Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hello Everyone!! I'm working on writing out the story of how Sulia came to be and I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read it ^-^. Alot of this is just reference for a book I'm currently working on writing so please let these ideas stay mine. I'd appreciate any Feedback you'd like to give by PM. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!


"Eve, what are you doing?"

A young girl sat at a simple vanity as she brushed her long curly purple hair that grew down to almost her knees, her heading turning as she is spoken to. She was clearly a teenager in her appearance but there was something about her that held a child like quality. A pure naïve nature about the world around her. Her violet eyes were wide in curiosity as they turned to face a woman standing in her door.

The woman was older and her nose was turned up slightly as she glided into the room as her moss colored dress flowed behind her. She had superiority about her and the air around her was thick. Silently with one hand she tucked her matching purple hair behind her right ear to reveal a pointed elf like ear but the tip more extended and having several piercings along it. As she placed her hands cupped in front of her, her silver eyes were as cold as ice as she watched her, waiting.

Eve gave a nervous smile as she got to her feet, her hands quickly brushing her simple black dress to make herself presentable before holding her hands in front of her similar to the woman as she approached. Primping herself had become quite the nervous habit and it only got worse with each year she spent there. And this woman was responsible for all her nervous nature. Her name was Neava and she was the wicked witch of Eve's world.

"Nothing Mother, just fixing my hair..."

The woman looked over the girl in front of her, a small sneer coming to her face as she spotted the two purple and black rabbit ears that rested atop her daughter’s head. "Hide those ridiculous things...I know that your only half rabbit spirit, but it doesn't mean you need to go parading those things around..."

Eve jumped slightly as she remembers that they're exposed, quickly laying them flat on her head and combing her hair over them to keep them from sight. To say that she was not accepted by her mother was an understatement and every attempt to try to please her always failed. She had forgotten how much her mother hated being reminded of everything that was wrong with her. "I'm sorry...I was just thinking about somethings and-"

Eve stopped when she saw her mother begin to look around her bedroom. It was a very plain room; simple cedar wall panels with some kind of hardwood floor with a simple bed suit. There weren't many things around the room to show a girl had grown up there besides the vanity area having hair brushes and hair bands. But sitting up the Vanity's simple surface was something her mother had never seen before; A bottle with a blue flame.

Eve nervously stood silently in front of her mother as she silently surveyed, making the girl quickly begin to braid her hair into two simple thick braids. When all else fails, groom to get your mind off of it.

Neava quietly walked over and snatched the small bottle off the table top before Eve could stop her, holding it in her hand as she glares at it. "Have you been stealing things again?"

Eve couldn't help but glare slightly as she reaches up and snatched the bottle away from her. "I don't steal things! And my new friend gave it to me..." She smiled down softly at the bottled flame, remembering the evening she had had with Joseph. Her first real friend.

He had not known even the simplest things, such as talking and a friendly smile, but together they had made such breakthroughs for him. They had laughed, they had played, everything she had always heard of friends doing. Running her thumb along the glossy surface made her smile fade a bit as she also remembered the promise that she had made him to receive his friendship.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something that could only be called a cackle as her mother laughed at her, her right hand soon reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye.
"That's pretty good, but we all know that you don't have any friends..."

Eve clenched her fists together as she turned to glare up at her mother, her ears coming out from under her hair as she stops caring if they're out of sight. Eve was truly friendly in nature but she had the curse of wearing her emotions on her sleeve, something she had always tried to work on but for some reason it never worked out.

"I do have a friend! And he gave me this so I wouldn't forget!"

Her mother stopped and gave her little sneer for a moment before it suddenly turned into a slight smirk as an idea came to mind. As it turned into a soft smile, Eve couldn't help but become worried as her mother pulled her into a hug and lifted her chin to look up at her.
"Eve, my dear...I apologize. I'd love to meet your friend...bring him to our village for us all to meet and the two of you can sit with me during our village's festival feast."

Eve looked up at her mother with wide eyes for a moment before a bright smile came to her face. It was like a dream come true and to think that everyone would finally see that she wasn’t some kind of unacceptable freak made her start to bounce on the balls of her feet in excitement. Moving swiftly without thinking, Eve ran out of her mother's arms and out the door of their simple home, cutting through the village like a hot knife through butter.

Thoughts raced through her mind as her feet guided her along her path, daydreams mostly of all the things they they would get to do at the festival filling her head, just like all the other village kids who had friends. The festival was always a time to celebrate life, family and friends but she always only seemed to qualify for one out of three. She was certain that Joseph would only be more than happy to come back with her, especially if she explained everything. He’d forget all about that silly promise they made of never seeing each other again.

Her heart raced as she ran quickly through the woods, leaping skillfully over fallen trees and ducking under branches. She had never been allowed to sit at her mother's side during any of the feasts. She was hardly allowed to do anything that pertained to being recognized as Neava's daughter.

I'll bring Joseph back and he can meet everyone! And when I show my mother, she'll eat her words!!

The breeze whipped through her hair as she ran faster than the average person, it seeming as if the wind itself carried her through the forest, but actually she was creating a strong wind in her wake as she made her way. The element of wind had been with her as a child along with the power of nature around her. Their village was a home of forest spirits, completely in tune with nature and it’s elements, even being blessed with the power to control them. The only side effect was that with only being half forest spirit, there were always high chances of…backfires…

Eve soon reached the all too familiar clearing and skidded to a stop, a heavy gust of wind blowing past her as her wide eyes looked around excitedly. So many things had occurred in this one place only one night ago and just being there made her want to squeal with joy. Unfortunately, as her mind calmed down, that's when it suddenly hit her for the first time.

I don't know where he is...

Eve stomped her feet a little harder than what was necessary by this point to show how mad she was. One of her rare little mood swings that seemed to come and go from time to time. Stupid Danny...Stupid village...why does it have to be this complicated!?

She gave a small sigh as she finally came to a stop, her tantrum starting to subside as everything sank in. It had already become nightfall and gotten chilly. Her stomach giving a soft growl reminded her that she had been waiting to eat at the festival all day. She couldn't help but start to drool a little bit at the thought of all that delicious food they were going to put out. Eve shook her head slight and gave a small whimper as she held her stomach. Maybe she could sneak some food out of the village before anyone noticed...

Moving quickly, Eve took off like a shot back to her village, knowing the woods like the back of her hand. She knew every branch and every fallen try, moving gracefully as she she sprinted through the night air. She couldn't help but give a small laugh as the trees and grass rustled around her irritable, lecturing her to watch where she was going. She ignored them for the moment for she had more important things to do. Getting a meal inside her before she started her own personal mission.

As the sounds of the festivities started to reach her ears, Eve slowed down her pace and crouched low, moving closer towards the edge of the village. The sound of music and laughter reached her ears as she crept along the edge of one of the log homes that made up their village, squatting down to make sure no one saw her as she looked to the center of the village.

There for all to see and soon to take part in was a feast that would make anyone stop and grab a spot at the rather long table. Eve's stomach gave a loud growl once more as she looked at all the food, the thought of admitting herself to being a liar not seeming so bad for a slice of Mrs. Miruya's famous glazed hams. After another moment of staring, Eve ripped her eyes away and quietly crept along the backside of houses. Before she even tried to get food, she needed to grab some things while she was unnoticed.

Eve soon reached the back of one of the small homes that situated itself more towards the end of the village, the sounds of the party being a little more distant now as she found a rock on the ground and smashed the back window.

The sound of the breaking glass caught her off guard with how loud it was and instantly hit the dirt to try and hide, her heart racing at the thought of being caught. For all the years she had defended herself for not being a thief, she didn't want to be caught finally proving them right.

It took a moment before her heart calmed down before she slowly got back on her feet and slid the window open, climbing carefully inside the dark room. Eve gave a small hiss to hold back a cuss word as she tripped over something on the floor and hit the hard wood rather clumsily. Grace was clearly not with her as she stumbled around in a dark and obviously cluttered room, but soon her hand found a doorknob and she opened it to get into the other room.

Thankfully this room had one lantern lit on what seemed like a store counter. Carefully she took the lantern and walked around the room, smiling a little to herself at how dangerous she was being for sneaking into Mr. Oboshi's weapons shop. He had always been a lonely, rather scary man. He lived in the bedroom above his shop and didn't bother talking to anyone outside of the people that hunted for the village. Along his walls he had weapons galore that Eve admitted knew nothing about. But the forest wasn't completely safe and she needed something...

Eve slowly walked around the room as she looked at all the shiney blades, not really knowing what to pick but knew it had to be something that wouldn't be missed. By the looks of it, each blade was cleaned and well cared for daily, so chances of that happening were slim, not to mention the store owner would not appreciate his broken window in his supply closet.

Which one sho-

Eve gasped softly and squatted to the floor as she heard someone talking outside. She covered her mouth when she realized it was Mr. Oboshi walking with someone else.

"I just want to make sure that I put out that one Lantern..."

Eve gave a small scream in her head as she looked up at the wall, instantly grabbing a long Katana blade and pulling it out of it's sheath before sticking the sheath back in it's place. It would at least look like it was still there until morning. She then grabbed the lantern and put it back on it's counter, scrambling for the supply closet and closing it gently just as the front door gave a soft ring with it's owner opening it.

Her heart was still pounding as she heard his foot steps enter the store and walk over to the counter, making an off shoulder comment to his companion. "I told you I left this thing burning..."

Eve rested her head back on the door as she saw the soft glow go out from around the door frame and his footsteps leave the building once more. She didn't dare move as she caught her nerves, taking a moment to gather herself before slipping out the window once more.

Oh my god, I think I just had a heart attack...

shaking off her rather close call she quickly made her way home and went to her own window, sliding it open with ease since she never kept it locked. Balancing the handle of the blade on the side of the house, she crawled through her window once more and looked around, spotting what she seeked in a matter of moments.

Smiling softly to herself, she walked over to her vanity and grabbed the small bottle with the blue flame, gazing into it for a moment. It was so beautiful, she could stare at it for forever, but she didn't have the time right now. Searching through one of her drawers, she found a rather long string and tied it around the bottle before turning it into a necklace and putting it around her neck. Perfect!

Everything was going better than she thought it would. She would just grab some food from the kitchen and then she'd be on her way! She couldn't help but smile at how smoother her operations were going until she reached for her doorknob and found that it was locked from the outside. She gave a growl of frustration, her mother having done it on purpose to keep her from the rest of the house if she had snuck back in.

Such a wretched woman...

Her stomach gave another painful growl before she sighed, knowing that she didn't have time to try and break into the kitchen, the festival soon coming to an end and her mother would return home quickly to see if she could catch her in the act. Rubbing her stomach a little in hopes to sooth it, she climbed back out her window and grabbed her sword, running off into the cover of night once more.

Eve didn't really know where she was going to go, but she just ran as fast as she could. The fear that at any moment they would find out she stole a Katana blade put a little boost in her speed as she made her way.

Soon a burning sensation filled her chest and it hurt to breath, her legs having taken her as far as they wanted to go before she let herself fall gracefully to the ground. Eve's chest heaved as she worked on catching her breath, her gaze staring up at the stars through the trees. So this was it...

Despite everything her smile crept back to her face as she closed her eyes. She did it. For years she wanted nothing more than to run away and never look back and now she had done it. It was like a a dream come-grrrrr....

Eve sighed as she curled up and hugged her stomach. Not quite a dream come true. In her dream, she always imagined her stomach to be full and happy. Not slowly eating her alive...

"I've got to find some food..."

But on the bright side, she was on her own and she was going to do this. No one was going to stop her now. And as she curled up with her security, remaining unaware of the bright sky blue eyes that watched her from the tree tops.

The silence between the two people seemed to last forever. A man glaring at a young girl that had just eaten his food, and then dared to try and act friendly like nothing was wrong.

"Get Out."

Eve flinched at how harsh his tone was, getting to her feet quickly. She twisted her hands nervously as she started to back away from him towards the door. It wasn't until she felt her back touch the hard wood that she realized she had to ask the question she was avoiding.

"Can...Can I have m-"

"Out!"

"Yes sir!"

She grabbed the door knob and scrambled out of the home, running off into the woods before he changed his mind on letting her go without an issue. After she was sure that she was out of site from the clearing, she squatted down again and hugged her legs with a soft whine. "He took my sword..."

With a flop to the side onto the grass, she gave a huff at how awful this day was turning out to be. The fact that she had to get her sword back scared the crap out of her, but she had to get it back. If she didn't, she was going to be defenseless. After pouting for another moment she got to her feet once more and climbed into a tree, getting as comfortable as one can on a branch. Normally she would just sleep on the soft grass, but she wasn't familiar with this part of the forest.

Eve gave the softest yawn as she closed her heavy eyes, quite exhausted from her long day. There wasn't much she could do right now. She was just going to have to wait for him to leave before she snuck back in for her sword. With one final yawn, she listened to the forest whisper a soft goodnight before she drifted off.

*~*~*

The morning sun was ridiculously bright compared to usually waking up in the comfort of a bedroom. With a small groan Eve cracked her eyes open and sat up slowly in her tree, thankful that she had not rolled out of it in the middle of the night.

After taking a moment to stretch, Eve jumped out of her tree back to the ground below, stumbling slightly from still being groggy. It hadn't been her worst night of sleep, but she had definitely had better. As she stretched her arms above her head, Eve made her way back to the clearing, hiding behind a tree as she peered to the house she had snuck into the night before.

Her violet eyes scanned the yard for a moment, seeing the coast is clear. She let another moment pass without any sign of life before scampering over again same window and peeked inside. Dead inside, perfect!

Reaching up quietly, she tried to slide the window open, only to find it locked. That wasn't surprising, considering how he got broken into the night before. She gave a huff as she tried to think of her next move. That's when she had a bright idea and moved to the front door. Crouching down, she looked between the porch floor boards to see plant life trying to live underneath.

With a bright smile, she hopped to her feet once more and pointed her open hand down at the ground, closing her eyes as she concentrated. After a moment her hands started to glow, a gentle warmth coming off of the light as the plants below began to slowly grow out through the floor boards.

Slowly the green weeds crept up and under the door like she wanted, it taking a few more moment before she heard a click on the other side and she opened her eyes with a victorious smile. Reaching out, she opened the now unlocked door and made her way inside, looking around quickly to try and find her sword.

It took a few minutes of searching, but she soon pulled it out from under the bed and smiled as she held it up in victory. Getting to her feet, she quickly went to walk out of the home before he got back but stopped when she noticed that there were papers thrown all over his bed and it seemed as if it wasn't slept in.

Her right bunny ear gave a small twitch of curiosity as she stared at the papers before she walked over and picked one rather old document up and looked it over. As her eyes scanned the paper, she realized that it was some kind of love letter, but at the end, the signed name was smeared. Setting it aside, she went to grab another but stopped when an arrow flew just beneath her reach ad stuck into the wall, scaring her.

"I told you to get out..."

Eve's eyes went wide and she looked to the door to see the scary home owner again, looking more pissed than before. Her rabbit ears went flat to her head as she gripped her sword and held it up, it looking more like a baseball bat than anything else.

"I just wanted to get my sword back that you stole!"

The man continued to glare at her for a moment before he set his bow aside and walked over to her, reaching to his right side and unsheathed a short blade. Eve couldn't help but back up as much as she could, doing her best to glare at him and look like someone not to mess with.

With an irritated sigh he swung he blade from the left, making contact with hers and knocking it out of her hands with ease, Eve flinching slightly as it clattered to the floor off to the side.

"Your form is ridiculous and shouldn't be running around with a sword. It's not a toy. Now get out..."

Eve continued to stare up at him before she glared at him angrily. "You can't tell me what to do! I need it so that I can find my friend again!"

The man's eye twitched slightly before he put his own sword into it's sheath. She was foolish and reckless.

"You're not going to find anything but your own grave if you run around without a clue. If you want the sword, then you're going to have to at least know the basics. Go home and come back when you know what the hell you're doing..."

Eve continued to glare at him for a moment before her expression softened as she looked at him. She hung her head a little sadly as her left hand hugged her right arm, looking up at him with the most irritatingly heartbreaking eyes.

"I don't have a home to go back to..."

The man gave a groan as he looked at her, quickly turning on his back on her to escape her gaze. He ran a hand through his hair as he shrugged it off.

"Not my problem..."

A small pout came to her face as he turned his back on her before she quickly ran around to look him in the eye again with the same heartbreaking expression.

"Would you should me sword basics?"

He glared down at her, trying to be as hateful as he had been before, but for some reason it wasn't working anymore. She seemed to have caught on to something and this wasn't looking good for him.

"No."

"Please?"

"I said no!"

"Pretty please?"

"What part of no don't you understand!?"

Eve smiled brightly, knowing that she was wearing him down. "I just need to know the basics and then I'll go! Pleeeeeeease?"

The silence between the two seemed to last forever. A man glaring at a young girl that had just gone through his things, and then dared to try and act friendly like nothing was wrong.

"Three days...then your out!"

Her heart beat sounded clearly in her ears as she ran as hard as she could from branch to branch after Danielle. Unfortunately, Danielle had spet most of her life running around from tree to tree and was quite good at it. Eve could only keep up at best, the ocassional trip, making her almost face plant half the time as she kept her cousin in her sights.

"Danny, stop!! This isn't funny!"

Her cousin gave a laugh as she landed with both feet on a more flexible branch, catapulting herself out of sight as Eve tried to follow, but instead she missed and ended up hitting the dirt.

"Then why am I having such a good time!?"

Eve gave a small growl as she got up on her hands and knees while she glares up in the trees. She had always known her cousin to be nosey, but this was just an irritating mess.

"Stop hiding and give me back my box!"

There was nothing but silence as she got to her feet and glared, trying to see if she can spot her in the trees. The soft breeze swayed as the trees swished softly, Eve moving slowly forward as he eyes gazed around to try to find her.

"You don't even know what's in this box..."

"That doesn't matter! Katsuo gave it to me! Now hand it over!"

Another moment of snickering filled the air before danny fell gracefully from a tree in front of her with the box opened in her arm, making Eve stare at her in confusion.

"How did you..."

She then quickly patted her pockets to find the small rusted key was missing from her pocket, making her give a scream of frustration. She was not in the mood for her jokes and all she wanted to do was just hit her as hard as she could.

"You know, this isn't a game Eve....or perhaps it should be Sulia?"

Eve tilted her head in confusion as she tried to walk closer to her, only to have her cousin back up from her.

"What are you talking about?"

Without a word she reached into the box and pulled out a piece of old folded parchment, waving it a little as she gave a soft laugh to herself.

"you poor little naive creature...I always knew that you were different. No one in the village would talk about it, not even you...but to think that you mother actually LOVED a human and had you....that's stunning...."

Eve quickly realized what she was saying and ran at her to try and snatch the box away, the girl leaping away quickly before she could catch her. She quickly turned on her heel to face Danielle as she continued to glare.

"He wanted to name you Sulia and your dear sweet mommy agreed....I wonder what changed....don't you?"

"I could find out if you'd stop fooling around and give me the box!!"

Danielle laughed again as she made another run at her, easily dodging her once more as she reached her hand inside and pulled out the documents, putting them in her pouch before throwing the box aside.

"You lied to me Eve! You and the whole village!! You're nothing but liars!!"

Eve flinched as she stepped towards her cousin again, glad to see her not jumping away from her. She knew what she was talking about and didn't know how she was going to explain herself. Her mother had only ever told her bits and pieces from her past to probably only cause her grief. And because he was a human, she had always kept it to herself so that she wouldn't lose the one person that would actually talk to her.

"Danny, really...I didn't lie...I just-"

"Save it...my mom was right. You're nothing but a reject..."

Eve's eyes went wide with shock at her last statement, it almost not registering as Danielle leaped away from her and ran off once more with her papers. She blinked a moment before she everything hit her and she glared as hatefully as possible, gripping he sword tightly. Everyone was the same....

Not even bothering to take to the trees, she quickly sprinted after her as fast as she could, moving more gracefully on the ground than the treetops. But even as she ran as hard as she could, she could tell by her fading scent that she was disappearing. Eve cursed as she tried to pick up the pace, but it continued to only grow softer. She eventually ended up having to come to a stop to catch her breath in a small clearing.

Her chest heaved as she put her hands on her knees for support. As Eve caught her breath, she straightened up to see that it was a clearing that she had never been to before. But as she her eyes swept the space slowly, they came to a stop to a boy laying relaxing on the grass clearly in his own thoughts.

Eve stared silently for a moment before she moved slowly closer, the boy becoming more clear. His orange spiky hair, the sunglasses on the tip of his nose, even the tattered scarf that hid have his face. She smiled brightly as she ran over to him excitedly, falling to her knees beside him as she leaded over into his line of sight with a bright smile.

"Joseph! I found you!"

How had she gotten herself into this mess?

Sulia stood rather stiff a nice distance away from Joseph as both hands clutched her sword hilt, the blade currently pointed at the ground as she stared at him blankly. Her hands were sweating from nerves, her thoughts of the blade flying out of her hand not making things much easier on her. Every thought just raced and made the situation worse. She couldn’t help but jump slightly as Joseph’s voice cut through her mental storm.

“Are you ready?”

She blinked a few times before she gave a nervous smile at him. He was so excited about all of this and it was because he was getting to spar with her. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit special. As she lifted her blade up, she shifted slightly in place into the stance she thought Katsuo showed her. Wait…is it left foot first or..

Sulia’s eyes went wide when suddenly Joseph appeared in front of her with his blade about to bring it down upon her, her scream of surprise stuck in the back of her throat when he was suddenly gone again. She felt like she could laugh it off like he was just teasing her when she suddenly felt a presence behind her and the sharp pain of something striking her in the back of the neck, knocking her hard to the ground and her sword a short distance from her.

“If you say that you’re ready, you need to pay attention.”

A glare came to her face as he got up onto her hands and knees. Using her right sleeve to wipe off her face she mumbled a few things about Joseph being just like Katsuo. That’s when a small smirk came to her face. “If you knew that I wasn’t ready…” moving quickly her right hand snatched up her sword while she swept her left leg out, catching Joseph’s ankles and kicking them out from under him. “…then why did you attack!?”

As Joseph fell to the ground, Sulia used the rest of the momentum in her kick to turn herself around 180 and get to her feet as she faced him. But this was a simple attack and Joseph was able to catch himself with his right hand before jumping back a bit of distance from her with a smile on his face.

“Very good, Sulia!”

The praise made any irritation she had go away as a bright smile came to her face. Unfortunately this was short lived as Joseph readied himself again and leapt into the air once more, diving down at her with his sword ready in a vertical position. Sulia braced herself as she saw him coming towards her, waiting for the right moment before she jumped back away from him. He was quick though and had clearly thought about her move as he swung his blade at her from the side.

Moving quickly she did the only thing she could think to do and moved the blade to connect with his in a very sloppy block, causing her to land rather clumsily but she had managed to land it. That’s when she narrowed her gaze at him and gripped he sword tightly. He had been making all of the moves and practically had her stuck on the defensive and she was tired of it. After a moment she ran directly at him with her sword low, ready to swing it up from the ground at him.

Joseph’s eyes watched her closely as she ran at him, a mental smirk coming to him as he readied his blade, bringing the hilt up into the air to make the blade straight and catch her katana. There was a sharp ting! as the blades connected, but Sulia did not pause, using the momentum from her blade bouncing back to turn 360 in place and bring her blade low at him.

As if he had read her mind and knew of her next move, he jumped slightly to raise himself above the blade, landing gracefully before leaning back and kicking Sulia with his right foot hard to knock her off, which proved successful as she stumbled back in surprise. Taking advantage of it he leaped at her with blade ready once more to bring it down upon her, going through with the move and watching as Sulia barely had enough time to bring up her Katana and catch his gigantic blade.

Sulia gave a small grunt as she tried to hold the blade back but it was so very heavy and it didn’t even seem like Joseph was trying to press down on her with it. She looked up at him to see the smirk in his eyes, it irritating her as she tried to push back on his blade.

“Come on, Sulia…don’t hold back!”

She glared up at him as the air around them started to swirl like the beginning of a tornado. “I’m trying, ok!?”

“You can do better!”

Her grip on her katana tightened as she growled, the air starting to pick up and whip around them. Here she was, trying to do her best and he was lecturing her. Why does everyone have to yell at me all the time!?

“I said that I’m trying!!” She gave a scream of frustration as the wind around them centralized around her, a powerful force slamming into Joseph and knocking him back away from her, the boy quickly doing a flip in the air to land gracefully a ways back from her.

“That’s it, Sully!”

Sulia continued to glare for a moment as the air swirled around her before it hit her what he was trying to do. She couldn’t help but smile to herself, but she kept her game face on as she readied herself again, watching Joseph’s moves. After a moment of the two staring at each other, Joseph was once again gone from sight.

She crouched slightly as she tried to listen for him, the sudden feeling of someone being behind her washed over her again. He would not get her this time. Sulia leapt into the air as Joseph thrust his sword to try and stab her from behind, her black boots landing gracefully on his thick blade. Using it like a diving board she used the upward momentum of leaping up off the blade to send herself above Joseph’s head, doing a backwards flip and landing softly on the ground behind him.

Excited that her spontaneous plan was actually working, she moved quickly and kicked him hard in the back on the knees, placing her katana to his throat with a smirk as his kneecaps hit dirt. She had actually done it!

“What now?”

Joseph remained silent in what seemed to be his defeat. She could only smile at herself, thinking that she had left him speechless. So wrapped up in her joyous moment she did not see him move his hand and place his fingers to touch the blade. It wasn’t until she felt the hilt of her sword become warm that she came back to the situation, giving a yelp of pain as she threw the heated sword to the ground and cradled her burnt hand to her chest, taking a step back as the hint of tears come to her eyes.

She blinked them back the best she could as she looked up at him, Joseph having gotten to his feet and a soft chuckle escaping him.

“Surprised?”

“That has to be some kind of cheating…”

“No different than your own little elemental trick.”

Sulia gave a small nod in agreement. She just wished that she could actually control it like he seemed to be able to do. A little bit of jealousy arouse in her as she thought about it.

“Thank you, Sulia. I enjoyed myself.”

A bright smile came to her face as she seemed to forget her throbbing hand.

“I had fun. And I did a lot better than I thought I would.”

She turned to her discarded sword, using her good had to test if it had cooled, being a little testy about it.

“How did you manage that anyway?”

A big smile came to his face at her curiosity.

“Magic.”

Sulia looked up at him at hearing the smile in his voice, unable to help but return it. It was so much fun to see how excited he would get at some of the most simple things.

“I can control the elements of fire, among other things. It’s kind of detailed and difficult to explain, perhaps another time.” His eyes wandered up to see that the sun was beginning to go down. He looked back to where Sulia had last been, seeing that she had wandered over to a small creek to put her hand in the cool water.

He shook his head a little as he walked over, taking her arm gently to get her to stand up.

“That’s not going to do much for it…it needs pressure.”

Quietly he took his tattered scarf, moving more towards the end and ripping a strip of it off. It did nothing but improve the rugged look of it all. He then took her hand and wrapped it with the torn cloth, being gentle but making it tight.

“Keep it clean and you’ll be fine.”

She gave him a small smile of appreciation, it already feeling better thank to him.

“Thank you.” She went quiet for a moment, so many questions running through her mind but she only think to say one thing. “I enjoyed seeing you again. Even if you don’t remember me…”

A slightly sadden expression came to his face as he was reminded of their situation.

“I’m sorry, Sulia…but I can say this…”

Removing the flower she had given him from his side pouch, he tucked it gently by her left rabbit ear as he gave her a lazy smile.

“I’ll never forget you. I promise.”

Sulia couldn’t help but watch him slightly wide eyed, a blush coming to her face as he spoke, her gaze instantly shooting to the ground to hide her face as she placed her two index fingers together, moving them together and apart repeatedly nervously.

“O-Oh….well…thank you....”

Joseph gave a nod before slinging his blade over his shoulder casually and started to walk eat. Sulia looked up and realized he was walking away from her village and her original goal. That’s when she remembered the question she wanted to ask him.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to set up camp a few miles east of here. You can tag along if you wish…”

“Actually, I was wondering…”

She stopped suddenly, leaving her sentence to float softly in the air and Joseph to stare at her. What did it matter taking him back to meet her mother? It would only ruin everything and taking someone you claim to be your be your best friend to show that he has amnesia and doesn’t remember you would only make things worse. I’m starting anew…

“You tend to wander off into your own thoughts, don’t you?”

She could help but blush from embarrassment but shook it off.

“Sorry. I was wondering how long you were going to be there. I need to grab something really quick and then I wanted to meet up with you.”

Joseph raised an eyebrow at her slightly but shrugged his shoulders. He was clearly one that wandered from place to place at the moment. There was no schedule to when and where he would go.

“I’m not really sure, I j-“

“Ok! Then I’ll be really quick! I promise! I’ll be back as soon as I can!” And before he could try again to finish his sentence or even tell her to slow down a minute, she was off like a rocket towards her village, running as fast as her legs would take her. She had to get that box back from Danielle, and then it was off to a new life of tagging along with Joseph and doing things best friends do! She couldn’t stop smiling at the thought.

She just had to move quickly. She didn’t want him to disappear again…

Sulia gave a soft groan as the dull ache all over her body became the first sensation she was aware of. Weakly her violet eyes opened but her vision was blurry and dark. As she lay completely still, she could feel that she was lay on a cold dirt ground but it was too dark to be outside. The very thought of moving made her head swim and feel sick but ever so slowly she moved her arms underneath herself and pushed herself up shakily.

Her breathing was a little ragged as she kept her head hung forward, not wanting to try to move it yet due to the sick feeling. Slowly she tried to process everything but all she could recall was once being in her room and now she was in some odd shed of some kind.

Blinking through the blur, Sulia carefully lifted her head, confirming there were indeed four walls around her but made of a kind of weathered wood that was fighting to stay in place and keep the place standing up. She felt her body start to shiver slightly as she realized how cold and weary she felt, confused about exactly where she was.

Using her right hand to gently rub the back of her head, she felt like a train had run her over once and then back over her to see if they had hit something. Her mouth felt dry and her throat hurt from being parched. Unsure of how long she had been out, the best thing to do was get up and find answers. With a hesitant expression upon her face, she adjusted her legs to be underneath her and carefully got to her feet, exiting the shed through the open door frame.

Outside the shed was what can only be described as an abandoned small village. Old houses that had lost the battle with time lay scattered in the worn clearing, there being more debris and trash than plant life. Sulia rubbed her eyes wearily as she made her way out of the shed she had found herself in, a heavy fog seeming to cover the ground from the early morning temperature. A small shiver crawled down her spine as a chill comes over her, the simple black dress that she wore not doing much to keep her warm.

Sulia’s eyes slowly traveled the through the village as she found herself alone, not really sure where or why she was here. Her body ached for some unknown reason and as she shuffled her way slowly down a worn path, she couldn’t help but wonder why in the world she was there.

Keeping her arms wrapped around her tightly, partly to keep herself warm and partly to try to offer herself some kind of comfort, she soon found a rather large stone statue that was down broken and destroyed, though the figure of a woman could still be made out as a blade she wielded was stabbed into the stomach of some nameless victim.

“What a horrid statue to have in your village...”

A small sniffled escaped her as she stared at the statue, the cold morning air making her nose start to run a little. Another shiver escaped her as she spotted a rather overgrown path leading back past the statue. Curiosity overcame her as she shuffled past the statue and down the path carefully, not wanting to trip over any roots or hidden rocks.

As she made her way along the path, it soon led downward into what was once probably considered a rather nice clearing but was now covered in grass up to the waist of a person with average height. Sulia looked around and was about to decided the trip had been pointless before out of the corner of her eye she spotted the opening to a cave. Something about the cave called her to journey inside as she walked over through the grass.

Reaching the entrance, she gazed down at the ground to see more ruined statues around the entrance, the figures genderless as they held weapons and stood in a guard like stance. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Sulia headed down in through the cave entrance, making her way downward into the earth as the ground and walls around her grow damp.

The decent was not too far down and what seemed to be most curious is that along the moist walls of the cave were lit and well maintained torches. She couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she thought about how the grounds keeper needed to be fired if people still came to this place. The laugh echoed along the walls as it led the way, the air smelling of damp soil and possibly mold but as a debate to turn around came to Sulia’s mind, a light at the end of the winding tunnel came into view.

With a little bit of her curious nature putting a bit of speed in her step, she took the turn around the corner to finally reach a softly lit circular room that had been clearly carved out of the earth by had. Stepping in quietly, her eyes widen as she saw that it was a shrine of some kind with the same statue of the woman she had seen before, but this one was actually intact as it towered over an alter that had been built for offerings.

As she made her way closer, Sulia out stretched her hand to gentle touch the alter that hadn’t gathered a bit of dust or weathering, her eyes traveling upward to look at the statue of the woman as she stabbed her victim. On the woman’s face was a hungry grin, her eyes having no pupils and on her skin bore some kind of odd Mayan like markings all over her barely clothed body. It wasn’t until after a moment or two of staring did she realize that her mouth was hanging open.

“Her name was Kali.”

Sulia almost jumped two feet in the air at the sudden sound of someone else speaking, whipping around rather clumsily to see Danielle standing behind her at the mouth of the tunnel, her face rather calm and expressionless.

“She is the goddess of violence and was the center of worship to this village.”

As Danielle spoke quietly, she stepped forward a bit closer into the light, her eyes seeming rather cold compared than the usual mischievous twinkle they always sported.

“What village is this? Why am I here? What the heck is going on, Danny!?”

Her tone was demanding, but Sulia wanted answers. She was tired of always having to be confused and pushed to the side like something was always a little more important than her. Danielle’s expression did not change as she looked to the statue behind Sulia.

“This use to be where our ancestors made their home. As you saw, it use to be quite large and your mother was the leader, though she was very young and foolish. She had fallen in love with a human hunter and had thrown all the beliefs of the village away for the sake of someone she had claimed to love more than anything else.”

Sulia could only stare at her in confusion as she spoke. Since when had Danielle known anything about her mother let alone the history of their village?

“That year, while she was pregnant with her lover’s child, a terrible storm ripped through the village and tore apart everything, leaving everyone’s homes in ruin. The elders pointed the finger at her, claiming that her sins had led Kali to punish them all for her mistakes. As she cried to the wisest of all the elders, she pleaded for some way to make up for her past mistakes. The only answer was to give up her sin…or more like the embodiment of that sin…”

Silence fell between the two girls as Danielle’s eyes fell upon Sulia once more, her gaze as freezing as it had been before, if not worse.

“You mean…”

“She gave her child to the elders so that they could save the village from Kali’s returning wrath. Out of rage for such a decision, her lovers left her alone with her decision. But on the night of the offering the child to the goddess, they found that the all powerful god had different plans for the infant…possessing herself within the girl and waiting for her release to truely show the world her power…”

Only the sounds of the occasional drip of water now echoed among the walls. Sulia was the first one to step forward with an irritated glare on her face.

“Danny, I’m being serious! Stop with these ridiculous stories and tell me what’s going on!”

Danielle shook her head as she chuckled softly; gripping the hilt of her rather old sword she carried on her right hip. Slowly she unsheathed the blade as she walked towards Sulia with a slight smirk on her face.

Fear crept up Sulia’s back as she watched her walk towards, backing away from her until she felt her back touch the alter, making her start to shake slightly from confusion.

“Stop kidding around!!”

As if she hadn’t even spoken, Danielle gripped her blade with both hands and held up the blade as she approached her without a word.

“I’m not joking anymore, Danny!! This isn’t fu-“

Sulia’s eyes went wide and found the words trapped in her throat as a sharp pain suddenly filled her body as she stared at Danielle. Slowly her gaze fell downward to the blade that had been shoved into her abdomen and forced out her back; her whole body starting to shake from the shock as blood slowly trickled down the blade and onto Danielle’s hands.

A ragged breath finally escaped Sulia’s chest as she looked back up at the only girl she had ever been able to say kind of cared about her, flinching slightly as Danielle leaned forward on the blade and pushed it farther through her, resting her head gently to the side of Sulia’s face as her voice whispered softly…

“Afypnísoume Káli, Theá ti̱s vías ...”

Danielle then gripped her blade once more and jerked it quickly out from inside Sulia as the purple haired girl fell to her hands and knees with a loud cry of pain. Once again the horrid nausea fell over her as she heard the words of that strange language once more, but this time felt different. He skin burned and her head throbbed as she cried out in horrible pain.

Her whole body began the shake as the wound in her stomach bled onto the floor and began to travel and pool in the lowest point of the room, Danielle stepping back slowly as her eyes watching Sulia’s body shake.

Another waving of pain washed over her as she dug her fingers nail into the dirt floor and her body heaved once, wishing that it would all stop as the burning on her skin grew worse with the image of the same Mayan pattern glowing on her skin like the statue of Kali. Cracking her eyes open weakly, she tried to find where Danielle stood and bring herself to beg for her help. But as the feeling of being on solid ground left her and she felt herself start to fall forward into a sea of empty darkness, she heard the soft laughter of a voice she did not know.

“Oh little one…I thank you for this vessel.”

There was a silence through the village as all eyes fell on Sulia. No one dared move or even breathe too heavily as the girl who stood before them seemed normal for the moment. The slight sound of rolling thunder could be heard in the distance as clouds began to star rolling in with the wind. It was the rain they had been needing for the past two weeks and now it had arrived, almost in mourning for what had just occurred.

It was Naeva that was the first to break the thick silence, her wordless firm and without any true emotion.

“The time has come…the awakening of the goddess Kali has been fulfilled. Her power is strong enough for her to return to this world and finally rid us of our sin…”

Sulia could not help but slump forward slightly as she held her head, it really becoming apparent how worn out her body now felt. Her mother’s voice was thick and barely registering as she could hear her breathing in her own ears. She just wanted to lie down for a minute. Just for one minute…

“And with the goddess at our side, we shall return our village to its proper glory…”

With these final words, Naeva walked over to Sulia calmly and outstretched her left hand, pressing her index and ring finger against her daughter’s forehead lightly. Sulia’s deep violet eyes looked up into her mother’s cold almost silver pupils. She seemed to be concentrating as Sulia felt her finger tips grow warm against her skin, the tips of her fingers glowing with a bright light before she began to slowly trace symbols across her forehead.

Everything that was happening was all so strange and yet Sulia could not find the strength in her legs to run away from it all like her mind was telling her to. She could only stand as her mother finished writing the gently glowing symbols “σφραγίζω” onto her forehead. And as her fingers made the last stroke, Sulia felt a sudden weight fall on top of her. The naturally light feeling that she had grown up with was suddenly gone and her natural abundance of energy was even more drained.

Looking around to someone for some kind of help, she found no friendly faces. Danielle had been the only one that had ever shown her some kind of kindness and even she had betrayed her trust. It was only her now and no one was going to help her. She was going to have to help herself.

Despite everything her body told her, she quickly used her right hand to slap away her mother’s left, jumping back slightly only to land rather clumsily back a good bit shorter than she had anticipated. She felt like she weighed fifty more pounds than usual and her legs were lead. Glaring slightly in confusion, she tried to process what was happening, only to hear her mother’s rather witchy laugh cut through her thoughts.

“Is there something wrong…what was that name you wanted to go by? Sulia, was it?”

Her glare stayed in place as she forced her foot to take a step back from her mother. Why was it so damn difficult to move?

“Your powers have been sealed my dear…those glowing symbols on your forehead aren’t there just for decoration…you’re no better than a human, now…it will make the ceremony much easier…”

Sulia clenched her fists tightly as she growled slightly in frustration. Moving quickly, she gripped the hem of her left sleeve and began to rub at her forehead to try to get the symbols to come off, making everyone begin to laugh at her. It was clear that the threat was gone and the atmosphere had relaxed, not making the idea of getting away from the village seem much easier.

Panic started to set in as she continued to look around, suddenly finding her voice as her eyes fell on her mother once more.

“Why? Why are you doing this?”

As the two of them looked at each other, the wind picked up slightly and the smell of rain became more apparent. It seemed almost as if Naeva had no intention of answering her question, but after mother moment she found the words that she was looking for the properly explain.

“What other purpose could I have for you?”

Despite everything that she had known about her mother and the life that she had grown up with, these words still found a way to sting at Sulia’s heart. She stood frozen as her eyes grew slightly wide in surprise as they cut through her like a knife.

Sulia stood silent as her mother's words still rang within her long slender black rabbit ears. She felt her heart twist and couldn't help but winced as her throat suddenly felt tight and unable to swallow. The tears were threatening to fall but she would not let them. After how much she had put up with when it came to her mother, she had told herself that she would shed no more tears over that woman. A promise that seemed like it was going to be rather hard to keep.

With a small smirk on her face, Naeva made a motion with her hand and two men from the village stepped forward and each grasped one of Sulia's arms. She didn't struggle with them, having her own personal battle inside of her head at the moment. A numb feeling was falling over her and as it all began to sink in, she found that she didn't really care anymore. What did she have in al honesty? Family that didn't want her and a village that wanted to see her blood spilled on the ground for the sake of some goddess that had forsaken them so long ago. Perhaps it was all for the better.

"Take the girl to her room in my home and lock her in. She'll be no challenge without her powers to assist her."

The men nodded before pulling Sulia along towards her mother's home. She found that her feet could still work on their own as they took one step after another. They were heavy and it was hard to walk but somehow she was doing ok. The men helping her into the house didn't really look at her as they took her up the stairs to her room. Sulia didn't blame them, it was hard being heartless when you let your natural human instincts kick in. And as they reached the room, they shoved her inside before closing the door and locking it, leaving Sulia alone inside the room once more. She had spent so many nights alone, locked in her room, but this was clearly different. An end had arrived.

A small sniffle escaped Sulia as she stood silently in place. Her knees began to shake as she buried her face in her hands. Her promise had been broken as tears slowly rolled down her face and her knees found the hardwood of her bedroom floor. It was just one sob after another as it all poured out. Years of holding it in and lieing to herself had finally broken and all that remained was this one person feeling so small and alone in this world. It was all she could do. Letting it out was better than feeling nothing and she embraced the release. It wasn't until ever tear she had within her had been shed did she find herself sitting on her bedroom floor sniffling and giving the occasional hiccup as she calmed down.

The sounds of voices outside could be heard by her trained ears but she didn't want to listen. She could tell by their tone they were simply planning her fate and it wasn't something she wanted to hear ahead of time.

With red, puffy eyes she slowly looked around her bedroom, spotting on her bed the belongings she had packed to take with her to run away and be with her friend, Joseph.

Joseph...

Getting up slowly, she walked over to the bed and took a seat, finding the blue flame within the bottle and sliding it down around her neck once more, twirling it in her fingers gently as she looked at it twist and flicker inside of it's little home. Depression began to kick in as she thought about how she would never make it to his camp and they would never get to have all the adventures she had always dreamed of having with friends.

With weary eyes, she continued to stare deep into the flame until a small sad sigh made her let it fall down against her chest. As she looked down at it for another moment she saw how much of a mess she looked. Her simple black dress was covered in dirt and blood from the people she had harmed. In the center was a whole from where Danielle had run her sword through her, but as Sulia looked closer, she found that there was no longer a wound of any kind or even a scar.

Interesting...

Continuing to look around slowly her gaze fell back to the little pile of items on his bed, finding her little broken music box that her father had left, opening it up to hear the soft song she had memorized in her heart. A small smile crept onto her face as she hummed the tune weakly, her voice cracking a little from being so upset but slowly she calmed down and the choking feeling in her throat left her. Letting it run through the song one more time, she closed her eyes and imagined what it would have been like to have a father around. All the times she got yelled at for simple things going wrong would have never happened. This situation would have never come to pass. Everyone in the village wouldn't hate her.

At least, that's how it always was in her dreams...

Closing the box gingerly, she let her fingers slowly glide across the glossy surface of the lid. Looking at it for a moment more, she set it aside with a small sigh, looking out the window at the night sky. It was so beautiful and the moon was so bright outside. You almost didn't need a light outside to see where you were going. Even within her room where the lights were off, she could see and tell what everything was. As her eyes fell onto her vanity beside the window, she saw something that wasn't usually there. Getting to her feet, she walked over and upon closer inspection, found that the small box that Katsuo had given her was sitting right there. No tricks, no illusions.

Picking it up quickly, she looked at the red leathered box in her hands before running over to her bed and shoving all her things around until she found the key that he had left. Grabbing it quickly, she flopped onto the bed and slid the key inside. At first the key did not want to turn, but being stubborn and a good bit of wiggling, the key turned and with a soft click, the lid popped up slightly. Lifting the lid carefully, she found the inside stuffed with nothing but old parchment. Taking one out right after the other, she found them all being old letters that were addressed to Katsuo.

But as she went through the papers, she found one that caught her attention. It was worn and had been folded several times into a pocket size square. The creases were tired and threatening to rip, it clear that it had been unfolded and refolded more times than anyone could count. Using gently fingers she unfolded the parchment, finding that it wasn't a letter to Katsuo but instead it was addressed to someone else.

Sulia squinted silently in the dark to try to make out the wrath scratchy handwriting. The hand that held the pen had not had the gentle flow of so many letters before it. Instead it had been shaking with every stroke and making it hard to read. But as she stared at it, she slowly realized the name and her heart stopped. It couldn't be...

My Dearest Naeva,
I write to you in desperation, for my heart can not take this silence anymore. The last letter you sent me leave me in such confusion and a state if distress. You say that you no longer want to see me and that our dreams of being together are foolish. That our child that you carry is no longer the joy that brings us together but a sin that rips at your heart. I cannot understand why this sudden change. All of our plans meaning nothing to you. This child is a blessing from the heavens and together, we were going to be a family. I'm begging you to reconsider what you are doing, Naeva. Let me have the child and I shall raise it on my own if I must, but you can not listen to those elders. They don't know what they're asking of you and you don't understand what sacrificing your child is going to do. The very fact that you even consider it...I don't know what to think of you anymore. When you held that little girl in your arms, you told me that she was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen...and now this? What has happened to you? Why are you doing this?
Please, my love, don't do this to Sulia. Stop and listen to what you are saying and see how ridiculous it is. She is our daughter, Naeva. Nothing else should matter and what anyone else says should fall on deaf ears.

Once again her body had managed to find a few more tears as the warm liquid slowly rolled down her face. Her father was not dead and he had not abandoned them like she had been told for so many nights. She had always known in her heart that what her mother said could not have been true and in her hands she held the evidence. Katsuo was her father and he wanted her to live. He had wanted her in his life.

With shaking hands she folded the letter back and placed it safely within its home. Her only question was why did the letter not make it to the one that truly needed to see it. Why did Katsuo not give the letter to her mother to stop all of this from happening? Question after question came to mind and it wasn't until the soft sound of approaching footsteps could be heard did she come back to her current situation. Moving swiftly she snapped the box closed and shoved it beneath her pillow. She didn't know why the box was in her room but she didn't want anyone to know and take it away from her again.

As the door to her room opened, the two men from before came walking in with her mother behind them. Glaring slightly at the woman, Sulia allowed for the men to make her stand up and one tie her wrists behind her hands. There was a new determination in her eyes and tonight's events would not come to pass. As her mother's smirk remained in place with confidence that she had succeeded, Sulia was already planning her escape.