~~Rythian's POV~~
I looked down at my wrist. No bracelet. The gems which were once held together by an almost stringy piece of elastic had been spread around the floor, and the lilac colour was emptied. I crawled over and picked up all the little beads I could find, counting them as I went. I knew that there was twenty-four beads, in total, counting the transparent ones. Sixteen transparent ones, that is. Not that the amount of the beads mattered anymore. That was irrelevant - especially since I'd had that bracelet since I was born. It had, somehow, always fitted me. Like it'd grown with me, or some other bullshit. Once I'd collected all the beads I could, and counted them all too, I ended up with nineteen. I had all eight once-coloured beads, but only eleven of the transparent ones. I shifted my gaze away from the dull beads in my hands, placing them on my chest of drawers, and went over to the mirror.
One major change; it was really obvious. My eyes weren't their normal, child-like blue. They held a cold, dark, glare. They glowed - they glowed a harsh lilac. I moved his face closer to the mirror, and rubbed my eyes. No change. Still abnormal. I half-excepted this new feature, and moved on to look at other changes. My posture, that was different. I held myself with wider, steadier legs, and my arms no longer felt comfortable crossed over my chest. They felt natural near my katar, with my left hand hovering near the sheathed weapon and my right in my pocket, playing with money I'd found in there. I checked everything else. It was fine, right? My eyes, they were different, but my hair, my forehead, my cheeks, my mouth, my chin, my ears-
My ears weren't the same.
Sprouting from just behind the ears, on either side, little purple cracks were there. I was worried, and went to touch them. Slowly, but surely, I ran my index finger along the cracks, and found they went all around my head. They were merely hidden, by my hair. So, my hair had only seemed okay. Damn, I hated that fact. It looked okay.
I decided to get out of my room, so I rushed downstairs with a plastered smile.
"Speak of the devil and his horns appear!" Chyna smiled. "What took you so long, all that 'cleaning'?"
"I, er, I broke something." I said honestly.
"What was it, honey?" Zoey asked with a smile, standing up. Honey. Why the hell was she calling me 'honey'? What sort of nickname was that?
"Nothi-" I started, but Chyna butted in.
"Was it your bracelet?" She stood up and rushed to me.
She was examining my wrist as I said, "Yeah, nothing too bad. I might be able to fix it."
"No point." She said absent-mindedly, using her little finger to trace precisely where the bracelet once held sentimental value, and glory. "What's up with your eyes?"
How did she know about them? She didn't even look at my eyes, unless... Unless she saw them before.
"I'm not sure, I mean-" I tried to start an excuse.
"Don't lie to me." She pushed my wrist down and stared up at me. "May I see your head?"
"What are you doing to Ryth-" Zoey asked, but Chyna merely acknowledged it with a 'Don't worry' and found the cracks behind my ears quite soon.
"So, Rythie-boy, how long have you had these little things?" She asked, emphasising the terrible nickname. As if she were trying to wind me up.
I said nothing at first. Glared at her, at her blue-ish eyes behind her pink fringe. Then I cleared my throat. "I don't know. Found them just then."
"Ryth, are you okay?" Zoey seemed concerned for me, which was annoying - but I did feel a homely feeling when she was near.
"I'm fine. Maybe just a little shaken from losing the bracelet." I supplied an answer that would keep her quiet for a few minutes, at the least.
"Alright." She smiled at me, something which I mirrored with force.
"Rythian, I noticed you need some meat. Are there any animals nearby?" Chyna asked. Innocently. It seemed.
"Only the sheep," I grumbled, "And they give a short supply of good meat. They're crap, for sure. I reckon there'd be some pigs just north of the mining entrance. I'll go."
"I'd prefer to stay here." Zoey cautioned, something which I noted. It was as if I'd, maybe, forgotten some things. Or they'd been replaced. By other thoughts. Feelings.
"I'd like to come with you." Chyna said, noble yet scared. "Just to keep everyone safe."
I shrugged, as a sign of agreement, and got ready to leave. Chyna left just a bit before me, and was watching me walk out the door, when Zoey pulled my back by my hand and hugged me. I hesitantly hugged her back, before she pulled away. Just as I was about to leave, she pulled me back once more for a kiss. On the lips. Her eyes were closed at first, and I was mainly too shocked to close mine, but in the brief second or so when both our eyes were open, something flickered in her eyes. Like, happiness. Or something. I didn't know - I wasn't some physcologist. I was just the murderer, the one who slaughtered defenseless animals to feed myself, and the two weirdoes with funny hair colours.
No, don't think like that, something in my mind told me. You love one of these, and the other is an extremely talented and beautiful girl. Something in my mind, in my once pure mind, was broken. Plagued.
A plague in my brain.
A plague.
