It was pitch dark outside when the human girl regained her consciousness. This time, however, she found herself on a soft matrass. Sora yawned as she stretched her back like a lazy cat. She sat up on the matrass and stared at the squared window in the back of the room.

A see-through curtain, which served more for decoration, rather than actually covering the window, showed the human the beautiful night sky. Sora rubbed her eyes as she smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken the time to enjoy the sparkling stars up there.

The human rose to her feet and took place behind the glass. She watched the fallen leaves rustle around in small circles; she didn’t miss the branches of the trees, which were hanging lower than usual. As if they were sad. Sora frowned as she watched the streetlights. They surely weren’t as bright as she remembered. Sora closed her eyes; she heard a soft breeze blow against the glass as Sora put her head against the cold material.

Nevertheless, she felt peaceful.

Sora, suddenly, jolted. Her eyes flashed open as she heard a loud thud. She froze for a split second. The human balled her fists and glared, why was she such a scaredy cat? When was she finally going to control her fears? Why did she feel so worked up over an innocent sound?

The human tried her best to keep as calm as she could. The sound came from downstairs. She was sure of it. It sounded like something heavy fell down, but, Sora couldn’t pinpoint what it could have been.

Another thud.

Sora heard it clearly. It wasn’t something that had fallen down, no, something was moving.

Something-or, someone for that matter, is walking downstairs.

The small hairs in the human’s neck rose, Sora flexed her neck in an attempt to get rid of the weird feeling. Is it Jongin?

It couldn’t be.

Jongin doesn’t have hearable footsteps.

The human turned around and leaned her back against the window frame. She ignored how the warmth of her body seemed to seep away, into the wooden material, as she focused her eyes on the door. Sora felt like she was forgetting something.

Something important.

The brunette shrugged, she couldn’t figure much out if she stayed in the room. So, she decided to see for herself who, or what- it was. Perhaps, it really had been Jongin. Besides, even if it turned out Sora had imagined the sounds, it didn’t mean she had to stay put. The brunette glared at the door as she took determined steps towards it. She had been in this mansion long enough; Sora didn’t even understand why she hadn’t gone home yet. She didn’t want to know how worried her parents must have been.

The brunette grabbed the doorknob and prayed to God the door wouldn’t creek as she opened it. For some reason, she felt the need to be super quiet, and careful. Sora sighed in relief as she oddly succeeded to open the door without a single sound. She peeked into the dark hallway, and rolled her eyes.

Why didn’t it surprise her that there wasn’t a single source of light?

Sora bit her lip and pulled her nose up. How was she going to navigate through a dark hallway? She couldn’t deny the fact that the darkness gave her the creeps. Sora turned around and watched the window again. The moonlight easily reached to her feet…and even beyond the door!

Sora smirked. She would have to open each door she saw so the moonlight could light the hallway. It wasn’t exactly the best plan, but she would have to do with it. The brunette took a deep breath and nodded her head. This could work!

She stepped into the darkness and put her palm on the wall. So far, so good. The human took quick, large steps as she didn’t want to stay long in a dark place. The faster she moved, the sooner she would reach the end. Her hand suddenly slid over something cold. Sora flinched and halted. What was that? She put both her hands on the wall and tried to find the source of the coldness she had felt.

Nothing? It’s only wall…

Sora almost jumped when she felt a soft breeze. It was ice cold. Why is everything so cold in here? The human figured the breeze came from an open window somewhere. She didn’t want to put much thought in it and continued to walk.

It didn’t take long before she had opened three doors, excluding the door of the room she had been sleeping in. The human girl sighed loudly as she finally reached the end of the hallway. Sora stood in the shadows behind the corner, as she could see the beginning of the staircase. To her surprise, there were soft glows of gold on the railing. She blinked as she stepped out of her safe place. Are those candles?

The human girl couldn’t deny the fact that she liked the way it illuminated the house. It gave the illusion of the mansion being a friendly and warm home,

which it totally wasn’t.

Sora was about to go down the stairs, when she heard new sounds. The brunette narrowed her eyes as she crouched to the floor- somehow, being closer to the ground, helped her concentrate better. Is someone in the kitchen? Sora frowned; she had seen the kitchen, but it was in no state to be used. She had only seen thick layers of dust, sand and broken stuff around the place.

Still, she could clearly hear someone grab a plate from a shelf.

This is definitely weird.

Sora took baby steps to the edge of the railing. She eyed the candles, which were huge, as they softly flickered- the human almost lost herself in the trance of the dancing flames. Sora harshly snapped her head, when she heard the footsteps again. The human couldn’t contain her excitement as she followed a figure walking through the luxurious hallway.

The figure stopped in his tracks. Sora gasped and ducked her head as far as she could. She didn’t want to be seen, yet. The figure slowly turned around, and looked Sora straight in the eyes.

Sora felt the blood rush to her head; busted! The girl didn’t know if she should pretend not seeing anything, and go back to her room, or, if she should speak to the male standing downstairs.

The stranger lifted an eyebrow as he leaned on one leg. Sora concluded he had indeed been in the kitchen, as she quickly eyed the plate he carried. The figure kept staring, making clear he was waiting for her to come down. Sora sighed, she couldn’t turn around now. She had no other choice than going down.

As the human lifted her body and stepped down on the stairs, she broke eye contact with the stranger. His stare was quite uncomfortable. Instead, she decided to look anywhere but his face. That’s when the human noticed the statues on the railings. Sora had reached a turning point on the stairs and she frowned while looking at the unfamiliar sculptures. She, undoubtedly, hadn’t seen them before. Where had they come from? Sora felt a tingling sensation on her skin by only being near the figures.

Are they looking at me? Sora shrugged as she passed them by. She couldn’t make out what they were supposed to resemble, they had wings and monstrous heads, with large fangs, a pair of paws, and a pair of claws. The human counted a total of eight pet-like figures.

As Sora neared the main floor, she also noticed that there wasn’t a single speck of dust, nowhere! Sora’s heart beat a little bit faster. Had the stranger cleaned up the whole place? In what, like a few hours’ time? That wasn’t possible, right?

Then, Sora saw something which made her freeze in her steps. Her feet itched as her were eyes glued to the wall of the TV-room.

There are paintings, those empty spots, they are filled…

Sora gasped, the dirty outlines she had seen earlier, when she had been with Jongin, were now covered with paintings. Every painting had an image of a person, or something which resembles a person. They could be from Jongin’s race. Sora grabbed the hand railing as she unconsciously stepped down further. The paintings were absolutely magnificent! The portrayed individuals were so beautiful. Sora was by now convinced they were from Jongin’s kind. The inhuman beauties took Sora’s breath away.

Sora stopped walking when her foot made contact with the wooden floor. She stood a few feet from the stranger, but she didn’t pay attention to him as she had forgotten he was there.

Is that Jongin?

One of the paintings showed an image which strongly resembled Jongin. The only difference being the darker hair color. Maybe, it was a close relative from Jongin? Next to it was another male. This particular male had pitch black hair, plumb lips and a delicate nose. His eyes had a boyish glow to them- makin