Bound In Blood
Kain was tired. He had been traveling for days, seeking the Oracle - Ariel had suggested he ask the Oracle about finding Malek, the legendary paladin. He didn't think he was too far away now - at least he hoped he wasn't. At present, he was cutting through a small meadow on his way to the Termogent forest.
Something in the grass caught his eye. A bright green among the expanse of tan weeds. The object moved. A person. A woman? No - a child. Perhaps five or six years old, sitting in the grass, her back to him. His mouth began to water as the smell of a living human drifted towards him. Still, he usually ignored children. Not enough sustenance - and not much of a challenge.
Curiosity steered him closer towards her. He was silent as a cat in the grass, but his shadow, cast by the evening sun low in the sky, fell across her path. She turned around.
Looking up, she saw a man standing behind her. She thought it might be her father, then realized it wasn't. He was much taller, and much stronger looking. He had long silver hair, though his face didn't appear elderly. He was strangely pale.
"Hello," she said nonchalantly. She was cherubically adorable, with medium brown hair cut to frame her heart-shaped face, and large green eyes.
The tiniest hint of a smirk appeared on Kain's lips. He was mildly amused that she hadn't run screaming at the sight of him.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" he asked her.
The girl looked at him, her expression suggesting that she thought he was mildly retarded. "No," she answered in a slightly bewildered tone. She turned back around, becoming reoccupied with some small toys in front of her.
"Why are you out here alone?" Kain questioned.
"Mama always lets me come play here in the afternoon," she answered simply.
Kain scoffed. "Your mama sounds like a fool. This is no land for a little girl to be by herself in. There are...monsters out there, that could eat you up, you know."
The girl turned back around and peered up at him, grimacing. "I can take care of myself!" she announced defiantly, and then went back to her toys again.
Kain laughed silently to himself. Oh, such innocent arrogance. Would that he could be like that again. He was becoming rather amused by this child's unaffected reaction to his presence, when so many others shrank in terror before him.
She turned around again to look at him. "What's your name?" she inquired.
He offered a small, tight-lipped grin. I suppose there's no harm in telling her. "My name is Kain," he replied.
"Kain," she repeated, looking thoughtful. "Rhymes with...rain, brain..."
...Pain, Kain thought bemusedly.
"...My name's Talia," she offered. "Do you want to play dollies?"
Kain's brow furrowed. "Play...dollies?" he repeated bewilderdly.
"Yes. This is Annalise and this is Gemma." Talia grabbed two of the toys in front of her, both small rag dolls with yarn hair and saccharin smiles stitched onto their cloth faces. "You can play Gemma. They're going to the market." she thrust the brown-haired doll into Kain's hands.
He held the grubby thing gingerly with his thumb and forefinger. "Ughhhh..." he began. For the first time in a long time he was truly at a loss for words. He tried to formulate a way out of this. He wanted no part in playing dollies.
Talia frowned at him. "You're not very good at this," she observed. As Kain opened his mouth to offer an excuse out, a woman's voice came calling over the trees. "Talia! Dinnertime!"
Talia turned towards the voice. "Just a few more minutes, mama!" This was Kain's way out. He silently shifted into mist form.
"No Talia, now!" the voice insisted. The girl sighed exasperatedly. "O-kaaaaay!" she yelled back. Kain's transparent form drifted away through the grass and into the dark forest beyond.
Talia turned back around. "I gotta go, maybe later-" she began, and then stopped. The man was gone. Gemma was lying on the ground, smiling up at the sky. Talia looked around. There was no sign of him. Where had he gone?
Slightly annoyed and a little sad that her new friend was gone, Talia grumbled a little as she made her way back to the house.
Chapter 2 coming soon!