The Nuellas lived on the west side of uptown Berlin, Germany. They inhabited a large town house with cream white walls, mocha tiled roof and six double-glazed and clean vast windows at the front. Their ancestors had moved in to the German capital after the First World War, and not one Nuella had immigrated out since – there was nothing more invigorating outside the city, and nowhere else they would rather go. Besides, the Nuellas had made most, if not all of their family fortune in Berlin.
Berlin was, and still is, a busy city, and the pace was that of a speeding cheetah, not to mention it was structured like one; the industry gave it the strength and back up it needed to run on, and by the evening it was exhausted, lacking anymore stamina, and shut down for the night. Although, all those who and stayed in Berlin long enough, knew that it never truly slept.
Sharky Nuella, Torbey Nuella's favourite, and in fact only, niece, had claimed that Berlin was built as a place of 'sombre memories and an inevitably bright future,' it was 'so excited about the world' therefore it could 'never stay still, like an Andrex puppy, but with less interest in toilet paper.'
Sharky's cousin, Fade, had been confused by her words, but had nodded her head before trying a reply that she was 'quite fed up with the magnolia coloured toilet paper in all the bathrooms,' and wished 'there was more experimenting with more adventurous colours – such as pink.'
Sharky had raised an eyebrow at that, and then had a private talk with the housekeeper, later on.
Sharky Nuella often liked to think of herself, as a 'girl with an attitude'; unfortunately, this 'attitude' only came out during her performances on stage and within the words of her songs, she was a real softy at heart. She had blue curly hair, which she had created little plaits out of, and then tied them at the back of her head – she wished to bring out a type of punk look, but the bangs which curled into her face softened it immediately and immensely. Her eyes were that of a sea green, and held all of the gentleness of a slow chopping ocean, and showed a compassion, which belied her hard exterior. However, she only let those closest to her, such as her cousin Fade get to know that side of her. She was a rock star – she had an image and reputation to uphold.
Sadly, being a famous rock star, called you out to go on tour now and then. Fade had wanted her cousin to stay at home and play games with her, but Sharky was at the beck and call of her producers, and could not afford the time to 'play barbies'. Fade had grumbled at that, not because of the insult to her immaturity (which she missed), but because she had not had good dealings with barbies in the past. Of course, she had been happy enough to play with them when she was about six, but at that age she was not an experienced hairdresser. The mixing of Fade, scissors and barbie hair is a dangerous combination, and a disaster waiting to happen. The result is best left to the imagination.
At this time, Fade inwardly wept as she heard the sounds of the minivan rumbling away from the drive; she had refused to say goodbye properly to Sharky, a personal punishment, for not staying with a little cousin you though of as a sister. Now she was beginning to feel the twinges of regret…what if Sharky was in a mood with her next time she saw her? What if she did not talk to her? What then? The one person she could speak to about anything in the world, and she would not be there, and no…it was too upsetting to think about it. Fade pushed it to the back of her mind, and brought her optimism to the forefront.
It would be wrong to say that Fade was spoilt, but it might be correct to say she was privileged. The definition of spoilt, is to be lavishly spent on with love and money, by those who love you. The definition of Fade's case was that she could have what she wanted, within reason and agreement from her father, but she did not have the love she so desperately wanted and needed from her father. Since her mother had died, Fade had felt alone in the world, and even Sharky's closeness, could not fill the whole in her heart which had been made by her mother's passing.
For all the bright, radiating beacon of feel-good attitude that Fade possessed, she felt utterly and terribly alone.
Fade's mother was everything to her; she was a parent, best friend and mentor. She would take Fade to school, and then drive her home at the end of the day; she would play, sing and read with her daughter, and teach and pass on every piece of wisdom she had to offer. Reading times were Fade's favourite times, and would normally take place at the end of a long day; the stories were filled with mythical beasts, and terrified damsels, but Fade always enjoyed the tales of great warrior maidens the most. Most endings left her in a thoughtful mood, which soon changed to dream-filled sleep, but as Fade grew older, she found it harder to sleep; No one was there to kiss her forehead goodnight, and no one was there to knock to the gremlin in her closet, and tell him that he was not to come out until morning.
Urlike Nuella had died of cancer at the age of forty-two, and had left behind a daughter who would continue to unfold her legacy; not that Urlike had known that when she had died, nor did Fade know it at this precise moment in time. In fact, a rather compelling and tense match of beyblade had enraptured her at this precise moment in time.
Now normally, Fade was not into to watching such male dominated sports; she preferred watching ballet and horse riding competitions, as a member to both types of clubs. She was not the best ballerina in the world, that much was true, but she did love the dancing, she even went so far as to begging her father to watch 'Swan Lake' for her eleventh, which was her last, birthday. She was also a member to the local horse riding school, which had acquired the name 'Ponyklub' – meaning 'Pony club'. Although, she was not particularly horse mad, but her father had thought it a good idea to give his daughter such lessons, which just goes to show that not all fathers know their daughters.
Fade was attempting a headstand, leaning against the end of her bed for support. She was successful so far, but was beginning to feel the symptoms of too much blood in her head, and the television screen was beginning to blend out of focus, and her bangs were starting to fall annoyingly into her face. She lowered herself, unceremoniously, to the floor, and then blew the agitating pieces of hair out of her face for the last time. She then circled herself round on her knees, to return to the beyblade match on her pink television, legs straight out in front of her, like a small child.
Fade Nuella was an angelic creature; she had naturally highlighted, hay coloured, blond hair, which draped down her back like a silk curtain, and intense blue eyes, which were flecked by gold. Her face was heart shaped, and her nose slightly upturned in a manner of cuteness. She was of average height for her age, around five foot four, and she was dressed in a pair of denim peddle pushers and a bright pink shirt, with 'pink lady' written on the back. Her ears were pierced at the bottom of the lobe, and held two dew drop, sky blue stone earrings. Freckles splashed her rosy cheeks and across her nose, and only added to the affect of her innocence. And I tell you, that there was only one word that anybody could use to describe her nature – naive.
Fade's eyes grew wide, as the trapped beast within one of the blades was called forth. It stretched out its neck and screeched triumphantly about its freedom; it was no longer bound to that ethereal plane it had been tied to for so long. In the back of her mind, Fade felt a presence of mind that told her that warm tears trickled down her face, as she felt the heart-rending wail of relief from the giant turtle that towered out of the green blade. Within her mind, an agonising pain seared across her temples, and she cried out, before delving her head into her hands in desperation. She cried mournfully, and reached up, to wrap her hand around the television remote that lay despondently on her duvet.
Switching the off button, Fade sat back, slouching heavily against the end of the bed, her breath coming in small sharp gasps. She had not realised that she could feel empathy from just watching television, or that she could empathy for anything other than a human. This was knew, this was frightening.
She gulped the last catches of breath, before returning to her upright position, crossing her legs, and closing her eyes; Sharky had told her that meditating was the best choice of action when it came to psychic forces – it calmed your mind, and slowed your heart, and, if done right, could help you to do the impossible. Fade knew such things Sharky was talking about, would be that of astral projection, or mind reading, but Fade was not in to that type of thing – at least not yet.
Fade Nuella was an emphatic; this meant she could feel the emotions of those around her, without even having to greet them, touch them, or even look upon their face. It offered her the ability to understand that particular person's thoughts, if she wished to know. With her father – she never had to guess or to try to understand, it was always the same; shame.
Torbey Nuella was a sharp man, who ran a tight slip. He was ferocious and questioning with his own advisors, and ruled his dominion of business like a ruthless tyrant. Some had wondered how Urlike could have ever married such a man, but Urlike would only smile, shake her head and claim that 'we all change, it is only natural'. Whether this meant she had changed in her life, or he had, no one knew, but it was best not to ask any further – what the Nuellas did, was their business. Except, perhaps it is within our interest that we look into what the Nuellas were doing for business this day – for this day was to be a beginning of a new era for one girl in particular.
'Miss Nuella?' The maid stuck her head around the door, and looked in on the small girl with a gentle expression. A flicker of concern crossed her face, as she gazed upon the hunched figure with the television remote in the palms of her hands; 'Miss Nuella? Are you all right Miss?' she questioned with a wavering voice.
'Uh huh.' Came Fade's uncertain reply. 'I'll be all right in a minute Martha, just give me a second please. Was there something you wanted?' Fade looked up from the remote and her hands, and blearily stared at Martha the maid, a slight frown etched on her face, her eyebrows drawn down from her aching temples.
Martha stepped in around the white-painted door, and stood just in front of it. 'Your father has requested your presence, young miss.' She informed her. 'I think he may be going off on a business trip again.' Her voice was quiet and sympathetic, she, herself, thought that Herr (N/A: Herr means Mr in German) Nuella spent too little time with his daughter than he should – it was almost neglect – almost.
Fade sighed and stood, placing the remote on top of her pink television, she straightened herself and then leant back to crack her back, she then looked at Martha before lowering her eyes to the floor; 'And I know you're right. I'll be down in a minute Martha, thank you.'
Martha left when she realised her dismissal; the young miss could get herself ready. Martha herself went to get some bath salts to put in a future bath, and grabbed a box of tissues. There was bound to be tears in the near future – there always was.
Torbey Nuella's Office – still in the family town house'…What do you mean they're not ready?…I told you on Thursday that they were to be on my desk by Monday…Well you better know so, not hope so…by tomorrow…yes…and they better be on time, Team Alpha is now ready for their last year of training, and then they'll be on to the World Tournament…Yes, of course you will, and if you don't I am quite capable of informing Mr Balkov of your failure, and Mr Balkov does not look on failure with understanding, do I make myself clear?…Good. Good evening Mr Anomy.'
Mr Torbey Nuella, father of Miss Fade Nuella, and husband of the late Mrs Urlike Nuella, ferociously pressed the end call button on his mobile, and ground his teeth – the nerve of some people (namely Mr Anomy). He turned towards the window and folded his big set arms, to look out at the street below. A couple of teenagers kicked a worn football across the street and back again, a dog sniffed a hydrant, and lady sneezed randomly as she walked back home. So lost in his enraged reverie, was Mr Nuella, that he failed to notice the door had opened, and someone had walked in.
The slender, rather fragile looking, girl walked in. Her hair reached to her mid back, and large blue eyes, like wet sapphires, were cast downwards in a show of submission. If there was one thing Fade hated more than her father going away, it was being told by him that he was going away, because it usually meant having to listen to his 'reasons' for leaving. She already knew why.
Mr Torbey Nuella had always wanted a son, and had planned on a second child after being told of Fade's gender. There was a slightly subtle reason to calling his daughter such an odd name; he had hoped that, in a way, she would slowly 'fade' into the background after he had gotten the son he wanted. He was old fashioned, and preferred to have things done traditionally – when he died, all of his wealth would be passed to his son, and by that time, his eldest sibling, the daughter, would be married off to some other rich money making tycoon – she was pretty enough. Unfortunately, for Mr Nuella, things had not quite turned out that way; soon after Fade's birth, Urlike had become contaminated by cancer, and it was actually a miracle she had lasted as long as she had – the doctors could do nothing.
Torbey Nuella had, in a way, brought himself to blame his own daughter for Urlike's death. He did not treat Fade badly, just refused to acknowledge her presence most of the time. His whole demeanour had become ice cold, and unrelenting; he was like a tiger caged for a very long time, and ready to pounce on anything that got within range. It was evident to anyone who had known Torbey in his younger years, that he missed his late wife very much, and was terribly upset by her passing.
Fade shuffled herself slowly towards the beech wood desk, finding something extremely interesting on her shoes to look at – perhaps that piece of glitter on her shoelace, which she had not noticed before – at any rate, she was stepping towards the one person she really did not want to see right now; if only their meetings were not so formal. As she neared, she glanced up to find that the computer chair was devoid of human life, but that the computer monitor was switched on, and currently running.
Upon the screen was a picture of an odd looking wolf.
Now Fade was used to seeing pictures of strange beasts, but nothing quite outdid this one; it was beautiful, a small pair of pearl coloured wings sprouted from its shoulder blades, and contrasted well with the smooth white fur. Its eyes shone bright, fierce, silver, and the sunshine that filtered through the window was that of an angelic jet of light, causing the creature to look more ethereal than it already was. Fade did not quite know how to react; it took her breath away.
She tugged her eyes away from the screen; to focus them on her father's turned back. His shoulders shook, and it could have been mistaken for crying, had Fade not felt the empathy of anger. Nervously she coughed to get his attention, and then resumed an innocent posture; she should not have been looking at that screen.
The man by the window swivelled round at the small sound, and spoke as he turned; 'Ms Carthi, I said I was not to be disturbed. I…oh.' He stopped mid-sentence to take in his daughter, standing there looking as if she were about to be condemned. He sighed, and frowned, and let a small smile climb onto his features; in truth he did not hate is daughter, in fact, he missed her slightly at times, to be honest it was the optimism she exuded that he needed most days, but he just could not bare to look upon her for more than a minute; his shame.
She looked up at him with her eyes, wide as the ocean, always on the near verge of tears – it may have been the light, but the twang of sympathy still resounded through his angry heart. Her hands were clasped behind her back, where she wrung them nervously, and she tipped lightly back and forth on her heels, a sign of an uncomfortable child.
'You called for me father?' she asked formally, quietly, eyes casting themselves to her feet.
'Er…yes I did.' The nervousness of meeting his daughter was a strange sight to see, for Mr Torbey Nuella was a proud and confident, if rather cold, sort of man. 'I'm going away again my angel; Team Alpha has come up with an emergency, and they need me to be there.'
She did not answer, just looked up at him with eyes that were silently pleading, but stripped of all hope. An emergency? It was always an emergency; it felt as though he found it was an emergency to get as far away from her, as quickly as possible.
'It will only be a couple of weeks, sweet pea.' Why did she have to look at him like that? As accepting and passive has a lowly cowherd. Why was she never angry with him, like a normal daughter would be, should be? He would rather screaming, kicking, slapping, hitting, anything, than this dam that was about to break any minute.
Instead of crying like he had expected, however, she braved a smile, it was a watery smile, but a smile nonetheless. Slowly she reached up and hugged him; why he did not know, and actually, neither did she. Perhaps she had gotten used to the idea of her father leaving her, to go away on business – it brought in a lot of money after all. He returned the hug, somewhat hesitantly, the kissed her forehead, before saying, 'We'll leave for the airport in an hour, all right my angel?' It was not a question for her to answer, but rather a type of temporary farewell, as he walked out of the room, back straight – hoping no one had seen the affection he had just returned for his daughter.
Fade watched him walk out, and let out a breath she had been holding in an exasperated way. The affect blew a tendril out of her eyes, which she crossed as she watched its decent up her forehead. The worst part was yet to come, but at least she had heard it from the horse's mouth – he was going away again, that was a certainty now.
She was about to follow suit, out of the room, to get something to eat before the drive to the Berlin airport, when she stopped. A compelling feeling filled her veins, and she turned to scuttle back over to her father's desk. This time though, she did not look at the screen, but rather looked down at the strewn papers and files across his desk. Amidst the organised chaos, was a clear plastic wallet. Curious Fade looked into the sheath of plastic, took it gently into her hands, and slid the contents into her open palm. She looked around for any sign spying eyes, and then returned to the treasure that lay in her palm, and her mouth formed a large 'o' when she realised what exactly she had gotten hold of; a beyblade.
It was baby blue, and dusky pink; the sharp edges cut into the soft skin of her palm, as her fingers curled around its rim. Snuggled within the middle, was something she had only seen on television – a bitbeast. She concentrated on looking at the small spiritual creature; the wolf, the wolf she had seen, and was still seeing on the computer screen. Was that really trapped in this small piece of metal and plastic? It just seemed so scandalous, for such a grand creature to be kept in such a small and insignificant toy.
The sound of footsteps on hollow approaching, brought her out of her thoughtful trance, and out of spontaneous thought, and panic, she pocketed the blade. Crouching low over the ground, she took out one of her earrings and let it drop to the floor.
'Are you coming or not?' Grumbled Mr Nuella as he watched his daughter scramble on the floor, Ms Carthi wants to feed you before our ride to the airport.
'Sorry father, my earring fell out, I probably didn't tie the catch tight enough.' She plucked the sapphire stone up, with a long finger nailed hand, and smiled for him as she put it back on. She then walked back out the door, hurrying slightly, noticing how her father strode back towards his desk.
Inside the home office, Torbey Nuella shuffled some of the papers into a type of order, then went to switch off his screen, smiling sadly at the research he done on his dead wife's bitbeast. He had stopped blading himself, shortly after her death. As an afterthought, he picked up the plastic wallet on his desk, and slid it in between the other files under his arm.
Outside, Fade slowly skulked away to Ms Carthi in the kitchen. She paused, as she suddenly remembered something, and placed her hand over mouth as she realised her mistake.
Her earrings did not have a tightening catch.
The Airport – The Food CourtMe Torbey Nuella bent down, so that his daughter could reach up and put her arms around his neck; she was such a sweet girl. She kissed his cheek, and he did likewise, before letting her go, she dropped heavily onto the ground, where her feet had been dangling down, from being lifted into his hug. 'See you my angel.' Were his only words as he turned around, and walked out of her life once again.
Only when her father had rounded the corner, and out of sight, was when Fade let the tears fall. They spilled down, like small silver crystals, a flowing river of regret, sorrow and unknown guilt. Why could he never say it? Why could he just not say 'I love you'? She sobbed, heart wrenching, body racking sobs, the type that ended in a spluttering cough, because breath did not matter, only the emotion that was welling up inside of you and spilling over.
All around, people ignored and walked on by, too engrossed by their business for that day, to notice the small fragile figure of the blonde eleven year old. She was as her name suggested, she was slowly and silently fading away into nothing. And why would they care anyway? How could she blame her father for finding her a shameful creature? He was right, she had never heard him say that he was disappointed in her, but he was right in his feelings – she knew. She was his shame.
Fade closed in on herself, she let her body slowly sink to the ground, which may have been quite dramatic if this were a film, but it is not, it is a fanfic. At any rate, she felt like a soul had died, and she wanted to die, she tried to die, but her will was not strong enough, and nor was it her own. Distantly, outside of her mind, she felt a strong embrace pick her up, and she felt as though she was floating. Skimming above the ground, curled up tight, but still floating towards her destination – wherever that was – it was almost as if she were being carried…
Fade scrunched her eyes tightly together, whoever the stranger was, she did not want to see them, they might be dangerous, and anyway, she was humiliated to have been plucked from the ground in her distressed state. Now she thought about it, as the tears ceased and dried on her face, it was rather embarrassing at having being so melodramatic in front of all those people.
Wait…the driver…she had to get back to the car; she had to get back home. She opened her eyes, to find that no one was paying any attention to her at all, but that she was in a completely different place in the food court; had she walked herself here? It seemed unlikely, but perhaps her legs had decided that stretching themselves was a good idea. She looked down at them, and smiled slightly as she rubbed them with fondness, and looked upon them with a new light – she liked her legs now, they did things on their own. Magic perhaps?
Fade eyed her nails with a wary look, perhaps she should cut them soon; they were looking a bit long and…'Hey ya!'
Fade screamed and fell of the bench she was sitting on, falling, bottom first, onto the clean tile floor. She had not expected a face to be shoved so close to hers, in such a fast way. She looked up, to see if it had actually been someone's face, or something else, and she saw a short, stout looking girl staring down at her, teeth bared in a wolfish grin. 'Scared ya did I? Don't ya worry girly, everyone's scared o' the great Rienna Sassi, when they first meet me.'
'Yes everyone except me, 'oh great Rienna', or did you forget that?' Rienna growled, but did not turn to look at the owner of the voice, which had answered her back so quickly.
The Rienna girl frowned at having been put down, but soon concentrated on the girl at her feet again; 'You Fade Nuella?' Her voice was brisk, harsh, and lightly accented by a Canadian tone. Although, she had spoken Fade's name in a different voice, it was certainly not been the voice she had spoken with before – it had almost sounded like it had a soft Russian accent for a moment. Fade had come into many different dialects and accents during her time at school, so many children from different places attended there.
'Yes…Yes…I…I…' her voice caught in her throat, as she noticed another girl push Rienna out of the way, it was not the fact that she had long hair that went down to her ankles, or the fierce amber eyes, or the sharp teeth that came over her bottom lip, but the actual fact that she was a neko that made her suddenly so quiet.
'Out the way Sassi, you're scaring her.' She growled and elbowed the younger girl out of the way, to stand before Fade. She smiled slightly, her mouth twitching to the side, only one of her teeth poking out. 'What's the matter? Cat caught your tongue?'
The neko narrowed her eyes watchfully.
Fade gaped open-mouthed.
Rienna sighed exasperatedly, before faking a yawn; 'dat has go' to be the lames' remark I 'ave ever 'eard. I mean I know yer civilisation is in some type of anarchic depressio', but you could at least have some type o' good wit.'
The neko slid her amber eyes to the side, to look at Rienna in a menacing way. 'And you have got to stop talking with such big words, it doesn't impress anybody. 'Anarchic depression', I'm surprised you ever heard of such a thing.'
'Ters a lot to be learnt, ya just 'ave to liste'. Rienna inspected her nails, which were cracked and uneven, upon their nimble fingers.
Realising that Rienna was not going to pass anymore 'words of wisdom' onto that statement, the neko gave up and took interest in Fade, once again. She offered a hand and spoke, as Fade accepted and hauled her up. 'My name is Dove Rikasha, you can call me Dove though, just don't call me nicknames, I don't like them – especially not Rienna's personal favourite…'
''Umpty Dumpty…sat on a wall.' Rienna began to recite, teasing her companion. Dove chose to ignore it, although Fade began to feel the twinges of agitation rising from the teenage neko-jinn.
Fade just smiled at Dove in a hesitant and nervous way, her eyes looking anywhere, but into the neko's. This meeting frightened her; she was always taught that nekos were clever and sneaky, and were not to be trusted. Rienna picked up on the train of thought, seeing the discomfort of the young girl. 'What's wrong, kid?'
The blonde girl answered the Canadian, and looked at her with worried eyes. 'My father told me never to speak to neko-jinns.' She answered, her voice barely an inaudible whisper.
Dove, slightly riled by this comment, spoke up with a smirk on her face. 'Didn't your daddy ever tell you, not to talk to strangers then?'
Rienna snorted at this, clearly amused. 'Dat was a good one 'umpty. You ave my blessings with dat.'
'I'm so very glad I've earned your approval, Rienna.' Drawled Dove, evidently not, voice dripping sarcasm, raising one eyebrow to finish the affect. She then returned her attention to the girl, in front of her and still holding her hand, who now studied her curiously. She dropped the small hand and then eyed the young girl back closely.
After a few moments, the silence was broken by the sound of Rienna's rumbling stomach. 'Looks like it's eatin' time alreaday.' She explained to the look on Fade's face, with a small, friendly smile.
'It's always eating time for you Sassi!' Dove exclaimed, exasperated.
'The stomach never lies.' Rienna shot back.
'Yes, but unfortunately the mouth does…often.' Replied the neko-jinn coolly, her eyes turning to look into Rienna's.
'Ah, but who mentioned the mouth, my dear Humpty? I…'
'What's this? Who's this?' Inquired a small voice from just below Fade's right shoulder. She turned to look at the person who had joined the madhouse group, and came face to face – or rather she had to look down a few inches – with another teenage girl. She had short, choppily cut hair, to her shoulders, which was the colour if autumn leaves. It framed intelligent blue eyes, which were as pure as water crystals, but held all the ferocity of an angry sea. This intensified the frown that the girl had across her face, drawing her eyebrows together. The small girl's arm was attached to a splint, that had been placed in a white sling, which was currently wound and secured around her neck.
'You Lugen!' Greeted Rienna.
'This is Fade Nuella, whom Spartica Haughton told us about.' Offered Dove.
Kim raised an eyebrow questionably at the girl, then stuck out her hand for her to shake, it was highly tanned, but the fingers were flexible, thin and spindly; 'I'm Kim, nice to meet you.'
Fade accepted wide eyed, a little taken aback by all this; she had never had friends before, not ones outside the family anyway, what did all these girls want with her? Would they be friendly towards her? She hoped so, she so wanted a friend of some sort, someone she could go to talk to, the closest she had come to a friend was Sharky, but Sharky was family.
The biggest shock of the day, however, was yet to come; 'is nobody going to introduce Luigi? Or does Luigi not matter? Or is this a female conversation? Or does Luigi not want to know?' A small smile began to stretch across Kim's face as the small bitbeast climbed out of her backpack, and onto her shoulder, watching Fade with curious, squinty eyes. Fade gaped at the marmoset, her own eyes wide with awe – she was not frightened, just in frozen wonderment; for some reason Fade was never afraid of odd things that she came across in her life; perhaps it was the fact that she was always playing with the fairy queen down the bottom of her garden, or best friends with the goblin under her bead – either way, it was Fade who first offered her hand for Luigi to take.
The small monkey accepted politely, but bared his teeth is what appeared to be a toothy grin, as the girl's mouth remained open. She reached up to stroke the silky soft fur of the marmoset, and Luigi purred in a cat-like affect to the attention.
Rienna rolled her eyes at the 'cuteness' of it all; she was not one who believed in all things happy and butterflies. 'Well, introductions aside, you think we can go catch some food with our mouth, and not flies?' She questioned Rienna's gaping mouth, Dove nodded in agreement, which had been a rarity to see between the two of them so far.
Kim swivelled on her heels, to point in a certain direction, as if she were leading the pack of them. 'That way, I saw an electronic menu for these restaurants, apparently it can tell us about all the types of restaurants in this area.' She waved her hand around in a circular motion, in the air in front of her, to express the 'area', namely the food court.
A snort was heard from Rienna, which received a couple of stares from her other companions, and a half smile of amusement from Fade – these girls were fun to be around, even if what they were talking about seemed a little over her head. 'I ain't gonna use some damn computer thingy. We ca' jus' choose using our commo' sense.'
'Common sense? I wasn't aware you owned any Rienna? What type are you talking about, cuz I'm sure it's not what I'm thinking.' Kim replied, annoyed that Rienna would not follow her. Fade realised that none of these girls was really any leader of this group of any kind, in fact they didn't seem to like each other very much; but all Fade felt from her empathy was a twinge of amusement that linked all the three girls together, as if they enjoyed teasing each other senseless.
Rienna tapped the side of her nose. ''If in doubt, follow yer nose' – dat's wha' Miss 'eartly use to say anyways.' Fade was sure that the voice she had pronounced the saying with was, once again, not something that actually belonged to Rienna, it was too light and airy.
As Rienna set off in a particular direction, sniffing in an animated way, in a perfect impression of a hound dog, both Kim and Dove raised their eyes to the heavens in a gesture of exasperation, then followed.
'Lord love a duck!' Exclaimed Dove.
'Here we go.' Sighed Kim.
'Hey wait!' Cried Fade.
The others stopped to look over their shoulders, at the small blonde, already a good few metres ahead. She jogged gently to catch up with the nearest, which happened to be Kim. 'I know I've only just met you, but I…can I join you? For now? I really should contact Ms Carthi, but I just met you and, I don't want you to go. You seem so friendly and…'
'Slow down girl! Your going to have a heart attack in a minute if you're not careful.' Dove strode forwards and lay a hand on Fade's shoulder, ignoring the girl's flinch as she wrapped her hand in the pink material of Fade's t-shirt. 'You're gonna come with us anyway, we didn't say you shouldn't come. In fact Spartica suggested it.' The other two girls nodded in agreement, and Fade let herself be tugged in the direction of Rienna's lead, by Dove; there was no point struggling, firstly she didn't want to resist coming with the group, and secondly the neko-jinn was much stronger than she first appeared.
Pizza Hut! Well, at least a small cafeteria of it in the Food CourtBy the time the girls were queuing for their food, it had suddenly occurred to Fade, that she did not know anything about this Spartica character. Who was she? Why did these girls know her? And what was she to them? She voiced this query to Kim, who was busily rubbing her arm at the time, as she paused in pushing her tray, further along the queue.
'She picked us up; all of us. I don't really know much about her myself, but she seems nice enough. Just don't expect any long conversations with her, she's not really a people person; in fact the longest conversation she's had with anybody today is with Luigi, and that was only about two sentences. You'll like her when you meet her, I'm sure, and she appears to be quite rich, so maybe appearances can be deceptive, but I've talked with the others and, like me, they have nowhere else to go; so we're taking out chances.' Kim pursed her lips, and allowed Luigi to take a look at the menu options from a view on her shoulder, which was not very high. Fade had been surprised that no authorities had made a fuss about there being an animal in the middle of the airport, but did not wished to bring it up.
She stood behind Rienna, as she made the group's choices of meal; 'Two pepperoni, five hawaiians and three meat feasts, please.' Ordered the loud voiced girl, and grinned at the large selection, while Kim and Dove rolled their eyes. Fade frowned as she wondered if the woman serving, would understand what Rienna had actually said.
The woman shook her head confused and slightly mortified that she did not understand her customer. As politely as she could, she told Rienna, 'Es tut ich Leid, aber ich verstehe nicht, was Sie sagen' – 'I'm sorry, but I do not understand what you are saying.'
Fade listened, and understood perfectly, she then tugged lightly on Rienna's ear to get her attention to listen. Rienna bent down slightly, and let the words that Fade spoke, sink into her memory. She then smiled, nodded, and turned to grin at the serving woman. 'Zwei pepperoni, fünf Hawaiianer und drei Fleischfestmähler bitte.' – 'Two pepperoni, five hawaiians and three meat feasts, please.' Fade's voice came from Rienna's mouth, and Fade stepped back, as she realised the Rienna had perfectly mimicked her – so that was what she had been doing – of course!
The woman looked relieved, and nodded, smiling happily as she trotted off to get the order. It was Dove's time to be confused, she knew all about Rienna's mimicking ability, but she had not known that she could make a voice seem louder – a useful trait to have, to be sure. 'I knew that you could copy someone else's voice Rienna, but I thought you had to abide by the laws of having to imitate exact tone and pronunciation…how did you make her voice seem louder?'
Kim was the one to answer, her own voice haughty with intelligent delight, eyes gleaming with inspiration. 'Perhaps after all this time of using her ability to mimic, she had learnt to amplify what she hears.' She explained smugly.
Dove smiled as a thought crossed her mind; 'Yeah, well then, let's just hope that she doesn't ever hear the sound of Cornucopia. It could be heaven for her taste buds, but a little disastrous for her figure.' Cornucopia is also known as the 'Horn of Plenty', whoever sounded the horn would have gifts of food rain down upon them from heaven, gifts from the divine.
'Cornuwhata?' Fade questioned the witty remark. Rienna shook her head, she did not know either; it was sad really, such a good comment to fall on such deaf ears.
The girls' attentions returned to the counter, as the serving woman waddled up to the counter with their custom ordered food. She smiled warmly, gained access to the metal till upon the marble counter, and then asked politely for the money.
Rienna turned and looked at Fade again with a rather hopeful glance, she was illiterate and unable to understand currency very well. Fade smiled as her heart was touched, she was needed? A sudden thought flickered across her mind, and though she kept her face passive of any cruel outward emotion, inwardly she was grinning is a slightly sadistic way. She took out her elegant silk purse from her pocket, undid the clasp, took out some German marks, and gave them to Rienna. She also whispered some German words in her ear.
Rienna grinned, turned back to the serving woman and said in Fade's voice, 'Hier gehen Sie, vielen Dank, bin ich ein Elf.' – 'Here you go, thank you, I am a pixie.'
From across the room a teenager, of about sixteen and with two-toned hair, opened his eyes and stared at the four girls huddled around the till. His mahogany eyes narrowed slightly as he took them in, and his eyebrows came down in a form across his forehead. A pixie…right. Ignoring the immature girls again, that were busily paying for their food to an extremely amused staff, he resumed his arms crossed, eyes closed position, as he once again listened to the buzzing chatter of his former and now regrouping team.
Dove offered to carry the tray to the table, and so let Rienna and Kim take the lead, to try and find one – they had decided to settle for one, next to a group of five boys, and one old, but rather optimistic old man. She watched Fade from the corner of her eyes, and sighed slowly as the girl started to walk ahead. She drew her back again and forced her to look into her piercing amber eyes. 'It was obviously a good joke you pulled back there, but you're lucky Rienna is too dense to notice that the staff found her German speaking rather odd and questionable. I like you, you're gonna be fun to be around, which is why I'm going to warn you…don't let her ever find out what you did back there.' Fade nodded slightly frightened by the warning, but was warmed by the smile that lit Dove's face; she was trying to be friendly. 'Don't worry,' explained Dove, 'she wouldn't do much, just give you the silent treatment.'
Dove strode towards the chosen table; Fade trotted behind, and watched as a few serving women followed, carrying the rest of the order. What you thought that Dove could carry ten pizzas and four drinks all on her own did you? I think you're forgetting that the girl is rather accident-prone. Which brings me to the point, that she managed to spill all the cokes before they even reached the table. Dove growled, and Fade kindly dipped to pick up the fallen soft drinks, when a gentle, but commanding hand took hers and pulled her back up.
Fade came face to face with a girl within her mid-teens, around sixteen. She had long dark hair, which shimmered midnight, and startling green eyes. Her face was not happy and smiling, but neither was it very stern, it was just a slightly questioning look, as she curiously looked Fade over. The teen tilted her head and shook the small hand in hers with optimum grace and gentleness, 'Hello Fade, I am Spartica Haughton.'
Fade nodded, her head spinning in wonderment, Spartica was beautiful, and, by the way the others acted around her, she was evidently the leader of this group at the moment. That was when Fade actually looked at the group in a whole; they were a motley crew, a neko-jinn who seemed so strong, yet so clumsy; a very small girl with a monkey on her shoulder, intelligent, but rather arrogant; Rienna who had no idea what she was saying most of the time, and whose eating habits had much to be desire; and last, but not least, Spartica, mysterious and distant. Perhaps she belonged here after all, maybe here, she would be accepted. She had a very sudden thought, which horrified her.
'Don't worry,' Spartica told her, reading her expression. 'I have informed Ms Carthi of your situation, you will join us now.' And that was it. No explanation, no mobile to call the housekeeper for herself to confirm the idea – Spartica's words were law, and Fade surprised herself by accepting them, these were the words of a stranger she had met only two minutes before.
She cast her eyes over to the table, which Spartica had her back to, and concentrated on looking at the table's occupants; she had seem them before, but where? A small boy tapped on his laptop as he chatted with a blonde boy, which appeared to be on some type of sugar high. Another teenager, with a cap slanted on his head, pigged on his food, and sweeping his finger over the plate to lick up the last of the crumbs, licking his lips as he went. Another neko-jinn! Twice in one day was a lot for Fade, as never having seen even one of the race before today, he laughed at his companions efforts to clean his plate. The old man she had seen before, with his hat on the table, and walking stick leaning against his seat. Lastly, a two-toned haired boy, whose eyes were closed at the moment, but in using her empathy, she could feel his agitation at being in such a place, although she could also feel his intensive listening and extreme awareness, to his surroundings.
The whine of Rienna brought her back to her own situation, and she looked at the older girl with concern, before realising that she was complaining about something so very stupid. 'I wan' salt! I deman' salt!' Exclaimed Rienna rudely to the rest of her team.
Spartica stopped on whatever secret thoughts she had concentrated on inwardly, and looked at Rienna with a flicker of impatience, but as soon as it was there, it was gone, and instead of reprimanding the girl, she leaned back in her chair, and asked the two-toned hair teen: 'Can we borrow your salt, please?'
Annoyance flashed across his features, but nonetheless he reached for the salt in the middle of his table, and handed it to the girl behind him. Neither even looked at each other, but she took the salt he offered over his to hers
'Thank you.' Said Spartica.
'Whatever.' Said Kai.
