Tylarah FireWynd walked down the isle of the deserted train, wearing her robes over her usual clothes and carrying a shoulder bag. She hated having to get human transport to portals around the country, it took that long and there were the non-magical people to contend with sometimes. Why would they not hurry up and teach her how to make her own, like she had seen so many other Witches doing? She sighed deeply as she passed yet another empty compartment.
Seeing as she had nowhere else to be, she had decided to get onto the train early so that she could get in a little reading in peace before they set off. She walked down the train quickly, with nobody else anywhere near; she had no reason to stop. As she arrived at the very back of the train she stepped into the very last compartment and sat down on the end of the seat nearest to the window.
Tylarah settled herself into the bench seat as best she could, pulling her robes tighter around her. Looking out of the window, the London sky was grey and depressing. Yawning loudly, Tylarah decided that it was probably no use to bother reading her book. She had not been sleeping properly for the last two weeks and despite the fact that the bench seat appeared anything but comfortable, in her current state, it looked very inviting. So, she curled herself up into a small, black ball and settled in for a peaceful sleep before the train started to fill up.
* * *
Bane Farlight was drawing to then end of his usual round of the carriages on the train. He was a snake, of the purest, but most unintelligent kind. A Witch with the gift to bend light to his will, he wasted it being a petty criminal and general dogsbody to just about anyone willing to pay. He had partaken of his usual petty thieving from some travellers, and fleecing others with cheap parlour tricks that barely took an ounce of his powers. Now he came to the last carriage and to the last compartment. Sliding back the frosted glass door, he revealed only two empty seats. But no, there was somebody there, in the corner. Whomever they were, they were curled up on the seat and quite clearly sleeping. This was an opportunity that he simply could not resist, and he would not even have to use his invisibility. He slid into the compartment quietly and approached the figure on the seat. Looking at the figure, he could tell that it was a young woman, but he could not see her face. No matter who she was, she must have something in her bag that was of value. He knelt down in front of her and pulled her shoulder bag out from beneath the seat. This ought to have something of interest. He rummaged through the bag, finding the usual; lipstick, a broken mirror, a middle of the range mobile phone and, hold on; here was something a little more interesting. Just as his fingers stroked the rough texture of a small, ancient red leather-bound book and he spied a sealed roll of pale blue parchment in the bag, a voice came from right above his head.
"I'd leave that where it is if I were you," the woman had woken and was staring right at him.
Farlight leaped backwards into the seat opposite and landed in a slightly crumpled heap on the floor of the train.
"I... thought, I... you were asleep," he stammered
"Clearly," the girl said calmly, unfolding her legs "Oh, its you, Farlight. And just what did you think that you could take from my bag?"
"I... I..." Farlight stammered then recovered and got to his feet, dusting himself off and attempting to recover an ounce of dignity. "I wasn't doing anything, so don't try and threaten me,"
