Chapter 1: Acquaintances

On a stage at her school's last music recital of the year before the summer vacation started the next day, Lacrymosa sat on the bench of the piano and opened the music book to the page she was to play.  There were many notes to a line, and the challenge was to keep up with the pace of the other instruments.  When she began playing, however, everything came out with ease.  She played all the right notes at the correct time at the perfect pace.  It was almost hard to believe that, by the end of the recital, she hadn't messed up once.  She had obviously practiced a great deal, and it had paid off.

At the end of every song, the audience would give a standing ovation.  The middle school orchestra was the best of its kind in the country, and everyone knew it.  The end of the recital itself came with a bittersweet tone, as everyone enjoyed the music that Lacrymosa and the other students had performed, and wanted to hear more than what was on the program.

However, the recital had to end, and Lacrymosa descended the stage and ran up to her mother, who was waiting for her in the audience with a video camera.  At just age 13, she was barely able to keep herself contained.

"Mommy, I did it!  I didn't mess up!"

"That's great, dear."  Her mother smiled down at the bouncy little girl -- or, teenager, now -- looking up at her as she stood.  "Let's go home.  You need some rest."

As they left the school auditorium and started their walk home that evening, they passed the laboratory of Dr. Tannery, which was down the road.  Lacrymosa stared longingly at it, knowing with all of her heart that, one day, she would recieve a ((Ghost)) of her own to care for.  But, for now, there were none available, and Lacrymosa was barely of age to train one.

"Mommy," she said aloud, "are you sure that Dr. Tannery doesn't have any ((Ghost))s right now?

"We can call again tomorrow, if you like," her mother replied, "but I'm sure I heard him say he would have a new set of ((Ghosts)) next week, and tomorrow would not be next week yet."

"Aww..."

Disappointed, she continued walking home, finally looking away from the building of hope.

--

The next day, the phone rang.  Lacrymosa answered the phone, as she always did when her mother was busy with the garden.

"Hello," came a voice on the other end.  "This is Dr. Tannery.  May I speak to Miss Lacrymosa?"

Immediately, Lacrymosa's excitement rose.  "Speaking."

"Oh, hi!  I have a surprise for you.  Will you and your mother come by my lab later today?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Don't forget, now.  I'll see you soon.  Goodbye!"

Lacrymosa hung up the phone, and was almost unable to contain her happiness.  She sprinted out to the garden to tell her mother, who grinned widely for her daughter's joy.

"Can we go now," Lacrymosa asked excitedly.  "I can't wait to see what it is!"

"Go get dressed, dear, and we'll go in a little bit."

She an back inside and to her bedroom, hurriedly changing and brushing her hair.  Within minutes, she was ready to go.  She went downstairs and put on her tennis shoes, tying them in a rushed fashion.  Her mother simply laughed at her daughter's excitement, and waited for her at the door.  After tying her shoes, Lacrymosa grabbed her amethyst ring from the table and put it on as she ran out the door ahead of her mother.  

--

"Ah, Lacrymosa and Azandra!  Come in, come in!"  Dr. Tannery stepped aside to let Lacrymosa and her mother through the door.  She looked around the laboratory in wonder, never having seen the inside of the building before.  It was full of machines with blinking lights, computers, and shelves upon shelves of amethysts, with more supposedly hiding behind a door at the back of the lab.  Dr. Tannery led her and her mother toward the back of the lab, where several amethysts were sitting on a desk.  He began speaking while Lacrymosa listened attentively.

"Now, Lacrymosa, I know you have been waiting for some time now to receive your first ((Ghost)).  I have a few starters here, and many more in the back room.  I would suggest, however, going with the starters if you choose to keep them as pets rather than for protection."

Lacrymosa nodded, listening carefully.  However, a crash in the back room gained her attention, as well as Dr. Tannery's.  He stopped talking and glanced at the door leading to the back room.  Lacrymosa soon found herself walking to the door and opening it.

Two of the ((Ghost))s in the back room had gotten free from their amethysts, and were now fighting.  One was a large snake-like being, with green and yellow scales and unusually large fangs showing.  The other resembled a fox-cat that stood on two feet.  Lacrymosa recognized it as part of the Kala family of ((Ghost))s, a psychic type.  It was obviously injured already, with wounds in its arms and shoulders.  The snake-like ((Ghost)) let out a loud hiss and flung its tail at it, knocking down shelves in the process.  The Kala ((Ghost)) dodged it, but didn't attack.  It was probably in shock, Lacrymosa decided, and needed help.  Before either Dr. Tannery or her mother could stop her, she rushed to the aid of the Kala ((Ghost)).  She came in between the two and stood with her back to the Kala, arms stretched outward.

The snake stopped its rampage, and stared at her leerily.  It flicked its forked tongue at her, studying her.

"You defend this ((Ghost)) that invaded my territory," it hissed finally, deciding that the child was no threat.  "Why?"

"He hasn't done anything to you," Lacrymosa hissed back, much to the surprise of Dr. Tannery and her mother.  The Kala ((Ghost)) seemed to freeze in place behind Lacrymosa, as though sensing that moving anywhere else could mean death.

"You speak ((Ghost))," the snake hissed, amused.  "Then perhaps you can get the Kala to speak.  Make it tell you why it invaded my amethyst."

"It was not my fault," the Kala said finally.  "Some guy came into my territory and used that amethyst to bring me here.  I had no say in it."

The snake flicked its tongue again.  "I see," it said.  "The professor broght you here with a non-vacant amethyst, eh?  Perhaps the professor can explain this.  Go ahead, girl, talk human to that professor over there," it continued, nodding its head toward Dr. Tannery.  "Ask him why he let this Kala in my amethyst."

A moment's pause, as Lacrymosa stayed in place to be sure that the snake would not attack the Kala again.  Then, she slowly lowered her arms and turned to where Dr. Tannery and her mother were watching from the door in amazement.

"The snake ((Ghost)) wants to know why you made the Kala go in his amethyst" Lacrymosa interpreted finally, directing her sentence at a rather frightened Dr. Tannery.  "He's just mad that his amethyst was, as he said, 'invaded'.  I'll interpret for you, Dr. Tannery."

Dr. Tannery didn't answer for a moment, locking eyes with the snake in terror.  "I-I-I didn't know...th-that the amethyst was t-taken...I th-thought it was e-empty..."

"Dr. Tannery didn't know it was taken, that's all," Lacrymosa interpreted, hissing at the snake.  "Now go back to your amethyst and stop fighting with this Kala.  He didn't do anything to you."

The snake ((Ghost)) said nothing in return, but glanced at Lacrymosa and bowed its head before glowing with a bright light and turning into energy which flowed back into its amethyst.  Once the threat was gone, the Kala felt safe enough to sit down on the ground and collect itself.  Lacrymosa turned around and kneeled down in front of the Kala, studying its wounds.

"Are you okay," she asked carefully.  The Kala glanced up at her sternly, as though the answer were obvious.  He didn't answer.

Dr. Tannery, seeing that the snake was gone, edged toward Lacrymosa carefully, as though she would turn around and bite him like the snake would.  "L-Lacrymosa?  How did you do that?"

"Do what," she asked, confused.  "I didn't do anything."

"You spoke ((Ghost)) to that snake," Dr. Tannery said.  "No human can do that."

"Um, Lacrymosa, let's go, sweetie," her mother broke in nervously.  "Dr. Tannery and I will talk later."

"Oh, wait, that's right," Dr. Tannery said suddenly, appearing to remember the task at hand.  "Your ((Ghost)) starter."

Lacrymosa glanced at the Kala, then back at Dr. Tannery.  He seemed to understand.

"You can take this Kala, if you like," he said finally.  "I'm sure the two of you will get along well.  I must warn you, though -- he's really young for a Kala, and you may need to take him to a treatment center to get those wounds checked out, among other things."

"I understand, Dr. Tannery," she answered.  "Mommy, do we have a treatment center in Wanderlust?"

"I don't believe so, but I know there's one in Batelya, the neighboring town."

"The one with the marketplace?"

"Yeah, that one."

Lacrymosa turned to the Kala ((Ghost)), who appeared to be holding back a glare.  She smiled at him, despite his unnerving demeanor.  "Don't worry," she said, "We'll take good care of you.  You'll feel better in no time."

--

After spending the night in the treatment center specifically for ((Ghost))s, the Kala's wounds were fully healed.  Lacrymosa had stayed with him, not sleeping the entire time.  Lacrymosa's mother had gone home, convinced that her daughter and her new ((Ghost)) needed to be alone to get along better.  However, not once did the Kala speak to Lacrymosa, and she wondered if something else might be wrong with him.  Upon asking a doctor, however, the doctor simply laughed.

"It's normal for ((Ghost))s," he explained, "to not trust their new masters upon being gifted to them.  It's entirely up to the Kala as to whether or not he wants to trust you yet, even if you did help him."

Lacrymosa, however, wasn't going to let herself be put down by this.  She walked with him back to Dr. Tannery's laboratory to finish what had been started just two days ago.

Dr. Tannery welcomed her with open arms, it seemed, despite what had happened before.  "Well, Lacrymosa, are you ready to fill out your form and receive your new friend's amethyst?"

"If it's okay, I have an amethyst he can use," she said, remembering that the Kala's amethyst had also belonged to the snake ((Ghost)), and held up her amethyst ring.  Dr. Tannery nodded, and handed her a clipboard with several papers attached to it, along with a pen.  While Lacrymosa read and filled out the papers, Dr. Tannery studied her amethyst ring and "assigned" it to the Kala.  They both finished at the same time, and Dr. Tannery tested her amethyst ring and sent the Kala inside of the stone.  When Dr. Tannery let him back out, the Kala simply glared up at him.

Dr. Tannery gave Lacrymosa her ring back, and sent her and the Kala on their way.  As they stepped out the door, Lacrymosa breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at her new friend.  "So," she began, "what's your name?"

The Kala didn't meet her eyes, but stared at the ground as he spoke for the first time since the encounter with the snake ((Ghost)).  "Mazakala," was all he said, and Lacrymosa took this to be his name.  However, she sensed something in his voice, something that suggested that he was more leery of her than she originally thought.  

"Ah," she said, "You don't trust me.  That'll go away after a while."

Mazakala met her eyes this time, definitely holding back a glare.  She giggled.  

“Anyway,” she continued, “let’s get back to the house.  I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty hungry.  Let’s go see what Mommy made us for lunch.  By the way,” she added, smiling, “my name is Lacrymosa.”

--

They got back to the house and were greeted warmly by Lacrymosa's mother.  Indeed, she had fixed lunch.  Lacrymosa escorted Mazakala to the kitchen, where the table was set and the food was ready to eat.  Her mother watched them as Lacrymosa tried to interact with the barely-responsive ((Ghost)).  

Having never had a ((Ghost)) of her own, she had had to ask around Wanderlust to figure out what taking care of a ((Ghost)) consisted of -- what they ate, where they slept, etc.  Kala ((Ghost))s were pretty rare when it came to ((Ghost))s in general, so hardly anyone except Dr. Tannery knew anything about them.  According to Dr. Tannery, Kala ((Ghost))s ate the same things humans did, which wasn't really all that much help to her because she wasn't human.  As a demon, something other than human, in raising her daughter she treated her to rare meats and uncooked vegetables and fruit.  Her daughter, as a half-demon and half-((Ghost)) seemed to enjoy both cooked and uncooked foods evenly, but preferred her meats cooked.  Lacrymosa appeared to have the same tastes as most ((Ghost))s did, which was the same as a human's.  So, for lunch that day, she had prepared simple sandwiches and fruit for her daughter and her new ((Ghost)).
 
Meanwhile, Mazakala studied his new master while eating the fruit on the plate before him.  He knew from the moment she appeared that something wasn't right about her.  Her appearance was odd, for one thing.  Lacrymosa had the strangest-colored hair -- blonde mostly, but with blue bangs -- and equally-odd dress that was not typical for humans.  She wore mostly leather from some unfamiliar creature that probably was not a ((Ghost)), along with a silk/cotton-mixed cloth that appeared to be just for comfort.  Her skin was pale, and her eyes a dark, dark blue that almost matched her bangs.  Other than her appearance, there was her scent.  Her scent was similar to that of a human's, yet very different.  He couldn't place what type, but she had to be at least half-((Ghost)), which was an odd guess but not entirely impossible.  As for the other half, that was something too unfamiliar to him to guess.

Lacrymosa in turn studied her new friend, who she knew was still trying to form an initial impression of her.  His eyes were a deep brown, and his fur was a darker brown with blonde in some places.  His ears were shaped kind of funny, she noticed, like neither a cat's nor a fox's.  Perhaps that was what was unique about the Kala ((Ghost))s -- the shape of their ears, which were indescribable.  He didn't have a tail, which wasn't atypical for a ((Ghost)) of his type.  In fact, he would have appeared very strangely had he had a tail.  

"After lunch," Lacrymosa's mother announced, "we should watch the video of Lacrymosa's recital from the other night."

Lacrymosa blushed, but grinned in an effort to hide her shyness.  Mazakala looked up at her curiously, and tilted his head to one side questioningly.

Lacrymosa's mother continued.  "Her middle school had the most wonderful music recital a couple of nights ago, and the video has yet to be watched.  Do you like music?"

Mazakala only looked up at the mother warily.  Then, she smiled at him as though knowingly.  

"You've never heard music before, have you?"

He shook his head no.

"Then we'll have to let you watch the video and listen to Lacrymosa playing."

Lacrymosa stared down at her empty plate, blushing.  She hadn't realized that her mother showed off the tapes to anyone.  However, Mazakala seemed to be interested in the video, so she said nothing.

After Lacrymosa's mother cleaned off the table, they all went into the living room and she put the disk containing the video from the recorder into a player.  Once the player read the disk, and the television was turned on, there appeared on the screen a stage with children setting up their instruments.  Mazakala saw Lacrymosa seat herself in front of a large wooden instrument he assumed was a piano and start to play it.  All at once, a beautiful sound reached his ears from that video, and he watched in awe of the students making the lovely sound.  Song after song played, and the more they watched, the more Lacrymosa seemed to blush, and the more Mazakala appeared to enjoy it.  At the end of the video, Lacrymosa was seen rushing off stage ahead of everyone else, running up to the recorder and saying "Mommy, I did it!  I didn't mess up!" Laughter, then the video ended.

"That was the night before we met," Lacrymosa said quietly.  Mazakala nodded in understanding.

 

Author's Note

If it sounds a lot like Pokemon, it's not. I'll explain later...

Reviews

[Ben]

This is good! Keep it up!

[H]

That''s a trifle to read. Nevertheless, you do have a skill. Perhaps you should break it down into smaller parts next time and make it a little more desirable to read.