The shifter in the woods (open)

[Amorida]

After the first few sentences, Ephi nodded in agreement, clenching her hands into fists, recalling all the names, the loneliness of it all. Then Mr. Ikka said, "There is one more thing I want to ask you. It may be a bit hard to answer, but please do so to the best of your ability. Alright?"

Warily, Ephi glanced at him. 'What could he possibly want to ask that would require such a prelude?' Ephi wonder, nodding slowly.

[Kalak8538]

His gaze met hers once again. The rising sun glinted off his thick shades. His voice was still calm, but was more intense. His face grew completely serious.

"Tell me about when you learned about your power. Tell me... the first time you shifted."

Inside, he braced himself for what may happen.

[Amorida]

Ephi flinched, but slowly relaxed. Ephi closed her eyes, visualizing the gathering center of the village.

"I was in the village center with my parents... the sun was shining, blue skies, birds singing.. I was riding my father's shoulders, playing with his hair while he kissed my mother..." Ephi paused, smiling at the memory before her world was ripped apart. Then, frowning, she continued. "I had a... weird feeling.. in my stomach... and my parents assumed it was something I'd eaten... After a while, I went off, playing with some of the other kids while my parents bartered..."

Ephi swallowed, and licked her dry lips, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. "Suddenly, while I was... in the middle of the village.... the feeling moved from my stomach... to my heart.." Ephi traced the path with a finger absentmindedly, reliving the first time. "That's when I... shifted..."

[Kalak8538]

Mr. Ikka's eyebrows rose. The smile was refreshing. She must have had a great relationship with her parents. It was the rest of the memory that rendered her sullen.

"And... your parents... Both human? Your grandparents?"

[Amorida]

"Everyone was human..." Ephi muttered, and pulled her legs up onto the chair, resting her forehead on her knees, and wrapping her arms around her legs. "All but me of course..."

Ephi lifted her head for a moment to respond, "I never knew my grandparents... they... died before I came along..."

[Kalak8538]

There was some... interesting... information just revealed. His "patient" was starting feel great emotional pain. Mr. Ikka had to finish up the questioning. It was cruel to subject her to much more of this.

"All but you... Interesting. Do you believe yourself anything other than human?"

He put a hand on her back, and began to gently rub up and down.

"I know this is hard... You have done very well so far. We are almost done."

[Amorida]

"How can I be human?" Ephi said shrugging off the man's hand.

With that, she stood up, and went back into the house. Once inside, she took a few deep breaths, leaning on the water basin in the kitchen, trying to clear her mind. What had she just done? Broken the only promise she's ever sworn to the heavens she wouldn't break. Frustrated, she pounded the edge of the basin with a fist once, and walked out the back door, and into the forest for some much needed alone time.

[Kalak8538]

That was it, she had gone off.

"Damn..." The man thought to himself. He let her go, deciding not to follow her. The poor girl needed time to recompose herself.

She was most likely cursed. Every family had enemies, and this enemy was probably skilled in the arcane arts. Then again, one of the grandparents could have been magic. Perhaps one of them was not even human. Perhaps a changeling? Genetics were a fickle thing. In all his years of travelling, Mr. Ikka had seen cases where hereditary traits have skipped a generation.

These were the two possibilities, but which one was it? The man would not dare question the poor girl about it anymore. She was already torn up enough. He simple could not torture her any longer. But what should he tell her? Maybe just pick one? She seemed to desire being human. Telling her it was a curse would be shocking, but hopefully she could take solace in truly being human. But what if the opposite was true?

Mr. Ikka sat back in the rocking chair and gave a sigh. It would take serious contemplation. He refused to leave until he felt his host was feeling better. He would have an answer by the time she came back.

[Amorida]

Ephi walked through the woods. Warm, green light filtered down through the treetops. Ephi wasn't even sure how long shed walked before she came to a fork in the road she'd never seen. One path twisted right, deeper into the woods, though it seemed to be darker, almost with an evil air about it. The left path wound up the side of the hill to what looked like a prairie. Just as she was about to take the left path, she paused, and glanced behind her.

She's always been told and raised to believe that magic was evil, and belonged with the gods of the underworld. Something in the dark woods seemed to call to her. She tried to get a better look without actually entering.

"Ephi..." A ghostly voice whispered. Ephi nearly jumped out of her skin. The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, and yet, she knew the source was in the woods.

"Ephi, come join us," the voice beckoned. It sounded like a girls voice, though it could be a small child's as well. Tentatively, ephi took a few steps towards the darkness.

[Kalak8538]

The young woman had been gone a while now. Yes, she needed time alone, but perhaps this was too much time. He did not understand why, but Mr. Ikka had a bad feeling about this. He rose to check on her. Throughout the cottage, she was nowhere to be seen. There was a rear entrance, cracked open ever so slightly, a tell tale sign that the girl had made her exit. He scanned the forest behind the cabin, but there was no trace of his poor host. His icy calm began to wane, as he became more concerned.

He had to find her. There was no telling what this young woman would do in her current state. The man felt guilty for prying, knowing he had made her run away like this. However, he could not dwell on such things if he was to find her. With his animal-like sense of smell, he began searching for a scent. The water on the trees and underbrush interfered with this, but only slightly. He had it! It was faint, but it was there. Now all the old man had to do was follow it. He only hoped he was not too late.

Through the forest, Mr. Ikka had found a trail. The girl's scent was stronger here. Obviously, she had taken it. Now, the man broke into a sprint that seemed impossible for one his age. The scent grew stronger with each passing foot he ran. Soon, he saw his quarry. The young girl stood at a crossroads, obviously contemplating which direction to travel. She took a few steps down the right path. This path was darker, with some strong and evil aura emanating from it. It was enough to send shivers up even the man's spine. The girl continued, seemingly entranced by the dark magics. He had to stop her however he could.

"No miss! Stop!" he called out.

Mr. Ikka ran towards the girl, casting a spell at the same time. A great wall of fire rose before her, hopefully cutting her off from advancing any more down the trail. He preferred to refrain from using such strong magic, but he felt this warranted it. The flames grew far enough ahead as to not burn the poor girl, yet it was close enough for her to feel their heat. The man stopped between her and the wall, eyes facing the dark branches above. The darkness was so intense here, and the shadow almost dimmed the light of the roaring fire ahead.

"Please miss, we have to leave. It is not safe here..."

There was genuine concern to his voice this time. His gaze never left the trees.

[Amorida]

When Mr. Ikka called to her, she whirled around in time to see him sprinting towards her, just before a wall of fire jumped up between her and the dark woods. Ephi stumbled back from the fire, more shocked than anything. For a moment, she thought she saw a pair of yellow eyes, staring at her unblinkingly from the other side of the fire.

Then Mr. Ikka was right in front of her, faster than she could blink. "Please, miss we have to leave, it's not safe here..." He begged her while watching the woods. When Ephi looked back, the eyes were gone. She focused her attention back on the old man.

"You... stopped me..." she breathed in awe. Mr. Ikka helped her up, and they walked down the trail, away from the now shrinking wall of fire. After a few minutes of silence, Ephi said, in the loudest voice Mr. Ikka's heard yet, almost a normal speaking volume, "Ephi."

[Kalak8538]

"Ephi..."

That was it. His host had revealed her name to him.

"...A beautiful name."

He smiled warmly as he said this. Although that was the polite thing to say, he sincerely liked that name. It went well with its bearer.

"Are you alright Ephi? That was a very dark place you almost wandered into..."

[Amorida]

Ephi blushed, smiling. "Thank you... everyone in the village thought so too... until... you know..." Ephi trailed off, but was still smiling at the complement, the first in a very long time. "I think I'm OK... There was this.... voice... it knew me..." Ephi shuddered at the eerie child's voice.

[Kalak8538]

That too, was interesting. There was more the man wanted to know about it, but he would not dare to ask any more of his host. Instead, he thought it best to console her. Maybe he could go investigate later...

"Alright. You are okay, it's over now..."

He said in a calming tone. There was no need to say any more about it. Ephi already had a lot on her mind as it is. He changed the subject.

"I have put a lot of thought into your... condition."

[Amorida]

Ephi stopped walking at this. "And?" Her eyes were wide, and she was completely focused on what he'd say next. She couldn't put a finger on it, but he seemed to be very knowledgeable on a lot of different topics, including the one she'd been trying to figure out for years. She was still wary of her guest, but not nearly as much as the first time they'd met in the storm last night.

Had it really been less than a day? No one's been able to earn Ephi's trust that quickly since her first shift. She smiled, in spite of the seriousness of the conversation. She felt like she already knew the man very well and he knew her as well, despite their very short time together.

[Kalak8538]

Mr. Ikka wished he had put more thought into exactly what to tell the young woman. The two possibilities still buzzed around in his head, and he needed to decide which one to tell the girl. Perhaps he could get away with revealing both at the same time.

"From what I can tell, there are two possibilities. Both of your parents are human, and that makes you human. Don't worry about that."

He knew that would be the most important point. Raised by humans, among humans, it was only natural that she would want to think herself as human. The next part he spoke flatly.

"I do not know your family, so this is only speculation. Your condition could be the result of a curse. Perhaps your family had enemies. Enemies with magic."

His voice seemed to shift it tone. He looked at Ephi right in the face.

"On the other hand... You say you have never met your grandparents. Such a power could have been inherited from them."

His gaze was once again fixed ahead, down the forest trail.

"A sleeping trait, skipping over the parent and awaking in the child..."

[Amorida]

Ephi rolled the two ideas around in her head. It was true, that no one had spoken of those who had passed in her village, the only records she found on her family had a list of names, time and cause of death. Her grandmother had died giving birth, while her grandfather had passed of an illness during a very harsh winter. The curse idea was interesting. But who would want to curse Ephi? Why?

Ephi continued walking with Mr. Ikka in silence, thinking.

[Kalak8538]

"Ah! Here we are." he said, reaching the cottage again.

The young one seemed to be taking the news rather well. The silence was nearly unsettling. It was nearly time for for the next step. The problem was diagnosed (for the most part), now was the time to remedy it.

"Once you are ready, we can begin training you. I suggest you make something for yourself to eat."

[Amorida]

Ephi looked at Mr. Ikka. "Training?" she asked. "For what?" While waiting for his answer, she ran ahead a bit and opened the door for him.

[Kalak8538]

Giving a gracious nod, Mr. Ikka re-entered the cottage. He assumed his host would follow him inside. He turned to face her, and stared with utmost seriousness.

"I do not know the source of this power of yours, but I can at least help you control it. This way, you will not be so fearful of it."