Like enlightenment unto Buddah, sanctuary dawned before Mai and it came in the form of a tree.<br/>It was a good spot, almost too good to be true. Sat on a little bank, out of the way of the main churning hub of the school, out of the line of the lost first years toting their huge back packs like stationary-shop turtles and the older students, meandering between classes, taking their sweet time and chattering away in the code languages that good mates naturally develop, well out of sight of any professors surveying their territory. It was a big old oak. The kind that Arts late Ma used to say fairies lived in.<br/><br/>She sighed in relief and slunk over, trudging up the bank and slinging her bag down off of her shoulde—<br/><br/>Wait!<br/><br/>She froze, bag dangling from the crook of her elbow, trapped in mid sling. A deep from started across her dainty features as she stared at the floor, trying to figure out what the mess was. For half a moment it… for half a second her brain screamed worms! A whole pile of worms right there on the grass, but then recognition clicked.<br/>“Chowmein!” She squeaked, partly in surprise, mostly in relief.<br/><br/>Gross!<br/><br/>Someone had dropped at least half a portion here! Maybe it was the leftovers of a food fight gone AWOL.<br/><br/>A noise shattered the quiet. It came from above her, must have been the snap of a branch, but in the muffled quiet of the far corner of the school grounds it tore through the air like a gunshot. Mai’s gaze whipped up and she had scarcely a moment to be surprised.<br/>It all happened so fast.<br/>Something was falling.<br/>No.<br/>Not something.<br/>SOMEONE.<br/><br/>No marked hesitation, instinct kicked in and she dived forward, arms out wide. It wasn’t a small tree by any stretch of the imagination, it was a gnarly old oak, branches stretched skywards like witches fingers towards the sky, a drop that guaranteed broken bones. One quick slip and you’d land yourself in hospital.<br/><br/>Shit! She hoped she’d catch them!<br/><br/>In a split second the weight of a person hit her. Mai’s arms instantly ached from the impact, muscles screaming bloody murder and promised her a world of hurt come tomorrow morning. The sudden blow brought them both crashing to the floor, for a moment she was smushed between whoever fell and the earth. Breath kicked clean from her chest in one brutal blow, lungs burning.<br/>It happened to fast to really register what had happened…<br/><br/>One moment she was tutting at spilled Chinese, the next she was sandwiched between someone and the ground, looking through a forest of grass. A slightly too sweet, irony tang coated her tongue.<br/>Blood.<br/>She tasted blood. Her nose throbbed slightly guiltily, a dead giveaway, there was the culprit, she must have busted it when she landed. A groan escaped her throat and she found her grip on the fallen strangers side and rolled them off, or at least as well as her shot to shit muscles would allow, although she could practically feel their reluctance, “Oh fuck…” she winced and hauled herself free of them.<br/>If she could see herself she would have been horrified.<br/>Everything in the immediate surroundings of her nose was painted a bubbly, rich red, her hair had decided that it didn’t want to be left out and exploded messily, half free from the tie, her shirt skewed and hanging a whole shoulder free, she sat bolt upright and stared wide eyes down at the crumpled figure next to her, “Oh my god! A-a-are you okay!?” she stammered, horrified.<br/><br/>It’s unclear whether it was from the shock, how the years had changed them both or her brains plain refusal to accept it, but for now she didn’t recognise him. Art. The oldest and most adored friend she’d ever had…