INTIMIDATING. Roxanne was intimidating. For a whole of five seconds before Timothy was lost in the beauty of her eyes and everything about her.
He'd thought her eyes were glowing, but his eyes were probably decieving him. They were definitely the color of her eyes. Amber.
"Hi," he said simply. She was taller than him by a few inches so he had to raise his head to meet her eyes.
"Hi." Roxanne's fierce expression had softened considerably and she even offered a smile. One would think she was going to fight him for intruding.
"I'm Timothy," he said.
"Nice to meet you."
She brought forward her hand for a handshake and Timothy spent some time admiring her nails. Even her fingers were beautiful.
They shook hands while Timothy was still focused on their hands, not noticing Roxanne looking at him in curiosity and some other emotion that couldn't be read.
Everyone and everything in the building was at a standstill as the attention was on the two of them. They were shocked at Roxanne's sudden lack of hostility towards the stranger and we're questioning themselves whether their eyes were decieving them or Roxanne was about to snap.
Timothy seemed to notice everything as he'd gone closer to whisper to her, "Why's everyone looking at us?"
Roxanne shrugged. "I honestly don't see any other reason but because you're a stranger."
This interaction made everyone murmur and gasp. They really were shocked.
Timothy nodded in understanding, finally letting go of her hand. He was a bit embarrassed that he'd held on for so long, but he tried to school his expression--it didn't work. Roxanne gave him a small smile and he was red all over. This was the first time a girl had ever made him a blushing mess. He'd never been so instantly attracted to anyone as...
He heard a sound behind him and when he turned around, he remembered that he came with Rowen, and that he was behind him.
"So..." Rowen stepped forward. "Now that you've met, I just want to give the details when we go to meet my mom, okay?"
Roxanne nodded. "Sure. I don't mind." She paused. "It better be a good one though."
The last line sounded almost like a threat. But then again, he was probably decieving himself.
Rowen nodded as he led the way. Timothy was too distracted by Roxanne to admire his surroundings. But he knew it certainly wasn't ugly.
Why was he so enamored by this girl? He didn't know. Maybe others around were looking at him and wondering why he was being a creep. If Roxanne noticed that he was staring, she didn't say anything. She seemed to be a really quiet girl so she didn't say anything through their walk to wherever Rowen was taking them, and he was the one talking throughout too. As usual.
They got into a room a while later. The moment Timothy stepped into the room, he felt the way he felt when he'd stepped out of the car.
"What is this place?" He asked no one in particular.
But Roxanne answered, "A place where everything and anything supernatural takes place. Oh, and this room is where pure witchcraft takes place."
Timothy almost stumbled over himself. Witchcraft?!
"Rowen?"
The other boy was no longer bubbly but calm instead. Quiet. Just like Roxanne.
"This is owned by the Westleys... meaning my family and I, and today I'm going to introduce you to my mom, who will help you." He smiled. "Don't be scared, there's nothing frightening here. Just look around."
If Rowen had told him that he was a witch...wizard, he probably wouldn't have agreed to come with him. He'd only wanted a solution to his problem, not to add to it! He couldn't even shout at his roommate because he was a little more nervous than before. He was in a house full of strangers and the guy who didn't tell him everything was the only person he was familiar with. Great. So much for the guy with the 'aura.'
***
The first thing Timothy noticed was the smell of something burning, he guessed it was herbs since it was a witch's place. From what he could see, there was a fireplace, shelves and jars of colorful powders and there were flowers of different kinds everywhere. He almost felt like he was in the woods with the misty-but-not-misty air around him.
The room was like a big hall as it housed so many things. He could see plants of different kinds as they walked deeper inside. There were pictures--probably containing family members or so. The room was bigger than he'd expected. It was almost scary.
"Mom!" Rowen called and there was an immediate answer.
"Yes, darling?"
The voice that answered sounded smooth. Like something refreshing. A kind of voice to cool one's overactive mind. It made Timothy curious to see the owner of the voice.
"My friend's here to see you."
They all stood and waited as Rowen's mother gave a small 'okay'. There was another door and it was a bit far from where they were standing. And out came a tall and slender-looking woman, whose dark skin literally shone as the sun rays from outside were on her. Her hair was so long and so...white. Timothy glanced at Rowen's own hair and concluded that maybe it wasn't hair dye as he'd thought.
They watched as she ambled towards them, brown eyes twinkling as they met Timothy's head on. Timothy didn't feel intimidated or scared, he felt only warmth. Especially when she gave him a warm smile.
"Hello," she said. "Would you like some juice or smoothies, with bread or cookies?"
"Uh..."
"Come on. Oh, and, you can call me Maya," she said, grabbing an arm of his and leading him to the door that she just walked out of. "This is going to be an interesting conversation so I'm definitely bringing everything I listed out."
Timothy didn't really understand, but he let her drag him because she was nice. She was so unlike her son.
They settled in what looked like a garden, but an office. There were more plants there than the other side of the room. Someone had come in with bread, a jar of juice, some smoothies and mouth-watering cookies. He wasn't able to look at the person properly before his attention was dragged.
"My darling boy says you were visited by The Oracle," Rowen's mom said, tone serious. "Tell me everything."
So Timothy painstakingly took the time to tell her everything. From the first time he had the dream till the present moment. He couldn't eat because his mind had started reliving everything all over again. Yeah, he wasn't going to get over it for a long time.
"Hybrid," Roxanne said, making Timothy glance at her. She didn't seem shocked. There was a hint of surprise on her face though, as she stared at him. He didn't mind her looking at him, but it felt awkward that it wasn't because she thought he was handsome or awesome in a way.
"I've never heard of a hybrid before," Maya stated. "Though I shouldn't be surprised as anything is possible but...who are your parents?"
Timothy shrugged. "They died when I was little so I don't really remember anything. My sister will probably be the one to remember anything about them." He gazed at the cup of juice in his hands. "But I know that their names are Daniel Bishop and Victoria. Though that isn't much help."
"Hm." Maya was calm, and the look she gave him made him feel comfortable. "I'll check it out."
"His eyes were glowing red and yellow," Rowen suddenly imputed. "He had claws and fangs too...they were really long."
"Hmm..." Maya mumbled. "This is something serious. And the fact that The Oracle knows--"
"Sorry," Timothy interrupted. "I'm sorry, but I'd really like to know the meaning of a hybrid and who the hell that woman who keeps tormenting me is, please?"
Maya stared at him intently. "You're a werewolf and vampire, if I understand what my son just explained about the eyes. Especially under the full moon, you definitely can't be a sea--" She cleared her throat. "That's crazy because vampires and werewolves are enemies. Also, The Oracle... Rowen darling, would you please explain?"
Everyone's attention turned to Rowen who continued after sipping his tea, "She's kind of like a...prophet, but also very powerful. Priests or prophets relay messages from their gods, but she doesn't really do that. She's like god. Everything she says comes true and everything she advices one to do is usually with a reason. She's neither good nor evil. She does whatever she wants as long as it benefits her. The reason why she's after you is probably for her own reasons only, but it can't be good seeing as she isn't all nice to you."
"And getting a grip on a just awakened hybrid, one of the most powerful creatures alive is a recipe for disaster," Roxanne completed.
Timothy sighed. "All of a sudden, I miss living with my sister now."
"Your sister might be a supernatural too, you never know," Maya said. "You're really special though, The Oracle hasn't appeared to much people before."
"So what are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?" Timothy asked, subdued. This new information wasn't exactly driving him crazy because he was thinking about his sister.
"The Oracle has always killed and used people who were her minions, and I doubt you want to be under her," Rowen said. "She'll definitely come to you again. Maybe then she'll tell you what she wants. We'll try to help you."
Timothy was surprised. "You'd go against the being whom she just claimed was very powerful?"
"She's dangerous," Maya simply said. "And she's caused more harm than good in the world. If we were to tell people that we were waging a war against her, everyone would join in. Well, just our pack of course."
"She'd probably know," Timothy said.
"The Oracle wants you for a reason, Timothy. If you follow her lead, you'll either die or kill others," Maya said sadly. It was like she knew something. "You being a hybrid is already a problem. You have to stay here for the night."
Timothy nodded. It's not like he had a choice anyway. He needed to process everything by himself.