E2A: A little girl's friendly smile

Chapter 1
First encounter

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Chapter Description: Hannah thinks back about a woman's words.

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[size=4]Ensis Excor Acer, a mini-novel: "A little girl’s friendly smile."[/size]

Affiliations: E2A, the main story; subject of correction at later point.

Universe: E2A.

Type: Mini-novel.

Genre: Modern fantasy, drama and super natural.

Recommended age: 15.

Specific warnings: Contains ’lolicon’-elements in later chapters.

Chapter size:

Phase: 2/3, certain inconsistent scenes in development.

An original idea by Marvin Teabag.

Authorized sites:

- www.ararchive.com

If this work is found on any other site then the ones noted above, please contact us. Once finished, if you want to add this on a site none of us is a member of, contact Marvin for permission and the site will be added to the list. You may never change anything in this work. Everything written must be kept intact.

You may print this for private use. This mini-novel is not for use in financial profit in any way.

Produced by the Braelvemh Court:

- Marvin "Trash Raider" Teabag, main writer, visualizer and spokesperson.

- Cassie-Lyn Long, storyboard and sketcher.

- Stuart Dreng, dialogue scriptor, consistence- and spell/grammar checker.

- Henry Mein, our beloved mascot, punching bag and muse.

This is a work of fiction. The scenario, characters and locations are invented and does not reflect reality. Readers are advised against copying anything, in any form, happening in this novel back in reality. Just sit back and read.

A quick dictionary for new readers:

- Acerina, a human being lacking the ability to generate certain emotions by their own. They enter other living or inanimate things to replenish the emotion with little notice by others. The word should be treated like the word "sheep" when you speak of many.

- Excorsist, certain acerina are labelled this for unknown reasons. Bears similarity to the word "exorsist", yet focuses on emotions and mental state rather then spirits, demons and other destructive creatures in mono-religions.

- Extortsist, the opposite of excorsists, yet similar. They care less of concealing their actions, and are considered more ruthless then most acerina.

- Flamewaker, Metalforger, Leafgrasper, Aguadrop and Soilkeeper are different types of an acerina, using a specific elements to defend themselves.

- Mandune, a phrase for commoners, weak creatures, or anyone denying their birthright. The term bears different meaning among those who have encountered it in dimensional travels. Its origin and first meaning was lost over time.

- Pactum, a lock initiated when two or more acerina are close to each other for a longer amount of time.

- Phasma, also known as "phantasmagoria". Allows the acerina to enter something’s inner sanctums, or create a replica of a being’s mental state and emotions in the outside world.

The first encounter: "Just alike".-------------------------------------------------------------

The chair balanced on the edge of falling over, as the setting sun tickled Hannah in her face. She kept her knees against the desk, rocking back and forth. Hannah was unaware of how close she was falling over.

"Am I what Al said....?", Hannah told herself. She could feel the tears coming again, buried her face in her hands. Parts of her brown hair followed suit and got wet.

"... Just like her?"

Her thoughts were somewhere else. Blank school books were open besides small red notes reminding of doing tasks. It had been some time, days, a week, Hannah didn’t know this herself. When were she last time out, been in school?

****

Rain hit the roof on an abandoned building that night. They stood at that abandoned building. Hannah took deep breathes. The other person; Al. A tall woman with strange eyes looked at her with no sign of being tired.

She wore a red coat along with a small-rimmed hat on her head. The outfit wriggled from time to time like they were alive.

"You have fought well this far, flamewaker.", Al said. She held fingers over her lips, laughing. “... Yet, you resist using your full capacity. Every time in the past; refusing to use the fire coursing in your blood for killing even when your opponent wouldn’t hesitate. Why?”

Al made a gesture, thrust her left hand like a gun and pointed at Hannah. The puddles around her gathered into a sphere and went towards Hannah. She jumped away, avoiding the impact.

Al raised her right hand against herself and repeated the same pattern.

More puddles gathered. They collected the oncoming rain water and formed into new spheres. More impacts against the roof. Hannah tumbled when she tried avoiding a projectile in the series.

“But you can?t just kill anyone. It’s just wrong...”, Hannah said.

Lower your head, Anne. Now!, a voice whispered inside her.

Hannah and ducked under one of Al’s incoming attacks.

The voice inside her was called ?Lin’; the first living thing she met when she woke up back in a hospital bed. Well, it first was a teddy bear claimed to know her, even if she couldn’t recall.

After defeating something called “Linoge”, a lonely man with many voices inside him, Lin entered Hannah. She first had to burn Linoge when it had possessed the teddy bear.

Lin had been the reason Hannah had gotten this far, even after what she did to Lin. They had been through things the months after that.

****

The rain continued to fall. Wet, cold, and tired. Hannah wouldn’t be surprised if she caught a cold after this was over.

This woman....this “Al” said she had been watching her. But it didn’t make any sense why she attacked her. Everything started with that old man she entered back below in the building.

Hannah had spotted him on the streets searching through dumpsters. She followed him back to this abandoned building. She needed to be alone with him to do that thing. To enter him... by kissing him...

It felt embarrassing she had to do it that way. But what could she do? He didn’t have a strong phasma like Linoge or that mirror girl back in the mountains, nor could she enter through his eyes like others.

The old man was alone and looked like he was in pain. She guessed he was homeless from his ragged clothes, which made it feel worse if she didn’t do anything. Lin encouraged Hannah to follow him.

She could walk into him like she had done with others before and take the bad feelings, the pain for herself.

The phasma was how Hannah could go into someone else. A man, a dog or even a pencil if she had to. Everything that could feel.

Once inside she could take good or bad feelings. The deeper she went into someone, the more she could take. When you entered someone, you could see different things in each one. Some had painful memories they had buried deep inside. Others had sad memories they don’t want to forget even if it hurt them. Others had happy memories.

Al had somehow followed her through the ?phasma’, into his inner, a meadow with yellow grass fields and wiltering flowers. She attacked her. It was odd. What Hannah knew from what Lin told her, no one else could follow if someone had already entered through the phasma.

She appeared between a flower which changed between pale colours, and Hannah who was about to grab it.

“I know you well, flamewaker. Even if you don?t know me yet...”, the woman said. Her red coat looked like the ones you could see detectives wearing in the shows. ?Tren’-something, Hannah think it was called.

Al lifts her matching small hat only so Hannah could see her eyes. It was a strange woman. Hannah was unsure why, but she felt scary without doing anything.

The woman stretched her neck a few moments before continuing:

“I have observed you for some time now, flamewaker. You don?t seem to quite live up to your reputation as one of the ?excorsists?, surviving my master’s last attempt at gathering you.”

She shook her head. “Where are my manners?”

Her lips curled up a bit. “You can call me ?Al’; the extortsist. Make sure to remember it, little flamewaker.”, Al said.

****

It was sometime ago, a bunch of weird men took Hannah along with others. They tried to do something, ?Keh-dan’, though she couldn’t?t recall what it was called more then something really bad. They talked about “Extracting, inject-something, hosts and removal...” Her head felt heavy.

“But, but how could you get in here?”, Hannah said.

Move, Anne. NOW!

This, Al, attacked her after presenting herself without speaking anymore. Hannah was forced to leave without helping the man. He fell to the floor when they came out.

The battle continued up the stairs. Through the floors with Hannah mostly avoiding the woman’s attacks behind boxes, or tossed some fire at the wooden projectiles Al created. None of them spoke. Al left her little time to hide.

They ended up at the roof where they were now.

****

You can fight now, Anne. We know enough of her... Use it. Let the flames come forth

Hannah nodded. She fished up something from her jacket; a shiny silver lighter. She closed her eyes and flipped it open.

Pain surged through her along with warmth heating up the cold body. Hannah moaned when she looked again. It hurt, the blind left eye.

“It’s wrong doing that! We don’t need to fight, I haven’t done you anything. ”, Hannah said.

The woman laughed again when she walked towards Hannah. Her eyes smaller then before. They were like a cat’s eye, ready to strike any moment.

“Wrong? Heh, you know that isn?t how things works among us, or anywhere else. Showing mercy is weakness when you fight for your life, flamewaker. Mandunes like that human fight to live another day despite being lower then dirt. He has the instinct to live; survival is everything when you need to feed.”, Al said.

Hannah stood up again. She didn’t know what a mandune was more then it felt like Al treated him as a thing. ((Add something like trance and she barely knows what Al is talking about. Think like Hannah is drunk))

Small sparks danced in her hair, on her blue and green hooded-jacket. They became flames on her pants. Other sparks on her sleeves and hood followed suit and grew larger on the girl. Hannah held her hand against the eye-patch over her left eye.

“It hurts... Why now?”, Hannah said.

Al walked slowly, pointing at her hand in the air; water flew up. Hannah covered her face, the flames formed around her like a coat. The water turned to mist on contact.

Al stopped. Her coat started to form jagged patterns mowing around like waves.

“Why? Don?t tell me you haven?t realised it yet after using that contraption so many times before.”

She waved her hand and made a few motions. Rain water around her took a different shape from before. Hannah took a step back to keep her ground when the roof started shaking. A small portion of the roof ripped up. The metal encased the water floating in the air. Oncoming rain were directed into the thin neck.

“That little toy only limits you; bottling up your ever-growing power in a small flask. It wants to come out...”, Al said. She snapped her fingers. “... No matter what.”

The flask burst open, water flowing out everywhere and out to the roof.

“Do you understand? We both grow stronger with time; everyone does. If we held back there would be no reason to live. I ask you again. Why don’t you use your full power against me instead of running around? Show me you can do what I have endured...”, Al said.

The woman took off her coat and threw it next to Hannah. She stared at the woman; scars running across the body. Stitches running across her body, glowing marks with odd letters crossed over some of them. Most peculiar were the different coloured dots on her arms, legs and chest you couldn’t see when she had the coat.

“But we don?t have to fight! I haven?t done anything to you.”, Hannah said.

The woman laughed. “You need a reason first now? I will give you one I found useful; survive. You have to try kill me before I stop following you, flamewaker!”((Improve the threat!)) Her laughter changed to a more twisted laugh.

Grant her whish. Do it, Anne. Leave nothing behind to mock you... burn her to the bones.

Hannah’s eyes became small and terrified. "I can’t kill her... It would be like... when I... you.", she whispered.

That woman doesn’t share your concern about others, Anne.

"But-"

Why should you care about her? She started this after you walked into the man. You almost succeeded helping him when she crossed our path...

Hannah didn’t like when Lin talked like that. She acted like it didn’t matter if something happened to Al. True, she couldn’t help the man when the woman appeared out of nowhere.

"I can’t just do it, Lin. - I can’t. It hurts me too when I have to use it on others."

She have hurt others before. That woman must learn and pay for the consequences of harming others.

"Isn’t there any other way?"

Al looked at Hannah before stretching out her own arm. “Whispering do you no good if you don’t incantate, little flamewaker."

Hannah felt confused and didn’t know what she was talking about.

An advanced invocation involving words. Take her out now, Anne.

"What’s an in-cation, Lin?"

"Throw away that toy and pay attention, flamewaker. Release your own, true flames. Incinerate anything in your path and fight me for real! Hurt me, I promise not hold back like before...”, Al said.

The woman let her fingers wander around on her right arm before pressing her nails. The arm started to bleed. Blood dripped on the wet roof. The blood float along on the water before turning it green.

“ Brael Ningo...Green Midwinter!”, Al said.

The water reacted and shot up in the sky like a pillar.

The next second the water became solid ice and headed for Hannah. It enveloped her, more like buried the girl in green ice. She found herself unable to breathe in this... this thing. It felt like being in a freezer but at the same time it wasn’t cold like in a freezer. She tried to breathe again with no avail.

Everything was green, her prison seemed to be getting smaller somehow. Panic mixed with pain. "It’s tight...", Hannah whispered. She tried to cry but couldn’t.

Focus, Anne. Listen to me; don’t panic. End this now without killing her. Burst the ice.

Hannah barely heard what Lin whispered inside her head. Her thoughts went from her prison getting smaller to why she had to fight with this woman. ’To survive? To kill?’ Neither of them needed to do this in the first place.

It became worse and worse until it happened... The sparks on Hannah grew thick, expanded until they cracked the ice. Chunks dropped to the roof while took in heavy breathes. She took deep breathes.

Behind you, Anne.“Huh?”

Hannah felt something grasped her neck from behind with a tight grip. “You have the will to live...”, Al whispered in her right ear. “Pity I have to end this game now, my little flamewaker.”

Twist your body. Aim left behind you and roll forward, Anne. You won’t kill her.

The red coat started to shake, it cringed like it was getting pierced by something sharp. Al forced Hannah to look at the scene in front of her. The coat fluttered up and down while a short stick with a blade surfaced from its centre.

Al pointed, the coat became stiff and the spear shot out and landed in her free hand.

Now, Anne!

Hannah twisted her body and fired off flames behind her. Al dodged to the other side while still holding her neck. The fire took flight into the clouds. Al tossed away Hannah. She landed hard a bit away. The woman readied her weapon and dashed on Hannah’s back when she raised up on her knees.

Roll back, and raise your hands ready, Anne.

Fire rained down on Al. She twirled her weapon to lessen most of the barrage’s effect.

The woman turned around and stopped. Al had a slight surprised look when she found herself looking at one hand aiming for her stomach, while the other was below her neck. Both palms were pulsating with a beet red colour.

Al’s hand moved back, Hannah yelled and fired off a heat wave. She fell back by a strong force on the roof, but regained her position the next moment.

Continue, don’t give her time, Anne. Don’t think, just focus on holding her away.

“Please... I don’t want to... hurt you anymore... Al.”, Hannah said.

She held one hand on her eye patch, the other was locked on Al.

The woman took one step forward. Hannah fired another blast. Al continued walking, even if it was slow, as new heat waves hit her. Some were re-directed, but the effects were obvious; her skin turned red, blisters erupted on the ragged skin.

When Al staggered while she used the spear as balance Hannah started to cry.

“Stop it, please!”, Hannah said and looked down.

She couldn’t take it anymore. It hurt so badly in her eye. "Why doesn’t she give up?"

Al started to laugh again. A hollow laughter. She removed what hair she had left in her face. The face was disgusting. Lips were burnt away. Some sooty teeth were visible through her grin.

Al looked at herself. She ripped off some of the blackened skin. Her breathing sounded hollow.

“They gave me a weak body, don?t you think, flamewaker? I have faced worse in the past and walked through with little harm. I believe this body won’t heal properly... You spare little when cornered even if you try to hold back; despite never feeding on happiness as your nature demands."

She moved again while talking, greeted by another attack.

"Those flames shows what you deny with words. You want to take my life, like I have taken others."

Another blast.

"Noo... Stop it! Lay down, please.", Hannah said. She want to cry but felt a chunk in her throat when Al raised again.

Don’t give up, Anne.

Another blast.

"What happens if you fought for real with no fear, feeling the wonderful euphoria in combat and joy in you are alive when you could die the next moment? You love seeing me raising again and again. Just to burn me yet again so I can raise. It thrills you behind those fake tears...”, Al said as she stood up on her knees and ripped off more skin. You could see her bones getting revealed beneath.

"Yo-you lie!", Hannah said. The tears came through and covered her vision. She crossed her hands.

"Please, I didn’t want to do it. Al, give up now..."

They were turning bright in crimson red colour; fire dancing around on her clothes gathered on the palms. It grew bigger. Al limped towards her with water gathering around her into small balls before turning changing shape and rushed towards Hannah.

The girl fired. Fire gathered turned into a long ray. It sucked up the projectiles and knocked Al high before she plunged down again. It was a hard impact. The roof bent and made a small crater where Al landed.

Hannah tumbled and fell. Her hands, her legs trembled when she tried to rise all over again.

She didn’t have the strength to wipe her eye.

*****

She took deep breathes, her head started to work again and caught up with what had happened.

"This woman is- is...", Hannah thought. She couldn’t understand why that woman didn’t give up. What did Al mean when she said she like this. To hurt others? To kill? Liked to be hurt this badly? It didn’t have to turned out like this if she had stayed down.

Hannah didn’t want to take others’ happiness, that didn’t feel right either.

The only reason she still stood and didn’t fall back there until after were Lin’s words.

Stay awake. Don’t let her hurt you again, Anne. Please, Anne. Stay awake. Do it, Anne. She won’t die like I did. Just shoot her.

Hannah sat up on her knees. She used her arms as support to avoid falling back again.

Her tears had mixed with the rain in the face. It started to get cold again, she could feel her wet clothes. It seemed like she had used it all this time. No more fire...

She became worried, Al! Hannah looked around. She spotted the woman laid down. She didn’t move. The spear was right next to her. The woman’s body looked grotesque, full of blisters and blackened.

Hannah became frozen. Was she... dead? She was unable to move over and check. The rain hit the roof, yet she could hear something wheezing.

“Hmph, I should leave.... For now. I am not interested... in letting the pactum... meddle with what I have in mind. Think about what I have told you tonight... my little flamewaker. Don’t deny yourself, you liked this game as much as I did... somewhere deep in your head. You need to feed on something else... something more then... misery and sadness. To we meet again... when we have grown stronger... my flamewaker.”, Al said barely audible.

Her coat moved about and separated into small birds with green wings, Al herself engulfed by them. The woman’s last words echoed when she disappeared.

“... You are just like me, flamewaker.”

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End of first encounter.

 

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