[Lanrete]: 546.Title TBA.Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Far, far away from the graveyard, a pathetic creature huddled in a gutter. This particular gutter ran along a dreary alley in the reeking, polluted bowels of an ancient city. Other than a dim yellow glow from a streetlamp on the adjoining street, it was dark. The sounds of nearby tavern brawls floated in on the wind.
Suddenly, a striking young woman with long, red hair appeared suddenly a few yards in front of the creature. Before it could think, it let out a tiny whimper of fear. The girl whirled around, a look of suspicious concentration on her pretty face. She stalked toward the creature on long legs, eyes narrowed. The poor, pitiful creature tried to make itself as small as possible, flattening its emaciated body against the curb. After what seemed like an eternity, the girl saw the creature. 
“Oh, you poor thing!” Thorna exclaimed, her voice full of motherly concern. “You’re starving, aren’t you? And- oh, you’re terrified of me!” The tiny thing was frantically scrambling backwards, trying to put as much ground as possible between itself and Thorna. “Here, err…” She rummaged around in the oversized pocket of her hoodie, finally pulling out a scone and a flask. Holding the small cake in the palm of her hand, she extended her arm in a gesture of peace and friendship. “Come on, I know you’re hungry,” she cooed gently. The creature began to cautiously slink out of the shadow in which it lay. As it moved into the beam of lamplight, Thorna realized just how strange the thing looked. Its skin was very pale, almost violet, and it reached roughly to her knees in height. It was vaguely humanoid in appearance, with a bent spine and legs that folded under it so that it was in a strange, squat-like appearance. Its movement was almost apelike, with long arms that it used to pull itself forward. The head was mounted on a long, skinny neck, and drooped in submission and fear. The creature’s face was still shadowed. 
The creature finally stretched out a long, bony, hairless arm and timidly took the scone from Thorna’s outstretched hand. It quickly drew back into the shadows and presumably devoured the scone, as Thorna could hear the sound of frenzied eating coming from its direction. 
After it seemed to have quieted, Thorna asked gently “Can you speak, my little friend?”
When no answer came, Thorna peered into the shadows. The creature was slumped over. For a moment, Thorna’s breath caught in her throat. Had she killed the poor thing? But no, she heard the sound of ragged breathing. With a smile, she realized that the creature was sound asleep, having worn itself out in its terror. She drew another scone from her pocket, laying it next to the creature’s scrawny form. Unscrewing her flask, she sniffed it to make sure it was the water and not the rum. Assured that the contents of the little bottle were completely innocent, she left the open flask next to the scone. “I’ll be back later, small one. Someone’s got to protect you, and I think it’s gonna be me.” Her voice and face were tender, an expression to which they were unaccustomed.
Suddenly, Thorna jumped up, cursing fluently in several languages. Her damnable kindness had just made her even more late for a very important meeting, for which she had already been several minutes overdue. She sprinted to the far end of the alley, stopping in front of a dark doorstep, which was surrounded by stinking garbage. Glancing down at her baggy, dingy clothing, she drew a rune in the air with a glowing fingertip. After drawing several more runes on her clothing and muttering for a moment under her breath, she began to glow faintly. The baggy, black clothing she had worn dissolved, leaving her standing in a long black dress with flowing crimson sleeves. Grinning slightly in satisfaction, she began to write a complex series of runes on the railing in front of her. Several minutes later, she stopped, closed her eyes, and vanished without a sound or a trace. 
The creature at the end of the alley observed her, and began to think deeply.