Guilty x Creatures Ch. 33

"...Why does that matter?" asked Fiona.

"Because, if its using a spell then it could be anything." answered Anton "But if its using an ability then that will narrow down what species it could be..."

"...Is there a way to tell the difference?" asked Kianna.

"Possibly. If its an ability it can be used over and over again without any delay at all. A spell though, unless its been fully mastered, is going to have a pause whenever its being recast....So far whatever is out there has only moved once, so I can't-"

As he spoke the presence suddenly made two more jumps, one right after the other, and traveled both away from the house and around to the back side of it.

"...You were saying?" quipped Fiona.

"...I was saying-" started Anton before the presence made three more jumps and stopped out beyond the treeline behind the house "...That yeah! I'd say that whatever it is out there, its using an ability."

"So now that you know that. Can you figure out what it is?" asked Kianna as she glared in the direction of the presence.

"Not yet. But like I said, it does narrow it down..." said Anton.

The room went silent for some time as the three of them all waited for the presence to make another move. As the time began to drag on, Anton turned to the stove and went back to cooking breakfast.

The two dark elves both glanced at him before looking at each other.

"What are you doing!?" questioned Kianna.

"I'm finishing up our breakfast." explained Anton "I don't want it to burn."

"...Uh! I think we've got something a little more important than that going on right now!" exclaimed Fiona.

Anton chuckled and shrugged as he kept his focus on what he was doing.

"It seems, that for the moment at least, our little friend out there is taking a break." he said as he pulled a plate out of a cabinet and set it down next to the stove "So I see no reason why we can't do the same."

The dark elves both looked at each other in confusion before turning back to Anton.

"Are you fucking serious right now!?" exclaimed Fiona as she threw her arm out towards the presence "We got a killer prowling around outside, right at this fucking moment! And you're just wanna ignore it!?"

"No, I'm not ignoring it at all." said Anton as he began to move the bacon over to the plate "I'm actually paying very close attention to it. And right now at this moment, it doesn't seem to be doing anything."

"...Well, wait!? Aren't, aren't we gonna go get it though!?" asked Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner "I mean! What are we waiting for!?"

"We're waiting for it to come to us." stated Anton "And we are going to wait, patiently, until it does."

"Why!?" exclaimed both of the dark elves in unison.

"Because we still have the element of surprise." said Anton as he switched off the stove "And if we go off and march out there ready for battle, we will lose that advantage immediately. Now, we have no reason to think that whoever is out there isn't going to come to us eventually. And when they do, we'll be ready for them."

"...So, let me get this straight! Instead of going after it, and taking it out! You just want us to wait in here for it to pop in and kill us!?...Cause that sounds like a fucking terrible idea!" stated Fiona.

"Try, to kill us." declared Anton as he pointed his finger at her "Not kill us. Try, to kill us. Big difference."

"Whatever!" exclaimed Fiona "It's still a terrible idea!"

"Oh really. And why would you think that?" asked Anton.

"Because! We're just sitting ducks in here! It could pop in at any second and just take us out!" exclaimed Fiona "I mean sure, we might know its coming, but that doesn't mean it still can't attack us!"

"We would know its coming. And right now it doesn't know that." said Anton as he brought the pan of scrambled eggs to the table "And going out there and facing it isn't going to stop it from attacking us. All that's going to do is let it know that we have security measures in place. Its going to know its been found out and its going to try to escape so it can come back when its better prepared. I don't want that to happen. I don't want to let it get away."

Fiona went still as she stared up him.

"I don't care if our little visitor friend out there is here to spy on us, steal from us or is actually going to try and kill us..." said Anton as he stared down at the pan of eggs and began to whisper "It has chosen to invade our home. And as such it is now threatening us. And I am going to make sure that it pays for that very poor decision..."

Kianna and Fiona said nothing as they watched Anton move back to the cabinets and begin to gather together sets of plates and silverware.

"Kianna, do you mind making us some toast, please?" he asked as he made his way back to the table and handed the plates and silverware to Fiona.

"Uh. Sure." said Kianna as her eyes immediately darted to the toaster "I can do that."

"Thank you." said Anton as he made his way to the coffee maker and poured himself another mug.

Turning around and leaning back against the counter-top, he took a sip from his mug as he watched the two dark elves go about their tasks. Once Kianna was nearly finished with the toast, Anton picked up the plate of bacon and fell into step with her as they moved to the table together. With everything now in place they all sat down and began to serve themselves.

Though the food was delicious, the two dark elves couldn't help but to keep their focus on the unmoving presence outside, and as such the room stayed quiet for some time as they ate in silence and stared at the wall behind Anton.

"...Why isn't it moving!?" mumbled Fiona as she glared at an empty spot on the wall "What the Hell is it waiting for!?"

"More than likely its going to wait for nightfall to make its move." answered Anton "Which is good, because that will give us some time to prepare ourselves....By the way, have you two ever seen that particular delivery man before?"

"Huh?" questioned Kianna as she turned to him "Yeah, he's been here before, a few times. Why?"

"Okay. It could very well be the case that he didn't know this person was in the van with him then... Which would mean that this being is either very small, or will have ways of concealing itself. We'll need to be ready for both possibilities..." explained Anton as he glanced over his shoulder towards where the presence was still sitting.

"Concealing itself?" asked Kianna.

"Mm hm. It could have something along the lines of invisibility. Or it may be capable of casting illusions." said Anton "We'll just have to be ready for anything along those lines."

"Oh, well that would just be fucking perfect..." mumbled Fiona "The damn things probably going to go invisible and pop in here to kill us in our sleep!"

"That could very well be its plan." said Anton with a nod.

"So how are we going to be ready for that!?" asked Kianna "What's our plan going to be!?"

"Our plan is simple, really." said Anton "We wait for our foe to attack us. And then I'll beat it up when it does."

Going still for a moment, the two dark elves gave each other a look as they both grimaced in annoyance.

"Seriously!?" grumbled Fiona "That's really your plan!?"

"Mm hm." nodded Anton "...I'll probably set up a few hexes as well. Just in case, you never know after all. I really, really don't want our little friend to get away from us."

"Really!? Your plan is seriously just to beat it up!?" mocked Fiona "And what makes you think that's gonna work!?"

Anton shrugged as he gave her a smug grin.

"Well, it worked with you." he stated.

Fiona narrowed her eyes and began to grumble incomprehensibly as she looked down at her food.

"I hate this plan!" exclaimed Kianna "This is dangerous!"

"It is, but don't worry Kianna." said Anton as he gave her a reassuring smile "Preparation makes all the difference. And we'll be ready. As soon as we're done eating we'll set up the hexes, and then it's just a matter of waiting."

Kianna stared at him for a moment before sighing loudly and continuing with her meal.

Once breakfast had been finished and cleaned away, Anton brought his jars of imbuing ingredients up from his desk in the dungeon and spread them out across the kitchen table.

Both of the dark elves were sitting quietly on the other side of the table as they divided their attention evenly between the books they were reading, what Anton was doing, and the presence that still lingered out behind the house.

While painting a seal across a thin slice of white colored wood, Anton suddenly paused before glancing back over his shoulder.

"The fuck?" whispered Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards "What's it doing now!?"

"...Its coming closer." mumbled Kianna as she set Anton's book on dark elves down on the table and went to stand up.

"Stay right there!" commanded Anton "Don't move!"

Grimacing, Kianna eased herself back down into her seat and narrowed her eyes at the now slowly approaching presence.

As all three of them stared at the same empty space on the wall, their attention suddenly shifted to the side as the incoming being made several jumps and reappeared closer to the far side of the house.

Moving slowly again, the being made its way along the side of the house before pausing for several minutes and then continuing on and pausing again.

"...What the Hell is it doing now?" whispered Fiona.

"...I, I think?" questioned Anton as he cocked an eyebrow "...It might be looking in the windows?"

"Oh, that is so creepy!" grumbled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head.

"...This doesn't make any sense." mumbled Anton as he shook his head "It's still daylight out there. Why would it take the risk of being seen?...What is it thinking?"

"Maybe its invisible?" offered Fiona as she mimicked her sister by pointing her own ears straight back.

"That... That might be the case... Still though..." said Anton as he shook his head again "I just can't believe it would be this... bold."

As they waited, the being outside continued its slow path around the house before finally coming around to the side with the kitchen door.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Fiona as she twisted in her seat and faced the windowed door "Its gonna see us!"

"Turn around! Stay sitting! Stay still!" demanded Anton as he let his gaze fall to the tabletop in front of him "Just act normal!"

"What!? Are you crazy!?" cried Kianna as she and Fiona both stood up "Its gonna see us!"

"Yes. And if we're lucky, I'll be able to tell what it is when it looks through that window." explained Anton as he met her eyes "Now sit back down. And just act normal."

Both of the dark elves glared at Anton as they felt the presence creep closer and closer to the door behind them.

"This is stupid!" hissed Fiona through her clenched teeth.

"No, this is an opportunity." stated Anton "Now just relax, and sit back down."

Glancing at each other, the two dark elves reluctantly took their seats and stared down at the table.

"Ears." whispered Anton as he looked back and forth between them "Relax your ears."

Scowling, the two dark elves both made conscious efforts to raise their ears back up to their resting positions.

"Good. Now just hold still." whispered Anton "...Here it comes."

In an effort to appear nonchalant himself, Anton feigned working on his seals as the presence crept up to the door.

Moving quickly, the presence peeked in through the window before ducking back down and hiding itself from sight.

Though he wasn't looking directly at the window, Anton had still been able to tell that whatever was outside, it was, at least currently, not invisible.

Unfortunately, whatever the presence was it had moved far to fast for him to make out any details beyond the fact that it had a solid form, and so taking a soft breath he began to softly whisper to the now trembling dark elves.

"Girls... Just relax... We don't want to scare it away..." he soothed as he reached over to his mug and took hold of its handle "Its not invisible... So now we have a chance to figure out what it is..."

"Wha? Seriously!? Then if we can see it!" hissed Kianna through her teeth "We should just try to get it right now!"

"Yeah! Fuck it! Let's just get it!" agreed Fiona in her own snarling whisper.

"No! Stop!" growled Anton as he felt the dark elves auras begin to seep out from their beings "You're going to give us away! Just wait a moment!"

As he spoke the presence again began to slowly move towards the doors windows and anticipating this, Anton went to lift his mug at the same time.

"Just wait! Just wait!" continued Anton as he brought the mug to his lips and gazed absently across the room.

Though he wouldn't dare to look directly at the presence, he was still able to discern a few of its features. Such as the fact that it appeared to be an average, if not slightly below average, sized being and that it apparently had pale skin and black colored hair on its head.

"Is it looking at us!?" hissed Kianna as her ears started to twitch in irritation.

"Fuck this!" growled Fiona as she gripped the edge of the table "Let's just go for it!"

"I said stay still!" snarled Anton "I'm not going to tell you again!"

Glancing at each other, the two dark elves narrowed their eyes in a silent agreement and slowly began to rise out of their seats in unison. Once fully standing they couldn't help but to stop short when they felt Anton's aura suddenly fill the area directly around them. Locking their eyes to him they both stiffened as they felt a cold fury take form in the surrounding aura.

"Girls... I am serious right now. This is not a game." whispered Anton as he took another mock sip from his mug "If either one of you moves again, you will both regret it..."

Furious now, both Fiona and Kianna's eyes began to glow with a faint, angry red light. They both went to speak but were suddenly cut short. They grunted in surprise when their bloodgems began to glow and their collars started to tighten ominously around their necks.

Freezing where they stood, the two dark elves glared down at Anton as they remained completely still.

Behind them, the presence watched for several long moments before sinking down and out of sight.

As it moved to disappear, Anton took the chance to look at it directly. He only saw it for a split second and still wasn't able to discern much in the way of features, but one detail did stand out.

Whatever this being was, it appeared to have a short, shiny, black-colored point, rising out of its head.

Anton held his bated breath as he felt the presence make a jump away from, and then around the building. He breathed a sigh of relief when after several more jumps, it returned to the spot it had been occupying since that morning and went still again.

"Well!" he said as he stood up and loomed over the dark elves "That could have gone better!"

With his jaw set and his aura flaring, there was little doubt as to whether or not his anger was legitimate.

Their instincts getting the better of them, both Fiona and Kianna couldn't help but to submissively fold their ears down flat behind their heads as they looked up at him.

Gazing back at them for a moment, Anton sighed and slowly shook his head as he crossed his arms. Although the dark elves had preformed their little submissive gestures, they were both still glaring angrily at him and were clearly unapologetic.

"...Well. Go ahead. I can tell you both have something to say. So let's hear it!" he said.

Taken aback, the sisters glanced at each other before looking off to opposite sides of the room.

"...The fuck was that!?" grumbled Fiona "We could have taken that thing out if you'd just let us!"

"Oh really?" said Anton as he cocked an eyebrow "And how exactly would you have done that?"

"Easy! We have magic now!" declared Kianna as she turned her glare back to him "Magic that we could use to catch it! Or even kill it with!"

"Kill it?" said Anton as he blinked in surprise "And how do you know you can even kill it? You don't even know what it is! It could already be dead for all you know. And what then? How are you going to kill a spirit, Kianna? Rattle it to death with some chains!?"

Kianna hesitated for a moment before deepening her glare.

"It doesn't matter! I'll do whatever I have to do! I'm not helpless anymore! I can fight back!" she declared as thin tears of anger began to form in her eyes "I have magic now! Real magic! Magic that you taught me!"

"Magic doesn't make you invincible, Kianna. Even with all the power in the world, you can still lose!" exclaimed Anton as he glared right back at her "That's why you need to always be as prepared as possible! Especially when you're facing an unknown opponent! One who could very well be a trained assassin!"

Kianna said nothing as she stared up him.

"...Listen, both of you. There have been plenty of dark elves that have met their ends early purely because they were overconfident." said Anton as he kept his gaze locked to Kianna's "And the same could easily happen to either one of you. You may have powerful abilities but that isn't enough to guarantee you victory. You need to understand that magic is just a tool. And that your real weapons are your minds."

"...What do you mean?" mumbled Kianna.

"I mean exactly what I just said." declared Anton "Your mind is your greatest weapon. Everything else is just a tool for you to use. And this is especially true for your magic. Knowing both what you can do and what your opponent can do will make all the difference in any fight. Look at what just happened to that sasquatch, Joel. He thought his natural strength would have been enough to seal his victory. And he was very, very wrong. His lack of knowledge and understanding of what he was truly up against, lead to a blunder that nearly cost him his life. Learn from his mistake! And don't assume you can win just because you're powerful. It's almost never that simple."

"Sometimes it is though!" exclaimed Fiona "And how can you even tell what someone can do unless you fight them!? Huh!? It's not like you can just look at them and be able to tell! Anyone could know how to use spells!"

"True. And that's my point. You shouldn't go into a fight either assuming anything or relying on any single capability. Again, look at what happened to Joel. His strength failed him. And the same thing could easily happen to you with your magic." stated Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other "In all honesty, completely relying on magic in a fight is really the last thing you want to do."

"...Why is that?" questioned Kianna.

"Because magic can be countered. Especially if you understand how any given ability works." explained Anton "This is why you should always try your best to not let your opponent know what you can do. Rather than blasting your abilities out with wild abandon, you should instead think of them as secret weapons. Weapons that you only use when you really need to, or if you already know for sure that by using them, you can win."

"Pfft! This is rich coming from you!" growled Fiona "You're using your magic all the time! And for stupid shit too!"

"Yes, that's true." said Anton "But when I first met you, and we were still enemies, I hesitated to use any magic at all. And even now, I really only use my magic when I feel I need to. In fact, I still have plenty of skills that you two haven't even seen yet."

"...Wait? You do!?" questioned Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards "Really!?"

"Oh yes." said Anton as he turned to her "You've seen quite a bit of what I can do. But trust me. You two have no idea of what I'm really capable of."

The two dark elves said nothing as they stared at him for a moment and then glanced at each other.