Crocus — the holy capital — was beautiful; the city’s significance to the country was visible in every aspect of its architecture and although Seira Navillera rarely visited, the center of Fiore was a place she admired. She’d recently traveled from Worth Woodsea to Crocus and while the female vampire was starving, she was not desperate; there were certainly more ideal hunting grounds for a nightwalker than this; a city with a large amount of Rune Knights present, but she had chosen to take a risk.

Strange things were happening around this time and although she had already gotten used to the idea of spirits, vampires and perhaps even other supernatural beings, Seira was still overcome by an eerie feeling whenever she was alone in places such as the woods or smaller towns. She was strong enough to defend herself (undoubtedly so), yet she decided that she wanted to spend more time within cities while this event was still presently going on. Seira and Espeon had arrived a few days prior; they checked into a lovely (but expensive) hotel and decided to make the most out of their stay. The vampire had been visiting bars and pubs throughout the past few nights — always on the hunt for human blood — and during daytime she went shopping, walked through the markets and wondered if there was anything else she was interested in, such as items or weapons. Unfortunately, the hunt for something useful had not been very successful and the woman decided to be more patient and save her money in case better times came around. It was late afternoon now and the streets were still crowded, flooded with people who were happily minding their own business. Seira roamed the streets and eventually decided to visit one of the more secluded areas of Crocus — far away from the center and the markets, where the people lived.

There were plenty of houses and apartments and every now and then the vampire even thought of purchasing one for herself, however with the change of her race (and therefore her entire lifestyle) she decided it was best not to return to Crocus — or Era for that matter — permanently ever again. The decision saddened her, especially since Seira was born in Era, but it could not be helped. Instead, she thought of settling down in Hargeon Town, a place far away from all of this. As Seira walked through the streets she eventually noticed that she was the only one around; this area seemed more remote than ever and although Espeon was trailing closely behind, a strange feeling overcame the sensitive vampire. With everything going on she wasn’t even surprised when a small girl stepped into her line of sight and meekly peeked at the woman. She was young, no older than 8 and her appearance was odd, slightly transparent, which gave away her true nature: she was a passing spirit, not from this world. Seira sighed and slowly approached the girl.

[503/1000]

“I suppose you are some sort of little demon — and you are lost?”

Seira smiled sweetly, but child or not, the vampire had made it a habit to remain suspicious no matter what. The young girl nodded meekly and pointed towards one of the houses down the streets. She didn’t speak for a while and Seira wondered if it was perhaps for the best just to let her be, but when she attempted to leave, the spirit tugged on her dress and held her back. “Yes,” she responded quietly and (again) pointed down the streets, “my mother and siblings are there and I would like to visit. It’s the white house with the dark blue roof.” There was indeed a house like that and since they weren’t too far off, Seira took the girl and decided to take her home one more time. She knew that by the beginning of the next month, the edges of the Netherworld and Earthland would no longer overlap and the spirits currently roaming their world would disappear again. It was better that way, but while there was still time she figured she might as well made it count.

“What’s your name anyways?”
“Clary..”

She wasn’t exactly the most talkative of spirits, but that did not matter. They arrived at the house and Seira patiently knocked on the door. The lady who opened was a middle-aged woman with warm, brown eyes and a kind smile. Seira could hear children in the background and automatically assumed that those were her other children. Instead of saying anything, she stepped aside and watched as the mother was overwhelmed by the sudden (and strange) appearance of her lost child. “She came to see you again for a while,” she explained and although they were not able to embrace each other, Clary could enter the house and roam around freely. Clary left to go upstairs and seek out her siblings and Seira decided that they wouldn’t need an explanation for this, seeing how they were still children after all. The mother however, whose name turned out to be Everly, was touched and surprised by the visit of her dead child. “She got sick when she was seven and I didn’t have the money for the doctors of the medicine, so she died of illness,” she explained the reason for her daughter’s passing and (weirdly enough) Seira had nothing but empathy for the woman.

“Life’s just like that sometimes,” she said with a shrug and crossed her arms in front of her chest, quietly watching the children play. “She seems to be a peaceful spirit, so there isn’t any reason for you to worry about her anymore — I guess she simply wanted to play with her siblings while it’s still possible,” Everly nodded at the vampire’s words. Some time passed and Seira eventually left. After three hours of spending her time elsewhere, she was approached by Clary’s spirit again, who kindly thanked her for taking her home and — who would have guessed — handed her two Pumpkin Pops.