Unbeknownst to Nicole, her older sister was only a few metres away, on the dorm's back patio where she continued to struggle with the grasp of a group of her friends, "Let go of me!" Natalie demanded, tearing her arm free of Emily's grip, still careful not to clip the girl with her blade arm even in her enraged state. "Not until you calm down." Emily exclaimed, readjusting her grip on the girl's arm, careful to stay clear of that sword like appendage that protruded from the sleeve of the girl's right arm, "You can't do anything rash." "I'll show you rash." Natalie suddenly ducked down and stepped back, slipping out from her leathers, leaving the group of three girls in a confused clump with only the jacket in hand. Without hesitation she leapt over the cluster of girls and charged across a field behind the dorm, towards the dark woods that encircled the academy grounds, letting out primal screamed as she lunged at the forest. Instantly the trees responded to her attack, branches and trees wove into a thick wall in the blink of an eye, catching Natalie's blade arm between two branches. Not the slightest bit phased by the forest's defences she produced three small throwing daggers between each finger of her left hand and punched at the branches, managing to cut through enough branches to free her right blade arm and kicked off the trees to land back on her feet, sliding over the recently cut lawn of the Academy grounds. Misty arrived at the group of girls as they untangled themselves from Natalie's jacket, "She sure is quick, isn't she?" She stated in awed amazement. Tanya pulled an elastic out of one of her tangled pigtails, "She's stubborn is what she is." She stated as she frustratedly fixed her hair. Emily blinked at the jacket that she held in her hands, "How did she...?" She glanced up to see Natalie hurling several small blades that the trees, "What's she doing?" She inquired in confusion, "Are the trees moving?" Cherilyn simply nodded, "The Western Woods are alive." She stated with a shudder as she recalled entering those very woods only days before and how they swallowed everyone, taking them to some strange dark dream world. "You've got to be kidding." Emily stared in disbelief, as Natalie spared with the trees in a display that Emily could only describe was surreal and dream like, "I always thought those stories about the forest were just to scary us away from the, not actually real." "They were meant to scare us, because those trees will eat you alive." Tanya stated as she plopped down on a plastic chair near the edge of the patio and rested an arm upon the table, "Let her release some energy. She needs it." She stated, waving a hand at Natalie in a lazy manner. Misty joined Tanya across the table and for the first time noticed that her hands were trembling, "Lord, I was so scared back there. Why did I have to turn down weapon practice for Tennis in the first place? Everyone has knives around here and all I have is a racket, Hee hee." She laughed nervously. "Hey, a tennis racket can be a deadly weapon." Tanya notes seriously. "So now I'm supposed to carry my racket around with me everywhere I go?" Misty said sarcastically. "It couldn't hurt." Emily added with a chuckle. Misty glared at her friend, "Next thing you know you are going to tell me that wearing my tennis skirt all the time will help too." "If I did would you do it?" Emily inquired with a smirk upon her face, "It wouldn't be much different then what you normally wear, would it?" Misty made a playful swing at the girl, "Why you pervert! If you weren't such a good friend I would leave you." She laughed jokingly, however, for some reason for the first time as long as she could remember, Misty felt embarrassed by her taste in clothing. Maybe it was a combination of Kelly and Emily's remarks, or the fact that Jessica seemed to have another girl, that made her feel so low she did not know, but at that moment she felt very exposed and she did not like it. She tugged at the lace fringe that ran along the hem of her tight white spaghetti strapped shirt that left her arms vulnerable to the autumn chill upon the air, and squirmed in her short ruffled jean skirt that showed off her bare thighs to the world. Her eyes moved across the attire of three girls that sat with her. Emily wore her usual t-shirt and skirt that went to her knees with plain flesh tones panty hoses covering her legs. Cherilyn was dressed in a long sleeved knitted blue shirt over a light blue dress that extended over a pair of high socks. While Tanya was dressed in an array of oranges, she layered three shirt a top one another; a long sleeved sweatshirt, with the zipper open to show off her tight t-shirt that was layered by a spaghetti strapped tank, a short pleaded shirt covered her upper legs while orange tights covered the rest of her legs and she wore black and orange socks under her shoes, which were pink strangely enough. Between the three of them Misty felt even more naked and she wrapped her arms around herself in shame. Tanya watched the girl curiously, "Are you cold?" Tanya inquired, worried for her new friend's health, "Here you can have my sweater." She offered as she took off the sweater and handed it across the table. Misty started to reach for the article of clothing when her eyes moved to Cherilyn, who was watching her carefully with a serious expression upon her face. Misty recalled that Tanya and Cherilyn had only recently mended their relationship and felt nervous about taking Cherilyn's girl's shirt when Cherilyn gave a small smile and nod, affirming that it was all right. "Thanks" Misty took the sweater and began to pull it over her arms, feeling slightly more comfortable with her arms covered. She was glad she made friends with Cherilyn and Tanya, being with them made her feel a lot better about her day. Originally she had planned to spend the rest of the in her room, away from the world, however Emily convinced her to stay in view of the world and join the two for dinner. As if sensing the tension Cherilyn spoke, "To tell you the truth I don't think you need a weapon." she remarked earnestly, "I wouldn't have been able to stand between Kelly and Natalie like that. You have some real guts." "Me! What about Tanya?" Misty pointed at the girl across from her, "You're lucky you didn't get cut or worse." "She's right Love, you need to be more careful." Cherilyn suggested as she took a seat next to the girl, "The Western Dorms are not like the East. It is dangerous getting in the middle of a fight out here." Tanya and herself had only moved to from the Eastern Dorms to the West that morning and she was just beginning to realize just how different the two dorms were. There were no girls with weapons in the East Dorms and the trees around the East did not move like those around the West, and yet these facts did not seem to phase Cherilyn as they did a week before, or even the day before. She was beginning to wonder if her visit to the Western Woods had more of an affect on her then she first thought. A week ago she would not have rushed to the side of a blade-wielding girl in an attempt to split-up a fight. She would have simply walked away from the fight and continued on with her mundane life. She actually felt proud of herself for not running away as she normally would have and a smile crossed her face. Tanya adjusted her other pigtail and gave Cherilyn an uneasy smile, "I figured Natalie wouldn't hurt me." She stated with more confidence then she felt, "I've seen the way she handles those knives of hers. I trust her." "And what about Kelly?" Emily inquired curiously, "She's not like your friend there." Tanya shrugged, "I didn't think about that. I was just concerned about Natalie I guess..." "Say, is she always like that?" Emily asked in a low voice, almost afraid that Natalie might overhear them, and nodding towards the girl as she continued her battle with the trees. Tanya shook her head, "I've only known her a few days, but she is usually very kind. She can be rather protective, but from what I've heard it's understandable." "She must be really hurting." Cherilyn remarked concernedly, "How close was she to Kim?" "She spent years searching for her." Tanya stated in a low hush, "I've heard she searched the Alleys of her missing friend." "Geez..." Emily breathed, thinking about those dark Alleys and the strange tales she had heard about the creatures that existed within their shadows. If the fables about the Western Woods were true then the thought of the Alleys made her shudder in fear. "No wonder she is pissed." She glanced across the field to see Natalie had stopped fighting with the trees, "She seems to have tired herself out already" She remarked, nodding towards Natalie, whom was now laying on the grass, heavily panting. Tanya glanced over her shoulder, "That didn't take as long as I thought it would." She commented as she got to her feet and approached the girl, the others close behind her, "You alright. Nat?" She inquired cautiously. "I... I'm sorry..." Natalie said between pants. She lay with her arms spread out to either side as her eyes drifted to the sky overhead, "It just gets me so pissed off. I spent all these years preparing to protect Kim from anything and everything and it was useless. She's gone and there was nothing I could do to save her." Tanya sat in the grass next to her friend, "I know, but what can we do?" Emily glanced at the Western dorms and sighed, "Not much while Head Mistress Sophia and Jessica are not around." She stated recalling seeing the two leaving the dorms, "I wonder where they went." She turned to Misty as she realized what she had said, "I'm sorry Misty..." Misty shook her head, "It is alright, Jessie doesn't rule my life." She stated boldly. Natalie propped herself up on both arms and stared at the forest, "I bet those Sisters would know what happened to Kim and why Kima changed the way she did." Referring to the Angels of Death that lived beyond the forest, several even in the forest itself. Cherilyn settled in next to Tanya, "Did she ever have brown hair and eyes before? I mean how did their end up to be two of them in the first place." "I've been wondering that myself." Misty said, sitting down with Emily, "I was only told that Kima was from a mirror, but not much else." Natalie thought for a moment before speaking, "I'm not really sure... As far as I remember she always had red eyes and hair. Kids used to tease her a lot about it, but I never found it strange. I just thought it was another interesting thing about the girl. I've been trying to piece everything together since I first met Kima and it makes no sense at all." "Why don't you try bouncing it off us?" Emily offered, "I know it sometimes helps when I talk things out with Misty." She gave Misty a small hug and hung off the girl's shoulders, "Who knows we might be able to add something." Natalie rolled over and sat cross-legged, pushing her blade back into her sleeve with a tree branch she picked up off the ground, "Alyson said that Kima was just a dream image of Kim that escaped from a mirror, but it was soon discovered that both girls were part of the same whole. They both shared similar memories and knew things that only they would know. It was as if the two halves of Kimberly hated each other so much that the split into two individual people. Kima told me she spent a long time in a place she called 'The Hall of Mirrors' and she has spent all that time lost between worlds and something recently caused her to take on a physical form." "Wow." Emily breathed, "So they were the same person, then what happens when one half dies?" Natalie shrugged, "I've been trying to talk with Kima for a while now, but she has been busy with her new friend." "You mean Penny?" Misty partly inquired, already knowing the answer. It was hard for anyone to miss the energy that was emitting from Kima and Penny when they woke up from whatever nightmares they were lost in, "Something seriously must have happened in that dream world because they were rather close for two girls that had just met this morning." "I know what you mean." Tanya agreed, "I thought they were going to go at it right there in the lobby. The hunger in Kima's eyes was rather frightening. It was as if she didn't even care that her other half was gone and all she cared about was getting the girl back to her room." Natalie rubbed the back of her neck; "I've seen her like that before." She said embarrassedly, "She can get very intense at times. I think it was because Kim refused to let her free to the point that she blocked out any possibility of love. God, Jennifer looked so hurt when Kim said she was not 'Disgusting' like Kima. That was the main difference between the two and more then likely the reason that the two split apart in the first place." Tanya stared in shock, "She said that in front of Jenn?" She thought about the sadness and pain in the girl's eyes that day, "That would explain why she has been so upset recently. I mean between Kris fooling around on her and Kim refusing her love it is no wonder she has been so miserable." "I feel sorry for her." Cherilyn breathed, "Does anyone know where she is right now?" "In her room." Tanya replied, "She said she wanted to be alone." "Is it possible that Kim and Kima are one again?" Emily inquired uncertainly, "I mean the change in her hair and eyes. Couldn't her personality have changed as well?" "If it has I didn't notice anything different." Natalie said as she mulled over Emily's suggest and flopped back on the grass, watching the heavy clouds circle overhead, leaving only a blue patch of sky over the school ground, "Does anyone else find the sky kind of odd today?" The other girls gazed up at the sky and they fell silent as they watched the cloud thicken in density and build up like heavy walls all around the edge of the academy. "I hope the Head Mistresses return soon." Emily remarked worriedly. "So do I." Natalie agreed. ***** To be Continued . . .
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