#jade is a troll and I won't be told otherwise

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Jade - Faerie Circle

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial

“It was all just an innocent joke.” 

Was how Jade justified his actions later when confronted by Azul. A spur-of-the-moment prank, if you would. Floyd certainly got a kick out of the revelations, giggling at the tale Jade spun and knowing—by keen observation or pure instinct—his brother was a bold-faced liar. 

At the time of the incident, Jade admitted it was just to get a little giggle at the expense of the prefect. 

He smiled at the prefect. Yuu didn’t look very amused. In her defense, she hadn’t been in a very good mood all morning. That was fine with Jade. He wasn’t the one who made a bet and subsequently lost. He simply reaped the benefits of having a sla—helper for the day. 

Yuu pointed at the colony of mushrooms they had discovered on their morning hike. “You seriously think I’d blindly believe a word you say?” 

Jade hummed a chuckle. His gaze followed her finger to the perfect circle of red capped mushrooms beside them. The circumference of the circle was just large enough for a person to stand in. Say a faerie. Or gullible, magicless human. “I’m admittedly hurt to know you trust me so little.” 

“You tried to get me to pick poisonous mushrooms for you less than five minutes ago.” 

“They’re only poisonous if you ingest them.” Jade paused. His smile widened when her cynical glare remained unwavering. “And they may cause a rash for sensitive skin. Their use in alchemy is quite expansive.” 

Yuu’s eyelids fluttered, refusing to blink from sheer stubbornness. “I’m not stepping in the circle.” 

“You would reject such a valuable staple of fae culture?” 

“I know at least three fae who live on campus. None of them have ever mentioned these so-called faerie circles. Not even Lilia.” 

“Ah, but they’re so commonplace, why would they ever think to bring them up in conversation?” Jade argued. He exerted careful control over his expression, shrinking his grin and widening his eyes in a show of faux innocence. “It would be the equivalent of merfolk explaining whirlpools or humans detailing a doorway.” 

“Merfolk don’t use whirlpools to teleport from one side of the ocean to the other,” Yuu insisted. Her gaze became sharper, likely her eyes desperately crying for the relief of the blink she refused to give them. “Floyd would have mentioned that by now.” 

“Ah, but it would be the equi—.” 

“You step into the circle then.” 

Jade feigned sudden shocked. “Me? And risk potentially disrupting my transformation potion? The fae use powerful magic to power their mushroom circles. Powerful enough that I could lose my human form and return to my true form. Could you imagine the sheer panic of losing the ability to breathe? To slowly suffocate as my gills tremble with exertion to—.” 

“Fine!” Yuu snapped. Jade’s feigned shock faltered, and he had to hide his returning grin behind the tips of his fingers. “If it gets us back to campus before lunch, I’ll step into the stupid circle. But for the record, I want it clearly stated that I absolutely don’t believe a word you sa—.” 

A flash of muted light engulfed the prefect the second she planted both feet in the center of the circle. Jade owlishly blinked at the empty mushroom circle. He searched the isolated meadow as if he would find Yuu hiding somewhere along the edge of the tree line. When his search only verified the missing prefect, his focus returned to the mushroom circle. The red capped mushrooms stood innocently in front of him. 

A giggle escaped him before he could swallow it. He hoisted his hiking bag onto his back and grabbed the small sack of mushrooms Yuu carried for the duration of their hike. “Oh, dear! It would look as if my small prank has gone awry. Our poor prefect has been swept away to lands unknown. Whatever shall I do?” 

Jade paused. He carefully nudged the cap of the nearest mushroom. The stalk bent slightly under pressure but sprung back into place when he pulled away. Jade shrugged and clipped the sack of mushrooms onto his belt. “I suppose this is simply beyond my realm of expertise. Surely there is someone more suitable for the task back on campus. I would be remiss to move forward in this endeavor alone. After all, I could be stuck a mere eel out of water if I do not tread lightly.” 

Later, after gathering a heroic rescue party consisting of Grim, Lilia, Kalim, Trey, and a visiting purple cat from Royal Sword Academy and bravely confronting a small band of gnomes, Jade happily chimed “I told you so.” to the most unamused prefect he had the gleeful opportunity of rescuing.