Le Moineau Et L'Aigle (The Sparrow and the Eagle)
Two races, mortal enemies and opposite in every way.
Temna Luna, Bloodthirsty and Vicious, have always taight their offspring to fight and snipe.
Ilus Vaim, Generous and Kind, want to solve every conflict peacefully and so are no match for Temna Luna and their powerful katanas.
But then two special babies are born. One boy and one girl.
The world will not be the same again.
Two races, mortal enemies and opposite in every way.
Temna Luna, Bloodthirsty and Vicious, have always taight their offspring to fight and snipe.
Ilus Vaim, Generous and Kind, want to solve every conflict peacefully and so are no match for Temna Luna and their powerful katanas.
But then two special babies are born. One boy and one girl.
The world will not be the same again.
Thread Contents:
Main Post: Story Itself, For your reading pleasure
First Reply: More information on the people groups listed in Chapter One
Second Reply: Main character bios and pics of minor characters
Third Reply: The 100 themes which this story is based off of
Ostre meč, ne prizanaša
Samotar, mir ljubimec
Dveh sprtih dirke
Toda dva bo en dan rasti
Če želite ustaviti val krvi
bodo pretresite nastajanja sveta
Äge mõõk, mingit halastust
Üksikust, rahu väljavalituks
Kahe sõdiva võistlused
Aga kaks ühel päeval tõusta
Et peatada Hoovuste verd
raputab maailma rajamist
Fierce sword, no mercy
Loner, peace lover
Two warring races
But two will one day rise
To stop the tide of blood
they will shake the foundation of the world
-{Ancient Prophecy, Slovenian, Estonian, English}
PROLOGUE
The scream rips through the very fabric of the otherwise peaceful night as a young, scared girl finds herself trapped between a solid brick wall and a spitting, snarling, monstrosity of a creature. Its silver fangs gleam in the moonlight and its muscles bunch together, preparing for the leap that will kill the girl with one blow.
A battle whoop resounds from the rooftop above, and a huge katana appears out of nowhere, skewing the monster through in a heartbeat.
"A... A Temna Luna!" the maiden trembles as a huge, black-robed figure thunks onto the ground beside his sword. He turns to see who he just saved, and his eyes narrow in recognition. "Youre an Ilus Vaim," he asks, half-question, half-confirmation.
"Y... Ye... Yes," The girl trembles, waiting for the pain to come, a horrible way to die after so narrowly missing being a meal.
But the expected death blow never comes. All at once, the Temna Luna's gaze changes to one of sympathy. Then comes the stunning thing- he puts his bloody sword back in its sheath, and with a final glance back to the girl, turns his back and walks away...
CHAPTER 1: NAMES
As she grew up, the girl, whose name is Shakinah, never forgot that incident, and the young Temna Luna that spared her life. She has long since forgotten what she was doing in the alley, but she has always remembered the stature, appearance, and most of all, the katana of her rescuer.She was at first stunned that he had just turned his back on her. All through their lives, Temna Lunas, able and strong warriors, were trained to kill any and every Ilus Vaim they came across.
It all started, legend says, many mellenia ago. Ilus Vaim and Temna Lunas lived peacefully together in one city, called Klan Wojównik, a contraction of the Polish phrase Klan Wojowników, or 'Warrior Clan'. Its kingship switched between the two peoples' royal families. The markets were buzzing every single day with rich, imported goods and sought-after, fresh local wares. Anyone could make a living as a merchant, with much extra to spare.
It was an advanced civilization, the closest thing to violence being law enforcement raids of shops selling illegal goods.
Then, Monaodel Lunaistar, king of the Temna Luna, was called away for three years to fight a war. During this time, he dicovered the feeling of blood and what it is like to kill. Drunk on it, when he returned to Wojównik he gradually introduced these ways to his people, turning them into warriors over time while Ilus Vaim stayed peaceful merchants.
Ilus Vaims and Temna Lunas, no longer able to connect wth each other, split and went their seperate ways. Temna Lunas wanted blood and power and settled in what is modern-day Slovenia, while Ilus Vaim wished for peace and bunkered down in Estonia, as far away north from their mortal enemies, but only as far away from the ruins of the mother city as they felt comfortable with.
In time, they became completely different races altogether. Ilus Vaim micro-evolved into mutants, all expressing extraordinary qualities in some way or another. Though families all had ancient, powerful katanas and taught their offspring how to fight and use their mutant abilities, they rarely actually used their talents, preferring to settle a feud through peaceful means.
Temna Lunas ate, breathed, slept, and lived for the battle. Killing was their specialty. Nothing, and I mean nothing escaped one of their family katanas, so they were oftentimes hired out as assassins and snipers. It is legend that it was a Temna Luna Prince, Lobo Lunaistar, that murdered President Kennedy, and that John Wilkes Booth was a Temna Luna descendant.
Which one do you think would win if matched in battle? Easy. The Temna Luna.
Maybe this was the reason that Shakinah's paranoid parents moved every year and a half (and that's the high stat). But, somewhere behind the Temna Luna's threat was that of a second, more powerful, deadlier one- Kutu Aturan.
This third race was always one of the bloodiest and most gruesome. Exiled eons and eons ago, they were the embodiment of evil. Kutu Aturan warriors seemed to have had particular grudges against Temna Lunas and Ilus Vaim and transformed into bloodthirsty, cougar-like humanoids to murder all in cold blood.
It was a Kutu Aturan warrior that Shakinah's savior rescued her from that fateful night.
CHAPTER 2: SCHOOL
No one even as much as looked up as the door creaked open, and Shakinah stepped into the classroom.She and her parents had newly moved again, this time to Edmonton, Oregon, a small coastal town by the sea. This was Shakinah's first day at the High School, and she admittedly had butterflies.
Shakinah smiled at Ms. Laiken, the math teacher, who promptly rose to greet the new girl. "Hello, Shakinah." Ms. Laiken smiled back cordially and handed Shakinah a workbook and textbook. "We're doing pages 16 and 17 in the workbook. Read pages 75 through 92 in the textbook for clues." Ms. Laiken glanced around the room, looking for an empty desk, and her gaze landed on a young man. He was fair, probably 17 or 18, and had piercing blue eyes, not to mention a familiar-looking hard jawline. "There's an empty seat you can gladly take next to Ali."
Shakinah nodded, and tiptoed over and sat down, as quietly as humanly possble. She pulled out a pen to write her name in the workbook and was about to do so when a sheet of paper was placed softly on her desk. She followed the responsible hand and arm up and found it belonged to the boy Ms. Laiken had called Ali. He smiled at her and pulled his hand away, getting back to his assignment.
Shakinah slowly unfolded his note. On it was a single word- 'Hi.'
She scribbled back, "Hi. Youre Ali?" and put it back on his desk.
A few minutes later- 'Actually, Its Alley. But you can call me Tom.'
"Okay."
'Your name is... Umm... forgive me if this is wrong... Sakina?'
"Shakinah, actually."
'Oh, gotcha. Last?'
"Raine. Marie Raine."
'Shakinah Marie Raine. That's really pretty.' As he handed her the note back, he smiled and nodded.
"Yours?" She was getting more curious by the minute.
'Alley Ichigo Baxton. Obviously, my parents were Bleach nuts. But, as I said before, people just call me Tom.'
"Why?" This is what had puzzled Shakinah before.
'My original nickname was Cat, but my friends thought it was too girly. Then someone thought up Tom.'
"Ohh I get it now. Like a male cat."
'Exactly.'
At that moment, Ms. Laiken snatched the paper from Shakinah's hand. "Look who I caught passing notes!" She unfolded the note and read it to herself. Shakinah shrank down in her chair and turned a bright, embarrassed red. Alley just challengingly stared Ms. Laiken down, seemingly questioning her authority over him.
After a minute, she looked up and said snappishly, "If you were talking about anything else, You'd be on your way to the principal's office. But since this is Shakinah's first day, and you were just flirting-"
-The class broke into uproarious hoots, jeers, and laughter-
"-Ill give you another ten minutes to finish. You got me, Shakinah Marie Raine?"
Shakinah wilted the rest of the way. "Yes, Ma'am."
"and ALLEY ICHIGO BAXTON, You get to work too." Her glare at him was fiercer than acid, ice, and fire combined.
Barely a couple minutes after Shakinah finished the assignment, the teacher stood up and announced it was time to check. She put the overhead up and wryly told everyone good luck.
As Shakinah went down her answer column, looking up at the screen from time to time, she was relieved to find that she had gotten all of them right. It would have made her look stupid if she had done badly at her old school- this was review for her.
Ms. Laiken had everyone call out their scores, and to Shakinah's suprise, the only two that got one hundred percent were her and Alley. "Hmm. He must be an A-potential student, but a slacker."
CHAPTER 3: OPINION
As the day progressed, Shakinah learned 3 things- Alley was in all her classes, all the teachers took him very seriously, and there was always an empty desk next to him. During free time in class and passing periods, they got to know each other better. Alley was 17, and really popular. He was always setting new fashion trends among the boys. If he would wear a tie to school, they would start doing it too. If he went to a certain store to rent a tuxedo for the prom, they would go there, too. He knew he was gifted and talented, but hated the work and exertion put into getting straight A-s, preferring to skip study and minor homework assignments for football practice.
That was another thing about him. He loved sports, especially football, and loved tackling seniors. Not like it was hard for him. He was 6'5" anyway, and had a build that would make any major leaguer wet himself.
Shakinah drank this all in and told comparitively little about herself. She was 16, and 5'11". She had been born in Albequerque, New Mexico, and for no obvious reason, had moved over 50 times in her lifetime- 5 countries (USA, Japan, England, France, and Czechoslovakia) and 32 states, but now her parents wanted to finally settle down here, and were planning to stay for at least a while.
During fifth hour, he finally popped the question to her- "Will you go to lunch with me and my friends?"
She pondered this a while, considering everything that could go wrong. With a bit of brainstorm, she could think of quite a few things, But decided to take him up on his offer anyway. Lunch with a friend! And on her first day! Now this was a first.
An hour later she found herself standing next to Alley at the school exit, waiting for his friends to get out of class. "There's going to be three joining us- so that will fill up my 'vette. Liam will probably be first to meet us, then Ellington, then Wilson, who is always last and late, losing track of himself while talking to his band geek girlfriend. Don't think for a minute that they're all going to be mean and rude, like what you've probably seen out of the popular boys in your old schools. Believe me, Im not that stupid."
Just then, a tall, skinny, black-haired Sophomore came shuffling up. Thinking back on what Alley had said, she assumed that this was Liam. He had the complete Emo look, baggy jeans, bangs covering eyes, and punk symbols and spikes everywhere. "Who's this, Alley?" The kid's voice was surprisingly strong and deep for a person who looked so emotionally unstable.
"I'll introduce you when Wilson and Ellington get here." Alley flashed him a grin, and the kid smiled a little and nodded back. Shakinah had this huge urge to ask Alley whether it was Ellington or Wilson who was Liam's brother, but thought better of it and kept her mouth shut.
Next to come running up to them was a Senior with dark ginger hair, with a soft set to his face, and blue, sparkling eyes. Upon seeing Shakinah, he perked his eyebrows up and quipped, "Ahh, Cheating, are we, Alley?" His tone was serious, though he had a grin tugging at his lips.
"Shut up, Ellington. This is a friend of mine. Is Wilson late, as normal?"
"Yeah. Talking to Lorraine again." Ellington rolled his eyes. "I swear, if he breathes another word about her during lunch today, I will slap him hard across the face."
Wilson came last, strolling up to them while whistling at tune Shakinah recognized as 'Another Saturday Night'. He had black hair that was already silver around the edges, and a conspicuous -- was that spit? -- stain across his pant leg.
"You're late again, bro." Liam grunted, sweeping away a lock of night black hair and raising an eyebrow.
"I know, I know, I just can't stop talking to Lorraine. She's so pretty, and plays Tenor Sax so dang blasted well..." He started to swoon, but caught himself when he saw Shakinah standing at Alley's side. "Alley, Don't tell me you're cheating on your girlfriend again!" His eyes looked confused, but had this hint of something else. Was that... happiness?
"No. Everyone, this is Shakinah Raine, and she's new here." Alley gathered everyone around with his words. "We're in all each others' classes first through sixth hour, and she looked pretty lonely, so I decided to take her out to eat with us." He put an arm around Shakinah's shoulder, and suddenly she felt all warm and safe. "Shakinah, this is Liam," -The emo kid nodded his head- "Ellington,"
-"Pleased to meetcha." The ginger senior shook her hand-
"and Wilson. In case you're wondering, Liam and Wilson are the twins."
"Not like we chose it." Wilson rolled his eyes. "Shakinah. Charmed." He smiled warmly in her direction.
"Well, shall we go?" Ellington spoke up and nodded in the direction of the car.
Soon they were all packed into Alley's blazing red '09 Corvette. Shakinah was unusually quiet in the driver's side back seat as the boys talked about homecoming, that next weekend.
"We can guess who Wilson is going with." Liam teased his brother about Lorraine.
"Yes, I asked her just last hour. Don't remind me! Im really trying to think of something special to do with her."
"You won't believe who I got." Ellington tipped his chin up with pride.
"Did the Sara thing actually work?" Wilson's eyes shot up with surprise.
"Yeah!" Ellington pumped his fist and danced for joy. Then he spun around and pointed an accusing finger at Liam. "But Liam isn't going!"
Alley gasped. "What happened to Naomi?"
"She's already taken by Hans." There was an edge of hate in Liam's voice. "Sometimes I wish I could punch him!"
It was certainly a ruckus. But Shakinah could think of no one but Alley the whole way to Dairy Queen.
CHAPTER 4: BREAK UP
The moment they pulled up to DQ and started getting out, a silver Porsche screamed into the parking spot beside them. A pretty, preppy, toe-headed blonde kicked the car door open and happily ran torward Alley's side of the car."Oh no, here we go," Shakinah groaned.
As the blonde and Alley embraced, Shakinah flushed pink and turned away. In that moment she realized that she was actually quite attracted to the boy who was in another girl's arms at the moment.
Usually preppy guys didn't interest her at all. At her old school, she had a Senior that wooed her while she was a Freshman, and she didnt lack the confidence to tell him to 'good god go'. But Alley was... different. It was the way he carried himself, or how he talked, or something... Shakinah couldnt put her finger on it. But it was definitely there. And why in the world did he seem so familiar? The way the jaw was lined... The way his muscles rippled underneath his shirt...
The blonde opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Shakinah stepping out of the driver's side backseat door. "Who's THAT?" she asked with a sneer, like she took the newcomer as serious competition already.
"Oh!" Alley grinned, hopped over, and put his arm around Shakinah's shoulders again. "Karina, meet Shakinah. She's new today and has been in all my classes. We've become good friends in the process, so I decided to take her out to lunch with us. As a guest, ya know."
Grudgingly, Karina stepped up to Shakinah and held her hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you, Shakinah." Karina's voice changed to a 'I-wanna-brag-about-my-boyfriend-then-slap-you-if-you-show-any-interest-at-all' tone. But not even Alley seemed to notice.
Shakinah shook without hesitation. "Hello Karina." She tried to keep the anger flaring up inside of her down and fought off the idea of revenge.
As the boys opened the door of the resteraunt and stepped in, Karina confronted Shakinah. "I saw how Alley acted around you. Don't take my man."
"Have it your way." Shakinah returned the cordiality thousandfold, which was still very little.
Shakinah wasn't really hungry after that, and picked at her food as Karina and Alley sat at another table for two and talked to each other like they were already married- sweet nothings, the whole works.
She didnt even hear her name when Liam asked her a question.
"Shakinah?" He leaned over to see her face better, bent close to her plate, and reeled back in surprise. "Jesus, Shakinah's crying!"
She slowly looked up, eyes and cheeks red, and whispered, "Yeah."
All of the boys began chatting softly in rushed tones. Ellington put a comforting arm around Shakinah.
"We've found another!"
"Finally."
"We thought no one really cared- or noticed for that matter, how rude, despicable, and bratty Karina acts toward Alley."
"Another BUKA member!"
"BUKA means Break Up Karina and Alley." Ellington explained, helpful as ever. "We change with Alley's dumb girlfriends. That kid has a knack for attracting rich, pretty girls."
"Rich, pretty, STUPID girls."
"First, there was Mikayla. BUMA. Then Emily. BUEA."
"Dont forget Ashley! BUAA!"
"That was hilarious! BUAA!" Liam made pretend that he was throwing up. "Bwaah!"
Shakinah wasnt listening to any of this, though. When she sensed that Alley and Karina were going in for the kiss, She couldnt take it anymore. Rashly, Shakinah stood up and stormed over to the two. "Alley, give me your keys." she angrily demanded. "Ride back to school with your rude, crude girlfriend if you really love her." Shakinah's acidic voice brought out the anger she had nursed all hour.
"Shakinah-" For a moment, Karina was forgotten and all Alley's puppydog ability was trained on Shakinah. For the first time he realized what she had come to mean to him within the time span of a single day.
"Hand them over," Shakinah urged again, her face as red as a maraschino cherry and eyes ready to spill tears.
Alley gave up seeing she could not be moved and gave her the keys. As soon as she was out the door, He turned back to Karina. "Well there goes my car."
It was then that Karina made her mistake. In a hissy fit, she snarled and swore under her breath. "I told her not to even try to take my man, that insolent -!"
Alley's eyes grew wide from realizing Karina's true nature for the first time. Himself ready to explode, he growled, "Get this, Karina- WE'RE OVER. Don't even try to reconcile. Im walking back to school, no matter how late it makes me."
Even though the Corvette was cool and easy to drive, Shakinah was in complete, total tears all the way back to school. The emotion welled up inside of her, stronger and stronger until she could take it no longer, and she finally had to scream, "I CAN'T STAND HIM DATING THAT AWFUL GIRL!" her hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white. "Breaking up with her should be his first priority. I dont care who he hooks up with next, but I just pray to heaven above that its no one as bratty, concieted, foul-mouthed, and predjudiced as Karina!"
CHAPTER 5: HARDSHIP
Indeed, Indeed, Alley was late back to school and had to make up an excuse. Telling the teacher he had to go to Walmart to look for his mom was easy.But getting Shakinah off his mind wasn't. For the whole rest of the day he fretted, looking at her constantly during class and neglecting his usual carefully-taken notes. Teachers didnt seem to notice the tension and still put them together, making it worse. He was so silent and forlorn that nearly everyone pulled him aside to ask what was wrong. After their close inspections, the best advice they could give was 'go to the nurse right now. Ill write you a pass'. But Alley always turned it down, saying that he was okay, and this had nothing to do with being sick.
Shakinah found it really hard to concentrate all day too, especially in biology class. He sat right in front of her, so whenever she looked up, he could not be avoided. Every time that happened, a rush of longing came over her. She had blown it with him- only time could heal her pain now.
Alley's heart hurt as walked up to Shakinah after school and asked for his keys back. "Please, Shakinah, it's a fifteen-mile drive to my house..."
She slammed her locker door, slapped them in his hand and walked off without as much as a look or a swear word directed towards him, and Alley realized that he needed to do everything in his power to save this friendship, with a girl that had taken his world by storm in a incredibly short time...
After hurriedly doing his homework that night, Alley tuned the cog wheels of his mind to how to win Shakinah back. But to do that he had to clear a major hurdle- his lack of knowledge about her. He knew where she had been born and where she had moved, but nothing about what she would like to do and what her hobbies were. He thought and thought and thought, even going as far as thinking of writing a love letter and sending chocolate with it. But he didnt want to be called a girly girl by his friends for doing that, so he abandoned the idea and moved on.
Finally, As a last-ditch resort, he searched Facebook for her. Lo and behold, she was there, and all her liked pages were right there at Alley's fingertips. Quickly scanning them, he couldnt find anything promising until he suddenly hit upon 'Puzzles'. A lightbulb clicked on in Alley's head. Out came six pieces of notebook paper, blue and black pens, and a rhyming dictionary...
The next morning, Shakinah walked into Ms. Laiken's class a living zombie. She had gotten absolutely no sleep the previous night. She had laid in bed all through the wee hours, preoccupied and worried over Alley and fearing that he wouldnt even say hi to her the next morning.
Her worst fears were seemingly confirmed as she took a quick, heart-pounding look at his face before she sat down. There were no circles under his eyes and he was dutifully writing notes he had missed from yesterday, copying off someone's paper. As he got up to give it back to the owner, Shakinah thought he tried to catch her eye and wink- but it also may have been her imagination. How in Wojoników could he still be interested in her after what she did to him?
"Secret meeting at Liam and Wilson's house over lunch hour!" The word got spread around quickly, and by noon the three BUKA members had an excuse to ditch lunch with Alley and meet at the twins' house by noon. Usually the meetings were really unofficial and no official club measures were taken- except on the days when a name change was needed. And today was one of those days.
"I, Ellington Abeaux, as club president, Bring this name change meeting to order. As of the time these words are finished, Club Break Up Karina and Alley has no name. Our mission is accomplished. Got that, secretary?"
"Righty-ho." Liam pretended to fancily finish off a word in his notebook and glanced up at Ellington, waiting for him to ask the next question.
But it was Wilson who raised his hand next. "Kind president, may I speak?"
Ellington nodded. "Proceed, Wilson."
The gray-haired kid stood up to address his secretary and president. "When I first met Shakinah, standing next to Alley at the entrance to Drake Dean High School, I knew that she would be the one to get our much-loved friend out of his hole of stupid, bratty girlfriends. But I never thought that Alley, when Shakinah so suddenly jerked on his arm, would react like he did. If it was any other girl, Alley would have picked himself up, dusted himself off, and continued on his way, but when Shakinah came into his life, something changed. Now, though, the two so obviously made for each other are drifting apart. Therefore, I move that we rename our club HUAS- Hook up Alley and Shakinah." Wilson bowed one last time before sitting down.
For a few moments, it was dead silent, until Ellington began to clap. "I second that! HUAS!"
Liam followed shortly after, shouting, "Yes! HUAS it IS!"
"Then, with that, this meeting is-"
"Not quite yet, Mr. HUAS president."
CHAPTER 6: RIDDLE
"Oh! "Oh! Alley!" Ellington jumped five feet in the air and blushed scarlet. "Uhh... I didn't expect you to drop by!""I need your help. I'm sorry I was eavesdropping, but since your club is now devoted to hooking Shakinah and me up, you might as well achieve your goal and help me with my master plan." Alley shifted the papers he was holding to the table and began explaining his strategy, one he knew would get the girl of his dreams back to him.
Another torturous day was over, and Shakinah forlornly slunk to her locker. Will this have to go on forever, my broken heart yearning for Alley?
Suddenly she noticed a white gleam in the ventilation slats of her locker. Curious, she pulled it out and ripped the tape holding the folded halves together in half.
Her heart quickened as she recognized the handwriting- Alley's. Eagerly, she began to read.
Shakinah Marie Raine-
I know you haven't been here long
So you may not know this school that well.
But I know you know (I know I'm not wrong)
that you cab figure these riddles out after the bell.
Please, I need to talk seriously to you.
Your first clue
Is with the golden shoe.
Your first clue
Is with the golden shoe.
It was obvious to Shakinah that the "Golden Shoe" was Mr. Jenkins's. He was always gloating in class about his Babe Ruth autographed gold-plated baseball shoe. "Handed down through the generations", apparently.
The room was dark as Shakinah slipped in, but when she strained her eyes, she could just make out a piece of paper sitting under the prized shoe.
The news I have is very important.
Your second clue?
PENCILS FOR RENT!
Your second clue?
PENCILS FOR RENT!
"Miz Laiken? MIZ LAIKEN!" Shakinah was just barely able to catch the teacher as she stepped out of her room and turned off the lights to go home, her perfectly-organized tote in hand.
Out of breath, Shakinah suddenly remembered her manners and shuffled nervously as she asked, "Do you, um, have something for me, Miz Laiken?"
The teacher smiled. "Yes, Shakinah, I do. Alley had some nerve coming in here and persuading me to do this." she handed her another sheet of paper and left smiling.
After yesterday's lunch, my life has been a disaster.
Your third clue
Is with the Bari Sax master.
Your third clue
Is with the Bari Sax master.
She literally ran into Wilson by the bandroom doors, moments after she had successfully avoided his Baritone sax case.
"Whoa, Shakinah, careful there! We don't want all of Alley's hard work laid to waste before it even has a chance to do its thing!" Wilson grinned at her, then rustled around in his backpack and handed her to next clue, then picked up his Bari Sax case and left.
Mutually felt is your shame.
Your fourth clue
Is with the one with the funny name.
Your fourth clue
Is with the one with the funny name.
"Ellington Abeaux." Shakinah said aloud and giggled good-naturedly. Everyone teased Ellington about his last name- Abeaux. Bullies called him the girly bow, but friends were always campaigning him to his homecoming date, Sara. "We have Abeaux for you here." They'd call to her, and point to Ellington, who'd blush adorably. Maybe that's the reason why she likes him, that perfect blush after they show him off, but who knows?
Ellington was gone from school by that time, but there was another sheet of paper sticking out of the slots of his locker.
Will you hate me forever, and maybe Dairy Queen?
Your fifth clue
Should be really, really clean.
Your fifth clue
Should be really, really clean.
Isn't that so obviously the Janitor's office?
I long again to see your smile.
Your sixth clue,
Where is the Nile?
Your sixth clue,
Where is the Nile?
She had to think about this one carefully. He couldn't have gone all the way out to Egypt to plant the clue, so it had to be somewhere closer to home.
But suddenly she snapped her fingers. Who could forget that there was a Nile river here? A mural of the river was painted on the wall of the gym, leftover from when this was a preschool. It was complete with cute little Hippopotami and Crocodiles too.
Sure enough, it was there.
After this last clue, me you'll finally find.
Oh wait. Never mind.
Oh wait. Never mind.
"Come om LADIES, get your sorry, lagging behinds out to the field!" A whistle blow came out of nowhere, and the team jumped out of the locker rooms, moving faster than a whole bunch of rough and rowdy high school boys should. With a smile Shakinah realized that the 'coach' was actually Alley, Donning a referee's hat and shirt.
Seeing her, Alley smiled and sprinted over. "Heya, Shakinah. Did I do okay on those clues?" His brain suddenly lost the perfectly-composed words he had set up, and he found himself back down to speaking from the heart. Just looking at her made him forget everything but her...
Snapping out of it, he took the extra referee stuff he had over his shoulder. "Coach Skerjanec has asked you to be assistant referee to me today." He bowed to Shakinah and grinned. "Will my lady be so glad as to accompany me?"
"Of course." Shakinah laughed. "All for you, Alley."
CHAPTER 7: NEW LOVE
They walked out to the field together, the sadness of the previous day seemingly forgotten as they laughed and talked. Finally Shakinah summoned up the courage to ask, "What did you need to "talk to you seriously" About?" She tried to keep herself calm, but his huge smile made her shaky inside.
Alley puffed himself up with pride, and announced for the whole world to hear, "I have officially broken up with Karina!"
Shakinah almost fist pumped and yelled for joy, but she kept herself under control. It would be so embarrassing! And Alley would probably laugh at her. "Nice." She said instead. "Have you found another date yet? Homecoming's coming up soon, and you'll need one."
Alley was suddenly right next to her. Shakinah, caught off-guard, turned red. "I have, but I'm not sure if she's found me yet." He whispered in her ear.
Her heart burst with emotion; she wanted to tell him how badly she wanted him, and how she had been attracted to him from the first time they met.
But the moment was interrupted by Coach Skerjanec. "Alley, Shakinah, hurry up! I didn't give you honorary ref positions for absolutely nothing!"
Alley was left having to guess at what she was going to say, but he had read the happiness, joy, and longing in her eyes. With a loving look, he took her hand and they sprinted over together.
Shakinah had refereed before and therefore knew how, but found her ability sort of dampened from looking into Alley's eyes all the time. Halfway through practice, though, Coach Skerjanec told Alley that he was needed more on the field than on the sidelines. "Shakinah's doing fine on her own." he told his tall quarterback.
A few plays later, Alley came back, and just laying eyes on him dazzled Shakinah. His abs were prominently visible through his #21 jersey, a number that Shakinah from that day thought sexy.
He wasn't just good-looking, he was also very, very, good at football. He played quarterback well, and landed his passes every time, on the dot. No interceptions, either- his throws seemed to avoid all of the opposing team's players and make their way into the recievers' hands.
Shakinah was instantly smitten.
He offered to take Shakinah home after practice with a wink in his eye, and she accepted, thinking that it couldn't hurt.
This time Shakinah relished the ride in the Corvette, and she couldn't stop loving Alley, driving so casually with one hand on the steering wheel, his hair glistening with sweat and water.
Finally they reached her house, and she had to leave. "See you tomorrow, Alley." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then kicked the door open, grabbed her stuff and started up the walk.
"Hey, Shakinah, wait." Alley leaned over, looking out the window was far as he could. "Uhh... I have a question... Can, or would, you go to homecoming with me on Friday?"
Shakinah smiled, huge and radiant. "Of course!" She dived back into the car, and hugged him around the neck. "I wouldn't go with anyone else!"
As she started up the lane again, it suddenly dawned on her what her parents would think. They were always so protective of her, and never let her go to any social or group events. They even had held her back from performing in concerts. Oh well. They could let her this one time, and if not, she would sneak out to meet him.
"I'm home, mom and dad." She called as she stepped in the door. Dropping her stuff on the table, she went over to the pantry, grabbed the crackers, and began to munch.
A moment later, her mother came down the stairs, holding a large basket of laundry. "Did you have a good day at school, Shakinah?" she called over her shoulder.
"It was brill-"
"Because you spent all day with that boy that dropped you off, correct?" Mr. Raine stood in the living room doorway, his eyes and voice like venom.
Shakinah blushed. "Yes... But he's so nice. And I swear he's not my enemy, like you insist that everyone is!" She growled at her father, the hate of the years coming back- tearing her away from one place to be relocated to another. All the times she had to start over- again- and feel like a complete idiot came back to lace her voice with arsenic. "You know what else? He asked me to homecoming. I'm going to go with him, Wether you like it or not!" Grabbing the cracker box, she stormed up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Collapsing on her bed, Shakinah cried until her tears ran out. She was convinced that her parents were total, complete jerks. Why, when they loved each other, did they deny their own daughter a chance of her own at looking for love? But, there was one thing that was for certain- they couldn't stop her from going to homecoming. Drying her tears, Shakinah strolled over to her closet to pick out a dress. Though most of her clothes had been misplaced in all the moves she had endured, luckily her fifteenth birthday dress hadn't been sold or stolen. It was Hunter Green, long and formal, with a split top to make the wearer's torso pleasing to the eye. There was only one armhole, so that it bared her shoulder in a very flattering way. Its main feature, though, was a silk skirt that reached to the floor. White gloves, a diamond necklace, and silver hoop earrings topped it all off.
The memory of her fifteenth birthday party warmed Shakinah's heart. Her parents had surprised her with the dress and a ballroom extravaganza. All her relatives had been there, even Uncle Robert, her favorite uncle that she loved but hadn't seen in forever. For one night, she had been the star of the show, everyone wanted to dance with her, and she was called "angel" uncountable times.
Speaking of angel... Shakinah twirled around in the mirror and wondered how she could ever hide them. A shrug, maybe? I know my parents and family love them and think they're pretty, but will Alley?---
The wings on her back flapped gently.
CHAPTER 8: ALLEY
This can't be happening! As he drove away from Shakinah's house Alley slammed his fist down on the steering wheel, accidentally making the horn honk. Shakinah is supposed to be off limits to me! It's the first rule we're ever taught! Then why can't I keep away? I'm a loyal member of the Temna Luna, skilled in all battle and assassination techniques, and she is an Ilus Vaim. I sensed it from the very moment I met her. As he Dodged traffic in anger, not caring wether he got in a car accident or pulled over or whatever, he got more and more angry at himself. I can hear my father saying that Ilus Vaim are inferior beings, and that we need to kill them on sight, no matter who's watching. Its been drilled into my brain over and over, so why can't I just summon the family katana and slit her throat? What will my parents say when they find out that I asked one of our worst enemies to Homecoming? He was torn in half right down the middle by the difficult choice of following his mind and staying loyal to his family, or for following his heart's first nudges and pursuing his love for Shakinah. When she had paid attention to his advances and wooed him it had made his heart soar with an emotion he had never experienced before- true pleasure and love. It was a good feeling. Especially with her.On the other hand, if he allowed his parents to see him with her, they would disown him. Ilus Vaim were weak and, once spotted by a Temna Luna, were virtually as good as corpses. They never fought, easily succumbing to katanas and bullets as they babbled on about peace.
Go to Aerulius, Whispered a little voice in Alley's head. You know that he will get your feelings straightened out.
And before he knew it, Alley was speeding toward a certain, familiar field- the home base of Aerulius Crex, his mentor and sparring partner.
"Sihrhe Aerulius?" Alley stepped out of the car and glanced around, calling to the night, "Please, I need to talk to you. I have a dilemma, I don't know what to do about it, and you'll be the one who really understands. Please tell me you're here-"
"You don't have to look far." A voice interrupted, baritone and strong though it came from close to the ground. Look down, and your eyes would see not a man as you expected, but a large, jet black cat with curious green eyes. "I'm willing to listen. You came at a rare time, My Uczeń Alley." The cat spoke, and leaped nimbly up into the car, coming to rest on the passenger's seat. There was a flash of light, and a middle-aged man sat there in place of the cat. "By only gazing upon your face I can see that you are deeply troubled. What is weighing you down, my friend? What is this dilemma that you speak of?"
Alley got back in and quietly shut the door behind him. "Sihrhe Aerulius, Please, oh please, I don't know what to do. I'm falling in love... With... With an Ilus Vaim!" He wailed once he knew that they were alone.
"Oh, Uczeń." Aerulius didn't even as much as twitch in surprise. "Tell me, what is the name of this Ilus Vaim you speak of?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
~~~ Cat Aerulius
~~~ Aerulius