I'm Dreaming of a Red Christmas [Illia & Orenji]

[ωΘĿƒ]

All the world was white - a perfect, glittering, uninterrupted white that shone like a million diamonds all heaped on the trees and bushes. The world too was quiet - so quiet that the only sound was the breathing of the Kludde as he stood in the middle of the world, watching.

The smoke that curled from his mouth rushed out like the roaring of a waterfall. All else was silent.

Le Cyll loved the winter world, the snow and ice that blanketed everything and killed it so that it was peaceful. It would be nice - he thought - so nice if he were the only living thing on the face of the planet. Everything else would be quiet, just for him. Everyone would be gone, and there would be no one to put his mask on for every morning. There would be no reason to despair, to think of the horrid imbeciles that he must constantly surround himself with, and there would be no one to plot and plan and scheme for.

They would all be dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

What a nice thought. He let the ethereal feel of the ideal to linger in him, permeating him with its perfection. He must have smiled then, just for a moment, ever so slightly. He smiled to himself with a flicker of pure happiness.

And alone he stood, in the quiet garden of death, among the barren black branches wrapped tightly with frost, thinking to himself.

Just thinking...
[/size]

[Iƪƪia]

Seth glided across the sea of white, her long coat billowing out around her. Couple that with the way the white snow reflected off of her pale skin and there was an almost ethereal air about her. One might have been led to believe that she were actually floating along the ground if it wasn't for the way her footsteps broke the perfect, white ocean.

But why was she here? Why come out to the middle of this place? And during the Winter time, too. She herself didn't have an answer. She was just here because she felt like it.

There was nothing she cared to do in the castle. Not even that many students to watch. Nothing to keep her semi-interested for even a fraction of a second. And so, she left on a walk. Though she had no destination and she hadn't even bothered to pay attention to where she was going. But what did it matter? The way the outside looked now. It was all the same. It was all white, occasionally broken by patches of green. It was all the same. It was all boring.

Finally deciding to look up, she noticed a figure in the distance. Yes, she recognized the dog immediately. And while he wasn't much, at least he was something.

She took several steps forward, toward a large slab of rock and sat down, facing the dog. And that's it. She merely watched, not bothering to say a word.

[ωΘĿƒ]

The first thing that came to his senses was the smell. The frost in the air was so clean, so pure. It showed instantly when there was pollution to it - when the watery scent of fish pervaded his little oasis and shattered his nice little fantasy.

So sad...

Then there was the sound. In this superbly silent world the sound of footsteps came crashing down into the pure white snow, crunching like the sound of tiny bones snapping all at once. Le Cyll sighed, sadly. There would be no quiet, perfect world for him today. Not even for a little while. His head tipped as he listened to the footsteps come closer, and abruptly they stopped a few meters away from him.

He stood alone in the snow, sniffling like a dog would at the ugly, fishy scent.

"Such beauty carries such an offensive aura. It really is a shame..."

Le Cyll spoke more to himself than he did to the lovely Seth. He did not bother looking at her, knowing that she had no unusual power outside the water and being able to sense if ever she made an aggressive move. But she didn't. She sat away from him, just as quietly as the world was now. Did she not want to join the others on that terrible skiing trip? Was it not fun to be loud and stupid with company, ruining the perfection of the silvery snowtop by skating along it with intense speed? Was this not a desirable thing to do?

Obviously not, else she would be there now.

Le Cyll went to thinking in his wonderfully complex way why she would be here then, if not with the field trip. He himself had never enjoyed the company of others. The holidays had been about them though, and it seemed that wherever he went there was some form of cheer that got everyone all worked up into a freakish loud roar and drowned out the true beauty of the clean, dead white. Only in his home was there not a happiness, but a sadness. Many young wolves died in their first winter. He had always thought it funny, actually.

Coming again to the presence of the water horse, Le Cyll came to think on Seth's mannerisms. She did seem a bit dead herself. Much of what others did, she sat and took silently, not bothering or maybe not wanting to do with them. Le Cyll found them unbearable, but Seth's inability to conform seemed to be much more neutral than his. It did not stem from a hatred or a past issue that she did not act normally, but more a lack of something.

Now, Le Cyll was a very passionate individual. He could simply not bring himself to feel bad about hurting other people for fun. He had emotions, if only a few and primitive. Seth did not seem to have any. She did not seem to feel much at all.

How interesting. He wondered if her brain looked any different than a normal one...

"Tell me, if you feel so inclined" the wolf asked, thinking still to himself, "were your born with that lack of feeling, or were you made the creature you were by circumstance? Nature or nurture, if you will. Which one is it?"

He wondered himself often times if he would still be the empathy-lacking individual that he was even if his father had been a kindly soul. He had felt the first signs of wrath around the age of two. Had he been so senseless before that? He could not remember.

Nor did he want to. The past for him was not a pleasant thing to delve into without coming back unscathed.
[/size]

[Iƪƪia]

Seth remained much like a statue. Showing no sort of emotion at all; simply staring straight ahead. She didn't bother to look as she heard a sort of scurrying sound behind her. She didn't bother to wipe away the stray snowflake that had landed upon her eyelash. Even as the dog spoke, she mad no motion at all to indicate that she had heard him.

However, she had.

He seemed to be interested in her lack of feelings. Though she was unable to view things from his perspective, she did understand his interest somewhat. All creatures had emotions. Even the villainous ones. They felt hatred, envy... Though she knew she had felt hatred before. However, such occurrences seemed to be subsiding of late. She was indeed atypical. She felt nothing.

And why was she like this?

"I don't know."

Her usual monotone would have been inaudible if it weren't for the crisp, Winter air's ability to carry one's voice farther than usual. As she had replied, only her mouth had moved. There was no change at all in her face. There was still nothing behind her dead eyes.

The dog wasn't the only one who had wondered about her emotionlessness. She had often asked herself questions. Questions that she had never been able to answer. Never tried to, really. And now, she didn't care to. And yet, rifling through one's memories could prove almost entertaining.

"I don't... Remember. Anything from beyond seventeen years ago. It's blank."

Allowing herself to catch her breath from the long sentence, she was quiet once again, however, this time she was deep in thought.

The earliest memory she could recall was waking up in her bed when she was a young girl without the will to even get up. It was boredom, eventually that got her out of bed. Had she always been like that? Perhaps. Though everything from before that moment seemed to have been erased from her memory.

It was shortly after that, she remembered, that she answered one of her grandfather's questions with an apathetic 'I don't care.' To which he responded that that was a good thing. How caring for others was inherently foolish and nothing good would come of it. How all that really mattered in life was the ability to take care of yourself.

And that was all that she had done. Whatever she wanted to do. Nothing more.

[Oren]

Kendryek had walked, almost hurriedly, into the garden. Le Cyll wasn't on the trip, which meant he was probably going to start causing trouble sometime soon, which meant that he had need of finding him. Or at least he had had the need. He had already found him, and quite by accident, too. While in the garden, he had become side tracked by all the beautiful snow and the clear crisp day. After a few minutes of mesmerized thinking, he had heard footsteps, and then voices. One was Le Cyll and the other a girl.

She seemed strange, this girl. Her voice held a complete monotone, and if Le Cyll's words could be used in judging her personality, she wasn't much of an emotional ball either. She had a slight fishy scent to her, but because he was in his skin he couldn't quite place exactly what she was. He'd have to look up her records later.

Because he was down wind of them and on the other side of a hedge there wasn't much of a chance they knew he was there. That was good. This could prove interesting.

And for that reason he would stay silent and motionless... for now.

He wasn't sure how this conversation between them would end, but he had a feeling it could turn really nasty. If that was the case, then he'd have to do something. But that had been the whole reason for him staying behind from a trip he would have really enjoyed, wasn't it? He probably wouldn't get anything, even gratitude, for staying behind. Except maybe a few still-alive students, and that was enough for him.

Still, he could imagine what the trip would have been like. He would have been last to the slopes after walking the most of the way up before taking the most dangerous rout in the most remote part of the slopes. The sensation of gliding down the snow in the frigid air with nothing but summer attire on was the closest feeling to flying he could get. All alone on the icy ridges...

But he had given that up to watch over Le Cyll.

Many would argue that the wolf didn't need 'watching over', but Kendryek didn't agree. Le Cyll was so dangerous that he needed someone constantly watching him. No one was quite aware of that except for maybe Professor Crane, but he wasn't here and didn't have the time and probably felt like leaving the job to someone else. Someone like Kendryek. It wasn't something they had decided on. It wasn't even a mutual understanding. It was something he had decided to do on his own, for the good of Le Cyll, and for any student that might be placed in harms way because of this deranged wolf.

For now, he would watch. Later... what happened then could only be decided as time went on.

[ωΘĿƒ]

"Hm, how funny."

Le Cyll smiled again, but it was one of his fake smiles, not a real emotion-based thing that came naturally to him. It was almost painful now, this smile. It was his mask again, and a mask that had become so heavy as time went on. This once, he thought, what would be the use of a mask? Who would this Seth tell? Who would she care enough about to relay this information to? She did not care, and more to the point, she could relate.

Just once, in all his long years, he decided to let the mask drop, and found his real face to be something very similar to Seth's immovable and statuesque figure. His gray eyes glazed with that listlessness that he felt almost constantly, and his carefully tuned expression dissolved into a calm, careless shell of simply being.

He felt, but he did not feel much. Most of the time he imagined himself much like the monotoned sea horse - dead inside. Likewise, his colorful voice dripped away like melted ice, leaving the cold, clean, calculative speech of someone completely devoid of need to seem alive. Many times, he'd much rather not being alive, but not today. Today he wanted simply to exist as he should exist. To be what he was when no one was staring at him.

He wanted to be what he was after the whole world was empty of people.

"That's hilarious." He said, crisply. "I don't remember anything either. I guess then the mystery remains. How sad."

He could almost see himself using the feelings to which he referred. He could see himself laughing and frowning for everyone around him, and it made him sick to think about. Instead, he assumed the same statuesque stillness that Seth had used.

He had always thought it most efficient to be completely motionless, but when he did people would become so unnerved by how well he could do it that eventually he was forced to mimic movements as well. What a perfect waste of energy.

"But to digress from our rather bleak mental deformities, why don't you conceal that lack of emotion from others? I've seen you act exactly as you do now to the normal ones. They don't tend to see it, I admit, but occasionally there is that smart one that must notice. Not all of them are so insufferably blind."

He himself was forced to hide, not through any secret fear of being discovered, but more to lure in a higher number of people that he could use or kill as he wished. People tended to like him better if he had a sense of humor and cried when a friend died. Also, he did have a bit of a temper. He'd end up killing a lot more people, merely on a whim, if he didn't tell himself to be calm and smile for everyone while that whispering voice ate away at his insides.

"After all, how can you bring them to the edge of the water if they suspect your every move? Is that pretty song you play that effective? It's quite a gift you have."
[/size]

[Iƪƪia]

The Nakki only blinked in response and remained silent for several moments. All that could presently be heard with the swishing sound of the wind and the occasional footfalls of a small animal. Finally, inhaling a deep breath, she answered.

"I'd rather not waste the energy."

Though she couldn't be sure if constant, natural emotions were more or less the same, having to force a smile every time someone looked at you was quite a hassle.

"If I truly want to, I can keep up a charade. But oftentimes it's not worth it."

In her life she had met more than a few creatures who showed an inkling of intelligence. She would pursue them for a time, yet if their suspicion would not lessen, she'd find a different target. If there was a creature who she would like to see die, she might pursue them for a week. Perhaps a month. Depending on how guarded they were and how bored she was. However, if nothing was happening, she had no trouble just leaving.

"Certainly... There is that occasional intelligent creature. However, for every one of them there are ten more naive, simpleminded beings in the area. It gives me no greater pleasure to see a strong creature die than a weak one."

Stopping there, she reflected on her words. Strong or weak, she'd noticed, they all acted the same when faced with death. They would all beg for their lives. They would all scream for help... If they could. They would all cry out in despair before death overcame them. And they all looked so similar in death. Small. Weak. Pathetic.

And it was all so entertaining. Especially with the humans. The weakest creatures there were. They didn't even try to fight back. Didn't try to swim against the current. They couldn't, probably. She knew how ill-equipped humans were to deal with their environment. It was as if she was doing the world a favor by eliminating the weakest link.

"There are times when my song alone is able to call in my prey. I don't even have to fake any emotion. They are just drawn in by the sound. You know how difficult it is to resist."

As the words left her mouth, she took a moment to consider if that last line could be taken as a sort of threat. Probably not. To threaten someone, you needed some sort of tone in your voice. What she had said was more like a simple statement of facts. However, in the end, she decided that she didn't care. It didn't matter.

[ωΘĿƒ]

For a brief moment, there was a flicker of feeling eating away at the calm, lifeless features of the wolf. There was a flush of warm amusement, flaring up then just as readily dying down into the lack of anything.

"Yes, I know what it's like. It is such a pretty song."

For anyone else, this would have been a definite threat, but Le Cyll's mind did not work with the same illogical and ineffective manners that most people's minds did. He understood clearly that this Seth said was not meant as a warning or intimidation, but a clean, steady laying out of facts. Her song was very powerful. He knew because he had felt it before, and it had made him happy. That really was the only thing that made him happy - the struggle. If life was not struggling, then there was no point in its existence.

She was right. There was no point in putting fort the effort.

"Yes, it does seem a bit useless to pretend." he shrugged, a small tick that he had used so much he was plagued with it now. "But it's better, I think, when in the end it was a complete surprise. They knew not what you planned, and then their struggle is all the more worth it. They could not see the danger smiling them in the face, and so the sorrow and shock is greater. Do you do it for the feeling you get, or the feeling they have, I wonder?"

He paused a moment, playing with his thoughts.

"Excuse the inquisition. I'm a very naive thing, really. I'm just less naive than most of the people around me. I mean to say, is it fun for that one spark of life in an otherwise dull world you get, or is it all the reward they give you when they finally realize they're going to die?"

In a moment of clear thought, he wondered if she wondered the same of him. Probably not, but it was best to be polite and offer her some information.

He was a very polite person. He always had been. His true nature was simply hidden constantly by the "affectionate" mask that seemed to be more important than upstanding morality.

"I'm a people person. I tend to like the screaming more than the feeling of accomplishment."
[/size]

[Iƪƪia]

Seth considered the question for a moment, for once unsure of the answer. Killing gave her some amusement, she knew that. However, she had never taken the time to consider why it amused her. She had never needed to know why, actually. However... there must be a reason.

There was no feeling of accomplishment for her. She'd never found it particularly difficult or challenging to kill a creature. So that clearly wasn't it. Actually, she would always watch the faces of her victims as they died. That was where she got her amusement from.

"The expressions amuse me. They are the same every time, and they amuse me."

True, they were always the same. One would think that such repetition would get dull after awhile, and yet it never did for her. Strange for one who bored so easily.

"The way they look when they think they still have a chance. How they look as they hope that someone is going to rescue them. That expression they have when they understand that there is no escape. It amuses me."

Perhaps what it was about these creatures that entertained her so was how alien their expressions were to her. Certainly, she could fake an emotion but all she had to base her acting skills on was how she'd seen other people portray them. She'd never felt hope. Never had faith. Never felt fear. Perhaps it was because of this that she was really interested, not in the death, but in the whirlwind of emotions they seemed to experience before it. Emotions in their rawest form. That was what she enjoyed seeing before death overcame her prey.

[Oren]

He listened silently, barely breathing and not daring to move a muscle. He had never quite encountered anyone of quite the same nature as Le Cyll until now. Never had he imagined having two such temperaments in the same school, much less in the same place!

And they were talking peacefully, no less!

He was thinking over this instance very carefully and methodically. One wrong move and everything could fall apart. His whole plan could go to ruins. That was how life worked and he typically took it in stride, but this time he might actually be extremely saddened if things didn't work out. Le Cyll carried so much promise, and Seth probably did too. Both were also 'off their rockers', as the saying went.

They were deep thinkers and their subject matter was good discussion material, that wasn't worth denying, but they both had very similar views of the world and evidently didn't know why. Both were also obsessed with death and power. Not so much death, but reactions. They were so devoid of emotions themselves that they could only find enjoyment in life when another person's emotions went on overload. To tell the truth, he would have very much enjoyed joining the conversation. Too bad he was just 'another person to act for' to them. If he showed his presence now the conversation would come to an abrupt end.

Besides, it would be good if they could relate to each other. Even better, they might become friends, or as close to friends that people like that could get. Having someone that understood how you felt could be some of the best medicine, but he wasn't sure that anything good would come of two killers in cohorts with each other. With their type of personalities they would most likely kill each other long before they ever developed any kind of liking of the other and that didn't help him. He wasn't sure if they should be on friendly terms or if they should just use all their energy in attempting to take the other out. The latter would definitely be safer for the academy.

But this wasn't about the academy. This was about two students who were desperately looking for answers whether they knew it or not.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for them. They were very confused and mixed up individuals. He wanted so much to help both of them at the same time, but such demented people could only be helped one at a time. Then again, people became like those that they were around. Maybe if Le Cyll and Seth became friends and he put all of his time into Le Cyll, Seth would start changing too.

This was such a hard dilemma! He had never had to deal with such a decision before! It would be very hard for him to almost completely ignore Seth's situation, but it would be even harder to try to directly affect them both at the same time! But if he was paying attention to Le Cyll in order to help Seth, he wasn't really ignoring her, was he?

His only hope in helping these two was to do his best with Le Cyll.

That and prayer for divine assistance.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Yes. That was exactly it. To the letter. That is what he saw in them - every single one of them. There was that exact same fear, that exact same anger, that exact same denial and that exact same acceptance when finally the moment came. It was perfection, every time.

And if something is perfect, then why try to mess with it?

How nice it was, to find someone who finally got it. Oh, he'd tried to talk to others about this before. So many times, he would get so close and make that funny little thing they called a relationship so personal, and then he would let slip the smallest hint of his intentions, or the slightest inkling of what he found to be "fun" and just like that, they would scatter like senseless sheep and he would be left alone - not angry, not upset, just very very confused.

He wondered why people found a little fun so threatening. It wasn't like he could use just anybody to play with. He needed someone special. Someone to which he could devote a game to and inevitably win the game, then claim his prize and move on to the next challenge. It wasn't like he would do anything to the ones whom he had so peacefully reached out to. No. Not like that. He was polite. He must play the game to win a prize, and he played not games with them.

But... it was interesting, what happened when they did find out, and he was not angry. He did not fault them, but that thing. That thing inside was always so thorough. It always wanted a "secret to be kept" and it did not stop until they were all dead.

Maybe that is why he would like the world to be devoid of people. Not because he wished ill will upon them, but because then there would be nothing more for this strange whispering voice to call him to kill. It was nice and all, the many knife tricks and intricate little tortures he could devise with that voice helping him out every once and a while, but what was the point? What really came of it but a kill that was not his, but this thing's. That was no fun. It would never do.

And so he was alone, all alone, except for that insufferable voice. And it could get very loud. Screeching, almost. He really wished he was alone, but that thing would never leave, and so it was better to use people to drown out the noise, or to fly so high that the thing would not dare bother him and cause him to falter in the air. It was better, just better than listening to that noise all day.

He was thankful then, that finally someone got it. There was another predator in his midst, not the prey. Cute little Areon was close to something, and that strange old dragon Kendryek knew more than he would ever let slip; but Areon was a mere foolish child, angry with the world, and Kendryek had some antiquated sense that he would fix Le Cyll.

If he wanted help, quite frankly, he would ask for it. He was being good. He hadn't eaten anyone yet. Maybe if he left alone the school children, that dragon would leave him alone too?

But no. Kendryek wanted something from him, and it was not to play by the dragon's strange rules. Le Cyll had tried that. It did not work. Kendryek wanted something else, and it was such a bothr not knowing what it was.

Wait... Kendryek? There was something about Kendryek. He knew something about the old dragon...

Kendryek was far too attached to Le Cyll to go out on a skiing trip and leave him alone.

The wolf's first impression was to plan out a nice little exit strategy. Yes, that was right. Kendryek was here, that damn lizard. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? And now he'd endangered Seth too with his constant blindness. He could already hear the voice eat away at his eardrums.

Le Cyll wore on this cold winter day a snug black overcoat, the neck of which was folded a little lower than normal, where a gray turtleneck sweatshirt covered him up to the bottom of his chin. This was not only a nice, clean design in cold weather dressing, but it also allowed him to hide a few of his favorite weapons within the thick fabric of the long, flowing overcoat. The one which he favored most he wore in a sheath on his back. Reaching behind him, he slid out a carbon-steel filament katana. Kendryek must be so proud of him, knowing how to use one and all...

"Yes, I do agree. It is exactly for that look they give you right before death that I find it so addicting to continuously kill them."

He assumed the traditional sword-wielding position, shifting his right foot back and favoring his left side when he held the double-handed sword.

"But you will never give me that look, and I will never give that look to you. Why do you think we enjoy fighting so then, my dear? It isn't the acceptance of death that drives us to quarrel, it is something else. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we do challenge each other, don't we? Of all the easy kills in this world, we can rely on each other to pose an actual physical threat - an excitement. All the others are too easy."

He looked straight at the lovely water horse Seth, but it was not with a wildly grinning intention that he would usually save for thier encounters. He was staring at her very calmly, not with a lifeless air but with one of very simple, obvious focus.

"As much as I'd like to kill you, we have a nuisance in our company."[/i]

He did not know where yet the dragon was, but he knew Kendryek would be watching.

"He is one of those smart ones I've talked about. Careful, or he'll follow your every move too."[/i]

He offered that last part almost jokingly, but he knew this was by far no joking matter.

How wonderful a talk, and how sad must the ending be. He would let Seth make the next move, simply out of professional courtesy. If she still wanted a duel, he would happily oblige, but if she needed confront or avoid the dragon, she may do that too.

Damn lizard. Damn Kendryek. One of these days, his patronizing actions would not be tolerated...
[/color][/size]

[Iƪƪia]

Seth remained motionless as she watched the dog produce a blade that he seemed to have kept inside of his coat. It was something called a katana, yes? She wasn't too familiar with names such as that. There were just so many of them... It was foolish, really, giving names to blades. Idiocy.

For the first time, she dropped her gaze away from the dog's grey eyes. Now she focused instead upon the slight opening in her jacket, though her eyes portrayed no different emotion. They were still cold and listless, much like a doll's eyes, and they remained that way as she slowly looked up once again.

"Yes. You do pose more of a challenge than most others."

She certainly agreed with him on that point. After all, she had lured the dog right up to the water's edge, and yet he managed to escape her. He even managed to do harm to her. True, she most likely would have been able to kill him in the end, if that chimera hadn't interrupted. However, she couldn't deny that it was a challenge. She had actually needed to use a fair amount of energy on him.

And yet... Did that mean she wanted to kill him so badly? No. It didn't. If the circumstances were right, she'd certainly try again. However, she would never go out of her way to end the dog's life. That consisted of using much time and energy. Something she'd rather avoid.

"Yes. I would enjoy killing you too. However, we differ here. Your death would give me no greater satisfaction than the death of a lively, young wolpertinger. As I told you, I enjoy watching the moments before death. I will not waste more time than necessary on someone when a weaker person will yield the very same end result."

Her thoughts flashed to the rabbit she had encountered several times before. Then, just as quickly, she was focused on the present, deeply inhaling the air in an attempt to sniff out the third creature. However, she was unsuccessful. There could only be one reason for that. They were standing down wind, of course.

Still not looking away from the dog, she reached inside her jacket. After a moment, she removed a seemingly empty hand. However, that was quite far from the truth, as she, herself, demonstrated by slowly clenching her hand into a fist. Four small knives were soon perfectly placed in between her fingers, looking almost like claws. She'd heard other creatures call them 'kunai' before. Once again, the idiocy of naming weapons.

Even if she would be near the water, she always carried a weapon of some sort with her. If an opportunity were to nicely present itself to her, she had to be prepared, of course. She tended to like smaller weapons. They were easier to conceal, and you could carry many of them.

Resting both hands in her lap, her gaze still didn't waver as she reached out across the area with her mind, as far as was possible.

Perhaps he'd like to join us?[/i]

The voice projecting forth from her thoughts was as sweet a song as she could sing. It was sure to catch the attention of anyone who was anywhere near her.[/size]

[ωΘĿƒ]

The wolf was saddened slightly, just slightly, by what he heard. Although it made perfect logical sense that a creature so naturally unfeeling as Seth would make only the most efficient choices in victims, still it weighed on him that she did not feel the same way.

Oh... How foolish of him... Of course she didn't feel the same way...

The wolf had to chuckle to himself at this. Oh yes, that made much more sense. He could feel, and she could not. He had a preference to victims, and she needed only that moment before death. Although they agreed on the very nature of the crime, the details they differed on.

Ah well. He was picky with victims, not challenges, and she was definitely not labeled a victim.

Victims were for the voice in his head. Challenges were for him. They were the ones he picked himself - he plotted and schemed and slaved for. They were the ones where it was his joy to exert a painful and meticulous energy to see slaughtered. It was just as much in the way that he set his carefully lain trap up that he brought pleasure from seeing it snapped closed around his challenge. Seth may value efficiency when killing for the sake of her end result, but it was not only the end Le Cyll wished for - it was the wonderful little journey as well.

The water horse revealed quite fashionably a set of kunai - another Japanese weapon - and goaded him steadily with her lifeless, needless voice to involve Kendryek.

"You hurt my pride." The wolf said, smiling genuinely and with a ravenous hunger, but not for Seth. He would like a battle of some kind - not necessarily a death. "Here I thought we had something special. Serves me right for not bringing you roses..."

He was just playing now, working with the intricate art of words to fill the empty silence. He did not want Kendryek to think that there was anything wrong, now did he?

"Oh he'd love that. I know it."[/i]
[/color][/size]

[Oren]

So Le Cyll was indeed taking her as someone to focus unwanted energy towards. Still, Kendryek was sure if that was a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen. They'd all know soon enough, now wouldn't they?

It almost amazed him how freely the two spoke. They thought they were completely alone. It was kind of funny. They didn't know he was there. He was so close. Whether they knew it or not, he could hear every word they said.

Suddenly, there was a lapse in speech. He glanced from one to the other and back again. They didn't run out of things to say, did they? No, this was more than that. They must have suspected someone was watching. They were speaking silently, unread-ably.

Then a small sound began to reach his ears. It was an echo almost. It was pretty, and sweet. It was almost beckoning him to come towards it. But it came from Seth and Le Cyll's direction, right? That was odd.

It slowly grew in volume and the notes became distinct. It was someone singing, but wordlessly. It was a hum, like the lull of a hummingbird's wings, but mesmerizing. Who could sing like that?

No. Wait. This sound wasn't coming from beyond Seth and Le Cyll, it was Seth!

And it wasn't a normal song.

It was a 'sound' wave sent silently through the air, penetrating the mind's walls and luring people in. It was similar to mind-speak except her song could be sent out in all direction at once whether there was a being there or not. Immediately he had started thinking of a different voice, a different song.

Her voice. Her song.

He knew that there was no way he could block out the sound before it reached him, but he could at least be preparing for the temptation. Seth's voice hit him like a tidal wave that almost completely took over his senses. If not for her voice, he would have been just a step away from 'mesmerized'. He still would have been able to pull away from the captivating tune, but not before he had shown his position. This way, he was able to shut his eyes tightly and focus.

It was so tempting to just show himself, to greet her and the wolf with a smile and a wave. Le Cyll would have satisfaction in knowing that his assumption had been correct, and Seth would have the satisfaction in knowing that even someone as strong as Kendryek could be pulled under her spell. He put a lot of work into bolstering the confidence of others, didn't he? Wouldn't it be a good idea to let them have satisfaction?

NO!

Kendryek quickly adjusted his mental focus. Where was her song? Where was it? And then it called to him. It flowed through his mind and grew in volume, much like Seth's voice had. It slowly drowned out the 'siren's song' that she sang. His song played loud and clearly through the corridors of his mind, a voice so sweet he couldn't help but smile.

Kendryek let out a silent, contented sigh. It was her voice! Finally! He rarely dared to remember how she sounded, but he had no choice. He knew that he would regret it later, but for now he had to focus on staying alive.

Seth was a Nakki, he knew that now, and Nakki were dangerous if he wasn't careful. It was times like these that he wished his sense of smell in this form was better, but it wasn't. He could tell birds from fish, and dogs from cats, and other small things like that, but there were so many creatures of the same category that smelled the same in this form that he wasn't always sure what they were.

At the moment, though, the only thing that mattered what that he knew what she was and how powerful she was. He would have to be careful from now on.

He opened his eyes, her tune still playing through his mind. He quickly but silently studied his position. Had he moved at all? Had he caught himself in time? He had taken his hand away from the large tree to help himself focus, but that was it. Had they heard him in any other way? Would they assume it was a bird moving around in the snow? He sure hoped so.

Now was not the time to show himself. They were both in killing moods, and that was dangerous in this form. Sure, in his other form he wouldn't be worried one bit, but he wasn't. Professor Crane had left him 'in charge', and getting himself badly wounded wasn't the best idea right now.

[ωΘĿƒ]

The wolf's head jerked slightly. If he had been in his true form, his ears would have pricked up and his nose would be quivering, but he was not in his wolf form. He appeared human now, and although he was in the middle of a conversation and what might otherwise be deemed a "tense moment" he took the time to stop and to listen to the sound of the world around him.

The lack of sound, actually. Something had moved, and in this perfectly still world, that did not mean some animal was stirring. It meant he had found where Kendryek was.

That small silvery sounding note in his head bothered him. Not the one produced by Seth - that was not directed at him, so it was a little easier to evade its effects.

No, what he heard now was that sound that only occurred when there was about to be pain. What he heard was that little whispering voice that thought itself so intelligent and important as to tell him what to do...

Slay the dragon with the sword.

But he did not want to kill Kendryek. Kendryek was too large and dangerous. That would be stupid, he told the voice. Stupid, stupid faceless evil. He needed a plan, not an assault.

Kendryek was in the tree at the end of the bushes, just a few meters away. Le Cyll focused his senses on that one spot, and sure enough he could hear the soft whisper of breath. He would never have caught that slight, slight sound of he did not know where to find it, but he did, now didn't he? He knew now where the dragon was. All that need be done is escape this pesky situation without confronting the huge monstrosity of a scaly issue.

Get Seth to help.

The Kludde's eyes had remained focused on Seth, but his mind had wandered away from her long ago. Now, he snapped back to reality, his dull gray eyes scanning over the water horses' figure. Her song seemed not to be working. Would she really be of any use if there was a fight?

But he did not wan to fight. He wanted to leave now. That sounded like a good idea to him. Leave and not be bothered with all this hassle.

Stay. Make Seth fight him.


"No."

Had he said that out loud? Well... that wasn't good. He had been firm, but he had never meant to actually say anything.

Yes.

The Kludde blinked, refusing to say anything else. This was not the best time for this. He could handle this later.

Go ahead. Seth can kill him. Then he won't follow you anymore.

The dragon had been suspiciously appearing wherever Le Cyll went. The forest, he may understand - it was their first meeting - but the gym too? That seemed a little off to him. Or maybe it hadn't been him that had said anything. It was an idea given to him by someone he did not like.

He's following you. He'll keep following. The full moon is tonight. Do you want him to follow you then too?

No. That wouldn't be good. The full moon? Again? He had been quietly hiding away in that abandoned house he'd found at first, but if Kendryek followed him...

He'll follow you, and then you'll be in trouble. Let Seth distract him. Even dragons can die if you cut them up small enough.

That.... No. That was a bad idea. What was he going to do, slug Kendryek on the back of the head while Seth distracted him and chop him up? With a katana? That was insane!

He didn't even have an axe!

"No." The Kludde growled. "Stop talking to me."

There was that pain, sharp and clear as a red hot bell clanging against the side of his skull.

Yes. Listen. Listen! The sword is sharp enough!

"No it isn't. Don't argue." He snarled. "It doesn't even have the right dimensions. The weight balance is all off."

It's just like felling a tree. Or chopping firewood.

"No."

You can eat him, if you want. Aren't you hungry?

"No."

You lie. You're starving! Go ahead. Seth will help you. He won't even see it coming.

"No!" Le Cyll let the end of the sword dig into the snow, reaching one of his hands up to clutch his head. The pain was so distracting...

"No, no, no!"

Call out to him. He'll come, the sucker. He'll think you're in trouble... He'll want to help you.

Le Cyll was going to protest again, but then there was a fresh wave of the hot, searing pain, and he whipped his head toward the tree where the dragon was hiding.

"Kendryek!"

Not good enough. You don't sound desperate enough. Where's that flawless acting?

Le Cyll clutched at his head with both hands now, dropping his sword and curling over. The heat was unbearable, the pressure building. He really did hate it when this happened...

"Kendryek... Help me..."

Gooood. That's much better. Now wait for him. Wait, and when you see your chance, use your sword. Chop him up!
[/size]