Insanity's Niece

[Richmond Vanetta]

Richmond often lurked about dark places as such as this one; people could judge him less in the darkness though they could often still see the light glint off his finger armor.
His wand was in his hand and he leant against one wall at a corner, his wand slightly jutting out so he was not completely hidden, his eyes closed and his breathing silent.
A gentle breeze brushed through, blowing his dreadlocks softly from his face.
To anybody passing by who did notice him, he would appear to be asleep, unconscious or even dead.
But Richmond was far from it for he could sense a change in the air and his ears picked up footsteps on the cobblestone path.
He remained perfectly still and silent.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

It happened to be a freezing winter day out of all the warm ones that they had been having in New Zealand, and Artemis' mother had bundled her up to the point where she was beginning to look like a starfish. To complete the look, her sister had placed on her head a massive white bunny-eared hat that flopped about her face in an adorable manner. She couldn't even lift her arms to remove it in disgust. How she was walking up the street of Obsidian harbour was beyond anyone. Somewhere beneath the layers, little feet were pattering.

Nevertheless, she reached the entrance of Bleak Street without incident and peeked up the lane, tilting her whole body as if she was looking around a corner. Artemis had only ventured there once in her life when she was five, where she had gotten horribly lost and almost eaten by a crazy cat woman. Her mother had put her on a leash after that (and rightfully deserved). As she leaned over, Art decided that she was wearing entirely too much padding, and simply removed the three jackets and the scarf, left in a white sweater and puffy blue snow pants. For some reason, she left the rabbit hat on. Now Art skipped down the twisted lane into the maze of Bleak street, stopping here and there to peek into a deserted shop window. How far she had gotten, Artemis had no idea, but she was well and truly lost until she came upon a man leaning against the wall. He was so still that he seemed frozen to death. Artemis furrowed her eyebrows. Without hesitation she moved up to the creepy individual and tugged lightly on his sleeve. "Hullo, Mr.? Are 'ye alright there?" she ventured.

 

[Richmond Vanetta]

Richmond heard a voice and then felt the tug on his sleeve.
His eyes sprung open, the little black point at the center of the white, staring straight at the girl before him.
Richmond stared and stared.
His fingers curled tightly around his wand in his right hand.
"This is not a safe place for children," he said in his harsh tone, "You should not be here alone."
He may have spoken almost angrily but that look in his eyes said otherwise.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

Artemis gasped slightly as the man frightened the life out of her. Still, it relaxed into a relieved smile when the man was obviously alright, and she let go of his sleeve politely. He had made the mistake, however, of calling her a child. She did not blame him since her ears were tucked into her rabbit hat (which was an indication in itself ... stupid sisters), but she was certainly not a child. "Rather not!" said Artemis, quite offended. "I'm fourteen, thank-'ye-very-much." she huffed, screwing up her nose cutely. The man didn't even know her, so who was he to judge?

"And, for that matter, I've no-one to escort me bloody anywhere. So I go where I please and I go alone." With that out of the way, her entire demeanour changed and she grinned in a cherubic fashion. Artemis was well aware of his hand on his wand which she pointedly ignored. After all, she was just a little (albeit very little) girl. There was nothing she could do if he decided to splice her. Besides, she was good enough at reading faces. His attire and features were frightening but his eyes were not threatening. She decided he'd be company enough. "I'm Artemis Blackmoore-Yearling," she announced, holding out her miniature hand.

 

[Richmond Vanetta]

Richmond raised his eyebrows as this girl informed him that she was fourteen.
"When I was your age--" Richmond began, but then he heard her name.
He froze again. Still as a statue.
He knew the name. He knew a particular part of that name well..
Richmond was staring again. No, it was too much of a coincidence that he would just happen to meet a girl who shared part of that name. Part of his old name.
"Tell me, Artemis," he said, his face still tense, "Are you by any chance the daughter of Gregory Yearling?"
He said this fairly fast, his voice not quite as deep. A bit for calculating and confused.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

"I, er ... aye, I am." said Artemis jerkingly, completely thrown off by the man's statement. He had only heard her name, yet he knew the name of her father? Artemis frowned. Her father didn't know anyone from New Zealand (which was precisely the reason that her mother had moved there). Things did not add up as they should, and Art was thoroughly confused.

"How did 'ye know?" she asked eventually, defeated by curiosity. A strange, scary man hanging around Bleak street in New Zealand was certainly not the kind of man her father ought to know, she was sure. Unless of course he meant her brother, in which case she had given him entirely the wrong impression. Artemis' face rumpled up as she looked at him hard, trying to gauge just exactly who and what the man was.

(( Cruddy 4am post. Sorry, love. ))

 

[Richmond Vanetta]

((Tis alright, you're forgiven ))

Richmond's eyes, though still entirely white but for the very center, seemed to light up.
Was it a good thing? Surely it was. He had family still.. Well, he did have his 'sister', the one he had grown up with, but she was not of the same blood.
"My brother has managed to spawn a very pretty young niece for me." Richmond complemented, and suddenly he was smiling; yes, his teeth were razor sharp and highly intimidating but the way his eyes shone along with it suggested that he was happy.
In one swift movement, Richmond's arms had shot through Artemis' armpits and squeezed round her back, pulling her in for a hug.
"It has been too long." Richmond said, welling up.
He was a very strange man like that - Emotions changing every three seconds.

 

[Artemis Tuuri]

Artemis squeaked as the man reached forward for her and practically squealed when he hugged her. Ach! Crazy Sir from Bleak Street is trying to hug me! she panicked inwardly as her feet were lifted off of the ground. "H-hold up there!" cried Artemis, patting the man's shoulders awkwardly. Apparently he had mistaken her family for another. "My Papa only has two brother's, mate. 'Ye ain't one of 'em, I'm sure, though I've not met my uncle Richmond yet," she said. Art's eyes squinted as she x-rayed him. "And yer not my uncle Richmond. Aren't 'ye ..." she suggested with a scrutinizing face. Truthfully, she couldn't see her father's laughter lines in this man's eyes, or her father's soft brown hair. However there was something achingly familiar about the shape of the Crazy Man's face, and Artemis wrinkled up her nose in thought once more.

"Orright, pumme down," said Art slowly, planting her hands on her hips. She was going to find out exactly how (and if) they were related, and if he couldn't cough up the info then she would hex him for hugging her like that.