Note - 193 centimetres, or about 6'3 or so...
-White, 9th Moon is the equivalent to 9th April
Tenkuu no Ryuugekitai - Toorikasu
Where is she? Gatti frowned as he glanced up at a clock. It had been
nearly three hours since the darkly clad sorcerers had entered and, with barely
a word, had taken the red-haired Slayer right in front of Gatti. Angrily, he
hit the wall with his fist.
They took her, and I couldn't do anything. I promised I would protect her...
and I stood there like a fool! The Dragon Slayer growled and knocked over
the chair he had been seated upon.
'Gatti, settle down,' He turned to see Guimel and Shesta standing in the
doorway, looking fearfully at him. Guimel spoke again, running his fingers
through his fluffy hair nervously. 'I heard they took Shanti away.'
'Yes,' Gatti said through clenched teeth. The platinum-haired Slayer walked
over and put his hand on Gatti's shoulder reassuringly.
'Don't worry. I'm sure he's alright.' Gatti's eyes narrowed. He knew they were hollow words - no one was 'alright' if
the Zaibach sorcerers were involved. Looking up, he saw Shesta shut the door.
'There's a way, I think, of finding out where he is,' Shesta lowered his voice.
He and Guimel exchanged looks before continuing. 'Lord Folken wears a
sorcerer's uniform, doesn't he?' Gatti rolled his eyes, annoyed and impatient.
'So?'
'So,' Guimel stated. 'Lord Folken knows how they work, so he would know about
Shanti.' Gatti hadn't thought of that.
I could ask him - maybe find out more about what's going on, Seconds
later, the ash-blond Slayer was marching down the hall, Guimel and Shesta fighting
to keep up.
'Wait, Gatti!' Shesta huffed. 'What if Shanti comes back while you're gone?'
Without stopping, Gatti tossed his reply over his shoulder.
'Then go wait by his room.'
'Right.' Shesta turned and headed the opposite direction towards the rooms,
leaving Guimel and Gatti.
'Gatti, what if Lord Folken won't answer any of your questions?' Guimel asked,
trying to reason with the other. Gatti's jaw set and his eyes narrowed.
'He will. I'll make him.' The pair of Dragon Slayers came to a large door. The door to Folken's laboratory. Gatti suddenly didn't feel as brave as he thought.
You have to do this, Gatti. You weren't able to protect her, so you have to
make it up somehow. Taking a deep breath, the Slayer knocked on the door.
'Enter.' A voice from within called softly. With a nervous glance to Guimel,
Gatti opened the door and walked into the lab.
*****
Mikyla, Mikyla, Mikyla.
Mikyla, with her deep violet hair twisted into a dozen dreadlocked strands that touched her shoulders.
Mikyla, with her white lab coat unbuttoned above the knees to reveal
black-covered legs.
Mikyla, with her dark, soulful eyes staring down at him...
'Migel? You awake?' The boy opened one eye, startled back to reality from his
daydreaming. He peered up at the face hovering above him. Both eyes lit up and
he realized who it was, and he reached up to pull a dark dreadlock.
'Ow! Silly!' Migel grinned as the girl ruffled his chestnut-coloured hair. It had become a sort of custom between
them; Migel would pull one of her dreadlocks, and she would get mad at him.
Although she never seems to stay mad at me for long, Migel thought with
an inward smile. Mikyla's face suddenly turned serious.
'Today's the day, Migel. Time to take the tube out.' The Slayer sighed. He'd
had a tube down his throat to help him breath while his windpipe healed. The
tube seemed like an excuse for him to stay...to be with Mikyla. But now, the
tube was coming out. In a few days, he would be well enough to leave. Leave
Mikyla forever to serve Master Dilandau...
Stop thinking like that. She's in love with Dante, and he loves her back.
You shouldn't get involved with that. A soldier can't be distracted with these
things.
Migel was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't notice Mikyla's mother enter
the room to supervise her daughter.
'Alright Migel, are you ready?' With another sigh, Migel nodded. Mikyla got a
firm grip on the tube that protruded from his mouth.
'This might feel a bit strange, alright? Now take a deep breath, and blow out as hard as you can.' Bracing
himself, Migel did as he was told. As he exhaled, Mikyla steadily pulled the
tube out, her mother giving a few instructions as she did.
'Careful now - not too slowly, Mikyla, you don't want him to run out of air,'Migel cringed as he felt the tube slip out of his throat and, on
instinct, he started to gag. Mikyla quickly removed the
tube from his mouth and set it aside as he bent over coughing and gasping for
air.
'Just breathe, Migel. Come on, breathe in, breathe out.' The young doctor-in-training
patted her patient on the back as he struggled for air. When his coughing
subsided, he breathed heavily and his hands went to his aching throat. He
rubbed his neck gingerly for a moment as he stretched and worked his stiff jaw.
The pain lessened, and he pressed his lips together to test his voice.
'M... Mmmi,' Wincing, Migel decided he wouldn't try using his voice just yet.
Instead, he tried whispering. 'Miik... kky... kyla,' His throat burned, but he
ignored the pain. 'Mikyla...'
'Don't try to talk. It will take a little while for you to speak without it
hurting,' she said sternly, though with a faint smile. She was pleased, as was
her mother, who came over and gave her a hug.
'Well done, Mikyla! And you, Migel, please don't talk,' the woman produced
a small vial of green liquid. 'Try drinking this. It will
make the pain go away.' The Dragon Slayer shook his head. He was a Zaibach
soldier! A little pain meant nothing! Mikyla caught his eye, and his haughty
expression fell. Sulking, he took the vial and drank the bitter contents. How
good it was to be able to swallow again, even if it did burn! The mother left,
and Mikyla wiped off the breathing tube.
'You're so stubborn sometimes, you know that?' she said with a smile that
melted his heart. 'I'll be off now... gotta check on Dante.' The girl stood up
and went for the door. Migel watched sadly as she left, and then berated
himself for feeling that way.
Get a grip, Migel. Real soldiers don't love, especially soldiers of the
Zaibach Empire. Nothing else matters, only serving Master Dilandau matters. Not
even life itself. The Slayer furrowed his brow. He would willingly give his
life for Master Dilandau without a second thought...but would he give his life
for Mikyla?
*****
'Excuse me, sir,' Gatti thought his voice sounded weak and childish. 'I hope
I'm not interrupting you...?' He felt slightly disappointed in Guimel, who had
taken up hiding behind him.
'One of Dilandau's men?' A tall figure detached itself from the shadows in the
room and moved towards them into the light...so tall Gatti had to tilt his head
back to look the other in the eye. Folken Strategos stood at about 193 centimetres, with pale aqua-tinged hair that spiked from his
head and deep garnet eyes that seemed to look into one's very soul. Although
dressed in the Zaibach sorcerer uniform, the most striking feature about the
man was the purple teardrop tattooed under his right eye. 'What did Dilandau
send you for?' he asked in his deep, soft voice. Gatti blinked.
'Oh. Master Dilandau didn't, uh... send me, sir. We-... I came without orders.'
Gatti could only imagine how pathetic he sounded now. Then, of course, there
was Guimel, who just wasn't saying anything. At all.
The Slayer straightened his back, trying to make himself seem more confident.
He searched Folken's eyes, trying to see if the other was annoyed with him.
However, Folken was a master at being inscrutable. Expressionless, the other
asked,
'Then why are you here, Dragon Slayer?'
'Please, Lord Folken. I came to see if I could get any information on Shantian
Namuriel. The sorcerers took him and,' Gatti hesitated, trying to choose the
right words to say. 'I'm concerned about him. If you have any information,
please,' he added pleadingly. The other stared at him, the garnet eyes boring
into Gatti's. Without a word, the man turned around and walked towards a table.
As he did, a glint of metal shone in the light...the metal of his arm. Gatti
had heard stories of it...somehow Folken had lost his arm, so a steel limb that
attached at his shoulder replaced it. It moved and functioned like a normal
appendage. However, the appearance of it was unnerving...like an arm that had
been stripped of its skin, and all that was shown were metallic bones and
tendons.
'Gatti...- that is your name, is it not?' Startled
at the sudden sound piercing the silence, the grey-eyed Slayer blinked and
nodded. 'Go to the table. There you may find what information
you need.' Before Gatti could thank him, the man retreated back to the shadows
of his laboratory, leaving the two Dragon Slayers to stand there. Gatti dragged
his comrade over to the table, where a few pieces of paper lay.
'Did... did you see that?' Guimel appeared to be out of his catatonic state.
'He knew your name!'
'Ssh! Keep your voice down!' Gatti glared at the other, who sat down on the
table.
'Come on, Gatti. Don't you think it's just a little bit strange he just gave
you this information?' The ash-blond Slayer decided to ignore Guimel, and
picked up the nearest piece of paper.
'This looks like a bio...' He peered closely at the writing, and was
disappointed when most of the words were crossed out with a thick black line.
'Name: Shantian Namuriel
Occupation: Dragon Slayer
Date/Place of Birth: White, 9th Moon, in -----, Eyru'
White, 9th Moon? Gatti read
through the rest of the stats that weren't blacked out, though most of the
information he already knew. Putting the paper down, he sorted through the rest
of the pages, each one with a substantial amount of black lines preventing him
from reading the words. The boy started to become increasingly frustrated as
more and more things were being kept from his eyes.
What is it they have to hide so fervently? One page caught his eye. It
seemed like an old log of some sort. Gatti read over it, although, to his
chagrin, most of the page was just black lines.
'------, 3rd Moon.
Testing begun. Subject is female, 9 years of age. We will start with periodical
---------------- before continuing on our first subject, ------.'
'Female? Testing?' Guimel was reading over his shoulder.
'Oh, I guess Lord Folken put this in accidentally,' As if out of nowhere, the
Strategos appeared behind him.
'You should return to your duties before Dilandau notices your absence.' came
the soft voice. Gatti threw the paper back on the table and spun around to face
the man, who took the paper and crumpled it up in his hand.
'Yes, sir. Thank you, Lord Folken.' Gatti and Guimel both bowed and left the
room. As soon the door had closed, Guimel let loose a huge sigh of relief.
'Well, I'm glad THAT'S over!' he exclaimed. 'I wonder what that testing stuff
was about. It must've been important, if so much of it was crossed out.' Gatti
was about to reply, when a small yellow blur ran past them. There was a sound
of boots stopping against hard floor, and then the figure ran back to them.
'Shesta?'
'Gatti!' Shesta paused for breath and shook his blond head. 'I... heard
crying... and looked... and Shanti's... he's back,'
'Where?' Gatti's heart beat like a trapped bird as he heard the reply.
'They- they put him... in his room,'
***
In her room? Those unfeeling little...she's scared to go in there! A
brief memory crossed his mind...
'Gatti...?' he heard Shanti whisper from the foot of his bed. Gatti had
grown used to the smaller boy being at his bedside every night. Shanti would
never tell him why he wouldn't leave; Gatti just assumed he was scared of being
left alone again.
He turned a corner, nearly crashing into a pair of Dragon Slayers. He ignored
their shouted protests and flew up a flight of stairs down another hall. The
frown on his face deepened as he came to the door of her room. As Gatti paused
to catch his breath, he also prepared himself for what he might see.
Who knows what they've done to her! The Slayer wiped the sweat off his
brow, tossed his ash-blond bangs out of his eyes, and opened the door.
Shanti looked as if someone had carelessly thrown her on the bed. She was
sprawled on her stomach across the bed, her red braid pulled out from her jacket
and lying in a heap over one shoulder. As he moved closer, Gatti saw a dark
stain on the back of her jacket; up near the shoulder blades.
'Shanti?' he spoke softly, kneeling down beside her. He quickly became unnerved
by her wide, unblinking eyes that stared off into space... they were red and
swollen from crying. Even now random tears spilled from the corners. Placing a
hand gently on one shoulder, Gatti could feel her shaking.
'What have they done to you...?' he whispered in horror. Her glazed eyes moved,
struggling to focus on him as her lips tried to form words.
'G-Gat...ti,' Gatti put his fingers to her lips, quieting her. Shanti's voice
sounded strained, like she was doing everything in her power to keep from
screaming.
'Come on,' as carefully as he could, Gatti willed the girl up into a sitting
position, and positioned her arms around his neck. Slowly, he picked her up- She's
as light as a feather! - and carried her to his room. Sitting down on his
bed, Gatti moved her arms from around his neck and held the catatonic
Highlander close to him like a child.
'It's alright. I'm here,' Gatti whispered reassuringly, though unsure which of
them he was trying to reassure. 'Ssh... I'm here...' The Dragon Slayer could
feel a wetness seeping through the fabric of his jacket- her tears.
For what seemed like an eternity, the grey-eyed boy held the other, rocking ever so slightly back and forth until he felt her
shoulders stop heaving with silent sobs.
As he repositioned his hand, Gatti felt something warm and sticky leaking through his
gloves. Blood.
Looking down at the Highlander, Gatti realized he had to stop the blood flow,
or she would bleed to death.
'Shanti,' he said quietly. 'You're bleeding. I'm going to take your jacket off
and lay you down, is that alright?' At Shanti's nod, he undid the uniform coat,
dropped it on the floor, and very slowly moved the girl off his lap onto her
stomach on the bed. Making sure she was comfortable enough, he went and got a
bowl of hot water, a cloth and some bandages.
'Shanti? I'm just going to look at your back, alright?' There was a very long
pause, then a slow nod from the Highlander. Gatti pulled up a chair and brushed
her braid out of the way. He lifted up the loose, black shirt she wore
underneath her jacket and saw the tan bandages she normally had were gone.
Instead, he saw her back was covered in blood. Involuntarily he gasped at the
sight of two gouges running along the entire length of each shoulder blade.
What have they done to you? Gatti reached out to touch the skin along
one of the wounds, but Shanti jerked back with alarming speed.
'I'm sorry. Please, let me at least wipe away the blood,' The Slayer unzipped
his own jacket and left it hanging on his shoulders so he could use his bare
hands to clean her wound. He dipped the cloth in the water, wrung it out and
went to touch the skin again, but the girl stiffened and jerked away once more.
Gatti sighed and reached out to one of her hands, holding it in his own.
'I have to stop the bleeding. I know that it hurts, but you have to be brave.'
As he spoke, Gatti slowly touched her back a third time with his free hand.
Just think about when we were underneath that tree,'
Gatti kept his voice soft and light as he began to carefully wipe away the already
dried blood. 'And you wouldn't stay out of the rain because you wanted me to have the dry
spot. You're so stubborn, you know that? I knew someone who was like you, from
when I was little...' The Slayer told her stories to keep her preoccupied until
he had cleaned all the blood surrounding the wounds. When he looked back at
her, he saw the Highlander had fallen into a deep sleep.
All the better for her, Gatti cleaned up the blood from the two cuts,
and wrapped the bandages around her upper torso, awkward as it was.
By the time he had finished, he heard the bell signaling for lights-out.
The boy put away the bowl and cloth, and hung his jacket up, before gently
moving Shanti underneath the sheets. Finding an extra blanket, he pulled up a
chair and curled up in it. Gatti stared at the Highlander for a moment.
She looks peaceful, now that she's asleep, He paused, hesitating, then
leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
'Sweet dreams.' Gatti whispered, snuggling into the chair. Closing his eyes, he
soon fell asleep.