Aftermath

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece wrestled awkwardly with the wooden door, unsteadily hefting it one way, then another, her body trembling with the strain as she desperately tried to jam it back into the frame. No matter how she twisted, turned, and shook the door, as long as it was guided by her panicked hand, it just didn’t fit. There was undoubtedly some rational thought hidden somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice telling her she could just fix it with omnilium. The very same way she patched up Liberty, or the human doctor. Of course, that logical voice was completely drowned out by the pure panic screaming in her head. There wasn’t time for her to sit down and do it that way. Nevermind that it’d been nearly an hour by now and would have taken half as long had she done it the right way; Reimu could be back any second, and if it wasn’t haphazardly jammed back in place by then-

THOCK

A single, wooden arrow embedded itself in the shrine door, narrowly missing the hell fairy as she twisted erratically out of the way in her panicked daze. A short gust of wind brushed past her cheek, and just like that, instinct kicked in. The little progress she’d made, the single corner of the door back in the frame, was immediately torn asunder as she ripped it right back out. The fairy’s tiny frame wobbled to the side as she spun around, putting the makeshift shield between her and her unknown assailant. Just in time too, as another arrow lodged itself into the wood.

The heat of hell itself welled up inside the fairy, and a third arrow tore a ragged hole in the paper just to her right. Clownpiece ducked down to the side instinctively, peering through the newly-created opening. Her eye scoured the distant forest, and quickly spotted the vague, concealed movements of her attackers. She raised her right hand up, pressing it against the paper door and...

FWOOM

A bright ball of hellfire burned up the washi in an instant, and seared a smoky arc through the sky, igniting all the grass beneath it as it travelled. It crossed over the clearing in an instant, incinerating a hole in the underbrush right where the movement had been. A resounding BOOM shook the foliage, exploding into vibrant, multicolored stars, and fire. Two green-clad bodies, engulfed in infernal flames, were thrown clear of the forest. Both of them hit the ground roughly, and immediately began to furiously roll about, trying their best to extinguish the fire licking at them.

Clownpiece roughly tossed the door to the side and rushed forward, even more panic rising up in her chest as she noticed the beginnings of the forest fire she may just have inadvertently birthed. Suddenly she didn't care all that much about the would-be assassins. If Reimu found about this, then she was dead, no ifs, ands, or buts. She halted in her tracks and, with a quick moment of concentration, called Liberty back. Fire and brimstone flared up in a small pyre, quickly fizzling out and revealing the white-clad fairy, who bore a rather baffled expression.

“Put out the fire!” Clownpiece ordered, already springing forward again. “No time to explain!” Perhaps spurned on by the urgency in the blonde’s voice, Liberty too rushed forward. Desperate, but nonetheless confused. Despite their specialization in burning things down rather than preventing things from burning down, the two managed to get the fire contained in short order. Thankfully, the hell fairy’s fireball hadn’t been overly huge, and thus the conflagration had been confined to a relatively small, easily covered area.

Once they were certain nothing was going to spontaneously re-combust, both fairies doubled over, panting. Not really from strain or the like, just from the sheer relief both of them felt in that moment. They were saved from Reimu’s wrath. For now, at least. Clownpiece straightened back up, casting a glance back over to where she had last seen her two assailants rolling about. Right where they’d been, only charred grass and ash remained. The fairy frowned. It would have been nice to imagine they both got burnt up into nothing, but something told her they’d manage to extinguish the flames and fled.

“Hey, Liberty?” she started, eyes following a faint, ashy path that lead into the woods.

“...Yeah?” her fellow fairy responded tiredly, grass crunching as she lowered herself to a sit.

“Wanna hunt down some humans?” A burning resolve sparked to life in the child’s heart. They'd made a grave mistake assaulting the shrine, and now she was going to show those two hell's way of doing things.