(This one is open, and not really planned. Just don't go all-out posting without me! I'll be back for more posting around the 26th)
The Cruciatus curse was illegal.
Ginny had said so, known so - so why on earth, left, and right...
Xaver cracked his head on something uneven, and solid, rolling to lay face first on the damp, undergrowth-ridden forest floor of Hogwarts, sucking in a few mildewy pine needles, and cussing as he did so.
"You sick, filthy black-breed!"
Xaver snorted, chuckling, despite the unevenness in his voice, and slowly pushing himself up, he spit, the thick and metallic taste lingering, even as the blood left his mouth.
A foot connected with his side and he grunted as he jerked, tumbling over himself in a tangle of arms, and wings, and body, and bushes until finally he connected with a tree with a dull crunch. He slumped to the ground, crumpling slightly, his wings at odd angles draped over him.
"Good to see you, too, brother."
There was a laugh, from across the clearing that, should the octaves have been a bit lower, and warmer by a season, might have mirrored Xaver's own.
Xences shook his head, dark wings of his own swaying behind him as he walked to where Xaver lay, pushing him with the toe of his boot onto his back. Xaver grunted, but allowed himself to be moved, finding no energy, anyway, to fight it. He lay at his twin's feet in much of a heap, blood splayed over his chin, and cheek, and a stream trickling over his neck from an odd-angled gash at his hairline. His blue shirt was stretched way out, and torn.
"Call your dog off, will you?"
Xences snorted, and looked to the side, to the woman standing quite still, a few feet from the winged twins, her wand raised, and jaw clenched.
Ready to curse if given an order, just as instructed.
Xaver looked at her more closely, and began that humorless chuckle again, coughing every now and then.
"You're Mimi, right?"
The woman's cheeks puffed, and Xences delivered another heavily-powered kick to Xaver's side, silencing him, give or take a few gasps, and curses of his own.
(I won't)
Sarah had been walking in the forest when she saw what was happenning. She knew she had to help so she drew her wand and thought of how to help him.
*Xaver I'm going to help you and you can't do nothing to stop me so you better help me on what I need to do* Sarah stood there trying to remeber spells.
She could not think of any so she just turned around the tree and held her wand at the girl standing there with hers drawn.
"Drop the wand before I hurt you."
Albus heard Sarah's voice. he went towards it. Then he saw her pointing her wand at someone else.
Who is this? Albus thought too her.
Mira walked through the forest to see Sarah with wand drwan. She could not see what else was going on so she hid in the branches of a tree and slowly krept closer tree to tree until she was above the action.
Sarah's thoughts reached him like fire, arresting his already raw mental state relentlessly. Xaver winced, his head searing, and did not reply, though he heard her quite clearly. Xaver looked up when he heard footsteps - and nearly groaned. Three more that were involved.. three more likely to die if his brother's temper peaked.
The woman, Mimi, squeaked slightly when Sarah appeared, though she hardened her expression, unable to conceal mocking amusement, when Xences whirled at her voice.
"You dare threaten a subject of my service?"
Xences looked very much like Xaver, tall, lean - though where Xaver was almost devastatingly handsome, and rightfully fit from manual labor, and exercise, Xences was thin - but cold. Darkly so, his entire creature radiated of a man changed not by time, exactly, but by darker substances. Xences clenched his jaw, his eyes fixed on Sarah, his wings (huge, but not so much enormous as Xaver's) dark folds behind him, but tense.
"Leave her alone, Xences."
Xaver gritted his teeth, and pushed himself up, despite the dizzying, painful protest in his body. He looked over the group, and almost winced.
But Xences walked foreword, gripping Mimi at the side of her neck and shoving her away, stopping just before Sarah.
"I dare you try curse me, you filthy-"
"I said ENOUGH," Xaver hissed.
Sarah stood there she was scared but she was not going to let them hurt Xaver.
"Ya I was. I mean if she did something." Sarah smiled trying to be strong.
"I would not of if she had just stood there." She was thinking of the spells she knew.
Xences's hand twitched, and then suddenly he was upon her, one hand gripping her mouth, and the other her throat.
"Even if she did something, it would have been because I told her to do it. But I don't need some pawn to tear your pretty face off..."
Sarah stood there having problems breathing.
She sent him a message. *go on. I'm not scared of you*
She was not going to show fear since she wanted to help Xaver.
Xaver snarled when Xences went to Sarah, and the moment he touched her, he became tense. Nervous. One wrong move..
He caught the message as easily as his twin - and though they were as different as night and day, the same odd surprise alit both their similar features.
"You are one of those, then? One of those petty Humans wrapped up in my twin's spell? Tell me, girl - you are prepared to die for him?"
Xences shook his head, disgusted.
"I could tell you the TRUE stories about that would make your heart stall before I even ripped it from you."
Sarah sat there barely able to breath and the only thing she could think of was Xaver as a friend.
*Yes I would die for him. He is a friend and that what friends do*
"Xences, really, you are pathetic."
Ginny stood, no less than five feet away. She was shaking her head slowly, her eyes meeting Xaver's for a split second, then zooming back to Xences and Sarah.
"I admit to staying out of the way when you fight with your brother, but this girl...she's a student of mine, and I'm afraid I can't just sit still while you threaten her."
She reached up, self-consiously tugging on a strand of her bright red hair, "And it's is so pathetic of you to even want to hurt her. Even more so than it is of you to use that one to do your bidding." She jerked her chin in Mimi's direction, rolling her eyes at the woman, "You know...he kills most of his servants once they have outlived their use." She told her pointedly.
Molly heard alot of yelling and ran towards the noise. She saw Xaver and Xences. She stood behind sarah and sent her a message I'm gonna help you she wasn't sure what to do so she waited for someone to move.
Sarah looked towards Ginny with fear in her eyes. Sarah knew that if she did not get lose soon she was going to die. She was getting to where she could not breathe or even think strait.
Xences cackled.
"What friends do?!-"
"Xences, really, you are pathetic."
At Ginny's voice, both the twins whirled. Xaver met her eyes for a moment, his own filled with a mix of emotions - and Xences watched them, a grin slowly forming over his lips, his own eyes stormy.
Mimi twitched, her bottom lip trembling, but she tipped her head up at Ginny, and 'hmph'ed, rolling her eyes in return.
Xences shook his head, finally looking back to the girl, standing almost helpless in his hold. Grinning still, even as Xaver approached him, he drew Sarah into his arms almost like a lover, pushing her head back. He ran his tongue along the soft skin of her neck, and then forcefully kissed her - then pushed her away. Where his mouth had touched her, her skin was burned a dark, blue hue.. Not permanant, maybe, but painful.
Xaver pounced.
One hand gripping Xences's hair, and ripping his head back, the other gripping his twin's throat, Xaver kicked his legs out from beneath him, forcing him down with a mental blow that radiated a blue mist about them.
"Come, now, brother-mine, I just wanted to talk-"
"Your methods of conversation have long since passed their era of acceptance."
"If I remember correctly you quite enjoyed that era, yourself, brother-"
Xaver, kneeling over Xences, with one knee planted firmly over the spot just beneath his twin's ribs, and one hand still gripping his hair, pressed harder with his knee, until Xences was cursing - and laughing. Though there was nothing humorous about his laugh - everything about his creature seemed to be void of any emotion but a sort of insane fury...
"You see?"
Xaver shook his head, part-way through a curse when Xences swung at him, his fingers suddenly claws. He reached up and gripped one of Xaver's wings, claws and fingers puncturing, and ripping, dark blood spraying over the lightly colored earth. Xaver jerked, and cried out in both surprise and pain, his enormous wings beating furiously..
Sarah feel to the ground in pain. She was barly able to breathe to so that made it worse. She laid there staring at Xaver fight his brother hoping she would beable to see this later.
*Ginny help me* Sarah sent her as she looked at her quickly then clothes her eyes in pian.
Mira finally dropped from the tree landing next to Sarah. Her brown eyes were still wide with shock at what had just happened though she wanted to break down with anger at Xences she kept her calm. She took some water and mixed it with a bit of a light colored leaf she took from her pocket. She made it into a very liquid substance then soaked a kleenex in it and placed the wet kleenex on Sarah's neck where the burning was.
Molly didn't know what to do. She ran with Ginny to sarah's aid.
Mira didn't see Molly coming. She looked down at Sarah. "Sarah, is that any better?"
"Let me help" she said grabbing a klenex from her own pocket and wiping off blood from sarah. "are you okay?" she glanced at Xences.... he gave her chills,
Mira jumped. "Oh Molly!"
"Ya I'll be okay." Sarah said sitting there hurting. She kept her eyes on the fight though.
"The burning should be gone for a while." Mira conjured a glass of water. "If you get thirsty..."
"Sarah relax they'll be fine without you" she glanced back at Xaver. She knew things wouldn't be fine but she wanted sarah to relax.
Cody was walkin around when he heard people yelling, he walked toward the noise, he walked faster, eventually he started to run. He hid behind a tree so he could see what was happening.
Molly heard footsteps and turned to see cody behind a tree. She ran over to him leaving sarah. She told him what was going on. She waited for a response.
Xences, his fingers turned into claws, dug them through the tender muscle of Xaver's wing, until he could close his hand around the feathered flesh. Xaver cried out in pain, and released him, fighting to get him off, to keep him from pulling more, tearing at his wing. It was impossibly painful, and he lurched to ease the pain, blood seeping into the black, silken feathers, and dripping over the earth. Over him. And over Xences - who took his chance, the instant Xaver became distracted. He bucked, bringing his knee hard into Xaver's middle, and when Xaver bowed to the blow, he ripped his claws out of his wing, and elbowed him in the chest, following his body so that their positions were switched, and Xences was now kneeling over Xaver. He brought his hand up, his claws now retracted into fingers, and ran his tongue along them, licking the dark blood there, behind a maniacal grin.
Xaver's eyes grew a fierce, velvet red, and Xences nearly laughed.
"You see? You are a MONSTER, brother-mine. They think so, too.."
He nodded to those around them, without really looking.
"We are the spawn of tragedy and I SEE it in you!"
Xaver shook his head, roughly - and when he stopped, the red glaze over his gaze was gone, his ocean blue orbs returned to their normal, moody hue.
"I am no monster," he hissed, darkly. "Just related to one."
He brought his hands up and shoved Xences in the chest, the power behind it echoing in a loud, reverberating boom. Xences flew from him, but only a few feet away before he hit an invisible wall, arms and wings splayed with the force of it. Xences groaned, the grin gone, and fell from the place of impact to a heap on the ground. And suddenly Xaver was standing over him, his movements too quick to see, snarling slightly. Xences was dragged upward to a few feet off the ground, his legs dangling, his wings beating heavily, his hands gripping at an invisible vice around his throat.
Xaver never looked away, but remained still, his arms at his sides..
Molly left cody and peeked out from behind the tree. She realized then that Xences along with Xaver was much stronger than he thought. She didn't know what to do, she wanted to help Xaver but didn't want to get involved.
Ginny never moved, simply watched, even as Sarah asked for help. She knew the other's would help. She couldn't look away from Xaver and Xences, though. And as Xaver pulled his brother up, strangling him, Ginny bit her lip.
"Xaver, don't!"
She knew Xences deserved death. More than most people she knew, but she didn't want Xaver to be the one to kill him.
"Don't give him the satisfaction..."
"Xaver, don't!"
Xaver blinked, and blurred slightly. And Xences dropped, like a stone. He hissed a breath, from where he lay, dark black, reddish feathers rippling beneath his panted breaths.
"The spawn of tragedy," he repeated, his voice slightly hoarse.
Satisfaction.
Xaver would have liked to have his own satisfaction, in strangling the last breath of life from Xences... But the thought had him shuddering.
"It comes easy, doesn't it? The desire to kill... And it IS easy, isn't it? It's what we were born to do."
Xaver looked at him - and when he met Xences's gaze, something within him became unnerved.
"It's always a choice, Xences."
He folded his arms, as Xences slowly picked himself off the ground, and rolled to rest on his knees.
"And you were choosing to kill me, then?"
Like you killed our little sister and threatened my family.. "Yes."
Xences moved then, fast, on all fours until the last moment, wrapping one arm around Ginny's waist and pulling her flush against his body, roughly, the other hand running through her silky hair..
Cody ran over to look at what was happening. He watched silently, not knowing how to react.
Ginny's eyes grew dark and instictivly she spat in his face, "You are so worthless and pathetic." She hissed in an undertone to him.
Xaver's wing stung, oddly, when they folded behind him. He stepped toward Xences and Ginny, but the latter lifted his arm, and a blue burst of energy sent him flying. He clipped a tree, and spiraled, and then fell out of view.
Xences turned back to Ginny, wiping his arm over his face, hissing.
"Disgusting, st-" His voice broke off into a strangled cry, and he was torn from her, drug away, spun, and he landed as a mass of bloodied limbs and wings.
There were gashes across the vast expanses of his wings, immerciful and deep, feathers torn and mangled, and bloodied, around them. There was a cut from his mouth, to the crook of his jaw, deep ones across his chest, and back, and thighs, and arms. But, signifigantly, they all burned, brightly, as if he'd been cut up by a branding-iron.
Xaver, suddenly there, leaned down, and gripped Xences's shirt, lifting him to his feet and ignoring the surprised groan.
He threw him as if he weighed nothing, spun and kicked him squarely in the middle, and Xences flew back with the massive power of the kick. Xaver waved his hand, then - and mid-air, Xences disappeared.
Xaver stared at the spot where he had disappeared, his eyes dark. Furious.
It wasn't very often he lost his temper. And, scarily, he still retained most of it...
Ginny still hadn't moved, but her fists were clenched and she was pale. Her breathing was irregular, and she wavered slightly. She closed her eyes, struggling to calm her jumping heart. She was terrified.
Xences was one of the few things she was actually afraid of.
Sarah sat there and stood watching knowing she would help it she had to. She knew she need to relax but she held her wand at her side as she stood there waiting to see if they needed her.
Xaver kept his eyes adverted, and looked at no one. Fuming. Furious. The air around him literally pulsed with his still eager power - not so often let loose, his instinct was to continue fighting. To kill.
His instinct.
He clenched his jaw, pulling his wing over his chest, and under his arm, extending the feathered enormity completely, the end feathers reaching yards beyond him, and draping the ground at his feet. He ran his fingertips over the series of punctures that ran completely through his wing. And were shredded, from his own fidgeting, the seperate wounds ripped long, and wide. Almost gentle, he traced his fingers over the gaping injuries, absently toying with a bent, matted feather.
The wounds weren't healing.
Normally, his body instantly began healing itself.
Nothing was happening.
Dully, Xaver realized that he hurt. He was hurting.
He cursed under his breath.
After a long moment, Ginny opened her eyes, her breathing slow and regular now. Her fists unclenched and she looked around, at the younger students, then at Xaver. Focusing on him, watching him play with his wings.
She didn't say anything, and she didn't move towards him.
Mira's eyes were pools of fright at what just happened. The air was tense and she could still feel it, as if the fight were still happening. No one spoke, she looked up from the ground to look at the damage done. Shw wanted to know if she was the only one this jumpy, nervous... scared. She caught a flash of expression across Ginny's face not long, but long enough also to tell her she wasn't the only terrified one. Finally she noticed Cody and Molly behind different trees, and Xaver. He looked hurt bad, she wanted to go help, but... She just stayed there taking her hair that had fallen out and draggingit back into her normal ponytail draping her shoulder.
Xaver finally released his wing, retracting the feathered enormity to fold behind his back, wincing, and muttering a low groan as he did so - though there was no concealing the frustration in his tones. His eyes flickered over the earth before him, and he pulled a face. It was littered, splattered, in various lines, with both Xences's, and his own, blood. Mostly in oval lines, falling during their fight.
Arguing in front of innocents that could easily have been killed.
Xences could have cared less, if he'd killed them.
What most didn't understand - was, had Xaver lost control ...he wasn't so certain he wouldn't have tried to kill them, either.
The thought sickened him.
Refusing to look at anybody, he spread his wings, fighting off the look of utter pain that tried to write itself over his face, and he jumped upward. With one great thrust of his wings, he was gone, propelled into the darkening skies, and far away, out of their line of sight...
Cody watched Xaver leave, he frowned. For some reason Cody admired Xaver, there was somethin about him that made him want to be like him. Maybe it was the power. No, it couldnt be.
Mira finally realized all the splattered blood. Her eyes turned pure white and the blood rapidly soaked into the grass, until it was gone. Mira felt there was no need for anyone else to know of the fight today.
Sarah stood there still hurting not knowing what to do or even is she should move.
"Okay I think we should all head back to the school." Sarah siad trying to get someone attention and sort of clear her minds. She was having trouble breathing as it was.
Mira didn't move only moved her fingers through the back of her ponytail. She finally spoke. "Oh yeah we should I guess..."
Ginny closed her eyes again, "Go. Stay safe."
Xaver heard Ginny.
Of course he heard her.
He made no response, but slowly, as the day proceeded into night - it began snowing. A slight trickle, at first, before it was a blurry downpour...
Albus had watched the whole scene with his mouth hanging big and open.
He was..... Well he diden't knew. The whole of him where suprised afraid and scared and shocked.
He saw the others start walking and followed them.
Mira seemed oblivious to all around her. She didn't respond at all just stared ahead of her. Finally she stood ready to leave, to forget this.
Ginny ran a hand through her hair, from her forehead to the tips, pushing the snow off without even noticing. She looked one last time at the studnets and nodded, "Go on, you guys. Be careful." She smiled. It was false, but a smile nonetheless.
Then she shrugged, putting her hands in her pockets, she started walking off into the forest. She ignored the falling snow, even though she shivered a few times as she grew used to the cold.
Sarah stood there looking she was not sure if she could get up the courage to move.
"Wow that was interesting. Mira want to go get something to eat."
Quote from: Ginny Weasly on December 31, 2007, 10:52:28 AM
Ginny ran a hand through her hair, from her forehead to the tips, pushing the snow off without even noticing. She looked one last time at the studnets and nodded, "Go on, you guys. Be careful." She smiled. It was false, but a smile nonetheless.
Then she shrugged, putting her hands in her pockets, she started walking off into the forest. She ignored the falling snow, even though she shivered a few times as she grew used to the cold.
Mira looked at Ginny leaving. "Ginny... you be careful too." She spoke with a tone not her age and it seemed to vanish into the crisp air as she turned to Sarah. "Oh yeah... How about like coffee and soup or something... I'm cold."
"sure a hot cocoa sounds great." Sarah smiled at her.
"Lets go."
"Yeah.. yeah lets..." Mira walked on in deep thought. Having an ominous feeling, something was weird.
"okay." Sarah followed behind here waiting for the right time to talk to her.
Albus heard about the cocoa and that stuff. he went over to Sarah and Mira.
" Okay if i join ya?" He asked. He had nothing too do so why don't spend some time with your friends?
"Oh yeah sure! I think were just going to get hot cocoa and soup, or something hot."
"sure all we are doing it getting food and something to drink." Sarah was doing it to get her mind of nearly being killed.
Molly also heard talk of hot coca. She ran up behind sarah, mira, and albus :Can I come?" she said smiling.
"Sure you can." Sarah said as she looked at her.
"So who's paying? No I'm just kidding!"
"duh we are all paying for ourselfs." Sarah smiled.
"I mean unless you want to pay."
"I'll pay for MY OWN thank you very much." Mira laughed.
Sarah smiled. "okay then we all pay for ourselves." Sarah smiled.
They had been talking the whole time Mira didn't notice they made it to the small coffee house. She opened the door and drank in the sweet scents of the soups, the spices, and the hot cocoa/coffee. She grabbed a nice table for everyone in the corner by the window. She loved to see the people go by.
Sarah smiled as she sat facing the window. "Well lets see egg drop soup and hot cocoa.
Mira thought for a moment. "Hmm.... Oh, chicken and dumpling soup, and hot cocoa."
"That sounds. good." Sarah was sitting the waiting for hers.