Fantasy Secret World: Chrestomanci & Cosmic Flare

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but there was some huge commotion. There was a spat of yelling and then she transformed into that thing," he replied carefully. "After that, she went after civilians, apparently she was quite interested in killing innocent Mundanes and took no heed of us until after the building had evacuated."

As much as he would have liked to gather his things, his clothing was still sticky with his own blood and the stains would be quite bothersome to clean. Sure, magic would be able to solve the problem in a jiff, but he preferred not to use magic to solve every little problem that crossed his path. It would be absolutely silly for him to be so reliant on a unique skill, for what would happen if it were to fail one day? There was also a sense of degradation of his being that came with the use of his magic; although, he was much less susceptible to this than others of his kind.

"It would appear that her intentions were to wipe out the entire floor and consume all of the mundanes, but I cannot be certain." Although the coalition had come to an agreement that Mundanes were not to be harmed, there were rogue individuals every now and again who thought that the world would be better off cleansed of the powerless creatures and this snake woman or perhaps her alter ego appeared to fall into that category, given her actions. Regardless of her motives, it was none of his business really. The council would pass their judgement on the criminal and the two divinities would return to their insipid lives, sprinkled with action every now and again. Classes would continue and the world would keep spinning on its axis, orbiting the sun in its established path.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

He listened with a frown, looking at Aurora. “Strange.” He walked over and took her face in his hands. She gasped, freezing up. He studied her carefully, then smiled. “You’re sweet aren’t you?” Aurora didn’t answer. He removed his hand and turned back to the others. “You are apart of a little group aren’t you? What do you call yourselves?”

Aurora pulled away, leaning against the wall. She held her shoulders and shook, both from fear and the cold. She looked them all over. The girl seemed better, as did the boy. His shirt was drenched in blood but his breathing was normal and he looked fine. The man acted casual, as if they ha dust been walking down the street. The fairie creature was gone. She looked around for it but could find nothing. Her heart beat sped up.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"My name is Darius, and this is Bellamy," the young man replied. "As you may know already, we are members of the Nest and we answer to the Council." Aside from the fact that sorcerers also worked with the Council, Darius did not know much more about them. They were magical beings of similar abilities, but aside from that, he knew not what they did on a daily basis nor how they served the council.

He turned his attention to the young woman shivering in the corner. "And what do you plan to do with her? Regardless of how you decide to deal with her, we must make our report to the Nest but it would aid us greatly if you would inform us as to your intentions." Although they did, indeed, answer to the council, their priority was the high divinity, being that he was the authority over their kind and the Council was a mere show of good faith that the Seraphim and Fiends were not planning any sort of uprising, nor would they stand against the sorcerers were there to be an upset in the careful balance of the races.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

“Darius and Bellamy. Alright. Well the thing is... I think she should come with you. She needs to be watched, and you all seem capable. Don’t worry, I’ll come back and collect her once I’m done reporting to the council. That brand on her neck should keep her from shifting. Other than that, she doesn’t seem like a threat. Do you have any questions?” He crossed his arms.

Standing up slowly, the girl looked around. I have to get out of here. While the man spoke, she slowly made her way to the stairs. She froze when the boy looked at her, then continued after he looked back to the man. She was about three steps down by the time someone noticed.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"Don't you find that to be a tad irresponsible? After all, you seem to know much more about her," Bellamy paused to find a word, "Condition than we do. In addition to that, we have no method of transporting her without drawing attention. Were we to detain her in the same manner that we had prior, it would be much too flashy. A moving perception filter is beyond what our current abilities would allow. And that also eliminates the other option of simply flying her back."

It was then that Darius noticed that their prisoner had slipped to the staircase and was attempting her escape. The short spell came in the form of a whistle of sorts and a thread of black shot out from the palm of his left hand, wrapping around her ankles. It was a subconscious choice to tie her ankles as opposed to simply grabbing her wrist.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

He shrugged. “You’re right, but this is a very important case. I don’t have time to take her with me, so I need you two to keep and eye on her. I have to report her to the council immediately, but you shouldn’t worry. She won’t be transforming or anything and she has no use of magic right now. She’s perfectly harmless.” He reached into his coat and took out a necklace. “Here’s an enchanted gem. It’ll keep you and whoever you’re touching hidden when you’re wearing it. You can can fly her back to your... Nest, and I’ll find you after my meeting.”

She fell over, hitting the ground. “Ow...” The man turned and looked back at her. “Kid, you’re not going anywhere. Sorry, but your little friend has a lot of explaining to do, and we can’t take her without you.” He walked over and put her in her feet. “Now you listen and obey everything these two say, or you’ll pass out from a lack of oxygen. Understood?” She shook her head fearfully.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"Very well," Bellamy replied, not one who was inclined to fight a losing battle when there was no need to. Xe tossed the necklace to Darius, who caught it with one hand. Without any sort of verbal communication, xer plan had been conveyed. "I'll contact someone later about gathering our things," xe informed xer partner.

Xe strode over to the terrified woman and coldly explained the plan. If anyone saw xer outside of school, they would not have recognised the apathetic student, used to seeing a bright young woman on campus grounds. "You will need to stay as still as you can while we transport you. If you struggle too much, it's quite possible that you could fall or be rammed into the side of a building. It might get a little chilly but nothing that will kill you. And please don't vomit, it will only make you and the pedestrians below you miserable." Xe turned back to the man. "I assume you will be taking your leave now?" Although xe was curious about the differing protocol between the divinities and sorcerers, it was mild interest and nothing xe could not wait for. The answers would come in time. The divinities had their superiors to report to before the Council but xe hand no idea what the sorcerer equivalent was or how they structured their community.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

“Thanks. That’s a great idea.” He smiled at them. Though these two divinities weren’t extremely qualified, he trusted them. If they had been able to defeat her serpent form by themslevesc they would be able to transport her to their Nest. At least there, around all the divinities, the serpent would be less tempted to come out. He didn’t know if the other side of the girl had enough power to break his spell, but he hoped it didn’t.

She looked up as the other girl came over, raising her arms across her face in defense. She normally wasn’t so cowardly, but these three had legitimate magic, and she had no way to combat that. She listened. “Wait what?! I could die!? That’s way too dangerous! I don’t want to do whatever that is!” She backed up again.

“Kid, just listen to her. Okay? Stay out of trouble I’ll be back for you later.” The man winked at her, then looked at the others. “Trusting you guys. I’ll find you at your Nest later today, or maybe tomorrow.” Suddenly, he vanished, not even giving them a chance to say goodbye.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

Xe sighed in exasperation. Xer perception of adults, or at least adult sorcerers had all come crashing down in one fell swoop. What an irresponsible and immature man he had been. He had just sauntered onto the scene, waved his fingers like some sort of cartoon character, and then shirked responsibility simply on a whim because they were good kids or some other absurd excuse. There was no use dwelling on xer frustrations with his absurdity, for now, they had a job.

Bellamy clasped xer hands together almost as though in prayer. A soft, wordless song could be heard echoing through the shop with no point of origin. "The preparations have been made," xe informed xer partner even as the song continued to flow through the air. The sickening sound of bones breaking could be heard and xer body began to reshape and contort, glowing with a harsh white light that could not be looked directly at for fear of burning one's retinas. Xer form shrunk and the blinding aura shattered, scattering as shards of white before fading into thin air. What was left in xer place was a large black bird with a colourful bill, instantly recognizable to virtually anyone. Xer form was much smaller than the young woman who had previously stood in the same place the bird now rested, adjusting its feathers.

Darius took a breath. There seemed to be more to the transformation process than met the eye. Once again the sound of bones breaking could be heard but the change to his form was much less drastic. Large white wings pierced through the back of his shirt, a slight tinge of red could be seen on the tips of graceful feathers. He was the picture of an angel with pure white wings, ironic considering he was born of the ill will of others rather than wishes, as was the case with his partner. He beat his wings twice, sending gusts of wind throughout the little shop, getting accustomed to the new form.

"There is no easy way to do this, so please bear with me. This will not be comfortable for any of us but like Bellamy stated earlier, if you struggle too much, there will be consequences." As he began instructing their charge, his partner had opened the window. "The conditions are not ideal, so I will need you to trust me." He held out a delicate hand that seemed much too thin to be able to support anything.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

Watching them, Aurora tilted her head. The whole situation confused her a great deal. She was also terrified. Why would he just leave if he’s in charge or something? He told me I wouldn’t be able to breath... should I try to escape anyways? She looked toward the stairs, looking back as a soft song filled the air. Her eyes sought the source of the music, but she couldn’t figure out where it came from.

Jumping, the crackling of bones made her cringe. She hated that noise. The girl in front of her began to change, her body shifting and reshaping. Horror filled her eyes, thinking she was witnessing some terrible spell gone-wrong. Instead, the girl had simply turned into a... toucan? Kneeling in front of her, her curiosity took over. “What? How is that possible? You turned into a bird?” She laughed in amazement. “That’s incredible. May I?” She was about to touch her, but more bone snapping sounds followed her request.

Turning, she saw that the boy now was changing. They’re both birds? I’m so confused. Is that man a bird too? She sat back on her legs and watched glorious wings appear of his back. When he spoke, she jumped. He looked like an angel...

“I don’t know if I trust you two. You looked like you wanted to kill me earlier... and I think I hurt you two, even though I don’t remember it. You must be mad at me.” She held her hands together, looking between them. “Is there a way I could just... walk there?”

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

The bird clicked its beak in annoyance at the young woman who attempted to touch xer. Xe wasn't some sort of freak or roadside attraction. Xe had never experienced this sort of annoyance before, having always kept xer mundane life separate from xer private life. As strange as it was to see a toucan flying out of the window of a Buckstars, it would have been even more so to see an angelic figure leaping into the air and taking off, carrying some strange, invisible burden. It would be much more awkward to support the girl between the two of them, so Bellamy had cast a fortification spell on Darius to aid his flight with the added weight.

"While I would love to repay you in kind," he began, "Orders from those of higher rank take priority. I'm sure you noticed that the man earlier is not one to be disobeyed. Even if I had no ethics to speak of, I would not want to challenge him." Darius extended his hand. "If you cooperate, no harm will come to you. There is no way to reach our destination without flight and seeing as you don't have the necessary equipment for it, you will have to bear with me. I am just about as excited as you are about this whole procedure." By his calculations, it should be about ten minutes until they reached the Bird Cage and then another two in order to overcome the barrier and make their way to the Nest. It was all so bothersome but it would be too uneven to try and split the load between the two of them and he was the bigger of the two.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She flinched as he declared his outright hatred of her, even his willingness to hurt her. She looked down and closed her eyes. What had she done? How could she even hurt so many people when she didn’t remember a thing? More questions like these ran through her mind, and she couldn’t answer a single one of them. He said something about the man earlier and she sighed.

The man was so mysterious and strange. He had come out of nowhere, brought a fairy of some sort, broke one of her bones, threatened her, branded her, then left. She rubbed her hand on her neck. She could feel what he had called an enchantment, the strange twists and turns laying over her skin like a thin sticker. She scratched at it, but it didn’t do a thing. She sighed and held her shoulders. Why her?

She sighed, walking over to him. “I’m sorry for what I did. I really am. I don’t know who you’re talking about, but whatever hurt you, it wasn’t the real me. I’m really sorry.” Her face was down. She hated to hurt people, and she tried to avoid violence whenever possible. She could defend herself of course, but she knew that whenever she blacked out, she did more than just defend herself. Though her voice wasn’t quiet, it was genuine. She really was sorry.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Just take my hand and this will be over before you know it. Then we can all get on with our lives." As tempting as it might have been for him to shake her a little when they got to altitude, it would be incredibly dangerous for him as well. Well, at least he got to stretch his wings after such a long period of time being tethered to the ground. his wings flexed almost impatiently. "You can either come quietly or I can take you by force, you decide."

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She closed her eyes and took his hand. “I’m just trying to make things right.” She mumbled. She looked up at his wings, unable to hide her awe. His wings were magnificent, heavenly even. She wished she hadn’t hurt him, so maybe she would get a change to feel his wings. Birds had always fascinated her, but now she knew she would never get the chance. She ruined any explanation to his abilities or the girl’s even before she had met them. She looked at the toucan. “I’m sorry to both of you and I mean it. I guess I deserve whatever’s coming to me.” I did a lot of damage to them...

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

He gripped her hand tightly and proceeded to jump out the window, pulling her with him. It was only the second floor, so he did not have a lot of time to pull out of the dive. His wings unfurled and caught the air with a snapping sound. Judging by the lack of reaction from the pedestrians below, the necklace was doing its job at least. The strong gale produced by his powerful wings was enough to blow the hat off of a woman's head and send it tumbling down the sidewalk and yet, no one looked up with awe at the angelic figure who had just lept from above. Even the toucan had not drawn any attention, for xe had already left through the window and was but a speck in the sky.

As he gained altitude, the wind flowing through his hair and feathers felt like an old friend who he had not met in quite some time, a welcome change from being bound to the ground for so long. Although the beats of his wings were much stronger than usual, thanks to his partner, the freedom was offset by the burden dangling beneath him. The Mundanes below slowly shrank to the size of ants as he climbed higher and higher still. He switched the hand that she was holding so that she would be facing forward as they travelled and continued gaining altitude until he was on the same level as Bellamy.

"Give me your other hand," he called to his charge over the sound of wind rushing by.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She didn’t scream as they took off, flying Hugh into the air. They ascended, and she watched as the people below her grew smaller and smaller. Her eyes shimmered with amazement. How was this possible? How? It was too incredible, too fantastical. She looked back up at the boy and smiled, until he switched hands. She paled for a moment, but he knew what he was doing.

She turned toward where they were heading. She saw the toucan, laughing. “Oh! This is incredible! How could you even do this? You both are truly spectacular!”

She looked up at him, nodding. She took his other hand, shouting over the wind. “Wooo hooo!!” She smiled, forgetting her troubles over the brand new experience.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

As much as he hated to agree with her, he understood the sentiment. The feeling of leaving the earth far below and the freedom of soaring were something he could never get enough of. As much as he would have loved to turn tricks in the air, barrel rolls and twists before dramatically unfurling his wings and catching the air beneath them once again, he could not with the thing dangling from his hands.

They had reached a comfortable altitude and he locked his wings open, cruising along without much effort. The air, while much thinner, was clearer and the chill was reassuring somehow. Minutes passed by before they were finally within range of their goal. From the outside, it seemed to be a simple building like any of its neighbours, walls of glass windows behind which busybodies went about their business. Although it was only seven storeys tall, he took a sharp turn up, taking sever powerful flaps in order to change direction. The sidewalk practically disappeared beneath them as they continued in their ascent.

As they climbed, the air above the building seemed to swim like the air above asphalt tends to on a sweltering summer day. At a height roughly equivalent to a skyscraper, the air seemed to return to normal, almost as though they had flown above a wall. The two avians flew over the barrier and began a slow, spiral descent. Below them appeared a treehouse of sorts, a stack of floors supported by an ethereal trunk that had sprouted out of the building far below.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She laughed as they soared through the air, exhilarated and astounded. She didn’t realize the boy was so strong, but she was god he was. The feeling of flying was so amazing, she almost felt herself crying. She shook it off and just enjoyed the moment.

She watched the building before her grow and grow, and then warp, before it turned into something different all together. She examined it carefully, then laughed. “Is this where you live? This place is gorgeous.”

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

They approached the previously-invisible building, held above the Mundane world below by iridescent branches that were able to support its weight in its entirety. From outside, the building could not be seen, even by those who frequented the place. For those who came from the outside, there were two methods by which to reach the structure: teleport or fly. Flying was more dangerous for those without wings due to the nature of the barrier. While it was as potent at the top as it was at the bottom, sending debilitating waves of pain through anyone who was careless enough to touch it, the slight visual cues were weaker at the top and for any without practice, it was common to try and enter too soon, resulting in a collision with the barrier and a tumble from the sky to the pavement far below. It was recommended for any that did not fall into the class of divinity to teleport and avoid the risk. Even other supernatural beings could not save themselves from the fall with magic because the barrier also nullified such abilities.

He reached the verdant terrace and pushed down on the air with his powerful wings twice to hover and drop his charge the short distance to the ground. Bellamy had disappeared in that time but a flash of dazzling light and sparks indicated what the seraph had been doing. Xe reappeared falling to the ground and landing with an amount of force that should have been quite painful, but xe seemed rather unaffected. Xe was back to xer human form, no worse for wear and still donning the sullied garments from the cafe. Darius was much more delicate than she was and preferred to alight like a normal person, or as normal as one could be with wings sprouting from his or her back. Once he was safely on the ground, his feathery appendages became shrouded in a black mist. When the mist faded, the wings had disappeared, leaving only holes in the back of his shirt.

"No, we don't live here," xe replied rather flatly. Xe opened xer mouth as if to continue xer explanation but decided against it.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

The pass through the barrier stung a bit, but not enough to bother her. She frowned when they reached the building, having enjoyed the flight much more than she expected. The whole concept of the invisible building intrigued her, and she wanted to ask more about it when she got the chance.

The boy dropped her, and she landed safely, looking up to see the girl land next to her. The boy followed, his wings vanishing. “Oh really? Then what is this place? And what are you two?” She laughed. “Sorry, I’m still a little dumbfounded by all of this.”

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"That is not our place to say." Xe strode toward the door that opened to the rest of the Nest. "Do keep up," xe instructed without turning to look back at their charge.

It was not long after before someone came out onto the terrace to meet the three. He had a sloppy aesthetic with a sweater two sizes too big and permanently ruffled hair, as though he had just woken from a nap. Knowing him, he had probably just taken a short rest. "And what do we have here?" he asked, stifling a yawn. "A Mundane? But with a sealing enchantment?" Although the questions were addressed to the group, he was primarily talking to himself.

"A representative from the council," he paused as he grasped for a better word than ordered, "requested that we bring her here." He didn't see why the sorcerer couldn't have sent her to wherever he had gone, it would have been a much simpler journey, but he supposed sorcerers were irresponsible, acting on whims and it could not be helped.

"We will be filing the report shortly, once we get her situated," Bellamy continued. "She is technically a prisoner, which will be explained in the report. Are there any places that we might be able to keep her?"

"There should be somewhere in the south wing," he replied after a pompously pensive pause. "But I think we should adjust this pesky spell first. I don't know about the person who cast it, but I don't trust long-distance magic. It can turn dicey."

His eyes did not shift in colour even as he seemed to wipe the air in front of him, leaving a trail of runes behind. They formed a ring that floated to adhere itself to the young woman's wrist. "If I may." He extended his had to her neck where the seal had been appended but asked permission before touching her.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

“Oh. Alright?” She nodded to the girl’s words, stepping after her quickly. She turned as she walked, trying to see everything. Aside from her determination, her strongest quality had to be her curiosity. No trouble or threat could stop her from finding interest in new things, and in most cases, couldn’t stop her from trying to figure them out. She had gotten many punishments after sticking her nose into things she shouldn’t have been curious about.

Her magenta eyes scanned the young man in fronnof her. He seemed messy, but awake and alert. She realized the latter was wrong when he stifled a yawn. “Mundane?” She muttered the word to herself, the name feeling familiar on her tongue. She turned to the boy who had brought her, once again repeating the word she thought she recognized under her breath. “Council?”

She frowned when the girl spoke, her arms crossing out of instinct. Who did these people think they were? Sure she had made a mistake, but it wasn’t really her. It was... whatever they saw. They didn’t trust her an inch even after she willingly came with them, nor tried to see her side of things. It made her boil, so she directed her angry gaze away.

Her attention was regained quickly by the appearance of shining letters, floating in front of the newcomer. His hand reached toward her and she hissed. “What are you-“ He asked her permission to touch her neck, and she suddenly remembered her new tattoo, or whatever it was. “What are you doing? And what happened to my neck? I just want to make sure you’re not hurting me.”

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"I'm going to remove the spell here. It can't be especially pleased to have stuck to you," he replied, pulling back a corner of his mouth. "I don't feel whoever the caster was anywhere nearby." He withdrew his hand to rub the back of his neck rather awkwardly. "It looks like some sort of suppression spell but I can't read all the details about it. There seems to be some other condition but I think we would all rather remove that." He gave a rather sheepish smile.

The little spell he had wrapped around her wrist was something much less potent. It was more like an amalgam of a shock collar, a tracker, and a weak seal. Just so long as her willpower was stronger than whatever plagued her body, she would not grace them with her presence. As to its function as a shock collar, she would be receiving a nasty electric pulse if she wandered anywhere she was not supposed to. And the tracker, well it was obviously so that he could determine her position at any given time.

Judging by the less than pristine appearance of the two kids, there had been a tussle, well perhaps more than a simple tussle. With their combined power, they had emerged from the confrontation victorious and some sorcerer from the council had fixed them up and applied the strange pink seal. She posed no real threat to a building full of divinities, so he believed that there was no harm in giving her a little free reign. The Nest was huge enough for her to have ample roaming space even without allowing her near anywhere particularly sensitive.

 

[Cosmic_Flare]

She smiled at his honesty. At least he would talk to her. The other two barely looked at her. Rubbing her neck, she looked down. She wished she knew more about magic, so she could determine whether it was safe or not. With a few sigh, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “I suppose it’s aright.”

Pulling her fiery hair away from her neck, she looked down again. Now that she had entered this new world of magic and shapeshifters, if that’s what they were, she felt so unprepared. She had no knowledge of magic and despite a deep love for all things fantasy, she had no way of defending herself from anything from that genre. She could only imagine what would have happened to her had the sorcerer not been kind enough to free her. At least his creature had healed her, though she still didn’t trust him.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

His fingers ghosted over her neck as though he were trying to find some invisible tab. When he finally found it, he pinched it between his index finger and thumb before delicately peeling it off. It came off painlessly and he held the thing like a flimsy piece of paper before crumpling it up between his two hands. It appeared that there was some resistance, but he was stronger and although there was crackling, sparks, and smoke, the spell finally yielded. He tossed it over a shoulder and the thing disintegrated even before it came into contact with the ground. "Does that feel a little better?" He probably could have analysed the spell in its entirety if he had eaten it, but that was unsightly and there was some amount of pride that prevented him from doing especially unsightly things. That was not to say that he was never found sleeping in unseemly places throughout the Nest. While he was capable and completed his duties as an administrator, he certainly had a lack of formality in his actions and speech.