Stygian Hall Superior
Chapter One: The Running of the Warriors
(You should be warned, though the characters may occasionally be close parallels or total opposites of the original characters, none of the real cast will be in this story)
Revan ducked under the tree root, grabbing Adan's arm and pulling him down out of sight. They'd come so far! No way was he going to let the witches catch them now, nor could he let them be caught by Stygian students! Male or not, the Students would only waste a moment to try and kill the two teens if they were discovered. Not an ideal situation, considering the witches intense search swept them closer to Stygian Hall lower, (The city), and Stygian Hall Superior (The School, home of Meisters and Weapons). Still, the witches were persistent. They'd chased the two boys here all the way across the country. Now here they were, knocking on Death's Door. Revan doubted that their hated enemy would be a gracious host. At least he didn't know they were here, unlike the witches.
Adan held his nose aloft into the air. His two cat ears danced individually atop his enchanted cloak. Under the hood, Adan's frightened slit eyes searched the forest around them, and his nose sniffed constantly, searching for scents. Revan observed his travelling complain for a moment before turning his own eyes skyward. His sharp eyes picked out every leaf on the tree above him. The sky was a clear blue, and a few white clouds floated freely without a care in the world. Revan wished fervently that he could launch from the forest, stop skulking around on the ground like vermin and instead, soar in the sky. But no, he had to keep the stupid idiot next to him. Without Revan, Adan would get himself killed in a week, or caught in less time."No movement," Adan whispered softly, having waited until the breeze picked up a little to speak.
"Then they're watching us," Revan quickly announced, twisting and turning his head in unusually jerky movements. He liked to observe with the side of his head, rather than both eyes on one target. Adan continued to sniff and listen, the cloth ears on his hood swiveling and twitching like living flesh. Revan glanced skywards again. It wasn't like the witches to wait on an attack or capture attempt. He'd lost track how many times the witches had switched from kill commands to capture orders for the two. It all depended on how well their research came along. Silently and personally, Revan hoped that their research went well, even if it meant their deaths. Maybe it was better that way. At the very least, it meant the witches came to kill them, rather than capture. They'd get swift deaths, rather than slow, agonizing, drawn out ones. Experiments that made souls shiver and tremor, eyes dance wide in their sockets, scream rip from throats and
"No," Revan chastised himself. Adan glanced at him but said nothing. They'd no doubt been having the same thoughts. Revan cocked his head away from Adan. The witches didn't normally wait like this. By now they should be here, attacking from every direction. It wasn't like them to wait, not at all. But latterly, they had been getting craftier… Maybe their experiments were going badly. He'd ask if he got the chance. The witches would want them to know, no doubt another demoralization tactic.
"Caw!" A crow deep in the forest let ring. Revan and Adan's heads both snapped in that direction, four eyes focusing onto the source of the call.
"What does that idiot think he's doing?" Revan hissed. Adan slid a gloved hand over Revan's mouth as they hid deeper into the shadows of the tree.
"It's a gamble," Adan told Revan simply as he glanced about. He didn't know whether he wanted the witches around them to fall for it or not. Either option was horrible to consider. The shadows around them seemed to shift. Elongate, distort. Slowly, the dark forms withdrew. Another caw rent the unnatural silence, and all at once the forest was aflame with movement. Three forms shot in the direction of the cawing crow, and before Adan could restrain Revan, the older boy had burst forwards with a horrified cry.
Revan leapt straight out of Adan's grip, the claws on Adan's glove accidently ripping into his right cheek as the darker boy leapt straight into the tree branches and dashed forwards after the retreating shadows. Adan was after him a moment later. A sharp whistle split the air and suddenly the two boys were surrounded by animals. But the two crows and the pure white cat hurried along after them with as much haste and speed as they could, they too fearing for their masters and comrade. The solitary repetitive caws quickly became more often, then shifted into a loud screeching squawk.
The terrified crow cawing and squawking increased in volume, and Revan sped up until he could feel his joints breaking. He'd never moved this fast. He navigated the upper levels of the forest in a way unnatural to humans, leaping from branches to tree tops and onto branches that simply should not support his weight, but miraculously did. Adan on the other hand, could not move as fast as Revan, and had to take safer slower routes along the tree tops. And all at once Revan stopped, the tree top he had just landed on bending under his weight only a fraction. A moment or two later and Adan arrived, and took a moment or two more to leap up as close as he could to his speedy friend. Revan stood on the tree top, staring into the direction the crowing and cawing was coming from. Adan opened his mouth to pose a question, but Revan held up his hand to stop him.
"It's divide and conquer. They're going after Alem, and it's what he wants. But if we try to save him, the witches get us, and we'll be divided because I'm faster than you," Revan announced. His tone was dead, his voice cracking with grief.
"But-!" Adan protested.
"It's what he wants! He did this to save us. We'll take this opportunity to run," Revan cut Adan off. Slowly the two turned away.
"We'll go to Stygian lower. I've heard stories of witches hiding there if they really had to. Maybe we'll be fine," Revan murmured.
The two jumped from the tree tops all the way to the ground, landing lightly. Toogether they struck out, moving at a light jog in the direction of the desert just north of Kendrick Peak. Stygian lower was located south of the Grand Canyon, east of Vegas, and north east of Phoenix. By Revan's calculation (as the crow flies) it was about thirty nine miles out. But to the north there was a small town they could stop at momentarily. Just on the edge of the Prescott National Forest. The two teens and two crows and the pure white cat moved out, unaware of the girl standing on the cloud looking down on them, a malicious smile on her razor thin lips.
"C'mon Leila! There's absolutely nothing here!" Regulus moaned as he shuffled tiredly after his partner, Leila. Leila was of medium build, well toned, with bright red hair that glowed like wild fire in the bright light. Leila stopped and turned to stare disapprovingly at Regulus, scowling her disapproval at her weapon partner. Regulus wouldn't mention it, but he preferred her front to her back. She was a bit more developed there, though if the sixteen year old boy mentioned it, his equally old mister would probably break his fingers.
"Reg, you are the laziest weapon in the entire year, you know that?!" Leila scolded her weapon. They both knew this wasn't true. They were the best weapon-Meister combo this decade. Regulus straightened up and looked into Leila's eyes. Or tried to anyways, they were hidden by dark glass. The red goggles Leila wore tended to blend in with her frilly red hair, so they were a bit hard to see on her scalp, but they were needed for Leila to fight. And they were hoping to find a fight out here, so the tinted goggles stayed on. They were slightly modified for her, metal instead of plastic. She needed them to be able to fight correctly with him in his weapon form. He tended to give off a lot of light, and if she held him she ran the risk of permanently damaging her eyes.
But the glare she leveled at him even through the dark glasses (which, coincidently gave her a great poker face) sent shivers down Regulus's spine. Leila was a fighter. 'Amazon Queen' their classmates called her. She would accept nothing less than the best, which was why she had walked straight up to Regulus on choosing day and told him that if he partnered with anyone else she'd teach him the real meaning of pain. Regulus had caved on the spot. They were a good match, Regulus's free spirit and weak focus countering Leila, allowing her to relax and him to focus better. His total devotion to her ensured loyalty. Officially, weapons and misters weren't supposed to have relationships, but really, nobody cared for that rule. Not even their teachers followed it.
It was their strength that had led them to the top of the class, and their perfect balance that kept them there. Their teacher had assigned them this mission, the first mission of the year, their first mission in the E.A.T. class, Stygian class for would-be kishin hunters. And now here they were, prodding around the place, but so far they hadn't heard tale nor rumors of anything out of the ordinarily. Except for them of course. The girl whose head looked like it was on fire and the boy beside her with skin that glowed stirred up lots of rumors on their own, even if their school outfits marked them as Sytgian students.
"We were reported that there was some activity going on around here. We've been given the first mission of the entire class. I will not be going back empty handed!" Leila dismissed Regulus's voiced concerns as she swept through town. Regulus sighed and got ready to further grind his feet into dust following his meister to the ends of the earth. To his surprise though, she momentarily hesitated as he moved past her. "Maybe we can... stop and get something to eat…" Leila admitted as she sighed. Regulus jumped and hugged her, smooching her sloppily on the cheek. "Down boy," Leila told him moodily as she held her weapon partner at arm's length.
The two quickly found their way into the towns Death Café. As students of Stygian, they received eighty percent off at all purchases they made at Death Cafes. And thankfully, the little corner shops were all over the world, at least one in every town, and as many as six in any major city or capitol. They were a grand hit, but a new idea brought forth for the convenience of the students which quickly spiraled all out of control. Stygian academy had so much money from the ever popular Death Café that they didn't know what to do with it all. The academy had become quite philanthropic. They stepped in and ordered before they sat down and relaxed at a booth.
Regulus ate his burger and ordered two more like it, inhaling those as well while Leila regarded him and slurped her own cool ice slushy. Regulus, or Reg, or Reggie as people called him, was no doubt the most powerful weapon of the class. She had snatched him up immediately, and they'd been the school's favorite item and source of gossip since. Regulus was pretty good looking, as was she, if the constant begging for dates from her male (and once or twice female) classmates meant anything. Unlike other weapons of the regular variety, he was one of the few with a related power. Regulus was tall and lanky, built more for speed than endurance. But make no mistake, she'd toughed him up to the point they could carve granite with his weapon form, the Shining Lance. In his natural form, his soul shown with enough light you had to squint until you got used to him. If you looked at him with soul perception, it could make you see spots, like staring at a bright light. In his weapon form, Regulus glowed with all the force of the sun. Thus, she needed her tinted goggles to be able to wield him properly. As she pushed past all the rest, she'd secured a place in the E.A.T. class. E.A.T. was reserved for the best of the best students, those who had their education set aside a little in exchange for combat classes. They were those that hoped to become Death Weapons and Meisters, to hunt Kishin demons. The E.A.T. class was tiny compared to the many students going to Stygian, just enough to be the 1% elite, dedicating their lives to the eradication of Kishins.
They'd captured the attention of the bored villager's moments after entering. Stygian was a worldwide organization, with bases around the globe. Arizona's Stygian city was the central hub of the organization. Close as they were to this town, Leila doubted anyone here had ever actually seen one of their enigmatic protectors. Idly Leila glanced out at the sun. The laughing face was high in the sky and the cool blue of the air was dotted with a few lazy clouds. It was always sunny in Arizona, but here, just north of the national park, the clouds were especially pretty. Leila turned back to Regulus. He had a look on his face as he gazed at her. "What're you thinking about?" Leila asked him warily. She knew that look in his eyes. He was about to be either really serious (unlikely) or say something he thought would be funny.
"Just thinking that maybe when today's search is over we could go back instead of spending a week here or something while we look for a kishin that doesn't exist," Regulus suggested as he slurped on her slushy loudly. Leila's eyebrow twitched. He definitely was being a wise guy. And when had he gotten a hold of her drink! It was almost empty now!
Regulus reeled back from her fist slamming into his temple and folded in half over the back of his chair. The employee behind the counter slowly moved into the back room. Sighing Leila glanced down at her now unconscious partner. Now what would she do if she found the kishin? Probably would have to kill it by herself. Wonderful. Leila calmly took her drink back before glancing down at it. There were only a couple piles of slushy left, and Regulus had sucked out all the juice she'd been letting build up. Sighing angrily Leila reclined backwards and let her eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
The hole in Adan's side could have passed a baseball through his chest without touching, and it went right through his left lung. That was usually fatal. Revan needed to find a way out of this, and fast. Around him his two crows swirled, looking for an opportunity to counterattack their attacker. "Reyna! Why!" Revan called out in horror and rage as the witch dived at him at near sonic speeds from the sky. His cousin Reyna had never targeted Adan first before. She'd always tried to take him out, which had been one of the few constants in her life.
"That wound prevents you from running. Doing so means death for the cat warlock. Your foolish sense of honor and comradeship prevents you from escaping me with your own magic. You will not escape this time. The bird clan will no longer suffer you to live!" Reyna cried as she streaked out of the sky. Revan knew that meant she'd finally, actually been made head of hunting them. Things would get tougher now, if they even survived this fight. Her feather sword sliced straight into the ground where Revan had been, but he had moved aside. Instead of attacking her, like he should've, like he'd been trained, he instead slapped his own black sword down on hers, pinning it in the ground. They both leapt away from each other, disengaging. Reyna took to the sky, floating on invisible air as her magic kept her from feeling the effects of gravity or friction. She and her whole clan could fly, each equipped with magic cloaks they were given at birth by the clan elders than allowed them to fly, and boots with talons of their respective birds than allowed them to walk on air, or move as fast as they needed. The cloak gave them height, the boots gave them movement and speed. Combined, they could move in three dimensions.
Revan jumped back to the other traitor, the Cat Warlock. He thought she would attack the weakened and dying boy? Ridiculous. A hawk would never strike an opponent already defeated, nor would she finish off a prey already dying of a fatal wound. It would be a waste of time. Not to mention, watching them squirm was delicious. A cruel smile split Reyna's thin lips. Adan would die. Revan would be distraught, and she could finally kill her treacherous cousin! At the same time they both plucked a single feather each from their respective bird clan cloaks and muttered a magic word under their breath. A moment later and both held long, light, wide swords with paper thin edges and a two foot reach. As long as their cloak magically re-grew their feathers, they would never run out of swords.
Reyna eyed Revan's footwork as she circled the sky above them, looking for a moment to strike. Revan's black crow feather cloak hid the wound she'd already dealt him, but she could see the pain etched onto his face even from a half mile up. Another good dive might allow her to stab him with her gauntlet covered left arm. The blades shone with reflected light. Or maybe she should put away her feather swords and get serious, summoning up either her fearsome air blades or her halberd. Revan knew she was toying with him, but she was already victorious. She'd wounded him. All she needed to do was bleed him out and not take any hits herself. She made sure Revan could see her smile. From a mile up she'd barely be anything but a blotch of brown in the sky to the two boys, but while Adan the Cat warlock might pass her off as nothing but a bird out of his claws reach, her cousin had bird sight. Fortunately, she was reaching her favorite diving altitude. He could see her this far up without difficulty. He might not be able to see the details she could see on him with her superior eye sight, but she had no doubt his crow eyes would let him see her smile.
'You bring shame to our family' she mouthed at him as she wheeled about him.
'You fly like a vulture, and you circle like one too!' he mouthed back.
Reyna saw red and dived. She could reach speeds of up to 200 miles an hour in a dive, but this close to the earth that would be foolish.
Lucky for Revan, he knew his cousin to be foolish when angered. As Reyna streaked from the sky with such speed she seemed to teleport, Revan unleashed a barrage of feathers, each magically hardened. Each little feather had become a flat broad dagger as long as his hand; and she was flying straight into the storm he'd aimed at her. Reyna pulled up at the last second. She had considered flying through the knives to get at her blasphemous cousin, but she wanted him to bleed out, not the other way around. As long as their magic boots hit the ground first, a bird clan Witch could hit the earth at whatever speed they wanted. Rather than break every bone in their body on impact, the shock was transferred out of their body and into the air about them. This could turn a good dive into an aerial mortar shell that would blast away everything around them yet not disturb the actually ground under their feet. As Reyna touched down, the air blasted away from her and came crashing back in a split second, generating a sonic boom that didn't actually need her to go over the speed of sound. If she really needed to, Reyna had a spell that could allow her to break the barrier, but only for three seconds, and it would take months to recover.
Revan threw as many knives at his cruel cousin as he could before he flipped backwards over her sword strike. Watching the bird clan fight was like watching the world's best ballerina's go at it. Their light hollow bones, inherent air magic, and magical equipment made the most powerful witch clan in the entire kingdom. Or at least, that was what their legendary pride told each one of them. Personally, Reyna though they fought like Jedi from that human movie series she'd loved so much when she was younger.
Revan landed on top of her sword, right at the tip. Reyna's mouth split into a snarl as the well muscled girl twisted the blade. Throwing Revan away from her with the movement, she turned to charge him. Hitting a bird clan could throw them for dozens of feet, like hitting a ping pong ball. Revan had used her anger and his light weight to get her to throw him into the air and away from her!
"Running to the end once more, I see!" Reyna called after him tauntingly.
"It was that or stabbing my cousin in the face! Maybe you're stronger and faster, but I'm smarter!" Revan taunted right back. 'Not so smart I didn't think better of taunting a girl famous for her pride anyways…' Revan realized as Reyna rolled back her head and screeched her anger to the skies.
"I'm better in every way! You are a traitor and a coward!" Reyna screamed at him as she used the bird clan's high speed movement to arrive in front of him in an instant. Somehow she'd swapped her feather swords for her mother halberd. The two meter long staff had a massive three foot long blade. She could cut almost anything in half with it. Last he'd heard the record; Reyna had cut through a block of iron five feet wide and kept going into some idiot that had stood to the side of it. He doubted she'd regretted the poor sap's death, even though it was probably her fault. Reyna could throw away whatever accusations or complains anyone presented to her. She was the bird clan's princess, seeing as their king was dead; the queen had only Reyna to take over after her. No bird would speak out against their perfect princess anyways. She was everything the cruel and prideful bird clan aspired to be, in their eyes, their princess was perfect in every way. Revan could be sure that in their haste to love their future leader they'd forgiven any of her faults. Most of it could be chalked up to age, seeing as his cousin wasn't even twenty yet. Revan tried to imagine it, Reyna being better at everything he was, according to her own words.
"No wonder you're so messed up," he told her (not for the first time) as he danced to block her and broke a black feather sword on her weapon. As usual she screamed her hatred and rushed him blindly. Revan knew to never fight her fairly. In a fair fight, Reyna would steam roll him, and then probably feed the remains to the rats. What a terrible fate for a bird, to be fed to the rats. Just the thought sent shivers down his soul. Reyna leapt up and brought the halberd down at him in a swift arc. Revan had to wonder why she'd dare make such a move. It was not a good plan, and even in her rage Reyna should have seen it. Nevertheless Revan slipped past her terribly choreographed strike to his left. Moving to her left side (his right side), he could sweep right up to her and land a debilitating strike that would cripple her until help arrived. It all depended on getting past that terrible range. She might kill him the moment she could, but Revan was better than that.
Too late he saw the smile on her lips and understood her gamble. She'd bet he'd go left, so he could use his right arm, onto her left side. He was right handed, he'd done it instinctively. But her left arm was wrapped in that metal gauntlet with the hooked blade on her wrist and the shorter knife on the back of her palm. She'd been hiding it from his view beneath her cloak, as was against her custom. He'd forgotten it. His eyes grew wide as her arm shot straight out, the hooked blade going right around the back of his neck. Each finger of the gauntlet was tipped with a talon claw, each of which almost clawed Revans face. The second blade, the straight knife, was only a half inch from his throat. The slightest movement would kill him.
His birds saved him. Reyna had forgotten they were there. Revan never traveled alone, but his twin crows had not helped him yet, as was the norm. They'd really done this far too many times. His twin war crows sped from the forest line and attacked Reyna. Daggerbeak, dived from the forest line and caught the back of the hooked blade on Reyna's gauntlet in his beak, yanking her arm out to her left, removing the mny spiky threats the gauntlet provided Reyna. Swordwings shot out from behind her and his wing slammed her in the back of the head as he pulled up at the last minute to prevent his wings from cutting her head off.
Reyna fell forwards from the blow and Revan's punch caught her in the collarbone. Reyna fell to the ground, unconscious. Her halberd clattered to the ground next to her. Revan smiled and pet the two birds as they landed on his shoulders. A groan brought Revan back to reality and he quickly dashed to Adan's side. Revan glanced up at the white cat that was by Adan's side. Henry was Adan's familiar, and while not very good at fighting, could be one of the few people-animals on the planet who could help Adan. Henry's pure white coat had been marred with blood, but the white cat smiled at Revan.
"He'll be fine. I was able to clean the wound and seal it. He's going to be in a lot of pain, but our magic and the last medicinal supplies Sylar gave us are going to pull him through this," Henry told Revan. "It used up the very last of the medicines. Sylar's lifesaving stuff has run out," Henry noted tiredly as he eyed Revan's face.
A sad caw announced the arrival of Revan's final crow. Spybird, Revan's intelligence mole put down next to the group. "You're alive!" Revan exclaimed, surprised. Spybird had been with Alem, hid fourth and final crow. Alem had been the one cawing, drawing the attention of the witches. But not all of them, seeing as Reyna had attacked them by surprise.
"Alem gave me time to get away. I see you did as he wanted as well," Spybird quietly spoke. His talons put something down in the windblown grass next to the group. A bloody mess of ground flesh and broken black feathers met their sights.
"You eh… brought Alem's body." Henry supplied as he glanced at the pile of meat.
"He's as much Revan's father as he is mine. That old crow gave his life for us, and endured a long death without speaking a word. He deserves a decent ending!" Spybird cawed angrily at Henry. The two other birds cawed their two bits too (though they spoke no English or witch magic omni-speech), each of the three looking angrily at the white cat.
"You gonna eat that?" Henry asked petulantly, eyeing the bloody mess that once was the crow Alen. Revan aimed a kick at the cat, but Henry jumped away. Henry swept his pure white wizards hat off his head and held it by the black buckle that went around the white hat. Revan accepted the hat from Henry's paw. He passed it to Revan, who accepted it wordlessly before looking away.
A bright flash and a small pulse of magic later and a mostly naked pale man stood where Henry had a moment before. He swept the white and black wizard hat out of Revan's hands and jammed it down firmly on his head. Henry, now in a human form, stood and stretched. He wore only a tighty whities, bleach white fruit of the looms. It was better than wearing nothing at all, which both humans had imposed on Henry (who was a cat and cared nothing for propriety). Other than that and his hat, Henry was completely naked. He was easily the most attractive of the group. Revan thought that somehow sad or odd, seeing as Henry was obviously not human. Ah, the wonders of being magical. Shouldn't teenagers his age being worried about stupidly vain things, like school and studies?
Henry described his human form as 'sculpted by the gods'. Of course he referred to his cat form like that too. Neither of the warlocks could refute him, because any time they tried Henry would sweep some teenage girl off her feet and ask if she thought the two warlocks were simply jealous. Something about his presence drove week willed girls to submit to his words. It was probably Henry's figure. But seeing as the two would have to carry Adan out of the clearing to safety, he'd need Henry's dreaded human form now. But Merlin help him if Henry spotted a girl to chase. Revan pulled Adan to his feet and Henry wrapped Adan's other arm around his taller frame, holding his human master up. The three crows cawed unhappily at the cat, angry with his rough treatment, but he hissed at them and they scattered. Revan wasn't worried as the trio of crows took to the skies. They'd always stick close to him. Now he just needed to put Alem's fate from his mind. Henry glanced at Reyna and Reven recognized Henry's train of thoughts play out on his face. "Anything you wanna steal off your cousin? If you don't mind, I at least want to steal her panties," Henry told Revan callously. Revan glanced over at her unconscious form. Really, he shouldn't have hoped Henry had forgotten her. He was always like this.
"I wouldn't go near her. Plus, reinforcements must be on the way. On top of everything else, if you did that, she might not be able to fly. She's wearing a skirt today. She'll be after your blood, at least twice as much as mine. Before she's ignored you, but she knows you enough by now to know it was you," Revan tried to warn the cat off. Henry smiled winningly and jabbed Revan in the ribs.
"I'll blame it on you!" Henry announced like he'd just had the world greatest idea. Revan sucked in breath as his ribs screamed again. His cousin had managed to hit both him and Adan with the first sky drop, stabbing Adan with her gauntlet and breaking some of his ribs with a kick.
"She won't believe it. You're not going to put yourself and your master in needless danger just to satisfy your own perverted notions and piss her off," Revan told Henry as he glared at the older and taller teen. Revan was sixteen, and Adan was about the same age. His cousin was at least twenty. Henry in his human form was probably close to being nineteen, and so he was taller than the underfed warlocks. Though he wasn't socially conditioned enough to feel this was wrong, this was also a waste of time and stupid, but then, that summed Henry up nicely.
"I'll be back in a flash!" Henry announced happily as he dumped Adan into Revan's arms. Revan was unable to stop the cat as he leapt over to his cousin, as his arms were full of unconscious warlock. A moment later Henry was back, holding a lacy thong. Revan's face heated up a little, but Henry simply smiled lewdly and snapped the elastic band over Adan's face.
"You're so damn lucky Adan would die of grief if I killed you!" Revan snarled as he shoved Adan's weight back into the cat's arms.
"You know you love me!" Henry replied chipperly as he began to limp along, suspending Adan between them.
"At least take that off his head. We don't want to kill him with a nosebleed," Revan growled out as he shifted to support Adan.
"Do it yourself!" Henry smiled back, fully knowing Revan wouldn't touch the frilly thong until his life depended on it. Revan merely grunted unhappily and looked pointedly away from Adan's face. Henry grinned and continued to tease Revan.
"What! World's best thief, and you've never stolen a girl before?" Henry asked coyly. Revan's eyes slid sideways as he fought back against the verbal barb.
"After everything we've been through, you're asking me if I've ever kidnapped someone? Of course not! When would I even have had the time!" Revan snapped. Henry grinned cheekily as he lifted Adan's feet so he wasn't trailing anymore.
"Didn't say anything about kidnapping, and well, there was that one time in Salt Lake City you were gone for days. Who knows what happened there?" Henry announced gleefully. Revan's eyes glazed over for a moment at the mention of the times he disappeared, a sad look shadowing his face. But a moment later the indignant fury returned in full force.
"I'd never! I have morals! I use my powers to steal objects, never… ugh.." Revan sputtered off as his face glowed red. Henry grinned.
"Not even that one time-"
"I was six!" Revan cut him off.
"You know, male cats are mature at five months. What? You just don't know how it's done? I'll show you how sometime, you know how easy is for me to-"
"We are not having this conversation. And I am not taking advice from you ever again. EVER," Revan spat.
"Ah, so you are a-"
"Shut the hell up, cat!"
Leila grabbed Regulus woke shortly after the boom in the forest. Leila had awoken him with some strong spices from the Death Cafe while she dragged him through the streets. A quick slap had brought him to his senses, and Leila had described the events as they ran towards the sight. Lord Pluto had been right! There was a kishin here! She should have known better than to doubt Lord Pluto sources! Although, there was still the possibility the oracle was faulty. As they entered the forest they heard a great deal of yelling. Heading towards the source of the noise, they stopped abruptly when they saw the source. It'd been at least two minutes from the explosion, so the Kishin was probably on the move. Yelling mean people, probably. A good place to start.
Leila and Regulus stopped dead when their eyes met the source of the noise though. Walking down a forest path, was an odd trio. Two of them held the third teen, his arms draped over their shoulders. The first man was, at first look, completely naked except for a white wide brimmed pointy hat that shadowed his face. A second look revealed him to actually be wearing a pair of incredibly skimpy underwear that was as snow white and blended in with his sparkly skin. He had a sort of aura around him that drew Leila in for a moment before she snapped herself out of it. Nevertheless she surreptitiously checked her mouth for drool. The teen was tall, thin, and though not ripped or large, he had a row of abs she could grate cheese on, like a professional runner or swimmer with less mass. Leila forced herself to look away. It was obvious from his aura (grabby, look at me, love me) he was magical. She'd heard about slime like him that used attraction aura's and what they did to women who fell for their whiles.
The younger teen on their left was their age. He was dark, in a word. A large, nearly black leather hood covered his head, and the cloak extended to his knees. The cloak, from the neck down was so covered with black crow feathers you couldn't even see if there was still leather under it. His left arm was holding up the boy, so they could see into his cloak. He wore a dark leather jerkin, and it looked well worn. The teen had sowed on extra pockets, and he had at least a dozen on his chest. The inside of his cloak was nothing but pockets, except for a few knives in their leather loop holders. Hidden away in his cloak were spots where there was no leather and he could reach the feathers through the inside of the cloak. His pockets were bulging; full to their twine latches with no doubt stolen good. His long thin fingers were the exact type to be master pickpocket's. His pants were an earthy green and brown, real camo, not the fake stuff, made of a heavy woven material. The pants too had pockets full of things. His belt was lined with pouches and scabbards, some of which were empty. A dark sword hung at his side, its thin black blade thin, but the width broad. If he could stab someone with that, the bleeding would kill them compared to the wound itself. What an evil weapon. His knees had little black triangular metal knee caps sown on, for extra protection. His boots were a dark golden color, like they should have shined but had been put in the mud too often. Three huge black metal talons came off the front of his boots to wrap over the front of his toes, arcing in deadly talons. The boots had two golden wings on each, originating from the arch of the foot backwards past his ankles. Impressive as his boots were, they must've weighted too much to move properly, like snow boots made of lead. Thick leather gloves went up to his elbows, and cloth strips had been wrapped around the middles, like they were bird handler gloves. Under his hood the teen's black stringy hair was so oily it could have been a fire hazard. His skin was pale, ashen, and ugly, the color of an old bruise. It was just as oily, though somehow he had avoided pimples. One small fortune compared to the rest of him. He looked as healthy as the rotted dead. His large nose cast even more of his face in shadows. His thin mouth was creased in a frown and he had an angry look in eyes whereas the white naked man was nearly laughing in mirth. He struck an odd opposite to the white teen across him, but he was clearly the deadlier of the two. He too was obviously magical.
The boy between them was covered in blood. He was held off the ground by the other two, suspended by their arms, his toes dragging over the ground. He wore a large cloak like the feathered boy, but his was furred with a yellowish-orange fur. Around his shoulders it was darker, and down his back it was tawny. As it reached his neck it turned into a proper mane of fur (it looked real, the anti-fur people would throw a fit), like it might've been a parka. Twin cat ears perked up over the hood, which had fallen off his face, crumpled around his neck. He was clearly unconscious, but a frilly black thong was draped over his eyes. He had strange gloves on his hands, with golden claws on each finger tip. His lips were open a little, revealing sharp elongated fangs as his canines. His short form was well muscled however, making his heavier looking than the sallow teen (even with his outrageous boots). His arms were covered by his coat, each sleeve a heavy dense material that looked almost like skin but was obviously woven. Fur sprouted from his arm sleeves. His legs were strong looking, and his knees huge. His pants were woven like mesh, but covered in a light fuzz of hair. He wore no shoes however, and his bare feet were thickened with heavy durable skin. His toe nails were sharp and pointed, and thick as metal.
The two stupefied Stygian students stared at their discovery in raw wonder for only a few seconds before Leila reached over to pinch Regulus. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"Making sure I'm not dreaming," Leila told him.
"You've gotta pinch yourself for that. Leila? Leila, stop staring at his crotch!"
Leila shook herself awake and refocused as Regulus sulked. Activating soul perception, Leila gazed upon their souls. "Well, are they kishins?" Regulus asked impatiently.
"Them? No way. But it's weird… they've all got the weirdest souls I've ever seen. The cloaked kid has wings on a green soul! I don't even know what that means! The middle one, he's got this really curious soul. He must ask lots of questions. It's green too, but it's got cat ears on it, like the ones on his hood and a lion's mane too! And the white guy on the right? His soul has a cat collar around it, and it's really small. It's also colored turquoise, like the blue of a person or animal mixed with…. Whatever they are," Leila surmised as she quickly scanned their souls.
Soul perception was a powerful meister ability not everyone could do. Naturally though, Leila had always been able to see souls. But Lord Pluto had found a way to teach it to anyone who couldn't do it naturally. So she didn't know how Lord Pluto did it.
"What now?" Regulus asked?
"What do you mean what now? Now we get the drop on them and subdue them for questioning!" Leila hissed.
"But they're human!"
"Humans have blue soul. I have a blue soul. You have a blue soul. They do not have blue souls!" Leila reasoned.
"Don't react, but we're being watched," Revan revealed as he cut through Henry's perverted story. Henry's ears kicked into overdrive but he kept babbling his story. "In the bushes, in the tree, slightly off the path, on a branch. About two meters up, about on our two-thirty. Two kids my age. They're Stygian students. Spybird is sending me the images. We'll get the drop on them when Daggerbeak and Swordwings get into position," Revan mumbled just loud enough for Henry's ears to pick up. An expert ventriloquist or voice mimic, like crows could be, Revan could do all sorts of things with his voice. It's didn't make up for not being able to take any decent hit, what with his hollow bones, but it was something.
"Do I make them mad, or do you want the pleasure?" Henry asked discreetly.
"You do it. I'm still shaking from my fight with Reyna. I want the easy job this time," Revan admitted as he grit his teeth. It was tough to keep his face from forming a snarl, but the duo could easily imagine it was because of Henry's loud story about that time in Louisiana. It figures. The moment they get out of the witches range and into Stygian territory they get discovered by none other than every witch's enemy, students hoping to become a death weapon. The worst among them could be callous murders, attacking witches too young to fight back or witches that hadn't done anything wrong. Weapons and Meisters didn't care often enough how they got a witch soul, just so long as they did. Witch's crimes against humanity could be terrible, but they usually had guidelines and compulsions about what was appropriate. Witches could be depended on to have a certain level of twister honor, but honor nonetheless.
Revan breathed "now," at the same time Leila grabbed Regulus and leapt to hit Henry across the head with the cone of Regulus' lance form. Daggerbeak was there, attacking from Leila's six at the same time Swordwings began his dive from the sky. It'd take more than a simple Stygian student to stop a four way attack. Henry quickly dropped Adan and rushed Leila with a move he had dubbed 'The Flying Crotch Drop' while Revan reached into his cloak to retrieve the smallest crossbow anybody present had ever seen. Barely bigger than a gun, the ammunition bolts were little bigger than toothpicks, each dipped with a mild sedative. Jumping back, crossbow in his right hand, aiming at Leila's neck, left arm holding up Adan; Revan aimed.
Leila saw everything with soul perception. She ducked under Henry's 'attack', blocked Daggerbeak from her hair with her left arm, moved her neck so the bolt only grazed her, and held Regulus aloft with her right hand. Regulus's intense light flared and grew until there was nothing but a blinding world of light. Revan shielded his eyes with his hood and covered them further with his right arm. All three of his crows flew off in terror. Only Adan, who was unconscious, was spared.
Leila kicked Revan as hard as she could. To her surprise, something sounded like it broke in his rib cage and he threw back his head and screamed in pain. Dropping Adan Revan collapsed backwards onto a tree. Leila saw this through her shielded eyes and dismissed him as no longer a threat. Spinning to continue attacking Henry, she was surprised to see Henry's fist. Henry punched Leila, and as she spun right (cat claws? Just missing her face and her eyes) to try and dodge the blow Henry's fist connected with her goggles, throwing them off and into the tall grass. Leila spin stabilized and she lanced out at Henry with Regulus in her left hand. Henry dodged back, sucking in his stomach and bending. Regulus's tip stopped mere millimeters from Henry's skin, right about his organ centers.
"Woah! Leila! Watch it! We're not going to kill them!" Regulus cried from inside his weapon form. Something about the white hat wearing teenager pissed Leila off beyond anything he'd ever seen. Yeah, it was weird how little clothes he wore, but he was easily the least odd. At least his soul was mostly blue, right?
"Shut up! We can just not tell Lord Pluto about this one! I don't want to look at him any longer!" Leila shrieked in rage before sweeping outwards with Regulus. Henry backed out of the range of the sweep and then dashed in to swipe at Leila's chest. His hand connected, and his finger nails elongated, turning into hooked claws.
Instead of cutting Leila however, he only cut her shirt from the collar to the bottom, keeping his claws in the fabric but not her skin as he ducked under her retaliating stab and pulling away to spread her shirt when she stabbed the ground where he had been. Leila shrieked in rage. Henry smiled and tipped his hat too her. "Let's stop now before I am forced to take your bra, shall we?" He cat called, shaking himself at her. Leila blinked. "Don't you mean 'before I take you life'?" she asked, mildly confused for a moment.
"Of course not! I don't kill people! I'm in life to have fun!" he announced. Then he held up his hand and mimed groping her. "Nice tits, by the way!" He called cheerfully. This slimy manipulative male scum-
Not all males. But this bastard, this freak that drew people in so easily, what did he mean in it for the 'fun'. A cold thought, What happened to the girls who inevitably fall for this trick?
Leila screamed again and sped forward, cocking her arm, throwing Regulus. Henry's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to yell before the lance stabbed through his chest. Regulus's lance form sank into Henry up until the widest metal guard, leaving only the handle length sticking out of the teen's chest. Henry glanced down at Regulus and then up at Leila, who was shaking with rage. He held up his hand, index upward like he was about to make a quip before he went cross eyed and pitched forwards.
Regulus turned back into a human and held up Henry before his body vaporized, as it was with anybody killed with a Weapon. A floating turquoise soul appeared where Henry had died. "Leila! You fucking killed him!" Regulus swore.
"He was a murderer! A scoundrel! He was trying to trick us! He wasn't human!" Leila announced angrily. Leila turned to survey the others, observing the two boys. Revan was watching her. His eyes were hard chips of obsidian, but he didn't say a thing. He was hardly breathing, each a painful wheeze as he held his side. He had caught Adan as he fell, and the other boy was propped up. Leila thought about the wound the cat eared hooded boy must've taken.
"What did you do to him?" Leila asked the black eyed sallow faced boy. Witches or something, no honor, using magic on or against people, turning on their own- Manipulative liars, just like those stories from the text books-
"I didn't do a thing! We were attacked by a witch!" Revan spat out, spitting blood.
"They're our age, but those two are kinda scrawny. They look some of the orphans that come to Stygian Superior at young ages," Regulus pointed out. Don't you dare fall for it, you're better than that. Don't give them an inch, they take a mile, you can't see their souls, they're green-
"They look like that?!" Leila argued, pointing to their strange get-ups and Revan's many weapons. Revan threw a dagger at her while her head was turned, his arm snapping out faster than she suspected he could move.
A hand clamped down on the hollow shafted back of the black feather. "Now now, Revan, mortals have hurt us pretty bad before, but we've never killed them," Henry admonished. Leila jumped back, her hand connecting with Regulus, but he shot her a sharp look and refused to transform. Leila glared at him, and he merely shoved her black goggles onto her head.
"Explain," Regulus barked. It was the underwear bastard Henry, hole in his chest fixed and all, just like he'd been before dying. He bent down to swipe his white wizard hat off the ground and carefully situate it on his head.
"Cat's have nine lives," Henry announced ambiguously. He then grimaced distastefully and pulled a grass blade off the brim of his hat and tossed it away sadly. "Not how I imagined I'd die for the fourth time. Just five lives left then!" He announced, his tone to be happy.
"Explain yourself!" Leila shouted at him. She was much more intimidating with her blackened goggles on, which hid her soulful blue eyes. Henry's green eyes regarded her distastefully. She'd yet to gather those goggles out the grass. Why hide her pretty eyes? It must've been to counter act that strange light the lance boy threw off.
"Are you going to take us captive?" Henry asked.
"Yes." The Stygian boy announced. The girl stayed dangerously silent and shifted back into a combat lunge form, but the glowy boy shot her a glance.
"Then I'd like to tell the story only once. Take me to your leader!" Henry announced magnanimously as he held out his hands for handcuffs. They knew Stygian carried them standard issue for strange circumstances. Didn't get any stranger than this. Leila slapped him, and he recoiled. Then she spun him by his wrist and forced him down to the ground, her knee in his back. She grabbed his neck like she wanted to snap it, but a second pair of hands, the boy's, latched a pair of handcuffs on him. Henry was let back up and pushed away from the two as they turned to Revan and Adan. Henry knew what to do, what to say, to get just a little good will. It was Revan's plan for if this scenario ever happened after all.
"I'd take his cloak. Most of his weapons are in there," Henry supplied helpfully. Revan looked shocked, like he was going to protest, but he slammed his lips shut and turned to look away from Henry, avoiding his gaze. Regulus unfastened the crow feather cloak off of Revan's leather jerkin collar.
"Do we empty his pockets?" Regulus asked as he eyed Revan's many, many pockets full of things.
"I want to leave before night fall. Witches are chasing us and they want us dead," Henry informed the two as he picked up Adan and slung him over his shoulder as best he could. "And they're not going to be halted for more than a minute by a pair of lone Stygian kids."
"You going to go into town with that?" Regulus asked, blushing as he gestured to Leila's ripped shirt. Henry dipped down and fished around in one of Revan's pockets, only to withdraw with a sowing needle and a length of thin but strong looking black thread.
"Give me your shirt, I can fix it," Henry offered, a perverted smile on his face.
"No!" Regulus shouted at the same time Leila slipped off her ruined shirt and tossed them to Henry, who immediately began fixing them.
"What! Why?" Regulus asked Leila incredulously.
"What? They've already seen," Leila answered grumpily.
"But that took me months and they've taken only three minutes," Regulus grumbled lowly. Leila gave him a threatening looking glare. Henry laughed a raucously. "I'll give you tips later guy!" He laughed over his shoulder as his fingers worked the needle and thread. Soon Henry was done and he gave Leila back to quickly stitched together clothes while he put Revan's supplies back in the pocket they'd come from.
"I think I know what I'm doing," Henry admitted to Revan as he hoisted the Crow Warlock up to his feet. It was below the range of the hearing of humans, something for the animals. Revan gave him an appreciative look that just as quickly morphed back to angry and betrayed. Regulus took up Adan, and Leila walked behind, watching them all closely.
Reyna groaned. Her head was fuzzy, and her neck hurt like her pride. What'd happened?
"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes," came a dry dull voice Reyna recognized. Reyna let her head fall to the ground and groaned. She didn't want to deal with her other cousin at the moment. "And so intelligence beats out brute power once again," Minerva announced in a dry monotone. Reyna snapped up and within a moment her gauntlets blade was at Minerva's throat.
"Going to try and off me so soon after waking up? Your own flesh and blood? Your soon-to-be Clan advisor?" Minerva asked blandly, like she was talking about the weather. "You know it is my job to advise this as a foolish step of plans." Minerva drolled out, her tone or expression never once changing. Huffing, Reyna got herself up and shook the fluffy chick down from the inside of her head. As soon as her mind was clear and she'd taken inventory on her wounds, Reyna turned her attention to her hand maiden/advisor.
Reyna observed her other cousin Minerva. Minerva wasn't her really name. All the bird clan had witches of R names, so it was impossible Minerva was really her name. But she'd never been told or found out her advisor's real name. Minerva was of short stature. Her diminutive size was balanced by a curvy form that her advisor refused to consider or acknowledge. The one time Reyna had tried to do something for her cousin (set her up with a handsome clan bachelor) Minerva had simply replied that Reyna was better looking and asked if she was looking for a consort, and how she could factor it into plans. Minerva refused to think with anything other than calm rational logical intelligence, without any emotional inflection.
Minerva heart shaped face, like her owls, gave nothing away as Reyna considered her. Her eyes were magnified greatly behind massive glasses that Reyna was absolutely positive Minerva wore only for looks, despite Minerva being far too 'logical' to wear something she did not need. Or perhaps they were enchanted? Minerva wore a mottled white cloak. Her talons on her boots were extra sharp and lethal looking, even compared to the other razor sharp claws of other Bird Clan boots. Minerva wore a standard brown leather jerkin under her owl cloak, and the commonly green legging of the bird clan. As was with all females though, they also wore an over skirt, a long knee length skirt that extended from the bottom of the jerkin. Minerva was several years older than Reyna, being twenty five.
"You are no kin of mine. You are barely better than that talentless Crow traitor!" Reyna groaned, not really meaning it, simply taking her anger out on her loyal subordinate.
"That talentless Crow traitor just beat you. And that Cat stole your undergarments," Minerva announced aloud. Reyna quickly checked and then looked back up at Minerva with a slight blush on her face.
"I don't suppose you've got-"
"No. And to top it off, we really need to return to the clan. You'll have to fly freebird," Minerva replied.
"I could command you to give me yours," Reyna pointed out as she nursed her neck.
"Milady would be ever so generous," Minerva replied in the same flat tone. Reyna growled at her response but ignored her, having not really meant it either.
"So what are you doing here anyways? You weren't part of my hunting team," Reyna asked her cousin.
"I am expected to always be on hand should you require my services, and I am loyal to the clan," Minerva droned out. The perfect answer, just as always. It was impossible to be angry with her, she was always just so in her rightness. Grass is green, fish swim, Minerva is always just to your right and behind you.
"Where did the other witches go? The Lynx and the Lark?" Reyna asked as she dug into a pouch for some migraine medicine.
"I dismissed them. You're presence is requested and they were not, and without you the hunt cannot continue," Minerva explained. Reyna sighed as she realized she wasn't going to get her revenge. By the set of the sun, some time had passed. Even the little Lion she'd nearly slain could still be alive. Nothing was impossible to those traitors. What gave them the right to run away? To live?
"At least he left me my skirt this time," Reyna growled out.
"This time? So they have stolen from you before?" Minerva asked.
"It was only the cat the first time; I don't think the other two- Never mind. Why must we return? And by any chance, do we know where the traitors have gotten off to? I expect to be going after them again once this meeting has passed," Reyna asked her cousin.
"The traitors have been subdued and taken into the captivity of two Stygian agents. A Meister Weapon combo. The two appear to be a couple. We must return because we have expended all the time we had to track down and kill the rogue Warlocks," Minerva announced.
"Impossible, I have only been out for," Reyna checked the sun again and tried to calculate how long and stopped mid sentence.
"Four hours. The moon rises. If your ladyship requests it, I can continue the hunt, but you must return," Minerva announced.
"What? They two are as good as dead. It might be today, it might be sometime tomorrow. Maybe they'll be prisoners until they need their souls. But they're as good as dead," Reyna announced before glancing at Minerva. "They are, aren't they?" she asked imploringly.
"I will never underestimate the Cat Familiars ability to talk. Adan is likely too useful to kill should they discover his abilities. Revan they would have to catch, and while I do not expect him to leave his companions, it might finally come to it. The only thing the Crow Warlock is bound to is the Cat Warlock. I suspect they are in only mild danger. However, Revan has taken a heavy hit and his malnourished body had collapsed on its hollow bones. He may be in very really danger. Pluto would not keep alive a captive with no purpose, no matter how interesting, if the patterns hold," Minerva reasoned coldly.
"Walk with me. I will need your night eyes. Send your owl to spy. But we return. And unfortunately we walk back to the regroup point," Reyna announced as she uncomfortably rubbed her legs together. Minerva rolled her eyes, careful to not let Reyna see. It was dark after all, no one would see.
Minerva's great owl swooped silently down out of the sky. The huge creature was as big as a Minerva herself. The massive great grey could pick up a man and carry him into the sky, and could hunt anything smaller than only moose. Its name was Dumanos, and Minerva was inseparable from him. For observation, Minerva had other owls to call upon, like most witches. As far as Reyna knew, she was one of the only witches without familiars. And after today, being taken surprise once more by those blasted crows, she was going to change that and finally get around to raising some hawks for herself. Or perhaps recruit a wild and proud hawk. That was more her style. But she'd never tried it before; she might need help for her first time.
"Minerva, when we get back, I want you to help you tame a hawk," Minerva told her loyal cousin. Minerva observed her for a moment and nodded.
"If you do not mind, I have called Dumanos. He can fly you if you will not fly yourself. Shall I summon Mayes to continue spying on the Stygian?" Minerva asked mildly as she helped Reyna onto Dumanos.
"Only if you think he won't be caught, I don't want you to lose your most useful spy," Reyna instructed. Minerva nodded and readied her flight stance. A small barn owl flew by, heading in the direction of Stygian lower.
"Mayes will continue the observation," Minerva announced she and Dumanos launched into the night air at the same time.