A/N: Well, I think I did well enough, all considering.
Although I have to put this out there; there's going to be a lot less of this than there already was. Less time to kill and all of that.
Well, it's more complicated than that, but the reasoning is personal, so eh.
Anyways, enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Slightly Damned. I mean really, be reasonable here.
Something isn't right.
As I come to, the first thing that I notice is that it's fucking cold. Beyond that, I get a sense of vertigo for a second, where everything doesn't seem to align properly-
I throw myself onto my side, emptying my stomach of whatever was left inside of it.
It's the second time, today; can't I catch a break-
When I actually use my eyes and take in what I'm looking at, there's an extreme amount of white, everywhere. Letting my eyes adjust to the bright light, I take a look at my surroundings.
And proceed to go slack-jawed. Bile dripping from said slack-jaw and everything.
I'm sitting up in the middle of an enormous clearing, covered in a fine layer of snow. At the edges of the clearing, there are trees lining it as far as I can see. And now that my sense of smell isn't clogged up in vomit, the air is noticeably clean, nothing like the air of the city. And looking above the treeline, there's nothing but blue skies...
Something isn't right.
I try to stand, but I have a hard time with how weak I feel; the only thing I ate today was an apple, for crying out loud, and I think I just threw that up. After expending what felt like a herculean effort, I finally get on my own two, shaky legs, and just take a look around.
Phone; I have to call someone, anyone.
I shove a shaking hand into my pants pocket, taking a second to pull out my phone...
"Ah shit..."
Whatever brought me here ended up completely shattering the screen, cracks spider-webbing out from an unknown source of impact. I just let the phone slide out of my hand, the broken item not even making a sound as it hit the cushioned earth.
I don't have a way to contact someone, and I'm stuck in the middle of literally nowhere, with an empty stomach, the remnants of a hangover, and a body that feels like a sneeze would knock it over.
I need to find help. Fast.
Seeing as how there isn't any point of reference, as this is a clearing, I just pick a direction and begin to walk. Well, the walk is more of a pitiful shuffle, with the snow hindering my feet slightly and the wobbly legs making things hard.
But I manage, as I see the edge of the woods steadily come closer-
And then something insane happens.
Barreling out of the treeline is three figures, and while one of them looks human, my mind seems to stop working at the sight of the other two. One is short, looking to only go up to my waist at most, and has these huge ears the size of dinner plates and a tail that looks longer than they are tall. The second figure is taller than me, counting the horns – actual horns, holy shit – and they're purple.
Oddly enough, they're carrying a sizable rock.
I feel justified at my paralyzed gaping, standing there like I just witnessed the world ending.
And to top it off, what seems to make them run in the first place comes out of the forest next, and it looks like a giant bull with an axe and a weird blue dog.
Wait.
"What?" I sort of wheeze out, and for some reason, that word seems to halt the entire ensemble as they direct their attention to me. I pay none of them any attention as I stare at the cobalt blue figure.
"Hey! Who the fuck are... you..." The fluffy blue not-dog start to shout, but their words slowly die off as they take a closer look at my face, the dark blue eyes widening the longer they look at me.
"Uh..." Seems to be the only response that escapes my lips, and I start to feel even more dizzy than I did a few seconds ago.
Because really, how could anyone respond to seeing a figment of their imagination chasing a bunch of weirdos and a lookalike?
Despite the hangover, I really felt like having a drink right then, liver be damned.
Of course, the moment ends all too soon for my liking, and the large bull-thing – who was looking between her and me for the few scant seconds of silence – heaves up a huge axe and snorts – legitimately snorted – with an annoyed look.
"Great, another witness to get rid of." He takes a step forward.
"Witness?" I look off to the side where the girl and the two... things were, but they're already booking it as fast as they can away from the hulking figure. Looking back shows him picking up speed with a sinister grin plastered on.
That's your cue to fucking run.
Adrenaline pumping from the fear of a giant axe bisecting me, I turn on a dime and bolt after the other runners, hearing thunderous footsteps – hoovesteps? - giving chase. The short one ahead of me is frantically bounding through the snow, using all of their limbs to propel themselves forward, as the other two just run as best as they could. I myself could barely keep up with them – despite walking everywhere in the city, that isn't running for your life worthy – and my body complains with every step I take to rest.
Hearing the thuds gain on me, I promptly tell it to shove it and keep moving because oh god that thing is going to kill me-
A horrible series of cracking sounds emanate from behind me, and glancing to my right shows a literal wall of ice spikes come up from seemingly nowhere, continuing to jut up and into a curve in front of the runners, who all slide to a stop – the purple one slams into it, but doesn't look too hurt by it – and gawk at the obstacle. Grinding to a halt next to them and turning around, the big guy slowed his advance seeing our predicament. Next to him is her with clawed hands coated in a dark cloud of something, but it doesn't look good.
"Oh crap." The short one – female, from the sounds of things – sums up the situation.
My eyes dart to her, only to see her giving the same look at me. So, she does remember me, and if the look means anything the gears in her head are trying to think of something. What that something is, is anybody's guess.
Right as I thought that, she opens her mouth to speak-
"Wait," The short one speaks up, her voice heightened in fear. "before you brutally murder us and the new guy, satisfy my curiosity..." She points to the lookalike with blue hair. "Is she really an angel?"
And that indignant anger that I know so well swells, and all the gears running in her head stop to glare at the short one.
Yeesh, they must've done something bad if she's so trigger-happy. And what was that about the similar being an angel-
"Listen, rat- I already wasted my breath trying to tell your retarded friend that 'Snowflake' or whatever is really-" She gets cut off yet again by the big guy, who looks oddly invested in the conversation despite looming over us – seriously, the thing's got to be nine, ten feet at least.
"Actually, I think he called her 'Snowy'-" Looking at her, her eyes are slits from how much she's glaring, and she's starting to shake.
Oh, that's not good-
"AAAARRGHHH!" She lets out a frustrated scream, and the big guy flinches back – hell, I flinch back – as her triad starts.
"Fuck all of this shit! Her name isn't 'Snowy', her name is Kieri Suizahn and she's an angel and I'm going to kill her and all of you!"
Silence reigns for a second as her words set in, and she slaps both of her hands over her mouth with a horrified look on her face. The next sound is a small thud, and looking over at the girl shows that these cuffs – that I didn't see the first time around – fell to the ground.
"Smooth, Laz." I turn back to see her looking at me like she's seen a ghost – don't I know the feeling – then the words register in her mind.
"Jane..." If the warning tone doesn't cut it, the glare sure as hell does.
Too bad for her that I had twenty some-odd years to get used to it. Ha.
I look back over to the girl when she starts to mutter something incoherent, but something about the words – I assume they're words – feel... odd. It sounds familiar, but no matter how hard I think – which isn't very much, hangover and all – nothing rings a bell. As she ends the string of words with more confidence, she clenches her fists and a light blue light surrounds her hands.
...I really need that drink right about now.
"Talus, go for the three dipshits; I'll... take care of the one in the hat." Lazuli's hands proceed to do that dark glowing-thing as she stalks in my direction.
"All three of them; for me? Lazuli, you're too kind." Despite the wording, the threatening tone doesn't stay hidden one bit.
As soon as the two say their piece, the three next to me scatter; the big guy chasing after them indiscriminately. I could see the girl cast me worried looks, but then look back at the bull-giant when a swing slams into the ground next to her.
Looking forward again, I jump back a bit when Lazuli is right in front of me – thankfully, she got rid of whatever was surrounding her hands. Her arms are crossed and her gaze expressionless as she scans me.
Right then, a bit of nervousness seems to run through me, and I look off to the side for a second.
"T-this isn't how I thought we'd meet for real, huh Laz?" When the look doesn't let up, a nervous chuckle finds its way out of me.
Another moment of quiet – well as quiet as it can get with an assault going on a few feet away – before her arms uncross, taking a step forward-
-and hugging me?
"Didn't think this would happen either, Jane." Since she's taller than me, her head plants itself right on top of mine, and a faint mint smell mixed with someone who hasn't showered in a week wafts into my nose.
Far from pleasant, but it's her, and she never does this unless something's not right. Listening to an 'eep!' from one of the three to the side probably constitutes most of the reason-
-wait, higher brain functions are returning and what the actual fuck is happening is happening-
I resist most of the freak-out and let out a building pain-induced groan from a combination of everything, and ow my everything. Lazuli pulls back, giving me a worried look.
"What's wrong." Her head tilts and everything, showing genuine concern in one of those rare moments.
That hardly help with the growing panic that starts to set in through the everything.
"'What's wrong?' I'll tell you what's wrong," I gesture over to the side where the big guy slammed his axe onto the ground, and the fucking ground goes and separates before it showing ice. "You pal over there is trying to commit manslaughter; one of them is a kid if the voice they spoke in says anything; you can make ice do impossible shit, and to top it off I got a fucking hangover with no idea why the flying-fucking Christ I'm in a knock-off Winter Wonderland!" I suck in a breath – that still tastes like apple and bile – and let it out.
"All in all, it's just peachy. How're you doing?" At the silence, I look back at her.
...And it looks like I broke her a bit, if the utterly confused and stunned look means anything-
"That's the most you've done that in one go." That sounded like a thought being said out loud, more than anything.
"What? The swearing, the shouting, or both?"
"Both."
"...I guess so."
An awkward silence seems to settle over us after that, one where I felt so done. One that was – thankfully – ended when an odd noise I haven't heard yet came from the chaos brewing next to us. Looking over at the battle, the giant – probably a demon, if going by the logic of whatever Lazuli told me she was is now true – has a few icicles stabbed into him, but doesn't look hampered in any way. The short one and the purple – probably a demon, the horns and tail are a dead giveaway – one look haggard by whatever the big guy is dishing out. And the girl...
Looking around, the girl is nowhere to be seen.
"Wasn't there a girl, or am I going crazy from everything going on?" I hear Lazuli let out a sound of confusion as she probably noticed the same thing.
Wherever the girl went, I can still vaguely hear her voice as the large demon looms over the two visible ones, catching them between a leftover wall of ice. He raises his axe in anticipation of killing them, and I start a bit in their direction – I'm not about to let someone die, consequences be damned-
-A spray of water erupts from the ground – lake, we're on top of a frozen lake – hosing the demon in ice-cold water and forcing him to back off. Looking at the source of said spray, I squint my eyes when I see a shape as white as the snow around it, and my eyes widen when I see it move.
"...I'm done." My arms fling up in a 'what can I do' gesture, looking back at Lazuli to see her in a confused state.
In response, I give her a slap to the back of the head.
"Ow! What the fuck, Django?" She sends another withering glare at me, which I promptly ignore to give her a deadpan look.
"You are not going to kill these people- I don't care if they pushed you buttons, I do the same thing from time to time and I don't see you trying to kill me," I give her a look of my own and she backs down. "Half of them – whatever the hell they are – sound like they're in their teens. They're kids, Laz; they don't deserve this." She sputters for a second before speaking.
"That girl you keep talking about is a demon hunter, as in she hunts people like me." I narrow my eyes at that.
"Then what were the cuffs and collar for, huh? And she certainty wasn't in pristine condition when she was still in them."
Lazuli winced at that, and we both know that I got her on that. I saw the wrappings here and there, and if the faint bruising left around her face is anything like the ones Jackson used to give me back in high school is any indication...
A roar of pain comes from the commotion to my right, and turning to it shows the small one biting the hand of the demon, forcing him to drop an object that's wrapped up in a dark purple cloth. Judging form the handle sticking out of the confines of said cloth, it looks like a sword, of all things. The purple demon ran up to the object and snatched it up, calling out to the short one – who was thrown from the demon's arm and is spitting and sputtering – and the suspiciously bunny-shaped figure slightly hidden in the snow.
"It's now or never, Lazuli. Something tells me that whatever is in that cloth is going to change whatever is happening over there."
Lazuli, when I glance back at her, looks severely conflicted. Never in the twenty-odd years that I knew her did I see her discern situations; not saying that she doesn't think – smart as a whip when it comes to our quips – but being impulsive is something she revels in too much. And yet here she is, looking like she has to pick between her infamous impulsiveness or listening to me and think.
She surprised me by not responding and just charging forward, a determined look set on her face being the last hint of what she's going to do.
What I didn't count on was the absolute clusterfuck that assaulted the situation.
First, when I looked at the situation that Lazuli was running directly into, the girl – now no longer a bunny – had grabbed onto the sword – that was oddly detailed – and was in the process of putting on an identical sun pendant to mine. And to make matters even more sideways, she goes and sprouts wings.
Then Lazuli goes and makes more of that dark energy in her hands and shoves them onto the ground, and a series of huge ice shards start jutting from the ground, some of them impaling themselves into the larger demon. Said demon roars in pain, and looks back at Lazuli with a confused and betrayed look on his bull-esque visage.
The three that were being ailed by the – now impaled – demon copy my jaw drop; even I didn't expect her to do that.
"L-Lazuli, what..." The hulking demon sounds so betrayed. Did Lazuli know him before-
Shink!
Another shard of ice, this one coming from the winged girl, embeds itself into his other shoulder. There's blood running like a stream down the ice, painting the white snow crimson.
"AUGH!" He drops his axe, whatever strength in that arm sapped away from the second attack. His breathing started to become labored as panic starts to wash away the confusion.
Oh god they're actually trying to kill him.
"Lazuli-"
"TRAITOR!" The dying demon looks livid. His one eye – the other has an old cut over it – glosses over with rage – and an eerie glow? – and-
Crack!
-he breaks off the ice pinning him in place, and heaves himself into the direction of Lazuli, completely ignoring the other three he was chasing. His size looks even more imposing, and as he stumbles towards a shocked Lazuli – who is slinging more ice shards with little visual effect to his 'charge' – he raises his fists-
-and brings them down onto the ice in front of her, shattering the floor that both he and Lazuli were standing on. With a panicked shout Lazuli goes... into the freezing water-
I moved for the first time since pushing Lazuli away from me, now trying to get her back.
There's thrashing in the pool, but it doesn't last long – both the large size of the other demon overwhelming Lazuli and the demon's wounds probably taking more effect – and they sink away form my sight. The last I see of her is an arm attempting to crush her hold on as they go under.
I have to get her out of there. I don't care if it's colder than death, I can't let her drown. I mean she fucking tried to murder the guy to stop him, but-
A flash of cold blue, and my feet are suddenly glued into place, and it's a miracle I manage to stay upright. Looking down, there's ice grown over my feet, and whipping my head up shows the winged girl with a light blue glow in one outstretched hand.
"What are you doing, I have to help her!"
"I... I can't..." She looks scared about something, but she's stopping me from helping Lazuli-
"Let me go, damn it; she's going to drown for god's sake!" She's still not moving, and the others aren't doing anything either.
Why aren't they doing anything?! She just helped their asses and they do nothing to help her?
That pit in my gut, one I haven't felt in so long, starts weighing down again. But this one's different...
And it doesn't take me long to find out that I'm angry, and it burns-
-a sizzling noise reaches my ears, and my feet don't feel restricted anymore. Not taking any chances, I shirk off my coat as I run. Reaching the edge, I take in a deep breath and dive-
Cold. There's no other way to describe it, the water.
I look down, away from the light filtering in from the hole and- there! I see a cloud of red billowing from the dark, red-tinged depths and I begin swimming. The crimson pooling into the water blocks anything inside it, but Lazuli has to be in there.
It's so cold, but that pit of anger keeps burning and I keep swimming.
The closer I get, the easier I can make out what's inside of it, showing me Lazuli caught in the death grip of the larger demon and squirming – to no effect – to get out of it. I swim closer, her looking up and doing a double take when she sees me. She redoubles her efforts when she watches me try and pry the vice-like grasp open.
It's so, so cold.
With a strength I didn't know I had, combined with Lazuli's, we pry her out of it. Her taking my arm and, together, kick and claw our way out of the deep, crimson colored water.
So... helplessly cold.
That pit becomes icy, and my coordinated swimming becomes helpless flailing at the loss of feeling in my arms and the weakness from a hangover. Lazuli is practically dragging me through the liquid, as a dark ring lines my vision.
Darker... colder...
The darkness at the corners of my sight steadily collapse, further and further. I stop moving to shift my head away from the approaching light to Laz. There's a cut on her face, slowly treading a cloud of scarlet as she pulls us upwards.
Here I am, the rescuer becoming the rescued, and I haven't even got a scratch on me. I really am out of my element, aren't I?
Her visible eye, full of that indignant determination that I'm so used to seeing, is so scared. Lazuli doesn't get genuinely scared; she's stupidly strong, and has the guts to act on it.
Then, light and cold air, but I can't breathe as the darkness gets me first.
A Panicked Filled Minute Later...
Slap slap slap.
Ow. My everything- just ow. My breathing, my arms, my legs, my face-
Slap!
"Guh!" I gasp, my face stinging from the prick who slapped me, and my eyes snap open-
Oh. It's just Lazuli.
...Probably shouldn't tell her I inadvertently called her a prick-
And now she's hugging me and ow, everything still sore.
"-you're okay! Holy shit I though-"
Okay, she sounds worried, so that explains the hugging and hitting and pain, but can't she be gentler; the hangover is making an ugly comeback and is revolting alongside my lungs to fight my arms and legs, right now-
"-but you're still okay, except the almost drowning part-"
Oh yeah, forgot about the drowning part. Honestly I just wish this would stop so I can eat; an apple that gets chucked back up doesn't spell a healthy diet. Dr. Reitter is going to grill my ass if he ever finds out-
"-SAY SOMETHING, DAMN IT!" SLAP!
"Ow, what the fuck, Laz?!"
If her grouchy face has anything to say, it's 'not sorry'. Other than that-
…
"Laz?"
"What?"
"We almost drowned."
"Your dumb ass almost drowned-"
"And you just killed someone."
"-you dumb... wait, what does that-"
"Holy shit I just helped in killing someone." My hands go to the side of my head in panic, and the slightly confused look on her face doesn't help any.
"What do you mean, you didn't do-"
"Hey dipshits."
I look to the oddly familiar voice, seeing the... short thing – C'mon, Django; it's a woman, what would your mother do – with her arms crossed, a glare on her face. Now that I get the moment to look around, we're still on the frozen lake, the hole in the ice still shattered next to me and Lazuli. The other two are standing somewhere behind the... short person; the winged girl – now wingless – looks to be in a state of shock as she stares at us, and the purple demon... is staring at that rock he has, examining it.
...Okay, one of the weirdest things I've woken up to. But first-
"What are you, exactly?" The question seems to throw the short woman. "I'm having a hard time labeling you, let alone know what to call... whatever you are."
Silence, where everyone – even the purple guy – turn their gazes to me.
"...What?"
"...Are you an idiot?"
Wait, that sounds like a good question, the fucking brat-
"She's a jakkai, Django; remember, I told you about them a few years ago?"
A jakkai? Now that I think about it... yeah, the short rat-looking people. Although whoever is in front of me isn't very... rat-like. Rodent, maybe, but no way-
Getting off track; stay on it, Django.
"You're terrible at describing things, Lazuli." I deadpan, only for her to return it.
"Says the one who asks retarded questions."
"Well ex-fucking-cuse me, but it's not my fault I suddenly showed up in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere with a bunch of people who don't look human; except her-" I point at the flabbergasted bluenette- well, the one I don't know the name of. "-I have questions for you later-" Back to the bluenette I know. "So bite me, I'm feeling like I'm loosing it-"
"Are you two done?"
"No." We both say to the jakkai, then turn back to ourselves.
"-I'm feeling like I'm loosing it, but now I've lost my mind. I think I'm actually going insane right now."
"Oh, so you lost a few more screws than you can handle; tough shit." She's growling now, and I can feel a scowl pulling at my face-
"Aren't you two friends?" A cheery voice, with a tinge of confusion, blurts out. Looking over, I see the demon holding the rock giving the picturesque look of honest curiosity. He almost looks like a confused puppy, complete with face structure and head tilt- minus the horns, of course.
I take a second to look at the situation and breathe. So, I don't know where I am. I could ask that later- I have more important things to deal with right now. Important item number one is the cold feeling running through me.
How I forgot being close to hypothermia in the middle of winter is beyond me; I blame Laz, of course. I shakily sit up, looking around me to try and find my discarded coat. Turning around, I see the khaki colored article a few feet away from me. Crawling over to it, I slip it over my shoulders and bask in the cold wind being buffeted.
I stand up – with only a couple of falls – and face the jakkai-
To see the girl pointing her sword at Lazuli, who looked like she was trying to go and help me up.
"Hey," All four of them turn their head to me – creepy synchronization, okay – as I continue. "You don't need to point your glorified toothpick at her, she's a friend." All that got me was incredulous looks from the three strangers – who I still don't know the names of.
Most importantly, the girl looks scared out of her mind to lower her sword. What did Lazuli do to scare the shit out of a kid?
...Well, she is a demon, and she's a demon hunter... Why the hell is a kid made to fight demons – is she some kind of child soldier-
Focus.
"Okay, don't then," I mumble out, then face the jakkai again. "So, you wanted to ask something, or you just felt like calling us out?" The jakkai's face goes stern again, their arms still crossed.
"Yeah, first thing I wanna know is who the hell are you," She bites this out, reminding me of what Lazuli did a couple of minutes ago. Well, time for an introduction.
I put my hand out for a handshake. "Well, my name's Django, Django Cooper. I would say it nice to meet you, but.." I nod my head over to the girl who has my friend at sword-point. "...that." I slowly put me hand back down when I don't see her go for it. Understandable, I guess.
"Now," She looks back to the girl. "This one goes for you too, Ke... Kie... Ka-"
"Kieri." Said girl supplies.
"Yeah, that," She looks between the two of us.
Then suddenly shouts. "What the hell areyou two?! One turns into a snow bunny and has angel wings, and the other has the same pendant to make said wings!"
I froze – and with how cold I am it was easy to do – and glacially turned my head to Kieri to take a closer look. I felt my world collapse at the aforementioned pendant; it looks like a cartoon sun, hanging from her neck.
I turn down to my own chest, seeing the sun – and that odd comfort – dangling innocently down. Grasping it and holding it up- yeah; they're identical. I let it fall from my grasp as the girl starts talking.
"W-Well," Her voice is timid, laced with an odd accent that I can't place. "I am an angel; the pendant is given to angels after they reach a certain part of their training..." At that, she looks over to me, scanning me. "Y-You... do have the hair and ears like one."
It was at that moment that I felt a breeze brush through my damp hair, chilling my ears even further. Looking around for where my hat went, I spot it floating on the edge of the water. Walking over the small distance to it – being careful of the ice, don't feel like taking another swim anytime soon – and snatch it up, wringing out the water on it.
Well, so much for people not looking at them...
"I-"
"He's not an angel," Lazuli speaks up, only for the angel to push the sword closer to her. "Hey, watch it-"
"Lazuli," At her name, she looks at me, and I get to really see her emotions written on her face.
She's terrified, and if what I'm feeling right now is anything close to what she's feeling, she wants to deny it. Hell, I want to deny it. How could I live my entire life getting shit on by most people then waltz over here and suddenly I'm a holy being?
I have to ask Kieri something; it'll be the make-or-break answer.
"How do you do it," I elaborate at the look I get from the vague question. "The wings, how do you not have them out?"
"I... I just feel for them; like I've always had them, and they appear. Why, do you not know how?"
That it? Just think you have wings and you get them? I think back to when Kieri first time she made them appear; spreading the span of them outwards, the bright white feathers shaking themselves in some breeze. I feel somewhere on my back, trying to imagine having wings, to take flight.
...Nothing- wait! The pendant is what gives it, so... I feel the comforting radiance it projects, and I focus on that, thinking of what she did when I first saw her unfurl them-
I feel something brush across my back as Lazuli gasps. I open my eyes to see a dawning horror on her face, while everyone else's is a mixture of awe and minor confusion – confusion coming from Kieri. Looking to my sides-
-white feathers, so clean and pure looking that it's reminiscent of fresh snow. I reach a hand out to touch it, and I damn near flinch when I feel my hand run across it's soft texture.
I flex it a bit, watching it as it spreads out, then folds on itself towards my back. It feels like it's always been there, as if I just discovered I had my left arm and just... knew how to move it. It's surreal.
Looking back at Lazuli with wide eyes, I see her mimic my expression.
"I swear I didn't know about this, Laz." I wait for a response, and it feels like forever before she finally says something.
"I... I believe you, Jane. I believe you."
No words before those ones gave me so much relief when uttered. Looking back at the others shows how completely confused they all are.
"What are you two talking about." The purple demon bluntly asks, looking between us.
I shoot a glance at Lazuli, seeing her doing the same thing. I give her a reassuring nod and look back.
"Do you want the short version or the long version?" When he just gave me a weird look, the jakkai speaks up.
"The short version; we need to get to Farun before nightfall." Ignoring the lack of knowing what 'Farun' is, I start.
"I was raised by humans who didn't know what I was ever since I was a infant. I thought I was a freaky looking human until about... a few moments ago."
Silence. Kieri finally dropped her sword at the amount of 'what' she's probably feeling, but Lazuli doesn't move at her freedom – why is she looking at me like that? – and the others are utterly confounded at what I said.
Well, not the purple guy; he just looks confused at the whole situation. Guess I'm not the only lost one.
"The longer version doesn't get any better." I lamely state after nobody says anything for a bit. "So, you said something about going to a town; 'Farun'?" There, the jakkai finally talks.
"We," She gestures to the three – herself included – that first ran out of the forest when I first woke up. "Are going to Farun. You are welcome to join, but she," She jabs a finger at Lazuli. "Isn't going to come."
"What?! You little shit-"
"Hold on!" I cut off Lazuli, who looked like her already short fuse is being constantly set off and needs a break. "Why can't she come? If it's because she's a demon then you're being a bit hypocritical." I finish my argument looking at said counterargument; the purple demon-
Who is really enamored by a rock he's holding, petting it like it's an animal of some sort.
Okay... he's not the brightest tool in the shed, my gut tells me.
The jakkai looks back at the purple demon – and facepalms when they see the rock petting – then look back at me with a sigh. "Okay, you have a point; but he's harmless, unlike your demon."
Looking back at Lazuli- yup, she's fuming at the jakkai. Knowing her, she probably thinks that the best thing to do in this situation is to start throwing fists – again – and hope for the best. Or use that weird voodoo stuff she was doing. Or not follow them at all. Really, anything to just spite the jakkai in front of me is fair game for Lazuli-
Another gust comes through, and I'm reminded that I'm probably on a time limit before everything goes to shit for me. And to think that I spent the morning chucking up everything in my stomach...
Good times, really, compared to this.
"Lazuli's someone that I can trust my life with, and I hope that she feels the same," I give her a joking side glance, and I can see some of the tension go away to keep that twitch on her face from becoming an impish smirk. "And I really don't want to just leave her behind after finding her and keeping her from dying. I mean," I gesture to the giant hole in the ice behind us. "Lazuli did almost get herself killed to help you guys out; if anything, you do owe her something."
At that last part I slipped in, the jakkai begins to look like they're actually considering it, if only slightly. Glancing over at Lazuli shows me that she's still pissed, but at least she doesn't look like she's on the warpath – again – so that's a plus. Kieri looked scared before, but now she looks to acknowledge the fact that- yes, Lazuli did just help her and the others, and looking between both Lazuli and I, she looks more thoughtful than absolutely terrified; something much better than a scared girl, and the fact that Lazuli might be part of the problem-
"He does have a point, Rhea," The purple demon suddenly speaks up, but before he can continue the jakkai whips back towards him.
"Shut it, Buwaro; I'm..." 'Rhea' shoots first me, then Lazuli a glare-glance before looking back at 'Buwaro'. "I'm considering it."
At those words, the purple demon lets loose a cheer, turning to Kieri and gives her a huge hug- where the angel looks both surprised and flustered. "Yay, more friends!"
I... I don't know what to say about that. He looks like a puppy with how excited he looks- even his odd tail is wagging like one!
...Kinda reminds me of Lazuli, when we were kids. But back then, I ended up getting tackled right afterwards for calling her different variations of 'cute'.
It was worth it, of course.
Speaking of Lazuli, her nose crinkled when Buwaro mentioned having more friends. Something tells me that it's not a great idea to stay with these... unique individuals, but it's better than having to drag ourselves around in the middle of this forest-
"Hold on," I look over to Lazuli, my brows furrowed. "Why are you in the middle of nowhere, anyways? Did you get lost or something?"
Lazuli snapped her gaze back up to me, that familiar indignant anger surfacing. "No! I didn't 'get lost or something'," She folded her arms and looked off to the side.
…
Oh my god-
"You got lost, didn't you?" I couldn't help the grin that started to spread across my face. "Guess I was right; I should've been the one to-"
I couldn't get anything else out before a glint shined in her eye, and before I could do anything else a blue blur tackled me, knocking the wind out of me-
"Gah!" A pain strikes my back, and I swear I hear something crunch other than snow. "...ow..." I breathe out from the weight on top of me, and said weight gasps.
"Oh shit, are you alright Jane?" Lazuli leans off of me to get a better look of me, and she cringes slightly at a spot somewhere over my shoulder. When the stars finally decide to leave my sight I follow her gaze...
"Oh yeah, wings," Lazuli gets off of me and grabs my arm to lift me – surprisingly easily, too – as I get a better look at the new appendages.
The wing on my right is limp, and I can hardly feel anything besides a dull ache on my right shoulder blade, but the one on my left has been bent at an odd angle, and trying to move it hurts.
"Okay, yeah, I'm starting to loose any appeal these things had before," Now both shivering and wincing in pain, I look back to the only other person with said feathery limbs. "You wouldn't know how to make them go away; I can go without having to deal with... this."
Buwaro looked to have started a mild argument with Rhea, leaving the poor girl with some breathing room. She looks over to us, then winces herself when she spots the problem. "Um, you can just let go of that feeling, and it should just go away..." She looks back to Lazuli, then seems to curl into herself. Looking over to Lazuli, she didn't seem to notice the look, but she is giving my wings – never thought I'd think those words together and mean it – a worried look.
...I'm going to have a talk with her about this at some point, aren't I? If that's the case, I'm going to need a few drinks before going in.
Soon – read: not soon enough, really – I managed to get rid of the wings, and surprisingly enough the pain went away with the damn things. Despite how cool they are, there's no way they can actually be used to fly; now that'd be ridiculous. After giving my shoulders a few rolls and reveling in the freedom of pain-induced tackling via blue demoness, the jakkai and purple demon decided to stop their arguing; Buwaro looking satisfied with themselves and Rhea letting out a forlorn sigh.
"Despite how stupid it is to let someone come along when not long ago they were trying to kill us," Rhea gives a certain demon behind them a look, but said demon was too high on their supposed victory to be affected. "Blue can come along- on one condition," She reaches somewhere behind her and pull out-
-a shackle, with weird markings carved all over the outside of it. The very same that was on... Kieri...
"She wears this, until we reach Farun; after that, I don't care whether she has them on or not," Rhea swings the shackle around a finger, a sharp grin pointed at Lazuli.
Going by the shocked looks of the two behind them, I guess they didn't know about it – seriously, when did she pick it up? – and going by the furious look on Lazuli, she's not very excited about the proposition.
Guess I'm going to do damage control.
"Laz," I cut in, before she goes on a raging rant about how terrible the idea is. "I know the idea is probably the worst- but," I take a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Face it; without them, we'll probably end up wandering around the woods for hours on end. And something tells me that we don't have the time to faff around in a wint-a..." I stop for a second, then let loose a sneeze. "A-choo! Yeah..."
Lazuli look like she's about to start arguing again, but her eyes start look down and take in my shivering form. She takes a second to just look at me, think about something, then closes her eyes and taking in a breath.
"...Fine," She grinds out through gritted teeth, looking over to the still-grinning jakkai. "I'll do it. But if this is just a sham to kill me," Her glare is piercing, but it doesn't look to disturb Rhea at all.
"Alright; good of you to agree to the terms. Now, if you don't mind-" She starts to walk forward, opening up the shackle-
"No," Her glare sharpens, giving the metal loop a look, then glancing over to me. "Let Django put it on."
Rhea stops for a second, thinks for a second, then shrugs and tosses the shackle in my direction. "Alright, but if I don't see it working or on all the way..."
After fumbling with the thing when it got tossed in my direction, I took note of the warning and faced Lazuli, the metal binding in hand.
I give Lazuli a concerned look. "Are you sure about this?"
I know how much she hates not being able to do anything; if any of the times she got angry at someone doing something even mildly harmful to me has to do with anything...
She smirks at my concerned expression. "Yeah; it'll be alright. It's not like I'm being sent to my death, or anything. Now," She gestures to the ominous manacle. "When you put that on, you have to say a code to keep it locked."
Stunned, I looked down at the shackle. "Wait, this thing is voice-activated?" I look up to her with a brow raised. "And why did you lock Kieri up with her own name; that's just stupid." When she gives me another indignant look, I give her an easing gesture. "Okay, okay, no calling your ideas stupid, even if they are..."
I lean away from the smack Lazuli hit me with, letting out a snort. Despite how tense the situation was, we can't seem to help ourselves it seems.
Deciding to take a note from her book, when I – reluctantly – snap the collar around her neck and find that- yes, it doesn't stay closed for some reason, I say aloud 'Lazuli'-
-Then the shackle lets out a glow, and a snapping sound is heard as, when I pull on it, it stays in place.
"So, what does it do?" I ask Lazuli, but the only response I get is her making a cutting motion with her hand across her neck. "That doesn't really help me here..."
"S-She won't me able to speak, or use magic..." Kieri pipes up, only to drift off at the end when everyone gives her their attention. Yeesh, the confidence on her is terrible, and I thought mine was a bit worse than normal back in the day-
Wait- she can't speak?!
...Actually, I really shouldn't be surprised at this point; I got voiped by a ball of light into the middle of who-knows-where and met someone – that a small part of me thought was fake, but hoped it wasn't true – who turned out to be a bit of an ass around other people and probably did some questionable things to a bunch of children before I showed up.
And honestly? I rather just roll with the punches; it's probably going to get worse before it gets better, and something tells me there isn't any freaky lights around that can send me back home. Although, if Lazuli was telling the truth all these years – about her being a demon – and she's quite noticeably not in Hell...
Well, I'll deal with it later; now, I have to deal with, you know, not dying of hyperventilation. That's an easy – I hope – and straightforward goal to achieve, and the reward is 'not dying'. Hooray.
"Well," I go over to my discarded coat – why didn't anyone put it on me; it's still mostly dry – and grab it off the layer of snow it lied on. "That has to be the craziest fifteen-ish minutes of my life, let's hope that it stays that way." I shake off some remnants of snow on the coat and slip it on, zipping it up and covering the pendant in the process. Looking up, I see Lazuli tugging at the shackle – she probably thinks it's humiliating instead of how uncomfortable it might be – with an eye quirked at my words, the other demon and angel seemingly occupied with something that has the poor girl flustered beyond belief, and the jakkai with a remarkable impression of Lazuli's expression.
"So... what are we waiting for; I'd like to not freeze to death, yeah?" My words seem to break whatever reverie Rhea was in, then she shouted to the – what I'm assuming is – the youngest of our motley, impromptu group to get moving. I let out a muffled snort from behind my hand because wow- for a... small individual, she sure can yell. Looking over to the demon I'm familiar with, I only catch the end of an eye roll; really should mention to her later how loud she was back when we were kids- hell, how loud she is now is definitely something.
As a quick sneeze rack my body – followed by some shivers – I follow after the entourage of the first three people I've seen since I showed up here, my – now mute – friend at my side as we follow from a distance.
…
I look over to Lazuli. "But seriously, why did you have a 'super secret' pass code be the prisoner's name? Like, why can't it be a poem; something that someone won't say in passing, eh Snowflake?"
I smirk at the frustrated glare and silent growl that's sent in my direction, and nearly split my face as I jump out of the way of a clawed hand swiping in my direction at the nickname. I burst out laughing at the comment of "Hey, that almost sounds like you, Snowy!" from an overly excited demon in front of us, Kieri becoming equally emotionally disturbed as the local ice queen.
A/N: Whew, that was quite the thing I typed out. Now, how long ago was the last chapter for this story- two and a half months?!
Okay, I got so absorbed into revamping one of my other stories that I kinda forgot to finish this chapter? I had this one almost done about a week after the last chapter finished, then I got rid of almost all of it – because it didn't sit right with me – then I almost finished half of it before rewriting that one, then left it for two months mostly finished.
Which might explain the difference in writing from the beginning and middle from the end. Well.
So, with my casual downplay of why I took so long to get this over with, well, over with, onto the review responses:
backonninja: Well, good news is that Polarized is no longer on hold; just finished the fourth chapter of the 'Redux' version not too long ago. Also, there is no shame in touching this shiny... yet. No telling if I have the potential to screw this up or not, right now.
Guest: Just a quick thing; if you have a profile on FFN, it would help if you use that or get one, just in case there's another review that says 'Guest', so I don't get mixed up with all these people with the same name – like going to school and finding out that in one of your classes there's, like, four Jake's – and so it seems a bit more personal; ya know, if you're into that kinda thing. Getting back on track; yes, I liked doing this chapter and going back over it- it gave me that feeling of something that's pleasing to the eyes, or something similar.
And that's all for the review responses! It's weird getting these now; in the beginning of all of this writing, there was, like, no reviews for the first few chapters I've ever wrote on this site, and now on one of my stories I just broke a dozen (although that's the old Polarized, but I digress).
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the first non-prologue chapter of Dream a Better Dream (DBD, if you're feeling up to doing acronyms), and have a good one!
P.S.: I see some authors put quotes on the very start of some of their chapters. Is that an actual thing that people do to make their chapters feel more... I dunno, aesthetically appealing? Professional? Because they found a cool quote and want to show people?
P.P.S.: Would you readers like if I followed the trend mentioned in the last postscript; putting quotes in the start of my chapters? Or would that be too weird?
