Chapter Text
Raelle breathed heavily as she crouched against the training mat. Her scourge was held tightly in her right hand, and a few beads of sweat dripped down the side of her face.
“Had enough, Collar?” a smug voice called from above her. Raelle looked up at her opponent and grinned.
“Oh, not nearly, Ramshorn. ” she said, gritting her teeth and propelling herself forward, lashing out her leg as she did so. Scylla’s eyes widened as she was swept off her feet and landed hard against the mat.
Seeing Raelle’s scourge coming down towards her, she let out a grunt as she rolled to the side and lifted herself into a crouch. Looking up at her girlfriend, she rolled her eyes at the shit-eating grin the girl wore as she brandished her scourge. “Had enough?” she asked, smiling wickedly.
Scylla sighed. “Whatever,” she scoffed, holding out her hand for Raelle to help her up. “Let’s take five.”
Raelle’s smile softened as she lowered her scourge and grabbed Scylla’s hand. Their eyes met, and Raelle realized her mistake as she noticed the glint in her girlfriend’s eyes and the mischievous smile that split across her face.
“Scylla, wait--” she tried to jerk her hand back, only for Scylla to hold on tighter and pull Raelle roughly down towards her.
Raelle winced as she lost her balance and fell, careening towards Scylla. She caught herself at the last minute, her hands braced against the mat on either side of Scylla's head as she met her gaze.
“What’s your plan, now, beautiful?” Raelle said, smirking. “I’ve got you pinned.”
Scylla didn’t respond, simply smiling at Raelle. Raelle recognized that look and furrowed her brows. Before she could react, Scylla had grabbed her sides and thrown her against the mat in a complicated maneuver that Scylla executed effortlessly.
Raelle was left breathless against the mat, staring up at Scylla in shock. Scylla now had her pinned. Her girlfriend grinned down at her, one arm braced next to Raelle’s head to support herself, the other grabbing Raelle’s hands and pinning them to the mat above her head.
They stared at each other, both breathing heavily as Scylla grinned in triumph. “What’s your plan?” she asked smugly, but Raelle could hear that her voice had become a bit lower. Raspier.
Raelle’s eyes began to glaze over slightly as she looked at the girl in amazement. “If we don’t kiss, right now, immediately,” she said breathlessly. “I think I might die.”
Scylla chuckled, rolling her eyes. “So dramatic.” she said, leaning down and pressing her lips against Raelle’s.
Raelle moved up towards her, meeting Scylla halfway and returning the kiss with desperation and passion.
Scylla smirked into the kiss as Raelle began to struggle in Scylla’s hold, trying to get closer to the girl. Scylla responded by tightening her grip on Raelle’s wrists, pushing them harder against the mat and pulling away from the kiss, looking down at Raelle teasingly.
Raelle’s eyes were unfocused as Scylla pulled back, her head still hovering slightly above the mat where she had met Scylla’s kiss.
Just as Scylla couldn’t help herself anymore and was about to return to the kiss, the sound of footsteps entering the room interrupted her as she leaned down.
“Collar, Ramshorn.” Anacostia called over to them. “I believe I told you that you were supposed to be practicing scourge combat.”
Raelle and Scylla looked up at her, eyes widening as they realized the position they were both still sitting in.
They scrambled off the mat, Scylla swallowing hard as she placed her hands behind her back. Raelle cleared her throat, running her fingers through her hair awkwardly as she tried to straighten it.
Anacostia raised an eyebrow. “You girls have been improving over the past few months, but don’t expect to get any better if you keep letting yourselves get distracted.”
Raelle blushed, giving Anacostia a small nod. Scylla nodded as well, but she still didn’t look the least bit remorseful, even smirking slightly. Anacostia fixed Scylla with a glare as she noticed her look.
Before she could discipline the two anymore, the sound of Abigail’s voice interrupted them, echoing from the entrance of the training room. “Did the two of them start making out again when they were supposed to be training?” she said flatly, rolling her eyes as she entered the room. Tally followed close behind, giggling slightly at Raelle’s red face.
Raelle choked a little while Scylla simply smiled.
Abigail rolled her eyes, walking over to the lockers and grabbing her and Tally’s scourges.
“I’ll bet you two are looking forward to Beltane.” Tally said suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows at the two.
Raelle said nothing, staring pointedly at the ground, but Scylla nodded shamelessly, a wicked smile splitting her face.
Anacostia rolled her eyes slightly as Abigail returned to the group, handing Tally her scourge, and looking over at Anacostia.
“Get into pairs, girls.” she commanded. She glared when Scylla and Raelle immediately glanced over at each other. “Not you two,” she said sternly. “You never take it seriously, and you train together enough as it is. Bellweather, go with Collar. Craven, you’re with Ramshorn.”
The girls all nodded, separating and beginning to spar with their partners.
Raelle began to fall into a familiar rhythm with Abigail, ducking her strikes easily and whipping her scourge around to meet them. Abigail flowed just as easily, effortlessly twirling her scourge and dodging Raelle’s swift swings.
Raelle felt her mind begin to wander as she sparred, thinking about all that had happened recently.
Beltane was coming up again, which meant that it had been almost 8 months since Raelle had been taken by the Spree and made into a weapon. Since Alder was exposed and subsequently arrested. Since she and Scylla had connected.
After the events that took place that day, time seemed to pass in a blur. Alder was arrested, and Scylla was set free on probation. The Bellweather unit finished basic training under the leadership of Anacostia as the witch council debated on a new leader to replace Alder.
However, instead of going off to War College as they had planned, Anacostia offered them another opportunity.
She agreed that they were an incredibly efficient unit, and that they were miles ahead of most cadets that had graduated basic. She asked that they stay in Fort Salem and work under Anacostia as a strike team. They would operate as a highly effective covert group, executing orders from Anacostia personally.
While Anacostia had presented this opportunity because of their talent as a unit, Raelle had a sneaking suspicion that Anacostia had become fond of them over their time together.
She had even extended an invitation to Scylla, albeit begrudgingly, at Raelle’s insistence. Raelle argued that Scylla had helped take down Alder as much as any of them, if not more. She also mentioned the connection of their powers. That had caught Anacostia’s attention.
So, Scylla joined their little team, and they began to train under Anacostia. They had group sessions working on hand-to-hand combat, scourge training, vocal lessons, and everything they needed to be an effective team.
Raelle and Scylla also had individual training sessions with Anacostia, further exploring how their powers worked together and how they were bonded. Raelle taught Scylla how to use her new healing powers, and Scylla explained how Raelle could now interact with the dead in various ways.
Aside from their new abilities, what was really remarkable was how the connection had changed their seeds and their standard magic.
While they were both powerful as individuals, when they vocalized together, the effect was instantaneous. The seeds were incredibly powerful. When they had joined together to perform a small windstrike, they had almost taken out the entire back wall of the building. Cracks formed in the bricks, and Anacostia stumbled back from the impact, looking at the two in alarm.
Raelle and Scylla were just as mystified, but over time they were able to cooperate and gain control. Across multiple training sessions, they were learning how to best connect their powers to get the most power out of a seed, or how to dial it back enough in order to avoid significant damage or harm to others.
Mostly, over these months, Raelle found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with Scylla. When they used their powers together, the feeling was indescribable. She felt free when she connected with Scylla, and she suspected the other girl felt the same. When they sang together, it was like reliving that first night over and over again. Flying through the air, high on salva, too lost in each other’s eyes to ever want to return to the ground.
And Beltane was coming up. Raelle smiled at the thought. Scylla hadn’t been able to attend last year, but this year? They were totally going.
The sudden and sharp sound of a whistle interrupted Raelle’s thoughts. She jerked her head up at Anacostia, falling into position next to her unit partners and waiting for Anacostia’s order.
“Go clean yourselves up, team.” she said, smiling slightly at how good they had looked in training today. With a start, Raelle realized that they had almost been training for an hour now. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had just gone through the motions, falling into a routine. Anacostia continued. “We’re meeting with the witch council today. I need to show how effective this team can be. If you can pass this evaluation, then you can finally go into the field as a real covert unit, ladies.”
Abigail smiled in pride, and Tally was almost shaking with excitement. Scylla allowed a small smile to spread across her face. Raelle glanced over at her teammates and gave them a genuine smile.
Life was good. She was surrounded by sisters she loved, and who loved her. As much as Raelle had been through over the past year, she would do it all again to stay with these witches. They had become like family to her, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.
“Meet me outside the barracks in two hours, ladies.” she told them, letting her own small smile appear. “Make me proud.”
It was a dismissal, and Raelle chuckled as Tally practically ran out of the room, grabbing everyone’s arm and hauling them out the door.
They all laughed as they began walking to their quarters, all excited for the evaluation. “Did you see Ramshorn today in training?” Abigail said, raising her eyebrows as Scylla ducked her head slightly in embarrassment. “She was a beast. Every time I looked over, Tally was getting her ass handed to her.”
Tally pouted as Raelle released a loud laugh. “Hey, that’s not fair.” she protested, raising her voice over their laughter. “She was all charged up because her and Raelle were making out before training.”
Raelle blushed furiously as she shoved Tally. Abigail laughed louder when Scylla wiggled her eyebrows and smiled. “What can I say?” Scylla said, shrugging.
Abigail rolled her eyes, a knowing smile spread across her face. “Please,” she said, grabbing Scylla’s shoulder and pushing her into Raelle. “You two were totally about to have sex before we walked in.”
Tally roared with laughter as Raelle shoved her face into Scylla’s shoulder, blushing even harder. Scylla chuckled, wrapping her arm around Raelle as they walked.
“Guys, please,” she said, glancing over at Tally and Abigail with a shameless grin. “You’re embarrassing her.”
“You’re all terrible people.” Raelle mumbled.
Thankfully for Raelle, they had finally arrived at their quarters.
Since they had graduated basic, they had been moved to the living quarters in the main building, along with Scylla, as she couldn’t very well stay in the necro dorms.
Their quarters were a joint suite, two bedrooms connected with a small bathroom equipped with two shower stalls and two sinks.
Obviously Raelle and Scylla had taken one room while Tally and Abigail had taken the other. That was how they separated now, Raelle and Scylla retreating into the left doorway while the others entered the right. “We call the first showers, horndogs!” Abi called as they separated, and Scylla chuckled.
They entered their room, and Raelle immediately collapsed dramatically onto her bed. The room was similar to the one from basic, although instead of bunks, there were simply two twin beds pushed up against opposite walls.
Scylla laughed as she watched Raelle, and Raelle couldn’t help but be entranced by her laughter. Scylla noticed her staring, smiling mischievously at her girlfriend.
She approached Raelle’s bed, hopping onto the mattress and propping herself up above Raelle. She smiled as Raelle met her eyes.
“What do you say we continue what we started in training, hm?” Scylla whispered huskily, leaning down and kissing Raelle’s neck.
Raelle leaned into her touch, her breath catching as she felt Scylla’s lips on her skin. Chills went up her arms as Scylla smiled, teeth grazing over Raelle’s bare skin.
After a few more moments of Scylla teasing her, Raelle couldn’t take it anymore.
She abruptly grabbed Scylla’s collar as she was leaning down to continue, smashing her lips against Scylla’s. Scylla smiled as Raelle kissed her hungrily, and she quickly conceded, kissing her back and melting into her touch.
Raelle almost groaned when Scylla reached her hands under her shirt, her long fingers creeping along her abdomen.
Her hand brushed over the raised skin of her stomach, where the rune was still engraved in her skin, and Raelle's eyes shot open suddenly. She tensed and pulled away from the kiss, scrambling out from under Scylla and curling within herself.
Scylla watched in confusion and alarm as Raelle retreated, eyes glazing over as she muttered under her breath over and over.
Scylla’s expression became pained as she realized what was happening. Breathing a sigh, she reached her hand out to grab Raelle’s shoulder, only for the girl to pull back at the contact.
Scylla flinched a little bit at the girl’s reaction, before collecting herself. It wasn’t her Raelle was afraid of. Her girlfriend wasn’t herself right now.
Scylla sighed before glancing up at Raelle’s panicked face, tracing an ‘S’ onto her palm.
Raelle froze at the sensation on her palm. Her breathing began to even out as she looked at the ‘S.’
Scylla allowed her to take some time, waiting patiently for Raelle to realize where she was. When the time did come, her heart almost broke at the unshed tears in Raelle’s eyes when she looked up at her. “I’m sorry, Scyl, I don’t know what came over me--” she began to desperately explain, her words coming out rapid and almost unintelligible.
Scylla interrupted her with a fierce hug, wrapping her arms around Raelle’s quivering form. “Of course it’s okay, Rae.” she told her. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Raelle returned her hug, breathing heavily and nodding quietly.
They stayed like that for a few minutes before Raelle finally pulled away, giving Scylla an unreadable look.
It was at times like this that Scylla missed their emotional bond. While they still had a bond, it was weakened after Alder. The strengthening spell that they had put on it had always been temporary, but that hadn’t prepared Scylla for the numb feeling she had felt when the bond had suddenly disappeared a few weeks after the events in Alder’s office.
She remembered desperately running over to Raelle’s barracks, only to meet Raelle halfway as the girl was sprinting to find Scylla.
They had collapsed on the sidewalk, hugging each other and recovering from the sudden loss of their emotional connection.
Raelle’s grip on her hand brought her back to the present to find Raelle giving her a concerned look. “Where’d you go?” she asked.
Scylla smiled and shook her head. “Nowhere.” she said, leaning forward and pressing her lips to Raelle’s softly and lovingly.
Raelle gave her a small smile as Scylla pulled back. Scylla could still see the uncertainty in her eyes, though.
Scylla ran her hand up Raelle’s arm comfortingly. “It’s okay, Rae.” she said softly. “This is normal. You went through a lot.”
Raelle swallowed and nodded.
Scylla was about to say more when Tally opened the door to the bathroom. She peeked her head out into the room, her hand pressed firmly over her eyes as she did so. “Shower’s open, you guys,” she said before quickly retreating into the bathroom once again, closing the door behind her.
Raelle and Scylla chuckled before Raelle sighed and stood from the bed, stretching her arms. “Alright,” she said, grabbing a change of clothes from her drawer. “I’m going to go shower. Would you care to join?” Raelle said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she walked towards the bathroom door.
Scylla chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Save it for Beltane, Collar.” she said. “I’ll use the other shower, thank you.”
Raelle shrugged. “Suit yourself, beautiful,” she said, winking at Scylla as she entered the bathroom.
Scylla chuckled, collapsing back against the bed after Raelle had left the room.
She had never felt more content in her life. This unit had become family, and she was so completely and utterly in love with Raelle. She was even starting to grow fond of Anacostia.
Wow, she was going soft.
However, as she thought about Raelle and her sisters, she smiled. Maybe going soft wasn’t the worst thing in the world.