MagiStream

WhiteFire wrote:Keep writing!!!
I'm not in the Tea house much, but I read your story and it's awesome.

Same here, I almost never come to this forum!
I wish to see more soon!

Whoo finally got this thing up Glad to see all the positive comments about this thing. Thank you everyone and I hope you like this next chapter.

My obsessive nature actually came back out. That's why it took me quite a while to fix this until I felt it was worthy for posting online. Its actually not done yet, believe it or not. I'll just post it now and work on it here since my editor yayanime94 is currently on hiatus due to lack of laptop.

So without any further distractions here is...
Chapter 1

'Jump now.' the voice in his head commanded.

Henri leaped over the hurdle with feline-like grace as his classmates got caught on their own, only a few managing to jump over it in time.

A tall tanned boy sped past the mess of teenage males and gym equipment and caught up to him easily.

“Bet ya I'll get there first.” the taller male said.

Henri shot a smirk in his direction that clearly said 'Yeah right.' before running faster and jumping over a double hurdle.

Shaking his head, the other male sped after him, catching up within moments.

They never did get to see who won though because several more hurdles later, their gym teacher told them all to stop but that was only because their period was about to end.

“Averay! Sinclair!” the teacher called out.

The two jogged up to him and he clapped both boys on the back. “Nice job out there boys. The two of you should try out for the track and field team.” he told them.

“As much as I'd like to, its not exactly my thing, sir.” the taller boy replied, chocolate brown eyes twinkling with mirth, a hand ruffling his dark brown locks sheepishly.

Henri rolled his eyes. “He has a point sir, Iain here prefers running around a field filled with plants and animals instead of an empty one with the occasional painted piece of wood.” he said to their teacher while leaning an arm on top of the other boy's shoulder.

Iain tried to whack him upside the head but it proved to be difficult since Henri was leaning on his smacking arm. He settled instead for throwing his arm off completely and trying to grab Henri into a headlock. The shorter male managed to make a quick escape by ducking under his arm and stepping away.

“Try to give it some thought, boys. You'd make excellent additions to the team.” their teacher told them with a laugh after slinging a gym bag over his shoulder. He honestly couldn't fathom why kids like them didn't act like that around other kids their age. “Now head over to the locker rooms to change you two. You'll be late for your next class.” he called out to them as he headed towards the gym.

As they headed back to the locker rooms, the two passed the junior girl's class. One of the girls ran over and jumped on Iain's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. The tall boy stumbled slightly but righted himself and looked over his shoulder to see his grinning betrothed: Lyra Kane. The dirty blond haired girl climbed off of him and motioned for a small brunette to come over.

“Who's this?” Iain asked, eying the newcomer with interest. Her cheeks were a little bit flushed with what he assumed was embarrassment at being called over. She was a small thing; even shorter than Lyra, and her cheeks were still soft with baby fat. Her eyes were a pretty shade of light green that contrasted well with her dark hair which fell over her shoulders in large curls and waves. Her skin was fair colored, not the typical white of most American girls but with a slightly golden tint that made her only a few shades bronzer.

Lyra clapped her hands on the new girl's shoulders and pushed her forward. “Iain, Henri, this is my new friend Corabelle Fortiers. She just moved here recently. Cora, this is Iain Averay, my fiancé. And that guy over there is Henri Sinclair, one of our close friends.” Lyra introduced. Corabelle gave a slight wave and muttered a hello.

Henri watched her with mild interest. “You look a bit young to be a junior.” he noted.

Corabelle blushed under his gaze. His cobalt blue eyes felt like they were looking straight through her soul.

“I skipped a year.” she told him.

“So you're only sixteen then?” Henri asked her.

“I'm actually just fifteen. My birthday isn't for another few months.” she replied.

Iain's eyes widened. “Fifteen?” he asked in mild shock.

Corabelle's nodded slowly, a slightly confused expression on her face. “I don't see what's so shocking about it...” she said more to herself than to the other three.

Lyra pouted. “She's younger than us and she understands our lessons easily too. Its so unfair!” she whined childishly.

Corabelle giggled at the older girl's antics. “I can teach you if you want.” she offered.

Iain snorted. “I've been doing that for years. Trust me, its hopeless.” he laughed.

Lyra looked scandalized and slapped him on the arm. Iain didn't seem to be affected by it seeing as it had been one thing he experienced constantly while growing up.

While waiting for Iain and the girls to finish talking, Henri checked his watch and his eyes widened upon seeing the time. “Sh*t! We're almost late!” he exclaimed.

“Sorry girls, we have to go. We'll see you later, okay?” Iain called out as he and Henri ran to their next class. The two girls waved them off before going back to rejoin their classmates.

“You didn't say you were engaged when we met.” Corabelle commented as they caught up to the other girls.

“It was an arranged marriage. Only a few people know about it.” Lyra explained.

Their classmates had apparently started warming up for a volleyball game just before they arrived. The two girls continued to talk, sneaking into a row at the back and warming up as well.

“It doesn't look like one. The two of you seemed rather comfortable with each other. I thought arranged marriages were usually between complete strangers.” Corabelle told her.

Lyra laughed, her stretching momentarily disrupted as she bent over, holding her stomach as she literally laughed out loud. Once she calmed down, Lyra took a deep calming breath before saying “We've been engaged since we were kids so our parents stuck us together as often as they could. He's practically my brother.”

“You've never been romantically interested in him?” Corabelle asked.

“I don't think so. What's so interesting about him anyway? Don't tell me you like him.” Lyra said teasingly.

Corabelle's cheeks – which had faded to its original color during their conversation with the boys – flushed a light pink. Lyra watched with amusement as the small girl's mouth opened and closed without emitting any sound and her hands made wild gestures that made no sense. Lyra waved it off.

“Its fine. I'm not interested in him anyway. But if you make a move on Henri, that's a different story.” the blonde winked.

Corabelle stared at Lyra in shock. The older girl grinned at her.

“How can you resist those looks?” she sighed happily as she began to list off his good points such as 'Those eyes... have you ever seen such a shocking shade of blue?'. Corabelle giggled at Lyra's dazed expression.

“He is rather handsome.” she agreed “The two of them together are a dangerous combo.” Corabelle laughed. Lyra stared at her in confusion, not quite understanding her words.

“They would leave behind a lot of swooning girls when they pass by.” Corabelle giggled. Lyra caught on and laughed along with her.

- - -

Meanwhile, the boys were in their Physics class, having barely managed to avoid their teacher's wrath for being late. They settled into their usual seats at the back and began to take out the things needed for class.

'I still don't understand why you humans love to complicate things.' a voice commented to Henri.

He didn't reply aloud, considering the fact that he was the only one able to hear it. 'That's the way the adults like it and since we're the younger generation, we don't have a choice but to learn it because of tradition.' Henri told the voice calmly.

He didn't have a name for the voice. It obviously wasn't his conscience and there were times when he was able to 'see' the owner of the voice – usually in his dreams. It was apparently a panther... or at least it looked like one with a few notable differences.

For one, its eyes weren't gold or green but were a bright baby blue and its fur wasn't completely black. The fur appeared black at first but if you looked closely, it was actually a dark gray with barely visible leopard rosettes nearly blending into the dark fur. The panther or leopard or whatever you wanted to call it was a broad shouldered tom and he often exuded a regal and superior air about him.

The voice snorted and retreated to wherever it went to when it wasn't speaking with Henri. Shaking his head, Henri wondered if there were others who had conversations with animals in their heads too.

A plus side to having another consciousness in your head was that two minds were working on the same thing at the same time. So while Henri was copying down notes, the panther was explaining what he didn't understand to him. A habit that had taken several years to master without making a mess of his notes.

Looking at the others, he noticed that most were not paying attention to the lesson. Ripping a piece of paper off of the back of his notebook, Henri scribbled down a note on it and discretely threw it on top of Iain's notebook. The older boy opened it and scribbled his reply before flicking it back in Henri's direction. This continued for a while until the paper was filled.

The only way to tell who wrote what was through their penmanship – Iain's messy scrawl was easily identifiable against Henri's neat script.

'What's our plan for today?'

'Let's go grab the girls and head to the mall'

'Girls?'

'Lyra and Cora'

'Alright with me... wait... since when were you interested in inviting Lyra's friends?'

'Since a long time ago'

'Yeah right'

'She's a cute little thing. She reminds me of a little kitten.'

'Whatever'

'You like her don't you?'

'I told you, I don't have time for such foolish interactions'

'Seriously, you don't find any girl worth your time? Are you sure you aren't gay?'

'Only as much as you are'

'…'

'I win'

'I hate you'

'Sore loser'

- - -

By the end of the day, Lyra and Corabelle were waiting for the boys by the school's courtyard. Lyra had received a text from Iain moments before they were released from their last subject of the day. The text said they were going to the mall later and that if she wanted to, Cora could come with.

After several attempts to coax the younger girl into going, Corabelle finally gave in and agreed.

Lyra happily brought the other girl with her to where they were standing now, saying something about how she was surrounded by too much testosterone and finally having a girl to relate to.

The girls were discussing how Corabelle's family was settling in when the low rumble of a motorcycle caused Lyra to stop.

“They're here.” she told Corabelle with a grin. She picked up her bag and walked over to where a motorcycle was parked beside a car.

Corabelle followed suit and saw Lyra talking to Iain who was leaning against the car, and Henri who sat on the bike. Iain looked up from his conversation with Lyra when she approached.

“You can ride with us if you want. Henri never lets other people on his bike.” he told her. Corabelle nodded and put her things away with Lyra's stuff in the trunk.

Henri zipped up his windbreaker jacket and turned to the others. “Shall we get going?” he asked. Everyone else nodded.

“Alright ladies, load up.” Iain instructed. Corabelle slid into the back seat behind Lyra while Iain took the driver's seat.

Looking out the window, Corabelle watched absentmindedly as Henri slung his leg over the seat, mounted the bike properly, put his helmet on, and ride off in the direction of the mall. Iain started the car and followed after him.

“Why doesn't Henri ride the car too?” Corabelle asked out of curiosity. Surely it would have been easier for him to ride with his friends right?

“Henri lives on the opposite side of town than us so it gets troublesome for him if he rides with us. At least with his bike, its easier for him to go home after going somewhere if he went out. That way, he doesn't have to spend so much.” Iain explained. Lyra seemed to be in thought for a moment before speaking.

“Speaking of home, how are you going home from the mall? Do you want us to drop you?” she asked.

Corabelle shook her head. “I can manage, don't worry.” she assured the older girl. Lyra looked skeptical but nodded nonetheless and the ride continued with idle conversation about school and the like.

They managed to catch up to Henri along the way and the mysterious teen merely lifted the visor of his helmet to them in greeting. Against the shade created by his helmet, his eyes appeared darker and more seductive. His eyes locked with hers and widened slightly. She wondered what caused him to do so when she saw her reflection in the window.

Because she was facing the sun, the light went straight in her direction. The car's windows were not so heavily tinted so there was still a bit of light able to go through it. That and the fact that Henri could see through the tint of the car window meant he could see the changes.

Her features seemed sharper and lighter because of the sun but the one thing that couldn't be blamed on the sun were her eyes. They were no longer simply light green, they were now an emerald green with slitted pupils.

She quickly turned her head to the side, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hair so that her pupils once again became the rounded ones of a human with their original light green color.

'Oh my god... He saw it!' Corabelle panicked. 'Okay, relax, Cora. He'll most likely do one of two things: think he's hallucinating or question if you're really human or not... But I don't even know if I'm actually human or not.' she panicked once again. She didn't have to worry for long though, because the traffic light flashed green and Henri shot her one last glance before shutting his helmet and speeding off.

By the time they all met up at the mall, Corabelle's hands had gone cold and her heart rate a little high. No one had ever caught her before, even when she had just discovered her abilities. She had always been careful of when she felt something different about her body. Even her own family didn't know about her little gift.

When they arrived at the mall, Lyra and Iain insisted that Corabelle leave her things in the car, much to the small girl's chagrin. Any protests she had fell on deaf ears and she begrudgingly gave in but took her schoolbag with her, leaving behind her gym bag and books.

The older teens led her to a small café tucked away in one of the quieter parts of the mall. Henri was already seated at one of the tables with what she assumed was homework in hand. He was seated at a small four person table with his messenger bag by his feet. When he saw them he put the papers away and waited for them to sit down. Lyra sat down with Iain across from from her and Henri to her right. This left only the seat beside Iain free. Unfortunately for her, this meant she would be directly across from Henri.

Corabelle still felt uneasy about sitting across from him, considering what had happened earlier but she had no choice but to do so. She could feel his piercing gaze on her and she did her best not to squirm under it. She slid into the only available seat.

Iain turned to the two girls, asking if they had any homework for that day. Both girls nodded, Lyra explaining what subjects had assignments to be done. Iain motioned for them to take it out so that they could work on it while waiting for their food. Corabelle found it rather odd that they worked on schoolwork now considering that the two of them had been the ones who were telling Corabelle to leave her schoolbag in the car earlier.

Henri waved a waitress over and she handed them all a menu each. They settled for a platter of clubhouse sandwiches and fries. They ordered sodas for drinks then began doing their schoolwork once their orders were taken.

Lyra stared at her book in confusion. She was having difficulty making sense of the question she was supposed to answer. She tugged on the sleeve of Henri's jacket to get his attention. He looked up from his essay to see Lyra pouting at him.

“Henri, can you help me out with this?” she asked. Henri held his hand out for the book and she gave it to him. She moved closer and pointed at the question she did not understand.

Henri's eyes moved from one side of the page to the other, his brow furrowed but his expression remained serious.

“It doesn't make much sense. There are a lot of ways to interpret it. You could say that this would be describing this.” he motioned to a certain sentence then another “Or it will contradict this.” he pointed to another sentence on the next page. “Try asking Iain.” he suggested. She pouted then turned to the other boy for help.

Iain read it over and began explaining what it seemed to mean. “I'm not too sure if that's what it really means but that's what it looks like to me.” he told her. Lyra nodded before starting to work on her essay.

Every once in a while, Corabelle felt someone's gaze on her and when she would look up, she was met with cobalt blue. She quickly averted her eyes back down to her book and timidly poked Iain's arm. Iain looked at her and she muttered something under her breath.

“Huh?” Iain asked, having barely heard her, let alone understand what she was saying.

“Erm... can you help me solve this?” she asked, pointing to a complicated looking mathematical equation.

Iain took one look at it and scratched the back of his head. “I'm not too good with numbers.” he confessed. “But Henri is. Henri, you think you can help Cora out with this?” he asked the blue eyed teen, sliding the notebook over to him.

Henri picked it up and read it then motioned for Corabelle to sit beside him, pulling out another sheet of paper from his bag. Corabelle seemed hesitant to move closer but she did, puller her chair closer to the corner of the table but still further away from him than he expected of most girls.

“I'm not going to bite you, you know.” he told her. She inwardly sighed and moved closer but he pulled the chair so that she was just beside him.

With her near now, one of the first things Henri noticed was a scent that seemed both familiar and yet not. The panther within him stirred. 'I can scent something familiar.' it said.

'This scent was never around before... It smells so... feline.' it continued.

Henri didn't say anything to it but looked at Corabelle before turning his eyes back to her notebook. It was about the derivation and application of the various methods and laws for proving how to solve different problems.

He began to explain how this side was the same side because of this law and such. He made notes beside the illustrations he made and she made little oh's and ah's of understanding once something became clearer to her. She did not notice that her face was going closer to the paper until it was only inches from her nose.

Looking up from the paper, she once again found herself lost in a sea of cobalt blue. Henri unconsciously took a deep breath, noticing that the familiar yet unfamiliar scent was stronger now than before.

'The scent comes from her. She is one of us. A cub still, but definitely one of us.' the panther confirmed with a slightly smug tone. He looked into her light green orbs and wondered what color they would turn into when she would one day become the panther that his own said she would be.

Iain noticed the silence between the two and looked up to see that Henri and Corabelle's faces were inches from each other. He lightly nudged Lyra's arm. The blonde looked at him questioningly and he inclined his head to the side. She turned her head to look at the other teens and stared at them in shock. Had their faces moved even just a little bit more, the two's lips would touch.

It was then that the waitress chose to serve their food. Corabelle looked away first, her cheeks blazing a bright red. Henri watched her with amusement as she fumbled with the papers, packing them away clumsily and putting her books back in the bag. “Heheh... look at that... Food's here!” she laughed nervously. Henri only smirked at her reaction.

- - -

After an amusingly awkward meal, the four of them decided that it was about time they start heading home.

Lyra turned to Corabelle. “Are you sure you don't need a ride home?” she asked again.

Corabelle shook her head. “I live close to the countryside so it would just make things harder for you two. I don't want to be a burden.” she told the other girl.

“Where do you live?” Henri asked.

“Just a little ways down from Fairview.” she replied.

Henri nodded. “I live nearby so I can give you a ride.” he told her. Lyra's jaw dropped a little and Iain's eyes widened just a bit in shock. Was he seriously offering that someone ride with him?

After a short moment, Iain seemed to recompose himself and nodded at Henri's words. “He has a point. Even if we're just a small town, it isn't safe for a young woman to go home alone this late.” he said.

Lyra looked at Henri critically. “Since when did you offer people rides home?” she asked suspiciously. Henri ignored her and looked at Corabelle instead.

“Well?” he asked. She seemed a bit reluctant to answer.

Iain slung an arm over Henri's shoulder and pulled the blue-eyed teen into a headlock. “Don't worry about Henri, he's a good guy. A bit snarky yes, but you get used to it eventually.” he told her. Henri pushed him off and returned the favor with the addition of ruffling the older teen's hair while he was held captive.

Corabelle sighed. On one side, if she went home alone, it would take a while and cost her a bit of money. If she took up Henri's offer, she'd be able to save time and money but that would give Henri a chance to corner her about what he had seen earlier. Iain said he was a good guy so hopefully he wouldn't bring it up... right?

Taking a calming breath, she turned to the male in question. “If I won't be too much of a burden, a ride home would be nice.” she told him. Henri nodded. “Its fine.” he told her.

The group slowly made their way to the parking lot to get Corabelle's things from Iain's car. Corabelle picked up her bags and stuffed her books into the gym bag so that traveling with it would be easier. She waved goodbye to the other two before following Henri to the motorcycle parking lot.

He opened the storage area of the motorcycle and removed a spare helmet from it. His own was perched on the motorcycle handles. She looked at him quizzically. “Lyra said you never let people ride with you. Why the sudden change of heart... And why do you have an extra helmet?” she asked him as she accepted the helmet.

Henri didn't say anything but took her bag and put it in the compartment with his own bag. He took the helmet from her hands and secured it over her head.

Looking at his helmet, she realized that her helmet was different from his. His was the fancy looking one usually worn by race car drivers while hers was just as well made but lacked protective covering for the face.

He pulled the bike out of the parking lot and straddled it. Placing one foot on the ground, he helped Corabelle climb on and get comfortable before starting the engine. Not sure of what to do, she fisted her hands in the back of his jacket.

“Do you have a jacket?” he asked her over the engine's noise.

“No.” she replied.

He shrugged off the windbreaker he was wearing and gave it to her. Beneath it, he was actually wearing a long sleeved hoodie. “It gets cold on the road.” he said simply.

When she was done with putting the jacket on, she once again took hold of the back of his shirt. Shaking his head, he reached back and took hold of her arms and wrapped them around his waist. “Don't let go.” he told her before donning his helmet and riding out of the parking lot.

-

Throughout majority of their ride, the two didn't say anything. Henri kept his eyes on the road in front of him while Corabelle watched the scenery whiz by. The trees and cars sped past them at an impressive speed until it suddenly stopped and all she could see was cars.

“Which road do you take to get to your house?” Henri asked over the noise.

Corabelle moved her face closer to his. “What?” she shouted back.

“Which way to your house?!” he replied in a louder voice.

“When you reach the gates, turn left and follow the road. Seventh house on the left.” she told him.

Then the traffic light turned green.

While they weren't moving, Corabelle's grip around his waist slackened significantly. When they suddenly lurched forward, Corabelle nearly lost her grip and clutched the front of his shirt tightly. She pressed her face into his back in an unconscious reflex. Henri smirked at her reaction. “Sorry about that. Old habit.” he chuckled. She only gripped his shirt tighter in response.

With her whole face buried in the back of his shirt, she couldn't help but notice that he smelled nice for a guy. There was a familiar scent on him that she couldn't place, partially masked by the scent of... forest? and a distinct scent of male.

She felt something stir in the back of her mind but ignored it.

Without them knowing, a hawk and a falcon flew above them, watching them with sharp avian eyes.

-

Pulling into the road that led to Corabelle's house, Henri was stopped by Corabelle poking his side. Using one leg to prop the motorcycle against,he lifted the visor off his eyes and looked at her curiously.

“Can you stop here? My parents will wonder why I'm riding on the back of a guy's motorcycle on my first day of school and trust me when I say they know how to interrogate.”she told him. Henri nodded his head and helped her off before disembarking as well.

“Thank you for the ride.”she said while waiting for him to give her things. She removed the helmet and gave it back to him. He removed her bag from the luggage compartment and replaced it with the helmet she used earlier.

Out of curiosity, Corabelle peeked at what else was inside. Strangely enough, he had two helmets inside it along with his bag. She didn't ask him about it though.

“Can you wait for a while before leaving?”she asked,putting on her bag and walking to one of the houses after his nod.

Despite there being a gate, it didn't appear to be locked as she merely reached through the bars and opened the latch before going in. When she reached the door, she held up two fingers before going in.

A small golden brown haired boy managed to grab her in a hug just before she could enter the door. The little boy said something to her before running inside again.

Corabelle shook her head and waved in Henri's direction before going in the house.

Henri looked at the address written on a metal plaque just beneath the doorbell. Number 13, Sorrel street, Fairview.

'Its conveniently close by, don't you think? I believe we have a new project...' he told his inner panther before starting the engine again and making his way home.

This is really really good please right more!

weeeeeeeee go Bem imma help you if you want n_n

Sounds good Beh~ I'll bring my plot notebook to Maki's party

I have a few plots already.