Note: This story has many sources of inspiration among which is Dark
Siren's 'Reborn Again'.
Chapter 2: Nameless
Light streamed through the curtains as the sun began its climb of the day. It was a simple bedroom with little adorning it. The walls were a sky blue colour, dotted with white, giving the impression that one was flying. A sunbeam flashed through the window onto Nina's face and she murmured and rolled over, still asleep. She opened her eyes groggily, stretched and yawned. She got up to open the curtains and looked at the snow-covered cityscape that lay outside her window. She lived in the housing district of Winlan, so there were apartment buildings and houses as far as she could see; the apartment she lived in was the tallest structure in this district and she lived almost on the top floor so she had a good view of the surrounding area. White snow covered roofs and grass and it sparkled in the awakening sunlight. Sunlight reflected off the amulet she wore which now rested on her chest and she lifted it into the light so she could look at it as she did every morning. It was a family heirloom, which had been passed down in her family for countless generations. A teardrop shaped piece of glass in a gold setting and within that glass was a white feather with a brown tip (1). Nina looked over to the clock, which read eight thirty as the time. She smiled softly and proceeded to get dressed.
After getting dressed she prepared herself breakfast, which consisted of cold cereal. In her left hand she held a spoon and in her right there was a pencil; with the sketchpad next to the bowl she used this time to eat and sketch out scenes from her dreams. It had been a practice of hers since she was a young child and now, as a young adult, she felt her skills were adequate for one of her hobbies: painting.
After breakfast she put her dishes in the dishwasher and went to her studio. In fact it wasn't really an art studio, but rather the living room she had converted into a studio. The walls, floor and ceiling were white and the light illuminated the room perfectly. Her paintings decorated the walls, some were finished others were mere sketches, all of them had a fantasy motif as dragons and/or angels were represented in each picture. These were inspired from legends she had heard and dreams she had; she didn't know why but those stories of yesteryear with heroes and villains, princesses and knights she loved the best. A bygone world where good fought evil and won, a world of fantasy by today's standards, where corporate tycoons crushed the hopes of dreams of the little guy and religion made puppets of the common person...
'Hah, maybe I should try writing poetry with lines like that.' Nina thought to herself.
She sat on a stool in the middle of the room, a nearly finished painting before her. It depicted a woman with wings standing on the edge of a cliff during sunrise, a dragon's silhouette in the far background. She only needed to put the finishing touches on it before it was ready to be brought to a small gallery she knew downtown. She had made some paintings for them before and was decently paid for them, considering she was relatively unknown as an artist. Between her regular job and the painting she could afford a very nice apartment and still have money left for extra things.
It didn't take her long to finish the painting and as she put it in a protective case, so she could easily bring it to the gallery upon the morrow, the phone rang.
"Hey, Nina. It's Kit, you busy?" Kit said in hushed tones on the other end of the phone.
"Uh... Why are you whispering?" Nina asked.
"The guys are still sleeping, the club was open till three last night."
"And yet you're up at this hour. How do you do it?"
"Coffee... lots of it. So do you think you can give me a lift today?"
"Where are you going?"
"Shopping. I still haven't gotten a gift for Lastic and Rick yet." Kit said sheepishly.
"Fine, I'll be there in a few."
The only real reason that Nina had a car was that sometimes the subway and bus system of Winlan was convenient as one would like. Nina arrived at the jazz club that Kit, Lastic and Rick lived above. The front door was only the entrance to the club and not to the apartment they lived in, there was another entrance for that via the fire escape on the side of the building. Nina climbed the metal ladder and was about to open the window to get in when Kit opened it, putting a finger to her lips, indicating silence. They both left the building and headed for the business district.
"So why do you need me anyways? The business district isn't that far from here." Nina asked as they looked for a parking space in the business district.
"You wait until now to ask? Well I wanted someone else's opinion on the gifts that I was getting and Lenn and Rin aren't exactly the most... er well they never go out anyways except for really special occasions." Kit shrugged.
The business district, a place where people went to work, shop, eat out and generally conduct various forms of business. This district was famous for its huge malls and small shops; if you were looking for something either rare or common, if you couldn't find it in this district, it didn't exist. Cars were not allowed within the district proper, too many people walking around going from shop to shop, from mall to mall, so there were huge parking lots; Nina was fortunate to find a parking space just one snow laden alley crossing away from the district proper. Of course since it was close to a holiday, there were hundreds, thousands, possibly even millions (2) of shoppers filling the district, many of them tourists; this number of people also brought something else other than business: doom saying prophets. As Nina and Kit entered the district, it wasn't too hard to spot several of them in the middle of a crowd preaching the end of the world.
"REPENT, SINNERS!" One rag dressed old man cried out.
"TURN TO GOD, OUR SAVIOR!" One rag dressed old woman cried.
"THE END IS NIGH!" Cried a rag dressed young man.
"TURN TO EVANS AND SAVE YOUR WRETCHED SELVS!" Cried a rag dressed young woman.
Each carried a large sign with 'The End is Near' painted on it with four keys, each pointing in a different direction, forming a cross, the symbol of the Brotherhood of St. Evans.
~SOL Kit ~
I admit I'm not the most religious person in the world, so I think I can look at these groups objectively and say they're all nuts.
Well maybe not all of them, those who follow Ladon seem pretty relaxed, but they're an exception. Myria's followers are hardcore pacifists; they will only defend themselves or their books, but will never, ever fight. I know fighting is bad and violence only begets more violence and crap like that, but still not fighting at all even when you're being attacked is ridiculous.
Then there is the Brotherhood of St. Evans... I don't know really, their teachings are nice but the followers really give me the creeps. They're nice and persistent and absolutely outta their friken minds; sure they're nice, but they really want you to join their religion and they are sooooo aggressive about it.
Funny thing is that ever since these nuts with the doomsday signs started showing up, the number of followers of the Brotherhood of St. Evans started to increase a lot.
~ End SOL ~
"O-kay moving right along." Kit said, dragging Nina away from the crowd.
They went down a street of specialty shops, each being different and unique. Kit suddenly stopped in front of a shop and her face adopted an expression of intense desire at the windows contents.
~ SOL Nina ~
There is one thing I haven't mentioned about Kit. She's usually a very nice person, but there are a few things that get her... well, excited: one is religion; another is when people try to mess with her friends, family or her club and the last thing are guns. The girl is a regular gun nut.
~ End SOL ~
Kit stood at the window marvelling at all the guns, but her gaze came to one piece most often.
"A 314 Vesper (3)! There were only five of those made." She exclaimed.
"Stop drooling over it. We don't want your face to get stuck to the window." Nina said, prying Kit away from the gun shop window.
"B-but... awwww, don't ruin my daydreams you." Kit said with a half disappointed, half amused tone. "Hrmph... Looks cloudy today. Matches my mood right now."
The sky was indeed dark with clouds, but it did not seem as though the weather itself was bad. It was cold enough so that water would freeze and one could see one's breath, but warm enough to be out and about. At least, it was until it started hailing (4); hail the size of golf balls started raining down, forcing all to take shelter. Kit laughed as she saw the prophetic nuts from before get hit with several hail stones. Nina and Kit dashed into the first shop they saw. Once inside and safe from the hail, they looked around; the shop was filled with books and pieces of jewellery as well as mystic objects used for divination, voodoo and other forms of magic. One thing stood out though, next to the main counter, which had a red curtain behind it, there stood a sort of metal golem creature. It seemed to be some sort of armour meant for someone with a very heavy body. It almost seemed to be alive, with those goggle-like eye slots.
"Welcome, the winds of magic are whimsical today. How may I help you?" A voice from behind the curtain said.
The curtains parted and a woman of exquisite beauty came forth. She had a youthful face, but her eyes seemed an ageless, deep blue. He hair was indigo and long, bound in a sort of topknot with a purple band with gold trim. She wore golden, transparent shawls and seemed like a mystical gypsy from a fairytale.
"Um... We didn't come to buy anything. We were just avoiding the hail." Nina said.
"It isn't hailing." The woman stated.
Nina and Kit turned and looked outside; it was not hailing any longer. Nina blinked, confused; it should have hailed more than that, at least so it seemed to her. Kit shrugged and went back to browsing the shelves.
"Since you are here, perhaps you would care to buy something, or have your fortune told?" The woman asked.
"Ah... not that's okay miss..." Nina began.
"Deis and it's alright, this is just for amusement, you don't have to pay." The woman said.
"Hey Nina, look at this." Kit called her over. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Nina looked at the piece Kit was referring to, a silver dragon amulet, curled about a tear-shaped gem.
"That is called the Dragon's Tear. In the right hands it has great magic power." Deis said.
"It looks like those pieces that are sometimes sold as good luck charms. Those are pretty cheap." Nina replied looking at the jewel.
"This is the original and even if it wasn't it's still made of materials far more expensive than those cheap knockoffs." Deis said. "Now... about that fortune."
Nina looked at the Dragon Tear a bit longer; it seemed of a far greater quality than any of those cheaper versions she had seen, but she had finished her shopping anyways, there was no reason to buy it. She put it down and walked over to Deis' counter, figuring that since it was a free reading she had nothing to loose.
"So how shall you devine my future?" Nina asked with a cheerful, though sarcastic tone. "Tea leaves? Casting Rune Stones? Astronomy? Crystal ball gazing?"
"For someone who seems so cynical on fortune telling you know quite a few ways to do it." Deis commented. "And I will be using tarot cards (5)."
Nina blushed a bit; it was true she knew a lot about this kind of thing, but only because it fell into the category of 'fantasy'. She watched Deis shuffle the cards with expert grace and skill. Deis stopped and picked a card off the top, laying it on the counter. There was a princess with a gold cup as the image of the card.
"Princess of Cups. That is you, my little Querent; a daydreamer, creative and curious. A teller of tales and one who listens to tales as well." Deis said, glancing up at Nina.
Nina said nothing, it was pretty accurate, but nothing to be overly concerned about. It was vague enough to refer to anyone really.
"Shall we look into your present situation?" Deis asked, laying another card down on the counter.
The symbol was that of a female angel by a river and two cups with water flowing between them.
"Temperance. You seek balance in your life, between your art and your work, between your social life and work life. You seek harmony."
Nina shifted uncomfortably. This was creepy and accurate, but she still felt that it was all bullshit. Deis smiled mysteriously and picked another card from the deck.
"Your future." She said, laying another card on the counter.
It was a tower on a rocky outcropping being struck by a bolt of lightning; several figures tumbled from the tower and waves crashed below.
"The Tower. Its simplest interpretation is change, quick and abrupt. The tower stands for false concepts and institutions that we take for real. You're going to get the kind of revelation that shakes your beliefs to their very core, possibly even bring them down all together. This isn't good or bad, change is never either, but it this will be a time of trial for you."
Nina said nothing; she really didn't like where this was going. Life was enough of a pain in the ass without that kind of trouble... but of course fortune telling was bullshit and thus she didn't have to worry about it. Didn't she? Deis lay another card on the counter, a lone figure dressed in a robe, carrying a sheathed katana in his left hand and lowering the brim of a straw hat over his eyes. He traveled in a barren land. Nina could not see the character's face, but the card scene reminded her of the old samurai films she loved.
"Where he walks, he walks alone. Where he fights, he fights alone. The Hermit will figure prominently in your future."
Deis laid three cards on the counter; one was a princess with a pentacle above her head; another was a prince, wand in hand and the last was a chariot with an armoured warrior, being led by a black stallion and a white stallion, the sun at his back.
"These are your allies during this time: the Princess of Pentacles, one who builds, one who shapes. She has a good mind for things like money and is at times serious and practical. The Prince of Wands, charismatic, who never slows down and always goes for grand gestures. Last is the one closest to your heart, your lover I would say. The Chariot, bringing opposites together, struggling to keep those opposites going in the same direction; with absolute control over himself, he is loyal and faithful, but he fights alone."
Nina immediately thought of Kit as the princess of pentacles, despite the way she acted she was always serious and she did have a good head for things like money, considering she kept an eye on hers, Rick's and Lastic's finances. The prince of wands was Lastic, he always seemed to be doing something and he never thought small. The Chariot, could it be Joshua? Nina didn't see how. Deis took three cards from the deck and placed them on the counter. One was a man hanging upside-down from a tree, his hands across his chest. His face appeared quite peaceful and his free leg was bent to form the number four. The next was a beautiful woman who sat on a glorious throne, there was something mysterious about her smile that suggested she knew things others did not. The last was a winged, horned devil upon a black pedestal, a naked man and woman chained at his feet, an inverted pentagram above the devil's head.
"These are your adversaries. The Hanged Man, one caught between worlds, between heaven and earth, spiritual and physical, life and death. The High Priestess, one who hides knowledge. She holds the answers to many questions, but she may not answer. Last is the Devil, a creature of power, controlling and aggressive. But do not take the image of the card as the literal appearance of whom you shall face." Deis concluded.
"You know something? I think this is all bull. Your just another hotline psychic." Nina said calmly.
"It is your prerogative to not heed these signs, but I ask that you take these." Deis said, handing Nina another pack of cards. "These cards, different from tarot cards, have great power in the right hands. Take them, you owe me nothing."
Nina took the cards and turned around. Kit was examining the suit of armour.
"Something up Kit?" Nina asked.
"I... I could have sworn this thing moved." She said. "I found something to get for Rick, I'll just pay for it and we can leave."
The two left and after they did, Deis looked at the armoured golem and glared. The suit looked almost like it would have and embarrassed sweat drop on its head.
"I brought you to my home world and you almost blew my cover..." Deis glared at it.
****************
After a long day, Kit and Nina parted ways; it wasn't far to get back to Kit's little apartment after all. It was dark and Nina stood before the alleyway where she had to cross to get to the parking lot where her car was.
"Hmmmm... Dark alley... Night... Attractive, unarmed girl... Screams wouldn't be heard over nearby traffic... Shit! Sounds like the plot of a bad movie doesn't it?" She said to herself.
Nina, though reluctant, had to go through the alley. As she walked through it, she say a thug coming towards her from one end of the alley. She turned around, but another thug had cut off the other end.
~ SOL Nina ~
Admittedly I was scared, I was the only one there, so they could only be coming for me. I wasn't about to let these two assholes take me though; I'm not some shrinking violet. So I did the only thing I could: I charged the one who was between the parking lot and me and kicked him in the family jewels.
~ End SOL ~
The thug fell to his knees, clutching his crotch in agony. Nina tried to run, but the second thug came up from behind her and grabbed her, pinning her so that she could not escape. The first thug staggered to his feet and backhanded Nina across the face. She fell to the ground, hurt, but more angry than anything else.
"Fucking bitch!" The first thug snarled at her.
"Hey! What the hell do you think your doing? You can't break her before we've used her." The second thug complained.
The first thug was about to reply when he spotted something at the other end of the alley. A man was approaching, slowly, methodically. He wore a long grey coat, it seemed old, not in terms of age, but in terms of style, as though it were something a duke or official would have worn several centuries ago. He wore a white shirt beneath the coat, brown pants and black boots also in similar style, it looked almost medieval. A hood was drawn over his head, so it was difficult to make out his face (6). He carried a sheathed katana in his left hand; the sheath was midnight blue with golden draconic designs. The hilt of the sword was made of gold and pommel, gold as well, was in the shape of a dragon's head.
"I'll take care of this. You keep an eye on the bitch." The first thug said moving towards the approaching figure. "Hey man. I'm sure you don't want trouble, so just turn back the way you came. Unless of course you want to join in, then I'm going to have to ask for payment though."
The stranger said nothing. He reached out and grabbed the thug by the head and shoved him into the wall. The thug's head impacted so hard that cracks formed in the wall and he fell unconscious. The other thug kicked Nina away from him and took out a gun.
"Son of a bitch!" He yelled opening fire on the stranger.
The stranger dodged the shot and as he did so his hood fell, revealing long blue hair, bound near the end. He had a handsome face, but it seemed devoid of all emotion and expression. The thug fired at him again and again, but the stranger zigzagged across the alley, dodging all shots. When he was in close, the stranger knocked the gun out of the thug's hand with his sheathed sword, then punched him in the gut, causing the thug to bend over in agony, the stranger then struck the thug's face with his knee and end with a roundhouse kick to the head, sending the thug flying behind him, crashing into the snowbound ground.
"What the fuck are you, man?" The thug said as he turned onto his back.
The stranger said nothing as he turned. He brought up his blade before him and slowly unsheathed it.
~ SOL Nina ~
'Your executioner' were the words that came to mind when he pulled out his sword. I don't know really, but I was more afraid of what that guy was going to do to the thug than of what the thugs were going to do to me. Sure, they should be punished, but this seemed a little extreme and, well, I didn't want the stranger to do it for some reason. I was still surprised by what I did next though.
~ End SOL~
Nina grabbed the stranger's arm just as he was about to bring the sword down upon the thug.
"STOP!" Nina cried out. "He's done and was about to do bad things... but that doesn't give you the right to end his life."
The stranger looked at her, his eyes devoid of emotion, his expression had yet to change, and he lowered his sword. The thug, terrified, got up ran off to drag his companion away and escape as best he could. The stranger looked at where they had gone and began to walk in that direction.
"Wait!" Nina said.
The stranger stopped and looked back at her. Nina saw him in a profile view and was startle by how much he looked like the figure in the Hermit card she had seen earlier.
"Um... ah... D-do you have a place to stay?" She asked nervously. "You can stay at my place... er y'know as payment for... uh saving my life?"
'Aghhh... why did I say that? Why did I say that? I don't know this guy, he could be a killer for all I know.' She thought to herself. (7)
The stranger turned around and joined her, walking towards the parking lot.
"My name is Nina... w-what's your name?" Nina asked.
"I don't have a name." The blue haired stranger said for the first time.
************************************************************************
"Though it moves like a living thing, anyone can tell it lacks a soul... not to mention mercy." (Hollow Warrior, Magic: The Gathering)
Music: 'Auron's theme' (Final Fantasy X)
1)- This is a reference to the amulet the Wanderer gave Nina in my story 'Requiem of Souls'
2)- Downtown Montreal is like this a week before Christmas.
3)- I don't know guns, so I get types and names from anime shows.
4)- Hail: for those of you who live in a warm climate and don't even know what hail is, it's ice balls that rain down from the sky under certain weather conditions and boy do the larger ones sting when they hit.
5)- I know a bit about tarot cards, but not enough to actually tell fortunes, so I just made the cards fit the future I wanted, it's probably totally wrong. Its Crowley style tarot cards in case you're wondering.
6)- For a visual reference, the stranger's character design is similar to Deshwitat from Lee Kangwoo's manga, 'Rebirth'.
7)- This irked me. What I wanted to do was have them part ways here and meet again latter on, so it would seem more realistic, but my brain just wouldn't cooperate. Sometimes I wonder if I control my characters or if I'm simply recording their actions.
Chapter 2: Nameless
Light streamed through the curtains as the sun began its climb of the day. It was a simple bedroom with little adorning it. The walls were a sky blue colour, dotted with white, giving the impression that one was flying. A sunbeam flashed through the window onto Nina's face and she murmured and rolled over, still asleep. She opened her eyes groggily, stretched and yawned. She got up to open the curtains and looked at the snow-covered cityscape that lay outside her window. She lived in the housing district of Winlan, so there were apartment buildings and houses as far as she could see; the apartment she lived in was the tallest structure in this district and she lived almost on the top floor so she had a good view of the surrounding area. White snow covered roofs and grass and it sparkled in the awakening sunlight. Sunlight reflected off the amulet she wore which now rested on her chest and she lifted it into the light so she could look at it as she did every morning. It was a family heirloom, which had been passed down in her family for countless generations. A teardrop shaped piece of glass in a gold setting and within that glass was a white feather with a brown tip (1). Nina looked over to the clock, which read eight thirty as the time. She smiled softly and proceeded to get dressed.
After getting dressed she prepared herself breakfast, which consisted of cold cereal. In her left hand she held a spoon and in her right there was a pencil; with the sketchpad next to the bowl she used this time to eat and sketch out scenes from her dreams. It had been a practice of hers since she was a young child and now, as a young adult, she felt her skills were adequate for one of her hobbies: painting.
After breakfast she put her dishes in the dishwasher and went to her studio. In fact it wasn't really an art studio, but rather the living room she had converted into a studio. The walls, floor and ceiling were white and the light illuminated the room perfectly. Her paintings decorated the walls, some were finished others were mere sketches, all of them had a fantasy motif as dragons and/or angels were represented in each picture. These were inspired from legends she had heard and dreams she had; she didn't know why but those stories of yesteryear with heroes and villains, princesses and knights she loved the best. A bygone world where good fought evil and won, a world of fantasy by today's standards, where corporate tycoons crushed the hopes of dreams of the little guy and religion made puppets of the common person...
'Hah, maybe I should try writing poetry with lines like that.' Nina thought to herself.
She sat on a stool in the middle of the room, a nearly finished painting before her. It depicted a woman with wings standing on the edge of a cliff during sunrise, a dragon's silhouette in the far background. She only needed to put the finishing touches on it before it was ready to be brought to a small gallery she knew downtown. She had made some paintings for them before and was decently paid for them, considering she was relatively unknown as an artist. Between her regular job and the painting she could afford a very nice apartment and still have money left for extra things.
It didn't take her long to finish the painting and as she put it in a protective case, so she could easily bring it to the gallery upon the morrow, the phone rang.
"Hey, Nina. It's Kit, you busy?" Kit said in hushed tones on the other end of the phone.
"Uh... Why are you whispering?" Nina asked.
"The guys are still sleeping, the club was open till three last night."
"And yet you're up at this hour. How do you do it?"
"Coffee... lots of it. So do you think you can give me a lift today?"
"Where are you going?"
"Shopping. I still haven't gotten a gift for Lastic and Rick yet." Kit said sheepishly.
"Fine, I'll be there in a few."
The only real reason that Nina had a car was that sometimes the subway and bus system of Winlan was convenient as one would like. Nina arrived at the jazz club that Kit, Lastic and Rick lived above. The front door was only the entrance to the club and not to the apartment they lived in, there was another entrance for that via the fire escape on the side of the building. Nina climbed the metal ladder and was about to open the window to get in when Kit opened it, putting a finger to her lips, indicating silence. They both left the building and headed for the business district.
"So why do you need me anyways? The business district isn't that far from here." Nina asked as they looked for a parking space in the business district.
"You wait until now to ask? Well I wanted someone else's opinion on the gifts that I was getting and Lenn and Rin aren't exactly the most... er well they never go out anyways except for really special occasions." Kit shrugged.
The business district, a place where people went to work, shop, eat out and generally conduct various forms of business. This district was famous for its huge malls and small shops; if you were looking for something either rare or common, if you couldn't find it in this district, it didn't exist. Cars were not allowed within the district proper, too many people walking around going from shop to shop, from mall to mall, so there were huge parking lots; Nina was fortunate to find a parking space just one snow laden alley crossing away from the district proper. Of course since it was close to a holiday, there were hundreds, thousands, possibly even millions (2) of shoppers filling the district, many of them tourists; this number of people also brought something else other than business: doom saying prophets. As Nina and Kit entered the district, it wasn't too hard to spot several of them in the middle of a crowd preaching the end of the world.
"REPENT, SINNERS!" One rag dressed old man cried out.
"TURN TO GOD, OUR SAVIOR!" One rag dressed old woman cried.
"THE END IS NIGH!" Cried a rag dressed young man.
"TURN TO EVANS AND SAVE YOUR WRETCHED SELVS!" Cried a rag dressed young woman.
Each carried a large sign with 'The End is Near' painted on it with four keys, each pointing in a different direction, forming a cross, the symbol of the Brotherhood of St. Evans.
~SOL Kit ~
I admit I'm not the most religious person in the world, so I think I can look at these groups objectively and say they're all nuts.
Well maybe not all of them, those who follow Ladon seem pretty relaxed, but they're an exception. Myria's followers are hardcore pacifists; they will only defend themselves or their books, but will never, ever fight. I know fighting is bad and violence only begets more violence and crap like that, but still not fighting at all even when you're being attacked is ridiculous.
Then there is the Brotherhood of St. Evans... I don't know really, their teachings are nice but the followers really give me the creeps. They're nice and persistent and absolutely outta their friken minds; sure they're nice, but they really want you to join their religion and they are sooooo aggressive about it.
Funny thing is that ever since these nuts with the doomsday signs started showing up, the number of followers of the Brotherhood of St. Evans started to increase a lot.
~ End SOL ~
"O-kay moving right along." Kit said, dragging Nina away from the crowd.
They went down a street of specialty shops, each being different and unique. Kit suddenly stopped in front of a shop and her face adopted an expression of intense desire at the windows contents.
~ SOL Nina ~
There is one thing I haven't mentioned about Kit. She's usually a very nice person, but there are a few things that get her... well, excited: one is religion; another is when people try to mess with her friends, family or her club and the last thing are guns. The girl is a regular gun nut.
~ End SOL ~
Kit stood at the window marvelling at all the guns, but her gaze came to one piece most often.
"A 314 Vesper (3)! There were only five of those made." She exclaimed.
"Stop drooling over it. We don't want your face to get stuck to the window." Nina said, prying Kit away from the gun shop window.
"B-but... awwww, don't ruin my daydreams you." Kit said with a half disappointed, half amused tone. "Hrmph... Looks cloudy today. Matches my mood right now."
The sky was indeed dark with clouds, but it did not seem as though the weather itself was bad. It was cold enough so that water would freeze and one could see one's breath, but warm enough to be out and about. At least, it was until it started hailing (4); hail the size of golf balls started raining down, forcing all to take shelter. Kit laughed as she saw the prophetic nuts from before get hit with several hail stones. Nina and Kit dashed into the first shop they saw. Once inside and safe from the hail, they looked around; the shop was filled with books and pieces of jewellery as well as mystic objects used for divination, voodoo and other forms of magic. One thing stood out though, next to the main counter, which had a red curtain behind it, there stood a sort of metal golem creature. It seemed to be some sort of armour meant for someone with a very heavy body. It almost seemed to be alive, with those goggle-like eye slots.
"Welcome, the winds of magic are whimsical today. How may I help you?" A voice from behind the curtain said.
The curtains parted and a woman of exquisite beauty came forth. She had a youthful face, but her eyes seemed an ageless, deep blue. He hair was indigo and long, bound in a sort of topknot with a purple band with gold trim. She wore golden, transparent shawls and seemed like a mystical gypsy from a fairytale.
"Um... We didn't come to buy anything. We were just avoiding the hail." Nina said.
"It isn't hailing." The woman stated.
Nina and Kit turned and looked outside; it was not hailing any longer. Nina blinked, confused; it should have hailed more than that, at least so it seemed to her. Kit shrugged and went back to browsing the shelves.
"Since you are here, perhaps you would care to buy something, or have your fortune told?" The woman asked.
"Ah... not that's okay miss..." Nina began.
"Deis and it's alright, this is just for amusement, you don't have to pay." The woman said.
"Hey Nina, look at this." Kit called her over. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Nina looked at the piece Kit was referring to, a silver dragon amulet, curled about a tear-shaped gem.
"That is called the Dragon's Tear. In the right hands it has great magic power." Deis said.
"It looks like those pieces that are sometimes sold as good luck charms. Those are pretty cheap." Nina replied looking at the jewel.
"This is the original and even if it wasn't it's still made of materials far more expensive than those cheap knockoffs." Deis said. "Now... about that fortune."
Nina looked at the Dragon Tear a bit longer; it seemed of a far greater quality than any of those cheaper versions she had seen, but she had finished her shopping anyways, there was no reason to buy it. She put it down and walked over to Deis' counter, figuring that since it was a free reading she had nothing to loose.
"So how shall you devine my future?" Nina asked with a cheerful, though sarcastic tone. "Tea leaves? Casting Rune Stones? Astronomy? Crystal ball gazing?"
"For someone who seems so cynical on fortune telling you know quite a few ways to do it." Deis commented. "And I will be using tarot cards (5)."
Nina blushed a bit; it was true she knew a lot about this kind of thing, but only because it fell into the category of 'fantasy'. She watched Deis shuffle the cards with expert grace and skill. Deis stopped and picked a card off the top, laying it on the counter. There was a princess with a gold cup as the image of the card.
"Princess of Cups. That is you, my little Querent; a daydreamer, creative and curious. A teller of tales and one who listens to tales as well." Deis said, glancing up at Nina.
Nina said nothing, it was pretty accurate, but nothing to be overly concerned about. It was vague enough to refer to anyone really.
"Shall we look into your present situation?" Deis asked, laying another card down on the counter.
The symbol was that of a female angel by a river and two cups with water flowing between them.
"Temperance. You seek balance in your life, between your art and your work, between your social life and work life. You seek harmony."
Nina shifted uncomfortably. This was creepy and accurate, but she still felt that it was all bullshit. Deis smiled mysteriously and picked another card from the deck.
"Your future." She said, laying another card on the counter.
It was a tower on a rocky outcropping being struck by a bolt of lightning; several figures tumbled from the tower and waves crashed below.
"The Tower. Its simplest interpretation is change, quick and abrupt. The tower stands for false concepts and institutions that we take for real. You're going to get the kind of revelation that shakes your beliefs to their very core, possibly even bring them down all together. This isn't good or bad, change is never either, but it this will be a time of trial for you."
Nina said nothing; she really didn't like where this was going. Life was enough of a pain in the ass without that kind of trouble... but of course fortune telling was bullshit and thus she didn't have to worry about it. Didn't she? Deis lay another card on the counter, a lone figure dressed in a robe, carrying a sheathed katana in his left hand and lowering the brim of a straw hat over his eyes. He traveled in a barren land. Nina could not see the character's face, but the card scene reminded her of the old samurai films she loved.
"Where he walks, he walks alone. Where he fights, he fights alone. The Hermit will figure prominently in your future."
Deis laid three cards on the counter; one was a princess with a pentacle above her head; another was a prince, wand in hand and the last was a chariot with an armoured warrior, being led by a black stallion and a white stallion, the sun at his back.
"These are your allies during this time: the Princess of Pentacles, one who builds, one who shapes. She has a good mind for things like money and is at times serious and practical. The Prince of Wands, charismatic, who never slows down and always goes for grand gestures. Last is the one closest to your heart, your lover I would say. The Chariot, bringing opposites together, struggling to keep those opposites going in the same direction; with absolute control over himself, he is loyal and faithful, but he fights alone."
Nina immediately thought of Kit as the princess of pentacles, despite the way she acted she was always serious and she did have a good head for things like money, considering she kept an eye on hers, Rick's and Lastic's finances. The prince of wands was Lastic, he always seemed to be doing something and he never thought small. The Chariot, could it be Joshua? Nina didn't see how. Deis took three cards from the deck and placed them on the counter. One was a man hanging upside-down from a tree, his hands across his chest. His face appeared quite peaceful and his free leg was bent to form the number four. The next was a beautiful woman who sat on a glorious throne, there was something mysterious about her smile that suggested she knew things others did not. The last was a winged, horned devil upon a black pedestal, a naked man and woman chained at his feet, an inverted pentagram above the devil's head.
"These are your adversaries. The Hanged Man, one caught between worlds, between heaven and earth, spiritual and physical, life and death. The High Priestess, one who hides knowledge. She holds the answers to many questions, but she may not answer. Last is the Devil, a creature of power, controlling and aggressive. But do not take the image of the card as the literal appearance of whom you shall face." Deis concluded.
"You know something? I think this is all bull. Your just another hotline psychic." Nina said calmly.
"It is your prerogative to not heed these signs, but I ask that you take these." Deis said, handing Nina another pack of cards. "These cards, different from tarot cards, have great power in the right hands. Take them, you owe me nothing."
Nina took the cards and turned around. Kit was examining the suit of armour.
"Something up Kit?" Nina asked.
"I... I could have sworn this thing moved." She said. "I found something to get for Rick, I'll just pay for it and we can leave."
The two left and after they did, Deis looked at the armoured golem and glared. The suit looked almost like it would have and embarrassed sweat drop on its head.
"I brought you to my home world and you almost blew my cover..." Deis glared at it.
****************
After a long day, Kit and Nina parted ways; it wasn't far to get back to Kit's little apartment after all. It was dark and Nina stood before the alleyway where she had to cross to get to the parking lot where her car was.
"Hmmmm... Dark alley... Night... Attractive, unarmed girl... Screams wouldn't be heard over nearby traffic... Shit! Sounds like the plot of a bad movie doesn't it?" She said to herself.
Nina, though reluctant, had to go through the alley. As she walked through it, she say a thug coming towards her from one end of the alley. She turned around, but another thug had cut off the other end.
~ SOL Nina ~
Admittedly I was scared, I was the only one there, so they could only be coming for me. I wasn't about to let these two assholes take me though; I'm not some shrinking violet. So I did the only thing I could: I charged the one who was between the parking lot and me and kicked him in the family jewels.
~ End SOL ~
The thug fell to his knees, clutching his crotch in agony. Nina tried to run, but the second thug came up from behind her and grabbed her, pinning her so that she could not escape. The first thug staggered to his feet and backhanded Nina across the face. She fell to the ground, hurt, but more angry than anything else.
"Fucking bitch!" The first thug snarled at her.
"Hey! What the hell do you think your doing? You can't break her before we've used her." The second thug complained.
The first thug was about to reply when he spotted something at the other end of the alley. A man was approaching, slowly, methodically. He wore a long grey coat, it seemed old, not in terms of age, but in terms of style, as though it were something a duke or official would have worn several centuries ago. He wore a white shirt beneath the coat, brown pants and black boots also in similar style, it looked almost medieval. A hood was drawn over his head, so it was difficult to make out his face (6). He carried a sheathed katana in his left hand; the sheath was midnight blue with golden draconic designs. The hilt of the sword was made of gold and pommel, gold as well, was in the shape of a dragon's head.
"I'll take care of this. You keep an eye on the bitch." The first thug said moving towards the approaching figure. "Hey man. I'm sure you don't want trouble, so just turn back the way you came. Unless of course you want to join in, then I'm going to have to ask for payment though."
The stranger said nothing. He reached out and grabbed the thug by the head and shoved him into the wall. The thug's head impacted so hard that cracks formed in the wall and he fell unconscious. The other thug kicked Nina away from him and took out a gun.
"Son of a bitch!" He yelled opening fire on the stranger.
The stranger dodged the shot and as he did so his hood fell, revealing long blue hair, bound near the end. He had a handsome face, but it seemed devoid of all emotion and expression. The thug fired at him again and again, but the stranger zigzagged across the alley, dodging all shots. When he was in close, the stranger knocked the gun out of the thug's hand with his sheathed sword, then punched him in the gut, causing the thug to bend over in agony, the stranger then struck the thug's face with his knee and end with a roundhouse kick to the head, sending the thug flying behind him, crashing into the snowbound ground.
"What the fuck are you, man?" The thug said as he turned onto his back.
The stranger said nothing as he turned. He brought up his blade before him and slowly unsheathed it.
~ SOL Nina ~
'Your executioner' were the words that came to mind when he pulled out his sword. I don't know really, but I was more afraid of what that guy was going to do to the thug than of what the thugs were going to do to me. Sure, they should be punished, but this seemed a little extreme and, well, I didn't want the stranger to do it for some reason. I was still surprised by what I did next though.
~ End SOL~
Nina grabbed the stranger's arm just as he was about to bring the sword down upon the thug.
"STOP!" Nina cried out. "He's done and was about to do bad things... but that doesn't give you the right to end his life."
The stranger looked at her, his eyes devoid of emotion, his expression had yet to change, and he lowered his sword. The thug, terrified, got up ran off to drag his companion away and escape as best he could. The stranger looked at where they had gone and began to walk in that direction.
"Wait!" Nina said.
The stranger stopped and looked back at her. Nina saw him in a profile view and was startle by how much he looked like the figure in the Hermit card she had seen earlier.
"Um... ah... D-do you have a place to stay?" She asked nervously. "You can stay at my place... er y'know as payment for... uh saving my life?"
'Aghhh... why did I say that? Why did I say that? I don't know this guy, he could be a killer for all I know.' She thought to herself. (7)
The stranger turned around and joined her, walking towards the parking lot.
"My name is Nina... w-what's your name?" Nina asked.
"I don't have a name." The blue haired stranger said for the first time.
************************************************************************
"Though it moves like a living thing, anyone can tell it lacks a soul... not to mention mercy." (Hollow Warrior, Magic: The Gathering)
Music: 'Auron's theme' (Final Fantasy X)
1)- This is a reference to the amulet the Wanderer gave Nina in my story 'Requiem of Souls'
2)- Downtown Montreal is like this a week before Christmas.
3)- I don't know guns, so I get types and names from anime shows.
4)- Hail: for those of you who live in a warm climate and don't even know what hail is, it's ice balls that rain down from the sky under certain weather conditions and boy do the larger ones sting when they hit.
5)- I know a bit about tarot cards, but not enough to actually tell fortunes, so I just made the cards fit the future I wanted, it's probably totally wrong. Its Crowley style tarot cards in case you're wondering.
6)- For a visual reference, the stranger's character design is similar to Deshwitat from Lee Kangwoo's manga, 'Rebirth'.
7)- This irked me. What I wanted to do was have them part ways here and meet again latter on, so it would seem more realistic, but my brain just wouldn't cooperate. Sometimes I wonder if I control my characters or if I'm simply recording their actions.