Chapter 3
~ Tranquil Night ~
"Where are we?" Mayumi asked, getting off of the bed. Sora glanced out the window; the forest where they had met was right outside. Sunlight filtered in through the broad leaves of the trees, coming through the glass.
"We're in the village of Ruben. A girl with pink hair, by the name of Ann, accepted us in. In fact, I think she's call-"
"Sora! Is Mayumi awake? Breakfast is ready!" A female voice shouted at them from the first floor.
"-ing for us right now," she continued, as if nothing happened. But she had heard her. "Can you walk? There's food downstairs." She could smell the sizzling meat that was set on the plates. Ann's quiet mumbling reached her ears.
Mayumi nodded and stood up without a problem. She left the pale orange room as Sora grabbed the chair and pushed it back in it's rightful spot, in front of the desk.
She spotted curly handwriting on a lined white piece of paper under a stack of dusty books. Tugging it gently from beneath the books, she saw the date on the top-right corner: 1/27. Last month? On the backside of the folded paper was the name "Adel." It was from Altera Village, and a pawprint was inked next to the name and address. She flipped the paper around and read the contents.
Ann,
Altera Village was almost destroyed from one of their attacks. Although the damage is severe, it can be repaired, given enough time. Amos has passed away. It is hard to imagine life without him, but we can do. Your village, Ruben, is the only one that we can contact at the moment. I am here to warn you that the next large attack might be over you. Where did that group of seven go? Right when we need them the most...
There was a smear of black over the rest of the letter, covering a big part of the words written. At the bottom, she could make out:
I hope this foolish skirmish ends soon,
Adel
Ann set her utensils down onto her plate before she noticed the blue-haired girl staring into space. Her hand was cutting the egg in quick, fluid motions with the knife. She ate it using the fork and repeated the cycle until it was all gone. She seems almost mechanical.
"Haa~ That was good, Ann! Thanks for the food!" The girl named Mayumi smiled brightly at her. She couldn't restrain her urge to smile back, partially because of the dark tail whisking out of sight.
"You're back to normal, right? Sora was worried about you when she brought you in." Her words produced the intended effect; the angel snapped back into the present at the sound of her name.
"Of course I'm fine!" Mayumi said, stretching with her arms over her head. "I'll be-"
"Ann," said Sora, in an almost inaudible tone. "What are 'the attacks?' What is it that almost vanquished Altera? What's...what's going to happen to Ruben?" Her heart froze; she had hoped to keep these two ignorant for a while longer. They seemed like they didn't know what was happening to Elrios. She had wanted to preserve their lack of knowledge on this subject, but when Sora spoke those words, she had realized how terribly selfish she was.
"Ehehe...I thought I had hidden it well enough, but I guess you had found it anyway~!"
"Under a stack of books on the table?" Her skeptical expression told Ann that she had not hidden it in the desk. She mentally slapped herself for forgetting that.
"What attacks?" Mayumi's pointed black ears twitched.
"Ann...please don't hide it from us. If I'm stay in this world, I need to know what's going on." The angel spread her wings. "I can't survive here if I have limits, if I don't even know what this land is called."
"...Wait here." She rose from her short wooden stool and went upstairs, to her room. The letter was on the desk, unfolded. She went past the chair to carry the stack of dusty books in her arms. When she made sure they weren't going to fall from her grasp, she went back down to the kitchen, to the two waiting people.
The books were set down with a thump! on the table. "These are books of lore. The one you're asking for is..." She halved the stack and found the one she was looking for. The royal blue cover opened stiffly for her as she flipped through the yellowing pages. Reaching chapter three, she read aloud, "The Masters of Elrios were chosen to govern the Crystal of Life, the El, along with the El Lady. The first master, Master of Fire is 'Rosso' – The power of fire is the power of passion, and there is joy to prevent the strength of the fire from overflowing. The second master, Master of Earth is 'Gaia'- He possesses the warmth and richness of the land and protects the continent of Elrios. The third master, Master of Water is 'Denif'- A combination of coolness and intelligence controls the sea so that it does not overflow onto the land. The fourth master, Master of Wind is 'Ventus'- The power of the wind energy keeps the universe in motion. The fifth master, Master of the Sun is 'Solace'- Elrios became alive again from the power of life and the birth of the sun's power. The sixth master, Master of the Moon is 'Ebalon' – The power of the moon gives the people of Elrios comfort and security." A scribble in loopy handwriting on the side caught her eye. She turned the book so that she could read it. "'The hours predict that...that..." Ann stared at it, trying to read it. "...the seventh master is only..."
"...only slumbering while the other six awaken.'"
He passed through the sign that said, "Welcome to Elder Village!" It was much bigger than his village back home; white marble paved the roads, and the material used to build the houses, the shops, was stone. It even prospered so much as to use gold to trim the tops of the buildings.
His curious hazel eyes went up to the sky as a human-shaped shadow flitted over the ground. When-
Sharp gusts of wind buffeted past him, ruffling his dark, messy, but casual hair. His ears caught the words "Aera Slash" as he saw a brown-haired boy with emerald eyes tumble to the ground. Someone with long, blue hair ran towards the boy and bent down. The boy writhed from her before her hand snatched something from his grip. "Please don't steal. If you want something, you must earn it yourself or ask from a kind soul. But this is precious to me. However, if you're seeking this..." She placed a stack of golden coins in his hand, then stood up and merged back into the crowd that had gathered.
The boy pulled the black hat on his head even lower to cover his face. As he watched the boy walk past him, he felt something slip from his grasp. My katana! He turned around and saw the shadow slip into the darkness of the alleyway. "Wait-" Ah, he obviously won't wait! He tailed after the child, who was always a few feet ahead of him. He shouldn't have been able to take my katana so easily. Or was it just that I lowered my guard? No, the last time someone tried to take my katana was a buff soldier, and he failed painfully. This child...how did he just TAKE it...?
He skidded in front of a dead end. The boy faced the stone wall. The only way out was to go through him, but he was ready. Flicking his wrist at the air surrounding him, he said, "Trapping Chai-"
The red circles of magic that he cast to summon chains dwindled and disappeared. What- The boy had turned around. Instead of showing the same face, the same emerald eyes, it completely tore the innocent image before. He, or it, now had bleeding crimson eyes with endless black pupils. It was smiling widely, it's grin stretching almost literally ear-to-ear. Its teeth-no, FANGS, flashed at him. Then it disappeared, re-emerging with the wall behind it.
He bent down to grasp his katana back into his hold. How did I get interrupted? There was no one but that...thing, and it didn't cast any sort of... As he was finding his way back out of the alleyway, the wind picked up almost within the span of a single second. Alarmed, he saw the crowd of people dissipate and back into the nearest buildings.
The girl from before had her long hair whipping around her. Her wings of silver were unable to resist the bursts of air rushing by. The feathers kept falling from her wings, but they seemed to be endless, swirling around her. They started covering her. Even with the mad weather, he pushed down his panic and brushed the feathers away before yanking her wrist and towing her into the building closest to them.
He met warm air and a slam behind them. "Th-"
A voice intercepted his. "I'm sorry, Mayumi. I lost you after I had gotten my bow back. It seems that I've left you behind in my haste to retrieve my bow." Another girl, presumably Mayumi, nodded in the shadows of the wall. Although the air of the house was warm, no fire blazed gently in the brick fireplace to his left. When Mayumi walked past him, he saw something flick in the dark light from outside. The window shutters rattled madly as the howling from outside increased in volume and intensity.
"Thanks for pulling me in." She sat down on the first step of the wooden stairs. "My wings can be a nuisance in weather sometimes. Especially during..." She trailed off, leaving an awkward silence.
"My name's Nightwing Hann," he said, breaking it. "Just call me Night."
"Thanks then, Night." Her voice was so monotone when she said that, compared to when she was scolding the boy...the creature.
"Then, Night, you know what's happening outside right now?" Mayumi stood in front of the windows, staring uncertainly at them.
"Yeah." Night unconsciously touched his katana. "The masters of Elrios are launching one of their attacks on each other right now. I think that-"
The windows suddenly imploded, sending shards of glass raining over her. From the flash of light from outside, he saw the tail whipping behind her and the ears as she landed on the floor. Just as quick, she flexed her wrists and leapt backward, landing on her feet once more with her black hair swinging behind her. "What's happening outside?" She didn't seem troubled, at all, by the fact that she had almost been impaled with glass.
"A..." Night didn't even bother with the glass on the carpeted floor anymore. He stopped and stared out the window.
A cone-shaped spiral had touched the forest near Elder, ripping the trees from their roots and gathering dust within it's violent winds. It turned a dusty gray-brown and grew larger as it came, slowly but steadily, towards them.
The door smashed open and a man in his fourty or fifties slammed it back closed. He had brown hair around the sides of his head like a wreath, and misty blue eyes met his hazel ones. "We should be safe if we walk down to the cellar," he said, as if he were used to this procedure. "The three of you aren't from here. Would you mind telling me your names and where you came from?"
Sora blinked slowly. "My name is Sora no Yuki."
"Mayumi." She was instantly between the two of them again, as if she were flowing water.
"Nightwing Hann," he repeated.
"Welcome, Sora no Yuki, Mayumi, Nightwing Hann. This is a bad place to be in, right now. But there is no place on Elrios that doesn't see this." He sighed wearily and leaned on the wall next to him. "My name is Hoffman. I am the chief of this village."
Sora reached out, as if she were going to touch Hoffman's shoulder, but she drew back. "We came from Ruben Village."
The chief stared confusedly at her. "What are you talking about?" Over the wind that came rushing in, Night could barely make out his next words. "Ruben Village was demolished two days ago."
Ever (Instead of Yume, it'll be Ever now! :D ) - I'm finally finished...! .w. (Nothing to do with conversation with Elgang, BUT if you don't like how I used your OC or how their personality is kind of off, PLEASE tell me. I would be glad to change it for you. Okay, Elsword, GET ON STAGE!)
Elsword - How long did it take you to do that measly chapter? 5 bajillion days?
Ever - ._. You and I haven't been alive that long. Is bajillion even a word? If it is, then that would be the time when Earth was just dust. And back then, you were a NOBODY.
Eve - I can conclude that bajillion is not a word.
Ever - Thanks, Eve ^^ *hugs Remy*
Elsword - Don't go nerdy on me .-.
Ever - I'ma nerd. DEAL WITH IT.
Aisha - *smacks Elsword in the face with wand* Respect nerds. That means we're SMARTER than you. Get that? Smarter.
Elsword - Hell no. If you and I went in for a one-on-one match, I could beat the crap out of you.
Aisha - You don't want to bet, Elbaka, or your ass might just get fried.
Elsword - Guess what, shortie? I DO bet-
Rena - *evil aura, evil grin, and brandishing a fridge* What is it that you're having such a passionate chat about?
Aisha and Elsword - Uh, we're...
Elsword - *slings arm around Aisha's neck*
Aisha - *hugging him while grimacing*
Aisha and Elsword - ...we're the best of buddies! *dancing around*
Ever - So not believable ._.
Rena - Good kids :D *turns around*
Elsword - *yanking out sword and hacking at Aisha*
Aisha - *throwing fireballs all over the place, indeed with some scorching Elsword's buttocks*
Raven - *stares pointedly at the spot behind Rena*
Rena - Hmm~? *turns back around*
Elsword and Aisha - *arms linked and doing a merry-go-round dance*
Raven - *facepalm*
Ever - *sweatdrop*
Eve - *copies Raven and does a facedrone*
Rena - o.o What?
Elsword, Aisha - *continue dancing, sweating madly hoping she won't notice* (For those who don't get it, watch Fairy Tail when Erza turns around to see Gray and Natsu dancing together :3 When she turns back around, they're quarreling and right at it again XD )
Desk - *appears out of nowhere*
Raven - *facedesk*
Eve - *faceground*
Ever - *cannot believe stupidity of some people and is lying prone on ground due to mental shock*
Rena - WHADDA HELL IS IT YOU BASTARDS?!
"Time is precious. A minute might not matter much now, but it will, later. I hope we can all cherish this little time we have together. I don't want you guys to fight for every bit of harsh word said. I don't want to break these ties, these bonds, that we've forged together. Alright? Now, let's get back to eating."
~ Sora no Yuki