55 Winter, 510 AV Aello was sitting in one of Ravok's many alleys with her back against the wall of a tall wooden building. The wood had been painted a dark brown color, which closely resembled mud. The paint was chipping around the edges, and the wood was splitting as though it had been struck by tumultuous rains and lightning one too many times, or perhaps, as though the carpenter who had built it hadn't bothered to sand the wood before assembling it. Several random splotches of dark brown mold clung to the wooden frame, making it appear sickly, like it had a house's version of the human chicken pox. Thin lines of dirt and grime clung to the wood like a babe to her mother, it filled every nook and cranny of every wooden beam that helped create the frame of the building. The wood was cold and stiff, as was the ground. Everything was cast in shadow, the sun being high in the sky, but not high enough to shine over the tops of the buildings that surrounded the alley in order to illuminate it with its pale golden-colored rays. Aello was sitting quietly, her legs bent at the knee, and tucked close to the body, but so closely as to cause her knees to knock her in the face, or hinder her vision. She had removed the mysterious blood-stained dagger from concealment a few minutes before, and was turning it over and over in her hands. She had realized soon after she had acquired it, that no matter how many times she tried to get rid of it, it would always find her way back to her. Not only that, but no matter how many times she wiped it with a clean cloth, or rinsed it with some water; there was no getting the blood out. As she twirled the blade over and over, watching the blood appear to glint in the darkness, Aello couldn't help but think about all the things that had happened to her since she had acquired it- possession after possession, ghostly encounter after ghostly encounter, it was almost as though the blade attracted the things; ghosts, that is. Aello sighed, she had no way of knowing for sure, but she did know, that she was seeing more and more of the dead lately. Not that she minded, for the most part anyway. Possession was still something that she needed to get used to, but talking to ghosts was something she could handle, for the most part. The sudden sound of footsteps jerked Aello out of her thoughts, but when she looked up, and glanced all around the alley, she saw nothing other than what had been there before- crates stacked in the far corner, the walls, darkness, her bag and her bow leaning against the wall on her right side. "Suppose it was just a rat," Aello whispered into the alley, shrugging it off as though the movement were nothing, she quickly turned back to her blade. It was starting to feel heavier than before, and look bloodier. Startled, Aello gasped, was she starting to lose it? Aello wondered. |