Other Fan Fiction ❯ Gifted Moon Spinoff ❯ Watched ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

When Rinsi finally got to her room, she realized how exhausted she was. She walked up to her bed and tossed the notepad on it onto the desk they shared in the room, not even remembering it was still open to her notes, so that they could be easily read. She felt like she didn't deserve anything good, much less rest, but at the same time she welcomed the numbness that would come with sleep. It was better than this endless anguish she felt for hurting so many people so badly. She crawled between the sheets and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come...
But it didn't. Her mind was too restless. She tossed and turned, and even covered her face with the pillow, but nothing helped.
Rinsi hated to sit still for so long. It always drove her nuts, especially when she was alone with her thoughts. So, after calling her aunt and uncle and really giving them an earful about not telling her that the dances they had taught her ended up being spells that were hurting people, she snuck out into the hallway. She was on her way to the library, but stepped lightly, her senses alert. She didn't want anyone to see her, fearing they would hate her for hurting them and say harsh things again, or try to hurt her. She deserved it, but she didn't want it. She just had to get something to read to take her mind off of things. Most likely some research to see what she could do to fix this without using her powers. Mooney walked along side of her, his ears perked up and alert, though he was far more laid back.
Renny, a young girl with silver hair, pushed a tiny bit of herself into her animal which then jumped down to the floor and began running around. Kiri had quite the personality, which was in no way related to Renny's. She smiled at the creature and followed it down the hall. Sticking its nose up into the air, it smelt a cat. Getting excited, it charged down the hall and ran smack into its nose.
"Kiri!" Renny yelled after it as she moved quickly down the hall attempting to follow her companion.
"Oh, dear..." Rinsi said when a small stuffed animal ran right into Mooney's face. "Mooney, are you okay?"
Mooney was already freaking out. He had jumped back and hissed at the toy that had assaulted his face, but then became curious. His body relaxed and he began to sniff at the toy cautiously, wondering how it could move on its own.
Kiri sneezed as it breathed in a cat hair. It jumped up and down, excited that it was around something its height. Renny turned a corner and smiled at the girl apologetically.
"I'm so sorry about that! Kiri. Be good," she scorned the animal. "I'm Renny, new here, just arrived," she said, slightly out of breath. She held her hand out to the girl with a big smile across her face.
Rinsi was glad this person was new, and thus not hurt by her. She forced on a smile and shook the girl's hand warmly.
"It's all right. Mooney is the friendly type anyway. It's nice to meet you, Renny. I'm...."
Rinsi thought for a moment. Should she really tell this girl her name? What if someone told her how horrible she was and how she had hurt so many people. However, not telling the girl her name would be rude. She'd just have to go out on a limb on this one.
"I'm Rinsi Starlight."
"Oooo!" She cooed, "What a pretty name!" She smiled widely and shook her hand ecstatically. "Well, I really should be off to my dorm now, unpacking and such and such." She smiled as she looked at her cat and Kiri having a good time. "Come on Kiri, we should go."
When her cat was reluctant to leave, Renny sighed heavily.
"I don't want to do this to you, Kiri," she whispered as she pulled the life out of it and pushed it back into her own being. The animal fell limp to the floor and turned back into a stuffed animal. Renny smiled softly to the girl and picked up Kiri.
"I'll be in dorm nine if you need me! It was nice to meet you Rinsi!" She called as she walked away and walked into her dorm room.
Rinsi smiled a bit - this time genuinely - at the complement. She had been curious as to why the girl was there, but found out when the doll became unanimated. She thought to herself how nifty a skill that could be, and almost forgot the real reason she was out there. She was looking for the library and trying not to be seen. Well, that last part had failed already.
Rinsi wondered down the halls, still looking for the library when she saw Logan and another girl just down the hall. She wasn't sure if she had hurt him or not, though they both looked like they were okay. Still, she ducked around a corner, hoping she hadn't been seen. When Logan and the girl finally left, Rinsi came back around the corner and began walking down the hall again, looking for the library.
As she walked along, Rinsi realized she wanted to practice. As much as she hated using her powers, perhaps there was a chance she could use them to redeem herself. After all, she was never one to stay depressed like that, and already she was tired of it. Still, she was afraid of people seeing her and hating her for hurting them, and she knew that it was very likely that, no matter what she did to redeem herself, people like Ki'iro would still hate her. Still, she could at least try. Not trying meant giving up, and she was never one to give up. She was simply too stubborn.
After waiting until dark, Rinsi carefully made it back to her room and got changed into her ninja outfit. She had originally bought it as a cosplay - after all, she LOVED to cosplay - but now it would serve another purpose. It would serve to help conceal her against the night, to hide her in the shadows that she had previously blessed, to keep her undetected as she had been trained to do on occasion.
After tying the last tie around her ankles and wrists, she grabbed her staff and wondered out into the hallway. She did not dare light her way with the staff, as she normally would, so she let the light of the moon guide her towards an exit. Once she was outside, she noticed the air was cool and refreshing. It brought a bit of a smile to her face. She carefully made her way around the grounds, studying every external inch. After finding a place that was shaded by trees and thus would give her good cover, she began to dance. She hated that she was about to use her powers, but it was the only way she could think of to fix everything. With only three dances left - two of which were far too short and chaotic to be used for healing - it was a simple process of elimination. The only dance left that did not seem appropriate for battle was Moonlight, her mass healing spell. She wasn't sure if it only healed physical injuries, or if it restored energy as well, but she would find out mid-dance. She was beginning to realize that she could know what dance was what spell by how she felt as she danced, and had wished she had figured that out sooner.
Rinsi began slow, as the dance was supposed to. She raised her staff above her head, and then formed a circle around herself, top to bottom, with the staff. From there she swung the staff out to her side, spun, then brought the staff straight in front of her to pass it off to the other hand. And from there began the rest of the dance. Spinning and twirling both her staff and herself in a slow, but oddly energizing dance, she began to glow softly. The feeling of being energized told her that this spell would indeed restore energy as well as heal any physical injuries. As she danced, she wondered if it could cure illnesses as well, but she could wait on that. For now she was content that energy could be restored to those she had hurt, even those she had remotely hurt, like Re. This could even heal Jason's concussion, and the pounding migraine she knew was with it.
After a few moments of dancing, her glowing was so intense she was afraid she would be seen. However, she also couldn't risk stopping. She had to make sure this would fix everything, whether or not people chose to forgive her. She felt happy now - a feeling she gladly welcomed - and at the same time she felt energized, and filled with a sense of well-being. Perhaps this was a hint that it could cure illness, or perhaps it came with being energized. She didn't know, and at the moment, she didn't care. As the feeling seemed to saturate every fiber of her being, the same glowing, ethereal wings sprouted from her back. She felt calm and collected as she danced and danced, and knew she was approaching the end of the spell. Two words - or perhaps one compound word - began to whisper through her mind. It was not begging, not even pleading. Instead this one was soft and passionate, like a lover whispering sweet nothings in her ear. As she approached the end of the dance, she slowly brought her staff up above her head, holding on to the very bottom of it with both hands, and declared those words that so lovingly spoke to her.
"Moonlight!" she declared, afraid she might have been heard on accident.
Just as she uttered those words, the moon itself seemed to smile down on her, sending a glowing beam down on her like a stream of light from heaven. This beam soon widened, growing and growing, like a balloon being filled with air. And, just like a balloon that had been filled too far, the light exploded outward, encompassing the entire campus and even some of the surrounding woods, filling everything with a sense of peace and well being, healing all injuries, and energizing everyone within the blast radius as though they not only had a wonderful night of sleep, but had also eaten foods that would fill them with energy and make them feel like they could take the day by the horns.
Jason was soon feeling the affect of having ice pretty much right on his head. He tossed the baggy and went to his room to warm up. Sitting on his bed, because he wasn't supposed to sleep since that could cause greater problems, Jason watched his window.
He leaned forward whenhe thought he saw something moving outside. He watched carefully for a while, then heard a voice, and then finally the moon became very bright. He could see someone was out there.
Jason slipped on two black hoodies this time and quickly went outside. He stopped holding his head, noticing that his migraine was gone.
Now more stealthy than ever, Jason moved toward the person quietly. He hid behind trees. When he was close enough, though, he sniffed the air.
"Rinsi?" Jason whispered. Her disguise couldn't hide her scent, which he recognized easily. He stepped out from behind the tree and moved toward her, "What are you doing out here?"
At the sound of someone calling her name, Rinsi jumped a bit. It had startled her, and she found a knot forming in her stomach as she knew she had been caught. She turned around slowly to find Jason standing behind her. She took a couple of steps back, afraid he might be angry at her for hurting so many people like Ki'iro was and huddled over her staff.
"J-Jason..." she stammered, "You're okay, aren't you? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
Jason looked confused by what Rinsi was talking about. He shook his head, his mouth hung open a little as he tried to think of what to say.
"I'm fine...What are you talking about?" He finally asked. He didn't remember how or why he had fallen, only that that's supposedly what happened. Plus, he only had a very, very slight bump now.
"Are you okay, Rinsi?" He asked and took a step towards her. Out of the shadow of the tree, his left eye quickly adjusted to the bright moonlight - a fine slit of a pupil, compared to his glass eye, it was easy to tell he was better.
Rinsi was obviously confused. How could he not know what she was talking about? Had passed out in the hallway earlier, likely in pain because of her spell and he...
That's right. He had hit his head. The knock on the head probably gave him a small case of retrospective amnesia. At least enough to where he wouldn't remember what had happened. She eased up a bit, but remained wary should he be lying.
"I'm sorry..." she said, gazing at the ground, "I cast a blessing spell...It blesses everything, but it also hurts shadows, dark magic, and demons. Some people found you in the hall passed out with your head bleeding....I healed you the best I could, but you still ended up with a concussion...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I didn't know it was a spell until I cast it."
Jason squinted a little and looked around, trying to remember. His hand moved up to where he had a bump the small bump on his head.
"Are you sure?" He asked, a confused smile showing on his face as he looked at her again. She seemed too serious to be pulling his leg. He pulled his hand from his hair.
"Well...I'm okay...And I probably got the worst of it, right? So, I mean, everyone should be okay now.." Jason felt bad that she felt bad. He wanted to cheer her up, but wasn't sure how well that was going "Accidents happen!"
Rinsi had been afraid that Jason would hate her, too, and was surprised when he didn't. At first she had cringed, expecting him to yell at her, but when he didn't, she relaxed. She even managed a little smile.
"Yeah, I guess, but the accident was my fault to begin with. I should have kept that spell under control. I'm glad you're okay now, though. Is everyone else okay? How are Nakya, Ki'iro and Re?"
Jason's smile dulled just a little.
"Oh...I don't know...I went to my room after the nurse, and I didn't see anyone on my way out here.....I'm sure they're fine now" He assured her. He waved his hand, motioning for her to come.
"It's late, come on back inside?" Jason suggested. Of course, he also wanted to go in because the cold was starting to get to him. He would feel wrong if he left Rinsi outside, though.
Rinsi sighed to herself. She was pretty tired now, and she could honestly bet her bottom dollar it was from the spell, combined with lack of sleep
"Yeah, I guess...." she said quietly, "But I don't want anyone to see me...You go on ahead, I'll be right behind. I promise."
"I don't think anyone could stay too mad at you for one mistake, Rinsi.." Jason said with a sympathy-filled smile. Without another word, he turned and headed back inside. Of course, he looked back before he entered.
Jason walked the halls just within the entrance. He wanted to make sure Rinsi wasn't just bluffing to get him to go away. He smirked and rolled his eyes at the idea. He rubbed his arms roughly, trying create enough friction to warm himself up some

In the distant woods, not too far from where Rinsi had cast her spell, two figures stood in the dark, silent and listening. One was in a tree, their legs crossed primly at the ankles, as their straight back was supported by fair arms very nearly lifting them from the thick branch that held them. Next to that figure was another, crouching much as a cat would on the same branch, their combined weight making the branch lean a little.
“She’s like the polar opposite of you.” Said a husky, but playful baritone voice.
“Like the good twin, I suppose. That might just bode well for her.” Came the crystal clear response.
“Looks like you’ll both be learning.”
“Perhaps.”
With that, the figure that had been sitting slipped from the branch it was sitting on and fell to the ground with the grace of a cat, making little noise as dark boots landed with full weight on the cold, damp earth and a dark cape brushed along wet grass and leaves quietly. The figure stood up straight, and began to walk away.
“Hey, wait up!” said the other figure as it hopped from the same branch and landed with just as much grace and ease, if not more. The crouching figure ran up to the slim figure to catch up.