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Surviving in Shadows [Saria & CharlotteV]

Kithiel lifted his head a bit at being called scary and pretty. Well, Max wasn't completely stupid. And was a flatterer, apparently.

Don't tell him what? he asked, his fur rippling a bit as he scented something close to fear on the boy. Couldn't he make up his mind on an emotion and stick with it for more than ten seconds?

What are you scared of? He knew they were both still wary of him, but that was to be expected for... an indefinite amount of time, most likely. I haven't hurt you, now have I? he asked with a touch of defensiveness. He could have easily gotten rid of either of them long ago, but that wasn't conducive to forming a kinship with Lucas, which was all he wanted. For now.
 
Max studied the wolf for a long moment. There was, of course, a good chance he was being paranoid. He had read somewhere a long time ago that animals could scent emotions, kind of like how they knew a storm was coming before it hit...their senses just work better.

So, arousal, sure. Based on an apparent biting kink, why not. But could the wolf tell exactly where said arousal was focused? Even if he could, Max was a teenage boy...their life be damned, biology didn't play. So theoretically, it probably wouldn't be odd for him to have that scent at random times.

Kithiel wasn't stupid. But he was also a wolf, how much did he know and how much did he understand?

"Yet," was all Max decided to reply with, fixing the straps on his pack. He was kind of annoyed his emotions were so easily read. Not that he usually didn't vocalize them anyway but...half the time he was a lot more scared than he'd honestly like to admit.
 
Kithiel wanted to press Max, but he'd learned how... volatile the boy could be and he had no desire to have an explosion of flames near him again. Yet... He'd only harm Max if Lucas' safety or survival depended on it. He smacked Max's leg with his tail again before picking up his pace. There was a scent of fire somewhere ahead of them and he passed Lucas at a run as he sought it out.

Lucas blinked as Kithiel ran past him, squinting against the sunlight and swearing the wolf seemed to vanish from sight far quicker than possible. "What'd you say to piss him off?" he asked, slowing to let Max catch up to him.

Kithiel slipped through the realms with effort and followed the scent of fire until he found the camp. It'd been abandoned, signs of a struggle in the area around it. He materialized long enough to snatch one of the bags when he was sure no one was near and faded between realms again. The tracks went off towards the north away from their path, but... he'd nudge Lucas south a bit until they passed the area at least.
 
Max shrugged a little, easily falling into pace with his brother again. "You know me. Open my mouth and someone ends up annoyed."

That was true, at least.

Oddly enough, Max realized pretty quickly that he was getting used to Kithiel's presence. He knew the wolf wouldn't be gone long, but it felt odd not having him there.

Max walked in silence, mostly, picking at the bandages around his hands because he couldn't be still unless his life depended on it. Ripping them off hurt worse this time than it had before, because the split skin had healed over and stuck to them. But it felt good to have fresh air against the burnt flesh.

They didn't look as bad now, which was a relief. Max was a fast healer in general...probably a magic thing, but they would probably be sensitive for awhile. Better that then possibly infected.
 
Lucas winced as Max removed the bandages, a small part of him thankful he rarely got injured, at least in comparison to his brother. He didn't tolerate pain well, worse than Max if it was bad enough. At least they both healed quickly.

"Looks like you might avoid an infection." That was something to be thankful for. Now if only they could make it to this sanctuary without any more incidents...

Kithiel made his way back after double checking for any traps or dangers. This way... He lead them toward a path that would take them around the camp, just in case.

"Where'd the bag come from?"

Kithiel dropped the bag in front of them and shook himself. An abandoned camp.
 
Max nodded as flexed his hands a couple of times. He'd been hurt worse before, but nothing was quite as horrible as ended up with an infection. Usually because they had to treat it themselves, which meant reopening a wound and scraping whatever the hell was wrong out. It was awful, and Max was prone to injuries, so anything extra that could be avoided was nice.

The reappearance of Kithiel made Max arch an eyebrow. It wasn't unusual for them to come across camps, but there was a difference between one being left and one being abandoned. Most notably, people didn't leave things behind. Not in this day and age. "What happened?" he asked, resisting the urge to start going through the bag right then and there, because they needed to keep moving. "Could you tell?"
 
Some kind of struggle. We should keep moving.

Lucas eyed the bag and glanced in the direction Kithiel had come from. If there was a struggle, they probably needed help. It wasn't often they came across other travelers, they usually made it a point to avoid them at all costs, but he didn't want him or Max to be the type who'd use the excuse of the fucked up world being too dangerous to offer a helping hand when it was needed. "Why'd you take their bag?"

They're not coming back for it.

"You don't know that."

Kithiel bared his teeth. He did know that. There was a touch of magic near the camp. They could have been attacked or lost themselves to their own powers. Either way, there was a good chance they were dead. Yes. I do.

"We should check it anyway." He started towards the direction of the camp, growling as Kithiel got in his way.
 
Max was already half turned to keep going in the direction they were headed when he realized Lucas wasn't. He stopped for a second, one foot midair before gently lowering it again, and he saw that difference between them one more time. Lucas was good. He wasn't.

He'd been so used to avoiding other people...especially not knowing where they stood, human or magic usually travelers in general weren't friendly. Too many people trying their damnedest to survive, and no one was out in the middle of nowhere if they weren't running from something. But this was a defining character moment...Max was ready to go without thinking twice. Lucas was considerate.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised his brother and the wolf ended up facing off. Of course Kithiel wanted nothing to do with it...Max was inclined to agree, if only because he'd seen enough trouble in the last two days, why go looking for more.

Instead, he sighed, fixed the straps on his pack, and stepped up next to Lucas. He willed himself to make it feel like...the right thing to do, and gave a nod. "He's right, let's just give it a look over. If we don't see anything we can move on. Easy."
 
Kithiel snarled at them both, too on edge to be surprised that Max was agreeing with Lucas or to notice he hadn't wanted to. No.

"We're going." Lucas pushed past the wolf, not about to be swayed despite the niggling sense maybe Kithiel knew something that made him so adamant against going. It didn't matter. As much as he wanted to find this sanctuary now that it was so close... he hadn't even known what he'd been walking towards until now and the thought of being more than just a guiding force and turning into a reality was.... a bit terrifying. He wanted a distraction from it, even if it might be dangerous.

Kithiel growled and shot a look to Max, hoping he'd stop his brother.
 
Kithiel's snarl actually kind of set Max on edge. When he wasn't pissed, the wolf was kind of scary. He hesitated for a moment before taking a step to follow his brother.

Until Kithiel shot him that look. Wolf face or not, the message was clear, and Max shrank back a little, but all he could really do was shrug. "You heard him," he mutters, "he makes the rules."

So he picked up his pace to fall into step with his brother, nudging their shoulders together. "You sure about this?"
 
Lucas tensed and glanced at Max, feeling irritation and a worry that... wasn't his. "Not really," he admitted. "...Should we listen to him?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at the wolf.

Kithiel snarled softly and followed behind them, glaring at them both by turns. Why did they have to be so... stubborn?
 
Max nodded slightly, somehow feeling more comforted at the fact that his brother was a little unsure. It made him not feel so heartless, at least just a bit.

Max glanced back over his shoulder slightly and then just shrugged. Part of him was saying yes, but the other part...still didn't one hundred percent trust the wolf. It would be a good learning experience one way or the other. At least if they ran into trouble they could count Kithiel as smart and trustworthy. Hopefully they would live through it.

"Probably," he admitted. "But you seem pretty adamant about this so..."
 
Lucas smiled faintly, not about to admit it was halfway just an excuse to delay arriving at the place they'd been heading towards for so long. "Thanks, little brother," he murmured.

Kithiel twitched and followed behind until they got closer to the camp, moving to press against Lucas' side as they reached it. He felt the magic like before though somehow it felt stronger and it took him a moment to realize it was reacting to Lucas and Max. Too late. As soon as they stepped into the camp, magic fire erupted in a circle around them. He snarled and called upon his own magic, attacking the flames with earth and shadows, but they held firm, trapping them in unless they risked crashing through.
 
There were certain phrases, words in general, that should not make his stomach flip like that. Max was one hundred percent sure that little brother was one of them. So he swallowed thickly and kept his eyes on the ground while they walked.

At least Kithiel kept him distracted from whatever was swirling around in his thoughts. The wolf was obviously feeling pretty paranoid about the entire situation. Max shook his head a little, taking in the remains of the camp. Definitely abandoned. The fire had burned down instead of being snuffed out, the tracks in the dirt pointed towards running not walking, and...fire. Max snapped his head around, but it circled them completely in a matter of seconds.

Kithiel was already bouncing into action, but Max was still turning, trying to find a way out. Nothing. They could rush it, hell knew they'd been through worse before, but he wasn't entirely too keen on getting burned again.

"Well, well, well," a voice sing-songed, far too calm...icey in a way that Max had long ago associated with magic. He and Lucas both didn't see it alot...those who ended up mad from the power...but there were signs. One of them was a tone. It wasn't much different than how everyone spoke, but there was something layered under it...some kind of odd echo, almost. "What do we have here? Brother. Powerful ones at that..."

For someone who spent a lot of time in the trees, Max should have thought to look up, but he didn't. Not until the girl was falling down in front of him. She probably wasn't even much older than him, tanned skin, messy brown hair, feral grin. Knife.

"Don't get too close, Maya." Another figure dropped from the trees, and Max blinked before narrowing his eyes slightly. The thing looked human, but he moved his body in a distinctly feline way. He was too tall, too thin, black hair slicked back, fingers much too long, fingernails even longer. He was unnerving, shifting between shadows in a way that made it feel like Max couldn't really see him. "The wolf is here for one of..." the thing didn't even finish speaking before his dark eyes shifted onto Lucas. "Ah. Of course."

Two other figures dropped down from the trees as well, blocking off Max's view to Lucas all together. One of them had a snake wrapped around his shoulders. A big fucking one at that, python or something, and Max watched as it dropped gracefully to the ground, pulling itself up to Kithiel's height, much too interested in the wolf to be a normal snake. Go figure.

"The wolf is his, right Varjac?" the girl - Maya, asked. She took a step closer to Max, knife aimed right at his neck, practically vibrating with too much energy or too much magic or something, but her attention was focused on the creepy ass man. He had his attention completely on Lucas, smiling like something was amusing there, but he didn't reach out to touch. "Or he is the wolf's," the man mused. "Think it depends on how you look at the situation."
 
Lucas watched the fire go up around them and dropped his bag to the ground, too on edge from the stench of magic around them not to have his dagger in his hand. He was halfway to the second one he kept in his boot when he heard the voice, glancing up at the female and cursing under his breath. "Shit." Shit, shit, shit. This was bad. More than bad. Outnumbered, magic, and... crazy. He took a step closer to Max, putting himself in a position he could at least try to protect him.

Kithiel growled and focused on the snake as one of the bigger threats, shifting in front of Lucas and Max and wishing his stupid anchor could have just fucking listened to him. The full moon was still three nights away. Three nights until he was back at full power and Lucas could learn to truly use magic to protect himself. Stupid humans.

The last one to drop from the tree crouched on the ground, dirtier than the others and with an odd red-black glow to her eyes. She stared at the wolf with open curiousity and no little amount of desire. "Mika wants him," she said softly, straightening slowly and gliding around the circle, fingers trailing through the flames behind her. "Mika wants that wolf."

Kithiel bristled and shifted to try and keep the female in sight, though he didn't dare turn his back on the snake. I will never be yours.

Mika smiled and pointed at the wolf, flames circling around her wrist. "Mika knows how to make you hers."

Lucas snarled and turned to face the girl when she stopped behind them. "He's mine."

"Only while you're alive," she said sweetly, the flames leaping from her hand and hurtling towards Lucas.
 
They were outnumbered, but at least they were close together. And out in the open. No one could back them into a corner.

Granted...crazy came with such unpredictable nature a corner might be preferred.

With Maya distracted, Max turned his eyes upward, scanning the trees, but there was no one else. Alright then, five. Five and the snake. No biggie.

Maya was giggling, the knife at his neck getting unnervingly closer. Max eyed it, trying to keep it just from touching him without any sudden movements, but then snapped his gaze back up towards Lucas. It was harder to see with them turned, but he was at just the right angle.

And then the bitch threw flames at his brother. Max flat out panicked. He turned against the knife, shot one hand out to push Maya away from him and thrust the other out towards Lucas. Pure, biting, ice cold fear flew through his body and out of his fingertips. The flames that snapped up in front of Lucas were completely black, freezing, and connected with the orange in an explosion of sparks.

It didn't last long, he didn't even know what he'd just done or how. But it was enough. There was a second of shocked silence before the man that had the snake leered at him. "Well, what do we have here?"

Maya was back up. She leapt at him with a battle cry and Max acted on instinct, drawing a foot up and slamming it into her stomach. She cried as she went back, and then the unnerving man - Varjac - was approaching him with a sneer.

"Don't," Max warned, lifting a hand in front of himself. "Touch me." He didn't know how to control his magic...but no one else had to know that. So the man drew up short, holding his hands up in the typical sign for surrender, laughing in a way that should have been nervous but was really just calm.

The girls were the craziest, he realized. Varjac and the snake seemed more like whatever the hell Kithiel was. The two men were fairly calm...although one of them looked drugged...Max narrowed his eyes on him slightly and then it hit him.

He was a vessel. Max had never actually seen one up close, but he'd heard the stories. There were rumors that people were only born with a certain amount of magic, and once they ran out they'd die, end of story. But there were spells, dark spells, that could drain the power from one being into another.

That was the point of it all. The abandoned camp. Lure people in, get vessels. Or, even luckier...Max's eyes swung towards Kithiel. Anchors.

He felt angry all of the sudden. Downright pissed, and he wondered briefly if that was his crazy. But he didn't really have time to think about it, because he knew what happened to him when he got upset.

The flames creating the circle flickered for a moment before they shot into the air, and Max knew they were reacting to him even though he wasn't meaning for them to. The other girl, Mika he was sure, whimpered, crouching low in a distinct animal way.

She had cuts along her arms, blistering, like the explosion between their flames had hit her and now were flaring up thanks to him. But her eyes were too clear...he doubted she cared that it hurt. She wanted him to care. To be a good person and want to help her.

Too bad Max wasn't a good person.

"My brother," he demanded. Varjac smiled, made a sweeping motion with his hands, and stepped aside, giving him the first completely clear view he'd had of Lucas since this thing started. It couldn't be that easy.
 
Lucas saw the knife at his brother's throat and the flames coming. He couldn't think quickly enough to find a way to protect himself so he reacted by throwing his arms in front of his face, willing them to shield him from the worst of the attack at least. It wasn't until he felt the mixture of heated and cold air wash over him that he risked a look up, squinting against the explosion of sparks.

Mika snarled in pain and glowered at Max, staring as he dared take control of her flames. "Don't touch them!" she screamed, climbing to her feet and swaying as she struggled for balance. Her clothes were torn and burned, blood and blisters covering her exposed skin. The flames deepened and grew higher though more chaotic as her control of them became tenuous.

Kithiel bared his teeth, ears flat against his skull. Too many humans, too much uncontrolled magic.

Lucas glanced behind him, shifting closer to the wolf as he felt the heat on his back. He'd never been one to willingly use his powers, but this wasn't the time to be scared of the consequences. He reached for the power he could feel writhing inside him. Shadows erupted from his fingers and feet, blanketing the area and rising in a dome that covered them in darkness.
 
Max swallowed down the fear as he looked up, watching the flames climb even higher. He felt his own power waver as his anger got replaced, which meant she had the control because all Max really had was a whole lot of emotions and magic that reacted to them. But it didn't even seem like she really had them. Just that she was stronger.

He didn't see where the shadows came from. He was too busy trying to keep an eye on everything else, but something...something in him tugged. That same general feeling he got whenever he was trying to find Lucas, only...different, this time. But the complete and total darkness was something else all together. Max hated it.

His heartbeat sped up so fast he could hear his pulse thumping in his ears. It was too dark, much too dark, dark enough that voices could whisper through his mind. There were real voices, he knew that, general chaos happening within the dome. Max just wanted out. He focused on that feeling of fear, thought back to how he felt watching flames fly at Lucas, and then he just...fell backwards.

And tumbled onto grass. A sheer coldness spread through his body like he'd been hit in the chest with ice, but he shook it off. All he could see from the outside was darkness...complete and total shadows, over taking the flames even if they were still there. "Lucas!" he called, wondering if he could work that pull from the other side. He wanted to go.
 
Lucas struggled to breathe as the force of the shadows hit him, dropping to his knees and clutching at the ground he couldn't see as he sucked in deep breaths. He could hear the others yelling, though somehow they seemed further away than they had been moments ago. "Max," he gasped, trying to stand and crashing back to the ground as he lost his balance. He had to get up. He had to... [i[be calm[/i]. The words drifted through his mind though it didn't feel like his thought. Still, it broke through the shock enough he breathed easier and willed himself to calm. He could sense Lucas to his left. That was all that mattered right then. The darkness seemed to clear as he calmed, or maybe his eyes were adjusting.

He stood and inched towards where he sensed Max, glancing at the crazy girl as he passed and breathing a sigh of relief when it seemed she was still blind.

Kithiel spun in surprise as the shadows covered the area, eyes glowing briefly to keep sight of everyone and everything, taking the chance to lunge at the snake and clamping his powerful jaws below its head with every intention to separate it from its body. The shadows roiled and he knew Lucas wouldn't be able to hold it long if he didn't be calm. When the shadows settled, he growled low and jumping at the next closest enemy to bring down.

Lucas made his way to his brother and grabbed hold of his arm. "Max," he hissed. "Are you hurt?"
 
Max felt relief flood his being as soon as he saw Lucas, who looked a little worse for wear but still on his own two feet so really that was all that mattered. Lucas had ahold of his arm in moments but Max didn't even care, he half-threw himself into his brother's chest, holding onto him tightly with his free hand.

"I'm fine."

He wasn't. He was shaking, his entire body still felt cold from the inside out, and he could feel a warm trickle of blood against his neck that was pooling just under his collarbone. He had a feeling the knife had nicked him when he'd pushed Maya aside, but it wasn't bad enough that he could feel pain so he counted it as a very minor injury.

He wasn't burned, so that was a complete and total upside. "Can we just go?" he asked, a little desperately. Kithiel wasn't out...he couldn't see him. "I just want to go."
 
Lucas wrapped his arms around Max, feeling the way he was shaking but he couldn't focus on that right then. He heard the growls of Kithiel and screams of pain and tightened his arms on his brother. Go. That sounded like an excellent idea, if it weren't for the fire still raging. He could feel the heat of it through the shadows, fueled by Mika's screams of rage. He closed his eyes tight and tried to think of a way out, willing himself to calm. And then he felt it, the way the shadows thickened near them. Solidified. There was a faint shimmer of silver behind them and he unconsciously reached for it.

Kithiel felt the forming of the veil and tore himself away from the hulking man he was trying to take down. Lucas, don't!

Lucas heard the wolf, but it was too late. He was already falling through the shadows with a solid grip on Max, landing on his back and staring at the... silvered landscape. He saw the ring of fire and those within, though as if looking through a reversed magnifying glass. "Max?" His voice sounded sluggish and he sat up, staring at the strange play of light and shadows that moved around him.
 
Max didn't know what happened. One moment his feet were on solid ground, Lucas' arms were around him, and the next...he was falling. He landed a little harshly against his side, eyes scrunching up at the feeling before he put his hands on the ground and forced himself to sit. He blinked a couple of times, trying to focus on the world around him, not quite sure why he couldn't...

It hit him harder than the cold shot to the chest had earlier. His head swam as he climbed to his feet, reaching out to run his fingers through passing shadows that felt more alive than they ever should. "No," he whispered under his breath, turning again. The world wasn't as dark as his own personal nightmare, but it was damn well close. "No, no, no."

Fuck, how did they get here.

"Lucas!" he turned again, making himself dizzy, before he closed his eyes and focused on the tug he always felt when trying to find his brother. When he opened them again, he was actually looking at his brother instead of needing something to follow. Lucas was sitting, looking at the world from...from the other side.

No. No no no.

"Luke...get me out of here..."
 
Lucas managed to get to his feet and moved to Max, grabbing hold of his arm as he walked. Away from the strange, twisted vision of the circle of flames. He felt weightless, like he could walk forever without getting tired. The shadowy doorway faded from sight in what felt like minutes, but he didn't slow. "Out," he murmured, somehow not surprised at the way his voice seemed to mimic the landscape and shift around them before fading. How the hell did they get out? He wasn't even sure what he'd done to get them in.

He paused as he saw a bright beacon of golden light in the distance and felt drawn to it. Sanctuary. It had to be. The call was a hundred times stronger here than it had been in... on the other side. He tightened his grip on Max's arm and started walking towards it without thinking.

Shadows moved as if alive around them and he could feel eyes on them, though it was hard to tell the difference between a shadow being a shadow or a shadow being...something else.
 
Max was on edge. It felt like every nerve in his body was standing alert, ready to react at any given moment. Lucas' grip on his arm was the only thing that felt real, and he forced himself to focus on that, to keep moving. He felt too unhindged, like his feet weren't even touching the ground as he walked. It was a feeling he usually only had when he was asleep.

The shadows seemed like they were playing with him. They danced through the trees, growing thicker in places, disappearing completely from others. He felt them loop around his legs, press up against his back, leaving him cold and yet...like he wanted more at the same time. "Don't let me go," he whispered, without even realizing he was saying it. "Lucas, don't let me go."

Because something was whispering to him, calling him, and it wasn't in the direction Lucas was going.
 
Lucas was completely enthralled by the light, his eyes fixated on it, until he heard Max's whimpered plea. It was like a punch to the stomach and he stopped walking without warning, managing to tear his eyes away and turn to look at his brother. He had to get Max out of here. Get them both out of here. Now that he wasn't focusing on the light and what it promised, he could see the sinister movements in the shadows and swore he caught glimpses of glowing eyes. He pulled Max closer, staring at the ground near them and trying to force the shadows into a gate, a door, anything that would get them out of this place and back to their own world.

They continued shifting and winding around them of their own volition and he cursed under his breath. Whatever had given him power over the shadows before was gone now, or maybe he just wasn't desperate enough.

Kithiel fought as the ones left standing started attacking him as one, desperate to keep him from escaping despite the fact they'd have to kill him to sever his bond to Lucas. Unless Lucas died while on the other side of the veil. A very real possibility that only grew the longer it took him to escape. There was only one left standing when he finally moved to where Lucas and Max had vanished, passing through the veil as fire singed the fur of his back.

He ran through the shadows, tracking them easily enough despite his injuries, the shadows coiling around him and aiding in his healing.

Lucas saw the yellow eyes coming towards them and tightened his hold on Max, the shadows convulsing around their feet in his panic moments before he realised it was Kithiel.
 
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