Deyzi: Chapter 1 - Only the Meek Survive

She pulled the sleeves of her tattered grey hoodie over her small hands, rubbing her arms to try and get some warmth into them. Her pink scuffed sneakers dragged her across the sidewalk of the crowded town, her eyes searching for anything she could take. A blanket or a box, something to keep the night chill away.

It sounded like she was in a fix, but in reality, she knew it was better than what she had left behind. Her parents had just died, leaving her to fall into the custody of her bumbling second cousin. It hadn't been because of Marcie Seint, in fact, Deyzi knew that she would deeply miss her kind, sweet second cousin. It was the asylum she worked at.

Because she lived alone, Marcie took her cousin with her to the asylum and let her wait in the lobby until her shift was over. The experience was one unpleasant; she could hear screaming and insane laughter behind the lobby walls, and those that came into the building always gave her stares that made her skin crawl unbearably. The last straw had been when a patient escaped and made it to the front of the asylum, and had grabbed her up and screamed into her face, then threatened to scar her "pretty lil 'ace" should he ever see her again. Ignoring this warning to her cousin's safety, Marcie continued to bring her, claiming that she was safe. Deyzi, even at six, decided that she didn't want to test fate, and so, when the oblivious receptionist wasn't looking, she snuck away.

Now, there were specks of doubt in her head. She had nowhere to go, no shelter or money. She touched the necklace around her neck, a cool gray stone hanging from a silver chain. Her parents had always told her that she should never take it off. She never did, even when they died, out of respect, and honestly it made her feel closer to them.

Her stomach growled angrily. Of course, she forgot she had no food.

She stopped and sighed, tugging at the left braid hanging from her head. She had her father's pale blonde hair and her mother's deep chestnut eyes. Her father used to tug fondly at her braids, telling her mother that she should cut them off when she was older, it would fit her face better. Her mother always protest, but then smile at her, as if agreeing with him. Their smiles were still burned in her brain, filling with her with warmth and emptiness. She couldn't believe that it had been two months already.

Her thoughts were jarred when she smelled sweet cinnamon. Her eyes darted around until she saw the bakery, her mouth watering at the sight of delicious goodies in the window. Without a second thought she took off, passing through the crowd with ease due to her small stature. She reached the store in moments and went in, her eyes wide with ecstasy when she saw all the shelves of baked marvels. Her cousin had only had enough money to buy tasteless cereals and bland tv dinners, so the thought of a simple bagel was enough to make little Deyzi's heart skip a beat.

"Can I help you?"

She looked up at the counter and saw a plump dame grinning at her. She had a cloud of white hair that sat on her round head like a cat, and big glasses that made her deep blue eyes gigantic. Her floral dress draped her ungracefully, resembling a tent more than a clothing. Deyzi pushed this aside and beamed at her. Her smile was kind, and surely she was.

"I'm hungry," she told her, folding her hands in front of her and tilting her head.

"Oh, you are, deary? Well, I've got plenty of things to eat right here. What would you like?"

"Something small please. Like a scone."

"Okay, hunny. That will be one pound please."

Deyzi's face fell and she grabbed her necklace.

"I...I don't have any money, ma'am. I'm an orphan."

The woman's smile flickered, but held.

"Winston!" she called.

A door opened behind Deyzi and she turned to come face to face with a tall, brawny man with a small head and big hands. His eyes were beady and his mouth was thin; both were scowling down at her.

"Winston, honey, do we give things away for free here?" the woman asked as Deyzi shook.

"No, ma'am," the man growled, leaning down towards Deyzi.

"Well, there you have it, dear. I suggest you leave now."

"But - " Deyzi started feebly tugging her Cain until the metal stung.

"Are ya talkin' back, runt?" Winston snarled.

"N-No…"

"Then get out."

Deyzi whimpered and backed away from the giant, her hands gripping her skirt tightly. The woman's smile was still on her plump face, bigger than ever, as she watched the small girl stumble to the door. Deyzi felt tears grabbing the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks.

She stopped when she saw the display of scones and biscuits.

She could feel the eyes of the adults on her, knew they were waiting for her to leave them. Something stung her chest, something defiant; she straightened and the tears left as her mind went cold.

"Well?" the woman asked, her soft voice strained. "Aren't you goin - "

Her fingers were wrapping around a biscuit before she even gave the command. Winston shouted and lumbered after her as she deftly slipped out the entrance, her ears plugging the sound of his orders to stop. Once she was in the streets people were moving out of her way, staring at her as she ran towards the alley across from the bakery. She could practically feel Winston's steps behind her, and allowed herself one look back to see how close he was. Her heart jumped when she saw that he was only two feet away, a cord of spit running down his angry face. She turned and saw the obstacle in the middle of the alley.

A tall, rickety fence barricaded her escape.

She couldn't stop, and she couldn't turn, so she had to keep moving forward, but she knew that when she hit that fence she was going to be trapped. There was no way to climb up fast enough to evade Winston, as the chains reached all the way to the top of the alley. But she had to keep going forward, she had to get away. Maybe if her determination was big enough, she could gain some ground on the big beast.

Just a little faster, she thought, trying to focus on the other side of the fence, trying to ignore the stinging in her little lungs and the shouts of her pursuer. Just a little more…

Winston reached out his hand for her, trying to grab one of her braids. He could barely process the fact that her body was shifting, as if being pulled like rubber. His fingers brushed her flinging braid and tried to close around it, but it sifted through his hand like water. Soon she was no more than a blur of colors, strings of fabric, blasting their way through the chains of the gate with a loud pop! He stopped in time to avoid crashing into it, and watched as the fabric swirled back together to form the little girl, gasping for air and shaking uncontrollably.

"Bloody 'ell was that?" Winston whimpered as she keeled over and vomited whatever was in her stomach onto the concrete.

Deyzi coughed and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, eyeing Winston cautiously. They both looked down at the biscuit she held, and as she took off Winston started shaking the chains of the gate.

"Don't come back 'ere ya brat, ya 'ere me!" he cried feebly, trying to sound intense as his knees quivered. "I see ya again I'll snap yer neck!"

Deyzi raced around the corner before she let her knees sink from underneath her. She clutched the biscuit to her chest and gasped for air, touching her face and hair to see if she was still solid. The feeling she had when she...flew, was that of being jerked through the air and forced through a small space, with everything crushing her, shoving her eyes and eardrums and throat back into her body.

What was that? she asked herself as tears poured down her face and she threw up again. What happened to me? What did I just do?

"Oi!"

Deyzi gasped and threw her head up, staring at the boy in front of her. He could have been her age, with black hair down to his shoulders and hollow green eyes. His skin was pale and an X scar ran up his jaw to the center of his cheek. He was as tall as her, thin, with long arms and legs. He tilted his head to look at her.

"You just do that?" he drawled, smirking at her shivering. "Goin' through the fence. You do that?"

Deyzi stared at him, unsure if she should say so.

"S'okay, you can say. I ain't gonna hurt ya or nofin."

She slowly nodded.

"Neato. Can ya do it again?"

"I don't know…" Deyzi squeaked.

"Ah, that's okay, I guess, long as ya could. Name's Rune. Rune Wethersfield."

His smirk widened to a grin.

"I can do magic too ya know."

"Magic?" Deyzi asked, finding enough strength to stand. "That's what that was?"

"Yep yep. Here, I'll show ya mine."

Deyzi perked as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Her gaze shot down to the biscuit when it started to shake, then threw itself out of her grasp and into Rune's hand.

"That's mine!" Deyzi shouted, rushing him. Rune held the biscuit out of her reach, unphased by her outburst. "Give it back!"

"Ya won't need it," he assured her.

With a flick of his wrist and a blink of his eyes, the biscuit crushed itself against the wall, ripping into little shreds. Deyzi gave a cry of alarm and started to go after it, but Rune grabbed her arm and held her still.

"Why did you do that?" Deyzi cried, fixing him with a glare.

"Because it was dirty and wouldn't taste good anyhow," Rune told her, amused at her simplistic anger. "'Sides, I know how we can get a lot betta stuff."

Deyzi's anger vanished and she could only gape at him. Rune released her arm and put his hands in his ruddy jacket pockets.

"Ya gonna help me?" he asked. "Or ya just gonna stare?"

He started to walk away, then looked back and quirked an eyebrow at her. Deyzi hesitated, then followed him, her spine tingling nervously.

He made no objection when she grabbed hold of his hand.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

The nine year old smiled at him. His hair had grown out to reach the small of his back and his green eyes had become more catlike. He was still rather small and lanky, but was much more tanned than he had been at six, causing the white scar on his cheek to stand out. He wore a much cleaner and longer black coat with a silver scarf wrapped around his neck, black pants that bunched around his ankles and clean brown shoes. His hat was sliding to the back of his head, and he tugged it back over his bangs before he spoke.

"Can you tell me how much this is?" he asked sweetly, holding up a shirt.

The man behind the counter smirked and took the article from him.

"This is fifteen pounds, my boy," he said, watching the smile on the boy's face slip.

"Fifteen?" he repeated. "But that's so much."

"Not in my store it isn't. Now, if you're not going to pay, I suggest you leave, little tike."

The boy's eyes flickered and he scowled at him.

The man just shrugged his thin shoulders and watched him stomp away. He'd seen the disapproving looks of children many time in his career as a thrift store owner, so the young boy's rage made no difference to him. He simply went back to his book without another thought.

The bells above the door chimed and he looked over to see a rather short girl with long pigtails and a pretty purple dress walk in. Her black shoes clicked cheerfully as she waved her little hand at the owner, flashing her gold bracelet with a daisy charm. She too was tanned from years of being outside, and her beaming smile could melt a glacier.

"Can I help you?" the owner asked as she skipped to the counter.

"I'm looking for a new dress, sir," the girl said, batting her big chestnut eyes at him. "Do you have any?"

"Right over there, sweetie, in the corner."

"Thank you!"

She skipped away and he shook his head at the big bow wrapped around her tiny waist. How a girl in that side of town could be so sparkly was beyond him for certain.

"Yer overdoin' the peppiness, Deyz," the black haired boy said through the corner of his mouth when the little girl stopped beside him.

"I'm not faking it, Rune," Deyzi giggled. "I'm really happy."

"I know, but ya could turn it down around targets," Rune told her, peeking over at the man. "Otherwise you become noticeable."

"Don't be so happy, got it!"

Rune glanced down and smirked as she stood straighter and saluted him, a serious look on her face.

"Don't strain yerself," he snickered, patting her on the head.

Deyzi grinned.

"Now, get what ya want, and be quick."

"Aren't you going to grab more?" Deyzi asked, seeing that he'd only grabbed a hat and some hair ties.

"Nah, I'm alright. Get a dress and let's go."

Deyzi nodded and thumbed through the girls' clothing. She gasped and pulled down a frilly yellow gown that came with an attached sunhat.

"Ru-Ru!" she giggled, holding it in front of her and twirling. "Isn't it beautiful!"

"Stop callin' me that!" Rune growled as he shot a nervous gaze at the owner. "And quit bein' so loud, yer gonna..."

He stopped when he finally took her in. She was pouting at him, but he could only see the dress and how pretty she looked in yellow.

"Ru-Ru?" Deyzi asked, tilting her head.

Rune quickly snapped out of his trance and looked away, tugging at his hair.

"I-Is that all ye're gettin'?" he asked bullishly. "'Cause if it is, we need to Bolt."

"Okay!"

She grabbed hold of his hand and his heart fluttered, and he almost fell onto his face when she dragged him with her to the exit.

"Bye Mister Owner!" Deyzi cheered as they raced for the exit.

"Now hold on - " the old man started.

He gaped as the two children were stretched and quickly disappeared from sight, then reappeared on the other side of the door, gasping for air but giggling uncontrollably.

"H-Hey!" he managed to cry, stumbling to the door.

The children took off down the sidewalk, clutching their new clothes to their chests as they ducked into an alley.

"I wanna Bolt again, Ru-Ru!" Deyzi laughed as she skipped ahead, letting her new dress fly behind her.

"Nuh-uh, you know what happened the last time," Rune reminded her.

Deyzi shivered and nodded. The top of Rune's left ear was missing from a little mishap with her Bolting. They'd been trying to escape from a furniture store, but a large dog had gotten in Deyzi's way and distracted her enough to lose some of her focus. Since then they'd been careful to limit her Bolting to once a day and always made sure the store they visited didn't have any sort of guards or obstacles.

"What now, Ru-Ru?" Deyzi asked.

"We go to the orphanage and tease those brats again," Rune said, a wicked grin on his face. "Make 'em believe their toys floatin' in the air is because of a ghost."

"~Ru-Ru's a mean boy, a mean boy a mean boy! Ru-Ru's a mean boy, and can't be stopped at all!~" Deyzi sang, her voice high and off tune.

"Stop callin' me that, Deyzi!" Rune cried as he chased after her.

Deyzi tittered uncontrollably and let him come within a foot of her, before racing out of his reach. She continued to sing her silly song until even Rune was laughing.

"Hey look!"

The two turned to see the orphans they'd spoken of staring at them. Rune checked behind them to see that they weren't followed, then grinned at the younger children.

"Hiya, Ricky!" he greeted the smallest one. "What're ya guys doin'?"

"Playing," Ricky murmured, clutching his red rubber ball closer to his chest. "What're you doin' here?"

"We're just passin' through. What're ya playin'?"

"Just catch," Mary said, twirling one of her pigtails. She wouldn't admit it, since she was ten, but Rune made her heart skip a beat. "Do ya wanna play?"

"Sure!" Deyzi cried, starting to run to them.

"Actually!" Rune growled, grabbing Deyzi's collar and pulling her back. "We just came to see how yer ghost was doin'. He still givin' ya trouble?"

"Oh, that," Derek scoffed. "It's gone, I think. Not like it was scary anyway."

"It wasn't?" Rune asked, his eye gleaming. "Not even a little?"

"Well, it wasn't when you were around," Mary giggled.

"But it only comes when Rune's around," Deyzi pointed out, furrowing her brow as she stared at the girl. "Why's your face all red?"

Mary glared at her and stuck her tongue out. Rune pinched Deyzi's shoulder and forced a grin on his face.

"But really Derek? You don't think he's scary?"

Derek shrugged.

"Well, alright. Let's go then Deyzi."

Deyzi gave him a surprised look, but with a quick glare from Rune, she smiled and followed behind him. He heard the children talking behind him as they rounded the corner, then they started playing again. Rune stopped and turned around, going to the wall and peeking past it.

"I thought we were leaving," Deyzi whispered.

"Shh!" Rune hissed. "I lied."

"Oh...why?"

"Because if I didn't, they would have thought the ghost was me."

"Why would they think that?"

Rune shot her a tired look.

"Because ya basically insinuated it was me."

Deyzi gave him a blank look, then stuck her lower lip out.

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry 'bout it," Rune said, ruffling her hair. Deyzi smiled instantly. "Just means we gotta be creative."

He watched Derek kick the ball to Rick and heard the little boy complain how they were playing catch and not football, and that Derek was cheating. Rune grinned, waiting for Rick to throw the ball to Mary, and snapped his fingers.

The ball stopped midair, only inches from Mary's expectant fingers. She gasped and shrieked, stumbling away until she fell back onto the sidewalk. Rune moved his index finger towards Rick and watched the ball follow him around, until it was over his shivering head. He bounced the ball off him a couple of times, then made it shoot through his legs, knocking him over. Derek was his next victim, and already the boy looked scared. He backed away from the ball as it hovered to him, swaying like a pendulum, then shot towards him when he started to run away. It bounced off his bum and knocked him over, then bounced along his back, then onto his head, causing his face to go into a puddle. He shrieked and tried to get away, only to have the ball bounce in front of his face and splash him again. Derek scooted away, scraping up his pants, then raced away; Rune followed him with the ball until he slammed the door in its way, and even then he bounced it off the entrance at least six times, enjoying the sound of the boy crying from the other side.

"Ru-Ru!" Deyzi gasped. "Stop! You're nose!"

Rune touched his upper lip and felt the warm, metallic liquid on his tongue, so he let his hold on the ball go. It fell and bounced on the concrete, stopping in front of Mary and Rick, who were holding each other and shivering. He leaned against the wall and snickered, wiping his face as Deyzi clung to his arm.

"That was fun," he said.

"You have to be more careful," Deyzi scolded.

"Yeah, I know, sorry."

Deyzi smiled at him, tightening her grip on his arm before grabbing her dress and his hat.

"Let's go home, Ru-Ru," she sang. "I'm bored."

She grabbed his sleeve and tugged him along, oblivious to the huge grin on his face at her touch.

"I'm cold."

Rune pulled his coat off and threw it around Deyzi's shoulders, ignoring the biting chill through his long sleeved turtleneck. A year and a half had passed and he was now almost eleven, same as Deyzi; they'd found out that their birthdays were only a day apart long ago, and often spent the day between celebrating both. Now it was the night before Deyzi's, and he made a note to give her a coat that was thicker than the ratty one she wore now.

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" Deyzi asked, watching him rotate the nuts and bolts hovering over his palm.

"Stay low, keep to ourselves," Rune answered as she moved to sit on top of the box he was propped against. "We need to be more discreet, especially after that last attempt."

Deyzi nodded, braiding his ever growing tresses before pulling them apart to put them in a ponytail. Rune's eyes fell closed and the nuts and bolts rested in his palm.

"Are we gonna steal for forever?" Deyzi asked.

"I don't know, Deyz. Maybe we won't have to when we're old enough. We'll just live in a house that we bought, with clothes that we bought, and get food with money we earned."

Deyzi smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That sounds nice, big brother," she said.

Rune smiled, even if it was a bit forced. Deyzi sat back and started to braid his hair again. It was strange how happy she was, being homeless and fighting for her right to live everyday. She probably should have been more worried, more frightened. But for some reason, for the last five years, she'd never been happier.

"Even if we have to keep stealing, we'll do it together, right?" Deyzi asked, brushing his hair straight with her fingers and letting it lie on his back.

"'Course. Get some sleep."

She yawned and got off the box. Rune let the metal bits fall into his palm and scooted over as she lifted the lid and crawled in. There was a makeshift bed for her inside, with a fluffy pillow and comforter they'd gotten from a thrift store. Before she shut the lid she threw Rune's coat back over his shoulders, then pulled out another blanket and set it over him. She gently pulled it until it rested over his head like a hood, then gave him a soft pat.

"G'Night."

"Night," Rune sighed.

She shut the lid and curled under the blanket, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.

Whooo...Whooo...

Deyzi furrowed her brow and opened her eyes. It was dark inside the crate, and she felt around for the thing that could be making that noise. When she didn't find it she reached up and opened the lid a crack.

Two deep yellow eyes started back at her.

"Whoooo!"

"Eek!" Deyzi cried, slamming the lid shut.

There was a flutter of wings and another cooing sound, then all was silent.

"...Deyzi?" Rune called from outside.

"R-Rune?" she called. "W-What was that?"

"Apparently...an owl."

"An owl? Did I sleep until nighttime again?"

"Just get out here."

Deyzi cautiously opened the lid and peeked out. She caught sight of Rune's pant legs, then lifted the top all the way until she could see the bird on top of his head.

Huh? she thought.

The bird, owl to be exact, was large and black, with a yellow beak and eyes that shone like low spotlights. It ruffled its feathers and tilted its head at her.

"Ru-Ru, there's a bird on your head!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Rune snipped, examining a parchment in his hands.

"What's that?"

"A letter. We both got one."

He flicked out another one and she caught it, examining the wax seal with a large H and a snake, a lion, an eagle, and a badger behind it. She carefully peeled the flap open and retrieved the letter inside.

"Dear Ms. Abnivor,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."

Her eyes widened exponentially. Witchcraft? Wizardry?

"Students will be required to report to the Chamber of Reception upon arrival, the dates of which shall be duly advised," Rune continued. "Please ensure that the utmost attention be made to the list of requirements attached herewith."

"We very much look forward to your acceptance to the newest generation of Hogwarts heritage," Deyzi finished.

She stared at the letter for a long moment, then looked up at Rune.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Looks like a joke," Rune said. He glanced up at the owl perched on his head. "Although it must be real, unless there's a prankster runnin' around who also trains owls."

"Can we keep him?" Deyzi asked, stepping out of the crate.

The bird suddenly spread its wings and flew off, leaving Rune's hair in a matted mess of tangles and feathers.

"Aww!" Deyzi whined as he shook his hair.

"Ehh, don't worry about it," he said, pulling the plumes from his head. "So, what do ya think this means?"

"I don't know," she said, looking back at the letter. "Do we do what it says?"

"What do you mean? It's not like it has any addresses or anythin'."

"Then what're we gonna do?"

"Let it go, I guess. Not like we can do much else."

He folded up the letter and stuck it in his pocket, then set a hand on Deyzi's head.

"Happy birthday," he said.

She grinned up at him.

"Thank you!"

"What do you want to do for it?"

She thought about it, then giggled.

"Let's go scare the orphans again!"

Rune grinned as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into a run. She crumpled the letter in her fist, then stuck it in her dress pocket. Whatever this turned out to be, they would figure out later. She just hoped it wouldn't be bad.