12 Chapter Tweleve

I was curled up on my bed and listened to the howling of the wind outside. I could not sleep for some reason that confounded me. Perhaps it was because of all the interesting events that had occurred only hours earlier. Not only did I pull some magic out of a hat, but soon after I returned to Michael's home I had a surprise waiting for me. What was seen could not be unseen, and now I could never unsee a Mary-Anne sized silk and gold puddle curled up on an angry Michael. When she realized that I had entered the room she immediately started to shriek in defiance, standing in front of him like a dragon guarding her gold. After a constant barrage of insults from the screeching harpy I had left the room, fleeing to the upstairs. Truth be told, halfway through Mary-Anne's speech I had started to drift off in boredom, unable to get a single word in. Michael had though, screaming with a fury I had never seen associated with his giddy attitude. After fleeing the heated room, I collapsed on my bed in exhaustion. I heard a soft knock at the door before a stream of light poured in. Michael ducked his head in, his eyes drooping and body sagging. He was shirtless yet again and clad in only plaid pants. No words were said as Michael just shuffled in the room and made his way towards me. Collapsing onto the bed practically on top of me, he shimmied under the duvet and curled up against my back. That was when I started to finally relax in bed. I felt my eyes starting to fall and a sense of security washed over me.

"It's funny," I giggled in my sleep deprived state, "I could not sleep until you crawled in here." Michael pushed his nose against my ear. He seemed to nod in agreement as if he had crawled over here seeking sleep as well.

"I usually sleep with a pillow or Snuffles but you're my favourite to cuddle." He grinned against my neck, squeezing my hip.

"Snuffles?" Michael winced and I could feel his face heating up.

"She's my familiar. A cerberus spawn." I started to giggle in amusement as sleep began to take over.

"Snuffles sounds cute," I whispered as the moonlight burned into the room. He hummed in agreement as he started to drift off.

"There's Snuffles and Dante. They're my little cerberus and basilisk." He sounded content as his breathing regulated.

"You have two?"

"That's not uncommon. I was chosen by Snuffles at a young age, and I saved Dante years ago on a mission." His hand dipped down and rested on my thigh, the other firmly wrapped around my waist.

"I'm sleepy," I yawned, pushing back against him.

"You're very talkative for someone who's sleepy." Michael rumbled. His fingers gently stroked my thigh and pulled me deeper into my current state of exhaustion. I was in between my dream world and reality, being lulled to sleep by Michael's small actions.

"Shouldn't you sleep?"

"I'm not tired."

"Yes you are Behemoth," I was at my falling point, barely able to move my mouth anymore.

"You haven't called me that in a while." I couldn't answer. I was too far gone in my world. I was aware of my surroundings, but unable to interact with anything. I felt Michael pressing butterfly touches against my temples and cheek. The touches fell down to my neck and I felt my mind shut off. My dreams were not as heavy and dark as the ones I have had in the previous days. I was back in school sitting in the library. The library was empty and bright except someone sitting across from me.

"Scrat?" I was shocked at the girl sitting in front of me fiddling with her nose ring.

"Hey, how's it going bud?" She waved, tugging at her ponytail as she sat there. I looked around and felt practically glued to my seat.

"You haven't come to visit me pal. I miss you," She frowned. Her hazel eyes never left me-- a quality she had in reality as well. She gave you her full attention as if you were the only person in the world who mattered. I felt guilt well up in my soul as she sat up and walked towards me.

"Don't be like me." She rested her hands on my face, her face contorted in pain.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't run away from what you feel. Don't live a life of 'what if's'. Live a life of 'oh wells'." Scrat's image slowly began to shift and move around until her hazel eyes were replaced with pale blue ones. I blinked in surprise at Eclair who dragged me to my feet. She gripped my hand and began to lead me around the library. Like a scene from an action movie, the floor and bookshelves began to splinter around me and shift, books and letters floating around my head with pieces of wood sailing above me. The walls melted into decrepit cobblestone. The deeper she lead me into this world of madness the louder the cry of a baby seemed to get. She let me go and the pieces of wood clashed together to create a makeshift door with a paper doorknob in the middle of the room. No wall was present to keep it up or lead to an alternate room. A book floated in front of my face just as the door swung open to reveal a pocket leading to another room. It looked like a study, with a white cradle in the middle of the dark room. Something small was shifting in the cradle, waving its little pudgy arms in the air. I stepped through the door with interest, the pieces of the door closing before shattering into oblivion. Across from the cradle was a man at a mahogany desk, his white head bowed into his work. He paid no mind to the child and continued to sign document after document. I edged towards the cradle, peering over the side of it. A small baby dressed in a lavender sleeping suit, her arms waving into the air and tears streaming down her face. I reached out to the baby to brush away her tears but the sound of a chair squeaking against granite made me retract my hand. The handsome man had stood up and started walking around the desk to me.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't---"

"What is it sweetie? Daddy's here now," He cooed, completely ignoring my presence. He gently scooped the child from the crib, holding her lovingly against his chest. Instantaneously the crying stopped and the baby began gurgling in happiness. She reached out for the strands of white hair that fell loose from the man's slicked back style. His gaze softened and I felt a pang of sorrow in my chest. Almost as if I craved this very interaction, one with a caring father figure that I never had the chance to have. His fingers brushed by her cheek as he kissed her forehead.

"That's my brave little Salayria." He grinned as the world around me began to melt.

"Dad?" I croaked just as the last shreds of my dream faded. My eyes cracked open to reveal darkness and warm tears running down my face.

"Peanut, are you crying?" Michael groaned as he slowly woke up. He had most likely felt my tears soaking his arm. I shook my head in embarrassment, wiping away the rouge tears.

"Hey, what's wrong? Bad dream?" He yawned, burying me closer to him.

"Not quite. More of just an emotional one." He sighed at my remark and rubbed my arm affectionately.

"I understand. Do you need anything? A glass of water?"

"I just need some more sleep." I took a deep breath of exasperation and tried to close my eyes again. Michael's heartbeat thundered above my ear which quickly lulled me back into a dreamless sleep.

Her hands twitched in agitation as she tapped her mechanical pencil repeatedly against her book.

"Could you stop that? It's really annoying," Hannah grunted, eyeing the girl with a look of ignorant annoyance. She tried to stop but her anxieties just kept building. The clinically depressed girl was accustomed to hearing the odd thing that was not there-- a beep of an alarm, the buzz of electricity-- but the voices were something that irked her and made her skin crawl. She had tried to tell someone, but the people who she thought she could trust just waved their noses in the air and called her a drama queen. She should have been used to that, however, with something similar happening to her on many occasions before her diagnoses. The voices told her when and what to write, urging her that it was important. Her friend's life depended on it. Everyone seemed to have forgotten Salayria, as if she just faded into the background and no one cared. But she cared; she was fighting her own battle to make sure that her friends story was told. Gripping the pencil in her firm grip she began to write. He knuckles hurt from the pressure she applied and the odd time the lead would snap in two.

"Still going to ask that boy out?" Hannah grunted minutes later, her eyes never leaving her textbook. The girl shrugged feeling a sense of embarrassment well up in her.

"Probably not, he'll just say no anyways."

"You don't know that."

"Everyone else says no, this time would be no different." Hannah seemed to grow infuriated by her honesty.

"Hey, the best relationships start out when you hate the other person. Just remember what I told you about Kaleb your first day of school."

"Yes we passed him in the hallway and you practically tore my arm off and told me to stay away from him." She laughed at the memory.

"Listen, that boy that you want to ask out is nasty. His eyebrows are nasty, his clothes are nasty, he's nasty." Hannah scoffed and put her book down.

"I go more for personality rather than physical appeal." The light was starting to fade and the girl stood up to turn on the lamps. Her cat Cyrus followed close behind her, weaving through her legs the occasional time.

"Come on you have to have some standards. Yo, if I had met Kaleb now there is no way that I'd be dating this man. He is a grown-ass man whose co-workers have seen him naked." Hannah laughed and crossed her arms.

"Yet you two always make fun of me for that one time put my hand in a pickle jar," The girl took her seat once again, and her cat jumped on the back of it to keep her company. Her sister gagged at the memory.

"That was disgusting!"

"It was an accident."

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Hannah seemed to notice her younger sisters monotonous responses.

"I'm stressed okay?" The girl continued scribbling her notes.

"We're all stressed, it doesn't make you any special." The girl's blood began to boil. If only her sister knew the predicament they all faced. People would die if she did not finish this novel and it would be on her head. Instead of arguing she just nodded in hopes of saving some time. Hannah did not persist with the quarrel and returned to her own studies.

"The weight of the world is not on your shoulders." Hannah had obviously meant it as some smart-ass remark, but it forced the girl to deflate.

You're right, she thought to herself, The weight of the world is not on my shoulders. The weight of millions of worlds are, sister.

Rain pleated the glass next to me as I stared in awe at the beautiful yet gloomy weather. The water cascaded down the building and flooded the streets with puddles that reflected the world around them like a mirror leading to another world. I let out a small giggle as I realized that in this world one did not need a puddle to transport somewhere else. I gazed down at the floppy book in my hands-- the one that Michael had given me two days earlier. I had been catching up on my knowledge of the culture I was now a part of. It was beguiling and confusing, but with every new page I had felt like I belonged.

"Did you know that there are districts Gressil?" I cooed softly to the dragon curled up at my feet. I was only met with a small huff from the beast in his slumber as if urging me to continue.

"The city is split into the Darke and the Lite Districts, which is basically just separating the demons and angels. Then each of those districts are separated into five other districts. The Incantatio, Nox, Medicamentum, Daemonium and Infernum Districts in Darke are all based around magic types. Like Michael and I got you from the Daemonium Section, which translates to Familiar Section. Then in the Lite side we have Coelum, Telum, Otium, Bellator and Iudicium Districts. Otium is the Lite housing section where we are now." I was dazzled by this information that came complete with a map of the city. Twisting turns, large forest and spiraling decor completed the image. What truly peaked my interest was that the city was encased by a large circle and the Darke and Lite Districts were cut off from each other by a strange line. I blew it off as some error or minor detail in the book. I saw a cluster of houses at the top with tiny print that read 'Nephilim District'. Something about the small area amidst the great expanse of land belonging to the other Guardians-- devouring the sliver of land --made a sense of pity well up in my chest. The Incantatio District was interesting as well in my eyes. It was way off from the others and looked like a child's puzzle, the circular kind that they would draw a line through from the entrance to exit without running into a dead end. It's structure that seemed intentional and organized was a huge contrast from the rest of the Darke Districts unorganized buildings. The rain seemed to start hitting the window as it grew heavier and chilled my room. Gressil awoke from his nap and began staring longingly at the huge droplets of water hitting the pane. I gave him a weak smile and stroked his neck.

"When was the last time I ran through the rain?" I asked myself and came up with no definitive answer. Gresil seemed to want the same thing I did.

"Come on slow poke!" I giggled and made a sudden dash for the door. Gressil yipped in excitement and followed close behind me with his claws clicking on the stone. My legs felt like they were flying-- well not so much flying, more like ungracefully flailing about as gravity and muscle worked against each other. I passed a shocked Carina on the stairs as I ran past her.

"What are you doing?" She called after me.

"Puddles!" I squealed in delight. Not soon after I saw a flash of green as Carina ran down with me.

"Finally, someone with a sense of fun!" She squeaked as we hit the landing. Eclair looked up from her recliner in amusement as we ran past her.

"Puddles!" We screamed in joy as we made a beeline for the front door.

"Have fun girls!" She called after us as we flung ourselves outside. The cold air swelled around me and the rain pelted my skin. The coolness against my olive skin felt like heaven as if I had reverted back to the age of five. Carina took my wet wrists and swung me around in a heavenly dance of ring around the rosy before we crashed into our own puddle of joy. The puddle water sank into my clothes, effectively soaking any part of my body that the rain had not yet reached. I was giggling like a child with a carefree attitude, a quality I had missed and yearned for.

"What are you two maniacs doing?" A voice barked from the inside. Carina and I peered over to the perpetrator and saw a pair of crimson eyes and nordic blue ones.

"Oh, hey Red! Hey Michael!" Carina waved from the ground, some of the rain drops flying from her hand like a string of pearls falling from her wrist. Red waved politely at us and I waved back. I had only met the boy for less than ten minutes the other day but we had already had a weak friendship. Michael looked livid and glared at our soaked and muddy forms.

"Get in here before you catch pneumonia!" He screamed into the rain. Carina and I did not even have to share a look before we started laughing hysterically together.

"As if! Come join us, the water is nice!" I laughed and smacked the puddle. The water rained back on me and soaked my glasses with droplets.

"Well if you're not coming in on your own accord, I'm going to drag you in!" He walked briskly into the rain with a fierce glint in his eyes. Red followed close behind, both of their hair going flat from the weight of the water. Like a child I flailed around as Gressil continued dancing in the drops and biting at them.

"Salayria! Look!" Carina gasped and sat up. I sat up and looked to where the girl's wide eyes were focused. And there it was; the Nirvana of all puddles. So large and brimming with water that it was like a small pool.

"I want to jump in it." I was almost drooling at the prospect as Michael edged closer.

"Don't you dare!" He yelled as he closed in.

"I'm going to jump in it." His hand rested on my forehead and whipped my head around as slight punishment.

"No you're not." I glanced at Carina who just nodded to me.

"Just watch me!" I squeaked and ducked from under his grip, scrambling to my feet with Carina and running towards the promise land.

"Get back here! Red help me!" Michael barked as feet pounded behind us. We were almost there, the mud under our feet squishing with the impact of our feet. Gressil followed behind us, just as eager. Just ten more steps…

Five more…

Four...

Three…

Two… It was cut short from there as a strong arm wrapped around my waist and hoisted me in the air. I cried out in terror and kicked my legs which were floating with my body.

"Michael Cain Black, you let me jump into that puddle!" I begged as Carina splashed into it, Red slipping over his feet and jumping over her.

"Don't use my middle name and stop squirming!" He shouted as he twisted my body into a bridal pose.

"No!" I whined and lightly hit his solid chest. My wish for the puddle was granted by an unfortunate accident; Gressil had wanted to join us and used his head to get there. Literally, he ran into Michael's legs and toppled him over like a bowling pin. We both screamed at the comical incident as we crashed to the ground, the water splashing around us in a rainbow of colours. Michael was breathing heavily under me as I landed straddling his waist. My hips disjointed painfully but I quickly shifted to lessen the pain and grinned down at Michael. The water swirled around his ears and he shadowed his eyes with his hands so the rain would not fall into them. I started laughing so hard that the oxygen refused to stay in my lungs and I started to hyperventilate.

"Well that didn't go as planned." Red said sheepishly, his voice almost drowned out by the rain.

"No Red. No it did not." Michael's hot glare could have cut iron and I started to slide off him.

"Nope, you're going inside." Michael's finger dug into my legs as he hoisted me back into my original position. I yelped in surprise with some raindrops falling in my mouth as he sat up. His legs cracked as he pushed himself forward and used both of us as a momentum to get on his feet. Holding me like I was a koala and he was a eucalyptus tree he motioned for Red to get Carina.

"But-- But the rain!" I whined and kicked my legs, feeling exposed and uncomfortable in my position. I started to protest louder about my weight and the unfairness of the situation he stomped towards the entrance.

"Just shut up, you're not heavy." The heaviness of the rain was lifted off my shoulders as he stepped into the dry environment of the house. The heavy clothes weighed me down and I sighed as he gently set me down.

"Did you guys have fun?" Eclair chimed and poked her head out from the kitchen. The grin reappeared on my face as I nodded. Some of the droplets from my loose and wet hair smacked Michael in the face and he blinked twice in shock.

"Go get yourself dry, I made oatmeal for you guys!" My excitement climbed as I practically jumped in my spot.

"Okay!" My lungs were sore from the running I had just done. I was not a physical person and running around in the rain had utterly drained me. My huffing and puffing had alarmed Michael who caught up with me easily through his normal strides.

"Come on Peanut," He groaned as he knelt down and hoisted me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I knew that resistance was futile so I slumped down. For a second in my life, I had experience pure joy.

Is this what love feels like?