Azrael

The Search Begins: Part 1

The journey was long, longer than I expected anyway.

The bartender told me it would take an hour, of course that was subjective. But still, since I have no timepiece on hand I had no idea how long I had been walking.

All I knew, was that this was tedious and near depressing.

Sighing, I decided to sit down on a nearby log.

"Bored already?" The voice of Pyrrha asked this time.

"Easy for you to say, since you're in a nice, comfortable seat and I'm out here - in what happens to be the most miserable habitat on a world I am not familiar with." I replied

"I still have no idea how I'm supposed to find this Cinder. I can't imagine I'm the only one looking for her." I continued.

"Have you tried using any of your new gifts?" Pyrrha asked.

"Gifts I do not know how to use. Nor previously aware I possessed."

"You've seen this woman haven't you, Pyrrha? Fought and died because of her, right?" I asked.

I could feel a polished sense of anguish coming from her mind.

"..."

"Oh... A sensitive subject for you... my apologies." I stayed silent after that, pulling off my helmet and holding it in my hands.

It was sturdy, rounded so that it fit my head perfectly with a rectangular extrusion running along the top and back of the helm.

It had two triangular slits for my eyes and several more running down the cheeks and jaw so I could breathe easily.

I sighed heavily and spun it back round and placed on my head.

I stood up and continued walking, I had a long way to go yet and I figured it would be best to make haste.

I eventually came to the fork in the road and following the bartender's instructions, I took the road on the left, knowing it would take me straight to the city.

As I was walking, I began to experience a feeling of overwhelming danger.

I stopped and drew my sword slowly, wrapping my fingers around it and letting its thirst for blood fill me.

Holding it by my side I looked around, trying to find the source of danger.

There it was.

Right behind me.

A band of four individuals.

That seemed strikingly familiar.

My breath hitched, or rather I felt someone else's hitched.

I froze, unsure of what I should do.

"That's her. The one in red. The silver-eyed warrior." Salem's voice echoed in my mind.

"Approach with caution Azreal, she is not to be trifled with." She ordered.

Still unsure of what I should do, I decided to stand still, carefully observing the band of individuals.

The silver-eyed warrior especially.

Then something happened that galvanized my nerves.

She looked at me.

It was the single most terrifying moment I had ever endured.

Slowly, I cautiously backed away, mindful not to ellicit aggressive behaviour from her.

"Run Azreal."

Heeding her advice, I turned tail and bolted down my path quicker than greased fucking lightning, not knowing whether I was being followed or not.

My legs quickly gathered momentum, pushing me to speeds I never thought possible.

It felt exhilerating, the raw power I exerted was absolutely phenomenal.

I shot through the marshy woods, everything in my peripheral vision becoming a blur.

I had hoped the silver-eyed warrior had not spotted me or, at the very least, decided not to pursue me.

My hopes had been crushed in a matter of mere nanoseconds.

I saw a red haze shoot past me and stop dead in my tracks.

I immediately skidded to a halt and raised my guard.

There she was, the warrior my mother had warned me of.

Standing right there, no more than ten metres in front of me.

Not long after, her compatriots had quickly joined her all standing in combat stances behind me.

"Any suggestions?" I asked in my head, trying my best to keep my composure.

"You'll have to try to talk to them, or fight them. What happens next is up to you." Mother replied, nonchalent as ever.

"Great." I mumbled to myself.

I figured a diplomatic solution would be the easiest.

My sword on the other hand, was itching for a drop of blood.

I twirled my sword in my hand, staring directly into those silver eyes.

"Who are you?" The girl asked. "What are you doing here?"

I vowed to stay silent, quietly debating on whether or not to engage.

Swallowing my pride, I lowered my sword, much to it's dismay.

"Soon, my friend." I muttered to it.

"What was that?" The girl in front of me asked, brandishing what was easily the most obscene looking scythe I had ever seen.

"I don't think he's going to talk to us, Ruby." A blonde, scraggly looking boy said.

I gazed at him through my helmet.

He was tall, mildly strong build.

But what caught me off guard were the feeling of sadness and compassion coming from Pyrrha.

She knows him - that much was made clear - but it was none of my business.

He seemed to cower under my stare, I wasn't actively trying to intimidate any of them, but this could be used to my advantage.

"Hey! Over here!" The silver-eyed warrior called out to me, diverting my attention from the boy.

I eyed the girl in red, in contrast to the other three, she was much shorter.

Younger too by the looks of things.

"You still haven't answered my question. Who are you?" She scowled at me.

"It's none of your business." I growled in response.

"Yeah w-well, it's dangerous out here." She hesitantly responded.

I raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"I am capable of defending myself. I don't need your concern. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get going."

I then brushed her aside as I continued walking, sheathing my sword on my back and ignoring her looks of disgust and offence.

"Hey wait!" I heard her call.

In the blink of an eye, I drew my sword and pointed it at her neck.

"Get. Lost." I growled.

I noticed a look of fear on her face before she took a step back.

I placed the sword back in its scabbard and marched on.

Somehow I saw this coming, the girl - Ruby - and her companions had decided to hang back and follow me.

I had no problems with this, they didn't seem to pose a threat, yet I still took mother's advice to heart.

I was shocked at how young she looked. Barely 16 years if I had to guess.

It made me wonder though, how old was I?

I never got a good look at my face. I'd have to find a mirror when I get the chance.

This was a trivial matter of course, but it still meant a lot to me.

"They're catching up to you, Azrael." The voice of mother informed me.

"I seriously fail to understand why they're so interested in me, unless of course, they just happen to be going to the same destination I am." I mumbled back to her.

"Of course they are. They're after Cinder as well. But they intend to kill her. You do not. Your task is to just find and punish her. Then I will use you as a conduit to open a portal and Pyrrha will be sent through to finish her off."

"I understand."

A growling could be heard behind some trees to my left.

"An Ursa has been sent to slow them down for you, keep walking, it knows you're friendly." The calming voice of Mother informed me.

Taking her words into account I continued walking until I saw this mammoth bear-like beast emerge from the treeline.

It was pitch black, with bone white armour and huge spines sticking out of it's back.

The creature looked at me, sniffed twice and bowed it's head toward me.

I stopped for a brief moment to return the gesture before I continued my journey.

I heard the sounds of combat not too long afterwards.

I smirked, the sounds of combat pleasing my twisted mind.

I began to sense that my distraction was only going to last so long so instead of following my path, I headed into the trees to stay out of sight but still walked beside the designated road.

I purposely walked at a slower pace so that the band of young warriors, particularly the girl in red, could pass me without ever knowing of my location.

Of course, I was once more trudging through thick mud again, but it was merely a minor inconvenience

"Turning the tides. Clever~" Mother commented telepathically.

"I'm going to let them pass and follow them, I'd rather have an eye on them, than they having one on me." I replied, keeping my voice low as to not draw attention to myself.

"I appreciate the distraction, but it was very short lived." I added.

"That, my boy. Was because I expected you to run." Her tone was scornful and unsettled me slightly.

"Right. I'll remember that next time." I replied, feeling a little dejected.

I hushed myself as soon as I heard the four kids walking toward me.

I crouched down low to lessen my appearance and observed them as they passed.

They were a little more alert since they had fought the Ursa, but were mostly relaxed, just asually talking.

I focused and made an attempt to eavesdrop on them.

"-idn't expect one to be here. I mean, they tend to roam closer to more populated areas than open land." The blonde haired boy was most likely commenting on the Ursa they had fought.

"Yeah, but I'm still concerned about that mysterious guy we saw earlier, it's like he just disappeared." I smirked at the red girl's comment.

"If only you knew." I whispered to myself.

A thought then manifested itself inside my head. One that hadn't even occurred to me when I encountered them earlier.

I heard Salem hum in amusement and physically felt her smirk as she read my mind.

"Very clever." She commented.

I could pose as an ally and use them to help me find Cinder, then when the time was right, I could betray them and allow Pyrrha to exact her revenge.

Of course these people held major fucking significance to Pyrrha so I wouldn't kill them, just incapacitate them until the deed is done.

A foreign sense of relief swept over me as I finished my thought, probably from Pyrrha.

Probably.

I weighed up my options and found this idea to be the most fruitful. Sighing, I stood up from my crouched position and walked towards them.

I slowly breached the treeline and stepped on to the dirt road, stamping my feet to rid them of mud.

This, in turn, attracted the attention of the warriors and they spun around, brandishing their weapons.

They lowered them when they saw me and gave each other looks of confusion and concern.

I looked up at them after wiping the rest of the mud away with my hand and placing my bott on the ground.

"Sorry, my bad. Didn't mean to startle you." I played it safe and acted casual, hoping it would deter any form of violence.

I didn't think Pyrrha would appreciate it if I ended up slaughtering her friends.

A feeling of being scowled at confirmed my suspicions.

The group stared at me, apprehension painted their faces.

"Did you four happen to see a big Ursa on the way here?" I asked, playing dumb.

They all slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I know right? Pretty damn scary. Hence why I decided to go around it through the forest." I pointed my thumb at the trees beside me.

Once I was done wiping my hands of any leftover bits of mud I approached them.

They once more raised their weapons at me and I stopped.

"Woah. Easy. I'm not going to hurt you." I said slowly, raising my hands up in a defensive pose.

Suddenly the silver-eyed warrior opened her mouth to speak.

"Yeah but yo-"

"Raised my sword towards you? You know, it's not just these creatures wandering this path at night. I had to make sure you weren't bandits or something. Never know what could happen." I interrupted her.

Suddenly, they all then lowered their weapons completely, nodding at my reply.

"Well, since we're somewhat on more friendlier terms, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Azrael. Just Azrael."

Author's note: Well, this story seemed to be well received, judging from the traffic and number of follow/favourites you guys gave in such a short span of time.

As promised, here's the second chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it. Writing it was a pain in the ass, but I do it for you. I know, my generosity knows no limits.

I'll "probably" update within the week but work has me strung up by my entrails and I'm ill so no promises.

Have a good one!

-Hydra