Blackheart

.VI.

We were probably on the twenty-third store when I began to groan and complain. There was no way I could keep up with Calypso’s crazy shopping spree. Her speed was terrifying, especially since she was carrying at least twenty bags in each hand. Midnight, though he was in his wolf form, also had many complaints. He and I complained until we broke and gave up.

“Yo, Cal,” he said through our three-way mind-link, “I’m going to take Ororo and head to the café. You can continue your crazed shopping spree.” She turned back to her brother and rolled her eyes.

“Fine. But just keep close to her, ‘kay Mid.” At that, we took the elevator to the second floor and walked into the Café Luna Fang. I was glad for the save and all too happy to sit and give my feet a rest. As I sipped on the hot chocolate that I had ordered, I heard a faint voice calling me. I didn’t look around as the only people in the café were Midnight, who was sleeping at my feet, a mother, and her daughter.

“Uh, Ivory?” I called. There was no answer, only a soft snoring sound. A faint laugh sounded in my head, followed by the same voice again.

“Hello, little Strelitzia,” it said. I inhaled deeply to ensure that I remained composed.

“And who might you be?” I asked it.

“Who are we, you mean?” Its response had me puzzled; what did it mean by ‘we’? As I pondered this, it answered my question.

“To put it into simple terms, we are you. I am your fae or Phoenix. The voice you heard earlier was my other half, a fox named Luna.” All that came to mind was ‘Huh?’. As we kept talking, the phoenix, whose name I learned was Nyx, kept telling me about her existence, how I had vampire blood in my veins, and that what would usually harm a wolf couldn’t harm me.

"I have a question for you, Strelitzia," she said.

"Ok, ask away," I responded.

"Why do you refer to your Lycan as 'Ivory' when that isn't her name?" I took a rather long pause to digest what she had just said.

"What do you mean that isn't her name? When she emerged, she never gave a name, so I just called her that."

"Oh...well, her name is Eris. And what do you mean by 'when she emerged'?" Nyx said, "Darling, you're not a common wolf, you do know that, right? Eris has been with you since before..." She just trailed off for a minute and changed the subject back to what we were discussing before. She told me how she came to be. When Eris wakes up and begins growling, suddenly, I am alert to the presence of a Lycan. As I look up from my book, the flash of a camera catches my eye, and Midnight suddenly moves, jumping over the table and out the door toward the Lycan. As soon as he is out of sight, Calypso is at my side. It seemed that Midnight had noticed him before I did and had alerted her. As I sink back down into my seat, Midnight comes back, sinking back down at my feet, and I rub behind his ear.

“He got away,” he said through our mind-link. Calypso and I nodded as she ordered us food.

“Oeuf et pain grille et une tasse de jus de pomme,” she said, “I ordered egg roll, toast, and apple juice if that’s okay with you.” I simply nodded as Nyx continued to talk, describing what she looked like, what silver looked like, and what they looked like fused. We ate and began packing up to leave as I had spotted two more Lycans entering the mall, presumably in search of me. As we walked out the door, I caught a familiar scent on the passing breeze, a scent I never thought to smell again: Cato. I spun around, my eyes darting around for him. But he was gone. I looked down at the floor, fighting the tears that stung my eyes.

“Hey, Ororo, you OK?” Calypso asked, coming up to my side.

“Yeah, just- just thought I smelt my twin brother,” I replied, turning and sadly walking to the car, leaving her behind. As I thought through the events of today, I had not realized I had fallen asleep.

My eyes shot open as I had yet another nightmare about the death of my family and the red hateful eyes that were burned into my mind’s eye. My body was trembling, my breath coming out in gasps as I struggled to breathe. As I slowed my racing heart and steadied my ragged breathing, I picked up my phone, which Atto had gifted me the previous day, as the one from Tonia was lost when I tried escaping, and dialed Calypso’s number.

“Hey, Cal.” I said as she answered, “Can you meet me by the large dark oak tree with the swing at the border? I want to train.”

“Hey, Or. And you for real about this?”

“Yes. I’m tired of not being strong enough. The pack, not believing I can't talk, is one thing, but being like a helpless child is too much.” I had minimal battle practice, but I was an excellent dancer and incredibly light on my feet.

“Sure. See you in five.” I got up and changed into my workout outfit. Walking out onto the balcony, I climbed onto the ledge and jumped five feet to the nearest tree. Looking down at the night guard, I thought to myself that I had to speak to Atto about their lack of aerial sense, or not, as I didn't want anyone stopping my eventual escape. As I continued traveling through the treetops to the border, where I waited for Calypso. I trained there until dawn. As the sun peeked at us from the horizon, I taught Calypso how to tree travel to avoid the guard as we went back to the pack house. We continued this for three months; Calypso was training me, and me teaching Calypso what I had learned from reading mixed martial arts and judo books, as well as what I saw on TV after having perfected them myself. I slid down into the warm water of the tub, closing my eyes and enjoying my muscles relaxing. I closed my eyes, falling into an ‘okay’ slumber.

Dream

I was running through the forest and stopped at a cliff edge with a one-hundred-foot drop with a shallow body of water below. Out of the tree thicket came Zaria, her brother, and her sister. And next to her, the man with the eyes of the wolf that had murdered my family. Zaria and her siblings attacked first, but I killed them all except Rebecca. I kicked Zachary’s body over the cliff and turned to the man as he held onto a man’s lifeless body. I snapped out of the dream, shallow breaths escaping my lips. I climbed out of the tub and drained the water from it, leaving behind that cold feeling, and climbed into bed.