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Blue Rubble Stockings
Topaz Diamond Dog
Fafnir the Dragon

An additional chapter, for anybody who actually read the other part.
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Chapter 2
The road back to Tiletreem was a lot bumpier than I remembered it. Of course, I could have been because I hadn't gone down that road in eleven years. My seventeenth birthday had been the previous day, and I was finally old enough to be granted leave from the church. I would be lying if I said I was bid a fond farewell. In fact, the priestess as well as the other orphans seemed quite elated that I was leaving the premises. So much so that they helped me pack my things, supplied me with a small amount of rations for the trip, and had even hired a local farmer to take me into town with his crops. Not the swiftest or most comfortable way to travel, but it was still a lot better than walking.
I had been thinking about this morning ever since my first vistit to the city all those years ago. Many nights I dreamed of the two Haze orphans I had encountered, and just as many days I prayed that I would one day be able to find them again. Even having been raised in the true Bothrian fashion, I still desired to know about my true people. The past years had been pure torture, in the sense that, after being throroughly interrogated by my former nursemade, I was forbidden to ever step foot into that city again while under the care of the priestesses.
I was snapped out of my musings as the cart ground to a slow stop. I looked at the driver, only to find him staring at a small barrow off to the side of the road.
"What is it, sir? Was it somebody you knew?" He shook his head and hopped off the cart, coming to a halt before the mound of rocks.
"No, miss, but it's just right nice to pay your respects. I mean, we're running over where this fellow was murdered! Saved three children and their mother, he did." I glanced at the residual energy left by the death and near choked with the effort not to laugh. The old farmer was right about the man being murdered, sure enough, but saving the children and their mother was a complete fabrication. In fact, it was those same four that did him in after he tried to accost them, in the middle of the day no less. Well, just goes to show that even common housewives can put the beat down on those who are deserving of it.
Smiling to myself, I let the old man pay his respects to the barrow, making sure he didn't see my cheeky wave as we finally got rolling past it. I laid back on the most comfortable bushel of apples I could find and placed my hat over my eyes. It was a long way to Tiletreem, and I wanted to make sure that I was well rested for my arrival.
~~~
The city was bigger than I remembered it, though I suppose that is to be expected after eleven years of not seeing it progress. Many things were just as I remembered them; the general dreariness, the smell, and the near overwhelming feeling of being boxed in by strangers. A man without a shirt bumped into me, and I resisted the urge to hiss at him. He had gotten sweat all over my best shirt. Making sure my ears were tucked into my hat, I started making my way back to the church I had visited all those years ago. I didn't have much to go on for finding other Haze orphans, so I figured that retracing my steps would be as good a start as any. The pointed spires could be seen even from the main entrance of the city, so, focusing on them, I began my treck.
Cabbage. Everything around the city smelled like cabbage. I had bought a small roasted bird to munch on, but I was mostly just using it to block out the smell. Sure enough, everywhere I looked, there was cabbage in some way, shape or form. This was very distressing, as I had never much been one for cabbage. Or any sort of vegetable, really. Give me meat over leafy greens any day of the week.
Honestly, this city keeps getting less and less appealing... By the time I had made it to the church, I was beginning to doubt my quest. How could other orphans have survived here so many years while I could barely make it for several hours? Apparently I was making myself out to be quite the intimidating figure, for a wary looking constable approached me.
"Good afternoon, miss. Do you need my assistance for something?" In other words, What can I do to get you away from here faster?
"Ah... Well, I'm not so sure you could help me. I'm looking for other Anderethians. Do you know if there are any still in the city? I saw a couple when I was last in the city several years ago." He narrowed his eyes, and I knew right away that I had touched on a rather sensitive topic.
"Yes, ma'am, there are indeed... Anderethians in the city. You'll find them along the NorthEastern wall, just outside of the slums." That being said he walked away, leaving me with my stomach in ropes.
The slums? That's not what I was hoping to hear... Either way, I had to find them and the NorthEastern wall was on the complete opposite side of the city, so I got to walking.

So, once upon a time, many moons ago, I began writing a novel based around a dream I had. Then I lost the file, and have only now got it back after so long of not seeing it. Now that I've re-read it, I'm pretty positive that I will not continue it, as I don't particularly like it anymore. I'll post it here just for the sake of posting it, and so I don't accidentally lose it again.

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Prologue

A breeze through the broken window brought the scent of blood to one of only two survivors in the nearly destroyed house, causing him to stiffen and hiss. The little drakling was swiftly losing his control over his feral side now that his mistress was dead, but still he hung onto what little sentience he had left. After all, he still had to fulfill the final order his lady, his Mayven, had given to him before the would-be murderers had arrived. He twisted his sinuous neck around to check the spot where the baby had been swiftly, but carefully hidden. Seeing no change to the location, he returned to watching the door.

“Stil’Lem, you must listen, and listen even beyond my death. Watch her, protect her. You must make sure she is safe until she is found. Heed me, Stil’Lem.” He replayed the command over and over, using it as an anchor to his sanity. The call of his wild brethren was getting stronger by the minute, but he had to hold on. He had to make sure that the child was found and taken from the wreckage from the home she never even got to know. Closing his eyes, he thought of the raid. It had been surprisingly civil, considering how strong the hatred was towards the people of Andereth. Attacks such as this had been getting more and more frequent over the past few months, yet still the government had not put a stop to it. Most likely they agreed with what was happening to the Anderethians; the strange folk with abilities the vast majority of the humans on the continent did not even understand.

Humans, Stil’Lem snorted to himself, if something is beyond their comprehension, they destroy it. And those cities… No wonder they can no longer hear the voices of the Kindred. He blinked, pleased with himself for still being capable of such complex thoughts after his mistress had been dead so long. He looked at the sky, figuring at least four hours had passed, yet again being pleased at his remaining intellect. The murders had been swift to the point of being almost merciless; a few shouts, a mild scuffle, then two slit throats and it was over.

No. Not two. Three, if you count Lil’Lip. Poor, brave Lil’Lip. Lil’Lip had been the Minded of Dunthur, Mayven’s mate. He hissed to himself angrily, Husband! Her husband! Angry at his relapse, he bit onto his tail and once again checked the location of the child. Still secure. Grousing still, he thought of Lil’Lip. She had been quite fond of him, though he had seen her as a little too rambunctious for a Minded drakling. Though in the end, she had proven herself worthy of such a title by launching herself at one of the attackers, biting off as much of the man’s face as her little mouth could hold. It resulted in her death, of course, but the reminder of what a good Minded is supposed to do for their master helped him focus on his task at hand and stave off the call of mindlessness.

Stil’Lem, you must listen, and listen even beyond my death. Watch her, protect her. You must make sure she is safe until she is found. Heed me, Stil’Lem. Her command became his mantra, though his control was slipping quickly. He was becoming frightened, both of his impending loss of sentience and at the possibility of failing his mistress’ last command. Another gust of wind through the broken window brought him not only the scent of blood, but this time it also carried the scent of hope: the scent of a human. He sat up, dashing quickly into the same nook the baby was hidden in. He intended to watch the human first, to make sure he would not kill his charge. Moments later, a middle-aged human male walked in through the now door less entryway and looked around. He was obviously there to loot, but Stil’Lem could see that he carried no weapons. He watched the man pick his way around the house, getting the sense that he was, indeed, safe, and felt himself slipping into feral madness.

Gadry Pickettson, aged forty-two, thought himself to be a good man. He paid his taxes, was nice to his wife, and he attended church regularly. Who could blame him if he took the opportunity for a little extra income to his household? He stepped over the bodies of his neighbors, wrinkling his nose in distaste. Sure, they may have been Anderethians, but they were still nice enough people to deal with. Never skimped me a single penny on their grocery fines, not even when the produce was bruised. He picked up and examined a dish, pondering its worth. He shined it with his sleeve and held it up, then caught the reflection of a pair of black eyes looking directly at him. Whirling around, he dropped the plate in surprise. He barely had time to duck as an angry, feral drakling flew hissing over the top of his head and out a shattered window. Cursing to himself for forgetting about the dracklings his now dead neighbors had owned, he heard a soft cry. A baby? Did they have a baby? Swallowing his curses he walked carefully over to where the drakling had flown from. Sure enough, tucked into a small hole in the wall was indeed an infant, asleep but beginning to stir. It’s not my problem. It has nothing to do with me, he thought to himself as he continued his search through the house.

Gadry Pickettson left the wrecked house several hours later leading a cart pulled by his new donkey down the road back to his house. On it was a lovely wooden chair for his sitting room, a set of shiny glass dishes for his kitchen, and a yellow-eyed Andereth baby for his church.

Chapter 1

My new name is Lenya, and I don’t have a last name. Rather, I don’t know what it is. I’m sure I had a different first name, too, but I never knew it. The priestesses at the church gave me this name, saying that it was, “a good Bothrian name that any girl would be lucky to have.” What I don’t get is why they would give me a Bozthrian name at all. It’s a human religion, and I am clearly not human! They’re the ones that all call me the “Andereth heathen orphan” when they think I can’t hear them. I’m still confused as to why I’m a heathen just because I’m an Andereth, and they’ve never really done a good job at explaining it to me. Really though, from what I can tell, there isn’t that much of a difference between humans and Anderethians. Sure, my eyes are yellow, my ears are pointed and I have fangs, but I don’t see how that can make me a heathen. Maybe it’s the whole "speaking to the dead" thing that did it. I was raised just the same as all the other orphans at the church, for the most part. I’ll admit to having a bit more of a biting problem than the other children.

Unlike the other orphans at the church, though, I was not simply abandoned at the church with a note. No, I was one of the many children orphaned by what was now known as the Haze; the series of riots and murders that wiped out a good two thirds of the Anderethians in the country. Of course, not too many people know that, as the government tried to cover it up by saying things like, “oh, it was just a bit of hazing against the minority, nothing to be worried or ashamed about, hahaha” and whatnot. Yeah, right! That’s just what the humans wanted to hear, to help ease their guilty conscious. I was one of the lucky ones, though. Most of the other Haze orphans wound up in much worse situations than mine. In fact, compared to most, my childhood of being swatted with switches seemed to be an honest-to-god luxury.

The first time I ever saw another Haze orphan was when I was six years old, in the great city of Tiletreem. I was there with my current nursemaid, a rather dumpy looking woman who was rather angry that her first assignment as a newly inducted priestess of Bozth was to watch over the mischievous Andereth kid. We were there to deliver the list of supplies we needed to the main church located here, and I was lucky to have gotten to go along at all. Getting them to allow me to come had taken a lot of begging, pleading, and getting all the phantoms out of the high towers. Of course, I was the one who had told the phantoms they could take up residence there in the first place, but the priestesses didn’t need to know that. That fateful day in Tiletreem, I had been sitting outside the main church, discussing the finer points of death with a rather new ghost calling himself Baron Conrian. I’m sure that wasn't his name in life, but I've always thought it nice to allow the dead what liberties they can still manage. My nursemaid had forbidden me from talking to animals while we were out on this trip, but I had never heeded before, and why would I start now? As I was talking to Teeth, something drew my attention to the rooftops behind him. Now, Tiletreem is a large city, with many people and even more buildings. An urban jungle, you could say. I looked up and saw that, standing on one of the ledges of a rooftop was a child, probably no older than I was at the time. The child didn’t notice me at all, and continued on his merry way, hopping to the next rooftop and disappearing from sight. I was staring at where he had been, completely mystified, when I felt someone grabbing at the small lunch I had brought with me. Whirling around to face the attempted thief, I saw yet another child, though this one was maybe a little older. Unsure of what to do, I did what I had always done at the church with the human orphans: I bared my fangs and hissed at him. And to my great surprise, he hissed back at me. Stunned, I fell back and just stared at him as an older girl approached.

“Idiot,” she yelled at him, slapping the back of his head, “We don’t steal from our own!” As she said this, I noticed that the two of them were, in fact, Anderethians. I had never seen another one of my people before, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to react. “Sorry about that, kiddo. No harm was intended. He’s stupid, and he’s hungry. In fact, being hungry probably makes him more stupid.” The boy began to protest this, but she effectively cut him off with another smack to the back of his head. “Come on, Stalk. Let’s go find you a better target.” With that, she took his hand and led him away. As they were leaving, I noticed that she had a small egg of some sort strapped to her back. I didn’t have much time to reflect on this, as my nursemaid had just come back out of the church.

“Come on, Lenya. I’ve delivered the supply list, so our duty here is finished. Let’s get out of this place and back to our church, where it’s quieter. I do so hate all the noise in this city. And the smells…!” She continued complaining like this as she took me by the shoulder and led me back to where we had left the church’s mule-drawn cart. I paid no attention to her complains, just nodding when appropriate. My young mind was too filled with thoughts about the boy on the roof, and the girl with the egg on her back. I decided then that I would one day have to return to Tiletreem to find those people, and ask them what they knew of my heritage, and if they could teach me their ways.

So, I must start by apologizing to my legion of adoring fans. I know I've not been very active recently, but I assure you I have some very good reasons! For starters, I've switched majors from Pharmacy to 3D Graphic Design and Animation, so I'm paying a lot more attention to my schoolwork as I'm actually enjoying my classes and learning a lot in them. As you can see, I've kept up my flair for design, and it will only continue to grow. Aside from school, believe it or not my life has been keeping me away from the almighty internet! Hard to buy, I know, but trust me it's true. I've been making more friends recently and spending a lot of time out of the house. I've made one very good friend in particular, who is, in fact, my boyfriend. Brady and I have been spending pretty much oodles of time together, and he takes the majority of the blame for me actually having a life now. I adore him beyond all reason. We're clones, he and I. Same likes, same dislikes, same sense of humor, same taste in pretty much everything... It's basically amazing. No, that's a lie. It's BEYOND amazing. Minecraft brought us together, and it turns out we like a lot of the same video games too. He even plays Gaia as it turns out! I've been designing avatars for him, so he's pretty much my arm candy 'round these parts. That's pretty much all I have for you guys, sorry to say. I mean, I have a LOT I could tell you, but this is the most important stuff. Not that I won't answer a few questions should they be asked! Well all, toodle pip for now!

Lookit! Me and Aislene Drossel, by Mura Soiishi! Buy from her, everybody! Her work is amazing, and her prices are cheap!

Here's a link to her Shop:
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/art-shops-and-requests/moldy-cheese-the-lamentations-of-an-artistic-squirrel/t.50248275/

Total Value: 2,410,359 Gold
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Item List:
Magical Girl's Pink Uniform
Golden Fleece
Seracila Pendant 9th Gen.
Strawberry Sundae Sweets
Blue Medical Gloves
Pearl and Aquamarine Necklace
Noel's Gift
Memphis' Stockings
Daisy's Light Hair
Simple Pink Skirt
Strawberry Sundae Sweets
Spring Sakura Obi
Mana Seed
Strange Baby Captain's Hat

Total Value: 32,702,690 Gold
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Yemaya's Pearl
Gogh Reed
SDPlus #210 Black King
Hidden Ace
Silver Laurels
Seracila Pendant 11th Gen
Compass of Seidh 3rd Gen
Zephyr Tasset
Crescent Cowl
Albino Bat Companion

Total Value: 5,032,905 Gold
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Item List:
Dark Green Baltic Gloves
Kottan Bell 2nd Gen
Gogh Reed
Bonsai Wings
Bonsai Wings
Orion's Belt
Giacamo's Charm
SDPlus #164 The Overseer
Green Wrap Pencil Skirt
Thick Green Winter Socks
Seracila Pendant 12th Gen.
Frog

On an unrelated note.. A PL0X UPON YOUR FAMILY.

So, me and my friends decide to go bowling. And, of course, on my first bowl, I throw the ball behind me. Miraculously, Danielle got a picture of it. So, for your personal enjoyment, here it is.