BONUS ROUND 3 - GENRE FICTION

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this round is about writing prompts inspired by genre fiction, aka fantasy, crime, romance, horror, or sci-fi!

to submit a prompt or fill, reply to this post!

Fills can be in any format, and you can fill any prompt (even if it's your own or your teammates)!

for your prompt post title, please use the following format:
PROMPT: TEAM [TEAM NAME]
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PROMPT: VOTER

for your fill  post title, please use the following format:
FILL: TEAM [TEAM NAME]
if you are participating as a vote-only member, use this format:
FILL: VOTER

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FILL: TEAM YUZUKI/MAKOTO

[eloquentalias]

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Ship: Annette Fantine Dominic/Lysithea von Ordelia
Words: 775

It wasn't necessarily odd for Annette to trip over a tree root. The sun was setting, Annette was a touch clumsy, and even the ground where their class had set up camp was uneven so it made sense the forest nearby wasn't any better.

Yes, the circumstances around Annette's fall were perfectly logical, but while Felix scolded Annette for being unaware of her surroundings in a potentially dangerous location, Lysithea couldn't help but walk back to examine the tree root anyways.

The tree root was innocuous at first glance. It was simply a big root, potruding out of the ground in a way perfect to capture the tip of one's shoe. Lysithea had felt something in this forest since they were sent out to forage, some magical energy lingering in a way that felt strangely purposeful, but the root was simply a root. Uncommon, but not sinister.

"I really didn't think there was anything like that in the way though," Annette was saying as Lysithea turned away from the root and back to the rest of her party. "I was following you two step for step and it was smooth going out there in the front!"

Felix looked unimpressed, as ever, though Lysithea didn't think she was imagining concern woven in, "I'm used to rough terrain and Lysithea has good special awareness, I don't think you should feel compelled to follow exactly what we do."

"I don't want to fall behind though..."

There was a lot Lysithea could say to that, about Annette's confidence levels and skill levels and how she didn't need to copy the way other people go about things, but Annette's earlier comment about the smooth going for Lysithea and Felix had her turning around to look at the root again because she realized what made her check it in the first place:

The path Lysithea had been following had been flat, even, and looked manmade. She hadn't had to think about stepping over anything, much less a whole root.

She held her lantern up higher, hoping the light cast further down the path they'd already travelled, and Lysithea could see that she was wrong. The path was covered in grasses and plants, and roots poked up through its ground everywhere. They were even more absurdly placed than the root Annette tripped on, and Lysithea hadn't noticed them at all.

"The path has changed," she announced, and both Felix and Annette fell silent as they looked to Lysithea's position at the back.

Felix spoke first, sounding "That can't be—"

"Oh Goddess, Felix she's right," Annette dashed over to right behind Lysithea and held her lantern up as well. "Look at the treetops, they didn't hang over the path we took like that."

That prompted Lysithea to look up and see that Annette was right. Where there had previously been clear skies were now branches and leaves closing in, tangling together like they were all part of the same tree. Lysithea looked specifically for the remaining views of the sky and narrowed her focus in on them.

As she did, Lysithea could see those spaces get more and more closed in, one bit at a time, at a speed she guessed even an untrained eye would find disconcerting.

She summoned magic to her hand, glad that she had a fire tome by her side for this outing, and heard Felix unsheathe his sword as he hurried to her and Annette's backs.

Annette summoned fire too, in her one hand, dropping her lantern as she did. Its meager flame didn't light much from that position, but it was enough to see grass growing rapidly five feet away from them, tangled and wild grasses that would take years ordinarily.

Lysithea tossed her lantern out further, back in the direction they'd came. Its shatter prompted the roots around it to retract, to recoil, and Lysithea knew she and Annette would be very glad of their choice in tome indeed.

"Do either of you know what this is?" Felix asked, all business.

"I'm afraid I don't," Annette answered, nerves making her voice shake.

"Neither do I," Lysithea admitted, and in that moment Annette grabbed Lysithea's free hand.

Even in such a dire moment as this being touched startled her. She looked to Annette in surprise and found her friend trying a smile.

"We'll... Get out of this though?"

Lysithea found herself nodding, and as that action seemed to light something in Annette's eyes Lysithea also found herself squeezing Annette's hand back, the touch a welcome anchor as the greenery around them began to move in earnest.

"We have to," Lysithea said, gritting her teeth. "Let's get back to camp."