God Rising: Battle Of Atela

The little boy"s face beamed with excitement as he held unto her legs "I"m not letting you leave me again!!!" She chuckled as her hands slowly ran through his shock of long white hair.

"When I grow up I want to be as strong as you!" He"d always looked up to his only sister. She was a hero in his eyes. Someone he respected dearly. 

She was tough, beautiful, and the boss to herself. Training day and night, smiling when necessary, and talking less like her brothers.

Her dear Orion was the last child. One her parents didn"t plan for. Nevertheless, he was still welcomed as the fourth son of the Fox clan"s Chief.

He was small, Loud, stubborn, and too smart for his age. He constantly questioned his older brothers and reported them at whatever point they fouled up, however he generally concealed for his sister since she never picked on him like his boozer brothers did. 

The good reputation of his sister set her up in a high position of advantage and it wasn"t a surprise when the mantle of leadership was pa.s.sed down to her.

Not everyone was in support of it. Only a few including Orion and his father did.

Orion"s mother feared that her only daughter would get too carried away with responsibilities meant for a Foxman to handle and miss her chances to find a life partner.

Whenever Orion eavesdropped on his mother and sister"s conversation, It was always about marriage and some Foxmen she suggested.

Orion thought it it was cool when his sister would wave it off with her renowned lines "I will find love whenever I need to." 

With time, his mom surrendered and left her beloved daughter to do as she desired with her life.

When she was a kit, the elder dreamt of when her daughter would be a beautiful grown woman that would attract foxmen close and far. She esteemed the thoughts of a wedding, and grandchildren, but her children weren"t too keen about that.

Her husband would always say they still had time to think about families and marriages. It seemed like it was just her whose life yearning was to have a decent ancestry. Her last hope was Orion, but he was too young to decide about that.

His sister had already influenced his mind set. He didn"t care for the possibility of marriage too. At seven, he"d concluded that the only lady he"d love and care about was his sister. Whenever his mother arranged play dates, he"d flee. Everything was hopeless. The old woman gave up on the stubborn children she had.

With time, Orion hardly saw his sister around. Whenever he did, she"d be too occupied to even think about talking to him, and the cycle repeated itself. 

When he turned eleven, he became an uncle. When his mother heard the news, she wondered which one of her sons impregnated a hooker. To her rue, It wasn"t about her sons, It was about her precious daughter.

The fact of the matter was uncovered. She wasn"t staying away from their family home because of clan responsibilities, it was because of the taboo child she was taking care of.

Orion didn"t believe it. No one wanted to, but they saw the child, and she didn"t deny being the mother of her.

Little Orion was devastated. He wanted to know why she had to have a baby with a human. He had a lot of questions to ask because he was hurting. Humans were appalling. He wanted to know if she was forced to because it didn"t make sense. How did his strong sister lower herself to a human?

The boy scurried to find his sister. He a.s.sumed she"d be locked in a cell, and she was there in chains along with her child"s father.

Orion"s sudden appearance made a tear run down her face. The chain was long enough to permit her to creep near the bars "Brother," She said with a smile. She expected him to understand her situation, but something about his face said otherwise.

"Why did you have to do this? Why a disgusting human? Lilly tell me why? Why did you have to love? It ruined you!"

"I found love!!! You won"t understand. You"re still a child" her raised voice fell into a soft whisper. She didn"t want to wake up her sleeping daughter. She"d been through a tough day and soon they"d be given the peace they deserved.They antic.i.p.ated their death. If they won"t be allowed to be happy in the physical world, they might as well express their freedom past the stars. 

Tears trickled down Orion"s face "You"re going to get killed. You"ve disgraced our family name!!!" 

"I"m sorry Orion" She wanted to touch his soft hair one more time but her hand was slapped away "Don"t touch me!" He commanded and her hand trembled.

 "Orion...you wouldn"t understand how it feels. If you ever fall in love, just pray it"s not with a human" 

"I WILL NEVER FALL IN LOVE...I WON"T EVER BE LIKE YOU! I HATE YOU!!!" 

***

Orion walked into Artemis"s room without knocking again. He needed to say something, but he didn"t have the foggiest idea how to place it in words. 

"Let me guess. You"ve finally noticed that you"re in love, but you"re too proud to admit it." 

He bit his lip. He wanted to defend himself, but that would make Artemis"s point valid.

"What do you want all mighty spell caster?" Artemis thought he merited praises for effectively deluding everybody in the town. It was what he liked after all.

"We"re leaving soon, but I want to spend one more evening with her…" 

"I"m not surprised. Why are you telling me in details?" 

The child was getting on his nerves, but he had to make his request known "I want you to tell me what earthling women like…"

"What"s in it for me?" It was her turn to do things advantageous for herself. 

"what do you want?" 

"I want you to treat me decently and quit being mean to me!" 

He wasn"t sure if he could do that "I will try."

"What If you fail to do so?" 

He didn"t answer for some time "I will give you a ride on my back" A human riding the back of a Beastman was degrading. That was all he could think of as punishment.

"Very well. Girls like flowers, jewelries, and NICE people. It"s not twenty-first century science. You could"ve found answers by asking her what she likes, Dumdum!" 

For once Orion was glad she was rude. He had a valid justification to not thank her for giving a solution to his inquiry. 

"Are you going to admit?" Orion gradually gestured. 

"Awn, that is so charming!" 

He turned away to hide his flushed cheeks "Stop! You"re making me feel embarra.s.sed…"

"But do you have plans for her? What if she wants to spend her life with you despite the truth about your race?" 

"She"s not going to. She hates my kind" He was battling a frown.

"That doesn"t answer my question. What if her feelings for you does not change?" 

"We have to hope it does" Taking her along with them would be dangerous. He didn"t want to put her life at risk, and a relationship with her would ruin her life.

***

As Orion ventured into the cool, windy evening air, he took a breath, holding tightly unto the bouquets in his hand before proceeding to his destination for what seemed to be the last time.

He was going to make their last moments together count. 

He strolled to her home, hoped she was inside as he knocked and hung tight for an answer.

A minute later, it swung open and the woman he loved stood there surprised at his appearance. She thought she told him not to worry about her anymore. It was no longer needed. 

"Rowan, what are you doing here?"  

"Spend one more night with me" He handed her the bouquet of sweet smelling flowers "Please"

She took a gander at the bundle of every last bit of her top choices, little sunflowers, white daisies and purple asters. They were costly. She was unable to state no. 

"I"ll be back. I"ll go change, you can come in, or wait outside" With those brief words she went back in, while Orion decided to remain outside.

A few minutes later, she walked out of the house wearing a deep maroon dress, one she thought was ideal for the night. She was too lazy to put on makeup, in fact, she didn"t see the need to.

"Are you ready?" She nodded smiling briefly then Orion held her hand and led her down the pavements they"ve walked before.

They strolled arm in arm, too shy to look at each other, but said a thing or two to put an end to the odd silence between them. 

Virsa was clean, and looking pretty in the evening. With the soft glow of candle lights from the windows of houses and stores that were still open, one could say it was a splendid sight of the fiery colors.

Since the lanes were liberated from waste, all the wide s.p.a.ces came to full view. It gave a chance for people to have eating spots, horseback rides, and strolls. And it was all thanks to the fake spell caster.

"Anna, I want to take you somewhere" 

"Where?" Anna didn"t plan to stay outside for too long. She was making dinner before his arrival. Sooner or later, her stomach would growl loud enough for Orion to hear. She didn"t want to think about the embarra.s.sing scenario. She hoped The night walk wouldn"t take longer than it was supposed to.

With time, her feet were above the ground, and they moved upwards. She held unto Orion screaming "Rowan….what do you have in mind?!" She was afraid of heights. She wished he told her earlier, so she"d mentally prepare her mind for the worst, and shut her eyes as well. 

"Trust me. I"ll never let you fall" his warm, raspy voice that night sent nerves dancing up her spine. She was calm, too calm for her to understand, however his delicate grasp around her body might"ve been the clarification for her relaxed muscles.

She closed her eyes and Orion raised a question seconds after "Are you sure you don"t want to see the world from up here" She gulped wondering how far above the ground they were.

Her eyes slowly opened and what she saw took her breath away.

"This is just the beginning" Orion a.s.sured.

They flew over the city and the rich vegetation of the thick woods underneath. Orion dove down and both their feet skimmed the water in a lake. 

The Foxman was putting himself and Artemis at risk, but he did it because he was leaving soon. Leftovers of his aura would remain, but he was sure he wouldn"t be easily traced with it.

They landed on the ground and she was relaxed again. She looked around to see figures that looked like trees flecked in a circular pattern leaving them in the middle. It wasn"t easy to see what was around in the pitch black environment and she was getting scared again. 

She"s heard stories about the woods at night, and she never thought she"d risk it because of anyone.

With time, the ground below them was alive with lights, like someone had taken a handful of glitter that twinkled like fireflies as far as the eyes could see.

What was green when they"d arrived, had begun to open, and in seconds, the flower that had been dead buds for months was now a garland of the most vibrant blooms.

Anna could see his perfect face under the bright moonlight and the twinkle of the surrounding fireflies. He was smiling.

All along, he was afraid of falling in love, afraid of history repeating itself. There was a way to avoid it. It would hurt, but it was for the best.

He was grateful he met her at the restaurant, he didn"t regret saving her. His actions only made them fall more and more in love with each other. He felt terrible that he admitted it late, maybe things would"ve been a lot better or not.

His hands glided down to her hips and held her tight to his brawny body. The moonlight gushed down upon his wintry pale skin and his face warmed as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. 

"I"m happy that we met. I"ll never forget you" 

Orion didn"t like skin contact but ever since he met the girl in front of him, his perspective changed. He longed for it, craved it, only when she"s the one that makes him feel the rush of warmth in her softness. 

"I love you…" 

His eyes widened and a tear rolled down her cheek. 

"I love you too Rowan" She couldn"t believe he finally said it. He finally admitted it and it made her happy. 

Anna leaned in for a kiss, the kind she wanted to last forever, but it was shorter than she imagined.

She withdrew to gaze at the face she loved so much. She wanted to apologize but his shy smile made way for surprising words.

"Do it again…" 

Her cheeks were blushing hotly when she glanced at his eyes then switched her gaze to his slightly parted lips.

She placed her hand on his neck and lowered his head a bit. It wasn"t some time before her delicate lips met his again and in no time flat, they moved in impeccable sync, gradually and cautiously.  

As they separated, Orion saw her eyes shimmer and lips curve up into a smile and he couldn"t help but smile back.

Together, they were both a beautiful dream and a catastrophic nightmare.

Orion took Anna back home. It was time for a final farewell, but she wanted to spend more time with him. They still had time until midnight. She pleaded that he stays for dinner. 

They fed each other, talked calmy and at some point, Anna couldn"t help but frantically kiss his whole face. She"d never fallen in love before, and neither had he. 

Anna thought of it all as a dream. Someone like Orion to come into her life was a blessing, and a spark of hope for her life.

"Do you want to drink" She poured herself a cup of her beer, took a shot, and smacked her lips.

"Alcohol is too strong for a soft and gentle woman like you" He teased, and she rolled her eyes "I"m sure you"d get drunk before I do." 

He smirked "Is that a challenge?" 

She poured him a cup full "Prepare to be defeated."

After burning through three bottles of wine, Orion"s vision faltered, his brain floated in and out like tides. Anna went unconscious after her first. 

He smiled at her, and carried her with caution, careful enough to avoid being clumsy as he made his way to her room. The only one in the cottage. 

He was about to leave when her hand grabbed his. "Rowan, I have one more request."

"W-what is it?" 

The next thing he knew, she had slammed her lips to his, nearly knocking all wind from his lungs. He barely had a moment to react before she pressed her tongue into his mouth.

His mind was repeating the same sentence over and over,"Don"t do this... don"t do this." He didn"t know what to listen to, his desires or his mind.

Her hands work their way around his body, feeling every chasm, each line along his perfect physique. His right hand dropped to her thigh, pulling up the dress that hangs so loose just above her knees.

"Orion, don"t do this. You"ll ruin her life!" He gulped, his animal self was taken control of his whole body, all his mind could do was warn. He wanted to stop, but he was tempted by the view of her exposed skin. He couldn"t help but crave to devour her.

They both moved in an intoxicated dance of limbs until they tumbled to the bed. His heart raced. He gathered the sheets in his palm, fighting to control himself. 

She noticed something wasn"t right "Hey, what"s wrong? Should I help you undress" She started to take off his shirt, but he shook his head, and then he put her hands away.

"You"re drunk."

"It doesn"t matter. I want you!" 

He paused and sighed "We can"t Anna"

It was time to tell her. It was for the best.

"Why?" She looked at him like the fire in her eyes had been doused with ice water. She couldn"t understand why he was refusing her all of a sudden. Everything was going so well.

He moved to the edge of the bed, and she followed with a sullen face. She was about to demand an explanation when furry ears slowly formed at the top of his head, ceasing the words she wanted to state.

He shifted his gaze from the floor to her eyes that were welling up in tears. "I"m a beastman."