He received no answer, so he brought his arm back and then threw the glowing ball towards Jaida. She watched in fear as it grew larger the closer it got to her. It was going to hit her, she knew it, but before it could reach her, Arius swiped his arm through it, breaking the ball of light apart. It eventually dissolved away, and Arius' arm seemed completely unharmed. The light hadn't hurt him at all. He shot a dark glare at the man before him, looking a bit threatening even to Lucius. The white winged boy only snarled in disgust.
"Pathetic," he sneered. "Protecting a worthless human. They all have to die anyway, so why not just let me kill her now?"
"Just shut up and get on with it," demanded Arius as he prepared himself for a fight. However, Lucius only smiled as his body began to fade. It slowly turned a white color, and before they knew it, he looked like nothing more than a figure made of cloud mass. Without so much as a word, he dispersed, leaving behind no trace that he had even been there.
Jaida stood there in a complete state of shock as her mind raced to try and register what had just happened. At one point she had been sure she was going to die, but Arius had protected her. She began to wonder why when hundreds of new questions formed on her mind. Who was that man? What was the council? What did he mean about the human race having to die? There was only one person who could answer this for her, but she highly doubted he'd tell her anything.
She watched as Arius relaxed a bit. His wings soon folded and began shrinking down into his back, once again leaving no visible indications that they had been there. He then allowed his nails to return to a normal size before he turned around and fixed Jaida with a hard stare. He didn't seem angry at least, but he was in no way pleased with her.
"Um…" she began cautiously. "Arius? W-who was that?" Arius just gave a disgusted scowl before walking over to her.
"That was an angel," he snarled, watching the surprise wash over her face. "Not so fond of them now, are you?"
"He…he was an angel?" she questioned, still in a state of disbelief. "But how…? He tried to kill me."
"Damn right he did," said Arius as he slammed his hands into his pockets.
"Thank you," she said, and his expression faltered a bit. It was obvious he wasn't used to being thanked for something. "You really saved me."
"D-don't be stupid," he stammered quickly, his scowl once again appearing on his young face. "I only did it because I knew Lucius wouldn't want me to. That's all."
"So you did it to get back at him?" Jaida asked, sounding a bit disappointed. She had been hoping that maybe Arius wasn't as cold as he wanted everyone to think.
"Exactly," he told her as he walked towards the door. "Now let's go."
"Wait!" she called as she ran over to him. "I'd like an explanation. You owe me that much."
"I don't owe you anything," he said as he began heading down the staircase. "You can't tell me what to do."
"Please Arius?" she pleaded desperately. "This is my home, and I wanna know what's going on. What did that man mean when he said the human race had to die? Exactly why are you two here?" Arius didn't say anything as they entered the hallway. He still hadn't spoken by the time they left the building, and Jaida knew better than to probe. If his mission was that classified that he couldn't tell her about it, then she wouldn't bother him.
"…Lucius wants to destroy the planet," Arius answered at last, earning him Jaida's attention. "He's here because the angels despise the human race. I don't blame them, but not even we'd go far enough as to exterminate the Earth."
"But why?" she asked, sounding disappointed about something. "Why do they hate us so much?"
"Because the human race has become so pitiful. You rely far too much on technology, and then what do you use it for? Wars. Your countries build weapons in order to destroy one another. You're all so blind and ignorant, and I guess the angels are sick of you. You see, they believe that only the creatures deemed as 'worthy' have the right to keep living, but they're the ones who decide what worthy actually means." He clenched his fists tightly out of anger. "They have no right to play the part of God! But that's why I'm here. The council sent me to stop them from destroying this world. For some reason, they think the human race is worth saving. Why, I don't know, but I'm not about to disobey."
Jaida said nothing as they walked down the streets, heading back towards her house. So much had happened in just one day, and it seemed like the more time she spent with Arius, the more confusing everything got. She had only known him for about four days, and already he was messing up her normal life. Now the question was if she believed him. It was hard not to, but something didn't feel right. Perhaps there was more to this than he was letting on. At least it was nice to know that he'd protect her from Lucius, even if it was just to tick the angel off.
She stole a glance at Arius' scowling face but quickly averted her eyes to the ground. She really wasn't all that fond of the black winged boy. He was cold, rude, and arrogant. He was the opposite of the people she usually kept in her company. However, she had to help him in order to guarantee her life. Besides, if what he had said was true, he was actually there to save their planet. It was hard to believe that a creature as demonic as him was their savior. Again, though, this aroused a question in her mind that she had contemplated a few times before. Could she trust him? Could she really trust this Deslyan that thought of humans as nothing more than insects? For now, she didn't have a choice. She would just have to keep an eye on him until she could come to her own conclusion.
It had been one full week since Arius had began going to school, and Jaida had been studying his behavior the entire time. Oddly enough, he'd participate in class by answering questions he was asked or even ones he wasn't asked. She was sure he just wanted to show off, to show that he was smarter than all of them were. She also noticed, however, that he didn't talk much otherwise. He would only offer Amy short phrases, Seth a small glare, and anyone else a cold shoulder. However, strangely enough, he spoke quite often to Jaida. He was always asking her about something, and depending on what it was, she'd offer an answer.Right now, the two of them were leaving the school at the same time everyone else was. This was one of those rare Fridays where the teachers didn't give any homework. Every kid dreamed of those workless weekends, but as the two of them stepped out onto the lawn, Jaida was beginning to wish they had had a reason to stay after. No sooner had they reached the gate when a
The crowd that had gathered around the two boys kept murmuring, some making bets about who they thought would win. Needless to say that most were against Arius. After all, Jerrod had knocked out quite a few teeth in his life and had probably broken a few noses. The students he had something against often feared for their good health. Perhaps today, though, someone would be able to teach the brute a lesson."Come on," coaxed Jerrod as he readied himself for the fight. "Let's get started." To his surprise, Arius laughed."Why should I waste my time on you?" he asked Jerrod.Pathetic humans..."What are you implying?" asked Jerrod, his face turning red. He was getting angry, and talking to Arius was like putting fuel to the fire. The Deslyan would just keep pushing Jerrod until the boy exploded.
Jaida sighed a bit when she realized that he'd hate her for even thinking something like that. He despised the human race, or so he said. He didn't seem to mind them as much anymore, but some people did tend to get on his nerves. Her friend Seth happened to be one of them. She had noticed the glares they'd exchange, though the feeling was more or less one sided. Seth seemed to have something against Arius, and Jaida was wondering if perhaps her friend really was jealous. She couldn't blame him. Half the girls in the school had already decided that Arius was by far the cutest boy they had ever seen, and she couldn't help but admit that she was one of them. Unfortunately for her, she knew what he was like. His looks were one thing, but his personality was another."Jaida!" called out a familiar voice, stopping both her and Arius. They watched as Mr. Owens ran over to them, his briefcase in one hand and a bag in the other. By the time h
Arius finally decided to move, so he spread his wings and took to the skies in hopes of escaping the choking smoke. The sky wasn't much better though. The higher he got, the worse he felt. It wasn't because of the smoke, though. He was feeling somewhat nostalgic, as if he had been here before, seen this place. The licking tendrils of fire that nipped at his limbs were so familiar that when they touched him, he felt his whole body ignite."What's going on?" he asked, wiping some sweat from his brow. He began to look around, realizing that there was no one left in the area. The strange, dome shaped houses that lined the streets were all ablaze. Whoever had been living in the town had either evacuated or been consumed by the flames. The second option was much more probable. Arius clenched his fists, suddenly finding himself angry. The more he looked around, the faster he was realizing that he
Jaida glanced across the kitchen table at her current companion. Her mother had left for work early, deciding to put in more hours. This left her alone with Arius, who was sitting at the other end of the table, playing with his food. He was just poking at it with his fork. The expression on his face gave the impression that he wasn't there, like his mind was wandering and wasn't about to return anytime soon. Jaida noticed that he looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept at all last night."Aren't you hungry?" she asked. He only shook his head and pushed his plate away. She couldn't help but notice that he didn't eat a lot. Maybe Deslyans weren't used to human food. Maybe they ate something else. She couldn't imagine what, and to be honest, she didn't really want to ask him.After breakfast, Jaida decided that it would be good for them to get out of the house for a while. Arius was being abnormally quiet, so she was hoping that by going out into the city, he'd talk a bit. He always seeme
Lucius smirked widely as he set his eyes on Arius, seeming very smug about something. He always seemed to be smiling, but it was such a cruel smile. It was as if he was constantly enjoying some private joke, as if all of this was nothing more than a game to him."Do you like what I've done here?" he asked both of them, his smile spreading into a smirk. "Bring back any memories?" Arius clenched his fists so hard that his palms almost began to bleed. He was having a hard enough time dealing with the reminder last night. He didn't need this."Just shut up Lucius," he snapped angrily, cracking his claws a bit. "You won't get away this time." Lucius just laughed and extended his arm. He pointed his finger at Arius, and his arm began to glow. Soon enough, a small tendril of what looked like fire began swirling around his extended arm, forming a spiral. All of it soon gathered before Lucius's pointed finger. He smirked before the large ball of swirling fire tendrils was released. It went righ
Jaida finally gave a relieved sigh, thinking that they were safe. However, a white blur streaked by, slamming into them. Jaida noticed that Arius' grip tightened around her as they rocketed towards a nearby building. He held her close, turning a bit just as his back came in contact with a huge window that resided on top. The sound of shattering glass echoed in the abandoned warehouse, filling Jaida's senses. She was only distracted when she felt their descent stop abruptly. She noticed that Arius was no longer holding her in a vice grip. His arms were lax as they began slipping off of her when she moved."Arius?" she questioned, finally looking down at him. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. She then realized that they were at the bottom of the warehouse. He had slammed into the cement floor, now lying atop a bed of broken glass. She quickly got off of him and began to see if he was injured. Other than being unconscious, he looked alright.Jaida took in a deep breath to try an
Jaida quickly noticed the emotions running across his face and flashing through his eyes. She bit her lower lip, unable to help it anymore."Arius, I'm so sorry," she told him, earning her his full attention. "I'm not very helpful, am I?" Arius watched as her eyes began to shimmer. "You got hurt because of me. I'm sure you would have been fine on your own. I do nothing but cause trouble." He noticed that she was sniffling a bit. Being a Deslyan, this would have been the perfect opportunity for him to lay it on thick, to tell her it was her fault, that she was nothing but a burden. The emotion she was giving off would have satiated his hunger, but as he watched a tear drop roll down her cheek, he changed his mind. Just this once, he would refrain from feeding off of human emotions. He wouldn't use her like that."It's…it's alright," he told her, unable to think of anything else to say.