Chapter 14

Nyx

Chapter 14

            An almost unnatural silence filled the air. The sounds that usually dominated the forest were missing. Everything was still as if the entire world was frozen. This wasn't such a far-fetched idea with the sheer amount of frost that covered everything. The very air seemed to be frozen. The thick layer of snow that covered the school grounds had only increased in the three days that Nyx had been absent.

            She took a step forward, her foot breaking through the icy crust and into the untouched powder underneath. The footstep sounded like a gunshot in the unnatural silence and Nyx froze, wondering if anyone had heard her. It was a silly response since she was in no way sneaking into the school, but the sudden intrusion of sound into the silent courtyard just felt… wrong. As if she was somehow intruding into the peace that nature had pretty much dumped all over the place in the form of white fluffy flakes. She took another step in the knee deep snow. Her boots would usually provide some protection from the deep snow, but days spent huddling in the blizzard had left every scrape of clothing soaked and tattered.

            A constant gust of wind flowed around Nyx causing her to shiver, bringing the sore condition of her clothes to the forefront of her mind. She shook her head to clear it and continued her way across the school grounds. Ahead of her was Guardian Academy. The place she had called her home for the last 5 months. The place that had given her shelter and companionship. Now all she felt for it was strife and rage.

            She took another step, again it sounded like a gunshot. Some part of her wondered if her footsteps would cause an avalanche. Voices began to surface at the back of her mind, begging her to reconsider this. She could always beg her roommates to keep her secret. She could always just fly away. She could always just go back to the streets. The anger that filled her mind, body and soul would have none of it though.

            Suddenly she was running. Running away from the second thoughts and hesitations. Running away from the disguise and lies. Running away from past that lay behind her. She was running towards the school, towards the inevitable confrontation, towards her so called friends.

            It was time. Enough hiding and sulking. No more lying and crying. It was time to fight. A scream begged release from her throat, but it was not the right time. She would empty out her rage to those who deserved it, not to the deaf ears of the snow and ice. The Faunus had stayed silent for long enough. Their rights had been stripped and they had been treated like animals.

            They wanted an animal; it was time they got one.

~

            On the other side of the school, Lyric trudged forward with leaden steps. This was not one of her better days. Far from it, in fact, this was one of the worst days she had had for such a long time. For the past three days, she had listened to Whise speak ill of their friend, and it had grated against Lyric’s nerves. Whise had made her fury against their Faunus friend quite clear. Autumn hadn’t helped the situation either; she had simply just gone about her regular routine, pretending nothing had happened. 

            Lyric was… confused, for lack of a better word. It’s humans like you that force us into hiding! Nyx had screamed. Lyric’s mind had stumbled at that. One of those moments when the listener pauses to say “wait, what?” But no one did. They had been too shocked to speak at first. All Lyric could think when her mind had finally caught up with her ears, was how Nyx had lied. Her Faunus friend had lied for so long about her true identity. How much had she kept a secret, how much had she made up? Could Lyric really believe a word out of the girl’s mouth?

            Lyric knew that Autumn had similar thoughts. While Autumn didn’t have the level of hatred for the Faunus that Whise did, the red haired girl was mistrustful of their race. One thing, however, separated Lyric’s feelings from that of her friends. She kept repeating Nyx’s last words over and over in her mind. And you humans killed my mom and dad. Those words haunted Lyric’s dreams. She remembered the story Nyx told them about her parents. About how they had been tortured and killed right in front of Nyx when she was just a child. Lyric never considered whether those murderers had been human or Faunus. At the time it didn’t really matter, but now going back to the topic, it made a world of difference. Had they been killed simply because of their Faunus heritage? The pain and fear on Nyx’s face had been seared into Lyric’s memory. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t think about anything else.

            Lyric found her feelings of surprise and betrayal transforming into sympathy. And you humans killed my mom and dad. How could Lyric even pretend to focus on her own feelings after hearing that? The girl who was usually so reserved had quite literally screamed her broken mental state into their faces. Nyx had watched her parents die at the hands of the humans for nothing more than being a bit different. She had lived in the forests and streets for most of her childhood. She was scared of humans. Who wouldn’t be? Her life to this point had been Hell, and the fault belonged to a group of humans.

             Knowing this, Lyric was surprised that Nyx had come within a hundred miles of a human populated city. The poor girl had lived for years, constantly terrified of what they would do if they found out about her lack of humanity. Would they chase her down like they had her parents? Would the mob torture her before killing her just because she had a pair of furry ears or a tail? Nyx had no reason to trust them with her secret, Lyric realized. Even though they were friends, Nyx had seen what humans do to Faunus, and that had terrified her.

            Understanding had flooded through Lyric like a tsunami. How could she even begin to judge Nyx for keeping this secret? All Nyx had wanted was someone to care for her, someone to help fill the emptiness left by her dead family. And you humans killed my mom and dad! Lyric winced every time she remembered those words. What Lyric and her friends had done to Nyx was unactable. They had shunned the poor girl when she had really needed them. She had been right, why does race have to matter? Nyx had never betrayed them or cheated them. She had kept one secret to protect herself, and suddenly found her friends turning against her when it had been discovered.

            A hand on her shoulder broke her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Whise pointing behind them. “Hey, you guys go ahead. I forgot my quiver and arrows back in the room.” Lyric nodded dumbly and watched as Whise walked away. Snapped out of her troubling thoughts, Lyric remembered what they were doing. Class today was going to be held in the grand entrance.

            Autumn was silent as she had been of late, probably lost in her own thoughts as well. Lyric wondered if Autumn experienced a similar train of thoughts. She planned on telling the older girl her thoughts on their absent friend after class. Lyric knew they had wronged Nyx, that much was obvious. The challenging part would be to make her friends come to realize that.

            The grand entrance opened before them as the stepped out of a side hallway. Grand was an understatement for such a place. Murals decorated all the walls, depicting great events and battles throughout history. Statues of great hunters and huntresses stood their silent vigil throughout the hall, their stony eyes forever staring forward, intimidating and inspiring those who wished to follow in their footsteps. As grand as the room was, Lyric’s eyes immediately centered on a commotion happening at the end of the room. Dozens of students stood in a half circle around the farthest wall.

            Lyric’s feet brought her forward on a will of their own. Something was happening; there wasn’t this many students in their class, why the large crowd? As she got closer, the metallic scent of blood made itself known, getting more pungent with each step. Had someone gotten into a fight? Was everyone ok? She could hear mutterings all around her as she pushed her way through the crowd, but the words were lost to her. Lyric’s stomach twisted in a knot, and something in the back of her head screamed at her to turn around and run. The air seemed to get colder despite the mass of warm bodies pushing against her, all straining for a look.

            The crowd shifted and the sight before her filled her eyes and burned her soul. A hand came up to her mouth to stop the chocking sob that forced its way up her throat. Her mind shut down, not knowing how to react to this. Every fiber in her being froze with pure horror. Her previous thoughts of Nyx came to the forefront of her mind. She had been scared of having her secret exposed. Worried of how the humans might have reacted. Terrified of what they might do. Every one of those fears were driven home into Lyric. And you humans killed my mom and dad. Nyx had been right to fear humans, for only we could have done something so terrible.

            Somewhere behind Lyric the front doors slammed open. Snow blasted through the entrance, but no one seemed to notice, all eyes still focused forward. A cold hand gripped Lyric’s heart as panic and fear cascaded through her. They had been plagued by a blizzard for the past three days, and there was only one person who could be coming in from that torrential snow storm.

            You shouldn’t have come back. Lyric thought. You should have stayed hidden.

            Run.

~

            The doors slammed inward, a swirl of snow intermingling with the warmth that filled the great hall. Nyx’s unbound hair whipped around partially obscuring her face, her pale blue eyes piercing through the snow flurries with a fierceness that was only rivaled by the blizzard raging outside. The blast of heat caused her cheeks to flush as she strode forth into the hall. Water dripped to floor, a trail of puddles marking her progress.

            At the end of the great hall stood a large group of students. A few looked up, distracted by the booming noise of the door opening. If they were surprised by someone coming in from the blizzard outside, they gave no sign of it. Those who glanced her way quickly turned their attention back to whatever was in the center of the mass of students.

            A nagging feeling pulled at Nyx’s attention but she forced it to the back of her mind. She had a mission. She had a goal… but she had no plan…

            More second thoughts began to pester her. What was she doing? What had been her original plan; march into school and reveal her secret to the world? Her footsteps slowed to a stop and she tried to figure out what she was doing.

            The doors slammed shut with a loud boom, not only shutting out the blizzard outside, but vanquishing the anger and determination that had permeated each of her steps to this point, leaving Nyx feeling empty and alone.

            A pair of eyes found hers and Nyx found herself staring at Lyric. A dozen emotions ran through her; anger, fear, confusion, frustration, indecision. How is one supposed to act when greeted with a friend that had turned her back on you? But Lyric’s back wasn’t turned right now; now her full attention was focused on Nyx. She said not a word, but her eyes spoke volumes.  Her eyes were filled with dread and fear and… panic?

            A chill ran down Nyx’s spine, feeling the cold of her soaked clothes for the first time. Something wasn’t right. She took a step forward. How could she not have noticed it sooner? Another step forward. A scent tickled her nose, sickly sweet, familiar and disturbing at the same time. Her pace sped up, the scent growing more pungent with each step. Blood. Her muddled mind finally recognized the scent and now she was running. A chill ran down her spine. Her very being fought and pushed against her. She was running towards sorrow and strife, and to turn back would spare her from this fate. She reached the group of students, shoving and pushing her way through the thickening crowd. The sea of bodies swayed and flowed, and she got the impression of fighting against a current. Angry glances were cast her way as she all but threw the onlookers out of her way. She needed to see the cause of the scent, no matter what it took. The last student stepped aside and Nyx was made privy to what had held the attention of her fellow students.

            She knew whatever was beyond the students was going to be bad, but no amount of preparation could have steeled her for what lay before her. Death greeted her in the only way it knew how; by throwing the very worst it had to offer right in her face. Her legs turned to rubber as her broken mind tried to process what she was looking at. How could this happen? It was Taris… or what was left of her. Who would do this? Nyx collapsed to her knees, sitting in a puddle of blood. Why did the humans hate us so much? The girl was dead, sitting against the wall… no... pinned to the wall. Just like mom and dad. Shivers ran down her spine again. Two large rusty nails had been driven into Taris’ fox ears and into the wall behind them. Bruises covered every part of her, and the several cuts down her chest, arms and legs ran red with blood; telling the story of her torture. Tears filled Nyx’s vision yet she made no move to wipe them away. Taris’ neck was caked with dried blood from where her throat had been hacked open. Everywhere else the blood still ran red, painting a mural of the hatred for their race.

            The worst part were the eyes. Still focused, despite the lack of life in them, and staring right at Nyx. They seemed to be filled with accusation, peering right into her soul. They held Nyx in their gaze, locking her into their deathly stare.

            Why didn’t you help me? The dead eyes asked. The words seemed to form in the very pit of her soul, echoing through her mind and body. Did the corpse ask her that? Or was her shattered mind whispering to her?

            “I- I wasn’t here” Nyx said in a barely audible whisper. Was that really her excuse? Too busy hiding in a tree to help save Taris from this horror?

            You could have stopped this.

            “I didn’t know.” The crowd of students leaned in a little closer, trying to hear the conversation she was having with the corpse. “I tried to find you… but they- they-” They had discovered her secret. Nyx could see the torches winding their way to her, the rope tied around her arms and legs, the screaming of the humans… and the sword. The rusty metal, dully reflected in the mid afternoon sun, descending onto her wings, severing them from her spine. The agony her parents had endured made itself known to her. She could feel the torture that they had endured, that Taris had died from. She was scared of facing the same fate. That was excuse, weak as it was. She was scared… no, terrified of what they would do to her.

            It’s your fault.

            “I’m so sorry, I w-was scared” Tears began to stream down her face. Someone did this. A human had done this, for what? To make a point? To put the Faunus in their place? The murmurings of her classmates began to register in her mind.

            “Should we get help?”

            “Who would do this?”

            “Better ways of dealing with animals than this…”

            “There is blood everywhere!”

            “At least it was only a Faunus.”

            A sea of murmurings assaulted her ears, distinguishing one from the other proved to be overwhelming, and she allowed the tide of hushed sound was over her. She felt numb on the inside. She had seen this before, witnessed it first hand with her family’s death. Had she been wrong in giving the humans a second chance? Were all of them this evil? The great rage that had filled her just a few minutes prior had abandoned her along with any energy. What was the point in fighting to be accepted? Did she really want to be friends with creatures who did such terrible things? She was content to sit on the floor while the growing puddle of blood soaked through her ragged pants.

            Was she destined to live a life of loss? Every time she began to get close to anyone, they were ripped from her life. A tear streaked down Nyx’s cheek. Her family, the Smith, even Taris before she really had a chance to know her. What was the purpose of living if everything she cared about was ripped from her hands? Memories of her parents and her inability to save them flashed across her vision, each one drawing out another tear from her eyes… Each one stacking a piece of kindling into her heart. Her time on the streets. Another tear, another piece of kindling. Her friends abandoning her. More tears, more kindling. Taris’ death. More tears, more pieces of kindling stacking up inside of her. Memories long since buried resurfaced, opening old wounds and horrors witnessed. There was no doubt now. Humans were evil. To trust even one of them was asking for this to happen again. More tears, more kindling. She stared into the empty eyes of the deceased fox girl. It must have hurt so much. The fear the girl had felt soured the air, so thick Nyx could almost taste it. It disgusted her, infuriated her, but she was cold on the inside. She had no energy, nothing to draw on, no reserves to fuel her, no goal to guide her. All she had was tears and kindling.

            But kindling can be lit with the smallest of sparks. Like a candle flame in the darkness, one voice made itself known to her sensitive ears. “-rid of the weapon.” A familiar voice said. “Don’t want this traced back to us.” A chill ran down her spine as realization hit her. There it was. A mission, a goal, an outlet for her fury. Justice. Revenge. Retribution. A spark.

            An explosion of fury lit within her chest, the kindling catching fire and red hot rage pouring into her veins. Her eyes snapped into focus, blazing dangerously. He had done this. She flexed her shoulders. He would pay. Her Everfrost daggers appeared in her hands as if they had a will of their own. Nyx was gone. Her wings exploded from her back, the bladed feathers tearing the ragged coat to shreds. Only an animal remained.

            The room fell to shocked silence. No one dared move, speak, breath. All eyes were focused on Nyx as she slowly rose to her feet, wings extended behind her and her daggers clutched in her hands. The blood of the fallen soaked her pants and shirt and as she turned to face the crowd, her piercing gaze locked onto the source of her rage. A scream of unending rage ripped itself from her lungs.

            “THRRAAAAAASSSHHHH” The name echoed through the great hall, the sound bouncing off of the murals and statues, finding its way into each student’s ears. The wall of students parted as she strode forward, revealing the hulking boy. He appeared to be in the same state of shock as everyone else, but he was recovering quickly. A hand reached for the hilt of his great sword strung across his shoulder, but Nyx gave him no chance to prepare.

            Her wings surged behind her and she streaked at Thrash, hacking and slashing wildly at the murderer, a scream of primal fury coming to a crescendo each time she struck. He had just enough time to draw his sword before the onslaught was upon him. Panic filled his eyes and he tried his best to block each of Nyx’s deadly attacks. A dagger slipped past his guard and racked across his face. The sight of his blood enraged Nyx even more. Not a single rational thought filled her mind. One goal drove her forward; blood.

            Thrash winced at the strike, blinking away the blood running into his eyes. The attacks kept coming, but the element of surprise had already played its part and now he was getting into the fight.

            Thrash parried one of her strikes and slashed at her in retaliation. Had she been thinking clearly, she might have blocked the strike. Had she been in control of her actions she might have dodged the sword. Instead the blade hacked through a piece of the muscle in her right thigh.

            The pain didn’t even register in her mind though. All she cared for was his blood. The slashes and stabs continued in a whirlwind, too fast for the eye to follow. Her leg was useless and she had to compensate with her wings, but it made no matter. Thrash wouldn’t be able to keep up the tempo of their deadly dance for much longer. He tried a desperate stab at her person, but Nyx spun though the attack, and slammed her dagger to the hilt into his shoulder.

            The larger boy grunted and back handed her. She had no time to dodge and was knocked to the floor, the wind knocked out of her. Thrash’s fleshy lips cracked a small vile smile, the fight finally turning in his favor.

            Nyx struggled to sit up when a boot connected with her ribs, throwing her several feet through the air. She coughed up a glob of blood, darkness clouding her vision. A laugh filled her ears and she looked up with fear. Thrash approached her, her dagger still embedded in his shoulder.

            “Bad move freak. You should have just kept pretending to be human. Why would you even come here? Can’t you see that no one wants you here?” She rose to her knees, trying not to pass out. “I’m about to kill you and everyone seems content to watch.” He was right, she didn’t need to look to know that their audience was just standing there, probably enjoying the show. Was this really her time? Was she finally going to die?

            Thrash was standing right in front of her now, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You guess right. I killed that stupid fox. Oh how she screamed and begged. I wish I could do the same to you, but I guess a quick death will have to suffice.” He stood up straight and took his greatsword in both hands, holding it high over his head. It looked so familiar, reflecting dully in the light streaming through the windows. Spots of rust dotted its blade, just as it had that morning… the morning her parents had been slain. “Say hi to your parents for me.”

            Her pupils shrank at his words and she screamed once more. A bloody sound ripped itself right from her soul and assaulted the eardrums of all within the hall. The greatsword began its descent, the same one that had severed the wings from her parents’ spine, the same one that had ripped her life asunder. Everything was playing out like that morning. Same situation, same weapon, only a differed wielder. The sword fell towards her upturned face, and with a snarl she snapped her wings forward.

            The bladed feathers passed right through Thrash’s wrists, slicing through the tendons and bone as if cutting paper, severing both hands from his arms. The greatsword went flying over her head, hands still attached. His scream of agony was terrible and glorious at the same time. The older boy collapsed to his knees, his entire body shaking, and staring at the stumps of his arms. Justice had been served, but retribution was far from finished. Nyx surged to her feet and ripped her dagger free from his shoulder and stabbed it into his open screaming mouth, the twin dagger following shortly after and plunging into his eye.

            His body went limp and collapsed to the floor, his one remaining eye staring up at her in shock. The blood lust subsided and she teetered precariously on her feet, exhausted and worn out. Now two bodies resided in the great hall, and several stunned students.

            Nyx cast her eyes to the body of Taris and froze. Those eyes still stared at her in the same accusatory way. It was her fault. Despite what she had just done, nothing had changed. Taris was still dead, but now… Nyx brought her eyes back to the body of Thrash, laying on the floor amidst a growing puddle of blood, occasionally twitching. What had just happened? Had Nyx done this?

            Her exhausted mind caught up to her. The body sat at her feet staring up at her in surprise, the other body stared at her in accusation. Nothing had changed, but now there was one more body.

            Nyx had killed Taris through inaction and now… now she had killed Thrash for retribution. Two wrongs did not make a right. Two dead bodies did not make life. Her eyes scanned the room, faces full of shock began to turn to rage. She had killed them. Both of them. All of this was her fault, and now she would pay the price.

            I’m sorry.

~

            Whise put her hand on the final door separating her from the Great Hall. Hopefully no one will notice I’m late. She reached for the door handle but paused when a horrible shriek filled with agony assaulted her ears.

            She wrenched open the door, worried and scared what might be on the other side. A crowd of students stood before her and she had to use one of the statues as a ladder to help her see what was going on. She climbed up the side of a statue of some forgotten huntress of old, silently apologizing to whoever the statue had been carved after. The screaming was still going strong when she reached the top of the statue, the scene unfolding before her. Whise’s heart stopped and her blood ran cold with horror.

            Blood was everywhere. Small patches here and large puddles there. Her mind had trouble comprehending what she was seeing. Sitting on his knees in the middle of the room was Thrash, holding up two bloody stumps where his hands should have been. The terrible wail was coming from his agony stricken face.

            A few feet away, movement caught her eye. A Faunus struggled to her feet, long white wings extended from her back and long blond hair streamed down her back, she turned her head and Whise’s breath caught in her throat. It was Nyx.

            The girl looked as if she had showered in blood, it soaked through her clothes and dripped from her hair and wings. Whise’s hands tightened around her bow in anger. How dare she come back here? Nyx took one shaky step forward, limping heavily on a maimed leg, using her wings to help her balance. She took another, then another, till she was standing right next to the still screaming Thrash.

            In a burst of speed that took Whise by surprise, Nyx plunged a dagger into the screaming boy’s mouth, abruptly cutting of the wail. The silence that settled upon the room was deafening. Nyx raised up her other dagger and stabbed it through one of Thrash’s eyes.

            Whise stood there, shocked and unable to comprehend what she had just seen. Had Nyx really done that? A hand raised up to her quiver. Nyx stumbled back away from the body and looked away, her eyes focused on something to the side of the room. Whise pulled an arrow to her bow. Whise had not trusted the Faunus, but never in her worst dreams did she realize they had been capable of something so terrible. She raised her bow and took a deep breath. Nyx was gone she realized. The creature before was nothing more than a feral beast who killed in cold blood. She let the arrow fly.

            The silence that covered the room was shattered by a pained yelp. The arrow had passed through her wing and into the shoulder beneath it, pinning the two together. The force of the impact spun Nyx around to face Whise, but her eyes were still locked on something to her side.

            Whise followed her gaze and froze. Everything seemed to slow to a stop till her heartbeat was counting hours instead of seconds. Understanding filled Whise. Nyx had been staring at the broken and tortured body of Taris. The Faunus. The girl Nyx had wanted to go help. The reason that Whise had discovered Nyx’s secret.

            The sight of Taris far overshadowed Thrash’s death. Thrash did this. Whise realized, snapping her eyes back to Nyx. The Faunus girl looked Whise right in the eye. Whise had expected to see rage or shock, but instead sorrow and regret were painted across Nyx’s face.

            Time resumed its usual pace and the crowd sprang into action. Whise watched as Nyx descended beneath the fists and weapons of dozens of students.

            The blood ran red.

            What have I done?

~