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The neighborhood used to be so lovely. It was the kind of place where newlyweds liked to settle down when the conversation at night turned to talk of children and family rather than platitudes of love and attraction. There was a nice suburban feel to it, and the local school was rated rather highly when it came to exam season; even the nearby Magic School before everything went to hell for magic sorts was a positive spot on the town's reputation. The fact that magic and its practitioners were in a bit of a tizzy at present couldn't mar the neighborhood. However, one girl was making the once idyllic little burg a living, waking nightmare for its residents. 

There was an odorous cloud hovering above an otherwise ordinary two-story home situated dead center of the block. The cloud used to be contained to the inside, but ever since the window in the attic opened to air out the source, the cloud and its pungent stench of sulfur and rotten eggs had been in the air for months now. It wasn't even the first incident involving the periwinkle blue home. It started off with minor infractions, the young daughter of the house caught trespassing in the neighbor's yards, digging up soil and digging through trash or snatching some clothing on the wire with the promise of 'bringing it back mostly intact - sorry in [i]tatters[/i]'. No one quite knew why, for the first few years she wasn't much of a nuisance, but they could forgive her for just having a wild youth. They were less inclined to forgive when little fires were set in the backyard or when a mild explosion in the early hours of the morning wound up breaking glass and waking up neighbors on a weekend. The sulfur cloud was essentially the last straw, a blight on the community. 

Of course, the one who caused those incidents didn't exactly understand why people were so upset. She had no way of knowing for sure but she chalked it up to 'gifted' sorts upset that someone outside their circle was trying to make a difference in the world. She, of course, being the only daughter of the Fashonti family: Rinh - pronounced, as she puts it "Like ring but without the 'gee'." Rinh had been a quiet girl until she learned to speak and after that point all bets were off. 

Presently, as with everyday, Rinh was in the attic of her home which she had turned into a laboratory of sorts. There were odd colored liquids in flasks, vials containing materials like grass or insects or water, burners bubbling beakers, and from a particularly large container came the source of the sulfur and egg scent, just another casualty on the road of scientific advancement. Though her bedroom was on the second floor, Rinh basically lived in the attic and had done ever since she was given the best gift of her life. 

[color=FFB6C1]"You know, Mio was onto something, just a shame they didn't truly see the potential here."[/color] Rinh was speaking aloud, as she often did when working, and happened to be speaking about Yunoko Mio the supposed 'genius' who created the device that turned the magical community on its head. Rinh did admire Yunoko Mio while also slightly resenting the person. The admiration came simply from one bright mind to another; though Rinh was but seventeen she considered herself and her mind to put her as a contemporary alongside Yunoko. The resentment came from the fact that the Gauntlet was still aimed and marketed toward those who had magic in their blood already. Rinh and the entire Fashonti Family didn't have that luxury. Rinh couldn't cast a bit of natural magic even if she put her entire being into it, and her parents bought her a Gauntlet for her eleventh birthday hoping that her fascination with magic and the like would end by her twelfth one. 

They still hold out hope that her obsession will stop. 

Rinh's Gauntlet was unique compared to other Gauntlets on the market. She had taken the damn thing apart when she got it, poked around its insides, and voided the warranty by making modifications to it. She still wasn't able to cast magic in the typical sense, but her first major breakthrough came one morning where she ignited some chemical compounds with only the flick of her wrist. Sure she had to sweep up the broken glass throughout the neighborhood but no one but her understood what this meant. She had done [i]magic[/i] by using [i]science[/i]. The possibilities had to be endless! 

[color=FFB6C1]"One day I'm gonna shake their hand and accept my award for advancing the study of magi-science. And I'll try not to rub it in their face."[/color] Rinh had her dreams, the same as many youths her age, and those dreams were what kept her cooped up in her attic workshop, testing out combinations, gathering ingredients to break down chemically, and molding herself into the modern version of an alchemist. In the old days alchemists brewed potions and lies; now the only one selling lies were the ones who claimed she couldn't do it. 

Rinh removed her goggles and wiped sweat from her forehead. Today's work was coming along nicely. The vials at her hip clinked together as she took a step back to admire the handiwork. She had taken some plants from the neighbor's yard and had managed to reduce them down to just the chemical makeup. She had, in essence, turned flowers into nitrogen and that was something that came with a victory lap. The chemical would go into a vial and in turn be fed into her Gauntlet, but every success came with a grin of satisfaction.

Except for this one which was promptly interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. Rinh spun around and damn near fell over. How did a woman get here? Well the window was open but there didn't seem to be a ladder from what Rinh could see. Then she noticed the wings which were strange enough. It only got stranger when the winged woman then disappeared in a bright flash, leaving Rinh holding a letter and a stunned expression. 

[color=FFB6C1]"What the-"[/color] The scientist opened the letter, as curiosity often dictated actions, and her eyes darted over the text, scoffing as she reached the end of it. [color=FFB6C1]"Draining my mana? Puh-lease. Only 'mana' I have is normal blood. Probably someone's idea of a joke. And here I thought my genius was going to be recognized...without actually revealing my work...somehow. Doesn't matter. What matters is this letter is a joke and I'm not laughing."[/color]

Rinh didn't rip the letter nor did she toss it aside. Her reaction was a bit more incendiary. Paper often contained useful compounds. Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. But she wasn't interested in breaking the letter down like she was with other materials. Rinh instead tossed the letter in front of her, did a spin for flourish, and thrust her right hand forward, fingers extended, and from her gauntlet came a burst of flame, igniting the compounds she had stored inside. The letter went up in flames, dropping to ash on the attic floor. 

Rinh did not join the ashes in the attic. As soon as she had ignited the letter in a show of defiance, she was engulfed by a bright light without so much as a warning.[/center]