Fern
Evewern really wanted nothing more than to say 'I told you so', but her worry overtook that feeling. The tiny fae laying on the bed in front of her was hardly recognizable as the once bright and energetic Fern. She was sickly pale, markings hardly discernable from her wings. The curtain covering the entrance to the tiny hut fluttered to the side as Rasal peered in. Evewern was far too focused on Fern to even attempted a look of disdain towards her.
"How is she doing?" The nocturne asked. Evewern sighed.
"She's even paler than before. Why no one listens to me..." She trailed off. "Honestly. She needs the Gladekeeper's magic, but moving her in a state like this would kill her faster." Rasal nodded and got to her daily ministrations on the fae, feeding her as much nature magic as she could give off. Evewern would usually be appalled at one such as her doing it instead of a created, but she had forbade any of the others from performing any magic at all, including herself. Not so far from their source.
"There's not much any of us can do. You should get some rest. We don't want anyone else to... become ill." As much as Evewern hated to admit it, the druidess was right. With a small sigh, she picked herself up and stepped out of the hut, casting one last glance to her barely moving friend as she did. Right outside the door, Blossom sat staring at the ground.
"... Will she be okay?" She asked. Evewern frowned.
"I..." She sighed. There was no way to put this lightly. "I don't think she's going to make it much longer. She's so small that there wasn't much stored within her." There was a moment of silence between the two skydancers. Blossom lifted her head as if to speak, but cut herself off as she noticed a familiar form coming towards them, tatters fluttering in the breeze. All of them certainly were strange amongst the bright, shining colors of the Isles, but Juniper seemed to cast a shadow wherever she walked. Evewern followed her gaze, immediately channeling her magic as she spotted the guardian.
"Eve, no!" Blossom jumped up and grabbed the other's arm. The other skydancer's face was contorted into a look of pure contempt.
"Get your hands off of me! This monster has gone on too long, I am tired of it. It's you doing this, isn't it? This is because of YOU!" Evewern tore herself away from Blossom and launched a massive bolt at the masked guardian, who dodged it deftly. The bolt hit the ground, exploding and showering the area with rock and dust. Blossom had covered herself from the explosion, and when she looked up again, the two dragons were high in the sky, bright flashes of powerful magic lighting the area. A whole group of dragons were gathering nearby, watching the two ancient elementals battle. Blossom looked around franticly, unsure of what to do. The two had never gotten this close, they were always kept as far apart as they could be for this exact reason. Just as she was about to take off, there was a clamor from the hut behind her.
"Fern, no- wait! You're going to kill yourself!" A small blur whizzed past Blossom's face, the nocturne druidess coming out after it. Fern flew as fast as she could towards the two. "Fern! Come back!" Rasal yelled in vain. High in the sky, Evewern saw the pale body of the fae coming towards them, both dragons halfway through casting. She tried to stop, she tried her absolute hardest to pull it back but the bolt was across the sky before she could react, the guardian doing the same, both meeting the same target.
Fern.
Everything seemed to freeze in place as the small fae was enveloped in light. Green and brown mingled, growing brighter into white and hardly perceptible pink. It dissipated and she was frozen midair for a moment before plummeting downwards, faster and faster. Evewern dove after her, catching her moments before hitting the ground, landing softly and laying her on a patch of grass. All her color was gone now, markings vanished. The skydancer watched her for any sign of life. There was none.
The crowd slowly gathered around her, Blossom and Rasal pushing past to come next to them. It was entirely silent as Evewern stared down at the lifeless body of her former friend- her family.
"Eve...?" Blossom gently nudged her to no avail. Thoughts were swimming in Evewern's head. She had killed her. She killed one of her closest friends because of a centuries old squabble. Fern had always thought only the best of the two, that they would make up, she died trying to make that a reality. Tears formed in her eyes as Rasal did her best to revive her, to no avail.
"Evewern, I'm... I'm sorry." The nocturne took her hat in her hands and joined the duo. "She's gone."
A shadow cast over the crowd as Juniper landed in the middle of the circle, dwarfing all those around. Evewern didn't even glance at her.
The guardian laid down next to the prone body, nudging it with her mask covered snout. She sighed a deep sigh, green mist gathering under her mask and falling onto the fae. Evewern snapped out of her trance and stood up.
"Isn't this enough for you? She's dead, leave her be, y-" She was cut off by a tug on her wing. Evewern looked down at the interruption, Blossom staring wide eyed ahead of her. A small cough drew her attention back to the small body. Fern was coughing as, ever so slowly, her markings returned, drawing themselves on her wings. She gasped in a deep breath and flipped herself over.
"F-Fern?" Blossom stuttered. The fae picked her head up and opened her eyes, which seemed to flash before settling into a light green.
"What happened?" The fae asked, just before being tackled by Blossom. Evewern could hardly stop staring at the miracle and only tore herself away to look around for the guardian. Nowhere to be found.
"She's perfectly healthy, I don't understand it myself." Rasal finished looking over the fae who was fidgeting restlessly. Evewern frowned slightly before sighing.
"Well, I suppose there's no understanding it, then. She's alive. That's all that matters."
Far off, from a distant cave, two little pink and green specs could be seen leaving against the twilight...