Small Problems: (Han)

The last months had passed in a blur for Razielle. Her whole unlife had been thrown into major upheavel. She'd born a child, Somara. She and Salem had relocated once more from Onderon back to Kirrek with the breaking of the Circle. Her efforts were now largely focused on the Cabal, her family.

As it was, she had brought another home with her this trip. Her child apprentice, Han. She couldn't just leave him behind on Onderon. He showed great promise with his illusions. So she had returned and packed him off with her to Kirrek, to live in a den of monsters.

He had been surrounded by deadly persons on Onderon, he should have no problems adjusting at Elysium. Save for the fact that some of these persons would gladly devour him, if given the chance. Razielle made it quite known that the boy was under her protection and to be left alone.

She had found a room for him and left him alone on his first night. He was strong - he needed no mothering to feel safe. It was not his way. Razielle told him not to ander too far without letting her know, and shut the door.

She had informed Salem and Somara of the human child. They may not like it, but he was hers to train and would be with them for a while. Somara seemed quite interested in having another small person around...

There was a boy in the castle. Mommy had said he was a little older than Somara, but that he was a little kid too. She said maybe someday that she'd introduce them when "the boy" would behave.

Razielle had told Somara that the boy make things appear that weren't real. She was afraid that Somara wouldn't understand these things and get upset if the boy used them on her. But Somara was far too headstrong not to go immediately to see this "boy" for herself. even if he made things appear. Besides, if he got too nasty to her, she'd send Elias after him.

Smirking, the little vampyre girl marched down the stairs from her tower room and went to the boy's room. She thought about knocking, but she didn't want him to see her, yet.

she went into the next room and climbed out onto the ledge. She was after all, Salem's girl. Grinning she dug her claws into the side of Elysiums walls and scooted along to peek in Han's window.

Things were not as they would have appeared to be. Han was jsut starting to like the home that he was staying at with Razielle, starting to feel as if he might fit in. But it was not to be. Up out of the blue he was moved from the only place that he could call home to some other dark hole in the galaxy where it seemed more creepy, half dead, mosters lerkeed around.

The image of Han softening up and becoming easyer to be around was now changed back to when he was first taken. He walked around with a scowl on his face and a hate for anything that he saw. Most of what he saw was things that he hated anyway. But this new place was made him feel even more angry at everything. He was still as silent as before, and now didn't care if anybody wanted him or if anyone needed him. He just sat in his room, doing just about nothing. Now and then he looked out the window just to be reminded where he was. He turned from it right away, going back to his position on the floor.

In the room there was hardly anything comfortable. The bed was gone. How a little boy got rid of the bed was anyones guess. Any chairs or pellows where missing, too. Only things that caught the eye was the small dresser on the far wall. Here and there was little peices of trash. Then there was the closet. Just a plain closet with shutters that allowed some of the light from the lamp on the dresser to shine through. Thats where he spent most of his time.

At the moment he walked over to the window and pulled back the blanket that he hung over it. And once again he was reminded that he was with the dead that walked among the living. That once again he was in some new world not his own and was completely alone. He quickly but the cover back over it and went into the closet where he sat and played around with the only thing he knew how to do.

Was he hiding?

Somara sure didn't see any boy. She didn't see...anything really. It wasn't like Mommy to not put furniture in a room. The rooms of Elysium were all quite full of beautiful antique furniture, so to see a bare room was something quite..unordinary to Somara.

Maybe the boy was making it look like it wasn't really there? Maybe he was sitting on his bed watching her and making fun of her. Her childs brain flew into a frazzle that some boy could be sitting there making fun of her without her knowing it. She gave the window a bang and shouted.

"Hey! I know you are there... You better come out.."

Han started at the sudden sound. He sat up and looked through the small slits in the closet. He looked all around, wondering where such a noise could have come from. And then words came rushing through the room, ones that were not in the lest bit happy. Pin-pointing where the sound came from, he looked toward the window and saw a small girl standing outside his window.

Who is THAT? Why can't people leave me alone.

He did not move. Why should he? There was some strange, freaky girl outside his window wantimg him to come out. Ha. Like that was going to happen. She could fall off for all he cared.

Somara glared in the window. She would have broken it and gone in anyways, but Mommy was forever trying to curb her wild behavior. Mommy was trying in vain to make her into a "little lady". Ha!

The vampyre girl tip toed carefully back into the room she had emerged from. She wasn't about to stay on a window ledge all night. Her waking hours were far too short to waste waiting on a stupid boy to make up his mind and come out. He could suit his self, she was going wandering the castle.

Somara stuck her tongue out at the boy's door as she passed, haughty as a tiny Princess. She ran up the tower stairs to her room and grabbed her small velvet cloak off her bed. Tucking her small body inside the warm garment, she snuck out into the night to play.

Han looked through the small slits, trying to see if the girl was gone. He could see her, but that didn't mean she was gone. Slowly he opened up the door and stuck his head out. The window was clear. He jumped up to his feet and ran to the window, making sure there was no one out there. The window was clear, and so was the ledge in both directions. Where did she go? Though, he didn't really care where she went, he was still curious for why she came.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps outside the door. He slowly walked to it and pressed his ear to the door. The footsteps quickly left, as if the person, or moster, was just walking by. After he was sure there was no one on the other side, he cracked the door open. Now things were starting to get even more intersting. He had been sitting around him his room for the longest time and didn't want to go out. But now he wanted to know who that girl was and the person walking by his door. He ran to catch up with the footsteps, but stayed back to keep from being seen.

Running out into the night, Somara came alive. She was old enough now that her Mother let her wander on her own for a while. She had made friends with the shadows of the night and the beasts that roamed the grounds in the witching hours. Running along a old and tumbling wall she laughed and chased her own shadow, pretending it was another girl her size. Someone she could talk to.

She came to the end of the wall and there, just a few yards ahead of her was a native animal to Kirrek. Something crossed between a wolf and a jungle cat, they hunted the night and were quite dangerous. But having a demonic hell cat for a familiar and guardian was somewhat more intimidating to her..

"Hi there.."

Somara walked up to the beast and patted it on its huge head. It let out a sound of contentment, which made the little girl laugh all the more.

This girls was weird. No, not just having a few small quirks. She had many. She was just running around, playing with herself; jumping, running; skipping, hopping. You name it, she did it. For one like Han, it did not make sense why girls acted in such a way. All girls are weird, he finally concluded, and that settled it.

The more Han followed and watched the more it felt like watching a bird or a cat go about its business, just wondering what will happen next. What will the creature do next. This kind of wonder and facination kept Han from returning back to his room. He was to deep within her strange actions that he couldn't find it in him to leave all the fun behind. It was quite amusing to see her go off into her own world - not noticing that he was there, following her. It made it all the more intertaning. But that all changed when she suddenly walked up to a vicious looking creature, petting it as if it was the household cat. It was amazing. How come it didn't rip her arm off and then eat her flesh? Did she know the thing?

Devilishly clever, or so Han thought to himself, he was going to see if he could make them both afraid of one another. Calling apon the skills he knew he could do, he sent a image into their heads of a man suddenly running from a bush not to far off. He charged at them with a blood thirsty gaze. This should be good, he thought to himself.

Somara didn't waste a second. Her mother and father had explained to her that she couldn't run amuck killing everyone just for a snack. However, if she was in danger, scared or alone and starving a few bodies could be easily overlooked by the villagers. This was definately one of those times.

In a flash, both girl and beast hissed, fangs bared and sprang at the manical man. Somara was, needless to say, a very irate vampyre when she flew right through the image and rolled across the rocky ground. The beast gave a roar and ran off, spooked by the illusion.

"Oh shaddup! At least you didn't rip your dress. Mommy is going to be vexed."

She sat up and examined the now badly stained and torn dress. Sniffing back tears, Somara folded her arms, lay her head down and sobbed. She hated disappointing Mommy.

Instinct, pure instinct told Razielle that her daughter was terrified. The night air carried to her the sound of the little girls tears. Furious that anything should make her baby cry the vampyre Master made good use of her preternatural speed and was moving towards her daughter. In moments she was there, outside Elysium and picking Somara up.

"There now.. Why is my poppet crying? Somara.. what happened to your dress and why are you outside?"

Somara sniffled in her mother's arms and related the story of flying right through the man who had scared her. Razielle was displeased...

Very displeased.

"I suggest you make a timely appearance, or I swear by everything unholy that I'll bring that beast in for dinner and you will be the main course."

Razielle's violet eyes locked on the spot where Han was hidden from plain sight.

It worked! The dumb girl fell for it. Well, it didn't go as he planned, but who cares? In the end a goal was accomplished, that was all that mattered.

The illusion was crush and would no longer hold up against a mind when it knew that the thing wasn't real. So he relaxed and hid behind his rock, feeling might good of himself. He could hear the best run away growling as he scared it off. How very good I am. But all his fun was coming quickly to a end.

For out of the blue came Razielle, his master and trainer. He took a peek out when he heard voices. The cry was just something to boost his mood, but the voice of Raz sent waves of fear into him. Han was not a swearing boy, but if he was, he was sure to come up with some good ones for this moment. Who was this girl? How did Raz know her? And how the heck did she get hear so bloody fast?

The words that Raz spoke, directly, to him stung like white fire in his mind. It was a do or die moment. Either way, the end was going to be bad. Swollowing hard, Han came unsteadily to his feet. He walked out from his spot, a rock that would have been a castle to him, if it had be any other time in life. But Raz knew he was there, knew! he was hidding. Swollowing once again, he walked a few steps away from the rock and stopped. He looked at the mad face of his master. Her burning eye's sent chills down his spine. But why was he so afraid? Why, at this moment, did his master bring such fear into him? Only once had he felt like this, completely in her power, his life hanging from her finger. And he didn't want to go bakc there.

Somara glared at the boy when he came out from hiding. Boy was he going to get it. She stuck her tongue out at him, but did so in a way that her mother didn't see her. She did NOT want to get yelled at in front of the dumb boy.

"Somara.. rudeness will not be tolerated young lady." Her smiled drooped. How had Mommy seen???

Razielle's gaze had never left Han's. She continued to stare at him. She was a Sith Knight and a Vampyre Master. She would not lower herself into asking him what he thought he was doing. He would either come up with an appropriate and honest explanation on his own or he would find himself shipped off somewhere not to his liking, permanently. It didn't need to be said, it was evident in her stoic and cold gaze.

This was a test of sorts for Han now. The test was obidience and respect. Either he would learn to bow to her wishes as his Master or he would be gone from Kirrek.

Han stared at Raz, not able to take his gaze away. He didn't even have the chance to see the girl stick her tongue out. Even sounds seemed to be dulled. He heard what was being said between them, but it didn't register in his brain. He was to fixed on the two eyes, the eyes that were boaring into his skull, ready to pull his brain out from his own eye's. His voice was gone, as well, and his mouth was dry. He thought he might pass out. But he gathered his strength, gathered his wits, and tried to think of what he was to say. He knew he had to say something, since no one else was talking anymore.

"Yes?"

The small sound was very ruff and sounded painful, from the overly dry mouth. And it was all he could come to say. He didn't know what was going on. He never acted this way before. And Raz never had such a effect on him before. It was like watching a horror movie. But instead of watching some other helpless vitcum, he was the one about to be chewed to bits and spat back out to feed the dogs.

Her chilling violet gaze lowered for only a moment, as she spoke.

"Explain to me how my daughter came to be fallen, dirty and possibly injured."

Again, she stared. "She seems to have been the victim of an illusion."

In truth she was being far too kind to him. She could only attribute it to feeling sorry for his weakness, his age. Child or not, he was not playing a childs games any longer. He was an apprentice of the very most mature and deadly sort. She should not treat him as a child. But she did..

She should have left her part of the conversation at the one word. Explain. Nothing else was required, but still she had eloborated. Carried on for him as if he were being cared for.. not trained.

His answer had better be worth her lapse in decorum.

Han swollowed again, but his throat was dry and it seemed to do nothing. He had never been one for words. He hardly ever spoke, if at all. Since he came here, though, he was having to do a lot more talking then he was comfortable doing. And how to explain this was another issue all together. He didn't have a good reason. He wasn't even sure all that he did. He could not fully know what the girl and the beast saw. He only knew what he tried to do.

"Uh....well....I was...as it were...playing around."

He thought that might be enough, since it was the truth and it was his explaination. But Raz did not respond, just glared back. The silence went on for only a moment, as it made Han feel as if he was needed to fill that silence.

"I...uh...played a trick, you see? To...uh...s-s-scare...scare the girl and the....that thing...animal she was with. But it didn't work...not the way I thought. I-I-I didn't know....that she....your daughter I mean."

His stammering was do to him talking to much. He had said more at this one moment then he has for many years. He felt as if he was going to start walking away do to this fact. But he could not turn his sight away from her gaze. It help him in place better then any restrants ever could.