“So you have healing abilities, as well?” Kya growled as she faced him, watching as Alroy carelessly wiped the blood off his face from his previously cracked skull, his skin stitching itself back together as he gave a loud laugh.
“Hah! It’s not actually healing by standard terms. I’m just shifting my body back to its original state, that’s all,” the shapeshifter laughed, Kya’s stance widening as her blood circled her, small slits on her wrists as the blood from her arteries prepared to attack. Though she was skilled enough to heal those small injuries caused by her concept, so it wouldn’t be a problem, and she was preparing herself to have to attack again as she watched Alroy smirk at her.
“Why do you know so much about us? Who on earth could’ve told you?” she inquired darkly, continuing to shift her movements around him as the man watched her with sly golden eyes.
“Oh, I know all about you, Kyavir Sanguin. And your leader, too. Feather isn’t really his name, is it?” he laughed haughtily, arm shifting into a reptilian claw the moment Kya’s blood lashed out to attack him, shielding himself from being sliced to pieces as he redirected the red blood to the ground.
“And how do you know that?” she demanded, leaping forward to make another slice at Alroy’s neck, the man only grinning as thick green scales grew and contracted on his bronze skin wherever she went to attack. He was entirely in tune with her movements, and she quickly jumped back when he made a swipe at her, his arrogance starting to shift into something violent.
“Look missie, I’m all fine with people changing their gender and whatnot, ‘cause I do that too. Being a woman is nice sometimes, y’know? But I wouldn’t be willing to permanently give up my masculinity either, which is why shapeshifting is such a perfect concept for me. So I like Feather, I like that he truly embraced who he is and let go of his womanhood. I like that about him, and I respect it,” Alroy spat, toothy grin becoming more fierce as he barred his fangs at her. “But you, Kyavir Sanguin? I have no respect for you. I wish you’d just drop dead and go to hell.”
“Well it’s not like I’d want your respect regardless!” she snapped, ducking under a fierce claw as her blood whip finally made contact with his torso, ripping through the scales when it made contact with his flesh. And Alroy was forced to back up, though his skin was already shifting and morphing on his body as he quickly stitched himself back together, his violent grin never fading.
“I dunno, I think I’m a much better person than you, no matter what your self-righteous missus might think,” Alroy grinned, standing up straight as he tilted his neck and rolled his shoulders, pops of creaking bones coming from his flexible joints while steam floated off his skin as it healed rapidly, his bright golden eyes gleaming in the light of the dim room, his words cutting like knives. “I have a twin too, you know. His name’s Elray, and we’ve only had each other for as long as I can remember. I’d do anything for him. But you? Just what did you do to your twin?” he sneered, Kya’s blood running cold as she processed where this was going.
“You just wait a minute—!”
“Kallan Sanguin, your darling little twin brother! He always admired you and aspired to be just like you! You were his role model!” Alroy declared, waving his hands dramatically in the air as he spun on the tips of his toes. “I’m the older twin, too, and Elray really admires me as well. Just like how your relationship with your younger twin used to be. I would never think of abandoning my little brother, either. But what did you do, miss Kyavir Sanguin? What did you do to poor little Kallan?”
“Shut the hell up, I didn’t have a choice,” Kya seethed, lurching forward with more blood as Alroy’s armor only seemed to grow stronger, knocking her away with force as she stumbled back, the man only creeping closer.
“For your twin, you always have a choice! And yet you abandoned him without a word,” Alroy sneered, his right leg shifting into that of a horse as he turned around to hindkick Kya in the gut, the woman’s breath getting knocked out of her throat as her back slammed against one of the black pods. And Alroy only came closer, taking her by her long black hair as he pulled her ponytail towards him, her face near his as he continued to give her a malicious glare. “Don’t you know what you did to him? How many times he tried to end his life because he was abandoned by the only family he had left? Do you even care? Or will you just continue to lie through your teeth and say you had more important things to do?”
“My work has always come first! Kal knew that!”
“My girl, my darling queen, you faked your death for a princess that was running away from her kingdom to abandon that very work,” Alroy laughed darkly, gripping her hair tighter as sharp nails began digging into her scalp. “But hell, let's say it could be considered work despite that, if you really mean it when you say that's all it was. So then you threw your twin into a depressive spiral over something that was just work? Give me a fucking break.”
“You… you act like you know what I personally went through,” Kya heaved, chest tight and fractured as she felt her ribs pop out of place and poke into her flesh, broken and fractured after she’d been dealt such a strong blow. Blood was dripping from her mouth, and Alroy’s claws were digging deep into her scalp, trickles of red slipping down her face and around her nose as she glared at him. “And you have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
The blood on her face and from inside her mouth all lurched at Alroy, stabbing him in the eyes as it dug into his flesh, digging around and under the eyes to completely gauge them out, stringy pink flesh ripping as she picked herself up and headbutted his face, the man yelling as he began scrambling away.
And she was breathing heavily, heart pounding and chest aching as every small movement hurt and shattered her further, but she would not back down. Because, well, he was… “You’re right! I abandoned him! I left him when he needed me, I get it!” she yelled, blood peeling out from under the skin on her arms while red eyes glared daggers at Alroy’s screaming form, the man covering his eyes as more steam fizzed out from his face, the healing process painful as he found himself needing to regenerate a whole new set of eyes. “But my brother is not some weakling! He got back on his feet, he didn’t need me! In fact, he’s doing better without me than he ever did while I was there! Hell, he took my position and is now ranking higher than I did!” she screamed, stepping forward as blood trickled off her arm and into the palm of her hand, a long blade of blood forming off her skin as she prepared to strike it down on the shapeshifter’s heart, which would surely kill him.
But she froze once again as Alroy trembled and groaned, palming at his eyes as he desperately tried to piece himself back together. “You bitch! You don’t deserve your brother! Just because he got back up again after you abandoned him doesn’t mean he was better off without you! You bitch, you fucking bitch!” he screamed, lifting himself up from the ground as he shifted into a large violet dragon that took up the entire room, Kya flinching as she went to cower, her blood far too late to act, before a blade of poison cut into the creature’s thick flesh, and she turned to see Achitha slicing through the dragon’s hide with a poison-laced dagger that melted through the scales with burning acidity. Alroy was screaming as he shifted back into his human form, collapsing onto the ground as he fell into a pool of his own blood, eyes white and glassy with blood still dripping from his sockets as steam erupted from him on all sides, his concept desperately working to heal him and all his many injuries.
“Are you alright?” Achitha immediately asked, stepping past Alroy’s writhing form as Kya clutched her chest, carefully sliding her blood back into her body with a stagger, the muscular woman swiftly moving to catch her behind the waist, supporting her as Kya grabbed around her neck for support.
“I… I’m fine,” she insisted stubbornly, but her breathing was ragged, and every time she took a deeper breath, she felt jabbing pains in her chest, as if she were being stabbed by multiple sharp needles digging into her heart. But that didn't matter. Her pain didn't matter. “How is Feather?”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“He’s fine, he’s with Cirrus, and Eve is taking care of him. So for now, you should be putting yourself first,” Achitha chided her, carefully reaching under Kya’s legs to lift her up with one arm, the smaller woman’s chest twinging as she wrapped her arms around Achitha’s neck, trying her best not to cough on the woman as she felt more saliva pooling in her mouth. It was a familiar feeling, and she immediately spat some of her spit onto her hand, before her eyes widened with subtle fear.
“It’s black,” she whispered shakily, Achitha grimacing as she hoisted her up higher before she squatted down next to Alroy, taking his steaming body by his head while he let out a groan before she smashed it into the ground with no remorse.
“It’s okay, once Feather wakes up, I’m sure everything will be fine. Let’s get this guy out of here,” she gruffed out, wrapped her arm under Alroy’s waist before she hiked him up on top of her shoulder, the unconscious man’s face knocking against her back as his legs dangled over her front.
“...just how much can you carry?” Kya wheezed, doing her best to stay conscious no matter how much her vision blurred with every large movement Achitha took, but the woman continued to carry the both of them effortlessly as she began walking back through the labyrinth following her pristine memory as a guide.
“I can deadlift about 780 pounds with just one arm. It's more than what's humanly possible, but I haven't quite mastered the intricacies of the concept of strength just yet. It's a work in progress.”
“Oh. That’s impressive,” Kya winced, head sharply spinning as Achitha kept her walking at a firm, yet steady pace.
“Thank you. Ruba says I'll master the concept soon once I meet a very special person. I have yet to meet them, though. Or if I have, I am not aware.”
“Well… I’m sure you’ll only get more impressive when you do,” she sighed, her black hair a mess as thick black drool kept spilling out of her mouth. It was disgusting, and she didn’t even know when she’d been infected. Those black leeches from earlier clearly had something to do with it, but for some reason, they’d had no effect on Feather. And it made her ashamed to know she most likely would have died had Achitha not returned with such perfect timing… Alroy was very skilled, that was for certain. It was a good thing they’d knocked him out cold, or else he’d be a handful to keep captive.
Still, her breathing was labored and Achitha could feel her arms and upper body shaking, so she gently lifted Kya a little higher to be right over head, giving the woman a nice perch to rest on as the black-haired woman squinted at it. “You can rest your head on mine. You need to stop straining yourself, it looks like you have a concussion,” she guided, Kya grimacing as she glared at the top of the woman’s burgundy head.
Achitha had very thick, coarse hair that was slightly frizzy, but it was smooth and could be patted down easily. The woman usually never cared to tie it back or up, because she always viewed taking care of her hair besides keeping it clean to be a pointless hassle, but that wasn’t the problem. Kya just didn’t like relying on other people. Even if they never asked for anything in return, she would always feel like she had to give them something anyway. But still, her head was spinning… and her neck felt sharp and heavy, like her head was about to roll back any minute. So she gave up her pride and rested the side of her face on Achitha’s head, letting out a relieved sigh as some of the pressure swam down and faded into a soft, thudding heartbeat.
“...thank you.”
“Of course. There’s no need.”
“Alright,” Kya sighed, though she would probably try to do something regardless, as that was just what felt right to her.
Though when they finally reached the entrance to the laboratory from which they’d climbed down in, Achitha called up for Cirrus’ help as the man looked down the hole to see the two injured people she was carrying. It was very clear none of them had the ability to climb up the metal ladder, so the prince carefully adapted by placing ice under Achitha’s feet and around her ankles, before he lifted her up with ease like a makeshift elevator.
“Eve, come here quickly,” Cirrus commanded as Achitha dropped Alroy on the ground right next to the other person they had tied up, before she quickly lowered Kya to cradle her and gently placed her on the ground with a blanket under her head, pressing her down by the shoulders when the woman tried to lift herself up.
“No, stay down. You’re about to be healed,” Achitha soothed, Kya grimacing as Eve and Leo both hurried over, the lion-like man looking incredibly distraught as Eve got to work.
Nearly all of her ribs were either fractured or knocked out of place, and her lungs had been severely damaged. Achitha was right about the concussion, but Eve was good at handling stuff like this. This was something within her domain, so she expertly handled all of the injuries as Kya felt her body relax and strengthen. The white-haired healer mended the bone and healed the lungs, using her concept of healing to guide her ribs back into place as Eve marveled at how difficult a fight Kya must have had. “Woah, just what did that guy do to you?! And you’re saying Feather one-shot him?!”
“He did,” Achitha nodded, crossing her arms as she stared at the two men, the one that was tied up looking awfully distressed about the man that had been tossed next to him, his violet eyes wide and scared as he gritted his teeth, nearly shaking in his bindings with such fierce anger it couldn't be missed.
And Kya turned to them with newly refreshed eyesight, feeling much more levelheaded as she lifted herself up with Leo’s help, staring at the lavender-haired man with a neutral gaze. “So are you Elray?”
And with how utterly offended the man looked that she'd known their name, she confirmed it in her head that this was the twin Alroy had been talking about. And it only got further confirmed when Elray flared and screamed, “Huh?! How the fuck do you know my name?! What’d you do to my brother?!”
“I figured,” she sighed, running her hand through her neatly cut bangs as she turned to Cirrus, who she assumed would now be in charge since Feather was unconscious. That seemed like a logical conclusion to come to. “These two are twins. The one with the darker hair is Alroy, and the one with the lighter hair is Elray. I know this because in our fight, Alroy kept talking about them both, and he seemed to know many things about me and Feather somehow, as well. He knew a lot of stuff he shouldn’t.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jayce growled in his paranoia, holding onto his shriveled white hand that still showed no signs of healing, although it didn’t show any signs of getting worse, either.
But she just lowered her head, not willing to speak more on the topic without Feather’s permission as she looked away. “I cannot say. You should ask Feather when he wakes up.”
“I see… I suppose I’ll do that,” Cirrus agreed, Kya slowly leaning further onto Leocadies' firm shoulder as she relaxed on him, the man’s tail flicking back and forth along her back and arms as if to reassure her that he was there, a slight purr escaping him as he lent himself as a pillow.
Yet she couldn’t get Alroy’s words out of her mind… because everything he’d said had been right, technically. She knew Kal wouldn’t do so well without her, and she knew that leaving him might make him spiral into another depression, and yet she’d still faked her death and left without a word. She didn’t explain anything, she didn’t tell him anything. She hadn’t talked to him in over four hundred years. Leo messaged him sometimes using his telepathy, and she knew those two still had conversations every once in a while, but it was obvious that everything between them was fractured… her brother had needed her, relied on her, and she had abandoned him. Alroy was right about that.
Though at the same time, Feather had needed her more. He was so much more volatile than Kal, like a walking bomb with a lit fuse. She was scared of what would happen if she left him alone. And with how that poor boy had been treated, she couldn’t just let him wander off into the world like that… not by himself. Kallan had already been three hundred and twenty years old when she’d left. He was an adult and could care for himself. But Feather had only been in his early hundreds, and he knew nothing of the outside world… he’d lived his entire life as a sheltered princess, how could she let him leave like that? It wasn’t right.
Of course she hadn’t wanted to leave Kal to fend for himself, but he was much older and more experienced… he had a stable job and more friends than she’d ever had… she knew he would’ve turned out okay. He had other people to support him besides herself. But Feather was different. She didn’t know whether or not he would’ve turned out okay had she not chosen to swear her life to him and follow him on his endless journey. And in the end, that was why she’d chosen him over her brother. Not because she cared about one more than the other, but because he'd needed her more than Kal did. But of course, she could see why Alroy couldn’t understand that… sometimes, in all truth, she didn’t understand it either. But she couldn't go back in time and change her choice, so she must live with the consequences of the actions she’d made. Kya had been prepared for that, so even if Kal decided he never wanted to speak to her again, she refused to regret what she’d done. She refused to regret helping the little boy who had needed her more. She couldn’t, or else she simply wouldn’t know what to do with the guilt she'd let fester.
Who is your favorite side character? (Out of Feather and Cirrus' group)
