LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 7: chapter 7: fae
Theo quickly walked over to Fira, who was crouched, holding her left shoulder. A wallet and a pocket mirror lay on the ground in front of her – definitely not hers. "Are…are you okay?" Theo asked softly. He noticed redness on her thigh, just above the knee, and a few bumps on her right arm. Fira nodded, avoiding his gaze. Theo offered a hand, and she took it. Her orange hair mostly covered a swelling on her jaw. When Theo handed her back the items she'd dropped, her green eyes met his. They were as striking as he remembered. Her appearance was always breathtaking. Orion never understood Theo's fascination with her, but he didn't need to. They walked toward the campus in silence, Fira's pace slightly faster. Theo noticed her wings – soft yellow, tinged with blue in places, shaped like butterfly wings, and translucent. Unless you looked closely, or she was moving, you might not even see them. He knew why she was quiet. He understood the embarrassment. Being strong but not knowing how to fight, and then getting roughed up…it was a miracle he'd won that fight. And a miracle the delinquents weren't seriously hurt. Theo guessed Fira had lost her wand when she'd been brought here. Her Titan power was fairy magic. Raw magic was dangerous; casting without a focus meant wild magic, unpredictable and volatile.
Orion was just returning to the campus area. Shun leaned against the outer wall of the library, his right hand morphed into the scope of a sniper rifle. Theo almost jumped as a gold text box appeared next to Shun's head:
Shun Calioco (aka, the Silky Sniper)
Age: 14-16 (unclear)
Height: ~5'5"
Gender: Male
Current emotional state inference: Relaxed
Personal history: Rebel, wanted in 11 countries, pirate
Likely actions: Unknown
Known relationships: Sniper of the Sirens' Serenade (pirate crew), friend of Orion
Threat: Extreme
Caution
Theo blinked. His irises turned fully amber, gold flecks appearing in his pupils. He coughed, covering his right eye with his hand to try and block the text box. It was still there. As Shun moved out of his line of sight, the text box moved too, staying by Shun's head. Orion walked over. "You two okay?" He looked worried.
"For the most part," Theo lied. This has to be because of that eye-ring thing around my Titan catalyst, he thought, a headache starting to build.
"If you say so," Orion sighed, idly kicking a rock. It rolled toward Theo. A gold exclamation point appeared next to it, turning from gold to orange to red as it got closer. "Parry!" the text box warned when it was orange.
"So, are we just going to stand here, or…?" Shun's voice broke the silence. Theo quickly composed himself.
"We…uh…" His voice shook. The same text boxes were now by Orion and Fira's heads. Theo blinked again, then shook his head. "How…how long have you all been here?" The headache was getting worse, a throbbing pain making it hard to think.
"Me and Shun got here a week ago, and Fira got here two days ago," Orion said, half-eyeing the bumps and redness on Fira, and half-eyeing Theo's eyes and demeanor. Theo nodded.
"It's a headache, nothing more," he reassured Orion, the first part being true. "Alright. Is there anything I need to know before…?" A spike of pain cut him off.
Shun stepped forward. "Yeah. The Emperor and the people of the North are at war with the South." Shun's tone was as smooth as the silk he manipulated. Fira and Orion stared at him, then at the northern section of the dome. Theo just made a confused noise. "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. Well, how you'd react. The South doesn't trust the Emperor. Some say he's a shape-shifting lizard person, others say he's a government spy. One guy even said he's the resurrected Emperor Nero. Whatever that means." Shun delivered this information like he was sharing a fun fact. His spider poked out of his scarf. "The South is denying Northerners service until the Emperor steps down. And since the mall is in the South, that's a big deal. Once the school runs out of food, there will be people starving everywhere. Either a revolt will happen, or the people will loot the mall. Right now, no one's taking it seriously. They think it's an empty threat." The spider whispered harshly, looking around.
A strange whizzing sound rang out…Thunk. And then there was red…