Another World

Lucien glared at the lake wishing it were closer, wishing he had learned the art of teleportation from his father. They had had no time. He looked back at Leila, his brow furrowed. "Ride there? Like in a car or truck? They are much smaller than the bus. There's no room to them." He didn't mean to sound whiny but that's kind of the way it came out. He sighed, maybe he could stomach it if all the windows were down. He could definitely handle it if that's what she wanted to do.

He chuckled when she mentioned tattoos. The day he arrived at her village was hectic and he supposed there was always a possibility she hadn't seen his markings in the rush of events. He had covered them quickly because he didn't know if anyone here would know what they meant. He rubbed his thumb along his wrist revealing the tattoo there and then ran his hand down his side showing off the larger one. "You mean like these?" he smirked, "I've had these my entire life. They were magically infused on my body at birth and grew with me. They are the mark of my family's bloodline."
 
"Well, there are more than cars and trucks. There are motorcycles, which I have an odd feeling you may enjoy.. They go very fast and there are no sides or top. You just sit on them and steer them and they go on two wheels instead of four," she explained, though she knew he'd have to learn to ride one first. As he revealed his wrist tattoo, she took his hand and examined it with fascination, then pushed his arm out of the way and traced her fingers down his side as she looked at that one. "That's amazing, that you can hide them so. It must be very useful at times," she mused, poking at his side a few times before she moved back.


"Hm.." she mused, turning herself to sit on his lap so that she could examine him face to face. Her people all looked really different, actually, they just had the appearance of similarities since a large number had the odd blue hair gene. Plus, everybody had at least one tattoo and they were all very similar but also unique. "If I gave you a marking, would you be able to hide it like your other ones? That way if you go back home, they won't stare at you like you're a freak for having blue on you," she reasoned, smiling up at him.
 
Lucien listened carefully as she described what she called motorcycles. He couldn't really get a good picture in his head of what it might look like. The engineering should work, especially if it went fast enough, but could it hold two people with only the two wheels? He let her examine his tattoos at length, it almost tickled as she ran her fingers down his side. "It was useful in diplomatic missions so that people couldn't discriminate against you depending on which house you came from," he explained. He had only been on three assignments that required him to hide them.

He sat up straight as she sat in his lap. The fact that she would put herself so close to him again comforted him, but last time they weren't face to face. His jaw clenched and he swallowed hard, they were literally breathing each other's air. He wrapped both arms around her to keep her steady, they were sitting right on the edge of the cliff and she didn't seem to care. "Hiding the tattoos is just creating an illusion of smooth skin over it. I'm pretty sure I could hide any other marking the same. Don't worry about my people seeing anything I put on my body here. They are gone, as is my home. There's no returning for me." He tried to not let it show that the knowledge was finally sinking in. He was torn apart inside, his soul a hollow shell of what it was. He had no people. He had no home. He was alone and it ate at him. He flashed her a smile but it was empty.
 
Leila paused and a sad frown crossed her features as she sensed the sorrow and loss in his voice. She looked up at him and shook her head a little as he faked a smile for her. Hiding such emotions would just end badly for him, she knew. Eventually he'd explode in some way that would likely be violent or at the very least agonizing. She leaned up and wrapped her arms around him tightly in a hug, offering what comfort she could as she rested her chin on his shoulder gently. After a few moments she pulled away and shifted to the side, standing up and offering him a hand.


"Come on, let's go see how close to that lake we can make it," she suggested softly, giving him a gentle smile. She figured that all he wanted right now was a distraction since he kept pushing the issue away. She knew that if she had lost all of her people, she would be absolutely devastated. Tumn had lost almost all of his, and he.. Her thoughts froze. She forgot to breathe for a second, her mind reeling backward rapidly as she tried to focus, to think. "Oh gods.." she whispered, suddenly drowning in a horrid feeling of guilt as she realized what she had done. "We need to get back! Now!" she said, turning and running over to the side.
 
Lucien was obviously doing a terrible job at not showing his utter depression. She kept frowning at him and then hugging him. He needed to stay distracted. He hugged her back, burying his face in her hair for a moment, a single blue tear streaking down his face onto her shoulder. When she shifted he let her go and took her hand to stand back up. "I thought you said it was too far to walk?" he asked, then stopped abruptly as she went silent, her smile wiped completely off her face. He looked at her concerned, "What's wrong?" he started to ask but before he could she started bolting back down the trail. Something was wrong, but apparently they needed to get back to the town fast.

Running down hill was more dangerous than going up. The ground was slick in some places and too rocky in others. He remembered the direct route they took to get up to the top so he could get them back down. He raced forward and scooped her up in his arms. He used his magic to put on a burst of speed, holding her securely to his chest. He leaped over the tallest of the rocks to get distance, weaved along the path, dodging anything that might hit them with any amount of force. He dodged around the hole she had fallen in when she was playfully running away from him and darted into the back fields of the town. Only at the very edge did he put her down so that she could continue on to where she was needing to go.
 
Just as Leila realized that running down the mountain was a bad idea and had started to slide in the shattered scree, Lucien had scooped her up and made her squeal in shock. She clung to him automatically and peeked over his shoulder, her eyes wide with fascination as she watched the scenery fly by. Oddly enough, she wasn't all that paranoid about running into something. That may have had something to do with the fact that she barely had time to really think before he was setting her down in view of the city. She took a few breaths and just stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.


"That.. must be really useful," she finally said, then remembered why she was in a hurry. "I need to go back to the old town. I.. I forgot Tumn and I don't know where he is or if he's alright. He's too small to fly more than a few feet on his own. If the soldiers catch him, they'll eat him or cage him up. You should stay here in the apartment and get to know the city. Plus you can rest and.. think about things," she suggested, unsure if he would accept being left behind here or not. Having a companion might be nice, but she really didn't want to put him in harm's way for her own silly mistake.
 
Lucien mentally smacked himself. Tumn, her little dragonlet was out there somewhere all by himself. He half blamed himself for distracting her so much. When she told him he should stay here he scoffed at her, "Are you kidding me? Its partially my fault he was left behind. Plus there's no way you are going out there by yourself. The last thing I need to do right now is sit by myself and think Leila." His voice was more stern than he wanted it to sound but what he said was truth. He would not let her run out to find her pet alone. If he was already captured he could assist in getting him back.

"Is there a vehicle we can use to get back there? I need to grab a couple of sapphire's and teabags for the ride just in case. Do you need anything from the apartment?" He asked hurriedly. He knew she was in a rush to go but he had expelled energy foolishly today and it would probably take him less time to get what he needed then for her to find a vehicle. He snagged the key from her belt loop and started walking that way listening for her to say anything. He was scared for the critter.
 
"It's not your fault, I got distracted.." she protested, but her voice was quiet since he didn't sound like he was going to change his mind any time soon. She sighed and nodded, knowing that Lucien was going to see what a motorcycle was like. Unfortunately, he'd have to be riding on back and hopefully not freak out at the sensation. "I'll get a vehicle. Put your shirt back on, it's going to be a chilly ride. Go get what you need," she said as he swiped her key. She followed him to the city, then separated and found some people that she knew.


By the time he came out, she was waiting right beside the sidewalk. The bike she had gotten was black with electric blue trim, low to the ground and built for nothing but speed. She had changed into a pair of black leggings and a long, dark blue tunic that would keep her warmer. Tossing him a helmet, she pointed to her own that was already on.


"Put that on, buckle it under your chin, and then straddle behind me. You're going to want to put your arms around my waist and hang on. I don't want to lose you off the back," she said, patting the seat behind her before turning back and waiting for him to hop on.
 
Lucien ran to the building and up the stairs. Unlocking the door he didn't bother closing the door as he would only be a few seconds. He ran to her room and pulled out the sack of sapphires, he gathered a few and put them in an empty pouch on his belt and then replaced the sack back into her satchel. Running into the kitchen he searched the cupboards and found them miraculously well stocked. They must have been planning this for quite some time. He grabbed a few of the mint tea bags and pushed them in the same pouch as the stones. Exiting the apartment he relocked the door and put his shirt back on while descending the stairs.

He spotted Leila on the contraption she was talking about earlier. He took the helmet and strapped it on his head as he listened to her speak. Climbing on the bike he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned close to her. He could still easily see over her shoulder because she was so much smaller than he was. The motorcycle could hold both of them. It was going to be a fun trip back. "Ready to go when you are," he told her.
 
Leila nodded once and revved up the engine once he was on and she was balance. They took off like a shot down the road and she kept all of her focus on getting there quickly. How long had it been, she thought mournfully. Several hours at least. It would take over an hour to get back even going at this speed, maybe over two. She sighed and gunned the engine, only paying attention to Lucien enough to ensure that she could still feel him holding on to her since speaking was impossible


"Oh, Tumn, please be okay, sweetheart.." she murmured to herself, getting anxious.

[I am so sorry for the length, I'm half asleep and wanted to do this one before passing out @_@]
 
Lucien was glad he was holding on tightly as she gunned the engine and they started rocketing down the road. He felt her lean when they went around a corner and tried to follow her lead. He was happy the trip was mostly a straight shot. As the scenery flew by he watched for the soldiers that could be out there. He wondered if the road block was still going to be there. He seriously doubted it since they weren't expecting anyone to go back to the village they had come from. He hoped they hadn't done something stupid like torch the place now that the people were gone. And he hoped that the little dragonlet had enough sense to get away if something like that had happened.

The ride was mostly silent minus the sound of the engine revving and the wind blowing passed them. This small vehicle was getting them there faster than he could have ran it and definitely faster than the bus. He worried that they might get there too late. Or that the town would be overrun by the soldiers. He had taken down ten of them but that was with expelling all his energy. He hoped with the both of them they could take care of the issue.


[Its ok hon, I've done the same thing. Get some good rest and we can continue later.]
 
Flashing by the spot where the roadblock had occurred, Leila glanced around and saw no sign of soldiers. Good. An hour later they made it back into town. She approached slowly and cut the engine on the outskirts, gesturing for Lucien to dismount before she did. Pulling off her helmet, she set it on the seat and listened closely. The whole place seemed to be deserted. Nothing moved, nobody spoke. It was a ghost town.


"Alright. Tumn is resourceful so he might have wandered off outside. I'm going to search the schoolgrounds. You can search the house. If either of us find him, we'll just come find the other, okay?" she said quietly, pulling her hair up in a messy bun to get it out of her face. She turned and began walking down the sidewalk, being quiet but still moving along at a good pace. Still hearing nothing, she relaxed and turned to walk into the school parking lot.
 
Lucien took in his surroundings as they entered the old settlement. His eyes didn't miss a detail. As soon as she stopped the bike he pulled off his helmet and swung his leg back to stand. He took a few tentative steps, listening to the wind rustle the leaves on the trees, listening for anything out of the ordinary. He nodded to Leila as she spoke, even though he didn't think it was a great idea to split up. He hoped the school wasn't too far from her old house. "Be very careful Leila, and if anything happens scream as loud as you can. Don't be too long."

He split ways with her to go to the house she used to live in. The front door was locked so he held onto the handle, sending his magic through the lock. After a couple of seconds he turned the handle and walked inside. The house was still mostly furnished absent a few personal pieces that were taken with her family. He looked through every room downstairs and didn't see anything so he ventured up to the second floor. The door to the left was left open so he peeked inside. The room was mostly empty but he looked through the drawers of the dresser and closet just to be sure. He walked back out to the hallway and looked at the door to her old bedroom. It was strange that this was the only door that was shut.

Not knowing any better he pushed open the door. He heard a beep on the right side of the room and saw the flashing of a red light. Before he could react the whole room exploded, the impact throwing him backwards into the room he had just been in. He hit the opposite wall solidly and slid to the floor. It took him a few minutes to get his bearings back, the world was a spinning smoking haze. There was a sharp pain slicing through his head, reaching back with his fingers he felt wetness and a bump that had already started. He stared through the door, looking at the other side of the house which was pretty much nonexistent. Whatever the explosion was had taken out her entire bedroom and the part of the roof that covered it. He hoped Tumn hadn't been in there.
 
Leila nodded and waved him off, knowing that nothing she said would stop him from worrying. The school wasn't very far from her old home, and she knew that if anything happened, she could run to him fairly quickly - though she was more concerned about something happening to him than herself. She crossed the parking lot and moved into the yard, approaching the playground. Tumn had always liked coming here because he loved children, so she was hoping that he might be lurking about and waiting for the kids to come back. She hadn't fully explained that they were leaving, not wanting him to get too upset.


"Tumn?" she called out quietly, hunting around the slide and in the grass under the climbing wall. She turned toward the swings and smiled, seeing the small dragon perched on one of the swing seats. "Oh, you silly little thing. You had me so worried!" she exclaimed, running over to him. She was about to reach for him when he seemed to vanish for a moment before reappearing in the exact same position. Pausing her movements, she realized that he hadn't moved or even blinked or chittered at her. It was an illusion.


Illusions meant soldiers.


"Oh crap.. Lucien!" She turned to run to her home right as an explosion lit the area for a long minute. Shocked and worried, she ran out of the schoolyard and across the parking lot hurriedly, making her way down the sidewalk. The house was on fire now, at least in one section. No doubt it would spread since there was nobody there to put it out other than themselves. She shook her head for being so stupid and rounded the corner, then froze.


Standing there in front of her old home were three soldiers, and one had the real Tumn in a cage. They were all facing her, and all had guns in their hands. She watched as they grinned at each other, then the one holding Tumn's cage stepped forward.


"Looking for something? You know, dragon meat is really pricey these days. I think your little pet here will fetch a high price in the market tomorrow," he commented, chuckling. "Honestly, this was just too easy. I don't know why the higher-ups keep saying that you people are dangerous. What are you going to do now, girl? Hm? Going to splash water in my face?" he mocked, making the others laugh. Tumn let out a pleading chirp, and Leila smiled sweetly at the soldiers.


"Oh, dear, looks like I'm in quite the trouble here!" she fussed, forming a sloppy looking water ball in her hands. The soldiers smirked as she threw it at the one holding Tumn, splashing him in the face exactly as he had predicted. They did not, however, notice that she had another one follow it. As he opened his mouth after the initial splashing, the second ball dove into his throat and down through his body. It erupted out of him at several points, making holes the size of silver dollars as the water ropes were tipped like spears. They entered him again, puncturing every part of his body. Stomach, back, arms, legs, face, skull - all were prey to her fury.


The other two were in such shock that by the time they thought to shoot her, she had already begun the same vicious attack on them. Soon there was nothing but a wide pool of blood and a scattering of gore and body pieces sprawled around. Tumn's cage had broken open and he flittered out, perching on her shoulder contentedly.
 
Lucien sat on the floor for a few minutes staring at the fire. The impact of him hitting the wall had slightly dazed him and now he could feel a trickle of blood running down the back of his neck. He closed his eyes and assessed the damage. His skull was cracked just the slightest bit, the skin definitely broken in the spot as well. He concentrated his magic to flood the area, a warm sensation sliding over his skull mending the bump on his brain and then the crack in his skull. He was very meticulous so that there would be no permanent damage left. He had always hated healing head injuries because they took so long. Finally he was able to heal the skin over. He couldn't do anything about the blood that was already there but he needed to get away from the fire before it consumed the entire building and he needed to find Leila. If there was a trap here there would be traps everywhere.


He hopped up to his feet and raced down the stairs. Pulling open the door he saw Leila with Tumn on her shoulder and a large pool of blood on the ground in front of her. He took a deep breath and sighed in relief. She looked to be fine, no injuries anywhere, the same with the little dragon. "We need to get out of here. There are traps everywhere for us," he explained. He smiled to Tumn wondering if he could communicate telepathically like the dragons of his world. Just in case he could, Lucien sent him the message of happiness of finding him and the urgency to leave.


Lucien took her hand and lead them both back to her motorcycle. He grabbed him helmet and put it on quickly, hoping she wouldn't notice the blood on his back. He would have to wash the helmet out when they got back before returning it to whomever she borrowed it from. "How is he going to travel with us?" he inquired gesturing towards the dragonlet. He was so small the only thing he could think of was to mash him in between their bodies so he wouldn't fly away.
 
Leila looked up as Lucien came out of the apartment, her eyes slowly focusing on him as the thrill of power subsided. She nodded to his words and laced her fingers with his, following after him to the motorcycle. Tumn twittered at her and she frowned distractedly, picking up her own helmet.


"Tumn says thank you and he also wants to know why you're bleeding. Are you sure you're going to be okay to hold on on the way back?" she asked, anxious about his wellbeing. She paused for a moment to fight back a minor wave of dizziness, a tiny reprecussion of using so much power unexpectedly. It really wasn't that much compared to what she could do, she had just been unprepared. She tugged her helmet on and buckled it, and Tumn crawled down into her shirt. His head poked out on the side of her neck so that he could look around.


"Come on, there are going to be more of them nearby," she said, mounting the bike and kicking it to life as she waited for him to get on behind her. He obviously wasn't hurt enough to not be able to stand, so she just hoped he'd be alright until they got back.
 
Lucien didn't have much more in him. Not only had he not meditated today but he had used his power foolishly and hadn't had any tea to replenish. He had tried to hide the blood stain from Leila but had forgotten about the dragon. "I should be fine for the way back, the injury was minor," he assured her. Only broken skin and cracked skull, nothing to be worried about he thought. He watched Tumn crawl right down her shirt and she didn't even flinch. He stood there in shock for a moment, looking down at Tumn and her exposed cleavage. He was mildly jealous.

Her words of leaving popped him out of his daze. He nodded to her and climbed on the back of the bike behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist again, this was preferable to having the little beast squished between them. He tried to not lean too much of his weight on her even though he was exhausted. "Let's get back as soon as we can." He needed tea and he needed sleep. He was passed needing meditation. All he wanted to do was curl up into his bed and sleep, he wouldn't mind if she joined him either.
 
"Agreed," she murmured as they took off and began the rapid retreat back to the city. There were a few perks to not being able to communicate with Lucien while riding. The one foremost in her mind at the moment was that she could brood on what she had just done. She had lost her temper before, of course, but never had she killed somebody. Now she had killed three without even flinching, all for the sake of rescuing Tumn. She didn't regret it, for she knew that they were all evil men who would have inflicted harm on somebody else if it hadn't been herself. Yet she still felt.. Not guilty, precisely, but sorrowful at the loss of a life.


She sighed and glanced down at Tumn, who had his mouth wide open and was apparently trying to catch flies to munch on for the ride. He was obviously fine, but she had a feeling that he would be very clingy for a while. She felt overwhelmingly guilty for forgetting him. Had she truly been so wrapped up in Lucien that she forgot the one living creature that meant the most to her now? That brought her thoughts to Lucien. She really didn't know a whole lot about him, but already she trusted him. Why?


She carefully steered the bike into the city and cut the engine when they were back at her apartment. Returning it would have to wait until morning. Once Lucien was off, she dismounted and set her helmet on the seat. Tumn crawled out to flit over to Lucien's shoulder, sniffing at the blood curiously. Leila simply walked to the building and trudged up the stairs, still deep in thought as she unlocked the door and walked inside.
 
Lucien fought his eyes from closing the entire way back to the city. Dizziness was starting to creep over him but he didn't dare close his eyes lest he fall asleep and then fall off the bike. He focused on watching Tumn over Leila's shoulder instead. He was leaving his mouth open and snapping at the bugs going by. A couple of times he actually caught one and munched happily, his mouth opening again once he had swallowed it. It was cute. He remembered going to the hatchery to view the newly hatched dragonlets. They were as small as Tumn but they always grew quickly. He wondered how big this one would get.

He breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled up to her apartment and the bike stopped. But then he realized that when the bike stopped the world didn't. He very carefully stepped off the bike and pulled off the helmet. He didn't know when she was going to return it so he took off the shirt he was wearing and wiped out the inside of the helmet and replaced it on the bike. He turned to Leila but she didn't say anything. She just walked inside the building. He wondered if he had done something wrong. He looked at Tumn when he landed on his shoulder. "I'm alright," he told the little creature as he slowly started to walk towards the building. He was thankful for the railing that ran along the side of the stairs as he leaned on it heavily to pull himself up.

When he got to their floor he noticed the door was left open for him. He walked inside and shut it quietly. He hated the silence. If he had done something wrong he needed to know what it was so that he wouldn't do it again. He walked up behind her and rested his hand on her shoulder. He very slowly moved it down her arm and snaked it around her back to turn her towards him. He did so very gently so that if she needed to be away from him she could just take a step forward out of his grasp. "What's wrong Leila?" he inquired, his voice just higher than a whisper.
 
Leila stopped just inside the door and stared at the empty apartment. It made her acutely aware of just how alone she was. Not that she didn't appreciate Lucien being there, or Tumn, it was just that right now she felt like the didn't deserve company. She had murdered three soldiers when simply tricking them and stealing Tumn back might have worked. Her entire body just felt.. Numb. She didn't even realize that she had been standing in silence until Lucien set his hand on her shoulder. Turning slowly to face him as he spun her, she looked down to avoid meeting his gaze as she wallowed in her own shame.


"I've never killed before tonight. I didn't realize that it took such a toll on the heart," she whispered back softly, tears starting to fill her eyes. It had been necessary, she tried to tell herself. Yet the truth was something that she couldn't escape from. She had lost control in the face of a threat. Was it fear of the guns or just plain fury? She honestly didn't know. A tear escaped and traced down her cheek, and Tumn trilled quietly from his perch on Lucien's shoulder.


"I-I'm sorry. You should rest," she managed, stepping back away from him and turning to go out on the balcony. She sat on the railing and buried her face in her hands, struggling to hold back the rest of her tears.
 
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