I'd tried persuading my elder brother to rest hours ago. I'd given up a little after when all he did was stare at me--Animus was always a little odd. I couldn't tell whether he thought of me as suspicious or not. He was wary, that was undeniable, but I wasn't sure why exactly. What had I done already?
Sighing, I tried not to mull too much about that and turned to my distressed brother. His eyes were black--I was almost sure his eyes had never been that colour, but then again, I knew very little of him; we were like strangers on a stage.
"Calm down. Thraxi will be fine," I attempted to calm Animus down, feeling a slight burning sensation near my stomach. That wasn't good at all.
"Does she look fine to you?"
I winced, feeling many of my past wounds reopening. His voice was deadly calm, dark eyes staring at me like a churning river of tenebrosity was contained within them and I got an ominous feeling.
All guardian users possessed a power hazard. In other words, whenever they felt a large amount of uncontrolled negative feelings, some of their powers activated. In my case, my telekinesis went haywire or in Thraxi's case, shadows built up and consequently became extremely dangerous.
Animus, however, was a completely different story; his power hazard did the opposite. It unravelled one's life, one reopened wound at a time.
Despite that, I took a look at my elder sister, taking in the state she was in. Dark burning tendrils stretched out from her hands to her shoulders, giving me the slight feeling that they did the same on every other part of her body and were way more dangerous than they seemed.
"Doing this won't help! Just use your stone to heal her!"
My brother looked at me in complete distress, green inching into the black of his irises as the air stilled. I took in a breath when I saw red colour my sleeve and a stinging pain erupt from there.
"I tried," his voice came out hushed, the outline of his frame seemingly swallowing the life around him. I stumbled, clutching my stomach in shock. He couldn't hurt me... could he?
"I tried but she isn't healing."
The air was sucked right out of my lungs. My legs gave out and my arm throbbed, blood pooling on the ground while my tainted sleeves clung to me. Curling onto myself, I heard Animus backing away, each step slow and shaky. I gasped in pain, feeling one of my past stomach wounds slowly reopen. I didn't even have to listen to his thoughts to know his mind was too loud.
"Nononononono, I didn't mean to, I swear!" his voice cracked, fissures showing on the formerly clean and polished floor, "Please get up!"
A doctor's job is to ensure their patient's health; an older brother's duty is to protect and care for their younger siblings. But what happens when a person who is both can do neither? I don't know.
The last thing I heard before I was welcomed by the shadows of unconsciousness?
Animus ran.
~
What was I supposed to feel? I fiddled with my fluorite hairpin and pondered without clear direction.
All the while, I kept staring at the marchioness in front of me with slight passive curiosity. Khloe Quinn was who she introduced herself as. I had wondered why her facial structure was so familiar yet unfamiliar and her name answered my question just fine; she was my mother's elder sister.
Khloe scrutinized me in understandable worry before shifting over to my older sister's side. Somehow, her expression made me anxious--what had she thought at that moment? I hadn't read her mind when I should've.
My aunt aside, I couldn't blame Animus, his power hazard was truly dangerous deadly even. He'd made a silent vow to himself not to use his stone to heal, instead settling with regular healing means. It had taken me a while to understand and by the time I did, his decision made much more sense; wounds healed using Stitch unravelled faster than other injuries.
I shook my head. Thinking about trivial matters wasn't my priority--I passed my fingers over my hairpin in contemplation, seafoam green flashing in my mind--what I'd heard was. I needed to do some research.
Giving my aunt a single glance, I removed the thin blanket covering me and skittered out of the room with full confidence no one had seen me and entered the Mansion's spacious halls.
My surroundings were warm and cheerful; the walls were of a fresh ivory white covered with a myriad of pictures, the air felt warm, and from here, I could hear the crackling of the fire in the hearth. The floors were covered with rustically elegant rugs of excellent quality and the colour theory in the decor was wonderful. The Stone Manor didn't seem all that similar to me; the Manor seemed cold, lifeless, and as deep as a stage decor. I didn't even know how my siblings--along with my mother--could ever find the place homely in any sense.
All these details came as a second thought to me, however. Even if I spent hours looking around in the end.
~
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't easy to find Animus. He'd always been good at hiding when he didn't want to be found, so much that I wondered whether it was out of nature or nurture. Though, this time, he'd had time on his side thanks to the fact that the time I spent unconscious escaped me completely.
Inquisitively, I wandered on the streets of the bustling village; Hilares, my mind supplied, this country-like commercial village was named Hilares. The marketplace was known for news from all over the country clustering up within it, people from all over the continent amassing here for simple pleasures of life. It was perfect for figuring out where my famous brother was.
As I looked around, I kept listening. The news I heard from an eye-catching trio--obviously tourists--told me exactly what I needed to know.
"Did you hear? King Adamas is seriously ill!" the first one, a blonde, whispered to her companions much too loudly.
"No way! And I heard his eldest son is ready to take over the throne," the girl beside her with deep red hair replied, eyes twinkling.
The only boy with them raised an eyebrow as he adjusted his glasses, "Really? The whole family has been out of sight lately."
"Who could be behind this? So many people have disappeared recently too," the blonde put a finger to her chin thoughtfully.
The redhead huffed, "We should've known something was up when the real king was replaced by that sick imposter!"
"Totally agree, but shh, we can't say that out loud," the raven-haired boy nodded.
I didn't listen to anything more, I didn't need to. Besides, I had the weird feeling they'd been staring directly at me.
I broke into a run. With adrenaline coursing through my veins I ran through the village, ducking, dodging, and weaving through the unsuspecting crowd until I found the chalet-style Celest Mansion at the end of the commercial street. Hurriedly opening the gate--which was left open for whatever reason--I rushed through the mansion trying to find my mini platform.
"Are you looking for something?"
I whirled around at the sudden inquiry, coming face-to-face with my aunt which I'd forgotten was here, Khloe Quinn.
"Yes," I nodded slowly, a frown etching itself on my face, "I'm looking for my... hoverboard. A 32-inch, white, wheeless skateboard."
My aunt smiled, eyes lighting up in recognition. She didn't bother asking me questions, only gesturing for me to follow her; she and my mom have a similar feel to them so I didn't hesitate to follow her through the suddenly crowded halls. Oh, the mansion was open to the villagers.
I lingered behind her until we reached a door entitled 'GUEST'. Moving her shoulder-length blush-pink hair from her face, Khloe entered the room after telling me to stay back. She came out minutes later holding my platform delicately in her hands before handing it to me with equal care.
"Thanks!" I thanked her sincerely, grinning slightly at her acquiescing nod.
Wasting no time, I got on my platform and dashed through the air in the direction of the city of Lapis--not to be confused with the country--where Animus most definitely was by now.