Pyrus: War

Calm Before The Storm

A few hours later, I am stalking yet another scout hideout. My friends are all crouched around me. There is no secrecy this time. We're going in, full force. I look at River. She is waiting impatiently. She looks back at me and raises an eyebrow. I smile and nod. With a loud whoop, we all run into the camp, flinging magic everywhere. The scouts, caught unprepared, are massacred. Our power has grown by an
insane amount, and in a matter of mere seconds, we quickly reduce the 2,000 scouts to nothing but lifeless bodies.
  Then comes the warrior. I take a ready stance, my friends at my back. "Surrender now, or we'll take you by force," I threaten. The Soul Hunter just laughs. He sends a wall of dark magic at all of us. But he underestimated our abilities. Working as one, we all put up shields. To my relief, the darkness bounces right off. I smirk at the warrior. He yells in outrage.
  We begin unleashing an assault on him. Rocks and fire and water and air pelt him, keeping him at bay. Sky and Gale quickly create invisible binds around him. He yells and thrashes, groping for his weapons. But Rocky doesn't let him. A huge chunk of rock lands squarely on his forehead, knocking the Soul Hunter out cold. I smile at Rocky.
  A few minutes later, our unconscious prisoner is floating on a bed of air behind us. Gale makes sure to "accidentally" drop him a couple times.
  "Gale, stop. We want him alive, remember?" I scold. She rolls her eyes.
  "Last time I checked, nobody's ever died of being dropped from a couple feet," she retorts. "ESPECIALLY not an 'all-mighty' Soul Hunter warrior. Right?" She shakes our prisoner, his body clanging into the sides of his armour. He lets out a groan.
  We all walk back to the Sanctuary and, as usual, are met by people cheering. I can feel my cheeks turning red, but do my best to hide my embarrassment. I really don't see what the big deal is, but if the people are pleased, who am I to interfere?
  We drag the warrior up to he training room and tie him up. "Alright, here's how things are going to work. You answer my questions, and I will consider reducing you're prison time. Clear?" I demand angrily. When he doesn't answer, I rip of his helmet, revealing his faceless black head. The only distinguishable features are his mouth, which curls into an evil smile, and his ears. He spits in my face.
  "Yuck!" I yell, wiping black goo of my face. I start toward him angrily, about to smack him across his black head, when suddenly, a small drop of water floats into his ear. He shudders a moment then relaxes. River has her arm outstretched, concentrating very hard. She nods at me.
  "Ok, you are going to answer my every question. Got that?" I try again. He nods hypnotically. "Perfect. Now, what is the deal with you guys kidnapping sorcerers?"
  His answer causes me to crumple in shock.
----------------------------------------------------
  I lie there on the floor, unable to move, for a period of time I can not make out. The outer world is irrelevant. All that matters to me right now is what happened, what Decimator is doing. I an suddenly aware of sitting upright. Someone must have sat me up. I hear voices, but do not understand them. I just sit there, staring off into nothingness, the weight of the entire magical kingdom on my shoulders.
  Water splashes all over my face. I suddenly snap out of my trance, coughing and shaking water off of my face. Lilly, Gale, Sky, and Flora looks worriedly down at me, and Rocky and River stand over our prisoner.
  "Pyrus? Pyrus?!" Gale yells frantically. I groan and wipe water off my face.
  "Yeah?" I say softly.
  "Are you all right?" she asks, concern etched in her face. I just shrug.
  "Hey guys? Maybe we should just kinda let him be," Flora suggests.
  Sky looks at me. "You OK with that?" she asks. I shrug a again.
  She nods. "Alright then. We'll let you be. Come on, let's go give Hurricane the news. She deserves to know." Everyone walks out, leaving me alone in the training room. Alone with my enemy, with one of the creatures that did this.
  I can't bear it. His face is a taunt, worsening everything. I did this. It was MY fault. All of it. I hug my knees into me and shove my face against them. My fault. All my fault. The weight of the world seems to be pressing against my chest, and I can't take it. I feel like I'm cracking under the pressure. If only I had acted sooner, acted quicker, acted smarter. I could have stopped it.
  I stumble up the stairs to look for Firebolt. I find him sitting with Vulcan on the roof. "Firebolt?" I croak. He turns his head and glares.
  "Look who finally has time to see me," he snaps, his voice full of venom. I wince. That stung.
  "I'm-I'm," I stammer. When he shoots another glare at me, I finish softly, "I'm sorry." After looking at him sadly, I open the hatch and start to walk downstairs.
  "Wait, Pyrus!" Firebolt calls from behind me. I stick my head out of the hatch and see Firebolt looking down at me. "It's OK," he says. I smile and give him a hug, and start crying.
  I wipe the tears from my face and look at Firebolt. "Um, there's something I need to tell you," I say, grasping him by his shoulders.
  He tilts his head curiously. "Well, what is it?" he asks.
  I lead him back to the roof, beside Vulcan. "Get comfortable, Firebolt. This is a bit of a story," I say.
  "You know how we launched that mass raid on the castle?" I ask him. He nods. "Well, they had prisoners. Lots of magic prisoners. I paid them no heed, assuming that they would get out." I shake my head and begin to sob. "Well, I was wrong. The warrior we captured stayed back to take the prisoners and-and execute them. If I'd not been so ignorant, so stupid..." I start wailing. Firebolt puts a sympathetic paw on my shoulder.
  "I saw them, Firebolt, I saw them! I watched him lead them away, heard them screaming...and I did NOTHING!" I scream.
  "Aww, Pyrus, it wasn't your fault! You didn't kill them!" Firebolt counters. He smiles sadly.
  I sniffle. "Yes, it is." I look at Firebolt. "I'm not ready for this. I never will be. I'm not that great leader Richard thinks I am. I'm not fit to lead us."
  "Pyrus, you are the most qualified of all! You're his grandson! Of course you're qualified!" Firebolt says.
  "I don't care! I don't care who I am! I'm not the leader the Sanctuary needs. I will never be," I proclaim, crying. "Do you know how many innocent people died because of me? I'm the most useless leader on the planet." I press my palms into my eyes.
  "Pyrus, you are the best leader the Sanctuary is going to get. We need YOU," Firebolt soothes. I cry in response. "Come on. To your room. You need some sleep." I nod and slowly walk to my room.
  I flop down on my bed lazily, the warrior's words ringing in my head. I eventually drift off into sleep.
  When I wake, Firebolt is curled up at my feet, snoring, his chest rising and falling. "Morning," I whisper to him. He lets out a snort-snore, sleepily raising his head and blinking.
  "Goom morgib," he mumbles, still half asleep. I chuckle and shake my head, quickly preparing his breakfast. THAT seems to wake him up. He greedily devours it.
  I pat him on the head. "Ok, I'm going to call a meeting to discuss some stuff, but I promise, I'll come hang with you first chance I get. Deal?" He nods.
  Satisfied, I walk out to post the council meeting on the notice board. Today I wear black robes, to mourn the prisoners who were killed by my hand. Or at least, by my ignorance. It feels almost as if I were the one who ended their happy lives.
  I shake my head, trying to clear the guilt. I need to think straight, and I can't if my thoughts are elsewhere.
  "Hey." I jump. The voice startled me. It's Gale. She gives an amused smile. "How are you feeling?"
  "Like crap," I reply, grinning. "Not much difference from usual."
  She nods. "No, definitely not. After all, your emotions work in accordance with your brain." She snickers.
  "Then you must not HAVE emotions," I retort. She punches me. I rub my arm.
  "So what's this?" Gale says, looking at the notice board. "Council meeting?"
  I nod. "I need some input on the whole...situation," I say, looking at my feet. Gale puts a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.
  "You know it wasn't your fault," she whispers. I shrug.
  "Whatever," I say softly. "Anyway. How're things?"
  "Nice subject change. I'm ok. You?"
  I sigh. "You know how I'm doing."
  She rolls her eyes. "Jeez, Pyrus. Get over yourself already."
  "It's not that simple," I tell her.
  She throws her hands up in the air. "Guh. I give up," she says, walking away.
  "Gale," I call after her. "Sorry. I'm being a stubborn ass."
  "You got THAT right," she mutters under her breath, but comes back.
  "Ok, ok. I get it. Let's go to the meeting room, shall we?" I conclude.
  She nods. "No kidding."
  We take our seats in the meeting room, and wait for the others to come in. Lilly is first, followed by Flora, Sky, and Rocky. Next is Shark. Soon, we're all here, and the meeting begins.
  "Okay, so, we took over a castle, got some people killed, and we have several prisoners. What now?" I begin.
  "They won't be very happy with all of this," Hawk comments.
  "No shit," Gale mutters. Hawk shoots her a glare.
  "My point is, we need to be ready for retaliation. We know there are 5 people capable of getting in here," Hawk finishes.
  Lilly frowns at the memory. "Boy, would I like to clobber them."
  Gale raises a hand. "Me personally, I'd rather shove sharpened sticks up their asses. All for?"
  I chuckle. "Heh. Hawk does have a point though. I'm going to need to see if I can modify the spell a bit."
  "But what if they DO attack?" Flora asks nervously.
  "Well, they aren't getting past me," Rocky tells her confidently. She smiles at him and he blushes. Does he...oh my gosh he does! I look at Sky. She's shaking her head. I raise my eyebrows up and down. She fake-gags.
  "If I may, I'd like to suggest having sentries," Shark says. "So that we can see when they come."
  "We'd also need an improved medical bay. More nurses, more rooms, etc." Dolphin puts in.
  I nod. "These are all great ideas. I'll see to them being done. Adults, you are free to go. I'd like to hold back the rest for a bit."
  My teachers nod and leave. "Right then. Two things. First of all, should we invite Hurricane in?" I ask.
  Everyone nods. "We'll need someone with outsider knowledge," River observes.
  "Great. Second of all, I think we need to go to The Orb soon, to bring back the old days," I add.
  "How about tomorrow night?" Sky suggests.
  "Sounds good to me," Gale agrees.
  Tomorrow night rolls around quickly. I dress in my red robe and make a quick attempt to brush my hair. Screw that. I grab Firebolt and head out the door.
  As usual, the square is our meeting place. Gale and Ash are already waiting, as are Lilly and Frost. The two girls are in deep conversation.
  "Yo," I say. They turn to face me.
  "Pyrus, do you ever NOT wear that robe?" Lilly asks me, shaking her head.
  I grin. "Well, yes, but you really don't want to see me when I don't."
  They wrinkle their noses in disgust. I roll my eyes. "Don't be disgusting. I mean, when I don't wear it, I'm wearing my old deer skin junk." Firebolt nods enthusiastically, as if to prove my point.
  "Trust me. Those things look worse than a mauled, well, anything," Firebolt comments. I nudge him, reminding him the others can't understand, and he quickly asks Frost to translate. She does, and Lilly snickers. She snickers again when she tells Gale.
  The others slowly show up, including Flora on Gust. We then walk down to the Orb. The sun is just beginning to set, making the sky look ablaze. The gardens are full of life. The Sanctuary is as beautiful as ever.
  At the Orb, I decide to stray a bit from just Honeywine. I'm able to get us all discounts, which is nice. I order myself a nice steak, and a chocolate cake for all.
  The Honeywine is first to arrive. Firebolt sits patiently at the side of my chair. He keeps bumping my leg with his snout, so I finally relent and give him a spoonful of ice cream. He licks his chaps contentedly and lets out a large burp. We all laugh.
  "Humans," Firebolt mutters, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
  Our main courses arrive shortly after. Steak, chicken and roast boar are set in front of the appropriate people. Pets gobble down scraps. Firebolt repeatedly nags me for strips of steak. The steak is incredible, crispy and smoky on the outside and flavourful and tender on the inside.
  Last but not least comes the cake. It is an elegant work of art. Berries line the icing of the double layer cake. It is rich, soft, and sweet. I wolf a slice down faster than I would have liked.
  The rest of the evening is spent strolling through the Sanctuary and chatting. The orange sky above casts a dim, shimmering light down on us, making the trees seem to sparkle. A pair of fairies flutter around in the gardens. Our pets run and play ahead of us. The bell chimes 12 times, signalling the end of our evening. I tell Gale and River to meet me at the tower tomorrow for assistance with our new security features.
  Firebolt and I return home. "Now THAT was an evening," I comment.
  "Mm," Firebolt mumbles. He looks like he's in a trance. I shake my head.
  "What do you think of Frost?" I ask slyly.
  "Steak," he replies dreamily. I laugh.
  "Off to bed for you," I tell him, still chuckling. He nods, absent-minded. I climb into my bed and pass out myself.