*
The figures towered tall over her, like dark shadows that she never saw the faces of. She held herself closer, her shoulders sinking in their spot, her chest tightening, her eyes lowered, her legs taking up as little space as possible. She clenched her lips shut, stepping lightly and carefully.
The group watched as the shrinking girl tiptoed across the Splinter crowd. She made not a noise, not a disturbance, not a murmur. Her footsteps seemed to glide above the ground, like a feather carried by the wind. A cold lump of suspense held their breath, their silence deathening.
Soon enough, the creature stepped into the crowd as well, and the silence was broken.
The Silent Splinters crawled to the monster--their limbs crackling with every move. They gathered round it, stabbing their limbs into its legs. The monster hissed and yowled, attacking what Splinters it could, but ultimately running off back in the direction the man left. Cyan ran to the group on the other side, wiping some sweat off her brow.
"The thing would've followed us..." She murmured, looking up nervously at all the stares she was recieving.
Brin and Zethan crossed the river once more, and Zethan stomped up to Cyan.
"What the hell was that!? Cyan--you can't just be ignoring my commands all the time!"
Despite the anger in which he glowered down at her with, her eyes only held the blood on his arms. There were large gashes on his shoulders and forearms, with one large swipe cutting his abdomen. Cyan teared up at his wounds.
"I-I-I'm sorry. That man was here for me.."
She wiped at her tears quickly, and as Zethan was about to yell at her once more she took his face in her hands.
"The thing won't follow us anymore." She clarified, her wet black eyes staring at Zethan's. "So you can relax." She smiled softly.
Zethan scoffed and turned, his face irritated. How dare she, he thought, how dare she act as if I'm the one who was in danger.
Brin hugged Cyan, her sky blue eyes teary. She gazed up at her as they walked side by side.
"Creator--how did you know to be that silent?? Your feet were floating, you looked like an apparition!"
Cyan only smiled, her eyes on the ground.
Nel and Zethan glanced at each other. They knew the answer behind her skill. After all, she had been doing just that for years. Nel thought back, to when he was hunting Cyan. The compass had sometimes swerved around so quick that Cyan must've just passed. But he didn't notice her until she was pinned to a bookshelf by the neck.
Nel slowed and walked alongside Cyan. He stared down at the ground for a while, hesitating.
"....Cyan." He said.
Cyan glanced up at him nervously, turning back down to the ground. He stared at her for a moment, the question stuck in his mind.
"What are you going to do about school?"
She seemed to shrink at the word. She fumbled with her fingers as her head bent lower.
"I know you love this place. You would like to just live here, wouldn't you?"
She nodded solemnly.
"But you don't belong here. You have a life in that other world. You should at least make sure that if you don't have access to Avalon, that you have a home in the real world."
She glanced up to Nel for just a second. Of course, he was right. But Cyan didn't want to hear what was right--what was inevitable. She teared up at the thought, the cold lump of reality choking her throat.
Nel ruffled her hair and smiled at her.
"Don't worry, don't worry--I'll look after you in that place." He laughed shortly. "Actually, I'm looking forward to it."
Cyan sure wasn't.
They hurried along the land, until the Splinters and monster disappeared in the distance. They walked the whole day once more. Along the way Amyth nagged at how they should've tamed the monster to be their mode of transportation while Nel argued with her. Brin also joined in, questioning Amyth, but in the end followed her logic. Nel yelled frustratingly and asked Zethan to side with him. Zethan simply replied with a sharp 'don't include me'.
Meanwhile, Cyan examined the crowds of Silent Splinters which stood motionlessly in the distance. She stared at the hollow of their eyes, and wondered where their eyes were.
Night fell again, and though they walked further to try to find a shelter, none were seen. Zethan began to settle down on the ground, when Cyan closed her eyes.
Her legs were already shaking, despite how Brin had carried her for about five hours. And though she had slept in Zethan's arms, she woke with the aching for her room.
She focused only a moment, and the whirling of the portal emerged. Cyan smiled and looked to everyone. They stared at the portal for a moment, but soon enough they were rushing to it. They all entered, and Zethan stood from the ground. With a wary look at Cyan, he pushed her in and followed.
"Uhhh!!!" Amyth exclaimed.
She stood on a tiny clearing, her violet wide eyes peering around the room in terror. Nel hurriedly covered her mouth, brushing a moldy piece of unidentifiable food from under his shoe. Brin stared around curiously, a slight smile on her face. Zethan marched over the mess as he walked to the door. He swung it open, stepping out and ignoring Cyan's arms wrapped around his waist.
"Zethan! Stop!" She begged.
But he had already kicked the door open. He looked around in the darkness, squinting.
Yet there was no Eris.
Cyan stared at the large empty bed. The fluffy pink comforters with frills was tucked in perfectly, with the teddy bears Eris had gotten as presents arranged neatly in a row across the pillow. Cyan glanced at the hanger on the wall where Eris usually hung her sleepover-backpack.
It was missing.
Cyan turned and walked to the opposite room. Zethan turned to follow her, and she held a finger to her lips as a signal.
She carefully creeped into the room, peering round the creaking door.
The single plain bed in the center of the dark room was empty. It was messy with the dingy sheets, clothes strewn across the floor, and dust hanging thickly in the air.
Their both not home.
Cyan sighed, relaxing.
Deric must be out drinking.
She shut the door and glanced up at Zethan before walking down the stairs. She locked the front door securely, closing all window blinds.
She trudged back upstairs, finding Amyth, Brin, and Patrona already settling into Eris's bed, while Nel shut himself in her step-dad's room.
Zethan was untying his boots whilst sitting on her bed.
She nervously stepped closer, leaning against the doorway unsurely.
Zethan suddenly groaned in pain. He straightened his back and clutched his stomach. Cyan could see his blood seep through his vest. She took a step closer to him.
"Z-Zethan."
His orange fiery eyes looked up to her. She felt her chest clench.
"C-can I....uhmm....since you're my...Sign..um," Her eyes dropped from his.
Zethan stared boredly at her. He sighed and laid down; He ran his fingers through his hair and shut his eyes.
"If you're going to say something say it right." He growled.
Cyan's lips tightened. Her hands clenched and she stared down at the ground, thoroughly ashamed of herself. She thought she had at last gained some kind of confidence with Zethan. But after all the time they had spent together, she still couldn't speak clearly to him.
Zethan already seemed to be trying to sleep, with his hand laid across his abdomen which still bled.
Cyan watched his brow furrow as the bleeding increased. He was in pain.
She paused for a moment, staring out at Zethan. Her mind was intently set.
She forced herself to take a step, and strode to Zethan.
She moved his hand away, roughly fumbling with the buttons that held Zethan's vest closed. He removed his hands from his face, turning to look at her. Her face flushed, but her hands pulled Zethan's shirt open.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Zethan asked, his voice wary and seriously confused.
Cyan glanced up at him, feeling her hands heat.
"Hold still." Was all she said before she laid her hands on Zethan's wound.
At first, Zethan only stared, attempting to understand why Cyan had straddled his legs.
Then he lurched at the agony. He yelled out malignant curses, gripping Cyan. She laid upon her hands, desperately trying to keep herself in place as Zethan tried to tear her off. Black Avalon Roots grew from her palms and tangled round both of their bodies, aiding her in keeping her burning hands on his wounds.
Zethan rolled off the bed, thrashing furiously and yelling as Cyan's hands traveled up his chest to his shoulders.
He wanted the girl off him. He knew nothing of what she was causing him, or why her touch seared at his skin. He tried with all his strength to tear her away, to throw her upon the ground, but she was clutching onto him. He suddenly regretted even pulling her from her world. It had only ever caused him pain and discomfort.
But now that her hands were burning him, he could only think of his coiled tattoo. How many more marks would this burning leave?
As his hands were beginning to be held by the black roots, he threw himself upon the ground, slamming Cyan onto the floor. He tore his hands away, and grabbed her forehead.
Her eyes shot open as he exerted his own volt upon her. She recognized it from before, when Zethan had dragged her into the forest by themselves.
The roots rapidly turned to dust, and Cyan spun around on the floor.
"---No! Zethan--let go!! I-I-I was just---"
But just as much as Cyan wouldn't let go, Zethan dragged her closer. However, Zethan let go as soon as his tattoo started burning and expanding.
Cyan crawled away, hurriedly standing as Zethan fumed. He sat back, his fiery orange eyes glaring at the ground.
Outside, everyone else was already pulled into slumber. The halls were silent. The only sound was the quiet chirp of the crickets on the windowsills and the wind licking the house's walls.
Zethan sighed angrily and leaned back on the side of the bed, turning downwards to his wounds. They were completely sealed and were no more than white lines on his skin.
He traced the lines with his finger, his cheeks slightly flushing and his eyes staring up at Cyan with a frown.
"You healed them." He said in a voice that almost sounded like a question.
Cyan sat on the ground, staring at the wooden floor and rubbing her forehead.
"....I..I saw Virg do it to Delete."
Zethan considered the girl again. She did indeed heal him, and he had tried to inflict pain upon her. He sighed once more and laid his head in his hands.
"Cyan, would you let me mark you?" He asked, his voice irritated.
Cyan turned up to him. She stared at him as he ran his fingers across his hair and glowered up at her.
"M...mark?"
"You see this?"
Zethan pointed to his tattoo. Cyan nodded.
"That's your mark on me."
Cyan stared at him. Her eyes turned to the tattoo.
"When we first met." He stopped himself, watching her eyes widen.
It had happened the night of the house fire, as a hand pushed her head back, through the portal, another hand had touched her head from beyond the portal.
"From that day on I've had this scar, always reminding me of you. This is your mark on my skin, Cyan. It's my turn to mark you."
"What does the mark do?" Cyan asked hurriedly as Zethan began to reach for her.
"It is the mark of the first time you sealed away my powers."
"I can seal your powers?"
Zethan icily stared up at her with a crude smile.
"You can't. That little girl from years ago, she could." He said, snickering.
He reached for her again, but she ducked away.
"If I let you mark me--will you be able to seal my powers??"
"I think it's kinda funny you suddenly cured yourself of your stutter." Zethan said, approaching her.
"--You will be able to won't you?!" Cyan shot up to her feet. "No! No--you can't mark me!"
Zethan stared up at her. He watched her black thick-lashed eyes glare down at him with a sort of confidence and stubbornness. He felt like stomping up to his feet and forcing his mark upon her, as payback for denying him. But he felt his lips curl into a grin at her puffed up chest, her angry flushed cheeks, her tall stance, the force in her eyes--this girl, he thought, this girl is really not all that bad.
Cyan watched with a confused frown as Zethan stood calmly, and grinned at her. For a moment she wondered whether he was just too furious to frown, but when his genuine snicker escaped his lips, she just stared at him in complete confusion.
He stepped closer, and for a second Cyan stumbled back, but he swiftly swept her off the ground, spun on his heel, and laid on the bed with her in his arms.
She stared up at him, her face flushing. She felt her shoulders pull into herself once more as Zethan laid his chin on her head.
"U-uhm....Z-Zeth--"
Zethan shushed her quickly, a slightly irritated tone to it.
"Be quiet. I don't want to hear your stutter," He pulled her closer. "and there's no reason for you to want me to go away. I know you like to hug in your sleep, I've seen you. I also know you're tired, and you healed me, so just shut up and sleep."
She did shut up. But her body kept tensely still, until Zethan's breathing became constant and slow. Only then did she sigh and allow herself to turn towards him. She snuggled into his chest, breathing deep.
He smelled vaguely of blood, but mostly of Avalon's cool breeze, and its earthy dirt.
She sighed, and sleep accepted her with open arms.
*
The ring of her cell phone woke Amyth. It was a shrill ring, like the alarm of a school fire bell. She crawled over Patrona and stumbled onto the ground, rummaging through her pack. She put her pink-cased phone up to her ear, quickly clearing her throat.
"Hello? Ten?"
"Amyth--why did you take so long to answer??" Opal's voice sounded firm, as usual.
"I...was sleeping." Amyth said, glancing back to Patrona and Brin.
"Sleeping? Amyth! It is nine a.m. already! Are you planning to just sleep your worthy life away? Perhaps Six's decision was the right one.."
Amyth stared towards the door. She could hear the house's floorboards creaking across the hall.
Nel must be awake already.
"'Six's decision'? What decision?"
"Six decided it would be best if you come back to the Twelve Headquarters."
Amyth stared at the wooden floorboards, running her finger down the creases. She pulled a stray swoop of golden hair behind her ear.
"....I would need to pack up. I also need to inform Ne--Eight of the matter."
"Correct. We will be expecting you by dark."
"Yes..."
Opal hung up.
Amyth slipped her phone back into her pack, zipping it closed and standing. She walked to the door, and knocked on the opposite room.
Nel's light hair was in wavy tangles round his head, disheveled from sleeping. Amyth glanced up at a stray strand that stuck up unnaturally, suppressing a smile. She couldn't comprehend how, but every time he woke, at least one section of his hair had to jump out of place while the rest was perfectly shaped.
Nel noticed her glance and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
"What--do I have one again?"
"Yes. Leave it though, I like it."
He glanced angrily at her; he walked past her, stepping into the restroom and looking himself in the mirror.
"Why, so you can make fun of me the whole day?"
She walked up to his back, hesitating for just a moment before she hugged him. He straightened his back, turning in her arms and wrapping his own around her. She laid her cheek against his shirt.
"Six wants me to go back to Headquarters."
There was a momentary silence before Nel sighed.
"I don't understand why he wants us there so much--it's not like we've already spent our entire lives in that building." He groaned.
Amyth pulled away, walking into the room where Brin and Patrona still slept. Nel leaned against the doorway as she continued to pack her stuff up. When she glanced up at him his yellow-green eyes were staring at her. She hides her blushing pretty well, Nel thought as the faint pink rose to Amyth's cheeks. He thought it suited her pink-violet eyes.
The next time she glanced up at him, it was in her haughty and supercilious manner.
"I have the day, but by night I will be returning to The Twelve Headquarters."
"Roger that, General Amyth."
Amyth turned up to look at him, but he had already shut the door. She felt the cold climb up her throat.
Of course, she thought, he's angry.
She knew exactly what he wanted, what she couldn't do.
I've tried, She thought.
I remember that day.
Back when this Twelve Trophy wasn't cast into the spotlight so often, back when she still wore tennis shoes and t-shirts, back when she snorted while she laughed and ran the halls of the Headquarters,
she had rebelled once.
*
The patter of their feet was silent against the cold tile of the ground. They ran carefully, sticking close to the barren gray walls so that anyone who cast a glance in their direction would only see shadows.
Amyth struggled to regain her breath. She was used to running, and hiding was a usual game that Nel and her played. But she seemed to lose her courage when it came to directly neglecting a rule. It gnawed at her chest with every step. She clutched onto Nel's hand, despite the sweat that made her hand clammy and nasty.
Nel guided her through the halls, a wide grin on his face. He was obviously enjoying himself.
He was already thirteen, just one year older than Amyth. She had always felt she was about three years older, but only now did she truly feel younger than this grinning boy.
They ran hurriedly along the cold hall. Nel led the way, hurriedly striding down the darkness, so much so that Amyth could sometimes only see his hand holding hers.
Finally, they arrived.
It was a circular room, the ground a gray hard chalk, the lighting managed by only a single dangling light bulb. Nel brought a small knife from his pocket and held it out to Amyth.
She took it hesitantly, looking intently at the sharp edge as if it would cut her if she blinked. Nel smiled up at her, since she was just an inch taller still.
"You ready?" He asked, obviously thrilled.
Amyth searched his eyes. They were so lively, so wild in their yellow-green hue. She looked back down to the knife, and he took it as a yes.
He then brought out the book he had taken from the leader's office. He was a stout and angry old man by now, the predecessor of Emin. Nel had recently performed the Summoning Signums Ritual, and summoned his Signum whom he had named Patrona.
Of course, his egg had appeared, and the leader had taken it into his protection.
But Nel wouldn't stand for it. He said nothing, and acted normal, so much so that no others suspected anything. But Amyth knew him too well.
She knew by the lingering look in his eyes, by the way his shoulders tensed when they spoke of his Signum. She knew him too well.
That was when he had stolen his egg away. He had disappeared into the outside woods for three days, nurturing his Signum.
Amyth had expected him to come with Patrona in his arms.
But Patrona emerged with Nel in her arms. He had exhausted his volt, and was taken into the nursery.
Since then the adults had paid more attention to Nel, but that made no difference to his schemes.
Now he had convinced Amyth to summon her own.
She carefully kneeled upon the ground, carving a circle into the ground. She followed Nel's instruction to the letter.
She was to carve an inch thick, inch-deep, perfectly circular line with twelve lines leading to an inner circle. At the end of each line she was to carve each Zodiac's symbol.
Once she was done Nel approached her nervously. She pushed the knife into his hands, held out her palm, and shut her eyes tight. He hesitated, but soon Amyth felt the pain.
He cut a thin deep slit in her palm, but she held quiet. She quickly placed her hand over the sign: Aquarius.
She made her trembling hand into a fist, and her red blood dripped into the cracks on the ground. She continued to squeeze the red liquid out until it reached the inner circle.
Once she finished, she stood above her sign, and shut her eyes.
She had already practiced the words in her mind. The words she would speak, the words she wasn't even allowed to know.
Nel stepped aside, standing in the corner of the room with his eyes focused on her. He glanced down at his watch, it was exactly 11:59. Just on time.
She licked her lips, taking a breath.
It was time to recite The Hailing Chant.
"Amidst these dawning hours of a new time, I call into the depths of my soul," Her voice rang out in the room.
The forbidden words tasted delicious, she thought to herself.
"My Signum, I summon you. Show your core, for I will provide your strength in return for your protection."
She opened her eyes.
She found the circle glowing a wonderous pink-violet. In the center, her blood had begun to float like a giant droplet in the air.
"Come to me, Bonne."
And the droplet glowed. It shimmered and gleamed, slowly shaping into an egg, and resting upon the ground.
And just as quickly the light was extinguished.
They both were silent for a moment, alone in the dark, silent room.
Nel's phone flashlight came on. He walked to the door and turned on the light.
Amyth was already sitting beside the egg. It was no bigger than her palm, its shell a pearly white with a faint mark of Aquarius upon it.
"Bonne?"
Amyth turned up to Nel.
"Yeah....is...is it weird?"
Nel shook his head. He smiled up at her.
"It's cool."
Amyth couldn't help but smile back at his wide grin.
She had hidden it from the leader. She took it into her private rooms, laying in bed with it.
That night she ran her hand over the shell, gazing at its mark, and pulling it closer.
She dreamt of the Signum that would emerge. She slept heavily, a smile on her face.
But that morning....
That very morning, she woke in a fever, her body weak, sweat on her brow, and her egg having grown to the size of her body.
The egg cracked open, and Amyth expected to see a marvel of beauty and strength.
But all that was there, was a simple...
cold..
unmoving...metal box.
*