She almost wished she took a window seat for her first flight, rather than sit next to the curled up girl. Luckily the windows on this plane were fairly large. Not quite car window size, but larger than she had seen in movies.
Eva sighed. She was sure Arachne would have liked to see as well.
Eva had no doubt that the spider-demon was getting restless already. That they would be stuck in the plane, and her in her cage, for over thirteen hours could only be making it worse.
As long as everyone on the plane were students, maybe she could bring her out. At least let her stretch her legs so she wasn’t all folded up for a whole day.
Eva watched past the blond girl as the plane made its way to the runway. It stopped and sat. And sat. Eva felt a jolt of adrenaline as a worry came over her. Maybe there was something wrong.
Maybe they found out about all the contraband she had on her person. Her bag was still slung over her shoulder, but maybe they had magical detectors and had detected her ritual daggers. Or Arachne.
The plane began to move forward and Eva felt relief wash through her. The runway moved past the window as the plane picked up speed. The plane tilted back and Eva found herself pressed into her seat.
A familiar sensation gripped and pulled at her stomach. Eva almost started giggling. It was like jumping with Arachne.
The ground disappeared beneath the plane as it rose into the sky. Even as strong as Arachne was, she would be hard pressed to even hit half the height they were at now. And the plane was still rising.
As the plane leveled off, Eva was brought speechless. The sun glinted off the tops of clouds and the ground beneath was so very tiny.
Eva knew what planes were. She even had an idea of how they worked with wing shape and lift. Yet looking out the window was something special. Not magical, she knew how magic worked better than how planes worked, and nothing about planes was magical.
Eva leaned back in her chair and just started to relax when the flight attendant popped out of nowhere. She asked if either of the girls wanted anything to drink and started listing off drinks she could serve. Eva was pretty sure some of those drinks weren’t supposed to be served to someone her age.
Of course she ordered one. A twisted doe.
She had alcohol in the past and didn’t much care for its taste or effects. She was, however, always on the lookout for new things.
The girl next to her spoke for the first time in almost thirty minutes. For the first time as far as Eva was aware. She barely tilted her head up and mumbled, “a coke.”
That had been good enough for the flight attendant. She nodded and walked away. She returned a moment later and set down a bubbling cola in front of Eva’s blond companion. Eva got a clear liquid in a fancy glass.
It didn’t smell like alcohol. She took a cautious sip. Blueberries. Nothing especially special, it just tasted like blueberries. If it had alcohol in it, it was covered up enough that she couldn’t tell.
Her second sip set her on edge. It was most definitely the taste of strawberries without a hint of blueberry. A third sip got her bananas followed by a fourth sip of pineapples.
She smiled and set the glass back on the table. It was a simple concept, but a fun drink. While she knew quite a bit about magic, she had no idea where to even start to make something like this.
If school taught her things like this, it might be really amazing after all.
Her attentions turned to the girl sitting in the seat next to her. She hadn’t even touched her drink. Eva bit the inside of her cheek in thought. Finally, she decided.
“Are you alright,” she said in a quiet voice.
The girl lifted her head slightly and turned to the side. She didn’t say anything and dropped her head back to her knees, still tilted to the side.
Eva reached into her book bag and withdrew the small satchel of potions Arachne had sneaked in with. She held them in her hands, hesitating for just a minute before flipping the flap open. “I have some potions, a number for healing and restoratives, if you think they might help.”
The girl’s head lifted again. This time her eyes narrowed as she examined Eva’s face.
Eva thought she made a mistake in offering the potions. But there was no way potions could be as bad as blood magic or having a demon sitting at your feet. The book list even had alchemy books and supplies. That was basically the same thing. Probably.
Eva’s fears were unfounded. The girl gave a light nod and watched as Eva ran her fingers over the tops of the vials.
“You’re not injured, so these wouldn’t help,” Eva lied as she skipped past a row of poisons. Her finger stopped on one of the light blue vials. “General remedy, try this.”
The girl nodded and tipped back the entire vial. “Thanks,” she whispered as her head dropped back to her knees.
