Review Replies:

Somebody: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it ::) And yes, Jesse will appear later on!

jessicanightmarewolf: All gets explained, don't worry! / Considering, if they used pressure plates at least, that would mean Cassie would be able to wander out on her own, it probably wouldn't be the best idea. And I personally find using buttons for doors- especially gates- to be a bit of a pain most of the time- and Cassie would probably be able to just hit the button too, now that I think about it / They've been kind of starting to crumble apart for a while now... they don't need to be in a dangerous situation to get on each others nerves, and it's mostly because of Isa leaving that things are so tense; everyone wants to have someone to blame, be it themselves or someone else. And I also like the idea that they can actually work really well together in a fight- hence why Harper and Hadrian were able to drop the argument (albeit it temporarily) to (clumsily) fight the Drowned last chapter. It's this weird dynamic they all have that I'm trying to show where they can work really, really brilliantly together but still end up becoming toxic / Hope you enjoy this one too!


Project Tanellis

Chapter Three: Saturated


Wet leaves sloshed in puddles of rain water like cold grey soup. They stuck to the underside of Otto's boots, the dirt and gravel path crunching and squishing with each step. The rain had lightened considerably at this point, but it still left the heavy scent of damp earth and shallow puddles.

Otto cupped his hands around his mouth, "Cassie!"

His voice bounced from tree to tree, startling a small flock of birds somewhere high within the branches. Otto sighed when there was no response and scrubbed at his eyes.

"We should've been enforcing the rules more," he groaned, "She knows the rules, why would she-"

"She's two, Otto," Mevia didn't quite snap this, but her voice was tight, "She only has a vague understanding of the rules."

"But I made a sheet!" he protested, "It's on the fridge! I drew a unicorn on it and everything!"

Mevia sighed and glanced at her clock; it was ever so slowly, ever so steadily, ticking closer and closer to night. The monsters would start to become a tad more daring soon, as the sun started to melt against the horizon, especially when the sky was already darkened by the rain clouds. They'd be more than eager, she was sure, to snatch a child that had wandered just a little too close to one of their caves.

She quickened her pace. The hem of her favourite robes was wet and muddy, but she'd worry about that later; nothing a wash wouldn't fix anyhow. Besides. There was no telling what condition they were going to find Cassie in- if they even found her at all.

They came to the little alcove, enclosed in a birch wood fence and speckled with an assortment of flowers that looked only slightly dull in the grey air. The bees were nestled within their hives, weary of the rain, and didn't temper when the two pushed through the gates.

"Cassie?" Mevia called out, trying to spot a blob of red hair or too big glasses hiding amongst the flowers, "Cassie, are you here? Come out now."

The only response was the light drizzle of rain pattering against the homemade hives. Otto sighed, rubbing at his jaw anxiously. His brow was creased deeply.

"If only Isa and Soren were here, we could spread out mo-"

"Don't mention Isa," Mevia snapped, and Otto blinked out of his thoughts, surprised, "It's no good wishing she were here anyway."

"Yes, well," Otto murmured, shoulders slumping, "I suppose you're right."

They started searching around the bee farm, just in case. But the farm wasn't particularly big, and there were only so many times they could search through those particularly big flowers gathered around the back. Mevia groaned, frustration arching up her spine and thumping a rhythm behind her eyes like it was having a dance party in her skull. She wished she were in bed.

"Perhaps we should meet up with Harper and Hadrian," Otto said, chewing on the inside of his cheek- a habit he'd been trying to break time and time again but was never quite successful, "They might have found her."

"Yeah," Mevia murmured, glancing around at the trees and flowers and puddles as though half-expecting Cassie to simply pop out from behind something, "I suppose."

They started to walk back. Otto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight an oncoming headache. He shook his head.

"We need to find a way to stop this from happening again," he muttered, brow falling into a heavy crease, "She should know fine well that she's not allowed outside on her own-"

"She's a toddler, Otto," Mevia said, just barely keeping the irritation out of her voice at having to repeat herself, "She doesn't fully understand rules yet."

Otto glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, "Yes, well… I'm aware." They lapsed into a short silence, before he spoke again, "Perhaps we could use that prototype that Harper was developing with the Redstone Heart."

Mevia had to pause for a moment, racking her brain, "Oh. That old project? I thought she shelved it."

"She did, yes, but it might be worth looking into," he hummed, "Find a way where she won't break any rules."

Mevia came to a stop. Otto walked a few paces more, realised she wasn't by his side, and stopped as well, turning to face her. She stared at him, jaw coiled hard enough that she grit her teeth.

"You're talking about mind control," she said, and was a little surprised by how calm her voice came out, "You want to take away her free will?"

"Perhaps not that exactly," Otto said, tapping his bottom lip as though trying to figure out a particularly curious puzzle, "Maybe more like programming, like with the Command Block? We could develop a chip, although preferably one that's much smaller than Harper's original… and not physically connected to-"

Mevia held up a hand to stop him, "Otto. We're not doing that."

Otto raised his eyebrows, "Why not? It's not a bad idea. Would stop situations like this from happening again, surely?"

"It's too risky," she said, words spat like fire, "We'd have to operate on her brain, connect wires with nerves, something we've only done once on a spider- which, need I remind you, didn't survive."

"Mevia, I'm quite-"

"If, by chance," she continued, taking a step closer; Otto took a small step back, "She were to survive, the statistics of her being irreversibly brain damaged are astronomically high. Are you seriously willing to risk six years of work over the disobedience of a toddler?"

The silence that followed was heavy, weighing down on them like condensed air. Otto gave a slow shake of his head. Almost weary.

"Theoretical," he murmured, "Purely theoretical, Mevia. I'd never do anything to hurt her."

They stared at each other a moment longer. Then Mevia walked past him, mud splattering against her shoes and staining her robes. She said not a word and, following, neither did he.

The grey clouds hung above their heads. An Illager might have claimed it an omen.


Harper and Hadrian were already waiting for them when they turned down the corner of the dirt and gravel path, around the last shreds of shrubbery that blocked their view. Mevia didn't need to ask if they'd found her; if the distinct lack of a small, squirming redhead likely covered head to toe in mud wasn't any indication, the look of their faces was.

For a moment, upon stopping in front of each other, none of them said anything. Then Otto cleared his throat and gestured, somewhat unsurely, to their mud-caked robes.

"What, ah, happened to you two?"

Harper and Hadrian shared a long, tired look. They were practically dripping muck and lake water.

"We had a glorious mud battle," Hadrian drawled, upon returning his gaze to Otto. Harper gave a heavy nod.

"Yes. Nearly died. Don't go to the south bank."

"Right," Otto said, slowly. He seemed to shake himself. "I take it there was no sign of Cassie?"

Harper sighed and Hadrian shook his head.

"Nothing. None from you either?"

"Unfortunately," Mevia muttered. Her eyes drifted to the grey sky. "It's going to be dark soon."

"We'll search through the night if we have to," Harper insisted, and none of them disagreed, "That village- it has wolves, yes? If we can get a few, we can use them to track her scent."

"In this rain?" Otto's brow furrowed, "I'm not certain…"

"Better than what we're doing now, though, isn't it?" Hadrian said, and spread his arms at them, a shimmering anger beneath his words, "Running around like headless chickens without even a clue as to-"

"What are you lot doing out here?"

Had Hadrian looked annoyed before, it was nothing compared to the scowl that crossed his face then. The group turned. Soren was heading towards them from the route they often took to get to the village, a rather hideously bright orange umbrella speckled with purple poka dots angled above his head to protect him from the drizzling rain. He had a pack of supplies slung over his shoulder.

"Where on earth have you been?" Harper snapped, and Soren's steps faltered in surprise, "We've been out here for two hours trying to find Cassie!"

"Oh, I saw Cassie."

There was a lapse of silence. Rain pattered on the top of the ugly umbrella, staining Hadrian's already mud streaked glasses and soaking through their clothes until they were heavy and cold. Mevia opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Well, yes, you see-"

"You mean to tell me," Harper said, slowly, "That you saw our two year old wandering about in the rain all by herself and decided that it was not strange and that you should not bring her back?"

Soren huffed, shoulders slumping, "You say that as though I hadn't tried."

"She ran away from you?" Otto asked, startled. Soren hesitated, fiddling with the loose strap of his bag.

"Quite the opposite, really," he said, "Something… rather odd has happened."

Hadrian made an irritated sound at the back of his throat, "Would you get to the point?"

"She's stuck," Soren said, "I came back to get the garden scissors."

"The garden scissors?" Mevia echoed, eyebrows raising to her hairline, "Why do you need the garden scissors?"

"To unstick her."

"Soren," Hadrian pinched the bridge of his nose, as though he were dealing with a particularly difficult to understand child, "Please. Be more specific."

Soren shot him a somewhat annoyed look, "Because she's stuck in vines, Hadrian."

"Vines? But how did she- ?"

Soren shook his head, letting Harper trail off, and slipped between her and Mevia to get to the house with a rather exasperated breath,, "I'll just show you, good lord. Now where do we keep the garden scissors again?"

"The shed," Otto murmured, starting to trail after him, "Is she hurt?

"Not that I could tell," Soren said, as they followed him into the backyard and towards the shed tucked near the back, "She was just sitting there, really. Enjoying the rain, I think. Didn't even seem that bothered when I couldn't pick her up."

Harper helped him drag open the heavy shed door. He slipped inside, rummaged about for a moment, and came out with the garden shears. Hadrian's arms were crossed over his chest.

"How far away is she?"

"Not too far, really… maybe ten minutes down the road," said Soren, skirting around him to start making his way back. Harper glanced up at the sky, a cord tightening around her chest like the thick body of a boa constrictor. The sun was going down, and the clouds were already blocking out so much of its light… if Cassie was stuck out in the open…

They walked quickly, Soren holding the umbrella up slightly in a rather useless attempt at protecting them all from the drizzling rain. Harper kept glancing up at the slowly, slowly darkening sky, bile stinging the back of her throat. She wanted something to twist in her hands, something to do with her fingers, but her muscles were too coiled with nerves to reach for her chewie.

They didn't go incredibly far down the road, all things considered. But it was far enough that the base disappeared behind the trees. Soren led them off the path, the leaves and branches high above only slightly assisting in protecting them from the drizzling rain. They made their way down a slight hill, not particularly steep but still requiring a tad of precaution with the damp grass encouraging a slip and what would be a rather embarrassing tumble down.

Soren slipped between some trees- and there she was. Sitting next to a small stream of cold water, head angled to the sky, rain splattering against the dirty lenses of her glasses. Soren knelt next to her, his umbrella blocking the others immediate view, and tugged the garden scissors out of his pack.

"Cassie?" he said, "Are you awake, dear?"

Harper skirted around him to be clear of the umbrella, just in time for Cassie to crack open her eyes. She heard Otto suck in a startled breath behind her; her eyes trailed further down and she quickly realised what Soren had meant by vines.

They were entwined with her legs, so saturated that they were practically white. Her shoes were completely covered, making her look like she was rooted right into the ground like a plant. Harper's whole body went cold with shock; but Cassie herself seemed quite unphased, only giving a little beam when she saw them.

"Y'ah!"

Mevia was already moving forward, kneeling next to Soren. She lifted Cassie's arms, fingers trailing along her skin and making her giggle, before looking at her legs and tugging carefully at the vines. Her brow furrowed deeply.

"She doesn't seem hurt…" she said, slowly. Harper let out a shaky breath, but relaxed only slightly.

Hadrian knelt on Soren's otherside, Cassie having to twist slightly to look up at him. She was covered in mud and looked nearly soaked to the bone, but Mevia was right. There were no cuts or scrapes or bruises to be found.

"Let's get her out of here," Hadrian murmured after a moment, glancing at Soren, "We'll bring some of these vines back to the lab too."

Soren nodded and carefully shimmied the two blades of the garden scissors over one of the vines. With one sharp snip, it was cut in half.

Cassie flinched, eyes widening. She leaned away from him. "No!"

"Does it hurt?" Hadrian asked. Cassie ignored him in favour of pushing as hard as she could at Soren's shoulder when he made to snip another vine- which wasn't very hard, in all honesty.

"No!"

"We need to get you unstuck," Otto explained, "Unless you can move?"

"I already tried pulling her out," Soren said, "They're wrapped around pretty tight…"

Cassie huffed and pushed at him again, "Go 'way!"

Hadrian took her arms, easily keeping her still enough to not get in the way, even as she started to squirm and screech. He shot Soren a look. "Just hurry up. I'd like to go home now."

Soren winced, but quickly went back to his snipping. Cassie was yelling, attempting to both tear herself from Hadrian's grip and punch him with her small fists. He ended up wrapping an arm around her to pin her against his chest, which only seemed to annoy her more. She thrashed, best she could pinned by both him and vines, screaming and starting to cry, drowning out Mevia's attempts to calm her down.

"This isn't hurting her, is it?" Harper asked, just about ready to tear the garden scissors away; but Hadrian was already shaking his head, pulling a face when Cassie screamed in his ear. They weren't cries of pain- just anger, really. Like when she didn't want to take a nap or they were out of cranberry juice.

The realisation should've helped her relax some, but it didn't. She shifted her weight, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that there were no early-rising monsters that had decided to risk the last few dredges of sunlight to inspect the sounds of a screaming child.

Cassie's squirming, however, seemed to actually be helping loosen the vines some. Otto started to help Soren tug them off, until Hadrian was able to lift Cassie off her feet entirely, tearing through the last few bits of resistance. She screamed loudly enough that Harper wouldn't have been surprised if it hurt her throat, kicking wildly, and usually this wasn't something any of them would just leave her to do. But they were all tired and Harper was just happy that they'd found her.

"Ah!"

Her eyes flickered towards Soren. He looked like he'd been in the middle of getting to his feet, and it took Harper a moment to realise what was wrong. A pale white vine had circled around his wrist and was slowly, slowly inching its way up the rest of his forearm like a wrestled with it, trying to rip his arm free, but the vine's grip held hard enough to bruise.

"What on- Cassie-"

Mevia grabbed the garden scissors, snapping the blades over the vine just as the base of Soren's wrist. It seemed to go limp, slackening, and Soren was quick to tear it off and toss it aside. His arm hadn't bruised, but there were angry red welts where it had wound around him, cutting off his blood flow.

Cassie was still screaming. Soren grimaced, rubbing the marks, and huffed a breath.

"Well, isn't this interesting…"

"Are you alright?" Otto asked. Soren nodded, standing now, and making sure to keep a safe distance away from the vines. Mevia was looking at them with a frown.

"Do we have anything to carry some with?" she asked, "Without it potentially… getting a grip on us, if you will."

Otto groaned quietly at the, frankly, quite lame joke. Hadrian shook his head,

"Not really," he said, trying to angle Cassie a little so that she wasn't screaming directly into his ear, "Let's just go now. We can get it later."

Mevia seemed somewhat reluctant, but she nodded and Hadrian was already starting to make his way back up the hill, ignoring how Cassie had started hitting at his back. The others were quick to follow.

Cassie slowly exhausted herself on the way back, until she was slumped over Hadrian's shoulder, occasionally hiccuping and looking miserable in the way only a toddler could. Otto pushed open the front door once they reached it, holding it open for them to come in.

"She needs a bath," he stated.

"So do I," Hadrian grunted, and passed the toddler onto Mevia, who held her at arms length to avoid getting mud all over her robes, mouth twisted in displeasure, "I'm going to take a nice, relaxing bath, and then probably replace that blasted gate with something that locks automatically."

He kicked off his shoes to avoid tracking muck into the house and disappeared around the corner. Harper blew out a breath, rubbing at the tension that left the back of her neck aching.

She could use one too.


Check out a drawing I made for this chapter a while back on my Tumblr or Instagram at aniveous!