The house looked quite beautiful in the moonlight.
Zaira’s heart raced. She adjusted her small pack and proceeded to walk up the long gravel driveway. She stopped as the driveway widened into a semi-circle and looked around.
The – her – modern log home faced East and had a broad porch and balcony to watch the sunrise, similarly there was a spacious deck in the back to watch the sunset. One acre of her land was manicured with the house in the middle. The other two acres were covered in the gorgeous boreal forest typical to this land. As she had bought a completely new property and moved in early, the grounds were yet to be decorated, but still, it was beautiful. Hopefully, she would be able to stay here for a long time.
She stretched her wings and let the cool breeze run over them. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of evergreens, soil, and damp vegetation.
She also caught the smell of burning wood, while not unpleasant, it did remind her that, unfortunately, she had neighbors. Across the way and a little further down the road was a grey stone, one-level house. Her new house was one of two on this desolate cul-de-sac. Zaira would have preferred being completely hidden. Alas, it was the only way to stay close to a portal hub, essential for work. Perhaps she should plant a row of trees along the front of the property?
Zaira closed the distance between herself and the front door. She fumbled with the tiny key but still managed to insert it into the lock. She took a few slow steps into the house, closing the door behind her. She looked at the large room and took a deep breath. She had made it. Away from the so-called old world and the memories that went with it. Perhaps she could find some peace here.
The tranquility of the moment was broken by what she mistook for a cool breeze. Finding it chillier than she had outside, she closed the door behind her. But that didn’t stop it. She paused and reached out with her energy. She could feel another’s energy flowing around her, examining her, poring over her. And it was unhappy, you could even say affronted. She reached out a little further to conclude it was not connected to a body.
Damn.
An entity of some sort. She did not want to deal with this. Moving again was, however, not an option. This was her house now; it would have to come to terms with that or move out.
Zaira decided to ignore it for now. The less you acknowledged them, the less they bothered you. She would figure out what to do about it later.
The new homeowner walked up to the middle of the first floor. It was, for the moment, just one large, gutted room, with a freestanding fireplace. The wiring and plumbing had, thankfully, been set up before she got here. Now she needed to go get, well, everything else.
Zaira walked the rest of the room to the back of the house. Centered and covering half of the total area of the wall was a large window, and a couple of feet to the right was the glass door leading to the deck. The window revealed the last few rays of the day which barely made it past the trees. The glowing orange and pink light sharply contrasted the dark outline of the conifers. It was beautiful, and she found herself staring through the window for what remained of the sunset until the stars had well and truly appeared in the sky. Fatigue brought her away from her thoughts. She had a long day planned tomorrow and needed her rest.
Zaira made her way to the circular fireplace. She dropped her pack on the floor and followed it down. Tucking it under her head, she promptly fell asleep, even whilst sensing the displeasure of her unforeseen roommate.
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Zaira woke with a start. She had the distinct impression someone had shaken her awake. She rubbed her eyes free of the usual blood. She did a quick visual scan and found nothing. She groaned; she was still tired, but she knew would not go back to sleep that morning. She growled a bit as she stood up. Stretching, Zaira felt the energy return and swirl around her, it was displeased. Good, so was she.
She sighed as she looked through the window, the sun was not yet up.
Continuing to ignore it, she took out her medical supplies and made up her face. As she did so, she mentally prepared herself for her trip into town. She would need to get at the very least all her appliances today. And a bed. Her sore body was looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed that night.
She would also need to hire a truck as she had no way of bringing any furniture back. Zaira sighed, if only she didn’t need to interact with other people to do this, the day would go by so much easier.
She slung her bag on her back and headed out as soon as the sun rose. It was a little early to head out, the shops would not quite be open by the time she got there, but the entity was just as uninviting as the humans.
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Zaira watched the man’s face lift in surprise when she told him she wanted the movers to leave the furniture outside.
“Alright…” He hesitantly agreed and headed back into the truck to inform his two other coworkers.
Zaira watched them unload the truck. They were slightly confused but didn’t protest, less work for them. If she were to be honest, she would tell them she didn’t want their smell all over her house, but they wouldn’t understand.
Once the moving truck was out of sight. Zaira stood in place, taking deep breaths to help pass the tightness in her torso. When the stomachache quelled Zaira picked up the object closest to her. She lifted the first antique bookcase of several and maneuvered it inside. Granted, none of these were necessary, but they had caught her eye. Soon they were lining the back wall, smaller bookcase-seat hybrids were placed under the large window. There were a few bookcases on the south side as well, up to where she planned to put the dining area. Zaira didn’t have any books, yet. She was hoping to build a collection now that she had a more permanent abode.
The solid antique dining set, which had also caught her eye in that same store, was put right in front of the large right-hand side window. The set, as with the bookcases, was of a lovely dark stain, contrasting well with the medium stain of the walls.
Zaira had a little trouble maneuvering the refrigerator inside, but she managed, along with the oven and dishwasher, all stainless steel. She was also very giddy about the new automatic laundry washing and drying machines. She had never had the opportunity to use them before and was certain it would be nicer than the more traditional method. She hooked them into the water system, but not the electricity, not yet. She knew there was a better system she could use.
This ended the selection of large, no-assembly-needed, furniture. Next, she needed to bring in the boxes. She didn’t think she would be assembling any of the furniture today, save her bed. She was exhausted from her day out; she hadn’t even gotten all she wanted.
Zaira went out and picked up the box containing some of her cupboards.
“Oh, my.” Zaira froze. “You young ladies are getting stronger and stronger, aren’t you?”
Zaira slowly put the box back down on the ground and turned to face the source of the voice. It was a woman, smiling at her. The woman was about a head and a half shorter than herself, older with short grey hair, heavy set but seemingly healthy.
Seeing the tight lips and shifting eyes of the dark-haired woman the elder introduced herself. “I’m Hannah, your neighbor.” She pointed to the only other house on the street. Zaira only nodded. “Are you alright dear?”
Zaira mentally shook herself. “Yes, I’m sorry. My name is Zaira.”
She extended her left hand for a greeting. Hannah looked amused by this and mirrored Zaira, firmly shaking the offered hand.
“What brings you to Nanowin?”
Zaira nervously wiped her hands down her pants. “Oh, just looking for something new.”
“Ah? I imagine you’ve got a job lined up? Do you have any family here?”
Zaira opened her mouth, then closed it again. Lovely, the neighbor was nosy.
“Oh, I’m sorry dear. I am prodding a bit too much.” Despite the acknowledgment, Hannah continued to look around and her eyes fell on the open door and the empty room inside. “I hope you’ve not moved in yet.”
“I have. Why?”
“Oh, but you don’t even have a working kitchen!”
“Don’t worry.” Zaira just wanted her gone and figured reassuring her would be the best option. After all, she was certain Hannah was just trying to be nice. “I’ll have everything immediately necessary by tonight.”
“Well, in that case, I suppose I should let you be, don’t want to keep you. Actually… Do you need any help? My husband can help you set up the furniture, and I can help you unpack the boxes you must have coming.”
“That’s nice of you, but I really don’t need any help. Thank you.”
“If you’re certain. Please, don’t be a stranger. Let us know if you need anything.”
“Thank you.” Zaira decided to pick up a lighter box as she watched Hannah make her way home.
Zaira got to her door before Hannah did hers. As soon as the newcomer had crossed the threshold her hands started trembling, her breathing quickened and she dropped the box. Then her knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor. Zaira tried counting her breaths, but they only sped up. Pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes, she pressed her claws into her scalp. Her breath slowed as the pain grew. Finally, she could think normally again. Then Zaira was mad. At herself. It was stupid. Why? Why did she have to react like this every single time someone asked her questions? Hannah was just being nice; if a little nosy. There was no reason for her to behave like a caged animal. She would just have to accept and get used to it. Hannah wouldn’t, couldn’t, figure it out.
Zaira sighed. Her eyes fell on her rocking chair. She stood and placed it closer to the fireplace. It felt better there. She padded back to the door and peeked outside. She couldn’t see anyone. So, she went to pick up the earlier box. Then the next box, and the next. Once there were no boxes outside, she sat down in the middle of the first floor. Looking over all the boxes, she pondered which box to tackle first. Oh, right, a sink. Water was important. The box was right in front of her. Zaira lay down.
She was tired and wary. Should she finish moving in? Yes, this place, this land was beautiful. But was it worth dealing with humans? Mind you, non-humans would be so much harder to hide from… Just get over it. You’ll never be able to be alone. She closed her eyes. I don’t want to be alone.
“You left your front door open.” She heard a voice call out.
Zaira startled. She sat up hastily, taking a quick breath in, and watched as Hannah slowly entered her house with something in hand.
“Oh! You poor thing!” Hannah exclaimed when she saw Zaira get up from the floor. “You must be so tired after doing all this by yourself.”
The elder human walked towards her and showed her the object in her hand, a loaded plate of food. Hannah seemed to be offering it to her. Zaira did not take it.
Seeing her hesitation, Hannah put the plate in a clear spot on the table. On the plate was a chicken breast with red sauce and some cooked veggies.
“I figured you might be hungry. I thought I’d feed you instead of letting you eat fast food again.” She nodded towards the refrigerator, which still had its tag hanging off the handle and its cord lying curled near it.
Zaira opened her mouth to reply but felt her throat tighten as tears filled her eyes. She managed to hold them in. “Thank you.” She said.
She was wary of what was motivating the kindness, but the action was touching.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Have you set up the upstairs?” Hannah looked around at the unmade first floor.
“Umm…”
“It’s not set up?”
“I just finished bringing everything in. I plan on setting up the running water next, then my room.” Zaira figured an explanation was the least she could do in exchange for the food.
“Wait, you don’t even have running water? Don’t you have anybody to help you?”
Zaira thought about that, did she? Well, she supposed she could have asked Rushka, but they had already done so much for her, and they needed to concentrate on their work.
“The pipes are set up. I just need to install the appliances and turn the water on. I have… one friend, but they are not available. They work four weeks straight, then one week off.”
“Your boyfriend perhaps?” Hinting in a way only elders seemed to be able to.
Zaira shook her head. “No. Just a friend.”
“What about your other friends?”
Zaira’s face dropped.
“I’ll leave you alone dear. Just bring the plate back when you’re ready.”
Hannah turned to leave when a loud Bang! Resonated from above them. Both women jumped, and Hannah let out a gasp. They looked up.
“One of your boxes must have fallen over. Hopefully, nothing’s broken.”
Zaira nodded, pretending to agree. She had not brought anything upstairs.
Hannah started to leave once again. As she reached the door Zaira called out to her.
“Hannah?” The elder turned around at the door. “Thank you.”
Hannah half-smiled then looked again at the ceiling. She looked Zaira in the eye and very seriously said. “Be careful.” The elder woman then truly left, closing the door behind her.
Zaira frowned a bit but decided to shrug it off for now.
She stood up and went to sit at the new table. May as well use it. Hannah had put the plate at the only open spot at the table, it would, however, make her face the inside of the house when she wanted to look out. Zaira cleared the table completely and then moved the plate to one of the seats facing the window. As she put her plate down, she heard loud stomping down the stairs and a cold wind blew through the ground floor. Footsteps then ran towards her. It seemed her house guest had decided to take more direct measures. Zaira rolled her eyes and turned towards the footsteps. She crossed her arms and looked sternly in the direction of the sounds.
“Really?”
It stopped short of hitting her. She had stood her ground and she felt the energy dissipate around her in a cold wind as the noise stopped. She sighed and plopped down on the chair. Zaira proceeded to eat her, now cold, dinner. Despite that, it was still very good.
As she ate, she contemplated the possibilities regarding her uninvited guest. She would more than likely have to get rid of it. Question was, what was it? A ghost? A demon? A combination of some sort? Frustratingly, these encounters weren’t near enough to tell what the cause was. It was, however, important to determine what it was. A blessing could be enough to get rid of a normal ghost but would only aggravate anything stronger. It didn’t seem strong right now, but she knew that could change. Unfortunately, it seemed like she would have to wait.
Zaira was disappointed when the last bite was swallowed. She hadn’t eaten in a while, and this seemed extra delicious. Her meal finished she supposed she needed to return the dishes now. She stood but, anxious, the plate she had lifted found its way back to the table. Instead, the pieces of the rustic-style bed slowly made their way up the stairs and into the master bedroom. The pieces of furniture which belonged in the ensuite followed them up. She set about installing the sink.
Once the sun started to set Zaira knew she couldn’t dally further. She headed to her neighbors’ home with the dishes. It was just over 300 feet away, a stone one-story house with a green porch, there was a lonely tire swing hanging from the tree in the front yard. Looking at the house a bit more closely revealed it to be quite a bit older than she had first thought. However, it was amazingly well-kept. She had already concluded her house was in an odd location. She wondered why would they build another house so close to this one. And both are so far away from town. She hoped they weren’t planning on developing the area further.
Zaira took a deep breath, attempting to still her shaking hand, and knocked. The door and another elder human opened. The man was in the same age range as Hannah, thinner, strong looking with short-cropped white hair, half a head shorter than herself. He spoke first.
“Hello. I assume you’re Zara?” His tone was neutral.
“Zaira, yes. I assume you’re Hannah’s husband? I’m sorry, she didn’t tell me your name?”
The man opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a loud voice.
“Zaira!” Hannah came up behind her husband and wrapped an arm around his waist. “I see you’ve met Ryan?”
Zaira half-smiled. “Yes. Umm, here’s your dishes. Thank you again.”
“Thank you, dear.” Hannah took the dishes and headed towards what Zaira supposed was the kitchen. “Would you like to come in and have some tea?” The elder woman called out.
“Oh, no, thank you. I still have some stuff to set up remember?”
“Oh right.” Hannah sounded a little disappointed.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Ryan asked her. He wasn’t as chipper as his wife, but the offer also seemed genuine.
“Yes, thank you.” She half-smiled.
“Alright. Then good luck and goodnight to you.”
Zaira nodded. “Goodnight.”
She heard Ryan close the door behind her as she shakily headed back to her house.
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Zaira went upstairs to finish her work for the day. A few steps away from the landing she heard footsteps coming toward her. No doubt trying to scare her. She grabbed hold of the railing, just in case. She held her ground and once again it stopped short of hitting her. She brushed the encounter off and headed for her bedroom.
The thought of sleeping in a bed for the first time in years helped her set up her toilet and her bed in record time. She went downstairs. Under the stairs was a utility closet. She turned the water on.
Back in her room, sheets were taken out and placed. Zaira was more than ready for bed after her busy day. She stripped and pulled her waterskin from her ever-bag. She went to refill it in her new sink. The water only flowed for a few seconds before the faucet cooled to freezing point. The water stopped flowing as the pipe filled with ice.
“Will you stop it?” She said through gritted teeth. Thankfully, the sink thawed, and she was able to finish filling her water. The fucking thing was already quite bothersome.
She nearly stomped back to the bed, but Zaira’s irritation faded as she lay down. The day was over, and she could enjoy the simple, soothing, feeling of lying on a comfortable bed with soft sheets sliding against her skin. Zaira was content to bask for as long as possible, knowing that as soon as sleep came, so too would the nightmares.
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Zaira groaned as the morning sun hit her face, she did not want to open her eyes. She hadn’t slept well, as usual. She was, however, quite comfortable and not ready to face the day. She turned to try to block out the sun. As soon as she pressed her face into the pillow, she let out a gasp of pain. Zaira sat up and put her hands to her face. On it was many wounds of various sizes. If she had not known the cause, she would have assumed it to be the entity’s doing, but this had been happening for 400 years now. She had clawed at her face. Again. She rarely remembered her nightmares, but the feeling of dread and bloody aftermath left no doubt they were horrible.
Zaira felt the scratches, they had partially scabbed over. Some deeper ones were still bleeding. She looked down at her burgundy sheets. She could barely see the blood, but she should still wash them.
She swung her legs off the bed and was surprised to see that the head of the bed was now pressed up against the door. She had put the bed against the north wall, next to the door. She certainly hadn’t moved the bed in her sleep. Irritated she hopped off and pushed the bed back in place.
The plan for today; patch up, set up the rest of the appliances, and get some food and other miscellaneous necessities.
Zaira grabbed the healing blue-cress jars out of her bag and headed to the ensuite. She put the containers on the sink’s counter and opened the thick green paste. She followed the wounds to their deeper points and put some of the sticky paste on them to keep them closed. Zaira then took some of the blue-cress gel and spread it across the rest of her face.
Throughout the rest of the morning, she finished setting up all the appliances. She threw her sheets and yesterday’s clothes in the laundry as soon as the washer and dryer were ready. God had she been pleased when this planet had finally caught up and invented the washing machine. Dishes she could do but clothes?
She managed to hook up the electronics to the energy gem she had brought, which she placed in the center of the house, below the floorboards. Hopefully, the entity would not be able to mess with it.
Zaira decided to go do the necessary shopping in the early afternoon. She could go only go a couple of days without food and still be healthy. Perhaps she should go hunting too?
No.
No hunting until she knew there were no other non-humans in the immediate area.
She put on her last set of clothes and cast the rest of her glamour spells to finish hiding the horror which was her, and headed out.
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Zaira’s hands trembled as she opened the door. She would need to get used to going out if she were going to stay here. In addition, she should probably have to consider getting a car if she was to continue frequenting humans. It had been awkward shoving all the things she had bought into her ever-bag whilst hiding in an alleyway.
She put the groceries in the fridge, put the new towels in the washing machine, moved the earlier load into the dryer, and put all the little day-to-day things that never cross your mind into their appropriate area. Zaira hadn’t made the cabinets yet, so the dishware ended up in the bookcases.
Her stomach grumbled. The cabinets would have to wait a little longer. She took the pork chops out and put two of them on her plate, raw, then made herself a salad. As Zaira sat down the house started to rattle. She rolled her eyes and ignored it. Hopefully, the entity would eventually understand that she was not interested in becoming its next pawn.
Zaira startled as a plate came flying from its shelf and crashed against the fireplace.
“Really?”
Zaira frowned. It was getting stronger, perhaps she had paid too much attention to it. She moved to pick up the pieces of the plate, but the first piece disappeared as it touched her hand. Looking at the bookshelf she noticed that the plate that had been smashed was still in its place. She snorted and went back to eating her meal.
After her meal, Zaira built the island which was going to separate the kitchen and dining area as well as the cabinets. Most were in the kitchen, but one was put up in the southwest corner of the house. It was a television cabinet. She had decided that she would later buy one, she could keep up with human news, and she had overheard that other species on this planet might make their own, locked, channels as well.
She finished her laundry before deciding she was done for the day. She brought the laundry baskets upstairs. When she heard the tell-tale running footsteps towards her, she simply walked by. She put the towels in her ensuite, and her spare set of clothes neatly on top of the box that still held her disassembled dresser. She would pick up more clothes the next day.
Zaira looked to her inviting bed, then to her ensuite door, and made the easy decision to delay sleep. Instead of heading straight to bed, Zaira drew a bath. She smiled; she had a bath now. She gleefully stripped, stretching every part of her body as she uncovered it. Especially her tired wings. The poor things had gone from having little use as she hid in caves and ambushing prey in the nearby forests to long trips into town. The bath was thankfully wide enough to accommodate them. She slipped into the hot water, resting her head on the ledge. She enjoyed the heat against her skin. Content for a few moments before her anxiety started to creep in once more.
The past couple of days had been interspersed with feelings of confidence and joy at her decision to relocate, followed by doubt and fear. She enjoyed feeling like a creature again, unlike the animal she had reverted to, but couldn’t help the fear of discovery. Perhaps Rushka would vouch for her? She sighed and heated the water once more. The heat lured her back into a false feeling of safety. Perhaps she should just enjoy the present and accept her faith. She had lived long enough. But had she really lived?
Zaira growled, a low, long annoyed growl. The water had suddenly cooled. Interrupting the short moments of peace away from her anxious thoughts and forcing her out of the soothing water. The irritated woman got out of the bath. She dried off and dived into bed, sulking until she fell asleep.