Sky

"How do you think the twins are?" Riv mumbles, tripping over a pair of random shoes as he enters my room and rips open the blinds. I groan as the early morning light drift through the window. Helios, it could only be 4 or 5 am, even with the winter nights getting longer. Oh the curse of seasonal sunlight hours.

"What?" I grumble, eyes bleary as Riv falls onto the bed beside me the scars on his bare chest shining in the morning light. "Oh, the twins. They probably had fun. Luna can't exactly ruin the whole evening for them. They'd have to separate and socialise on their own at some point."

I pause.

"What are you doing on my bed." I demand incredulously, fully awake now as I sit up to stare down at Riv.

"Your bed is comfier." Riv states as closes his eyes and drags a spare blanket over himself since he apparently couldn't be bothered to steal my duvet as well.

I indignantly snort and grab the other end of the blanket and tug. "We have the same make of bed!"

I snatch the blanket back and Riv groans and rolls over onto his front, clearly doing a shit job at hiding from my irritation.

"It's too early for your semantics Sky," He mumbles, voice distorted as his face is pressed into the pillow.

Bastard. I roll my eyes and clamber out of the bed, making sure to tug the covers under Riv so he jerks awake again.

"Oh fuck off Sky." He complains.

I snort. "You're the one who wanted to take up residence on my bed."

Rive makes a noise of wailing despair and I can't help but grin and turn to face him. I freeze. There's a bright purple mottled bruise covering his back.

"Riv what the fuck!" I shout.

He jerks up, wincing with the movement. "What?"

"What- what! Your back Riven!"

I shrug on my clothes quickly, hearing Riv mutter a noise of acknowledgement and I run out of the room to grab the bruise cream from the bathroom. Actually, sod the bruise cream, I'll have to get a healing potion from the greenhouse.

Moving quickly into Riv's room I grab the closest clothes that look clean before returning to my bed and crouching down to look at Riv.

"Riv, riv can you hear me." I murmur, far more caring now I understand he was probably trying to get my help and got distracted by pain and exhaustion.

"Let me sleep Sky, I feel as if I was trampled by a horse." He snorts a laugh before wincing.

"We need to get you to the greenhouse," I state but Riv huffs and turns away from me.

"I'm being serious," I snap. "You could have broken something."

Riv grumbles unintelligably, I sigh and grab him as gently as I can and heave him up.

"What the fuck-"

"Oh it's your own fault!"

"I'm fine. Lemme go."

Riv pouts at me with a completely out of it expression to the point I think he might be high again. I glare at him. What in the name of Apollo happened, we've got class today and tomorrow- meaning Silva will kill him if he misses any more lessons, especially if he got in a fight. Irene too, she's gotten quite fond of using him as her second in command.

"Get up or I'll tell Irene."

He freezes, head lifting up with eyes full of sharp clarity.

"You wouldn't dare."

Silence, we stare at each other for a long moment before I lunge for my phone on the bedside table. Riven lets out a cry of pain as he darts after me.

"Fine, Fine, I concede." He yelps and I grin in triumph, fist pumping in the air.

"Alright, let me help you get a shirt on," Riv huffs and I know he's about to complain. "We can't have all the ladies drooling after you, can we?"

Riv chokes on a laugh and nods, allowing me to help him loop his arms through the button up shirt. Satisfaction flickers through me. See, I know how to be a good friend. Just gotta trick Riven into doing things that are good for him. Like that time I bet him I could drink a bottle of water faster than him when I found out he couldn't be bothered to drink his during training. Idiot was about to pass out.

After hauling on his jeans Riv stumbles to his feet, wavering for a second before he tilts to one side. I dart forward, looping his arm around my shoulder and wincing when I hear his groan of pain. We hobble out of the room, briefly pausing by the coffee table to awkwardly bend down and grab a set of keys.

"Stop fucking pulling on my arm." Riv complains.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Shall I just leave you in heap on the floor." I retort as we stumble through the door.

Riv leans against the hallway wall as I lock our dorm behind us.

"Well yes, actually." Riv exclaims, "You're the one making a big deal out of this."

I roll my eyes.

"I saw that." he snaps, pointing at me threateningly but it quickly falters when he winces.

Riv hooks his arm back over my shoulder and we start the slow trek through the specialist dorms. I look over at Riv in concern as his breath comes in labored pants, each one sounding more painful than the last. I slow down, Riv clearly notices by his grunt but doesn't say anything.

If that's not more alarming than this entire ordeal I don't know what is.

"What happened anyway?" I question as we reach the top of the stairs and pause for a break.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He drawls, with an attempt at his usual sarcasm.

"Yes, I would." I snap. "Since I'm the one dragging you through the corridors at-" I look down the stairs to the clock at the bottom on the wall by the reception. "- 5:28 in the morning."

Riv rolls his eyes and reaches his arm back out to indicate he's ready to move again. We remain in silence as I help Riv struggle down the stairs. I go down first, letting him hold onto the back of my shoulders with a vice like grip. I wince but don't say anything, too concerned with getting us both down the stairs without falling.

"I fell asleep in the stables." Riv mutters as we reach the bottom.

I shift Riv to hold his arm over my shoulders again as he refuses to meet my gaze. Worry and annoyance war within me, did he get drunk again and stumble there?

"So, I guess the trampled by horses joke wasn't actually a joke then." I bite, unable to keep the concern fueled by irritation from my voice.

He chuckles. "It was funny to me."

"Why didn't you come back to the dorm," I ask lowly, "Wait, why did you leave in the first place."

Riv shrugs with a wince as we exit the specialist dorms, both of us pausing to struggle through the locked heavy doors that are thankfully unlocked by some magical charm that registers us as allowed entrees. I wonder why they never just don't allow fairies to open the doors. Maybe they want to track who comes and goes. Or, a smile twitches on my face at the thought, Silva very kindly remembers his good ole' days and decided to let us all have our fun.

I hear a huff of pain beside me as the cold morning air causes me the shudder and my bare arms to break out in goosebumps.

"You okay?" I asks as we descend the steps down to the gravel path.

"Fine." He breathes

We move along the gravel path in silence, moving towards the specialist grounds and the greenhouse. Riv begins to slow down again so we pause for a break, Helios, this is going to take a while.

"Too much adrenaline to sleep."

I look over at Riv in confusion. What does he mean-

"You asked why I left," He glanced at me before turning his gaze to the training grounds in the distance. "I was too worked up to sleep."

"How?" I ask incredulously, pulling back to stare at him in confusion. "We were all dead on our feet."

"Yeah, well." He snorts as we continue to hobble along. "You pissed me off."

"I pissed you off." I demand, brows raised in shock.

Riv glances at me. "Oh don't look so surprised Prince Charming, you're not as perfect as you'd like everyone to believe."

An uncomfortable weight churns in my gut, he's right.

"And don't get that sad puppy look either." Riv snaps as he winces again, I quickly re-adjust my grip on him, fearful that he's slipping.

There's a moment of silence and I look over the specialists' grounds seeing Silva and Irene dragging equipment into different places. Do those two ever sleep? I shudder, actually, no- No, I don't want to know.

I feel Riv staring at me as I watch my little foster family. A small frown tugs at my face at the thought, they're not my real, real family though are they.

"That," Riv exclaims in triumph, pointing at me with his free hand. "That right there is what pisses me off."

I stop short, catching Riv as he stumbles at the sudden movement. He really is out of it if his overly cheerful expression is anything to go by.

"What?"

"You and them!" Riv groans dramatically. "The three of you are the greatest family travesty of all time."

"We're not-"

"You ARE!." Riv snaps, his expression turning aggressive before cooling down again into a quiet rage. "You fucking are, Sky. And everyone can see it except you."

He jabs a finger at me again before turning away to face the school instead of me and my apparent family. I go to open my mouth but Riv sighs and turns back to face me.

"Do you have any idea what I would give to have parents like that? To have a family network that supported me, got me into a fancy college, trained with me and took me fucking horse riding as a kid."

Riv is panting by the end of his rant. I gape at him in shock. I had no idea he- that he wanted what I- but he has a family? He does go to alfea, why would-

"You really can't see it, can you?" He demands. "Irene is so desperate to be a mother that she dotes on you, cheers on every match and battle from the sidelines all the while trying not to over do it in case it's not what you want."

Irene wants- no, she- she can't. I mean, she's made it no secret that she's always wanted to be a mother but I just assumed that-

"And Silva, well he's a little different since he seems to be drowning with grief over Andreas for some obscure reason. He so wants to exclaim 'that's my son' like he always says 'that's my mate' when Irene does anything badass. Yet he sees how desperate you are to be Andreas' dream child that he feels like he can't put too much of his own influence on you."

We're halfway to the greenhouse and I'm starting to dread the rest of this conversation. When did this turn into a psychoanalysis of my life and not about why Riv fell asleep in the stables.

"Sky! SKY!" I jerk up to see Silva and Irene running at full speed towards us.

I feel Riv sag his whole weight against me and I only just realise how much I'm practically holding him up.

"RIVEN!?" Irene calls, voice filled with fear as they reach the end of the pond.

"Do you see how they run to you." Riv whispers in my ear, voice exhausted as I watch Irene shift into a large Dire wolf to overtake Silva and race faster to us. "That is the fear that only a parent can have when their child could be in danger."

And then the philosophical fucker passes out on my and we both sag to the floor.

I cradle Riv's body as I try to shake him awake, I look up at the sound of panting breath as Irene bumps her furred body against mine to curl around Riv and I. Her large Dire wolf form was always my favourite as a kid.

"What happened?" Silva demands as he slides to his knees beside me, the gravel crunching under his speed and weight.

"Riv-"

"Are you hurt?" He demands hands reaching out to clasp me on the sides of my face and around the back of my neck. Warmth fills me as Silva tilts my head left to right and scans my body for any sign of injury. "Sky? SKy!"

"Fine- I'm fine, Saul. It's Riven."

"Right, okay." He murmured under his breath and I can't help but stare as he gives Riv the same concerned treatment.

"Scared me there Sky," Silva huffs, his attention still on Riven as he lifts his shirt after catching a glimpse of the bruise. Behind me Irene huffs in wolfish agreement. "Didn't know what to think when I saw you both collapse to the ground."

"We're fine," I reassure him, "Just some bruising."

"Were you attacked?" Silva demands eyes hardening as he lifts Riven's weight off me. "Were you outside the barrier?"

"No, no." I state, shaking my head and stumbling to my feet using Irene for support. "Riv said he was too riled up to sleep last night so ended up down by stables, must have fallen asleep because he apparently woke up to being trampled. Next thing I know it's 5 am and he's falling onto my bed in pain trying to get my help."

"Fucking Hell." Silva breaths and wince at his language, Silva never swears, "help me get him onto Irene's back."

Irene huffs but lays down lower, I can practically hear her going 'I'm not a pack-donkey Silva'. I grip Riv under his arms to take his weight while Silva swings one of his legs over Irene's back. I chuckle slightly at the irony of carrying him as if he were riding a horse when he was just trampled by a horse. Riv slumps forward till he's practically hugging the wolf form.

Once we've got him on, Silva walks to Irene's other side to steady him while I hold onto him from this side. Irene slowly clambers to her feet, the movement jolsting Riv and I think I can hear him groan in pain. The four of us quickly move towards the greenhouse, Irene is trotting with Silva and I running beside her to keep Riven from falling.

We reach the greenhouse and Irene slows to a walk as Silva and I run ahead to hold open the doors. I watch with amusement as Irene ducks her head to get through the door, but the fluffy tips of her ears still brush the top of the door frame. We let the doors swing closed behind us with a resound bang that shakes the glass walls but I know there's too many enchantments on them to allow the glass to break.

"HARVEY!" Silva roars, startling me back to the present. Shit, I'm too groggy for this.

"HARVEY!" Silva calls again as we build up to a run beside Irene as we work our way through the jungle hidden in the greenhouse. Slowing down as we reach the rows of tables hidden in the middle of the tropical scene I watch with irritation as Professor Harvey walks slowly over to us with a frown on his face.

"Silva?" He questions, rubbing at his eyes, his clothes are rumpled in a way that suggests he fell asleep here last night. "What's going on-"

"It's Riven." I interrupt, quickly losing patience with the tired teacher. "He fell asleep in the stable and woke up when he got trampled by a horse."

"Sweet Helios," Harvey mutters and rushes forward to Irene who's slowly lowering herself to the floor while Silva holds onto Riven. "How long ago?"

"I don't know. He came and got me around 5am but the bruising was already purple and black."

I move to Silva's side, quickly helping him to pull Riven off Irene's shifted form.

"Place him on the table. Quickly, quickly."

Riv groans as he drifts in and out of consciousness, his skin is startlingly pale. Silva and I gently lower him onto the table. I move to quickly rip open his shirt and shift him onto his front, Silva eventually gets tired with my struggling against the piece of clothing and just cuts the damn thing off with his knife.

I watch with transfixed concern as Harvey presses on and around the bruise. Distantly I register Silva walking around the greenhouse to grab a pair of clothes from a box.

"What's the damage, Ben?" Irene questions and I hear her shrug on the clothes.

"Well," Harvey hums, "there is obviously some external damage that will heal with time, it's the internal I'm concerned about. I can feel maybe two- no three, broken ribs. If those press on his lungs-"

"He was struggling to breathe earlier." I state, hearing my voice stutters slightly in fear.

Irene moves forward to stand on my left, her small hand gripping mine.

"That," Harvey comments. "Is going to be a big cause for concern."

I take a deep breath and feel the heavy weight of Silva's hand settle on my right shoulder. He steps closer to murmur in my ear. "He's going to be okay, Sky. Nothing the fairies can't fix."

I see Harvey's attention dart up to me at Silva's words that clearly echoed in the silence.

"Irene, can you get me all the stuff from the med kit number... 6. Sky, I'm going to need Terra and Stella to help with the internal wounds."

I freeze, if this some bullshit assignment to get me away from Riven I'll-

"Now Sky." Harvey commands.

Silva squeezes my shoulder in support when I look to him for approval. "I'll stay with the whole time. I need to talk with Harvey about some reports I got this morning anyways."

Ah, a legitimate reason. Or at least enough of the truth that I'll accept it. I take one last look at Riven before running out of the workspace, quickly darting through the jungle path to reach the exit. What in the actual hell is going on with Riven, first there was drama with the fight - which we resolved - and now there's stuff about family?

I breathe in the fresh air, not wasting any time to run towards the fairy hall. Though I guess it was always about family with Riv, the fight was about his little sister and whatever happened over the summer holidays.

"Sky?"

I stumble to a halt, staring at Octavia who limps down the specialist hall steps.

"What the hell has happened to you know." I demand, storming towards a shocked Octavia who I now realise is dressed in her running gear. "First Riven, now-"

"What do you mean Riven?" Octavia demands, hastily rushing down the stairs with a wince on every step. I reach forward to help her down.

"Idiot fell asleep in the stables and got trampled by a horse."

"What-, is he," Octavia stutters, going pale with concern. I smile at her show of emotion, she's always so cold in the hallways and to other pupils.

"He's in the greenhouse, with Harvey. I'm going to go get Terra and Stella to help."

Octavia glances between the fairy dorms and in the direction of the greenhouse.

"Go to Riv." I say, nodding in reassurance. "You clearly need a pick up potion after last night and he needs a friend."

Tavi nods and I rush back off. Sprinting this time to make up distance. I can hear the sounds of people waking up as I move through the halls, chatter, kettles and music all begin to lull and bustle in the corridors of the fairy hall. A completely different atmosphere to the specialist's groans and early morning irritation at training.

What happens if Riv has a punctured lung, Harvey doesn't have healing magic. He only makes potions, salves- and oh fuck, Riv could die. He could actually be dying right now. I mean it was like the thing in centuries past for young stable hands to die by horse, But like-

I'm panicking, I need to stop panicking. I'm nearly at Stella's dorm and then she'll help. Unless she can't and then Riven's serious fucked. No, no. Stella has improved loads. She can totally heal him. Or she'll be a bitch because Riven was an asshole to her. 

Stella's not that mean, right?

The Winx Suite door comes into view and I race forward slamming into it when I forget to slow down in my panic. Pain slams into me as I fall through the door and land on my back. Shouts of surprise and shock echo through the room and a ball of fire has me ducking in shock and instinctively rolling into a crouched defence position.

For several moments there's silence as I stare at the Winx girls and they stare at me.

"Sky?" Bloom questions incredulously. "What the hell are you doing?"

I jump to my feet, quickly scanning the room in search of the fairies I need. I briefly see a girl's eyes flash purple and hear her murmur something to the water fairy Bloom was with yesterday about panic.

"I need Stella and Terra." I state, doing my best to calm down. "Are they here?"

"Eh, yes?" The water fairy whose name I have forgotten answers rudely. "Are you going to tell us why?"

"A specialist got trampled by a horse."

There's a moment of disbelieving shock.

"A- a specialist got trampled by a horse?" Bloom questions with a laugh and I really want to tell her to shut up but I know she'll get upset.

"What's going on?" Stella asks as she strides into the room with Terra quickly following.

"Yeah, we heard a loud crash." Terra adds.

"Sky?" Stel asks in confusion

"I need you two come with me, right now." I command, panic and desperation clear in my voice.

"Okay, yeah." Stel agrees, grabbing hold of Terra's hand to tug her along as she follows me out of the room. "What's happened?"

"A fucking horse."