Yellows and oranges stained the cool sky. The early rays of the sun in the horizon painted the green forest in such a way that emphasized the woods' stature. As the sun continued to rise from its slumber, the familiar scent of dew wafted in the air.
Nature began its cycle. Diurnal creatures woke to the melody of birds' songs. Nocturnal creatures falling asleep with the atmosphere's warm embrace.
A woman lived in the middle of it all. An impressive expanse of piercings stretched along the length of her pointed ear. Hair that is as golden as the sun tied elegantly into a bun.
Her soft pastel sundress hugged comfortably, with a beige cardigan that protected her shoulders from the chilly morning. Despite her put-together appearance, a worry gnawed at her.
They were a few days into spring. She should be celebrating for getting through the winter without so much as a headache. The festive mood disappeared whenever she took a peak at their supplies, or rather, the lack of it.
By her rough estimates, she knew they wouldn't last a week with the amount they have. Meaning, she would need to resupply in the village for the new season.
The thought of visiting the village only worsened her bad mood. It had been years since they disregarded her as someone of their tribe. She thought she might have gotten over their discrimination and accepted that they were different people. She was wrong. Every reminder that they existed always made her frown.
Today was going to be a long day of chores.
Vaeri opened the closet containing her fishing gear. The sound of its opening contrasted the quiet in the cottage, echoing as a result.
The air shifted. It held its breath as it waited for the inevitable part of life to come crashing.
Soft footsteps rushed from the second floor. It didn't stop even as it approached the spiral staircase.
"Be careful!" Vaeri warned to no avail. She watched as a child, not taller than seven apples, slid down the steps on a wooden board. Her hair was a mess, eyes marred by sleep and a cheek stained with drool.
Vaeri shook her head at the display. She approached her child with an incredulous look on her face. "Seriously, Niana?"
Niana didn't hear her. She walked past her mother until she reached the closet.
"Niana?" Vaeri tried and failed. Niana was too busy entering the closet and rummaging for their fishing gear. Rods, creels and bait were thrown out haphazardly.
Before Niana could complete her mission and empty out the closet, Vaeri walked behind her and pulled her into her arms.
Niana groaned in protest. She tried to wiggle her way out of her mother's grasp. Vaeri didn't let her. Instead, she held her closer to her chest, nuzzling the child's neck before blowing a raspberry on her skin.
Niana shrieked like a siren. Her voice startled birds resting in the nearby trees.
"Mama! Stop! I'll be good!" Niana struggled to say in between fits of giggles and screams.
Vaeri playfully scolded, "You don't even greet your mother first thing in the morning!"
"I was wrong! I should have-- Mama, stop!"
A few moments later, Niana managed to push away Vaeri's face long enough for the child to initiate her counter attack. Her lip wobbled, her sleepy eyes growing wider as she sniffled.
Vaeri rolled her eyes before Niana could get her first words out.
"Can we please go ice fishing, Mama?"
Despite recognizing her daughter's nefarious actions, the moment she heard the tone of her voice, Vaeri's heart melted.
Her previous mood was forgotten. No amount of their bigotry could ever persuade her to choose their beliefs over the well-being of her daughter. A child so special that she gained the affection of a powerful God.
Everything she did was all for her Niana.
So she sighed, her mind contented as she held the light weight of her child. "Unfortunately, my darling, the ice in the river has already melted. So we can't ice fish."
Niana fisted her hand on her cardigan as she clumsily tucked herself in her mother's neck.
Before the first words of her tantrum could begin, Vaeri said. "We can still fish normally, Niana."
"But I want to go ice fishing!" Niana faced her mother. Her bright red eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
This was one of the rare times for Niana to be very upset over something. Sure, Vaeri spoiled her daughter rotten, but Niana was an easy child to please. If something didn't go her way, she was more than happy to do something else entirely.
"Unless you're able to bring back winter, there won't be any ice capping our river. You'll have to wait until next winter to go ice fishing."
Niana's face fell, a tear or two falling down silently. The grip she had on Vaeri's cardigan tightened. "I want ice fishing…"
"Oh, my Niana…" She pressed a gentle kiss on the crown of Niana's head.
CRAAASSHHH
The shrill sound of glass breaking filled the quiet forest.
Vaeri's motherly instinct acted up. She brought Niana to the closet and carefully set her inside.
Niana was fully awake now. Tantrum was long forgotten, replaced with a curious gleam in her eyes. She didn't react as Vaeri combed her fingers through her messy hair before messily tying it up. Her mouth was saying words that didn't register in Niana's brain.
Between the two of them, Niana was the calmer one.
Her bright red eyes finally landed on her mother, catching the end of her spiel. "...check it out. Do you understand, Niana?"
Niana smiled softly and nodded. "You don't have to worry about me, Mama. I'll be good."
"Good." Vaeri placed a firm kiss on her daughter's forehead. She rushed to the kitchen to grab her daughter's favorite snacks and handed them to her.
Vaeri was a bit skeptical about leaving her daughter alone in the house. After carefully analyzing her surroundings with the protective runes around their property, she could feel that it was close to their barrier but not inside.
She knew that her daughter was safest inside the cottage. The bells ringing in her ear was just an overprotectiveness that naturally formed over the years.
Since it happened near their barrier, Vaeri felt that it was her responsibility to check and confirm that it wouldn't bring any danger to her or the surrounding nature.
Vaeri gathered a fresh supply of offensive runes she had stacked away in the case of emergency. As well as a dagger and poison in case her runes failed.
The crash did sound familiar. Something that she had experienced in the past. There was a high likelihood that the sound came from a portal being forcibly opened from the overworld. Such an event was rare in and of itself, it would require some careful tinkering or a miracle similar to Niana for something to happen.
All in all, Vaeri prayed that it wouldn't be dangerous.
When she arrived at the site, purple shards were strewn across the grassy field. There weren't any signs of fighting, blood or ritual.
The shards told her that a portal did open. And it wasn't pleasant by any means. The state that it was in was horrible, even if Vaeri gave it her all, there was no way that she would be able to recover the portal without setting the whole forest on fire.
Investigating further, she found an unmoving body amidst a pile of bark. She carefully activated a rune on her body just in case before moving in.
It was a woman. Smaller and darker than her. She looked in pain, the detail of her wrinkles magnified from her frown. Her face was flush in a similar color as Niana's when the child was sick.
An instinct from the back of her brain told her to move closer. Vaeri kneeled and confirmed her suspicions.
Five fingers on each hand, rounded ears, and the lack of fangs. They were similar from afar but very different up close. This person was human.
One who was injured and in need of medical attention.
Vaeri knew she couldn't take another one in with her lack of supplies and funding, not to mention her daughter. There was only so much she could do to help those around her and she recognized that she was close to a breaking point.
A memory came to her. One that was similar to the sight in front of her. With a broken portal that transferred a quiet baby from the human realm. A baby that looked at her like she was her whole world.
She took a long look at the human, weighing the options in her mind.
This human could kill them, or worse, torture them for information about the villages. If she were her father, she would kill her here and now to save the tribe trouble later.
Humans are unpredictable. Being a newer species in Itov meant they had the element of surprise in their hands. Vaeri could be making the biggest decision in her life.
The human twitched and moved. A strained cry left her lips as her breathing grew heavier. Her eyes opened just a fraction before she forcibly closed due to the sunlight.
Vaeri towered over her, casting her shadow on the woman's face.
She tried again. Those eyes now opened more carefully. Vaeri noted their color, silver that shimmered similar to the sun, a secret behind them that Vaeri wanted to know.
The human seemed to recognize her. Although her eyes were clouded by sleep and sickness, they smiled upon seeing her face clearly.
Vaeri fought a blush down as she carefully watched a trembling hand approach her face. Calloused fingers brushed her cheeks in a soft caress. She spoke, a language that Vaeri couldn't understand but recognized as human.
"P aovbnoa P svza fvb mvy nvvk…P tpzz fvb zv tbjo, Lilith," She said.