It was almost a distant thought as Wendy found herself wondering “How is he generating enough power to burn through my wards?”  Normally some dark thing would be holding his ruined hand and screaming if he even touched her, but this creepy bastard was choking the life out of her, one handed.
    Uncle Sirius had always tried to teach her more combative magics, but she figured “when would I need them?”  She could almost hear Uncle Si, “Well, duh, girl.”
    He seemed to be burning a ton of power....
    Wendy saw lights, she let her focus go one level of reality over, a dangerous idea when one is hanging between life and death.  There, on the realm of Trivia!  The runes that painted his energies were clear.
    “He’s a slow walker!”  She thought. 
    Slow walkers had to actually walk slow in order to  maintain maximum contact with the earth.  Because that’s were they got their power.  It was a sort of geomantic vampirism.
    “If I can get his feet off the ground, a foot, maybe six inches I can make his power reset...” Her mind worked, a furious effort. “Maybe call an elemental to disrupt it from below...”
    For a moment everything went grey. 
    “No...no...I have so much to do ... I’ve only started...  No!  Don’t lose it...”  She reached out with what power she could summon.  “Those among the high and wise!  Those who seek between the...  Words are hard!  A sister seeks aid!  Please....” She perceived no answer.
    There was a blur of motion before her, then...
    AIR!
    Her focus returned within a second.  Sondra was holding the slow walker by the wrist.  They were glaring at each other like they had no idea what to do.
    “Break his cont...”Wendy’s advice was interrupted by a quick, dangerous exchange.
    First the slow walker drew a long blade from the small of his back.  He rotated in a slightly inhuman manner trying to drive it into her chest.  Sondra, looking...annoyed?...brushed the knife past her, sending it flying out of her opponent’s hand and clattering to the floor.  Second, it looked like she was climbing the monster as she set a foot on his thigh, a foot on his back then wrapped her legs around his neck and shoulder.  Not wasting her momentum, she drug him into a back flip which literally had the creature heels over head.  He tried to scream as his contact with his power source snapped but his head impacted the ground at that point.
    Sondra said “Oof!” as she impacted then pulled her opponent into some kind of arm lock/choke hold thing.
    “Wendy.” She said, way too calm.
    The slow walker made low, gurgling growls.
    “Wendy.  Honey.”
    Wendy started to realize the sound of her name was not random data.
    “Yeah!” It hurt to talk.  “Yes?”
    “Do me a favor and go get Tony.”  Sondra was so calm, she just saved her life and fought a dark creature.  Now...miss calm.  “Can you do that for me honey?  Go get Tony?”
    “Yes.” Wendy whispered.  It hurt to move, but not as much as talking.  The slow walker was out of it, his power was burning so hard that when it broke, it took part of him with it.  Still, she moved in a broad circle, avoiding his reach.  Then she noticed the dagger.
    She must still be seeing things from one of the side realms, because the dagger writhed and glowed.  She realized she was seeing its true form; a squirming red/grey imp, wings, body and tail wrapped around a knife blade.  The slow walker had a focus, that explained his power level.
    Sondra couldn’t remember any offensive magic at the moment, but she summoned her defensive energies.  She focused them on her foot.
    The small, wiggling fiend seemed to realize that she could see it.  It raised it’s wings and arms defensively. 
    “No! No!” it shrieked, “I offer you power...”
    STOMP!
    Wendy saw it splatter, orange plasma flew and sprayed the floor and wall.  Strangely, an orange burst, like a bubble made of laser, spread out from the broken blade and faded.  She was really glad that blade hadn’t gotten Sondra.
    “What was that?”  That was the most excited Sondra had sounded so far.
    “I slipped on his knife...” Wendy wheezed.  “Gotta catch my breath. Right.  Going to get Tony.”

    Though Tony had given them the option of slipping out of there before they arrived, they were talking to the police.
    The  paramedics treated the slow walker, who was still drifting out of it.  He was taken to the hospital.  Wendy was sure, without his magic weapon, he’d be no problem.
    When Sondra complained of numbness in her left hand, they said they could take her for examination, but it would be better to see if she was still having problems later.  Plus, if it was nerve damage, there was very little that could be done.
    Initially, it seemed like there was going to be a big problem.  At some point, though Sondra never mentioned it, she did confirm that she was the daughter of a murdered law enforcement officer.  Suddenly, things were going swimmingly.  The police wanted to be sure the ladies weren’t frightened or confused by the process.  Some information was required, nothing more.  A few even shook Sondra’s hand as they left.
    “Don’t ever expect it to go like that,”Sondra advised Wendy, “if you’re not with me.”
    Once they were back at the table, Tommy had to ask. “How did you get into the martial arts?”
    “Sally Kimball.”  She answered.
    “Who?”
    “You ever read the Encyclopedia Brown, boy detective series?”  Sondra asked.
    Wendy shook her head.
    Tommy shrugged.  “Maybe...”
    “Great books.”  Sondra grinned.  “Encyclopedia lives in a small town where he’s, y’know: a boy detective.  His arch enemy is this monkey named Bugs Meany who’s got a whole gang of cronies and could just pound Encyclopedia into next week.”  Sondra stuck her finger in the air, “But!  He’s got a friend.  Sally Kimball:the toughest girl in the fifth grade.  She keeps Bugs and his gang in line while Encyclopedia conducts investigations.  I really wanted to be Sally. So I had Dad and later Grandpa show me how to fight.”
    Sondra leaned back in her chair and took a sip of beer.
    “I never found my Encyclopedia Brown, but my Bugs Meany was a punk named Thor Klagenhammer.  When Thor or his buddies bullied somebody, I was there.  BAM!”  She punched her hand with a smack, her eyes took on a distant, dreamy look, like she was in the real of truly fond memories.
    “Later,” Sondra continued, “I heard about puberty.  I heard Thor was going to get this boost of size and strength, just because he was a boy.  So I trained harder...” She slumped in her chair.
    “What happened?” Tommy insisted.
    “Thor stopped growing at five foot five inches.” Sondra grinned, “Little shrimp of a guy.  I even protected him from bullies once.  Ha!”
    “Did you become friends?” Wendy asked.
    “Friends?” Sondra scorned, “Fuck no.  Kid was a prick.  He’ll probably wind up managing a Taco Bell and make highschoolers lives miserable that way.”  She shifted upright in her chair and leaned into Wendy.  “That’s why you’ll never have to worry about me burning you at the stake.  I’ll never be a Christian.  Forgiveness?  Bah.  Nobody holds a grudge like me.”
    “Oh, yeah!” Tommy laughed.  “Tell everybody THAT story.”

    Sondra and Wendy got back to the dorm, where they split a bottle of red wine in Wendy’s room.
    “Thank you," she said, “for saving my life.”
    “Thank you,”Sondra grinned, “for giving me the chance to kick some ass.”
    Both girls laughed.  Wendy remembered the fight.  How Sondra had done the-exact-right-
thing to the slow walker.
    “How did you know to do that?”  She asked, “That flip thing.”
    “I think it’s a Krav Maga take down.  Israeli fight style, which means it’s usually done on sand.  Because,” She rubbed her hand and winced. “don’t do it on linoleum.  Man, if this messes up my playing.”
    Wendy took Sondra’s hand.  She lightly press the palm, rubbing back and forth. 
    “Can you feel that?”  She asked.
    “Yeah,” Sondra admitted,”But it feels wrong.  Tingly.”
    Wendy shifted her vision to the aura realm.  She followed the jumbled nerve impulses with her finger up Sondra’s arm and over her shoulder to her back, where the damage seemed to really be.  She pressed the spot.
    “Ouch.” Sondra said, like she was saying ‘hey’. “What are you doing back there?”
    The damage was subtle, but severe.  Exactly the sort of thing modern medicine was poor at but her magic...
    “I might have something...”She said going to her potion case.
    “Did that used to be a camera case?”  Sondra asked.
    “Oh,” Wendy said, casually, “you noticed my herb case?”  That was odd.  Most people never got past one of Constance’s don’t notice me spells.
    “Yeah.” She nodded. “I like old things.”  Then, “I thought it might hold art supplies.”
    “Why?” Wendy was adjusting a tincture.  “Take your shirt off.”
    “I dunno.” Sondra doffed her top, revealing a plain, small white bra.  Wendy was expecting ... a sports bra?  “You just seem like an artist.”
    “Sort of...” Wendy admitted.  Kneeling behind Sondra and applying her potion.  “But drawing and painting are not my arts.”
    “Then what are you studying?” Sondra asked.
    “Physics.”  On a micro level, Wendy could see the nerves and cells in Sondra’s back aligning and binding.
    “What?”  Sondra looked over her shoulder.  “Wendy, are you smart?”
    “Yes.” She answered simply.
    “Like...”Sondra had a wicked look in her eye. “Encyclopedia Brown smart?”
    “I don’t know,”Wendy grinned. “he sounds pretty smart.  Maybe.”
    “Are you trying to turn me on?”  Sondra purred.
    Checking her aura, Wendy said.  “I think you’re already doing that yourself.”
    “I know, right?” Sondra laughed.  “I totally get that way after a fight.”
    “Really?” Wendy was fascinated.
    “God, yes!” Sondra swooned.  “Even a good grapple match, and I’m thinking somebody needs to make intersex oil wrestling a competitive sport.”
    “Have you ever...?” Wendy didn’t quite know how to ask.
    “Tried out the mats at night?” Sondra grinned.  “Nope.  Really wrong environment.  Things get weird; people get hurt.”
    “So you imagine...” Wendy urged.
    “A six foot four, musceley, but not too muscely, Encyclopedia Brown...”Sondra grinned, “Only his new nickname is Kama Sutra Brown.”
    Both girls rolled on the floor, howling with laughter.  Wine making everything funnier, with a little help from sexual tension.
    “So you never found your Encyclopedia?”  Wendy inquired.
    “Nope.” Sondra shook her head.  “Oh, I had hand-holding boyfriends, but I was NOT getting pregnant in high school.  I was not popular, so I was a lot of baggage and wasn’t worth the wait.”
    “Oh, that can’t be true...” Wendy said.
    “What about you...” Sondra interrupted.  “Did you ever find your...Ron Weasely?”
    “Cut it out...” Wendy grinned, looking down.
    “C’mon,” Sondra pleaded, “tell me.”
    “Well, I was aware of things kind of early...I had friends who...” Her voice drifted.
    “On the commune?”  Sondra enthused. “Boys from town?”
    “Oh, no.”Wendy stated.  “The kids in town were mean.  They called me ‘X-Files.’”
    “‘X-Files?’” Sondra looked confused.
    Wendy indicated her face.  “I have this round forehead, big eyes and a pointy chin. “ She stated flatly   “I look like an X-Files alien.”
    “No you don’t!” Sondra chuckled,  “You have beautiful hair, and cheekbones are to die for.” 
    Wendy only smiled.
    Sondra reached out and brushed the hair from Wendy’s face, saying.  “You have special beauty.”  Her hand rested on the back of her neck.  “I think you look like a fairy princess.”
    “‘A fairy princess?’”  Wendy wanted to laugh, but couldn’t.  She let herself lean forward.  “Would you like to meet a fairy princess?”
    “You,”  Sondra’s voice was breathy, “could be my fairy princess...”
    “I’d like that.”
    Then they were kissing.  They were on their knees but Sondra easily pulled Wendy’s body up against hers.  She felt the taller girl’s hand seize her butt, pressing their hips together, she decided she liked that.  Sondra’s other drifted up and down her spine, tickling, exploring, always coming back to her neck, keeping the kiss, controlling.  She decided she liked that too.
    It seemed to Wendy like a long kiss, but then it was over too soon.  Sondra pulled away.
    “No.” She said, rising to her feet.
    Wendy studied her friend, she didn’t look angry or ashamed.  “Why.”  She rose also.
    “When this happens...”Sondra indicated them both, “Neither of us will be able to say ‘it was because of the wine’ or because I was thinking of the asshole I left on the barroom floor earlier.  You deserver better.”
    She turned, heading out the door quickly. 
    Sondra paused and met Wendy’s eyes.  “We deserve better.”
    Wendy slowly went the door and touched it.  Was that a rejection?  She didn’t feel rejected and that was a feeling she knew well.  No, it was too...romantic.  She felt weak in the knees.  Her emotions seemed to swirl within and around her. 
    Romantic.
    Romance.
    She couldn’t decide what she was feeling.  Her hand went to her breast as she sighed.
    And then she heard the laughter.