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 Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:29 pm
Her hands, once small and pale, were now covered with a thick coating of dry mud. Torn clothes, leaves in hair, the works. Katrina had made the nearby park her kingdom-- complete with terrorizing the boys and chasing whatever birds entered her line of site.
She enjoyed her time out, spending it in the most bizarre ways. She had already made sport of running through moving swings (She was only hit once or twice!) and throwing acorns at the horses on springs (She had even his one hard enough with a rock to make it move a little!)
In fact, Katrina found her time to be quite well spent. It was no surprise to her that the other kids quickly gathered their toys and coats, leaving once the sun dipped low against the skyline. She squinted at the setting sun, watching it until it was nearly halfway hidden by the line of rooftops that the city seemed to provide.
From the back of her mind, a nagging sensation reached her. She knew that she ought to be joining them. A bath was in order, and a scolding for ruining her good clothes. She looked down, her small hands gripping at the edge of her torn dress--
…She didn’t want to go home.
Mr. Miller would be home by now, and it was always his silent disapproval that bit at her the most. The scolding, the nagging, and the preaching she could handle…
But whenever Mr. Miller would silently turn away, a look of disgust in his eyes, it made her want to cry.
Blue eyes started back towards home, squinting once more at the bright sun against a red and purple sky. She wondered if, just maybe, if she stayed here…. If maybe Mr. Miller would help to look for her.
No! Her blonde curls bounced as she tried to shake the very idea from her mind, no! This wasn’t the way to think! She still had to tell her mom about how she got a B on her spelling test! She had only missed two words! Of course Momma would be proud! She’d be praised for it.
Her will resolute, the small girl began her trek towards the city, towards her foreboding home.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:03 pm
To say the least, it had been a painfully long couple of days. First there was Ciro, killed either by Fish or himself, to send off to the underworld - a nightmare for the bookkeeping. Ultimately, Anubis had to award the kill to Fish simply because he had survived the encounter. Then there was his encounter with Loki, and although the results were favorable, the actual act was a headache. And he still didn't know who had murdered that poor nymph.
Furthermore, Anubis was ******** tired of these ******** Aztecs in his ******** Game. They were coming out of the walls at this point - Mixcoatl, of all gods! Anubis hadn't realized the old man was even still around. Though with half of that group already playing, it shouldn't have actually surprised him all that much. Still, being sent out to deliver a dagger to a little girl was somewhere between welcome distraction and bothersome chore.
As he headed out towards where the god had indicated he might find her, he spotted a bedraggled little girl coming up the street, dripping in mud like she had just been involved in some deep-jungle guerilla warfare mission.
"Katrina?" he asked as he drew closer to her and sensed a godly aura about her.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:18 pm
“Katrina?”
Her heart skipped a beat-- it was a man’s voice! Had Mr. Miller finally come to see if she was okay? Her fingers gripped the torn edge of her dress tightly as her head whipped around to find the source of the voice.
It was not Mr. Miller, she noted to her dismay. A small twitch in her fingers-- the slightest indication of fear. A dip of her head, blue eyes looking up at the strange man with fear and fascination. He was different-- weird. And he was a man. At night. Talking to little girls.
Which made him a suspicious person.
But he knew her name! So maybe-- just maybe he was a family friend? Maybe he had been asked to help look for her. It was certainly easier, let alone less scary, to think that way.
“Y-Yeah.” She stammered out, still looking at the man through her thick bangs. She inched forward slightly, but only just a fragment, before stopping and crinkling her toes in anticipation. Hopefully she was right-- or else she’d be in very bad trouble when she got home.
“Are my parents looking for me…?” Her voice was small, admittedly far smaller than earlier, when she had been throwing sand at boys and screaming like a mad woman. But that-- That was different. She was in control then. Now… Now she was scared, and felt like the trembling child that she really was.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:23 pm
Anubis looked around. "Not that I know of," he said, which didn't mean that they weren't. Someone else was, though, and it seemed that they had found her.
"Have you ever heard of the Game?" he asked. Sometimes children had. Sometimes they hadn't.
"Have you ever wanted magical powers? An adventure? To be special?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:38 pm
Her head drooped even lower under his words… That meant that, as far as either of them knew, neither her momma nor Mr. Miller were particularly inclined to worry about where their daughter was. It stung. She could admit to that. But-- in a new sort of rebellion, her head raised to look up to the man.
Fine! If they didn’t care what she was doing-- then she didn’t care either! She’d be a bad girl and talk to the stranger.
If she got kidnapped… Well then it was their fault anyway!
“The… game…?” She parroted right back. Sure, she had heard of games. A game. That game. Tag, Monopoly, Hide and Seek. But ‘The Game’? Was that something new? Her interest piqued.
And was satiated as the man continued. Oh, it was make-believe. Like super-heroes. Or like those Last Fantasy games that seemed to always be sold out at the store.
Maybe he was going to give her a demo!!
That was exciting! She had a computer at home, in the living room. She could probably play it if she asked her momma nicely enough.
“Yea. “ She could at least TRY to sound like she was confessing. She tried her hardest. Hopefully, fingers crossed, he wouldn’t tell that she actually was hoping to get some sort of reward for her answer.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:17 pm
Anubis smiled. "And do you know anything about Gods?" he asked. Of course he didn't expect her to. Most children were rather ignorant until indoctrinated. "Because I know one with a special request for you."
He reached into his pocket and drew out the dagger, holding it flat on his palm. It wasn't particularly threatening, dwarfed by his enormous hand, more ornamental than practical.
"Mixcoatl has taken a liking to you," he explained. "Should you take the dagger, you will accept your place and your destiny in the Game."
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:47 pm
She listened silently, amazed with the amount of detail that went into presenting ‘The Game.’ Surely, he wasn’t going to give her a demo, this was some sort of selling scheme. But what was someone doing out this late at night trying to sell a game to a little girl who clearly had no money?
Heck-- Why bother thinking about it? She could always just decline his off---
His hand went into his pocket-- she recoiled. This was the part where he shot her in the head and carried her body off to where ever killers hid bodies. Her eyes closed-- she didn’t want to see this…
But no shot came. No death greeted her. Instead, when she opened her bright blue eyes, an ornamental dagger shone back innocently at her.
Though shone wasn’t really quite the right word. It was sleek, but rough at the same time. The blade was hand carved, some sort of dark stone-- she couldn’t tell what. It shone smooth as glass in some parts, only to be interrupted by the rough edges where it had been shaped. The handle was… She couldn’t tell what that was, either. But it was rounded, cracked, and a dull off-white. While the blade was roughly carved, the handle was more ornate-- a figure of a winding serpent snaking its way through a mass of clouds.
She couldn’t understand this-- Why would he give her this? Was it a promotional item? Her hand reached out hesitantly, pale fingers slowly engulfing the strange handle. The handle was smooth, though the many whisps of the clouds seemed almost to tickle her hand.
Carefully, hesitantly, she took the blade from the man, turning it over in her hand as she looked over the details. It was creepy, too creepy. What kind of a game would have something like this?!
Her eyes darted up to his face once more.
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t want it.” Now holding her hands together, she reached up to offer the strange blade back.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:02 pm
Anubis held up his hands in refusal. "I can't take it back," he said. Surely, her mind would change once the connection was a bit stronger. Mixcoatl was a very old god - it might take a bit of time for him to 'download', as it were.
"The Game," he explained, "Decides the fate of the world. It was decided that you would play practically before you were born. Your God will help you and guide you along your way to greatness."
Initial reluctance could be expected, though he had never seen a child try to give their talisman back before.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:18 pm
Dejected, her hands wrapped back around the dagger, careful not to cut herself on the rough edges.
This was the first point in which she began to think that maybe, just maybe, this was something bigger than she had initially assumed. But the more he talked, the more it seemed like some kind of role playing game! There was no way that he could be serious! He was just some weirdo!
Pulling the knife in close to her chest, she looked up at him with a new fear instilled in her. This was weird. Too weird. She didn’t want to be here anymore. It was like she had no choice in the matter.
He tricked her! He offered her the knife-- and he didn’t say that she couldn’t give it back! That wasn’t fair!
Still clutching it tightly (for it was the only defense she had, assuming he would attack her), she took a cautious step back. Her eyes were plastered to him, watching for any sudden movement, as she took another step. That was followed by another, and then yet another, before her tiny figure turned, bolting towards the street that would turn into her cul-de-sac.
She didn’t want to be out any longer. It was too scary. He was too scary! None of it made sense!
And yet… Still, her hands clutched desperately at the tiny dagger near her breast.
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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:22 pm
Anubis made no effort to follow her. He had delivered the knife, and his work was, as a result, finished. He watched the tiny, retreating figure grow smaller and then turned on the spot, vanishing into the gathering night.
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