Animus

Chapter Sixteen - The Promised Beginning

I gazed at my reflection on the flat end of my scythe. I sighed and polished the full length of the blade. Weapons bound to your soul work a lot differently than conventional weapons but they are somewhat similar. For one, the blade still needed to be polished, for cosmetic sake, of course, but it never needed to be sharpened. Sharpness relied completely on the user’s willpower. Every Chiron and Hybrid can use the Animus ad a weapon, every one, it’s those who hone their skills are capable of becoming fierce warriors just like our ancestors used to be. Those who don’t train and were lazy, have weak weapons that would break just on contact with an Ing.

The holographic calendar across the room read that graduation had been moved to tomorrow in a different room. As a result, we were granted the day off. Some needed it, some slumped to the floor in relief after hearing Yumiya utter those words, and some expected another aptitude test just to see who would be standing. With the people that we lost yesterday, combined with the departures and deaths of others throughout the training, we were already at the optimal number of graduates, just as Yumiya planned.

My scythe disappeared from my hands and I jumped down from the top bunk of the bed to the floor. Claire was sitting in her usual spot, with the same book, the same mug, and the same uninterested eyes. She looked up and made eye contact with me before going back to her book again.

Her eyes, it was always her eyes that watched mine. The look I could see in them was intriguing. There was so much I didn’t know about Claire, but how much did she know about me?

I was about to find out.

“Hey,” I said, sitting down on the bench across from her.

She doesn’t glance up at me. I followed her grey eyes as they moved slowly from left to right as she completed another line in the book.

“You can’t keep this up forever. Why don’t you tell me about yourself? And why is your last name Mustang? Why—“

The book snapped shut and was slapped on the table catching me off guard.

“What’s your game?” she growled.

And there’s the bitch shield, my mind wandered. “I just wanted to get to know you better,” I said, innocently.

“Bullshit,” she spat, “no one comes to me unless they want something.”

A smirk formed on my face. Bitchface McGee had a bite to her. “So, by being an unlikeable bitch, do you think that people are going to like you ironically?” Her eyes went cold. She said nothing and started to pack up her stuff to leave. “You’re the only Clairvoyant here. Once you get that goddamn chip off your shoulder, I’m sure you’d be a pleasure to talk to.”

Claire turned to leave but sat back down. It looked like I had her attention because she seemed to relax and cross her arms across her, now noticeably ample, breasts. Jake, who was definitely the womanizer of my circle of friends, would see this as a green light and go in for the kill. Unlike Jake, however, I was much more tactful when it came to reading women and Claire was no different.

“What is it you want from me?” she asked.

“I should be asking you the same question.”

“What do you mean?”

“You called me here. Your eyes gave it away.”

Claire scoffed and shifted her weight to the side. She was trying to feign ignorance but I could see right through her little act.

“Well,” I said, “how about you tell me about yourself.”

“If it will get you quit pestering me, then fine. My name is Claire Mustang, daughter of Leon Mustang and currently the third highest scoring individual in the Garrison Training Corps.”