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Bonnie bumped into them.
Swish!
Siffrin was stilled as the party watched him become encased by time-stopping craft.
Siffrin. Froze.
Mirabelle shouted, “SIFFRIN!” Her breaths quickened, and her hands shook as she tried to use her craft skill— she tried to concentrate, TRIED to save- her f r i e n d— Bonnie was shocked, standing as still as Siffrin, and Odile and Isabeau looked on in worry.
“You-you’ve got it, Mira, just use your skill!” Isabeau managed to keep it together enough to give her some genuine encouragement. Siffrin would be fine in a moment, after all?…
As Mirabelle held her hands in paper signs, her party could see the sparks and little bubbles of her craft forming but popping before long… she stumbled over her incantations as she choked down sobs and her hands were shaking as she tried to craft something to help them—
“Is it that…” Odile contemplated for a moment, hesitant but wanting to help. “Could it be that when the tears freeze people in time, it works differently than when a sadness uses craft?” They weren’t in the fast pace of combat, so she should have time to use her craft skill…
Mirabelle strung together a reply, “No it’s…” By this point, tears were streaming down her face. “It’s not that.” She looked downward, wiping her eyes. Isabeau put a hand on her shoulder.
“Then why won’t it work!! Just craft the crabbing spell!” Bonnie sounded impatient but they were clearly stressed.
“Mirabelle…” Odile’s voice sounded with sympathy.
“No it’s— I’ll keep trying-“ Mirabelle managed to say.
Odile suggested, “It could be that your emotions are getting in the way, Mirabelle, or that you’re out of energy…” They had eaten earlier, but… “Perhaps we should try to find somewhere we can take a break?”
Isabeau added, “I mean, there are sadnesses around, but I’m sure we can get 5 minutes of snacks in if that’s what we need!” There was an undertone of worry to his confident voice, but he would do whatever it took to keep Siffrin safe.
Mirabelle wasn’t feeling any better at all, but she managed to stop the tears. “No, it’s like, it’s like!”
“It’s… like?” Odile wore a puzzled expression.
Mirabelle sighed. “Let me see if I can explain… There’s only one time I’ve used this skill in practice, the skill to heal someone from being frozen, and that time it went fine,” She took a breath and settled into the rhythm of explaining her skill, “Because… because I could concentrate on that person’s state of being. When we’ve seen people who were already frozen in time, I… I could still sense them. And, I can tell the difference between the presence of someone who is frozen and someone who isn’t. It… it has something to do with the effects of time craft.” She paused, shaking. “But, when I reach out to Siffrin…” Oh. She couldn’t keep herself from crying anymore. “it’s like Siffrin… isn’t… either of those.”
Odile’s eyebrows perked up in surprise, and then concern. “Isn’t… frozen or not frozen?… Something else?”
“Exactly that! It… it doesn’t make any sense, it’s like he’s… before…“ Mirabelle closed her eyes next to her interlocked hands. “I… don’t think I can talk about this anymore.” She took a deep breath and looked up. She was worried, but she seemed to be doing better now.
“Does that mean we need to… move on?” Isabeau asked, tentatively.
“But, Frin!!” Bonnie said. “We can’t leave him!! He’s our friend!!”
Odile addressed them sadly, “Mirabelle is right. We need to move on. Siffrin will be okay, if only after we beat the king.”
“I guess…” Bonnie had their hands in fists. “As long as Frin isn’t stuck here.”
Isabeau added, “I don’t know how well I can handle moving through the house without him… But I know Sif would want us to keep going. We need to beat the king! And as long as we do that, he’ll be fine! We just have to be a little more careful as we go through the house.“
“And I’ll tell you if there are any more… death corridor situations…” Mirabelle said.
“Is that okay with you, Boniface? Is it okay if we move on?” Odile asked.
Bonnie was staring at the ground. They didn’t say anything, but they were still feeling guilty about pushing Siffrin. “Yes.”
“Alright…” Isabeau sighed.
“But… can I still come with you? Even after I…” Pushed them. Bonnie looked away.
“Of course you can still help. We forgive you, Boniface.” Odile gave a soft smile towards the kid.
“Yeah, we really wouldn’t betray our snack leader like that!” Isabeau added.
“And, after we beat the king… I know Siffrin will forgive you, too.” Mirabelle spoke with sincerity.
Bonnie looked between them all, “O-Okay!! I’ll believe you! As long as Frin will be okay!”
Bonnie then gave a truly unexpected hug to Mirabelle, and then to Isabeau, and then an affectionate poke to Odile’s jacket.
Odile gestured towards the rest of the rooms. “Alright, then. Lead the way, Mirabelle.”
Isabeau shouted, “Let’s go beat the king!”