A/N - Mention of blood and death
Lucette felt like she was 'walking' on air, it was weird. Did she fall asleep? Last thing she remembered was talking to Eros and... And what else? Did she really fall asleep?! But as she looked around, she was no longer in her room, it was somewhere completely different. Sighing, she figured out she was having one of those 'dreams' again. Hopefully it would be better than her previous ones. As she was thinking that, a large black being walked straight past her. Jumping slightly, she noticed it was a large dog.
It kept pacing back and forth, in front of a door. After a short while, the door opened and a man stepped through. Wait... That man, his well dressed suit and his kind smile, doubled over with his strangely kind, red eyes. It was the same man she had seen before. The man who owned that red horse.
"Don't worry Reos, everything is fine..." He said with a kind voice, moving his hand to stroke his black fur. "You can go in now..." He stepped sideways, and gestured for the dog to enter.
The dog nodded and walked in, and with that, the man smiled and walked down the hallway. She took the chance and went inside the room, following the dog. The room was covered with purple. It was the kind of room she could only dream of having. The dog made a beeline for a four poster bed, and jumped on it, using his front paws, and laid his head down. Making her way over, she saw a small girl, fast asleep tucked up in bed. The dog nudged her hand and then licked it, waking her.
"Hmm?" Opening her eyes and using her other hand to rub the sleep off, she noticed the dog beside her and smiled. "Oh, Reos."
The dog looked at her with kind eyes, and she gently stroked his fur, smiling ever so gently.
"I'm alright, are you alright?"
Lucette took a moment to look at the girl, on closer inspection she realised it was Lucille. Was this after that previous incident, or something else entirely? She couldn't actually tell. However, she watched them for a while. She felt at ease, watching them. The girl stayed in bed, but the large dog stayed. After a short while, the same violet haired woman came into the room. Lucette couldn't help wondering if she ever mentioned that this woman was awfully pretty. But there was something very oddly familiar with her, everything about her seemed..... Nostalgic.
"Reos." The woman directed her words to the dog. "Can you please leave us for a moment?"
The dog peeled himself off the bed, and walked towards the open door. As he went round the side, she closed it behind him.
"Mother?" Lucille questioned her.
Sighing, the woman walked over to the bed, picking up her long pale pink dress she carefully sat at the end of the bed.
"How are you?"
Lucille looked taken aback for a moment, before she smiled. "I'm doing good, fit as a fiddle. Well, sort of..."
"I am glad..... But I have something to tell you..."
"Oh? What is that?"
"Sometimes, with us, this is a normal thing. It was the same with me and your father. I didn't love him at all but, over time, I did..." The woman played with the hem of her skirt.
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, I told them you were too young....." The woman sighed heavily. "Lucille, my love... You have a fiance..."
"What?" Lucille tilted her head in confusion.
"We've found you someone, like me and your father. You will be a couple. You will be with them for a long while.. You will have an important role, because of what you can do..."
"..... What?" Lucille asked again.
"This isn't my doing..."
Lucille stared at her mother and got out of bed. She then stormed to the other side of the room. "I don't need one of those, I am perfectly fine as I am!"
"Luci, please..."
"No! Don't call me that.... I don't want that, not at all!" Lucille turned her back to her own mother. "Just get out... Please!"
Her mother looked sad, for a moment, before she got off the bed and headed towards the door. Taking one last look, she left. Shortly afterwards, the black dog came back in. Lucette watched as he went up to the little girls side, and nudged her gently.
"Oh.. Reos, they are trying to dictate my life...?" With a sad expression, Lucille hugged the dog tightly.
Lucette watched them with a sad face. So these guys had forced marriages too? Which begged the question, to whom? Lucille's mother never said the name. But, if this was actually still in effect, did the current Ichthys and Corvus have fiance's now? They never said anything of the sort, so maybe it was just these families? As she was thinking that, she felt awfully light, and everything around her became just a white hazy cloud.
---
Ichthys looked awkward as Corvus stared at him, casually waiting for his brother to give him an answer.
"I suppose I should..... Sorta explain that one particular night...." Ichthys announced, moving to sit on a nearby chair.
"Is this night THAT night....?" Corvus half questioned him.
"Sort of?"
"I thought you didn't remember?"
"I don't.. Not ALL of it! Just one scene..." Ichthys moved off the chair, and walked over to Corvus. "I think it's better to actually show you this..." He eyed up the black chain round Corvus' neck and, in one quick movement, tore it from his neck. Grabbing the side of his face, he placed his own forehead on Corvus' and whispered one word..
"Somnium.."
--------
A young Ichthys and Corvus sat in a room, while a lot of commotion was going on.
"What is going on?" Young Corvus questioned.
"I don't know..." Young Ichthys answered back.
"Well, I'm going to go ask... Stay here..." Corvus gave a small wave and left the room, leaving Ichthys behind.
Little Ichthys stayed in the room, but a large black shadow by the window got him rather curious. He headed over to the window and opened it, and he was greeted by a large furry face.
"Reos?" He exclaimed, as the dog stared back at him. The dog looked rather frantic, as it started pulling on Ichthys sleeve. "Do you want me to go with you?"
The dog looked at him and nodded.
"But..." Ichthys looked back but, taking a deep breath, decided to climb through the window. "Ok... Lead the way!"
The dog bowed a little and ran off, Ichthys followed. Under the cover of night, they managed to slip past several figures. Ichthys had actually managed to catch a glimpse of Corvus speaking to someone. The dog had led him to a house.
"Wait.. This is Luci's house..." He exclaimed, and the dog turned around and nodded. As he looked around, something was very off, as it was rather quiet. From a distance away, he could make out several figures. Three large figures, and one looked like it was carrying something. As both of them tried to get closer, a large banging sound echoed around them. In that moment, Ichthys felt a large object flatten him to the ground. After his ears stopped ringing, he realised that Reos, the dog, had covered him. He could barely move under the dog's weight, but eventually he moved, but he whined. Ichthys' eyes went wide, as he could see a large shrapnel sticking out the dog's side.
"AHH.. Reos!" He tried to help the dog, but the dog whined more. As he looked at the dogs eyes, he gestured with them to where the figures stood. "Ok..." Is all Ichthys said, as he got up and walked over to them, the dog slowly followed him.
Both of them barely got far, when a lot of shouting and screaming started, followed by a lot more bangs. Looking back towards the house, it looked like there was a mini war going on, people fighting each other wherever they stood. Ichthys then got forced down by a large paw.
"There's that beast! Follow it!"
A booming voice echoed around them, and the dog growled. Charging at them was a man, and Ichthys quickly recognised him as one of Lucille's other family members. He never really knew many of their names. But, before the man got any closer, something large slammed into him.
"Reos! Stop!"
The injured dog had charged at the man. Even with the shrapnel in his side, it didn't stop him. After a short scuffle, the dog managed to throw the man a few metres away. Ichthys looked over to where the figures were, and he noticed they had already gone. The fighting all around him was getting worse, as he laid down on the ground. He lost sight of Reos, but he could hear several voices shouting and screaming. While on his front, he tried to crawl away. Even if the figures had gone, he still tried to go that direction. Reos, for some reason, brought him here, and he was still going to attempt it.
But, as he crawled, a large boot slammed down in front of him, and something grabbed the scruff of his clothing. A large man had picked him up. Wait. This man....
"Well... Well... Well... What do we have here?"
Ichthys hated this man, he was vile and disgusting. He tried, with all his might, to try and hit him but with no avail.
"Where is she, boy?" He had demanded of him.
"I don't know what you mean..."
"Ah don't play dumb with me, runt!"
The man's free hand formed a fist, and Ichthys braced for the impact. But, as he closed his eyes, nothing came. Instead, he was let go and he fell to the floor. A loud growling sound alerted him to open his eyes. Reos was on the man's back and, as Ichthys crawled backwards, he could see everything that was going on. The man flailed his arms as he tried to get the large dog off his back. Even with elbowing him, Reos never let go. In a split moment, Ichthys saw Reos go for the man's throat and, immediately closing his eyes, he felt the ground around him shake. Opening his eyes, the man lay still, not moving in front of him, with Reos standing over his body.
"Thank you.." He whispered to the dog, and the dog smiled with his eyes.
But something was off. Reos was the guardian of the family he has been attacking. In truth, he has been defending himself, but still, something wasn't right. Nothing was right about everything happening. The fighting around the house kept escalating, it was like an all out war.
Reos nudged Ichthys to follow him and, getting up, Ichthys followed the dog. He couldn't help noticing all the other wounds on him, and that he was walking with a major limp. As they walked for a short while, they managed to catch a glimpse of the figures again. But, before they could get any closer, Ichthys was struck with a strong, agonising pain. As he fell forwards, he could see he was hit with a spear.
"I had an inkling... It was one of you..."
Ichthys heard a voice from behind him, and Reos growled as he covered him.
"Stupid mutt... Only a few more days, and you would have been obsolete... So boy... Where is she?"
There's that question again, what did it even mean? But, before he could ask what he meant, the shadow over him moved and the man grunted. Slowly pulling out the spear, he watched what was going on. Reos had charged at the newcomer, but it looked like a losing battle for the dog, as the tall man threw him. He heard a loud, painful whine.
"That'll teach it..."
Ichthys saw red. For as long as he had known Lucille, they were inseparable. From what she had told them, he was a gift to her from his own grandmother when she was born. He didn't care for the dog that much, but he was happy with his company, and given that he had been protecting him so far. It meant something. That, and Lucille loved that stupid dog dearly. Grabbing the spear that hit him earlier, he mustered all his strength and hurled it at the man. His shot hit it's mark. It hit its mark good, as he witnessed the man collapse on the floor. He watched as something rolled into a nearby bush. Not even acknowledging the man, he ran over to Reos' side. The dog was still awake, but something wasn't right.
"You can't die. You can't die, it's impossible..." He grabbed hold of the dog's fur. "You have something... You have someone... You need to protect..." He shook the dog. As he did so, the dog moved his head and it revealed a collar. Did he always have that? As Ichthys looked more, he saw that it was slowly forming a small crystal. A purple crystal. Moving to grab it, he wrapped his fingers round it and pulled. The collar came loose and turned to dust, revealing only the small crystal. It shone brilliantly in the dark.
"What am I......?" As he looked at the dog's face, his question trailed off. The dog lay there, perfectly still. His once red eyes, soulless. There was nothing left, he was gone... Taking another look at the crystal, he wondered if this was a soul crystal? As he thought that, the dog's body started to fade away. Hanging his head, Ichthys had a moment of silence, out of respect.
"Thank you, for everything.."
Ichthys stood up and looked over at the house, which was a complete warzone. Bodies littered everywhere. He had no idea what was going on, but enough was enough. Lucille had lost Reos and he didn't even know if he had lost Lucille too, but as he walked, he found himself right in front of the house. Heaving a sigh, he let everything take over, and eventually all that he could see was darkness.
"So... That's what happened..."
Back in present time, Corvus muttered as Ichthys let go of his head.
"I don't remember much after that... But I hid the memory of what happened to Reos, for various reasons..."
"Right.... The three figures however..."
Ichthys shrugged. "I never did find out who they were. Which sucked, because it's what he wanted to show me..."
Corvus scratched his head. "There is more to this, isn't there?"
Ichthys smiled a little. "Sort of..."
"Fine... Get on with it..."
Ichthys smiled awkwardly as he did the same thing he did earlier.
A younger Ichthys was talking to Victus.
"Oh, come on, you must know how to..."
"No, I don't and even if I did.... It's not right..."
"You lie."
"I'm sorry that you feel that way.."
"Actually... There is a way, but he's just being 'shy' about it..."
Victus and a young Ichthys stop arguing and leaning in a doorway was Casus.
"What do you mean?" Ichthys questioned him.
"None of this concerns you."
"Oh, it sorta does..." Casus moved towards them, and smiled down at Ichthys. "There is a way to help your doggo..."
"There is?"
"Casus..."
"Oh Vic, lighten up would you? If the boy wants to do this, then let him!"
Victus stared daggers at the other man, before sighing. "Fine... Follow me..." Victus started walking off, and Casus casually winked at the boy.
Victus had led them to an unknown area. As he pushed open a door, it led to an orb floating in the middle.
"I didn't think I would see this place again..." Casus exclaimed as he casually walked in, however, he stepped over the markings on the floor.
"Ichthys, inside... Don't step on the markings and walk towards that orb..." Victus said, directing him.
Listening to him, Ichthys walked towards the orb, making sure not to step on the markings on the ground. What were they anyway? As he got closer to the orb, he felt something... Odd. It felt familiar, it felt like... As he stared at the orb, he finally realised that feeling. It was like looking in the mirror.
"What is this?" He questioned, as Victus came up to the other side of the orb. He looked behind him and saw that Casus didn't get closer.
"It's a part of 'you'..." Victus started explaining.
"Excuse me?"
Victus' face showed pain for a moment, before he carried on.
"In truth.... When you were born.. A lot of stuff happened... Your brother, Corvus, had his own problems and we all paid the price for that one. But we were still busy sorting out this one..." Victus moved his hand and touched the orb. "You were born with... I suppose I should say... with too much 'energy'..."
"What grandpa over there is saying..." Ichthys turned around, and Casus had moved a bit closer, he looked oddly uncomfortable. "You were 'split'... Somehow, we extracted the excess energy into this orb. All of these markings surrounding this place keeps it in place. That sort of thing... It was a lot of hassle back then... Plus, we were concentrating on you so much that we failed to see the older one's troubles... But, nevertheless, it's A ok.."
"So... I'm here but also.." Ichthys turned around and looked at the orb. "Here too?"
"Yeah... In truth, actually..." Casus carried on, before Victus started again. "When you got 'older', we would have told you about this place and we would give you the choice if you wanna be 'whole' again. That whole shebang..." Casus shrugged.
"I get that... But why take me here now?"
"Because... This is a life here, you have a life in that crystal. You can give up a part of yourself to bring life back to that guardian.." Victus explained. "In truth, he would be a part of you..."
Ichthys looked down at the purple crystal, was this the reason why Reos showed him and more or less gave him this? He didn't know. Ichthys looked up at the orb, was this really what he would have wanted?
"I..."
As he trailed off, he wasn't sure. Of course, he had bugged Victus if it was possible to bring someone back to life. But now they were showing him it would be possible...
"I wanna do it..." Ichthys finally announced.
Victus sighed, but showed a small smile for once.
"Oh wow... You got an old stone face to actually smile!" Casus pointed out, but as he did so, the smile vanished.
"So, what do I do?" The young Ichthys questioned them.
"So that's why you were hovering..." Victus announced. "You saw this, didn't you?"
"I saw my nephew wanting to bring back an old friend, and I knew I could help. Don't get your hair net in a twist..." Casus shrugged, moving a little closer to them. He stood on the other side of the orb.
"..... Fine. With this one here, it would go much smoother."
"Ah, why thank you..." Casus moved and grabbed Ichthys hand. "I'll ask this again, are you ok with this?"
"Will he remember?"
"Beats me..."
Ichthys looked at Victus, and he merely shook his head. "No idea..."
"Well, even if he doesn't remember, he deserves a life..... And so does this... other me...." Ichthys sorrowfully said, as he eyed up the orb.
"Well, if you're sure..." While Casus was holding onto his arm, he made a gesture with his other hand, and a small portal formed. Putting his hand through, he pulled out a grey dagger. "This will hurt, but... " He trailed off as he pulled Ichthys' arm over the orb. Using the dagger, he cut diagonally on his arm.
Ichthys flinched at it. As Casus said it would, it hurt.
"Severance... Huh.." Victus mumbled.
"I hardly ever use it, it stays where it belongs, away from everything. Well, apart from now, but hey ho, what are you going to do?" Casus stated as he shook the hand the dagger was in, and it disappeared. Droplets of dark red blood dripped down, from the cut the dagger made, onto the orb. After Casus was done, he let go of Ichthys' arm, letting it drop to his side.
"Ow...."
"Sorry about that, but it'll heal in time..."
As all three of them looked at the orb, it swirled and started to form shapes.
"The crystal... Place it inside..." Victus announced, stepping back a bit. "Then move away."
Casus was the first to move away, followed by Victus. They stood to the side watching. Ichthys looked down at the crystal, taking a large intake of air. He placed the crystal inside the orb. He was surprised that the crystal even went through the orb. As the crystal got enveloped by the swirls inside the orb, he stepped away and joined where the other two stood.
As they watched on, the marks on the ground lit up. A bright beam of light surrounded the orb, blinding all three of them for a moment. Then, the light eased up. The marks on the ground no longer glowed. As their eyes got to adjusting, Ichthys could make out a humanoid form, slumped over where the orb used to be.
"Congratulations! It's a boy!" Casus sing-songed out, as everything cleared up.
Ichthys took a step forward. He was, in a way, hoping for another dog. But he had guessed it would look humanoid. He knelt down and, using a finger, prodded the face. The form moved and his eyes briefly opened, but then closed again. But he smiled, since the colour of his eyes was the exact colour of the crystal he once had in his care.
"Y'know... He can't actually stay here...." Victus sadly announced.
"Well, that and I'm pretty sure he is very much useless..." Casus shrugged.
"I could send him to one of the worlds..."
"I'm pretty sure that he needs to know how to be human first..." Casus pointed out.
"And are you going to do that?" Victus questioned him.
"My word, no! But I do know of someone, so I can take care of that little thing..."
"Hey... Could I name him?" Ichthys asked them. Both of them looked at him, with an odd expression on their faces. "I mean he does have a name, but given the circumstances... Maybe a new one could be better?"
"Well, I don't see the harm in that, personally..." Casus replied. "So why not?"
Ichthys smiled at them. "Reos... Hmm... Oreos? Ehh, maybe as a nickname.." He looked back down at the slouched form. "No... Eros.... Eros... Yeah." He smiled kindly. "Welcome back... Eros."
"Huh.... So that's how it is..." Corvus stated after Ichthys removed himself.
"In truth, I'm glad that worked, it's been awhile..." Ichthys mumbled out.
"Heh..." Corvus glanced over to where Eros was. "So, in a sense... A clone?"
"More like 'a third odd brother'." Finis announced, prancing back in. "He's human, but not... Since, generally, in all terms he is, in some sense of the word, a reincarnation of Reos. But since he is also one half of Ikky there, he's also a relation to you.."
"How do you know?" Corvus questioned him.
"Oh, I found out... A fair few others did too, it was a strange time..."
"Riiiight... So why does he look...'different' then?"
"Hmm?" Finis glanced over at Eros then back again. "I dunno."
"Would it have mattered if, for example, I wished for him to be different?" Ichthys said out loud.
"Maybe? To be honest, no one knew of what Reos really was. He wasn't a Daemon, like me, nor was he a mortal. I suppose the only one who truly knew is the one who gifted that dog to little Luci..." Finis' face fell as he said those words.
There was a moment of silence after that, before Corvus spoke up again.
"I take it that we now just act 'normal', huh?"
"It is probably for the best. Both that boy and the girl have had most of their memories wiped, so it should be all good..."
"So, no more getting attacked by a rabid.... Dog?"
Finis grinned at the analogy at that. "Well, we hope not. Nocte has fixed that problem."
"Speaking of him.... Where is he?" Corvus questioned, with a tilted head.
"Ah, yes... That... erm.... Hmmm.... Taking a break..." Finis smiled at them, but the smile was more creepy than friendly.
"Uh huh.."
"Enough talk, time for some more rub downs!" Finis picked up a bucket, that was by his feet, and pranced over.
"Oh? Can I help?" Ichthys asked.
"Uh? Sure... Hold him still, would you?"
"Do.. Not... Touch me!"
"Oh, stop being a large baby!"
Watching over their exchange, behind a door, was Victus. He looked down at his hand, clenched it and walked off.
♥Special thanks to Francesca for being my poof reader♥