Fantasy Secret World: Chrestomanci & Cosmic Flare

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

Santa Soleil, a city of an uneasy peace. For decades now, the city has come to an unsteady equilibrium, almost as though the city itself is holding its breath. The supernatural residents of the city have come to a truce in order to keep the peace of the city. In the past, various groups had antagonised one another, resulting in the complete loss of one group, the Magi. In response to this, the Alchemists proposed a peace treaty between the major groups that resided within the city. Stipulated within this peace treaty, member groups would not interfere with the lives of mortals past basic interactions. They were allowed to blend in as members of society, make relationships, and engage; however, they were not allowed to use their powers in order to affect the span of a Mundane's life.

One day, the delicate balance that had been maintained for so long was suddenly disrupted. A sorcerer had decided to purge the world of everything supernatural and to that end, he sowed seeds of evil within the supernatural population, four to be exact. One day, these seeds would sprout and destroy all in their path, be they magus, sorcerer, alchemist or the like, and any others who might stand in their way. These seeds lay dormant for a while and the wheel of life continued to spin but unbeknownst to them, they would be the reason for chaos to be unleashed upon the world. In each of four individuals, he had cursed them with his thoughts of vengeance and fathered them with dark sorcery. To each mother of the child, the curse would lay waste and she would not survive to raise her child. Even for those who were not born organically, a life was taken by the curse as payment in order to see it through to the end. Once the seeds of evil sprouted, they would wreak havoc on the world, removing all who their curse dictated they eliminate. This includes all sorts of supernatural beings from magicians and their kin to even the alchemists and other beings that could even be thought to be tied to magic. While their existences harboured no magic, anything that the mundanes would consider associated with magic would be terminated.

In order to avoid calamity, the groups who had come to an uneasy truce must band together to solve the problem without blaming any one group for the disaster. When the first seed sprouts, attention turns to that group, assuming that this is an attempt to take power and rule over the supernatural and Mundane worlds alike. Can these suspicions be overcome? Can they come to terms with their differences and work together to defeat a common evil? At what cost will this peace come?

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

It was not that they had grown close by their own design, it was almost out of necessity that the two had come to rely upon one another. Despite an age difference, slight enough to be neglected but great enough to separate them by educational level, they often found themselves working together. The Council, headed by the High Divinity, had them work banal missions every now and again and for some reason, the two were always paired. Perhaps it was simply the fact that there were no others of their kind near in age or perhaps it was the old coot playing matchmaker. He knew bloody well that the birth of a Fiend or Seraphim was not as simple as it was for the Mundanes but perhaps he really had no ulterior motives. After so much time working side-by-side, their synchronisation was almost perfect and they performed like clockwork.

In no time, some sort of bond had formed between the two and it transformed from a simple meal together after they had finished a mission to a meal together after classes had ended. The majority of their time together was spent in silence, but for the two of them, it was a nice change of pace. Xe felt trapped by the need to keep up appearances in public, to be talkative and outgoing, to be charismatic simply because xe looked the part of the popular girl. He was not in the same position that xe was, but he still enjoyed the silence. It was an atmosphere that was free of judgement. He had a naturally gloomy visage and because of this, there were always whispers behind his back about how he was a troublemaker and why didn't his parents say something about it. In xer company; however, he was free of the background noise that never had anything particularly nice to say.

It was a peaceful Thursday afternoon and the two of them had decided to go out for snacks when the teachers had finally freed them from their prisons of learning. It was an odd sight to see, xer with her model-like beauty and xer practised composure and him with his dark aesthetic and dark demeanour. But somehow, there was a certain match to their stride, a sort of naturalness to the way they made their way down the street. They did not hold hands, nor did they appear to interact with one another; however, there was a sort of comfortable atmosphere surrounding them. Where two strangers might be awkward in such a situation, these two made things look easy, as though all interactions should be this way.

There were no missions slated for the afternoon, so they decided to go to Buckstars to spend the time. There was plenty of space to study or simply sip their drinks. By now, they were regulars at this particular location and despite the rapid turnover of cashiers, their order had been passed along. It was a caramel frappucino for the young man and a double shot espresso for the young woman paid on card. Once they had received their order, they would venture up to the second floor and claim a table by the window, overlooking a bustling street below with people scurrying about like ants as they went about their business. Sometimes the two would spend a few minutes watching the scenery below with cars speeding down the thoroughfare underneath the tracks of the high-speed railway.

While it was not like their lives were particularly busy or demanding, they did prefer to live quietly. Life was peaceful and uneventful but not boringly so. Life was smooth and they were able to enjoy it. Sipping caffeinated drinks, they could just go about their daily lives and live like Mundanes. Because they had not known the uneasiness of the time when the various groups were at war, they had no idea why the adults spent so much time upholding balance. Peace was natural to them and snuffing out any problematic situations seemed almost to be a bother, but they still complied with the wishes of the elders, for it was not too far out of their way to work to maintain this way of life.

A slight sigh escaped his lips as he sat across the table from xer, taking in the sights of the city. It was more of a satisfied exhalation than a sound of frustration or disappointment. Still, xe looked over at him, gaze drifting from the same view he had been watching. Perhaps it was because of their peaceful existence that they had never really practised masking their presences, or perhaps because it was not as important of an issue when dealing with Mundanes. The Seraphim radiated a supernatural positivity due to the nature of their origin that never had much of an effect on the Mundanes aside from a sense of safety. In the case of the Fiends, there was a supernatural sense of worry and although the apprehension was not directed toward them, there was almost a hint of a reminder in the air to be careful. For anyone with any sort of magical ability, the two would stick out in a crowd.

While they were not expecting anything really to happen to them on this warm autumn day, they were not, by any stretch of the imagination, unprepared for a sudden change in the situation. They were prepared to be attacked, be contacted by the head of the sorcerers, or be contacted by the High Divinity. It was not as though they were waiting for something to happen necessarily, but they were able to react at a moment's notice. For now, they sat on the second floor of BuckStars, sipping their drinks, and casually allowing time to pass by.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

The wind whipped through her vibrant hair as the hoverboard beneath her feet carried her forward quickly. A slight shift in weight allowed her to dip and weave between other pedestrians walking beside the crowded streets. The hood of her sleeveless jacket flew behind her like a superhero's cape, filling up like a small parachute now and then. A worried look painted on the features of the rider accompanied her lack of patience as she hurried to her destination. The afternoon had only just begun, but Aurora had already managed to screw it up. Due to a surprise trip her brother had to go on, she had to skip school for the day. She had planned to meet up with someone in her class to discuss what they had covered at the nearest Buckstars. It was a great plan until she decided to take a nap. Four hours later and one hour later than they planned to meet, she was sure that this companion of her's would never offer to help her again.

After zooming around and apologizing several times to people she bumped into, she finally made it to the coffee shop. She caught her hoverboard as she jumped off it, rushing in. Her labored breath broke the quiet atmosphere. All eyes turned to her as she searched the first floor, then gave a sigh of anger. Her tennis shoes hit the floor loudly as she sped upstairs to the second level. Quickly finding her classmate, she hurried over with a shameful smile. "Oh hi Kevin! I'm super sorry for-" His hand shot up, cutting her off.

Standing, the young man slid his backpack on. "Aurora. I am a busy guy. We aren't even friends. I came here, honestly, because you're hot. You're one of the most beautiful girls in our grade, but now I see youre also stuck up." He poked her chest as his tone became angry. "Ive been waiting an hour. I don't know what world you live in, but I don't get to skip school without a valid reason, unlike you. 'My brother is out of town?' Really? That's the best you could come up with? You're an idiot." At this point, he had gotten almost everyone's attention, and he was glad. He hoped she would be utterly humiliated, and he thought she deserved it. "I'm not your little pawn, you skank. Next time you decide to sleep in after a night of partying and hooking up with guys, just admit it and don't make up petty excuses like that. I'm done with your bullcrap, so don't ever text me again." He got up in her face and snarled. "Try thinking of someone else for once. You and your brother can go to hell." He took his cold drink and poured it on her head, making a mess, completely soaking her, and ruining anything she had in her backpack. Dropping the cup, he walk away without another word.

Her grey eyes on the floor, Aurora began to shake. She knew she was late, she knew she had screwed up, and she was complexly willing to make up for it. Kevin's response caught her completely off guard, and she was so shocked that she couldn't respond as he berated her and scolded her like a child. At first, she had tried to be understanding. She would be angry herself if someone had made her wait an hour before showing up, but her patience began to run out when he started insulting her. She could take a lot, as she had learned over the years, but the way he described her managed to push just the right buttons.

It was partly due to her new school. After being there for a month and often missing days after bigs parties, rumors had began to spread about her. Some guys and girls adored her, thinking she was some kind of seductive goddess, while most just called her a whore. Despite none being able to prove she was at any of these parties, she had earned a terrible name. It didn't bother her very much, since the most people did was whisper or call her names. She knew the real reason she had been missing so many days was because she had to go to the doctor often, and her brother wouldn't let her go to school when he wasn't there. Of course her classmates would never believe her, so she didn't try to defend herself.

Kevin's words struck a sensitive nerve, and anger welled up in her slowly. Her brother had always taught her to control her anger, for she often hurt other when she was angry, the reason for most of their moves. She had gotten very good at it, but now and then something would be able to break through her wall and drive her mad. She quietly fumed as she stood in the coffee shop, soaked. Whispers filled her mind as she dug her nails into her palms. They spoke of revenge and destruction, of pain and fear. Trying her best to push the feeling down, she began to shake. Most eyes had turned away at this time, but some remained. Any one of those lucky enough to have a view of her eyes would have seen a bright crimson slowly overtaking the grey of her irises. Unable to force down the rage anymore, Aurora let go.

A soft laugh emanated from her as she raised her hands and looked at them. "Finally, its been too long." She looked up and around, sensing the presence of some other supernatural beings. Chuckling, she stretched out her arms and cracked her fingers backwards. "Lets give them a show, shall we?" A light flashed around her, making most of the patrons jump and look over. The blob of vermillion shine began to grow and shift, becoming long and tall. It vanished with a loud snap, and instead of a beautiful girl, a creature from nightmares sat in her place. With a long red tail and sharp claws, the half-snake, half-girl hissed with laughter. Her tail slapped against the ground as fire formed in formed in her hands. "HAHA! I have time... Who wants to die first?" People screamed in terror and tried to find cover. Though she felt more drawn to the seraphim and the fiend, she couldn't help but desire a bit of extra bloodshed.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

While xe had been staring out the window, the commotion had caught his attention and his violet gaze turned down to the table to hear the exchange better. A mechanical pencil lay to the left of a partially filled in notebook where the young man had left it when their attention had been drawn out to the sidewalk. The two sounded familiar but he could not quite place where he had heard their voices before. They were causing quite a ruckus. At the point in which the young man had dumped water on the fiery-haired young woman's head, even xe could not continue to ignore what was happening. Her attention turned to her neglected schoolwork as well. It was no strain to listen in on the spat.

"Do you recognise their voices?" he asked, scrawling something in cursive more elegant than his face would have suggested. "They sound familiar but I'm not sure where." He turned the page of his notebook as though they were studying, a look of careful disinterest on his face, ears pricked for any developments.

"It sounds like that new transfer," xe replied. "She came just last month. I've heard that she's quite the troublemaker but it is none of my concern." Xe followed suit, scrawling something in a much messier than was befitting her angelic countenance. Xe suddenly turned xer head to face the young woman who had begun to shake with embarrassment? Rage? There was something wrong, as though the air had stilled in the moments before a storm. The tension was quickly broken when the woman erupted into a red light, transforming into a great beast.

There was something very foreboding about this whole scenario. Xe jumped to her feet with xer companion soon to follow, attention drawn by the long reptilian form slamming into the ground. He processed the situation before him in record time. Usually, their missions were in areas that had already been cleared beforehand. A setting devoid of mundane witnesses made things much easier for them to move; however, it could not be helped. Without any sort of communication, the two sprung into action.

Xe began whispering, hand held before xer lips as xe began the incantation. The casting took mere moments to finish and upon the completion, there was a scream from somewhere else in the room. "Run!" came the shriek that could not have possibly come from the corner of that room. None of the mundanes had noticed, that the scream appeared to have been summoned from a ghost or a projection of sound that had come from the shop next door.

There was something about the scream that had been produced that caused the mundanes to begin scattering, attempting to make their way to the exit, past the beast that had come into being before their eyes. He jumped on top of a table to get a more convenient terrain upon which to fight. Weaving between the tables would have been a severe handicap in any sort of confrontation. He had taken the left side of the room and xe had taken the right in hopes of cornering the beast. This was much more exciting than the two had encountered in their short lives. As thrilling as it was, there was a sense that the stakes were much higher than anything they had faced up until this point.

A sound like the tweeting of a bird could be heard echoing throughout the second floor of the cafe. Xe clapped her hands together and when they were pulled apart once again, there were chains of what appeared to be pure light suspended between xer hands. He followed suit and in his hands were chains made of pure shadows that appeared to draw light into them. It created quite the sight, a gradient from light to dark between the two sides of the room. The two readied for the snake-woman to make the first move.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

Her tongue flocked out of her mouth life a normal snake’s, catching the fear of the people mingling with the scent of coffee. Laughing with madness, her long tail curled across the stairs, trapping the humans in the upper level. She ran her hands through her hair and laughed at them. “Come now sweets... I’m hungry...” She hissed and was about to lunge when she noticed the boy and girl step up. She narrowed her bright eyes and saw them casting a spell.

Cursing, she tried to recall spells from her past, but she had been trapped within Aurora for too long. A shout came from thin air, scaring the humans into a flight of terror. She pulled her tail out of the way, hissing angrily. “You took away my snacks!! How dare you!?” Pulling herself up to a great height; she towered over the two as they prepared themselves for battle, chains of opposite colors appearing in their hands.

Eyeing them, her tail curled in and out. Though she held great power, she would have to be careful. Her magic skill were lacking at the moment, unlike the two before her. She had a physical advantage over them, and she assumed they were friends, so she would have to use that. Quickly forming a plan, she laughed and turned her eyes to the boy. It had been a while since she tried to control a human with her gaze, but it was worth a shot. “Oh little one... aren’t you tired of following this other around? Don’t you see the beauty before you? Why don’t you come to me and I’ll turn you into a man...” She purred, running her hands along the red designs on her skin.

Despite being monstrous, she was quite beautiful. The crimson colors contrasted agaisnst her pale skin with grace, the designs only accenting her bust and muscles arms. The ram-like horns on her head made her look mysterious and therefore intriguing. Depending on the fortitude of the boy, her weak attempt at hypnosis might work.

Meanwhile, she kept glancing toward the girl, her tail making its way on the other side of her body. If she attacked, Aurora would be ready to grabbed her with her tail, then slowly squeeze the life from her. Thinking of her bones snapping and blood spilling from the girl’s nose and mouth made her shiver with delight. She just loved a blood bath.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

As the creature reared up to her full height, a feeling of fear ran through xer bones. Perhaps it was that subconscious avian quality about xer that warned about the predator xe faced. Xer muscles tensed as though xe were about to take flight and flee the scene but xe could not do something so irresponsible. It was like a sparrow staring up at a gigantic constrictor, with every muscle telling xer that this dangerous creature could not be taken on alone. Luckily, xe was not alone. When the creature turned away, xer body relaxed ever so slightly. But as she turned to face xer partner, something seemed wrong.

Although he felt the same tension in the air and the need to flee, something else kept him in his place. Perhaps it was because herons were large birds with fewer predators, or perhaps it was her form that was keeping his fears at bay. Her form was almost entrancing and he shivered as his mind seemed to fight itself for an instant. They had never interacted with a creature that was able to daze an enemy and so he had no idea what this feeling was that he was experiencing; however, seeing his partner on the opposite side of the great red beast seemed to pull his momentarily distracted mind back and he was on guard once more, body tensed and ready to try to ensnare the beast. It was not love that he felt toward xer, more like a mutual respect as a partner on equal footing. Although, perhaps she was slightly higher given that she had a years' worth of experience more than he. What they would do with the creature once she had been apprehended was an issue for later. For now, they had to prevent as much damage as they could.

As little damage as possible was damage all the same. Xe noticed his moment of hesitation and although he snapped out of the short trance, xe still decided to act, in case he was caught in a trap. While xe had not experienced the effects, she could detect that there was something amiss. Xe flexed her fingers, opening and closing a fist twice, preparing for what would come next. Xe rammed xer fist into a nearby table, breaking the top in half. The flimsy legs splayed like a newborn fawn falling to the ground. With xer monstrous strength, xe broke off one of the legs, wielding the thing like a club. One end of the chains of light clattered to the floor as xe stooped to gather the table leg. The other end of the chain was still attached to xer arm, as though it were some sort of mutant appendage that had sprouted from xer wrist.

While a battle of brute force was not in their best interested, with xer unique ability, the scale became more balanced. Xe would be able to smash the beast's tail with enhanced strength, the sort of strength that an athlete smashing something with a solid lead rod would have had. An almost undetectable light surrounded xer arm and the chair leg xe carried with xer that only a practised eye would be able to see. It indicated to him that xe had applied xer powers to both xer arm and that which xe carried with xer, ready for an assault. Hopefully, xer avian weight would not pose a problem, although it had not in the past.

Having shaken off the trance, he began another spell that, once again, sounded like the call of a bird; although, this one sounded much less elegant than the songbird's voice from the previous spell. It had more of a squawking quality to it. The end of the chain turned to a dagger and he threw it with inhuman force, aimed at the serpent's right shoulder. There was certainly enough room to dodge for one with good reflexes.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She felt her grip on him grow, and she thought she had him. “Come here little one... come here...” She purred to him sweetly, until his gaze broke away from her. Hissing, she whipped her tail back and forth as he regained focus of the real word. I’ll have to work on that. These two don’t seem too strong, I should be able to escape after a small fight.

The snapping of wood caught her ear, and she turned to see the girl breaking a table top. Tilting her head, she watched as the girl’s chains dropped to the ground beside her, the legs of the table a weapon in her hands. The chains seemed attached to her body. This would make it harder for Aurora. She had thought they would have to focus to keep the chains present, but it seemed continuously existing without much effort on their part. The girl cast a spell of some sort of the table leg, making it very faintly glow.

A bird call made her turn quickly. She caught the weapon thrown at her and hissed. “How dare you!!” She broke it in two, lunging at him. She caught him by the shoulders and dug her claws into his skin, then, before she could react, whipped the girl’s weapons from her hand. The tip of her tail wrapped around her wrists as pulled her to the ground.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

While the dagger attached to the chain was not the important part of the action, he had to admit that it would have been nice if she had simply dodged it and allowed it to lodge itself in the ceiling. Alas, things never go to plan. The discarded dagger mended itself silently and then drove itself into the rafters above, seemingly defying gravity or acting as though it were continuing its action before it had been rudely interrupted. The chain attached to his right hand detached itself and he threw it up over to the beast's left this time just as he was caught in her monstrous claws.

The dark material wove its way around her neck twice with speed that was almost impossible to follow and then joined its other end in the ceiling, pulling tight. In the tussle, he could feel that his right shoulder had been dislocated. This day was full of new experiences. He had underestimated the weight of his opponent, or perhaps he had overestimated his own. Either way, all he could do was squirm like a small bird trapped in the coils of a snake, feeling his hollow bones protest the pressure being applied. Although sturdier than he appeared; he still had the rough build of a bird.

Xe, too, was much lighter than xe looked and was pulled much further than the snake woman had intended and slamming into a table. With the sound of another table groaning under the added weight was the faint crackle of bones fragmenting. Much quicker to recover than xer partner, xe used fortified strength to free xerself from xer bonds and drive a sharp elbow into the red, scaly tail. At least xe had a similar satisfaction in feeling the bones give way underneath a move that felt like driving a sledgehammer into a nail poised over the reptilian appendage.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She found that crushing the boy was much easier than she expected, his body much lighter and his bones very weak. A quick idea of him having a bird form crossed her mind before the chains wrapped around her neck. Her strong arms pulled tighter around his body and she hissed. "You had better remove these before you get hurt boy!" She couldn't spit out anymore words as the dark chains began to choke her, cutting off her air supply. Holding her breath, she managed to hang onto the boy for a bit longer before she was forced to let go. Throwing him down the stairs, she brought her hands to her neck and pulled at the chains.

The two were more than she had expected, in almost everyway. She didn't expect them to be prepared, let alone very skilled. The girl seemed stronger than the boy, more level-headed and the leader of the two. They worked together well, without having to use any verbal communication. Both had strong magic, which Aurora hadn't thought of. The chains were thicker and harder to pull than she had thought, making the process difficult. If they were on a similar level of skill, the girl's chains would be the same, and this fight would be much, much harder. The snake woman had very little magic after being trapped for so long inside of a human body, so her abilities did not match her great intellect. Maybe if she had even had a few minutes of preparation, she could have recalled a trapping spell or something of that sort, but she had jumped into the fight without a second thought. Sometimes she hated how quickly she got excited.

She had just managed to break free of the chains when a sharp cracking sound made her yip. Turning around with her hands still on the chains, she saw that the girl had brought her elbow down hard on her tail, breaking it. She glanced back at the boy, who was still recovering, before she jumped onto the girl. She had underestimated the strength and weight of this one, along with their magic, but she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Her hands closed around her neck, lifting her up. She curled her wounded tail closer to her body to protect it while she shook the seraphim. The chains were still tightening around her own neck, and she hoped the girl's friend would try to pull the chains away in order to restrain her in a different manner.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

His bones strained to stay intact as the pressure increased. He gritted his teeth as his left hand tightened into a fist, simultaneously tightening the light-absorbing chains about her throat. At the moment, it appeared that their goal was simply to apprehend this demonic woman; however, were things to make a turn for the worse, they would have to fight to the death. A drawn-out battle was less than optimal but they had been fairly conservative in their spellcasting thus far. Still, it would be better to finish things as soon as possible.

He was snapped from his thoughts when he was tossed aside by the great serpent and sent tumbling down the stairs. Each time rolled over his dislocated shoulder, it protested rather loudly with sharp jolts of pain running all the way to his fingertips. There was a delay before he could finally push himself to his feet, unaccustomed to this sort of pain in a battle. He continued tightening his fist and pulling the chains higher into the ceiling such that soon the creature would be dangling from the rafters, as he could not see the developments in the battle upstairs. He did not have the same strength that his partner possessed and because of that, he was less inclined to take on a vanguard role, instead, he acted as a support.

Although she had broken through the chains, he just called forth the energy required to extend and repair them, returning her to a bound state and things were once again even, or as even as things could be. Their powers felt roughly equal in the moment and hopefully, they would be able to break the stalemate. He considered undergoing a partial transformation, but the amount of time it would consume did not seem worth given the fast pace of the battle.

While xe had not let xer guard down, xe was still caught by surprise when the red creature clasped her monstrous hands about xer neck. On reflex, xer hands went to claw at the hands that attempted to choke xer but aftr the instant in which her body moved on its own, xe changed her method and pushed outward against the red beast's forearm, palm and arm reinforced to apply enough pressure to cause one hand to release. In that moment, xe threw one end of the chain hanging from xer hand and wrapped it about the demon's wrist before throwing the other end into the wall behind, pulling her arm behind her.

He dashed up the stairs as well as his battered body would allow. The sound of a dove calling could be heard echoing throughout the shop and then the temperature in the room dropped drastically. As he reached the top of the staircase, his shallow breaths were already coming in condensed puffs of white.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She attempted to strangle the girl, pulling against the chains. Of course the first time she had returned in years, she would be greeted by two powerful beings who sought to protect the pathetic humans. It was just her luck to return without any power and be stopped out immediately. She wouldn’t go down easily though. Her nails pierced the girl’s neck. Her throat would have been cut open had she not managed to hit away one of her hands.

Aurora’s eyes followed the chains and she pulled as hard as she could, trying to release herself form this new pair of chains. Her entire body was yanked back a bit, but she kept a firm grip on the girl’s neck. “You... little... brat...” She hissed through labored breaths, bringing her close and biting into her shoulder. Her venom was quickly into the girl, but she ripped her fangs away when the room froze.

She curled her tail closer to her body and looked around for the boy. Surely her throw had knocked him out? These kids were much tougher than she had first thought. She finally saw him and smiled darkly. Painfully unwrapping her tail, she snatched him by the ankle and pulled him to the floor. Before he could attack her again, she beat him against the floor twice, growling. She felt some of her broken bones snap more, and she retracted her tail. If she survived this fight, she’d have to remember some of her old healing spells.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

He witnessed the savage fangs rip into the shoulder of his partner and blood dripping from her neck. It did not appear to have severed any major veins or arteries, but a complication like blood loss or venom was a detriment to their progress. It appeared that the two of them were doing better than the beast before them; although, it was two against one, so how could they not win? He exhaled a deep breath that appeared to be simple white condensation just like it had been prior, but it dropped the temperature in the room even further. He hoped that her reptilian physiology would succumb to the cold and it would slow her movements; unfortunately, that did not happen before his feet were wrenched from beneath him and used to smack him about. Apparently, although her form was distinctly snake-like, her movements were not restricted as such, for there were no snakes that would be able to balance upright and still have the leverage to fling its prey about, merely to detain and constrict.

He could feel his bones fracture and a few ribs outright broke under the stress of the impacts with the floor. While there were no direct injuries to his organs, he could feel lacerations to his circulatory system as shards of bones lodged themselves in nearby tissue. His ears were ringing and he was seeing stars, darkness creeping in at the edges of his vision as his body wanted to give up. Unfortunately, his mind was not going to allow him to succumb just yet. Why was it that he felt this misplaced sense of justice, the need to protect the Mundane from beasts that they were unaware of? This doubt would be easy enough to resign to. If he just left the monster to devour nearby Mundanes, would he not then have an escape? He relinquished these thoughts. By this point in the battle, things had gotten a bit more personal. He pulled the chains tighter, hoping that he might be able to choke her out before she could do any more damage and before he might actually be forced to kill her.

Xe could feel the sting of poison as it slowly spread from the point of injection and in response, clasped xer hands together and raised them above the arm that held xer so tightly and proceeded to bring the fists down on the forearm near the elbow while simultaneously bringing her knee up to the forearm near the wrist. There were another two satisfying snaps. When xe spread xer hands apart once again, there appeared in them a golden chain similar to the one that tethered her to the wall. It wrapped itself about the demonic wrist tightly and went to join its twin, creating a binding pair of manacles.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

The room grew colder and she shivered. Though her body was different than a real snake’s, she did carry some of its weaknesses. The harsh temperature slowly crept into her body, making her feel heavy. She turned back to her chained hand, saying something under her breath. A small flame appeared and began to travel along her arm. She sighed in relief as it reached her shoulder.

As the flame danced along her skin, she turned back to the girl. Her moment of distraction had been enough for her though, and the girl had taken advantage of it. The snake woman screeched as her arm snapped, then was trapped behind her back. The flame vanished and she was once more returned to a frigid state. She looked down at the girl and hissed. “You won’t last very long girl... I suggest turning your effort away from this chain and more toward yourself.” She licked the blood from her fangs, knowing the poison would reach the girl’s heart in mere minutes.

She felt very satisfied with the damage she had dealt, but there was still the matter of escaping. Contorting her body, she turned back to the chains of the girl. She would first have to get rid of those before she could do anything else. As she did so, however, the chains around her neck suddenly tightened. Surprised, her tail wriggled and writhed. She choked, trying to escape their tight grip.

Finally seeing she had played a bad hand in this fight, the snake woman gave up. “Well... at least... this was fun...” She coughed, her tongue slipping form her mouth and around the chains. Her tongue caught fire and the chains of the boy broke, letting her collapse on the ground. She shivered continuously, her arms behind her. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and smiled. “Say hi... to Aurora for me... when she wakes up...” She passed out, her body temperature drastically dropping.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

Before relaxing, he cast two spells of binding on the snake creature, one about her waist and the other, her neck. Two rings of darkness appeared and encircled her neck and midriff, hovering above the skin. They seemed benign enough until seven blades came to join each of them. The blades pierced the rings, stopping just short of breaking the skin. If she were to reawaken, his ability would allow him to drive all fourteen into the scaly flesh. He coughed multiple times, blood splattering to the ground in front of him, but he had not the time to worry about all of the damage done to himself. The injury his partner received was a larger bigger concern.

Although his body protested the quick movements, he pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to his partner. Xer already pale complexion had become sickly and he could see that the poison had already begun to spread. Before he could have any shame, he pulled xer shirt away from the wound, exposing her shoulder, and began to suck it, drawing out as much of the venom as he could within a short period of time before spitting it onto the ground. The green seemed to fade but xe could still feel the stinging as xer heart pumped the substance ever closer. Already xer hands were tingling, as though low voltage electricity was running through xer fingertips.

"Do you think you can manage an exchange spell? I'm going to need your stamina in order to do what I'm about to do," xe inquired, keeping xer voice from shaking as best xe could. He nodded shakily and it was at this moment that the difference between the two was the most apparent. Xe was calm and collected even at dire times such as this one and ye could still be shaken by the thought of being on death's door. "You will have to begin the incantation first," xe prompted. "Once this is finished, you are going to need to contact the Council as well," xe continued. It appeared as though this spell would take quite a lot of energy from the both of them but xe would be in no state to contact the Council and so the responsibility would fall to him.

He took a deep breath and began the spell, this time it sounded like the melody of a songbird. Once he had started, xe began a spell using words; although, they could not be made out over the sounds of his spell. Xe closed xer eyes and felt around in xer circulatory system to find all of the molecules of poison that were still floating about. Xe pulled them out with xer magic and tainted blood surged from xer injury. While xe had lost quite a lot of blood, it was the only spell xe knew of that would solve the problem. Darkness crept in from xer periphery and engulfed xer vision before xe collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

He finished his casting as well, head light from the exertion. He scrawled a message on a napkin in his own blood and then blew on it. The flimsy paper folded itself into a bird and flew off at an incredible speed. It would arrive at the building and fly around until someone opened it and read the message. We're at Buckstars and need assistance. Apprehended something but can't transport her. He relaxed the chill of the room but kept it below a pleasant temperature. It would not kill her but hopefully would control her speed, were she to revive. He cradled his partner's head. The spell released earlier had cleared all of the mundanes from the building and put a ward on the place to deter them from entering. A simple perception filter had changed their memory of a giant snake woman to some anonymous but very human serial killer.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

It was a good while before Aurora awoke. Her eyes were tired, and she seems confused. Looking around her, she frowned. The Buckstars was empty, no people in it all all. Tables were broken and chairs had been thrown left and right. Blood splattered the floor. The only living thing she could find was a young man sitting on the floor, a young woman in his lap. She tilted her head, watching them.

She pulled her head back upright as a sharp pain stung her neck. She looked down, seeing a ring with sharp points in it close to her body. Turned her head carefully, she saw chains on her wrist as well. She gasped suddenly, looking back down. Curled around where her legs should have been was a long, scaly tail. Though beautiful and powerful, Aurora was terrified to find that it was connected to her torso. A miniature panic attack racked her body and she struggled to breath, stay still, and not pierce herself on the blades.

When she managed to calm down, she looked over herself one more time. She noticed her frosty breath, she frowned. How wa sit so cold inside? She wasn’t sure, but it made her feel sick. The numb, heavy feeling hanging over her body had distracted her from noticing, but now she felt all her wounds. Her tail was flat near the end, her arm contorted in a disgusting manner. She could taste blood dripping down from her nose, and a slight tilt of her neck cause pain, probably from bruises. On top of it all, the cold air felt like sharp needles, threatening to pierce her heart.

Gritting her teeth from pain, she looked over to the boy. “H-hello? C-can you help me? What happened? W-why am I l-like this?” She wouldn’t notice, but the voice the boy heard was exactly the same as the previous voice. The only difference was the tone behind it. The voice of the monster that had thrown him around like a doll was strong, angry, and confident, while this was sweet, scared, and confused. The girl shivered, then gasped in pain. “Agh... I think my arm is broke... it’s hard to breathe...” She mumbled before he responded.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

He looked over at his bound charge, eyes narrowed. As much as he wanted to just ram all of the blades poised over her soft flesh in, they were a security measure and nothing more. He would only activate the spell if she made any sudden movements. The first seven would penetrate her abdomen and if she refused to behave the next would go into her neck. The fingers on his hand twitched with anticipation and one of the daggers pulled through the ring just a little more, enough to prod the red beast while the rest remained sheathed in their ring. He wished that he had the same composure his partner had, but alas, he was less mature.

"Of course it's broken," he retorted sharply. "What did you expect would happen?" he grumbled, turning back to the seraph whose head he cradled. Although he had not noticed in the heat of the moment, his black shirt was quickly soaking with warm liquid, turning cold in the ambient chill and sticking to his body like a wet towel. Although his cold tolerance was higher than most from his experience flying in the stratosphere, it was uncomfortable all the same. Luckily, the fabric of his shirt did not show the extent of his injuries. Xer white blouse, on the other hand, was spotted with red, with a nice large stain below her shoulder, where the poison had been purged from her veins. It was terrifying knowing that such a beast was here, right under their noses and they had not even noticed its presence. One misstep and they could have ended up dead. He suppressed a shudder, refusing to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had done not only physical but also psychological damage.

And what was with that change in tone? Was she really planning to try and trick him a second time? The first, he had not been expecting an assault on his conscious but now, he rejected her words completely, taking her to be a liar trying to play on his emotions. What a sick joke all of this was. He was waiting for a response from one of the higher-ups, someone who might help solve the problem that he currently faced. It could be a divinity or a sorcerer, he did not care, just someone who might know what was going on. Sure, he had been in this world for years already but now he felt helpless, like a fledgeling peering out over the edge of a nest high in the trees.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

The anger in the boy’s eyes troubled her, their hateful and wary gaze locked on her as if she was some sort of enemy. Maybe it was her appearance. She too would be fearful of a half-snake girl, though she wasn’t compeltely sure if that’s what she was. His piercing stare was accompanied by a sharp prick, and she looked down. One of the daggers in the ring around her torso had moved close enough to break the skin.

Now, Aurora wasn’t a wimp, but she knew when a battle was lost. Whoever this boy was, he did not like her, and he was somehow in control of this thing around her. “P-please! Don’t hurt me... I don’t kn-know what happened here.” He seems to ignore her words as he turned back to the girl in lap. He seemed very concerned about he, and she saw why. The girl’s shirt was stained with red, What she could only assume was blood.

She flinched when he snapped at her mumbles, surprised at his genuine hatred. What had she done? The last thing she remembered, she was struggling to control her anger... Her eyes widened. Of course. Whenever she got angry, she blacked out and ended up hurting someone. Her brother had always been there to help though. She wished he was here, because unlike the other times, she had never woken up with serious injuries and as a snake woman.

“Please, I don’t understand what’s happening. Why am I like this?”

“Because sweetie, you were born this way.” The smooth voice of a man followed her question. Looking to the stairs, she found its owner. A tall man with spiky hair, a pink trench coat, and sunglasses walked over. He squatted in front of Aurora and whistled in admiration. “Beautiful.” He took off his glasses, shocking her with a bright magenta eye and one compeltely white one. He rubbed the black stubble on his chin and turned around.

“Alright what do we have over here?” He knelt by the boy and the girl.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

As hard as it was, he resisted the urge to drive the blade of shadows into her side, despite the itch in his fingers to pull one just a little closer to her internal organs. What did she take him for? Some kind of fool? He gritted his teeth, biting back the retort that came to his lips. What good would it do anyone to shed more blood? As difficult as it was, he swallowed the scathing words that he was about to spit at her, instead, turning to the seraph. Although he was capable of a wide range of magical techniques, healing was not one that he was particularly well-versed in. He had managed to somehow stanch the bleeding but with his abilities, anything more would be quite costly.

His attention was drawn when a strange man entered the dishevelled room. The Council certainly took their sweet time in sending a representative to deal with the situation. In addition to that, it appeared that he was a sorcerer, not a divinity, not that the young man had anything against sorcerers, it was simply that he had very little experience working with them. This one seemed especially eccentric based upon his appearance.

"We managed to clear out the Mundanes before there were any casualties. The perception filter seems to have been effective enough; however, I believe that it might have weakened. It wasn't my spell." He bit his lip, feeling the stinging pain of his own failure. Dark thoughts crept at the back of his mind. What if things had not gone to plan? What if he had been too late? What if xe had died? "The first order of business would probably be to return everything to their rightful place. I have been a bit preoccupied and couldn't put a spell together to fix the interior."

Although xe was in his lap, he didn't want to talk about xer, as though ignoring her condition would free him of his self-imposed responsibility. He was not sure whether sorcerers obeyed similar protocol, but divinities usually made the first order of business to evacuate the scene of the incident and clean up any signs of violent activity. Only then were they allowed to focus on their own status.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

He snorted at the boy’s words. “First order of business? Kid she’s dying from the poison. I don’t care how much you managed to suck out of her neck, I can practically see her heart failing.” He waved his hand in the air, a few cards appearing. “Let’s get this fixed up, okay Jack? Play nice.” He threw the cards at his feet, stepping back. When they hit the floor, a poof of pinks parks appeared. From it emerged a fairie of sorts, her pink eyes like burning coals. She looked around curiously for a moment, swinging her antlers to and fro. Her eyes landed on Aurora and she hissed.

Aurora gasped and closed her eyes as the being leapt at her. “BlackJack!!” She stopped short a few inches, just in front of her face. She turned and opened her eyes, their noses almost touching. The fairie whispered something angrily, then turned away and walked back to the other girl. Aurora’s heart beats fast in her chest, and her tail curled up tighter instinctively.

Returning to the wounded girl, the pale-skinned creature lifted her into her own lap, sitting beside the boy. Placing two fingers on her head, she began to sing softly. The man patted the boy’s head. “Don’t worry, you’re next. Now let me take care of this place.” He waved his hands in the air, design appearing with a shimmery glow. After a few strokes of his finger, a circle of ancient tunes was made. He flicked it with his finger, and everything in the room glowed. He sat down as things began fixing themselves.

Watching with awe and terror, Aurora was extremeky baffled. Her family had always told her magic didn’t exist. That it was impossible. But now she was watching it happen right in form of her eyes. She looked like a small child seeing a butterfly for the first time as the room became spotless and brand new. At the very same time, the fairy creature smiled. She cooed at the man. He turned back and smiled. “Okay boy. Your turn. Just let her touch your forehead. But no eye contact... she gets upset easily.”

“What’s HAPPENING?!” Aurora finally shouted, shocked and confused.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"You don't have to worry about that. We did a forced purge," he replied. "Xe's not in any immediate danger. There is some slight anaemia from the purge possibly residual shock from fractured bones but aside from that, it's nothing serious. Xe's strong." Much stronger than I am, at least, he thought bitterly to himself, cursing his own weakness.

Realistically, he was in much worse shape than she was, with several cleanly snapped ribs and a dislocated shoulder. God knows how much internal damage there was. He had been subconsciously numbing the pain by lowering the ambient air temperature. At least he had good endurance in a variety of skills including tolerating pain. His black shirt was thoroughly soaked to the point that the colour could have been a maroon-tinged black as opposed to being simply black. Although the sorcerer had come to help them fix the problem and apprehend the criminal, the young man was quite hesitant to release the restraints that held the creature in its place.

There was a definite surprise in his eyes when he saw the summoned being. She was a strange creature, stranger than anything he had ever seen before, the serpent-hybrid aside. Divinities were not the type to summon familiars and he had spent the majority of his existence interacting with either Mundanes or Divinities. Although he managed to keep his facial expression neutral, there was a glint of interest in his violet eyes. The young man swatted away the older man's condescending gesture awkwardly with his right hand, avoiding moving his injured shoulder as best he could.

Xer pained breathing relaxed as the bone fragments returned to their rightful places and the tears in the tissue walls were repaired. It was almost as though the fight had never happened and she had not been bludgeoned by a giant snake woman. He couldn't help but be amazed by the skill of the creature before him; although, there was also a hint of a threat in her presence, as though she would beat him just as much as the red beast had done minutes prior. He averted his gaze, wincing as he felt her approach him. There was nothing to fear about this strange loose cannon of a creature, right?

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

“Oh you did? You kids are pretty smart.” He smiled at them, then walked over and back in front of Aurora, his hands behind him on the ground. He didn’t say anything, simply smiling at her. She coughed, shivering in the cold. The man didn’t seem to mind the low temperature, nor did his familiar. She averted her gaze and stared away. She didn’t like the way he was looking at her, as if she was some kind of party trick.

Meanwhile the familiar approached the boy, gently pulling him close. Sitting him in her lap, though she wasn’t much bigger than him, she put her hand to his forehead and began to sing softly again. Her glowing eyes looked to his now and then, maybe trying to see if he would return her gaze or not.

“So... what do you want?” Aurora was surprised to hear the man speak to her. He had been sitting there quite a while. She turned back to him and breathed in heavily.

“Can I go home?” She flinched as he laughed at her, a hearty, deep laugh. Removing his sunglasses, he stood up and walked toward her side. He snatched the tip of her tail and examined it. She couldn’t move it anyways, but she froze. He seemed so calm, so collected yet and the same time wild and unpredictable. She screamed when he suddenly snapped the tip of her tail, breaking some bones between the two of his hands. Looking up at him, she gulped. His sunglasses were down, his pink eye and his white eye looking to her’s with no sign of sympathy.

“I asked you a question. I expect a real answer.” Aurora looked down, shaking her head.

“If I knew I would tell you!! I would!! But I have no idea how this is happening and... and...” She leaned back, trying not to cry. She wa scoring her best to keep her composure, but it was difficult. He scoffed at her, dropping her tail.

“I can’t believe this. You really are just some kid right now huh? Do you even realize what you are?” He walked over and hit in her face. She shook her head, tears forming. He growled at her, about to say something when a purr stopped him. He looked up. His familiar had finished healing the boy. She stood, walking over and stepping in between Aurora and the man. He sighed. “Yeah yeah BlackJack I get it. She’s just a kid right now... you tried to attack her too!” The family gave him a stern look. He rubbed his face. “I’m sorry kid.”

Aurora sat back, hiding her face behind her long hair and crying. Why did these bad things happen to her all the time?? She already had enough going on in her life.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

He exhaled the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding once the familiar left him. Despite the fact that she had been working her own magic, the binding spells that he had cast appeared to have held strong. The restraints were just as menacing as ever, pointed like fangs ready to crush their prey at any moment.

These sorcerer types were formidable, to say the least. The sound of bones cracking in the eccentric man's hands was enough to make the young man's blood run cold. It was done so casually that it was as though the middle-aged man held no regard for life, as though it was a simple flame that could be extinguished as he saw fit. Animal instincts told the young man that he needed to take his friend and flee the scene but some sort of sick rapture kept him rooted to the ground, awaiting the next move.

The scene unfolding before him looked to be a chess game of sorts but the interaction was quite one-sided, as though she was playing without a knight, bishop, or rook. As he stayed silent, observing the dialogue, he was learning more about the snake woman's predicament. It seemed as though there truly was a change between two personalities or something of that nature. This was the one who attended the same school that he and his partner did. Although curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back. He just hoped that this conversation would bring the satisfaction that he was anticipating.

His partner stirred, eyes blinking open slowly. While xe had been anticipated having already returned to the Nest, it was a relief on some level that they were still in the cafe and xe did not have to get a lecture from the old coot about making major mistakes in their battle. Xe sat up and felt around xer abdomen where there had been severe damage. There was nothing, no evidence that they had taken a beating from some unknown entity and had barely been able to detain her. Xe let loose a quiet sigh of relief before following xer partner's gaze and turning xer attention to the newcomer and the shackled beast. The tension in the air was almost palpable as the two divinities watched the conversation progress.

There was a sense of foreboding floating in the air and they dared not to move, as though a slight detraction of attention would somehow disrupt the balance of the room. They were out of their element and could only watch helplessly as the interrogation proceeded. Although initially, the man who had answered their scrawled call on a napkin had seemed to be a saviour of sorts, his image had been shattered when his actions had changed from delicate and paternal to that of an apathetic torturer. The young man could not keep his hands from quivering but xe put a reassuring hand over his and squeezed, reminding him that he was not alone.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

He turned back to the other, seeing the fear on their faces. “Awe not you guys too. It’s just the way I handle things. Really, I don’t act like that most of the time.” He looked back at the snake woman as she continued to cry quietly. “Oh no kid, don’t cry. I can fix your tail I-“ He was interrupted with a fierce smack to the face. He looked at his familiar, who was glaring at him.

She broke out in a different language, poking him in the chest and pointing at all the others. He retorted in the same language and that when on for a while, each of them making wild hand motions. Finally, the familiar snapped at him and he shut up. She turned to the others, then the snake girl. Throwing a hand up in the air in frustration, she stomped away. As she did, a puff of pink smoke appeared. She vanished into it.

His fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, he growled. “I hate when she does this...” He waved to the girl and boy. “Release the snake girl.” He seemed frustrated for some reason.

Aurora didn’t respond, tears still streaming down her face. While she was mostly crying because of her shock and pain, it was also getting very hard to breath. The low temperature of her body was slowly killing her. She leaned back against the wall and began to huff.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

He spread his fingers from his palm and opening up his hand slowly. As he did so, the rings expanded and the blades withdrew one by one before fading into nothingness like shadows when exposed to a bright light. And with that, the bindings that he had conjured were gone and the spell had been broken. As apprehensive as xe was xe, too broke the bonds restraining the creature, for the man before them seemed to be much more terrifying than the snake who they had restrained. In a motion opposite the one that he had performed, xe closed her fist and the chains broke in a magnificent show of dazzling light before fizzling out like fireworks.

Seeing as there was really nothing they could do, xe got to xer feet and extended a hand to him to help him up. Xe vaguely wondered whether they would have to file a report to the Nest or whether the man before her would simply present the case to the Council, which would cover two problems at once. Apparently, there was a new transfer to Santa Soleil from some far off branch who would be acting as a liaison between the sorcerers and the divinities and xe was rather looking forward to meeting whoever it was that would be.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

“Thanks. Now that-“ He looked over at Aurora as she slumped over, her body shaking. “Are you joking me??” He growled, walking over to her and kneeling. He put his hands on her back, his pink eye glowing. Aurora screamed, then her body was covered in a red smoke. Pulling away in pain, the man shook his hands out. “Shoot! What the heck, I’m trying to help you.”

The smoke slowly faded, and instead of a snake there was a young girl without any clothes. He frowned, snapping his fingers. White shorts and a T-shirt appeared on her. Both her leg and her arm were twisted at wrong angles, along with the ankle of the broken leg. Blood dropped from her nose. Now that the smoke was gone, he could resume healing her.

Within a few minutes, she was brand new, all her bones back in the right place and the blood gone from her face. He wrapped his hand around her neck for a moment, and when he pulled away there was a tattoo-like mark made of pink markings all around her neck.

He stood up and looked at the others. “You two know what happened here? Or did you come in after she transformed?” He nudged Aurora with his foot. She opened her eyes with a gasped, and immediately start shaking. Her eyes were pink now, like his. Standing quickly, she back away from them all in fear.