A Heart of Stars

The sky is painted black; darkness pinned to the firmament and sprinkled with stars, below, a city of golden light and inky darkness. To the waiting witch's magic eye, it was a city full of souls, fat and lazy with constant safety and reassurance. Ripe for the slaughter. Her half cape fluttered in the cool breeze and her hood fell open around her neck as she turned her face to the light of the moon and breathed. There was incredible power out there, and the witch Gretria yearned for it from the very depths of her soul.

"Get up or you'll turn into a pillow." Were the first words with which the morning greeted teenage Maddison Wallis, still savouring what was left of her sleep.

"What?" She blearily looked out from under the covers and yawned. Sunlight streamed in through the slits in the blinds and cast itself down on the carpet. Her wardrobe, desk, and chair were all coated in the shades of early morning.

"You'll turn into a pillow." The teenage boy crossed the room and sat himself heavily on Maddi's bed, elegantly hitting her over the head with a cushion.

"Kian...seriously?" She growled, now thoroughly awake; Kian grinned; He had beautifully pale skin and soft golden eyes and his hair was a strange shade of greenish-blue, with long wisps of hair at the front that made him look somewhat feminine. The threat of becoming a pillow diminished, Kian feigned a yawn and lay back on the edge of the bed, resting on top of the sleepy head's feet. Maddi responded by shooting upright in bed and yelling at him to get out. Kian, amused, danced out of the doorway gracefully,

"Well you're certainly awake now!" He laughed.

"I hate you, Kian!" Yelled Maddi; this of course meant that she loved him.

In the kitchen, plait slung over her shoulder, dressed and ready, Clarity had already prepared the first meal of the day. Her ginger eyes skimmed the page of a book held in one hand while her other hand moved the bacon about the pan as it cooked. Her hair is long, even when plaited and falls almost to her knees, a warm shade of velvety blue. Her bronze skin glows in the early morning light and the pink teardrops in her ears glitter as she moves about the kitchen. The look of intense thought on her face doesn't change as she puts down the book and proceeds to drown Kian's bacon sandwich in tomato sauce. Because Clarity doesn't mind housework and is the least likely to turn any food she cooks into charcoal, cooking and cleaning were generally left up to her. 

"Are you going to have cereal as well today, Kian?" She asks as he whisks the plate away from her and onto the table. When no answer is forthcoming she pours cornflakes into another bowl and drowns that with milk too. Still in her pyjamas, Iviam sits on the carpet in front of the TV, the 'Sponge Bob Square pants' theme blaring, and a cereal bowl perched on her knee. Her skin is a pale almost white and her plain face is framed by sky-blue, feathery hair that rusts into red at the tips. Her eyes are expressionless and shine with iridescent blue, green, and purple, she's almost blind. They're barely visible but a delicate pair of antennae sprout from her head and curl just underneath her ears in little corkscrews. For some reason she finds children's shows fascinating. She looks up as Maddi flops down next to her on the carpet and smiles.

"So what is it this time, Iviam?" Maddi asks, in answer Iviam holds out a spoonful of her breakfast and says,

"Popcorn," in a small voice. Maddi frowns and eyes the popcorn floating around Iviam's cereal bowl before turning her eyes to the TV.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

 "Sponge Bob Square Pants..." Iviam whispers as Coral enters the room wearing a frilly pink nightgown, still quite sleepy

"Ah! That was a great sleep!" She yawns, stretching her arms above her head in the doorway. Her ears and cheeks are a little pinker than the rest of her face and her eyes are the same colour as Kian's hair. Her bright green mane of hair floats about her head like seaweed, a stray lock looped through the magenta shell in her fringe. Her hair only partially covers the brown gills on her neck. But the pink patches of skin on the backs of her elbows and knees do nothing to hide the triple rows of brown lines on her arms and legs. Ignoring all others present, Coral immediately gravitates to the prettiest person in the room.