December 2016. Unknown Rainforest.
Avielle flew towards the next tree. Her wings hit a few branches along the way, making her curse, but she landed on a branch perfectly. She's training to jump from tree to tree but with the added bonus of Phoebus the eagle stalking her and Isidore throwing sharpened spears at her if they even caught the slightest sound from her.
From the corner of her eyes, she heard something whizzing by the naturally rustling leaves and she barely had enough time to jerk her head back before a spear flew in front of her face and impaled itself on the tree trunk behind her. If she was even a second late from moving, that spear would have impaled her face for sure.
"You're too loud! Again!"
She heard Isidore yell from a couple of yards away before the shrill shriek of an eagle came from behind her. She dropped, barely dodging razor sharp talons suddenly aiming for her head. She craned her neck to look for a flying Phoebus who was tasked to tag her. The eagle seemed to take a liking to her and Isidore suggested they train it. Avielle has a natural affinity for controlling animals and that would make it easier to communicate with the eagle, but it seems like the fierce Phoebus didn't need training at all. It naturally followed Avielle and instinctively learned to fight alongside her Tal. But if she made any more mistakes now, she could die from the both Phoebus and Isidore going after her.
She frowned and continued to fly. It's not like she didn't have an objective. Her mission is to reach the extraction point that Isidore instructed her. Reaching it while being pursued and stalked required stealth and speed. She had to get used to these types of exercises because most wars aren't fought head-on and she will do most of her time in the near future retrieving intel and plotting ambush.
Finally, Avielle reached the field or her "extraction point". It was the end of her exercise and fairly, she was allowed to hydrate herself and rest before another set of exercises started. Isidore seemed hell bent on training her in warfare recently.
She put her thumb and index finger inside her mouth, making a sharp whistle while she extended her arm up. With its now-familiar cry, Phoebus circled her and finally landed on her padded shoulders. The eagle's heavy build didn't bother Avielle as she proceeded to hand feed him a dead rat she kept on a pouch strapped to her leg.
"Good job, Phoebus," she said quietly, watching as the eagle flew to the ground to devour its treat. She didn't know if Phoebus is a girl or a boy, but Avielle always liked the name Phoebus. And so her winged companion is Phoebus.
She removed her leather shoulder and arm pads for Phoebus and waited patiently for Isidore to join her atop the hill. She wasn't disappointed when a second later, a silver dragon landed in front of her, its scaly wings blowing dust all around them. Avielle covered herself with her wings to prevent anything blowing into her eyes. When she removed her wings from around her, she saw Isidore shifting back into his regular, old man form. Avielle knew she couldn't say his "normal" or default form, because shapeshifters didn't have one. The most tangible, original form they have is being clouds of ominous black smoke.
Without another word spoken between them, they started Avielle's on ground training.
"Remember, when things in battle seem to shift to the worst scenario and nothing is going in your favor, it is not shameful to retreat. It's called mindful leadership. A thousand battles win a war, but not all of those battles must be fought."
Avielle quickly released her wings with ease and did a powerful flap horizontally. That gave her a start and propelled her forward. She flew to the end of the field and did a 180° turn, hearing the soil beneath her wings loosen before flying back to Isidore as fast as she could. The young Sefir did her very best, quickly beating her wings powerfully. Every stroke of her feathered limbs, she put in extra power until the point where she was beginning to falter from exhaustion. It pushed the air out of her lungs and left her in a panting mess.
Speed is essential. Her wing muscles must also become stronger for her to eventually do long-distance travel. They did the exercise again and again, searing into Avielle's muscles and burning most of her energy. But months of training had pushed her endurance into monstrous levels, making her capable of training continuously for weeks without sleep and only needing short recuperation periods.
Little by little, she was becoming the ultimate soldier just from her training. But the question of the next big thing lingers in her mind. What next? When is she going to fight? Who will she even fight? Who will fight beside her? She was nearing her 7th month with Isidore, but the older shapeshifter hadn't even answered her directly.
"In due time, you will know."
That was what he always answered her. But her nightmares were getting more vivid, and the unrest in her heart growing stronger and stronger everyday. She can feel something in the air, growing thicker every passing second. She knew she was ready for whatever was coming, but what is holding Isidore back?
Before Avielle can think about the certainty of her future, an explosion coming from the nearby mountain startled her and so did the rumbling of the boulders falling down and coming straight at their hut. Avielle screamed for Isidore and the man peaked his head just in time to see several massive boulders coming down at them from the mountain. With lightning speed, they went into the covers of the forest as the rocks crashed into their home in a thundering boom, shaking the very ground where they stood.
"We're under attack!" The older man yelled, craning his head to the sound of the coming helicopters. "Brace yourself!"
Avielle put on her leather pads that she managed to retrieve before their hut was destroyed and whistled for Phoebus. Her eagle companion promptly swooped down and perched onto her shoulder vigilantly. They listened silently as the helicopters landed on the nearby clearing and heard about a hundred or so units marched out, ready to take them out.
"Who are they?" Avielle asked the shapeshifter in a tight, low whisper.
"I can only guess SIDHE. They are the same organization that led humans to the Great War and are out to eliminate all supernaturals. Be careful, Avielle. Some of their soldiers are specialized for fighting creatures like us."
"What are we going to do?"
"Now that they found us, they're never going to stop coming. Better escape out of here fast," Isidore told her through clenched teeth.
"This... this organization. Is this the same one my kind fought?"
The white-haired older shapeshifter nodded somberly. "I'm afraid so. They must have sniffed out that a Sefir still exists and sent these men to eliminate you before you become more of a bigger threat."
The marching was getting closer to them now as Avielle heard barrages of shouting orders to spread out and heavy boots hitting the ground, as well as guns being loaded and cocked. She clenched her teeth. How long will she run away and hide?
Avielle couldn't take it anymore. She must do something.
And she did. With a quick powerful burst, she spread her wings and took off powerfully high into the air, Phoebus flying beside her.
"Avielle! Wait!"
She heard Isidore shouting behind her, but her eyes zeroed in on the helicopters on the nearby clearing and she swooped down to them, almost hitting the speed of sound. The foot soldiers barely saw the flash of something pass in front of them before getting a surprise of their own from the sudden blast behind them that sent them flying. After detonating the explosives in the copters and effectively destroying her enemies transportation, a soldier saw her and started firing rounds at her. Avielle growled and tackled the soldier, immediately noting that he is a human. They were all humans. She knocked him out with a quick blow to the head before rolling to her side as bullets flew past her head.
The Sefir attracted the attention of the rest of the soldiers and they all quickly congregated near her. She skillfully managed to send two soldiers back before she kicked another one in the head, a crack could be heard audibly just from the sheer force. A low spinning caught her attention and she jumped a few feet in the air, tactfully retracting her wings as a massive net of sorts almost captured her. It angered her even more. As she went down, she landed a kick straight at another soldier's chest, taking her down with her. She punched and kicked her way through about twenty soldiers, when she heard gasps somewhere to her left flank. She saw a flash of silver as Isidore in his glorious dragon form swooped down and crushed several groups. He lifted his tail and powerfully swatted the other soldiers easily, thinning the enemy's herd even more.
Avielle ducked as a soldier attempted to roundhouse kick her and promptly swept him off his feet, landing an elbow on his face for good measure. A pain shooting through her back made her hiss as she felt a bullet hit her shoulder and graze her side. The sudden pain almost made her eyes turn a hint of crimson, but she pulled herself together and escaped the rounds firing at her. Having the attention of all the soldiers before made it extremely difficult to go on the offense, but now that a wall of bullets wasn't directed at her, she started to put down a decent number of her opponents.
She was distracted for a split second and a punch suddenly came flying at her cheek, stunning her enough for the enemies to launch another net at her. She grunted, her wings caught within the holes on the net and a sudden surge of electricity shocked her down to the ground. She screamed as it weakened her muscles and burned her skin, making her squirm. Fortunately, she felt herself being lifted off as Isidore rushed to her side and bit the net off of her body, taking several rounds of bullets that was meant for her. Her knees shook for a moment before her body subconsciously moved on its own, delivering powerful punches and intricate movements with the use of her wings. She slapped the soldier behind her with her wings, stopping her before she laid another net over her. She flew straight into the sky, feeling the sun on her skin before diving down close to the ground, tripping and sweeping several soldiers before Isidore promptly crushed and bit them to disable them completely.
A soldier managed to jump into her back and they struggled fiercely for several seconds in the air, making Avielle lose control and crash into the forest and into a solid wall of rock. The soldier didn't make it from the looks of the gaping hole in his head, but Avielle's head spun and a bountiful rain of coppery blood started oozing from the gash on her forehead. Groaning in pain, she quickly ripped a part of her shirt and tied it around her forehead to stop it from bleeding. Then she returned to the main battlefield.
Isidore told her what war looked like, what it sounded and felt like. But no one ever told her what war smelled like. It smelled like gunpowder and fresh blood. It smelled like parched ground after a rain. It smelled like human excrement.
What she saw made her heart drop. There were reinforcements coming from the enemy. And this time, they were huge carrier jets. Breathing heavily, Avielle flew towards Isidore who was now on his regular form and deflected a grenade flying towards them. The old man was clutching his abdomen where Avielle can see that he was hit and she quickly put one of his arms around her shoulder as she helped him walk. They were forced to fall back into the near treeline.
"Isidore! We need to get out of here! They called reinforcements."
Avielle screamed through the heavy gunfire and artillery. The shapeshifter nodded and they devised a plan to help them slip and retreat deeper into the forest which can provide them with ample cover while they recovered. Avielle was shot in a couple of places while she is continuously bleeding from the head. Her ears are still ringing from being near an exploding enemy helicopter and she was sure one of her ribs is broken. But at least she can still walk. She can still carry Isidore and get them out of there. They were crossing a nearby brook when Phoebus made a shrill cry, alerting her of a nearby enemy. She whipped her head just in time to see Phoebus viciously attack the soldier and claw deeply into his neck, severing his arteries.
A sudden gasp from the shapeshifter by her side caught her attention and her eyes widened after she saw a spear piercing right through Isidore's chest, followed by a gurgling sound of blood suddenly entering his lungs.
"No, no," Avielle felt his body slump and she immediately dragged him into cover. "Isidore, stay with me. Stay with me!"
His eyes glazed over and he clutched her jaw tightly with his bloodied hands, delivering his final words.
"Remem...ber your purpose."
Avielle opened her mouth for a silent scream, tears streaming from her eyes as she hung her head and clutched her mentor's body closer to her. She allowed herself to grieve for a few, difficult seconds. Steeling her resolve, she gently leaned Isidore's limp, cold body to a nearby tree before standing up, eyes gleaming black.
Murderous intent.
She whistled for Phoebus as she flew in the sky, now seeing the enemies in the clearing regroup into squads in preparation for their search. Avielle wasn't going to run away. She was going to bring her whole fight towards them.
They saw her flying form in an instant, and from a distance, they engaged in a tensed stare off. Avielle was looking at two hundred soldiers, a hundred and fifty of them fresh from the reinforcement. She pleaded to the spirits for a final blessing and apology. And then she made her move.
She whizzed through the air in a flash, slamming into the formations and grabbing a random gun on the way. She stopped abruptly, the gust of wind from behind her so powerful it caused a shockwave as she dug her feet deep into the soil, making a 180 degree turn and unleashing fire back into the soldiers and surprising them. Most of them didn't have time to react as they got clipped by the powerful bullets. Avielle eventually ran out of bullets but ever unrelenting, she rushed forward and slammed the butt of her rifle into the head of the nearest soldier before she tackled another one down the ground, delivering a lethal punch to his throat.
Quickly, she rolled over and sucked her breath as a boot connected with her stomach. No time to feel her pain, she sprang to her feet and extended her wings fully, doing a complete turn and knocking all nearby soldiers down. She leaped powerfully towards the fully armored Captain who started running away from her in fear. Avielle grabbed the nape of his neck and with her full power, she slammed him down the ground. He died instantly.
The whole battlefield quieted down from her simple act of violence and Avielle's chest heaved as she caught her breath. Her eyes darted from side to side, watching for any sudden movements from her enemy.
Along the horizon, the sudden sound of a coming aircraft caught all their attention.
But Avielle could care less. Give her another five hundred to fight, she would do it. She kept fighting, punching, and giving her all in every bone she breaks and every soldier she puts down. A whip wrapped around her wrists, effectively restricting her movement. Her sharp eyes bore into the insolent human who dared doing this to her.
She was met with sparkling golden eyes. The soldier's face was covered in a thick balaclava. Avielle screamed and yanked her hand forcefully, watching as the soldier's eyes widen before they were thrown to the other part of the fighting ground.
Her eyes caught sight of an enormous wolf running past her, and for the first time, only realizing that she wasn't the only one fighting against her enemies. She saw wolves of different colored furs, and she saw several flying shapeshifters as well as gun-wielding fighters. Her sharp eyes turned towards the aircraft that just landed, for the first time seeing a different logo from the previous helicopters.
ISN.
Before long, she saw the soldiers from earlier scramble back to their jets and take off, retreating for now.
Avielle now felt several eyes on her, and by instinct she growled back. She doesn't know these people and she'd rather die than be captured in her already weakened condition. Phoebus perched by her shoulder, sensing her hostile energy and always ready to lend support as her spirit animal.
"Don't be alarmed."
A man stepped forward and removed his baclava to show his face. He was in his forties and his sturdy muscular body was built in a way that wasn't done in the gym but in pure combat as Avielle can sense the dangerous aura about him. He bore the same golden eyes she saw from the soldier who dared to whip her earlier.
By instinct, Avielle spread her wings wide to intimidate the threat she found. She was operating on pure, animalistic senses now. A couple of werewolves saw her display and snarled at her, low growls erupting from their throats.
Avielle is surrounded.
The man in front of her suddenly reached for something in his pocket and that's when Phoebus acted quickly, attacking the man. It seemed like everything moved in slow motion. Before she could even take off, whips wrapped around each of her hands and both feet making her fall on her face. Then she felt someone quickly press their weight on her back, effectively pinning her down. She struggled fiercely and quickly made her wings retreat back to her body, temporarily surprising the people pinning her down and shaking them loose, standing on her feet. In an extraordinary show of pure, unrivaled strength, Avielle beat her wings down explosively and blew everyone away from the extremely powerful gust of air that came after.
And that's when she felt the prick on her thigh. Looking down, she saw a tube of clear-liquid quickly draining into her body. She hastily removed it and threw it away. Avielle took a step forward but her knees buckled and she gasped, feeling the world spinning.
"Hey, relax! It's going to be okay."
Avielle heard the voice, but she thrashed and glared at anyone who even dared to take a step towards her. Her words started to slur.
"W-ha is happening to meh..."
Avielle swayed, but kept her hand up in her fighting stance. Her heart began to slow its rhythm, lulling her seductively into sleep. But Avielle closed her fists and intentionally clenched her abdomen, hurting her injured ribs even more just to keep herself awake.
"Do something, Lewis! She's not going down! Shoot her again!"
"You idiot! Do you want to kill her?"
Avielle heard more voices, but she felt her eyelids suddenly get heavier and heavier each second, pulling her body into the ground. Finally, Avielle rolled her eyes and slumped down on the ground, unconscious.
Avielle didn't know how long she was out. It could have been hours. Or days. But she opened her eyes to stark-white ceiling. Groggily, she lifted her hands to touch her aching head but found that her limbs had been cuffed to the bed. Quickly regaining her senses, she tugged at her restraints and started to panic a little. But then the door burst open and the golden-eyed man from the battle held up his hand cautiously at her.
"I'll let you go, just give me a second," he said while walking towards Avielle's side. Showing her his hands the whole time, he unlocked each cuff. "We had to restrain you because you were thrashing in your sleep and your stitches kept opening back up."
Avielle looked down to inspect her injuries and saw that she was wearing a hospital gown. To be fair, the room she was in resembled a private hospital room sans all the equipment and the token cross on the wall. No IV stands either.
"Here," the man handed her a glass of cold water, but Avielle just looked at it warily, seeming like it was going to bite her any second. Seeing the girl's apprehension, the man curtly smiled and took a sip from the glass himself before offering it back to Avielle.
Avielle immediately clasped the glass in her hands and started to drink, showing how thirsty she really is. After she finished, the man took the glass away from her and sat down on the chair beside her. "We tried putting an IV on you, but no needle could pierce your skin. At least, not while you were unconscious."
"Then..." Avielle spoke, hearing how hoarse her voice sounded like for the first time. She cleared her throat. "How did you stitch me up?"
"It's called a 'butterfly'. We taped your wounds shut with medical-grade adhesives and allow it to heal on its own."
Avielle nodded, feeling the slight bump on her forehead. She took a particularly deep breath and winced from the sharp pain, reminding her of her rib injury. She glanced at the right shoulder where she knew she was shot and found gauze. The same with the bullet wound on her hip. The long cut on her thigh was also taken care of. They patched her up well.
"Your body took a beating. When we arrived to aid you, you were barely lucid. It was the adrenaline that kept you going."
Avielle directed her cold, gray eyes to the man whose calculating stare met hers.
"Who are you and why did you help me?"
The dark-haired man nodded, affirming something in his thoughts before looking back at Avielle. "My name is Antonio, and I represent the Institute of Supernetics."
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