Divinitas

039 - Silent Interlude

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In the wake of the happenings near the conclusion of their Equestrian Skills Exam, Casi was perhaps the one most outwardly devastated by it. She seemed on the verge of breaking down when the nurse said she didn\'t know why Aether still hadn\'t waken up, despite there being no sign of damage or concussion. Her interest in teasing Phoenix and playing with Chima had disappeared, leaving a lost little girl in its wake.

Phoenix forced himself to act as if none of this affected him, going to all of his classes and sitting the numerous exams. He avoided visiting Aether in the hospital wing at all costs, even if the ache in his soul ate away at him every second of every day. He just couldn\'t bring himself to see Aether, just couldn\'t come face to face with the fact that he had failed to save him. The ifs and maybes were driving him insane. If he hadn\'t turned his back on Aether… If he had grabbed Shiro Tsuki\'s reins before Aether had forced her up the track to the lookout… Then maybe none of this would have happened, and that fiend would be making some lewd comment to him right now instead of lying motionless on that overly white and sterile hospital bed.

The exam week passed agonizingly slowly, yet by Sunday night, Aether still showed no sign of waking up. If someone asked Phoenix what made him finally step into the private room in the hospital wing that housed Aether\'s sleeping form, he could not have given a straight forward answer. What really made a person give up fighting themselves? Realisation that doing so was pointless, and that sometimes all you could do to help yourself was do what your whims demanded? Perhaps.

The crimson eyed boy turned the lock on the door and leaned back against it, eyes resting on Aether\'s moonlight drenched form. The tall windows behind Aether\'s bed let the star and moon light bath the dark room, the electric lights having been turned off after the nurse had made her last round.

\"Chima found Shiro Tsuki on Monday,\" Phoenix began softly, still leaning up against the door, as if afraid to approach Aether. \"She was a mess,\" Phoenix continued, painting a false smile on his face and taking up a joking tone. \"She certainly wasn\'t white when she was brought back to the stables…!\"

A heavy silence followed in the wake of the ill attempted joke. The faked light-hearted emotions faded from Phoenix\'s visage.

\"You know… You\'re the first person I\'ve ever served detention for…\" A soft sombre smile touched Phoenix\'s lips. \"You\'re also the only one I\'ve ever cared about as more than a friend… I\'ve been alone for the last ten years of my life… And the time I spent with my parents before that have been dimmed with time and are now only distant childhood memories… More like a fairy tale than reality.

\"You treated me like shit when I first arrived here. And I really did hate you at times, because all you did was remind me of how worthless I was, the way you treated me like a possession to do with as you please.\" There was no malice in Phoenix\'s voice as he spoke. Just a quiet reflection, as one often employed when examining themselves. \"But… you also made me feel wanted and needed. You were always possessive and obsessive…

\"I… don\'t know how to react to you now. You\'re no longer holding me, and you\'re no longer tellingI beI belong to you. So I\'m kind of at a loss as to what do to. I can\'t even pretend to fight you when you don\'t fight back…\" Phoenix pushed himself off the door and made his way silently to Aether\'s bed.

\"Why did you do this…?\" Phoenix whispered, voice catching in his throat as it suddenly crictricted with inner conflict. The boy leaned down over Aether, hands clutching at Aether\'s hospital shirt, forehead resting against forehead. \"Why did you want this to happen? Why did you stall…?\"

Silence answered the pleading boy\'s question, just as motionlessness was the reaction to his touch. Phoenix crawled onto the bed, laying down besides the older boy and resting his head on the same pillow.

\"It\'s kinda strange…\" Phoenix spoke again, voice wavering, eyes roaming cautiously over Aether\'s pale features. \"That I\'m doing all the talking for once. And that I\'m confessing that I care about you and worry over you, and you don\'t tease me about loving you.\"

The younger boy reached out and touched Aether\'s smooth face, brushing the golden silk strands aside to reveal the right side of his face. Like the left side, it was flawless and pale, skin reminiscent of white marble.

\"You know, I\'ve never seen you look at me with both your eyes. It\'s almost as if you\'re half hiding from the world…\" Phoenix closed his eyes and pressed his face up against Aether\'s neck, taking in Aether\'s faint scent and smiling ruefully to himself. \"I can\'t believe I\'m saying such things to you while you\'re unconscious… I sound like a bad melodrama.\"

Minutes passed by in calm silence, as Phoenix simply laid there against Aether\'s sleeping form. The wind occasionally rattled the windows above them as the moon made its journey across the star strewn sky.

\"I\'m sorry I couldn\'t protect you from this,\" Phoenix said finally as he drew away from Aether and slid off the bed. \"Casi said it was my fault… And somehow I know she\'s right. I don\'t know what I did to make you take off like that. And I don\'t know what else I could have done to help you after you\'d fallen off the lookout.\" A bitter smile stained Phoenix\'s lips as he walked to the door, resting his hand on the handle. \"To be honest, I feel pretty useless to you… I don\'t know why you want me to begin with. Or why anyone would want me, for that matter,\" he added before he opened the door and left.

The walls around the small hospital room shimmered, and a child with golden eyes appeared, plopping itself down on Aether\'s bed, letting its legs dangle over the edge and swinging them playfully.

\"Hmmm… Isn\'t it kinda cruel to leave the Sacred Bird of Fire hanging like that?\" Genesis asked, looking up at ceiling with its large golden eyes. The white wash ceiling slowly began to fill with painted gods and goddesses, until it looked as if it were a crowded room beyond the solid stone. The beings and mythical creatures in the ceiling shifted and danced, smiling down at the quiet room.

\"He does not want to become the Child of Fire… He does not want to become the God of Fire either. What choice to I have?\" Aether\'s voice returned softly.

\"Why not…? I want us to be one big happy family again,\" the child pouted, hurt obvious in its voice.

\"Because you were too enthusiastic in making him want to come here, Genesis… You used him to kill his mortal parents. As a result, he hates the mere idea that he has the ability to control fire at will,\" Aether answered, the image of him appearing, leaning against the wall. He was smiling at Genesis though, as if to say its actions were acceptable, and that he wasn\'t upset at the child.

Genesis sniffled all the same and vanished. The ceiling above them returned to its plain white.

Walking over to where his body laid, silent and still upon the white hospital sheets, the Child of Soul examined his own face. \"It\'s fine… After all, he belongs here, doesn\'t he? He is mine, just as the other Children are mine. Because I certainly paid dearly enough for them.\" A gust of wind that originated from nowhere blew across Aether\'s sleeping form, moving the golden stands back over the right side of his face and covering the closed sleeping eye.



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\"It\'s been a week…\" Ari\'s cool voice mocked. \"So why haven\'t you moved out yet as you promised to do when you found out about Casi?\"

Gryps glared down at Ari, who was still lounging on the bed they shared, naked with only the sheets covering his lower half. He busied himself with pulling on his Metamorphosis winter uniform, refusing to answer the obviously baited question.

\"Oh, I almost forgot! The Trails start today, don\'t they?\" Ari commented with a broad smile that looked very disturbing on his feminine face. \"The Metamorphosis training hall is reserved for the House of Fire on Mondays, so it\'s their preliminary trials tonight, isn\'t it? What do you think Aether has up his sleeve to induce Phoenix to win?\"

Silver eyes narrowed. \"Aether is still unconscious in the hospital wing.\"

Ari only smiled. \"About that… Why did you help rescue him?\" the older twin asked with fake innocence. \"Maybe, if you had left him there, he would have died… Then your wish will have come true, wouldn\'t it? Without him, we can never become the God of Air and you will never have to share your body wie, ie, isn\'t that so?\"

Gryps remained silent, but his motions became frozen, a bitter and angry expression transfiguring his delicate face.

\"But tell me… Tomorrow night, when the preliminaries are held for the House of Air… Do you intend to win? Or, because you no longer have my empty threat of hurting Casi hanging over your head, you will endeavour to lose as Phoenix plans to?\" Ari wondered, the smile never wavering.

\"I will win,\" Gryps answered quietly after a long moment of silence, turning his back on Ari and heading to the door. \"Because I have no choice, right, Ari?\" Without waiting for a reply, Gryps slipped out of their room, his silver braid trailing out behind him.

\"Of course…\" Ari whispered with a smile. \"After all… Phoenix is going to be paying very dearly for his pride and stubbornness, isn\'t he, Dearest Brother…\"



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By the time dinner rolled around, the whole school was chattering with excitement, thrilled about the upcoming Preliminary Trials. Unlike the normal training sessions, everyone was invited to watch the lead up as well as the final Trials held on Friday. Apparently though, this was tradition, and not something Ares approved of. He kept on muttering something about spies from the other houses checking out all their fire moves as he literally dragged Phoenix down to the training hall.

As they entered the immense training hall, Ares dropped Phoenix\'s wrist and hurried away to prepare for the Preliminary Trials, ordering Phoenix to stay put like some ill behaved puppy. Phoenix, for once, didn\'t even try to protest. Ares may not have noticed, high on his enthusiasm, but the younger boy was sombre at best, lacking his usual fiery spirit. In all honesty, all Phoenix wanted to do was try out, fail miserably, and then go to bed.

The cheerleaders for the House of Fiere ere doing their best, but lacking Casi seemed to be a great weakness to them. Their leader had been sulking in her room since the end of the Equestrian Skills Exam, according to her close girl friends, and had refused to come out even for the Trials.

When all the candidates from the House of Fire had arrived, Ares called for attention, shutting up the cheerleaders by threatening them with his double ended sword.

\"Okay! Let me explain the rules and then we\'ll get started!\" Ares bellowed, standing in a cleared space in the middle of the training hall, surrounded by the candidates and spectators from the remainder of the school. \"The Preliminaries are simple. Every candidate that wishes to try out for the title of Child of Fire will enter into a Battle Royal with all other hopefuls. The last one standing will enter into the Final Trials held on Friday, and will fight one on one with me. Any questions? No? Then let\'s get started!\"

Phoenix heaved a sigh as all the other candidates headed towards a simulator, the hall trembling with noise. This, at least, promised to be an easy way to let himself be defeated. He was heading towards the nearest vacant simulator when someone grabbed his wrist, halting him effectively.

Gryps was glaring at him with cold silver eyes, slender tanned hand gripping Phoenix\'s wrist tightly enough to hurt. \"If you do not intend to become the Child of Fire… Do not try out.\"

Scarlet eyes frowned, seeking out the icy grey ones to see their coldness and seriousness stare back at him. Phoenix was about to demand why when Ares appeared from no where and yanked him free, dragging him off to the simulator, muttering something about unwilling and difficult heirs.

\"Well, at least you can take comfort in knowing you tried…\" Ari drawled sarcastically with a less that comforting smile, draping an arm around Gryps\' mostly bare shoulders. \"I didn\'t know you cared about your comrades… Oh, wait, you don\'t. The one who has already given up on changing his destiny now pushes his ambition onto his unwitting and naïve friend… My, my, Gryps, you\'re more devious and evil than I am,\" Ari grinned as Gryps shrugged him off angrily.

Draco\'s and Chima\'s appearance halted Gryps\' intent to cause some grievous bodily harm to his twin brother, and the group turned their eyes upwards to watch the beginning of the match.

The LCDs glowed, revealing images of the playing field for the Battle Royal that would soon commence. Unlike the usual barren rolling hills, the setting for this fight was a lava pit in the cauldron of an immense volcano.

\"Someone has a sick sense of humour…\" Ari commented, amusement in his voice. Gryps glanced sidewards at him, and Ari, fully expecting it, grinned back. \"After all… This was where the original Child of Fire was sacrificed to become the God of Fire, wasn\'t it?\" the older twin smirked before turning back towards the LCDs and the battle, leaving Gryps to stare at him with incomprehension.

On the screens, the seven candidates stood on various islands of solid rock in the lake of fire. Scattered stepping stones speckled the volatile environment, linking the larger land masses.

The first thing Gryps noticed, before any of the candidates had begun to move to their nearest opponent, was that Phoenix had fallen to his hands and knees, trembling. His weapon laid discarded on the rocky ground beside him, useless to him in his current state.

\"Ne, what\'s wrong with Phoenix?\" Chima asked, staring up at the LCD with large concerned emerald eyes.

The figure on the screen suddenly jerked, as if being yanked on invisible strings. Strained fingers reached out and closed around the dormant weapon in a death grip, lifting it from the hot dry ground. Phoenix staggered, as if torn between the desire to move and to remain still. Something suddenly snapped, one side winning the internal fight.

In a streak of black and crimson, Phoenix leapt across the divides of molten lava, never hesitant of the immense heat that welled up from it. Within a second of landing agilely on the nearest island where another boy stood, Phoenix began attacking, weapon striking again and again with unabated ferocity. His opponent could only retreat, until finally the boy pushed Phoenix away long enough to summon a fire attack, blasting it at Phoenix\'s chest at point blank range.

A great fireball engulfed Phoenix, spinning the illusion that the fiery boy had been defeated. The other candidate heaved with exhaustion, sweat trickling down his brow as he watched the great fire burn. But soon the fireball sitting in the middle of the island began to shrink, as if the flames were being sucked into the core. Moments later the last the flames whipped away to reveal an untouched Phoenix, standing with his arm held out towards to the candidate, an alien confident smile twisting his lips. The fire ball was concentrated in the palm of his hand, spinning slowly.

The other candidate\'s eyes widened, involuntarily taking a step back towards the edge of the rocky island. Phoenix\'s fingers curled around the burning ball, grasping it tightly in his hand. With a powerful thrust, Phoenix threw it spinning towards the other candidate, the fire ball expanding at an exponential rate as it travelled through the air to slam full on into the other boy\'s chest. The impact sent him flying backwards, falling off the edge of the island and into the molten sea of lava with a bright flaming splash.

\"Well, isn\'t Phoenix enthusiastic…\" Ari commented with a dark smile, as Phoenix moved towards the next opponent without a backwards glance.

Chima and Draco could only watch in stunned silence as Phoenix moved through the candidates, taking less and less time to defeat each one in a brutal inhumane way. Until the last candidate was defeated, the blade of Phoenix\'s double ended sword through her stomach, the fiery boy didn\'t stop. Even then, with the girl\'s blood splatter across his face, Phoenix was still smiling confidently, enjoying the massacre he had just made of his team mates.

The entire hall was shocked into silence. Not even Ares had been prepared to witness such a violent one sided battle for the Preliminaries Trials. The unreserved fighting was too extreme compared to Phoenix\'s normal style. The total lack of any moral conflicts as he had eliminated each of his team members was disturbing, even to Ares who wanted Phoenix to win the Trails. As it stood now… The current Child of Fire felt a touch of discomfort concerning his own battle with the younger player, who was even now smiling at his audience, saying clearly in his f gaz gaze that he would win at any cost.

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