Half Bloods R • 2 : Growing Shadows by Veilverse Ill. & Pub. at Inkitt

C • 1 : Shadows on Leaves, Light in Streams

She hopped up and crawled into the thick branches of the thick red tree that sprouted out of the entrance to the ruined hospital. She climbed further up, clasping onto bricks, vines, and branches with an extra pair of arms, and eventually neared the canopy, then she stopped and looked out into the abandoned forest city of San Antonio. She put a hand to her mouth and whistled.

From a distance below her, a howl sang through the trees and broken concrete. A texas red wolf, a beast once extinct, walked out of the foliage, its ears high and head low. With it, strode a massive wild boar, a beast that while once rampant in Texas, very few still stood.

"Vos Belial!" She called to the wolf, then to the boar, "Vos Ke'Ala! Keep searching, it can't have gone far!"

The animals disappeared back into the brush as Villin slid back down, her tangled mess of dark hair occasionally catching on a twig or vine. She silently slipped through the dense layers of leaves and paused when she heard a bird call. She pushed up against the thick tree behind her and twitched when a small itch ran up her leg, she looked down and found a small, richly colored ox beetle had landed on the side of her calf. She picked it up and studied it for a moment, watching its legs frantically twitch and squirm, its elytra expand and close.

To think people are so scared of these helpless little creatures, I guess they're just as helpless.

She popped the small insect into her mouth and crunched down. She looked around herself and listened for the bird call again, it was moving away. She chased after it, quietly stepping across twigs and stones, ignoring the uneven dirt and cobble beneath her feet. To her right, in the distance, she heard a howl and a squeal. Her beasts had found a hint too, they all followed the same trail, it was close. They ran out, through bushes, and into a clearing where a large, brackish pond stood.

Drinking from it was a massive rhinoceros, its thick and dark hide speckled by the sunlight that just barely peeked through the treetops. The beast huffed when they stepped out. Villin's wolf, Vos Belial stepped to her left, while her boar, Vos Ke'Ala poised itself at her right, huffing and puffing.

The rhino readied itself to charge as Villin stood calm. Her beasts dodged out of the way as the rhino quickly closed the distance. Villin darted to the side, grabbing its horn and dragging it down headfirst into the dirt. She grew an extra pair of arms and placed her three right hands on its head, pinning it. The beast snorted, dust kicking up into the air as I fell asleep, magic pouring into the dust surrounding its nose.

She pulled out a bundle of paper when the beast settled into a slumber and unwrapped it, revealing a deep crimson eye with a violent orange iris. Its nerves were replaced by roots, roots that spilled out and wrapped around the wilted sclera.

"Give me a path," she said, one hand still on the rhino.

She and the rhino were suddenly shoved through the realms, and through red, murky water. They then resurfaced back in San Antonio, in an old abandoned zoo. Vos Belial and Vos Ke'Ala suddenly appeared out of the shadows next to her, and she walked forward, heaving the rhino along with her right arms. Eventually, she arrived at the old rhino enclosure and dragged it through into the dust. She let go, its large head thumping against the sand. She looked around herself, listening to the bird calls as she tapped the rhino with her foot, shaking its thick hide. The beast woke up, its hide shaking as it stumbled to its feet. She patted its side and stepped away.

She looked down at the eye that she held in her hand, "Growth."

Vines and roots erupted out of the ground, spreading outward beneath her feet. Flowers and patches of grass spiraled from the ground, two bluish-grey trees erupted from the earth in the distance.

"Stop," she said, and the sudden growth of plant life halted.

Given a few months, I could see this artifact easily creating a forest like before. The Demi-Titan, now that's actually terrifying.

She chuckled, "Good thing our grandfather defeated her, right, Vaelan?"

In the distance, a black spire of energy erupted into the sky, a roar echoed through the sky, "Villin!"

She gripped the eye and shunted herself through the realms, appearing in the forest, at one of her many campsites. She sat on a half-rotten log and closed her eyes as her pet beasts appeared next to her, guarding her. She concentrated, sending her magic out through the air, creating puppets and traps that dotted the forest.

Her brother's energy suddenly surged, and he flashed through the trees.

"So that's where your power sits at now?" Her eyebrows squeezed down as she channeled her magic into her puppets.

She looked through the eyes of her puppets, examining his movements and magic. She spread out her arms, creating white runes on the backs of each hand.

Vaelan's energy exploded, in his Devil Forme he shouted, "You may be my older sister by a few seconds, but it's always been my job to protect you! So stop fucking around, I'll always be stronger!"

His magic concentrated, and Villin charged up her most powerful defense spell. She winced as magic began to tear out from her arms.

She jumped up and pulled back, looking through her own eyes to see a massive cloud of dust and smoke splash above the treeline. A thundering boom sounded off and echoed throughout the forest, putting pressure on her ears.

She whistled, calling her animals to her, before then using her magic to split the puppet that Vaelan was fighting and create copies of herself and her beasts. Villin then ran with her animals further away from the camp and deeper into the woods.

Her brother's energy suddenly shifted, he flew away from the shades and made a beeline toward the campsite.

You never liked playing fair.

She paused and dropped her aura to the bare minimum, destroying her shades and leaving only the false puppets of herself and her beasts. She hid behind a nearby tree and connected her senses to the puppet.

"Villin," he huffed, the black mana skin that wrapped around his body unwinding like a misshapen spool of thread.

Her brother had ruined his body, most of his left arm had been stained black, replaced by mana. His aura revealed that many smaller pieces of his abdomen had also been replaced, having shapes that could've only been caused by wires or claws. His right arm was still covered in black lines from his most regretted injury that he earned years ago, and it was clear that although he had no present injuries, he was still recovering from physical stress.

"It's been a while, Talv," the puppet said, her rose-colored eyes narrowing while the real Villin was stealthily guided away by her beasts.

"I need you to come back with me, you can't keep hiding like this. The rebellion needs you, Villin, your brother needs you. Don't leave us on our own again." He stepped towards the puppet, prompting the fake Vos Belial to growl.

I'm sorry, Talv, I just can't go back yet.

She gripped her fists, digging her nails into her skin. Then, in her annoyance, she failed to move carefully. A twig snapped beneath her feet, and Vaelan immediately perked up.

"This isn't the real you," he said, "Just another trick!"

The puppet Villin shot up, "You won't make it past me. I- the real me needs to finish what she's started, and you won't get in her way!"

Her beasts gathered at her sides.

The real Villin stopped, her beasts- her familiars looking back to her as she turned and focused on her last puppet.

"I'm not leaving without the real you, Villin. I don't care if I have to drag you out of this forest like a squalling child!" He rushed forward.

Villin slipped beneath his attempt at a grab, whistling for her puppet beasts to attack. Though she knew they wouldn't last, they would only serve as distractions for a moment as they tore apart. Vaelan slashed a blade through each mana-made beast. He then spun around and trapped the puppet in a large black ball of ink, his body once again becoming coated in ink.

This move again, how much of this forest does he want to devastate? The puppet thought, preparing to use her Stance of the Grey Void.

Suddenly, spikes grew in the ball, stabbing through the puppet, stalking her long enough for the flame to enter the ball.

Villin cut her connection with the puppet and dodged away from the massive blast of black flames that jetted towards her. A huge tear in the Earth remained where she stood, glowing bits of dirt and stone letting smoke rise into the air. She stood at the edge of the three-foot drop, looking at the carnage before turning to Vaelan who stood and stared back at her with a shockingly, unhappy face.

"I can't keep doing this, Villin," his magical left arm, the arm he used to cast the spell, began to melt away, revealing a short stump.

For a moment, Villin felt a twinge of sickness, but it faded when she took a breath. She lifted her hand and wiped away a single tear.

"Sorry, Brother, but if you think that I'll be anywhere near as easy to beat as that puppet-" She sped forward, drawing a sword of ink from her hand, faster than the blink of an eye "-Then you're dead wrong."

Vaelan suddenly darted away, his eyes glowing gold and aura shifting wildly, the two stopped. Villin remained in her readied pose, eyes wide as her brother examined himself.

"A new prince?" He asked, twisting to look at the back of himself, "The fourth, prince of change, Icarus."

He looked at Villin, and his eyes reverted to their natural maple color.

He's not in control just yet. Take advantage, no hesitation!

She rushed at her brother and stabbed her blade at his head. He tilted his head in response.

Wait, why am I getting so riled up?

"Please, Villin," he grabbed the blade with his right hand, holding the blade in place as blood trickled down his arm, "If not for me, or for Demi or Crimson Homes, then come back for Sallow, he wouldn't want you suffering out here."

The young man suddenly flashed into her head and she let go of the blade as her cheeks flushed pink. She pressed her head into her brother's shoulders, letting him wrap his arms around her.

That's why.

"That's not fair, there's a lot of things that he'd want," she sniffed as the sword dissipated.

Your annoying face reminded me of him, it was the same face he'd always make when I got hurt while training.

"I know," Vaelan said, then reminding her again of Sallow, saying, "Now let's go look at the lilies."

She grabbed his shoulder and clawed at his shirt.

"Not yet. Please, not yet," she said as he slowly lowered himself to the ground with her.

She turned her thoughts inward, concentrating on her emotions and locking them away within her emotion shield, one of the many parts of her demonic half that she took absolute pride in. Her tears stopped, and she stopped sniffling. The blush faded and she looked at her brother.

"Before we go, there's a few things I need to tend to," she said, locking her eyes on the ground.

"It's good to have you back, Tilva," he smirked.