'Scarlet Strings Of Destiny.'
Night Four...
Daffodil Village...
It was a fairly small village at the top of the mountains. It was populated mostly by various kinds of hunters, trackers, trappers, and of course people who worshiped the Angled ones, the one true religion.
It was also the village in which Brave Larison lived.
Speaking of which...
"I'm home..." Brave called out entering a small little church that rested at the edge of the small village.
"Oh welcome back Brave- Oh my God! Your face! You got into another fight again didn't you! What did I tell you!"
Before Brave could say anything someone grabbed her ear yanking her down. She let out a loud yelp and looked up seeing Lumo her younger sister. They weren't actually siblings by blood of course. Lumo had a small glare on her face as she squeezed down on Brave's ear.
"Ow, ow, ow! Lumo!" Brave hissed. "O... Ow! If you tug any harder it'll come off!"
"Don't Lumo me! You know you worry Father Darvin when you come back home with injuries. It makes him worry so much and he feels responsible for all the crimes you do... And yet You always do this! Stop getting into a fight! You look like you're in a lot of pain!"
"Well if you think I look bad you should see the other guy-"
"What!"
"Err... I mean... I ran into a pole? And also punched it?" Lumo glared at her one year older sibling as Brave let out a quiet laugh. "You're not buying that are you..."
"No... No I am not."
"It was worth a shot..."
"Is big sis back!" A pair of voices asked. Running through the halls were two young boys Chase, and Max who jumped into Brave's arms when they saw her. They were only four years old so it was easy for her to hold them both.
"Hey! You two have gotten a lot bigger since I last saw you!" Brave said.
"Big sis you saw us this morning?"
"Yeah but... It feels longer." Brave shuddered as she remembered school. Even after falling asleep several times it felt like it had taken years.
"Big sis your nose is bleeding."
"Yeah... Lumo hit me again."
"I did not!" Lumo said horrified.
"She did too! She's so abusive to me!" Brave said putting on fake tears.
"Don't hurt big sis Lumo!"
"I didn't hit... Oh for the love of God, stop telling them I hit you Brave!"
There was another motion as another girl entered the hallway they were in. This one was older than even Brave being fifteen. Irene, the oldest sibling they had. "Hey Brave welcome back. How was school?"
"A battlefield." She said making her and Irene shudder.
"Sounds about right. That's why I turned it down." Irene snorted. She had been the one offered the position to go to school before Brave, but turned it down, and since Brave was the second oldest, and had been asleep that day, she wasn't able to say no so... Now she goes to school instead of any of the others.
"Oh Brave welcome back- Dear God your face!" A loud voice shrieked. A woman in her early twenties entered. She was very pretty and was dressed in a Nun's outfit and seemed to let out a panicked yell when she saw Brave. Sister Leena, she was kind of like their mom, but way cooler. In her arms she held a sleeping baby. Their last sibling Luna... The Sister ran over to Brave handing Luna to Irene who took the baby. She roughly grabbed Brave's head and began to look the girl over. "Brave... How many times have I told you to not go getting into fights." She sighed.
"I'm fine." Brave said rolling her eyes. "I can just go see the village doctor."
"No you can't." Sister Leena said letting out a heavy sigh as she shook her head.
"What? Why not?"
"He got called to the war..." Lumo said also letting out a sigh. "Any man from the ages of sixteen to forty were called away in our Village... What with the war that could be starting... The only man left in this city is Father Darvin but even he could be called away..." Lumo said slowly a small amount of fear entering her voice as everyone gave worried looks at that.
Brave gave a small frown as she threw her arms behind her head in a casual manner. "Than it'll heal the old fashioned way. It's fine. It only hurts when I see, smell, or hear things."
"... Um... That's literally everything..."
"Yeah I'm in a lot of pain... My whole face just hurts... It was so worth it though... So... So worth it..." The many girls all let out sighs shaking their heads while the two boys let out laughs. Brave gave a large grin as she cocked her head to the side. "So when's dinner? I'm starving?" Right on cue her stomach growled making her let out a small chuckle. "See. Told you."
The large group of many kids, and one woman, made their way inside of the house and or church entering a large room with a large metal table and metal chairs. There was one more person inside of it, an older man in his late forties or early fifties who was seated at the table and had a large grin on his face. He was also dressed in a priest uniform. This was Father Darvin the man who ran, and owned the Church they were all in.
"Hey Brave! How are you doing! Whats wrong with your face! You get into another fight! The other person better look worse then you!"
"Hell yeah he does!"
"Thats my girl!"
"Father Darvin please don't encourage her." Many of the girls said letting out sighs as Brave and Father Darvin laughed evilly.
Ever since she was little she had grown up in this church. She honestly didn't remember a life before it. Father Darvin was the man who always took care of her and the other kids. This orphanage was designed to allow people who lost loved ones in the war to stay. Out of all the kids Brave could have been the weirdest. She was the only one who could seemingly see ghosts as she called them and also 'trained' with Father Darvin. Though it was more like he taught her to just keep punching people till they stopped getting back up rather than actually training her on how to fight.
Everyone got into their seats and all said a quick prayer to their God. Once they were finally done they all wasted no time and began digging into the food, Brave getting more, and more food than anyone else as she gulped it down. She just kept getting more and more food, far more than she would normally eat...
"Y... You sure do have an appetite huh?" Sister Leena asked letting out a nervous laugh. Brave always ate more than most, being an active child who would run around almost always she was constantly burning through energy but this time it was like she was eating for three people.
Brave gulped the food down nodding her head before filling a bowl full of soup as the others quietly ate. "I worked up an appetite."
"So Brave..." Father Darvin asked slowly setting his spoon down. "How was school..." He questioned curiously.
"Same old, same old, I guess." Brave shrugged.
"I see... Nothing strange right... Like uh...You didn't see anything... Or nothing happened right..." He questioned slowly.
For a moment Braves mind went to the ghost. "Nope. Nothing at all." Brave shrugged.
Father Darvin seemed to let out a sigh of relief for a moment. "I see... I thought maybe since you were getting older that it would begin to start but..."
"What?" Brave asked confused by his statement.
"Oh nothing. Just an old man rambling." He chuckled throwing his arms behind his head. "Don't mind me. I simply let my mind go off track for a moment."
Dinner soon came to an end and they quickly began to clean up the dishes save for Lumo and Brave who both went off in a corner of the large Church so Lumo could help Brave with her wounds.
"Ow..." Brave hissed as Lumo rubbed a green gel on the bruises.
"Relax." Lumo said rolling her eyes.
"But it stings!"
"This is Life Gel. It'll be absorbed by your skin and start fixing most of the serious damage..." Lumo nodded.
"Still why does it have to hurt so much?"
"That's how you know it's working." Lumo grinned. Brave grumbled something's under her breath as silence soon set in. Lumo's smile slowly faded as her hands stopped rubbing. "Why... Why do you always do it... Why do you always go picking fights..."
"Lumo?"
"I'm serious." Lumo hissed. A small flicker of anger and sadness showed on her face. "Brave... You're always getting hurt and it always makes us worried. What if... What if one day you pick a fight with the wrong person... Someone who doesn't care... Someone with a lot of power whos also an idiot. They don't think about what will happen and they just... Just..."
"They were hurting an animal... I had to do something-"
"No you didn't! You're the one that wanted to help that animal. You didn't have to do anything-"
Lumo was silenced when Brave pulled her in for a hug shocking the girl. "It's okay Lumo... I'll be fine..." Brave grinned. "I'm strong. And if there does come a day where something bad could happen I'll just get stronger. I'm going to help anyone, or any thing that needs help. Because I know you would do the same." Lumo let out a small sigh hugging her sister back.
"I hate you..." Lumo sighed.
"No you don't I'm to lovable for that."
"You're right." Lumo also smiled letting out another sigh. "Just... Promise me you'll be safe."
"I will. I'm never going to die-" Brave began only to instantly be cut off as a tremendous pain coursed through her. She grabbed her head letting out a yell as a heat washed through her. It was bad. Some of the worst pain she felt. Like every nerve in her body had just erupted into flames.
'It's almost time...'
She swore she could hear a thunderous booming voice that seemed to shatter her mind.
But before she could even process anything she felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as the black void took her.
"Oh my God Brave!" Lumo yelled in a panic catching the girl as she fell.
Father Darvin ran around the corner as soon as he heard the cry from Lumo as well as the loud screams of pain that Brave was making. His eyes were wide when he saw her.
"Are you kidding me... Black assured me that this wouldn't be an issue... Damn it... Don't tell me something broke her... Shit... Where the hell is that Heaven member... He should have been here by now."
"Father Darvin whats happening?" Lumo yelled out with wide eyes.
Seconds later everyone else showed up having heard the girl's cries of pain.
Father Darvin took Brave's body as a large frown seemed to cling to his face. Lumo swore she could hear the man mutter the words 'Aura' and 'Imp' whatever that was.
"She's running a fever..." Darvin said calmly but there was a small worried look on his face.
"W... What happened?" Lumo asked in a worried tone.
"Is she gonna be alright?" Irene asked.
"Is big sis gonna live!" The two boys yelled.
And the baby just started crying as it was just a baby...
Darvin and Leena shared a look. "S... She'll be fine." Darvin said letting out a small sigh. "I've seen this before... She'll be as good as new tomorrow. For now she just needs to rest..."
"Father Darvin is Brave a-" Sister Leena began but was shushed by Darvin.
The Father handed Braves body to Irene. "Please put her down for a nap. She needs to rest. You have my word she'll be fine. Why don't all of you go to sleep as well. I'm sure Brave will sleep better with you all near her..."
Irene still had a frown on her face but gave a small nod. "O... Okay..."
The children were quickly shooed off as Darvin let out a sigh. "It's as I feared..."
"So it's true..." Leena asked fear entering her voice.
"Yes... I was always hoping I would be wrong, but it would seem that young Brave here is indeed... An Imp... I must make a few calls..." Darvin nodded.
"Father Darvin... What if..."
"Relax..." Darvin said shaking his head. "They likely won't attack until Brave matures... We should be fine for tonight... But... I must alert Heaven..."
***
Meanwhile...
"Damn her!"
'Bang!'
Blood dripped down a boys fist as he slammed his hand into the wooden floor board splitting his knuckles open as he gritted his teeth. His face was covered in bruises and his teeth were chipped and his lip was busted. This was the boy Brave had beaten up earlier that day.
"Damn her, damn her, damn her... That damn witch should have minded her damn business. What the hell was that bitches issue! I didn't do anything to her! She hit me first to. Damn it!" He growled kicking the bed and leaving a dent in the metal frame as he growled and gritted his teeth. "I hate her so much..."
Violent, uncontrollable anger. This was the definition of rage. Many humans knew about it. A white hot anger that existed in many people. To most the world was something normal. Nothing supernatural about it. They didn't live in a world of wonders. They lived in a normal everyday world.
Many people shunned the supernatural.
Witches were to be burned at the stake.
If something wasn't normal it was evil.
What many people didn't know was there was more to rage than anyone knew...
"Oh my. You just oozing out rage and hate aren't you..." A voice commented in the empty room making the boy jump.
"W... What? Who said that?"
"Why I did." A voice chuckled. Over in the mirror several cracks began to appear in it as the mirror seemed to burst and something dropped out. It wasn't human. Rather it looked almost like a large blood red egg with a face on it and arms and legs coming out of it... The glow of the room seemed to also change as the very moon seemed to shift into a blood moon. From the mirror many tentacles seemed to seep out wrapping around the blood red egg shaped man who's face gave a wide and twisted grin. "Hello there my boy!"
"D... Demon."
"Oh no. I'm not a demon. After all you can see me."
"W... What?"
"You can see me. Thats how you know I'm real. You Humans can't see Mares, or Blanks, nor can they see the abilities we Imps use. Yet here I am being able to be seen before you. And I've come to offer you a deal."
"A... A deal..." The boy shook his head and slowly backed up staring at the freaky egg shaped man with fear, confusion, and also just a bit of curiosity.
"Thats right! I am the egg shaped man, the Count of the New World is my name, don't forget it, and I'm here to make a deal. My Affinity sure is nifty and can help you out. Your heart is full of revenge and hate, within your mind a target rests. Wouldn't you like to pay them back, eye for an eye, after all she attacked you first, thats hardly fair isn't it?" Small pink gas seemed to slowly rise out of the egg shaped man making the boys eyes slowly glass over.
"T... Thats... R... Right..." He said slowly his head shaking.
"So then a deal is a deal, you get revenge shall we shake on it?"
"D... Deal... W... What do you get out of... Of it..."
"No need to ask that! Just grasp my hand and you will see."
"I... I can do it. I can get revenge on that damn witch..." His eyes filled with glass as he slowly reached out pictures of Brave going through his mind. "I'll make her pay-"
It happened as soon as he grabbed the egg shaped mans hand.
Faster then he could even react.
He died.
Like a puppet that had its strings cut he simply collapsed onto his back.
And then...
The shadows seemed to twist over him giving him skin blacker than coal as his dead eyes filled with a red glow and he began to slowly sit up.
A Mare was born.