I do not own anything but my characters!
Quotes and meanings below.
"Speaking aloud"
'Speaking telepathically'
Subconscious thoughts, deep in the mind and cannot be heard by others at all.
My fanfiction & Wattpad: VivicaNight
My deviantart: Horrorgir1
Chapter 16: Cryal
After a day filled with numerous random dreams involving Axel, the reapers and the dragon creature carved into the knife of Axel's, I finally begin to wake up at nightfall.
Opening my eyes a yawn forces itself out of me, lying on my back now, slowly my arms move to push myself up.
Looking around, Axel is nowhere to be seen.
Would he really leave me here all alone after last night? Aren't I a target now or something...?
My questions get answered once a familiar crow flies down the pipe and lands across from me, holding a large black feather in its beak.
"Aww." I gush at him, taking the feather out of his mouth.
Amon turns into his real form, giving me a smile, "I figured you would want that for your little project you've got going on there." He offers, pointing at Valkyrie and the feathers.
Looking at my weapon and the feathers, my eyes widen and the idea comes back to me, having completely forgotten about it, "Oh yeahhh!" Grabbing onto Valkyrie I pull her over to me, looking at the twine and feathers.
Amon smirks before walking over to the table, searching through everything on it, knocking over a number of glass vials on it, "Woops! Oops! Axel don't kill me please.." He talks to himself while knocking things over on accident, seeming to finally have found what he is looking for.
Tilting my head a little, I watch, "What is it...?"
Amon walks back over to me, holding a small glass jar that looks as if it was made centuries ago, "It should help you." He informs me, kneeling down in front of me.
He twists the cap off and digs one of his claws into whatever is inside, scooping a bit of it onto his claw he offers it to me.
Looking at the dark brown, gooey-looking substance on his claw in confusion, I look at him, "...But what is it?"
"I guess you could say it is like glue, but better."
"Better?" I question, watching him in confusion.
He smirks at me, "Just try it."
Hesitantly I scoop the substance off his claw and put it on Valkyrie, in the same spot I was trying to tie the feathers onto. Quickly I pick up one of my feathers and stick it onto the substance, keeping it there for a few moments.
Letting go of the feather, it stays, my face brightens in excitement, "Hell yeah!" I feel the substance, realizing it has turned into something similar to cement.
"He had that up there the whole time?" I ask, looking over at Amon again.
"Yeah." He chuckles, giving me the jar.
Using the substance to attach the feathers to Valkyrie, we continue talking as I do so, "So, tell me about this thing on here." I wonder, pointing the knife of Axel's out to Amon.
Amon takes the knife, looking over it he smirks, "This used to be our father's. He actually made this himself."
I look at him, "...Really?" Interest in my voice.
So that is why Axel flipped out...
"Yeah, and this creature on the handle is called a Cryal, remember us telling you about them?"
"Wait wait wait...a Cryal is a dragon?!" I gasp.
"When they choose to be, yes. That is their true forms, but they have a more humanoid form as well that they use most of the time instead."
"That makes sense." I tilt my head a little, trying to imagine what a Cryal in its true form looks like with my own eyes.
"But what happens when one of those dies? Why hasn't anyone ever found their bones? Does something happen to them similar to when you guys lose limbs?"
"Yes, within seconds after death their bodies begin to disintegrate into dust, leaving no trace of them ever existing."
"Wow...that's one clever way to keep the species hidden." I note, wondering what would happen to my body if I died.
Amon places the knife on the ground, seeming unable to move his attention from it due to him remembering it vividly as a child.
Once finished putting the feathers on Valkyrie, I slowly stand up, wincing from the pain between my legs.
My winces grab Amon's attention, he stands as well, "I told him to get used to you, not like that..." He sighs, softly moving my hair aside to see the side of my neck, the bites from the night before permanently scarred onto my neck, but in a way that they are hard to tell are bites.
"It's okay." I assure, looking at him.
"It's not. I shouldn't have left you with him." He mutters, sounding very guilty and remorseful.
I watch him in confusion, "Wait, do you think he took advantage of me or something?"
His attitude changes, "He didn't?"
I laugh at him, "It was actually mostly my idea, I stole his knife and flew away with it, he got PISSED and had to find me. But my plan worked." I admit, smirking.
"I...really didn't expect that from you, especially after what he did to you." He expresses, surprised.
"...Yeah, but after that dream I had about Emma...I'm not sure what to believe anymore..." I shrug, looking down at my hands.
Confusion and concern spreads across his face, "Why..? Did you dream about it again?" He worries, gently lifting my head to look at him.
"...Yea...I could recognize more faces...people I've killed...people I've watched Axel kill..."
He looks to become more concerned, "I wonder if you are sensitive when it comes to unsettled souls..."
"Unsettled souls...?"
"Did they seem angry? Lost? Confused?" He questions.
"A lot of them did...yeah."
"Those are spirits, or souls that don't know how or won't move on."
I look into his eyes, "What am I supposed to do to help them...?"
"There is nothing you can do, you are not an angel, I don't believe you have the ability to help them move on." He informs me.
I frown, his words remind me of what I saw last time, "Oh yeah! Speaking of angel, I guarantee I saw one last time I dreamt of that place. She was very bright and her wings were white as clouds!"
He becomes very interested, "You did? What did she look like?"
"I couldn't get a good look at her...she was too bright, almost blinding...but she spoke to me in the most soothing voice I've ever heard...she told me I am where I am supposed to be...what does that mean?" I wonder, tilting my head a little.
He thinks for a moment, "I'm not sure...it could mean everything led you to this point for a reason we aren't aware of yet."
"Maybe..." I trail off, looking over his wings.
A sound from the pipe grabs our attention, Axel lands on the ground on top of the small pile of wrapped up bodies I never noticed until now, he steps off of them, clothed in his usual clothing he wears during the day.
I look at Amon, then Axel, then Amon, "Okay, so Axel wears clothes during the day, why don't you?" I wonder, looking over his body.
Amon laughs, "I have my crow form, plus I don't need to hunt during the day, I can wait until night falls depending on if I need to heal anything. I can go days without eating anything, it only depends on if I get injured or a part of me starts dying. Other than that I don't have a reason to wear anything, unlike humans who obsess over that."
Axel begins to work on the bodies, listening to us.
"Wait, you guys only eat if you need to heal a body part? What about general hunger?" I continue to try and learn more from them, confused.
"We don't have a reason to generally be hungry. We don't have digestive systems below the stomach, but we do have kidneys and bladders." Amon informs me.
My eyes widen, "What? You guys don't have bowels or anything like that? How? What if you eat something your body doesn't need, or too much of something?" I ask, very interested.
"Our stomachs can store an amount of meat and bones for if we need it in a tight situation, hearts are good to fill up on, but if we eat something our bodies can't use, it pretty much comes back up."
My eyes wide, face full of interest, "Woah...that's so weird...but awesome."
Amon grins at me in response, "Any other questions?"
"How do you guys kill a Cryal...?"
This seems to grab Axel's attention as he looks over at me, I look over at him then back at Amon.
Amon picks the knife back up from earlier, the one their father made, he then points out the material the blade is made of. The blade is black and shiny, like glass, "Obsidian." He informs me.
"Obsidian...? How does that kill them?" I question him, looking over the knife.
He hands me the knife and I hold it, "Obsidian is one of the only things that can pierce through a Cryal's tough scales, once it gets past the scales and into the skin, the mineral's contact acts like a poison and enters the bloodstream, killing it within minutes."
"...Woah..." I respond in awe, realizing another reason why Axel is so protective over it.
Amon smirks at me, "One day soon i'm sure you will be able to help us kill one."
I then realize a similarity between Valkyrie and the knife, my eyes widen. I pick up Valkyrie and look at her blade, my jaw drops.
Amon watches, smirking at my sudden realization.
"The blade is made of Obsidian..." I realize, smiling.
Axel watches, already knew it was as well, kept it after he first met me for that reason.
Time passes, Amon left about a half hour later and the rest of the time was spent watching Axel work.
Axel is about finished, and I have been running around the basement for fun, the spots where my feathers were pulled out of my wings have begun regrowing feathers as well, having pointy, painful quills slowly growing from the spots.
I have yet to get dressed, Axel undressed a while ago and is currently on the ceiling, keeping an eye on me with his acute senses and working at the same time.
The sound of my feet pitter-pattering around has been the only sound in the basement, besides Axel's near-silent, occasional movements.
I'm currently on my fifteenth lap around the basement, running to the point I'm sweating and breathing hard, the heat in the basement isn't helping either.
Finally I stop underneath the pipe, breathing hard before moving my wet hair out of my face, "Can I go find a shower Axel?" I beg through deep breaths, looking over at him.
'Not alone.' He states abruptly, continuing to work.
"Then come with me..." I beg, putting my hands on my knees and my head down.
'Not now.'
"Why not...?" I look over at him.
He remains silent, I watch him and smirk a little, standing up straight before running over and grabbing Valkyrie before flying through the basement and out the pipe, landing on the grass beyond it.
'Get back down here, Iris!' He demands.
Quickly I turn around and grab onto the rim of the pipe, leaning into the pipe to holler down at him, "I need a showerrrr." I whine down the pipe, my voice echoing through it.
My ears pick up a deep, irritated growl from him down beyond the pipe, I giggle at his frustration.
Soon Axel flies to the pipe, I back up and he climbs out of it and takes off into the sky, I fly off with him.
'I do not have time for this.' He tells me impatiently, very annoyed and frustrated.
"You never have time for anything. Why is that?" I ask, looking over at him while holding onto Valkyrie tight.
He growls quietly at me, 'Hibernation.'
My flight slows dramatically, he notices and slows down, looking back at me in confusion.
"Hibernation? What? You hibernate? Why?" I ask, becoming depressed.
He watches me, 'Human population control.'
"Uhhh. What?" I hesitate, not understanding.
'To keep humans from going extinct by my species.' He informs me.
My face fills with surprise, "Oh. That actually makes sense...does Amon hibernate too?" I wonder, flying over to him.
He takes off flying, I follow him, 'No.'
"Oh, because he eats animals instead? Or what?"
'Yes. Eating different animals breaks the cycle.'
"Okay" I respond, staying quiet for a bit while we fly, Axel remains quiet as well.
I speak up after a few moments, "...For how long? Through the winter or something?" I wonder, looking at him.
'23 years.'
Immediately I stop flying forward, stopping in my tracks and flying in place, "...What did you say...?" I mumble, in complete disbelief.
He stops flying and turns his body around to look at me, flying in place as well, '23 years. After I have been awake for 23 days.' He explains.
"...You're messing with me, right? You've gotta be...there's no way..." My voice trails off.
The serious look on his face gives me the answer, "...How long do you have left..?" Now understanding why he is always in a rush.
'9 days.' He states, obviously keeping close attention to the number of days.
I almost lose balance in the sky, depression overcomes me, "...Only 9...?" I whimper, frowning, "Where will I go...? What will I do...?" I begin to ask myself, hands on my face.
'You will remain somewhere safe, likely with my brother.' He concludes before flying off again, slowly I follow him.
"...Why 23 years and days?" I ask, looking at him.
'Each Galileus gets a number of years, the first time hibernation happens, we find out how long after we awaken. Amon's years of hibernation is 31.' He informs me.
"Oh wow..no wonder he eats animals...I wouldn't want to sleep my life away either..." I say quietly to myself.
Axel suddenly dives downward, I follow his actions and we land in front of a small cabin.
Looking over it, I don't sense any life inside of it, "Awesome!" I cheer, running to the door and trying it to see if today is my lucky day, sadly it is not.
Axel smirks at me a little, watching me get disappointed, he flies onto the side of the house and lands on a window seal, trying the window to see if it is unlocked.
"Why would the windows be unlocked? Why don't we just break one open?" I suggest, watching him move from window to window.
'Some humans lack intelligence.' He states, stopping and looking at me when I ask the second question, giving me a look as if the answer is obvious.
I laugh a little at the look he gives me, "Sorry, I don't mind vandalizing."
Axel moves his attention back to the windows, to my surprise, one of the windows open.
I laugh, "Wow, okay..." I justify, watching him climb into the window.
Taking flight, I land with my hands on the window seal, struggling I chuck Valkyrie in first before using my wings to push myself into the window.
Axel just sits there watching me struggle to his own amusement, giving me a smirk once I climb inside.
"Jerk." I spat out at him, picking up Valkyrie before walking past him and out of the room we are in.
Quickly I find a bathroom, placing Valkyrie against a wall outside of it I go into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it.
I begin to think to myself, Why am I even locking the door? He has seen all of me, countless times.
I will be fine.
Unlocking the door I open it, looking out of it Axel is nowhere to be found, but sounds can be heard from a different room, I figure that is him in a different room.
Going back into the bathroom, I turn the shower on hot, doing other things such as using the toilet and finding soap while waiting for the water to turn hot.
Once finished I feel the water, it is still freezing cold, I frown, realizing there is no hot water.
This is great...
Slowly I climb into the shower, keeping the curtain open so the semi-warm air in the house can help keep me warm, even in the slightest.
The cold water hits my dirty, bloodied skin, causing me to yipe loudly from the cold, staying out from under the stream now with my arms around my body.
The yipe seems to have grabbed Axel's attention, in an instant he is in the doorway, looking over everything to make sure I didn't get hurt.
I look at him, frowning, "There is no hot water...it's freezing..."
He relaxes, 'No shower then.' He snaps, walking over to pick me up.
I hold my hands out to him while shaking them, "No no no, I can shower...I wont get sick as long as I make it quick...the towels should be able to warm me back up." I tell him, he listens to me before leaning against a wall watching me.
'Make it quick then.' He says, folding his arms.
I watch him, nervousness overwhelming me, "...You're gonna watch?"
He nods.
My face reddens, not understanding why I am embarrassed and nervous, he isn't seeing anything new.
Slowly I build the courage to move back into the stream, screaming once the cold water hits my bare body, pulling my wings close against my sides for warmth.
Axel watches, smirking in amusement.
Seeing him smirking I bark, "Hey how about you get your winged butt in here too! Don't be enjoying this!"
He grins at me, 'Not a chance.'
I move my attention away from him and yank the shower curtain closed to shut him out.
Slowly but surely I get my whole body drenched and my wings dripping, shivering unlike I have ever shivered before. All the dirt and blood goes down the drain, I quickly clean my hair and body, keeping my wings as tight against my body as Possible when able to.
Finished, I shut the water off while my teeth chatter, my whole body shivering to the point it has become painful.
I quickly flutter my wings hard, getting the excess water off them before opening the shower curtain.
Axel looks at me, grinning at my pale, bluish skin and trembling body.
I step out of the shower, quickly grabbing the towel and wrapping it around my body tight, closing my eyes hard while continuing to tremble.
Suddenly strong, warm arms are around me and I am carried into a bedroom, my eyes wide.
Axel removes the towel, throwing it aside carelessly before grabbing the blanket off the bed. He pulls me to the bed with him, he sits with his back against the pillows against the wall, wings spread he pulls me between his legs, my head against his collar bone. He pulls the thick blanket on top of us, mainly me to where I am pretty much in a bundle curled up against him.
The feeling of his intense body heat causes me to moan loudly and grip onto him, pulling my numb body as tightly against his as possible, trembling against him.
For once he seems to smile, even a little bit before beginning to purr deeply, his arms around me, knowing the best way to warm me up the quickest.
Remembering his weakness to cold, I try to pull away, only for him to not release me, "You are going to get cold!" I cry out at him in worry.
He smirks at me, pretty much telling me he doesn't care as long as I get warm.
I frown a little before laying my head down on his chest, continuing to shiver against him while I close my eyes.
Time passes while I relax against him, listening to his breathing and heartbeat. Soon his body heat accumulates underneath the blanket and I stop shivering and become more relaxed, my body almost warmed back up completely.
The feeling of weight upon my head surprises me, my eyes widen and I remain still.
...Is he actually laying his head against mine...?
His purrs continue, seconds later he lifts his head off mine as if he just wanted to see how it felt, I look up at him and slowly sit up to face him.
He watches me and I look over the details of his face in the dark, seeing how the mandibles on his face are folded up perfectly to try and imitate a human's face from a distance. Slowly I place my fingers on the mandibles near his chin, slowly pushing them back to spread them.
He grins at me before slowly spreading all of them, revealing a number of spikes on his cheek bones that push themselves out of his skull when they are spread. My eyes widen once he spreads all of them, looking over his true face.
"...Woah..." I let out in awe, looking at all the details and differences that are usually covered up and hidden.
Lightly I poke the spikes, giggling before laying back down against him.
He folds them back up, continuing to purr quietly.
I begin to wonder whether or not he actually has feelings for me, or if he just sees me as something that can bear his offspring.
Thinking deeper into the worst case scenario, I cause myself to become very depressed, knowing he is likely a creature that doesn't feel those kinds of emotions.
But then again, he cares for Amon and feels pain when it comes to his family he used to have.
It might be possible...maybe that is why he marked me in the first place...
I lift my head up and look into his eyes again, "This might be a stupid question...but have you ever marked anything else...? Like you did to me?" I question him.
He listens, 'Numerous times, before maturity. Not a single one was marked to be serious, only for enjoyment and practice.' He reveals to me.
"...Oh, were they others of your species...?" I ask.
'Not once.'
"Oh..." I trail off, "..Were they human then...?"
He nods.
"...Wait. Did the human girls want it? Did you actually mate with them?"
'I did mate with them for my own enjoyment, and mark them. Only a small number of human females are capable of surviving the mating process. None of the humans wanted it, but I was too immature to care.' He admits, looking down at me.
"...Oh." I respond, figuring im a lucky one, unlike the others.
I begin to imagine him using his body to end a human girl's life, figuring even if he tried to be careful with one, they would still not survive until the end, pregnancy is a whole other story I'd imagine.
Laying my head back down onto his chest, hearing his heart beating again I relax and focus on the feeling of his body against mine.
My thoughts linger on the subject, recalling all the events from last night, from the feeling of him first entering me, to the feeling of his release.
The way he protects me, purrs to me and holds me close makes my life feel like heaven, even if just for a moment.
Once I am warmed up, he uncovers me, picks me up and stands, placing me onto my feet.
"Why...I was so comfortable..." I whine, looking up at him, my lavender eyes shimmering in the darkness.
'Time. The chance of grabbing unwanted attention gets higher the longer we are out.' He reminds me, leaving the room I follow him out, running over to the bathroom to grab Valkyrie before meeting up with him at the window we entered from.
He climbs out the window, hanging onto it from the outside he pushes off it with his feet, catching himself in the air with his wings, waiting for me to climb out.
Watching him, I slowly climb out of the window and jump out of it, spreading my wings before I hit the ground I flap them hard, sending air flying all around the ground below me.
Axel watches, smirking a little at my attempt to impress him.
"Oh come on that was cool!" I say enthusiastically to him, flying to him while laughing.
He takes off flying in the direction we came from, I follow close behind him, 'Amature.'
"Oh? You can do better? Go ahead!" I exclaim.
'Not now.' He says as if speaking to a child.
I growl at him, "See? You can't do any better than I-" His sudden change of direction throws me off, hesitantly I follow him.
"Whats up...?" I ask, catching up to him, he continues to fly swiftly.
'A Cryal, close by.' He warns me, picking up the pace.
I pretty much almost get left in the dust, unable to keep up with him despite my unique wings, his continue to prove themselves as more efficient.
"Axel! Wait!" I cry out to him, he slows down and looks back at me.
'You must keep up!' His voice shouts into my subconscious, I put more strength into my wings and catch up.
Seeming to have been attracted by my voice, a force slams into me the moment Axel turns back around to keep flying, I scream in fear and before my body has a moment to react, the ground meets up with it harshly.
The force flies off of me, kicking my body to the Earth in the same moment to make the crash harsher.
Pain overwhelms me, causing me to cry out, unable to move for a few moments.
Axel swiftly lands next to me to try and help, but a feminine humanoid with leather wings slams into him so fast that all I see is a blur.
Hearing Axel crash onto something tough, I push myself to get up, looking over in the direction Axel was tackled.
Axel quickly recovers and gets back on his feet, having been tackled into a large tree in an effort to weaken him.
The tree has been knocked over and uprooted, Axel bleeding from both of his wings loosely folded against his back unusually. He begins to snarl viciously and growl loudly, able to sense the Cryal flying around, keeping an eye on it.
Quickly I rise to my feet, realizing Valkyrie was dropped somewhere during my fall.
The Cryal seems focused on Axel, she flies at him but this time he was ready, they both tackle each other.
The Cryal gets grabbed from the air by the neck by Axel after tackling him, Axel was ready enough to where he wasn't thrown off his feet by her.
Axel quickly slams the Cryal onto the ground, holding her there by her neck, snarling and hissing viciously in her face fueled by pure hatred.
The female Cryal has orangeish red hair, wearing all black clothing baring two leather wings on her back.
She looks very similar to a human. She hisses loudly in his face, grabbing onto his wrist hard to snap it but he was able to predict it and grab one of her wrists with his free hand, crushing the bones beneath her skin with his harsh grasp.
She lets out a loud screech of pain, her eyes beginning to glow an ember red while snarling at him, her teeth sharp as well.
'KILL HER NOW!' His voice explodes into my head, quickly I raise a hand and Valkyrie's blade begins to faintly glow a distance from me.
Swiftly I take off toward her, sweeping her off the ground to run to Axel.
By the time I grab her, the Cryal's transformation has already begun.
Enveloping into a dark fog, her body begins to grow and change in an instant.
Looking up at her true form, my mouth hangs open and my eyes widen.
...Holy shit...