Cassie

Amnesia

A girl stands on the doorstep of a shop, a blank look on her face as she gazes up at the sign 'Owl & N's Oddities' She tries to remember how she got there or why she was there in the first place. Nothing. Her memories are gone, mind blank of the past. She stuffs her hands in her pockets, fingers brushing against thin parchment. She pulls out a folded scrap of paper. She opens it to find a scrawl that might have been her handwriting.

"Who are you?" She jumps as a figure towers over her, a bird mask staring down at her. He leans over her "I asked you a question."

She inspects him with gold eyes full of curiosity. He's wearing a simple mask. His neck is pale gray, the only other skin she can see are his hands and ears poking through his long hair. His hair is purple, turning red at the tips.

"Well, um, I-I-" Her face heats as she gets tongue tied.

The man sighs, seeming to understand "Here, come inside and talk, you look like you could use a meal." He opens the door of the shop, walking between shelves filled with metal figures and miscellaneous artifacts, stopping at the bottom of a staircase. "Come on." he motions for her to follow him.

The teen glances up the staircase, then back to him "can I..." she trails off, the man waiting patiently for her to continue "get your n-name?"

He chuckles "how rude of me. The name is Owl."

They make their way up the stairs and into a quaint living area. Owl sits down on a couch and pats the spot beside him, the girl hesitantly sits. There's a whirring noise as a metal person steps in, movements smooth as their gears click, the girl watches in awe as the male asks for a drink and food, the metal being nodding toward her, the girl watching as they walk away "I see you like Tell."

The girl blushes as she realizes she had been staring "y-yeah."

"I built her a few years ago."

She smiles "she's very pretty." Tell returns with two bottles, handing one to each of them, leaving with a click.

Owl carefully opens his drink, speaking again "So what were you doing in front of my shop?"

The small girl looks down at her lap "I don't know."

He takes a sip "Why is that?"

She watches her drink fizz "I don't remember."

Owl mutters under his breath for a moment, sighs and then shrugs "sorry, let's try a different approach. What's your name?"

Her toes curl into the carpet, the girl only now noticing her scarred bare feet, "I don't know."

Owl takes another sip, the beak on his mask slid up to reveal sharp teeth and light grey lips, "So you have amnesia. What about that scrap of paper you're holding?"

The girl looks down at the paper, reading it aloud "'Sheila Catho, I know why you did it, so I'll write this to say sorry to whomever I inconvenience. Signed Cassandra Daedra'?"

Owl grins. "Well I guess I have no choice but to take on an apprentice, Cassie." He reminds the her of a shark.

Cassie furrows her brows "What?"

-

By apprentice, Owl had meant employee. Cassie was taught to stock shelves and man the register as Owl grinned, making sly comments that could, probably, be seen as flirting. Today, the fifth day, Owl was showing her the more 'fragile' items in the back, quite a few of them growling as they passed, even if they were inanimate objects. There were mostly haunted or cursed items, ranging from rare paintings to everyday household objects. Cassie stays close to the taller man, padding behind him, as they walk between shelves, eyeing each object they passed wearily.

At one point there's a clammer and lots of cursing. The two weave between shelves until they come across an incredibly pale woman hurriedly picking up rocks and placing them in a sack. Owl calls out "having trouble Naria?"

The woman, Naria, looks up as Cassie crouches to help. "Maybe. Who is this?"

Owl chuckles "This is Cassandra. She has amnesia so I'm letting her work with us."

Naria inspects Cassie, eyes lingering on her bare feet "Did you 'find' her in a. What's the word? Place of healing? She isn't wearing shoes"

Owl sighs "no, I found her on our doorstep, not in a hospital."

Cassie places the last rock in the sack "I just kind of woke up there. And I like feeling the ground under my feet."

Naria places a hand on Cassie's shoulder, Owl rolling his eyes at her words "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

Cassie smiles "I'm quite alright, besides, you might end up with an item or have a customer I recognize."

Naria picks up the sack of rocks, Owl opening a nearby door revealing a forge "Well you know where I am if you need me."

She enters the forge and Owl shuts the door, not noticing as Cassie's eyes return to gold, clapping a hand on her shoulder "And that was N."