Keening Synesthesiac
It was late September, she had just poured a glass of wine. Beginning to unwind, such a long day, school was hard as usual. It's not that what they taught was challenging. Kusuri just had trouble making any sense of it. After all, Math was just squiggles and swirls, who needed it anyway!
Her room was as you'd expect, decorated in her signature wines: Tuscan Reds, Fuchsia, and ox-blood. Strewn across the child-like interior like an abstract piece of art, posters of musicians she liked. Plush animal dolls, posed like on display for the world to appraise. Paintings, mostly crimson, painted with a delicate flourish, splattered in that same transcendent pattern the room seemed to have.
She was laying down in her bed, head staring into the starry roof. She spent hours one night with her father, Falkner, sticking the little supernovas on. It made her less scared of the dark. She lit a candle on her bedside table. It provided little warmth in the strange blanket of cold. Sitting up, she took a long slender finger, and wiped the cherry lipstick of her glass, like a stressed brow. She took another long sip, a little sour, it made her crunch up into all kinds of ugly. But this is what grownups did, right? Aged 14, she'd like to think she was one of the grownups. She was the youngest around… Oh! Except for the others kids at school! But they were weird.
Three taps on her door, they made sounds like the rata-tat-tat.
"Come iiiiin!" She sung, her voice was soft and melodic. He opened the door, his face was withered, wrinkled from the long years of his life.
"I made dinner." He paused and looked at her "Why are you drinking that?"
"Why? You mad cause I'm underage!"
"No. It's just nasty. Come on, it's going to be a lot worse when it's cold."
Kusuri bounded off her bed out the wide open door. Their dining room was grand, largest part of the house. It was built to house an army. Large wooden pillars stood erect in the various corners of the room supporting the large glass roof. Those exact same star constellations in her bedroom shone with that same excellence. Her father was sitting on the far side, a chair next to him was drawn outwards.
She followed the scent, meat, cooked long and slow. It smelt…. enticing. Taking her seat, she looked down at the prepared bouquet of gastronomy. Steak, the trace amounts of blood oozing from where the knife pierced it. Left to tantalize her in ever growing excitement. Taking the serrated knife, she tore into its pink flesh. A thirst for blood that rivaled the Lady of the House of Love. She took the salacious meat into her mouth. For what looked bloody and raw, tasted of heat and charcoal. Like a bad Christmas she coughed up the repulsive dish.
"I know I'm not that good a cook, but you could indulge me you know." He laughed in a raspy chuckle.
"I don't understand how you make something so bad look so good…" Kusuri sank in her seat.
"It looks just as bad as it tastes Kusu…~"
"Did I tell you to keep talking old man!" Kusuri interrupted rather sharply. Her eyes like blood stained daggers. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Her smile returned, her head grotesquely tilted. "I'm going to go burn this in the garbage where it belongs. Maybe next time you can actually cook something that doesn't taste like it came out of your ass." Lips puckered, her voice just a little ditsy and cute.
Her delicate fingers squeezed the dry, blood soaked victual. It burst in her hand, and she walked. Throwing the flesh onto the marble floors. She snapped her fingers and it combusted in an instant. Her arms hard and lean, glowing a faint red along the forearm.
"I'm going to sleep now, goodnight Daddy!" She blew him a kiss.
"Goodnight Kusuri." He mumbled to himself, the knife in his hand was gripped tight. So strong, his knuckles turned white.
Insidious, Incorporeal, and painfully Iridescent. Sure, that's what the sun looked like when it rose in the West! A swirl of red and blues. It penetrated every inch of the house, lighting it up like a gloomy, dusty, log cabin. Kusuri was tying her hair, two high tails on either side of her head. Humming a forgotten lullaby that resonated through each room, so deep and full. How mellifluous it sounded, so sweet and smooth.
Kusuri was a fan of language devices, assonance, transferred epithets, big words and how the descriptions meshed together… Using them left her in a state of superiority, adversaries trembling at her voice. A sensation that's simply magnificent. She was dressing herself in her school uniform, white clothes, chalky garments. Oh how they lacked taste, she'd rather wear the rags of peasants than the oh, so boring neutral white.
You see it was a School Day, and Kusuri liked to keep up appearances. Queen Bee of the School - more powerful than the Teachers. She attended a simple High School in the 9th Grade. Pretty average right? That was the uneventful corpus of her dismal life as she dwelled in Valley Dale. Did she not mention sweet, sweet Valley Dale? Silly girl. Valley Dale reflected in almost absolute certainty - the acute boorishness of her own futile existence. But more on that later! She's going to be late if she keeps on beating around the bush!
Kusuri propped open her window, she was a fan of what she called: the unorthodox self-eviction. Doors were for losers who hadn't thought of a cooler way to flee the house. Her bag slung over her shoulder, the heavy clang of her stationary as they rattled in her purse. Jumping off the first floor roof, she landed heavy but controlled. She took one last glance at her home, for a reason beyond her comprehension. She knew someway or another, that she would not return to the mansion she knew that day.
In the subtle and haunting light of the rising sun, that golden light full of anticipation for the day that is to come, the sombre visage of the place, part manor house, part fortified farmhouse, immense, rambling, a dilapidated eagle's nest atop the crag down, reminded her of childhood tales on winter evenings. Where she would sit with her friends, and scare each other out of half their wits telling ghost stories.
Outside of her room was a field of flowers, it was long and if unfocused seemed to go on for an eternity. The flowers, Black Dahlias, rivaled in the thousands this winter, flourishing under the burning crescendo of the warm sun. Kusuri shivered, despite such a bloodshot sun, whose thick pulsating veins threatened to burst, releasing snug, genocidal, nuclear pyre upon the world - should have at somewhat left her sweating. Or in the very least luke-warm. Vale was always warm this time of year, after all, how else would the Dahlias bloom! She convinced herself they were just cold sweats, flaring up her tattoos made her feel warm as if sitting by the hearth drinking a cup of warm cocoa. Or a Bailey's milkshake!
Her clothes felt a little damp… Her breath? Grey and visible - like the huffs of a train as it gets into gear. The path ahead was snaking left and right, with sunlight illuminating the little yellow bricks marking the way. She made a blessing out of it, jump on each one you see, and you'll have good luck for rest of the day. A childish superstition she maintained religiously.
So began the long march, her father wouldn't say it's long. About twenty minutes to the school, if your uninterrupted. She was always confused by how he said that. Like the cacophony of birds and their consistent babel could deviate you to much! Plus Dale was safe, walls surrounding the four corners, canons larger than most buildings guarding them, unbreakable for a hundred years they say! Not a trace of malcontent or cruel intentions inside the walls.
So why did she feel like she was being watched. Fear... it was a forgotten sensation. Hairs on the back of your head start to stand on end. Like the Earth, it stood like iron. Her pupils dilated as if facing the barrel of a gun; the horrid realization that some crazed robber is looking for more than just your material possessions. But it faded just as soon as the chills set in. Like the tide, it weaved to and fro.
In the corners of her eyes, she could taste fears gaze. Red, unblinking, forever watching. Like a distant buried memory she could remember its gaze, and the black, scaled body that went with it. But all of these tasted like something from a half remembered dream. Something she perhaps knew as a truth in another time…
Schoolyard, naturally never changing. It was the same routine every morning. The same girls aimlessly swaying on the swings, their expressions blank when Kusuri wasn't looking. Ladies playing poker, their dainty giggles as a teacher walked by, not scolding them for their vice. It was the same scene every day. The same girls doing the same boring things everyday, like an old record. Kusuri found it perfectly symmetrical to her own situation. Commonplace, too routine. Nothing unpredictable.
Like clockwork, she felt the bells chime as she took the first step past the entry gate. Always on time, the school seemed to wait for her like some grand gesture - signalling the rise of the sun and the start of the day!
Kusuri made haste, running through the grounds and halls. She stopped outside of a sliding door, she could hear voices inside. Sliding it open, she was presented with her classroom. Full of students, she quickly took her place in the center of the room. Where her desk resided.
"Hey Kusuri! How was your morning!" One particularly friendly girl spoke. "Your on time for once!" She stuck her tongue out giving her friend a light slug on the shoulder.
"Alison what can I say, my morning was great of course. My dad made bad breakfast again, what a surprise."
"I'm serious you should come over to ours for dinner sometime." Alison was a girl her age. Red hair, like hers, but natural. Slightly paler in complexion, but she had that same sharp cornered jaw that Kusuri had. Some had said they looked like sisters. Of course Kusuri thought of herself as more of a pale mock of the girl before her, a carbon paper copy. Everything about her was fake. She was everything Kusuri wanted to be - but real.
"Where do you live again. My Dad doesn't like it when I venture out too far past the school…" Kusuri said with a pout.
"YEA WELL WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL HIM! THEN YOU COULD GO WHEREVER YOU WANT!" Alison screamed suddenly. Her eyes cruel and hateful, mouth twisted into a sick snarl. Nobody turned to look at the scene, as if such an action was customary.
"I've thought of the idea. But he looks after me well enough. Thanks for the suggestion though. Plus I don't know where I'd be without him."
"I see, he hasn't outlived his usefulness yet." Alison turned in her seat to look at the front of the class.
The Teacher had been speaking, Kusuri didn't even realize when she got in the room. Her words tasted too quiet or too foreign because Kusuri couldn't savor a thing. Her copper hair tied in a bun, eyes a striking green. Face feminine and sharp. Kusuri isn't sure why she noticed this. It was the same teacher, same hair, eyes, and face. Same Teacher it is everyday, maybe, there was a familiarity in the way she looked.
Kusuri watched as everyone took notes, each letter they wrote was archaic - making little sense in her head. She wasn't quite sure what class she was in. Only that she was in it. That's all that mattered to school kids right? Judging by the swirls and twirls of the written language, she guessed it was classics.
"Ms Ketsuki. Could you please answer the question?" The Teacher beckoned to her with an outstretched hand. Like the hand that calls for help… just before succumbing to final sleep. Alison whispered 'Death' into her ear.
"Death is the mother of Beauty." Kusuri answered
"And what is beauty?"
"Terror."
"Well said." the Teacher continued. "Beauty is rarely soft or soothing. It's quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite dangerous." Kusuri looked out to the window. Her pearly reds bright in the sun. She thought of that line from some tale she loved, about the beauteous owl and the terrible eyes shining. "And if beauty is terror..." she paused. "then what is desire? We think we have many desires, but in fact we only have one."
"To live." mumbled Kusuri.
"Very well said."
"But Ms…~!" The lunch bell rang interjecting the silly girl. Everyone ushered out of the classroom in a fog, leaving her alone to sit at her desk. "What of the other desire? What of love?"
The rain kissed her as she walked, the rain beat against her head like silver liquid drops. The rain was singing a lullaby older than that of time itself. She hummed that ancient tune as she walked through the street outside of school.
Because of her desire to remain thin, she made protests to not eat at lunch. It was just one of those things silly girls did. Miss a meal, no regrets come swimsuit season. It sounded awfully crass, but it was one of the pessimistic truths to her tiresome existence... Oh enough of that - she hates it when her innermost thoughts are illustrated. Made her seem so… two dimensional.
Black Dahlia's they were everywhere, growing along the potted paths of the sidewalk. Their vines threatened to creep out onto street. Like the threads of a devil's influence; they wormed their way into everything. If she blinked her eyes for the split second, she could swear their green covered the street. But eyes were known for playing tricks? Are they not?
Every now and then. She could hear the growls of some threat beyond the walls. It was low and bored its way into your very bones. Like those same vines, it wormed its way into every crevice. It felt… oddly close. But that was impossible, the walls prevented any corrupt creatures from entering the city. It felt - as if it was dangling right over her head.
People were bustling through the streets, each district was run by the school that they housed. Everyone walking past her were women. With her district being the all girls school. So everyone she passed were girls roughly her age. Something about them made her always feel a little uneasy. Maybe it was how utter invisible she felt when walking amongst them. She boasted loving the attention of the world around her, but maybe there was something… buried deep within that subconscious that made her want to be normal.
"You aren't normal. Foul creature." A passerbyer spoke rather loudly, she was on the phone but that comment felt directed. Cause after saying it she returned to her hushed indoor voice.
"Excuse me! WHAT DID YOU SAY!" The women kept walking "INSULANT WHORE!" Kusuri belted baring her teeth, eyes wild.
A group of girls grabbed the women on the phone. Dragging her into the dark of a nearby alley. She could hear the struggle, a sound that reminded her of the swish of a knife. The splatter of blood, like the frustrated strokes of an artist on a creative stroke. The shluck, shluck, shluck of steel penetrating soft. Then silence. The group of girls walked out blood sprayed across their uniforms. They gave Kusuri a nod before continuing on, giggling like nothing ever happened.
Kusuri stumbled drunkenly into the alley, it was painted red, just like her deliciously decorated bedroom. Red carpeting that was wet as her shoes touched it. Her shoes making sick squelching noises as she stepped closer. Reminded her of the stabbing, she giggled. She kneeled down right next to the nearly lifeless form.
"Those hurtful words you said to me, are piercing right. Into. My. Chest. Cavity." She let her fingers trail across the dozens of wounds as she spoke, making the woman shudder and quiver. "Deeper than any knife could." Her whole left arm began to glow deep red, snapping her fingers the body burst into flame. Dead in an instant. The ladies lovely red hair burnt with the orange flames, it was mesmerizing. "Why do you react like this?" She said, taking a step back from the barbarian pyre. "Why do you burn so provocatively, while I - I am forced to watch your art; naked, beautiful display." Her eyes were wide unblinking, absorbing the light of fire so it only bred darkness.
Her eyes tingled with the chiming of distant bells… She shook her head. School must be over! Occasionally she felt the school day could last a lifetime, an eternity in an hour. At times, it felt as if the day would cease on her command; hours, minutes, seconds - all became her personal muse.
She skipped back quickly, maybe she could have Alison come back with her for a sleepover! She waited outside the gate, and not a second later Alison was there. She grabbed the pious girl.
"Say no more! Let's go over to yours, we can talk boys and get our drink on!" Alison walked while laying out the agenda. Kusuri cheered and the two girls strolled towards Kusuri's house arms locked.
The forest was Arcadian, filled with the three types of silence. The kind that only the hushed forest could create, with the muffled cries of birds, and the mute scurrying of the squirrels. The second the soundless wisps of wind as they curled their delicate fingers through each log, leaf, flower, and each strand of hair. So. Cold. That wind was venomous. Ultimately, it was the silence created by the two girls that controlled the world. Speechless serenades gracing their tongues, soundless songs gargling in their throats - like the blood of a victim uttering a final breath.
"Were you ever told the story about why the forest goes so quiet?" Alison asked with an inquisitive brow.
"I was, but I forget the story. Could you remind me?"
"Well then we're going to have to go a little farther back before I get to this one, this story goes back hundred maybe thousands of years! Overtime it has changed and adapted to fit the story teller." She leaned in close to whisper. "But my Dad told me the real one. Long ago, there were seven friends who lived in a village. Now these seven were trouble makers, rough kids who liked to break the rules. So one day, they ventured out of the town on a hike that would take them up the hill, to an old old man's house. You see, going up the hill was forbidden as the old man was said to be very powerful, and very dangerous, a dark wizard, tainted by years of loneliness. But along the way, one of the friends got cold feet, he wanted to go back because he was scared. But the friends couldn't turn back they were almost there, and it was going to be dark soon, so they forced him to come along. Cause at night Monsters would come out, and if you weren't in doors the Monsters would get you!" Alison growled and swiped a false claw at Kusuri, making both girls start laughing in response.
"So what happened next."
"Well they finally reached the house, but that boy I told you about. The scared one. Well he was crying, and screaming. It was almost night time, and the kids had to get indoors. But that boy was to frightened and he was making too much noise. So the oldest of them put his hands over his mouth trying to silence him."
"Did it work?!"
"Oh yeah it worked, you see they held his mouth just a little too tight, and the boy couldn't breath. He suffocated and died." Kusuri gasped, holding her breath like the poor boy in the story. "Because these friends were so close, they decided to cover it up, make it look like the monsters got to him. So they pulled out their knives and they…~!" Alison made a lot of fake slashes and stabs, the spectacle made Kusuri giggle. "But the boy was making so much noise. That the Old Man who lived at the top of the hill, saw everything. He watched as they strangled the boy and chopped him to pieces."
"Wow that got dark fast."
"After a few minutes there came six knocks at the door, the Old Man opened the door. There the six of them stood, blood on their little hands. In unison they said. 'We are looking for a friend, he came up here by himself, when we found him the monsters had killed him!' the Old Man knew they were lying but he gave them all one chance to tell the truth. 'Are you sure that's what happened?' he asked inquisitively, he looked into their glowing evil eyes and they said 'Yes, the Monsters killed him, they chopped him up into itty bitty pieces.'" Alison stopped took a long breath.
"What happened next..." Kusuri asked
"He was mortified, he put a curse on the six of them, souring their souls and turning them into Monsters, like the ones they claimed killed their friend. But these monsters, they were cursed to live forever, to forever repent for their sins and eventually find solace from their crimes. However something strange happened, something the Old Man hadn't predicted. While he gave his monsters the ability to die, their curse of Immortality would live on, and their power would pass on to new hosts, someone of similar soul and measure of cruelty. Waiting for them to repent for the Sins of the Originals. We've come to know them in this age. As the Boogeymen. Immortals with immense power."
"That's just a legend though, they can't be real. Right?" Kusuri questioned, she remembered this tale. Her father had told her the exact same one some nights ago. He loved to tell stories, like ones about Maidens and Grimm.
"I choose to believe every legend is grounded in some truth." Alison said smugly. "But you want to know the whole point of this?" She stuck her finger to her cheek like she was thinking real hard about her next move.
"What…" Kusuri asked slowly.
"It ties into the story about the Why the Forest got so Quiet. You see the Boogeymen lived on to create their own stories of equal horror. This one was written by an old hunter, something I believe as fact."
"Just tell me already you're making this last way too long!" Kusuri stomped her feet in a hissy fit.
"When the forest gets quiet, like an eerie lasting silence where even the free birds fear to speak. Its because The Beast is nearby! That's the name the Boy goes by now. The Beast, for the Huntsman spoke of a creature ten feet tall, that was once a boy. Stronger than an Ursa, Faster than a Beowolf, with the intelligence of a man. Lost in what he has become." Alison paused and looked around. "I don't believe that the Beast is nearby, but the rule applies to any predator with an eye to kill. Draw Kusuri! We're not alone…~"
It was in that moment, Kusuri's world changed. Alison burst into a ball of flame, a creature standing behind them had thrust its claws deep into her chest. She dissolved in seconds, the ash evaporating into the sky.
"You missed." Kusuri smiled.
Reaching behind her, she grabbed her stationery, her hand gripping the handle of one of her Delicate Disasters. The blade glistened, Kusuri's finger found the throttle, squeezing it tight. Her hand held chainsaw came to life. It roared with equal might of the Beowolf.
It stood above her, it's heavy eyes matching her own. Her snarl, just as terrifying. She swung wide, her blade ground into flesh and bone, chewing it up like food. Blood splattered everywhere, staining Kusuri in its contents.
The creature recoiled from the sudden immeasurable pain. Kusuri jumped high in the air, swinging her blade downwards cutting the creature in half. The blood that seeped evaporated into steam. It burned on Kusuri's face but she felt no pain. She felt pleasure.
"I thought a manifestation of mine would have higher durability. But you went down with one hit." She bit her nail, recollecting the memory of 'Alison'. Her world looked the same but Kusuri knew that wasn't true. She blinked her glowing red eyes, the world saturated and the color faded.
What was once a vibrant summer image, turned grey and dull. With snow falling from the sky, the grass was gone. Replaced by ruck and muck. The forest trees lay cracked, smashed, and charred to the core. The endless fields of Dahlia's replaced by endless winter stones, frost staining their edges.
Looking back towards the city, she could see the smoke rising from some building under siege. She could hear the cries and shrieks of the creatures of Grimm as they occupied the city, explosions, there must be a battle nearby. She relished in the idea of joining it… but she had to go back and get the old man. She sighed.
She ran the rest of the way, this part of Valley Dale was usually left untouched by the Grimm. That's why they set up camp there. So Kusuri could live out her little school fantasy, with her creations. But that world failed to amuse her, only the random acts her creations made interested her. Like the murder of that 'woman' or Alison's random and violent outbursts. Hilarious.
She approached the old camp ground they were staying in. What was once their manor house, had become an old barn. She saw the old man packing his bags, and hers.
"Once I saw the illusion break I knew something was wrong!" He threw a bag at her and she caught it.
"Good, you're learning. I'll go light the fire you start heading east towards the city, follow the path and I'll catch up."
Kusuri ran into the cabin. Kicking the door down. Inside the house was palpitated, creaking wood made weak from the termites she had bunked with. Her 'bedroom' was little more than a storage room on the second floor. The red decorations the blood splatter from the last person to take residence there. Probably slept to deep. Weak. Looking out the window, her once beautiful red and blue sun that rose in the west, was the color of ash, and rising from the east. Blocked by the leagues of smoke and brimstone that now clouded it.
She had no need to be delicate. She revved up her chainsaw, chewing her way through the house. Taking down its supports and load bearing walls. Leaving it all like a big tinder pile. Her body was glowing, her tattoos reacting to her aura. She clicked her right finger and it went up in flames. The fire and smoke would attract the Grimm that had entered the forest, giving her time to move.
Outside she could hear the rumble and beating of the wind. He was here. Kusuri made like a bat outta hell down the eastern path. Soon after she caught up to the Old Man. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder, supporting him as they ran clear from the forest. She could hear the roars of creatures as they surged from the woods behind them. Kusuri let go of the old man.
"Get clear of the forest, follow the gunshots they should lead you to safety. I'm going to burn this place to the ground!" Kusuri heard her heartbeat. Her bloods unmistakably sweet smell fueling her rage, adrenaline giving her a high unlike any other.
Her tattoos sizzled, releasing large amounts of steam from her clothes. She screamed, letting it all out. The tattoos caught ablaze decorating her skin in a torrent of flame. Throwing her arms she hurtled streams of fire outwards into the woods, the fire burned on her skin but she felt nothing. The trees were instantly ablaze, creating a wall of flame to halt their advance.
She ran letting the fire that decorated her burn. She followed the sounds she heard earlier. It could mean one of two things. One, a battle between what was left of this city's citizens. Or Two, a Huntsman mission. If One it would provide cover for them to escape to another part of the city. If Two… She'd rather not think about that option.
In no time she arrived at the battlefield, explosions littered the ground with the sounds of two airships on the ground six in the sky. Huntsman.
"Shit." Kusuri growled throwing herself into the fray. She ran down the field, dodging the various armies of Grimm that gathered towards the ships. From her pack, she armed herself with her second Disaster. She ran with her arms at her side, the chainsaws roaring away.
Her eyes glinted, hearing the faint whizz crack of a bullet. With a reaction to rival even the fastest speedster, she deflected the bullet with her blade. More bullets a machine gun maybe? It looked like she was chopping at air, but in reality the faint clicks and sparks rearing off her blades meant she was deflecting them. Each and every shot. She jumped upwards leaping high over the piles of Grimm bodies, making her presence known to the Hunters.
She could see them squinting probably saying 'What the F$#%' she spun when landing. Hacking the legs off two approaching Beowolves. She rolled in front of the first airship, jumping into its open door. Startling the man in the front.
"You can't take off! You'll attract him!" Kusuri screamed. She flipped her blades so the hilt was aimed at the waves of Grimm. She flicked up two triggers then squeezed. A spray of metal teeth shot outwards impaling the Grimm, it did little in terms of mortal wounding. But the Grimm no doubt slowed as they drilled into the bone.
Kusuri could feel the ship lurch as the Grimm encroached. Her eyes wide with fear, she jumped off the ship into the hordes. For she stood a better chance down there. Then up there - with him. Kusuri ignited. Throwing bolts of fire around her. She knew that these particular Grimm, hated fire.
She could hear the rumbles of the engines, the choral drums of the creatures of Grimm. But bit by bit. She could hear something more steady. Her heartbeat matched it in fear. Its breath reverberated through her spine. A detonation of a roar, so loud it made the Grimm run in fear. Kusuri, could not feel her legs, her bones, they shivered.
"Kusuri, over here!" The Old man beckoned. She could see him, hiding in what used to be a refueling station for cars.
Her legs reacted on instinct like they always did when she tasted his prescence. She dove through an open window, landing carefully by the side of the old man. While he was frail, he hefted a large red weapon. A crank gun longer than she was tall. Wider than her too. She knew the weapon as Devil Eater. It was primarily Gold and Red, with six rotary barrels positioned at the front, and the mask of an angelic woman's face on the back.
"Stay calm. Fear will alert him to our presence." He whispered, a single bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.
Kusuri slowed her breathing. Doing as she was trained. Her mind focusing on moments she found calming.
~ "Who are you?" Her young voice quivered. An older, wrinkled hand extended. She held it tightly. "My name is Falkner, what's your name little one?" His voice sounded so deep and gravely, but that was reassuring to her. She didn't quite know why. "K-Kusuri, I c-can't remember what-t my f-full name is, Sir." He examined her, he found little drops of blood coming from her head. Dripping from her dark black hair. Her eyes red, like his. But brighter, more full of life.
"Where are your parents?" He asked slowly. The girl smiled and pointed towards herself. She pulled free a little golden cross from her blouse. In its center was a small clear capsule. It held a photo of a woman, mid thirties faint ginger hair and deep red eyes; angular and feminine face. "I see… She's very pretty." Kusuri giggled "Mommy looks just like my friend Alison, they even talk the same." The Old man was relieved. "Do you know where I can find Alison. Maybe she knows wear your mommy is."
Kusuri laughed once more, her red eyes glowing significantly brighter. Like little braziers had been lit behind them. "You're silly, she's holding your other hand." Sure enough, a girl was holding his other hand. He knew she wasn't real, how could she be. When he found this girl she was alone. Bleeding from the head, next to the cities collapsed escape tunnels. And this girl, Alison her name was. Cold to the touch. Like a ghost he could not feel her skin. But when he squeezed it reacted. An apparition… This girl could create physical illusions…. How. Interesting...~
Kusuri opened her eyes. He was here. His roar split the sky into a firestorm. An explosion followed by a barrage of bullets. She looked out the window. There she saw him. Khal the Black. At least that's what Falkner called him. She knew him as a Harbinger. A type of Grimm that resembled Draconic creatures from literature, or the literary figures looked like them. She could not be certain. Khal was about the size of a bus, but stronger than a Battleship. 'A Vale variant' Falkner called him. You see, a Harbinger's appearance varies depending on the continent and location they're found in. With Vale having very different Harbingers than Mistral. But many different types living in Vale.
Khal was black scaled with wings that extended from his back. Long slender legs with curled claws that clicked mischievously. His most striking feature was his single, big, central eye. Its mouth was split into four mandibles that opened like a blooming Lily when it screeched and bellowed its words and fire. It horns extended out past the back of its head. Decorated in an armor of bones that made a mask around his eye. But damn Kusuri thought. He looked strangely beautiful.
She observed as it tore one of the Huntsman's ships apart. Using its arms to rip it in half. The men inside plummeted from the sky, many catching themselves on the buildings. Continuing to fight with their transforming weapons. She'd seen it before. Every now and then a small team or two would try and take him down. There's a reason not everyone has evacuated the city. Because Khal always wins. But today was different. There were many teams. She counted six ships, all airborn. With two more reduced to scrap and rubble.
"This is our chance." Falkner said with a smirk. Like he knew something she didn't.
"It's useless they'll get torn apart." Kusuri said without looking away from the battle up top.
"Not if we help. They don't know about his weakness!" He looked manic, leaping over the shattered window, he ran towards one of the high rises.
"Idiot!" Kusuri jumped chasing after him. Despite being old, when this man was driven he moved quick.
The two of them raced to the top of the tower, they were just a dozen meters below the carnage. She could feel the heat radiating from the Harbinger. It made the air hot and damp. Falkner raised Devil Eater above his head. He pulled the trigger found on the rear grip. The Angel's head opened up wide. Her teeth showing. He slammed it down onto a concrete slab. Releasing it, he cleaved a giant chunk of concrete from the wall. She could hear the weapon churning as it came to life.
"I know what he likes." He said with crazy grin, taking a blue colored dust crystal from his sack he shoved it down a central barrel on the Crank Gun. The weapon powered up, turning the six barrels bright blue.
He aimed the gun at Khal as he soared overhead. He began twisting the crank. At first it was slow, and rugged. But eventually his motions turned fluid and fast. The weapon began spitting out shards of splintered concrete stained with ice. Each one found it mark, shattering against his skin in showers of hardened snowflakes. Harbingers hate the cold.
The Harbinger reared its head, in one fluid motion it dove. Like a missile it struck the side of the building. It wings shredding right through the concrete and steel frames. They couldn't see it anymore. But the building was shaking, as its supports crumpled against the weight and damage of the Grimm.
"I don't see it!" Falkner bellowed loading another concrete slab into Devil Eaters jaws.
"Look!" Kusuri pointed towards the center of the building's floor, it was beginning to crack.
The serpent jabbed its head out from the floor below, smoke and flames burst from its mouth, aimed directly at Falkner. Kusuri jumped in front of the blast. Twirling in a circular motion, she used her dust Tattoos using her own flames like a shield. She through all her body weight into a punching motion. A counter fireball was thrown slamming into the creature's scales.
A barrage of concrete needles shot out over head, peppering its thickened scales. She could hear the airships over head firing their own bullets. Kusuri held both her Disaster's acting as Falkner's guard as he rained spikes down on it. Waiting for his signal.
"Buy me some time!" He shouted pulling the crank outwards from Devil Eater. Kusuri had no hesitations. She sprinted towards the Harbinger, her chainsaws revved to full torque. She released small latches found on each grip. Her blades disconnected from the handle. Extending with chained whips. She lashed with her right hand, the weapon bounced of its scales hard raining sparks in every direction. Whipping with her left, she aimed for the shoulder, trying to tear its wing.
The creature shrugged off the strike as if it was nothing. Its serpentine tail pierced through the floor smashing Kusuri in the chest. Kusuri went over the edge of the building. She dug her blades into the wall, slowly coming to a skid.
Kusuri heard another roar, but this one was different. This was the roar of Devil Eater. Kusuri quickly climbed her way to the top to find Falkner running towards the creature. A giant chainsaw in both hands. He jumped upwards ready to deliver a powerful strike. Falkner, soared through the sky, the red cloak on his back flapping in the wind. His golden symbol A Falcon holding a dragon between its talon's roaring with the engine. Falkner was a part of a small group of people, Dragon Slayers. Years of experience had taught him their weakness, chainsaws had the tearing power to go through their scales and armor. Turning their insides into mush.
The creature was climbing out of the building. Its upper half had almost been completely freed. It swiped its arm at Falkner. He rolled slashing at its arm, the chainsaw dug in. Cutting deep into its arm. The creature whipped its left catching him off guard grabbing him within its clutches. The chainsaw was thrown backwards. It cluttered to the floor in front of Kusuri. She dropped her disasters and made straight for the Dragon. Her eyes a wicked glowing red. She blinked and the world around her changed.
The colors saturated making everything look like it was from a cartoon. She waved her hand and a puzzle of boxes emerged in front of her. They all moved with her mind, some floating the others planted in the ground. She began jumping up them, getting some height over the Dragon. At the summit she looked at Devil Eater. Holding out her hand towards towards the weapon. A group of schoolgirls emerged from flames they grabbed the weapon and threw it with all their might. Kusuri pointed at the Dragon, whose claws were ready to tear the man in half. He creations lunged at Khal exploding in flames like small grenades. Making the Grimm stumble and roar.
Kusuri caught it and hurled herself down towards the Dragon. Its mandibles jaws opened wide, a fire building up inside its throat. Ready to incinerate Falkner. Kusuri did a front flip, the chainsaw came to life and she cleaved. Not really aiming. She felt the weapon tear through the bone like armor, rending its flesh and skeleton. She landed on the ground one of the creatures four mandibles fell with her. It released Falkner and screamed at the sky.
Frantically the Dragon pulled itself free from the building, throwing itself from the building it took off, Flying far from the building. Kusuri looked up the Huntsman ships were slowly coming closer. The bright lights from the engines were blinding…
Two Years Later
"So Kusuri. Tell me. What is it like, being one of the biggest pop stars in the Vale right now." The Interviewer asked and the crowd cheered her name.
"Its really exhilarating, the band has come so far from where we started last year. But after this album, I'm afraid we're going on hiatus." Kusuri shrugged to the crowd, an ovation of cries and saddened weeps.
"So what songs can we expect from the new album. On your MePipe channel you just released an acoustic version of your latest title Mirror Mirror. Is there anything else we can expect?"
"Yea I'm releasing a lot of new songs, as well as some remastered fan favorites like: I Burn, Caffeine, Red like Roses, and Time to say…~" Ozpin pressed a button on his scroll, closing the broadcast.
"Out of respect for you Falkner, I'm not sure we can…" Falkner spoke up, causing Ozpin to stop mid sentence.
"She will fail the psychological exams. She will fail the background check. But I'll tell you what she won't fail. Everything else. That girl… She's the strongest candidate to become a Huntsman I've ever seen."
"It's not a question of her skill, having trained with you for four years, she might be better than most of my students. But she can't be trusted, from what you've told me. She's unstable, and with her abilities. That could turn out very, very, bad."
"She's already been accepted into Atlas. But I don't want to send her there. I want her here. Where I trained. So she can learn to channel that rage, that fire, into something we can use." Falkner closed his fist and gently slammed it onto the table. Ozpin pursed his lips and leaned back.
"Can you say that for a fact, she isn't going to be a danger to my students."
Falkner took a long pause. He thought about the many years he'd been with his adopted daughter. He thought of the times where she exhibited cruelty beyond measure. Where she killed her fantasies, used them like they were tools. His face straightened.
"No. She is not a danger to your students." Ozpin narrowed his eyes, as if reading something in the man's voice.
"Alright. It can be done. I might have a few new students coming in that could form her team. But if they're lives are in jeopardy... I'll be holding you responsible." The threat made Falkner's heart skip.
"You don't have to worry. She can control herself."
Gasps, rapid breaths of hot air that created little smoke clouds above her face. Fiery red eyes stared down from the darkness.
"Let me tell you a story. My mother used to chew her nails when she got nervous, no matter how many times I told her to stop." Her eyes darted upwards, the sound of a car passing the alleyway. She looked back down to stare at the gasping mess. It was that certain, emphatic looks in her iris. It made her bloodied orbs look like they wanted devour the world. "You'll love this part. One day." She laughed as if about to tell the greatest joke of the century. "I ripped out her nails, and pulled out her teeth. She never bit them again." She giggled, her hand held up in a simple peace sign. Her lips puckered as if begging for a kiss. "It's only a story about child discipline. I swear!"
Kusuri moved her right hand. The sound of something slicing. A pool of growing blood, the gasps stopped. Kusuri waited a few seconds, holding her breath as she watched. When its last breath extinguished and its eyes rolled back. Kusuri squealed. The alleycat was released from her grip. She kicked its body, snapping her fingers it skidded away turning to ash as it was slowly swallowed by the darkness.
Her lips slightly opened and a whisper rolled off her delicate tongue.
"Carpe Insanium."
A/N
This signifies the end of the Prologue chapters. Sorry these took so long to complete X'D