Iridescent

34| Not Without Cass

     JAXTON

There was a gust of wind. It hit him so hard that he felt his ears ring. It knocked him out, he didn't feel himself connect with the floor. 

The sleep was short. He knew there was a reason his sleep was short. There was that nagging feeling at the back of his head, probing his skull, forcing him to wake. And he did. Eyes opening, wincing, and opening to the light. 

The woods were not quiet. Everything seemed normal. But there was a small part of him that forced him to move, to find out what was abnormal. 

He shifted his shoulders. It hurt him. He could feel the blood pumping down his arms, his veins jumping under his skin. 

Move. 

He clenched his back teeth and flipped to the side. There was a girl, with hair the colour of wood, her eyes were closed, and her face was the colour of a ghost. His glance flitted to the broken pieces of the blade on the ground and his eyes began to widen.  

He remembered everything. 

***

He needed to be quick. 

Jaxton was running through the forest. Silently. His figure passing between trees and branches. His footsteps were as light as a feline, but there was a shuffle of urgency in them. By the human eye, perhaps they could only see a flit of a shadow. Jaxton was used to this type of running, it was common among all the agile shadow users. 

He could hear her mumbling as he carried her. Was she in pain? Was he holding her too tight? Or not tight enough? Were his footsteps too heavy for her comfort? Except, he knew he couldn't slow down. He tried to run in a steadier gait but he knew it was impossible. He had to navigate these woods and trees, he had to be fast, he couldn't afford to stumble. 

He had woken up and realised to his horror what she had done. He was mortified. Panicking. He had no idea what to do for the first few seconds. Check her pulse! He yelled in his mind. He was so stressed that he didn't feel her pulse the first time. It sent his temples throbbing. He felt for it again, around her neck. Once, twice, thrice... it was there, but it was weak. 

He patted her down. Remembering the vial she had shown him earlier on. 

Jaxton had always disliked Marty, for a reason he was unable to explain. The first time Robin introduced Marty to him when he was still a first-year, he didn't like him. But, of course, he didn't tell Robin that. Marty was Robin's friend and he should trust in Robin's judgement. Robin might think he was being ridiculous if he told. In fact, Jaxton even found himself to be a bit ridiculous. 

Marty was nice. He took an interest in what Jaxton did and even listened to Jaxton when he told him about his nerdy chemistry obsession. Jaxton would've forgiven him if Marty decided to break eye contact. Most people would've done it by then, but Marty's dark gaze did not falter out of disinterest, not even once. 

But he still remained wary about Marty. Marty was too smooth. Too careful. Up to the point where Jaxton found that he couldn't read him. Everything he did was impeccable, even his gaze, regardless of whether he was angry, sad or happy, they held a gentleness. A gentleness that instantly made you put your guard down. 

His dislike increased when he realised Cass seemed to know Marty quite well. And for Marty to give Cass such a rare gift (that healing potion) meant that Cass was somehow... special to him. He didn't like it. And again, he didn't know why. Cass could hang out with anyone she wanted. She could talk to them, even go out on a date with them... so why? At first, the question was irritating. It turned in his head and regurgitated itself when he couldn't digest it. It didn't take long before he found out why and it took him a while to accept it.