The Game of Life

8. Fury

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖆𝖑𝖊, 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖑𝖉, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖔𝖓𝖞 𝖘𝖒𝖎𝖑𝖊

𝖂𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖊𝖙𝖊𝖔𝖗 𝖇𝖊𝖆𝖒 𝖔𝖋 𝖆 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙

𝕾𝖍𝖊𝖉𝖘 𝖔𝖓 𝖆 𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖑𝖞 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘𝖊𝖆-𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖙 𝖎𝖘𝖑𝖊,

𝕰𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖜𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓'𝖘 𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙,

~𝓞𝓷 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓫𝔂 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓑𝔂𝓼𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂

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Kagayaku wasn't expecting Makoto to suddenly jump out at her when she was alone and murder her, that just seemed too ungodly for a divine being like her. The young hybrid didn't really feel her wrath until her dreams started turning on her, showing the gruesome demises that she could face, such as being split in half by a steel beam that fell from the sky, getting a brick thrown at her face and splitting her skull in half, or a crazy animus dragon putting some freaky curse on her. She'd try to tell Mepuru during school, but she'd simply say "dreams are dreams" or "they aren't real, just nightmares", yet they still disturbed her to the point she was always highly alert when alone. Kaga would try and be around others, like her friends or family so she had a sense of protection, being around others that could warn her in case death was imminent.

School days passed and nothing happened. The dreams got worse, yet nothing happened. She told her family, and her sister said that if nothing was going to happen, there was no point in worrying. The summer holidays eventually started and Kagayaku made plans with her friends, one of which was a shopping trip around Sanctuary with Mepuru. She had a lovely time with her SandWing friend, there was a RainWing street performer out who sang REALLY well, and Kagayaku tipped her, earning a smile from the singer in return. Despite the great time they had, however, the hybrid's mind just couldn't stop returning to those dreams, and the note. Thank Astra Mepuru can't read minds.

"Heyyy." Mepuru said, noticing her friend was looking down again. She waved her talons in front of her eyes, gaining the hybrid's attention. "You're acting weird again. Don't tell me it's those dreams you keep going on about, is it?" Kagayaku simply nodded in response, which caused Mepuru to frown. "Listen, they're just dreams. They ain't real, so stop worrying!" She reassured her, which made the hybrid feel the tiniest bit better, but it was a long way from calming. The two stopped to sit on a bench and discuss Kagayaku's paranoia. "I know... But stuff like this has never happened before!" She exclaimed, putting her talons over her face as her body began trembling in fear.

The SandWing didn't know what to say, at least, until she noticed something horrifying headed straight for Kagayaku's head.

"WATCH OUT! BRICK!" She bellowed, pulling her startled friend towards her and out of the way of a concrete brick that would've split her skull open on impact. The hybrid was haunted. "I... Dreamt about that..." She muttered. This shocked her friend. "Maybe these dreams are more than I thought..."

Days pass, and Kagayaku was more paranoid than ever. She was almost bitten by two Dragonbite Vipers the day after the trip around Sanctuary, and the day after that, she was almost impaled by a steel beam falling from the sky. At this rate, she was practically cheating death. There were so many scenarios she got herself into that a normal dragon would've died in, yet her fear and friends saved her, each and every time. When school started up again, other dragons began avoiding her in fear of getting hurt themselves. Aella discontinued demanding for her lunch money entirely, fearing that it was cursed by Makoto as well. The only dragon that seemed to care about her at the moment was Mepuru, who stuck with her through thick and thin. Her family were also a big help, but her best friend did the most for her during these dire times, warning her in case of oncoming death and supporting her when times got rough.

It was music class, one of Kagayaku's favourite subjects. It was fun, playing the piano was fun. Her talons hit the notes quickly and accurately, and soon enough, the hybrid felt all of her paranoia wash away as she lost herself in the music, focusing her attention solely on playing a beautiful melody. The music teacher was watching in awe and some students as well. Mepuru had a smug look on her face as if to say "yep, that's my friend." When the hybrid finished, the teacher applauded her. "Wonderful! Splendid!" He cheered, patting Kagayaku's back roughly as he laughed. "You're always an amazing player." She smiled at his comment, paranoia slowly sneaking back into her as she was ripped of the one thing that was distracting her.

The lesson went on, nothing really happened... That is, until danger decided to make its move.

Many students had their gazes turned to the sky, struggling to hold back screams as they stared on, eyes widened with fear. "KAGAYAKU! LOOK OUT!" Mepuru screamed, pointing to the roof. The hybrid didn't bother looking, she quickly ran to a different table and squeezed under it, only watching as a small part of the roof collapsed on where she was sat. A tiny portion, yet it could've killed her. Saved again by her best friend.

The school day continued with a surprisingly low amount of disasters, but there was still home. It was a Wednesday, so she flew to the cafe to get her slushy. She hadn't told Gila about the curse, but the cashier knew something was up. When she entered, Gila was her normal, bubbly self. "Hello there Kagayaku! Here for your usual?" She asked, chuckling. The young hybrid gave her a quiet nod, leaving the older hybrid worried as she made herself look taller. "Okay, there's definitely something up." She said, her tone suddenly turning serious. "Tell me what's up."

Kagayaku was silent for a moment, staring down at her talons. She decided to tell Gila everything, about how she angered Makoto and how she's now cursed. She silently hoped the cashier wouldn't think it was all bogus, and thankfully, she believed everything. "I'm not sure how you can see spirits, but," she began, crossing her arms and looking a little sad, "I'm afraid you've angered the wrong deity, Kaga... She's not gonna stop until she has your head." She then leaned forward over the counter. "But let me let you into a little secret." She said to the younger hybrid in a hushed tone. "I've seen Makoto and all. I had died years before, you see, and I was in her death world. She revived me, but from what I've learnt, she's got quite the temper when enraged." She then sidled over to the slushy machine. "Maybe if you keep cheating death," she began as she started filling a cup with the usual slushy Kaga was familiar with, "you can survive, even though you'll have to avoid the occasional disaster occurring. Your friend is great, she'll help you."

The young hybrid nodded as she was handed her slushy. "Thanks Gila." She muttered, stepping away from the counter and making her way towards the door. The two waved their goodbyes as Kagayaku took off into the air and towards her home, drinking her slushy with paranoia still sitting stubborn in her stomach. She entered her house to find that it was completely empty. Weird. I thought Ace would be around. She thought, doing a quick search of the house in case her sister was in one of the other rooms, but nothing. She shrugged it off and went to her room, laying on her bed and turning on the radio that she kept on the bookshelf to try and distract her from her paranoia. It did a good job of distracting her, that is, until the news came on.

"BREAKING NEWS! 3 more forest disappearances have been registered from this morning. Queen Hestia is going to investigate these matters further, some say that the disappearances are linked to the presence of some supernatural being? Queen-"

It was cut off by Kagayaku switching the radio off and laying face down on her bed, face buried into her pillow. She whined, hoping that the curse wouldn't strike her while she was vulnerable and alone. She turned onto her back and grabbed the nearest plushie to her and threw it. "I'm not afraid of you, Makoto!" She yelled, feeling a sudden surge of confidence. That's weird, wasn't she being paranoid a moment ago? "Come at me! I'm not gonna stop cheating death. Heck, I'm not gonna stop cheating your stupid game of life!" She snarled, balling her fists as she waited for danger to show its face. Nothing. "Come on, attack me!" She hissed, tail barb twitching as she expected something to happen. A sunset coloured gem that she got from the beach several years ago shimmered smugly at her. She glared at it in return. "Don't you shine like that at me, or I'm knocking you off that damned bookshelf." She snarled.

A couple of minutes passed and nothing happened. It seems the curse has had enough. She sighed and rolled onto her side. "Whatever." She muttered slightly, trying to shake off the feeling that something was up with that shining gem.