Bands of white flashed brightly, then glowed various colors across several dimentions. Rings, pendants, bracelets, and anklets, all of varying sizes but of the same shape, twinkled softly in whatever light reached them. No two were the same; each piece of jewelry was studded with different gemstones, but the mother-of-pearl inlay was the same, and the light coating it soon spread to the wearers. Dozens of people, all different but with one common trait, tossed and turned in their sleep. Even the most docile sleepers were restless, itchy with some unknown feeling that unconsciously plague their dreams and their bodies.
And when they woke up, each and every one screamed.
Raven tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. It took hours for her to fall asleep, and even then it was a short-lived condition. Just before dawn she gave up, tossing her feet over the side of her bed and hopping off to the bathroom. Her feet made odd clacking noises against the ground, but Raven was not a morning person and rarely noticed anything before her coffee and daily newspaper.
Still, it was impossible not to notice some things.
Turning a few knobs in the shower, she smiled approvingly as the glass door began to fog up and turned to the mirror. Toothbrush in one hand, fruit-flavored paste in the other, she began to scrab her teeth. Finally she examined her reflection, choked, and spat a mouthful of foam directly on the silvery surface.
"WHAT!?" Mouth agape, Raven screamed at her blurry reflection, as if expecting it to answer back. It did not.
She moved to use her sleeve to wipe the spittle away, but found that her nightgown was no longer there. Instead, long, fingerless blue gloves encased her arms. Frowning, Raven turned on her heel- some sort of winged heeled boots that matched her new gloves- and stomped back to her sanctum, her bedroom. There she stood in front of her full-length mirror and assesed what she viewed as the "damage."
In addition to the winged gloves and boots, she was wearing a matching bodice, covered by a thin white silk capelet and a studded black belt. There was a blue bow in her now blonde hair, and a blue gem embedded between her newly blue eyes. This new form she had taken clearly liked blue, but that tidbit of knowledge did nothing to sate her wonder at what had happened, nor her fury.
There was a guitar strapped to her back, white with yet more wings, and a similar looking winged staff in her bed, twined around which was a black and blue whip. The sight of those made Raven's upper lip curl. She recognized those items. As if turning into someone with bad taste wasn't unjust punishment enough, it had to be HER?
"Carsali," she snarled in a voice that was not her own. Of all the people in the world, her second-least-favorite relative had decided to leave her a body she didn't even like. Raven's conclusion wasn't particularly rational, but she was beyond rational thought.
"M-mama Ray?" Anoki whined from his room. Something loud had woken him up. Was it a nightmare? Probably; it wasn't even light outside yet. Usually when he had nightmares Mama Ray or Mahou gave him milk and a cookie, if they weren't too upset. And since he couldn't remember the nightmare, besides the noise, he was in a good mood and looking forward to a treat.
She had to get away. Raven brushed most of her personal affects off of her desk, and slapped a sheet of writing paper on top of its now bare surface. Her writing was sloppy; she wasn't used to these callused and worn hands. Finally she folded it, writing for a few more seconds on its surface, and ran out into the hallway.
Finally some luck, it was empty. It felt ridiculous, having to sneak out of her own house, but it was the only option. If she was discovered no one would believe her. She would be kicked out, and if she didn't report for duty she could even lose her position. And then she would never achieve her goal...
The door to apartment #5 closed behind Raven with a loud click.
He'd called and no one was coming! Carefully, Anoki climbed out of his bed- something his guardians probably didn't know he could do- and pattered down the hallway. The door to Raven's room was open, a fact that caught him off guard. Mama Ray always told him to never ever go in there. But since the door was open... and she wasn't inside...
It looked like a normal room. There was a bed, a closet, a mirror, a nightstand, and a desk. And underneath the desk, alongside a bunch of sparkly junk, was a folded piece of paper. And he recognized those letters.
"Ay-nnn-o-ohh-k-ki?" The first word was sounded out painstakingly slowly, but it clicked in his mind, and he read it again with more clarity. "An-no-ki? M-m-me! M-maho-ou?"
And as quickly as he'd entered he left, turning into another room. Mahou was awake and cracking eggs onto a frying pan, a lace-trimmed apron covering her pajamas. Anoki tugged the end, waving the letter at her. "R-r-read m-me."
Mahou looked down in surprise. Usually her mistress awoke before the young master. "Read- oh, you want me to read that to you? Sure, small fry. Where did you get it?" The paper was clumsily folded, and the words, while legible, were written in messy caps. "Anoki Kenelm and Mahou..."
Frowning, she opened it and read the first passage herself before speaking aloud. "This part's for you... Anoki Kenelm, mind Mahou, do your lessons, and don't get into trouble. I will return in a short time."
Return? That didn't make any sense. Unless... "Mama R-ray gon-ne?"
"It seems so, shortcake. But she'll be back soon, so don't you worry. I have the utmost faith in your Mama Ray."
