There was a loud rumble, a huge crash that jolted Melita both physically and mentally out of what passed for the new normal to her days.

Had Meino had finally run out of patience?

A crack appeared along the far wall, spreading in aggressive fissures across the entire plane. As the lines deepened and there was the creaking sound of abused metal and wood, Melita wondered if the wall would hold. 

As if her thought had jinxed the whole thing, the wall burst apart in an explosion of rubble. A giant brown creature crashed into the room, and for a second Melita felt something hard and leathery impact her body as it slammed into her. 

Then she was airborne, soaring toward the ceiling and trying to calculate the possibility that this was all a hallucination. Something snapped round her stomach, before it sharply snatched her back down. A thud, and when Melita's eyes finally focused, she found herself staring up a very familiar face. 

But... It couldn't be? And were they both riding atop the large creature? 

“Wait… Aquila?” She hadn’t seen the other girl since they’d graduated, the seal branch being isolated from the most of the world. Did she come to save her? How would she even know where to find her? “Why are you here? It’s dangerous!”

“I could say the same to you.” Waving her hands, the rope of light round Melita’s middle lost form, flowing into her cuffs to form into a key. With a click, it was like she hadn’t been imprisoned at all. Since when could she make her light have physical effects? Rubbing her wrists, Melita tried to understand what was going on, but there were so many questions clamouring for attention that she didn't know which to voice first.

Another crash, and they were surrounded by trees, sunlight shining into her eyes. As Melita fought to get her mind in order, she gripped the creature she was riding, looking down curiously.

It’s body was covered in hard, almost reptilian like hard plates, which was probably what she'd felt before. Running a hand across the hard material, Melita let out a soft hiss when the plate clamped down, almost taking off her finger. Seemed like it didn’t like being touched too much. But then… It almost looked like a boar. Had Teresa found someone from the main branch? Melita didn’t know there’d been any of them left. Would they have saved her just to save their branch the disgrace?

“You should be thanking her. Without her I wouldn’t have known things were this bad.” Aquila said scathingly, and Melita got the distinct impression that she was being scolded. “Really, are you so lazy that you’d make your apprentice become the guide?”

Wait. Apprentice? Looking down, Melita gently rapped on the plates. “Teresa?”

A huffing grunt.

It was her Teresa! Of course. This entire rescue had been chaotic, rushed and powerful. It had been hectic, and swept her up before she’d even processed what was going on. Most of all, it had filled her with the greatest joy.

Smiling, Melita ran her hand across the plates as she sent out her magic toward the men that had started to surround them, giving them all a vision of a second boar charging toward them. 

As the men scattered, disoriented, Aquila smiled, creating a ball of light between her hands and sending out a volley of arrows right into those who still came after. 

Without Meino, they wouldn't stand a chance. 

Meino would definitely be chasing them after this, but for the time being, it seemed like they'd wrested her freedom out of thin air... and for what? Kindness? Letting out a loud laugh, Melita grappled with the feelings that threatened to bubble through her lips incoherently. 

Darkness was something she was used to, but this? It was light and giggly and she had no real way to keep a lid on it. Melita suddenly thought of Aquila when they were still at the Academy, how she fought to maneuver light between her fingers, how she'd sometimes fail, and the light would burst out her hands like a miniature sun. 

So she didn't really try to sort through the feelings, focusing on their escape for now. Still, it spilled out through her smile, her fingers, her vision even-things seemed brighter somehow. "Sorry for worrying you. You couldn't let me die before you had a chance to scold me, right?" 

Teresa planted her front legs in the ground to send her hind legs to the air spitefully, almost unseating both of them, a loud huff coming from her. Oh yes, the other would definitely have a lot to say once she had the chance. 

Amidst Aquila's complaints, Melita's fingers gripped Teresa tighter. 

She couldn't wait.