Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sound of the door clicking shut seemed to echo in the silence that permeated her home. Merci's fox-like ears perked up on the top of her head as she shouldered out of the leather jacket and hung it on the nearby coat rack. She couldn't hear them moving about, but then again she rarely did. Her two housemates could move as silently as death when they wanted to, and it annoyed the hell out of the kitsune. Her house was old, as one could tell by the feeling that washed over them when the walked in. Old houses have a spirit of their very own, and this house was no different. She had inherited the place from an old friend that had moved on and wouldn't need it anymore, it now sheltered her and everything she held dear.

She walked slowly down the hallway and hung a left into the parlor. The room wasn't gaudy, but it was definitely decorated by someone other then the leather clad woman that paced into the room now. It was period, and done in antiques. She had attempted to change it, but her housemates had overruled her. The only thing in the room that she had changed was one of the couches, and she flopped down on it bonelessly, allowing it to cushion her body and cradle her like a child. Merci sat there for a moment, allowing everything to sink in slowly.

In her hand, she held an ornate silver ring, with a beautiful stone set inside of it. The stone, she had been told, housed a soul. Not just any soul, a weakened one that would surely die if not cared for. Things were a little jumbled, but she knew that the ring had been stealing energy from another like itself, and it was now attached to her, stealing her energies as well. Merci wasn't in pain, and the feeling of numb detachment had slowly passed, but she was still unsure as to how that ring had gotten into her pocket to begin with.

The woman lifted her legs and curled them up under her body, freeing her hair and tossing it back over the couch. She lifted her hand up, and looked at the ring in her palm. The other stone Athan had shown her had been surrounded by black wisps of... Shadows. Then there had been that other little shadow girl, she'd been called Citrine, she seemed awfully attached to that, somewhat frightening man. Is that would this little stone would turn into? Would this end up being like Citrine?

Merci sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, playing the events through in her mind, still trying to make sense out of everything. She just about leapt out of her skin when a soft voice reached her from a very close proximity behind her. "You're home late...." Merci's ears flattened out and she turned around to see Seraph curled up on the carpet directly behind her, looking as serene as ever. Seraph was one of the two medusa that lived and shared her home, and he seemed to get some sort of perverse joy out of scaring the tar out of her. At least she thought he got pleasure out of it, his face never seemed to register any kind of emotion whatsoever, so it was a blind guess.

"I was out..." The Kitsune grumbled, sinking lower in the couch.

"Vance and I were worried about you." The medusa moved forward, gracefully, curling his way around the furniture to settle next to her. His eyes were covered by what appeared to be sunglasses, but Merci knew better then to think he couldn't see with them on, and she followed where his head pointed... "I see you have a new... ring?"

Merci flushed and she curled her fingers around the stone and held it up against her chest. "Yes I do, and I would appreciate it if you and Vance would leave it alone actually. It's very precious to me." The quirked eyebrow was the most reaction she would ever get out of the medusa, and she sighed. "I got it in a store tonight; it's a very special ring. Just promise me that you guys will leave it alone. It's... It's fragile."

Seraph gave an affirmative nod, "of course it doesn't look fragile, and it looks remarkably well made. I think perhaps you are not giving the craftsman adequate credit." His tone was mild, and seemed to fluctuate enough to make him not completely monotonic.

Merci shook her head, "The ring itself isn't fragile, it's the..." She paused and wondered how she could explain this. She herself wasn't completely sure of what was going on yet. The soul inside is dying and I have to nurse it back to health with my own energies? Is that really what was going on? That would make the stone a parasite really. Seraph wouldn't like that sort of explanation. "Well the stone inside isn't set quite right, I have to have a jeweler look at it and make sure it doesn't fall out." She honestly hoped he would buy it, though she always felt guilty when she lied to her boys.

She watched him, and it took him some moments to analyze the information, "I see, I shall inform Vance when he awakens from his slumber. Will you be needing anything else?"

Merci smiled a little bit and shook her head, climbing off the couch to stand up and stretch. She moved her arms straight up above her head and arched her back with a small groan of satisfaction. "Nah I think I'm good Seraph... I'll be heading off to bed though." The larger medusa moved out of her way as she shifted past him toward the stairs. She could feel his eyes on her as she exited the parlor and jogged up the stairs to the first landing. Soon enough they would both know, she just didn't want them trying to take it away from her before it had gotten some of its strength back. Both medusa were a tad bit overprotective of her, and she never fully understood why. She did know one thing though; she didn’t like lying to her housemates. Sometimes you had to do things you didn't like for the greater good.

The blindfold didn't hide the fact that Vance was peering over his hand of cards at her. Merci knew he was trying to read her tells, and she was having none of it. She was doing an amazing impression of an iceberg right now. Poker in this house was more of a blood sport then a game, and you could tell by the tension that sung in the air. Vance studied her, and she returned his gaze, both of them sizing each other up, five cards spread fanlike in their hands. One watching the situation might think it amusing that neither competitor turned their attentions on Seraph, attempting to read him was impossible, his face never twitched.

The kitsune for once wasn't bluffing, and it was everything she could do to keep herself from jumping up on the table and doing an Irish jig. She had an amazing hand. Royalty stared up at her, in beautiful red, hearts all displayed up in the corner. A royal flush, the poker addict’s best friend.

Vance casually turned his face toward Seraph, as it was his turn to call the bet; however the Chinese medusa shook his head gently. "I fold." Inwardly Merci was howling with glee, by the end of this hand, she wouldn't have to do chores for a whole month! The woman's green eyes moved to the pink haired gentleman sitting in front of her. She knew she had him when he shifted his coils, tightening his body in on itself. "Well my darling, I'll see you your two days of laundry." She paused and put a finger up when he started to move as if to reveal his hand. "Wait... I want to raise you three days of dishes..." Oh Merci knew she wasn't playing fair. Vance didn't have it in him to fold, he just couldn't.

His voice growled as he spoke "Call. Show me." He dropped his cards spread on the table in front of him. Merci leaned forward and crowed as she dropped her cards on top of his. He didn't have a bad hand, four of a kind, but low numbers. The woman cackled as she pointed at him "Loser!"

A soft tsk came from Seraph as he looked over at his friend, "She did beat you..."

Vance hissed and cussed a blue streak, as he stared down at the cards on the table. "You have the luck of the damned devil..." He sounded so unhappy. The chore list would end up being mostly Seraph's, as he had lost more then the other two. Vance had always prided himself on winning the most and being able to laze about the house during the month. This time however, Merci got off scott free, the boys had been trounced.

The lady of the house rose gracefully to her feet, her hand moving up to hold the ring that had made it's home on a chain around her neck. She put it there so it could always be near her heart, and it could strengthen itself on her energies. "Well boys, I think I am off to bed." her voice was practically purring.

Vance watched her and he scowled slowly. "Wait a moment, one more game...”

Her gaze leveled on him and she frowned, "you don't have anything left to barter with. You're already doing all of my chores for the month."

"Humor me, the next year of your chores. If..." He held up a hand and kept the evil smile on his face, "you give up that ring of yours and let me keep it for the next month."

Merci gaped at him. She knew that the medusa were not overly fond of the ring. She knew that they thought it was an unhealthy obsession and had been trying to find a way to get her to put it down and leave it be. Somehow she didn't think they would stoop to this level. Vance chancing the household chores for the next year was startling and somehow very amusing. Was it worth it though? Merci couldn't part with her Diopside; the soul that resided inside of the stone would die if it was parted from her.

Wait a second...

The soul was in the stone, not the ring. Vance said for a month with the ring. She grinned slightly and sat down at the table again. "Alright Vance, your on." Seraph turned and moved up to the edge of the table, settling in comfortably to watch the match. The pink haired Medusa reached out to pick up the deck and was intercepted by Merci's hand. "How about Seraph deals, so you don't have the opportunity to stack the deck."

He drew his hand back and put it up to his chest, looking mock insulted. "I am wounded that you would even imply that I was capable of such a thing."

"Oh can it, I know you. You would do it to get out of doing a year's worth of chores." She shot back at him before shoving the deck of cards over at Seraph. The rather stately Chinese medusa picked it up and shuffled, thoroughly. The cards slid over the surface of the table and came to rest in front of the two participants. Merci reached her hand out and picked up her five cards.

This... was probably the worst poker hand she had ever gotten. All of them were low cards, no two alike, and none in sequential order. She was suddenly glad she had thought this through pretty thoroughly because, this hand was a mess. Her brow furrowed slightly as she stared at her cards and she heard Vance chuckle from the other side of the table. Her head jerked up and his head was tilted in such a way she knew he was staring at her through the blindfold. "Oh can it and just play the game." She snapped. Merci was not the best person in the world and hiding what she was thinking, and Vance used that to his advantage. Well he would be surprised at the end of the game. She dropped the cards face down and slid them across the smooth surface of the table to Seraph. "Two cards please mister dealer."

Seraph slid the cards out for her, and then Vance who asked for one card. He looked up at her and openly smiled, Merci knew he had her. She just knew it. There was no betting, as the terms of the game had been decided before the match. They both lay their cards down, her with a two of a kind, and he with a full house. His long sinuous body lay out over the table as he held out his hand "I believe you owe me that ring...?"

Merci bared her teeth at him and grumbled under her breath as she undid the chain from her neck. She held the ring in her hand and nodded, "Alright, fair is fair. You earned it Vance." She held the ring up and slid her nail between the stone and the setting. She had to work at it, and both the Medusa was staring at her in something like shock while she did. The woman grimaced, if she tried to do it with her fingernail it would likely break. She stood up and marched out of the parlor.

Both of the Medusa followed her, and Vance was griping. "You said you would give it to me, so give it to me. You’re just delaying the inevitable. I won the ring fair and square so turn it over." She padded down the hallway and into her bathroom. She opened a few drawers and rummaged around until she came up triumphantly with a nail file. Merci pulled her nail free from where she had it in the ring and replaced it with the metal instrument. She slowly pried the setting up enough that she could remove the stone.

The little black Diopside dropped free of its metal prison, and her hand curled around it. Merci smiled and extended out her hand, dropping the silver ring into Vance's hand, stone free. "There, in fact you can keep it if you want to. Get a new stone and it might look nice on you. Sorta pimpish."

She sounded far too gleeful about it, and Vance pointed at her. "You said you would give it up!"

She lost her smile and tightened her hand around the stone. "I did give it up. I gave you exactly what you asked for, the ring. Now you're all upset about it? You should be careful what you ask for." With that she humphed and marched past them to go upstairs.

It was nice not to live alone, but sometimes they could be downright bitchy and Merci needed to escape. She could hear Seraph telling Vance that she was right as she trotted up the stairs toward freedom.

Merci paced up and down the long upstairs hallway, her tail twitching sporadically behind her. She’d promised the stone that it wouldn’t have to wait long, but it had been a clear two days since it had first exhibited signs of its own life. She was supposed to talk to her house mates and smooth all this out. In the meantime she had been hiding away in her bedroom with little to no contact with the world outside. The kitsune woman had made it a nice little nest inside of an old ornate silver silk lined jewelry box for the little stone; it had been a gift to her from her first husband, and honestly the woman was happy to find a use for the thing. Her divorce with him hadn’t been pleasant and she had been thinking of getting rid of the gorgeous box. Little Diopside had seemed to lounge in it like a tiny king, its shadowy arms almost constantly moving over the silk of the box. Merci got the feeling that those shadows were like the feelers on an insect, allowing it to explore the world around it.

The last couple nights, she would wait until all sounds of movement had ceased. She snuck up to the Widow’s Walk, the little box cradled in her hands and curled up, her legs under her, to look up at the sky. It seemed to her it was the only time the little stone was truly still. Its shadows still moved, like the arms of the Milky Way around itself. The woman got the distinct impression that it was actually thinking. Merci went back and forth between thinking that she was crazy, a stone couldn’t possibly think, to feeling proud of her newfound soul child.

But this was unfair to the Diopside. The redhead was not going to let her house mates make her afraid to walk around her own home.

She snapped back to the present, and paused in front of her bedroom door for the umpteenth time. The red head opened her hand from where she had it curled carefully around her tiny charge. She couldn’t put it off any longer. Vance and Seraph had made their attitudes quite clear. Vance had avoided her altogether, which felt odd, as she and the stubborn pink haired snake man enjoyed the banter the other provided. His silence more then anything he could say portrayed just how unhappy he was with her. Seraph on the other hand had been much more practical about things, but then he usually was. He never seemed to be too ruffled by anything, and unless you knew him really well you would think that the situation didn’t ruffle him in the least. The only way she could tell was the slight shift in his body away from her when she walked into a room with the both of them, from him that was as good as a right hook to the chin.

The two day standoff was going to end now. Merci cradled the stone in her hands and didn’t stop and turn around when she headed toward the end of the hallway. She marched down those stairs with purpose, after all she was supposed to be in charge here right? What is the worst they could possibly do; they were already practically giving her the silent treatment. Not to mention that she was finding that her little luxuries were being tapered off. Seraph was an excellent baker and he loved to do it, the Chinese medusa would putter around the kitchen all day happily. Since Diopside came home, however, there were no cakes, no cookies, and no confections of any kind!

The sweet tooth would kill her before their cold shoulders would.

Her combat booted feet clomped down the hallway and into the parlor. Honestly the original intention of this room had been to strictly entertain company, but the current inhabitants of the house used this room as the main focus of life. Seraph had taken care of hiding all the touches of technology. He had the Television behind a wall hanging, the stereo was set inside a curio of sorts, and the telephone was actually hidden in a writing desk. The very traditional snake wouldn’t put up with anyone trying to change anything about the room, and it had taken Merci threatening to pull his scales off one by one to get her huge comfy leather couch in it.

The two of them were curled up on said couch, watching one of the sappy love stories that Merci secretly loved so much. She paused in the doorway and let herself get caught up momentarily in the heartbreaking moment when two souls find each other forever. She herself had never been so lucky, five husbands and four divorces and one funeral later, she had really given up on ever being a part of a duo. Vance cleared his throat to get her attention, his blindfolded face turned toward her, the top hat on his pink hair at a rather careless angle. “Was there something you wanted, Mistress”

He only used that tone of voice when he was being a smartass, and her temper immediately flared. This did not bode well for the negotiations to come. “Actually, yes there is.” She clasped her hands in front of her, making a small cage for the little floating stone. The last thing the fox woman wanted was either of them to catch sight of him to soon. “I want to talk to you both, and I want you to listen to what I have to say.” She took a deep breath and plunged on before either could say anything. “I know how you feel about the stone; you have both made that painfully ******** clear. However I do own this house, and technically you answer to me. It isn’t going anywhere. I’ve thought about this long and hard, and the danger that it might bring is worth the potential rewards. I am not going to let either of you take that away from me.” She paused for another deep breath before she continued babbling into the silence, “I know how you feel about change Seraph, but sometimes change is necessary for the progression of life. We can’t stagnate, and let nothing new and exciting in because it might shake things up a little bit. Vance, I know you’re scared for me, even though you won’t admit it. It’s touching honestly, but I need to do this for myself. I know damned well you wouldn’t respect me if I were a coward and walked away from an adventure that promises to be this exciting.”

Vance and Seraph sat silently, both blindfolded faces staring at her from over the back of the couch. Seraph let out a small sigh, which was about all the response she was going to get. The woman took that as a good sign; he didn’t get up and leave the room, so he was likely ready to give this thing a chance. Considering she just spelled out that the little tirades were not going to change her mind, she hoped that Vance would be so forgiving.

And of course, he wasn’t.

“What the hell do you mean I wouldn’t respect you? You have a damned parasite thing living off your life force! It’s sucking your soul away little bits at a time. It is not okay to make a sacrifice like that; you have no idea what it is going to end up doing to you.” Vance shifted his sinuous body off the cushions and rounded the couch slowly, using his superior height to try and intimidate the small kitsune.

Merci stepped back, mostly because she hated it when he tried to manipulate her with size. “But it is my choice. I have made it, if you can’t and won’t respect me, then at least accept that I have made up my mind and it isn’t going anywhere.”

“It’s got you bewitched, it’s best to destroy it now. After awhile who knows, you could go though withdrawals like a drug addict or worse. Get out now, and let us get rid of that horrid little thing.” Vance’s blindfolded face turned down to look at her clasped hands, as if he could see right through her flesh to the tiny little stone.

The red headed woman defiantly opened her hands, the little tendrils of shadow unfurled around the stone as it rose to float just slightly above the skin of her hands. They twisted and turned for a moment as if stretching, before they slowly calmed down to rotate around it like they usually did. Vance flinched back away from it and instinctively put his hands up. “What the hell is that thing?” His voice was flat, and his face twisted slightly with the disgust or horror he must have been feeling at that moment. Merci could imagine all the things passing through his mind, because despite himself she was sure he cared for her.

“This is the stone Vance, and I am going to take it back to the shop I got it from to ask some questions about it. I swear, I will try and do this intelligently alright?”

“I don’t know if you’re capable of doing anything intelligently, let alone something like this. Here.” Vance pushed two fingers into one of his coat pockets and produced the ring that had cradled the stone before Merci popped it out. “Take this, I bet you were just supposed to nurse it back to health. They probably want it back to sell to some rich person now.”

The thought of losing her stone to someone actually made her heart feel cold and heavy. She imagined walking in and handing back the ring and stone to the owner. Merci wasn’t sure she could do it; in fact it sent chills down her spine. It was so fragile, how could she be sure whoever took it from her would treat it with the some love she felt?

Love. What a silly word love. It meant so much and some would believe she was using the word lightly. Hell she was worried that she was using it flippantly, but it was the truth. Plain and simple.

Her booted feet slid back on the wooden floor and she offered a mute nod. Her throat was closed up and she couldn’t seem to force words around the lump. Few people could get to her like Vance, it’s like he always knew just what to say to piss her off. Merci almost missed his quiet words, “If you are so damned set on keeping it, fine. I would suggest however, that you not expect me to be happy with your decision.”

Without answering she turned on her heel and walked away from the parlor, and up the stairs. The woman needed to hide; she resented him for intimating that she was stupid. Worse then that though, she was now utterly terrified to take the little thing back.

She knew it was the right thing to do, but she didn’t have to like it.

Merci was peeking over the edge of the table, the bridge of her nose pressed to it. Her fiery red hair curled down around her face and the fox like ears stuck straight up off the top of her head. The kitchen was Seraph’s domain, and everything sparkled under his care. The appliances all looked brand new, the chrome winked in the sunlight, and there was the quiet, calming hum of the refrigerator in the background. The woman however, was fixated on the little stone that hovered just bare centimeters from the gleaming tabletop. The star on the surface of the smooth rock refracted the glow coming from the nearby window, almost making it look like a four pointed eye looking toward the light. The tendrils of shadow were all the more striking as they trailed around Diopside, like the arms of the galaxy, or the ribbons of a dancer.

The woman squinted her eyes, and one of her arms appeared from beneath the table. In her fingers was a seedless green grape. She dropped it, and slowly pushed it toward her little boy. The redhead wasn’t sure what souls subsisted on, other then her own energy. She didn’t want to be a neglectful mother, and so far today she had tried to feed him a potato chip, a piece of candy, small hunk of lunchmeat and kernelled corn. He’d reached out, and enveloped the food she had offered him with his little “arms”. However each time he would slowly retract them, leaving the rations completely untouched.

The grape rolled toward Diopside, and didn’t stop until it actually knocked into him. His little shadows failed, much like someone would windmill their arms to keep their balance. He wobbled, and the stone touched down on the table and spun slowly on its back. Merci straightened a bit and propped her chin on the tabletop, and she reached a hand out and stopped him from spinning. The shadows reached out to take hold of the offending piece of fruit, cocooning it.

What was this? It had hit him so hard he hadn’t really been prepared for it. The surface was so smooth, but it didn’t seem to have the energies that the big creature nearby did. He liked his big thing; she kept him safe and gave him a nice comfy place to rest. Better though, even then all that was the warmth he got from her. He’d been so cold before, and so weak, but he was starting to feel better.

The smooth thing lost his interest and he stopped trying to touch it. He wasn’t sure what this exercise was all about, but everything his big thing put down wasn’t nearly as fun as when she took him up into the dark, cool air. He liked the shiny points of light; he wished she would take him up to see them again now.

Merci slid herself into the chair and sighed gently. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to eat, but she had one more thing she wanted to try before she gave up on feeding him completely. The fox woman leaned over and picked up sundae bowl and a can of lemon lime soda pop she had gotten out earlier. Her fingernail slid under the tab and the loud popping sound seemed to echo in the almost sterile kitchen. She poured a bit of the carbonated beverage into the bowl, mostly because the lip would be easier for him to navigate then an actual glass. The redhead picked the little bowl up carefully she put it down right next to Diopside, she pushed with her legs and slid her chair back across the ground to rest her chin on the table one more time.

She understood that he likely didn’t need sustenance like she and the boys did. Merci had however been hoping that he could find energy from outside sources, other then just from her. It would have made living with the two glowering snake men that much easier, pointing out that he didn’t only feed on her like some sort of tiny little energy vampire. The screaming match she and Vance had gotten into when she had returned to the home with her little stone had been bloody epic. Her ears still rang four days later. It didn’t matter how much Merci pointed out that Diopside was tiny and wouldn’t need that much of her energy, Vance had screamed that size didn’t matter.

Something she never thought she would hear coming out of his mouth.

One of the shadows got a little close to the sundae cup and got hit with the fine spray that seems to float around a fresh carbonated soda. It flinched back away, like the tentacles of an anemone, pulling in on itself to avoid the possible danger. The smile that curled Merci’s lips was honestly a rare one, she’d had little enough to smile about recently.

Shock rippled through him, what had touched him! The bowl was making weird little popping sounds and it touched him with something he couldn’t see. He paused; completely unsure what to do, he pulled himself in as close as he could. Would his big thing let him get hurt? He doubted it, but this stuff was so weird! He reached out slowly and jerked back just a touch when one of the bubbles popped right next to him. Tentatively, he reached across the surface of the liquid, and he was surprised that it didn’t hurt.

It was just so noisy, and active that he had confused it for something dangerous. This was a much more fun thing then the other stuff she had presented him with.

Merci sat bemused as her little Diopside inched closer and finally reached out to cover the surface of the liquid with his little tentacle like shadows. She was fairly sure by now that none of the soda would be consumed, but she wanted to make sure. Watching him play, her mind wandered. Mystic had told her they didn’t have names, that the guardians of the stones chose names for them. Somehow that seemed rather sad to her, lost souls, alone with no name. Diopside was so impersonal too, way to long and cumbersome for such a curious boy.

Ralph? Gross, that wouldn’t do. She had known a Ralph once, he’d worn glasses and always had this sort of pissed off look. Eugene was too normal, though he reminded her a little of her friend Eugene, she’d known him so long ago. Nickname would likely be better then giving him a new name altogether, something like… Dio!

Merci grinned and pulled the soda away from the curious little wisp. “Don’t play with your food.” She said in a light tone, before she lifted the cup to her lips and drank its contents. “Come on my little Dio. Let’s go watch a movie.” She scooped him up into her hand and disposed of the grape and dishes. Seraph would be in shortly after to clean up after her, she wasn’t worried about that, but she didn’t want him to think she didn’t respect what he did for her and the household by blatantly ignoring his likes and dislikes.

The fox lady walked across the house and bounded up the stairs, Dio’s little arms reaching out to wrap around her thumb and pinky finger as she carried him along for the ride. Merci retreated into her room, to watch the corny sappy love stories she loved to watch so much. Her little boy cradled in the satin interior of his own little jewelry box.

For once, all was peaceful.

Merci stretched and rolled over; the sun shining on her eyes shook her out of her slumber. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so well. Sitting up she stretched and shuffled her feet into some overly stuffed slippers that Vance had gotten her a long time ago. He told her it freaked him out when he had to rub along the floor that her bare feet touched. She didn’t spare a glance toward the dresser as she hunkered out of the bedroom to go through her morning rituals of getting dressed and brushing her teeth.

Vance and Seraph were in the kitchen having coffee when they heard the scream from upstairs, both of them jerked upright and stared at the door. A short time later, Maili slithered into the room, her arm around Merci. “It’s alright, calm down. He’s probably around here somewhere alright?”

“No it isn’t alright! It isn’t like he’s just gone; the whole jewelry box is missing. Dio couldn’t pick that up and walk away with it!” Merci’s face was tear streaked and her voice was highly pitched. Her green eyes centered on the boys and her voice dropped into a violent growl, “Where is he!”

Seraph’s face smoothed into its usual emotionless state, “Merci, I haven’t seen him since last night when you retired for the evening. I didn’t hear anything while I was recharging myself, and I am afraid I have no idea where he went.”

The pink haired medusa smiled widely, “The soul sucking little b*****d gone then is he?” the last word was said on a sneer. Vance didn’t believe that Dio was male or female, and that once he was done with Merci he would move onto the rest of them. “Parasite is better off wherever he is, probably lost his taste for you Merci Love.”

Maili held Merci back as the fox woman tried to launch herself at Vance, she was wild with panic. “Vance, where did you put him?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know where he is, why would I take him?” Vance pulled out a letter and dropped it on the counter. “This came with the mail this morning; it was addressed to you with no return address. I didn’t open it.”

Merci was growling low in her throat, a menacing sound to be sure, but she was mostly harmless to the overgrown snakes she lived with. Maili inched forward and took the letter from the counter; she ripped it open and settled little reading glasses on her nose. Her eyes glanced down the page and she shook her head. “It says they are sorry they had to come get him in the middle of the night, however he had gotten what he needs from you and they were going to resell him. It looks like it came from a jewelry shop of some kind.” Her voice was quiet, and she was obviously confused.

The red headed fox rubbed her hair and she let out a silent scream as she walked out of the room and slammed into her sanctuary.

Seraph let out a breath and no one knew he was holding, “This isn’t going to be good, she is going to be depressed for days.”

Vance let out a bark of laughter, “What do you mean this isn’t good? This is PERFECT. That little leech can’t use her soul to feed off of anymore. Just let her stew, she’ll get over it. Human memories are like a sieve she won’t remember he even existed in a few days.”



Maili handed Merci another aspirin and watched her rub her forehead. “Merci, are you alright?”

“No!” she snapped quickly, and then shot her a look of apology. “I’m sorry. I just, I’m edgy. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You know whoever wrote that letter was wrong, I called that shop and they said they never repossessed him.” Her voice was fairly even, but a little higher pitched then her normal tone.

“Well then, that means that someone had to have come in and taken him. It wasn’t that long ago, he’s only been gone a couple days. We’ll find him.”

Merci knew damned good and well where he was, but Vance guarded his domicile like it was the pope’s personal bathroom. She wasn’t sure if he would have buried him somewhere, or given him away, or worse, mailed him to Abu Dhabi. “Maili? I have a question for you…” her voice was quiet, but a sly smile slid across her face and she started laughing softly. “Will you distract Vance for me? So I can search his room?”

The green medusa stared at Merci, and for a moment the laugh caught her off guard. Being without Dio was obviously hard for her host, and she wanted to help her. “I suppose I can, he shouldn’t be too difficult.”

The fox woman just started laughing, as she got up to her feet and nudged Maili out of the room. “Now?”

“I… guess I could.”

“Great! Thank you, you just get him away from his doorway.” Merci pushed the woman up the stairs and down the hallway toward Vance’s door. “And keep him away for awhile, I need time to search.”

Maili watched as Merci ducked into the bathroom and she squared her shoulders. Somehow, she had been dumped in a loony bin. These people were all so different that she was still trying to get her bearings. Vance was loud, obnoxious, and stubborn. Seraph was quiet, serene and thoughtful. Merci, she was caring, lazy, and determined.

Little Dio was her absolute favorite of all of them. He was always content to sit in her hand and hold her fingers; it broke her heart that he was gone. Merci seemed to think that Vance took him, and he had made to bones about his hatred. Maili had no reason to doubt the assumption. The green skinned woman raised a hand and banged on Vance’s door, waiting for him to respond. The door was thrown open and he stared out at her, through the cards that covered his eyes. His face contorted into confusion and he stared at Maili, “What do you want?”

Maili put her hands behind her back and gestured toward the hallway behind her. “I was hoping you would go up on the Widow’s Walk with me and watch the sun set. It shouldn’t be that long from now, and I hate being up there alone. Dio would have gone with me, but he seems to have been… Repossessed.”

Vance slithered out of his room and shut the door behind him so she couldn’t look past him into the room. “Why are you asking me? Why don’t you get someone else to do it?” He sounded a bit suspicious.

She turned so she was facing slightly away from him, “Merci is still upset about Dio, and Seraph is busy with his evening chores. I thought it would give us some time to get to know each other a little better. You intrigue me Vance.”

He straightened up and a smile curled his lips, “Really, well when you put it that way I can I refuse a lady.” Vance leaned forward and offered his arm to the smaller and more petite woman. Perhaps he had all this figured out the wrong way, it might be nice having a woman around.

Maili’s tail “accidentally” tapped the bathroom door on their way past as she led Vance up onto the roof of the old Victorian.

Merci peeked out, and waited for the two of them to disappear before she bolted down the hallway and into the room that Vance had staked out as his so long ago. It smelled dusty, she couldn’t quite describe the smell, but she was shocked at how clean and organized it was. The fox woman had been prepared to go through things thrown all over the place, but there literally weren’t many places to hide a small box that wasn’t in plain sight.

He wasn’t under the bed, in the drawers of the dresser, under the dresser, anywhere in the closet. Dio wasn’t under the rugs, behind the curtains, under any loose floorboards. Merci had gone through the mattresses the pillows; she felt the wallpaper and looked out the window to see if he was hanging against the side of the house.

One thing was certain. Dio wasn’t there.

After almost two hours of searching, Merci had worked up a sweat. Her hands were shaking and she felt like she was going to pass out. The natural light outside and long since gone and Merci was propped up against one of Vance’s walls breathing heavily. She didn’t want to live without her Dio; she had been so sure he was here. Being away from him was painful, more then she had thought possible. It wasn’t just emotional pain of separation from someone you love; it was like someone was trying to saw a part of her off but she wasn’t sure what part.

She could hear them arguing outside, “I am going back to my room now, quit trying to stop me!”

“But I’m hungry; can’t you get me something to eat?”

“You’re a big girl get yourself something to eat!” The last part of that was louder as the door was shoved open and the light was switched on. Merci’s head lifted to look at the two of them and Vance’s face went from shocked to angry. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

Merci opened her mouth to say something and her knees gave out from underneath her. She sank to the floor and shut her eyes. “Vance, please give him back.” The pain in her voice was obvious. Maili pushed past Vance and picked up the woman that was sheltering them.

“Great job Vance, look at her can’t you see she’s in pain?”

“It isn’t my fault she’s hurting! She just went through my stuff didn’t she? I can’t ******** believe this. Where is the privacy?”

Maili’s voice never rose in pitch or volume, “Maybe if you had a heart and could see that you’re killing her she wouldn’t have had to go through your things.”

Vance’s face twisted up, “I’m killing her? That little parasite is killing her not me. I’m not the one with a straw in her soul trying to suck it out like a damned juice box!”

“Can you get over yourself and your bigoted behavior for two minutes? Where is the jewelry box? Merci told me he stayed in a jewelry box.”

“I have no bloody idea, get out! Both of you get out of my room. MY room, MY space! Don’t ever come back in here you… you…. Worm!” Vance couldn’t think of something insulting enough to call Maili as he practically moved the two of them out of his room and slammed the door in their faces.

Merci was limp in Maili’s arms, and she was unsure what to do with her. Without Dio it looked like her will to live had left her as well. She slid down the hallway and moved into her bedroom, placing her on the bed.

“He’s right you know.”

The voice made Maili jump and she turned around to see Seraph in the doorway, his hands clasped in front of himself. “He’s right about what? Seraph can you get me something for her head? I think she passed out.”

Seraph just moved into the room, his white coat half unbuttoned. “Vance really isn’t the one to blame for all this. I know he gets very vocal, and emotional, but he isn’t a very good liar.” The confusion must have been on her face because Seraph opened his hands. In them was a small jewelry box, and he opened it to show her a stone. The stone was silent, lying in the bottom of the box without any movement. The normal arms that seemed to wrap around it like the arms of the galaxy itself seemed to be gone. “I had no idea that it would kill him.”

Maili choked and moved forward the snatch the box away from Seraph, “I can’t believe you did this! What did he do to you to deserve this?” Her accusatory tone was clear as she moved the jewelry box over to Merci. She turned it over and the Black Diopside fell into her fingers easily, there was no sign of life in him at all. “He was sweet; he wasn’t dangerous you would be able to tell if he was dangerous. What did you do with him?”

Seraph didn’t move, or sigh, his face emotionless. “I took him away from here, does it matter to where?”

The green skinned medusa placed the dark gem on Merci and she wheeled on Seraph, giving him a piece of her mind. “And he called me a worm; you are vile and disgusting that you would hurt the woman that has given you so much this way.”

Distracted as the two were, they didn’t see Merci’s hand move up and wrap around Dio. She curled up on her side and huddled her body around him protectively, even in her sleep, using herself to shield him from the animosity in the room.

Seraph shook his head, “what is done, is done. It cannot be undone. You and I will leave her to her grief.”

Maili felt a little guilty for yelling in her room, she spared them a glance. “I just hope I get to be there when she wakes up and hits you.” Was all she said as she slithered toward the door, making Seraph go with her.

And as they slept, a small shadow curled around Merci’s thumb.

It was late and the room was dark, the only illumination was a pendulum lamp over the table and the silver light of the moon streaking through the windows. The four combatants were hunched down low sneaking looks at each other, waiting for an opening. Vance broke the silence “I’ll call you your dishes, and raise you dusting on Thursday.” Seraph had folded already earlier, and was sitting quietly and serenely over his “chips”. Instead of regular poker chips they played for slips of paper with chores on them, and the loser took all. The air had been so thick with tension that Maili had simply volunteered for her chores and gotten out early. So now it was down to Merci, Vance and Dio.

The shadow glanced down at his hand, the hair falling over his face from under the visor and the lack of a mouth had thrown the other players. It was harder to see a tell on the little boys face. ’I’ll call.’ Merci made a disgusted sound and tossed her cards down on the table. She knew when she had been beaten. The two of them had been back and forth all night. Seraph and Merci had stayed pretty even by not gambling to much but Vance and Dio had gained and lost to each other over the last hour and a half. There were only two more hands left before the chores were locked in. It was down to the wire and Vance was really sweating it. Usually by this point he was way ahead, but Dio and his oddities were really getting to the card savvy medusa.

Vance dropped his hand, three of a kind jack high. It was a good hand, but it wasn’t the best, it could be beaten.

Dio just leaned over so he could get a better look at what Vance had dropped on the table, and he nodded slightly. ’Nice Hand, I dunno though, do I win?’ The shadow carefully laid the cards down one at a time, like he had been all night. He arranged them so they could be easily seen and glanced around a bit worried that he might have lost.

Two fours and three happy kings all lay on the table in front of him. And that definitely beat a three of a kind.

Merci felt a surge of excitement every time Dio won a hand. She had tried to sit him down and teach him the basics the day before so he wouldn’t be totally lost during this game. He was doing damned good for someone that had only learned to play poker the day before.

An angry hiss escaped Vance and the tip of his tail lashed against the floor as he scooped up his portion of the losing pot, passing a couple slips to both Merci and Seraph. Dio’s stack was a lot smaller then anyone else’s, and it was really rubbing Vance that the shadow seemed to be beating him at his own game. “Hey kid. How about we make this last hand interesting… you and me, loser takes all.”

Dio looked up from gathering the cards and regarded Vance a little warily. It sounded good, he was getting tired of playing cards anyway and he was losing nighttime hours with this game. He wanted to get up on the roof and watch the stars, not be stuck in the kitchen playing poker. Without much thought he nodded.

A very happy little sound escaped Vance, “Good, that means the loser takes everyone’s chores. Not just mine or yours.”

Merci stood up and leaned on the table. “Come on Vance that isn’t fair. You can’t make a wager like that because whoever loses is going to be like Cinder-freaking-rella! This house is huge and it takes more then one person to keep up on everything.”

Vance shot her a look, “Pipe down with the whole mother routine, I have just as much to lose as he does. If I lose I’m stuck doing everything. So I don’t see how this is unfair at all.”

Dio just quietly shuffled the cards during the small squabble, ’It’s okay Merci, I don’t mind. I just wanna get the game over’ He dealt the cards to Vance and himself, and picked them up, shuffling them around till they were fanned in his hand in the proper order.

With a wicked grin Vance picked up his own cards and hunkered down to beat the little parasite. His hand was pretty good. A queen, a jack, a ten, a seven and a four. The blindfold hid his eyes as he regarded the little shadow calmly discard three cards and rearrange his hand. Vance still wasn’t sure if the kid had a tell, it was almost as bad as playing with Seraph. He discarded the low cards and took two for himself. Betting wasn’t really necessary; they had already said the stakes at the beginning of the game. “Well, I guess I could let you fold if you really wanted to.” Vance said in a cocky tone. He had hit the jackpot. A pretty king and nine was sitting looking up at him from his hand. He had gotten a straight. It was a good hand; the leech would have to have had unbelievable luck to get something better then this.

Dio glanced up from his cards and shook his head slowly. ’No thank you, should I lay my hand down now?’ He turned his head to look to Merci, as if asking for permission. She just nodded slowly; obviously worried that Vance had gotten him. The boy laid down a mismatch of cards that didn’t make sense at first. A two, a four, five, seven and eight, it wasn’t until you looked at them a little closer that it was clear why he kept the ones he did. They were all spades. A Flush.

Vance threw his cards down on the table and reared up, “He cheated!”

Dio dove behind Merci and hid. Vance was angry and looked like he was ready to pull his blindfold off. Merci stood up and shielded Dio, glaring at the snake. “Stop it Vance, you were the one that set the rules. If you didn’t want to lose you shouldn’t have put the stakes so high.”

Seraph quietly intervened, his slightly accented voice somehow carrying over the hissing that came from the pink haired medusa. “Vance, it is not worth an open confrontation. I shall help you with your burden and we will reconvene next month for a rematch.”

He sounded so reasonable, that Vance relaxed back down. He swept his hand over the table, knocking cards everywhere before sweeping out of the room. Dio peeked around her looking worried. “It’s alright Dio you didn’t do anything wrong. Vance is just a sore loser, he isn’t used to it. He’s only done it a couple times. You go on up to the roof and relax. He made his bed and he can sleep in it.” Merci’s voice was quiet and calming.

The little boy nodded slowly, and let Merci hug him and soothe him before he moved off toward the stairs. Dio felt more comfortable out from under the glaring light of the lamp in the kitchen, but that swiftly ended when he got to the top of the stairs and Vance stood between him and the roof. “Don’t think you’ve won. No one here likes you; we only tolerate you because without you Merci gets sick. If we could we would drive you out of here you soul sucking monster.” And with those hurtful words, Vance turned and slunk into his room.

The slam of the door sent Dio fleeing to the safety of the windows walk, and the reassurance of the stars.

The unhappiness that flowed through the bond called Merci up after him. She found the little shadow huddled against the fence that was supposed to help keep people from falling off the house. She didn’t ask, she knew Vance had to have said something hurtful, she scooped up her ward, and held him close.

“I love you.” She whispered, and then said nothing. The two of them sat in silence. The stars above were their only companion, until Dio relaxed into her and fell asleep.