The Lord of Death and the Phreeoni
Oh, this is a slight dilemma; remember how Draco was all like "Akiro L-I-K-E-S you, and so on"? I think she may be right! This is all rather bad. She's just been talking to me about it (left just a few seconds ago, actually.) I so do not get her… I'm trying to pretend that I don't know what she means, coz I don't want to say what I think she means. But why am I so afraid of it all anyway? I mean, apparently it's a very good thing, but if he "loves" me, but am I really ready for it? And what does he like about me anyway? He could so do better than me. I'm stupid, amazingly stupid, clumsy, ditzy, hyperactive, immature – everyone says so. Whereas he is just about the smartest most best looking man on Midgard. I wish I knew him better. And I wish I knew why I'm so scared about the whole thing…
Draco wants me to talk to him, get to know him better. But he's always so quiet. Still, maybe he'll say himself whether it's all true or not, and maybe he'll add in what's so great about me. But even if it's true, what happens next? Do we get married and have sickly sweet romantic nothings or annoying cute children or something? Bugger, what am I supposed to do?
As she marked the last rune of her entry, Ruriko let the pen dwindle on the page, then trailed it off the last mark into a black squiggly line, which to her meant exasperation. She frowned, a little tired, but, as always, felt a little better with her feelings written in her diary.
But the thing she couldn't write about was about how (apparently, she added quickly) Akiro… loves her.
"What kind of hole have you dug yourself into, silly Ruriko?" she said aloud to herself, falling back onto her bed. She did consider it a fault of her own; why am I appealing?
Everything she'd ever done had been about the present; she couldn't remember ever giving any kind of thought to the future. At all. And she didn't like this change that suddenly looked as if it was going to smack her full in the face.
With a careless little gesture, the candle next to her bed went out, extinguishing the scarlet streaks of light cast over the room that was hers for the next couple of weeks. She crawled under the cover and fell onto the mattress. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was abuzz with questions and doubts, leaving none of her with any peace.
"Bah, shut up!" she grumbled aloud, seizing a pillow and roughly yanking it over her head. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, but through the black were still sparks of exasperation, and she jolted up, groaning.
She re-ignited the candle, and breathed a hefty sigh for the eighteenth time.
"How the bloody buggery Hel am I supposed to sleep?"
-X-X-
Hawk hated to admit it, but Taiken was kind of right about his prediction that he would like Comodo. It truly did look like the "town of enjoyment" that every brochure of it boasted. It was sweltering hot; Taiken was already removing his hat and coat, and even Hawk was inches from taking off a layer or two. (He would do no such thing, however, until times were drastic.)
Most of the town was built in vast caves hollowed out in a grand mountain that towered over the landscape, now pulsing with midday heat. Visible inside the ceilings of the caves were strange opaline crystal formations, casting coloured shadows over glittering sand. He couldn't see all that the caves had to offer from where he stood on the harbour, but there was also some of the town built outside, under the most blindingly brilliant blue sky. Littered on various levels above were mud huts, their occupants all observing the ship that had just arrived, some with exasperation, some with indifference, some ardently. Circling the base of the mountain like a sun-kissed halo was a tempting looking beach, which was fairly packed with small clusters of chattering sunbathers.
Hawk blinked, now noticing that Taiken was strutting in circles around him, now that he finally had a still and stable ground beneath his feet after five days of seasickness. Hawk was actually a little miffed; to take his mind from his minor ailment, Taiken would be continuously strumming his guitar, making up a masterpiece of a tune as he went along, which Hawk whole-heartedly enjoyed. He didn't tell Taiken this, of course.
Taiken was smiling, and led them briskly further up the mountain, to the school, he had explained. He had obviously been a student there, and told Hawk repeatedly that there was "most certainly nothing to worry about."
"OK, I'm a bit cold towards people," replied Hawk with a frown. "It's not like I'm going to kill someone when I first meet them, am I?"
"I mean that they will take good care of Kyo, and you don't have to worry about her," Taiken said blandly. Hawk couldn't see his face, but he was certain that his companion wore a smirk. What the Hel…?
After a second, Taiken stopped and turned to face Hawk. And he was smirking his little know-it-all smirk. Then Hawk realized Taiken had stopped because he had stopped. That didn't mean there was some… relevance to his words?
"I don't know what you mean," he replied stiffly. "If you're implying that I care about Kyo, then you're-…"
"Absolutely correct." Taiken frowned. "You've dug yourself into a bit of a situation; you're trying to tell you don't care about Kyo, but you rescued her, for essentially no reason I might add."
Hawk stood puzzled, trying to not word his thoughts. In fact, he had no idea what he was thinking at all, but he had this horrible suspicion that it went something along the lines of "Taiken is right."
He shook his head, trying to remain vapid. He knew it didn't work when Taiken frowned and took them further up the mountains, keeping silent to leave the hunter brooding.
-X-X-
Draco sat recovering from a little scuffle with a few creatures that were found just beyond the pillar of light. She was there with one of the strangest of the twelve Masters, Fieri.
Fieri was a violent woman, and embodied all of the qualities typically found in a fire mage, only it was like they had all been magnified to huge proportions; she was the most ferocious, energetic, impulsive, enthusiastic, stubborn and destructive person Draco knew, and when mixed with incredible magical abilities, doubtful sanity and large amounts of pyromania, she was an immensely dangerous person to be around. Everything she said was with passion, and with everything she did she settled for no less than her very best. She was short in stature, but she seemed to fill the entire room. Her skin was bronzed, and her eyes large and bright green. Her hair was red like Ruriko's, but it was slightly brighter, had been cut short so as not to be a hindrance in combat, and had streaks of white running through it. Draco hadn't the nerve to ask why; in fact, each time she so much as looked at Fieri, she inwardly sighed with relief knowing that Fieri was her friend and ally.
They were down here collecting ingredients for a potion class; it had only been introduced into lessons recently.
"Are we teaching alchemists or sages?" had been Fieri's angry reaction.
This kind of work was always quite tedious. For a start, Draco had never been keen on the idea of fighting alongside sages or wizards, simply because of their abilities. Obviously, it was OK when it was just Ruriko, because she understood the annoyance of charging at something only to see it blow up when within inches of it via powerful spell. And Fieri was most certainly over the top with her spells; even if it were completely unnecessary, she would cast her most powerful spells, leaving charred smoking craters.
But Draco was not here for the fighting; she was here to skin strange sheep-like creatures. They were creatures spawned from fire, and their hide was a known stimulant: excellent for performance enhancing formulas.
There was a brief crackle, a bite of cold on the air, a strong gust of wind and a chilling smashing like the shattering of glass, and, "Yo, Draco!" called Fieri impatiently. "Got another one to skin."
Draco sighed and stood up, and made her way over to the kill while unsheathing her katars. She was careful around the area that had been coated in ice from Fieri's spell.
Draco tensed and spun around, eyes narrowed, scanning the landscape. Fieri made a confused noise but she shushed her quickly.
"Hey, there are plenty of monsters around here, so it's probably just another o-…"
"We have to leave," snapped Draco firmly. "Now, quickly. There is something here that shouldn't be. Can't you try and see what it is?"
Fieri looked again as though she was about to protest, but she nodded and took out her wand. Draco kept her eyes on her surroundings, waiting for some sort of answer.
"Shit," muttered her companion. She turned, expectant. "You were right. And it wants nothing more than to kill anything it finds."
-X-X-
"At some point, you two are going to have to remind me why I agreed to this," sighed Chisel blandly. He took off his cap and ran one gloved hand through his boyish blond hair, casting a furtive glance at the entrance of Anthell.
Kyo heard Oshi mumble something, but didn't pursue it. At the moment, the assassin was shuffling irritably, which looked so strange after becoming familiar with his usual stillness, even in the sweltering heat.
"You know, you could just take the bandages off," stated Chisel, keeping his eyes on Anthell. Oshi grunted in reply, but kept shifting beneath his clothes. Kyo shot a quick glance at Oshi's torso, which was bound tightly with bandages. She was going to ask about them, but Chisel was now leading them into the caves.
He sank out of view, and Kyo followed to a murky looking slope, which turned out to be a lot steeper than she thought; she slid down the bank and stumbled slightly at the bottom, but kept her balance. Oshi silently followed.
The shade swept over her in a cooling wave of relief, but the air became thick and difficult to breathe.
"Keep close to Chisel," said Oshi suddenly. "I can go unnoticed here."
She nodded.
The trio traipsed through the cold shallow caves. The ground they walked upon was a grey smear of sand, which was uncomfortably damp. Kyo kept her guard up, following vaguely behind Chisel, trailing his cart with one hand and a large silver axe gripped in the other. She assumed he knew what they were looking for, because she didn't know if she could handle the concept of him being in the same confused state of mind as her: fearing and searching for an unknown beast that would… lick them to death.
It took a lot of reminding herself to remember that Oshi was still there with them. She had been uncertain about what he'd meant by going "unnoticed." It was amazing how he so easily slipped into the shadows…
x-x-x
Chisel wasn't happy about this at all. It was far too risky. It was all very well if it were just Oshi and himself, but having to drag Kyo down here as well was an incredibly dumb idea. But, of course, he had no choice. There was nowhere Kyo could go by herself, and Oshi would come to Anthell with or without Chisel's help. He wished he could turn to her and say that everything was going to be fine, and he knew how to defend her from the "Phreeoni", but he couldn't. The best he could do was fend it off and be on his guard.
The damp crunch his boots made in the sand made him feel uncomfortable, and the ant like creatures scuttling over their feet didn't help. He heard Kyo make a little whining noise each time one of them made physical contact with her, but Chisel shot her a meaningful look, and she fell silent.
The sluggish passages trailed on and on; he hardly came down here himself, but Oshi, prowling somewhere in the shadows (near us hopefully, he thought,) should really have been leading them.
There was a crackle above their heads, and everyone's eyes darted to the ceiling, only to find dull greyish dust that now fell to the floor.
"That had to have been bigger than an ant to disturb that dust," whispered Oshi. "Another fifty yards this way, I think."
Fifty yards… Chisel's grip tightened on his axe, and everything seemed a lot more real. He was now aware of his lack of protection, and painfully aware that he was just skin and bone, to be torn apart with ease. And suddenly, the passage ahead seemed to loom and stretch and jeer before them.
They pressed on, Chisel managing to control his fear. Kyo edged nervously behind, and he quickly put a protective arm around her shoulders and hooked his cart behind him onto the handle of his axe. He kept his eyes on the arch of the cave, also aware of the light-footed shadow strafing in front of them. He now brought them to a sudden halt.
"Listen," he whispered. Chisel strained his ears, but could only hear a low mumbling.
"What's it saying Oshi?" he asked, somewhat jealous of the assassin's acute hearing.
Oshi remained unflinchingly still for perhaps a couple of seconds, and was almost invisible with the lack of movement.
"It's hungry," he replied. "We'll move a bit closer."
"It'll find us," said Kyo instantly.
"Then we run," he retorted, prowling off further into the caves. Chisel sighed and shrugged, and dragged himself and Kyo after him.
The rasping groan crept nearer, and he could now hear snippets of words. It was an awful grating hissing noise that made his bones prickle. If the air had become thicker and danker over their journey, it was horribly noticeable now.
Chisel turned, noting with a little apprehension that their fifty yards had almost been walked. Ahead of them lay a sharp left turn, which led to what looked like a totally separate cave. It was just as musty and dark as the rest of Anthell, but this section of the caves was spacious and wide.
Oshi darted to the other side of the archway and concealed himself behind it, quickly becoming just another shadow. Chisel peered around the corner and felt a wave of numbing sweep over him; Phreeoni was right there.
It was a disgusting looking creature. Chisel wasn't sure if it were solid or made of some strange jellopy substance. It was about eight feet tall, a dull mauve in colour with a beige front, and there were gnarled green… things growing out of it's head. It had mad wide rolling eyes, a tongue lolling from its gaping mouth that dragged along the floor, and it's "arms" flailed in great disgusting rippling motions through the air above it's head. There wasn't a lot of shape to it; it seemed to be a great hulk of pink and tongue. It straddled to and fro along the dusty floor, screaming in a deep pulsing moan of a voice.
"Why am I always hungry?" it demanded the air around it. "Food… food… I need food! Somebody bring me some meat! Fresh meat! I'm hungry!"
Chisel was trying to signal to Oshi that they needed to leave. They had to get out. But he didn't know whether or not Oshi could see, and prayed to the ancient gods that Phreeoni wouldn't spot them.
"Here!" it shrieked forcefully and so suddenly, it sent waves of shock through his body. "Someone is here! Bring them to me! Come out! Bring them here! I'm hungry!"
There was a horde of ants streaming toward them, looming closer and clustering together. Chisel watched with wide eyes as the situation began to cave in on them; they were discovered, and they couldn't take on Phreeoni.
"Oh shit," he breathed. Kyo looked desperately up at him. "Oshi, let's go! Run!"
Instantly, Oshi tore off back the way they had come, and Chisel let go of Kyo, sprinting away. Ahead, there was a flash of katars, and a throng of dead ants spilled to the floor. Chisel followed suit, jabbing his axe wildly at the sea of insects, and judging by the frequent stabbing noises just ahead of him, so was Kyo. Behind them, he heard earth-shaking stomps, and the mad cry of Phreeoni as it now came pelting after them.
The seconds streaked by, leaving Chisel feeling vague and lost in the chase. He had doubts that they would be able to outrun it. He quickly whispered the chant for a simple Blacksmith spell, known as the Hammer Fall. They was a little bronze tingle on the air, and magic lit the dark caves. It shaped itself into the hammers, as Chisel instructed, and rocketed to the ground. As each hit, it sent a little dizzying shockwave over the floor, and a tremendous (and oddly comforting) crash.
He sighed with relief, but he didn't cease running. There were a few moments where the only sound was the pounding of human feet, then a faint rabble as the creatures began moving again. A scream of frustration was heard from Phreeoni, having lost its prey that shook the dust from the ceiling.
With only a slight struggle, they heaved themselves panting and shocked back up into the desert, a burst of bright sunlight greeting them. The heat of the day shrouded them again, and they gulped down the fresh air that lay on the surface.
"In future," declared Chisel through his fatigue. "We don't…" His tired mind fought for something to say, and came up with an unhelpful blank. "Ah, bugger it!"
Oshi, the only one of the three to remain standing after breaking out of Anthell, shook off his katars and sheathed them again. "Back to the mountains?" he asked, though it was more like a statement than a question.
"But we're killing that thing at some point?" said Kyo abruptly, and rather firmly.
"When the others get back," replied Chisel after a pause. He rose uneasily to his feet, fully acknowledging how hot it was, and taking the lead as they set off home again.
-X-X-
"Taiken, that's a bit of a tall order, you know."
Taiken sighed again. The sigh went to Hawk, and he too wished he knew a way to dress up the proposal without it being "a bit of a tall order."
Honestly, Hawk had been afraid that the dancers at Comodo school would all be these hideous girly girls who would giggle non-stop and speak in voices that would make his skin wrinkle and his ears bleed. He'd had several rather frightening and scarily vivid mental images of these horribly feminine creatures dressed in giant pink fluffy things, parading and gossiping.
But the kind headmistress of the school whom they spoke with now was most definitely nothing like that. Yes, she had her… "feminine charms", and a sort of happy-go-lucky attitude, but she was mature and easy to talk to. And she didn't wear very much pink.
Her name was Aravis, and she was the daughter of the first battle dancer. Word had it that she looked just like her mother, and so did her own daughter. There were signs of age creeping onto her face, but they didn't look like flaws somehow. Her skin was tanned, her eyes dark blue and vivid, and her hair was a sleek stream of silvery blond.
"I realize that Aravis," replied Taiken pleadingly.
"You remember how hard it was to pass the test to get into the senior classes, don't you?" she asked, a little severely, as though Taiken were still her student.
"Yes, but-…"
"She was already in the senior classes in her school," interjected Hawk. He knew quite a bit about Kyo from the long conversations on their solitary journey from Arie.
Aravis sighed. "Yes, I have no doubts that Miss Kyo is a competent dancer, but Comodo is quite a bit more demanding than Arie."
"We reckon she could handle it," replied Taiken casually. "And if she can't, what have you got to lose?"
Aravis considered this slightly, with a slight glare at Taiken. It took Hawk a lot of self control to not roll his eyes or slap himself in the forehead, or better yet, clobber Taiken with something large, heavy and blunt; he'd been pretty explicit on the boat about the what-have-you-got-to-lose tactic and not using it.
"It would be so much easier if I could just meet her here," mused Aravis, a little bitterly.
"Can you send your falcon with a note?" suggested Taiken.
"Yes, but they won't be here for a week."
"That's OK," interjected the slightly flustered dancer. "And if she's good enough, then maybe my daughter will stop whining about her room mate, or lack thereof."
"That's a point; how is little Tassy?" asked Taiken leisurely.
Aravis laughed slightly. "Peachy. And if you spot her, please don't go through that whole "look how you've grown" routine you seem to be fond of; she gets enough of that from her father."
-X-X-
"Hey, Akiro!"
Akiro spun around to face the classroom door, immensely surprised to see Ruriko standing there, as was his class.
"Ruriko? What's wrong?"
"We've got some arse to kick – we're rounding up the other Masters and heading down to the pillar. Sis and Fieri just got back from there and they say we have to go down there and give a little big thing that shouldn't be down there a bloody good whack."
Akiro took a few seconds to realise he was frowning, not sure whether to believe her or not.
"Oh, and if you don't hustle it up a bit, Fieri's gonna come stomping up here and she'll be angry with us. And since I like my limbs where they are at the moment, let's just go."
"Fair enough," he replied, not sure what else to do. Still feeling a little squeamish about leaving a class of fire mages on their own for an undesignated period of time, he followed her out of the classroom. "Any idea what this thing is?"
"Er… No," was the sheepish reply. "But we do know it likes blood, gore, death, killing, maiming, massacring, and other such lovely things."
"Sounds like fun."
"That's fabulous, but we happen to be late. The others are already there." With that, she seized him (surprisingly firmly) around the wrist and sprinted out of the school, him barely keeping up.
x-x-x
She kept her eyes carefully fixed on the road ahead, and her mind on her destination and the surprised teeming crowds they cut a fine path through. She kept wondering if he was staring at her, but she would mentally slap herself every time she ran across the thought.
"They didn't bother to find out what this thing is?" he asked as they neared the pillar.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. All Sis said about it was a stupid thing like "better safe than sorry"," she replied, turning to frown, cautious not to meet his eyes.
Not sure if he would keep up, she seized his wrist again and bolted up the stairs of the central spire. Fatigue came thumping into her legs only after the climb, at the top of the spire where the other Masters and Draco stood waiting in front of the pillar.
"Are we all ready to go?" grumbled Fieri, impatiently beating the air with her wand.
"It was his fault…"
"I want rid of that thing!" screamed Fieri suddenly, making everyone jump back.
"Fieri, it's OK!" said Senko, a short silver haired woman. She adjusted her glasses, large blue eyes blinking rapidly, as she rushed forward to sooth her companion. "We'll be done with it all soon…"
"You didn't feel it," spat Fieri savagely. "It's desire to kill. It needs to be rid off. Now. Quickly."
"Let's go then," said Jigan firmly. He strode to the pillar, and was gone. The others followed.
Within a minute, the fourteen fighters stood assembled, ready to search and destroy. Ruriko automatically took out her diary and began her "Sense" spell, scanning the surrounding landscape. Her heartbeat was clearly audible, and her vision clouded slightly, becoming more complex and abstract. Images and feelings came in a blurry array of hazy messages. There were little stabs of bloodlust as she stumbled over a monster. Lurching further around, she found still nothing.
"Anything?" asked Draco from somewhere. Ruriko ceased chanting, mind swirling slightly as it fully returned to her body.
"Not yet."
"I can't find it either," said Senko with a little fumble of her shield. She was so gangly and physically weak that she didn't even bother taking an assault weapon into a fight; just a shield.
A few of the Masters returned from their spell, shaking their heads glumly. Sighing, Ruriko took off on another Sense, with a little gasp of searing pain, willed herself out a little further, flitting over the terrain.
Then she felt it; a single whisper of wind, the breath left her lungs, and her mouth was filled with a metallic taste. She was completely overcome with the most incredible thirst for gore… She had to kill something! Pain was snaking into her, coming in white-hot stabs… and she needed to kill…if she didn't kill, she would choke to death… all the time, every last part of her was screaming that she had to kill…
"Ruriko!"
She hurtled back to her senses once more, and air flooded her insides.
"Did you find it?" asked Draco, staring straight into Ruriko's face. Not trusting herself to speak, Ruriko nodded.
"You dwelled on it too long," sighed Fieri, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Do you feel alright?"
"I think I do," she replied. "It's this way." She led them off, surprised at the thump in her head that came with every step, the sick feeling in her stomach, how faint her legs were and how it didn't seem they would support her weight. She didn't let it show, of course. She had to see to it that this thing was disposed of; she saw what Fieri meant now, about having to kill this thing as soon as possible.
"Ruriko, did you get a name?" the short little fire sage asked from behind her. "It styled itself, but that seems impossible and I didn't know if-…"
"Lord of Death," said Ruriko instantly.
x-x-x
Akiro was horribly unnerved by Ruriko's… fit; but he wasn't sure whether it would be wise to show too much concern.
He walked with Jigan, an impulsive, charming and silent man only a few years senior to him. Jigan was something like a brother to Akiro, but he wasn't sure if he could talk to him about Ruriko.
"It's just past that… shrine looking… thing," she suddenly said from the head of the group, pointing.
"I'll go on ahead," replied Draco instantly.
"But, Sis-…"
"I'll be fine."
With her fists clenched, the assassin strode forward, slinking into the shadows.
x-x-x
Sticking to her old habits, Draco didn't move more than a few inches from the walls. She kept reminding herself of the quick chant that allowed her to slip unnoticed into the ground, slowly rolling over their syllables in her mind. The closest translation for the words was "hiding" or "let me hide", so the thief technique became known as "Hiding."
She edged closer, her feet causing no stir in the sand, then strafed behind the next pillar. The "shrine looking thing" was set out like a corridor, lined densely with crumbling columns of crimson stone.
Suddenly, there was a crashing noise, like the splitting of a tree trunk beneath a steel axe. It wasn't particularly loud, but it was most certainly daunting, and set her heart rattling in her chest. With the smallest movement, she risked a glance at the creature.
It was almost as tall as the pillars that towered over her. She reminded herself quickly that she could down a monster of any size, but there was something so menacing about it. It was covered it blazing white armour, mounted on a giant white horse. It looked almost like a knight, and reminded her of the huge Abysmal Knight that prowled the north. Straining her ears, she heard heavy, rattling breaths of longing, that made her think of the silent sigh as a blade slipped through human flesh – a sensation she had felt too often.
She mentally shook herself, and checked her position quickly; there were about three pillars between her and Lord of Death. There was just under a hundred yards behind that led to where the Masters and Ruriko were, but she had this feeling that it somehow knew something was around, and was on the alert. Lord of Death couldn't see her, but it was aware of some kind of presence.
She slowly backed herself into the wall, not noticing its warmth, and quickly muttered the Hiding spell. She couldn't move when she was underground, but if she slipped into a wall, she could edge her way along it. She faded into the wall behind her, and, with slow progress, made her way back through the corridor of stone.
x-x-x
Ruriko cast her anxious eyes around, naturally apprehensive. She didn't want Draco to go near that thing on her own. Normally, it was the other way round, and Ruriko was always the little sister who Draco had to protect.
She stamped her feet impatiently; it felt like the world had slowed down to a halt. It seemed like an eternity that she and the Masters sat there waiting.
Fortunately, Draco soon emerged from a nearby wall, wearing a slightly sickened look on her face.
"It looks like some kind of knight, and the armour seems to be of the same design Pronteran Knights, only much, much older," she began. "It's about fifteen feet tall, and that's when it's mounted on a horse."
"We'll surround it," said Zeta, in his chillingly deep voice. "We'll just cast our most powerful spells. Draco, we need you to keep it busy while we're casting, but as soon as we unleash the spells…"
"Get the Hel out of the way," she interjected, which a slight smirk. "I know, I know; it's all in a day's work."
The Masters of Yuno sprinted knowingly ahead, Ruriko pounding after them. In a blur of time, she saw them form a circle around the strange gigantic white horseman, which Draco had attacked.
Draco, however, was clearly struggling; her eyes were wide, and though her assault was both swift and powerful, it wasn't affecting Lord of Death, other than further aggravating it. It held a heavy bone-white blade in one hand that sent tremors through the ground where it struck and shattering the stone, gaping black cracks spreading over the floor. And she was barely dodging it – she was constantly buffeted back by the force of its attacks.
Ruriko panicked slightly, giddy on the feeling of battle. She ran around it, a little spasm of fear coursing through her as Lord of Death made as if to attack her, but Draco sprang in front of it and stabbed it hard in it's face, twisting her blades in a sharp and quick movement as she yanked them out. It didn't even flinch.
The little sage was muttering the chant under her breath, not sure if she would remember the rhyme to summon the Lord of Vermillion. It was, in fact, a most advanced wizard spell, and she found it difficult, as it was not like most spells where she could improvise small bits of the chant if she forgot. And it required great mental discipline, which most certainly was not her forte; she seeped every ounce of her will and her mind into her spell, a little voice jeering you're going to screw this up.
"I call to you, Lord of Vermillion, the sage, Ruriko. Reach out from Muspelheim and use this human to channel your power. Deliver this tyrant to their doom. Let them not see again this world's skies – the moon in all her glory; the stars, guardians of the night; the sun ablaze. Let flames come forth and-…" Ah… no! What do the flames do? They… oh uh… oh no…… oh! Right, "…end their living days. Take them to the Lady Hel. Leave their soul no peace. I pray thee, burn. And so I fell."
With a feeling of a satisfaction, Ruriko watched as her spell ignited itself in a brilliant blaze, along with twelve others. Draco had leapt away with a graceful back flip, landing next to Orius. There was an amazing flash of lightning bolts, streaks of red flame, and splinters of ice, all glittering gold and silver and red. A merciless soaring of magic ripped through the air, all blazing around Lord of Death. The sky that was always tinged crimson became a wonderful midday blue for a few seconds.
But from the charred and blackened ground came a shriek. It tore the very atmosphere in two, cleaving through the wind. So bitter and so enraged, Lord of Death staggered to it's feet, crying and screaming at unimaginable pitches, making Ruriko throw her hands defensively over her ears; it was the most awful piercing screech. Black glutinous blood poured from gaping wounds and cracks in its armour, glistening horribly. It took a few of its deep, rattling breaths, screamed once more and tore off, the horse making flaws in the ground with feet that ran with no rhythm.
"Why's it going off north?" asked Fieri incredulously, her wand still trailing fire whenever she moved it.
"It's safer there than it is here, and we can expect it back," mused Orius with a frown. "And we need to get back up to the school."
"But how did it survive?" Jigan half shouted. "I mean, we have an assassin stabbing it in the head non-stop and thirteen of the most powerful of the mage class casting all of the greatest spells all at the same time. Nothing should have survived that! Does anyone even realize the scale of what that thing has just gone through?"
"It just had endurance," replied Draco, a little sharply. "A lot, I'll grant, but sooner or later we had to run into something like this."
"It had way too much endurance," he whimpered back.
-X-X-
It would be one day before they reached Comodo, and for some reason, Kyo was frightfully nervous. A few days ago, they had received a letter from Hawk and Taiken telling them that the headmistress of the school wanted to meet Kyo, as apparently it was a much bigger favour they were asking than they had thought. At the end of the note, there was a puzzling little P.S, no doubt written by Taiken, begging them to call Hawk "Hawky-poo," and ignore all grunts and evil looks and lectures they got, "because he loves it really."
She had been inwardly flushed when Alder landed on her rather than Oshi or Chisel; he may have known them longer, but this little gesture made it clear that Hawk thought of her as the better friend.
But now she wanted to make the perfect impression on her hopefully-soon-to-be teachers. Even if they wouldn't show it, the God's Cry would still be staggeringly disappointed, and she would just shrink back into a useless little girl who may or may not have some relevance to their fate. She was being given a chance to be something other than that, to physically be able to make a real difference – a real difference, not just the person who washed the dishes or something else exasperatingly mundane – and there was no way she could let herself mess this up.
Chisel and Oshi were sat in a cabin next to hers, they being gentlemen (at least, Chisel was a gentleman, and Oshi would just go along with it.) Her cabin was quite spacious, once she'd moved the furniture around a bit, and she was going over the steps of a few dances she had been learning at Arie School of Dance. The one she was doing at the moment was southern style: fast, exotic, and full of twirls and hip shaking. As one of Kyo's teachers had put it, she had "snake-like hips," and so she generally favoured tunes that had a very definite rhythm. However, another teacher had told to go for the more "slow flowy things"; something about graceful eloquent movements.
She tried to keep her mind on the click of her sandals and the slow sway of her hips, but she kept trying to find flaws in herself. You can't perform, you dolt. Who wants a dancer who can't perform. Well, I've changed since then, she thought to herself, gritting her teeth. And I will perform. I'll sing too.
x-x-x
"Don't you think it's weird?"
"Hmm?"
Chisel thought he was hearing things for a second; he'd become used to the "incomplete" silence, as he liked to put it, that came with staying with Oshi for long periods of time. But Oshi, at this time, had most definitely asked him a question.
"What's weird?"
"Kyo," was the whispered reply, uttered so low that Chisel wasn't sure he'd heard it correctly.
"What about her?"
"Her "magical talent." She really should have been carted off to Geffen or the chapel in Prontera with that kind of ability."
"She hinted she would've quite liked to have been a mage, but from what I've heard, she's a good dancer."
"I'm not hinting at her caste," interjected Oshi sharply. "I mean I think it's a little bit more than just talent. It's only a hunch, but…"
He trailed off, leaving a buzzing pause on the air.
"…But what?"
"Well, she was sure about this thing with the monsters, and… well… I thought it was fear, honestly… but remember when I suggested we move closer to Phreeoni, and she instantly said that it would spot us? I'm not sure it was fear…"
"Are you saying that Kyo can… see into the future or something?"
"I'm not saying anything yet. I'm just offering my opinion, and my opinion is that we should keep an eye on her with things like this."
Chisel thought about it for a minute; he'd never thought much of the self-proclaimed fortune-tellers who travelled Midgard, forecasting the health of farm animals and the weather. It was impossible to predict the future; it wasn't as if the rest of eternity was all written and planned. It just made him feel so useless and insignificant that he had no control over his life – that he was just following some set script. No… when the sun rose tomorrow, it would be a fresh new day, and he would live it as he chose.
"I think I'll set her some kind of test, just to check," mused Oshi, with a slight smirk. "But Chisel, she must not know what we are trying to find out. She can't be aware of what she is doing. And she doesn't know anything about it herself."
"And you know that how?" said Chisel blandly. He wasn't sure whether to laugh, frown, or look serious; Oshi was maybe assuming a bit too much.
"It's called speculation, blacksmith."
"… Blacksmith has a name."
-X-X-
Hawk spent most of his time around the harbour, waiting for Kyo's boat to arrive. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he missed her quite a bit. When he rescued her, it was like she owed him something, which he knew she would repay. In a way, it was kind of territorial, though he didn't like to use such a primitive word. She was quite dependent on him, and he didn't want to… let her down. His mother had always said: a friend in need is a friend indeed. And Kyo was certainly the closest thing he had had to a best friend.
Taiken's suggestions that it was something more made him snort. But when the bard had been assuring Aravis that Kyo was indeed a beautiful girl, he found himself unable to open his mouth and agree without going overboard.
"Hey Hawk!"
Hawk turned around, and found Taiken there with a couple of youngsters, who, looking at their attire, could only be students at the school. There were two dancers and a bard.
He thought back to their conversation with Aravis, and her brief mentioning of her daughter, and picked her out immediately. One of the dancers was most certainly Tassy, a slender, fine-featured blond girl with bright blue eyes and pale skin. The other girl had long supple brown curls and bronzed skin. The bard had messy red hair and stunning amber eyes, and a slight swagger to his walk.
"Aren't we an anti-social little hunter today," said Taiken in a mock-exasperated voice. He took a seat next to Hawk on the wall he had taken to sitting on. Here, he had a clear view of the boats docking in, and he kept away from the crowds, so the amount of women giving him the "why hello there" look (as Taiken called it) was greatly reduced.
"What's up," he replied blandly, with a cynical smile.
Taiken grinned, and his companions were regarding Hawk with interest.
"How come I haven't met him yet?" asked the tanned dancer, eying Hawk keenly.
"Because you're scary," said Taiken, giving her a playful little shove. "Hawk, this is Kura. The bimbo is Tassy and this cocky git over here is Leo."
The dancers were giggling and looking at him eagerly, and Leo stepped forward and shook his hand.
"Taiken says you're awesome at archery," he said quite abruptly. "How awesome are we talking?"
Hawk thought for a moment, thinking he'd like to throttle Taiken. "Well, I haven't ever had to say anything about my own technique."
"Well, Leo's by far the best shot of the seniors," mused Kura. "I'm guessing he doesn't want the competition."
Taiken laughed. "Oh please! With Hawk, there is no competition. Even against other hunters, he'll beat them hands down. Show them, Hawk."
Hawk was a little taken aback, but started looking for some kind of impressive target. His gaze fell upon a cherry blossom tree about a hundred yards away. It wasn't shedding its petals yet, but he could see at least one that was starting to detach itself.
He reached for his bow, absent-mindedly tightening the string and notching an arrow to it. He was aware of the others turning to look at his target.
"That petal," was all he said. He barely needed to take time with his aim, just raise his bow slightly. He didn't think it much of a shot; as the petal fell, he let it glide down a bit, then fired, his arrow piercing it and pinning it back against the tree.
He slung his bow back over his shoulder, choosing to ignore the looks the musicians were giving him; he didn't know if they were surprised, impressed, incredulous…
He instead focused his attention on the boat that was now docking into the harbour, milling with tourists. He was delighted when Alder emerged from the deck somewhere (much to the surprise of the passengers) and flew over to join him. The falcon greeted him with a little nip on the ear, then began soaring through the air above his head. He looked intently at the teeming crowds for Kyo, Chisel and Oshi.
-X-X-
Hawk was a little apprehensive about Kyo's meeting with Aravis, but it seemed to him that he was being so for her sake, as she seemed completely calm about it. He walked next to her, along with Tassy. On Kyo's arrival, she had practically jumped on her, exclaiming how happy she was that she would finally have a roommate.
He didn't doubt Kyo's abilities as a dancer, but he was quite chilled by the way Aravis had called the entire thing "a bit of a tall order." And they still needed to teach her archery, at least the skills for a basic archer, since she knew already how to hold a bow and arrow.
They passed the pastel coloured marble main hall, and Taiken and Leo were leading them deeper into the school, through a wide corridor to where the section of the building with the classrooms and studios was.
The group entered one of these rooms: a wide, well lit panelled room lined all the way round with mirrors. Aravis and the other eleven instructors were assembled there, all tall and beautiful and superior. All knew much better than he whether or not Kyo was capable of attending Comodo School of Music and Dance.
"Ah, Kyo, I presume," said Aravis, rushing forward and taking Kyo by both her hands. Kyo bowed, making the elder woman smile. "I like her already. But we need a little more than that. Now Kyo…" she began. Kyo stood as if to attention, like a knight at the beck and call of their lord. "You went to Arie School of Dancers, yes? At what stage were you at?"
There was silence for a moment. "I haven't learnt any dances that involve magic," replied Kyo evenly. "But I had learnt all of the dances solely for performance on the syllabus."
"And what were your favourites?"
"Well…" Another pause. "I did like a lot of the southern style dances, and I was the only one in my class who could really do that whole hip shake thing. I'm quite good with batons and sword dances. Now that I think about it, I was good at pretty much all of them, but those were the ones I really enjoyed." She sounded genuinely surprised.
"And you can sing?"
"I think so. I haven't done so since I was quite young."
"You still are young, child."
"I think she's a dream come true, quite frankly, Aravis," said one of the bards, who leant casually against the wall.
"She certainly sounds it," mused Aravis, smiling. "Would you mind performing for us? It's naturally what we were expecting."
20