School seemed to drag on forever on this day, and finally, to both Jaida and Arius' dismay, it was now sixth hour. After this, they'd have to meet up with Nero and head through the gate. This was a very nerve racking thing, even for Arius. He kept thinking about the trip, about what could happen by taking Jaida to his world. He was so distracted that during their work time, he was caught staring out the window by Mr. Owens. The teacher quickly realized that Arius was stressing about something.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a whisper, his voice almost getting drowned out by the other students. Arius glanced quickly at Jaida and then back to his teacher. "Come on, Arius. We're all in this together now. You can tell me things."
"I guess…" he trailed off, deciding that it would be nice to tell someone about his
"Jai?" called out a rather distant sounding voice. She could hear it slowly getting closer, becoming more focused and clear. She wasn't sure who was calling out yet. Everything was dark around her, and her body felt completely numb. "Jai?" She felt someone shake her a bit, and a tingling sensation began spreading through her, igniting every inch of her body. She could feel her eyes slowly opening, and all she saw was red for a moment. She blinked hard, and when her eyes reopened, she could see Arius looking down at her, seeming just a little worried or possibly ashamed."Arius?" Jaida questioned, making sure she wasn't hallucinating. He just sighed a bit and stood up, offering her his hand. She cautiously took it, and he helped her to her feet."Sorry," he said. "I forgot to mention how gate traveling works."&n
"Arius?" Jaida questioned, making sure she wasn't hallucinating. He just sighed a bit and stood up, offering her his hand. She cautiously took it, and he helped her to her feet."Sorry," he said. "I forgot to mention how gate traveling works.""It's okay," she told him, her head spinning a bit. "I'm fine now." She looked around a little and quickly realized that they were one member short. "Where's Nero?""He went on ahead," Arius explained as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Now let's get going, but stay close, alright?""Okay," she said, falling into step beside him as he began walking. Jaida already knew she wouldn't be able to keep
"It's okay," she told him, her head spinning a bit. "I'm fine now." She looked around a little and quickly realized that they were one member short. "Where's Nero?""He went on ahead," Arius explained as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Now let's get going, but stay close, alright?""Okay," she said, falling into step beside him as he began walking. Jaida already knew she wouldn't be able to keep his pace. She was too distracted to pay attention to him right now. After all, she was currently staring at the sky above them. It was just like Arius had said. It was just like the Earth's only a deep scarlet instead of blue. The clouds floating by were black, and there were very few. She could see no sun hanging there, casting light onto their world. It was as if it was naturally bright…but it was so hot.
Arius snarled a bit in disgust before returning his eyes to Jaida. She was still rubbing her shoulder, as if trying to hide something from him by keeping it covered. She had a few tears in her eyes and looked to be on the verge of crying. It was then that Arius noticed the faint smell of blood. He saw a few red stains on Jaida's school uniform, mainly around her shoulders. His glare grew so dark that it gave new meaning to the phrase "looks could kill." His eyes quickly went to the three remaining yet retreating Deslyans."Which one of you did this?" he asked threateningly. He looked to their claws, and he quickly saw that one of them had red tips on his nails. Arius pushed past the other two and grabbed the one who had used his claws on Jaida."I'm sorry!" he quickly apologized, fearing for his life. "I had no idea she was with you, honest! I promi
"I wanna know about the angels, about this war," she said, trying to present her question without being rude. "I wanna know exactly what's going on.""Very well," Jaron sighed. "If you really want the full story…" He cleared his throat before continuing. "The angels are a race of egotistical demons. We aren't even sure what their race was originally called. They adapted the name 'angel' because they considered themselves the messengers of God. They believe in 'survival of the fittest,' but they're the ones who decide just who lives and who dies. We retaliated against them…after suffering a tremendous loss. We've been fighting them ever since, trying to keep other planets safe, planets that they deemed 'unworthy.' They are a horrible race, and I wish we wouldn't have taken up calling them angels. It's a word meant for holy creatures, not these demonic cretins."Jaida listened intently to every word, wanting to know everything Jaron had to tell her. It was strange how he spoke. There was
"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the way she was staring. She quickly averted her eyes out of embarrassment."Nothing. It's just that you look like someone else I know…I just don't remember who." The council leader's smile only grew. He was really starting to look familiar now, and it was bothering Jaida that she didn't know who he reminded her of."Ah, you must be thinking of my son," he told her cheerily."Your son?" she asked, confused. "But I don't know him…do I?""You do," Jaron insisted. "His name's Nero." Jaida looked like someone had just shot her. She didn't want to be disrespectful, but that had really been a shock."N-nero? He's
Jaida marveled at the scenery before her. Everything about this planet was different, and she loved being able to experience it. She was starting to wonder if this was all real or just a dream. After all, no one would believe her if she told them about this world. It was kind of nice knowing that she was the only human ever to come to here…as a guest, anyway. The Deslyans had obviously seen a human before. She began to wonder if they saw them often or not. They fed off emotion, right? Maybe that was just a delicacy. Maybe there was something else they ate during the times they didn't have a human handy."Do you like it here?" Nero asked her curiously."It's amazing," she said with a smile. "Everything's so different…so beautiful.""Beautiful?" He just laughed a bit, enjoying her optimism. "I guess it is to someone who hasn't seen it. In reality, this place needs a lot o
Jaida's smile fell just a bit more. She knew how hard it was. She loved her parents dearly, and she had wanted them to stay together so badly. It had really hurt knowing that she was powerless to fix her broken family unit. Lira quickly noticed the change in Jaida's expression, and her own softened greatly."Oh Jaida, I'm sorry," she told her honestly. "It must be hard." Jaida only nodded, lowering her head to avoid Lira's eyes. After all, she didn't need to be seen with tears in hers. She was amongst a strong, independent race. She had to try and be just as stable."If it makes you feel better," offered Lira with a smile, "at least Arius cares about you, which is more than most of us can say." Jaida's head shot up, a soft blush painting her cheeks. The tears that had been there quickly dried up, disappearing for now.