Of Love and Death.

The Present Chapter 9: Don't Mess With Pheng Pt. 3

Still two thousand, six hundred, and thirty two years ago

    Pheng was pretty sure he was already dead. That was probably because he had just seen two identical people below him looking up at him. Neither looked human. They'd both had blue skin and black wings that looked like a butterfly's. Their hair had been black, but braided with something that appeared to be ice. Which had to be impossible, right? After all, it was the middle of the summer in the heat of the day. They were both wearing the exact same clothes, too. A bluish black shirt and a dark black cloak that draped over their shoulders. They had on a long dark blue skirt and blue boots.

     What had really been surprising was when the person on the left had pushed the one on the right to the side and then changed into some sort of giant winged creature. That had been what had sealed the deal for Pheng that he was already dead.

     Then, for some strange reason, the now slightly monstrous creature flew up into the air, right towards where Pheng was, only a few seconds from hitting the ground. Pheng's eyes widened and he brought his arms up toward his face. Not that it would do anything if the thing wanted to eat him, but instinct is powerful. Pheng shut his eyes, not wanting to have to face his doom head on. Oh, it's gonna eat me. It's gonna eat me. It's gonna eat me!

     Pheng felt himself jerk in the air, momentarily getting the wind knocked out of him. He gasped, opening his eyes to see the winged beast looking at him, framed by the sky. He blinked a couple of times. This was odd, he was no longer falling to his death. Quickly, he realized that he was being held by his stomach. With a bit of effort, Pheng curled up, able to see that the creature had wrapped its feet around his abdomen.

     "Are you going to eat me?" Pheng asked, not that this thing was going to speak his language.

     "No," The creature said, causing Pheng to choke on his spit from surprise. He looked back up at the thing, very surprised. "My name's Form by the way," Form continued, speaking in an even voice.

     "I'm Pheng Hope," Pheng replied, awe in his voice. Craning his neck, he looked down at the other one of the creatures, who was standing with their arms crossed, looking up. Now that he was a bit closer to the ground, Pheng could see their fully black eyes. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he made eye contact. He only lasted a second longer before he looked back up at the sky, not able to stand it any more.

     I wonder why Form hasn't landed yet? Pheng wondered. The teenager glanced at Form's face, surprised to find it so expressive. He seemed almost scared, and definitely concerned. Almost like the shapeshifter didn't want to land near the blue person.

      With a start, Pheng remembered how Form had shoved past his, well, his something. Quite possibly an enemy to get to Pheng. Actually, they probably were enemies, which meant that Pheng was now caught between two supernatural creatures, and had probably been given a side. Given the look in that other one's eyes, however, Pheng was pretty sure he was on the right side. Thank goodness.

    Hang on a second! Pheng thought as he looked around the ground below him. He knew this specific part of the mountain really well. He'd spent some time here, setting some stuff up. Setting a lot of stuff up. It was supposed to be for his older brother, but, you know, things change.

     "Hey, Form, land right there, by that tree," Pheng instructed, pointing down at a particularly large and leafy fir tree. It was huge, really huge, and perfect for what Pheng had needed it to be. Which was, basically, a hiding spot.

    Form bobbed his head, giving Pheng a good look at his eyes. Before, he'd assumed they were dark brown, but now he could see their true color. A perfect jet black, all the way through. The teenaged boy gasped a bit, and then covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide his fear. Thankfully, Form didn't seem bothered and simply dove down.

   The wind blew by Pheng's face as he looked down toward the tree, still trying to process what was going on. His yellow eyes widened as he realized what was going to happen. Form was still a huge monster thing, almost certainly going to break the tree when he landed. Which wouldn't be a problem, per se, but Pheng did like this tree. Also, the falling top might spoil the trap. That would be a problem. A big one in fact.

     Also, you're coming in a bit fast, Pegasus noted in Pheng's head. Pheng looked down, wondering if his new friend was correct. As a matter of fact, he was! Pheng was about to get a body full of needles! This was going to hurt! Pheng closed his eyes and went limp. After all, you were more likely to survive a crash that way. He was pretty sure of that fact at least. Maybe he should double check it. 

      There was a whooshing sound, and Pheng felt his stomach be freed from the grasp of the monstrous Form. Only to be replaced a second later by what felt like a hand on his collar. Pheng opened his eyes to see he was dangling by his shirt, far above the ground. The fall didn't even terrify him anymore, after tumbling off of a cliff a minute earlier. He glanced up, and was surprised to see that Form had changed forms yet again.

     Hey, was there a connection between Form's name and what he did? Pheng would be surprised if there wasn't.

    Nevertheless, Form was holding Pheng's shirt with a human hand. It was situated in a long purple glove that went all the way up this guy's arm. Form's left hand was covered in an identical glove, and that hand was busy holding the top of the tree for Form. The guy was also wearing a long-sleeved shirt, although all Pheng could see of it between his purple vest and cloak was the gray sleeves. Speaking of the cloak, it was a darker shade of purple than Form's gloves, except for the rim which was the same. He had on white pants with dark purple boots. He also had a huge hat, colored the same. Dark purple base, lighter colored rim. Finally, Form completed the look with spiky white hair and a mask that covered half of his face.

      "Hello again!" Form said with a smile. Without breaking a sweat, Form pulled Pheng up and onto the same branch as him. Once they were standing next to each other, the shapeshifter tipped his hat.

     "Hi," Pheng said, out of breath from being tossed around so much. He looked down, and felt a glimmer of fear as he saw the butterfly winged person walking towards the tree. They were moving in such a way that made it clear they felt utterly confident. They knew they would get Form and Pheng up here, and they were going to flaunt that confidence. "So, um, what's that one's name?" Pheng asked while he waited for them to get over here.

       "That would be Cold," Form said, his voice had developed an edge to it that Pheng didn't like. His eyes had become hard and he was staring straight at his enemy. Whatever that woman had done to him must have been something horrific.

     Don't get on this guy's bad side, Pheng thought to himself. "Okay, Cold. Can she fly?" He asked, collecting a piece of information. It didn't necessarily affect what was about to befall Cold, but it might be nice to have in the future. Pheng had a feeling that he'd put a target on his back because of this.

     "Yes," Form said warily, "Will that be a problem for whatever you have planned? Also what do you have planned, I'm not too clear on that." Pheng smirked at the look of apprehension on this odd being's face. He turned away to face Cold, who was just coming to the bottom of the tree. She was looking up, and only a couple steps away from Pheng's trap.

     "Just watch," Pheng said, unable to keep the joy out of his words. He knew that this would work. He'd tested it himself, on himself. It was kind of fun if you knew what was coming. If not, well, he hoped it would be terrifying.