Orion laughed faintly. He circled around the two, his yellow eyes illuminated faintly by an inner light.
Shine locked gazes with him for a moment, flicking her eyes to Frannie who she hoped was still next to her.
If she asked, Orion would agree she remained. He could see them both clearly, and his sense of smell could pick them apart from a crowd miles away. Right now, his nose was filled with Shine's smell, and his common sense was slowly waning.
"I missed you, Little Sis." He reached up, brushing a lock of hair from Shine's chest. He leaned close, and took a deep whiff. "You still smell good."
Shine's eyes widened in disgust. "Fuck off, you hairy freak!"
"Oh," He said in a condescending tone. "I don't remember Mom letting you swear like that. What if she found out?"
Shine held her breath, but Frannie took a sudden step forward and tried to slap Orion.
The wolf caught her left wrist, squeezing it and forcing the bone to give way. Frannie cried out in pain, dropping to her knees.
"Hands to yourself, Frannie." Orion cried out in pain next, releasing Frannie.
Frannie dug a blade she drew from her back pocket deep into his foot, twisting it and making him howl. With her good hand, she grabbed Shine and the two rushed out of the bathroom, the door slamming against the wall as they bounded down the hallway.
The hallway was empty, which made it easier for Orion to give chase after ripping his foot free. Blood splattered with each step he took, the floor caving in as he howled and growled. The girls rushed up the steps, Shine's flats slipping off her feet. The cold and dirt on the floor was lost in her mind. She looked back, Orion bounding around the corner.
"You dropped your slipper, Cinderella!"
Frannie snapped her eyes back at him. "Leave her alone!"
The girl reached into her pocket, letting go of Shine and drawing another small pocket knife. She gave it a heavy hurl, the metal flying through the air and piercing through Orion's shoulder. He growled in pain, but continued to bound after the two.
Frannie pushed Shine ahead, the two breaking into an even faster sprint down the hall. They rounded a staircase, heading up and up, breaking through the door and freezing in the center of the school roof.
"Shit, now what," Frannie asked loudly.
Shine's fever slowly began to pick back up. Her head pounded heavily, and her knees grew so weak she dropped on all fours. Her fingers curled, stomach twisting until her breakfast spewed violently from her throat.
Before Frannie could tend to her, Orion clawed through the doorway, out into the open and slamming into the blonde. She flew through the air, over the edge of the building.
Shine wanted to call for her, reach for her best friend, but her body fought so strongly against her. Orion's large hands gripped her button down, and with a jerk, he ripped the fabric clean off, gazing at the white lace bra Shine wore.
She couldn't fight.
She wanted to, with all her might, but her strength was failing her.
Orion slammed her head into the floor, howling loudly and laughing. He had lost it. This wasn't the boy she knew. The one she believed she grew up with.
The nausea passed slowly. Too slowly. She felt like she was in agony, pain rocketing through every cell of her body.
"What the hell… Is wrong with me…" She muttered, gagging at the taste of vomit in her mouth. Her violet eyes moved up, finding Orion's yellow gaze.
He was twisted. He had no care for her, or her feelings. How she felt, the pain, the raw emotion that plagued her so strongly that it made her sick to her stomach.
I want this to end.
Orion licked his lips.
Frannie.. I need you.. Please.
The wolf kept her hunched over, rear high in the air. His claw ripped the body of her leggings.
Someone please… Save me from this freak..
"This scent of yours is so intoxicating." He commented. "I can't wait to savor the taste. You'll be a great baby machine."
Takabi!
"He won't come. He's not in this realm right now."
He wouldn't abandon me! Not now!
"He can't always be around, and you can't expect him to be."
Time seemed to stop completely. The light faded, Shine rising from her body. No feeling. No sense of pain, or disgust or anything. She felt hollow. She was hollow, transparent, like a ghost. A voice spoke to her. Hers, but not at the same time.
Removed. Distant.
"You want them to train you. To not look down on you, despite growing up separately. You've always been like this, ya know. The little sister who can't defend herself." The voice began to manifest a body. Shine's shape appeared in front of her. Everything about the creature was exactly the same as her, except the face.
The face was blank.
No eyes, nose, ears or anything.
"Those boys have their own problems right now. You never bothered to ask either."
"Nonsense," Shine replied. "Those two have been living perfectly, from what I can tell."
"Oh?" The image moved around Shine. "But, they haven't. Takabi, especially, is like you. He's been hurt inside. In fact, he's still hurting. Whenever we looked into his eyes, I could see it." The creature got close to her face. "Why couldn't you?"
"I… I don't.." Shine blinked, her mind thinking back to their first meeting. Not as Takabi, but as a stranger.
As Justin.
There WAS something about him. When she asked about his girlfriend, he looked pained. He looked like he WAS still hurting from something that happened.
"Ooo," The creature went. "I see you thinking."
"Do you know something about that?"
She cooed, floating back and sighing, if she was capable of such. "So naive. I can't believe it. If you want to know, and save your own ass, get up and ask him about it next time."
The figure turned, heading further upwards. A moment after though, she stopped and looked back. "Ah, right. I forgot. Here." She extended her palm, a quick surge rushing out, taking Shine whole. And she welcomed it.
When she came to the real world, her strength had returned, greater than she ever had been. It felt like a strong jolt of electricity running through her muscles.
Her runner's high.
Her adrenaline rush, only Magical.
"Get! OFF!" She snapped her head up, slamming into Orion's jaw. The wolf stumbled back, stunned, falling on his back. Shine got to her feet, groaning at the vomit on her tone clothes. When she looked back, her violet eyes held an intensely powerful glow. Her hair flowed gently from the breeze that began under her feet.
Orion sat up, rubbing his jaw. "Wow. That had some kick in it."
Shine followed his comment by running at him, faster than her full speed, stopping short just behind him. "Oops."
A breeze followed after her moments shortly after. Orion's eyes were wide. He barely saw her move. She seemed completely different from a moment ago. He whipped his head around, connecting with her foot. The impact of her kick shattered some of his teeth, forcing them down his throat. Orion flew fast, over the edge of the school and hitting the concrete below.
Pain rushed through his skull, yet he picked himself back up and found a sight he considered surprising. Frannie was hanging on the flag on the side of the building.
The girl was peering down at the wolf, then looked up and called out. "Shine! Can I get a hand before he eats me!?"
Shine hurried over, looking down over the edge. Orion dug his claws into the brick, and began to climb fast. Lust still clouded his mind, but it was mixed with an intense and growing frustration.
He WOULD have her, even if it meant breaking her down physically.
Shine looked between her hands, before reaching towards Shine. Shutting her eyes, she imagined two large palms shooting out, wrapping around Frannie and pulling her up.
Mana cackled in her veins, shooting out fast. They missed Frannie, and balled into two fists that struck Orion. The wolf lost his grip and fell, only catching himself on a windowsill. The hands slowly came back up, wrapping around Frannie's arms and pulling fast. The blonde flew into the air, landing in Shine's grasp. The two looked at each other and laughed, before Shine put Frannie down and exhaled. "Are you okay?"
"More or less. So, you can use magic now?"
"Apparently." Shine looked towards Orion's direction. She spotted his claw first, before the wolf pulled himself up onto the roof.
He was snarling, but nowhere near as menacing as he was before since he was more gum than fangs.
Shine stood in front of Frannie. "Okay. I still have zero clue how to use magic efficiently."
"Reassuring," Frannie said, looking between her and Orion. "So, what do we do then?"
"I'm gonna hit him with every ounce of power I have." She flicked her eyes back at Frannie, then ahead again. Raising a palm only slightly, Shine willed all of her mana into her right palm. She quickly noticed how exhausted the rest of her body felt. Her legs wobbled, vision grew a bit blurry, and the nausea returned. Still, she kept her ground, gesturing for Orion to attack her.
He did.
He bounded across the rooftop, at a speed so fast Shine was taken back. On instinct, she threw her palm forward and released it. A beam of magic exploded from her palm, surging and digging up the roof as it traveled. Orion took the beam head on, holding it back with his bare hands. Opening his snout, his own magic beam burst from his throat. The struggle pushed Shine back, but she held herself firm.
She had to win. She had the power now, and she was fully capable of handling this herself. She didn't need the training now.
"Such foolish thoughts from such an inexperienced child."
"What," Shine said. Her focus wavered, and the beam caved in. Orion's blast of magic surged at the two. Shine tried to recover her focus, but her mana was already depleted. Her hand felt on fire. Burning with nausea eating away at her stomach, the weakness of her legs giving in. She was falling back. Into Frannie's grip, despite the fact that the two would surely die now.
Tears quickly welled in her eyes. Not from sorrow or fear, but the frustration of somehow being bested by her rapist. She thought she was special. She thought she could do almost anything. Seeing Takabi and Kairas use magic, she thought it would be so simple.
"I can do more… I can!"
"Shine!" White Flames crashed down in front of the two. A figure stood in the center, slapping the beam of magic away, simultaneously sending a wall of fire that swallowed Orion. The flames faded, Takabi spinning around and kneeling next to his sister. His eyes held worry, but his tone was full of anger. "Are you out of your fucking mind!?"
Frannie spat out, "Hold on, your sister is injured and you decide to scream at her instead of helping her!?"
He groaned loudly, standing up, practically stomping his foot. "No, you idiots don't get it! Shine, there's a very clear fucking reason I told you NO to learning and using magic!"
"Oh, yeah," She scoffed. "And that reason would be?"
The sky grew dark. All froze, eyes fixed on the swirling clouds above. Whiteness flashed overhead, a figure floating down from within. He was dressed in a long white coat, silk shirt and white pants. His loafers shined with an elegance only an Angel could hold. The golden silk that lined his stitching, the way his hair flowed so perfectly in the breeze. The only ugliness to him was his burn scars. A forever reminder of the failure that is his children.
His feet touched the ceiling.
He smiled, such an elegant, regal smile.
A smile that Takabi grew to hate almost as much as Kairas. Not because of the past, but because he saw the amount of danger that smile held. That damned, confident smile.
"Well," He began. "It's about time I got to see my daughter. How are you, Shine?"