He stood, staring at the mass of people aimlessly wandering around. Their individual movements and sounds seeming to merge together to form a large organism, one to which he did not belong. Occasionally, this organism would share some of its secrets with him: an overheard conversation or hidden package being revealed to those with the desire to simply watch.

This place was a nest filled with venomous vipers to the young man. It seemingly followed no pattern, or at least none that he could recognise. Which was awe-inspiring to him, because it seemed that no one else struggled in the same manner as him. Maybe it was a matter of upbringing, or perhaps it was simply a innate skill, one which he had not received. How else would it explain the fact that he felt like an outcast, even amongst those he was expected to be most familiar with.

“Oof”, he moaned, confused. Someone had bumped into him, forcing him directly into the stream of people walking with purpose towards their next destination: perhaps it was a eatery, or a clothing store; maybe they were leaving this hallowed house where people praised the gods of brand names. The young man speedily righted himself, and moved towards the nearest river bed, remaining focused on his objective to avoid having to see the angry eyes and whispered complaints of those he had to wade through. Unfortunately for him, the safest place was the same place that he started at.

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“Hiya, Merilin,” said a dark-skinned, freckle-faced girl with chocolate shaded eyes, and a high ponytail. Seeing who it was that had pushed him, he immediately felt his body react in panic. Not because this girl, no woman, stared at him with such an innocent expression, but rather because he had absolutely no idea why she had come to speak to him, and he new that it was not wise to confront this particular woman from a position of weakness. Her cheery-demeanor was merely a front for a strong personality with a near-perfect ability to manipulate him into doing things that he definitely wished that he had rather not do. Worst of all, she was the one person whom he couldn’t simply hide from, because they would always ultimately at the same place, their home; it was a regrettable side-effect of them having blood of the same origin flowing through their veins. To clarify: no, they are not vampires, but something even worse: siblings.