I have greatly modified this and I hope it's better than before!
Twas a black night when I arrived here at Here. I had no idea how I'd come to be there, nor where to go. I stumbled about in the darkness feeling for something, anything at all to help me see. I saw a faint glow. With a rush of need I sprang towards it. I had no clue that it was very close to me. Thusly I ran into it. It didn't cry out but it shone very brightly. I studied it and saw it was... well this may sound odd, but it was a star. A round sphere of light stood before me shining bright and blue.
"What's your name? Where are we?" I asked it, but it didn't reply. It looked at me and shrugged. It had morphed from a ball into a human. He, for it was male, began to walk away from me.
"Wait!" I cried, "Don't leave me in this darkness!" He beckoned for me to follow him. I readily did so. He lead the way to a path which we followed to a large building, he knocked on the door and we waited.
A tall silver haired youth answered the door. His black eyes searched us.
"Ah... You two must be the new ones..." He grinned and called over his shoulder, "Hobbes, I was right! It is a fallen star!"
Another youth with the same silver hair and black eyes came to the door. "Yes, Tiger, but I did say that the other would be a human. Even?" He asked Tiger.
"Even." Tiger nodded.
"Whose at the door, Tiger?" A voice called. "Is it them? Are they here?"
"Yes!" One of them called.
"Then let them in, they must be informed." the voice commanded.
"Come in." They gestured together for us to enter.
We stepped into a warm hallway and followed Tiger and Hobbes to a sitting room. Inside there sat a girl. She smiled and motioned for us to sit down.
"Welcome to Here, boys." She said.
"Where is here?" I asked.
"Here is here, silly." She laughed. "We welcome you to 123 Faring Place. What are your names?" She asked.
I thought a moment then said,"Kedar... Kedar Christenson."
"Nice to meet you Kedar, I'm Jonni. And what is your name?" She asked the star.
He pointed to his mouth and shook his head no. "Oh, I see! You lost your voice on the way down?" He nodded. "That's common, will you write your name down please?" She handed him a piece of paper and a pen.
He wrote something and handed it back to her. "Why." She read aloud."Because we need to know who you are." She said.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. Taking the paper back he wrote, "My name is Why."
"Oh!" She giggled, "Stars do like having funny names, don't they?"
He cocked his head to the side and looked at her questioningly.
"Never mind." She said. "Okay, I think you'll be on the top floor," she pointed to me,"And you'll be in the basement." She pointed to Why. "Hobbes take Why to the basement, Tiger take Kedar to the top floor, please."
I was taken to a comfortable room where I immediately fell asleep.
That was my first night at 123 Faring Place.
The next morning I woke very much confused. I was sprawled on a twin sized bed in a large room. Looking over I saw a window. I got up and walked over to it. Outside the window I saw the ground very far below me. I kept staring down and began to get dizzy. Then a flash of grey blurred past. I cried out and jumped back. It must've heard me for it came back. It was a teen. He was an odd white grey. He grinned and tapped on the window. I slowly opened it, and he lept onto the sill.
"Good morning!" He said in a voice I wouldn't have thought he possessed. It was airy and boomed at the same time.
"Goo...d morning." I stammered.
"Your Kedar, right?"
"Yeaaah. Yes. Yes I am. And who are you? What are you?" I asked him.
"I'm Writer, I'm a Cloud." he said as if that would reveal everything to me, in truth it only confused me more.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry!" He laughed," I forgot you're, uh... new. I'm a Cloud from Sky." He took the unnecessary precaution of pointing upwards.
"Then how are you... down here?" I asked a little annoyed.
"You're the same guy who saw a fallen Star last night?" He laughed, "Kedar, Here is a wonderful place, lots of things that can't happen in other realms can happen here. I for one am permitted by Madam Sun to stay on Here."
"Wha-?"
He sighed, "Don't you know? Every century a Star and a Cloud are chosen by Madam Sun to come to protect Here from... Um, misfortunes and the like. Why and I are sort of like the guardians of Here. Get it now?" He looked at me with an eager expression.
"Kind of... So you and Why are a star and a cloud? And your here to protect Here... From what?"
"Well, uh... Ya know whatsit and whosits and... so on and so forth and what have you." He laughed lightly but his face was worried. "Nice to meet you Kedar, I float by again sometime!" And he shot off.
I was quite concerned about what we were being protected from. I didn't have the confidence then that I now have in Why and Writer.
I made my bed and then looked around my room. There was a roll topped desk. I went over to it and opened it's top. It had a laptop inside. I smiled and sat down. I opened it and went to notebook. And I began to type...and type....and type. I probably would have stayed on that laptop all day long had it not been for Wiley and Art.
"Gooood evening." They said in unison entering my room.
"It's evening?" I asked astonished that I'd been on the laptop that long.
"Yes Kedar, it's five in the evening." One of the youths said.
"Who are you?" I asked, slightly wary.
"I'm Wiley." The teen with black hair smirked and bowed.
"And I'm Art." The other boy was pale and had searching brown eyes.
"Nice to meet you both..." I noticed it was fairly dim in the room, since the sun had hidden her face behind a bank of clouds.
"How are you finding Faring Place?" Wiley asked.
"I don't really know yet. I haven't been out of this room." I said.
"Oh, pity." Art grinned. "You ought to know the place your going to die in."
"What?" I asked very much bemused.
"Yes, you ought to know that you may possible give your self for another." Wiley said lazily.
"What are you talking about?" I cried.
"They haven't even told him the Prophesy. Tsk tsk tsk, what a shame. Shall we remedy that, Wiley?" Art asked grinning wickedly.
A girl with flaming hair burst into the room, "Wiley! Art! Get downstairs now! Jonni is waiting for you so we can eat!" She ordered bossily.
They glared at her and slunk away.
"You!" She barked at me.
"Yes?" I asked timidly.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Kedar Christenson... and you?"
"I'm Maddy and I'm a Flame. How old are you, Kedar?" She asked.
"Ummm... 18 I think." A flame, huh? Makes sense. I thought.
"You think? Don't you know how old you are?" She was exasperated.
"Yes I know!" I cried indignantly,"I'm 18. How old are you?"
"I'm 1432 years old. Well if you want to eat today you'll come down to the kitchen." She turned and started to walk away.
I begun to put my laptop away and she turned back around and barked, "NOW!" I jumped up and followed her out of my room. We walked down a wide hall way to the stairs. They wound in a circle all the way down. A person stood at the bottom staring up.
"Is Kedaw coming down?" The voice called. Not like Maddy's harsh voice, but soft and it had a lisp.
"Yes, Connie!" Maddy yelled back. "Connie's a writer. She's nine."
"Do her parents live here?" I asked.
"No, do yours?" She asked crisply.
"Nooo..." I muttered.
We began to descend the stairs, there were mirrors at every landing, I caught my reflection and stared. I have white hair, yellow eyes and my skin is copper. "Wow..." I breathed. I had had no idea what I looked like at the time.
"Are you done staring at yourself, Kedar?" Maddy asked.
"I wasn't-" I sighed and followed her to the bottom of the stairs. There were three hallways.
"Go strait and you'll end up in the front of Faring Place, where Writer, Connie, and Jonni's rooms are. Go to the left and you'll be in Wally's world. The kitchen, the dining room, HIS room, and the stairs to the basement are that way. If you were to go right you'd be in the entertaining part of this home. There's a game room, a sitting room, a den, a living room and a half bath. Any questions?" She asked.
"Yeah, you didn't tell me what we pass on the stairs, what's behind all of those doors?" I asked her.
"Well, nosy, there's Wiley's, Art's, Tiger and Hobbes's, and Candy's room for one. There's the laundry rooms, a few bathrooms, and my room. Satisfied?" She stormed.
"Not yet. Wiley and Art said something to me about a prophesy, what's the prophesy say?" I asked.
"I can't say." She growled and took the hallway to the left.
"Why can't you?" I asked.
"Because it's not my place to spoil the ending." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Now shut up and let's go eat."
We entered the dining room. In it was a large table, people were crowded around it, and a large man in an apron pushed his way thru a swinging door opposite the one I'd just entered. He held a large tray, tall glasses of a foamy drinks were atop it. He set them down, tucked the tray under his great arm and lumbered back thru the door.
"Hullo, Kedaw!" Connie dimpled a smile at me from across the room.
"Hi." I said back. Maddy pushed past me and took a seat by Wiley who was staring at me with his crystal blue glare.
"Look whose here." One of the silver haired youths grinned. The other was gulping his drink.
"Everyone this is Kedar Christenson he's Human." Jonni said. "Wally, come here for a moment!" She called. The big man came back to the swinging door and poked his head into the dining room.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Meet Kedar." She said.
"Nice to meet your acquaintance, Kedar." He extended his meaty hand, I shook it. He nodded to Jonni and went back into the kitchen.
"Okay, I want each of you to introduce yourself to Kedar. Tell him your name and title please." Jonni said. "Tiger and Hobbes will begin."
They stood, grinning, "We are Tiger and Hobbes, we are Time." They said in unison.
"I'm Candy, I'm a drop of Rain." A girl with watery blue eyes informed me.
"Nice to meet you, Candy." I said.
"I'm Hollywood I'm Ice." A boy with white blond hair told me. I nodded.
"I'm Connie I'm a Writew from Papew." The little girl smiled at me. I returned the smile.
"As you know, Kedar I am Wiley."
"And I'm Art." Wiley and Art smirked for no apparent reason.
"I'm Jache the Scribe." A youth with orange hair said. I just tilted my head in his direction.
"I'm Maddy and I'm a Flame." Maddy spat.
"I'm pretty sure that's everyone." Jonni smiled.
I spotted Why slouching in a corner and walked over to him. He nodded in acknowledgement when I said Hello.
"Do you like this place?" I asked him.
He smiled and shone brightly, then looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
"You do? I don't know if I do yet... I've only been up to my room and here." I explained.
He gestured his arm in a wide ark.
"I should explore, huh? I'll try to tomorrow... Will you come with me Why?" I asked.
He nodded vigorously. I smiled. "Hey, Why, have you heard anything about a prophesy?" He frowned and shook his head no.
Tiger or Hobbes, I couldn't tell them apart then, beckoned for us to sit down beside him. We did so just as the large man pushed thru the door again.
"Here you go!" He bellowed, putting plates of food in front of everyone.
"That's Wally our chef." The black eyed boy said in a whisper.
"Sorry but are you Tiger, or Hobbes?" I asked.
"I'm Hobbes. You can tell if it's me or Tiger by our ears. I have pointed ears and he doesn't, see?" He tilted his head and I saw he did indeed have pointed ears. I glanced up at Tiger and saw he had normal rounded ears.
"Okay, thanks Hobbes." I said. I looked down at my plate. "Hobbes, what is this?" I asked eyeing the yellowish matter on my plate.
"It's food, Kedar." He grinned and took a large bite of his.
"What kind of food?" I poked it with my fork.
"It's G.U.M." Hobbes said.
"What? This isn't gum. Gum is for blowing bubbles and chewing, not eating." I said.
"Where DID you come from, Kedar? G.U.M. stands for Generally Useful Matter, or General Users Malnutrition Buster.... Or something like that." He muttered and took another bite of G.U.M.
"What does it taste like?" I asked.
"Like whatever you want to eat." He grinned. "For instance, I'm eating a hot fudge sundae."
"Really?" I asked. I took a small forkful and ate it. I tasted like something I'd eaten before. Warmth filled me though the food was cool, a lightness spread all over me. I heard a beautiful laugh and looked around for the source. I saw only the chatting inhabitants of Faring Place.
Someone nudged me and I glanced over. Why looked at me with concern. "Did you hear her?" I asked him.
His brow furrowed and he shook his head no. I sighed. "Hobbes, did you hear her?" I asked.
"Who?" He asked. "Are you feeling alright, Kedar? You look a little pale..." He said.
"I'm fine." I'd suddenly lost my appetite. Getting up I left the dining room. I stumbled down the hall and was about to ascend the stairs when I heard her again. She seemed to be laughing with me even though I wasn't.
"Hello, Kedar." A soft voice whispered. I started and looked around. On the stairs stood the most different looking person I've yet to encounter.
"H- h- hi." I stuttered gaping at her. She wore a brilliant robe of yellow, and she had a great deal of scarves wrapped around her neck and her waist. She possessed a grand amount of hats, a few of which must have been stuck in her dreadlocks. Many baubles, watches and bracelets hung off her wrists and arms. I looked down at her bare feet and saw that they were the same shade of yellow as her robe.
"Who are you?" I asked her.
"Why, I'm Sunnee. I'm surprised no one greeted my when I came down. I suppose you all do things differently here. But you were expecting me, weren't you? You did received Madam Sun's message?" Sunnee asked me.
"I, uh.... I don't know. I was in my room all day... But I didn't hear anyone mention that you were coming."
"Oh dear," Sunnee breathed,"This is news indeed."
I led Sunnee to the dining room where dinner was in full swing. When we walked in everyone stopped eating and stared an Sunnee.
"Who's dat?" Connie asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"I am, Sunnee. And you say that no one was expecting me?" She asked me.
"Obviously not." I replied.
Jonni stood up, "I assure you none of us knew." She shot Wiley and Art a hateful look, "We would have been preparing... Come, we need to talk." Jonni led Sunnee out of the room.
Everyone looked at me.
"What?" I asked them.
"Where did she come from?" Tiger asked.
"I don't know... she was just there." I muttered.
"Why are you mumbling! Where did she come from?" Maddy said crossly.
"I was going to my room, and she was standing at the foot of the stairs." I said impatiently.
"So she just appeared?" Art smirked at my confusion.
"I don't know, why don't you ask her?" I cried.
"Obviously she's a Ray of Sunshine." Hobbes said.
"Well, obviously." Tiger frowned. "But why is she needed? We already have Why and Writer... and Kedar." he muttered.
"Perhaps the Prophesy was missing a piece? That DID happen to Hannon and Sokol... They didn't know how serious their problems were until it was to late." Hobbes said thoughtfully.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. Hobbes ignored me. I turned to Tiger, "What's that mean?" I asked him. He too ignored me. I looked about the room and scowled.
Wiley and Art were whispering with their heads close together, Connie sat on one of Wally's great knees crying, Maddy glared at Writer who was gliding about the room on his back, Hollywood, the youth with white blond hair, sat by Candy who was talking hurridly as if explaining something, Jache was staring down at his G.U.M., and Why was looking past me into the distance. Tiger and Hobbes continued to talk and shake their heads.
"Will someone please tell me what this means?!" I roared.
"No need to shout, Kedar." Art smirked.
"Well?" I asked.
Again the eyes of all 12 people were on me. "Tiger, Hobbes, you tell him." Maddy ordered them.
"Okay." Tiger said. "You might want to sit down, Kedar."
I did and Hobbes began to explain. "It was three generations ago that Hannon and Sokol, a Star and Cloud, came to Here, to protect the inhabitants of 123 Faring Place from..." he trailed off.
"From what?" I asked irritably.
"Fwom a howwible fate." Connie piped up.
"What horrible fate?" I cried in exasperation.
"Calm down, Kedar." Wiley said smugly.
"Not until you tell me!" I yelled.
"Kedar, chill." Writer said floating above me in a circle.
Before I could start screaming again Tiger said, "Okay, Hannon and Sokol were supposed to protect Here from beasts. Fire breathing dragons, two headed serpents, giants, ghouls, monsters, nightmares, whatever, you name it, it's out there. More specifically they had to guard a portal so that these things couldn't enter Here."
In that moment I was more frightened then than I'd ever been. It was then that I realized that I was a coward.
"Now, they didn't receive their entire prophesy, the thing that Madam Sun procures for the guardians to tell them what they must face, and they were destroyed. Them and most everyone who was here at Here at the time. See once a month, when the full moon rises, the portal opens and all manner of evil comes out, unless of course a Star and Cloud are there to keep it closed. Sometimes the Star and Cloud need a little help, that's why Madam Sun gives them a Prophesy, to guide them and it let's them know if they DO need a little assistance battling demons and the like. We're usually informed if a Ray of Sunshine has to be involved. This means Wiley and Art have lost a vital part of our Prophesy, again!" Hobbes growled at them.
"What?" I asked bewildered.
"They are Wind, and they were supposed to bring us the Prophesy from Madam Sun." Tiger scowled,"Why anyone thought we could trust you two in the first place is beyond me."
"Don't be cross, we know you'll find out everything in time." Wiley smirked.
"Unlike you two we cannot just flit away at the first sign of trouble, we're firmly stuck here to face the evil that will be spewed from that portal if we can't figure out the Prophesy in time." Hollywood quipped. "We'll be a little more than cross we'll be destroyed."
A shrill squeal sounded. Everyone looked at Connie who was now sobbing. "Take her to bed, Maddy." Wally said.
"Fine, but let me know if there are any developments." She took Connie out of the room.
"Can't they just go and get the parts they left out?" Candy asked Tiger.
"No. That's the thing, once a part is left behind it dies and cannot be recovered." Tiger sighed.
"Unless someone can rewrite it, which is impossible cause no one read it but these morons." Wally said in a low angry tone, glaring at Wiley and Art.
"Wait a second." I said. "Hobbes you said that Wiley and Art lost a part of the Prophesy AGAIN. That means they've done this before, when?" I asked.
"When Hannon and Sokol came to Here they thought it would be great fun to let them figure it out by themselves. As you know that bit of idiocy breeded destruction. Almost everyone died..." Hobbes sighed.
"Other than Wiley and Art, who lived?" I asked.
"We did." Tiger and Hobbes said in unison. "The portal was open until Madam Sun and Monsieur Moon intervened. By the time they did nearly everything was lost." Tiger said sadly.
Twas a black night when I arrived here at Here. I had no idea how I'd come to be there, nor where to go. I stumbled about in the darkness feeling for something, anything at all to help me see. I saw a faint glow. With a rush of need I sprang towards it. I had no clue that it was very close to me. Thusly I ran into it. It didn't cry out but it shone very brightly. I studied it and saw it was... well this may sound odd, but it was a star. A round sphere of light stood before me shining bright and blue.
"What's your name? Where are we?" I asked it, but it didn't reply. It looked at me and shrugged. It had morphed from a ball into a human. He, for it was male, began to walk away from me.
"Wait!" I cried, "Don't leave me in this darkness!" He beckoned for me to follow him. I readily did so. He lead the way to a path which we followed to a large building, he knocked on the door and we waited.
A tall silver haired youth answered the door. His black eyes searched us.
"Ah... You two must be the new ones..." He grinned and called over his shoulder, "Hobbes, I was right! It is a fallen star!"
Another youth with the same silver hair and black eyes came to the door. "Yes, Tiger, but I did say that the other would be a human. Even?" He asked Tiger.
"Even." Tiger nodded.
"Whose at the door, Tiger?" A voice called. "Is it them? Are they here?"
"Yes!" One of them called.
"Then let them in, they must be informed." the voice commanded.
"Come in." They gestured together for us to enter.
We stepped into a warm hallway and followed Tiger and Hobbes to a sitting room. Inside there sat a girl. She smiled and motioned for us to sit down.
"Welcome to Here, boys." She said.
"Where is here?" I asked.
"Here is here, silly." She laughed. "We welcome you to 123 Faring Place. What are your names?" She asked.
I thought a moment then said,"Kedar... Kedar Christenson."
"Nice to meet you Kedar, I'm Jonni. And what is your name?" She asked the star.
He pointed to his mouth and shook his head no. "Oh, I see! You lost your voice on the way down?" He nodded. "That's common, will you write your name down please?" She handed him a piece of paper and a pen.
He wrote something and handed it back to her. "Why." She read aloud."Because we need to know who you are." She said.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. Taking the paper back he wrote, "My name is Why."
"Oh!" She giggled, "Stars do like having funny names, don't they?"
He cocked his head to the side and looked at her questioningly.
"Never mind." She said. "Okay, I think you'll be on the top floor," she pointed to me,"And you'll be in the basement." She pointed to Why. "Hobbes take Why to the basement, Tiger take Kedar to the top floor, please."
I was taken to a comfortable room where I immediately fell asleep.
That was my first night at 123 Faring Place.
The next morning I woke very much confused. I was sprawled on a twin sized bed in a large room. Looking over I saw a window. I got up and walked over to it. Outside the window I saw the ground very far below me. I kept staring down and began to get dizzy. Then a flash of grey blurred past. I cried out and jumped back. It must've heard me for it came back. It was a teen. He was an odd white grey. He grinned and tapped on the window. I slowly opened it, and he lept onto the sill.
"Good morning!" He said in a voice I wouldn't have thought he possessed. It was airy and boomed at the same time.
"Goo...d morning." I stammered.
"Your Kedar, right?"
"Yeaaah. Yes. Yes I am. And who are you? What are you?" I asked him.
"I'm Writer, I'm a Cloud." he said as if that would reveal everything to me, in truth it only confused me more.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry!" He laughed," I forgot you're, uh... new. I'm a Cloud from Sky." He took the unnecessary precaution of pointing upwards.
"Then how are you... down here?" I asked a little annoyed.
"You're the same guy who saw a fallen Star last night?" He laughed, "Kedar, Here is a wonderful place, lots of things that can't happen in other realms can happen here. I for one am permitted by Madam Sun to stay on Here."
"Wha-?"
He sighed, "Don't you know? Every century a Star and a Cloud are chosen by Madam Sun to come to protect Here from... Um, misfortunes and the like. Why and I are sort of like the guardians of Here. Get it now?" He looked at me with an eager expression.
"Kind of... So you and Why are a star and a cloud? And your here to protect Here... From what?"
"Well, uh... Ya know whatsit and whosits and... so on and so forth and what have you." He laughed lightly but his face was worried. "Nice to meet you Kedar, I float by again sometime!" And he shot off.
I was quite concerned about what we were being protected from. I didn't have the confidence then that I now have in Why and Writer.
I made my bed and then looked around my room. There was a roll topped desk. I went over to it and opened it's top. It had a laptop inside. I smiled and sat down. I opened it and went to notebook. And I began to type...and type....and type. I probably would have stayed on that laptop all day long had it not been for Wiley and Art.
"Gooood evening." They said in unison entering my room.
"It's evening?" I asked astonished that I'd been on the laptop that long.
"Yes Kedar, it's five in the evening." One of the youths said.
"Who are you?" I asked, slightly wary.
"I'm Wiley." The teen with black hair smirked and bowed.
"And I'm Art." The other boy was pale and had searching brown eyes.
"Nice to meet you both..." I noticed it was fairly dim in the room, since the sun had hidden her face behind a bank of clouds.
"How are you finding Faring Place?" Wiley asked.
"I don't really know yet. I haven't been out of this room." I said.
"Oh, pity." Art grinned. "You ought to know the place your going to die in."
"What?" I asked very much bemused.
"Yes, you ought to know that you may possible give your self for another." Wiley said lazily.
"What are you talking about?" I cried.
"They haven't even told him the Prophesy. Tsk tsk tsk, what a shame. Shall we remedy that, Wiley?" Art asked grinning wickedly.
A girl with flaming hair burst into the room, "Wiley! Art! Get downstairs now! Jonni is waiting for you so we can eat!" She ordered bossily.
They glared at her and slunk away.
"You!" She barked at me.
"Yes?" I asked timidly.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Kedar Christenson... and you?"
"I'm Maddy and I'm a Flame. How old are you, Kedar?" She asked.
"Ummm... 18 I think." A flame, huh? Makes sense. I thought.
"You think? Don't you know how old you are?" She was exasperated.
"Yes I know!" I cried indignantly,"I'm 18. How old are you?"
"I'm 1432 years old. Well if you want to eat today you'll come down to the kitchen." She turned and started to walk away.
I begun to put my laptop away and she turned back around and barked, "NOW!" I jumped up and followed her out of my room. We walked down a wide hall way to the stairs. They wound in a circle all the way down. A person stood at the bottom staring up.
"Is Kedaw coming down?" The voice called. Not like Maddy's harsh voice, but soft and it had a lisp.
"Yes, Connie!" Maddy yelled back. "Connie's a writer. She's nine."
"Do her parents live here?" I asked.
"No, do yours?" She asked crisply.
"Nooo..." I muttered.
We began to descend the stairs, there were mirrors at every landing, I caught my reflection and stared. I have white hair, yellow eyes and my skin is copper. "Wow..." I breathed. I had had no idea what I looked like at the time.
"Are you done staring at yourself, Kedar?" Maddy asked.
"I wasn't-" I sighed and followed her to the bottom of the stairs. There were three hallways.
"Go strait and you'll end up in the front of Faring Place, where Writer, Connie, and Jonni's rooms are. Go to the left and you'll be in Wally's world. The kitchen, the dining room, HIS room, and the stairs to the basement are that way. If you were to go right you'd be in the entertaining part of this home. There's a game room, a sitting room, a den, a living room and a half bath. Any questions?" She asked.
"Yeah, you didn't tell me what we pass on the stairs, what's behind all of those doors?" I asked her.
"Well, nosy, there's Wiley's, Art's, Tiger and Hobbes's, and Candy's room for one. There's the laundry rooms, a few bathrooms, and my room. Satisfied?" She stormed.
"Not yet. Wiley and Art said something to me about a prophesy, what's the prophesy say?" I asked.
"I can't say." She growled and took the hallway to the left.
"Why can't you?" I asked.
"Because it's not my place to spoil the ending." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Now shut up and let's go eat."
We entered the dining room. In it was a large table, people were crowded around it, and a large man in an apron pushed his way thru a swinging door opposite the one I'd just entered. He held a large tray, tall glasses of a foamy drinks were atop it. He set them down, tucked the tray under his great arm and lumbered back thru the door.
"Hullo, Kedaw!" Connie dimpled a smile at me from across the room.
"Hi." I said back. Maddy pushed past me and took a seat by Wiley who was staring at me with his crystal blue glare.
"Look whose here." One of the silver haired youths grinned. The other was gulping his drink.
"Everyone this is Kedar Christenson he's Human." Jonni said. "Wally, come here for a moment!" She called. The big man came back to the swinging door and poked his head into the dining room.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Meet Kedar." She said.
"Nice to meet your acquaintance, Kedar." He extended his meaty hand, I shook it. He nodded to Jonni and went back into the kitchen.
"Okay, I want each of you to introduce yourself to Kedar. Tell him your name and title please." Jonni said. "Tiger and Hobbes will begin."
They stood, grinning, "We are Tiger and Hobbes, we are Time." They said in unison.
"I'm Candy, I'm a drop of Rain." A girl with watery blue eyes informed me.
"Nice to meet you, Candy." I said.
"I'm Hollywood I'm Ice." A boy with white blond hair told me. I nodded.
"I'm Connie I'm a Writew from Papew." The little girl smiled at me. I returned the smile.
"As you know, Kedar I am Wiley."
"And I'm Art." Wiley and Art smirked for no apparent reason.
"I'm Jache the Scribe." A youth with orange hair said. I just tilted my head in his direction.
"I'm Maddy and I'm a Flame." Maddy spat.
"I'm pretty sure that's everyone." Jonni smiled.
I spotted Why slouching in a corner and walked over to him. He nodded in acknowledgement when I said Hello.
"Do you like this place?" I asked him.
He smiled and shone brightly, then looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
"You do? I don't know if I do yet... I've only been up to my room and here." I explained.
He gestured his arm in a wide ark.
"I should explore, huh? I'll try to tomorrow... Will you come with me Why?" I asked.
He nodded vigorously. I smiled. "Hey, Why, have you heard anything about a prophesy?" He frowned and shook his head no.
Tiger or Hobbes, I couldn't tell them apart then, beckoned for us to sit down beside him. We did so just as the large man pushed thru the door again.
"Here you go!" He bellowed, putting plates of food in front of everyone.
"That's Wally our chef." The black eyed boy said in a whisper.
"Sorry but are you Tiger, or Hobbes?" I asked.
"I'm Hobbes. You can tell if it's me or Tiger by our ears. I have pointed ears and he doesn't, see?" He tilted his head and I saw he did indeed have pointed ears. I glanced up at Tiger and saw he had normal rounded ears.
"Okay, thanks Hobbes." I said. I looked down at my plate. "Hobbes, what is this?" I asked eyeing the yellowish matter on my plate.
"It's food, Kedar." He grinned and took a large bite of his.
"What kind of food?" I poked it with my fork.
"It's G.U.M." Hobbes said.
"What? This isn't gum. Gum is for blowing bubbles and chewing, not eating." I said.
"Where DID you come from, Kedar? G.U.M. stands for Generally Useful Matter, or General Users Malnutrition Buster.... Or something like that." He muttered and took another bite of G.U.M.
"What does it taste like?" I asked.
"Like whatever you want to eat." He grinned. "For instance, I'm eating a hot fudge sundae."
"Really?" I asked. I took a small forkful and ate it. I tasted like something I'd eaten before. Warmth filled me though the food was cool, a lightness spread all over me. I heard a beautiful laugh and looked around for the source. I saw only the chatting inhabitants of Faring Place.
Someone nudged me and I glanced over. Why looked at me with concern. "Did you hear her?" I asked him.
His brow furrowed and he shook his head no. I sighed. "Hobbes, did you hear her?" I asked.
"Who?" He asked. "Are you feeling alright, Kedar? You look a little pale..." He said.
"I'm fine." I'd suddenly lost my appetite. Getting up I left the dining room. I stumbled down the hall and was about to ascend the stairs when I heard her again. She seemed to be laughing with me even though I wasn't.
"Hello, Kedar." A soft voice whispered. I started and looked around. On the stairs stood the most different looking person I've yet to encounter.
"H- h- hi." I stuttered gaping at her. She wore a brilliant robe of yellow, and she had a great deal of scarves wrapped around her neck and her waist. She possessed a grand amount of hats, a few of which must have been stuck in her dreadlocks. Many baubles, watches and bracelets hung off her wrists and arms. I looked down at her bare feet and saw that they were the same shade of yellow as her robe.
"Who are you?" I asked her.
"Why, I'm Sunnee. I'm surprised no one greeted my when I came down. I suppose you all do things differently here. But you were expecting me, weren't you? You did received Madam Sun's message?" Sunnee asked me.
"I, uh.... I don't know. I was in my room all day... But I didn't hear anyone mention that you were coming."
"Oh dear," Sunnee breathed,"This is news indeed."
I led Sunnee to the dining room where dinner was in full swing. When we walked in everyone stopped eating and stared an Sunnee.
"Who's dat?" Connie asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"I am, Sunnee. And you say that no one was expecting me?" She asked me.
"Obviously not." I replied.
Jonni stood up, "I assure you none of us knew." She shot Wiley and Art a hateful look, "We would have been preparing... Come, we need to talk." Jonni led Sunnee out of the room.
Everyone looked at me.
"What?" I asked them.
"Where did she come from?" Tiger asked.
"I don't know... she was just there." I muttered.
"Why are you mumbling! Where did she come from?" Maddy said crossly.
"I was going to my room, and she was standing at the foot of the stairs." I said impatiently.
"So she just appeared?" Art smirked at my confusion.
"I don't know, why don't you ask her?" I cried.
"Obviously she's a Ray of Sunshine." Hobbes said.
"Well, obviously." Tiger frowned. "But why is she needed? We already have Why and Writer... and Kedar." he muttered.
"Perhaps the Prophesy was missing a piece? That DID happen to Hannon and Sokol... They didn't know how serious their problems were until it was to late." Hobbes said thoughtfully.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. Hobbes ignored me. I turned to Tiger, "What's that mean?" I asked him. He too ignored me. I looked about the room and scowled.
Wiley and Art were whispering with their heads close together, Connie sat on one of Wally's great knees crying, Maddy glared at Writer who was gliding about the room on his back, Hollywood, the youth with white blond hair, sat by Candy who was talking hurridly as if explaining something, Jache was staring down at his G.U.M., and Why was looking past me into the distance. Tiger and Hobbes continued to talk and shake their heads.
"Will someone please tell me what this means?!" I roared.
"No need to shout, Kedar." Art smirked.
"Well?" I asked.
Again the eyes of all 12 people were on me. "Tiger, Hobbes, you tell him." Maddy ordered them.
"Okay." Tiger said. "You might want to sit down, Kedar."
I did and Hobbes began to explain. "It was three generations ago that Hannon and Sokol, a Star and Cloud, came to Here, to protect the inhabitants of 123 Faring Place from..." he trailed off.
"From what?" I asked irritably.
"Fwom a howwible fate." Connie piped up.
"What horrible fate?" I cried in exasperation.
"Calm down, Kedar." Wiley said smugly.
"Not until you tell me!" I yelled.
"Kedar, chill." Writer said floating above me in a circle.
Before I could start screaming again Tiger said, "Okay, Hannon and Sokol were supposed to protect Here from beasts. Fire breathing dragons, two headed serpents, giants, ghouls, monsters, nightmares, whatever, you name it, it's out there. More specifically they had to guard a portal so that these things couldn't enter Here."
In that moment I was more frightened then than I'd ever been. It was then that I realized that I was a coward.
"Now, they didn't receive their entire prophesy, the thing that Madam Sun procures for the guardians to tell them what they must face, and they were destroyed. Them and most everyone who was here at Here at the time. See once a month, when the full moon rises, the portal opens and all manner of evil comes out, unless of course a Star and Cloud are there to keep it closed. Sometimes the Star and Cloud need a little help, that's why Madam Sun gives them a Prophesy, to guide them and it let's them know if they DO need a little assistance battling demons and the like. We're usually informed if a Ray of Sunshine has to be involved. This means Wiley and Art have lost a vital part of our Prophesy, again!" Hobbes growled at them.
"What?" I asked bewildered.
"They are Wind, and they were supposed to bring us the Prophesy from Madam Sun." Tiger scowled,"Why anyone thought we could trust you two in the first place is beyond me."
"Don't be cross, we know you'll find out everything in time." Wiley smirked.
"Unlike you two we cannot just flit away at the first sign of trouble, we're firmly stuck here to face the evil that will be spewed from that portal if we can't figure out the Prophesy in time." Hollywood quipped. "We'll be a little more than cross we'll be destroyed."
A shrill squeal sounded. Everyone looked at Connie who was now sobbing. "Take her to bed, Maddy." Wally said.
"Fine, but let me know if there are any developments." She took Connie out of the room.
"Can't they just go and get the parts they left out?" Candy asked Tiger.
"No. That's the thing, once a part is left behind it dies and cannot be recovered." Tiger sighed.
"Unless someone can rewrite it, which is impossible cause no one read it but these morons." Wally said in a low angry tone, glaring at Wiley and Art.
"Wait a second." I said. "Hobbes you said that Wiley and Art lost a part of the Prophesy AGAIN. That means they've done this before, when?" I asked.
"When Hannon and Sokol came to Here they thought it would be great fun to let them figure it out by themselves. As you know that bit of idiocy breeded destruction. Almost everyone died..." Hobbes sighed.
"Other than Wiley and Art, who lived?" I asked.
"We did." Tiger and Hobbes said in unison. "The portal was open until Madam Sun and Monsieur Moon intervened. By the time they did nearly everything was lost." Tiger said sadly.
