Loss of Innocence

[Claire]

“When is mother going to be home?”

“It won’t be long now, Claire.”

Claire bobbed up and down in the doorway, bouncing trying to see over her sister’s shoulder for an escape route into the greater part of the house. It was nearing dusk and their mother should be making an appearance, and the younger children still needed to be cleaned up for dinner. Claire crossed her arms and huffed a tuft of blonde hair out of her face.

“Go make sure the little ones are ready for dinner. You know mother doesn’t like to wait.” Claire frowned and straightened up her outfit as she got to her feet and wandered into the next room, kicking at the carpet in a frustrated manner.

“Alright, Destiny says we have to get ready. Melody get your dress on. Blaine, where are you?” Claire wandered through the room the two younger siblings shared, looking for her younger brother. He popped out from under one of the beds and play growled at her like a big animal. It took Claire the better part of a half hour to get them all tidy and ready to go.

“Destiny! We’re ready! Is mother here yet?” When she wasn’t answered, Claire picked up her doll from a bench near the door and peeked her head out of the room. A nearby servant, whom she knew well, reached over and pulled the door shut.

“No coming out, Miss. You know the rules. You are supposed to be clean and proper for the Mistress when she comes home. She’ll be upset if you aren’t and you have tried her patience enough this week!” A resounding sound of groans behind the door followed the statement. It sounded as if someone might be mortally wounded, but Claire was just bored.

[Sage]

The door could be heard slamming from downstairs, and their mother's voice resounded through the house as an angry shout. A scuffle immediately broke out, and Destiny could be heard scrambling up the stairs, blocking the smaller children as they tried to go and greet their mother.

" Mom's mad about something, just stay up here for a minute. I'll come get you when she calms down. "

Helena was a stern mother, but a loving one. The smaller children would have never seen her lose her temper, or even her composure, being a politician and a military official. Soft coos could be heard after Destiny returned to the first floor, as she attempted to console her mom, which was met by the harsh sound of skin on skin and a whimper from their older sister.

Destiny returned, an angry red mark across her cheek and eye, fighting tears as she closed the door behind her. Blaine immediately ran to her, shrieking at the welt, but she simply hugged him and spoke in a soothing voice, though it shook slightly.

" It's okay, Auntie Clarissa and Uncle Dyrus are talking to her. We'll just play up here until dinner. "

[Claire]

Claire was shocked by the welt on her sister’s face. For as long as she could remember she never saw their mother give physical punishment. Granted, she hadn’t been living an exceptionally long time. Whatever their mother was mad about it was bad. Claire felt her fear rising into her throat and she clutched at her ragdoll, fighting the urge to cry. She hated it when Destiny was hurting, when any of her siblings were hurting. She always wanted to help.

“Here, Destiny.” Claire offered her big sister her rag doll. It was a very adult gesture for a child so young. She didn’t fully understand what was going on so much as her sister was sad and her mother was mad about something. She knew that her doll made her feel better when she was sad, so maybe it would help Destiny feel better too. “Bells always makes me feel better.”

The doll had seen better days. It was a little rough around the edges and missing one of its blue glass eyes. At some point Destiny had drawn a blue eye on it for Claire. There were marks on it from Melody and Blaine, where they’d gotten hold of the poor doll and drawn all over it. It was comforting to her still though, even with all the “tattoos” on the doll.

She tried pretty hard to hide the fact that her stomach was growling and that she was getting tired. She wanted to be a big girl for her big sister and her mother, so she sat down on the floor and pretended to meditate, at least until Melody tackled her to the floor and they started play wrestling.

[Sage]

Destiny's ears perked, though there was no distinguishable noises coming from downstairs anymore. Their older sister had always been intensely gifted in the magical arts, and the younger siblings would know that if she felt worried, there was good reason to be, despite what reassurances she might offer. Everything about her expression said ' Something's wrong, ' but she dared not frighten the younger children.

Immediately after she had stood up and brushed herself off, deciding to go check on the situation, there was a loud crash from the first floor. Destiny ran into the doorway and shock was written in her features as she saw something horrifying in the stairwell. Simultaneously, a woman's scream echo'd up to the bedrooms, and was immediately silenced...the piercing shriek degenerating into a gurgling liquid sound. Destiny gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. She was as much trying to stifle herself as she was trying to keep from vomiting at what she had just seen.

She looked back into the room, and a telepathic version of the young mage's voice would make itself heard to her siblings, an ability she seldom used with them so as not to startle them.

Stay here!

There would be no choice, however, as he free hand swung out and telekinetically slammed the door, after which some of the furniture in the room would fling itself against the door, barring it from the inside. Dyrus could be heard howling with pain and anger immediately following the scream, and being a near-giant of a man, the house would shake as he inevitably flung himself into a berzerker rage. Their mother could be heard spewing obscenities and cries of pain, as she scuffled with her half-brother, and then it was Destiny's turn to scream.

" Mother, no! "

The sickening sound of metal penetrating flesh ceased the sounds of Dyrus' stompings, and was followed up by another immediately afterward as sword was peeled from flesh, releasing their uncle's corpse to the floor with a crashing weight. Destiny's vision grew blurry with tears, and she pleaded with her mother to stop. An unnatural, insane laughter erupted from their crazed mother as she turned on her daughter.

" Where are your sisters, Destiny? It's....dinner time! "

The emphasis and strain in her words was punctuated by another mercurial attack, as the two sprinted up the stairs, the ringing sounds of a sword smashing into the walls and furniture now accompanied by magical whirs and the smell of smoke. The unmistakable sound of breaking bone rung out, and Destiny let out a defeated whimper as the force of a magical explosion blew open the door, scattering the desk and chairs against the door into a splintered mess on the floor. Destiny's feet were just barely visible in the doorway, and it was clear she was on her knees.

She rolled back onto her bottom, crawling away from her mother as she came into sight of the children. Her eyes were crazed, her typically immaculate hair a mess, and blood dripped from an ornate rapier in her hands, as well as being smeared across her uniform. She leaned forward, gripping her once-beloved daughter by the throat, and lifted her into the air as the girl grasped at her hand. She sputtered and choked, trying to breathe, and as her air supply was cut off her flailing legs began to move less and less, until Helena threw the limp girl down the hall and out of sight.

Her attention turned to the cowering children, and a triumphant, wicked smile came across her face as she turned on them, brandishing her sword at them as she bared down menacingly.

" Simpering little brats. At least your bitch of a sister defends herself, and here I find you cowering in your room. You are not the children I raised, why should I let you disgrace me any further!? "

[Claire]

Claire blinked with big round eyes as her mother lumbered toward her and the two youngest siblings. She realized far too late that her mother had come between them and she was lurching toward the two youngest that were squealing in terror at the wild look on their mother’s face. With a scream of rage Claire began throwing things at her mother. Whatever she could pick up and get her hands on she started throwing.

“Leave them alone!” She screamed at their mother. This was so unusual that Claire had a hard time believing that their mother could kill anyone. Sure she was strict, sure she was tough, but she had always told them that she loved them. She never beat them and she had always taught them what was right and wrong.

This was wrong. So very wrong.

Claire moved as she threw everything she could touch; cups, books, toys, candlesticks, and the holders that they were sitting in. Everything that wasn’t nailed down and she didn’t need a lot of strength to throw was launched at Claire’s mother with a vengeance. Once the woman’s attention was diverted, Claire would run out of the room, never looking away from her mother. While backing away she fell over Destiny’s prone form and began to panic – thinking her older sister was dead. She frantically patted at her sister’s face and hands, struggling trying to tug on her older sister.

“Destiny! Destiny! Wake up, please wake up!” Claire shrieked as their mother’s shadow fell across her path. She scooted backwards with her sister’s hand in hers, trying to pull her away from the killer with their mother’s face. When she tugged hard on Destiny, and her sister didn’t move, Claire’s hands slipped and she went sliding under a large hallway table where she hit the wall with a resounding thud.

Stunned for the moment, trying to recollect herself, Claire tried very hard not to shriek again, clutching her rag doll tight against her chest.

[Sage]

It was inevitable. Claire left her siblings behind with their murderous mother, and just as she reached her older sister, Helena sunk her blade into Blaine's chest. The gurgling hiss he emitted was otherworldy, as his body slumped over, and was punctuated as soon as he became still by the sound of a heavy boot crushing Melody's skull. In the wake of the murders, there was an unnatural silence, the air permeated with the stifling, lingering knowledge that two innocents had fallen.

Helena's slow steps were like thunder, as the floor creaked beneath her. She walked back out into the hall, dull thuds from dripping blood shattering the silence each time they fell. Her movements had become slow, purposeful. Her thirst for blood and violence was nearly slaked...nearly. Only two remained, and Destiny was already unconscious. She snarled, lifting her lips over her teeth as she assessed her daughters.

" I have seen you use your magic to play and make merry with your siblings, but you would not even use your powers to save your own life? You are pathetic, and your sister will be happier without you. "

Having revealed her plans to leave Destiny alive to mourn the loss of their family, the overbearing matriarch would bear down upon Claire, a glistening sheen of red life coating her razor-sharp rapier. She was known to be one of the finest fencers in the kingdom, and with one mercurial swipe, she would be able to end her daughter's life. Claire would be dead within seconds, short of divine intervention.

And so it came;

The mass of wings and armor moved too fast at first to even perceive as it blasted through the window of the room where Melody and Blaine's had been put to rest. A white and azure streak rocketed into the hallway and piled Helena's body through the opposite wall, sending her reeling into the next room. Xavier hovered over Claire protectively, aloft glorious white wings. His armor, a sandblasted, faded blue was unique and accented in certain areas with strange markings. At his sides were two ornate, foreign swords, also uniquely crafted. Each of them were curved sharply, akin to thin scimitars, with interlocking hilts that turned them into one large, two-handed weapon of Xavier's own design.

Xavier was a legend in Algeroth, and Claire would be all too familiar with his story, as she would be with any war hero, or champion of the people. Statues of him were even erected in the Noble District, as well as inside the castle courtyard. More famous than all of the tales of his victories, however, was of his death. Xavier Gottheit had been dead for at least a year, and Claire and her family would have been present at his military funeral, where all royals and military would have been present.

And yet, here he was, now gripping each of his curved blades in his armored hands, revealing the twin royal markings of Algeroth and Xexoria at the bases of the blades. He allowed himself to land, the giant wings retracting magically into his back as his legs took on the burden of his weight once more. Unable to fit into the hole Helena had made in the wall, Xavier collapsed the remainder of the wall into the next room with a swift kick. He advanced on the Lady Inquisitor's crumpled form, and loomed over her.

" No tricks, Sorceror. "

Helena, who had been feigning injury, let out a peeling laugh as she stood.

" You were always so very perceptive, little Xavier. Almost as gifted as poor Alistair, if only you had been stronger for him when he needed you most. "

Xavier let rage power his movements as he clattered his swords against the wall behind Helena, just a split-second after she had disappeared. The homicidal woman had magically split herself into several copies and surrounded Xavier, pinning him with strategically-placed swords. She continued her taunting as she watched the man squirm against her many blades.

" Why even bother show up? You have failed in your duty as a Guardian so many times before. What makes you think this time you'll be any more fortunate? "

" When has...taunting me...ever kept my enemies ALIVE!? "

Xavier spat the words as he spun, flashing his wings outward to protect himself from the piercing blades as he interlocked the swords in his grip and slung the boomerang-like contraption around through the group of clones, slicing each of them along the midsection, causing almost identical staggers, and clutched chests. He used the momentum and retracted his wings once more while catching one of the clones reeling and placed a firm heel into her chest, sending her crashing into a bedpost, which splintered in half and impaled her.

Xavier managed to catch a second of the Helenas off-balance and caught her up by the arm and sent her flying lengthwise into yet another of the screeching harpies. The remaining half-dozen copies stormed him, striking with blades and concussive magical blasts. A whirling dervish of steel and willpower, Xavier fended of the frenzy of blows, for a time, managing to disarm another of his aggressors before succumbing to the blitzkrieg and taking several puncturing stabs to his torso.

He managed to mitigate much of the damage by once again deploying his wings in a kite shield-like shape across his back to stop the swords, as he continued to parry and fight at his front. His movements became more and more erratic as he delivered and received blows, his anger and hatred growing as the fight went on.

Destiny began to stir at Claire's side, the ringing blows rousing her, with harsh side effects. She gripped her head, and sobbed as she expirated blood. The sounds of her resurgence brought the attention of one of the wounded clones, who turned away from the fight with Xavier to menace the two loose ends, huddled together in the hallway. It raised a shaking arm, to draw down it's blade upon the sisters, and Destiny raised her hand instinctively to defend them, though her aura was weak, and her magic was nearly drained. If she cast another spell, it would be the end of her, despite whether she managed to silence her attacker. Though, from the look in her eyes as she looked to Claire, her sister would know she would gladly give up her life to save her younger sibling's.

It became unnecessary, however, as a blade plunged through the clone's back and exploded out of her chest, before being drawn up through her spine, splitting it in half before the two of them. The body disappeared in a misty evanescence, much as the other 'dead' clones would have by now, but the gore it left behind was very real. And with every fatal blow to one of the copies, the remaining Helena's became less and less effective, their breathing haggard.

They retreated away from Xavier momentarily, and began to reform. Their very essence drained away from them like grains of sand as the original Helena materialized in a very corporeal form, with a fresh gaping wound across her abdomen as her only injury from the battle, whereas Xavier was littered with superficial, but bloody wounds. Having gained her second wind from reforming, she released a flurry of shining bolts of energy at Xavier. As each one struck, seemingly blocked or deflected, his wounds would bleed from the concussive pressure.

His left arm hung limp, apparently the tendons having been completely destroyed by Helena's assault. He attached his dual-bladed sword to the large harness draped across his back and attempted to scoop up Destiny in his good arm.

" I have to get you out of here, you have to survive, you must. "

Destiny fought against Xavier with the remainder of her strength, and wobbled to her feet at his side. Tears streamed from her eyes as a realization struck her.

" No! Take Claire and go, I will buy you time. "

Xavier shook his head as he watched Destiny, barely able to stand, face her mother. Or at least, what they thought was their mother. Xavier's expression reflected how torn he really was. He understood things about Destiny that the present company would never be able to grasp. But he reluctantly pulled Claire up against his hip, and unfurled his wings.

Struggling against him would be expected, and futile. Helena started after him, but again, to no avail. Xavier was too fast and too strong to be stopped, if he wanted to escape, even wounded and carrying the child. But there was a great weight that hung in his heart as he exploded out of the house, and gained altitude into the night sky.

From his vantage, they would be able to see Claire's older sister through the remains of the broken outer wall, barely standing her ground in the hallway, as Helena gave up attempting to stop Xavier, and turned her attentions back to her oldest child. Xavier's golden eyes cried bloody tears for Destiny, as her own eyes began to flicker and then ignite with a brilliant white light. What was happening to her, he was too familiar with.

Every Descendant had a limited amount of magic they could perform before recovering, unless they chose to expend their life force. Doing so caused whatever magic that was done by them to be exponentially more powerful, but extinguished their very soul, in the process. During this process, if they had not already Ascended, a rite of passage for very powerful mages that gave them the ability to sprout magical wings, they were given.

Destiny's own wings unfurled for the first time. Their wingspan was enormous, and the feathers were silvery, completely unlike Xavier's. She focused her aura, and began to summon around her a magical sphere of fire which began to engulf the building. Helena recoiled, and shielded her eyes, as Destiny lifted from the ground and expanded her sphere to completely encircle what was once her home. Her mother hissed and shrieked as she tried to shield herself from the flames that licked at her from every direction. A crackling barrier of ice began to form as she tried to counteract the magic, but as rapidly as she could create it, it was melted into searing steam which burned her further.

In seconds, the entirety of their home was dismantled and consumed in the vortex of fire, and Destiny could be seen lifting one hand, pulling Helena toward her telekinetically. Her body was overtaken with spasms and convulsions as she drifted toward the center of the sphere. Citizens of the city, who had been unaware of the silent horrors which had taken place in the house, began to flee in every direction now, pointing fingers and screaming that their Lady Inquisitor was being murdered by her daughter.

Military personnel showed up too late, unable to pierce the shroud of flames to rescue either of them, Xavier cleared the walls of the city, and in the distance the sphere could be seen rapidly retracting toward the pair before an immense explosion rocked the city. In the wake of the explosion, Xavier was sent hurtling back toward the earth. He tucked Claire into his chest and attempted to slow his descent as much as possible before he rolled onto his back in the air. Flying over Toryn Lake, he was able to brake by dragging his legs across the surface of the water until they reached the bank of the small island at it's center. The force of the crash was mostly mitigated by these preparations, but having already been hurt, Xavier rolled limp across the sand before being sprawled out, releasing Claire at last, onto the sand.

" Hnngh! "

[Claire]

Somewhere along the way, Claire had slipped into shock and passed out. The very last thing she would remember was seeing her sister’s wings. Destiny, Melody, and Blaine were dead and it was all their mother’s fault. Helena. The woman wasn’t even fit to be regarded as mother any longer. For all Claire would remember and care, she was parentless.

When Xavier tumbled across the sand of the island at the center of Lake Toryn, Claire momentarily woke – her head spinning as the world spun around her. She struggled to her hands and knees and looked to where Xavier was unconscious. He looked beat up and he had saved her. He had wanted to save Destiny, but she had told him to take her. Clutching the doll she had somehow managed to hold onto, Claire sucked in a sob. It was then that she determined not to cry anymore, not where anyone else could see it. All she wanted to do right now was crawl under a rock and die. Everything she had known, everyone she had ever loved, and all of them were gone in the span of an hour.

Being a child of ten, and knowing the history of Xavier, Claire crawled over to him. She could feel his blood drying on her skin and she realized some of it was Destiny’s, and some of it was hers. There was sand sticking to her face where Xavier’s blood dominated, her hands were coated in Destiny’s blood, and she recognized a few scrapes and cuts from her flight from Helena.

With the foresight of an adult, Claire gathered herself and crawled to the edge of the lake where she could wash the blood off her hands. Soft whimpers escaped her lips, even though she was trying very hard to be the grown up girl Destiny always knew she could be. Gone. They were all gone. The scrubbing became more frantic as Claire decided all of the blood had to come off, starting with Destiny’s. She scrubbed her hands viciously, clawing at her nails where the blood had pooled the thickest and creating small scratches on her skin. She quickly washed her face, scrubbing the sand against her cheeks to rid herself of Xavier’s blood. When she was through she scooted away from the water, crawling back to Xavier.

Claire would sit by him with her knees drawn up under her chin, staring into space and seeing nothing. When he woke he might think she’d cracked completely, and he wouldn’t be entirely far from the truth, but she wasn’t going to give up so easily. There was one thing that Helena’s second daughter had that none of her other children possessed, a keen sense of pride, anger, and the ability to get into trouble. Parents might argue that all children were capable of getting into trouble, but Claire wasn’t just any child. She was descended from a great line and she possessed powers that any normal child would envy.

For a brief moment, in the dark of night, when she could see no hope – Claire thought about Xavier protecting her. In truth, he was protecting her sister. What if he didn’t want her? Why should he want her? There was nothing exceptional about Claire that Xavier wouldn’t find in another child with her skills. Destiny had been so great with her magic, and Claire had yet to be trained as thoroughly. Claire debated what she would do when Xavier woke, if he decided he couldn’t be burdened with her, and where she would go. She decided straight away that she didn’t want to go to the orphanage and that she would find a way to survive on her own.

If Xavier woke during this time, he would be met with the profile of a ten year old girl with a frown creasing her forehead and her lips pursed in thought. It would be mildly comical in light of the events that had transpired. Claire was nothing if not stubborn.

[Sage]

Xavier was out for less than a minute, before stirring. He rolled his head to the side, and saw the girl he had saved, deep in thought. When he had surveyed her last, her aura was barely visible, barely a pink ring around her skin. After what she had seen, however, she emitted flickering red lines from her tiny form. He laughed once, to himself, which caused him to cough and sputter slightly.

" Like a young Syrus... "

He groaned as he rolled onto his side, and unhooked the swords from his back, tossing them to the side. He remarkably, almost unnaturally calm. No one had seen their escape, and so they would not be pursued. And thanks to the native monsters, typical people did not venture out to the island. It was thought to be sacred, and so the lake devils made their home here, among the unkempt shrines honoring many ancient beings.

Xavier took a moment to dust himself off, and clean his wounds, noticing that his left arm was still mostly unusable. He was regaining some motor function, but he would not be able to wield a sword in that hand until it had time to heal. While he washed a mixture of gore and dirt from his face and neck, he recalled a wort which grew in the area around Lake Toryn that could be used to accelerate the process.

He walked directly past the girl, placing his good hand on her head. Having gotten her attention, he gave her a reassuring half-smile, difficult as it was for the very stoic Xavier. It did not take long to find enough of the leaves necessary to pack his wounds, and he returned to the crash site to do so, tearing small strips of cloth from a Xexorian headwrap he pulled from a side pouch. While he crumbled the plant, and placed it into his stab wounds, tying off the mixture under his skin with the rough bandages, he spoke quietly to Claire.

" Will you try and kill her now? " He asked, matter-of-factly, but his expression was cautious, gauging her reaction to the question more than hoping for an actual answer. " Or will you keep running, hope to start a new life? You have your whole life ahead of you, and the path you start on tonight will determine where you end up. "

His words came off as slightly harsh, as he still grieved for the loss of a brilliant light in the world, after Destiny's death. She was meant for bigger and better things than an early grave, and crushed as he was, Xavier would not allow himself to fail Claire as he had done her sister. She was his responsibility now, whether she knew it or not.

Xavier was Sainted after his death, years ago. He could only imagine what the girl must think of him. His best guess would be that she regarded him as an angel, or a ghost, or possibly even a hallucination. Or perhaps, in her youth, she had not bothered to try and figure it out. Hopefully she was just grateful that he was there, now, and did not ask too many questions about him.

[Claire]

“I’m not running away.” Claire said it without looking at Xavier when he asked. There was an anger settling deep in her gut that she couldn’t wrap her hands around. Not yet anyway. It might take years. It might take the rest of her life. Her mother would die.

“Everything that I loved was taken from me. It’s all her fault.” Claire ground her teeth together before looking up at Xavier. She took into account all of his wounds, watching him with the leaves and how he patched himself. This was a legend? Until now, Claire wasn’t even aware that legends could bleed.

“You’re Xavier.” Claire said without any inflection, as if this was obvious to anyone. It was, at least in Algeroth, very obvious who this man was. Her eyes, a flinty shade of grey, took in her savior with little haste or emotion.

“I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but I will kill her. Someday, there will come a time when I can’t walk away from what she’s done anymore.” Strong words from a ten year old child.

She dusted her hands off and got to her feet, walking to the edge of the lake. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared into the night. Where she had been carefree, the middling child of a respected family, now the child was serious. In the span of a few hours the entire world, as Claire had known it, was turned on end and corrupted.

Needless to say, given the events, Claire couldn’t even be shocked that a legend had saved her life. All she could remember was Destiny begging him to take her instead. She wished Destiny had left her and had gone with him instead. Then it wouldn’t feel like someone had punched a gaping hole through her chest that could never be filled again.

“I’m not running away. I’ll never run away.”

[Sage]

Xavier heard the girl out as he collected his sword, and unhooked the two halves from one another and replaced them at his sides. He managed a frown, barely, as she recounted her plans. She was not ready for this world, where heroes and villains were very real, and very powerful. Anywhere else in the world, she would be a special, magical little girl, capable of anything. Even in most of Algeroth she would be considered especially talented.

But her sister was a prodigy, her mother was a war hero, and her only friend in the world was a dead man; a Saint no less.

" Wrong answer. "

He nodded toward the woods, signaling her to follow him, and began clearing the brush for them as they headed inland.

" Your mother is stronger than you could ever hope to be. You can't kill her, it's not possible. " The words would be harsh if he was anyone else, but he spoke them calmly and gave her a reassuring pat on the back as he delivered the news. " Your sister could have, but you aren't like her, I'm sorry. "

He grimaced as he tried to use his wounded arm to draw back a branch, before reinforcing his stance and trying again. The wood groaned and cracked under the force of his might, and whole trees fell as he marched across the island.

" You'll run away, for as long as it takes. You'll become stronger, and I will keep you safe until you are old enough to defy me and face her. She will kill you, of that I am certain. I don't know the why, how, and when. But if you try to kill her, she'll kill you first. She would have done the same to me, if Destiny hadn't intervened. "

They reached a clearing, where several crumbling buildings stood. Over the entrance of the largest, was a stylized G, written in Phoenician, a dead language in Algeroth. Among the several statues and sculptures surrounding the buildings was one of Xavier himself. He was dressed very differently, in enormous armor, and carrying a broadsword, with his wings outstretched. It was a lie, a romanticized symbol of him, made after his death, and at the base, it read:

Saint Gottheit -- Guardian of Purity

Xavier saw the statue, and wrinkled his nose in disgust, before turning back to the child.

" I am sorry, for everything that has happened. " He paused, and faced away from her, unable to look into her eyes. " ...and for everything that will happen. "

[Claire]

The problem with childhood was that kids believed what their elders told them. Everything a grown-up said was taken as pure truth and nothing less. A grown-up couldn’t lie, wouldn’t lie, about something as serious as this – or so Claire believed. It didn’t mean that what he said hurt any less. In truth, sometime down the road, when Claire did fight her mother and die. It would be these words she remembered as she died.

She couldn’t replace Destiny. She wouldn’t even try. It was one thing to have a prodigy as an older sister, but it was another to have a grown-up remind you that you can’t compare to the shining star that she was. Claire’s lips twitched when she looked up at the ruins, her eyes flickering over the statue of her savior. She snorted a little, obviously finding something amiss with the statue herself – though she didn’t say anything.

“You didn’t have to save me. You could have saved her. Then we wouldn’t have this problem and she could avenge me instead.” Once their mother had said that for what Claire lacked in talent she made up for in determination. Perhaps that was something that would show itself in her again as she determined to set herself up for failure.

“I may not be able to do anything right, but in death I can take the very last thing that she worked so hard to make away from her. I don’t know why she went crazy and I don’t know why she tried to kill all of us.” Claire looked at her feet then, kicking a stone from the ruins with her shoe.

“At least Destiny believed there was something in me worth saving.” She left Xavier then and wound her way into the nearby ruin, finding a little spot in a corner where she could curl up under a piece of the roof that had fallen against the wall. It made a nice little nook for a child her size to hide. It was obvious she was through discussing her inadequacies with the man that was supposed to be a saint.

[Sage]

Xavier recoiled slightly at her retaliatory response. It was basically the reaction he was hoping for, but the words did not sting any less, hearing her self-deprecating emotional whimper.

" I could only save one of you, and it was not my place to disregard her last wish and leave you there to die. " He hardly imagined that she could have lived with herself, or tolerated Xavier after that, so that he could train her up. No, he had done all that he could have ever done, save managing to kill Helena himself.

He allowed her to wander off and sulk, but kept an eye on her as he took flight from the area to gather firewood. Before long, he had an impressive stack of tinder for a bonfire at the center of the clearing, near the large building. He pretended to search for her, not letting on that he was privy to her hiding spot, and when he stumbled across her, he tried to act surprised that he had found her at last, though with his gruff demeanor, it came off almost as comical.

" Hey, we need fire before we sleep or the lake devils will rend our flesh. " The expression on his face was solemn, grim even. But the matter-of-fact way he had worded their predicament might make it almost laughable.

" She called her Claire, right? That's your name? " He cleared his throat, stopping himself, realizing the insensitivity. He couldn't afford to push her so hard that she hated him, but what she needed for the moment was tough love or she would never survive another encounter with Helena.

" Can you make a spark for me? I can fix some food once the fire is going. "

[Claire]

Claire snorted from her hiding spot. She opened her eyes and looked at Xavier, who was blocking what light could filter into her little cave.

“You can’t even light a fire?” Claire said that as if she couldn’t believe he was so inadequate. Insensitive, sure, and if her mother hadn’t been a psychotic witch she would have received a serious tongue lashing. Claire was supposed to be good to her elders, not make them feel stupid.

Claire crawled out the other side of her hiding spot and walked over to the pile of wood that Xavier had set up. She sighed and snapped her fingers. The spark took hold to the dry kindling, expanding and flaring to life with very little encouragement. Claire turned to where Xavier was standing and put her hands on her hips and gestured to the fire crackling behind her.

“There. Your fire.” It happened as she spoke. When she gestured the fire flared up, causing a rush of air to lift her air as it sparked in brightness, illuminating the whole of the runes and climbing a good five feet before settling. Startled, like a hare in a net, Claire just stared at Xavier without looking at the fire. Her hair was wild after the rush of air and she dropped her arm to her side. She was unsure of what she’d just done, and her expression had ‘that’s a first’ written all over it.

True to child fashion, Claire tried to play off her reaction by immediately settling her features into a mask of calm that her mother had taught her at a very early age. She quirked a brow at Xavier that begged him to challenge her, and she wagered how she could do something like that again without him watching her. Of course, that might mean she’d burn the woods down. That wouldn’t be good, especially with all those face eating demons.

Claire turned to the fire then and sat down on one of the stones from the ruins. She blinked at the fire she had created, only a small ring of scorched earth even told the story that she was capable of doing what she’d done.

“Will the demons really eat our flesh?” Her voice was small as she stared at the fire. It was a lot to take in at ten years old, but at least she wasn’t terrified about the fate of her family at this very moment.

[Sage]

Claire was beginning to misunderstand his 'tough love' approach as a hateful attack on her, which was evident in her whining. The would-be Saint couldn't have that, either, and he knew it would be a pain from this point forward, balancing his treatment of her to keep from becoming to harsh. But at the moment, he would have to continue to be stern, so as to break her of her backtalking. She had to know he was not the enemy, that he was in control of the situation.

" I am wounded, and you are a mage. I could start the fire the hard way, but you can do it more easily than I could ever manage. And, unless you are trying to be a burden to me, you will make use of your magic whenever asked. Is that clear, or will you be intentionally useless? "

His eyes narrowed, daring her to sass him.

" Yes, the devils are real, and yes they will eat humans. But the fire will keep them away. They are weak to fire, you see. "

He turned from her, hiding a coy smile. It was true that the devils hated fire, preferring to live under the surface of water most of the time. But he was more importantly hoping to fuel her desire to become stronger by tempering her lessons with fear. It was a necessary evil.

" I'm going to get us some food, if you don't want to get eaten, maybe you practice that magic of yours. Pull some flames from the bonfire, and if you need a target, why don't you see if you can break my statue. If you succeed, I'll give you double portions. "

He wondered if the positive reinforcement would be effective. He could not imagine, if this had happened to him, he would be very hungry. But he hoped her youth accompanied with her hunger would serve his purposes. Before she could argue, or white further, he was aloft again. The familiar sounds of him crashing through the woods would soon disappear, signifying he had gone further than he did the last time, leaving her alone.

[Claire]

Claire was beginning to understand that Xavier was a real pain. He wanted things from her like her magic but he couldn’t even be nice. It wasn’t true, of course, but after witnessing your whole family slaughtered by the one woman you had always trusted…

Well, there were obvious anger issues. How else could a ten year old girl really deal with her anger issues? Xavier had given her the perfect outlet.

Once he was gone, Claire stood up and concentrated on the fire for a few minutes. She let the heat of it wash over her body and through her. She’d had some training, but not as extensive as her sister Destiny. Claire let the events of the night rush through her memory, through her body, and before she knew it she was reacting. The first ball of fire missed its mark because she was so full of rage that she couldn’t even see straight. She whipped around toward Xavier’s statue and let the ball fly, and watched it sail over his shoulder and into the ruins where it could do no real damage.

The longer that Claire worked at creating the balls of fire, the more systematic she became. Her second ball hit the statue square in its chest, rattling the foundations enough to raise a fine cloud of dust. By the fifth fireball the statue of Xavier was missing an arm, a leg, and a hand. By the tenth ball of the element that Claire identified most with, he had no head and was perilously close to disrupting the whole statue.

It was the eleventh ball of fire that destroyed the statue. There was a sense of achievement in Claire that she recognized almost immediately. This was not something she was used to being able to do on her own. This was an amazing thing to her, but she also realized that it was the hatred of her mother and her situation that had brought it to pass. Shaking with the spent rage, Claire sat down on the pile of rubble that was Xavier’s statue and stared at the fire she’d created. Her feet were resting on parts of his head and hands and she found that vaguely amusing.

It was then that Claire decided that Xavier was a good man and worthy of her cooperation. It was not his fault that her family was destroyed and she would no longer take her anger out on him.