Aionia held her wooden bucket in her left hand, swaying it gently back and forth as she skipped towards the well. She twirled around, her chiton poofing up around her legs. The grass and flowers tickled her toes, and a warm breeze swept over her. She could see the well in the distance, and picked up her pace, stopping the dancing that was slowing her down, while still swaying the bucket.

Aionia reached the well, setting her bucket down to judge the depth of the well, and whether or not she'd need the rope she brought, which was currently tied around her right arm like some very counterproductive bandages. She determined it was shallow enough to just scoop the water out rather quickly, slightly disappointed that she had brought the rope for nought.

She picked up her bucket by the handle and bottom, setting it on the outer wall of the well and preparing to dunk it in the well water before noticing an impossibly pretty flower growing a few feet away from the well. Aionia seemed to almost be magnetically pulled towards it, almost gliding over to kneel down and pick it. The flower was a perky yellow, with big curved petals and a plump, bright green stem. She carefully picked it as to not disturb any of the other plantation near it and placed it in her hair, pushing a small part of her brown wavy hair back from her face.

She quickly returned to her bucket, content with the new accessory. She knew her mother would never allow her to wear that flower, brushing it off as "Bah! It's gonna die in a few hours now that you've picked it! It'll be all shriveled and ugly and make you look stupid for wearing it!" and promptly swiping it from her and throwing it away. Aionia decided that she'd toss the flower away just before she reached home so her mother wouldn't know.

Aionia picked her bucket up once again and prepared to dunk it into that well water, twisting her arms backwards a bit and bending over to the well's height to execute the motion. She began to swing her arms when suddenly a freezing wave of air swept over her body. She dropped the bucket in the water from the shock, creating a splash that soaked her face and hair with well water.

She stood up straight once more to wipe away the water and wring out her hair like a towel to get rid of what water she could. She looked up to see what appeared to be a woman approaching her. Aionia couldn't tell anything about her, her age, her clothes, even if she was a woman or not. Her form kept flickering between a somewhat feminine form and a somewhat masculine form. As the person approached, Aionia could make out only the colours of whomever she was looking at, like she had suddenly become blind from looking at them.

Their skin was pale, paler than she had ever seen on a normal person. They seemed to either be wearing a cloak or a cape, as a dark cloth-like thing seemed to be following them, and looked as of their entire outfit was black.

Aionia rubbed her eyes, thinking that she must have water in her eyes. She expected to be able to see the figure in high definition, but they continued to be blurry as ever. She shook her head. She was obviously just hallucinating, right? Though that didn't make much sense, considering she hadn't eaten any strange berries or drank any questionable water on her way to the well. Caught up in thought, Aionia unknowingly let the person approach her.

"Ah. Did I startle you?" A voice said, definitely coming from somebody close by. Aionia looked by, and the cloaked person was right in front of her, sitting on top of the outer wall of the well. Now that they were so close, Aionia could make out their features. They wore a black floor-length chiton that unnaturally curved at the ends. She could make out shiny silver sandals and thick bracelets on either arm. The cloak somehow obscured their entire face and shoulders, but by their arms, Aionia could tell they were around her age.

"Yeah.. a bit." Aionia admitted, heat rising to her cheeks, though she couldn't tell whether it was because of her embarrassment or because of the cold. She watched as the figure glided down from where they sat atop the well, landing right next to Aionia. "I apologize," they said briefly, before beginning to leave, their cape trailing behind them. They weren't going to get away that easily, Aionia decided. She had a few questions about what had just transpired that she felt must be answered.

"Wait!" Aionia called. They didn't wait, or even elicit any type of reaction. Aionia called once more, to yet no response. She grit her teeth and rolled her eyes. They were ignoring her. She started to run after them, noticing in the back of her mind that the cold that she had felt was returning, getting more powerful the closer she got to the mysterious person.

When she reached them, she was visibly shivering. "Hey! Why didn't you listen to me?" She asked, running next to them, teeth chattering. No reply. She reached an arm out and grabbed their shoulder. They were freezing cold, a thousand times frostier than the wind that had knocked her over earlier. It took all of her willpower to keep her hand firmly on their shoulder and to keep their pace at the same time.

"H-" Aionia started before the person lurched away, shaking Aionia's hand off of them. She audibly gasped when she saw her hand had burned its way through their cloak and the embers had already spread to their chiton, crackling at the fabric and their skin. Aionia took a moment to look at her own hand, which was completely frozen over and stiff. She tried to move it and could only twitch her fingers slightly.

"I have no idea what just happened! I'm sorry!" She said on impulse. The person was desperately trying to blow out the flames to no avail, the fire continuing to spread. "Water. Water. Gotta get away from her." Aionia thought she heard them mutter. Water.. "Here, let me help!" Aionia said, wringing her hair out once more and letting a small puddle of water gather in her hand. "I have water!"

The water was dissipating from her hand quickly, and Aionia had to think fast. She threw what remaining water she had in the person's general direction, hoping that any and all droplets would hit them. She saw the droplets rushing towards them, falling fast. She blinked, secure in the knowledge that something was bound to happen. But once she opened her eyes, the figure was nowhere to be seen, the only trace that was left to prove they were there in the first place was a few pieces of shiny black cloth that were lain in the grass where they once stood. They were neatly placed in rows and columns, as if someone had taken the time to make sure they were all in place.

Aionia stared in shock once again. She wasn't sure what had just happened in the last 10 minutes, but she was sure that'd she'd be thinking about it for the next 10 years. She stood there, unmoving, until she had forgotten why she had left home in the first place. Her heartbeat sped up when she realized she had left her bucket in the well. She had come to gather water on her mother's request.

Aionia headed back to the well to fetch the bucket from inside and fill it up, properly this time. But when she reached the well, she found that her bucket had been placed on the wall on the well, the outside dry as sand. She peered inside to find that it had been filled up with well water, a few inches below the rim. Aionia would have to be careful not to swing it around again when she returned home. She bent down and grasped it firmly by the handle, pushing away her worrying thoughts as to why it had been dry and out of the well, since she was sure that she had dropped it in.

She couldn't help but wonder if someone had stolen her bucket and replaced it with a new one filled with something dangerous. No. That was ridiculous. Who would do that? Why would they do that? It didn't make any sense, therefore it didn't matter. Aionia cleared her head to focus on her goal. She was to return with the water to her mother, and that was all she needed to think about.