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"He stole my bracelet, and hopped off the balcony. Conradin, my room is on the second story! Not to mention the way he looked..." She inched forward in her seat, still animated even after reciting the tale ten times. "I swear, he was part cat! Ears and a tail, just like a cat!"

The duo sat in what was presumably Conradin's living room, speaking in hushed voices about yesterday's events. Somehow he'd been able to drag them away from that place and into his own home. Which still amazed her, but then again, nothing made any logical sense any more. She had to find the truth. That was all that mattered.

Conradin's face was pale. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, reciting from memory. "His eyes were green. His ears and tail were brown...no, wait. Tan with brown stripes." Almost unconsciously, her head began to bob up and down in agreement. "His hair was dark brown, kinda like Ian's from homeroom, and he was wearing a very large, patched jacket. And on his right hand, there's a wide scar."

She paused at that, wincing slightly. "Err, I didn't see <i>that</i> much, but..."

He cut her off, standing and brushing invisible dust from his jeans. "Doesn't matter. I know exactly who you're talking about. Though..." His eyes opened, and they were sharp again. The Conradin from two seats behind her was becoming the Conradin who slew monsters in back alleys...and that made Aysel nervous. She bit her lip. If he was like <i>that</i>, she'd never get any answers from him.

"A couple of things just don't make sense," he finished. Impatient steps began to carry him towards the exit of the room.

"Like what? What doesn't make sense?" she blurted out.

He stopped abruptly and gave her a hard look. "Aysel, go home. It doesn't concern you."

"The hell it doesn't," she snapped—and then jumped back, surprised at how quickly the words came. "That bracelet was important to me, and I want it back." A lie. She didn't really care too much about the <i>bracelet</i>, of all things, but maybe it'd get him to explain himself.

"Then I'll try and get it for you," he replied, quickly growing irritated. "No promises."

"You'll 'try'?" she scoffed, putting on her best bravado. "No, I'll go after him myself." She stood, coming up right behind him. "Who is this kid? Where can I find him?"

Conradin whirled around, throwing his arms to the side.



"Do you want that thing badly enough to get <i>killed</i> for it?!" he shouted.



Aysel awoke with a start, chest heaving, and Conradin's voice still running circles through her ears.



<i>Do you want that thing badly enough to get </i>killed <i>for it?!

Do you?!</i>



After that, there'd been silence. They'd stared at each other for a little while longer...then she'd turned on her heel and ran, wordlessly admitting defeat.

Of course, she had been frightened by his statement...but the look in his eyes, the way that he trembled gave him away.

He'd frightened himself as well.

Aysel leaned forward, resting elbows on drawn-up knees and staring into the vacant spaces of her room. Staring into the gaping maw of a monster, the frightened eyes of a little boy, and into an uncertain future that lay within the deepest, darkest night.

6:07 AM, whispered the alarm clock. Too late for you...



"Yo! Sleepyhead!" Something tugged vigorously at one of her ears, and Aysel groaned. "Class is gonna start in a few minutes! Better wake up..."

The realization that she'd been sleeping finally dawned on her, and she sat up quickly enough to hurt the small of her back against her chair. This was school. She was sitting in her desk, just before Pre-Calculus. (Ugh.) Faith had been pulling on the top of her right ear while Meiah looked on, thoroughly amused.

"Crap! I can't believe I just fell asleep!"

Faith blinked and bent slightly, arms akimbo. "You okay? You kinda plopped into your seat and went out like a light... Have a rough night or something?"

"Er...you could kinda say that..." she trailed, unwilling to acknowledge the memories.

Meiah giggled, and pushed her glasses up further on her nose. "It was cute though! You pulled a Conradin!"

"Speaking of which..." Faith leaned back, peering down the row. Automatically, the other two girls followed her pointed gaze to an empty seat. "Somebody cut class today! Think he overslept?"

"I wouldn't put it past him..."

Something about their comments irked her, and she spoke up on his behalf. "Guys, quit teasing him. It's not cool." Reaching into her bookbag reminded her of yet more unfinished work, but that didn't seem to matter so much anymore. "Maybe there's some reason he's always exhausted." One like saving her life.

"Yeah. He's up all night playing video games, like half the guys in this entire school." Aysel opened her mouth, but the bell for first period rang before she could argue to the contrary. It was just as well; she hadn't known what to say, or how to say it.



Somewhere deep within the city, Conradin recited his tales to a slightly older, darker-looking lad who listened with great interest. The duo sat atop the building Pavel called his home, despite Conradin's reluctance. Who could blame him, being five stories above the ground? Not only that, but Pavel had a tendency to associate himself with what Conradin felt were the creepiest companions. Today, a legion (A 'murder', Pavel had called them) of crows crowded in a circle around them; unmoving, unblinking, and entirely soundless. It was almost as if the <i>birds</i> were listening—and given what happened inside of this place, they might have been.

"That's really no good," said the boy. "Itada's not a good kid." His eyes turned skyward—cloudy, as always. The light that shone through the veil of gray was unusually white, and it made the entire world feel just a little bit colder.

"Well, I know that," Conradin replied, exasperated. "I know he's a thief, and I know he's a cat. Get over the species prejudice, dude." Pavel harumphed, folding his arms. "What I'm kinda worried about is how defensive he'd be if, you know...somebody tried to take something back from him. Because, you know, there's this girl in my class, and I don't think she's dumb or anything, but..."

The dark-haired boy grinned, deviously. "Somebody has a crush!" His hoarse voice broke on the end of his sentence, and he cleared his throat. "Don't worry. If she turns you down, you've always got me to come back to," he teased. Conradin rolled his eyes, even if his cheeks might have turned a little red.

"<i>Anyway</i>," he insisted, with some annoyance, "I don't think she's dumb or anything, but she might try and get what he stole back." The expression on his friend's face turned grim, almost assuring him of the answer to follow. "You think she'd be in a lot of trouble if..."

"Maybe. It depends." His voice faded off again, and he was forced to clear his throat more thoroughly. "If it was a random act, then I doubt that pack rat would even notice it was gone. He has ten thousand aquisitions to worry about. But..." His voice dropped to a dry whisper as he leaned in closer. "Certain sources say that he's been recuited to steal for someone recently. And <i>she</i>...<i>she</i> wouldn't do <i>anything</i> without having a good reason." He flexed his fingers in a nervous manner, agitated. "I'm not exactly sure, but your girl friend might be in over her head. Even if she'd been here as long as <i>I</i> have." He coughed again.

"Pavel, quit screwing around and just tell me who it is!"

Pavel lowered his head and spoke clearly, for once. "You may have heard of the Wicked Witch of the West?"

Conradin's face went chalk white.