Four Winds: Chapter One
Compass Rose
Yurii: My apologies if my Russian and Finnish are off. I'm still learning, and translations are HARD.
Summary:
The Blitzkrieg Boys are finally rid of Boris and Voltaire for good, and now that they can settle down again in Russia, everything seems to be normal… at least, until they run into the new Russian team: an all-girls team, the Four Winds. They're all from different parts of Europe, and they're good. Very good. Not about to be replaced, the result is one hell of a showdown where it's boys versus girls. Here's one other odd little tidbit; the team captain's bit beast appears to be Dranzer's long lost mate…
Winter fell heavily on Russia, just as it did every year. Everyone knew that this meant a world of white that seemed to last an eternity, nearly –20 degree weather and the constant internal drive that told them to keep walking. There was something hypnotic and universal about it; those who lay down died. The World Beyblading Tournament was over for now, until the next winter where it would be held in Russia's neighbor, Siberia. Standing in the four winds, one on each side of the country, four of one brethren watched the night sky as aurora borealis gave a stunning light show up in the ionosphere.
In the south in Vladivostok, frigid blue eyes watched, one from behind locks of auburn. The aura surrounding the owner of the blue eyes took the form of a strong, wary griffin.
In the west in Moscow, bottle green eyes saw the same show as the others, jet-black hair blowing over them. The aura of a stallion stood proudly around its master.
In the east in Novosibirsk, silvery-gray eyes looked to the stars around locks of honey brown with the same icy chill as the night air. The aura of a ram stood silently and proudly behind the one it served.
In the north in Khatanga, fiery crimson-gold eyes looked through locks of dark brown not at the display of lights, but up at the moon, the same one that hung over all four of them. This one's aura was that of the legendary phoenix.
On all sides of Russia, they knew things were going to be different when they saw one another again with the ascent of the sun that would rise in the east and set in the west, a cycle like the compass rose they represented.
"Home at last."
"If you could call it that. We have two more planes before we get to St. Petersburg."
Tala shrugged off Bryan's comment as the team headed towards Gate 14. They were currently in Vladivostok, the absolute farthest Russian city away from their destination. They would be meeting up with Ian in Novosibirsk, and from there it would be an uninterrupted flight home.
At the back of the line, Kai remained silent as he followed his teammates down the hall, paying no mind at all to the hordes of fans being held off by the security guards –who they were all grateful for- that Mr. Dickenson hired. Once again, he was deep in his thoughts. Dranzer wasn't really in the mood for talking via their 'mental chat room', which left him to ponder over the rumor that was spreading around Russia faster than the black plague.
According to aforementioned rumor, there was another team that would represent Russia in the tournament next year. They were called Tsyetirye Vyetra, or Four Winds. Nobody even knew the what the bladers' names were, they were just known by their names Zapad (West), Vostotsniy (East), Ugniy (South), and the team captain Syevrniy (North), who was supposed to be an extremely skilled and powerful young blader with a bit beast of fire and lightning.
"You what?"
The boys' flight was being delayed because of the snow outside, giving Tala the idea to call up their short teammate and mess with his head a little before meeting him in Novosibirsk.
"You heard me right, Red. But to my credit, I doubt it that you would have done much better."
"I still refuse to believe that you lost to a girl."
"Hey! Let's see you try and beat her when you get your butt over here! This gal is one crazy-ass blader."
Tala chuckled to himself, practically seeing the pissed-off look on the purple-haired teen's face.
"Whatever. Mind giving us the details on your slayer?" He teased.
"She's some nutty Slavic chick, Danica Arsenyev. She's got a water dragon called Kazic, and it's one nasty piece of work. Especially its Sapphire Riptide. I think she's supposed to be joining the Majestics."
"Interesting, you lost to the Yugoslavian champ. Hey, I've been hearing rumors here and there about a new Russian team, Tsyetirye Vyetra, Four Winds. Any ideas what all this is about? We could use some competition to keep us up to snuff until the next tournament."
"Just that their team captain goes by the name Syevrniy, North. He/she also has his/her nickname tattooed on their right arm in Russian. He/she is supposed to be one hell of a blader. That's all I got."
"Ah, well, thanks anyway. Our flight's getting ready to start boarding. Until then, do svedanya." (Do svedanya- Good Bye)
"Do svedanya."
Seating arrangements weren't exactly what the boys had expected, but they weren't complaining, seeing that none of the surrounding passengers mobbed them on a quest to get an autograph. Kai and Bryan had been put together with the lavender-eyed boy at the window seat, Spencer was across the aisle from them and sitting next to a sleeping old man that vaguely resembled Mr. Dickenson, and Tala was in front of Spencer with an empty window seat next to him. The last passenger to get on the plane was a teenaged girl, about his age. She slid past him and sat in the seat by the window with such grace, it seemed like she glided over the floor. He studied her in fascination.
----
She was dressed a little strangely; she had on a brown-roan long-sleeved ribbed shirt with a half-turtleneck and a fake corset that started at the top of her chest and ended at the end of the shirt. Over that was a very short vest, dark brown in color with a collar that stuck up and a few straps with gold buckles for decoration on the chest area. The sleeves were very loose and a bit long, contrasting with the almost skintight torso.
Below that, she had on a pair of very loose steel blue cargo jeans that were a little too big for her. A dark brown belt with a rust-gold colored buckle held her jeans up.
Her gloves were dark charcoal gray, fingerless, and had a brown strap around the wrist that could be tightened via the rust-gold buckle similar to her belt. There was a navy bandana tucked into her back pocket so that most of it stuck out, and resting in her lap was a hooded dark brown parka with a camel-brown stripe across the chest and arms. She had on a pair of riveted laced-up black combats that reached to just below her knees with the ends of her pants tucked into them.
She was just a little shorter than he was, around 5'7" without the boots on, give or take an inch. Since her clothing was rather form fitting, he could see that she had a rather well muscled, sleek build like that of a gymnast.
Her hair was a fiery red-auburn color that hung down about a half-foot shy of her slim waist, bound in the middle by an ice-blue ribbon with a kind of side sweep of her bangs hiding her left eye a bit. She was fair-skinned, looking even paler in contrast with her hair and blue eyes that were the color of frozen turquoise.
It was about then that he noticed a launcher and beyblade holster clipped onto her belt. The beyblade was a krylon blue color with a bronze attack ring, the launcher being entirely charcoal gray excluding the light gray ripcord and grips. Painted in silver on the top layer of her beyblade were the letters GD ZS, and underneath it in much smaller print were the words Gundula ZS. The bit chip bore the picture of a griffin, claws bared and beak open in a silent battle cry.
-----
A beyblader, and a serious one at that.
How can you tell?
The aura she's giving off is rather powerful and vigilant.
"It's rude to stare."
Tala looked up from his trance talking to Wolborg back up to the girl's face. She hadn't even opened her eyes, but she'd caught him nonetheless.
Excellent senses as well. Impressive.
"Sorry. I couldn't help but notice your beyblade."
"Hm. Most people can't."
Though the response was monotonous, he could sense the sarcasm and disbelief laced into her words.
"I suppose it would be redundant to introduce myself."
"I suppose it would."
Not much of a talker. Reminds me of Kai.
There was a short, somewhat awkward pause.
"I assume you're headed back to St. Petersburg, am I correct?"
"Stopping to pick up a teammate in Novosibirsk, but yes. How did you guess?"
"Anyone who has heard of the Blitzkrieg Boys knows that you spend the majority of the off-season there. I'll be meeting a couple of friends as well."
Another pause.
"Pardon my saying so, but I still don't know your name."
"Drayea, Drayea Rothstein."
She's German.
"Rothstein… that sounds familiar."
"I get that a lot."
The conversation went on for a good 30 minutes with short one-liners, mostly Tala asking questions and Drayea patiently answering them. It was almost surprising to him that she hadn't gotten annoyed, or at least was very good at not showing it.
"Say, have you heard the rumors about the so-called Four Winds team?"
Drayea tensed slightly at the last three words.
"Only a few. Their captain is supposed to be a real powerhouse."
"Any idea who they are?"
"Nein, not really. I've heard that at least two of them are girls."
Tala cocked an eyebrow.
That was an unexpected twist.
Goddamn it, Gundula! Stop putting words in my mouth!
Inside Drayea's head, the griffin chuckled good-naturedly.
Aw, you never let me have any fun.
Keep it up, and I won't let you out of your bit chip next battle.
Silence.
Good call.
"Eh, those are just rumors. For all we know, they might not even be a real team."
The wolf blader sitting next to her put on a thoughtful look, giving her a moment to study him.
Unlike most of his other teammates –save for Bryan-, he was a lot paler in comparison to (for example) Kai. His eyes were blue like her own, but at the same time incredibly different; they were an icy sapphire color, but they didn't hold the same sub-zero barrier that hers did. His hair was a little more vibrant than hers, more of a red than auburn.
Heh… he's clueless.
The flight ended within a few hours, and much to the boys' disgruntlement –and impatience-, a blizzard was going to stall them a good four hours.
"Flight 467 arriving at Gate 14 from Chita."
From where he was watching, Tala could see as Drayea looked up towards the gate. She raised one arm in the air, and a blonde teenager noticed and mock-saluted back with a wink.
"Yo, Red, earth to Tala."
Said redhead glared at Ian, who was standing 5 feet away with a smirk on his face. However, his mood brightened when he saw the previously mentioned Yugoslavian blader Danica Arsenyev.
Ammunition. He thought with a smirk.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Guys, the crazy dragon who beat me. Dani, my idiot teammates."
Oh, so now he has a nickname for her? I'm going to get a lot of mileage out of this one.
The girl smirked as if reading his thoughts. She had dirty-blonde hair that was pulled in a ponytail that went just past her shoulders, a few strands falling in her face over her soft blue eyes. They were nowhere near as intense as Drayea's were; the German girl's eyes would remain in his memory for a long time.
She was wearing a goldenrod long-sleeved shirt with a black short-sleeved over shirt that had a thick stripe of the same color as the first shirt across her chest. Tied around her waist was a toffee-brown parka that appeared much too large for her.
As for her pants, they were steel blue parachute pants above the knees, and below that they were the color of faded denim. Her boots looked very similar to Bryan's, only lacking the armored plate on the front.
Her gloves were very similar to Tala's in the sense that there seemed to be thin, armored plates on every non-jointed area covering the top of her hand. There was a launcher and blade holster held by a brown belt that was hanging loosely around her hips. Unlike the other two, her blade was electric gold and black. A winged serpent with a fin edging its tail and back adorned the bit chip; Kazic.
"Yo." She greeted them, holding up a hand as a kind of hello.
Having already figured out who she was, Tala turned his attention back to Drayea's so-called friend.
The girl was noticeably shorter than Drayea was (some 3 or 4 inches), and her hair was a rich honey-gold color. Her eyes, unlike the other girl's, were a silvery-gray shade. Her hairstyle was swept up into a messy bun except for two straight locks of hair, one on either side of her face.
She was dressed in a midnight-blue one-strap shirt, and on the side that had no straps; there was a long sleeve strapped to her upper arm like an arm-warmer. The strap itself was just like a dark brown belt with a gold buckle.
Her pants were made of thick black leather and were tucked into the tops of her shin-height dark russet boots, the rivets painted gold. As for her gloves, they were fingerless, dark brown and reached up to just below the junction where her torso and arm met where they were topped by a brown strap and gold buckle. A navy blue fabric belt was tied around her hips with the knot off to her right side, and there was a black choker with a gold lightning bolt charm around her neck.
Slung over her shoulder was a hooded navy blue and cobalt parka that had black lining on the sleeves, bottom and hood. Unlike her friend, this one had her blade strapped to her arm (the one without the sleeve on it) in a pouch similar to Tyson's and her launcher probably in her pocket.
"Riikka, Se has jotavastoin." (1)
"Että se has. Kuinka hankkia te?" (2)
"Kummuta, kiittää te. Hankkia te kuulla jokin polveutua toiset?" (3)
"Ei Nyt kuluva on ei parhaiten kohta jotta juoruta jokseenkin se. Me jälkisäädös hiippakunta toiset aikaisin." (4)
It took him a minute to register that they were speaking in Finnish, one of the few languages he didn't know.
The other girl, Riikka, is the Finn. Her bit beast and aura aren't quite as potent as Drayea's, though they are strong.
Can you tell which bit beast it is?
Wolborg was silent a minute or two.
I'm pretty sure it's Ukko. I can't be sure on the element.
Hm…
The two girls took a row of seats not far off from theirs as the wind and snow picked up outside. A chorus of groans came from Ian, Danica and Bryan.
We're gonna be here a while…
---4 HOURS LATER---
The blizzard outside was still raging, and the lights had to be shut off to keep the heater running without blowing a fuse. It was quiet except for the howling winds outside, but it was nice. Over a few benches, Drayea and Riikka were taking up 4 seats sitting back-to-back (sitting in one chair, legs hanging over onto another) with the Finn asleep and the German listening to her iPod, their duffels piled right next to them. Both had put their parkas on to keep from freezing. The only people who appeared to be awake were Drayea, him and Kai. Much to his amusement, Ian and Danica had fallen asleep leaning on one another. The Slavic girl was muttering something in her sleep, something about 'killing that womanizer Enrique'. He almost felt bad for the blonde Italian... almost.
Watch out for the Majestics this tournament, she and Kazic are a powerful team.
I'll keep that in mind.
Meanwhile, Kai was conversing with Dranzer. She seemed to be worried about something concerning the girl Tala had sat next to on the plane.
Something doesn't feel quite right… that blue-eyed girl's bit beast is giving off a powerful aura, and it has a connection to some other bit beast… it's like nothing I've ever felt before, that kind of raw power.
Do you think it could be Black Dranzer?
Unlikely. It's nowhere near dark enough to be him. Still, it feels unusually familiar, but I don't know where from.
Odd. Considering how long you've been around, you should remember a lot.
Are you calling me old?
Kai smirked inwardly. That was Dranzer's way of lightening the mood; finding a way to make something he said sound either dumb and sarcastic or just plain insulting.
"Flight 238 for St. Petersburg now boarding."
"Okay, now I can say it; home at last."
The jet was unloading the passengers, and it was then that Tala noted the advantage of arriving at 3 in the morning. NO PAPARAZZI. ("Yes…")
The German and Finnish bladers had met up with their so-called 'friends', both of whom seemed to attract both Spencer's and Kai's attention.
The taller of the two, whom he could tell was Japanese, had shoulder-length black hair (half of which was pulled into a bun) and had blazing emerald eyes.
She was dressed in a much more feminine way; her shirt was a royal red color, long sleeved with an oriental-style color lined in gold, same as the sleeves and hem. Gold sakura blossoms were skillfully embroidered into the front and a rearing, wild stallion took up her back in gold and black thread. In the front and back, two ends like a loincloth hung down to just below her knees with slits up to the bottom of her chest, and under that was a long black skintight silk shirt.
Her pants were thick black silk, and tied loosely around her hips was a belt of the same material and color, the knot and two ends hanging in the front. Her shoes were form-fitting brown boots that reached up to her knees with the ends of her pants tucked loosely into them.
She had a dark crimson parka in her hands, where instead of gloves, there was athletic tape wrapped around her hands like fingerless gloves. Her launcher and blade were strapped to her right thigh by a garter of crimson and gold. The launcher itself was red with goldenrod-yellow grips, and the blade was electric gold and midnight blue.
------
The other girl, whom he overheard being called the team captain, was a little more interesting and complex; that was what really got Kai's attention.
Unlike the others, she had long, braided dark brown hair hanging behind her around waist-length. On top, it was rather messy with spiky bangs, one hanging in her face and the other two (one on each side) framing the sides of her face. Her eyes were what really got their attention; they were a rare, brilliantly fiery crimson-gold color.
From what her clothes allowed, he could see that she had a slender neck and feminine shoulders, but fairly well built. Her shirt was a bit complex; it was a strapless charcoal-gray shirt with one black buckle serving as the top of the shirt, held tight by a silver buckle. There were 2 more, smaller ones around her waist, the shirt stopping at a point just above her belt and exposing some skin. Again, she was fairly muscular, but toned down to show a sleek, feminine body. Two thin black straps rested over her shoulders, and around each arm was a black strap with a silver buckle just like the ones on her shirt. They each held in place a very loose charcoal-gray long sleeve that hung down a bit on the outside at the top.
As for her belt, it looked slightly like she had a trench coat tucked into it and hanging down to her ankles. In the front, a dark gray loincloth style piece of fabric hung down to the middle of her shins. Her pants were loose, black cargoes that were tucked into the tops of her shin-high charcoal armored, steel-toed boots with a rectangular metal plate held to the front by 3 black straps.
On her hands was a pair of black fingerless gloves with a rectangular metal plate on the backs of her hands, and if he had to guess her height, it would be around 5'6"-5'8" or so. Tied around her neck was a black scarf, tied in the back with both ends reaching down to the backs of her knees.
In her hand was a black trench coat-slash-parka with a high collar, and her launcher and blade were hanging down from her belt. The holster itself was brown leather, and the launcher was black with gray grips. Much to his surprise, he realized she had two blades. The one with the bit chip showing was black and silver, the bit chip bearing a majestic four-winged phoenix. The one behind it was black, crimson and bronze.
The aura coming off of that one is incredible, I've never felt anything like that before, it's amazing.
Without even a word, the four headed off on their way. But before they left, the fiery-eyed girl shot them a wary look before she walked out of sight. As she rounded the corner, a tattoo on her left upper arm came into view: Северный, Syevrniy... North Wind. They stood there a moment in silence before Ian spoke up.
"Call me crazy, but I think that was the Four Winds."
(1) Riikka, it has been a while.
(2) That it has. How have you been?
(3) Well, thank you. Have you heard from the others?
(4) No. This is not the best place to talk about it. We will see the others soon.
Yurii: How was that? Damn, first chapters are hard to do… Review!
Oh, and just for the record, it fucking took me forever to look up all those names; I try to take the time to get the culture and history right, SO NO WHINING!