RabbitsWarren
Your local trans writer femboy.
Wᴀʀʀᴇɴ Bᴜʀɴs
(he/him)
ʙᴜɢʙᴇᴀʀ ʙᴀʀᴅs ᴡɪᴛʜ
ʙᴀɴᴊᴏs ʏ'ᴀʟʟ
ʙᴀɴᴊᴏs ʏ'ᴀʟʟ
I'ᴍ ᴡᴏʀʀɪᴇᴅ 'ʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ
All of the previous messages are here:
Dragging herself out of bed, the Raven haired girl groaned. The last experiment that they tested on her left bruises along her torso and along the jaw, leaving everything tender. Being captive here for 8 years, you got used to that kind of bullshit.
“It’s for the better of humanity. It won’t hurt too much..” They would always repeat that, the purr in there voice always gave away the fun they had while taking her crystals or poking her with sharp needles. It always hurt, no matter what they said. The tests, the experiments always took something from her and it hurt.
Taking a heavy sigh, Raven pushed off the bed and stumbled her way to the door. “Nggh” the throbbing in her knee almost took her to the floor. “I won’t let them win.” Growling, she clung to the door frame before standing tall and making her way to the mess hall.
You could always tell who was important and who wasn’t just by the way people looked. Children from higher class families always had clean clothes and no scars.... on the other hand, if you were a stray that just “happened” to be picked up or thrown into here they gave you itchy brown rags to wear until they had holes in them. Raven ranked in the latter. It didn’t bother her too much. What did was the stares every time she went to eat.
The blue crystal arm never helped. As far as she knew, Raven was the only person here with something like this. Raven has had the arm ever since she could remember but it never failed that at least one person stared when she entered the mess hall.
Standing tall, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg every time she took a step, Raven entered the noisy mess hall and made her way to the small line at the food counter.
Ansel questioned if this might be better than home on the daily. Perhaps it wasn't, and continued on just the same level of despair that he commonly dealt with except for the inclusion of different challenges. At home, he avoided his father and dwelled with the 'wrong crowd' just to get out of the house. He found friends in them, colleagues, even though he looked like the odd one out. Always slick, clean, and presentable, he stood out among his old friends in Kirlon. One, a tall elf with a history selling illegal goods. The other, a burly, clean-shaven man that worked in dealings of contract killing. Both of them worked well together, but then Ansel looked like someone they might rob versus someone they looked with.
Ansel stirred at his desk, and stood. The entire room he lived in now might have been a fifth of the size of his normal one. He hated it, but at least it had a storage chest, desk, and full size bed. It reminded him of a college traditional size dorm. He despised the mattress and bedding, but the union government running the station refused outside gifts. He only had what he arrived with, minus some things that someone stole at some point. He still missed his copy of Needful Things, too, but the guards still couldn't find the thief. He tried to convince himself that whoever swiped it needed it more than he did.
He directed his attention to the journal on the desk and the remaining blank ten pages. He needed to smuggle a new one in soon, maybe today. He slipped into the hallway and into the cafeteria to meet the confidant that could get it for him.
Raven caught movement in the room and her eyes immedatly locked on to it. It was the red haired male she had seen in here several times.
"Rich prick." She muttered under her breath as she got her serving size of potatos , bread and meat. Most of it looked like slop but hey it was food and edible.
No matter how hard she tried, Raven couldnt keep from limping as she walked. "Damn" one of the only open tables was past the red haired male. She didnt even care to know his name. And he stood in the way. Gripping her plate she started toward the seat.
As she walked/barely limped, she stopped in front of him. "Are you gonna move or just look like a big dumb idiot?" She growled, her cold hues burning into his face. Given her size compared to him, it would've been hard to sound intimidating but Raven was in pain and needed to eat so her words came out sharp and cold.
"Excuse me, princess." Ansel's lips pulled back into an expression that looked like a smile, but in the small dimples of it, he tried to hide his annoyance and somewhat embarrassment of being in the way in the first place. He took a single step backward, out of the way, and lifted his hands up similar to a surrender to dramatize him moving out of her path.
"Sorry that I ruffled your skirt, miss, is there anything I can do to make up for it?" Ansel found himself saying the words before he thought about it. His forced politeness that he practiced outside the walls turned into sarcastic barks against most people on the other side of them. He carefully made sure that he didn't wince when he realized his mistake to snap at a stranger, even though he felt a rush of what might have been either adrenaline, fear, or even embarrassment. The same feeling he felt standing up to superiors always came when standing up to strangers, too. Luckily, he'd managed to get over it for the most part and just push through it.
"Look, sorry. Seems like both of us are having a shitty day." Ansel's tone slowly slipped from his sarcastic, sharp daggers and returned to a soft rumble. He watched her limp earlier as she approached. "I don't mean to make yours worse. I'm just looking for, uh, a friend." He never met his confidant face to face. He only left the traded things where they had trade offs and communicated through notes.
That statement made her snap, Raven had been itching for a fight since she came into the kitchen. She turned around and slammed her plate into the table.
Whipping around, Raven grabbed the taller mans shirt with her crystal arm, making their faces meet. "Shitty day? Ive had a shitty life, and I can make yours that way if you ever speak to me like that again." The rage in the girls eyes was fierce.
"You rich kids have no idea what truly go on here. What happens to us no bodies. what they-" the room had become quiet due to Ravens forceful shouts and several guards have moved into the room.
It was an unspoken rule that no one spoke about what happened to the nobodies. If anyone spoke about it they were taken away.
"Tch." She shoved off him and moved to get her food.
A blonde male watched the interaction with interest. "Lets see how my 'friend' handles the firecracker." He smiled as he lounged off to the side and enjoyed the scene.
Now wait just a fucking minute. Ansel thought as Raven pulled him close to her face with a fistful of his suit and tie. He scrunched up his nose and gritted his teeth to seem intimidating even though his back muscles instinctively retracted and made him twitch away from her at first. He opened his mouth, about to scold her for being so short-sighted and unwilling to see what he'd gone through when he realized she didn't know. He closed his mouth and pursed his lips to avoid saying something he would regret.
"Did you ever think, for just a moment," Ansel tried his best to keep his cool and adjusted his tie back into place. The guards made him nervous, and the pauses in his voice made that evident. "It's because you don't trust us?" He chose his words carefully, and though he now wanted to follow her to inquire, probably with a frustrated sigh, he couldn't. Alarming guards into thinking he wanted to start a fight would do just that.
"You should try it sometime!" Ansel called as he turned away, despite his want to let his mind be known after her comment. Now, he shifted into a shell he often used for his parents- a mask of prudish assholery. "Maybe then you could pull the stick out of your ass."
Raven threw up a middle finger, and shouted back "only when you pull your head out of yours!" And with that she sat down and huffed, she then proceeded to eat.
well that's quite a way to make a friend the sarcastic voice floated as Ure chuckled a bit. "Bastard started it." Raven growled quietly.
and you made it soo much worse, really Raven we have to work on your people skills.
The blonde laughed and pushed up off his seat, making his way to Ansel, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It seems you be survived an encounter with the crazy fire cracker." He chuckled and shook his head.
"Many don't get that acheivement. Best to stay far away from the crystaled one, she's the labs pet. Names Seth by the way.... You looking for a friend?" He asked as he cocked his head. His blue eyes simmered with amusement.
Seth stood a good head shorter than Ansel, but he carried himself with an arrogant air, he was crude and shrewd, he got what he wanted when he wanted.
"A. Kramer." Ansel responded when a new voice entered his ears, and he turned his head. Generally, most people did call him by his last name, so he usually introduced himself by that with only his first initial. His dad encouraged that, and it simply followed him throughout life.
"I can handle myself, actually, but I appreciate your concern." Ansel fixed his hair carefully back into its normal position and pulled his gloves back into a less strained position. "Nice to meet you, though unfortunate circumstances." He looked the boy in front of him up and down. "I am; why does that concern you?"
For some reason this man irritated Seth, but he could never turn down a request. A sly smile crept its way to his face. The young man remsembeled much of a rat when he made that face.
"I may be the thing your looking for." Out of his gray hoodie came a blue peice of paper, the same kind of paper that found its way to Ansel's room.
Seth nodded to the table he had been sitting at, when the boys sat down, Seth's gaze lazily scanned the room. Tugging his hair into a tight pony tail. "I knew you were my contact when you walked in here, after being here for several years you get a feel for these things."
"The only question is, why would you seek out my services? I can get'cha what you need but dont you have the money and power to get what you need?" Seth cocked his head to the side. His family wasn't in power in the traditional sense, but he wasn't a nobody either. His family was very famous in..... Certain underground circles. That's why he got left alone.
Ansel listened to him speak and watched the guards slowly leave. He followed them out with his eyes, making sure all of them were gone before even starting to open his mouth. He adjusted his cufflinks, and leaned forward on the picnic-table like surfaces as the words processed in his head. When he finished speaking, Ansel continued.
"My family sends me nothing, contraband or otherwise." Ansel started as he flipped through a notebook, this one, empty. "I have a few friends on the outside, but that's what I'm limited to, so I work with it." The bastard Emit always helped him smuggle in his shit from his friends on the outside, but whether or not Emit could be trusted was a whole different matter.
The guard, Emit, had a disposition much more similar to that of a mad scientist. He always snuck into the labs below housing to see if he could do his own work. Once, when smuggling in some cigarettes for Ansel to sell, he ranted to him for half an hour about multiverses and demiplanes of conciousness before Ansel could finally get away from him. He figured he was high all the time by the way he walked, jerking his body around or showing odd posture in general.
"I have someone that gets what I need to trade with you, and that's what matters." Ansel shrugged, and pulled a small box from his waistcoat pocket. It was wrapped up in brown paper. "You didn't get this from me."
Seth's eyes lit up at the package. "So you get the goods?" He opened the package. Fine quality ciggeretts. "Damn its been way too long since I've had one of these." He stuffed the box in his pocket.
Folding his arms he stared at the taller man. "So here's what I need. Alcohol, lots of it." His eyes shifted around the room. A good percentage of those in the room was under the age of 15.
"I don't deal to the high class rich kids, ya get me. Lots of things happen here that we dont know of.... Lots of it happens to the little in's. Alcohol knocks them out and puts them to sleep..." He looked away for a moment.
"Seen to many in pain and its just not right. Adults are made to suffer but the little ones?" He cleared his throat before continuing. "I can smuggle medical supplies, pills anything out if you get me what I need. I then give it to my distributor," he nodded Raven, who now was watching the room.
"She's better with the kids, knows what everyone needs. Only a fire cracker to those who deserve it." A chuckle escaped him.
"Of course. I don't make promises that I can't keep." Ansel tapped his fingers on the table to make it seem like a normal conversation as the guards began leaving the room one by one. He watched until they left, and then his shoulders relaxed. Finally, some peace and quiet.
"Definte lots." Ansel began when Seth made the request for the alcohol. "And what grade? If you're hinting that you'll get something high-grade because of my family, we're going to have to work something out. My informants would have to steal from my family to get it."
"Plus," Ansel continued. "I only have four arms, my smuggler and I, and he's not exactly the most careful with items. What's in it for me?" As Seth continued, he nodded solemnly and let him speak. He considered the information, and then
"I want my wand." He offered and straightened his back as his voice came out in a quiet, harsh whisper. "Think you can get it? Or do I have to find someone else?" He wanted to look, to see how reliable this man claimed he was, but he couldn't risk any of that. Not now. One nose bleed later, he'd be tackled and punished by guards. "I need it for something important. My spellbook would also be optimal, but not totally necessary. I'd be willing to stick my neck out for higher grade from my parents if you're willing to stick your neck out to get it."
"I'm glad she works well with kids; I don't like them." As he heard his voice, Ansel knew it was a lie. He loved kids, and wanted to help them and make them better people. He didn't want them to grow up like him. Though, he was always scared of influencing children to be bad so he stayed away from them. "But if I'm going to speak to her, you'll have to make sure she doesn't decide I'm her next target."
Seth's eyes narrowed and he felt the knots start to form in his shoulders and neck. "Wand eh? By the gods you dont ever do anything easy do ya?" This made Seth shake his head and lean back in his chair. "I've stolen magic items from the vault only a handful of times, its tight and hard to get into but not impossible." Pinching his nose and sighing, the blonde nodded. "I can get it for ya but its gonna take a week. Lots of planning and scouting, not to mention the prospect of getting caught and thrown into E block." The mention of the place sent a silent shiver down his spine.
"We don't need anything of high grade, just something that taste good and is smooth to go down. Kids love fruit and other light flavors like that, we can't have any suspicion on us with lots of kids throwing up." Rubbing his chin Seth thought for a moment. "I need at least three days worth."
He then shook his head. "Rav, doesn't kill you know. Has a lot of bark but rarely bites." He lulled his head in her direction. "Hey, Raven!" When she looked up, he motioned for her to join.
Half scowling, she pushed off of the table and walked over. "What do you want?" The crease in her brow couldn't hide the curiosity in her eyes.
"We've got a new dealer" the seat was offered as Seth spoke and Raven took it, sitting to his right. Clasping her hands together it seemed that a dim light sparked into the girls eyes.
.
"You mean it? Thank the gods, I won't have to see little Milo or Minx in too much pain." A glow came to Ravens face as she spoke the names. "But what's the price pretty boy?" The warm words turned harsh as she spoke to Ansel. When Seth finished relaying what they had talked about, Ravens face went cold.
Fear. It was one thing she was a custom to and it was present in her face as she turned toward Seth. "You can't do another run like that. They said they'd kill you the next time they even had an inkling that your near the vault." Seth's eyes flashed to Ansel's face before going back to Raven.
"No, ill go." She shook her head as if the decision was final. "But-!" As Seth tried to protest, Raven cut him off. "No buts, the kids are already having a hard time dealing with Judy gone, we can't have you die too. They adore you Seth. Besides, the lab wouldnt want to discard their favroite pet now would they?" The bitterness dripped from the girls voice as she faced Ansel.
"What does this wand look like. Seth gives you a week thats his usual time frame, I can give you three days." She tugged down on her long sleeve to cover the bracelet.
if you really go through with this, it a gonna hurt.... Ure hummed with worry. don't really got a choice now do I? Raven shot back at the voice,
“No.” Ansel crossed his arms as he listened. “I’ll be willing to help, as well. But I’m not great with plans. Consider myself at your disposal for the plan, though. I’ve got nothing to lose, and this is what I’m staking everything on. If I can get it, and get out, it’s over for them.” He spoke in a low, hushed voice that he learned from his mother when she tried to tell him things his father didn’t need to hear.
“I’ll get you a week’s worth, high grade, and the best taste I can find. If I get out, I’ll bring you enough to last you a life time.” Ansel told him. “If you want collateral,” He picked his pin off of his tie, reclasping it safely and sitting it on the table. The solid gold K, aligned with the third eye on top, a symbol of divine power, gleamed in the fluorescent light. All Kramers received one created especially for them at birth, as a sign of their heritage. That alone, not to mention the material, would bring in a lot of money to someone wanting to pose as an estranged member of the family. “Take it. Give it back to me after this works.”
Ansel’s eyes searched for her when Seth called for Raven. He felt the excitement drain from his cheeks as he realized this might go well. “Perhaps not,” he began before she approached. “But she certainly tried to take a bite out of me.” When she finally made it to the table, he said nothing to the girl with the crystalized arm. He knew well enough not to speak out of turn.
“Then he won’t do a run like that. He’ll mastermind it. Consider him the player of a chess match. I’ll be the king piece, and you, my dear, feel more like a rook. Erratic and effective.” Ansel defended the plan with his own chess match of words. He needed this to happen. “If they capture me, I won’t lead it back to you. Seth will be fine.” He reassured her, and let only the faintest remnants of a smile cross his face when she volunteered to keep Seth safe, too.
“Call me a pet again and you’ll have no deal.” Ansel crumpled his hand into a fist as he met her eyes through his white-framed glasses. He despised that word with a vicious passion. When he heard those syllables, all he could ever see in his mind’s eye was his father’s mocking face. He didn’t know if he preferred that one to his angry moods or disappointed moods, but his nerves jumped when he heard that word.
“Take as long as you want. It’s obsidian glass, eight inch, and has a very simple cone design. The book has the same symbol as the pen on the cover.” Ansel felt his voice strain, even though he tried to cover up his hurt and anger as best as he could.
Raven smirked at the mans outburst, it was always fun to make someone so irritated.
"Fine, no more pet names. But seriously." Her gaze drifted to the door where the guards exited.
"I have a...." Her eyes flicked to Ansel. She didn't know how much this man knew of what really happened here so she had to choose her words wisely. "Test they need to run on my crystals tomorrow, Theyer taking some and after that I can get near the vault, to see how I'm going to get in there." She looked at Seth and then back to Ansel. "I work best in the dark and shadows." The caused a worried and almost terrified reaction to fall upon Seth's face.
"Rav-" but before he could say anything Raven put up a hand. She wasnt going to listen to his lecture about how the bracelet worked and what happened if she used her magic.
"Now tell me, why is this wand so important to you? I'm guessing you can use magic with it... But can you use any without it?" She asked cocking her head to the side in curiosity.
"I have no access to magic without it. It's a conduit along with the book." Ansel lied and slid his hand through his hair. As he sat there, watching them and deciding if the information would help, he finally cracked.
"I have something else, though, I guess. I don't know how much it would help." Ansel kept his voice to a low grumble so as not to be heard by passing people. "I have an ability to see the possibilities for the future and their likelihoods. However, it's not... safe to use for long periods of time or to look extensively forward."
"If I get it," Ansel proposed. "I could get more things in. More things for you, the kids, anything."
Raven gave a sideways glance. "Your like a Seer?" She asked, trying to ignore the hot flair of anger that burster through her at his words.
Standing up she huffed. "You only want your wand for selfish reasons. I've made the deal but you promise to help us? Fuck that. Smuggle things in to help? We need to escape and reach the revolution." It was only rumors, but it was said that deep in the forests there were many people fighting the government, breaking into labs and taking children.
"But I guess some rich kid doesn't care about that now do they." She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Take it easy firecracker, we said we'd help so we will. You use your magic to get into the vault and get his wand, we get the juice to help the kiddos. Win win." The blonde shrugged, invoking an eye roll from Raven.
"If a Seer damaged their brain every time they looked into the future, sure." Ansel shrugged his shoulders. He never liked being referred to as a prophet. He could still be wrong about any prediction.
"Excuse me?" Ansel felt his face heat up as red worked into his cheeks. "That's the intended outcome! But you cannot drag hundreds of people incapable of walking out into the forest." He slammed his fist on the table. "They're going to be weak and they're going to die, and then what will you do?" Finally, he stood, weaving himself out from around the picnic table-like furniture. "It's not selfish." He leaned forward on both hands to steady his line of sight with Raven's own. "If we get more things in, people will heal, people will recover, and we can revolt. But you can't do it with a rag tag group of people that can hardly walk a lap around the building." He bit his tongue at the rich comment. She didn't know, he reminded himself. She didn't know.
"If you don't want my help because you think you're better than me, Raven, you can say so."
"Being dead is better than being experimented on, god dammit!" Raven slammed her fist on the table, keeping her rage filled voice low and controled, it was really hard to keep from yelling.
"I seriously doubt that either of you know what its like to not have your body belong to you." Tears crept into her eyes, she hated crying, it made her feel weak. "Do you know the pain of having something foreign enter your blood stream or have a chunk taken away from you." Rage filled her body with adrenaline and she shook.
"Do you?!" Seth just kept silent. It was never a good idea for him to talk back when she was like this. The rage that the girl held always secretly scared him.
"No. I know what it's like to be overpowered and used for someone else's wants, though. I think that's similar enough." Ansel immediately spat, recoiling when he realized he'd said those words. He straightened his posture, trying to regain his composure. That one hurt, didn't it? His tests here usually amounted to quizzes and questions, as well as interrogation sessions. The interrogation sessions were definitely rougher, but nothing else compared to home.
"Deal's off. I've been trying to see it from your perspective, to be more open, but you won't even consider that you don't know me or what I've been through for even one second." Ansel turned towards Seth, eyes shrouded, angry, and in pain. "Keep the damn pin. It's of no use to me." Then, he stalked towards the door. At least he got his new notebook.
Ravens face twisted in pain as he spat at her. She shook her head and growled as he walked away. "Dammit, now the kids wont get what they need because of me." Her voice cracked in pain. She looked up to where Ansel had left.
Seth sighed and looked at the pin. "I could get a pretty penny outta this, have someone melt it down?" He set the pin off to the side, "really we're the only hope that man has, he'll be back we just have to be-" before he could finish his sentence, Raven stopped listening.
"How far away is his room from yours?" She asked, cutting him off. "About two hallways and a door to the left. 13a? Ya that's it." Raven nodded and pushed off. "We made a promise, he may back out on his part but I won't on mine. Move that time table up, I'm getting that Wand tonight." With that She pushed off the table, making her way towards the door and put the room.
"Raven! Don't!" But the pleas fell on deaf ears as she made her way back to her room.
Raven laid staring at her ceiling. It was just near 2 o'clock. She had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening going over plans with Seth , the guard routes along with passcodes. It was a simple extraction but the way to get out was difficult.
Taking a deep breath, Raven slipped from her bed. There was a half hour lag between shifts at the vault at around 230 and ended at 3, it was her only window to nab both the book and the wand. Taking off her shirt, Raven changed into a simple tight outfit that consisted of a black workout bra and tight almost legging kind of materials for pants. Her magic worked better if there wasn't too much material to blend in and it was the only other kind of clothes the lab gave her for when they ran 'tests' on her Magic itself. Taking a deep breath she slipped out the door.
About 20 minutes later....
Raven had manage to skirt past all the guards and cameras without using her magic. Arriving at the hallway and holding her breath slightly she waited for the sound of footsteps but she heard none. When five minutes passed and still nothing, the Raven haired girl slipped out into the open in front of the large door. Praying to any entity that was kind enough to listen she entered the Vault code. "The dumb guards don't change the passcode so its the same every time." Seth chuckled as he gave her the slip of paper and sure enough the large door opened with a simple click
Slipping inside Raven was in awe at all the magical artifacts strewn about in the room. Shaking her head and reminding herself she didnt have time for that, the search began.
It was actually quite easy to find the wand, and it easily fit in her waist band too! Talk about luck! The book was a bit heavier but it laid right next to the wand..... As Raven turned around with a smile she thought this whole thing was so easy.... Too easy. That was until her eyes locked with the guard that had just switched shifts. .
"Dammit!" She growled, bullrushing out the door knocking the guard down, before runnimg down the hall she snagged the key ring off his belt. Alarms howled, her crystallized arm glowed and Raven dissapeared into the dark.
Teeth gritting against the excruciating pain climbing up her arm and into her shoulder, the bracelet squeazed and sent electricity through her body.
the whole lab has to be up by now the thought raced through her head as she neared the door of Ansel. Stopping just for a moment to open the door, the damn place never allowed locks, her shadowy form placed his objects on the floor. Thanks to the bracelet, blood dripped slightly from the left arm leaving a bloody hand print on on the wand
After that Raven dashed for the large sector 5 exit door. She had to make it out this time, she just had to. This time she wasn’t going to come back. This time she was going to die trying.
Stopping jer magic and Narrowing her blue eyes, the girl pushed her way past the tiny crack that the door was rumored to have and as she neared it it seemed that Seth knew what he was talking about. Even though it was broken, the lab was still known for its security features. Even moreEar piercing alarms blared and large cage sounding doors slammed.
uh Raven? Ure's voice had a hint of fear in it now as it spoke the girls name. That was unusual itself, Ure never feared anything because it was always Raven getting hurt. Raven getting the damn needles stuck in her. Raven, the one who had to stay awake all those sleepless nights as the denity spoke in it's nonsensical language.
Did you hear what I said? Coming back to reality, Raven realized she hadn’t even started running.
I sad run dammit! Get us out of here! Raven took a deep breath and nodded as she sprinted into the cold night. The sounds of dogs not that far behind her.
Raven had run for what felt like forever, taking different paths and cutting behind houses before she slowed down. The men with guns were going to be on her shortly but Raven couldn’t help but look up at the moon. It was a cold crisp night and the last time she saw the moon this bright was… never. She had spent most of the 19 years of her life locked up behind those walls… or at least that’s what she remembered. Closing her eyes she drank in the silence, the muffled sound of alarms was behind her.
“We’re going to make it this time Ure i can feel it.” Smiling, the girl traced the crystalized arm. “And when we’re safe I’m going to find out how and why we bonded. That’s for sure.”
.
.
Before she could start running again a bullet whizzed past her head.
They're not playing this time. Raven we have to get out of here! Ure was now materializing in front of her eyes. SIlver eyes meeting Ravens, the panic was evident now.
Run! Disappear! Do something! The panic was starting to Raveb
“Stop right there!” A man's voice. A dog close behind several more were to follow. This was it, she wasn’t going back this time.
Raven closed her eyes taking a deep breath and stepping back into the shadows, the girl nearly disappeared as her magic enveloped her into the shadows. She would’ve gotten away cleanly if one of the men hadnt shot her in the calf
The heat and pain coursed up her leg as the bullet lodged itself into her calf. Tears streamed down her face as it took nearly all her energy to not scream, much less limp away while holding onto her magic.
“Where did she go?” One barked.
“Why the hell did you shoot? You could’ve hurt one of us!” And the arguments continued. It was good for the girl as she limped farther down the street, her magic threatening to give out as she struggled to maintain consciousness.
Go to that alley. It’s far enough away that they can't find you. Ure pointed to a small alley between a jewelry store and a bookstore. Raven nearly crawled into it and leaned against one building, her leg on fire. Her magic evaporating she sobbed silently as she laid on the ground, blood pooling around her. Maybe if she just went to sleep everything would be ok, she thought to herself as she drifted off and lost consciousness
“Wake up.” Ansel gently roused the girl the next day. He leaned over a modest water bowl, angrily scrubbing the lower half of his face. Flakes of dried blood fell elegantly into the bowl and swirled into the water, turning it red. The front of his suit was splattered, too, staining the eggshell white fabric a deep mahogany. The fountain started from his nose while it still tried to stream down his face. He felt lethargic and looked pale. “We need to go.”
“You’ve got to get up, Raven.” Ansel strode closer to the old, rickety bed. His eyes darted toward the old cabin door and back to her. He reached out a single, now ungloved, hand to shake her shoulder, recoiled, and then decided to follow through. “Please, wake up, we have to go.” He whispered as he thought of how he got her here in the first place.
Ansel awoke in the middle of the night, sitting up in his bed with a loud yelp. Sirens faintly blared outside, but the only thing he could hear in his head was the soft, menacing laugh of the vulpine bastard he knew well enough as his deity. The two never could communicate, but Ansel occasionally heard him laugh. Usually, right before something bad. Mursar enjoyed chaos; perhaps that’s why he gave the Kramers their gifts.
His clock read 2:56 am, and on his floor only a few feet away, he could see the book and the wand. He scrambled into his suit, tie untied, and swiped them off the ground. Slick blood hit his palm, and he dropped the wand. The obsidian glass figure clattered on the ground. He dove for it and then took off toward the door.
“Fuck,” Ansel whispered as he paused in the hallway, trying to see. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, to plead with Mursar to send him a sign. Thankfully, he saw a few possibilities, a few percentages, and the faint visage of success. He continued this as he silently crept through the building with a handkerchief to his nose. Any blood trail from that, and he’d be caught. He watched behind his eyelids as a 25% possibility percentage of him being caught and killed in various different ways appeared. Shit.
Ansel managed to slip out of the place just as the guards returned and reset the alarms. The forest whispered its song to him as he walked at first, then slammed into a run, in order to find her as soon as his foresight warned of her possible death. He barely managed to find her, hidden amongst debris and underbrush, but he scooped her up and took off to the only place he could see them finding in his mind’s eye- a small, tiny cottage that someone forgot to lock the door of- whilst trying to keep the now rapidly flowing blood from his nose off of Raven and trying to keep his legs moving.
“I don’t know who lives here. They probably won’t appreciate my breaking and entering even if it was to save you.” Ansel yanked the blanket off of her as his hands began to shake. Should he look forward? Should he see if someone was heading this way in his mind’s eye? No, he decided. At this point, doing that would make him bleed to death.
The touch and jostle pulled Raven from the dream realm. Opening her eyes, everything was blurry. Blinking a few times until everything came into focus the first thing She saw was Ansel. "By the gods am I in hell?" She groaned drapping her non crystallized arm over her eyes. Her whole body hurt. Taking a once over of her body Raven groaned again. Her left hand was really damaged and she could barely lift any of the fingers, great..., right calf sore and tender, maybe it still had the bullet? Mana reserve.... Almost empty.
fuck
It was the only thing that came to mind. This was not how she wanted to escape. Sighing and sitting up a wave of nausea washed over her and before she could stop, she threw up over the side of the bed.
"Nggh" the tears came as the forceful heaves stopped. "God I need to get this fucking bracelet off, the electric pulses are gonna go off everytime I use my magic." She gave him a weary eye. "How the hell did you escape? And how did you find me?" Wipeing her mouth she growled.
"And what are we going to do about the bullet in my leg?" She sighed and held her stomach, which felt like a sea in a storm.
"Not yet in hell nor heaven, but I assure you I can hear the bells tolling for us." Ansel approached the old, high cabinets and began digging as he tried to find the right item. Julian talked about it before, but he had a hard time figuring out what it was called. Arsenic? Ambien? Acetaminophen? He looked at all of the identical bottles with different labels. Which did he bring Ansel on the more painful nights? Maybe all three. He didn't know. Hoping that Raven would, the man stepped back from the medicine cabinet he found and gestured to it. "I don't have any healing magic." He lied. His spellbook had several healing spells, but part of Mursar's gift of foresight prevented him from healing people magically or anyone healing Ansel magically. Whenever either happened, the spells always worked in reverse. It was never pretty.
"All yours, though, take what you need." Ansel waited, planning to also take whatever she got so that he could get relief for the lethargy and his aching migraine, too. He gestured to the blood on his suit. "It wasn't easy to get out or find you. Remember the quip I made about a dying seer? It's accurate." He flipped through his book, trying to find something, anything to help that he could actually use. "I can't extract it. It'll be too hard. We'll have to find a doctor."
She took the bottles and read each and everyone of them. She took a pill from the large bottle and two from the small bottle. Tossing them to Ansel she cracked a sarcastic smile.
"The big one deadins pain, the other helps with energy, should give stimuli for the next couple of hours. She dry swallowed the pills. "I'm glad that there's some around. Sometimes I'd have to bare the pain and agony." Shrugging the pain away she tried to stand, but her injured leg couldn't hold the weight.
"We really need to find a doc." She gripped the bed and forced herself stand. "I need a crutch or something to lean on, preferably not you." She shook her head
She then looked at his suit. "You need to take off that jacket. The chemicals they put in my blood may eat through that, I have no idea What was injected into my body." She chuckled a bit at the thought of him freaking out about it.
"I know what they do; i'm not stupid." Ansel muttered and slowly rubbed the back of his neck while he took a few, too. Then, he put them back up into the cabinet.
"I can carry you." Ansel said, though his voice waivered. He didn't feel great. "But, I'm sure you could find something these people wouldn't mind missing."
"Oh, that's not your blood. At least, not most of it." Heat ran into his face again, threatening to turn his face into a flame. "That's from me. My foresight pushes my mind too hard. It hurts like a bitch and my nose bleeds."
Raven looked around the little cabin, she moved sligjtly to a closet type of room, sinking to the floor she rummaged through it. "Aha!" Pulling a long stick like object Raven hoisted herself to her feet with it. The staff like object came up to her shoulder and she could put quite enough weight on it. "I thought that something like this place would carry a walking stick or two." She beamed.
Watching the heat rise to his face was a sight that really pleased Raven. "So you can die by using your power? Please don't, ive seen enough death lately." Shrugging off the statement Raven made her way to the door. She then looked back at Ansel.
"Seriously, you need new clothes. This is my third escape attempt and trekking in the woods is no small feat." She smirked at him.
"Yes, via brain damage. It's not nice and it doesn't go away. I still have memories missing from certain events after using it. One day, I'll be little more than a brain dead shell if I push it." Ansel grumbled. This thought often frightened him, to be honest. It lingered in the back of his head whenever he used the ability, and even sometimes just because. He hated thinking about what might happen should he decide to get trigger happy with foresight or set up as a fortune teller.
"Au contraire, ma dame," Ansel flicked his wand out of his coat sleeve as she said something about needed new clothes. With a flick of it and a spoken word, the stains in his suit disappeared, the blood evaporated, and the rips fixed themselves. He smiled, feeling nice to be put back together again, despite his slurred speech and woozy steps. "Look'it you! You could use a clean up too. With your permission, of course."
Raven scrunched her nose at him as she saw the transformation. "You sound drunk." She chuckled. Then her face fell in pain, the thought of being drunk made her think of how they used to put kids to sleep.
"We left so many kids behind." Sadness etched into her face as she shook her head. "That's a nice party trick, yes you can help me clean up but dont do anything weird. I don't want to be a victim of anyones sick fantasy." She gave him a very serious death stare. Then looking at the door she added, "how much foid and water do you think we can survive on if we raid the kitchen?" She asked
"Sorry. I'm not drunk; it's just really hard to think after using foresight for so long." Ansel assured her, and though it was obvious he wasn't lying, he definitely didn't sound much more convincing. When she frowned, he naturally mimicked her face without thinking about it. He couldn't be bothered with the brain power it took to mask emotions right now, so instead he just let his walls down. Just for a moment, surely, he thought, he'd be fine.
"I know. We'll go back when we can." Ansel promised with a nonchalant wave of his hand to dismiss the worry, or maybe to convince himself. However, when she continued, his gaze visibly darkened. The fact that she would even insinuate that he might do such a thing burned his heart and eyes.
"Trust me. I would be the last to put someone in that situation." Ansel's voice dropped in volume, a hush, as he waved the wand and spoke again. Her clothes cleaned themselves and returned to normal before the magic in them turned them into much warmer, more defensive garments before it faded. She now had a long-sleeve shirt and jeans, perfect for a trek through the woods. He slipped the wand back into his sleeve and stalked into the next room. The ash in the hearth guaranteed the lack of anyone's presence for quite a while. It wasn't warm.
"I'm not sure." Ansel slurred as he rubbed his temples to ease the throbbing pain. The floor under his feet appeared and disappeared again in his vision. "Depends on how long it's been. We need to check, though, and search for satchels or backpacks, as well."
Raven smiled at the clothes, it had been a long time since she had clothes to herself and it brought tears to her eyes. Wiping her face before Ansel could make fun of her, Raven took a deep breath and looked around. Walking after him, her eyes scsnned the room befire landing on him.
Shaking her head and hobbling over to him she laid a hand in his shoulder. "You look like shit, go get some rest and as you do ill look for supplies. I tend to know what we will need and you'd just get in the way." She nudged him with her staff and giving him the same glare that she gave the children when they misbehave. It was the 'you have no say in this matter' that always sparked that look from her. Nudging him out of the room with her staff she began to look through the closets for something they could carry stuff in.
She had manage to find a hikers backpack and some thin blankets. Packing those tight she hobbled over to the kitchen to see what she could find. It seemed after all her looking around that this cabin was a place for someone to get away to. The cubbords were almost bare, they had several cans of food but not enough to sustain them for long. "Damn" shaking her head Raven tired to see if there was anything else in the cubbords one more time.
Ansel wanted to fight back and tell her that he was fine, but he simply couldn't. Instead, he slowly rubbed his eyes and gave a week nod. Perhaps it was the glare, too, one he learned to obey in his own house. Normally he would have ignored it, but in a half-conscious brain, he simply followed it as if he were 14 again and following orders.
He slipped onto the cot-like couch and sighed deeply before closing his eyes. Finally, the faint streams of the rivers of possibilities vanished and he desperately tried to relax a bit.
"What do you mean he's coming today?" Sibyl dropped her tool on the metal table. It clattered on the metal surface and she wrung her gloved hands. The last thing she wanted was Seneca Arviox in this lab. Her bun full of messy brown hair spilled around her face and she pulled her surgical mask upward. “He can’t come today. Not after the escape.”
Head over genetic modification research, Sibyl worked daily in the lab with patients. The patients begged to be set up with her when they were tested. She was calm, sweet, and nurturing, but just on the wrong side of the fight. She always made sure to be as gentle as possible with everyone. As soon as Seneca showed up, she knew she’d be sure as fired.
“What are we going to tell him?” The woman whispered in the already quiet meeting room for all of the department heads. They would all have to answer to Seneca when he arrived, as he ran the branch as head executioner for any trials involving magic users in the country.
“We don’t tell them anything, of course!” Emit nodded his head. The elven man rubbed his eyes from behind the small, round glasses he wore. “What that gnome doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” He picked at his nails as he listened in. He was head of contraband, keeping inventory, and disposal. His short black hair tousled around his face and his yellow eyes carried grey bags underneath them.
“Surely, you can make it seem like a few people died of natural causes?” He asked, leaning back in the chair. “Because if not, that’s a damn shame.” Though he worked in contraband, Emit was notorious for sneaking down in the lab to play pretend and mess with things he knew nothing about.
"And how the hell are we going to explained that our prize child just happened to die?" A gruff voice piped up, and in the corner the half tiefling grumbled. "She had suffered through the most rigorous tests and now she just 'happened' to die? I don't buy it neither is he." Marious shook his head. He was head of security snd no matter how many times he said that the Sector 5 door needed fixed, did anybody ever listen to him?
"We're all going to get fired." His tail lashed impatiently, "if its not for the kids escaping its for the amount of alcohol that is peddeled through here." His yellow gaze periced through Emit.
"How many times have we asked you to make sure those things are locked up. That could've been another reason for the escape." Frustrated, the male pinched his nose. "Being fired would be a mercy, I have no doubt that he'll want to kill us."
“You don’t. People die of sickness all the time; you tell him she got infected, finally, just like the rest, and consumed. She died, body nothing more than a heap of charred mass. Easy.” Emit eloquently recited. He didn’t seem worried at all.
“You can make anybody believe anything with smooth words, and rum and coke, of course.” The elf scratched at one of his ears, and with his other hand, swirled a short, stocky glass full of the same substance. “Even Arviox himself. He’s not that scary, you just need to know what to do about him.” He shrugged his usually limp shoulders and smiled faintly at Marious despite the rough glare.
“I definitely agree, though. Fired would be a mercy next to what he’ll probably do.” Emit finished his words and downed the rest of his glass.
Sibyl winced when the glass clattered down onto the table. She fiddled with her gloves and tried to keep her eyes focused on the ice in the cup melting. If she could just keep her mind on the way that the water dripped down the cubes, she wouldn’t panic.
She despised Emit’s voice and hated herself for it. His voice simply grated at her enhanced perception, and the extreme volume of everything. Her senses were far too enhanced to hang out with him for long, or else she might go into sensory overload. Seneca did the same thing when he was angry. When he was calm, she could tolerate him, but not when he was angry. She worried too much then.
“I’m not sure what to do; I’m sorry.” The woman murmured through her mask made to filter the air that felt harsh on her lungs. Sibyl used to be a sorcerer, fueled with the power of ice. She was one of the few to be cured of the damned curse. An old woman named Amelia that used to run the machines, kind and soft, said she cured Sibyl. And sure enough, Sibyl could no longer use ice. Amelia and Sibyl kept the small secret that with the loss of ice, Sibyl gained a fragile body whose powers made her that way. Everything in her body was so hyper-sensitive to the point that normal levels of sensory input hurt her. She took Amelia’s place as head of the genetics altering department after she died in a lab fire later that year.
Marious wasnt particarally happy with this conclusion. He rarely ever spoke during these meetings because he had learned to speak only when spoken too.
The half tiefling was nearly 40 and he had his share of the world, and the executioner may not care about the girls death but he knew someone more powerful would. The high councilmen's eyes lit up like a child on christmas when he had heard about the girl and her crystal arm. The girl had been through a terrible accident and healed as if nothing had ever happened. He wanted to harness that power, not only for himself but his daughter.
The girl had been only 5 when Marious was given charge over her. He watched her from a young age and had high hopes for the young child, but when she was 12 things had a turn for the worst.
Long story short the girl got hurt in a failed assassination attempt by a rouge fire weilder and it left massive burn damage on her face and arms. Marious paid a high price for not being able to protect her, the brand of shame he wore everyday as a reminder, he couldnt even cover it with the flower. After that he got demoted to watching over the facility because who would ever trust a branded man to keep anyone important safe?
"Its not going to work." Marious shook his head doubtfully.
"Then what do you want to do about it? I'm open to answers." Emit slurred and sat back into the chair. It took everything he had not to kick his feet up.
Marious narrowed his eyes. "We blame a scape goat and offer it for sacrifice. That kid..." Marious looked around the room. "Seth, his family is highly known in the underground. He's very close with the Crystal escappee and through the cameras I saw them conversing with the wizard. Blame him, give him to the executioner as a bargaining chip for the girl to return and all's well." He shrugged, not sure how the plan would work out completely but it was better than nothing.
"He's always smuggling something in here, why not create a story of smuggling those two out?" He cocked his head to the side as he offered the idea.
Marious sighed and his tail flicked again. "I know a way he would buy it." An icy shiver traced down his spine at the next thought.
"His personal guard. She's had several run ins with the Brotherhood. Seth's father runs the whole damn thing and he's escapped her many of a time." As he spoke the image of the dragon born girl entered his mind. They had gone to military school together and Zoul looked as human as anyone could, except for the scales on her arms as well as on the back of her neck and frightining yellow eyes that peirced right through you. It never reay bothered Marious until recently.
"You get her to believe the story, you have the exicutioners interests piqued." He shrugged and his eyes fell on a smaller human entering the room. "You have guests." Her nervous voice piped up
"Send them in please." Seiko whispered and waved her hand. After that, she silenced when she saw the person enter.
He was short- much shorter than the average male at a stark height of 4'10". His black hair was cut short around his face, but anyone could easily see someone died it black. The roots of his hair shined a silky white under the flourescent light. His ruby eyes flickered between all of the people in the room, and he adjusted his black gloves.
"Hello, everyone." Seneca spoke, his voice somewhat high and growly. Despite the features that normally would make most get made fun of, he still remained terrifyingly intimidating. People still made fun of him in secret, though.
"To what do I owe today's pleasure? I hear an alarm sounded at this location last night." Seneca grumbled, and then waited
In comparison to her charge, Zoul stood at 5'11 and watched the room with accusing eyes. With sword at her hip she was more deadly than anyone with a gun. "The alarms went off about 3 in the morning." Her callous voice sounded like a snake as she spoke.
Marious stood, prepared for the worst. "We had an escape... The prize child Raven and one by the name if Ansel. We suspect that Seth helped in the escape by getting the magic items needed and aiding them in said escape through sector 5." The half truth slipped easily off his tongue.
The mention of the boy made Zouls eyes narrow and a hiss escaped her but she remained poised until given furthar instruction.
"I see." Seneca listened to the tale with lidded eyes and pursed lips. He despised being called down here just to have someone tell him a blantant lie. However, as he continued, his story slowly unfolded and made sense. The man strode further in the room, and picked up Emit's glass. He examined the ice cubes in it as he spoke again. "Now, you blame Seth. Why is that? Do you have any evidence? What is your basis founded upon?"
Emit watched, groaning on the inside because Seneca could probably smell the alcohol on the glass. Why did he even want it? It didn't make sense to him, but he dare not ask him why he picked it up in the first place. He snarled at himself, making the shorter man look in his direction. He apologized, promising that the growl was meant for himself.
Marious had actually prepared for this. The rest of the table may be panicking due to the escape but Marious had been collecting evidence to fet rid of the boy since the first break in to the vault. This was the opportunity he had waited for.
Giving a small signal with his fingers the small human, they had slipped out of the room and came back with a file folder. Nodding to the blonde haired dragon born. She leaves through the document.
"In there you will find finger prints, plans in the past we have confiscated, drawn blueprints of the labs. As well as we have caught the boy twice with contraband magic items.,the first was a crystal that could help with teleportation and the second another magic book for a younger wizard." His eyes went around the room. "As well as we have video of the three talking before the escape." Marious crosses his arms as he finished his report.
Zoul handed the file to Seneca and her eyes pinned Marious. "If the little bastard has been such a problem why not kill him?" Her accusitory tone Marious forgot how much he hated it.
"He is the only son of Alec varailis, if you havent forgotten he is the mob boss of the brotherhood. We have the upper hand by keeping their explosive son hidden away. But he let our prize child go." The heavy weight in the room pressed down as he completed his report.
"He doesn't die." Seneca gave the order, eyes low as he took the file Zoul handed him. He carefully filed through each page. It looked clean enough, but something didn't add up. Of course, he wouldn't let them know that.
"Varailis is still useful to me. If this one dies, I have no strings to pull. He lives. Though, you seem to be sure its him." Seneca glanced over at Marious, expression unmoving and untelling. "You seem to know what you're doing. What do you suggest we do with him?" His voice rolled out in a long drawl.
Marious flicked his tail as he thought for a moment as he thought, he own face stony so that he wouldnt give away that he was satisfied that spinning this tale worked.
"I propose we use him as bait." Marious looked Seneca in the eyes, he would have loved to just off the thorn in his side but as the shorter male made very apparent he needed th boy alive to use his father. Fine, whatever
"Seth and Raven were really close, they took care if the kids and spent most of the time in the cafeteria together. Take him, do whatever your good at." This was more directed at Zoul, more of a faint insult as he spoke.
"If you think you're competent enough, there's another option." Seneca caught the hostility in the other's voice. He straightened his back and gave a faint, fake smile.
"Kill him and tell Varailis he is alive." The man's eyes watched everyone in the room. "I'll take care of it should you decide to move forward with this idea. What's the verdict?"
"I don't know," Sibyl began, trying her best to gauge expression and behavior so she could mimic it. She didn't want to kill anyone, but defying Arviox could be death, especially if you made him lose his mouse that he caught under his paw.
This struck Marious as funny, he could get rid of the thorn in his side and the alcohol that flowed through here. There was only one problem and he could see it forming in Sibyl's expression.
"I really don't care what happens to the son of a bitch, but there's one problem. If we don't have the kid how are we going to bring back our pet?" He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me that and you can have the boy for all I care."
It wasnt really his decision, but Marious didnt care at this point.
"You fake the fact that we have him. You get someone that looks similar, you film in dirty, blurry lenses. It's called deception and it's a life skill. However, I can't be bothered."
"You'll need to pull it off should you decide to do it."
Eyes narrowing, the tiefling had to swallow down the rage that started to bubble up into his throat. He hated being talk to as if he were small or an idiot, Marious was very prone to rage fits, but giving into one here could end his life.
"Okay so we kill the boy, you taking care of it we have that much figured out." Marius looked around the room to see objections.
If anyone had any they didn't say a single thing. He then looks back at the Executioner and Zoul, a question burning his mind and tongue. "The only questions I have left is why is the prize child, Raven, whatever she's called so important? why does the head councilman want her? And why send the Executioner down here for a simple Escape we've had them before and haven't needed you down here." Marius wasn't holding anything back if he was going to die he was going to die with this question to answered
"It's not of importance to you, my friend." Seneca crossed his arms and listened.
"You're dismissed. All of you. Go back to your jobs as normal. The escape never happened. " He stopped, walking outside without another word.
Marious gave a cat like grin, he finally got rid of the nuisance and it felt good. He was the last to leave the room, and as he neared the hallway to his office something shoved him against the wall. "What the-" something was slowly cutting off his airway. he immedatly reached for his knife Marious noticed that his feet were barely touching the ground
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A low voice growled as the object, which he soon found out was a hand, tightened around his throat. Clawing at the hand, Marious looked straight into the yellow hellfire like eyes. Zoul the thought flickered through his mind. The hand around his throat was making it hard to breath but not so much that he couldn't.
"That was a nice little charade you put on in there, I commend you for that. But here's the thing Marcie. I know you and that little comment didn't go unnoticed." The Dragon born yellow eyes narrowed in anger.
"You my friend better watch your step. Yes you may have been the councilmen's favorite, but dont forget that you are now expendable. No one cares for a has been, branded failure of a guard." She let go of his throat and watched him crumple to the floor. As he coughed and regained his breath her eyes lit up with amusement as she bend down and pulled his hair making him look at her. "Watch your step, I may not be able to kill you right now but hows that pretty little wife of yours?" Fear lit the Tieflings eyes. How did she know about Yuki? He kept personal very far away from work and his wife thought he was dead.
Zoul let his head drop and stood up chuckling. "We may have been lovers once Marcie but make fun of me again, you'll pay with blood and it may not be your own." The clacking sound of her soles was the only thing that was heard when she left.
As the meeting was going on....
The city hustled and busted as a silver haired women weaved through the streets. Yuki a human at 31 was very used to this. After her husband died in that fire that hurt the concilmens daughter, she was left widowed with a three year old daughter.
That was sometime ago amd now,her daughter was 7 and at home doing her studies. Yuki himmed as she strolled through the supermarket isles lookimg for items that their "guest" had asked for.
Many blamed the magic users for what had happened and that's what had started the hunt for them, but Yuki beloved differently. Her father had taught her that in every race there was good and evil, just the evil was sometimes more looked at than the good. Jeremiah was a wizard himself and a good healer too, but he had died of a pretty bad sickness when Yuki was 17. She had held those words close to her heart even when that fire weilder took her Marious away. Now the people lived uneasily and bad things stirred when that happened.
A resistance rose four years after the decree of magic being outlawed. Some supported it outright. Others like Yuki quietly prayed for their safety. Making her hair white was her way of showing discreetly she supported those who fought this injustice.
Walking back home her mind wander to the guest she brought in 7 months ago. With Magic being outlawed many had to go into hiding or be put to death. Yuki could never turn a blind eye to those in need.
"I'm home!" She called, opening the door and shutting it just as fast. A little redheaded girl came scrambling in. "Mama!"
Ruby looked so much like her father. The girl had taken to mainly being human with tiny little horns on her head and a pinker tint to her skin. This was Marious's last gift to her and Yuki intended to protect it. Smiling Yuki lifted the girl into her arms and nuzzled her.
“Fuck,” The young adult, breathless, stumbled onto the nearest discreet steps he could find and slipped up to the door like a slinking criminal. He leaned against the door, trying desperately to catch his breath, and then swiped his blonde bangs out of his face to try and see if he could see his pursuers down the block. So far, nothing. Slippery as a weasel, one of the arresting officers had said. More slippery than a weasel, he thought.
Trying not to make a scene, he desperately pounded at the door, praying that someone, anyone might be home and let him inside. Someone that wouldn’t say a word.
For years, he’d lived with his girlfriends, also innate sorcerers trying not to be found out, both who had legitimate jobs, and he earned his keep by using magic to help him steal and resale things.
Of course, that came with a price. A price of occasionally being caught and needing to flee to safety. Now he ran out of places to hide.
"Open up, open up, open up," The incredibly tall, lanky boy murmured as he never ceased hammering on the door.
Yuki heard the hammering on the door, Setting down Ruby she told the girl to go to her room. Grabbing a small knife and hiding it by her side she slinked to the door and opened it. She was expecting another guard accusing her of hiding fugitives.
Which she was, but it was rude to assume without evidence. The last time the watch came she had to force them out by knife point, they came in without a warrent so she made them leave.
"Yes can I help you?" Her blue eyes met that something akin to a wild animal being hunted. "Your being hunted arnt you?" Her voice dropped intervals as she opened the door and shuffled him in, closing the door gently behind her.
Little did she know, little Ruby was standing half hiding in the hallway that lead to the other "guest" her grey eyes drinking in the entire scene.
"Yeah, uh, avidly. Dogs, cars, hurry." The boy snapped, tears beginning to bud at the sides of his ice blue eyes. He pleaded with her in his eyes, voice hushed, and then the tears finally fell with rushed relief when Yuki ushered him in.
"They don't know what I look like but they know what I sound like," He whispered, remembering the scene where the platinum blond yelled into a crowd, selling garbage seeming to be great items for cheap prices. Magic helped fake the legitimatcy long enough for the buyer to get home. However, he waited too long, and a buyer came back with the cops. He fled to the street, abandoning eveything he owned.
Yuki's heart broke when she saw the tears. "Shh, its ok." She rubbed his arm and tried to calm the poor thing. "Your safe. They usually dont bother us." With that her eyes flicked to Ruby. "I thought I told you to stay out of sight, what if it was the watch again and they saw-" as she was speaking a smaller boy came into view.
"Hey big sis Yuki, have you seen?" Many books and pencils were flying in the air effortlessly around the very pale skinned small teen. His eyes were violet and his right hand was basically a black claw, A sure sign of a pact that had been taken along time ago. The violet eyes trembled in fear and the objects immedatly fell to the floor. "Please... Don't hurt them...."
"Ruby take Zek to the back rooms, ill be with him in a moment." Turning back to the young man she pasted on a smile. "If you like you can stay if not, don't say anything about the boy we finally got him past most of the trauma." She nearly whispered as Ruby grabbed the nearly crying boys hand and lead him away.
"Thank Celese, someone that's not going to turn me in." His shoulders relaxed and he became a lanky, bad-postured mess. He wiped the tears from the sides of his eyes as the adrenaline slowly began to fade from his veins and his muscles relaxed. The sickly pale young adult appreciated her comfort, but his lungs still ached for some kind of relief to the stress whether it be nicotine or cannabinoids. When he saw the little girl, he reflexively smiled but it quickly turned genuine as she interacted with the others. He loved children, but never got to be around them often. The boy, however, startled him. The smile faultered, shocked, as the newcomer looked at someone so much like himself at that age and the instinct was instant: help. Of course, he couldn't actually help anything at the moment, so he forced himself to stay still and force his smile back.
"No, no, it's okay. I understand, kid's seen some shit. Been there." He cleared his throat as he tried to avoid the crying starting up again and offered his other hand for Yuki to shake. "I'm sorry for barging in. I'll have to stay for a bit, if it's okay, but then I should be able to make my way back home. I don't want to endanger you more than necessary." He offered a goofy, slanted smile that looked like his jaw never healed correctly from a break. A purple-and-black, long-sleeved sweater clung tightly to his figure to make sure nothing but his hands and face could be seen. The black pants did the same, folding over a pair of common sneakers. His blonde hair fell into his eyes in a sloppy mess around his face, just barely letting his ice colored eyes shine through. "My name's Ciccro. Could I get yours?"
Yuki looked at him and saw the tears Again. Walking up to him, she only came up to his neck, her silver hair was braided back giving way to the warmth in her eyes, she leaned in and gave the boy a hug, she didnt know of he needed it but it sure looked like it.
After a moment she pulled back. "My names Yuki, and stay as long as you like but I don't think going home is safe.... I had someone thst stayed here for a few months then went back home... The next morning he was found dead in a ditch" shaking her head Yuki smiled. "This is a safe house sweetheart but if you would like to leave do so when you can keep your nerves under control." She walked up and took his hand. "Now would you like to go meet the kids? Ruby, my daughter, is 7 and Zek, the boy with the claw, is 14. He scares easily so be gentle." With that she headed toward the hall, from it you could hear a soft melody being sung from a child like voice, sniffles could be heard as well.
"I'd pay for letting me stay, but I lost all the cash I had in the escape. I could come back with something to thank you." Ciccro murmured when he pulled back from the hug, grateful for every second of. He listened to her, stomach tore up when she said he probably shouldn't leave. What would Sibyl and Rena think? What would they say? He couldn't tell them where he was. What if they traced him to them? He shivered.
"Yeah, yeah, I'd love to, actually."
Yuki chuckled, "I dont need money, but to pull your weight you could help the younger ones." She entered the room slowly. Upon entering you could see the larger boy curled around the seven year old. She sang a foreign melody and calmly stroked his hair as he cried silently in her lap. The melody came to an end and Ruby looked up. "Hi mama. He's having a bad day." She gave a lopsided grin.
Yuki nodded and turned to the taller male. "I do have a part time job and I have Zek usually watch Ruby... But now that we have someone older I can relax a bit. And you can help Ruby and Zek with their schooling." At this Ruby made a face. "I dint need to learn, imma ginna be a gaurd just like my daddy was when I grow up."
Yuki faced Ciccro, sadness etched her face. "My husband died after the attack on the councilmans daughter.... We cant have Ruby in school right now, her daddy was branded before he died. She got bullied so badly, so Zek and i help keep her caught up. Are you good with kids?" She asked
"Yeah, 'course. Wouldn't want to be a burden." Ciccro nodded, and followed her down the hall. The young adult peered around her, gazing at the two children in the room. He gave a small, reserved but welcoming wave whenever he made eye contract with one of them. He felt pained, too, as he looked down at the crying child.
"I mean, sure, but I can't-" He stopped, listening to the children as they spoke. "I can't read any more than my name." He admitted, knowing that would hinder him helping with schoolwork. "I can take care of them, though. Keep them outta trouble and stuff."
"Oh, shit, sorry. My condolences." The blond answered when he heard the woman go on about her husbands' death. "I think I am. I mean, kids used to like me where I used to live, but I've never taken care of them before."
Yuki's face flooded with relief as he agreed. "Upon that agreement you can stay here as long as you like free of charge. I can rest easier now." She chuckled. There was a banging at the door and she disaapeares.
Ruby smiled up at him, Zek finally calm enough to sleep. "We have a spar room right down the hall... I don't think mama would mind." She yawned herself, rubbing her eye.
Yuki closed the door quietly, the watched asked her if she saw anything and she lied like normal and that was enough to make them go away.... The house got awfully quiet as the two kids slipped into dreamland....
In the morning
The house was alive with noise bright and early. Both of the kids had gotten food and Yuki started to get them to settle down. Taking a glance at the clock it read 8:30. "Shit, I'm gonna be late. Zek your in charge till Ciccro wakes. Make sure Ruby gets started on her work. If anyone's at the door dont answer it unless they say the name of the melody that Ruby was singing last night ok?" With that she kissed both their heads and whisked out the door.
Ciccro stirred fairly early that day, much earlier than usual. He walked into the living room at 9am, glancing around and immediately looking for the kids. He rubbed his eyes and tried to locate wherever the children had scurried away to.
The time had ticked away until there was a knock at 2. Zek was just sitting on the couch dozing and immideatly sat up straight. His violet eyes narrowed as he got up and moved closer to the door.
Ruby looked up from the paper that Ciccro was struggling to help her with a paper to write about animals. At the knock, she froze and her hand went to find Ciccro's. It was an instinctual thing that brougjt comfort and she didnt care who's it was.
Zek was silent as he neared the door, a voice was barely heard through the door. "A midnights whisper from long ago." At the sound of the melodies name Zek opened the door. A hooded figure stood there in the entrance. Before Zek could say anything the sound of Yuki's voice trailed behind the figure. "Good job Zek! And you..." She slipped past the figure. "Are late, we expected you yesterday." Ushering everyone inside Yuki closed the door.
"Everyone I would like to introduce you to Skylar-"
"I prefer to be called Red." The young adult took off her hood to reveal long red as an apple wavy hair and blue eyes. "Sorry I'm late" she gave a shy smile
Ciccro immediately froze when he heard the pounding at the door. His whole body gridlocked and he ceased breathing. He had to focus on the problem. Where the small girl more or less taught him more than he did she because of his illiteracy, he tried so hard to help. Moral support counted, too. He forced glass into his lungs and sputtered into a coughing fit when Zek went towards the door.
"No no no you don't," The twenty-four year old rushed forward, hand delicately holding Ruby's, and he ushered Zak behind him. He hushed them, though the command was more for himself than him, and listened to the tune.
His face melted into a distraught frown when he realized he couldn't remember the melody from last night. Was this the right one? Was the person on the other side a corporate spy? He wanted to scream and almost stopped Zek as be reached for the door.
Ciccro's shoulders fell from their rigid stance when Yuki confirmed that the person to enter belonged here. His expression untensed, too, into a loose, exhausted smile from the exhaustion of the instant stress bullet. No one died today.
"Ciccro Jenkins." He introduced himself as well. "Uhm, sorry. I stumbled in uninvited. I'm trying to get home to my girls and my dog."
Red flashed him a small smile. Ruby kept a firm grip on Ciccro's hand. "Hes helping me with school so you cant take him." She stated defiantly.
This made Yuki chuckle. "Red isnt going to take anyone, she's here for some food for the-"
"The store... Ya, your mom has agreed to help Clouds corner with their lunches so we're gonna be taking more of her time... Is that ok?" She squatted to make eye contact with the girl. The lie slipped off of Reds tongue she didn't want to endanger anyone more than she had to. Already having Yuki risk her life was almost too much for the 21 year old.
Zek shrugged and wandered off to his room, "take Ruby with you, ill have dinner here soon." Ruby grumbled about having to let go of her new friends hand and Yuki went into the kitchen to set the grocery bags she gathered in her arms down.
Red sat and smiled. "So you have girls and a dog? Why are you here at a safe house.... Shouldn't they be worried sick about you?" She cocked her head to the side, eyes sparkling with questions.
“It’s for the better of humanity. It won’t hurt too much..” They would always repeat that, the purr in there voice always gave away the fun they had while taking her crystals or poking her with sharp needles. It always hurt, no matter what they said. The tests, the experiments always took something from her and it hurt.
Taking a heavy sigh, Raven pushed off the bed and stumbled her way to the door. “Nggh” the throbbing in her knee almost took her to the floor. “I won’t let them win.” Growling, she clung to the door frame before standing tall and making her way to the mess hall.
You could always tell who was important and who wasn’t just by the way people looked. Children from higher class families always had clean clothes and no scars.... on the other hand, if you were a stray that just “happened” to be picked up or thrown into here they gave you itchy brown rags to wear until they had holes in them. Raven ranked in the latter. It didn’t bother her too much. What did was the stares every time she went to eat.
The blue crystal arm never helped. As far as she knew, Raven was the only person here with something like this. Raven has had the arm ever since she could remember but it never failed that at least one person stared when she entered the mess hall.
Standing tall, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg every time she took a step, Raven entered the noisy mess hall and made her way to the small line at the food counter.
Ansel questioned if this might be better than home on the daily. Perhaps it wasn't, and continued on just the same level of despair that he commonly dealt with except for the inclusion of different challenges. At home, he avoided his father and dwelled with the 'wrong crowd' just to get out of the house. He found friends in them, colleagues, even though he looked like the odd one out. Always slick, clean, and presentable, he stood out among his old friends in Kirlon. One, a tall elf with a history selling illegal goods. The other, a burly, clean-shaven man that worked in dealings of contract killing. Both of them worked well together, but then Ansel looked like someone they might rob versus someone they looked with.
Ansel stirred at his desk, and stood. The entire room he lived in now might have been a fifth of the size of his normal one. He hated it, but at least it had a storage chest, desk, and full size bed. It reminded him of a college traditional size dorm. He despised the mattress and bedding, but the union government running the station refused outside gifts. He only had what he arrived with, minus some things that someone stole at some point. He still missed his copy of Needful Things, too, but the guards still couldn't find the thief. He tried to convince himself that whoever swiped it needed it more than he did.
He directed his attention to the journal on the desk and the remaining blank ten pages. He needed to smuggle a new one in soon, maybe today. He slipped into the hallway and into the cafeteria to meet the confidant that could get it for him.
Raven caught movement in the room and her eyes immedatly locked on to it. It was the red haired male she had seen in here several times.
"Rich prick." She muttered under her breath as she got her serving size of potatos , bread and meat. Most of it looked like slop but hey it was food and edible.
No matter how hard she tried, Raven couldnt keep from limping as she walked. "Damn" one of the only open tables was past the red haired male. She didnt even care to know his name. And he stood in the way. Gripping her plate she started toward the seat.
As she walked/barely limped, she stopped in front of him. "Are you gonna move or just look like a big dumb idiot?" She growled, her cold hues burning into his face. Given her size compared to him, it would've been hard to sound intimidating but Raven was in pain and needed to eat so her words came out sharp and cold.
"Excuse me, princess." Ansel's lips pulled back into an expression that looked like a smile, but in the small dimples of it, he tried to hide his annoyance and somewhat embarrassment of being in the way in the first place. He took a single step backward, out of the way, and lifted his hands up similar to a surrender to dramatize him moving out of her path.
"Sorry that I ruffled your skirt, miss, is there anything I can do to make up for it?" Ansel found himself saying the words before he thought about it. His forced politeness that he practiced outside the walls turned into sarcastic barks against most people on the other side of them. He carefully made sure that he didn't wince when he realized his mistake to snap at a stranger, even though he felt a rush of what might have been either adrenaline, fear, or even embarrassment. The same feeling he felt standing up to superiors always came when standing up to strangers, too. Luckily, he'd managed to get over it for the most part and just push through it.
"Look, sorry. Seems like both of us are having a shitty day." Ansel's tone slowly slipped from his sarcastic, sharp daggers and returned to a soft rumble. He watched her limp earlier as she approached. "I don't mean to make yours worse. I'm just looking for, uh, a friend." He never met his confidant face to face. He only left the traded things where they had trade offs and communicated through notes.
That statement made her snap, Raven had been itching for a fight since she came into the kitchen. She turned around and slammed her plate into the table.
Whipping around, Raven grabbed the taller mans shirt with her crystal arm, making their faces meet. "Shitty day? Ive had a shitty life, and I can make yours that way if you ever speak to me like that again." The rage in the girls eyes was fierce.
"You rich kids have no idea what truly go on here. What happens to us no bodies. what they-" the room had become quiet due to Ravens forceful shouts and several guards have moved into the room.
It was an unspoken rule that no one spoke about what happened to the nobodies. If anyone spoke about it they were taken away.
"Tch." She shoved off him and moved to get her food.
A blonde male watched the interaction with interest. "Lets see how my 'friend' handles the firecracker." He smiled as he lounged off to the side and enjoyed the scene.
Now wait just a fucking minute. Ansel thought as Raven pulled him close to her face with a fistful of his suit and tie. He scrunched up his nose and gritted his teeth to seem intimidating even though his back muscles instinctively retracted and made him twitch away from her at first. He opened his mouth, about to scold her for being so short-sighted and unwilling to see what he'd gone through when he realized she didn't know. He closed his mouth and pursed his lips to avoid saying something he would regret.
"Did you ever think, for just a moment," Ansel tried his best to keep his cool and adjusted his tie back into place. The guards made him nervous, and the pauses in his voice made that evident. "It's because you don't trust us?" He chose his words carefully, and though he now wanted to follow her to inquire, probably with a frustrated sigh, he couldn't. Alarming guards into thinking he wanted to start a fight would do just that.
"You should try it sometime!" Ansel called as he turned away, despite his want to let his mind be known after her comment. Now, he shifted into a shell he often used for his parents- a mask of prudish assholery. "Maybe then you could pull the stick out of your ass."
Raven threw up a middle finger, and shouted back "only when you pull your head out of yours!" And with that she sat down and huffed, she then proceeded to eat.
well that's quite a way to make a friend the sarcastic voice floated as Ure chuckled a bit. "Bastard started it." Raven growled quietly.
and you made it soo much worse, really Raven we have to work on your people skills.
The blonde laughed and pushed up off his seat, making his way to Ansel, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It seems you be survived an encounter with the crazy fire cracker." He chuckled and shook his head.
"Many don't get that acheivement. Best to stay far away from the crystaled one, she's the labs pet. Names Seth by the way.... You looking for a friend?" He asked as he cocked his head. His blue eyes simmered with amusement.
Seth stood a good head shorter than Ansel, but he carried himself with an arrogant air, he was crude and shrewd, he got what he wanted when he wanted.
"A. Kramer." Ansel responded when a new voice entered his ears, and he turned his head. Generally, most people did call him by his last name, so he usually introduced himself by that with only his first initial. His dad encouraged that, and it simply followed him throughout life.
"I can handle myself, actually, but I appreciate your concern." Ansel fixed his hair carefully back into its normal position and pulled his gloves back into a less strained position. "Nice to meet you, though unfortunate circumstances." He looked the boy in front of him up and down. "I am; why does that concern you?"
For some reason this man irritated Seth, but he could never turn down a request. A sly smile crept its way to his face. The young man remsembeled much of a rat when he made that face.
"I may be the thing your looking for." Out of his gray hoodie came a blue peice of paper, the same kind of paper that found its way to Ansel's room.
Seth nodded to the table he had been sitting at, when the boys sat down, Seth's gaze lazily scanned the room. Tugging his hair into a tight pony tail. "I knew you were my contact when you walked in here, after being here for several years you get a feel for these things."
"The only question is, why would you seek out my services? I can get'cha what you need but dont you have the money and power to get what you need?" Seth cocked his head to the side. His family wasn't in power in the traditional sense, but he wasn't a nobody either. His family was very famous in..... Certain underground circles. That's why he got left alone.
Ansel listened to him speak and watched the guards slowly leave. He followed them out with his eyes, making sure all of them were gone before even starting to open his mouth. He adjusted his cufflinks, and leaned forward on the picnic-table like surfaces as the words processed in his head. When he finished speaking, Ansel continued.
"My family sends me nothing, contraband or otherwise." Ansel started as he flipped through a notebook, this one, empty. "I have a few friends on the outside, but that's what I'm limited to, so I work with it." The bastard Emit always helped him smuggle in his shit from his friends on the outside, but whether or not Emit could be trusted was a whole different matter.
The guard, Emit, had a disposition much more similar to that of a mad scientist. He always snuck into the labs below housing to see if he could do his own work. Once, when smuggling in some cigarettes for Ansel to sell, he ranted to him for half an hour about multiverses and demiplanes of conciousness before Ansel could finally get away from him. He figured he was high all the time by the way he walked, jerking his body around or showing odd posture in general.
"I have someone that gets what I need to trade with you, and that's what matters." Ansel shrugged, and pulled a small box from his waistcoat pocket. It was wrapped up in brown paper. "You didn't get this from me."
Seth's eyes lit up at the package. "So you get the goods?" He opened the package. Fine quality ciggeretts. "Damn its been way too long since I've had one of these." He stuffed the box in his pocket.
Folding his arms he stared at the taller man. "So here's what I need. Alcohol, lots of it." His eyes shifted around the room. A good percentage of those in the room was under the age of 15.
"I don't deal to the high class rich kids, ya get me. Lots of things happen here that we dont know of.... Lots of it happens to the little in's. Alcohol knocks them out and puts them to sleep..." He looked away for a moment.
"Seen to many in pain and its just not right. Adults are made to suffer but the little ones?" He cleared his throat before continuing. "I can smuggle medical supplies, pills anything out if you get me what I need. I then give it to my distributor," he nodded Raven, who now was watching the room.
"She's better with the kids, knows what everyone needs. Only a fire cracker to those who deserve it." A chuckle escaped him.
"Of course. I don't make promises that I can't keep." Ansel tapped his fingers on the table to make it seem like a normal conversation as the guards began leaving the room one by one. He watched until they left, and then his shoulders relaxed. Finally, some peace and quiet.
"Definte lots." Ansel began when Seth made the request for the alcohol. "And what grade? If you're hinting that you'll get something high-grade because of my family, we're going to have to work something out. My informants would have to steal from my family to get it."
"Plus," Ansel continued. "I only have four arms, my smuggler and I, and he's not exactly the most careful with items. What's in it for me?" As Seth continued, he nodded solemnly and let him speak. He considered the information, and then
"I want my wand." He offered and straightened his back as his voice came out in a quiet, harsh whisper. "Think you can get it? Or do I have to find someone else?" He wanted to look, to see how reliable this man claimed he was, but he couldn't risk any of that. Not now. One nose bleed later, he'd be tackled and punished by guards. "I need it for something important. My spellbook would also be optimal, but not totally necessary. I'd be willing to stick my neck out for higher grade from my parents if you're willing to stick your neck out to get it."
"I'm glad she works well with kids; I don't like them." As he heard his voice, Ansel knew it was a lie. He loved kids, and wanted to help them and make them better people. He didn't want them to grow up like him. Though, he was always scared of influencing children to be bad so he stayed away from them. "But if I'm going to speak to her, you'll have to make sure she doesn't decide I'm her next target."
Seth's eyes narrowed and he felt the knots start to form in his shoulders and neck. "Wand eh? By the gods you dont ever do anything easy do ya?" This made Seth shake his head and lean back in his chair. "I've stolen magic items from the vault only a handful of times, its tight and hard to get into but not impossible." Pinching his nose and sighing, the blonde nodded. "I can get it for ya but its gonna take a week. Lots of planning and scouting, not to mention the prospect of getting caught and thrown into E block." The mention of the place sent a silent shiver down his spine.
"We don't need anything of high grade, just something that taste good and is smooth to go down. Kids love fruit and other light flavors like that, we can't have any suspicion on us with lots of kids throwing up." Rubbing his chin Seth thought for a moment. "I need at least three days worth."
He then shook his head. "Rav, doesn't kill you know. Has a lot of bark but rarely bites." He lulled his head in her direction. "Hey, Raven!" When she looked up, he motioned for her to join.
Half scowling, she pushed off of the table and walked over. "What do you want?" The crease in her brow couldn't hide the curiosity in her eyes.
"We've got a new dealer" the seat was offered as Seth spoke and Raven took it, sitting to his right. Clasping her hands together it seemed that a dim light sparked into the girls eyes.
.
"You mean it? Thank the gods, I won't have to see little Milo or Minx in too much pain." A glow came to Ravens face as she spoke the names. "But what's the price pretty boy?" The warm words turned harsh as she spoke to Ansel. When Seth finished relaying what they had talked about, Ravens face went cold.
Fear. It was one thing she was a custom to and it was present in her face as she turned toward Seth. "You can't do another run like that. They said they'd kill you the next time they even had an inkling that your near the vault." Seth's eyes flashed to Ansel's face before going back to Raven.
"No, ill go." She shook her head as if the decision was final. "But-!" As Seth tried to protest, Raven cut him off. "No buts, the kids are already having a hard time dealing with Judy gone, we can't have you die too. They adore you Seth. Besides, the lab wouldnt want to discard their favroite pet now would they?" The bitterness dripped from the girls voice as she faced Ansel.
"What does this wand look like. Seth gives you a week thats his usual time frame, I can give you three days." She tugged down on her long sleeve to cover the bracelet.
if you really go through with this, it a gonna hurt.... Ure hummed with worry. don't really got a choice now do I? Raven shot back at the voice,
“No.” Ansel crossed his arms as he listened. “I’ll be willing to help, as well. But I’m not great with plans. Consider myself at your disposal for the plan, though. I’ve got nothing to lose, and this is what I’m staking everything on. If I can get it, and get out, it’s over for them.” He spoke in a low, hushed voice that he learned from his mother when she tried to tell him things his father didn’t need to hear.
“I’ll get you a week’s worth, high grade, and the best taste I can find. If I get out, I’ll bring you enough to last you a life time.” Ansel told him. “If you want collateral,” He picked his pin off of his tie, reclasping it safely and sitting it on the table. The solid gold K, aligned with the third eye on top, a symbol of divine power, gleamed in the fluorescent light. All Kramers received one created especially for them at birth, as a sign of their heritage. That alone, not to mention the material, would bring in a lot of money to someone wanting to pose as an estranged member of the family. “Take it. Give it back to me after this works.”
Ansel’s eyes searched for her when Seth called for Raven. He felt the excitement drain from his cheeks as he realized this might go well. “Perhaps not,” he began before she approached. “But she certainly tried to take a bite out of me.” When she finally made it to the table, he said nothing to the girl with the crystalized arm. He knew well enough not to speak out of turn.
“Then he won’t do a run like that. He’ll mastermind it. Consider him the player of a chess match. I’ll be the king piece, and you, my dear, feel more like a rook. Erratic and effective.” Ansel defended the plan with his own chess match of words. He needed this to happen. “If they capture me, I won’t lead it back to you. Seth will be fine.” He reassured her, and let only the faintest remnants of a smile cross his face when she volunteered to keep Seth safe, too.
“Call me a pet again and you’ll have no deal.” Ansel crumpled his hand into a fist as he met her eyes through his white-framed glasses. He despised that word with a vicious passion. When he heard those syllables, all he could ever see in his mind’s eye was his father’s mocking face. He didn’t know if he preferred that one to his angry moods or disappointed moods, but his nerves jumped when he heard that word.
“Take as long as you want. It’s obsidian glass, eight inch, and has a very simple cone design. The book has the same symbol as the pen on the cover.” Ansel felt his voice strain, even though he tried to cover up his hurt and anger as best as he could.
Raven smirked at the mans outburst, it was always fun to make someone so irritated.
"Fine, no more pet names. But seriously." Her gaze drifted to the door where the guards exited.
"I have a...." Her eyes flicked to Ansel. She didn't know how much this man knew of what really happened here so she had to choose her words wisely. "Test they need to run on my crystals tomorrow, Theyer taking some and after that I can get near the vault, to see how I'm going to get in there." She looked at Seth and then back to Ansel. "I work best in the dark and shadows." The caused a worried and almost terrified reaction to fall upon Seth's face.
"Rav-" but before he could say anything Raven put up a hand. She wasnt going to listen to his lecture about how the bracelet worked and what happened if she used her magic.
"Now tell me, why is this wand so important to you? I'm guessing you can use magic with it... But can you use any without it?" She asked cocking her head to the side in curiosity.
"I have no access to magic without it. It's a conduit along with the book." Ansel lied and slid his hand through his hair. As he sat there, watching them and deciding if the information would help, he finally cracked.
"I have something else, though, I guess. I don't know how much it would help." Ansel kept his voice to a low grumble so as not to be heard by passing people. "I have an ability to see the possibilities for the future and their likelihoods. However, it's not... safe to use for long periods of time or to look extensively forward."
"If I get it," Ansel proposed. "I could get more things in. More things for you, the kids, anything."
Raven gave a sideways glance. "Your like a Seer?" She asked, trying to ignore the hot flair of anger that burster through her at his words.
Standing up she huffed. "You only want your wand for selfish reasons. I've made the deal but you promise to help us? Fuck that. Smuggle things in to help? We need to escape and reach the revolution." It was only rumors, but it was said that deep in the forests there were many people fighting the government, breaking into labs and taking children.
"But I guess some rich kid doesn't care about that now do they." She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Take it easy firecracker, we said we'd help so we will. You use your magic to get into the vault and get his wand, we get the juice to help the kiddos. Win win." The blonde shrugged, invoking an eye roll from Raven.
"If a Seer damaged their brain every time they looked into the future, sure." Ansel shrugged his shoulders. He never liked being referred to as a prophet. He could still be wrong about any prediction.
"Excuse me?" Ansel felt his face heat up as red worked into his cheeks. "That's the intended outcome! But you cannot drag hundreds of people incapable of walking out into the forest." He slammed his fist on the table. "They're going to be weak and they're going to die, and then what will you do?" Finally, he stood, weaving himself out from around the picnic table-like furniture. "It's not selfish." He leaned forward on both hands to steady his line of sight with Raven's own. "If we get more things in, people will heal, people will recover, and we can revolt. But you can't do it with a rag tag group of people that can hardly walk a lap around the building." He bit his tongue at the rich comment. She didn't know, he reminded himself. She didn't know.
"If you don't want my help because you think you're better than me, Raven, you can say so."
"Being dead is better than being experimented on, god dammit!" Raven slammed her fist on the table, keeping her rage filled voice low and controled, it was really hard to keep from yelling.
"I seriously doubt that either of you know what its like to not have your body belong to you." Tears crept into her eyes, she hated crying, it made her feel weak. "Do you know the pain of having something foreign enter your blood stream or have a chunk taken away from you." Rage filled her body with adrenaline and she shook.
"Do you?!" Seth just kept silent. It was never a good idea for him to talk back when she was like this. The rage that the girl held always secretly scared him.
"No. I know what it's like to be overpowered and used for someone else's wants, though. I think that's similar enough." Ansel immediately spat, recoiling when he realized he'd said those words. He straightened his posture, trying to regain his composure. That one hurt, didn't it? His tests here usually amounted to quizzes and questions, as well as interrogation sessions. The interrogation sessions were definitely rougher, but nothing else compared to home.
"Deal's off. I've been trying to see it from your perspective, to be more open, but you won't even consider that you don't know me or what I've been through for even one second." Ansel turned towards Seth, eyes shrouded, angry, and in pain. "Keep the damn pin. It's of no use to me." Then, he stalked towards the door. At least he got his new notebook.
Ravens face twisted in pain as he spat at her. She shook her head and growled as he walked away. "Dammit, now the kids wont get what they need because of me." Her voice cracked in pain. She looked up to where Ansel had left.
Seth sighed and looked at the pin. "I could get a pretty penny outta this, have someone melt it down?" He set the pin off to the side, "really we're the only hope that man has, he'll be back we just have to be-" before he could finish his sentence, Raven stopped listening.
"How far away is his room from yours?" She asked, cutting him off. "About two hallways and a door to the left. 13a? Ya that's it." Raven nodded and pushed off. "We made a promise, he may back out on his part but I won't on mine. Move that time table up, I'm getting that Wand tonight." With that She pushed off the table, making her way towards the door and put the room.
"Raven! Don't!" But the pleas fell on deaf ears as she made her way back to her room.
Raven laid staring at her ceiling. It was just near 2 o'clock. She had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening going over plans with Seth , the guard routes along with passcodes. It was a simple extraction but the way to get out was difficult.
Taking a deep breath, Raven slipped from her bed. There was a half hour lag between shifts at the vault at around 230 and ended at 3, it was her only window to nab both the book and the wand. Taking off her shirt, Raven changed into a simple tight outfit that consisted of a black workout bra and tight almost legging kind of materials for pants. Her magic worked better if there wasn't too much material to blend in and it was the only other kind of clothes the lab gave her for when they ran 'tests' on her Magic itself. Taking a deep breath she slipped out the door.
About 20 minutes later....
Raven had manage to skirt past all the guards and cameras without using her magic. Arriving at the hallway and holding her breath slightly she waited for the sound of footsteps but she heard none. When five minutes passed and still nothing, the Raven haired girl slipped out into the open in front of the large door. Praying to any entity that was kind enough to listen she entered the Vault code. "The dumb guards don't change the passcode so its the same every time." Seth chuckled as he gave her the slip of paper and sure enough the large door opened with a simple click
Slipping inside Raven was in awe at all the magical artifacts strewn about in the room. Shaking her head and reminding herself she didnt have time for that, the search began.
It was actually quite easy to find the wand, and it easily fit in her waist band too! Talk about luck! The book was a bit heavier but it laid right next to the wand..... As Raven turned around with a smile she thought this whole thing was so easy.... Too easy. That was until her eyes locked with the guard that had just switched shifts. .
"Dammit!" She growled, bullrushing out the door knocking the guard down, before runnimg down the hall she snagged the key ring off his belt. Alarms howled, her crystallized arm glowed and Raven dissapeared into the dark.
Teeth gritting against the excruciating pain climbing up her arm and into her shoulder, the bracelet squeazed and sent electricity through her body.
the whole lab has to be up by now the thought raced through her head as she neared the door of Ansel. Stopping just for a moment to open the door, the damn place never allowed locks, her shadowy form placed his objects on the floor. Thanks to the bracelet, blood dripped slightly from the left arm leaving a bloody hand print on on the wand
After that Raven dashed for the large sector 5 exit door. She had to make it out this time, she just had to. This time she wasn’t going to come back. This time she was going to die trying.
Stopping jer magic and Narrowing her blue eyes, the girl pushed her way past the tiny crack that the door was rumored to have and as she neared it it seemed that Seth knew what he was talking about. Even though it was broken, the lab was still known for its security features. Even moreEar piercing alarms blared and large cage sounding doors slammed.
uh Raven? Ure's voice had a hint of fear in it now as it spoke the girls name. That was unusual itself, Ure never feared anything because it was always Raven getting hurt. Raven getting the damn needles stuck in her. Raven, the one who had to stay awake all those sleepless nights as the denity spoke in it's nonsensical language.
Did you hear what I said? Coming back to reality, Raven realized she hadn’t even started running.
I sad run dammit! Get us out of here! Raven took a deep breath and nodded as she sprinted into the cold night. The sounds of dogs not that far behind her.
Raven had run for what felt like forever, taking different paths and cutting behind houses before she slowed down. The men with guns were going to be on her shortly but Raven couldn’t help but look up at the moon. It was a cold crisp night and the last time she saw the moon this bright was… never. She had spent most of the 19 years of her life locked up behind those walls… or at least that’s what she remembered. Closing her eyes she drank in the silence, the muffled sound of alarms was behind her.
“We’re going to make it this time Ure i can feel it.” Smiling, the girl traced the crystalized arm. “And when we’re safe I’m going to find out how and why we bonded. That’s for sure.”
.
.
Before she could start running again a bullet whizzed past her head.
They're not playing this time. Raven we have to get out of here! Ure was now materializing in front of her eyes. SIlver eyes meeting Ravens, the panic was evident now.
Run! Disappear! Do something! The panic was starting to Raveb
“Stop right there!” A man's voice. A dog close behind several more were to follow. This was it, she wasn’t going back this time.
Raven closed her eyes taking a deep breath and stepping back into the shadows, the girl nearly disappeared as her magic enveloped her into the shadows. She would’ve gotten away cleanly if one of the men hadnt shot her in the calf
The heat and pain coursed up her leg as the bullet lodged itself into her calf. Tears streamed down her face as it took nearly all her energy to not scream, much less limp away while holding onto her magic.
“Where did she go?” One barked.
“Why the hell did you shoot? You could’ve hurt one of us!” And the arguments continued. It was good for the girl as she limped farther down the street, her magic threatening to give out as she struggled to maintain consciousness.
Go to that alley. It’s far enough away that they can't find you. Ure pointed to a small alley between a jewelry store and a bookstore. Raven nearly crawled into it and leaned against one building, her leg on fire. Her magic evaporating she sobbed silently as she laid on the ground, blood pooling around her. Maybe if she just went to sleep everything would be ok, she thought to herself as she drifted off and lost consciousness
“Wake up.” Ansel gently roused the girl the next day. He leaned over a modest water bowl, angrily scrubbing the lower half of his face. Flakes of dried blood fell elegantly into the bowl and swirled into the water, turning it red. The front of his suit was splattered, too, staining the eggshell white fabric a deep mahogany. The fountain started from his nose while it still tried to stream down his face. He felt lethargic and looked pale. “We need to go.”
“You’ve got to get up, Raven.” Ansel strode closer to the old, rickety bed. His eyes darted toward the old cabin door and back to her. He reached out a single, now ungloved, hand to shake her shoulder, recoiled, and then decided to follow through. “Please, wake up, we have to go.” He whispered as he thought of how he got her here in the first place.
Ansel awoke in the middle of the night, sitting up in his bed with a loud yelp. Sirens faintly blared outside, but the only thing he could hear in his head was the soft, menacing laugh of the vulpine bastard he knew well enough as his deity. The two never could communicate, but Ansel occasionally heard him laugh. Usually, right before something bad. Mursar enjoyed chaos; perhaps that’s why he gave the Kramers their gifts.
His clock read 2:56 am, and on his floor only a few feet away, he could see the book and the wand. He scrambled into his suit, tie untied, and swiped them off the ground. Slick blood hit his palm, and he dropped the wand. The obsidian glass figure clattered on the ground. He dove for it and then took off toward the door.
“Fuck,” Ansel whispered as he paused in the hallway, trying to see. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, to plead with Mursar to send him a sign. Thankfully, he saw a few possibilities, a few percentages, and the faint visage of success. He continued this as he silently crept through the building with a handkerchief to his nose. Any blood trail from that, and he’d be caught. He watched behind his eyelids as a 25% possibility percentage of him being caught and killed in various different ways appeared. Shit.
Ansel managed to slip out of the place just as the guards returned and reset the alarms. The forest whispered its song to him as he walked at first, then slammed into a run, in order to find her as soon as his foresight warned of her possible death. He barely managed to find her, hidden amongst debris and underbrush, but he scooped her up and took off to the only place he could see them finding in his mind’s eye- a small, tiny cottage that someone forgot to lock the door of- whilst trying to keep the now rapidly flowing blood from his nose off of Raven and trying to keep his legs moving.
“I don’t know who lives here. They probably won’t appreciate my breaking and entering even if it was to save you.” Ansel yanked the blanket off of her as his hands began to shake. Should he look forward? Should he see if someone was heading this way in his mind’s eye? No, he decided. At this point, doing that would make him bleed to death.
The touch and jostle pulled Raven from the dream realm. Opening her eyes, everything was blurry. Blinking a few times until everything came into focus the first thing She saw was Ansel. "By the gods am I in hell?" She groaned drapping her non crystallized arm over her eyes. Her whole body hurt. Taking a once over of her body Raven groaned again. Her left hand was really damaged and she could barely lift any of the fingers, great..., right calf sore and tender, maybe it still had the bullet? Mana reserve.... Almost empty.
fuck
It was the only thing that came to mind. This was not how she wanted to escape. Sighing and sitting up a wave of nausea washed over her and before she could stop, she threw up over the side of the bed.
"Nggh" the tears came as the forceful heaves stopped. "God I need to get this fucking bracelet off, the electric pulses are gonna go off everytime I use my magic." She gave him a weary eye. "How the hell did you escape? And how did you find me?" Wipeing her mouth she growled.
"And what are we going to do about the bullet in my leg?" She sighed and held her stomach, which felt like a sea in a storm.
"Not yet in hell nor heaven, but I assure you I can hear the bells tolling for us." Ansel approached the old, high cabinets and began digging as he tried to find the right item. Julian talked about it before, but he had a hard time figuring out what it was called. Arsenic? Ambien? Acetaminophen? He looked at all of the identical bottles with different labels. Which did he bring Ansel on the more painful nights? Maybe all three. He didn't know. Hoping that Raven would, the man stepped back from the medicine cabinet he found and gestured to it. "I don't have any healing magic." He lied. His spellbook had several healing spells, but part of Mursar's gift of foresight prevented him from healing people magically or anyone healing Ansel magically. Whenever either happened, the spells always worked in reverse. It was never pretty.
"All yours, though, take what you need." Ansel waited, planning to also take whatever she got so that he could get relief for the lethargy and his aching migraine, too. He gestured to the blood on his suit. "It wasn't easy to get out or find you. Remember the quip I made about a dying seer? It's accurate." He flipped through his book, trying to find something, anything to help that he could actually use. "I can't extract it. It'll be too hard. We'll have to find a doctor."
She took the bottles and read each and everyone of them. She took a pill from the large bottle and two from the small bottle. Tossing them to Ansel she cracked a sarcastic smile.
"The big one deadins pain, the other helps with energy, should give stimuli for the next couple of hours. She dry swallowed the pills. "I'm glad that there's some around. Sometimes I'd have to bare the pain and agony." Shrugging the pain away she tried to stand, but her injured leg couldn't hold the weight.
"We really need to find a doc." She gripped the bed and forced herself stand. "I need a crutch or something to lean on, preferably not you." She shook her head
She then looked at his suit. "You need to take off that jacket. The chemicals they put in my blood may eat through that, I have no idea What was injected into my body." She chuckled a bit at the thought of him freaking out about it.
"I know what they do; i'm not stupid." Ansel muttered and slowly rubbed the back of his neck while he took a few, too. Then, he put them back up into the cabinet.
"I can carry you." Ansel said, though his voice waivered. He didn't feel great. "But, I'm sure you could find something these people wouldn't mind missing."
"Oh, that's not your blood. At least, not most of it." Heat ran into his face again, threatening to turn his face into a flame. "That's from me. My foresight pushes my mind too hard. It hurts like a bitch and my nose bleeds."
Raven looked around the little cabin, she moved sligjtly to a closet type of room, sinking to the floor she rummaged through it. "Aha!" Pulling a long stick like object Raven hoisted herself to her feet with it. The staff like object came up to her shoulder and she could put quite enough weight on it. "I thought that something like this place would carry a walking stick or two." She beamed.
Watching the heat rise to his face was a sight that really pleased Raven. "So you can die by using your power? Please don't, ive seen enough death lately." Shrugging off the statement Raven made her way to the door. She then looked back at Ansel.
"Seriously, you need new clothes. This is my third escape attempt and trekking in the woods is no small feat." She smirked at him.
"Yes, via brain damage. It's not nice and it doesn't go away. I still have memories missing from certain events after using it. One day, I'll be little more than a brain dead shell if I push it." Ansel grumbled. This thought often frightened him, to be honest. It lingered in the back of his head whenever he used the ability, and even sometimes just because. He hated thinking about what might happen should he decide to get trigger happy with foresight or set up as a fortune teller.
"Au contraire, ma dame," Ansel flicked his wand out of his coat sleeve as she said something about needed new clothes. With a flick of it and a spoken word, the stains in his suit disappeared, the blood evaporated, and the rips fixed themselves. He smiled, feeling nice to be put back together again, despite his slurred speech and woozy steps. "Look'it you! You could use a clean up too. With your permission, of course."
Raven scrunched her nose at him as she saw the transformation. "You sound drunk." She chuckled. Then her face fell in pain, the thought of being drunk made her think of how they used to put kids to sleep.
"We left so many kids behind." Sadness etched into her face as she shook her head. "That's a nice party trick, yes you can help me clean up but dont do anything weird. I don't want to be a victim of anyones sick fantasy." She gave him a very serious death stare. Then looking at the door she added, "how much foid and water do you think we can survive on if we raid the kitchen?" She asked
"Sorry. I'm not drunk; it's just really hard to think after using foresight for so long." Ansel assured her, and though it was obvious he wasn't lying, he definitely didn't sound much more convincing. When she frowned, he naturally mimicked her face without thinking about it. He couldn't be bothered with the brain power it took to mask emotions right now, so instead he just let his walls down. Just for a moment, surely, he thought, he'd be fine.
"I know. We'll go back when we can." Ansel promised with a nonchalant wave of his hand to dismiss the worry, or maybe to convince himself. However, when she continued, his gaze visibly darkened. The fact that she would even insinuate that he might do such a thing burned his heart and eyes.
"Trust me. I would be the last to put someone in that situation." Ansel's voice dropped in volume, a hush, as he waved the wand and spoke again. Her clothes cleaned themselves and returned to normal before the magic in them turned them into much warmer, more defensive garments before it faded. She now had a long-sleeve shirt and jeans, perfect for a trek through the woods. He slipped the wand back into his sleeve and stalked into the next room. The ash in the hearth guaranteed the lack of anyone's presence for quite a while. It wasn't warm.
"I'm not sure." Ansel slurred as he rubbed his temples to ease the throbbing pain. The floor under his feet appeared and disappeared again in his vision. "Depends on how long it's been. We need to check, though, and search for satchels or backpacks, as well."
Raven smiled at the clothes, it had been a long time since she had clothes to herself and it brought tears to her eyes. Wiping her face before Ansel could make fun of her, Raven took a deep breath and looked around. Walking after him, her eyes scsnned the room befire landing on him.
Shaking her head and hobbling over to him she laid a hand in his shoulder. "You look like shit, go get some rest and as you do ill look for supplies. I tend to know what we will need and you'd just get in the way." She nudged him with her staff and giving him the same glare that she gave the children when they misbehave. It was the 'you have no say in this matter' that always sparked that look from her. Nudging him out of the room with her staff she began to look through the closets for something they could carry stuff in.
She had manage to find a hikers backpack and some thin blankets. Packing those tight she hobbled over to the kitchen to see what she could find. It seemed after all her looking around that this cabin was a place for someone to get away to. The cubbords were almost bare, they had several cans of food but not enough to sustain them for long. "Damn" shaking her head Raven tired to see if there was anything else in the cubbords one more time.
Ansel wanted to fight back and tell her that he was fine, but he simply couldn't. Instead, he slowly rubbed his eyes and gave a week nod. Perhaps it was the glare, too, one he learned to obey in his own house. Normally he would have ignored it, but in a half-conscious brain, he simply followed it as if he were 14 again and following orders.
He slipped onto the cot-like couch and sighed deeply before closing his eyes. Finally, the faint streams of the rivers of possibilities vanished and he desperately tried to relax a bit.
"What do you mean he's coming today?" Sibyl dropped her tool on the metal table. It clattered on the metal surface and she wrung her gloved hands. The last thing she wanted was Seneca Arviox in this lab. Her bun full of messy brown hair spilled around her face and she pulled her surgical mask upward. “He can’t come today. Not after the escape.”
Head over genetic modification research, Sibyl worked daily in the lab with patients. The patients begged to be set up with her when they were tested. She was calm, sweet, and nurturing, but just on the wrong side of the fight. She always made sure to be as gentle as possible with everyone. As soon as Seneca showed up, she knew she’d be sure as fired.
“What are we going to tell him?” The woman whispered in the already quiet meeting room for all of the department heads. They would all have to answer to Seneca when he arrived, as he ran the branch as head executioner for any trials involving magic users in the country.
“We don’t tell them anything, of course!” Emit nodded his head. The elven man rubbed his eyes from behind the small, round glasses he wore. “What that gnome doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” He picked at his nails as he listened in. He was head of contraband, keeping inventory, and disposal. His short black hair tousled around his face and his yellow eyes carried grey bags underneath them.
“Surely, you can make it seem like a few people died of natural causes?” He asked, leaning back in the chair. “Because if not, that’s a damn shame.” Though he worked in contraband, Emit was notorious for sneaking down in the lab to play pretend and mess with things he knew nothing about.
"And how the hell are we going to explained that our prize child just happened to die?" A gruff voice piped up, and in the corner the half tiefling grumbled. "She had suffered through the most rigorous tests and now she just 'happened' to die? I don't buy it neither is he." Marious shook his head. He was head of security snd no matter how many times he said that the Sector 5 door needed fixed, did anybody ever listen to him?
"We're all going to get fired." His tail lashed impatiently, "if its not for the kids escaping its for the amount of alcohol that is peddeled through here." His yellow gaze periced through Emit.
"How many times have we asked you to make sure those things are locked up. That could've been another reason for the escape." Frustrated, the male pinched his nose. "Being fired would be a mercy, I have no doubt that he'll want to kill us."
“You don’t. People die of sickness all the time; you tell him she got infected, finally, just like the rest, and consumed. She died, body nothing more than a heap of charred mass. Easy.” Emit eloquently recited. He didn’t seem worried at all.
“You can make anybody believe anything with smooth words, and rum and coke, of course.” The elf scratched at one of his ears, and with his other hand, swirled a short, stocky glass full of the same substance. “Even Arviox himself. He’s not that scary, you just need to know what to do about him.” He shrugged his usually limp shoulders and smiled faintly at Marious despite the rough glare.
“I definitely agree, though. Fired would be a mercy next to what he’ll probably do.” Emit finished his words and downed the rest of his glass.
Sibyl winced when the glass clattered down onto the table. She fiddled with her gloves and tried to keep her eyes focused on the ice in the cup melting. If she could just keep her mind on the way that the water dripped down the cubes, she wouldn’t panic.
She despised Emit’s voice and hated herself for it. His voice simply grated at her enhanced perception, and the extreme volume of everything. Her senses were far too enhanced to hang out with him for long, or else she might go into sensory overload. Seneca did the same thing when he was angry. When he was calm, she could tolerate him, but not when he was angry. She worried too much then.
“I’m not sure what to do; I’m sorry.” The woman murmured through her mask made to filter the air that felt harsh on her lungs. Sibyl used to be a sorcerer, fueled with the power of ice. She was one of the few to be cured of the damned curse. An old woman named Amelia that used to run the machines, kind and soft, said she cured Sibyl. And sure enough, Sibyl could no longer use ice. Amelia and Sibyl kept the small secret that with the loss of ice, Sibyl gained a fragile body whose powers made her that way. Everything in her body was so hyper-sensitive to the point that normal levels of sensory input hurt her. She took Amelia’s place as head of the genetics altering department after she died in a lab fire later that year.
Marious wasnt particarally happy with this conclusion. He rarely ever spoke during these meetings because he had learned to speak only when spoken too.
The half tiefling was nearly 40 and he had his share of the world, and the executioner may not care about the girls death but he knew someone more powerful would. The high councilmen's eyes lit up like a child on christmas when he had heard about the girl and her crystal arm. The girl had been through a terrible accident and healed as if nothing had ever happened. He wanted to harness that power, not only for himself but his daughter.
The girl had been only 5 when Marious was given charge over her. He watched her from a young age and had high hopes for the young child, but when she was 12 things had a turn for the worst.
Long story short the girl got hurt in a failed assassination attempt by a rouge fire weilder and it left massive burn damage on her face and arms. Marious paid a high price for not being able to protect her, the brand of shame he wore everyday as a reminder, he couldnt even cover it with the flower. After that he got demoted to watching over the facility because who would ever trust a branded man to keep anyone important safe?
"Its not going to work." Marious shook his head doubtfully.
"Then what do you want to do about it? I'm open to answers." Emit slurred and sat back into the chair. It took everything he had not to kick his feet up.
Marious narrowed his eyes. "We blame a scape goat and offer it for sacrifice. That kid..." Marious looked around the room. "Seth, his family is highly known in the underground. He's very close with the Crystal escappee and through the cameras I saw them conversing with the wizard. Blame him, give him to the executioner as a bargaining chip for the girl to return and all's well." He shrugged, not sure how the plan would work out completely but it was better than nothing.
"He's always smuggling something in here, why not create a story of smuggling those two out?" He cocked his head to the side as he offered the idea.
Marious sighed and his tail flicked again. "I know a way he would buy it." An icy shiver traced down his spine at the next thought.
"His personal guard. She's had several run ins with the Brotherhood. Seth's father runs the whole damn thing and he's escapped her many of a time." As he spoke the image of the dragon born girl entered his mind. They had gone to military school together and Zoul looked as human as anyone could, except for the scales on her arms as well as on the back of her neck and frightining yellow eyes that peirced right through you. It never reay bothered Marious until recently.
"You get her to believe the story, you have the exicutioners interests piqued." He shrugged and his eyes fell on a smaller human entering the room. "You have guests." Her nervous voice piped up
"Send them in please." Seiko whispered and waved her hand. After that, she silenced when she saw the person enter.
He was short- much shorter than the average male at a stark height of 4'10". His black hair was cut short around his face, but anyone could easily see someone died it black. The roots of his hair shined a silky white under the flourescent light. His ruby eyes flickered between all of the people in the room, and he adjusted his black gloves.
"Hello, everyone." Seneca spoke, his voice somewhat high and growly. Despite the features that normally would make most get made fun of, he still remained terrifyingly intimidating. People still made fun of him in secret, though.
"To what do I owe today's pleasure? I hear an alarm sounded at this location last night." Seneca grumbled, and then waited
In comparison to her charge, Zoul stood at 5'11 and watched the room with accusing eyes. With sword at her hip she was more deadly than anyone with a gun. "The alarms went off about 3 in the morning." Her callous voice sounded like a snake as she spoke.
Marious stood, prepared for the worst. "We had an escape... The prize child Raven and one by the name if Ansel. We suspect that Seth helped in the escape by getting the magic items needed and aiding them in said escape through sector 5." The half truth slipped easily off his tongue.
The mention of the boy made Zouls eyes narrow and a hiss escaped her but she remained poised until given furthar instruction.
"I see." Seneca listened to the tale with lidded eyes and pursed lips. He despised being called down here just to have someone tell him a blantant lie. However, as he continued, his story slowly unfolded and made sense. The man strode further in the room, and picked up Emit's glass. He examined the ice cubes in it as he spoke again. "Now, you blame Seth. Why is that? Do you have any evidence? What is your basis founded upon?"
Emit watched, groaning on the inside because Seneca could probably smell the alcohol on the glass. Why did he even want it? It didn't make sense to him, but he dare not ask him why he picked it up in the first place. He snarled at himself, making the shorter man look in his direction. He apologized, promising that the growl was meant for himself.
Marious had actually prepared for this. The rest of the table may be panicking due to the escape but Marious had been collecting evidence to fet rid of the boy since the first break in to the vault. This was the opportunity he had waited for.
Giving a small signal with his fingers the small human, they had slipped out of the room and came back with a file folder. Nodding to the blonde haired dragon born. She leaves through the document.
"In there you will find finger prints, plans in the past we have confiscated, drawn blueprints of the labs. As well as we have caught the boy twice with contraband magic items.,the first was a crystal that could help with teleportation and the second another magic book for a younger wizard." His eyes went around the room. "As well as we have video of the three talking before the escape." Marious crosses his arms as he finished his report.
Zoul handed the file to Seneca and her eyes pinned Marious. "If the little bastard has been such a problem why not kill him?" Her accusitory tone Marious forgot how much he hated it.
"He is the only son of Alec varailis, if you havent forgotten he is the mob boss of the brotherhood. We have the upper hand by keeping their explosive son hidden away. But he let our prize child go." The heavy weight in the room pressed down as he completed his report.
"He doesn't die." Seneca gave the order, eyes low as he took the file Zoul handed him. He carefully filed through each page. It looked clean enough, but something didn't add up. Of course, he wouldn't let them know that.
"Varailis is still useful to me. If this one dies, I have no strings to pull. He lives. Though, you seem to be sure its him." Seneca glanced over at Marious, expression unmoving and untelling. "You seem to know what you're doing. What do you suggest we do with him?" His voice rolled out in a long drawl.
Marious flicked his tail as he thought for a moment as he thought, he own face stony so that he wouldnt give away that he was satisfied that spinning this tale worked.
"I propose we use him as bait." Marious looked Seneca in the eyes, he would have loved to just off the thorn in his side but as the shorter male made very apparent he needed th boy alive to use his father. Fine, whatever
"Seth and Raven were really close, they took care if the kids and spent most of the time in the cafeteria together. Take him, do whatever your good at." This was more directed at Zoul, more of a faint insult as he spoke.
"If you think you're competent enough, there's another option." Seneca caught the hostility in the other's voice. He straightened his back and gave a faint, fake smile.
"Kill him and tell Varailis he is alive." The man's eyes watched everyone in the room. "I'll take care of it should you decide to move forward with this idea. What's the verdict?"
"I don't know," Sibyl began, trying her best to gauge expression and behavior so she could mimic it. She didn't want to kill anyone, but defying Arviox could be death, especially if you made him lose his mouse that he caught under his paw.
This struck Marious as funny, he could get rid of the thorn in his side and the alcohol that flowed through here. There was only one problem and he could see it forming in Sibyl's expression.
"I really don't care what happens to the son of a bitch, but there's one problem. If we don't have the kid how are we going to bring back our pet?" He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me that and you can have the boy for all I care."
It wasnt really his decision, but Marious didnt care at this point.
"You fake the fact that we have him. You get someone that looks similar, you film in dirty, blurry lenses. It's called deception and it's a life skill. However, I can't be bothered."
"You'll need to pull it off should you decide to do it."
Eyes narrowing, the tiefling had to swallow down the rage that started to bubble up into his throat. He hated being talk to as if he were small or an idiot, Marious was very prone to rage fits, but giving into one here could end his life.
"Okay so we kill the boy, you taking care of it we have that much figured out." Marius looked around the room to see objections.
If anyone had any they didn't say a single thing. He then looks back at the Executioner and Zoul, a question burning his mind and tongue. "The only questions I have left is why is the prize child, Raven, whatever she's called so important? why does the head councilman want her? And why send the Executioner down here for a simple Escape we've had them before and haven't needed you down here." Marius wasn't holding anything back if he was going to die he was going to die with this question to answered
"It's not of importance to you, my friend." Seneca crossed his arms and listened.
"You're dismissed. All of you. Go back to your jobs as normal. The escape never happened. " He stopped, walking outside without another word.
Marious gave a cat like grin, he finally got rid of the nuisance and it felt good. He was the last to leave the room, and as he neared the hallway to his office something shoved him against the wall. "What the-" something was slowly cutting off his airway. he immedatly reached for his knife Marious noticed that his feet were barely touching the ground
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A low voice growled as the object, which he soon found out was a hand, tightened around his throat. Clawing at the hand, Marious looked straight into the yellow hellfire like eyes. Zoul the thought flickered through his mind. The hand around his throat was making it hard to breath but not so much that he couldn't.
"That was a nice little charade you put on in there, I commend you for that. But here's the thing Marcie. I know you and that little comment didn't go unnoticed." The Dragon born yellow eyes narrowed in anger.
"You my friend better watch your step. Yes you may have been the councilmen's favorite, but dont forget that you are now expendable. No one cares for a has been, branded failure of a guard." She let go of his throat and watched him crumple to the floor. As he coughed and regained his breath her eyes lit up with amusement as she bend down and pulled his hair making him look at her. "Watch your step, I may not be able to kill you right now but hows that pretty little wife of yours?" Fear lit the Tieflings eyes. How did she know about Yuki? He kept personal very far away from work and his wife thought he was dead.
Zoul let his head drop and stood up chuckling. "We may have been lovers once Marcie but make fun of me again, you'll pay with blood and it may not be your own." The clacking sound of her soles was the only thing that was heard when she left.
As the meeting was going on....
The city hustled and busted as a silver haired women weaved through the streets. Yuki a human at 31 was very used to this. After her husband died in that fire that hurt the concilmens daughter, she was left widowed with a three year old daughter.
That was sometime ago amd now,her daughter was 7 and at home doing her studies. Yuki himmed as she strolled through the supermarket isles lookimg for items that their "guest" had asked for.
Many blamed the magic users for what had happened and that's what had started the hunt for them, but Yuki beloved differently. Her father had taught her that in every race there was good and evil, just the evil was sometimes more looked at than the good. Jeremiah was a wizard himself and a good healer too, but he had died of a pretty bad sickness when Yuki was 17. She had held those words close to her heart even when that fire weilder took her Marious away. Now the people lived uneasily and bad things stirred when that happened.
A resistance rose four years after the decree of magic being outlawed. Some supported it outright. Others like Yuki quietly prayed for their safety. Making her hair white was her way of showing discreetly she supported those who fought this injustice.
Walking back home her mind wander to the guest she brought in 7 months ago. With Magic being outlawed many had to go into hiding or be put to death. Yuki could never turn a blind eye to those in need.
"I'm home!" She called, opening the door and shutting it just as fast. A little redheaded girl came scrambling in. "Mama!"
Ruby looked so much like her father. The girl had taken to mainly being human with tiny little horns on her head and a pinker tint to her skin. This was Marious's last gift to her and Yuki intended to protect it. Smiling Yuki lifted the girl into her arms and nuzzled her.
“Fuck,” The young adult, breathless, stumbled onto the nearest discreet steps he could find and slipped up to the door like a slinking criminal. He leaned against the door, trying desperately to catch his breath, and then swiped his blonde bangs out of his face to try and see if he could see his pursuers down the block. So far, nothing. Slippery as a weasel, one of the arresting officers had said. More slippery than a weasel, he thought.
Trying not to make a scene, he desperately pounded at the door, praying that someone, anyone might be home and let him inside. Someone that wouldn’t say a word.
For years, he’d lived with his girlfriends, also innate sorcerers trying not to be found out, both who had legitimate jobs, and he earned his keep by using magic to help him steal and resale things.
Of course, that came with a price. A price of occasionally being caught and needing to flee to safety. Now he ran out of places to hide.
"Open up, open up, open up," The incredibly tall, lanky boy murmured as he never ceased hammering on the door.
Yuki heard the hammering on the door, Setting down Ruby she told the girl to go to her room. Grabbing a small knife and hiding it by her side she slinked to the door and opened it. She was expecting another guard accusing her of hiding fugitives.
Which she was, but it was rude to assume without evidence. The last time the watch came she had to force them out by knife point, they came in without a warrent so she made them leave.
"Yes can I help you?" Her blue eyes met that something akin to a wild animal being hunted. "Your being hunted arnt you?" Her voice dropped intervals as she opened the door and shuffled him in, closing the door gently behind her.
Little did she know, little Ruby was standing half hiding in the hallway that lead to the other "guest" her grey eyes drinking in the entire scene.
"Yeah, uh, avidly. Dogs, cars, hurry." The boy snapped, tears beginning to bud at the sides of his ice blue eyes. He pleaded with her in his eyes, voice hushed, and then the tears finally fell with rushed relief when Yuki ushered him in.
"They don't know what I look like but they know what I sound like," He whispered, remembering the scene where the platinum blond yelled into a crowd, selling garbage seeming to be great items for cheap prices. Magic helped fake the legitimatcy long enough for the buyer to get home. However, he waited too long, and a buyer came back with the cops. He fled to the street, abandoning eveything he owned.
Yuki's heart broke when she saw the tears. "Shh, its ok." She rubbed his arm and tried to calm the poor thing. "Your safe. They usually dont bother us." With that her eyes flicked to Ruby. "I thought I told you to stay out of sight, what if it was the watch again and they saw-" as she was speaking a smaller boy came into view.
"Hey big sis Yuki, have you seen?" Many books and pencils were flying in the air effortlessly around the very pale skinned small teen. His eyes were violet and his right hand was basically a black claw, A sure sign of a pact that had been taken along time ago. The violet eyes trembled in fear and the objects immedatly fell to the floor. "Please... Don't hurt them...."
"Ruby take Zek to the back rooms, ill be with him in a moment." Turning back to the young man she pasted on a smile. "If you like you can stay if not, don't say anything about the boy we finally got him past most of the trauma." She nearly whispered as Ruby grabbed the nearly crying boys hand and lead him away.
"Thank Celese, someone that's not going to turn me in." His shoulders relaxed and he became a lanky, bad-postured mess. He wiped the tears from the sides of his eyes as the adrenaline slowly began to fade from his veins and his muscles relaxed. The sickly pale young adult appreciated her comfort, but his lungs still ached for some kind of relief to the stress whether it be nicotine or cannabinoids. When he saw the little girl, he reflexively smiled but it quickly turned genuine as she interacted with the others. He loved children, but never got to be around them often. The boy, however, startled him. The smile faultered, shocked, as the newcomer looked at someone so much like himself at that age and the instinct was instant: help. Of course, he couldn't actually help anything at the moment, so he forced himself to stay still and force his smile back.
"No, no, it's okay. I understand, kid's seen some shit. Been there." He cleared his throat as he tried to avoid the crying starting up again and offered his other hand for Yuki to shake. "I'm sorry for barging in. I'll have to stay for a bit, if it's okay, but then I should be able to make my way back home. I don't want to endanger you more than necessary." He offered a goofy, slanted smile that looked like his jaw never healed correctly from a break. A purple-and-black, long-sleeved sweater clung tightly to his figure to make sure nothing but his hands and face could be seen. The black pants did the same, folding over a pair of common sneakers. His blonde hair fell into his eyes in a sloppy mess around his face, just barely letting his ice colored eyes shine through. "My name's Ciccro. Could I get yours?"
Yuki looked at him and saw the tears Again. Walking up to him, she only came up to his neck, her silver hair was braided back giving way to the warmth in her eyes, she leaned in and gave the boy a hug, she didnt know of he needed it but it sure looked like it.
After a moment she pulled back. "My names Yuki, and stay as long as you like but I don't think going home is safe.... I had someone thst stayed here for a few months then went back home... The next morning he was found dead in a ditch" shaking her head Yuki smiled. "This is a safe house sweetheart but if you would like to leave do so when you can keep your nerves under control." She walked up and took his hand. "Now would you like to go meet the kids? Ruby, my daughter, is 7 and Zek, the boy with the claw, is 14. He scares easily so be gentle." With that she headed toward the hall, from it you could hear a soft melody being sung from a child like voice, sniffles could be heard as well.
"I'd pay for letting me stay, but I lost all the cash I had in the escape. I could come back with something to thank you." Ciccro murmured when he pulled back from the hug, grateful for every second of. He listened to her, stomach tore up when she said he probably shouldn't leave. What would Sibyl and Rena think? What would they say? He couldn't tell them where he was. What if they traced him to them? He shivered.
"Yeah, yeah, I'd love to, actually."
Yuki chuckled, "I dont need money, but to pull your weight you could help the younger ones." She entered the room slowly. Upon entering you could see the larger boy curled around the seven year old. She sang a foreign melody and calmly stroked his hair as he cried silently in her lap. The melody came to an end and Ruby looked up. "Hi mama. He's having a bad day." She gave a lopsided grin.
Yuki nodded and turned to the taller male. "I do have a part time job and I have Zek usually watch Ruby... But now that we have someone older I can relax a bit. And you can help Ruby and Zek with their schooling." At this Ruby made a face. "I dint need to learn, imma ginna be a gaurd just like my daddy was when I grow up."
Yuki faced Ciccro, sadness etched her face. "My husband died after the attack on the councilmans daughter.... We cant have Ruby in school right now, her daddy was branded before he died. She got bullied so badly, so Zek and i help keep her caught up. Are you good with kids?" She asked
"Yeah, 'course. Wouldn't want to be a burden." Ciccro nodded, and followed her down the hall. The young adult peered around her, gazing at the two children in the room. He gave a small, reserved but welcoming wave whenever he made eye contract with one of them. He felt pained, too, as he looked down at the crying child.
"I mean, sure, but I can't-" He stopped, listening to the children as they spoke. "I can't read any more than my name." He admitted, knowing that would hinder him helping with schoolwork. "I can take care of them, though. Keep them outta trouble and stuff."
"Oh, shit, sorry. My condolences." The blond answered when he heard the woman go on about her husbands' death. "I think I am. I mean, kids used to like me where I used to live, but I've never taken care of them before."
Yuki's face flooded with relief as he agreed. "Upon that agreement you can stay here as long as you like free of charge. I can rest easier now." She chuckled. There was a banging at the door and she disaapeares.
Ruby smiled up at him, Zek finally calm enough to sleep. "We have a spar room right down the hall... I don't think mama would mind." She yawned herself, rubbing her eye.
Yuki closed the door quietly, the watched asked her if she saw anything and she lied like normal and that was enough to make them go away.... The house got awfully quiet as the two kids slipped into dreamland....
In the morning
The house was alive with noise bright and early. Both of the kids had gotten food and Yuki started to get them to settle down. Taking a glance at the clock it read 8:30. "Shit, I'm gonna be late. Zek your in charge till Ciccro wakes. Make sure Ruby gets started on her work. If anyone's at the door dont answer it unless they say the name of the melody that Ruby was singing last night ok?" With that she kissed both their heads and whisked out the door.
Ciccro stirred fairly early that day, much earlier than usual. He walked into the living room at 9am, glancing around and immediately looking for the kids. He rubbed his eyes and tried to locate wherever the children had scurried away to.
The time had ticked away until there was a knock at 2. Zek was just sitting on the couch dozing and immideatly sat up straight. His violet eyes narrowed as he got up and moved closer to the door.
Ruby looked up from the paper that Ciccro was struggling to help her with a paper to write about animals. At the knock, she froze and her hand went to find Ciccro's. It was an instinctual thing that brougjt comfort and she didnt care who's it was.
Zek was silent as he neared the door, a voice was barely heard through the door. "A midnights whisper from long ago." At the sound of the melodies name Zek opened the door. A hooded figure stood there in the entrance. Before Zek could say anything the sound of Yuki's voice trailed behind the figure. "Good job Zek! And you..." She slipped past the figure. "Are late, we expected you yesterday." Ushering everyone inside Yuki closed the door.
"Everyone I would like to introduce you to Skylar-"
"I prefer to be called Red." The young adult took off her hood to reveal long red as an apple wavy hair and blue eyes. "Sorry I'm late" she gave a shy smile
Ciccro immediately froze when he heard the pounding at the door. His whole body gridlocked and he ceased breathing. He had to focus on the problem. Where the small girl more or less taught him more than he did she because of his illiteracy, he tried so hard to help. Moral support counted, too. He forced glass into his lungs and sputtered into a coughing fit when Zek went towards the door.
"No no no you don't," The twenty-four year old rushed forward, hand delicately holding Ruby's, and he ushered Zak behind him. He hushed them, though the command was more for himself than him, and listened to the tune.
His face melted into a distraught frown when he realized he couldn't remember the melody from last night. Was this the right one? Was the person on the other side a corporate spy? He wanted to scream and almost stopped Zek as be reached for the door.
Ciccro's shoulders fell from their rigid stance when Yuki confirmed that the person to enter belonged here. His expression untensed, too, into a loose, exhausted smile from the exhaustion of the instant stress bullet. No one died today.
"Ciccro Jenkins." He introduced himself as well. "Uhm, sorry. I stumbled in uninvited. I'm trying to get home to my girls and my dog."
Red flashed him a small smile. Ruby kept a firm grip on Ciccro's hand. "Hes helping me with school so you cant take him." She stated defiantly.
This made Yuki chuckle. "Red isnt going to take anyone, she's here for some food for the-"
"The store... Ya, your mom has agreed to help Clouds corner with their lunches so we're gonna be taking more of her time... Is that ok?" She squatted to make eye contact with the girl. The lie slipped off of Reds tongue she didn't want to endanger anyone more than she had to. Already having Yuki risk her life was almost too much for the 21 year old.
Zek shrugged and wandered off to his room, "take Ruby with you, ill have dinner here soon." Ruby grumbled about having to let go of her new friends hand and Yuki went into the kitchen to set the grocery bags she gathered in her arms down.
Red sat and smiled. "So you have girls and a dog? Why are you here at a safe house.... Shouldn't they be worried sick about you?" She cocked her head to the side, eyes sparkling with questions.
♡design by rabbitswarren, coded by uxie♡
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glad I can see this!
