Bloodied Paws [BP Book 1]

Crystal Catalyst [Prologue Proper]

Warm, golden beams of summer sunlight danced in the green meadows. The leaves rustled with the gentle breeze that brushed the flora. A village, surrounded by a wall of white stone, was built there, small but proud. Despite the fairly large amount of homes around, not many lived there. Only the small group of teens that had resurrected the town one summer, all those years ago. And their golem friend, Boris, of course.

A girl walked down a pathway, hands stuck in a purple hoodie pocket as blue eyes admired the scenery. Curly brown hair bounced with her steps, rhythmic to her stride.

Near the door of one of the unoccupied houses, there was some rock landscaping. She had never thought anything of the small area - most of the other houses had it. But a glint of the sun, a mere sparkle, immediately caught her eye. Tilting her head, she paused, looking at the spot to make sure she hadn't been imagining it. Curious, she walked towards the small object, picking it up between two fingers and observing it closely.

It seemed to be a small crystal. Pure white, but it faded to gray and eventually black at its pointed ends. Flecks of the same inky color were scattered around its milky, translucent surface, like someone had put black liquid on a toothbrush and pulled on the bristles to launch it at random onto the crystal.

The girl twirled it in her hands, taking in every corner of the strange, crystalline solid. She had never seen it before, nor did she know of the name. But it was almost mythical in appearance.

While her mind threw random thoughts as to what it could be, another thought popped in her mind. She smiled, gripping the crystal and running off in the direction she had been walking in before.

———

Hands rummaged through a wooden chest of miscellaneous items, searching around for one in particular. The girl's grey eyes darted around, examining the inside as she searched.

Some sticks, bag of seeds, random dead flower that I don't know why it's in there...

She tossed said dead flower, a long wilted yellow dandelion that she had probably meant to dry at some point, and continued to search.

"Hey, Addie!"

The girl paused her rummaging, looking up from the chest as she swept brown hair out of her eyes. She smiled when she saw her friend walking towards her.

"Hey, Grace!" Addie greeted, standing up and brushing some dirt off of her black pants. Despite her fairly formal outfit, a red blazer with a lighter red, collared undershirt, she really didn't care to get dirty. "How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Good."

"Good."

Grace reached into her pocket, retrieving a small, glittering object from her pocket. Each side shimmered as she turned it in the sun. "I found this down by the houses. Thought you might want it or at least know what it is. I know you collect small things like this sometimes."

Addie tilted her head, taking the object and turning her palm upwards to observe it. A small, milky crystal with black flecks and black points. She looked it over multiple times, taking in every vertex, edge, and face on the strange mineral.

"Wow..." she remarked, "I've never seen a crystal like this before." She closed her fingers around it, and looked at Grace. "Thanks. I might try to find something to see what it is."

Grace smiled. "No problem. And also... wanna come over tonight? Just a little for-fun sleepover?"

Addie nodded, enthusiastic. "Of course! Meet you at 4?"

"Alright!"

Grace waved a farewell as she walked away, continuing back down the path.

Addie tossed the crystal, following the object with her gaze as it arced in the air and landed back in her palm. She, too, turned, but instead of following Grace she walked back to her home - a small wooden cottage with an evergreen spruce tree growing outside. She turned the brass knob of the door, swinging it open and stepping into the house.

Cool air washed over her skin, which had been warmed by the summer sun outside. A small meow was heard, and two cats that had been sitting on the kitchen counter jumped to the floor. One of them was a large, shaggy grey ragdoll with green-yellow eyes. The other had shorter fur, black as night, with yellow eyes. The two purred, the ragdoll rubbing against Addie's leg and the black one looking up at her and meowing.

Addie laughed, petting the two cats' heads. "Hey, Ragdoll. Hey, Arachne. Please get off of me, I have to pack-"

Carefully, she stepped out of Ragdoll's circular path around her leg and averted Arachne as she continued down the hall and entered her own room.

As soon as she entered, she made a beeline for her desk by the window. The glass filtered a warm light that bathed the room in yellow streaks like paint. Addie sat down, laying the crystal on the table as she sat before picking it back up again.

Suddenly, the crystal slipped from her hand, and she gasped as she jerked her hand back. The crystal rolled to the side, bouncing slightly on impact with the table. A small drop of crimson stained the point, the same that now bled from a fresh cut in Addie's hand. It slowly dripped down the edge of the mineral, sliding down the smooth face until it made a minuscule puddle on the desk.

"Crap, that hurt," Addie swore, surprised by the depth of the cut. Shaking her bleeding hand and pressing against it with her other thumb, she took another glance at the crystal before retreating to the other room to grab a bandage.

Once she got a band-aid and stuck it over the cut, she rubbed it for a moment, just to make sure the bleeding would stop, and proceeded back to her room.

She glanced at the clock. 3:45. Better start packing for Grace's.

As she stuck some clothes in her bag, her gaze once again flickered to the crystal on her desk. Fresh, dark blood still stained the side and topmost point. She considered returning to it, maybe trying to find out more about the mysterious mineral. But she shook off the thought, thinking that she'd do it later.

After packing extra clothes and a few snacks, she slung the backpack over her shoulder and exited the room, giving her cats a goodbye pet before walking out the door, leaving her house until tomorrow.

———

Don't mind me making a foreword and a story proper lol

And so it has begun...

1114 words