A Stranger to Our Legacy- Book One: Human Nature

Chapter One: The Inseparable

There is nothing special about this man. This man is probably around his mid twenties or so, yet stormy eyes reflected centuries of pain. He is fairly tall, thin yet well built, tan skin, and long dark hair he probably cut himself. Which he did. You're welcome.

One Year.  

One year for him, and ten for her. Time never seemed to work properly in dreams, never for him at least. It had been one year for him since he last saw her, in the gallery that was shared by both of their minds. One year since he saw another take his place. Only a single year for him, yet ten for her.

It was surprisingly hard to let her go, he found. Both had come a long way from that day, or rather night, he had first found her; Trapped, alone and terrified of her own shadow. She had latched onto him almost immediately, although only after he had taken off the mask; the mask that was currently sitting on his desk in the study. He picked it up carefully, turning the gold keepsake over in his hands. He could see why a small child would be afraid of it. After all, it did look slightly... different than what most were used to seeing. Ancient things scared many people these days. However, he'd need all the proof he could get to show her that yes, he was indeed a real person. And, he knew exactly where she would be waiting for him, whether she knew it or not.

He carefully wrapped the mask in a spare shirt, placing it gently in his suitcase. He put on his favorite trench coat, the one they had met in and would now meet again. They had to, after all, He had made her a promise. He packed the rest of the suitcase carefully, only adding a few sets of clothes along with very essential hygiene products. The young man hummed softly, picking up a lone top hat he had received ages ago, much like many of his other belongings and fitting it snugly onto his head. Taking one last look around the room covered in art and relics from times long gone, he left for the airport.

The flight was relatively short, (well, as short as you could get for going across the world)and as usual he ignored the looks the flight attendants gave him, politely declined when they offered him a seat in first class and when they brought in flight snacks. He always brought his own. After all, he'd hate to inconvenience anyone when the plane was going to crash anyway. But maybe crash wasn't the correct word. Disappear for an extended amount of time while flying over the ocean? Yes, much more accurate. However, he would be long gone before that happened though. But for now, let's allow him to enjoy his family friendly in-flight movie.

Let's go to the person he's meeting.

It was not a good day for a school trip. It was a good day for sitting curled up at home with a warm cup of tea and watching reruns of daytime television. Perhaps maybe sit outside on the veranda and watch the rain fall gently on the grass. Lovely to think about, no?

However, that was not really an option for this particular character. And so, here she stood with the rest of her classmates in front of one of the largest art museums in the world, urged on by one of the few teachers who vaguely understood her and her wonderful 'other half'. Here she stood, soaking wet with one scraped knee, wearing a now ripped pair of jeans, and with what was definitely not a can-do attitude. Pain does tend to put a damper on things, I agree. It took all of two minutes for her to be able to separate herself from the group and hide somewhere without having a trail of blood follow her, the bright red droplets marring the pale cream of the tile floor.

Art museums both awed and terrified Tasha. Whenever she tried to remember the exact reason, she popped up, shoved her away from "forgotten" memories, and insisted it wasn't important. Tasha had given up trying ages ago.

You've got to take better care of yourself girl. I can't have you dying on me.

She appears out of nothing, her dark shadowy form moving to sit across from the girl on the floor. Her form was translucent, a mirror image of Tasha herself yet was so very different from her in a multitude of ways.