Knights of Cygnus: Lupus
Chapter 1 – The Beginning
Lupus opened his eyes. Next to him, an alarm clock slurred its lazy beeps through a run-down speaker. I need to get a new alarm clock.
He sat up, looking around his room. A couple of shirts strewn over a chair, a cupboard overflowing with junk and a table cluttered with papers and stained with tea. His wallpaper was dry and cracked and hung over at the corners as if it were trying to tell him to replace it. The bedside table was old and rugged, its life was obviously at an end. It was surprising that his room hadn't fallen apart yet, but then again, she had helped him with that. Her magic was probably holding the house together.
The wooden floorboards creaked beneath his feet as he stood up and reached for the phone.The dull, strenuous tone held in his head as he stared out the window. Dry, arid leaves swept across the sky. Veins of deep green settled among the orange, autumnal trees that framed the forest landscapes of Erev. A bird settled on his windowsill tweeting its delicate song for all to here. It paused for a while, pivoting its head, before fluttering off into the distance. How beautiful...
"Abbie? You there?" he droned lazily into the phone. "It's the day we've been waiting for."
He dropped the phone at the sound of an excited squeal and left the room, leaving it swinging from side to side on its cord.
*
The faint morning light shone dimly through the thin, glass panes of the window, illuminating a small table in Lupus' living room. His black hair settled at his shoulders, shifting slightly in the breeze wafting through the open window. He sat down on a high stool, holding a cup of coffee and a book in the other. He ran his eyes over the pages and sipped his coffee for a good hour before slipping on a hoodie and walking out of the house into the fresh, cool air of Erev.
Glancing to his side he could see Abbie, his neighbour and partner, frantically locking the door, her red hair flailing in the wind. He sighed, hanging his head slightly and began to walk over to her.
"Abbie!" He shouted. "Why do you persist in locking the door every morning? There's nobody around for miles!"
"It said to do so in the manual, so I'll do it!" She screamed before returning to her door. "Dammit, key! Why won't you fit!?" She stamped on the floor, throwing a mini temper-tantrum. Abbie wore a pink pao shirt and trackies. Her crimson hair fell to her breasts and seemed to constantly be flying up, down and around her, due to her stern nature. Well... Stern is one way to put it.
Lupus sighed again, then continued his stroll down the thin, cobbled path which led to the centre of Erev. It had been a while since they needed to get to Erev Town, since they had food delivered on a regular basis. It would be a long walk.
Soft gravel crunched under their feet as they walked through the forests of Erev. Lupus had his book out again; he held it in his left hand, reading it over and over again. He smiled at one point, frowned at another. All the while Abbie desperately tried to see what he was reading.
"Lupus, what's with that book? You've already read it twice..."
"And I intend to read it again, without you interrupting me." He frowned.
"Gosh, Lupus, you're such a bookworm." She pouted. Looking in the other direction, something caught her eye. A squirrel scurried along the treetops, tail bouncing back and forth like some kind of parrot. It had a nut under one arm as it leapt from branch to branch, desperately searching for a place to stow its treasure. It stopped, feeling as if it was being watched, and glanced down at the two. It then carried on scuttling about, feeling unpressurised by the pair. It popped into a hole for a few seconds, then came out, without the nut under his arm.
"How sweet... Don't worry little squirrel. I won't tell anyone about your hiding place. Certainly not Lupus. He'd steal all your nuts." She murmured, chuckling slightly at the innuendo of her joke. Lupus raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth she was going on about, then continued to read. They carried on walking in silence, Abbie looking to the right, Lupus reading his book on the left. The leaves rustled on the treetops as a large, ominous building came into view.
"Looks like a rubbish book anyway." She muttered.
"Abbie! Look-"
"What? I'm just sharing my opinion!"
"No, look!" He pointed forwards towards the horizon. Surely enough, there it was; just peaking out over the trees. The control centre was the tallest building in all of Erev, standing a hundred metres tall and just as wide, it dominated the majority of the region of Erev Town.
"Oh! It's the control centre! That's in Erev Town, right? It's quite ugly..." She smiled. "Anyway! Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and sprinted towards the centre, smiling and laughing along the way, dragging a rather disturbed Lupus along behind her.
*
They arrived at a large metal gate, bolted from behind. Stone walls stood firm either side of it. A large, blue, goat-like creature stood guard, covered in armour and equipped with a ridiculously long spear. The guard must have been at least seven foot tall.
"Security's tighter than usual, huh?" Lupus whispered. A strong feeling of intimidation crept up on him as he stared at the massive structure before him. "How did they build this in such a short amount of time?"
"It's quite impressive, isn't it, Lupus?" She muttered, dumbstruck by the sheer bulk of mass that was imposing on her. "But why did they build it? Who are they trying to keep out?"
"Excuse me? What business do you have here?" The blue goat-thing spoke. Lupus and Abbie jumped back.
"Oh, er... We're here to become knights..." Lupus spoke. "We sent someone in advance, to tell you about the situation. Did you get his message?"
"Knights of Cygnus? You are Lupus Stevens and Abbie Jones, I presume?" He boomed, ignoring the question entirely. After a quirky nod from Abbie, he spoke again. "Enter and salute for the Goddess." There was an awkward moment of silence before anything happened. A spark of electricity spat at them and then the ground shook.
The door creaked. Bolts clapped into life. The doors swung open.