|
Chapter Five: A Rare Find And a Home |
|
|
|
|
|
|
On a warm, sunny day, Tabitha found herself in a good mood... "This is the life," she mumbled to herself, sitting in her little den in the alley. She'd made herself quite the home, as far as street-homes went: a few trash cans; a large old rag which was held in place by keeping the corners closed in between the cans and the lid; some thrown-out clothes that fit her just about right; and a basin which sat underneath a drain-pipe which served for her water. It was fortunate that it rained a lot...
The little girl's top hat started to blow away in the wind, which had suddenly gusted up more than she was accustomed to, right after she finished mumbling those words however... she ran off after it... though oddly, it was going to a dark alley, where wind wouldn't normally be blowing to. She thought nothing of it, being so young and having her mind hazed by life stuck inside, and kept running...
"Come on, you silly top-hat, get back here!" Tabitha said, giggling... it was always just out of her grasp, flying tantalizingly close, then the wind would loop-de-loop it higher into the air. "You belong on my head, not on the wi--" At that moment, the hat fell right onto her head, and she was in the dark alley. Which heavy breathing was audible in. Breathing that was not her own, though the chase had worn her out.
A pair of amber eyes, much like Tabitha's own, blinked up at her from the source of the breathing. The wind had stopped completely, and now there was no sound but the two mingling inhales and exhales which came from the half-demon orphan and whatever was in there with her. Soon, the footfalls of large feet joined the din.
"Well," a gruff male voice said to the girl, "aren't you a rare find. It ain't often that I come across one of me own 'oo ain't dead yet. What's yer name, love?"
Tabitha was petrified... she couldn't think, or run, or even scream... "Who're you?" she said quietly, her voice quavering with fear.
"Oh, come now, ya don't need to fear me, li'l halfling," the voice responded as the footfalls continued. "I just want to know yer name is all."
"T-- Tabitha Mourning, sir." She had definitely lost her nerve, for she actually used her last name. Normally, she wanted nothing to do with her family anymore. "Now, I asked you," Tabitha continued, this time with a little more bravery, "who are you? If you're not going to tell me, step into the... light?"
Now the amber-eyed walking figure was seen, but not because he had walked into the light... but because he made his own light. A pale-white flame from a black-skinned clawed hand illuminated this strange man: along with the eyes, the thing's hair was also the color of autumn leaves, and his hair was also curly. The rest of his skin was also black, and over his thin body was nothing more than ragged clothes and a peasant's cap. Two bat-wings, large and black, and a tail were clearly seen as well in the light.
"There. Ya 'appy now, li'l 'alfling?" he asked, putting out the flame. "Now ya know 'oo I am."
"I meant a name!" Tabitha said, trying her best not to sound scared... and failing miserably.
"The name... well, what's in a name, love? Not much. But... ya can know me as Andrew Blackclaw, a demon of Dusk. Now, miss 'Tabitha Mourning,' I got a question for ya: Is yer granddaddy the mayor of this 'ere town?"
Tabitha nodded, in case he could see in the dark, and said, "Y-- Yes, sir."
"Well, then, welcome 'ome, love." The darkness vanished, and the alley became light again. In actuality, it was not just an alley: It was one of the first-floor rooms in the abandoned apartments in the lower-class side of town. And well-furnished too. There were two beds, a table, a cooler-chest, a lamp, and even a kitchen area which looked to have plenty of food and pots and pans. Andrew smiled down at her, much like her grandmother used to.
"W-what do you mean, 'welcome home', sir? I don't live here!" the little orphan said, shocked.
"Ah, but ya do now. See 'ere, I met yer mummy a while back, and, well... she 'ad you thanks to me." Blackclaw took off his cap, did a mock-bow, and said with a smile, "I'm yer daddy, li'l Tabitha. Like I said, it's a rare find to come across one of me own 'oo ain't dead yet. So far, you're the only one. But per'aps ya'd like to stay with me, 'ave a proper 'ome, and maybe I could teach you a trick or two?"
Tabitha thought as well as she could... here, she'd be safe, fed, and watched over-- and maybe she would have some answers to her thousands of questions about her grandfather and her mother... but then agian, this man was a demon... then again, she was half a demon...
"Well, if you don't mind, I would rather like to stay... Papa."
 Madame Tequila-chan · Mon Aug 13, 2007 @ 06:17pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
