Solo Yum! Yum! Fried Spider?

[Assilsa Curare]

30th of Fall 513AV

No where in Nyka had not be trod on by someone else, everywhere someone had walked before. Assilsa found this fact about Nyka depressing, that there was no where new, even more so when she found herself walking back into the employment office.

It was a busy as it was the as it was the day she received her hunting job, Assilsa walked to the notice boards, instead of those dreaded lines once again. Her garnet eyes unfocused and focused as she skinned the various entries muttering slightly to herself in Symenos.

“Tiffany's Bed and Breakfast needs employees!....”

“4337598990422614- Smoke-filled catacombs writhing….”

“Joshua Channin requires attractive young women…..”

Assilsa eyes stopped on one certain flyer, ‘A sitter needed’ would this be like the Zith child? Ripping the paper from the wall Assilsa backed away from the wall.

A few hours later Assilsa had made her way towards the address of the address written clearly on the flyer. It looked like the res of Nyka, reddish brown, square, one storied. It was what was inside that made Assilsa’s heart pump harder. As she walked Assilsa had finished reading the flyer completely, A seven year old fire maker, they had another name however Assilsa couldn’t remember it at the time. It was going to be exactly like the Zith spawn, After reading that lovely detail Assilsa had changed into her hunting gear.

Knocking at the door Assilsa waited in scared silenced, she wanted excitement but would this be too much? A woman answered the door, putting on a fake smile Assilsa bowered.

“Hello Ma’am, I’m here about the sitting job? I have the flyer”

“You’re not from around here are you?”

There was nothing odd about the woman which settled Assilsa’s churning stomach, she disliked fire

“No I’m not… I’m from Ravok… Well no, I’m from Kalinor”

[Assilsa Curare]

“Ravok… Have you dealt with a sitting job such as this?”

Rubbing her garnet eyes Assilsa sighed, If she hadn’t of taken this job she would be laying down on her bed or buying a new journal to put new information into or placing new leaves into it. The beautiful forest floor was covered in coloured leaves however instead Assilsa was standing here getting the third degree, she understood the need however she wished it wouldn’t happen.

“Yes I have, I dealt with a Zith child”

Her eyes were always accessing Assilsa, taking note of everything about Assilsa, her clothes, the way she stands. It made her uncomfortable, Assilsa wasn’t used to all this unnecessary staring and watching. The woman made a noise acceptance and moved from the door.

With a few steps Assilsa was standing in the doorway, the soft light of the house made Assilsa feel at ease, it reminded her of her softly lit home, the safe haven Hostel always held a sense of welcome, something that Assilsa loved about it.

It was a good home, filled with nice furniture, Assilsa wasn’t sure about the decor however. The furniture might be of good quality, however she didn’t think it could be damaged. Stone chairs, couches almost everything was stone apart from a few cushions which were burnt and frayed. The fire child, Assilsa was slightly terrified a boy that can cause fire with his mind. It must be serious if the mother has furnished with stone.

[Assilsa Curare]

Looking around taking note of all the possible places for a child to hide Assilsa took a seat on one of the stone chairs. She felt neither comfort nor discomfort after all she was used to sleeping and sitting on stone.
Politely smiling towards the woman who was getting her jacket and a few other things needed for whatever she was doing.
Once again a face covered by blonde hair poked around the corner, his eyes a deep brown and seemed to held an evil glint. Dismissing it as just the lighting Assilsa gave a small wave and a wide smile hopping to look welcoming.

“Anthony please behave for the nice… ‘lady’”

Assilsa ignored the sarcasm on the word Lady and continued to watch Anthony. The boy was curious and certainly didn’t look as if he could start fires however you never trust someone’s looks, Assilsa herself was a prime example
.
“Anthony, what would you like to do?”

The mother gave a curt wave to Assilsa and kissed her child’s forehead before almost rushing out the door, this left Anthony and Assilsa staring at each other in silence. Assilsa didn’t know if the woman was coming back in the morning or would only be a bell, this added a sliver of fear the already terrified symenestra.

The unknown had always been the thing that Assilsa found the most curious; this is what brought her to Nyka and out of Kalinor in the first place. Crouching down and resting her elbows on her knees Assilsa looked the boy straight in the eyes.

“Anthony? Want to play hid’ and seek?”

He gave a curt nod before looking around and running away with his small little legs, she predicted he was only 5 foot, smiling Assilsa thought this would be an interesting game.

[Assilsa Curare]

“One…. Two…. Three…. Four…. Five….”

Counting slowly in Symenos Assilsa considered the fact that he was a lot more, well calm then the Zith child, she might even enjoy her time here. After all she hadn’t seen the fire side of the child yet.

“Twenty… twenty one…. Twenty two….”

Looking slowly around the room while she was still counting, Assilsa noticed a few scorch marks. The mother had attempted to hide theses, however Assilsa could still see the smudge of ash under a throw pillow or under a rug. Maybe she had misjudged? Maybe he was more dangerous then she had expected.

“Thirty five….. ready or not I shall find you”

A small giggle echoed through the house Assilsa cringed, it made the scene eerily creepy. There was something she could do to give her an advantage over the child… Tip toeing over the a candle Assilsa looked for something the put it out. She could see in the dark whereas he couldn’t, using her long black nail to extinguish the flame. The room slowly began to get darker however the room was still fairly lit, turning slowly looking for another candle.

Just as she turned Assilsa heard a soft sizzle, it was an odd sound that made Assilsa cringed, it reminded her of the sound when she had to burn her clothes. Stopping in her tracks Assilsa stood wide eyed… Burning…

Spinning around Assilsa was faced with a brightly lit candle, gapping Assilsa was faced with the truth… he really could set fires, Anthony could set her on fire… sizzle sizzle and she was cooked…

[Assilsa Curare]

Holding her breath Assilsa chaste herself, she was just being silly. The child wouldn’t actually hurt her, no… that would be mean and unnecessary, Assilsa didn’t pose a threat so why attack?

Shaking her head Assilsa decided to just get on with the game. Focusing Assilsa forced her legs to move, one step at a time, soon she would forget about the fire and calm down.

“Anthony! I am the queen of Hid’ an’ go seek! I will find you!”

As Assilsa made her slow way into the candle lit hall, the fear began to bury itself again. Her boots echoed against the stone, this house reminded Assilsa of a castle, with all the stone and the candles. Ahead were four doorways and a staircase down into what Assilsa thought might have been a basement? Or possibly another bedroom. Deciding to avoid the creepy dark closet looking room Assilsa went into a door on the left hand side.

An elegant wood table sat in the middle of the room surrounded by matching chairs, all carved to look like delicate flowers holding up the main table. It was such a master piece Assilsa was sure that it would take years to create.

[Assilsa Curare]

An idea came to Assilsa, she didn’t actually have to go find the child, she could just leave him in hiding until his mother came back. Assilsa wondered how long it would take him to realised that she had stopped searching for him. Would that be the right thing to do though? Just to leave him hiding?

Leaving the beautiful dining room Assilsa stood in the middle of the hall once again looking around the stone house. Assilsa would go mad if someone she lived with could burn her alive anytime he got upset with her.

This was better; she only had to spend one night in this nightmare of a house then she could go back to the safety of the hostel and curl up in her bed, until then she had to be strong and not run away screaming.

Assilsa considered the possibility that the boy was simply hiding in a cupboard in the hall instead of somewhere more complex. It would be a smart hiding place, he might consider that Assilsa would never look there, well he was half right. Crouching down in front of the nearest cupboard Assilsa reached for the doors.

Two hands clapped themselves down on her shoulders, Assilsa yelped out of surprise. Turning to look at the culprit Assilsa was it was just Anthony, Sighing in relief Assilsa smiled.

“My turn to hide?”

[Assilsa Curare]

Giving Assilsa a large grin the by covered his eyes and started counting. Looking around silently Assilsa couldn’t find anywhere that she had the right to go digging through. It wasn’t until she rested her eyes on the wall that she found the perfect thing. Slipping out of her shoes Assilsa shredded her jacket and slowly began to scale the wall.

“twenty….”

She still had a while to wait slowly make her way to the roof Assilsa begged whoever would listen to that she would stay attached the ceiling. Assilsa didn’t know how long she could stay like this, but in honest truth she only needed to be up there for a small amount of time, At least until Anthony moved to the next room.

“Thirty….”

The hooks in her skin were possibly the only thing holding thing up, looking for something to hold on to. Running her fingers along the rough surface of the roof her fingers found a small ledge that she hung onto with all her might.

“Ready or not?”

Anthony silently opened his eyes and began searching. Assilsa turned her head and began to watch him move around underneath her. Her arms began to shake, as did her legs. She couldn’t stay up there too long or she would fall. A small growl of frustration drew her attention back to hall beneath her. Below Anthony stormed out of a small closet with his eyes blazing. Assilsa frowned slightly was he upset that he couldn’t find her?
Sizzle sizzle…. Whoosh

Within moments of him entering the hall the rug began to burn sending black smoke to fill her eyes, mouth and nostrils. All Assilsa could see was red and black, the smoke and the fire. Why was it smoking so much? She felt her grip, even with the hooks, slipping. Assilsa had to get down however she couldn’t just drop… the rug was right beneath her; if she was to just drop Assilsa would land exactly in the middle of the blaze.

Shuffling closer to where the wall joined with the ceiling Assilsa began struggling to breathe. Her grip was slipping even more, looking at her hands Assilsa watched as her hands began to slip and she began to fall to the stone and fire below. Her head snapped against the fall as her body collided against the floor knocking her out stone cold.

Darkness surrounded Assilsa she was alone however she was sure that she was babysitting a small child, yet here she was, alone in the darkness. Assilsa smelt smoke but in her current state she couldn’t remember where it was coming from, it certainly didn’t come from the darkness, there was nothing in the dark just Assilsa with her red eyes and pale skin.

Slowly as the darkness receded Assilsa coughed her throat raw from the smoke. Smoke had filled the room as well as the fire from the rug. A small face with evil eyes shoved its way through the smoke into her blurry vision, Anthony had caused this. Blinking slowly caused a ponding pain in her head from the fall and possibly the smoke.

Within moments another head had made its way from the smoke and forced its way into Assilsa’s vision, it was the mothers face. How long had Assilsa been out for that long as the mouth on one of the faces began to move, Assilsa heard some of the muffled words.

“How could… being on the… was a stupid idea…Anthony is…. Maybe I should have gotten…..”

The sentence in itself made no sense however when the mother pulled Assilsa into a sitting position and checked her head she assumed that she wasn’t in trouble. After the smoke began to clear from the house Assilsa had been bandaged, feed and cared for enough that she would make her own confused way home, stepping out into the sun caused the pain in her head to worsen yet she managed to make it back to the hostel without incident gladly.