Young Blood (PART ONE OF THREE)

Ashes, Ashes

3. Ashes, Ashes.

Vaan woke up the next morning with a long stretch, and he walked over to the mirror on his form room wall he frowned. His red and black hair was sticking up at odd angles and, GOOD GOD.  

IS THAT A ZIT?

Then he began to laugh, and he laughed so hard he woke up Song. "Uh, what are you doing?" The shape shifter asked.

Vaan grinned and a few chuckles escaped his lips. "It's good to worry about simple things like zits for once," He told his friend. He ran a comb through his hair, and luckily his bangs covered the zit on his forehead.

When the two boys entered the lounge they notice the sever lack of people, but heard plenty of voices. Song looked through one of the windows and saw a crowd of students and some teachers surrounding someone. "Uh, Vaan. I think we should go outside."

"What?" Vaan raised a curious eyebrow, but before he got close enough to the window Song grabbed his wrist and pulled him outside where the followed a few other students to the group.

In the center was Carter. Her wings were torn up and he face was bloody. Everyone was crowding around her, asking what happened during the 'raid'. She just sat there on the ground, shaking her head no and sort of rocking back and forth. She looked like she could have a nervous breakdown and completely lose it any second. So Vaan pushed through the crowd and helped her stand. "Someone get a nurse!" Song shouted, and he took Carter's other arm.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Song said as they sort of carried her to the infirmary. Carter coughed and blinked up at him. "They tortured me, Song. They saw me flying before I saw them." Song gulped and looked at Vaan on the other side of the fallen avian. Vaan, puzzled, asked, "Wait, weren't you with Mandy?"

Carter didn't answer and stared down at her feet. A nurse walked up to her and pulled up her chin, pointing a flashlight in her eyes, and then wiping of dried blood from her face. "I'll take it from here, boys," she said, and she wrapped Carter's right arm around her shoulder and walked her into the infirmary an sat her on a bed.

Vaan and Song stood in the door way as the nurses cleaned up Carter and all their other patients. "I'm so tired of this," Song whispered. 

Vaan nodded. "We need to figure out how to deal with Samuel, Song. We need someone to help us, very badly."

Celeste laughed. "Oh, wow. What are you, twelve?" She was nearly dying of laughter, but stopped suddenly when she saw the serious expression in Vaan's face. "Listen, Fiore, I really don't know. We would need, like, Selena herself to defeat him," She admitted. "And look where he got her."

"But she was immortal! That's what I don't understand," Vaan questioned furiously. "She can't just die."

Celeste shrugged. "Everyone can die, Vaan. Even a goddess." 

Vaan crosses his arms and opened his mouth in an angered his, baring his white fangs. He stared her down until she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright," Celeste gave in. "There have always been legends that say she died when she have Samuel immortality. But in some even tribes, like the ones from Scotland, for example-"

Song rose his hand to stop her. "You mean, like your family?" 

Celeste nodded and continued, "Some Scottish Elvin tribes say that even the most Ancient Magicks live on without taking on a physical embodiment."

Vaan looked dumbfounded. 

"What?"

"Like she's a ghost."

He opened his mouth so it was shaped like a big 'o'.

Celeste leaned forward on the table and flipped her blonde braided hair over her shoulder and looked him dead in the Wes and said, "But if this is true, that means she can be reborn."

Song slapped his hand on the table and grinned. "I remember reading something about ancient Magick in history once," He turned to Vaan. "She could put her body in a humans and turn back in to the goddess he once was. No limitations."

"Why not a Gifted body?" Vaan asked curiously.

"Well," Celeste spoke for Song. "Say she put her soul into a vampire’s body. She'd be limited to vamp abilities. Same for a shifter or even a gifted human. She needs a regular human form that is strong enough to handle Ancient Magick."

Vaan bit his lip and pondered the thought of it all for a moment. He wondered if there was a way to summon Ancient Magick to him and ask for her help. He also began to wonder if she would even help at all.

Legends had always said Selena was a kind goddess, that she had died peacefully and would grace her children peacefully in her death.

But...what if Samuel had killed her?

She wouldn't be such a kind goddess after that, would she?

"Vaan? Hello?"

Vaan snapped out of it and looked at Celeste. "I think we have to find her, if this Ancient Magick stuff is the real deal. She's really our only chance," He decided. Song nodded beside him and Celeste just rolled her cold blue eyes.

"Okay, but if you find anything, talk to-" Celeste was cut off by another girls squeal of joy.

"Oh god, why?" Song muttered under his breath as a tiny pink hair girl ran up an gave him a big involuntary hug.

"Song! How're you, baby?!" She smiled at Song with sub adoration Vaan almost felt sorry for the poor girl since the feelings weren't mutual. At least not like had been a few years ago.

"I'm great, Lizzy. But could you please leave for a moment? We were discussing something über important."

Lizzy frowned but nodded and skipped over to a table several yards away. She talked to some random students and they seemed genuinely okay with her.

"Did she used to be super quiet?" Celeste asked, pointing at Lizzy over her shoulder.

Vaan and Song both nodded and groaned.

"Anyway, you were saying we should find whom?" song said, getting back to the matter at hand.

"I recommend if you did anything, talking to Mr. Sullivan," She began to whisper. "I think he could help out."

The two boys nodded and snuck off before Lizzy could notice.