Realistic or Modern Neria Academy

[pyreshadow]

Alec situated himself back down across from Amelia, his fingers resting dangerously close to his lips. He had a bad habit of biting his nails whenever he thought too much and now was no exception. Especially when she asked about the people that tried to kidnap him. There was a pause before he dropped his hand back down with a sigh. "That's the question of the day, isn't it? What do these bastards want?" A sarcastic smile crossed his lips but faded rather quickly. "I've heard rumors mostly. A man leads this organization and has a mass of followers. Most of them are human from what I hear but there are those Demigods that detest their parents so much for giving them powers that they turn against their own kind. The woman that led the men you saw tonight was one of them. Khalida is her name."

Alec shifted slightly when he paused again before shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I don't know of any Demigod that's come back after being taken by them. Safe houses are the ultimate place to put yourself these days it seems. The thugs haven't found any of them yet but when they do, it'll be over for a lot of people. My guess is that they're trying to exterminate us, maybe out of fear or...oh, I know." As he got up again, the door opened and Pops came in with their meals. Alec's was a BLT sandwich with two chicken fingers on the side and french fries. Waters were also brought and some dipping sauce for the tenders. Once the old man left, Alec turned his attention back to Amelia. "I think I know of someone that might know a bit more about who these people are. She's had multiple encounters with them and from what I've heard, she's still messing with them even though she's staying in a safe house now. We could always go and talk to her to see if we can't find out real answers?"

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"That sounds like a splendid idea," she replied, lightly clapping her hands together once, conniving smile ever present on her face. It seems like there will be no dearth of excitement if I follow him around, she thought to herself. At the very least, she wouldn't be bored. Whether or not it was worth staking her life on was a separate matter that would be worried about at a later date.

--

She was running through the woods, the hem of her dress torn in several places, as it had caught on the underbrush. Twigs and the like were caught in her long, dirty-blonde hair. She could feel the evil intent was still following her but had fallen behind. As she crashed through the foliage, she felt around for the presence of another Demigod. Alone, she was practically powerless, given that her ability was more supportive than offensive. Through the loud thumps of her pulse in her ears, she tried to pick out the sounds aside from the crunch of plant matter on the ground and her own laboured breathing. At the very least, she was able to enhance her own physical abilities and had been able to outrun the men that were chasing her. There were only two of them.

Her mind reached out as she stretched the limit of her powers. Her nose began to bleed but she wiped it on the back of her hand. She had found multiple signals a ways out. Hopefully this was one of the safe houses her father had told her about. Tears began to well in her eyes as she thought of his cold body laying on the floor with a fire poker through his heart. Hopefully she was not heading toward her doom. She couldn't sense any malice nearby. The pinpoints ill intent she had felt from the two men had disappeared a while back, but she continued running at faster than full-speed. Her lungs ached for air. Her legs were exhausted from running so far for so long. Her mind was at its breaking point.

 

[pyreshadow]

They were in agreement it seems and Alec couldn't help but wonder. Why was it that she was so willing to go along with everything? Not that he minded any since having someone around for once was pretty nice. There was only so much that could be done alone. The rest of the night was spent with very little mindless chatting and more resting for the long day ahead of them. The food was fantastic as it always was and the room that they were taken to after had a bed and a couch. Alec took the couch so that Amelia could use the bed. The sleep for him wasn't all that great but at the very least he got a couple hours. By the time morning came, Pops woke them up with breakfast and told them to hurry it along before he opened up the diner for business. He had a couple cars that he used as spare in case a Demi needs wheels, so the keys were given to the pair.

It took a few hours to get to the safe house that he knew the raven haired woman would be. Or at least he really hoped he wasn't wrong about it. The house was large, almost considered a mansion but looked like it hadn't been used in years. The inside was completely different though and that became apparent when they got closer to the entrance doors. Before Alec even had time to knock, the door was thrown open and a burly man with thick rimmed sunglasses stared down at them. "We're here to see Kira." Alec stated in a confident tone, not even startled by the man's presence. For a moment all he did was stare at the two of them before snorting softly.

"You're lucky. She just got back last night after playing 'human' for whatever reason. Guess she was bored or something." He shrugged a bit before motioning for the two of them to enter. The door was closed and locked in one swift motion before he began to lead them further into the house. A number of Demigods were throughout the house, some looking scared and fearful that anything might happen at any moment. Others were even scarred and kept to themselves. There were a few though, just a few that stood tall and Alec instantly knew the reason why. "You wait here, she'll be down shortly." The burly man motioned for them to go inside a room that looked like a living room. The couch was instantly where Alec went and plopped himself down on as the man walked off. "You might want to sit, she can take a bit to get ready sometimes. It's not the best obviously but she'll have the answers we need. I know she will."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

She came to the door of the mansion that looked to be in disrepair. She didn't know how long she had run to get there but her legs were trembling and it was all she could do to keep upright. Now that she had stopped, she felt like her legs wouldn't be able to move again, as they felt like jelly. There were several tears in her muscles due to overexertion and some of her joints were inflamed. She lifted an arm to knock but before she could touch her knuckles to the door, she coughed, blood splattering into her shaky hand. She didn't want to die but it looked like she was running on borrowed time from the moment she saw her father's corpse. Her tears had dried up a few kilometres ago and all that were left were dry tracks through the dirt clinging to her face.

What a sorry sight she was with blood dripping from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Her hair was a windblown mess, her clothes were torn in places and had bloodstains on them from her nose and the gashes where trees or brambles caught her. There were light smudges of dirt here and there. For a moment, she wondered whether it was even worth going through this all just to evade her pursuers if she was just going to die from exhaustion anyways.

 

[pyreshadow]

Kira didn't take too long to get dressed in a form-fitting black shirt, black skinny jeans, and a leather jacket. She had wanted to do nothing after her uneventful days spent on campus. Every now and then she showed up and forged some papers to make it seem like she was an exchange student or something. Her plan for the night was just to stay in bed, relax, and do absolutely nothing...at least until she heard the loud knocks on her door. "What is it?" She called from where she lay on her bed. On the other side she could hear that one of the boys said someone here to see her. Strange. Clearly it was another Demigod since there was no way a human could get through the doors. "All right, all right. Be down in a min." She called out as she slowly threw her legs over the side of the bed. She took a moment to stretch, not all that worried about whom she would be forcing to wait for her.

After a couple more minutes, she forced herself out of the bed and made her way out of her room. A redhead ran over to her, telling her that she saw someone coming that would need their help. The girl was a clairvoyant and if she saw something, it was usually only a small window of time. The girl told her that whomever was in trouble was on their way now so Kira quickened her pace down the stairs two at a time. "Tell them that they need to wait. There's an emergency." Kira called over her shoulder as she headed to the front door. As she pulled open the door, a curse left her lips as she moved without thinking to wrap her arms around the girl's shoulders. "Hey!" It looked like she'd been through hell and back.

"Medic. Get me a medic, Meg. Now!" The redhead ran off before she had even finished the sentence. "Hang on, all right? I've got you, you're safe now." Kira held her close so that way if the girl was too tired she wouldn't fall. The same man that had led Amelia and Alec to the room to wait in came rushing out. "This is Dom. He has healing powers but he'll need to touch you to heal you. Is that all right?"

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

She tilted her head ever so slightly in assent. Anything more and she was afraid that she would fall over. There were already black spots at the edges of her vision. Even breathing felt like a strain to her and a part of her wanted to accept death instead of live with the weight of her father's death and the gravity of the situation she was now in.

--

Amelia could feel a ripple of apprehension pass through the crowd at the announcement that there was an emergency and there would be a delay in the arrival of their brilliant leader. It was so interesting feeling all the different auras in the room. Some were gigantic, like Alec's. She could feel the heat emanating from the larger ones despite the fact that she was standing quite a distance away. Others had auras that had a sort of electric energy about them that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. There were even auras that seemed to draw heat from the room like ice. Obviously, there were few others in the room able to perceive these small changes in the atmosphere due to the auras.

As much as she wanted to go out into the crowd at test everyone's powers, it felt like that would be much too much power for her to handle at her level. She was accustomed to handling the power of humans and these auras were of a completely different magnitude. If she was not careful, she could be seriously injured in her experimentation. She kept up her mischievous facade as she glanced around at the room.

Her ears pricked as she could hear slight commotion from the doorway that they had just come through. Without a word, she padded back through the room to see what on earth was going on. There was an extremely large aura that gave off waves of heat that were almost uncomfortable and an aura that felt like the flame of a candle in a breeze, fighting to stay lit but at the point that it could be extinguished at any moment. What a sad feeling it exuded.

She remembered this feeling coming from some of the other kids she had seen in the foster care system as they hopped from home to home, never quite finding a family that would take them in permanently. Her smile faltered as she thought back on the dark days before she had found the family that had taken her in and treated her well. Bouncing from household to household was an unpleasant thing, especially with the prospect of being completely alone after the age of 18. She pushed these thoughts from her head, preferring to keep them buried.

 

[pyreshadow]

"Just do it." Kira said with a nod of her head and the man beside her stepped closer to lift the girl into his arms bridal style. As he began to walk her into the building carefully, a small light hue appeared from his hands. He didn't need to cover her body to heal her; instead his light would slowly spread throughout her body and revitalize her. It would give her energy, get rid of exhaustion, and heal any wounds that she might have sustained. Until that time though, he made his way up the stairs so that he could get her settled into one of their spare rooms. Kira watched him for a moment longer before looking the redhead over for a moment.

"This is a disaster. They're getting more bold by the day." She shook her head while crossing her arms over her chest, noticing the pout that Meg was giving. "I know, you don't need to say it. Something has to be done but we can't be stupid about it either." Kira would have said more but she had caught sight of someone she didn't know. A multi-color haired blonde woman standing nearby watching what had unfolded. "Who the hell are you?" There was a defensiveness to her tone as she eyed the woman before her gaze moved past her to where a somewhat familiar face was standing. Alec gave her a small wave but kept his mouth shut for the time being. He had been curious about what was happening as well so he followed Amelia out of the room. Not the greatest of times to come visit it seems.

"I'll come get you when she wakes." Meg said softly, giving Kira a lat pat on the shoulder before she hopped up the stairs two at a time.

"Well, I'm thirsty so follow me." Kira made a motion to the pair to follow her in the opposite direction of where the room they had just been in was. "Tell me, what can I do for you? It's not often we get stragglers that aren't injured or seeking shelter."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

Her power was in overdrive now, having been active for such a long duration of time. She was having difficulty stopping her amplification ability. He hadn't gotten too far from the stairs before the blue light had been amplified so much that it was painful to look at. It now felt as though the energy were pouring out of her, burning like water boiling over and dripping down the side of its container. She screamed and began to struggle, trying to get away from the blue light and stop the burning energy coursing through her.

"I'm something of an interested spectator," Amelia replied casually, following the woman with the intense aura. She looked back, feeling the spike of energy. Before she could process what was going on in the calculating way she usually did, her body was already rushing toward the stairs. It was just too much to see this poor girl going through pain like this. She wasn't one for sentimentality, but something about the girl had resonated with her. She chased after and reached out her hand. The outstretched hand grabbed an invisible substance out of the air. The blue light died down to the faint tint it had started out as.

 

[pyreshadow]

Kira hummed softly at the answer but didn't say anything on it. Her attention was drawn back to the woman that was now screaming again. Dominick wasn't entirely sure what to do and seemed frozen in place. The 'spectator' as she so called herself ran forward, looking as though she were scooping something out of thin air. The screaming died down moments after that and it caused her to click her tongue. "Right. An interested spectator." Kira walked up to where the woman was still being held in Dom's hands. "Well Miss Spectator, I'd like to ask you to stay down here. Keep out of trouble for a bit and I'll be back down shortly. Then we can talk." Dom had already stopped the healing at this point since he wasn't going to chance anything. When Kira nodded to him, he began back up the stairs alongside both Meg and Kira.

The second door on the left was the room that the woman was taken to. Dominick was careful as he set her down on the bed, backing moments after doing so. "Is she awake?" Meg whispered, not wanting to disrupt the girl if she was. Kira only shrugged her shoulders a bit since she couldn't be sure but she watched from the doorway, just in case.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"My apologies," Amelia replied with an unreadable smile. She hid her hand behind her back and turned around once Kira disappeared from view. She grabbed the wrist of one hand with the other as her fingers twitched. She gritted her teeth to prevent the pain from appearing on her face. She was not about to lose face now. She returned downstairs.

"So she's the head of all of this?" She asked, not turning to face Alec. She was only half listening to his response as he tried to carefully return the aura bit by bit so that the girl would not be overwhelmed again by the rush of power. It was difficult holding all of it and it felt like electricity was shooting through her arms as she tried to contain the aura. Controlling the flow of something so strong was giving her trouble but she was pulling it off somehow.

--

Traces of her injuries seemed to have evaporated as though they were mere stickers that had been removed. Her hair was still messy but aside from that, everything seemed to be in order. There were traces of fear in her eyes but she had calmed down substantially since she came to the house. The stinging pain had faded and left a tingling feeling in her extremities. She breathed out slowly, taking in her surroundings now that her fatigued body had recovered.

 

[pyreshadow]

Silence hung in the air as Kira watched the young woman on the bed. It always seemed so strange to watch a person's skin go from such a pale color back to its normal coloring after being healed. The process was a tricky one but she hadn't a clue how it worked since that wasn't her thing. A motion was made to the redhead to leave, which she did so with a small nod and no questioning. Dom stayed though and sat down in a chair next to the bed. Kira waited just a bit longer to give the girl a few more minutes to process everything before she stepped closer and looked her over. "You're safe now. I don't know what happened to you and you don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable with it. My name's Kira and for all intents and purposes, I lead this little haven. Would you like some water?"

-----------​

Alec stood with a hand on his hip, eyeing the direction of where Kira had gone. When Amelia moved, he moved to follow her back to the room that they had first been shown to. "Technically there is no 'head' of a haven since they all work together. But she's the one that's banded a bunch of people together to start fighting back in hiding. So they've dubbed her the head, yeah." He shrugged slightly as he moved to sit back down. "What did you do, anyway? Obviously you did something to stop the girl from screaming like she was."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"My name is Livana," she replied slowly. By no stretch of the imagination was she a fighter. She looked fragile given that she was surprisingly thin for her height. Although her father had told her much about her heritage, it had never really affected her way of life. They stayed under the figurative radar due to the fact that she had such an inconsequential ability. Nothing she did drew any attention to her in particular, so the sudden inversion of her life was quite the shock. She clasped her hands together to prevent them from shaking. "Some water would be nice," she replied softly.

She could feel that the balance of her aura was slightly off but she couldn't tell exactly why. At the very least, the theft of her aura had halted her overflowing abilities, so she wasn't necessarily ungrateful. It also appeared that her aura was returning to her slowly, so there didn't seem to be any reason to be alarmed, although it seemed that no one else had noticed the movement of aura.

--

"Interesting," Amelia replied absently. While she was being careful to not return too much power at a time to the girl to make sure that she didn't lose control again, she was being much less careful with her own body. Burn marks were appearing across her hand as she tried to restrain the burning essence. After a pause she realised that he had asked her a question. She replayed the conversation in her head and gleaned as much from it as she could given that she hadn't been paying attention. "I don't know what I did. It was an instinct more than anything," she replied vaguely, with the smile that could be borderline infuriating when she decided to hide what she knew.