Aiden almost choked on his food. After downing a glass of water, he nodded slowly, unsure how to react to Riven's declaration.
"What? Befriend him?" Caelum darkened. "Then when are we gonna be able to open Bastardsson's meridians? He doesn't even look friendly at all."
"Aiden can have himself punched by someone else," Riven said. "But that boy is too useful to offend. He must know about things we don't."
Lucius turned his gaze toward the burly boy. "Really? He didn't strike me as knowledgeable."
Riven whirled himself. "Caelum," he asked. "Can you summon a fireball at will?
"Urgh, no? That's lame and basic," Caelum beamed. "I am a god of the cosmos. If I wanted to massacre Lucius with fire, I'd use my own essence to char him to the ground or summon the comets to eradicate his clan."
"To be fair you did do that but miserably failed." Lucius nodded before turning to Riven. "I'm sorry. What was your point again?"
Riven pulsated in frustration. "We cultivate with our true essence, and unless we're descendants of fire dragons or the phoenix clan, we'll never be able to summon fire at will." he said. "So how is that kid able to summon fire when he's just a mortal?"
"It's all good!" Caelum yelled. "They're gone!"
For the entire morning, the four of them packed Aiden's bag and prepared for his runaway from home. Now, they were in the middle of helping him climb out of his room that was on the easternmost attic of the mansion. Lucius accompanied Aiden from above, Caelum was a lookout for the roaming guards, and Riven guarded the door in case someone broke in, startled them all, and led their mortal to his death.
Their teamwork 'somehow' paid off, and Aiden climbed out the window of his room with only a scraped knee, and a slightly inflamed ankle. Thanks to Lucius urging him to let go of the makeshift rope they made with blankets, only halfway to the first floor.
"I think I sprained my ankle," Aiden complained while glaring at Lucius.
"Well, sorry," Lucius played innocent. "I didn't know mortals were this fragile. I could have jumped off this height like nothing."
Their teamwork worked better as they ran off towards the fences, Aiden tossed his backpack and immediately climbed up the tall fence, landing directly in front of Mr. Busty whom he figured out had also ran away from his owner by now.
Once he'd climbed up Mr. Busty's back, their journey began.
"Where are we going?" Aiden asked the wisps.
"To the academy?" Caelum said, which made sense because Aiden was still in his uniform. His cape packed carefully in his backpack.
They all stared at Riven, awaiting instructions from their real master.
"Let's skip school," he said, and the two wisps went crazy.
"Skip school?!" Lucius said, his body twirling around Riven. "You? Want to skip school?"
Aiden believed it was a big deal. Even Caelum grew silent, if he had a jaw, it would have been muddied on the track they traversed. Judging from how he knew Riven, he could envision Lucius and Caelum sneaking out of Gold Moon Pavilion while Riven stayed behind to snitch instead of joining them.
He laughed, the loudest laugh he'd had his entire life while the two wisps continued teasing Riven. He preferred these three's chaotic company to his boring, bland life. An uncertain future was so much better for him than an eternity in that old mansion.
When Riven blazed brighter, it was their signal to stop and listen.
"Let's know more about what's going on in the mortal realm," he said, flying closer to Mr. Busty. "Do you know of any place that's infamous for supernatural happenings?"
Mr. Busty neighed, and Riven bobbed himself up and down. "Please take us there, Mr. Busty."
Aiden could only assume the donkey said, "Yeah, I know a place. Want me to take 'ya there?"
They passed the exact route they took to the academy, but on a certain crossing point, Mr. Busty took a different path. One that was unpaved, leading to a dark forest with century old trees and thick shrubs.
"I feel it," Caelum said, "A presence. A dark energy."
Lucius hovered closer toward Riven. "Should we keep going? What if Bastardsson absorbs an evil energy?"
"Well," Riven said. "Evil energy is stil energy so..."
Lucius beamed as if he heard the most ridiculous words from a complete stickly like Riven. "What happened to you?!"
Aiden rubbed Mr. Busty's head. "It's okay. Mr. Busty won't take us somewhere dangerous."
Caelum laughed. "Wrong. He's already given up on life so he gives no damn if we're all waking to our deaths."
Mr. Busty neighed, undeniably agreeing to what Caelum said.
Riven flared up. "Scratch our first plan," he zoomed towards Aiden's face. "Instead of getting yourself punched, you have to befriend that boy first."
"To the academy?" Caelum said, which made sense because Aiden was still in his uniform. His cape packed carefully in his backpack.
They all stared at Riven, awaiting instructions from their real master.
"Let's skip school," he said, and the two wisps went crazy.
"Skip school?!" Lucius said, his body twirling around Riven. "You? Want to skip school?"
Aiden believed it was a big deal. Even Caelum grew silent, if he had a jaw, it would have been muddied on the track they traversed. Judging from how he knew Riven, he could envision Lucius and Caelum sneaking out of Gold Moon Pavilion while Riven stayed behind to snitch instead of joining them.
He laughed, the loudest laugh he'd had his entire life while the two wisps continued teasing Riven. He preferred these three's chaotic company to his boring, bland life. An uncertain future was so much better for him than an eternity in that old mansion.
When Riven blazed brighter, it was their signal to stop and listen.
"Let's know more about what's going on in the mortal realm," he said, flying closer to Mr. Busty. "Do you know of any place that's infamous for supernatural happenings?"
Mr. Busty neighed, and Riven bobbed himself up and down. "Please take us there, Mr. Busty."
Aiden could only assume the donkey said, "Yeah, I know a place. Want me to take 'ya there?"
They passed the exact route they took to the academy, but on a certain crossing point, Mr. Busty took a different path. One that was unpaved, leading to a dark forest with century old trees and thick shrubs.
"I feel it," Caelum said, "A presence. A dark energy."
Lucius hovered closer toward Riven. "Should we keep going? What if Bastardsson absorbs an evil energy?"
"Well," Riven said. "Evil energy is stil energy so..."
Lucius beamed as if he heard the most ridiculous words from a complete stickly like Riven. "What happened to you?!"
Aiden rubbed Mr. Busty's head. "It's okay. Mr. Busty won't take us somewhere dangerous."
Caelum laughed. "Wrong. He's already given up on life so he gives no damn if we're all waking to our deaths."
Mr. Busty neighed, undeniably agreeing to what Caelum said.