«»«[Danny]»«»
My feet collided with the soggy ground as I ran. Heart racing, I spotted an alley ahead and darted around the corner. The ground was damp, and some water seeped into my shoe, wetting my socks. I stopped, out of breath. I leaned against the brick wall. My blood was pumping, and the air smelled like it does after it rains. Was that supposed to be one of Seamus' training exercises? That was terrifying.
I inched forward a bit, peering around the wall. A girl with long black hair stood about twelve feet away. What was her name again? I swear we had met before. Her head was bent; she was staring at something on the ground. Without warning, her head snapped up. Her blue eyes were searching for something. She held a small dagger with a blue hilt. I hoped she wasn't planning on using that thing.
A drop of water left over from the rain slid down the side of the abandoned brick building that I was leaning against. It made its way down and landed on my head. The impact made me flinch, and the sudden movement drew the girl's attention to where I was standing. Shoot.
She took a few steps in my direction. I looked at her, scanning her eyes for any emotion, but her striking blue gaze revealed nothing. I stayed silent and perfectly still, hoping she would think nothing of it and simply walk away. No such luck. The girl crept even closer and I braced myself, gripping my dagger. She would find me any minute now. The girl bent down, looking at something. I relaxed for a moment, glad that she was distracted.
As soon as I relaxed, the girl sprang at me. I let out involuntary shriek, surprised. She dropped the dagger, punching me in the stomach instead. The air was knocked out of me and I gasped for air. The girl stood up and backed away a few inches. I scrambled to get to my feet and lost my hold on my own dagger. I looked at her. She wore a smirk and her hair was ruffled slightly.
"You gonna fight back?" The girl asked. Her voice betrayed just a hint of impatience. Without a word, I teleported behind her. Hydro-teleported? I don't know. She blinked, confused, then figured out what must've happened. The girl whipped around and reached out, touching my hand. Before I could flinch away, a piercing cold washed over me, and I glanced down at my hand. It was...frozen? What the heck?
I concentrated hard, trying to summon a shark. A bead of sweat ran down my neck, and half of a shark made of water appeared. The girl snorted.
"Nice half-shark." She commented.
"I try." I said, teleporting behind her. Much to my dismay, my hand was still frozen.
"You have got to stop doing that." The girl muttered, spinning around. I put up a hydrokinetic shield so she couldn't freeze my hand again. Instead of going where it was supposed to, it appeared under me.
"Oh, come on!" I shouted. The girl chuckled, then bent down to touch the shield. It froze over, and I found myself slipping and sliding. Finally, I fell on my back. Ouch.
"Ehm...help?" I squeaked.
"You're pathetic." She replied, clearly trying not to laugh. The girl bent down, reaching out and grabbing my hand to help me up. I stood, almost slipping again. Seamus appeared to my left and reached out to steady me. I shot him a confused look, as I thought he could only teleport to places where there was water present. All there was here was ice.
"The half-shark is made of water." The trainer said.
"Oh, yeah...you like it?" I stepped off the ice.
"It's...rather different."
"What he means is, it's a poor attempt and you suck." The girl added.
"Gee, thanks." I mumbled.
"Leave him alone, Cliste – at least he didn't freeze the entire pool." Seamus shot back.
"That was you?" I said.
"Uh...maybe?" Cliste replied, her cheeks growing red with embarrassment. I burst out laughing, and she shot me a glare. "It's not funny."
"It kind of is." Seamus responded.
"Whatever." Cliste huffed, crossing her arms. "I should just freeze both of you right here."
"I think you've done enough freezing for one day." Seamus said, looking around at all the ice. I gazed up at the sky, which was darkening quickly.
"Maybe we should start to head back. It's getting dark." I noted.
"Come on, kids." Seamus shouted, already starting to walk back to the dorms.
"I don't know about him," Cliste said, referring to me. "But I'm not a kid. I'm seventeen!"
"I'm not, either. Last I checked, I was sixteen."
"Just get moving!" Seamus yelled. I stayed where I was, focusing on my dorm. It took a lot of concentration, but when I next opened my eyes, I was standing in the middle of my room.
«»«[Cliste]»«»
"Where'd he go?" Seamus inquired, wondering where his other charge was."
"I think he teleported." I sighed.
"Of course he did." The Imber trainer mumbled, continuing to walk.
«»«[Danny]»«»
Swiftly, I entered my bathroom and ran my hand under warm water, thawing it. Once all the ice had melted, I walked out of the cramped bathroom. I walked over to the light switch. It looked so gloomy in here when it was dark. Humming, I flicked on the light and approached my green radio. I took out "Wild World", Bastille's new album, and put in "#3" by The Script. As the familiar first notes of Good Ol' Days began to play, a hooded figure burst through my window.
Frozen with fear, I bit back a scream as the person drew a small dagger with a ruby hilt. Suddenly curious, I stepped forward, lifting the red hood off of the person's head. Fiery amber eyes stared back at me.
"...Brother?"
«»«[No POV]»«»
A tall blonde woman with pale blue eyes sat at the end of the white table. She wore a white dress shirt, her hands clasped on the surface in front of her. The woman's pale skin was possibly the darkest thing in the room; bright lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating every corner of the small area.
At the other end of the table sat a man. He had a dark brown buzzcut and searching hazel eyes. His skin was a light shade of brown. The man wore a black suit accompanied by a red tie and a white undershirt. He, too, had his hands clasped on the table.
" I don't understand. What do you want from my faction that your lowly group of peasants can't give you?" The woman barked, irritated. Her accent was heavy, as it usually was when she was angry.
"Whoa. There's no need to be so hostile, now, is there?" The man said, faking an innocent smile. "I just want an alliance."
"I know you. You wouldn't try to form a partnership unless it served you, and only you." The woman took a deep breath, then stated in an icily calm voice, "So I'll ask you again. What do you want?"
"I told you. I want to form an alliance."
"If that's really what you want, then here's my answer: no."
"Then we'll have to do this the hard way." The man announced, grasping a knife he had hidden in his back pocket. He stood up, walking over to the woman, the knife hidden at his side. Once the man was a few steps away, he stopped.
"Farewell." The man growled, lunging for the woman.
YOU ARE READING
Odium
Fantasy"I don't understand. What do you want from my faction that your lowly group of peasants can't give you?" The woman barked, irritated. Her accent was heavy, as it usually was when she was angry. "Whoa. There's no need to be so hostile, now, is there...
