Daeten Axirin's Story

“Yuna, where’s my breakfast I told you to get. My. breakfast.”

“It’s right here Ello, I’ve got it.” The brunette girl called, exasperated. She was so tired from cleaning the cottage all night. Her yellow green eyes had become dull where they’d once been bright, her posture broken when it had once been strong. Yuna lightly jogged to the counter where her…boss…. sat. The woman she owed her soul to, Ello.

Her beauty was strange, unnatural; you could tell she was an Akina immediately. The way her sharp face didn’t fit the petite body she held, the sweet and kind looking pink hair. It was obvious that her old body had been plumper, but now it was thin, almost sickly. Her green-silver eyes glided across the counter to Yuna like a cat, a smug cat, watching her prey squirm. Her hands bandaged in black cloth lay on the table looking so dainty… but Yuna wondered how deadly they really could be.

“Thank you dear, you’re a good girl, you really are. The cottage looks fabulous,” Ello smirked at the schoolgirl, who then left to get her coffee. “I’m sure you won’t go running around after school like I warned you against anymore. Dangerous stuff.” Ello laughed to herself, just under her breath, but Yuna heard every word from across the kitchen. She shivered, afraid, but she tried to calm herself. Then Ello sounded irritated, “Where’s Ami?”

Ami and Yuna were still allowed to go to high school, but only if they came back to the cottage, Ello’s cottage, just outside town. No one knew Ello was out there, and if anyone did they’d probably try to come out and kill her. The Akina had cast an easy but confusing path winding spell that only her cursed ones, Ami and Yuna, could see through to return to the cottage after school. If they tried to leave town at night or they stayed out too late with their friends, Ello always knew, and she always came looking for them, ready to punish them with chores and hard labor.

Yuna had heard about Ello from the kids whispering around her high school. That high school was six towns over from the one they lived in now. Ello was once a piece of fascinating local folklore to Yuna, a magical woman who could grant any wish. But there were the bad rumors, too, like the tales of Ello killing her cursed ones once she began to love them. Yuna didn’t believe those stories, how could you kill someone once you loved them? But, nonetheless, when Yuna had gone out hunting for Ello to have her wish granted, she had not expected to become the witch’s slave girl.

“Don’t listen to her.” Ami had come up behind Yuna and put a hand on her shoulder, her short brown hair bouncing about like usual,” She’s just bluffing.” And then Ami took the coffee from Yuna and brought it over to Ello, setting it down, and then beginning to cut up the Akina’s food.

Ami was from Yuna’s town, too. They hadn’t been friends, but they both had one thing in common back then: a wish they’d give anything for. For Ami, it was her sick mother. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with her, so Ami sold her soul to save her life. Yuna’s wish was a bit more selfish. She’d always thought herself ugly, so she wanted to be the most beautiful girl in her school. Yuna wasn’t a bad soul, just naïve. But both were naïve enough to Ello’s true intensions, though, and now they couldn’t escape her. No matter where they hid or where they ran, Ello always found them.

It wasn’t like the cottage was a horrid place to live. Ello even let them see their families every few weeks, having both committed themselves to Ello just a year ago. But they were forced to help the crippled Akina here in this town because she could barely use her hands. Her magic, though, made up for her disability in full. Ami began to feed the pieces of egg into Ello’s mouth.

“You girls are off to school this morning?” The woman paused to chew. “Don’t forget to water the flowers on your way out.” Ello said in a long drawl, very comfortable in her stool as she was fed and Yuna brushed her hair.

As they finally got to walk out the door, they gave a sour look to each other, but tried hard to keep it from the terrifying Akina. Ello saw it, of course, but smiled, liking the emotional distance they kept from her. The woman in the stool stood, around 5’ 10’’ in a tattered but still lovely black dress, and approached the mirror.

“Mirina… these girls are too afraid to bother me too much. And look how they take care of us, they do make-up so well.” And Ello flattered herself in the mirror. Of course the Akina knew that the human who used to possess her body was long gone in an eternal sleep, deep inside her subconscious, but the face they once shared was the only one Ello ever felt like talking to.

It was because she hated everyone. Anyone she ever met, besides herself. She wanted all of those emotional ones to die, especially the human ones… but until she had the power to do so, she would sit tight with her cursed ones in her nice cottage by the river. Alone, content and pretty.

"make it 20 and i'll cook breakfast after" The woman, who looked like she was in her late twenty's turned and looked over her shoulder after she spoke and smiled at Dae in greeting.

"Daeten, so glad you could make it. One of your group-mates will be down in twenty mins or so. Come, we'll warm up before she gets here."

Dae frowned and spoke softly as she followed. "Sorry, but you have me at a disadvantage."

"Oops, I forgot to introduce myself, My name is Alissa. Im the new trainer for your group that you will become a part of, but come we can talk more of that later."

Taking a moment to study Alissa from behind. Tall, with long black hair that fell down her back, she wore a black tank top and form fitting pants that allowed for easy movement, and revealed a pale skinned, but toned body, revealing the long hours honing her craft. "I take it then that the group-mate you spoke of, was the one you told you would make breakfast for?"

Alissa grinned and nodded. "Yes, I find that using food generally works best with that girl."

Dae nodded. She understood after all, her motivation had been to prove everyone who thought her ability weak wrong.

Slow and rhythmic were the soft thuds of Ciana's shoes as she meandered down the narrow hallway toward the elevator. Her mismatched eyes glistened with excitement, Alissa rarely cooked, but the food she made was delicious. As she walked, the huntress pulled on the same black gloves she wore every day to hide the strange scars she had on her hands from an unknown source. She pulled them down as far as they would go, and then slipped the key around her neck free of it's chain to unlock the elevator. As the girl neared the metal doors, she stopped short and pressed a hand against the wall to the left of them. When she heard a click she smiled and watched as a panel clicked open revealing what looked to be a keyhole and some sort of scanner. Carefully positioning herself so that her seemingly red eye was in front of the scanner she spoke, "Hunter ID 43206, name Ciana, code Bleeding Reaper." Her voice echoed off the walls as she spoke, awaiting the confirmation of her information.

An audible click resounded through the hall, followed by a robotic female voice, "ID recognized, Ciana Raine. Please stand so that I may scan your retinal code." With that, a red light shot into the girl's eye, making her want to blink. However, she held back as best she could until the light disappeared again. Another audible click, and the robotic voice spoke again, "Please insert your key and then pick the location you will be going."

Ciana rolled her eyes at the panel, having already known what she needed to do. She slid the key into it's designated slot and turned it three times before a second panel fell into the wall and flipped over to reveal buttons. She scanned them for a moment out of habit and pressed the one with B3 printed on it. Once the button was pushed both panels closed and the elevator dinged as the doors swung open. As she entered the rather large elevator, the girl smiled, wondering what Alissa had wanted. As the doors closed and the elevator began its ascent, Ciana closed her eyes leaning against one of the corners.

It didn't take long for her to reach her destination, after all, it was only a floor above where she had been, but because of the insolation and other things in the gym they had to take the elevator instead of stairs. As the back doors of the elevator opened into the gym, Ciana looked around. She saw several new faces in the room itself, but her attention was immediately drawn to the girl standing beside Alissa. Who was she? What was going on? Just as she was about to speak, Alissa turned her attention to someone she had walked right passed without noticing. "Hey, you," the woman motioned to the white-haired boy on the floor, "Comere." As Alissa waited for the boy, she returned her gaze to Ciana. "Cian, this is Daeten, and that boy over there," she pointed, "Is Fortis. They'll be a part of your new cell."

"M-My cell? I have a cell?" Ciana's head involuntarily tilted to the side as she looked at Dae and then turned to look at Fortis. "There're only two people here, that's not enough for a cell, Alissa."

"Two more're comin', don't you worry." Alissa grinned, she was about to drop a big bomb on their heads, Ciana could feel it. "Now, to get to know each other, you need to know how to fight each other. So, you will be sparring each other one on one." Alissa's grin grew as she noticed Ciana hadn't brought her swords, she definitely hadn't been expecting this.

mistaken post

Dae grinned at Alissa when she was told what they would be doing.

"Its a pleasure to meet you Cian, as Alissa has said, my name is Daeten. I look forward to sparring with you." As Dae spoke she held out her hand in greeting. "Do you use a barehanded fighting style to fight?" The last statement was added as her sharp eyes took in the lack of weapons on Ciana's person.

While Daeten waited for the other boy, Fortis she reminded herself, to arrive, she studied both of them, taking in the details about them, and guessing how they fought.

She studied Fortis first, having already noticed some of his particular fight while she was warming up with Alissa. She had figured out that he seemed to change his rhythm with his fighting every 3-4 minutes, and slow, or fast, he still hit fast and hard. She could also see that now that he wasn't fighting he had earphones in his ears and he seemed to be fiddling with something in it every so often. "Music?" She asked herself as she continued to study him. He did seem to be a hand fighter, though she wasn't sure how good that would be against opponents stronger then him. She continued to study him this time taking in his physical features. Silver white hair on a smaller body would lead opponents to underestimate him, and while the jacket hid most of his body from view, she could see that her future sparring buddy was not to be underestimated.

Dae next turned her attention to Ciana, and begin to study her. Female like herself, Ciana stood with a fighters grace despite her obvious younger years. Black hair with silver highlights winked beneath the gym lights while mismatched eyes studied her as well. Black gloves matched her black skirt and was well complemented by a white long-sleeved blouse top. neither of the articles of clothing however hid from Dae that Ciana was a fighter, just not bare-handed. Well proportioned legs gave testament that she was agile on her feet, and that she also did not use her feet or legs to fight, rather, not very often.

"My mistake Cian, I was not aware that you used a weapon. Do you want to fight with, or without a weapon?"

Fortis, very capable of knowing when someone was coming, was able to hear the elevator being taken up to the Gym. He tensed for a second, then relaxed his body. No one would attack him randomly here, or so he believed.

His ears perked up when he heard the 'hey you', and he looked in the direction he was being motioned. He sat there for a second, waiting to listen. His music wasn't that loud, seeing as he wasn't fighting, but it was still audible to him. He smiled, hearing that he was now part of a cell. It amused him, he would now be able to put his training to use.

He stood up, wearing rings made of Amethyst, gold, and copper. He couldn't expect to simply win in a fight using his hands. He hadn't noticed anyone other than his sparring partner and himself during his fight. He didn't like being distracted, it made him feel vulnerable. He walked towards the group, pulling down his headphones as he did. He didn't want to seem rude when meeting his comrades. It felt strange to have his headphones on, but he ignored the feeling and continued walking.

He reached them and smiled slightly, "My name is Fortis Daine." He pressed stop on his phone, not wanting to skip the particular song.

Ciana shifted uncomfortably, glaring half heartedly at Alissa who just smiled back. She knew what happened with other cells she had been put on, but even under those circumstances, she still sent her new ones all the time. When she heard Daeten speak, her eyes turned to the other female. The smile on her face wasn't forced, just a little awkward. She wasn't good with introductions, simply fighting. She grabbed Dae's hand carefully, "Ah, I think it'll be fun." She stammered a little in regards to her statement about sparring and then shook her head at the question that followed. "I use dual swords, usually." As the two dropped hands, Ciana turned to look at the boy whose name she had learned to be Fortis.

She watched him calmly as he removed his headphones and introduced himself. She'd heard the name Daine before, but she wasn't sure where. So, while she gave him a slightly curious look, she introduced herself. "My name's Ciana, Ciana Raine. It's nice to meet both of you." She spoke a little less awkwardly looking between the two. She then found her eyes on Alissa who's smiled faltered a little when she heard Daeten speak.

"I'll use my fists for this match, it seems rather fair to be at a disadvantage since we've never fought before." She said, keeping her eyes on Alissa. "But, who will I be sparring first?"

"who do you want to fight?" Daeten was quiet as she spoke again, and a new power seemed to all but roll off of her as she shrugged her shoulder, obviously loosening what muscles had tightened after the warm up with Alissa.

Alissa herself just smiled and indicated it was her choice, and though she gave off the attitude that she didn't really care of it, her eyes were sharp and focused, watching to see her choice.

"Fortis Daine, is it?" She had of course heard of the Daine family, and knew of the strength they wielded. "Its a pleasure, My name is Daeten Axirin. I look forward to sparring with you as well." as she spoke she held out her hand to shake his.

after shaking hands she turned back to Ciana. "if you fight barehanded then I will as well, seems safer that way."

Fortis simply smiled more when she gave him a curious look. It wasn't uncommon for him to get looks like this, but he rarely paid heed to them. No point in telling people who he was. Better to keep his strength a secret to be learned. "Pleasure to meet you, Ciania." He would have bowed, but he wasn't the sort of person to do that. He looked at Alissa, wondering what the trainer had planned.

He wasn't going to speak up to fight. It didn't matter to him if he fought second or first, seeing as there were cons and pros to both. If he fought first, he might be able to surprise her with skill, but the same would be said for her. If he fought second, he would get to fight her after she tired a bit, but he would still be fighting a powerful opponent. He was not going to underestimate his opponents, that was a fool's move.

He turned in the direction of Daeten, hearing her ask if she had the right name. "Yes, that's my name." He smiled, wondering if the girl knew who he was. "I do as well." He shook Daeten's hand calmly.

He laughed when Daeten mentioned fighting barehanded, "I don't really have a choice. Didn't bring a weapon," Sure, he was of the Daine family, but that didn't mean he hadn't trained in using weapons.

"Anyways, I hope we get along." He said this sincerely.

His white blonde hair brushed across his face as he ran down the stairs. He held tight the banister, taking the steps two at a time. He was going to be late! They…were going to be late. His blue eyes darted around the area seeing everything before he would get there. His hand trailed the railing as he spun around another set of stairs. Why did the girl’s dorm have to be so hard to get to? He took off down a hall, hoping he wouldn’t come in contact with anyone. He wasn’t exactly supposed to be there…seeing as he was male.

Finally spotting his destination he slowed his pace a bit and skid to a stop in front of a slightly ajar door. With a deep sigh he lifted a pale hand and pushed it open to reveal a girl, who looked almost exactly like him sitting at a window and looking out of it. He smiled softly at the sight of her, she looked so frail and innocent like a dove.

“Alexiel~” she said his name, speaking in a soft, sweet sounding voice. It caused him to look away, with slightly pink cheeks before he replied with her own name. “Lisanthia…” With a rush of silvery blonde hair the girl turned to face him. Her eyes were almost exactly like his. She frowned slightly. “I told you to call me Lis” she said, quietly, sadly.

Alexiel jumped at his mistake. “Sorry, Lis! I was rushing and I forgot! He bowed his head apologizing and she laughed a soft tinkling laugh. He glanced back up and blinked. Lisanthia smiled and the entire aura relaxed. Alexiel walked up to where she sat at the window and stood besides her glancing out for a moment before what he had rushed there for came to his mind.

“Lis, we have to hurry. They’re assigning us a hunter cell today and we are already late!” there was a slight sense of urgency in his voice, but it was soft as he spoke to her. Lisanthia crossed her arms. “ That’s today… must have forgotten due to how stupid it is She said coldly. Alexiel flinched then shook his head. “Lis, you know we have to go… there isn’t a way to avoid it. You and I are pureblooded hunters. You from Axirin and I from Lux. It’s in our blood, we can’t fight against it. His voice sounded slightly sad as he spoke, as if he himself hated what they had to do, but succumbed to it anyways.

Lisanthia didn’t move and Alexiel sighed. He rested a hand on her shoulder and gently stroked her hair. “It’ll be okay, today it’s just assignments. We’re not hunting yet…” . She turned towards him and lifted his hand to her cheek. “I bet they’ll be really nice too, our cell. We can probably make some good friends. Alright” . It took a moment but finally Lisanthia nodded. Alexiel smiled and pulled her up from the window. Once they were both standing, he grasped her hand tightly and they both ran from the room, without looking back.

They didn’t stop until they had reached the training gym for all the hunters. Alexiel looked around the room at all the people. Some were training, others just talking to members of their cell. Lisanthia stood slightly behind him completely silent as she narrowed her eyes at all the girls present.