The Prey (or Predator) Moves

World name: Arknis 

Reality no.: 1

Citizen file 182,320,056,218,90

[Name: Acacius]

[Age: 57891] 

[Date of Birth: 12th November, A.L. 412,002,756,899]

[Planet of Birth: Nexus]

[Place of Birth: Nexus Public Hospital]

[Family Status]

[Mother -– Deceased]

[Father –- Deceased]

[Older brother –- Deceased]

[Younger sister –- Deceased]

[Relationship Status: Single]

[Physical Health Status: Peak condition (Last updated on 4th June, A.L. 412,002,756,936)]

[Mental Health Status: Unknown]

[Current Occupation: Leader and lead researcher of 'Ebony']

[Current Nickname: Icarus]

…

People tend to have stupid and absurd dreams in Arknis, Amelia knew that better than anyone else. 

But this was indeed rather new, even the most absurd thing she had heard of with her years of working in Arknis, serving as their leader and one of the entities capable of speaking to Gaia.

 She was not sure if she would define Acacius — or well Icarus as he was known to his followers — as cocky or naïve, perhaps both.

She already approved S&I Department's wishes to continue their investigation further, borrowing some manpower from the army to infiltrate some of their bases, or areas where the members of Ebony were seen to be frequently hanging out. They were just about to start the next phase of the investigation, grabbing hold of one of the members of the organization and interrogating them for further answers. But she had not expected a text from an unknown number on the same day she approved Marcus' decision.

'Nine Club at Uptown Nexus, tonight 9 p.m. Upper floor room number 12.'

If she did not know any better, she would have thought that someone had given her phone number, and the sender was trying to pick her up.

She never liked crowded places, such a decently sized bar on Friday night, there were too many people which made her skin crawl so much that she wanted to dig her nails through that layer of skin, peeling it off like it was simply a decoration. The blaring music only made her head throbbed in pain; it only increased the further she walked into the bar. The flashlights were way too bright, changing in color while shining in beat to the music that was playing. She took in a deep breath, choosing to ignore the music, forcing it to be nothing but white noise as her eyes darted around to find where the stairs were.

There was quite the sum of scent in the air; Most of it being sweat and alcohol, some of it were drugs while the rest were sexual hormones, which formed a frown on her lips. She cursed her enhanced senses for being able to pick up the most miniscule of scents and sounds no matter where she was, which made her curse herself for being even more of a partial human after she gained her current position.

She felt a few eyes on her as she walked through the crowd, their gazes lingered on her body longer than necessary. She did not pay them any mind, knowing all too well that people would stare at her body, which was the other reason why she hated being in crowds. She actually did not stand out all that much, being dressed in her usual getup that did not do much in showing her figure off other than covering her body.

 She was a beautiful woman, the type that could nearly flawlessly fit into any piece of clothing, no matter how absurd or risqué, simply due to her face and a perfect ratio of her entire figure.

Her ears picked up the sound of a few men whistling, definitely trying to catcall her if they stood close enough. She was grateful that they were further away from her, getting into any more troublesome situations would make her turn this whole bar into purgatory. She was contemplating it, the thought lingered somewhere in her head while she walked towards the stairway at the corner of the bar.

Even within this noisy and impulse-filled environment, she still picked up on an all too confident stride aside from her own within her arm's length.

Once she was out of the more crowded area, she halted before turning her head towards the stranger. It was easy to tell that the stranger following her was a man, with his slightly wider and taller stature and the edges of his face. She could tell that the man planned all of that, intentionally wearing a black hoodie and black surgical mask. Even if he was a bit odd dressed like that, nobody would question it too much as long as he had not done anything that would draw their attention.

"State your business before I force you to." She demanded, phrasing it more as a warning rather than some advice.

The man did not reply, instead her phone rang. She pulled out of her pocket, seeing the message notification. She gave the man a glance, who was just sitting still while observing her facial expressions.

She sighed, putting it back into her pocket. "At least you're not dressed too ominously." She said while giving him a shrug.

She took a few steps to the side, her head nodding towards where the stairs were. The man's eyebrows were raised, his eyes widened slightly, but he still did not say a single word towards any of her actions. He walked on ahead, not bothering to turn around to check if she would even follow him along.

"Your intentions were as easy to guess as the reason why a child is throwing a tantrum in a toy store." She said with another shrug of her shoulders.

He turned his head just enough to send her a glare, which only made her laugh. "What? I thought your leader knew something about me?" The smile on her lips were of amusement and mockery.

They kept around an arm's worth of distance between them as they walked towards the stairs, the bouncer only gave him a nod before letting him go up without asking any questions. She flashed a polite smile towards the bouncer, the muscular man gave her an acknowledgement nod in return.

Her ears picked up some noises and whispers as they walked down the hallway, passing by one room after another before reaching room number 12. The room was the quietest as she heard almost nothing coming from it, aside from the faint sounds of breathing and heartbeat. The man pushed the door open, letting her get in before he followed behind.

There were various men, a few women, all wearing black surgical masks that hid half of their faces. Some of them were holding guns while the rest seemed empty handed, but there was an undeniable presence of magic in the air. 'They could either be the dedicated spell casters of the group or just have some other weapons hidden on their body.' She noted mentally before her attention was taken fully by a man's laughter.

"Ah~ You really did come to see me after all!" The man said at the end of his amused laugh.

He was the only one sitting down on the couch, holding an empty whiskey glass in his hand, the ice swirled around with each motion of his hand. Mid-length dark brown hair with a part braided, yellow — almost golden pupils and mildly tanned skin. He looked like he was in his early-20s, the best body state for citizens of Arknis.

"Has nobody told you that the best way to get me out of my office is to either intrigue me or propose something entertaining, Acacius?" Her tone was both light-hearted and amused at the same time.

"Call me Icarus, darling." Icarus quipped back without a second thought.

He was trying his best to keep the tension light, make it easier for her to breathe in this room. But his attempts were futile, a complete waste of breath. If she was a weaker person, she would have caved into the pressure around her, the barely lit room was only thickening the air; If she was a weaker woman, she would have felt more at ease with the way his lopped sided smile barely lightened up the atmosphere. 

But she was not, she was the furthest thing from any of those. 

"Sweet talker, aren't you?" 

She did not wait for his next move or cue, naturally sitting right in front of him, sitting upright on the couch. She looked at the few empty glasses sitting on the table, but made no further comments on it. Despite being alone and surrounded by his followers, she still seemed to be at ease, like she did not just willingly step into a lion's den. One wrong word and she might get chewed up into pieces. 

"Is it alright if I ask for a drink?" She leaned her back on the couch, her limbs completely at ease. 

He exchanged glances with the man standing next to him, the man nodded before Icarus asked, "What would you like?"

"Long island iced tea." 

The man nodded, keeping his eyes on her until he left the room. Her ears still could pick up the loud music playing from outside of the room, but it did nothing in easing the rising tension in this space. 

"I have a question." Amelia was the first to break the silence, watching Icarus place down his glass. 

"Where did you get my number from?" 

"I didn't know that was such an important question." He chuckled, his smile remained on his lips. "But if you would like to know…"

He waited for a second to say another word, his eyes boring into hers. "I'm sure you're very familiar with a mafia boss named Sensu."

It was her turn to chuckle, shaking her head before letting out a long sigh. "Ah, it was him eh?" 

He raised an eyebrow, his smile remained on his lips anyways, "You don't sound so surprised."

"I can count with both hands how many people have my phone number, so it isn't that hard to guess that it would be one of the ones that can't keep their mouth shut." She shrugged. 

His eyes widened a bit more before settling back into his friendly smile, "I thought you would be… a little angry at least."

"Why?" 

"You aren't the type to give others your phone number, right?"

She nodded, "Not without a good enough reason."

Before he could ask anymore, she raised her hand and waved him off, "Don't think too hard about it. Let's get right down to business, alright?"

The man came back with a glass of her cocktail, placing the glass on the table then taking a few steps back, leaving enough space for them to talk. She reached over, wrapping her fingers securely around it and took a small sip. She raised her glass, moving her glass forward slightly. 

"What were your guesses on the reason why I asked you out?"

 "I was sure that we aren't on a date, Icarus." 

 "It was a mere joke, Amelia."

"And you take me as one too." 

Icarus' smile faltered for a mere second, but that was all the reaction she needed from him. Her head tilted slightly to the left, a satisfied smirk adorning her plump lips, taking another slow sip of the cocktail as the pressure rose exponentially. She let out a soft chuckle, barely hiding her amusement even on her body language. Placing her drink down, her fingers intertwined as she leaned forward, her head cocked just a bit more. 

"People like you are easy to guess," She paused for a moment, her shoulders moved up as her head slanted to the other side, "Intentions, motivations, goals and even who they plan on recruiting to help with their cause; It's nothing new, at least from an individual wise."

"The only thing that is really new is what you have been trying to do." 

"You have a terrible read on the air."

The slight on his tone did not go unnoticed which made the smirk on her lips grow a bit wider. "And you have a terrible read on me, Icarus."

"I of course had pondered the reason why you wanted to meet me in the first place." 

She looked around her, seeing how tensed up his men had gotten, being more than ready to attack her as long as he gave them any cue to do so. The smile plastered on his lips felt even more forced, as if it was roughly tacted on just to make something seem true. She took another gulp of it, making sure the alcohol went down quickly. The sigh was dramatized, she could almost see veins popping clearly on his hands.

"I was very disappointed when I figured out what the answer was." 

She leaned almost her entire upper body on the table, both of her arms resting on it. Her voice lowered to a whisper, "But it must be exhilarating to think that you could play creator, doesn't it?"

She grabbed her glass once more, now moving herself so that her back rested comfortably on the couch, taking small sips of her drink while maintaining eye contact with him. Her smirk faded slightly, seeing the change in the way he gazed at her. That smile of his turned genuine, even his eyes seemed to have the slightest amount of admiration and intrigue in them as he started to laugh.

A boisterous, full-bellied laughter. 

His laugh made his men lower their guards, no longer holding onto their weapons so tightly or readying themselves to cast magic with the pre-casted magic circles. Amelia's only reaction to it was a light groan, drinking the rest of the cocktail in one gulp. Once he stopped, he wiped the tears gathered on the corner of his eyes, his smile turning into a wide grin.

"I have underestimated you. I apologize, Amelia." He placed his hand on his chest, giving her a nod as his way of showing that he was truly apologetic. 

She simply gave him a shrug, "Not a big problem."

She stood up, placing her hands back into her pockets. Her sudden movement made his men all take a stance, being more than prepared to attack her the second she did something. Yet, she only stared at them, a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. They all realized the same thing the moment she smiled like that, akin to a cat doing things it should not be doing. He turned his head to look at his men which caused him to laugh out loud once more. 

"You lot are too easy to trick." The corner of her lips moved slightly to form a grin as she winked at them.

They were clearly a bit pissed that they fell for something like that, some having very annoyed facial expressions. Although none of them dared say anything, in fear of actually incurring her wrath. It was an unspoken agreement between everyone in the room, that they probably could not win against her even if they gave it their all. 

They were more like an annoying gang of chihuahuas in her eyes.

"You're already going to leave?" He raised an eyebrow as she turned to walk towards the door.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" 

He could not help but chuckle at how confident she sounded when she asked, along with the wide grin appearing on her lips again. "I do have one question." 

"Do you really think of yourself as a Goddess, Amelia?"

"It has become who I am and it's my job." 

There was no hesitation in her reply, but she did not question his reason for asking it. She just flashed another amused grin at him before walking towards the door. 

"And you don't plan on stopping us?" He raised his voice the closer she got to the door.

The laughter that came out of her lips were in sync with the music blaring as she pulled the door open, amusement was still clouding her gaze as she quipped, "One way or another."

"Oh, and I know that the phone number you texted me is not obtainable from Sensu.' She added with a playful tone and grin.

The door slammed shut behind her, her ears fully picked up the noises from the other rooms and the music that was still blaring loudly. She took in a deep breath, letting her legs carry her out of the club. 

"This will be interesting at least."

Icarus could not help but to giggle to himself after she had gone out of the room, shaking his head as he murmured under his breath, "You are really fascinating for being a Guardian Goddess, the Queen of Gods."

"You will be more than elated to see the results, Amelia."