Halla was at her wits end. Her two friends, Kena and Emidra, were determined to drive her insane with their revenge talks. Now, it's not that Halla hates revenge, especially since the person they were planning revenge on hurt Emidra, it's just that they came to the park to talk about their favorite anime's. But the longer they talked about revenge and more intricate it became, the more tempted she was to join them in the plans and be able to solidify his demise. No one hurts her sister's in all but blood.
After about five minutes of listening to them talk about itching powder, fleas, and leeches, Halla decided it was time to step in. "Kena! Emidra! Did we not come here to talk about our favorite anime's? Yes, Mason will pay for hurting Emidra, but I don't have too much longer until I'll have to head home," she then looked at the dark clouds just peaking over the horizon. "Also, there looks to be a storm moving in, and it doesn't look like one we want to get caught in. We might have another half an hour until we should head in."
"Alright, alright. We'll put the plans away for now," Kena sighed putting the papers her and Emidra were writing on. "So what do you want to talk about? Want to talk about our anime related dreams, or what?"
"How about we work on our cosplay skit. We need to get that finished soon if we want to use it for the school talent show," Emidra chimed in.
"Sure, that's an even better idea than what I was thinking. Let's get to is." Halla pulled out the papers with the skit's rough draft from Kena's bag on the table.
"Hey Halla, speaking of home, how has it been? You haven't talked about it at all since you told us about finding out from your dad about being adopted," Kena asked, remembering the earlier conversation.
"Oh, eh. It's been okay. I mean, nothing's really changed with my dad and step-mom. My brother on the other hand, he's the one who has made it hard to forget about it. He constantly uses it as an excuse to no listen to me when my parents are at work. He's also been a lot meaner to me, picking on my height and just overall being a jerk. But I can't tell my dad about it, or else he would think I'm trying to guilt trip them into taking my side. I've tried it once and my brother denied it and they took his side, not wanting to make him feel like I'm getting special attention. I'm getting tired of him. I can't wait until I turn 18 in a couple of weeks and I can move in with you two. Speaking of which, your dad is still okay with it. I don't want to start packing only to find out last minute he changed his mind."
"Of course. He's said it multiple times, he thinks of you as his third daughter, because since Katlynn refuses to respect him as a father he doesn't consider her a daughter," Kena replied. "Now, let's get to work."
"Alright, now let's see, ah we were at the waterfall with our mates getting ready for a hunt," Halla started, leaning over the pages.
"Yeah, and Inuyasha was causing problems by arguing with you, right?" Kena asked remembering where they were at.
"Right. Now, how about this, I've had enough of his attitude and tell him to sit, but I use a delayed force behind it giving him a chance to listen. But instead of listening he keeps up so he slams to the ground. Then you, Emidra, smack Kena upside the head." Halla said while writing.
"Hey! Why do I get hit? What did I do?" Kena exclaimed.
"That's going in it, and I will reply with something along the lines of 'You could have stopped Inuyasha yourself, but instead you just watched him digging his own grave,'" Emidra replied.
"Perfect, now let me just get this written down…" Halla was scribbling it down quickly when a breeze came through the pavilion they were under and blew one of the pages off of the table. "Oh no! That's the page with all of the important events in the skit!"
"I got it!" Emidra said, jumping up to get the page. She caught it right as it was about to get out from under the pavilion where the wind would have picked it up higher than they could have caught it. But after she caught it, instead of coming back to the table, she just stood there looking up. "Um guys, you might want to see this."
"What's up Emi…. OH SHIISTA! WHEN DID THAT SHOW UP?" The storm that, not even five minutes ago was just barely peaking over the horizon, was now a pitch black wall towering over the sky. As Halla, Kena, and Emidra stared lightning flashed and the wind started to pick up. It wasn't until the first clash of thunder that Halla jumped into motion. "We need to leave now. I'll come with you two, partially to make sure you get home safe and partially because your place will be safer than my trailer house."
"Right. Let's go," Kena replied, packing all the pages away into her bag. Halla, Kena, and Emidra then headed, huddled close together for protection, towards Kena and Emidra's house.
It seemed that the wind was trying to stop them from getting home. They had to keep their heads down to keep their eyes from watering. They could hardly hear each other over the monstrous wind, so they didn't even try to talk to each other. But even through all the wind and lightning, there still wasn't even any rain, at least not yet.
They were finally on the same road as their house. But because of the wind and darkness they could only barely see the tree that marks the quarter way. However, right as they got even with the tree their path was blocked.
From the shadow of the tree stepped a male in a black hooded cloak. The only thing visible of his face was his crystal blue eyes with deep purple flecks. They almost seemed to glow in the darkness. The stranger's sudden appearance made the girls cautious.
"You should get to shelter. This storm is going to be massive," Halla yelled over the wind. However the stranger only came a bit closer. "Look, can we just pass? You apparently don't want to get to shelter, but we do," Halla asked, getting wary of him.
Finally he broke his silence. "You do not belong here."
"Um, of course we don't belong here. We're trying to get home," Kena retorted.
"I mean that you do not belong in this world. You belong in another," he replied slightly shaking his head in amusement.
"And what makes you say that?" Halla was starting to get a strange feeling about this encounter, one that said things were about to change.
"Because I know. I am a part of that world. I was sent here to give you an option to leave this world. But you must make your decisions quickly, for they are coming." At the last bit he glanced over his shoulder into the growing darkness.
"Who do you mean by 'they'?" Emidra asked.
"The ones whom wish to erase the light. And they are coming because they see you as a threat to that goal."
"And why would they see is as a threat?" Halla asked, getting an even worse feeling, not knowing if it's because of the stranger, or something else.
"You will have to answer that yourselves in time. Now, I need your answer. But know this, if you leave this world, there is no guarantee that you will ever be able to return. So, will you stay and risk them getting to you, or do you wish to leave this world and have a fighting chance at survival?" the stranger shouted over the sound of the rising wind.
Halla looked at Kena and Emidra. She noticed that there seemed to be an evil feeling in the air that was growing with each passing moment, so she knew they needed to hurry. "What do you two think? Should we trust this stranger who appeared in the middle of this crazy storm?"
"It actually sounds like an adventure to me. Besides, haven't we all mentioned to each other before about feeling out of place here before? He's telling us we've been right all along, along with giving us a chance to find the place we were meant to fit in at. I say hell yeah, let's take that chance," Kena answered, her eye's bright at the idea of an adventure.
"I agree with Kena. Also, what is there really for us here? Not much that's for sure. Yes, our family might be upset at our disappearance for some time, but they will eventually move on. We deserve a chance to have a happier life," Emidra said, agreeing with Kena and looking determined.
Halla nodded, looking proud of the two younger girls who were her sisters in all but blood. She then turned to the stranger eyes hardened with resolve. "We will go. As Emidra said, there isn't much for us here anymore. Heck, I've just recently found out that I was adopted. And we have talked about feeling out of place here. Now is the time to start over somewhere else."
"And start over you will, for in order for this to work completely you all will be reduced to the age of six, for you Halla, and for Kena and Emidra, five and five and a half. You will keep all the memories from this world though, so do not worry about that. Also, you might find yourselves with a bit more strength and skill that most have. But overall I am glad that you decided to agree."
"Oh joy, toddlers again. Wait, how do know our names? We never said them out loud," Halla asked.
"It matters not at the moment. In time you will understand more. Now, we must hurry. They can sense that they are about to lose their trail," he said. Then, even when it seem that it couldn't, the wind picked up even more. It started to swirl around the girls, and the stranger's eyes stared to glow even brighter. Then, over the roaring wind, he started to chant. It started in a strange language, then the girls seemed to start to understand it. "Mesro nakete irone kirvo shintara, lira namee kunte buva. In the name of the Ancient's, send them across the border. Send them to the realm in which their souls belong!"
As he spoke Halla sensed that evil aura flare up and turn into an ominous and vicious aura, growing close with each second. Then, as the girls could feel the spell taking hold of them making them slip into unconsciousness, Halla saw red eyes glowing, surrounding them and the stranger. She tried to call out a warning to him, but the spell was too far gone to let her speak. However, the stranger did see the eyes and just nodded at Halla.
In the last moments of consciousness, Halla heard him call out one last time, as she watched him pull out a sword from his cloak and turn to face the shadows. "Be warned. They will not give up so easily. They will find you in time. And know that they can take on any shape or form, they can simply be a manipulative force behind someone's actions. Anyone who wishes to plunge the world in shadows is a part of that darkness, one way or another. You must not fall, for you are our last hope Halla!" After that, Halla was plunged into darkness of unconsciousness.