"And that is why we don't use tanks anymore." a male said, the class giving him a sarcastic clap for his presentation. Three days left in school, and the countdown for graduation already felt like it was taking its sweet time. The constant sound of the clock ticking ever so slowly, counting down before the big break. Everyone looked exhausted from the big change to adulthood, the land of taxes, car payments, and depression. the look of excitement appeared on those who thought freedom meant fun.
"Alright, Mr. Thompson, you're up next," the teacher mumbled, her purple hair and glasses going hand in hand for her age. Silence ensued when the boy's name was called as everyone steadily looked behind them in the back row, seeing the boy on his phone, earbuds in, and enjoying what little fun he has been squeezing in. A slap on the desk shook him as he looked up to see a small rock floating above his desk, the teacher's arm out, holding it in the air.
"Siren. . . Just say your presentation," she grunted, moving the rock out of the air and back on her desk. A tsk came from the boy as he stood up, pulling his blue jacket over his white shirt as he walked down the halls. Siren had a grim look to him, his hair covered in hair gel and formed into a slim ponytail, his mixed skin gleaming in the sunlight that beamed from the window, as his dead, black eyes stood still; it was almost like a dark figure looming over his very being. With a heavy sigh, the boy muttered, his voice clear yet slightly deeper than the average eighteen-year-old boy.
"I did the study of the history of Earth. We are in a world that is constantly fluctuating every nine or so years due to a being we call, The World Tree. A large glowing blue tree that holds a power over the world, having the ability to change any form of logic within a simple burst that it releases, known as a Kosmos wave. There have been two instances in the past. The first time being the birth of all other races such as, the variants of Elves, Orcs, Vampires, Fairies, and a multitude of species being brought into society, the second one was the birth of magic, elements like Water, Fire, Air, Earth, and Void. The first four act as a means of controlling or producing natural elements; however, Void is different. It has the aesthetics and properties of Darkness, while holding a toxic element like radiation."
Siren took a deep breath as he walked back to his seat, the students giving him that same sarcastic clap, but as he walked past his peers, he noticed a glance from one of them, Chase. He was the school's star football player, and a complete jerk in all his glory. It was a glance of superiority, as if Chase were telling him, "Hey I'm better than you!" to his face. A bitter feeling clawed at Siren's throat as he bit his tongue, trying to silence himself before he said something aloud. He took his seat, plunging in his earbuds to drown himself in a soothing abyss of sound. It was his way of keeping himself from being in trouble, but even as he rested his head in between his arms, Chase's glance still stayed. Those yellow eyes, along with his pale skin and curly hair, made him bite his tongue harder.
Even though the two were both vampires, there was always a level of hostility towards each other. Maybe it was because Siren was not a full-blooded vampire like chase was, being part human from his father's genes. Maybe thats why he feels so isolated when he's around either one or the other. With vampires, they've always held a strong sense of pride in who they are, seeing others as lesser beings, but humans, they had a God complex like no other, even against themselves. There was never a real place for him to belong, to feel like . . . Himself.
Just as his thoughts seemed to send him down a spiral of envy, a sharp iron taste entered his mouth, a quiet gasp escaping his mouth. It was blood. He released the strong chomp he had accidentally taken out of his tongue and quickly raised his hand, signaling for the teacher to notice.
"What is it Mr. Thompson?" she asked, lazily. Her glance holding little to no care about the situation. Siren steadily pointed towards his mouth, then at the door, his fingers shaking as he aimed, trying to emphasize the importance of the situation. Within that moment, there was not a hint of a person between her eyes, simply staring without a thought.
"Just go; don't roam the halls or whatever," she muttered, lying back in her chair as she closed her eyes, enjoying the silence of the classroom. With the confirmation he could leave Siren grabbed his backpack and ran out of the class, his footsteps rapid yet nimble. He hastily made his way down the hall, the amount of blood in his mouth overflowing as he saw it, the gardening club.
He swung the door open, his nose getting hit with a soothing scent of flora, being ever gentle with his nose. There were a plethora of flowers surrounding the sides, creating almost a giant bush within the school. Each flower was neatly put in place, forming a rainbow vertically
It was a home feeling, as if everything was going to be okay, as this was the place where nobody could be hurt. A safe haven. As Siren walked through the garden, his panic slowed down, scent of flowers somehow soothed his distress.
His gaze found what he was looking for. Within the patches of roses and spider lilies was a young woman, no older than him. Her soft light blue gaze holding still on the flowerpot in hand, her silky white hair sway with her head, as her pointy ears flickered at the slightest noise. Ana Thornheart, the only member of the gardening club and the one person Siren didn't stand talking to. They've known each other since elementary school and haven't stopped being close since. It was relieving to be near her, to feel like if the world had gone to shit, at least having her by his side would've made a difference.
His eyes glanced up back at Ana, her eyes glancing at him with a welcoming smile on her face, her gaze almost melted away the aching pain in his mouth, the somber feeling within his soul was fuzzy, washing that bitter feel deep inside him.
"Are you gonna say something or are you going to say hello?" she asked in a teasing manner, as she gently placed the flowerpot in an empty space. Siren's eyes widen at the words as he realized he was staring; his cheeks blushed at the embarrassing act. Loathing his actions, he swallowed the pool of blood in his mouth, speaking quickly with the time he has.
"Mah Tong!" he muttered, pointing towards his mouth. A disappointed look washed upon her face as she began walking towards him, frowning heavily as she grabbed his chin, tilting it up to meet her taller frame.
"Open up," she muttered as Siren slowly opened his mouth, revealing his stabbed tongue, his canines being the cause as blood dripped down from his right tooth. A plethora of ''tsks'' escaped her mouth as she gently pointed her finger at the wound.
"This is going to sting," she muttered. Small icicle shards gently covered the wound, freezing that area almost instantly. It was reverse cauterization, instead of burning an open wound closed, you freeze it, but what makes Ana's method superior is the factors she has over the ice. Ana wields the power of ice magic, having the ability to manipulate it on an atomic level. With that, she's ability to dilate the properties of it, so whenever she wants to reverse cauterize a wound, she can give the ice the property to clean the wound as it sticks. As the wound became completely covered in ice, she let go of his chin, stepping back as she walked over towards a nearby sink, washing her saliva covered hands plenty.
"Thanks," Siren said as he sighed of relief, walking over next to her.
"Well, how are you? I didn't see you in class earlier," he asked, laying his back against the wall, as she continued to scrub her hands, soap oozing away down the dark drain.
"Well, considering I just put my finger in my best friend's mouth almost as soon as I saw him, I guess I'm feeling pretty handsy right now," she snickered as she turned off the water, wiping her hands on her apron. Siren held back a laugh at the ridiculous joke that was just told to him, as he shook his head.
"Well, I said thank you. I ended up doing it again, sorry," he said gently touching the petal of a cornflower.
"You promised you'd stop doing that. I don't know about you, but I don't plan in becoming a personal nurse every time you bite your tongue. Why don't you just kick him in the head? Thats always an option," she claimed, poking him in the chest, as she gave him a sharp but concerned look.
"Kicking people is kind of impractical in a fight, and punching is literally a disadvantage with these jazz hands," he said, lifting and shaking his hands. Ever since Siren was a child, the bones in his hands have been brittle. He tried to get them treated, yet nothing seems to work, forever meant to wield such frail hands.
"Enough about lil ol me, how's work coming along?" He asked.
"Hmm, Co-workers still lazy, customers shitty, boss is still a creep. . . Yeah, still the same for me. The flowers are growing in time for prom, are you going," she asked, her tone raising as her interest peaks. Siren glanced at her ears, seeing how they almost flutter like a puppy wagging its tail. Whether she knew it or not, it was a dead giveaway for her excitement. Siren couldn't help but snicker at her serious face, and her ecstatic pointy ears.
"Prom isn't exactly my idea for a good time, are you going?" he asked, his smile wide. Her ears stopped flapping at the sound of his disinterest in prom as she shook her head.
"No, I was just curious if you were going," Ana muttered, looking away disappointingly.
"Well, what if--" BAM! The door swung open as their attention turned towards the entrance to the garden, only to see Chase, a sinister grin appearing on his face. His curled brown hair swayed as he walked in, wearing his yellow and orange football jacket, his pale skin, and white eyes beaming at Siren. Those pure white eyes. . . The symbol of Chase's connection to the light, giving him access to light magic and all's glory. Within that grin, he showed his fangs, as he slowly walked forward, looking around at the flowers until he picked up a pot containing a dandelion.
"You got some nerve, Thompson. Do you really think you could look at me with your nasty eyes?" he asked, making sure to emphasize his disgust in Siren. Deep down, Siren would've been happy to indulge in kicking his ass a peg or two, but they were in Ana's Garden, and he'd prefer to avoid damaging her hard work.
"Look Chase. . .Put it down and let's handle this outside, we don't need to break anything in here," Siren claimed, squeezing his fists to hide his boiling bitter feeling. Chase's eyes slowly looked up at Siren, smirking at how hard trying to hold back. He ran his fingers against the flower, before plucking one of the petals.
"I don't think I will. . . THINK FAST!" he yelled out, throwing the pot at Siren's head. He quickly jumped up, catching it against his chest as he fell, kneeling at the poorly angled fall. His eyes looked to see Chase directly in front of him, his fist leaned back as his eyes flared with excitement. Before Siren could react, he felt Chase's fist slam into his nose, forcing him onto the ground.
"Sorry, I meant to hit your stomach, but your face got in the way!" he chuckled as he wiped his fist wih his shirt. Siren rubbed his nose to see it was bleeding heavily, already going down his chin. He wiped his face with his shirt as he jumped up, trying to leap himself at Chase.
"I'm gonna kick your ass!" he yelled out swinging his fist at Chase, only for it to miss. Chase quickly retaliated with a quick headbutt, grabbing Siren and pulling him close to him, a confident chuckle escaped his mouth as he leaned close towards Siren's ear.
"This right here was just the appetizer for what's to come. In three days is the last day of school, the one day where everyone will choose me and you to fight, and when that happens, I'll break you. And who knows maybe your friend over there would like some quality time wi--"
BAM! Siren angrily headbutted Chase, sending him stumbling back some as he covered his head in pain. Siren's heart began thumping hard, hearing his rapid beating slam hard against his chest. It was almost like a dark urge was taking over his body, fueling his very core with an unfathomable amount of rage. He took a step forehead, his silent gaze emanating a primal feeling as he glared at the staggered man in front of him. Chase finally stood still, looking up to see Siren's feral glare, a hint of fear appearing on his face as he stepped back. His eyes looked over to the side to see Ana silently observing, a hand behind her back as she glared at him with a worse killing intent than Siren himself. Those light blue eyes holding that elegant glow, yet the glare itself holding a devilish look to it, stabbing straight into his soul without any mercy, such evil burning right through him.
"You freaks really deserve each other." Chase muttered as he walked out, covering his bleeding nose. Within that short moment of him stepping out, Siren wanted to chase him down, show him how much of a monster he makes him out to be, however, a cold hand gently pressed against his shoulder. The cold yet cozy feeling of her palm against him, steadied his heartbeat, the adrenaline oozing away as a loud sigh came from his mouth.
"Fucking asshole," Ana muttered as she walked over towards the destroyed plant, the crumbled flakes of the dandelion's petal surrounding the injured plant, soil covering the ground. The roots were broken into pieces, stabbed by the shattered pot pieces partially pricking the pained plant. She gently grabbed what she could, holding the shredded plant in her hands as she sighed, throwing it away.
"You could've saved it," Siren muttered, grabbing a paper towel and plugging his bleeding nose. Ana paused for a moment, staring at the thrown away plant, a look of disgust on her face,
"It was dead the moment it was freed from its pot," She muttered, walking away as she grabbed Siren's hand, pulling him along. An uneasy look came from her face as Siren noticed she placed something in her pocket, lost in thoughts flailing about.
Objects freed from their pots shouldn't be left to enter a newly made pot, it should learn to develop its own pot, rooting itself to earn its own place in the vegetative world. Otherwise. . .
That plant should just wither and die.