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 Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:19 am
Amaris sat quietly at the coffee table, hands folded in her lap. She twisted her fingers nervously and picked at her nails as she stared at the briefcase lying on top of the table, a happy little sticker on the front designating its origin: LAB 305.
"NOT having an.... Mitsu get out of the way please.... ...other child in this house... Where is the bloody phone?! Have you seen the phone?!"
"No," Amaris called back, repressing a sigh as she leaned into her chair.
"It's a madhouse in here! An absolute madho -- Alice, how many times have I told you not to leave your toys lying around?!"
She filtered out Cain's tantrum and Alice's insincere apology, returning her attention to the briefcase. She knew perfectly well what was inside, though it had not been opened since it was discovered on their doorstep. If it was in her power, she wouldn't have let Cain know what it was, but, unfortunately, he knew well what the Lab was and what they did. She had had no chance to stop him before the tirade began.
She hummed in thought, leaning her cheek upon her hand. I wonder what kind of Raevan they sent me, she began to wonder. I wonder what it will look like. I wonder what it will eat. She eyed the briefcase's latches, her curiousity taking a much stronger turn.
"Butler, do you know where... ... ... ...yes I know perfectly well that Butler is not your name but I care not to call you by anything else while you are still working for me..."
Amaris leaned forward and carefully pulled the suitcase towards herself as she listened for the pauses in the sound of Cain's voice. She sucked a breath in slowly as she slipped her finger underneath one latch - then the other. She let it out as she pushed back the lid.
The first thing she noticed was that there was some sort of weird writing in the bottle where, she supposed, her Fel essence was supposed to be. Far too lost in whim by this point to do anything else, she picked the vial up and peered inside.
"Uh - uhm, Cain," she called pensively.
"What?" He hoarsely croaked back.
Belatedly she hoped that the butler was not choking him.
"It's... it's not that big a deal if we keep it," she continued, still peering inside the vial. "It's not like Raevans actually eat anything, and... the Lab will take care of the little details... curse your tiny handwriting," she mumbled, bringing the vial closer to her eyes. It was practically touching her nose at this point. "... and we always have Alice's old books to use for teaching, Raevans are pretty smart anyway, educating it won't be a problem." She pulled the vial away from her eyes finally and shoved it back in the briefcase just before Cain walked into the room.
"You want to keep it," he said slowly, holding the phone in one hand.
"Well..." she glanced at the briefcase, then back to him.
"... Yes."
He threw his hands up in the air, defeated.
"I don't understand you at all!" He hissed, gesturing wildly with the phone. "First you - I come back and you've - run off and had some godforsaken child with another man, and then you and your bleeding heart takes in some other woman's child - no, I don't care, shut up! - and now you want to - to take in some scientific failure? What are we, an orphanage? PEOPLE OF GAIA!" He cried, flinging open the front door as the sound of Mitsu's crying gave Amaris an excuse to run out of the room. "BRING YOUR UNWANTED CHILDREN RIGHT HERE! BIG ONES, SMALL ONES, UGLY ONES..."
In the kitchen Amaris picked up the distraught Fa'e, put her over her shoulder, and tried jiggling her soothingly, though it was not jiggling so much as nervous bouncing.
"I wish Cain'd not lost his temper," Amaris said sadly.
"Agin," Mitsu chimed in. Rat crawled out from her shirt, skittered across her back, and stretched himself over her guardian's other shoulder.
"Yes, again."
"Little sibling?" Mitsu said hopefully.
Amaris pondered.
"Half a sibling."
"Half-sibling?" Mitsu repeated.
"No, half a sibling."
There was an awkward silence as the toddler thought about this.
"Which 'alf?" she asked suspiciously.
"Top half, thank goodness," Amaris sighed. In the background Cain continued to yell, or - was he singing opera?
"Walk time," Mitsu groaned.
"Couldn't agree more," Amaris muttered and made for the back door.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:59 pm
Black Duvet Amaris was working at the library today. Things were fine at home - the kids seemed to be getting along okay, so she'd left Cain to keep an eye on them. Not that she didn't trust them to behave... but she had been feeling more and more compelled to stay home with them lately. Things were changing, after all. The vial tucked into her pocket was evidence. More mouths to feed - not that Raevans ate people food - but the being that would come of it would still need love and attention, after all, and she had to adjust to be able to support them all equally. How'd she become a mother so fast? It seemed like yesterday that she was wandering around Gaia, a third of a person... and now that her memories had returned to her - were they really hers? - nothing was simple. So many choices... Feeling uncomfortable, she quickly shook herself out of her thoughts and looked at the trolley in her hands. It was full of books, and there were many others that were full - the library was getting a lot of traffic. She mentally shrugged and set about doing her job, replacing books on shelves. She felt a heat against her thigh and swatted at her pocket, annoyed. She was quite aware of the essence's power and was determined to not allow it to control her life before she'd even found a proper soul for it. What a silly thing. Aadley Aackburger... First row. Steeling herself, she willed the trolley to move and slowly moved behind the shelves. shushida “Ah, here it is!” Josh chirruped while craning his neck up at the sizeable public library which loomed before him; a pompous air bellowed from its well polished windows and perfectly set welcome mat. It proudly flaunted its archaic medley of literature in a display of scholarly dominance. Josh wasn’t one for libraries… or reading for that matter. Both subjects seemed to strike a chord in the boy which produced a sour note that he found quite unappealing. Alas, his English class was as unforgiving as ever and had forced him to take a distasteful trip to this hall of musty tomes of this and dilapidated volumes of that. Josh scampered into the library and was welcomed by the stale scent of the countless novels within the building. The door also gave a shrill beep to alarm the library of visitors. The boy paused in front of the entrance and nodded his head to the side in shallow thought. “Let‘s see I need the book… the book… crud!” Josh nearly planted his face into his palm. Once again, the boy had forgotten the name of the oh-so-important book he had set out to this repugnant building in order to obtain. He gingerly wigged a hand into his pant’s pocket and felt around for something that he knew would help him. Once slim digits curled around what he desired, his hand resurfaced; a petite vial within its grasp. Multiple colors of ink lazily sloshed up and down the sides of the smooth glass in constant motion. “Hey there! Do you remember what book I was supposed to get?” When Josh went unanswered he gave the vial a slight swirl. The ink reacted by giving a prompt burst of radiant color and then died down to an aggravated bubble. Thin ribbons of ink rose up in the vial curling into soft cursive loops to form the words Anthem and Idiot. Josh’s face fell into a sour expression at the vial’s antics. “Thanks anyway,” he mumbled agitatedly at the glass tube while twirling it softly between his fingers. He realized that the vial contained a substance of unknown origins and unspeakable magic, however the boy was not going to let a free memo service go to waste! No matter how many insults it threw at him… Josh steadily made his way to the ‘A’ section of the library’s numerous aisles in a search of the novel Anthem; the swirling vial securely in his grip. Black Duvet The old trolley squealed and protested as Amaris wheeled it into the first row finally. She sighed and began to pick up books and scan the shelves when a passing person caught her eye. She applied her best smile and approached Josh, holding a few books in her hands. "You look a little lost," she said helpfully, aiming to catch his attention. "Do you need help finding anything?" The vial began to grow warm again. Amaris grit her teeth behind her lips, trying to block the sensation from her mind. shushida Josh gave a slight flinch as a cacophonous screech signaled Amaris’s approach. He turned to face the woman and took in her form with inquisitive auburn eyes; much like an overly-curious child. Her most prominent feature was her curled sea green hair. The woman’s delicate locks almost appeared as frothy as waves themselves. His lips curled into a pleasant smirk and he spoke in a urbane, silky tone, “Yes, perhaps you could help me. I’m looking for the book Anthem. I have an English project you see…” Josh’s hand flitted about as he explained his situation to the girl. The vile was being waved frantically in his clasp and began to churn vehemently whilst growing a dazzling hue of red. Perhaps its was from the rude treatment… or maybe it was something more? Black Duvet "I see. Well, if you could come with me, I'll look it up in the computer..." she trailed off, staring at the object in his hand. Her own vial began to vibrate in her pocket, gently but annoyingly - she clapped her hand over it. "Err, would you mind if I ask what is in your hand...?" Another future Raevan owner? She mentally recoiled. Was the essence going to react this violently every time she bumped into someone from the lab? Half-heartedly she hoped it was some sort of weapon instead, and the thing in her pocket was her ticket out of a catastrophe. shushida Unfortunately for Amaris, the item in Josh’s hand was not a switchblade but in fact a fel essence. Josh gave a subtle nod in compliance as he followed the woman to a computer. The boy couldn’t help but notice her agitated fidgeting and the apprehensive look in her stormy-grey eyes as she clutched her pocket. “Umm, this thing…,” Josh hesitated and was perplex as to how he would explain the concept of ink with a will of it‘s own to Amaris. He broke his extensive intermission with a ‘peep’ and a abrupt spout of words, “It’s just a vial of ink! Well kind of… umm, it moves.” When words seemed to fail him, Josh simply set a goofy grin on his face and played the facade of stupidity. Alas, he couldn’t help but be curious about what exactly Amaris was gingerly cupping in her own pocket. Black Duvet "Um... I see." No, she didn't. It hardly made sense - not in words, not in appearance. "Is it called... a Fel essence?" Amaris ventured, and finally pulled her own vial out. Corked safely inside, words were rapidly popping in and out of existence - too fast for her to read, at least. "Mine writes stuff," she mumbled. "Most of it reads like fairy tales do, but I don't know what it does when I'm not looking." She stared at it a bit longer as it continued to write, squinting to try and make out words. "It doesn't get this active often," she admitted. shushida Josh nodded bashfully in agreement, “Yes, I do believe that is what it was called.” He was a tad crestfallen at his blunder with words, but the boy took it in stride and instead placed his attention at the vial in Amaris’s clasp. Within the smooth plains of the vial, copious amounts of stanzas and sentences flickered to life. Unfortunately, the verses dwindled away just as quickly as they had come into existence; too promptly for Josh to be able to scrutinize the words like he would have preferred. This was just the thing that Josh had dreaded to see… a live action novel! The boy tentatively swirled his own vile, “My essence has been very energetic as of recent too. It usually prefers to insult me then go on with its own business though.” The ink responded by quivering into a vibrant hue of yellow then churning vehemently against the glass of the vile. It seemed to be furiously wriggling in Amaris’s direction. Tendrils of ink began to splay haphazardly in every direction within the vile; the jagged words “Pansy” formed in the vivacious yellow of the ink. It didn’t seem to be directed at the girl crosswise of Josh, but instead at the essence in her hand. Black Duvet A problem Fel essence. Her lips twisted into a grin before she realized that that was probably rude and desisted immediately. "I guess it's very interested in you," she ventured, suppressing another grin. The grin faded, however, when she caught sight of what the ink had just spelled out. The vial in her hand stopped quivering. The words haphazardly placed in the container began to fade away. Once upon a time, it began, much more slowly and controlled than before, there was a boy too stupid to think before speaking. No sooner had an idea crossed his mind before it was pouring out his mouth. One day while walking in the forest he met what he presumed to be an old hag. Immediately he commented on her ragged clothing and homely appearance. SheThe rest was blocked from view by Amaris' fingers. The end, however, was still visible. and the boy starved there in the forest and the fairies feasted upon his entrails.It paused. They were delicious.Amaris didn't say anything: just stared at the little story in the vial, and waited. shushida Most essences might have piped down when they were handed a heaping plate of ridicule from such an eloquent writer, but this was a particularly brash vial of ink. The minute waves in the vial picked up tempo and sloshed in an irate rhythm. The yellow wisps of pigment jittered out of place and reformed slowly; as if assiduously deciding upon a reply to the other essence’s terse story. The ink coiled and warped its colors into a minuscule, simplistic depiction. It appeared as if a powdery blue silhouette of a book was slowly being consumed by red globs of flame. It was straightforward and hopefully it got the point across… Josh’s essence seemed to be issuing a challenge of sorts. Josh took little notice of his essence’s advance on Amaris’s own vial. The boy instead chose to stir up some more small talk with the woman and ignore the ink’s heated endeavor. Josh chuckled, “Yes, my essence is interesting to say the least. So you seem to enjoy books…,” it was an innocent enough deduction based upon the ability of her essence and where she worked, “Do you have a particular book you like?”Black Duvet The story in the vial simply poofed from sight, as if it had deemed the other vial's attempts too immature to dignify with a response. Shortly it returned to writing its own story - this time, however, in tiny letters that were nearly impossible to read without visual aid. "A particular book?" Amaris hmmed in thought as she stepped behind the counter to the library's administrative computer. "I like many books," she concluded. "It's difficult to pick just one. I do have a preference for books of poetry, however... Yeats is quite good." She offered him a smile before looking to the monitor. "Now, um... you're looking for Anthem, yes?" Holding the vial with one hand, she typed the book's title with the other, and paused. "Says it should be in the fourth aisle," she continued, pointing to the row of books in question. "On the left side. The books are arranged alphabetically by last name. Would you like me to help you find it?" shushida As the storybook essence faltered and vanished from existence, the vial of ink ceased it’s bubbling and glistened a flamboyant shade of cobalt blue. It could feel victory in its grasp. Until, that is, the other essence returned with more writing vigor than ever before. The vial of ink shuddered at the onslaught of diminutive text. The words were pulsating in and out of existence far to quickly for the pool of ink to keep up. The vial gave one last churn of color as if to insult the literary essence then all to suddenly the activity in within the glass container stopped and it adjusted into a stagnant black hue. It was taking it’s time in retaliating against Amaris’s essence. Josh listened intently to the woman and hummed in delight at her answer, “Ah, I remember Yeats. I had a class assignment on his work not too long ago. I have to say my favorite poem of his was When You Are Old.” The boy proceeded to rattle off what few lines he remembered of the poem, a smug grin graced his lips. Once they arrived at the computer desk, Josh took a comfortable position leaning against the counter. He craned his neck slightly to peak at what Amaris was typing into the computer. The screen was simply covered in somber black text designating book origins and author names. However, Josh’s mind seemed to wander as he became entranced with the whirring screen. His brain shot back to reality only in time to catch the woman‘s last few words. “Sure, if you wouldn’t mind helping me that is.”Black Duvet "Great." She smiled again and absently slipped the essence back into her pocket, to which it did not particularly protest. "That's quite good," she said cheerfully to his recitation of the lines. " When You Are Old is quite good, but my personal favorite is The Wild Swans at Coole. Just a moment, please." Amaris had reached the aisle, and she quickly grabbed a collapsible footstool from underneath the shelf and extended it as she made her way to the center of the aisle. "Let me see..." She perused the books quickly before spotting the one in particular that Josh needed. Feeling proud of herself for having gotten so good at her job during her time at the library, she extracted one of the less-beaten copies and held it out to the boy. "Is this what you're looking for?" She hesitated as she slipped out of the robotic influence of her job. "My name is Amaris," she said. "Since we're both going to be Raevan owners now... you should know my name, at least." shushida The vial in Josh’s tender grasp shivered and the surface broke agitatedly. Even though the storybook essence was more than exuberant to be put away, the boy’s essence was much against the sudden loneliness it faced. It was the ink’s first experience with another vial and it hated the fact it was over just as soon as it had started. The essence was put off now that its fun was over. Josh followed suit with Amaris and tucked his troublesome vial away into his pocket. He took the somewhat musty and dilapidated book from the woman. He blew on the crinkled cover forcing a few layers of settled dust into the air. The cloud puffed and jittered in midair until it finally dissipated around them. “O-of course!” Josh as horrified that thy had yet to exchange names, especially since Amaris was a fellow future raevan owner, “My name is Josh. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Black Duvet "Josh?" She blinked. Strange name around these parts... she nodded nevertheless. "It's nice to meet you." Stepping down, she picked up the stool and began to fold it again. "Checkout's right around the corner there -" she pointed in its general direction - "and you should have a week to keep it. If you need more time, you'll have to come here and check it out again." She set the stool on the ground and nudged it back underneath the shelf with her foot. She paused again, then said, "Whenever our Raevans get made, we should definitely meet again. If you don't find me at the lab, I work here regularly. Our essences seem to - er - like one another, so - I think it would be interesting to see them meet again, don't you?" shushida Josh concurred feebly as she rattled off the various information about bookkeeping. He had never had a mind for lectures and often chose to ignore them. His eyes seemed to gloss over as he waited for Amaris to finish. Josh tucked the book under his arm and smiled warmly. “I’ll be happy to come see you again. I’m sure our raevans will be the best of friends.” At this statement, the vial in Josh’s pocket gave an energized quake. He gave the woman a pleasant nod and leisurely made his way to checkout. He couldn’t wait until he would see her again. Hopefully, by then they would both have a “bouncing baby” so to speak….
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:14 pm
The time after the vial's arrival was hectic and chaotic. Although Amaris had a respectable knowledge of how the Lab and Raevans worked (there was the essence and the soul, and the two were different but vital to a Raevan), little could be said for her understanding as to how the soul was acquired or why a soul was even necessary. In her naive mind, the whole thing seemed overdramatic.Why couldn't something more material be used instead? Like old bread? There was plenty of that readily available.
So, as a result of its owner's lack of knowledge and consequent busying of selves, the Raevan's vial was left unattended on the top shelf in Amaris' bedroom closet for quite some time. Amaris, in fact, had completely forgotten about it until the day Mitsuoujo had gently asked when the stork was going to bring her half-sibling.
Thus, in response to the toddler's inquiry and the shame she felt at having to be reminded, Amaris sat down with the briefcase and opened it once again. There, of course - she hadn't doubted it for a moment - lay her mysterious vial filled with words.
"Hello," she said tentatively.
As she gazed at it, vaguely cowed by the quality of the calligraphy, the mysterious hand forming the words seemed to slow. After a crisp punctuation mark, it stopped completely. Go ahead, it seemed to say. I'd like to hear what you have to say for yourself.
"I'm sorry," Amaris stammered, an unflattering flush of shame blooming on her face for her uneloquence as she delicately picked the vial from the protective insulation. "I... um." She didn't forget. No. Clearly not. "You've sort of been on the backburner, you know? I'm running a family here, after all... um... But I'm going to work on... you know. Getting you a soul, or something. That's what I think I'm supposed to do..."
After a few awkward moments of staring into the vial, words began to form again. Immediately Amaris felt strange - she had been flustered, but now she felt completely lost, discombobulated. There was writing in the bottle - she knew it was writing! - it was actually the most beautiful calligraphy she had ever seen, she realized, not forming words so much as pictures - but she couldn't read it - no, she couldn't remember it, she knew it now, even when she had just read it, known she had read and understood it, moments before. In that moment, repulsion flooded her mind and the vial only just escaped her impulse to smash it against the table... Her anger, however, and her discovery quickly slipped from her mind like sand through her fingers, and she was once again left to another moment of staring into the vial, wondering what it was saying.
"You're an oddball," Amaris hummed, smiling vaguely in the wake of deja vu. The flow of the black inky writing did not slow.
She sighed. Stuck already. She honestly could not think beyond this point. She was supposed to get a soul. How? Is that something you could buy in a store? Could you go out and fetch one easily? A soul, she thought, is a very grand thing. That soul had to come from somewhere... someone. Uneasiness crept upon her as she wound the cord of the soul bottle around her fingers. It wouldn't take hers, would it?...
Amaris' train of thought was promptly derailed as the sound of the front door being violently thrown open slammed into her mind like a car crash. She jumped up, vial clutched in the same hand that the soul bottle dangled from. "Is everything okay?" She yelled, running to the banister looking over the entrance hall - and just caught sight of a silvery tail slipping from the door.
Alice? "Alice, where are you going?" She ran down the steps three at a time. "Alice? Is everything...? Come back!"
Without thinking - automatically, even - she ran in pursuit of her daughter, confirming her identity through a second glimpse of her features caught as the girl darted around the corner, as if she were trying to outrun her or avoid her eye. Confusion didn't even have time to set in; Amaris was determined not to lose her daughter - a determination that had been there for months before, ever since Alice had begun to run from her in more subtle ways. She'd turned unfamiliar so quickly; even Cain's influence alone couldn't have sparked such a change in her precious little girl, the being she treasured most, the child of a careless union between her and a close friend now lost. Could it have been jealousy? Had Mitsu's needs, her guardian's hamfisted yet wholehearted attempts to heal her pain, taken too much attention away from her own flesh and blood? Oh gods. She couldn't see her now, but she could hear her footsteps - just a few beats faster than her heart rate by this point.
Panic had been her starting-gun, and a torrent of emotion her sustenance, but now Amaris was feeling tired, drained both from the chase and the emotional rollercoaster (one that she'd been riding for a while; it had only sent her through a particularly nasty twist just now). She slowed, slack-jawed, her eyes stung with wind, the majority of her faculties employed in the task of sucking air into her lungs, and panted, whispering, "Why are you running from me?"
It was only then that she realized that she was horribly lost. Trees surrounded her on all sides - a forest she didn't know was near her house. Defeated, she leaned against a tree trunk, trying to quiet her gasps to find the sound of Alice's path again. She couldn't find it.
Had she had the presence of mind or the luxury of looking into her palm, the ink in the vial was now moving faster than ever, quickly spinning the spider's web that Amaris had just run straight into...
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:20 pm
A M A R I S___A N D___T H E___M E T A M O R P H I C___F O R E S T
a soul quest
_______________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 9:46 pm
She closed her eyes and the world spun around her. She could feel the tendrils of dark vertigo crawling underneath her eyelids. For a moment, she lost herself; but soon she was aware again, staring straight ahead, breathing naturally.
Sitting on a stump a few feet away was a teenager, red eyes focused on her beneath a mess of purple hair, his silver tail twitching behind him. When Amaris shifted her gaze to him, his shuddering exhalation and weary grin betrayed his outward composure. She returned the smile.
"I was worried about you there," he mumbled, one ear pressed back against his head. "You don't look so good."
"Oh, Cy. I didn't feel so good," Amaris replied, shifting forward. "But I'm better now. A lot better, actually."
"S'good," Cyrus said, looking relieved. "I don't think I'm strong enough to drag you out of here." His grin twitched slightly. "You're a lot bigger than I remember."
"Maybe you're shrinking," she countered teasingly, smile widening. "My goodness. You haven't happened to have seen Alice, have you? She's, um..." She could practically feel the cogs in her brain grinding to a halt. "... we were, um, together..."
Cyrus shrugged, chewing absentmindedly on his lip. "No, I didn't see 'er. But seriously, Amaris, you don't look good. Are you thirsty? I heard water a while back."
The cogs continued to grind. Amaris raised her hand to rub at her forehead. "Um, water would be good." Foreboding crept over her. Something didn't feel right. She pushed it away, interpreting it as the last dregs of whatever dizzy spell had assaulted her mind.
The boy nodded and stood up, offering her his hand along with a smile. She accepted both, naturally, grasping his fingers -
"Your hands are really cold," she said suddenly, looking up at him (why was he still taller than her?) suspiciously. The bewildered look that came over his face in that moment slipped her eye. "What've you been doing, dunking your hands in ice? Or are you studying to be a doctor?"
"Shut up," he mumbled good-naturedly, stifling a laugh. "I guess I should get some gloves or something." He began to lead her forward, winding around trees and over roots.
"Y'know, even if they're girly, mufflers are great for that." Amaris' mind began to buzz. "Or maybe you should get some mittens, like, the kind with the yarn that attaches to your coat sleeves..." Buzzing louder. She could barely hear herself speak, let alone think. "...good for making mitten-shaped snowballs, plus they're damn adorable... Cyrus?"
She closed her eyes for a moment and the creeping sensation returned in full, nauseating force. When she could see again, a grove unfolded before her. Alice knelt on the bank of a pond there, mud squelching around her knees and sinking into her socks. Her hands were cupped and held close to her face; a little goldfish swum in the sanctity of her palms. Her eyes were closed, as if she were concentrating on something.
"Cy, how did we get here?" Amaris rasped, her voice practically crumbling off her tongue. She felt like living hell. "Alice, what is she..."
Their daughter tilted her head down to the fish after a moment and, being careful to keep the water in her hand steady, murmured something to it. Then she quickly pulled her hands apart, unceremoniously dropping the fish into the shallows, where it flopped briefly before thrusting itself back into its watery sanctuary.
"Alice!" Her head jerked up, but the young girl didn't even look around to see where the voice had come from before standing and running in the opposite direction. Amaris stumbled after her, the soul bottle bouncing off her leg, but spared a moment to look over her shoulder out of concern.
Cyrus wasn't there.
Her head reeled even further. This is so messed up, Amaris thought, cold panic spreading. But another thought soon entered her mind: perhaps he had circled around the clearing in pursuit of their daughter. Somehow she wasn't convinced, but there wasn't time for that now. She was going to lose sight of Alice again if she didn't keep running.
So she did.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:04 pm
Running was hard. This kind of running, Amaris begrudgingly acknowledged, was the kind of running she did primarily in nightmares: slow and sluggish, as though running against a strong wind or tide that pulled her back, pushed her away. But she wouldn't let it stop her - something very great was at stake. What was it? Her daughter? Who was her daughter again? The wind tugged at the edges of her mind...
When the howling had stopped, Amaris found herself, once again, at the edge of the clearing. This clearing was much smaller, however, and clearly man-made. In this clearing, Amaris saw, was a house. As her faculties returned, she was struck by a strong scent. It was a good scent - very sweet, she found, but hard to pin down - what was in it - vanilla? Lemon? Gingerbread...? Even as her mind tried to sift through the sensory overload, she studied the house, shifting herself to hide behind the tree to her her right and squinting her eyes.
It was a large mansion, though not quite as large as the one she now lived in with her family. The house was bordered by little crystalline bushes of pasty-looking yellow roses. The walls were large and patchworked. The windows were frosted, she saw, and the doorbell strangely bright and... squishy-looking. The door was an amiable shade of amber with browned sides, and the wide, towering roof displayed what looked like the remnants of a recent snow-fall.
Right now, Amaris realized, it was Spring.
Something in her mind began to howl and screech and absolutely claw to the surface, but something stronger pressed it down, kept it from Amaris' mind but for a strange niggling feeling of foreboding. The house certainly looked inviting enough - inviting enough for Alice to run into for sanctuary... and it was her best bet for now, Amaris realized, having lost track of her daughter yet again.
With guilt hanging heavily on her mind, she stepped out from behind her tree and proceeded down the path, treading lightly on the flat, smooth, pastel-colored flagstones. The scent was even more tantalizing now that she was closer to the house and Amaris began to honestly struggle with the urge to put her face close to the white-and-red-striped column and take a closer scent... or something more. The very thought offended her crippling sense of dignity, however, and she stepped onto the porch. She curiously noted the strange brown color of the marble, flecked with tiny sparkling figments, when a noise to her left interrupted her already-tremulous thoughts.
It was a loud moan, she realized, of pleasure. Curiously she tiptoed over to the edge of the porch and peeked up at the roof, where she had fancied the noise had come from, to receive a face-full of white powder as Cyrus tore a large piece of the roof off.
"Oh, hey, Amaris," he chirped, shamelessly shoving the tile into his mouth as he looked down at her, clearly amused. "You know, this is really good. You should try this."
Amaris, on the other hand, coughed and spluttered as she realized that the snow was not cold, or very powdery, but instead grainy and sweet and getting into her eyes and stinging very, very badly. She wiped her face off on her sleeve and rubbed her eyes helplessly, leaving satisfying white streaks on her shirt as Cyrus laughed at her from above.
She quietly cursed him before stepping off the porch to gain a better view of him, who had made himself comfortable on the slanted roof of the porch and, apparently, been busy. "Cyrus," she groaned, examining the damage with the sort of frightened expression that only a home-owner could don, "it's not very nice to eat peoples' houses uninvited."
He laughed even more loudly this time. The sound, Amaris quickly found, grated on her nerves. There was something inherently wrong in this, she thought, this sort of barking he was indulging in... but perhaps time had simply made more of a stranger of her than she realized...
"Like anyone lives here?" He licked his teeth absentmindedly. "Forget it. This is the best gingerbread I've ever tasted. Seriously, Amaris, don't be such a prude." He punctuated this by tearing another slate from the roof, tossing it at her feet before returning to his treat. It landed heavily, and Amaris stared at it.
Something was wrong here. But she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Come on," he wheedled, grinning far more widely than she was entirely comfortable with, "Just a little bit?" He shifted his voice to the back of his throat. "Doesn't it smell good?"
"I suppose so," she stammered, once again struggling with her senses. The columns of the porch suddenly looked very, very lickable. The voice of her common sense began to grow weaker.
Up above, Cyrus' tail flicked back and forth lazily as he gnawed on the tile, staring steadily at her.
"I mean, at least try something," he sighed at last, pausing to swallow and take a breath. "It would really be a shame to pass through here and not try a little something... you can't get this stuff in stores, you know..."
But Amaris was here for something else, Amaris protested, though her feet began to move. Something else - something important - something most definitely not peppermint-flavored and the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted -
Cyrus' barking laugh began again, and when Amaris drew away from the column, her transgression marked by the incriminating smear of one red stripe on the clean white of the candy, an old woman was watching her curiously from behind the baked-good door.
She flushed and tried to come up with something to say - an excuse, an apology, anything. Instead, she found the taste of the column lingering on her lips and chewed on them pensively.
"Well, do come in, dearie," the old crone crooned with a smile. "You and your little friend, too, I suppose -" here she cast a knowing glance at her porch's roof, where Amaris could hear Cyrus chuckling darkly as he continued to work on the rock-candy tile - "it's nearly time for dinner, you know."
"What's for dinner?" Amaris asked hoarsely, surprised she could form words around her suddenly-heavy tongue.
"Oh, I can't tell you that," the woman said bashfully, turning her head but failing to conceal a queer smile. "Come in, come in quick, before the wolves come to eat you up!" And she and Cyrus, still on the roof, laughed in unison, barking loudly, and Amaris felt more sick and lonely than she had in her life.
"Come on, Cyrus," she called, though it was unnecessary, as he was already dropping from the roof and slinking past her to the door. The woman welcomed him by placing her hands on his cheeks, the queer smile returning to her face as he smiled down at her, touching her shoulder briefly before glancing back at Amaris and striding confidently into the anteroom. And Amaris, against her better judgment, followed.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:17 pm
The interior of the house was spotless, and the scent was even stronger here. It was disarming - distracting, and cloyingly sweet. Amaris placed her hand on a rather grainy table for support as a wave of dizziness swept over her. She wasn't supposed to be here, was she? Something was scratching at the back of her mind, but she couldn't catch hold of it. Her frustrations mounted. What was wrong? Why did this place give her such a bad feeling? A perfectly lovely home owned by a perfectly friendly old lady -- what was so viscerally wrong about that?
"Cyrus," she said slowly, taking slow, deep breaths to try to quell the nausea, "I don't think we should be here. Let's just leave, okay?"
"What makes you think that?" The man asked conversationally somewhere beyond her eyelids.
"I don't know. I just have this... this feeling. Please, Cy, let's go."
"Um..." The sound of shifting. "... that might be a bit difficult."
Her eyes shot open as she turned to look around again.
There was a cage against the far wall - a big one, and sturdy, from the look of it. Inside were a pile of blankets and, on top, Cyrus, sitting cross-legged and looking vaguely apologetic.
"Yeah, see... I've been locked in," he continued, scratching one of his ears self-consciously. "Sorry about that. I didn't know you had anywhere to be."
Amaris probably looked very ugly right about now. In the midst of confusion, anger, and disgust, however, she managed to realize that a piece of the puzzle was missing. "Where's the old woman?"
"Well, she's, you know." He tugged on his hair. "Right behind you, you see."
Oh gods. The woman chuckled softly as Amaris' head whipped around to look at her.
"Sorry, sweetheart." She shrugged helplessly. "It's so hard to find meat in these woods, you know? All the animals..."
"I suppose they know to avoid this house by now," Amaris whispered. The horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach grew.
The woman shrugged again, and began to eye her up. Amaris took a step backward, but bumped into the table.
"He's rather skinny, you know. Probably stringy." She scrutinized her calves with the serious concentration of a professional as she began to poke the younger woman's sides. "You, though... You would do, I think. What do you think, sweetheart? I'll have pity on you. You'd want a fast death, wouldn't you? Should I drown you? Or smother you?"
"I didn't come here to die," Amaris protested, her voice rising in panic as she found herself corralled into the kitchen. It was large. Everything in it was quite large, and - the nausea rose - considerably bloody. A well-greased oven dominated the entire left wall, and something that looked almost like a draining table stood next to it.
No. No. What was this? This couldn't possibly be right -- not that it wasn't very possible that she would die here, but everything seemed just wrong, like this story wasn't meant for her...
The crone stood by the table, watching her patiently. In her hands was a pack of knives, large and small, rolled in soft, bloodstained cloth.
"I suppose fear always adds a certain something to the meat," she said slowly, watching Amaris as she took in her surroundings, "but it's so hard to watch, darling. Don't look like you're about to cry. It's just so unsettling."
Amaris hardly knew what she was doing now, but self-preservation kicked in and she grabbed for the roll of knives. The woman protested, naturally, and tried to pull it back, but she was old and easily overpowered. Amaris met her on the ground, pinning her down.
"The key," Amaris whispered breathlessly, reluctantly holding a scalpel carelessly selected from the pack to the woman's skin. "To that cage. Give it to me. Please."
The crone fixed her gaze on her thoughtfully. She could practically see her mind working through her eyes. She began to dread her answer.
"I..." The lady began to chuckle. "... swallowed it..."
She gasped and shuddered. She didn't resist when the crone reached for her hand and led it downward.
"You'll want to cut here..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:28 pm
Amaris couldn't meet Cyrus' gaze as she gently slid the wet key into the lock and freed him.
"Thanks," he said simply, taking the opportunity to stretch his limbs as he grabbed the bars and pulled himself to his feet. She only turned away. The key she'd leave in the lock. As for everything else... they had to leave. Now.
"Cyrus," she called softly, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. Water. Something to clean herself with. He didn't reply, and Amaris looked up to see him casually approaching the kitchen.
"Cyrus," she hissed, stamping her foot as her heart pounded wildly. "Get away from there!" He jumped and spun around to face her, looking guilty. "The door. Go. We're leaving. Even if I have to drag you out by your hair," she said darkly. Wisely, Cyrus said nothing and directed his path to the front door, walking briskly.
Amaris was covered in blood and, she noted, he hardly seemed to care. She wanted to cry very badly, to curl up somewhere quiet and put her face in her hands and not emerge for a very, very long time. But she had other things to do. She never intended to hurt anyone... she never wanted to hurt anyone... the woman had practically asked her...
She had other things to do. Other things she had to do right now.
She followed Cyrus' path to the door, practically slipping on the porch steps in her haste to leave. The smear of her lips remained on the column here. The color only made her feel ill.
No. She couldn't think about that now. It was over. She had to keep moving. She pushed through the sparse garden to the trees again.
Cyrus had disappeared again, but Amaris hardly cared - it was better that he wasn't there at that moment, in her mind - she had to find Alice first. Her precious daughter... she wouldn't hurt her, either, would she?
The brush didn't part for her at first, but she made it, and was quickly lost in the forest once again.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:31 pm
She found herself walking up a hill. The trees all looked the same here. As she changed her pace to accommodate the incline, she couldn't help but feel as though something was dropping away from her... but what? Whatever it was, Amaris had a feeling that she wouldn't miss it. She rubbed her forehead, confused, then looked at her hand. Clean - mostly - well, really, she couldn't remember the last time she'd properly washed her hands but that didn't really matter much, did it? Trees probably didn't care if you had some grit underneath your fingernails. But something still seemed wrong. She sighed and walked a little faster. Whatever it was, she could think about it later. Right now, she had to find Alice again...
The trees were thinning...
She stepped up onto the porch of a small wooden shack, suddenly shivering. Snow piled up all around her; it was at least three feet deep, though... there were no footprints to reveal her path. Before Amaris could find anything wrong with the scene, Cyrus had wrapped a thick shawl around her shoulders and squeezed her hands gently.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" He grinned at her. She couldn't help but notice that he was baring all his teeth.
"It's very deep..." She shook her head. "I don't think I've ever seen a snowfall like this before."
There was something so profoundly lonely about this scene, about this house. Cyrus was quite close to her. Her mind was twanging again.
Before she could stop, she sighed...
"Watching the neighbors' children just isn't the same."
The children in question were romping about in the snow some distance away, throwing snowballs at one another, shrieking, running. She felt Cyrus place his chin on her head and felt a strange twinge of annoyance.
"I know," he mumbled, squeezing her hands again. Another band of children were busy at work rolling and packing snow into a vaguely humanoid shape.
She could practically feel the cogs in his mind grinding.
"Say," he said slowly, turning her to look her in the eyes, "Do you want to, uh... you know... try...? You know, to make..."
Amaris calmly watched as he struggled for words. They'd been together for so long and he couldn't trust her with his thoughts and feelings?
"Our own snowman?" She finally supplied. Cyrus shut his mouth, but nodded and grinned sheepishly. She giggled. Just the sort of stupid thing they were always up to.
"Okay, let's try it. But let's not just make any old snowman," she added, grabbing his elbow. "We'll make a kid - okay? It wouldn't hurt," Amaris said defensively as he started to laugh at her.
"No, I think it'd be fun," he retorted, grinning again and leading her off the porch and into their garden. "It'll be ours, all ours - until the sun comes out." Amaris made a face and he laughed harder.
"We need two feet and two hands," she said calmly, leaning down and starting to scoop up snow in her hands.
"A body would help."
"Shut up and help."
After at least two hours of struggles and annoyances - they'd both made left feet at first, and then the body was misproportioned and fell over, and then the poor child's right arm was a good six inches longer than the left - they began to work on the face.
Cyrus sculpted a fine nose for the snow-child's face and began to hollow out the area where its eyes would be while Amaris gently pressed her fingers into the packed snow that was its face to form lips. She'd been packing snow for far too long, she thought - now it was starting to feel warm. Warm and... soft... she pulled back suddenly.
"Snow isn't pink," she babbled quickly. Cyrus stared.
The snow-child stared back at them. With a frown, the girl began to push snow off herself, revealing soft, pale skin. The snow fell away like an eggshell, and Amaris watched stupidly as she shook her hair out, then rubbed her eyes.
"Oh," Amaris said helpfully. "Oh. Oh."
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:54 pm
In a fit of divine inspiration, Amaris had named their new child Snowflake. Cyrus laughed harder than ever, but eventually admitted that it was a good name - fitting, at least. Snowflake herself accepted the name quite readily. She lived with the two of them and nobody suspected that their child was anything less than normal.
She was a pretty little thing, so smart and talented, so clever and charming that one could not help but do anything she asked. Snowflake, however, didn't ask for much. Even so, she found herself showered in love, gifts, and more attention than she quite knew what to do with most of the time. But Snowflake always accepted these things with grace and a sweet smile. Amaris and Cyrus were quite wrapped around her finger.
Even so, Amaris couldn't help but feel distinctly out of place. Cyrus was a fine husband, yes, but every now and then she'd wonder why she even got married to him, since she didn't even consider him to be anything more than a friend - which was not a bad thing when they got along, but they did have their fair share of quarrels which were distinctly unlike lovers' spats. And the child... Amaris couldn't help but find fault in her. Not that there was something wrong with Snowflake herself - she was a perfect dear, for sure - but sometimes she felt as though she wasn't truly her child. Which was actually the truth, but - nothing made sense any more! What was she doing here? Why was she here? Had she lived like this for so long? Where were her memories?
And then, inevitably, she would lose her train of thought and never find it again.
The time passed quickly. Winter melted away to Spring. Snowflake, once vibrant and passionate, became quiet, choosing to silently sit by the window even when the other village children were outside playing. She wasn't ill, nor had she been rejected by them; she simply didn't go outside. It was inexplicable, but Amaris chose not to push her. She was terrified of losing her child for many more reasons than she quite understood at any one time.
One evening, a band of Snowflake's friends came to the door and cordially requested her presence for general frolicking (with much pushing and giggling). Snowflake didn't want to go, and Amaris knew it - but there was no reason why she shouldn't, really, and wouldn't it be good for her to get some fresh air and reconnect with her friends?
"Take care of her," Amaris said. "She's my greatest treasure." The girls grinned and nodded and Snowflake gave her the most pitiful, beseeching look as they dragged her away.
And that was the last time she saw her.
From what she could get out of the girls - which was very little - they'd been dancing and singing together when they lit a fire from dry grass and took turns jumping over it. When Snowflake's turn came around, she had disappeared, and the girls naively supposed that she had gone home.
My daughter. My daughter. Amaris stood on the porch once again, staring out into the forest. Snowflake... no, not Snowflake. And she certainly wasn't married to Cyrus. And this certainly wasn't her house, and she certainly wasn't going to stick around here while her poor little girl wandered around the forest alone.
She was going to find her, this time. No more distractions.
She cast off her shawl and ran into the trees once more, Cyrus yelling after her...
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:20 am
Amaris felt a general pulling sensation at the borders of her mind once again before she could form coherent thoughts.
The first thing she realized was that she was on a path now, to her great surprise. An actual path? In this forest? It was well-tread, at least, and surprisingly wide. It continued through the forest as far as she could see, both behind her and ahead of her. At a loss for any better course of action, she followed it. Alice was a sensible girl, even if her mother wasn't; if the poor girl was as lost and confused as she was, she'd be on this path and trying to find a way home. Yes, that thought was quite comforting. Amaris held it tenderly in her mind as she broke into a gentle run.
Before she could get very far, spots formed before her eyes again and she reeled to the left, just barely managing to catch and steady herself on a tree as her vision clouded over. Her mind returned before her sight did. At least she didn't ruin her dress, she thought. And then she realized, since when do I go around wearing ball dresses?
The path had morphed this time and she realized she was, technically, on the path that coaches were supposed to be on. Two deep ruts ran ahead of her to some glittering construction in the distance which, Amaris could only suppose, could have been a castle. If she were a proper lady, she'd be on a footpath right now. It was a good thing, then, that she wasn't. She trudged on.
The soft sounds of music greeted her on the air as she approached, pulling her closer, trying to wrap itself around her. But Amaris could feel those little somethings pulling at her mind now and held her consciousness even closer to herself. Those somethings - these somethings that were playing with her mind - were only distractions, and were the only reason she had been constantly getting lost. She didn't have any more time to waste. Not if she wanted to find her daughter and return home. So she ignored the music. It was like marshmallows: sweet and fluffy, but without substance and, ultimately, pretty gross.
Cyrus sidled up to her and took her arm in his.
"Hey, Amaris." He smiled sheepishly.
She glanced sideways at him, but said nothing, instead choosing to flick open her fan with a loud ffwick and politely ignore him. She could practically feel him panic.
Ahead of them Amaris could now properly see a large courtyard, beyond which was a castle. In this courtyard and its adjacent gardens was a conglomeration of various people, all ridiculously dressed-up and apparently quite proud of it. She shouldn't be here, should she? Alice...
"You know, the king's supposed to be looking for a new daughter," Cyrus said conversationally, right on cue. Amaris narrowed her eyes and hid her face behind the fan. She was in the right place, then.
"I think you and I should have a talk, Cyrus." He led her down a short flight of stairs into the party, where he then took her hands and began to sheepishly lead her around the courtyard in what he probably thought was a nice, harmless waltz.
"What is it?" He grinned again.
"I've been thinking."
"Yes?"
"You and me, Cyrus."
"What about us?" He asked innocently.
"We're friends, right?"
"Of course." But he looked vaguely confused. With that look, all of Amaris' doubts disappeared.
"But the last time we talked..."
There was a significant silence. He didn't seem to want to fall for any more traps. Amaris pressed on.
"... that was when I was still... broken..."
Ah, yes. That fragile time she'd spent in Gaia as a third of a person. When she didn't even know who she was. When things were simple.
"What I mean to say is... just how do you know my name?"
She stopped them both in the center of the dance floor. Couples swept along the dance floor all around them, and Cyrus stared at her stupidly.
"What?"
Amaris stared calmly back at him. He began to stammer.
"Why wouldn't I know your name, Amaris? I mean, you're one of my best friends... I..."
"My name," she said firmly, taking his hands in hers, "was Angie. And you, Cyrus, are gone. That means that you," she continued, squeezing these hands as he tried to pull away from her, "are an illusion. You didn't even try to help me find our daughter," she added sadly.
As she let go, the figure began to crumble, turning to sand and dissolving on the floor. Amaris felt freer now, though the wound remained... but there was no time to dwell on that. She turned, and from the corner spotted a little girl in a very large, very sparkly dress eying her suspiciously from behind a statue. She took a step forward.
"Go away," Alice called, taking a step back. "You're ruining everything!"
"Alice..." Amaris sighed, stepping forward again. "What's to be gained from this? Do you really want to live in an illusion? Do you really think you could ever escape from reality?" More quietly, she added, "Is your life really that bad?"
"No," Alice murmured, placing her hand over her mouth. "I'm not going back! I'm going to live here forever and be a princess and... and..."
She took a deep, shuddering breath, and shifted her gaze to something over her shoulder. Amaris turned to look as the girl began, "I wish..."
And she found herself in a blackness.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:00 am
Normal senses didn't work here, in this blackness, this... empty space. But she was too frazzled to think clearly. She tried to peer into the darkness, to feel around her, but there was nothing - absolutely nothing.
Except for the figure, which had apparently been in front of her the entire time.
It was large, floating, swathed in gracefully-fanning golden clothes, exuding an aura of power and authority. The entirety of it was translucent and frail-looking, though, like a ghost or a magician's particularly poorly-constructed trick. In the very center was a little tosakin goldfish, which seemed to be looking at her in a rather peevish manner.
YOU ARE AMARIS. The thing said.
"Well." Amaris tried to swallow around her suddenly-useless tongue. "Well, yes. I am."
ALICE... It paused significantly. YOU ARE ITS MOTHER.
"Alice is a healthy young girl, actually, and not an 'it.'"
SHE WISHES FOR A GREAT DEAL. The goldfish paused to stare at her. Being stared at by a goldfish is an unsettling experience, at best.
"I know."
SHE... The goldfish paused again. There was a heavy silence, and the figure shifted. It tried again. SHE IS...
Finally, it stopped, and stared at her accusingly. STOP THAT.
Amaris frowned. "Stop what? I'm not - doing anything - I think --"
MY POWER. YOU ARE TRYING TO TAKE IT, It asserted.
And now she was bewildered. "W-what are you talking about? I just want to go home with my daughter..."
The figure seemed to labor under itself, and the goldfish inside wriggled uselessly as its power began to wane.
I AM MEANT TO GRANT THE WISHES OF THOSE WHO CATCH ME.
"Is that so?" Amaris asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. In these sorts of situations, she found that it was best to just humor the crazy party and hope they weren't armed.
BUT THIS WAY... The figure began to slump and sink down. ... I CANNOT GRANT YOUR WISHES.
This was where Amaris was supposed to say something significant and wonderful. Out of pity, she made a lame attempt. "I think everyone would be better off if I tried to make my own wishes come true, thank you."
YOU ARE KILLING ME.
"I'm not doing anythi --"
YOU ARE KILLING ME!
Suddenly the color surged back into the goldfish's human figure and it lunged at her in fury, but before it could seize her, someone else beat it to the punch.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:41 am
When Amaris woke up, she was back in the grove with the pond, where the trouble had all begun. Actually, she was in the pond itself from the waist down. She was so cold. The soul bottle - which she'd tied to her hand and completely forgotten about until now - bobbed in the water next to her, and besides it a dead, bloated little goldfish. The bottle swirled suspiciously with energy. Amaris would have made the proper connection had she not suddenly realized that she was being dragged less-than-gently out of the water by her other arm. "Ow," she protested. " Shut," hissed a male voice, "the hell up." Cain? How did he get here? He'd pulled her out of the pond and onto the muddy bank before she jerked her hand away, rubbing her shoulder in an accusatory manner. Alice -- she quickly scanned the grove -- nowhere to be found. She glared up at Cain again. "What are you doing here?" He was breathing very heavily, looking as if he'd just run a great distance. Which he probably had. Somehow Amaris couldn't find it in her heart to really feel sorry for him. "Funny," he said, "I was just about to ask you the same thing." She managed to get to her knees and proceeded to the complicated and arduous task of standing up. "I came here to find Alice. Where is she?" Cain looked genuinely taken off-guard, which Amaris briefly celebrated if only because it took that stupid look off his face and replaced it with an even stupider one. "Um. At home?" "Look," she spat, narrowing her eyes at him in what she hoped was a frightening look, "I saw Alice run away. I saw her run into this forest. I navigated the damn thing just to find her, and I ended up here. I know she must be around somewhere. Where is she?" "At home, with Mitsu," Cain asserted. Something in his face told Amaris that he wasn't lying. "That can't possibly be true." "Do you want my phone? We'll call right now. Look, here." "Is there even a signal?" Amaris grumbled as she took his phone in her cold, wet hands. At least his address book was easy to navigate. She hit the HOME option and waited for someone to pick up. Ring...Ring...Ring...Ri - there was a click and a soft voice breathed gently into the phone. "Hello?" Amaris' mouth suddenly became very dry. "Alice?" "Yes, mum?" The phone crackled. Amaris took two deep breaths before continuing. "Where have you been?" There was a short silence, where Alice wondered if she had done anything particularly bad in the day to warrant this sort of call. "At home, mum. With Mitsu," she added helpfully. "I'm being nice," she continued, just in case her innocence in that realm was being called into question. Amaris chewed on her tongue. "Mum?" "I'll talk to you later, Alice." With that, Amaris ended the call. Cain was watching her cautiously. "What the hell is going on?" "Funny-I-was-just-about-to-ask-you-the-same-thing," Amaris hissed, thrusting the phone into her fiance's hands. "Let's go home. I do so hope you know the way out," she added, treading on various sticks with a little more force than was entirely necessary. _______________________________________________________________________ Meanwhile, Alice held the precious fel essence between her thumb and forefinger, inspecting it from between narrowed eyes. Something was strange about this... thing. Alice could feel power radiating from it. It would be just like her mum to keep something dangerous like this just lying around the house. Beyond that, though, she couldn't decipher just what the thing was. It was clear that there was some inky something in there, but it flashed before her eyes and disappeared before she could figure out what it was. Above all this, it probably had something to do with her. Causing mischief and not even letting her in on the joke... how presumptuous! Alice placed it carefully back into the suitcase's padding. This time it got away with it, but next time... next time, she'd be waiting. T H E___E N D
(of the beginning)
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