The Wind Will Carry Us...
Pathetic Warning: chapters are going to be oddly lengthened and sporadic... basically just ugly and clumsy for a while as I struggle to get back into this.
Eyes stared at navy walls once again. They did not blink, but their gaze was not glassy. There was something lurking in those eyes. A question their owner was struggling to answer. With a quiet sigh, Ciel finally sat up in his nest, folding his legs underneath him. His room looked untouched, though he vaguely remembered destroying it. Most of his memories of recent events were blurred. Everything up to returning home and finding himself... Another quiet sigh graced the air around him. He'd been trying to piece together his thoughts since he had awoken. He'd been bombarded with confusing blurred memories and strange smells since his eyes first opened, and they hadn't closed since. But now he was ready to face his scattered mind.
First note, he began, My scent has... changed. His scent was very different. No, that was not exactly it. His scent was there, slightly changed, but what he was really smelling was someone else. A scent that wasn't his that had... merged with his own. It covered him and much to his... well he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it, but it confirmed the memories that were not caught in a haze. And though this seemed like the bigger issue, he could not face that quite yet. So he turned to the blurred memories.
He leaned back in his nest, nicking a feather from the cloud he inevitably made. He knew, vaguely, what had happened. He knew he had let his magick consume his body, that he'd taken off and travelled in his incorporeal form, there was a strange event, and then he had been returned home. Something had changed during that journey. The memories were within his reach. But unlike his return from Welk Palast, he could not push through the haze to grasp at them properly. Something was stopping him.
I know it has something to do with the event that I can barely recall at all. He rubbed his temples and let his eyes fall shut. Shouldn't it be easy for me to retrieve my own memories? Memories! He recalled something. Something to do with a... light a-and his memories! Like his return from the palast, he'd recognized a key detail and the haze was quickly lifting. As he finally recollected his disjointed thoughts and the suffering he'd forced himself through, he sighed, glad that it was over and he was himself once more. Agh, it reminds me of being compulsed. My thoughts are my own, but it's as though... I've lost control somehow. Almost like a nightmare. Remembering compulsions pulled him back to the most recent memories. He shook his head. He still wasn't quite ready to face them. His eyelids lifted and he stared at his door.
"How could a piece of wood cause me so much trouble?" He rose out of his nest and strolled over to his wardrobe. He wouldn't question the reappearence of his things. The house was strange. He didn't doubt that it could restore items like its owner. Its owner... Ciel knocked his head against a drawer as he let out a long, exasperated sigh. There was no denying what Malphas had done, but could the duke be blamed? The fledgling wasn't completely sure. And even still, was he upset? Still the young demon was unsure. He still loved Malphas, that wasn't something he had to think about. But his feelings regarding... the scenting were too confusing, too mixed up. So many conflicting thoughts, he couldn't handle it. He was quick to divert his attention back to the journey he'd taken.
I'm surprised I made it back. Whatever had been pulling me took me far. He hadn't gotten to see much, despite travelling so deeply into the realm, especially not after he'd let himself be dragged along. And then I was- "Ack!" He clutched his head. So the strange event was still being kept from him. Whatever had called to him really didn't want him to know much about it. He could barely recall talking to... something. And being... made whole. That was probably why his scent was different, apart from the obvious thing. The slight distinction between Red and Blue was gone. Almost instinctively he stared into the mirror, and it confirmed this thought. His eyes were still blue, but there was a change in them. It was slight, but the longer he stared the more he noticed it. There was a small ring around his pupil of indigo. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. A small sign that he had changed. Could it mean that he had finally completed his transition into this new life?
He stepped away from the wardrobe. Perhaps I can try... He glanced at his hands and in an instant they were cloaked in cool blue flames. A vignette of shadow formed at the edges of his vision as he focused on the fire. Again he instinctively glanced into the mirror and was startled by his eyes. A very familiar fuschia glow had taken over his irises. With a start, he willed his flames away and both the glow and vignette disappeared with them. So he really had become a proper demon. It was satisfying to realize. I should tell...
Malphas. Ciel sighed and his shoulders drooped. This was a perfect moment to encourage the duke to further his training, but the young demon couldn't face him yet. The anxiety that had settled in his stomach began to eat at him. The boy was not going to be able to avoid the duke for very long; they shared a home. And if this new change could prove to help him in his training, then he really didn't want to avoid the duke for very long. But the thought of approaching him, of even just seeing him made the blunette dizzy.
"I need to get away from here." He murmured. Alois crossed his mind. There was a good chance he could stay at the Macken manor. Leviatha might even be willing to train him. But... but the blonde was sure to want to know every detail of... He shook his head, If I can't even think about it to myself, how am I going to survive the interrogation Alois is sure to put me through? He sighed deeply again and turned back towards the wardrobe, once again distracting himself from his memories.
"I ought to pack some clothes if I'm going to the Mackens." With his task now out in the air he began to pull out the comfortable clothes. He wasn't going to be touching the other outfits anytime soon. As far as he was concerned the plan had succeeded. So he mindlessly dragged shawls and trousers from the wardrobe. And when he was through, he turned and stared blankly at the small pile of clothing that now sat beside it. A new problem arose, "I need a bag." Something he didn't have. Something he didn't know how to get. Something he'd need to ask... He growled and slammed the wardrobe shut, only to be struck lightly by a satchel that was hanging from the door. No questions... he reminded himself as he pstuffed his clothes into the sack. Now packed and ready to depart he set to face his final challenge before he could escape: getting past his guardian. It could be simple or it could be difficult. Regardless he needed to open his door and face it.
With sigh he slung the satchel over his shoulder and placed his hand on the doorknob, taking in a deep breath before yanking the door open. Much to his relief the hall was empty. Still, he cautiously leaned forward and sniffed the air. A strong scent assaulted his nostrels and his thoughts. A part of him, a large part of him, left him standing in the doorway, drinking in the soothing smell. A smaller part of him shouted for the door to be shut. It took a moment but he quickly came out of his daze and shut himself back up in his room. He was shocked once the smell was no longer in his head. Sure he had found Sebastian's scent soothing before, and he'd acknowledged that there was something to Malphas's but he never thought he'd ever be that enraptured by it! Perhaps this was a normal side-effect of the scenting, but he doubted he'd be able to make it down the stairs and out of the house with that scent in the air. There was only one thing to do. He turned his back to the door and adjusted the satchel. With a deep breath he launched into a sprint and, in an instant, burst through his bedroom window.