#apprentice isla

Well over a year ago I had a list of apprentices I wanted to draw for the arcana. These should have been done w a y before now--- but I lost a lot of motivation in heaps since the start of 2018. 

My last bit of progress with the apprentice list I had for this request post was something I made in early 2018. Then I sketched pieces throughout February. It wasn’t until May that I got into the mood (and had time because of summer break) to do the art digitally. But none of the things looked satisfying to me, so I scrapped a lot of works to start over. The summer and fall/winter period was busy for me with a lot of unforeseen personal and familial challenges and events that affected me. I wasn’t ready for a lot of what happened and I really don’t think that I have come to terms with a lot. Or even processed it.

I am sorry for the unreasonably long and pretty much explanation-less wait I made people experience. I think I should have made a more direct, explicit post stating that these things would be on hold for an indefinite amount of time, or something at least. A major problem/mistake I made when taking these on was the amount of requests I got and then me overestimating how much energy I would have to follow through with them all. 

Since then, I hope that my art has at least improved some. I’d like to try and continue making progress with this list. I know very well that since the time I made it, some people could have moved on because a lot of things happened since then. Even so, I hope that I can still just like, I gain more experience from drawing apprentices that are not my own, you know? 

This quieted the apprentices briefly. A purple haired Countess appeared in Halla’s mind and she smiled to herself automatically. Izzy glanced down with a grin as they thought of the wine loving consul they had buzzing in their thoughts. Ross’s mind went to the masochistic troublemaker they went everywhere with; a side of their mouth quirked up in amusement. Only thinking of what had followed after the elusive magician told her about the mission, Isla blushed a bright pink. 

“Y-yep,” she agreed. Ross raised their eyebrows, but didn’t question her red cheeks.

“Ooooh~” Izzy, unlike Ross, wiggled their eyebrows playfully and slyly grinned. “Did you do something naughty, Isla?” Halla laughed at this, a sparkle in her eyes, the sound of it sweet and infectious.

The heat in Isla’s cheeks only rose even more. “H-hey, it’s not like you guys don’t do things with your significant others!” she protested. “We should focus on the task at hand.”

A contemplative silence fell over the four, as they thought of what lie ahead - certainly, it wasn’t something to be desired. Something was eerily haunting the palace, the apprentices' lives, and Vesuvia itself. They had to find it - or perhaps be doomed.

“Come on,” Izzy said, their amber eyes shining determinedly, “I’ll lead. Let’s get this over with.”

“I’ll bring up the back,” answered Ross. Halla smiled reassuringly at Isla before the two girls followed Izzy, Ross on their heels.

“Wow, the air is almost as tense as when we first met,” commented Halla. Izzy broke their let’s-do-this composure and laughed while Isla ducked her head; All four of them agreed to meet at Ross’s place when they had been first informed of the mission - it was the most convenient for everyone. Isla and Izzy thought it would be a nice idea if they baked something quick for the four to share, only to make a huge mess in the oven, as they had placed Isla’s sweet potatoes in the oven without pricking them first. Naturally, the potatoes exploded.

“I’m sorry again, Ross,” apologized Isla with a tiny laugh. “I don’t really cook or bake.”

“Neither do I,” Izzy added, grinning. Ross ran their fingers through their hair, remembering how incredibly surprised and irked they were when they found the cooking catastrophe; it wasn’t too bad though, all of the apprentices helped clean up afterward. Isla and Izzy apologized profusely afterward, Halla cheerfully happy with the apprentices’ bonding - despite the situation, and Ross somewhat annoyed yet a tiny smidge amused.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you guys worried?” Halla inquired. A tiny portion of her was antsy, but a larger part of her was determined to protect the Countess she adored.

“Nah - we have a good balance of magic between us.” Ross commented.

Halla did have to agree with that - her magic was mostly focused around healing and illusion, which was the opposite of Izzy, who used necromancy, blood magic, and hexes. Isla’s and Ross’s went more hand and hand - Ross was the master of divination, as they used runes, tea leaves to read the future, practiced chriomancy while Isla’s specialty was reading the stars for the future as well as producing stars of energy for battle purposes.

The air seemed to grow thicker and thicker, as if it trying to choke the four apprentices in the dark hallway while their footsteps echoed mysteriously as they tredded carefully. Izzy anxiously glanced left and right in a quiet rhythm while Halla and Isla automatically clung to one another. Even Ross who normally was unshakable, looked unease. Nervously, the four apprentices kept their eyes peeled open, on the look out for anything that could attack them. It was beginning to be hard to see, so Isla silently formed small stars of light that twinkled like fireflies on a summer's night around the group.

Cobwebs were hanging left and right, the intricate thin lines of string reminding Isla of how fragile the apprentices were - given the wrong moment in time where one wasn't paying attention, one had their back turned, or even one was blinking could be a move that would send them to their death.

"The only thing lacking here is the creepy music before something gets us," Izzy whispered.

"Umm, if I had the power to turn back time, I'd go back and not do this," Isla said, clearly frightened. "I'd rather not die today."

"You won't die alone, you'll have us." Halla murmured softly. "Whoever - or whatever - is out there, it can't kill one of us without killing all of us."

Suddenly, a willowy noise erupted from the far end of the corridor, startling the apprentices. It was a sound of pure horror - as if something completely inhumane was in agony. Before covering her mouth, Isla uttered a small scream while Halla jumped out of her skin, trembling. Ross balled their hands into fists as Izzy bounced back in alarm into the other apprentices, knocking them into the floor accidentally.

A goat with vivid red eyes appeared before the apprentices on the ground - its horns were tall and its transparent fur snow white. Towering over them, it glared and growled viciously while each of the apprentices shrank back.