Malion: Up In Flames

Chilling Nights

Alex's P.O.V.
The haze that had washed over me and obscured everything in vague nothingness dissapeared just as soon as it settled in. I opened my eyes and looked up at her. She was obviously concerned and her bright, sky blue eyes were now dusty and filled with guilt. She had sat by my side ever since I stumbled into their ship. It was safe to say that I was extratic for her safety, as her parents undoubtedly were, too.

"Alex. Thank the Gods. Father was worried sick." I heard Tavius' voice in the doorway. He leaned half way into the room, supporting himself by the hand clinging onto the frame. I knew that he felt the same as Herross did by the look in his eyes.

"Tavi. Are you ok?" I asked him. He supressed something and let out a sigh.

"I would rather ask that of you." He said in a bitter, accusatory tone. I knew he didn't mean it like that. He stumbled forward only to be caught by Chelle. He knelt at the side of the bed and folded his arms on the edge.

"How did this happen? Are you able to move or grow it back? Can Selvan restore it?" He asked slowly, that bitterness still in his tone. I placed a hand on his dark hair and smiled at him when we met eyes.

"I'll be fine, Tavi. Please don't worry about me. You've seen me get out of worse. I mean look at my face." I told him with a grin.

"You know, that Headstone wasn't wrong. You really are the Heroine of Skladmir." He said, resting his head on his folded arms.

"Are you ready for Father to see you?" He changed the subject after a short silence. A call was heard from the other side of the ship and Michelle got up and kissed my forehead.

"I'll be back with snacks, ok? Tavius, you can stay for lunch if you want. Tell your dad the same, m'kay?" She suggested, recieving a fair smile from Tavi.

"Give Father a nice smile for me, could you?" He asked as he stood. I gave him a thumbs up and a stupid, smug grin. That's when his yellow eyes were fully overshadowed by grey. It only lasted for a moment and not two seconds later, Herross appeared in the doorway and froze.

I could tell from the glint in the God's completely grey eyes that tears were welling up.

"How on Gaia... How did... What... Oh by the Light, Alex..." he mumbled softly as he wandered forward. He knelt down by my side and stared into my eyes. I gave him a soft smile and grabbed his hand.

"Jeez Dad, you don't need to be so riled up about this. I'm fine." I told him. His eyes widened as he raised his head.

"Did you just call me...?"

"Dude... I meant dude." I muttered. He gave me a grin while his eyes lightened.

"I love you Alex." He said softly.

"Alex, if it helps, I consider you to be a sister. Drevel does as well. You've always been a part of this family." Tavius piped up, giving me his father's grin.

"Thank you..." I mumbled, realising how flushed I'd become.

"Alex, would you mind me asking how you plan to move? You know.." Tavi asked, his bright eyes, squinting as they often did when curious.

My legs swirled into a spiral of smoke that twisted in place like a dark tornado. I grinned at him.

"It doesn't hurt as much like this either."

"I think you need to rest more..." He said softly as he took my hand, "My dear, when Decoda had told me what happened to you in that realm, I had thought the worst." He told me in a grave, thoughtful tone.

Decoda's P.O.V.
Ice, snow and wind slashed into my skin and through my stiff body. Everything was white. Everything was frozen, shivering... warm. The air was thick. Too thick and too much but  too little and not enough. I need to breathe. I need to take a breath. Where is the air? I saw it all being pulled away. The green strands, that's mine. You need to give it back and stop pulling it away. Give it back to me. Pounding persisted in my head. The pounding wouldn't stop and it turned into an echo. Laughing was the echo and it told me to come back. That I needed to come back to my home. I'm am a demon. I need to go back to the Beneath. Orin needs me.

My eyes shot open and a familiar golden symbol hovered above me. I screamed and scrambled off of the table. My limbs were barely able to hold my weight for a moment as I crawled towards the wall. I hadn't been shackled down. Nothing hurt. My head was pounding. When I looked back, the symbol was still hovering, but it was above a bed and Selvan had his arms out over the symbol. Drevel sat opposiye me, staring at me with a strange confusion.

"Now now... come back, will you? I've just started." Selvan said and snapped his fingers. I was back in the bed, this time above the covers.

"What was that?" Drevel asked.

"My reaction?" He nodded, "That symbol looks really similar to the one Orin used to make me like this. It really hurt when she did it." I muttered.

"Well I mean it's deffinetly a good reaction to scream and escape. I wouldn't wanna do that either, much less for the second time." He mumbled.

"You know, you have some wicked scars." He told me after a silence. I looked down only to realise that I was in my undergarments. At least my shorts were covering the upper half of my thighs. I was a bit flushed but told him that there was another one that my shorts covered from my first few nights in Skladmir.

He lifted his shirt to reveal a massive scar across his chest and turned to reveal what look looked like a few stab wounds.

"Got theese at Searol. I held back a bunch of angry Gaians from hurting Mom and Metz. Never in the Nine Realms am I ever going to let them get hurt." He said with a sombre pride. I gave him a smile.

"You are a lot more of a gentleman than I had realised. Your first impression on me was rather bad. I understand why you did such a thing now. Listen, Nephew, I am sorry for what I did to your father. We have already discussed this on numerous occasions. He has long forgiven me." Selvan explained, his eyes and hands glowing the same gold as the symbol hovering above me. He was unmoving as he talked. Slowly, a pain started to grow in my chest. It went from an uncomfortable pushing to a powerful scratching, then sudden stabs. Suddenly a ripping feeling shot though my entire chest and my back and with a scream, I launched into a sitting position as my wings exploded out of my back. They curled around me crookedly and I noticed their mangled state. They looked like they had been charred and the embers didn't want to drift off of the hanging skin. They quivered as I yelled. The green magic from my chest had started to peek out and I refreshed my blood curtailing scream as the new pain spread. Suddenly magic forced me down and I screamed even louder, starting to thrash.

"DREVEL! STOP!" Selvan yelled and the symbol and the pain in my chest dissapeared. Just as the drop started to drift away from me. My wings disintigrated and their pain faded quickly as Drevel's magic let me loose. I sobbed hysterically, deathly afraid.

Suddenly my fear and pain disappeared. I was exhausted and huffing. I looked up at Selvan, who's eyes were completely black. He looked like a burly version of Herross. He started to change into his Celestial form and grow, but quickly reverted back into his Gaian form. His eyes were normal.

"Drevel. What were you thinking?" Selvan asked calmly. He spoke back in Celestial. His explanation was lengthy and Selvan only replied a few times in a very stern tone. Eventually Selvan sighed and turned back to me and cupped his hands together.

"Are you doing alright, Decoda?" He asked softly. He glanced over to Drevel who appolgised quickly and explained that Selvan had explained that if I moved, the spell wouldn't work. He told me that he didn't want the spell to get worse and potentially hurt me more.

I placed the large spoon down beside the bowl and glanced up at Irene who was struggling with Metzley. The baby fussed and waved her tiny arms around. Irene dealt with it chuckling and talking in a cute voice. Selvan seemed tense while Drevel gazed at his sister with great pride. They had finished their food already.

"Thank you so much for the meal, Irene." I told her. She grinned at me.

"It was a lovely pleasure to host you. I hope you didn't mind Met's wining." She said, quickly pulling a funny face at her tiny child.

"Decoda... may I ask what that nightmare you had was about? You had quite a reaction to it." Selvan inquired. I glanced down at my unfinished pasta and sighed.

"I've been having a lot of the same but this was a mashup of all the worst ones... I guess. There was a clear voice in it though. It told me that I needed to go to the Beneath." I said quietly.