroom. She changed out of the clothes and into her clothes she was wearing this morning. A maid later brought in orange spice tea and gingerbread biscuits and set the tray on the bedside table. River thanked her and sipped her drink in silence. A few minutes later, a blonde girl in a green village dress showed up at her door. She wore pretty shiny black Mary Jones. She had her hair down and pretty emerald green eyes. She looked to be about River’s age, maybe younger. She bowed her head deep. Beside her, she had a leather medicine bag and a broom. “You must be the medicine witch of the Menacing Forest,” River announced blankly. “I wouldn’t say “menacing” for the forest is my best friend. My name is Scarlet, Your Highness. I’m the daughter of the highly reowned Witch Evangeline.” “What brings you here?” River asked, intrested that she had someone to talk to. “I am 15 and I need some work in medicine and magic. The guard downstairs said that you will be my master.” Scarlet was indeed close to River’s age; she was 16. “Well, I don’t know what to say, for I am studying in medicine and magic myself. I do have a patient in the medical ward that needs some more painkillers. We’re out, but do you happen to have any more pills?” “Your wish is my command,” Scarlet bowed again. As she turned, and bug pair of green eyes stared back at River, then followed Scarlet. She soon realized it was a black cat. “Oh, the cat’s name is Onyx by the way,” Scarlet called back. River wanted to just snatch the adorable feline away, all to herself. She chewed her rock-solid biscuits and just stared at the door.
