Magic VS Science

Laughter. All I could hear was laughter. People poured milk all over me. More laughter. "Please stop." I begged. They mocked me. Teased me. I was their play thing. No one stood up for me. I was alone.

I walked home in the rain, attempting to mask, or even wash away, some of the sour milk. "Why me?" I thought. I looked up at the sky, as I heard a car driving up. "It must be them." I could hear the car speeding up. I knew what was going to happen. I was going to get splashed. They did this every time it rained. I stopped trying to get away from them a long time ago. That always made it worse. The car picked up more speed and hit the puddle along the curb. It soaked my clothes, but I kept walking.

I opened the front door. "Ixora? Is that you?" Mom called.

"Yeah. School's over."

"Ixora?"

"Yeah?"

"Your school called again. They said that you are still getting picked on and that there have been students complaining that you smell. Is everything alright?"

"They must be mistaken. Everything is just fine. No need to worry."

"Alright. Go get washed up. Dinner will be ready very soon."

"I'll eat later. I have homework to do." I said as I headed upstairs to my room.

I changed my clothes and laid down on my bed. "Dad, I wish you were still here. I would give anything to have you back."

"Ixora, you know that isn't possible. You know that he died and you know what I told you about wishing. It brings--"

"False hope and dreams. I know, Mom. I just miss him."

"As do I, but wishing doesn't help. Now, dinner before homework. Can't work on an empty stomach now can you?" Mom said as she ushered me down to the kitchen.

"Mom?" I said , as I put the clean dishes away after dinner.

"Yes?"

"Why did you name me Ixora?"

"I didn't. Your father did."

"What would have been my name if you picked it?"

"Iris."

"That name sounds so much better." I muttered.

"Why do you say that?" Mom replied, catching what I muttered.

"It's nothing." I finished cleaning and headed back to my room. I sat down at my desk and looked at my calendar. "Please don't remember." I thought.

I finished up the homework I had and headed off to bed. I glanced at the photo of my Dad and I when he took us all fishing at the lake. I missed him a lot. Letting out a sigh I said, "Goodnight Dad."

"Ixora! Wake up! You're going to be late for school!" I heard Mom calling from downstairs.

I opened my eyes and looked at my clock. "I have some time." I said as I quickly hopped out of bed and ran to the shower. After my shower, I ran down the stairs and snagged a piece of toast from the toaster. "I'll see you later Mom!" I called out as I ran out the door.

I got to school with two minutes to spare. I headed straight for my locker, then straight to class. I didn't feel like getting beaten up or picked on just yet today. The bell ran and the classroom flooded with people just as I took my seat.

Half way through class, I was called down to the office. Not trusting anyone, I gathered my books and quickly went to the office. "Your Mother called. She said to tell you to meet her at the usual place. She said that you would know." The principals old, but stern voice always gave me the creeps.

"Yes, Sir." I said as I spun on my heal and headed right for my locker. I dropped my books in and grabbed my bag and headed to the front doors I opened the front doors to find them all smoking and laughing. My heart stopped. "Not now. Please not now." I thought. I kept my head down and walked quickly, but that didn't help anything. They pointed at me and laughed as they flicked their lit smokes at me. "Just keep walking." I thought. "It will all be over soon." I walked faster, getting away from them.

I met Mom at our usual spot. "It's time, Ixora." She said. She took me deeper into the woods, past out meeting point. As we walked, the woods got darker and darker. "You remember what I told you right?"

"Yes." I replied. The rest of the walk was quiet. Birds sang no songs. Bugs made no noise. We stopped at a clearing and there stood six other people around a dead tree stump. Mom handed me a black cloak. I already knew what I had to do. I removed my clothing, folded that neatly onto the grass and slipped into the cloak.

"Remember, only one. You can only choose one." Mom said. I nodded and walked to the stump.

"Lay." One of the cloaked people said while pointing at the stump. I laid on my back on the stump. Fear ripped through me, but I refused to let it show.

"When we begin the chant, think of only one Beast. Just one." Another cloaked person said. I nodded and closed my eyes. Flashes went through my mind, but as soon as the chanting began, my mind landed on one thought.

It felt like hours as they chanted. They would get loud, and then get soft. "Eye color!" Someone yelled.

"Red." I whispered.

"Color!" Another yelled.

"Black." I whispered again.

"Size!" A third person yelled.

"Big." Was the only thing that I could say. Their chanting got louder and louder. I could feel pain in my chest. It got stronger and stronger. I wanted to scream, but I remember what Mom told me.

"Don't cry out. You will not be worthy if you do." She had said to me. I kept quiet and kept my breathing steady. The pain kept getting stronger as it spread through my body.

"The chanting stopped and the pain fell away just as fast as I came. "Ixora, are you awake?" Mom asked.

I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Did it work? Was I worthy?"

"Yes. You are now a Beast."

"Can I know yours now?" I asked.

"Fox."

"What about Dad?"

"Tiger."

I smiled. "I did it, Mom." Mom smiled back at me. I could see in her eyes that she was very proud of me. I had to admit, I too felt proud of myself.

"Yes you did. What did you pick?"

"Wolf."

"Beautiful."

"How do I change?"

"Just feel." I sat up and closed my eyes. I could feel something inside me. I could feel the Beast. I felt my body start to change and when I opened my eyes, Mom was smiling brightly at me. "Beautiful black fur. Devilish red eyes. A big body. You are perfect, Ixora." I wanted to smile, but this Beast didn't have the ability to. "Name your Beast. It will be much easier to call it forth when needed."

"Onyx." I replied instantly. Mom nodded.

"Never use this power in front of anyone. You must learn to control your emotions. The slightest bit of emotion can cause you to become Onyx."

"What's your Beast's name?"

"Lilly."

I caught the sound of foot steps. "Someone is coming."

Mom turned quickly, listening. "Scatter!" She yelled. She turned to me and grabbed my fur in the fists. "Run. I won't be far behind you." She said and then pushed me off the stump.

I ran, tripping a few times, but I soon got the hang of running in this form. I could smell my Moms scent, but I couldn't fine her. I could hear people shouting. I tried to run faster. I was scared. I heard a gun shot and my Mom scream. Something inside of me snapped. I turned around without thinking and headed towards my Mom. All I could think about was her. I reached the clearing to see my Mom being lifted away by some people in white suits. I felt a growl rip through my throat. Just as I was about to run into the clearing, a bear tackled me to the ground. "Don't! You are going to get yourself killed!"

"Let go of me! I have to save her! She's all I have left!" I struggled under him.

"No! You have us! You have your friends! Do not get yourself killed and let that dire wolf soul go to waste! No one will ever get him again!"

I froze. "What do you mean?"

"Are you calm?"

"Yes." I growled. I hated being answered with another question. I guess I get that from my Dad because he hated it too. He let go of me and started walking away from the the clearing. I followed him, hoping that he would answer my questions.

He led me to a cave. "Change forms, and I'll tell you everything that I know." I hesitated. This was a strange man, and he wanted me to change forms? I didn't even have any clothes! "I'm changing too. No need to worry." I sighed and closed my eyes as I felt my body change from Beast to Human. When I opened my eyes again, a young man sat in front of me. I turned away quickly as my face went very red. "You get used to it. Beasts have no need for clothes, so they get torn away in the change." He laughed as I pulled my knees up to my chest. "I'll answer an questions you might have now."

"What did you mean back there?"

"We don't choose the Beast. It chooses us. You are the first to ever have a Beast of a dire wolf."

"My Mom won't answer this question, so I want you to. What are we here for exactly?" What do we do for the world?"

"That's a tough one. All I know is that those people that have your Mother, are the reason why we were created. Long ago, two brothers fought about what was right for the world. One brother thought technology was better, while the other thought magic was better. Their Father was a man of science and their Mother was a dark magic witch. The eldest brother loved science while the youngest brother loved magic. One day when they were older and their parents were no longer around, the fought about what was right. Their fight didn't end when the sun went down, it kept going. Eventually, other people heard about it. Some chose to stay away from the Brothers, while others chose sides. As the years passed, their fight got ever bigger. Guns and magic spells were used to fight each other. The eldest brother made notions that those who stayed away will be safe, but those who chose the youngest brother, would be slaughtered and experimented on. The eldest brother wanted to rid the world of all magic, while the youngest brother had realized the damage his brother and himself had done to the Earth. He tried to reach out to his brother to stop the madness that they had created, but his brother wouldn't listen to him. The fight had gone on for too long. His brother was swallowed by rage and craved more power. The youngest brother decided that it was best for us to stay hidden in the shadows and not let anyone know that we still exist. Sadly, you had to lose your Mother the day you got your Beast, to the eldest brother. However, you must not throw your life away to save her. All who are taken by the eldest brother, never come back alive."

"Well in my opinion, both of them were stupid for having that fight in the first place, but you speak as if the older brother is still alive, but the younger one is not. Why?"

"Because the eldest brother still lives, but not fully. He is well over 250 years old."

"Where's the youngest brother?"

"I can't answer that one. Not even the eldest of us knows that." I looked out of the cave as the sun was setting. "What's your name?"

"Ixora. Yours?"

"Ursis."

"Latin?"

"Yes. It translates to bear." He smiled.

"That can't be your real name." I gave him a skeptical look.

"I assume yours isn't real either."

"Mine is. My Dad named me after the West Indian Jasmine. Ixora is my real name. If I had my wallet, I'd show you."

"I would do the same, but neither of us have them so we will just have to trust each other."

"It's getting dark and cold and I have school in the morning."

"That's not an issue."

"How is this not an issue?" I cocked my eyebrow at him. He smiled and gave me a wink. His deep green eyes almost looked black in this cave. He stood up and walked deeper into the cave. He was almost too tall for it. "He must be at least 6 feet tall." I thought.

"Come this way." He called behind to me. I stood up and followed him, covering as much of my body I could with my arms and hands. "You know, you aren't that bad looking now that I see you standing. A very nice figure you have there." I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. "How old are you anyways?"

"17." He didn't say anything after that, so I wandered off into my mind like I always did.

"Hey!" Ursis yelled, making me jump. I felt something come out from under my hair and Ursis laughed. "Nice ears."

"Why did you yell?" I glared at him.

"I told you my age and called you name a few times but you didn't answer." He shrugged.

"Oh. Sorry. I tend to wander off in my own mind. It's peaceful there."

Urisis smiled. "Well, I'll tell you once more. I'll be turning 19 in two days."

"How long have you had your Beast for?" I asked as he wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.

"I've had her since I was five, but didn't become one until I was 16."

"How have you had her before you were one? If that makes any sense, and thank you for the blanket."

"We all have them before we become one. I'm just a bit different is all."

"How are you different? I mean, you're very attractive. All in all, you seem to be very normal to me."

"You think I'm attractive?" My face burned and I looked away. "No, don't look away. I've answered all your questions. It's your turn to answer mine."

"Yes." I could feel him looking at me even though I couldn't see him myself. It was like he was looking at my for hours and I couldn't take it anymore. "I should probably head home."

"That's not a good idea." He sounded serious.

I turned to face him and asked a simple question. "Why?"

"Because if they have your Mother, they have her house. Your home is no longer safe."

I furrowed my brow. "How do you know all this?" He sounded way too sure, like he had been through this before.

"Because they took both my parents and my baby sister." His voice had gotten dark, like it was full of anger and hatred. I wanted to hug him, but that wouldn't be a good idea. Neither of us had clothes on and we didn't know each other at all.

"I'm so sorry." Was all I could think of to say.

"As I you. Now, you can sleep here. I'll sleep over there."

I looked to where he was pointing to see a couple blankets on top of some broken up boxes. "No you can't sleep there!" I blurted out without thinking. When Ursis gave me a strange look, I mentally facepalmed. "I-I mean, it doesn't look comfy. N-not that I want you to sleep with me or anything. I-I mean we just met and it's not right for us to share a bed. B-but it wouldn't be right for me to take your bed and make you sleep over there." I rambled off in embarrassment.

Ursis burst into laughter. "Wow. You are too kind-hearted for your own good. You know that, right?"

"I-I know, but it's not right for me to do that to you."

He smiled. "I don't sleep over there anyways. I usually sleep on the boxes." I looked down at the ground, feeling very stupid. "Don't worry. Mistakes happen." I remained quiet as I climbed into the bed. "Goodnight, Ixora."

"Goodnight, Ursis." I whispered. I closed my eyes and slowly, I drifted off to sleep.