✦࿐Spirit Orb ~ Two ˊˎ-

Instructions

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── Spirit Orb. ------------- Chapter 2. ------------- Beginings. ------------ The Spirit Shop smelt old and musty, with thick, heavy drapery the colour of old wine. Dust filled the air, suspended in sunbeams, settling on the antique, wooden tables and glass cabinets stacked with glass figures. Hanging from the ceiling on thin, silver chains were more glass figures, either of birds, snakes, elemental symbols and other things, twinkling in the dim light. Hanging from the ceiling as well were a number of bronze lanterns with windows of coloured glass that sent rainbows of light onto the carpet. Inside them were small, glowing balls of light that pulsed with energy. Spirit Orbs. Each Orb was a slightly different colour and shape; some were light pink or red, and some were more squarish in shape, or more oval. I could feel their power just by standing near them. My mom’s own Orb, the one that I had been living off until now, glowed brighter, as if it were recharging. The person behind the counter was a young woman, around 20 years old. She was scribbling something down in a book, but looked up and gave us a tired smile as we came in. “Hello, welcome to this Spirit Shop. How can I help?” My mom stepped forward to speak with her as I drifted further into the shop. Something like an invisible leash was pulling me onwards, and I let my feet take me wherever they wanted to. I heard quiet voices up ahead, and I dove behind a cabinet as soon as I recognized Sverre’s quiet sigh. “I don’t know. None of these are making an impression on me. Can’t I just pick one and have done with it?” His mother didn’t reply for a few seconds, as if she were holding herself back from yelling at her son. “No, dear, you can’t just ‘pick one’. You have to feel a connection with it! Otherwise, you won’t get the proper amount of energy to sustain yourself. You don’t want to be sick for the rest of your life, do you?” Sverre sighed again, leaning in to inspect a deep purple Orb. I hesitated, taking a deep breath. Sverre was here. In the same Spirit Shop as me. On our 16th birthday. No big deal. Scraping together the tiny amount of courage I had left, I stood up, trying to pretend that hiding behind cabinets was toatally normal. His mother barley glanced at me, but Sverre looked up, his eyes of palest purple locked onto my green ones. Damn. I quickly broke our gaze and pretended to be inspecting the nearest Orb, but I felt his gaze on the back of my neck. “Sverre? Are you listening to me?” His mother’s voice sounded impatient. “Sorry, mother. I was distracted.” He spoke. “I’m going to look around the shop for a bit, see if I can feel any ‘connection’ to an Orb.” She sighed, but they both moved in opposite directions, his mother towards the counter, but Sverre began to move deeper into the shop. I followed, trying not to be too obvious. I thought I was doing an OK job, until I looked up and Sverre was gone. “Why are you following me?” I clapped my hands over my mouth to stop myself from screaming. He was right behind me. Slowly I turned to face him. He was even taller up close, and I found myself having to turn my eyes upwards to see his face. Sapphire hair hung in drifts around his face, which bore a tired, slightly amused expression. His skin looked satiny, with only the slightest dusting of pink over his cheeks, which was more than I could say for my burning face. I felt scruffy and clumsy next to his perfect figure. “I- uhm… I wasn’t- “ “I was watching you.” I looked down at his feet in a feeble attempt to hide my probably red face. He was wearing shiny, lace up boots. I was wearing old trainers. “I was just looking for a Spirit Orb. It’s my 16th birthday today.” I muttered, racking my brain for another excuse, but his body relaxed slightly, and he nodded. “Oh, me too. I’m Sverre Vidar.” He held out a hand for me to shake. His skin was cold and soft to the touch. “I know.” I said, and immediately regretted it. He frowned. “I- uh, I mean, everyone knows who you are! The Vidar family are quite famous!” “Oh.” He said, as if he hadn’t known that. “I’m August Sullivan. I’m in your Latin class at school; I sit diagonally behind you.” I didn’t expect him to know who I was, but he nodded knowingly. “Ah, you’re the kid who banged his head on the desk so hard on his desk that he knocked himself out on the third day.” I groaned, covering my face with my hands. “I didn’t think anybody still remembered that!” Sverre chuckled, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Are you kidding? That was the most interesting thing that happened all year.” I smiled nervously. I couldn’t believe that I was actually talking to Sverre and I hadn’t messed up and embarrassed myself yet! This was a miracle. “So, you said that you were looking for a Spirit Orb?” ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───