Starsday, 4th of Storm (4), year 713 of the Gofarran calendar.
The Kingdom of Alancorn, Le Puy-en-Velay region, town of Ornans.
The afternoon sun shone down onto the quiet town of Ornans, water dripping slowly from its steep slate roofs. The seasonal midday rains had ended not long ago for the day and the grey clouds had finally scattered towards the horizon.
The bungalow and houses around the town, as well as the cobbled street below, were all of the same grey stone quarried from the local regional outcrops more than a thousand years past. This, along with the dark slate roof tiles and the antique wrought iron lamp posts made the town of Ornans seem lifeless and dull at a first glance. But just a quick glance inside would see that the interiors were filled without exception with warmth and music, good food and art.
It surprised many that visited from afar that a town so close to the Dinard peaks and so seemingly out of time and technology, rivalled the culture of many royal capitals to the north. But Ornans had been settled first by artists and actors and the townspeople's love of creation hadn't faded with time. Each and every one of its Lords since the towns start has been expected to promote the arts in their own way. The last had funded the local youth in the creation of a robotics artistic design company, with her son having an interest in Alchemical studies. Music and singing could be heard drifting from the occasional open stained-glass windows, and black, polycarbonate statues in various styles could be seen hidden with-in the well-maintained gardens.
Still, when one visitor from the capital noted to his friends on his return that he would not be surprised if more people owned a horse than could drive a vehicle in the town, he wasn't wrong by much. The people of Ornans prefer their old fashioned, if exceptionally well made, comforts to any of the mass-produced arcologies to the north. It was a town of artisans. So, if an object was old and out of date or the cutting edge of culture, it only had worth if it was well made.
In the southern end of town, in a small stone bungalow something other than music can be heard coming from the half open window.
"Two Twos are four. Three twos are six. Four twos are eight. Five twos are ten."
She's small for a five-year-old. With pale skin and strait, waist length, pale violet hair. A small diamond shaped face, thin red lips, a perky nose and long lashed almond shaped eyes that almost seemed to glow with a bright amber light. She wears a calming yellow cotton blouse that is slightly too large for her, a hand me down from her older sibling, forcing her to roll up the sleeves to her elbow. A brown ankle length skirt and knee-high leather boots sway as she kicks her feet and swings her head in time to her words.
She sits in front of the open fire place of the kitchen and waits for the old woman in front of her finish up the sewing that lies on the table top.
"My. You always surprise me little Veshrya, not even six and you can count so high. My Antonin will need to watch out or it won't be long until you'll have his job." The old woman tur ns her head to the young girl looking over her half rim glasses with a kind smile.
"Of course I can do that Grand-mère Yasmine, you're the one who taught me too." Veshrya replied as she stuck out her chest and beamed a smile at her teacher.
The old woman laughed as she stood up and moved towards the girl. "Mabey I did little one, but I didn't teach you that flattery of yours. As I've said, not one scone more, your mother will have tea on the stove." She tied the yellow scarf she had been working on for the last hour around Veshrya's hair, knotting it under her chin. "There now, the rain has stopped and your scarf has a lovely new violet rose to match your lovely hair. Its time you headed back, the fifth bells will be ringing any moment now."
"Thanks Grand-mère, love you." The girl hugged the woman's waist then stood and moved towards the door leading to the outside picking up her leather cloak on the way.
"It will be Holmsday tomorrow little one so no schooling, let your mother know the new oil worked wonders and don't forget to put on your cloak. It might have stopped raining but I don't want to hear of you getting home soaked through from the puddles."
"Yes Grand-mère." Veshrya said as she tied the clasp of her cloak round her shoulders. "I'll see you on Sunsday. Say hi to Grand-père please." Yasmine unbolted the wooden door and held it open for the young girl to step outside who turned once more to wave to her teacher as she moved out of the small kitchen garden onto the cobbled street then headed north towards home.
Veshrya hummed a tune as she meandered around the puddles that littered the road towards home with only the occasional dance steps thrown in.
It was only a short journey to the main cross roads near her house but the sky had already started to darken when she reached it, and as she got closer she could hear the sound of children playing. The western side was a commons area left unused not for a practical reason, but to have a place so the local children had a place to gather and play while still under the adults watch. There were a number playing with a jump rope there now, away from the lager pools water. A young boy not much older than Veshrya had spotted her turn the corner toward them.
"Hey it's the bat girl!" He cried as he pointed towards her, as she in turn stuck out her tongue towards him in response.
The oldest of the group, a ten-year-old girl with shoulder length brown hair, moved forward and gave the young lad a clap to back of his head as he returned the gesture.
"Arghh, sis. Wath you doin thath for." He cried in pain as he held his mouth.
"You be quiet Florian and get you home. Ya know Ma and Da would do you one harder if they heard ya callen one of her kind." The girl said as she started chasing the other kids off the commons. "And if she's here it means it's time for the bells to be going soon, so get, the lot of ya."
The children waved to each other and to Veshrya as they ran towards their homes, some laughing at the young boy's predicament as they went. The older girl walked up to beside Veshrya and they both continued on down the street.
"Sorry about my brother Rya, ya can't chose family it seems." She said as she reached out to ruffle the top Veshrya's head.
"It's no problem Mari." She replied as she looked up at her friend and smiled, fixing the scarf as she did so.
"How's ya schooling going? Old Yasmine doing well?" asked Mari as she reached out to hold onto Veshrya's hand. The street they moved down was now one with a more modern architectural style with small solar panels lining part of the house's roofs. It was far enough from the main streets to avoid the noise and not far south west enough to start climbing the hills there.
"It's good thank you, and she's doing fine. I'll let her know you asked."
"I can see ya ma's coin been doing good, always so polite. Not a bit like my snot of a brother. You let me know if he does more than name calling ya hear." Mira said as she gave the hand she held a squeeze.
"I will Mari. Thank you." Replied Veshrya as she let the hand go and moved towards her own house with a blue painted door, waving towards the older girl who waved back. "I'll see you at church tomorrow Mari. Bye."
She opened the front door to the kitchen, taking off her cloak and scarf as she did so. "Mom I'm home." she called when she saw the room empty, something steaming from the pot seated on the stove, bringing a savoury aroma to the room.
"There's some bread on the counter. Do some slices could you my Colombe." Veshrya heard her mothers voice coming from the pantry as she closed the door and hung her clothes onto her hook on the wall next to it.
"Ok mom."
The young girl dragged a stool over to the counter, it being here for this very reason, so she could reach the brown farmers loaf and got on with what she had been asked to do.
Soon after she heard someone come down the stairs and enter the kitchen. As she turned around she saw young man standing next to the table an air of awkwardness around him as he brushed down his outfit, a blush on his face deepening as he notices the young child turn towards him.
"Robin it's nice to see you. Where you here to see Soeur?" Veshrya said to him, an innocent smile on her face. "Are you staying for tea?"
"Yes. Ah, I mean, for both, yes."
"Where is she? Will she be down soon?"
"Ah, not right now, soon I think." Robin says trying to control his rising embarrassment.
"What where you doing that takes that long? You can sit down by the way, everything should be ready." She said as the toaster chimed, she moved the plate with the toast over to the table placing it at its centre. Veshrya sat down on a chair opposite the boy, still giving him a smile as he blushed bright red trying to stammer an answer.
"I. Er, we were talking."
"Really? About Wha…"
"Colombe stop teasing the poor lad, and Robin, of course she'll know somethings up if you keep acting like that dear. We both will." As she says this a woman comes out of the pantry carrying a bowl of fresh salad, placing it on the table. She had a small stature, with smaller curves, and a face with a resemblance to Veshrya's only with a dark, almost black, blue hair.
The lad blushed even harder with it now spreading to his ears as he tried to stammer a reply.
"I mean..."
"Please dear, have you somehow forgotten who we are? We both know how much you and Patrick mean to Cahrya, and with you acting like some naughty child caught red-handed it's not hard to put two and two together." Veshrya's mother said softly as she went about the business of finishing off the carbonara they were having for tea.
Robin covered his face with both his hands as he heard the snicker coming from the young girl, but before the room could become anymore awkward for him, his girlfriend entered to save him. Or he had hoped.
Sixteen-year-old Cahrya was an almost perfect middle ground between her mother and little sister, same face as both but with her mother's hair. Well, apart from entering the room still sporting a deep flush and hastily combed hair. She walked behind her boyfriend and placed her arms around his neck giving him a quick kiss on his bright red cheek.
"Come on dear, Mom's known that the three of us have been having sex since we started. She's the one who taught me that contraceptive charm."
"Leaving alone the fact that I just found out your mother knows what we've been up to for the last hour, which is embarrassing enough. The fact that your little sister now does, or as it now seems knew all along, is even worse."
Veshrya's giggles sound out as her sister sits in her seat at the table. Their mother binging the meal over. A quick thank you prayer to Uva, Goddess of Grains and the four of them start the meal.
With Robins blush not dimming in the slightest, Helinix, the girl's mother starts back up the conversation that he had hoped had just ended.
"Look at it this way dear…"
Robins choking on the mouthful he'd just eaten stopped her at this point.
"Not ok with my girlfriend and her mother both calling me that!"
"You'll get used to it dear. Patrick did in the end." All three women laughed as their mother waved his complaint away.
"As I was going to say, all young animals are born with at least some knowledge of how to survive. A young deer can stand and walk quite soon after it is born, and all mammals, even humans know how to suckle milk right after birth. It's the same for us. We are all born with the basics of sex in us as soon as we are born and the knowledge to why we need to know it. Because while we might not need it until adulthood, a succubus who doesn't have that information would soon die if they were alone. And until my Flock moved to Ornans, alone is what they were."
The women changed as she spoke, the mother leading them as they shed the disguise they use for outsiders. Black scaled wings, similar to those of a bat and highlighted in a dark purple, sprouted out of the older two's shoulder blades. A long, slim lizard-like prehensile tail similar in colouring to their wings appeared from their waists and ridged horns emerged from their temples curving back and up over their pointed ears. The three face's, now with their pupil a slim black slit that separated the now glowing amber iris, smiled with affection towards the young man.