Black and White

Empty. The first word to register into the young mind of the male. There was nothing around him to really make a lasting impression. He didn't know where he was or if he could do anything, could he even feel right now? Black is the next word that came to mind, and it engulfed everything around him. Nothing could be seen, there was nothing to stop him from falling further into the darkness, in an instant his mind went blank and the darkness felt overpowering.

His eyes open and a bright light hits them, forcing him to raise a hand to shield his face from it. He pushes himself up to a sitting position, his eyes rapidly blinking as the blur began to clear and reveal where he was. He tries to remember where he last was, rubbing his head with both hands as he leans forward slightly and closes his eyes. He remembers going to bed, he opens his eyes and looks around, only to find his bed nowhere in sight.

He could hear the sound of rain clearly as he rises to his feet, from the looks of things he appeared to have ended up in some sort of castle. Finding an open space in one of the walls, he could see it was dark outside, lightning flashing in the distance being the only thing he could make out from within. Although there was light on the inside, it only came from certain flames now barely keeping themselves burning. Looking towards the back, he could make out what was once a path now blocked by fallen rubble.

He had no choice but to move forward, being slow and cautious due to the increasing amount of darkness up ahead. This all felt like a bad nightmare to him, the sound of constant heavy rain and the roar of thunder sounding ever closer spread fear through his body. Paranoia soon became to grip his mind, he had no idea if this was the right path to take or if he could even take another path. Soon the light faded out completely from his vision, and the only way he could tell he was even moving forward was from his hand moving along one of the walls.

After walking for some time, he is forced to turn and a flash of lightning erupts, showing him a horrific scene. Bodies of soldiers lay scattered all over the room ahead, shades of red stood out among the room and broken weapons lay throughout. Taking a few steps forward, he was uncertain if he should just turn around or keep moving forward. His answer is quickly answered when the ground underneath him starts to shake. Another flash of lightning erupts, this time revealing something moving in the distance and heading straight for his location. His body stood frozen as he watched a worrying darkness begin to consume what little he could see ahead of him.

Finally, his instinct kicks in and forces him to begin running back the way he came, adrenaline pumping itself through his body as his heart began racing in his chest. As the flickering flames up ahead began to grow closer, he could hear the sound of something creeping up behind him. It was quick and relentless, consuming everything it covered over. Moving into the room, he turns to look over and sees the darkness slide over two of the flames, the darkness suddenly stopping movement briefly and letting out some kind of horrifying shriek. Some kind of twisted growth formed out and looked eerily similar to some kind of deformed arm with sharp angles all over it.

The growth smashes itself into one side of the room and then quickly moves itself to smash into the other side, causing the man to fall flat on his bottom as he is forced to watch part of the room collapse underneath him, revealing a very long drop below. He quickly backs up, feeling his body almost slip into the falling debris before just barely making it to safety within the back of the room. More growths spread themselves out and began to grip the other side, spreading slowly within the remaining room and blocking out almost all light. Staring at a small dying flame, he sees one last flash of lightning before the flame went out and then everything fell into silence.

"AH!" Yohan screams out, sitting up and putting a hand on his head, feeling his chest moving rapidly and his mind racing. "Wait, where am I?" He looks around his room, finding everything as it should be. Wiping off some sweat from his face, he turns to look at the television as he grabs his remote and turns it on.

"The weather forecast is looking dark for today." The weatherman spoke, with an image of his area behind him. "While you may be seeing the sun out now, within the next hour or two, clouds are expected to move in and, shortly after that, bring some showers down. Severe warnings for thunderstorms have been given to these select areas, and we advise caution to everyone due to recent accidents." The television quickly shuts off, the remote being placed back down as Yohan's eyes glance towards his calendar of 2020.

"Only a few more days until school starts back up." Yohan's head falls back on his pillows, his hands reaching up to plant themselves over his face. "I wish I didn't have to go."

Rina woke up with a strange feeling in her stomach. It seemed like she had a somewhat dream, but she couldn't remember anything about it except for bright light And something chasing her. She checked the clock: it was a few minutes before her alarm was set to go off. Birds settled at the clear feeder outside her window, chickadees, sparrows and one meadow lark. They chirped and splashed seeds everywhere, making clacking noises against the window pane.

The radio came to life, blaring the morning weather before moving on to the morning's news headlines and eventually music. It sounded like another wet day ahead. She ought to wear her rain boots if she went out. Her uncle probably wouldn't let her though because of the storm warning. He held her very close.

She stretched and climbed down from her loft bed. The AC blasting through the room made her shiver. Underneath her loft where the desk was, the cold air couldn't reach her. She checked the calendar, finding today's date. No work today. It was probably for the best. If the storms did come through her area, she didn't want to be caught out in it.

Taja was woken up by her mother opening the door. The light blinded her for a moment before she turned over away from it. "Just wanted to check on you. The weather is looking a bit scary." Her mother's voice was so soft she had to strain her ears to hear it above the wind. Taja's gave her mother a tiny thumbs up before slowly dropping it.

"Well, when you are fully awake get dressed and come eat. I made some of your favorites before the storm rolled in." Her mother said before softly closing the door. She didn't have to get up and see to know what her mother made. It filled the room up, but shockingly at that moment she wasn't hungry. She had a dream of something big and dark. It made her sick, but she couldn't wake up, not until her mom woke her up.

The wind and rain bashed against her window, lightening strikes somewhere in the distance, and she jumps. Her little legs fly to teh floor before running to the door and flinging it open. Her mother stared at her in shock and worry. She had a bowl of biscuits in her hand, she placed them down and came over to Taja.

"It is okay Taja it is just lightening. I should have kept the door open. Momma is so so sorry." She scooped her up and smothered her with kisses. "Forgive me."

Taja clung to her mother's apron and nodded. "Good," her mother said before sitting her at the table. Let me fix you a plate."

The young girl nodded and looked out the big window in the living room. The trees were swaying from side to side, and a few pieces of loose yard decorations went flying. She turned around to face her plate that was no full of food. "Thanks." She whispered to her mother before taking a bite of sausage.

Sienna Cartlow

A knock. A specific kind, consisting of two quick raps followed by a third a half-beat later. Rolling to the side of her bed slightly and kicking free of her doona, Sienna groaned, glancing to the time. 13:05. Damn, it was early. At least, early for her. She could’ve slept another half-hour or so before getting ready for work. Again, the knock sounded, that same distinct kind. It was definitely Rio. What the hell did she want? “Yeah! I’m up! Whaddya want?” Sienna called out, flopping back to face the other way on her mattress. Like hell she was getting up unless the world was ending…

“Hey, I know you were probably sleeping, but it’s coming down buckets out there. I’m heading out to do some shopping, so if you want a lift to work, you’d better hurry up and get ready. I’ll give you 10 minutes.” Her roommate gave a brief explanation, giving pause to let Sienna think about it. After about a minute, the door to Sienna’s room opened, the grouchy woman half-glaring to the bubbly university student. “Make it fifteen starting now.” The redhead declared as she slouched in the doorframe, scratching her head and messing her hair a little. Rio simply chuckled a little as she eyed up the dishevelled mess. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s gonna take way longer than 10 minutes to clean up-“

Flinching back as Sienna slammed the door in Rio’s face, the girl managed a soft chuckle as she walked away. Seemed Sienna couldn’t take a joke in good fun, but she was always grouchy when she first woke up. In the end, it took about twenty minutes, but Rio didn’t seem to mind. It was one of her days off from university, so it didn’t really matter how long Sienna took. Clambering into Rio’s car, Sienna was already dressed in her work gear. She wore a simple white blouse and pair of jeans, some stylish gold earrings with red jewels; hair in a ponytail held in place with a couple of pens, and some sneakers to round the outfit off. She’d grab her badge and apron when she finally got into the store.

“You know, maybe if you got your own car you could drive yourself on days like this?” Rio mentioned as way of conversation, humming slightly to the pace of the wipers in the rain. Normally, she’d drive along and sing to the radio, but when she had company she much preferred chatting, so all hopes of a silent ride were gone for Sienna. Grumbling a bit at the annoying turn of the conversation, Sienna pulled out her phone to fiddle with, not looking up as she responded. “Yeah, maybe. Or you could start leaving your keys around for me to use it while you’re at uni.”

“Heh, and risk Tate grabbing them? Not a chance. Besides, you still owe me for fuel from last time.” Rio smirked, taking the side streets towards Joe’s Corner, Sienna’s place of work. It wasn’t far at all, but at least Sienna wouldn’t have to walk in the rain. “I thought I paid you for that?” Sienna mumbled, glancing up to her friend. She was pretty nice to look at, what with her brunette hair in pigtails, always wearing bright and vibrant colours. Definitely working the cute angle, but it made her seem more immature than she was. Conversations like this reminded her how looks were often deceiving.

“Nope, that was for the utilities. You still owe me for a full tank after your beach trip.” Rio declared as she pulled up to the side of the road, letting Sienna clamber out. “If it’s bad out, give me a call at 10 if you need a ride back. I should be up.”

Nodding, Sienna forced a smile, trying to ignore the rain against her back. “Yeah, thanks. Remind me when I get paid and I’ll give you the money for the fuel too.” Slamming the door shut, she headed into the store, wiping her feet briefly before giving a faint wave to ‘Joe’. His real name was Samuel, but being the owner of Joe’s corner, people just seemed to assume that was who he was. The real Joe was long dead, and even then, apparently the name was supposed to have something to do with the coffee. “Early for once, even if it is a few minutes.” The older man commented, leading Sienna to eye roll slightly. “Yeah, yeah, I’m not starting until the clock ticks over.” Sienna commented, moving over to the counter and hitting the button to eject the cash tray on the register. Slipping in some cash, she shut it back up before moving over to grab a fresh pack of cigarettes, along with a magazine. Thankfully, Joe smoked as well, so he had no qualms about the girl doing so in the ‘tea-room’ out back. It was little more than the size of a closet, but it had a high up window and a rickety fold out seat and table. That was all she really needed, and it gave Sienna a place to chill out before her shift started.

When Joe finally went home, Sienna migrated back out to the front counter, taking the creaky seat with her to sit on as she leaned across the table top. Sitting and reading through her magazine, she didn’t really offer any customer service, other than putting the purchases through. Maybe if she noticed someone stealing she’d do something, but that’d require her actually paying attention to her surroundings. Either way, she had a long, eight hour shift ahead of her. The cleaning and unpacking could wait a bit. Yawning, she leaned back in her seat, propping against the wall and putting her feet up on the counter, slowly reaching up to take the pen from her hair as she flipped through the magazine to the puzzle section. The theme was car models, and it seemed the standard had really gone down in quality. People clearly found it too hard, which was pathetic. “Seven letters, a feral horse. Gee, I wonder what that could be…” Sienna asked rhetorically, filling in the little squares as she filled in the time for her afternoon.

If it was possible that an alarm clock was indestructible, Miranda had it. The amount of abuse she showed that thing each morning just to shut it up was, well, abusive by almost any standards, but still it ended up ticking away and ringing at the same time every morning: Five O' Clock. The days started early and ended late for Miranda, being the person to open up and close the Gym, she needed to be awake. Luckily, her parents also woke up at this ungodly hour, so she smelt the coffee, and licked her lips as she half rolled, half slithered out of bed, throwing on a large nightshirt from an old boyfriend that covered most of her body, going down to her middle-thigh. The dude was an idiotic "Gangsta" kind of guy, but his shirts were nice, so before dumping his ass on the side of the road (literally) she took one of his shirts to wear.

Stumbling out of her room towards the living room, her Sapphire eyes began to clear up as the sleepiness went away. There was an order to things around her house. Father did everything first, followed by Mother, followed by Miranda, followed by anyone else whose there at the time. If Grandpa ever came over, it was him first, followed by the pattern, but Miranda hadn't seen her Grandfather in years, for all she knew, he was dead.

Getting her coffee and breakfast, the family sat down to eat together silently. They were an odd family, they didn't speak very much to each other, though one knew the bond was there, and it was strong. They communicated mainly through gestures and other non-verbal communication methods, a trait passed down through their family for generations. But it was today that something a bit different happened: Her father spoke.

"Miranda, how are your teeth?" She knew what he meant, her canines, longer and sharper than any of theirs or anyone in the family for the last two generations. "Are they uncomfortable in your mouth?"

"No, Father, they feel fine." His eyes darted to her, and she opened her mouth while her lips peeled back a bit to show off the large teeth, which for now were straight. Even the dentists were puzzled as to why her canines, upper and lower, were so large, but they shrugged it off because of how well she took care of her mouth. Brushed every day, flossed every day, mouthwash, decent diet, the works. She closed her mouth and continued to eat, the rest of the meal passed on silently. Once they were done, and the plates were in the sinks, everyone left to get ready. Miranda put on her usual clothes, which was usually something to allow full range of motion without hindrance. A tank-top and leggings, with appropriate undergarments as well. She grabbed her back-pack, filled with paperwork, pens, towels, and other random supplies and slung it over her shoulders. She reached for her pocket-knife, and slipped into the waist-band of her leggings on her right hip.

With that she put on her running shoes, gave a curt nod to her parents, and jogged out towards the gym. She loved to run, to feel the cool breeze running against her body, the damp morning air on her skin, the cool air filling her lungs, the ground beneath her feet, this was one of her great pleasures. It would only be about a half hour of straight jogging until she reached her Family's Gym: Timberland Gym. Named for the town that it was situated in, the Gym was one of the oldest buildings in town, albeit with some modernizations here and there to keep it from falling apart.

The front of the building was completely re-done, as it used to be a house, and now is appropriate for a business, the wooden staircase and railing leading to the large doors were original to the house however, and have been repainted and expanded upon with new, strong wood. However the center of the staircase, and the center railing, were original old Oak, a strong, beautiful wood with a hardy stain that protected it from the elements. The porch likewise was original, the wooden boards running to and fro along the side of the stand along building. Some chairs and a porch swing were set up to make customers feel at home before or after a hard work out. They were adorned with comfortable, simple pillows and cushions that made the place feel warmer during cold months. Unlocking the doors, Miranda pulled them open, the bell ringing, and entered, wiping her feet on the welcome mat before entering. From there on, it a mix of the old, Victorian house, and the newer, Modern Gym. The foyer was original, roomy and warm with a front desk immediately to the right of the entrance; that's where Miranda worked. Plugging in her phone, she clicked on the lights and open sign from the breaker in the corner, and deactivated the alarm system. Setting her bag down, she set up what needed to be set up, and turned on the radio system for the gym, a standard rubber-matted floor with the various stations spread out evenly and in a aesthetically pleasing way, the hardwood floor underneath the mats original to the old house. Load-Bearing walls also bore mirrors, so while the gym wasn't entirely open, it was still functional. A majority of the gym was just that, a work out area, however on the other side of the central load-bearing walls, was a boxing ring and martial arts training area. Upstairs was the track for running, as well as plenty of treadmills, elliptical machines, and more martial arts training areas. On each floor were large bathrooms for male and female patrons, but only the first floor had the large locker room, which also had showers. This was also segregated by male and female.

Miranda took in a deep breath, and frowned. It reeked of sweat in here. Leaving for a few minutes, she returned with some air fresheners. Some to walk around and spray with, some to plug in to the walls, and some to put into the auto-matic sprayers in various areas of the gym. Of course she chose all the same scent, a very light, but effective smell that wafted past the nose and set their minds at ease. She set the sign-in sheet up on the desk, as people who came in needed to sign in so that they could be kept track of/charged accordingly, though they could come in whenever they wanted. She also put up the little bell to get her attention should she be off away from the desk, and readied the sign-up sheets just in case someone fancied a way to get in shape this fine day.

Once that was done, she began to work out, herself. Nothing crazy, a mile long run to start with, then working out on the punching bags, then down stairs to do some dead lifts, pull ups, squats, and then back up stairs for another mile. It was an hour before she was done, making it 7:30, the official open time of the gym. She wiped her face with a towel and quickly showered before changing into some cleaner clothes and assuming her position behind the desk, surfing the internet for a while before customers showed up, then it was to the spread sheets and other matters of business, advertising, no-show calls, etc. etc.

Life was....alright. She couldn't complain, she wasn't allowed to, but she wanted more from life...And that's why she worked hard, to eventually run the gym for herself.

To Be Human

Was it already raining outside? For Yohan it all felt quick, but maybe he hadn't paid attention before. It happened, he had taken a shower after getting up and was now fully dressed again, eating what he would call breakfast at this time. While Yohan's mind had not weakened, his motivation had diminished over time. No one to really call a 'friend', the only family he had died years ago, and strangers wanted nothing to do with him. It felt strange to think back on his life so far, but he guessed it was fate was just being cruel.

There was a time when he had fell into depression, shortly after his parents had died. Yohan wanted to do nothing more than eat his way and ignore the rest of the world. No matter how much he ate, though, his body never gained any fat. Yet if Yohan tried to exercise, he felt his body growing stronger and adapting to it. He could progress, but not regress? Nothing logical helped him understand, the rules of science seemed to break with him as the exception.

As Yohan pulled out an umbrella, he slapped on his jacket with not a care for how much he may get soaked and opened the door. The sound of the heavy fall broke the quiet train of thought within his mind, as he pulls his umbrella open and walks outside, closing the door behind him with an urge to just slam it shut. Who would care, though? Yohan lived by himself, his parents never really told him how he could still live there despite them being gone.

Walking through the raining town made Yohan remember his time as a child. He had little to no memory of his early childhood, the first clear memory was always of his parents in the house as if they had been living there for years. When his parents were taken from this life, Yohan only went to school because his parents wanted him to be educated. Yohan never felt he fit in with the rest of the kids there, even as a child, he quickly realized how mean children could really be.

It was around this time of thinking of these memories that a voice called out for him. "Hey, kid." Yohan's movement stopped as he looked around, finding a figure in a strange cloak standing off to the side. "Come here." The figure gestured for him to come over. Yohan points at himself for confirmation. "Yes, you, stop pointing and get over here already!" Yohan suddenly became nervous, walking over to the mysterious figure as the strange person didn't seem bothered at all by the rain.

"What?" Yohan asked, trying to refrain from calling the person a pervert and running off like a madman.

"I came here to tell you a fortune." The figure showed it's hands as the person moved them around a little in front of Yohan, as if trying to wow him.

"I don't do fortune's." Yohan's head shook a little from side to side, clearly not impressed.

"I think you'll like this one." The figure pulled back it's hands.

"No, I won't." As Yohan turned to leave, the figure suddenly held out a card towards him. Yohan stopped and looked over towards the card, cautiously taking it and looking it over. "... You want me to go to a gym?"

"Destiny is a strange river, always flowing with mystery and wonder."

"I don't believe in destiny or fate or any of that."

"Well, after today, I think you will appreciate it all the more." Yohan just stared at the figure for a little bit with a cautious look before looking at the card again.

"I don't know where it is."

"The directions are on the back. Shouldn't take you more then, say, five to ten minutes on foot?" Yohan looked around at the figure's words. Had he really just been wondering in thought for some time?

"Fine, whatever. I'll go, and then I'll leave. Just, don't follow me like a creep or anything." Yohan turned away from the figure and walked away, flipping the card around to follow the directions on the back. When Yohan was out of the figure's sight, it left the spot it had stood at and literally walks right through a man on his way to work, the man not even feeling strange as the figure seemed to have only been visible to Yohan.

"Now that I've gotten rid of that card, time to find the fool who stole my ring." Snapping it's fingers, the cloak suddenly disperses and reveals an elderly sort of man with blackened eyes and red pupil's. His cloak transforms into a robe with black and red all over it, and a sinister staff appearing in his right hand as the black orb on top of the staff revealed nothing but a swirling vortex. A dark aura surrounds the elderly man, four strange circles surround his form and, in a flash of light, he disappears.

By the time she had finished her food and got dressed the rain had started to slack. Her mother was about to head out the door for work. Her father was already at work and my mother didn't go during the summer break until later, because of her. Normally her mother would have been long gone before the sun was up and her father would wake her up earlier to get to ready and head to her neighbors where she would wait till it was time to leave for school.

"Are you okay with waiting for Miss Lillybottom?" Her mother asked in the same soft voice. Miss Lillybottom had called in and said she was going to be about half an hour late due to the storm. Taja nodded, giving her mother a reassuring smile. Shockingly the electricity was still on.

"I have the TV or the rest of my homework to do." She said. Her voice almost matched her mother's softness, but it was a little louder and more childlike. Her mother stared at her reluctantly. Her mother recalled earlier the look of fear in Taja's face when she closed the door to her room. Would it be all that great for her to leave now?

Taja just smiled up at her, she ran over to her daughter and kissed her forehead. "Okay okay okay, call me if you need anything or if she doesn't show up in an hour, okay?"

"Mhm." Was all Taja said. Her mother grabbed her umbrella and walked out, locking the door behind her. Taja walked to the big window and climbed on the cushion seat. Her mother backed the red car out the driveway and head down the road. She didn't move till she couldn't see the red anymore before getting down and turning on the TV for background noise while she worked on her summer homework. They had to read a book and do a small report on it before summer for English. This was her second book report this summer that she was doing. The night before school she would decide which one to turn in.

The sound of cartoons filled the house and Taja was deeply into her work when she heard the voice. It was subtle and genderless, "Joe's Corner Store." A flash of the store flashed across her mind. She knew the store, she passed by there everyday while going to school. The sense to go there was strong, but she knew she couldn't just leave. Taja just ignored the voice and continued to do her homework.

The next ten minutes passed when the voice came back. "Go...meet the her." A picture of a red hair girl flashed before her eyes. She was in the store behind the counter, looking bored.

"Why? Why would I go to a total stranger?" She thought back to the voice. The only reply was, "Go to Joe's. Meet the girl. Gym." And a flash of a gym appeared. She had no idea where that gym was, but it didn't matter she wasn't going to leave the house in the middle of a storm because some voice wanted her to. Plus, why was she hearing and seeing things? Taja gripped her pencil firmly. The voice never rose, but it kept repeating itself until she had no other choice but to go.

She wrote Miss Lillybottom and her mother a note about how she had to go to the store and locked the house with the emergency key her parents left her. With a yellow rain hat, jacket, and boots, she headed toward the store. It wasn't too far a walk, a few blocks and then a left down the street. If she would have gone straight she would end up at her mother's work. Her father's work was too far for her to walk to.

She arrived at the store and looked in through the window. She could see the girl with red hair looking bored, just like her vision. She just stood there in the wind and stared. What was she suppose to do now?

Sienna Cartlow

“Stupid rain…” Sienna mumbled to herself, placing the tiny step ladder down as she clambered up, examining the leak in the roof. Something for Joe to deal with, but she’d have to sort something out in the meantime. Striding back to the tearoom, she collected up a bucket, moving back to place it up on the shelf after clearing out the rack of instant cook noodles. She’d probably have to empty the bucket out a couple of times over the shift. Ugh, lame. Climbing back down and grabbing the step, she tossed it back behind the counter, grabbing another magazine from the rack as she moved behind it again. Briefly, she used the public microwave of the store, chucking in one of the drenched noodle cups for herself. It wasn’t like anyone could buy it now, so she may as well have it.

Not getting comfortable just yet as she waited for her impromptu snack, she turned to look out the storefront window. With weather like that, she might get the odd person wanting an umbrella or something, but for the most part it would probably be a quiet shift. Shutting her eyes as she yawned visibly, when she next opened them, she was made to blink as she noticed another pair of eyes looking back at her from out in the gloomy weather. A small girl, clearly a child was standing there in a bright yellow raincoat ensemble. Briefly Sienna looked either direction out the window, but saw no sign of the kid’s parents. Weird, how irresponsible. Ugh, modern day parents could be the worst. Didn’t they even care about their children? Well, it wasn’t like it was Sienna’s problem.

Ignoring the girl for a time, she went to go and collect her noodles before plopping back into her seat, snapping the plastic fork free from the cup as she got to make a start on it. As her gaze turned back to the window, Sienna’s expression turned to something dryer as she noticed the girl still out there, standing dumbly and ever staring at her – at least, until Sienna met her gaze. What, was she really that interesting to the brat? Slurping some more of her noodles, she set the cup down, uncrossing her legs as she leaned forward to better be at the height of the girl outside, meeting her eyes when she turned back to face the store. “What?” She spoke aloud, but the girl probably couldn’t hear her through the window. Maybe she’d be able to read her lips?

Grumbling a little at the lack of response, Sienna sighed and sat up, scratching her head. Moving over to the door, she opened it up, leaning out to speak with the girl, while simultaneously doing her best to stay out of the rain. “Hey, if you’re not gonna buy anything, move along kid. You’re freaking me out, so stop loitering.”

Rina dressed quickly and left her room, unable to shake the feeling that there was something she needed down at the corner store. Her uncle was seated at the kitchen table, but his greeting didn't seem to reach her. She was too absorbed in her own thoughts.
"I said 'good morning,'" her uncle repeated, watching her over the top of his newspaper.
"Good morning." While she did reply, Rina was clearly not there. She Searched through each of the cabinets, checking for anything that they were out of. Time would reveal that
"You shouldn't go out for a run today," He continued talking while Rine carried out her inventory, returning his eyes to the print in front of him. Rina always seemed like an odd duck to him, so he thought little of it. "I assume you;ve seen the forecast." As he said those words, the first drops of rain struck the window.
"Yes." There was nothing gone, and she knew from her evening routine that nothing was missing from the bathroom. Still, something deep inside her was compelling her to go to the store. And specifically the corner store near the apartment. She didn't go inside often, just if they needed something fast Or if she wanted a candy bar or something. Well, if they were just missing one thing, which they probably were if Rina couldn't find it, then it would make sense to go there.
"I need to go to the corner store," She said suddenly, grabbing a granola bar.
"Yeah? What's so important?" Her uncle folded the newspaper, raising his eyebrows.
"Lady products," Rina said. She hoped the personal nature of the items would keep her uncle from asking questions.
He was quiet for a while. "Be quick," was all he said. "Storms dangerous."
"Thank you," she said, smiling gratefully. She finished cleaning herself up, slipped on her raingear, picked an umbrella and headed out.

The rain came and went in intensity as she walked, but by the time she reached the store, it had eased a bit. The peculiar thing were the two people outside, a child and the store clerk with bright red hair leaning out of the doorway. She didn't want to butt in, and that probably would have been impossible with the clerk leaning out the door, so she hung back a bit and waited for them to finish talking. Judging from the woman's tone, she was in a bad mood. Rina didn't want to make it worse and bring the ire on herself. She turned and pretended to look at a window display next door, all while keeping an ear open for the end of the conversation And making sure the little girl didn't get into trouble.

Rain bored her.

Sighing, the young Wallace put her feet up on her desk and leaned back. Looked like it'd be a very slow day today. She turned up the radio in the gym, an upbeat song playing as usual. She bobbed her foot to the beat while she dug a protein bar out of her bag and scarfed it down. She opened up the file on her computer to see who she needed to call today, and to her surprise, it was blank. Shrugging, she moved on to advertising. Setting up a simple but eye-catching ad to put out on Social Media and other websites, she was content to just look at it for a while, since it'd taken a good few hours to do. Sending it off to do its job, she groaned and rubbed at her face, trying to wake herself up.

Coffee would do it. Luckily, there was a coffee machine behind her. Turning in her chair, she turned the sucker on and got it working properly, impressive for how old it was, and then brewed herself a pot of coffee to drink from throughout the day, with appropriate creamer of course. Pouring herself a big mug, she took a swig and sighed, looking out the window at the rain. It was depressing, she hated it. Hated being depressed. Being diagnosed with the stuff as a teenager in high school didn't help. Depression was her hell. To her, heaven was acceptance and fun, nothing more, didn't matter what it was. As long as she felt that she belonged and was happy, that was heaven. So in a way, she was in heaven, but with it raining, it was a little less heavenly than she'd like.

She sighed again and set to work making the advertisements that would run next week.

Something a Little Different

Meanwhile, as the rain poured over the simple town of Timberland, a group of black clothed figures gathered together in one room. Each of them had something that made them stand out from the rest, but the one who stood out the most and got the most attention from everyone was a sort of larger man who stood shorter than the rest. All was silent in the room, everyone relaxing and minding their own business until they all heard the television start blabbing about news.

"Hey boss, look." One of the men pointed out to the shorter male. "It's the job we just pulled! Didn't expect to see people talking about it so soon."

"That's bad, Jimmy." The short man replied. "It means people will be on our trail for some time."

"Whaaat? Ain't nobody catching us, boss!" The male gave a wide grin. "We too good for them. We've been doing this for years, how they going to find us now?"

"Always got to assume, that's my way of looking at life." The short man pulls his hat down slightly over his face. "Anyway, it means we got to stay low for a while. Got it, everyone?" Even though they couldn't see, his eyes still scanned the room and looked at each of them for a confirmation. When he got it, he leaned back in his chair to relax a little better.

"So how long until we get to meet these people we've been doing jobs for months now?" One of the younger men asked the boss.

"Very soon. As long as we keep up what we've been doing." The boss tips his hat slightly instead of just nodding his head.

"Didn't Ricky get a little reckless back there?" One of the women spoke up, her eyes darting at the card flipping young male. "It's the entire reason people even noticed."

"Hey, how was I suppose to know that car would just blow up then and there?" Ricky gave a confident smirk. "Not like anyone got hurt anyway, so why dwell on it? What's done is done, and we got what we wanted. Isn't that right, boss?"

"Yep." The boss pulled out a ring from his pocket, flipping it a few times before looking over at Ricky. "Hey, you the only one who hasn't got anything special yet. How much you willing to pay, Rickie?" The boss gave a wide smirk suddenly, Ricky could see his eyes alight with a passion behind them as he swallows nervously.

"You putting me on the spot like this?!" Ricky rose up to his feet without hesitation. "You KNOW I got the money, and if I refuse, you'll just shoot me right between the eyes!" This caused everyone but Ricky to erupt into a loud laughter. Ricky's expression grew cold as he glared from one person to the next, a hopeless feeling gripping tightly over him.

"So, you paying me money or in blood?" The boss smugly asked him.

"Fine, you dirty old man." Ricky walked over and pulled out his wallet, slapping some money down near the boss as he holds out his hand towards him. "Now give me the stupid ring."

"Oh, you think it's stupid, eh?" The boss catches the ring before tossing it right above Ricky's head. "Catch, loser."

"WHAT?! ARE YOU NUTS?!" Ricky shouted out, backing up with a panic in his movements as he wildly moves out his arms in various ways before finally catching the ring. However, Ricky ends up tripping over a box, and ends up crashing down into a pile, causing the rest to crash down over him. The others laughed harder than before, as Ricky rises up with boxes falling off of him as he does so.

"Well Ricky, I got to say. You wouldn't make a good hitman, but you certainly got what it takes to be a clown. Why don't you consider a change in career?" The boss mocked Ricky, who shook with fury as he could do nothing but glare back. "I think the makeup would compliment you so well." Everyone began to laugh again as Ricky stomped his way to the door.

"Yeah, I got to go home anyway and check up on some things. I'll call you guys when I'm done." Ricky didn't bother to even look back before he slammed the door shut. Quickly getting into his car, the roar of the engine seemed to almost wash over Ricky before he sped off into the heavy rain. As the radio turned on, loud screaming and some heavy metal began to burst out throughout the car as Ricky's grip on the wheel tightened to a scary point. "I. HATE. EVERYTHING!"

As Ricky became engulfed in his emotions that had been repressed all day, his car speeds past the Timberland Gym, where Yohan had just arrived at. Yohan's eyes widen as he sees the car speed by without a care for anyone else. "Whoa! And I thought the rain was trouble today." Letting out a sigh as he calmed himself down, he could only shake his head as he looked at the gym.

"Why am I even doing this? I don't do well around other people, let alone a gym of all places." Yohan took out the card from his pocket and looked it over, frowning slightly as he puts it back away before walking to the door. "Well, I mean, what could go wrong, huh?" His breathing increasing slightly, he reached out and grabbed a hold of the doorknob before closing his eyes and opening it, heading inside rather quickly before slowly closing the door.

As he pulls his umbrella back in and opened his eyes, he was rather surprised to find how immediately he didn't feel like running for his life. Though he stood frozen to the spot, he found it was rather different than how he originally thought it would be. That's when it hit him, all of a sudden, he realized he was screwed. He had no idea what to do next, and the more he tried to think of what to do, the more he worried he was just going to end up screwing everything somehow.

That's when he noticed there was actually someone here, well he figured someone must of been in here, but to suddenly just notice someone when you stand there awkwardly felt like the worst thing possible. He must of stood out right now, besides his natural blue hair. The only thing he could think to do was try to play this off, like what he saw someone do on television once! He quickly realized that might be a horrible idea, but before he knew what he was even going to do, his mind suddenly kicked into high gear and spoke for him!

"Hi, I don't know what I'm doing, that's my life in a nutshell!" The words of what he said dawned on him slowly, like a bad itch that nagged it's way into insanity. He must of looked real nervous right now, because his heart was racing with intensity from the raw fear that took hold over his mind and body. School hadn't even started and he was already going to screw something up. If there was a God out there, he must of been laughing at poor Yohan right now.

Back at the store Taja was still thinking of how to get this girl to the gym when another girl came up behind them. She glanced back, saw black hair girl looking uncomfortable and figured she needed to get in so she tried taking a deep breath and spoke. “Som-“ She was trying to talk when another voice spoke.

“Kill them. Kill them all.” This time the voice was much darker than the voice earlier. Her tiny body froze. She was freezing now as it seemed to get cold. Her mouth slacked into a frown as her head hung low. The image of the red head and black hair girl was red with blood, their body parts all over the place. She shook her head, fighting back the tears, and the want to just go home. But there was something important she had to do. It felt important to her.

Her head picked up as she thought about what she wanted to say, her hands trembling. “You are needed at the gym and I cannot leave until you do. You are safe at the gym? No…you will be. I know you don’t know me, but… you are needed.” She tried to look determined while tears stung her eyes. The look on the red head’s face looked angry, but it was replaced to the look that was in her last vision. Just say yes so I can go home. I want to go home! I want my momma! Why is this happening to me? She thought to herself. She was so scared, maybe is she ran away to her mother’s work down the street she would know what to do. But what if she thinks I am looney? What if she thinks I need professional help? I can’t…

Sienna Cartlow

Impatiently drumming her fingers along the doorframe as she watched the small child, for a moment, the two sat in silence. Briefly, another girl seemed to approach, drawing the little girl’s attention. But soon enough, she looked back to Sienna with a shake of her head, eyes clenched shut and… Was the kid crying? It was hard to tell with the rain, but it seemed like it. Great. A lost girl. Either that or she’d said something that upset her. Dumb kids… She’d never been much good with dealing with babies or anything, and twerps like this one were no exception.

“You are needed at the gym and I cannot leave until you do. You are safe at the gym? No…you will be. I know you don’t know me, but… you are needed.” The little girl finally spoke, and in all honesty, it wasn’t what Sienna was expecting. She’d anticipated some blubbering about losing mummy and daddy, but the directness of the conversation took her by complete surprise. In fact, she took a half-step back and briefly looked to and felt her own stomach. Just what was this brat trying to say?! “I do NOT need to go to the gym.” Sienna stated firmly, showing that she’d taken offence to the comment. She knew kids had a habit of being truthfully blunt about such things ‘cause they didn’t know any better, but she hadn’t put on that much weight, had she? Ignoring that detracting thought, she decided to be clear with the little girl. “Even if I wanted to go to the gym, I’m working right now.”

Her irritation showing, Sienna managed to set that aside as she noted that the level of distress of the small child had gone up significantly. Shit, shit, she hadn’t meant to upset the little twerp more. This was exactly why she wasn’t good around kids! Looking about the street again, the only other person in sight was some black haired chick. She seemed to be a little on edge, like she wanted to say something. Briefly, Sienna took in the eye colour and skin tone of the two. It wasn’t entirely implausible that the two were related. Even if they weren’t, maybe she could dump this problem off on this new girl? She looked like she might like kids.

“Hey, is this ‘Thing’ yours?” Sienna asked, pointing a finger down at the kid as she stood upright. Changing tact, she placed a hand over the top of the small child’s head, guiding her back towards the black-haired girl. “Either way, do me a favour and take her to the gym or something. Maybe her mum’s there. I’d go, but I’ve got work to do.” It was a lie. The part where she said she’d go at the very least. This whole business was none of her problem. Giving the tiny kid a light shove towards the new girl with the comment ‘Go make friends’, Sienna turned to head back into the store. Grabbing her noodle cup, she began twirling the fork for another helping… Then stopped. Grumbling to herself, she tossed the noodles into the bin. Stupid kid. She wasn’t fat!

As the two stared at each other, Rina became slightly more attentive. Something seemed off about the whole thing. When Taja tried to speak and subsequently looked ill, she turned to watch directly. She tucked her umbrella under her arm, searching through her bag for her cell phone. An ambulance seemed like it might be in order. She didn't immediately make the call, though. Taja's instructions gave her pause. It occurred to her that maybe the child was mentally ill. In that case,maybe it would be good for Rina herself to keep and eye on her. Sienna, after all, seemed like she had the tact and finesse of a wooden bat.

Her opinion of Sienna was further deepened when she pushed Taja onto her and referred to the girl as "it." Rina thought about protesting, or at least chastising the older girl, but she held her tongue. Sienna really didn't seem important. "Alright," was all she said to the redhead's retreating back.

Rina sighed inwardly. This was a fine pickle indeed. Uncle Forrest would be pissed at her for being out so long. She wasn't even sure how to get to the gym from here. "Well," she said, smiling gently at Taja. "You want to go to the gym? Is there someone we can tell that you're going? I can call them." She extended her umbrella so that it covered both of them. She watched Taja carefully, keeping an eye out for something like her earlier episode. Her hand tightened around her phone in her pocket.

A break in the silence, the bell atop the door rang and in entered a lost boy. Slowly, the Sapphire eyes of Miranda turned to gaze upon the boy from behind the desk she'd rested her feet upon, her mug of coffee steaming on the counter. Despite the cold weather out side, she was still lightly dressed, the tank top and tights combo worked well for her, allowing her to move freely, and plus, it looked good too.

She looked the kid up and down, raising an eyebrow as she took her feet of the desk and leaned forward, putting on a smile and opening her mouth to speak, welcoming him to the gym before he broke the silence again with his awkwardness. She blinked a few times; that caught her off guard.

She let out a half-startled breath and blinked once more. "Well, if I were you, kid, I'd figure out what you're doing soon. Any later and you'll be flippin' burgers for a living." She said. Then again who was she to give advice? She was only...five? years older than this kid if she had to guess.

"Ugh, teens....horny, hormonal creeps. He'll probably start hitting on me soon." she thought to herself while putting on that smile again. "Anyway, Welcome to Timberland Gym, how can I help you?" she leaned forward, an effort to be inviting and friendly, and a convincing one at that. She'd had practice. Idly she noticed the boy was soaked.

"If you're lookin' for something to dry yourself off, there's plenty of towels in the locker room, just took'em out of the dryer." She offered, gesturing broadly to the large opening in the wall across from her desk, with two signs that marked appropriately which gendered locker room was which. "Or...you can keep dripping on my welcome mat." She teased.

Welcome To My Life

As soon as she started to speak, no, not even, it was the moment she smiled at him that a strange look filled his eyes. No, it was not lust, not desire, but fear. Fear and confusion shivered throughout his body as he was spoken to with such... kindness? He suspiciously looked around suddenly, almost as if waiting to be brutally beaten into a pulp, but nothing came. His eyes turned back to her with hesitation now. Was this what they called a set up to a painful joke?

"How can I help you?" The words seemed to make his mind literally explode. Me? He thought to himself, almost as if the concept of being kind to him didn't exist in his reality. He had been so caught up before in fear that he almost forgot about the whole flipping burgers thing, which made him realize he had no idea of a plan for a so called future. That's when towels were mentioned, and his eyes became curious for a moment. That's when she made the tease, and his eyes widened to an almost comedic expression.

"Ah, uh, y-yeah." Was all that left his mouth before he quickly dashed off to where she told him to go. "T-thanks!" He quickly peeped out before running out of sight. When he got a hold of one of the towels she told him, it wouldn't be for a few minutes until she saw him again. What had he been doing? Well, first he dried himself off, as quick as he could before he noticed his umbrella was also wet. Instinct gripped him and forced him to also clean off the umbrella before heading back out slowly and with a now nervous expression on his face. When he walked back out into sight, he seemed to just be about finished brushing a hand through his hair to get it back to straight before he turned to look back over at her.

It was only now that he began to think about just how strange she was being to him. Was she just doing this because she had to, or was she being actually nice to him, despite his hair color and, well, existing. "Uh, well, see, I uh..." His hand reached into a pocket as once again fear seemed to overcome his eyes, he had to practically force himself not to start shaking on the spot. When his hand came out of his pocket, it was to reveal the card he had been given before, luckily it was the only thing on him to have remained dry.

"I got this card, and I was told to uh... Come here, if that's okay. I, uh, don't know how this whole thing works, but uh, I guess I better give this to you?" He said, holding out the card for her to take. "I've never really been to a gym before, so, uh... Maybe you could help me figure out what I'm suppose to do?" He figured it was better than just standing there awkwardly again, remaining cautious just in case she decided to start beating on him. Not like he could resist if he wanted to, he wasn't strong nor had the guts to fight someone back. It was scary to be in this situation without his parents helping him out, it made him realize just how much easier things were when you were just a little kid.

She felt a hand on her head and the shove on her back towards the black hair girl. She wasn't fast enough to say anything and watched the red headed girl walk back into the store. The black hair girl asked her if they should go to the gym or call someone, but Taja shook her head. "She has to come to the gym with me." She said as she watched a black car speed turn opposite of them. Honestly she paid no mind to it and walked into the store.

Her boots squeaked on the floor as she walked to the front of the counter, "Look Fat-So, I wasn't talking about your weight before! I just need you to come to the gym with me." She said, her eyes narrowing as she got into a fighting stance, the same one her martial arts teacher taught her. "It would be a shame if a ten year old kicked your butt because you were too fat and slow to move." She didn't mean any of it and the angry face was all made up. She was just super desperate to get her to the gym.

Honestly, she didn't want to fight anyone and just thought if she got her to the gym the voices and images would go away. She took a nearby honey-bun and threw it at her. "Maybe you can eat that! CRY BABY!" She shouted.

Sienna Cartlow

Sienna had only managed to grab her seat when the jingle of the bell above the door caught her attention, the teen clerk pivoting to see the little runt from before making her way inside. Briefly, Sienna eyed her, before shrugging it off and moving to take her seat, picking up her magazine and kicking her legs back onto the counter as she positioned herself into a perfectly comfortable lean. It was clear that she’d had practice spacing that. Honestly, it was just some weird adolescent kid. She wasn’t paid to babysit, and what was the worst that could happen letting the kid wander around?

Soon after that thought, the little brat made her way to the counter, but it was a bit too tall for her to really see over it very well. Sienna briefly watched the girl make her way slightly to the side so that she could fully occupy her view through the gap she used to get behind the counter. Rolling her eyes as she pulled up her magazine in an attempt to ignore the little annoyance, Sienna kept her face obscured. Was this some sort of tantrum? Well, she’d just have to ignore her until she went away. Easy done so long as the kid didn’t try and steal anything., and no doubt the broad that Sienna had dumped the kid on would come and grab her soon.

"Look Fat-So, I wasn't talking about your weight before! I just need you to come to the gym with me." Again, that voice rang out, and with just enough hostility to catch Sienna off guard as she lowered her magazine to look at the twerp. The mouth on this brat was… Ugh. Who taught her that?! Her delinquent parents that let her roam the street pestering the unfortunate souls that spoke with the midget?! Irritated, Sienna ground her teeth and bit her tongue, refusing to fall for the bait as she quickly pulled her magazine back in front of her. Nope. Not dignifying that crap with a response. She wasn’t fat, no matter what this kid said. Or Tate. Or the scales at home.

"It would be a shame if a ten year old kicked your butt because you were too fat and slow to move." Once more, the challenging taunt came from below Sienna, this time causing her to much more slowly move her magazine to the side, snapping it shut in one hand and tucking it under her arm. Her glare glowered and said it all. The runt was trying really hard to push her buttons, and she was loathe to admit it was working. The pre-teen pest was bobbing about slightly in something akin to a defensive pose. Clearly the pipsqueak was a watcher of kung-fu flicks or something, with a ridiculous imagination to boot. Sienna had no intention of joining in this stupid roleplay or entertaining the child with some sort of game, but she did feel the need to shut down these antics here and now.

“The only danger I’m in is child abuse if you keep making jabs at my figure, runt. Run home kid, find someone who cares to play with.” Not sitting up from her seat, the scowl on Sienna’s face aimed to intimidate, as she was through with the ‘niceties’ for the kid’s sake. No need to be polite if this tiny terror was gonna go around calling her a fat fatty fatso every sentence. “Give it another 10 years you cupcake eating jelly doughnut, we’ll see who’s fat then. With thunder thighs like that you’ll be booking two seats at the cinema just to fit your bratty fat ass.” Smirking at her internally contained insults, Sienna once again unfolded her magazine, returning to the dog ear. Then…

*Whap* She was hardly prepared for the sudden incoming projectile that slapped against her face. Less from the force and more from how much it startled her, Sienna flailed slightly in her seat. It was enough to upset the delicate balance as the fold-out seat slipped from under her, sending the clerk ass-up as her back hit the ground painfully fast, groaning in discomfort as she landed awkwardly. The sudden and violent slam to the ground rattled the nearby shelves, sending a few of the nick-nacks on the shelf behind her tumbling to the floor, lightly falling against her and making a small mess behind the counter. It would’ve been comical, but Sienna wasn’t laughing. Her hand twitched as she slammed it down on the counter, pulling herself upright as she shot the tiny-child a death glare.

"Maybe you can eat that! CRY BABY!" Came the final taunt from that irritating little hoodlum, and it was enough. Something in Sienna snapped as she got to her feet, the kid having managed to get past the flimsy barriers she’d put in place to restrain her anger. Grabbing the fold out chair, she shook it back into shape before chucking it to the ground with a loud and offputting clatter, using far more force than was necessary as she turned to face the one who’d caused her so much trouble. With a look of complete hostility, she moved out from behind the counter, taking some menacing steps towards the child, looking down at her as she spoke in a deadly serious tone. “Kid, you’ve got about three seconds to get out of my store, before I throw you out.”

Kicking the store door open, it rattled on its hinges as it struck the wall, Sienna holding it wide for the girl to leave. When she didn’t take the initiative to step out on her own, Sienna decided that she’d had enough. Striding up with purpose, she went to roughly grab the girl by the wrist and manhandle her from the store. The only one who’d be eating something around here was this punk, and it’d be nothing but the gutter outside if she didn’t start booking it soon.

Her eyebrows shifted upon seeing the card, blinking softly she leaned back. "Never seen a card like that in my life Kid." she said flatly, taking a sip of her coffee. "As for what you're going to do, that depends on what you want to do. You wanna learn to fight? Training room's behind that wall." she gestured to the mirrored wall diagonally to the left of the entrance. "Wanna lift weights, pick a rack, there's weights for days. Pull ups, same thing. Run around? Tracks up stairs. Get laid? I can't help you. Too young." She said flat out, her face stone cold.

She had a hell of a poker face.

She took another sip of her coffee and leaned forward, staring down at Yohan with a predatory gaze. "So what're you doing here?" She asked again.

The whole mess escalated faster than Rina expected. Despite her small gestures to hush Taja, blatant glares at Sienna, Taja continued and before she expected it and was able to cross the distance to intervene, the child threw a bun at Sienna. The change in Sienna's manner was palpable.
"Hey," Rina snapped, stepping in between Sienna and Taja and preparing to stop a physical fight. "She's a little kid and she's upset. You're old enough to know better." She had to bite back the word "brat," not wanting to exacerbate the situation, even if she believed that Sienna deserved it.
"And you." She glanced at Taja behind her, trying to channel her uncle when he was angry. "You're behavior is unacceptable. You owe her an apology." Her glare returned to Sienna, her face all ice. "And then we leave." She put a hand lightly on Taja's back, but the gesture wasn't kind. It was the sort a furious mother would make if she didn't want to make a scene in public. She had a feeling that she would have to leave before making amends, and she was full ready to steer Taja away or even throw a punch if there was a danger to anyone.

Taja winched at the pain, but didn't resist. She was just about to give up when the nice voice came back. "Behind you." It said. She looked back, and there was a miracle. A set of keys, hoping for the store, was hanging on a hook behind the counter where the girl fell. She looked back at the red head just in time for the black hair girl to step in. She took that time to sneak away and up to the keys, climbing on the fallen chair, grabbing the keys, putting them into her pocket, and back behind the black hair girl before she looked back.

"I am deeply sorry. I was just trying to get you to the gym at all cost, not for your weight. Bye!" She said and took off down the road the black car from earlier had come from. She wanted to giggle and gag at the same time. She wasn't one to steal, unless it was a base, but it felt good to be sneaky. The rain had begun to pour, along with the thunder. Taja didn't want to go any further, but the voice insisted. It showed her visions of where to go.

Depressing Reality

Once again, the fear quickly overtook him. This time it was for certain, that sudden shift in expression and tone made him frozen to the spot. It was without hesitation that suddenly, he ended up blurring out the first thing that came to mind. "P-please, I don't want to get beaten up anymore." What he just said didn't even seem to register to his mind, for he was doing everything in his power to hold himself back from breaking down into a crybaby.

Her expression didn't change despite his cowardice. If anything it became twice as stern, but she didn't move. "Look at you, a sniveling fool." She growled, her eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. "Now answer my question: What are you here for?"

". . .I want to get strong." Is all that came out.

A roll of the eyes and another annoyed growl, feral and canine in nature, came from her throat. "I already told you, weights are over there. Don't do anything stupid and don't get blood on my mats. It's hard to get out." She leaned back in her chair again and looked away from him, sighing.

". . .Sorry." He seemed to barely manage to get out, despite her hostile nature towards him. He turns to look away, though he did stop to look over his shoulder slightly at her. "Um. I'm Yohan, by the way. Nice to meet ya." He didn't want to make it sound like it was a question, she already seemed to be angry at him as it was. He wasn't surprised, though. He would try to fight back, but he lost the will a long time ago.

No reply came from her as she turned to her phone, effectively ignoring the cowardly boy for now. She put her feet up on the desk again and drank from her coffee mug while reading away on her phone. When he didn't leave, she shot another glance at him, and huffed authoritatively before looking back to her phone.

It was clear to him that she didn't like him, but he didn't blame her. He couldn't really defend himself at all, it was just the simple truth: He was weak. School was already going to be a mess, no doubt everyone would avoid him as much as possible. He had been beaten and broken time after time and he couldn't even resist at this point. As his mind tried to think back on all the times someone had beaten on him, it became harder to remember as every punch now seemed to leave less of a feeling of pain and more of a numbing.

He couldn't remember the last time he tried to care for himself, it honestly didn't matter. He was a freak, that's what everyone called him, and so it seemed that's what he was doomed to be. His body never changed anyway, no matter what he did to it. It was as if time was screwing with him and making fun of him. What more could he say or do, it was crippling at this point. Well, whatever the case, he decided to try his luck and go fight someone. Not like it mattered who he fought or why. If they wanted to let out some aggression on him, that was fine. He wouldn't feel a thing in the end anyway.

Sienna Cartlow

Sienna had been ready to drag the vandal brat out kicking and screaming, but despite managing to get a hold on the girl and pulling her towards the door, she was interrupted. “Hey,” Another arm moved in, forcefully taking her own and separating her grip on the tiny twerp’s wrist. Sienna relented as she pulled her arm back roughly and threw off the hold her other guest had, glaring at the black-haired chick who had stopped her. Twisting her mouth into an annoyed pout to go with her frown, she took a step back, huffing and folding her arms. "She's a little kid and she's upset. You're old enough to know better." The ebony-haired girl continued her lecturing, and Sienna suppressed a biting comment at the girl. She absolutely despised the tone she was using with her. Like she was some big shot or something… Just who did this chick think she was?! Still, despite Sienna’s personal dislike of this woman, she knew that what she said wasn’t exactly untrue. Didn’t stop her feeling bitter and not regretting the choices she’d made though.

Turning to look away from the two as Sienna kept her arms folded, she sighed heavily. It helped not to be staring at their infuriating mugs, but she was still pretty worked up. Still, from the sounds of things, the ‘mediator’ was going to be taking the midget menace out of here, and wanted her to apologise to her. Fat chance of that, the kid was just a little troglodyte. “UGGgghhh…” Sienna groaned, letting off some steam as she exhaled heavily, turning back to the two. She was still scowling, but she at least had her emotions in control enough to think a bit more clearly and not strangle the little twerp. She didn’t need some apology; she just wanted them out of her store.

"I am deeply sorry. I was just trying to get you to the gym at all cost, not for your weight. Bye!" And then, just like that, the little Troll bothering her was gone. Sienna felt relieved, but sceptical. Slowly, she dropped her arms from their folded position as she watched the brat run off, raising a brow. It was… Easy. Too easy. Maybe the brat had her fun and decided to move on, but somehow, Sienna doubted it. Briefly, she cocked her head towards the girl that had taken over as the midget’s caretaker, gesturing that she better follow her, watching her go. Once she was content that both were out of sight and long gone, she felt herself relax a bit, before grumbling as she looked about the mess the last scuffle had caused. Great, now she had to tidy up… This was one of the WORST shifts she’d had in a long time.

Moving back behind the counter, she looked to the various items on the floor and began gathering them up, bundling them into her arms and standing up straight as she began to place them back onto the shelves. Still, she wasn’t super tall, so she needed something to stand on for the top shelf. As she looked though, she noticed something. Her chair wasn’t where she’d tossed it in her rage earlier. No, it was sitting up right, just up against the back wall. What was it doing there? Slowly, her gaze trailed to see what it was lined up with. Stopping still, she dropped the remainder of the goods she’d collected up to the floor. That little…

“ARRRRRRRAAARRGGGHHH! SHE IS SO DEAD!” Sienna declared with venom in her voice, scrambling her hair as she grabbed her head. Swearing and storming about the store as she paced, Sienna was doing her best to keep some kind of cool, but the whole thing was a shit storm. She NEEDED those keys to lock up, as well as access the more valuable products like the friggin’ cigarettes. She couldn’t call Joe and tell him because A. She might get the Mrs. That she hated and B. Even if she did convince him that some psychotic kleptomaniac ten year old stole the keys, what exactly did that say about her? Fricken… FRACK! She needed this job!

Making her decision, Sienna began rummaging around the store, grabbing her phone out. She hated having to call him, but she didn’t have a choice. Thankfully, he picked up after the third ring. “Yo… Wassup baby?” Came the somewhat sleepy male voice. Sienna wasn’t in the mood for any of Tate’s crap. “Listen, I need you to take over for me at Joe’s. Some punk just took the keys, and I gotta go catch them. Just, get here as soon as you can!” Sienna demanded, moving to grab her spare hoodie she kept in the store for winter, fumbling about. It was hard to focus though with Tate making things difficult. “Whoah, whoah. I’m like, not even wearing pants right now. And you know I’m on after you. What’s in it for me babe? Can you make it worth it?” Sienna suppressed her initial response of disgust and anger since she needed her slimeball-ex right now.

“Oh. I’ll uh… Get you some chocolate after work.” Sienna stated, the false sweetness in her voice showing how forced it was. Tate’s smirk could be felt through the silence of the phone call. “Nah babe… I was thinkin’ maybe somethin’ a little more… Personal?” Sienna gave a silent scream as she found a new target to add to the list of people she wanted to strangle. Her temper had risen enough she was beyond caring. “Listen you fuckboy, can you just do this crap for me and we’ll sort out about where we stick your tiny limp dick later, okay?” Sienna was livid as she stormed up to the door, turning the sign around to mark the place as closed. Hopefully that would buy Tate time to get here and take over. “Cold Sienna. But whatever, you owe me babe, and you know I’ll be claimin’ my reward tomorrow, a’ight?” Sienna simply hung up at that point. She was done dealing with him. The only reward he’d be getting would be a kick in the balls at some point. Asshole.

Moving out into the rain, Sienna finally began her chase after the albino-rat that had snatched the keys. She was cold, wet and miserable, since she hadn’t packed anything for this kind of weather because she wasn’t supposed to leave the fricken’ store, but here she was, running in the rain, hunched over and hugging her body, getting drenched and working her butt off for her shitty ass job. She’d barely ran a block or two before she started coughing up a lung, neither fit, nor healthy between her lack of exercise and excessive smoking and other vices. There was no way she’d catch them at all with her pace, especially with the head start they’d gotten. If only she knew where that damn kid was headed, then she could- “Gym.” Sienna said it as soon as the thought crossed her mind, a malevolent grin crossing her face as she managed to stop her wheezing. Oh, that was it. She was being played to go to the Gym, like some elaborate prank. Which was stupid, but loathe as she was to play into the brat’s hands, she couldn’t let her escape. It meant she knew exactly where the tiny dead girl walking had gone, which was better than being outwitted and then losing her job thanks to a diaper wearing sticky fingers. The brat’s days were numbered.

Stomping through the rain, Sienna was making her way to the nearest gym she knew, the one just past the store that Rio went to. It wasn’t a good day, but maybe after disciplining a delinquent she’d be feeling much more satisfied. And if that other girl got in the way again, Sienna had no intention of being the bigger individual this time. Someone was getting hurt when she got to the gym, that was for certain.

It took Rina a moment longer to react than what would have been helpful. Without acknowledging Sienna, she headed out the door. Rain poured down, soaking her hair in a matter of seconds and trickling down the collar of her coat. At least there weren't many people to get in her way.
"Wait up," she called to Taja. This kid was fast. At least she knew her destination. Frustrated, she pulled her phone from her purse and called her uncle. He didn't pick up, so Rina left a brief message telling him that she would be home later than expected, but that she was alright.

By the time they reached the gym, Rina had a vicious stitch in her side and she had just about lost sight of Taja. She flung open the door, bent almost double, and her hair plastered to her flushed face. Much to her chagrin, she saw multiple people already there. The desk girl, and that blue-haired boy. Rina didn't know him, but she'd seen him before,or at least she was pretty sure. With hair like that, she wasn't sure she could confuse him with many other people. She straightened herself, trying to bring her heart rate and breathing back to a normal pace. She nodded once to them in greeting, but was still far more intent on having a little chat with her quarry.

Taja had arrived in the gym first and stared at the tri-tail girl and boy who looked like he didn't belong here. "Here." Taja said as she tippy-toed and slide the keys to her. The run was nothing to her, her breathing was slight, but not like the black hair girl who chased after her. Running was a thing she did a lot with her sports and then her martial training helped. The black smelled funny, but it looked like an old gym and like the vision she had, minus the people. Her eyes shifted back to the boy who didn't fit. Maybe the two were friends, but from what she could tell it was a weird pairing. The girl looked strong compared to the twig boy in the corner.

Taja smiled up at the tri-tailed girl and then at black hair girl. "So sorry to intrude and for making you chase me... which I don't know why you came." She gave a little sigh, "it was supposed to be the red hair. Don't tell me she didn't realize I stole the keys." She cried out. All that work for nothing or maybe she will realize when she would need them and then come. At this point she was done and could go home. "Now... I should really get home. My babysitter should be there by now." Her voice was soft and it was like a mumble.

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Miss Lillybottom arrived at the empty house. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back in a high bun. She was a heavyish set woman that slightly wobbled when walked. And wobbled she did up the stairs to the note on the door.




She gave the note a stern look before unlocking the door with her set of keys and walked in. She placed her craft bag by the couch and got to work on lunch. She figured she would be back soon.