Chapter 10:
Death Rekindled
by Cres and Dani
Green feline eyes widened and whiskers quivered.
It was a senshi.
The one he'd been waiting for.
He'd first had the premonition two weeks ago. A flicker of death and darkness, the smell of an unawakened Angelus, the tingle of tightly-capped power waiting to be unleashed. It had been rather a vague dream, but there had been a sense of chill, the sliding of metal on ice, and laughing voices echoing faintly in the background. As Amir had pointed out, it might have meant they would find a new Angelus in December. Or maybe in a meat locker somewhere. Or in front of a sno-cone stand. But Leo felt positive that the discovery was imminent, and his best guess was the Ice Station, Roanoke's local ice skating rink.
Amir had cheerfully indulged his guardian at first. Smuggled into the building in an empty backpack, he faithfully made the trek daily. He'd take a few turns around the rink on skates-- wander around the benches-- poke around in the pro shop-- loiter in front of the concessions stand. But to no avail. No sense of a sleeping friend, or a skulking foe. Just four-year-olds getting their lessons, or teeny-boppers hanging out and pretending to be cool.
As time passed, the strain began to wear on Amir. "I don't have a limitless bank account," he argued. "You think I can afford to go to the rink every day? Besides, I'm falling behind on my homework."
Leo cajoled and wheedled an extra week's worth of dedication out of his senshi, but after fourteen days of unfulfilled prophecy, Amir had given up. Today, he had smuggled Leo in-- but left Leo to find his own way out, and find his own way home, once he tired of his neverending vigil.
::Of course, this *would* be the day,:: thought Leo, crouched in the darkness under a bench and trying very hard not to draw attention to himself. ::Amir is going to kick himself for not holding out for fifteen days.::
The thought brought the closest thing to a smile that the cat could muster.
He stalked his way slowly to get a better view of the object of his focus. It was coming from a birthday party being held on the rinkside--- a party of youngish children, he noted, with faint disappointment. Still, a signal was a signal, and who knew what would turn up?
Kilierra was her name, birthday cake was - or had been at one point - her game. She was, at present, sitting seatbelted into the back of a noisily filled van, licking green icing from her face and fingers, and quite sticky (someone had rather ungraciously and accidentally spilled their orange soda on her pants at some point during the party). Now, this was her friend Maddy's party, but even then it was 'going to plan' despite the accident with the soda; she was sitting strapped safely into the car (surrounded by noisy nine-year-olds), her tummy was full of nummy cake, and other than the noise she was a warm and happy Kili.
The carpool stopped; the doors of both vans opened and a rush of tiny girls burst from the vehicles, chanting and yelling in excitement. The rink was theirs, and soon Kili was whisked onto a rubber-lined floor, putting on her black figure skates.
Laughing, bursts of laughter, then in titters and whirrs of childish merriment. Tosses of hair over sweatered shoulders; scrape of blade on ice as one child skidded to the ice upon setting foot on it. A volley of 'happy birthdays' and a burst of brightly coloured sweaters let the children loose on their escapade across the ice. Kili, of the fifteen who had by now started scraping their slow ways around the barrier enclosing the ice, some clutching onto the side for their life and some executing graceful curlicues, stopped to help her fallen fellow.
Gently hoisting the yellow-jacketed skating greenhorn from the ice and tossing a thick mop of silver hair back over her shoulder, she beamed, gave an encouraging word, and, with a final nod, began executing her own curlicue across the ice. "C'mon, Addy! You can do it," she yelled across the ice to the yellow-jacketed girl, who was tottering ominously not two feet away from the entrance onto the ice.
"B-but Kili - it's -ice-!" the girl named Addy cried back, looking extremely unsure of herself and falling back onto the ice. The girl with the silvery hair, whose name was apparently Kili, groaned and skated forward with all speed to help the girl up.
"See, Addy, you can do it. It's just- here. Put yer feet in a v like this- right, good, jus' hold onto my arm here- yeah, like a v, like that. Now..." Kili pushed backwards with her right foot, propelling herself forward slightly. "Jus' push back kinda like that."
Addy, still tottering under a mass of scarves that let little more than a small nose poke out, attempted to push forward. It was a tottery endeavor, but she lurched forward into Kili while remaining standing, and she collected herself with a grin. "Look, Kili! I did it!"
Kili- who was now looking up at Addy somewhat ridiculously from the ice- beamed despite her painful position on her bottom. "Wow, Addy, that was-" -she contrived to look encouraging- "-awesome!" Getting up by pushing herself up with a knee, she teetered but easily regained her footing. "See, soon you'll be skating like this."
With that, she set off at a glide across the ice, easily weaving an impressive spiral around the rink and spinning dancer-like at its end. "'S not hard if ya practice!"
Leo crouched under the bench. When the party had moved to the ice, it had become more difficult to keep up surveilance; being only a few inches from the ground did not lend itself for great panoramic views. Jumping up to higher ground was out of the question, and sure to attract attention-- and guarantee him ejection from this unenlightened facility that did not appreciate pets prowling the premises.
Still, every so often, he caught a precious glimpse of her as she skated past one of the openings that was in his line of sight. As she busied herself burning off the excess sugar on the ice, Leo rolled the problem around in his mind. Obviously, a gaggle of children did not walk here, and as fast as a cat could run, he sincerely doubted his endurance was up to keeping pace with a van for any considerable length of time. Who knew how far away they had driven to come here? So his best bet was to make contact with her before she left-- but how to do it when she was surrounded by people? One could hardly reveal her inner destiny right in front of a whole swarm of friends, especially when one was a telepathic cat. That had rather been the whole point of Amir's presence: to help ease the transition.
Green feline eyes blinked morosely from the shadows, but Leo didn't allow himself to be stalemated for long. The decision made, he waited for the perfect moment to make his way from his current hideout to one that was closer to the pile of shoes, boots, and baggage the troop of birthday-goers had left piled up by their chaperone. She was busily helping one small child undo the knots in her shoelaces-- no one was looking-- a tawny streak zipped across the floor-- mission accomplished-- and Leo settled down comfortably in his new position. Due to the barrier, his view was even worse than before, but at least she would come back for her shoes.
Eventually.
Kilierra impressed Addy yet again with one of her spirals, this time while skating backwards. Kili had always, personally, found the sport to be a simple one to learn, but hard to get good at, so her backwards skating was a little less graceful than her normal skating; however, she still managed to keep Addy's unexperienced eyes busy for the moment, and taught her how to catch and lift herself back up when she fell to the ice.
"Like -this-," the gray-haired one of the two began, and prepared to fall to the ice on purpose. Caught up in the teacherly task of getting Addy not to fall when she attempted to lift herself from one, she didn't plan the angle at which she hit her knee; it collided with the ice in an unforeseen way and made Kili gasp with the pain.
Addy's ears perked up under her tuque. "Kili...?" She blinked and scraped forward on the ice, arms splayed out to either side. Running on land had never been so difficult, and she decided that all in all it would be smarter to crawl.
Kili moved so that she was sitting on the ice and bent her right leg in, wincing as it bent. It was painful, and the muscle was going to get cold and stiff fast sitting on the ice. "It's nothing. Just a bruise, I think," she croaked, patting the knee and feigning painlessness. "It's gonna be okay."
Addy, covered in scarves, stared. "You sure? Can ya bend it?"
Kili nodded. "Probably. I just need to take a break. Not sure how safe it is to skate with a bruise, so..." Addy beamed. "Go 'head. I'll teach myself to skate." With a smile, she tried helping the gray-haired girl up with some trouble.
"Thanks, Addy. I'll just watch, okay? Yell at you if you break any rules," she said with a grin, as she waddled off the ice. She sat down and proceeded to take off her skates, the burning in her knee reminding her that she'd have to avoid skating for a few days afterwards.
The chaperone quickly rushed to meet Kili, clucking worriedly and assisting her to the bench. She rushed away in search of an ice pack.
Leo could hardly believe his luck. Yeah, it was a pity that she was hurt, but still! What luck! The chaperone would return in a few moments and hover like a mother hen for the rest of the afternoon, perhaps, but he still had those few precious seconds to make some kind of impression.
He twined his way through the jumble of shoes and sweaters and paraphernalia, and leaped lightly atop the bench, sitting across from Kili. He lightly groomed a forepaw, but kept one green eye upon her.
::Pity you got hurt:: he remarked, his best nonchalant voice solely in her head. ::You seemed like you were having a lot of fun.::
Kilierra blinked. And blinked again. Pushing her hair from her face to reveal the blue-violet of her eyes, she stared closely. "Kitty...?" She stared for a decidedly long moment before breaking into a wide grin. "You're not a kitty, you're a cat." She nodded at this. "Much too smart to be a kitty."
Beaming profusely and forgetting for the moment her injury, she turned toward him and was immediately engrossed. At the time she fully believed that the cat was another imaginary friend, come to visit - what would a cat be doing here in the rink, and a talking cat at that? - and reached out a small, gentle hand to pet his fur.
"Yeah, I was having fun," she said quietly, but smiled nonetheless. If anyone heard her speak, she'd be in deep with her parents again. "But having a cat like you here is better than skating. I like warm better than I like cold anyway." She patted her swollen knee. "This? It'll be gone in a couple of days. I should forget it soon enough. It'll be nothing." Giving a little laugh, she added, "Could have been worse. At the very least, I'm not dead."
Leo was immensely relieved, as he allowed himself to be petted. As far as opening speeches went, he wasn't very good at them. He was certain that his enemy counterparts were much more eloquent with *their* introductory speeches. Still, the girl was accepting it-- along with her injury-- with good grace.
Ahh, the resiliency of youth!
Leo snuffled gently at it, careful not to accidentally bump her and cause any additional twinges of pain. ::No, you don't want to traumatize your friends by dying at their birthday party:: he continued conversationally. ::Unless, of course, you're the birthday girl?::
Kilierra laughed slightly, careful to cover her mouth in case she was heard. She gently scratched his throat with the knuckles of her fingers, remembering something faintly about cats liking being petted there but not actually being scratched. “No, of course not. If I were birthday girl, we’d be sitting at home having hot chocolate and likely watching a movie.”
Amused by his snuffling, she patted the top of his head. She was thoroughly enjoying the company of this cat, largely because of his good nature and, she noticed, his wit. “Needn’t worry about the knee. Just a bandaid when we get home.”
Ears perking up to the sound of voices and footsteps, she looked at Leo intently. “Look, kitty, I think they’re coming back.” Reaching over the side of the bench, she pulled a duffel bag onto her lap. “It could be uncomfortable, but you c’n hide in my bag for now. I’ll carry my skates on my shoulder, so y'don't get hurt.” She opened the bag and sighed. "I'm afraid they don't 'preciate talkin' cats as much as I do."
Leo gently crept into the dufflebag with as much poise as possible under the circumstances. Guardian or no, he was still every inch a feline, and didn't much care to be seen in an ignoble light.
::They can't hear me, although they might be a bit upset if they hear you talking to the air... or to a dufflebag... or even to a cat:: he remarked. ::But I'll tell you a secret. I don't know if you know or not--- but did you know, you have magic powers? I came to tell you about them.::
It was horribly simplistic, almost too simple-- too straightforward-- too easy. And yet it seemed like the perfect thing to say to someone of her age.
If only it was always this easy!
He disappeared into the bag as the chaperone returned.
Kilierra didn't have time to stutter a reply as Maddy's mother clucked over her knee for almost five minutes without stopping; the nonstop chatter of this lady over her knee started getting annoying after not-too-long. She liked talking to the kitty, and she knew that she needed to get out of here - preferably not get home, because no one was around except her bad-tempered sister - to somewhere quiet and deserted. Where she'd go, she had no idea, but she thought that maybe the kitty would know. She snapped out of it just as something cold covered her knee.
"Now, Kili, if I put this here, does it hurt?" Maddy's mom asked, putting the ice pack against Kilierra's knee. The gray-haired girl blinked and shook her head. "No, it doesn't."
The mother of the birthday girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" Kili looked somewhat annoyed. "Yes, I am!" she snapped curtly, gripping the edge of the bench and kicking her legs impatiently.
"I think we should take you home, sweetie," the woman said, and suddenly Kili had a flash of brilliance. Tucking a wild lock of gray hair behind her ear, she put on her best Cute Look and beamed at the woman.
"My mom's not home today, she's off working, and Dad's at a school meeting." Resting a hand against the duffel, she asked, "Do you think you could drop me off at my... babysitter's place?"
Maddy's mother blinked, confused at first, but eventually widened her smile and nodded. "Alright, dear. Do you know the address?"
Kili blinked. "Er..."
Gently she nudged the bag, extremely mindful of the cat inside and very sorry; she made a mental note never to do so again. Cat nudging was not a forté of hers and she preferred to avoid it in any way possible.
The beauty of telepathy was that it wasn't muffled by layers of heavy canvas fabric. Leo gave her the name of Amir's apartment complex and apartment number, along with the helpful information that he kept a copy of the key buried in a pot of geraniums on the front porch.
::The person who lives there has magic powers, too:: Leo remarked, knowing that only Kili could hear him. ::He can help you better than I can. But don't mention it to his roommates; it's a secret. If someone *does* happen to be home, you're a clever girl. I'm sure you can make up a much more convincing story than I could. But hopefully, that won't be the case.::
Kili wished she could have nodded in affirmation, considering that her concentration was more on Leo than on the woman she was trying to convince to take her somewhere she had never been, but she didn't, and instead rattled off the address to Maddy's mother as though she had known it her entire life. It was not long after this that she was ushered into an eerily empty minivan, asked to remind the driver of the address, and whisked off to a different part of town as quickly, it seemed, as she had come.
*Now, gently... -gently- with the duffel,* she thought, bending with care to place it on the ground. She felt absolutely terrible about putting any animal in a bag, much less a talking one! Kilierra bid a quick and thankful farewell to the woman who had taken her, and waited for the burgundy minivan to be out of sight before she bent with a wince and unzipped the duffel.
"Sorry 'bout that," she said to the cat, looking thoroughly embarassed with a sheepish smile. "I'll have you know, I don't usually treat cats so badly." Moving to retrieve the key in the geraniums, she continued. "Now then. About that magical powers thing." With this, she lit up, radiating sunshine with her huge smile. "That's really cool! People are always tellin' me that magic doesn't exist, but... but I -knew- there had t' be at least -some-!"
Hands covered in soil, she stared at the key for a brief moment and stood with a toss-fix of her bushy gray hair. Blue-violet-indigo eyes gleamed - she seemed to have forgotten her knee completely, at this revelation of magic powers. "This is so cool. And I'll be sure to keep quiet 'bout it. And if anyone asks why I'm here... well, I'm ten years old. I can be convincing." Raising a finger to her lips and smiling secretively at the cat, she wiped the last bit of soil from the key, fixed it in the keyhole, and opened the door.
They were lucky; the apartment was abandoned, so they were spared having to answer any awkward questions. Leo led the way up the stairs to Amir's room, and had Kili shut the door behind themselves.
The room, while not quite orderly, also wasn't as bad as it could have been, and was vastly better than those of his roommates, which Leo had been very sorry he had explored one boring day. The experience had left him scarred for a while afterwards. The room was obviously that of a computer junkie; there were stacks of computer magazines along the walls; CDs in little paper sleeves scattered in stacks across the floor; three desks had been crammed into the small room, and every inch of the precious horizontal space was occupied by an assortment of computers, monitors, periphorals, and cables and wires, all in some monstrously complex setup. The walls, oddly enough, were decorated with felt Snoopy banners, a pennant for Virginia Tech, and a framed family photo.
::Sit in the chair:: advised Leo, indicating one of the desk chairs. ::But be careful of the computers; he's very touchy about them.::
Kilierra, dropping her bag at the door, took off her shoes and padded in, then sat carefully in the chair. She smiled at the surroundings; though they weren't necessarily soft and fuzzy, they had a natural disorder to them and were made more comfortable by the personal touches on the walls. "I'll be careful," she told Leo, settling herself into the chair slightly more.
She did a double-take. Computers - Snoopy memorabilia - she stood, careful not to hurt the technology around her, and walked to the wall where the photo hung. Surely there weren't two in the world like the youngish man she had met in the botanical garden not two months before. It was a faint memory by now, but it hung there in her mind and his face was still fresh in her head; looking at the picture, she picked him out, though it was slightly outdated. She nodded to herself and smiled.
"Cherry ice," she said, out of the gray that was her bush of hair. She looked back to Leo and proceeded to sit back down at her designated chair. "Weird that we should meet just outta chance at some garden and wind up both havin' magical powers, huh?" she asked, a question both to herself and to Leo.
Leo gave a visible start. ::You've met already?:: he asked faintly. ::Does he know about you? Did he already tell you everything? About the senshi, and the Angelus, and the others?::
Kilierra blinked and motioned for Leo to come and sit in her lap. "C'mere, kitty. I promise I won't put you in a duffel this time." She pondered his question briefly. "Well, no, but we did talk about my irritating sister. If he said anything about magical powers I doubt I woulda forgotten it by now..." Giving the cat a sheepish gaze, she shrugged. "Maybe his radar was off?"
"What's a senshi? Or an Angelus? Is that what we are, him and I?" she asked, blueviolet eyes wide with questions.
Leo thought that perhaps it might be more prudent to stick with his original plan. Once Amir came home, they would be able to explore the different tangents with both sides of the story available.
::There are a lot of people running around Virginia who have magical powers:: he began. ::They're all senshi--- warriors. Some of them are our friends. Some of them are certainly not. There are at least four or five different factions; there might be more, but I haven't run across them yet.:: He ticked them off on his paws. ::Amir or myself have personally encountered Astronomia Senshi, Romanus Senshi, Graikos Senshi, and our fellow Angelus Senshi. There should be Grigori Senshi, too, but I haven't come across any yet. There might be others I haven't heard of. You're an Angelus Senshi, by the way. I don't know which one you are quite yet-- but we'll find that out in due time. Anyhow, all of the Angelus Senshi are on your side. And not everyone from other teams is necessarily bad. But you should still be wary around them. Some of them killed one of your teammates a few months ago. Do you remember that one day everyone went crazy? It happened then. Right in the middle of a truce. There's something much bigger out there, and we need to work together to stop it... but if stuff like that keeps happening, we'll get nowhere. So if you *do* end up needing to join with someone else, be sure to bring along a teammate you can trust to be extra eyes for you. Having powers means putting yourself in extra danger, and we want to keep you safe.::
It was a lot of information all at once, and it sounded rather haphazard and discouraging. He looked up uncertainly at the girl and added, ::If you think it's too much for you to handle, or if it's too dangerous for you to deal with, we can stop right here. I can let you go home, and we can get in touch with you in a few years to see if you're ready for it then. It's a big burden, and I want you to accept it only if you want to.::
Kilierra was mute for a moment, unable to speak as she turned over each bit of information in her head one at a time. "...Angelus." She scrinched her face up tight to think about what he had told her in more detail. "So... that makes me... a super hero." Un-scrinching her face, she gave the feline a blank look. "Fighting crime- but not really crime. It's deeper than that."
She took a breath. "I'm not going to chicken out now. Keepin' powers bottled up might not be good... and besides... I wanna help." She shrugged in uncertainty. "I don't know. I just have to do something. I've been given magic-like and not doing any good with it wouldn't be very thankful." Indigo eyes closed to accomodate her pondering. "If it's deep as that," she continued, "the world might not exist in a few years. I should just go ahead and start now. Strike while the iron's hot. You get the idea."
She opened her eyes and gave Leo a bright, fierce look. "I'm going to do this!" she said with vigour, her voice and eyes vibrant.
Leo beamed. So he hadn't messed this up entirely. She seemed remarkably capable, despite her youth. And although he'd personally see to it that she was provided extra backup, until she became fluent with her own powers, it was his impression that perhaps she ran the chance of being more capable than any of them. After all, to become good at something, it was often best to begin earlier in life.
He was positively beaming as he proceeded to feed her with stories-- stories about teammates she would soon be able to meet. About Seraphiel and Azrael and her guardian Odillo; about the recently-deceased Nathanael and her guardian Beckett; and about her most-recently-discovered teammate, Gabriel. He told her about the mysterious aliens, and how they had been connected to that one topsy-turvy morning of chaos not too long ago, and did his best to answer her questions.
He was right in the middle of telling a funny anecdote about a conversation he and Odillo had once had, when his sharp ears pricked up at the sound of the front door opening and closing, and footsteps mounting the stairs.
::Someone's coming.:: he said. After a few moments of extra listening, he relaxed. ::It sounds like we're safe. Amir's home.::
The bedroom door opened, and Amir entered, swinging a heavy backpack over his shoulder. "Leo, are you home yet?" he asked, and then paused as he caught site of Kili, with Leo curled up in her lap. His expression was uncertain as he looked from one to the other, but he still managed to smile anyways. "Don't tell me. The guys forgot to pay rent, and so now they're leasing the apartment out to fifth-graders?"
Kilierra smiled and gently petted behind Leo's ears. "That's -fourth- grade to you, friend," she said, and grinned. "Leo found me at the skating rink and brought me home, though I doubt he'll be asking if he can keep me."
Gently setting Leo on the floor and giving his head an affectionate pat, she walked over to Amir and stared up. "I'm Kilierra Lovejoy. My middle name's your senshi name. Remember me? Betcha you didn't know I'm a senshi just like you!" Beaming as though she were a lightbulb, the little girl bobbed in place and stuck out her hand for Amir to shake. "Leo's been telling me funny stories."
"Hopefully, nothing too embarrassing," came the reply, as Amir dropped the heavy backpack into a corner and shook her hand. "So you're one of us, h'm? Welcome to the club, Kilierra." He glanced over at Leo. "I guess there's no you-must-be-this-tall requirement to play the senshi game, h'm. I'd kind of expected that being an old fogey was a requirement for magical powers, but I guess I was wrong." He flashed her a smile. "I wouldn't trust my younger brothers an inch with magic powers, and they're both older than you. So I guess age doesn't matter, h'm?"
He plopped down on the bed and studied her critically. "You're right, though. We've met somewhere. Give me a hint."
Kilierra gave Leo a secretive smile and said to Amir, "Nothing I'm going to tell anyone. Don't worry." Sitting back down in the desk chair and folding her hands neatly in her lap, she beamed. "And thanks. We'll have some interesting times together, I expect."
Idly twirling a lock of her wavy hair about a finger, she thought about something briefly and smiled. "Botanical garden. Mid-summer. I think you guys were with..." - she looked to Leo at this - "...was it Ian? Yeah, that was it. Ian and Leah. It was the first time you guys met Ian that I know of." She thought on this. "Yeah. Oh, I know!" She grinned with every one of her teeth. "Cherry ice boy. The one who dropped it and started making a big fuss. And we were standing in line, and talking about stuff like computers," she added, "and your Snoopy stuff, of course."
Amir blushed. Fortunately, his dark skin did a good job of hiding the fact. He had promptly forgotten about the encounter in the excitement of having discovered Ian, but her words did trigger the proper memories. He made a mental note to himself to cut back on his random babbling--- really! Confiding in random strangers about his Snoopy stuff.
"It's a pity we didn't pick up on you that day," remarked Amir. "Two new senshi in one day? That would've been too good to be true. But-- you know about the rest of us now. Have you found out about yourself yet, or has Leo been talking your ear off? Context is nice, but I swear, sometimes he can be the patron saint of exposition. Sometimes, when you're dealing with senshi things-- sometimes 'doing' is vastly more of an experience than just talking about it."
"Well," Kili began, violet eyes smiling, "Leo -has- been talking quite a bit, but -oh-, it was fun. I like stories a lot." She grinned. "Maybe my senshi-spirit-type is a storyteller. Then Leo and I can go nuts."
"At any rate, as far as I know, Leo hasn't figured out who I am yet." With a slightly embarassed smile, she added, "Maybe we have to experiment?" She looked at Leo and shrugged. "What should we do, Mister Guru?"
::I was thinking we might find a nice, quiet, secluded area. Amir, you remember that spot in the woods where you and Seraphiel used to spar sometimes?::
"Yeah," agreed Amir. "That would be a good spot-- and no one would bother us." He fished around in his discarded backpack until he found his car keys. "If you don't have any objections to sneaking off into the woods with an older guy--- shall we go, Miss Kilierra?" His eyes glinted with humor as he held out his hand with mock formality.
Kilierra gave a peal of laughter and stood up, beaming more brightly than ever. "I don't mind at all. For only having known you a total of about half an hour, I trust you that much." She looked to the cat. "And plus, who -doesn't- trust a talking cat?"
Grinning, Kili took Amir's arm and held out her own arm to Leo. "C'mere, Leo, climb onto my shoulder."
Half an hour later, the three had reached the wooded area. Amir noticed with a wry smile that the trees and bushes looked a lot healthier than they had the last time he had been in the area.
Seraphiel was nothing if not an enthusiastic fighter.
Amir found a nice, dry patch of grass for them to sit on, and he lowered himself to the ground, cross-legged, indicating for Kili to sit across from him.
"Should I go first?" he queried, glancing at Leo for direction. "You know, to give her an idea of how it goes?"
Leo shook his head. ::I'd like to try it without that, first. I want to see if she can draw on her own self without being confused by anything from you.::
It came out a little scrambled, but Amir seemed to understand was the cat meant; he nodded his agreement.
Leo twined his way around Kili. ::I want you to close your eyes and think. I want you to find your inner voice and see what it says. I want you to listen closely, and see what it tells you to do. What do you see in your mind? What do you hear that no one else hears? It's there. Can you find it?::
Kilierra sat, and folded her hands in her lap. She gulped and nodded to herself, then to the cat, determined to follow those instructions to the best of her ability.
She closed her eyes. Drawing in a deep breath, she clasped her hands together as though in prayer. *Tell me,* she thought, *Tell me who I am. What I am. Who am I? Who are -you-?*
Her breathing took a rhythm, and her heartbeat slowed. She concentrated on the sound of her heart, memorizing every beat, until finally it was the only thing she could hear. She swam through it now, through the heartbeat, listening carefully, and suddenly it was there.
-soldier high death darkness death scribe story second-
She concentrated further, attempting to decipher, descramble the mess of babbled words inside the heartbeat. *Tell me. Clarify?*
The words became a whisper.
-death spirit angel warrior high second and youngest-
She knew that whatever-it-was was trying to tell her without telling her; she tried a last time. *What is my name?*
It seemed to understand, though its words were still unclear to her.
-avatar of the prince of the divine face, the angel of the covenant, the voice of god-
She tried a last time. *Tell me my name.*
-i am metatron-
Kilierra suddenly seemed to regain consciousness, eyes snapping open to look onto Leo and Amir with her revelation. "I know who I am." Unclasping her hands to rest them on her knees again, she furrowed her brow in near-confusion. "I am... Metatron."
::Marvelous:: breathed Leo. ::You've done a good job. Now, there's just one more thing. Some senshi have a particular object that helps them transform. Others have a particular gesture. Most have a particular phrase. I could tell you what it usually is-- but I want you to close your eyes one more time, and look deep and hard. What does the voice in your head tell you that you need to do to unlock Metatron's power?::
"O-okay," she stammered, and closed her eyes a second time, finding the rhythm of her heartbeat and the mess of voices behind it and scrunching her face up tightly. *What do I need to do, to say? To use? How do I set my angel free?*
The voices took their time in unjumbling, but when they did it was quite clear.
-henna tattoo metatron archangelus power make up-
She opened her eyes in the same way she did before, but this time she was slow in doing so and smiled. "I think I've got it."
Lifting the left sleeve of her sweater, she looked at the inside of her arm and lifted it to show Amir and Leo. "Henna tattoo from a birthday party; it never really came off." Examining its feather shape closely, she smiled. "I guess this is it, huh?"
"Metatron, Senshi of Birthday Parties, maybe?" smiled Amir. "I think I'm sensing a theme here." The story of how Leo and Kili had met had been relayed to him on the drive up.
Leo gave him a disapproving look before turning his attention back to Kili. ::It very well may be:: he told the girl. ::Go on--- give it a try. Say the words that come to you. Do what feels natural. Don't worry... just let Metatron take over.::
Kilierra smiled a little and stood. "Birthday parties'd make for a really weird magic power, but I suppose it could work with a try." Grinning, she held her left arm above her head and, clearly, said, "Metatron Archangelus Power, Make Up!"
On instinct, or by command of some higher power, the girl clenched her fist; from within burst rays of bright golden light, followed by rays of silver and white. Kilierra had to close her eyes, but she had closed them anyway; she felt her clothes squished into her body as she was covered in golden molten light, brighter than she was willing to keep her eyes open for. And then it happened - 'it' being her body torn apart into tiny pieces, and flying around as small shards of wispy light.
The pain of being torn apart was brief yet terribly present, but soon Kilierra found herself being pieced together again, along with a new feeling of power and light. The molten light around this new form burst apart, church bells sounded, and she spun twice with a mystical wind as the parts of her costume flew onto their respective parts. Bodysuit, front then back, boots, gloves, a coat, jewelry, and she spun once more only to hit the ground. Church bells chimed again and Kilierra found herself able to see again.
Also completely different.
No longer quite the ten-year-old she once was, Metatron looked down at her new form. She was... older. Taller. The ground was further away - at least a foot further away. And she had a form. Hips and a chest, and it felt not only different but -right- for the creature she was. A small body like Kili's would never have been able to hold such magic as hers. She inhaled deeply through her nose and closed her eyes, feeling magic in her skin like electricity.
Blinking her huge violet eyes and smiling beautifully at Leo, then at Ariel, she said in a new, deep voice, "Magic powers are one thing... changing ages?" She shook her head. "Completely different issue." She spun lightly in her new body and grinned. "Leo, this is... this is wonderful. So beautiful." She felt fresh, revitalised, full of new life and vitality, as though her soul had been purified. "I feel so new - Metatron."
"Very nice," said Amir, nodding approvingly. "I've never seen the age thing happen before-- that's a first. Maybe there *is* a height requirement!"
He rose to his feet, placed his palms together, and made a salaam. Uttering the magical words, he underwent his own transformation. It was over in the briefest blink of a moment; a sparkling haze of silver and white, and there he was, the golden streamers on his Staff dancing in an unseen breeze, and his Arabian robes settling gently into place.
"At least you get a cool costume," he remarked to Metatron. "Some of us are stuck running around like smarmy desert-prince trick-or-treater's. Leo says it's probably got something to do with my heritage--" referring to his Saudi ancestry "--but I think it's just the spirit of Ariel having way too much fun with me." He grinned. "Still, it's better than what *some* of our honored opponents get to trot around in. I swear, I'm surprised they haven't died of cold or embarrassment before I met them."
Thoroughly impressed, Metatron beamed and applauded slightly. "At least you don't get torn apart and squished together again. I -felt- that," she said, and looked wryly at the sky. "And I like your costume a lot. At least it's relevant." She tugged at the hem of her see-through trenchcoat and made a face. "I don't see a single biblical reference in this outfit except for the flames."
She then grinned at the joke, feeling quite happy about her angel's own costume choice. She tugged at the collar of her skin-tight bodysuit and made a face. "Mmm, at least Metatron seems to have some idea of modesty, even if it -is- spandex. I don't know what I'd do if I were stuck in a skirt at this time of year."
Noting something, she reached down to pull off a boot and suddenly found herself three inches shorter on one side. She grimaced at the boot and lifted it to her eye. "Steel toes and spike heels?" She grinned at Ariel. "I'm starting to rethink that comment on modesty."
"It's still better than what some people end up with," Ariel replied easily. "Not to mention, it'll give you strong ankles and a good sense of balance. Fortunately, though, when you're in senshi form-- your senses, in a manner of speaking, are heightened, in a way. So I guess what I'm saying is no matter how good you are at running in those heels as Metatron, if you try it as Kilierra back home, you're liable to fall and hurt yourself."
::Speaking of which:: interjected Leo, ::Is your knee feeling any better as Metatron?::
"Oh," Metatron exclaimed, and laughed slightly. "I hadn't noticed - I guess it -is- feeling better." She blinked. "A -lot- better. As though it'd been healed at some point." She grinned slowly and fiddled with the strange chainmail hairpiece set over her bunned hair.
She turned to Ariel. "You're right. My entire awareness is really clear. It's like I can see anything." She lowered her voice and closed her eyes. "It's the most incredible feeling, isn't it?" She inhaled deeply. "The air seems cleaner. Everything seems a lot more -there-. Like... you," she said, turning toward Ariel. "Before I could only see you. But now I -sense- you and your magic." Smiled, opened indigo eyes, and stared at Leo. "And you, too. Before, you were just a cat. Now... you're this glowing spirit, this bright light. It's really... cool, to say the least," she finished, with a big grin.
Still smiling broadly, eyes glinting profusely with the new wisdom of awareness. “So, Leo,” she began, “what now?”
"You need to be careful," said Ariel. "When you're not transformed, all anyone else can sense is a vague feeling at most, or else absolutely nothing at all. But when you're transformed, any other transformed senshi in the area can spot you as easily as you can feel them---"
But Leo was not about to surrender the position of Guardian and Advisor so easily. He ruffled his fur rather irately, and drew himself up to his full height (not much of an effect, especially in the presence of Metatron rather than Kilierra). Flicking his tail ever-so-softly, he interrupted. ::So you can feel the power. That's good. It's one way to judge the strength of your opponent, though not necessarily foolproof. Just because a senshi *has* excessive amounts of power doesn't mean they're capable of controlling it, or tapping into it. Still, it's good to be attuned to your opponent if the case ever arises. Never get into more than you can handle, especially if you're alone.::
For the first time, Ariel looked rather serious. "And even if you do have someone with you, it won't guarantee anything," he said quietly, more to himself than to Metatron.
Leo's tail paused in its flicking, and his voice was much kinder as he continued. ::We need to get you used to working with what you've got. Your instincts will guide you, but there's nothing like training and practice to help hone your instincts into something much more powerful. You have an ability. All senshi have abilities. Where do yours lie? And how do you access that ability? How does it channel--through you-- and become real?::
Metatron gulped something down and gave a look of worry. "Well," she began, "I'd best not fool around with my transforming, then. Wouldn't want to end up with Meta-roadkill too early on in the game..." She beamed lightly, and raised her eyebrows in slight jest. "Seriously, though... I'll try to be as wise as possible with what I know. And what I'm going to know later," she continued, "I'm not going to dive forward into finding."
She found that she didn't have to delve around to find her powers quite so much as she had when she was simply Kilierra. The answer was floating around her, the whispers almost tangled in her hair. "I... well..." she said, and paused. "It's difficult to put into to words. The best word for it would be death, but that seems too... well, not calming enough..." She sighed. "My kind of death is a more gentle one. The sort of death that you know is coming to you. I don't kill to kill, but to liberate and to do justice." Grimacing slightly, she tried again, squinting thoughtfully this time and making pauses between words. "Spirits. I can... crack open the gates to Hell slightly and... rain guilt on those who refuse to repent... er...well, something like that."
She breathed deeply, thinking on this. "Channels... it's just -there-. Present inside. It's ... indescribable. I can feel it everywhere, like a nimbus... floating-like all around and through..." She grimaced. "Oh, Leo... I just... I can't -say- it. It's hard." She rubbed her right temple with a finger and sighed profoundly.
Ariel had moved a short distance away, but now turned and faced her.
"Don't try to say it. Try and do it," said Ariel, his voice steady and serious. He struck the staff on the ground as though to anchor himself to the spot. The golden streamers swayed with the movement, glittering in the afternoon sun. And though it may have been an illusion or a trick of the light, the air suddenly seemed to grow somewhat hazy. The normal woods-noises of birds and insects, which had been quietly buzzing and chirruping in the background, grew silent, as though countless unseen creatures knew with their animal sense that something was about to happen.
"Go ahead. Attack me."
Metatron looked briefly scared, not wanting to hurt or get hurt, but set her jaw and decided that it would be best if she went along. Clenching her jaw, she breathed in deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, and in and out again, then closed her eyes and drew in another breath. With the breath came the magic, and suddenly it was in the base of her chest, sparkling brightly like a little fire. And from that she drew a bright tendril, wove it around in her mind as a spider, and the web extended to her entire person. It told her that she should employ one power and not the other - simply because, though they were both powerful, the other had power to kill.
She dropped to her right knee, hands folded, and, after brief thought, threw her arms toward the sky. "Death Sigil," she whispered, barely conscious of the words.
Silence for a bare moment, and her eyes flicked open, blazing with a fire; she suddenly lunged forward to press gloved hands against the ground at Ariel's feet. For a brief moment, a glowing orange pair of joined wings appeared on the ground, but she swung away from it, executing a graceful backward jump-flip to get away from it as quickly and as deftly as possible.
A voice in her head told her of the glowing wings' nature, and suddenly she was overcome again with an intense fear. Biting her lip, Metatron was determined not to give in, reminding herself of the battle - simply a practice, a sparring match, nothing more. If Ariel could potentially be hurt, Leo would know, and as of yet the cat guardian had made no attempt to stop her. She grimaced, but held her ground, not planning on giving up quite yet - after all, he hadn't even made his first counter-attack yet.
If Ariel was unnerved by her readiness to use him for target practice, he didn't let it show. After all, he *had* told her to. Rather, he spent his efforts concentrating on the unknown powers that were being explored. In this respect, Metatron became just like the other unknown quantities he had faced in the past-- an opponent with hidden powers not to underestimate.
The tough part was to both let down his own natural defenses enough to give her some idea of the effects of her own powers in action; and to keep from retaliating. Eventually, she would have to be shown what it was like to be hit with a magical attack. In her senshi form, she probably had an inkling of what it was like being on either side of an attack. But this was not the time for that.
The glowing orange wings, in the meantime, had sunk into the ground and vanished completely. Ariel eyed around warily for a few moments, waiting for lasers to start shooting up out of gopher-holes, or perhaps trees to start wading through the dirt to reach out at him with their clawed branches. But nothing happened.
He highly doubted the attack had been a dud, and knew he'd hate himself in the morning-- but it was all in the name of research, right? He shot Metatron a feeble grin and took a few steps closer. Maybe it was a time-delay. Or maybe the second stage would trigger when he got within a certain distance of her. Or maybe if he crossed an invisible line somewhere, it would go off--- fights were usually much more mobile.
The different theories flickered through his head, one after the other. His foot landed squarely on the spot where the orange wings had disappeared, and suddenly, there was no room for thought.
Just reaction.
An enormous explosion of light and energy filled his field of vision and jolted him off his feet. Ariel staggered backwards several paces, whipping around his staff. There was a nearby gully, half-full from recent autumn rains; however, he had ventured too far away to call upon it as a water source.
That was when the first missile hit-- and then the second-- and then the third. He let out a wordless exclamation as the energy missiles found their target, leaving him with itching burns deep beneath his skin.
Metatron gasped, mostly, if not completely unaware of the effects the missles would have had, and was left agape by the bright beauty of the explosions. Then again, as they were her own missiles, it was only natural that she find them pretty to some degree, and she was quite aware of the trouble they had caused when she saw Ariel down in action. Thoughts blurred through her head like marathon runners, barely pausing long enough for her to read them because of others behind them. Unable to grasp one long enough, she rushed forward and began babbling incoherently.
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't mean it I had no idea they'd do that well that's a lie but that's okay oh are you hurt? You look pretty crispy on the edges, maybe I should have set them on 'golden brown' - I really hate having to attack you, it's just not right, I'm not made to fight and geez, you look like you could use some ointment does it itch at all do you need medical attention? Oi, I'm still sorry I never meant to hurt you it's just you told me to and I didn't really want to so... so... so..."
She breathed deeply twice, three times, in through the nose and out through the mouth. "...I'm still a little kid, aren't I..." She scratched at the back of her ear, feeling the cartilage tingle with magic, and blinked wide eyes at Ariel. "I suppose it's your turn, if you're not too singed..." Making a face of uncertainty, she stepped back to her place at the side of the field and reminded herself not to make senshi battle a regular thing.
Ariel winced with pain, but managed a weak grin at her. "It wouldn't do us much good if all I did was block and dodge, right? It's important to see the effects of what you can do. Believe me, I don't normally go walking headfirst into people's attacks. It's not healthy."
He grimaced as he rose to his feet, brushing the dirt from his robes and trying hard to ignore the pain. It was still uncomfortably present, gnawing beneath his skin, although not quite as bad as the shock of getting hit. He did his best to keep his voice even and added, "I'll be OK. Right now, we want to work with what you've got. Everyone usually has access to two or three powers instinctively. Their skills can grow as they become more experienced. I want you to be able to fire off a few shots, see what it's like, how it works in a controlled setting. Then, we can work on how you go about reacting defensively. So--- what else do you have?"
Metatron scuffed at the ground at her feet with her toe and turned lightly red. "I... that doesn't sound to me to be such a good idea. Um..." She scratched the back of her head. "The other power..." She sighed loudly, adjusting her trenchcoat's lacing with slight embarrassment. "I suppose I could try toning it down. I honestly don't want to hurt you, Ariel, and-" she stopped. No use in arguing. This was only practice - but still, she was quite capable of hurting, and to abuse her powers to any extent simply struck her as wrong. Unpleasant as it seemed, she knew Ariel's purpose in allowing her to employ him as a target was only to hone her powers; she regarded that as extremely brave, if anything, and was not going to view it ungratefully.
She walked up to him slowly and pulled off her leather gloves, hooking them into a loop in her coat; breathing deeply, she gently put her fingers to his cheeks and whispered, "Til Death do you part..." Inhaling through her nose, feeling the tremors of the screams beginning to shake her body, she finished. "...you shall hear the voices of the damned." She stepped back, the voices wisping around her like a cyclone, the shock of the energy required hitting her like a cannonball in the stomach. Gulping down what nervousness she could, she stared at Ariel closely and burst out, "Dire Requiem!"
A hazy overcast covered the battlefield, the darkness falling like a gentle veil of dust. Whispers surrounded Metatron, became part of the air; she could feel them as she breathed, stinging at her nostrils with their rough edges. They quickly turned to speaking voices, telling her things she was loath to hear - and then they began to yell dizzily, yelling and screaming and tearing at her with agonizing volume, crying and sobbing, wracking her soul. Tears stung at her eyes like sparks, and though the nightmare in the air around her made her want to keep her eyes open, so that she might not experience it as a vision as well, she shut them tight, refusing to give in to the total agony.
Ariel's mind was in a far-off hazy fog, as though disattached from his body. The ordeal reminded him of something that had happened his first year at the University. He had gone to the computer lab one morning, and the weather had been perfect. Cool, breezy, slightly overcast. When he had emerged five hours later, however, it was as though a hurricane had magically conjured itself onto the campus. He had no coat, no umbrella, nothing that would protect him from the furiously gusting wind, or the sheeting, icy rain. He had a quarter-mile to walk between the lab and his dormitory; after dithering for about five minutes, he finally reasoned that it was only water, and he wasn't going to let such a triviality interfere with where he wished to be. The first half-minute, unprotected in the midst of the deluge, was torment. But he quickly reached his saturation point- he could get no colder, no wetter, no more miserable. And once that invisible boundary had been crossed, he found that he didn't care. He could splash in puddles-- it wasn't going to make him any more wet. He could saunter-- was getting home two minutes faster really worth the exertion of hurrying?
He wasn't quite sure why that analogy popped into his head. He hadn't thought of that day in ages. Still, bruised and achy and itching from the last attack, this fresh assault on his senses ratcheted the pain level up a notch-- up another notch-- and more-- until pppfffffttt. Suddenly, the pain was there-- undeniably, uncomfortably present-- but instead of resisting it, fighting it, he found himself accepting it, and letting it wash over him and envelope him.
It was an odd thing, especially for one who was always more for talking his way out of a fight than actively running into one.
His vision swam and his eardrums were ready to implode from the agonized cries. Ariel waded through the pain and chaos towards where Metatron stood. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, perhaps more forcefully than he intended, as all of his senses were quite befuddled by now. He wanted her to open her eyes and look at him.
"NEVER CLOSE YOUR EYES DURING A FIGHT!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs, in an effort to be heard above the din which only existed in their heads
Metatron, as though in a slow-motion mode, stared blankly at Ariel as though lacking in understanding. The pain and the voices, all making the air thick with their pressure, made it like trying to swim futilely through milk - could barely see, barely move, and, in her slowness, barely react. They beat down on her lungs like water in a chlorinated pool. Dragging her eyes open, finding herself halfblinded by a layer of orange glow she would, at that moment, have strangled to get rid of, she stared pleadingly at Ariel, as though he could make it stop. Grabbing the wrist attached to the tightening hand, as though the wrist itself could make the entire thing stop as well, she yelled, "I'LL TRY NOT TO!"
At this point, the entire mindswimming ordeal was just too much to work with sanely anymore, largely for its caster, and with all her humanity she wished it all would just... stop.
And, to her total, insane pleasure, it did.
She stared at Ariel briefly, agape, reminded herself that she shouldn't yell and, putting a shaky hand on his shoulder to check if he was in some state of 'going to be okay', she croaked, "Are you...alright, Ariel?"
The shift to sudden silence was almost as deafening as the attack had been. It took Ariel a few moments to realize that it had truly stopped; he relaxed slightly, and noticing he still had a death-grip on her wrist, he quickly let her go.
He gave her an awkward smile and dropped to the ground, sprawling on the grass, his fingers locked behind his head as an impromptu pillow. Leo crossed over to where the two were, and curled up gently at his side.
::I think he needs a little bit to pull himself back together:: said Leo cheerfully. He was pleased; he rarely got the chance to see his protege in action, given the tendencies of that particular protégé.
"I'm fine," Ariel reassured her, stifling a weary yawn that somehow managed to break through his puffing breaths. The ordeal had been more taxing than he had expected, but was pleased with the way it had gone. "It's not something I'd want to do every day-- but I hope you got something out of it. I noticed that last pass really seemed to affect you-- do you want to continue on to lesson 2, or would you prefer to save it for another day?"
Relieved and exhausted, Metatron dropped as well, though into a position of sitting with her legs crossed. She breathed deeply, trying to get some energy back, but found that it was impossible - senshi energy could only be so replenished by relaxing, she decided, and found that maybe relaxing in senshi form was only really making it worse. Sighing in lax determination, she bent her head to smile at Ariel, and said, "Let me know if you need anything for the bruises. I'm sure my sister has something." She rolled her eyes inwardly in reminded irritation and rolled wearily at the tawny cat.
"It was lovely seeing you again as Metatron, Leo, even though you're a cat now and all. I think we'll have to cancel Lesson Two for now, though," she said, and half-closed her eyes. "I think it's more time to relaaax than anything else. I'm absolutely bushed," she said, and lay down in a little heap on her side, a small smile on her face.
Ariel brushed aside the offer with a lazy hand, still comfortably on his back and staring at the clouds. "One of my powers happens to be healing. I'm better at doing it on others than I am on myself-- speaking of which, you might want to de-henshin first--- go back to normal, I mean--- and I can do something for that knee of yours."
Metatron chuckled and rolled onto her side to look at Ariel briefly, then patted Leo's head with a tiredly stretched arm and said, "That, I will do. Keeping the Metatron gig up for too long will get tiring."
Smiling lightly, she closed her eyes and inhaled, hooked her magic to the breath and exhaled, the transformation leaving with the breath in a gentle dissolution of silver and gold ribbons of light. Suddenly she was Kilierra again, and most gladly.
The girl-again yawned, the world blurring dreamily in front of her, and she closed her big purple eyes. "Thanks, Ariel. It's this one," she muttered, and patted her left knee absently.
He placed his hands gently on her knee, murmuring, "Angelic Cure!" A small ball of brilliant light materialized over his fingers, and gradually allowed itself to be absorbed into the knee. A flood of warmth tingled through her leg, and the pain disappeared as the magic mended the injury.
Such a minor injury took little time to repair and the process was soon completed. Ariel rose to his feet--- but it was Amir who offered his hand to help Kilierra stand.
"I look forward to being able to introduce you to the others," he said happily, leading her to the waiting car to give her a ride to her home. "You have so much potential! Welcome to the Angelus---Metatron."