Pupil 35: Punching Plants

Zara’s head was still spinning from last week’s training session and because of her new Neon Neko powers. She crouched on the fountain’s edge and splashed some water on her face to shake her up before the course started.

“Are you Zara?” a bubbly voice sang from behind.

Zara turned and immediately had to squint because of the sight.

The girl standing before her looked like a Unicorn had sneezed her into existence. The long, rainbow-colored waves that was her hair bounced with each step she took. Her sparkling light violet eyes, flecked with gold, were wide open with unfiltered cheer. Her outfit was a jean shorts with a tight white shirt with a bucket of glitter and some rainbow pins on it, likely added by her. Like a one-person pride parade, Zara thought.

“Ugh ... Yeah, that’s me,” Zara blinked.

“Hiya! I’m Pixie Joyner! I’m your partner this week!” The girl beamed. She threw out a peace sign with fingernails painted in every color of the visible spectrum ... and maybe some colors that weren’t.

“Nice to meet ya,” Zara said, shaking her hand slowly. She still tried to regain composure.

Pixie leaned in, hands behind her back like a cartoon character about to spill a secret.

“Aritimi said she’ll be a few minutes late, but she told me to get to know you while waiting! Soooo ... what’s your favorite color? Do you like boba tea? Have you ever been in a cuddle pile? I think they should be legally required once a week.”

“You’re ... very enthusiastic,” Zara blinked again.

“I get that a lot!” Pixie chirped, “It’s kind of a thing. It’s also why my augmentation almost never works!”

“What is your augmentation?”

“Upset Unicorn powers,” Pixie revealed, “That’s why my hair is so colorful now,” she tugged a lock of her hair, “But the power only activates when I’m deeply sad or angry.”

“I heard they are quite tough when get agitated. So it’s a negative emotion-based power?”

“Yup! And I’m really, really not good at being negative. One time, I thought about how my goldfish died when I was six and managed to use my powers for like three seconds. Then I sneezed and it was gone!”

“So if something goes wrong, you’ll just smile it into submission?”

“That’s the plan!” Pixie gave her a finger-gun with a wink.

“This one is going to be a long day I guess,” Zara murmured. Then, a familiar voice greeted them.

“Good morning, pupils,” Aritimi said as she stepped out of the portal.

“Hi, Miss Portal Lady!” Pixie waved enthusiastically.

Zara just nodded and said, “Morning.”

“Follow me,” Aritimi gestured, and the portal behind her expanded again.

They stepped through it and found themselves in a forest, surrounded by towering evergreens and other plant life.

“Ah! Some fresh air,” Zara took a deep breath.

“This place is like a fairy tale! I love it already,” Pixie turned in a slow circle.

Aritimi led them to a small clearing where a huge boulder sat beside a thick bush that swayed slightly in the breeze.

“My friend will be here soon. Until then, feel free to enjoy the peace. Won’t last long.”

She hopped up onto the rock, legs swinging gently as she sat.

Suddenly, the bush behind her shifted. From the foliage, an arm emerged, silent and deliberate, holding a knife made of what looked like twisted, gnarled wood, its jagged edge mere milimeters from Aritimi’s neck.

Pixie gasped. Zara tensed, turning one hand into a wolf-head. But Aritimi just chuckled.

“I’ve seen through your disguise, Odina.”

The bush gave a low grunt of amusement and began to shake. With a series of cracking sounds, the greenery retracted, pulling back into the figure of a woman crouched in the undergrowth, as if she had grown out of it.

She stood and dusted her hands off with the same slow, deliberate calm she used to aim a knife.

“This is Odina Blackwillow,” Aritimi said, sliding off the rock and gesturing toward her, “Chief of the Botanical Unit.”

Odina was a middle-aged Native American woman with warm copper-brown skin and long, thick black hair streaked with silver. Her braids were adorned with beads and small monster bird feathers.

She wore a dark green cloak, though on closer inspection, the texture looked more like overlapping layers of leaves stitched together rather than fabric.

“How did you notice it, Timi?” Odina asked curiously.

“Your bush disguise looked too good. There’s no way the local herbivore monsters would let such a feast untouched for long,” Aritimi explained.

“You got an eye for the details, Timi,” Odina smirked. Zara was also surprised. Because of her perverted shenanigans, she often forgets that Aritimi has her rank for a reason.

“That was so cool! You were the bush! How did you do that? What’s your power?” Pixie’s eyes sparkled.

“My augmentation came from a Terror Tree. I can grow plants from my body: leaves, roots, wood, bark. The usual forest toolkit,” Odina explained.

“Wait, does that mean your clothes, are those...?” Pixie gasped.

“Yes. I grew them myself,” Odina nodded.

“No way. Really? Like, actually?” Pixie tilted her head.

“Watch.”

She held out her arms slightly. The cloak of leaves shimmered, the edges folding inward. The layers of foliage began to retract like vines unwinding, slipping back into her skin as if being swallowed. Within seconds, she stood completely naked.

Her naked body, despite her age, was eyecatching. She was fit which made her look younger than what she actually was. Her breasts, which were just a little bit smaller than Aritimi’s well-endowed meat mountains, had a noticeable slope, with areolae and nipples that were as dark as the night sky. Her pubic hair was also thick and black.

Pixie clapped both hands over her mouth in pure shock.

“Oh my gosh! You’re really...!!”

Before she could finish, Odina’s calm expression remained unchanged as she rolled her shoulders. A new wave of vines, and leaves grew outward, forming once again into her cloak and garments. Fully clothed in under five seconds.

“There,” Odina said with a slight smirk, “Satisfied?”

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,’ Pixie exclaimed.

“So...,” Zara finally asked, as they followed Odina deeper into the forest, “Are we supposed to fight plants or something?”

“No fighting. Not unless something fights you first,” Odina answered, she didn’t even look back, “This duty is more than just fighting.”

Pixie practically skipped next to Zara, arms outstretched.

“Ooooh, are we gonna make potions? Do we get cauldrons? Can we wear pointy hats?” she chirped.

“No,” Odina said simply, coming to a stop beside a big pile of branches, “Today, you’re going to help me track down a rare supernatural flower. It’s called the Anti-Baby Boom Bloom. It only blossoms once every few weeks, and only under the right conditions. We need a lot for the research team’s experiments.”

“And what does it do? Summon flower monsters?” Pixie asked.

“No,” Zara answered this one, “Do you remember those pink pills that we have to take every month since we are in the HSA?”

Pixie nodded, “Yeah, the ones that mess with our hormones so we won’t have babies?”

“Yes, they prevent monsters from impregnating us in case they capture us, and this flower is one of the key ingredients,” Odina nodded, “The research team tries to create a version that can make any monster infertile permanently to make their number drop faster. But they need a lot of these flowers for the experiments.”

“It’s a stillborn idea,” Aritimi shook her head, “Monsterkind is too diverse to have a chemical that can affect all of them in the same way; plus, they evolve too fast.”

“Yes, but even if just the numbers of certain types can be lowered, it would worth a try,” Odina opposed.

“Anyway,” Aritimi shrugged, “Is this your secret hideout?” she pointed at the pile of branches.

“Yes,” she nodded, and the branches began to move, revealing an old car with a mobile home attached to it.

“Whoa! You guys need a bigger budget,” Aritimi snickered.

“That’s just a mobile hideout for the long missions. Mostly just me and my daughters use it.”

“It’s so cool!” Pixie exclaimed.

“Plus, you can leave your clothes here safely,” Odina added.

“Ah! Thanks for reminding me,” Aritimi patted her shoulder, “Get in your hunting gear, pupils.”

“Whoa! Will we get hunting gear? I want a pink colored one,” Pixie’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“No. By hunting gear, she meant to take off your clothes. We will hunt naked,” Zara replied.

“Yep,” Aritimi nodded, “The best and more efficient way to hunt is by doing it without the shackles of conformity. Just use what nature gave to you.”

Zara expected, and a little bit wanted Pixie to break character and be distressed, but no. She didn’t mind it.

“Alright, if it’s what it takes to get the job done,” Pixie said cheerfully.

Aritimi just unzipped her jumpsuit and left it in the mobile home.

Zara was the next to undress and then folded everything neatly while Pixie was still just half-naked.

It was weird to feel the earth and dried leaves beneath her bare feet, but the calm breeze that made her nipples rock hard was quite good. At least, they were in nature. She wouldn’t mind keeping her boots on, though, especially because of the pebbles on the ground.

At last, Pixie joined them too and she looked as joyful as always.

Her skin had a light tan tone, which was overshadowed by her vibrant hair. Her breasts were perky B-Cups, topped with rosy nipples that pointed straight ahead like tiny exclamation marks of excitement. Her stomach was flat, with a cute little belly button piercing, winking at them as she moved. Her skinny build made her hips flare out, giving her immaculate curves. Her legs were toned but not muscular. Her pussy was neatly trimmed with a small landing strip of hair, with the same rainbow pattern as her hair.

“We can move on now,” Odina snapped her fingers, and the branches crawled back, covering her hideout.

They walked through the green, following a crumbling trail of broken pavement until the silhouette of an old building appeared between the trees.

“Looks like a haunted mansion from those old movies,” Zara looked around.

“It used to be an Indian casino. But it was too far from Crowsend, and the monsters out here didn’t take kindly to the traffic. I know it sounds stupid now to build it here but back in those days, people didn’t have to worry about monsters everywhere. You could easily go for a walk into the woods for hours. Now you can’t be safe even in your own home,” Odina explained with a sigh.

Pixie bounced in place, clearly unbothered.

“Spooky casino forest flower hunt! This day keeps getting better!” she exclaimed.

They continued past a rusted gate into the cracked parking lot. That’s when Zara made them stop. Her eyes locked on a bus parked off to the side, still mostly intact, its paint faded but unmistakable.

“That’s Steve’s bus,” she muttered.

“Steve?” Odina stepped beside her.

“Yeah, he drove us to that weird PRA sex party last week,” Zara explained, “We went undercover as monster girls. Thought the whole group was shady, but it turned out it was just one creep. Steve was just the ride guy.”

Zara crept closer, keeping low. She peeked through one of the broken windows, and then she saw him.

Inside the abandoned casino, Steve wandered alone, a flashlight in hand, looking around cautiously.

“He’s definitely here for something,” Zara whispered, “You think we should talk to him?”

“Not yet. We don’t know what he’s doing here. If the PRA’s up to something again, we better keep our incognito intact. Who knows, maybe we can infiltrate another sex party in the future. And maybe I could come with you guys this time,” she answered.

“Right. I’ll enter Bug Queen mode,” Zara nodded, already stepping back.

The transformation didn’t take long. White chitin crawled over her skin, black claws and high-heeled feet formed, and red bug-eyes glowed faintly as her wings flexed behind her back.

“We can’t just have me looking non-human. If we’re playing monster girls again, you will need a monster girl persona as well. Odina, can you grow something horn-like with your plants or something?”

Odina nodded. She raised her hand, and two thick, detailed antlers sprouted from her scalp, knotted like wood, spiraling out like branches in the shape of an elk’s antlers.

“Those are so COOL!” Pixie squealed.

Meanwhile, Aritimi waved her fingers near her face. Her eyes dimmed, then began to glow faintly purple, otherworldly and unsettling.

“I can focus my Riftwalker powers into my eyes to do that. Hopefully, it will be enough to fool him.”

“What about me?” Pixie asked.

“I guess you are already weird-looking enough,” Aritimi chuckled.

“You’re a rainbow unicorn girl with sparkles in your irises,” Zara said, cocking her bug-head to the side as if thinking really hard, “Yeah. You’re good.”

“Alright ... let’s see what Steve is really up to,” Zara said as they approached the entrance.

“Oh, one more thing, Odina,” Zara stopped, “You have to retract your leaf cloak. Monster girls don’t wear clothes.”

“Fine,” she said after a long pause, and her clothes disappeared beneath her skin, revealing her nude form again.

They stepped inside the old casino, the air immediately turning damp and musty. The place clearly hadn’t seen human life in a long time.

Steve spun around as he heard their footsteps, his flashlight beam landing on Zara first. His expression quickly shifted from confusion to pleasant surprise.

“Well, if it ain’t Koko’s daughter!” he said with a wide grin, his glasses catching the light, “Didn’t expect to see you again, girl.”

“Hi, Steve. Yeah, nice to meet you,” Zara said awkwardly.

“Where are your mother and the others?”

“They are ... sleeping in our hideout. They still tired after that wild party.”

“It was wild indeed,” he chuckled, “I heard that idiot David is a wanted criminal now. Not surprised, not at all.”

Steve looked past Zara at the others, curiosity flashing in his eyes.

“I see you are not alone. Would you introduce good ‘ol Steve to your friends?”

“Yeah, of course,” Zara gestured to each of them, “This is ... Timi, she is a Riftwalker.”

Steve’s eyes almost jumped out of their sockets like a cartoon character’s as he took in the sight of Aritimi’s naked body. Her perfectly sculpted physique with her huge, round, gravity-defying breasts helped to make her look like something non-human, something better than human.

Aritimi gave a small nod, her glowing purple eyes flickering faintly in the gloom.

“Are you sure she is not a Sex Goddess?” Steve winked. Zara noticed that his pants were already pitching a tent.

Aritimi just giggled like a young girl.

“This here is Leaf,” Zara continued, pointing at Odina, “She’s a Dryad.”

Odina raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Her antlers gleamed like polished bark.

“Ah! Another beauty. Nice mom tits, ma’am,” his eyes tried to devour Odina’s breasts.

Before Zara could get another word out, Pixie bounced forward with a beaming smile.

“I’m Pixie!”

Zara quickly stepped in.

“She’s a Rainbow Nymph,” she added smoothly, casting a warning glance at Pixie, who just giggled and clasped her hands behind her back.

“Oh, such a cute little thing,” Steve’s eyes ran across her body as well, “I feel like I just hit the jackpot in this casino.”

He then turned back to Zara.

“By the way, what brings you here? This ain’t exactly a hot date spot.”

Zara stepped forward.

“We could ask you the same thing. Why are you here, Steve?”

Steve sighed, adjusting his glasses.

“Well, it’s kind of a PRA thing. One of our guys, Jeff, came out here lookin’ for some supernatural plant, said it could help with potions, healing, all that new-age monster wellness stuff. But let’s be real; he probably just wanted to find some monster weed. Anyway, we didn’t hear from him since morning and I started to worry.”

“That’s terrible! What if something ate him?” Pixie gasped.

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Well, we are looking for a rare plant, too. I doubt it’s the same he wanted to find, though.”

“Leave it to us. We’ll find him for you. You can wait for us outside,” Aritimi offered.

Odina’s antlers twitched slightly.

“The plants are uneasy here. They don’t like what’s grown beneath this roof.”

“That’s comforting,” Steve raised an eyebrow, “But I won’t let you girls alone here.”

As they ventured deeper into the casino’s main hall, they suddenly heard a low growl.

A small creature jumped out from behind a toppled blackjack table. Its fur was mottled with leaf-like patterns. It looked like a regular house cat, except its body had a fibrous, plant-like texture.

It crouched low, its tail twitching with unnatural motion.

“Wait,” Odina said calmly, raising a hand, “That’s a Plant Puss.”

“A platypus?” Pixie gasped.

“No,” Odina said flatly, “Plant Puss. A plant-based monster that mimics feline behavior. Hunts like a predator, even purrs like one, but it’s all chlorophyll and creeping vines in there. Tomato has a few of these in her garden.”

Before anyone could react, the creature lunged, moving faster than expected, and sank its teeth into Steve’s thigh.

“Ah! What the hell?!” Steve stumbled back, grabbing onto a broken slot machine for balance.

“I can slice it off with my portals,” Aritimi offered.

“No need,” Odina interrupted.

She stepped forward, crouching beside the plant monster, and gently placed a hand on its back. From her palm, fine tendrils like green threads slithered out and burrowed into the Plant Puss’s body.

The creature froze for a second, then let out a weird bark-like meow before releasing Steve and darting away, its leafy tail whipping behind it.

“Whoa, that was so cool!” Pixie clapped.

“You didn’t just scare it. What did you do to it?” Aritimi asked, looking in the direction of the escaping monster.

“Plant monsters, especially smaller ones, are vulnerable to my control. I can hijack their instincts for a short time, make them leave, sleep ... or worse, if needed. This one won’t bother us for a few hours. I made sure of it.”

Steve hissed through his teeth and looked down at his leg.

“You think it poisoned me with, like, photosynthesis or something?”

“A Plant Puss is not...” Odina started but got caught off-guard as Steve pulled down his pants to see the injury better. It didn’t look bad but what caught her attention was Steve’s cock which was still erect.

Zara couldn’t help but snicker at the sight.

“Oh my! It looks like it bit the tip of my dick. Quickly, somebody must suck out the venom,” Steve said jokingly as he noticed that he was fine.

“Oh no! We have to do something,” Pixie gasped, she apparently took it seriously. She then knelt beside Steve.

“Pixie, no...” Zara tried, but it was too late. Pixie’s head darted down, and before anyone could react, she took the head of Steve’s big black cock into her mouth, her eyes wide with concern.

Steve gasped but it was soon followed by the slurping sounds of Pixie’s mouth as she sucked so hard it looked like she was trying to milk a cow.

Odina rolled her eyes and jerked her head away from the sight. Aritimi just chuckled and kept looking while Zara just stared at her in disappointment. I guess she would get along with Bambi, she thought.

“Damn it, girl! Your sucking technique would even put a Succubus to shame,” Steve panted.

Pixie just kept sucking as if her life was depending on it, her cheeks hollowing like a porn star’s in action.

Steve was unable to hold it any longer, and with a groan, he shot his load into Pixie’s mouth. She kept sucking for a few moments, then pulled back, her eyes watering. She looked up at Steve with her mouth full of semen.

She gulped, “I did it!” she exclaimed, but then her expression went dreadful, “Oh no! I swallowed the venom!”

“Don’t mind it, Pixie. It’s not dangerous,” Zara said while Aritimi kept giggling.

“Thanks, girl. You’re a real lifesaver,” Steve winked, “Maybe you should recheck it half an hour later.”

Pixie just smiled proudly as if she indeed had committed a great act of heroism. Well, it was to Steve, at least.

They were about to continue further inside the building when they noticed the distant sound of clattering metal and squeaky hinges.

“That sounded like it came from the kitchen,” Steve said, perking up, “That might be him!”

“Wait,” Odina raised a hand, “There’s movement in there, yes, but I sense plant life. The supernatural one, and a lot of it.”

She crept forward and pushed open the swinging kitchen door slowly and carefully. Against her efforts, the hinges creaked like a rusty scream regardless. Everyone peered inside.

The kitchen was overrun by dozens of tiny creatures. Each one looked like an animate blade of grass, with a goofy face and tiny, human-like limbs. They skittered around in groups, bouncing off pots and pans, sliding down greasy counters, and rolling inside rusted mixing bowls like green kids at a grotesque playground.

“Okay ... what are those? Should we attack them?” Zara whispered to Odina, half-expecting them to leap out screaming.

“They’re Grasslings,” Odina explained, “Not dangerous. They’re a harmless species of plant-based trickster gremlins. They prefer abandoned manmade structures, especially ones near greenery. The irony is, urbanization has actually helped their numbers. So many buildings left to rot give them plenty of shelter.”

“Oh my gosh, they are so cute!” Pixie chirped, walking a little closer.

The Grasslings noticed her almost immediately. They paused their frolicking, turning in unison toward her with wide, blinking eyes. Then, like a tidal wave of emerald fuzz, they rushed toward her in a squeaky stampede.

“What’s happening?!” Aritimi looked back at Odina.

“They’re drawn to color, and your pupil is practically a walking bouquet. They probably think she’s a flower come to life,” Odina chuckled softly.

The Grasslings swarmed Pixie in a wriggling wave of green, crawling up her naked body with adorable squeaky noises. She just giggled, not the least bit alarmed.

“Hey ... they are tickling me!” Pixie squealed, dropping to the kitchen floor, laughing too hard to stand on her feet.

“What are they doing?” Zara asked.

Odina knelt nearby, watching with a thoughtful squint.

“Hmmm. They might just be playing with her...” she said, but suddenly, one of them ripped out a purple-colored strand from Pixie’s bush, which made her yelp, “ ... or maybe they’re trying to pluck her hair. It’s like they’re harvesting petals.”

“Harvesting?!”

“It’s not harmful,” Odina replied, “But it can get ... enthusiastic.”

Pixie tried to shake them off, her rainbow hair swinging wildly.

“I c ... can’t ... haha ... I c ... can’t feel my legs anymore! Not because they’re gone, but because I’m laughing too much!” at least, that was what Zara could get out from her laughing.

She flopped over like a helpless cat, grasslings clinging to her arms and tugging gently at strands of her hair as if trying to unweave it from her scalp.

Out of nowhere, tiny portals with bright and colorful hues started popping open all around the room. A swirl of teal here, a ribbon of magenta there, each one no bigger than a dinner plate. The portals hovered in the air, opening and closing in quick flashes.

“I hope they are colorful enough for them,” Aritimi smirked, focusing on the portals.

The grasslings froze for a sec, mesmerized by the sudden light show. Then one by one, they scampered off Pixie, chasing the portals like excited puppies.

“Let’s go!” Aritimi whispered, already halfway out the door.

Pixie scrambled up with Zara’s help, still laughing breathlessly. The group slipped out of the kitchen while the grasslings crowded around the dancing lights, trying to leap into the portals like a living game of hopscotch.

“Thanks for solving the situation without being violent, Timi,” Odina patted her shoulder.

“Um ... yeah. Needless violence is bad,” she grinned. She knew she would have probably just cut them into pieces with her portals if Odina wasn’t there.

“I’m surprised you powers didn’t activate now. There’s no way my body wouldn’t react to the assault of these little creeps,” Zara whispered to Pixie, trying not to be heard by Steve.

“I liked it, mostly. I love being tickled; just the hair pulling part was worrisome,” she giggled.

They continued by ascending the stairwell to the next floor, which, according to Steve, functioned as a hotel.

“This is where the guest rooms were,” he said, scanning the darkened hallway.

“You know this place, I see,” Odina nodded.

“I lost a few houses’ worth under this roof back in the days,” Steve chuckled, “If the place wouldn’t have to close because of the rising number of local monsters, I would still have to pay my debt to them. I cannot be thankful enough to the monsters for that.”

A sudden, thunderous snore echoed from behind one of the doors.

The group froze.

“Let’s take a look,” Aritimi stepped forward. She then gently pushed open the half-ajar door.

Inside, on a sagging hotel bed, lay what appeared to be a huge, blobby shape, humanoid in form, but completely engulfed in bulbous mushrooms of various colors. The fungal mass rose and fell with each snore. Zara felt like watching a sleeping grizzly bear in a nature documentary.

“Wait,” Steve said, squinting, “That’s Jeff’s backpack.”

The creature stirred as he spoke. Then, it sat up. Its two half-shut human eyes were barely visible beneath a shelf of mushrooms.

It let out a deep, confused howl and hurled itself off the bed toward them.

The attack was short-lived, thanks to Zara. Her foot connected with the creature’s potbelly in a precise strike, knocking it onto its back.

“Whoa whoa! Don’t hurt me!” the mushroom-man cried, raising his thick, lumpy arms.

Everyone paused.

“Jeff?” Steve stepped closer.

“Yes ... it’s me...” the creature whimpered.

“What the hell happened to you, man?”

“I touched this weird mushroom a few rooms down. It felt kind of soft, but then it bit me, I swear! Not like teeth, but like, it stuck to my hand. Then, these things started growing out of me. Then I panicked and came into this room, ran into the bathroom, tried to wash it off, but that just made it worse. They started spreading faster. I got tired, really tired, so I just laid down. I didn’t mean to attack you, I thought you were more monsters! It’s hard to see what all this shit on me.”

Odina stepped closer, inspecting his fungal coating.

“It’s a Crawling Fungus. Not fatal, but persistent. You made it worse with water, it thrives on moisture. Think of it like fleas on a dog: not deadly, just irritating. Though, if left untreated too long, it can cause infections.”

“And why did I get so sleepy suddenly?”

“They are technically a parasite organism on you. They borrowed the energy from you to grow faster.”

“So ... I’m not dying?”

“No. But you are going to need a thorough cleansing ... and probably a shave.”

“At least we found him and still alive,” Zara glanced at Steve.

“Yeah,” Steve said, looking relieved but slightly disgusted, “Now we just gotta un-mushroom him.”

“Soooo ... any ideas how to get this stuff off me?” Jeff asked, still laying awkwardly on the floor, his mushroom-covered arms sticking out stiffly.

“Well, traditionally, fire works wonders on plant-type creatures,” Aritimi raised a hand, and a bright red portal tore itself into the air beside her, “There’s a population of Fire Elementals just past the other side of the forest. I’ve opened portals to their territory before when I needed some quick firepower.”

“Wait ... fire?!” Jeff yelped, starting to panic.

“Timi, no!” Odina tried to protest, but it was already too late.

A lance of flame burst from the portal, crackling with intense heat. The edge of the mattress caught immediately, smoke and embers swirling upward.

“Timi!” Odina shouted.

“Relax, I got this,” Aritimi sealed the red portal shut and instantly opened a shimmering blue one. A rush of cold water gushed from it, drawn from a nearby river. The water smothered the flames with a loud hiss, dousing Jeff and half the room in the process.

The smell of burnt bedding and wet fungi filled the air.

Odina sighed, stepping forward with a disapproving look.

“Really? Fire and flood? That was your plan?”

“At least I tried, and that’s what matters,” Aritimi smirked innocently.

“Let me try something that doesn’t involve arson,” Odina muttered.