Four Winds- Chapter Two
Thoughts
Yurii: Okay, here's an interesting twist… and it's only chapter 2! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! –cough- okay, that's enough… Oh, and just for the record, TRANSLATING GERMAN IS FUCKING HARD! A lot harder than Russian and Finnish…
"You heard right blading fans, the mysterious Russian team the Four Winds has been spotted! We were unable to get footage of the all-female team after the East Wind blader Vostotsniy used her bit beast to cover-"
A frustrated, jet-lagged Ian punched the OFF button on the remote, the picture collapsing back into the screen. Danica didn't even look up from the origami crane she was absorbed in folding. The others, save for Bryan, had all headed off to bed. As for himself, his teammate and the Slavic dragon, they were trying to find ways to amuse themselves.
Danica had been happily occupied folding origami animals for nearly two hours now, and a large pile of cranes, dogs, dragons and foxes were starting to mount up in every color and pattern imaginable; where she got so much origami paper was a mystery to him.
He'd been channel surfing and had found nothing interesting even after going through each station at least three times. Everything seemed to be about that Four Winds team. Wyborg was asleep, giving him no one to talk to.
As for Bryan, he'd been staring out the window at the quietly falling snow. Something about the Finnish girl had really gotten his attention; whether it was her bit beast or her aura, he couldn't tell. According to Falborg, her bit beast was called Ukko. The species and element of the bit beast escaped her. (Yes, I'm making Falborg a girl- same as Dranzer. You may gasp in horror now.)
Not quite as strong as Gundula, but still not a bit beast to be taken lightly.
Those had been her exact words, and he couldn't help but wonder what they'd be up against. By the sound of it, they'd be fair competition. At least that meant they wouldn't be getting bored any time too soon.
Despite jet lag and overall exhaustion, a certain redheaded team captain was still awake in his room. He knew he'd seen that Drayea girl somewhere before, but it was impossible to tell for sure. All the warnings he'd heard from Wolborg about her and her bit beast were running through his head like a broken record.
Gundula is very temperamental, watch out for her.
I've dealt with her once before; Gundula's Tempest Scythe is one nasty piece of work.
That girl is giving off a powerful aura; keep an eye on her.
Thanks to listening to Ian's channel surfing through the door (stupid idiot didn't bother to turn down the damn volume), it was easy to figure out that she (Drayea) was this so-called Zapad, the West Wind blader. Wolborg had managed to pry the names of the other girls' bit beasts as well; Ukko was confirmed as a ram, as were the others; a horse bit beast called Raiuma, the Japanese girl's horse bit beast, and the team captain's impressive phoenix, Arseni.
It has been a while since I last saw Gundula… I wonder what she's been doing… Wolborg mused.
Tala smirked at his bit beast deviously.
Why, is she your girlfriend or something?
Wolborg wasn't amused.
No, she's more rather an old rival. I'll give her this much, she can put up one hell of a fight for a girl.
While the two wolves continued their verbal jousting, the topic of their conversation was restless as well… as were her comrades.
Fiery crimson-gold eyes glared up at the ceiling. She'd long since lost interest in counting the dots or trying to make shapes of them. Sleeping in the lobby of the practically abandoned BBA HQ wasn't exactly her first pick, but at least it was better than what she was used to. Nonetheless, it was making it even harder to sleep.
Damn my insomnia.
"Hey, Taylia, are you still awake?"
The hawk-eyed team captain turned to the voice from her spot lying on the couch. Riikka stared back at her, eyes questioning. How a Finn was born with gray eyes was beyond her. The Russian shot her teammate a bored glare.
"No, this is my alternate personality speaking. Leave a message and Taylia will get back to you as soon as she is in her right mind."
"Har, har, you're hilarious, Strelnikov." The Finn replied mordantly. "I was going to ask you what you're thinking about, but now I don't think I really want to know."
Taylia sighed and shut her eyes. She could practically hear Riikka's expression soften.
"Oh… that again…"
For some reason for the past month or so, the team captain had been plagued by unnerving and often very disturbing nightmares, most of which made her wake up screaming as if she were being murdered. Drayea knew exactly what it was, but as she so finely put it, she was sworn to secrecy.
To Taylia, they weren't nightmares; they were flashbacks of all the things she didn't want to remember. The kinds of things that left the scars on her mind and body. Drayea was doing what she could to support her teammate, but even her best efforts weren't helping much. What's more, ever since they encountered the Blitzkrieg Boys yesterday and she'd stared into the eyes of the crimson-eyed phoenix Kai, Dranzer and Arseni had been appearing in these dreams as well. Whenever it wasn't a nightmare, it was two phoenixes in their fire forms engaged in an aerial dance over a flaming nest of dogwood. It was starting to confuse her.
Looking over to where the Ram had just been, she wasn't surprised to find her already gone, likely to stalk the empty hallways in search of Vostotsniy, also known as Mitsu Utariyma. The Japanese blader was the best to talk to in times of crisis (or boredom- either/or) for the fact that she was a good listener and counselor.
Now fully awake, the phoenix wielder got up and headed down the dark stairwells leading to the building's cellar. Drayea had only made one request for their lodging, and that was that she had a grand piano to play. It was how she relieved stress, and Taylia would sometimes join in singing even though said German was a lot better. Drayea had a gift, no doubt; she could hear a song that didn't even include a piano anywhere in it, and she could play it on the keyboard without a single flaw.
As she descended lower, the slow, melodic tune of an all-too familiar song floated over the area. Drayea only played this song when she was especially down.
"All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places
Worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going no where
Going no where"
Drayea looked up, slightly surprised to see Taylia who was now leaned against the piano, but continued playing anyway, singing along with her team captain though not intending to be heard.
"Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression
No expression
Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow
No tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very, very
Mad world
Mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen
Sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me
No one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me
Look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very, very
Mad world
Mad world
Enlarging your world
Mad world"
There was a short silence as the echo of the last chords faded away. The phoenix stared hard at the griffin's face, trying to read what she was feeling from her expression; she found nothing.
"Etwas ist falsch. Sind Sie okay?" (1)
Drayea sighed and ran her fingers over the keys, not playing.
"Ja… Ich denke." (2)
"Gut wenn Sie beharren. Gute nacht, Drayea." (3)
The griffin said nothing as the phoenix headed back up the stairs. Shortly afterwards, notes once again danced over the quiet nighttime atmosphere.
Nobody's Home, you hate that song… what is going on with you, Drayea?
Something troubles you, mistress?
Drayea shut her eyes, still playing; she'd memorized every song she knew how to play as well as the keyboard itself.
Yeah… just old thoughts coming back…
Mistress, you have friends, teammates and people that care about you. How could you possibly feel so empty still?
I don't know… I really don't know…
Ironically, she had gotten to the part of the song appropriate for the moment…
She's lost inside, lost inside…
Even despite her so-called insomnia, Taylia was up first, as always. It was something she was rather proud of, being able to function properly even with less than average food, sleep and other essentials.
Getting up without a sound, she slipped past the alarm and out into the still-dark morning. Every morning, regardless of her mood, she would run… or more to the point, freerun. For those who don't know what freerunning is, that is a rather dangerous mix of climbing, gymnastics and, well, running…usually from one rooftop to another and other hard-to-reach places. It was a habit she developed when she got out of… that place…
She came to a stop running in the snow, the sharp below-zero cold shocking her like a few hundred volts. Taylia always left her parka behind when she went freerunning; another force of habit, not that she couldn't handle it. Thanks to her meditating, she could regulate her body temperature just by thought. It was a rather handy talent, especially when it was this cold.
Taylia was brought out of her thoughts as she came to the staring point in her run, the familiar old apartment building some 50 feet away. She could tell that everyone inside was sound asleep. Breaking into a sprint, she gathered all her strength as she neared the building, leaping upward with the stored power in her legs, grabbing onto the bottom of the second-story balcony. Hauling herself up, she moved quickly up to the third, fourth, fifth story. She heard scrambling inside the sixth-story apartment. Getting up to the roof, she couldn't help but laugh at the shouting and cursing directed at her; just like old times.
"Доброе утро мистер Rodionov!" (4)
Yep, just like old times.
"Dranzer, attack!"
The cobalt blade responded immediately, slashing the cans stacked in front of him to ribbons of aluminum. He owed Kenny that much; he could really build beyblades.
Master Kai, it's that presence again…
Kai snapped his head up, eyes darting around the garden. Voltaire (when he was around) had spared no expense making the garden huge, which didn't help when he was trying to find someone.
Out of nowhere, an onyx and silver streak shot out of the hedge and struck Dranzer's blade, the force causing it to be lodged into the trunk of a nearby sapling.
"Tsk, tsk, I expected better of you, Hiwatari."
He looked up to the trees to find Syevrniy sitting casually on one of the old oak's branches with a hawkish smirk on her face, eyes closed and arms folded. Her blade, which was still spinning in front of him, shot up the tree and into the air. Her hand shot out in a lightning-fast movement, snatching it out of the air.
"Oh, so it's you." He growled irritably as he pulled Dranzer out of the tree.
Syevrniy opened her eyes to look at him, still leering. He couldn't help but shudder slightly under her gaze; those eyes were so fiery and intense, even more than his own.
"Hm, I'm not impressed. Your reaction time was pitiful. You'll have to do better if you want to outdo us the next tournament." She chided.
"Then why don't you come down here and show me what I'm up against?" He challenged.
The smirk on her face broadened.
"No, I don't think so. You'll figure that out in time. Besides, I tripped the silent alarm. I'm afraid I really must dash."
Before he had the chance to question the last half of her statement, the barking of guard dogs answered any query he might have had. Syevrniy stood up, putting her blade back into its place on her holster. Leaping acrobatically from one tree branch to the next, landing on the edge of the wall around the garden. Kai could only watch, hypnotized by her graceful movements. Before she leapt off the wall and out of sight, she turned back to look at him, the sun rising and making her a silhouette. It seemed almost as if there was a pair of phoenix wings unfurled from her back.
"Until then, Hiwatari."
"Wait!"
She paused.
"What is your name?" He half demanded, half pleaded. It was so uncharacteristic of him, but this girl intrigued him.
She smirked.
"I will not give my full name, but you may call me Taylia."
Without another word, she swan-dove off the wall and out of sight. Kai stood there a moment, registering what had happened.
What is it about her that keeps me wondering?
(1) Something is wrong. Are you okay?
(2) Yes… I am thinking…
(3) Well, if you persist. Good night, Drayea.
(4) Good morning, mister Rodionov!