Divinitas

017 - Birth of the Griffin\'s Ambition

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The end to another day. The dorm room was often empty these days, with Draco lodged exclusively at the library, and Chima spending every free minute he had with the horses. As for Gryps… If Phoenix didn\'t know better, he could have sworn that boy was sneaking around the school in a most suspicious fashion. It was a very rare occasion to find the boy in the room these days… Unless he was parked in front of his laptop…

But for once, Phoenix was glad to know that he would be able to have some peace and quiet when he got back to his dorm room. He was exhausted, having just been made to stay after class to do lines of all things for disturbing the class. Writing lines on the blackboard… That was even embarrassing to think about. Really, it wasn\'t his fault he was unconsciously snapping all his pencils in his hands! He had other issues to deal with!

Making a conscious effort not to swear day in day out was wearing on him. He had always used his verbal expression as a form of stress relief. And now to not even be able to do that? Still, it would be worth it. One week\'s freedom, and then he would challenge Aether to another duel and win his body back fair and square. That would show Aether… Stuck up prat.

Turning the handle, Phoenix stumbled into the room with a heavy sigh. \"Only one more day and I will have won…\" Then the boy grinned, the light of triumph sparkling in his crimson orbs. \"Ha, that will show Aether! Wipe that all-knowing smile off his face!\"

\"It will show me what?\"

Phoenix froze. He should have known… \"I wasn\'t here!\" Phoenix tried to quickly slip back outside, but Draco had already slammed the door behind him, narrowly missing his fingers.

\"Stop running away, Phoenix! You have a sizeable amount of homework to do that\'s due tomorrow. Now sit down next to Chima and do it!\" Draco said in a non-negotiable voice.

Of course at this point, Phoenix felt like spewing forth a great deal of not so very nice words… But with Aether sitting right there at the table for some unknown reason (probably just to provoke him, that bastard…!) Phoenix simply clenched his teeth together and sat down stiffly in the seat furthest away from him.

He tried. No one can say Phoenix didn\'t. Tried do his work and simply pretend Aether wasn\'t there, that is. But to ignore someone whose presence one\'s body seemed tuned specifically to receive was a very difficult task. The level of awareness Phoenix felt in regard to Aether was like a bright fluorescent light shinning in his eyes, impossible to ignore.

What was he playing at, Aether… First he all but rapes and tortures him, then he intrudes into his Metamorphosis duels and instructs him, keeping any significant harm from occurring to his body… And then he challenges him to something that would have been laughable under any other circumstances…

Phoenix frowned down at his work, all too aware of Aether\'s gaze shifting though his flaming hair, yet at the same time his thoughts circling the fiend\'s actions and his own. Always these promises to act against him. To break free. But what had he done so far except to accept this very foolish challenge? And that had been Aether\'s idea, the fruits of his endless scheming.

His pen snapped in his hand. The countless lines written on the blackboard with squeaky chalk had not ridded Phoenix of that particular bad habit. \"Typical…\" Phoenix grumbled. It had been his last one too… Before the boy could get up from the table to retrieve one from the supplies, someone handed him another pencil. He took it without thinking, thanking the person mindlessly.

\"You\'re welcome.\" You could just hear the amused smile in his voice. \"By the way, your answer to question three is wrong. As are your answers to seven and eight.\"

Phoenix glared at his page. The fiend was right. Stupid errors born from carelessness. Snatching up the rubber he attacked the page with it, then redid the questions as quickly as he could, desperate to be away from Aether.

\"It\'s still incorrect,\" Aether said, laughter in his voice.

That was it. Phoenix snapped. The boy stood up and threw down his pencil, flaming eyes glaring. He opened his mouth, intent on telling Aether his mother was of the canine family, but immediately shut it again as his brain screamed at him, reminding him loudly of the bet.

\"What did you want to say, my Phoenix?\" Aether asked, voice mockingly innocent. His smile was confident, playful, violet eye gleaming.

\"I… I hope you slip on a banana peel and die!\" Phoenix shouted and stormed off into the bathroom like a child throwing a tantrum. The echo of the slamming door vibrated throughout the whole room.

Draco hadn\'t even bothered to lift his gaze from his work, too familiar with the endless conflict between Aether and Phoenix to care. Besides, who was he to interfere with love? Draco coughed to himself. Thank goodness Phoenix couldn\'t read minds or he might have found himself skewed on many sharp objects.

Chima poked at the Child of Soul sitting beside him with the point of his pen, a scowl on his boyish face. \"You\'re mean.\"

Aether laughed. \"Lover\'s quarrel,\" he answered with another smile. \"Could you do me a favour, Chimaera?\"

The young boy regarded Aether suspiciously, large bright emerald eyes narrowed slightly, giving him the look of an angry puppy.

\"This Saturday, could you prepare Solar Flare and Venus and have them ready by the main entrance?\" Aether asked, smiling softly.

The boy lost all hostility at the mention of the four-legged animals. \"You\'re willing to let me touch Venus?\" Chima sounded both delighted and shocked. \"Mmm… She always gave me the impression you didn\'t like anyone taking care of her except yourself.\"

Again Aether broke out into an amused chuckle. \"She\'s in love with me. It\'s her excuse,\" the golden haired youth said, winking his one visible amethyst eye. \"Don\'t worry, Chimaera. She will forgive me this once. So can you have them ready by four in the afternoon?\"

\"I guess that\'s alright…\"

\"Thankyou, Chimaera.\"

Still writing down the working out and solutions on his page, Draco spoke up. \"You only have one day left, Aether. What makes you think you can still win your little bet? The odds are against you.\"

\"Really, Draco, I thought you would know me better than that by now,\" Aether smiled. \"I will employ any means to have my desired outcome. Besides… I know Phoenix very well. Swearing is one of his traits he can never give up, not even after thousands of years.\"

The scratching of the pen on paper stopped. Sapphire eyes met amethyst. \"I wonder… If you don\'t bring Phoenix\'s anger on yourself deliberately. What is it exactly you want from him?\"

\"Too many things. But first and foremost, revenge,\" Aether answered, suddenly sombre, smile faded. His face became almost the embodiment of apathy. It made him appear more than ever a living marble statue, his perfection making the illusion all the more real.

Draco watched as the Child of Soul rose and walked to the door. It opened before he could reach the handle, revealing the feminine figure of Gryps standing there. Immediately Draco stood up, his work forgotten as his wide eyes took in the bloodied form that was Gryps. Chima could only stare in shock, his mouth hanging open, wordless.

\"The Griffin\'s Ambition demands a high price, doesn\'t it, Gryps,\" Aether said with obvious amusement as he walked past the bleeding and battered silver haired boy, shutting the door quietly behind him.



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Phoenix had stayed hidden in the bathroom until Draco had knocked on the door, sounding urgent and almost strained. Opening the door had revealed a sight Phoenix certainly had not expected.

Leaning heavily on Draco was Gryps, his uniform slashed in so many places that it was all but falling from his slight frame. The numerous wire thin cuts on his body bleed furiously still, concentrating mainly around his arms and legs, as if something had wrapped around them so tightly it had cut into the flesh.

But what horrified Phoenix most of all was that he knew, simply and undoubtedly knew that Gryps\' wounds weren\'t caused by some innocent means such as Metamorphosis or falling from a horse. Something in reality had attacked him. And that stuck terror in to him… Because that something wasn\'t human.

\"Go on. Aether\'s left. Finish your work and get some sleep. I\'ll help Gryps get cleaned up,\" Draco said quietly, moving the barely conscious boy into the bathroom and closing the door.

It was so strange to see Gryps broken like that. The normally cold youth reduced to a helpless and vulnerable wounded boy. It was almost upsetting, even to Phoenix, considering they had never gotten along well.

Phoenix didn\'t return to the table, but rather walked to one of the narrow arched windows and looked out. The moon was just setting on the ocean\'s horizon, a perfectly round pale golden orb. The famous phenomenon known as the staircase to the moon wormeormed perfectly over the dark waters, stretching right to the bottom of the cliffs far below.

Subconsciously Phoenix\'s eyes followed the silvery path to the shore, where something several hundreds of meters away caught his eye. Standing on the lip of the furthest protruding cliff was something Phoenix had never noticed before.

The Gate Into Eternity.

The four words came unbidden to his mind, spoken by another voice. And even though it was a great distance from where he stood, Phoenix could see its details perfectly. The two handless angles standing face to face, their enormous wings stretching out behind them.

But something was wrong. The front of both statues were splattered with blood. Fresh crimson that glittered in the silvery moonlight.

\"Gryps\' blood,\" Phoenix heard his voice say. A whisper from the grave.



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It was early. Darkest hours of the morning. Phoenix was the only one still awake, lying on his side, glazed eyes watching the sleeping figure of Gryps. He had not said one word concerning what had happened. And no one dared question him when his lifeless silver eyes bespoke murder.

Draco had taken Phoenix aside once Gryps had fallen asleep on his soft bed, velvet curtains drawn on all sides except the one facing Phoenix\'s bed. He had shown Phoenix the weapon that had caused Gryps his multiple wounds.

A fine strand of glittering colourless hair, strong as wire, cold as steel. It had been wrapped around Gryps\' neck, cutting into his flesh. The wound matched all the others inflicted onto hody.ody.

He had been lucky, Draco had said. All the wounds were superficial and no permanent damage had been caused. With any luck, they wouldn\'t scar either.

\'Just be careful,\' Draco had warned.

Phoenix hadn\'t pointed out the Gate Into Eternity to Draco.

The fiery boy suddenly found a pair of silver eyes staring at him from the shadows. They were dull, lacking their usual icy gleam. The way they looked at Phoenix was different. They weren\'t filled with hate. Rather, they seemed to be scheming.

\"You should be sleeping, Gryps. Wounds heal faster when you\'re resting.\"

\"I don\'t want or need your advice, Incendium.\"

\"Oh, sorry. I forgot that up themselves bastards don\'t need anyone, and wouldn\'t know when someone was concerned about them if the said person spelled it out as plain as daylight.\"

Not another word was said between either of them for the rest of the night. But the morning after, Gryps couldn\'t met Phoenix\'s gaze. A temporary unspoken truce had been erected between them. Even so, Phoenix knew Gryps was planning something. Whatever had happened to him only spurred him on, propelled him to accomplish his mysterious mission.

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