Divinitas

019 - Paper Cuts

~ * ~

The tall raven haired boy closed the door and locked it with a final ringing click. If Gryps heard it, he did not acknowledge sittsitting down at his desk and powering up his laptop. Bandages still coloured his limbs white and each of his movements were somewhat slowed, as if wading though deep icy waters.

\"We need to talk.\"

\"You\'re not my Father, Draco. And I\'ve already had the \'talk\',\" Gryps answered coldly, typing various passwords to login, fingers flying too fast for any observer to see which keys were hit.

However, this reply did nothing to discourage Draco. It was the perfect opportunity. Phoenix was out on his \'date\' with Aether, and Chima was no where in sight… Most likely having fallen asleep at the stables given the late hour. \"What happened to hurt you on Thursday night?\"

Gryps smirked, eyes never leaving the screen where line after line of text appeared as he typed rapidly. \"Humans always ask questions for whose answers they are not prepared for.\"

\"Try me. I have an open mind… It is linked to the Legend of Genesis, isn\'t it?\" Draco returned, crossing his arms and looking directly at the back of Gryps\' head, dark sapphire eyes drilling into his skull.

\"More than you know,\" came the casual reply. After several minutes of silence, filled only by the soft keystrokes as Gryps typed away, the silver braided boy swivelled around in his chair and fixed his molten glare on Draco\'s patiently waiting eyes. \"Alright. I will tell you what you want to know, Lympha,\" Gryps said, smiling unpleasantly.

Something about Gryps had changed. His motives, his goals, that which governed his being. Draco could see it in the gleam of his eyes, as if he was constantly planning, scheming. For an instant, Draco felt the chill of fear run up his spine.

\"For as long as records have existed, there have been four student disappearances every year from this school. They are always the four who have been offered scholarships. Because I do not want to be one of them, I am looking into why this is so. These wounds,\" he made an off-hand gesture to his damaged body, \"were the result of my efforts.\"

\"That\'s a good start, Gryps. But you\'re not telling me everything.\" The taller boy strolled over to Gryps\' desk and leaned up against it, arms folded across his chest. \"For example, whom you\'re sending all these reports of the school to. Whatever you\'re finding, you\'re reporting to someone else. Who and why, Gryps.\"

The silver eyed boy eyed Draco with an amused expression. \"You\'re more observant than I gave you credit for, Lympha,\" Gryps admitted, smiling his secretive smile and reaching out with his left hand to close the screen of his laptop down onto the bottom half. Without breaking eye contact, the younger boy began pulling out the power cord and the coaxial network cable. \"Who and why no longer matters. I will not be reporting to them again.\" Upon saying these words, Gryps picked up the laptop from his desk and moved to the window. Draco\'s sapphire eyes could only widen in surprise as the silver haired boy dropped the expensive piece of equipment from one of their many seventh story tower windows, sending it plunging to its death.

\"Why?\" Draco questioned in a quiet voice, his hands suddenly clutching the edge of the table. The feeling of being locked in a room with a madman swept over him, an icy chill.

Gryps smirked. \"Because I\'m above them. I no longer need their pardon, their support. Compared to them, I am a God.\"

\"You said before the scholarship students disappear. We are scholarship students. Do you not care about that? Or those before and after us?\" Draco demanded, a degree of his composure slipping away.

The other boy laughed. It was a very unpleasant sound that swirled about their immense room like a tangible substance. \"When the fools from the investigations department offered me this contract, my motives for finding the truth were as I said. So I would not be one of those whose fate was sealed. What they told me was chilling, comparable to the most terrifying ghost stories.

\"But now? Well, everything changes, doesn\'t it, Lympha? The world changes, and so do we. Or should I say, we simply become more ourselves?\" The chilling smile again. One that spoke of insanity, yet the look of pure contentment and excitement revealed a perfectly sound scheming mind.

\"What are you saying…\" Draco found himself slowly backing away from Gryps. Why… Was he afraid?

\"That I may have been a scholarship student and marked as a Sacrifice, but in fact I never was from the very start,\" Gryps smiled again. \"The Legend of Genesis. It is no legend. It is fact. These wounds upon my body prove it, Lympha. And because of that, I have no use for my past. I will… I have cut all ties to it.\"

\"Gryps, you\'re not making any sense! You were sent here on a contract with an investigation department…? Who are you?\" Draco was becoming frustrated. At the person in front of him with his gleaming knowing eyes. At himself for letting that person get to him.

Gryps laughed. \"I\'ll show you.\"

Immediately the air around Gryps began to move, swirling around him and sending his garments into a wild fluttering dance. His braid lifted up behind him like a long silver streaming tail, swishing wildly.

Draco\'s eyes widened. His mouth parted. In awe, in surprise, but the only sounds that escaped it were the following words:

\"The true Child of Air…\"



~ * ~

There was nothing like the peace and quiet bestowed upon the world at night. Nothing but the silent watching stars whose dim light cascaded through the windows behind him, and the moon peaking up from the upper right corner.

The Principal relaxed in his deep chair behind his desk, dark eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Dreaming perhaps… But did devils dream? The only illumination within the room came from the LCD screen to the left of his desk, a constant soft glow.

Suddenly a gentle mechanical voice broke the perfect silence. \"Receiving intercepted outgoing message from room number 703.\"

The man roused himself, opening his dark eyes and focusing them on the screen. With a few commands, he had called up the message on the screen, eyes scanning it quickly. A smile formed itself on his thin lips.

\"Well… It would appear Aether was right. The true Child of Air has ridded himself of his diseased part… The Griffin has left his trainers at last.\" The Principle printed out a copy of the message, folding it and slipping it into his pockets for safe keeping until it was delivered to Aether.



~ * ~

Maybe, if not for the splitting headache that made him feel as if his head was being pounded upon, Phoenix would have woken up feeling warm and safe, locked in a gentle embrace. As it was though, Phoenix\'s unrefined movements caused him to slap Aether right in the face as tried to clutch his head, thinking perhaps he might massage the pain away.

Of all the ways one might be woken up, being slapped in the face certainly was not one of the preferred methods. It certainly brought back memories though… How many times had he been woken up in exactly the same manner? One of the down sides to having Phoenix as a lover.

With a soft sigh, the older boy sat up and looked down at Phoenix, who was curled up with his arms around his head. \"Cheap drunk…\" Aether teased, running his hand through Phoenix\'s soft locks of hair. The boy swatted at his hand, mumbling something that was incoherent but probably contained a sentiment similar to \'get lost!\' or \'leave me alone!\'

Aether\'s weight disappeared from the bed, the slight motion of the thick mattress making Phoenix feel somewhat nauseous. He really didn\'t feel as if he could move without being sick… But staying curled up on the enemy\'s bed wasn\'t too appealing either. The fact that he couldn\'t remember much of last night at all made Phoenix somewhat panicky. Did he even have any clothes on?!

That thought was enough motive to get him moving. For a heavy price though. The ache about his temples doubled, and he let out a groan. Still, his hands fumbled about himself. Chest… Bare. Damn it. Lower to his stomach… Shit, still bare. And finally, his waist. Relief coursed through him as he came into contact with his boxers. At least he hadn\'t done anything he might seriously regret… He hoped.

\"Here, drink this.\"

A weary red eye peaked out from under heavy unwilling lids. Aether was standing besides the bed, already dressed for the day, holding a glass of orange juice.

\"It\'s not poisoned, Phoenix…\" Aether said as he caught Phoenix\'s suspicious appraisal of the glass he held.

Gingerly Phoenix took the offered glass, drinking down the cool sweet liquid whilst eyeing the other boy watching him with an amused expression. It was refreshing, the orange juice, and the pounding in his head ebbed away. As his head cleared, Phoenix felt he ought to say something. Uncomfortable silence was never a preferred state as far as Phoenix was concerned. \"Um, thanks.\" Immediately he looked away, feeling his cheeks heat up. \"Though I don\'t know why I\'m thanking you of all people. This whole thing is your fault in the first place!\"

Aether\'s hand gently removed the glass from Phoenix\'s grasp, his lips curved up in a smile. \"Your wounds are all healing very well, even that gash on your forehead that Solar Flare gave you. There won\'t be any scars.\"

\"Except for your name, you mean. And why is that, Aether?\" His tone was tinged with bitterness.

\"Because I don\'t want there to be.\"

Phoenix was about to open his mouth to make some rude comment about how he couldn\'t even scar his body as he so wished when a knock on the door interrupted them. The boy took the opportunity whilst Aether went to answer the door to pull on his cloths. Maybe he could escape out the window or something…

\"Good morning, Draco. You wanted to see Phoenix?\" Aether\'s voice drifted in from the small lead-in to his room. Aside from the main double doors, there was another set in parallel to it, the small room in between providing extra privacy.

The boy\'s ears perked at the mention of Draco\'s name. Draco was here to rescue him! The boy scampered to the door, latching onto Draco\'s leg before another word could be said.

Draco, seeing the Chibi-Phoenix attached to his leg, sweat dropped. \"Ah, yes. I was wondering if it was possible for him to accompany me to the local library in town today.\"

\"Isn\'t the school\'s library comprehensive enough for you?\" Aether inquired, looklooking from Chibi-Phoenix to Draco\'s strained serious face. It was a very amusing picture, he had to admit.

\"It lacks any record of past local newspapers. Research for an assignment for extra credit,\" Draco explained, trying to nonchalantly shake Phoenix off. He stuck on like stubborn chewing gum to the sole of one\'s shoe.

Aether\'s amusement grew. \"Sounds interesting. Have fun,\" Aether said with a smile, his face a perfect mask for the thoughts that whirled is mis mind. \"Just have him back at a reasonable time. After all, he lost his bet, so this week\'s nights are mine.\"

\"Ah, of course…\" Draco said, another sweat drop sliding down the back of his head. \"Come on, Phoenix. Let go… I cannot walk with you weighing me down…\" The Chibi-Phoenix would not relinquish his grip though, and Draco was forced to hop-drag down the hallway.

Aether\'s twilight gaze followed the pair until the vanished from view. Then the eye closed, his golden fringe shadowing his face as he bowed his head. So Draco was researching the past local history… The catalyst was working beautifully. Ah, but the Griffin\'s Ambition was predictable, wasn\'t it?

\"The message isn\'t important. I already know,\" Aether said quietly, turning and walking back into his rooms, setting the the glass he was still holding on the table. The vase of fresh red roses set in the centre gave of a pleasant perfume.

The Principal stepped into view at the doorway, closing the outer doors behind him. \"You are not worried at all about what further action the investigation forces could take against you?\"

Aether turned and fixed his predatory smile on the older man. \"In this day and age, one is innocent until proven guilty, yes? And to prove one guilty, one needs proof. So no, I am not worried. Because there is no proof. No bodies, not even a spilt drop of blood… Don\'t tell me, Principal, that you are having second thoughts after so many years?\"

\"Come, Aether… I\'m hurt you should even suggest such a thing. Remember who you\'re talking to.\"

\"I remember. I was merely teasing. By the way, how goes your search for suitable Sacrifices to replace our scholarship students?\"

\"I\'ve been thinking, actually. Why not use the current Children? Genesis loves them already. And their Elemental powers would enhance the true Children\'s metamorphosis. They would be perfect.\"

Aether\'s smile twisted into its evil twin. \"And that is why I like you, Principal.\"



~ * ~

Phoenix sceptically assessed the small shabby building standing in front of them. \"What a dump… And when I say that and mean it, it has got to be crap. Seriously, Draco, you\'d be lucky to find a book that was still readable in there, much less a microfilm reader.\"

\"The saying goes, \'never judge a book by its cover\', Phoenix,\" Draco answered, walking inside the small wooden building that could have easily fit inside their dorm room. Truthfully though, Draco secretly agreed with Phoenix\'s judgment.

The librarian sitting at the front desk certainly wasn\'t what Phoenix nor Draco might have expected. Instead of the stereotypical old man or woman with tiny spectacles and greying hair, they found a young man dressed in an expensive white brand name suit, with long straight ice blue hair and stormy grey eyes. That, however, wasn\'t the most striking features of the librarian. Under his left eye was a dark blue tattoo of a triangle that curved down his check. On the right side of his jaw were another two triangles that curved upwards. A finishing touch was the gold cross that hung from his left earlobe.

For a moment, even Draco was too shocked to speak his request. Finally, as if shaking himself from a trance, the raven haired boy forced a smile and spoke. \"I\'m looking for past newspaper articles for the local area?\"

The librarian didn\'t return Draco\'s smile. Phoenix suspected that the man didn\'t know the meaning of the word. Or anything that associated with joyful emotions for that matter. The man looked both Draco and Phoenix over before stepping out from behind his desk and walking down the dusty shelves of mouldy books. The place looked as if it hadn\'t received any visitors for decades.

Feeling rather doubtful and thinking they were wasting their time, Phoenix followed the librarian and his friend. Why Draco was looking for old newspapers was still somewhat a mystery to Phoenix, and he was beginning to think he might be allergic to book dust as he sneezed three times in a row.

The man showed the two boys into a tiny back room that was cluttered with junk - things one would find in an attic, not a library - and amongst the piles of relics, sitting on top of an old carved wooden chest was an ancient microfilm viewer. It was probably the first of its kind that had been marketed to the public.

\"There are some recent volumes in the corner also,\" the librarian said with an offhand gesture to the towers of yellowing paper stacked to one side of the room.

Phoenix blinked. What kind of library was this?

\"Thank you,\" Draco said with a somewhat strained smile. It looked as if it would crumble into a sob of despair any second.

The man nodded, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him. How he kept that white suit of his immaculate in this dusty historical library was beyond Phoenix\'s understanding.

Draco\'s soft sigh brought Phoenix\'s attention back to the other boy. \"I\'m not one to give up easily,\" Draco said quietly, though it was meant for his own encouragement than as a comment to Phoenix.

\"All right… So why did you drag me down here to this dump?\"

\"Research,\" Draco answered shortly before kneeling down in front of the microfilm reader and loading up the first roll. \"Last night, Gryps and I talked. There\'s a lot more to him than we know. Apparently he\'s more than just your average student. He was sent here to investigate the disappearances of students from Genesis. I thought perhaps we would find some information in the newspapers. Since it happened locally, we might be lucky.\" He looked distracted as he spoke, and even as he switched on the reader, his eyes weren\'t scanning the headlines. \"Does something about the librarian strike you as odd?\" he suddenly asked.

Dark red eyes looked up from the aged yellow newspaper they were half-heartedly reading. \"You mean aside from how he keeps so dust-free in this place? Well… He does kinda look weird for a librarian.\"

Draco mused quietly to himself. \"For some reason, I keep on thinking I know him.\" The older boy shrugged, disregarding the feeling of déjà vu and turning his attention back to his task. \"Anyway… Do you remember the Legend of Genesis the Mythology Professor was talking about a while back? I think Gryps might be the Child of Air that\'s mentioned in it.\"

The crimson eyes watching Draco blinked. \"Err… Draco, I sleep in Mythology class…\"

The older boy looked as if he would give Phoenix another lecture but thought better of it. Why waste his breath? With a sigh, he quickly filled Phoenix in, stressing the uncanny parallels of the Legend to their school and Metamorphosis.

\"So you tel telling me you think Gryps mighry wry well be the reincarnation of the God of Air,\" Phoenix said flatly at the end of it all, looking at Draco with an unamused expression. \"No offence, Draco, but it would be easier to believe he just has some freaky ability to manipulate the air molecules around him. Maybe he had hidden fans around him or something?\"

\"What of the wounds on his body then?\" Draco demanded. The older boy was certainly a logical scholar, but once an idea was planted in his mind, he wasn\'t too likely to let it be up rooted and cast aside. \"He said they were proof that the Legend of Genesis was no legend… That it was fact.\"

The image of the blood splattered Gate Into Eternity flashed in Phoenix\'s mind. The crimson eyed boy frowned. \"How is that proof?\"

\"I don\'t know. He didn\'t say, exactly,\" Draco admitted, looking a little put off. \"Look… I understand that this does sound far fetched and unbelievable, belonging in storybooks and movies even… But let\'s see what evidence there is, shall we? It\'s why I asked you to come today. You could be a little grateful to me for rescuing you from your boyfriend, and help me develop my theory.\"

\"Hn… And now I\'m being guilt-tripped into working for you as your slave? Am I any better off here with you than with Aether?\" Phoenix wondered in jest. \"But musu reu refer to Aether as my boyfriend?\" the boy demanded, making a face. \"Remember, I didn\'t have a choice in this.\"

\"Yes, yes…\" was Draco\'s reply, voice distant, mind already lost in his search for any headlines that may reveal to him some evidence to the student disappearances aside from whispered rumours.

Hours past in near silence. The only sounds were the mechanisms working in the microfilm reader and Phoenix\'s frequent yawns and occasional sneezes. The less studious boy was all but falling asleep when a black bold heading suddenly leapt out at him, capturing his attention.

LOCAL FAMILY EXPERIANCES TRAGERDY

There wasn\'t any mention of the school. It hadn\'t even happened in this town, but rather at one further down the coast. But what it told of the incident that occurred two years ago chilled Phoenix\'s heart.

Faded printed words danced in front of him, screaming out \'twins\', \'sister\', \'murder\'. It took three readings before Phoenix could grasp the full tale, and even then he could only sit mutely, yawns and sneezes forgotten, reading it over once more.

What did this explain? This tragic story. Why was it important at all? Maybe it wasn\'t, not to the Legend of Genesis or the student disappearances Draco sought so endlessly to find evidence one.

However, one of the names that appeared made the article relevant.

Gryps Aura.

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