Bjarres

[Fears of the dark]

DAY/SUN'S LAW
~

Early morning, the moon was low in the sky, preparing itself to fall to the beauty of the early sun that was to come in only a few moments. It was a warm morning, oddly enough, and the night had been warm as well. The soft light pounded down on a small house. The house was a light cream color and was the only one on the small island. The roof had dark brown shingles that fell down in the shape of a pyramid from the sky and the door was also dark brown. There were woods surrounding the house closely, and a small meadow between them.

The soft light spilled into one of the rooms it faced and onto a small feminine shape. The lady had long blonde hair and slept under a thin white sheet. The walls of her room were the same cream color the outter walls were and mostly everything within it was white or brown. The dressers were brown and the handles to the doors were also. The table cloths were white and the rugs were, too.

The moon slowly headed down as the girl slept. She barely moved during her slumber and seemed to be at peace. In the shadows of the room, she and her partner rested peacefully, safe from what lurked far from their little island.

The woman finally awoke, turning on her side to avoid the colors of the outside. In the shadow of her body, her eyes appeared a dark emerald color, green. She sat up in her bed and flipped back over to see the colors outside. Her eyes were a light green, an emerald color. She watched the sky as it changed slowly from dark purple to a lighter purple.

She got to her feet and headed over to a dresser. She pulled out a beautiful white dress, lined in the front with a long black and white strip. The strip was outlined in black and backgrounded with white. There were black triangles and diamonds in it, and it had a certain cute factor to it. It was strapless at the top and swung to just abover her knees. She looked beautiful in it. White was just her color.

After she finished changing, her eyes fell on a shadow in the corner of her room. She smiled at it and aproached it.
"What are you doing, silly?" she asked, her smile still holding itself, even as she dressed and spoke.

In the shadows before her sat a man. He looked up at her and stared almost blankly. The man had blonde hair and green eyes as well, looking similar to the woman. They shared the same hair and eye color, but weren't related. At least, not in any regular human sense.

The lady reached down, took his hand and helped him up. She tugged him towards the door, but left him standing there.

The man watched her go, but didn't seem to care too much. This island was well protected, even though it was just the two of them there. He stood silently before the bedroom door for a moment, but eventually made his way out. The lady wasn't in the pantry room, so he headed out. He saw her in the meadow alone. She had put her capelet and white boots on in the time he stood alone.

He watched her quietly as the sun lifted itself into the sky. The early morning sun rose behind the girl as she sat in the meadow. Light purple flowers rustled around her as a gentle wind flew by.

It was sudden, happening all too quickly, but an arrow tore throught the sky at her. It made its way through the air towards her. It came within ten feet before snapping in half and splitting its fly into two completely different directions.

Twelve men came from the woods surrounding the small house, five at ready with bows and six holding swords tightly in their grasp. They screamed loudly to the girl, although she only sat about ten feet before them.
"We have come to slay you, monster!"

The girl turned to face them. A couple seconds later, she tilted her head to the side and cracked it.
"If it's death you want, you've come to the right place. I'll give you five seconds to run, but all that remain are mine. One."

One of the younger men took a step back. He looked unsure of what he wanted to do. He stood there as she called out 'two', but then took off, darting back into the woods and running fast away. The rest of the men continued, hoping to end the reign of this so-called monster.
"We'll claim your head in the name of our fallen allies!"

The men launched themselves at her as she counted 'three'. The six men with swords ran at her with swords lifted above their heads. They neared her, but were suddenly seperated by the blonde man. They didn't stop, even as she called 'four'. One of the men reached the guy first. He swung at him, missing as he narrowly dodged, stabbing his sword into the ground. Another of the men brought his sword down at an angel at the blonde man, though he missed, too, slashing down on his own friend's sword. The blonde man vanished, none of them able to see where he went.

"Five. And, with that... All but one of you die."

The two men who actually got to swing stopped. They couldn't move a single muscle. Their bodies rumbled on their own, and one of them was able to let out a cry. They exploded from the inside. Their blood splattered through the air, landing everywhere within an eight feet of the bodies, except towards the lady. It stopped in front of her as if there was a barrier around her.

The other nine men paused as a fear like no other ran through them. They archers let their bows fly, but all of them snapped right as they became airborn. Some of the men reached for their next arrow, but found that they were broken, reaching for one after the other. All of their arrows were broken, snapped in half.

One of the remaining four swordsman's head was taken clean off by an invisible force, and the other three were left staring at another of their friends' dead bodies. They turned their heads toward the girl who was the only visible target and lunged at her.

Their swords made their way way to the girl, a mere foot away, but they were all forced back onto their butts. A powerful force shoved them back, the ones on the side being hit more powerfully with the blast, and as they landed, they each realised that they had lost necessary body parts. Limbs loitered the ground, and blood sank now into the dirt. The swordsmen were left limbless on the ground, screaming in agony. All that remained now were the archers.

The girl looked over at them as they stared, weaponless and fearful. She smiled. They were dumber than she expected.
"Your lives mean little to you, I see... You watch your friends die and gawk as they bleed... Your weapons broken, you don't run... I guess that's what you get for attacking a 'monster'... What? Do you think I'll pitty you and let you go? Even though I told you only one would live..? No... No mercy."

The job was finished. They fell, like their arrows, snapped in half at the waist and neck to the ground. The sound was unmistakable and disgusting.

The woman let out a short yawn before watching the blonde man reappear beside her. Her head turned to welcome him back and make eye contact with her serf of sorts. He looked back at her, this time, his face wore a look of worry, a look of compassion. He cared about her wellbeing. He had to. There was nothing he could do about his ties to her. They were destined to be together. They were stuck together, either way. All they had were each other, and that was all they needed. Life would never treat them kindly, and many would hunt them, but they wouldn't be defeated that easily. They were the Law of Light.
And he, her soul-tied partner.

[Fears of the dark]

NIGHT/MOON'S LAW
~

On the vast sea, in mid darkness floated a large boat. It was headed to land and was weeks away from it's destinantion. The moonlight reflected off the water's surface, sheeting the boat with its surreal beauty as it silently watched the night's events begin to unfold.

The boat was pretty plain inside and out, dark wood plastered together to hold the craft afloat and steadfast together. It was in all, a pretty simple craft. The windows were small and almost squarelike in shape.

Aboard the ship were candles that lit the deck of the ship with their baby flames. They glowed brilliantly, covering the deck in a soft red. The deck was practically empty, with benches closer to the rails of the boat and spaced fifteen feet apart.

There were people dancing on the deck, in the soft light of the candles. They all held each other close and swayed back and forth, different couples doing almost the same dance, rocking their partners with them to the gentle ocean breeze. They held their partners tight and let the sound fill their ears with the music of the sea.

But, deeper inside the ship happened an event quite bizarre and unimaginable to the people on the ship. It happened deep within the ship, in the holding cell area.

The room was dark, barely lit by the single candle set stationary on an oak desk, and the room had a hallway linked to it. One patrol man stood at the door of one of the cells, and another patrol man sat before the desk in the other room, using the light of the small candle to jot on a thin piece of paper.

Finally, the man in the hallway came out to the man writing and explained an unusual occurence.
"Tog, what are we guarding? What's in there..?"

The man at the desk turned in his seat to look at his friend and give his knowledge of the subject.
"Well... To be honest... I'm not really sure. I just know we're not supposed to go in... We could have a quick look, though. Why? What's wrong? Are you alright, Napth?" he asked at his friend's inquiry.

Napth the patol man looked a bit relieved at his fellow's reply and gave a couple words of his own.
"That would be great, because I keep thinkin' I hear somethin' in there, and it's really startin' to creep me out. I just want to check and make sure it's just a rat or somethin', you know?"

Tog cocked his brow, finding his friends stress a bit disheartening and questioned him.
"I understand. But, what do you mean? What are you hearing?"

"I don't know, it kind of sounds like crying. Like somebody's in there crying."

Tog frowned, apparently he disliked the idea of locking somebody up in the cells down here with the luggage, even if they had been paid. He got up and took the candle with his right hand.
"...Are you sure? Crying? We have to check now."

Napth assured both of the person he heard in the room.
"I am. It's really quiet so whoever's in there must be hurt really bad... It sounds like a little girl to me."

Napth turned around and headed back to the hallway, stopping at the first door. There were three doors in the hallway and they were all on the right side of the hall. He pulled the eye shutter out of the way so that they could see inside without opening the door.

Tog came over and held the candle up to see inside of the cell. They stood there silently beside each other until they heard it. A girl was in the room and she was quietly crying to herself. They looked at each other and stared, as if they were communicating with each other with their facial expressions. They looked again into the room before deciding what they should do.

In the room were a large wooden box and a small one. From the ceiling hung a cage with nothing in it. It created a shadow that swayed with the boat, side to side, back and forth. The crates stopped most of the light from reaching the back of the room, and an almost silent scrathing noise was coming from inside of one of them.

The men continued to search the room with their eyes, hoping they'd eventually be able to trace the figure of a wounded girl, but she wasn't within the vision of the two men. A tall shadow in the far right corner of the room that was previously thought to be attatched to the wall moved.

Napth flew with an inhuman speed away from the door in fear.
"Oh, my god! What's in there!? Did you see that!? There's something in there!"

Tog stood where he was, unafraid of the shadow.
"It's the girl. She's stuck in there. Maybe she's crying because she can't call for help. Maybe she doesn't speak our language or something... Either way, she's stuck in there and we're going to have to get her out..! We can't just leave her in there because you're afraid of the dark..! You can't be like that! She's probably starving! She could die any time and you're gonna run away? Stop acting so pathetically. Be a man and help me get her out."

Tog pulled a ring of leys out of his britches with his right hand and held the candle with his left. He jangled the keys until he found the right one. He looked over to his friend who stood in the corner of the room as he prepared to stick the key into the door. Napth found his way back over to his friend's side, pulling a dagger out of his pocket.

Tog glowered at his friend.
"Put your weapon away. You won't be needing it to help me carry an injured girl to the medic, you pansy."

He opened the door and took a step in. Napth clutched the doorframe as though he wasn't going to be letting go any time soon. He stood silently as Tog made his way closer to the center of the room with the candle. He watched Tog set the candle on top of the larger box and begin prying it open with his bare hands. He pulled as hard as he could, his muscles working harder and harder to get the box open.

Finally, he got it open and inside was naked woman. She was lying in heigh. Her short dark hair appeared black against the thistles her scrawny body rested upon. She continued to quietly cry to herself and wheezed between sobs. Tog stared at her naked frame. Just as he had expected, there was a girl to be rescued in the large crate. He stood back up to grab the light and heard Napth scream.

Below the cell room the two men and girl were in was a man and a woman. They were preparing for bed. The man was comfortably underneath the blanket and the woman sat on her side in a white nightgown, brushing her hair. Right after finishing with her soft brown hair, she felt as though something had fell into her lap. She looked down and saw that there was a splotch of red between her legs. She looked up only to have a red droplet fall into her eye. A red liquid dripped between the cracks of the ceiling, into their small room, and onto their bed.

Above came Napth's scream. He stared helplessly as his friend layed silently on the floor of the cell room. His blood had already begun to spew from his body and onto the surrounding floor. He made no sound or attempt to get back up.

He reached for the door and shut it, but could not lock it. He launched himself to the door of the large room linked to the cell hallway, but could not escape throught that one, either. Alas, Tog had the keys and this room was to stay locked at all times. He pounded furiously on it and screamed as loudly as he could.
"Oh, my god! Tog! Somebody help! Let me out! I'm going to die!"

After a couple seconds of screaming, he heard footsteps.
Good! somebody must be coming! Please hurry!
He waited silently at the door and pressed his ear against it to listen for his rescuer's words. The footsteps drew nearer and he anticipated their arrival. His right ear was pressed against the door, but his left ear heard the sound of the footsteps. His eyes widened as he realized this. The footsteps weren't outside the door. They were in the room with him.

His body suddenly erupted. His intestines were ripped out of his stomache, and his upper body just slipped right out from above his legs. He hit the floor, completely shocked. His right arm went numb and he fell into something wet. After a couple seconds, he realised he couldn't move anymore. All he could do was stare into the darkness as he fell out of his body. He realised that his death was nigh, and tried to fight it, but his body was already in shock. All he could see was darkness, and all he coud feel was numb.

A rustling sound came from in the cell room. The door creaked open and bare feet slapped against the wooden floor, making their way to the main entrance of the larger room it was linked to. It was the girl, and she held in her hands the candle Tog left setting ontop of the crate. She stepped in the blood on the ground and left prints of red where she tread. She stopped at this door. Silence.

The naked girl lifted her right hand and pointed at the door. It exploded outward before her. Millions of little wood shards darted straight through the empty and dead silent hallway. She dropped her hand and headed out, her bloody feet carefully avoiding the sharp splinters of wood below. She seemed unremorseful of the bodies she had passed on her way out, not even noticing their losses for her.

She had no cares in the world we can assume. No one to hold her back, no one to help her, no one to break her heart, and no one to protect. This is the Law of Darkness.
And he, her soul-tied partner.

[Fears of the dark]

FIRE
~

Light came with the sun as it rose. The night it followed had been pleasantly warm and a fiery young man sat lonesomely on the rooftop of a house in a small town. He had short red hair and his eyes seemed to be the same bright red, possibly just from the reflection of his hair in the light. He never seemed to bother anyone, and usually didn't have much nice to say.

The man stared into the sunset as though he was searching for something. His eyes stared into the sun as if they were unaffected by its rays. Someone sat beside him on the rooftop. A woman dressed in black and red. She too, stared into the rising sun with eyes a purple/red color and hair a ridiculously bright red. She said nothing, and did nothing.

They sat side by side until the sound of people starting to bustle around outside stole their interest from the sun. They watched a young woman and an older man make their way out of one of the smaller houses in the town and head down the road to the bakery. The man stopped halfway and turned into the shoe store, leaving the girl on her own to finish her walk to the bakery.

The redheaded man on the roof knew she was going there because she always did. She worked there, after all. He knew that her name was Alice. Her hair was a soft, curly brown, she smelled like peaches, and he knew that her pretty green eyes had a taste for him. He slid down the roof and landed on his feet. He was going to go into the bakery to talk to the girl. He's known her for a little over four years now and treated her as though she was family.

The people of the town all found him quite strange and disliked him because of it. Sadly, they treated Alice the same because of her ties to him. She became a reject like him because no matter how much everyone disliked him, how afraid they were of him, she always spoke sweetly to him. Him, and his quiet friend.

He entered the bakery and held the door open for the redheaded woman who followed him. The redhead sat at a table and the man went over to the counter where Alice stood behind. She smiled at him. Her face glowed with an elegant beauty. She was a naturally heppy soul, very kind, gentle, and loving. Even towards him. She greeted him as she did every morning he came into the bakery.
"Good morning, Torai..!" she said with a smile. Her face was a bright peach color and she appeared a bit more tired than usual.

"Alice... Are you alright? You look a bit flush... And, you're letting off an awful lot of heat. Do you have a fever or something?" he asked, worried about his friend.

"Wha-? No..! I'm fine. I just... Didn't sleep too well last night, that's all," she replied.

"... You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

She looked away, not exactly sure what to say.
"... I have to open up the shop..! There are pastries that have to be made, and... I feel well enough to work. Really."

He eyed her suspiciously. She was a terrible liar.
"... I think you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine, see? I'm standing and opening up shop. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. There are other people who work here. If I was feeling so bad, I could just ask one of them to come in for me," she reasured him.

Her body temperature remained unusually high and he could even feel it from outside the shop with the door closed.
"... Oh, well. I'll only care about you as much as you do... Especially since you're not listening to me... I guess I just can't count on you to take care of yourself..."

"Huh?" she questioned as her body began to spur out of control.

Torai read her body and jumped the counter in time to catch her. The woman in the dining room slowly turned her head to see the spectacle. Torai carried Alice to her home. She lived with her father and they never locked their front door.

He carried her to her bed and gently placed her warm body in it, covering her with the blankets that fit loosely on it. He got a cool wash cloth and laid it on her forehead. He pulled up a chair and sat beside her, hoping she'd wake up feeling better soon.

~

She finally woke up. Her temperature hadn't changed much, but Torai kept the rag on her forehead cool. She looked over at him.
"...Torai..? What happened..? Did... Ah..." she clutched her forehead painfully. Her hand found the rag and the cold seemed to hurt.

"Try not to move too much. Just rest," he said as he gently pushed her hands away from her forehead.

"But... What happened at the store? Is someone there?" she had a good sense of responsibility and would never rest without knowing she had order about. He knew she woudn't rest unless he told her about the store.

"Yes. Serena waited in the store until the manager arrived."

"I hope I haven't caused him too much trouble..."

"Don't worry. Just rest."

Just then, the front door opened and footsteps were heard making their way up the stair. Torai smiled at Alice and stroked her warm, fleshy cheek.

The bedroom door opened and her father came in.
"Alice, are you alright? I heard you went home and wondered what it was about. Oh, I see. You're sick. Well, in that case, you should stay there while I go get you some soup and crackers. I'll be right back, honnie."

He turned to leave the room, but felt a breeze. He aproached the window and shut it, then left.

Alice looked out the window and smiled.
Alice knew he was the Law of Fire.
And she, his soul-tied partner.

[Fears of the dark]

EARTH
~

As the sun made its way into the sky, its rays shined into the window of a large white house. They landed softly on a young girl. Her hair was long and had a black/greenish tint to it. The girl appeared no older than sixteen and was just waking up. There were voices coming from downstairs, they had woke her from her slumber and taunted her closer for a listen. She made her way out of the room and through a hallway, which led her to an opening in between each side of wall, fenced instead. She looked down at her mother and father as they listened intently to an old beggar woman at the front door.

"Your child is one of them... Soon, a man will appear for her... And she will become more dangerous than you could possibly imagine..! You must act now..! The ones selected become leaven of an element. I believe your daughter will be of the Earthly type... If you chose not to act, you will but look into the eyes of her esne..! They do have a title, and it is possible that you may have heard of them... They are known as the Bjarre..! The masters of these powerful monsters are known as adepts."

The father standing at the door examined the crooked lady. Her hair was grey, and her clothing was a long black dress and a long black veil. Her eyes were an old grey color as well, and her skin was wrinkled. The father's face was covered in a disbelief, but he listened intently to what the old crone had to say.

The mother's eyes began to tear up and she asked the old woman her share of questions.
"What would you have us do? I have heard of the creatures... One of them took my parents in the night from me long ago... They are evil and need to be eliminated at any cost! Have you any ideas how to ward them away or kill them?"

"Haha! I have only one... Kill the adept before they grow together..!"

The father held his hand up in rejection to the old woman's suggestion.
"Wait. There's no way we're going to kill our own daughter! Right, honnie?"

"... I love our daughter..! I need... A glass of water... I can't-" she struggled with her voice and walked off.

"See..? We wouldn't harm our own daughter. She's our only child and killing her is the last thing on our minds right now."

The old woman protested.
"But death will surely come for you if you do not! Kill her! Kill her now! Or suffer the consequences! Do it or countless innocent people will fall at her will..! Nobody is safe from the power of the monsters, but we can delay the return of the Earth Bjarre! Listen to me and live. Be ignorant and ignore me... Then die. I am but an old woman keeping the world safe..! I only want to save you before you let your own daugher annialate more people than you've met in your lifetime..! Listen to me..!"

The man continued to deny her, ignoring her demands that they kill his only daughter. Suddenly, though, from the corner of his eye, he saw his wife make her way up the stairs, holding something in her hands.

"Yes! Kill her!" shouted the old woman, her intentions presented.

The mother making her way up the stairs heard the stomping behind her, making its way up to her and sped up. She held in her hand a knife. The knife she was to kill her own daughter with. She would do it to save the others, to avenge her parents, and save her own daughter from the murder she would commit.

She saw the girl setting at the top of the stairs and lunged forward, out of her husband's reach and straight for the girl.

It all happened so quickly. A man fell from the ceiling, grabed the girl, and slipped out of the way of the mother's stab. The mother slammed into the wood barred fence and it broke. She crashed down, slamming onto the ground a story below with the shattering of bones. She screamed, loudly making known the pain her body felt.

The father stared at the young girl.
"... Ront..?" he said with a shiver. The man that held the girl stared almost angrily back into the eyes of the girl's father. The girl herself, known to be Ront, eyed her rescuer. His forehead was adorned with a red bandana, and he wore a cape that draped off his right shoulder. His left shoulder had a large shoulderpad on it and his tunic was green. His hair was short and black, his eyes, a soft green color, gloved in gauntlets the same shade black as his shoulderpad.

From the front door, the old crone screamed.
"It's... Too late! Too late! You should have killed her when you had the chance! She will run free and kill for pleasure! The power will take her, and she will never return! Her immense power will overtake cities..! The world is in even more danger now that they have been united!"

The man that stood with Ront in his arms ran to his right and into one of the front rooms. There was a loud crash, followed by silence. The man landed on the ground and stood back up. The earth beneath his feet lifted five feet up and slid forward like a tsunami wave, carrying him and the fearstricken girl along. And with that, they were gone.

The old woman growled to herself.
"The only way to end the pair now... Is to send them to the others... Hopefully, they feud over power and kill each other. They will meet eventually and some will die... It's happened before... It will happen again... I just hope that nobody's caught in the cross-fire this time..."

The mother layed in the pile of broken wood and spliters crying in pain. The father stared at the spot the man had stood only a moment before wondering how he got in. He didn't make a sound entering.

"My god..." he whispered to himself quietly.

The old woman yelled, almost randomly.
"The law of earth has been born anew! The world will know her name! Ront, the law of earth!"

And she was. She was now the Law of Earth.
And he, her soul-tied partner.

[Fears of the dark]

LIQUID
~

"A monster, a monster... Ooh, ah... That got you far, now didn't it? Serves you right for aproaching me in my own element to tell me so... To tell me I soon would die..." said a young woman with long, flowing brown hair that glistened in the sunlight. Her eyes were blue and her skin a soft peach color.

Her victim was a young boy. He was trapped in the water, his chest only two feet above the water. He was held up by a faceless liquid laviathan. The laviathan covered his mouth, but not his nose. The lady's intentions were not to kill, but instill fear.

"You cannot tell me that my end will be any time soon... Especially when you are caught right before me... It's very stupid of you to do so... My element is dangerous... My element is one... That you need for continuity of life. I am no monster... I would understand if I kept the water from you people... Then I would be, but I am not, nor do I do such things to you people... You should be more thankful..."

The woman's body lifted up out of the water and her feet sat on top of it. She stared into the eyes of her rude visitor. This man seemed to think that since she had an esne, she was evil. He was mistaken, but not too far from his target.

She was dark. Not evil, but dark.

"Are you afraid of me, human?" she asked as the water slid down an inch below his mouth.

He shook his head in fear. He made the mistake of cursing her earlier, but wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. He stared at her, his eyebrows lifted high at the center of his forehead.

The woman lifted a hand to her chin and stroked it with her thumb and pointer finger sliding downwards. She began to speak once more.
"Well... In any case... I am not a monster... You people are. If you envy your life, stay away, and tell your friends to do the same. I don't enjoy killing, but it's usually the only way to take care of the issue at hand..."

She flicked her wrist, and with it, he fell. He plummeted back into the water, falling about five feet below. He quickly resurfaced and splashed around. He was so scared that his body couldn't properly swim on its own. He had to think hard about what he was doing and where he was going. His strokes were sloppy and quick, but he made it back to shore in under two minutes.

The lady laughed quietly to herself and slipped back into the water. Her long white dress and ribbons flowed gently with the current and she comfortably flipped her feet up, resting them in the water, and laying just below the water's surface. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the ocean. The song held her in a constant state of melancholly. Her memories playing over and over. Her love now gone, replaced with bitter hatred and anger.

I hope he rots... Alone... I hope he longs for me... I hope he suffers... And, I hope he dies that way...
She thought to herself. Anger controling her thoughts yet again. She had loved many times, but none so strongly as her last. Her feelings were so bitter and strong, yet she never actually inflicted pain on the man. She never caught herself looming over his sleeping body, hoping to end her misery. She never caught herself even assaulting the man with the words of her broken heart. She wished him ill, but never hurt him. Even with her power, she found that she could not.

He was lucky to have her, to see her pretty face, to hold her in his arms, but he seemed to stop caring after a while. The real monsters were everyone but the rejected, and the rejected were the only ones she treated like humanbeings. The rest of the people were the true rejects. She had to end a countless number of people, attackers that stopped at nothing to harm her. She took her anger on the man that left her out on these persuers. He hurt her, so she hurt them. The natural way of life it seemed.

Kill or be killed. No mercy. A tooth for a tooth was the Law of Water.
Her name was Fefnir. The official rule, and she, her soul-tied partner.

[Fears of the dark]

WIND
~Ash

The sun shined brightly that day, as it had the day before. The weather was nice, and the birds chirped loudly in the trees above. In the middle of a forest, walked a man. He was pale, even though he wore just a black un-zipped short-sleeved hoodie for a top. He had medium white hair and his eyes were covered by the shiny silver mess. He wore two belts with strange silver tags on them over a pair of black pants.

His face was painted with a smile as he walked. He flicked his head from side to side, as if he was searching for something, or someone. He walked for a few moments before growing tired of the game. He tripped, falling up into the sky, soaring up above the trees to get a better look at things. He stopped almost suddenly when his hidden eyes caught sight of a figure. He landed beside it.

It was a woman. She turned and looked him in the eye, listening for his words to make.
"Well, this sucks. I can't seem to find the little bitch," he said with a growl.

The lady smiled at him, finding him entertaining and funny at the same time.

"Huh? What?" he questioned.

The lady's smile fell from her face and she lifted her right hand to point straight before her. He knew that in that direction, he would find the girl he was searching for.

"Are you sure? Alright... Well, are you ready..? Good. Let's do this."

The lady looked at him and shook her head before both of them took off in a warm flurry. They charged right through the trees and found exactly what they were hoping to find.

The man slammed into the girl in the white dress with a powerful elbow, pounding her in the back. She fell forward to the ground and wheezed for a second before turning her head to see her attacker. Her face froze, and a look of confused terror overtook her. She stared into the face of another adept. And this was no regular adept. The thin white man was that of wind, and dangerous as all hell she knew.

The man stomped down beside her and lifted his right hand, his fingers all seperated and aiming wildly up at the sky. The girl began choking. He gave her a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

Suddenly, he realised the danger he himself was in. He stopped toying with the girl and engaged her esne. He swung a fist towards the blonde monster, but his attack was sidestepped. The blonde grabed him by his neck and squeezed tighly.

The whitehaired man gasped desperately, understanding that the monster was just giving him back what he dished out. He kicked the blonde in the knee, but the blonde man didn't flinch. They stared at each other.

The woman who had showed the whitehaired man where the girl was quickly stole the attention of the blonde by smashing him in the stomache with her fist, a cripling blow. He stumbled back, letting go of the whitehaired man.

He stared at the woman for a moment. She had long white hair, red eyes, and wore a short purple and white dress. The dress was light purple, and she wore a dark purple overcoat that started at just about her neckline. The top of the overcoat was white, and looked somewhat like wings. The dress was sleeveless and had a vee neck cut out of it. The dress was also white on the sides, only the center being the light purple, and she wore a dark purple headband to match her dark sleeves.

They eyed each other for a moment, almost unsure of what they should do. The whitehaired woman finally chose a simple greeting to give the blonde. She smiled at him.

The girl carefully pulled herself to her feet and turned to face her new foes.
"...You must want to die, fool. The power of my element is more powerful than yours right now..! Taste the wrath of light!" she called loudly as an invisible slash crossed at the whitehaired man's waist. He summoned forth a shield of wind and shoved it forward, knocking her onto her back and shoving through the attack.

The blond came forward to hit the whitehaired man in the face, but was tackled by the woman. She quickly stepped back and forced around him a swirling cage of wind. He simply smiled. A slash came down on the woman's right shoulder, knocking her onto the ground. She didn't bleed, nor did her clothing tear. She lay plastered to the ground for a moment.

The whitehaired man dashed to the blonde girl and shouted.
"The wrath of light doesn't frighten me! My name is Ash, and you'll do well to remember the name, sweetheart! 'Cause you're on my list!"

He tapped his fingers in the air, silently, and her body lifted up. He stopped tapping them and pointed them upwards, choking her again.

"You're... Crazy..!" she said, struggling to even speak. She summoned with her mind a spear of light that stabbed in his direction repeatedly.

He let her go, forcing the shield of wind to return. He summoned his own spear and sent it stabbing back in her direction. As she landed, she realised that she didn't have enough time to do anything before hitting the ground. She sent a mental note of this to her companion quickly.

The blonde man summoned a sword to slice the wind spear in half and sent it too at the whitehaired man.

Ash saw the sword coming and twisted the shield to surround him like a small forcefield, similar to the one the woman had the blonde trapped in.

"I am. And, if I have my way, you'll be serving me by the day's end, because you only have two choices. Join me, or perish."

The whitehaired woman scooted a hand up above her head and lifted her weight with the other. She looked at the blonde, an irritation of sorts seemed to mark her face and her red eyes glowed furiously. She lifted the hand that previously held her weight up and watched as the cage of wind lifted into the air. She forced it to shake violently, giving the blonde a painful whiplash.

The blonde grew tired of this game quickly and tore the cage with his own hands. His fingers were covered in sharp glowing white thymbols.

The girl in the white dress hiked her butt up into the air and shoved her upper body up along with her bottom half. She slid her foot along the ground and pushed her hands balled in fists forward, then stopped.

A second later, a wave of immense power slammed into Ash's forcefield, sending him flying back and into the woman.

The blonde man landed on his feet and darted for the girl. He grabed her up into his arms and jumped into the air.

Ash struggled to free himself from his and the woman's tangled limbs for a moment, and jumped to his feet.
"... Where did they go!? Did you see!?" he searched the sky with his hidden red eyes, but found nothing. He turned to the woman on the ground and pulled her up by her hands.

"Well... Let's go find them again, Lebion," he said, a bit disheartened.

The woman grabed him by the arm and held him in place for a moment. She looked him in the eye and stared at him for a moment.

She let go and hit him on the top of the head.

"It's not my fault..!"

He was the Law of Air and she was his soul-tied partner.

[Fears of the dark]

NIGHT/MOON'S LAW
~

Gradually, the naked girl made her way through the ship. Passing room after room, silently in search of the kitchen no doubt. She eventually found it and when she did, ate and drank all she could. She didn't let a single crumb go to waste, either. She scarfed down the food and drank a nice portion of water. She was starving and parched, but now her thirst was quenched and her empty stomache full.

Her bloody feet carried her into a couple rooms, in search of some clothes. She stopped in front of one of the doors where sound came from behind and watched as the handle was ripped away before her. She pushed gently on the now sliding door and stepped in. A lady screamed from inside. Her voice was quite loud and quite annoying. Her throat was ripped out from beneath her head, which rolled off of her shoulders and onto the floor. The bloody ball rolled for a moment before the body fell down onto it, stopping its' playful rolling.

The naked girl dragged herself over to a dresser. It was full of clothes a proper young lady would wear. She took a ribbon from the drawr and placed it in her hair. She put on a Tanktop and then slipped on a small dark dress with a vee neck. The dress was strapless so the top of it leafed to cover her breasts. She found the attire a bit distasteful, but found this outfit a nice fit. She made her way over to a small mirror and examined herself. Surprisingly, she was actually a lovely young lady.

Something from the hall caught her eye. Her esne. He was standing alone in the darkness, just watching her, as he always had. He was her other half, the power. They shared an astonishing mental connection, reading each other's thoughts and ideas as though they were the other's. Her lips curled into a smile and she aproached him with an outstretched arm. He took hand and kissed it gently, with lips soft but cold, a very light peach color.

His skin was a pale and ghostly color, clear evidence of the fear he had for the sunlight. The young lady stood with her hand in his for a few moments before retracting it turning. She walked to the end of the hallway and stood silently as the wall that led to the outside of the boat was slammed outwards. The bright early sun stalked down upon her. Her eyes blurred and she almost screamed in pain from the sudden brightness. She threw herself away from the sun, stopping beside the dark man. They hid in the shadows together.

She looked over at him. A sight to behold, in dark clothing, with dark hair and red eyes. She examined him again, and she often did. Her lips curled into a sadistic smile. Her eyes narrow with a sort of contentment in them. Her face was also pale and her eyes red. Her hair was short and dark, her clothing matching her perfectly, and her bloodstained feet pressed against the wooden floor with her weight. The night was warm and smelled of the salty ocean.

She turned to look out at the water. It was so peaceful and quiet. The lady's eyes swelled with tears as she stared out. She turned back to the man and nuzzled her face into his chest. He hugged her, understanding her pain. It was caused by the memories she held within. Her past was one of death, and betrayal. She was alone in this world. The only one she had was him.

He stepped away from the hug and grabed her by the hand, leading her down the hallway. He led her to a door with no presence behind it. The girl followed closely behind and entered the room as he did. The door shut behind them and locked itself.

He led her to the bed, where the darkness pulled the sheets back for her and she climbed into. He tucked her in and sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

"...Xhaikan...At sunset... We'll leave this god forsaken boat... And I'll do... What I should have done... When it happened..." she paused before she finished.
"Ahime..." she whispered, almost remorsefully.

The man stared into her eyes, his psychic voice whispering backto her.
::Lilac... Just try to rest for now. I will give you the strength you need to end her, but you have to be ready. You couldn't possibly fight her in the state you're currently in... Just calm yourself, and preserve your energy, dear... You'll need it.::

[Fears of the dark]

EARTH
~

The young girl awoke to the scent of earth. Her small green eyes flicked open and began surveying the area, finding that her body was enveloped in dirt. She was buried to the neck in it, and struggled. She reached up and out of her earthy prison and pressed her hands flat down onto the ground, then pulled her body out effortlessly, freeing herself from her soft prison almost instantly. She found herself out of the hole with incredible ease and looked around, wide-eyed and distressed. The man who previously saved her sat before her, his back against a tree, watching her with an almost smug look on his face.

"Where have you-!? she began, but stopped mid-sentence when the man jumped up to his feet and leaped forward, taking hold of her by the wrist. She quickly yanked away from the man's warm hand but stopped when she heard what she caused in her defensive state. The ground beneath the man shaped into a large hand and wrapped itself tightly around his legs. The hand would not allow him to get any closer to the girl. He thrust his arms forward again, as he did, the ground beneath the girl slid forward, pulling her closer. He grabbed the girl by her wrists and snatched her into his arms, quick as lightning. He held the frightened girl and attempted to calm her.

::Hey, kid! Stop it! I'm not your ene-:: The earthy hand tightened its grip on him. Her will made it so, but she wasn't quite aware yet. ::Stop now!:: her mind caught his voice again, as he forced the hand to return to its base, mentally. He held her tightly and waited a few moments before telling her of the terrible misfortunes to come.
::You're an adept now, and no matter what you do, or where you go, you won't ever be 'normal' again. You're young, and you don't deserve this curse, but you have to accept it now. People will hunt you and try to kill you, but no normal man will harm a single hair on your pretty little head. There are few that may strike you, and even fewer that may kill you. I am you Bjarre, your only ally... Everyone that you have known until this point may not be trusted. I'm all you have now. All you will evern have is me, so get used to me.::

The girl tried to ignore him, tried to pretend this wasn't really happening. She tried to shut him out and make time go in reverse, but neither happened. She wished with all her might that time would turn around and she would be back at home in den with her mother and father, but no matter how much she hoped and wished, it just wouldn't happen.

"...My mom tried to kill me..!? My... Dad..! He tried to stop her..!" she cried. Her pretty little eyes began to drip with tears and she seemed to have a difficult time finishing her sentence.

::There's no way I could leave you with him. He is powerless to protect you, and until I train you, you won't be able to control your power enough to be on your own for even a moment. Although the training I'll put you through will be at your own pace, it will be difficult. I know you won't have too big of a problem with this, since I've been watching you on and off for the past six years, learning you...:: his voice seemed to quietly echo inside her mind. He had been watching her for much longer than she knew and she was just coming to understand this. He continued explaining.
::Yes, Ront. I spent quite some time learning about you. I know that your favorite color is green, a fitting favorite for the Earth adept. I know that you are sixteen years old, and that you have always wanted to be a fine lady... And you will be. No one will ever be able to see that beautiful woman, but me, now... Your only friend...:: he softly stroked her long hair with his right hand, his left holding her gently and he listened as she began her blubbering.

"... My only friend? I only get... One..? I don't even know your name..."

The man spun her around with both hands and gave a quirky smile.
::The name's Ayrion. I'm pleased to meet you, my lady.:: he let her go and waited for her introduction.

"I'm sorry that I'm not nearly as pleased as you, but my name is Ront Verlie DeLiem."

::Ront Verlie DeLiem? It's cute in a strange way, I guess. So... Are you ready to begin your training..?::

[Fears of the dark]

LIQUID
~A smile

Fefnir herself was aware that spending too much time alone was a strain on her mind. She was still human, afterall, and as such, required interaction with people, even if she didn't enjoy the endeavor too much. On one such occasion, though, she happened upon a man who seemed to enjoy attempting to put a smile on her face.

"Hi there," he said as he approached her, his eyes piercing her own. She hadn't expected it, so she had no elaborate responce. This was the first time in the years since she started traveling the city that anyone had really paid her any attention.

"Uh... Hi..." she said, attempting to recall him in a memory she didn't have.

"... Did you know that I've never seen you smile? I've seen you here a few times, and I've never once seen you smile," he said, his voice bold and straight to the point.

"... Can't you tell..? Every time I've ever come to this town, I've been alone. I am alone... I have no reason to smile," she whispered, her voice darkened and her face grew even more solemn than before.

The man draped his arm around her with a grin, "Well, you're not alone now, are you?"

Fefnir felt the warmth of his arm on her shoulders and for the first time in years, a human touch delivered a repreive from her solitude. She held back stirring emotions and flatly replied, "Well, technically, I guess not..."

He smiled and pulled her shoulder gently, "Come on. I'll buy you lunch."

She felt her shoulder being tugged and noticed that they were en route to a cafe of sorts. She began to protest, but this man wouldn't take no for an answer, so she ended up across the table from him with a menu in her lap. "My underwear stays on."

"Well, good. Nobody said anything about that... So... Why don't you ever smile..?"

She looked into his eyes, noting that they were an interesting hazel color, complimented by the clothing that adorned his strikingly fit body. His hair was a deep brown, and fell to his neckline. He was one of the most unique characters she had ever met, and even though she had only known few, he shot to the top of the list almost immediately after making her acquaintance. Although so far, he fell barely short of what she rembered Derick to be, but he still made his way to the top, even in the short amount of time she'd met him in.
"Like I said before. I have no reason."

"You're alive, it's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the ocean is lapping at the shore, the seagulls are singing overhead," he replied, tying reason after reason together, as if to persuade her that there was plenty reason to smile. Fefnir found her mind running at superspeed, insisting otherwise.


"Ah, the lonely sea..." she whispered to herself.

"Well, how about the birds singing in the trees in the forest, singing happily along..." he said aloud, his voice seeming a bit unsure about it.

"They're annoying, especially in the morning," she replied, granting his doomed suggestion's expectations.

"Well, how about this?" he said as he reached into his bag and slid out of his chair. He carefully made his way to her side of the table where he sat and put an arm around her shoulders. "I sketch; it's what I do." He dropped the book he retrieved from his bag on the table in front of her, open to the page of an image rather familiar to her. "This is you. What aren't you doing?"

"... Hm..."

The man flipped through a few pages, revealing another picture in her likeness, and questioned her, "And what aren't you doing here..? And here, what are you still not doing?"

"... Do you draw everyone who comes through here and doesn't crack a smile around you?" she questioned in return.

The handsome man simply smiled, "Only the pretty ones that keep coming back."

Fefnir cocked a brow and looked over at him, "And how many of them do you think are pretty?"

He closed his book and returned to his feet. He leaned in towards her and dropped his pointer finger gently on her nose and replied, "Only one."
She watched him make his way back to his seat and sit, leaving her alone on her side. She actually caught herself blushing, her face warm, settling on a soft pink color.

"Oh-! I think you're starting to crack! Uh-oh! Oh-! Wait, no! You've gotta be serious, melancholly, and sad," he mocked, with an over-emphasized pout.

Fefnir's lips trembled and all she could muster to say was "-Shutup!"

He reached across the table and took her hands in his, "You're starting to smile! Oh, no! You've got an image to keep."

"I can't do this- I have to go! This isn't- I'm not... I have to go!" she shouted as she pulled her hands to her face to cover the red that now consumed her soft cheeks. She lifted her body from the chair she previously sat in, but stopped when she felt him grab her hands.

"Come on, you should smile, it'll do wonders for your looks. It'll make you more attractive."

In the moment her eyes landed once again on his, she knew he'd seen her blush so she pulled her hands away and attempted to smack him, but he caught her hand and brought it near to his chin. He pressed his lips against her soft hand and said, "Guess I'll see you later, then..."

Fefnir hurriedly turned away and smiled. She stepped quickly, attempting to escape without him seeing her smile.

"I know you're smiling! How about we meet here sundown tomorrow night?" he called after her.

Fefnir spun around and squealed, "What?! I'm not smiling! Well- Fine! But-... I'm not smiling!! My underwear stay on!"

He smiled as he replied, "Yes, dear!"