He was lying the ground, furious, numb, and oblivious to all that was around him.
He didn't feel his wrists sizzling on the ground, burnt and scarred for life. He didn't hear the shift of the forest around him, filling the hush silence of it all. He didn't see the cold amber eyes watching him from under the hedges; all he could see was the dully grey sky above, just waiting to swallow him up. He wish it would. Just to be done with it all.
No more cursing.
No more shouting.
No more pain.
In a simple blink, he started when he felt a hot breathe on his neck, and teeth lightly wrapped around his neck, a furry muzzle brushing against his bare skin. Looking down at the large, hulking pale body of a wolf, Henry didn't respond as he laid still in its hold. Light growls rumbled out of it, tickling his senses as it stood still.
"Do it," he whispered to the wolf, watching its ear twitch. "Do it."
Henry stared at the two soft bands in his hands, rolling the fabric between his fingers. He glanced back at Robin, watching as she sat on the fountain rim, exploring the Ruin tome and exploring a small bit of dark magic and comparing it to anima, occasionally brushing her thick ivory hair aside when it get in her face.
"They're two coppers each," the woman told him from her stand, leaning away slightly from the strange boy. Humming, he grabbed the two peices out of his pocket, dumping them on the wooden stand. "They for your... sister?" the woman guessed, eyeing the girl he's been watching by the fountain. "My friend," he clarified, nodding his thanks and drifting away returning to Robin's side.
She looked up at his approach, smiling broadly as her red eyes gleamed in a familiar giddy flare that all mages had when they were reading tomes. Smiling back, he sat down, leaning over to see the discoveries she's made. As she talked on, Henry glanced at her hair, a big soft tangled mess across her shoulders, covered with bits of crow feathers stick out from where they burrowed through her hair.
Without saying a word, he he rolled one of the two bands over his hand and gathered up her hair, catching her off guard and cutting her off as he clumped up her hair. Flickering her red eyes to him, she watched as he gathered her hair up careful, randomly puling those bits of feathers out before awkwardly bunching it up and wrapping the band over it, making a clumsy one sided pigtail.
Henry drew away, eyeing his work proudly while Robin took the clumsy tail in her hand, eyeing the wound up mess. Turning around, she lent out, eyeing her reflection, her head tilting as she took in and considered the pigtail. "I like it," she decided, "but shouldn't it be more of a pony-oh!" she exclaimed as Henry offered the other band. Sticking her tongue out, Robin concentrated on her reflection, binding the remaining clump of hair up into an equally messy pigtail.
Henry watched as she wound the other side up, turning to him expectantly.
"You look weird," Henry said bluntly, a laugh bubbling in his tone. Robin agreed with it, laughing as well at their clumsy attempt of pigtails. "I do!" she said, rocking back and forth on the rim. "Where'd you get the idea?" she wondered.
"I noticed that you brush your hair aside a lot," he said, rocking his legs over the rim. "And a few girls back in my village sometimes put their hair up like that. i thought maybe you'd want to try the same."
"Wow," she said, looking back at her reflection and smiling at it. She really did like the look, despite how awkward it was right now with their first try. It felt a little weird with her hair wound up, but it would be something she'd easily get used too. The crows would like it, that's for sure. Some complained about her hair, like this it would be a little easier for them to wiggle and hop on her shoulders, and she wouldn't have hair all over her shoulders or in her face.
It'd be a small change, but one that would be nice for them all.
"Thank you Henry," she bid.
He smiled, a warm feeling bubbling up in his chest that just made him giddy. His first thank you. It was nice, a very nice thing to hear. "You're very welcome," he bid back.
Standing up, Robin offered him her hand, saying, "Comet on, lets eat and show off my pigtails."
"Yes!" Henry agreed.
The sun was going down when they left to the forest where the flock of crows waited. Cawing at them, they hopped excitedly around Robin and her new hairdo, scrambling on her shoulders, ducking under the pigtails and flying out. It was like a new game for them.
And a new bit of amusement for the preteens, laughing as they watched the crows flutter around her and explore the pigtails. "They like it," she told him.
"I can tell," he said, coming closer and reaching his arm out, letting the crows jump onto his arm and crawl up to his shoulder, enjoying the feel of their pointed claws pressing against his skin through the fabric. Ruffling up the neck feathers of one, he smiled as they nipped at his fingers lightly. "They really are a closely knit group," he mused to himself. "Its very admiring."
"Not a lot of people think so, they call them devil's birds or bringers of bad luck," Robin said absent stroking one. "I'm glad you like crows Henry."
Henry opened his mouth to reply, only to start as Robin stiffened, her wings popping out as she whirled around, the crows scattering around them like dark arrows, blinding Henry of whatever coming threat she just sensed. When they cleared, leaving drifting feathers in their wake, Henry looked up to see a sorcerer approaching them, a broad smile on his face as he peered at them, a bizarre, monstrous mask set over his head. "My Lady," he said softly, his eyes locked on Robin, taking in the wonder of her beautiful large wings, spread out big and wide before him. An act used to intimidate, but all it did to the sorcerer was please him. "You do know how fondly Grimleal also appreciates crows."
Henry's blood turned a little cold at the mention of Grimleal, staring at the dark mage that came from the organization. This man was a Grimleal mage. Henry's smile dropped as he tensed, peering up at him with slanted eyes.
He didn't even sense the man's presence, even from where he stood seven feet away from him. His magic, his power, was completely hidden away; leaving them with no way to guess what sort of threat he was.
But he was dangerous, they could confirm that.
Only the powerful could conceal themselves this well.
Robin drew away, her wings wrapping around her loosely, her red eyes locked onto the sorcerer. "You like vultures more than crows," she said, more to herself than him.
The sorcerer seemed to agree with that. Throwing his head back, he laughed good naturally at the comment. "Yes," he bid, "yes I suppose we do in a small sense. They are more graceful and so much more... honest with what they truly are."
Above them, the crows screamed, their black feathers puffing, their beady eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
"You can keep them," the sorcerer promised her, "and the boy if you wished. I'm sure he'd make a fine sorcerer and servant someday."
"Where's my mother," Robin demands quietly, her feathers shivering as they tightened up like a spring. The sorcerer started, looking a little surprise befored he smiled again. "Your earthly mother? With us," the sorcerer assured, "and completely healed. She was actually the one to contact me and tell me where you were."
Robin's whole body froze, her wings drooping at the comment, her feathery cocoon cracked and left at her feet. Her mouth fell with it, her red eyes gawking at the sorcerer. The flock above them fell into an equally stiff hush, observing the events below them. "Yes," the sorcerer went on, taking her drooping wings as good sign to approach and get closer. "She is better My Lady," he went on, reaching for her. "You can be reunited, and she can serve you as she was supposed to before, along with your earthly father and loyal servant, Validar."
Robin whimpered, falling to her knees as she gripped her head, her wings rising up on their own and loosely wrapping around her, her mind flying with the details given to her. "Its alright My Lady," the sorcerer soothed, crouching before her. "She's better," he promised. Before his hand could touch, fire bit at it, making him reel away with a furious hiss.
Rounding on Henry, the hood glared at him, a very dragon like face slanted towards him. "What do you think your doing boy?!" the sorcerer snapped. "Denying our lady of her fate is a sin upon itself!"
"You're not taking her," Henry said simply, his voice calm and devoid of emotion.
Slowly, the sorcerer rose up, his robes rolling with his movement as the fake dragon eyes on the mask glared at him. "You deny Grima's Awakening, you deny all of Plegia."
Henry smiled, his lips turned up empty and cold. "Its a good thing I never cared for Plegia."
The sorcerer outstretched his hand towards him, scoffing, "Then you have no future alongside our Lady." Dark magic hissed and flared around his hand, ready to be fired at the white haired boy. Robin snapped at the flare of dark energy, purple static dancing over her swings violently. Shuddering, the soft feathers sharpened into harsh points, and with a rushing arch upwards, they cut and tore at the sorcerer's hand, breaking the dark spell and surprising them all.
The man could only get a gurgle of a scream out before Robin jerked up to glare at him, her red eyes glowing as a dark purple mist started to grow out around them, her teeth sharpening as she bared at them. "No," she growled, her voice deeper than before, inhuman. "No, no, no, no!"
Dark magic flared around her and consumed her body. The sorcerer never stood a chance as it grew uncontrollably. The next thing Henry knew, he stared up at the limp, gagging body of the sorcerer, hanging above a long, pale body, with large white wings; held up by a twisted mouth full of jagged, crooked teeth, and a twin pair of twisted horns stretched out alongside that horrible mouth.
"Robin," Henry breathed as he watched in fascination as the blood dripped down the wrinkled maw, coloring the pale scales. The being shifted and turned to him, red eyes bright and glaring against the white scales, full of fear and rage, and blind to anything else. Slowly, it dropped the sorcerer's body with a clunk, blood sticky over its mouth and horns. With a distorted smile, the monster drew near, ready for the next victim.
Henry didn't move as it crept closer, staring at it in wonder. "Robin," he repeated to the air.