Sularia was one of the most dangerous cities for a person like him. The vampire side of him hated the sun but the fae part made it easier for him to survive the burning ball of fire in the sky. A dark purple hood covered his head while the rest of the cloak hid his body. This was enough for now but he had a timer ticking away inside his mind to keep track of when he needed to head inside for a break. At times like these, he was jealous of his sister's recent sun resistance. A thing he lacked that made his entire job harder. However, he could complain about it or just deal with it and continue onward. The city was alive with people, mostly women and children, running about to their daily business. After a bit of walking he came across the magic shop he was looking for. It was a small little corner store with a sign shop that showed a pack of magical cards. Jared slipped into the building and walked straight up towards the counter. There was a human man with short brown hair.

"Mister Jenkins." Jared said, "It's a pleasure to see you."

"That's enough outta you sly fox. Now come and get yer stuff." The shopkeeper responded, "It'll be eighty silver."

"Eighty! Now I think that's quite unreasonable. Sixty would be a fair price." He retorted quickly.

"It'll be eighty." Mr. Jenkins said sternly.

"It should be sixty!" Jared responded quickly.

"Eighty!"

"Sixty!"

"EIGHTY!"

"EIGHTY"

"SIXTY!" Mr. Jenkins screeched at the top of his lungs.

"EIGHTY AND THAT'S MY FINAL OFFER!" Jared shouted even louder then Jenkins.

"You'll pay sixty or get out of my shop!" Jenkins screamed with a red face.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Jared responded.

The tricky blue-haired man reached into his pockets and pulled out sixty silver coins then slammed it on the counter. He swiped the mirage shell he'd been after then stormed out of the shop. It was only after he'd left that Jenkins realized what had just happened. Meanwhile Jared was trying to hush his own laughter at his little trick. It was a tactic he used on stubborn merchants. Once he was finished, he gazed at the beautiful shell in his hands. It was a mirage shell, the type of magical object to create little illusions whenever he needed it. Very convenient when won was trying to cause trouble. With a mischievous little grin, he pocketed the shell and began to search the city for some more fun. Trouble was how he trained and entertained himself.

“Remember that Bryony has to have these books back to me by the end of the week. DON’T LET THAT NIRAN GET ANY BLOOD ON THEM,” the angry historian of the red court was puffing her face out. Teulia was an interesting person. She had been the original historian for the Rosenites and one of the first people born in the country. A real force of nature.

Dahlia nodded and looked at her stack of books. It had to be about thirty or so and balancing them was a pain as Teulia opened the doors for her so she could make her way out. “Man, she is really trying to kill me. What time did she say I had to be back by?” Dahlia’s blue eyes looked up at the sun. “Only about half an hour left.”

A rough sigh left her lips as she adjusted the books. “Excuse me. Coming through. Pardon me. I can’t see~” Once the people realized who she was or rather what she was they made a big space for her. “Thank you~” Though she knew most of them were afraid. Death scared everyone and most Rosenites that were like her had an aura of death attached to them.

Like all oracles she held blue eyes that moved like the ocean. She wasn’t too tall and she had long brown hair that was woven into a braid that was currently pinned up in the back as not to get in the way. She was wearing the official blue and silver robes as well, if you could call them robes at all. Thin gold glasses were snug in her hair as they were her reading glasses.

“So what is your punishment for not getting those books back?” The voice startled Dahlia but when she looked it was another oracle by the name of Eldora. She was dressed in noblewoman’s clothes and had a child with her.

“Something about tying me to a wall and putting spiders on me?” Dahlia wasn’t sure if Bryony was being serious but… there was an order of spiders about three days ago that arrived at the oracle house.

“Cruel… Best hurry. The clouds look like there will be a shower today. First time in two weeks… Come on Artemis stay out of her way,” the woman hurried her son and Dahlia responded by going a bit more quickly towards the castle.

“If these books get rained on I’ll be flogged naked in the public square by them both!” The words left her lips in a panic. Everyone knew the reputation of the Red Court Historian and how protective she was over her books. Only a mad man would borrow from her.

As he walked along the street he felt the shade of the clouds covering up the sun. He let out a small sigh and smiled, relieved to have a worry off of his back. Although he could last longer out in the sun than most vampires it still was an issue he had to concern himself with. Jared continued to walk down the streets when he noticed someone particularly interesting. A woman with a high stack of books whom the crowds parted for. She wore official blue and silver robes, indicating she was a part of some important group. Jared only knew so much about Sularia. It was full of women warriors and divided up into color coordinated courts. But that was where his knowledge ended. Whatever this organization was, it had an aura of fear around it.

Perfect for exploring! Not to mention the girl was incredibly beautiful. He stop himself from gazing at her gorgeous hair and at her amazing figure. A mischievous grin appeared on his face as he figured how to get her attention. Approaching her normally was out of the question. She appeared to be a busy woman and wouldn't have time for a regular chat with a blue haired stranger. It was then he had a good look at the books and an idea formed inside his head. Perhaps he would use her heavy stack of books to his advantage.

"Forma noctua." He whispered.

His body morphed and changed as he slowly became smaller and smaller. The transformation was complete and instead of a young man, there sat a lovely snow owl with eyes of an ocean. He flapped his wings and took off into the sky, flying to catch up with the mysterious woman. All of his senses were heightened and he could see every single detail of the city around him. It didn't take long before Jared spotted the tower of books. He silently flew above her then folded his wings, diving towards the stack of books. Just as he was about to reach out towards the books with his talons, the woman snatched him up in a bubble.

For a few moments, Jared was in shock. His eyes were wide and he was looking around as if utterly unaware of what just happened. Then he began pecking at the bubble with his beak, trying to find a way to break it. Beaks were strong enough to break through flesh, wood, and even some weak magic. When he saw he couldn't get the bubble to shatter, he looked at the woman, trying to understand what was going on.

Dahlia was in a world of her own that was under her visions spoke of an omen. She quick, “I’m sorry Mr. Bird but if I allowed your claws to come near these I would be flogged in the public square.” Her gentle eyes met his and it seemed like she didn’t understand this was a person. “Here,” with one hand she took the bubble, popped it, and stuffed in the top of her robe. “Stay right here. I’ll let you go at the lake after I finish it.” She pat the little owl on his head and moved with haste towards the castle.

Once she got to the stairs down she took him into the deep dark. There was shuffling of papers and finally, she got to the entrance of the vault, “Hello, Jeanne! Can you let me in?” The oracle nodded and the vault was opened with magic. She went deeper into the underground.

There was a hum of magic. The spiraling staircase went on for what seemed like forever. “I’m back!” Dahlia yelled delightedly as she entered an office. There was a pile of paperwork and a lovely dark-skinned beauty sat at the desk. She sat sideways and there was a pretty looking man on the floor under her feet.

“Let me up!” Niran asserted himself.

“If you don’t stop,” Bryony said with a smile as she put her barefoot on his head and forced it down, “I will strip you naked and parade you in front of all the women while I flog you~ Do we have an understanding?” Niran grumbled but he took a better stance on the floor.

“How goes the reconditioning on our new friend?” Dahlia tilted her head as she put the stacks of books down.

“He is an asshole but Lady Shiloh left him to me to manage. I’ll break him. No damage to the books?”

“Teulia says if you don’t have them back by the end of the week~”

“She will kill me… I understand I’ll send someone a few days prior.” Dahlia bowed and the owl popped out of the top. Bryony arced her brow but gave a nod. “Go release that owl before you suffocate it. I raised you better than that.”

“Yes, Bryony.” Dahlia lovingly patted the owl on the head before taking him back upstairs. “I’m surprised that you aren’t shivering from this place. “Everyone hates being close to death.” There were bodies lining the walls now that the books were out of Jared’s way. Other oracles were bathing and combing the hair of the women. “They committed Eshari and it’s our job to take care of them. It has to be so easy to be an owl. You are free to soar wherever you want.” She sighed a bit. “Toya is training the dragon fledglings today so the lake is best to release you. I don’t want a dragon to eat you.”

It took her no time at all to fade through a portal and be on the shore of the beach. “Please be safe,” Dahlia took the owl out and put him up on a tree branch.

From what he could tell, it seemed she didn't catch his disguise. That was both a relief and an issue. The next thing she did was stuff him in the top of her robe. Beneath all of this fluffy white feathers, his face was blushing. He hadn't expect this. Being stuffed in a lady's bosoms was the end goal, not the beginning part of the plan! It was also suffocating. How big could a lady's chest be?! Jared wasn't able to get out since she'd carefully made it so he couldn't escape. They moved quickly towards the castle and headed down a deep and darkened staircase. His owl eyes allowed him see better and his hearing picked up the sound of shuffling papers. They passed through the vault and went deep underground.

Jared knew she mentioned going to a lake after she finished but it seemed to him that they were going into an underground dungeon. This thought was promoted when he heard Bryony threaten to strip someone naked and parade them in front of the women then flogging the individual. Unique sort of punishment. He listened quietly as Dahlia discussed reconditioning of the man. The goddess Shiloh had left him to be managed by this harsh woman. Jared pitied the man for the kind of torment he would probably go through. Perhaps he would change his behavior quick enough before he got killed.

Suddenly Dahlia bowed and he popped out of the top. He flapped his wings for a moment and hooted repeatedly, as it was what birds would do in this situation. And he was hoping it would speed up the process of being removed from the young woman's chest region. It was a lovely place but he felt that it was an improper introduction for strangers. Fortunately it seemed that Bryony was fooled by his disguise or at the very least didn't care enough to tell Dahlia. He had a feeling if he was revealed now, all of the young woman would strangle him for such an accidental intrusion.

He gave a little hoot when he was patted on the head then listened as she talked about the place around them. The vault seemed fine and Jared was used to being close to death. For him, death had been chasing him around ever since he was a child. It was an old friend now instead of something terrifying. And she mentioned  how easy it was to be an owl and the freedom that gave the bird. Jared wished he could comfort her about those two things however owls couldn't talk. They faded through a portal and appeared on the shore of some beach. He was placed in a tree branch.

Jared hopped off that tree branch and found one that was stronger that could hold him. A swirl of cyan blue magic surrounded his body as he morphed into a human, clothed in a white tunic and some brown trousers. The clothes were designed for shape shifters. He carefully stayed in the shade of the tree to avoid direct sunlight. Jared was relaxing on the branch on his side and looking directly at Dahlia.

"You know, its not every day I get that kind of welcoming from a lady." He said with a little smirk, "My apologies for not revealing myself earlier but I felt it would be a tad dangerous."

With a wave of his hand and a little magic, he summoned a dark purple cloak to shield himself from the sun's rays.

"May I at least know your name?" Jared asked.

When he revealed himself her mouth dropped open and her face flushed a bright red. “A… A… A BOY?!” She put her face in her hands as he spoke. She poked her face up to look at him and she had tears in the corner of her eyes from how embarrassed she was. “I DIDN’T MEAN TO! I WOULD NEVER! I!!! I AM SO SORRY!” She began to shout at him as she hid her face again.

She needed a way out. What was the fastest way for her to escape? Run? Magic? Her foot stepped back and she heard the sound of water. That would work. “Da… Dahlia,” she whispered softly as she snapped her fingers and her body became water that smashed into the ground below where she had been.

She climbed out of the fountain in front of the oracle mansion and brushed herself off before running inside. “Oh, man!!!” She threw herself on her bed and hid her face. She hated herself she absolutely… How could she?

“Soooo~ You found out?” It was Bryony who was pulling Niran along with her.

“YOU KNEW?!”

“Hey, if you are into kinky things it's my job as your mother to help you out~”

“I WAS VIOLATED!”

“You could argue you were the one who violated him,” Bryony said as a matter of fact. “You still owe paperwork but since you are in mourning of your innocence~”

“IT ISN’T LIKE I LOST MY VIRGINITY!” Dahlia yelled but she covered her mouth as she connected her eyes to Niran and hid her face in her pillow.

“Wow, we’ve breaking boundaries here. Niran didn’t need to hear that with his delicate ears.” Bryony tugged on Niran as she went up to her own room.

He felt a pang of guilt at the sight of the tears in her eyes. Jared hadn't expected to make the lady cry, especially since it was an incident neither parties were to blame for. She whispered her name before becoming water. He jumped down from the branch and walked over to the water, running his had through it to check she was gone. There was only one place she'd go back to. Jared traveled back to Sularia on foot and began asking around the city for a specific woman dressed in silver blue robes. Surprisingly, everybody seemed to know exactly where the woman was even though he hadn't mentioned her name. Perhaps the organization was infamous?

Things kept getting more intriguing by the second. He felt a drop of cool water fall from the sky and soon the drops turned to full on rain. Pulling his hood down, he remembered Sularia was expecting rain. By the time he arrived at the door of the mansion, he was drenched. His white tunic was see through and clung to his chest. He was an extremely fit man due to years of acrobatic exercise and his shirt revealed it. He took off his cloak, as he didn't need it anymore and sent it back to his home to be dealt with later. Jared knocked on the door and the woman from earlier opened it.

"Excuse me madam, I'd like to see Miss Dahlia." Jared said.

Without needing to say another word, Bryony allowed him to enter. He gave her his thanks and Bryony sent him directly to her bedroom. Jared knocked on the door and waited for Dahlia to open it. There wasn't much he was thinking of saying. All he knew was he couldn't leave the situation as it was, with an embarrassed lady who didn't even know his name. Besides he wanted to see her beautiful face again and have the chance to earn her trust. He ran his hand through his hair while he tried to think of the best words to say when she opened that door. When she finally opened the door, he had something figured out.

"Sorry my dear. I had to make things right with you before leaving." He insisted, "How are you doing? I hope I didn't frighten you too much."

Bryony looked way too amused when Jared showed up looking for her. A nod and beckon were all that was needed as she pulled Niran with her. Dahlia was laying on her bed still when the door opened. “What is it?” Dahlia picked up her head and her face went red. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU BRYONY?!” She stared at Jared while shouting.

“AS YOUR MOTHER, it is my job to make sure you have a life,” Bryony opened up about the situation before tugging on Niran to leave the two alone.

“No, no, no. THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM I ASSURE YOU!” She shouted back in embarrassment. She got up and ran around him and she was sure that Jared would follow her if this was anything like what had been happening. “THERE IS A MAN HERE AND HE IS LOOKING FOR AN ORACLE TO DATE!” Dahlia felt bad yelling it but at the drop of a hat, all the women in the mansion crawled out and surrounded him. All of them had the same eyes and outfit.

Dahlia opened the door and looked back at him before running out into the rain. As amusing as it was… Bryony stepped in, “GIRLS OFF. Dahlia was running away and used you as a distraction.”

“Shame~” They all said at once before they went back to whatever they had been doing.

“I am sorry about that. Dahlia is an odd case even among the oracles. She hasn’t ever spoken to a man when she’s been off a job and… Well, she works all the time so she is never off a job. She’s a three and sixty-two old virgin. She just doesn’t know how to handle you trying to talk to her after being in her chest~ People here respect us but they fear us all the same. So you willingly try to speak to her must have freaked her out on top of everything.”

Bryony thought on it, “If you still want to talk to her… She likes purple orchids and her favorite place to go in the rain is the library. The one in the purple court can’t miss it. She likes to read by herself she’s always been that way since she was small. When something bad happened that’s where she would go if she couldn’t go home. Third floor, the window balcony is her favorite spot.”

Before he could explain himself, she shouted at her mother with a red face. The mother responded by claiming that Dahlia needed a life. Jared kept his mouth shut to prevent a chuckle from escaping his lips. Dahlia responded then ran around him, which he followed behind like a lost puppy. Before he could talk to her or explain himself, she shouted and what seemed like hundreds of women surrounded him. Jared was having a difficult time telling if this was a protocol to defeat a guy or if the oracles were really that interested in getting a date. Something told him it was the former. Although the women all had the same eyes and outfit, he knew that none of them were Dahlia. But there were so many of them that he couldn't get out.

Bryony came to his rescue and shooed away all the other women who were incredibly disappointed. He pushed himself to his feet and thanked Bryony for the rescue. He listened intently as she began telling him more about Dahlia. The mother then gave him her possible location along with her favorite flowers. Jared was confused on Bryony's motives since he didn't believe that she just wanted her daughter to get out more. However, he didn't question it and instead showed her gratitude.

"Thank you very much." He said with a small bow.

Just as he was about to leave, one of the other oracles handed him an umbrella to shelter from the rain. His first stop was at a stall to buy a blanket then his next stop was a little flower shop to purchase some flowers for her. Not wanting to make a woman wait, he left towards the library of the purple court. The building was beautiful and spectacular, like most things in the purple court. He made his way into the library, put his umbrella in the holder, then reached the third floor. Jared stopped before approaching her to let her know he was there, in fear of scaring her again.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to cause trouble." Jared said, "I just wanted to talk……Here, you look cold."

He quickly wrapped the fluffy blanket around her shoulders then sat next to her with the orchid in his hands. The sound of the rain falling on the windows and roof was comforting while the library was filed with the scent of old books. He offered the purple orchid to her in case she wanted it. The orchid had a silver ribbon around it tied in a bow as if that would make it prettier.

"You mentioned the feeling of being trapped earlier….would it be impolite for me to ask why?" He questioned.

Jared was doing his best to strike up a friendly conversation and to avoid making her run off again.

Dahlia was curled up on one of the window seats she was shivering. Running out into the rain was a dumb idea but she had panicked. How couldn’t she have seen this one coming? It made her chuckle at the ultimate irony of that. She felt him this time and she looked up at him with surprised eyes. She had never had a pursuer before what was she supposed to do?

“Thank… Thank you.” She took the blanket and snuggled into it before making room for him. She saw the flower in his hands and knew it was either extreme luck or Bryony had told him. She had a good guess but smiled as she took it. “Thank you very much… I guess I should say that so much more for being so patient with me.”

Her eyes were on the flower but she was surprised when he asked her his question. “No, normally everyone knows why we say that.” She straightened herself out and relaxed. “Oracles are people in Arri who are stolen at birth. We die horribly when we are born and are reborn in the spirit water beneath the lake. Rosenite children never die from birth because of the blessing of the sands… When we do we are brought back as guides for the city. However, because of that, we have a heavy burden on us. We are the shield of the city that protects them from great calamity. We failed once because of being overwhelmed since the city was not prepared but we will not again. We are prayed to but also feared. We are shunned by our own parents because of the pain of our loss. Bryony raises us all as her children because she was the first to be gifted this power.”

She stopped for a moment and looked up at his eyes and then his blue hair. “You never gave your name in all the excitement.”