Chapter 1:
"Come on!" The little male shouted, a hairpiece holding his short, shaggy black hair out of his eyes, one blue, and one yellow. They gleamed dully in the dark cavern, with only very little source of light. Another 11 same-aged trolls followed him.
One, the Psionic, one eye blue, and the other red, narrowed his eyes at the other male. "Where are we going?" "To see our lusus, of course!" He responded, smiling, the same smile reflecting in his glowing eyes. "Trust me, Psi, I'll show you!"
He rolled his eyes, before following, his hand attached to the hand of a smaller female troll's hand. Her short black hair went down to her shoulders, and her blue cat-like tail streaming out behind her, as if she was running in the wind.
"Come on, Cal!" The male shouted at another female, with long wavy black hair that trailed on the ground behind her. "Wait up, Faze!" She shouted back, "It's difficult to travel around with this long of hair, and you wouldn't even know that! You're hair is so short and shaggy!"
Another female, with straighter black hair that went down to her mid-back, gave Callie a small punch in the shoulder. "Hey! Don't be rude to Faze!" "Shut up, Mira!" She yelled back at her. "Why are you two fighting over everything?" A smaller female asked, her hand gripping Faze's tightly.
"Izzy, shut up will you?" Callie snarled at her. Her emotions dropped like stones in her stomach. Her stomach churning, and her heart feeling like stone, she gripped a tighter hold on his hand. "It's alright Izzy," Faze murmured softly to her, "I'll protect you."
Her empty eye sockets looked at him, their black dullness closing his way into her soul. Even if she didn't have eyes, and she had never been given the gift of sight… why did that give Callie the opportunity to be so rude to her?
"Izzy, relax," He murmured quietly, his voice barely loud enough for her to hear, but his presence obviously quite close. "…I-It's hard, Faze," She admitted to him, "Being a blind troll… never given the gift of sight… struggling with my other senses to know what's around me, and what's happening and going to happen… it's all… it's all just so mixed up… so confusing."
"You were given that power for a reason Isa," Psi spoke, his eyes glistening, though she couldn't see it clearly at all. She knew it was happening… that he was smiling. "You use it to cover your blind-spot up."
They kept walking down the empty hallway, but she smelled something, something… something she didn't like. Callie's hair fell in her face again, she groaned, an angry expression written on her face. The cat-girl, who had a few seconds been holding onto Psi's hand, grabbed a small barrette from her ripped white dress' pocket.
She moved away from Psi, and placed the barrette on Callie's hair, holding it out of her face. Callie gave a very small smile, "T-thanks." The cat-like female let out a small purr, and smiled, "You're welcome, Cal!" She raced back over to Psi, and held his hand tightly, only now noticing the smell, the aroma… of blood.
But it wasn't the blood of a lowblood… no, that was different. Their Lusus killed lowbloods to feed them, also musclebeasts and other creatures that Isabella couldn't describe... she only knew their taste and their musky smell whenever their lusus brought another one in the cave. But… that smell of blood, it was different. It smelled like… like… was that the blood of a… highblood?
"Oh… my gog…" Psi murmured, his voice unusually hoarse and quiet, even for him. Even the others had begun to gasp loudly, waves of fear, pain, hurt and so many other emotions coming off them in flurries, She had to concentrate hard to keep up and not pass out from the sudden flurry of negative emotions.
"W-what happened to him!" A younger female exclaimed, horrified, the youngest of them all, with short black hair that only covered half of her neck, maybe even less then that, was terrified.
Another male, the oldest of all of them, who also looked the strongest too, approached what smelled like smeared face-paint and sour-colored blood… the grand highblood…?
Isabella approached slowly, Faze still guiding her with one steady hand, but it was still very shaky, and he seemed weighed-down with grief to even look at her. He couldn't take his eyes off their lusus… the one that had taken them all in, even with their different colors of blood. …The only colors she'd ever known were Orange and black. Nothing else.
"…He's dead, Izzy," Faze breathed, "…he was killed."
She gasped, horrified, tears beginning to streak her face… though she never knew exactly what color they ever were. "…What'll happen to us now?" Callie whimpered, her eyes filled with sorrow, the heaviest negative emotions coming off her, almost knocking Isabella over.
"Nothing," Psi spoke, his eyes filled with determination, "We're not going to leave. We'll stay here." "But Psi—" Callie bit her tongue to stop from protesting. They had no lusus, they were officially abandoned… no where to go, and nothing to do… "We're going to live here, Cal." Psi demanded, his voice hoarse, but filled with determination. "This is our home. We'll just be outsiders. Nobody must know we're here. Got it? All of you?"
His eyes scanned all of them, she knew that, because she felt his gaze pinning her mostly… did he think she would let out a peep, and they'd be found? She wouldn't dare even think about that!
"She's not going to tell, Psi," She felt Faze's arm wrap around her shoulders; it was soft and comfortable, and most importantly… warm. "Just because she's blind doesn't give you any reason to think she would," He went on, glaring at Psi like he was an enemy. She could feel waves of hatred coming off both of them… she had caused this. Her entire existence had caused these two to deeply hate each other, and at the same time, like each other.
"Kay!" Psi spoke to the smaller, youngest female, "Don't touch anything, not his weapons, not his food, nothing. We can support ourselves now." Why does he sound so determined? Because he wants to help everyone, that's what she knew for one thing. But… the weighing dark clouds of their Lusus' death would haunt them forever, even if they did manage to survive on their own…
We're not going to do it, A single, negative thought crossed her mind, we're not going to be able to live without him.
"Nobody, and I mean. Nobody. Is to touch anything that once belonged to him. Understood?" Psi glared at all of them one more time. Before relaxing his tense shoulders, his waves of emotion changing to horror and sorrow… Something Isabella didn't want to feel at all.
"Relax Psi," She felt Faze slip from her side and go to him, resting his hand on his shoulder. "You're a great leader, determined and strong, but we have to work this out together. Keep going like this, and you'll burn our your Psionics before you even grow up." "Relax," Everyone else chorused, even She chimed in. She wanted everyone to feel better… not just be dragged down by the darkness of this dark time.
"…We'll all be fine." Psi repeated, his red and blue eyes burning into everyone else's gazes… except hers, of course.
"We are going to live."