Of Love and Death.

The Future Chapter 10: Pink and Teal Pt. 2

     The Masked Blader yawned, covering her mouth with her hand as she did so. Unfortunately, the motion meant to tell humans it was time to go to bed, or in some instances wake up, had reminded her that she needed to go to bed. Which probably wasn't true, she couldn't have stayed up that late. A simple glance at her moon shaped alarm clock disproved that statement, however. The display read 11:09 p.m., a bit too late for someone who had a 7:00 a.m. club meeting at her school to be up reading.

     Well, at least I've already showered, The Masked Blader remarked to herself, sighing a bit. She folded her book, the epic fantasy story from her parents' generation, back when it was less known that, surprise, some people can see the future or make the rain come when they're mad. Although, she remarked, I guess it's still not the most widely acknowledged thing. Still, there was some irony in reading about some kid trying to get a hang of her magic weather powers after all of the Masked Blader's own experience with developing magic powers.

     The Masked Blader swung her legs out from the covers, letting her feet rest on the hardwood floor of her room. The wooden panels were a bit cold, at least compared to the warmth of the blankets. Slightly shivering, she stood up, accidentally tossing her book to the floor. Not wanting to make a mess when she'd just cleaned her room two days ago, the Masked Blader bent down and picked it up. Unconsciously, she walked across the hardwood floor, each step deliberate so as to not make a sound. It was highly likely that the other people in her house were either asleep or falling asleep, and she didn't want to wake them.

     After a long session of creeping to the other side of the bedroom, the Masked Blader knelt down in front of the floor to ceiling bookshelf. She lay her current novel right at the foot of the grandiose wooden rack, where she always put what she was reading. There, the Masked Blader thought to herself.

     With that mildly annoying bit of cleaning done, the Masked Blader stood up, disturbing the still air in her room. She involuntarily yawned again, closing her slightly aching eyes for a moment. Yeah, she definitely needed to go to bed, even if she didn't want to. She turned from her bookshelf and the window right next to it, about to take a step away, toward her door when a sound broke the silence. Tap.

     All the muscles in the Masked Blader's body tensed. It was late, and her mind seemed to have decided that the tapping was some evil woman coming to end her life. Even though the Masked Blader knew, consciously, that that was mostly ridiculous, her heart had decided to pound. She closed her eyes and took a breath, trying to calm down. It didn't go too well, she could still feel her heart in her chest, without even placing her hand there. The matter of trying not to freak out was made harder when the Masked Blader heard something again.

     Tap.

    Tap.

    Tap.

     TAP TAP TAP!

     What possible options did the Masked Blader have? She could just go to bed and ignore the tapping noises, but they had come too quickly, there was no way someone or something wasn't out there causing it. She could go running down the hallway to her parents room, likely waking them up or at least interrupting them as they fell asleep. That would be embarrassing, however, if it ended up that the noises were just some kind of weird bird.

     Wait. Could it be?

     "Strix?" The Masked Blader asked with some effort. It was hard to speak when scared, even a single word barely loud enough to be heard by human ears. However, it would be plenty loud enough for an owl to hear. There was a pause, enough time for the Masked Blader to wonder if someone really was at her window, trying to figure out who Strix was. After all, she couldn't see out the window, it was too bright on the inside. And she really didn't want to go up close to check, as, if something was wrong, then she would be putting herself closer to danger. Then, just as she was about to bolt, a characteristic who, who, who broke the silence.