Chaos Bender

Cairo-practer

I limped towards Crow who made his way to a nearby log to sit on, I slowly sat next to him, despite the pain from moving. Crow looked more roughed up than me, but I decided not to say anything about it.

"You saw that ?" I said, still in disbelief. Looking up in the direction they flew. I've never seen anything like that before, she just sprouted wings and flew !

"Yeah, yeah I did." Crow said with the same amount of disbelief in his face. There was a long pause between us that I didn't mind. The rhythm of the forest, with it's nocturnal creatures buzzing and chirping, helped me get over the pain.

"Noctis," he said all of a sudden. It took me out of my daze and I responed generically, "what ?"

"Noctis, that's my real name. My name before I was captured." He lowered his head, his attention on the dark grass.

"Down in the FPA facility, they didn't care what my name was. To them I was TS-87. "Crow". In there, all the test subjects stuck with the names of their animal form. In there I met Sylvia, who refused to be called Snake. "Trust no one, if you want to get out alive, follow what I say without question" she'd say. She didn't trust any of her inmates, but she needed me and a few others to escape. After a few close calls and a lot of effort, we escaped. I remember how happy I was escaping that despicable place. Everyone went their separate ways. I decided to stay with Sylvia. She resented the idea at first, but with persistence, a lot of persistence, she let me come along. She taught me how to avoid the FPA, take what I need from them, and how to leave without leaving a trace. We got close over time. Then one day we were ambushed, and had no where to run."

I listened intently to his story, this must be why he is so untrusting.

"She told me to escape while she held them off. She knew how much I hated running away, but there was no arguing. "Go now, before I kill you where you stand" she said. Those were the last words I heard from her before her recapture."

His tale, though tragic, surged worry in me. The doves went after Alex, we had to do something.

I forced my way up, leaving the closest thing I could call comfort.

"We have to go save them." I tried to hide my grimace or any sign of pain, but he saw right through that. He released a big sigh.

"I didn't tell you that story so you could charge in."

"Why not ? Why are we even here right now !? You could've shifted into a Crow and followed her while I run after them."

"I'm too hurt to shift right now, thanks for asking. And I told you that story because-" he took a pause before continuing, as if reconsidering what he what he was going to say.

"Because, it's my way of telling you that I trust you." He looked straight into my eyes. That was the most sincere thing I've heard him say. From the beginning, he had a rough time trusting anyone. It filled me with a feeling, I could only describe as a sort of joy. That was just the start.

"I trust you too." I said with a smile. A smile that quickly disappeared.

I clenched at a sudden pain from inside, gravity seemed to force me to my knees. My first instinct was to clench my eyes shut, but I rebelliously kept them open. My brand, much like Alex's shined brightly, yet mine was blue instead of red. The pain of my right arm was intense, almost unbearable. I felt it. The magic building up and up, ready to burst. I felt another type of energy... Natural energy clashing as well. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I let out a piercing scream. The shackles exploded and electricity surged everywhere. My vocal cords ached but I still yelled. Immense pressure on my back. The only reason I didn't claw at my back was because lighting still streamed out in a blinding purple light. If you could ever imagine pooping through your back, then you'd know half of what I felt. The other half would be something deep inside you, tearing away at flesh, all the while getting heavier.