Please forgive the sappy romance in this chapter. I was under the influence
of Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. BAAAAD combination if your trying to
write. Everything becomes so damned sweet. Wait a minute. Something didn't
look right about that sentence. Maybe I SHOULD have put this in there?
Damned old-music. Especially that damned 'singing in the rain' song.
Anyway, I'm not gonna hamper you too much with my weird ranting, so on with the show!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter XIV: Treasure These Idle Moments
Kahn stared up at the crimson skies above him. He lay on the ground, leisurely laid on the ground. Aeris lay beside him, her spectral arms behind her head.
"So you wanna switch sides, eh? It looked like you wanted to tear that guy apart for minute. But now you want to join ranks with him?" She asked. "Shakal Mora kahn. . . It sounds faintly familiar. Hey, that's your name at the end! Wonder why that is!"
Kahn was ominously silent. He merely stared upwards. She was willing to forgive him, even after his kind had destroyed her entire race? The Prince Of Darkness would escort him to her? It was all a little too hard to believe. Sanctuary. With the Half-Breeds. It sounded too good to be true. He wasn't really tuned into the world at the moment. The prospect still boggled him.
"Kahn?"
The demon snapped out of his thoughts for a moment.
"Yes?"
"What does Shakal Mora Kahn mean?"
Kahn shifted nervously.
"None of your business. I stay out of your personal life, so stay out of mine." That was the second time that day Kahn regretted bitterly about having said something. At the moment he said 'personal life' and 'mine', Aeris smiled fiendishly.
"I never said anything about your personal life. But you did. Whatsit mean?"
Kahn tried a method that was relatively new to him. He ignored Aeris. He rolled onto his side, and pretended she wasn't there.
"Kahn? What's the matter." She poked him on the shoulder.
Ignore.
Poke.
Ignore.
Poke.
Ignore.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Growl.
It had become too much for the demon to bear. Ignoring things took more patience than he was prepared to waste. He let loose a deep growl.
"Back off, Cetra. It has something to do with that repulsive 'L' word, and another person. I'd prefer not to get into it." He growled.
Aeris heard something in the demon's voice that generally said that whatever he didn't want to talk about was either something terribly embarrassing, or painfully regrettable, or a combination of the two.
She left the demon alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The others had left Jarred. The night air had proven a bit too rough for them. But Jarred had lived through worse. Eventually Joan had tired and needed sleep, so Jarred left her Elena's care. The woman could be quite useful at time, but others she could hamper beyond belief. It was combination Jarred liked.
He wore a cloak that Wraith had given him. Wraith seemed very concerned about Jarred's lack of clothing, and wouldn't allow him to walk around with only pants and shoes, and offered Jarred some garment that he had produced from somewhere. Jarred was sceptic about wearing the cloak, as it so much seemed like Wraith was doing this out of something more than his well- being.
Jarred trusted Wraith about as much as he trusted a mouse to guard a cheese factory. Ghost and Spectre could be fun, but they were under the will of Wraith, so he avoided them.
So now he stood alone on the deck. A state he seemed to return to so very often.
A cold wind from the north blew past, but Jarred ignored it with the patience of mountains. Jarred had survived much, and was bound to survive more. The cold was a comfort he cherished along with the warmth. There was no warmth without the cold, after all. No light without dark.
And that was what he was, after all.
The Prince Of Darkness. He had no life without strife. No life without death.
Jarred looked up at the moon, a silver crescent in the black-blue sky. Around it the stars were scattered out like the shattered fragments of some gem long forgotten. Jarred looked down at his charcoal black skin. On the centre of his palm he saw the familiar scar that remained after the demon Malice had stabbed through his hand. He reflectively shot his hand to his cheek, were the four gashes across his cheek had once bled so freely. Now, the only thing that hid the scars was his black skin. Jarred laughed. His skin hid more scars than those. Only time had worn those away, but he could still see were they stained him. A wry smile crossed his lips. He was tainted by the violence he accepted so easily. He was scarred by the way of life that had been forced upon him so long ago.
He sat down against the railing, and let the wind blow against his face. There was something slightly distressing about the way Wraith was willing to help Cloud finish his quest, instead of simply forcing Jarred to come. It had been no joke when Jarred had said he expected to be brought back in chains. Wraith was that drastic. And SHE had strange tastes.
Jarred heard the door open. He looked across the deck to see Elena walk out, and glance at him with surprise.
"I thought you were inside." She said, walking back inside.
"Don't let me stop you. I'm enjoying the north wind."
The Turk smiled and went over to the railing, staring up at the stars. Jarred sat with his own thoughts silently. He stared down at the floor boards, thinking.
Elena looked over in his direction. She looked at the way the warrior sat, deep in thought. The wind blew his short black hair playfully, contrasting deeply with the way ember red stared deadly at the deck. The Turk had the feeling that Jarred in a way incomprehensibly sad, but kept up a playful image. She felt somewhat sorry for him.
She decided to try and cheer him up.
"Its always so nice up in the north. The stars come out so clearly, and the glaciers look absolutely wonderful."
Jarred looked up at her.
"I always thought it was too cold for humans to live up there. You shouldn't be living in a place where you have to wear a ton of clothes to go outside." He replied.
Elena was generally shocked. This was the first time she was hearing Jarred talk like a normal person! He wasn't being insanely bent on chaos, or childishly ignorant, or secretive. She decided to probe the depths of Jarred's personality. It certainly seemed interesting that he had avoided everyone after the siege.
"Yeah, but you got to think its worth it sometimes. 'Sides, humans will live wherever they will."
Jarred grinned.
"You have a point there. If its one thing I can say, then its that people are stubborn enough to go to ungodly lengths for what they want."
Elena laughed.
"Yeah. So, I hear you 'liberated' a few islands from Wutai. I can't say for sure, but I'm sure Yuffie will have something to say about that when she hears about it."
Jarred shrugged.
"I like my islands. If she wants them, then she can pry them from my cold, dead fingers. You may have to come there some time. Only slightly cooler than Costa Del Sol. Maybe Cloud and Tifa too. We could have fun." He said, standing up. He turned, and looked out into the sea.
Elena smiled. So there were more sides to Jarred than the maniacal warrior everyone thought him to be. That was nice.
"So, what do YOU do on your islands?" She asked.
"Have fun. Sunbathe, swim, hunt, build extensive hut-mansions out of bamboo." He said with a grin.
"Sounds like one big vacation." Elena murmured.
Jarred smiled.
"Yeah, something like that." Elena was taken by surprise by this. She hadn't expected Jarred to hear her. She looked at him.
He flicked one ear, which turned out to be slanted and pointed. Elena was shocked to know that no one had noticed it yet.
"You don't look for something that's not supposed to be there." He said, almos as if reading her thoughts. He set about gazing out into the sea again.
Elena walked up to him, and looked at his ears. She had never seen someone with REAL pointed ears. It was so, strange.
"H, how did you get those?" She asked in disbelief.
Jarred laughed.
"Don't be too surprised. I imagine there's a great deal more things about me people don't care to notice. Like this." He turned to face Elena. "Look deep into my right pupil."
Elena did so. She looked deep into those blood red eyes. Around the rim, she could make out the letter's 'D-IX'. She gasped.
"Oh my god, where did you get that?" She asked, looking at the letters again to confirm their existence.
"I didn't notice them myself until I was sixteen. At the time it said 'BEAST'. The words change all the time. One time they said 'HATE'. That was around the time of The Siege. Lately its been saying all sorts of things. 'PSIN', 'FIRE', 'LOVE' and other nonsense. I've begun to learn that it always has some connection with what will happen. D-IX is something new. I usually get words. The last one I saw said 'DEATH'. I rather don't like being able to piece things like that together. It takes the fun out of things." He muttered.
Elena cocked her head to one side.
"Maybe it isn't what will happen, but rather what HAS happened. Your eye can't tell the future. What do the words 'love' and 'fire' mean to you?"
Jarred was silent.
He swallowed deeply.
Elena could have sworn she saw a sparkle run down his charcoal face.
"I'm getting a bit cold. I think I'll go in now."
Jarred left her.
He stopped at the door.
"They always have to do with the future, Elena. Nothing to do with the past. Remember that."
He opened and closed the door behind him.
Elena couldn't help but feel terribly sorry for Jarred. If only she had kept quiet. Maybe then Jarred wouldn't have felt bad.
The Turk looked up at the stars once again. Jarred was certainly an interesting person. Maybe a little too interesting.
Oh well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seph X was sitting on the stairs on the second floor of the Highwind when Jarred came in. The machine turned to face his follower.
"Yo." He called out. Jarred shot Seph X a surprised look.
"Master." He answered. He wiped something away from his eyes and joined his master. "Is there something the matter? What is your bidding?"
Seph X was a bit shocked by the way Jarred seemed eager to leave. Then again, everyone was entitled to have their own life. Even war battle-hungry people like Jarred.
"Nothing, Jarred. I was just hoping to be able to talk to you for a minute, but if you want to be alone then that's alright. Don't let me stop you."
Jarred smiled.
"Thank you, master." Jarred got up and left. He walked into the conference room, and closed the door behind him.
Seph X wasn't sure, but he could almost say that something was bothering Jarred. Something told the machine that Jarred was suffering, and no one could help. No, scratch that. No one WOULD help. Jarred had a faultless façade.
He knew he should, but Seph X decided against giving aid to Jarred. He was bound to make the warriors problems all the worse anyway. 'Sides, Jarred was a big boy. He could sort out his own problems.
Seph X shut himself off for the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vincent sat with Yuffie, who sat up against him. He had his human hand around her, and she used his feathery wings as covers, He watched her with his crimson eyes. Shera and cid had gone to sleep long ago, and now cloud and Tifa kept the Highwind on course.
Once and again, he could hear them cuddle, or whatever sweet thing it was they were doing. They laughed, kissed, and pretty muchly did what people did when they were in love.
Vincent smiled. He could do such things as well. Just not now. It might seem a little odd.
Vincent hugged Yuffie closer to him. This was the women he loved. Demon magic be damned, if they tried to hurt her they would find him in their way, and this time he wouldn't let himself be tricked. Never again would he put Yuffie through the pain she had gone through when he had died.
He kissed the young ninja's head and closed his eyes.
The morning would bring more adventures.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghost watched Nox Seran.
It was a dull job, but someone had to do it. And since he was the stealthiest, it always fell on him to do the boring jobs.
Nox Seran, of course, was sleeping. That's what made it so damned boring. Ghost reached into his cloak and pulled out a book. He leaned back against the wall, and set about reading. It was a romance novel, something he would rather kill himself then let his brethren get their hands on it. The embarrassment would be terrible. It didn't show on the outside, but there was a fierce brotherly spirit about the three. Whenever left to their own devices, it was dangerous for any of them to have weapons. They usually got drawn into the argument.
The book itself was written in the old Cetra language. That was when the great stories had been made, when all three races had lived in harmony. Now literature had degenerated into boring, action-packed doggerel. Sometimes humans produced something of particular brilliance, but such works were rare. So, Ghost read the old literature.
This novel was about a Half-Breed warlord who had fallen in love with demon. The young warlord threw away everything to be with the demon, who starkly denied him. He had tried to return, but the rest of his race had exiled him for such treason. Outcast, he went into the care of the Cetra, who accepted him warmly. He never stopped trying to woo his beloved demon, who continued to deny him. It was only on his return from such of these trips that he was assaulted by a group of what was once his own soldiers. He slaughtered them all, of course, but only after having achieved a soul- blaze, the most deadly of magic's. Afterwards, his very life-force having been burned away by the Soul-Blaze, he collapsed to the ground, and died, forgotten by all.
It was such a sad story. Ghost had read it before, and enjoyed the book even after having read it several times. There were stories that ended slightly better, where nobody died, but those were too idyllic for ghost's tastes. He liked them better this way.
He was so absorbed with the book, he did not notice that Nox Seran was sitting beside him, reading the book with him.
"Well I'll be damned," The demon said with disgust, startling Ghost into dropping the book. "Someone is actually reading that god-accursed book."
Ghost slid his book back into his voluminous cloak.
"This stays between us, demon. Or I will kill you and everyone you hold dear!" He threatened, flashing the demon a quick look of pure venom.
Nox Seran laughed.
"I'd like to see you try again. But with a leader that can read minds, don't you think that he already knows?" Nox Seran said slyly.
Ghost puffed out his chest proudly.
"I've made mental barriers around my mind. Wraith sees only what I let him." He said with a special note of superiority.
Nox Seran laughed slyly.
"And what if that's what Wraith is LETTING you think, hmm? He DID manage to the shit out of me. I would underestimate him so easily."
A thoughtful look passed over Ghost's face. Nox Seran smiled inwardly. When you wanted to break a group, you always started with the weakest.
Ghost was only the beginning. When he had them all under his grasp, he could start on Kahn and the Half-Breeds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oooooh, the suspense, eh?
I know that I centered on Jarred a lot, but He's gonna have a lot to do with story, so I had to build up his character more.
Well, I'm going to try and update some of my OTHER fics now, so bear with me once again. I have no idea when I'll have the next chapter up, but when I do I'll work like lightening.
Anyway, I'm not gonna hamper you too much with my weird ranting, so on with the show!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter XIV: Treasure These Idle Moments
Kahn stared up at the crimson skies above him. He lay on the ground, leisurely laid on the ground. Aeris lay beside him, her spectral arms behind her head.
"So you wanna switch sides, eh? It looked like you wanted to tear that guy apart for minute. But now you want to join ranks with him?" She asked. "Shakal Mora kahn. . . It sounds faintly familiar. Hey, that's your name at the end! Wonder why that is!"
Kahn was ominously silent. He merely stared upwards. She was willing to forgive him, even after his kind had destroyed her entire race? The Prince Of Darkness would escort him to her? It was all a little too hard to believe. Sanctuary. With the Half-Breeds. It sounded too good to be true. He wasn't really tuned into the world at the moment. The prospect still boggled him.
"Kahn?"
The demon snapped out of his thoughts for a moment.
"Yes?"
"What does Shakal Mora Kahn mean?"
Kahn shifted nervously.
"None of your business. I stay out of your personal life, so stay out of mine." That was the second time that day Kahn regretted bitterly about having said something. At the moment he said 'personal life' and 'mine', Aeris smiled fiendishly.
"I never said anything about your personal life. But you did. Whatsit mean?"
Kahn tried a method that was relatively new to him. He ignored Aeris. He rolled onto his side, and pretended she wasn't there.
"Kahn? What's the matter." She poked him on the shoulder.
Ignore.
Poke.
Ignore.
Poke.
Ignore.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Growl.
It had become too much for the demon to bear. Ignoring things took more patience than he was prepared to waste. He let loose a deep growl.
"Back off, Cetra. It has something to do with that repulsive 'L' word, and another person. I'd prefer not to get into it." He growled.
Aeris heard something in the demon's voice that generally said that whatever he didn't want to talk about was either something terribly embarrassing, or painfully regrettable, or a combination of the two.
She left the demon alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The others had left Jarred. The night air had proven a bit too rough for them. But Jarred had lived through worse. Eventually Joan had tired and needed sleep, so Jarred left her Elena's care. The woman could be quite useful at time, but others she could hamper beyond belief. It was combination Jarred liked.
He wore a cloak that Wraith had given him. Wraith seemed very concerned about Jarred's lack of clothing, and wouldn't allow him to walk around with only pants and shoes, and offered Jarred some garment that he had produced from somewhere. Jarred was sceptic about wearing the cloak, as it so much seemed like Wraith was doing this out of something more than his well- being.
Jarred trusted Wraith about as much as he trusted a mouse to guard a cheese factory. Ghost and Spectre could be fun, but they were under the will of Wraith, so he avoided them.
So now he stood alone on the deck. A state he seemed to return to so very often.
A cold wind from the north blew past, but Jarred ignored it with the patience of mountains. Jarred had survived much, and was bound to survive more. The cold was a comfort he cherished along with the warmth. There was no warmth without the cold, after all. No light without dark.
And that was what he was, after all.
The Prince Of Darkness. He had no life without strife. No life without death.
Jarred looked up at the moon, a silver crescent in the black-blue sky. Around it the stars were scattered out like the shattered fragments of some gem long forgotten. Jarred looked down at his charcoal black skin. On the centre of his palm he saw the familiar scar that remained after the demon Malice had stabbed through his hand. He reflectively shot his hand to his cheek, were the four gashes across his cheek had once bled so freely. Now, the only thing that hid the scars was his black skin. Jarred laughed. His skin hid more scars than those. Only time had worn those away, but he could still see were they stained him. A wry smile crossed his lips. He was tainted by the violence he accepted so easily. He was scarred by the way of life that had been forced upon him so long ago.
He sat down against the railing, and let the wind blow against his face. There was something slightly distressing about the way Wraith was willing to help Cloud finish his quest, instead of simply forcing Jarred to come. It had been no joke when Jarred had said he expected to be brought back in chains. Wraith was that drastic. And SHE had strange tastes.
Jarred heard the door open. He looked across the deck to see Elena walk out, and glance at him with surprise.
"I thought you were inside." She said, walking back inside.
"Don't let me stop you. I'm enjoying the north wind."
The Turk smiled and went over to the railing, staring up at the stars. Jarred sat with his own thoughts silently. He stared down at the floor boards, thinking.
Elena looked over in his direction. She looked at the way the warrior sat, deep in thought. The wind blew his short black hair playfully, contrasting deeply with the way ember red stared deadly at the deck. The Turk had the feeling that Jarred in a way incomprehensibly sad, but kept up a playful image. She felt somewhat sorry for him.
She decided to try and cheer him up.
"Its always so nice up in the north. The stars come out so clearly, and the glaciers look absolutely wonderful."
Jarred looked up at her.
"I always thought it was too cold for humans to live up there. You shouldn't be living in a place where you have to wear a ton of clothes to go outside." He replied.
Elena was generally shocked. This was the first time she was hearing Jarred talk like a normal person! He wasn't being insanely bent on chaos, or childishly ignorant, or secretive. She decided to probe the depths of Jarred's personality. It certainly seemed interesting that he had avoided everyone after the siege.
"Yeah, but you got to think its worth it sometimes. 'Sides, humans will live wherever they will."
Jarred grinned.
"You have a point there. If its one thing I can say, then its that people are stubborn enough to go to ungodly lengths for what they want."
Elena laughed.
"Yeah. So, I hear you 'liberated' a few islands from Wutai. I can't say for sure, but I'm sure Yuffie will have something to say about that when she hears about it."
Jarred shrugged.
"I like my islands. If she wants them, then she can pry them from my cold, dead fingers. You may have to come there some time. Only slightly cooler than Costa Del Sol. Maybe Cloud and Tifa too. We could have fun." He said, standing up. He turned, and looked out into the sea.
Elena smiled. So there were more sides to Jarred than the maniacal warrior everyone thought him to be. That was nice.
"So, what do YOU do on your islands?" She asked.
"Have fun. Sunbathe, swim, hunt, build extensive hut-mansions out of bamboo." He said with a grin.
"Sounds like one big vacation." Elena murmured.
Jarred smiled.
"Yeah, something like that." Elena was taken by surprise by this. She hadn't expected Jarred to hear her. She looked at him.
He flicked one ear, which turned out to be slanted and pointed. Elena was shocked to know that no one had noticed it yet.
"You don't look for something that's not supposed to be there." He said, almos as if reading her thoughts. He set about gazing out into the sea again.
Elena walked up to him, and looked at his ears. She had never seen someone with REAL pointed ears. It was so, strange.
"H, how did you get those?" She asked in disbelief.
Jarred laughed.
"Don't be too surprised. I imagine there's a great deal more things about me people don't care to notice. Like this." He turned to face Elena. "Look deep into my right pupil."
Elena did so. She looked deep into those blood red eyes. Around the rim, she could make out the letter's 'D-IX'. She gasped.
"Oh my god, where did you get that?" She asked, looking at the letters again to confirm their existence.
"I didn't notice them myself until I was sixteen. At the time it said 'BEAST'. The words change all the time. One time they said 'HATE'. That was around the time of The Siege. Lately its been saying all sorts of things. 'PSIN', 'FIRE', 'LOVE' and other nonsense. I've begun to learn that it always has some connection with what will happen. D-IX is something new. I usually get words. The last one I saw said 'DEATH'. I rather don't like being able to piece things like that together. It takes the fun out of things." He muttered.
Elena cocked her head to one side.
"Maybe it isn't what will happen, but rather what HAS happened. Your eye can't tell the future. What do the words 'love' and 'fire' mean to you?"
Jarred was silent.
He swallowed deeply.
Elena could have sworn she saw a sparkle run down his charcoal face.
"I'm getting a bit cold. I think I'll go in now."
Jarred left her.
He stopped at the door.
"They always have to do with the future, Elena. Nothing to do with the past. Remember that."
He opened and closed the door behind him.
Elena couldn't help but feel terribly sorry for Jarred. If only she had kept quiet. Maybe then Jarred wouldn't have felt bad.
The Turk looked up at the stars once again. Jarred was certainly an interesting person. Maybe a little too interesting.
Oh well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seph X was sitting on the stairs on the second floor of the Highwind when Jarred came in. The machine turned to face his follower.
"Yo." He called out. Jarred shot Seph X a surprised look.
"Master." He answered. He wiped something away from his eyes and joined his master. "Is there something the matter? What is your bidding?"
Seph X was a bit shocked by the way Jarred seemed eager to leave. Then again, everyone was entitled to have their own life. Even war battle-hungry people like Jarred.
"Nothing, Jarred. I was just hoping to be able to talk to you for a minute, but if you want to be alone then that's alright. Don't let me stop you."
Jarred smiled.
"Thank you, master." Jarred got up and left. He walked into the conference room, and closed the door behind him.
Seph X wasn't sure, but he could almost say that something was bothering Jarred. Something told the machine that Jarred was suffering, and no one could help. No, scratch that. No one WOULD help. Jarred had a faultless façade.
He knew he should, but Seph X decided against giving aid to Jarred. He was bound to make the warriors problems all the worse anyway. 'Sides, Jarred was a big boy. He could sort out his own problems.
Seph X shut himself off for the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vincent sat with Yuffie, who sat up against him. He had his human hand around her, and she used his feathery wings as covers, He watched her with his crimson eyes. Shera and cid had gone to sleep long ago, and now cloud and Tifa kept the Highwind on course.
Once and again, he could hear them cuddle, or whatever sweet thing it was they were doing. They laughed, kissed, and pretty muchly did what people did when they were in love.
Vincent smiled. He could do such things as well. Just not now. It might seem a little odd.
Vincent hugged Yuffie closer to him. This was the women he loved. Demon magic be damned, if they tried to hurt her they would find him in their way, and this time he wouldn't let himself be tricked. Never again would he put Yuffie through the pain she had gone through when he had died.
He kissed the young ninja's head and closed his eyes.
The morning would bring more adventures.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghost watched Nox Seran.
It was a dull job, but someone had to do it. And since he was the stealthiest, it always fell on him to do the boring jobs.
Nox Seran, of course, was sleeping. That's what made it so damned boring. Ghost reached into his cloak and pulled out a book. He leaned back against the wall, and set about reading. It was a romance novel, something he would rather kill himself then let his brethren get their hands on it. The embarrassment would be terrible. It didn't show on the outside, but there was a fierce brotherly spirit about the three. Whenever left to their own devices, it was dangerous for any of them to have weapons. They usually got drawn into the argument.
The book itself was written in the old Cetra language. That was when the great stories had been made, when all three races had lived in harmony. Now literature had degenerated into boring, action-packed doggerel. Sometimes humans produced something of particular brilliance, but such works were rare. So, Ghost read the old literature.
This novel was about a Half-Breed warlord who had fallen in love with demon. The young warlord threw away everything to be with the demon, who starkly denied him. He had tried to return, but the rest of his race had exiled him for such treason. Outcast, he went into the care of the Cetra, who accepted him warmly. He never stopped trying to woo his beloved demon, who continued to deny him. It was only on his return from such of these trips that he was assaulted by a group of what was once his own soldiers. He slaughtered them all, of course, but only after having achieved a soul- blaze, the most deadly of magic's. Afterwards, his very life-force having been burned away by the Soul-Blaze, he collapsed to the ground, and died, forgotten by all.
It was such a sad story. Ghost had read it before, and enjoyed the book even after having read it several times. There were stories that ended slightly better, where nobody died, but those were too idyllic for ghost's tastes. He liked them better this way.
He was so absorbed with the book, he did not notice that Nox Seran was sitting beside him, reading the book with him.
"Well I'll be damned," The demon said with disgust, startling Ghost into dropping the book. "Someone is actually reading that god-accursed book."
Ghost slid his book back into his voluminous cloak.
"This stays between us, demon. Or I will kill you and everyone you hold dear!" He threatened, flashing the demon a quick look of pure venom.
Nox Seran laughed.
"I'd like to see you try again. But with a leader that can read minds, don't you think that he already knows?" Nox Seran said slyly.
Ghost puffed out his chest proudly.
"I've made mental barriers around my mind. Wraith sees only what I let him." He said with a special note of superiority.
Nox Seran laughed slyly.
"And what if that's what Wraith is LETTING you think, hmm? He DID manage to the shit out of me. I would underestimate him so easily."
A thoughtful look passed over Ghost's face. Nox Seran smiled inwardly. When you wanted to break a group, you always started with the weakest.
Ghost was only the beginning. When he had them all under his grasp, he could start on Kahn and the Half-Breeds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oooooh, the suspense, eh?
I know that I centered on Jarred a lot, but He's gonna have a lot to do with story, so I had to build up his character more.
Well, I'm going to try and update some of my OTHER fics now, so bear with me once again. I have no idea when I'll have the next chapter up, but when I do I'll work like lightening.
