A Tale of Shadows

Death

Azriel woke with a start her heart racing in her chest, another nightmare. What was it this time? Azriel struggled to recall the dream drawing nothing but blanks. She groaned looking at the purple alarm on the night stand it was only 4 in the morning, she could never sleep for long it seemed however lately she was sleeping less and less.
   Rising out of bed knowing that sleep was once more distant Azriel blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She heard a clank downstairs from the kitchen, probably her mother stumbling back from another late shift at the diner down the road. Speaking of which Azriel needed to talk to her mother and... No she would not. Her mother had enough problems as it was with work she didn't need to worry about the attacks it wasn't too bad and kids are sometimes too stupid for their own good anyways they weren't dangerous just a pest.
    Sighing, and stretching again Azriel left the warm comfort of her blankets and stood in front of the mirror on her closet door to see if her hair had behaved or if it was its normal mess. Face if her self Azriel was quite surprised, her hair for the most part had remained in the long braid that rested down her spine. Azriel had long thick dark brown hair with hints of purple at the tips and some streaks of purple through the under layers as well. Looking at her face Azriel was amazed to see that she had no dark circles from the lack of sleep and it still seemed as if there was a heathy illuminating glow beneath her skin. She blinked the big green eyes in the mirror mimicked her movement, she might as well get ready for the day. Opening her dresser she pulled out solid black fishnets and a sock with bats and another sock that was neon green. Azriel hated matching socks and if to tell the truth it drove her mom crazy. Azriel grinned, remembering the time she ran home from school during 6th grade and proudly pronounced that mismatched socks was a way that autism awareness could be promoted, her mother sighed and replied no one is going to know that from looking at socks. Her mom never complained again but Azriel knew it bugged her mother.
   Closing the drawer after grabbing what she needed she then skipped happily over to her closet pulling the door to the small room open. She ran her hands across the different fabrics. She had made most of these herself, repurposing different thrifts and making her own modifications so that she could have cloths more flattering to her short and curved frame and style that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Grabbing a pair of black ripped pants and a medieval styled black shirt edged with purple lace that clung at the top and flowed out, Azriel closed the door and made way for the bathroom.
   ***
After finishing her shower Azriel took to quietly blow drying her hip length hair, it was a good thing she often had the dry her hair this way or else her arms would have been falling off by the time she had finished. Now with her hair dry and being completely dressed Azriel pulled half of her hair back with little braids and then strung a few more little braids through the rest of ther hair that hung straight and loosely around her. Finishing her look with winged eyeliner and liner on her lash line she checked one last time to make sure her eyes where even she could never get it perfect, oh well no one would know it was just barely off, she opened the door to hunt for some coffee.
Walking quietly down the hall and creeping down the stairs carefully to avoid waking her mom she silently slid into the kitchen without even a whispered noise to alert any to her presence. Finally arriving at her destination the coffee pot, Azriel opened the freezer to pull out the coffee grounds and after placing the container on the counter she then went about fixing a pot of coffee blessed goodness.
While waiting for the old pot to brew the coffee that kept her sane she filled a glass of water from the sink and made her way over to the window by the back door where her precious herb garden of basil, parsley, and oregano grew watering the plants gently. After watering her plants and fixing a cup of coffee Azriel silently crept up the stairs once more and back to her room holding the cup with light fingers basking in the heat her hands where warmed with, taking an occasional sip.
She set the coffee aside once entering the room, there was a since of foreboding on the air. She needed a reading, but how? One should never look to their own future, not only was it bad luck it could be dangerous as well. Lightly Azriel skimmed her fingers over the deck of tarot cards, the same cards she had for years now. Azriel shook her head no she would not risk anything especially during this time. She was a senior and soon she would graduate she didn't need anything or anyone to jinks her and not with the attacks.
Azriel lived in a small conservative town in Texas, they did not like outsiders and the entire community shunned her calling her a witch. They hatted her because she was different and they where afraid. Recently she was getting treats and she had been attached twice this month on her way home from school. The community was so small and tight knit Azriel almost wondered if her mom had heard about what had happened and quickly set the thought aside her mother would never wish harm to her. Caught in thought Azriel moved away from the cards and as she looked back she saw a card that had slid out of place and fell to the ground. Looking down Azriel grabbed the lose card and behold... it was Death.

I know it's slow starting, but the story will develop and be action packed enough I do not own any Tolkien characters.