• A young girl sat reading a book while she leaned against one of the bigger trees in the forest as support. The sound of her named reached her, causing her to look up and around trying to find the source. Who could be calling her name in a quiet forest? Shaking her head she pushed her glasses up from having fallen down her nose before she went back to reading. Only this time, she could not concentrate on the material. Sighing, she placed the book on top of a stack of books which stood beside her. Looking at the sky around her, she noticed it was going to get dark soon and her master would want her home as soon as possible. She stood up, stretching her sore body with some effort before yawning widely.

    “Alura!” a boy came running up to her with a large wrapped bundle in his hands.

    “What did you do this time?” the girl named Alura asked, looking behind him to see many small creatures chasing him. “Anime, here?”

    “They found me near the city, but I led them here,” he whimpered, dropping to the ground from exhaustion.

    “You better tell me what this is all about when I’m finished,” she said, gathering up her raven colored hair in a messy bun before bending down to pick up the bundle in the boy’s hand. “Thanks for bringing this.”

    “Of course,” the boy nodded approvingly.

    Unwrapping the bundle, Alura’s eyes narrowed. The creatures which had followed the boy where known as the Anime. They came in all sizes, but the smaller ones were normally scouts. Each one was looking for a new soul to capture, to either devour or bring to someone else. The people here are not too sure about what happens. What they do know is, when someone gets their soul taken from them, they turn into an Anime themselves. Her master taught her the Anime could see the auras around a person; the brighter the aura, the stronger the soul. Alura knew the boy had a bright aura, but each town was shielded by a force field of some sort to keep them from coming near. She wondered what happened to the shield as she took out her sword.

    The Anime were not far, but she still had to wrap the handle of the large sword, which was as long and as wide as she was. The handle itself was made out of the steal and in order to protect her hand the thick bandage she wrapped around the blade to keep it safe, kept her hand from being cut up. She got into her favorite fighting stance and waiting for the Anime to reach her since she had the boy to protect. The leader of the group was the first to reach her, but he only stood there. Their bodies as thick as ink, yet as transparent as a shadow. The Anime were creatures Alura’s world had not had.

    “GIVE US THE BOY!” he said in a horse shout that did not sound human at all. It started to move closer to her in a strange crawl.

    “Conan stay behind me!” Alura directed the boy as she grinned welcoming the change to improve her skills.