Beyond Far Away
I need a drink
- Chapter three –
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" (A. Lincoln)
Asheron
Michael was pacing back and forth in his plain room. He knew it had been two weeks since the strange hallucination, but he just couldn't force himself to tell Seigmond and Caitlyn about it. Yes, the big bad Michael was a chicken. That day he rushed back, swung the door open and wimped out as soon as Seigmond greeted the young man. Nevertheless, how was he supposed to speak about this, to explain?
"Yeah, so here I was, eating an apple and suddenly this smoking hot chick, all confused and tattered appears in front of me. Oh, you know, the girl I dream about, Adriana." The boy muttered sarcastically and glanced at his watch with a bitter smirk.
He still had about an hour before breakfast, so with a shrug Michael sneaked out. He was sure that his room-mate was still snoring peacefully and hoped to not disturb him. It was a chilly October morning and there wasn't a single soul around. The boy shivered and shoved his hands in the pockets. The cobbled path twisted and turned as he mindlessly floated in the morning dew. He was so tired that he couldn't afford to stay still for more than a few minutes. Michael had been avoiding sleep like the plague. Partly because he knew he was meant to face the consequences of leaving the girl to die, partly because he was afraid to lose the last fractions of sanity. Although he could come up with reasonable explanations for what he saw, there was this strange gnawing inside him. The woman was someone he felt connected to, someone he was certain he had met before. Michael was convinced that she had existed at some point in time. Without realizing it, he once again focused on the red-haired huntress. Maybe she was haunting him after what he had done in his past life or something? Such a ridiculous thought one would expect from Caitlyn and not this handsome student grew roots and made the tormented young man turn around and head for the library.
Conscientia Boarding School had a bigger library than necessary, which was available for students and teachers alike at any time. It was a four storey building, newly renovated and stocked with all kinds of books. Michael rarely ever went to the building, but he wasn't an insomniac usually as well, so… When the massive glass doors closed behind the young man, he sighed appreciating the warmth. It was situated near the cafeteria and the girls' dorms, therefore, Michael wasn't so surprised to see at least a dozen of girls lounging on the sofas and enjoying sappy romance novels, some of them crunching on chips. Without a real purpose he walked to the second floor and started rummaging through the section that had all the information on hunters. Michael decided to begin with three books: The Evolution Of Huntsmen; Supervision Department (in the V – VIII centuries); Most Famous And Most Respected SD members (before the 1023 war).
The first one was mainly about the structure of the organization, its commanding officers and the way it advanced. The second one, however, made pale violet eyes widen considerably. The second section summarized most dangerous creatures that the hunters had dealt with and one paragraph stood out considerably:
9th of April, year 609
The Hunter Association had lost 6 members to the omnivorous siren. After extermination, bodies of 22 victims were found, both male and female, age varying from 5 to 438. Two members of the organization managed to complete the mission by splitting forces and attacking separately. The siren had shown fixation with the female hunter and, therefore, was distracted while the partner regrouped. If faced with such creature, it is highly advisable to use spells rather than weapons. The mentally ill creature was stronger than the organization expected and healed much faster, due to the constant feeding. ATTENTION: Sirens may feed on the flesh, not just the energy.
Cursing that no names were mentioned, Michael flipped through the pages, searching for more information and at the very end found a very interesting list.
Recognized heads of the S. D.:
Elizabeth Henrich, Xanthus Triece; Nogah Berinhard; Poldi Cyriacus; Sebastian Devin; Benedictus Faraji.
Sebastian Devin was Michael's great-grandfather and although they hadn't spoken for 17 years, ever since the young man's 4th birthday, he was still alive and well. The perks of being a demon included immortality and a very good memory, so Michael made a mental note to call his relative and ask about a thing or two. He reached for the final book the very same moment Caitlyn sneaked behind him and smacked the boy.
"What the hell, Cat?" Michael glared at the blonde, rubbing his head.
"You look terrible," Was all the girl said as she took a seat and started looking through one of the books, making disgusted faces every now and then. The illustration of what damage a creature could inflict was not enjoyable.
Michael watched his friend deep in thought. He knew that she was correct. Napping twice a day was not exactly healthy for a young creature like himself. His skin was pale, eyes sunken into the black bags, hair messy. However, sleep was not an option, because he treasured sanity more than good looks. Glancing at the witch, who was no longer looking at the pages, but waiting for his reaction, Michael decided to change the topic.
"Sure, whatever. What are you doing here so early?" The woman was dressed for school, her uniform consisting of an ivory wrap dress and a chocolate suit jacket.
"I was researching information for today. You do remember that during biology we will be learning to care of winged creatures?"
"Damnit…" It had slipped his mind completely.
"What about you? When did you become so interested in the history of the Supervision Department?"
Caitlyn's eyes were making him a bit uncomfortable, the way they were looking him up and down. Michael knew that she was always worried, but at that moment the girl was planning something. Trusting his instincts, the boy stood up and walked back to the shelves to place the books back in place and distance himself from the witch. He felt red eyes boring into his back, waiting for his answer. The answer he was not prepared to deliver.
"I do read for fun, you know." As he turned around with a smirk, sudden drowsiness overwhelmed him. Cat had her eyes focused on the swaying boy, regret dulling the vibrant red colour.
"I'm sorry, Mike, but you really need to sleep." He heard Caitlyn murmur and felt reality slipping away. She was remorseful, yet determined.
'Make up your mind, woman. First it's you sleep too much, now it's too little. ' He thought with annoyance.
Michael wasn't prepared to face the dreams, but they were more than prepared to welcome his essence.
****
He carried the huntress back into her room, gentle not to wake her. As the doors swung open, the red-head moaned, her head throbbing from alcohol and a slight concussion. It was not like he actually wanted Adriana to relax. She was simply way less annoying unconscious and the last thing he wanted was to deal with her bruised ego after she had lost the fight to succubus. Well, it wasn't a fight really. It was a competition between two women, wishing to seduce an elf. A competition that turned quite rough. Not that Michael didn't enjoy the performance. He only wished they were using their feminine charms on him, rather than the merchant. But oh well…
It had been 10 months since the disaster with the selkie some dared to call a success. When Michael returned to the cave he found both the siren and the Miss Vervloet unconscious. Without wasting any time he decapitated the creature and returned to the nearest base with the girl. She was way less bloody than him, but still messed up. To say Xanthus was furious would be an understatement. As soon as he found out that the two misbehaving hunters would survive, he went berserk. Xanthus forced the girl and the boy to sign contracts that for god knows how long obligated them to work together. Hence, here they were, nearly a year after still pulling pranks on each other and incapable of civil behaviour.
Adriana groaned as her companion flung the girl onto a bed and without a second glance walked out of the room. They were in a pretty awkward situation, Michael realized. After travelling together for so long, the two knew each other quite well. They lived in the same house, went on the same missions (though separately), but were practically strangers. The boy was fully aware that Adriana wasn't the flirting or even friendly type and he was in no mood to play associates with the obnoxious woman. However, he may have had 'accidentally' slipped some 'medicine' into her drink before giving the girl her drink, which – he now comprehended – would only worsen their relationship. He was feeling mischievous after the huntress had successfully eliminated a pack of imps, without as much as waiting for him. Now that the young man was thinking about it, that was childish. Even so, it wasn't like they operated together anyway. As a result, the whole alliance was useless to begin with, might as well have some fun.
Hours went by as the hunter cleaned his weapons.
"Young man," A groggy voice suddenly called from the second floor. "Did you drug me?"
Michael turned his face towards the girl and smirked. Her hair was tangled, burgundy blouse wrinkled and not as pristine as usually. He nodded. It took a second for Adriana to register that the child in front of her was actually proud of his actions, but once she did, there was no stopping her. She growled, startling her companion and lunged at him. Michael quickly dropped whatever he was holding and jumped out of the way. They were in a rather cramped room, so the huntress slammed her whole body at a carved wooden cabinet.
"Whoa, you're still rather disoriented, maybe we cou- argh!"
As they fell to the sand coloured carpet, not exactly in a romantic embrace, Michael was no longer just defending himself. He pulled the girl by her hair and pinned her to the ground, one hand pressed against her throat. Adriana scoffed and kicked his abdomen, making him roll off her. There was a pause and then they went for the closest swords. The irony of the situation was that they had each other's weapons and everything was in the wrong order. They began by trying to cut each other's heads off, then went to arguing and finally finished with a friendly conversation. Slashing and growling went on for an hour, before they fell to the grass. Somehow they had gotten outside, bruised and cut up, breathing as hard as one would after a fencing lesson.
"You know, I hated you from the very first moment I saw you," Michael hissed, gasping for air.
It was a late evening and a very cold at that. The ground beneath them was frozen, but it was comfortable as their bodies were exhausted and warm.
"Ha, at least I wasn't undressing you with my eyes!" Adriana shot back, blue eyes burning with anger.
Now the hunter sat up.
"WHAT?! I did no such thing!"
"Sure, sure…"
"I did not."
"Keep telling yourself that, honey."
Michael sent her one last glare, before returning to lie on the ground and mutter about how annoying she was. The second sun was setting slowly, and the only moon was entering the darkening sky. Once the children had calmed down they started talking. It was the first civil conversation and to Adriana's surprise, the boy actually apologized for the prank. Speaking of which, it still made her cheeks burn as she recollected her 'seductive' behaviour Forgetting and forgiving wasn't Adriana's forte, but she decided to try this once. The girl wasn't a saint either. She was the one who weakened the hunter's bow, ensuring it would break during the fight.
As the pale face of the moon climbed towards the centre of the sky, they just lay there, talking about unimportant things that made them who they were.
"What kind of Fae are you, anyway. No one seems to know." The boy glanced at her, still uncomfortable with the way she seemed to glow under the moon.
"I'd like to keep it that way. What about you? I am still unaware of your race?" Adriana's voice was gentle, polite. It was definitely a first.
"I'm sorry, but I really do not wish to tell you just yet." Michael replied honestly and slowly slid his eyes down the fragile body of his companion.
Adriana shivered – from the cold and his gaze - and decided it would be best to use this strange moment of understanding. Perhaps she could offer a peace treaty.
"Tomorrow I was going to hunt down a black widow, at the green city - Prequo. Would you like to join me?"
Michael, still focused on the way her muscles moved under the clothes as she sat up, soaked it in slowly. When it finally reached his brain, he grinned.
"Miss Vervloet, are you suggesting we actually do as we promised and work together?" His tone was mocking, but the huntress was no longer irritated by it. Much.
"Why, yes I am."
"Then I certainly agree."
Maybe it was the cold, the excitement, the brilliant lightening, the drugs or simply the release of tension, but Adriana gave into a very childish urge. She softly placed her lips on the hunter's, realizing that their fight had left a thin red scratch on his handsome face. It was a friendly peck that sealed their new non-hostile partnership. In an instant the girl pulled away, murmured goodnight and walked up to her room. She felt light to finally be civil towards her partner and blissfully tired. Michael, on the other hand, was not as relaxed and content as her. He was left sitting on the cold grass, thinking of how he needed a drink. Make that two drinks.
"The woman is insane." He finally summed the day's experiences and walked to the small house they were sharing. "I guess we deserve each other."
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" (A. Lincoln)
Asheron
Michael was pacing back and forth in his plain room. He knew it had been two weeks since the strange hallucination, but he just couldn't force himself to tell Seigmond and Caitlyn about it. Yes, the big bad Michael was a chicken. That day he rushed back, swung the door open and wimped out as soon as Seigmond greeted the young man. Nevertheless, how was he supposed to speak about this, to explain?
"Yeah, so here I was, eating an apple and suddenly this smoking hot chick, all confused and tattered appears in front of me. Oh, you know, the girl I dream about, Adriana." The boy muttered sarcastically and glanced at his watch with a bitter smirk.
He still had about an hour before breakfast, so with a shrug Michael sneaked out. He was sure that his room-mate was still snoring peacefully and hoped to not disturb him. It was a chilly October morning and there wasn't a single soul around. The boy shivered and shoved his hands in the pockets. The cobbled path twisted and turned as he mindlessly floated in the morning dew. He was so tired that he couldn't afford to stay still for more than a few minutes. Michael had been avoiding sleep like the plague. Partly because he knew he was meant to face the consequences of leaving the girl to die, partly because he was afraid to lose the last fractions of sanity. Although he could come up with reasonable explanations for what he saw, there was this strange gnawing inside him. The woman was someone he felt connected to, someone he was certain he had met before. Michael was convinced that she had existed at some point in time. Without realizing it, he once again focused on the red-haired huntress. Maybe she was haunting him after what he had done in his past life or something? Such a ridiculous thought one would expect from Caitlyn and not this handsome student grew roots and made the tormented young man turn around and head for the library.
Conscientia Boarding School had a bigger library than necessary, which was available for students and teachers alike at any time. It was a four storey building, newly renovated and stocked with all kinds of books. Michael rarely ever went to the building, but he wasn't an insomniac usually as well, so… When the massive glass doors closed behind the young man, he sighed appreciating the warmth. It was situated near the cafeteria and the girls' dorms, therefore, Michael wasn't so surprised to see at least a dozen of girls lounging on the sofas and enjoying sappy romance novels, some of them crunching on chips. Without a real purpose he walked to the second floor and started rummaging through the section that had all the information on hunters. Michael decided to begin with three books: The Evolution Of Huntsmen; Supervision Department (in the V – VIII centuries); Most Famous And Most Respected SD members (before the 1023 war).
The first one was mainly about the structure of the organization, its commanding officers and the way it advanced. The second one, however, made pale violet eyes widen considerably. The second section summarized most dangerous creatures that the hunters had dealt with and one paragraph stood out considerably:
9th of April, year 609
The Hunter Association had lost 6 members to the omnivorous siren. After extermination, bodies of 22 victims were found, both male and female, age varying from 5 to 438. Two members of the organization managed to complete the mission by splitting forces and attacking separately. The siren had shown fixation with the female hunter and, therefore, was distracted while the partner regrouped. If faced with such creature, it is highly advisable to use spells rather than weapons. The mentally ill creature was stronger than the organization expected and healed much faster, due to the constant feeding. ATTENTION: Sirens may feed on the flesh, not just the energy.
Cursing that no names were mentioned, Michael flipped through the pages, searching for more information and at the very end found a very interesting list.
Recognized heads of the S. D.:
Elizabeth Henrich, Xanthus Triece; Nogah Berinhard; Poldi Cyriacus; Sebastian Devin; Benedictus Faraji.
Sebastian Devin was Michael's great-grandfather and although they hadn't spoken for 17 years, ever since the young man's 4th birthday, he was still alive and well. The perks of being a demon included immortality and a very good memory, so Michael made a mental note to call his relative and ask about a thing or two. He reached for the final book the very same moment Caitlyn sneaked behind him and smacked the boy.
"What the hell, Cat?" Michael glared at the blonde, rubbing his head.
"You look terrible," Was all the girl said as she took a seat and started looking through one of the books, making disgusted faces every now and then. The illustration of what damage a creature could inflict was not enjoyable.
Michael watched his friend deep in thought. He knew that she was correct. Napping twice a day was not exactly healthy for a young creature like himself. His skin was pale, eyes sunken into the black bags, hair messy. However, sleep was not an option, because he treasured sanity more than good looks. Glancing at the witch, who was no longer looking at the pages, but waiting for his reaction, Michael decided to change the topic.
"Sure, whatever. What are you doing here so early?" The woman was dressed for school, her uniform consisting of an ivory wrap dress and a chocolate suit jacket.
"I was researching information for today. You do remember that during biology we will be learning to care of winged creatures?"
"Damnit…" It had slipped his mind completely.
"What about you? When did you become so interested in the history of the Supervision Department?"
Caitlyn's eyes were making him a bit uncomfortable, the way they were looking him up and down. Michael knew that she was always worried, but at that moment the girl was planning something. Trusting his instincts, the boy stood up and walked back to the shelves to place the books back in place and distance himself from the witch. He felt red eyes boring into his back, waiting for his answer. The answer he was not prepared to deliver.
"I do read for fun, you know." As he turned around with a smirk, sudden drowsiness overwhelmed him. Cat had her eyes focused on the swaying boy, regret dulling the vibrant red colour.
"I'm sorry, Mike, but you really need to sleep." He heard Caitlyn murmur and felt reality slipping away. She was remorseful, yet determined.
'Make up your mind, woman. First it's you sleep too much, now it's too little. ' He thought with annoyance.
Michael wasn't prepared to face the dreams, but they were more than prepared to welcome his essence.
****
He carried the huntress back into her room, gentle not to wake her. As the doors swung open, the red-head moaned, her head throbbing from alcohol and a slight concussion. It was not like he actually wanted Adriana to relax. She was simply way less annoying unconscious and the last thing he wanted was to deal with her bruised ego after she had lost the fight to succubus. Well, it wasn't a fight really. It was a competition between two women, wishing to seduce an elf. A competition that turned quite rough. Not that Michael didn't enjoy the performance. He only wished they were using their feminine charms on him, rather than the merchant. But oh well…
It had been 10 months since the disaster with the selkie some dared to call a success. When Michael returned to the cave he found both the siren and the Miss Vervloet unconscious. Without wasting any time he decapitated the creature and returned to the nearest base with the girl. She was way less bloody than him, but still messed up. To say Xanthus was furious would be an understatement. As soon as he found out that the two misbehaving hunters would survive, he went berserk. Xanthus forced the girl and the boy to sign contracts that for god knows how long obligated them to work together. Hence, here they were, nearly a year after still pulling pranks on each other and incapable of civil behaviour.
Adriana groaned as her companion flung the girl onto a bed and without a second glance walked out of the room. They were in a pretty awkward situation, Michael realized. After travelling together for so long, the two knew each other quite well. They lived in the same house, went on the same missions (though separately), but were practically strangers. The boy was fully aware that Adriana wasn't the flirting or even friendly type and he was in no mood to play associates with the obnoxious woman. However, he may have had 'accidentally' slipped some 'medicine' into her drink before giving the girl her drink, which – he now comprehended – would only worsen their relationship. He was feeling mischievous after the huntress had successfully eliminated a pack of imps, without as much as waiting for him. Now that the young man was thinking about it, that was childish. Even so, it wasn't like they operated together anyway. As a result, the whole alliance was useless to begin with, might as well have some fun.
Hours went by as the hunter cleaned his weapons.
"Young man," A groggy voice suddenly called from the second floor. "Did you drug me?"
Michael turned his face towards the girl and smirked. Her hair was tangled, burgundy blouse wrinkled and not as pristine as usually. He nodded. It took a second for Adriana to register that the child in front of her was actually proud of his actions, but once she did, there was no stopping her. She growled, startling her companion and lunged at him. Michael quickly dropped whatever he was holding and jumped out of the way. They were in a rather cramped room, so the huntress slammed her whole body at a carved wooden cabinet.
"Whoa, you're still rather disoriented, maybe we cou- argh!"
As they fell to the sand coloured carpet, not exactly in a romantic embrace, Michael was no longer just defending himself. He pulled the girl by her hair and pinned her to the ground, one hand pressed against her throat. Adriana scoffed and kicked his abdomen, making him roll off her. There was a pause and then they went for the closest swords. The irony of the situation was that they had each other's weapons and everything was in the wrong order. They began by trying to cut each other's heads off, then went to arguing and finally finished with a friendly conversation. Slashing and growling went on for an hour, before they fell to the grass. Somehow they had gotten outside, bruised and cut up, breathing as hard as one would after a fencing lesson.
"You know, I hated you from the very first moment I saw you," Michael hissed, gasping for air.
It was a late evening and a very cold at that. The ground beneath them was frozen, but it was comfortable as their bodies were exhausted and warm.
"Ha, at least I wasn't undressing you with my eyes!" Adriana shot back, blue eyes burning with anger.
Now the hunter sat up.
"WHAT?! I did no such thing!"
"Sure, sure…"
"I did not."
"Keep telling yourself that, honey."
Michael sent her one last glare, before returning to lie on the ground and mutter about how annoying she was. The second sun was setting slowly, and the only moon was entering the darkening sky. Once the children had calmed down they started talking. It was the first civil conversation and to Adriana's surprise, the boy actually apologized for the prank. Speaking of which, it still made her cheeks burn as she recollected her 'seductive' behaviour Forgetting and forgiving wasn't Adriana's forte, but she decided to try this once. The girl wasn't a saint either. She was the one who weakened the hunter's bow, ensuring it would break during the fight.
As the pale face of the moon climbed towards the centre of the sky, they just lay there, talking about unimportant things that made them who they were.
"What kind of Fae are you, anyway. No one seems to know." The boy glanced at her, still uncomfortable with the way she seemed to glow under the moon.
"I'd like to keep it that way. What about you? I am still unaware of your race?" Adriana's voice was gentle, polite. It was definitely a first.
"I'm sorry, but I really do not wish to tell you just yet." Michael replied honestly and slowly slid his eyes down the fragile body of his companion.
Adriana shivered – from the cold and his gaze - and decided it would be best to use this strange moment of understanding. Perhaps she could offer a peace treaty.
"Tomorrow I was going to hunt down a black widow, at the green city - Prequo. Would you like to join me?"
Michael, still focused on the way her muscles moved under the clothes as she sat up, soaked it in slowly. When it finally reached his brain, he grinned.
"Miss Vervloet, are you suggesting we actually do as we promised and work together?" His tone was mocking, but the huntress was no longer irritated by it. Much.
"Why, yes I am."
"Then I certainly agree."
Maybe it was the cold, the excitement, the brilliant lightening, the drugs or simply the release of tension, but Adriana gave into a very childish urge. She softly placed her lips on the hunter's, realizing that their fight had left a thin red scratch on his handsome face. It was a friendly peck that sealed their new non-hostile partnership. In an instant the girl pulled away, murmured goodnight and walked up to her room. She felt light to finally be civil towards her partner and blissfully tired. Michael, on the other hand, was not as relaxed and content as her. He was left sitting on the cold grass, thinking of how he needed a drink. Make that two drinks.
"The woman is insane." He finally summed the day's experiences and walked to the small house they were sharing. "I guess we deserve each other."