404. Of urgency, first encounters and a little bit of regret

Cassandra Pendragon

"Pinch me," I whispered, my eyes glued to the scene in front of us.

"With pleasure," Lilith replied but an invisible heat wave pushed her back before she could move. Ahri was still in her Thumbelina form but her power wasn't diminished. I could have pulled her through entirely but as long as we didn't know where we were that seemed like a bit of a risk. I needed her there to follow the link between our tattoos back home in the future. 

"You're not seeing things," the angel breathed. "Reia is gradually turning into you. I bet she doesn't even know the girl's name. As for the others… they're… they look different. I've never seen that phenotype on Gaya."

"Of course not, they're from a subrealm," the demoness grumbled indignantly while she bobbed up and down, a faint wisp of smoke trailing behind her. My fiancée was dead serious about the no touching policy she had implemented before. "They look a bit Asian, don't they," Lilith added.

"I don't care what they look like," I hissed, "if the old soul in the body of a boy takes another step I'm going to break his legs." The reason for my little temper tantrum was of course the juvenile delinquent, who was by now more closely related to me than any other creature in existence. What did you even call someone who shared your blood twice over? Sister-sister? 

As for her predicament: for reasons known only to god and herself Reia had positioned herself between a group of dishevelled humans and a bleeding girl. The humans were somewhere in their twenties, at least they looked like it, but judging from the stream of mana I felt surging in their veins they could as well have been much older. There were five of them, four women and a man, all dressed in elaborate, blue, silken robes, frantically yapping away in a language that sounded pretty similar to Chinese. Not that it mattered. The reason for their agitation was plenty obvious.

They had chased their prey through the forest and once they had managed to corner the girl a moronic, winged vixen had traipsed through the clearing and placed herself neatly between them. I imagined they'd usually have struck first and asked questions later, if at all, but the magnificent, ice cold wings on Reia's back and her rather martial appearance, she was only wearing a humongous black pelt, flesh and blood still clinging to the poorly cleaned hide, had made them hesitate. For now. Goddamn it, normally I'd have been the one in Reia's shoes and from that perspective it always seemed entirely justified. But now, watching from a distance, I couldn't help but frown. Did she really have to stick her nose in? We had more than enough problems already.

A harsh wind howled through the forest and shook the freshly fallen snow from the trees. A translucent, white veil descended upon the world and I shivered when I felt its biting touch on my bare back. We were hidden behind a towering elm, a few handful of steps away from a half frozen brook that divided the clearing into two parts. The narrow stream could have been crossed with a halfhearted hop but it still separated my little sister from the brewing storm on the other side. The man yelling at her was dangerous.

Since my last infamous endeavour my sight had changed. I could choose to look behind the curtain, not only when it came to reality, but also in regards to people. I could see their souls. I've told you before that reincarnation was very real. Souls seldomly perished and the older they grew, the more often they passed the cycle, the stronger they became. Some were powerful enough to retain a shadow of their former lives and whoever the boy was, the soul he carried was ancient. Not by my standards but he had definitely been around to see a few galaxies burn out. And this… elder and his posse were staring daggers at my sister, eager to get their hands on the girl Reia had decided to protect.

From where I was cowering I couldn't see much of her. A curtain of silver hair marred with filth and dried blood, a fragile, lithe body, barley hidden underneath a few straps of cloth that hardly deserved the term rags and a slender, snow white leg with a grizzly cut and a shoeless, bloody, foot, adorned with an ugly tattoo. She had an abundance of magic in her and she was… well, innocent. Fortunately I could tell by now with a single glance, otherwise I might have been a bit more reserved, considering the girl wasn't human. Not even in the slightest. I couldn't say for sure which race she belonged to, but most of her power as well as her true form had been sealed. Forcibly. It could have been a punishment, but I didn't think so. Most likely she had been crippled to make her submit. Which would also explain the ugly mark of domination on her sole. 

Damn it, Ahri had been right. I'd be standing exactly where the newly born angel had positioned herself, the consequences be damned. It didn't mean I'd intervene, though. For now I was quite content with watching Reia handle it. Provided none of them crossed the brook. If they did and dared to raise a hand against her I wouldn't stop at a broken leg.

"Can you understand them," Ahri asked quietly.

"Not every word but enough to guess what they're saying. Some nonsense about respect and proper punishment. Apparently the poor child has been brazen enough to try and steal. They want her back and intend to punish her appropriately. Her right hand. They mean to take her right hand." I focused and gradually peeled back the layers of matter around the girl. "Fruits," I added contemptuously, "she's stolen a few fruits for Christ's sake."

"That's bad," Lilith mumbled pensively, which elicited an incredulous look from Ahri and me. Not that I disagreed, it sucked, but I'd never have imagined for her to care. 

In response the glowing orb stilled as if embarrassed and explained: "that sounds like a punishment set by law. If they uphold the laws they know it probably means that they haven't realised, yet, what's happened to them. They're from another realm and they don't know. That's bad. It means the realms aren't crumbling, they're merging. That's going to take much less time than I hoped. Days at best." My frown deepened but before I could utter a single word I suddenly flinched as a clear, powerful voice thundered through the forest:

"I know you'll understand this," Reia yelled angrily, her blue white, swanlike wings crackling with the breath of winter, "I promise, you won't touch a single hair on her body." A freezing gust danced through the clearing and silence fell. 

"Here we go," I groaned quietly and stood up just as the scathing response flowed across the brook. My comprehension wasn't developed enough to understand every word but the gist of it was pretty damn clear. If Reia was intent on fighting for a stranger, she'd have the chance to join the punishment alongside her new friend. The sharp sound of swords being drawn made my skin crawl and from one second to the next the weak winter sun sparkled on five gleaming blades. Oh boy, what a horrendous idea. 

My wings whispered into existence and a surge of heat and fire blew my hair back as Ahri's flames roared to life. The world vanished behind a silver glare, my perception expanded and I felt the caressing touch of eternity as I vanished, only to reappear at Reia's side. Five pairs of eyes widened in astonishment, their gazes glued to my shimmering silhouette. 

Without a conscious thought I wrapped my tails around Reia and pulled her closer. Just as her jaw dropped and her wings mingled with mine I chuckled quietly: " I thought you'd miss me, but here you are socialising. Who are your friends? Care to introduce us?" The next second she buried her head against my shoulder, her cool breath and hot tears tickling my skin. She trembled but before either of us could utter a word of comfort an arrogant voice reached my ears:

"Ni shi nake cong?" The pronunciation was way different but the idiom was the very same I had heard on Earth. Since it literally meant what kind of onion are you and translated to who the hell are you I instantly formed some vague ideas about their culinary preferences. In Chinese cuisine onions weren't as integral as other ingredients, which… but that wasn't important.

With a cold smile I replied: "Your new best friend or your worst nightmare. Your choice." I used actual Chinese, but just like I had been able to cobble together their meaning even though the language was slightly different they got my message. Unfortunately I had never spared the time to get dressed again and my theatrical answer fell mostly on deaf ears. They were much too busy staring to pay attention. Usually I'd have rolled my eyes, but in our current situation I even appreciated their reaction. I've been yapping about beauty and danger quite a few times and as enamoured, as enchanted as they seemed it stood to reason that they wouldn't dare act. Either that or I had just jumped to the top of the most desired slaves list. One of the two.

"If they move, you'll stay behind me. Ahri will make sure nothing happens to you," I whispered in our mother tongue before I kissed the top of Reia's head and said firmly:

"Seen enough? Or would you like me to pirouette for you?" I had bolstered my voice with a tiny spark of my power, just enough to pull them from their daze. The leader of the group immediately grimaced and forcefully tore his gaze away from my face.

"You're overly confident for a woman," he spat. "Where's your master?" I might have felt insulted if he hadn't been blushing profusely and hadn't been looking anywhere but me. The hardened snow cracked softly under my bare feet when I took a step closer, my nostrils flaring as I breathed in deeply. Their rich scent of expensive oils and alien magics contrasted the ever present smell of frozen wood and cold earth like a wrong note in a song. They didn't belong here and it showed.

"You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy," I replied. "I have no master and if you keep glaring at my sister, you're going to find out why. Last chance." I craned my neck until the vertebrae popped. "Leave, sheath your weapons or fight me. The choice is yours." His angular face twisted into a snarl but he didn't act. Not until the girl closest to him gave him an reassuring nod, her eyes filled with determination and envy as they found my gaze. Oh boy, pretty girls truly were the death of a man. Or in this case a one way ticket to a nonexistent hospital. If he was lucky.

Before he could move I hissed: "much obliged for cutting this short." Then I vanished from the spot and reappeared at the centre of their group. "I never liked slavers, anyways." They were fast and resolute, I had to give them that, but it really didn't matter. The times when a mortal could have posed a threat to me were long gone. My fight against Gabriel was still burning in my veins and I didn't mind the chance to expel the tension. A breathing punching bag was a godsend. Consequentially I retracted my wings and called my spear. It had a blunt side after all.

There was no hesitation, no mercy. As soon as I appeared the girl who had incited the fight struck, quickly followed by her comrades. I could have dodged easily but in all honesty, I didn't want to. Cold, unforgiving steel pierced my body from five directions, turning me into the world's prettiest hedgehog. For the fraction of a second I could feel their relief, taste their rising courage, until I tilted my head to the side nonchalantly and said: "seems like your blades are stuck. Here, let me help." A spark of fear ignited in their eyes and streams of mana came alive, rushing towards their weapons, but it was already too late. I spun on the spot and pulled their swords right out of their twitching fingers. Silvery flames ignited along my body and streams of molten metal flowed down my legs while the wounds closed without leaving so much as a tiny scar. 

Steam erupted from the frozen ground and concealed me behind a soft, white curtain. "My turn," I purred. Slowly, gracefully I approached the troublemaker who had deemed it a good idea to challenge me. She paled, her eyes darting left and right frantically, before she called for help. True to his nature their fearless leader stepped in front of her, his fingers desperately forming complex symbols while sweat dripped from his brow. "Get lost," I snarled. 

Aiglos' weight increased and with a fluid motion I clobbered him over the head, long before his magic could take shape. I hadn't smashed his skull in, yet, but a concussion was guaranteed. Grunting he tumbled to the side, his arms flailing in an hopeless attempt to keep his balance. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead from his jet black hair when I considerately used my tails to pull his feet out from under him. Now he could rest comfortably for a while. Exertion after a knock on the head was truly dangerous. Unfortunately he fell backwards and the frozen ground wasn't much softer than the shaft of my spear. Oh well. He'd be up and kicking in no time unless I had severely underestimated his power, but for now he was mostly busy trying to remember his name and counting the amount of arms and legs he had to coordinate.

With a languid smile I met the panicked expression of his overly zealous girlfriend: "Where were we?" As I was contemplating whether or not to teach her an actual lesson I heard a soft, sweet voice behind me, almost cracking under the pressure of rushing through an intricate, alien incantation in the blink of an eye. I didn't even bother with turning around. A heartbeat later the delicate, cutting song of a sword reached me and bluish light, interwoven with tiny stars surged around me. I didn't even feel its touch but it sure looked impressive and judging from the deep gashes that suddenly appeared on the frozen ground there was some actual strength behind it. The spell was even powerful enough to spread across the tiny brook but there it encountered a wall of crimson flames that turned it into ash and memories. Now I did turn around.

The three girls had spread out, forming a broken semicircle. Up close I had to admit they were quite pretty in a cold, distant, fairy sort of way. With their long, ebony tresses dancing over soft, jade like skin, their blue robes billowing around their long legs and their dark eyes smouldering with defiance and determination they even looked eerily similar, like a group of geishas from the past. Somehow they had managed to produce new swords, even though I couldn't quite imagine where they had hidden the weapons before since I couldn't see the formations necessary for a spatial artefact. With their blades raised high, the willingness to suffer and die written plainly across their faces, they immediately struck a chord with me. Damn it. There went my enthusiasm.

"Sleep," I sighed and one by one they fell, their bright eyes already closing before they even hit the hardened snow. Unfortunately I had overdone it, as the quiet thuds, caused by my initial victims slumping to the ground, proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. They were gone and now I was standing at the centre of an unconscious group, weighing my spear in my hand like a goddamned idiot. By the Great Fox, waking them up only to punch them into unconsciousness again did seem rather petty. Shit. I had meant to drag this out for quite some time.

While I was still lamenting my lapse of control a warm, squirming bundle crashed into my back with much more force than any of my so called opponents had managed to exert. I stumbled and when Reia's white wings closed over my chest and her tails snaked around my legs I fell, the newly born angel still on top of me. Small arms tightened around my neck and as I spat out a mouthful of snow I felt her cheek press against mine, hot tears wetting my skin. Whether they were mine or hers I couldn't say. I had been just as scared for her as she had been for me and I had missed her just as much. An exquisite, burning ache formed in the pit of my stomach when I heard her whisper: "I'm so sorry. I'd never have… thank you. Thank you for coming back."