Sanctum of the Spirits » Places

         Sayo gave a small gasp as Tomasu jerked Sena around by the hand, jerking them both up and into the red door. As they were spun around, Sayo's legs drug on the carpet for a moment, and she could feel Sena stumbling for balance as they were pulled roughly through the red door. Sayo tried to get her legs under her and stumbled back a few step still holding on to Sena. Just before the red door slammed shut, she caught another glimpse of the purple door. The menacing, thorny vines had extended outward, each thorn dripping a greenish, poisonous looking fluid. The flowers continued to grin a toothy grin, eager to capture the children. Sayo was immensely relieved when the door slammed shut with a resounding bang.

As they entered the room, Sena fell to her knees, causing Sayo to fall flat on her behind. She let go of Sena, using her hands to keep herself from falling backwards, and sat on yet another carpet with her legs straight ahead of her and feet toward the door. When Sena began scolding them again in an annoyed tone, Sayo's eyes darted to her Sena's face, wide with confusion. Did Sena not realize how much danger they were in? How could she act like she had not seen anything at all?

"The door was attacking us. Didn't you see it?" she said after Tomasu. When she saw Sena's attention shift to the room, she turned and looked as well, kneeling with her hands on her knees. The whole room looked like it was made from one fabric, and everything seemed to blend and complement the walls and floor. Sayo's attention immediately went to the shadows that the fire made, entranced by the faint changing scenes. Slowly, she rose to her feet, eyes studying the flickering shadows. This whole experience felt like a dream.

Abruptly, she was jerked from her reverie by the slamming of a door in the corner. It was one she had not noticed before, and she realized the door was covered in the same fabric. Tomasu's hand groped for hers and she grabbed it, giving a small squeeze. Her gaze quickly shifted to the shadowed figure as her raspy voice roughly but clearly came to them. Sayo watched, fascinated, as the firelight fell upon the figure's face. The flickering scenes seemed interrupted by her presence and parted far around her, as if not willing to touch the strange figure. Sayo forcefully wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, leaving them faintly red and puffy.

She had the general form of an old woman, but instead of a mouth and nose, her features seemed overwhelmed with a large, black beak. Small and beady eyes blinked at them disinterestedly behind overly tiny, thick glasses. Her neck was scaly and snake like, scales dully gleaming in the light as her neck bobbed. The only normal thing about her head was a wrinkled forehead and grey hair pilled tightly into a bun, seeming to slightly straighten some of her wrinkles. Sayo's eyes quickly went past the woman's dull, boring clothing to the large talons protruding where toes should have been, producing a small clack with every step she took. Every motion seemed more bird-like than human-like.

At the mention of Kamaya's name, Sayo figured the odd bird woman must be referring to herself. This was the person they were supposed to come see! Echoing Tomasu's demands, Sayo said, "Please, Ms. Kamaya, we have to have a job. Please?" She hopped anxiously from one foot to another, closely watching Kamaya's face and those small, dark eyes.

         A door slammed violently, ripping the children from their admiration of the room. An elderly-looking figure hobbled from the shadows toward the startled young visitors. A female voice, thick and raspy like a smoker called out to them, "Guests aren't allowed on this floor, especially not in this room." Clearly annoyed, the figure came closer to them. As it emerged from the shadows, its true form could be seen in the crackling firelight. It had the expected body of an old woman, cloaked in dull, worn clothes and shuffling in sandals. However, emerging from the sandals were not toes, but talons like those of an eagle. She had a grayish blue, serpentine neck, scaly and in constant, albeit slow, movement. Her hair had faded to gray and was drawn up tightly in a bun on top of her head. Her squinty, beady little eyes peered at them from behind tiny spectacles, darting around somewhat shiftily. Rather than a nose, her glasses rested upon a giant beak of a dark ebony hue that protruded out from where the rest of her face should've been.

The creature squawked at her unwanted visitors. "Go on! Get out! Kamaya has no time for the likes of you! Kamaya is very busy!" She moved over to the desk and slowly lowered herself into the seat as she began to sort through her papers.

         Sena vigorously pushed her way through the barrier of ecstatic individuals, drunk with the excitement that carnivals were famous for bringing. She rushed through with a large, stuffed teddy bear clutched tightly to her chest, keeping her eyes peeled for a place to hide. Behind her she could hear the desperate yet faint cries of the word "Thief!" It was a good, but foolish try to even think that even one person in this adrenaline-pumped crowd would break out of their delightful trance and chase after her.

The Orphanage offered a meager amount of toys, almost none at all. In the 6 years that she had lived there, she had never once gotten a doll of any sort. Sena was aware of the hungry stares her sister always adopted whenever she spotted other children with dolls swinging carelessly from their hands.

Sena would always say "Do you want one?", her sister would reply "No...", and Sena would respond with "I know you do."

Sena really would have preferred not to steal, but seeing as she had no money, and would never have such a heaven-brought chance like this again, she had no choice. Oh, one more thing, she wasn't supposed to be out. Sure, she felt a pang at having deceived even her own sibling just to sneak out, but it would make her sister happy in the end...wouldn't it?

She slowed her pace down to a jog, running her hands through her hair. Even with her green tank top and jean shorts, she was still drenched with sweat. She wondered how all these crazed people could even stand to stay in the sweltering heat for so long. Spotting a red-and-white striped tent that practically seemed to be shouting "THE CIRCUS!", she made her way to the "Performers Only" entrance. Lifting the flap, she casually made her way in. She could hear the elated cries of the crowd, murmuring "ooh"'s and "ahh"'s in unison. The darkness enveloped her, as her heart beat slowly went back down to it's normal pace. Suddenly, everything went silent. Sena blinked in confusion as she lifted the flap to see what was happening.

A blinding light filled the tent........