Elias tosses Mikail to the side as his body writhes in pain and his bones reshape. When the process finally ends, he lies on the ground, just trying to breathe.
When the blade-like feathers hit elias, they simply get stuck in his flesh. But when the fire hits him, he rpars and shys away. Where the fire hit, his skin starts to dry and crumble away. Aveun frowns. "If had known that this creature would be here, I would taken the time to make one from steel."
Andarius helped Mikail up on his feet, with his feezing technuique he could helpthe body from pain, at least a little while he helped him up. Andarius body shone white as he turned to the man in black, his blue eyes started to slowly turn to somewhat white as well, probably because to help Mikail.
-"Haven't you done enough?" He asked as he looked at Darius with a troubled expression as he then turns back to the man.
-"Who are you really anyway?"
"I have a mission to accomplish here, and I won't leave before that." The man with the long coat replied, seeming slightly annoyed. Thing were taking too long for him. "I am just a man who knows more about the world than most people, and how it works. So I can make it work as I want." He grinned again. "If you want a name, I give you one. I have many! Call me Sythe, if you like it. And I work for the name of God! At least... while it's useful, profitable... and entertaining. Oh, so entertaining! Dealing with things like you is formidable!"
His hands started to move in agile gestures again, tracing the air with his magic, this time to immobilize Andarius and revoke his powers. "You seem the most dangerous now. The puppy will take some time to transform again, and the reptile there is going a bit nuts." His eyes were cruel. "You'll dive in darkness... and forget where and who you are..."
Meanwhile, Darius was regaining his mind. Still in mid-form between human and... something, he tried to collect his thoughts, and concentrate in Elias in front of him. A golem. Elias was artificial. It was not a problem to obliterate it. The feeling of guilty left his chest when he breathed his powerful blue flames, engulfing the big body, watching it crumble away.
Andarius stood there in silence before a small chuckle went out from his mouth and then to a laugh.
-"Sythe..." He said with his cold smile as his eyes where turning more white.
-"Who knows "more about the world than most people", do you even know what I am?" He asked with a serious expression as his body started to light a little bit more to heal Mikail a little faster.
-"I'm already in the "darkness" but not the one you think of." He says and then turns his white eyes, soon even the black part started to turn white, they looked at Noah and Joseph and then back to the man.
-"I don't want you to know what I can do, nor get any hurt. Though..." He lets go slowly of Mikail so he doesn't get hurt and lands in the white soft snow under their feet that starts to slowly freeze even more.
-"...It doesn't seem I've any choice." Andarius without more words goes straight for Sythe, his grip his hand together as a small light starts to form and he goes for a charge attack to his neck, though he knew that Sythe would probably block it with his arm or jump any minute. Either take the blow or run away. He had his plan anyway.
Aveun, being the coward he is, turns to walk away. "I will take my leave now. The mutt will give himself up on his own when he sees his family trapped. And we will find them."
Mikail stumbles towads Aveun with a knife in his hand, only to trip and fall over where he had stood. He yells into the air. Aveun appears back where his artificial soldier had stood and picks a tiny wooden tablet out of the dust before dusappearing again
Sythe was grinning with absolute satisfaction, showing all his teeth in an almost scary way. Instead of running, the clapped his hands... and something emerged from it, like a wave. It was a vibration... invisible and absolutely silent, yet it travelled through the surface of everything, like a tingling sensation.
And everything stopped.
The snow stopped falling, the wind stopped blowing, all the sounds coming from the pub muted. The silence was total. It seemed that only this small group, Andarius, Joseph, Noah, Mikail, Darius and Sythe still existed in the world. Andarius would probably feel his body slow down in mid air, the sensation of movement fighting against a simultaneous feeling of inertia. The nature was fragmented, and its laws were failing. That heinous man was defying the very time-space.
He approached the man attacking him, moving and moveless at the same time, like blurred images of himself. "I don't know what you are, but I admit I'm interested. Unfortunately, I must leave, because I must follow my patrons, now. We will meet again, even if you don't want it." He gave a cruel look at where Joseph and Noah were standing, before returning his gaze to Andarius. "I can be very persuasive."
And then he was gone, like a shadow, and all returned to normal.
Darius fell to his knees, melting all the snow around his form, now only covered with the shreds from his clothes. His skin was completely covered in the blue scales and plates, except for the feathered wings and shoulders. His breath was slowly returning to normal.
"If you need help to protect your people, Mikail... I can take you wherever you want..." he said, in a harsh and tired voice.
Mikail sits up in the snow and shakes his head sollumnly "no. That is what they want me to do. They want me to lead them to my pack." He talks in a pained voice "the best thing for them is if I steer clear of them."
Andarius felt how his body got affected, his arm slowly missed the man, though touched very little of his hair before the man would be gone. When everything got to normal Andarius falled but he made a spin and landed on his feet safely, he looked at the other two and ran over to them, his eyes started to go back to normal.
-"Are you two okay?" He asked and looked back to Joseph and Noah, they seemed fine so he had nothing to worry about. When the two of them could take themselves up to their feet, Andarius helped them back as Joseph looked at Mikail's wound.
-"Andarius and Noah should be able to heal that." He said and then looked at Darius with his dark eyes.
-"Please rest, no need to hurry and if you want... I can make up another drink." He said and then his usual smile came up to his face and then turned tp Andarius.
-"Watch out there Andarius, I don't want you to go berserk, nor your sister. It'd be dangerous if your body would break." He said and Andarius nodded, he didn't seem tired at all, actually. It was almost the opposite.
-"Don't worry Joseph, my body isn't that easy to break. It's just the arms and legs that're sensetive and easily to cut off." He answered and then sighs.
-"You seemed to enjoy the show, Joseph." Andarius said and walked inside to the warm pub, most of the guest seemed to be on their way home and soon the whole pub where empty, the wooden chairs, tables and floor where covered with dirt from shoes and spilled drinks and the calm atmosphere that was filling the room earlier, have almost disappeared. Though, with Joseph and Noah around, the mood didn't seem to have gone down all too much and since Joseph were a man to not accept bad things such as the athmosphere building up, he tried to lighten things up. He made a drink that were almost like hot chocolate but very different, it wasn't any alcohole in it and it tasted like vanilla, which Noah seems to like and where now on the table filled in each glass for everyone. Noah have been taking a few glasses of the vanilla tasting drinks and seems to want another one, Joseph laughed.
-"No more, young lady. That's enough for today." He said and Noah looked at him with sad puppy eyes as Joseph sighs.
-"Well... one more should not hurt." He said and made another one for Noah. The place seemed more comfy now with the candles and less people, Andarius was sitting with Noah and looked at the two.
-"I'm sorry I couldn't do much." He said and then looked at Joseph.
-"Thanks for looking after Noah." And with that Joseph smiled.
-"Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't let her get harmed and also..." He turned to the guys.
-"If you ever want to know where the man called Sythe is hiding.." Joseph took up some sort of huge circle formed glass that where almost like a coin though much bigger and it glowed in a smooth blue color.
-"You can see him here." He said and showed them the plate that could fit in his palm, it had a blue dot glowing and where moving very fast and then blinked as it now were somewhere else. Andarius almost gasped.
-"How and when did you..." Andarius said quite shocked, looking at Joseph whom smiled.
-"Oh... I have my secrets. If you guys want this, I would be nothing more than happy to lend this to you." He said and laid the plate on the table as the blue dot kept moving, stopped and then jumped to another location.
-"This might not be much, but... atleast it's some sort of lead if you guys ever want to know where he is." Joseph then added.
Darius heard Joseph, and only nodded, without looking back at him. He stayed in the cold grass even when the others entered back the pub, and only moved when the guests started to return their homes; he didn't want to be seen, and just passed to the other side of the pub, sitting among the trees, feeling the snow melting into water and cooling his hot body. Slowly, he returned to his normal state of mental peace.
Getting up, he looked at himself, with all the destroyed clothes, now barely covering what was absolutely necessary to be decent and modest. It's not the first time this happens. I'm losing my mind too quick. But the creature laughed, opening his maw and delivering a joyous sound to the night. He returned to the pub as he was, mostly a dragon on two feet, knowing the others wouldn't be surprised at all. He folded his wings to pass by the door, his tail undulating behind him in satisfaction, especially when the sweet aroma of their drinks got to his nostrils. His body was already dry from the constant heat emanating from it.
"Sorry if I have caused more problems than helped. I'm glad you're all fine." he looked quizzically at the weird object on the table. "What is it? It's... It's that man, right? How is that possible?" he looked at the others, until his gazed stopped at Joseph. "This is your job, right? It's brilliant."
"I must, ah... return to my place to pick something to dress. If I turn back now, I believe things will get uncomfortable. And I won't... cause more trouble."
Joseph only smiled as he looked at Darius but then looked at Noah whom walked towards Darius whom was still in his shape, she looked up at him with her doll eyes that shone with a blue color as her brothers and her long white-blonde hair was touching her face, she looked at Darius for a long time and then smiled a little. Andarius looked at them both, wondering what his sister is up to.
-"I want to help." She said with her light child voice and took Darius humongous hand compared to hers.
-"I don't know if this will work... but I've done this before on a friend, though she wasn't as big as you..." She said and started to glow, Andarius got up from his chair.
-"Let me do it, Noah. You aren't strong enough to change him back to his former self." He said but Joseph took his hand on Andarius shoulder, smiling.
-"Let the girl help." He said and watched the show. The little girl started to glow more and more as she closed her eyes as much as she could, concentrating while holding both her small hands on his huge hand and as she said. She've done this before but on another one, and the woman was much smaller than Darius and also wasn't completely transformed but she wanted to give it all in order to help after helplessly watching the fight. Andarius watched, he didn't know if she could make it but she've made some wonders before. He then looks down and then back to Darius with a smile, walks to him and takes his other hand.
-"Don't worry. Though this might hurt you know." He says and grips Darius hand and started to concentrate with closed eyes, slowly starting to glow. Noah whom hold Darius hand, saw how his fingertips started to turn back to human, though she had to keep concentrating or else they had to start over again. Andarius whom was more used to this kind of healing, or what to call it was much more faster to shape his hand back to normal.
-"Amazing..." Joseph said with a smile and saw the white people glow more.
-"What an amazing brother and sister, helping each other just like a real family should." He then remembered and walked away, before coming back with some new clothes.
-"I believe they're done soon with the shaping." He says and hold into the clothes.
-"No need to go back Darius, I've everything here and I don't want you to wander off after what just happened." He says and Andarius agrees. And as Joseph said, he was soon back to human form and Joseph walked to Darius and gave him the clothes when his arms where all done then a small thud could be heard.
-"Noah!" Andarius says, looking down to the floor, he lets go of Darius hand in Panic and bows down to her. Joseph whispers to Darius.
-"You can probably fix the rest of the shaping by yourself, right?" Joseph then bowed down with Andarius and talked to him. Andarius took the little girl up to his arms and then looked at Joseph and nodded.
-"Just take her to the sofa over there." He ordered Andarius and then turned to Darius and nodded towards the clothes.
-"There's a toilet over there if you want a change. Your arms and legs seems to be back to normal and the wings gone, so you should be able to get through." He then went to help Andarius.
When Noah approached Darius with clear intention to help, he felt warm on his chest. Her hand was really delicate against his, but her will was probably much stronger. This is a lesson I should never forget. Andarius got his other hand, and the two started to transform him back before he could even concentrate to help. The sensation was not really painful, but still very physical, when one's skin, bones and flesh transform still completely alive, and pulsing with blood. The difference between their skills was clear, yet the little Noah was surprisingly focused and doing very well. Somehow, the feeling coming from the hand she was holding spread to his whole body, bringing back something he thought was lost in the past...
When she fainted, the ex-angel felt terribly guilty. While following Andarius with his still silverish eyes, the little pale body on his arms, Darius just hoped nothing bad could happen to her, and that his own distorted nature wouldn't affect her in any way. He accepted the clothes Joseph offered him, absent minded, and turned to where Andarius was guarding his sister.
"I'm sorry. And... I'm thankful. For her help. For your help." He wished he still had the power to give blessings, but it was probably too late. He walked towards the toilet pointed out by Joseph, cosing the door behind him. He undressed himself from what was left of his former clothes, and noticed how the marks left from Sythe's curse was very diminished now, probably due to their help. Due to her help. he corrected, remembering the power coming from Noah touching all his body from inside; she was so much stronger than anyone could guess.
After this inspection, Darius concentrated his mind, breathing slowly, finishing the transformation by himself. Very slowly, it started to work. He was sure he was not able to do that by himself, and failed through the last years... yet there he was, free again from these chains. I need to thank them so much. He thought, looking at his now completely human face in the mirror. Maybe, in another day, he could try to transform while perfectly calm, and see how far he could go. It was not impossible for him to regain his complete power, was it? What was he now? The human he was born to be, or his past self...?
The clothes, while a bit smaller than his other ones, were comfortable and good for him. They seemed antique, but perfectly preserved. He left the toilet feeling a gentleman from another decade. "Thank you for these, Joseph." he said. "And how is she? And you, Mikail?"
Andarius looked down on the little girl, laying down on the sofa and sighed as he turned to Joseph and Darius.
-"She's fine, though I've to watch her over for a bit to see if she didn't overdo herself. She's still small and not in the same length as I'm." He says with a painful smile, his eyes had turned to normal blue now and is looking down at her, his big hand touching hers.
-"She've to go slow with stuff like this and she knows that but..." He bit his lip.
-"If she doesn't watch over herself, she might..." His words got stuck in his throat, he felt a small pain in his chest when he had to say it and didn't even want to think about it but said it anyway in the end.
-"...She might disappear." Andarius looked at Noah whom was sleeping, Joseph took his hand on Andarius shoulder.
-"Don't worry, Andarius. She wouldn't leave you." Joseph said with his smile that seemed to have gotten smaller, Andarius smiled back.
-"Yeah, though... She's so eager so even I don't know how far she will go. I've also been warned before by the higher power to look after her and that she's my responsibility."
-"And that is why we're here to help out as well, you're not alone." Joseph then said and Andarius nodded as he slowly but his forehead against hers, looking into her sleeping eyes and gripping his hand lightly into her hand.
-"I'll not let anything happen to her, I wont let her... disappear that easily." Andarius then said as a small quiet aura went down the room, it was almost like you could feel Andarius worry and pain throughout the whole room.
Darius was not aware of the big dangers the little Noah would face by helping him, and his feeling of guilt grew deeper. "This would not happen if it wasn't me and my lack of self-control. I'm really... really sorry." He said, his grey eyes showing sincere pain.
That scene of Andarius so concerned about his sister was also the trigger for his own memories. I won't let her... disappear that easily.
I won't let you disappear, brother! I won't... lose you!
His brother's voice was clear in his mind, as if he was there, at the pub, too. The whole scene would pass in front of his eyes like a terrible dream. The day his brother found out he, Darius... would disappear.
Everything he did since that day had the intention to help and save him. It all started very long ago. And that should end.
"I... want to help you. But I don't know how. I don't even know who... you three really are. If I will only cause more problems, I should leave. You know, Joseph, I won't have much more time. But... I'd also ask you... when you saw my brother Arthur, you also discovered the day he will die. Could you tell me... if he was... immortal?"
Darius was really sad, and tired. The two siblings should be dead long ago. At least one of them would be very soon.
Andarius got up from the floor and looked at Darius with serious ice-blue shining eyes.
-"No, it's okay, really." He says and looks at something else to avoid eyecontact, somehow this was a bit embarrassing for him to say that to a stranger, yet still not.
-"She'll be fine, so you don't have to worry. She just need some rest. That's all." He then added and looked down at Noah whom mumble her brothers name weakly and Andarius smiles a bit, though it was a worried smile and yet a reliefed one since she wasn't in danger. Joseph then comes into the conversation.
-"Your brother Arthur? Well he looked a bit... off and well, yes." Joseph says and then looks at Mikail.
-"Mikail, you're okay? Should we take you somewhere?" He asked and looked a bit worried but at the same time his eyes was a bit... empty.
-"I can heal you if you want aid?" Andarius offered Mikail.
-"I still have powers left so no need to worry about me."
Darius shook his head, and sighed. Arthur really did something to achieve immortality, something terrible. But he would return eventually to the city, and they would talk, even if it was for the last time.
The traveler looked at Noah, trying to find a way to thank her for her help, and also to apologize for what he has caused. "Maybe... she would like to visit the festival at the city, tomorrow evening? I'd like to buy her anything she wants, and I believe the trip will be worth it. What do you think?" he talked, like one would think out loud. "I'm going now. I must find a room to pass the night. I'll be here again, tomorrow. When she wakes up, please, ask her about the festival. If she approves... we can all go there, right?"
He smiled, seeming tired, but also pacified. "Well, I wish you good night. And thank you, once again." he headed to the door.
Andarius nodded.
-"I'm sure she would accept, she even said so herself that she've wanted to go to this festival for a long time now. But I'll ask her, don't worry." He said with a smile as Joseph got into the conversation.
-"Sadly, the Pub is closed at daytime since many people work at that hour and since the festival is starting on the evening, I'll also close it for the time being. Sorry." He said with a slight change in his dark eyes as Andarius made an offer.
-"But Darius can meet me and Noah at our house tomorrow, here. It's the house we live in for now." Andarius gave him a paper that had a name on it, it was actually a place where several people lived together, Andarius just said "our house" because of a habbit, though he knew that the house wasn't actually theirs. He then turned to Joseph.
-"Will you come and meet us around the center of the town where the festival will be held?" Andarius asked.
-"We'll see, I still have other things to do, but I'll try and if not... Well you know already." He said with his gentle smile. Andarius made some sort of unsure expression as he turned to Darius.
-"Take care and we'll see each others tomorrow."
-"Take care and watch out for any danger out there. You don't want to make any mistakes, right?" Joseph said calm and then waved his hand.
"I'll take care. I see you tomorroy, and I hope you can go there too, young master Joseph." Darius replied before leaving the pub. The nightly air was refreshing and relaxing, and the walk to the city promities was calm among the silence and the snow. Everything seemed safe, but the traveler was very attentive; the warmth was still emanating softly from his body.
Soon, he found a petite inn at the margins of the road. The attendant, an young woman, was already sleeping on the counter, but woke up as soon as he arrived, seeming a bit embarrassed. He didn't want to disturb, but she was gentle, an in a moment he had his tiny room, with an oblique roof and a rounded window. The rest of the night was pacific, and the bed received his tired body, in a dreamless slumber.
.................*..*..*................
The next day, Darius ate the modest breakfast offered by the inn and got out by the end of the morning. In a long walk, he went to the train station, the same from days before, when he arrived at the city: his things were reserved there. He payed the man responsible for the guarded objects, and withdrew his two big handbags, with his belongings.
He passed a few hours discovering new parts of the city, like a plaza, an open market, and a restaurant with an interesting decoration reminding him from another country. When the evening approached, he headed to the address given by Andarius.
Andarius opened the door and ecountered a man with a familiar face, Darius. When you could see Andarius he had another sort of suit on than yesterday that was more plain and whole white, now he had atleast a small litle black ribbon on and some sort of flower that looked like the winter flower En'shyew that growns around the area. He smiled and told him to get inside, it was a big house and there where different people there living together and on the floor sitting on the round carpet filled with a purple color were Noah with another white dress that had long arms and didn't have many ribbons on but instead more... clean but she had atleast one big black ribbon on and her hair are into two big buns as her blue eyes shone with happiness, she dropped the old ragdoll that seemed a bit too unfitting for a little lady like her and said hello to Darius while hugging him.
-"Welcome, Mr. Darius!" She said with her light and happy tone, Andarius laughed and took Noah up to his arms.
-"So are we ready to go?" Andarius asked both Noah and Darius and Noah was smiling wide.
-"Yeah, let's go!" She said out loud and didn't seem to get more happy than this and when everything was done, Andarius looked of Noah had everything and Noah checked Andarius if he had everything and then they walked to the city's center where the festival will be held.
Joseph fixed his suit as he looked at himself in the mirror, he then took a glance at the white comb lying on the wooden table that shone so much it's almost that you could see your own reflection. Joseph took the comb and fixed his hair while looking out through the window nearby, it didn't seem to be any snowstorms tonight, which was very nice. It actually seemed the quite opposite, it seemed to be very calm today and with that, more warmer outside, though not much but atleast a little since it wont blow cold winds all the time. He put the comb away and fixed his hair some more and then sighs, it feels a bit weird to go outside, yet at the same time, good. Like he's finally able to stretch his legs even more than going around this pub all the time and the silence, the very deep almost awkward silence throughout the whole pub was almost too much for him, since he's not used to it and yet, it also felt good to relax the ears for once. He looked at himself once again and then closed his eyes to concentrate, he felt a slight pain that grew even larger around his eyes as he then opened them and saw the golden colored eyes shine for him.
-"Ugh..." He said and rubbed his left eye a bit, "it hurts like hell to change the eyes back to their normal state, though... It has been some time I've seen them now." He thought and then took the glasses that lied almost infront of him. He took a last glance before smiling a bit.
-"Well, I hope no one will notice me now." He said and fixed his hair a last time before taking the keys and closing the door behinde him.
Darius, with his dark long clothes and short beard was looking even more sruffy than usual compaired to these two. "You two are always incredibly elegant. I feel a bit ashamed. You're absolutely enchanting today, lady Noah." he said to the little girl, smiling kindly. He walked beside the two, and soon they got closer to the center, already full of people here and there.
"There is a long time since I've been in a festival. In my youth, we had one every year in my homeland, with a long dance of masquerades. I only managed to participate twice before... I've had some problems. In the first year, my partner was a kind red-headed girl in a blue dress, with a golden mask. She was lovely, and danced very well. The next, it was a man." he shrugged. "He was wearing a wolf half-mask. We kept absolutely silent until the end of the song. And he danced even better."
Soon the first stands appeared here and there with their goods. "I'd like to buy you a gift, lady Noah, for your help last night. If you see anything you'd like, just say it, and it will be yours." He offered, sincerely.
Mikail had woken up early and awaited the others arrival. He is dressed in clothing a bit nicer than he had been wearing at the pub, however, his clearly unshaven dirty face along with his disheveled hair gave him the appearance of a well dressed homeless man. No matter the fact that he had made attempt look presentable.
