Chapter 1 - Rainy Day

A man was sitting behind the counter of his prized shop filled with puppets and other strange knick-knacks. The man had brown hair with streaks of red, gorgeous red eyes, and large, round, glasses. Things were a bit slow since it was raining outside. While waiting for customers he hears the sound of a bell and looks towards the entrance of his shop. There he sees a well-dressed lady with blonde hair and brown eyes. The lady was still closing her umbrella when the man immediately ran over to the lady to greet her.

"Hello madam, welcome to my shop! As you can tell I have many wonderful dolls and knick-knacks. However, I prefer puppets instead of dolls, since it seems more suitable. You understand this right?" As the man said this, he held out his hand for the lady to shake.

"Indeed I do, umm…" the lady said grabbing onto the stranger's hand and shaking it.

"Oh! How rude of me, the name's Rowen Briar." He said letting go of the lady's hand and flashing a smile towards her.

"Rowen Briar? Such a wonderful name, how lovely! I'm Claire Aster, but you can call me Claire ." The lady said smiling back at the man.

"So what brings you to my store today Mrs. Claire?" Rowen said walking over to a shelf filled with puppets. Each puppet had a different outfit, along with different hair, eye, and skin colors. Some of them would even be holding an item, like a broom or a sword.

"I'm looking for a present. Next week is my daughter's birthday and I just so happened to pass by here. A doll- er puppet would be a lovely present for her." Claire said walking up to Rowen and peering behind his back, staring at the shelf filled with puppets.

"Indeed, a puppet would be a splendid gift. Do you see any that catch your eye?" Rowen said as he moved out of Claire's way so she could see all the puppets.

"Hmm, I'd say the male with the top hat caught my eye quite well. Seems like an interesting gentleman." Claire said, reaching out grabbing the small item, and staring into its eyes. The doll had brown hair and eyes. This doll in particular was one of the few without an item.

"Oh, him? He's an interesting choice, many who buy him return him." Rowen said, staring into the puppet's eyes.

"How come? He's just a simple puppet, unless, is he cursed? Haunted? Does he bring bad luck?" Claire said tensing up with the doll still in hand. She looked up towards the shop's owner with worry and fear in her eyes.

"Oh, no no no! Of course, he's not any of those things! It's just paranoid people who start to assume things or just no longer think the puppet is useful. Some of these puppets have been returned due to such reasons and others have been kept or passed on to relatives." Rowen said reassuring Claire.

"Hmm... Alright then. I suppose I'll take him along with… her and the male on her left." Claire said while pointing to a female puppet. The puppet had blue hair and green eyes. She was also holding a broom. On the female puppet's left, there was a male puppet with blonde hair and blue eyes. The male puppet was also holding a sword.

"Great choices, your daughter will love them! Would you also like some of the items they're holding? I have many more along with different outfits." The shop owner said, pulling out a small box with some clothes and little items.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I hope she likes them." Claire said while walking up to the counter to pay. Soon after, she grabbed the bags filled with puppets and other items and walked home.

"Hopefully Natalie will like them," Claire said in a quiet voice as she walked down the dark street. Rain pouring down softly from the sky onto her umbrella as she walked.

Soon Claire arrived home and set her bags on the kitchen counter. She decided to go take a shower and change her clothes. After changing her clothes she went back to the kitchen and grabbed the bags on the counter, heading upstairs. Claire spent the rest of the night putting the puppets, along with the other items, into boxes and wrapping them up. Soon after she finished, she went to bed.

Meanwhile, Natalie Aster, a 19-year-old college student, arrived home at 12:17 am. She lived in a small apartment with her pet cat, Buttons, near her college campus. Lately, however, she's been staying at her mom's house since her birthday was near. That, and the fact that she saw a cockroach in her house. Natalie being Natalie was so terrified due to this incident Claire had to let Natalie and Buttons stay at her house.

Natalie had come home from celebrating her best friend's birthday. Even though Natalie and her best friend, Margret Newman, didn't like nor approve of drinking, it didn't stop anyone from bringing their own alcoholic beverages. It was kinda awkward how the two girls just stood in a corner for most of the party watching the chaos ensue. However, it wasn't so bad. At least they went dancing and talked to a few other people who were still clear-minded enough to have somewhat of a proper conversation with.

Natalie went up to her bedroom as quietly as possible and opened her door, with Buttons following behind her. She quickly closed it and kicked off her heels. Natalie was tired and barely had any makeup on her so she just changed her clothes and went to sleep. As she quickly fell asleep her cat, Buttons, jumped onto Natalie's bed and fell asleep with her.