Footsteps in the Snow

Soft music floated around the girl's head; she hummed a sweet tune, the notes drifting into the forest where they lost themselves among the towering trees. The atmosphere gave the feeling that anything could get lost in this place - and this girl was good at interpreting feelings.

She gazed absently into the forest, barely taking in the snow that coated the ground in a thin sheet, hardly noticing the haze that blurred her vision after just a few metres. It blended the trees together, merging them into a mysterious dark wall, giving the once-familiar forest an eerie and strange feeling.

She dropped her head, her long raven-black hair falling about her face, hiding her emerald green eyes from the world. One pale hand stroked the bark of the tree nearest, feeling the rough bark scrape against her fingertips. She had never liked this forest; away from her people, she could feel nothing, and she always felt so alone. But today, things tugged at her mind - the same things as for her people, but they felt... different. There was no other way to explain it.

She lifted her head once more, gazing into the forest, her hand still resting lightly on the bark. She had stopped humming a while ago, but she could still almost hear the music. Her eyes strained to see through this haze - to make out any shapes other than the trees. She could see nothing, but she did not feel alone.

A shadow flitted between two trees; nothing more than a ghost of a figure, just a slight movement. The girl shivered.

She was not alone.

Vinny i hate you. >____> but i hope this is to your liking.

"Take the coat, child. It'll freeze your bones off outside." Grandmother's voice was warm and relaxed as she reached over and grabbed the deer lined garb, running her bony old fingers over thin shoulders. Ilise smiled lightly at her grandmother and nodded, fastening the ties on the coat. Her grandmother's winkled face glowed as she shuffled around the crowded hut, grabbing a large basket and shoving it toward Ilise. "Here, child. I'll only need a few for this but better stock up so I won't have to send you out again." She chuckled and practically shoved Ilise out into the thin layer of fresh snow.

A quick glance back, Ilise marched into the snow with her heavy covering. She stopped for a moment, looking back at the holes in the snow from her feet. Grandmother wouldn't know if Ilise took the jacket off. From her pure white shoulders, she slipped the heavy coat off and it fell to the cold ground with a flump. Ilise smiled at her wrong deed, snatching up the basket and walking to the Mushroom Patch in nothing but her thin pale blue silk. It hung on her shoulders like a parka, so thin that you could see the details of her body. The soft curves on her hips and the gentle rise of her breasts, she looked like a airy woman. The silk flowing behind her as she quickly navigated the forest.

Then she noticed the flick of a shadow, the rustle of clothing and soft intakes of the cold air. Ilise snapped behind a tree, holding the wicker basket to her breast. She and her people shared the forest with the native mortals that lived on the outskirts. They had blown in from the north, looking for a new home after theirs had been ravaged by fire. It killed many of her people including her grandfather and father, leaving dark wounds on the side of her pretty white face. Her shoulders had dark purple wounds, lines formed down the left side of her body and scarring her for life. Ilise wished now that she did bring the coat, she did not want this mortal to see the burns. To see that she was not a pretty as the myths claimed them to be.

Ilise took a deep breath, she shouldn't be scared. They lived happily together, the humans and themselves. Ilise peeked from the light bark of the tree and saw bumps in the snow carpet, the mushrooms growing despite the wicked cold. The Snow-Child, as the myth called them, stepped out from the tree and went directly for the mushrooms. Her heart pounded inside her ears, stomach twisting as fear twirled itself around the keen interest she had.

She knelt at the patch, laying her basket to the side and gently dusting the tops of the mushrooms. Her dark pitch black eyes kept glancing to the left and to the right, trying to find the other one.

The girl sucked in her breath; her heart pounded like she had run a race. Despite her feelings, she had not expected to encounter anyone else - let alone one like this. And she knew that this person was the source of the feelings she had sensed, her and her kind.

She took a tentative step forward, her footsteps almost silent upon the soft snow; the chill freezing her feet even through her boots. The cold penetrated her skin, running up her spine like a spider and making her all the more skittish. But it was more fear than cold that was making her tremble.

Another step; one foot snapped a twig buried under the thin layer of snow. The girl was breathing shallowly, almost afraid to make a noise. She knew that there was nothing to be worried about with this being. Her people and their people lived together in harmony.

She moved no further, as if she was petrified, her legs like rooted like trees in the snow. She wanted to turn and run, and forget that she had ever seen this beautiful being. But the girl could tell that the other felt... similar. Just as scared as she was. And then her legs unfroze - she stumbled forward another few steps, then fell to her knees, the cold numbing them almost instantly.

She kept her head down, eyes closed, reaching out with her mind, as if looking for anyone else, trying to control the fear swiling in her head.

There was no-one.

Ilise flinched visibly at the loud crack of the twig. The little noise causing the doves to stir and late deer to snap their heads up and look into the dark forest for the on coming predator. She bowed his head lower to the tops of the mushrooms, her tiny fingers curling around the stems. She wasn't too focused on the mushrooms but rather her mind twisted to the being who was sneaking in the snow.

Her acute ears heard the stumbling, the falling and she quickly turned her head. Ilise had no other thought but to rise up and help the fallen creature. Her fingers fumbled with her long braid of white hair, untwisting the twine. She quickly threaded her fingers through her hair, letting it drape over her shoulder and hiding the dark burns. Ilise held the blue silk to her stomach as she lightly stepped through the snow, the wet coldness soaking through her toes.

Ilise had never actually seen a human before in the flesh but her grandmother talked about them greatly. She said that they looked much alike but Ilise's skin and hair blended into the white wonderland around them. Her eyes, black holes of pitch, and her lips, two thin lines of light blue, were the only colors on her white face. They looked nothing like from where Ilise stood. She took a step forward and brought herself to her knees to look at the fallen woman.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, leaning down to the bent head. "Are you cold?

The girl screwed her eyes tight shut. She didn't want this to be happening. She had never seen one of these people, but her brother had told her many stories about their 'savagery'. That idiot had been lying to her all along, and she knew it, but she almost wanted to believe it.

One hand closed automatically around her wrist; the fingers hiding the intricate black designs tattooed there. But they were natural - she had had them from her birth, to mark her as what she was. To mark her as different.

"Cold..." she murmured softly. "Yes, but more so startled. I did not expect... nevermind." She sighed and shivered slightly, her free hand gripping the soft fabric of her tunic. It was light grey, to blend in with the trees that surrounded her home, but it did not help as much against the stark white snow.

She lifted her head slowly, eyes opened only to slits. She peered through her lashes at this person, her mind swirling with their nearness and their feelings, which appeared to comprise of just fear and worry. But her senses were undeveloped, her ability had yet to mature.

Shivering again, her eyelids fluttered open, her heart beating unevenly in her chest. She gazed into the other woman's black eyes, searching for any sign, any at all, that she meant harm. There was no such thing as being to careful in these times.

"Not to be rude, but... what are you? I have never seen one of your kind. I have heard tales, but... information is kept from me upon occassion."

Ilise's grandmother spoke of the humans greatly, telling her that they meant no harm. Her grandmother was a believer in old myths, telling stories how everyone came from one mother. Ilise could not remember the mother's name but she did remember that humans were one of the last that were born from her. Her grandmother said that they were very much alike. They lived together but Ilise could name several other people that lived together. They spoke the same language but again Ilise knew several other people that could do the same.

Ilise nodded, casting her eyes to the side and looking into the white flakes of snow. Her hand went to the white wall of hair, she made sure it covered the side of her face and her shoulder. The blue silk pool at her feet, she quickly tucked most of it by her side, hiding her wounds. At the sound of the sweet voice, Ilise looked up.

"What am I? I ... I am Ilise." She smiled, pointing to herself. "My ... kind? You mean my people? We do not have a name to call ourself, we just are. You," She pointed to the other, "call us the Snow-Children but we are not born of the snow." Her gaze went from her face down to her hands, glancing at the light gray coat. "Why are you here?" She asked.

"Why am I here?" she repeated softly, looking up at the sky, gazing through the clustered branches of the trees. She did not know why, but that simple question struck her as odd. "I do not truly know. I would say to gather food, but that would be lying, and I do not lie."

With one hand still wrapped around her wrist, she moved her free hand up to her throat, to try and keep in the heat. The chill of the snow had wormed its way somehow through her garments, and her body had gone numb. At least the pain of the cold had disappeared.

"Though I do not fully know why I am here, I do believe that I am escaping." She closed her eyes again and sighed gently. "My people... they frown upon my existence for reasons unknown to me. My... talent... could perhaps be an asset to them, if they would ignore the old tales. They believe that magic is evil - no, not just that, but anything out of the ordinary."

She opened her eyes again, but they were blank, as if she was reliving a memory, and she was.
"Ma," the girl said quietly, tugging on the hem of her mother's coat. Her mother turned, smiling down at her, though the smile seemed so fake. "Ma, why do I have these?" She pulled back the sleeve of her own coat, revealing the delicate black markings covering her wrist. Her mother sighed and touched her forehead gently.
"It is because you are different, Aise, and nobody likes a person who is different."

"Escaping?" Ilise asked, she had never heard of someone escaping their home. Families and people were meant for each other and to help each other out. She wondered what in the world would drive someone to leave that comfort and warmth. She watched the subtle movements with great attention, "Why would you escape? What are you esacping?" She asked.

oox.
a. don't feel good.
b. worried about cat.
c. deal with it. |:<
e. i'll try harder later.

Aise sighed softly. "I am escaping from the criticism, from the degradations, from being an exile in my one people. But I have to say... it is so lonely without the constant onslaught of feelings." She glanced at the snow and then back at Ilise, a thoughtful look in her eye. "You have helped with that, though. And for that, I thank you."

"I daresay you are intrigued," she continued, "wondering about what I could have possibly meant. It is the reason I am like this, the reason I have this." She removed her hand from her wrist, revealing the elegant black tattoo. "Would you like to know more?" She was almost teasing, a slight smile playing on her frozen lips.

Ilise kept her face still but her eyes roamed the new exposed flesh, washing over the black tattoos that were painted on her. Her people thought that carving or painting on the flesh would harm themselves and their pure white skin stayed pure white. The sight of the tattoos brought back the ever present memory of the burns on her side and Ilise kept her blue silk to her side, her fingers tightening around the cloth.

"No, I would not." She said, a shake of his head. The long wavy hair shook with her as she slowly got up. She was careful to keep her side away from Aise, to keep those eyes from looking at the impurities that that plagued her skin. "I am suppose to be collecting mushrooms." She said, turning back around and going to the large oval basket she left on the floor. There were two red fluffy tops of mushrooms inside of it, the green stems next to them. "My grandmother would be angry if I did not return."

"But what of you?" She asked, keeping both her eyes and her hands on the mushrooms as she plucked them from the ground and tore them apart. "You do not know about me, you asked what I was." She smiled to herself, the burnt side of her face slightly hurting as her lips picked up. "You are human and you escaped from your people as you do not love them and they, you. I don't need to know any more."

Aise raised an eyebrow. Ilise was certainly... different. Her and her kind seemed so much more pure than her people - humans, mortals - did. She did not want to know more than was necessary, while humans clamored for all kinds of knowledge. Many people she knew would have dragged this information out of her long before this point.

"You are surprising me at every turn, Ilise. Your appearance, your manner, your apparent lack of curiosity. And for that I am glad. I am sick of my people, sick of the way they treat me and my family. And - I am sick of being different!" The last words were cried into the heavens, and a bird perched on a branch above took to flight, startled. Aise climbed to her feet, shivering again. It really was too cold to be out doing this.

"Ilise..." she murmured, slowly walking towards the other woman and her basket of mushrooms. "I do not want to go back. It does not feel safe. But... there is nowhere else I can go." Tears sprang into her eyes, and she brushed them away angrily. "Would you... would you let me stay with you?"

Ilise didn't move her head as the human shouted. She only twitched her fingers as they snapped up another top of the mushroom. She stopped for a moment and then scooted forward on her knees, reaching for the snow covered snow mushrooms. "It ... it's that I lack curiosity." She started slowly, "It's that I feel I don't need to know. If you actually feel I need to know, then tell me." She stopped for a second and turned to her as Aise went to her feet. "Then tell me. If not, please don't." She went back to her mushrooms, freezing up slightly as she called her name. Her father was the only one who called her Ilise, other than that it was just 'Child'.

"Yes." She said nodding, her grandmother would gladly take this deranged human. "Yes, you can come with me." Ilise let a smile flicker on her blue lips as she stood up, twisting her side away from her. She reached out and grabbed the colored skin of her hand and pointed to the mushroom patch. "We have to clean it or Grandmother won't have mushrooms anymore."

She went back to her knees, reaching over and brushing the snow off the smaller mushroom and then drawing a circle in the air. "Circle, it's a circle." She said crawling into the patch and trying to show her where the mushrooms were so she wouldn't stomp on them. "Make a circle in the snow."

Aise smiled, closing her eyes in what seemed to be bliss. "Thank you... thank you. I am glad that I do not have to go back; I doubt it would have been safe for me. In all honesty, I do believe that you have saved me." She sighed gently, wishing she had never yelled. Now her family would know where she was, and they would look for her, and take her home. But what good would that do when she had gone to such lengths to run away?

"It is not... necessary for you to know what I am. I am just surprised that you had not asked, that you think of this the way that you do. You are so unlike I," she whispered, her voice quiet like the rustle of leaves.

[....wow, I really don't get that last part, and I don't want aise standing round as if she were dumb. Care to make it a bit clearer? DX]

Illise looked over her shoulder to the woman and nodded, trying to do her task and keep her self hidden at the same time. Illise's white hair kept flying around with the gentle breezes that brushed cold air past their exposed skin. She pointed to Aise's feet and stood up herself, starting to stomp a circle around the mushroom patch.

"Curiosity isn't what I need." She smiled, "I need help making the patch into a circle." She said drawing another circle into the air again. "If not," She said bending down and picking up the basket of mushroom tops and stems. She put the basket in Aise's hand and went back to stomping a circle around the mushrooms. "Hold that. We'll leave after I finish." She said with a smile.


Illise spent a few good minutes moving around the patch. She casted a glance to Aise every time she cross her and tried to give her a small smile. She finished with a quick move from the circle to the clean snow away from it. She spent only a few seconds inspected her work and then turned around and started into the dark of the forest.

"Speak to me." She said.

Aise took the basket with a smile, like she was used to having to do menial tasks such as carrying things. And she was, seeing as the others did not hold her in much high regard. But she was used to that, too, and it hadn't bothered her until today. Today was the day that she had realised how much she despised being different. Perhaps it was fated for her and Ilise to meet.

She watched the girl clearing the snow in silence, contemplating all that had happened. She was good at watching, and at listening. Normally she was a quiet girl, working without making a noise.

"Speak to you?" she repeated politely as she followed Ilise into the forest, the trees feeling somewhat oppressive. "About what, may I ask?" She was acting the idiot, so that maybe this woman would tell her that she did want to know about her, that she was plagued by curiosity just like every other human that met Aise was. The tangle of feelings - both Ilise's and her own - was hard to interpret, and in all honesty, it was simply complicating things.