ShadowSong [Book 1 & 2: Complete] [NaNoWriMo16/17]

Chapter 1 - When the Bells Chime

Dedicated to @46Kibahime who is the sole reason I'm writing this at all. Kiba, this is 100% your fault and I'm pretty sure you are aware of this fact. 

She also writes pretty cool stuff so go check that out.

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After what could be classified as an all-round disaster of a day, Olivia Shadowheart was in her room, snuggled under the covers and watching the rain through her window.

It'd started off well enough. She'd been tired from staying up too late to finish her last bit of homework, but she'd made it through her morning routine with enough optimism to annoy Ericka on their way to school. With the rain making the ground slippery and covering Olivia's glasses in droplets, they'd been running late and tried to dash the last five minutes. Just inside the school grounds, Ericka had tripped, fallen, and taken Olivia down with her.

That might have been a minor problem of wet clothes for anyone else, but for Olivia, it'd meant a blackout in front of a crowd.

Just remembering it made her cringe. Olivia pulled the covers up over her face, trying to forget about it all over again when she felt a small hand on the top of her head.

She peeked out just enough to see the small, shadowy figure with violet eyes staring back at her.

"Don't mind me, Viri" Olivia mumbled through the blanket. "Just reliving this morning's embarrassment."

She held out a hand towards Viri, who materialised completely from the shadows to sit on Olivia's palm. The Ascended's cloth-wrapped body wasn't much bigger than Olivia's hand. She fit comfortably, her ethereal legs elegantly tucked under her body in a way only achievable because they weren't physically connected. Like her arms--now placed on her lap--Viri's legs floated free of her torso while still maintaining her humanoid shape.

"Why are you embarrassed?" asked Viri, her voice not at all muffled by the cloth covering the lower part of her face.

"One blackout would have been bad enough," said Olivia, rolling onto her stomach. "But two in one day, plus being late, plus being soaked and then just seeing nothing but pity for the rest of the day?" She sighed. "I hate having everyone think I'm going to break all the time."

Viri drifted forward and hugged the side of Olivia's face. "I don't think you're fragile."

Olivia pouted. "You're about the only one. I mean, you heard my parents when I got home. You have to be careful, you have to let other people help you." She sat up and crossed her legs under her. "If only they knew I didn't need protecting, if they knew that I'm a--"

She cut off with a gasp as the tattoo on her sternum went cold.

Not just a regular kind of chill, either. This cold bit deep into her chest, driving the breath out of her.

A Manifested was active, and it was close.

Olivia grinned.

"And speaking of which," said Olivia, tapping the centre of her tattoo twice with the tip of her finger. A few seconds later, she received her reply--two identical vibrations that echoed across her sternum. "Maybe today won't be a complete disaster after all."

"Are we dealing with the Manifested?" asked Viri, floating beside Olivia as she slipped out from under the blankets and stepped onto the rug.

"It's close, so I don't see why not." With as little noise as she could manage, Olivia unlocked the door leading to her balcony, giving the area outside a cursory glance. The rain was heavy enough that she didn't have to worry about being seen. "And honestly, I'm going to go crazy if we have to sit back and let the other Lumi's deal with it. We didn't save any Manifested last week."