Warning: No Caution Taken [Open]

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Akinyi had heard about the army that was coming, and she knew that everyone in the town was trapped. She had heard about the choices she was supposed to make, and really she wasn't very happy about it.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do if she stayed. She wasn't good at anything except hunting, and she knew they wouldn't let her fight with just her bow and arrow. She didn't want to fight. Human life was sacred. But she also didn't want to leave--it felt too much like running away. She was never going to go to the other side...why did they only have three choices?

And so she was exploring a fourth, looking at all the places at the school and around it. She'd gone through the woods, climbing into trees and looking around to see what was there. She'd explored a cave over next to the beach and even waded into the water to look for some grottos. Somewhere along the way she found herself in a place that was a cave but was not a cave, and it had a sign with letters that were almost worn away and that she didn't bother trying to read anyway.

"Hello?" she called cautiously into the dark. "Is anyone here?" She'd thought she'd heard some noise, but it could have been her imagination. It was up to more tricks these days than usual.

"I'm going to come inside now," she called out. "If anyone is there, please tell me now."

[flora]

Flora was never ever going to tell anyone just exactly how she knew anything about The Exit because it mostly involved some incredibly shady dealings that she preferred to forget. The point of all this was that she’d gotten word that Akinyi had wandered off that way.

Like an idiot.

“Akinyi!!” She snapped as the girl called into the foreboding dark. Sure courage was great and all, but this was idiotic. Didn’t she read signs? And even if she couldn’t read signs didn’t she notice how incredibly shady this place was? Flora marched out and nearly seized Akinyi by her elbow to drag her away.

But that probably wouldn’t have gone very well.

Instead she put her hand on Akinyi’s skinny shoulder and spun the pre-teen around to look at her in the face. “What on earth are you doing? Are you insane?! You could get into big trouble out here.” She admonished.

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Akinyi almost fell when she heard her name called out from behind her, but she quickly regained her footing and turned to see who was there. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite remember where she'd heard it before.

When the hand fell on her shoulder and she turned to see that mass of pink hair, Akinyi remembered. "Oh. Hi Flora," she said, ignoring the warning. "Why are you out here? Did you come to explore the cave, too?"

She turned back to the opening and started looking around. "I don't think I would get in trouble. This is part of the school area. I am just looking for a place to hide when the army comes. We should all be looking for places to stay where we can sneak out and attack them. I don't think everyone can live in the trees--there's not enough food there."

She turned to Flora with an excited smile. "Do you want to help me explore? We can see if there are places to store weapons. I want to pick out the place for my bed first." She grinned up at the older girl.

[flora]

Flora hung her head.

If this kid wasn’t so cute she’d have smacked her already. What a doofus.

“No Akinyi, this is most definitely not a cave and it definitely is a shady opening to all kinds of gross and devious things and you are totally never allowed to go in there, okay?” Flora explained frantically. Not only could the girl get a terrible reputation, but she could easily get injured. Or worse.

Flora just gaped at Akinyi. Hide when the army came? Akinyi wasn’t going to be doing any hiding unless it was on an island very much elsewhere. “Akinyi we’re not going to hide out and then ambush the army !” She practically snarled. “You’re not going to be doing any fighting at all! You’re too young and I would totally loose so many fairy godmother points for letting you. And I might get expelled, but that isn’t the point.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Flora reminded herself that knocking her charge unconscious and hiding her away until the war was over was not a very viable option. And was also probably illegal or something. Also Akinyi was too cute to survive, her little grin…she thought she was such a hero! But she wasn’t yet, and she didn’t need to see this. She might understand what it meant to kill in the hunt, but war was something entirely different. War wasn’t for children.

“I don’t think we should explore here it’s…” Flora had to start thinking like Akinyi, otherwise they wouldn’t get anywhere. “It’s too far away from the town proper. The army is probably not going to come out this far. Y—wewon’t be of much help. I think it’ll be better if we evacuate to the island.”

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Akinyi firmed up her shoulders. "Why shouldn't I go in there? Do you think I am scared? I am not afraid of gross things. And I am not afraid of the dark. I know how to take care of myself." Really she was confused as to why this "fairy godmother" felt the need to follow her around everywhere when she clearly wasn't doing anything to help.

"But--" she started to argue when Flora disapproved of her plan to fight the enemy, but the pink girl was already charging on. Akinyi crossed her arms across her chest and frowned at the little depression in Flora's throat that was fluttering at an alarming pace currently. "I am not too young. I am fourteen, and I know how to take care of myself. I am not afraid of a bunch of bullies."

She listened to Flora's explanation warily, but some of what she was saying made sense. "Well I still think maybe someone should stay here," she said slowly. "But you are right. Someone should go to the island and protect it. You want to come with me?" she asked in verification. "But who will we get to stay here just in case the army does come here? Everything should be protected. People could use this place to stay and then do a surprise attack. Isn't it a good plan?"

[flora]

Flora really needed to smack her head into a wall or something. Being a godmother was so frustrating! “No, no I know you’re not scared. I know you’re brave and scary and full of big sticks and fighting spirit.” Flora said, exasperated. “But it’s really dangerous. More dangerous than anything you could ever imagine. You’d need an army to go in there.”

She was definitely over exaggerating, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was probably encouraging Akinyi rather than coaxing her away from the mouth of the Exit. Her pouting wasn’t helping either. As a girl who used her pout excessively, Flora knew she was running out of time and that soon Akinyi would tune her out and do whatever she wanted.

Flora suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s a great idea. Maybe we’ll…” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Maybe we should tell Commander Vimes about this place. That way he can send some soldiers here to hide.” She really didn’t like that guy. “It’s a great plan. You should definitely tell your boss. And I’ll come with you to help protect the island.”

[Deleted]

"An army?" This idea actually rather excited Akinyi, and she began plotting already. "Well we could get my friend Lilo. She likes to make things that explode. And we could ask some of the knights. I think they would be able to help. If it's something I can't imagine, is it maybe magic? Well then you could help, and maybe my friend the Professor." She had met Gandalf on first arrival, and he seemed very helpful. "If it is dangerous, we should fix that so it is a safe place for everyone to visit." Only here for a few weeks and already Akinyi was making the world a better place. She smiled smugly.

Yet even though she was all ready to get the cave ready for use, Flora still seemed determined to keep her from staying to actually utilize the space. Akinyi tried to understand the new plan being proposed, nodding her head gently. "Yes. The commander is very good at these things. He is staying here to protect the school, I think, and he has knights to help him." She smiled up at her fairy godmother. "We will tell him about the caves? You can come with me."

She was glad not to be going alone to the island. It would be a big job taking care of that whole place on her own. "You should take time to pack," Akinyi said, already stepping away from the gaping mouth of the cavern. "Or do fairies not need to pack anything? I don't have much. We can leave on the next boat; I think it goes in a few days."

[flora]

The second Akinyi repeated her words, Flora knew she’d picked the exact wrong words. Well, there was no helping it now. “That…sounds like a great army, kiddo.” Flora said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re full of excellent ideas.” Flora’s hand flopped back to her side when Akinyi finally seemed to be okay with leaving the area.

“Yes! Let’s do that. I’ll come with you.” She moved alongside the other girl away from the cave, resisting the urge to do a little victory dance. “I’ll need to pack, but we’ll make it on the next boat, I’m sure.” She didn’t expect to be on the island for that long, and she could pack by magic anyway. “Maybe you should bring your friend…Lilo, was it? Maybe you should bring her with you. She could help you protect the island too.”