Snippet #1420501

”Ulva, bring me home flowers.. and rocks, and um, snacks! A Souvenir!...”
”Of course I will.. the flowers might be dead though, but we can scrapbook with them,” Ulva had said to youngest sibling at age 7, Annesthasie, while she picked her up and spun her around. “You know it isn’t just about the treasure hunting, Annie, it will be a great place to rejuvenate and be inspired.”

This flashback of the conversation she had with her sister right before she left for the airport played in her mind. It was ironic now, for she didn’t feel rejuvenated but affected, changed. She wasn’t inspired but fearful, almost sick. Her blood was heating, but was it really internal or was it the sun? She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Trees could talk... and so far the only other living creature Ulva had stumbled upon was not even an animal at all, but some type of translucent spirit wolf. She shuddered under Rea’s arm. Thinking of what she just went to made her feel like a crazy person. She wondered if she would sound too crazy to tell Rea what exactly happened.

Ulva’s feet shuffled quietly below her vision, sometimes dragging to the floor when her muscles would tense and loosen, as if in battles with themselves, wanting to pull her body in a new direction. Her eyes peering upwards to watch the new group pass them. Ulva appreciated the fact Rea was carrying her swiftly so that no one seemed willing enough to stop them on their mission. She could see some entering the Ruins from the corner of her eyes. They all seemed so perky and excited, innocent in their movements as they took their daring steps forward to the gates and the paths around. Ulva sighed below her breath, wondering if they would face a similar event like she did, or if they could hear the trees whispering... The two were now within reach of the Herb Garden, the view of the mansion a pleasant sight for sore eyes. Ulva gave one last look over her shoulder, surprised she could see the group so far away. It occurred to her she was still having side effects of extreme eyesight-- yet another thing she could freak out over, not that it was something bad to have- it just wasn’t normal. Ulva could see Demetrius conversating on the path way, maybe he was on his way back to the house as well?

“Tell me what happened out there?” she asked, the golden question. It was bound to have come up. She turned her face to look up at Rea, a soft expression on her face despite the fear that lined her eyes. She looked down at the scrapes on her arms and focused on her right thumb in particular that seemed pale and white in color.

“I... I dont know if you would believe me or not,” she began, measuring the tone of her voice, the first few words in a whisper but gradually getting louder. “I must tell you though.” Ulva paused at the border of the Herb Garden, out of prying ears from reporters that were scattered about, and hidden from any eager staff waiting to wait on them. She managed to stand on her own, straightening her back despite her muscles wanting her to curl downwards for some reason. She placed both her hands on the sides of Rea’s toned upper arms. “I think I saw a ghost... of a wolf, but it seemed so alive and vivid. I followed it when I caught sight of it, I wasn’t even sure what it was. It led me to that place you found me... and it attacked me, sort of. It jumped at me, went through me.. I haven’t felt quite the same since. Do you believe in magic?” Ulva whispered, a passion in each word she spoke, a conviction that if anything would prove she wasn’t imaging these things.

“No, don’t answer that... I probably just need to lay down. I did fall and all, maybe I hit my head too hard,” she noted, letting her arms drop from Rea back to her sides. The corners of her lips raised in a half smile. She moved forward, officially back on house grounds. She hoped that being back here would settle her nerves. Waiters and maids moved to was from, not immediately noticing their return. As soon as they did, several came skipping out of the glass doors with fresh glasses of water.

Ulva took one of the cups, nodding with thanks as the glass was placed in her hand. It felt refreshing against her skin that pulsed with heated blood, her skin taking on a tanner shade from the temperature raise. She sipped the water slowly, enjoying each gulp.

The sight of their meal plates still on the table in the Herb Garden reminded Ulva of the shot of Vodka she had. “Mm,” she hummed, thinking that another one might be well appreciated, if anything just to relax in her thoughts. Maybe after she changed she could find out where the bar was in the house and pay it a stop.

Ulva looked back at Rea as she moved towards the door to the inside, still managing to maneuver herself around despite her decrepit clothing and limp in her steps. “Getting through these halls will be another adventure in itself,” she said in an attempt to me cheerful. Her humble ego didn’t want to come off too weak or pathetic. She was a strong woman after all, just not at the current time.