Disclaimer: Rachel Robert's owns Avalon. I in no way clam to own or know anyone who owns it.
Writer's note: This chapter has been updated. 6/18/10. G.S.F.
Chapter Eleven: Simple Things
The day of the meeting Vina was walking down the hall, when she almost fell over Maxine.
"Whoa! Don't do that! I could've stepped on yo…What'chya got there?" the thing she pulled out of the cats mouth was a simple heart locket. "Is this mine? How'd you get hold of it?" sighing she shook her head and clasped it on.
"Silly animal."
She didn't notice the engraving on the back, A.C.
It was a small thing and small things are often over looked, when big things are on the mind. Another small thing no one noticed was the fluffy orange cat walk up to a large tri-colored silver wolf. They bowed to each other, as if in greeting and the cat walked down the hall, ghost wolf by her side. As the she-cat walked the wolf slowly faded from all sight, leaving only wisps' of fog.
Outside Corvina paced nervously on the porch, knowing she had to wait a few minutes. The meeting place had been changed, by suggestion of Soccer Girl. They figured meeting in front of the Manor would be more convenient, in case there was something to check out. She straightened her cobalt blue blouse, over gold tank top. It tapered out from under the bust line and the neck line was a deep v, the tank top covering her modestly. She also wore dark blue jeans that flared out in the bottom and had gold stitching on the back pockets. Around her neck hung a piece of polished driftwood, shaped like a cat. The heart locket was under her tank. She also wore a wooden bead bracelet. She loved old jewelry and her out fits spoke as much.
Damia walked onto the porch dressed in a lovely purple silk blouse, with two lines of ruffles down the front and on the sleeves. Black suit pants made it official and black heels topped it off. To add sparkle she wore lavender crystal earrings and matching bracelet. Damia was always up to the latest fashions but brought back old trends. She always seemed to find some way to make something old look good. It was fun to go shopping together, as long a Vina felt like it. She didn't always like shopping.
"You need to get rid of that nervous energy. Here, sweep the porch and I'll take another go at these windows. Window Foam on the lowest setting should do it." Damia handed her the broom as she took the book sized window sprayer. Taking the broom she did her best to brush away years of leaves and dead ivy.
"I hope they don't get the wrong impression of Ravenswood," Corvina spoke. Her mother finished spraying one window with white foam and turned to her daughter.
"Whatever happens, Chickadee, I believe in you," she saw right through Corvina's statement and gave her a one armed hug. "You're wonderful just the way you are."
"Thanks mom," she sighed unable to push the jumpy feeling out of her stomach.
"By the way did you clean the litter box like I asked?"
"Yes."
"The oddest thing happened; I was in the kitchen and thought I smelt fur and damp forest. Like a large animal, and since the only animal we have is Maxine…" Vina stiffened in mid sweep, chills crawling up her back.
"And the windows weren't open?"
"I checked."
"A litter box can't smell like that."
"It was the only thing I could think of. You said you felt fur before finding the key, right?" They stopped their work a moment. She watched the thick white cleaner on the windows slowly fade away, taking a layer of dirt with it. A thought crossed her mind,
"Could there be two Gh-" then they heard someone coming up the path. It was a teenage girl, but she didn't look anything like they expected. She had blond hair pulled back into a pony tail, still damp from a resent shower. She wore white cleats, white jeans, and a baby blue shirt and rose vest. Bright plastic bangles danced on her wrist in colors of pink, blue and orange. Around her neck hung a bright pink and orange necklace. In her perfectly manicured hand was matching orange woven fiber bag. As this fashionable teen became a more distinct figure, green eyes glanced up to them and she slowed to a walk.
Odile studied them both and got the distinct feeling she'd been tricked.
"I'm looking for a girl known as Mystery Lover?" The teen put her broom aside,
"That would be me. Are you…?" she squinted down at her cleats, "Soccer Girl?" Odile blinked, "That's my e-mail address. But you can call me Odile Morris." She tried to put as much dignity in her name as possible, so this girl would know she was important. It failed.
"My name is Corvina Char'day. This is my mom," the beautiful woman presented herself.
"Miss Char'day, but you can call me Damia if you like." Odile shook her hand, containing her surprise. She thought Miss Char'day was Corvina's older sister! 'So this is Mystery Lover?' she wondered, 'Where's the Gothic? The drama? That dark poetic 'étincelle ou tragédie' (French for 'spark or tragedy') that should be there?' Why this girl could be a model! Silky black hair, glowing amber/hazel eyes and a wonderful china doll complexion. Not to mention her out of date but flattering attire. It was the first time her instincts about someone's looks were wrong, and she didn't like it. Then she noticed they were all staring at her.
"What?"
Vina smiled embarrassed,
"Sorry, you're just…not exactly what we expected." She could see in Odile's eyes that the feeling was mutual.
"So…when do we start this club, meeting, whatever?"
"Well, we'll give Exotic Weaver a few more minuets and I'll open this," she held up the old book.
"What's that?"
"Adriane's Diary, or so we believe," supplied Damia.
"Did you bring the PowerBook?"
"Yeah, right here," she pulled it out of her orange bag. "Rather useless though, everything's password guarded. But some pretty strange things happen in it." She held out the computer to the raven wing haired girl. Vina handed the diary to her mom and opened the power book, turning it on.
"You saw gold eyes in here?" she nodded. "What kind, human?"
"No, more animal like."
"Cat maybe?" Damia suggested. Odile shivered,
"No, thank goodness. More like a…dogs or wolves even. What?" she saw that she had struck home.
"Lately I've been-who's that?" They turned and shuffling along the road, as if the world wouldn't touch a small, quick target; came another girl.
"Hey! Are you Exotic Weaver?" The girl looked up,
"Um…yes?" she answered back at half shout.
"Come on up!" The girl quickly broke into a stride, stumbled and then continued. 'She doesn't look very calm,' she noted, feeling sorry for her.
"Hi, I'm Vina Char'day or Mystery Lover. This is my mom and this is Odile Morris, Soccer Girl."
"Kapila Torren, I brought-wait Morris?" surprised the girl jerked over to look at Odile, her beaded hair flying.
"Yeah, um hi. Again…uh, sorry about that Soccer Ball." Sensing a slight tension between the two she said,
"Why don't we go inside? The kitchens mostly finished." So they went into the Manor and set down their things on the kitchen table.
"I'll be mowing the lawn if you need me girls," called Damia as she headed outside. She knew her daughter would rather talk to her friends alone.
"'Kay mom!" she sat down and turned to Kapila, "We were just talking about the eyes Odile saw in Kara's CP. She said they looked like a dogs and-"
"Were they gold?" broke in Kapila, high pitched.
"Yeah, how did ya know?" Odile sounded suspicious.
"I saw a silver wolf before some seeds fell out of Emily's Journal!" She placed the seeds and journal on the table.
"What's so important about a bunch of seeds? And this is Pennsylvania, wild animals are allowed," spoke Odile skeptically.
"What's important is what grows from them," snapped Kapila, and she carefully pulled something out of a case. The girls gasped.
"What is it?" breathed Vina, brushing the leaves delicately, watching rainbow swirls dance off the bloom.
"I don't know," Kapila sounded sure and calm, "I've never seen anything like it."
"Maybe this will help," she picked up Adriane's Diary and the key.
Writer's note: Again, in case you're wondering, Odile's eyes are officially changed from blue to green.