Chapter 7: Siblings.
- ASH -
Ash stared at his cup of coffee. Lyra sat across from him nursing her drink. He never understood why these moments were so awkward. This was the first time he took her out for coffee since his drunken escapades. He felt like making it up to her. They were partners after all. Whatever that meant. He couldn't have her hating him. At least not for anything he did in the past, he still has a endless possibility of ways he could piss her off in the future.
"So, it's been a while since we did this." Ash said, trying to mask the awkwardness. She nodded quietly. He decided to just go out and say it. "I passed a bar the other day."
"What?" Her ears twitched under her hood. He regretted mentioning it but it was too late now. "You didn't go in did you?"
"No, I didn't." Ash said, shaking his head. He was sure if she believed him. "I really wanted to though."
"I guess that's to be expected." Lyra murmered. She tried to smile. "Hey, if it happens again let me know and I can kick your ass again."
"Hey, you didn't kick my ass." Ash said. Lyra giggled.
"I totally did." She was smirking. He groaned. That made her laugh even harder.
"I'm done with my drink." He stormed out. She followed.
"Oh come on, it's a little bit funny." She said. Before he could respond someone slammed into him. He looked down and saw a girl a few years younger, probably fifteen tops. She wore a yellow flower dress and had a hood over her dark hair.
"I'm so sorry." She said in a soft voice. Backed up and skipped off. He turned back to Lyra who was still giggling.
"She was pretty cute." Lyra said.
"Yeah, so cute she stole my wallet." Ash replied. He patted his pocket. "Excuse me."
"What are you going to do?" Lyra asked. She was watching his hand hover over his holster. He moved it away.
"I'm going to have a stern talk and get it back." He replied with a smile. He sprinted after her.
The girl was fast, he had to give her that. He struggled to keep pace. She slid under a fence. The hole was a little small for him. Climbed up and tossed himself over it. He crashed into a pile of boxes. Nimble like a cat. He hopped back to his feet, it was a dead end. He couldn't see her anywhere.
"Alright girl, come out and give me my wallet back." Ash shouted. It was too quiet.
He barely had time to react. Blades swung at his face, he leaned back, he felt a blood dripping down his cheek. He drew Silver Faust and swung it into it's blade form. He couldn't see his attacker. He readied himself for their next attack. That's when he saw them, two of them. The girl from before and a boy about the same age. They were both carrying metal shepherd crooks. They ran towards each other and hooked their crooks together. The boy swung, the girl lifted off as he did, he noticed her shoes were covered in blades. He raised his sword and the blades slid against each other. She hit the ground and swung, her brother lifted off and before he could react he was flying through the fence. Lyra was standing over him.
"How's the stern talk going?" Lyra asked. "Get your wallet back?"
"Very funny." Ash said hopping back to his feet. They stepped over the destroyed fence, the smug looks on their faces were really beginning to annoy him. He lunged, they did the same maneuver, this time faster. Lyra cracked out Maibaum.
She twirled it around a bit, she's gotten quite a bit better at handling it. She swung. The young girl caught it just below the prod with her feet and in a quick twirl knocked the weapon from her hands. Lyra sort of froze on the spot.
"Congratulations, you just got your ass kicked by a child." Ash said raising his blade. He studied the boys boots, they seemed to have a piston system at their base. It's like getting kicked with a battering ram.
"Hey I just joined the club you started." Lyra replied.
She launched a rope dart at the kids, they ducked and it embedded into the wall behind them, she flipped her weapon around and launched a second dart. She now was holding a baton connected by two charged metal wires. She ran around them swinging the wires their way. They barely ducked out of the way. Ash grabbed the girl and lifted her up into the air, her legs were kicking violently.
"Alright you are going to give me back my wallet and we'll call this a day." He said as calmly as he could. She kicked him in the knee, he forgot her feet had blades on them. He dropped to the ground. "Little..."
The girl hopped into the air. The two outstretched their crooks and connected them. Her brother swung her towards Ash, her blades flying towards her face. Suddenly they both shot into the air and fell twitching to the ground. Lyra had tapped the crooks with Maibaum. Ash knelt over the two, the boy pulled the wallet out of his coat pocket. Ash patted him on the head.
"Good talk." Ash said. He turned back to Lyra. "We leaving?"
"Not yet, I want to know why they attacked us." Lyra said. She helped the girl to her feet, she gave Ash a stern look. He sighed and dragged the boy up as well.
"Spill it out!" Ash said. Lyra frowned. "What?"
"Why are you being such a brute?" She asked. Ash gave her an astonished look.
"Because they robbed and attacked us!" Ash shouted. Why was that so hard to comprehend? He let out a loud sigh.
"Whats your name." She said to the girl. She looked to her brother briefly and back. She shook her head violently.
"This is definitely going somewhere." Ash said, Lyra shot him a dirty look. He just couldn't win today.
"Why did you attack us?" Lyra asked. They both shook their heads.
"They attacked you because I asked them too." The voice came from behind them. Ash froze in the spot. He knew that voice. He just couldn't win today. He turned around slowly. A man in a white suit and a black bowler cap with fiery orange hair.
"Who are you?" Lyra asked. Roman chortled in a nefarious sort of way. Ash didn't like where this was going.
"What, you mean your boyfriend here hasn't told you about me. Poor form I must say." Roman said. He twirled his cane absently in his hand. "I thought we had something special."
"Roman, what are you doing here?" Ash asked. He tried not to look at Lyra right now, he hadn't mentioned this for a reason. He was just starting to get on everyone's good side too.
"Well, I have to say I miss working with you. We did such great things together." Roman said. There was a smug look on his face. He was enjoying this. "Why did you leave without saying goodbye."
"When did you work with him?" Lyra asked. Ash refused to look her way. He kept his gaze affixed on Roman.
"Well, I feel I should share. It's not fair to your girlfriend not to tell her of these things." Roman said. Ash wanted to punch him right now. He remembered that he was technically outnumbered. "We met at a bar a while back, started doing some jobs together."
"What kinds of jobs?" Lyra asked. Ash swung, it was about as much as he could do. Roman blocked with his cane. Ash swung a left hook, Roman caught his hand and redirected it.
There was a loud thunk and Ash was flying into the wall, he forgot the kids. Lyra cracked Maibaum out, Roman lowered his cane and started laughing. He patted Ash on the shoulder, he and the kids left the alley. Ash stared at the wall.
"What did you do?" Lyra asked. Her voice was colder. He didn't want to turn around. He stared at the bricks. He could feel her gaze burning through the back of his head. "I'm waiting."
"I may have, robbed a couple of places." Ash closed his eyes. He felt his heart sinking into his stomach. There was a loud crack and he was on the floor. His head was throbbing. From what he could tell she had just kicked his head into the wall.
"What is wrong with you!" She shouted. She continued to kick him while he was on the ground. "Why are you such a screw up?"
"In my defense I was really drunk." Ash said. He gave a sort of shrug. She started swinging Maibaum at him instead. Just what his headache needed right now, several thousand volts of electricity.
"You have no idea how much I hate you right now!" Lyra shouted. He had some idea.
"I'm sorry." Ash mumbled. Spasming on the floor. She rolled her eyes and stormed off. He reached towards her but she was long gone. He decided he was going to lay there for the next few days if neccesary. It started to rain. The world had a twisted sense of karma. "Roman, I'm going to kill you."
- GABRIEL -
"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked. Toreth simply shrugged. Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, that'll never happen."
He hurried down the street. Just a block away he could make out a lacy umbrella. He licked his hand and sweeped his hair back. He checked his breath, good enough. This was the most important step now, it was all about the opening. The first impression to show her what she can expect from him. He was only a few feet from her. He could smell her perfume. She turned the corner, her follwed. He walked right into someone. He he staggered back into a trashcan, tipping it over and onto the street. He hit the ground pretty hard too. Standing over him were a pair of soldiers. Elysian military types. He groaned.
"You alright civilian?" One of them asked. He grunted. They nodded and walked off. Didn't even offer him a hand. Real helpful.
"Thank you for that!" He said. They kept walking. He could see Toreth shrugging from a block away. He growled. Way to ruin his opening.
"Are you okay?" He heard a voice call out, he turned to see a pair of beautiful eyes shining down on him. Then again, sometimes accidents make the best introductions.
"Not really, I hit my head pretty hard." Gabriel said, he feigned a moan. "It hurts pretty bad."
"Then we should take you back to your room so you can rest." The voice came from a man. He glanced over her shoulder, standing behind her was a big guy in green armor. His messy beard was filled with various leaves and twigs. He had a stern look on his face. The I'm about to break your face kind of look.
"You think so?" Gwyn asked.
"Yeah he'll be fine." The man said. Gabriel had a feeling this guy was going to be a problem.
The man lifted him to his feet and patted him on the shoulder. The two of them left, the man glared at him as they went. Gabriel cursed quietly and stumbled down the street. It started to rain. Figures it would. He saw a familiar shape exit an alley.
"Ash?" Gabriel called out. Ash spun his head and waved. His hair was standing and his arm was shaking. "What happened?"
"Team bonding." Ash said with a loud cough. He leaned against the nearest wall. "How've you been?"
"Trying to talk to that Gwyn girl, not really working out." He said. He leaned against the wall. "This guy keeps getting in the way every time."
"What does he look like?" Ash asked.
"Big, messy beard, lots of green." Gabriel said. Ash nodded.
"Her brother Orin." Ash said. He patted his shoulder. "Seems to me he doesn't respect you."
"That's it!" Gabriel shouted. "I just need to get his respect."
"Good luck with that." Ash said, sliding down the wall.
- GWYN -
Gwyn knocked on the posh door. She could hear Natasha growling between knocks. The door swung open. Saffron had a big smile on her face. Which quickly froze at the sight of Natasha. Her smile started to look a little forced.
"Sis! It's been a while!" She said in a high pitched and inexplicably unenthusiastic way. Natasha looked like she was biting her tongue.
"Saffron, borrowing dad's money I see." Natasha said, eying the velvety drapes and the luxurious decorations.
"I may have spent some of my allowence on decorations but it's something a good leader has to do for her team." She said, the way she seemed to over emphasise leader. "Gwyn must know what I'm talking about."
They stared at each other, the tension could be carved into fine woodworks at this point. In their first semester, Gwyn remembered Natasha being rather upset she hadn't been chosen as leader. It took a while before they became friends. Things were starting to click. It's like all their arguments finally had context. Gwyn tried to break the tension.
"Family is nice." She said. They both nodded with the smiles so forced she was surprised neither had popped a blood vessel. "So we came here because of the sorority thing."
"You want to join?" Saffron asked, her face lit up. Natasha's eyes were rather vacant behind that smile. It was part indicisive and part thousand mile stare.
"Yes." She said after a slightly awkward pause. "Yes I do."
"Oh my gosh!" Saffron said hopping up and down. All that tension suddenly vanished and she leapt into her sister pulling her in for a firm hug. Natasha was glaring at Gwyn like this was all her fault. "This is going to be great we're going to have so much fun!"
"Yay." Natasha said. It was amazing how flat she managed to sound.
Saffron grabbed the two of them and dragged them inside. She instantly started talking about plans and aspirations. Gwyn tried to pay attention but she was talking so fast that it got hard to make out. She glanced over at Natasha who simply smiled and nodded. Gwyn recognised that maneuver, that was Natasha's way of dealing with Professor Port as well.
- GABRIEL -
Tracking down Orin took a lot longer than he thought. He found him back at Beacon, out on the grounds. He was meditating under a large oak tree. Gabriel was dressed in his combat attire, his weapon, Galatine, at his side. Orin opened his eyes and studied him for a moment. He nodded.
"Orin. I don't really like you and I get the idea that you don't like me." Gabriel said stabbing the long shaft of Galatine into the grass. The light reflected off the glaive. "I say we settle our differences like huntsmen."
"I'm not a violent man." Orin said. He paused as if contemplating the very fabric of the universe. He nodded solemly. "I accept."
Orin stood, he strapped his armor over his green robes and lifted his sawblade axe. He rested it on his shoulder. He placed his antlered helmet upon his head. He stood statuesque, rain pouring off his armor. Gabriel twirled Galatine around, giving a small demonstration of his agile form. He had to admit, he liked showing off before a fight. Orin nodded. He nodded back.
The sawblade soared straight at him, he smacked it aside only for a gnarly old staff to be swinging at his face. He rolled under it and swung his glaive low. Orin hopped up and brought the staff down. Gabriel barely blocked in time, he stumbled back. Orin retrieved his sawblade and stuck it on the end of the staff. He spun around swinging. Gabriel parried and reposted the attack. Orin hopped out of the way, almost losing balance. He swung, Orin grabbed Galatine with one hand and swung his axe with the other. Gabriel leaned back, the axe knocked his feathered hat clean off his head. Raindrops poured down his face. He twirled Galatine and held it at his back. Orin took a few steps back as he readied his axe.
They both swung, Orin launched another saw blade. Gabriel switched Galatine into it's secondary form. The shaft expanded out, the bow string drew and the first bolt was already flying. Orin spun his staff around. He glanced at the bolt now impaled into his weapon. The sawblade narrowly grazed Gabriel's face. He rubbed his hand across his cheek, a little drop of blood. He needed to stop neglecting his aura. He fired another bolt and switched it back into it's glaive form. He lunged. Orin smacked the bolt out of the way, he strapped another sawblade into the staff and swung it.
Gabriel gazed into his opponents eyes. A mundane and muddy brown. The rain trickled down his soggy beard. Gabriel blinked a droplet out of his eye. He held Galatine to his opponent's throat. A sawblade was pressed against his own. It appears neither would be victorious. Maybe they were both victorious. Gabriel kept his gaze. Orin grew a big smile and lowered his weapon. Gabriel did the same.
"That was a good bout." Orin said patting him on the shoulder. "I'm normally not that fond of fighting, even sparring but I admit that was a lot of fun."
"So? We good?" Gabriel asked. Orin nodded. "So, listen..."
"You've been hanging around my sister." Orin said. Gabriel nodded. "Go ahead and try, I won't stop you. Just don't get your hopes up."
Gabriel stormed off towards the academy. He was soaking wet and leaving a trail of water through the halls but he was confident. Galatine folded into itself and he sheathed it. He found Gwyn with a couple of girls in the cafeteria. He skidded to a halt in front of her.
"Hey!" She said enthusiastically. He smiled. His face was starting to turn pink. "I've been meaning to talk to you. I wanted to talk earlier but Orin and I were in a hurry."
"Oh really?" Gabriel said. The girls started giggling. He wasn't sure what she was about to say but he had a good feeling.
"Have you heard about the dance coming up?" Gwyn asked. Gabriel nodded. He was so in.
"I wanted to know..." Gwyn said. Gabriel's mind was in full celebration mode. "...can you introduce me to your friend?"
Gabriel froze. He stared into her beautiful green eyes and contemplated what just happened. He noticed she was pointing somewhere, he followed her finger. Across the cafeteria was Arthur, chatting with his sister. Gabriel tried to reassemble what was left of his brain. He tried to utter words.
"I... uh... guess?" Gabriel mumbled. Gwyn gave him a surprisingly strong hug. She kissed him on the cheek. He felt numb.
"You're such a good friend!" Gwyn shouted. Gabriel mouthed the word friend. He wanted to smack himself on the head. He turned around and saw Orin standing in the doorway. He gave him a sympathetic nod.
"Listen, I have to go. Do things..." Gabriel said. He stumbled away, nearly tripping over a stool as he did. He hurried over to Arthur.
Arthur was sitting with his sister Morgy. Gabriel slid into the seat next to him. Arthur looked a little annoyed. Probably because of how soaked Gabriel was and the fact he just tossed his hat onto the table, splashing the both of them.
"I just had a pretty funny day." Gabriel said, he leaned against the table. There was a slight sloshing sound as he did. "You will never guess what happened."
"Does it involve you running around in the rain in combat gear?" Arthur asked. Gabriel smiled and nodded.
"Funny you should mention it." Gabriel said. "I was out in town trying to chat up that Gwyn girl. Her brother gets in the way. Ash gives me the idea that I should earn the guys respect..."
"Ash gave you advice?" Morgy asked. Gabriel nodded. "Wow, you really were desperate."
"Anyways, I go and confront him. We have our rainy sparring bonding moment. He tells me to go ahead and he won't stand in the way." Gabriel said. Arthur nodded. "Anyways, I go to her, not two minutes ago. She tells me she wants to talk, she brings up the dance and..."
"She asked you out?" Arthur asked. Gabriel laughed.
"No." Gabriel said. He let out a deep breath. "She asked me to introduce her to you."
Morgy started laughing histerically. As if he needed more reason to feel bad. Arthur joined her. He patted Gabriel on the shoulder. Gabriel started to laugh too. He wasn't sure why but he felt a little relieved. He probably just realized how funny his day really was.
"So, you asking her out?" Morgy asked. Arthur stopped laughing.
"I don't know, I've never really talked to her." Arthur said with a shrug. He turned to Gabriel. "Would it be alright with you?"
"By all means, she thinks of me as a good friend." Gabriel said. Morgy gave a long d'aww. "Hey, laugh at me all you want but I draw the line at condescension."
"Listen to your elders." Arthur said ruffling his sisters hair. She slapped his hand away. "You might learn a thing or two."
"Like how to strike out with girls?" She asked. They started snickering. Gabriel decided it was his cue to leave.
- ASH -
Ash roamed Beacon's halls leaving a long trail of puddles in his wake. It had long since stopped raining and the sun was starting to set. He had a lot to think about. In short, he screwed up. In more ways than one. He needed to find Lyra. He had to explain himself. He found her not long after heading towards their dorm. He needed to talk to her alone.
"Lyra wait!" Ash shouted. Lyra spun around, she looked pretty angry. "We need to talk, in private."
He motioned towards a nearby door and invited her in. She shook her head with a bit of a huff but relented. It was a little more cramped than he expected. She frowned.
"So why are we in a closet?" She asked. Ash was hoping it was an empty classroom or something. He decided to make do.
"I wanted to apologise." Ash said. She rolled her eyes. "Not about today, but about the last few weeks now. Ever since I got back, and ever since I left."
"Do you really think an apology is going to help?" She asked. He shook his head.
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys when I was in trouble but I wasn't drinking because I was afraid for my life, or because I was admitting defeat." He said. He took a deep breath. "I was drinking because I didn't want to disappoint you, or Billy or Morgana. I didn't want you guys to know how badly I screwed up. I was afraid of what you would think. I couldn't hide from you at school so I hid behind a bottle."
It was a little uncomfortably silent now. She still looked pretty pissed off but he didn't blame her. He glanced around the closet a bit more. He let out a long sigh.
"When I first came here I didn't think much of you guys. Morgana was kind of crabby, you were self righteous, I thought Billy was more than a little strange." He began. Judging from the look on her face he needed to go somewhere with this and fast. "Somewhere along the way, somewhere between then and when the White Fang approached me I realized something. You guys mattered to me. Somehow what you thought of me was important to me."
The air was a little thick now. He wasn't sure what to think about how silent she was. He wanted her to yell at him, scream at him, call him an ass. He wanted a reaction, she just stared at him. He wasn't sure if she was mad or not.
"And then you found me, drunk in the street. I thought, well this is it. You are going to hate me forever, then when I came back you smacked some sense into me. I told you guys the rest of my story. Then you accepted me back." He said. She continued to stare in silence. "That was when I realized it. I didn't deserve to be accepted back, you don't deserve to put up with my failures yet you do, yet you did. You, and Billy and Morgana. You are the best friends I've ever had. The only ones who have never abandoned me."
"Ash I..." Lyra stuttered. He smiled.
"I'm sorry, for everything I have done and everything I will do. I wish I could make it up to you guys and if I can I will. You deserve it." He said.
"I had been thinking about today and I came to a decision." She said. He smiled a little weaker. "I'm not going to tell Morgan or Billy about the whole Roman thing."
"You're not?" Ash asked. He was a little more than confused. "Why not?"
"Since we formed this team we've done nothing but fight amongst ourselves. This gets out and we'll have another fight and it will tear our group apart again. We're on our second semester and we're facing tougher assignments than we have ever had before and we can't have our group fragmented by their leaders mistakes." She said. He didn't quite know what to say. She was a better friend to him than he ever gave her credit of, even after his whole speech. "I don't like what you did, but I have to look out for the others, Morgana and Billy. Like you said, they rest of the group doesn't deserve to suffer for one members mistakes. We're partners, so I will keep your secret. Just don't take advantage of this."
"Lyra, do you want to go to the dance with me?" Ash asked. Lyra squeaked in surprise. There's the old Lyra.
"What?" She squeaked. He smirked. "Where the hell did that come from?"
"Why not, you're probably my best friend, certainly the best I've ever had." He said. She started stammering. "It'll be fun."
"I don't know how to dance." She squeaked. Her face went beat red, it was kind of adorable.
"I can teach you." He replied. "Now what do you say we leave this janitors closet, the cleaning solutions are starting to mess with my nose."
