What were you Aspecting?

"Aspecting."
"What?"
"Aspecting." Styx repeated. "At least, that's what I call it at any rate. I don't know the proper term for it, or if there is even a proper term for it."
"So what is that anyway?"
"It's easier to show you."
"You're gonna do this... 'Aspecting' now? In front of everyone?"
"No, what are you, an idiot?"
"He's one, born and bred."
"Up yours, Amnesia."
"Warm it up, Iceman, I'm sure Kestrel prefers it nice and hot and would appreciate it more than I."
"Shut up, sweetheart. So Styx, how are you going to show us?" Kestrel asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Well, duh. Through memories, what else?"
"Like calls to like, idots are drawn to idiots, no wonder Kestrel loves Iceman so much."
"Shut. Up." Cocytus and Kestrel said at the same time.
"Okay, okay." Holding up her gloved hands in mock defeat, she gave a patronising and, to Kestrel and Cocytus, deeply irritating smile.
"Alright, it's probably not going to be perfect or anything. Memories are unreliable on the whole."
"Do we have to join our hands and contact the spir- Okay, okay, I won't say anything." A glare from Styx silenced Lethe.

Flash
Look around. Nobody looking. Close my eyes and concentrate. Ground myself. I will not drift. I focus on a concept and visualise. I see myself in my mind's eye. I see myself and I extend my consciousness towards the mental image. I feel myself, feel my own mind. I feel its seams, the boundaries, the borders of my entire mind, the integration of all the various personas and parts of me merging together, as it is in everybody's minds. And I sift through the parts of me, rather than the total, and I search. I find that small part of me, the hidden and unknown part of me that is murderous and vile and full of mindless violence. I visualise hands, strong and powerful hands, reaching out and pulling on it, dragging it out. A headache comes, painful and pulsing in time with my mental exertions. I lose my focus and open my eyes. The pain ebbs away.
Flash
Darkness. Lying on my soft bed. Concentrate and let the same feelings as before wash over me. Visualise, and the images come faster now, easier to hold, the result of hours of practice. I pull again, tug at myself and the pain comes. I am prepared for it and it does not ruin my concentration as before. The pain intensifies as I increase my efforts and slowly, but surely, I feel a lessening of resistance, and the pain starts to weaken. I give a few final tugs and it gives way. I have pulled a part of me out. I visualise that bit of me in front of me and I open my eyes. I am in front of myself. I see myself, looking feral and cruel and base, half-standing on my bed, the image in the manner of a ghost. I speak to it, but all I hear is just growling, and I remember that this is the part of me that is uncivilised and wild. I sense what it wants, that it wants to rip and gnash and tear at the flesh of my enemies. And I fear. I fear the parts of me, these lesser known bits of myself that are hateful to all that I believe in. What if they break free and be as the dominant part of me? And I look at it, not daring to breathe, and it speaks to me. Not by voice, but in my head, I feel its intentions and it calms me, though only slightly. It, no, I, has no wish to be completely unleashed, to be feral, only against those that I hate or am furious to. I understand. Every part of me, regardless of what it is, understands. Cohesion and cooperation, lest the whole be destroyed. The actions of each affect the whole. But I still fear. What if it lies to me? And I realise that it sounds ridiculous, me lying to myself. But I fear.

Flash
The practice room. The combat dummy is inactive, for those who wish to practise movements against it. Against regulations, I had locked the door, effectively hogging the room. Not that anyone was outside or waiting. I face the dummy. And I concentrate, as before. I pull the feral side of me out, the pain becoming more bearable with every attempt. It is almost effortless. But it isn't and I start to sweat. The Feral part understands what I try to do. And this time, I go further. I focus on the Feral and imagine. I sweat even more and the headache is as bad as when I first started. But I open my eyes and I see that it appears to be working. The Feral stands in front of me, almost identical to me save for its behaviour. It stands hunch-backed and I show it what I am trying. It snarls, menacing and I almost step back, and it lopes towards the dummy on all four limbs. And it attacks and I know that I have been successful. I stop focusing the Feral on being corporeal and I slump to the floor and sigh with relief from the incredible strain. I pant on the floor as if I had just finished an intense session. And I stand up shakily. And try again. But... This time, the dummy is active. As I focus, it grabs a spear and looks towards me. I place the Feral in front of me just as the dummy throws it like a javelin. I try not to give in to instinct and dodge while trying to maintain the Feral. My concentration breaks. I see the Feral dissipate just as the spear goes through it and my refusal to dodge leaves me immobile. The spear flies straight and true and hits my arm. Pain, incredible amounts of pain. A small portion of my brain knows that the dummy has deactivated. The rest screams in agony. Light-headed. Dizzy. Reach out. In mind and body. I call to my friends and I crawl slowly with one arm towards the door. I manage to make it into the corridor somehow. I lie against the wall and call out mentally...

"And that's when I called to you all."
"But... Something doesn't add up. Where did all the other cuts come from then?"
"I don't know. I assume it was from crawling along the floor. You do know that the floor is helluva rough."
"I don't know, sounds rather sketchy to me..."
"Never mind. This Aspecting... what do you plan to do with it?"
"I don't know. But I can imagine situations where they would be useful."
"So you can only pull one out at a time?"
"No. I can pull several at a time out, but so far the pain of concentrating limits me to only manifesting one at a time."
"Stunning. Don't push yourself too hard. And tell us when you're gonna attempt it again, no way I'm going to let you faint or something."
"Oh don't worry, Acherus, I'll be fine."
"Famous last words. And it's a point of healers' pride to not let your friends suffer from such mundane stuff."
"So you're perfectly fine with me getting hurt as long as its an exotic form of hurt?'
"Hey, I never said that."

The Letters #5

I glimpsed you today, sweet November,
And your etheral beauty set my mind aflame once more.
I forgot your attractions before, but now,
I am powerless to resist your charms.
How is it that you look as beautiful as you did in life,
If not more, as in this perverse, horrific existence?
My passion is awakened and I long for you.
Rest assured however,
My knife is sharp and long prepared.
-Calm, with love and longing.

Pre-prologue?!

Note from Ben: This dear little piece of writing is from a friend of mine who shall henceforth be known here publicly as Chocobo :P

Pre-prologue?!

Once upon a time in the realm of Eien-Verra, there were a few friends. They were like a bunch of bananas, ever connected, never apart. And like bananas they were all connected to each other by a mental link. This was until a errant bird, a crow, came along and plucked one of the bananas away from the bunch , into another garden, a garden full of people whose minds were a little off, (actually very off, I was just trying to be polite..) and where no lies could be told. It was sometime later that the group finally recovered from the loss of a friend, a friend that the murder took. Now, they must be spilt, but the special link between them will remain, their destinies forever entwined...?
Anyway, I'm not really here to talk about them. Oh well, let's move on shall we? Yes we shall. Or shall we? Fine. We Shall.
...
However, I must say that I am terribly sorry. The reason of my extreme regret is that I must continue this work of fiction(or is it?) only in the next chapter. Once again my apologies.
Goodbye for now.

For Something Different

Walking. Up the winding stairs. Not thinking straight. Feeling disconnected. Numb. Perhaps my head isn't meant to have that many consciousnesses in it. A laugh escapes my throat. Not feeling well. Hysterical. Cold. Pull my hood closer. A cold draft of air. The opening is close. Wait. If there is wind, the door must be open. I lift Aida up in my left hand and Utrennyaya on my right. The grip feels right. I edge around the corner. The door is... closed? Then where is the air coming from? Go forward. Feel around. The air just seems to come from the door. Odd. Shrug. Open the door. Into the store. Look around. The curtains are closed. Jack. He is lying back on a chair and talking to the air. Weird. He sees me and jerks. He stares at me. Do I look different?
"Hello Jack." The words are like heavy lead, falling from my mouth. My body doesn't respond as fast as it did.
"Hi. I take it that you know about Alice?" He asks awkwardly.
"Yes. Where is she?"
"She... Is currently out. You won't be able to find her. It's best to wait." He takes a butterfly knife out from his pocket and smoothly flips it open. I want to laugh. The weapon looks horribly inadequate as compared to Aida and my trusty morningstar.
"Don't try to stop me Jack, you'll just get yourself hurt."
And Jack laughs. He laughs, a laugh so full of irony and hurt and bitterness directed at nobody and everybody that I am compelled to weep.
"Hurt? You don't know what hurt is. You don't know what hurt is and you never will, you noble-born."
Wait, why's the kid pissed about you being a noble?
People hold grudges for various reasons?
I think he's simply stating the obvious. You will never know his pain on account of your bloodline status.
Oh.
Funny.
I stare at his outstretched arm, knife pointing towards me. It is covered in scars, something I have never noticed before. The scars are in some sort of intricate pattern and I remember the time Alice told me that Jack is extremely proficient in rune magics-
Hit the deck!
Libys' warning is too late as the scars winding around his hand glow bright cyan and unleashes a crackling discharge which hits me with incredible force. I am not hurt. I do not feel any hurt. But... I cannot move.
Aw hell, immobilisation. Feeling pretty helpless yet?
Jack sighs, all traces of anger melting away. "I'm sorry Raewyn. You've always treated me better." He grabs my arms and proceeds to drag me over to a chair. "Just wait, okay? Just wait till Alice gets back."
He sets me on the chair gently and goes back to his seat. I can barely make out his words.
"Sorry you had to see that. Yeah, I know, but at least I wasn't rough with her. Please, I do mean what I said to her. Can we please not argue? You're the only one who listens to me. Yeah, ironic, isn't it?"
I do not understand his words, nor do I know who he is talking to. All I know is that Aida has managed to break through several key points of his magic and is attempting to cut through the rest. Libys remains quiet.
"What... What are you talking to?" I manage to croak out, my vocal components straining against the magic.
Jack looks over. He doesn't look too surprised that I've broken through the bonds. He probably suspects Libys. He gives a sad, tired smile.
"I hear things, you know? I hear..." He trails off into silence.
Funny. I also hear things. I hear voices in my head. Annoying voices. I don't move, even though the magic is completely broken through. He is still staring at me as though I have changed outwardly. The door opens and Jack comes through. Wait a minute... Jack?
Jack walks forward. I am confused. Is not he sitting right ther- Oh. Alice. I can sense Libys rolling his eyes at me mentally.
Jack-Alice closes the door and sees me sitting there, legs crossed. Her features melt and change. She morphs into the Alice I've known for ages. She looks at me oddly. The little, innocent, angelic girl. That sadistic bitch who tried to kill me just now.
"Alice. What. The. Hell. First you try to kill me, then you throw me this sword and screw up my head. What is wrong with you?" I almost shout.
She is calm, inordinately so. I suppose seeing someone half-crazed wielding a sword and a morningstar shouting at you doesn't have much effect. I feel a laugh bubbling up again and I force it down. I am definitely not well.
In that lilting voice that is just wrong when paired with such a cruel mind, she says, "It was in your best interests in giving you the sword. However, I didn't expect any problems with the bonding. I take it that there are three sentiences within your body. You, Libys and the sword."
"Yeah, don't you think that might just be a little too much?"
"Perhaps." She concedes smoothly and continues staring again. What is wrong with me?
"That's it? That's your response? Perhaps?" I stab Aida into the ground and use my free hand to cast a spell. Hasty, uncalled for and utterly rude. Libys would be proud. Oh, and he is. Alice just watches as a moment later a fireball flies towards her. Of course it doesn't affect her. She would obviously have spellshields more than able to deal with such weak spells. It just splashes against empty air several inches away from her.
"I gave you all the answers you want. What more do I have to say?"
And she is right. I'm irrational. I just want to hurt her.
"Why do you stare at me like that?"
Her answer is simple, one word. "Look." I look down to where she points, my collarbone. I scream.

Finally Ain't Filler

"You know that Cocytus isn't actually a river, right?"
"Yeah, I know, my namesake is a frozen lake. But it still counts."
"Whatever you say, Iceman."
"Up yours, Amnesia."
"Hey! Don't you know its rude to have a side conversation while playing cards?"
"Or are you just trying to cheat now, Kestrel?"
"No, I am not! In case you've forgotten, Lethe, I just learned how to play this yesterday!"
"See now, that's why I call her Amnesia."
"Oh shut up, Iceman."
"Less talk, more play, yeah? Your turn, Kestrel." Phlegyas said.
Kestrel dealt her card and asked, "Anyone feel like waking Acheros up just for the heck of it?"
I wouldn't mind.
"Acherus, what are you doing out there anyway? Apart from flying, I mean."
Flying is the whole point. It's fun, it's exhilarating and great, feeling the wind going through your feathers and all. It's just pure fun.
"Oh. Don't you think Acheros is rather lazy? Finally gets the body and he sleeps."
Hey guys...
Acheros woke up with a sudden jolt, bumping into Kestrel's chair and causing her to spill all her cards on the table.
"Ah ha! I knew you were cheating!" Lethe pointed at the cards fallen on the table, all duplicates from different decks.
"And I would have gotten away with it if the pig didn't suddenly wake up and kick my chair." Kestrel muttered, turning around. "Whats with you anyway?"
Acheros rubbed his head where he hit the back of her chair and sat up.
"Didn't any of you hear that?"
"Hear what? I can hardly hear anything through the noise the class is making."
"Sounded something like "Hey guys", or something like that. It freaked me out, that's why I woke up."
"Could it be Styx?"
Very... observant... A weak voice whispered in their minds.
"Aw crap, Styx, what's wrong?"
Not.. feeling too good... Need a lil help over here....
"Where are you?"
Outside.. combat room... I think I... kinda... impaled my arm...
"Hells, how do you manage to do that!" They sprinted out of class and Acherus took control of the body again.
"Acherus, I hope you haven't been wasting your energy on random bouts of magic!"
"I've got enough juice to heal her I think, but I won't know until I see how severe it is!"
It's not.. that bad...
"Damn, you can hardly speak, even mentally! Not bad, sure!"
Turning into the corridor, they almost ran straight into Karasondrias.
"My, my, where are you students going to in such a hurry?"
"Sorry, teacher! Someone's hurt!"
"Hurt? Bring me to her."
Well lucky me... Nothing to... worry about.. now...
A bloody scene greeted them. Styx was slumped against the floor, her blood a large pool around her. Her left arm was impaled by a spear and was the source of all the bleeding, though other multiple minor cuts contributed.
"Hey..." Styx slurred, obviously close to unconsciousness.
Kara wasted no time and quickly assessed the situation while Acherus went forward and started channeling his healing energy into her various wounds.
"Cain! Do you have enough energy to seal the wound if I removed the spear?"
"I can seal the wound, but the inner tissues are wrecked."
"It does not matter, the priority is to stop the bleeding! She is already-"
"Suffering from severe blood loss, yes, I know ma'am. She is in shock." Acherus said, a shade too testily.
Cocytus called up all of the pooling blood into a globe.
"Still warm and alive, the blood, it should still be okay if I funnel it back into her."
"Not too much, slowly and small amounts at a time, Iceman! Her heart isn't pumping well!"
Kara stared at Cocytus.
"You have much explaining to do after we save her, Mister Greywing. For now, I will keep her body warm and maintain her heart." She summoned up small patches of fire around Styx. "Ignore the fires. They don't burn." She took ahold of the spear. "When I pull it out, you will funnel the blood in. When you-" She gestured towards Acherus. "-decide it's enough blood for survival, say so and seal the wound. Alright, enough talking, on my mark. One, two, three!"
She yanked hard on the spear and pulled it right out of the wound. The globe of blood extended small tendrils and fed straight into her wound, at the same time preventing further loss of blood.
The process caused intense pain to her and her little body jerked and twitched with the agony as she screamed raggedly.
"Iceman, stop! Now!" He quickly channeled as much as he dared to knit the blood vessels and skin back together, Kara flowing strange draconian energies into Acherus to aid him. After a minute of intense concentration, the skin grew over the wound, leaving a circular scar behind.
Acherus almost followed Styx in fainting with exhaustion. "I didn't manage to completely heal the tendons. She can't use her arm. At all. Until someone else with more energy can heal her."
"I could pass the energy to you. I have much, but I have never used healing magics and would be unable to heal her." Kara said, startling them. They didn't expect a teacher to be that generous, for lack of a better word.

A lengthy time, a blatant disregard of natural healing spans and many explanations later, they were seated in comfortable chairs around a table with Kara among them. Except for Styx, who was lying on a bed. Actually, they were in her class, all that was just an illusion. Albeit an extremely convincing illusion.
"I cannot conceive of a reason as to the origin of your abilities. They seem made from the stuff of fiction." Kara shook her head slowly. "Students. How amusing that the young always find something to amaze the old with."
They didn't tell her about what Lethe could do or what Styx could do, simply saying how they knew she was hurt that she messaged them by phone.
"Alright. Miss Oathmaker, please do see the matron nurse if your arm still pains you or if it doesn't feel as it should. And do drink more water, you need to replenish your body fluids. I hardly think that Mister Greywing's ability was able to give you enough fluids back."
"Yes ma'am. And uh, ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Could you do us all a favor and not tell anyone else about this?"
"Fine. Do take care of yourselves. Well, you all can return to your class."
And Lethe whispered to Styx as they left, "What were you doing in the combat room anyway?"