The shrill scream echoed and bounced off of the cliffs, shaking the trees in the hunting grounds. It seemed to stun everyone, including the horde of spirits that Sin was going to attack. It did more than that, however. The volume and intensity of the scream disoriented both Sin and Ri-is, breaking the hold that Ri-is had on Gabriel. Gabriel held onto to Banshee's should to steady himself as he regained his senses.
"Thanks," he rasped.
Sin dropped to his knees, clutching his head as he muffled out a groan of pain. He lifted his head to see that Ri-is was still hovering in between himself and the pair. He seemed to wobble back a bit, struggling to focus his vision on the two in front of him. Gabriel finally straightened up and lifted his bow. With ease, he struck down each of the disoriented spirits that floundered on the ground. Banshee fired off several more flares to signal they had claimed more prey.
•~•~•~•~•~•
Back in the courtyard, Illya felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she heard the distant wail.
"What...was that?" She murmured.
It didn't take her long to come to her own conclusions. When her eyes darted towards Sana, she saw his lips curl into a sly smirk and the foreboding feeling in her gut began to rise again.
"My my, I wonder what could be wrong. Why haven't your boys gotten anything yet?" He mocked.
Illya scowled. "What did you do bastard!"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean your Majesty." He chuckled, taking a sip of his drink.
The flares from inside the hunting grounds soared into the sky, reflecting their colours onto the crowd. As the sky darkened with the cloud of colours, so too did Illya's expression.
"What did you do," She repeated.
Sana shot a sideways glance in her direction. "Now, now. Let's not throw a fit for nothing. I haven't done anything. No one has fired a danger signal, have they? I know you're suspicious of me but do try to remain rational your Majesty. Being able to stay cool under pressure, I always admired that about you."
Illya coiled into her seat in disgust. Something was definitely amiss. He wasn't acting like himself. Beside her, she could feel Callisto's composure slowly slipping, yet he remained silent. He was never the type to immediately react. He liked to sit there and simmer before exploding in a fiery blaze, a much more dangerous explosion than Illya. After a brief pause, she began laughing. She laughed so hard that she almost couldn't breathe.
"You admired me? Your admiration as a bit too cheap, isn't it? Both your admiration and your hatred are so insignificant. How could you be so shameless as to flaunt it in front of others?"
Sana said nothing. He simply stared right back at her. Amongst the deadly silence came a voice, breaking the thick atmosphere. Sanmu had pipped up, moving from his seat to kneel in front of Illya. He bowed and spoke in an attempt to soothe the angered dragon.
"Your Majesty, please quell your anger. It would be a shame to have to end the hunt so early. I'm sure everything is still running smoothly."
Illya's icy gaze shifted from Sana to her cousin. She shrugged in irritation. When the woman looked back at the Sana, she noticed that his grin had widened and that's when she realized what he was doing. He was baiting her. Trying to get her to sabotage herself. He knew how important these events were for not only her clan but for all the other foreign powers that watched them as well. Her irritation subsided and stubbornness took over as she shifted in her seat, determined not to let him have his way.
Illya groaned, feeling a familiar sensation begin to rear its head in her chest. She frowned, bringing her hand to her mouth to mask a rather violent cough. Callisto glanced in Illya's direction. Avarice, who had sat beside her, seem to look over in concern as well. Judging from the look on his face, he too saw the little specks of blood on her hand as she pulled it away. Callisto nudged his handkerchief towards Illya who quietly thanked him. He then turned his attention to Sana. Illya wasn't the only one to notice how off things were. There wasn't anything immediately telling. On the surface, it all seemed normal, but neither Illya nor Callisto could shake the feeling that all was not quite right. The fact that they couldn't even begin to place what it was, frustrated Illya to no end.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Sin groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground, managing to regain enough strength to spread his wings and take off. Gabriel and Banshee shielded themselves from the strong updraft that beat against them, nearly sweeping them off their feet. With the two of them distracted, Sin was able to grab the scruff of Ri-is' cloak and yank him out of his stupor. Ri-is shook his head, blinking a few times before realizing what was happening and without question, he spread his wings as well and took off with his brother.
"Damn it! Banshee, follow them!" Yelled Gabriel.
Banshee glided into the air, flying after them with Gabriel holding onto her. Sin glanced behind them to see Banshee and Gabriel hot on their trails and frowned.
"Looks like she's just barely able to keep up with us," said Ri-is.
Sin kissed his teeth. "Yeah, because she's got dead weight on her. I bet she'd be a lot closer if she wasn't carrying him."
"Still, that she's able to keep up with us like this is impressive!"
Sin rolled his eyes. "Look over there!" He pointed to a groove in the mountainside. "Let's lead them over there and you can place an illusion on them to make it seem like they've cornered us while we escape."
Ri-is nodded and they flew towards the groove. Unfortunately, their master plan was foiled before they could even reach the groove when the distant sound of Banshee's wail echoed over them again, paralyzing them in yet another disorienting trance. Luckily, because she was still rather far, the effects of her wail was only able to catch one of them. Ri-is, who was still recovering from his previous point-blank hit, lagged behind his brother. Sin turned to see Ri-is' wings seize up. He changed directions in the blink of an eye and chased after Ri-is, who had begun to fall. The wind howled madly around him as it battered his skin in his rush to catch his brother. Sin was just barely able to catch Ri-is right before he hit the ground.
Sin's chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath. The dryness in his throat didn't stop him from rasping out an insult. "What the fuck is your problem! You're just as disgusting as your master, always causing us trouble!"
Banshee drifted down towards them. Gabriel shrugged nonchalantly. "We're just doing our job."
"And what exactly is your job? To be jackasses?" Spat Sin.
Ri-is tried to move but was still stunned. All he could do was look up at his brother who held him up. He couldn't move but he did manage to vaguely hear Gabriel's laugh.
"If it bothers you, you can always go back to the courtyard and drop out of the match."
Sin groaned. He looked down at Ri-is and thought to himself that as long as he could stall until Ri-is recovered enough to move again, they could grab these guys and trap them somewhere, just until the hunt was over. "Why do you want to make us look incompetent so badly, I'm sure Sana will get more out of this than you will!"
Gabriel chuckled. "Consider it planning for the long run. Now then, if the two of you would be so kind as to stay here until the match ends, that would be very much appreciated. I'd hate to get violent with you."
"If you so much as move towards us I'll burn you to a crisp!"
Gabriel's lips curled into a grin. "Oh come on! Think of your brother! If he gets hit with another blast of sound waves from Banshee, he could have permanent damage to his senses and we don't want that do we?"
Sin looked down at Ri-is with a grim expression. "Fucking bastards..."
He cursed under his breath and as he looked up he knew they that Gabriel was right. Their reputation wasn't worth his brother's wellbeing.
"Eat shit!" He responded ever so gracefully.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
