HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

The days after that event passed by in a haze. She could have taken some time off from school to recuperate. Any sane, rational person might have. But she wanted, well, needed the normalcy. Even if this particular bit of normalcy felt like a lie. A falsehood that she was living. Because… In the world of the supernatural, how can you live a normal life?
And yet, her life even before that event wasn’t exactly normal in and of itself. Her father, though not wishing to dwell on Faery, still used his magic for their own betterment. They had supernaturals come back often times and even delivered flowers for them. They heard gossip from this and that; their patrons certainly did love to gossip.
Her mother was an ordinary human, who knew about the supernatural world. They would tell her stories of how they met. Embellished even as they were, they mystified her. After all, what sort of person not driven by insanity would approach a fairy that seemed determined to rip everyone’s heads off? Such stories didn’t scare her. And had they lied, she would have known.
It was simply better to regale her with the truth and keep her trust in tact.
Considering all they’d been through… How could their lives end there?
Static. Her brain was going numb. Cupping the side of her head, she sucked in a breath and reluctantly let the memory go. It wasn’t a good idea to fight it. The sole action would just bring harm to her. And yet, it was pretty frustrating. The fact that she could barely remember what happened when she found her parents in such a state.
She wasn’t ready to face this reality, not by a long shot.
Now, she had to go to the principal’s office and set aside some time to get those parental forms taken care of? What were they to do when they found out the truth? Could she tell the truth? No, not by a long shot. Certainly not that her parents were--
Again, static filled her mind. A cold haze that cruelly tore away whatever revelations she might have had. She paused for a moment on that barren sidewalk and waited for the colorless haze to evaporate. When it did, she breathed deeply and cocked her head to the side; wondering for the hundredth time what she was doing. The more she thought about it, the more hesitant she was to go through with school.
But you need this, She tried to convince herself. Anya would take any attempt to psyche herself up at this moment. You’ll see Eliza, She tried. While a part of her did make a feeble attempt at feeling happy to see her friend yet again, despite that it had merely been days since they last saw each other, the larger part warred with it. The larger part was too new in its grief, too feral. It wanted to attack all that came near.
Luckily, she had some self control.
With a grimace, she realized that she had been standing in that particular spot for too long. She had left early enough from their, her new home that she could afford many stops. At least, that’s what she’d made sure of when she left. But now the irrational fear rose up within her that she had been wrong. And with a gulp, she hurried at a slightly faster speed.
Soon enough, many Soul Songs met her ears and she couldn’t help but to freeze. One, so many of them in one place tended to overwhelm her easily. Two, what if people treated her weirdly when they realized that she’s blind?
Normally, the mere thought of that wouldn’t make her heart pound so much. The thought that anyone would treat her differently was too much to bare in that moment, and all of a sudden, she wanted to hide.
Deep breath in. She obeyed the thought. Deep breath out. Again, she obeyed. She commanded herself with these orders many times, until it felt like she could function somewhat normally. She was nothing, if not determined. Her eyes narrowed. I can do this! Think it. Be it! A few seconds to psyche herself up before she headed towards the school.
By the time she stepped onto the school’s property, she felt something. Something familiar. It was the calm in a tornado of energy. One that, quite frankly, calmed her just to feel. It was so achingly familiar at this point that she could have sensed it from farther away.
But what could the owner of that Song be doing here? Disbelief and tentative hope danced within her, and she was hesitant to believe in either. Though either side was definitely fighting for dominance, she knew there was only one way to find out for sure.
Tentatively using her Echolocation to see by, she cautiously made her way to the Principal’s office; all too aware of that Song getting closer and closer. There were a couple of curious glances but she paid them no mind as she set foot into the Principal’s office and… Clap. Illuminated the mysterious doppelganger’s form.
It was definitely Zander.
Her breath caught in her throat, the disbelief, the lunacy of it all causing her to stand in mute shock. She barely had a sight, but she definitely had ears. For a moment, all she could do was listen:
“Yes, well…” A small chuckle. “I am quite young for a guardian, I suppose.” A pause. She could imagine the amusement twinkling in his gaze. Not that she could see it, but Zander felt that way to her. In a surprisingly serious tone, he continued, “Still. She’s family to me, so I want to be there for her.” And then he turned in that instant with a smile coming back into his voice, “Anya? Shouldn’t you be heading to class?”
No trace of surprise in his voice, or his Soul Song. So then, he must have known that she was coming and likely already knew why. Still, she struggled to put to words her bewilderment. “I… Um…” She squinted her face up at him. “Wh-Why… Why are you here?”
She didn’t expect this of him. He had taken her in, sheltered her from the cruelty of the world. But somehow she didn’t expect him to do anything like this.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” The kind of amusement that would infuriate almost anyone else. “Oh, I suppose I didn’t.” Something sparked in her veins. It was akin to panic, but not quite that. Then, she heard the rustle of papers and felt her head jerk up slightly. “I’m turning in your school forms. Eve and I finished filling them out last night -- And then your principal and I started going over everything you would need to make your academic experience as accommodating as possible, so you can meet your full potential.”
Whatever she had been feeling, whatever had been waiting to explode in a fury, it eased. How could those mere words fill her with such anticipation and then ease it at the same time? Because it was Zander, she supposed? No, more than that…
He sounds like a father…
The tension broke. Her face lit up in one of those rare, sunny expressions that had become less and less normal of her lately. And she jumped forward, latching onto Zander in a display of affection. “Thanks, dad!” She was shaking the slightest bit. Not noticing that anything was wrong with her. Not noticing that her speech had deviated the slightest bit from normal.
She was just so overcome with happiness that she might burst!
She could feel his Song vibrating just a bit, warming up. Then his arm came down and pulled her into a hug. “Anything for you, Anya.” She was certain the warmth of his Song had crept into his tone.
Honestly, she had almost forgotten that the principal was there. For a split second, a bewildered expression crossed her face as she noticed the beat of his Song. Gothic… A splash of red? Vampire, or just a really weird guy?
“I admit,” he was forging on. “I was concerned when I saw how young your guardian is but I am so happy that you found a family, Anya.”
The confusion vanished and was replaced with a soft smile. Family… She could get used to that.
“Now, why don’t you go ahead to class?” Zander teased her gently and gave her a pat on the head, and then on the back as he pushed her gently towards the entrance. “I can handle everything here, okay?”
She hesitated, but another Soul Song was rapidly interfering in her thoughts. The soft, yet prickly serenade had briefly enraptured her. She hesitated, cocking her head back towards Zander. And clap. Saw him turning back to the principal. Their voices floating back to her, she smiled and stepped out to follow that serenade to its source.
It felt like, all of a sudden, that she would be able to handle the school year after all.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

The days after that event passed by in a haze. She could have taken some time off from school to recuperate. Any sane, rational person might have. But she wanted, well, needed the normalcy. Even if this particular bit of normalcy felt like a lie. A falsehood that she was living. Because… In the world of the supernatural, how can you live a normal life?
And yet, her life even before that event wasn’t exactly normal in and of itself. Her father, though not wishing to dwell on Faery, still used his magic for their own betterment. They had supernaturals come back often times and even delivered flowers for them. They heard gossip from this and that; their patrons certainly did love to gossip.
Her mother was an ordinary human, who knew about the supernatural world. They would tell her stories of how they met. Embellished even as they were, they mystified her. After all, what sort of person not driven by insanity would approach a fairy that seemed determined to rip everyone’s heads off? Such stories didn’t scare her. And had they lied, she would have known.
It was simply better to regale her with the truth and keep her trust in tact.
Considering all they’d been through… How could their lives end there?
Static. Her brain was going numb. Cupping the side of her head, she sucked in a breath and reluctantly let the memory go. It wasn’t a good idea to fight it. The sole action would just bring harm to her. And yet, it was pretty frustrating. The fact that she could barely remember what happened when she found her parents in such a state.
She wasn’t ready to face this reality, not by a long shot.
Now, she had to go to the principal’s office and set aside some time to get those parental forms taken care of? What were they to do when they found out the truth? Could she tell the truth? No, not by a long shot. Certainly not that her parents were--
Again, static filled her mind. A cold haze that cruelly tore away whatever revelations she might have had. She paused for a moment on that barren sidewalk and waited for the colorless haze to evaporate. When it did, she breathed deeply and cocked her head to the side; wondering for the hundredth time what she was doing. The more she thought about it, the more hesitant she was to go through with school.
But you need this, She tried to convince herself. Anya would take any attempt to psyche herself up at this moment. You’ll see Eliza, She tried. While a part of her did make a feeble attempt at feeling happy to see her friend yet again, despite that it had merely been days since they last saw each other, the larger part warred with it. The larger part was too new in its grief, too feral. It wanted to attack all that came near.
Luckily, she had some self control.
With a grimace, she realized that she had been standing in that particular spot for too long. She had left early enough from their, her new home that she could afford many stops. At least, that’s what she’d made sure of when she left. But now the irrational fear rose up within her that she had been wrong. And with a gulp, she hurried at a slightly faster speed.
Soon enough, many Soul Songs met her ears and she couldn’t help but to freeze. One, so many of them in one place tended to overwhelm her easily. Two, what if people treated her weirdly when they realized that she’s blind?
Normally, the mere thought of that wouldn’t make her heart pound so much. The thought that anyone would treat her differently was too much to bare in that moment, and all of a sudden, she wanted to hide.
Deep breath in. She obeyed the thought. Deep breath out. Again, she obeyed. She commanded herself with these orders many times, until it felt like she could function somewhat normally. She was nothing, if not determined. Her eyes narrowed. I can do this! Think it. Be it! A few seconds to psyche herself up before she headed towards the school.
By the time she stepped onto the school’s property, she felt something. Something familiar. It was the calm in a tornado of energy. One that, quite frankly, calmed her just to feel. It was so achingly familiar at this point that she could have sensed it from farther away.
But what could the owner of that Song be doing here? Disbelief and tentative hope danced within her, and she was hesitant to believe in either. Though either side was definitely fighting for dominance, she knew there was only one way to find out for sure.
Tentatively using her Echolocation to see by, she cautiously made her way to the Principal’s office; all too aware of that Song getting closer and closer. There were a couple of curious glances but she paid them no mind as she set foot into the Principal’s office and… Clap. Illuminated the mysterious doppelganger’s form.
It was definitely Zander.
Her breath caught in her throat, the disbelief, the lunacy of it all causing her to stand in mute shock. She barely had a sight, but she definitely had ears. For a moment, all she could do was listen:
“Yes, well…” A small chuckle. “I am quite young for a guardian, I suppose.” A pause. She could imagine the amusement twinkling in his gaze. Not that she could see it, but Zander felt that way to her. In a surprisingly serious tone, he continued, “Still. She’s family to me, so I want to be there for her.” And then he turned in that instant with a smile coming back into his voice, “Anya? Shouldn’t you be heading to class?”
No trace of surprise in his voice, or his Soul Song. So then, he must have known that she was coming and likely already knew why. Still, she struggled to put to words her bewilderment. “I… Um…” She squinted her face up at him. “Wh-Why… Why are you here?”
She didn’t expect this of him. He had taken her in, sheltered her from the cruelty of the world. But somehow she didn’t expect him to do anything like this.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” The kind of amusement that would infuriate almost anyone else. “Oh, I suppose I didn’t.” Something sparked in her veins. It was akin to panic, but not quite that. Then, she heard the rustle of papers and felt her head jerk up slightly. “I’m turning in your school forms. Eve and I finished filling them out last night -- And then your principal and I started going over everything you would need to make your academic experience as accommodating as possible, so you can meet your full potential.”
Whatever she had been feeling, whatever had been waiting to explode in a fury, it eased. How could those mere words fill her with such anticipation and then ease it at the same time? Because it was Zander, she supposed? No, more than that…
He sounds like a father…
The tension broke. Her face lit up in one of those rare, sunny expressions that had become less and less normal of her lately. And she jumped forward, latching onto Zander in a display of affection. “Thanks, dad!” She was shaking the slightest bit. Not noticing that anything was wrong with her. Not noticing that her speech had deviated the slightest bit from normal.
She was just so overcome with happiness that she might burst!
She could feel his Song vibrating just a bit, warming up. Then his arm came down and pulled her into a hug. “Anything for you, Anya.” She was certain the warmth of his Song had crept into his tone.
Honestly, she had almost forgotten that the principal was there. For a split second, a bewildered expression crossed her face as she noticed the beat of his Song. Gothic… A splash of red? Vampire, or just a really weird guy?
“I admit,” he was forging on. “I was concerned when I saw how young your guardian is but I am so happy that you found a family, Anya.”
The confusion vanished and was replaced with a soft smile. Family… She could get used to that.
“Now, why don’t you go ahead to class?” Zander teased her gently and gave her a pat on the head, and then on the back as he pushed her gently towards the entrance. “I can handle everything here, okay?”
She hesitated, but another Soul Song was rapidly interfering in her thoughts. The soft, yet prickly serenade had briefly enraptured her. She hesitated, cocking her head back towards Zander. And clap. Saw him turning back to the principal. Their voices floating back to her, she smiled and stepped out to follow that serenade to its source.
It felt like, all of a sudden, that she would be able to handle the school year after all.