Paladin's Path

Robin felt bad for lying to him.

Theo was the only one who had noticed and had even consoled with and stuck with her in a moment she now regrets.

Her stalker wanted her to hurry with getting Theon to stay away from her. Robin had avoided him all day and acted even more involved with standard class affairs.

Some members of the class like Chloe and Ava had asked if she were alright but she put on her super-act and got them to view her as the typical shining ray of a class leader. It wasn't hard she had done it before, she had been a class president back in middle school.

Back in middle school where a past she was hoping to run away from had caught up to her.

'Lila.' Robin thought of a someone from her past a girl with long black hair and a pretty face who she had hated in the beginning.

Robin wanted to be loved, she wanted to be Lila. Truly kind from the bottom of one's heart, supportive, charming and likeable. Not like what Robin was, instead Robin just found a way to put on an act. Wear a mask and put on a persona which was fittingly just a mix of both her parents, one a sweet talker who was ruthless in his business and the other a charming figure that could command admiration in any room she walked in.

The hoax of a personality still felt like nothing when standing next to Lila, but this jealousy soon turned to admiration. And with admiration Robin pursued, Lila had become her best friend and with becoming close friends by the time of her fourteenth birthday Robin had learned of a new dark secret of her friend.

Lila had a boyfriend, something that some people had concluded on anyway but what was different about this were the bruises she hid. An older boy that had started coming to wait outside of the school to come and walk her home.

Robin found out of the bruises soon after seeing him, there was something about him that stood out as dangerous. She didn't think of herself as overly judgmental, but the multiple piercings, inky tattoos that had no co-ordination and the cheap and taky jewellery adorning his fingers and wrists.

So, one day Robin decided to follow the two of them unnoticed. Robin followed them past the park, an elementary school and a local cinema edging closer to a little town in the area. Robin had only noticed on her journey that... She had never knew where Lila lived.

She had seen her mother before a high-strung and nervous woman who had deeply treasured her daughter which Robin could easily spot, how could she not when it was almost the complete opposite of her own relationship with her own mother who at best did the bare minimum.

Robin blinks as she remembers, she remembers the initial resounding slap and the shout of anger that followed after, she remembers the bite of her lip as she tried to stay quiet-the subtle pain that followed and the flash of anger at seeing her friend now at the bank of a river getting assaulted by a man much bigger than her, much taller.

She remembers jumping out of the bushes she was hiding in to only run out and try swing at him but fail and be pushed down only to get up again and again to continually throw her then weak barrages of blows.

That ruthless tomboyish part of her she believed came from her father. She didn't know why she thought of him in that moment, he was a man she could recall only from family portraits and very few special occasions... so why?

Lila scared out of her mind had got up and pleaded with her "Boyfriend" to stop and he obliged and left the scene. Leaving both Robin who was now holding her friend in the same way she was being held only days ago.

"Don't Tell Anyone!" A mistake. A sour mistake that she regrets with her whole heart.

Lila didn't want anyone to know, and at the time and even now Robin couldn't understand why. But Lila didn't continue on until she agreed. Robin who had admired the dark haired beauty only believed that she knew what she was doing, that she would wake up to a new light and discover that it is all over.

That Lila had broken up with him and got him to leave her be, that Lila would spend more time with her talking about senseless topics or go to the movies on weekends and graduate middle school and go to the same high schools.

But that new light never came.

Instead what came was a news report that made her heart drop {14 year old girl found on the surface of a riverbed....}

No name was attached to it because of the young age but Robin remembered feeling her stomach go cold as her phone was already out and dialling a number that could no longer be reached.

Hearing a voice on voicemail that she would never hear in person ever again.

"It's My Fault!" Robin stayed locked in her room for days at that time which was easy to do since no one not even her parents had come to bother her.

It was only when she had made another mistake of a dumb child that someone had finally acknowledged her.

Detectives were at her door.

Her mother and surprisingly father were both home when they knocked which made it all worse for her.

Robin recalls a detective with what she could describe as a perfect square shape for a head with a thick bushy moustache to enhance his already bush ward look. He wore a long brown overcoat which made her think of plenty detective moments.

They took her down to the station much to her parents dismay, it was just for questioning. First to confirm what they already knew as true.

A computer was sitting on the table and Robin was coming to conclusions in her own head as to what had happened as she heard the first few seconds of passing noise from a voice note.

She remembers.

It was her voice on the other end, only a day after Lila had died.

"[I'm so sorry Lila... I now wish I didn't keep your secret, if... if I told someone then maybe you could have lived to see another day...]" Another graduation at least is what went on after ..."[I'm so sorry Lila.. I'm so sorry.]" Then more tears came out.

Robin remembers the voice message, the continual wail of sadness she let out along with apologies for the next five minutes of the message. She remembers her mothers disheartened face that just screamed 'Disappointed.'

It was then in that room wisps of aura started to flow around her. She had become an awakened.

And now on the schools rooftop she is looking down as she thinks on her past only to realize that she herself is now in a position similar to what Lila was going through.

She knows that she should speak up about it, but she can't make another mistake. She doesn't want to fracture another dynamic again. No matter what she decides to do she only see's a path for misfortune.

Include an outsider and she will break from the repercussions, stay quiet and then she can hope to figure out a way out of this on her own without breaking first.

The latter was what she believed was her best option. Go at it on her own.

A loud sound of metallic opening came from behind her at the door of the rooftop which she had entered through and who she had called up had finally shown himself.

"Thanks for coming..." Bright amber jewels on rich caramel skin was what she first seen when he had stepped through, eyes that held a quiet intensity yet were undeniably magnetic. "I thought that I owed you one for being there for me Theo."

Silence was what was given but the look in his eyes were still soft, he still wanted to help but that was something she couldn't allow.

"I just get a little nervous around this time of year. A very close friend of mine died around this time a couple years ago." A lie is easiest to tell when closest to the truth or when you don't hold the opinion of who your lying to very highly.

God this hurt.

"We had many of the same friends and I kind of dragged her along to an event that led to her death. I was warned! But I ignored it thinking I knew more than I did. The friends that I once had treated me horribly from then on and sometimes around this time I feel like I'm hearing all the insults I know I deserve."

"You don't deserve those words though!" He finally spoke and of course they were words meant to reassure her broken self. "People say and do lot of bad things when they are hurting, its easier to blame someone else than to face your own pain. So don't say you deserve harsh words thrown at you."

Theon stepped closer making Robin want to step backwards only to remember that she was already leaning against the tall and thick metal bars on top of the school's rooftop.

"I get why you feel the way you do, carrying guilt around. But that won't fix any of the mistakes that you have made instead it will only cause you to make more of them."

Robin felt like she was supposed to interject, things were not going as she expected, she was to take control and get him to stop trying to help her. But with every word her heart beat faster and the thought of opening up to him and reaching out her hand was more alluring then it should have been.

His eyes that felt like looking into a deep and warm fireplace softened even more... "Start by forgiving yourself. Carrying that weight alone isn't going to help you."

Suddenly Robin felt like Theon was having a completely different conversation.

"I didn't come here to make you talk... or to fix all your problems for you. But if you need to let some of that weight go then I'll be here."

That usual quiet intensity... gave way to compassion.

Robin's chest tightened, Theon's words weighed on her heart. For a moment the idea of letting someone in, of not carrying her burden alone, seemed to tempting. She wanted to believe him, to trust that he could help her and pull her out of this nightmare. But the sudden flicker of darkness on the wall behind him, always watching, always waiting, kept her rooted in place.

She couldn't risk it, not again, and not with him.

Robin let out a shaky breath as she thought of a response that could keep Theon at a distance without pushing him away completely. She needed him to let go but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to sever this fragile connection they had.

"Theo..." her voice was trembling despite her best efforts at keeping it steady. "I appreciate what you're saying, I really do. But there are some things that I believe that people should solve on their own. Not all can be solved by just talking about them."

She forced a smile out, though it felt more like a grimace, and looked away focusing on a point behind him. "I'm glad you care, but I can really take care of this on my own. If you keep trying you may only make things worse for the both of us."

Theon didn't move, his expression unreadable. For a moment she feared he would press further, but he just sighed and shrug his shoulders.

"Alright," he said quietly with a trace of reluctance in his voice. "But if you need to talk to someone just call." Robin slowly nodded her head as Theon turned his back to her.

She wanted this... but for for some reason, the pain left her feeling as if a thread between them had been severed by a sharp passing wind.

_________

The afternoon sun filtered through the tall windows of the academy, casting long, golden beams that brought warmth to the building.

Theon entered a nearly emptied out library, there was a young lady with curly brown hair stood by the libraries desk that always had a stern and highly professional look on her face. She noticed Theon and nodded his way in greeting and he had done the same.

There were no cameras in the library room. Throughout the school there were cameras placed almost everywhere, in random places that some people would never even think of, but in the library there were absolutely none.

He had only found a few locations around the school with no security cameras like the rooftop as well but the library was where his feet brought him.

It's not like he had never been here before, but in the back of his mind he had felt the feeling tugging at him and eventually dragging him to the location.

Many passing thoughts went through his mind, it had only been a couple hours since speaking to Robin. Theon knew that the story she told wasn't all too true. Her self-deprecating words were true though. There was something in her past that made her act the best she could.

Best grades, the classes relief whether that be in motivating those around her or trying to look on the bright side of everything. Even when seeing Corbin's brutal nature and how everyone in class labelled him in a bad light she still believed that we should not forget his behaviour but at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

Theon noticed that Robin had usually got most of her tasks done in class and then when the day was done and she didn't make any plans she would leave on her own off to who knows where but Theon had caught her leaving the school later in the evening one of the days he was leaving at a similar time.

It was the day of his interrogation and after the moment Corbin had tried grilling some answers for him. He didn't pay it much mind then and she hadn't noticed him either.

Through the silent hum of the library there was a drop of a pencil and a click of irritation that made its way to Theon's ears. And it was then that he realized what he was here for.

The smell of orange citrus fruits growing in a garden suddenly invaded his nose. 'Robin.' His head snapped in the direction where he could smell her, a direction where he had heard the pencil drop.

No rash decisions could be made, the same ethereal tugging motion that had brought him here was now pulling him along in more ways.

Theon had moved to obstruct himself behind one of the many large shelves holding thick tombs of books in the history section. Books about the many wars that had broken out and the effects of including awakened people in those wars.

By the end of the shelf there was a lone desk with a girl sitting by it with black earphones in as she jotted down notes she was copying from a book in front of her. Her back was turned to Theon and her long ginger hair tied in two distinct ponytails flowed down her back.

'So this is where she goes.'

A place with no cameras, something she may not have even noticed. It was just a place to comfortably study, somewhere that nobody would bother her. A place for confrontation. Those were the words that had travelled through his brain and made itself known.

His power was acting again and started pulling him in another direction.

The library was huge, it had two floors as well but the floors upstairs seemed to hold space for computer activity and research. He noticed that there was only one person at the desk, that same lady that greeted him.

He made a conscious effort to avoid her eyes and continued walking around the wide space. Theon was now mapping out the area, there was space for so much activity to be going on that would be hard for one person or even two to monitor it alone. But the library probably did not have many visitors during this time of day.

Also with many students out doing missions then it was almost pointless to have multiple staff members attending the space.

In his mind Theon divided the spaces in six grids, there were many spaces to hide in four of them and some spaces which had very little objects in them and allowed for an echoed sound when walking in. Then there were doors which were locked and probably only for staff use so he ignored it.

Excluding the top floor, natural light came in from two of the grids nearest the window of course but outside of those windows was just a big drop off the schools building. There were mirrors in use by the ends of spaces and in between shelves. But by one of the vacant spaces there were miniature mirrors that were not in use and could easily be held in hand.

'That could be useful.'

They weren't in use so Theon did not see any harm in grabbing a few for his own use.

He walked around places he had already passed and made sure to place the mirrors down without being seen by the woman on standby who was now typing away on her computer. Theon was following his intuition, he placed the mirrors in places surrounding the library while not being spotted by both Robin and the library lady.

Now if needed the mirrors can show clear view of the library, next he summoned his dragons, small and harmless to grab a few books off of shelves and placed them on random tables to create minor disturbances.

This was a way to test out how well he can notice movements and other changes without constantly turning his head.

'Seems good so far.'

The librarian may get up to do her rounds and put them back in place but he'll be back here as many times as he feels necessary to continue with this until he finds out who this mystery stalker is.

'This is for both Jon and Robin.' He hadn't spoken to Jon directly yet and some people in the class had noticed it. Cole tried to make fun of the fact that he has to sit detention with the principal and Jon snapped at him and silenced everyone in class before leaving them all stunned.

"Theo?" His eyebrows raised but then he glanced in one of the well placed mirrors and seen the owner of the soft voice. Chloe Parker.

"I thought that was you..." Long and black silky hair and bright blue eyes that always complimented the cheerful and friendly smile on her face.

"I didn't notice you there, my bad."

"Oh no, its alright. I actually stumbled in here to ask for help but then I seen you so I thought to come up."

Theon's eyebrow raised again while interacting with her.

"Help with what? If you don't mind me asking."

"I got lost..." And now he was completely stumped. Chloe was similar to Robin in the fact that they were both kind and wanted to see the best in everyone. But Chloe differed in the fact that she was kind of air-headed, smart enough to be considered academically bright but Theon could see her struggle in many social interactions in the future if not for her bubbly personality.

She laughed seeing Theon's confused face, it was a light and quiet chuckle. They were still in a library.

"Well I was walking from class and putting something away in my bag and the moment I looked up I was somewhere completely different and then I ended up here in the library. I've never been here before, or even to a library this big."

"The library back in my town was not as big as this, it had a more cosy feel to it though. This one I can just get lost in."

"Kind of like your current predicament then." she laughed again and then led Theon out of the room. Theon thought that the delusional girl had just got lost but then when he walked out of the library he noticed something strange.

You see with the schools layout the library was usually at the very top of the building, the fourth floor. But now the light that came in through the windows was blocked off by an edge of the building that Theon was certain was not there before.

Actually he even went over to the window outside of the library to check and noticed that the floor seemed much closer than it had been, like they were on the second floor.

"What are you looking at?" Chloe asked.

"Oh nothing. I just believe you a bit more about just getting lost."

She seemed gleeful for some reason and then Theon noticed movement in her OD. Very minute but it was there and then suddenly small pieces of paper formed and folded into shapes of miniature birds, not big and loud crows but small birds that sing melodically.

There was no colour to them but the standard white of paper. It was only shape and then they started fluttering around in the air.

"This is what I usually do if lost, I just get them to find a way out for me."

And that's another power of his classmates that he now knows, a very cool one too... Paper Master... she called it.

She didn't explain it but to Theon it seemed simple enough to understand. She folded paper into a shape and it imitates that shape. How useful such a power would be.

He instantly thought of ways for it to be used in his current situation before stopping himself. *That's not my power*... he can do fine on his own with what he has already.

"You have an amazing power Chloe. really versatile." Theon broke out of his thoughts as he just realized that he was walking along side by side with the dark haired girl.

She clapped her hands together.

"Thank you, your dragons are really cool too Theo." She paused for a bit and Theon knew there was a question on her tongue that she wanted to ask but she kept quiet.

Since she stayed quiet he thought of egging her on to do so but his intuition told him not to. 'Maybe it was a question not worth answering.'

"Juniors!?" a surprised voice was next to speak making Chloe jump and Theon look at her in disappointment.

'Really, so you didn't pay attention to the continuous flapping of your paper birds.'

The one who had stopped them had actually been a familiar figure. The familiar tanned skin and wavy brown hair crowning his head with light green orbs staring at the two of them. It was the Rookie of the year Milo Nadir.

"You guys sure stuck around late."

"Oh no we're actually lost." Chloe corrected quickly as her paper birds were flying around her head.

"That's a nice power you got there." Theon wondered if Chloe were like this why she never revealed her power previously. "But being lost is pretty normal, especially for a first year."

Theon thought to speak up this time. "But we've been here three weeks now and haven't had any mishaps like this before."

Chloe and Milo looked at Theon in surprise.

"Really Theo, You've never got lost?"

'Why's she looking at me like that?'

Milo laughed as he looked at Theon. "That's a first. Even some second years and first years struggle to find their way around the school, that's cause of the barrier."

'Oh!' Theon realized his mistake, he never got lost because he was usually on autopilot during the mornings. He would just listen to his revelation go on and then follow his intuition to lead him to where he needed to be.

He felt stupid for potentially revealing something he shouldn't have.

"Isn't the barrier just for protection?" Theon asked trying to change the conversation away from him.

"Well yeah and some minor stuff. But basically the barrier changes the layout of all buildings on campus once a week. Its for security reasons."

Theon actually showed a look of interest at the revelation. It made sense, if the layout is constantly changing then even if someone were to sneak in thinking they knew it they would be sorely mistaken.

It seemed that barriers had many unique functions that could be of great use in the future.

"So you mind telling us how you can figure your way around without any assistance." Milo asked with a little smirk on his face and Chloe had a gleeful look on her as well.

"My ability is to do with dragons and I passively have enhanced traits so I just sniff my way to someone familiar." Well to hide something of greater importance you can always reveal something of yourself that holds no great importance.

"Really Theo," Chloe seemed overjoyed by the revelation. "So who's scent do you normally smell?" Theon can now see where this conversation can go very wrong and be incredibly jarring.

"Well typically its just a mixture of scents that has already stuck itself to out classroom so no one particular scent."

She didn't seem as intrigued by that answer, she had a fake sad look as spoke out again... "I feel like you're lying."

'Well I am.'

Theon ignored her and started moving past even the rookie of the year who gave a slight chuckle and agreed with her.

"Yeah I think you're lying too Theo."

Theon ignored them both as it was clear that Milo was just around to figure out his new juniors and mess with them, them turned into Theon since he just seemed like an easy target to rile up.

"Well maybe I am. But what does that matter, it means I've already decided not to give you the real answer."

Chloe chocked and Milo chuckled again as Theon walked quicker away from them until he had seen the exit and dashed outside and hopped up high in the air out of their sight.

Chloe and skipped past Milo and went outside expecting to see her classmate only to be surprised he was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go?" she said to no one in particular but Milo, he had instead looked in a certain direction.

The exact same direction that Theon was, standing atop a dragon as it was slowly backing away.

Theon ignored Milo's confident smirk and turned away and left on his way to the dorms. He had already done what he needed, all he had to do now was wait.

'Soon both Jon and Robin would be free.'

____________________________________

Freedom, Jon had come to this damn program for that reason. To be free.

And now some bastard is trying to take that away from him, wanting to make him some toy to play with.

"Hey Jon, why'd you start picking on some nobody's outside?" The question wasn't sincere, it came from Cole. To Jon, Cole was just some big idiot that always had on a stupid smile to hide his inferior nature even to his someone he spends most of his time with in Corey.

Cole was just annoying, he would happily call out someone in front of the whole class as it made him feel better while acting like he's none the wiser.

"Shut up Cole, you're as forgettable as those dipshits I left crying.." Jon stuck out his middle finger as Cole pretended he didn't hear everything Jon had said.

Jon was already on the move, he had no reason to be in class now that it was over early today. He has at least twenty minutes till he has to go to detention so he thought to use that time to think of another plan. 'I wonder what Theon's got up to?'

Using all the time he had for figuring out his next plan seemed to be interrupted. By Cole standing in his way. Cole was tall, the tallest student in the class. His wavy and unkept white hair and face that was trying to give off a look of intimidation just all amounted to what Jon thought of whenever he seen the boy.

Idiot.

Still he didn't think that Cole would confront him, he usually just laughs it off when people talk back to him.

"Apologize!" More of the class had started to look in their direction now and Jon was getting annoyed. He was starting to think that maybe he should have just ignored Cole, but to late to be thinking on what he could have done now.

"No." Jon didn't plan to spend long with this situation, he doesn't care much for repercussions here, he doesn't believe that they would just plan to kick him out so easily and he won't be beating up some nobodies this time, well to Jon, Cole was still a nobody but at least he was one that could fight back.

Cole stepped forward only to be stopped by the firm hand of someone Jon never would have expected. A low and resounding... "Stop." was enough to stop Cole who had tried to pull himself off of the grip.

The grip of Arte, Arte Graham was a reserved kid in class. Smart from what Jon could see. Jon sat near him in class and seen his answers during tests that the class took. Arte would usually go straight to the hardest answers and answers them perfectly before doodling in the spaces where easier questions were for the rest of the test.

Cole slipped out of Arte's grip and quickly turned to throw a punch only to... slip... past him.

Jon could clearly see it, Cole threw a punch but the punch never hit it's target, instead it just slipped past when coming in close contact with Arte's Od like it had made contact with the slippery and wet surface of a bar of soap.

'Cool. probably just a deflection like power.' Jon thought. 'I wonder how my blood would work on that, maybe he can't deflect from multiple parts of his body or...'

Jon stopped going through that thought process. He was too used to it, always had to be too ready, too aware of his surroundings, of the skills other people may have had over him.

And this only led him to understand and become aware of the freedoms that other people had that he didn't.

"Get off of me Corey." Jon looked down to see Corey had held Cole in place to stop him from trying to go after Arte.

Arte ignored the two and looked on to Jon, "You shouldn't be messing around like this either, you're already in too much bothersome trouble as is."

Jon knew, but he also couldn't just stop anymore. His phone buzzed and he slipped past Arte ignoring him even when he spoke out again to Jon.

"Are you alright? You can ask for help if you need it?"

Jon didn't look back at him but instead muttered a soft affirmation. He didn't even like relying on people. And that caused him to think on why he was so happy thinking about working with Theon, planning out what they would do and how it should be done.

The feeling was strange to him... 'Strange indeed.'

________

There was a building on the south side of the campus that Jon was directed to. More like ordered to be at.

The building was not used much, it was more of a 'hangout area' for the students of the school first to third years. Jon even started to see some older students as he was walking in.

Jon still thought on the picture stuck in his mind from his stalker and was finally beginning to remember where it had come from, it was an image of a building that he remembers going in from one of his first missions with the guild. Now he is wondering where this person got that image from.

There was so many questions that Jon had, and as he pondered on some he had begun to think that maybe this is just a call back. Someone from the guild is looking to bring him back, to scare him so badly he gets himself in a bad situation and has to try and run out and escape.

If that were true, 'then what would I do?'

As he thought on the questions swirling around in his mind he barely caught on to the few people walking out all at the same time in a weird dazed state, not speaking or even scrolling on their phones as they walked out.

'Weird.' He couldn't feel any OD use at play but he knew better than to forget on his experiences.

It looked like some sort of manipulation ability was at play here. Manipulating other people usually required some sort of medium, and from the quick glances at different body parts Jon couldn't see anything that would indicate so.

He looked back at the building with a newfound worry in his chest. His OD swirled around his arms and fists, just in case. Without fully stepping into the building though he had spotted someone who he had been keeping an eye on while in class but was surprised to see here.

"Elena!"