Author's Note: WOOOO! First story! Okay, I can't mess this up! Well, hi! This is the first time I've really showed anyone my writing (except for my besties, of course, heh) SO, I hope this is good enough for Fanfiction! Okay, let's get this show on the road! Let the Gloomy-ness begin... NOW!

It was a cold morning. The sky was full of clouds, and not one ray of sunlight was shining through. This was the first thing Elinor saw when she opened her eyes.

She crawled out from underneath the bush she had slept under, then stretched her arms out, and yawned. She didn't realise how gloomy this place was... she had only seen it when it was dark, the night before. It was funny, really; during the night there were no clouds whatsoever. They must have ten minute changes in the whether... like Tasmania.

'Damn,' thought Elinor, 'Mustn't think about your old home... Australia. You left it. They thought you were a freak... a monster.'

The girl shook her head. Well, actually, she wasn't really a girl. Not by human standards, anyway.

You see, Elinor, in fact, wasn't human. She didn't really know what she was herself, to be honest. She thought she was some sort of human-reptile-bat-bull-hybrid, thing (Okay fine, so she was PART human). She had sleek black horns on her head, dark, leathery wings on her back, at least 13 feet across, scaly, taloned legs, a long barbed tail, pointy ears and blue cat like eyes. She kind of looked like something out of X-Men.

But, unfortunately for her, she was the only thing in the world of her kind, as far as she knew.

Her human features were her long, dark brown hair, pale skin, and long fingernails which really seemed more like talons (Hey! Another lizard feature!). She still had the torso, head and arms of a human, but obviously that wasn't enough for her. Or anyone else, it seemed.

Elinor took a good look around. Nothing was alive. The trees were black, skinny, and crouched over with no leaves. All the grass was grey, and seemed more like tangled pieces of string. There weren't many flowers, but the few she did manage to spot were dying. Of course. There was also a well nearby, covered in vines that were – you guessed it – dead.

"How lovely," Elinor mumbled to herself (do not fear the sarcasm).

She sniffed the air. It was different now. Before, it smelled moist, yet decaying. Like nothing felt like it actually had any energy in it...

But now, there was a new smell. This was nicer... like finding a lily pad in a swamp. Was it... no, it couldn't be... but...

Elinor lowered herself onto all fours, and crept toward the scent. It was coming from about 15 metres east from the well.

Now, being on the run for as long as she could remember, Elinor was prone to exact locations and keeping low. Way low. BUT, (there's always a BUT) she had one weakness; she had an extremely sweet tooth...which was way she was following this particular scent.

It was cake.

Elinor peeked over a bush (or what was left of it) to what she assumed was the source. What she saw surprised her; it was a whole party it was packed to the rafters (rhetorically, of course) with all kinds of sweets; cordial, punch, fairy cake, cupcakes, biscuits... She spotted a cake in the middle of the table. She would have sprung out to perhaps steal some food, but there was something missing amongst the food... but then, right next to the punch, she saw—

"CHOCOLATE!" Elinor cried out.

Completely forgetting the 'laying low' plan, Elinor jumped out of her hiding place and galloped over to the wondrous delight. She munched down on it gleefully, savouring every bite. THIS was what life was all about! Chocolate! There was just nothing that Elinor could compare to it; chocolate was really the best—

"Um... I know that my party food is good, but I didn't know it was that good..."

Elinor's blood turned ice cold. She froze in place. After a few milliseconds, the shock disappeared and was replaced with terror. She'd been spotted.

Elinor slowly turned her head to her left. She saw a girl. She looked about seven, eight, somewhere round there. She had short, messy, bright red hair and skin so pale you'd swear it was white. Her eyes were big and innocent. At least, for now they looked innocent.

Elinor locked herself in a stare, looking straight at the girl. It was like she was just daring her to move, or scream, or run away. Come on, do it. Just like EVERYONE ELSE has.

But she didn't move. She just looked.

And looked.

And looked.

'Must be in shock,' Elinor thought, 'No other explanation.'

Elinor decided to take a chance and slowly stepped backwards. The girl had no reaction.

Wait... What's wrong with her face? Was she—No, she couldn't be... was she... smiling? At Elinor?

"You don't have to be afraid," the red-head said, "Believe it or not, I'm used to seeing things like you."

It was now Elinor's turn to stare at the girl. She knew other people like her?

...

Like Hell, she did.

"What game are you playing at?" Elinor snarled, "You working for someone? Trying to do me in? Come on, what's your angle?"

The girl's smile faded a bit, but was replaced with sincerity.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," she said, "I'm just trying to show you that you can fit in here."

"Oh really?" Elinor shot back sarcastically, "I don't see you with freaking horns out of your head! Or talons! Heck, I have WINGS ON MY BACK! I look like a dragon sent from Hell!"

The girl took a step backwards, raising her hands.

"I'm sorry..." she said.

"Eh?" said Elinor.

"I mean, I'm sorry about making you angry... You just seemed like a nice person when you jumped out of the bushes and started eating the chocolate..." the girl put her hands behind her back and looked down at the ground.

'UGH,' thought Elinor, 'Great, now she's guilt tripping me.'

There was a pause.

"Look," said Elinor, "I'm not used to actually... talking to people. I'm kinda on the run from the entire world."

The girl looked up at this. Then there was more silence, and Elinor cleared her throat.

"Um... I'm finished talking."

"Oh! Right..." said the girl, slightly flustered, "Well, um... I'm Ruby, by the way."

'Ruby, HAH!' thought Elinor, 'Cause her hair's red! Get it? Cause... oh, never mind.' She wasn't really sure who she was having this mental conversation with.

"Hey," said Ruby, "if you're looking for a place to stay for a while, we have a lot of spare beds at our house."

"Our house?" Elinor repeated.

"Mm-hm," Ruby replied, "There's five of us... Well, six if you count Frank and Len."

"And Len?" Elinor echoed, "Hey... Frank and Len, Frank-Len... Are they twins, or something?"

Ruby giggled.

"Sort of," she answered.

Elinor pondered for a moment, weighing her odds.

On one hand this girl, Ruby, hadn't run away, and said that she knew more people like her. That was good, she supposed.

On the other, this could all be a trap and Ruby had been warned of what Elinor was and therefore led to the non-freaking-out-ness. And she could also be lying about the whole 'other people' thing...

Hmph.

MWAHAHAAA! First chapter and there's ALREADY a cliffhanger! Please don't kill me! *ducks pillow attack*

I really hope that I didn't make Elinor seem too much like Gaz/Mandy, but if I did, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I don't want the main character to be a grumpy boots all the time! ;)

Anyway, R&R! I accept all kinds of criticism, even flames (not that I actually pay attention to them, heh)!

OH YEAH! The disclaimer! EVERYBODY RUN!

Ruby Gloom DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!

But Elinor does! :D