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 Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 10:07 pm
Our story begins the night Kefira, the first of the Pure Hearts, finds herself in quite a predicament....
Breath tore itself raggedly from the tired girl's throat, the chill not seeming to bother her as she ran, barefoot, through the thick trees. Brambles grabbed at her feet and clothes, cutting into her skin and tearing off pieces of her garments.
Reaching a clearing, she fell to her knees, trying desperately to force the cold air back into her weary lungs. Their was something odd about her light hair, and as she turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, tears streamed down her cheeks. The full moon shone down on the girl, and as the person following her came into view, the tips of her hair had changed to feathers.
Her mouth opened to say something, but it was too late. In a matter of minutes there was no longer a girl, but a great gryphon. The woman that had followed her into the woods realized too late that she should have heeded Kefira's warnings to stay away from her.
In the morning, the girl returned to her home, tears streaming down her eyes as she locked herself in her room, even if there was no one there to disturb her. Several days later the woman was reported missing.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:43 pm
Mornings like all other mornings started out the same for Mai. Waking up to the annoying buzzing sound of her alarm clock, slapping it three times before getting up, brush her teeth, take a quick shower and head down for breakfast with her parents. Walking down the flight of stairs she tied her long raven black hair into a high pony tail. The scent of freashly made pancakes caught her nose, making her stomach growl.
"Morning Mom, Dad!" she greeted cheerfully with a smile, taking her seat at the breakfast table. Her mother a woman of forty-five years old smiled at her daughter before placing a plate of pancakes infront of her. Taking her knife and fork Mai began to cut up her food before taking a bite out of the made from scratch breakfast.
She saw her father was reading the business section of the newspaper, something he always did before reading the front page. Placing her eating utencils to the side--Mai was already done with her meal--she reached over to grap the front page. There in big bold capital letters read: WOMAN MISSING FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
This at once caught Mai's interest, looking down to read the article she read who the journalist was. A smile came to her face, her sister--one of many--June finally got the front page of the Living Press newspaper. Bringing her mind back to the article she began to read it. A small frown replaced her smile after she was done reading. The polica can't find any evidence that lead to her disappearence...other than the fact she was heading to the outskirts? Thats...rather strange...why would a woman like her go to the outskirts? Mai thought to herself, folding the newspaper on the table.
An idea began to form in her head, why not check the scene out? It would kill time and maybe luck would be on her side and she would discover something the police perhaps over looked. Standing up from her seat and pushing in her chair she gave a thank you to her mother for the wonderful meal. Mai went over to the old woman and placed a kiss on her cheek as she gave her the dishes, then went to her father and kissed his cheek too before proceeding to the doorway.
"Mom, Dad I'm going to head out for a while! I have my cell with me so no worries, bye!" she yelled, grabbing her coat. Checking the pockets of her coat, her cell phone was in the left breast pocket and left her home heading to the outskirts of the city.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:58 pm
Those that knew Kefira, which happened to be everyone that lived on the outskirts of Lucida, began to worry about the petite sixteen-year-old orphan. Living alone was dangerous after all, and with no one to watch her, her mental health was constantly fluctuating. Though she was still kind to everyone, she seemed to be avoiding contact lately.
As Kefira made her way through the Lucida Market, always held on the outskirts, she checked to make sure she had a good stock of fruits, vegetables, and assorted breads. Recently she couldn't stand eating meats. Her poor nerves were still fried from when the police came to question her, being the last one the benefactross had come to see before she dissappeared. Despite this, she was not a subject. Something to do with the mess she happened to be when they got there, sobbing her eyes out.
The truth was, she knew what happened to Minato-san, but she couldn't tell anyone. Over and over in her head she kept telling herself that it wasn't her fault, it was the beast that did it, and over and over a voice deep inside her head whispered 'you are the beast.'
Returning home, the young girl locked the door, leaning against it and then letting a fresh trail of tears stream down her face.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:17 am
Heading to the outskirts of the city, Mai found herself taking several modes of transportation. Frist she went on foot to the bus stop, after several stops she had to walk on foot before taking a cab and finally when the cab was near the outskirts she got out, paid and took the rest of the way by foot. Mai didn't want to look too suspicious by appearing in the outskirts--a place she had never been before--in a taxi...although that wasn't such a smarter idea, considering the next bus stop was a little bit far away. No matter, Mai enjoyed walks after all she was on an athletic scholarship.
Making her way into the outskirts her first stop was the marketplace. Surely she could gather some information there. Putting on a calm face she walked about, taking in the sights of the outskirts and ignoring the looks of confusion by the people there. They all wondered who she was but didn't question her about it.
After talking to a few vendors and customers, most people began to assume she was with the police. Asking questions about the disappearence of the benefactross and anyone who had last came in contact with her. Mai began to get sort of a Nancy Drew vide, one name continued to come up during her little interviews with the vendors and customers, Kefira. Gaining the where abouts of the girl was simple, within a few minutes she was on her way to her house.
Her eyes saw the house in the distance, she was getting closer. A feeling of anticipation began to grow in the girl, she was actually getting somewhere with this little wannabe Nancy Draw investigation. Just as she was nearing the house itself, her shadow streched out, heading towards the old oak tree standing just a few feet away. Just as it neared the base of the tree, Mai's 'shadow' detached itself and latched onto the tree before swallowing it up in complete darkness and then disappearing altogether.
A feeling of dread overcame the young seventeen year old. She quickly looked back to see if anyone had seen the strange occurance but no one was there. Quickly her eyes darted back to the missing tree. Why did that happen?! Of all places for that to happen...hopefully no one will notice the oak tree is gone.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:32 am
"Augh!" Inside the house, the toaster, which happened to be unplugged from the wall, had suddenly set fire. The young orphan dashed about trying to find a towel, sliding and falling because she couldn't slow down. "Gowch." Once she had the towel firmly in her hand, she beat the fire out with it.
When she was sure there was no more threat of the fire she rubbed her hands over her face. "ARGH!" Why did all these things keep happening? Five things had managed to catch fire in the past week and a half, which was more than the usual one or two a week, and then their was.... She just didn't want to think about it. But what was with the spike in energy?
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:38 am
Clearing her thorat had become a habbit for Mai, she did it often when she wanted to calm herself. Sometimes it helped, other times it didn't but still she continued to do it. The other thing that calmed her down was running about but she couldn't do that now, she had to interview this Kefira girl.
Walking up to the house she curled her hand into a fist and lightly knocked on the door. After she knocked her hand slide inside the pocket of her coat. While the other hand tucked away a loose strand of her raven black hair behind a pierced ear. Hopefully nothing else will disappear....I don't want to make up some story to cover it up...again.. She thought to herself, remembering the incident where her mother's car keys suddenly disappeared after her mother just placed them down on the kitchen counter.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:53 am
Hair going a bit wild, the petite girl spun around and looked at the door. Why now of all times? Running to the door, and almost slipping on the tile again, the girl tried to peak out. Unfortunately, she was a bit too short and so, sighing, pulled the door open a bit so she could look out. "Who's there?" Her voice was gentle, but also a bit husky like she hadn't been sleeping much.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:01 am
Waiting for a response, Mai's eyes roamed about from the now missing tree to the condition of the house. Hopefully I'm not coming at a bussy time. She thought to herself just as the door was opening. Silently she made a prayer that nothing else would disappear as a voice asked who was out.
"Um, I'm Mai and I was wondering if a Ms. Kefira was home? If not then I can come later and I'm not with the police." She felt she needed the last part about the police incase the person behind the door thought she was and become scared and shut the door in her face. I really hope she's home, if not then...well I at least got exposed to a different side of the city...thats a good thing right?
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:09 am
Large indigo eyes blinked before the door opened a bit wider, a quizzical brow quirked up. Mai? Well, if she wasn't with the police, maybe it was alright. But, why did she want to talk to her? It was obviously not someone from around the outskirts, because everyone knew her and would never call her Ms. Kefira.
"I'm Kefira. Um, come in, have a seat."
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:29 pm
A small brushed her lips seeing the girl before her was indeed Kefira. At least I'm at the right house, just hope she doesn't that tree missing till after I'm gone... She thought to herself, stepping inside the house.
"Nice to meet you. I just want to ask a question or two if thats alright..." She asked politely both of her hands still in her coat pockets.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:43 pm
Allete stood outside the dormitory she was supposed to live in, and a feeling of doom washed over her. Burned. The dormitory was burned right to the ground, with only a few blackened beams poking out every whichway. Tears began to well up when an elderly gentleman tapped her on the back.
"Excuse me, but do you happen to be Allete Grigio?"
Allete turned, surprised that someone in her new town already knew her name. "Yes, I am," curiosity cut through her sense of doom.
"I'm Armand Shackleford, we spoke on the phone last week about your scholarship. I'm afraid we were unable to reach you yesterday to tell you that the dorms had caught fire, but do not worry. Other accomodations have been made for your living situation. A young woman in town has graciously agreed to accepting you as a roommate. Here is the address and directions." He handed her a slip of paper. At the top it simply said "Kefira" along with an address and pretty simple looking directions.
Allete felt unsure. This seemed like a bad omen to her. She was tempted to tell this man thanks but no thanks and hightail it back to Paris. But they had all gone to so much trouble for her, and this was a full ride scholarship. She was sure no one could be so lucky as her, and for them to have found another home for her so quickly. . . surely a roommate wouldn't be so bad, maybe they'd even become best friends. Allete had never had a best friend before.
"Thank you for going to so much trouble for me. I am very greatful."
"It is us who should be thanking you. Our track team has not won a single meet in 10 years." Armand smiled. "Do not worry, your new roommate should be very hospitible. She's a very sweet girl. Off you go."
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:40 pm
Tucking a strand of light blue hair behind a delicate ear, her eyes flashed back up to look at the new comer. A thin eyebrow slid up, though it looked a bit odd on her for some reason. Perhaps it was that she didn't do it very often. "About what?" she asked, sitting down in a large armchair and pulling her legs up into it.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:30 pm
"About...." Mai began to trail off, just how did she want to word this correctly? 'Oh I want to talk about the disappearence of that lady. I'm getting a Nancy Drew vibe here and wanted to speak with you.' OKay that wouldn't work so well...damn it! I can't lie...okay think of something think-- Mai was suddenly caught off from her thoughts as her eyes trailed down to see her shadow was extending again.
Her violet eyes widened ever so slightly and knew she had to think up of something and fast. "Oh is that a baby bird I see over there?" She said pointing to the nearby window and usuring Kefira to it. Her shadow soon detaching itself from her body, fully engulfing an old stool in darkness before completely disappearing all together. Why did this happen again?!!?
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:58 pm
Unfortunately for Mai, Kefira noticed the second she turned back around and the stool was gone. "What...?" Looking up in confusion, she wondered what on earth this woman wanted and what was happening. Slipping out of the chair, she walked over to where the stool had been. "Where'd it go?" Before the words had fully left her mouth, the towel she had used only a few minutes ago to put out her toaster, itself caught fire. Jumping backwards, and managing to trip so that she fell on her butt, she started moaning something like 'why me' again and then raced into the kitchen, grabbing the dishwashing hose and turning the water on full blast, spraying down the towel and the top half of a wall. For once, she was extremely glad she had tile... then again, she'd probably end up slipping and knocking herself up side the head.
Turning to look at Mai, her brow furrowed slightly. "Who ARE you?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 4:28 pm
Mai began to get nervous, her little white lie didn't work. And I still have yet to explain myself....oh Kami-sama please don't let anythign else happen! She mentally prayed before seeing Kefira fall on her butt. She winced, thinking that had to hurt. BUt seeing the towel on fire her light violet eyes went wide. How the heck did that get on fire?!
Mai wanted to ask if there was anything she could do like for example run out to go flag down someone who could help, but Kefira got the fire out. A sigh of relief came to her lips, maybe the little fire hazard would erase the mystery of where the stool went. At the question of just who she was, a nervous smile grew on Mai's face.
"I'm Mai and you okay?" she asked, trying to keep all questions about her away.
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