Scarecrow and Shadow Lin

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily nodded and stood up as well. She smiled over at Kendal. "Yeah." She walked over to them carefully. "By the way, my name is Cecily." She said as she started to walk along the pathway that led to her home. She glanced at Kendal, "And you? What is your name?" She asked in a kind voice.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal followed, Bear slightly behind her and to her right. "Well, Tailed Girl." Kendal replied, still not using her name. "I am Kendal, and this furry buddy," She said gesturing to the large black dog. "is Bear." She walked slightly behind Cecily. Cecily. Kendal thought, converting the name to memory. Just in case she ever decided to use it. "So, Tailed Girl, what does your home look like?" Kendal wondered idly if Cecily had any living trees she could awaken near the house. She doubted it, but didn't want to kill off the thought just yet.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

She smiled. "Well, it is a decent sized place with a good sized yard and a few of those non-monster trees. I think they make the Yard look nice." She said, looking over at Bear and Kendal. She looked forward again. "I have a few extra rooms in the place that need to be filled. So you two can stay in one of them if you want." She said happily.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal's expression fell a bit at the mention of 'non-monster' trees. She also didn't know how she felt about the idea of staying indoors. "Do you have a large dog house instead?" Kendal kind of felt strange in doors. The lab was inside and was a rather large building. It was white, so white. Kendal shuddered a bit, and tried to shake off the frightened feeling. "If not then Bear can sleep in the room. I can take up residence in the non-monster trees."

[Winter Rose Phantom]

She looked over at Kendal, she was a bit confused. "I will assure you that my house is quite safe, and it is much safer when hiding from someone or something to be covered and hidden in a solid house." She said, now smiling. "I do not have a dog house...but I do have a dog." She said, and then led her into her front yard. The Yard was a large one, there was plenty of room to have a dog or two running around in the yard and not have them get out because of the gate. The house was two stories and it looked to have about four different rooms. Cecily sometimes wondered why she had bought such a large house for just one person, but she liked the location and refused to move elsewhere.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal simply nodded. She hated buildings, big buildings were even worse, but Cecily had a point. Kendal no longer had the whisperings to lead the White Coats away, nor the safety of hundreds of trees and thick underbrush to hide in. She swallowed her discomfort and followed Cecily toward the house. She looked around. Would the Tailed Girl be so nice if she knew she was a monster? She looked at her tiny light blue hands. Perhaps she already knew. Pixies where not anywhere near this size. She was the size of a small child, but a full blooded pixie could easily fit in the palm of your hand. She closed her hand into a fist and held it against her heart. She was a monster. Perhaps the White Coats were right to want to get rid of her. Kendal's expression was getting darker and more depressed as she wandered further into the web of doubt, with out her realizing it she had dropped the mask.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

((I'm sure that Cecily would be just as nice. Because a person is a person, even if they were created by another :) ))

Cecily smiled at Kendal and walked up to the front door of her house. She unlocked the door and the next thing that could be seen was a medium sized fur ball running out to greet the strange new people.
Cecily laughed at her dog, Lilia, as the dog examined Kendal, then quickly lost interest and trotted over to Bear to introduce herself. "Sorry about Lilia, she can be a bit odd at times." Cecily said with a smile.

[[deleted user]]

((I know, Kendal doesn't know that though, and she has issues. Why do I give all my characters' issues? D: ))

Kendal smiled at the dog while answering Cecily, the web temporarily forgotten. "I remember when Bear was that size!" She exclaimed excitedly. Bear was busy introducing himself to the smaller dog. He seemed to get along okay with Lilia, he stayed his usual calm though. Kendal patted Bear's head and then Lilia's. Kendal noticed her dirty hand and then looked down at her bare feet and messy clothes, then finally at the house. "Sorry if I brought in a mess." She remembered a past traveler teaching her about normal people's customs and what did or did not offend them. She looked down at her dirty feet, ashamed. "I wasn't thinking.. The woods don't exactly have the greatest plumbing."

[Winter Rose Phantom]

((Because it makes the story more interesting ;D))

Lilia barked happily and licked at Kendal's hand. Cecily just laughed and smiled at her. "That's fine." She pointed out her own feet, she had forgotten to take off her shoes and had already tracked some mud and dirt into the house. "I'll clean it up later." She said in a nonchalant voice. "You can feel free to use the shower if you want. And I could wash your clothes if you want me to. You know, to have something clean to wear?" She said, now in a polite, and easygoing tone of voice.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal shook her head. She only owned what she had on. She also looked a bit embarrassed. "I don't know how a shower works. I know what it is, but I've never seen one." She had only been washed in a cold sink at the lab, the shower should be a nice change. "Can you teach me?"

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily smiled, "Sure thing." She said, taking off her shoes and leaving them just outside the front door. "Let's go, the shower is this way." She said as she headed down the hall.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal looked at the walls and down hallways and tried to remember which way was what. She followed Cecily, looking every which way like a bewildered, lost tourist. She glanced around and noticed that Bear was off with the other dog, probably playing or swapping stories. It had been a while since Bear had met another dog. Wolves weren't too rare in the woods, but domestic canines were not so common. She could see the bathroom as they got closer to it and Kendal tried to get a better look by craning around Cecily as they walked. "Does the 'toilet' thing really work like they said it did?" She asked, a bit excitedly, as if she was in some kind of magical land she had only heard about in fairy tales.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily gave her an amused smile. "You mean if it flushes?" She asked curiously, not really understanding the question. The bathroom walls were a light shade of blue and the counter was a granite one. The floor was a kitchen tile laminate sort of floor, but none of the bathroom wast truly white besides the Toilet and the cream colored shower.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal stood in the center and looked around with wide eyes. She walked slowly toward the toilet and put her hand on the handle. Hesitating, and glancing at Cecily as is asking permission, she finally pushed down. The water went in circles and eventually disappeared, and then the bowl magically refilled again. Kendal bounced on her bare feet a bit. "It is true!" She cried pointing to the toilet. Kendal then proceeded to flush it a few more times before turning to the Tailed Girl. "Now the shower!" She demanded, still just as excited.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily nodded and walked over to the curtained area that was next to the toilet, she opened up the curtain, revealing the small area that was the Shower. The Nozzle was a shiny metal and the handles that controlled the hot and cold water were also the same material that the shower head was. "So how you work the shower is as such." She put her hand on the cold water nozzle. "You have to turn the blue marking handle first, all the way to where it stops. Then..." She put her other hand on the other handle. "You turn the one with the Red markings on it to the midway point, then you turn the Blue marking handle back to where you want the water temperature to be." She said. "And be careful, the water can get really hot."

[[deleted user]]

Kendal was paying extreme attention, her eyes glued to the shower and listening intently. She nodded the entire time vigorously and making sure she got everything down. "Then I just get in?" she asked excited. "Does it really feel like warm rain?" She grabbed Cecily, although gently, and turned her about and started pushing her our of the bathroom before awaiting an answer. "I wanna try it now!" She stated happily, shutting the door behind her.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily gave a small laugh and stood outside the door, waiting for the water to turn on. She smiled, and when she heard the water come on, she walked out into the front living room and sat down on one of the wooden chairs, then she started to tend to her wounds.

[[deleted user]]

After her shower, Kendal searched around for a towel and wrapped it around herself. She felt really warm and clean, which she found odd. Her hair was wet, still dripping, and before she realized it she had gotten water all over the place. "Oh..." She grumbled. Trying to help her host, she got a hand towel and started to mop up the mess. In the middle of her cleaning though she slipped in a puddle, her bare feet having little to no traction. She fell down hard, but not before pulling down a small shelf as she tried to stop herself from crumbling to the tile. Her head pounding, she got up and huffed in frustration. She lifted the shelf and started to put that strange objects and bottles back in place, as best she could remember, when one of the caps broke off. It had been cracked in the fall and was now leaking a thick, light blue liquid everywhere. Kendal threw her head back and almost screamed, but she stopped herself. The room was a mess and if she made anymore noise Cecily would know about it. Clenching her jaw, she found a sponge under the counter and tried to clean up the weird blue liquid. It smelled ridiculously sweet and a bit floral. Kendal scrunched up her nose at the strong scent as it filled her nostrils. "You've got to be kidding me!" She hissed quietly.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily walked over to her room and looked in her closet. She pulled out an old looking box and dusted it off then opened it. The contents inside were her old clothes from when she was younger. She smiled and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that was around Kendal's size. The shirt was black and the jeans were not to girly, so she thought that they would work for the time being. Cecily stood up and headed over towards the bathroom again, with the clothes this time and before she could reach the door, she could smell the sweet floral scent of her soap wafting through the door. She gave a small laugh. Smells like the soap has been spilled... She thought to herself with a smile. She could tell that it had been a spill instead of Kendal just using it because the scent was so strong. Walking up to the door, she knocked on it gently.
"Kendal?" She asked. "I brought you some clean clothes."

[[deleted user]]

Kendal froze at the sound of Cecily's voice. "Uh.. I'm not done yet!" She called back after a moment of fear filled hesitation. She tucked her towel around her chest so it wouldn't fall, so she could use both of her hands. Her eyes narrowed in concentration and she, using her insane speed, grabbed the hand towel and cleaned up the remaining water and used the sponge to clean up the weird smelly stuff. She then put the last few bottles and other odd assortments back on the shelf. After quickly scanning the room for any thing unusual she creaked the door open a tad. "Hey.." She said a bit shakily. She thanked the scientists that had at least given her agility. She waited anxiously for Cecily's response, to see if she was in the clear.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily just smiled at her and handed her the clothing. "Here, You can wear these and I can wash you other clothing so you have something clean to wear." She said with a smile.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal sighed involuntarily and took the clothes from Cecily. "Thanks." She slowly shut the door and started to slip into the temporary clothes. She rubbed her head with the towel to dry her hair a bit and then put it in what looked to be a laundry basket. She opened the door again and wandered out to find Cecily again, not sure as to what else she should do with herself.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily was sitting on the couch again, leaning back with her eyes closed as she was thinking about the day's past events. She opened them and then looked around the room a moment and then saw Kendal. She smiled at her. "Do the clothes fit okay?" She asked in a mellow tone.

[[deleted user]]

She looked down at the jeans and black T-shirt. "Yeah, it fits alright. Why did you have these anyway?" She asked. She looked around the rather large house and wondered idly how much bounty hunters got paid. Must have been a lot, she thought.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

"They're a pair of my old clothes from when I was smaller. I kept them because I thought that it would be a good Idea." She explained to Kendal. She watched her look around a bit, as if the child was in a foreign country and had just arrived.

[[deleted user]]

Kendal nodded, that must have been something people did. She wouldn't really know, perhaps it was a silly question. "So what are the rules essentially?" She asked curious. She figured she should know, even if she decided not to follow them, knowing what to hide would be nice.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

"Rules? Just clean up what ever mess that you make, alright?" She said with a smile. "I'm not too big on having rules put on everything, so I give myself some leeway from that stuff I have to deal with at work and leave all the rules there except the cleanliness rule." She said. "I even cleaned up the mess at the front door."

[[deleted user]]

She turned to look at the front door. "Sorry about that.." She apologized again. "So how do-" Kendal was cut short when someone knocked on the door. Kendal looked back with wide eyes. She was suddenly struck with another exciting idea. "Do you have a door bell!?" She asked, eyes full of wonder. The knock came again and Kendal turned. "I'm going to go look around." She knew that guests were not to answer the door, it was considered rude or something. People had funny cultures. The knocking continued at Kendal ran to the second story to look around.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily smiled and watched Kendal run up the stairs as she went to answer the door. She walked over and opened the door slightly, then all the way. "May I help you?" She asked the unexpected guest. She looked at the person standing in front of her, examining them with her eyes to determine if they were a threat or not.

[[deleted user]]

The woman stood tall and wore a pair of thin framed glasses. Her long brown hair was pulled into a tight bun and her lips had a light pink lipstick covering them. All together she looked very professional. "Hello," She greeted, sounding 'all business.' "I am here on behalf of Origin, they are a rather large corporation, may I come in?"

[Winter Rose Phantom]

"May I ask why?" She asked, making sure that she did not sound too cautious. "I have no Idea why a Representative from Origin would come here." She was a bit confused as to why the woman was at her front doorstep. She had only recently heard of the Corporation, but she did not pay much attention to it because it did not really interfere with her life much.

[[deleted user]]

((...turns out that's an actual corporation.. Not the one I am talking about, but I didn't mean for that to happen. Haha))

The woman nodded politely. "Of course." She made a point of looking Cecily in the eyes when she spoke, although in a friendly way. "Origin is worried about the well being of everyone. Since the disappearance of the sun they have been around giving a helping hand to those who need it. We had heard of your hunting skills and the corporation has elected you to help us, help others." Her posture was straight as is was, but she stood a bit straighter as she talked, obviously proud of her work. "We have a job offer, if you will."

[Winter Rose Phantom]

"What kind of job?" She asked as her interest was peaked, she was now curious of what they wanted her to do. She stayed standing in the doorway, not letting her in. She had no reason to trust the woman at the current time, so she was keeping her out of her house for the time being. She kept her eyes on the woman, but they were in no way threatening.

[[deleted user]]

The woman smiled at Cecily's paranoia, but she understood. "The chairman's son was murdered and a few of our agents have been picked off. I have information on the killer in here." She said motioning toward a small brief case at her side. "We know he is male, and has a scar on his lower jaw, as told to us by our only surviving eye witness. We were hoping with your skill you could hunt him down. Preferably before anymore deaths." She explained still being professional.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

She decided that the woman was not an immediate threat, so she let her inside. "Come on in and sit down. It will be more efficient if we are going to be chatting a while for us to sit down, no?" She said with a smile and showing her the way to the front room. Her tail swayed from side to side as she walked.

[[deleted user]]

The woman smiled back and followed her in. She glanced around the house in a quick sweep and then kept her eyes forward and her chin level. She seemed to radiate confidence and was obviously sure of herself. "I will explain the situation in further detail, ask any questions you might have. I will answer them to the best of my ability." She sat down where she was told to and waited for Cecily to do the same.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily sat down as well and smiled at the woman. "Alright, so explain to me what happened and what is going on and how I should do this, please." She said, looking at her. She was curious about everything, and wanted to get as many details that she could.

[[deleted user]]

She clicked open the brief case and took out a small folder that was bursting with papers. She opened the folder and took out a a few of them. One was a hand draw picture of their suspect. He had large eyes and a square jaw. Sure enough, he had a deep, long scar that ran vertically from his lower lip to the base of his neck. She handed it over gently. "This is him. He killed the chairman's son when he was at school. None of the teachers or students saw anything. A few days later my predecessor, when he was looking into the case, was found dead as well. And same story a month later, my predecessor after that. Although that time, his partner escaped. Barely alive, he could tell our artist his detailed appearance." She pointed at the picture. "We don't have a name, or any substantial information. All of the agents before me were always about to find something big before they died."

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily looked over the picture, making sure that she would be able to recognize the man if she ran into him somewhere. She didn't think that he would be hard to miss because of the long, jagged scar that was etched permanently into his throat and neck. She frowned, the man was not someone that you would want to run into in a dark alley, that was for sure. She looked up at the woman again. "How many people have tried to catch this guy?"

[[deleted user]]

"Just the two." She replied. "Since they both died, and the partner was severally injured, no one wanted to take the case. It was up to me since no one else seemed to have the back bone." She got a slightly defiant look in her eye. "Murder like this should not simply go unchecked. I normally wouldn't ask for help with such little information, but with the current situation and seeing as he will probably come for me I had no choice."

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily raised her eyebrows. "He's coming for you?" She asked, now extremely curious about the case and what was going on. "What do you mean by that?" She said, looking at her.

[[deleted user]]

She simply shook her head. "I have a lead, and I think it may be the same one the other two had found. I don't have much on it now, but if I find anything I will keep you updated. You have my word." She said putting her hand over her heart in a promise. She took her work very seriously.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

She nodded. "Alright, I'll take the job." She said, now looking at the ground. She was thinking about what the murderer could possibly be doing that causes him to kill again and again. You don't really see things like this happening very often and when it does, there is usually a very big secret that is being hidden. She looked up at the woman again. "So where should I start searching?"

[[deleted user]]

The woman nodded, she gave a soft smile as well. "He is headed here. Where ever he was hiding before we don't know that yet. I simply want you to keep an eye out for him around town. If you find anything, anything at all, contact me." She handed Cecily a piece of paper with her contact information on it and stood. "Thank you so much for your time. If this case goes well, I will pay you accordingly."

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily nodded and stood up as well, holding out her hand for the woman. "I will stay in touch." She said calmly. "And will notify you if I see anyone who looks like that." She smiled. "Thank you for coming by."

[[deleted user]]

The woman smiled. "Thank you for taking the job, Cecily. I'm Amina Lecar. Nice to meet you." She showed herself to the door and headed back into the dark.

Little Kendal sat on the stairs, leaning on the railing. "Who was she?" She asked. She had heard talking and so she had headed down to listen. Kendal knew that was something people found annoying or dishonest, but she didn't care. She was too curious. She made sure to remain undetected by the woman while she was there though, just in case.

[Winter Rose Phantom]

Cecily looked over at Kendal and smiled. "She came by to ask me to take a job, that's all." She said. "It's nothing to worry about as of yet though." She walked over to Kendal. "So, did you find anything interesting in here?" She asked.

[[deleted user]]

"There were a bunch of spiders in a corner in one of the rooms, but otherwise nothing too unusual." She said with little interest. She pouted, using her finger to draw small shapes on the floor. "What is there to do around here, Tailed Girl?" She fell back suddenly, making an 'ouf' sound as she hit the floor. "How do you live in this place?" She whined. "It's so dull!"

[Winter Rose Phantom]

"Well, I usually am out and about, and when I'm at home I'm either cleaning, working on what I should do next or I'm on the computer." She said looking over at her brand new computer that was on the desk in the corner. "But it gets kind of lonely, and that is why I have Lilia."

[[deleted user]]

"I can understand that." Kendal replied. Before she started helping travelers and took Bear in she felt the same way. Her stomach suddenly growled loudly and she clutch at it, trying to get the sounds to stop. "-Er.." She stuttered a bit awkwardly. "Anyway, Do you have a door bell?" She asked, trying to change the subject off of her hunger.