Shatter Complex02:50 Nov 09 2006
Times Read: 517
This is Shatter Complex. It was written by my good friend signature-skitz (aka: Josh Theobald) It is a very long but very wonderful story. There is a second part that I will post right after this and I will keep it updated as he does. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Alex sat in her new room staring at her hands, thinking about the past. Her family had just moved here from Michigan and she wasn't exactly cheerful about it. What with leaving all of her old friends behind. Ha, yeah right. They stopped being her friends after it happened. She was different now. She had changed so much. Too much. Maybe moving was the best thing after all.
"Does it still hurt?"
Alex spun around and saw her mom standing in her doorway. She felt a little guilty getting caught staring at her hands. The rest of the family seemed to have moved on. She was the only one still dwelling in the past. But she was the only one truly affected by the change. She was the reason they moved, the reason they left their old life behind. Alex mentally shook herself. No sense in despairing about it. Maybe it's time she did move on.
"No. I was just... you know... thinking about how they used to look." Why did she feel so stupid saying that?
"Well honey, you know that the people here don't know how you used to look. You shouldn't worry about what they think anyways. Maybe you could go out without your gloves and glasses?" Her mom gave her a hopeful smile. Alex felt the guilt rise again. For the first time she actually considered going without covering up, but decided against it. It was selfish and her mom would surely be disappointed, but she didn't know. She didn't know what it was like to just suddenly become a freak.
"I don't know mom. Maybe later. Just not now. Not with my first day at a new school tomorrow."
She looked disappointed, just as Alex knew she would be. But she also seemed to understand and Alex felt a surge of gratitude for her mother. She would keep encouraging her, but understood that it would happen when she was ready. She came over to Alex, knelt down, and gave her a reassuring smile. Then she took her hand in hers and felt along the skin.
"At least you can be thankful the skin is still smooth."
"Yeah. That's true. And it definitely doesnt hurt anymore. I just need a little more time mom. Just a little longer to get used to it. Okay?"
She sighed, "Okay. I suppose I should stop pressuring you. But you know your mother, I hate to see you hide yourself like this. Especially when you hide your eyes."
"The eyes are worse than the skin. I don't know if I'll ever get used to them."
"Hmm. Well, we'll see, won't we. I'm sure some boy is going to come along and show you just how beautiful you are."
Alex laughed. "Geez, if it's not my hands it's my love life!" She became a little more serious. "Uhh... mom? I've been thinking about it lately, and... I'll give this place a shot. I'll try my best to fit in here. It will probably be a while, but... anyway, I'll try." Her mom stood up and kissed her on the forehead and gave her another smile.
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure you'll love this place once you get used to it. You'll be making new friends in no time. To tell you the truth, I don't think your old friends were that good for you. I didn't like the way they treated you after... it... happened, or before either. Anyway, you should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. G'nite honey."
"G'nite mom. Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks, you know, for understanding."
She just smiled and closed the door behind her.
----
God she hated this. First day at a new school. First time ever in an all graethian school. She still felt like everyone could see her skin, even through the long sleeved shirt and pants, and gloves. Her eyes were safely hidden behind her sunglasses, spelled to let all light in but none out. She watched all the kids walking around, some were joking around and laughing, some were practicing their abilities, and still others seemed to be doing the same as her; watching. She took a deep breath and started walking toward the front doors.
"Hey! I don't remember seeing you before. You new?"
She jumped and looked around and saw a tall girl walking towards her. She was definitely a graethian, she seemed to have quills instead of hair, arranged to look quite attractive and the dark brown color matched nicely with her deeply tanned skin. She had spikes coming off her shoulders, elbows, knees and even her ears, there were claws instead of nails, and she walked on the balls of her elongated bare feet. Her nose also seemed to be animalistic, like a dogs or cats. The whole effect was both intimidating and rather cute. She was wearing an off the shoulder top and a jean skirt. Alex looked a little closer and noticed that she was wearing a g-string and left the straps up so everyone could see. Wow, kinda brazen, Alex thought.
"I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" Alex asked after her brief examination.
"Yeah. Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." She looked sheepish, if sheep could tear you to shreds.
"Oh. You didn't startle me. You just look kinda... uhh... never mind."
"Don't worry about it, I get it all the time. Anyway, are you new?"
"Yep. First year here."
"Then let me be the first to welcome you here." She smiled and Alex noticed her very sharp canines. She seemed the epitome of never judging a book by it's cover. Despite her appearance she was very nice and cheerful. "My name is Annabeth. Annabeth Mall. My charaname is Annymal. Not that clever but it's been handed down the family. Technically I'm the third Annymal."
"Nice to meet you Anny, my name's Alex. Alex Katin." She held out her hand and Anny shook it. Then they started walking toward the front doors together.
"Katin huh? With a K?" Alex nodded. "That means you'll be in my homeroom: 308, J through M. So I'll be the one showing you around campus. I volunteered to show new students around this year." She looked proud of this and Alex couldn't help but giggle a little. Luckily Anny didn't take offense and just giggled along with her. "So... ummm... if you don't mind me asking. What's with the gloves and glasses? It's a bit warm out and the sun isn't that bright."
Alex slowed down a little at that. Dammit, she didn't expect to deal with this already! She's definitely not shy, that's for damn sure. "It's kind of a story I don't like to get into. Let's just say that I don't like the way I look."
Anny looked a little stunned at this. "What do you mean by that? Your a graethian, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so shouldn't you be used to it by now?"
"I became a graethian last year. So, to answer your question, no, I'm not used to it." Her tone started getting snappish and she forced herself to calm down a little. "Look, I'm sorry. I just... I just haven't gotten used to it yet." She finished lamely. Why can't she ever get the damn words right?
"Oh, that's alright. I probably should have guessed your an unnatural graethian. There's a few of them here. Linx became one not too long ago either. Although his doesn't affect his appearance too much. I guess that's why you didn't mention your charaname? Haven't chosen one yet?"
"Actually I never thought about it before. You, uhh... said there's others like me?" She sounded hopeful. There was no one like her back home! Maybe there was someone here who actually understood what she had gone through!
"Yeah. Let's see, there's Linx and... hmmm... actually, Linx is the only one I know." Alex looked a little down at this. "But I know there's more than just him. And he's a really cool guy, kinda funny and kinda dorky, but pretty cool all around. He became a graethian around two years ago. It's a great story but you'll have to ask him about it. He has a twin brother that was born a graethian. Kind of a strange occurance but they're pretty close. Anyways, I'm sure your gonna love it here. Everyone is pretty nice and any abuse of abilities or magic is strictly punished." They turned down a hall and stopped in front of door. "Well, this is 308. Homeroom is always first hour so we might as well go in now. Oh! And I'll introduce you to Linx! He's in here too. His real name is Sig Jeyld."
"Sig?" Alex inquired. "Kind of a strange name."
"I think it's short for Sigla, cause his brother's name is Rune. But I don't know for sure. I've never asked and the teachers tend to go by charanames or nicknames. I think I'll sit next to you, that way we can talk for a while longer."
They sat down and Alex and Anny chatted while others came in to take a seat. It seemed that Anny loved to talk. She could chatter on endlessly about anything and switch topics at light speed. Alex found it refreshing, all her old friends were kind of reserved and didn't really talk to each other much. Anny pointed out Linx to Alex, he was a little tall and kinda skinny. He was wearing a long sleeve black button up shirt and dark brown cargo pants with what looked like two chains looping from the front to the back. He had a black hat on and his hair was dark brown as well. He had a small beard that looked far more red than his hair. He looked over at her and she quickly looked away. Anny giggled and made a joke about her blushing but quieted down when the teacher walked in.
"Good mornin' class. Most o' ye know me by now but fer those who don't, I'm Kidrin ShatterShield. Mr. ShatterShield to ye. Before any of ye start gigglin' about me name or askin' stupid questions, I'll have ye know that I'm a dwarf." Someone started to speak but he cut them off. "A true dwarf. One o' the ones that emerged from underground after the Year o' the Magi, not one o' them graethian upstarts." His black eyes glittered and Alex thought that underneath the gruff and tough exterior he was probably a decent sort. But what an exterior! His hair and beard were braided in the dwarven fashion and a deep dark red. He was maybe five feet tall but very stocky and wide. All of it must have been muscle though because he didn't look fat at all. If he was scaled up then he would have been a huge bear of a man.
"Anyway," He continued, "we've a couple a new students wi' us this year. Please stand up front and say a few things about yerself when I call yer name. And get used to such torture, because I love watchin' ye squirm." He chuckled a bit at this and there were a few reciprocating laughs, although a couple sounded nervous. He cleared his throat, "Alex Katin. He here?"
Alex stood up and walked to the front of the class. "Yes, she is." A few more laughs and Mr. ShatterShield apologized and waved her to continue. "Umm, my name is Alex. I just moved here from Michigan. This is my first time in an all graethian school but I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. I've already made a friend." Anny smiled at this. "Uhh... there are a few things I don't like to talk about: My gloves and my glasses. Just don't ask, seriously." She started to head back to her seat but stopped when she saw a black sleeved arm raised into the air, it had a silver chain around the wrist. "Yes?" She asked him.
"You said you've never been in an all graethian school before? But all schools are either all graethian or all wielder...so... I'm assuming there's a story behind that?" Linx asked her.
"Oh. Uhh... well... I kinda don't like to talk about that either. But I became a graethian last year. I wasn't born one." Please don't ask anymore! But he nodded his head as if she just confirmed something for him and didn't say anything else. She went back to her seat and Anny whispered in her ear. "Wow, pretty brave of you just to tell everyone to leave ya alone like that." She giggled to show she fully approved and leaned back.
"Thank ye Ms. Katin. Ummm... Yun Ki. Will ye please come to the front o' the class?"
A small asian boy with long black hair in seeming full oriental dress stepped to the front of the class. "My name is Yun Ki." He emphasized the pronunciation as yoon kai to make sure everyone knew it wasn't yunn key. "Me and my family just moved here from China. We all speak perfect english, so no jokes please. Anyway... umm... I wear these clothes because I feel as comfortable in them as you do in your jeans and t-shirts. Uhh... my charaname is Phade, and I have certain ephemereal abilities." And he disappeared. "Such as invisiblity and..." He reappeared and his hair was now a ghostly silver. He seemed to have a faint aura about him. Then he walked through a desk to show he was completely insubstantial. "As you can see, my name fits me well." The aura disappeared and his hair went back to black. Everyone applauded politely, and Alex could here a few of the guys making some observations about the possibilities of Phade and the girls locker room. Looks like he won't have any problems making friends, Alex thought to herself.
The rest of the hour passed by with the usual first day repoir. School rules, reminders of holiday dates, and the passing out of useless papers that held information no one read. Then they got their schedules and, true to her word, Anny was assigned to show the new kids around and make sure they knew where their classes were. Just as the bell rang Mr. ShatterShield called out one last thing.
"Alright ye wee beasts. I'll be seein' most o' ye in me history class. So ye'd better be behavin' fer the rest o' yer teachers. Otherwise, well, let's just say I like to have a bit more fun wi' ye if yer a troublemaker. Now get."
Alex, Anny, and Phade walked out together. Both Alex and Phade seemed a little intimidated by the dwarf but Anny just laughed. "Don't worry about him. He's an excellent teacher, one of the best here. Although he's not joking about liking to have fun with troublemakers. So you might want to reconsider that offer from Meld, Phade." He paled a bit as she said this and then blushed at her grin. "I have excellent hearing." And she tapped her spiky ear for emphasis, then laughed again. "Besides, the locker rooms are spelled to keep all intruders out. So you couldn't even if you tried." She sighed theatrically. "You'd think me showing these off," and she snapped one of the straps to her g-string," would be enough for the guys, but no, they all want the full show. Maybe some day they'll get it." And her and Alex laughed as Phade blushed furiously, but he was grinning a little hopefully too. Oh yeah, definitely brazen. With a friend like her, I think I'm gonna like it here after all. And Alex just followed Anny, feeling truly optimistic about the move since it happened.
----
The rest of her morning went by smoothly. After Anny showed them where their classes were she left them to their own devices. Alex had math in second hour and Phade went off to his own class. Third hour was science and magic. Alex had always done well in these classes so she wasn't intimidated at all by the heavy workload the teachers warned them about. After third hour was lunch, she got her food and was looking for a place to sit when she saw Anny waving her over. She weaved her way between the tables and saw that Anny was sitting with Linx, Phade, some big bug looking guy, a girl with shoulder length black hair and completely white eyes, and a tall gothy girl with short spiky black hair with long bangs swept to one side to cover one of her glowing purple eyes, she seemed to have no nose at all.
"Uhh... hello." Alex felt a little nervous with all these new people around. She sat down and Anny started the introductions.
"Alex, this is Linx, who I pointed out to you earlier." He nodded and Alex shot Anny a black look for mentioning that. "And this is Cricket." She pointed to the big bug like guy and he nodded and said yo. "This is Smudge." She said hi and waved cheerfully. "And this dark princess is Nytemare." She gave Anny a look and stuck her pierced tongue out at her. "I'll let them get into details about themselves and whatnot if they want to. I'm hungry and I want some food." She got up and headed to the lunch line, leaving Alex and Phade alone to deal with this crowd.
"So," Smudge said. "How you guys liking it here so far?"
"It's alright." Alex piped up, "My classes seem to be cool and everyone has been really nice to me so far. I think I'm gonna enjoy it here."
"Cool." Linx nodded and grinned. Alex couldn't help but grin back at him, though she felt kind of stupid for doing it. Calm down, Alex! He's just a guy for craps sake!
"It certainly seems nice. It's a lot different from my old school but that's to be expected. It is a different country after all." Phade seemed a little more nervous around this many new people, although that wasn't stopping him from casting a few glances the girls' way. Alex got the feeling that he wasn't looking at their bodies but at the distinct difference of their clothes. Smudge was wearing a loose zip-up hoody over a tank-top, and jeans with, for some reason, a frilly skirt. Nytemare was wearing a black belly shirt with long fishnet sleeves and a plummetting neckline, a short plaid skirt, black and white striped leggings and big black boots. Looking at the two, you wouldn't expect them to be sitting next to each other at lunch. Linx and Cricket were a little bit more traditional. Cricket was wearing a button up short sleeve shirt and regular khaki pants. He wasn't wearing any shoes though. Probably because his feet were like an insects. He stood on the balls of his feet, like Anny, but only because he had no choice, the rest of his foot was narrow and spiky and not designed to hold his weight. He seemed to be covered in a black chitinous shell with spikes along the forearms, feet, and neck. His antennae would twitch every once in a while and Alex tried to remember what sense they were used for. I'm really paying attention to peoples clothes lately, I wonder what's up with that?
"So, uhh, if you don't mind me asking, why are you called Linx, Cricket, Smudge and Nytemare?" She asked them.
Linx spoke up first. "Ah, well, to tell you the truth, I'm actually the same as you. I became a graethian around two years ago. There was a demon attack and Rune, that's my brother, and I went to check it out." Alex winced at hearing that. Demons were extremely dangerous. Going to 'check one out' was one of the stupidest things you could do. Apparently Linx knew this because he said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. We paid the price. I was left with a part of the demon and Rune was, well, broken I guess is the only way to describe it." He paused for a second as if listening. "Alright." He said to no one, then looked over at Alex again. "Ok, Rael told me to tell you that he wasn't a part of the demon but his weapon. And he chose to stay with me when the demon was banished." He rolled his eyes. "He tends to be a stickler for accuracy when it comes to things like that."
Alex was lost. She didn't hear anyone else speak. Noticing her confusion Linx lifted his right sleeve and showed her the chain that she saw before. "Alex this Rael. Rael, Alex." After the strange introduction the chain lifted itself off his wrist and seemed to be looking her up and down. Seemingly satisfied it nodded, or waved, and settled back down. Alex stared at it. She had seen telekinisis before but chains were one of the hardest things to move. The best one could do was move one or two links and drag the rest. But this chain moved like it was alive. She looked closer and noticed that it didn't look like Linx was wearing it around his wrist but that it was wrapped around his wrist. "Uhh... wow." Was all she could manage to say.
Everybody laughed. Cricket looked over at her, "You get used to it. Pretty soon he'll just seem like one of the group. Quieter than most perhaps." At that he tilted his head over to Smudge. She scoffed and hit him. There was a dull thunk and she shook her hand like it hurt. "When will you ever learn." He laughed at her and she looked like she was gonna hit him again but started laughing too.
"So... what is he?"
Linx considered for a second. "The closest I could come is that he's a sentient, polymorphous chain of infinite length. Nearly infinite, maybe. We don't know for sure. Really he's an archangel, at least according to what the demons have been telling him. He doesn't remember anything before he was forced to possess the chain. And he's been in there for millennia. He doesn't really mind it though. Not since I've been wielding him. The only thing is that he drains magic from me, so I can't cast spells anymore. I think it's a fair trade off, he's pretty handy and can react to my thoughts. I've gotten to the point where I can use him instinctively. A nice bonus is that I don't have to be conscious for him to act either, he protects me while I'm sleeping. Anyway, Rael is why I'm called Linx. Like chain links only with an X."
Alex nodded, geniuinely impressed. Rael sounded like an ideal companion. She wondered if he could ever get any privacy though. That thought led to others and she almost started blushing again. Geez, what the hell is wrong with me? Just then Anny came back from the lunch line and put down her food. Cricket looked at her plate, "They've got burgers today? Sweet!" He jumped up and headed up for his own lunch. She sat down, "Whatcha been talking about?"
"I just introduced her to Rael."
"Ah, got the full speech complete with demonstration?" She laughed and looked around the table. "Hmmph. I thought it was funny."
Smudge perked up, "Yeah, but there's no accounting for taste." Everyone laughed at that as she dodged Anny's swat.
"Smart-ass." Anny gave up on trying to hit her and sat back down. "Whose turn now?"
"Might as well be me." Smudge gave her a little smile as she started her introduction. "Ok. Mine's a little complicated. You ever take a pencil and make a really dark mark, then run your finger across it so it kinda runs down the paper?" Alex nodded that she had. "Well, I can do that with anything. This table, your food, even the air. But if I do it with food than it kinda becomes inedible." Alex still looked a little confused. "Here, let me show you. Umm, I can't do it to school property, so..." She waved her hand through the air and it left a long streak where it passed. Then she grabbed it and handed it to Alex. It felt like glass, only warm and not as smooth. She handed it back to Smudge who wiped her hand across it again and it dissappeared.
"That's pretty cool, but what can you do with it?"
"Oh, lots of stuff. I can put a hole in the wall. I can make a weapon out of thin air, literally. I can even kinda fly with it." Alex raised her eyebrows at this. Smudge laughed, "I can guarentee you'll see it sometime. It's how I get anywhere. I've been doing it since I perfected the technique."
"How does that work?"
"Well, I need to get a running start to build momentum. Then I just slide and smudge the air under my feet. I can make it as smooth as I want, to the point of complete frictionlessness." She paused for a second and said that again under her breath but shook her head and decided it didn't matter. "Anyway, If I start to lose my balance I just smudge a little under my hand to right myself and I'm good to go. There's no danger of falling because I can catch myself on air. It's awesome." Alex nodded at that. It certainly seemed like a fun and very handy way to get around.
"What about you Anny?"
"Me? I thought I was obvious."
"Well, yeah. But is there anything that's not obvious?" Phade asked her.
"Hmm... Oh! I can do this." And suddenly her quills became hair. It was the same color and length as the quills but shinier and bouncier. Alex reached out and touched it to see if it was really hair and it was. Anny turned it back when she was done. "It's not the most useful thing in the world but I can do it with any hair on my body, even my claws can become soft if I want them too. It helps for when I don't want to tear the shit out of something. Plus, if any boy goes any farther than I want him too, he gets a spiky surprise." She laughed a very evil laugh and all the girls laughed too. A second behind them was Linx as he got it. The only one left in the dark was Phade. Nytemare leaned over and whispered in his ear. He blushed again.
"I suppose I'm next." Nytemare said after they were done laughing. She looked at Alex and Phade in turn. Suddenly everything seemed darker. The sounds of the cafeteria faded to less than a whisper. It got to the point where they could only see her one visible eye, glowing that bright purple and hear only her voice, whispering in dark portent. "I am the mistress of the night. The shadows bow to me as their queen. All of darkness is my domain and I travel freely in my domain. I can step through the shadows as easily as you can step through a doorway. I can wrap the darkness about myself and become hidden to all eyes. I can see all under the night sky, no one can hide from me in my realm. My life is gloom. My heart is an everchanging lightless landscape. I have given myself to the darkness and the darkness gave all back. When the lights go out, I am in control of your well being."
"Sleep tight." A voice whispered into her ear.
Alex jumped and spun around. Everything became bright again and she could see Cricket laughing behind her. She couldn't help but laugh along with him. Nytemare certainly knew how to draw people people in. This close she could see the two little spiky potrusions off his top lip. Kind of like mandibles, she thought.
"So, you control darkness?" Phade asked Nytemare.
"Yep. Shadows, anything to do with lack of light. I can even use it to change my shape. I prefer to turn into a big black leopard."
"You mean a panther. Leopards have to have spots.." Phade told her.
"I do have spots. They're purple is all."
"Oh. Well, you said you could see anything under the night sky, but I doubt you could see me." He looked a little proud at this.
"What makes you say that?" She asked him. Apparently she didn't know about his demonstration earlier.
Suddenly he dissappeared again. "This is why." His voice came out of thin air. A few seconds later he reappeared. "I can completely mask myself from all sight, magical or otherwise." It was everyone else's turn to be impressed. Alex, Anny and Linx had already witnessed his abilities before but they were no less awed.
"Show them what else you can do." Linx told him.
Phade's hair turned silvery again and the aura appeared around his hand. Then he passed it through the table. He reached forward and grabbed a fork and the aura enveloped it as well. He then passed that through the table as well.
"Whoah. You didn't mention you could make other stuff insubstantial. Can you make it invisible too?"
In response he put his hand down and the table dissappeared. Anny had been sitting with her legs propped up and everyone could see up her skirt. "Oops!" Phade switched it back quickly after he realized that. Everyone laughed, Anny most of all. He kept apologizing to her but she told him it was okay and to warn her next time.
"You can do that with anything?" Cricket asked.
"Yes," He was still blushing, "I can even make it invisible only one way, so you could see through it from the top but not from the bottom." Cricket got a big wide grin on his face when he heard that. Alex had an idea of what he was thinking and was glad she wasn't taking gym. Apparently Anny caught wind of it too because she spoke up. "Cricket. If I hear you made him do anything to the locker rooms I'll squash you like the bug you are." Everyone laughed again. "And if I find out you did it willingly you'll get the same." Phade looked alarmed at that and the laughter was redoubled.
"Your turn Sam." Linx told Cricket as he was taking a bite of food.
"Hmm? Oh! Right." He swallowed. "I'm a big bug." And he took another bite. Everyone looked at him expectantly. After a few seconds Smudge hit him again. "What? Fine. Umm... I've got an extremely tough and durable shell, and my leg muscles are genetically different from normal muscles. It makes them much stronger and lighter than other peoples. So I can jump really high and recover easily from long falls. Oh. And I can stick to walls. Because of that and my shell is black, I chose the name Cricket. My sisters is red and the muscles in her arms are superior. She can lift about a ton without straining herself. So I'm like a cricket and she's like an ant. Her name is Queen o' Hearts though. 'Queen' cause of the ant thing and 'o' hearts' cause she's red."
"So the bug thing runs in the family?" Alex asked him.
"Not really. It just happened that we turned out similar."
"And your real name is Sam?"
He nodded, "Sam Hoffman," then looked over at Smudge and Nytemare. Smudge looked up, "Oh! Sorry, I'm Ren Haze."
"And I'm Nara Ronalds."
"Sig Jeyld."
"And I'm Anny!" Everyone looked at her. "I felt left out." Everyone laughed again. Then the bell rang signaling that lunch was over. Alex headed to her next class and Linx seemed to be headed in the same direction. When she got to her door he stopped too.
"English?" He asked her.
"Uhh... yeah." He was in the same class as her! Part of her was thrilled but another part was nervous for some reason. She didn't know what to say so she just headed inside and sat down. He came over and sat down next to her. He gave her a smile then looked away hurriedly. Is he blushing? She had a strange feeling that this would be one of her favorite classes.
----
English was just like all the other classes on the first day. A few papers handed back, a few lectures on what to expect and what the rules are, then they had the rest of the hour to themselves.
"So where is your brother? I've heard you talking about him but I haven't met him yet." Alex asked Linx.
"Oh. He... had to stay home today. He's... not really himself." He seemed a mix between amused and apprehensive.
"Ok... what exactly does that mean?"
"Alright... you know the four horsemen of the apocalypse?" She nodded that she did. "Well, he can sort of become them. Well, not really become them, but become like them. Three of them at least. Anyway, ever since the demon he hasn't been able to control the transformations. So occasionally he'll just turn into War, Famine or Pestilence and all hell breaks loose. He does have some marginal control while he's transformed, so he doesn't destroy the house or go on an eating binge or anything, but he has absolutely no control over when and where he does transform."
"Wow. He must have it pretty difficult. It would suck not to be able to control your powers."
"Yeah. Sometimes I have to stay home to help keep him in line. War and Famine are the worst. He can control them most of the time but it doesn't stop him when he loses his temper or gets hungry. Pestilence isn't too hard to control but he's very contagious. The only times I've gotten sick is because of that one."
Alex thought about the implications of not being able to control your abilities. She shuddered to think of what she could do without control. Suddenly Linx looked up at her. She knew exactly what he was going to ask and she felt like an idiot for not seeing it coming.
"Ya know. We've all told you our powers and stuff. But you haven't shown us what you can do. Anny told me that you haven't chosen a charaname yet but you should still know what your abilities are. Even a low level identification spell could tell you that much. So what can you do?"
Alex felt panic rising. This was why her friends ditched her last time! But he isn't like them. He knows what it's like. He's been through this before. She still didn't want to tell him, not yet anyways.
"I... uhh... that's kind of a trust thing with me. I... lost some friends in my old town because of what happened to me and... I know your not like them or anything but... still... I just don't feel right yet. Maybe later. Ok?"
He gave her a reassuring smile. "I understand completely. When I couldn't get the chain off and then it started talking to me I panicked. When I finally did tell someone about it... she... she was my girlfriend and... she didn't like it. She left me a short time after it happened." He looked a little down but perked up a bit. "Uh... anyway. What's your next class? I've got history with ShatterShield. Pretty much everyone else is in there too. Anny, Nytemare, Cricket, and Smudge. I even think that Phade guy is in there."
Alex checked her schedule and was delighted to see that she was in there too. She showed it to Linx and he seemed just as happy as her. It turned out that their last class was together as well. She was looking forward to spending her afternoons with him. Then the bell rang and they headed to room 308 together. They met up with Anny on the way.
"God. You would not believe the bunch of jerks in my gym class. One of them has some sort of vision thing and was trying to spy on us while we got changed. I think it's actually connected to his eyes somehow because when he hit the spell we heard him cry out and he was holding his eye when class started. Oh, and Meld is in there too. And he's getting better. He actually managed to join with the wall while we were taking showers. He just chose the wrong wall and got stuck. Coach had to help him through it and he's been suspended all next week. Serves him right. Did I tell you that he melded into a pair of my panties last year? God that guy is an ass."
"Meld can join himself into anything." Linx said for Alex's benefit. "At first he could only take on characteristics of the things he melded with, like becoming metallic or really light. But as he got more powerful he could actually become the object he was joining with. So he can hide himself in anything. But he usually makes a crucial mistake when he's trying to spy on the girls."
"What's that?"
"Well he has to have his eyes visible in order to see. Kind of a giveaway if suddenly there are eyes in the wall. Or on your panties." He smirked and Alex could tell that the only reason he wasn't laughing outright was because Anny didn't think it was funny at all.
"If he just acted like a decent guy instead of trying to spy on us all the time he would probably get a lot further. He is kinda cute." Anny mused.
"How did he get into your panties?" Alex asked. Then she thought about what she said. "OH! I mean, how did he meld with your panties? Sorry." Linx laughed and tried to cover it with a cough.
"I was heading to a sleepover that night and had some extra clothes in my bag. I don't know how he found out or how he got a hold of them, but I was going through my bag to find one of my books and I saw him peeking out of them. He's lucky I didn't have Pyre burn them with him inside." Anny seemed to still be furious about it so Alex didn't make any jokes.
They reached their class and they all sat down together. Linx seemed a little dissappointed that Anny sat next to Alex but he sat down across the aisle without complaint. Pretty soon Cricket came in and sat next to him.
"Hey Anny." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry about what those guys did during gym. I had a little talk with them after class. They won't be trying that again any time soon." Cricket told her.
"Thanks Sam. That was sweet." She smiled at him and he smiled back. Alex got the idea that maybe something was going on between them but just then Smudge and Nytemare came in leading Phade.
"He got turned around and we found him across the school." Smudge explained.
"Good thing our math class is over there or he would have been pretty damn late." Nytemare sat down on the other side of Anny and Smudge sat next to her. Phade sat down next to Cricket and he took the time to talk to him about the dangers of spying in gym. Phade assured him that he had no intentions of spying on anyone and that he didn't even have a gym class.
"I thought that Cricket was in on the plot to peek on the girls?" Alex asked Anny.
"Nah. He jokes around but he finds it really offensive when someone actually tries it. He's a decent guy. One of the last." Anny got a wistful smile on her face then gave Alex an almost calculating look. "Linx is a pretty decent guy too. He's never tried to spy on the girls even though he's probably the only one who can do it. He told me once that Rael can sort of see the protection spell on the locker room. Apparently it's like a net that Rael can slip through. And they can share sight. But both him and Rael are very honorable. They've never even attempted it to see if it would work. Anyway, it's not really a plot either. It's more like tradition. The reason the school doesn't expel everyone that tries is to keep their spell up to date. If someone breaks it than they know that they have to get it upgraded. They're probably doing it now. Meld got too close. He probably figured out a way to meld with the actual spell in the wall. Just imagine how much he's learning about himself in trying to be a pervert. If he can meld with magic as well as objects than he must be getting very powerful." Alex nodded her agreement but hadn't actually been listening since hearing that Linx had never tried to spy on the girls. For some reason, she felt really good about that.
Mr. ShatterShield walked in the door and everyone went quiet.
"Bein' the firs' day an' all. We're gonna have ourselves a little review." He told them. "Everyone prepare yerselves. This counts as a quiz." His eyes twinkled as everyone groaned. Great, Alex thought, what's he gonna put us through?
----
"No, don't bother gettin' out paper 'n' pencils. This will be entirely oral." Everyone started putting their stuff away again and waited tensely to see what would happen next. "Firs' question, what was the Year o' the Magi and when was it?" The class collectively sighed in relief. This was elementary stuff, everyone knew this. A girl at the front of the class with hair that continuously shifted colors raised her hand.
"The Year of the Magi, or Magicians Date as it is sometimes known, was the time when magic came back into the world. No one knows exactly when it was because of the chaos it caused. It was believed to have actually lasted several months but there are records of it lasting over a year. The most reliable date we can set to it is sometime before the turn of the twentieth century."
"Very good." The dwarf seemed proud of the precise and proffessional answer. Anny turned to Alex and made a comment about know-it-all-teachers-pets. Alex couldn't help but laugh. "Somethin' funny Ms. Katin? Perhaps ye could enlighten us as to the difference between graethians and wielders."
"Uhh... well... wielders are those people who remain apart from magic. Because they don't need magic to survive they can use it to cast spells. Umm... graethians didn't appear until a few years after the Year of the Magi. Originally called Mage-Born, they were 'infected' with magic in it's attempt to repopulate the world with the magical creatures of the past, such as elves and dragons. They were shunned by the rest of society because of their unnatural appearance and inabililty to cast spells due to their dependance on magic for sustaining themselves. But a mage-born by the name of Jonathon Graeth stood up for the rights of the mage-born and showed the world that they were no different from anyone else. He gave them a 'human' face and eventually the wielders accepted them. To show respect, the mage-born gave themselves the name 'graethians'. Jonathon Graeth was also the first graethian to estabilish the use of 'charanames'. A famous quote of his was, 'Our abilities show our character. We must respect these abilities as a part of ourselves, but also apart from our human identity. A name chosen specifically for these abilities will allow us to express ourselves and our abilities without shunning our ancestor's lineage.' He then lead by example by taking the name 'Satyr', as he resembled the half-goat, half-human creature from mythology."
"Very well said Ms. Katin. I didna' expect such a lengthy and well thought out answer. Ye went into quite a bit o' detail." He smiled at her. "Very accurate, exceptin' the part about satyrs. They were real."
"I did a report on it last year. That was pretty much word for word what I said in that." Alex felt herself blush from embarrassment. She didn't mean to go into so much detail! Mr. ShatterShield smiled again and moved on.
Anny leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Umm... about what I said before. Sorry. I didn't know that you were such a history buff." She seemed genuinely concerned that she had offended her. Alex looked at her and said. "I'm not, I really did do a report on it last year. The only reason I remembered it was because it was that paper that passed me. If I had slouched on it I would have failed." Anny giggled and looked relieved that Alex didn't take offense.
"Alrigh', seein' as how Ms. Katin and Prism had such excellent answers, I'll let the rest o' ye off the hook." Another relieved sigh from the class. "But don't be gettin' yer hopes up for such easy quizzes in the future. This one was easy cause it's the firs'." There was an almost evil gleam in his eye. "I know most o' ye could do without the whole firs' day speech, and seein' as how most o' ye was in me homeroom, I'll skip it and ye can have the rest o' the hour to yerselves." Everyone sat quietly for a few seconds. "Do ye want another quiz? I'm sure I can think o' somethin' far more difficult." Suddenly the noise level rose dramatically. Satisfied, he sat behind his desk and took out a small block of wood that he started to wittle.
"He still kinda freaks me out a bit. He seems to be big and tough one minute, then all nicey nice the next." Alex stared at him in amazement.
Anny laughed. "That's the way he is. He knows that we've got enough pressure on us from all the other teachers but that's not an excuse to go too easy on us either."
"Who's that girl with the hair?" Alex asked.
Anny looked over at her. "You mean Prism? She's kind of a teachers pet. Not really a bookish type or anything, but she likes to suck up to the teachers. Her hair and nails are a strange type of pliant crystal that can store sunlight. She usually has her hair reflect the light differently every few seconds but she can absorb all light that hits it and release it in a huge blast. Really neat to see, unless your on the recieving end of it. She saw a mouse outside once and freaked out. Poor little guy was fried to a crisp."
Alex was just beginning to understand the implications of being in an all graethian school. Some of these people were extremely dangerous, yet, they were all just trying to get through class. All of them were just trying to keep their life straight. What about me? Aren't I just as dangerous, if not more so, than Prism? Alex left that disturbing thought alone. She didn't like to think that she was dangerous. Maybe that's just how everyone else feels too. They don't think they're dangerous so they're not. She looked around the room. Prism who can shoot beams of light that could incinerate a living creature. Anny, whose claws and teeth looked like they could tear anything to shreds. Smudge who could put a whole in a person just by waving her hand. Even Linx, who could will Rael to do just about anything. How does it happen? How do we all stay in control? How come there isn't anyone going on a rampage and hurting people. We could do it easily, but no one here has. Is it morals, or ethics? Or maybe they just want to keep Graeth's dream alive. To prove to the wielders that we aren't that different. That we're all in this together. To prove that we're still human.
She sighed and left that hefty line of thought alone. Her and Anny talked for the rest of the hour and then went to their seperate classes. Alex and Linx headed into their last class. He could tell that something was bothering her so he left her alone. She felt a little wierd about that. She kinda wanted to talk to him more, but she was glad for the chance to think as well. By the end of the class she had made up her mind. She was gonna be herself. No matter what. Life was too short to worry over every little problem. Was it even a problem? She didn't know, and she didn't care. She decided to drop it and that was that.
The bell rang and school was out. Linx came up to her. "We're gonna be hangin' out downtown today. Do you wanna come with us?" He seemed a little nervous and was fidgeting. Alex had to fight the urge to giggle, he might take that the wrong way.
"Umm... sure. I'd love to. But I have to head home and tell my folks first. That alright? It's pretty close to the school. I can be home and back in ten minutes."
"Yeah. That's fine. Umm... can I... come with you?" He started fidgeting again and she found it really hard not to laugh. A smirk slipped through but he didn't see it.
"Your offering to walk me home?" She teased.
"Uhh... yeah... you know. So we can keep talking. The guys'll wait for us." He seemed really nervous now. Alex wondered if she should tease him anymore but decided against it. No telling how far was too far.
"Ok. But if you're coming than we'll probably be a little longer than ten minutes. My mom would never pass up an opportunity to meet any of my new friends." He laughed at that and they headed out towards her house. They met Anny along the way and they explained that they would be a little bit late. She told them to meet the rest of the group in the park and hurried off.
They didn't say much along the way. Little comments about the weather and how Alex was liking it here. She was kind of relieved when they got to her house. They walked in and she introduced Linx to her mom. She looked as if she wanted to interrogate him but Alex gave her a look and she didn't even start. They headed out the door and Alex saw her mom give her a wink and mouth the words, 'he's cute'. Oh my god, I hope he didn't see that. But if he did than he didn't say anything. Although she could have sworn he was blushing as they headed toward downtown.
----
They met up with everyone in the park. Alex saw Anny, Smudge and Nytemare sitting on a bench watching Cricket, Phade and... she did a double take. That was Linx! She looked to her left and he was still there, then it hit her. That must be Rune. Duh! She sat down on the bench and watched as Linx joined the guys who were demonstrating different ways to climb a tree. Cricket just climbed up the smooth bark of one, using his inate ability to stick to any surface. Phade seemed to dematerialize his fingers and somehow grab into the tree and climb up. Rune just did it the old fashioned way, looking for availabe surfaces and grabbing branches. Linx watched them for a bit and laughed.
"Your getting your hands dirty. You gotta do it with style." And he walked up to a tree and lifted his arm. Rael shot up and wrapped around a particularly high branch. Linx just held on as Rael slowly hauled him up. Alex laughed along with the rest of the girls when he ran into a branch. They heard him yelling at Rael. "I'll give you humility you damn sonnuva bike chain." They soon lost interest in the guys and Alex listened in on their conversation about the new dramas and romances that were already unfolding this year.
"Did you hear that Pyre is gonna ask out Rune?" Smudge put in.
"She is?" Anny looked over at Rune, hanging upside down from a branch. "Does he know yet?"
"Hell no. Can you imagine what news like that would do to his fat head?" Everyone laughed but Alex felt a little wierd as she didn't really know either of them. She decided to speak up.
"Who's Pyre?"
"Oh! I forgot you don't know her. She's this small petite girl in the class below us. She can control fire and has a bit of temper to match. Really cute though. Her skin is covered in these tiny irridescent scales and she has these two small, black horns on her forehead. Her eyes are a bright yellow with gold flecks. The whole effect is gorgeous. If the rumors are right then Rune might be in for quite a ride." Smudge giggled then sobered up. "If he says yes, that is. He hasn't gone out with anyone since the demon. We think it's because he's worried about losing control and hurting someone. Come to think of it, neither has Linx. He had a really bad break up with his last girlfriend, poor guy. Granted, she was quite the bitch. Shame how hard he took it though."
Anny gave Alex a sidelong glance. "Yeah, but I have a feeling at least one of them will come around soon." Alex gave her a confused look, then blushed when she caught on. Anny gave her a grin and she couldn't help but return it. The girls laughed and then the guys came over to see what they were giggling about.
"What's so funny?" Rune looked at Alex and then gave Linx a questioning glance.
"Oh! Sorry. Rune, this is Alex. Alex, Rune." They said hi and then he repeated his question.
"We were just discussing some new romances at school." Nytemare answered him.
Rune sat down across from Alex and she looked him over. He looked almost exactly like Linx but without a beard or hat. He was a bit more tan and little more muscular but otherwise they were identical. His eyes looked like they were shattered into three different segments; pale blue, fiery red and a noxious green. The pupil was surrounded by an almost circular crack as well.
"When did you change back?" Linx asked him.
"About an hour ago. I decided to come here and wait for you guys. I started climbing trees when Cricket came up and introduced me to Phade here. We started to get competitive, then you showed up and ruined our fun, like always." He grinned and Linx punched him in the arm. "Come on little brother, you gotta do better than that." And he punched him back.
"Don't call me your little brother. Just cause I was born second doesn't mean I'm younger." He rubbed his arm where Rune had punched him. Then he grinned and put his arms behind his back.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, just sharing a private joke with Rael."
"Whatever."
Alex almost rolled her eyes at the display. She decided to interrupt. "So, what do they call you, Rune?"
Cricket, Linx, Anny and Smudge all spoke up at the same time. "Four H." They looked at each other and laughed.
"Don't call me that!" He turned to Alex and put a calm expression on his face. "To answer your question I haven't chosen a charaname yet."
"What's Four H?"
"It's short for Four Horsemen. He doesn't like it for some damn reason." Anny rolled her eyes.
"Because I'm not 'Four Horsemen'. I'm only three. I can only become War, Famine and Pestilence. Not Death. Thank fate for that too. Who knows what would happen if I lost control of that one." He seemed to get really quiet and everyone left him alone for a while. The conversation turned to wondering about their new classes. Phade seemed to be the only one that wasn't really optimistic about this year but everyone else assured him that the teachers were fair and never gave them too much homework. Alex got thirsty and Linx offered to show her where the closest store was. She accepted and they walked off, joking and laughing. Anny turned to Rune.
"What do you think?" She asked him.
"She's cool. Kinda wierd about the glasses and I don't know what's up with the gloves, but she seems nice enough and very cute from what I can see of her." He grinned as he watched the two of them turn a corner. "Looks like I'll be seeing a lot more of her though." He laughed and stood up, but when he went to take a step he fell flat on his face. Anny laughed and looked down at him.
"I think your shoes were tied together."
"That clever bastard." And he started to undo the knot that Rael had tied in his laces.
----
"So what do you think of our town?" Linx asked as they picked out some drinks.
"It's alright. A bit bigger than home but not much."
"Everything is within walking distance at least."
Alex nodded, unable to think of anything else to say. There was an uncomfortable silence as they paid for their drinks and walked out the door. She almost couldn't stand it, but she couldn't think of anything to talk about.
"So, what do you think of the teachers?" Linx broke the silence at last.
"They're cool. All of mine seemed to be at least. Nothing to complain about, yet."
"Yeah. Yet being the key word there. They'll get a lot worse as the year goes on."
Another uncomfortable silence. What happened to that easy going conversation we had earlier? Alex took this moment to look around a little more. Buildings, blue sky, grass, a cloud. Not much to look at. She struggled to think of something to say.
"What sort of stuff you into?" He asked her.
"All sorts of stuff. I love music and reading, video-games when I get a chance to play."
"You play games? That's cool. Me and Cricket play all the time. If you ever want to join us, feel free."
"Cool. I'll hold you to it."
Why is this so damn hard? She thought as another silence descended. They were almost to the park so she didn't worry about it too much. When they reached the rest of the group they passed out the drinks they had bought for everyone and sat down. They just joked around and talked until it got dark. It was a lot easier with everyone else around and Alex found herself joining in on the conversations easily. A lot of what they talked about she didn't really understand but they explained the jokes and who they were talking about more often than not. It started getting late so she said that she had to go. Everyone said good-bye and Linx offered to walk her home again. She felt herself blush and thought about saying no, but decided on walking with him. They walked a ways in silence but she kind of enjoyed it this time. It was a nice night and she didn't really feel like she had to talk. They were about half-way to her house when Linx spoke up.
"You probably think I'm a dork or something after today." He sounded downhearted.
"What? No! Not at all. You have no idea how glad I am that I met you... uhh... all of you guys. I was worried that no one here was gonna like me at all. But Anny opened herself up to me as soon as I got here and then all of you just accepted me. You guys, all of you, are awesome." She stammered. He laughed and for a second she thought he was laughing at her.
"Anny can make anyone feel welcome. She was my first friend here too. She's the one that introduced me and Cricket and now we're inseperable." He got a far away look on his face. "She was a breath of fresh air after what happened to me. I was scared of the school, and depressed after the break up. Anny just came up to me and started talking. Pretty soon I was laughing at all of her jokes and feeling a whole lot better about myself. I kind of had a crush on her for a while but nothing happened and it went away. She's a good friend."
"So, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't anything happen?" She was surprised she was so interested in that part.
"Oh, we're just better off as friends. She's not really my type. I like black hair and pale skin and she's tan and brunette. She's really into make-up and stuff too. I like a girl who can sit down and play a game with me or likes to read..." He trailed off and Alex could almost see his skin glowing red. She was blushing as well. He had practically described her. They were quiet until they reached her house.
"I... I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll be there, unless Rune makes me sick again." He was looking down at his feet and fidgeting.
"Uhh... good-bye." And she started towards her door. Linx called after her and she turned around.
"It was fun hanging out with you today. I'm glad Anny brought you into the group. I hope you like it here." He started to walk off and Alex walked inside. She leaned against the door and bit her lip. Her mom peeked into the hallway from the kitchen. "Alex? Who was that boy?" Alex got a big smile on her face and told her all about her new friends.
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