Puppeteer (Old)

I Don't Scream, Sorry

I'm in a hole. How did I get here? Shouting hello probably wouldn't help, since, you know, it's a hole, and I'm the only one in it. Actually, I don't think I could speak if I wanted to; the air in here is dense and uncomfortable, like its been present for eternity. Breathing should never be a chore in itself, but here I constantly have to remember to suck in oxygen, if you want to call it that. It's more like...gaseous dust. 

"So the water lady's here at last."

I have gotten over jump scares since Percy- WAIT A SECOND. Where is that guy? "Um, yeah, 'water lady'. I prefer Rose, random voice."

"I am not just a voice, you know. Geez. I'm sorry, but the shadows kind of absorb my particles whenever they feel like it. I can try to take my solid form, but-oh, here we go." I think, poof, as a girl with stick-up black ad white dyed hair appears. She wears little makeup, and admirable feat in itself, and her eyes are large, though through the darkness that hugs her I cannot see their color. A too-big sweater with a diamond plaid pattern almost covers her knees as she squats. Two piercings mark the space where her nose meets her forehead.

"Kind of weird, that the water lady would have a name like 'Rose'. I was thinking more like Juvia or something that fits better. Anyway, Kuro fits me. You know, even though it's not my real real name. Something like a middle name."

"I'm not even going to bother asking where we are, because I figure if I don't know, then neither do you. But you you know where Percy went?" I ask, because if I was dropped here after Kuro, when she must've seen something.

"...um. You mean your Puppet? I only saw a bit of him, after he transported you over here. You got a cute one, Rose. Mine's about as plain as plain can get. So boring. And here I was hoping for a nice tasty catch. Thanks, Creator-whoever-you-are. Real nice of you."

Calm down, shadow girl, I think. Kuro talks quite a bit, and I'm getting slightly agitated from all the small talk. It's hard to see down here, but I can tell that Kuro is about as relaxed as a shadow itself (if shadows had feelings, that is). I'm a bit overwhelmed.

"Now, time and location are irrelevant. Don't ask me," says Kuro, who begins to stand. "And if you don't know what a Puppet is, which your expression says you don't, they're things made from earthen materials by a Creator to watch over 'us', whatever that means. Sabra only told me that, and the fact that there is some girl who can command water at will. Dunno why you are important enough to speak of though, Rose." 

So Sabra must be her Puppet. And...suddenly I can see why Percy prefers being called living and not an object. Labeling him as Puppet really makes him seem artificial. And who's commanding him, and all the others? 

"Hey, Rosewater, what's with the face? I happened to notice that you think a lot about things. Like, more than normal people. Something ailing ya?" Kuro leans against a wall of the hole , bringing various stones falling to the floor. "You didn't even freak out when that adorable Puppet of yours threw you down here."

"I don't scream. Not since a long time ago."

"Ya know, you're kind of a downer. Your aura is all jacked up and stuff. Not stable at all."

I look up at that. Aura? "What do you mean?"

"I mean your aura is weird. All...wiggly and not at all a distinct color. I figured I'd be the only one to see them. After all, shadows are my forte, and aura kind of counts. They both follow us around all the time." 

"Oh, then can you see any aura you want? Even...um, Puppets?"

"Probably, if they want me to. Not really very good at telling them to appear, but I can see yours just fine." Shaking her head, she reaches out just inches from my face (though to say the least there isn't much room in the first place) and strokes the air. Some kind of rippling sensation spreads from this focal point, though she isn't even touching me. 

"Yeah, normal auras wouldn't flinch from my touch. But yours is so weird. I dunno." She moves back to her wall, setting her head on the earth behind her. "So what can you do?"

I don't know how, but immediately I know what she's talking about. I summon water from the walls surrounding, and it obeys, seeping like gas from small cracks and spaces. A thought later, it's taking the form of a small bird (to accommodate the space) and flying up to the distant speck of light above. "Things like that," I say. Seconds later, tiny droplets fall like rain as I retract my focus from the water bird. 

"You have plenty of control, geez. Makes me feel kinda jealous."

Suddenly that familiar curious sensation arises, and I lean in. "So why do I have so much control? And why do I have this ability in the first place?" 

"Ahoy, Rose! I apologize for dumping you here so suddenly. It was due time to arrive in the Creator's domain. And the hole is just for decoration." Percy's voice.

In a matter of moments, the ground below rises up quickly and soundlessly, like an elevator.  And I'm facing Percy and a relatively small, plain boy with wings a second later.

"Sabra, you little- Don't put me in a hole again," says Kuro, speaking to the winged boy. "You're not even cute, let alone tough looking."

"Kuro, look around." Sabra's voice is wispy, like a whisper. His mouth barely moves as he speaks.

I focus on our surroundings now. With a glare at Percy and a memory of his grab at me in my garden, I turn to look to the right. Tall arches mark a marble pathway, lined with floating lamps not unlike my water bubbles. To the left is an impassible barrier of trees, all fir. The ground beneath sparkles like a tiny night sky, whereas the soil is black and the shine unsettled and pulsing. I'm reminded of the great deal of time I spent looking up at the constellations with her- 

"The Creator's domain, huh?"