Lost under the oak

[Sugar.Milk.Tea]

The wind danced through her hair and trailed in and out of her ears. She turned away brushing her hair lightly out of face. It was no point of fighting the wind, natural force should not be reckoned with. She ran her fingers through the trees. Quite bored at the time. She had hardly seen anyone in the villiage. And with no one...how was she suppose to make any money? The only thing on her mind. She needed a place to stay and eat. She didn't know what she would do...she did have some money left over, but that couldn't last forever right? She sat down in the shade, quite frustrated. Every day she dreamed to contact her parents, but they didn't care about her. No one did...she closed her eyes trying to relieve her stress.

She hadn't felt any auras near her. She really needed to take her anger out on something. Although you're not suppose to use a spiritual powers for anger, but Elise never regarded anything she ever learned in that silly old shrine..back in her villiage.

[Vanilla]

It had taken him a while, but Damon finally finished touring himself around the quaint little village of Mossleaf. Along the journey he had seen little children laughing happily with their mothers. Friends gabbing and giggled as they passed him by. The sunshine from the almost cloudless sky had seemed to simply add to the happiness and peaceful air that Mossleaf had to offer. And frankly, it was making Damon disgusted. Of course, he had smiled at those he passed, exchanged waves or pleasant nods here and there, but deep down he was mortified. He had never seen such happiness and bliss in one village before. Could it be that it almost made him regret possibly shattering that tranquility? ...Nah.

So now here he was, walking along the hill which surrounded oak trees. Huge oak trees, which provided plenty of shade for those wanting to get out of the sun for a while. Why was he here? Where was he going? Damon wasn't sure, not that he really cared. He had seen all he needed to, mapped out pretty much the entire village, except for a few places. That was all he needed truthfully, it made him contented to know the best places to get away with assassinations or quick ways to escape an area without being seen or caught.

It was during these very interesting contemplations and realizations that Damon noticed something up ahead. A lone girl sitting in the shade. A perfect target. He could get to her now and be done with it. Ah, but where would the fun in that be? As always, Damon would bide his time and wait. He would toy with her perhaps, lull her into a false "friendship" and sense of security. Then, he would steal it away. Eventually.

"Nice day out, isn't it?" Damon called out to the woman, gesturing towards her with a friendly wave and gentle smile.

[Sugar.Milk.Tea]

It felt like her heart had stopped working. The feeling like she couldn't breathe anymore. Something had to be doing this but what? She opened her eyes trying to find the source, but only found a quite polite man greeting her. It couldn't be him...could it? She would have to be losing her touch if she thought the aura came from him. But the air seemed to change when the man entered the picuture. Elise had never handled a situation like this her powers were warning her. To prepare herself but for what? Even if she wanted too she hadn't harnessed all her skills and would probably do a lot of damage to herself if she wanted to try.

She used the tree to balance herself. The darkness was making her light-headed and dizzy. She had to put her arms out in front of her to make sure she wouldn't bump into anything that could leave a nasty mark. She finally made her way over and could easily see him. The pain started to increase and her shield was preparing itself. Elise tried to stop the process since it drew a lot of attention to her. Finally the pain subsidized and the world became clearer once again. Dusting herself off she could finally manage a few words out. "Hello,I'm Elise...Elise Holt-Combe." She took a even closer look at the man and found the headaches were coming back to her. She adverted her glare, atleast it stopped hurting too much. Much like how you look directly in the sunlight,but if you turn away. The heat is less intense. She kneeled down a moment. He must be a demon...but why was he so friendly? He must be one, Elise didn't get random headaches for no reason! It felt like the poison was seeping into her and all she could do was wait until she died.

[Vanilla]

His smile never faltered as the woman drew near. She introduced herself as Elise Holt-Combe. What an intriguing name. Something seemed to be bothering her though, because Elise looked away from Damon. As soon as she did, his gentle smile turned into a malicious one, but only for a split second. It seemed to return to it's 'normal' state instantly. He nodded at her, acknowledging the fact that she had so openly stated her name to a complete strange. What a foolish girl she was.

"My name is Damon. A pleasure, I'm sure." An eyebrow raised as Damon watched while Elise suddenly knelt down. Oh, she looked like she was going through such agony. It was very entertaining for Damon to witness, and he wanted it to go on interrupted but he figured he should keep up his nice act for the time being. The wait was well worth the reward at the end. "Are you alright? Is there something wrong?" Asking this, Damon stepped forward, a look of concern crossing his face. It wasn't genuine, of course, but no one else could really tell by simply looking at his expression.

[Sugar.Milk.Tea]

Keeping her gaze still away from the man named Damon...DAMON!? LIKE IN AS DEMON?! They were only a vowel difference! It could be just a really big concidence, or was it? Still Elise's mind went into parnoid-mode. He was quite nice, but she had seen plenty of nice people back-stab her in the back. He even questioned is she was well. She would have to do something or her body would collaspe. The aura was swallowing her and she wasn't doing anything.

Turning away from the man for a mere moment, she said a simple chant in her mind. This would purify anything that was troubling her, for a mere moment. Only until she could find the source. The chant was finished and the aura was slowly dissapearing...but Elise knew it wouldn't last forever. She would have to be strong and take it again, once it weared off. "It's very nice to meet you." She did a small bow and gave another quick look to Damon. It didn't hurt anymore, and she could see clearly. He had white hair...just like her. Very abnormal. He must be different, or he really like dying his hair white. Either way it sort of freaked her out.

[OOC: I JUST REALIZED THAT DAMON...IS SORT OF LIKE DEMON. ^_^]

[Vanilla]

"Guess you're alright then..." Damon muttered, and cursed mentally that she had somehow been able to recover so quickly. This girl, this Elise certainly wasn't a normal being. He'd have to keep a close eye on her, or else he might wind up doing something he would regret. Clearing his throat, he grinned towards her. "Are you checking me out or something? You keep staring." A gentle laughed escape his lips and he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Am I really that good looking?"

[Sugar.Milk.Tea]

She blushed a bit. "Yeah, you're pretty cute. But I think you look much older than me." She turned her attention away from him. Trying to find where that aura had come from. She was okay for now. But if it happened again? She had to keep her mind focused on something else. "So what brings you here?" She avoided looking at him directly since it still felt a bit awkward.

[Vanilla]

"I just finished touring the village. Was just walking by when I noticed a beautiful girl sitting alone, thought I'd say hi." Damon grinned towards Elise. It was so easy to manipulate women. Actually, it was pretty simple to manipulate anybody, from what he had experienced. Humans were such gullible and fragile creatures. Not that Damon was complaining or anything - it actually made his job that much easier. And oh so fun. "What were you doing?" Though I could really care less. He added mentally, a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Hope you didn't mind me disturbing your alone time."

[Sugar.Milk.Tea]

She gave a awkward smile when he mentioned her. Of course she would've blushed, but his tone...just was a bit insincere. But she couldn't really tell. She could barely think straight any more. But she was a bit suspicious of him. She walked away and sat down in the shade again. Hopefully he wouldn't try to get any closer to her. Since she was pretty sure, he was a demon. Good or Bad, it still made Elise a bit sick. "No, It's fine. I was just trying to find anybody. It's pretty quiet here."

[PenOfManyTalents]

Talim was curious about the surrounding areas of the village she had arrived to, especially so because from snippets of conversation, she had gathered that this community was quite heavily based on Nature and respected it.

On her way, she saw something huddled in the grass. Upon closer inspection, it was a small squirrel. As she approached, the squirrel tried to get away, only to be snagged back by something. A trap? Talim tsk softly before kneeling closeby.

The squirrel was making angry and scared noises, trying to keep her away or scare her off. Talim shh'd the critter and extended her arm, trying to calm him down by softly cooing. After 10 long minutes, the squirrel seemed to calm down somewhat, but still made noises and looked at her unsure of what she was going to do. She tried to touch it, and recieved a fake-attack and withdrew her fingers before trying again. This time the squirrel allowed the touch, though it was stiff and drawn taut like a bowstring.

Gently she took the squirrel into her hand and took the trap off, trying to soothe the irritated skin in the creature's foot. By now the squirrel had calmed down sufficiently, so Talim decided she should bring it to a tree. She spied the old oak trees and begun to approach them. As she got closer, she noticed a pair of people near one of the trees. A sudden wave of dizzyness passed through her as she felt something distinctly dark in the area, but after a brief stumble she shrugged it off.

How peculiar...

She walked up to a tree and gently let the squirrel climb up. The squirrel looked at Talim for a second, a little confused, but nevertheless, scittered up the trunk and into the leaves.

[Vanilla]

Damon nodded at Elise's comment, and was about to reply when he heard something. Glancing over, he realized another woman had entered the area and she appeared to be holding something. Was that a squirrel? Damon's eyebrow raised and he watched as the woman allowed the squirrel to climb up the tree. She was apparently helping the little critter. How generous. How appalling. Forcing back the urge to display disgust, Damon simply smiled and stepped forward, approaching the 2nd woman. He would deal with Elise after he figured out who this new person was.

"Hello. Felt like helping out that poor squirrel, hm?" He glanced upwards towards the leaves, where the animal had vanished merely a second or two ago. His eyes then lowered until he was gazing at the woman. "How nice. You don't see that often, such a shame really." Of course, Damon was lying. He felt no compassion for the wildlife of the world. In fact, he would have much preferred it if that pathetic squirrel had been put out of it's existence, but he would never admit that. At least, not while others were present.

Looking away from the woman, he gave a quick glance back over to Elise. She had seemed quite elusive of him, and it caused Damon to wonder why. Could it be that she knew of what he was? Perhaps she was one of those accursed types of people who could sense auras. If so, then it would've been fairly obvious that Damon was no human. He hoped she wasn't - that would spoil all the entertainment to come. A small smirk creeping across his lip, he turned his attention over to the orange-haired female. There Damon stood, awaiting the woman's response.

[PenOfManyTalents]

Talim turned her head towards the source of a greeting and looked at the man in front of her. His hair was white, which caught her eye quite quickly, and she had to crane her neck slightly to look at him in the face; he was tall... She looked back at the squirrel then at the man, and nodded. Of course she helped it, it was hurt!

She bit her lip and tried to answer him vocally when she looked over at the girl a little ways behind the man. She didn't look too good... Her ears drooped slightly, indicating concern. Her eyes flickered towards the man and then back at the girl.

Talim probably would've voiced her concerns, had she not been convinced that this man was intelligent enough to interpret her sign-language. In fact, he seemed almost dangerously intelligent... There was something in the way he held himself and how he spoke that gave Talim the impression that he was smart.

[Vanilla]

Blinking, Damon realized the woman had glanced at Elise. Her eyes showed a flicker of concern and he presumed it was because Elise didn't look so well. The smile on his face seemed to brighten. What a perfect opportunity this was. "Ah yes, that's Elise." He said, not bothering to look back over to her. "If you're wondering what's wrong with her, I think she might be feeling a bit under the weather. There was a recent illness that swept through this area, some people are still being affected by it. Nothing to be concerned about though, I'm sure Elise will be just fine." He nodded his head, and held his hand out towards the woman in a friendly gesture.

"My name's Damon. Nice to meet you, ma'am." The smile on his face remained, but not because he was happy to be making a new friend. The reason he was smiling was thanks to the fact that Damon was playing out the way he could possibly kill these two in his mind. Slit their throats. Impale them against the oak tree. Toss them down the hill and break their necks. Beat them until they drowned in their own blood. The possibilities were endless. Oh how he yearned to be able to fulfill his desires, but it was still too soon. Their time would come.

[PenOfManyTalents]

Talim looked at his hand. Why did he...? No, wait. This is how people greet one another, is it not? She was so used to bowing when greeting others she wasn't always sure how to shake hands. She gingerly took his hand and shook it quickly before withdrawing her own. These greeting-rituals were most certainly odd...

"Talim." She lowered her head slightly, leaning forwards a little and bringing her hands together in a modest version of the monk's bow. Usually it went much lower and she would have to bend from her waist, but she felt that was an exaggeration at this point.

Faintly, she felt a small tingle of a vision in the back of her mind, and she knew that the minute she touched her cards, it'd start and she'd see something again. But judging from the feel of the tingle, it would be nothing more than a few seconds long, if even that.

[Vanilla]

An eyebrow raised again when the girl, who was named Talim, bowed at Damon. He hadn't seen someone do that before. It was awkward, but he simply shrugged. "You're not one to talk much, huh? Heh, I remember when I was like that too." Grinning, he stretched his arms up over his head and let out a contented sigh. What a fantastic day it was to make someone else's life miserable. That or stalk an unsuspecting victim and watch them writhe in fear and discomfort. A small chuckle escaped Damon's lips as he lowered his arms.

"So, you just shy? Or am I really that 'scary' looking?" He said this sarcastically, as a joke, and laughed again. His laughter was light and cheerful, but underneath it lay an icy and cold cackle, one that most never heard unless it would be the last thing they ever did. Damon hoped that time would come soon. He had been quite bored as of late, wondering to himself when he may find his next victim. Elise and this Talim girl seemed like good candidates, but he wanted to accumulate more people before he really started anything. After all, the more the merrier.

[PenOfManyTalents]

Talim shook her head when he asked if she was shy. She wasn't, she just didn't feel the need to talk all the time... There was something in his laughter that pricked at her like ice. She wasn't sure why she heard a malicious undercurrent in his voice, but decided it was probably nothing; yet she stored that information to use in a later date. If there's one thing she has learned in her life, it's that not all are what they seem.

"Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools because they have to say something."

[Vanilla]

"Then I must be the biggest idiot I know. I talk a lot, probably too much at times." Damon scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He really hated having to act this way. Talking so much. Smiling a lot. Laughing at things he found repulsive and annoying. All for the sake of his later enjoyment. But, at least it produced a excellent opportunity at the end. Those who wait are rewarded well. At least that's what he had been told while growing up.

[PenOfManyTalents]

Talim shrugged. If he felt like it, then it must be so. Who was she to argue? She started to approach the girl, Elise, sitting in the shade of the tree. She was getting worried about her now, she didn't look too good...

She squatted down about 5 feet in front of her and cocked her head, frowning slightly, silently asking the girl if she was alright.

[Sugar.Milk.Tea]

[OOC: hii Penny <3 and vanilla. =D]

Elise felt like fainting as the pain came closer and closer. She couldn't stop it. No it would've required something more stronger. And she couldn't do anything like that with Damon still watching. She sat down hoping it would go away. But it didn't it came faster and with each hit Elise couldn't stand up straight anymore. Luckily Damon walked away. The pain eased and the world was clearer now. She had never felt anything that strong in quite awhile...but she knew there had to be a different reason why the pain gave up so easily.

Another girl, Talim was it? Elise tried to pick up any bits of the conversation she could. But she couldn't stare directly at Damon, the pain would come in straight sharp points. When she approached Elise, the pain was finally gone...who was she? No, she had to be something special. But what? And for her not to feel the headaches? She had to be more in tune with her powers then Elise. "Perfectly alright now that is." She gave her a smile as sort of a thank you. "Yes, I'm feeling a bit sick. But I'll be fine." Her eyes wandered over to Damon, yet the pain had stopped. Elise knew that she had to stay close to this Talim girl...

[PenOfManyTalents]

Talim nodded her head, relieved that the girl seemed to be fairing better now. She herself dropped down on the ground and crossed her legs, as standing on one's toes was pretty taxing to the feet. She looked around the place, seemingly oblivious to the other two people in the vicinity. Her ears were moving and turning constantly in an effort to catch the surrounding sound of birds, rustling leaves and other critters. This was a relaxing enviroment...

She turned back to Elise and cocked her head again in a form of question. What was she doing here if she had been feeling ill?