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Though one might operate under such a falsehood, it is not the easiest thing for a person go from being sequestered in their room for three solid months to actual society, so the fact that Belladonna was still a little uncertain around people was an easy thing to understand. It had been a few days since her exam that had gone marvelously well, so the witch was feeling rather buoyant in regards to life. But at the same time, she very much understood what she had done by her self-imposed incarceration and that very thing was now what was keeping her from throwing a "Your Favorite Witch Is Back!" party. She had shunned any sort of social contact and this meant that people did not really take too kindly to an invitation after being refused for so long. But she also understood that she needed to at least try talking to people again, though it was extremely difficult...

Maybe that was why she was sitting on her haunches, shoulders slumped as she surveyed what was left of the little garden that sat next to Ren's. The idea had struck her when she had to feed her pets and Snap Kitty's little Venus Flytrap Tail had tried to bite her. In a flash she had dressed (though it was a hasty and unfortunate combination of hoodie, skirt, petticoat and mismatched shoes) and was through the school grounds, praying that her garden had survived without her care.
It had not.
Instead it had fallen to decay, the plants withering into tiny, lifeless brown stubs and even the hardiest of vines had unprooted themselves in favor of greener pastures.

"You poor babies... I'm so sorry I ignored you." Belladonna whispered to the dead plants, her fingers reaching out to caress their dead leaves. "I'll do what I can by you now, I promise." She told them with a sad smile. With a deep breath of conviction she rolled up her sleeves and dug her hands into the dirt, pulling the dead plants apart and pushing them into the dirt so that they could become fertilizer for the plants that would follow. The light was beginning to fade as the pumpkin-sun began its descent into twilight, but still she worked on. Long ago, when hope was bright and her resolve was strong, she had planted many potential lovelies, so now there was a lot of work to do. But it was good work, work that made her almost feel like her former self.

All the while the witch couldn't help but wonder (and hope in a far away part of herself that both feared and longed for personal interaction) if Ren would happen by. His garden looked so nice! She hadn't seen him in months and wondered how he was. Was he doing alright? Had he passed his exam too? Was he still with the rabbit girl? Were all his pets doing well too?
So many questions, but every time the witch tried to imagine what his reply might be, her heart hammered in her chest because talking to him meant confronting him and apologizing and explaining to him why she had been gone.
Perhaps meeting him again wasn't the scary part, maybe it was telling her former friends (even the kindest person couldn't still consider her a friend after she had abandoned them) exactly why she had disappeared. In that regard she was frightened. There was a high possibility they would find her silly or scoff at her for her fear. Hadn't other students died on The Island? Had they too disappeared into themselves, scared of more death? Or had they been brave, had they found another piece of their souls that cried for more life while Belladonna had found nothing and instead cried because of her lack?
Yes, in that regard she was most frightened.

"...Bells?"

The very sound caused the witch to immediately freeze, bent over a little tuft of dirt and decayed plant. It was a person! A real actual, living, breathing, wanting to interact with her person! And more than that! It was REN!! EEEEEKKK!!!
To show that she had heard him, Belladonna jumped noticeably and let out a tiny "eep!" that she hoped would alert him to the fact that he had snuck up on her, in more ways than one. But that would not suffice so the witch took a deep breath and turned around.

"Ren? Is that you?" Goodness had he changed since their last encounter! It wasn't that he had a different hair color or more or less freckles, or anything silly of that sort. He was a smidget taller (or maybe it was just the fact that Belladonna was so low on the ground to begin with) and his hair seemed a bit longer, thicker too. He was dressed impeccably nicely and in that moment Belladonna felt the drabness of such a poor outfit choice on her own part. But the thing that struck the witch the most was the fact that his wings were larger and he looked more mature. If at all possible he seemed more confident, more wordly. He hadn't shrunken away after The Island, but instead flourished into life. He looked well. Very well, handsomely well!

It was entirely possible that she was blushing or perhaps so startled all the blood had rushed to her face, so a thin, pale finger brushed against her cheek but felt nothing but skin and a bit of dirt dislodge onto it. Now she looked mismatched, shaken, out of place AND smudged with dirt. As if things couldn't get any worse!
"I-i think that's you... But you're... Taller?"
Oh yes, that cemented things nicely. Her voice shook with trepidation and she ended her sentence with a question when she meant a statement. It would probably be best to run away now. Maybe if she just bolted he wouldn't be able to catch her... But he did have those wings, which were larger now so that meant he could fly faster. Jackdammit! What was a girl to do in such a situation? Oh yes! Smile!
Unfortunately for Belladonna the smile was weak, uncertain with a touch of frightened deer in the headlights. Oh well, maybe running wasn't too bad an option after all...

The little witch watched as a look of surprise registered on her friend's face, but it seemed to not stop his need to hug her. At first Belladonna was surprised and for a moment she kept her arms at the pause behind his back, but when his arms tightened around her, Belladonna locked her own arms around him. In a moment she was up off the ground, hoisted onto the young man's chest as Ren twirled her around. It was thrilling to be hugged like that, more so for the reason that she hadn't been touched by another being let alone talked to one she cared for in a very long time rather than the fact that he was a boy, but that helped too. So when he set her down her face was flushed, but when he very openly looked at her face she finally had to duck her head to hide what she felt was a fire on her cheeks.

"Delightful? Ha..." It was hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but somehow Belladonna thought she managed to make it sound sad rather than rude. "But you look great! And who is taller than you? Seriously, if you're talking about your Blue-Friend, its only because he wears heels."
Well that was strange... How long had it been since Belladonna had called someone a nickname because she didn't know (or couldn't recall) their real name? How many months had it been since she had known anything about anyone? Gossip had been her former forte, so now it was strange that she was picking it up so quickly.

When he said her name like that, Belladonna couldn't help but crumple a little. He was looking at her with such concern in his pretty eyes that she very much feared for her ability to keep her secrets. But perhaps... Just perhaps it would be better to tell Ren everything? Why, who else could better talk her out of this slump but him? Everything was golden in his world, so why couldn't he share a bit of that glittering luster to her own life?
"Talk... Yes, that sounds lovely..."

Unfortunately for the witch there weren't very many place to sit down in their little garden area, so the ground would have to do. But... Hhmm. There was a nearby tree with a low hanging branch. Well, it was low by tree standards but not by Belladonna Divine Standards. She still only stood an inch above five feet, so she would have trouble actually getting onto the branch. But it would be better than the ground (dirt lived in the ground! Duh!) and since Ren had such lovely wings he could probably hoist them both onto it.
"Do you see that branch over there? We should sit there... But you'll have to help me onto it... I can't get in myself."
The small witch hoped that would be ok for him... She hoped she wouldn't be imposing and in fact, that fear seemed to fall from her mouth before she could stop it.

"If that's ok... I mean, if its alright... If not, that's fine. I can, yanno, get into it myself... Maybe..." Now she sounded nervous, now she second-guessed herself and she surely seemed like a shade of her former self. Like a bulb still holding onto its need to shine, but about to burst into blackness at any moment. Belladonna couldn't help but look up at Ren with wide pink eyes and pray that he at once saw her fear and ignored it. But it was fear that wanted her to ignore and fear was supposed to be her ally... So instead of looking away when she was scared of her reply, she held on and met his eyes. He was still the same kind, freckle-faced Ren, wasn't he?