A Promise of Death

Traitorless.

My ear flicked, picking up Tori's words. Riella sprang up, hissing. I narrowed my eyes, slowly picking myself up as well.

"Did you just say Sophie, the Sophie? You knew Sophie?!" Riella gasped, staring at the Japanese demon who stood in front of them.

I"I will be right back in a moment, please don't go anywhere," Riella harshly growled, grabbing my hand as she nodded to Tori. She dragged me under the seats of the Planetarium.

"What even happened, you always demand that I control my emotions, what made you of all people lose yours, it's not like he's a bad person-creature-myth?" my sister snarled at me, taking a deep breath, "Why can't you trust me for once, why did you have to shift, now I may never get answers, now I'm flipping out because I don't even know how to talk to others well at all, you know this-" she yelled at me, and I looked up to see Tori watching.

I looked down, feeling bad, but also angry. I could hear Riella crying quietly, her shoulders shaking.

"Riella, stop," I mutter, eying the man who watched the two siblings talk.

"No," she cried, "I--I won't, I'm done, I don't understand why you can't get along with Tori. All he's done is be nice to us, and he was teaching us, I want to learn!" she continued crying, her hand weakly reaching out for comfort but then dragging it back in.

"He was nice to you. He was teaching you. He didn't even take notice of me until you mentioned we needed somewhere to stay!"

"You wouldn't talk though," she growled, "You. Did. Nothing. All you did was ignore my thoughts, I can't explain why, but you weren't acting like usual."

"He was acting so... so strange... he... he... he's hypnotized you! You've let your guard down!" I yell at her. Why can't she realize this?

"Nothing has changed, I'm perfectly fine, I want to learn, and I want to know what happened. My guard has been up since we got here, and he acts strange as you so kindly put it, because he's DIFFERENT!" she screams at me, tears streaming down her face, plopping onto the floor, falling into the creases of the tiles.

Anger boiled through me, and I raised my hand, slapping her cheek with such force that it sent her into the ground.

"F--F--Felix...." my sister gasped, her voice shaking.

"How. Could. You," she mumbled darkly, whipping out her daggers. Her eye turned cold, and she stood up, swinging the weapons.

I put my hands in my pockets, only to find air. I forgot them at the bandit camp, I realized, my eyes widening. I growled at myself and shifted into a caracal, my claws scratching the ground as I crouched. I paced slowly towards her. I knew I couldn't win against her fighting skills, but I could still inflict damage.

Riella, still crying, swung her hands out, the knives inches from my nose. My whiskers twitched in amusement as I realized she was trying to scare me. Suddenly she turned around, and opened the large doors, running outside. Watched her leave, stunned. "Riella! Wait!" Tori yelled after her, but she was gone.

My eyes swimming with grief, I watched her run. As I was about to dart after her, Tori put a foot in front of my paws. I spin around to see his eyes watching the weeping willows blow in the breeze. "What are you doing?!" I yell at him, leaping over his leg.

"Leave her be. She doesn't want to see you right now."

"Like you'd know," I hiss at the crow-man, and without thinking, I landed a hefty blow across his shoulder. Warm, crimson liquid spilled out of the wound I had inflicted on him. He narrowed his eyes.

I didn't wait for a response. I knew it would be violent. Instead, I ran out into the forest, looking for my sister. I could hear a soft call of my name echoing through the brilliant trees. I ran faster, following the sound. There, I saw her cradling a small animal in her hands, swinging a soft lullaby.