《Whisper of the Nightingale Side Stories》 [RRCS] Winter Interlude It was mid-day Christmas Eve and Ash Night, assassin extraordinaire, was NOT amused. Standing at the corner of a busy shopping street he wore a stuffed Santa costume and rang a large bell, occasionally calling out to stressed passersby: "Feed the hungry, buy a pretzel!" Doing questionably efficient charity work was not the usual repertoire for this eighteen year old master killer, but as it was Ash had lost a bet and now he had to live through the consequences. "I should have known better than to fall for her bloody tricks," he muttered to himself as he handed a pretzel to a fat tourist, "Raven never agrees to anything she doesn''t win..." It had all started four days ago when his fellow assassin, Raven Night - no family relations, the name came from their assigned group - had coaxed him into betting on who would take out the most targets during their following mission. Considering the fact that Raven was two years younger than him but still the undisputed number one assassin of their group - soon perhaps of the entire Assassins Union - it was a silly bet to agree to. But, as always, Raven had known exactly which buttons to push and in the end Ash himself had been the one insisting on the bet. Consequently, here he was, stuck as a "merry" Santa Claus, selling pretzels to the rich, to feed the poor. A few meters away, a running child suddenly slipped over an ice-patch on the sidewalk and slammed down on his tush. Immediately the boy started crying. Clenching his teeth in frustration, Ash waddled over in his too big Santa suit. "Here kid," Ash gave the boy a caramelized pretzel with an insincere smile, "eat on this and the pain will go away with a poof!" He spread his fingers theatrically to emphasize his point. At this point Ash thought he heard the sound of muffled laughter in the distance, so he swirled around to see if he could find its source, but the sound was gone as quickly as it had come. "I just know she''s here somewhere, laughing her ass off!" He swore and made his way back to the stand, ignoring the still sniveling kid. If all he had to do for the day was stand there and sell pretzels it wouldn''t be so bad - embarrassing no doubt, but mostly boring. No, the annoying part was that Ash had been commanded to be... nice; to help anyone in need that he came across during a twenty-four hour period. By noon Ash had already, on three occasions, helped elderly ladies carry home their groceries, chased down a blind man''s dog and given away his gloves to a homeless guy. "What now?" Ash grunted. The little boy from earlier had regained his footing, walked over to Ash and now stood staring at him in front of the pretzel stand. "Are you really Santa Claus?" asked the kid. "No," answered Ash curtly but a shiver ran down his spine, warning him that he was out on thin ice, so he added, "I''m one of his helpers," in a softer tone. "You don''t look like an elf. You look like Santa." The boy didn''t belive him. "Santa has many different kinds of helpers." Ash smiled a strained smile. "Then what kind are you?" "I''m a doppelganger," the boy was all confusion; "um, I''m like a Santa stuntman." The kids eyes lit up. "Does that mean you''re strong?" ''Uh oh...'' Ash knew that look - the kid wanted something. "I guess so..." "Then, can you help me save Sister?" "Your sister is in trouble?" Ash grew a bit more excited - perhaps today wouldn''t be such a drag after all. "Yes she''s in a lot of danger!" the boy looked very distressed. "Lead the way, kid,"Ash didn''t even bother to lock up the food stand as he followed the kid to a nearby park. Here most people kept to the trodden paths, so much of the snow was left untouched. The little boy picked one of the smaller paths that disappeared in between a cluster of firs and pines. Inside the already dim daylight struggled to penetrate the dense fir branches, veiling the area with a dusky light. The wailing of a small animal could be heard in the distance, giving it all a very eerie feeling. As Ash and the boy continued further into the grove the wailing grew louder, but the deep snow muffled the sound, making it hard to specify its origin. Suddenly the boy stopped under a particularly tall pine tree. "Sister!" he called as he stared up at the first set of branches, at least three meters off ground. Ash''s heart dropped; he followed the boy''s gaze and his fears were confirmed. Perched on a thick branch was a fluffy cream-colored cat. "That''s your sister?" Ash was sure he wasn''t imagining the laughter now. "Yeah, that''s Sister, my cat" the boy looked up at Ash with worried eyes, "you can help her, right?" "Look, kid, this kind of this is a job for the fire department, not Santa." Ash turned around to leave but a whistling noise caused him to freeze in his steps; lodged in the tree next to him was a sharp knife and stinging sensation at the top of his right ear told him he''d actually been hit. ''Crazy bitch!'' Ash cursed silently as he outwardly plastered on a happy smile and turned back to the kid, "but I guess I can make an exception for you!" Ash glared up at the cat as he approached the pine. The trunk of the tree was to thick for his arms to wrap around it but his belt would do the trick. Flinging the belt buckle around the trunk Ash used it as a leverage to easily reach the cat sat on. "Here, kitty kitty," he cooed but that cat didn''t budge. Eventually Ash had no choice but to crawl out on the limb in pursuit of the feline. Once he had a hold of the little creature, Ash didn''t bother climbing down the way he''d come, simply dropping down into the deep snow below the tree. It might be a three meter drop, but even without the snow Ash would have no problem dealing with it. "Here kid," Ash helt out the struggling cat. "Wow!" the boy''s eyes were filled with worship as he accepted his pet, "you really are Santa''s helper!" "Right... Now run along and make sure the cat doesn''t climb anymore trees, okay?" After a few more moments of adoration, the boy thanked Ash and ran off with his creamy fur ball in his arms. The fake smile faded from Ash''s face. "Happy now?" he glared of towards the darkest area of the grove. At first there was no reply but suddenly a soft female voice rang out next to his ear; "This is why you will always remain as number two - you''re not imaginative enough." Ash spun around, almost losing his balance in the thick snow. Hanging, upside-down, behind him was a familiar figure, who''s well toned body was emphasized by the slick leather suit she was wearing. "Raven," Ash suddenly felt dry in his mouth. With cat-like grace, Raven slowly swirled around on the rope she had been hanging from and soundlessly placed her feet on the ground. Ash would perhaps not call her stunning, but Raven had a sort of primal beauty about her, that made her hard to ignore. The girl smiled at him and Ash swallowed by reflex. "Why the long face, Ash? I thought you would enjoy a little break from your duties." Ash snorted, "I would have been, if not for this silly bet of yours." "My bet? I could have sworn that you insisted..." Raven put on a face of pure innocence, "besides isn''t this... Christmas thing supposed to be about being kind to others?" she stretched out a hand and snatched the red Santa hat Ash had been wearing and put it on herself instead - it was a quite odd combination, tactical suit and Santa hat. Ash opened his mouth to give a reply when shrill shreak pierced the air. The two assassins didn''t even glance at each other before the dashed towards the edge of their grove on silent feat. There, roughly a hundred meters away, they saw a black SUV that had plowed it''s way into the snowy park. Two men were currently forcing a young woman into the back seat while two more were wrestling with a bulky man not far off. "An abduction," stated Ash, "of someone with a bodygaurd, by the looks of it." "Indeed, but why are you still here?" "Huh?" "You''re supposed to help people in need today, remember? If you let them drive off, helping that girl will get a lot harder..." Ash noticed that Raven couldn''t hide the amusement from her voice. Ash grunted, "you can''t be serious? I''m not a bloody savior!" Raven ignored him and said, "Oh, look, they are getting away," with a theatrical voice. "How bothersome..." she locked eyes with Ash, daring him to do nothing. ''Fuck!'' Ash cursed and dashed out from the grove at full speed. The car was already in motion and he knew he wouldn''t catch it by foot, fortunately catching it was not his intention. Utilizing a shortcut in the terrain, Ash managed to get within fifty meters of the SUV and instantly flicked his wrist, causing a small dart to fly out and hit the vehicle''s back door. Satisfied that the dart had stuck, Ash slowed to a stop and looked down on his watch; a small white light blinking next to the number twelve. Barely audible footsteps told him Raven was approaching him. "Looks like you have your work cut out for you with this one," She paused next to him and handed over a bloody ID-card. Ash''s face fell. "Do I have to?" he pleaded. "All in need, Ash, that was the deal." Raven smirked as she strolled off, calling over her shoulder, "and remember, no killing while off duty." Ash swore yet again before he flicked away the ID-card and headed of in the opposite direction. The little plastic tag landed face up in the snow, revealing the owner''s occupation: personal bodyguard to close relatives of the current Head of State. --------- For nearly two hours, Ash tracked the escaping SUV and by the time the signal stopped moving, the metropolitan city had been left far behind - Ash had no choice but to "borrow" a motorcycle to keep up the pursuit of the kidnappers. The final destination jag been an old, rundown mansion built in the image of European 18th century palaces. The grounds were vast and by seemingly deserted - had not the tracker Ash placed on the SUV lead him here, he would have assumed the place abandoned. At the moment Ash the crouched down behind a large hedge of poorly trimmed holly - despite the lack of dayligt, bright red berries shone through the thick snow. He was observing the mansion with all-seeing eyes and was a bit impressed by what he discovered. Regardless of the desolate impression the place portrayed, there were actually quite a few people guarding it; ten people jag been hidden at strategic locations around the mansion and every once in a while Ash managed to notice movement behind the numerous windows. ''They seem to know their stuff...'' Ash admitted as he counted slowly in his head; ''judging by the movement patterns, the are at least five people patrolling inside.'' Ash considered his options for a moment; although there were a couple of unguarded paths he could use as entryways, he had no knowledge of were the girl was being kept so either way he would have to spend some time searching for her. If he had been allowed to use deadly force things would have been so much simpler... Ash kooked down at his red Santa costume that he''d yet had time to change out of and suddenly smiled. ''I guess I''ll stick to traditions then.'' Careful not to move into view of any the guards Ash made his way closer to the house. Progress was fairly slow and he had to alternately run and drop to the ground in hiding to avoid detection. It took him nearly ten minutes to reach a slightly more secluded side of the mansion, where the facade was covered in sturdy evergreens and also faced the massive stone wall surrounding the grounds. Making quick work of the ascend, Ash needed mere seconds before he was dashing over the roof with silent footsteps. Finally, he paused infront of a small square tower at the center of the roof - it was the main chimney of the house and fortunately it was currently not in use. ''I hope Raven isn''t around to see this,'' Ash momentarily regretted his choice of entry, but nonetheless, effortlessly swung up to the top of the chimney and started his decent. Although no fire was lit at the moment, there was still plenty of soot covering the inside of the chimney so by the time Ash reached the open fireplace his previously red and white costume was rather brown and grey. He paused for a second to listen for any activity before silently lowering himself the last bit. The room he''d entered seemed to stretch on forever - the furthest end barely visible in the dark. The previous grandeur of this hall was not hard to imagine, but now every piece of furniture was draped in white cloths and no surface had avoided gathering a thick layer of grey dust. Clearly this room had not been used in a while and the only traces of more recent human activity was a set of footprints passing through the hall. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Without hesitating, Ash chose to back-track the footprints to their origin in a hope of finding the kidnapped girl. It didn''t take long before he ran into the first kidnappers but houses such as this one was in no shortage of hiding places so Ash easily slipped past them. Just as he was considering whether he had picked the wrong direction in the grand hall, Ash heard angry voices coming from behind a large wooden door that, judging by its location, led down to the cellar. "I won''t do it!" shouted a female voice, "I don''t care what you do to me, I will not do it!" "Yes you will, missy, and you do care - women always care." The sound of shuffling furniture escaped even up to were Ash was standing, followed by a panicked scream and the sharp *WHAM!* of a punch. There was a moments silence and then, "feisty one, are ya?" the male voice spoke again, "well, that''ll change over time." "Go fuck yourself, nimbwit!" shouted the girl. Ash backed away from the door; he had found where the kidnapped girl was and now all he had to do was wait for an opportunity to get her out. He didn''t have to wait long before two men came up through the cellar door. Just like the other kidnappers Ash had seen, these two wore military clothes and were armed to the teeth with every thing from knives to automatic rifles. They also wore masks. "Why are we leaving her alone?" asked one of the men as the other placed a bar over the door to the cellar, "I thought we went down there to make her give us the info we need." "Let her fester for a while - she thinks they''ve noticed that she''s gone by now and are about to send in the cavalry by now," the second man laughed, "naive girl. Let''s get something to eat, in starving." The two men walked off, presumably towards the kitchen, and after listening for more activity from the kidnappers, Ash moved in sealed the door and went in. He closed the door behind him but blocked the locking mechanism first. Contrary to the rest of the house, the path to the cellar was lit by dim lamps. At the bottom of the staircase there was a second door but this one stood open. Ash hurried into the cellar room but to his surprise he found it empty. He was just about to start searching the room when he heard soft movement at his flank. Unguarded he turned towards the girl only to glimpse something reminiscent of a tire iron swung towards him before the world turned black. --------- Sharp pain at the back of the neck was the first Ash registered as he regained consciousness. He tried to move his hands but they wouldn''t budge. Blinking, he opened his eyes; at first the world around him was hazy but soon it cleared. He was still in the basement but he had been tied to one of the supporting pillars - across from him a young blonde girl was bound to one of the other pillars. She looked at him with a mixed expression of worry and regret. "Awake, are you?" A masked man bent down in front of Ash, blocking his view of the girl. Ash recognized the voice from one of the men earlier. "Obviously," retorted Ash with a grunt. "Good, I thought the girl might have killed ya," the man came closer; "not that I really care, but it would have made questioning you a bit tricky." Ash said nothing. "Who sent you, kid?" the man asked. Silence. The man clenched his right fist and punched Ash in the face. "Who sent you!" he bellowed. Ash spit out a mouth of blood. "Santa." That reply earned him another punch. "We''re not playing games here - who sent you!" Ash once more remained silent. "Fine, we''ll see what you have to say after a bit of coaxing," the man nodded his companion who had been standing silently by the door. The second man nodded back and moved over to a small table stranding close to Ash, picking up a oddly shaped knife. ''Here we go...'' thought Ash and glanced over at the now panic-stricken girl; clearly they would use him as an example for her. What followed was nearly thirty minutes of well placed cutting, stabbing and plying. The torturer did his best to force Ash to the limit but Ash was used to pain - his own teachers a had used even more inhumane techniques on him before he even turned ten years old - the girl, however, was not and she turned ever more pale as the minutes passed. Eventually the two kidnappers grew tired and left the cellar with the final message, "we''ll be back!" Ash groaned for the first time as he sifted his weight in hopes of relaxing the pressure on his now bloody arms. "I... I''m sorry," stuttered the girl, "I... I thought you were one of them. I only wanted to escape..." "I take it you failed," muttered Ash. "They returned just as I was on my way up the stairs. They''ve kept me chained up since then," the regret in her face grew stronger. "Haven''t they taught you to stay put and do as you''re told in situations like this?" The girl''s silence told Ash he was right. He sighed as he started fiddling with his restrains. "So, what do they want with you?" Ash asked as he worked. She girl looked at Ash add if he was stupid; "Don''t you know who my father is?" she asked. "Of course I know," Ash retorted. How could he not know, the man''s face was plastered over half the city! "But they don''t seem to be after any ransom; as far as I can tell, they have made no contact with anyone since they brought you here." The girl''s brows furrowed, "they keep asking me to tell them about Operation Midnight," she stared straight at Ash, as if wanting to read his reaction, before she continued; "but I don''t know anything about that!" ''Really?'' Ash raised an eyebrow, ''then why say ''won''t'' rather than ''can''t''?'' he mused but said nothing. He just had to save the girl. Ash cursed; his restraints were well made and he couldn''t get them of. Suddenly he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, but they were different from before, lighter. ''Could it be?'' he looked up towards the celler door just in time to see a small figure enter the room. The clothes was the same military uniform the kidnappers wore but above the black mask was a bright red Santa hat. "Seriously Ash, this is embarrassing," chuckled Raven with poorly hidden amusement. "To get caught during a private mission..." she clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Let me guess, the girl thought you were the enemy and attacked you?" Ash felt his face heat up with shame; he said nothing but he could guess that his face now resembled a tomato. "You know this person?" asked the slightly confused girl. "Unfortunately, yes," grunted Ash, while Raven walked over to deal with his restraints, "she''s the reason I''m here at all." The girl looked even more confused. "You mean you''re not sent by my father?" "No dear," answered Raven deridingly before Ash had a chance, "and no one else is coming either, by the looks of it." "What do you mean?" the girl asked but Raven ignored her. "It''s a quarter to midnight, Ash, get her out before then." There was a light click behind Ash and he felt his hands being released. ''I was out that long?'' Ash wondered but all he said was "sure." "I''ll by waiting by the lake," said Raven and disappeared up the stairs once more. Ash stood up from the floor with little difficulty, completely ignoring the various wounds on his body, and moved over to the girl. "Why did she leave?" she asked as Ash ben t down to deal with her restraints. "Because she has no reason to stay," Ash stood one more, "we''re running out of time, let''s go." Without waiting for the girl to get up, Ash hurried up the staircase, pausing next to the door at the top of the stairs. Straining his ears he first listened and the carefully opened the door to glance out into the room outside. There was no one there. "Come on," he hissed to the girl who was making her way up the stairs with the grace of a hedgehog; "civilians," he muttered - he could never understand why normal people put so little effort into how they moved. "Huh?" asked the girl. "Nevermind," he answered while rolling his eyes, "what is your name, by the way?" The girl stared at him in shock; "you don''t know?" Ash''s glare indicated that he clearly didn''t so she quickly added, "Claire." "Ok, Claire, follow me as quietly as you can and stop whenever I tell you to." Claire nodded and Ash moved out into the room. Clearly he couldn''t leave the way he had arrived so Ash made his way towards what had looked like an orangery from the outside. The first guard they came across was sprawled naked and unconscious in the very next room, the work of Raven no doubt, but the second time they weren''t as lucky. Ash raised his hand to indicated for Claire to stop as he peered into a long hallway. Half way down, perhaps five meters from the door, patrolled a well armed man. Every once in a while, he would stop and gaze out a window. "What now?" asked Claire in a low whisper, only to be quickly hushed by Ash. His eyes had grown cold with concentration and blood lust so the moment Claire saw them she shuddered and almost yelped, but she remained silent from then on. Turning back to observe the armed man, Ash remained still for a few more seconds before he suddenly dashed out into the hallway on silent feet. Barely a second had passed before his arms were around the guards neck in a firm choke-hold. Moments later Ash slowly lowered the unconscious man to the ground. Like this Ash and his rescuee made there way through the house, quietly disarming one kidnapper after the other as they went. Ten minutes later Ash peeked into the empty orangery at the southern end of the mansion. Outside the night was unusually bright, thanks to a full moon lighting up the white snow. The lake Raven had mentioned was visible outside of the windows. ''The guards between here and the lake are gone... Raven I presume?'' Ash mused with a smirk, ''show off.'' The guards had been well placed, getting rid of them without the others noticing was not easily done. "The path is cleared, let''s go." Ash started of towards the glass doors facing the lake. "Out there?" protested Claire, "I will freeze to death!" Ash paused and looked the girl over - she was only wearing a flimsy white dress, her original coat was gone. He glanced down at his wrist, two minutes to midnight; still on friendly duty. Grunting, Ash removed his red Santa coat and handed it to the girl. She wrinkled her nose at the dirty clothing but accepted it nonetheless. With the girl covered, Ash and Claire ran out of the orangery and ran towards the lake in the knee high snow. The full moon caused the snow crystals covering the ground to sparkle softly and the clear moon was perfectly reflected on the smooth ice that sealed the lake in a wintry tomb. Leaning against the trunk of a silvery willow waited a lean black figure with a seemingly black Santa hat. As they reached the tree, Raven leaned off the trunk and approached them. In the distance the hollow sound of church belles marked the stroke of midnight. Raven looked from Ash''s almost bare upper body to the oversize coat covering the girl next to him and sneered. "Not a word," said Ash grudgingly before Raven had a chance to comment. "I said nothing," Raven shrugged but her smile widened. "Not to bother you two but can we get out of here?" asked Claire through shaking teeth as the church bells chimed their last ring. "The time is up, Ash," she handed him a brown folder with intricate symbols on- a new mission. Ignoring further please from Claire, Ash opened the folder and read its context. His eyes widened in surprise and he looked up at Raven. "Did you know?" She shrugged but Ash could help but feel that she had indeed known. "Know what?" asked a glowingly annoyed Claire, "what are you two talking about?" "My vacation is over," explained Ash and picked up a picture from within the folder showing it to Claire, "and I''ve just been hired to kill you." Chapter 61: Meeting Again Author''s note: A big thank you to this chapter''s sponsors!
Meeting Again While Raven and Hoatzin went over what they had experienced during the Day of Light, Javelin trekked through the knee-deep snow that covered every nook and cranny of the winter-white Sky City. At a steady pace he made his way towards the city''s center, but contrary to his walking, Javelin''s mind was far from steady. As he walked, Javelin thought back on the conversations he had just had with Raven - his shockingly female roommate - and couldn''t help but grow confused. As far as he could tell, Raven had been honest with him about her past. She had perhaps withheld some information here and there, but that gut-feeling - the one that had been helping him spot Raven''s lies as of late - didn''t stir more than once or twice. ''Then they can''t be the same Raven. . . .'' he thought, ''their childhoods don''t match.'' However, as he thought this, Javelin felt that very same gut-feeling warning him that something was wrong with his conclusions. ''If they are not the same person, then why do I keep seeing . . .'' he couldn''t make himself finish the thought. Javelin continued his silent walk, opting to take the longer path rather than heading straight for the nearest transporter outpost. After nearly an hour of walking and then flying, Javelin finally arrived at the Sea Empire''s embassy - one of the few businesses located on the Mansion Tier - but his thoughts were still a mess. He sighed; Javelin could understand why Raven would want to keep her gender a secret. He himself had been betrothed to a promising spiritualist girl since before he could remember, and even without his heart yearning for someone already dead, Javelin would not hesitate to break off the engagement if opportunity arose. ''Perhaps it''s just wishful thinking on my part. . . .'' Ironically, this Raven was perhaps unique enough for even his strictly loyal father to agree to backing out of the arrangement with his fiance''s family. --------- It took another two days for Raven to fully stabilize her core, but even then her muscles still felt sore - stronger than ever, but very sore. Nonetheless, her cultivation had kept improving, solidifying her as a high Spirit Adept. Over these two days Raven had also tried to figure out what had changed within her soul prism - she was certain something was different but no matter how hard she looked, Raven couldn''t pinpoint what had changed. While Raven recuperated, Hoatzin had refused to leave her side, no matter how hard she insisted that they needed to look into what the Talon''s were up to. "Not until you are better," he would repeat resolutely every time the subject was raised. Meanwhile, Javelin had returned to the house several times, but he would always stop about a hundred meters away, pace back and forth a few times and then leave. Raven found this behavior a bit amusing at first but after a while she started to wish that Javelin would find the courage to simply ask whatever it was that he had on his mind. "He''s come again," noted Hoatzin out off nowhere. "I know," sighed Raven. She wondered briefly if she should go out and confront the boy, when her thoughts suddenly froze. Raven stared at her brother. He sat nestled deep within the fibers of a fluffy carpet in front of the living room''s open fireplace - there was no window nearby that could possibly allow Hoatzin a view of the street outside. "Brother, how come you know that Javelin has returned?" Hoatzin didn''t look away from the flames as he lazily answered, "who else would be walking back and forth at that same spot in the middle of the day? Everyone else is at home with their families." Raven raised a surprised eyebrow but said nothing. As if sensing his sister''s gaze, Hoatzin lifted his still white feathered head. "What?" His apparent confusion caused Raven to chuckle lightly. "Javelin is nearly a hundred meters down the road, big brother - don''t you find it odd that you know he''s there?" she said with a crooked smile. "He''s not a hun-. . ." Hoatzin''s brown eyes widened. Immediately he spread his wings and flew over to the window facing the street where Javelin could be glanced further down. "I''ll be damned, he really is a hundred meters away! How come I can tell he is there?" Raven got up and joined her brother by the window. Outside was an exceptionally quiet street, covered in muffling snow. Even with Raven''s hearing not a lot of sounds could be heard. ''That must be it,'' she thought as she held out a hand for her brother to land on. "Big brother, how many spirit connections do you have right now?" "54," snorted Hoatzin, a bit dejectedly. "You know, it''s not fair that you, my little sister, gained over a hundred new connections for nearly dying while I, who actually died, only gained fifty!" Raven blinked a few times before she burst out laughing. "Brother, haven''t you noticed that you can see, hear and feel a lot more than before?" Hoatzin tilted his head in confusion, so Raven in turn inclined hers towards an ice tap hanging over a window across the street. "See that? Tell me, can you not hear the drops hitting the small ice patch below the tap?" Hoatzin was about to declare his sister crazy when his little eyes widened yet again. "How is that possible?" "It''s your spirit connections. Once you pass fifty there is a huge leap in your senses'' quality. I''m surprised you didn''t notice, but perhaps the lack of activity around here has made it harder to pick up." Raven was still smiling. Before, her brother''s soul prism, or rather soul shard, had barely been strong enough to sustain the few spirit connections she had given up so that Hoatzin could gain a physical body. Now, he had over fifty connections and a cultivation equivalent to a brand new Spirit Adept. Clearly he had made huge progress towards his goal. "It''s from my spirit connections?" Hoatzin didn''t seem to understand. "You will see what I mean once we get to a more crowded area - it might overwhelm you at first, but you''ll get used to it." With Hoatzin still in a daze, Raven scooped him up and started walking towards the front door. It was about time for Raven and her brother to return to reality - they needed to start finding the answers to all their newfound questions. -------- Outside, Javelin paced back and forth in a dim alleyway. It was the fifth time in two days that he had made it this far, but every time the actual house came in sight, his determination would falter. "By the seagull''s cry, just ask her!" Javelin shouted out in frustration as he kicked the house wall next to him. "Ask whom what?" an amused voice rang out behind him. Javelin spun around only to see Raven standing no more than a meter away from him. "Ah, Ra-Raven!" he stammered but just as the words left his mouth, the grey robed Raven took a small step backwards. Javelin barely managed to register this shift before a heap of cold snow flopped down on top of him. Like an avalanche, practically all of the snow that had been on the roof, slid down from above. By the time the downpour stopped, Javelin was chest high in snow, with a lump of the cold stuff stacked like a cone on his head. For a brief moment there was silence, but it didn''t take long before Javelin noticed how Raven''s slender shoulders shook violently, as if she was trying he best not to laugh. Javelin felt his cheeks heat up. He was so embarrassed - and the fact that even Tzin, the bird, seemed to be holding back a laugh didn''t make it better. "You could have warned me too," he grunted. He tried to move out of the snow but it was harder to lift his legs than Javelin had expected, nearly causing him to fall over. *Pfft* Raven couldn''t hold it in any longer and a small laugh escaped her. Tzin on the other hand was wheezing with what Javelin assumed to be a bird''s heavy laughter. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "It''s not funny." In flustered frustration Javelin activated his spirit essence to force the snow away from him. He had expected some of it to slam into the now giggling Raven, but the snow just skid past her. Tzin, on the other hand got hit, causing him to instantly go tumbling off of Raven''s shoulder, disappearing into the deep snow behind her. This in turn led to Raven laughing even more and Javelin could feel his cheeks warm up yet again, although, not with embarrassment this time. ''Laughing suits her. . . .'' he thought in a daze. Steam rose from the hole Tzin had made with his body and soon an ember covered bird popped out of it, heading straight for Javelin''s face with impressive speed. Wide eyed, Javelin was about to defend himself when the still laughing Raven intervened by moving in between them. "Now, now, Tzin, don''t blame him. I could have blocked it for you too." Raven turned and smiled warmly at Javelin. "Sorry, Jav, I couldn''t resist." Javelin just stared. For three days he had watched over the unconscious Raven. For three days, Javelin had been reevaluating everything he knew about Raven''s appearance but it was perhaps first now that it truly hit him; Raven was a girl, and beneath those icy cold eyes, she was beautiful. As if realizing his thoughts, Raven''s smile dropped, only to be replaced by the harsher expression he had grown accustomed with. Instantly, Raven grew more masculine - Javelin could hardly believe the transformation. "Did you want to ask me something?" she prompted and the distance in her voice was like a bucket of cold water over his head. "Well, um . . . I just wondered . . ." Javelin floundered about. The question he had wanted to ask didn''t seem right anymore. "I just wondered, you being Singer and all . . . will you help me, um, train. . . ?" Raven looked at him disbelievingly for a while and Javelin thought his heart would stop, but eventually Raven gave one of her signature cold smiles and nodded. "Sure," she said, "but I doubt you''ll like it." Without waiting for a reply, Raven started walking down the street and Javelin breathed a sigh of relief. ''Why does her stare seem even intenser now?'' At this point Javelin could have sworn he heard a snort. When he looked around, his eyes met with Tzin''s. ''Is the bird sneering at me?'' "Coming?" called Raven further down the road. "Coming?" Javelin was confused. "You wanted to get help with your training, right?" Raven glanced over her shoulder and Javelin didn''t miss the mischievous glint in her eyes. She raised a pale hand and pointed towards the Academy Tier. "Guess who has an appointment with the cold air in Sky Academy''s garden." Javelin''s face fell. --------- A few hours later, darkness had already descended over Sky City. After giving Javelin the necessary instructions to begin his sub-zero meditation, Raven headed towards the headmaster''s office, while Hoatzin finally agreed to take a flight around the city to find out what the Talon''s were up to. Just like before, Raven could sense nothing through the isolating walls and door that surrounded the isolated office. Double-checking the control on her Limiters, Raven knocked on the door. There was a brief silence before the large door swung open. "Come in," called the familiarly soft voice of Headmaster Swan. Raven did as she was told but had to bite her tongue not to freeze up on the doorstep. Seated in the armchairs by the fireplace was not only the headmaster but also Vice Headmaster Gadwall, cousin Dunlin and also a pale-haired woman in her forties. It might have been thirty months since Raven saw her last but even if her senses were reduced to a non-spiritaulist''s, Raven would still have recognized that woman right away. It was Aunt Anhinga. "My apologies, Headmaster," said Raven with a bow. "I was not aware that Headmaster had company." Raven''s body and voice was acting entirely on reflex. She barely registered what she had said, nor how she now straightened and was about to leave the room all together. The only thing Raven could think of was the ghastly sight of her collapsing family members and aunt Anhinga''s harrowing laugh. "By all means, Student Night, stay," urged Headmaster Swan and instead looked regrettably towards the rest of his guests. "As I warned, my next appointment has arrived. I will, however, be delighted to resume our discussion at a later time." Anhinga smiled warmly at the headmaster as she got up from her armchair. "It must be hard, taking care of so many students; making men out of mice. . . ." She gave Raven a cold glance, but the latter wasn''t looking her way so the two didn''t make eye contact. When neither the headmaster nor Raven reacted, Anhinga curtsied lightly towards the former. "Until later then," she said and left, closely followed by Dunlin who glared angrily at Raven as he passed her. Apart from Raven and the headmaster, only Gadwall remained in the office. For a moment Raven thought the man would remain, but before the doors had completely closed behind the departing Talons, Swan cleared his throat; "Smew, you have preparations for the next term to see to, I believe. Don''t let my small whims keep you." Swan''s smile was warm and genuine, and although Gadwall seemed a bit disappointed, he too smiled warmly. "Thank you, Headmaster," he said and left. As the door clicked shut behind her, Raven could feel cold sweat running down her spine. ''Mid Champion. . . . aunt Anhinga is a mid Champion!'' This had truly shocked her. Although Raven had known that her aunt was a spiritualist, the last time she heard her father speak of it, her aunt hadn''t even matched up to Raven''s mother, a mid Adept. ''What is going on with the Talons'' cultivation levels? Is it perhaps Gadwall''s doing?'' Raven''s mind spun with images of the dark essence flowing from Dunlin and Jack to the vice headmaster. ''Was I imagining things or had Dunlin''s presence faded a bit?'' "Junior Student Night?" Raven reacted to her name being called, only to realize that the headmaster had actually called to her at least two times already, without Raven truly registering it. "My apologies, Headmaster!" Raven bowed deeply, but Swan only chuckled. "Don''t worry about it, young Night. Have a seat," he gestured towards the armchairs that had just been vacated. Raven didn''t really feel like sitting in those chairs but she took a seat nonetheless. "How was your first Spirit Hall experience?" Swan asked after a moments silence. "I heard from Student Hake that you gained quite a few benefits." Raven was already prepared for this question. "It was a very thrilling experience," she said with awe-filled eyes, "the moment that first batch of spirit essence entered my soul prism it was as if the world and I was one being. Truly marvelous! I even managed to break through to the Adept realm!" Raven blurted out one sentence of praise after the other, being every inch an excited seven-year-old. When she mentioned her new cultivation, shock flashed across the headmaster''s eyes, quickly followed by immense joy. "I only wish that the sensation could have lasted longer. . ." Raven hurriedly continued but at this point she shuddered slightly, as if afraid. Internally, she hesitated a bit - after Gadwall''s odd display and the earlier meeting with the Talons, Raven wasn''t sure she trusted the headmaster either, but she needed to start somewhere. Picking up on Raven''s portrayed fear, Swan frowned slightly. "Did something go wrong during the ceremony?" he asked. "Not wrong, exactly. It''s just . . . I thought I saw a beast within the spirit essence at the end. . . ." Raven''s voice trialed off. This was a gamble. All of Raven''s senses were prone on Headmaster Swan as the last words left her mouth. The reaction from the white-haired man was more instant and dramatic than Raven had expected. Swan stood up from his armchair so fast that it fell backwards and slammed into the marble floor. His face was filled with utter shock and disbelief as he dashed forward and grabbed Raven''s arm before the latter had a chance to even react. "What did you just say!?" Headmaster Swan''s voice was anything but its usual calm as his fingers clutched Raven so tightly it actually hurt.