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Dionysia paced around the room waiting for the announcement of her new partner. Her weapons Paragon and Servility tapped against her hips with each step. Paragon at her left and Servility on her right. The room was mostly bare, a few chairs lined the walls accented only by small tables in each corner. She felt more like she was waiting on news from a pregnant sibling in a hospital than on her next companion. Memories of her most recent partnership flashed behind her eyes, making her shiver. That wound would never fully heal. Why couldn't she have- no. If she began to think about what could have been she'd be lost in the darkness all over again. While she paced around the small room she rolled her tongue ring around, raking it against her teeth and over her lips. It was done without a thought, Dionysia didn't even realize that she was doing it.
Suddenly the door opened and the man she'd been waiting for for hours walked through. The Squad Captain approached her, glaring at the small red ball gliding across her lips until it disappeared into her mouth.
"Dionysia this is Mathias. He's fresh out of the academy so take it easy during sparring." The thickly-built man stepped to the side revealing a significantly smaller brunette. Mathias definitely fit the part of new recruit. The brown haired youth attempted a smile but she could see the anxiousness just below the surface. Anxiousness leads to nervousness and nervousness leads to doubt, doubt only leads to fear and fear is a dangerous thing.
She pushed the thoughts away and offered a smile of her own. The gesture made Mathias relax and the anxiety fade. The Squad Captain placed a hand on each of their shoulders roughly. Dionysia pulled away. She'd always been funny about touch, now it just made her skin crawl. It was too soon for her to allow it again, the wound was too fresh. She remembered how fond he'd been of ruffling her hair. She ran a hand through her obsidian-like hair and apologized to her superior.
"Not a problem, I'd figured it wasn't a big deal with how often Christian had his hands on you." hearing his name made her heart twinge and nearly brought tears to her eyes. But she couldn't cry in front of them. Especially not her new partner. He would think her weak and in need of protection. Her hand rested on paragon's handle, making the feelings begin to subside.
"It was different." She replied with a carefully measured and even tone. An awkward silence stretched between them that no one seemed willing to break. Finally the Captain General dismissed himself and retreated through the door he'd entered from. Mathias looked around for something to discuss with her, not wanting to breech the sensitive topic of "Christian".
"So how well did they teach you in the academy?" She asked, flexing her fingers on Paragon's soft leather hilt. The sudden urge to hit something very hard was becoming apparent. Mathias looked at her strangely.
Dionysia stared at her partner across the concrete room as he clung to his short sword, it's blade glinting in the dull light. Paragon rested in her right hand, light and quick, ready for swift precise cuts. In her left Servility shone proudly, prepared to serve his mistress. Servility was the bigger of the two, meant for close combat and deep cuts. Paragon was only half it's brothers size and thinner than most daggers, but Paragon wasn't most daggers. The slim steel blade made the perfect projectile for ranged attacks. Mathias eyed her from the other end of the room, waiting for her to make a move. She waited for him to get impatient, which didn't take long. Soon he charged toward her. She pushed his blade toward the ground and headbutted him in the nose. He cradled his nose as he rolled onto his back.
"Holy s**t! What was that for?" He shouted, taking his hand away to see the blood on his hand.
"You left yourself open." She replied coolly.
"So?" He wiped his bleeding nose on his sleeve and looked almost shocked by the streak of red.
"If I were a sin, you'd be dead." She looked at him with clear blue eyes. "The best way to reteach yourself how to fight is through pain."
"And what the hell was that supposed to teach me?" Mathias screamed while picking himself up off the ground. "Jesus, I thought the Captain General told you to take it easy."
"That was easy. If you can't handle me at easy, then you'll die within the first three minutes with a sin." She sheathed Paragon and Servility before crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll make it a bit easier on you. I'll let you attack me while my weapons are sheathed." His frustration made it easy to say yes. A confident smirk bloomed on his blood-smeared lips as he got back to his feet.
"Alright, but I'm not going to hold back so don't complain if I hurt you." He proclaimed. He readied himself, then changed his swords positioning before approaching. Her lips curled up slightly at his exercise of caution. 'Quick learner, or he doesn't want to get hit again' Dionysia thought as she studied him.
He brought his blade down from the right. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him backwards with a gust of wind. Mathias landed on his back a few feet away, staring up at the vaulted ceiling.
"I'm guessing I left myself open?" He mumbled, lifting his head to look at her.
"No, you did well that time. I just wanted to knock you on your a**." She allowed a small smirk as she helped Mathias up off the ground. "Let's get you patched up."
The old man gave Dionysia a playful, knowing look when she walked through the door with Mathias and she couldn’t help but smile back. Ambrose had been at the headquarters long before most of the current Sin Slayers and Dionysia had received his medical care a lot when she was in training.
“I see you’ve given Mathias here the traditional welcome.” His voice had withered with age and came out more as a croak. Mathias eyed them skeptically, wondering if they were teasing him.
“Remember my first visit here? Christian had me so beat up it was hard to tell where all the blood was coming from.” She chuckled, remembering the sparring sessions that stretched on for hours and ended with the older male telling her how much she’d improved.
“Let’s inspect the damages. Come here, let me see.” Ambrose beckoned to Mathias and he stepped up cautiously. The old man checked over him, making sure to check the bridge of his nose thoroughly.
“You went to easy on him Dionysia. His nose isn’t even bleeding anymore.” Ambrose chortled, his grey eyes twinkling. “I thought you were supposed to beat up the rookie.”
“The Squad Captain told me to take it easy on him so I did.” She smiled. “I don’t want it said that I’m a ruthless mentor.”
“I don’t recall anyone saying that about Christian.” Ambrose teased.
“Who’s Christian?” Mathias broke in. Dionysia and Ambrose looked at him; Dionysia in surprise, Ambrose in mild amusement. The old man switched his gaze back to the dark haired woman in anticipation of her response. Dionysia tried to figure out how to explain someone like Christian. He was everything that a Sin Slayer could be; prudent, sensible, virtuous, a good fighter, and a good teacher.
“He was like the father I never knew. Actually, I’m sure he was better because I did know him.” Her breath hitched and she cleared her throat. “Excuse me; I think I’m going to get some rest.” She turned to leave.
Ambrose called to her and she paused to listen. “It wasn’t your fault Dionysia.” She continued down the concrete hallway without responding. Of course it wasn’t her fault; she didn’t tempt him to turn. She listened to the slow uneven dripping of the pipes that hugged the walls and to the soft thump of her shoes on the ground. She listened to the hushed conversations of the others as she passed their open doors and the sharp clink of Paragon and Servility tapping against the metal bits on her jeans. She listened to anything, anything that wasn’t her conscience. To anything that wasn’t blaming her or asking what she could have done differently because the answer was nothing. Even if she could go back to that day, there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. Finally she arrived at her sleeping quarters. Once inside the simple concrete room she hung her weapon holsters on the peg next to the door and kicked off her shoes. She climbed into bed after changing into some pajamas. A warm wetness made its way over her face as she clutched a pillow. She clenched her teeth together to keep in all the sounds that wanted out. She fell into a fitful sleep, haunted by blonde hair and a pair of sparkling brown eyes.
Mathias watched her leave. The empty look in her icy blue eyes had unnerved him when they’d first met and truthfully still did. It was a cold calculating look, the kind a predator gives to potential prey. She was scoping out his weak spots, he was sure of it. Ambrose called after her, a reassuring statement in his opinion. The black-haired woman slowed, yet didn’t stop on her way to her room. Mathias didn’t think it was necessary to stop her, the severity of the bags under her eyes suggested that she needed all the sleep she could get. Ambrose sighed, turning back towards the younger brunette and shaking his head.
“Poor little Atlas. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders when she really doesn’t have to.” The old man mumbled to himself. Ambrose raised his grey gaze to Mathias with a distant smile. “You are free to go my boy.” Mathias got up to leave, yet paused. He wanted so badly to know why his partner was so distant.
“Excuse me, Ambrose, would you mind telling me what happened, to Dionysia?” He asked softly, not wanting anyone to overhear. The old man’s eyes snapped up to his.
“I didn’t think you’d stuck around, you gave me quite the start!” He chuckled placing a hand over his heart. “As to why she’s so distant, well, that’s not really my story to tell. If you’d like to know it would be smart to ask her. She’s the only one who really knows what happened that day.” Ambrose turned toward his desk after he’d told this to Mathias and continued his work. He wasn’t sure he knew where the black-haired woman slept; he didn’t even know where he was supposed to sleep. The Squad Captain had given him a slip of paper with a few numbers and letters on it and told him not to loose it. He dug his hand in his pocket hoping that he hadn’t. As he thought, the slip of paper was to direct him to his quarters. On is way there, he passed a tall blonde fellow who kept his hair rather long and neat. A scythe gleamed on his back, much like a predatory cat basking in the glory of a recent kill. The man passed him in a brisk manner, hardly acknowledging Mathias at all. Obviously he had somewhere very important to be and Mathias quickly got out of his way. Some people can be so- What was a good word to use, finicky? No, that’s not right, persnickety maybe? That one sounded a little better, but still not quite right. He’d ask Dionysia later. He passed a few more people as he walked the halls in search of his room. Finally coming upon the corresponding letter-number combination, Mathias entered the darkened room. He flicked the light switch on quickly. He'd never been fond of the dark and he wasn't about to start liking it now. The way it took over a room, the fact that anything could be lurking in its inky depths waiting to grasp you and pull you into its maw was just slightly unnerving. Then again, his loved ones had always said that he had an overactive imagination. He lied down on the mattress, enjoying the feeling of the cotton on his skin, and wondered what his new partner was doing.
Dionysia tossed and turned as she slept, lost in the tumultuous sea of her memories. She saw flashes of faces both familiar and unfamiliar, places she could remember visiting while she was still alive, and getting caught in a rainstorm that would cause her death. She found herself standing next to a taller man with short blonde hair and a pair of sparkling brown eyes. She almost couldn’t believe it. Here he was, perfect in every way. Christian’s eyes caught hers and he offered one of his infamous smiles. She felt herself smile back; big, full and confident. With Christian by her side, she could do anything. She was so naive.
 vampiress10000 · Tue Jul 19, 2011 @ 09:30pm · 1 Comments |
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