Edited by KitWulf 08-05-2021
*
The foul mood she'd been in since early morning was still very much present. The nightmare she had that night hadn't helped. She was surprised how they'd changed over the years though; from being attacked and getting killed, nightmares about the Phoenix, to slowly what they've become now. Nightmares of her killing people and enjoying every single moment of it. The desire to hunt, taste blood and see life falter from one's eyes. It always ended with her killing Lucas. Either provoked by someone else or she was unaware until it was done. If she had to believe the dreams, she truly was a monster.
"Are you going to stay angry at me the whole time?" Lucas parked the car at the campus and turned to Azura who was staring out the window. "Look, I already said I was sorry. I know I crossed a line but right now, you're being unreasonable." He placed his hand on her leg and she slowly moved her head towards him. After giving him the death stare for a while she finally spoke up.
"I know." There was no trace of guilt on her face as she admitted it. "I just really don't appreciate your PMS jokes. I don't need you reminding me of the fact I no longer menstruate and can't have any children. Not that I wanted them but when it's as definite as it is with me, it still feels like I've been robbed of some of my womanhood. I could always change my opinion when it was just in my head, now the choice has been made for me without my consent and I don't like to be reminded of that. So, I'm going to be unreasonable for as long as I think it's needed."
The calmness in her voice betrayed she was no longer truly mad at him. Lucas gave her a small smile and quickly gave her a peck on the cheek before she could swat him away. She grunted a bit but didn't react to him. Instead, she undid her seatbelt and wanted to get out of the car without saying anything. As she opened the door and turned to get out, Lucas grabbed her arm and made her turn towards him again. The frown on his forehead and the way he examined her face showed he still wasn't sure if they were ok.
"Look, Azu. I truly am sorry. I really didn't intend to hurt you with that joke. You know that right?" He slowly let go of her arm as she gazed down before looking up again.
"I know." Another 'I know' but it was different from the first one.
She gave him a small nod gesture and sounded a bit more forgiving this time around. Without elaborating any further both got out of the car and started walking towards Sloan's office. Staying silent, Azura eventually took his hand in her own and kept staring ahead of her as she did. Lucas glanced down as she did so and smiled as he softly started drawing circles with his thumb in the palm of her hand.
It was considerably more crowded at the campus now than it was last time they were here. Most of the students didn't pay any attention to them as they were too busy with each other or themselves. Azura couldn't help but compare it to a beehive and wondered how she had fit in here without going insane. There was a constant buzzing noise of people talking, laughing, and moving around without looking. They weaved their way through the people until they entered the courtyard again. Her palms were getting clammy and her stomach was twisting itself in ways she never thought possible as they were getting closer to the Professor's office.
"Why are you so nervous?"
"What?" She glanced at Lucas as he stopped walking. She brushed some hair out of her face and her eyes darted around the courtyard hastily.
"I asked why you're so nervous. It's just Professor Sloan."
"Well maybe because he has actual information that will probably be more bad news and more surprises. I don't know if I want to hear it but I know I'll have to. The past two days have just been so calm and normal and I know that's going to change again. I don't know if I'm ready for that." She bit her lip showing her insecurity. No matter how hard she wanted to try to keep up the facade of a tough girl, there were times around Lucas where she just couldn't.
"You are ready." He briskly started walking again, dragging her along for the first few steps before she caught up with his tempo. "Just look at what you've faced already and how far you've come. Everything that has been thrown your way has only made you stronger and more determined. This is just another little bit of information, a piece of a puzzle that compliments you."
A bit confused as to why he had suddenly started moving again, she saw where he was coming from. They passed the monument and she found herself staring at it longer than was needed. It proved everything had happened and that this was her reality. She could run for as long as she wanted but it wouldn't change the fact that people had died. Running hadn't solved any of the issues but she couldn't deny it had made it easier to forget. Though forgetting was temporary, it had often bitten her in the ass when the realization hit her like a freight train.
Tearing her gaze away from the black pillar, they soon reached Sloan's office. Lucas had never stopped rubbing her hand with his thumb and the small gesture had calmed her down more than she wanted to admit.
"You guys are late." The old druid eyed both of them the way only a teacher could.
Well, that explained why Lucas had started walking all of a sudden. Azura looked at the clock to see they were ten minutes late and mouthed a soft sorry to Professor Sloan and Andreas. She quickly sat down at the table and was a bit surprised Sloan had set it up in the middle of the room as if they were having a conference.
"I hope you had a good stay here, Azura. Thank you for delaying your leave an additional day so I could share my findings with you guys." The Professor adjusted his round glasses and straightened his silky red jacket while talking. Immaculate as always, she'd never caught the druid on looking just a bit messy.
Andreas had just made himself comfortable knowing he would probably not do any talking besides intervening if needed. He was playing with his coffee mug and the spoon while keeping a close eye on the female werecat and Sloan.
"It felt really good to be back actually. I've actually missed being around here." She smiled and felt a pang of relief as Sloan returned it.
"Good to hear. Well, you know why I asked you to come. The last couple of days I've been on a hunt for more information and after asking around I ended up in the ancient library and the druid archives."
"Hold on! How did you get there?! Those are weeks of travel away!" Azura's eyes bulged from their sockets in surprise. She heard Lucas chuckle at her reaction but decided not to respond before she could snap at him a second time today.
"Don't question a druid on a mission. We have our ways." Sloan gave her a wink before he put his game face back on. "I did find some valuable information there though. You know we never recovered those documents that were stolen from here during the time you guys were taken hostage. Since we barely knew they existed, I hadn't read them and thought that information was lost. It now appears those documents were merely copies and the originals were in our archives."
Now it was Lucas who looked surprised. He leaned in, elbows resting on the table. "Documents? Stolen? When we were taken hostage?"
"It was never about taking hostages... It wasn't about anything other than creating a diversion." Azura moved her hand to her stomach, clenching her fist as it rested on top of her scar. "They were meant to stall, draw attention to themselves, and in the meantime, thought it was a brilliant idea to rape people just to pass the time..." Her voice cracked as nails dug deep into her skin.
For the first time since shifting into the Phoenix, she felt the actual creature stirring within, feasting upon the rage that was building. An awkward silence filled the air as Azura tried to recollect herself.
"There was old documentation about the Phoenix hidden away at the school. We didn't know that at the time." When Azura didn't continue the Professor took over.
"The cult. You told me about them before." She just nodded at Lucas's response.
"I couldn't bring the papers with me from the archives for obvious reasons, so you have to believe my word on this," Obviously wanting to continue, the Druid continued his story. "The documents were about the Phoenixes in our history. About what they have done and caused in our history and also maybe a reason why they keep appearing." With that, Sloan crossed gazes with Andreas who sat a bit more upright.
The Phoenix was also listening in. It was still feeding of the remains of her anger but It remained mostly still while the flames tickled her skin from the inside. A strange feeling she still couldn't get used to. With it, her irritation level and impatience started to rise.
"Stop beating around the bush with this Sloan. Give me facts." It came out harsher than intended but she didn't really care. It was better to rip the bandaid off in one go than to gently try to coax it off, she figured.
"Alright, let's start with a very brief new history lesson. The extinction of the dinosaurs, the big ice age, Pompeï, and even the partial destruction of our own library in Alexandria. They were all most likely caused by a Phoenix. The events were just rewritten for the sake of the human race and the old true documents were lost. There are more such events in our history actually. The Phoenixes are responsible for a whole lot more. Whenever they would appear, it would be followed by a disaster varying in size. The time between appearance and disaster seemed to vary though. In the last few appearances, the disasters were much smaller. Partly because we've been fighting the Phoenix every time it would show. That brings us back to three hundred years ago - the last time a Phoenix had risen."
All of the blood had left her face it seemed. Azura clenched her fists and pressed her lips tightly together as a big frown formed on her face. She tried her best to focus on her breathing to prevent herself from freaking out. She knew Sloan wasn't done yet but this first part hadn't reassured her one bit. The calm and almost pleasant way he was talking didn't match what he was saying. For a druid, he was looking rather smug with himself and not at all as if he was telling them the Phoenix was indeed a murderous being created to destroy. Azura knew him well enough to know there was more to this story than he was letting on.
"I need to clarify something I think." Sloan looked at all three of them. Azura guessed Lucas and Andreas probably held the same shocked expression on their faces as she did. "Yes, the Phoenix had caused many disasters in the past, caused many people to die, and destroyed a lot. It had a reason though. Without it, the planet would have stopped existing a long time ago. The Phoenix is a countermeasure to a bigger threat. This is dating back to the beginning of the earth. Something so big, even I still have trouble putting it all together. There is so much more to the world than we know. The old druids knew. It was passed on from generation to generation but with the last rise of the Phoenix, the information was hidden and for some reason, it wasn't passed along. The actual reason wasn't written down so I can only guess. From what I've read, I've concluded they believed the actual threat to be over. That their Phoenix was the last one to ever be reborn. That would mean, the reason why the Phoenix kept being reborn would have been eliminated as well."
That's not true. It is coming and it won't be long now.
Azura buried her hands in her hair as she processed everything Sloan had said. This time the Phoenix had been calm and soft in her head as it spoke and confirmed what Sloan had discovered. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she hadn't noticed Lucas moving closer to her and had softly started rubbing her back. Only when he spoke up did she get pulled away from the deep abyss that was her mind.
"So you're saying the Phoenix actually saves us all? That it never was a bad thing to begin with?"
Azura stared at Lucas before turning her attention back to Sloan. He seemed to hesitate a little before answering. He adjusted his glasses again and cleared his throat. Every bit of smugness he had before was gone in an instant.
"No. That's not what I'm saying. It was never born in the first place to 'save' us. We are just bystanders. It will do whatever is needed to destroy its own threat. That includes destroying us if needed. See it as two giants who are eternal enemies. They are out to kill each other every time they meet. They don't care about the rest around them, just that one goal. Kill the other. We are just what remains to rebuild afterward. Well, what's left of us anyway."
A chill ran down her spine. It felt so cold and foreign she felt her whole body shudder as the chill reached her tailbone. The air became harder to breathe as it seemed to have thickened a thousand times in just a few seconds. Goosebumps covered her skin as more chills ran down her spine. She kept her hands on the table, afraid they would start trembling the moment she let go. She had so many questions but right now only one came back to her.
"What or who is this enemy of the Phoenix?" Her voice was soft. She was surprised she even managed to create a sound with how dry her throat felt.
"Something we have never seen before. They are like shadows; nightmare creatures that crawl from fissures in the earth's crust. According to the records they poison the world around them and possess living things to stay alive longer. They can drain humans and non-humans alike. They will suffocate the world."
"Holy shit..." Azura leaned back in her chair completely baffled. Lucas had moved back as well and he seemed as pale as she did.
They are not here yet. When they come, we must be ready.
"When?" The question wasn't directed at Sloan but more at the Phoenix.
Soon. In your timespan, two to four months.
"I don't know, Azura. I truly wish I did but the records held nothing of that sort of information." Both the Phoenix and Sloan spoke at the same time.
The twitching feeling started in her eyelid, moved to her lip, and before she knew it, her whole body was visibly shaking and trembling. Azura abruptly stood up, almost tipping her chair over, and walked out of the room without saying a single word.