I don't own anything but my own Original Character(s). Rated T for language.
COMES NIGHT | FOLLOWS DAWN
Chapter One
Focus. Her deep brown eyes narrowed as she rested her glare on the back of her slender hands. She slowly pressed them forward, rolling her wrists so that both of her palms now faced towards her.
Conceal. Eyes began to close as her breath steadily flowed in and out. She stayed like this for a moment, quiet and still. A translucent red cloud formed against her palms, the warmth of her hands starting to burn.
Burst. Eyes shot open as she twisted her hands around. A funnel of red and yellow flared from her palms, illuminating the vast plains situated outside of the Crown City. The young woman's eyes began to turn crimson as the flames continued on, channeling from her hands outward to the open air.
"You certainly are gifted."
She twisted her head and turned towards the direction of the deep voice, her hands following suit. The blast missed Captain Drautos by inches. "... But you still have a lot to learn," he shook his head.
The woman sighed as she ran her hand gently through her long, raven hair. The color of her eyes turned back to their normal brown hue as she addressed the captain of the Kingsglaive. "I'm sorry, sir. You startled me."
"You need to be more aware of your surroundings. Always be alert, Aurora," Titus Drautos replied as he stood tall in front of her. "I could've struck and ended you without even releasing a breath. Thankfully, this is only a training exercise."
Aurora nodded. "Noted. Are we done here, sir?"
"Not yet. I'm volunteering you to show your fellow glaives that special spell that you and Crowe have been practicing."
"Sir, that's a pretty high energy magic. We haven't completely mastered the art of fully controlling it yet..." Aurora's eyes widened. "It's destructive."
"I need everyone to be on the same page here, Aurora. The glaives have yet to see what you can do at your full capacity," Drautos replied, looking over to the soldiers who were several feet away from where they stood. "Besides, don't you want to show them what you can really do?"
Aurora's stare shifted into the same direction, only her eyes fell upon one glaive. "I suppose," she whispered. She followed his every movement, noticing how his hands glided with every thrust and twist of his twin blades. He warped from the middle of the grassy plain to the end of a jagged rock. The purple ribbons of his glaive uniform swirled around his lean and muscular build as he slashed his way to the top.
Captain Drautos turned back to Aurora, noticing her entranced stare. "Considering how close you and Nyx are, I'm surprised you haven't showed him yet."
"That would be reckless, sir. I don't want to hurt him. Like I said, a spell like that will destroy everything if not properly contained," Aurora sighed, her gaze never shifting from where Nyx trained.
Drautos placed a hand on the glaive's shoulder. "I think you don't give yourself enough credit, Aurora."
She turned her eyes back to her captain. "You're a very gifted young woman. Not all of the glaives can wield and control magic like you can. Crowe is the only one that comes close, but even her ability can be limited. Don't underestimate yourself."
Aurora slowly nodded. Drautos smiled as he called out to his team. "Everyone! Gather! There is something that all of you need to see. Niflheim may have their magitek..." Drautos turned and gestured towards Aurora, who stood sheepishly beside him. "... but we have our magic."
The glaives gathered and all turned to Aurora Selene, the second of the only two female soldiers in the Kingsglaive. Great. Way to hype this up, Captain.
"Altius," Drautos shot a look to the young, brown haired woman standing next to Libertus Ostium. "If you will."
Crowe walked up towards Aurora and stood beside her, giving her a gentle nod. "Ladies, please demonstrate what you have been working on for the past few weeks," Drautos said as he walked towards the rest of the glaives. "Move back," he ordered.
Libertus stood beside his childhood friend, Nyx Ulric. Both men had their hands clasped behind their backs as they gazed forward at their two teammates far in front of them. "Do you know what's going on?" Lib asked, his eyes forward.
"No idea," Nyx replied, his stare never faltering from the raven haired woman standing in the middle of the plains.
"Aurora didn't mention anything to you? I would think she tells you everything, considering she's your wife."
Nyx didn't respond.
"Sorry. Considering she's your soon-to-be wife," Libertus smirked.
"Quiet, you two," Pelna spoke up softly from behind the two glaives. "Whatever they're doing, it's starting."
The two women stood side-by-side, their backs towards their comrades. They slowly closed their eyes as they steadily raised their arms towards the sky, tilting their heads back. Silence surrounded them and for a moment, nothing seemed to be happening. All the men stood a distance back with looks of perplexity and bewilderment as they intently watched their two fellow glaives.
After what seemed to be a long and silent pause, a breeze whistled past, slowly turning into a howling gust. Dirt and debris picked up from the ground and flurried towards the female soldiers standing atop the hill. Aurora's long dark hair lifted and swirled around her porcelain face as her indigo cape flew up and jerked against the winds. Nyx narrowed his eyes. Aurora… what the hell is this?
The winds picked up as the men moved to dodge the debris flying around them. "STAND BACK!" Captain Drautos shouted.
Crowe and Aurora's eyes shot open as the gusts in front of them evolved, growing stronger by the second. Soon, dark cyclones erupted from the plains, carrying trees, dirt and debris towards the heavens. Crowe's jaw clenched as she felt the energy in her body surge towards her hands. Aurora took a deep long breath as she furrowed her eyes towards the cyclones. Don't lose control...
The two women stood planted on the ground, their hands still raised high in the air as the cyclones moved around the plains in front of them, destroying everything along their treacherous route. Aurora's breath became short as the energy in her body began to grow. Breathe… don't lose control… Her pupils grew wide as the cyclones became bigger, stronger.
Crowe's eyes shifted to her partner standing beside her. "Aurora! Don't make this into something you can't restrain!" she exclaimed.
Aurora didn't hear a word. Her brown eyes hazed over. The cyclones grew.
"Aurora! We need to work together!"
None of her words were reaching her friend. The cyclones kept growing stronger, trailing a path of destruction among the plains.
"STOP!" Crowe cried out. Her eyes fluttered as the strong winds knocked her chest. She dropped her hands and fell forward, heaving in and out.
"AURORA!" "CROWE!" Nyx and Libertus shouted simultaneously. Nyx started towards them, but felt a strong arm force him back. He shot a glare towards Captain Drautos.
"They have this, Nyx. If you believe in her, let her do this on her own," Drautos stated, his piercing stare firm on the concerned glaive.
Nyx widened his eyes as he looked forward to Aurora. All he could see was the blend of her midnight hair and purple cape jolting against the wind. Her arms were still high in the air as her legs stood firm. Aurora… you have to control this…
Crowe finally caught her breath as she struggled to stand up. She placed a firm hand on her comrade's arm. "We need to stop this…" she choked.
Aurora Selene never shifted her gaze. It was just her and the storm. Crowe's eyes grew wide as she noticed that the size of the cyclones increased to twice as large as when they first erected them on the plains. She looked back at Nyx and Libertus, matching their faces of worry and pure horror. She had to figure out a way to get through to her partner's head.
Crowe turned back to Aurora, watching the young glaive still holding attention to the destruction she was causing. "Aurora, if we don't stop this, someone's going to get hurt," Crowe cried, hoping her voice carried through to her friend. "… and that might be Nyx, trying to save you from yourself."
After a moment, Crowe felt the glaive's arm start to soften. Aurora craned her dark eyes towards the woman standing next to her. Crowe stared into her intensely, hoping that her words burned some sense into her friend.
Aurora closed her eyes and took a deep, long breath as she slowly dropped her arms. After a moment, the cyclones started to calm, gradually decreasing in size and intensity. The two young women raised one arm towards their front and gently closed their hands into tight fists. The cyclones decreased even smaller, turning back into howling gusts. The whistling of the wind carried on until the gusts finally disappeared.
Nyx let out his breath that he didn't realize he was holding as the plains seem to calm once again. His eyes never left the slender figure of the young woman he calls his fiancée.
Crowe sighed as Aurora gazed back towards the men, her eyes locked on Nyx's. Crowe's words echoed in her head. Someone's going to get hurt and that might be Nyx, saving you from yourself.
All the glaives stared out at the destruction that the cyclones had caused. All faces expressed a look of surprise and shock. All but that of Captain Titus Drautos. He grinned as he walked towards the two women, clapping his hands. His attention only rested on Aurora. "Incredible!" he exclaimed as he rested his fists at his waist. "I knew this was something powerful… but I guess I underestimated how powerful it really was."
Aurora's look never diverted from Nyx as he made his way towards her. "Well done," Drautos smiled as he placed a hand on the two women's shoulders. Crowe and Aurora furrowed their eyes and scowled as their captain made his way down the plains to inspect the damage.
"Well done?" Crowe mocked. "It was completely out of control."
Aurora shook her head. "I don't know what happened," she whispered as Nyx and Libertus caught up to them. Concern and panic drenched the tone of her voice as she spoke. "I was… I thought I had it contained… and then somehow it got out of hand. I don't really remember how…" She looked down at her hands as she opened and closed her palms as if they would give her the answers she was searching for.
"Something as powerful as casting Tornado takes a lot of time to master," Crowe replied. "Until we do, let's just hope we don't have to demonstrate this again."
Aurora nodded. "I'm going to check out the damage," Crowe announced.
"I'll go with you," Libertus volunteered as they both made their way towards the other glaives.
Aurora closed her eyes and sighed heavily. It was just her and Nyx now, standing on top of the grassy hill. She slowly turned towards the man she deeply cared for and looked up at him sheepishly. Nyx was expressionless.
"Nyx… I'm sorry. I—" Aurora felt a pair of strong arms snake around her waist, pulling her against him. She felt the race of his heartbeat as she let out a deep breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer while she buried her head into his shoulder. The two bonded glaives stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity.
Captain Drautos looked back towards Nyx and Aurora as the rest of the team walked around the plains, their faces in awe of the damage that had taken place. Drautos smirked as he stared intently at the couple standing atop the hill. She's more powerful than we thought. She will certainly be of good use…
"Aurora," Nyx finally spoke after a moment, their positions remaining the same. "Don't you ever, EVER, scare me like that again, do you understand?"
Aurora gently nodded against his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she faintly whispered. The two remained silent as they continued to hold each other. Little did they know that this would be one of the last times they would feel the warmth of each other's embrace.
Author's Note: As you guys can probably tell, I'm a big Nyx fan. I am still working on Hearth and Home. However, the premise of this story would not leave my mind and I needed to release it.
Until next time! :)