#almost cried at a work meeting bc my throat was a little itchy and one person was coughing uncontrollably

[fabcreature]

i'm so stressed over my fear of covid that my throat feels like it's closing up, conveniently making me feel like i have covid

[photochoco]

New Recruit

The story of how Wisteria became a Cadet. 

Pinprick and Bianca had been the closest to the disturbance. Patrolling had its perks, one of them being that you never knew when you might conveniently stumble upon magical mayhem. Well, they didn’t stumble upon it so much as they heard a banshee-like screech split through the air as they walked along. As the pair raced towards the sound, a figure flew up into the air and took off. A witch.

“Pinprick, go after them! They might’ve hurt someone, I’ll see if I can find anyone!”

Despite being a giant, Pinprick was very fast. He gave a single nod and leapt up onto the rooftops, hopping from building to building in pursuit. Bianca rushed down an alley, towards where the scream had rang out. She was met with a huge mural on a wall, still unfinished. The work seemed a bit familiar. 

And laying on the ground in front of it, a girl. She wasn’t moving. Bianca swore under her breath as she skidded to a halt next to the girl, grabbing her shoulder and rolling her over. Whatever had happened with the witch, it seemed like she’d put up a fight, dried blood was smeared on her shirt and the corners of her mouth. 

“Damn girl...I’m sorry…” Bianca muttered as she noticed the streams of multicolor flowing in rivulets from the girl’s closed eyes. It coated her hands as well; it was no doubt caused by a curse. At least she was breathing. Bianca considered calling for backup before Pinprick leapt down in front of her. “The witch got away,” he scowled. “Well, we can at least count it as a win that this girl here they attacked wasn’t killed. It looks like she might’ve been cursed, though. We’ll need to get her to Tracy. Can you carry her?” Pinprick knelt down and scooped the unconscious person into his arms. She didn’t stir, but she let out a small mumble. A good sign, even if a small one.

“Poor thing,” he murmured as he carefully cradled her against himself. “Let’s get back to BC. Hopefully she can give us a better description of the witch when she wakes up.” --- --- Consciousness came slow, discouraged by soft, warm blankets. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrible had happened…She scrunched her face up. “Oh shit, she moved!” “She’s waking up!” “Oooooh do you think she’ll wanna become a Cadet?” “Whaddaya think happened?”

A myriad of voices reached her ears, but she couldn’t really understand what anyone was saying through her exhaustion. She wanted to go back to sleep.

“Ok everyone, that’s enough, off you go! There will be plenty of time for meet and greet later!”

She didn’t move for another moment. Then everything that had happened came rushing back in one great wave. She sat up so suddenly, a few people who hadn’t yet left squealed in surprise. Her hands flew to her face, her eyes. Her eyes. Please let it have been a dream. Please don’t let it be real. It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real…

“Welcome back, dear. You gave us a bit of a scare, being out for so long. Could you do me a favor and open your eyes?”

Slowly, reluctantly, she opened them. Everything was grey. Greys and whites and blacks, like she was looking at a black and white photograph. Monochrome. The color was gone. Her hands started to shake, her head whirled, and an icy cold dread washed over her.

No. No. No. No way. This couldn’t be happening. 

“Hm hm!” A small plump woman popped into her view, a troll? She leaned in close, examining her eyes.

“What’s your name, dear?” the troll asked. She could barely squeeze it out of her tightened throat. “...W-Wisteria. Wisteria Inkwell. Or...Wisty...”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Tracy Pan, resident nurse of the Black Cauldron. Tell me, do you have any recollection of what happened before you woke up here?” Wisty brought her knees up and pressed her face into them. “...I’ve been cursed, haven’t I.” “I’m afraid so, dear. It would seem it’s a curse on your eyesight, no? Or is it perhaps a different version of soul loss…? Your eyes are voided out like another one of our Cadets, but his are white, yours are black. What do you see?” Wisty fought off tears. “There’s no color. I can’t see color, I--she-- she took color from me...she--”

She would not cry, not in front of other people, let alone a stranger. Emotions she couldn’t place were whirling about inside her so fast. But her face was blank as she willed the tears back. She felt very dizzy.

“Interesting, interesting…and how else do you feel?” Tracy continued.

The room was spinning. “I...uh…kin...kinda...dizzy...” Wisty mumbled. “I think ‘m gonna b’ sick…”

 “Hmm, you might be in shock. How about we… …” 

The rest of the nurse’s words were lost to the static roar that started in Wisty’s ears. Everything sounded very far away all of a sudden, she herself felt like she was floating. She could see things, hear things, but she couldn’t make sense of any of it. She tried to breathe in steadily, but her chest was burning. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Where was the color?

---

Wisty opened her eyes blearily, staring at the ceiling. Jeez...what happened? She sat up, rubbing her face. She was back in the bed, or had she never left it...? 

The world was still in grayscale, and the sickening feeling swelled inside her all over again. She looked around and listened. She was alone. Good.

She buried her face into her knees and sobbed. She sobbed until she felt like she was going to be sick. Her throat was tight and her head pounded, she cried until she had no tears left. The colorful world she’d loved so much was gone. And it wasn’t going to come back. Small wails mixed in with her sobs, thankfully muffled by the blankets.

Finally, she calmed herself down with a series of long sighs that shook her frame. She wiped her eyes and looked around, sniffling. Urgh, now she’d given herself a nasty headache and she couldn’t breathe through her nose. She slipped out of bed to find the bathroom. She could use some cold water on her face. 

Wisty approached the door and went to open it, only to have it swing forward on its own, causing her to yelp in response. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t--excuse me--” 

The pair of legs in the doorway bent down, and an incredibly tall ghoul ducked through the threshold. “Ahem.” He straightened himself up to his full height, easily over nine feet. “Apologies cupcake, I didn’t see you there. Actually, should you even be out of bed? You haven’t been taking the curse very well.”

Wisty squirmed and hastily wiped at her eyes. “I, um, I actually feel fine now. I just wanted some water.” He leaned down, putting his face too close to hers, and gently pressed a long pointed finger onto her cheek. She resisted the urge to shrink away. What if he noticed--

“Now, why the waterfalls?”

Crap. “I. Um.” The ghoul studied her expression and grinned widely with a chuckle, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. Wisty averted her gaze. What colors was he? Frustrated tears bubbled up again. The ghoul cocked his head and continued to grin. “I-I...jeezus, stupid tears,” she muttered as she wiped her eyes. “I’m fine, I’m just a little upset about my...about being cursed. I’ll be fine.”

“Yo Pin, quit hoggin’ the doorframe!” 

A girl with long gelatinous-looking hair squeezed past the ghoul, her eyebrows hopping up when she saw Wisty.

Oh, you’re awake! ‘S about time too, you were startin’ to freak us all out!”

She stuck her hand out, and Wisty took it in her own. The girl’s hand was very warm.

“I’m Bianca Frost, and this is my partner Pinprick! We make up Team B of the Black Cauldron. We found you in an alley.” “Oh--oh my god, you guys saved me? Thank you!!” Bianca shrugged and rubbed the back of her head, looking away. “Eh, it was nothin’. I’m just sorry we didn’t find you sooner. Uh, how are ya feelin’ now?” “I’m...better. It’s still kinda a big shock,” Wisty rubbed at her eyes again. “Do you have a bathroom in here? I wanted to get some water.”

At her insistence that she felt fine enough to do it herself, Bianca pointed Wisty in the direction of the restrooms. They were easy to find, tucked around the corner from a cafe area. There were several people sitting at tables, and they all swiveled their heads to stare at her as she walked by. With a weird flip in her stomach, Wisty hurriedly shut the door behind her as whispers began. 

Purposefully avoiding the mirror, she splashed her face with water, sighing as it soothed her itchy, swollen eyes. She could deal with this. It would be fine. She’d be fine. She’d find a way to keep making art, this was fine. She cupped her hands under the stream and took several thirsty gulps. This was manageable. People got cursed all the time. (As unfortunate as that was.) 

Wisty sighed again. She wondered if the curse affected how her eyes looked. Steeling herself, she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were completely black, no visible iris or sclera to be seen. “Whoooooooaaaa,” She couldn’t help the exclamation as she leaned in closer, staring at her reflection with wide eyes. “Haha, what the hell…?” She pulled her eyelid down and rolled her eyeball around; the whole thing was as solid and black as an 8 ball. A thought struck her- what would people think if they saw her eyes? Would they avoid her? Cursed people in Salem were viewed with pity, and sometimes worse, outright scorn for being damaged goods. What if--

There was a knock on the door. “Hey cupcake, are you almost done in there? John wants to talk to you.” John? Who’s that…? Wisty opened the door. Two people dressed in Ironmaiden uniforms were waiting to greet her. One was a tall, imposing-looking women with her greying hair neatly twisted into a bun. She looked severe, but her eyes looked at Wisty gently. Next to her was an equally-tall oxen hybrid, standing with his arms crossed. He looked at Wisty just as kindly, despite his intimidating appearance. “You’re Wisteria Inkwell, correct?” the woman asked. Wisty nodded. “My name is Elanor Pan, founder of the Black Cauldron. This here is John Bullock, chief of the Ironmaidens.”

“We wanted to ask you a few questions. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” John said, noting Wisty’s sudden nervous expression. “We wanted to ask you about the witch that cursed you. It’s our understanding they got away after attacking you.” “Oh, no! I don’t mind at all…” Wisty replied, feeling relief wash over her.

“Good. Now, if you’ll come this way…” John ushered Wisty into another room. Before the door closed, she looked back at the entourage that was still gathered. They all stared at her.

—-

No sooner had Wisty closed the door she was ambushed by the people still waiting in the cafe area. “Hey! Did Ela talk to you about becoming a Cadet?” “What kind of curse do you have?” “Want some soda?” They were all talking over each other so loudly Wisty could hardly piece together what any one person said. She was luckily saved by Elanor, who swept out of the room behind her.

“Really now! I’d said there’d be time for introductions later, but this poor girl has had a very long day and she certainly doesn’t need to be bombarded by you all at once. I know you’re all excited about the prospect of a new Cadet, but please, be considerate. Don’t scare her off just yet!” she said, a good-humored smile curving her mouth.

Bianca ushered the bewildered Wisty into a seat, and the remaining chairs at the table were very quickly filled in. A soda was slid her way, and with a thanks, the questions began again. The first to speak was Pinprick. “So, my dear, care to share with the rest of the class? Why don’t we get those introductions out of the way.”

“Oh...I’m Wisteria. Just Wisty is fine.”

Everyone looked at her expectantly. One of the Cadets tapped near their eyes and pointed at her.

“Oh right, my curse. Well...I can’t see color anymore,” Wisty found it was easier to talk about than she had anticipated. “I can still see and all, but it’s like--you know black and white photographs? It’s like that. I can still see value, but all the hue and saturation is gone. Actually, speaking of that, are my eyes completely black? They looked like it in the mirror, but I couldn’t tell if they were just really dark, or...”

There was a wave of nods.

“Being colorblind looks pretty metal,” a boy with glowing white eyes said, blowing a cloud of smoke out through his teeth. A cigarette was clenched between his teeth.

Wisty wrinkled her nose and tried not to gag. She hated the smell of cigarette smoke. The Cadet sitting next to the boy must have noticed, because he deftly yoinked it out of his comrade’s mouth.

“Yo Harvey, what the hell man?!” the boy squawked as the person in a bunny mask crumpled the cigarette in his hand. “If you paid any attention to her face, you’d have seen your smokestack was making her sick, dumbass.” He turned to Wisty and stuck out his non-ash covered hand, which Wisty took and shook. “I’m Harvey. I make weapons for Cadets here. This idiot next to me is Dex.”

Dex gave a short wave, grinning widely. “Yep, that’s me! Dex, the resident heartthrob.” Everyone at the table rolled their eyes. Wisty blinked. “Oh, I’ve seen you before! You nearly ran me over with your bike once.” Everyone present swiveled their heads to stare at Dex. He blinked.

“...I did?” “Oh my god Dex that is NOT what you say to someone you nearly flattened with your dumb bike!” “Hey! DeeDee is NOT dumb! She--ow ow ow ow!” his words cut off with a squeal as Harvey sitting next to him grabbed him in a headlock.

“I’m sorry about him. His head is full of empty.“

Wisty couldn’t help but giggle. “Um, have you all been here long?”

“Some of us have, yeah,” Harvey said. He released his hold on Dex, who sucked in air theatrically. “Sooooo!” Dex cut in. “Are you thinking about becoming a Cadet?”

Wisty ran a finger along the rim of her soda can. “Would I even be useful? I haven’t really fought before.” “Sure! We can help teach you, if you join. And Harvey can make you a weapon!” Dex said. “And if ya want, maybe you could team up with someone, like Alphus over there, or—” “I work alone, Dex boy,” the woman leaning on the wall nearby said. Wisty shrunk in her seat. “Oh, don’t mind her cupcake, she can be a little standoffish towards everyone at first,” Pinprick said, placing a reassuring hand on Wisty’s shoulder.

“Actually, I do have a question. Just...not related to being a Cadet,” Wisty said. “Mmmm?” Wisty slapped her hands on the table. “What colors is this place? I can’t tell at all and I MUST know!”

The next half-hour was filled with back and forth questioning as Wisty grilled everyone about what they looked like, with the Cadets describing as best they could. At least she could still remember what colors looked like. By the end of it all, she felt oddly at ease, at least for the time-being. These people were very nice. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to become a Cadet. Heck, maybe she could even design recruitment posters or something, she’d at least be doing something for them. She’d have to talk to Elanor after this.

---

If this seems a bit different, it’s because Eri is now an OC called Wisteria! They’re my host-mom’s favorite flower