MORTE

    without meaning to she heardthe others thoughts; this wasn’t something she had wanted to do. it was stillhard to manipulate the powers she picked upon. her intentions weremisunderstood and her body tensed, leta hadn’t meant for the other to feeluncomfortable.

     “it’s alright, powers don’thave a set time of when you learn to control them.” maybe, just maybe would fixwhat she had done.

         she  smiled   softly   at   the   calming   words   .   her   powers   certainly    managed   to   frustrate   her   at   any   given   moment   .   she   wished   there   were   no   need   to  stifle   them   ,   that   she   could   fall  into   the   spirit   realm   so   totally   she   would   not   eve   exist   here   .

He didn’t have anything but a hunch and her body language to go off of, so Levi didn’t want to push his luck. He knew what it was like to not want to tell anyone what was going on, especially in his head, and how pushing and pushing for more information usually ended up with closing off even more. He pressed his lips together for a few seconds, then nodded slightly. “Of course, it’s a strange time of year. Everyone’s getting excited for the holidays and all of that. It’s hard to sleep.” Levi paused, then added, “But if you ever did need to talk about….anything, I’m here to listen.”

          alice   pulled   away   her   eye   contact   ,   she   didn’t   dare   meet   his   .    there   was   something   about   lying   to   this   man   about   her   emotional   state   that   left   her   feeling   a   wash   of   guilt   .  she   nodded   her   short   ashen  hair   bobbing   as   she   did  so   .

   —–  AVALON pursed her lips at the fact the other had apparently not been listening to a word she had said. ‘ i – ’ she sighed as she shifted from one foot to other, ‘ – it’s a bit rude to completely ignore someone. ’ there was no emotional t i l t in her in voice that expressed she was in fact offended with being ignored. it was more of a statement. but she would have appreciated if her attempt at striking up a conversation had been recipricated. even just a little.

          “   i   didn’t   mean   to  --  “    alice   began  trying   to   explain   .   “   i  just   spaced   out   ,   it’s   not   on   purpose   or   anything   .   “    it   was   after   that   she  assumed   explanations   would   be   fruitless   .  “   i’m  sorry  .   “   she   relented   .

Perhaps that was the case, yet, he found himself sincerely doubting it. Hence his expression only flickered in a moment of mild amusement before pressing on. “A time will come when you face a situation of life and death. Let us hope your spirits won’t claim you then, or their wisdom may be wasted after all.”

           her   mouth   opened   as   if   to   say   something   only   then   to   quickly   pull  it  shut   .    a   rose   flush   spread   across  her   pale   skin   ,   turning   her   cheeks   crimson   .   her   mind   searched  for   words   in   a   desperate   attempt   at   some  kind   of   witty   banter  ,   but   found   none   .    “   LETS   HOPE   SO  .   “   she   said   simply   .

     The other men left them, their words being muffled behind their grumbling as they turned the aisle. Sorin knew few people in this academy who would want to stand against him, but the young man wasn’t really thinking over just reacting. He hated seeing people suffer for no reason, not so much cause he was a kind soul—on the contrary, he could be vicious. Although he saved his venomous ways for the battlefield and found no pride in flexing his savagery on people who seemed unworthy of it. 

   “No problem, sorry you had to deal with those rejects.” he replied, a straight almost hollow smile followed after. Sorin crouched down to gather her things, before standing up once more (mostly towering over her), offering her books. For a split second he read one of the titles of the hardcover; something about spirits, ancestors, and astral presences. “Light reading?” asking softly, his voice lowering as he realized they were still in a library. 

           alice’s   intended   reading   material   had   been   strewn  about   the   ground   sloppily   .   at   first   she’d   reached   for   them  ,  only   for   the   other   to   do  so  first  .   she   gave   another  muffled  ,   shy   thanks   .   she   readily   accepted   the   books  ,   taking   the   old    ,    worn   leather   bounds   into   her   hands   .      “   yes   ,   “       she    spoke   with  a   sudden  gentle   excitement   .  “  i  had   been  reading   on  the  multiple   stages   of      decay   .   absolutely   fascinating   .   “    

A thick brow raised at her lame response, irritation barely masked behind an ordinarily mute expression. With arms folded across his chest, he made a point of sighing at Alice, though he knew from experience she truly didn’t intend it. 

“How much of your lessons do you miss, Jameson, when you lose yourself in that head of yours?” he wondered, his tone void of sympathy. 

            her   breath   caught   in  her   throat   .    oh   ,   of   course   it   would   happen   at   the   wrong   second   .

Levi wasn’t too familiar with Alice, but there were some signs of lying a person just couldn’t miss. “How about we take a break?” He suggested carefully, his eyes never leaving her face. “And you can tell me what’s really going on in your head.”

            she   shrugged   ,  attempting  to  indicate  nothing   was   wrong  .   “  no  ,  no  ,  i’m  fine   ,  surely  .   “   she  small   girl  asserted  .  

Levi raised a brow, his jaw setting into a hard line. He tried to be patient with everyone, but that was easier said than done. “Did you hear any of what I’ve been saying the last five minutes, or did you just miss the last bit?” Frowning a little, he watched her features. “Are you alright, Alice? Is there something on your mind?”

          “   sorry  ,   uh   ...   “  her   brow   furrowed  as   she   attempted  to ignore  the   parade   of   voices   filling   her  ears   just    then   .   she   grit   her   teeth  ,   straining   against   them    and   their tyraid   of   noise  .   “  no  ,  no  ,  i’m  fine  .  can   we   just   go   over   that   all  again   ?  “   she   never   had   lied   well  .

hazel huestook in the sight before them. the brightness of the hall worked as adistraction for her. a small smile came upon her plump lips, the ( power ) seemedto hang in the air, people here understood her. as much as they could anyway.her feet wanted to glide over the floor, they wanted to move at their n a t u r a lpace. everything felt electric to her.

a w i n c e,voices filled her head as she sat down on one of the many chairs within thehall. a slender hand came to her temple, this wasn’t hers. wondering eyes foundthe source. a blonde to her right. she spoke once, then the second time she understoodthat she had to speak louder.

                                                     “sometimes breathing works for me.”    

           she   smiled   sharply   ,   her   lips   pressed  together   tightly   to  form   a   thin   black   line   .   the   other   had   picked   up   on  her   with   such   ease   .   she   was   pricked   with  embarrassment   at   having   been   found   out  .   the   voices    hummed   around   her   still    ,   but   she   tried   to   pinpoint   her   focus   on   conversation   for   a   moment   .

An Odd Protector; A L I C E

   They say Dante, from Dante’s Inferno’s worst conceivable sin was that of betrayal.That treachery poisoned your character more than anything—as for Sorin his was that of injustice. His blood curdles at the sight of it, he was raised in the era post-famine and he watched first hand how hundreds were sacrificed for the name of the king; for his injustice. So it wasn’t a stretch to believe that if he saw something he did something, and this evening things weren’t any different. In aisle of the library, a place unfamiliar for the warrior-to-be, he noticed at the corner of his eye students huddling around another. They were two boys, tall and stout for their age, closing around a smaller girl who’s face was ghostly, apathetic even to what was happening. 

   It was stark in comparison towards others he’s seen…there was no hesitation or fear in her, as if she was neither here nor there. It caused a hesitation in himself, as if it wasn’t his place to intervene but his hand was forced the moment one of the boys knocked books out of her hand. With a disgruntle sigh, he approached them his chest broad and puffed out whilst his eyes glared fiercely at them. 

   “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!” he exclaimed, his eyes flickering to golden amber, giving a taste of the wolf that was eager to bite underneath. 

           people grow  kind  of  used  to  being  a  pariah  .  it   was   like  a   pain  that  over   years   passing   grew   duller   and   duller   until   they   were   no   longer   there   at   all  .  it   was   the   same   in   the  academy   .   it   was   the   same   everywhere  .  so  when  it   began  there   she   was   not  surprised  .  the   familiar   ache  was  back   .              her  original  intention  had   been   to   simply  head   it   no   mind   .   close  herself   from   the   insults  that  were  soon  to  spill,  venomously    from   their   lips    .   she  would  just   walk   past   as  if   nothing   had   happened   at   all   and  if   they   stopped   her   well   then   -   hope  for  the  best  .

            whatever  the   other   had   said   had   been   lost   in   the   crowd   of   it   all   .   she  heard  it  ,   but   under   it   all  it   sounded   like   a  wimpish  murmur   .   she   swallowed   her   nerves   for   a   moment   ,