Death in His Eyes (Joar then Nymn then Open)

[sephora]

The girl shivered. Her yoga pants and tank top were soaked through for the most part, after having writhed so violently in the puddle. Her hair was stuck to her face and she wondered when this Solaris would arrive so that she could get into something warm and dry. Unless of course Lunari got killed by the demon and no one came. . . she was sure the boy would take her the rest of the way after a while.

Sephora's breath still came in a soft wheeze.

"Rest your eyes, tilt your headback, please, it's best you don't move, I'd hate for you to struggle anymore." Sephora was surprised when his hand covered her eyes. Struggle? Against what? He said his name was Christopher.

[glow=green,2,300]Death steals your nectar, little human[/glow]

What? Sephora heard the trees softly in her mind, though she didn't understand. What was Christopher doing to her, that he needed to cover her eyes with his hand? And his hand. . . it had not been warm as the hand of one who had just carried another human should be. She had not noticed it earlier when seeking him for comfort, but the uninvited touch betrayed his chill. Instead it was cold and raised goosebumps on her skin in the cold.

"Well Sephora, it's a pleasure to meet you, and actually I wouldn't mind learning something new." She tried to smile, but her unease at his touch and at the words of the trees made it falter. "I must say, I wish we had met before, you seem so..... sweet." The boy's voice had changed. This too sent her on guard.

[glow=green,2,300]Do not let death prick you with its thorns, little human, its venom is worse than fatal.[/glow]

Sephora wished that the trees would speak to her in plain Armenian. Everything said could have been about the demon that was left with Nymn, or about this Christopher who had covered her eyes.

"What is there to struggle against, my friend?" She asked softly, lifting her good arm and wrapping slender fingers about his wrist. Though she only applied a bit of pressue to try and lift his hand from her face, it was all she had strength for. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, though it held some strength. The strength was a lie, for the girl had lost a lot of blood and felt close to fainting, especially from the exertion of lifting her arm and moving her fingers. Sephora's muscles screamed in protest of moving and working, but she held her arm up anyways.

She didn't feel any different, but Sephora wondered if perhaps he was doing something to her. Had the demon moved out of Joar and into Christopher?

The pretty girl was tired of being afraid.

[Nymn Farshaw]

Nymn stirred slightly now and then, fading in and out of consciousness. He couldn't stay up much longer, he could feel his heart slow, giving weak pumps as it tried to circulate the body. His arms and legs were numb, his eyes heavy. Sleep, his body wanted sleep. But he knew not if it was just a few moments or the great dream in which God would embrace him in. Either way was fine for him, life came and went like a fleeting thought, all part of the Lord's great plan.

He slipped out and vision went black for who knows how long before he felt a voice and something soft touch his face. He tried to lift his head but his body refused, forcing what little energy he had left to meet the being next to him.

With heavy eyes that flickered between blurs and darkness he was slowly able to pick out features and a tone of the voice. It was Miss Lunari. Was Sephora safe? Was she dead? Had his fight and life been in vain? Or had she lived through it and was going to the medical wing? He didn't think he'd ever know.

She spoke again but the voice was drowned out by his fading consciousness. She hovered a hand above his chest and a light enveloped it along with his vision. He had so little energy but he felt a small, faint spark of life in him then. As if he somehow got a percentile of life in his system again.

He rolled his head as his mind swayed and took her wrist with his hand and placed the thumb in the middle of her palm in a light grip, as if it was more to keep his hand up then to hold it. "I-If Sephora is safe...Te-tell her I'm...Sorry for everything..." his body wheezed out between staggering and painful breaths.

He attempted to continue what he wanted to say, the last words of a dying man, only was he dying or had that spark been enough to keep him alive for others to care for him? "Tell her..I should have been there sooner..." he said eyes glazed and looking into nothing. "And that I...L..." he never finished the sentence before he slipped out of consciousness again, hand slowly slipping from hers.

His breathing slowed and was irregular. His heart hardly pumping. If anything before his death, he hoped to be warm. He hoped Sephora was safe and would not mourn him too long. But if he did live through this he could never forgive himself for not being there at the beginning to stop him from hurting her. If only he had been there a minute earlier. He could have saved her.

[Lunari Awren]

"I don't know what you know, but Sephora is alive and stable, Solaris is taking care of her." Lunari kept up her attempted healing, although, it appeared to be failing. His eyes were fading in and out, shock was apparent. The boy was dying. He had grabbed one of her hands, a sign of defiance, but even that was quickly weakening. The boy was nearly a goner.

"Tell her..I should have been there sooner..."

Lunari's eyes penetrated his own, the smokey orange readily apparent. "You are going to tell her yourself. Otherwise it's a detention." Or so she hoped. It wasn't looking too pretty, she was running out of energy for the night, as the staff was still channeling as well. But like him, she wouldn't go out without a fight. In one, final, burst, she would pull out the natural defibrillator she carried around with her.

It could harm...or it could possibly buy some time.

"Qi Spike!" The last of her stored lunar energy unloaded directly into his heart, and praying it would supercharge it for a minute, fell back looking into the sky out of breath. There was nothing more to do.

[Matrim Aldon]

The teacher had been up all night, no sleep yet again. This was normal for him though, hadn't really slept since his night with Emma but that had left him with something the equivalent to someone who had 50 beers in one night and woke up with a hang over.

But oh well. He would get plenty of sleep once he was 6 feet under. He laughed at that thought, he honestly as a child never thought he'd live to see 20, and look at him now 29, had a family that loved him and lived near him and he worked close to his wife, he could forget the insomnia easy with those pros.

He then heard a noise and looked at his MAC. It was an urgent distress call from Lunari. What had she gotten into this time? he wondered as he opened the file.

/START FILE
Dated: 6.09.2022
Subject: SECURITY ALERT!
Recipient: All Qi-Capable Staff
Author: Lunari Awren
--
--
/BEGIN/ Mobile Assistant Computer (MAC) Transfer...
(PRIORITY ONE ALERT!)

As of 21:40 this night, by order of the Awren twins, the school is on STAGE 5 LOCKDOWN! The school is currently under attack by forces of unknown intent. All teachers are to report to the automated beacon sent out from the MAC of Nymn Farshaw ASAP. All other staff, secure the AI Core. My location is marked on your MAC's map.

/END FILE/

His eyes widened as he saw the message. "Bloody hell, what in the name of the Creator is going on?" He said to himself as he threw on a shirt and shorts and sandals, he then started rummaging around his room for the emergency med kit he had. He wasn't a trained doctor but hell being in the hospital enough times as a child you picked up a few things.

He found it after a few minutes and rushed out the door with his MAC. He traced it to where the boy Nymn Farshaw was. Didn't know who he was but hell if the kid was doing something right he'd give him bonus points if he got into one of his classes.

After descending the stairs to ground level and out the main door he could tell he was getting closer. Another few minutes and he came out to a clearing to see Lunari sitting next to a boy by a tree. Another boy lay on his back, head contorted to an odd angle obviously dead.

He rushed over to them. She shouted 'Qi Spike' and a bolt of light shot into the boy's chest. It seemed to do little effect. He crouched next to her in a hurry. "What happened here?" he asked as he started opening his survival kit.

The kid was fading fast but he had to know what he was dealing with before he could treat it, while some medicine could help him, others could kill him.

[Lunari Awren]

Lunari watched the moon, and felt her strength coming back to her...little...by little...by little. Even her eyes were growing tired. However, among all the dull pain, she still felt the heavy footsteps on the ground. Something was moving out there. She willed her body to move, and managed to sit up a little. Rubbing her eyes, she looked down field some and saw something she almost laughed at.

Matrim Aldon.
In the flesh.

"What happened here?" He asked, right as he kneeled next to her.

She spoke rather quietly, but with her normal language. "Oh, you know the deal, random demon attack, Nymn fights demon, demon gets his ass handed to him, and...the hero is down for the count." Her eyes finally reengaged. "It looks to me like hes going into cardiac arrest if I'm not mistaken, and his Qi is almost non-existant. I tried reviving him with a Qi spike, but I'm already drained from the fight and the ritual with the druid girl."

She looked over toward the girls direction. Farsight revealed no change in condition it appeared. "The girl was heavily injured as well, although a healing ritual at the very least stabilized her...she's being kept alive by lunar energy right now, hence my lack of it to treat this boy."

[Matrim Aldon]

Mat nodded as he rummaged through the pack. He was going into Cardiac arrest? Alright he had a thing for that. But a demon attack? That was something out of the ordinary. Was it something that was easy enough for a student to take out? If so then why hadn't Lunari killed him and save Nymn the trouble of being hurt. He found the cartridges now.

He held it up to the light and affirmed it was the right dosage. "Alright, this is 50 CCs of pure adrenaline, direct injection to the heart. We should be able to keep him alive for...well if he is anything like what you said, he will make it through long enough to get to Emma." he said and slammed the syringe right into his heart.

It would bypass the ribs easy as the needle was thin and he squeezed the adrenaline into the kids body. He was still out, he didn't expect the kid to wake up, blood loss and internal bleeding would keep him out but the adrenaline would keep his heart pumping and that was the main idea.

He then placed a finger to the boy's throat, he felt a pulse. Weak but still there and growing slightly stronger. He gave a grin. "Alright, I'll carry him to the hospital wing, you can either come with me or get the girl, but if you come with me you better keep up and tell me what in the name of Creation happened, as best as you can tell at least." he said as he pulled out his MAC and send a message to Emma telling her to wake up and that they had two dying kids on the way to the nurse's wing. He then scooped up Nymn in his arms, cradling him as to not jumble the body and open up wounds or injure him more.

"The choice is yours Lunari," he said with a shrug and took off towards the hospital. This kid better live. If he did and Lunari was serious about him taking on a demon all alone he didn't care what Artemis said. He would pass the kid in Gym for the year.

[Marquise]

"Nothing to struggle against dear, I was reffering to your injuries," He released his hand, he stood in his original human form. The one he had back when he had a heartbeat. His voice went to the normal humane voice he always had.

"You see, you might be experiencing hallucinations with the loss of blood you are dealing with. The teachers got to that kid though, Nymn was his name? Well, you were pretty out of it for awhile but I think you might actually be coming around."

Now if all had gone well she would think most of this was her imagination in her moment of pain along with loss of blood and the actual thoughts, images, and sounds she was already getting. He decided to stay in his old form, with his old way of speaking.

"Anyway, Lunari will be heading over soon, I'm just going to go for a second, alright? I'm gonna tell her to come get you, keep your body still though, as I said before, struggling in midair trying to toss and turn will probably hurt you."

He stepped away, walking towards Lunari at first, and then into the trees after a few seconds. There he released his Qi and took off towards his dorm. He got quite a bit of blood all and all, but the longer he stayed, the longer he risked exposure. His survival instincts taught him to take what he could and leave.

Interesting.... I should probably avoid that Lunari woman from now on.... she might prove to be rather difficult. Her and her magicks. Enough information for tonight... I don't enjoy taking on girls forms so finding information on them is of no use to me yet. At least I got enough blood to satisfy the thirst.[/color]

[sephora]

Sephora eyed the boy when he stood and took a step away from her. "Nothing to struggle against dear, I was reffering to your injuries," She didn't believe him. Perhaps it was the paranoia she seemed to suffer everytime she was injured, even when spraining a finger, but she didn't believe that he had done nothing. Perhaps he was about to kill her when she had tried to stop him, or maybe he was trying to steal her soul. No, Sephora tried to rid herself of those thoughts. Christopher had saved her, if he wanted to kill her he could have done it many times this evening. Instead, he had carried her away from the demon and watched over her as she healed.

"You see, you might be experiencing hallucinations with the loss of blood you are dealing with. The teachers got to that kid though, Nymn was his name? Well, you were pretty out of it for awhile but I think you might actually be coming around." Sephora closed her eyes. Keeping her head cocked so that she could look at him seemed to be sapping her strength more than she realized. It was a relief to know that Nymn had been saved.


"Anyway, Lunari will be heading over soon, I'm just going to go for a second, alright? I'm gonna tell her to come get you, keep your body still though, as I said before, struggling in midair trying to toss and turn will probably hurt you." Though his voice had changed once more, Sephora did not notice. His words were the cause for her panic. He was leaving her? She was afraid to be alone and though she called for him to come back, her voice must have been too soft for him to hear and when she tried to shout she went into a fit of coughing. Feeling a pain in her chest, the girl was afraid that perhaps she had punctured her lung again so she stopped moving and breathed softly.

[glow=green,2,300]Safe at last, little human[/glow]

A sudden and surprised smile played on Sephora's lips. It hurt too much after half a second, her muscles screaming in protest, so she stopped.

How silly she had been, thinking she was alone. The Armenian girl was never alone, especially when in a forest. Dropping her good hand slowly, she pushed her fingers through the blood and into the soil. A small willow leafling popped up and started to grow immediatly. The trunk shot up beside her, close enough to add comfort but not too close as to bump her. It spread madnificently in the moonlight, long boughs drooping over her in protection.

With a sigh, Sephora rested her palm on the trunk of the weeping willow. She would wait with her new companion until this Solaris arrived. And if he didn't come, she would at least die with a friend.

[Solaris Awren (Chronos)]

For the most part, the school ran on its own. Solaris never really had to actively do anything, thats what his various programs were for...and Wilson of course. And because of this, it often left him time alone, to play little games, trying to solve lifes riddles, or play jokes around the school.

However, his little interlude was promptly interrupted by a rare red alert. The blast doors had automatically closed, and the turrets had been onlined, with several Qi-active personnel now guarding the doors, with klaxons blaring and all. "What the hell?" He had no form in the core, but he still had personality, quite useful for dealing with humans. "Now what?"

/START FILE
Dated: 6.09.2022
Subject: SECURITY ALERT!
Recipient: All Qi-Capable Staff
Author: Lunari Awren
--
--
/BEGIN/ Mobile Assistant Computer (MAC) Transfer...
(PRIORITY ONE ALERT!)

As of 21:40 this night, by order of the Awren twins, the school is on STAGE 5 LOCKDOWN! The school is currently under attack by forces of unknown intent. All teachers are to report to the automated beacon sent out from the MAC of Nymn Farshaw ASAP. All other staff, secure the AI Core. My location is marked on your MAC's map.

/END FILE/

"Oh lovely." What had Lunari done this time? A teacher must have insulted her, or the other way around, but reading more the message, the MAC she refered to was a student. He'd also received a distress beacon from Lunari just a minute ago, which was the higher priority of course. Gathering his energy, he projected himself to the outside in an intangable form.

The AI materialzed close to a small bush, and a girl, floating on a bed of glowing light. Solaris floated a moment, then gracefully touched down to the ground, walking over, and kneeling beside the girl.

"Well, it seems Lunari finally got that ritual to work now. Kudos for that. By the way you're alone, I assume she wants me to take you to the infirmary, which I suppose I can do." He mentioned with a smile. Sarcastic and sadistic to delinquents, he was also gentle and caring to others that might be hurt. "Solaris Awren by the way, Lunari's brother. I do hope she took care of you okay. Anyway, off we go now!"

Solaris formed a small ball of nanites, not enough to form a true body, but enough to push the light bed along up the path into the tower. "So, if I may ask, what happened out here?"

[sephora]

Sephora began to slip out of conciousness, the protective branches resting around her. It would be alright, perhaps in death her soul would bond with the tree she had created and she would live with it, watching the happenings of the school and its students. Perhaps she would be the cover for a lover's tryst, or something like that. The girl would have smiled if she had had the strength.

"Well, it seems Lunari finally got that ritual to work now. Kudos for that. By the way you're alone, I assume she wants me to take you to the infirmary, which I suppose I can do." Though the voice startled the girl, she remained still as death. Having lost most of her blood, she had become unable to move shortly after exerting herself by trying to move Christopher's hand. Her fingers were white, as were her toes. Sephora didn't respond to the voice, perhaps it was an illusion, perhaps it was the Solaris person that Miss Lunari had spoken of.

She was losing the will to care.

"Solaris Awren by the way, Lunari's brother. I do hope she took care of you okay. Anyway, off we go now!" Despite herself, a tear trickled down Sephora's bloody cheek, making a line in it as it dried. She was silent again, not sure if he even wanted her to speak. It was such a shock that Solaris had come. After Christopher had left her, she had resigned herself to the fact that death was coming to embrace her. Her bottom lip shook slightly, pale as her fingers.

"So, if I may ask, what happened out here?" The girl shut her eyes. It was the question she had known was coming but wished fiercly to avoid. How could she ever explain that the boy she had thought she was falling in love with had become possessed, tried to kill her, then she was saved by a boy she had met the day before quite on accident, without sounding crazy.

"I was attacked. . . by a demon," she paused to wheeze softly, "and was saved. Miss Lunari is. . . with the boy that saved me," she paused once more, exhausted by the effort it spoke to speak and not slip into Armenian, though it was painful to speak at all.

"My name is Sephora."

[Solaris Awren (Chronos)]

"I was attacked. . . by a demon," Solaris walked silently closer and closer to the tower. A demon. That was an incredible revelation. The last time he dealt with a demon was over 6 years ago. It was in that year he'd dealt with all kinds of supernatural things. Odd and otherwise...but one event in particular scared him to this day...

Only one word was needed. Sin.

Sin was the demon of a bounty hunter he'd met earlier in his travels as an AI. He had hated technology, and more over, Arrisin was absolutely focused on killing Solaris as a piece of inferior technology. However, with the help of Sophia...Sin's days ended quickly. A bullet to the head, with an integrated blast of holy energy finished him off...and that was the end of his demon problem.

"First of all, Nymn is alive, don't worry. And second...I know a thing or two about demons. Nasty creatures normally, but I know a couple that have done a lot of good. And glad to meet you Sephora."

Solaris looked her name up in the student logs. A druid, very interesting, that might explain the unmapped tree next to her. "We'll be at the infirmary in a moment." Solaris started to form nanites around his body, making him more solidifed as they approached the tower...

[sephora]

"First of all, Nymn is alive, don't worry. And second...I know a thing or two about demons. Nasty creatures normally, but I know a couple that have done a lot of good. And glad to meet you Sephora." The girl closed her eyes. Nymn was safe and alive. She couldn't have asked for anything more, the boy who had saved her was still alive.

She still couldn't move, so the smile didn't come, but she felt it on the inside. Sephora's lips moved and she tried to turn to look at Solaris, but nothing happened. Her muscles were cramped and her limbs were cold, but Sephora was worried that she couldn't even turn her head. She tried to reach up and touch Solaris to let him know that she had heard, but the girl couldn't move her arm.

Laying there, unmoving she heard, "We'll be at the infirmary in a moment." Sephora was relieved. She had lost too much blood.

[Solaris Awren (Chronos)]

Solaris saw the flicker of eyes, maybe indicating response, but it wasn't enough. She was in enough shock and damage that she was completely paralyzed, completely and utterly crippled from head to toe, no doubt caused by the heavy blood loss she'd sustained. Solaris shook his head, and opened the door by waving his hand. Once entering the tower, he regained his solid form, and started to manually push the light gurney to the infirmary, yelling to the receptionist as he went by.

He had prior looked up Sephora's dossier to find her medical needs, so he was well informed before hand of the needs. "I need a couple units of B-, make it quick! MOVE!" Solaris rolled her to the ICU, she didn't need surgery, but just a blood transfusion. In only several minutes, she'd have what she would need to ensure a safe recovery.

[Nurse Emma]

Tired. Dead tired.

There were no other words for how I felt as I worked on some paperwork in my office. Elayne had somehow gotten a cold, students were getting hurt left and right, and when I finally got a quiet moment, it was devoted to paperwork. Maybe I can close my eyes for just a moment...

------------------

I was suddenly awoken by the creaky rolling of a gurney into my office. My MAC was angrily buzzing on my desk and I had no idea what the bloody hell was going on.

"Blood and speed and WHAT IS GOING ON?" I shouted randomly, getting up and trying to understand what was going on. "Er...right."

I grabbed a bag of B- from the fridge, hooked it up to the IV pole already on the gurney. Quick as a switch, I found a needle and attached the IV to her thin, pale wrist and shook my head.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" I asked as soon as I finished. "I wake to a dying student, you, and a buzzing MAC. If there are anymore in this state, tell me now so I know this is a bloody nightmare!"

Yes, I was half delusional. Honestly, I had a right to be. With all this work and Elayne's cold, I had no time for sleep. I was seeing half shapes of just about everything and I was sane enough to think that I was insane. Er...wait...that's not right...

[Solaris Awren (Chronos)]

Oh yes, this was to be a long night. Two dying students...fun was to behold them all on what should have been a peaceful day. But of course, welcome to 650, home of the hurt, keeper of the pain. Emma had FINALLY showed herself after what could be considered a pretty long absence. She stuck a needle into her wrist, and the blood started trickling.

"What the bloody hell is going on? I wake to a dying student, you, and a buzzing MAC. If there are anymore in this state, tell me now so I know this is a bloody nightmare!"

Solaris delivered a slight glance her way. That comment kind of hurt. But only just a little.

"First of all, thanks for your brilliant observation. Second, this is not a nightmare, as you're not asleep, and thirdly..." This was the one he cringed at the most. "First reports from Lunari indicate a demon attack. Joar Addam Nessosin is dead. (SP?) He tried to take these two students to the grave with him apparently before Lunari and Nymn stopped him. At least from what I know. Nymn is in worse condition than this one, he's almost checked out. If you need help, say so now before I go get the body of Joar."