chamomileess
(Note: There is 10 pages worth of size 14 text from Microsoft Word here... It's a pretty massive post.)sizeo:4/sizeoActiniumsizec/sizec The Cloudhopper cocked its head slightly. It could not tell if the tall green thing standing in front of it was friend or food. Creeping forward a bit, it sniffed the air tentatively. True, nothing green existed out here on the plain, and the bright colours simply stood out against the crystalline blue of the ice. The green thing didn?t seem to be moving, but instead it lifted up another green object. Suddenly, the Cloudhopper heard a crack, and it felt an intense pain in its face. The Cloudhopper shrieked, its piercing cry shattering thin panes of ice. Rage blazed in the Cloudhopper?s eyes as it launched itself at the green thing. The others, hearing its cry, would be here soon. Nera, Emi and Sisily were still a ways off when they heard the sound hit them. A screaming peal of noise blasted through the icy trees, followed by the sound of shattering ice. Covering her ears, Sisily shouted, ?What was that noise?!? ?A cry for help,? said Emi, picking Sisi off the ground. ?There?s a wounded Cloudhopper out there.? Nera looked in the direction of the sound. Blue trees of solid ice stood in the distance with the sun peaking over their tops. That?s where the sound came from. Looking to the other girls, Nera said, ?How much do you want to bet Gely?s responsible for that?? ?It would not surprise me,? replied Emi. ?That?s Gely, I guess,? Sisi piped. ?Well, seeing as how we?re looking for him anyways, we better go help him out before more Cloudhoppers get here.? Gelyan held Hydra at arms length, shaking slightly. That scream was powerful stuff. Few things fazed him, but now, Gely could hardly steady his hands. He?d never heard Cloudhoppers scream like that before. Even when he was fighting them the first time against the Sky Lord, they never uttered a sound. Shaking his head to clear the ringing from his ears, Gely lifted Hydra once again. ?he thought as he flicked Hydra?s trigger. Two of Hydra?s seven barrels flashed with light that grew steadily until their tips glowed white hot. Releasing the trigger, Gely sent forth a massive, viscous blob of white goo that struck the Cloudhopper head on. The mass splashed over the Cloudhopper, adhering it in place. The corner of Gely?s mouth twitched into a smile. Now he had the upper hand. Manoeuvring his fingers around Hydra?s trigger, he activated all seven of the barrels. Bracing the weapon with both his hands, he released the trigger. Hydra kicked back in a firestorm of bullets, and Gely fought the bucking weapon to keep it on target. Nearly every shot imbedded itself into the Cloudhopper?s skull. Without a sound, it dropped to the ground bleeding out of dozens of wounds. Silver-black blood drained out of the lifeless corpse and stained the ground. Wiping his sleeve across his mouth, Gely walked away from the sight. He took only a few steps before he heard his name shouted over the treetops. ?Gely!? ?Geeeeeeelyaaaaaaannnnnn! Where are you!?? , he thought, In truth, Gely rather liked all three of the girls. Nera was a bit rough around the edges for his tastes, and Sisi was too much like his little sister back home. Likewise, Emi was too? different, to say the least. She came from a whole different dimension, for heaven?s sakes. Still, it was better than being alone. Calling back, he shouted, ?Girls, over here.? The three girls sprinted between the trees, their footsteps hardly making a sound on the icy leaves. They seemed to slow down simultaneously and they stopped right in front of Gely. ?God damn it, Gely,? gasped Nera. ?What the hell did you kill this time?? Gely smirked and said, ?You see the Cloudhopper over there?? Nera looked over his shoulder. ?Oh.? ?Yep.? A cry broke free from Sisily?s mouth. ?Gelyan! How could you! The Cloudhopper probably wanted to play with you!? Sisi fought back tears in her eyes. ?Play with me? Don?t be daft. It wanted to eat me!? ?But still?!? Laying her hand on Sisi?s shoulder, Emi whispered, ?It?s OK Sisily.? Emi patter Sisi gently. ?What?s done is done.? Nera turned to Gely, and was about to say something that would have made him feel bad about what he did when that same ear-splitting screech blasted through the crystalline forest. The four of them turned around and saw five Cloudhoppers poised around the corpse. Their bodies bristled in agitation, and fury shone in their eyes. They lined up, poised to strike. Nera shot Gely a glance that would have frozen water. ?We'll talk about this later,? she said, pulling Gemini out of their sheathes on her back. He twin swords gleamed in the fading sunlight. With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent the blades spinning in a wide arc, tracing lines of blue light in the air. She charged at the five Cloudhoppers, lifting her blades into a double stab at the foremost one. The five Cloudhoppers split off into three groups. The two pairs flew straight up and dived at the others while the last one stood its ground against Nera. Instead of running, the Cloudhopper opened its mouth wide open. Seeing what was about to happen, Nera twisted left and narrowly avoided the beam of white hot light that shot from the Cloudhopper's mouth. ... Nera though. Smiling, she leaped up into the air, using a burst of magic to propel her an additional ten feet upwards. As she fell downward, she shouted, ?Death! I could use a little help here!? In her mind, a soft-spoke whisper said,. The Cloudhopper prepared to shoot again when suddenly a pentagram of white light lit up beneath it. Startled, the Cloudhopper jumped backwards in time to avoid falling into a deep black pit that had formed where the pentagram was. Out of the pit came high pitched shrieks that chilled Nera's blood, and wailing voices that filled Nera with both a feeling of hope a despair. She landed in a half crouch and braced herself. Death was coming. From out of the pit came a pile of white bones which made up the skeleton of a horse. Astride the horse was an ethereal shadow dressed in late-century English clothing. Death herself carried a small umbrella that matched her grey and red dress, and a sunhat rested upon her head. Her facial features came into a dull focus, just barely recognizable as ?human?. You could tell that whatever she was in the past life, she would have been stunning. Death opened her eyes and breathed her first wispy breath. Almost at once, a strange smell filled the air. Nera looked at her quarry and saw that the Cloudhopper's flesh was slowly melting. The Cloudhopper screamed in pain as it scratched itself with its wings, trying to stop the burning sensation that consumed it. Nera smiled and charged again, this time summoning the familiar feeling of magic in her blood. Pinpricks of ice sprouted beneath the Cloudhopper's feet and began to grow. Within seconds, a huge tower of ice split through the earth, impaling the small Cloudhopper. Nera ran at it and swung Gemini with as much strength as she could muster. The two blades slid easily through the ice, their edges piercing flesh. Nera jerked to her left to avoid another beam of light and plunged her swords back down into the Cloudhopper one more time. The Cloudhopper shrieked as the blades once again pierced its flesh. Death came up behind the Cloudhopper on her fell horse and ran the small creature through with white blade made of bone. The Cloudhopper fell silently, still encased in its prison of ice. Nera turned around to look for her friends, only to see that they were finishing off with the last Cloudhopper. Emi raised her arms, and a sphere of pure electricity formed between her hands. The sphere grew until the whole thing was nearly as large as she was tall, and she let the ball fly. Striking the Cloudhopper head on, the small creature was vaporized by the intense blast. Such terrible necessity sickened Nera. Nera turned to Death and asked, ?Death, what are we still doing here? We finished off the manifestations of our memories, and Reciful isn't going to pull anything funny any time soon after what happened.? Nera turned towards her friends and watched as they congratulated each other on their victory. Speaking in a voice so low that Death barely caught it, Nera whispered, ?When can we go back?? ?That is something I cannot answer, Nera. I deal only with the deaths of men,? said Death as she laid an ethereal hand on Nera's shoulder. Her voice was wispy, and sounded as if a multitude of broken souls were speaking out at once, all of whom sounded hopeless and full of despair. ?My sister is the one who deals with what happens to men during their lives. She is the caretaker of Life, and I, the Afterlife. Another voice spoke in Nera's mind. ?What my sister says is true, Nera. I have tried divining into your future, as well as the lives of your friends. However, since you are not of our timberline, I cannot tell you for certain as to what your future holds. But,? the voice added softly, ?take comfort in the fact that we're all here to help you through whatever your future holds.? A warm feeling flooded Nera's chest as the spirit of the Priestess radiated through her body. Nera nodded her head at Death and said with a smile, ?Thank you. Both of you; I really needed that. Death, you may go.? Death bowed her head and faded away in a breath of smoke and dust that flew away with the wind, leaving no trace of the noble being that stood there moments ago. Nera breathed a sigh of relief, and ran off to her friends. Reciful sat at the end of the room in his chair, its leather upholstery giving off the familiar scents that Reciful smelt as a child. This chair had been in his family for five generations, and Reciful was very appreciative of his ancestors efforts. The familiar smell of the leather only distracted him for a few moments before he returned to waiting for his guest to arrive. How long did it take to climb a set of stairs anyways? Reciful glanced around his den furtively, even though he had already over-analyzed the room as it is. The rustic Victorian furniture was covered with red and black cloth, and the wallpaper reflected these colours in the form of unending loops going from the ceiling to the floor. The only light that came into the room came from a small fireplace on the far wall, in which a small log lay ablaze on the hearth. The fireplace itself was the only object in the room that wasn't either red or black; the white marble gleamed with an artificial sheen, and it appeared totally out of place in the room. This didn't bother Reciful too much, as it gave him something to look at as he waited for his lackey to answer his call. There was a faint rustling from behind the fireplace, and upon hearing this, Reciful stood up, cursing under his breath. Had the idiot forgotten how to open the blasted thing? Reciful quickly shoved one of the two pillars that stood on either side of the fireplace into the ground, and the whole fireplace swung away from the wall to reveal a long tunnel that lead down into the bowels of the mansion. Before Reciful stood a beast of a man, nearly two heads taller than Reciful himself. The giant's broad shoulders barely passed through the hole in the wall, and his shifty eyes contained a spark of intelligence that could come only from years of tactical and battle experience. The man walked once around the room, never taking his eyes off Reciful. Finally, he stood stock still, leaned his poleaxe against his shoulders, and crossed his arms over his chest, all the while looking at Reciful in the eye. Undaunted by this man, Reciful spoke in a voice filled with authority and condescension. ?You took your sweet time getting here, didn't you Hirst? And didn't I show you how to use the door before?? Reciful huffed, noticeably angry. ?I go to the trouble of keeping you alive. The least you could do is remember what I told you.? Hirst kept his steely gaze on Reciful. He would not be intimidated, even by a man who nearly killed him years ago. ?If you said anything worthwhile, I would remember it; however, I have not been here long enough to know for sure if anything worthwhile ever leaves your lips. Master.? The corner of Hirst's mouth turned up in a half smile. ?I suppose you called me up here because there is killing involved?? Despite Reciful's misgivings about Hirst, he still had to admire the man. He was always so straightforward, always to the point. It was always, ?Let me kill, or don't bother calling me.? , Reciful thought, ?I have a bit of an, ahem, itch.? Hirst raised a furry eyebrow. ?You called me up here to scratch you?? Hirst snorted. ?Hardly worth my time.? ?No,? sighed Reciful. ?I was speaking metaphorically. What I mean to say is that I have a problem that I need you to take care of. The nature of this problem does, in fact involve some... anti-social behaviour?. This was said with a smile. Hirst shifted his weight to his other foot. The man himself was impressive, even for a human. Broad shoulders connected to a muscular body made him seem taller than his six and a half foot height, and the bulk added by his armour made him seem larger still. His armour was a deep-water blue that offset his vermilion eyes. Midnight-black hair spiked off his head, and a single, short topknot sprouted from the back of his scalp. The topknot was tied to his head by a single scarlet ribbon which fell down to his shoulders; this ribbon was mirrored by the ribbon on his poleaxe. Skylar itself was more than a head taller than Hirst, towering above everything at nearly 7 feet in height. The faintly red steel gleamed angrily in the light of the fireplace, and the double headed blades on the end cast eerie shadows on the wall. Hirst began pacing the room again, this time watching Skylar as he swung it back and forth several times. After doing this for several minutes, Hirst asked without looking at his host, ?Will Gelyan be among them?? Reciful was impressed. Hirst knew right away what the nature of his mission was. Perhaps he was bored down in that cellar. If anything, he certainly wasn't having any fun. ?Yes,? Reciful said slowly. ?Gelyan will be with them.? ?Good.? Hirst made his way towards the door that lead to the wine cellar. ? I know where you sent him last; I can find him there myself.? Reciful cleared his throat, causing Hirst to cast a backward glance over his shoulder pauldrons. ?Gelyan also has a few tag-alongs with him as well.? ?And why should I care? He will die all the same.? Reciful smiled again. It was a wicked smile, unsettling enough to make even Hirst nervous. ?You should care, my friend, because they're all women. You're human, aren't you? Living down in that cellar certainly hasn't done much for you.? Hirst said nothing, and turned back to his task. He knew what Reciful meant, and how right he was. Hirst went down the stairs, a trip almost as long as his way up. These stairs, however, lead to a different kind of cellar: the wine cellar. This was the place where Reciful discovered the first portal that lead to an alternate timeline. Hirst got to the bottom of the stairs and looked around the dark storage space. Casket upon casket of wine lay strewn about, and several dozen racks containing some of the most expensive wine in the world stood in place of walls. But what stood out was the large stone disk in the centre of the floor. An octogram was was carved into the stone, the spell written in for all eternity. Hirst walked over and stood at the centre of the eight-pointed star. Archaic runes ran around the circumference of the circle. Impatient, Hirst took out a small egg-shaped object from within his cloak. The shell was blue with wisps of white streaking across the surface. Hirst took the fist sized egg and touched it on the outermost point of the star. At once, blue and gold helixes of light spread from the point of contact, tracing out the magic circle and the star within it. The runes flashed with light, and seemed to fade into the stone as they brightened. Within seconds the light had filled the whole circle, and was getting brighter still. Hirst squinted to try and block out the light. The circle flashed in an explosion of white light and magic, flooding the room with sound and actinic light. And then the room dimmed, and Hirst was gone, flitting through the river of time. Sisily sighed. They had been walking for so long, she didn't even remember when they started. The four of them trudged on through Zero Degree Meadow. Normally for such a long trip they would have rode Emi's pet, Tinkfi, which looked almost like whale with legs. The pink, elephant-sized creature was capable of carrying all four members of the party over incredible distances in very little time. Emi had to leave Tink back at the village, however, when they left to find Reciful. Although Sisily had play a major part in the decision to leave Tinkfi behind, she really regretted the decision now. He legs ached more now than they did when she pulled that 12 hour shift in her parent's Chinese Restaurant back in New York. After staying silent for almost 15 minutes, Sisi wailed, ?Nera, Emi... why do we have to keep walking? My feet are tired, and I'm sore, and I'm hungry and thirsty and sleepy and this is no fun at all! Where are we going anyways? Will there be food or anything to drink? Can we take a break, pleeeeeaaaaaaassseeeee???? ?Sisi,? Nera sighed, ?we just started walking fifteen minutes ago.? ?But I'm tired now...? Shaking her head, Nera walked on, with Gely following her. Emi came over to Sisily's side and helped her up. ?It will be all right, Sisily. We just need to walk to the next village.? ?Speaking of which,? quipped Gely, ?why are we going to the next town anyways? It was your idea to go there, and you said that you would explain 'later'. Well, it's certainly 'later' now, so I demand an answer.? Nera rolled her eyes as she kept walking forward. As if Gely's domineering personality could get any more pronounced... Emi's hair flapped gently, lifting her a few inches off of the ground. ?Yes, it is true that you deserve an answer. I cannot however, tell you this while we exert ourselves, so we would do well to rest right now.? Sisily was overjoyed when she heard this, and immediately plopped down on a nearby stone while saying ?Storytime, storytime!? over and over again. Nera was hardly winded after such a short trek, but she sat nonetheless. Gely pulled himself up next to her, crossed his legs, and looked pointedly at Emi who was still hovering three inches off of the ground. Sisi was still going off on one of her tangents, which gave Nera a chance to observe her surroundings. Not that there wasn't anything here that she hadn't seen already. Acres and acres of icefield as far as you could see, with only a few towers of frozen trees that designated the nest of Cloudhoppers. Off to the north, deep purple mountains shrouded by fog poked above the frost-bound land. To the east, which was where they were going, a dense grove of dark blue trees pointed their way to the town. It was so quiet out here. The only sound she heard was Sisily's hyperactive squealing. Emi waited for Sisi to calm down before she started. This in itself took a fairly long time, as it took a while for Sisi to notice that everyone was staring at here. ?Oh,? she said, slightly startled. ?Were you all waiting for me?? The others nodded, but they all had smiles on their faces. Emi smiled especially wide, flashing off two rows of perfect pearl-white teeth. ?Well, now. The time has come for me to share my side of this story. ?Ages ago, when the Voorak trees still bloomed, the gods descended from their thrones in the sky. They took pity on our poor world, seeing the ice, the wildness of the land, and the people who lived in this harsh world. The gods were kind; they presented a gift to my ancestors: Phantasia. These ?purple flowers? as you call them were a wonderful blessing given to us by Ko'ildoni and Jahelfrey. They were Lord, Lady, and Masters of all the Earth. The gift of Phantasia was something that was a miracle to my ancestors. The flowers absorbed the rays of the sun, shielding my people from the cold. We learned long ago to make garments from the Phantasia so that we can survive out here. We also found that the Phantasia could be turned into a potent medicine when dried and crushed into a powder. Essentially, Ko'ildoni and Jahelfrey gave our people the means to thrive in this world.? ?As the legend goes, after Ko'ildoni and Jahelfrey presented their gift, they left, fleeing to the east to their home. Over the years, the Phantasia grew, and we have harvested the Phantasia for as long as we remember. Now, we see that the Phantasia supply has been steadily decreasing, and my people are concerned. This is the only way of life they know of. This is why we are going east. I wish to find Ko'ildoni and Jahelfrey and plead for our people, to come back and restore the Phantasia.? Near, Gely and Sisi sat still as they listened to Emi's tale. This was the first time any of them had heard of Emi's history. Gelyan suddenly stood up, turned his head indignantly and said, ?Count me out of this half-assed trip. No way am I going to meet some so-called gods for nothing.? He turned around and faced the girls. ?Nera, didn't you yourself say that you wanted to go back home? You've been accepted into University, for heaven's sake! And Sisily, don't you think your parents are worried about you? You've been missing for nearly a week. Do you think that's fair to your parents and siblings?? Gely sighed and hung his head. ?I know that I sure miss being home. I miss debating with my father, and playing chess with my friend's from school.? Gelyan looked up with fire burning in his eyes. ?That's why I don't think we should waste anymore time. We need to be back in our time, not here.? The girls sat stunned. Gely's words had struck a nerve. Sisily's lower lip began to wobble a bit, and tears dribbled into her eyes. Nera turned her head away and looked at the setting sun. It was all true. How much longer would they have to stay here? Would they spend their whole lives here, forever chasing phantoms and dreams? Emi touched down on the ground and stepped lightly over to Gely. ?I know this is difficult,? she said, laying a hand on Gely's shoulder. Gel just turned his head away from Emi. Emi took in a deep breath before she continued. ?I feel I should tell you that Ko'ildoni and Jahelfrey live on the Island of Niflheim, which is the home of the gods.? ?And what of it?? snorted Gelyan. ?The god of Time, Tefrios, resides on Niflheim as well. He may be able to return you to your timeline.? Hearing this, Sisi immediately forgot about crying and jumped up. ?Are you saying that this Teflon guy can send us back to Earth?? Sisi gushed. ?Yes,? replied Emi. ?That and more. The other gods may be able to give us insight as to where Reciful is, and how we can defeat him. But we must get there first.? Nera finally spoke. ?Emi, you mentioned that Niflehiem is an island.? ?Yes, it is.? ?If that's the case, how are we getting there?? ?The town of Vanagard has a port. With any luck,? Emi sighed, ?there should be a ship there willing to take us across the Drakien Sea to Muspellheim. From there, we can reach Nifleheim quite easily by land and smaller boats.? Emi pulled out her brush and began to brush her hair. ?There is only one problem.? Sisi asked, still smiling at the thought of going home,?What's that, Emi-jie?? ?We have no means of paying for the journey across.? ?What do your people use for currency here, anyways?? Nera asked. ?We've been here this whole time, and yet we haven't seen any sort of monetary system in place.? Emi spoke as she finished brushing her hair. ?We use finger-length ingots of Auradium as our main source of currency here. I think I have one on me right now.? Emi reached into her robe and rummaged around for a few seconds. When her hand reappeared, there was a small prism-shaped piece of metal in her hands. The light of the fading sun caught the edges of the slightly translucent metal and fractured the light into a dazzling array of rainbow colours. The small ingot was literally blazing with colour. Upon seeing all the colours erupting from the Auradium, Sisi squealed in delight. ?Emi, your money is so much more awesome than ours! Can I have one?? Emi laughed which sounded like fine bone china tinkling in the wind. ?Of course you may have one, Sisi. This piece of Auradium is worth the smallest amount. We have much larger pieces for exchanges that are more expensive.? ?I'll admit that it's pretty,? Nera said, ?but do you have enough of that stuff on you to pay for a trip across the sea? I doubt even your robes could carry that much.? ?No, of course not. What I have here is merely a pittance of what I have. I have no means of obtaining the rest of my Auradium, though. I have enough on me right now for a weeks worth of provisions for the four of us, but that is all.? ?Damn,? cursed Gely. ?Was there even a point to this expedition?? Emi nodded. ?There is another form of currency that our people use, and it is accepted wherever we go.? ?And what might that be?? asked Gely, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Emi stood up and smoothed off her robe before she said one word: ?Phantasia.? Gely cocked his head slightly to the right. The girls recognized this as his way of saying that he's confused. ?Phantasia?? Emi nodded. ?Phantasia is worth more by weight than even Auradium. The reason why it's so highly prized is the fact that it only grows now in Cloudhopper nests. In order to harvest it, we must get it from the nests. The higher up the nests are, the heavier the flowers will be.? Nera sighed. More killing. ?So, it appears our options are; a, go into town empty handed and hope for the best; b, get our hands on some Auradium or whatever it's called; or c, get some Phantasia.? Nera crossed her arms. ?I really don't like any of those options. Should we vote?? ?What's the point?? asked Gely. ?There's only four of us here.? ?Fine then. Emi, where can we get Auradium?? Emi thought for a moment before replying. ?Raw Auradium is mined in the Mines of Skäldar to the west. That is not an option to us.? Undeterred, Nera went on. ?Ok then, what are the odds that there's a captain benevolent enough to give us a free ride across the ocean?? Again, Emi thought before replying. ?There is no chance of that. The town is notorious for being run by pirates. We would be hard pressed to find anyone who is decent or honest enough to give us a free ride.? Nera closed her eyes and sighed in frustration. That left only one option. ?Alright, how much Phantasia would it take to pay our way across the ocean? If it's worth more that that Auradium, it shouldn't take too much, should it?? For the third time in as many minutes, Emi thought before answering. ?It should not take too much. Fifteen pounds of Phantasia is equivalent to a year's wages in our village.? ?Fifteen pounds!? exploded Gely. ?How in the world do you get fifteen pounds of flowers?? ?That is why I said it is a year's wages. It would take an entire year to gather that much.? Nera frowned. ?That means that that's not an option for us either. I sure as hell don't want to spend a year here, gathering flowers.? Nera thought. Sisily spoke up for the first time in a while. ?Emi-jie, is there any way we could do this any faster?? ?We are in an area that has yet to be explored by my people, so the Phantasia here may grow in large numbers. With the four of us, we may be able to gather fifteen pounds in a very short time.? Nera sighed. That was it then. ?Alright,? Nera groaned. ?We might as well start now. If we need to get fifteen pounds of flowers, we should split up. Gely.? Gelyan turned around, his face a mask of bemusement. ?Do you have any preference on who you go with?? ?No.? ?Fine. I'll go with Sisi towards that group of nests over there,? Nera said, pointing to a large group of trees in the direction of the setting sun. ?Fine by me. At least I won't have to climb anything, so long as Emi is willing to give me a lift.? Emi nodded. ?It is fine with me as well. Let us meet back here at nightfall.? They all agreed. Nera, Sisi, Emi and Gelyan walked off to the nests that they picked out, hoping to bring enough Phantasia. They couldn't leave until they did so. Black. That's what he saw. The thought was muffled in his mind, like a thick blanket was thrown over his head. He took in a deep breath, and he could feel his phantom chest rising in response. Hirst bolted upright with a yell. By pure instinct, he grabbed Skylar which was laying to his left. Confused, Hirst looked around. Glistening blue and black trees winked at him in the white-pink sunlight. A small white creature stared at him, obviously just as confused as Hirst. Hirst looked at the Cloudhopper and studied it for a second. The Cloudhopper edged closer to Hirst. Whoosh, slice! Skylar's silver blade decapitated the poor creature, killing it before it had a chance to make a sound. Hirst bent down to observe his kill. It had been so long since he had spilt blood. Did this creature's blood still taste the same way he remembered it? Hirst dipped three fingers into the growing pool, and pulled them out. Silver-black blood stained his digits up the their first knuckles. With that, Hirst stuck his three fingers into his mouth, eyes closed with a look of sheer bliss on his face. Oh yes, it was the same alright. Hirst removed his fingers and sighed with content. When he opened his eyes again, a glimmer of anticipation shone behind his dark irises. ?The hunt,? he breathed, ?is
