Wings of Forgiveness by Aequanoctis
Chapter one: Wing of despair
Balamb City at night. Calm, noiseless and sweet, with the fresh smell of salt and seaweed lingering above. Almost all the houses were now dark, as it was nearing 2 in the morning, but a few windows still shone with yellowish light, most of them opened to let out the heavy smoke of several hundreds burned cigarette.
The door opened on a huge man with a proeminent belly and bald head. Behind him, tiny footsteps, only material proofs of her presence, didn't covered the booming of the music and the drunken conversation. The door closed with a loud "BOOM" and she quickly headed for the stairs that led to the second floor, where the bedrooms were. There were six of them, all occupied at this hour of the night. Moans and giggling could be heard from some of them, but the one she stood in front of was silent.
The rusty hinges creaked as the door was slowly pushed forward, the slight opening barely enough to let her slide into the room. Her invisible nose frowned at the stench floating around. Alcohol and sweat and sex had melted together and were so heavily hanging around, it was almost material. The bolt lock slid into place, she checked it several times before releasing her hold on the invisibility spell and going back to her normal form.
She wasn't particularly short, nor she was tall. She wore a dark purple velvet dress and black boots. Her long brown hair, slightly curled at the end, fell on her back in waves, and reached her butt. She had nice eyes, where light brown met sparkles of green. It was in fact her only remarkable feature. The rest of her was just plain anonym. Not ugly, not ungraceful. But In her mortal life, she had been one of those girls nobody really noticed, always standing around people that used her to enhance their own features. Using the wrong methods to find her own way in a world she felt like she didn't belonged to, she died young, while she lived in the streets, of a cheaply refined dose of haste she injected herself. Her heart, already weakened by several restless weeks of street life, didn't make it.
She hadn't accomplished her purpose in her short lifetime, they told her. "Go back to the humans, Beth." They told her.
Sometimes she regretted it. Like in this particular moment, when she laid her gaze on the sleeping man. His short blonde hair, matted and greasy, circling an harmonious face, marked with a long scar and pain. Even in sleep, he wasn't relaxed. In fact she could tell he was having a nightmare right now, but there's nothing she could do about it.
Another form, which she hadn't noticed at first, stirred against him. A hooker, lured at the bar with cheap alcohol. Hyne this man was far, far away lost in his own hell. Well, it was time to clean up this life a bit.
The bedside table was litterally crushed under several huge bottles. Opening one, she lightly smelled its content and immediatly pushed the offending thing away from her nose. That gin was even worst that the one she used to drown her sorrows in when she was sixteen. And he had been living off this shit for two years? She moved to the small bathroom and emptied the bottles one by one, before filling them with water and putting them back on the table. Next, she found the small backpack where he kept his belongings. At the very bottom, she found a small velvet box, once black but turned gray from time's work. It was filled with several doses of fine shots of haste, float and esuna. Mixed with the booze, it turned him into a wild beast more than once. In fact, Fanny, his former guardian, told her he had killed at least three people under the influence of those substances. Another great reason to do what she did, Beth thought as she watched the tiny packages flush down the toilet.
She briefly inspected the room once again. Nothing else needed her help, apart maybe from his clothes. And that would wait until the morning. Sighing, she unlocked the door, chose the cleanest-looking chair on the room and sat down waiting for time to pass.
-))**I**((-
Seifer woke up a few minutes past noon, his body fueled with adrenalin as soon as conscience went back to him. His stomach instantly turned over, but he already has vomited before crashing down on the bed, and had nothing left to throw up.
Well, it was still time to work this out, he thought as his hand automatically snatched the nearest bottle from the bedside table and brought the neck to his dry lips, only to choke on the content and spit it all over the floor, swearing at the whole world and the heaven above for changing the love of his present life, keeper of his what little was left of his sanity, into water. The woman beside him jumped down the bed to avoid his flying fists, quickly gathered the few clothes she wore the night before and ran out of the room followed by the bottle which luckily for her missed and crashed against the doorway. Hands already trembling from the effects of cold turkey, Seifer snatched the other bottles one by one only to find them all filled with the same liquid as the first. How that was possible? He needed his shot of forgetfulness, he needed it right now, he was sweating profusely and his breathing was coming in shallow panting. Out of other choices, Seifer dove into his backpack for the magic doses. They were worth a lot, being amonsgt the purest he could find, and he usually sold them when he needed money, but right now he couldn't care less, he was starting to FEEL and it was killing him.
"Searching for something?"
Seifer was absolutely sure she wasn't there the second before, but there she was, slouching over his naked body as he fumbled inside the backpack. His first reaction was of course to throw a couple of punches in her direction, but it only met a wave of cold air and she was still there, exactly where he had hit. Smiling with mockery and something deeper, concern, maybe?
"It's not in there anymore" The girl said.
"Then where it is?"
"Right now? Probably floating its way down to the ocean stream. Should reach Dollet by next week. Why? You needed it?"
Seifer's head felt horribly light and heavy at the same time. Only one thought crossed his mind. Jump on her and kill her, right now, right there. He killed in the past for less than that. And she wasn't moving, still hanging above him like a Hyne-damned mother figure. His fists clenched and unclenched and then he couldn't take it any more, and he threw himself at her in hope to choke her to death and be done with it all. Meeting only cold air once again, he landed against the wall. A snapping sound and sharp pain in his shoulder made him hisses as he understood something inside him had definitely moved when it wasn't supposed to.
"Stupid. You broke a bone. Will it distract you from homicide for a while? Or should I lock you in the bathroom until you sober up?"
"I AM fucking sober and that's why I am homicidal!" He hissed at her form standing above him.
"Well I am happy to announce you you'll have to control yourself. AND stay sober. How does that sounds mmh?"
Seifer stood back on his feet and, still seeing red, jumped again, missed again and knocked himself out on the bed's metallic railing. Another snap and this time he was yelling in pain.
"Here goes another bone, stupid. Are you done? Because I have quite a few things to say to you."
"Fuck you. Leave me alone."
"You've been left alone for two years, and look what you've done to yourself."
"This is my body. I can do whatever I want with it."
"And destroy those who loved you along the way, like it happened a few years ago? Oh, what a nice way to live. I'm impressed, really."
Seifer knew exactly what she was talking about. Or, rather, who she was talking about. The question was, how did she learned about this? Nobody knew what happened. He never told anyone, and the only other person who known about this was gone. Gone by his fault, because of his own over- inflated ego.
"How do you know?" He finally asked, voice low and full of many threats he knew he couldn't bring to life.
"I know everything about you, Seifer Adam Almasy. You still don't get it, do you?"
"Get what?"
The girl moved back a bit and took a deep breath, holding her hands high above her head. A slight buzzing sound came from behind her, and her already pale skin started to turn bright white, almost glowing, as a pair of feathery wings flared and spread at their full length. Each of them was a good two meters and a half long and looked very heavy although the girl wore them like they weighted nothing but a single feather. The top of the wing was bright blue, turning into green as it went down, and with spots of yellow here and there. Mesmerised, Seifer followed the path of a blue feather slowly drifting down to his lap before daring to confront the hard stare of the girl.
"What are you? What is your business with me? " He asked, defeated.
"Time has come to pay your debt, Almasy."
-))**I**((
Okay it is short. But I didn't wanted to spoil all the fun in the first chapter :) Hope you're pleased with it so far, and even if you aren't, please review!! Thanks!
Chapter one: Wing of despair
Balamb City at night. Calm, noiseless and sweet, with the fresh smell of salt and seaweed lingering above. Almost all the houses were now dark, as it was nearing 2 in the morning, but a few windows still shone with yellowish light, most of them opened to let out the heavy smoke of several hundreds burned cigarette.
The door opened on a huge man with a proeminent belly and bald head. Behind him, tiny footsteps, only material proofs of her presence, didn't covered the booming of the music and the drunken conversation. The door closed with a loud "BOOM" and she quickly headed for the stairs that led to the second floor, where the bedrooms were. There were six of them, all occupied at this hour of the night. Moans and giggling could be heard from some of them, but the one she stood in front of was silent.
The rusty hinges creaked as the door was slowly pushed forward, the slight opening barely enough to let her slide into the room. Her invisible nose frowned at the stench floating around. Alcohol and sweat and sex had melted together and were so heavily hanging around, it was almost material. The bolt lock slid into place, she checked it several times before releasing her hold on the invisibility spell and going back to her normal form.
She wasn't particularly short, nor she was tall. She wore a dark purple velvet dress and black boots. Her long brown hair, slightly curled at the end, fell on her back in waves, and reached her butt. She had nice eyes, where light brown met sparkles of green. It was in fact her only remarkable feature. The rest of her was just plain anonym. Not ugly, not ungraceful. But In her mortal life, she had been one of those girls nobody really noticed, always standing around people that used her to enhance their own features. Using the wrong methods to find her own way in a world she felt like she didn't belonged to, she died young, while she lived in the streets, of a cheaply refined dose of haste she injected herself. Her heart, already weakened by several restless weeks of street life, didn't make it.
She hadn't accomplished her purpose in her short lifetime, they told her. "Go back to the humans, Beth." They told her.
Sometimes she regretted it. Like in this particular moment, when she laid her gaze on the sleeping man. His short blonde hair, matted and greasy, circling an harmonious face, marked with a long scar and pain. Even in sleep, he wasn't relaxed. In fact she could tell he was having a nightmare right now, but there's nothing she could do about it.
Another form, which she hadn't noticed at first, stirred against him. A hooker, lured at the bar with cheap alcohol. Hyne this man was far, far away lost in his own hell. Well, it was time to clean up this life a bit.
The bedside table was litterally crushed under several huge bottles. Opening one, she lightly smelled its content and immediatly pushed the offending thing away from her nose. That gin was even worst that the one she used to drown her sorrows in when she was sixteen. And he had been living off this shit for two years? She moved to the small bathroom and emptied the bottles one by one, before filling them with water and putting them back on the table. Next, she found the small backpack where he kept his belongings. At the very bottom, she found a small velvet box, once black but turned gray from time's work. It was filled with several doses of fine shots of haste, float and esuna. Mixed with the booze, it turned him into a wild beast more than once. In fact, Fanny, his former guardian, told her he had killed at least three people under the influence of those substances. Another great reason to do what she did, Beth thought as she watched the tiny packages flush down the toilet.
She briefly inspected the room once again. Nothing else needed her help, apart maybe from his clothes. And that would wait until the morning. Sighing, she unlocked the door, chose the cleanest-looking chair on the room and sat down waiting for time to pass.
-))**I**((-
Seifer woke up a few minutes past noon, his body fueled with adrenalin as soon as conscience went back to him. His stomach instantly turned over, but he already has vomited before crashing down on the bed, and had nothing left to throw up.
Well, it was still time to work this out, he thought as his hand automatically snatched the nearest bottle from the bedside table and brought the neck to his dry lips, only to choke on the content and spit it all over the floor, swearing at the whole world and the heaven above for changing the love of his present life, keeper of his what little was left of his sanity, into water. The woman beside him jumped down the bed to avoid his flying fists, quickly gathered the few clothes she wore the night before and ran out of the room followed by the bottle which luckily for her missed and crashed against the doorway. Hands already trembling from the effects of cold turkey, Seifer snatched the other bottles one by one only to find them all filled with the same liquid as the first. How that was possible? He needed his shot of forgetfulness, he needed it right now, he was sweating profusely and his breathing was coming in shallow panting. Out of other choices, Seifer dove into his backpack for the magic doses. They were worth a lot, being amonsgt the purest he could find, and he usually sold them when he needed money, but right now he couldn't care less, he was starting to FEEL and it was killing him.
"Searching for something?"
Seifer was absolutely sure she wasn't there the second before, but there she was, slouching over his naked body as he fumbled inside the backpack. His first reaction was of course to throw a couple of punches in her direction, but it only met a wave of cold air and she was still there, exactly where he had hit. Smiling with mockery and something deeper, concern, maybe?
"It's not in there anymore" The girl said.
"Then where it is?"
"Right now? Probably floating its way down to the ocean stream. Should reach Dollet by next week. Why? You needed it?"
Seifer's head felt horribly light and heavy at the same time. Only one thought crossed his mind. Jump on her and kill her, right now, right there. He killed in the past for less than that. And she wasn't moving, still hanging above him like a Hyne-damned mother figure. His fists clenched and unclenched and then he couldn't take it any more, and he threw himself at her in hope to choke her to death and be done with it all. Meeting only cold air once again, he landed against the wall. A snapping sound and sharp pain in his shoulder made him hisses as he understood something inside him had definitely moved when it wasn't supposed to.
"Stupid. You broke a bone. Will it distract you from homicide for a while? Or should I lock you in the bathroom until you sober up?"
"I AM fucking sober and that's why I am homicidal!" He hissed at her form standing above him.
"Well I am happy to announce you you'll have to control yourself. AND stay sober. How does that sounds mmh?"
Seifer stood back on his feet and, still seeing red, jumped again, missed again and knocked himself out on the bed's metallic railing. Another snap and this time he was yelling in pain.
"Here goes another bone, stupid. Are you done? Because I have quite a few things to say to you."
"Fuck you. Leave me alone."
"You've been left alone for two years, and look what you've done to yourself."
"This is my body. I can do whatever I want with it."
"And destroy those who loved you along the way, like it happened a few years ago? Oh, what a nice way to live. I'm impressed, really."
Seifer knew exactly what she was talking about. Or, rather, who she was talking about. The question was, how did she learned about this? Nobody knew what happened. He never told anyone, and the only other person who known about this was gone. Gone by his fault, because of his own over- inflated ego.
"How do you know?" He finally asked, voice low and full of many threats he knew he couldn't bring to life.
"I know everything about you, Seifer Adam Almasy. You still don't get it, do you?"
"Get what?"
The girl moved back a bit and took a deep breath, holding her hands high above her head. A slight buzzing sound came from behind her, and her already pale skin started to turn bright white, almost glowing, as a pair of feathery wings flared and spread at their full length. Each of them was a good two meters and a half long and looked very heavy although the girl wore them like they weighted nothing but a single feather. The top of the wing was bright blue, turning into green as it went down, and with spots of yellow here and there. Mesmerised, Seifer followed the path of a blue feather slowly drifting down to his lap before daring to confront the hard stare of the girl.
"What are you? What is your business with me? " He asked, defeated.
"Time has come to pay your debt, Almasy."
-))**I**((
Okay it is short. But I didn't wanted to spoil all the fun in the first chapter :) Hope you're pleased with it so far, and even if you aren't, please review!! Thanks!