Through the Looking-Glass (Bones)

[Jamisia Abijah]

4th day of Summer, 511 AV House of Broken Mirrors A run down building, nothing special. Especially nothing special for someone born and raised in the great Ahnatep, where houses even under the Pillar of Dust looked gilded. Alvadas looked poor in comparison to the pearl of a desert and yet Jamisia didn't mind. Finally she was treated like something more than a dirt from the street. No more talking snakes like Dhani or stuck up Ephyrians. No more sneaking and worrying for every day. In here she was just another human and a doctor. No problem with finding work; more than often work was finding her actually. There were of course downsides to all this moving – despite the year spent here, Jamisia had troubles with finding her way in this ever changing city. Like this place was trying to keep you on the verge of insanity with its capricious nature. There was actually one time Jam had left a tavern she was staying and landed on the other side of the city. Finding the way back had cost her half of the day. There were just days she had a feeling Alvadas was toying specifically with her. Especially today, when one alley instead of leading the girl to the market, placed her in front of the something townspeople called House of Broken Mirrors. Jamisia looked at the worn walls. There was something appealing in the history of this place and its powers. The girl had inborn curiosity and crave for new sensations. But of course as her father had used to say – curiosity killed the cat. Here kitty, kitty...The doors seemed to call her. Jam looked around but she was alone in front of the house. No harm in seeing what's inside...People came in and out all the time, right? It'd been a year since her coming to Alvadas and the girl was fairly sure she can handle the insanity in here well. After all nothing was worse than escaping from a hungry Dhani. One..two..three...She entered after the third heartbeat; the doors opened with a small squeak. Jamisia sniffed humid, moldy air, heavy with some other scent she couldn't name...No, wait...Was it an Ephyrian incense? Why in the name of Yahal she was smelling that in Alvadas? The girl felt a cold breeze whisking her body and heard noise of closing doors. ”Wait, no!” She gasped and ran toward the thinning line of light. ”Open up!” Her frantic attempts to open the sturdy doors were useless. She was trapped. Maybe the legend of this place were true after all? Jamisia felt cold fingers of fear closing on her heart, which now tried to jump from her chest. She turned away only to scream in terror but it was only a mirror. Jamisia could have sworn nothing was there before...what was even more odd, the reflection didn't show any doors at all. The girl slowly moved her head to check. No doors...How come? Small whimper escaped her lips when Jam realized in how much troubles she got into this time. Her eyes trailed off to the reflection. Her fancy dress, exposing golden tattoos Jamisa was so proud of, was shimmering in the faint light of candles. Someone had to be here; someone had to lit these goddamn candles. Magic maybe? No, Jam refused to believe magic could do everything. She was a rational being but Alvadas began to undermine this rigid belief. And now the Broken Mirror tried to prove even her own mind was not trustworthy. ”Hello! Anybody here?!” Jamisia called out and decided to move forward. Standing around was not going to help her.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Another day, living in Alvadas. Bones often went for walks among the city during the day, looking over different places and things. Today he settled upon a place, which he believed was a house of mirrors. He did not see anyone around, and so he decided to enter. It was a bit warm inside, and so he tucked away his robes in his pack. He did not really need them anyways. He looked around, and noticed that the door behind him was no longer there. Odd, but he moved on. He noticed mirrors all along the walls, and though most seemed normal, as he passed one he noticed something which drew his gaze. Though he was currently in human form, this mirror showed him as a dhani, with a tail, and long snake features. He looked down to check, but he was still in human form... He was not sure what to make of this... What exactly did these mirrors show? As he moved on, the reflection differed. Some showed him as a snake, slithering along, another showed him as a human, with oddly colored skin. He passed one as a snake with a large lump in his belly from something he ate, and another with him gulping down an entire man whole. Another he was a Dhani, with a pile of the dead around him, some men that had been strangled, some that had been stabbed, bitten, or hacked to pieces... A bit odd to say the least. He was not to troubled by these things though. Most would find it gruesome, however he did not really mind. With all of the death he had seen, the killing he had done, this was nothing. How did people go mad in here, it did not seem so bad to him. However he heard a odd sound, that of a woman yelling. She seemed to be trying to find someone, and was screaming out. However he could not tell from were, or why. Darting out his tongue for a moment, he tasted the air, and noted one he had sensed before. Following the taste of human on the air, he rounded a corner, and came face to face with a woman, who had been doing the yelling. He spoke to her in his slow, sibilant voice, which seemed to show how much he was not in a hurry. "Hello... I sssee I am not alone... Are you looking for sssomessing?.. Or are you just an illusion from the mirrorsss to?..."

[Jamisia Abijah]

4th day of Summer, 511 AV House of Broken Mirrors The girl lowered herself to look more closely at the mirror. The reflection was showing one of her patients. Young thief, stabbed with an Ephyrian blade was bleeding out and Jamisia couldn't do anything to help him. Was she blaming herself? No..Anger rose in her at the despicable four arm racists. Why would the mirrors show her this? There other images too...Her mother being eaten by a Dhani what made her cry and sent into permanent feeling of distress. Of course no one knew what had happened to her mother but when a human was vanishing in Ahnatep, there was a high chance they ended up in a snake stomach. It had been some time since she ended up in the House of Broken Mirrors and still no way out. Jamisia decided to avoid looking in the mirrors, but it was hard, like looking on some gruesome show you can't watch but won't avert your gaze. A human form appeared in the entrance to this alley and not in the mirrors; the girl almost walked into it, running from the image of an aggressive Ephyrian with horns and fangs. Jam beamed the stranger one of her most charming smiles. He was not in the mirror so had to be a real person. ”Thank Yahal! Finally someone...” The girl said with a relief but the smile began to fade as soon as the man opened his mouth...That speech. Every human in Ahnatep knew it and dreaded it.Jam blanched in a matter of seconds. He was no man...Dhani. Here? Was this some kind of a cruel joke? She went through hell and back to get away from such monsters and one of these snake people was in the same house as her? Maybe just an illusion...Maybe... Her body tensed, ready to flee. ”Snake! Stay away!” Jamisia gasped in terror and let a Shiber cuss to leave her lips, something about reptile piss. The girl knew Dhani and knew their cravings very well. This one was much bigger than usual lot running around Ahnatep but it only made him more dangerous. His eyes shimmered in the light with a very exotic, silver color. They would be stunningly beautiful if not for the slit pupils. Jamisia averted her gaze from silver orbs and not waiting for Dhani to try anything funny and rushed down the corridor...Well she would anyway but the corridor was replaced now with a hard wall and the girl run into it with a thud, which immediately made her bounce back and land straight on the Dhani with a cry of pain. ”Please, don't eat me” Jamisia managed to whimper, clenching her wounded forehead. A small bump began to form on it already.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Walking along, he saw the woman, and quietly greeted her. However, she did not reply so quietly, but responded with fear and panic. Why did everyone do that? Its not like he went around killing every human he saw. And besides, there were plenty of them, the few he had killed did not make a difference to there numbers. He would never understand how the human mind worked, they were just way to... alien... And even though they were so weak, they always acted so superior. Until you met them alone, and then you saw there true nature. This one was no exception. Now she was freaking out, and screaming for him to go away. All he had done was walked up being nice, and done nothing rude, even by human standards. However for some odd reason, she ran away, directly into a wall. He wondered what that was about, there were several non wall covered ways to go... The oddity of humans... As she bounced off of it, she landed right up against Bones, standing face to face, with her falling right at him. By instinct, Bones stuck out his hands, and grabbed her before she fell on the floor, or knocked him down. Standing her back up, he set her on her feet, and looked her over. She seemed a bit weak at the knees, not very sturdy, if she could barely stand. "Why would I eat you, I am jussst ssstanding here... You know, you are quite rude, jumping to conclusionsss... I have done nossing wrong, and you assssume I am going to attack. You humansss have a lot to learn about mannersss... Mussst be from being ssso young..." "And you need to watch were you are going, wallsss are not a good way to go..."

[Jamisia Abijah]

4th day of Summer, 511 AV House of Broken Mirrors The Dhani was most likely not a hallucination or another trick played on her mind by the mirrors. Al thought he was not like any Dhani she had ever met before, not only because of his size. First of all he broke her fall with his outstretched hands and Jamisa safely landed with her face only inches from his silver orbs. Secondly the Dhani didn't seem to want her as his meal, even more – he seemed genuinely offended that she dared to think so. There were of course snake people she met who didn't seem so aggressive but it was mostly because they had had a meal recently. At least this was what nearly every free human in Ahnatep believed in. This one seemed like fed, fortunately...Maybe he wouldn't eat her off the bat then. ”Alright...” Was all she mustered to say at the Dhani's comment about her manners. ”I'd rather...not to see your table manners...Just that.” She added, tensed like a bow string. After a moments of silence on her end, Jamisia realised that the Dhani was still holding her. A mirror on their right reflected their stance in a really awkward manner and the girl blushed from anger and still a bit of fear. ”You can let me go now. Jamisia said with a forced smile and delicately tried to shake off the Dhani's hands from her body, surprisingly warm ones, giving he was actually a cold blooded reptile. She still half expected a fork like tongue to appear and lick her face. Jamisia noticed that the stranger looked her over with a cold stare and felt even more uneasy. When you took out the whole snake-eating-man part, she could call a man before her rather dashing. It didn't change the fact it was only a disguise to hide one ugly lizard. The feelings she had toward Dhani were different than toward Ephyrians. Fouramrswere despicable, stuck up nobles who pretended to be better than the rest of the beings; Dhani on the other hand were downright scary; often villains that steal naughty kids. Till her adult years Jamisia could remember that fear a snake will creep into the bedroom and eat her alive. Hopefully her nightmares wouldn't come to life today. Few deep breathes later, Jam was calm enough and pretty sure the Dhani wouldn't eat her. Still scared but with a much more clear head she decided to start a conversation and keep the whole interaction at bare minimum. For now...and keep a safe distance. ”Do you know how to get out from here?” The girl tried to control her voice but a small trembling was still there. Suddenly a mirror appeared behind the Dhani showing a dancing skeleton. Jamisia held away a shriek of terror and averted her gaze from the glassy surface and onto the floor. No mirrors there. ”I need to get out from here.” The girl looked back at the snake man, trying not to stare at the mirror. ”Any ideas?” With a surprise Jam discovered that now knowing that the Dhani wasn't hungry, his company was not so unwelcome. At least he was shred of reality in this place. A hissing, slithering reality...but still.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones stood and looked at the odd human. She seemed oddly scared of this place, as if she thought the roof might come in and swallow her up... What about this place was so bad... Humans seemed to be terrified of it, but he could not figure out what the deal on it was with them... As she mentioned it, Bones let go of the girl, who was now standing somewhat upright. Taking a step back, he darted out his tongue for a moment, and tasted the air. He could tell from the air she was sweating. Nervous one wasn't she? Quite worked up... These humans always so emotional... Getting all worked up... Bones just did not see a reasoning behind it, getting freaked out just did not enhance his fighting or living skills, so why waste the energy on it? Now though, she was speaking to him, and he responded with his slow sibilant speech. "How to leave? What for, is ssere sssomessing the matter? It isss not that bad in here..." He wondered what she was so upset about, as Bones looked around the room. He looked at a pile of rotting corpses, with insects crawling out of them, and another mirror which had a head on a pike, with blood dripping from it... So what was so scary... He did not see... Hearing she wanted to leave, he tilted his head back, and darting his tongue out, tasted the air once more. He noticed one scent which was wafting over, and seemed to be coming from outside... As good a place as any... "Leave?... Well... Thisss way ssseems a good ssstart... Letsss go this way... follow me..." This last bit would be said not so much as an request, but as an order. Bones had a habit of taking charge, and when he felt he was superior in the situation, he would quickly appoint himself as leader. He waved for her to follow, and pointed which way he meant. Slowly he would walk away, going the way which he had caught the scent from... He would not even look to see if she was following, he would simply expect it. Either she would come with him and go were he said, or he would leave her behind...

[Jamisia Abijah]

4th day of Summer, 511 AV House of Broken Mirrors She tried not to look around too much; even the hallucinations were only visual, Jamisia could swear she heard blood dripping from the spears. The girl covered her eyes and tried to force her brain into thinking it was but a fake image. ”Who put that place here?” She muttered and inhaled sharply. The Dhani didn't seemed phased by the images the mirrors presented to him. From these few and far between interactions she had with his kind, their minds worked much differently than those of humans. Their emotions were different, sometimes it was even hard to read their expressions so his question didn't really shock her. ”Yes, piles of corpses are something wrong for humans.” Jamisia retired with irritation, but held her attitude back. Dhani could be dangerous and angry Dhani was not something she wanted to have on her hands. Jamisia let out a small yelp when his tongue darted out to 'sniff' the air. No matter how often she would witness that, Jam would never get used to these inhuman practice. She was a healer for humans but knew few facts about Dhani, mostly where to stab effectively, other than that all the snake species seemed to be a mystery. Jamisia suspected that even in human form, their internal anatomy was much different than the one of her kind or Ephyrians. After a moment, the snake man seemed to find something and ordered her to follow. Yes, ordered. Generally his voice seemed cold and washed from all human emotions but this was unmistakably not a request. Anger boiled close to the surface and Jamisia considered staying just to show some scale butt couldn't boss around like that but a thought of spending hours in this place because she couldn't sniff her way out was much worse than too bossy lizard. Then something struck her. Dhani's never did anything for free. Anything! ”Wait up! Why are you helping me?” Maybe price would be named later? Jamisia liked it less and less, if he was at least a human or damn Ephyrian, even Isurian, she could at least fathom what the motivation here could be. As far as Dhani were concerned, the girl knew only one incentive – food. She blocked his path for a moment, until getting some answers but before she could pressure the Dhani further a loud, mournful squeak interrupter them. Jamisia looked up, baffled and at this moment realized the house was really trying to kill them. A mirror was coming at them from a high ceiling above. Just her luck...

[Ssafirsotibones]

Walking along a bit, Bones followed the path he had chosen. He could sense that the woman was following him, and did not stop to look or turn to her. She seemed rather wound up, and rather easy to anger. Humans were so weak, and they tended to over think things. Which is why they were afraid of dhani. All they could think of was the past or what they heard, they could not make it a case by case thing, and live in what was going on know. Obviously the fact that they were alive after seeing him meant he was not planning to kill them. If he wanted them dead, they would already be. They always think something is going on that they did not know about, and by doing so, it meant they would never understand what was really going on.... Then she started going on about why... why was he helping her... Helping? Was he doing that? They simply had the same goal in mind, which was to leave. Though she was much more in a hurry to do so, he did not mind to walk for a time, and to leave when the place wanted him to. A place with this much magic, it was very much alive, just like the land. It had a mind of its own, and did as it chose, and would release them into the world when it wanted to. Wishing it to happen faster would do nothing, they would take the route they took, and leave as the left... Then the odd creature stopped him, and tried to bar his way. As he was considering knocking her down, he was distracted by something falling from the sky. A huge mirror had fallen, which had for some reason been mounted to the ceiling. The woman had frozen in inaction, and stood looking up at the dropping mirror. With a sigh, Bones acted, and grabbed her by the wrist. Yanking her along, he pulled her over to him, and carried them both on his feet out from under the hazard. Getting clear, he watched as the mirror struck. However there was no breaking sound, or anything else, it simply hit, and kept going. The mirror dissipated, with bits flying every which way. They did not cut or fall though, as they hit the ground, the just floated off in different directions, as if there was no force holding them down. What though would have happened if that mirror had hit them. Once more Bones was holding her, and he quietly set her down. He walked over to the bits, and watched as they floated. Over in a mirror, instead of bits of mirror, there were flower petals floating. And when he looked back, the shards were also now flower petals... How odd? Looking over at the woman, he spoke, with his emotionless voice, and in his slow sibilant speech. "Why would I leave you? Ssere is nossing to gain from doing so. I do not kill for nossing. I only do it if the ssing is a ssreat, or if ssere is sssomessing to gain from it. Killing you know, or letting you die... It would just be wasssteful... And I do not like wassste..."

[Jamisia Abijah]

4th day of Summer, 511 AV House of Broken Mirrors The mirror was transfixing her with its bright surface. How come it could reflect so much light when there was no other source of it than candles? The reflection in it was not scary, horrifying but soothing. Rendering her motionless with awe . It was so close...so close to touch it and then something with great strength pulled her away. Jamisia gasped, loosing footing and before she gathered what was happening, the girl found herself in the Dhani's arms. Again...However this time Jam was too absorbed with the mirror to be creep out by this. The glass hit the aground and...vanished. That is how she saw it. The shards didn't make any noise. Actually there was no sound at all. It was as if the mirror poofed in a thin air, leaving floating pieces behind. Jamisia clung to the Dhani, forgetting all about the eating part. Now all her attention was focused on the spot where the mirror vanished. Surprisingly gently, the Dhani put her down and moved to investigate the shards that now lost their essence and transformed into colorful petals. It wasn't even half as shocking as things before or maybe she slowly was getting used to the craziness around her. Even the Dhani...And then it downed at her that this creature most likely had saved her life. That was shocking...Right now she was suffering a very serious dissonance. Dhani were not like that. They killed, sometimes for fun, from boredom. Cruel, despicable monsters, so why saving her? This damn house was slwoly making her reality to fall apart and not only because of hallucinations. The answer he gave her was rather obscure. ”Waste of what?” Jamisia asked gathering herself from the ground. She had a snarky question on the back of her tongue like 'Food?' but instead of saying this, the girl slowly walked toward him and did something she had never done before with his kind – told him her name. ”I am Jamisia. Thank... you, even if you didn't do it for your own...strange reasons.” It was one of the hardest things the woman had said since arriving to Alvadas and immediately felt ashamed of that. She began to treat him like a fellow human and the Dhani was as far from her own kind as they come. A mistake that many paid for with their lives. Still scarlet from embarrassment she was so easily lured in a trap and how quickly the Dhani managed to low her guard. And now this smell of roses...Roses? Jamisia reached out her hand and caught a flower petal on her palm. Rain, rain of flowers? ”What in the name of Yahal?” Few crimson drops landed on her hair and face. Jam sneezed. Air in the room began to be more and more thick with a sweet odour.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones looked back at the woman, giving her an inquisitive look. She seemed to think she knew everything about him, but not all dhani were the same. "Wassste? Wassste of life... Good to meet you Jamisssia... Asss I sssaid before, I kill if ssere isss a ssreat, or for food. Only when I have to. I do not just kill for the fact of killing..." As the smell of flowers spread with the petals, he darted out his tongue once more, to taste the scent upon the air. "Did you ssink that all Dhani follow Sssiku alone? Ssough I respect her for her power and ssstrength, ssshe is not the only one I follow. I also follow mother Caiyha... The Goddess over all Nature... Ssshe abhors wassste, and ssso do I..." Saying this, Bones had an odd look in his eyes for a moment, as if he was looking at a distant scene. All at once he remembered were he was, and with a shake of the head, started to move. Walking again down the hall, he motioned for her to follow. "Well, let us continue on... Follow me..." He said this once more as a command more than a question, and walked off without looking back.