Aurelia
I never had a chance to be soft
I was always bloody knuckles and shards of glass
I was always bloody knuckles and shards of glass
Aurelia's boots kicked through the sand as she jogged along. The sun set on a warm and sunny afternoon, turning the sky and the ocean beautiful shades of magenta. The wind in her face pelted away the sweat built up there from a day spent in the heat. She came to a stop, her breath ragged and heavy through her nostrils. Aurelia still wasn't quite back to the physical abilities she was used to. Turning, she found a nearby palm tree and sat down against it. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and rested her head back. She just needed a few minutes...
The world was dark and dank again. The rhythm of distant machines, the clamor of people, the growl of passing vehicles, it all flooded her senses. The smell of fuel filled the gray air. Aurelia glanced down at herself, dressed in the cloak she always wore when she was a child. Her hands were small, unscarred, yet to be calloused by a life of hard work...
"You shouldn't be here right now, this is too public," it was the low, angry voice of her father - something she didn't remember hearing often, so it stuck out to her - "I'm with my daughter, for god's sake! I told them I didn't want my family to see or hear anything-"
Aurelia peered her small face around the corner into the shadowy alley, where she saw the back of her father's head as he towered before a smaller, hooded figure. She could barely make out the rugged lines of the stranger's face; he was cloaked in shadows that were unnatural. His bright blue gaze flickered across her and she shrank back a little.
"It couldn't wait, Silas," the man said, addressing her father by his name. His rumbling voice was almost too quiet to hear but everything around Aurelia seemed to fade away, heightening her ability to focus on the conversation. "the council sent me for you. One of our own has been apprehended and things have gotten out of hand. They're worried. The Order might be compromised..."
The next exchange was too brief to process as everything moved quickly after that. The dark man disappeared in a blast of black shadows. One moment there, gone without a trace the next. Suddenly, Silas turned around and ushered her away, "Come on, Aurelia, we have to go home. Now."
Green eyes blinked open in bewilderment. "The hell?" she muttered, looking around. The sun was still in the sky, although lower than before, but... the air was different. Something didn't feel right.
There was a whisper of presence across the beach and her eyes flashed up to see a pair of small, scared eyes staring back at her. The child before her was wearing a light brown cloak that swam around her ankles and buttoned at her chest. It was hers, she realized, from all those years ago; from the strange dream she just had. She hazily remembered passing it down to her younger sister.
"Hey," she moved to stand up but a rush of blood to her head made her vision blur for a moment. She lifted her hand up to cup her face but, she recoiled when she saw that it was covered in slick, bright red blood. The girl turned and ran into a tunnel, the entrance of which Aurelia had not noticed before. "Hey! Wait!" She called after the kid. Another look at her hand and the blood had disappeared. "What!?"
Running after the girl, Aurelia ducked into the tunnel. The path was narrow and steep, too steep. Her foot slipped right out from under her before she could step back. A shocked yell escaped her lips involuntarily as she slid into the depths of the tunnel. She came to a skidding stop at the bottom of the tunnel, pressing her boots into the malleable soil to keep herself from kareening forward.
A cloud of dust billowed out around her, making her cough a few times to clear her throat. Narrowing her eyes against it, she made out an intricate system of tunnels all around her. Narrow and wide passages that seemed to lead in all directions. Faint light spilled into isolated patches on the sand from holes in the ceiling. Standing up, she looked back the way she came to see if it was possible to climb back out.
Before she could make a real assessment, however, the soft beat of feet against the sand caught her attention. Whirling around, she spotted that brown cloak disappear around a corner. "Hey, come back!" she called after it, stepping forward. The silence that followed was deafening. She could only hear the shallow breaths coming from her own lips. "Damn it!" she snapped and proceeded to follow the direction the girl had disappeared in. Her steps were quick and light, rounding the corner.
She spent several minutes like that, just barely unable to catch the girl. She got close several times, only for her to continue to slip away into another tunnel, another rocky corridor. She looked so familiar. Something tugged at Aurelia to follow her but, as she paused to catch her breath and looked around, there was a lurch in her gut. "Shit!" she seethed to herself, placing her hand on a nearby wall. "How did I get so far in?"
The world was dark and dank again. The rhythm of distant machines, the clamor of people, the growl of passing vehicles, it all flooded her senses. The smell of fuel filled the gray air. Aurelia glanced down at herself, dressed in the cloak she always wore when she was a child. Her hands were small, unscarred, yet to be calloused by a life of hard work...
"You shouldn't be here right now, this is too public," it was the low, angry voice of her father - something she didn't remember hearing often, so it stuck out to her - "I'm with my daughter, for god's sake! I told them I didn't want my family to see or hear anything-"
Aurelia peered her small face around the corner into the shadowy alley, where she saw the back of her father's head as he towered before a smaller, hooded figure. She could barely make out the rugged lines of the stranger's face; he was cloaked in shadows that were unnatural. His bright blue gaze flickered across her and she shrank back a little.
"It couldn't wait, Silas," the man said, addressing her father by his name. His rumbling voice was almost too quiet to hear but everything around Aurelia seemed to fade away, heightening her ability to focus on the conversation. "the council sent me for you. One of our own has been apprehended and things have gotten out of hand. They're worried. The Order might be compromised..."
The next exchange was too brief to process as everything moved quickly after that. The dark man disappeared in a blast of black shadows. One moment there, gone without a trace the next. Suddenly, Silas turned around and ushered her away, "Come on, Aurelia, we have to go home. Now."
Green eyes blinked open in bewilderment. "The hell?" she muttered, looking around. The sun was still in the sky, although lower than before, but... the air was different. Something didn't feel right.
There was a whisper of presence across the beach and her eyes flashed up to see a pair of small, scared eyes staring back at her. The child before her was wearing a light brown cloak that swam around her ankles and buttoned at her chest. It was hers, she realized, from all those years ago; from the strange dream she just had. She hazily remembered passing it down to her younger sister.
"Hey," she moved to stand up but a rush of blood to her head made her vision blur for a moment. She lifted her hand up to cup her face but, she recoiled when she saw that it was covered in slick, bright red blood. The girl turned and ran into a tunnel, the entrance of which Aurelia had not noticed before. "Hey! Wait!" She called after the kid. Another look at her hand and the blood had disappeared. "What!?"
Running after the girl, Aurelia ducked into the tunnel. The path was narrow and steep, too steep. Her foot slipped right out from under her before she could step back. A shocked yell escaped her lips involuntarily as she slid into the depths of the tunnel. She came to a skidding stop at the bottom of the tunnel, pressing her boots into the malleable soil to keep herself from kareening forward.
A cloud of dust billowed out around her, making her cough a few times to clear her throat. Narrowing her eyes against it, she made out an intricate system of tunnels all around her. Narrow and wide passages that seemed to lead in all directions. Faint light spilled into isolated patches on the sand from holes in the ceiling. Standing up, she looked back the way she came to see if it was possible to climb back out.
Before she could make a real assessment, however, the soft beat of feet against the sand caught her attention. Whirling around, she spotted that brown cloak disappear around a corner. "Hey, come back!" she called after it, stepping forward. The silence that followed was deafening. She could only hear the shallow breaths coming from her own lips. "Damn it!" she snapped and proceeded to follow the direction the girl had disappeared in. Her steps were quick and light, rounding the corner.
She spent several minutes like that, just barely unable to catch the girl. She got close several times, only for her to continue to slip away into another tunnel, another rocky corridor. She looked so familiar. Something tugged at Aurelia to follow her but, as she paused to catch her breath and looked around, there was a lurch in her gut. "Shit!" she seethed to herself, placing her hand on a nearby wall. "How did I get so far in?"
I wanted people to be afraid of hurting me
