OoC: This isn't godmodding, because me and Sakiko talked about it the day before and she said it would be fine.

Arrika the Sheikah theif and Sakiko the Hylian Mage finally decided to stop bickering, either because they were tired of it or because they knew it was pointless to agree on anything slightly objectionable. Although they still bickered every other hour. And what better way to make friends than go camping? It had been Arrika's idea of course, knowing that Sakiko wouldn't take the initiative to come up with an idea of her own. So they ended up wandering aimlessly through Hyrule Field. Sakiko had complained of wanting to go to the sea, but Arrika immediately shot that idea down by reasoning that it would be too hot in the day and freezing at night, with sea gulls doing their business on your shoulder at least 20 times a day.

It was dark now, the moon rising steadily but surely into the sky, and Arrika felt almost a sense of relief that it was night. Her new friend looked even paler in the moonlight, but her overall appearance was even more airy and ethereal than usual, her thin silver hair billowing slightly in the light breeze. A strange smell wafted towards them, to which Arrika raised her head questioningly, sniffing in the air. "Do you smell that, Sakiko? It's like something's... burning?" The Sheikah climbed a nearby tree as skillfully as a cat, and she could see grey smoke rising into the air. Were those flames? Oh, Goddesses...

"Hey.... Do you feel like playing hero right now? 'Cuz there's a burning house up there," Arrika said uncertainly, looking down at the mage on the ground.

Sakiko turned even paler than usual, looking up towards her newfound friend. All blood drained out of her face as she bit her lips and mumbled incoherently. She thought furtively, Well, what could I say? That I am afriad of fire? Very, very afraid? Sakiko felt a twinge of jealousy for Arrika's boldness and sense of adventure, disregarding fear of any kind. Anything but fire wouldn't stop Sakiko from having a taste of adventure as well. The young mage coughed and said slowly and reluctantly,

"You know, Arrika, you drove me all the way to this wilderness to supposedly camp, and now you want me to save a random burning house? I really could care less, but if you insist, I will follow along and...just..."

Sakiko wanted to blurt out her fear of fire, but she was too proud for that. Sakiko sighed dramatically and finished,

"Just help out when needed. I guess."

The young Hylian added gloomily, frowning.

"Can you cast any water spells?" Arrika said as she lept out of the tree gracefully and hit the ground running, motioning for Sakiko to follow her. The house wasn't too far away, but as they drew nearer the Sheikah started to realize she had gotten more than she had bargained for.

The flames were huge and out of control now, engulfing the house completely. "Damn!" Arrika said, but went to the already cracking door and knocked it through with one of her black boots. "Cover your mouth! You coming in?"

The Sheikah thief climbed over fallen pieces of wood and the remains of furniture, shielding herself with her black cloak. "Is anyone in here?!" She called anxiously.

Sakiko didn't answer when Arrika asked her if she was capable of water spells. The young mage's lips were dry as she hovered near the broken doorway, staring anxiously as Arrika boldy stepped into the house. She thought angrily to herself, You are such a coward! Why don't you just jump in there, help save the burning house? Come on, you have been training mentally and physically for quite awhile now, perhaps to face your past again...

Sakiko gritted her teeth together and covered her face with the gray robe. She choked on the flittering piece of ash as she squinted through the burning house. Slowly, Sakiko withdrew her hand from her robe, palms toward a small, lone fire. She grimly closed her eyes, and imagined her energy traveling through her arm, reaching her hand. Sakiko swallowed dryly as she watched a blue, liquid ball forming on her palm. The young mage closed her fingers over it, feeling the cold, metallic touch. The cold sphere drifted in midair for a split second, then it was hurtling through the hot air, towards the small fire.

The young Hylian gaped as the fire immediately swallowed up the fire, creating a small wisp of smoke. She choked with emotional pride, as this was her first time in having succeeded in putting out a fire. She snapped out of her daze and grinned at the Sheikah.

"Hey, Arrika, how about a game of who can put out the most fire?"

"I'd say sure, I'm gonna kick your ass, but I don't see- cough- how I can put out the fire- cough- remember, I can only cast that fire spell, which I don't think-ugh-would be any help right now-" The Sheikah had a hard time speaking through the smoke. She dodged falling embers, still searching the house for any survivors. She eventually found a woman, crawling on the ground beneath the smoke. She stretched out a hand towards her, and Arrika ran forward just as the remains of a cupboard crashed down. She dodged it at the last moment, looking helplessly at the woman now separated from a wall of flames.

"Who are you? Where are my children? What did you do to them?" The lady babbled crazily from fear.

"There are kids here too? Sakiko, find them! They won't last long in this!" Arrika called back. "Hold on miss, I'll help you." The thief looked around for a way to her rescuee, but everything seemed blocked off by the flames. Pretty soon she couldn't see the frenzied woman at all, just a hazy shadow. Arrika couldn't breathe very well at this point, and her eyes began to water. I'm an idiot! To think I could have been any help. Why do I keep trying to pretend I'm some hero? She thought angrily, the temperature increasing with each passing second.

The next minute she was on her knees, coughing uncontrollably, her mind spinning. She tried to cry out to the silver haired mage girl, but she couldn't speak. Something was wrong... this all seemed wrong, and a feeling of dread engulfed her as she struggled to stay awake.

"Arrika! Arrika, where are you?!" A Sheikah woman screamed frantically, and she knew she was being burned alive.

"I'm right here!" A little Sheikah girl called back, her long black hair tangled and reaching almost to the floor. Her eyes were such a brilliant red that they almost matched the bright flames that threatened to consume her. "Mo-ther," she coughed, "I can't breathe!"

"Get out of here! Get out right now, Arrika!" The older Sheikah was trying to pry open a floor board.

"No! Not without you! What are you doing?! Please, hurry up and-" Arrika tugged on her mother's arm, but she wouldn't budge.

"Arrika, listen to me and get out. I'll follow you as soon as I can, I promise. Now go!" She went back to pulling open the floorboard, and finally succeeded as the wood broke with a large crack. The Sheikah woman started to dig frantically through the dry straw beneath the house, finally coming up with a wooden box that was chained shut.

Fear overtaking her, Arrika ran towards the living room and to the door, stopping at its burning remains. She looked back, thinking her mother was right behind her. This was not so and a second later they were separated by one of the heavy oak supports from the ceiling. Her mother looked wild, crazed with fear and clutching the box to her chest like it mattered more than her life. Unwilling to go any closer to the pillars of flames, Arrika was rooted to spot, watching in horror as a huge bookcase collapsed on her mother.

Arrika felt tears come to her eyes, but she couldn't cry out. Behind her the door finally gave way and with a splintering crack engulfed her as well. The next thing she knew she was on the ground, blood running down her outstretched arms as she finally let the darkness take her.

It was night now, and although Arrika's eyes were still shut she was awake and faintly aware of her surroundings. Forcing herself to finally open her eyes, she dragged herself up and realized that her home had burned to the ground, everything now black and ashes. The Sheikah girl started to cry again, this time louder and sobbing. Not knowing which part of the ashes used to be the room her mother had fallen, she wandered the ashes and splintered wood, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes with her blackened tunic.

Neighbors appeared, concerned but not enough to take in an orphan Sheikah girl. They buried the body the morning after, or what was left of it, and went back to their lives, completely disregarding the fact that by ignoring Arrika they were dooming her to either dying of starvation or being killed by the wolfos that were known to roam they area by night.

Normally a kind grandmotherly type woman would have found the heart to take her in, but there was something about Arrika that made them wary. Her striking red eyes seemed so much more intelligent than that of a little girl's, and her slim form and pale face didn't make her seem very strong or capable of learning any kind of trade.

Odd and useless, they would say. Fated to die even if we did feed the little bird. Did you know she wouldn't eat anything her rescuers tried to feed her? She won't show any emotion but indifference either. She didn't cry when they buried her poor mother. She won't say a single word.

Really? Her mother was an odd one too. Sheikah always make me feel uneasy; I heard they worship the shadows. They don't put too much trust in the Goddesses and the lot of them end up as thieves or some kind of vagabond. Look at her thin fingers; she's bound to end up stealing from your wallets the night you bring her into your home.

And so Arrika wandered, and whether she became a thief as an act of defiance against her gossiping neighbors or it really was in her nature, she never regretted anything but the empty feeling that was always in her stomach. Never felt guilt from stealing from her fellow citizens of Hyrule because she knew her very survival was on the line.

Her red eyes began to dim with each passing year, finally settling into a pitch black. Black like her soul, they would say, that is, if she has one at all.

OoC: So Sakiko-chan, post, my eyes will officially turn back to a bright red, I can change my avvy to something better, and I will introduce the little demon children that decided to cook their mother because they were bored.

Sakiko snorted, flicking her long, silver hair back. She shook her head at Arrika, not believing the Sheikah's unwavering confidence. The mage stepped back from the fire, and engulfed herself with her water spell. Sakiko hesitently stuck out her hand into the edge of the flame, half doubting the protection of the metallic coating. A smile immediately came to her lips as the flame hissed and drew back from her touch, repelled by the watery sheet.

The young mage ran through the flickering flames, her sharp eyes darting back and forth, looking for the woman's children. The Hylian came in contact with the flames as much as possible, trying to put out the fire. Finally, Sakiko came to a hallway, with a door at the end of it. The mage ran, her lips pursed. She threw her weight against the door, trying to break it down. When it did not budge, a string of curse words escpaed her lips. Any precious second lost would cost a life.

Again, Sakiko frantically shoved at the door. With a loud crackle, the wooden door shattered unto the hungry flames. Sakiko squinted, as the room was filled with smoke. She called out for any survivors, but no answer could be heard. With a sigh, the Hylian was about to turn back when she felt a pang of strong emotion.

Sakiko cried out in pain, as this was fear and anger she had experienced long ago, when she had lost her aunt. She clutched her sides painfully as the painful agony drilled into her mind, her sense of detecting aura. Her eyes watered with pain as she tried to detect the owner of this feeling.

Arrika.

Sakiko gasped in surprise as she ran towards where she had come from, throwing aside any blockades. The young mage called out for the Sheikah, her mind whirling dizzily.

"Arrika! Arrika!"

The mage soon found the teen kneeling. Sakiko couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. She knelt by Arrika and shook her, hard.

"Get up! Damn it, Arrika, get up!!"

Sakiko became afraid of losing another to fire, and began to choke with fear. The mage stared at Arrika, and noticed her eyes red. Confused, she thought, Is this some reaction to the smoke? Or the heat? That's...strange... The Hylian kept examining Arrika's eyes, until she became aware of the situation. The mage noticed the woman, separated from her rescuer, crying in fear for her children. Sakiko groaned in frustration at the two helpless creatures, and got up. She kicked the burning cupboard aside, and grabbed the woman with her left hand, and Arrika with her right.

Closing her eyes, she began to engulf the two with the water spell.

ooc: I posted a longer one before, but for some reason, it didn't show up, so this is my second time doing this..sigh...but anyways, I'm not sure if this was how I was supposed to do it...

"No-mmph! Stopthatdon'tyouknowIdon'tlikewater??!" Arrika said, somehow finding the strength to stand on her own. The water had woken her from her trance, which she was grateful for, and she dragged the two of them with newfound energy to another wall, which she knocked down with another smash of her boots. Panting heaviy outside and well away from the fire, she threw up in a nearby bush. Wiping her mouth, she said, "Sakiko, I do believe you've saved my life. And her's." She looked down at the lady who was now lying motionless on the ground. Arrika felt for a pulse and with relief found she had only passed out.

"I wish she was awake so we can ask her what the hell she was cooking to start that inferno," the Sheikah said.

Farther away on a hill rising above the house's roof, two young children, a boy around 12 and a girl around 10 stood with annoyed expressions on their faces. They were pale, although a shade darker than Sakiko's. And they were angry that their mother had survived.

"Who were those idiots that helped her?" The girl asked her brother, her blue eyes and blonde hair giving her the air of a spoiled princess. "This wasn't supposed to happen! She was supposed to get what she deserved!"

The boy had ordinary brown hair but unusually sharp teeth, and replied, "I have no clue. But I assure you, we'll make them pay for interfering. Who do they think they are?"

"Let's burn them alive! Let's show them three times as much pain as we planned for our Dearest Mother!" The girl said enthusiastically, adressing her mother with a sarcastic voice.

The boy only smiled, his sharp teeth like a wolf's, his eyes twice as threatening. "No, no. Remember, no one could wrong us as much as her. Why, if we killed anyone else that would be like saying we didn't hate her as much."

The little girl pouted and sulked. "Fine. I guess you're right. But can we do my plan this time?"

"Must you be so crude? The stake-in-the-heart idea again? You know how that offends me."

"That's no fair. You always get what you want!"

"Because I'm older," the boy responded, starting the beginning of the well known sibling rivalry type fight. "No, we'll slit her throat and bleed her but not enough to kill her. Then we'll string her up by her wrists on a tree for the Wolfos to lick. Alright?"

"So we can't drown her?"

"No. But we're not strong enough to put her in a tree."

"Ooo! Then let's possess Beloved Mother's rescuers! The looks on their faces after they wake up and see their hands stained with her blood!" The girl added gleefully.

Her brother smiled again. "I do believe that's a brilliant idea! Good thinking. We begin at once."

The blonde sister hopped up and down with joy, glad to be of help.

Sakiko stepped back, a grimace on her face, as she watched Arrika throw up. She wrinkled her nose as she muttered,

"If I knew you were going to do that, I wouldn't have saved you from that stupid fire. Bleh."

The mage stared at the woman blankly, a frown on her face. She knelt down by the woman and the Sheikah, and said softly,

"Perhaps it was her cooking that created this fire. But..then.."

Sakiko tipped her head to one side, her silver hair gathering at her shoulders. She mumured quietly,

"She mentioned her children. Where were they during the fire? It seems...fishy, if you ask me."

"Shows how considerate you are," Arrika said, but knew (and kinda hoped) Sakiko was (mostly) joking. "Yeah, I wondered the same thing." Arrika sensed something in the bushes behind them, and even with her excellent eyesight she couldn't see who the strangers were. The Sheikah felt a chill on the back of her neck and shivered, and this feeling wasn't from the night wind. "Watch her and try to wake her up if you can," she said to Sakiko, then turned and walked towards the strangers' prescence.

In the darkness of the bushes the pale boy smiled, his teeth long and sharp, like fangs. He chuckled to himself, then focused his hunter's eyes on Arrika's. For a split second Arrika made eye contact with him, but before the thief could react she lost conciousness. She didn't hit the ground, though, as the pale boy's soul had already taken over and possessed her almost completely.

Arrika turned to face Sakiko, but you could tell something was amiss about her. Her eyes were unfocused at first, but they soon found Sakiko's grey eyes. She then grinned a wolfish smile reminscent of the boy's and started to walk towards the mage. Farther back in the bushes and beside her brother, the blonde girl stifled a giggle and rocked back and forth, shaking with laughter.

Sakiko knelt by the woman, her lips pursed. She shuffled through her herb bag, trying to find the right remedy for burns. She silently reminded herself to refill her herbs, as she was running low. But then again, her herbs were never in any copious amounts. The mage sighed, and made a turn to call Arrika, wanting to say that she couldn't help the woman at the moment.

Sakiko froze, staring at the Sheikah, who was smiling a foreign grin and walked with an air that was different than Arrika's usual light steps. The mage whispered softly,

"Arrika? Don't play games."

However, something in her mind told her that Arrika wasn't joking at all. The situation felt grave and serious. The mage grabbed her staff, her pale hands growing even more white. Her silver hair whipped in her face as she yelled,

"Arrika! Snap out of it!"

OoC: Once I attempt to hit you it will be your turn, so attack in your next post. I hope I'm doing this right...

Arrika: HP 35/35
STR: 2
DEF: 1
AGI: 6
INT: 3
SPI: 5

Sakiko: HP 25/25
STR: 1
DEF: 2
AGI: 1
INT: 3
SPI: 5
SPL: 6

Arrika laughed, her voice high and chilling to the bone. "What's wrong, friend? Am I not who you thought I was?" She drew her Deku Dagger, tossing it casually in the air repeatedly. After she caught it the fourth time she lunged forward, aimed at Sakiko's heart and taking satisfaction in the scared expression on the pale mage's face. She hit, causing her blade to be stained with Sakiko's blood. A crazed look rose in the Sheikah's eyes as she started to cackle with evil laughter. She licked the dagger, her tongue running over her lips, a hungry look in her dark eyes.

Sakiko HP 18/25
Arrika HP 35/35

Sakiko gripped her heart painfully, grunting with pain. She grimaced as the blood flowed freely, oozing through her fingers. The mage felt a vile taste in her mouth as she watched the stranger, in the form of Arrika, lick the blood. The mage cursed the evil creature quietly with words not fit to be spoken. Sakiko, hunched over, muttered an incantation, preparing to cast the spell. The mage closed her eyes, ignoring the searing pain in her chest, hoping that it'd work, somehow.

Arrika was thrown back slightly, her eyes unfocusing again and the top half of her body hanging limply from her standing legs. "Hah... and to think that actually hurt..."

Arrika HP 27/35
Sakiko HP 18/25

The blonde girl frowned in annoyance as Arrika was hurt. "That's no fair!" She whined, pulling on her brother's cold arm, which had no effect. His body had become no more than an empty, soulless shell and his body was frozen rigid, leaning forward slightly. "Hmph," she said, sitting down impatiently. "I'll take care of them on my own! You'll see!" She threatened him, which of course had no effect on him either and fell upon deaf ears.

Meanwhile Arrika staggered around, stumbling after Sakiko again. She then stopped, noticing the unconcious body of the woman on the ground. Forgetting the silver haired mage, she swept down to the body and lifted it, the woman's head rolling back and exposing her throat. The Sheikah had a starving look in her eyes and the next second her mouth was around the woman's throat. Fangs grew from her teeth as they bit down, warm dark blood spilling over the both of them. After having taken her fill she dropped the woman unceremoniously on the ground again, and it was obvious that she was now dead, her body drained of her life force. Arrika wiped her mouth with her sleeve, grinning maniacally. "It is done. I've finally achieved my revenge!" She said shrilly, then raised her head to the sky and began to cackle again.

The blonde girl, horrified at what she'd seen (but for different reasons than the average person) darted from her hiding spot and pulled on Arrika's sleeve, screaming, "You liar! How could you?! You promised, you promised you wouldn't, you-" Her next scream was cut off as Arrika raised her dagger and cut her down, stabbing her directly in the heart. The girl's eyes widened in shock, her lips parted as if to protest, but she crumpled at her feet and lay still. Arrika turned to Sakiko, the look in her eyes saying, "I guess you're next," raising her already stained dagger again.

OoC: Do me a favor and say something to the effect of, "You're a vampire! You monster!" Or something to that effect (of course better). 'Kay?

Sakiko growled, her eyes turning into midnight black orbs. This thing didn't know when it was going too far. The mage grabbed her staff, and outstretched her hand. She hissed,

"I should've known."

The mage ran towards Arrika, her staff raised, getting ready to strike the creature. She screamed,

"I hope your soul gets destroyed and ripped into shreds, you damn vampire!"

Arrika looked at Sakiko, pointing to the now dead woman at her feet. "That's what she said too. And now, she finally got what was coming to her." Arrika sidestepped, appearing before Sakiko with inhumane speed ten times faster than a Sheikah's. "She hated me, you know? She hated all of us. My father once she found out what he was, and us once she realized what demons she'd given birth to. My father was a fool, I see it now. He thought she would understand, that the love she had for him would make her put her other feelings for the dark aside. He was wrong. He was wrong!" The vampire screamed through Arrika. "And do you know what my mother did? She sent him to his death, instead of just leaving him. She sent hunters after him! The sight of his body, impaled by so many stakes, his once glowing eyes now lifeless, doomed to spend the rest of eternity in Hell!"

"And her!" She kicked the blonde vampire's body, the pool of blood welling around her splashing, darkening her hair. "Turn's out she's only half vampire by nature. Somehow I ended up with pure vampire genes, unable to go without feeding for more than a few days. While she didn't have to kill for her dinner for weeks! Mother loved her for it, if you could call it love! Occasionally she would comb that stupid blonde hair of hers, but she didn't linger for long. That gave a little satisfaction, but the fact that she would at least look at her!" Arrika made a choking sound, holding back tears. "I hated them all," she said finally her voice hoarse. "Even my father sometimes, for picking a stupid woman who could never understand us. I'm glad they're all dead. This is probably the happiest moment of my endless life."