Disclaimer: I don't own GC or any of its rights, I just own my story plot and any other OCs.
a/n: 'Sup. It's actually xxforgetme, but uh, my account is all glitched and is having major technical difficulties. So...I'm switching to this account. Sorry for any trouble! I WON'T be continuing Loveless on this account; however I still will be posting stories. :) Brief over to my profile for a fuller description.
This story just came to me one day...The title is 'moment' in Italian; I just thought it had a nice ring to it and went well with the plotline..dunno. I'm an instinctual person. I have impulses that I can't control. :3
. m o m e n t o .
It was a haze of colours. Of white, black, grey, but mostly, red.
She felt half-conscious, almost-drugged, body moving without her acquiescence.
Faintly making out the shadows of people, she began to lurch towards them, tripping over blurry, undefined objects that lay - hazardous in the dirt. The slightest notion that she there was something wrong with the way she was seeing things, why there was this burn in her eyes – like unsated thirst, or why she had this feeling of being here, but yet – not here tinged in her mind for a second, before she wiped it away.
She only had one goal. And it lay ahead of her.
Two people. She didn't see their faces. She didn't hear the pleading voice of someone familiar.
She only felt the white burn of the mechanical dog tattoo that had the inscription 'vessel' underneath it in calligraphy.
She only felt this need to lift this large, unfamiliar sword and bring it down, again and again before she smelt the reek of death.
In this world, she was numb. She felt nothing.
Until she woke up.
x x x
She blinked.
Once, twice and three times before she felt a stab of regret punch her fully in the face.
Arme had the tugging urgency that something bad had happened, but she couldn't remember what. She let out a frustrated cry and punched her pillow, snuffling loudly before standing up and padding her way towards the kitchen.
It was the same routine every day. She has a nightmare, she remembers it just the second before she wakes up and then when her eyes open she instantly forgets it. Wasn't this just a bit out of the ordinary?
Especially the nagging feeling that she always had after she woke up, the unbearably painful feeling that someone close to her had just gone?
Somehow, this reminded her about her parents.
She bit her lip, shaking her head with fervour, as if trying to clear her head from all these conflicting thoughts that seemed to jab its way into her mind without permission.
Couldn't she just forget about her parents? She didn't even know them, for crying out loud. Wanting to remember, wanting to forget. It was vicious cycle.
She blearily got out her toothbrush and worked up a mouth of minty foam. Staring at her matted hair in the mirror, she attempted to brush the purple knots out, failing miserably.
'Hi, hi!' A cheerful voice blared in her ear and she jumped back, spitting white bubbles everywhere.
'Geez, Elesis. How many times do I have to tell you, don't startle me after I've had a nightmare?' Her voice sounded dull, lifeless and horrible.
She was adamant that the unknown mechanical dog that she was sure played a part in her parents death would be locked away, sealed and forgotten, in the depths of her mind. Rubbing the tattoo, she plastered a smile on her face.
The red-haired, outgoing girl was one of the few friends she had and was actually the real owner to Mo, the white/brown, adorable dog that Arme absolutely loved. Elesis didn't really have a thing for dogs, and Mo detested the red-head, so the dog was partially hers as well.
'A nightmare again?' The girl snorted and patted her on the back. 'Drink some of that tea you love so much and you'll be fine.'
A muffled agreement came from Arme, who was snuggling into Mo's soft fur. The puppy yipped quietly, but when Elesis came to pat her head, it growled and snapped at her fingers.
'Mean, as always.' Elesis looked downcast, but brightened up instantly. 'I'm going to go practice now, okay?'
Arme sighed.
'Aww, the aspiring swordswoman strikes again. I'm not that fragile, so you don't have to protect me.'
The red-head looked disbelievingly at her. 'Are you serious? One walk down the street and you'll come back sporting a broken arm. And besides, I'm not trying to be your bodyguard, don't flatter yourself. Just think it's cool.'
'Cool, huh. Swinging a great big sword around. Yep. Yep.'
But Elesis was already out the door, warming up in the training grounds and sharpening her blade. The girl smiled affectionately at the hard-working red-head – she could be lazy at times but wielding swords was really her forte.
She walked back into the kitchen, making herself a cup of rose tea, the kind that really soothed her after a long day and sipped the hot liquid gratefully. After she downed half of it, she scavenged the cupboards for any signs of breakfast-y foods.
'Gosh,' Arme muttered irritably, fumbling around the positively empty space.
'Elesis! I'm going out to re-buy the food that you stole!'
A guilty 'Okay,' was heard from outside and pushed open the door and walked outside.
Hauling her body into her rusty white truck, Arme revved up the engine, before tearing down the road.
The sky was a pristine white-blue and crisp, shiny leaves spiralled down, a few getting caught on her window before slipping away. The red-brown rooves of the cream houses on her familiar neighbourhood, adjourned by the colourful convenience store signs and glass displays caught in a blurry whirlwind beside her tinted, car window - rushing past her as she descended into the more modern area of skyscrapers and city lights.
She reached a distinct, large shopping mall and parked her truck in the rows of other cars before hopping off and entering the mall. A stern looking man that was dressed in a crisp, navy uniform stopped her in her tracks.
'No dogs allowed, miss.' Mo barked at him. Arme waved her fist once, the expression on her face enough to scare anyone, officer or not and he shrunk back.
'Fine,' he muttered, surrendering.
The air conditioning felt nice against her clammy skin. She shuffled along the throng of people to make her way to the nearest supermarket, until she was struck with an unwavering suspicion that someone was following her.
Turning around swiftly, her eye caught the slightest bit of motion, but she dismissed it. The feeling was getting stronger and stronger, until the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up and she was standing, frozen, unmoving, waiting for something to happen.
And then something did.
The slightest brush on her pocket, not noticeable if she wasn't paying attention.
She whipped her head around and came face to face with a boy. His hair was tousled and silver, almost like the slivers of moonlight that managed to escape the blinds of her room. His eyes were the deepest blue, so perfectly cerulean she wasn't sure they were real. And his mouth was cornered up one edge, a crooked smirk.
Not in the slightest ashamed at all.
Even though she had just been robbed, when those blue eyes met her own violet ones, something happened. It made her head feel warm and fuzzy, like she was one of those dissolving tablets that fizzled down into the water.
She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
Without a word, he dropped the bills back into her pocket and gave a gesture of apology. Somehow, this irritated her to no end.
This guy stole her money, got caught and now just expects to drop the money back and walk away?
'Hey!' She yelled and caught his arm.
His eyes captured hers and shifted down to her petite hand which was clasped around his wrist. He gave a little strangled gasp.
She turned around and wondered if something happened, but his eyes were fixed, pupils dilated on her wrist. Instinctually, she glanced at it.
The tattoo.
The mysterious tattoo that was on her wrist was on his too, an exact replica.
What the hell?
He was examining it, his blue eyes fixed in concentration as they darted from his tattoo to hers, putting the pieces together like she had already done.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.
'Come.'
x x x
He ran, guiding her.
Well. She guessed that guiding her was his intention, but to her, it felt more like leaving her behind.
'W-wait up, geez!' She panted, annoyed.
He turned back, not breathless at all and gave her a wide smirk.
'I'm sorry; I forget that I'm faster than people like you.'
She hmphed with irritation and to prove him wrong, pushed more drive and willpower in her running. Unfortunately for her, her equilibrium failed her and she landed headfirst onto the cold floor, her ankle throbbing.
'Ow..' She groaned and got up, wincing as she felt the cartilage pull.
'You sprained it.' He stated matter-of-factly and bent down to touch her swollen ankle. 'Are you always this klutzy?' She glared at him and attempted to get up before plopping back down pathetically.
'N-no.' She lied.
He scrutinized the bruising skin and without a second thought, she felt the wind whistling past her ears she was on his shoulders. Like a kid. Like a three-year-old kid.
'No!' She screamed, kicking with her unhurt left foot. 'Put me down!'
Her attempts were futile and he continued run, darting out of the mall and into the bushland, the green vegetation whipping blurrily past her. The sun flickered, glowing and bright when the trees opened, but dark when they closed.
Her tense body was wary, scared that he might be some psycho, but exhilarated with the prospect that something different might happen.
He approached a large, brick house, knocked on the door and a yawning, blonde-haired elf came out – her eyes widening at the sight of him carrying a stranger on his back. Arme struggled to get out of his grip, sprained ankle or not – no way was she letting him get away with embarrassing her in front of public relations. To her surprise, the girl simply nodded and whispered something to the silver-haired boy. From her expression, Arme could tell she had been teasing him.
'Hope you have fun, Lass!' A catcall came from the top floor and she felt like punching a hole in the wall. Lass, huh? Now she had something to tease him about.
'So...Lass,' she remarked once they got to a rather bare, simple room.
'Shush.' His face slightly distorted into a grimace as a loud, 'Lass is finally-' cut off by a 'Don't embarrass him!' filled the room.
'Enough about my name,' his eyes twinkled. 'What's yours?'
'Arme. Hi.'
A long, awkward silence followed and the purple-haired girl got up, before remembering that her ankle was sprained. She hissed as she felt the bone crack - the splitting sound echoing through the room and tears spring into her eyes.
'Arme!' He carried her over to a messily made bed and inspected her injury before confirming that indeed, the reckless girl had broken it. 'I'll have to get Ronan over to get it into a cast...' Her eyes widened with fear. That sounded...intimidating. She cursed at herself for destroying her day by breaking her ankle and she cursed Lass for getting this so-called 'Ronan' to fix it.
Her eye caught her ankle that was swollen twice the size of her normal, petite foot and a nonsensical idea made its way into her bleary mind.
She felt silly doing this. Very, very silly.
Directing her vision to a pinpoint in her ankle, she tried to muster up some kind of force to heal it. She had heard stories of human will overcoming obstacles but she felt kind of stupid testing it out on herself. As her eyes adjusted to staring at that single pinpoint, she felt energy in her body, warmth radiating outward, up to the tips of her toes before fading out.
'Um..' Her head felt dizzy for some reason.
'I'm back,' Lass entered the room, followed by a blue-haired, handsome boy who waved a hello.
'Hi,' he said, adorably shy. 'My name's Ronan. You must be...'
'Arme,' she said, feeling slightly woozy by the presence of both Lass and Ronan.
Lass noticed the slight blush on her cheeks as Ronan entered the room and somehow, he felt that it bothered him. Right from the beginning, with her defiant eyes and cheeky smile, he felt some kind of weird possessiveness over her. She was somehow...different. But he didn't blame her for falling for Ronan...after all; he was the most sought-after bachelor in town.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't see Ronan looking at Arme with a confused expression, his hand on her ankle.
'What's wrong with her?' He asked the blue-haired lad. Arme cocked her head in confusion.
'Lass, you must have gotten it wrong, her ankle is completely...fine...'
Lass gaped at Arme and she shrugged dismissively.
'Arme..' he questioned carefully, looking closely at her foot. 'Did you...do anything while I was gone?'
She shook her head furiously, wondering why he would think such a thing, but then stopped midway, thinking hard.
It couldn't be...
'Well,' she muttered, a bit embarrassed. 'I tried to do this will-power thing where I stared at my ankle for about 2 minutes?'
She could hear the loud and shocked breath of air that Ronan had let out, warm against her face.
'But I don't think that's the cause,' she added hurriedly, wondering why they both had this peculiar expression plastered to their faces, as if the world had ended, but a miracle had happened.
'Arme,' the whispered in synchronisation - glancing up at her as if their view of her had changed completely in the space of 5 minutes.
'You do magic.' Ronan stated, his whole form seemed to glow with contentment - something that Arme found just the tiniest bit creepy.
'What?' She recoiled, totally baffled by his statement. 'What makes you think I do magic? I'm not a magician, I suck at magic tricks.'
'She's a magician.' Lass repeated.
'And she's barely aware that she is one,' Ronan added, dusting his hands.
'What are you TALKING ABOUT?' Arme was completely confused right now and wondering whether coming to this place was a good idea after all.
Ronan eyed her stomach for a second and his orbs lit up, like an idea had come to him. He ushered Lass into a tight circle where they conversed, Arme's ears straining to pick up pieces of information. It didn't work, all she could hear was hushed whispers.
Arme tapped her foot impatiently, before Lass came and hesitantly started to tickle her sides, zapping her stomach and working his skilled fingers to make her snort with laughter, tears coming to her eyes.
'Y-you..' She managed to yell out, breathless.
'I hope this goes the way I think it will,' Ronan muttered, watching the obscure scene in front of him.
She suddenly felt so inexplicably angry right now, that this complete stranger would carry her on his shoulders, take her to this weird house, tell her that she was a magician and now? Tickle her to death? How did he even know that she was subjective to zapping?
The more he tickled, the angrier she became, until something in her exploded in pure fury and the warm feeling from before began to course through her veins again. A flaming ball shot out from beneath her fingertips, directed at Lass. He dodged it just in time and she stared, awestruck at the black, singed hole it made in the room.
'It's true.' Ronan breathed. 'She's the first mage we've had in decades!'
'Someone explain to me what the hell a mage is.' Her eyes glowed and Ronan backed away a few steps.
'You have the power for black magic and white magic. You use fire, ice and other natural components to combat the evil or heal yourself and others. Mages have the highest attack out of all of us and you would extremely useful if you would join The Grand Chase,' Ronan explained without missing a beat.
Lass nodded.
'Okay...' Arme's head was spinning from this overload of information and she had to sit down to calm herself.
'So..What's The Grand Chase?'
'The Grand Chase is a group consisting of talented fighters, dancers, swordsmen, assassins, magicians, archers-' Arme cut him off and pointed to her head.
'I can't process this much information at once, okay? I've just been told I'm a magician or some other crap like that so go easy on the words.'
Ronan looked a tiny bit taken aback and he apologised profusely before continuing.
'Anyway, The Grand Chase is formed to defeat this terrible monster. Kaze'aze? It might ring a bell.'
Something painful stabbed in her heart.
Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze.
Something right at the edge of memory, but she couldn't figure out what.
'Wait, I can't think without Elesis and-'
MO!
'Oh god. My dog!' She screamed hysterically, hyperventilating.
'Sheesh, calm down.' Lass said smoothly, scooping up a white ball of fur and handing it to her.
'Thank god.'
Silence followed and Arme was struggling to get a hold of reality and something non-whimsical about all this stuff before she felt a smooth, cold object being placed in her hand.
'I thought you might want to call um...Elesis was it?' The silver-haired boy offered and she smiled at him before opening the phone with trembling hands.
Elesis would like this. The Grand Chase. It would make all her dreams of being a swordswoman come true.
'Hey, what's up?' A familiar voice was just the thing Arme needed and Elesis's one made her tear up.
'El, I need you to come here right now. 14 Boullie Crescent, Kerrie Beach. Come here, now.'
Her voice cracked a bit.
'Please?'
a/n: How was it? I'm very tired, so I'll just go to sleep.
-R