Divinitas

005 - The Violet Angel


The rich scent of food served to put Phoenix out of his misery. After all, eleven years of never having a decent meal unless he stole one, and then suddenly being served exquisite dishes would be enough to make anyone forget their worries and simply drool.

The cafeteria was set up like an all-you-can-eat buffet, with a wide range of food available to suit the diverse taste buds of the student population. The tables and chairs were scattered sparsely over the large floor space, leaving wide walkways between each table.

Unlike the circular Metamorphosis training hall deep beneath them, the dinning hall was square and quite modern in appearance. Here the ceiling lacked the collage of sky and angelic beings and beasts, opting for a plain white wash. Two sides of the walls sported ceiling to floor windows, with only thin supporting frames to give a majestic and inspiring view the of moon washed ocean below.

Though there was no specified tables allocated to the Houses, there were distinct sections that each House had claimed for themselves, easily distinguished as their members milled around them like frenzied black ants.

Both the Child of Air and the Child of Water shot looks of contempt towards Phoenix as the boy walked past with his plate of food. Already they considered the boy a threat. Anyone that the Child of Soul took an interest in was not one to underestimate.

Draco and Phoenix located Chima who was sitting at a table with Gryps. One would think it impossible to eat as fast as Chima was doing and still talk another person\'s ear off, but that was exactly what the younger boy was doing to Gryps. The unemotional braided boy had a blank mask fixed over his facial features, but it was easy to tell he was greatly annoyed by the slight shaking of his shoulders and the twitch that had developed on his forehead.

Upon seeing the other two arrive, Chima paused his chattering and gave an energetic wave of greeting. \"The food is great here, isn\'t it?\" he asked, mouth full of half-chewed food. Both Draco and Phoenix quickly lifted their plates to avoid the spray from Chima\'s mouth.

\"Don\'t speak with your mouth full,\" Draco told the younger boy firmly, gingerly placing his plate back on the polished wooden table that was now speckled with minute bits of food.

The boy just grinned before returning to shovelling food down his throat.

\"Rather pathetic of you to be beaten up on your first day,\" Gryps\' commented coolly, not bothering to lift his head to meet Phoenix\'s suddenly furious glare.

\"No one asked for your opinion,\" the fiery haired boy bit out, slamming his plate down with more force than was necessary, sending portions of his food jumping onto the already food-littered table. \"I\'d like to see how you\'d have dealt with that Child of Soul since you obviously think you\'re some hot shot!\"

Gryps slowly raised his icy eyes and gave Phoenix a patronising look. \"Firstly, I would have known better than to actually challenge the Child of Soul. And secondly, I am a hot shot,\" he replied with mocking sincerity in his voice. \"Whatever the case, your little scene has made you a very popular topic of conversation. Every where I go, I hear of the hot headed idiot that dared try to punch the Child of Soul, and also was stupid enough to push the Child of Air around and mock the Child of Water. And for his troubles, he now has a very appealing gash along his back, not to mention he\'s become something of an infamous figure within Genesis.\"

Without warning, Phoenix\'s hand shot out and fisted around Gryps\' collar, hauling the slender boy up out of his seat. \"Aren\'t we a know-it-all,\" Phoenix growled, red eyes burning into the icy silver ones. \"I\'ve still yet to pay you back for the scratch you gave me, you cold bastard. You really piss me off, you know that-\"

Phoenix was suddenly cut off as something attached itself to his back, purposely rubbing right up against the fresh wound, sending the boy arching forward in pain. Gryps jerked back, and simply stared. Something akin to shock and surprise registering in his usually frozen eyes.

Cascading locks of curling violet streamed down around a heart shaped face dominated by large aqua eyes. Eyes that shone with playful intent and radiated pure delight. The girl\'s slender arms were locked around Phoenix\'s middle, and her well developed breasts, shown amply via the form fitting girls\' Metamorphosis uniform, were pressed firmly against the poor boy\'s lacerated back.

\"I finally found you!\" the girl exclaimed with glee, rubbing her cheek against the back of Phoenix\'s bare neck, sending shivers of pure terror running up and down the boy\'s spine. \"You are undoubtedly the most amusing and cute boy I\'ve ever seen!\" she announced, squeezing the absolutely terrified boy harder. \"I\'m gonna keep ya, k? Call me Casi, even though my name is actually Casimir. And I\'ll call you my Little Phoenix!\" she gushed with delight, finally letting go of Phoenix\'s waist, only to transfer her death hold to around the boy\'s neck.

The boy, who had in less than one day made a reputation for himself as being a stubborn, fiery tempered, hot headed boy, eepped. He didn\'t growl, he didn\'t go \'Hn\', he went \'eep\'. Then promptly collapsed on the table from lack of oxygen to his brain.

The large aqua eyes blinked, her smooth skinned arms sliding off Phoenix\'s now prone form. \"Did I break him already?\" she asked innocently, and seated herself beside the boy she claimed she was going to keep, poking the seemingly lifeless flaming haired head that had landed right in his plate of food.

Draco shook his head slightly, trying to get a grasp on the scene that had just played itself out before him. It was certainly unexpected. The older brotherly figure quickly lifted Phoenix\'s face off his meal less he suffocated, and set to work wiping off the mashed potato and gravy that cling to his pale cheeks. \"You really don\'t react well to others showing an interest in you, do you?\" Draco said quietly, more to himself than Phoenix.

All this time, Chima had been trying desperately hard to keep from laughing. His mouth was still filled with food, a bomb waiting to explode. Gryps shook himself out of his dazed staring, and promptly stood up and walked out of the dinning hall, a stern expression imprinted in his sharp face.

A giggle from Casi made Draco pause and look at her with his sapphire eyes. \"What is so funny?\" he demanded softly, eyeing the violet haired girl as she twirled a twisted lock of hair in her left hand.

\"Your hair,\" she answered with a wide sweet smile that would have sent the Devil in Hell running.

Draco simply stared at her, not really knowing what to make of the comment.

\"Those two strands… They look like a capital M! It\'s like you\'re advertising for McDonalds!\" she explained enthusiastically, pointing to the top of Draco\'s head.

The look of mortified dignity on Draco\'s face was the last draw. Chima erupted in laughter, sending another much more concentrated spray of food over the table, showing the three sitting opposite him, and then promptly fell off his seat, clutching his sides as his laughing fit took over.

By some strange cosmic force, not one speck of food splattered on Casi, whilst both Draco and Phoenix were rained upon. The older boy gave a small cough, and resumed wiping the food off Phoenix\'s slack face. \"I can\'t help how my hair is,\" he said quietly, hurt pride in his voice. \"Why are you interested in Phoenix?\" Draco interrogated suddenly.

\"I\'m a cheerleader for the House of Fire,\" Casi revelled, winking. \"I\'m in fourth year, so I know a winner when I see one. Just wanted to stake my claim on him before he became famous!\"

\"You\'re a bit late for that…\" Draco muttered.

\"Indeed you are.\" A powerful hand took the cloth napkin from Draco\'s loose grip. \"He\'s mine, Casimir.\"

Draco knew this was beyond him. Way beyond him. He slid his still untouched plate of food across the table and moved to sit beside Chima\'s vacated chair. The boy was only just now trying to crawl back onto it, and failing miserably. A sudden relapse of the laughing fit had him sliding back onto the tiled floor again. Ignoring the on-goings around him, Draco ate his dinner in silence, his mind playing a sweet composition he himself had written for the piano.

The young girl simply glared. A sixteen year old conducting a staring contest with an eighteen year old. \"Isn\'t he a bit young for you, Aether?\" Casi retorted. \"He\'s in my year. People will think a c a cradle snatcher.\"

The Child of Soul took Draco\'s seat, setting the napkin aside. \"I\'ve never cared what other people think,\" he said with an almost evil smile and took Phoenix\'s face in both of his long fingered hands. And then proceeded to lick the remaining gravy off the boy\'s face with his pink tongue, each stoke sensual and caressing.

Twin burning sensations against his cheeks stirred Phoenix from his blissful state of ignorance. Something soft and wet was moving over his face, brushing against his sensitive eyelids. Unconsciously his hands came up to push the obstacle that prevented him from his peaceful sleep away from his face, only to slide up against silky fine hair and alabaster smooth skin, and then a hot wet mouth and tongue that took Phoenix\'s wandering fingers into itself.

Instantly his red orbs snapped open, and seeing the golden haired form of Aether sitting right beside him, smiling playfully with his teeth gently nipping his fingers, the boy shot backwards so fast the chair toppled over behind him. One hand raced to his face there Aether\'s tongue had touched, whilst his body seemed to want to separate completely from the one that had been taken in that seductive mouth. \"You licked me…!\" Phoenix squeaked, having somewhat lost the full power of his voice, his heart was that high up in his throat.

\"You\'re so childish, Aether! You think licking him will prevent me from taking him?\" Casi promptly clamped herself to Phoenix\'s outstretched arm, causing the boy to have another freak out.

Aeths ons one-eyed glare was enough to stripe paint from a wall, and whilst the indirect rays completely creeped Phoenix out, the girl wasn\'t affected in the least. \"Let go of him, Casimir,\" the Child of Soul threatened, empathising his words by withdrawing his katana from his belt.

Casi stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at Aether.

The Child of Soul wasn\'t amused. The blade of the katana shot out of its sheath and sliced through the space between Casi and Phoenix, sending Phoenix shying away with eyes as large as dinner plates.

Casi simply side stepped. \"Jealous, aren\'t we?\" she taunted, small delicate hands on her hips defiantly.

Aether\'s eye narrowed, moving into an attack stance with his katana. \"I\'m warning you, Casimir. He is mine.\"

Several moments passed as the two stood in a face off with one another, aqua gaze challenging amethyst, ignorant to the world around them.

Draco coughed loudly to attract their attention. \"The one you two are fighting over snuck out of here whilst you were bickering.\" He pointed at the distant back of Phoenix running down the corridor. \"I don\'t mean any disrespect to eithe you you, but perhaps you should lighten up on Phoenix? It\'s obvious he has issues with intimacy and the idea of ownership. Neither of you are achieving anything other that terrifying him.\"

A bone chilling smile stole over Aether\'s perfect pale lips. \"You needn\'t worry, Draco. I\'m quite aware of Phoenix\'s background. Believe me when I say I know him very well. He is, and will always be, mine.\"

Draco watched with quiet surprised as Aether sheathed his katana and walked out of the dinning hall without a backward glance. \"He knew my name,\" Draco whispered to himself, a frown creasing his smooth forehead.

\"Aether has connections. And an uncanny ability to second guess any person\'s motives. It\'s not simply because he\'s the most skilled Metamorphosis player Genesis has ever seen that he\'s so well respected at this school. He also has a very powerful presence that demands acknowledgement. In reality, only a fool would challenge Aether, Metamorphosis duel or no. And well, maybe the first years and you guys who simply do not know any better. But me? I\'m just like to have fun,\" she said with a wink, reverting back to her positive and playful persona.

The blue eyed boy regarded her with suspicion, though his nature would allow nothing less than civil words to pass this tongue. \"I\'ve known Phoenix only since today. I do not claim to know him well, or what may have transpired in his past except that he is an orphan. But I do know that he\'s been through many difficulties in his life and he\'s never been shown true compassion. What you and Aether are doing is confusing him. If you truly like him, then you will reconsider your method of approach.\"

Casi simply laughed in the wake of Draco\'s seriously spoken words. A sweet angel\'s laugh that chimed like church bells. \"But who ever said I truly liked him?\" In a swirl of shimmering violet, the girl stood and skipped from the hall, a wide smile upon her doll-like face.

The smallest flicker of contempt flashed across Draco\'s face before the boy forced it from his system. So this Casimir did not hold a true fascination in Phoenix. Then logic would have her using him for alternative motive. Which was worse? A girl who played with a boy\'s feelings for her own ends, or a boy who played with another boy as if he were a doll?

A loud contented breath sounded from beside him. A small arm draped itself across the seat of the chair and hauan ean exhausted body up from the floor. There were tears of laughter running down the boy\'s flushed face which Chima now wiped carelessly away. He grinned up at Draco, failing to notice the depth of concentration obscuring his face.

\"So, what\'d I miss?\"

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