Prologue: Dreaming of Party Night
"Come on, Riis!" Ceciline shouted from the entrance hall. "You're going to make us late!"
"Coming Mom!" Riis shouted back. Entering the entrance hall with a small satchel, her mother smiled as she shook her head. Riis would never learn. Exiting the house, they made their way to the garage. Hopping into Ceciline's truck, the happy pair of shadowfox started to laugh at some random song on the radio as they drove off.
"Glad you could make it, Ceciline!" an excited person exclaimed as she answered the door. "Who's your friend?" The question was asked of Ceciline as soon as the person at the door had noticed Riis.
"Terri, this is my daughter, Riis," Ceciline started in way of introduction. "Riis, this is a good friend of mine from high school."
"Pleased to meet you," Riis stated as she shook hands with Terri.
"The pleasure is all mine," Terri replied with an obnoxious smile. The smile caused Riis to wonder if it was stuck on her face.
Getting ushered inside, Riis was introduced to a few people before she excused herself on account of needing to use the facilities. Following the directions given to her by Terri, Riis made her way down a hallway, her tail swishing in frustration, hidden to those unskilled in magic by magic.
Riis was stopped in her quest to the bathroom by a beautiful window. The window itself was open, but on the sill were a variety of flowers that she hadn't seen before. By how they grew, Riis assumed them to be orchids. Looking at them, she noticed that they were not what they appeared to be. The purple orchids were actually white orchids with a variety of purple stripes and splotches.
Movement outside caught her attention. Focusing outside, she noticed the blurs were in reality children, kids about her age. She smiled when they all started to laugh at a joke someone had told.
"Hey! You in the window!"
Riis looked around and found a boy waving at her.
"Use the stairs in the door behind you!"
The orchids and bathroom be damned, she wanted out of the house! Using the door the kid had told her of, Riis descended a set of stairs and emerged into the night. Crickets chirped and fireflies shone their sporadic lights in the grassy field just beyond the mowed lawn.
"You looked like you needed to escape the confines of the house," the same boy explained. "We're playing hide and go seek. The winner decides what we get to do next."
"'Kay," Riis replied. "Are there any boundaries?"
"No field or woods. Just mowed area," a girl supplied. "the crabapple tree is safe."
"Gotcha."
Riis proved to be the best in hide and go seek. She didn't know what the others wanted to do and she didn't really care what they did. She chose the boy that had called her outside to choose something to do. And so they played tag, spin the bottle, truth or dare?, hide and go seek, capture the flag and exchanged jokes and stories in between when someone went on a food and drink run. Riis learned all their names and a little bit about the other kids and they in tern learned a bit about her. She didn't reveal what she really was, but then again, they didn't really need to know. All too soon it seemed, the evening faded into night and in the wee hours of the morning, Ceciline called out to Riis and, together they headed to their truck with every intention on going home.
"How was your evening, Mother?" Riis asked as she stifled a yawn.
"Probably not as fun as yours," Ceciline replied with a smile. "I bet you had a lot of fun playing with the human kids."
"You have no idea," Riis replied.
As Riis looked out the window at the scenery, Ceciline was slightly worried. It was the weekend after college had gotten out for spring break. Where there was a break and college students, there were parties and drinks. Deadly combination when traveling was mixed with that. Ceciline was about to ask Riis what she wanted to do on the morrow when lights blinded her. She heard a crash, a scream, then knew nothing other than peaceful darkness . . . . . .
"Come on, Riis!" Ceciline shouted from the entrance hall. "You're going to make us late!"
"Coming Mom!" Riis shouted back. Entering the entrance hall with a small satchel, her mother smiled as she shook her head. Riis would never learn. Exiting the house, they made their way to the garage. Hopping into Ceciline's truck, the happy pair of shadowfox started to laugh at some random song on the radio as they drove off.
"Glad you could make it, Ceciline!" an excited person exclaimed as she answered the door. "Who's your friend?" The question was asked of Ceciline as soon as the person at the door had noticed Riis.
"Terri, this is my daughter, Riis," Ceciline started in way of introduction. "Riis, this is a good friend of mine from high school."
"Pleased to meet you," Riis stated as she shook hands with Terri.
"The pleasure is all mine," Terri replied with an obnoxious smile. The smile caused Riis to wonder if it was stuck on her face.
Getting ushered inside, Riis was introduced to a few people before she excused herself on account of needing to use the facilities. Following the directions given to her by Terri, Riis made her way down a hallway, her tail swishing in frustration, hidden to those unskilled in magic by magic.
Riis was stopped in her quest to the bathroom by a beautiful window. The window itself was open, but on the sill were a variety of flowers that she hadn't seen before. By how they grew, Riis assumed them to be orchids. Looking at them, she noticed that they were not what they appeared to be. The purple orchids were actually white orchids with a variety of purple stripes and splotches.
Movement outside caught her attention. Focusing outside, she noticed the blurs were in reality children, kids about her age. She smiled when they all started to laugh at a joke someone had told.
"Hey! You in the window!"
Riis looked around and found a boy waving at her.
"Use the stairs in the door behind you!"
The orchids and bathroom be damned, she wanted out of the house! Using the door the kid had told her of, Riis descended a set of stairs and emerged into the night. Crickets chirped and fireflies shone their sporadic lights in the grassy field just beyond the mowed lawn.
"You looked like you needed to escape the confines of the house," the same boy explained. "We're playing hide and go seek. The winner decides what we get to do next."
"'Kay," Riis replied. "Are there any boundaries?"
"No field or woods. Just mowed area," a girl supplied. "the crabapple tree is safe."
"Gotcha."
Riis proved to be the best in hide and go seek. She didn't know what the others wanted to do and she didn't really care what they did. She chose the boy that had called her outside to choose something to do. And so they played tag, spin the bottle, truth or dare?, hide and go seek, capture the flag and exchanged jokes and stories in between when someone went on a food and drink run. Riis learned all their names and a little bit about the other kids and they in tern learned a bit about her. She didn't reveal what she really was, but then again, they didn't really need to know. All too soon it seemed, the evening faded into night and in the wee hours of the morning, Ceciline called out to Riis and, together they headed to their truck with every intention on going home.
"How was your evening, Mother?" Riis asked as she stifled a yawn.
"Probably not as fun as yours," Ceciline replied with a smile. "I bet you had a lot of fun playing with the human kids."
"You have no idea," Riis replied.
As Riis looked out the window at the scenery, Ceciline was slightly worried. It was the weekend after college had gotten out for spring break. Where there was a break and college students, there were parties and drinks. Deadly combination when traveling was mixed with that. Ceciline was about to ask Riis what she wanted to do on the morrow when lights blinded her. She heard a crash, a scream, then knew nothing other than peaceful darkness . . . . . .