so.... I’m moving... and it’s been hell on my everything. Did you know a person can last four days on one hour of sleep and a constant supply of Dr Pepper?
Better back the ******** up Better shut the ******** up I'll do what I want and I'll never give up
I won't be broken I won't be tortured I won't be beaten down I have the answer I take the pressure I turn it all around
“Just remember that what we deem an emergency might differ from your definition. But I’ll try to limit them to end of the world type things and the occasional unexplainable illness. Also the birthday day,” he hummed, a cloud of sand pulling the bag of supplies closer to them. Digging through with his free arm, he procured one of the bottles and offered it to Veda. “Looks like your human wasn’t quite prepared for you to have teeth yet. I’ll have to procure some mushed foods for you, eventually.” He breathed, leaning back on his hand to look at Jedah when he spoke of feeding him frequently. “Right. So get food supplies built up quickly and keep them stocked.” He sighed, a whirl of sand flying off him to who-knows-where for food.
Frowning at Jedah until he apologized, the blonde let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. “So talk to us, don’t just sit and let your stress build up until you explode,” she frowned, pulling him out of the way just as the wall blew up, coincidentally pulling him to her chest. Peering over his shoulder at Gwyn, she smirked and relaxed.
“One helluvan entrance there,” she commented, only to realize she was still holding Jedah close and dropping her hands to sidestep around him. “So the volcano’s been caring for you guys? I’m not surprised, but damn there’s a lot of ya. And you said Jedah’s helping, too? What exactly do they have you doing?” She asked, red eyes scanning over the small crowd of children. They certainly looked like a wild bunch. Reminded her of the hidden gate kids when they first started appearing.
=_=_=_=_=
At being dragged in, the crow let out a surprised squawk and tried to at least get on his own two feet again. As he was set in front of a child -Seda, he recognized from the seal on his chest and the look on his face- and a woman he’d only seen in pictures. Inhaling sharply, he glanced to Seda when he spoke and could only nod for a moment as his brain tried to comprehend who was in front of him. “I-I uh... yes. We have. You can uh... call me Adra, everyone else does. I apologize for any inconvenience I’ve caused, I’m afraid it was my putting that seal on you that forced you back here, which wasn’t my intent.” He sighed, glancing sideways out of guilt.
Seraphine pursed her lips as she looked at the man before her. He had the face and stance of Yas, but the coloring of her. “Who are you?” She finally asked, raising an eyebrow.
Turning his attention to her, the crow king sighed. “I’m your son. Born to you and Yas, as was the agreement.” He breathed, stuffing his thumbs in his pockets.
“What agreement? I don’t recall ever agreeing to have that wretch’s child. Not after he-“ “After he destroyed your sisterhood and murdered your companions? Yeah. He had one helluva temper. Though, it was you lot that killed his sister.” He chirped, blowing some hair from his face. “You remember his sister, right mother?”
“Sister?”
“My aunt. Anaia? Storm of the fire demon kingdom? Lady of the blazing sun? You demanded she join you and yours and when Yas denied you, you sent a tempest to the gate of fire that extinguished her.”“How does thi-“ ”it was in my father’s grief that he found rage and went after you, he viewed it as an eye for an eye, after all. He killed all but the three of you. You who caused the storm that killed his sister. See, he convinced you he wouldn’t kill you if he could have some family from you. And you gave him us. A single child from each of you who bore your powers and his.” He explained, a strange array of emotions crossing his face. Frustration, sorrow, confusion. “He never told you that the only thing that would keep you alive was the children you all bore. It’s strange. By the end of everything, he’d grown past hate. He’d forgiven you, regretted his actions and grown to even care for you. But that couldn’t stop what curse his touch would bring. None of us ever expected your phoenix magic to be strong enough to revive you, his death curse is a powerful thing after all.” The king’s gaze fell to the floor, wings tucked tight against his back as he finished speaking. He’d never understood his father’s horrible rage. He’d never known any of his mothers. He didn’t really know more than what he’d been told by his dad, who always seemed so frustrated with the issue.
“I..... I see....” The phoenix drawled, swallowing hard. “So Adaliah and Razi are.... And you’re saying they agreed.”
“I am. Father had you three buried alongside him, and made sure that your sisterhood was given respectful burials as well. Their ashes are in the catacombs next to your resting place.”
“I.... thank you...” the woman mumbled, tugging her shawl tight around her arms.
“Of course, I’m happy to answer any questions you have.” Adra smiled softly, flame hues eyes turning to Seda. “Did you have other questions I might be able to answer?”
Lift me up above this The flames and the ashes Lift me up and help me to fly away Lift me up above this The broken the empty Lift me up and help me to fly away Lift me up
I'm gonna change history Enlighten the world Teach them how to see through my eyes
I'm gonna lash back check that Fatal as a heart attack Stomp out all the ugliest lies
You can't convince me to change We ain't on the same page I've had my fill now there's nothing but rage
“Assez pour faire tomber au moins trois légions” = “Enough to bring down at least three legions”
“Ty málo hovno” = “You little s**t”
“Lady Gwyn, il m'a appelé un pédé à nouveau” = “Lady Gwyn, he called me a f** again”
“écureuil stupide” = “stupid squirrel”
“Él está bien, hermano. Un poco preocupado de que estés en tu propio cuerpo otra vez, pero él está bien.” = “He is fine, brother. A little worried that you are in your own body again, but he is fine.”
In a grave of roses, xxxxxwhile the night is closing in, my soul is so cold, xxxxxbut I want to live again. I know you'll come to me, xxxxxI wait in misery. I want to fight for this. xxxxxSave me from this darkness! I reach for the light...
So long as it’s not just the earrings that make your eyes pop having gone missing or it’s been a few hours and you can’t locate someone, Veda chuckled faintly as he set to work on drinking from the bottle offered to him. Sighing softly, the demon scrunched up his nose a bit. No, he did. He just forgot to pack it, and he couldn’t exactly hear me trying to remind him. He also killed the imps I was trying to get to bring it to him before they could even get near it to remind him of it. Without better control of my abilities at the moment, I can’t exactly get my portals to behave appropriately much less the minions. I’m lucky to have had what little magic I have used to go over so smoothly as is. Quite frankly, I was expecting more explosions and friendly fire than this. If you wanna get it, we were living in his old family home just on the edge of the Shadow Roads. I’m pretty sure you could send your sands there safely.
Feeling his face flush at Serenity’s touch, a bat swiftly peeled itself off of Jedah’s back just to quickly tug his hat down a bit further so his face would become more obscured. For those that had paid the most attention to him over the years, it was obviously a sign that he was feeling shy and/or upset. It was as he was about to respond that the wall had exploded behind him making several small pairs of red eyes peek out of his back at the scene. “Gwyneviere tends to make a lot of dramatic entrances like this one actually. You get used to walls exploding and her marching through them after someone she’s kicked through it,” the bat demon smiled, his current fangs from calming down a bit making him seem more vampiric than anything else.
Scratching behind her ear, Gwyn almost seemed bashful as she nodded. “General Sedynn and Mr. Jedah have indeed been caring for us. Unlike most that turned their backs on us, the general gave us somewhere to belong and has been working with us on mastering our own unique abilities so we may be the best we can be as well as rehabilitating those with special needs. As the general would say, the children of today are the men and women of tomorrow, and if these embers are not fanned appropriately, they will never truly understand what all their light may expose in the darkness of reality or that of which the embers they create may expose. The future is uncertain, true, but there will always be an infinite number of paths to take, and only a new flame will bring forth the newest of paths to tread,” she explained, the fire demon’s explanation seeming to have left some lasting impression on the girl. Briefly kicking one of the older boys on the leg when he started snickering, she crossed her arms over her chest. “He said his earliest memories had been mostly in darkness with the exception of the light trapped within the lava veins with him, but one day someone had breached the walls he called home. At first, he wasn’t too fond of the new world as it was far too cold compared to the extreme temperatures he had been living in. After spending some time with the people there and getting knocked into a lake by a boy a third his size, he figured out the new world wasn’t as bad as he originally thought, especially when the angry little boy that knocked him into the lake suddenly mellowed out after he’d done it. That one little breach opened up a path he never knew existed and he got stronger because of it.”
“Sedynn’s acting like your dad did to us in short, but he’s actually involved instead of leaving them to their own devices. I’ve been working on a few things with them personally, but I get pretty busy at times by having to do Morrigan’s and Belial’s tasks as well as my own or nothing’ll ever get done. The fact that I live in a different gate also makes things a bit harder. Most of the things I’ve been working with them on, however, involves using thought processing such as literature and grammar, and even focusing their ability to heal on the more life-threatening injuries. And this isn’t even all of them,” Jedah explained making Gwyn’s gaze snap back behind her to look over the kids. “We’ve been teaching them how to channel and alter the strength of their magic, how to turn their greatest weakness into their greatest strength, and the like. Sedynn has Wolfpack helping me in teaching them all of the languages though since Gwyn’s still learning herself and we can’t always be watching over them. Wolfpack is Sedynn’s super squad I guess you could say. They’re usually training or pulling off extractions, assassinations, and hunts for Sedynn, but otherwise, they try teaching the kids about places like Earth, virology, herbology, the more physical aspects to a fight, heat signatures, soundwaves, and so on. Gwyn is a prime example of what all they‘re being taught albeit she’s a tad... off-putting? She’s three years older than Seda in actuality, and has been living here since she was six making her nineteen right about now. Her and Seda were close like those of us from the Tenth Gate, and it made us happy she felt they were like a real family.”
“Where’s Kuvyrok? Jaltirak? Içke? Damnit! I told Josué to keep his grubby beast taming hands off of them! Přívrženci, pojďte,” the partially armored demoness started off suspiciously after scanning over the group of kids with her several times. After something didn’t seem to settle right with her, she stomped one heeled metal boot upon the floor as a sudden wave of malevolence washed over every inch of the room. With such negativity came various shadow men with no real detail to them coming out of the walls and floors as they all answered with a whispery, “yes, mistress?” Narrowing her solid black eyes, she pointed towards the doorway and the hole in the wall. “Form search parties and remain on high alert. There are children missing and Kuvyrok is one of them. Find them and bring them to me ASAP.”
“Isaac is somewhere out there too.”
“Lovely.”
“I’d hear his much too distinct laugh and voice if he was running around, Gwyn. You’re good for now with him.”
As the shadowy figures departed swiftly, the older demons that were obviously in trouble gave a snort. “And this is why she shouldn’t be in charge. She can neither control Josué nor keep an eye on the kids like the general asked her to do. Gwyn’s already lost over twenty of the weirdos, and a minimum of two are complete psychos,” one started to laugh only for her to make a sharp turn on her heel towards them and smash the front of her boot against one of their faces which sent him flying across the room again. Unfortunately for the pillars in the room, the kick took at least three of them down with the boy.
“And I told y’all to shut your traps. As much as I’d like to end the whistling noises in the gate from the wind passing between your ears, the general is wishing for you to wisen up. Should I get permission to end you for the crap you’ve pulled by the crow that is going to be helping watch over the gate as the general rests up, I will not hesitate in doing so.”
“As you can probably tell, Ren, there’s been a little trouble with our future generations and it ain’t just in this gate. They’re gettin’ more pompous and belligerent as they get older. They’ve been treatin’ the younger ones, especially the orphaned ones and the mixed breeds, like the dirt beneath their boots. You’d think the one she just kicked in the head like it was a soccer ball would’ve learned his lesson after the one boy cut his arm off with a spoon, but,” Jedah breathed out after shaking his head in disappointment. “Fortunately enough, we had someone in Bel’s gate capable of reattaching it, but he’ll still have the scar both mentally and physically. Kid freaks just about being in the same room as a spoon or said boy.”
“Idiots don’t learn. Now that the birds are back, they can help with these brats. Since I have at least you two birdbrains here, do either of you have any idea as to how to remove a pet curse off of someone? The boy there in the center of the circle of good children with the multitude of scars, sadly, has had a curse placed upon him making it to where he can only meow and follow directions. Yes, he’s half cat demon, but this is an unnatural mewl altogether. No one with even the slightest hint of animal genetics knows what he’s saying albeit he seems to understand anything said to him in any language. Bertha found him on an extraction mission amongst the black market and opted to bring him here to us, and the general’s response was a pat on top of the head and calling her a good girl.” As Gwyn spoke, her gaze now focused on Eurynome and Jezabeth as one of her shadow men dragged the older boy she’d kicked back to her side, her hand shifted to the opposite side rather swiftly to point at an amethyst haired boy with dark skin marred by what appeared to be years of abuse currently licking his hand like a cat.
“Well, Wolfpack is made up of previously Earthbound international halfbred hellhounds Sedynn took into his care when they were puppies. Lupo’s from France, Vector from Japan, Four Eyes from America, Spectre from Russia, Beltway from Puerto Rico, and Bertha from Germany. It shouldn’t be too shocking that Sedynn praises them like they are dogs. He’s weird about how he shows his affection towards other people... That reminds me actually. Ever since Chestra and Sedynn have been back more permanently, they’ve started falling back into old habits. Dynn’s back to giving Chestra piggyback rides, sleeping in close proximity to each other, and sharing just about everything. It’s pretty weird now that they’re fully grown adults with kids of their own, and I feel like I’m watching them as kids all over again.“
“Well they’re not exactly leading the least stressful of lives. Maybe that’s just how they cope with all of that stress,” Gwyn hissed irritably with a sharp glare directed at Jedah whom raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Either way, you should know by now that talking about things isn’t easy for me until I explode and then it comes out like word vomit. I mean, sheesh. If you look back on our childhood, I did the same exact thing albeit on a more physical level when we were in the city. If anything, I think I’ve mellowed out a bit with age. By now, it should be relatively obvious that, to at least you, it’s not intentional. I’m simply bad at venting in increments and talking about my feelings and... stuff.”
It didn’t take long after he spoke those words that a bunch of kids came screaming and crying as they ran into the room. Without much thought, they were all hiding behind Gwyn as if something was out to get them and she was some unsurpassable obstacle. “The kids... Amalköylük, Çiçkan, where’s Kuvyrok? You two have known him longest,” she questioned before wincing at something not exactly in the room obviously exploding. Jedah’s expression seemed to mimic the same frown Gwyn’s made as the same thought passed through their heads.
“Crap. He’s found explosives.”
“Jaltirak’s engaged him in combat,” one of the boys answered in a French accent only to flinch when he heard yet another explosion. “Oh non... He found le stash.”
“Stash? You’re still helping Beltway make explosives and keeping some for yourself!”
“Le shrug.”
“Don’t you le shrug me. You know he’s gonna use them if you keep making them.”
“Le shrug.” At getting a second shrug from him, the demoness slapped him upside the head. This was followed by a third explosion that was closer before a flying squirrel flew into the room. Upon hitting the floor, it shifted into a dark blue haired boy in a pair of light blue pants and bright red t-shirt only to roll out of the way when a machete struck where he would’ve been. Ignoring the cuts, gunpowder, dust, dirt, and debris following him, he turned swiftly back towards the hole in the wall made earlier by Gwyn with both red-gloved fists already clenched for what was coming in behind him. What came in behind him was a light green haired boy with dark black and brilliant gold eyes wearing a pair of camouflage shorts, a black tanktop, and a camouflage beret. In his black-gloved hands was a knife and a hand grenade. Set between his sharp, jagged teeth settled into a dark grin was a pin from the grenade and upon missing the first one with his second blade, he threw the grenade at him whilst ignoring his own scrapes, bumps and bruises. Gwyn, however, snatched off an armored boot just to toss it at the first boy who used it to snatch the grenade to the ground and under his feet so as to avoid others getting injured with them... only to get tossed up a few feet with the girl’s boot from the explosion.
The second then started up with quick swipes of his knife directed towards the first, his shape having flipped between flying squirrel and human to get himself back on the ground. Each swing was aimed with deadly precision. Whilst the first boy was dodging and redirecting each swing with just as much precision as the other, he was forced into turning into a flying squirrel yet again by another hand grenade popping up between the boys, the pin around one of the fingers of the militarized boy, and Gwyn’s other boot being hurled over by the demoness and becoming the cover for that one. This time, however, the little flying squirrel landed on the boy with the knife and scurried, hopped and glided around him just to avoid others getting hurt in their fight. Finally catching the boy’s hand with the knife, Gwyn started trying to pry his fingers away from the hilt only to toss yet another grenade to an empty area in the room. “How many did you make, Çiçkan Jariluu?”
After the explosion, the obviously French boy feigned counting before seeming to focus on examining his nails instead. “Assez.”
“How many?!”
“Assez pour faire tomber au moins trois légions.”
“Ty málo hovno!”
“Ooh. You made her go all Czechoslovakian on you,” the boy closest to the French boy snickered whilst he seemed to remain a lot more calm than the other kids about the ensuing fight. Then again, the duo were dressed in black shirts and camouflage shorts themselves, the French one also wearing a camouflage beret.
“Oui. You knew she was gonna do it once she found out about le stash though. Do not stress, ma belle femme. He can’t carry them all, especially with si peu de poches. Amalköylük, get close. Jaltirak, Gwyn, be prepared to move,” the French boy shrugged slightly as he pulled a set of goggles out from under his camouflage jacket and set them over his eyes. The other boy that had spoken up smiled ever so mischievously before he began vanishing as it became obvious he was blending into the area around him, clothes included. Taking in a deep breath, the one called Çiçkan waited until the other one had entirely vanished before running at the golden eyed boy, Gwyn and the flying squirrel only to give a little hop enroute so he could shift into a mouse and continue his pace. Popping up between the armored demoness and the boy in human form, a match and small bomb with its fuse lit in his hands, he smiled and blew out the match with a, “le phew.” Upon dropping the bomb, he hopped back several paces. Gwyn was about to protest when the flying squirrel boy hopped off of the other in the midst of shifting mostly back and dragged her away from the other two boys. Upon detonation came smoke, but only smoke, and the one called Amalköylük stepped back out a couple minutes later with the green haired one unconscious beneath his arm. Beside him was the explosive little mouse handling the knife and another hand grenade.
“Mission successful. Wonderful job distracting him, Jaltirak. Çiçkan would’ve been his first target if not for you,” Amalköyük chuckled only for him and the mouse to give each other a swift high five.
“That’s not funny. Kuvyrok could’ve killed someone if I hadn’t stepped in, and it’s a pain in the butt trying to keep him from hurting anyone.“
“Koryvuk, Jaltirak. That was Koryvuk in charge of his body,” a red haired girl corrected only to flinch when the boy shot her a glare.
“Içke, you can’t keep defending him and acting like he’s not gonna kill someone with every little thing triggering him like this. Whether it’s some form of PTSD from the battlefield Wolfpack found him, Çiçkan, and Amalköyük in or a feral dissociative identity disorder, he needs psychiatric help and y’all are letting him avoid it since he doesn’t remember any of it once he snaps back to the nice side. And do let me reiterate to all of you that scream, cry and run away that I’m a frickin’ flying squirrel that has to distract that monster of a grizzly bear before he can turn y’all into his next meal. One well aimed chomp and I’m gonna be either his snack or his chew toy ‘cause y’all keep abandoning me.”
“Sugar! Ngh. Sugar. Melting,” one of the other boys started up all whilst twitching causing several of the other kids to smack their palms to their foreheads. As one of the girls sniffled and handed him a piece of candy, Gwyn gave a heavy sigh at how he almost bit the girl’s hand.
“We got it. Jou are a squirrel an’ he’s a bear. Let it go. I was throwin’ a smoke bomb that’d knock him out together so I ‘ad to run, and Amalköyük gets close to ‘im easiest so I needed ‘im near until it was ready. Jou are a wonderful distraction whilst I work my magic.”
“He’s so ungrateful about all the hard work we put into thinking this through, Çiçkan, when he didn’t even think at all. I guess having a small brain does make him lighter though.”
“That’s not funny,” snapped the squirrel boy, fists clenched at his side albeit there were a few stifled laughs amidst the crowd, Jedah having slapped a hand over his own mouth to keep from laughing as well.
“Hehehe. That was magnifique, mon ami. Oui, Jaltirak, it was,” the mouse snickered as he pulled his goggles back down around his neck.
“Thank you. Funny thing is that there was no real conscious thought put into it,” Amalköyük snickered as he carefully laid the green haired boy on the floor a little ways away from the group of kids. Unlike the rest of the kids huddled together, the chameleon boy maintained some distance from the larger group alongside Çiçkan, both keeping Kuvyrok near them as if their own little trio of a combative team.
“Was not, f*****t mouse!”
“Hehehe. Oui. Well, jou are reptilian in nature so it makes sense for jou to be slick. ‘Ey! Lady Gwyn, il m'a appelé un pédé à nouveau.”
“Boys! Jaltirak, I told you that he’s not gay just because he’s French.”
“They just called me stupid! Why’re you defending them and their much too hostile behavior?! Why can’t Içke help me try to control him? The most she has to worry about is his knives and whatever grenades Çiçkan leaves around what with her quills.”
“Hey! I don’t leave them lying around, écureuil stupide.”
“That’s it. The next one of you that speaks to each other without my say so is going to have to bathe the hellhounds’ pups. Good. Apologies for this particular group of children’s behavioral issues. I’ve been working with them, but it’s difficult handling all of them when I’m also trying to handle the older idiots and aid the general in maintaining order in this gate. Either way, just be wary about walking around the gate. Kuvyrok is quite adept at making traps used by the Viet Cong. Unlike them, however, he’s better at using them. Adra and the others will be alright with Spectre around. Keska there might start getting twitchy from sugar withdrawals every once in a while and the twins here might try pickpocketing you, but most are relatively harmless. Içke’s easily spooked though so try not startling her too bad or there’s going to be quills all over the place. Children, greet the remainder of the guests to our gate.”
“Hi,” the rather large group of kids said in unison, some voices exposing boldness whilst others were shy, and some of the girls were still sniffling from the scare of the fight that had broke out. Most, as Gwyn had stated, seemed to be well behaved unlike those covered in scrapes, bumps, and bruises sulking to the side. Picking up her boots, the one called Jaltirak frowned before holding them out to her.
“She means that information for just us. She’s not mentioning that there’s a serial killer amongst other things. Your boots are pretty damaged from those explosives, Gwyn. Sorry to have to use them to keep Çiçkan’s bombs from hurting the others.”
“I expected as much seeing as he spends a lot of time with Beltway when Wolfpack is waiting for orders and the jackass blew his own leg off during one of their missions. I made sure to reinforce my armor specifically for that purpose. It seems I’ll need to add more oomph to that though. Looks like I’m going armorless for the rest of the day.” That said, the blonde demoness finished removing what was left of her armor without the slightest hint of embarrassment in the fact that she was wearing a crop top and short-shorts resembling boxers beneath it. “If it wasn’t for so many violent idiots in the two gates, I wouldn’t have to use that stuffy armor all the time. That dramatic bird needs to pick up the pace instead of making me waste time waiting on him just so I can update the rest of you on current events and the state of not only the Sky Gate, but the Fire Gate as well. And Seda’s scaring off my familiars again. I always did love it when he’d knock someone off of their high horse though.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Seda had merely glanced at Seraphine from the corner of his eyes at the obviously dumbfounded crow’s stuttered response, but had remained silent as he merely listened to the exchange, his own thoughts whispering just on the edges of his mind. At least he wasn’t disturbing the phoenix getting her answers by coughing throughout their conversation. When it came to an end, Seraphine not getting hysterical or psychotic about the news fortunately enough, he opted to glance back at Adramalech.
“As my father would say, shxt happens. I was likely losing my hold before you came along. It’s probably better for him now that I’m no longer being a parasite. There would’ve been a bleeding effect after years of inhabiting his body. In short, your answer to my opening inquiry has already answered plenty enough of my questions for me to start putting the dots together. This also means that my dad can quit ranting about you being a backstabbing little chicken he intends to gift to your brothers as a rotisserie. He’s a little juvenile about some things, but he means well,” the little fire demon finally responded with a brief wave of dismissal. At feeling a large warm mass settle on the arm of his chair, he glanced down at the large black and red dog seated beside him with an all too obvious prosthetic leg; Beltway was in hellhound form trying to make him feel better.
“Él está bien, hermano. Un poco preocupado de que estés en tu propio cuerpo otra vez, pero él está bien,” the canine rumbled lowly earning him a gentle smile and a rub on top of the head by the boy.
“I see. We should let him know that I’m alright, but I might have to be carried around for a little while. Adra’s circles are still trying to push their magic through my system after all, and it’s possible that like my memories, the changes to my health from the body jump may take time to catch up with the rest of me,” he responded in a much softer voice to the canine. After watching the dog shift back into the large human form he usually took on, Seda gave him a soft smile before raising his gaze towards the avians. “Alrighty then. Seraphine, if you have no more questions and are feeling up to it, I’d say we should head back to Adra’s Boy Scout troop anxiously awaiting news of this interaction. You’re sure to meet Eurynome and Jezabeth, Adra’s brothers, if we do. Besides, I’m pretty positive I’m gonna hafta slap Gwyneviere upside the head to cool her temper back down. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
His words, however, were followed by a small explosion from just outside the door alongside various angry languages calling for a cease and desist, however, making the small fire demon‘s eye twitch slightly. Heaving a sigh, Beltway could only shake his head.
After sliding out of his chair and heading out into the hallway, Beltway and Bertha on his heels, Seda’s eyes narrowed slightly at the apparent fight that had broken out between Sever and Ross to where the remainder of Wolfpack was split in restraining the duo. Tapping Beltway on the stomach, the man stopped short as if it was a natural order. Ross immediately stopped when Seda stepped between them, but Xerxes had sent a new wave of air at the two causing a nick to appear across his face.
The sharp intake of air from the entirety of Wolfpack and Ross, all of them swiftly moving further away from Xerxes and Seda whilst pulling Adra and Seraphine with them, made the other furrow his brow slightly. The kid was four feet tall at most and looked like he’d snap as easily as a twig in a gentle breeze so why did they all look somewhat scared? At seeing the shift in the boy from mild annoyance to complete irritation, the air shifting into something entirely negative and the shadows seeming to retreat further into the walls as a dark purple flame lit up around the boy with brief flickers of the flames taking the shape of wings behind him, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
The smaller demon growled something relatively unintelligible before vanishing from where he stood with two small footprints ignited by the deep amethyst fire left behind. Just as quickly as he vanished, he reappeared just at shoulder level to Xerxes with his foot making connection to the side of the older boy’s head and sending him through the wall on the opposite side of the hall. For such a small, sickly child, it was apparent that he was much stronger than he appeared and he was not to be pissed off.
“Hey, Lupo. W-what the heck did he just say? It sounded like Spanish, but it didn’t at the same time and I’ve never heard him use it,” Ross questioned softly as the little fire demon cracked his neck then followed the larger halfbred boy with an eerie sort of calm. “Please just stay down, Sever. As weak as he appears, ya might not believe me, but he’s gonna beat the life outta you if ya get back up.”
“That’s Arslene the Dark Phoenix’s language, a language believed to have been either the language of the Aztecs or the Mayans. According to prior research, she was General Sedynn’s mother though his father kept him in the lava veins. I believe he just said it’s on, bxtch, but I can’t be positive. I haven’t heard it used in years, but even then, it sounds like a different dialect of it. Vedinya hit him in the face when he was still healthy, and it turned ugly quickly. Sedynn had to drag him off of her ‘cause he was that pissed,” she answered in the same low tone before motioning Beltway to collect the boy once more. “I have to agree with the prince. You’re ill prepared for a spar with the young master so stay down.”
“Get up, ya half-assed twerp. You wanna play the tough guy, so play the tough guy and get up. Let’s see what you got,” Seda stated rather coldly for a demon of fire only for Beltway to wrap an arm around him and lift him up off of the floor before he could grab the other by the back of his shirt. Ignoring the low groan from the man turning back towards the blonde woman and the narrowed eyes of the boy on her, Bertha set to work cleaning the blood off of his face and smearing a clear paste over the minor injury. Shortly after, her gaze seemed to focus in on the deep red of her fingertips.
“A fever,” Lupo seemed to question making the blonde woman nod slightly. “How bad?”
“He should be in a coma at this point is how bad. He doesn’t need to be moving around on his own anymore, Beltway, whether he argues or not,” she replied whilst giving the much larger male a sharp glare. He heaved a sigh, but nodded nonetheless.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Bertha. It’s just the phoenix fire meshing with my own flames. Put me back down. I’m gonna knock his teeth down his throat and see how much of a tough guy he is then,” he growled irritably before glancing at Xerxes slowly sitting up. Shifting his gaze towards Lupo when Beltway didn’t comply to his directions, he tapped his fingers a few times against Beltway’s arm. “Sure is taking him long enough to recover from that love tap. Lupo, get him to put me down now.”
“Such a foul temper like his father’s own yet in need of so much bed rest. Don’t stress yourself out by letting the brat get to you, little one. You’re in no condition to be running around all willy-nilly, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to disobey you. I apologize, but it’s in your best interest,” Lupo snickered slightly before gently brushing her hand over his head. Blinking at something only to turn towards Ross, Seda swiping her hand away in an irritated motion, she raised a brow. “He’s redistributing the heat from his fever throughout the entirety of his body, or more specifically the highest points to try avoiding overheating his brain and ending up in a coma. Did you know about this?”
“I’m right here, Karena. Don’t act like I’m not.”
“Y-yeah. After several years of gaining a bit of control over my body, his fever bled through and I ended up getting hospitalized because of it. Twenty-four hours later, I was being shipped back to... a place I don’t ever wanna go back to. Seda snapped awake partly through the trip and literally turned the truck and the people transporting us into a massive bubbling puddle of goo. He then opted to shift our body temperatures depending on how he was feeling to avoid it happening again. If it wasn’t leveling out on a natural course, he would shift the heat to escape from various locations highest on the body whether it was laying down, sitting, or standing. I’m kinda envious of how smart he is and how strong he’s been throughout all of this,” Ross answered as he began tapping his fingertips together. Pausing briefly, he glanced over at the smaller demon before frowning deeply at the death glare he was receiving. “I-I’m sorry, Seda. I just want you to get better... And I’m sorry about the fight, Lupo. That boy’s just so-“
“I was here, child, and he should be glad you hit him first. That was a pretty decent punch for such a nonviolent child. Your father would be proud. Bertha, that irritable child needs medical attention after the kick to the head little Seda gave him. Fortunately, we’ve avoided him from giving the other a full blown beatdown by getting Beltway to pick him up. Beltway, are you alright holding him still?”
“Sí, sí, Madré Den. It’s not as bad as my leg was,” the Puerto Rican man responded with a slight half-shrug only to start back in the direction of the throne room, his arms readjusting themselves around Seda so he’d be carried more like a child rather than a duffel bag. “Either way, I believe you left some family and friends in the throne room. Bertha and I will have to stay with you, Adramalech, if you intend to keep the young master and these two with you. Sorry, hermano. Your health comes first for us.”
“Right. Here. Frickin’ snitch. That was a while back anyways and this isn’t the same thing. It’s the circles, the phoenix fire, my irritation at the idiot there, and likely my body trying to reconfigure everything after being away for some time all compiled together. It’s not a fever. And you, Adra, have the worst Boy Scout troop ever... Save the apologies, Hector. You’re just trying to help, and I know that. It just pisses me off that I’m limited in what I can do,” he sighed heavily only to cough a bit into his arm. Once it stopped, however, he merely leaned against the man’s chest with his eyes closed as the wave of malevolence from his irritation died out in the blink of an eye and only the faintest flickers of the peach colored flames danced across his skin. The sudden switch from active to exhausted caused all of Wolfpack to frown though only the women’s expressions could be seen. It even seemed to be dismissed by them that Seda had used names besides the ones given previously for two members of Wolfpack even if it had earned a raised brow from Ross.
“Patchwork completed. He’ll be alright for now, but let’s try avoiding that again whilst he’s stuck in this human form and Master Sedynn’s condition is at an all time low. He might get severe brain damage,” Bertha reported as she gave Xerxes a couple of extra pats to get the debris from the wall off of him though it was apparent that he was likely trying to focus his vision. Shortly afterwards, she returned to being attached to the Puerto Rican man’s side. “It’s a fever setting in, honey. The chills and shakes just haven’t hit you yet. And we know it’s frustrating for you to have to rely heavily on others for even the simplest of tasks.”
“Is not... And any kind of brain damage would likely do him a world of good at this point.”
“Let’s avoid continuing this childish bickering and calling anyone else a psychopath now please. We’d hate for any preventable accidents to occur under our watch,” Four Eyes, Lupo, Vector, and Spectre all added swiftly, the underlying threat all too obvious. Xerxes merely stuck his tongue out at them in response before setting a hand against the side of his head as he swayed slightly where he stood.
“The heck did that come from? Ugh. Stop spinning...”
All I ever neededxxxxx was a reason to believe. You helped me hold on,xxxxx you ignite the fire in me. You always come for me.xxxxx You know just what I need. Don't make me wait for this.xxxxx Save me from this darkness! I reach for the light...xxxxx
I'm breathing, still breathing, but I can't fight this fear alone. This feeling is killing slow, but now I know I want to live my life. The choice is mine. I've made up my mind. Now I'm free to start again. The way I want to live to live and breathe and breathe the way I want that's right for me. I may not know nothing else, but I know this: I want to live! I want to live! I know this: I want to live.
Better back the ******** up Better shut the ******** up I'll do what I want and I'll never give up
I won't be broken I won't be tortured I won't be beaten down I have the answer I take the pressure I turn it all around
“Nah. I think most of us outgrew that drama a while ago.” He shrugged, a sand whisp reforming with a few bottles of infant food. “..... Apple, steak and sweet potato purée..... what drugs are these humans taking that makes that sound appetizing in one spoonful? I sent a few sands to purchase food already, they’re stocking up at Adra’s place for us.” He chirped, glancing briefly down the hall towards where Adra had disappeared to.
“If he’s putting in more effort than my old man then I think it’s great. Wow there’s a lot that went on while we were awol....” serenity chucked, pulling her hair out of her face. They practically ran a military school from the sounds of things. It was good.
“If there are children missing, we would be willing to help search,” Jezabeth chirped, his ever silent brother nodding in agreement. “As for the curse.... we might be able to do a little bit, but for the most part that’s our brother’s expertise. I’m just an illusionist and Eury doesn’t really socialize let alone deal with anything outside of death magic.” He sighed, patting his brother on top of the head before limping a little closer.
“I remember. But that’s not gonna stop me from being just as nosy as my sister. You know I’m gonna keep asking you how things are going,” the demoness sighed, glancing at the hole in the wall as she heard explosions coming their way. As the kids -and explosions- continued, her eyes began to glow, residual energy from the bombs flowing to her.
“They certainly are a lively bunch.”
“Remind you of a certain pack we ran into a while ago?”
“Yes, but younger. And there’s three times as many of them.” Eurynone muttered, black and white wings shifting slightly as he looked over to Serenity.“And there she goes, absorbing the left over kinetic energy. Wonder how much she’s gotten stored up after her time as a slave....”this earned him a smirk as Serenity put a finger to her lips.
At being greeted by the group of kids, Ren gave a small wave and then settled back to watch the two crows make their own incredibly more awkward waves. -=-=-=*=-=-=-
Curled up next to Lymbo, Desiré gave a whimper and curled into him tighter, wisps of sand floating around her, but not able to reach, thanks to the shield she was unconsciously putting around them both.
-=-=-=*=-=-=-
Both firebirds seemed more stunned to silence at the arguing put on by the three boys, only for Adra to break into laughter at Seda putting Sever down.
“s**t, kid, are you sure you’re not part bomb?!? I know your dad’s a volcano, but you’re basically a supernova,” He snorted, shaking his head before he shoved his hands into his pockets. Looking between Ross and Sever, he glanced at wolf-pack and rose an eyebrow.
“If he’s getting a fever, the fire I gave him should be actively working to heal him,” Seraphine hummed, tucking some hair behind one ear. “But yes. Let’s go. I’m curious what his brothers are like.”
Lagging behind just slightly, Adra motioned the others ahead just so he could lag back and check in on Sever. “So... do I want to know what happened while I was in the room?” He asked, pulling a note from his pocket that dropped with sand. Lighting it on fire, a part of his shadow split off, familiar red rings forming across it as it moved. “So... it’s like that then....”
Lift me up above this The flames and the ashes Lift me up and help me to fly away Lift me up above this The broken the empty Lift me up and help me to fly away Lift me up
I'm gonna change history Enlighten the world Teach them how to see through my eyes
I'm gonna lash back check that Fatal as a heart attack Stomp out all the ugliest lies
You can't convince me to change We ain't on the same page I've had my fill now there's nothing but rage
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:01 am
Chaos 1ncarnate
TRANSLATIONS :: “Ma chérie” = “My dear lady”
“Chauve-souris traître” = “Traitorous bat”
“ma belle dame” = “my beautiful lady”
“mes réserves sont planquées” = “my reserves are stashed”
“Réponse acceptable. J'aime savoir que tu es si prudent, mon ami” = “Acceptable answer. I like to know that you are so careful my friend”
“Merci beaucoup” = “Thank you so much”
“Не называй меня так перед другими” = “Ne nazyvay menya tak pered drugimi” = “Don’t call me that in front of others”
“Прошу прощения за неудобства” = “Proshu proshcheniya za neudobstva” = “Sorry for the inconvenience”
“Seulement parce qu'ils se sentent mal pour lui” = “Only because they feel bad for him”
So you say. You have to admit, they’re still a little childish and dramatic. Just look at Jedah over there reverting to his younger self as he talks to Serenity. He started off hotter than Hades about different things so as to distract himself from their close proximity before hiding behind his hat and rocking back on his heels all pigeon-toed ‘cause he’s uncertain of how exactly to be around her. When he’d come back to Bel’s gate after spending the day with you guys, he’d always flop down face-first on his bed before kicking his feet and yelling into a pillow in a tantrum ‘cause something just didn’t go a specific way due to his own awkwardness. It was hilarious. I bet he’ll do the same thing by the end of today just by this awkward moodiness he’s been exposing since she’s been here, Veda chuckled, his body following suit with a giggle of its own for a brief moment. At speaking of what specifically it was, he scrunched up his nose in what could only be explained as disgust. I honestly don’t know who came up with the idea, but I can only assume they were trying to involve more than one food group in order to keep infants and toddlers from denying all foods save sweets and fruits. I’ve heard, from quite a few of the ladies that swarmed Hagen for being a single father as he was shopping to be specific, that once children of my age or younger get a taste of fruits, they tend to veer away from everything else. It’s not exactly horrible, but it’s not that great either. It’s better than triggering the Lino Doue and eating people though if that says anything. Then again, I doubt you’ve ever had canniballistic tendencies... Oh! I know. It won’t make me have the same reaction you did when I gave you the samples of gingerbread and peppermint swirls for the story of Hansel and Gretel when we were younger.
“No dip a sh- It does seem that way. I’m much better about my annoyance for slurring my words like Lymbo even! Sedynn says the kids are helpin’ me find that middle ground of being a smart, mature adult yet still know how to have fun like a kid. It’s hard after so long of rejecting my juvenile tendencies and original speech patterns, but I’m still tryin’ to be a little less of a stick in the mud,” Jedah started with a scoff only to end up attempting to remedy his original response into something that didn’t seem to come out in a demeaning manner like he used to do as a child. Shifting his feet under him so he looked a little pigeon-toed and lacing his fingers behind his back, he briefly rocked back on his heels only to nod slightly. “That’s true. Y’all are the type of girls that get concerned about the things you care about. But yeah, I’ve been trying to keep track of the happenings so I can keep people in the know. It’s not foolproof, the succub-tches always obnoxiously hovering over my shoulders when they’re not clinging to Belial’s... arms, but I’ve been trying to keep Sedynn from fizzling out on us by doing way too much. I’m glad Adra and his brothers are back though so he can finally rest, and probably even actually mourn the loss of his wife. He’s been indifferent about it since she passed, and only sings her praises if you so much as mention that she didn’t show up in Hell even though she was one of the damned. People were freaking out for a week about that until he finally exploded on them about letting it go. Even I’m still trying to figure out what happened to her. She’s just gone, and I don’t know how Sedynn’s going to react when it actually settles in. Aside from my brother and you two girls, my biggest concern has been Chestra and Sedynn... and Perem and these kids lately. Perem hasn’t exactly pulled anything stupid such as a booty-call gone wrong or a horribly failed attempt at trying to contain a wildfire when he’s merely two-thirds of the ingredients to make s’mores. Er... No offense about that, Perry. I know you got burnt there a while back, but I’m not counting that on the same level as their stupidity. Adra and his brothers aren’t excessively concerning to me save for how Adra’s going to care for my brother. And then Chestra... We’re not really sure what’s wrong with him. He’s... more than a little bit off since we found him. At first, he didn’t recognize us, but after a few minutes of talking with Sedynn, he just broke down in tears asking where we’d been as if we were the ones that disappeared after Pandora resealed the box. He’s all tired smiles now, but he’s still relatively lost on a bunch of things... Lym really needs to tear down her barrier thing now that they’re in friendly hands again. It’s really unnecessary. Ow! He just electrocuted me!”
“Lively indeed. They’ve all been saved from the bad situations they were forced to live in such as our little military assassin trio here. They lived on a war front, turned into child soldiers from adults too cowardly to set foot on the field themselves. Çiçkan and Amalköylük almost became casualties in said war, and we believe it was out there that Kuvyrok developed his alter ego in order to survive. These two have stated he was always an awkward bear cub off of the field after winding down unless the sound of combat drew near, but then he was so aggressive that they were the only ones able to work around him without difficulty. He’s been the same way here for a while, but we’ve been working on his being able to differentiate the happenings in this gate and lessons compared to a war zone. Some make that harder to do than it needs to be. Hint, hint. He hasn’t had an episode in over a couple of weeks, but something these morons did must’ve triggered it today. Then you have these two where one has a fetish for anything that explodes - give me those, you little rodent - and one that has a fetish for instilling fear with his knives and camouflaging abilities. He figured out that Jedah was going to keep having his bats attack him out of annoyance after his second confirmed assassination in the gate since he can hear exactly what Spectre sees: everything. He got a third one because Çiçkan made a small make-shift explosive device that gave off a shrill sound only he could pick up on, but the opted not to go for a fourth one when he separated them via animal habitats you see on Earth: a hamster ball and a tank with a UV light,” Gwyn sighed heavily only to snatch up four bags from beside the mouse along with a much too obvious grenade he was constructing in front of them. This only resulted in protests from the boy in French only for him to seemingly give up and flop onto his back with a much less kinder grumble. “Thank you, Çiçkan. I know I’m a controlling b-tch already though now watch the language. Try to reclaim them, chameleon, and I’ll chop off your hands of like someone did Dayar. Good boy. Another example of children with bad situations would be Daamduu and Dayar. One lost his legs whilst the other lost his arms via chainsaw or skillsaw, but due to having trouble living in their environment with those disabilities, Wolfpack brought them here and Bertha was able to give them prosthetics. They will freak out if they so much as see or hear an electric saw. Ignore the sticks in their mouths. As Jedah has clearly said, they’ve each got their own defense mechanisms and manners that will make them act out. Given enough time, you’ll get past those walls and see the good behind the masks. Daeteru, can you bring him over here to Eurynome?”
The two children she mentioned having prosthetics gave Eurynome a wave, one with a metal hand, as if to say she was talking about them before continuing to chew on what looked like sticks. Gwyn merely sighed at that before watching one of the boys giving off a spark of black electricity and a drift of black sand every now and then stood up, patted his thigh a couple of times, and then moved nearer to Eurynome with the amethyst haired boy following him on all fours. Once there, the first pet the second on the head making him sit with a mewl before starting to lick his hand as a cat would to clean itself. She even shook her head slightly at Lymbo’s twitch of the hand followed by a bolt of electricity dropping down swiftly on Jedah. Idiot. The fact that the demon couple were still asleep was amusing though.
“He’s quite attached to Daeteru, but it was him that Wolfpack found him with and he was injured to the point he was unable to care for himself much less Gil here so it only makes sense. Just be careful with the cat so he doesn’t switch to his other form and create something worse than a tornado. And don’t tempt fate if it’s not something you think you can at least slightly help. I don’t want it to get worse. And if you two feel so pathetic, you’re free to join us in our lessons to better yourselves. I won’t bite your head off for wanting to become stronger so long as you don’t pull any more stupid stunts.”
“She’s a peach isn’t she? I’m Daeteru. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Eurynome. We’ve heard a lot about you and your brothers, some good things and some bad. Like Mr. Adramalech, the general called y’all hypocritically fried chickens. We’ll try helping you two if you’d like us to, and you’re always free to add in anything you might know that they haven’t been able to touch on. As for the missing kids, some were these guys, some are out with Josúe on a walk since they’re more animal than humanoid and Josúe’s under the classification of a beast tamer much like his younger brother. Then you have Takuro, Mutsumi, Dairoku, Taga and Rafa, Nao, Chaku, Lykos, Neri, Nero, Nivie, Shakyu, Kicha, Takeshi, Hiro, Ginshi, Síon, Sylver, and Veridian. The ones you’ll need to be wary of are Siúil a Rún, Zélie Adæbola, Haseo, Mahesvara, Johann, Famonaal, Minegishi, Jonah, Davi, Katsuki, Isaac, Kurose, Shirotani, Shimazu, Shigeru, Nasu, Coyote, Neku, Rúth, Nezumi, Ouni, Atsari, Coal, Shikoku, and Shikkon. Ryun and Yang are in the kitchen today albeit Yang just went with Lin, Juan, and Nitanï on a food run. The last one we think we actually know the name of, Orvulg, isn’t exactly on the loose since he’s been here for three days in something of a coma recovering from some severe internal damage. The fact he’s still alive after all of the damage Bertha was talking about him having to the general as he literally had to pry his chest plate off without burning him speaks volumes in and of itself. If he does happen to be up and walking around, Bertha’s gonna flip her lid for him doing so. She doesn’t take disobedience in the medical field too well albeit I’d expect him to wander in order to get his bearings should no one be with him when he does wake up. That comment made Bertha use some pretty aggressive German on me. And Lupo’s already gonna be pissed that Grey’s been following after the phoenix this whole time. And lastly, I’m not sure if we should actually look for him or not, but there’s some kid we’ve seen like three times in the past year that kinda has this light grey smile painted on his face that gives him a half-mime, half-clown look save for the t-shirts from Earth bands and a pair of purple polka dot socks. Gwyn said not to be too concerned since he’s not exactly threatening, but it kinda bothers some of us that he pops up outta the blue for a moment only to disappear the same way,” the boy smiled at the older demon though his sparks never seemed to stop. When naming missing children, however, the black sands drifting off of him now and then started taking up the shape of each of those listed. Those he was offering up a warning about ended up having a star over their heads. “Isaac’s the one that used the spoon to remove that guy’s arm ‘cause he’s apparently aware that he’s kinda slow, but it excessively pisses him off having people pick at it. Gwyn and most of the other adults said he’s not allowed to so much as touch a pillow without their permission after the spoon incident. The general just told Gwyn to deal with it at your own discretion. If you find him, try using small words and avoid expressions of joy and fear. They make him laugh and he will want to kill you at that point. And don’t go monotonous for him either. That just pisses him off. For Shigeru, I’d just avoid physical contact with his hands ‘cause they’re similar to a certain someone’s death touch. I mean, it requires the whole hand making contact with you, but still. Coyote and Kurose are more along the lines of thinking everyone’s trying to help Josúe and Shirotani turn them into pets, Minegishi’s in an emotionally unstable place with Takeshi and Hiroi so he’s been excessively hostile with a heavy dose of depressive joy - we can’t really identify what he’s feeling aside from defensive, and then Haseo kinda causes a glitch effect on the space around him without really meaning to which can end up fatal. We can’t fix you if you get caught up in one of them. A lot of the girls find him intimidating because of his eyes too, but that’s not really his fault either. The rest on the list of being cautious are pretty temperamental and suspicious of people too so they might get aggressive. Well, everyone except Siúil a Rún. We don’t know much about him, just that he’s usually got these dark plants around him that don’t seem to like anyone near him and he’s never actually said anything besides his name being what it is. Either way, they don’t exactly get involved with the rest of us or if they do, it’s extremely brief... Oh! And Cherri and Angie. I almost completely forgot about them since they never really talked with us let alone trained with us. They’re usually with the nagas Jedah was with earlier though mostly for Angie’s sake.”
“Uuruluk, Özgörüü, don’t try helping the explosive little mouse from making more grenades! You little trash pandas, I swear,” Gwyn snapped as the twins she’d mentioned would pickpocket people held up the pieces of the grenade Çiçkan had been making in front of him. The duo gave off a chittering sound like that of a snicker before darting in different directions away from the demoness reaching over to grab them by the back of their shirts. When that failed, she took the pieces back from the French boy who went right on back to sulking about his things being taken from him. Jedah could only sigh heavily as if he’d seen this struggle a million times before. “Thank you, Daeteru, but Angie’s fine where he is. Jedah already gave me his report on him being with the nagas and Cherri is floating around him like she always does.”
“They should be glad all I did was force them into their animal forms and put them in their own little animal Hell away from each other. Mousy McSplosions was frantically running around the room in his little hamster ball and Karma Chameleon just entirely froze up like a deer caught in headlights. In short, they learned that day that you don’t f-ck with Batman. And yeah. Uuruluk and Özgörüü are indeed pilfering little raccoons. You automatically know they’ve done something wrong once they give off that chitter of a snicker they‘re incapable of containing. It’s a little more rare to see them using their skills for others rather than hoarding things all for themselves though. It’s possible they’re just trying to rile her up at this point.”
“Yeah. Batman only let them out after Mousy McSplosions finally stopped running around the room a few hours later then started bawling and promising to keep Karma Chameleon from assassinating anyone else, but there wasn’t much he could do about Bipolar Bear.”
“Ma chérie, please stop calling us Mousy McSplosions, Karma Chameleon, and Bipolar Bear. And I didn’t bawl my eyes out! You exaggerate my negotiation skills with that of a mere beggar,” Çiçkan almost seemed to grumble before shooting Jedah a sharp glare when he let some of his bats crawl down his arm and into his hand just for a clear plastic ball to form up. “Non! You promised I wouldn’t be put back in the ball if I could keep them from killing anyone else! Chauve-souris traître!”
“Non. I said you won’t be put back in the ball so long as you behave yourself. He won’t go in the glass tank either. Give the explosions a break today though, Çiçkan, or you’re going back in the ball. And let Gwyn know where all of your stashes are later, alright?”
“Tch.... Oui, Monsieur. I’ll be sure ma belle femme knows where mes réserves sont planquées. Only her though! Spectre already knows where they are too. They’re just for precaution. I can’t stop Kuvyrok using them if he finds them in his combat mode, but I like being cautious.”
“Réponse acceptable. J'aime savoir que tu es si prudent, mon ami. I’ve been told since I was your age that I’m a little too cautious myself though so try not being exactly like me. Let others in to lighten the load you’ve got on your shoulders. We’re here for you now, okay? We’re friends, and family at this point,” Jedah smiled lightly at the boy before setting the plastic ball on the floor. Standing upright once again, his bats flew back up to his chest simply to meld back in, but what he’d left behind was the boy’s explosives making belongings earning the bat demon a sharp glare from Gwyn.
“Oui, Monsieur. Merci beaucoup,” he squeaked with a smile as he quickly scooped it all up so Gwyn wouldn’t take them away again.
“Just try not to cause so much trouble I actually have to put you back in the ball. Gwyn, he’ll be alright. You can’t control everything they do so take a deep breath. He’s proved that he’s only concerned for the future, and the idiots you kicked through the wall are reason enough for him to want to be prepared. He’ll let you know where his stashes are as a gesture of good faith. If he doesn’t, it’s back in the hamster ball and the glass tank. I’m still trying to figure out a method that isn’t quite so cruel for Kuvyrok though. Maybe a giant hamster ball with stronger durability and a more intricate door so he can’t use his paws? He’s a frickin’ beast with his physical strength like Chestra is, and the nagas said that he nearly destroyed the shackles that were keeping him in his human form the last time we had to lock him up for the safety of others. It isn’t fair to him in the slightest since it’s not something he can control at the moment.”
“If ever. Chestra relapsed into having absolutely no control over his strength so who’s to say Kuvyrok will find that middle ground and be able to maintain it?”
“I have faith in all of them. I’ve had a twin brother that could destroy the world in the blink of an eye if he felt like it, and something of an adopted brother that was too scared to actually touch anything once he found something precious to him besides just survival though so I don’t expect you to understand, Gwyn. You’ve never seen the full struggle for control as I’ve seen Chestra and Veda go through, and the struggle is oh so very real. There’s bound to be some complications and relapses, but they still fought for control no matter how long it took. They still continue that fight to this very day even though they’re back at square one. Do forgive me for going against your current judgement of needing to have almost complete control over them, but as a childishly overbearing king once said to his oh so fiery general and friends, I punch the initiative. Understand?”
“The general said you were trying to seem a little less like a stick in the mud, but I didn’t think you’d be the type to use Chestra’s childhood motto.”
“It’s kind of amusing in its own way since he was much too strong for anyone to handle. It was basically his way of saying try me. And whilst it’s true that I wouldn’t normally say it, I’d have to say that I won’t think twice about bopping you on the head for being the overbearing control freak I used to be. I know the frustration of not being able to control every little thing, but I’ve grown past it... a few decades after Pandora sealed the box back up. Point is, I moved past it. What the Hell is that white noise? There’s no more digging sounds now too... Ah. Daeteru forgot the kid we call Mole too. The kid was a trench digger during yet another war, but he got caught in an air strike with what few others he had with him and he’s the only one that survived. You’ll come to notice over time that at least half of the kids were caught in a confrontation at some point, but maybe a handful have had the kind of experience that caused them to be excessively aggressive with an extreme passion. Mole’s always covered in dirt with a heavy tobacco smell ‘cause all he ever seems to do is dig and smoke, smoke and dig. Thing is, I don’t hear him digging now that the white noise is gone. It also appears that Spectre and Sever have noticed something’s up too.”
“So it’s not just us! The, uh, white noise as you call it. We hear it now and again too, probably not as well as you of course, but then y’all find out someone’s gone missing. Do you think they’re in correlation with each other,” the mouse spoke up with some mild debate on his word choice. As if realizing something, one could hear a faint squeak from him. “Mon cher isn’t digging? Non! Not ze Mole!”
“Calm down and hush up. I’m trying to find him. He’s probably worked himself too hard and is taking a break. It’s always dig, dig, dig with him. He’ll probably stop when he’s completed whatever it is he’s doing, but it’s hard to know. Surprisingly, he hasn’t butchered the foundation though. It’s kinda weird... Nah. He’s not there anymore. What’d he break his shovel on before the white noise erased him from my sense of hearing? I really don’t need you squeaking anxiously near me, squirt. Just make sure the bear cub’s recuperating. It is a possibility they’re in correlation though, but you have to remember Haseo causes the same sound with his glitch effect on the world around him too.”
“He’s doing fine. What do you mean mon cher Mole broke his shovel? Jedah, don’t turn away from me. Where is he?!”
“Shaddup and sit down, Mousy McSplosions. I’m spitballing here on what I believe was something breaking ‘cause my sense of hearing is being hindered all over the frickin’ place by a high concentration of white noise. I don’t actually know what I got a brief clip of sound from before it was covered by the white noise. Spectre’s down there though, he already knows something is up, and I’m sure he’ll have a better idea of what happened. The Mole will be fine. Just breathe and wait until I get word from Wolfpack. I’d rather not have Bipolar Bear and Karma Chameleon going apesh-t on me ‘cause you disappeared too. Go mouse form, or you go camouflage, my bats are locking you up in the ball and you in the tank again. We don’t need you kids getting dragged into whatever the frick it is that’s making people disappear.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Shooting Adramalech an annoyed glare through the large chest of the man now carrying him, Seda gave a brief snort. “You should ask my dad to show you our family tree. Our explosive nature is purely hereditary. Some of us are just better at using it than others,” he stated coolly before shifting his gaze up towards the one called Spectre hopping up onto the larger man’s back. “What are you doing, Vladimir?”
Giving off a brief initial start of a whine, one could tell he wasn’t too thrilled at being called Vladimir. “Ne nazyvay menya tak pered drugimi. I’m taking out the traps set up ahead of us. It seems something triggered Kuvyrok’s aggressive side so there’s now active ones in the gate. The speed in which he sets them, how well-placed they are, and how well they work still impresses me to this day. Proshu proshcheniya za neudobstva, Beltway. This keeps us moving though,” he responded with a hint of a sulk in the beginning. After flipping up onto Beltway’s shoulder so he could hook a foot under the larger man’s arm and up against his back, what appeared to be a sniper rifle began forming up in his free hand. He took a second to aim the gun in a specific direction before pulling the trigger at the end of his breath. Whilst no bullet was fired, there was a faint hint of the sound of shattering glass. Several more shots, and the gun vanished just for him to roll back down onto his feet, snap his fingers at Vector, and point towards Seda. “Get out of your thermal suit, comrade, before your leg overheats. Your body heat is escalating with him in your arms.”
“Fine. Sorry, hermano,” the Puerto Rican man sighed heavily before handing the semi-annoyed boy over to Vector. Once safely in the other’s arms, Beltway had began stripping as fast as possible to get down to his boxers. He managed to hop a few times trying to get his pants off of the prosthetic hidden beneath it before Bertha intervened again to kick his upper body in the opposite direction of the leg and snatched them off herself. With a low grumble of an apology and thanks to the blonde, he removed his grenade belts from his clothes just to put them back in their original places on his body. Handing the clothes back to the blonde whom merely tossed them towards the girl that had yet to say anything, he retrieved Seda back from Vector just for Spectre to hop back up on Beltway’s back with a hand hooked over his shoulder and the balls of his feet settled into the small of the larger man’s back.
After a couple of seconds of the clicking of metal against the marble floors, the Russian used his free hand to remove his goggles and mask in one sitting simply to expose him as a white haired man in his twenties at most with one golden iris surrounded by a black sclera and a black iris surrounded by a blood red sclera. He followed this action with a brief shake of his head so he could get his obviously damp hair to straighten itself back out a bit. “I really need a haircut.”
Taking a breath and shutting his eyes, he started up in a low yet soothing song that seemed to help Seda relax a bit more in Beltway’s arms albeit the flickering of fire from his skin died out. In fact, it seemed like the entire area had settled into a far calmer state. “Zaglyani ty v serdechko mne. I skazhi "ukhodi" zime. Whoa oh yeah. Oh yeah. Veter voyet, a ty grey menya. Nebo stonet, a u nas vesna. Whoa oh oh oh. Poprosi u oblakov. Podarit' nam belykh snov. Noch' plyvet i my za ney. V mir tainstvennykh ogney. Yeah yeah. Whoa oh. Yeah yeah yeah. Razgoni ty tosku vo mne. Nespokoyno u menya v dushe. Yeah yeah yeah. Poprosi u oblakov. Podarit’ nam belykh snov. Noch’ plyvet i my za ney. V mir tainstvennykh ogney.”
“It’s a lullaby of sorts if you’re curious. It’s something Lady Aida, Seda’s mother, would sing to him before bed. It’s something Spectre picked up from her so we hear him humming it from time to time when situations like this one are much too tense,” the only female in the group that hadn’t spoken yet finally chimed in seeming to find her voice. Smiling slightly behind her mask, she gave Seraphine a slight wave as if being friendly whilst completely ignoring that Sever had briefly given Adramalech an annoyed glare before having to seem to correct his vision again from the motion. “Sorry for the sudden jump in hostilities whilst you were conversing in the library. That was our bad what with the momentary delay from our being stunned at how swiftly Ross there jumped on the hostile bandwagon when Seda was vaguely insulted. If Spectre has indeed completed his research, then the boys having to work together now is sure to have its complications. You can call me Four Eyes by the way. I also apologize for having burdened you with Seda’s health for a short while.”
“If someone could configure magic better, he probably wouldn’t have been separated from the prince so suddenly much less reappeared in a random location and I could’ve been taking care of him sooner. It probably would’ve also helped not having a phoenix throwing a tantrum over ancient artifacts,” Bertha growled as she shot the two avians an accusatory glance. This got a brief wave of malevolence shot towards her by Seda’s general direction making her shift her gaze elsewhere.
“Don’t be rude, Michaela. I’ve already told you that I won’t put up with y’all behaving unruly. My physical condition’s leveling out now if not improving at this point. The air’s circulating a bit easier what with the phoenix fire speeding up his circles’ effects on my body so I don’t have that overbearing urge to cough. Give it a little bit longer and my energy levels should be rising again,” Seda growled from where he was being held captive. This got both the Russian and the Puerto Rican to give a soft snicker. “Quit with the hurried pace already, Hector. Do me a favor of floating around our esteemed house guest since I am, apparently, the only one not being a complete d-ck to her save for Christina. Adramalech’s a little out of sorts so I can’t count him, and Ross is completely avoiding contact of any kind in general. At this point, I might as well be handing out directions ‘cause the rest of y’all suck at it. Sorry about these morons being the first ones you meet aside from me, Seraphine.”
“And now you get a full view of how much of his leg he blew off, not to mention how much I had to clean up before he even got a prosthetic leg; nearly the whole damn thing,” Bertha sighed heavily as the metal did indeed vanish beneath his shorts.
“We made a few jokes about it to try lightening the mood a few days after he started moving around with crutches, and he hit Lupo in the head with one of them before running off in hound form to the garden. He kinda sulks like a child,” Four Eyes snickered as she readjusted Beltway’s clothes in her arms, his boots tied together and hanging from the one arm.
“Lo siento. When your jokes are pointing out issues I’m already aware of, however, it’s going to be taken as hurtful,” Beltway growled over his shoulder. “Discúlpame, por favor. I’m a little more on the long-legged side so I have longer strides. My pace is now matched with hers as requested, hermano.”
“Oh c’mon. Scars are tattoos with better stories, and girls are totally going to be all over you for losing your leg,” Four Eyes teased playfully.
“Seulement parce qu'ils se sentent mal pour lui,” Lupo muttered with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes glued to Seraphine in obvious suspicion.
“And there it is. Poor, pitiful Beltway lost a leg due to his own stupidity. Whilst we see him as a reckless idiot, others will feel only pity for both his leg and his stupidity. That’s why your jokes aren’t funny. You don’t have any idea how this affected my life without the kind of jokes you were making, Karena. I already had trouble about being in a bathroom in humanoid form beforehand, but it only got harder to take a leak afterwards. I’m too big which is why I’m always stuck having to get baths in hound form in the garden, and then y’all girls complain about me having a having a wet dog smell. Was it stupid to blow up an entire underground passage? Of course it was, but I did it to save your French a** and Four Eyes from getting torn apart. You’re lucky I got away from that with just a severe concussion and one leg blown off with the amount of explosive force I put into it protecting y’all. I made the necessary sacrifice for the mission to be completed. Just be glad I’m still here and able to continue my job,” the Puerto Rican started off with a roll of his eyes before his voice started taking on a low growl, his chest vibrating with irritation. At feeling a small hand touching his cheek, it stopped entirely as his gaze shifted down at the owner of the hand in his arms. “Lo siento, hermano.”
“Está bien, Hector. I got the general idea of what happened with your leg now. You’ve always been that way, sacrificing all you have for the sake of others. I’ve told you that’s as dangerous as your explosives fetish. Don’t let Karena get to you though. She’s always hated having her choices taken away from her, and you took them from her in order to protect them and achieve the objective even if she had to lose you in the process. Right now she’s just excessively grumpy ‘cause I made her sit in the hall,” Seda smiled up at the man with a wink whom gave an apologetic smile in return. “The restroom comment was unnecessary though.”
“Muchas gracías, hermano. You can always calm me back down with such ease.”
“I have to. Karena gets under your skin just as easily and I’d rather you didn’t start hurling explosives at her like you did in the shed. Vlad, have you been letting that rabbit follow us around this whole time?”
“You had the option of peeing like a girl.”
Frowning slightly, one could almost say his ears had flattened entirely if he’d been in hound form. “I wasn’t as good at controlling the explosive force in my grenades back then. Your dad was livid that I accidentally blew up the neighbor’s house too. Whilst he was excessively unhappy, you’d think he’d been happier no one got hurt. Mm? That’s a good question. Spectre, why’s the Aussie separate from the other kids? Not an option, Bertha. I’d rather die than be forced to pee like a girl.”
“Da. He was curious and we’re heading back that direction anyways. Unlike Seda’s abrupt nature, he didn’t feel so inclined as to make contact with Lady Seraphine until he could determine her threat level. Grey’s a smart boy. He can come out of hiding now though,” the Russian answered honestly earning him a heavy sigh from Lupo. As if on cue, a relatively tall boy with the soft tan legs of a rabbit and a deep caramel colored skin of a human practically hopped out of hiding to walk casually beside Beltway and Seraphine though he glanced at her with golden eyes from behind his ivory colored hair.
“Crikey. So you’re the sheila from the books about the hypocritically fried chickens. Erm... Adramalech and his brothers that is. The general has a habit of callin’ his avian mates hypocritically fried chickens ‘cause they broke some promise or some such. The pics on them pages sure ain’t got that great of a depiction of ya. I’m Grey Heaven, but most everyone else calls me Grey, Jackrabbit or the Aussie. Pleasure to meet ya. Ms. Bertha, he’s not exactly humanoid restroom size friendly, and he ain’t got the ability Mr. Jedah does of shrinking himself down substantially to be as such. Mr. Spectre, sir, ya told me not to give strangers a fair go without some sense of their threat level. It seems the general’s son ain’t got any concerns about straightforward confrontation though,” he grinned at the woman before turning his gaze back towards the Russian and Puerto Rican. This received a more obvious response of a snicker from Spectre now that he wasn’t wearing his hood.
“Fear is just a state of mind. The only thing to fear is fear itself. We’re all going to die eventually so fearing death is stupid in and of itself. Whatever gets left behind when we do die is something we can only influence in some way, and even that’s only temporary. You can hope for the best, but always expect the worse,” Seda snorted as he shifted slightly in Beltway’s arms so he was actually upright on his own and giving the blonde a rather dark smirk. “See what I was talking about, Michaela? I told you my body just needed a minute to readjust everything mixing together. It’s not a fever. The urge to cough has now entirely dissipated, and it doesn’t feel like I’m only getting two percent of the oxygen I’m breathing in. I could probably even walk on my own again if Hector here would put me back down. Vladimir’s aid in releasing the tension in the air also helped so I appreciate his love of my mother’s music to have compelled him to sing one for me now. I’m serious about the bathroom comments though: entirely unnecessary. Michaela, you should know better than to suggest him to do anything like a girl anyways. He’d rather die.”
“Sir, you’re not supposed to be telling them our real names,” Lupo growled lowly only to shift her gaze away from the brief glare he shot at her. Spectre, however, seemed to have become relatively bashful at being thanked for something so simple.
“Fine. Beltway, I might have to have you start hurling grenades at Lupo and Bertha if they keep wearing my patience thin. There. Code names used. Happy now, Lupo?”
“Heheh. I’m not the only one that gets irritated by their grumpiness. We can’t go doing that though. Spectre, why’re we following the secondary path instead of the shortcut?”
“Because Lupo said we’re not supposed to be exposing all of the paths to outsiders and visitors, Beltway. It’s such a hassle too,” the Russian answered only to heave a sigh when Vector vanished from Ross’ side. “Mr. Adramalech, if you’re doing something, you might want to let me know so I can keep Vector from doing anything to keep you from your objective. Beltway, be wary around the next corner. Our little trench digger’s at it again.”
“Fine. Four Eyes, I need you to escort Lupo and Bertha back to their kennels until they can remember their manners. You’re the only one of the girls that isn’t making the female hellhound a generic stereotype of a b-tch straight outta Hell. Thank you for the extra radio earpiece. Vector, remain on standby for Spectre’s orders. Any views of threat levels at your discretion, of course. Keep us updated,” Seda started with a grumble before seemingly have a thought strike him. Having snapped twice at Four Eyes, the woman shifted her gaze over only to follow his directions with swift obedience. After handing Spectre Beltway’s clothes and boots, she handed a Bluetooth to Seda whom had placed it in his ear without a second thought and rounded up the other two flabbergasted women to lead them elsewhere. He then made sure to give Vector, wherever he was hiding in the halls, his orders of remaining on standby until further notice. This then turned into Beltway and Seda giving each other a grin and a thumbs up. “Problem solved. Again, Seraphine, I apologize about the ladies. Like I said, last time I saw them, they were puppies that knew better than to be unruly around me. In my absence, however, it seems they thought they could get away with it. This will be remedied swiftly. I also apologize to you, Adra, since they were obviously speaking ill of your magical skill severing a link I had attaching me to Ross for some time. They’ve also lost some brain cells it seems, and that’s saying a lot considering Beltway’s current physical state yet his continued gentle giant nature that maintains the understanding of my being the alpha dog in this pack, sick or not. Spectre and Vector remain good boys too. I’m sure one boy called Sever has figured out why they’re obedient after that love tap I gave him too.”
“Only for you, Seda,” the duo responded with a grin.
“So the mole’s back to digging again. I thought we’ve already told him not to dig inside the buildings.”
“We did, but he’s ten times more aggressive than your explosive little apprentice and a hundred times more defiant than oil is to water.”
“Difference of opinions even when not talking with each other. Now, I’m trying to see straight. Frick. How in the Hell did he do that with those little twigs he calls legs? Even worse is you can’t keep track of his movements and he’s apparently sick,” Sever muttered in response only for his hand to reflexively catch Adramalech’s arm as he stumbled a bit. Removing it once he’d corrected himself, he briefly shifted his gaze towards the wall as a far less irritable expression passed over his face. “Sorry... The hall’s kinda swaying more than it was earlier. And sorry if I seem a little overwhelmingly irritable right now. Being in my human form, especially being stuck in it, makes me feel vulnerable so I get aggressively defensive. It’s just frustrating for me. And now that I’m seeing dirt boot prints and a cigarette butt, you might want to be wary of where you step. Le’Vaunte’s been through here with his friggin’ shovel. Spectre usually handles his hidden trenches and tunnels, but he’s apparently keeping watch for this lovely little task objective. He’s got this little clicker that beeps like when curse words are being censored on tv because the little French twerp has that foul of language. Then again, he might not be doing too hot considering his footprints kinda fell out there. He’s not in his trenches, Spectre?”
“Not unless he’s found a way to hide his heat signature. They’re all empty at the moment. Part of me is concerned that Josué’s older brother, Grigori, has done something to him. He’s been spreading word about Ze Mole being his property albeit the little trench digger aggressively declares that he belongs to no one in his much too crude manner.”
“Do you think you should go looking for him?”
“Mm. I may need to get back under the hood to focus my sight in search of him considering how fresh the dirt is and yet no one’s around... And that’s the handle of his shovel. Beltway.”
“Go, Spectre. It’s cause for concern when the children go missing from way out of left field. Keep me posted. Vector, your orders fall to me until Spectre returns. Adra, I fear you’re going to be stuck with only me for the time being,” Beltway sighed heavily though he offered up his arm for Spectre to hand him his clothes before he dropped back to the ground and pulled his hood with the multiple scopes on it back on. Giving it a few swaps in which one was active in what could only be his readjusting his sights, he motioned the group to continue on without him before starting to examine the hallway alongside the handle of a shovel that seemed to have been splintered off from the remainder of the tool.
“Cause for concern indeed. Something’s been making people disappear, and Sedynn was worried the kids were going to get dragged into whatever the Hell it is. It’d be better if it’s just a case of a beast tamer trying to create a loyal pet out of a stray rather than just another random disappearance. Jedah might have a better idea of what happened to the little mole since he likely heard him digging before, but still.”
Better back the ******** up Better shut the ******** up I'll do what I want and I'll never give up
I won't be broken I won't be tortured I won't be beaten down I have the answer I take the pressure I turn it all around
“We still have our dramatic flair, sure, but that isn’t always a bad thing. It keeps things interesting,” Perem gave a chuckle and nodded. “I suppose that’s good, but i still think these combinations are rather disgusting. Letsee.... Ah here, this one actually is just fruit. The sands will make sure we get foods for you that don’t sound like an absolute disaster. Obviously gonna keep things balanced still, but just... not that kind of mix. You have any flavors you prefer?” He asked, getting a spoon out and settling in to feed Veda. It didn’t even really strike him as odd to feed the person who taught him to read. Then again, he was used to magic doing some very strange things.
Looking up when Jedah commented on him getting burned, he shrugged. “Ive had plenty of time to get over it while my body was healing. I'm just grateful that you guys took care of it while I was off in the spirit realm.” he shrugged, going back to feeding Veda.
Serenity nodded along as Jedah explained the happenings on around them. Ok, so first on the list was forcing Sedynn to take a break, followed by giving Belial a boot to the head. Hopefully, while he was on a forced vacation, Sedynn would not only have time to grieve but time to process his son being back. It was just a matter of finding time to talk to him about it. And also seeing if they could part him and Chestra or if the two would want to stay glued to each other like always.
“I think that’s actually up still because we’re here. Knowing him, he probably wants to just sleep it off and then do whatever else is on his mind. It looks like Dez is pretty wiped out next to him. She’s even snoring.” Serenity mumbled as introductions were still going on.
“We might take you up on that. It's been a long time since we actually had time to train.” the elder brother replied, pulling a small stone out of his pocket to roll it in his hand.
Eurynome gave a smile at the kid that was brought forward, waving briefly at the kids. As the list of children was lengthened based on who wasn’t there, he seemed to lock in on Daeteru as if trying to absorb as much of the information as he could.
Jezabeth, on the other hand, had taken to inspecting the cursed kid beside him, blue eyes scanning him over as if reading lines and words that weren’t there. At the mention of someone actively having gone missing, he shifted his focus up to Jedah and rose an eyebrow. “White noise? Is that a normal thing here? Or is it something that started recently?”
Shifting her focus back as well, Serenity glanced up at Jedah and tucked her hands behind her back, fidgeting with the shreds of her shirt. She was doing her best not to make too much noise since she was the closest to him but was struggling slightly.
-=-=-=*=-=-=-
Adra simply grinned at Seda’s glare, shrugging off his hostility. He didn’t seem too bothered by the idea of someone placing traps all over, either. As Four Eyes finally spoke to him, he nodded softly and took a breath, about to speak before Bertha interrupted to gripe about him and his mother. “To be honest, I'm none too pleased at the connection he had with Ross breaking either. But it’s better for both of them not to be doing that. The bleeding effect was getting pretty bad. And I'm glad the circles are finally starting to work. It's not actually my magic, despite my being covered in them.” he shrugged, glancing off to his mother for a moment before looking at Seda. “Let me know if any other symptoms crop up, and I'll see what I can do for those as well.”
Seraphine looked down at the rabbit child as he made his appearance, giving a nod of greeting before shifting her gaze back to the way they were walking. Something up ahead had caught her attention, but she wasn’t sure what to make of it. “I am, though I'm apparently missing some of my memories from before I went into an ash-sleep.” she breathed, looking down at him for a second before back up at the path ahead. What was that feeling?
Glancing to Spectre when he commented on his shadow splitting, the fire crow gave a shrug. “I just sent my shadow to assist a friend back on earth. I made a promise to him that I don't intend to break. Just as I made a promise to Sedynn. I don’t count that one as broken, even if he does. I failed him, yes, but I did not intentionally go against my promise. I’d go myself, but I’ve been away long enough. Hopefully, my shadow will be able to handle things.” he sighed, wings twitching behind him.
“You’re quite alright Sedynn. I cannot blame them for being cautious around an unknown entity. And I did throw a bit of a tantrum.” Seraphine shrugged, eyes trailing the walls and floor momentarily. The glow her body had been emitting seemed to dim briefly, although her eyes now glowed brighter.
“Sever, if you have a concussion I’m going to have to insist you sit out anything beyond conversation. You’ve been wobbling since Seda gave you the boot and strenuous activity will just make it worse. You’re gonna have to get checked out by one of the medic types when we get back. No fighting me on that. And while I can understand differing opinions, that should not result in fights. So we will have to work on you lot getting along.” Adra breathed, tucking his hands into his pockets.
Glancing at Beltway, the demon king gave a grin and shrugged. “Isn’t it more you’re stuck with me? Your pack has been acting like working with me is some sort of punishment since Sedynn went for a nap. Don’t worry about me too much and focus on your task at hand. Should anything happen I’ll be sticking to support magic for now.” he hummed, a glow coming from under his wings.
Lift me up above this The flames and the ashes Lift me up and help me to fly away Lift me up above this The broken the empty Lift me up and help me to fly away Lift me up
I'm gonna change history Enlighten the world Teach them how to see through my eyes
I'm gonna lash back check that Fatal as a heart attack Stomp out all the ugliest lies
You can't convince me to change We ain't on the same page I've had my fill now there's nothing but rage
Giving a little laugh at Perem’s response to his comment about how the older guys still behaved rather childish at times, Veda couldn’t help but open his mouth when being offered the food. True. Quite honestly, I don’t really have anything that I like above the others save for certain kinds of magic. It’s a stigma thing, and given my current state, I’d rather not attempt to trigger the Lino Doue to ingest magic just to accidentally eat you. The body before I started getting more control over it, however, enjoys carrots as well as that kind where there’s blueberries. It wholeheartedly hates anything with oatmeal though. Just avoid anything that says oatmeal and sounds like several food trucks crashed into each other, and you should be fine.
“Not that any of you could actually use the specific kind of magic he’s talking about. I can’t even use it. But yeah. You’re family, Perem, and family does for family. Well, you specifically became family to me when you... tried to make Veda feel normal and welcome when we were younger. I was annoyed that you didn’t seem to understand we were trying to tell you nonchalantly that it was him that wanted you to maintain a safe distance, but I was trying to maintain my own distance at the time and the others have always had this thing about not speaking up so I’ll explode. Twins of Misfortune and I’m just plain bad with personal conversations, remember? People were always breathing down my neck back then in wait of my shift to Veda’s position so I was stressing over every little thing. They’re still there, mind you, but it’s not quite so intense nowadays. You’ve currently heard him say it himself now that he’s back though. Veda wants everyone he cares about at a safe distance for a while as he gets reacquainted with everything. So long as we inform him beforehand, we’ll be able to spend time with him, but he wants us to be safe from the uncontrollable nature of his stigmas. He was the same way back then, always disappearing and hiding from even me if he felt he posed too much of a threat that he wasn’t able to contain,” Jedah smiled a little sadly at the sandman as he made another slight rocking motion onto the heels of his feet still in the pigeon-toed position. At only having noticed he was acting rather timid compared to his normal mannerisms, not to mention his childhood habits behind the stick in the mud most others knew him to be, he straightened back up and cleared his throat. “Sorry. I’m just happy to have met you, Perry, and I am proud to consider you as a brother from another mother. I really shouldn’t have been such a snob to y’all back then.”
Eh... You might wanna work on controlling your emotions better, Jedah. And strengthening your mental state. It was only a glimpse, but I believe I saw the bad ones in wait of a trigger, Veda hesitantly threw out making Jedah and Gwyn shift their gaze his direction.
“Say what now? The bad ones? Like the one even our father was scared of and the one that traumatized all the kids of the Hidden Gate? Those bad ones?”
Eh... Yes?
“Great. You knew I had them somewhere inside me, didn’t you? It’d be why you always avoided the question.”
Eh... Yes, but there was a chance it’d remain dormant and I’d hoped it would stay that way. There was also a chance it’d be drawn to the surface with the makeshift formula after the incident with the box, but it only seems to have awakened when I returned seeing as it’s still very much behind closed doors. It’s simply waiting for a trigger at this point. You haven’t heard them yet because they haven’t been triggered yet.
“Great. So what triggers do I need to avoid?”
Extreme damage, exhaustion, and/or hunger for the first. For the second one, it’d be injuries to loved ones that could potentially kill them. You were hit in the head with debris from Sedynn’s and Lymbo’s brief spat when mine went off and traumatized everyone. Head wounds can be fatal after all, and you kinda hit the ground pretty hard.
“It was a pretty big rock, and it drew blood. Frick. That’s the worst things to have to avoid when you‘re a demon living in Hell.”
It really is. And if the first gets triggered, you’ll be susceptible to provocation. Hostile provocation, Jedah, not sexual. You’re not an incubus nor will you become similar to one. You might get away with the personality thing though seeing as you’re already pretty weird.
“Frick... And I am aware that I’ve got a weird personality so that’s good to know.”
Gwyn smiled at the avian duo and gave a nod of approval. “Smart choice. We’ll see to it that you’re well cared for. The general will be most pleased when he hears such wonderful news. He’ll likely flip his lid once he hears about what Veda’s just said though,” she practically hummed making several of the kids snicker. At being questioned about the white noise, however, all of the children that seemed to have animalistic blood in their veins and Jedah himself frowned.
“Leaving the stigma thing as a side note for now, you’re not familiar with what white noise is, are you? It’s that high-pitched ringing in the ear,” the bat demon started off in what could only be described as unenthusiastic. Of course, a handful of small bats climbed into his hand where they then shifted into a brick with the word enlightenment. With that in hand, he gave it a half-assed throw towards the avian just for it to scatter back into the bats before even getting within arm’s reach of the other. “On a serious note, please don’t ask stupid questions. I know they say the only stupid question is the one not asked, but they forgot to mention questions already answered and the obvious. The only times they’re acceptable is when you’re really young and when you weren’t there when the question was asked. Either way, it’s hard to say when specifically this version of it started since my hearing’s so sharp I’ve heard white noise pretty often throughout my entire life. If you don’t remember, the cornfield we played Ghost in the Graveyard in was torture for me just with the bugs and the birds. After a certain age, however, I just got so accustomed to it that it didn’t ever pop out at me as strange and I’d succeeded in deciphering mass auditory information simultaneously so I can maintain my usefulness in a massive field of operations. Some of the other kings had started to refer to me as a one bat army at that point too.”
Ugh. Why do they think they’re so clever when they come up with things like that? It’s ridiculous.
“I honestly don’t know, and it’s even more annoying when they snicker about things behind your back as they talk in soft whispers. It’s like, hello~. I’m a bat, dumbass, so I can hear you. They really are stupid though.”
“It’s been coming around for the past sept mois, mon ami, at least as far as my knowledge goes. Er... Seven months that is,” Çiçkan interjected in answer making his chameleon companion nod several times. At the green haired boy stirring, however, the duo snapped to attention to see if he had woken up or was just stirring restlessly. At seeing it was the latter, they turned their gaze back to the adults. “It was quiet for a couple of months which was the grace period for Kuvyrok meaning he wasn’t wanting to kill everyone for chaque petite chose. I mean a little while. Je suis désolé. It’s hard for me to maintain English all of the time so my French slips in often. This latest swap in Kuvyrok’s personality and now what Monsieur Jedah’s insinuating as the disappearance of the Mole makes me believe that whatever’s causing this white noise triggered his defenses to, quite possibly, pose as a distraction. Some call it PTSD, others call him bipolar, and then you have the ones that consider it a dissociative identity disorder. We’ve known him for quite some, and he’s actually a relatively klutzy and gentle guy. Shortly after we started taking part in the war, he seemed to develop the more aggressive side that would only come out on the battlefield with a far less klutzy and gentle behavior so we believe that he experienced something when we were separated ever so briefly on the field that kicked his survival instinct into high-gear. Either way, it was very low key white noise at first, nothing unusual, but it made a split second jump to a higher level then back down a few times just before he started becoming agitated. And then it was like we were back on the war front where even Mal and myself turned into targets.”
“So that’s what that was... Mm. The oddities in the sounds of white noise that I can consciously recall was... twelve years ago, shortly before we found Chestra. I don’t believe that’s precisely when it started, but it’s when I first started thinking it was weird,” Jedah added rather thoughtfully only to turn his gaze towards his brother. Shaking off some thought, he turned his gaze back towards the avian duo only to start slightly at seeing a white haired boy with caramel colored skin marred with a variety of scars and wide, red rimmed eyes standing next to them yet staring at him in silence. “Oh fricksicles. Haseo, don’t do that to me. This is the one the other kids will refer to as Glitch, and the random patches of distorted space around him are precisely what they were talking about not getting caught up in. Most can’t hear it, but those bits of distorted space give off white noise too making him a ghost in my sharp hearing. What’s up, kiddo? Eh? You opened a portal to... our little serial killer, Isaac. And that’s blood. Gwyn, do you mind? Your angry face will annoy him to the point he won’t hop on the Murder Train.”
“Yeah... Wait. That’s a Glitch portal. How do we know it won’t close before I’m through?” At receiving a questionable gaze, she muttered something in Czechoslovakian before hesitantly stepping into the portal. Shortly after she’d crouched down next to the hooded figure seemingly sleeping against the base of the wall, the portal seemed to cut out like bad reception on a television before entirely closing and making the boy with the intense stare turn his gaze downwards.
“It’s alright, Haseo. You did a good job getting her there in one piece with your abilities. I’m proud of you. Are you intending to eat by yourself in your room again?” Receiving a nod in response, Jedah gave a soft sigh but nodded nonetheless and patted him on top of the head. “Alright then. I do hope you’ll join everyone at the table later tonight though. And see about taking a nap. Your eyes are a little more red today than normal.” This received yet another nod, one more out of acknowledgement than anything else, before the boy ran off in silence with a brief static sound being left behind for several seconds. “He doesn’t really say much of anything so it’s really a bunch of guessing what he’s trying to say and/or do, and he’s been avoiding the other kids after the incident that made us realize we can’t heal anything that gets caught up in those glitches of his. Just don’t take him running off as offensive ‘cause he’s not meaning it that way. He’s just trying to keep his unstable abilities from hurting people much like Veda with his eyes and Chestra with his strength. And we think he might have something serpentine in him ‘cause he doesn’t really close his eyes, but his eyes become a brighter red when his energy levels are down so we think he’s tired and so we offer up the nap thing.”
The amethyst haired feline boy, throughout all of this, just seemed to stare back at the avian studying him. After a while, however, he gave a mew before tapping at him with a hand as a cat would with their paw. This got Daeteru to chuckle before he gave Jezabeth a thumbs up. “I think he’s interested in what you’re doing, Mr. Jezabeth. You haven’t scared him yet at the very least. Gil’s a good boy after all, and he knows I won’t let anyone hurt him.”
The whole group turned to face a heavy and tired sigh before Sedynn trudged back through the door and towards the hallway. “Where’d he go this time?”
“Damn. That was fast. And so was your switch from active volcano to dying embers. Give me a minute to get past the white noise,” Jedah responded before jumping slightly at the floor around Sedynn’s feet starting to melt away. “I meant thirty seconds. Ow. Owowow. Five hallways towards the left. And that’s a superbly loud ringing in my ears. I feel like that kid in the cornfield all over again.”
“Suck it up, buttercup. I’ve got a sleepwalking king to find and drag back to bed. I’m the only one he doesn’t try to maul when he does this after all. Get that ringing sound to stop while you’re at it. He’s been shifting more restlessly since it started.” Picking up a foot to shake some of the goo the floor had become off, he’d started moving again just for Jedah to interrupt him.
“You’re hearing it too? Since when have you started hearing white noise at that frequency?”
“Always. I just tuned it out for the most part. It’s been flitting around the gates since we returned here after Pandora opened the box as far as I know, but other than that, I only know it’s been affecting Chestra in a bad way since we got him back. Find it and kill it.”
“A few of us are thinking it may be the thing that’s making people disappear for periods of time. It could be trying to call Chestra to it, but he’s too out of it to understand it much less get to it.”
“Then it’s more of a threat than I anticipated. Make it a higher priority than the entity messing with our gate that’s settled down compared to how it was beforehand. Find it and kill it before it does anything that could possibly trigger Chestra into his berserker side. He’d be more devastated he’d lost control and hurt someone he cares about again than he was when he figured out he was back at square one with his physical strength. And slap those two upside the head for me. They’re deserving of being turned into a rotisserie like their brother, but I’m too tired to do it myself. Now stop bothering me so I can get Chestra and go back to sleep. I was just getting comfy when he suddenly vanished causing me to try hunting him down again.”
“Right... Sorry, Sedynn. We’ll slap them for ya and I’ll see if I can’t use some of my bats to erase parts of his summoning circle so he won’t teleport if this thing’s using it to get to him.”
“Thank you... For everything you’ve been doing to help me even with the duties of your own gate. It’s been a lifesaver.”
“You’re part of our weird family, Dynn. Of course I’d be here for you even if it’s not as much as I’d wish it to be. You had two whole gates dropped on your shoulders, one of which you’d acquired after you’d already started melting from exhaustion causing considerable damage.” Getting a slight half-smile before the fire demon headed out the door and towards where Jedah had directed him, Jedah could only give a soft sigh. “And the random jumps begin. I really wish I could just send my bats to get him back to bed for Sedynn, but he mauled several of them when I tried the last time.”
-_-_-_-_-*-_-_-_-_-*-_-_-_-_-
“It was bound to happen, whether it was today or ten more years down the line, so don’t get down about it. And that’s precisely my point, Adra. They’ve no right to judge your skill with magic when you’re using foreign arts. It’s downright disrespectful, and I won’t tolerate it. I’ll call you out on doing something stupid, mind you, but it’s always with the intent of bettering one’s self. I’m not the strongest nor the wisest person, but I’ll be certain to always attempt to help. As an elder, you deserve to be respected for all you’ve learned and the good you’ve done for it is through our elders that the present came to be. Without Seraphine, you wouldn’t exist to be able to pass on what wisdom you have to offer and strength to push on and conquer weakness and fears. Ugh... I sound kinda preachy so I apologize for it coming across that way, but my father explicitly raised me under the impression of respecting one’s elders,” Seda murmured a little softer though his hands were now fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. As if thinking of something, he raised the collar of his shirt to give it a brief sniff only to swiftly lean over Beltway’s shoulder to look at Ross. “Did you wash my clothes whilst I was away from my body?”
“Er,” Ross froze for a moment before tugging the sleeves of his jacket over his hands and tapping his hands together. “Y-yeah. I did it pretty regularly ‘cause I figured you wouldn’t want to return to your body with smelly clothes. It’s also how I kept up with reinforcing the seals protecting your body. I-I know it was sorta frozen in time and all, but still...”
Giving a brief snort, Seda relaxed back down into the Puerto Rican man’s arms with a much too amused smile. “Somehow that sounds just like you... And it’s perfectly fine, Seraphine. For all you knew, there was an enemy in your vicinity and like all of us, you wished to be rid of it before it could do you harm. Besides, no one was injured and you were open to reasonable conversation in order to clear up the misunderstanding of the current time and situation. Oh. Right. Vector, he’s good. It’s Earth-related. 10-4.”
“Your father wants her head on a pike by the time he wakes up,” Spectre chimed in making Beltway and Seda give a brief snort.
“Well, he’s not in any real position to be demanding things when he’s dragging so much a** he’s practically traveling backwards in time. It’s obvious every little thing is gonna have him exploding into a volcanic rage when he’s tired. As I’ve made transparently clear, Seraphine is currently my guest in this gate whether anyone likes it or not. Ah. Right. I meant to ask, but I wanted to help you figure out what happened between the conflict with Yas and the present first,” Seda countered smoothly earning yet another snicker from Beltway and Spectre. “Would you happen to know who Arslene the Dark Phoenix was, Seraphine? There’s lots of horror stories about her, plenty saying that she was a solo act, but I was always curious if anyone ever knew anything about her that wasn’t about instilling fear upon others. Most don’t believe she ever had children, but she’s supposed to be my grandmother.”
Coming to an abrupt halt as he opened his mouth to protest, he immediately regretted it as his vision went dark ever so briefly. “Damnit... Stupid human form’s so frickin’ fragile. This is why I hate being stuck in it, and it’s all that f_cktard’s fault,” he growled lowly to himself as he balled up his fists and started up his march again.
“Don’t call me a f_cktard, twerp. I still don’t know how it’s my fault you got stuck in your human form when I merely held you in a state of suspended sleep for an hour at the most. You were completely fine when you woke up,” Ross countered irritably earning him the middle finger from the fairer of the two males. This was soon followed by Beltway briefly pushing the rabbit boy between the duo with his foot.
“Bite me, mother f-“ Sever’s words were cut short by being turned around to face Spectre whom was holding a finger over his lips.
“It’s a good time to rest, comrade. You’re always running around like a chicken with it’s head chopped off, and you’ve been getting angrier and angrier over the past few days. Take a deep breath and listen to the crow. Don’t worry about befriending the dark prince right now, and focus on your health. Understand?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sever made a slight, slow nod at the man. “Da. I don’t want an angry Russian hellhound chasing me around,” he exhaled with the briefest flickers of a smile. It swiftly turned to a pout as he jutted his thumb over towards Ross. “But I’m not even talking to him much less anyone else and he still has to toss his two cents in.”
“Doesn’t matter. And the German doctor’s worse. She actually bites,” Spectre grinned back at the small joke. After turning him back towards the group, he shooed the boy then muttered something into his radio as he returned to his prior task.
“Let him grumble, amigo to mi hermano, and don’t toss in your two cents. It’s how he vents his frustrations and anger to the universe without breaking things and/or killing people much less imploding from it. I disagree with Lupo in saying you throwing that punch was a wise decision though. You just gotta roll with it until he’s cooled back down and take anything he’s grumbling about with a grain of salt. For all we know, it might not have been directly your fault but something that stemmed from this sleep thing you two have mentioned. Señor Adra, Spectre suggests you speak with Jedah about Yin and Yang before trying to make them befriend each other. Y no, you misunderstand. Lupo and Bertha always act as if everyone’s a burden they get stuck with all the time. It’s always work, work, work with them. And Bertha’s just naturally a very angry German. Vector is merely overly suspicious of everyone yet avoids anything about him like Four Eyes created a plague to infect the world, and Four Eyes is a social butterfly that can be sweeter than cotton candy so long as you don’t piss her off. Her talents lie in virology though so she’s usually flitting around Bertha with her medicinal knowledge in order to be certain that she has the antivirus for anything viral she whips up outta nada. Spectre’s a special case in which he spends ninety-five percent of his time centered around his vision. He sees practically everything all of the time, always has, and so he withdrew from others to channel through all of the ways he sees the world. The scopes on his mask help him channel each specific form of vision, but it still takes a lot outta him. By becoming such a recluse, however, he became socially awkward and even speaks more like he’s handing in reports from reconnaissance missions than normal conversation. As for me, well, I love explosives more than most of everything else. Mi hermano here’s the first and only thing that will take priority for me because he’s the one that saved me when I was a puppy. That and I’ve been forced into having a prosthetic leg and I often feel it tends to hold me back therefore I’m unintentionally holding everyone else back. It’s more like you’re being punished than us being punished seeing as you’ve gotta do precisely as Seda here is doing: asserting dominance in the pack. Seda’s earned respect from the pack already, but he’s been absent a while so the girls gotta get used to him being around again. And we only know you through stories. You’ve had your good tales, but you’ve also had the bad ones just like everyone else. Prove to the Den Mother and Bertha that you’re worthy of their respect, that you won’t be told what to do by them, and they’ll lighten up a bit,” the large canine grinned at Adramalech whilst dismissing the notion of them being burdened by sticking around him as punishment with a wave of his fingers. At the mention of his leg, however, he made a brief pause to wiggle his metallic foot at the avian only to continue walking. His words only made Seda set a hand gently on his chest with a slight frown that he smiled in response to and briefly nuzzled the boy in his arms. “Don’t fret, hermano. It’s a bit of a hindrance at times, but I don’t regret doing what I did for Lupo and Four Eyes. They’re our hermanas, right?”
“Sí, Hector. We are family no matter what the tapestry of chemistry reads,” Seda chuckled after having pushed Beltway’s head away from his nuzzling him. “According to my dad from the last time we’d talked that I can recall, he technically considered you and your brothers to be like older brothers to him so if anything, this is just a casual everyday sibling squabble, Adra. It’s not super serious or anything, just horribly upsetting that he didn’t have you to turn to when all else was falling apart. Besides that, Vedinya is a million times worse than your missing a summons from my dad on a good day. People will claim I over-exaggerate her b_tch levels because we’re legitimate blood siblings, but most never actually realize they’ve even met her wicked silver-tongued backside until it’s been pointed out.”
“I’m one hundred percent with him on that one. She’s a psychotic witch that Tex and Koail have had to protect us from on several occasions. I’m certain that’s something laughable considering I probably could defend myself if only I could fully control my abilities. Just the physical crap takes a lot outta me. I don’t have the whole bone shattering pat on the back thing on a constant basis like my dad, but if I do put some oomph behind my swing, it jumps from a two to a ten thousand on a scale of one to ten,” Ross agreed though he stole a glance at Seraphine. It’s not that he was suspicious of her or anything, but more conscious about how swiftly Seda had taken to her. Then again, he stopped her tantrum with hardly an effort and automatically found common ground with her: a lapse of time in their memories. It somewhat bothered him that Seda couldn’t remember their time together, the good times and the bad, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. He also knew that if anyone attempted to tamper with his head to bring those memories back, he was certain Seda would do to them precisely what he’d done to the psychiatric medical van and the staff within it.
