It was a beautiful day, warm sunlight washed over the street and gentle bird song filled the air. The flowers seemed extra colorful, and everyone was cheerful, chatter and laughter coming from all of the people walking around. They walked in pairs, hands held, arms wrapped around each other, the occasional arm around the shoulder or hand on the waist if they were either exceptionally close or exceptionally daring. Yes, it was a lovely day for all the loving couples in love.

Revolting. HYlltywyll gagged as he saw it all from atop the corner of a brick wall in the shadow of a tall building. He scowled down at all the lovey-dovey couples giving each other little smiles, feeding each other sweet desserts, sucking on each other's faces like leeches.

One couple suddenly parted, a man looking confused and grimacing in pain, feeling the slowly forming lump on the back of his head. Hylltywyll giggled, their voice concealed by the shadow they were hidden in. He picked up another pebble from the little pile he had gathered, his bird-like legs dangling from the side of the wall kicking happily. He hated all the couples, but there was one thing he could love today, messing with them all!

As he looked around, he suddenly spotted someone walking down the street alone. Someone very familiar, too! He scooped the pebbles into a pocket inside his little hooded cloak and stood up on the wall. He waited for her to walk close enough before leaping down, right onto her shoulder.

"Hey! What are you doing here? On your way to a date?" he asked teasingly, perched on Tsarra's shoulder with a mischievous smile.

After the shock of being jumped on wears off, Tsarra smiles brightly at the small scrunkly fairy. "Hyll! Good ta see ye, mate."

Despite all the chaos they had been through thus far, Tsarra does fancy the little fairy quite a bit. He was small, aye, but ridiculously strong. People always underestimated him cause of how he looked. She could relate, and maybe that was why she felt a kinship with the little purple fuzzball. Plus he was just fun to be around! Always causing trouble and getting into shenanigans in creative and exciting ways. She's more than happy to see him once again. 

Then the smile cracks as Hyl asks his question. "Uh, nah. Ye know, not uhm...not inta any of that...lovey dovey stuff...just, just wanderin' about on me own is all." She does a poor job at hiding how much that question bothers her.

It had been a while now since her old crew dumped her for good, leaving her behind and carrying on without her. An unnecessary burden, they said. Even the woman Tsarra had eyes for had turned her back on the triton. They all abandoned her like trash thrown into the waves left to float about aimlessly. It hurt. It stung. Worse than any jellyfish sting or prick from a sea urchin.

It wouldn't be so bad if she had others to talk to but...more often than not she was just a nuisance to others. Like Astrid and Leni. An annoying barnacle to be scraped off and left behind.

She shakes her head, shoving down the storm of feelings she really does not want to deal with right now. She finds a spot to step to the side away from all the reminders of treasures far out of her reach and turns her attention back to Hyll. 

"What're ye doin' 'ere? Causin' mischief as usual?"

Hyll could tell there was something bothering the fish lady. His teasing had struck a chord. The temptation was there to pull that string, to mess with her further and watch her unravel, but he couldn't. Despite being such a troublemaker, he didn't want to pull that string. He and Tsarra got along. They'd been on some adventures together and helped each other out. She was probably one of the few people out there that didn't see the Fairy as some little freak to avoid, but recognized him as the lots of magical power wrapped up in a small, fuzzy package that he was. And he saw her as one powerful fish lady who could hold an octoshark monster in place.

His mischievous smile curved down into a frown as he felt... genuine concern! Ugh!

"Me neither. Not into all that lovey-dovey stuff. Yeah, causing mischief. Messing with all these stupid couples." he replied slowly, not sure if he should pry into what was bothering her.

....

Oh, bleeding hearts of the world unite, FINE!

"Are you alright?"

She gives Hyll her best reassuring smile. "Aye, I'm fine."

While Hyll would have no problems telling it was just another obvious lie, she really doesn't want to drag the fairy down with her personal shite. Hell, she doesn't want to drag herself down more than she already was. It's like having an anchor tied around her ankle, threatening to weigh her down until the surface was far out of reach. She could bear it though. It wasn't too much for her. She was a strong swimmer after all. Wasn't like talking about it would change what had happened anyway. Best to just focus on what laid on the horizon. 

"Messing with folks, huh? Sounds like fun. Can I help?" She asks.

Nothing against these people or anything, she just really needed a distraction and if there was anything the little fairy particularly excelled at, it was causing a distraction.

She rummages around in her bag and pulls out the sea urchin caltrops.^[1] "Remember these guys? Gotta be some way to use them, right? Oh. I can also make it rain!"

Already she was perking back up at the prospect of harassing innocent passersby. It was just what she needed right now, and who better to prank with than the King of Chaos himself. 

---

[1] Sea urchin caltrops

Hylltywyll's mischievous smile came back in full force. The idea of messing with all these dumb couples around them seemed like it was cheering Tsarra up a bit, and who would the prank-loving little gremlin be to say no to causing some mischief? He'd already wanted to do that himself, and now he had a partner in crime that could lend him some valuable abilities!

"Oooh!" he took the sea urchins that Tsarra offered and looked at them closely. With a chuckle, he slipped them into his cloak pocket. "Hmmmm? Aren't these mine? I never did get my reward for opening that casket!" he teased. He really hadn't gotten to keep any of the offered urchins in that underwater ruin. Their trade offer had suddenly been interrupted by the octoshark trying to have the Fairy as a snack before he hid and it turned its jaws on Tsarra.

Hylltywyll smiled as he pulled his hood up and then snatched the hat off of Tsarra's head, holding it above himself for protection from the incoming downpour. "Yeah! Yeah! Make it rain!" he cackled. He plopped down, sitting on her shoulder and swinging his little legs in excitement on Tsarra's shoulder. The time for mischief had begun, and it was going to be all of these couples' problem!

"Aye, well, you know what they say," she shrugs. "The reward is the urchins you lost along the way."

There's an awkward moment of silence as Tsarra seems to process that what she said doesn't make sense. 

"Er...wait, that's not right...the urchins are the friends you fought pirates with?"

Nope, that wasn't it either. What was that damn saying? It's on the tip of her tongue. She huffs and gives up trying to remember. 

"Ah, whatever."

Tsarra peers around at all the happy couples, blissfully unware of what the fish woman and tiny fairy were up to. Oh what poor souls. She raises her hands to the sky and her fins start to shift and shimmer as if they are made of water themselves. Manifesting out of thin air on this sunny cloudless day, droplets of water start to fall. 

It takes a moment for the couples to realize what is going on, expressing some confusion before they scramble for shelter from the sudden rainfall. 

The fish woman snickers and finds a good place to watch the minor chaos from. Some poor bloke looked like he was in the middle of getting the nerve to propose when the rain interrupts and sends his sweetheart running for cover under a a crowded awning. 

Not all flee though, two lovebirds look up at the rain and start laughing and hopping hand in hand through the puddles that gather on the cobblestone pathway. 

---

[1] Drizzle

Hylltywyll shrugged, not knowing what the hell Tsarra was talking about. Did people say those phrases? Well he'd never heard them before. Whatever, it was time for rain!

The mischievous little furball cackled with glee as the couples scrambled for cover from the rain, interrupting touching moments and ruining romances. Until he saw the one couple still having a lovely time, maybe even a more lovely time than before, dancing in the rain! Some other couples that had fled for shelter even saw them and looked to each other with smiles before joining them! The falling drops shimmered in the sunlight as they fell and lightly pattered across the ground. The flowers around were given a misting of water, making their colors even more vibrant as their leaves dripped with the fresh rain. It was disgustingly sappy!

Hylltywyll let out a little growling grumble of frustration as he watched their attempted prank suddenly just make things even nicer for the lovebirds. This was all wrong! How could they enjoy being in the rain so much!? The fuzzy Fairy absolutely hated being wet! AGH!

He lifted a hand up and wisps of black, smoky darkness formed in his palm before he threw them into the air where they seemed to just suddenly vanish. After a moment, a shadow began to fall over the whole area, dark clouds forming in the sky above and blotting out the sunlight.

The couples stopped their dancing and looked up, confused by the lovely, sunny rain shower suddenly changing to a gloomy drizzle. They fled for shelter again. But, one couple under an awning still looked delighted, simply pulling each other close and wrapping one coat around both their shoulders.

Hylltywyll thought he might gag.

---

Overcast

"You gotta be kiddin'," Tsarra huffs and throws her hands up. "What's wrong with these people?"

She considers what they can try next. If getting wet wouldn't work spoil the romance...then how about getting a big crabby? 

Tsarra puts a hand to her throat and clears it. They were on an island right? And islands were surrounded by the ocean. Obviously that meant there were plenty of marine critters about. It was worth a shot. She focuses and makes a weird clicking noise which is just barely audible to average ears.^[1] 

Surely the crabs would hear that, and surely they would appear instantly! That's how magic worked right? Any moment these poor saps would be chased down by an army of crustaceans! There's no way they can keep being happy after that!

They wait. 

And wait.

And wait.

Nothing happens.

Salina's salty tits, where were all the crabs? She could have sworn that would work. 

Meanwhile down by the docks, the fishermen, sailors, and dock workers all stand with confused expressions on their faces as a colony of crabs all start making their way way out of the ocean and into the streets of Sol City. Carriage drivers and pedestrians all abruptly get out of the way as the swarm proceeds to march on the city. A couple of patrolling guards try to stop the procession, and get their fingers and toes pinched for their trouble. 

---

[1] Call Sea Life

When Tsarra suddenly whistled, Hylltywyll thought something fun was going to happen. He looked around for whatever she'd done, maybe some lightning would strike or someone would get slurped up into a ball of water! But nothing happened. He looked at Tsarra who seemed equally disappointed. 

Huh. Alright, he'd just do something himself then. He leaped down from Tsarra's shoulder and crept through the street. Thanks to his magic blocking out the sun, he could move invisibly and silently through the crowd. He made his way all the way to the couple that had been giving them the most trouble, the love-dovey pair now cuddling with a coat over both of their shoulders. Disgusting.

In as swift and singular a motion as he could, the little Fairy reached up to the back of the man's belt and pulled it back before depositing the sea urchin caltrops directly into his pants and then running away, back toward Tsarra, his cackling muted by his magic.

---

Overcast
One With the Shadows

The poor man screeched in alarm as he realized that his pantaloons had been invaded by some surprise sea critters with pokey spines. Luckily for the man, the sea urchins were at least not deadly poisonous, but he would likely not be able to sit on his ass for at least a week if not more. 

The woman frets and fusses, but has little understanding of what exactly was going on. They were kissing just a moment ago! Why was he screaming and jumping around in a panic?

Tsarra watches with glee but she is still hung up on the whole crab thing. She was certain she did the spell right. Though, to be fair, she never went to any school for magic. Magic just...happened, but most of the time it did do what she felt it would do. She just can't figure out why this time it didn't do anything.

As the pair are ruining innocent dates, an army of crustaceans continues to flood the streets of Sol City. The guard have been alerted, scrambling to gather enough men armed with brooms to try and push back the advancing infantry. The civilians flee from the streets, taking refuge in any business which are quick to lock their doors out of fear of being infested with the angry sea spiders.  

The Fairy climbed back up to perch on Tsarra's shoulder, cackling over the man now running down the street, his lover chasing behind asking what was wrong, but receiving no answer from the frantically panicking man with urchins scuttling across his bum. Hylltywyll almost regretted not putting the things down the frontside instead, but that might have been a bit much, even for him.

He looked at Tsarra with a smug smile, but it didn't last long. Now the fish lady seemed bothered by something else. He could see it through her smile, there was something new on her mind that wasn't right. He let out a little growl of frustration. He jumped up, grabbing both sides of her head with his hands and planting one foot on either of her shoulders, his body bent over the top of her head so they were eye to eye, his face upside down. Tsarra's hat that Hylltywyll had stolen fell off his head and onto the ground in front of her.

"Hey! Now what's wrong? Why are y- huh?"

He looked up as his questioning was interrupted. The couple that had been running away suddenly came running back again, but now they weren't alone. A whole crowd of people was running their way for some reason!

Tsarra is about to answer Hyll when the couple that fled turns around and starts running towards them instead of away, looks of terror on their faces. 

"What the?"

Behind the fleeing civilians is a literal tidal wave of clickity clacking crabs all climbing over one another as they swarm between the buildings. 

"Oh, Salina's salty tits."

While Tsarra could try talking to the creatures, she opts instead to not get caught up in the wave of pincers and shells. She turns on her heels and books it. It's not long before there's more screaming and fleeing civilians from down another street. The crab army was coming from all directions!

Welp, this was bad. 

Tsarra spots a few stacked crates at the back of a building and decides that up is as good a direction as any. She sprints over just as the crabs start to gain on them and clambers up the crates before jumping and catching onto the eaves of the roof. She struggles for a second before she manages to haul herself and Hyll up onto the rooftop just as the crabs crash like a wave against the side of the building. 

The family inside the house scream in fear as they slam the shutters closed and start moving furniture to barricade the doors. 

The triton woman huffs and looks down at the streets filled with far too many crabs to count. She rubs her head then realizes that her hat is long gone. It likely has been swept away or torn to shreds by now. 

"Ah, I liked that hat. Oh well." She looks at Hyll and laughs a bit embarrassed. "Might have gone a bit overboard."

The Fairy held onto Tsarra's head for dear life as she ran to get away from the incoming wall of crab coming toward them from multiple directions. The two waves crashed together, sending cabs flying up into the air as they clambered onto the safety of the roof. The crabs rained down around them, some landing on the roof and scuttling around while more fell straight back into the flood.

Hylltywyll stared in a mix of awe and horror as the crabs flooded the streets. A few unlucky individuals who couldn't find shelter or higher ground fast enough were buried in an avalanche of pincers and legs. They did their best to cover their faces with their hands as they were engulfed by crab.

Once the shock faded, Hylltywyll started cackling with glee. This was incredible! How did this happen? Was this what Tsarra's spell did? She could do that!? Since when!? The little Fairy thought he was a pretty powerful little ball of magic, but he couldn't have pulled off anything like this! He had to up his game if he wanted to keep up with the fish lady.

"How did you do that? This is amazing!" Hylltywyll laughed as he lightly smacked the top of Tsarra's head in glee.

"I dunno, I recently can call little ocean critters to me. But I didn't think I'd get this many."

Honestly, it was a shock to her. She didn't really understand her magic much, and only had a general...feeling of what her spells did most of the time. Despite never studying magic, she could use it like it was something that came natural. And it was powerful, but she had little control over it. Clearly. This was way more crabs than she had anticipated, and oddly enough they didn't feel like they were listening to her either.

Weird. 

Then, from the swelling tide of pincers and shells, rises a massive creature. It resembles a crab initially, until it doesn't. It has the head of a shrimp, the tail of a lobster, and many spines of barnacles across its carapace. The spindly crab legs that drape down from its chin like a beard wriggle with fury. 

"I warned ye, lass. I've come for my revenge!" The creature cackles and waves its claws in the air. 

"Ah, shite. Not him again."

Tsarra could hardly forget the terrible Captain Atolla from the time she and Hyll were captured by pirates. No wonder there were so many crabs. He must have spent his time between then and now amassing a new crew after losing his last one to the mutinous efforts of Tsarra and Captain Moraya.

She wonders if the man had already gone after Moraya and hopes he hasn't. She kinda liked working with the ambitious woman and hoped they would cross paths again some day. 

"Ye thought ye could escape me on dry land did ye? Well, no one can run from Captain Atolla forever. This time," he laughs heartily. "Oh, this time I will gut ye and decorate the town with yer innards."

"Gross."

Alright, that wasn't something he'd expected. Who even was this giant walking seafood menu!? Hylltywyll hadn't met this person in their life! Had they? No, definitely not. He was oddly familiar though. Had Hylltywyll heard that voice before? Maybe he'd met a relative of theirs. Did the octoshark talk?

Atolla's mouth opened wide to reveal a horrid set of shark-like teeth. Steam rose from his mouth as boiling water started to gurgle in his throat that looked like it inflated slightly behind the curtain of wriggling crab legs. But before the water could shoot out at them, Hylltywyll help up a hand and the water suddenly just disappeared. Atolla looked confused for a moment before his eyes focused on the little Fairy.

"You! Don't think I fergot you, sea monkey!" He roared angrily, the wave of crabs carrying him toward Tsarra and HYlltywyll.

"I don't even know you!" He replied and tapped Tsarra on the top of the head some more. "Let's get out of here!"

---

Spell Suspension (1/4)