Lineage of the Ultima

Chapter 11: Falcon Claw

Aphmau and Aaron were gazing into each other's eyes. They heard a bark, and then a bunch of people came out from behind the trees. Lucinda, Kim, Garroth, and Zane all ran up to Aaron, and they hugged him very tightly. Aphmau and Aaron broke apart as Aaron tried to stop himself from falling over. Aphmau walked over to Celene and thanked her. The wolf promptly turned back into a girl, and she said "You're welcome Aphmau." It was worth it to see those two together. She happily thought to herself.

Celene had been staring off into the horizon while everyone hugged and questioned and fawned over Aaron. Finally, the hugging subsided and they began having a friendly conversation. It was at this moment that Aaron noticed Celene. Her werewolf ears picked up the whole conversation, but her brain could only process snippets of it as her thoughts drifted back to the accident...

The screaming... All the screaming... Both from her and I. Mine from the shock and horror at what I'd done, while hers from the transformation she was undergoing. The ears slowly came out of her head, as if pieces of skin were ripping themselves out of her. A lump grew on her behind until it sprouted into a tail. I can only imagine how much it hurt... Enough to the point where she died apparently. I've heard that the human body can withstand a lot of pain. How can anything, even magic produce so much pain to the point where it can kill someone? An Ultima's power can apparently... That's why we're referred to as monsters... We can kill people, in the worst way possible, just by looking into their eyes... Her parents, along with all the other emotions they should've been feeling, must've been very confused as to why their daughter had werewolf ears and a tail when she died. Or perhaps they were so distraught and sad and angry that they didn't notice such a trivial thing like that...

They probably noticed it and figured I had something to do with her death. They would hate me, and would keep me away from their family, knowing that I'm a threat.
And they'd be right... They have every reason to hat-- no to loath me, because I'm the one that caused the death of their beloved daughter... Because I couldn't control my power...

Her thoughts were interrupted as someone was shaking her shoulder. Celene looked up to see Kim with a worried expression on her face. She asked Celene something but the werewolf girl was still out of it. When she realized that her power activated, she screeched and immediately turned it off. Her eyes returned to their usual brown. "I'm so sorry, I-I didn't even realize I had turned it on--" she sheepishly and embarrassingly stutters. Kim pats her back and assures her that it's fine and that accidents happen.

Meanwhile, Aaron was trying to process what he just saw. Was it him seeing things, or were her eyes glowing red, just like his, when his Ultima powers turned on... Kim had told her to be careful so it couldn't be the former. I'll ask her about this later. He decided.

Later...

Inside the house, Aphmau and the rest of Aaron's friends had made their presence known to his parents. The werewolf girl went back into her wolf form, as if afraid to show herself. Aphmau and his friends were welcomed to stay with him for a few days. He gave them a quick tour of the house, then he showed them his room. Once inside, the girl came out of her wolf form. She looked around the room portraying no emotion, as if she had already seen it...

Aphmau turned the corner and went through the door, only to bump into Aaron. She backed up in surprise and almost fell over. He caught her and was holding her tight, causing Aphmau to blush. Celene watched the scene, amused until the rest of the group came in behind them. Aaron had just told them that thy could sleep on the floor of the room and that he had extra pillows and blankets in his closet and in Melissa's room.

Everyone sat down somewhere, and Lucinda and Garroth started up a friendly conversation. Aaron told the group what had been happening with his family in Falcon Claw, only to be completely caught off guard hearing that they already knew. Lucinda, Kim, Garroth and Aphmau shared what had happened on Mystreet, including when Celene moved in. Zane and Celene both chose to stay quiet until Aaron's parents called that dinner was ready. One by one the group left the room until only Celene and Aaron were the only ones there. Celene had waited all day to privately talk to him. It's now or never. She told herself. "H- hey Aaron? Before you go, I wanted to ask you something." She nervously said. Aaron nodded for her to continue. "Would you mind... Telling me what being an Ultima was like for you?" Aaron visibly stiffened as she finished asking. "Maybe after dinner" was his response. Celene nodded, then left the room to head to the dining room. For a moment, Aaron couldn't move. He tried to work out what to tell the werewolf girl, if he should even say anything at all. Another call to dinner from his parents snapped him out of his trance. He followed a little ways behind the werewolf girl, and the rest of the group, to the dining room. Silently praying the werewolf girl would forget about it over the course of dinner.