Beginning of Black & White

Finally, she had found it. A suitable home for herself and her sister within the borders of Fiore. It has been a long time since she had began her search for a suitable sanctuary, where none would interrupt her, try to get rid of her because of her magical arts. Human settlements had long since ceased to be an option for her. But finally, a chance had presented herself. A small fort, one that could easily hold an entire family within its fortifications. A building made out of cold stone, yet warm on the inside. And most importantly, delicately positioned atop the peaks of local mountains.

There was only one obstacle standing in her way - those who currently occupied it. Kuro had been observing them for a while now, a small family of two. Husband and wife, or so she figured. But as if fate was playing directly into her hand, they were secretive, ever only leaving to buy supplies. Even this was not done by them too often, as it appeared that they had livestock and some planters in the lower floor of the fort. But today was one of those days, marking her chance. It only took a bit of fiddling with a lock-pick to get the main gate open.

Leaving such place completely unprotected, they have clearly not deserved it in the first place. Taking Shiro into her arms, the two sisters would cross the wooden bridge and enter. Finding themselves in a small courtyard boasting a rainwater gathering well, door to the lower section that indeed housed several farm animals and vegetables, plenty of sheltered firewood and even a section beneath the home that had a forge with a metal smelter. It appeared that this place had all one could possibly need. But whether the older pair was preparing for the end of the world or they simply wished to live outside of society, the feline girl did not care.

She slowly opened the door to the main building to reveal a warm interior with wooden inner walls, a fireplace right across the door with a table and chairs made comfortable with animal pelts. To the sides were two open rooms, as well as a staircase that lead to the ‘roof’ of these rooms, utilizing every bit of space available. Putting her sister down on the nearest bed, Kuro could only show a satisfied smile. This place, also known as Eagle’s Rest, it was perfect.

Hours later, the couple finally returned. The woman went straight to the kitchen while the husband hummed a familiar tune to himself as he slowly walked to the stairs to the second floor that housed a king-sized bed. However, his cheery demeanor was quickly cut down, terror filling his heart as he nearly stumbled down the stairs with his body instinctively taking a step back. Well, of course, it did. The bed which he slept on every single night now housed what appeared to be a sleeping girl, after all.

This place was supposed to be secure, so what was she doing here? Such thoughts raced in the man’s mind, his heart beating faster than ever before in his entire life. The safe space he built for himself and his wife was violated so suddenly that his mind could not even process it all and decide on the best course of action. And so he merely attempted to approach her. Yet, he only found his gaze now directed on the wooden ceiling and the chandelier hanging down from it, illuminating the entirety of the interior alongside other scones hanging from the walls.

The next moment was full of pain, his back hitting the hard wooden staircase hard, tumbling and falling. He did not even realize that there was another girl hiding away to the side, pushing him down the stairs the moment he tried to approach the ivory white feline female. And on the last step, it all ended. With a loud snap as his neck hit the wooden corner, his consciousness faded away, never to return. From the kitchen quickly ran out his wife, alerted by the loud noise. “Honey, what was-”

Her concerned words were cut off, replaced by a momentary silence that grew into a horrified scream as the woman realized her husband’s limb body lied lifeless at the bottom of the stairs. Such shock must have been numbing. So much so that the woman stood no chance when the raven-haired girl jumped down from the second floor and charged at her, stabbing something sharp into her throat. Ah, yes… perhaps she fleetingly noticed that one of the kitchen knives was missing, but must have assumed that it was simply displaced when she was cooking yesterday. After all, there was only the two of them here.

With two corpses at hand, the sisters were finally free. They had a home. Dropping the knife to the ground, stained with blood, Kuro carelessly stepped over the man’s body and walked back up the stairs. Kneeling down at the bed and caressing her sister’s body with a blood-covered hand, she smiled. “We have done it, dear sister… from this day forward, this will be a place where we can stay. Where we will be safe… you will be safe. Fufu, it is not long now. I will make sure you wake up soon, I promise!”

The white sister on the bed moved not, for she was long dead as well. Kuro had to bring her lifeless body inside, put her on the comfortable bed. She had been dead for a long time now, but perfectly preserved with special ointments and magical enchantments. It was the black sister’s goal to use her arts of necromancy to bring her sister back. But not as an undead, no. She had to devise a method that would bring Shiro back the way she used to be before her untimely demise! And absolutely nothing would stand in her way.

Later that day, the black sister Kuro dragged the two bodies, dressing them up in warm clothes and tossing them down the mountainside with a bit of climbing equipment. Once the bodies were found, it was ruled that the couple must have gotten into an argument, the man killed his wife, but as he did so, they both fell and lost their lives. A murder and a mountain-climbing accident. No one knew them, so this much had to be expected. No inheritance, no relatives. They were nothing more than nameless corpses. Kuro and Shiro had obtained a place they could call home. This was the beginning of their story in Fiore.