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The day of my overnight trip, I had woken in a particularly cranky mood. I had hardly slept all night, using my insomnia to practice my magic. Rowena had placed me on a ban for the next lessons, so I had taken matters into my own hand. Though the punishment was suspiciously light, I still had no patience to sit and wait for the magic to come to me. I would take it myself, if that must be case.
So after a long night of extorting myself, attempting to rip my spirit from my body, I was in no particular mood to be jovial. When I spotted the twins bolting at me from the other side of the dining hall, I had lost all my appetite. They knew something good, for them to be in such a mood. And there was only one person that they knew would interest me at the moment. I placed down my spoon, pushing aside my oatmeal.
Cesarie flounced over to me, her skirt swishing along with her upbeat stride. She gave me her signature fiendish smile, her eyes glinting with mischievousness. They had an impish look to them, reminding me of the first time I had saw them. Neither of the twins had grown out of that look yet. It seemed to be a permanent feature affiliated with their characters.
I stared up at Cera, my eyes straining. The twins' golden eyes were hard to maintain eye contact with. You could not stare into them for long periods of time, like one might shy away from looking directly at the sun, with it's great, searing intensity. They were wild and fiery, mischievous and amicably hungry. Everything that depicted unrest and riotous energy could be found not-nearly contained in those eyes.
As a child, I trained myself to stare into them, to glare at them shamelessly. I refused to be ushered into the herd of sheep known as my fellow students, who all shied away from direct eye contact out of fear. It was the thing that had sparked our friendship in the first place: my nerve to stare the twins down with my glare.
I had piqued their flitting interest by being the only student- who knew better of the drakaeri workings- to openly glower at them. They seemed to have taken a liking to that. For the first time in my life, I had found companions who did not shy away from my unpleasant energy, but instead be attracted to it. I can only assume that was the basis upon which they chose me as a friend.
"Guess what I learned" Cera called to me in a singsong voice. Already, I had lost my appetite, my stomach churning. They never brought good news.
"Enlighten me" I replied curtly, not in the mood to encourage her games. She dropped down into the seat next to me, Clairmont in the other. They were on both of my sides, cornering me between them.
"A little birdie told us that golden-boy Arobynn is planning to take you on a weekend trip!" Cera clapped her hands together excitedly. She straightened down my hair, finger coming it, before reaching for the scarf at my neck. I pushed her hand away, using my shadow to hold down her arm on the wooden table. She had no need to groom me, as if this were a date.
"Somebody's in a bad mood today" Clairmont commented from behind me.
"And somebody needs to shut their mouth" I snapped back at him. I didn't like that they situated themselves on opposite sides of me. If I turned to talk to one, the other one would be in my blind spot. And I especially didn't like the fact that it was Clairmont behind me.
"What weekend trip?" I asked Cera. She beamed in pride at having information that I didn't. I could tell it had been eating away at her for some time now.
"A little birdie told me-" She began, but I cut her off.
"Oh stop with the little birdie nonsense. You ate the little birdie. Just tell me what's going on" I said to her, though my tone was vexed, there was still a hint of humor in it.
"I learned that he's planning on taking you to a weekend trip. He's driving you to Boston" She said eagerly. I stiffened in my seat, my jaw setting.
"Hm" I told her noncommittally. I chewed on my bottom lip, contemplating. So he decided to come with me after all. Cera's face fell, obviously not satisfied with my emotionless response. Even if I did want to give her a reaction, I wouldn't have been able to produce one. Last nights feat of magic had stolen a sizable amount of energy from me.
Because of Cera's proclamation at breakfast, I wasn't surprised when I spotted Paris leaning on my car. He was standing with his arms crossed, leaning on my black BMW with a blue backpack slung over his shoulders. When I saw him, I didn't acknowledge him, instead heading directly for my door. He was dressed casually in a hoodie and jeans.
I, on the other hand, had gone with an all-black look. Black pants, a black hoodie, with a black coat over it. Even my high tops were black. I looked like I was going to rob a bank, the only color on me being the grey ski-hat over my head. I didn't care. It was freezing outside, the month already dipping towards December.
"Give me your keys. I'm driving" Paris told me, blocking my way to the door. I narrowed my eyes at him, the action making me painfully aware of the ice on my eye lashes. The wind had made my eyes water, and now they were freezing shut. Splendid.
"Excuse you?" I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest. The long puffer coat made the action difficult and unnecessarily noisy. Since when was Paris demanding? Whiney? Yes, but he never bossed me around. That was my job in the relationship.
"You've been doing heavy magic. I can see it on your face. Your skin is all grey and your eyes are hollow again. Give me the keys, I don't need you driving us into a ditch" He stated.
"Get out of my way. You're not coming with me" I snapped at him, pushing him off my drivers door. He didn't budge, staring down at me condescendingly.
"What? Is my invitation revoked?" He taunted me.
"There was never an invitation in the first place, you toad. Get off my car" I pushed him again. He grabbed my arm mid-air, holding me still through the layers of the puffer.
"You've been doing heavy magic. You reek of it. You're gonna pass out on the road and crash. Give me your keys" He repeated himself, this time slower with his voice less demanding. It was gentler, as if I would agree to him all because he softened his tone. Pretentious little-
"I don't know who the Hell you think you are" I seethed at him, ripping my arm out of his grip, "But you don't get everything you want. You can't just trounce up to my car and make demands after being a jerk to me. Got it?"
"Not putting up with you being a brat, does not make me a jerk" He told me back, his jaw ticking.
"Well don't then. You don't have to put up with me. That's the beauty of it! If I'm such an inconvenience for you to put up with, then leave me alone" I told him. He was saying that as if I wasn't begging him to leave me alone, since the day we met. In fact, this was all because I wanted him to leave me alone.
"Give me the keys" He repeated himself. I tilted my head, glaring at him as an animal sizing up it's prey might.
"Do I have to physically take them from you?" He asked, seeming amused.
"You can try" I threatened him. He looked me up and down, considering how serious I was. A smug look settled on his face. I could see his thoughts clearly on his face before he even came to a conclusion. Paris moved, managing to take only one step towards me, before I took off bolting through the snow. He was stronger than me but I was faster.
I raced behind a tree like a jackrabbit. After getting a measurable distance between us, I turned to see Paris watching me in an amused manner. He was still by the car smirking at me, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Didn't take you as a coward, Eulalia" He shouted out.
"Only you witless hero's believe in such ideologies. I'm not a coward, I'm simply self-preserving" I shouted back at him. Sure I could take him, but he was physically stronger and taller. I was trained in martial arts, but he was trained in actual magical combat that they taught to soldiers. Our skill sets were entirely different, and though I could take him, the odds were not in my favor.
"Won't you come out and face me like a big girl? Or are you going to keep hiding?" Paris taunted me. He knew he couldn't catch me, so his game was in trying to get me to come out. Fat chance.
"Didn't your mother teach you it was impolite to pick fights with girls half your size?" I asked him, taking a step to the clearing. I took another step towards him, looking an awful lot like a frightened rabbit, ready to bolt at any disturbance. He came out to meet me, leaning off the car and walking into the opening. His hand was outstretched, expecting the keys. I walked up to him closer, stopping smack in the middle of the field. He had to make the rest of the distance.
"You're hardly a girl. A she-devil, maybe, but not something as innocent as simply a girl" he stated. He was right.
I made a show of pulling out my keys, dangling them in the air. He eyed me suspiciously, not taking the bait. When he was close enough to swipe the keys, I gave him a delighted smile before throwing them in the air. His head snapped up to the sky, just as I jumped.
One second I was within arms length of him, and the next I was near the car. I had jumped through a shadow, bolting right past him and through the fabric of space. He was faster than I had assumed, because by the time I had caught the keys from the air, I felt a body slam into mine. We rolled onto the ground, the keys falling into the snow a few feet away.
He was laying on top of me, smiling in an exhilarated manner. Snow fell down my back,
"You're crushing me" I grit out at him, his body weight pinning me down. He wasn't really, but I needed him to shift, to loose balance, so I could throw him. He did none of the above.
"If you want to trick me, you're going to have to do a lot better than that, darling" He whispered down to me, giving me a smug look. He brushed the snow off of my nose, and I gave him a feral smile. He's right. There was no tricking him out of this. So I turned to the one thing that had never failed me: violence.
I slammed my head into his nose, kicking out his leg and rolling out as he crashed away. He was obviously not expecting me to actually hit him. Paris believed this to be a fun game, but I was ready to spill blood. I already had, crimson droplets staining the snow below us. He grabbed my ankle, dragging me back from the keys, before mounting me again.
"No fair, you're fighting dirty" He grit out, attempting to keep me in place. His nose was bleeding, and I rolled my eyes at him,
"Don't be such a baby" I mocked. I placed my foot onto his hip, using it to push myself up and hook my other leg over his shoulder. My feet connected behind his neck, knocking him off balance and sending him flying over my head. I landed on my feet, quickly jumping up, but Paris followed. He grabbed me by the waist from behind, and lifted me up so I would be dangling from the air. I was less dangerous when I wasn't leveled and balanced on the ground.
Paris wasn't hitting me, only trying to restrain, while I was doing everything in my power to wound him.
"Let go" I snarled at him, ramming my head back. My skull hit him square in the nose, again. I hooked my left foot onto his right thigh, using it as a stepping-stool to spin me around. We caught eyes for a moment as I flew, before using my right leg to kick out his bent knee. I tactfully swept his feet, and Paris went flying over my shoulder, slamming to the ground. I shoved my foot under his neck, bending his arm the wrong way. I was supposed to do this move on the ground, but my height was lacking, so I had to do it standing up. If I wanted to really hurt him, I could snap his elbow back over my knee and break it.
"Why do we always end up on top of eachother" he asked me sweetly. I faltered, my face morphing into outrage. The realization that he was purposefully disorienting me with shock, came a moment too late.
Paris kicked my feet out from under me, from where I was standing over his torso. His legs pulled forward, hooking behind my knees and sending me toppling to the floor. His arm was around my throat before I could open my eyes, but my grip was still on his elbow.
The panic of feeling pressure on my neck again set in almost instantaneously. He was just barely choking me, and it was an effort to remain still and ignore this factor. My face felt hot, my hands clammy as I pushed down on his elbow. He grunted in pain as I continued bending it backwards.
My shadows had flown into action, attempting to swallow my panic and my fear. I felt hot under all my layers now, the searing heat in my neck making my chest convulse. Paris groaned in pain. A little bit further, and I would break his arm.
"Give up yet?" I choked out, feeling the crook of his arm pressing against my jugular. I felt like my windpipe was being crushed in, my neck rearranging itself to appease the pressure against it. I couldn't swallow, and soon I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe.
"Only when you do-" He told me, but was cut off by his shout. He had cried out in pain, as I pushed his arm down further. Black spotted my vision. I was going to pass out very quickly. If he choked me out, then at least I would break his arm before I went. My sight turned black and I panicked, finally wheezing out in desperation. No air came down, and I felt myself fall into unconsciousness.
I gasped up, jerking forward. Paris was infront of me his eyes wide in panic. I coughed violently, hacking my lungs up as I frantically inhaled.
"Araw. What the Hell is wrong with you?!" Paris shouted at me, holding me upright by the arms. My throat ached, not in the burning manner that I was so used to, but in a dull pain. It felt raw and it was hard to swallow.
"I told you I wasn't tapping out" I croaked at him, my voice rasping. He looked back at me, his face slack in disbelief, as if he couldn't understand what he was hearing. Snowflakes caught in his eyelashes. How nice. My head lulled back. Paris held me upright, besides allowing me to topple into the snow like a rag doll.
"What is actually wrong with you?" He asked me again, concern in his eyes, "Why didn't you tap out? I sensed your magic. It was smothering your panic, wasn't it? So you wouldn't have to give in to your natural instincts" He questioned me almost angrily.
"Paris. You barely held me for ten seconds, and I woke up seconds later" I told him, sitting up from the snow. My entire backside was wet, and I quickly charmed it dry. My head spun at the action.
"It's not a big deal" I brushed him off, swaying a bit with a spell of dizziness.
"It is a big deal", he told me, going to pick up the keys from the snow, "Because now I know you're a literal sociopath. You made yourself pass out, all so you wouldn't have to loose"
"I didn't make myself pass out. It happened naturally" I grumbled at him. Paris looked concretely disturbed, his mouth turned down. He helped me into the passenger side of the car, because I had lost. If this were any other circumstance, I would have been left dead while my assailant would walk away with a shattered elbow. Sure, he wouldn't have been able to use his sword hand for the rest of his life, but it was better than death.
I fell back into my leather seats, knocking my head against their warmth. Paris must have charmed them.
"Did you purposefully suppress your instinctual emotions? So you wouldn't have to tap out?" Paris asked, sitting in the drivers side and slamming shut the door. I flinched at the sound, my head aching.
"Yes" I replied, shrugging while closing my eyes shut.
"Well then that means you self-induced a panic attack, so you wouldn't have to listen to your instincts. I might not know much about Dark Practitioning, but I know about the body. You didn't want to give up, so you used your magic to cheat. Cheater" He lectured on. I groaned at him, begging him to shut up. Me legs were facing away from him, pointing towards the door as the heat blasted in the car. Warmth seeped through my clothes, in addition to the heating charm Paris had casted. He tried to do it subtly, thinking I couldn't notice, but I could sense his magic shrouding around the car.
"Yeah yeah" I grumbled. I could feel the car jolting over the dirt road, winding through the woods that surrounded Duprarry. With the shift onto smooth pavement, I knew we had passed through a gate and were on one of the main roads. Nothing miraculous happened upon the transfer, except for the change of road texture.
"You shouldn't do that, regardless of the situation" Paris ranted on, "You should not be hurting yourself to charge your magic. That's self harm"
I pried my eyes open, looking over at him suspiciously, "What are you on about?" I demanded.
"Self-inducing panic attacks, and forcing yourself to endure pain to feed your magic? Yeah, thats self-harm"
"Of for the Mother's sake" I groaned, "No it isn't, Paris. Listen, I allowed my magic to swallow my emotions because I wanted to be in control, okay? My emotions cause panic. It takes away my free will. And at the moment, I didn't want to tap out. I refuse to have my choices taken away from me. My shadows just help with that"
"It's still self harm, no matter the cause. You're crippling yourself with your magic's help" He said. His side profile was defined as he drove, his tan standing out against the world of white behind the window. I could only assume the snowy weather made my grey complexion look even worse, defining the eye-bags on my face.
"Listen. I don't know what little self-help book you've recently read, but keep it to yourself, alright? Just because you're over sensitive, doesn't make it self-harm. And if it was? Big deal. I don't care. It's a means to an end, and is the best way to charge my magic"
"It's self-harm. And so is allowing yourself to pass out from asphyxiation, all to prove a point. You scared me. You scare me" He told, me glancing over.
"Oh please, as if it was your first time strangling me. You hardly have any reservations yourself" I said half conscious. The words had just slipped out, but the second they were in the air, I wanted to claw at them and drag them back into my lips. I instantly sat up, snapping my eyes open. I looked over at him nervously.
He didn't say anything, just kept on driving seriously. He looked like a soccer dad, if anything, considering how cautiously he drove. His hands were white on the steering wheel. Paris refused to look in my direction, much less take his eyes off the road.
I crashed back into my seat with a huff, looking out the window at the fleeting trees. I closed my eyes, settling into a nap that my sleep-deprived state would thoroughly appreciate. We we're only minuets in, and I was already using my nap card. Mother this was going to be a long trip.