Zinc 01 - Altors, page 13
part #1 of Zinc Series
"What are you doing?" I pulled my hand from his hold so I could undo my left pig tail, dangling the elastic in front of his face.
"Let me." I murmured, reaching out tentatively again, hoping he wouldn't stop me this time. He lowered his hand when I took the blue lock of hair between my fingers, and returned his eyes onto the screen when I gently pulled the lock back.
I took a shaky breath before carefully tugging backwards, tying it up. When I removed my hands, smiling at the small messy bun on top of his head, I was about to sit, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist once more.
"How old are you, Solenum?" He was stroking his thumb back and forth over my pulse, and I swallowed nervously as I knew he could most likely feel that my heart had sped up at his soft touch.
I licked my lips. "Eighteen." That was a lie, I was seventeen still. Not that big of a lie though, my birthday was in less than a month. It's not like I would be around long enough for him to care.
Then why did I lie?
"Sit." It was said softly, a request that wasn't shaped in the form of question because he'd rather I didn't decline. Really wishing I had taken a shower before coming here, I carefully slid down beside him despite the smelliness. I didn't know what to do with my hands or the erratic beating of my heart for that matter.
He grunted in discomfort, placing the keyboard in my lap for a moment so he could sit up. Placing a hand on my hip, he moved us until he deemed everything to be comfortable. I was now nestled into his side, his right arm wrapped around my shoulder and our legs tangled together. His lips were so very close to my ear, and his fingers touching my throat softly gave me shivers. My palms were sweaty and I was nervous.
"Use the tab key to lock onto an enemy, the space bar to perform an attack. I'll navigate." He murmured. I nodded my head and tried to do my best concentrating on the screen while his fingers twinned their way up into my hair.
Locking onto an enemy, pressing tab key like he'd asked, I was about to hit the space bar, but then failed miserably when I could feel his fingertip dipping into the V that connected my collar bones. I knew I was breathing faster then usual and I kept swallowing nervously. I was so distracted with the overwhelming amount of feelings he was making me feel, I couldn't really tell how he was reacting to having me near.
"I am sorry I didn't invite you." He whispered.
I frowned, attacking our enemy on the screen at the same time. "It's not like I gave you much of an opportunity. I'm always working." I winced, realizing that although I wanted to be here and have fun, I didn't want to allow myself these moments for logical reasons. What if I suddenly didn't want to leave anymore? I'd be obliged because nothing could stop me from finding Calycanthus.
Feeling guilty for having had fun without him, I started moving out of the chair, but Galax roughly pulled me back. I was surprised by the action as he was usually gentle in everything he did. He flattened his palm above my chest, keeping me still as I shyly settled back into his side.
"Don't kill the moment." He murmured by my ear, slowly sliding his hand up so he could run his fingers through my hair again. I sighed in contentment, smiling as I appreciated the fact that he hadn't let me leave, hadn't allowed it.
"What are we?" I asked, feeling my cheeks heat as I'd never been in a situation like this before. It's not like I could fall madly in love with him and decide to spend the rest of my days here in the garage, sharing his living quarters. I bit my lip when I realized I wasn't just attracted to him anymore. The crush was morphing into something bigger. Was it the same for him? I needed to know what we were.
"Don't kill the moment, Solenum." He repeated, his lips brushing my cheek softly before he placed the lightest kiss onto the sensitive spot below my ear. So light, I wasn't sure he'd done it.
* * * *
"Carefully pour the powder into its container." Galaxi murmured over my shoulders, her fingers gently wrapped around my wrists so she could help guide my movements. "Always follow the recipe carefully. Some ingredients can clash with others, and since we are making bombs, we don't want that to happen." She pointed out. I nodded, breathing through my nose steadily, my eyes never leaving my movements. I'd come to realize that what helped me focus, was thinking of Acacia.
~~~~~~~~
"Once upon a time, a shy boy of eighteen approached a girl of about the same age."
"I thought you were going to tell me how you and Lupinus met?"
"I am telling you."
~~~~~~~~
Galaxi had dragged me away from the garage this morning before I could even start. Since then she'd explained how to put together a grenade, a smoke bomb and a gas bomb. The last one poisoned the people that inhaled the smoke, killing them because of it. I liked making bombs. It took focus and a special kind of patience. If you screwed up, you could set the bomb off and kill everyone in the room with you. Or at least, wound them severely. It was a thrilling sort of feeling to be in charge of something this dangerous.
~~~~~~~~
"The girl had noticed the boy on many occasions, his hair made her laugh."
"Lupinus had an afro?"
"Stop interrupting, Solenum."
~~~~~~~~
"Why is the tech room so heavily guarded?" I asked softly as I poured the next ingredient gently into the container. I'd been pondering this matter for a while now.
~~~~~~~~
"He was the first one to give her flowers."
"That's why you became a florist?"
"Do you wish to hear the tale, or not?"
~~~~~~~~
Galaxi released my wrist so she could circle around the table I was currently working on. I could see her fingertips touching the container of the bomb and heard her sigh.
"It's a powerful enough control panel to try and hack into the Regius' base. We haven't managed to get access to their data so far, but the techies are trying their best. It is also a watching system. The Palliums and Altors watch over the regions the Regius didn't manage to keep a hold of when the war was still out in the open.” Galaxi was one of those few when she spoke the name ‘Regius’ or ‘Blue Bloods’ her voice wasn’t laced through with hatred. It sounded very neutral.
“Although the civilians are safe enough from the Blue Bloods, we still keep an eye out. There are many decedents of Altors everywhere. The Regius want them all gone, because if the Altors are no longer around, then nobody can stop them.” Galaxi sighed heavily, making it clear this tale was as old as time to her. “The Altors strength can hold up against that of the Regius, that is why the balance never really tipped over. But look at it with their logic. By removing all the descendents, and making sure each possible Altor soldier dies before they are trained and ready to fight the war," When her voice took on a sadder note, I put the ingredients down, placing a hand gently over her tightly clenched fist. "They are killing the Altor race bit by bit."
"You keep watch over the Altor descendents with the computers I saw in the tech room?" I asked and she nodded. It clicked into placed. "If the Regius got their hands on that they would know where to find each and every Altor." I murmured. "Yet you can't simply not watch them as then you wouldn't be able to stop the attacks-" Galaxi squeezed my hand, cutting me off.
"Assassinations, Sol. The Regius assassinate the Altors." She corrected, not allowing me to use the softer term.
~~~~~~~~
"He promised her peace, happiness and a good life."
"Lupinus gave you all of this, right?"
"Not all, but some promises cannot be kept."
~~~~~~~~
I looked at Galaxi, my eyes glazing over as Acacia entered my mind, and my blood ran cold.
"Digitalis assassinated my guardian." Goosebumps settled over my skin in an unpleasant manner, and the edge of my eyes tingled while my shoulders tensed.
"Who was your guardian?"
"Acacia Jacoby." I angrily wiped away the tears as I never cried. I didn't want to cry. Only Cali knew I cried. "She was like a mother to me."
"We call him the Ghost Assassin.” She murmured. He had felt like a ghost that day.
"Acacia was an Altor soldier, wasn’t she?" My voice sounded numb even to my own ears. That she was an Altor descendent I’d figured out long ago, but it wasn’t physical traits that could help you find out if they’d been an active soldier.
"I am sorry they kept you in the dark." She meant the Altors.
~~~~~~~~
"Do you love Lupinus even though he didn't give you peace?"
"Of course."
"Are we that hard to take care off? Is that why you don't have peace in your life?"
"He promised a different kind of peace, Solenum. Peace in Zinc."
"But Zinc is peaceful."
"Not everywhere."
"What?"
"Never mind that."
~~~~~~~~
After that short moment, Galaxi had led me back inside in the open garage, telling me I should maybe rest. I'd declined, saying I'd rather work on something, and I did, throughout the rest of the day I worked hard on my vehicle, my thoughts racing through memories of Acacia, Lupinus and of course, Calycanthus. I wasn't sure it hurt me to think of the moments I shared with them, or if they made me happy. I missed Lupinus, I missed her. I missed my life at the boarding house and my friends. But I was doing all of this for Cali, and it wasn't so bad here. It wasn't bad at all.
That moment with Galax in the tech room kept popping up in my thoughts, but then it clashed with the thought of wanting Cali back. I took out my confusion on the vehicle I was working on, forcing the hammer to slam hard onto the backseat of the car, destroying it entirely so I could rip it out and clear it. I couldn't seem to figure out what I wanted anymore. Galax or Cali. Cali or Galax. I think I wanted both.
Screaming in frustration, I punched and kicked the vehicle repeatedly, my rage at its max. When a hand closed over my shoulder, making me yelp and whirl around, I saw it was Galaxi.
"Come with me." She instructed gently, taking my hand and pulling me along with her to the back of the garage where the ready-to-go vehicles were parked. I wanted to protest, make her go away, but I knew she wouldn't let me. I'd spent enough moments with her to know that when she decided something, she wouldn't let it go. I also knew I would end up breaking the vehicle instead of enhancing it if I kept working on it in the current state I was in.
She chose a scooter, and despite my frustration, I couldn't help but quirk an amused eyebrow at her when she patted the seat after having settled onto it. I jumped onto the scooter behind her. She giggled when I took a hold of her two long braids, wrapping them around my right hand while I held onto her hip with my left.
"Where are we going?!" I shouted over the noise as she raced us out of the garage.
"Training ground!" She shouted back, guiding the scooter around the garage, revealing another stone path that led down. I hadn't been here before, and frowned as I hadn't explored this place at all. I was so busy trying to work my ass off so I could finally earn the gold to buy that boat ticket, I didn't do anything else.
It was a short five minute drive and after one particularly high sand hill, she let the scooter slide to a halt at the edge of a square, stone platform. Considering the numerous amount of dummies, targets and boxing bags hanging from random pillars, and then of course the several people that were currently engaging in battle, I assumed this was the training ground.
"Why didn't you tell me you guys train for battle?" I asked, annoyed as I would have liked to know about this. I loved battle. I missed The Ring practice.
"Because you won't let us show you anything. If you took a moment to just... stop." She shrugged, smiling my way. "Maybe you'd see that we really like you. We want to show you who and what the Palliums are." She placed an arm around my shoulders and she pulled me onto the large training ground surrounded by sand hills, sun high and hot in the sky.
"No matter. I understand you're the way you are because your goal is important. But allow yourself to breathe from time to time." She sprinted off to meet Conium halfway when he was coming towards us from across the training ground.
Looking back, Galaxi said, "Let it take over. Don't fight it." Before I could ask what that was about, Conium had already reached her side, grabbing onto Galaxi's shoulders as he looked over her head, giving me a worried look.
"They do this in the Coliseum for a reason. The Altors have a system to keep things from getting out of hand." He clipped out through gritted teeth. I didn't like the sound of this.
Looking across the field, I saw Galax standing still, staring our way, a sharp and shiny saber, crooked in many places and covered in swirl type cracks, firmly in his hand as he frowned first at me and then at the couple. He'd been training with Conium. I could see his shoulders moving up and down, telling me his breathing had quickened from the exercise. His hair was sticking against the sides of his face because of the sweat, as did his clothes. I waved shyly his way, giving him a small smile. The frown slipped and he smiled gently back at me.
"Solenum?" Galaxi asked, but I didn't break my eye contact with Galax. "You can eye-fuck him later. Come on." I barely registered her comment. "I need you to focus!" Galaxi dragged my gaze back forward with her stern order and pushed a blade in my hand.
"It’s name is Icendia. Kind of like a bigger version of a butcher's knife. But as it is taller, it’s more elegant." She gestured for me to weigh it in my hand, test it. "It's extremely light, and when used right, very fast which will give you the element of surprise when facing an opponent." She explained as I struck forward with Icendia, stabbing the air harshly. "Icendia means 'firefly' in Pallium. It’s created out of metal and desert jewel particles. It is named as such because when the element of the blade comes in contact with blood, it glows like a firefly would at night.” I breathed in deeply, feeling my muscles lock in place as they remembered the moves I'd learned when practicing for The Ring. Of course this weapon could actually kill someone, but I didn’t let that intimidate me.
“Conium made it shortly before your arrival. He had the design in mind, but never did he figure out who Icendia’s owner would become.” That familiar rush ran through my blood system, making me swing my body left and right rhythmically as Galaxi grabbed two small daggers, flipping them over expertly in her hands before gripping the hilts and grinning my way with a raised eyebrow, challenging me.
“Clearly Icendia was waiting for you.” The Palliums had many beliefs. The Creatures of Origin are worshiped as they believe that in both birth and death, a Pallium is protected and blessed by their higher powers. Those higher powers were in the minds of the Palliums, also connected to the earth that is Zinc, feeding nature and keeping it safe. Of course that also meant that anything that was made out of desert jewel particles was considered sacred as it had once belonged to a Creature.
I followed her out to an empty spot on the training ground, both of us readying for battle.
"We are going to check out your moves first before I start correcting them and suggesting different things so your body doesn't harm itself by whatever you may be doing wrong. The enemy can worry about hurting you." I nodded at her, not questioning the fact she probably knew more about battle than I did. She was trained for war. I was trained for personal amusement.
She waved one of her daggers decorated in golden desert jewels at me, silently informing I was to begin. Gripping the hilt of Icendia, I sprinted towards her first, closing the long distance.
"These weapons are sharp and deadly, Solenum! This isn't a wooden stick!" She warned authoritatively as I jumped skywards, flipping over her and the moment my feet touched the ground, I spun around and swung my blade harshly in her direction.
“My daggers are called Rectors. One of a kind, passed down from Pallium leader to Pallium heir.” I laughed in delight as she herself did somewhat of a pirouette, clashing her first Rector against the top of my blade to block, and then her second Rector slashed low and quick in my direction, forcing me to step backwards to avoid. She looked like she was dancing.
My laughter died quickly when I realized Galaxi wasn't done attacking me yet. In fact, she was barely giving me time to block in between each blow. Eyes widening, I tensed my muscles and tried keeping my breathing steady so I could concentrate only on her, hoping my calm would help me locate an opening in her attacks, giving me an opportunity to fight back.
She was forcing me backwards, constantly turning on herself while taking a step forward. Clash, step, block. Clash, step, block. Clash, step, block. My wrists ached since I couldn't move my blade at all. If I moved it now, my face would be unprotected. At this point she was working me to the ground, letting her daggers strike out closer to me each time, not only forcing me back, but also making me bend down.
My palms, wrists and forearms were straining and I gasped violently when blocking became difficult. My knees were shaking from the weird bended position, and my feet had already stepped into the sand of the mountains surrounding the training ground. I groaned in pain when I buckled, forcing me to kneel.
Screaming out in pain and frustration, I swung my blade backwards in that split second of a pause between her attacks and then guided the blade over my head and into her daggers.
"Stop it!" I screamed at her, lifting the blade as I stood, only to slam it down into her crossed daggers again. She shook her head at me, pushing me backwards before uncrossing and positioning herself in a battle stance again. My fingers hurt as they clenched tightly around the hilt of my blade, the entire sword shaking because my forearms couldn't handle any more pressure. I was panting and Galaxi didn't leave me the time to catch my breath.
My eyes widened then when she threw one of her Rectors at me. Dropping my weapon, I flung myself sideways, my shoulder hurting when it connected to the ground. I sat up in a crouch, palms flat and I lifted my eyes to see where Galaxi was at now. I flinched in fright as a hand closed over my shoulder, but when I looked up, I saw it was Galax.
"Galaxi, enough!" He shouted at her all the while stepping before me.
"Conium!" She shouted.
"Galaxi!" Galax repeated, his voice sharp and authoritative, his hand hovering over the hilt of the saber. "Subsisto is!" Galax never got angry at Galaxi. Not his sister.
