Sticky Caramel

[Anzeh]

Mel had a feeling that if Mommy and Daddy knew that she had come down here they wouldn't be very happy. Daddy had told her not to walk around by herself at nighttime, but she couldn't help it. When it was dark, it was fun. And if it was fun, then there was no problem. No problem she could see. Daddy was being silly, like Mommy said he was sometimes. Like that time he set the house on fire.

The little girl wasn't sure why they had put the fire out; it was much prettier while it was burning that hazy orange color. 'I wanna wear a dress made of fire,' she thought, climbing over an obstruction to continue her nightly romp.

Behind her she heard snorting, like a big bull following her. But she was getting bigger, so she could probably beat it up if it tried to eat her. And then she would call Daddy who would come down and take the bull to Mommy and tell her to feed the little Mel, but that was silly because by that point the whole bull would be in Mel's tummy.

Using her stuffed friend she peaked around the corner. There, traversing the streets using any means they had, were creatures that looked vaguely sentient. Some were humany and others were not, but she wasn't afraid of these creatures either. Mel was big and brave, like Mommy and Daddy and Uncle InZayn, bur Mommy didn't want her to call him that because it was mean, and she only called him that when they were alone because if they didn't then Daddy would make silly comments.

Oh, Daddy! Mel had almost forgotten.

Last time Mel had left the house without Daddy or Mommy she had met someone who was evil.

But not the 'good' evil, the 'bad' evil.

What was it called?

A Vam-pie-ear?

[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/Argusmiddle7.png] The life of an all-powerful, all-seeing god was often a long and lonely one. As the mortals shuffled around in a daze; living their lives and dying in the blink of an eye, he was cursed to wander around the island with only the occasional mortal to keep him company for a brief time during his immortal existence. Which was actually really freakin' fun. Especially at night. Nighttime was when all the freaks came out of hiding, and they tended to be much more fun than the day-goers. They also tended to be much more suspicious, though he couldn't understand why. What did they think he would do to them? He wasn't really that intimidating. Well, aside from the tattoos and the piercings... and especially when he'd go kind of overboard and have every random piece of skin he had pierced with a metal rod of some sort. Supposedly his eyes were rather creepy too. And then when he would change forms... but other than that he totally wasn't a scary guy, but they ran anyway. Especially around here. Or maybe it wasn't because of him per se, but because of the scraggly, black canine form that he loved so much. What racists. So he trotted along a little path that had once been mostly full, but that he had since managed to clear by doing nothing other than looking at each of the creatures. They looked so very cute when they ran, but he needed someone to stay with him. Well, they couldn't hide forever, and he could easily sniff them out. So he did, but just as he was on the trail of one, bird-like scent, another one crossed his path. A most peculiar one at that, and one that was slightly familiar, though he couldn't quite place where he knew it from. Immediately changing his course, he trotted down the path after the new scent. They smelled like a fun person, and the fact that they were out at night solidified that fact. Off he went, hopping over branches and stalking through the tall grass as if he were a predatory cat going after his prey. Of course, there would be no predatoring tonight. Unless they were into that sort of thing. He bounded over another branch and fell into a crouch as soon as he hit the ground. His target was finally withing range of his target, and as he steadily stalked closer to the small form, he became aware of a strange fact: it wasn't getting any bigger. It was really just that small, and as everyone knew, the only types of people who were that small were children and midgets, both of which he found to be much more fun than regular-sized people. Although if he had to choose, he'd much rather play with a child, and this one... why, he did believe that this particular short person was, in fact, a child. Immediately he stood up straight, his tongue falling out of his mouth as his face contorted into a weird, canine smile. This was so ver delightful! He hadn't come across many kids on this island, or at least not kids who were without their parents who would only stare at him disapprovingly. In his excitement he bolted past the child, jumping around in a sort of circle in front of it. ”Hey... hey kid,” he stopped dead, staring at the ground in front of him rather than at her, ”all by yourself, kid? Poor kid.” He stretched his paws out in front of him, yawning loudly. Then, inspiration struck. The perfect thing to do with this kid; the perfect place to take her. ”Hey kid, you want some candy, kid?” He asked, shifting his weight between his paws, ”Follow the doggy, kid.” He turned and started down the street at what would have been a dog's equivalent of skipping. He didn't stop to make sure that she was actually following him. After all, who would say no to candy? Now that would be something worth being suspicious about.

[Anzeh]

Mel was wandering around, mostly going straight but occasionally taking a turn here and there, alternating between left and right. There was no reason she was still out so late, after her bedtime, but every night Mommy put her to bed in her jammies, but she was never sleepy when Mommy put her into her bed, so she has to go out and play with the new people in the island.

But she had never been down here before.... in fact, she had never even known that this place existed, and was here almost completely by accident. Every time she snuck out, Daddy eventually found her, so it had become some kind of bonding ritual between her and her wonderful Daddy.

Now it was only a matter of time--how long would it take Daddy to find her? She wondered if she could go deeper underground... not that she thought that would make her Daddy find her any slower. Or maybe it would.

In the back of her head she could sense something nearby, Something that wasn't human, but something that she also didn't recognize as being dangerous. It was simply a creature that was not of this world, someone or something that was unknown to the young toddler. Still, she felt like she should know what this creature behind her was...

Suddenly a big creature ran past her small form and whipped her wavy brown hair around, along with her sundress. Simius was only kept close to her chest from her sheer will.

The wind died down and she opened her eyes to see a big black canine looking at her. Mommy told her that she shouldn't talk to strange dogs, but this dog seemed more interested at the ground than eating little Mels like her.

It turned away and started running away down a street. Candy? Caramel loved candy! Mommy and Daddy had named her after one of them. The tastiest ones, actually. So she followed after the big hounds, finding it not as hard as she thought it would be to follow after the strange new dog.

"My name is Caramel!" She cried as she followed behind the monstrous creature. She didn't like being called kid so much.

[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/Argusmiddle7.png] He was excited - that much was obvious. The skipping had instead become a series of whimsical hops as he leaped over stones and fallen branches alike, his paws hitting the ground in such a rhythmic pattern. He could hear the kid trailing behind him, managing to keep up with him rather well despite how she lacked two additional feet, as well as pads and claws to give her more traction and stability on the uneven ground. Nevertheless, as he turned onto a path - which was really more like an actual path and not just a stretch of flat grass - he slowed his pace a little and trotted at her pace for awhile. Then, when she said her name, he barked a laugh. "Of course it is," he responded, curious about the kind of parents she had. Perhaps she was so named because she tasted like caramel. After awhile he began to recognize the area. That was really an inaccurate description though, as he had already recognized the area because he'd been here many times before, familiarizing himself with the new areas that had popped up while he was asleep. What he meant was that he began to recognize this area as the area where he had often come on his occasional nightly adventures within Haven. So he sped up a bit until finally, it came into view. One, single building that acted as a speck of light within the perpetually dark undertown. The light was fun. Not to seem contradictory or anything. The dark was still fun but, well, there were certain amazing, highly intelligent gods out there who could have just as much fun in the light as they could in the dark and vice versa. He charged at the small building, but rather than collide with it, he vanished in a flash of fire. Within the building, the fire reappeared, steadily growing and becoming more human-shaped until it finally went out, leaving him alone in the dark room, right where the fire had once enveloped him. Inhaling the candied scent, he moved to the door and simply opened it for her, before kneeling down to her level. "And my name is Argus. It's nice to meet you." Rising again, he turned away from the door and strode into the room. The walls were lined with shelves whereupon there sat rows and rows of glass jars full of colorful treats and other confections. In other words, it was pretty much the greatest thing the mortals could have built. True, most of the people who inhabited this town were so gut-wrenchingly sweet that they probably had a number of these shops built around town, but this one would always have his heart. Maybe it was because people didn't usually hang around here at night when he would often come here, because at night there were never any lines or people here asking you for money. "So I own this place," he was saying as he swung himself onto a table by the wall. He had a jar in his hand, and rather than remove the top like normal people would, he opted to take the more fun route and smash it against the wall, sending shards of glass scattering everywhere and granting him access to the sweet treats inside. "Please, help yourself."

[Anzeh]

Caramel wasn't having as much fun as before, having to clamor over the stones and logs and fallen branches to try to keep up with the big black doggy. Where was this doggy leading her anyway? She decided that it would be much easier to follow him if she had four legs instead of two. But mommy said that she shouldn't change unless she really needed to...

Well, she was risking the candy by not changing, so she thought this situation called for it.

Putting Simius into her mouth, she shifted into a Dahak hybrid and chased the dog. Mel launched off large stones and glided, trying hard not to lose the big doggy that promised sweet candies. It was much easier now.

Slowly the toddler began to realize that they were coming up towards something... it was a building. The doggy wasn't slowing, but instead burst into flames and entered the weird place. Mel slowed down and turned back into her adorable toddler self and stared. Slowly, she took Simius from her mouth and stared at the man that magically appeared from the fire. That was a new trick...she'd never seen anyone do that, not even Uncle InZayn, who she was only allowed to call that in her head.

When the once-doggy knelt down to her level, she stared at him, reaching out to touch his face. Changing her mind, she retracted her hand. "Are you a vam-pie-ear? I'm not allowed to talk to them."

Still, he didn't look like that other vampire, so she didn't think he was one. So instead of looking suspicious like Daddy taught her, she smiled and said hello to Argus, her new friend.

Mel's little plastic shoes made a tak-tak noise as she walked in and stared at the candy. Caaaandddyyyy.... she loved it. More than bloody meat. So she was gonna gorge herself on it. Climbing up one of the shelves, she sat at the top and tried to grab a jar of particularly colorful jaw breakers.

She got the jar, but went falling head over heels off the shelf.

Caramel didn't scream. When she hit the ground on her little feet she struggled to open it.

"Hey Argus!" She ran over to him and held the closed jawbreakers. "Can you open this for me? Please please please?"

[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/Argusmiddle7.png] He arranged and rearranged the jars multiple times, trying different orders, trying to find one that looked best to him. However, he quickly tired of this and instead, he set them up all nice and near in a row. With the nail of his forefinger, he tapped the tops of each of the jars, one after the other. Then, one by one, each jar shattered, scattering even more glass shards upon the ground and freeing even more of the sweet treats. "Vampire," he mused, retrieving the treats from where they lay in piles upon the shelf, then popping them into his mouth, "I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I am not a vampire. Nono... you can trust me, kid. Completely." Hearing her shoes click upon the ground, he glanced around to see her struggling to open a jar. Smiling, he turned toward her, resting his head on his hands. She was a cute kid, and it was fun to just sit there and watch the little girl fight with the glass lid. He really did like kids. They were just so cute and so very funny-looking. Like midgets, but children had an edge. They had that adorable innocence which made them so very easy to manipulate if you were into that sort of thing. That wasn't his aim, of course. He just really liked kids. Sliding off of the table, he sat upon the ground in front of her and tapped on the top of the jar. The bottom of the glass opened, releasing the colorful candy so that they bounced and scattered upon the ground. The opening closed up after them, leaving no trace of the jar ever having been opened. "Neat trick, isn't it?" He sat back and observed her for a bit. Now that he really thought about it, it was very strange for her to be out at night. Weren't parents around here usually pretty overprotective? Even he had to admit that they really should be, what with the evil poodles and knights and zombies. It was a dangerous world. Even in Haven. He didn't trust those self-righteous freaks any more than the actually evil ones. Hm, so maybe her parents didn't know she was out here. "Sneaking out after dark? Naughty." Although it was pretty awesome. Sneaking out and following a suspicious-looking dog who promised her candy. He had picked a most interesting mortal. He had also picked one who seemed strangely familiar... somehow. "So, what's a bad girl like you doing in a nice place like this?"

[Anzeh]

She whined at the immovable lid. Sure Mel was much stronger than the average two-year-old, but she had no idea what this... 'jar' mechanism was. Did she twist it? Or did she just yank it off? Either way the top was proving to be very uncooperative. This made her sad. Caramel wanted the yummy, colorful candies inside! That may have made her seem almost like a cannibal, Caramel eating other candies, but that was part of the fun.

When Argus came and tapped the jar, sending the sweets scattering, Mel looked around at the round candies that were escaping. She set the empty jar aside (what use did she had for it now that it was empty?) and grabbed a nearby pink candy, popping it into her mouth and sucking on the sweet treat. She smiled and looked around. What other delicious candies were here?

It took the little toddler a minute, but she found it.

It was a jar half filled with brown squares. Caramels! Caramel eating caramels! There was some type of justice with that. She tried to pick it up, but it was heavier than she thought, and she dropped it, watching it shatter on the floor.

"Oopsie." She said, staring at the glass mess. Picking into the pile. she found a piece that the glass had not invaded and added that to the jawbreaker in her mouth. When argus spoke she swallowed both, without gagging or choking.

"Not naughty!" Caramel said, stomping her foot and making a sharp noise that echoed off the glass jars. "It's a game Mel plays with Daddy. She runs away after bedtime, and Daddy comes and finds her. And then, we get ice cream." Mel paused, bringing her little finger to her chin and tapping it pensively. "Or maybe that's only if Mel finds a vam-pie-ear."

Caramel looked up at the ceiling and twirled her wavy hair between her fingers, thinking about the other question. Mel wasn't sure how she managed to get here. She just snuck out of her bedroom window and ran away. She met a few monsters that she beat up (and ate like how daddy taught her) but other that she had not been following any type of idea or map. The idea was just to get as far from the house (and from Daddy) as possible.

So, as a response, she said "I flew here."

[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/Argusmiddle7.png] He chuckled as her little temper flared up and she proceeded to explain her bizarre family rituals. Not that he was one to judge. So he slid closer to her, reveling in her cute childish motions and responses. He plucked a caramel off of the ground - as well as a few shards of glass, but who really cared? - and popped it into his mouth as he stretched out across the floor. Hands propping up his head, he had to look up at her as he spoke. "That's adorable. Father-daughter bonding. So sweet." He didn't quite grasp where the whole vampire thing fit in though. Well, many people didn't seem to like them, so maybe it had something to do with that. He didn't have much of a problem with them though. They smelled kind of like death, which was one of his favorite scents. Maybe that was why he tended to spend more time in their town than in this one, even though poking fun at the bigots and elitists here was endlessly entertaining. "If that's the case, I could take you to a whole bunch of vampires sometime." With that thought came another idea. He did love to show off the spectacular sights of the island - his island. Was there a more perfect opportunity than this. She wanted to play her game and escape from her house and he... Well, he didn't have much of a reason, but that had never stopped him before. "I can take you to places much farther from home than this town. They're so much fun too. I'll take you to one some night. You can even meet my friends there." They'd certainly love to meet her, and she seemed like she could hold her own amongst them. And if not, then like she said, she could fly. But it promised to be a very fun time. He would hang out with them on many a night, but rarely did he ever bring guests. And when he did he always seemed to leave a few hours later, alone. He needed to make friends who didn't break as easily.

[Anzeh]

The little hybrid felt like she was being mocked by this once-doggy. Mel had never thought that this little game of hide and seek with daddy was strange, but, admittedly, there were a lot of things that they did that other people thought was strange. Like how daddy would bring home something yummy for little Caramel, like a lung or a pancreas...

Or if she was really good ('good' in this sense meaning 'evil'--it made sense to her but it usually confused other people), she would get a tender heart or maybe even an entire human.

She could never eat it all--the torso was too fatty.

"I suppose. Mostly it's just fun. But Daddy always finds me. I never win."

When Argus told her he could take her to a whole bunch of vam-pie-ears, she wasn't sure she could believe him. But soon she looked into his eyes and saw the seriousness and knew that it was true. He could take her to the vam-pie-ears and papa would come and then they would get ice cream like last time.

She pouted.

"I wanna meet your friends."

Caramel declared proudly. She didn't know what kinds of friends Argus would have, but if they were anything like him they would be fun. Before they did that though, walked off and grabbed another jar. Daddy would be so jealous when she told him about this in the morning.

Oh. But he would find her before then.

Ah well...

Suddenly, Mel wanted to try something. She had seen her Mommy do this thing, where she stuck parts of her body through like walls and stuff. Maybe she could get the sweets out of the jar like that.

Unfortunately, when she tried to push her hand through the top like Mommy, she was still very solid. Mel continued to try until she simply became frustrated and threw the jar down, watching it shatter on the floor.

But this time she didn't eat the candy. She ran through the field of glass, hearing it crunch under her feet. "So much glass!" She giggled, loving the sound.