Divinitas

006 - Desperately Remembering Dreams


Footsteps echoed loudly along the darkened halls. The dim light from the lamps mounted upon the walls threw staggering shadows in all directions like the blackest demons rising from the depths of Hell. Statues carved from dead stone seemed to move, raising a clawed paw to strike, bearing long blade-sharp fangs to bite.

His back hurt. It ached. It throbbed. Each stitch stung and itched as if the needle was still threading the burning line through his flesh. Each beat of his heart multiplied the pain, connected it to him, that boy with the golden hair and soul searing amethyst eye. What power would there be behind a direct gaze were his right eye not obscured from view by his long yellow fringe.

Why was he such a coward?! To have run from him, to have run from that girl? That he should shake now like a leaf in the midst of a cyclone, heart pounding like a gong whose echo shattered all semblance of logical thought in his mind.

With a roar of rage, the boy slammed a fist into the closest wall, relishing the pain that bit into his bones and spread like wild fire up his arm. \"I\'m meant to be strong,\" Phoenix seethed through clenched teeth. \"Why the fuck did I run from them? Run like a child from some monster in a fairytale!\"

Anger and frustration rose in almost visible fumes from his body. Phoenix was not a happy boy as he stormed back towards his dorm room.

As his footsteps faded into the distance, the wall Phoenix punched resonated. Hummed as if it were alive and empathised with Phoenix\'s pain. And then very distinctly, a beat. A si thu thump of an immense heart, its pulse racing along each and every vein. Veins that were in fact the hallways and corridors of the Castle of Genesis.

~ * ~

The screen glowed brightly displaying a report Gryps was typing up with amazing speed, slender fingers flying over the compacted laptop keyboard. The report detailed the operations of Genesis, the society that revolved around Metamorphosis and rankings such as Child and Sacrifice. Another sentence, and the first submission was completed.

Genesis may well be an ancient castle that sat upon a cliff overlooking a small tourist town, but the technology it had employed within its medieval walls was state of the art. Each room had connections to the Local Area Network that allowed its students access to archived information if they possessed the necessary equipment. Of course, the LAN was connected to the Internet, so it was no challenge to simply encode the report and send it off to illocllocated anonymous email address.

Just as Gryps pressed Alt and S to send, the door to the dorm room creaked open. The slam vibrated the glass of the windows as the boy closed it with enough force to wrench an ordinary door from its hinges.

\"Don\'t talk to me.\" The growl was feral. One of an injured wild animal that would attack anyone who dared try to treat its wounds.

Silver eyes turned and looked Phoenix up and down. The boy leaned against the door, arms pressed up against the lacquered wood for support. His breathing was irregular, and his body language was that of a lost little boy filled with rage at the world that dared play with him like nothing more than a toy only to be tossed away afterwards.

A little boy. Of silver eyes and long silky hair. The embodiment of innocence. Laughter drifted on the wind above the roar of the waves crashing on the rocks below. Identical hands grasped together, urging the other along as two pairs of the same feet splashed through the sparkling blue waters, sending up waves of crystal like water drops to capture the sunlight.

Gryps shut his eyes, shaking the childhood memory from his head. Seeing that girl… Casimir. She looked exactly like… her.

Automatically, he shut his laptop down and rose from his seat. \"You look like shit,\" Gryps stated, removing a change of clothes from his set of drawers.

\"I don\'t need you to fucking tell me that.\"

The silver haired boy smirked. \"You could have fooled me. Standing there like that in your own little world.\" He walked past the Phoenix who was now glaring red daggers at him, heading towards the bathroom.

Phoenix was faster, darting into the bathroom and slamming the door in Gryps face. Triumphant laughter sounded from within. \"Ah, but I can still beat you any day!\"

The silver icy eyes glared at the locked door. \"You\'re just like my damned brother.\"

~ * ~

Relief coursed through Phoenix\'s body, unwinding beneath the hot shower like a taunt violin string being slowly loosened to achieve the right note. It was so refreshing to be here, this small sanctuary that was devoid of any reminder of the darkness within the Castle of Genesis. Those paintings and expertly carved statues were superb, but there was something very unsettling about them. They were too… perfect.

This day had been one of the longest in Phoenix\'s sixteen years of life, coming second to none except perhaps that fateful day. The boy winced as he punched himself in the forehead. \"Don\'t think about that!\" he scolded himself, stepping out of the shower and turning the taps off.

Annoyed crimson eyes glared at him from the mirror, his spiky hair still holding its gravity defying ability despite being water logged. He had scrubbed his face so hard in an attempt to remove the sensation of Aether\'s tongue roaming over it that it was still a rash red. Like a girlish blush staining his cheeks. Hell would freeze over before Phoenix would admit that it was a blush. A blush that was born from the thought of Aether touching him in such an intimate way… Damn it, even his ears were burning up!

In retrospect, he had over reacted. And that was an understatement. Really, when did he, Phoenix, run away from someone? Pathetic didn\'t even begin to cover it. The larger portion of his mind was berating him for being so cowardly in general, but another voice was asking, why were these thoughts only in reference to the Child of Soul? Why not to that girl who called herself Casi?

Well… Whilst the whole idea of a girl being so friendly towards him filled Phoenix with a certain degree of dread, it didn\'t bring to surface that heart stopping fear that Aether summoned with a mere seductive glance…

\"Hn. I\'m not gay,\" he said stubbornly, fiery eyes burning brighter in his reflection as he snatched a towel from the rack to dry his hair and body. Wrapping the towel around his thin waist, Phoenix gathered up his discarded clothing from the smooth tiled floor, before pulling open the door. Upon leaving, Phoenix carefully picked up the strip of fine black cloth resting on the vanity. There was a bitter sweet smile on his pale lips as his finger tips absentmindedly traced the gold kanji stitched there. His most prized and yet despised possession.

Phoenix didn\'t acknowledge the icy glare from Gryps has he stepped out of the bathroom and threw his used clothes on this bed, hands expertly tying up the bandana around his forehead beneath his fringe of golden red locks.

To his right, Chima was already curled up in bed under the sheets, the drapes partly drawn against the bright light of the dorm room. He looked exactly like a cherub with his content smile and messy chestnut curls. In his small hands he ched hed two shiny red apples… Which reminded Phoenix of the fact that he never ate anything at dinner. His stomach growled painfully in sympathy.

\"He took them from the dinning hall for you.\"

Phoenix smiled softly. It was such an alien feeling, to be appreciative of kindness. Yet it was warm, comforting, something one could easily grow to like. \"Thanks, Chima,\" Phoenix said kindly, easing the prized fruits from the child\'s hands.

Chima stirred in his slumber, yet did not wake. The smile turned into a joyful grin as he rolled over, snoring lightly.

Straightening up, Phoenix turned around and walked towards Draco who sat seated at the central table, pouring over sheets of crisp white paper and text books. Biting into one of the fresh apple with a loud crunch, Phoenix plopped himself down on a seat opposite the older boy, still covered only with the large deep purple towel wrapped around his waist.

Draco raised an eyebrow at Phoenix, sitting there as if he did not know the meaning of modesty. \"Classes commence tomorrow. I\'m going over our timetables,\" Draco explained as he caught Phoenix eyeing his work. \"How\'s your back?\"

\"Itchy,\" Phoenix replied between bites of the second apple. \"Like there\'s tiny sharp legs crawling over it. And it still hurts like Hell.\"

\"Why don\'t get some rest then? I have everything covered.\"

Phoenix nodded. He did feel exhausted, more so than he had been more many years. Swallowing the last of the apple core, leaving only the two wooden stems on the table like little twigs, Phoenix searched his old fall-a-part bag for a pair of boxers. Dropping his towel on the bed, he pulled the underwear on, regardless of the fact that he had been completely nude in front of the older boy for several moments.

\"For someone who runs away from interested parties such as Aether and Casimir, you sure aren\'t bashful,\" Draco commented.

\"You try growing up in an orphanage. I use to have baths with other kids when I was younger. Besides, we\'re all guys here… As for Aether and Casimir… They\'re not interested, just creepy and obsessive,\" Phoenix replied with a yawn.

Draco gave a soft laugh. \"Night, Phoenix.\"

The cool silken sheets were welcomed against Phoenix\'s warm skin, sliding like embracing liquid over the wound along his back. Having strength only to partly draw the curtains around his bed, Phoenix quickly drifted off into a much needed slumber.

~ * ~

Sunset. The sky was on fire, the clouds of burning gold and red weaving though the sky like tails of wild horses, others like towering mountains. Moving at a great velocity, gliding on wings of golden flames, a bird like creature sliced through the atmosphere, threading through the clouds gracefully. A child was sitting astride the magical beast, laughing, filled with joy at the sensations of flying on such a magnificent creature.

The duo dipped through the clouds, revealing another world below the golden cloudscape. There, perched on top of the world, where the ocean met the land, was the tall gleaming towers of a grand castle. The bird of fire swooped down, carrying the child towards the castle, and round and round they flew, circling the high towers, weaving between them to glimpse beautifully furnished rooms.

So happy, that child. His face was alight with pleasure at seeing such wealth, such craftsmanship.

The bird soared skyward again, up into the dying light of the sun. The castle below began to grow smaller and dimmer. But suddenly, a gigantic hand rose up from the castle, a dull red, fingers outstretched towards the child and the bird.

No matter how high the bird flew, or how fast, the hand was gaining on them. And then the hand closed around them, sealing out the last rays of sunlight.

Inside the hand, the child stared blindly, desperately waiting for his vision to adjust. The bird of fire was gone. He was alone, trapped within a dull red hand. With trembling fingers, he reached out to touch the surface of his prison. It wasn\'t smooth. There were lumps and depressions. He squinted his crimson eyes, peering closely at the surface.

A scream erupted from the child\'s throat.

~ * ~

A cool hand was suddenly clamped mercilessly over Phoenix\'s mouth. \"Shut up or you\'ll wake the others,\" Gryps\' voice hissed in his ear.

The beating of Phoenix\'s heart was audible in his ears. His wide crimson eyes darted widely until they locked on Gryps\' cold silver ones. Like Phoenix, he only wore a pair of black silk boxers, and the moonlight streaming in through the high arched windows painted his darkened skin in an ethereal glow.

Angrily, Phoenix shoved Gryps\' hand away from his mouth. \"Don\'t touch me,\" the boy half snarled, half whispered in a panicked voice. He was distracted. That dream. The same dream… Just before he awoke that fateful night to find himself in a nest of golden flames. Flames that licked and devoured all except him. Everything was the same… Only this time, his hands lacked that burning warmth. They were covered with a cold sweat that clung to his entire body.

Gryps withdrew, walking back to his bed, his long silver braid swaying seductively between bare graceful legs like a tail. The feminine boy seated himself down on his bed and studied Phoenix as he laid there, straining to calm his breathing. \"The dream. It was of this castle, wasn\'t it.\"

Phoenix turned his head sharply to stare at Gryps with burning red eyes.

A bitter smile stained Gryps\' thin pale lips. \"Or didn\'t you realise that they were one and the same, the castle in the dream, and the Castle of Genesis?\" Gryps asked with a slight smirk. One that soon faded back into the bitter expression he wore before.

\"What did you dream?\" Phoenix asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

\"Immense happiness. And then terror…\" he trailed off. He didn\'t mention that this was the dream he first dreamt when his sister had been murder. Nor that it was reoccurring, every night like a vigilant haunting. He shook his head slightly, and refocused his cold glare at Phoenix. \"The dream… Not everyone dreams it. But many of those who come to the School of Genesis dream similar dreams.\"

\"How do you know?\"

Another smirk. \"I have my sources.\"

\"What? Like, suck up your ass?\"

Usually, Gryps was a very composed boy, trained that way over the last year or so of his life. However, Phoenix had the uncanny ability to simply piss him off. The The pillow shot through the air and smothered Phoenix\'s face, wiping the grin from those silently laughing lips.

The fiery boy fumed. \"You\'re not getting this back!\" he told Gryps and promptly sat on the offending pillow.

Gryps simply jerked his drapes closed, calling upon every ounce of his will power not to strangle that brat then and there.

The said brat flopped back onto his bed, the discomfort of Gryps\' pillow prompting him to yank it out from underneath his thin body and give it a good punch to its feather filled stomach.

Damn it all. Alright, he was a little grateful that Gryps had woken him from that nightmare. But he certainly wasn\'t happy to have forgotten once again what had been so absolutely terrifying to make that child scream. There wasn\'t a doubt in the world that the child had been him. That child filled with such joy as Phoenix had never known, only to have it stolen away by that giant red all encompassing hand.

He felt uneasy. As if part of him knew that there was something absolutely crucial in the contents of that dream. Something that was necessary for him to know and understand completely if he were to stay here at the School of Genesis. Phoenix let out a groan of frustration, pulling the covers up over his head.

Why him? On his first day?

\'Well, it was your choice.\'

\"Shut up,\" the crimson eyed boy muttered to his mind before shutting reality out from his tortured brain.

~ * ~

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