Velina slowly stepped out of the shack she called a house. It was dark outside, like it always was here. She was glad, her eyes wouldn't stand out as much. She stepped softly, still trying to stay in the shadows. She was running an errand for her father, and getting food for dinner. She saw a group of children in front of her and gasped, knowing what would happen. She'd seen the vision before, and it was certainly a terrible one. She had to do something. "Child, come here." she said softly, trying to urge the child to move out of the way. The little boy simply refused and stepped back. Just like in the vision. "Please, I'm trying to help you." He shook his head and crossed his arms in an extremely childish way. He refused and said his mother told him never to talk to strangers. He stepped back once again. Her eyes widened. He was in the right place... "Child, Look Out!" But her words were too late, a bull came running from the tent next to him and crushed him, making the children run in fear. They all ran to Velina, covering their faces with her dress, crying that their friend's blood was all over the ground. Velina nearly sobbed as well. If only she hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened...

(Since it's Summer, I may not post for a while. I'm going on vacation tomorrow until July 16th, and I don't know when the next time I will be able to post is. I apologize for the inconvenience.)

High in a tower of the baron's estate, an open window let in a cool night breeze.

Era shivered slightly but kept his focus on the musty book before him. It was a fascinating account of a faraway land full of exotic beasts, mysterious customs, and beautiful treasures; he'd been pouring over it all evening. He tugged the fine silks draped across his shoulders closer to him and turned the page. He was the head scholar for the local baron, and having access to such rare and enlightening books was well worth it in his mind.

He continued to read until the sun had set and dark began to set in. He had not lit any candles that night; it was only when he became aware of crickets chirping outside that he realized one had been set aflame behind him. He gasped and leapt to his feet with a start, whipping his head around to see if his eyes played tricks on him.

Damn, he thought bitterly. It happened again.

The signs (of what, he was unsure) had started innocently enough. A few months ago, his eyes had, over the course of a few weeks, turned from his father's violet-blue shade to an eerie white-gold. This unnerved him and those he kept company with, to be sure, but he attributed it to little more than an odd affliction that he, despite his extensive knowledge gained through the many thousands of books he had read, had never heard of.

Then strange things began to happen: candles would light on their own when he felt it growing dark. A quill would work its way over to his hand when he felt the need to write. Those he harbored ill-will towards would find themselves slammed into stone walls by unseen forces...

He fought to keep his heartbeat in check, and it was a losing battle. Era Baines sank to his knees, breathing thick, ragged breaths. By all the gods, what is happening to me!?

Velina walked away from the scene, leaving the crying children. Her walk eventually broke out into a run and she found herself sprinting blindly in the opposite direction. After nearly half an hour, she stopped, panting and gasping for breath, and looked around. Where was she? The only place she saw was a large building, probably some Baron's mansion or something. Deciding it was better than being lost, she walked cautiously up to the mansion.

"H-Hello? Is anyone there?" she asked softly. Her voice was musical, but it showed fear. She went up to the door and knocked, so gently that no one would hear her. She heard a wolf's howl nearby and she panicked. She knocked harder on the door, desperately, hearing footsteps behind her. "Please! Please, someone let me in!" she turned around just as the wolf came out of the trees. Velina's eyes widened and she felt around for something she could use against the animal. It was so beautiful that she didn't want to hurt it.

Velina's hand hit something long and sharp at the end. She felt the smooth, cold material it was made out of and she immediately knew what it was, since the metal made her hand sore as she held it.

Silver... She held it out, not knowing if she could ever have the guts to hurt the animal. She never wanted to harm anything. She called out, hoping someone, anyone would hear her. "Please, anyone, listen to me!"

Dusk fell, the moon rose, and Josh bolted out of bed, jerky and disoriented. He sauntered over to the door, deciding to head down to the kitchen and fry that bacon he'd been saving, then remembered that most people like it when other people wear clothes. After rectifying the situation by removing his oldest, rattiest pants and tunic from their convenient bedside location, he re-embarked for the kitchen on his mission for that delicious bacon he'd been saving, but something was wrong. Josh knew he had certainly not yet cooked the bacon, but he smelled cooked bacon. As he moseyed into the kitchen, there he saw the crime scene- an empty skillet full of grease still on the stove, an empty greasy plate on the kitchen table. The lack of clean-up made it clear, Brian ate the mouth-watering, scrumptious, bacon after prying it out of it's hiding spot in the salt bin where Josh thought nobody would ever find it. He briefly thought about finding Brian and punching him, but pushed the idea aside since Brian is so much bigger and stronger than him. He entertained the thought of Brian literally mopping the floor with him, and considered cutting his hair so he'd make a poorer mop. He pushed aside the notion since he'd never cut his hair straight before and uneven things drive him crazy. Josh decided to settle for some toast made in the bacon skillet, which was incredibly dissatisfying not only as a bacon substitute, but as a meal in general.

As he went back upstairs to change into something he could go to work in, he heard what he swore was a girl yelling outside. After hearing the girl yell a second time and assuming it wasn't just the wind if he heard the same voice twice, Josh made his way over to the door and flung it open, looking for the shouting girl- and goodness, there she was! Wearing mostly black, she was a bit more fashionable a guest than he'd expected, especially considering he wasn't expecting any guests at all. Josh stated, "I wasn't expecting any ladies to visit, as you can tell. Should I go find Brian for you?"

The young woman shook, seeing the wolf nearly upon her, snarling and ready to attack. Velina was relieved when someone opened the door. The noise frightened the wolf and it scurried away. She dropped the silver in her hand and looked at him. She saw someone standing there, but instead of asking what she wanted, he asked her if he should fetch someone named 'Brian.' "Brian?" she asked, confused. She supposed the man he spoke of was the Baron.

"Oh, no thank you. I-I'm lost, and I was wondering if I could stay until sunrise." Her voice was soft and sweet, not like her frantic yells from earlier. Though, she was still a bit confused at who he was talking about. As she spoke, she kept her head down, her hair in her face, hoping he wouldn't notice her red eyes. Whenever someone saw them, they immediately branded her as a witch - who didn't exsist... right? She bit her lip, her fingers toying with her hair a little bit. In the moonlight, she looked beautiful, but if anyone said it to her, she'd simply giggle and say it was a trick of the light.

Velina was hopeful that he'd let her stay, but if he found out that she was... different, like most people thought she was, he'd surely turn her away. The fact that the wind was acting up didn't help her much either. She found out a while ago that her emotions could control the wind. When she was nervous or angry, the wind would blow harder and when she was sad, they would blow clouds in and it would pour rain. She hoped that she'd be able to calm herself before the wind got too hard to deal with. "Please, may I stay?" she asked once more. Third time's the charm... she thought to herself, still keeping her red eyes out of sight.

He replied, "Of course you can stay here. I'll have to go to open the bar soon though or I'll get beaten up by surly drunks again, though. I'll find somewhere to set you up for the night." He gestured for her to come in, turned back into the dark and dusty atrium, and walked back toward the stairs to the upstairs, where his room and decent clothes were, leaving the door wide open and flapping in the wind.

After changing into something he wouldn't be ashamed to be seen in, Josh came back down the stairs with a candle in a clear glass cover and began to light candelabras around the atrium, apologizing for the state of uncleanliness. "My brother and I are very busy," he lied, "and our little sister still isn't really old enough to clean up. She's too short to reach most things of yet and we're nervous about her breaking glass and cutting herself. She's asleep right now so please do try not to yell again." There are two sets of double-doors leading into different parts of the house and a staircase visible in the atrium, as well as a few chairs and tables.

Hearing the squeaky doors in the atrium cracking open and shut, Brian marked the page in his book and snuck to the top of the stairs, armed, only to see his comically tiny, socially inept twin brother talking to a girl. He crept back to his room, put the sword back onto the rack he'd grabbed it from, and changed into his nicest set of clothes. He then came back down the stairs trying to look cool and aloof. "Why hello there", he announced, "who might our lovely guest be?"

Velina gave a small sigh and entered through the doors, still trying not to meet his gaze. She thought for sure that he would kick her out if he saw her eyes. When he left for a moment, she took the chance to look around. It was certainly tidy enough for her. Her own house was a mess because of her father. When he came back, she moved her hair so that it covered one eye and cast a shadow over the other, making it appear brown. "I apologize for making such racket." she said gently, after hearing him mention only a brother and a sister. She was about to ask about their parents before another person came down the stairs.
She giggled a little when he came up to them, trying to impress her. "Haven't you ever learned not to ask for one's name without first giving your own?" she asked, not exactly looking straight into his eyes, but looking just to the side. "I'm just here until sunrise. I don't want to be a burden, and I apologize if I woke you." she said politely, bowing her head a little.

Not at all unused to girls being unimpressed by his gusto and therefore not at all deflated by his new lovely guest's refusal to meet his gaze, Brian formally introduced himself with the same level of enthusiasm as he'd strut into the room with. "Well then I'm Brian, this is my house, and you're more than welcome to be in it for as long as you like." Noticing Josh's sour expression, he added, "And no Josh I did not eat all of the bacon, I put the rest back where I found it. I'm a lot more considerate than you seem to think I am." He turned back toward the visitor, "Perhaps our lovely guest would also like some?"

Indignantly, Josh stated, "the time for bacon is over! I need to go re-open the tavern before..." he was cut short by the faint, watery bonging of the town clock. He began again, "I'm already late enough it probably doesn't matter anymore. I have to figure out how to keep myself from sleeping so late."

Without a word, or even much noise, he disappeared through the southernmost door, leaving it slightly cracked, and found about two thirds of the bacon exactly where he'd put it, cooked and still lukewarm. He decided to make good on Brian's suggestion and offer bacon to the lady. After collecting the bacon on a plate, he slipped back into the atrium through the crack he'd left in the door, and it shut quietly behind him. After sitting back down, setting the bacon plate on the table between himself and Velina, and eating a piece, he mumbled, "And it's my house too, Brian. Git."

Greg regarded the sturdy entry door with disdain. He'd knocked several times, hard, and still the manse was dark. It was dark, period, and Greg was in no mood to tarry much longer after sunset. This was drinking time, and it already took at least ten minutes to beat that deadbeat shithead Josh into opening the bar on time.

".... FUCK," Greg decided. Earlier that night he'd killed a bull running loose in the middle of town with a single hammer-blow, which had alleviated some of his furiosity, but this no-answer bullshit was starting to get annoying.

Looking upwards, Greg spotted some faint light, as if from a single candle, in an upper-story window.

"HEY! FUCKASS! I FINISHED YOUR GODDAMN BOOK RACK THINGAMAJIG!" Era had paid for prompt delivery, and prompt delivery he would have. Greg took pride in his commissions.

"GIRLHAIR! PRETZEL-ARMS! OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!"

No response.

"I am a working man," Greg muttered, plucking a small hammer from his toolbelt, "and time is money."

The small hammer sailed upwards in a beautiful parabolic arc, and smashed cleanly through the window of Era's study.

Velina giggled a little as the two quarrled. "Well, then, Brian. My name is Velina." She looked up at him accidentally, her unusually red eyes meeting his. She seemed to have forgotten about it. "I won't stay long, only until the sun rises." she saw as Josh left and returned with a plate with bacon on it. She shook her head at the offer. "No, thank you. I ate before I left home." she lied, not wanting to be much of a burden. Thinking of that, she sighed. She hadn't gotten any food for her father. Surely, he would be furious should she return. Maybe her stay here would be longer than she'd thought. She remembered a question she wanted to ask. "Um... do you live on your own? Do you have any... um... parents?" she asked carefully, watching their facial expressions. Her strange eyes were completely forgotten as she locked eyes with the both of them.

Era's mood was further worsened by a hammer crashing through his window.

Glass shards flew into the room and spread themselves all across his desk as the hammer sailed into the middle of the room, landing with a loud clatter. He gave an undignified shriek and tripped backwards over his robes as the crash made his heart beat through his chest. It took him several deep breaths to calm down.

"Wh... what in the...!?" Still feeling like a bundle of nerves, he made his way over to the window as best as he could, carefully avoiding the glass on the floor. Assassins? he wondered. A siege on the baron's land? Or has someone caught on to me?

A stout figure stood outside next to a tall, boxlike object. Era could practically feel the surliness emanating off of him. He sighed in relief that quickly turned to anger. "Greg," he called down, keeping his mood from reaching his lips. "Such a... pleasant surprise."

Made thoroughly uncomfortable by Velina's revealing of her unusual eye condition, unable to figure out whether she was speaking to him or his brother seeing as she appeared to be looking each of them in the eye, Josh waited for Brian's cue as to who exactly the question was meant for. Lazy eyes had always made him uncomfortable, as much as any other physical deformity, if for no other reason than that they made it difficult to figure out what that person was looking at. He secretly wished that she would cover one of her eyes with her hair like she had done before. He pretended to be more interested in the bacon than the conversation and turned his eyes to the plate, pushing the bacon around it before eating it as though selecting the very best bits of the treat.

Having been yawning a bit at the time, Brian didn't see as Velina presumably swiveled one eye, like a chameleon, off of Josh so that both were now directed at himself. He dryly spoke, "Both of our parents and most of our siblings were taken by the plague a few years ago. Josh, Sarah, and I survived."

Greg stared thoughtfully at the slender young man standing in the window, backlit by the flickering light of the lone candle.

He pointed upwards at him with one giant finger.

"BULLSHIT YOU ARE LYING!" he declared. "I just threw a goddamn hammer through your window!" Greg stood silent a moment, glowering up at Era. Perhaps he was being sarcastic, and perhaps he wasn't- it was always hard to tell with these book-learnin' types. They didn't put enough hate into their syllables.

"Well, anyhow, unlock the fuggin door. I brought 'ya yer bookshelf-safe-thing. It's got everything 'ya asked for 'n then some." Greg hitched up his hammer-draped toolbelt and looked about the darkness around the Baron's manse disapprovingly. "Decided to deliver it 'meself. You wanted it pronto 'n I figgered those girl-boys you call servants would take a month to come pick it up. There's wild bulls an' wolves an' all sortsa crazy shit runnin' around."

Velina looked at them with bright crimson eyes. "Ah... I see... I'm sorry for asking." she said quietly. She bit her lip, not caring about them seeing the color of her eyes anymore. If they were to kick her out for what she was, so be it. She looked outside of the window and saw that it was just a few hours after midnight. Her crimson eyes filled with fear for a split second. "Father's going to kill me.." she whispered to herself.


(by the way, her eyes are just bright red--since her mother was a witch--not lazy eye... just clearing that up.)

Brian replied, "Don't worry about it, there's nothing wrong with asking questions. We should all be getting to bed soon, except for Josh I guess." He glanced at the strange little man who should have been his mirror image for a moment. "I'll show you to one of our empty rooms, you'll have it all to yourself."

He started up the stairs, and wondered to himself whether he was beginning to lose his mind or if his visitor's peculiar eye-color was a trick of the light. He decided not to say anything on the matter until he was certain it wasn't a result of either. "Unlike Josh I'm awake during the day, you know, like a human being," he said loudly enough it would carry down the stairwell, " so wake me up when you're ready to go." He stopped and opened the last door in the hall, revealing a nicely-furnished room with a bed large enough for two, "Help yourself to a change of clothes, and I'm the third door on the left if you need anything." With that, Brian walked to his room, behind the door he'd just mentioned.

In the room there are two ornate dressers, one black and one white, each with a large, oval mirror. There is a nightstand on either side of the bed, one black and one white, and a large, round, foreign rug covers most of the mahogany floor. On the side of the room opposite the door is a very large multi-paned window that takes up most of the wall, partially covered by dark red drapes. The down bed is large enough for two, with dark red pillows and a comforter of the same color.

Velina nodded followed him, her steps silent. She listened to him speak. "I might just leave when I wake up tomorrow, I really don't want to be a burden.' when they stopped, she looked into the bedroom. It was a lot bigger than her house at home. She was never good being in such open spaces while sleeping, it made her feel a little unsafe, but she didn't say anything. "Thank you." she turned around to say to him, her red eyes shining brightly. They didn't seem to dim, even if the light dimmed.

Velina sat on the bed, putting her bag on the black nightstand. She sighed and fell back on the bed, her heart thumping. It was funny how sometimes you didn't know how nervous you were until you sat down or laid down. She closed her eyes, hearing her heart thump in her ears. She began singing softly, just whispering the lines. "Everytime I try to fly, I fall. Without my wings, I feel so small. I guess I need you baby..." it was a song her mother sang to her as an infant and that memory stuck...

Velina curled up on the bed, the covers over her shoulders. If anyone saw her right now, they would have thought she was in pain because of her position. She'd gone to sleep in pain from her father, her body had gotten used to the sleeping position. Within minutes, the young woman fell asleep.

Alone at last, Josh took a candle and slipped through the other set of double-doors and found his way to what used to be the servant's quarters back when they had a few, but was currently serving as his study. All over the walls were scrawlings in some sort of cypher, and on virtually every suitable surface there were various plants that had been dried, ground, mashed, mixed, or subjected to some other variety of mutilation. Near the tiny window, a variety of herbs and weeds hung from the ceiling, which had been padded with all all manner of things he'd thought would muffle sound, drying.
Josh searched the room for any sign that someone else may have entered- it looked as though this was still his secret for the time being. He resolved to try harder to find the key to this room tonight so he could finally keep it locked. He pulled up his shirt and pulled a small, leather-bound book from a secret pocket that'd been sewn in with little skill or attention to aesthetics. Flipping it open to a page full of the same sorts of chicken scratch covering the walls, he began to mash plant matter in a small bowl while occasionally tracing a sentence with his finger for reference as to what should be done next. After a several minutes of methodical mashing he lit a second candle under a small, metal bowl on a stand that exposed the bottom, and poured the mixture into it. He picked up his ill-cared-for lute, which had been beside the table he was currently working at, and played it very poorly, cursing softly when he made an especially ugly mistake, occasionally stopping for a moment to stir the heated mixture.

After a short while he gave up playing the lute altogether, cast it back to the floor, and blew out the candle under the metal bowl. He observed the mixture inside with satisfaction, it appeared he'd done everything correctly this time around. It had all merged into an opaque, creamy-looking, pinkish liquid, which he immediately poured into a tiny glass bottle, and labeled it with the illegible scribblings that permeated his workspace. He placed it in a drawer with his other successes, and edited something in the little book.

It was nearly dawn now, the horizon had a tinge of yellow to it now, and he'd forgotten all about finding the key. Thinking to the night before, remembering everyone's late bedtime, he calculated he had an hour or two before Sarah got out of bed and quite a bit longer before anyone else would. He rifled through some of the drawers he hadn't checked yet and finally found the key next to a small cloth coinpurse and some other personal effects of the woman who'd used to live here. He tried for a moment to remember her, but decided against it. Trying to remember the people he lost to the plague only ever ruined his day and left him prone to moping, it was better to pretend nobody had ever slept in the empty rooms of this building and all these things had never belonged to anyone. He left the room, locking the door behind him, and went to the chicken coop. His sister would be awake soon and she always seemed to want fried eggs.

Velina woke up fairly early, just as the sun began to come up. She sat silently for a moment, wondering if anyone else was awake. She heard nothing from the bedrooms, but she heard a little bit of scrambling downstairs. She got out of bed quietly, hoping not to wake the others. She opened the door slowly and went downstairs to look for the sound. Whoever or whatever it was had gone outside... Knowing she would probably regret whatever she was doing, she went outside, feeling the fresh air on her face. After locating the source of the sound, she'd probably just leave. She saw the person from before. What was his name? John? Jake? Josh! He was going towards some sort of chicken coop.

She went closer and gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Hello there..." her voice was soft, like the wind. It was a unique voice that only a witch could possibly have, but could be mistaken for the hearer having bad hearing. "Um. Need some help with whatever you're doing?" Unfortunately, she realized there was sunlight and her eyes shined their brightest at dawn. Oh well, she was going to be leaving soon anyway.

Just then, the door of the chicken coop disintegrated, shards of wood exploding outward from a giant boot. From the depths of the chicken coop charged Greg, eyes wild and hands reaching.

"GOTCHA, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Greg latched onto Josh and tossed him over his head straight into the chicken coop. "NOW I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU WITH A CHICKEN. YOU OWN A BAR. AT NIGHT, YOU OPEN THE BAR AND I GET DRUNK AND THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS, ASSHOLE." Greg cast about for a chicken, but they had long since made for the bushes. One straggler had hastily taken cover in some low ferns behind the coop, and Greg was able to catch it in three bounds.

"Now," he said, gently tapping the clucking chicken against one palm, "yer gonna be learned. In Lasrune, chicken drums you-"

Greg stopped, becoming aware of a surprised Velina. He peered at her quizzically, then recoiled.

"DEMON EYES! SHE'S GOT THE DEMON EYES!" Greg hurled the chicken bodily at Velina with all his strength, the power of the throw overcoming the unaerodynamic nature of the feathery projectile.

There was that girl again, and then he was suddenly very intimate with the floor of the chicken coop and everything ached a bit. Josh rolled onto his side while inhaling sharply, disgusted to know that he was now smeared, maybe even covered, with mud and chicken shit. He hadn't remembered to change, and so these were decent clothes he had just perhaps ruined- that took priority over the ache in most of his body right now. Now he'd have to go down to the river and wash before he could go back to bed.

He regained some awareness of his surroundings to hear Angry-Greg-The-Surliest-Drunk-In-Town's explanation of his fate for having failed to serve him that night. He wondered to himself, not bothering to get up or try to flee, why Greg never used any of the hammers in his toolbelt no matter how angry he was; even as he flinched in anticipation of the first impact from one of his hens- an impact that never came. Suddenly Greg-The-Angriest-Man-In-The-World-Who-Loves-Beer-And-Hates-Everything-Else was screaming something or other about demon eyes, and there was the clucking of a terrified chicken thumping against someone or something else- no way to be sure unless he risked a peek. Now, this was an interesting development worth getting up over.

He righted himself and thought about asking what was going on, but that would certainly attract Greg's incredibly angry wrath right back to himself. He didn't want Velina to get hurt, but the mere thought of fighting back against Big-Angry-Greg-With-A-Belt-Full-Of-Hammers was a waking nightmare. He'd allowed Greg to bully him more than a few times in the past, every time claiming it was a horde of angry drunks who left him looking the way he did- and that was without his having ever used a hammer. He considered running away, but when he got caught- and it was a when- he would only receive a worse beating, maybe with two chickens. At this rate he wouldn't make it far anyway, he thought, all his joints were very upset over having been subject to gravity in ways they hadn't anticipated.

Josh waited for Velina to move, deciding her next move was relevant to his own. He thought briefly about Chess.

Velina was shocked as he threw the chicken at her and as it hit her, she fell back in surprise. Standing on her stomach, the chicken went berserk, trying to stand upright. Her eyes avoiding Greg's, she placed the chicken upright, she calmed it. The whole time, her body was shaking. She looked at both of them with frightened eyes and then looked away, shielding her eyes. If she was anyone else, she would have yelled at them, even hit them a bit, but Velina hated hurting others and she simply couldn't find the guts to hurt anybody.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll be leaving now... Thank you for letting me stay." The sun was barely up and it was still fairly dark where the trees covered the ground, but she couldn't stay. It was another person who thought she was a monster. So she was a bit different... That didn't mean she was a monster. Giving the two a small nod, she turned and ran, trying to get back into the building to get her bag. She managed to get back in and find her way back easily and swiftly, but she hoped she didn't cause enough racket to wake anyone. She went into the room, getting her bag and making herself look fairly presentable from her fall earlier.

Brian was forcibly ejected from a very pleasant dream about one of the ladies who walks past his shop every morning by a lot of commotion down in the yard. He got up and looked through the window to see Josh pathetically picking himself off the ground next to a crazed-looking man, and Velina running back into the house. Grabbing his favorite sword (one of the ones he couldn't sell due to... unusual properties) he ran, passing Velina in the hall, and made for Greg- shouting, "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOIN' ON MY PROPERTY, OLD MAN?" It didn't occur to him why it felt so exceptionally breezy this morning, but it was not of his concern, someone was beating his helpless weakling of a brother and scaring away pretty women.

Greg- A naked man resembling a bigger, stronger, and arguably handsomer Josh (one who doesn't afraid of scissors and has a proper haircut) is rushing you with an eerie, acid-green sword. If you've ever had business requiring a smithy, you know him to be Brian, who runs one of the shops in town and produces quality weapons. His sword glints un-naturally and light doesn't seem to react to it properly.

Velina- you just saw naked Brian run past with the freaky sword described above. He didn't seem to have any awareness he was running outside nude.

Josh- your angry, angry brother just run outside all nekked, when will he ever remember to wear pants?