Tierra's Story

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Aileas was in town that day. Or more specifically, she was at the cemetery. In front of one tombstone. She had been coming more frequently after the death of the Mayor. It was to visit his grave and to add more protective spells around the town. She knows it will take a toll on her soon but this was necessary. Even the trees were grieving -she could tell. And a sad forest is more susceptible to dark magic.

She knew the Mayor's daughter was here. Just recently. If the dozen white roses are a tell-tale sign of her visit. She sighed and went to sit in front of the grave, unmindful of the dirt collecting at her thighs. As if this was a routine she had been doing all her life, she waved a hand in front of the grave and lilies, blue roses, and daffodils had suddenly sprung from the earth; curling itself onto the slab of stone, the blue roses -her favorite as blue roses are only made with an earth fairy's magic- creating an intricate design on the stone, giving it an elegant and timeless look. Just like the Mayor. For he will live forever in the memory of the McKenzie bloodline.

"Everyone misses you, sir. It still comes as a shock whenever ah try to visit yer home and ask for ye-your time only to remember you're now permanently residing here. To talk about mundane things, like the old times." She swallowed thickly, as hot tears started gushing from her eyes without her knowing. Her accent was getting the best of her and she suddenly had no control of it. Gulping a lungful of air, she let it all out in one fast whoosh and let her accent show.

"Ah' havnae yet ha' the pleasure o' mee'ing the new Mayor, ye ken. And Ahm a bi' hesitant to. Ah guess, Ah'll leave it ta faither ta talk to them. Ah need the rest. The poor trees are still grievin' for ye, sir."She sniffled and wiped the last drop of tear and leaned her head back, her knees stretching out to rest near the curled flowers. She hadn't had a breakdown for almost three days. The passing of the Mayor was hard on her. To her family as well. Serving as guardians, they were required to be in good terms with the Mayor to fulfill their roles to the best of their abilities. But sometimes. Close relationships can get the best of someone and can lead to the most saddest of days.

It was almost dark. Time for her to return and once again, repeat the ritual for a protective circle.

'Jus' a few more minutes..' She thought as her sitting posture relaxed, still hiccuping a bit as she tried to calm her nerves and concentrated on the ground's energy, slowly letting her hands get the earth's natural magic. It was one of the ways she found that successfully gather her emotions altogether after a breakdown.

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Ula could feel the healing energy working into her system, and she managed to meet Rosa's eyes as she smiled, "I'm doing better, thank you. But... try not to wear yourself out too much, kay? Your magic works wonders but we're no good without you. And speaking of which, how are you, Eric, and Arturo? Oh, and your sister and uncle?" She smiled again before turning away to start helping with the unpacking. Her thoughts wandered as she did this, though her ears were still open for replies and questions. 'Utensils.... Oo-ten-see-els, yule tent seals, you ten seals... Wierd words.' That's when she heard Mendzailla's name, and her main thoughts bounced to the topic of her sprite friend. But before she continued focusing on her scattered mind, she looked up and greeted Eric with a wave.

'I'll have to vsit Mendzailla later too. I should visit everyone, bring things they like or I think they might like. See if I can make their week a little better. No one should be upset for too long, it wouldn't be right. This place is usually so sunny and fun with our festivals hosted by... how many people? Eighteen? Thirty?' The young mermaid shrugged to herself, before snapping from her thoughts with a dazed blinking, pulled out by a question from Rosa.

Ula smiled and shrugged again, to Rosalynn this time, "Not really. I'll help with what I'm asked to do, dance a lot, participate in a few things, try not to freak out." She gave a small laugh, sounding almost sheepish as she knew what could happen if she saw some people doing certain things. She disliked when this happened, but in those moments didn't know what to do. "Try to stay out of trouble, of course, and not hurt too many people. What about your plans? Anything special?"

Then with a smile and a nod of greeting towards Arturo, Ula continued helping and sunk back into her thoughts. 'Special? Special's also a funny word. Wierd. What's weird? Art, people, etc., the word etcetera, age. Thinking of age, we have lots of different ages here, don't we?' She knew most of the "Mystic Grovian's" ages, or had learned them at some point wether through blunt questioning or piecing it together, and her wanderng mind began counting up the ages that came off the top of her head, 'Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, fourty-three, fourty-eight, fifty-two, ninety-seven, and... a hundred and twen-' Her concentration was suddenly saved again, but this time by somethin... odd. An unfamiliar voice had awaken her. It was a man, obviously, maybe middle-aged.

Finally, Ula turned to look behind her and found Rosalynn speaking with a man in a minivan, it was driven by a woman from what she could see but she couldn't tell if there was anyone else. She jogged, almost skipping, until she was next to Rosalynn. Though... it would probably be more considered behind her even as she leaned to wave to the newcomers. For the moment, all of her previous sorrows had been forgotten at the appearance of new faces. Ula even waved to the other windows, just in case there was someone else, "Hi! We're sorry for the inconvenience of it being closed. But the hotel is cozy and lots of people here cook really good food. I hope you enjoy your stay!" It would considered near impossible for others, but this was Ula Morgan, and she lost balance without the slightest of provokation. A gasp escaped her and she grabbed onto Rosa's arm for just a moment, squeaking out a quick "Sorry!" and trying to gently brush the sparkling salt from her tears off of Rosa's arm.

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Ula tried to brush the remaining salt from her cheeks, but it just made it stay. To be honest she didn't mind it much, all it really did was make it look like she had sparkly powder on her cheeks. As she watched the window roll up, she couldn't help but almost laugh at a sudden thought. "You know, I've read a few horror books and seen a few movies. The ones with little villages towns being really nice to random strangers and inviting them to stay often... end with one or none of the visitors leaving." She shrugged, looking to the people that were near her, "I'm... gonna go see if I can hep with setting up anything. Seeya, Rosa." She smiled and gave an odd little gesture, almost like a shrug, but with a smile and start into a happy walk bck towardste tables. Before she got too far she turned to wave farewell to the newcomers, thogh she only just greeted them. [color=teal]"Enjoy!"

She then contnued on her way to the tables and... her smile faltered smewhat. Her sorrow had momentarily disappeared at the thouht of new people, but returnd wen she turned towards the event and remembered the meaning of it. Her step sobered and she avoided eye contact with those she pased. The hurt was still frsh inher,but Rosalynn's healing energy did work wonders. After this day was over, she was going to mosey on her way back home, maybe relax in a tree and end up falling asleep... maybe check the waters for trash or anything needing to be cleaned or purified.

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Lucy squealed, reaching up and planting a kiss on Glenn's cheek. "Right away, boss!" she said, leaping from his coat and onto the ground. In mid air, her body shivered and shook off her human form. As her paws hit the grass, she looked up at Glenn. With a bark, she bounced up in the air and broke into a run. The wind rippled against her fur as she loped along the cemetery. Then, almost as suddenly, she stopped. Her ears flicked forward and her whiskers rustled. She snuffled against the grass, looking for something unfamiliar and strange. Nothing yet but a vague sound from the distance caught her ear.

She turned to Glenn, eyes dark and focused. With a loud, long whine, she called to him. Without waiting she began to bound towards the town square. Lucy slipped around the tombstones and leapt over patches of crab grass and dead flowers. As she drew closer, the smells of food and people enveloped her nose. Her whiskers flicked as she tried to decipher what was who. If she learned anything it was that people attracted more people and eventually a human would show up, stinking of mortality and mundanity.

Lucy slowed to a cautious stalk, avoiding feet and crying mourners. She slipped beneath a table, catching glimpses of conversation. Everyone was talking about the mayor or the food or what needed to be put on the tables. Nothing of interest. She crept beneath, unseen, until she caught a scent she had never come across before. She recognized Arturo and Rosa. Arturo, especially, frightened her. He smelled too wolfish for her comfort. Rosa's scent, however, was unmistakable. Her work with potions gave her a constant herbal smell, earthy and fresh.

She bolted towards the shops to get a closer look. Most took no notice of her but the new smell was unpredictable. There could be danger hiding within. Lucy stayed close to the walls of the shops, stalking slowly towards Arturo and Rosa. She saw them talking to others, hidden within a car. Her ears flicked. It had to humans but were they the right humans? Glenn would want to be sure. She couldn't disappoint him. What she needed were clothes. Humans were notoriously obsessed with clothes. She was just lucky she was near home.

Lucy bolted back towards the townhouse. She had moved in with her grandmother to perfect her craft. The older her grandmother got, the more she needed protection from man-made walls. A nasty scar from a fight with another animal had left her with a limp. But the townhouse was usually empty. It was more of a facade than a home. As she went inside, she shivered back to human form and headed to her home. It was a mess and a strange mockery of human life. Dishes were stacked clean in the bathtub. A couch sat in the kitchen, tucked against the fridge. The living room had no furniture apart from countless pillows and a makeshift pillow fort. Lucy started sniffing through her clothes. Nothing quite matched each other but it mattered little to her. She slipped into a galaxy leggings, a neon tulle skirt and an oversized t-shirt, tied in a small knot at the end. She slipped on some sneakers and headed back to the town square.

Not one for subtly, she approached the car much the same way a bull would charge towards a matador's cape. She pressed her face against the back window and spotted a boy her own age, or at least appeared that way. Age was relative in this town. In the front seat were two people, a man and a woman. They smelled related. Always a little unsure of how to deal with humans, she started to yell, "Are you staying here?" as if hearing were a magic ability.