The night breeze was chill, cooling the generally warm summer night that had settled over this small town in Japan. The air was crisp, unusual for the recently warm days that had been experienced. Two figures walked side by side down the dark street, lit only by the street lights that shone over their heads. One was darkly clothed, his obsidian color hair seemingly absorbing the lights that hit it. His companion was dressed in lighter clothing, hair as white as snow reflecting the light back, like snow. Their breath steamed in front of their faces as they walked, talking quietly.
"You're going to have to shape up a bit, Infernum, if you want to be able to remain in that academy once we arrive. I've only heard a little about it but from what I hear, your attitude won't fly." The female was scolding her tall friend, who had a bored look on his face as he scratched at the black collar that rested around his throat.
"Yea, yea. This is the fifth time you've lectured me about this. I could recite your lectures by heart by now, dear Pruina. I understand that I have to put on a good boy look for the academy." He waved a hand dismissively, offering a half smile to make up for his behavior. "I'll be a good boy, promise." Pruina rolled her eyes, giving the tall young man a light shove and huffing in irritation.
"You'd better. I won't forgive you if you get expelled and leave me there by myself. Unlike you, I care about education." Her sky blue eyes darted about, suddenly aware of how loud she was getting. Lowering her voice, she added, "You know, this might be the first school that we can fit in at. We've always been a bit.. different from our friends. I actually have a good feeling about this place, though. So don't get yourself kicked out." Her answer was a good-natured chuckle and a shrug from Infernum. She snorted, punching his shoulder and hurrying to get ahead of him and home first.
It was rather early that next day that the two headed away from their homes to attend their new school together. A place that was shrouded in mystery, as they could find nothing about it anywhere. Infernum appeared completely indifferent about the whole situation. He leaned on the window of the bus that they were in as it transported them to their destination. He stared blankly at the scenery, rubbing his collar absently. The damn thing had been bothering him lately and things had only gotten worse as they neared this academy. He let out a soft sigh, shaking his head slightly. He tugged on it lightly, grumbling under his breath. Next to him, Pruina shifted slightly, turning her head to look at him.
"Bothering you again?" Her gaze strayed to the collar, to the deep red markings that adorned it. Infernum grumbled softly again, nodding slightly. She sighed, placing one hand on it and closing her eyes for a brief moment. The young man relaxed slowly, the burning sensation fading as a cool feeling washed over the skin of his throat. He grunted in thanks, shifting away from his friend. she simply rolled her eyes, tilting her head as she eyed the area outside the window. It was dark, as if they were in a tunnel, for a brief moment before they appeared at the edge of a cliff side. Red water lapped at the rocks far below and an eerie feeling lingered over the land. Infernum tugged at his collar again, feeling something stir deep in his soul. His friend eyed him again as his eyes lit up with a distant fire. He seemed to be acting even more strangely when he practically raced out of the bus and hopped out onto the ground. He drew in a deep breath, looking about curiously as he waited for Pruína. She stepped out more carefully behind him, grumbling about his antics and giving him a shove.
"Could ya tone it down big shot? You aren't always this excitable and it's a bit strange," she complained, giving him a stern look. The young man simply snorted in amusement, flashing her a sharp toothed grin.
"Oh, lighten up, grouchy. This place feels alive, as if something is burning in the air!" His bright gaze swept over the land, locking onto the distant building that must have been the school. Practically bouncing, Infernum darted forward. "I'll race ya there!" he called over his shoulder at Pruina, who rolled her eyes and trotted along after him. When she caught up to her friend he was standing still, staring up at the school they would be attending with a stupid grin plastered on his face. She turned her gaze to it as well, tilting her head before tugging on his arm.
"Come on, let's go get settled in," she urged, dragging her grinning friend along through the throng of students who were hanging about the campus and chatting.
Infernum smoothed back his jet black hair, admiring himself for a moment in the mirror of his dorm bathroom. Smokey reddish eyes and thick hair that was forever falling over his handsome and rugged face. He grinned at himself before turning on a heel and padding out of the restroom and into the hall. Only a couple days and he was settling in nicely. Milling about him were other students, although none were in their human forms. You see, this was a school for monsters, which was highly amusing to the young man, whom was human. That did seem a bit odd, though Infernum was generally unconcerned with what the general population thought of him. He was more concerned with how he thought of himself, and though he would die before he admitted it, how Pruona thought of him. Free of worries, he trotted from the dorms and towards the main building, humming with his head held high. Not once did he even notice the dark presence following him.
The dark haired youth met his friend outside their first class together, to which they strolled in and took their seats. The teacher began roll, her gaze narrowing a bit on the sprawled out Infernum. He looked about lazily until another youth entered the classroom. He had silver hair and red eyes, which darted about the classroom as he apologized to the teacher on being late. He walked stiffly to his own seat, flashing the briefest of glares in Infernum's general direction. The young man blinked, snorting at the way this silver haired kid had looked at him. The dark head shook back and forth as he mulled this over in his mind. He didn't dwell on it for too long, as class was soon over and he was moving on to the next. By the end of his day, he had forgotten almost entirely about the silver haired young man, falling in beside Pruína as they left the school. The chatted idly, unaware of their follower.
Infernum bumped Pruína with his shoulder, grinning at his friend. "Fun school, eh? 'Specially all the interesting monsters..." He was rewarded with a snort and eye rolling from her at his comment.
"'Fun' and 'interesting' are one way to describe them, I suppose. Not sure if I like them, though..." She trailed off, narrowing her eyes at something ahead of them. Infernum lifted his head, letting out a short huff and frowning a bit. It was the kid from earlier, standing near the path and staring at them. He advanced as the pair halted, eyes narrowed. His lips drew back, akin to how a dog or wolf would threaten a rival, revealing pointed canines as he neared them.
"So it's you two that are causing that odd feeling of discomfort about the school... You have the look of it," he growled, eying Infernum, who bristled a bit under the comment. "But you, you're too pretty to be giving off such powerful energy. Your friend's is weak, though, so he must be a small and very mundane monster. You, however, could almost be on par with someone like me.." Infernum puffed out his broad chest, stepping forward as Pruína stared at the kid.
"Someone like you, eh? All I see is a pale and scrawny braggart. Put your money where your mouth is, kid, and then I'll be impressed." This statement would have been followed by a laugh had the youth not sent Infernum flying backwards and into a tree with one swift kick. He snorted, glowering at the now pissed and injured Infernum.
"You should learn your place, weakling. I am Aono Akihiko, a vampire of very noble heritage. One such as yourself should not speak to me in such a manner." Oh, now that really pissed off Infernum, who was rising again and wiping blood from his mouth. He laughed, collar burning and itching like hell.
"Ha! I don't care if your father was the king of some country at some time or another. You're still a braggart." The reddish gaze turned on Pruina, who looked about ready to kill this Akihiko kid, and beckoned her over. "Dear Pruína, please remove this damnable collar. It burns like hellfire." Her sharp gaze turned on her friend, eying him oddly.
"You know it isn't supposed to come off. But... against this guy, it may have to.." And so she reached up, unbuckling the collar and sliding it from his neck. Infernum didn't remember much, just flames, the cries of someone in pain, and then the cool leather slipping back onto his neck before the darkness closed in...
So, this turned out better than I hoped, actually. A new obsession of mine was to write something like this, though the full history will have to be explained when I get more of the characters in the story, so I can tell everyone's story a bit more and get down to the nitty gritty of the back stories and history. Oh, and Infernum Canem and Pruina Lupus. Run those through a translator from English to Latin. Please, leave a comment if you wish and if you like this, follow and like this story so you'll know when I get around to writing the next chapter. Until then, I write away...