"Years ago and counting the Cataclysm fell. The heavenly seal that obstructed lower divinities (deities) good and evil broke and they descended on this world turning it into a land of chaos. Many existences and entities alike protected their believers by creating Rogue houses, a secluded stronghold meant to protect their believers. No one really knows how the twelfth seal broke and how divinities continuously descend on this mundane world but one thing is for sure, humanity and the mystic must fight together to make sure no other seals ever break or it will become the descent of the Upper Plane on earth."
—Oracle King Alumi Manchester
Poppy's little hand gingerly pushed up her dropping large glasses as she flipped through the Red Book of order. A book with historical events, quotes, and prescription alike to guide the legal supernaturals of each Rogue houses on their pasts and their presents. The Red book was unlike the Divine Scriptures of existences and Entities alike. The Red book remained neutral and Fair in its teaching which was why unlike Divine Scriptures which was only available in Shrines of worship for divinties, the Red book was available at every library.
Little Poppy at only the age of 10 was entranced with the teachings of the Red book, always eager to learn the little one was, it was too bad her introverted and meek tendencies subjected her to bullying.
A balled piece of paper flew against her head and fell on the study desk as she flipped a page. With a frown she grabbed the paper and opened it. 'NEED A BONE TO CHEW ON PUPPY?' was written on the crumbled paper.
Young Poppy disregarded the equally young delinquents snickering evilly at a ten year old. Another crumpled paper was thrown her direction and then she threw it to the other disregarded papers piling on the ground.
Poppy sighed, ignoring the little children easily. Bullying was nothing new to her. As a child she'd been suffering from severe bullying. It was quite pathetic that Preternatural children who were revered, the ones who raised their heads up high and acted like demi-gods on earth- and one of them was suffering from bullying from not only her kind but normal children as well.
Preternatural children were honored. As a matter of fact when a child in an orphanage was discovered to be a Preternatural child sooner than later one successful, powerful family would immediately adopt the child raising them to bring glory and honor to their families. Hardly would a Preternatural child come from a regular middle-class home and even if one did some powerful family would buy the child from their families.
Poppy though was a strange case. She was found in the pit of a lion in a zoo. Countless investigations were held to find out how the child got there but later the investigation stopped after finding nothing and discovering the extreme weakness of her inner beast. Poppy, her parents had named her because she'd somehow made the lions warm towards her, a baby only wrapped with a piece of clothing around her butt playing happily with the ferocious lions in the zoo pit.
It was definitely strange. She was one of an almost non existent percent who was a Preternatural child and belonged to a middle-class family. A weak inner beast, many people jabbed her parents who were excited about the special child they'd been lucky to have. Poppy was definitely an insult to all inner beasts. HAVING A PUP FOR AN INNER BEAST? The shame.
A hand all of a sudden landed on her shoulders and she turned to see Asher Van Calisto another Preternatural child who's family single handedly built a massive Shrine for the all-seeing-eyes and were nearly considered national treasure in the Rogue house.
In the blink of an eye a sound slap descended on her round cheek- like a chipmunk's- by the young and hateful Asher. "How dare you?" The spiteful child asked. "How dare you ignore me, you useless butt-sniffer?!" He grabbed a handful of her hair and with the strength of his own inner beast- A Minotaur- threw the little girl against the wall of the library.
She grunted as her head banged against the wall. Her pasty white skin flushed and a hand clutched her chest with a fast racing heart slamming against it which was shorting her breath. "Hu! Hu!" She gasped for air, trying to calm her pumping heart.
The lights began flickering off and on, distorting as her vision turned blurry. She saw the ground now covered in pure blood with glassy eyes. Mossy green eyes looked at her hand that had released her out of control heart and discovered it was covered in blood.
"N-n-no! Hu!" She croaked out between her important gasps for air.
"Incy-Wincy Spider….!" She heard a timid low distinct voice and suddenly snapped her neck towards her side.
There was a small child with black long hair and pasty white skin staring back at her. "Down came the rain and washed the spider out….!" The lookalike young Poppy in a nightgown that belonged to those ancient porcelain dolls giggled.
Mossy green eyes stared back at the Poppy gasping for air. "They're all dirty sinners anyway!" The Poppy in a nightgown suddenly yelled.
Thick black boats resounded all over the library as well as low growling sound. "Repent dear sinners for the Abyss of the glorious ruler of the Netherworld shall descend!" The child yelled.
Poppy slowly looked up, feeling her heart slowing down in a dying manner.
"No!!!" A nineteen year old Poppy yelled out from a nightmare that made her lips tremble. Her breathing heightened and her hand immediately clutched her chest.
"Hu! Hu!" The hush sounds of shortness of breath escaped her lips as she squeezed her chest. Extreme fear and panic surged through her from the nightmare she'd been having since she was a child.
"W-w-hit-t-e is true," she cooed to herself. "B-bla-ack is unknown," she managed, her heart slowly calm from it's terrifying thrumming speed. "Y-el-low is wil-d." Her hand dropped and her heart stopped its mad pounding in her chest. "B-brow-n is di-ver-se."
Her head lowered as she gained control of a steady breathing. She wiped cold sweat from her forehead before realizing something. Her wrists were bound by a silk cloth.
Her lips parted, then did certain memories return.
"HEARD THAT!" HE POINTED HIS BLOODY FINGER AT HER. "WELL YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR END OF THE DEAL AND DO WHAT YOU PROMISED."
The memory of the mad bastard's stupidly handsome face when he kidnapped her flashed in her mind. She scoffed, more memories stirring her mind.
HIS MAROON EYES FLICKERING EVERY ODD SHAPE AND COLOR STARED HER DOWN. "LET ME REPHRASE THAT, YOU MUST COME WITH ME AND I'M ABSOLUTELY NOT GIVING YOU AN OPTION UNLESS ITS YES RUEN I'LL COME WITH YOU."
"Ha!" Poppy laughed cynically as she remembered how she was given no choice.
"HERE'S MY HUMBLE ABODE!" RUEN OPENED HIS ARMS DISPLAYING THE MANSION TO A STARTLED POPPY.
Poppy shook her head when she remembered how she was dumbstruck by how large and beautiful his house was. She looked down at the silk scarf tying her.
She huffed as her nails transformed into claws and she easily ripped the scarf with them. "Pet inner beast my ass." She spitefully reminisced Ruen's words.
She jumped down from the round huge bed with incredibly soft white and blue sheets.
The whole room had a dark theme with ash colored walls and furniture that reminded her of the old washed pictures of the 19th century in the museum. Antique was the right word to describe the equally dark shade of color on this furniture.
"Wow…." She couldn't help the word. The room was arranged to a sophisticated taste.
"Focus, Poppy." She reminded herself, pulling on the knob of the room door and realizing it was open. "Fuck you Ruen." She muttered, still bitter.
With the grace of a domestic predator she easily explored the obscenely lengthy hallway before finding the stairs that led down. "How rich is he?" She murmured a little jealous but mostly the pedestal of nearly perfect she'd placed him in her mind had raised 2x higher.
She was sneaking down the stairs when the hush sound of a door creaking entered her ears, capable of hearing further than natural, her ears twitched upon feeling the cool and ghastly breeze on her neck.
Sure Ruen's house gave out solemn vibes but the sudden change in the air made her heart skip a beat.
She swallowed, shaking her head before carrying on. Another unholy breeze touched her skin as she made it down the stairs.
".....she can't see…?" A chill distinct voice echoed near her.
She put on a straight face as if she heard nothing. "Don't be stu…. No way… just a pretern….." The voices were distorted in her twitching ears.
She ignored them. As a preternatural canine she often saw oddities– even to a supernatural– and heard voices of some strange beings and saw some things that she shouldn't. She'd adapted into ignoring those things as letting them know she saw and heard them was very dangerous.
Her eyes moved to the ground where a shadow of four separate entities stood each with seemingly a blade with them.
"Forget her…. Up to…. Kill the Abomination…"
First the word Abomination struck her as odd but as she stood near the exit door a memory brought about a realization.
"YOU'RE NOT? HOW CAN AN ABOMINATION NOT BE SCARY?" HIS BOW SHAPED LIPS TILTED UP AND HIS HEAD BENT CUTELY TO THE SIDE. "BET I CAN MAKE YOU AFRAID THOUGH."
Abomination? Abomination? She'd thought Ruen's use of the word Abomination to refer to himself was strange but didn't dwell on it. She wasn't sure why she suddenly remembered this after hearing the word Abomination again but she wasn't stupid.
Dogs were intuitive. The voices and shadows were immensely dangerous according to her intuition.
First she furrowed her eyebrows then her big eyes widened. Whatever the shadows were, they were here to kill Ruen!
She was a big thinker though not a great decision maker. Perhaps even a mastermind of sorts but at the moments she didn't think anything through before sprinting back up the stairs.
"Ruen!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.