Dust

[shade]

Shade rested in the lonely corner covered in dust and a bed that was moldy, lumpy and falling apart. The metal frame creaked as she repositioned herself. The whole place smelled of dank mold and rusting metal. Every few seconds there was a large creak or grown as the roting mansion slowly deteriorated. Home sweet home. This was just like her old home back on the other side of the world only even now in it's pitiful state this mansion was more ornate and better furnished than her small three bedroom farmhouse that she used to call her hell hole of a home. Shade felt safe here even if every move she made set of a creaky alarm to however was around. Shade looked up at the sound of strange scufflings and scratches. Alerio was searching for grubs. Shade sighed and called Alerio to her side. Alerio quickly jumped onto the girls lap and started to dig through a pocket on the girls belt for treats. "Here you impatient bird now leave me alone" Shade handed Alerio a large rat as he made for the window. Shade sat up on her bed thinking about her miserable life here. She had one enemy, one friend, one boyfriend, no letters from her brothers for a month. Shade looked out the window at the distant stars willing everything to fade as she returned to her home and her own moldy bed and her ill-tempered father and most of all her brothers...

[RuetheDay]

The candle's flame cut through the darkness, lingering still in the cold of the manor. Slowly dying away, the fire danced, illuminating the parlour room in a way that most would find eerie and unsettling, it only brought Rue feelings of home and a so very missed warmth.

Her fragile figure on her knees, her long sleeved Lolita dress draped over her legs, long laced sleeves concealing the large bruises and welts that lined her body. She held the carefully, completely still as her mind wandered in the desolate solitude. Her gray eyes stared full of so many secrets, unfocused into the gentle flicker of the flame.

She hated it. She was at her most fragile, slinking through the shadows for the fast few days, still wounded, she was lucky she remembered what happened. The scruff of her neck ached from where "David", Shade's aid had held her from, demanding the dead be laid back to rest. Not only weak from that battle but as well so very tired, exhausted and the endless questions flooded her once more.

She attempted to recap all that she could remember... but recalling her oldest memory of the day she found herself here. It was all a blur. She had nothing. Nothing at all, her thoughts, the questions without answer hit the walls of her mind, threatening to break at any moment. The pulsating headache had returned, she winced with every pump, her meditation state had deteriorated completely.

With every question, the force, the longing, the anger, the sorrow grew, almost but not quite penetrating what separated her from the complete loss of her sanity, although never quite sane to begin with. That thin dividing line that Rue walked in the depths of her mind, between life and death, sanity and insanity. It was only a matter of time before it would all be over, she only wished to preserve what she had left.

As the tears began to run down from her perfect almond shaped eyes, she wanted to completely disappear, implode, die. Something. Just to get away. End it all. Because as her castle began to fall down around her, there was no escape and she was left to fall with it; slowly and painfully.

[shade]

Shade had stood to abandon the desolate place were her dark dreams were relived when she saw something down the hall. A flickering candle was placed on a large crumbling table it's flame slowly dieing as the hot wax dripped, drop by drop to the brass mold holding the candle.

Slowly, Shade let a fraction of her skin slip, only enough to allow her bare feet to become padded and silent as she slipped down the hall towards the flickering light.

There on the thread bare, dust covered rug sat the Infamous Rue the day her Lolita covering what Shade was sure was there, cuts and bruises from their last fight including a large gash from David's canine teeth on her scruff were he had grabbed her.

Shade tilted her head in curiosity for she thought she had seen large tears seeping from the girls eyes. Feeling guilty for the pain she had caused Rue, Shade slowly padded across the room to her and sat in between the candle's dieing light and Rue.

"I can heal all the cuts if you want me to.....I'm quite good with healing plants and remedies for cuts and bruises."

Shade's peace offering echoed through the long empty corridors and down the stairs to the other levels and continued on it's way until the desolate sound had reached every corner of the once beautiful mansion and made it's way back to the two creatures sitting on it's one sad Persian rug.

[RuetheDay]

Rue heard the light footsteps that came down from the 2nd floor, instantly recognizing Shade's presence and even as the hostility ran through her veins her eyes flashing red, the hollow emptiness weighted her down. Hertears were still wet on her cheeks when the other had sat between her and the dim light of the candle, the look of concern made it obvious she knew Rue was crying. She felt pathetic, annoyed; she hated such exposure of her weaker side. In a way that she could even describe, this ****ed her off.

She remained silent for a few moments as she studied the other before replying in a quiet mutter as her weak but scornful glare met Shade's concerned look. "I'm fine. Why do you care?"

It came off acidically; her bedroom voice cracking a bit from her previous break down, British accent rather thick (she still wondered where that came from...)

[shade]

studying Rue's wet and angry face shade let her words come slowly, careful not to let her ADD get in the way as it had done the first time. "Because I am not a heartless cold person, I may have a temper but I will always offer help to those in need as long as they are not out to hurt me or my friends". Marcie had slunk down Shade's face until it nearly covered her eyes, annoyed Shade grabbed Marcie and yanked the top hat off her dust covered hair revealing the two large, black dog ears that she was sure Rue already knew about.

"Would you like me to heal them or not? The one on your neck will take a long time to heal without some of my tricks" Staring at Rue, Shade noticed several more deep gashes along her important arteries. "And though look like they will bleed alot if you try to lean them with a rag and some disinfectant"

The guttering candle finally blew out on a feeble attempt to warm it's two companions. with a loud sigh Shade reached into her dried leather pouch that was one of many hanging on her belt. from the pouch she pulled a small black rock and a piece of flint which she used to start a flame only slightly larger than the candle it replaced, in the dust filled fire grate.

[RuetheDay]

"I'm fine." Rue was uncooperative, she hated to rely on others. It was weak. It wasn't her. And she was all but in the mood to see Shade of all people. If her stupid boyfriend, that bloody mass of fur showed up she'd have her zombies take a chunk out of him right quick.

Still infuriated she turned away scorfully. She watched the fire burn highher, loosing herself in it. It was beautiful in so many ways. Her expression lightened as she stared into it. She couldn't help but ask in wonder, mindlessly, despite her disdain for Shade: "What kinda stone is that, that it makes the flame rise?"

[shade]

Shade smiled showing her overlarge, bloodstained, Canine teeth, To her this was common knowledge. Were she had lived when she was still young and human, starting and tending a fire was second nature even to a child.
"Fire does not rise from the stone...it licks the stone and blackens it but does not depend on it....Fire depends on the the wood or coal beneath it and the oxygen around it...it uses both to burn...the iron grate beneath the wood and fire simply holds the fire off the bottom of the fire place..and the rocks that I used to start the fire are called flint and igneous...the igneous rock is just another rock from outside however when you strike the flint with the igneous it starts a spark....if you aim the rocks at the dead wood and create a spark...the spark catches on the wood and makes fire.."

Shade vacuumed in as much air as possible after her long winded explanation..."It's really easy" The light pink canine teeth grew slowly showing that Shade's skin was slipping...she was hungry and Rue's blood wasn't helping matters any.

[RuetheDay]

"Hm. I see." Rue stated blandly, not honestly caring enough. Where she came from, lighters and/or TNT were all you needed and the results were prettier anyway. Roue's instincts went on high as her ever present paranoia told her: blood + werewolf= not good. Only to further that, she could feel Shade's skin slipping, slowly losing herself in the inner beast, nearing a point in which it would drop completely. Inevitably hadn't been out for her midnight snack yet, how lucky for Rue.

"Control thy self. I can feel you slipping away." She stated calmly, carelessly and taking two delicate fingers she pinched the flame putting it out. Letting her skin fall she pulled herself to her hind legs, standing her full length, a gorgeous nekomata.

Slinking away towards the door, tail swaying behind her. "Goodbye, Shade." Her voice was silky smooth as usual, only more tired, exhausted. "Unless of course we still have some unfinished business, I wish to retire..."

[shade]

"Unfinished business?" Shade laughed coldly, "I was only angry at you, My anger has cooled as it always does, and as for my skin, It will not slip until I want it to or unless you make me angry. You must be hungry as well, why not join me for a night snack hmm?" Shade turned her hungry, piercing eyes to Rue and gazed at the Nekomata. "I know the best hunting grounds around these forests" Shade stood and stood at Rue's hight looking her bravely in the eye. Hers was the eye of a hungry killer ready to strike. "what say you Rue the day? Will you bypass our previous fights and build the friendship that was started in the band room? we will crush those who stand in our path." At this inconvenient point Alerio decided to land on Shade's head and search her hair for bugs. "GET OFF ME YOU STUPID BIRD!" Shade yelled further at Alerio threw their connection as she flung her hands and arms towards the bird while the bird fell then glided in a mess of dusty feathers onto the mantle.

"terrible timing that bird has" Shade said in a huff while fixing her hair. "but in a fight he is the best ally I can have"

[RuetheDay]

Easily slipping back on her skin she leaned against the wall lazily still looking at Shade more questioningly. It could be a trap, it could be a honest request for friendship. Rue looked her over oncemore and sighed audibly as she couldn't believe she was agreeing to this.

"It is a possibilty," She rolled her eyes. "The partnership.... but the hunting, I think not. I prefer fine dining."

Rue seated herself on one of the old parlour chair's putting her boots up on the coffee table, closing her eyes. "I may be in a bad financial situation but I'll take liquor at Bite Cafe and candy anyday, thank you. Plus there's not myuch you can catch out here.... 'Less you can find me some fishies... I could do for fishies."

Rue thought thst over and licked her lips, falling more into her catlike true form, losing her skin and stretching out over the chair and began to purr. "Yummies... wait." Rue finally opened her eyes and noticed Shade's bird. Rue dismissed Shade's freaking out as more of her spastic klutzyness.

"What's that bird you got there...?" Rue's voice grew malicious, "Here birdy, birdy~ Come to Rue... Rue needs a midnight snack~~~!" She slowly crept up on the bird, standing on the other side of the mantle, stalking it hungrily.

[shade]

“NOO!!! MY BIRD!!” Shade screams and shoves a very confused Alerio out the window, out of reach of the hungry Necromat. “IS MY BIRD!!” Shade stood defiantly in front of the window blocking Rue from view of the long gone Bird. “I know your hungry, but my bird?!!! I’ll buy you a drink or some dinner at the café, even catch you some fish or show you a nice stream to find some but Not MY BIRD!!!” On the last three words Shade shouted a bit louder to prove she was Not going to let some mangy Cat eat the rare black hawk she had raised from an egg.

[RuetheDay]

Still in her true form, Rue leaned against the mantle with a smirk. "Over-react much? I was just teasing." She put her skin back on and made her way to the door. "Since you interuppted my meditation, the least you could do is buy me a midnight snack." She stopped just before the door. "Besides, who knows where that bird's been..."