Poison

Chapter 1- The Silver Case

 CHAPTER ONE - The silver case (Poppy)

There is no such thing as regret

There is no point in placing the blame

Hate destroys the one who hates 

And everyone suffers the same

Scarlett had been in a good mood. Her day had been going fine, it seemed god (or some other powerful being) was on her side, putting all the odds in her favour. Now though she had a problem. If she had been a Seer or a Fortune teller (or even a Warlock or a Fey, who both have future gazing talents) instead of a Shapeshifter, she would have known that compared to the other problems she would have that day this one was pretty small..

But she wasn’t, and so there was no way for her to know that things were about to go really, terribly wrong.

It was mid morning, plenty of time for things to go wrong, if you look at it that way and Scarlett couldn’t find what she was looking for.

Being a Shapeshifter (Shapechanger, Skinwalker, etc..) Scarlett had acute hearing, eyesight and sense of smell as well as being fast, strong and agile (not to mention the natural ability to be able speak every language, human and non- human, that exists or ever has existed).

The one thing being a Shapeshifter didn’t give her was the art of finding things.  That and the art of culinary skills (the ability to cook anything non-toxic).

Scarlett did know what she was looking for- a small silver case with a handle, much like a makeup case except made of steel and with reinforced locks. She also knew where it was- somewhere in the small, clean, white bathroom she was in now.

What she didn’t know though was where exactly in the bathroom it was. She had searched everywhere, from the depths of the glass cabinet and under-sink cupboard to the floor and wall tiles, checking to see if any were loose.

Scarlett freezes in her second check of the cupboard as something occurs to her. Looking up she sees that the ceiling is also made of tiles. And around one of the tiles the sealant is missing.

Scarlett reaches up and pushes the tile up and in. It moves easily. The resulting hole is still quite small, it would have to be four times the size for a human to fit through.She considers shifting to Rat, but having only managed it twice before, it could be dangerous. Sarlett decides that Cat form wouldn’t help and obviously neither would Wolf. Cat and Wolf being the only two forms she would be completely confident to take. Hawk maybe, but it wouldn’t be helpful and it was when she was learning Hawk that she got her only major injury from shifting (an open fracture of her shin) ,even now the memory of seeing her own bone made her shiver.

It never occurs to Scarlett that the case might not be up there. She thrusts her hand up and smashes three more tiles, with the palm of her hand. As she does it she knows that   J.  , her “legal guardian” would disapprove. He would say she was “impulsive” and “reckless” and that she should “think things through first and not always be so rash and hasty.

 J. was right of course. If she had got something to stand on there would have been no need for the broken tiles and dust. Just as J. would have said (and been right) that she should of unlocked the front door as well as the back, as an escape if the owner unexpectedly came back.  Both doors though were solid oak though and Sacrlett had been forced to pick the lock. Lock picking was something that she hated, favouring quick and effective (though often violent and unrestrained) ways of getting things done.  Kicking the door down for example.

But her recklessness came from being confident in her own ability’s. She would jump straight into the deep end, but it always turned out ok because she could swim.  

J’s thoughtful, cautious ways kept him out of trouble. Sacrlett was constantly in trouble, but somehow always managed to get out of it.

Which meant that when she heard the door slam downstairs she knew what to do.

She didn’t stop to wonder why Toro, who had been standing guard at the front door hadn’t warned her, or why the occupant of the house was back an hour before they should have been.

By the time she had jumped out of the hole, landing softly on the balls of her feet and clutching the silver case, she knew her plan.

The door had sounded from the back of the house so the occupant must now be in the kitchen. This was confirmed by running water and the clink of a mug on the marble surface. The front door was also not an option due to it being locked. That left only the windows on the second floor where she was now.

Scarlett walked out of the bathroom silently, her normal confident stride becoming more wary and alert. Seeing a woman directly in front of her Scarlett snaps into combat position. After looking at her for more than a second though, Scarlett relaxes.

The woman is thin and fragile looking, though tall. She has delicate features and  with long black hair tied back messily, but what’s important is that she is just at the top of the stairs, blocking the way to the bedrooms and the safety of their windows.

The woman’s bright green eyes get bigger than they already are when she sees Scarlett. Then they drop to the case in Scarletts hand. Her change in her body language is unmistakeable. She goes instantly from surprised and confused to furious and virtually hissing with anger she launches herself at Scarlett.

Though weak, she is surprisingly fast and her long nails swipe at Scarlett’s face. But Scarlett isn’t there. Having recovered from the shock quicker than the thin woman she was already one step ahead. Normally she would be no match for Scarlett but her anger enhanced her strength, her hands blurs in the air. Scarlett blocks another few swipes at her face and the case and lashes out with her foot, in a spinning kick. The woman goes down and Scarlett jumps over her, turning into one of the rooms.

It’s a bedroom with a bunk bed on the left side and a large window overlooking the road on the right. Scarlett doesn’t stop to open the window simply smashing straight through it, shoulder first. Her black leather gloves and jacket protect her from the broken glass. She raises her hands, bends her knees and rolls out of the fall and onto her feet. Pausing only to wait for Toro, she runs down a back alley.

Leaving behind several astounded neighbours, who would all call the police to say to the bemused cops that a female ninja (acompanied by a shaggy wolflike dog) just broke through a second floor window at number 29.