"Well this sucks."
Eleaya glanced around at the world surrounding her. She could feel the sand beneath her feet and could smell the ocean that slapped at her dress. No way could a hallucination trick three of her five senses. The hem of her dress clung to her like a second skin. A frilly, pink second skin.
"Oh man, mom and Aunt Tessa are gonna kill me," she mumbled, lifting her dress away from the water as she waded to the beach, flopping onto the sand.
With some work, she managed to peel off the pink flats that were too small for her feet. She tossed them onto the sand beside her, drawing her knees to her chest and doing her best to brush the wet sand off of her legs. Her mind returned to only a few minutes ago when she'd been standing in her bathroom, trying to determine what to do with her blue hair. Out of nowhere, her mirror had begun to glow and the whole bathroom fogged up. Next thing she knew she was floating in the ocean.
"How the hell does something like this happen?" she yelled into the sky, not caring who answered.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cried, hurrying across the hot sand.
Once again, his lord had abandoned him, deeming the small bush demons none of his concern, walking away while Jaken fought for his life. And now Jaken found himself braving the hot beach, following his lord's footsteps.
"My lord!" he cried before tripping over a stick.
He flailed as he fell, landing in a pile of frilly cloth.
"What the hell?" asked a girl's voice.
Jaken's eyes went up, meeting a pair of green eyes, which peered down at him, shadowed only by strands of dark blue hair that was almost black. The hair clung to the cream white skin of the girl that it belonged to. Jaken gulped, staring at her as she stared at him. After a brief moment, she blinked.
"Who are you?" Jaken asked.
The girl blinked again, gulping a bit. Her mouth dropped open.
"AHHH!" she screamed, leaping to her feet.
With surprising speed for a human, she ran, barefoot, for the forest.
Eleaya glanced over her shoulder at the frog. It had spoken! It had opened its mouth and words had come out! WORDS!
"What the hell was that thing?" she asked.
Her lack of focus on where she was going caused her to run into something hard which sent her crashing to the ground. Dazed, she looked up from her newfound position on the ground only to find a tall woman with long, luscious silver hair standing over her, gold eyes narrowed so that they seemed to pierce through Eleaya disdainfully. Despite that, she looked fairly human.
"Hiya!" Eleaya greeted.
She stood, fighting against the frilly monster of a dress she was wearing.
"You are so not going to believe this but there's a talking frog following me," Eleaya said.
"Lord Sesshomaru!"
The familiar voice of the frog rang in her ears. On instinct, Eleaya spun, leg flying. Her foot connected solidly with the frog, knocking him back.
"Hah!" she yelled.
The frog just twitched, letting out a groan.
"M…my lord," he croaked.
"Jaken. Get up."
The voice, too deep for a woman, came from the woman behind Eleaya. The realization made Eleaya turn to face the woman with wide eyes. She reached out, groping the broad chest.
'No boobs?'
"HOLY SHIT! YOU'RE A GUY!" Eleaya cried, backtracking a few steps, arms raised in defense.
Thos gold eyes glared at her.
"What kind of sick paradox world is this?!" Eleaya cried.
It was at that moment something smacked into the back of her knees, knocking her down. It was the frog. Eleaya glowered at him.
"Hit me again and I'll eat your legs for dinner," she hissed as she got up.
"Jaken."
Jaken looked at his lord.
"Yes, M'lord?" he asked.
"Leave the girl," ordered Sesshomaru.
He turned to go.
"Wait!" Eleaya cried.
Sesshomaru paused, back still to her.
"What about me?" she asked.
Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder.
"What about you?"
"Well, you can't leave me out here! It's, like, the middle of nowhere!" Eleaya yelled, grasping at straws.
Sesshomaru was already walking away. Eleaya glared at his back, curling her fists in anger. Oh, she needed a plan. And then she thought of one. Eleaya rested her hand on her hip, trying to pull off a sexy, nonchalant pose despite the fashion-retarded dress she wore.
"Well fine, you self centered, head up the ass rat of a boy," she said.
Jaken froze, glancing back at her in absolute horror, speechless by her words.
"I don't need you anyway. Back home, I'm infamous for my fighting skills a-"
Sesshomaru's hand wrapped around her throat and he lifted her straight off the ground. His gold eyes were slitted dangerously.
"H-hey buddy. Watch the claws," Eleaya said, kicking her feet a bit.
Maybe she could kick him in his little people. Sesshomaru's hand closed tighter around her throat but Eleaya refused to break eye contact.
"Not. Another. Word," he growled.
Then he dropped her, spinning on his heel and walking briskly away. Eleaya watched him as he went, a little shocked that she was still alive. Jaken nudged her with his staff, surprisingly gently.
"Well, go on," he ordered.
Eleaya rose slowly, a little more timidly then she normally would. Jaken nodded approvingly at her before waddling after Sesshomaru. On shaking legs, Eleaya followed.
"Where are we?" Eleaya inquired an hour later.
She trailed behind Jaken. Man her feet ached.
"Tired, oh infamous one?" Sesshomaru asked in a voice void of emotion.
Surprisingly, it was a lot worse than sarcasm.
"Fuck you," Eleaya hissed.
Jaken sighed.
"Can't you both get along?" he asked, annoyed at having to keep them separate from each other to avoid a fight.
Sesshomaru and Eleaya rewarded him with two punches in the face. At the same time.
"Goodbye cruel world!" Jaken cried as he fell down the hill they were on.
Eleaya and Sesshomaru watched him go, faces neutral. After a moment, Eleaya glanced at Sesshomaru.
"Hm, I feel much better now," she admitted.
Sesshomaru turned away and kept walking.
"Shouldn't one of us go get him?" Eleaya called.
He ignored her. Eleaya sighed, glancing down at Jaken's twitching body.
"You owe me!" Eleaya called down at Jaken.
Choosing to follow Jaken's path down instead of taking the long way, Eleaya slid down the hill, landing on Jaken.
"Sorry man," she said, climbing off him so she could pick him up.
He was lighter than she expected.
"Thank you," Jaken said, voice weak.
"Don't mention it," Eleaya said. "Ever."
"You could have waited!" Eleaya scolded.
She'd had to the long way around after retrieving Jaken and his staff. Not only that but Sesshomaru had just abandoned them, getting way ahead of them. Eleaya had to jog just to catch up. As soon as she did, she switched to walking, dragging Jaken behind her, his staff resting on her shoulder.
"Where are we going anyway?" she asked.
Sesshomaru ignored her question. Eleaya smiled.
"Ah, I see now. Mindless wandering?" she guessed.
Sesshomaru still did not answer.
"I'm talking to you!" Eleaya yelled, slamming Jaken's staff on the ground.
The old man's jaw dropped open and flames flew at Sesshomaru. In a blur of white, Sesshomaru leapt into the trees above, landing behind Eleaya. She turned, smiling nervously. Sesshomaru , face holding annoyance, snatched the staff from her before walking on. Eleaya rubbed the back of her head.
"I don't suppose a sorry will make up for this?" she asked.
Once again, Sesshomaru did not answer. Eleaya sighed.
"I thought as much."
Okay, she could live with no friends so long as there were people she could annoy. Or talk to and get a response. As it stood, Eleaya had gone another whole hour without anyone talking to her. Two hours. And she was suffering from response withdrawals. Which meant she had a lot of time to form conversations with herself. And she was coming up with a whole lot of crazy ideas.
"I have an idea," Eleaya announced.
Jaken let out a ragged sigh, glancing at her warily. Sesshomaru had gone ahead, leaving him with Eleaya and her crazy ideas.
"This is all one crazy ass dream. I probably went to the wedding and then drank WAY too much at the reception! It all makes sense now!" she declared, standing triumphantly on a nearby huge boulder. "All I have to do is pinch myself!"
She proceeded to do so. Of course, nothing changed. Eleaya blinked, looking around and realizing her theory was wrong.
"Not a dream, huh?" Jaken asked.
Eleaya dropped to her knees, eyes widened in horror.
"WHAT KIND OF SICK PARADOX WORLD IS THIS!? HOW DARE SUCH A PLACE GO AGAINST OUR UNIVERSE ORDER!" Eleaya cried.
She sat on the rock, moping.
"Feel better?" Jaken inquired.
Eleaya glared at him.
"Shut up."
And that was when the rock moved.
"Holy shit!" Eleaya cried, flailing her arms in order to stay on the rock.
Jaken scrambled to his feet, dodging out of the way as a leg, yes a leg, sprouted from the rock. In shock, Jaken watched as the more leg sprouted from the rock and then a head uncurled from where it was tucked under the body. In surprise, Jaken realized Eleaya was sitting on a rock golem.
"Get off that, girl!" Jaken ordered, dodging one of the huge feet.
"But it's sooo fun," Eleaya objected, clinging to the golem.
"OFF!" Jaken yelled.
Eleaya's lips twisted into a pout.
"Fine," she relented, sliding off.
The golem spun, its beady black eyes catching sight of Eleaya as soon as her feet touched the ground. She gulped.
"Hiya?" she greeted nervously.
She tilted her head.
'No boobs.'
"I forgot to tell M'lord. These pests are just coming out of hibernation," Jaken said.
"Man, screw Sesshomaru. I'm more worried about us," Eleaya declared as the golem crouched a bit.
She tensed a bit. With a shake of its head, the golem charged, ready to plow them down.
"Dodge!" Eleaya ordered, cart wheeling out of the way.
Jaken readied his staff, ignoring her warning.
"Face the wrath of the Staff of Two Heads!"
The fire ripped across the shrinking space between Jaken and the golem, engulfing said charging beast. The golem escaped the flames, its stone body unscathed by the fire.
"Knew it wouldn't work," Eleaya bragged, running away.
"Wait up!" Jaken wailed, running after Eleaya.
"B-baka!" Eleaya cried, running for a nearby tree.
She could hear Jaken crying behind her.
"Stop crying and get over here!" she ordered, leaping into the tree.
Once she was secure, she leaned out, offering her hand to Jaken.
"Come on, you green little toad!" Eleaya ordered.
Jaken caught her hand and she tugged him up as the golem rammed into the tree, shaking the trunk. Eleaya and Jaken held onto it, digging their nails into the bark.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken sobbed.
"Oh shut up!" a voice yelled.
Eleaya and Jaken watched in surprise as a pair of women leapt from the trees. The one with short black hair flipped once, landing on a higher branch. She threw her hands in the air and vines emerged from the ground, wrapping around the golem. It let out a roar as it was dragged downwards as it fought against the vines.
"Ceres. That'll only hold him for so long!" she yelled up at the girl with long black hair.
Ceres landed on Eleaya's branch, crouching behind Jaken. Her red kimono swirled around her.
"Holy shit!" Eleaya cried. "You have fox ears!"
Ceres grinned, her mismatching green and blue eyes flashing.
"Indeed I do. I have a tail as well," she bragged.
Ceres's partner landed behind Ceres, standing tall in her black kimono.
"We really should get out of here," she suggested.
"Understood Maho," Ceres said.
In one move, she scooped up Eleaya and Jaken, leaping out of the tree. She landed on the ground and started running with Maho in tow.
"Where are you taking us?" Jaken asked.
"To Tenshi," Maho answered, catching up to Ceres.
She studied Jaken for a moment before looking at Ceres.
"You in the mood for frog legs too?" Ceres inquired.
Maho flashed her an evil grin,
"You know I'm always up for anything aquatic."
"Wow. Fancy," Eleaya remarked, looking around.
Ceres and Maho had run straight into a large hall of some really awesome temple that had just appeared out of nowhere. Eleaya's remark was met with an eye roll from Maho and Jaken.
"Calm down, its just a front hall," Maho muttered.
"A front hall Aya probably spent all day cleaning," Ceres remarked as Maho slipped past her.
"Tenshi! We're home! " Maho yelled.
Her announcement was met with silence. Ceres and Maho shared a look.
"You don't think?" Ceres said.
"Think what?" asked the dark skinned woman as she stepped from the shadows.
Ceres smirked.
"You mutt. You were waiting for us," she accused.
"Mutt?" Eleaya repeated.
She glanced around, noticing the tail swishing around Maho's legs.
"Dude, they all have tails," she whispered to Jaken.
"Very good," Jaken said with sarcasm.
Tenshi's golden eyes focused on Eleaya.
"Is that her?" she asked, adjusting the shawl she wore that closely resembled Sesshomaru's fluff.
Her head tilted to the side, the bangs of her silver hair parting, revealing a violet crescent moon on her forehead.
"Like Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken gasped.
Tenshi smiled but kept her attention on Eleaya.
"You," she said. "Are an odd one."
"Just tell her the truth," Maho ordered. "She doesn't belong here."
"We don't belong here," Ceres remarked.
She glanced at Tenshi briefly before turning her attention to Eleaya.
"You have to go home. This era is too dangerous," she said.
"Not for long," Tenshi announced.
Ceres glanced at her, eyes wary.
"I'm going on the road, aren't I?" she asked.
Tenshi nodded. Ceres let out a sigh but said nothing more.
"Now then," Tenshi said, reaching around her neck, lifting off the necklace she wore.
It had a mirror as its charm and there were two blue beads on either side of the mirror's golden frame. Tenshi held it out to Eleaya.
"This is your way home. Ceres will make sure you don't lose it."
Eleaya took it.
"Wait a minute!" Jaken squawked. "M'lord will never agree to this!"
Tenshi turned an evil eye on Jaken.
"Which is why you're not going to tell him," she declared.
"Yes ma'am," Jaken whimpered.
Satisfied, Tenshi turned to Ceres as Maho took a place at her side.
"We will meet again," she declared, resting a hand on Ceres's shoulder. "Until then, be careful."
Ceres nodded. With that said and done, the other necklace Tenshi wore, one made of all beads, began to glow. Eleaya covered her eyes to block them from the assault of the light and when she thought it was safe to uncover them, she found they were standing in the forest once more.
"Whoa," she gasped.
"Impressive indeed," Ceres remarked.
Eleaya turned to find the girl standing nearby, watching her.
"Shall we go?" she asked.
"Sure!" Eleaya agreed.
She put Tenshi's necklace on and jogged over to Ceres and they started walking.
"Lord Sesshomaru is not gonna like this," Jaken grumbled hurrying after both girls.
"Are we there yet?" Eleaya asked.
Her feet were, once again, hurting. Jaken glared at her as if it was her fault her feet hurt. She hadn't picked out the pink flats. In fact, she'd only planned to wear them in her mother's presence in order to avoid a lecture. They were too small after all. Ceres was sniffing the air, her fox tail swishing around her ankles.
"Our main goal is to get out of this forest. Those golems could be anywhere, blending as they do with the forest," she said.
She glanced back at Eleaya.
"But we can take a quick break."
"I like you much better than mean, old Sesshomaru!" Eleaya decided, flopping onto a rock.
Jaken's jaw hung open as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the perfect words.
"Try to keep your voice down. Golems are incredibly sensitive to-"
Eleaya cut her off with a loud scream as the rock she was sitting on reared up.
"Noise," Ceres finished as she and Jaken stared up at the golem.
"Jump!" Jaken yelled.
Eleaya obeyed without question, landing on her feet.
"Now run!" Ceres ordered.
Eleaya watched in amazement as Ceres shifted into a full fox that darted at her, pushing against her with its head.
"I said run."
Eleaya felt a slight nip at her heel as she took off running. She could see Jaken in the corner of her eye and every so often, she saw Ceres darting along ahead of her, little fox body swift and agile.
"Wait up!" she yelled.
Her lungs were burning. Man, despite her morning dashes to school in the morning and then the runs back home, she was slow compared to Ceres. All of a sudden, Ceres skidded to a halt, all four of her paws digging into the ground. Eleaya also tried to stop but she was going to fast and skidded right into Ceres. They went flying over the cliff, heading for the sea below. Eleaya clung to Ceres as they fell, hand reaching the squeeze the mirror of the necklace that slapped against her chest.
'I just want to be home,' she mentally declared.
A strong breeze wrapped around her and Eleaya landed on something hard that felt like linoleum. Slowly, she opened her eyes, looking around and marveling at the upstairs bathroom of her house. .
"I'm….home," she whispered, a little confused.
"You used the mirror."
She looked at her lap, discovering Ceres whom she happened to be squeezing the life out of. She loosened her grip a bit.
"I didn't even mean to. I just wanted to not die," Eleaya admitted.
Ceres grinned at her.
"Isn't that what everyone wants?" she asked.
Eleaya returned her grin.
"I suppose so."
A knock on the bathroom door startled them both.
"Eleaya, are you almost done. We have to go soon," came her mother's voice from the other side.
Eleaya looked down at her dress, noting the rips and tears as well as the wet hem and the splotches of mud. Or what she hoped was mud.
"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec!" she yelled back.
She turned to Ceres.
"What am I gonna do?" she asked in a panicked whisper.
Ceres smiled, leaping onto her shoulder.
"Now this, I can help you with," she declared, closing her eyes.
Eleaya felt a shiver run up then down her spine.
"There," Ceres said.
"What'd you do?"
"I cast an illusion," Ceres answered. "You see the mess you are because you know the true state of yourself but to anyone who looks at you, you're still clean. And that monster of a dress is in one piece."
"An illusion?" Eleaya repeated.
She grasped the concept but still found the idea of it to be a little amazing. Ceres chuckled.
"An illusion," she confirmed. "And don't worry. If you're who Tenshi thinks you are, you'll be dealing with them enough to see through them instantly."