Categories > Original > Fantasy > The Price of Sweet Survival
Ch. 1: The surprise
1 reviewRaising a child may be hard, but when he has mysterious powers that you can't even fathom, how are you supposed to deal? And to top it all off, one of Autumn's best friends and secret crush, is get...
-1Illiterate
The Price of Sweet Survival
Written by: Autumn Keller
Rating: NC-17 for sexual content and language
Rights to all characters credited to either Arica Seany, Anthony Seany, Jasmine Dawes, or me (This is my story and it doesn't necesecarily convey the true personality of all of the characters as the creators have made them)
Ch. 1: The surprise
Ch. rated PG 13 for language
42 paragraphs
"Mommy? Can I go play with Amy by the swings?" A young, black haired, hazel eyed Dragon-oid asked his mother as he pointed at a little blonde haired Dragon-oid on a swing. "Yes Satoma, go play." she replied tiredly. "What's wrong Autumn? You look like you haven't slept in days." A sandy haired woman said, sitting beside Autumn on the park bench. "It's a lot of things, Candy. Satoma's just coming into his powers, which are going to be hard for him to control. I don't know which of my powers he'll have, if any. Hell, he might have them all, and even some I don't know about. I don't know all of the powers Dragon-oids can have, but I know he can transform...I've seen it first-hand when I tried to make him go to bed the other day. Let's just say I need a new television. In addition to all of this, he has been, as of late, staying up all night and keeping me up with him, yet the lack of sleep hasn't affected him in the least." she said, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"Well, it's just something you'll have to get through. I went through it with Amy about a year ago. It'll only last a few days...it's because his new powers are revealing themselves and his body need's a lot of energy to deal with the strain of newly developing abilities. And I might be taking a shot in the dark, but he's eating about 5 times as much as he normally would in a day, isn't he?" Candy asked, smiling. "Yeah, he's eating me out of house and home. In fact, I have to go to the grocery store after we're done here." she grumbled, thinking about her almost empty cupboards and fridge.
"Well, it's normal for Dragon-oids, even halflings, to go through this. It's happens a week after they turn 5 years of age. How long has this been going on?" she inquired, looking at the young ones play. " 3 days and it's driving me mad!" Autumn exclaimed, letting her head fall back in a silent exasperated sigh. "Well, if my theory is correct, he should be fine by tommorow. Dragon-oids aren't all the same, as you can imagine, but Amy's energy boost lasted only 4 days. It's could be different for males, but if he falls asleep by tonight, let me know at work tommorow when you come in. If my theory is correct, he'll be out like a light at the stroke of midnight tonight." Candy said, laughing at the relieved sigh that escaped Autumn's lips.
"I'm gonna trust that he'll be out by tonight then. You've studied Dragon-oids for years and I know you're pretty knowledgeble about them. You haven't steered me wrong so far." Autumn said, wiping some sweat from her forehead. She looked at her watch and said "Satoma! Let's go to the store!" He jumped off the swing, said bye to Amy, and raced after her towards her car. "Bye Candy! See you at work!" She shouted back to her, getting into her car right after her son took his place in the passenger seat.
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"Mommy! Someone's at the door!" Autumn heard her son say as she turned the knobs and shut the shower off. "Perfect timing." she grumbled sarcastically as she wrapped herself in a towel and opened the bathroom door. She heard the person knock a few times and then stop. She walked to the door and when she looked out the peephole, it wasn't anyone she had recognized. It was a blonde man dressed in preppy clothes holding up something she couldn't quite make out.
She opened the door and he stepped inside like he owned the place. "Ummmmm...hi. You left this at the grocery store, and I figured you'd have wanted it back." he said, holding up a small, black, leather purse. "Oh, thanks." she said gratefully, reaching for the purse. He held it back out of her reach. "Hold on a second. I think I should get some kind of reward for returning this." he said, smiling at her. "You probably already took all the money out of it." she said indignantly. "Who said I wanted money?" he asked, looking at her with an interest. Her heartbeat quickened as he said this.
She took a step back and grabbed a vase off an end stand table near the door. "Get out of here now." she said in a low voice, not wanting to alert her son to the sudden danger. "Go play in your bedroom honey." she added, listening to her son's foot steps and they went down the hallway. The man waited untill he heard the child's bedroom door close, then he said "I think you have the wrong idea. I just want a date. That's all."
"A...date?" she asked, a dumbfounded look on her face. "Yeah. Now can you please put that vase down so we can have a calm, non-violent introduction?" he asked, eyeing the vase in her hands catiously. She finally put it down, stepping aside and saying "Come in. Have a seat." He obliged, sitting in the recliner closest to the door. She sat on the couch that was closest to the recliner and he held his hand out. She shook it and he said "Hi. My name is Aaron. I know yours already because I had to look at your driver's licence to find out where you lived." "Not exactly a normal introduction." she laughed, letting go of his hand.
"So how about it? Friday, around 7?" he asked. "Huh? She looked confused for a minute. "Oh,ummm...i dunno. Wait. Aren't you put off in the least that I have a son? And how do you know I don't have a boyfriend?" she asked suspiciously. "Well, for one, I love kids; Not in a gross way, mind you; and for another, your house is too feminine. Either you don't have one or he's gay. Besides the fact that I can win any woman's heart, I could scare him off in an instant. If you do have one, he's been whipped and he's probably a pussy." the man said, laughing.
"Okay, first of all, no, I don't have a boyfriend, and this is why. Because of arrogant jerks like you who think they can have any woman they want, when in reality, you probably have play-boy magazines under your bed that you beat off to every night because you can't get a date! And what is with the preppy look?" she said, her face turning red from anger.
"I like this look, thank you very much! And you're one to talk about clothing. Do you always answer the door in a towel, or is this a special occasion? And by the way, I've had plenty of dates, thank you very much." he said, looking at her still driping wet, sitting on her couch in a towel. Her face turned even more red, if that was possible, from embarrasment. ' I can't believe I'm still in a towel! ' she silently scolded herself, getting up to dress.
"So how about it?" he asked her as if they had not just exchanged a flurry of angry words. "Okay." she said finally after thinking for a minute. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get dressed." she said, hurrying to her bedroom. He laughed slightly as he watched her race down the hallway. As she got into her bedroom and closed the door, she rested her back against the cool wood and tried to ponder her current situation. Today was Wednesday, which ment she had 2 days to find a baby sitter for Satoma, figure out what she was going to wear, and find someone trustworthy enough to guard the Demon Heart while she was away.
She'd usually always had it close to her for protection, but she couldn't take it with her in case any demon, youkai, or fallen angel were to see it; they would not hesitate to come after her and anyone around her. She was convinced that the man in the livingroom was human. And good as far as that definition went. He most certainly wasn't evil, but she wasn't about to go showing the valuable pendant to him either. He would let his tongue slip at one time or another and demons, youkai and fallen angels would be after her again. That is the main reason she never shows her real face when in a battle. She has no need to mask her aura, however, because very few demons can sense it. Youkai can, but only to an extent. Angels, fallen or not, cannot.
She moved to get dressed and stopped when she noticed that her room looked like a hurricane had hit it. Clothes were scattered everywhere, her pillows were halfway across the room, her matress was actually flipped half-assed off the frame. Her window was locked so she hurried and slipped some panties and a nighty on to go question her son. She went into his bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Satoma? Have you been in mommy's room?" she asked as her son played with his toy cars on the floor. "No mommy." he answered, continuing to play. "I won't be mad. Now tell me; were you in mommy's room today?" she questioned the boy again.
"No mommy. I listened when you told me I'm not allowed in there. I'm a good boy." he said, still playing. "Okay, thank you honey. Now stay in here and play for a while longer and I'll make you a treat later." she said, rushing back into her room and closing the door. She didn't know why she'd bothered looking, because she couldn't sense it anywhere in the house; but she rushed to her dresser anyway, looking in the back right corner of the bottom drawer, and sure enough the Demon Heart was gone. Maybe she was hoping that the pendant had learned to hide it's aura. Either way, she was wrong and she felt her stomach tighten as she stared in disbelief at the empty drawer. How had an evil prescence gotten past her without her noticing it?
She heard a knock at the door, and Aaron's voice asked "Are you okay in there? I saw you go into your son's room and leave it with a panicked look on your face. Is he okay? Did something happen to him?" "Everything's fine. I thought I lost something important, but I found it." she answered in a partial lie. "Okay, are you dressed then. I'm getting kinda bored out here." he said, walking back out into the livingroom. She rolled her eyes, her annoyance overriding her fear for a few seconds before the fear kicked back in.
She picked up her bedroom cordless and dialed Candy's number in. It rang a few times and she picked up. "It's Autumn. Are you busy right now?" she asked, the panic apparent in her voice. "No, I'm not. What's wrong? Did something happen to Satoma?" Candy questioned from the other end of the line. "No...Candy..." she started, feeling the rest of the words stick in her throat. "What? You have to tell me what's going on so I can help." Candy said, urging her on.
"The Demon Heart...it's been stolen." Autumn finished, breathing heavily. "Are you sure? Maybe Satoma got ahold of it and is playing with it as we speak." Candy said, trying to calm her down. "No, it isn't anywhere in the house. I would be able to sense it's aura." Autumn said, her panic rising. "How could anything have gotten past you? What were you doing?" Candy asked, trying to stay calm herself. "I was in the shower, and I guess I was distracted. I was thinking about...well...that doesn't matter. The point is, I was distracted. I was only distracted enough for the pendant to have been moved though. I know I would've sensed an evil presence. I can sense that in my sleep." Autumn said, trying to calm herself down as well.
"I have a theory. You said Satoma's powers are just starting to appear, and you don't know what all of them are. Maybe he's a conjureor. He could have subconciously conjured it from your room and maybe it's being hidden by another one of his powers. He might have the power to hide auras as well, so it could be in his room somewhere and you just can't sense it." Candy said, feeling proud of herself. "I don't think so. If that were the case, my room wouldn't look like such a wreck. It looks like a hurricane just came through here. My matress is flipped half-assed off the frame." Autumn said, calming down, and thinking ' I can look for it tommorrow.'
"I thought your room was always a mess. It doesn't sound that different from the last time I saw it." Candy joked. "Shut up." Autumn said playfully, adding "I won't be coming in tommorow or Friday. When you close up tommorow, make sure to leave enough money to start the next day, and lock the rest up in your home safe. I'll pick my share up friday morning. I'll come over before you have to go to work." "Okay. Call me if you find the pendant. Bye." Candy said, waiting for the customary reply. "I will, bye." Autumn said, hanging up the phone.
' I guess the pendant will have to wait because I can't find a baby sitter right this minute; I'll just have to wait untill tommorow. I hope nothing really bad happens.' she thought, a nervous knot still in her stomach. She left her room and by the time she got out into the livingroom, Aaron was on his cell talking to someone. "Yeah. I know right! Oh, I'll call you back later dude. My girl just got done getting dressed." he said, looking at Autumn as he listened to the reply from his friend. "Shut up! I said I'll call back." he said, and with that he hung up
"Your girl?" Autumn asked him, raising her eyebrows. "Well, you agreed to a date, so that makes you my girl." he said arrogantly. "I agreed to one date. That doesn't make me your girlfriend!" Autumn said loudly, crossing her arms. He snickered silently. "Okay...what ever you say. Anyway...I think it's about time I get going." He said, getting up and heading toward the door. "You'll look pretty strange carrying that around, wouldn't you think?" she asked, pointing at the purse and smirking. "Very funny." he said, making no move to hand it to her as she walked over to him.
She reached up to grab it from him and he held it away from her as he did earlier. He pulled her into a kiss, and she smacked him when she got free. "You pig!" she yelled, snatching her purse and shoving him out the door. She locked the door when she got it closed and what made her even more angry was the fact that she could hear him laughing as he walked away. Her anger didn't cool untill she saw the little silver flip phone sitting in her recliner. His cell phone. A devilish grin crossed her face.
Autumn waited an for hour after Aaron had left and pressed the redial button, snickering to herself before someone answered. A man's voice said "Hello?" "Hi, this is Aaron's sister." Autumn said, waiting for a response. "Okay, cool. I didn't even know he had a sister. What's up?" he asked, turning down some music he had playing. Autumn snickerd silently, but regained her composure. "I was just looking for Aaron. He left his cell phone here and his boyfriend called about thier wedding plans. I can't get ahold of Aaron because I'd forgotten his house number and this number happened to be on his contacts list, so I figured I'd try it. Is he there?" she asked as seriously as she could.
The other end of the line went silent for a moment, but then she heard a loud "HE'S GETTING MARRIED? TO A GUY? ARE YOU SERIOUS? I KNEW IT! I FUCKIN KNEW IT! HA HA HA! WAIT UNTIL I TELL THE GUYS ABOUT THIS! OH MY GOD! HE'S GONNA BE BAGGED ON FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE! HA HA HA! I FUCKIN KNEW HE WAS GAY" "Oh, maybe I shouldn't have told you that." Autumn said, sounding innocent. She was suffering from silent fits of laughter as she waited for another response. "Come in!" she heard another man on the other end of the line yell. "Hey Aaron! What's up? Your sister's on the phone! She told us the big news!" the man on the phone yelled to him. "Shit!" Autumn said, hanging up the phone quickly.
She looked at the clock. It was already past midnight now. She dropped the phone back onto the recliner. She then went back to check on Satoma and he was asleep on his floor. Thank god. One of Candy's theories had come through for her again. She smiled and picked him up, laying him on his bed. She brushed the hair out of his face, tucked him in, and checked every window and door in the house to make sure they were closed and locked. When she was satisfied, she went into her own room to fix at least her matress for now and get a well deserved rest. She'd clean her wreck of a room tommorrow after she found a baby sitter for her son and found the Demon Heart.
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Autumn bolted upright in her bed. 'The Demon Heart! I sense it!' she thought, glancing at the clock. 'Three o clock in the morning? Give me a break!' she thought angrily, swinging her feet over the side of the bed. Suddenly, she felt a cool breeze, which was strange enough considering all the doors and windows in the house were locked. A sound behind her made her jump, but when she turned to see what it was, nothing. No demon, no human...no intruder of any kind. She knew she sensed the Demon Heart, but she couldn't pinpoint it. She opened her door and tiptoed into the livingroom to see if she could find the source of the energy.
She was wrong. It wasn't the Demon Heart she'd sensed. It was something much more powerful. She heard a pan fall in the kitchen and raced to the doorway. To her astonishment, it was her son. He had a red aura about him, not unlike the pendant's. A wind seemed to whip around him and he didn't seem to notice anything. The whirling wind around him, nor the floating aura that permeated the air thickly with the smell of blood.
"Mommy...I'm hungry." he said, his wind suddenly whipping at the fridge. "Okay. I'll find you something to snack on." she said, opening the fridge. She grabbed out a container that had a left over piece of strawberry shortcake in it, grabbed a plate and a fork, and sat both the snack and her son at the table. She scooped the short cake onto the small plate, and as soon as he took a bite, the wind at first calmed down, then stopped altogether.
' Wind? So that's what happened! Or at least, it could have been.' she thought. She was finally starting to realize that Candy may have been right afterall. "Is she ever wrong?" Autumn grumbled quietly. "Huh?" Satoma asked, looking at his mother. "Nothing honey. Eat your snack." Autumn said, wondering where the pendant could possibly be. "Mommy. I'm sorry..." Satoma said, looking down at his lap. 'uh oh...what'd he do? He does that everytime he's about to tell me he did something bad.' Autumn thought.
"For what?" she asked, dreading the answer. 'Please don't say you filled the bath tub with sand again.' she prayed silently. "I took this outta your room. It was pretty and you never let me touch it and I wanted to." Satoma said, holding out the pendant. Autumn stared at it in disbelief. It was right in front of her the whole time and she had't noticed. She still couldn't sense it, though it sat right before her. It's aura had disappeared and so had her son's. This could mean only two things. Either both he and the pendant were dead, or her son unwittingly had the ability to hide his and others' auras. He obviously was not dead, and a pendant can't be dead though it is alive in a sense.
She got up and hugged him tightly, sighing, laughing, and trying not to cry at the same time. It would have been disasterous had it fallen into the hands of a demon or fallen angel. "Mommy? What's wrong?" Satoma asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Nothing honey. Now that you're done with your snack, it's bed time again." she said, picking her son up and bringing him into his bedroom. She'd clean up the dishes tommorow. She layed him down on his bed, gently taking the pendant from him and kissing him goodnight. "I...love you mommy." he said, a yawn interrupting the sentence. "I love you too." she replied, putting the pendant around her neck, where it was the safest, plopping back down on her bed, and drifting back off into a dreamless, restfull sleep.
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"You were right." Autumn said as soon as Candy answered the phone. "I know. Wait...about what?" Candy asked, sounding as if she had just awkened. "About Satoma having the pendant. He just handed it to me at around 3 this morning. I thought I sensed it so I woke up. He was in the kitchen and the weird thing is, his aura is almost exactly the same as the one resonating around the Demon Heart. The only difference is, his has a smell." Autumn said, trying to remember what exactly it smelled like. "See, my theories are always right. And did you say his aura had a smell? What did it smell like?" she asked, sounding interested. "Your theory was only partially right though. He went into my room and got it; and yes. It had a smell. It kinda smelled like blood. I have no idea why." Autumn replied, thinking about it.
"That's odd. Auras don't usually have a smell. Are you sure it was his aura that smelled like that and not some raw meat you have in the fridge or something?" Candy asked, thinking as well. "Huh? Oh, no. He's able to hide his aura and when he hid it, the smell of blood went away." Autumn said, scratching her head. "This does not bode well. It could mean many different things when one's aura smells like blood." Candy said, sounding disturbed. "Like what?" Autumn asked, thinking of what she thought it could mean. "It could mean that person has blood on his or her hands; in other words, they have killed someone. Or it could mean they, or part of them has murderous intentions. Like I said. It doesn't bode well. Maybe the blood smell was coming from the pendant itself. In that case the one who owned the pendant before you could have had the intent to kill someone or they already had killed someone." Candy said, still sounding disturbed.
"Well, I don't want to delve too deep into this. I don't need anymore distractions in my life right now." Autumn said, giving up her deep thought on the pendant. "Okay, we'll try to figure it out when you have the time." Candy said, yawning. "Oh, and can you babysit for me tommorow...and possibly watch over the pendant too?" Autumn asked in a sweet tone. "So that's why you sound distracted. You have a boyfriend you didn't tell me about. Why didn't you tell me?" Candy asked, barely holding back a huge grin that threatened to crack her face. "He's not a boyfriend, but I am going on a date with him. How did you know it was a guy anyway?" she asked, wondering if Candy was psychic. "Oh please. You've sounded distracted ever since you talked to me last night. You talked to me as if your mind was somewhere else completly. You were concentrating on the conversation, but your voice sounded far away...almost like talking in your sleep. You sound better now, though." Candy said, reassuring her. "Yeah, sorry about that. But anyway, will you?" Autumn asked. "Huh? Oh sure. I'll watch Satoma and the pendant, but only on one condition; you have to tell me his name." Candy said, her voice practically oozing curiosity.
"Aaron." Autumn replied shortly. "Cool. Well, I have to get back to work now. The regulars are coming in and I can't disappoint them." Candy replied, hanging up before Autumn could say her goodbye. "Bye." Autumn said to no one in particular as she hung up the phone. ' I can't remember the last time I went into work...but at least I can't be fired. That's just one of the advantages to being your own boss.' she thought, sighing. "Look mommy! I made a big sand bath!" Satoma said, showing the huge cheese smile that he always cracked when he was truly proud of himself. She looked up, and sure enough, the bathtub was, once again, filled with sand. ' How did he get all this in here without me noticing?!? ' she asked herself silently. She stared open-mouthed at the new sand box her son added to the only bathroom in the house. "Satoma Jeremy Ouji! You get all of this sand back outside right now!" Autumn yelled, trying to calm down.
Satoma sulked. His mother only used his full name when she was really mad. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but he blinked them away before she could see. He set to work getting the sand back outside, staying silent untill she left the room. He let the tears roll freely down his cheeks when he knew he was alone. He didn't understand. He thought his mommy would be proud of him. ' Is it because I took that pretty necklace outta mommy's room? I said sorry.' he thought, fresh tears rolling down his face. He got it done within an hour and he went right to his room when he was done. He ignored his mommy for the rest of the day.
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Autumn sighed as she brought a dinner tray to her son's bedroom door. She knocked lightly, and Satoma said "Come in.". Autumn could here him making car noises. ' He loves his cars.' Autumn thought, opening the door and bringing the tray to him. "I thought you might be hungry. I made you some dinner. Here." she said, placing the tray next to him on the floor. "I'm not hungry." he said, pouting. "Not even for a slice of pizza and some doritos?" Autumn asked him, seeing his ears perk up slightly. "Okay. I'll eat." He said, digging in right away. Autumn chuckled and walked out the door. She heard a knock at the door. She then looked out the peep hole. It was Aaron. Autumn smirked and wiped it away before opening the door. "Hey. Can I come in?" he asked, sitting on her couch as she stepped aside to let him in.
"Can I have my phone back?" he asked when she shut the door. "Okay." she said. blushing and handing it to him. Autumn waited to see what he would say about the phone call. He stayed silent and he finally asked " That's a pretty cool pendant. Where'd you get it?" Aaron asked, looking at the metal, two headed snake that was wraped around a small red orb about the size of a golf ball. "Out of state. I...went to...ummmmmm...Mexico." she said, just saying the first thing that came to mind. "That would be out of country, not out of state." he said, looking at her increduously.
"Oh, same thing." she said, waving it away. He looked confued, but he shook it away. "Hey. About that phone call you made to my friend the other day." he said, pausing to think of what to say. ' Uh oh. Here it comes.' she thought, figuring he'd yell at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it, staying silent. Then, he finally spoke up. "Why did you say you were my sister, and how do you know I'm getting married?" he asked, trying to stay calm. "You...you're really getting married?!?" she asked, suddenly very mad. "Well...ummm...yeah..." he said, laughing nervously.
"Oh getting sick of your fiance already so you have another girl on the side?!? How dare you! What do you take me for?!? An idiot?!? How dare you make me a part of this?!? I have enough problems already, thank you very much!" she said, her face getting red. He looked down at his lap, apparently speechless. "Argh! At least answer me!" Autumn cried, practically ripping her hair out. The words were stuck in his mouth. He stayed silent for another minute, sighed, and slowly started with a "Well...", and went silent again. A knock at the door inturrupted the awkward silence. She opened it and said "Oh, hi Cal. Come on in." Calvin stepped inside and noticed Aaron, who was wiping sweat away from his forehead. " Aaron? What are you doing here, and how do you know Autumn?" he asked, his eyes burning with curiosity. Calvin gave Autumn a quick hug and Aaron failed to speak up.
"How do you know Aaron, Cal?" Autumn asked, looking at the school girl outfit he wore and smiling as Calvin played with his bangs absent mindedly. "He's my fiance! Didn't I tell you? We're getting married!" Calvin said happily, twirling around and around excitedly. "Actually, you failed to mention it." Autumn said, sighing. "Well...let's go. I've got dinner going." Calvin said, taking Aaron by the hand. "Ummm...did you come over for something specific?" Autumn asked. "No. Just wanted to say hi and tell you the good news. Tell Satoma I said Hi too, won't you?" he asked, smiling as he hurried out the door with Aaron. "I will." she said out the door as she watched him run off. She closed and locked the door, trying to make sense of everything she just heard.
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A/N: I know, it seems egotistical to put yourself in a story, but I hope you like it and I'll get chapter two in here sometime soon.
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Written by: Autumn Keller
Rating: NC-17 for sexual content and language
Rights to all characters credited to either Arica Seany, Anthony Seany, Jasmine Dawes, or me (This is my story and it doesn't necesecarily convey the true personality of all of the characters as the creators have made them)
Ch. 1: The surprise
Ch. rated PG 13 for language
42 paragraphs
"Mommy? Can I go play with Amy by the swings?" A young, black haired, hazel eyed Dragon-oid asked his mother as he pointed at a little blonde haired Dragon-oid on a swing. "Yes Satoma, go play." she replied tiredly. "What's wrong Autumn? You look like you haven't slept in days." A sandy haired woman said, sitting beside Autumn on the park bench. "It's a lot of things, Candy. Satoma's just coming into his powers, which are going to be hard for him to control. I don't know which of my powers he'll have, if any. Hell, he might have them all, and even some I don't know about. I don't know all of the powers Dragon-oids can have, but I know he can transform...I've seen it first-hand when I tried to make him go to bed the other day. Let's just say I need a new television. In addition to all of this, he has been, as of late, staying up all night and keeping me up with him, yet the lack of sleep hasn't affected him in the least." she said, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"Well, it's just something you'll have to get through. I went through it with Amy about a year ago. It'll only last a few days...it's because his new powers are revealing themselves and his body need's a lot of energy to deal with the strain of newly developing abilities. And I might be taking a shot in the dark, but he's eating about 5 times as much as he normally would in a day, isn't he?" Candy asked, smiling. "Yeah, he's eating me out of house and home. In fact, I have to go to the grocery store after we're done here." she grumbled, thinking about her almost empty cupboards and fridge.
"Well, it's normal for Dragon-oids, even halflings, to go through this. It's happens a week after they turn 5 years of age. How long has this been going on?" she inquired, looking at the young ones play. " 3 days and it's driving me mad!" Autumn exclaimed, letting her head fall back in a silent exasperated sigh. "Well, if my theory is correct, he should be fine by tommorow. Dragon-oids aren't all the same, as you can imagine, but Amy's energy boost lasted only 4 days. It's could be different for males, but if he falls asleep by tonight, let me know at work tommorow when you come in. If my theory is correct, he'll be out like a light at the stroke of midnight tonight." Candy said, laughing at the relieved sigh that escaped Autumn's lips.
"I'm gonna trust that he'll be out by tonight then. You've studied Dragon-oids for years and I know you're pretty knowledgeble about them. You haven't steered me wrong so far." Autumn said, wiping some sweat from her forehead. She looked at her watch and said "Satoma! Let's go to the store!" He jumped off the swing, said bye to Amy, and raced after her towards her car. "Bye Candy! See you at work!" She shouted back to her, getting into her car right after her son took his place in the passenger seat.
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"Mommy! Someone's at the door!" Autumn heard her son say as she turned the knobs and shut the shower off. "Perfect timing." she grumbled sarcastically as she wrapped herself in a towel and opened the bathroom door. She heard the person knock a few times and then stop. She walked to the door and when she looked out the peephole, it wasn't anyone she had recognized. It was a blonde man dressed in preppy clothes holding up something she couldn't quite make out.
She opened the door and he stepped inside like he owned the place. "Ummmmm...hi. You left this at the grocery store, and I figured you'd have wanted it back." he said, holding up a small, black, leather purse. "Oh, thanks." she said gratefully, reaching for the purse. He held it back out of her reach. "Hold on a second. I think I should get some kind of reward for returning this." he said, smiling at her. "You probably already took all the money out of it." she said indignantly. "Who said I wanted money?" he asked, looking at her with an interest. Her heartbeat quickened as he said this.
She took a step back and grabbed a vase off an end stand table near the door. "Get out of here now." she said in a low voice, not wanting to alert her son to the sudden danger. "Go play in your bedroom honey." she added, listening to her son's foot steps and they went down the hallway. The man waited untill he heard the child's bedroom door close, then he said "I think you have the wrong idea. I just want a date. That's all."
"A...date?" she asked, a dumbfounded look on her face. "Yeah. Now can you please put that vase down so we can have a calm, non-violent introduction?" he asked, eyeing the vase in her hands catiously. She finally put it down, stepping aside and saying "Come in. Have a seat." He obliged, sitting in the recliner closest to the door. She sat on the couch that was closest to the recliner and he held his hand out. She shook it and he said "Hi. My name is Aaron. I know yours already because I had to look at your driver's licence to find out where you lived." "Not exactly a normal introduction." she laughed, letting go of his hand.
"So how about it? Friday, around 7?" he asked. "Huh? She looked confused for a minute. "Oh,ummm...i dunno. Wait. Aren't you put off in the least that I have a son? And how do you know I don't have a boyfriend?" she asked suspiciously. "Well, for one, I love kids; Not in a gross way, mind you; and for another, your house is too feminine. Either you don't have one or he's gay. Besides the fact that I can win any woman's heart, I could scare him off in an instant. If you do have one, he's been whipped and he's probably a pussy." the man said, laughing.
"Okay, first of all, no, I don't have a boyfriend, and this is why. Because of arrogant jerks like you who think they can have any woman they want, when in reality, you probably have play-boy magazines under your bed that you beat off to every night because you can't get a date! And what is with the preppy look?" she said, her face turning red from anger.
"I like this look, thank you very much! And you're one to talk about clothing. Do you always answer the door in a towel, or is this a special occasion? And by the way, I've had plenty of dates, thank you very much." he said, looking at her still driping wet, sitting on her couch in a towel. Her face turned even more red, if that was possible, from embarrasment. ' I can't believe I'm still in a towel! ' she silently scolded herself, getting up to dress.
"So how about it?" he asked her as if they had not just exchanged a flurry of angry words. "Okay." she said finally after thinking for a minute. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get dressed." she said, hurrying to her bedroom. He laughed slightly as he watched her race down the hallway. As she got into her bedroom and closed the door, she rested her back against the cool wood and tried to ponder her current situation. Today was Wednesday, which ment she had 2 days to find a baby sitter for Satoma, figure out what she was going to wear, and find someone trustworthy enough to guard the Demon Heart while she was away.
She'd usually always had it close to her for protection, but she couldn't take it with her in case any demon, youkai, or fallen angel were to see it; they would not hesitate to come after her and anyone around her. She was convinced that the man in the livingroom was human. And good as far as that definition went. He most certainly wasn't evil, but she wasn't about to go showing the valuable pendant to him either. He would let his tongue slip at one time or another and demons, youkai and fallen angels would be after her again. That is the main reason she never shows her real face when in a battle. She has no need to mask her aura, however, because very few demons can sense it. Youkai can, but only to an extent. Angels, fallen or not, cannot.
She moved to get dressed and stopped when she noticed that her room looked like a hurricane had hit it. Clothes were scattered everywhere, her pillows were halfway across the room, her matress was actually flipped half-assed off the frame. Her window was locked so she hurried and slipped some panties and a nighty on to go question her son. She went into his bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Satoma? Have you been in mommy's room?" she asked as her son played with his toy cars on the floor. "No mommy." he answered, continuing to play. "I won't be mad. Now tell me; were you in mommy's room today?" she questioned the boy again.
"No mommy. I listened when you told me I'm not allowed in there. I'm a good boy." he said, still playing. "Okay, thank you honey. Now stay in here and play for a while longer and I'll make you a treat later." she said, rushing back into her room and closing the door. She didn't know why she'd bothered looking, because she couldn't sense it anywhere in the house; but she rushed to her dresser anyway, looking in the back right corner of the bottom drawer, and sure enough the Demon Heart was gone. Maybe she was hoping that the pendant had learned to hide it's aura. Either way, she was wrong and she felt her stomach tighten as she stared in disbelief at the empty drawer. How had an evil prescence gotten past her without her noticing it?
She heard a knock at the door, and Aaron's voice asked "Are you okay in there? I saw you go into your son's room and leave it with a panicked look on your face. Is he okay? Did something happen to him?" "Everything's fine. I thought I lost something important, but I found it." she answered in a partial lie. "Okay, are you dressed then. I'm getting kinda bored out here." he said, walking back out into the livingroom. She rolled her eyes, her annoyance overriding her fear for a few seconds before the fear kicked back in.
She picked up her bedroom cordless and dialed Candy's number in. It rang a few times and she picked up. "It's Autumn. Are you busy right now?" she asked, the panic apparent in her voice. "No, I'm not. What's wrong? Did something happen to Satoma?" Candy questioned from the other end of the line. "No...Candy..." she started, feeling the rest of the words stick in her throat. "What? You have to tell me what's going on so I can help." Candy said, urging her on.
"The Demon Heart...it's been stolen." Autumn finished, breathing heavily. "Are you sure? Maybe Satoma got ahold of it and is playing with it as we speak." Candy said, trying to calm her down. "No, it isn't anywhere in the house. I would be able to sense it's aura." Autumn said, her panic rising. "How could anything have gotten past you? What were you doing?" Candy asked, trying to stay calm herself. "I was in the shower, and I guess I was distracted. I was thinking about...well...that doesn't matter. The point is, I was distracted. I was only distracted enough for the pendant to have been moved though. I know I would've sensed an evil presence. I can sense that in my sleep." Autumn said, trying to calm herself down as well.
"I have a theory. You said Satoma's powers are just starting to appear, and you don't know what all of them are. Maybe he's a conjureor. He could have subconciously conjured it from your room and maybe it's being hidden by another one of his powers. He might have the power to hide auras as well, so it could be in his room somewhere and you just can't sense it." Candy said, feeling proud of herself. "I don't think so. If that were the case, my room wouldn't look like such a wreck. It looks like a hurricane just came through here. My matress is flipped half-assed off the frame." Autumn said, calming down, and thinking ' I can look for it tommorrow.'
"I thought your room was always a mess. It doesn't sound that different from the last time I saw it." Candy joked. "Shut up." Autumn said playfully, adding "I won't be coming in tommorow or Friday. When you close up tommorow, make sure to leave enough money to start the next day, and lock the rest up in your home safe. I'll pick my share up friday morning. I'll come over before you have to go to work." "Okay. Call me if you find the pendant. Bye." Candy said, waiting for the customary reply. "I will, bye." Autumn said, hanging up the phone.
' I guess the pendant will have to wait because I can't find a baby sitter right this minute; I'll just have to wait untill tommorow. I hope nothing really bad happens.' she thought, a nervous knot still in her stomach. She left her room and by the time she got out into the livingroom, Aaron was on his cell talking to someone. "Yeah. I know right! Oh, I'll call you back later dude. My girl just got done getting dressed." he said, looking at Autumn as he listened to the reply from his friend. "Shut up! I said I'll call back." he said, and with that he hung up
"Your girl?" Autumn asked him, raising her eyebrows. "Well, you agreed to a date, so that makes you my girl." he said arrogantly. "I agreed to one date. That doesn't make me your girlfriend!" Autumn said loudly, crossing her arms. He snickered silently. "Okay...what ever you say. Anyway...I think it's about time I get going." He said, getting up and heading toward the door. "You'll look pretty strange carrying that around, wouldn't you think?" she asked, pointing at the purse and smirking. "Very funny." he said, making no move to hand it to her as she walked over to him.
She reached up to grab it from him and he held it away from her as he did earlier. He pulled her into a kiss, and she smacked him when she got free. "You pig!" she yelled, snatching her purse and shoving him out the door. She locked the door when she got it closed and what made her even more angry was the fact that she could hear him laughing as he walked away. Her anger didn't cool untill she saw the little silver flip phone sitting in her recliner. His cell phone. A devilish grin crossed her face.
Autumn waited an for hour after Aaron had left and pressed the redial button, snickering to herself before someone answered. A man's voice said "Hello?" "Hi, this is Aaron's sister." Autumn said, waiting for a response. "Okay, cool. I didn't even know he had a sister. What's up?" he asked, turning down some music he had playing. Autumn snickerd silently, but regained her composure. "I was just looking for Aaron. He left his cell phone here and his boyfriend called about thier wedding plans. I can't get ahold of Aaron because I'd forgotten his house number and this number happened to be on his contacts list, so I figured I'd try it. Is he there?" she asked as seriously as she could.
The other end of the line went silent for a moment, but then she heard a loud "HE'S GETTING MARRIED? TO A GUY? ARE YOU SERIOUS? I KNEW IT! I FUCKIN KNEW IT! HA HA HA! WAIT UNTIL I TELL THE GUYS ABOUT THIS! OH MY GOD! HE'S GONNA BE BAGGED ON FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE! HA HA HA! I FUCKIN KNEW HE WAS GAY" "Oh, maybe I shouldn't have told you that." Autumn said, sounding innocent. She was suffering from silent fits of laughter as she waited for another response. "Come in!" she heard another man on the other end of the line yell. "Hey Aaron! What's up? Your sister's on the phone! She told us the big news!" the man on the phone yelled to him. "Shit!" Autumn said, hanging up the phone quickly.
She looked at the clock. It was already past midnight now. She dropped the phone back onto the recliner. She then went back to check on Satoma and he was asleep on his floor. Thank god. One of Candy's theories had come through for her again. She smiled and picked him up, laying him on his bed. She brushed the hair out of his face, tucked him in, and checked every window and door in the house to make sure they were closed and locked. When she was satisfied, she went into her own room to fix at least her matress for now and get a well deserved rest. She'd clean her wreck of a room tommorrow after she found a baby sitter for her son and found the Demon Heart.
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Autumn bolted upright in her bed. 'The Demon Heart! I sense it!' she thought, glancing at the clock. 'Three o clock in the morning? Give me a break!' she thought angrily, swinging her feet over the side of the bed. Suddenly, she felt a cool breeze, which was strange enough considering all the doors and windows in the house were locked. A sound behind her made her jump, but when she turned to see what it was, nothing. No demon, no human...no intruder of any kind. She knew she sensed the Demon Heart, but she couldn't pinpoint it. She opened her door and tiptoed into the livingroom to see if she could find the source of the energy.
She was wrong. It wasn't the Demon Heart she'd sensed. It was something much more powerful. She heard a pan fall in the kitchen and raced to the doorway. To her astonishment, it was her son. He had a red aura about him, not unlike the pendant's. A wind seemed to whip around him and he didn't seem to notice anything. The whirling wind around him, nor the floating aura that permeated the air thickly with the smell of blood.
"Mommy...I'm hungry." he said, his wind suddenly whipping at the fridge. "Okay. I'll find you something to snack on." she said, opening the fridge. She grabbed out a container that had a left over piece of strawberry shortcake in it, grabbed a plate and a fork, and sat both the snack and her son at the table. She scooped the short cake onto the small plate, and as soon as he took a bite, the wind at first calmed down, then stopped altogether.
' Wind? So that's what happened! Or at least, it could have been.' she thought. She was finally starting to realize that Candy may have been right afterall. "Is she ever wrong?" Autumn grumbled quietly. "Huh?" Satoma asked, looking at his mother. "Nothing honey. Eat your snack." Autumn said, wondering where the pendant could possibly be. "Mommy. I'm sorry..." Satoma said, looking down at his lap. 'uh oh...what'd he do? He does that everytime he's about to tell me he did something bad.' Autumn thought.
"For what?" she asked, dreading the answer. 'Please don't say you filled the bath tub with sand again.' she prayed silently. "I took this outta your room. It was pretty and you never let me touch it and I wanted to." Satoma said, holding out the pendant. Autumn stared at it in disbelief. It was right in front of her the whole time and she had't noticed. She still couldn't sense it, though it sat right before her. It's aura had disappeared and so had her son's. This could mean only two things. Either both he and the pendant were dead, or her son unwittingly had the ability to hide his and others' auras. He obviously was not dead, and a pendant can't be dead though it is alive in a sense.
She got up and hugged him tightly, sighing, laughing, and trying not to cry at the same time. It would have been disasterous had it fallen into the hands of a demon or fallen angel. "Mommy? What's wrong?" Satoma asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Nothing honey. Now that you're done with your snack, it's bed time again." she said, picking her son up and bringing him into his bedroom. She'd clean up the dishes tommorow. She layed him down on his bed, gently taking the pendant from him and kissing him goodnight. "I...love you mommy." he said, a yawn interrupting the sentence. "I love you too." she replied, putting the pendant around her neck, where it was the safest, plopping back down on her bed, and drifting back off into a dreamless, restfull sleep.
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"You were right." Autumn said as soon as Candy answered the phone. "I know. Wait...about what?" Candy asked, sounding as if she had just awkened. "About Satoma having the pendant. He just handed it to me at around 3 this morning. I thought I sensed it so I woke up. He was in the kitchen and the weird thing is, his aura is almost exactly the same as the one resonating around the Demon Heart. The only difference is, his has a smell." Autumn said, trying to remember what exactly it smelled like. "See, my theories are always right. And did you say his aura had a smell? What did it smell like?" she asked, sounding interested. "Your theory was only partially right though. He went into my room and got it; and yes. It had a smell. It kinda smelled like blood. I have no idea why." Autumn replied, thinking about it.
"That's odd. Auras don't usually have a smell. Are you sure it was his aura that smelled like that and not some raw meat you have in the fridge or something?" Candy asked, thinking as well. "Huh? Oh, no. He's able to hide his aura and when he hid it, the smell of blood went away." Autumn said, scratching her head. "This does not bode well. It could mean many different things when one's aura smells like blood." Candy said, sounding disturbed. "Like what?" Autumn asked, thinking of what she thought it could mean. "It could mean that person has blood on his or her hands; in other words, they have killed someone. Or it could mean they, or part of them has murderous intentions. Like I said. It doesn't bode well. Maybe the blood smell was coming from the pendant itself. In that case the one who owned the pendant before you could have had the intent to kill someone or they already had killed someone." Candy said, still sounding disturbed.
"Well, I don't want to delve too deep into this. I don't need anymore distractions in my life right now." Autumn said, giving up her deep thought on the pendant. "Okay, we'll try to figure it out when you have the time." Candy said, yawning. "Oh, and can you babysit for me tommorow...and possibly watch over the pendant too?" Autumn asked in a sweet tone. "So that's why you sound distracted. You have a boyfriend you didn't tell me about. Why didn't you tell me?" Candy asked, barely holding back a huge grin that threatened to crack her face. "He's not a boyfriend, but I am going on a date with him. How did you know it was a guy anyway?" she asked, wondering if Candy was psychic. "Oh please. You've sounded distracted ever since you talked to me last night. You talked to me as if your mind was somewhere else completly. You were concentrating on the conversation, but your voice sounded far away...almost like talking in your sleep. You sound better now, though." Candy said, reassuring her. "Yeah, sorry about that. But anyway, will you?" Autumn asked. "Huh? Oh sure. I'll watch Satoma and the pendant, but only on one condition; you have to tell me his name." Candy said, her voice practically oozing curiosity.
"Aaron." Autumn replied shortly. "Cool. Well, I have to get back to work now. The regulars are coming in and I can't disappoint them." Candy replied, hanging up before Autumn could say her goodbye. "Bye." Autumn said to no one in particular as she hung up the phone. ' I can't remember the last time I went into work...but at least I can't be fired. That's just one of the advantages to being your own boss.' she thought, sighing. "Look mommy! I made a big sand bath!" Satoma said, showing the huge cheese smile that he always cracked when he was truly proud of himself. She looked up, and sure enough, the bathtub was, once again, filled with sand. ' How did he get all this in here without me noticing?!? ' she asked herself silently. She stared open-mouthed at the new sand box her son added to the only bathroom in the house. "Satoma Jeremy Ouji! You get all of this sand back outside right now!" Autumn yelled, trying to calm down.
Satoma sulked. His mother only used his full name when she was really mad. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but he blinked them away before she could see. He set to work getting the sand back outside, staying silent untill she left the room. He let the tears roll freely down his cheeks when he knew he was alone. He didn't understand. He thought his mommy would be proud of him. ' Is it because I took that pretty necklace outta mommy's room? I said sorry.' he thought, fresh tears rolling down his face. He got it done within an hour and he went right to his room when he was done. He ignored his mommy for the rest of the day.
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Autumn sighed as she brought a dinner tray to her son's bedroom door. She knocked lightly, and Satoma said "Come in.". Autumn could here him making car noises. ' He loves his cars.' Autumn thought, opening the door and bringing the tray to him. "I thought you might be hungry. I made you some dinner. Here." she said, placing the tray next to him on the floor. "I'm not hungry." he said, pouting. "Not even for a slice of pizza and some doritos?" Autumn asked him, seeing his ears perk up slightly. "Okay. I'll eat." He said, digging in right away. Autumn chuckled and walked out the door. She heard a knock at the door. She then looked out the peep hole. It was Aaron. Autumn smirked and wiped it away before opening the door. "Hey. Can I come in?" he asked, sitting on her couch as she stepped aside to let him in.
"Can I have my phone back?" he asked when she shut the door. "Okay." she said. blushing and handing it to him. Autumn waited to see what he would say about the phone call. He stayed silent and he finally asked " That's a pretty cool pendant. Where'd you get it?" Aaron asked, looking at the metal, two headed snake that was wraped around a small red orb about the size of a golf ball. "Out of state. I...went to...ummmmmm...Mexico." she said, just saying the first thing that came to mind. "That would be out of country, not out of state." he said, looking at her increduously.
"Oh, same thing." she said, waving it away. He looked confued, but he shook it away. "Hey. About that phone call you made to my friend the other day." he said, pausing to think of what to say. ' Uh oh. Here it comes.' she thought, figuring he'd yell at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it, staying silent. Then, he finally spoke up. "Why did you say you were my sister, and how do you know I'm getting married?" he asked, trying to stay calm. "You...you're really getting married?!?" she asked, suddenly very mad. "Well...ummm...yeah..." he said, laughing nervously.
"Oh getting sick of your fiance already so you have another girl on the side?!? How dare you! What do you take me for?!? An idiot?!? How dare you make me a part of this?!? I have enough problems already, thank you very much!" she said, her face getting red. He looked down at his lap, apparently speechless. "Argh! At least answer me!" Autumn cried, practically ripping her hair out. The words were stuck in his mouth. He stayed silent for another minute, sighed, and slowly started with a "Well...", and went silent again. A knock at the door inturrupted the awkward silence. She opened it and said "Oh, hi Cal. Come on in." Calvin stepped inside and noticed Aaron, who was wiping sweat away from his forehead. " Aaron? What are you doing here, and how do you know Autumn?" he asked, his eyes burning with curiosity. Calvin gave Autumn a quick hug and Aaron failed to speak up.
"How do you know Aaron, Cal?" Autumn asked, looking at the school girl outfit he wore and smiling as Calvin played with his bangs absent mindedly. "He's my fiance! Didn't I tell you? We're getting married!" Calvin said happily, twirling around and around excitedly. "Actually, you failed to mention it." Autumn said, sighing. "Well...let's go. I've got dinner going." Calvin said, taking Aaron by the hand. "Ummm...did you come over for something specific?" Autumn asked. "No. Just wanted to say hi and tell you the good news. Tell Satoma I said Hi too, won't you?" he asked, smiling as he hurried out the door with Aaron. "I will." she said out the door as she watched him run off. She closed and locked the door, trying to make sense of everything she just heard.
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A/N: I know, it seems egotistical to put yourself in a story, but I hope you like it and I'll get chapter two in here sometime soon.
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