Death Valley [Cassandra/Private]

[Sammy Linsen]

A breeze blew gently across the lake, causing the branches of nearby trees to sway softly. It was warm out that day, warmer than usual at least and it was the perfect day to relax in the woods. The lake was silent except for the call of birds as they returned from their winter habitats. Spring had always been a beautiful time, it was as if the world was waking up, starting anew. It was always lovely to watch the flowers bud and begin to bloom, as well as the trees growing back their leaves. Everything was fresh and new and colourful. It seemed kind of like magic.

A lone figure stood by the lake wearing a pair of ash coloured shorts and a black tank top, her red converse hidden among the tall grasses at the edge of the water. She stared off into the water, eyes closed, enjoying the fresh air. A small bag hung at her side, containing her phone, a pocket knife, a miniature first aid kit, and other assorted items one might need out in the wilderness. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the sunlight streaming down on her. It was oddly quiet that day, the only sounds heard were the lapping of the water at the sides of the lake and the faint sound of music. A pair of headphones rested on the girl’s head blaring out whatever song she was listening to at that moment. Sighing, she reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her steel blue eyes full of boredom.

She began swaying softly to the beat of the song, or at least attempting to. Fall Out Boy wasn’t exactly the kind of music you swayed to, it was too fast paced and exciting. A soft rustling could be heard behind her and something under her hair twitched. A pair of cat ears perked up from her head, listening intently. She acted as if she hadn’t heard anything and waited to see if anyone or anything approached her.

[Cassandra Dracul]

Cassy was NOT supposed to be outside the city alone. Let alone someplace like the lake... Yet here she was, sword at her belt, a pistol, loaded an ready, on her opposite hip. While she was a master swordswoman, she was also a pretty good shot with a pistol, and given how active the Darkness had been lately...it was best to be armed as much as possible.

She had a book in her pack, one she had bought some weeks before. It was a book on Black Magic, one with spells even a person who wasn't gifted could use. She wanted to practice one of the spells, a spell that gave spirits a solid form, someplace where no one could see her...

She had almost reached the lake when her highly tuned senses alerted her to a presence. A person. Great. She put on her friendly smile, which was an truly, honestly friendly one, because she wanted EVERYONE to be her friend...or, you know, slave...

[Sammy Linsen]

Her curiosity got the best of her and she turned around, tucking her cat ears under her hair again. She looked around, taking in her surroundings and was surprised to find a girl ,who looked about her age, standing nearby. She had long black hair and pale blue eyes that made her feel slightly uncomfortable when she looked right in them. This girl looked like a warrior, not a teenager, but Sam wouldn’t say anything about that, instead she cocked her head slightly and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

The girl had a smile on her face, like she was trying to look friendly, so as not to scare someone off. Sam knew better though, no one who came out to the wilderness so early in the day, laden with weapons, was ever truly friendly. She casually reached into her bag and clipped the pocket knife to her belt, trying not to let the other girl see. There was always a butterfly knife in one boot and her favourite dagger in the other. You could never be too prepared when in the wilderness, it was always dangerous out there, especially since it seemed as if the darkness had begun to increase their numbers. But maybe she was just imagining things.

“Hello, I didn’t hear you come up behind me. My music is a bit too loud, I must admit. What might you be doing out here, especially so early in the day.”

She pulled her headphones off her head and set them around her neck. She sometimes wished she was telepathic, it would be so nice to be able to hear the thoughts of others. It would make it easier to tell who was dangerous and who wasn’t. This was one of those times, she thought as she took a step forward and crossed her arms loosely over her chest.

[Cassandra Dracul]

Cassy kept the smile up. "Sorry I was just looking to be alone. Usually there isn't anyone here."

She didn't approach, seeing the small movements that indicated distrust, but then out here, it was wise to not trust everyone who turned up. Cassy was not a Chaser, but she had good instincts, and those instincts were telling her she was faced with a Chaser or Chaser Student.

She couldn't admit to WHY she needed to be alone. Even if this was a City of magic and ability users, Black Magic was still Black Magic...Even if her goal was noble and true, which honestly it was, well in a way it was. She had a selfish reason for wanting to do it, but the outcome would be good for more than just herself.

"I'm Cassandra Dracul, the daughter of the Swords Instructor at the Academy...You are a Student Chaser maybe?"

[Sammy Linsen]

Sam relaxed slightly, she didn’t necessarily feel threatened by this girl, but her presence gave her a somewhat uneasy feeling. As if anything could happen at any time. And it never hurt to trust your instincts. The wind blew around them, rippling the water slightly and rustling the leaves of the trees. It brought with it a sweet scent, something she couldn’t quite place, but enjoyed nonetheless.

“Well Cassandra, my name’s Sam. Sword Instructor’s daughter? You must now quite a lot about swords and weaponry of that type then. And no, I am not a Student Chaser, I don’t really care for their job. Going out on missions all of the time, being told when and where to kill darkness? Honestly doesn’t sound like any fun.”

Her reply seemed a bit rude to her, but she honestly didn’t care. Being a Chaser sounded quite boring to her and she really didn’t have any interest in the job. She sighed quietly and moved forward, holding out her hand.


“I suppose it’s not terrible to meet you Cassandra, care to join me by the lake?”

[Cassandra Dracul]

Cassy nodded. "I'm sorry to have made the mistake, most of the gifted are Chasers, I haven't met many that aren't."

Cassy took Sam's hand and shook it, firmly, but also gently. She made sure of that, since she had once made someone cringe by shaking to hard. Her hands were a lot stronger than most girls her age, especially given tat most people thought she looked like a dancer or model, rather than a sword fighter.

"I'd love to join, its quite peaceful out here usually." The book burned in her thoughts, the idea of casting that spell made her feel a bit edgy, but it barely showed in her outward actions. She would just have to wait for another chance.

[Sammy Linsen]

Sammy shrugged and turned back around, stepping up to the edge of the lake once more. Her eyes scanned the edge, watching as the water lapped against the sides. It was peaceful out here, that is, when the darkness weren’t around. So far, the coast was clear, but that meant nothing. Especially from what she had heard from others, about the new breed of darkness that had appeared around Valentine’s Day. The silent ones, the ones that stalked you. But those were just rumors of course, or so she hoped.

Her new companion interested her, though she wouldn’t let it show. She usually found it best to look as bored as possible whenever she was out, people tended to leave her alone when she did.

“It’s alright, I don’t mind. It’s a perfectly reasonable assumption. Most gifted around here do seem to be Chasers.”

The ground near the edge of the lake was soft and gave way beneath her feet whenever she moved, accompanied occasionally by a soft squish. She was curious what the water was like and though most people would probably call her crazy, she wouldn’t mind wading in if she got the chance. That was one of the reasons she was up here, but now that she had company, she couldn’t just walk into the lake. Cassandra would probably try to stop her.

“So, you like coming up here to be alone, do you? I must admit it is quite peaceful up here, though rather dangerous. I haven’t encountered any yet, but darkness tend to gather around this area for some reason. At least, in my experience they do.”

Sammy bounced up and down on her heels, staring into the water. The algae covered surface hiding whatever creatures lived down there. Most likely it was just a bunch of fish, but you never knew what you might find if you just started exploring. She sat down, falling backwards slightly to land on drier ground and motioned for Cassandra to join her. Looking at Cassandra, she gave her a joking smile.

“Come on, sit with me. I promise I don’t bite.”  

[Cassandra Dracul]

Cassy nodded and sat down close, but not next, to Sammy. She looked at the water. "You ever wonder what's living under there? I swear I once saw a Razor swimming in there, but it might have been a dog."

She pulled a small telescoping fishing pole from her pack, careful to keep her book from being seen. She hooked a rubber worm to 'frog' hook, a hook made to catch frogs without hurting them. She dangled it over the water and waited. It took maybe ten seconds for a frog to shoot out its tongue and pull the rubber worm into its mouth. She pulled the frog close and grabbed it by the legs, petting its belly until it spit the rubber worm out.

"If you toss this poor guy out into the middle, the big fish will eat him. You will see the frog swimming towards shore frantically, an then there will be a sound like a drain getting unclogged and the frog disappears."

[Sammy Linsen]

Sammy looked over at Cassandra as the girl sat down, but kept her distance. Understandable, not all strangers were trustworthy. Sam nodded as she spoke and looked back at the water. She hadn’t actually thought darkness could swim. For some reason she had thought they had disliked the water, like most cats did. She found it odd that Cassandra kept a fishing pole in her pack, but if she was coming up near the lake, she guessed it made some sense. People used to come up here and fish when it was still a popular tourist area, so why not come up here on your own?

“And why would we wanna do that? We wouldn’t be catching anything, so what exactly would be the point?”

There was no hints of sarcasm in her voice, just curiosity. Why catch the frogs just to throw them out to be eaten? She was sure the fish could feed themselves, they didn’t seem to have a problem any other day. Perhaps it was for amusement, it was possible that this girl just enjoyed tossing these frogs out to their death. It wouldn’t surprise her, with the amount of strange people in this town there had to be a few who outdid the others.

“Why toss the frog out there, when we could just go in ourselves. I mean, not like anyone’s here to stop us, so why not? The water shouldn’t be too cold and even if it is I won’t mind, you?”

Raising an eyebrow, she leaned forward, ready to stand up. It was always nice to go for a swim, and where better to do it than in the privacy of the woods. Not many people came out here, so it wasn’t as if anyone would be there to catch them.

[Cassandra Dracul]

Cassy paused as the question arose. She had never really thought about why she did it. "I guess its because it gives me a feeling of control over something. I don't have any control over anything. I'm the first in generations of my family to have no gifts, I'm sick all the time because of an illness I was born. Whenever I want to try something new someone refuses to let me do it."

She sighed at the mention of swimming. She had in fact intended to go swimming, and was wearing a one piece under her clothes. She stood and started pulling off her outer layers. "Why not? Worse case scenario I get eaten by Darkness, and I get to wait on the other side for the people who really do care about me."

[Sammy Linsen]

Cassandra seemed unsure, judging by the short pause before she answered. Her answer was not something Sam had expected. Her eyes left the water for a moment and flicked over to the girl next to her, who stood and began to pull off the outer layers of her clothes, revealing a one piece swimsuit underneath. It seemed she had been planning to go for a swim today, while Sammy had not. She had no swimsuit on, but she didn’t mind swimming in her clothes. Smiling at Cassandra’s response, she stood and slid the strap of her bag over her head.

“It looks like you had your day all planned out” She quipped, dropping her bag in the grass and crouching down to untie her shoes. “I hadn’t originally planned on going swimming, it was more of a spur of the moment idea, but you seem to be prepared for everything. I don’t mind swimming in my clothing though, it’s not the first time I’ve been unprepared in a situation like this.” She set her Converse next to her bag and stripped off her socks, stuffing them both into her left shoe. “I’m ready when you are.”

Sam looked over again before walking to the edge of the lake and wading into the water until she was ankle deep. The water was a pleasant temperature, which was no surprise judging by the weather lately. It had been quite warm, but it was nice after the long cold winter.

[Cassandra Dracul]

Cassy stepped into the water, it was actually a little warm for her at first, but as she got out deeper it became a bit cooler. She got out to her waist and then dove under the water. Swimming was another of her talents. She made it almost half way across the pond before she had to surface for air. And when she did she was met by a pair of black eyes surrounded by dense brown fur.

"GahGHFHGFH!" She back stroked frantically , filling her mouth with algae rich water before she realized it was just an otter. "Stupid Little..." She glared at the creature which just rolled in the water and swam closer to her. It fiddled with her hair, combing it with its claws. Then it dove under the water and was gone for a while. "Stupid thing scared the life out of me!"

Then the otter returned with something in its paws. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but once Cassy got a good look she couldn't contain her fear...or her amazement. "Its a Darkness Core!"

Darkness Cores were something she had heard rumors about. It was like an egg for darkness, only really old Darkness formed them. It was like a crystal form of their bodies. No one really knew what they did, and if the Chasers had any, they weren't telling anyone. The only thing Cassy new for sure, is that a Darkness Core was said to contain a portion of Oscuro's power. And one of the spells she had been forced to bypass to give Fang his own body required one. If this was really a Darkness Core, she could make a body for Fang without having to kill anyone.