Cuspin Durril's Story

The late-morning air was crisp with the faintest hints of a stiff breeze tugging the trees. The slim, fair form ghosted through the trees, hungrily gleaning what he could from the wind about his little friends’ whereabouts. He’d picked three of the little humans, a boy and two girls. Perfectly susceptible. And they had no idea. Delicious. He’d discovered the boy first. The little blond creature lived alone in a husk of a house that didn’t belong to him. He was nondescript. Cuspin could feel the hate burbling just below the boy’s flesh. Resentment. And he had no family, which was perfect. Familiar ties made things a bit more difficult with cases such as his. The second he’d found was a gorgeously mutilated little girl, scarring on one side of her face hidden by a delicate little bandage. Dark sludge fermented within her bones, fueling a soft, burning anger. The third girl burned bright with an almost tangible desire. She loathed her situation. She wanted something more.

Three little darling that he could melt in his palms. Oh yes, it would be the most perfect plan. The feline eyes flashed with delight. They were coming. They would arrive soon. He’d need to be ready for them. The tiny magiks he’d used to guide them would bring the three together and right into his hand. What a coincidence! Cuspin hummed to himself as he swept back into the embrace of the front stoop, then into the guts of the house itself. He left a trail of flickering lights behind him that danced in one’s peripherals but disappeared the moment one looked directly at them. The room he’d decided to use, a small parlour, was exceedingly cozy, with just enough space for his guests, a majestic china cabinet in one corner, a low table, and a window that always greeted the morning sun even though that side of the building faced north.

On the table was a decanter shining with red liquid next to a wine glass. His meager breakfast. His stores of food were getting low, and he was forced to survive mainly off his reserves from earlier days spent blood farming. He couldn’t do such things now; it was too much of a hassle, especially when the human justice system poked its nose in to sniff out the missing individuals. He would put an end to both his boredom and his lack of proper food soon enough though. He’d find people to collect food for him. Easy enough. And such fun. And if they got caught, nothing would be connected to him. The human authorities would think the humans mad if they tried to tell anyone about him. Perfect.

Cuspin poured himself a liberal amount of the rich substance and sipped leisurely from the glass. All there was left to do was wait. He fished around in his pocket for his clock, and flicked the lid open, watching the ornamental hands slowly march onwards, moments and seconds and minutes nearer to the most delicious game he had in store for his new little friends.

Varrick, Harmony, and Aubree. The unwitting players of his newest delight. They wouldn’t have a clue why they’d ended up here, not the faintest idea of what was in store for them. Cuspin mused briefly about what they might taste like, but he quickly reprimanded himself for such thoughts. He shouldn’t eat his guests. Not these guests. Not this early, at least. Even though earlier he’d tried to convince himself that he could do just as well with two and consume the third, he wasn’t able to choose which one would taste the best. They were all so decadently unique in scent and flavor. He’d shadowed the three of them enough to know their faces, their scents, and their mannerisms. And they hadn’t a clue. It was perfect.

Cuspin’s mouth curled into a wolfish, straight-toothed grin, taking another sip and leaning back in his armchair. Ah, what was that? Footsteps in the grass? The creak of the stair? Perhaps the murmur of voices? He waited like a predator, eyes fixed on the slightly ajar door, waiting for the first fragile face to appear and set off his game.

Oh this was all so exciting, wasn’t it! He hadn’t had this much anticipation in a few decades. And the game was so promising, he certainly wouldn’t be let down by this chain of events. And if he was, well, a good meal or two could fix most anything.

Aubree left the house an hour ago when she realized that she would rather not die of extreme boredom. None of her friends were around to hang out with her anymore and she didn't have a phone to text with. It was terrible, but walks usually helped out with that. Her favorite place to travel through is the forest. She never knew why though. When she was younger she would run in there and feel at home. She liked to play and climb trees. At times she is caught talking to herself, but she believes someone is talking to her. She isn't crazy she just hears a response. She has yet to know who or what it is. Lately the voice is louder and clearer. She has confessed to it multiple times. It's almost like her personal priest. Only without the entire religion to back it up.

Once again Aubree has found herself in the forest. She was deep enough so that when she looked back she couldn't see where she entered from. The forest was always open to revealing things to Aubree. Most of her epiphany happen in here. She found a way to keep her mother out of debt. She found a way to find her now good father. And she even discovered a way to get her brother a job. She seems to be able to help everyone else, but the only thing that she wants is to be out of poverty. It's not fun. She can't do much and money is always an issue. She wants a life where she can relax and not worry when her next meal will come. Or if they will have to sell the apartment. She let out a sigh and kicked a large rock.

She looked up off the ground to see a house in the distance. Looking around at her surroundings, she doesn't recognize this part of the forest at all. It is complete new and that put a smile to her face. She took her attention of the rock and she slowly made her way over to the small cabin. It seemed friendly enough. Curious Aubree wanted to take a look inside. As she grew closer her footsteps were softer and quieter. She didn't want to startle whatever was inside. She made it up the steps and she let out a nervous breath. She knocked on the door twice before opening it up.

Why won't you look at me? It was an easy enough question to respond to, especially since the answer was smack dab in the side of her face covered only by the thin material of her eye patch. Harmony could have handled the situation better if her mother had responded to it with the truth... but her mother hadn't uttered a single word. She had simply looked off toward the window by her seat as if by ignoring the question entirely -and Harmony herself- it would solve everything. But it didn't.

And Harmony broke through the perfectly established walls of steely control she'd worked on for so long. She had screamed then, so loud that her face had turned red and purple with the effort and so hard that her lungs still hurt from it. She still remembered the shocked look on her mothers face as she had stormed out of the house in a blaze of fury. Never had Harmony felt so utterly alone, not when the doctors had told her her parents couldn't come visit her due to their work, not when she'd come home, beaten and bruised, to an empty house and certainly not when day by day she saw less and less of her mother. That her mothers unresponsiveness had caused such a reaction in Harmony made her feel disgusted in herself. All that control, that steely resolve... where had it gone just then? Where did it vanish off to?

Why had she even asked? Harmony knew how her mother would respond, or not, so what on Earth had possessed her to ask such a vulnerable question in the first pace? She could only blame herself then. She had started it off. That she didn't like what she didn't hear was all on her so she had no one to blame but her. Just like in everything else...

Snapping back into focus she realized she had walked straight into the woods. It wasn't really unheard of for her to do so but she'd only gone in a handful of times and only around its perimeter. Never so deep within it. That she'd lost herself so deep into her thoughts irritated her enough that it showed on her otherwise inexpressive face. A slight pout puckered her lips and a crease formed just above her nose to display the emotion without her notice before it smoothed out once more. Foolish of me to wander without direction, she thought to herself. Truly looking up this time she noticed movement out of the corner of her good eye and turned in its direction. A girl, familiar to Harmony somehow, was walking a few feet away and ahead of her. She wondered for a moment who it might be before she truly examined the girl. She recognized her from her new school... Starts with an A... Oh, I'm horrible with names... Aubree. That's it. Aubree Peterson. Harmony could vaguely remember having classes with the girl... Vaguely. Most of the time she was trying to ignore people's taunts and killing them off in her head... Very vulgar of you Harmony, a voice in her head taunted her but she ignored it.

Harmony had been so intent on Aubree she'd hardly noticed the house she was heading toward until she had raised her hand to knock. Normally, she'd have scrammed by then. Turned around and forgotten that she'd ever seen the other girl... But something compelled her feet to keep walking. Even with the forestry around them Harmony's footsteps hardly made a sound. That was probably why Aubree hadn't noticed her behind her and why she probably didn't even pause before taking the doorknob in her hand and turning it. For some odd reason, Harmony could feel her heart beating against her chest. So odd... And with a breath she didn't know she held she watched silently as the door was opened.

Varick

A young teen cracked his jaw,the resounding noise bouncing off the walls of his hollow home. He sighed to himself and yawned once again,dragging himself off of his bed and towards the broken dresser that housed his clothing. He donned his usual attire and stumbled out of his bedroom,the only room in the house that resembled a regular home. The rest of the building was empty,and rather trashy. Although that wasn't his fault,he lived alone yes,but it wasn't his house either. He was just borrowing it for an unforeseen amount of time....in the middle of the woods,away from authorities.

A soft meowing interrupted his thoughts of whether squirrel's would for whatever reason betray him and inform the authorities using sign language. For the first time in a few days he smiled, his cat was back. The teenager walked back to his room and opened the window,letting in a fluffy white cat that purred and rubbed against his leg happily before meowing again and stalking off to sit in it's bed,right by the food-bowl. He smiled and crouched down,moving close to the cat and rubbing his hand along it's body,scratching behind it's ears and under its chin before pulling a small package from his pocket as it continued to purr. Tearing it open and emptying its contents into the bowl for the cat to enjoy,a fine delicacy of store bought cat-food. It was it's birthday after-all so he had bought the finest the pet store had to offer him.

"Welcome home Einstein,I've missed you fluff-ball. Happy Birthday!" He said,scratching behind it's ears once more before standing up and leaving it to eat it's birthday meal in peace. He looked around his room and nodded to himself,it was much better then what he'd begun with. A proper oak bed lay in the corner of the room with pillow, blanket and all. Opposite a cabinet that sat beside his dresser, Shelves hung about the room,containing Books,Manga,DVDs,CD's and Games. A small TV sitting in the middle of the cabinet, A game console of some description plugged in and ready to be played. The teen was lucky that he'd been able to high-jack onto the power-grid,and that the owners had left the power-box and wires untouched. Usually owners ripped them out of the ground to get money.

He eventually decided it was time to look around again,his usual ritual,and gave Einstein one more goodbye pat before heading out the squeaky front door,the rusty hinges creaking as he pushed it shut. He hoped Einstein wouldn't get lost in the woods again,he was difficult to find for a pure white cat in a brown and green tree-line. The oddly dressed teen began his usual random romp through the forest...until he caught sight of a new color, a darker brown that hung in the air for a moment before disappearing behind a tree,following after a much lighter brown that floated ahead. His curiosity struck the teen jogged after them,keeping to the tree's and bushes before the colors arrived at an old mansion.

Noticing that they'd dissapeared inside,he followed, if he were greedy he would have thought of moving into the vast mansion,but he was not and the abandoned hole had become home. His room a private sanctuary. The teen awaited some kind of door to open,standing silently behind the darker brown color whom had shown itself to be a petite girl, intending to follow her in and see what exactly had brought her here.

Cupin wasn't much for waiting, he liked to have what he wanted when he wanted it, but this was worth it. It would provide hours, no, days of entertainment. These cute little humans. And they'd bring him food, which would make the entire thing worth it. And of course, convincing them to do what he wanted would be an easy task. If they refused, well, then he could just eat on of them and the other two would most likely be more willing to compromise. The white-blonde daemon hummed to himself as he poured himself another glass of crimson. That's when he first sensed a presence. No, two. Wait, actually three presences. Right on time. His three little friends had found his home. A hesitant knock on the door made Cuspin rise, leaving his glass on the table. Ah, so they were shy?

He glided to the door, wrapping his fingers around the door frame and looking out into the hall. At the far end was the door where the humans were standing. A knock sounded out again, and Cuspin sighed. Did he really have to do all this himself? As he started out into the hall, the door handle turned. He smiled pleasantly. That was the ticket! As the door swung open he came to a halt in the middle of the hall. Ah, Aubree was taking the lead.

"Good morning." He said, his voice a warm hum. He studied the girl's face for a second before coming nearer, a lazy smile on his face. "I don't believe I've met you before." He continued, his eyes drifting over her shoulder to the girl standing just a bit behind her. Harmony. The girl with the lovely little scar. "You two can come in, I don't mind a bit of company." Whether they wanted to or not, he managed to usher them into the small manor. Ah, and there was the third one. He made a small gesture to that one as well. And then he had them all.

He strode past them again, back to the small parlour. The sun still streamed in, though in actuality the orb was nearer to it's zenith. He squandered a bit of his power to displace a tea set from the cabinet int he kitchen. It materialized spottily on the low table next to his half full glass and the decanter. After a few seconds of glimmering indecision it decided to fully solidify, tea and all, the blue and white china glossy under the sun. He settled back down in his chair expectantly, waiting for them to enter and sit down as well. There was a loveseat and a small, armless chair around the little table for them to sit. Then they would talk. And ultimately, he would win. And things would be good.

"My name is Cuspin. It's a pleasure to meet you three." He said easily, as if random strangers on his doorstep were a common occurrence. He directed the teapot with a calm hand, and it poured tea into the small cups. He was nonchalant about the gesture, but it was deliberate. He needed to let them get their minds around what he could offer before he popped the proposition. Baby steps, of course. Maybe some of the could put two and two together before he could. That would be charming. He'd have to be patient with the humans though, or things might go wrong. Humans were generally skittish creatures, from his experience. They weren't accustomed to his kind. They hadn't been for a number of centuries. Perhaps he'd withhold that information until he really needed to divulge his nature. Use it to his advantage.

Her eyes first fixed themselves on the male that stood before them. It was hard not to. Yellow eyes stared back at them and Harmony couldn't help but compare them to a lizards. He was... otherworldly. That was the only way she could think to put it. Delicate, pale and aristocratic... but she was sure there was more to it than that. For some odd reason that she couldn't understand she felt on edge. That he'd welcomed them so easily into his home without a thought to spare made her feel wary but besides that she also felt strongly... curious. What had led Aubree- had led her to this man's home? Why did this male make her feel uneasy on sight? Why? Why? Why? Why, indeed.

She took an unconscious step forward and after hesitating for a second she stepped around Aubree, looking back at her only for a second before following the man deeper into his home. She noticed the boy just behind them as she had looked back and she wondered once again how it was that they'd all ended up here? Almost as if being summoned up. Preposterous idea Harm, she thought as she turned into the parlour. Finally, she really took in his home. It was charming, really. She would have wanted to live in a place like this given the chance. It spoke of time, or at least that's how Harmony saw it.

And then it got weird. Through out the whole tea set appearing out of thin air and the teapot moving on its own she'd kept quiet. Her features might have been made out of marble for all the reaction she gave out. Still, Harmony wasn't immune to being shocked or creeped out. If one looked closely they could notice the tensing of her shoulders and her spine going straight and rigid. What is this? Her numbed mind screamed but a ringing in her ears seemed to block out the words. As if on auto pilot her legs moved her smoothly across the room and had her sitting gently down on one side of the loveseat. Her eyes had not widened but they stared straight at him as if waiting for him to do yet something else. Was it his doing? How is that possible? Am I being Punk'd or something? This wasn't real... No, Harmony felt like the rabbit hole had opened up beneath her and with any luck she'd wake up soon. Calm down! Listen! Observe! her brain commanded her. So she sat, waited without saying a word and watched Cuspin as if he were a troubling puzzle piece that wouldn't quite fit. Well, there's sure to be an answer for all of this. He must fit in somewhere into the equation... into this new puzzle...

Varick

The blonde-haired teen followed suit behind the first colour, offering a kind and awkward smile to it before taking the seat next to them. He wondered about the patch over their eye but knew better than to question it. The young teen crossed one leg over the other and relaxed in the love-seat, tapping his foot upon the floor quietly to keep the rest of his impatient body relatively still. He grinned as he tea began to pour itself, curious as to what device could cause such a thing. The teen uncrossed his legs almost immediately at the peculiar sight and lent forward eagerly,his arms resting over his legs,his fingers tapping rapidly upon his inner calf.

He had no idea what was happening,nor why, only that it intrigued him. Something that few thing's rarely did anymore...then there was this girl,and the other whom seemed to have been drawn here at a convenient coincidence to their host. Whom seemed to have been expecting them all...'Curiouser and curiouser...' indeed young Alice, but what kind of rabbit-hole have I fallen down?, If this is your wonderland then I'm staring at the Mad Hatter of all Mad Hatters he thought to himself, occasionally breaking his curious gaze to glance at the girl he sat beside. He was bad with women, even on a generous measure, so hopefully the fact he was stuck in a room with two of them and a curious and aristocratic owner of an abandoned manor wouldn't completely destroy what little social graces he'd garnered from watching his peers. The blonde-haired teen smiled to himself as he imagined the chaos that would ensue his attempts at communication with the two women, in all three of the scenarios a tea-cup swung towards his head so he decided to stay silent. Instead simply turning to the first colour again and offering a warm-hearted smile. That is until his brain kicked into over-drive again, That should do it....hopefully...Oh god what if she asks for my name?, she wouldn't dare!...although,today has been an odd day indeed. he thought clumsily. Now rapidly tapping his feet along with the beat of his fingers thumping against his calf.

"My names Varick!" He blurted out,before coughing and leaning back in the chair once more, pleased with himself as he watched the man in front of him. The words Nailed it, floating through his mind. Now how did this being fit into the picture....what tiny speck of dust was he that fit into the puzzle of life. The picture was ever-expanding so he should have expected something as peculiar as this to arise but...somehow he had not foreseen it. The teen shuffled a tad and began absent-mindedly staring at Harmony, lost in his own world of thoughts and far-flung imaginings,

Harmony was brought back from wherever her mind had gone to by the almost unnoticeable movement of the loveseat as the boy sat next to her. Her posture stiffened even further, her back ramrod straight and her hands twitching slightly from the urge to cover up her eye patch with her bangs even though they were already in place to do so. Her body was as tight as a bows string ready to unleash its arrow. Harmony didn't really have a problem with being in a room full of people. School, afterall, required you to attend a class full of students and its hallways always held the bustle of its crowd. Still, close proximity somehow made her itch beneath her skin. Maybe it was because of the incident or maybe it was just her eye. Either way it was bothersome to tense up and Harmony had undergone many therapy sessions to get rid of such a reaction. It was worse before... A waste of money is what it was..., Harmony thought as she tried fruitlessly to unwind herself. Tilting her head slightly so she could peek at him from her good eyes she caught his smile and blinked in confusion.

Looking at him properly he seemed a bit odd. Not really his outer appearance, though his clothing choice may not have been seen often on a male their age. But who was she to judge that, she still wore her private schools uniform as if it was a religious commandment. She really did have to change that peculiar habit. No, the boy held a far off gaze... as if his thoughts ran faster than most and scattered in different directions because there was no one place to place them. Still, Harmony didn't know the male so she could be wrong. Afterall, how many assumptions had been made about her that were all false? Plenty.

"My names Varick!" he blurted out suddenly causing Harm to dig her nails into the couch to stop herself from jumping. What an odd fellow... she thought giving him a curious look. He looked rather pleased with his introduction. She supposed she should introduce herself as well. Her stepfather chided her plenty for not doing so when he had his usual business meals at home. Didn't she have a right to not give out her information to anyone? Including her name? Harm thought it a bit unfair but she supposed it was "proper" to do so. She felt his gaze and turned fully toward him. She hated when people stared at her. He wasn't really staring at her but more through her... still, it made her uncomfortable. A quick glance at Cuspin and she mentally sighed. "My name is Harmony." she stated. Her voice was rather soft and feminine compared to how she might have looked like to others. 'Course then they'd think about her petite figure and her small stature and nod as if it made sense. Harmony wished she'd never followed Aubree, never gotten so lost in her emotions that she'd come straight into the forest and never asked that stupid question in the first place. She wouldn't be here if she had.

Cuspin sat back down in his chair, letting the tea set orchestrate itself. The humans sat down, first the girl then the boy. The girl didn't seem too pleased that the blond boy sat so near to her, judging by the way her back stiffened and she shifted her bangs to cover her eye patch more fully. Human insecurities were so cute. The boy looked raptly interested in the tea set, leaning in on his knees and staring at the thing. All of a sudden, the blond blurted out his name. Varick. His outburst made the girl stiffen further. He could smell the tension and indecision on her until she softly revealed her own name. He already knew their names, he'd done his research, but human protocol stood for this kind of interaction.

"It's a pleasure, Mister Varick, Miss Harmony." He nodded at the two of them, taking up his wine glass again and regarding the two over it. These two were so peculiar. It was terribly cute. His yellow cat eyes flicked over them for a moment in silent thought, and then he made a gesture with one hand. "Tea?" He offered as freshly poured tea cups drifted over to the guests. Ah, it was such a waste of good magik, but he needed to play up the idea as much as he could. Let their minds take hold of the idea. If they accepted the offer, the ta cup would settle down on the armrest beside them, and if they declined it would drift back to the table, rattling lightly with disdain.

Cuspin let a few more moments pass before he spoke again, swirling the crimson contents of his cup lightly and gazing into them. "I suppose I shall cut to the chase, now that we've dispensed with the pleasantries. It's no chance that you came here this fine morning." The cat-eyes flicked to the humans. "What brought you here is your problem, because I'm the only one who can fix it for you." Each word was slow and deliberate, prowling from his lips with low grace. The note of conviction in his voice said that he wasn't playing around. "Mister Varick, wouldn't you say that you've been under someone else's control all your life? Someone else is always telling you what to do, what choices to make. Wouldn't you like them to listen to you for once? I can read it on your face, my boy, and I'd be more than willing to give you exactly what you want." His eyes flicked from the blond to the dark haired girl. "Miss Harmony here doesn't want much. She just wants to be normal again. No, she wants to be beautiful to make up for all the terrible things that have happened to her. Would you like that, Harmony?" His voice was friendly enough, no malice in the edges of his tone at all. His face was earnest and serious.

In a sudden motion he rose, leaving his glass behind. "Of course, I have things I need too, and if you'd be so willing to help me keep myself afloat, I'd be more than willing to give you what you desire. More than you could ever imagine. Low risk, win win situation, both parties benefit." he waved a hand as he approached the two. "But you might not believe me. I understand that. Seeing is believing, of course, even if you only have one eye, right, Miss Harmony?" Very slowly he knelt down beside the girl, in between her and the blond boy. He reached out unhesitatingly and took her chin. "This is on the house, dear friend, and it won't hurt a bit. Just don't move, please, and keep your other eye closed."

Then he took off the eye patch. Well, not so much took it off as allowed it to dissolve under his fingers, revealing the destroyed flesh below. He clicked his tongue as his finger drew along the length of the scar. "It really wasn't fair, was it?" He murmured. The process was slow, almost unnoticeable at first. The scar began to fade away, as if the skin was healing impossibly fast. In the matter of a minute, her eye would open and it would see again. All it would feel like to her was a faint tingling and the sensation of his cold finger on her skin.

It was not a perfect job, the scar was still faintly there, but her eye was working again and that was all that mattered. He released her after studying his handiwork and rose, taking a step back. A hand pointed towards the mirror by the door. "If you'd like to see the results, Miss Harmony. A tiny fraction of what I can do for you and Mister Varick, if you so wished."

He smiled lightly and folded his hands behind his back. He'd give them a moment to take in what had just happened.