She did not look straight, at an angle, or sideways, she just sat there looking. It was an odd stare, her large black eyes making it even more awkward, and a stare that could possibly be described as “spacey�. One of those looks where it is as if the person holding it was lost in another time, space, or eternity…..another existence. She remained still for a long while; the only part of her moving was her fingers that lightly traced the tattoo on her arm. It was the infamous tattoo of the Hiroko, a small handful of humans that had been selected to gain certain powers, and she knew it all to well.
She supposed she enjoyed being a
Hiroko….it did have its good points….but she also hated it. Hated how it made her different from others, prone to taunts and teases. Hated how people always pointed at her and whispered about her. It wasn’t like she was abnormal…she looked like any other human….the only part of her that seemed to hold a neon sign over her head was this bloody tattoo….
<B> Need any help mis?… </B>
Andrea blinked quickly, trying desperately to focus her vision on the intruder of her peace. The woman before her was a small, plump lady with a very kindly face. She looked young…perhaps 24….and she just stood there balancing a baby on one hip with a young child in tow behind. The little girl behind was blonde, and frantically pulled on her mother’s dress while staring at Andrea’s arm.
Andrea winced as she felt the blonde girl’s disapproving look pierce through her, and Andrea quickly covered up her arm with her other hand. She hated getting stares like that and she looked away from the girl and her mother in embarrassment.
<B> No….I’m fine… </B> Andrea replied with a weak smile. She waited for the three to leave her before deciding upon standing up before someone else questioned her, and grabbing the reins of her newest mount, headed towards the town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Being a Hiroko, Andrea had the power to read minds and to talk through her mind. It was both a gift and a curse, with the curse being stronger then the gift. It was a power you had to master to be able to hear only what you wanted to hear, otherwise you would just hear everyone’s thoughts at once.
And it was a power that had gotten Andrea into more trouble then she had wanted. Her siblings would always become furious with her when she would randomly blurt out their deepest secrets. They called her such names as freak, loser, oddball and she had come to hate her mind-reading abilities. So she had taught herself to block them out.
But this was irrelevant to her current circumstance.
Andrea slipped her fingers through the mane of the horse she had “acquired� not long ago. In her “field of work� she had learned to let go of everything and so she was about to let go of this fine young colt. But all would not be lost to her….she would soon be in possession of the beautifully cut ruby necklace that lay of the table next to her. Yes….Andrea was a thief, just like her mother and father, brothers and sisters she was a thief. It was in a sense a sad thing. Andrea was barely 18 years-old and already knew the best ways to rob, steal, and plunder.
She pulled her long black hair back into a loose bun, the time was now or never. The young woman looked into the horse’s eyes and slowly pulled back her lips to reveal large canines that were growing steadily larger. Andrea knew her toothy smile was only as long as she wanted it (she could shape shift into a fox) but the horse didn’t. He let out a loud scream, rearing and taking off in the opposite direction from her.
<B> MY HORSE!!! Someone please catch it!!! </B> Andrea shouted at the top of her lungs, covering up her “fangs� as they shrank back into place. Then she turned around and slipped the ruby necklace into her bag and took off in the direction the horse wasn’t. She kept going, unsure if anyone had seen her stealing or if anyone was after her.
She stopped when she reached the edge of town. She panted slightly and sat down to rest. She glanced around looking at everyone in the area.
