25OMG SO SO SORRY FOR UPDATING SO LATE. AND THAT IT'S SO LONG. PLEASE ENJOY AND REVIEW LITTLE JELLYFISHES :3
Chapter 15
Dancer in the Dark
We stared a while at each other. The tiger was truly beautiful, silky fur blindingly white like snow, blue eyes icy and large, distinctly feline. Her gleaming fangs were impressive, and looked like they could tear me to shreds within seconds.
She, on the other hand, probably wasn't impressed with me.
But, still, I owed her my life. At least, I thought it was a her. I really can't tell, because I don't have any experience telling apart genders in tigers. But she seemed feminine, and her voice carried a quality that told me she was a girl.
She swished her tail. "So… are you adjusted yet? I know it's weird, but the sooner you can accept it, the sooner we can move on."
"What?" I choked out, still stunned. She rolled her eyes. (Tigers can do that?)
"Look, I know that most humans aren't accustomed to this. Only students that have been at the academy for a month or longer know about us. But I don't really think it makes a difference, since you're supposed to find out tomorrow, anyways." She "explained". Except it didn't really explain anything, so I didn't see what the point was.
"What?" I asked again, this time out of confusion. My voice cracked slightly, and she rolled her eyes again, lashing out and bumping me on the head with her paw. It was heavy, but soft, and I found that it didn't hurt all that much. She was probably just holding back, though.
"Never mind. I'd just confuse you more. But what you need to know now is that I'm a tiger. I can talk. And you can learn from me. Come on," she nudged my leg with her nose, then turned and started walking into the forest at the bottom of the cliff, before turning around and adding, "Oh yeah, and I forgot. I'm your partner, Faline. I guess you weren't supposed to know that until Assessment day, but oh well."
She kept walking, her white fur standing out against the night sky. I got up shakily, finding that I was dizzy and bruised. But I followed her anyways, curiosity winning out. I had to be crazy, since following a talking tiger that saved you from falling off a cliff into the dark woods at night alone probably wasn't best idea, but I figured that if I was crazy, I might as well embrace it.
Or maybe I'm just dead. I thought wearily, dragging myself through the dirt after the graceful tiger.
"Hurry it up, or I'll make you." Faline drawled, flashing her sharp claws. Gosh, this tiger was violent. I grimaced. It was actually kind of funny. I felt the strange urge to laugh.
I've officially snapped.
But whatever. What did Faline want to show me anyways? She kept walking, and I kept following, until we reached a little grass clearing in the woods. The moon shone brightly down, illuminating the meadow. I hadn't noticed before, since I was too busy falling off a cliff (I still can't get over that) but it had stopped raining. The clouds had cleared and were receding across the horizon, and the moon hung proud and large in the sky.
Faline swept the tail with her grass before sitting down, assuming a standard sitting pose with an expression almost like patience dusted across her feline features.
"I live at Silver Sword, too. In the animal quarters. But since I was chosen to be your partner, I was told certain things about you. Not everything, but I know your name, your elements, and that you currently retain possession of the legendary dagger."
Even her voice sounded patient in a slow, draggy way. She obviously thought I was stupid. But why?
"I was also told that you couldn't use your tiger element."
Oh. That's why. I supposed it made sense, but it was unfair of her to judge me that way.
"Excuse me?" I said indignantly. "Being a tiger is easy for you, because you are one, but I happen to be very human! I can't just go 'poof' and go all tiger-mode. It's not that easy for me, okay? So cut me some slack and say what you want to."
The tiger looked at me with something akin to surprise in her eyes. She probably hadn't expected me to talk back to her. Then her tiger smile reappeared.
"Fine, then. I'll help." Her voice had lost that fake, you're-such-a-moron quality. I relaxed slightly, sitting down cross-legged in the surprisingly soft grass. The meadow was actually very pretty, with small white-blue flowers dotting some of the stalks.
Faline got up as I sat down, padding over to me and behind me, curling around my body. I tensed slightly, but she just meowed.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. But you have to listen to my instructions, or else you probably won't understand how to bond to your tiger element."
She drew her tail across my eyelids, shutting them. I could still feel her icy blue gaze burning across my face, though. She hummed softly in my ear, her whiskers twitching across my skin.
"Tigers are majestic, powerful, and mysterious. We get what we want, but we are still noble creatures. That being said, we are still cats. We can be cunning and swift when we want." She murmured. I could feel her muscles tensing and moving around me as she switched positions and paced around me.
I could tell she was no longer behind me. Instead, I realized that my senses had gone into cat mode, and I could sense her in front of me. Her tail left my eyes, but I kept them closed. I had a feeling I could understand better this way.
"Listen carefully. Imagine my words as I speak them. Let's start with cats, since you're already in that mode." Faline stayed still in front of my, and my heightened senses heard her deep, even breathing.
"Cats are cunning, silent as night. They hear much, shrouded in darkness. They need not see as well. Lazy in the daytime, cats do not fear light, but they do not embrace it. But at night, cats are small, silent predators.
You can smell, feel, and hear many things as a cat. Listen carefully now, and allow yourself to feel yourself as a cat."
An owl hooted, in the distance. Faline's tail swept the long grass. The grass itself waved in the slight breeze. My sensitive ears twitched, feeling the gust of wind. The position my ears moved in then enabled me to hear the quiet chirping of crickets. The crickets directed my attention to the root of a tree, where a mouse was scurrying to and fro.
My eyes snapped open. Instinct was telling me that if I were a real cat, I would've hunted that mouse.
Faline smiled. "It seems you understand. Cats follow their senses, and it eventually leads them to their prey. This represents your ability to stand alone and be strong. Wolves are different. They are not independent like the cat, but rather, belong to a pack as a family. Switch to wolf."
Swish. My thick, silver-gray wolf tail waved slightly, and my wolf ears twitched. I yawned, feeling my teeth in my mouth with my tongue. A sharp canine set on either side of my mouth.
I felt the urge to run, swift and straight, like I always did in this mode. My legs felt strong and lean, and I almost got up, wanting to give into the desire to run a thousand miles. I usually didn't have this problem, since whenever I went into wolf mode I was moving anyways.
But I felt something missing. I was alone, and it wasn't right. Where was the rest of my pack? Lilian, Caleb, Celeste, Duke, and maybe even Cassidy. Sure, she was snobby, but she was okay sometimes. I had become close to these people, and they meant a lot to me.
Faline yawned, teeth gleaming in the moonlight. "Good. This represents your ability to care for others and work well in a team. But when you combine teamwork with independence, the two opposites form something truly unique."
"A leader is born."
And she attacked.
I instinctively jumped back, growling. I quickly glanced around, taking in my surroundings and wondering what I could use to defend myself as Faline pounced again. Had she been trying to hurt me all along? Had she brought me here to kill me? Is this what the spirits in the dagger meant, about people making me a target because of the dagger?
Shoot. I gritted my teeth as one of her paws caught my chest, leaving me breathless. I scrambled away, switching to cat and scrambling up a tree, panting.
Faline paced down in the clearing. "Coward." She called, snarling. I spat at her.
Ugh. That word again. I leapt straight off the tree, landing lightly on my feet before switching to wolf and skirting around the clearing to surprise Faline from behind.
But the tiger was too fast. Her tail wrapped around my ankle, yanking me down before I could respond. And then I saw her leap, ready to crush me with her massive weight and tear me to pieces with her razor sharp claws.
"Stop!" I roared, and I felt something new bubble up inside of me. Like fire spreading through my veins, the feelings shivered and crawled through my skin, lighting up my entire body as if a dark city and just been lit with a thousand lights. Everything was clear and fast and unpredictable and I felt as though I was on top of the world. Before I knew what I was doing, I shot a leg out and kicked Faline's stomach, sending her flying.
I leapt back onto my feet, aggressively taking a fighting stance Caleb had taught us in class, the feeling still ablaze. Every small detail was analyzed, everything taken into perspective.
Faline got up, grunting. And then she sat down, and began licking her paw.
I stood up straight, confused. "What are you doing?" I asked warily, not letting down my guard. She yawned lazily.
"Check yourself out, Lacy."
I wondered briefly if she was trying to trick me into looking around, but curiosity eventually won out. I twisted around, freezing when I caught a glimpse of my tail.
A furry, white and black striped tail protruded from me. It was strong and wiry, longer than I had expected. My hands flew up to my head, where I felt ears on top. They weren't the pointed ears of a cat or a wolf's, but small and rounded. I felt my face, touching my eyelids briefly.
"Your eyes are this sort of ice blue, in case you were wondering. Like mine." Faline informed me, working on her other paw with her huge pink tongue.
"I…I did it?" I stuttered, the words coming out like a question. My mind was still processing my transformation.
Faline nodded, a tiger smile on her muzzle. "Yeah, you did. You unlocked your tiger consciousness."
Something clicked inside my brain. "Wait, then where's my item? The one that lets me connect more easily to my consciousness?" I asked, patting myself to make sure I didn't miss any new item that might've appeared.
Faline stood on all fours, walking towards me and nuzzling my leg. "Your item's right here. I'm your partner, Lacy, and I'll be able to help you if you have trouble with your tiger consciousness. You and I, we're alike."
"After all, we're both dancers in the dark."
"Ouch." I winced as I tripped on a rock. I rounded the last few steps up the winding cliff, feet weary from padding along the arduous path that embraced the side of the cliff. It had taken such a long time, too.
"Lacy!" I heard shouts along the edge of the cliff, and I almost shouted back, until I realized that nobody had seen me come up the side.
The two sides were evidently taking a break, a screen door kind of wall set up between them. It wouldn't stop them from fighting each other, since it was so flimsy, so I guessed that it was just to signal that it was break time. The two armies were on opposite sides of the field, getting food and water, resting on makeshift beds, and having their wounds tended to. Most people had taken their helmets off, airing out their hair from all the sweat and rain and blood.
"Lace!" Another shout was brought to my attention. Several people were standing on the edge of the cliff, around the place that I had fallen. Among them were Caleb, and a limping Lilian. They were hollering down the side of the cliff, and a few teachers were there too, talking in phones and pushing the students back. Eagles circled overhead.
They were all looking for me. Lilian was crying, and Caleb looked upset. I realized that they probably thought I was dead.
"Hey! I'm over here!" I screamed, hoping they would hear me. At first, nobody responded. Then, just as I was about to shout again, Caleb's head snapped up. He looked directly at me, and then his eyes got huge. He ran over so fast that he tripped several times, something he never did. He grabbed me by the shoulders, startling me by shaking me as if to check I was real.
The people at the cliff followed after Caleb, but slower. Lilian limped along, crying and laughing at the same time.
Caleb's words, however, quickly brought my attention back to him.
"You're so demented! What were you thinking, rushing out like that?" Caleb demanded, shaking me again. I glared.
"Oh, thanks. I'm retarded for caring about you? I'll keep that in mind." I replied sarcastically. Caleb's eyes darkened.
"It was a stupid move, Lacy." His voice was deeper, almost cracking.
I felt my cheeks flush. I had to admit, it was pretty reckless of me, but I couldn't just watch him die. Speaking of which…
"Wait, so are you okay?" I asked. Caleb nodded.
"My wound opened up again, but it wasn't anything serious. That was the only reason there was blood. I was mostly faking." He poked my face.
"How about you? How are you still alive?" His voice kind of broke on the word 'alive'. I rolled my eyes.
"You make it sound like you'd rather me be dead." Caleb's eyes flashed with anger, and it showed on his face, too. I took a step back, mentally wondering if I had crossed some kind of line. By now, the students had all surrounded us, and were watching intently. I felt uncomfortable with all their gazes on me.
"Is that what you think?" Caleb asked, voice dangerously packed with different emotions that I couldn't understand. "That I want you dead?"
I shook my head, looking away. "No, of course not. That's not what I meant. But it wasn't exactly my fault. I didn't choose to fall off the cliff."
"Of course you didn't." Caleb's voice held disdain, but for who, I didn't know. "But there is an easy way to avoid that. It's called, 'not-rushing-into-the-middle-of-a-very-potentially-dangerous-battle-in-which-you-can-get-killed-since-you-don't-have-armor-and-you-werent-registered-for-the-battle'."
I glared. He was making me feel and look stupid.
"Aww, come on guys, don't fight." Lilian spoke up for the first time. "You love each other, so don't antagonize each other."
I nearly choked on my oxygen. "EXCUSE ME?"
Caleb looked startled, and shook his head, as if he hadn't heard right.
Lil laughed. "Nothing."
I felt my entire face heat up, and I had to take a few deep breaths before continuing.
"You owe me answers," I managed, grabbing Caleb's arm and letting go as I remembered what Lilian had just said. I waved my arms instead.
"About everything. My dagger, my powers, and…that." I stepped back to reveal Faline, who had been patiently following and sitting. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, and the beautiful, serene tiger sitting like a trained dog at my feet.
"Come on, Lilian, Caleb. I want answers." I opted instead to tug on Lilian's arm, but gently, since she was probably still recovering.
Caleb looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth and furrowed his brow instead. "But I'm still fighting." He hedged, inching towards Celeste's army. I glared.
"It's break, isn't it? It'll probably be break for like another hour or two, right? So go get your wounds treated and come with me. You seriously need to tell me everything you know." I snapped, beckoning Faline.
She got up and yawned, then padded to stand next to me.
"Now, wait just a moment-" A teacher protested, reaching out for Caleb. He shrugged the teacher off, though, meeting my defiant gaze and coming to stand next to Lilian, Faline, and I.
"It's okay. I'll just go see what she wants." He started towards our cabin, and I was so shocked that he actually agreed that for a second, I stood there before running after him.
I overtook him and kicked the cabin door open, guiding Lilian to her bed and Faline to the beanbags before turning around, pulling Caleb in, and slamming the doors before placing my hands on my hips.
"Answers. Now."
Caleb arched an eyebrow. "About what?"
I shook my head. "Everything. All of it. Tell me…"
I hesitated, trying to get my thoughts in order, prioritizing what I needed and wanted to know the most.
"My parents."
My voice broke a little. "Tell me about my parents. Do they know about this? About us possibly dying? And will I ever get to see them."
Caleb looked sad for a moment, then weary. "I can't tell you until tomorrow. You'll find out, anyways. Tomorrow's assessment day."
I grabbed fistfuls of my hair, screaming in frustration. "No, Caleb! I've been through enough today! Please, just tell me now! I need…I need to know." I sat down on the ground, hard.
Caleb blinked and sighed.
"Okay. Your parents don't know. Not all of it, anyways. They're all sharp people, so they must know that this school is special. They know where you are, and we send them progress reports and stuff to show that you're alive, along with occasional pictures taken with security cameras. They know you're at an academy for the gifted, but they don't know about all the powers. And you'll get to see them again, I promise." The last sentence came out bitter, and I suddenly wondered why Caleb always seemed somber about the subject of parents.
"Who's Kaiden?" I blurted out. Caleb looked surprised, and Lilian was watching on with interest. Faline yawned and lay down, closing her huge eyes.
"He's my great great great something grandfather. He was the son of the original Headmaster of Silver Sword. How do you know about him?"
I crossed my arms. "I'm the one asking the questions. I'll tell you after I know everything."
He rolled his eyes, but didn't complain.
I pondered my thoughts for a minute. "Wait, so if my parents kind of know about this, then does that mean that they have powers too?"
Caleb shook his head. "Powers like this exist in everyone, but usually lie dormant. But they have to be brought out while you're still young, or else they're dormant forever, unless you're physically shocked into your powers. It does take a special kind of person to cope with this power, though."
I stared curiously. "What kind?"
Caleb smiled. "The crazy kind."
I narrowed my eyes and punched him. "Not funny, Caleb."
He laughed this time. "No, I'm serious. Okay, maybe I'm kidding a bit, but what I really mean is that everyone here has huge ideals. The ones who are crazy enough to believe that they can change the world are the ones that do. That's the reason they're here."
I blinked. "Even people like Cassidy?" I asked, incredulous. Caleb nodded.
"I know you don't like her very much, but even she is more than she seems. Yes, she's conceited at times, but she does have power. She's crazy."
I seriously couldn't tell whether he was joking or not. I decided to continue with my next questions.
"Then how do you find us?" I asked suspiciously. "I mean, without being arrested for pretty much stalking."
Caleb shrugged. "You know, it's all in the manual. You should've read it like I told you to."
"Manual?" I asked, dumbfounded. "What manual?"
Caleb gave me a look, and I suddenly remembered the thick black book that had been lying on each of the two beds when we had first arrived.
"Oh!" I said, and promptly smacked Caleb, who was laughing.
"Whatever!" I huffed. "Just tell me, it'll save time."
Caleb shrugged. "Fine. Basically, we first check I.Q. scores. Everyone here at Silver Sword has a high I.Q., to begin with. Then, after we single out the people with higher I.Q.s, we monitor them for their daily actions and pick ones that have potential. Then, we do our test on them. You know, the one where they tell you your greatest and worst trait. It's a simulation to see how to respond in different situations, although I'll admit yours was slightly different."
"In the end, we have a select group of people from schools all over the country. It's quite diverse here."
I narrowed my eyes again. "Wait, but I'm a junior. How come there are freshman and even younger kids here, too?"
Caleb nodded. "We pick the time where your potential is greatest. Some younger kids know exactly what they want to do. Some don't. That's why we wait until they're older, until they've found themselves to reveal Silver Sword to them."
I shook my head disbelievingly. "But there are so many schools all over the country. It's not possible for such a small staff and school."
Caleb rolled his eyes. "Haven't you ever wondered what happens after people graduate? They go back into normal society. In a way, we're kind of like private school kids. They lead lives just like everybody else, except their jobs are different, pertaining to magic and powers for the next generation. It's kind of complicated, but that's the general idea."
I paused, processing this information. "Okay, then how do you tell if we have powers?"
"I told you. We have our selection process, and when you arrive at Silver Sword, you take the test that I administered to you. You know, with the water?"
I shook my head. "I don't get that. How does it work?"
Lilian spoke up. "You probably don't understand since you're a fire elemental. But I've kind of understood the concept, since I'm water. They use the special water that us water elementals hold inside of us, manifested in the form of our power. Water digs deep into your very essence; drawing out bits and details you didn't know about yourself. That's the basic idea."
I groaned. "I don't get it. It's too complicated."
Caleb shrugged again. "Then don't. You don't have to."
I lifted my head from my hands. "Wait, I just thought of something. How do you stalk us without being caught?"
He smiled. "Top secret. Can't tell."
I glared.
He held his hands up in surrender, looking amused. "Okay, just kidding. It's not top secret, but too complicated to explain easily. You'd just get confused. But it has something to do with our elemental society. There are elementals within the government, too, and they have their own unit. It's hard to explain."
I sighed. "Hold up. Let's go back to the school-graduating thing. I still have a hard time believing that people have time to go around the country toting I.Q. reading machines."
Caleb rolled his eyes and flicked me. "Right now, they've already chosen new students to come in. They're probably going to arrive tomorrow."
My jaw dropped. "So fast? But then how does everyone fit?"
"Tomorrow, many people will graduate, too. People graduate every month. There's no set time for graduation here. People just leave when they're ready, when they've reached full potential. That's it. Students are constantly coming and going."
I shook my head yet again in wonder.
"Okay, I think that's it."
Caleb stretched and got up off the floor. "Good, because I wasn't planning on answering any more questions." He stopped for a second before glancing down at me.
"Oh yeah, how did you survive? You never told me."
I shrugged. "Faline saved me. And I had this weird vision thing, too."
I told him and Lilian about everything I had heard and learned. When I finished my story, Lilian looked awed, but Caleb looked worried.
"Hidden Devil, Crimson Angel, Black Star Warrior…" He muttered to himself, sounding concerned. He shook his head and if to shake away bad thoughts.
A horn sounded outside. Caleb's head snapped up, and he sighed.
"I'd better go." He turned around and pointed at me.
"And you, you'd better not be stupid like last time. Stay here, okay?" He told me sternly, and I rolled my eyes, still unable to forget the image of him lying on the floor, broken and dead.
"Okay." I agreed reluctantly. He nodded, satisfied, before putting on his helmet and striding out the door, closing it behind him.
Lilian glanced at me slyly, and I could feel my face heating up just because she was staring at me like that. "What?" I snapped, but it came out more uncertain than I had intended.
"He really does care about you, you know."
"We're not in love." I muttered.
Lilian smiled. "If you say so."
I was seriously supposed to update so much earlier. I'm so so sorry, I guess I just never got around to it :O But I hope this answers a majority of the questions, except for the ones I can't reveal, of course :3 Anyways, I'd love a couple of reviews? Geez, why was that a questions? I really WOULD love a couple of reviews. Or more, if people are feeling courteous.
That's it for now, ciao!
~Chelle