[RP] Children of Aether

The walk further down the city streets proved that there was more going on than Jennyver had thought. The rain had stayed steady, yet as she could see the wall of fire more closely, she could see that it was only halfway through the process of going out. Strong fire indeed. She walked more slowly as her eyes narrowed to the front, focusing on nothing in particular as she mentally concentrated on making the rain heavier. She kept her umbrella close over her as drops of water began to beat down harder than they had before, and glanced around herself to see the streets clearing even more, very few people being smart enough to bring an umbrella with them this day. Even if Jennyver hadn't caused it to downpour, it was sure to drizzle at some point during this hour.

Jennyver had walked into the sidewalk where a four way intersection was, and where most of the shops were located. Aside from the wall of fire she encountered, everything else seemed tranquil. At least, it did until she glanced over at another direction of where she was. Halting her walk near a metal gate railing, a brow of hers raised as she caught sight of a crowd around a person that was lying on the ground, seeming to be very panicked about something. Once her glimpse of the man's expression was done, she glanced over at the rest of him, and she caught several burn marks all around his skin and clothing; along with the burns, she also spotted several sparks glimmering on his person.

So the man had just been caught on fire somehow. Jennyver couldn't perfectly say how - whether if he had somehow gone through the wall of fire in the other direction, or if he had been set on fire by someone else, or possibly caused another fire himself and got burned in the act. All she knew was that the burnings that she was witnessing seemed too much of a coincidence. In fact, she had already decided that it wasn't just a coincidence. There was someone else in this part of the streets that had inhumane capabilities like herself - like a witch.

Still unmoving, Jennyver kept her head low as she glanced around to see if anyone appeared suspicious of the weather change or the fires. She had already spotted a few men that looked very wary about their surroundings. Chances were that they could have been knights, so she made sure that her actual identity wouldn't be revealed out in the open. She wanted to, however, find the young woman that was the cause of all of these predicaments, and interrogate her motives behind them.

Of course, she would have to be careful around whoever the girl was. She was more than aware that fire was an element that ran its own course, prone to losing control and possibly unable to be stopped from wherever it was headed. The same could possibly reflect the personality of the witch that could be nearby, and it would definitely be foolish to underestimate her own kind. Of course, this was all assuming the background of the nature that the girl was capable of controlling. Her personality could be something Jennyver wasn't expecting, as she technically didn't know her until she learned more about her. You never know what to expect out of a person until they show it.

Straightening the umbrella in her hand, she looked both ways before crossing one of the roads in the intersection. The sound of her boots clacking against the wet marble walkway contrasted through the sound of the lightly pouring rain as she made her way through the market section of the streets. She would be expecting surprises just waiting for her as she got closer to them.
 
[OOC: I have really not been in the mood this week for Ar Pees, sorry for the slight slowdown, people...I'll get back into it the more I do it. In the meantime, sorry if I'm not quite up-to-scratch :gonk:]

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Garth raised an eyebrow, "Actually, forget it. I don't care if you're a witch or even the Grey Goddess herself: I want you back behind that barricade, now."

Heath looked between them. As badly as things had gone today - and oh, they had gone very badly indeed - this moment definetely took the crown. Tristana, the dear that she was, possessed not a shred of tact, tact that was most definetely needed in this extremely delicate situation. If Garth figured out who she was, Heath could kiss his Knighthood goodbye...he had already been penalised for his entire life for letting her escape, if they found out that he'd been in contact with her after that...well, that wouldn't end well, for either of them. They would both be carted off for interrogation, Poppy or no Poppy, and stripped of their abilities, unable to help anyone. Why, why, why did she not understood that certain situations couldn't be attacked head on?

"I'll take care of this." Heath said quickly, offering Garth a weak smile that was more of a grimace as he took Tristana very firmly by the shoulders and steered her away from him, praying to the Grey Goddess with every step that he didn't put two and two together. Given the level of stress he was under, it was unlikely, but one never could tell with Garth...Heath had known his friend for years, and how his mind operated was still a mystery of his. Once he was absolutely certain that Garth's attention was elsewhere - which it was almost immediately after Heath left, fortunately - he stopped, trying as best he could to keep his voice level.

"...please, love. Please. A little diplomacy, for me? I realise now is hardly the time, but...well, if you'll cast your mind back a couple of decades, you'll recall that some Knights aren't quite as...accepting, as myself. I'd prefer not to see you in shackles again...with me right next to you. I'm going to assume you had no luck in getting in. Guess Poppy's little barrier isn't designed for you...or for me."

Heath frowned then, staring past Tristana at the barrier, wincing slightly as the flash of fire illuminated the rapidly darkening scene - evidently the Fire Knights were assaulting the barrier again. If not the two of them, then who the hell was it for? Crimson? She seemed the only likely individual...it couldn't be Alyss or the other girl, Lily, could it? They had all vanished together...or had they? Heath wasn't entirely sure precisely what had taken place in Poppy's apartment. The witch of Darkness had been terrified, and drugged besides. Had she deposited them all in separate locations?

...it wasn't worth considering. Not at the moment. Right now, Heath needed to get in there, to try and talk some sense into Poppy...again. Although it was more likely that Tristana would try and kill her sister immediately, completely unmindful of the fact that she had turned a very large area into a forest that heeded her every command, and that they'd both be killed the minute they displayed any signs of hostility. She had absolutely no common sense sometimes.

"Any ideas, sugar muffin? I don't think Poppy is going to come to us...and I doubt she's going to let us come to her..."

---

Lily deposited Alyss in the hallway, not as gently as she would have liked to - she was becoming less and less capable of moving, as Poppy's poison slowly crawled through her - and staggered into the kitchen, hugging the walls to stop herself from falling over. Attempting the stairs to get to the bathroom would have probably killed her...she needed to act, fast. Dragging herself across the room, she pulled open the drawer, yanking out a kitchen knife, and set it to her wrist. Teeth chattering, she slashed it across her wrist, shock turning into panic as blood spurted burning hot, into her face. Crying in terror - that she couldn't feel anything was only more terrifying - she covered the wound with her other hand, trying to ignore how slick it had already become. Gripping her wrist was hard, and the blood seeped from underneath her hand and onto the worktop, staining the wood a dark red. If this didn't work, she'd be bleeding to death long before Poppy's poison worked its way through her system. Summoning the few shreds of will she had left, Lily drew the shadows in the room to her.

Get it out of me. Please.

She screamed as they responded, pouring into the wound, sending blood everywhere. Pain enough to make her vomit, acrid discoloured bile burning her throat and mouth as she doubled over, unable to do anything as the shadows raged inside her arm, darkening it to make it appear as though it were bruised...yet, she was slowly regaining the feeling; first a tingling, then a stinging, and then finally an aching that made it feel as though she had just been carrying something extremely heavy...but then, she realised, she had likely pulled several muscles in dragging Alyss home. At the same time, she felt something acidic running down her arm: a venomous green liquid was trickling from the wound she had opened, hissing and smoking slightly as it dissolved. Had that been inside her? Lily shuddered, the movement making her vomit again, sending her to the floor this time as she curled up into a ball, shivering. Even when the shivering and the pain had passed, she lay on the floor for a few minutes, listening to the sound of her own shallow breathing.

Perhaps this was the end. Again, she found herself lying on the floor, battered and broken. She was bleeding out... and she possessed not an ounce of will left to stop it. It would be so easy now, to allow the shadows to take her, this time for good. To leave this world behind, and all of its cruelties. Lily had led a half-life, a cursed-life, since the day she had lost her mother, and now she could finally end it. She had nothing else to live for...she would die here, alone and forgotten, perhaps forever, since her father never came home anyway. Her passing would not be mourned, it might even be celebrated. One more useless waste of space gone, and good riddance to her, the corrupted, selfish little thing. She had even left them with a final inconvenience in getting rid of her body, and look at the mess she had made of the house in her suicide! Such a horrible creature.

Yes, so easy to end it all...

“L-Lily? Ar-are you st-still the-there?”

Alyss? With great effort, Lily opened her eyes. How long she had been lying there on the floor she did not know, but all of a sudden she was extremely cold. The shivering returned, yet she forced herself to her feet, startled to find that she felt perfectly fine...had the shadows healed her completely? She looked down at her wrist, finding only a thick, white scar. Evidently she wasn't ready to die yet...the thought puzzled her, yet she had no time to think about it at the moment. Wiping her mouth on her tattered sleeve - and then on her other sleeve, as she received a mouthful of blood, for it was absolutely saturated - Lily returned to the hallway, where she had left Alyss, marvelling again at how...complete she felt. The shadows were within her now...what did this mean?

Still blind, still fatally injured...yet now conscious. How was she conscious? She should be dead by now. Lily knelt down beside her, placing a hand to her forehead for a moment before flinching away. She was ice cold. Without even laying her hands on Alyss again to assess the extent of the damage Poppy had done to her body, Lily knew she wouldn't be able to heal her the same way that she had herself. She'd had that vine inside her, the poison was well and truly in her blood...she'd likely kill Alyss if she tried. She might be able to set her broken bones, but she couldn't heal her. Her shadows weren't healing Alyss' wounds. She wasn't getting better. She was dying. There was nothing Lily could do. Nothing. She'd die soon, and Lily's strength would die with her. Her powers would become Lily's, and then Poppy would hunt her down and kill her as well, and that would be the end of it. It just wasn't fair...things weren't supposed to turn out like this. She had infected Alyss, just as she had been infected herself...and now she was going to pay for Lily's mistakes.

"I'm sorry...I...I don't know what to do." Lily said softly, shaking her head, clenching her hands together in some efforts to still her shaking. "I can't do anything...useless...I'm useless...hopeless..."

---

Eliza grew steadily more irritated as she continued to search for the girl, Crimson momentarily forgotten. Who did she think she was? Eliza had better things to do with her time than hunt for a single girl, be she witch or not. Bloody nuisance, the lot of them...causing fires, downpours of rain, trees to spring up in the middle of the damn road...if she ever saw the Horned King again, she would have some choice words for him. What kind of idiot gave young women powers beyond that of mortal men - powers meant only for Gods - and then left them to their own devices? Deity or not, he would answer for this inconvenience he was putting her through. She had better things to do with her time than stop menstruating, hormone-driven girls from trying to kill one another and everyone around them with elemental forces.

"Keep an eye out for a girl with white hair. About your age." she said then, turning to Crimson, "It is imperative that we locate her before we set about dealing with this Poppy girl."

Of course, Eliza had other reasons for wanting to locate her: she had seemed mildly interested in Eliza's proposal when they had first met. Eliza had allowed her time to think, for she seemed to be a sensible girl capable of rational thought - unlike the one trailing her, who set people on fire for the fun of it - but now she was tired of waiting. She needed an answer now, especially with this one in tow. Eliza had no doubt that she could best the girl if needed; after all, metal could not be burned away to nothing, so if she simply incinerated the metal Eliza used, she'd encase the girl in liquid metal and that would be that, but she had no particular desire to...it was the one thing she was trying to avoid.

As for dealing with Poppy...well, that remained to be seen. If she could control herself and resist the temptation to turn London into a forest, Eliza would extend her protection to her as well. She would ensure peace between these children, through diplomacy or force, however they preferred it. Playtime was over for them...as soon as she located them, of course.

What the hell is she doing?
 
Hearing Lily’s voice was comforting as Alyss lay on the ground. Even though she was in an excruciating amount of pain, she was glad that she wasn’t alone. She was in too much pain to pass out, but losing too much blood to stay awake. From the sound of her voice, Lily was scared, just as Alyss was. An attempt for Alyss to admit she wasn’t scared out of her mind at that very moment would have been an outright lie. Lily didn’t know what to do, Alyss didn’t know what to do, and the latter didn’t have a hope in the world of living.

The very least she could do was to convince Lily to go out and look for help. While she was gone, Alyss would probably die… but she didn’t want Lily to have to sit there and watch it happen. It was somewhat selfish of her, as she would basically be ensuring that she wouldn’t have to deal with Poppy or anyone else anymore. What made it even worse is that Lily would be getting her powers… and Poppy would hunt her down.

Alyss placed her mangled hand on Lily’s, and gave a weakened broken smile. “I-I… do n-not thi-“, she gasped for air again, and just like every other time, it hurt her. There was a brief grunt that escaped Alyss’ lips. “S-sorry, Lily… I d-do not thi-think I ha-ve much lo-longer.” She hated saying that… what made it even worse is that she was saying it to Lily. Lily must have been scared out of her mind… it wasn’t right. None of this was right. She wanted to hang on, to keep going… she wasn’t going to die. Alyss wasn’t about to let herself die after going through everything that she had just been though.

She had been beaten, tortured, beaten, tortured again, and now here she was bleeding out all over Lily’s floor. There wasn’t a snowballs chance in Hell she was going to die. “N-no… I wi-will not die, n-not now!” Her words were supposed to resemble something courageous… but it came out a stuttered broken mess ripe with painful gasps of air. “I-I ha- I rea-really hate to ask e-even more fr-from you when y-you ha-have alre-already done so m-m-much… b-but you mu-must go get help, f-from som-someone… an-anyone… I-I wi-will n…n-not die… I pro-promise.”

She hoped Lily wouldn’t mind. Lily had already done so much for her. She saved her life twice, and had taken care of her. Alyss was going to pay her back one day… she swore it. “And L-Lily… Tha-thank you… for e-e-e-verything…”
 
Crimson
Fire Witch

The two walked in silence for quite a while. Eliza was obviously looking for someone or something, she wouldn't tell Crimson what though which was the annoying part. What was more annoying was that it began to rain.

Crimson held her hand out and caught a few drops on it and sighed. There was always rain after a fire and she did start a couple of pretty big fires today. She shouldn't be surprised. The red head took off her khaki trench coat and placed it over her head, shielding herself from those annoying little droplets which soon turned into a proper down pour.

"Keep an eye out for a girl with white hair. About your age. It is imperative that we locate her before we set about dealing with this Poppy girl." The older lady said, turning to face her.

"Ok, ok. I'll keep an eye out." She said half-heartedly with a sigh.

She turned her head left and right, eyes squinting as droplets bumped into her face. It was rather dull outside. The rain wasn't heavy but it was annoying. Then coming out from one of the streets Crimson noticed a glimmer of silver.

"I-is that her?" She pointed forwards at a girl with white as snow hair, she had an umbrella and was dressed quite proper.

That had to be who they were looking for. How many other girls had hair like that?? Unless it was a new craze that Crimson hadn't heard about yet.
​
 
As Aldra walked down the street, he started to wonder of the Fire Witch, Crimson. She acted in a familiar matter to a relative that he himself believed died by the Stasi over 20 years ago. She too was a Fire Witch, and when they met, they too also had a rocky start. But when they started to warm up to each other, and began talking with each other, that was when the Knight learned about her past, a past that he himself too shared.

It was a dangerous predicament having had a brother and sister on opposing sides, but it was through Aldra's sister that he came to see the grey in this conflict.

Aldra continued walking down the London streets until he saw a familiar face on the other side of the street. It was Crimson, who stopped in front of another female with hair as white as snow, and an umbrella. It seemed that another female, one older than Crimson was following.

Keeping his distance, and hoping he would not get spotted, Aldra watched and waited to see if there were any further developments.
 
Tristana reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged away from Garth. "No. I didn't find anything." She jerked herself out of Heath's grasp. "But you gotta tell them to back off. This is her forest, and if she gets bored of your Knights, you'll be taking them home in a body bag."

She glanced at the Knights trying to break through. "And I need to work here, Heath. Your Knights might be useful but their knowledge of healing is limited. Poppy'll hurt more than you can heal. You're not a complete fucking idiot."

"And...." Her eyes widened. "There are Witches here. A lot of them. Two are injured." She would not usually have been able to search that far, but she knew that injured Witches gave off a more powerful aura. A distress symbol of sorts. "Damnit Heath I need to go."
________________________________
Freya let out a squeal of fright as the other girl appeared, and began demanding answers from her. What was she doing here? She...had just been walking hadn't she?

Although she was easily intimidated, Freya could feel something else welling up inside of her. Something cold, chilling, and almost painful.

Terror.

"I-I was just walking through here," she stammered. Did this have something to do with that man? That man that had visited her?
 
Last edited:
[OOC: I'll do an Eliza post as soon as I get everything sorted out...Ringo and I have jumped ahead a little bit, so we need to re-adjust our plans slightly. xD]

Alyss was, to Lily's eyes, slipping away. Acceptance, then denial...she was a mirror image of Lily, all those years ago. She couldn't decide if she was going to die or not...yet a part of her had died that day. The same part, perhaps, that was dying in Alyss now. Yet for her, her body would die with it...in a small way, Lily envied her. She got to leave this mortal coil behind, whilst Lily remained trapped here, unable to do anything but wait to meet the same ghastly fate...

Her request for help, for someone else - anyone else - stung. Was Lily not good enough for her? What could anyone else possibly do? Did she think that, if Lily knew of someone who could help, she would have brought them here? She seemed to be slipping in and out of coherency...yet her desire for someone else was plain.

Lily racked her brains, saying nothing. Who could possibly do any more than she had...wait...what about that Knight friend of Alyss', Heath?

She had - or rather, Alyss had - memories of him. She didn't trust them at all, as he was quite clearly leading Alyss on so that he could get to the other Witches, but he had blazed power when he had blasted through Poppy's barrier...perhaps he could do so again with this poison that raged through her system. Alyss could say that she wasn't going to die, but if that poison stayed in her, she WOULD die. It was a miracle that she wasn't already dead...evidently there was something in it that stopped the victim from dying immediately, so as to prolong their agony.

Lily shuddered, then glared down at Alyss. Lily wasn't good enough for her? Fine, she could have her precious Knight friend here to hold her hand, since she was obviously more important to her. She steeled herself for what could possibly be her final act.

"You'd better be right about this, or there is going to be hell to pay." she said quietly, closing her eyes and directing her thoughts at the shadows around her, feeling them respond with an eagerness that would have appalled her, had she not been so focused on bringing Heath to her...she had never attempted to transport someone this way before, after all, and she didn't even know the man. Attempting to bring a man she didn't know to her by an image only, when she had no idea where he was...could she do this? She had to.

Bring him to me. Now.

---

"This is Garth's operation, Tristana. He might listen to me with time, but he's under a lot of pressure to sort this out, and standing idly back won't get it done." Heath replied, sighing. Garth knew as well as he did that attacking was pointless, yet he had worked extremely hard to get where he was, and it would be extremely bad if confidence was lost in the Order. They needed to be seen to be doing something, even if it was futile...even if it cost them all their lives. Which, it seemed, was highly probable.

At Tristana's next words, Heath raised an eyebrow. Two witches, injured? Had Poppy found her targets, then? That he knew of, there were three other witches in London - Crimson, Alyss, and the Witch of Darkness. It seemed unlikely that any combination of those two would be working together. What the hell was going on?

"Alright, see if you can find the other Witches, and I'll-" Heath paused, as blackness suddenly filled his vision, despite the fact that he was completely conscious, and then found himself somewhere else entirely, Tristana nowhere to be seen, "...teleport to Goddess-knows where." he finished, somewhat lamely. How the hell had he gotten here? Where was here, anyway? Judging by how quiet it was, he was probably on the other side of London. It was quite a nice house...if it weren't for the blood on the floor, and how dark it was; although the lights were on, they seemed to be strangely muted, as though something was smothering them.

Wait...blood?

He looked in front of him, to see the Witch of Darkness - Lily, wasn't it? - standing in front of him, shadows flickering around her like living things and, from the look on her face, she was ready to send them to her to snap him in half if he tried anything. Behind her, lying bloody and mangled on the carpet like the mice that his old cat had sometimes brought in, was Alyss. Heath swore inwardly - well, that was one injured witch accounted for and, judging from the look of Lily, she was the second - as he fought the urge to rush to Alyss' side, to do...something, anything. However, Lily stood between him and her, and he doubted that he would get past her.

"Heath?" she asked, cautiously, as though not entirely sure she had summoned the right person...but then, the two had met only briefly, so she was likely relying on Alyss' description of him, or her own vague memories.

"Yes." he replied, too surprised to say anything else, and sensing that now was, perhaps, not the best time for humour.

A flicker on her face - relief? - as she stepped to one side to allow him to reach Alyss, calmed him for a few moments. She clearly hadn't done this, and her next words confirmed the thought: "Heal her. Now."

How? He nodded mutely, stepping past her and, very slowly, unsheathing his sword, drawing upon the power within it as he laid a hand, very gently, on Alyss forehead, offering her a small, reassuring smile. "We can lecture one another on how bad a team we make and how stupid we both are later. Don't fight me, please, I need to assess the extent of the damage Poppy did to your body. That is all I'll be doing."

So saying, he closed his eyes, careful to keep his mind shielded from Alyss and to keep away from her subconscious mental barriers - which, he noted with some surprise, were much lower than he had expected them to be, even in her condition...something (or rather, someone) had definetely changed her - as he explored the extent of the damage to her body with his powers. What Lily expected him to do, he had no idea: the damage was far beyond his paltry healing skills. Heath could heal any kind of spiritual wound imaginable with little effort, yet as far as physical wounds went, he was not particularly useful, unless he drew upon his own life force. He knew almost instantly that he could kill himself and he would not be able to restore Alyss to full strength, what assailed her was a part of her. She was as good as dead. Sighing, Heath opened his eyes, sheathing his sword with a snap that made the girl behind him flinch.

"I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do. The poison is in her blood, it's only a matter of time before it stops her heart...frankly, I'm amazed you're still alive." he said, looking down at Alyss thoughtfully.

"Liar. I saw what you did back at Poppy's apartment. You must be able to do something for her, you just don't want to. Some friend you are!" Lily snapped, an edge of hysteria creeping into her voice. Heath looked at her then, surprised. What on earth had happened between these two whilst they had gone? They both seemed different, somehow. There was a certain...tension between them. Heath couldn't quite put his finger on it, and it might be the key to getting Lily to co-operate, and both himself and Alyss alive.

"I'm a Spirit Knight. My power comes from my sword, and my very life force. Under normal circumstances, I could heal her, but Poppy's poison is far too strong, too pervasive, for me." he explained patiently, "I could kill myself trying to heal her. I would, if I thought it would work, but I know it wouldn't. Knights aren't as powerful as Witches are."

There was an awkward silence between them all then, during which Heath watched Lily quietly, trying to place what he sensed instinctively, yet was unable to put a name to. The girl was clearly emotionally unstable, yet she had changed from when Heath had last seen her. She seemed to be very concerned about Alyss, even to the point that she would bring someone she hated and feared to her very home. Clearly, a lot had happened after she had warped them all out of there. Obviously, Alyss had tried to confront Poppy again...and paid the price for it. The poison was in her blood, and there was nothing Heath could do about it...

...there was nothing Heath could do, but perhaps...

"Tristana. I need Tristana." Heath said, breaking the silence, "She's a friend of mine, the Blood Witch. The only one I know of who can get it out of her is Tristana. You need to bring her here as well, so she can heal her. Quickly, before it goes beyond even her control!"

Lily stepped back, fearful, then angry, "You think I'm stupid? I'm not bringing a witch into my home!" the shadows closed around Heath, and he suddenly found himself extremely short of breath. He could have dispelled the feeling with a burst of power of his own - perhaps, for this girl was getting stronger by the minute, for her powers evidently multiplied in darkness, and the hour was growing late - yet chose not to...if he made any hostile moves, she'd probably panic, and that would be that, for both him and Alyss. No, he needed to get through to her.

She was...determined. Terrified, yes, but still extremely determined. It was surprising that she hadn't been able to drive the poison out of Alyss with that strength of will...even Tristana would be hard-pressed to match such a will; hell, she might even give Poppy reason to pause. Yet she lacked the confidence to assert herself, and it was holding her back. Yet this was something she needed to discover for herself; Heath could not help her. Nor could he help Alyss, unless Tristana were here by his side...

"Please. Neither of us can do anything for Alyss, and she will die if we don't get this poison out of her." Heath replied, searching Lily's face. She clearly wasn't keen on the idea, so he turned to Alyss instead, "For crying out loud, talk some sense into her, please. You have my word as a Knight that she will do nothing other than what she's told." Besides, I get the feeling Lily here could kill her with less than a thought, the mood she's in...

--

"Naughty girl. Don't you know that you don't enter other people's houses without knocking first?" Poppy replied in a singsong voice, although it had an ugly edge to it. If this little girl thought she could lead Poppy along, she could think again. She had just lost her favourite toy, and this girl had just volunteered to be her new one.

"Do you know what happens to liars, naughty girl?" Poppy asked sweetly, forcing some lurid yellow flowers to grow around her, buds closed - for now - as she walked towards her, "They get punished. Tell the truth, naughty girl. Who are you, and how did you get in my garden?"

Her life depended on her answer. If those flowers opened, she would die the instant she took a breath...and everyone needed to take a breath at some point. Yet, the strangest thing was, she sensed a vague power from this girl...what was she up to? Perhaps Poppy should kill her and take whatever power she possessed and be done with it...yet, perhaps she could make use of this girl. It was extremely lonely, living alone...if she could behave herself, perhaps she'd make a good pet!
 
Lily didn’t seem too happy for some reason. Not having people skills had its disadvantages, and a broken Alyss was slowly starting to figure this out. When the time came to worry about such things, she was going to have to figure out a way to make all of this up to her. Even though Alyss was the one dying on the ground, it seemed like Lily was having an even worse time dealing with it than she did. She hoped that Lily didn’t hate her… but Alyss needed help, and she needed it quickly. Her blood was on fire, and every inch of her ached to the point where she was afraid to do anything. To top it all off, she couldn’t even see.

She didn’t want to die… not right here… not at that moment. Dying didn’t fit into her immediate plans at all. Even if Lily did hate her for the rest of Alyss’ life, it would suck considerably less than dying. But with Lily’s mood at that moment… she was afraid of what Lily would do if things didn’t work out. “You had better be right about this, or there is going to be hell to pay,” hearing Lily say those words was… odd. It was so unlike Lily to be this way. However, it was so like… Alyss.

Who would she even be bringing? Alyss didn’t know of anyone that could help her. Lily had stated that she couldn’t do anything. Even if the situation had been switched, Alyss wouldn’t have been able to do much of anything. All Alyss had wanted was a doctor or someone with considerable medical skill. What was Lily thinking? She obviously wasn’t on the same page, but that had been no one’s fault but Alyss’. She didn’t exactly make it clear that she wanted a doctor; she just said “help”.

Still unable to see, still unable to move, Alyss heard a slight noise shortly after Lily had spoken. It sounded familiar… it sounded like Heath? Heath?! Why would Lily bring him? Lily didn’t trust him at all, and Alyss wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face for leaving her in the hands of Poppy the first time. Heath was not a doctor… he was a Knight. What on Earth could he possibly do? Alyss would have killed to have been able to see what was going on around her. Why were they being so damned quiet?!

As soon as she thought it, the silence was finally broken. Lily had asked if that had been Heath, and Heath of course confirmed it. There was a step… to light to be Heath, so it must have been Lily. Then before anything else happened, Lily didn’t ask… she demanded of Heath to heal Alyss. This was a whole new side of Lily that Alyss was hearing. If she had the capability of sight and motion, she could have hugged the girl on the spot.

There were more steps. These, however, were heavy, so they had to have obviously belonged to Heath. Alyss then heard a sound of a sword being unsheathed. It would have made Alyss jump if she had the energy. He could have killed her right then and there if he had wanted to… In fact, Alyss was surprised that Lily didn’t do anything to stop him from taking out his sword. Alyss felt his hand touch her forehead as he spoke. “We can lecture one another on how bad a team we make and how stupid we both are later,” he said. He really had no idea. Alyss felt like ripping him a new one as well as herself. “Don’t fight me, please, I need to assess the extent of the damage Poppy did to your body. That is all I’ll be doing.” Heath was blessed that she didn’t feel like speaking out due to the pain.

She could have given him the brief rundown of how much damage Poppy did to her in just a matter of a few seconds. Shit got real, shit went down, shit happened, I feel like shit, Alyss thought to herself. It was shortly after her mental outburst that she felt… something happening to her. It felt as if someone were looking around inside of her. It was so eerie feeling. Just as quickly as the feeling had come, it had quickly gone. There was the sound of a sword being sheathed as she felt Heath’s hand move away from her head.

With the bedside manner of doctor, he announced: “I’m sorry, but there is nothing I can do. The poison is in her blood, it’s only a matter of time before it stops her heart… frankly, I’m amazed you’re still alive.” Every syllable sunk Alyss’ mood. She didn’t want to die. Sure, she was in pain, and death would bring that to an end… but she did not want to die. She couldn’t die… she promised Lily.

Lily took the news far worse than Alyss did, however. “Liar. I saw what you did back at Poppy’s apartment. You must be able to do something for her, you just don’t want to. Some friend you are!” If Alyss ever did make it out of this situation alive, she was really going to hug that girl. No one had even stuck up for Alyss like that since her Father passed. Then again, no one ever really needed to. But having a friend that had your back the way that Lily had Alyss’… it felt good.

Heath had explained that he was a Spirit Knight, and the nature of his powers. He had a good point, in all reality. Knights were weaker than Witches, and Poppy had dumped a massive amount of her poison into her body. He would even go as far as killing himself to help her… as would Lily from the way she was acting. Deep down, Alyss knew she didn’t deserve half the kindness that both had shown her. After all, she got herself into this situation alone. It was a byproduct of stupidity and anger.

There was a long silence. Lily said nothing, Heath said nothing more, and Alyss was too weak to say anything without it hurting. She was getting tired again… that was for certain. But if Alyss fell asleep now, would she wake up? That was something she didn’t want to find out. The silence, and Alyss’ thoughts were interrupted by Heath. It seemed as if he had an idea. “Tristana. I need Tristana,” he said. “She’s a friend of mine, the Blood Witch.” There was a Blood Witch? “The only one I know of you can get it out of her is Tristana. You need to bring her here was well, so she can heal her. Quickly, before it goes beyond even her control!” It made sense. If the poison was in her blood, someone who could control the flow of blood should be able to drag it out of her. However, would Lily even consider bringing another Witch into her home after what happened last time?

Her query was answered almost immediately. “You think I’m stupid? I’m not bringing a witch into my home!” Something had happened, and Alyss could hear Heath now struggling to breathe. This was not good… Lily must have been outright terrified of all of this. She didn’t want to lose Alyss, she also didn’t want to bring anymore danger in her immediate direction… in their immediate direction. “Please. Neither of us can do anything for Alyss, and she will die if we don’t get this poison out of her,” he said. The next part must have been directed at Alyss. “For crying out loud, talk some sense into her, please. You have my word as a Knight that she will do nothing other than what she’s told.”

Once again… it fell on her. She was injured and weak, why did she have to keep speaking and doing things that otherwise hurt her? She was tired and dying… she only wanted to be comfortable. It didn’t help that the effort it took to speak was ridiculous. There were constant interruptions where she kept trying to breath in between every other syllable, it hurt and it was aggravating. But she had to try to bring things under control…

“L-Lily… please, l-let him g-go,” she managed. Alyss took another deep breath and tried to say her next words as clearly as she could. After all, at this rate, they could have very well been her last. “L-let him go get h-help… I-If he does not c-come back, or if i-it does no-not work… I could die next to yo-you… I would not mind t-that.” She really wouldn’t mind. “I-In just the la-last few minu-minutes, you ha-have proven to be th-the great-est f-friend I ha-have ever had.”

There was another pause and a wince of pain as Alyss took another deep breath. “A-and if it d-does work… y-you are m-moving in with me, I sw-swear it… and I am b-buying you ice cream and coffee… u-uninte-uninterrupted this time… I… thin-k I am ge-getting sleepy…”

She kept trying to talk, but no words came out… just gasps of air. Alyss was still awake, but she felt like passing out. She was tired, exhausted, and no longer felt like doing anything. It was much like when an animal died… it knew it was coming, and it tried to make itself as comfortable as possible. “J-just want to be n-next to Li-Lily… is all…”

Consciousness was once again slipping away from Alyss. But she was determined to stay awake… for now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top