The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023

64| The Uprising And The Orphans

Cloud centres himself at his core, closing his eyes after taking in a shaky breath.

Sky pulls her arms tighter to her body once the temperature drops sharply, even more surprised to see her own breath in the air.

Veins of light crawl through Cloud's arms, culminating around his vocal chords until a ball of throbbing flames flows just beneath the skin, heating up like a cauldron ready to burst.

He roars as he shoots the flames up in the air, losing the details of his eyes as he fights harder to balance his needs with the will of the flames.

Jason tits his head up to the sky, feeling pleasantly surprised that his doubts were proven wrong. "What exactly did those Monks do to him up there?"

Sky shakes her head, flinching away from the heat cascading off the rushing flames. "I was thinking the exact same thing."

Meanwhile, somewhere far, far, away, the Council of Royals gather after being summoned out of the blue by the Supreme, each of them having received letters an hour before that begged for their immediate arrival.

At first nothing seems out of the ordinary for the Professor, especially since these meetings have often been sporadically formed in the past, but once he arrives fashionably late he realises that something isn't quite right just by the confused looks on the faces of the others.

"Who died?"

Griffin sighs, turning away from the door, the bulky rings on his fingers glistening as he cups his head in his hands. "No one...not yet anyway."

"Catrien's late?" the Professor notes, his brows furrowing after pondering why the person who called this meeting would ever risk being late. "Catrien didn't call the meeting, did she?"

"That's what it's looking like."

Before anyone else can share their thoughts, Catrien strides into the room appearing even more concerned than the rest of them. "I heard you were all gathered here, I was wondering what was going on and...ah, I see."

"I believe we've been had." the Professor hums, his gaze sweeping around the room. "I doubt I'm the only one interested to know why that is."

"Of course not." Augustine replies, massaging the pain at the back of his neck.

Fortunately for them they don't have to wait long to find out as the intercom sitting in the centre of the round table starts ringing. Unfortunately, everyone present would rather eat nails than speak to the person on the other end, immediately recognising the symbol of a red Fox being projected onto the wall by the tiny device.

Griffin sucks in a sharp breath, meeting the Professor's gaze before reluctantly answering the call, immediately pushing his seat back and jumping to his feet once the Fox appears on the screen. Augustine and Meliora both do the same as they recognise the setting behind her as the Gateway room in the Academy.

"Do I have your attention now?"

The Professor can barely conceal his anger looking at the shattered pieces of glass surrounding her in the image, counting just three mirrors remaining. "Toying with me was your third mistake, your first was stepping foot on my property and the second was thinking I wouldn't kill you for thinking you could outsmart me."

The Fox smirks behind her mask. "Oh yeah?"

"You can't even begin to fathom who you've chosen to make an enemy of."

"Or perhaps I know exactly who I'm dealing with." she retorts, smashing another Gateway Portal with her bare fist..

The Professor bites down on his molars, knowing that there will be no way for him to shadow travel that far during the peak hours of sunlight. For now, they're at her mercy. "You're obviously calling for a reason. What do you want?"