The Anima [completed]

24.

24.

The night came quickly, two hours gone as soon as my head hit the pillow for a power nap. Alvar had fallen to sleep beside me, but we had shared no further kisses. It remained a sweet and innocent moment. We had not spoken of it, or it's meaning, and simply both drifted off to sleep.

When we did finally stir awake, it was to the loud booming voice of Beast as he barged uninvited into the room.

"It's time to go!" He screamed like a madmen, making Alvar and I shoot up from the soft blankets.

"Yes!" Alvar said quickly, brushing imaginary dirt off his glamoured clothes.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably as Beast raised a brow at our previous close proximity. Alvar pulled me from the bed and eyed my clothing.

"We will get you some new clothes on the way. There is a night market along these parts. I believe its Fae friendly."

"Fae friendly?" I asked Alvar, scrunching my nose.

"Mmm," Lucius' head popped into the room, "It's run by half breeds. They allow Fae in from time to time, as long as we don't expose anyone by causing a fuss."

"Wonderful." I grinned, "Now I can get out of this thing." I picked at the now horrid dress that clung to my body like cling wrap. I still hadn't even showered, and while the rest of the group smelt fine, the stench of body odour and dirt stuck to me like a disease.

"Ay. You're beginning to stink." Lucius said, as if hearing my thoughts.

I sneered at him and stuck my tongue out.

"Well let's go then."

After checking out and heading down the stairwell, we emerged into a brightly lit street, neon colours flashing wildly in the night. From a mortal's perspective, everything about it looked normal, innocent. There were stalls lining the streets, from candy to jewellery, from fortune telling to home décor; but beneath the glamour was an army of Fae, or half Fae. Out of the corners of my eyes, a normal man would flash bright red and another would grow a tail and hiss. Alvar and Lucius received the brunt of the Fae assault. 

As we passed quickly through the market, many half breeds shouted words at us, spat at the men's feet and even threw food at us. All the while Alvar held me close to his side and shielding me whenever an object was thrown our way. I was not sure where the hatred was fuelled from, but it seemed to be only the half-breeds that acted in such a manner.

In a minute or so, we had approached a clothing stall. This one was different to the rest; no dresses hung flowing like drapes from the tent ceiling, and was instead filled with leather jackets and heavy jeans. I ran my hand over a rack of leather coats and realised that they were all real leather and therefore very expensive. I withdrew my greasy hand with a grimace.

"Pick out whatever you like, money is no issue. It needs to be thick and strong but also flexible; you may need to fight in the Shadow Plane and I don't think you can do it in that dress..." Alvar looked me up and down, entering the stall behind me; "You can also get shoes if you like. This place has steel toes out the front."

He left the same way he came, leaving me to rows of clothing and a tiny change room. Not wanting to luxuriate, I picked out my size in bike pants; more flexible than the average pair of jeans, a long sleave black skivvy and a black leather jacket. I dressed quickly, not fussed if I looked strange wearing all black, and bundled the dress up in my hands. I exited the shop and threw it in the nearest trashcan.

"Is that all for today?" A thin voice said from behind me. I turned to find the owner of the shop, a frail older looking man with a peculiar set of bug eyes and eyelashes that curled halfway up his forehead, staring at me from behind the temporary counter. He was definitely a half-breed.

"Uh, yes!" I gave him a small smile and moved to the shoe rack out the front of the stall. "Do you have any running shoes? Size 9.5?"

"I believe we do." He raised a brow at my shoe size and stared at my feet. Compared to my height, I knew they were larger than usual. He picked up a pair of brown joggers, rustic looking, perhaps second hand, but my size. "Here you are."

I grabbed a pair of socks from the counter side; blue one's with bananas on them, and slid the shoes on. They were a good fit and comfortable. Although Alvar had mentioned steel toes, and I knew the ointment that had been applied to my feet made my soles as hard as cement, I only wanted shoes that would give me extra grip when climbing and hiking through unknown terrain. Steel toes would only slow me down if I ever needed to run.

"I'll go get Alvar to pay." I said with a smile, proud of the items I had snagged.

"He has already taken care of that. He told me to tell you he will be waiting a few stalls down." The thin old man nodded down the path where I could see the fiery hair of Beast poking up through the crowd.

I wove through the exotically dressed crowd and found myself wondering where the portal was. It scared me slightly that it could be like the other ones I had encountered; completely invisible and easily accessible. Perhaps people also disappeared to the Shadows, not just to the First Plane.

"Over here!" Lucius' call sounded to my right.

I flicked my curls out of my eyes and started towards the three men standing in front of a weaponry stall. Quirking a brow, I stepped closer to examine the table they all were transfixed on. The wooden surface was covered in all sorts of blades; daggers, knifes, and even swords, while another table held guns and arrow heads, glinting under the flashing bright lights which dangled over the counter tops.

"Pick anything you like." Alvar whispered into my ear, his hand on my lower back. Tingles crawled up my spine like a thousand tiny ants.

"Anything?" I whispered, running my hand over the sharp blades on the table.

"Anything."

I waisted no time in plucking a short blade I had been admiring from a distance. It was a hunting knife; sharp on one side and serrated on the other, but it had been adapted. The hilt was wrapped in brown leather and the blade itself glinted blue under the light. It was no man made metal and I knew it was lethal. Not stopping to ask Alvar how much money I could use, I plucked a holster for the blade from another table and strapped it to my thigh. 

I heard the men whisper from behind me, but I did not care; I was too focused on carefully selecting my weapons. My training back home had occasionally extended to weapons such as knifes, guns and even the rare lesson of archery. My fingers found their way to a small set of silver knuckle busters, sharpened to triangular points on the tips. They slid onto my fingers, a perfect fit.

The guns glinted invitingly, offering protection, but the churning in my gut made me falter. The great danger of owning a gun, especially when entering a dangerous location, is that it can be used against you. Any weapon carried on a person's body can be snatched and turned against them, but being held at gunpoint was deadlier than being held by a knife. So I shook my head and instead grabbed another small set of blades, one that could be hidden under the strap of my bra and another that could go into my waistband.

Turning to face the Fae men, I was met only by wide eyes and parted lips. No words slipped off their tongues but surprise was written all over their faces. As Alvar robotically handed an extremely short female with a stunted nose the money, I sighed heavily.

"I told you I used to train at home." I said to Alvar, shrugging my shoulders.

"You didn't tell me you knew how to handle a weapon." He breathed a sigh, running his hand through his hair.

"You never asked." I grinned at his discomfort and pushed past the men, still frozen in shock. "Come on. We've got a portal to find."

And then I walked a head of them, not a care in the world if I was going in the wrong direction or walking towards certain death. 

-

-

-

-

Short one today, but some action pact ones in the future.

Comment your thoughts!

Vote if you enjoyed :)

xx Charli