Morning, a refreshing start for most and the sign of a new day. The sun was just barely rising though the dew from the greenery of the town and the currently undisturbed puddles that came from the rains of the night before gleamed in the shining golden rays of light. A small chorus of early morning birds began to awaken and start their early morning choir, while the citizens began their own awakenings. Windows of wood were thrown open, some hinges squealing in protest, to air out the sleeping rooms of many people. In the homes of the more wealthy windows of delicate glass were carefully opened and various exotic fabrics that made up many curtains were thrown back. On the western and eastern outskirts of the town, farms glanced up, shielding their eyes from the greeting rays of sun for but a few moments, before continuing their work. They had been up before the roosters crowed to signal the awakening of the rest of their homes.


To the southern border of the town the sea glimmered as various ships and their crews dotted the docks, some preparing to sail while other just coming in. Carts slowly began to trickle down docks, making their way into the town and towards their generous patrons who were slowly setting up shop and preparing for the days expectant sales.


The northern border of the town was slowly starting to awake itself, though a bit slower than the rest. The glowing green and health forest was deceptively friendly looking, but many in the town knew the full dangers that lurked within the charming green depths and the proudly peaked mountains just beyond. Nevertheless there were always those that risked ventures in for wild game, herbs, berries, and other necessities of life.


The northern section of town, even before the start of the forest, held a different sort of danger though one would think as such at first glance. Towards the edge where the forest start, and yet not too terribly close to it, stood the glorious mansion of a particularly high ranked wealthy family, the Gemma family. In fact one could almost call them the single wealthiest in the town, with the only ones that could have rivaled them being the Mascarious family, however thanks to solely to the rather cruel Gemma family no longer existed. The Gemma were a greedy family, the vast size and top quality of their home giving clear show of that, and ones that weren't afraid to pull strings in their favor, or use dishonest ways to get what they desired.


It was no secret that those whom lived within the home and were not of Gemma blood weren't exactly treated civil. One in particular, or at least in speculation and rumors from staff within the home, was a young wolven halfbreed that had been taken in by the family as a show of 'charity' and went simply by the name Siona. It was not uncommon for the child to be seen in rags as she was sent out for errands, when she was free to do as such.


Currently this morning the wolven girl had been permitted an extra hour of sleep, an hour that was now up. Siona woke to the sound of a wooden door banging open and the shout of 'Get up lazy runt! Get dressed and prepare to go to town on an errand for us. And hurry up!'. Deep teal colored eyes slowly opened to hazily meet the owner of the voice. She knew from the screeching high pitched sound of the voice it belonged to the Mistress of the Gemma family. Her light gray colored wolven ears flattened at the noise, but obediently she began to rise, moving back the ragged old blanket that was considered 'hers', to reveal the rag that was called her nightgown. In truth it was nothing more then a scrap faded and black spotted towel that had its two ends sown together. Luckily due to her short size the towel covered down to her knees, though it still did get somewhat cold at night.


Sitting up a cream pale hand with slightly pointed nails pushed aside a few long and pale teal strands of hair, that at first glance almost looked white. Once the stranded nuisances out of the way the hand was soon directed upwards, and joined by the other as the wolf hybrid stretched her deceptively thin, long and delicate looking arms. A light gray wolf tail, that matched her ears, soon joined in the stretching. Her short, thin and powerful legs remained crossed as she continued to stretch a bit and allowed a small yawn to escape her small light pink lips.


Impatiently the woman who had awoken her waited for Siona to finish stretching, knowing full well that trying her tongue too much at the wolf girl could be rather dangerous. Critical gray eyes watched as the wolven girl's arms reached back, stretching out her chest and back, signaling the girl was finally done. “Get dressed now. I need you to deliver a letter to the usual place and be swift about it! You'll find it on the small wooden table near the entrance' and with that the older woman turned and exited the room, wishing to rid herself of the sight of Siona as soon as possible.


As the door to her 'room' closed Siona couldn't help but give out a sneer. “You wouldn't notice if I took my time or not you old wench” she growled quietly under her breath. Standing she turned towards the nearest corner of the room that held her clothing, though not before taking in the rather depressing barrenness of the room. It held no actual furniture, with her own bed being nothing more then some old rushes that the family had originally bought for the stable. The wall were an ugly pale yellow color, with a matching silken curtain that shielded the single window, the curtain perhaps being the only 'fancy' thing in the room. The floors were a dusty brown color and made of creaking wood. It looked as if this were the room that the family had forgotten, and was usually skipped during any house tours.


With a sigh, and shake of her head, she made her way to the ragged clothing heap. The clothes were nothing fancy in the least. Like her night gown they consisted of old cloth and were clearly hand sown. Carefully she dressed herself, not wishing to make holes in the cloth that she would have to sown up. Her clothing for the day consisted of a faded blue long sleeved shirt, with a dusty black over vest that was laced up with some old brown string in the front. A fading brown colored ankle length skirt, that held a slit up one side for maneuverability and a slit in the back for her tail completed the outfit. Shoes were of no concern to her as they were generally too difficult for her to make, and were just plain uncomfortable for her small petite looking feet, that like the nails on her hands contained nails that were slightly pointed as well. In truth she knew she looked like a peasant rather then someone who lived in the Gemma house, but then that's how the Gemma family members preferred it. She figured it was merely to remind her and the citizens of the town that she was not of Gemma blood, a blessing she counted every day. No she was much prouder holding the last name of Mascarious, even if she was the last to hold that name and held it in secret from the town.


The Mascarious family was believed to have been completely wiped out, executed for falsely accused crimes that were the result of the Gemma family, and a fact that Siona cursed everyday. It had been two long years for Siona since the day she saw her older brother and parent hung for a false crime. She would have hung herself had she not been only the age of eight with the treacherous Gemma family secretly agreeing to 'take her in from the cold', an under the table deal as she typically called it.


She made another shake of her head to again clear her mind of such trivial things now. After all she was to go on errand, and although she could be dangerous she was still only ten years of age, and it wasn't wise to keep the Gemma's waiting too terribly long. Besides it would get her out of the house for awhile and held the chance of her running into one of the few friends she actually had.


Quickly and quietly she made her way to the wooden door that had been previously slammed, and opened it slightly. Carefully her wolf ears scanned for sounds of the location of the Gemma's, sniffing the air to catch the scents of those she couldn't hear. Once she was sure the area between 'her' room and the front door was clear she began to sneak her way out. It didn't take her too long to reach the front door, after all she may have been short but she was speedy. The letter that the Gemma Mistress had aforementioned was exactly where she stated it would be, and with a quick swiping movement, soon found its new home in Siona's hand.


With letter in hand she didn't waste any time hurrying her way out the door, down the stoned path from the manor, and over the iron gate that surrounded the property. She scampered down the front street of the manor until she was far enough away to where a normal person wouldn't be able to see the manor. It was only then that she stopped and sniffed the letter in her hand. “Ugh...stinks of perfume as usual...” she said scrunching up her nose and shaking her head. She knew rather well what the letter was probably about, after all they were usually the same, and decided that it could wait for a bit to be delivered. Instead she figured she would at least first check up on one of her few friends in the town and see if he whether he was awake and what mischief he was possibly getting into.

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