In front of Isabelle was a small figure that was tightly chained to the wall behind him. Despite the darkness, it was clear that the figure was that of a child. Presumably not much older than she was. The only defining feature that Isabelle was able to distinguish were his piercing amber eyes that's narrowed gaze looked no different from a feral beast. Isabelle took a step into the cell and the boy flinched defensively. She froze, slowly raising her hands in an act of submission.
"I'm not here to hurt you. I was kidnapped. I heard the noises from the cell so I stole the keys from the man that locked me up and I came to see if you needed help."
The boy seemed to calm down and Isabelle began to approach again. The closer she got, the more she could see the dirt and blood that stained the boy's straight jacket. She frowned, kneeling down beside him.
"I'm gonna take off these chains okay?" She wrapped her fingers around the chains and used her magic to harden her fingers, enough to yank the chains off without hurting herself.
The chains turned out to be encrypted with a restriction spell, preventing the boy from using whatever powers he had. With much effort, Isabelle was finally able to break them. Once the chains were off the boy got onto his knees and sparks of magic began to emit from him in the form of blazing embers. Isabelle backed up, unsure of what he was doing. She watched as the boy began to transform into some kind of beast. Horns emerged from his head and his lower body shifted into that of a horse's. Little tufts of fur poked out from the tips of the sleeves of the straight jacket. Isabelle could tell that he was bounds stronger in such a form just from the way his beastial eyes glowed in the dark, lit up by the sparks of fire that surrounded him.
Judging from the way the air heated around him and the shi pulsed around his body, she could tell that he wasn't even fully transformed and despite his condition in the cell, he seemed to have no shortage of strength to spare. He took advantage of his increased strength by using it to break the restraints of the straight jacket. As the broken clasps and fabric clamoured to the ground, he reached behind his head. In doing so, Isabelle was able to see his long, claw like nails and how they curled around the clasp on his muzzle and snapped it off. The muzzle fell to the ground with a clang and a small fiery breath left his lips as he exhaled.
"...what are you?" Asked Isabelle.
The boy's cold gaze settled on the young girl. "An Ifrit..."
Isabelle's eyes lit up. "Like from that Aruma An place?"
The boy raised an eyebrow, surprised to see that she knew where Ifrits were from, especially seeing as there weren't any outside of Aruma An. He nodded, still unsure what to make of her.
"Where's the guy that patrols here?" He asked.
"I dunno. He went away and didn't come back after he put me in my cell."
The boy kissed his teeth in annoyance. "Probably drunk off his ass again. At least that gives us some time to get out of here...what's your name?"
"Isabelle! And you?"
"Egan...get on, " he said awkwardly.
Isabelle cocked her head to the side curiously. "On? On what?"
Egan sighed. "It'll be faster if I carry us out of here. Or were you planning to stumble your way into another guard?"
He pointed to her legs. She looked down to see that her knees were bloody and peeled, something she hadn't noticed with all the adrenaline pumping through her during the skirmish. Now that she was aware of the growing pains in her legs she finally caught on to what he was saying.
"Oh...right." She climbed on top of his back and wrapped her hands around his waist to make sure she wouldn't fall off.
Egan shifted awkwardly and she assumed it was just him adjusting to her weight. With her secure, he trodded off. Despite their best efforts, they had been spotted by other gaurds and promptly chased down. Arrows zipped passed them, but Egan was too fast and quickly lost them in the forest.
|Morning|112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2WvXdjMME
June•30•xxxx
Egan came to a stop in an abandoned campsite hidden with the forest. Isabelle got off and he let his transformation fade away, regaining his human features. He walked over to a spot on the campsite and sat himself down. Now that they were out of the dark confines of the building, Isabelle was able to see him more clearly. He was covered in bruises and cuts and his glare was certainly one that struck fear into whoever should have the unfortunate luck of receiving it.
"What was that place?" Asked Isabelle.
Egan watched as she sat down across from him. "A spirit asylum. Unwanted or 'useless' creatures are sold to the man that runs the place. He tortures them into submission and if they haven't gone crazy by then, he'll take the torture a step further in what he calls 'fitness tests.' He says it to see what kind of jobs they're able to handle but I'm pretty sure most of it is because he's a sick bastard. New recruits usually get thrown in the underground level beneath where you found me."
Isabelle fell silent. A muffled "oh" slithering from under her breath. "How did...how did you end up in a place like that? You seem...strong enough to escape."
Egan looked at the red marks on his arms, no doubt caused by the chains that dug themselves into his skin for so long that they began to feel like part of his own body. "My dad sold me to him because he owed the guy some money. My parents are druggies that are stuck chasing their glory days of being famous actors. Apparently, the guy is a friend of my dads and bailed him out after he had a scuffle with the Solarian Empress' guards, but that put him in debt and because he was wasting all his money on booze and drugs, he didn't have anything to pay him back with. So he gave him his only son. I'm an Ifrit like I said. Ifrits are resilient and sturdy. Good stamina, fast and powerful. So of course I was worth something. It didn't cover his entire debt though."
Egan picked up a particularly jaded rock from inside the remains of a long since forgotten fire and began sawing at his collar. "This magic shock collar was used to keep me in check. Whenever I disobeyed an order I'd get shocked...should probably get it off before it goes off...I'm guessing my dad kidnapped you to sell you off too?"
Isabelle nodded solemnly. Taken aback by his story, her heart stirred uneasily in her chest. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that," she whispered.
Now that they were out in the daylight and he was able to see her clearly, Egan could tell that she didn't pose a threat. Not to mention she was a sweet looking kid, the kind that fills your heart with warmth just by smiling.
"Don't be. If anything I'm sorry that you got caught up my asshole dad's bullshit. You...you aren't human either are you? I mean...I just assumed because of your magic."
Isabelle shook her head. "Nope. I'm half gargoyle and half water nymph. My mama's the Princess of Solaria."
Egan's eyes widened. "You're the Empress' granddaughter?"
"Mhmm."
The boy seemed to have been completely won over by that revelation. A sudden thought hit him and he groaned. "That must be why my dad targeted you. He has a grudge against the Empress because she sent her guards after him all those years ago. She tried to secretly help me when she found me in a pond and saw him mistreating me but it didn't go quite as planned. After my parents were kicked out of the country and I ran away, they hunted me down so they could sell me. Ever since, my dad's hated her for kicking him out of his hotspot and making him go through all the trouble of having to finding me again."
Isabelle sat up excitedly. "So then you've met my Nana Lya?" She leaned towards him, getting close to his face as she beamed with excitement.
Egan instinctively leaned back. He wasn't used to people being in his space and when they were, it usually never meant anything good so the sudden proximity flustered him a bit. "U-Uh...yeah. But uh...but it was like...six years ago s-so I'm sure she doesn't remember," he stammered out.
Just then footsteps alerted the pair to a cluster of trees in the distance. Egan sprung into action like it was in his veins to react. Isabelle scurried behind him and peered over his shoulder. Egan picked up a few stray pebbles and stood ready to hurl it into their pursuer's eyes.
"Isabelle?" Came a man's voice.
Egan pulled his hand back, ready to attack but jolted back in shock when Isabelle grabbed his hand to stop him. She watched the figure emerge from the brush to stand in front of them.
"Uncle Ea?"
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