Playing with Fire [COMPLETED]

27 ~ darkened village's truths

I'm finally going home. And yet, this place .... Ruin's Court itself has become my true home.

The village is destroyed, just like Pain said it was. The houses and buildings are burned and blackened. Bodies line the streets, the corpses nothing more than smoky bones. The ground itself is ash, and the air is hot and humid, feeling almost sticky as I walk along the path that winds through the village.

Ruin walks beside me, and when we round a corner and start toward the other end of the street, a hissing sound can be heard behind us. Whirling around, Ruin draws a dagger and aims it in the direction of the hissing. But there is nothing there. No sign of anyone, no sign of anything. Then, there's a skittering sound behind us once more.

We both whirl around and I open my wings, getting ready to try and scare this thing off with them. Ruin stands beside me, his head on a swivel. He looks up at the sky, but we do not see anything up there, either.

A loud, earth-shaking roar cleaves the muggy air, and a huge beast leaps forth from the burnt trees, and storms up to us. The beast has scaly, dark green skin, and spikes going down along its spine. As it walks on all fours, it steps closer to us, the talons for its feet making loud slapping sounds against the stone below it. The beast has a long, sharp tail and barbs on the tip. And long, thin tendrils swirl and writhe from its back. The face of the beast is much like that of a snake, but its eyes .... They're human.

I step back, and Ruin stands still beside me, staring down the creature with an intense look in those eyes of his. The beast looks between us, and then, it makes a strange clicking sound, and it turns and walks toward the house behind it. It stalks toward the house, and I hear a whimper behind the walls of the house.

No .... someone's in there!

Ruin, sensing my fear and panic, leaps up and flies over the beast, then dives into the house through a shattered window and vanishing. The beast roars, slamming against the walls of the house, and it smashes its big, bulky body against it over and over again.

Then, Ruin flies out an upstairs window, carrying a girl in his arms. "Elorha, fly!"

"I can't!" I yell, my wings feeling more useless than they have ever felt.

Ruin lands beside me with a thud, and the beast seems to notice that its prey has gotten away. It turns slowly, and Ruin steps closer, grabbing my shoulder tight, and he wraps his wings around me. The beast throws itself at us, and then the night-kissed winds engulf us.

We appear in Death's Court, and Ruin sets down the girl he rescued. Death walks up to us, and the girl, upon seeing her, flinches. She shakes her head and says, "No! No! No, no, no, no, no!"

It's then that I realize who this white-haired girl is. Her pink eyes and white skin are so light that it's a bit unsettling. She looks nothing like who she is.

"Mirage?" I whisper.

She looks at me.  "Exie?"

"Oh my .... Mirage? Is that really you? You look so different!"

"Yeah," she says wryly.  "Death does that to you."

"Well, I died, too," I say, gesturing to my now-purple eyes and hair, and wings.

"Where are her wings?" Fear asks as he walks in.

"They come soon," says Ruin. "Once she accepts herself as one of us."

"One of you? What the fuck are you talking about?" Mirage demands.

"Mir, come down," I say.

"Stop, Exie," she snaps.  "You are not my sister anymore. You aren't even my friend anymore."

"My name is Elorha," I say.  "And I will always be your sister, not a stranger."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night," she says, shaking her head and scoffing.

"Mir, what happened to you?" I ask.

"Isn't that obvious?  Gods, we really were stupid to think we'd be safe with you being the one sacrificed. Maybe if we had let you be killed by the priests, we would not have been killed because of you."

"You don't mean that," I whisper.

"Then you truly don't know me, do you?"

"Stop it, Mirage," says Ruin, his jaw set as he glares at her.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!"

"And you don't get to attack your sister. She did what she thought was best to help you and her family. She did so much to ensure you're all safe."

"And she did such a great job at that, didn't she?" Mirage demands, glaring at Ruin and me.

"Stop," Death snaps.  "This is not helping anything."

"No, but it's cathartic." Mirage faces her.  "You need my help with something, don't you?"

"Yes," Death answers.  "Come with me."

Death, Fear, and Mirage leave the room, leaving me alone with Ruin.

"Are you okay?" Ruin asks, kneeling down as I sit down abruptly on a nearby chair. I shake my head.  Ruin sighs and sits down beside me.  "I'm sorry. I thought she'd relent when I explained that you'd done so much to help her."

"Yeah, well, she's right," I murmur.  "They should've just killed me."

"No," Ruin snaps.  "No, they shouldn't have. Don't ever say that again, Elorha. You are an amazing person, a person I would go through hell for. I'd do anything for you, Elorha. I don't want you to ever feel inadequate or unloved, I just want you to know how much you are loved. Please don't ever think you're unloved. You are so amazing, I.... I love you, Elorha. I don't want you to think for one second that you aren't worthy. I want you to remember that in the future."

He leans in and hugs me. I hug him back, and then....

We lean back, and .... we kiss.

His lips brush mine, and then, connect. He brings his hands up and cups my face, and the heat that blooms from where his fingers touch my cheeks grows. And I kiss him back, and as we kiss .... warmth blossoms between us. Suddenly, sparks burst from my hands, golden sparks that dance around us.

Ruin and I pull apart, and he laughs.  His voice is hoarse as he does, and he says, "I guess you and I are ...?"

I smile at him. "Is that your way of asking me out?"

He snorts.  "I suppose so."

"Then yes," I say.  "I would love to be with you."

He grins at me. "I'm glad. Because I would love to be with you, too."

I smile back at him. "I guess we should go see what is happening with the others."

Nodding, he stands up and offers me his hand. We then head off to see the others, and figure out what's happening next.