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Starfish Scares (13) : Starfish live in the sea. They do not live in freshwater rivers, lakes, or reservoirs with no connection to the ocean. Starfish are also not social creatures. And yet, here they are–in hoards. They can be found near any water source–and far from it. These starfish seem to be a unique species that are eager to travel and don’t seem quite bound to water, though they will seek it out. The starfish will latch onto just about anything they can to hitch a ride, even though they’re fast. They secrete an itchy, oozy slime after they’ve latched onto something, and though it seems as though they can absorb nutrients from any living creature, these starfish have an odd penchant for blood. You might as well have a colorful leech stuck to you as soon as you think one of these things crawling your way. Their bites are sharp and will leave the nearby skin itchy and painful. They are a bit difficult to remove but they can be killed; as soon as they have perished, they will rapidly dry out and crumble. However, it’s far more likely that they’ll escape before you can get your hands on them. Be vigilant; these things are pests–and smart enough to cling to people and vehicles alike if it means getting to where they want to go.

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Ophilia absently rubbed the sunblock in, her fingers gliding over the rapidly fading marks from her own magic gone awry. Several weeks had passed, the residual redness faded, but there were still a few faint scars on her arms where the acid-like magic had splashed back on her. After the first attack had gone so horribly wrong she had known it would do so again, and yet she hadn’t hesitated. The scars were marks of her actions. Of her bravery. Or at least that is what she tried to tell herself every time she saw them. The dark haired woman secretly hated them since they reminded her just how useless she was. How, even with magic on her side, she was nothing but dead weight for her cousin.

That dark cloud of melancholy and self-loathing was why she was currently sitting in the shade of a picnic bench umbrella at a smallish lake in one of the many parks of the city. She had turned up her nose at the idea of going to the reservoir when she wasn’t even going to get in the water. Besides, she figured the place would be packed with families with kids and couples. Too many people for her preference. So instead she had picked the smaller, quieter, and most importantly closer lake where she could still enjoy the cool breeze wafting over the water without dealing with the noise of people. In fact, she had the lake all to herself, baring one person on the far side who looked like they were fishing… or asleep. Ophilia wasn’t about to look a gifted horse in the mouth, and as such she tugged her sun hat lower on her head before starting her walk. She wasn’t going far, just down to the water’s edge to get her feet wet. The pebbly beach was surprisingly easy to walk on underneath her water shoe clad foot, there was no way in hell she was going into the lake in flip flops let alone barefoot.

The cool water lapped at her ankles as she strolled along, carefully picking her way across the small pebble covered beach. She soon became lost in her own thoughts, absently rubbing at one of her scars, when something sharp stung her on her ankle. Startled Ophilia instantly bent down to smack whatever it was off only to swipe at a starfish shaped object that was currently using her leg like some aquatic mosquito. The creature let go before her hand could even get close, plopping back into the water and disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Concerned, the young woman moved out of the reach of the small lapping waves and checked the wound, frowning even harder when she saw the small trickle of blood and rapidly redding area.

Muttering, and contemplating creative ways to get her vengeance, Ophilia started back towards the bench where her stuff was secured, only to let out a hiss of pain when she got ‘bit’ again on her other leg this time. This time she slapped at it, only to have her hand strike her own calf as the starfish darted off. Now pissed more than anything, and starting to fight the urge to claw at her own skin to stop the itchiness, the dark haired woman rushed towards her stuff. She snatched it all up, pausing only to tuck the little amber star charm in her pocket. She liked the little trinket and didn’t want to lose it.

Maybe the reservoir would have been a better idea. Better than the blood suckers there at the lake that was for sure!