Editing The Lioness (Warhammer High)

==Part One: The Fight==

Lyra stood alone in a forest. For a split second, she believed it to be the forest around her house, but it was different. It was much more... primal. She soon realized where she really was. This was Caliban. But it was different. However, she couldn't really tell what was wrong. 

There was a darkness in the trees. She could feel it, an evil pulsing from within. And even if she couldn't see or hear anyone, she knew that she wasn't truly alone. Something was stalking her. She could sense it as clear the wind against her neck.

“Lyra...”

She turned her head quick enough to see the attacker as it leaped through the air. The beast was large, with muscles that could crush gravcars and claws that seemed thicker then her own torso. The beast was overkill for the teenage girl, and she could only gasp as it opened its maw and stared into oblivion.

---

“BZZZZZZZZZT”

Lyra jolted upwards. She had apparently been sleeping in class, but no one had noticed. It was history class and a slide show of notes was all it took for her to fall asleep. She was breathing heavily and had a massive headache. She barely noticed that everyone was standing up and packing their things. Class had ended, but she didn’t feel like moving just yet.

She looked down and noticed a wet pool on her desk. She hurriedly wiped the drool away from her mouth, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. Seemed like people were more in a hurry to leave school then take note of her current distress. Sweat dripped down her neck, and her personal Watcher was packing books and notes, only pausing once to look at her. 

She looked down at him, picked up a heavy book it was trying to move and smiled, somewhat forced. “Don't worry, I'm fine,” she lied. ”And what have I told you about doing my work for me?” The watcher relinquished hold of the book and let her finish packing, standing to the side and waiting for her mistress to finish.

The class was almost empty and Lyra was still at her desk, unsure of how to proceed. She still felt very hot, and must have been blushing as well. Grabbing a mirror from her bag, she quickly confirmed her suspicions, as well as noting her hair was a bit of a mess. The headache wasn’t going away either. She closed her eyes and began doing a breathing exercise, trying to calm herself down before leaving. The meditation trick usually worked, but it did little to ease her pounding head.

“Lyra.”

She jumped in her seat, slowly turning to the source of the voice. Freya stood behind her. 

“W-what?” she mumbled, a bit unsure of how to proceed. Freya stared at her, as if something was off.

“What's with you? You alright?”

“Uh, yeah. Just tired. And have a headache.”

“Hah, you and me both. Ahriman can make an Ork fall asleep with his tales of the Imperium's glory” the tall girl said. “No offense, I know your dad was in charge of that campaign, but I think he went into too much planning. My dad would have just charged in and done it way easier. Plus, you must have heard it like a thousand times from him.”

“Uh, yeah” Lyra agreed, unsure of what the lecture was about in the first place. Her mind was still distracted with her dream, and trying to hide her uncomfortableness from her friend was proving to be difficult. Her watcher jumped into a small pocket of her bag, one she had specifically asked to have made, before she slung the bag unto her back, making it easy for him to stay by her throughout the day.

“You sure you okay?” Freya asked again, nothing that there might be more than she initially thought.

“Yeah, I just had a weird dream.” Lyra regretted saying that, and hopped she didn't ask about it further.

“Ah, alright.” Freya took the hint, not pushing the subject any longer. For that, Lyra was glad. She knew her childhood friend had long since understood not to try to discern her inner workings. Most of her cousins understood this as well, knowing full well that the El’Jonson's had many secrets to keep, and even being family didn't make them easy to tell.

The duo silently left the empty classroom and walked to their lockers. Lyra noted that she had seriously blanked out for a while there in class. The hallway was nearly empty, except for a few stragglers like themselves. One individual stood by her locker, and it only took a moment for Lyra to remember who it was. She had forgotten that she was giving Remilia a lift back home after school on a regular basis. The blond girl smiled at them as they walked closer, and didn't seem to care that they were slightly late.

“Hey guys!” she said, seemingly happy as always. 

“Rem, how are you always so happy?” Freya asked.

“Easy. I don't hang around Kelly all the time.” Freya began laughing loudly at that, nearly buckling over. Lyra could only smirk, knowing full well that it was quite possibly true. her headache began to subside, and she thought it would completely disappear when she got some fresh air. She grabbed her bike helmet and jacket from her locker before leaving school, walking towards the inner parking lot.

“So, I got a question for both of you” Rem asked as they entered the multi level parking structure. They both looked over at her, waiting patiently for her to continue. “What’s with your dads and the fights?” she asked, and Freya smiled at that.

“Not sure.” the daughter of Russ responded. “Been doing that since I was a baby I think. Maybe since the crusade with grandpa. What do you think Lyra? Your dad ever give you a reason?”

She spotted her jetbike in the distance, and turned it on remotely with a switch as they walked towards it. “I don't know really. As Freya said, they have been doing it since before we were born. However...” she paused before continuing, choosing her words carefully. “I did ask my father once, and from what I gathered, he said your father started it.”

“Oh yeah, coming from your dad.” Freya quickly retorted. 

They were a few steps from her bike, but Lyra froze and glared at her friend. She should have let it go, but her honor didn't let her do so. Also, her headache began to return. “Whats that supposed to mean?” she asked.

Freya shrugged, chuckling to herself. “Come on Lyra. It’s Russ and Lion. They fight just because they can. You can’t tell me that something that happened centuries ago will have any meaning for them now, but yet they still have their brawls. They still fight because a part of them enjoys it.”

“I don’t believe it” Lyra responded. “My Father is better than that.”

“Mine isn’t?” Freya said jokingly, hoping to get a laugh from Lyra. She didn’t. Suddenly realizing she actually believed that, Freya wanted to show how stupid her statement was. “What makes your father better than mine?”

“You tell me. I know my father would not start a fight for no reason. He would only fight one of his brothers to defend his honor. Russ probably did something that put that into question, and keeps bringing it up.”

“Lyra, our dads are best friends. Why would my dad do that? Russ cares about his honor as much as Lion does.” Freya was getting slightly annoyed, but kept herself under control. However it didn’t help that Lyra scoffed at her response. Remilia suddenly began to regret asking the question in the first place, but did nothing as the argument escalated.

“Please Freya. Russ just likes to fight, honor or not. Lion was raised by an order of knights. It is in his blood to be honorable. I know my father, Freya. You don’t.” 

“I don’t? Lyra, we grew up together. I know how he is as much-”

“You don’t know my father!” Lyra yelled, stunning the two other girls. The parking lot was instantly quiet, as the trio just stared at each other. Lyra seemed furious, making it obvious how much the conversation was annoying her. “You don’t know my father” she stated again, this time frigidly. “Don’t ever assume you know anything about my father. You don’t know anything. I do.”

It was only then that Remilia noticed that there was something wrong with this whole situation. She never seen Lyra like this. Sure she could be annoyed or aggravated, but never full blown angry like she currently was. Something had recently gotten under her skin, and she was now taking it out on her best friend.

“Lyra, you’re getting angry over nothing” Freya proclaimed, but this did little to ease the growing tension.

“I’m getting angry because you keep lying to protect your image. Maybe if you told the truth and admitted that it is more likely for your father to start a fight over anything than my dad is to fight one of his brothers. He probably did something idiotic and is just hiding the reasons from you so he won't be embarrassed. Maybe you do know and you won’t tell me since you don’t want to look like a fool. Which is it then?”

Lyra’s accusations had a visible effect on Freya, was trying her best to keep herself in control of her emotions and not be baited by her cousin. Remilia watched the two girls. She needed to defuse the situation before it got any worse.

“Girls, please” she pleaded, holding her arms out in protest. “This isn’t necessary. You don’t need to fight.” Freya nodded slowly.

“She’s right. Lyra, I am trying my best to remain calm here, but you are seriously pushing my buttons. This know-it-all attitude of yours is going to cause you to get hurt. I suggest you stop before things get ugly” she growled.

Unfortunately, Lyra took that as a threat. As if accepting her challenge, she dropped her bag to the side and stared her down. Her watcher had at this point noticed the conflict, and had moved to Remilia’s side, not wanting to get in the way.

“You want to fight? Bring it. I doubt you will. You’re more like a pup then a wolf. All bark and no bite.” Remilia looked shocked by the proclamation.

“Lyra, you want to fight me?” Freya asked. “Are you being serious right now?”

“I knew it. You are such a coward at times.” Lyra no longer noticed her behaviour as anger began to cloud her judgement. Her headache was worse then ever and she seemed to talk without thinking of the repercussions.

Her taunting nearly did it. Nearly. Freya was ready to pounce and rip her to shreds. Freya clenched her fists, clearly wanting to do nothing more then smash Lyra’s face in, but she knew better. Some part of her still said this was her friend, for better or for worse. “You know what? Fuck you.” With that, she turned around and walked away. Remilia thought that was the end of it, but she was wrong. 

Lyra ran up behind Freya. “Don’t you dare turn away from me!” She grabbed her by the shoulder, but the larger girl shrugged her off, her walk unhaltered. Lyra herself growled and pushed her in the back. 

Freya spun around, now visibly angry and sounded more like a beast than human. “What’s your problem?” she growled loudly at her, but Lyra seemed unfazed. 

“That I was ever your friend. You are nothing more then some jackal. A lowlife bitch that just brought me down. Why anyone likes you is beyond me. Pitiful.” She spat the words at her, and Freya could no longer sit idle.

The dam broke as Freya’s anger flowed through her. She roared and swung her arm forward, connecting with Lyra's jaw. For a normal human, that would have ended it there, but Freya was the child of a Primarch, one who was known for his beastly strength. Lyra flew backwards and slammed into her bike so hard that it sent it tipping over, impacting unto the pavement with a large thud. Lyra staggered to her feet somewhat dazed, before noting what just happened.

She looked at her bike with a blank stare, pausing at this event who to the other two daughters thought nothing much of it. For them it was just a bike. For her, it was something special. That was a gift from Lord Cypher, a childhood friend and mentor. He had been a second father to her since her birth. So for her, anything from him was precious. And she got that bike as a birthday present. Hell, he even taught her how to drive the damn thing, even convinced her father to let her use it. To her, the bike held a very special place in her heart, almost as much as Hana loved her bike as well. Now, it lay on its side, scratched, damaged, and maybe even broken. 

Lyra had never felt this much anger in her entire life. She was so furious, she didn't notice she was in pain, let alone bleeding from her mouth. Her headache intensified to the point that she should have fainted, but somehow she managed to stay awake. Lyra turned around and roared in anger as she ran towards Freya, swing back at her. She might not have been as physically strong as her friend, but Lyra wasn't a weakling. Her father taught her how to fence, and kept her in shape doing so. So when her punch connected with Freya's face, it was a total surprise with the amount of force behind it making the larger girl stumble backwards and be stunned for a moment.

Lyra didn't stop there, as she stepped forward with her momentum and this time struck at the girl's stomach, making her buckle over and stagger as she tried to keep standing form the onslaught. Lyra continued her attack as she tackled her cousin to the ground, pinning her unto the pavement with her on top as she began to unleash an fury of punches to her head. For a split second, she thought she was going to win.

What she didn’t notice was the fact that every punch she inflicted only made Freya angrier. She growled under the attacks until she lashed out, striking Lyra so quickly that it sent her tumbling backwards, freeing Freya from her pinned position. She got up at once and wasted no time as she walked over to Lyra, clearly still wanting a fight.

The smaller girl was trying to get up, stumbling from the sudden attack. Freya helped her along as she grabbed her by the throat with both hands and lifted her up, off her feet. Instantly, Lyra began to choke as the larger girl continued to tighten her grip. Freya’s anger disregarded the fact that she was actually starting to kill her.

She could feel Remilia behind her trying to stop the fight. She was screaming, telling her to let go but she didn’t listen. She tried to break her grip with her own strength, but Freya’s grip was strong. Even Lyra scratched at her hands, trying to free herself with no avail. She gritted her teeth as her breath ran out slowly, and Freya could only smile wickedly.

Suddenly realizing what she was about to do, Freya let go and stumbled back, feeling very much disgusted with herself. Lyra fell to the floor, landing on her feet as she grabbed her throat and entered a coughing fit. Instantly Remilia was at her side, holding her in place from falling over.

“Lyra! Lyra are you alright?” she asked, and all the other girl could do was cough. Remilia looked over to Freya with fear in her eyes. She didn’t blame her.

Freya looked down at her hands and realized she had nearly killed her. Killed her best friend. She could scarcely believe she had nearly done it, and could only look back at Remilia with a shocked looked on her face. She looked over to Lyra, worried that she had caused some permanent damage. However, all she saw was a blur of movement.

Before Freya knew what was happening, Lyra unleashed all her strength into a single punch. Caught off guard, the fist slammed into her cheek with such force that it knocked the larger girl off her feet. She fell backwards onto the pavement with a loud thud, right beside a parked car. Freya groaned in pain on the floor, and didn’t bother getting up.

Lyra stood victorious over her cousin, breathing heavily as she took a moment to enjoy the taste of victory. She looked down at her larger friend with seething hate. She wasn’t sure what she would do next, but for now she had won, and that was what mattered. 

Remilia ran over to Freya now, kneeling down to see if the impact had caused any damage. Unlikely she thought, as the daughter of Russ was as thick skinned as they got. She turned to Lyra, unsure of what to make at her. She matched her gaze, cold eyes staring back at her with no emotion to what had just happened.

And then they both noted the sound. The high pitched noise that filled the parking lot in the silence that had followed since the battle. It was growing louder, making it pretty easy to identify the source quite easily. Lyra turned to her bike as it was releasing some gas from within. It took a moment to realize that it was probably from the power source. Which meant that it was releasing volatile coolant. The bike was still turned on. 

“Oh shit” was all she managed to say before the bike exploded in a thousand pieces. Blue fire erupted from within, and although Remilia and Freya were shielded behind one of the cars, Lyra was left exposed as the force of the explosion sent her flying. A shadow crossed her vision, coming right at her, and she could only think about how badly this was going to end. The thought didn’t go far as she slammed into a car’s windshield.

---

Lyra awoke, gasping for air as she suddenly realized what had just happened. The explosion had slammed into her, but she felt no pain. The only pain she felt was a head ache which made it tough for her to focus at first, but began to subside and disappear. She was laying down on the ground and immediately knew something was wrong. 

She could feel grass between her fingertips, and a cool breeze that flowed over her. She sat up, opening her eyes as she began to note her surroundings. She was in the middle of a forest, and she could feel the sunlight that pierced through the leaves. It took her a moment, but she began to recognize where she really was. She was no longer in the parking lot, but back on Caliban. She was dreaming. 

Usually though, when she knew that she was dreaming, she would awaken soon. But as she paused for a sudden rush of reality, it did not come. She stared at her environment, noting that this was indeed Caliban. She could not forget her home planet. 

She paused to admire the primal landscape surrounding her. She had spent several of her childhood summers on Caliban, and remembered how different it was from Terra. Most of the planet had been preserved, leaving its majestic forests untouched from the arrival of the Imperium, so few cities doted the landscape. She couldn’t count the number of times she had stared off at a sunset after a long day, only to wake up in time to watch it rise again.

She was so caught up in her memories that she noticed the large shape looming behind her. Indeed, for all her memories, she had forgotten one thing: Caliban was still a death world. It wasn’t until she heard the twig behind her that she spun around, clearly surprised. Surprised at first, terrified soon after.

Behind her was the creature of her dreams, and now she got a good look of it. At least ten feet tall and twenty feet long, the large beast was even bigger than space marines in power armor. Large muscles flexed under thick skin as the beast paraded itself around her. Its mane of razor sharp spikes flared and tensed as it eyed her cautiously. She began to recognize what she was looking at but had only seen it in ancient books: a Calibanite Lion. One of the creatures that had nearly killed her father in his youth.

She knew that this was a dream and that she shouldn’t be worried, but all her senses were telling her otherwise. She could smell the beast’s vile breath, could hear it breathing through its snout, could feel the ground shake with every step he took.

“You can’t be real” she whispered to herself as the beast continued to eye her curiously.

“Lyra.”

The new voice startled the young girl. When she turned to where the sound had come from, she saw nothing. But as her eyes adjusted, she started making out shapes. Watchers. Several of them, just on the edges of the shadow, hidden by the forest. They all looked like WD, but they were taller, and their robes seemed more worn out. They chanted her name, their voices blending together into a strange chorus. It reminded her of when Angela would speak to her with her powers, as if there was really no sound but what she was hearing inside her head.

“Who are you?” she asked, standing up. They continued to chant, ignoring her question. The beast beside her laid down, staring at her as if expecting her to do something. She was completely confused as she stared at the lion, then back to the watchers. One of them stepped forward as they continued to chant her name.

“You aren’t real” she declared and hoped she would wake up from this dream. She could hear growling from the beast behind her, but ignored it for the time being.
 
“We are as real as the lion is, Lyra” the watcher said to her. She shook her head.

“Calibanite lions are extinct.” She turned to the lion to make her point, but she stopped and stared. The beast was growling at the watchers, clearly displeased with them as much as she was. She looked into its reptilian eyes and saw her reflection. 

“But Lyra, as long as you live, the lion is real.”

---

Lyra woke for a second time, and this time she did feel pain. Lots of it. Her entire body felt bruised, and she could only groan and shift in place. She could feel glass cracking under her, and wasn’t quite sure what had happening around her. Her eyes hurt as she tried to force them open, making it hard to focus. All she heard from around her was high pitched ringing, which she assumed was from the explosion damaging her ears. She thought it couldn’t get any worse, but then felt a steady stream of water droplets fall on her. Each drop reminding her of how much pain she was in. 

As her senses began to return to her, she felt a hands grabbing her shirt and arms, pulling her upward. One strong pair of hands held her in place and she recognized Freya’s strong scent. She made no move to stop her if she wanted to fight, but no blows came. She thought she heard someone speaking around her, but the ringing in her ears were still too loud. Her eyes began to focus as she spoke to them.

“Ringing... loud...” she muttered. She took a look around and saw both his cousins around her, a worried look on their faces. Remilia nodded, and pointed at her chest. She looked down and noticed she was clutching something. Somehow, WD had ended up in her arms. The tiny brown robed figure seemed so alien for a moment after her dream. Still, she tightened her grip on him. He didn’t move.

“WD...” Lyra murmured, but no response. She suddenly began to panic, thinking the worse. “WD” she said, a bit louder, but still no response. The ringing was beginning to subside, and her hearing was returning to her slowly.

“Whats wrong with him?” Freya asked to her side, and she really didn’t know.

“WD!” she shouted, her strength returning to her. She shook the tiny body with her hands, but it did not move. “He’s...” she started, a tear forming at her eye. Remilia and Freya stared at her, suddenly wondering if the worse had come to pass. “He’s...” Lyra began to sob, unable to finish the sentence. She squeezed him, hoping for any response. And then she heard it. 

“He’s asleep” she said flatly. Lyra made an annoyed face at WD, and her cousins could only stare in confusion.

“He’s what?” they both said in unison. Lyra nodded.

“Listen” she said, and they tried their best with the sound of the fire sprinkler system still on. But they heard it. Tiny amounts of snoring came from WD. They simply stared, unsure of what to make of it.

It was then when Lyra looked around her, suddenly realizing what had happened when she was knocked out. The explosion had demolished her bike, and she could note several of its parts scatter around the area. At the epicenter of the explosion was a black scorch mark, the floor underneath seemingly unfazed from the explosion. Nearby cars had been struck by shrapnel, including some larger pieces of her bike. 

And when she looked at herself, she was untouched. Not a scratch on her from the explosion. Her uniform had been ripped up a bit in the fighting, but she was otherwise clean. She looked behind her and noted the same thing. In every direction the explosion had left its mark, but not around her. 

“What happened...” she mumbled, clutching her head. The headache was there, but minuscule to what it once had been.

“All I saw was you flying backwards and the blue flames following,” Remilia stated. ”Then WD had jumped in front of you and I looked away from the fire. A second later, I looked back and saw you were on the car with him in your arms.” Silence followed as the trio tried to understand what happened. It was Lyra who eventually said what they found too silly to be the answer.

“Did WD save me?” she asked, looking at the tiny creature. Remilia was about to say something, but noise behind them stopped her. It seemed that the authorities had finally arrived to the scene as several emergency crews ran at them. 

“Not sure how we are going to explain this one” Remilia muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Freya stated grimly, “It was my fault. I’ll take responsibility.”

“What are you saying? I started the fight. It’s my fault.” Lyra had stepped up beside Freya, and both stared each other down. Neither side budged as they began to argue again. Remilia looked worrisome on the side, unsure if this would escalate again.

“I punched you. I made you tip the bike over, which then exploded. My fault.”

“I taunted you into punching me. I even pushed you. I forced your hand. The blame is mine.”

“And I almost killed you!” she shouted, but this did not faze Lyra in the slightest. 

“The stuff I said Freya... it’s inexcusable. I am so ashamed of myself. I have no idea why I said the things I did. I started this, I’m going to live up to my mistakes.”

Before Freya could respond, the emergency crews had finally arrived, inspecting the wreckage. Their leader, an old man with a bionic eye walked over to the trio as the rest of the crew fanned out to stop any lingering fires and check on the damage.

“Ladies, are you alright?” he asked.

In unison, the duo turned to him and shouted. “It’s my fault!”

==Part Two: Aftermath==


The week after the accident had been interesting for Lyra, but not in the way she had expected. Initially, she had thought the press would swarm in like vultures after them, spreading rumors of infighting between the cousins, but that was not the case. Strangely enough, the interest the accident had caused did not come from why it happened, but how. 

As the story broke out, rumors began to spread on the usage of outdated model of jetbikes, the flaws of commercial duplicates and how the Imperial Army was beginning to phase out the fleet for more standard wheel bikes. The topic gained publicity as tech priests, politicians and commanders began to argue and discuss if jetbikes were too dangerous to use in these times without further safety protocols being installed. 

As none of the three had been injured and the explosion blamed on a simple accident, the press almost entirely dropped their names from their stories as the topic evolved on the future of Jetbikes, referring to them only if needing a recap of the story . She wondered if it had been done on purpose or by sheer luck, but didn’t think much of it. Her mind was already worried about other issues.

One such issue came hours after the accident as her mother stared her down, displeased with her in general. Lyra had been released from medical care as there was no injuries other than some bruising, which had been blamed from the explosion. Few doctors wondered why the bruising was more akin to a fist punch than from an explosion. These few were silenced quickly as Leman Russ was the first to arrive at the hospital. In his own words, he said that unless they needed more medical attention, he wasn’t going to leave his daughter and nieces with some “fangless medicae vultures” to conduct more tests on. Within a few minutes of his arrival, they were released as there was no longer any opposition with the Primarch in the room.

Neither Lion and Dorn could arrive as both had been preoccupied offworld, on mission to the eastern fringes of the Galaxy and were planned to return within two weeks. The car ride home was generally silent as Russ simply stared the three down unrelentingly, making them all uneasy. WD laid on her lap, still asleep from the accident hours ago. She stroked his head gently, hoping he would wake up, but he didn’t. 

Remilia was the first to drop off, and simply waved as they left her at her house. Russ had deemed her to be innocent from the whole accident and knew who the culprits were the minute he had walked into the hospital. As they moved away from the Dorn household, Russ finally spoke to them.

“So who threw the first punch?” he asked. Neither girl said a word, choosing silence than incriminate one another. Russ nodded, understanding how it would be. “I see. How noble. Too bad this isn’t the legal system. I don’t need any proof to pass judgement. Freya you are grounded until the end of the year.” Freya was about to object but Lyra cut her off.

“It was my fault uncle, Uncle Russ,” she confessed.

“No, I did it,” Freya blurted right after, and they both stared at eachother, unwilling to back off from their confessions.

Russ chuckled. “I know you are both at fault girls. That is why you both will be punished. Unfortunately Lyra, I am not your father. But when your father returns, he will make sure it is the same.”

“But I did it, Dad. Lyra didn’t do anything” Freya insisted.

“Possibly. But until I know the full story, neither of you are exempt.” Silence followed, as neither wanted to say what had really happened. “I thought as much.” Russ mumbled as they finally arrived to the Jonson estate. The door opened and Lyra stepped out of the gravcar, WD in hand as she walked to her house. Her mother stood by the door, and she could see her angry look.

“Lyra” she heard behind her, and she turned to see Freya run up behind her. She stopped a foot short and stood there. “I just wanted to say... sorry.”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, me too. I’m sorry Freya.” They shared a smile and Freya backed off.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow” she stated and walked back to the car. Lyra nodded as she left, turned back to her house and finished the journey to the door. Russ’ limo moved off as she reached her mother. 

Florence El’Jonson stared at her daughter and Lyra could not look her mother in the eye.  Like all typical Calibanian woman, Florence was tall and lean. She had long black hair and bright green eyes, both made her look more imposing than she really was. She simply stared her daughter down for a few moments, wondering if she would crack under the pressure. She knew Lyra wouldn’t. She was as stubborn as her father. 

“Go to your room and change your clothes. I’ll be there soon after.” Without a word, Lyra walked into her house and made her way up the winding staircase. A sense of relief flooded her as she was finally home. The familiar smell of Caliban pine wood calmed her down even further as she arrived at her room’s door. 

She walked in and turned on the lights, feeling like she hadn’t been there in ages. She moved over to her bed and laid WD down. She stared at him for a few moments as he slept, wondering what had really happened. She knew she wouldn’t get the answers any time soon, so she decided she better just keep going until she figured stuff out.

Moving to her mirror she took a good look at herself and grumbled. Her school uniform was a complete mess. It was ripped, dirtied, doused and somewhat burned. She removed all her clothing and threw it in a pile, seeing if she could salvage any of it later. She paused and took a look at her half naked self in the mirror. Her face had most of the damage, including a black eye and some bruising around the cheeks. Her throat was red and it hurt to move her neck. Her body in general was in pain. She looked at her hands and noticed that her knuckles had also been bruised from the fight. She sighed as she put a t-shirt and some sweatpants on. Her mother walked in minutes later as she sat beside WD, staring at him.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked and Lyra shook her head. 

“I don’t know. He’s asleep” she whispered, her voice sore from the fight. 

Florence walked over to her daughter and handed her an ice pack. “Put that against your eye, it’ll help with the swelling. Now lay down on the bed.”

Lyra did as her mother told, and a second later she felt her mother’s warm hands on her neck, applying some sort of muscle cream. It instantly felt good as she dug her hands into her neck, easing tension and letting the blood flow. Hopefully the cream would help her along the road to recovery as well, but she really didn’t have any doubts. Her mother had studied and practiced medicine on Caliban, and was actually in charge of the Officio Medicae on the planet before she met Lion.

“I spoke with Leman” she said while still massaging her. “He was quite adamant that Freya and yourself were both at fault. And I know he is right. It was obvious the moment you stepped out of the car.” Lyra knew what she was going to say.

“I guess I’m grounded as well?”

“Not yet, no.” This surprised her.

“What? Why?” she asked.

“You wouldn’t get into a physical fight like this unless there was a damn good reason. You might be stubborn like your father, but that also means you aren’t an idiot. Plus, you lost the bike, so I already determined you won’t be going out on your own for a while.” She was right. Lyra had no other modes of transport, so once she got home, she was stuck.

“You going to tell me what happened?” she asked. Lyra didn’t know how to answer that.

“I don’t even know what happened,” Lyra mumbled, telling the truth. She wasn’t sure why she had acted the way she did and it was beginning to annoy her.

“Well, when you feel you can tell me, I’m ready to listen. I doubt your father will be as responsive.”

Lyra wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. “I’ll get back to you later.”

Florence paused and inspected the bruises she had, shaking her head. “Are you and Freya okay now?” she asked.

“Maybe. I think both of us are confused with what happened really.”

Florence nodded. “That’s unfortunate. I hate to see you two drift apart. I also hope this redness around her neck won’t affect your singing.Your voice sounds a bit sore.” Lyra didn’t care at that point about her singing, her head turned and watching WD’s still body. Her mother followed her gaze. “I’ve never seen him sleep before.”

“He does, every once in awhile. Like once or twice a year. I rarely catch him doing it. He gets back up after a couple hours and is back to his normal self.” She paused as a whimper crept into her voice. “Mom, I’m worried about him. This time... I don’t know. I’m afraid he won’t wake up.”

“Give it time, I’m sure he’s fine.” Florence got up from the bed, done applying the muscle cream. “Now, go to sleep. You are going to school tomorrow young lady, accident or not.” Lyra didn’t expect anything different. Her mother left the room, leaving her staring at her sleeping companion with an ice pack on her eye. She was physically exhausted, but her mental state made it so that it was many hours till she did fall asleep.

---

Her school day went as she had expected. All her cousins, even the twins, had asked if she was alright. She offered them no explanation on the events, and said if they wanted one they should go ask Freya. She knew they would get nowhere with her either, but at least they were off her heels. Otherwise, her day was quiet as most of the other students didn’t want to get involved in any Royal drama. She didn’t blame them.

Thus, school went as well as she had expected, which was good. The first day back was usually one of the hardest, and it went by without any incident. Classes had ended and she was walking to the exit when a familiar voice called out to her. 

“Lyra, wait.”

She thought she was a bit premature with her success as she turned and faced a familiar face. “Freya. I wanted to talk to you today.”

Like herself, Freya’s face was bruised and in the process of healing. She nodded. “Yeah me too. But it is hard with all that happened and-”

Lyra stopped her by putting her hand over her mouth. She looked around to see if anyone was listening in, then motioned into the nearby classroom. Once inside, she locked the door and closed the shades.

“Lyra, are you alright?” Freya asked, a bit confused by her behavior.

“Just making sure that we can talk in privacy.” Lyra walked over by her cousin and took a deep breath.

“Why would you- oof!”

Half way through her sentence, Lyra moved in and embraced her cousin, giving her one of the strongest hugs she could muster. Freya took a moment, and returned the gesture, chuckling to herself as she began to understand why. As they broke off, she smiled at her as the ice began to melt.

“Hiding your emotions from the rest of the world I see.”

“They would only use it to their advantage” Lyra claimed defensively, her hard exterior returning. “Freya, I want to apologize. I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Same. We both screwed up and lost control. And I almost killed you.” Freya said that last part with disgust, and Lyra knew it wasn’t directed to her. 

“Well, I kinda had it coming. I said some very, very horrible things. And I want you to know I didn’t mean a word of it.”

“I know.” She paused and looked at her. “Just so we are clear. These mood swings. Does it have to do with some biological clock of yours or...” Lyra gave her the strangest stare and she shut up very quickly. “Guess not.”

“No, I...” Lyra paused, rubbing her eyes. “I don’t know what happened. But I have an idea. Remember when I said I had a dream?” Freya nodded, and Lyra went on to explain what she had actually seen. If anyone needed to know about them, it was Freya. She owed her that much. Several minutes later, Freya just stared in silence, taking it all in before speaking.

“So you think these dreams had something to do with it?” she asked and Lyra shrugged in response.

“Maybe. Not sure. It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not important.” She looked at her. “What did your father say when I left?”

“He’s pissed. I’m grounded forever. I didn’t tell him anything. I don’t know what to tell him anyway. That I nearly killed you? That I let the beast out? He would be so angry, I’d probably be sent to Fenris after school’s done, isolated for years to come. What about you?”

“Mom’s angry, but wants to understand. I didn’t tell her anything either. Truthfully, I don’t understand. It won’t get better for me though. When dad gets back, he is going to be angry, especially since the bike exploded.”

“What about WD?” Lyra shook her head. 

“At home sleeping. I’m going to give it time. Maybe whatever he did to save me just made him really tired. Hopefully he will wake up soon.” She looked at her watch and swore loudly. “We better get going. My mom sent a car to pick me up since I no longer have a bike.” As they both made their way out of the school, Lyra could finally say she had one less issue to worry about.

---

The rest of the week went as expected for Lyra. With plenty of free time between school work and sleeping, she turned to her passion for music to keep her mind otherwise occupied. It wasn’t strange for her to spend hours every day after school singing in a private studio at her house till her voice hurt. She primarily practiced many different types of genres of music, but lately her mood dictated slow and somber songs. It didn’t help that every time she went to practice, all she could think about was WD.

The strange xeno’s condition had not improved. Every time she walked into her room, she wondered if he was hungry or thirsty. She usually saw him eating, but wondered if he really needed it or he faked it to fit in. The xeno was highly secretive of his inner workings. Even Lion didn’t know how Watchers really worked. Or he didn’t tell her.

In the end, all this speculation only made her more worried. She had to do something instead of standing around like this, but her options were limited. She doubted any doctors on Terra would know anything about Watchers. Even her mother didn’t know anything about them other then they existed. And she was sure WD wasn’t hurt physically, since there was barely a scratch on him. It had to be a mental problem. 

Unfortunately, she knew what that meant and wasn’t glad on what needed to be done. There were few psykers she would approach that she called friends. Her father had never brought any of the chapter’s librarians to Terra. Uncle Magnus and Professor Ahriman came to mind, but she wasn’t sure if it would be best to talk to them about a problem they can blow way out of proportions. Miranda was also out of the question since she could easily tell her father everything that would transpire.

Thankfully, there was another psyker that Lyra could approach with relative ease: Angela. Although her powers were not as developed as Miranda, her abilities were quite refined. It also helped that she was actually friendly towards her and the feeling was mutual. Like all her cousins, she enjoyed the winged girl’s company because of her friendly demeanor. 

It wasn’t hard to find Angela. There was rarely a time where she wouldn’t be on school’s highest balcony with Cora. Lyra was careful as she opened the door that Friday morning before class as the blinding sunlight made it difficult to see initially. Her eyes adjusted, and sure enough she saw her two cousins sitting near the railing. They both turned to look at her as Lyra waved. 

“Lyra! Hey!” shouted Angela seemingly pleased to see her. Cora also smiled and waved as she made her way forward. “You doing better?” she asked.

“Hey. Much better, thank you. Angela, I need your help.” She glanced at Cora. “I rather this not get around, not even among our cousins, alright?” Cora nodded, making a zipper motion over her mouth. She knew that this was the best choice, as asking her to leave could only spread more rumors of something being wrong.

“What can I do for you?” Angela asked curiously.  Lyra paused, making sure they were alone, and then removed WD from her bag’s pocket. The tiny alien was still asleep as she showed her cousins.

“He alright?” Cora asked.

“I’m not sure. That’s why I am here. I don’t know if you can, but I need you to read his mind.” Angela looked very unsure as she stared at the tiny alien. 

“Uh, well,” she stuttered, “I don’t know if I can. He’s a xeno right? This could be more then I can handle. Did you ask Miranda?”

Lyra frowned, but tried her best to be encouraging to her cousin. “I can’t go to her. Angela, you are the only one who I can trust with this. I wouldn’t have come to you like this unless I had no choice. Please, at least try.”

Angela sighed and then shrugged. “Yeah, alright. What could go wrong?” she said her as she positioned herself by the alien. Lyra kept him steady as her cousin’s hands hovered around the xeno’s head. “I guess we should try to find his skull in there, right?” Angela didn’t wait for an answer, and Lyra suddenly wished she had as she tried to warn her. It was too late as she dipped her fingers into the black hood and shrieked loudly. Instantly she jumped back and began rubbing her hands together furiously.

“What wrong?” Cora asked, looking concerned at her winged cousin.

“I dipped my hands into the hood and I felt incredibly cold. I think I also got shocked while I was in there.” Lyra nodded, knowing full well the experience.

“I tried to warn you but you kinda rushed ahead. I’ve done it a couple times and it always does that. Kinda like a protective field.”

“But the feeling...” Angela muttered, and Lyra was suddenly very interested. “I’ve read minds before, but this is different. It doesn’t feel like the Warp, but something else entirely. It’s... weird.”

“Lets try from the outside, alright?” Lyra proposed, and her cousin nodded. This time positioning her fingers on the outer edges of the hood, she began to concentrate her skills. Closing her eyes, she began to feel her way into the alien’s mind, trying to understand this new sensation that was so totally different from what she was used to. 

Another gasp alerted the cousins that something was wrong. Lyra and Cora could only watch as their cousin underwent some terrifying changes. Her hair lifted into the air, spreading out as if there was a current running through them. She opened her eyes and they glowed brightly, a white light with no end. She levitated upwards, a few inches off the ground while her mouth was agape as she seemed to stare beyond Lyra into somewhere else entirely. 

Lyra reflexively pulled WD away but couldn’t. She was no longer keeping him steady, as it seemed that whatever had happened made a physical bond between the xeno and her cousin. Cora grabbed Angela by the stomach to pull away with no luck either. Then suddenly, the event ended as the link was broken, both participants fell down. Lyra caught WD and stared at him while Cora got a hold of Angela

Angela groaned as she tried to stand up, her cousins at her side helping her. Lyra wondered if she had pushed her cousin too far. Suddenly, Angela lifted her head and smiled. “Woah, that was so cool.”

“Angela, are you alright?” Cora asked her and the winged girl nodded, seemingly back to her normal self. She motioned them to back off as she stood by her own strength. However, the smile didn’t disappear from her face, which made them feel very confused on the situation.

“What happened?” Lyra asked.

“I’m not sure. Wow, that was definitely different.” Her cousins continued to look at her strangely as she explained. “Usually when I feel the Warp, it’s big but its dark. You don’t get to see everything around you. This new place was not as big but lit up like a city. I felt it all at once, a huge rush of information coming at me. There were others, different from your normal soul. I don’t know who they are but they seemed unsure of my presence. Like I didn’t belong there at all. I felt like I had walked in on a private conversation and everyone was just looking at me. But I did feel one soul very clearly.”

“WD?” Lyra asked anxiously, and Angela nodded. 

“I think so. He seemed tired. He was waiting for something to happen. I’m not sure what exactly, but I did see your symbol for a brief moment. The wings and sword?” Lyra nodded, considering the information. This news put her in a better mood, but left her with a bigger mystery.

---

Lyra left the duo alone after making sure that her actions hadn’t hurt her cousins. Angela had made it clear for several minutes afterwards that she was fine, only exhilarated from the experience. She kept describing how different it felt, but Lyra wasn’t sure if she understood entirely. She felt like it was trying to explain the concept of color to the blind. Lyra wondered how it would be like to be a psyker, but dismissed the thought as she had more important things to do.

She had to understand what WD was trying to tell her. It seemed it had to do with the chapter’s icon, but that was such a broad topic that Lyra wasn’t sure where to begin. Did it mean a physical construct of the icon itself? Or something that symbolized the idea of the chapter? Maybe it was a person, like her father or Cypher. 

She was so caught up in her thoughts that as she entered the main hallway back from her trip to the school’s balcony, she slammed into another student. She groaned, feeling quite foolish, but felt worse as she looked up and saw who she stumbled into.

It was Felix Severus. Most people knew who Felix was, even among the daughters. Son of a nobleman, Felix was one of the few on the student council not being one of her cousins. He was a natural born politician just like his father, and most expected him to be a great leader in the future. To the point that like herself, he began to accompany his father to diplomatic galas in hopes of getting experienced with such matters. They had met, but barely spoke. In truth, it was because he was the only male student at  the school that made Lyra flushed to talk to.

He was tall and had wavy black hair, always neatly-combed back. His eyes were of the color amber, and always seemed to be a point of focus when looking at him. That and his square jaw, giving him a very manly look even if he was only seventeen years old. And unlike the majority of students at the school, he made the uniform look good as if he was modeling for it. He smiled, showcasing his pearly white teeth at her before talking.

“Lyra, are you alright?” he asked with a very proper accent. She nodded, seemingly overtaken by his presence around her. Lyra had always had a crush on him, but never found the courage to go after him. A thousand voices began to cry out in her head on how to proceed to best optimize her chances with him. 

“I’m fine.” And then silence, as Lyra’s mouth shut down from the pressure. She somehow managed to keep her composure, but little else agreed to her. He nodded slowly.

“That’s good, I was worried I hit you too hard.” More silence followed as they stared at each other. Felix took the reigns of the conversation, which lyra happily obliged. “So, how are you? I heard that accident last week was pretty bad.”

“Oh, you know. It happens.” Lyra wanted to smack herself in the face, but she simply smiled at him, which made him laugh. 

“I guess so. You alright though? You seem a bit stressed.”

“Oh, I just have a problem lately with some things. A mystery you can say.”

He rubbed his chin with his hand and nodded. “That’s funny you should mention that. There’s a rumor going around that you might have lost something.”

This snapped Lyra out of her trance as she registered the comment. “A rumor? What do you mean?”

“You haven’t heard I take it. Someone in the school found an object, so my sources say. A small pin with your family’s crest on it. Very tiny, but made of solid gold. When I heard about it myself, all I could think of is you. You didn’t happen to lose anything like that in the accident, did you?”

Lyra paused, as her brain began to analyze what he described. It took her a second when she suddenly realized what he was talking about.

“One second!” she said, smiling and turning around. She took her backpack off and took a look at WD. She hadn’t noticed it before because it was such a small detail. She wanted to curse herself for such a massive oversight though. But it seemed that fate had dropped her a lead. She turned around and nodded at him.

“It is mine! Do you have it? Where is it?” she asked, trying her best to be polite but still find out what he knew. Unfortunately for her, he shrugged.

“Well, my sources just told me that they know someone that knows someone that has a contact with a student that has such an object. You know how it is?” He paused and she nodded slowly. “Well, I’m sure I can find out who has it for you if I begin some investigating. If you want, we can talk about it over dinner?”

She looked at him, realizing what he had just asked. “You want to have dinner... with me?” she stated and he nodded.

“Tomorrow maybe? I can probably find out more about the contact till then?”

The thousand voices went silent at once and then suddenly all yelled at her in unison. “Yes!” she shouted, not realizing it was her after a moment. She calmed herself before proceeding. “Yes, we can have dinner tomorrow night.”

“That’s excellent news! I’ll pick you up at seven?” She nodded. “Good, I’ll see you then. Bye!”

And he walked off. Lyra stood there, watching him leave and then staring at nothing in particular. Her brain began to process what just occurred, and joy began to fill her. Not only did she find a lead to waking up WD, but was also on a date with Felix Severus. A smile on her face was all that she allowed from her usual stone cold temperament. 

“So was that what I think that was?” Lyra turned around to the familiar voice of Remilia. The blond girl had somehow managed to sneak up on her, but it wasn’t really hard as she had been staring off after Felix for nearly an entire minute. Lyra smirked and nodded. 

“Half. He might have a lead for WD. Apparently one of his sources has a friend who has a friend who might have a contact that might lead me to something of WDs, a pin I gave him years ago. It could be what I’m looking for.”

Remilia stared at Lyra after she had finished, a very confused look on her face. “That’s quite a coincidence.”

“What?”

“That Felix Severus, someone you have been crushing after for the past year, happens to know about a very special object that belongs to WD and that he might have the sources to get into contact with an individual that might have the item now?”

Lyra paused at that, and shook her head. “No, seems pretty normal. Don’t worry Rem.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “I got to go, need to get to class and prepare some of my work.” Lyra walked off with almost a joyful spring in her step.

Remilia was actually very happy for her cousin. Indeed, there wasn’t many times she saw her smile outside of their group. And Remilia knew how much this date meant for Lyra. It wasn’t in her nature to be suspicious, but something about the entire thing didn’t seem right. Asking Felix directly wouldn’t work, and the confrontation would end poorly on her side. It could easily jeopardize Lyra’s chances with him and her cousin would be furious with them for a very long time.

The only way to find out was simple: gossip. If what Lyra had told her was true, then there was rumors circulating of a pin with Lyra’s crest on it. If there was any validity of these rumors, she would let the matter drop. However, if there was nothing, then she knew that Felix wasn’t telling the entire truth to her cousin. She would need to “convince” him if he was hiding something.

Unfortunately, Remilia was not the type of person that was any good on digging up dirt on people. But she knew who was.

She found her target easily enough in the girl’s washroom, applying makeup like she always did every morning before class. Even though she arrived to school prepped and perfect, she still constantly adjusted her look, seeking something more then she could achieve. She was alone as Remilia walked in, and the other girl smiled.

“Hi Remilia! What can I do for you?”

“Victoria, I need a favor.”

==Part Three: The Date==

Not here yet...