06-14-2015, 12:46 PM
Elias was accustomed to sneering looks from women. They weren't his favorite thing to endure, but smirks were better than pity. He held her gaze, daring her to say what was on her mind, even if he couldn't fathom what it was. In the end, she smiled and deflected the topic. Likewise, Eli left his thoughts unsaid and followed the flow of conversation from Elyse only to watch her flirt with Jaxen. Eli tightened his gloves around his hands, ignoring her.
A sudden presence made itself known. Eli snapped his head up thinking Tony or one of the other guys had sought him out. Instead, all he saw was Jaxen, contemplative certainly, but echoing with the same power Eli wielded. Thus, he missed Elyse's question, or perhaps he heard her speak and assumed she was addressing someone else. Eli's stare was fixed on Jaxen, a man who appeared under the strangest of circumstances in a place of enigmatic questions.
A ship's horn announced its presence on the river. A moment later, it sounded again. Elias had been idle too long. He was tired of subjecting himself to the mundane drama in which he found himself, and reached into the bowl of powers swirling on the edge of his mind. It poured into him like a waterfall, but he didn't wait for Jaxen's reaction. He contemplated ways in which to force civility out of the three, or perhaps specifically the two girls. The ship horn sounded again, much closer this time, and in a trio of three bone-throbbing blasts.
Eli's contemplation subsided as he snapped his gaze toward the river. "That sounded like distress,"
he said. Had his uncle's boat sounded the same call for help? Power urging his boldness, he went to the riverbank and peered upstream. Several hundred meters away, a shipping barge was swaying in mid-river on violent waves beating at its flat bed. As though something shoved it from beneath, the bed wrenched off the attached tug boat and cargo containers were ripped from their straps and slid into the water. There was nothing to explain the violence, nothing he could see. Was this it? The shadow he'd seen beneath the ice come for them? A flinch of excitement touched his eyes as he held his breath. The tiny tug boat heaved on the violent waters that splashed its sides. Eli found himself running toward the scene along the river bank, but snow and ice continually swept his feet unsteady, slowing his pace. He had to see if the shadow was there! There were no thoughts for Elyse, Sierra and Jaxen and he didn't care if they followed, watched, or ran away. Eli was not an athlete, and his lungs strained as he sucked down painfully cold breaths.
He missed a step when the tugboat caught fire. A man dove overboard, but rather than escape the suddenly risen flames, the waves pulled him under and Elias did not see him again. He was panting when he reached the scene, but his gaze was not on the burning boat or the sinking bed. He was frantically searching the waters, but the crests and chopped ice obscured any sight beneath.
He closed his eyes and stretched out his hands. Blankets of power laid itself across the waters, forcing them flat and still. His eyes were closed, but his senses pierced beneath, seeking form to the supernatural attack. Nothing.
His arms fell and all returned as it had been. The river quieted, even relinquishing the body it had claimed to the surface. The current picked up the lump and washed it away. Eli likewise turned aside, letting the boat burn in the meantime. There was no shadow to explain the attack this time, but Eli had a feeling the message was meant for them.
A sudden presence made itself known. Eli snapped his head up thinking Tony or one of the other guys had sought him out. Instead, all he saw was Jaxen, contemplative certainly, but echoing with the same power Eli wielded. Thus, he missed Elyse's question, or perhaps he heard her speak and assumed she was addressing someone else. Eli's stare was fixed on Jaxen, a man who appeared under the strangest of circumstances in a place of enigmatic questions.
A ship's horn announced its presence on the river. A moment later, it sounded again. Elias had been idle too long. He was tired of subjecting himself to the mundane drama in which he found himself, and reached into the bowl of powers swirling on the edge of his mind. It poured into him like a waterfall, but he didn't wait for Jaxen's reaction. He contemplated ways in which to force civility out of the three, or perhaps specifically the two girls. The ship horn sounded again, much closer this time, and in a trio of three bone-throbbing blasts.
Eli's contemplation subsided as he snapped his gaze toward the river. "That sounded like distress,"
he said. Had his uncle's boat sounded the same call for help? Power urging his boldness, he went to the riverbank and peered upstream. Several hundred meters away, a shipping barge was swaying in mid-river on violent waves beating at its flat bed. As though something shoved it from beneath, the bed wrenched off the attached tug boat and cargo containers were ripped from their straps and slid into the water. There was nothing to explain the violence, nothing he could see. Was this it? The shadow he'd seen beneath the ice come for them? A flinch of excitement touched his eyes as he held his breath. The tiny tug boat heaved on the violent waters that splashed its sides. Eli found himself running toward the scene along the river bank, but snow and ice continually swept his feet unsteady, slowing his pace. He had to see if the shadow was there! There were no thoughts for Elyse, Sierra and Jaxen and he didn't care if they followed, watched, or ran away. Eli was not an athlete, and his lungs strained as he sucked down painfully cold breaths.
He missed a step when the tugboat caught fire. A man dove overboard, but rather than escape the suddenly risen flames, the waves pulled him under and Elias did not see him again. He was panting when he reached the scene, but his gaze was not on the burning boat or the sinking bed. He was frantically searching the waters, but the crests and chopped ice obscured any sight beneath.
He closed his eyes and stretched out his hands. Blankets of power laid itself across the waters, forcing them flat and still. His eyes were closed, but his senses pierced beneath, seeking form to the supernatural attack. Nothing.
His arms fell and all returned as it had been. The river quieted, even relinquishing the body it had claimed to the surface. The current picked up the lump and washed it away. Eli likewise turned aside, letting the boat burn in the meantime. There was no shadow to explain the attack this time, but Eli had a feeling the message was meant for them.