Changing Skies

Ate too fast her ***. Ryeth offered a shaky smile to Syl, grateful for his chatter even if she knew he was smarter than that, to think that it was the food that had caused her to puke. She shook her head at the toast, though, feeling her stomach lurch at even the thought of more food and she leaned against his side, inhaling his scent for a long moment before taking a deep breath and straightening again, looking back toward Alcmene and Aiden as she felt something shift in the room.

The Fae wasn't sure if it was because she was connected to the earth and the earth was influenced by the moon or because of her bond with the werewolf, but Ryeth found herself backing into Sylvester with a sudden sense of unease.

"Mutt, is...is she okay?" Because it certainly didn't FEEL like everything was okay...
 
"Eh, don't smell me...I smell like mating..." He nuzzled into her neck, then looked over at Alcmene and Aiden. "Oh...no...no, she isn't ok. She isn't ok at all." He shifted up to his war form, his pants ripping away easily. He picked Ryethke up and backed away, as most everyone else in the room had done. He held her in his arms and nosed the side of her face. "Stay." He said firmly, his voice still little more than a growl in that form.

"I know **** well what phase the moon is in!" She snapped at him suddenly, slamming her palms down onto the table. Half the room jumped. The swinging double doors opened quickly as someone sprinted out to try and find Ciro. "How dare you speak to me in such a fashion!"

Aiden gave her a bit of a smile. "Hey now...come on..." He sighed. "I meant no disrespect."

The room darkened and she stood up, her wings spreading, eyes taking on a haunting glow, as did her skin. Her hair and clothes started floating out about her as if she were underwater and she lifted off the ground. "YOU MEANT NO DISRESPECT?!"

Aiden defensively and reflexively burst into flames and took a step backwards.

"YOU ARE NOTHING BEFORE ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!"

A streak of light flashed into the room and directly into Alcmene, sending her flying back and into a wall. Ciro pinned her there, eyes, skin, and wings glowing brightly. He pressed his forehead to hers, his own power sweeping out from him and into the room.

She let out what could only really be considered the scream of a banshee, opening a mouth full of suddenly very sharp teeth, her mouth opening wider than it should, the rest of her face nearly disappearing.

Syl held onto Ryethke tightly, backing towards the wall with everyone else. There was a mixture of emotions coming from everyone in the room. Most were just in awe at the silent but palpable power struggle before them. Some of the newer people were terrified. And there was just about everything in between. Syl didn't seem afraid though, just cautious, wanting to stay out of the way. He put his chin down on top of his fae's head and made sure she didn't try to do anything stupid.
 
Now...now Ryethke understood what everyone had been talking about when they'd warned her not to make Alcmene angry. The Fae watched what unfolded with wide eyes, staying completely and utterly still in Sylvester's arms as if even breathing could draw the moon-being's wrath. The Fae didn't fight the werewolf, didn't even think about it, too uncertain and....terrified. She was completely and utterly petrified of the woman she'd been talking with just a few minutes before. In fact, she was suddenly terrified of Ciro, too.

It wasn't a rational fear, though, and in time she would come to know it wasn't a staying fear either. It was a fear that stemmed much, much deeper than probably most people's in this room did. And if she'd taken a moment to think logically, Ryethke would have realized that it was her connection to the earth and the earth's connection to the moon and the sun that caused the emotion in her. The moon and the sun controlled the earth. They controlled the tides and the light, the heat and as the only Fae - even half-blooded - in the room, Ryeth was feeling something much more potent than just the awesome power the two were exhibiting. It was like she could feel their wrath, their struggle in her very bones and it was beyond scary to think what they could do if not checked.

The earth couldn't control them, though. No, the earth was at the mercy of the sun and moon, and Ryethe couldn't have acted if she wanted to. It didn't stop the instinctive, subconscious action of her power, though, as the ground started to tremble just slightly, just enough to cause a strong vibration under everyone's feet. It was like the ground itself was shaking in fear.
 
A 16 year old male walked up to her and Syl and put his hand on her arm. He looked at her with eyes that were a very striking green with flecks of brown, dark brown hair falling into his eyes. He slid one foot out of his shoe and put it to the ground, slowing the vibrations she was causing to a stop. He knew what fear unchecked did, having caused an earthquake once himself, but he also understood her fear. He felt it too, the feeling of a child watching his parents fight and being unable to do anything, feeling like he was being torn in two directions at once...

Syl eyed the boy, but looked away, back at the fighting winged creatures before them. He knew the kid, knew what he could do, and hoped his presence would help his fae...even the boy, too, sure, but his main concern was the fear he felt rattling through the woman's body.

The fighting pair's forms kept shifting slowly. While Alcmene's skin turned a dark, ashen blue, Ciro started sprouting feathers, his face shifting until a beak protruded from it. They truly were fighting each other, and it became evident when Ciro let out a piercing eagle-like scream into his sister's face.

It was met with another scream from the moon as she gripped her brother's forearms, her hands stretching, fingers elongating, turning into long, sharp, piercing claws.

The doors swung open again as Mr. Black skid into the room. He let out a string of rather nasty curses and tried to flood the room with shadow.

With another screech, what could best be described as sunlight erupted from Ciro. In it, what he was focusing at his sister could almost be heard. NOW IS .... TIME ..... SUN! THE DAYLIGHT HOUR ...... EARTH!......NOT THE ...... MOON! RELENT........ AND ..... SLEEP!
 
Ryeth tore her eyes away from the spectacle of the sun and moon, looking directly at the boy before her. His presence didn't calm her fear at all, but she was distantly grateful for his help in controlling her power. It wasn't even a choice on her part at the moment. She was Sidhe. She was connected to the earth in spirit, in mind, in body... It was part of her and she of it. She didn't just control the earth, it controlled her to a great degree and right now, Ryeth couldn't distance herself from it. So yes, the boy was a welcome intrusion as his own power shielded her own, helping to contain it.

The Fae gave him the smallest of nods, her face white and her body trembling now instead of the ground as she gripped Sylvester's arms tightly in her white-knuckled fingers. Her gold eyes flickered back toward Ciro and Alcmene, hearing the shouting of the sun...and yet not hearing it all, FEELING it. The sunlight washed over her skin, both terrifying in its potential deadliness and yet containing a strange reassurance, too that made the Fae still again, alert, listening in a way.

The sun fought for them this time. While Ryeth's human mind had known that, her Sidhe side was only now comprehending it and she felt the shaking ease just a little as she curled further into her werewolf, waiting with baited breath for everything to end, hoping it ended well.
 
Just as suddenly and violently as it began, and after what seemed like an eternity, Alcmene dropped limp. Absolutely, perfectly limp.

Ciro stared at her, holding her against the wall still. His light faded, bringing the room into the darkness that Mr. Black had been trying to put it under. When Mr. Black willed the shadows away, Ciro was walking out of the room with his sister in his arms, completely back to normal. As her wings dragged against the ground, his folded neatly to his back. He didn't look at anyone or say anything, he just walked towards the doors.

The room was still quite still when Mr. Black moved to block his exit. "You need to control her, Ciro." He said, his voice commanding and firm. "I can only clean up after you for so long, before I-"

Ciro slowly turned his head to look at him. "Before you what, Arthur?"

The man mouthed wordlessly for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "Just take her out of here."

Ciro seemed to tower over the man as he stood there, looking at him as if he were nothing, something he could squish if he really wanted to. "What is shadow without light, Arthur?"

"Enough of this. Just take her back to your room."

He shrugged and turned, finally leaving the room, two people hopping over to push the doors open for him so Alcmene didn't hit them inadvertently.

Arthur Black turned to glare at everyone in the room before storming out, his pride injured, his ego bruised. He was the head of that branch of the organization, damn it!

The room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the three left the room and Syl slowly put his fae down, shifting down to his human form. He looked down at his ripped pants, then over at his fae again. "They...they are strong, but delicate...."

"You can't have the moon without the sun..." The young terrakenetic said, slipping his shoe back on. "When they separate, they both get...I don't know...unstable...then it effects everyone around...especially earth benders like us, right?" He gave her a somewhat timid smile. He knew she was more than he could ever be, but he had been the only terrakenetic in the room, and the only one who could stop her tremors...
 
As soon as the fight had stopped, so had the fear that had overwhelmed Ryeth and now she just felt bruised and raw from the aftermath, high-strung as Sylvester set her down. She took one deep, shuddering breath after another and finally stopped trembling altogether as she focused on the boy who'd helped her, giving him a small smile. "Right. It's like being hit in the gut and dunked underwater all at the same time." Or at least, that was as close as she could compare it to in regards to the fear and the inability to breathe.

"Thank you, for what you did." She smiled at him again, but then turned to Sylvester, leaning into him with a tired sigh. "Can we go?" She didn't know where they would head or what they were supposed to do now, but she didn't want to stay here anymore. Besides, weren't they supposed to be leaving soon anyway?
 
The young man smiled. "I'm glad I could help..." He wandered back over to his plate of food and sat down, trying to force himself to eat some.

Syl sighed. "It's safer to take one car...and we're all going the same way...it won't be that big stretchy car. It'll be a...a um..." He made some compacting sort of motions with his hands. "Shorter...but with a lot of seats..." The word he was looking for was 'van', but human words were still somewhat new to him.

Aiden walked up to the pair and smiled. "Well, that was fun..." He rubbed one of his ears, sighing. "I guess we could go back to the room and wait...I'm pretty sure the boys you brought in are hiding somewhere...we could try and find them..."
 
Ryeth nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good." she agreed, giving Syl's stomach a quick scratch in thanks for trying to explain to her what would be happening and for protecting her during the power struggle. She stayed close to the two males as they started to leave the cafeteria - most people were actually and so there was a slight crowd. Ryeth hardly paid attention to those passing her, but something suddenly caught her eye and she turned her head quickly, searching the crowd with the faintest emotion of familiarity stirring within her. It grew stronger as her eyes caught the streaks of rainbow colored hair. She shouted before she'd really thought about it.

"Sionn!"

The woman with the black and rainbow-streaked hair stopped immediately, turning and searching the crowd for the person who'd called her name. Ryeth broke away from Sylvester and Aiden then, weaving through the thinning crowd, grinning even as the other woman did, catching sight of the Fae. They came together with their arms around each other, laughing with disbelief and joy.

"Ke! What…how…It's sa good ta see yeh! Yer alive! Good scot, what happened ta yeh!?" She pulled back, looking the red-head over from head to toe with amazement, worry and such brimming happiness that the Sidhe couldn't help laughing, her accent, carefully hidden away, emerged almost entirely of its own volition. "Nothin'. I'm fine. Really." At her friend's skeptical look, the Fae changed the topic. "Yeh ain't an Abnormal, Sionn, what are yeh doin' here?"

Sionn shook her head, shrugging. "Normals are allowed in the Network as long as they be loyal ta the Abnormals and yeh know I've always been that." There was a shared look of fondness between the two women, memories of childhood games and work between them, of loyalty and laughter. Ryeth nodded, understanding and feeling a sense of home wash over her, a sense of balance as she realized she DID know someone here, realizing part of her home was here with her. "How long have yeh been here?"

"A wee bit o' time. Nearly two and half years. I would have told yeh where I was goin', but we couldna find yeh and….Ke, I saw….what happened to yer People…I'm so sorry."

Ryeth swallowed hard, but she'd had enough grief for the day, enough surprises and power surges. Definitely enough power battles! She was tired already and so merely shook her head. "It be in the past, Sionn. It cannae be changed." she replied softly and Sionn seemed to understand, dropping the subject, changing it really as she tilted her head at the red-haired Fae.

"How long have yeh been here?"
 
Syl jumped when she shouted. What the hell did...aaaand she ran off. He turned around and actually had a much easier time going back through the crowd than Ryeth had. People tended to skirt around a large, pretty much naked werewolf. Especially when he seemed to be exuding get-out-of-my-way pheromones.

He stepped up behind his fae and put his human chin on her head, looking at the rainbow haired girl. He had seen her around but kept a vague air of distrust, as most here did around Normals. He slid his arms protectively around his Fae and looked down at her. "You know her?"

Aiden walked up as well and waved a little. "Mornin'." He muttered before looking around. "My food's still there!" He darted off quickly and happily, sliding back into his spot to eat what was left of his food.
 
Ryeth rolled her eyes at Aiden and looked up at Sylvester with a grin, completely at ease. "Yeh, I do. She's my friend..." Dark brown eyes looked back into the blue ones of Sionn's and the rainbow-haired woman smiled, nodding. "Yeh, wer friends." she confirmed and then looked the wolf up and down, smiling at Ryeth. "I see some thins' never change. Still surrounded by yer wolves."

The Fae shrugged. "Nee my fault they like meh." Sionn laughed and folded her arms, raising a brow. "Yeh nevae did answer meh question, yeh wee savage."

"Two days now. I've been here two days. I'm a real member." Sionn snorted at her friend's tone and looked around behind Ryeth. "Who is yer teacher goin' ta beh?"

"Umm…Aiden?" Ryeth had turned slightly and looked at the two males - Syl behind her and Aiden at the table - and then at Sionn as the rainbow-haired girl grinned. "Good, his students tend ta survive. So yer with the Moon-Sun Group…er, well, Sun-Moon, dependin' on who yer talkin' ta. That be good, even if it be challengin'. Yeh must have done somethin' right. They be tight-knit." She winked and Ryeth snorted, but nodded, looking back up at Sylvester fondly. "Apparently. Which group are yeh with?" Would they see each other again?

Sionn turned her head to look back at the people waiting for her and smiled. "Oh, with the SteelScreech Group. Dinnae ask about tah name. Yeh dinnae want ta know."

"Dinnae, worry, wasn't gonna." Ryeth assured and Sionn chuckled, but looked back at her group and then at her friend with apology. "I'm sorry, but we have ta get goin'. We've got an assignment and a lot o' trainin' ta do before then. We'll be headin' to the UK in about a month or two. Maybe I will see yeh again at that point. Yeh might be ready ta go on a mission yerself then."

Ryeth nodded, stepping back and smiling a little forcefully, and her accent dropped slowly, her mind settling back into its defense mode. "Right, good luck. That's fine, go. I'll be fine." She pressed back against Sylvester, seeking his familiarity as she knew Sionn's would soon be leaving.

Sionn smiled gently and touched her shoulder. "Yeh will, actuallah." She glanced up at Sylvester with a small smile, not at all offended by his distrust. "We take care o' each other and yeh've got a good group. Yer safe. Stay that way." The rainbow-haired girl smiled again and Ryeth smiled back at her as Sionn left with a wave. The Fae sighed, feeling better for having seen someone she knew and yet extremely tired, too as they seemed to always end up in goodbyes.
 
Sylvester nosed the top of her head gently, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He felt her sadness as her friend left, and he felt her walls coming back up. He huffed. "Do I still need pants?" He asked, rubbing his chin against the top of her head in a slight try at a show for dominance. "You know I hate them...everyone here knows I hate them...can't I just not have them?"

He turned her around and held her to his chest again. "I'm not wearing pants." He said with a decisive nod. He picked her up and held her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, walking over to Aiden.
 
Ryeth gave a loud squeak, a startled sound as Sylvester slung her over his shoulder and she grunted as her stomach hit his bone, looking over her shoulder to glare balefully at him. "What the hell are yeh doin'!" The accent slipped out with her indignation and she thumped the werewolf on the back. HARD. "Put me DOWN! NOW!"

Feeling that he was going to be stubborn and realizing she should have paid more attention when he'd displayed the dominant actions, the red-head growled low, putting authority and just a trickle of pure Sidhe into her voice. "Sylvester, put me down. If yeh dinnae want ta wear the bloody pants when wer with the group, then fine, but yeh are damn well gonna wear 'em around strangers!" She wasn't compromising on that!

"Down! Now!"
 
Syl shrugged and dropped her, letting her roll down off her shoulder, down his arm, and to the floor. He looked down at her, putting his hands on his hips. His back hurt. He reached back to try and rub at the spot she hit. He stretched and twisted at the waist, getting his back to crack nice and loud in a few places.

Aiden smirked. "Now do you see why we call him a bad dog?" He asked, turning slightly to face him. "And you know, no one does it to directly insult him. It's...it's playful ribbing...but sometimes he does need to be told when he's done something wrong. He was born a wolf in a pack in a zoo...while he isn't scared of people...well, sometimes that's actually what makes him a little dangerous. He's a wolf. He's only been shifting for a year or two and for part of that, he was doing it in hiding at the zoo...he's still learning how to embrace the human side of himself..."

He snorted at Aiden and scratched himself. "I do fine."
 
Ryeth growled, clearly unhappy as she picked herself up off the floor. Damn, her hip was going to hurt later. The Sidhe nodded at Aiden, grateful for the advice. She'd dealt with cubs, with unruly adolecent wolves and with older wolves, but she'd admittedly never met a wolf raised in captivity and truthfully, being dropped by Sylvester had startled her. None of the other wolves she'd met, even the bratty ones, would have done that.

The Fae rubbed her elbow as that smarted, too, and looked at her werewolf with narrowed eyes for a long, long moment, truly debating how to handle this. Using authority obviously had NOT been the right step in this circumstance. Ryeth tilted her head slightly, her demeanor softening slowly as she thought it over and finally approached the werewolf. She was slow in her movements, letting him see everything she did as she reached out and touched the spot she'd hit, rubbing it gently.

"I'm sorry I struck you. You're not a bad dog, Syl, but I don't like to be manhandled like that. Being slung over your shoulder is not comfortable and it's embarrassing unless we are playing. I'm not as strong as you are. I'm not even as strong as the weakest werewolf cub physically. All right?"
 
Syl let out a soft growl, but there was hurt in his eyes. He tensed under her hand at first, then relaxed with a huff. "But, you're mine." He said, looking at her. "And I carry you." He looked around, really not understanding why she was so mad at him. "I know you are weak...that's why I protect you and carry you. Because you are not strong..."

"She's strong in other ways, Syl. She isn't physically strong like you are, with teeth and claws, but she is the earth, and the earth is strong."

"But I need to protect her..."

"Yes, Syl. That's why the werewolves were created. To be the muscle for the earth."

"Yes. And that's what I am being."

"You should apologize...you can't drop people like that..."

He huffed and slouched. "Sorry..." He muttered, shifting down to his wolf form. He laid down on the ground and just generally looked upset.
 
Ryeth worked not to laugh at the pouting form of the werewolf as she crouched down and smiled with the utmost fondness at her wolf. She pet his head lovingly, with confidence and then scratched behind his ear, slowly running her hands down his body and then scratching at his sides, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist a belly rub as she started speaking to him softly, no anger in her voice anymore. She sat down beside him, pressing her hip against his side, knowing contact was important in the canine world, but only the right kind of contact. She didn't try to crowd him, but let him know that she was there, that she cared about him.

"I want you to protect me, Syl. I am not upset about that. I am yours and I will always be yours, just as you will always be mine, but both of us need to learn that there are limits....territory lines that shouldn't be crossed sometimes. I know this is confusing for you. Sometimes I seem like a grown wolf, act like a grown wolf and other times I am like a cub, in need of protection. I know you find that hard to understand."

The Fae moved her head down, uncaring about where she was or who was watching as she pressed her forehead to the wolf's, inhaling him and exhaling into his nose slowly. "I wish I knew how to explain it to you, but I fear we might just have to learn through trial and error. I can tell you, though, that I am strong in some ways and simply not so strong in others. Just as you would most likely not need my protection in your war form, I do not need your protection if I use my powers unless I am hurt. I do not begrudge your protection when I have need of it. I do not mind you carrying me, but only when you do it gently, when you do it with respect. A wolf can accept help with pride when he's not mocked for it, when he's not treated like a cub, yes?"

Her hands still scratched him gently, patiently, waiting for him to respond positively to her. "We are pack-members now, Syl. We are not the leaders in our pack, but we are equals and we need to treat each other as such, respecting the strengths and weaknesses of the other person. Do you understand that?" She was sincere in the question, trying to discern where his puzzlement stemmed from.
 
He huffed when she first touched him and shifted a little. He listened to her as she spoke and heaved another big sigh. {I am sorry, Fae...I am not used to the human way of doing things...you did nothing against my sign of dominance so it meant I'm dominant...but now you're saying we're equal and...} He heaved another sigh, rolling onto his side so she could scratch more. He looked up at him with sad, confused eyes.

{Ciro is the alpha male and My Moon is the alpha female, but they don't breed...and everyone else is just...is just equal? It's all very confusing. Humans are confusing and I don't like to be one.} He said finally, putting his head back down on the cool linoleum floor.
 
Ryeth sighed, feeling her heart reach out to the wolf with sympathy. She rubbed his stomach gently, scratching his chest as she thought about what he'd said, truly trying to think of a way to explain it to him or at least find a compromise. She paid no attention to those around them, not even Aiden - who'd she'd thank later for being so patient - as her world centered down around her werewolf and his needs. Everything went away - all that had happened, any emotion that wasn't beneficial to Sylvester was pushed aside. Ryeth hadn't even been aware that she could do that... There was much to learn about this bond.

{I understand. I often don't like being human either.} She admitted that quietly and vowed that someday she'd explain to him why, but now wasn't the time. She needed to focus on him right now. The Fae shifted her body, sitting cross-legged and moving Syl's head so it was cradled in her lap, moving her scratches to his head and behind his ears. She could look at him now, see what he was thinking.

{In a wolf pack, everyone has a rank. I understand that. There is the Dragga and the Drappa, and then the wolves under them, the cubs and then the lowest wolf is the Sikla. Ciro is our Dragga and Alcmene is the Drappa, as you say, but I am afraid there is no Sikla in our pack and the other wolves...we all get turns being dominant. It is like when the pack hunts. The Dragga and the Drappa lead, but there is no competition between the wolves that follow because they are all working together toward a common goal. Their only thought is to catch the prey and to follow their leaders. Our pack is like that....only....all the time.}

Ryeth bit the side of her lip, hoping that made sense. It did to her, but to him? She wasn't sure. The Sidhe sighed again, pushing her long red hair - now out of confinement - behind her ear before placing her hand on Sylvester's shoulder, an idea forming. {Sylvester, would you like it if you and I played a game, a wolf-like game?}
 
He willingly let her put his head into his lap and listened to everything she said. His ears perked a bit at her explanation. That actually made a lot of sense. What they were doing was hunting. They were constantly hunting the people that were bad to the shifters and the special humans and the other races. That was the way their pack worked.

When she mentioned wolf-games, he turned his head up to look at her, his tail thumping slowly. {Which game? I haven't been able to play wolf games in too long. Many cycles of Luna. Many many many. Forever!}

Games made him excited and no one else really knew how to play wolf games. The female werewolf he had ran after earlier was human-born and the rest of his pack...well...they weren't around anymore to play games with him. Much less anything else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back