Status: Around about the middle. Prequel to the main plot. =)
Hollow Repentance
On Your Mark... Calm Down!
- - - - - Izzy's POV - - - - -
Urgh, I felt so run down and dizzy. I opened my eyes slightly and struggled onto my feet, slipping back instantly as the room bounced and jolted. Falling through the air, I felt strong arms entwine around my waist and lead me to a gentle landing on a cushioned surface. My vision was disorientated but I persisted in keeping my eyes open, straining to make some sense of my surroundings.
Suddenly, a small hand rested on the top of my head, tipping me back slightly as a bright light shone directly into my eyes. I moaned as it started to hurt, but couldn't turn away. Eventually, the light disappeared and rubbed my eyes, watching a blurred silhouette turn away from me and return to it's seat on the opposite side of the room. As my hearing returned slightly, I realised that I wasn't in a room; it was a car.
"...Really, I don't know how they can cope with that light in their eyes. It's so agonising. Poor child..."
I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched, but I was still too disorientated to care. I knew that voice, and I had never been happier to hear it.
"Ugh...Torren? Torren, is that you? What's going on?"
I heard his light chuckle disappearing into the distance and leapt to my feet, hitting my head on the roof and dropping awkwardly to my knees.
"W-- wait! Don't leave me! Please..."
My voice faded away as I broke down into tears. He had heard me calling him, but still left, laughing as he went. I was all alone now; no, not now. I was always alone. I cried harder and flailed my arms frantically as rough hands gripped my shirt and pinned me against the floor. My tears cascaded faster down my cheeks as I heard a gruff voice yelling from above me,
"Get a grip of yourself, kiddo! Torren isn't gone, he's still here! Torren, hold her, quick! She's having a waking nightmare, I think. She'll calm if she just hears your voice and feels you with her."
I gasped as a gentler pair of hands hooked under my arms and lifted me up onto a higher surface. A hand rested on the back of my neck and I whimpered quietly as I dropped gently against a warm body. Struggling weakly against the force holding me, I cried in a hoarse voice,
"Torren! Help me, please! Help, they've got me. Don't let them take me! Torren!"
"Now, now. Calm down, my child. I'm here. Don't worry, I've got you."
Upon hearing his voice, I relaxed slightly and burrowed into his chest, gripping his jacket tightly in my hands. I never wanted to let go. I whimpered softly as he ran his fingers through my hair. Sniffling lightly, I listened to the other man, I later recalled as Aldin, and Torren as they spoke in hushed tones that I don't suppose I was meant to hear.
"Wow, Torren. You've really took a shine to that kid, haven't you? It seems as though she's warming up to you, too."
"I wish. It would make my life a whole lot easier right now, but she's not usually like this. Dimi, do you know what's happened to her?"
"It was a wakin' nightmare. It seems bein' abandoned, even by you, is the worst fear she's encountered so far in her life. I don't know for definite, but I think that potion might have been the cause. Since the product isn't made for her kind, it brought about some unwanted after effects. I've seen somethin' like this in town before, but this was nowhere as extreme, so you needn't worry. See, she's comin' back around now; she should be back to her regular self. Whether that's a good thin' or not is your own opinion."
Aldin was right. My mind had refocused and I could think clearly once again. Pushing lightly away from Torren's grasp, I sat up and wiped my eyes hastily, still swaying slightly. I may have been back to normal, but I was still a little unbalanced. Suddenly, my head started to ache and I struggled to force the feeling away from me. Eventually, I realised that I couldn't and allowed the throbbing to take over once again.
As Torren sat up beside me, I shuffled away from him, still angry for attacking me in that storage room. Edging towards me, Torren held out a hand and called,
"Come here, and let me have a look at you. That looks a little sore."
That?! What had happened to me? Regardless of what state I was in, I wasn't going to allow Torren to come anywhere near me; not now and not when the time came for whatever he was planning to go to me in town.
As quickly as it came, the throbbing subsided and my mind felt at ease again. For some reason, I felt much more relaxed now that we were on the way into town; perhaps it was because Dimi and Aldin were here, I don't know. Aldin...what a scary person, and such an unusual name. I stared at him, taking in his appearance and the eerie vibe that surrounded him. He spoke suddenly and in a creepy voice, dragging me back to reality.
"Kid, let Torren check that for you. You needn't be afraid of him; he was still stood next to the door when the boxes began to collapse in the storage room. I was the one who tackled you, after I had crept in from the window at the back of the room. So it's me you should be plotting revenge against, not him."
I gazed at him, a horrified expression painted on my face. I thought that he was scary before, but this just took it to a whole new level. I furrowed my eyebrows at him slightly, allowing some of my anger show in my expression, which he returned with a growl that echoed threateningly in my ears. Yelping, I scrambled backwards on the seat and crashed into Torren, turning into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me protectively.
"Aw, come on, Aldin. Lets not scare her too much. We wouldn't want her to feel too intimidated by us, now would we?"
I glanced up at him as he drew back slightly and smiled at me warmly. I gasped slightly as his eyes darkened gradually and I became lost in the endless darkness. Lightly, he took hold of my chin and lifted my face closer to his. I didn't care to protest, my attention was drawn away by a swirling mist dancing in the deep nothingness of his pupils. Gently, he skimmed my cheek with his finger and sighed happily.
Breaking the eye contact, he sat back and glanced at me as I came back to my senses and drew my legs up, crossing them under me and looking around the room curiously. I had never seen such an unusual vehicle before. It looked a lot like a limousine, but it was wider and with a much higher roof. I could almost stand up fully in here.
"Don't worry about your cheek, it's only a bruise. I would expect that it'll be gone in a matter of days. Mmm, you're right. It is a special car, isn't it, child?"
I stared at him with wide eyes; how the hell did he know what I was thinking. Well, I suppose staring around the car with an awe-struck expression could sort of give it away.
— :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: —
Urgh, I felt so run down and dizzy. I opened my eyes slightly and struggled onto my feet, slipping back instantly as the room bounced and jolted. Falling through the air, I felt strong arms entwine around my waist and lead me to a gentle landing on a cushioned surface. My vision was disorientated but I persisted in keeping my eyes open, straining to make some sense of my surroundings.
Suddenly, a small hand rested on the top of my head, tipping me back slightly as a bright light shone directly into my eyes. I moaned as it started to hurt, but couldn't turn away. Eventually, the light disappeared and rubbed my eyes, watching a blurred silhouette turn away from me and return to it's seat on the opposite side of the room. As my hearing returned slightly, I realised that I wasn't in a room; it was a car.
"...Really, I don't know how they can cope with that light in their eyes. It's so agonising. Poor child..."
I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched, but I was still too disorientated to care. I knew that voice, and I had never been happier to hear it.
"Ugh...Torren? Torren, is that you? What's going on?"
I heard his light chuckle disappearing into the distance and leapt to my feet, hitting my head on the roof and dropping awkwardly to my knees.
"W-- wait! Don't leave me! Please..."
My voice faded away as I broke down into tears. He had heard me calling him, but still left, laughing as he went. I was all alone now; no, not now. I was always alone. I cried harder and flailed my arms frantically as rough hands gripped my shirt and pinned me against the floor. My tears cascaded faster down my cheeks as I heard a gruff voice yelling from above me,
"Get a grip of yourself, kiddo! Torren isn't gone, he's still here! Torren, hold her, quick! She's having a waking nightmare, I think. She'll calm if she just hears your voice and feels you with her."
I gasped as a gentler pair of hands hooked under my arms and lifted me up onto a higher surface. A hand rested on the back of my neck and I whimpered quietly as I dropped gently against a warm body. Struggling weakly against the force holding me, I cried in a hoarse voice,
"Torren! Help me, please! Help, they've got me. Don't let them take me! Torren!"
"Now, now. Calm down, my child. I'm here. Don't worry, I've got you."
Upon hearing his voice, I relaxed slightly and burrowed into his chest, gripping his jacket tightly in my hands. I never wanted to let go. I whimpered softly as he ran his fingers through my hair. Sniffling lightly, I listened to the other man, I later recalled as Aldin, and Torren as they spoke in hushed tones that I don't suppose I was meant to hear.
"Wow, Torren. You've really took a shine to that kid, haven't you? It seems as though she's warming up to you, too."
"I wish. It would make my life a whole lot easier right now, but she's not usually like this. Dimi, do you know what's happened to her?"
"It was a wakin' nightmare. It seems bein' abandoned, even by you, is the worst fear she's encountered so far in her life. I don't know for definite, but I think that potion might have been the cause. Since the product isn't made for her kind, it brought about some unwanted after effects. I've seen somethin' like this in town before, but this was nowhere as extreme, so you needn't worry. See, she's comin' back around now; she should be back to her regular self. Whether that's a good thin' or not is your own opinion."
Aldin was right. My mind had refocused and I could think clearly once again. Pushing lightly away from Torren's grasp, I sat up and wiped my eyes hastily, still swaying slightly. I may have been back to normal, but I was still a little unbalanced. Suddenly, my head started to ache and I struggled to force the feeling away from me. Eventually, I realised that I couldn't and allowed the throbbing to take over once again.
As Torren sat up beside me, I shuffled away from him, still angry for attacking me in that storage room. Edging towards me, Torren held out a hand and called,
"Come here, and let me have a look at you. That looks a little sore."
That?! What had happened to me? Regardless of what state I was in, I wasn't going to allow Torren to come anywhere near me; not now and not when the time came for whatever he was planning to go to me in town.
As quickly as it came, the throbbing subsided and my mind felt at ease again. For some reason, I felt much more relaxed now that we were on the way into town; perhaps it was because Dimi and Aldin were here, I don't know. Aldin...what a scary person, and such an unusual name. I stared at him, taking in his appearance and the eerie vibe that surrounded him. He spoke suddenly and in a creepy voice, dragging me back to reality.
"Kid, let Torren check that for you. You needn't be afraid of him; he was still stood next to the door when the boxes began to collapse in the storage room. I was the one who tackled you, after I had crept in from the window at the back of the room. So it's me you should be plotting revenge against, not him."
I gazed at him, a horrified expression painted on my face. I thought that he was scary before, but this just took it to a whole new level. I furrowed my eyebrows at him slightly, allowing some of my anger show in my expression, which he returned with a growl that echoed threateningly in my ears. Yelping, I scrambled backwards on the seat and crashed into Torren, turning into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me protectively.
"Aw, come on, Aldin. Lets not scare her too much. We wouldn't want her to feel too intimidated by us, now would we?"
I glanced up at him as he drew back slightly and smiled at me warmly. I gasped slightly as his eyes darkened gradually and I became lost in the endless darkness. Lightly, he took hold of my chin and lifted my face closer to his. I didn't care to protest, my attention was drawn away by a swirling mist dancing in the deep nothingness of his pupils. Gently, he skimmed my cheek with his finger and sighed happily.
Breaking the eye contact, he sat back and glanced at me as I came back to my senses and drew my legs up, crossing them under me and looking around the room curiously. I had never seen such an unusual vehicle before. It looked a lot like a limousine, but it was wider and with a much higher roof. I could almost stand up fully in here.
"Don't worry about your cheek, it's only a bruise. I would expect that it'll be gone in a matter of days. Mmm, you're right. It is a special car, isn't it, child?"
I stared at him with wide eyes; how the hell did he know what I was thinking. Well, I suppose staring around the car with an awe-struck expression could sort of give it away.
— :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: — :-: —