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Chap 1 rewrite bit
Anna looked around at the wooded area nervously. She had been running for a while, and now she didn't know where she was. She didn't even remember how she had gotten there exactly. Mama had always said that when lost she should stay still, but she didn't know where she was, so how could anyone else? She ducked under a tree branch, trying to remember what had happened. She thought she had decided not to run, but Mama always won those arguments.
'I thought it would be so easy,' she heard her mother's voice in her mind. 'Only girls are supposed to like cooking.' There was a pause in the memory. 'Listen to me, daughter,' Mama's voice continued, strangely stressing the word daughter, 'You will compete in the race as you competed in the last one!'
"You said I could enter the bake off..." Anna murmured aloud. At the sound, something large and furry darted out in front of her, practically tripping her, and she screamed.
Vas paused, mid-step. 'Did you hear that?' she inquired internally.
There was a sigh for a response. 'Vas... don't.'
'What?' Vas scowled. 'You know as well as I do that we're damned near out of money. If we're lucky, whatever it is will have finished her off before we even get there.' She paused. 'Hope it doesn't eat her wallet....'
'What a wonderful humanitarian you are,' the male voice in her mind said dryly. 'Oh look, a damsel in distress! Let's go rob her corpse!' he mimicked sarcastically.
'Hmph.' Vas began walking. 'Got a better way?'
'How about robbing someone who, oh, I don't know, isn't terrified in the middle of the woods and probably doesn't have any money anyway?'
Vas scowled. 'She might. And besides, I don't see you doing any better.'
'I don't see you giving me control to do so,' the voice countered.
Further mental dialogue was cut off as Vas found the source of the scream.
It was a shorthaired girl who was near hyperventilating. There was no sign of an attack, or any animal larger then a squirrel.
Vas could tell her other half was smirking at her disappointment and she scowled. "What's wrong?" she asked of the girl.
Anna looked up. "There was a... and it came out of nowhere... and I... it was...." She looked around. "Did you scare it away?"
The dark haired girl looked at her with a critical eye. The girl was dressed fairly well, and was too incompetent looking to be too far from home. "I think your screaming did that," she finally asked. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I'm Anna. I got lost. Can you help me?"
There was a chuckle from inside. 'Wonderful. She asks the angel of death for help.'
Vas mentally twapped her internal irritation before turning her attention back to Anna. "Depends," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Being we don't know where you're from, I don't think we can get you back home, but we can lead you to the closest town."
The presence in her mind seemed surprised. 'An act of kindness from you? Vas the Destroyer?' he smirked.
Vas smirked. 'Hardly. She looks like a well off twit. I'm sure we can get something out of her guardians for her return.'
Anna's face lit up at the proffered help. "Really? Thank you!" She stood and bowed. "I promise I won't be trouble for you. I can keep up with you, and I can cook for you too. Mama says I'm a good cook."
The black haired girl looked at Anna bemusedly. 'Does she think it's that far to go?' she wondered, adjusting her large backpack. "Whatever, let's get going."
"Thank you," Anna said again. "I'm sorry. I must have startled you when I screamed." She smiled wryly. "It was just so sudden..." She shook her head. "Where are you going?"
Vas nearly rolled her eyes. "To the nearest town, where I said we'd take you."
Anna nodded. "I hope I'm not taking you out of your way."
"That would be rather difficult," Vas said mildly. 'Unless you're leading us back to...' her expression darkened a moment.
Her internal companion twapped her. 'Knock it off, paranoid.'
"Are you ok...?" Anna asked in a concerned voice. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name..."
"It's Vas, and yes, we're fine." She controlled the tone of her voice.
'Maybe if you picked a topic, you'd be better off,' the male in her head suggested.
Vas considered. 'Ya know, for once you have a valid suggestion.'
The voice chuckled.
"So," Vas began. She paused, thinking.
'Ask how she got lost.'
'Would you shut up and let me think of something!' she snapped back at him before turning her attention back to Anna. "How'd you get lost?" she asked, trying to fake interest.
"I was running, and I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going," Anna said deprecatingly.
Vas snorted internally. "Well at least you got away," she shrugged nonchalantly.
"Got away?" Anna looked confused for a moment, "Oh! I wasn't running away from anything. I was just practicing. There's a competition soon, and Mama wants me to join it. I'm not as fast as I should be, so I was practicing. I'm much better now."
Vas turned and blinked at her. "Competition? Practice?" she repeated with an air of disbelief. "You run for SPORT?"
Anna stopped, blinking. "It can be fun, Miss Vas, and it's very good exercise. Mama..." She paused, as an image of her mother crumpled on the floor entered her mind. "Mama nags about it a lot... I'd rather just cook... But it's still fun."
"Fun..." Vas snorted. 'Try doing it for a living,' she muttered internally. "Why 'Miss?' Just call me Vas."
Anna nodded. "All right, Vas," she said quietly.
The two made it to the edge of the forest.
"I know where we are!" Anna said excitedly. "My home is near here. This way, Vas!" She turned left and started running home. 'Mama must be worried about me,' she thought. 'I don't even remember going into the forest, but it was much earlier when I last spoke to Mama.' She heard Vas running behind her.
"It's right over here!" she called back after running for a few minutes. 'Right around the corner,' she thought, 'I'm almost home!'
She turned the corner.
Her house was gone. The ashes on the ground were still burning in some places. She skidded to a stop, eyes widening. "No...." she whispered. "No... No!" She looked at the ashes of her home, and her eye caught sight of blackened bones sticking out of the wreckage. Tears filled her eyes and one hand came up to cover her mouth. "Mama... MAMAAA!!!!"
Vas stared at the scene as Anna collapsed to the ground, face in hands, sobbing.
"You!"
Anna looked up at her neighbors.
"What are you doing back here?" one of them said in an accusing tone.
"What happened? Who did this?" Anna asked.
"How could you ask that, you monster! You killed her!"
Anna's eyes widened. "No," she whispered.
"Monster!" One of the neighbors started forward.
Anna didn't notice. "No," she whispered again. "Mama." She collapsed backwards, fainting.
Vas's face twitched as she caught the girl, the air around her heating up. Slowly, she lowered Anna to the ground before straightening to her full five foot two inches, eyes flashing with an inner flame. Unless the twit girl was hiding some monstrous power, there was no way she would have done what she was being accused of. And either way...
She glared a challenge at the crowd. "Touch her and die."
The neighbors ignored her, still approaching, bent on getting to Anna.
A slow smirk spread across Vas's face. "Oh look..." She raised her hand in the air and the heat coalesced into a large ball of flame. "You chose to DIE." She gave a feral roar and rammed the fireball into the nearest man's face. He gave a scream that would make milk curdle and fell to the ground. The rest of the crowd took a step back in fear.
Vas smirked evilly, another fireball appearing in her palm. "Anyone else want to try their luck?" she asked in a smug tone. "Thought you were going to take advantage of her, eh?" she tossed the flame back and forth in her hands, eyes almost glowing slits. She almost dared them to say she was wrong.
'Stop it.' The voice inside her was cold as deep water, cutting through the burning thoughts of destruction in her mind. 'You're displacing. She isn't like us--'
'How do you know that?!' Vas snapped back.
'Look, even if she is, this isn't helping her. Stop playing around and get this killing frenzy over with.'
Vas's smirk grew more deadly as she spun the flame into the crowd, making sure a smaller ball spun off to chase and burn every person there. As the flames began taking over the town and screams filled the air, she gave a condescending snort before scooping Anna's unconscious form into her arms and calmly walking back into the woods.
'I thought it would be so easy,' she heard her mother's voice in her mind. 'Only girls are supposed to like cooking.' There was a pause in the memory. 'Listen to me, daughter,' Mama's voice continued, strangely stressing the word daughter, 'You will compete in the race as you competed in the last one!'
"You said I could enter the bake off..." Anna murmured aloud. At the sound, something large and furry darted out in front of her, practically tripping her, and she screamed.
Vas paused, mid-step. 'Did you hear that?' she inquired internally.
There was a sigh for a response. 'Vas... don't.'
'What?' Vas scowled. 'You know as well as I do that we're damned near out of money. If we're lucky, whatever it is will have finished her off before we even get there.' She paused. 'Hope it doesn't eat her wallet....'
'What a wonderful humanitarian you are,' the male voice in her mind said dryly. 'Oh look, a damsel in distress! Let's go rob her corpse!' he mimicked sarcastically.
'Hmph.' Vas began walking. 'Got a better way?'
'How about robbing someone who, oh, I don't know, isn't terrified in the middle of the woods and probably doesn't have any money anyway?'
Vas scowled. 'She might. And besides, I don't see you doing any better.'
'I don't see you giving me control to do so,' the voice countered.
Further mental dialogue was cut off as Vas found the source of the scream.
It was a shorthaired girl who was near hyperventilating. There was no sign of an attack, or any animal larger then a squirrel.
Vas could tell her other half was smirking at her disappointment and she scowled. "What's wrong?" she asked of the girl.
Anna looked up. "There was a... and it came out of nowhere... and I... it was...." She looked around. "Did you scare it away?"
The dark haired girl looked at her with a critical eye. The girl was dressed fairly well, and was too incompetent looking to be too far from home. "I think your screaming did that," she finally asked. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I'm Anna. I got lost. Can you help me?"
There was a chuckle from inside. 'Wonderful. She asks the angel of death for help.'
Vas mentally twapped her internal irritation before turning her attention back to Anna. "Depends," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Being we don't know where you're from, I don't think we can get you back home, but we can lead you to the closest town."
The presence in her mind seemed surprised. 'An act of kindness from you? Vas the Destroyer?' he smirked.
Vas smirked. 'Hardly. She looks like a well off twit. I'm sure we can get something out of her guardians for her return.'
Anna's face lit up at the proffered help. "Really? Thank you!" She stood and bowed. "I promise I won't be trouble for you. I can keep up with you, and I can cook for you too. Mama says I'm a good cook."
The black haired girl looked at Anna bemusedly. 'Does she think it's that far to go?' she wondered, adjusting her large backpack. "Whatever, let's get going."
"Thank you," Anna said again. "I'm sorry. I must have startled you when I screamed." She smiled wryly. "It was just so sudden..." She shook her head. "Where are you going?"
Vas nearly rolled her eyes. "To the nearest town, where I said we'd take you."
Anna nodded. "I hope I'm not taking you out of your way."
"That would be rather difficult," Vas said mildly. 'Unless you're leading us back to...' her expression darkened a moment.
Her internal companion twapped her. 'Knock it off, paranoid.'
"Are you ok...?" Anna asked in a concerned voice. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name..."
"It's Vas, and yes, we're fine." She controlled the tone of her voice.
'Maybe if you picked a topic, you'd be better off,' the male in her head suggested.
Vas considered. 'Ya know, for once you have a valid suggestion.'
The voice chuckled.
"So," Vas began. She paused, thinking.
'Ask how she got lost.'
'Would you shut up and let me think of something!' she snapped back at him before turning her attention back to Anna. "How'd you get lost?" she asked, trying to fake interest.
"I was running, and I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going," Anna said deprecatingly.
Vas snorted internally. "Well at least you got away," she shrugged nonchalantly.
"Got away?" Anna looked confused for a moment, "Oh! I wasn't running away from anything. I was just practicing. There's a competition soon, and Mama wants me to join it. I'm not as fast as I should be, so I was practicing. I'm much better now."
Vas turned and blinked at her. "Competition? Practice?" she repeated with an air of disbelief. "You run for SPORT?"
Anna stopped, blinking. "It can be fun, Miss Vas, and it's very good exercise. Mama..." She paused, as an image of her mother crumpled on the floor entered her mind. "Mama nags about it a lot... I'd rather just cook... But it's still fun."
"Fun..." Vas snorted. 'Try doing it for a living,' she muttered internally. "Why 'Miss?' Just call me Vas."
Anna nodded. "All right, Vas," she said quietly.
The two made it to the edge of the forest.
"I know where we are!" Anna said excitedly. "My home is near here. This way, Vas!" She turned left and started running home. 'Mama must be worried about me,' she thought. 'I don't even remember going into the forest, but it was much earlier when I last spoke to Mama.' She heard Vas running behind her.
"It's right over here!" she called back after running for a few minutes. 'Right around the corner,' she thought, 'I'm almost home!'
She turned the corner.
Her house was gone. The ashes on the ground were still burning in some places. She skidded to a stop, eyes widening. "No...." she whispered. "No... No!" She looked at the ashes of her home, and her eye caught sight of blackened bones sticking out of the wreckage. Tears filled her eyes and one hand came up to cover her mouth. "Mama... MAMAAA!!!!"
Vas stared at the scene as Anna collapsed to the ground, face in hands, sobbing.
"You!"
Anna looked up at her neighbors.
"What are you doing back here?" one of them said in an accusing tone.
"What happened? Who did this?" Anna asked.
"How could you ask that, you monster! You killed her!"
Anna's eyes widened. "No," she whispered.
"Monster!" One of the neighbors started forward.
Anna didn't notice. "No," she whispered again. "Mama." She collapsed backwards, fainting.
Vas's face twitched as she caught the girl, the air around her heating up. Slowly, she lowered Anna to the ground before straightening to her full five foot two inches, eyes flashing with an inner flame. Unless the twit girl was hiding some monstrous power, there was no way she would have done what she was being accused of. And either way...
She glared a challenge at the crowd. "Touch her and die."
The neighbors ignored her, still approaching, bent on getting to Anna.
A slow smirk spread across Vas's face. "Oh look..." She raised her hand in the air and the heat coalesced into a large ball of flame. "You chose to DIE." She gave a feral roar and rammed the fireball into the nearest man's face. He gave a scream that would make milk curdle and fell to the ground. The rest of the crowd took a step back in fear.
Vas smirked evilly, another fireball appearing in her palm. "Anyone else want to try their luck?" she asked in a smug tone. "Thought you were going to take advantage of her, eh?" she tossed the flame back and forth in her hands, eyes almost glowing slits. She almost dared them to say she was wrong.
'Stop it.' The voice inside her was cold as deep water, cutting through the burning thoughts of destruction in her mind. 'You're displacing. She isn't like us--'
'How do you know that?!' Vas snapped back.
'Look, even if she is, this isn't helping her. Stop playing around and get this killing frenzy over with.'
Vas's smirk grew more deadly as she spun the flame into the crowd, making sure a smaller ball spun off to chase and burn every person there. As the flames began taking over the town and screams filled the air, she gave a condescending snort before scooping Anna's unconscious form into her arms and calmly walking back into the woods.