"Once upon a time, in a far off cult, there lay a small village at the edge of the woods.."
Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus
omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,
omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.
We exorcise you, every impure spirit,
every satanic power, every incursion
of the infernal adversary, every legion,
every congregation and diabolical sect.
With nothing else in his feeble life going for him, Alistair took his usual almost aimless-like walk to the library in search of more. His black-gloved hands found the enormous (almost unnecessary) pockets of his cloak as he marched onward. He would curse himself shortly after arriving to the library to check the time, as he still had another twenty minutes or so before it actually opened. But rather than trudge the whole way back to his house, the young witch rested against the building and lost himself in thought. What spells should he attempt? The idea of black magic lingered in his head a few times. A dark and dangerous practice, sure, but not like there would be anyone left to be hurt but himself if things were to go wrong. Summoning was going better than he had ever imagined, so that was another option to delve into.
In the middle of these thoughts, however, Alistair heard one of his least favorite things—another human. Ugh, did he despise having to even share the same library. That’s why he travelled in the earliest of day or the darkest of night. Avoiding people was somewhat of a practice at this point. His eyes were transfixed on this.. mail carrier?
An eyebrow was raised as his lips curled back in disgust, waiting for the other to hopefully turn. Of course they didn’t. Oddly enough, they /did/ proceed to fall on their face. Acting on instinct, Alistair uncrossed his arms and zoomed toward the one lying on the ground. Without thinking much, he seized the smaller looking one by the back of the shirt and pulled them up, pausing for a moment briefly transfixed on their face. After that one or two second delay, Alistair set them down as they regained their own balance. Had his spells finally made him grow stronger than he once was? He didn’t remember having enough strength to pick a full-grown person up with ease.
“What was that for?” he huffed, fixing his gaze from the bloodied ground to the person in front of him. His eyes bore holes into the other’s eyes. How /dare/ he come at this time?
Not being able to find the words he wanted fast enough, he let out a simple, “what do you want?” (He was attempting to ask what business he had at the library, but the last time he actually talked to someone was… oh god a year ago? Maybe?) Normally, no conversation would have been made, but he was just growing completely annoyed and couldn’t fight back the urge to lash out, he supposed.
Nyx and Lucien
Orange leaves and twigs crunched beneath Nyx's boots, adding to the orchestra of the forest. The trees loomed high above him, nearly barren of their leaves. Mist clung to the air about the area, cool and damp. Nyx hadn't been through the forest in years, yet his feet knew the way.
His instinctual movements brought him to the edge of the village.
To his home.
He wondered if anyone had missed him, and if they would be happy to see him. But the day he left home wasn't the best for his reputation. The villagers would either be relieved to see him still alive and well, or terrified for the same reason.
---
The sunlight was only just now shining through the window, but Lucien had been awake for an hour already. Despite being quite fond of the moonlight, he also lived to see the sunrise. He was fond of any form of light, really, as his parents predicted with the reasoning behind his name.
The orb settled in the sky, and Lucien remembered his deliveries. He picked up the set he made for the library; lavender and vanilla candles, spritz, and incense sticks, complete with a burner and a bow tied to hold it all together. His hands were full as he shoved his door aside to get through.
He made his way to the library, and it appeared to be a misty morning. But the birds were chirping with delight and his fellow villagers were out and about. The library was a large, almost chapel-like building. It was mostly made of ivory and carried a calming, mystical feel all around it. Even if the candles were blocking his view, he could tell it was near just from it's energy.
Unfortunately, the steps up to the library walkway were also blocked from his view. With flailing arms, he failed to steady himself and his chin hit the ground hard with an "uff!" from his mouth. His teeth felt like they might be broken with a touch and the wind was knocked from him. He wasn't sure, but he felt a stream of blood drip from his nose.
He opened one eye, almost scared to see how many people he had embarassed himself in front of. He noticed a man with red hair leaning against the library watching and Lucien clenched his eyes shut again quickly, blushing so hard he was sure his whole face must've resembled a tomato.
He heard footsteps getting closer to him.
Alec
The catboy took in a sharp breath. His belongings were packed, his living space tidy, and his almost sisterly friend, Caliope, was sitting in the corner, silent but supportive. She flashed him a reassuring smile whenever he looked at her with uncertainty. He would miss her.
There was only one thing left to do.
Wordlessly, Caliope nodded in his direction, understanding his look as she approached him.
"Would you do the honors?" He asked. She looked away from him for a moment as she grabbed his hands, caressing them.
"... Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Her eyes flickered back to him, "if you leave now, you can never come back. Master does love you, Alec."
Alec blinked away tears, "he may love me, but he loves you, and the others too. I can't give someone my all if he treats me like I'm easily replacable. I need to get out, Caliope, I've lost too much of myself for him."
She gave him a small smile, "I understand."
He turned his back to her, and soft hands found the clasp of his collar. It slid off with ease. She placed it on the bed as Alec ran his hands over the skin. He couldn't even remember what it was like to have his neck exposed. He felt.... freed.
He squeezed Caliope into a long, tight hug. When he pulled away, he looked at the clock. In 10 minutes, Master would be awake. Which meant Alec needed to leave right away.
After reassuring Caliope he would see her again one day and saying goodbye, he rushed out the front door to his Master's mansion. He would miss living in luxury, but not the pain of being a nobody to the one person he loved with all his heart.
He entered the woods, unsure of what would be there when he found his way out.
Words blurred and buzzed together more often with the rising of the sun. Alistair had been sifting through spellbooks the entire night, he hardly noticed dawn breaking. The room had lit carefully, almost subtly as he sat reading for hours upon hours. A yawn stifled through him every now and then, but reading was far more important to his thoughts. At this point, he was unsure of what information was actually sticking with him. Some books even seemed to contradict each other, and some books were common knowledge among witches. Simple demon summoning was easy enough—it was the exorcising that could get tricky. Alistair’s free hand found his hair and briefly ran past the top of his head. He had officially given up for the.. night. Frustrated, the sleep-deprived male tossed the book he was barely gripping a little too aggressively at his desk, knocking over his lantern in the process. A simple “Nox,” diminished the small flame attempting to cling to other various pages scattered about. A small hybrid noise in between a grunt and a sigh sounded from the witch in the process of standing up. With a stretch, he blinked hard a few times before stepping out into the light of morning.
"question- you'll kill me but you won't kill a witch?"
