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       #Post#: 344763--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Demonreach
       Date: June 21, 2013, 2:16 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "...But first, you must meet..."
       Dragnipur didn't find out as his thoughts were interrupted by
       the eyes of many staring upon him. His lips curled into a sneer,
       "What? Something on my face?" His voice was deep and rough,
       sensual and appealing. It stuck in the mind, teasing the ears
       with the clarity of each word, as if he had only one thing on
       his mind: you. And everything he did revolved around you. His
       words, his contempt, his sneer; the way he stood with his arms
       crossed, eyes watching with boredom; the tail twitching
       irritably behind him. But you knew, heart-breakingly so, that
       his attention was elsewhere and nothing could be done to make
       him notice your existence. But you tried, nonetheless only to be
       thrown away like so much trash.
       His eyes watched with some amusement at the skeleton singing;
       new, yes, but not all that different from the others he'd lain
       to rest. Again. Again, his lips curled up in a contemptuous
       sneer but he didn't speak. He watched as the woman, Celene, and
       the skeleton conversed. His blue gaze watched the other man run
       off, and his curiosity was piqued briefly.
       And so, he found himself grinning, the tail twitching with
       excitement; arms slightly uncrossed as he watched the snow storm
       contained by a rapidly thinning veil rage but a few meters away.
       The aura that so cloaked his body became inflamed with
       excitement, the lust for battle. And so, said aura rose and
       swelled with the snow storm, seeking purchase within the minds
       of the others within the forest, seeking to take away their
       will. It had been a long time since he had met something quite
       like that, but with an iron hard will, he squashed down those
       emotions, reigned in his aura before any permanent damage could
       be done to the minds around him.
       But he laughed, the sound much like his voice but smoother and
       much more enticing, "Ahhh. Nothing like the smell of fear and
       anger. Which will win? The fiery rage or the cold terror?" Soon,
       his hair would be blowing with the raging storm, as would the
       loin-cloth. But he was oblivious to all this as he watched the
       struggle. A struggle he knew well.
       #Post#: 344789--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Desmon
       Date: June 21, 2013, 12:06 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The child runs away, the demon follows. The women seem to stay
       put, Desmon watches. Of all of those present only one seems to
       acknowledge his greeting. The demon's eyes briefly catch his own
       briefly entranced Desmon reaches out of to touch the one who
       chased after the child. In a matter of seconds he returns to his
       own brain his will restored he glances toward the woman who
       called him an interesting specimen. This particular phrasing
       sure disturbed Desmon.
       "Specimen? This guy ain't no ones specimen little miss. He'd
       much appreciate it if you didn't call him such again." Desmon of
       course was now interested in the reasoning behind this woman
       calling him a specimen. Was she going to experiment on him? He
       doubted it, she didn't seem the type. She seemed more shy than
       anything. But he reminded himself that he'd known a shy psycho
       once. So maybe she was like that man. His frame shivers briefly.
       A few would of course say that he was shivering from the chill
       that had permeated the air. This however was impossible, he had
       no nerves couldn't feel the difference in temperature if he
       wanted to.
       So now he was left here with two women, this reminded him of a
       time he visited a brothel. The man who paid for the whores left
       him alone in the room with them. They worked their whiles on him
       until he was a blubbering mess of words...then he returned to
       inject something into him. After that all he remembered was
       waking up nothing but a skeleton. Desmon clenches his bony hand
       together in a fist before being relaxed by the music only he
       heard once again.
       #Post#: 344792--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Dems Darkfire
       Date: June 21, 2013, 3:30 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The ground pressed the flat of X's chest, his body resting some
       thousand yards away as "revelations," the dead rifle that
       accompanied the man, sat against his forearm in the cool breeze,
       the trigger clutched in his fingers as he looked down the long
       barrel towards what seemed to be a lost town in the trees. "But
       Lo and Behold..." The android stated to himself as his fingers
       twisted the dark metal knob that adjusted the ancient sniper
       sights mounted to the back of the barrel. "Life exists after all
       in such a place..." Revelations was a Henry Model 1860 modified
       lever-action rifle, the slightly longer, sleeker barrel allowed
       for a different kind of shot, and the highly adapted chamber
       allowed the man to switch his ammunition from the traditional
       .44 Henry, to .22, all the way to depleted uranium .50 BMG
       rounds. The iron sniper sights, originally found on other
       marksmen rifles of the time, where adapted to suit the old timer
       sniper's preferences.
       Staring through the small hole used to spot his targets, X could
       see the strange creatures lined up, as it seemed, throughout the
       town. And he counted to himself the heads of all those he could
       see poking out here and there. "One... Two... Three... Four...
       Five...." X took his time, analyzing each target and keeping a
       close eye on any or all who might threaten him if he where to
       approach. The android still had a man's needs. After so many
       years separated from the pack he had been running with, so cold
       and emotionless, X had found himself developing human like
       sensibility and emotions. Taking his enhanced sights off the
       town below, X would remove himself from the ground and cast
       aside the strange matting he had made from twigs and leaves,
       rising off the cold hard dirt to his full 6' stature. "Well, I'm
       guessin I should go say hello."
       Tossing aside his makeshift cover, X would pick up his wide
       brimmed hat and place it on his head, the tanned black leather
       fitting perfectly as if it and his head had been long time
       friends since birth. His duster seemed to sway behind him as his
       arms rested inside the coat, the top button the only thing
       keeping the large leather jacket from leaving his shoulders and
       falling into the dirt. Underneath the dark coat was a blue,
       skin-tight shirt and a pair of darkened jeans and a pair of
       boots sticking out from the bottom. Separate bandoliers crossed
       over his chest and around his waist, loaded with various clips
       with different numbers and letters labeling them, a system that
       X had used since his creation and only he knew how to decipher.
       On his hip, now visible, was his holstered Colt Peacemaker in
       perfect condition, unmodified. Revelations slid up under his
       back and sat nicely in her home, a back sling that allowed the
       butt of the gun to be drawn without notice, if needed.
       Each step down the hill drew him closer to the hidden town, and
       his entire being still remained on the lookout for anything
       suspicious that could be happening here. If this was some
       elaborate trap for the android, he surely did not want to be
       caught with his pants down in any case.
       #Post#: 344793--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: iDestroyer
       Date: June 21, 2013, 3:46 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       (Sorry Everyone, I lost internet last night for god knows what
       reason, and this morning I was busy getting fucked in the ass by
       both the social security department, and the secretary of states
       office... so yeah, bad night, bad day, wish I could have wrote
       more with all of you late/early... but now Im back, and have no
       idea where to begin/continue)
       Zero, for what it was worth, fought tooth and nail within the
       coffin of snow and terror. His mind raced to find an exit from
       the darkness; some ledge to grab in the midnight embrace of such
       overwhelming fear, and with the force of his unwavering will
       battling back against the ravenous thirst of his master, he
       began again the arduous task of restraining his own body.
       Inch by inch the desolation; the energy of his master, was drawn
       back towards the spinning cocoon of ivory. Second by second the
       warmth began to return not just to the meadow, but to the
       entombed man's body. Painful memory after sorrowful thought were
       buried, concealed, and destroyed as Zero put up every barrier
       and shrouded every last ounce of fear within himself.
       Slowly the ebbing energy ceased its hungry expansion, and once
       more there was a man hiding behind a cyclone of cold white
       determination, and not just a monster. Zero forced his eyes to
       close; his arms to cross before his chest, and his mind to clear
       completely, as he whispered threat after idle threat towards his
       master's now absorbed soul. He was but a vessel for his master;
       a conduit for the frozen sorceror to release his hatred upon the
       world, but he was not about to let such evil free of his grasp.
       At first it was his honor to speak with and learn the arts from
       his forsaken master, but that was many many years ago, and Zeros
       contempt for the being was far too great to ever let those
       memories rise again. Now he was burdened with the power of his
       once revered elder, as well as the mans dark intent, and no
       matter how many spells, incantations, or powers he had come in
       contact with, no amount of effort could rid his soul of the
       parasite that now leeched away at his own will and want. All
       Zero could do was fight day in and day out to hold his master at
       bay, and keep him from fully surfacing with a younger and more
       capable body.
       As the wind died down; the lifeless chill fading into obscurity,
       so too did the warping white strands of hair return to their
       position atop the man's head. They melded into flesh as if it
       were water as Zero's brilliant blue eyes opened wide, and a deep
       breath filled his struggling lungs. His knees buckled
       independent of his will, and just barely saving himself from
       collapse was all the man could do. He hit the earth; hands
       embedded in the thawing soil, as the last fragment of his
       symbiotic lord was locked away once more.
       Little could be done to free Zero from the fear that tortured
       him. For in every action there was the chance; however slight,
       that his master could rise again and steal away his body. So
       with every encounter, every reaction to a new place, or new
       people, Zero fought not only average fears, but also fear
       itself. He would forever fight against the monster that dwelled
       inside him, lest it be free upon mankind and all other life in
       the world.
       #Post#: 344824--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Brina
       Date: June 21, 2013, 6:26 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It was a clearing.. But it wasn’t her clearing. It wasn’t the
       clearing that she had grown up in, lived in her first wolf pack
       with. It wasn’t the place where she had both fallen in love and
       experienced her first heartbreak. No, that was a place of the
       past. Anxiety tensed her muscles as she fought the urge to enter
       this new clearing. What was she hoping for? Was she hoping for
       the familiar cave, her den, which she knew wouldn’t be there?
       Was it the glimmering lake that would happily show a reflection
       if you were to peer down upon it? Perhaps she missed the
       familiar flock of butterflies that pollinated the flowers in the
       clearing that never seemed to wither away. Bree knew that none
       of that would welcome her in this foreign place, this wasn’t her
       home…she didn’t have a home anymore.
       She could hear voices in the clearing and glanced nervously down
       at Aaliyah; her soul animal that was a large white wolf. The
       animal had been a part of her life for what seemed to be more
       than a hundred years and yet neither animal nor owner showed any
       signs of aging. The animal’s ears were swiveled forward in
       interest; it was the first time in many years that she had been
       so close to contact with people. Bree was a longer, she was once
       well known among the woods and some even feared her and her
       fiery spirit. They feared the wild way she fought and often won
       her battles. She was well respected..but that was when she
       associated with people. Now she heard rumors of the wind that
       the wild red head had died off alone in the woods somewhere. The
       words would make her laugh for her and her darkness were very
       much alive.
       The shadows were her trademark, a wisp of deadly shadow that
       would sneak up on its prey and kill them almost instantly. They
       whispered incessantly in her mind but it was something she could
       normally overlook though she usually didn’t since it was nice to
       be able to communicate and occupy her mind in some way. Today
       they spoke of the clearing, egging her on to enter it. Social
       creatures, the shadows were surprisingly, though she knew that
       they were simply eyeing up who might be a next snack. Luckily,
       they wouldn’t attack without her word, like a trained dog, they
       obeyed her for whatever reason and in turn she gave them free
       reign of the woods.
       Aaliyah turned to look at her with golden honey eyes that were
       full of intelligence before nudging her gently behind the knee.
       Even the wolf wanted the see these people. Bree frowned quietly,
       shifting uncertainly on her feet. What was the point? No one
       recognized her anymore and she was much too quiet to make any
       loud commotion. She would probably go unnoticed, but…maybe it
       wasn’t such a bad thing to simply people watch? Sighing walked
       silently towards the clearing, her knees bent like a deer
       prepared to bound away, her back arched and eyes wild like a
       predator. Her eyes were an abnormally bright blue allowing her
       site through the darkness and though they were nothing compared
       to Aaliyah’s night vision, they were much better than any normal
       humans.
       The trees soon thinned out and figures formed in her sight
       nothing more than about twenty feet away. She silently stood
       beside a tree on the edge of the forest, looking out at the
       people among her. Her arms were crossed in an uninviting manner
       and her posture was tense as though she was ready to slink back
       into the forest where she had appeared from. Aaliyah, however,
       was much more relaxed and took a seat besides Bree, her tail
       swinging back and forth at the mere sight of people.
       #Post#: 344838--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: iDestroyer
       Date: June 21, 2013, 8:14 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Zero had no choice, he had to stand up. He had to push his body
       beyond the physical exhaustion, push himself beyond the mental
       strain. He had no other alternative. He had to get to his feet,
       and flee. There was too much going on; too many nearby, too much
       to worry about, be anxious over, and too much to fear. He had to
       stand, he just had to... and yet with all the thought and will
       imaginable, that seemed like a daunting and nigh on impossible
       task. His wrists ached from holding his frame up, and his legs
       seemed like fresh grass in the breeze.
       With every attempt another fail was close behind, and with every
       movement a sharp pain stormed through his body; eliciting an
       orchestra of moans, and nearly whispered curses. He pulled
       himself, pushed himself, tried to stand, tried to crawl, tried
       desperately to move into the darkness nearby. Away from those he
       would hurt, away from those who would have him hurt by their
       presence. He growled and swore profusely as the tendons in his
       arms and legs went taught; muscle straining, stretching, tearing
       in places, as he drug his near lifeless and drained form slowly
       towards the waiting embrace of the tree-line.
       To no avail though... Within his reach was the much longed for
       solitude of shadows, and yet there was no way to get there. No
       way to maneuver his mass such a small distance. He was empty;
       depleted and nearly dead from the tortures of defending himself
       and others against what lay within, and no matter how much
       longing he had for the accompaniment of the chilled shadowy
       forest, he just couldnt get there.
       His eyes began to close as his face neared the dirt. The
       darkness in his mind clouding the darkness he sought to escape
       to. He began the slow, and unstoppable descent into
       unconsciousness with but one thought on his mind. One screaming
       word wishing to free itself from his parched lips. "Help" Such a
       simple thought; such a simple word, and yet his fear, his
       anxiety, his worry of the gathered peoples reactions, would not
       let it leave his mind. Would not let it be free as his face slid
       into the soil, and his arms splayed out across the earth beside
       him. Sweet slumber would try to take him against his will, and
       til there was nothing left, once more Zero would fight against
       all odds. He needed to get away....
       #Post#: 344839--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Brina
       Date: June 21, 2013, 8:50 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Bree’s attention had turned onto the man that was no more than
       eight feet away from her. Pain racked his face and yet no one
       helped him. Was he an enemy to them? Or was the world so cruel
       these days? She eyed the others with an icyness that would chill
       the hearts of any man though they still did not notice her; they
       had seen the man that was now crippled on the ground. They would
       stare for a few moments and then continue on with their
       conversations as though nothing was happening. Fury caused her
       face to twist in disgust, though she herself did not step out of
       her safety to help the man. If he made it to the forest…Then she
       would have no choice. He would clearly see her- but what could
       she do? She had no medical training, the shadows had always
       healed her..but they were practically poisonous to everyone
       besides her and Trinity, her daughter.
       The light was fading quickly from this man’s eyes and…fear? Was
       he scared to die? It wasn’t that scary, truly, actually it was
       quite peaceful..She glanced around warily looking for an unseen
       attacker that might cause this man so much terror but saw no
       one. Turning back towards the pitiful body, so took one last
       glance at the crowd and made her decision. She would not like be
       like them, she would not be another sheep that was too scared to
       step from her carrel; she was not known for following the path
       of others anyway.
       Stepping from her shadowy hiding spot, she walked on the balls
       of her feet, her shoulders arched back and her head high like a
       proud lioness prowling into the clearing. She cast one more
       withering stare at the crowd as she approached the man before
       turning back to the man who was near unconsciousness. She
       kneeled down in front of him, being cautious to stay about three
       feet away. Aaliyah, however, walked directly up to the man,
       unafraid, and sniffed his nearly limp form. Bree said nothing
       for a long while as though she was assessing the situation,
       though there was not much that she could make out. There were so
       many questions running through her mind though she knew that it
       was useless to ask any of them.
       “Come. It is not good to let predators see you weak.” Her voice
       felt cold and harsh; she wasn’t used to speaking out loud very
       much anymore. The only person she spoke to was Seporo and she
       had not seen him in some time. That did not matter now, though,
       as she stood back up, balancing elegantly on her toes as she
       turned as stepped back into the forest where she seemed to
       instantly disappear behind a veil of darkness. It appeared as
       though she had left the man yet the wolf had stayed with him. A
       moment later wisps of shadows inched out of the forest, worming
       their way towards the nearly unconscious man.
       With gentleness that would not be expected of something rumored
       so feral, the shadows wrapped the man up in a cloud of darkness,
       veiling him from any onlookers. Seeing that he was safe, Aaliyah
       bound into the darkness after Bree whose light blue eyes could
       faintly be seen in the dark. The easiest way to describe
       floating along the shadows was like flying through mist- they
       felt cold, as should be expected of darkness and damp which was
       not totally explainable.
       Bree walked for about a quarter of a mile, away from any
       listening ears, though her darkness would tell her if anyone
       approached. She stood beside a tree about six feet from the man
       as he was lowered onto the ground and stood in a similar fashion
       as when she first saw him with her arms crossed. She stared down
       at him coolly unsure of what to do now but certain that she
       could escape in a moment’s notice if needed. She had saved this
       man from the monsters within the clearing and that was about all
       she could do. “You are safe now..” She said somewhat awkwardly
       knowing that she would probably not get a response, but
       apparently the comatose listened to anything said, so maybe this
       man was silently listening.
       #Post#: 344861--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: iDestroyer
       Date: June 21, 2013, 9:50 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "Safe?" The lifeless husk of a man spoke the word not through
       lips or teeth; nor through thoughts of his own, and with the
       sinister questioning word came an uncommon chill that bit at
       even the most fueled and warm soul. It stretched out like a limb
       sent from beyond the grave; clutching the strands of grass that
       sprouted beneath the arms of the nearest tree, and with
       excruciating stillness permeating the usually breeze-blown
       forest, it froze everything around the man solid. The air seemed
       to tint a sickly grey as a faint laugh cracked the unbearable
       silence after the ushered word.
       "Am I safe, are you safe, is anyone safe here?" The words once
       more fell from the mans body, but left without his will or
       permission. Something else, someone else was whispering the
       words for him, through him. They lent the air a tainted and
       undeniable feeling of desolation and stillness as they found the
       woman and her pet. Creeping out across the dark earth and stale
       wind alike; the foreboding and ominous words were greeted in
       response by the living creatures nearby. A haunting and
       enchanting melody of screaming; sheer terror awakening all of
       the nearby fauna, broke free from the dark forest as the body
       rose eerily onto its legs, and its insidious white eyes bore
       down upon the woman.
       "Nows not the time to be huddled in the darkness young one...
       Cant you see I am... Safe?" The body that the voice broke free
       from twitched in minuscule ripples as the white hair adorning
       the crown of the figures head grew longer and began to whip
       wildly in an unnoticed breeze. Ice flitted down from the mans
       hands and arms; small flakes of ivory painted in high contrast
       against the blackness of the background, as he cracked his neck
       and adjusted his line of sight slightly. He took in every
       delicate and delicious inch of the female form before him, and
       as a crooked smile broke the tranquility of his otherwise normal
       face, a very real breeze began to blow once more.
       The sinister wind brought a plague of ice and snow down upon the
       forest floor; crystallizing the tree trunks and limbs instantly
       nearby, as: What used to be Zero, took a step forward and
       measured the movement out mentally. This was after all, not
       entirely his own body, and things were very different from what
       he was used to. Zero was far younger, in far better shape, and
       it was for that reason alone Kayis had chosen him. His muscular
       form could maintain in a fight, his hardened heart could
       withstand the torrent of hatred and his mind could be washed
       away with ease... and in the moment before unconsciousness... it
       had been.
       Before the woman so bold as to rescue a stranger, a stranger did
       stand. A stranger to the land, to the body, and to life once
       more. Zero was buried deep within himself; now locked away in
       the frozen wasteland of his masters creation, and never again
       would that weak mind be brought into control of such a
       potentially destructive body. Kayis was free; against the will
       and want of the man who's body he had taken, and not a damn
       thing could stop it now.
       "Might I know the name of the one who saved..... me? Or should I
       perhaps thank you for saving this body from the spell that would
       have ravaged it earlier?" Kayis toyed with the question in his
       own mind before continuing; his smile never straightening and
       his eyes never leaving the woman. Even when her feral beast, and
       dark arts tried to encroach upon him and growl out warnings. "If
       you hadnt moved this body for me, Zero would have destroyed it
       through his own unconscious fear... but you... You my dear...
       You freed him from that fear when you whispered such sweet words
       to him... When he felt safe in the darkness... I took over... So
       thank you"
       
       #Post#: 344870--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Brina
       Date: June 21, 2013, 10:22 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Bree frowned silently at the man’s words, feeling a shiver of
       dread take over her body. The woods seemed to suddenly darken in
       an uninviting way, the trees seemed to close in and she felt
       much too close to this man whom she thought was a victim. Even
       Aaliyah’s ears twitched in a confused fashion and a small
       whimper left her lips as the once “safe” man just felt…wrong.
       Both of them jumped at the scream and Bree lifted her arms in a
       defensive position as though she were about to get attacked. The
       shadows screeched in her mind, twirling suddenly restless around
       the group, focused on this man that threatened their master.
       Yet, Bree did not look away from those dead eyes. Perhaps he
       thought she was the bad one and was trying to intimidate her?
       Even as she tried to give excuses for this stranger, it did not
       add up to how he was suddenly so well and capable.
       She shivered, her frown deepening as the world before her turned
       into a winter wonderland. She was used to her skin being chilly
       due to the amount of time she took in the darkness, but this
       caused her blood to freeze for a moment it felt. She gasped as
       the cold squeezed her lungs constricted with cold air before
       quickly adjusting. Bree feared she would be forced into turning
       into her wolf form soon if the temperature kept dropping so
       rapidly for the tank top and shorts she wore did much to protect
       her.
       Yet she considered this an attack and her bright eyes darkened
       to an ebony black. It was a way that she showed her anger and if
       this man pursued her and attacked it would not be difficult for
       her to unleash her feral form. It was a dangerous anger that
       welled up within her body and caused her eyes to go a golden
       color, only one man had seen her eyes like that, and it was the
       only time that she had been pushed to those limits. Yet, she had
       not felt threatened very much in her life. It was clear that the
       generation had forgotten who she was.
       “Don’t take a step closer..” Bree growled out quietly her upper
       body weaving back and forth steadily like a cobra being charmed;
       ready to strike. Her nose was crinkled and showed off her upper
       teeth slightly like a dog snarling. Even Aaliyah leaned back on
       her haunches and snarled at the man, flashing her sharp teeth
       and staring him in the eye with her golden eyes. The once docile
       creature had turned dangerous at the scent of the threat before
       them.
       “You will release that boy.” She threatened, totally ignoring
       his question for her name. One such as him did not deserve it.
       He did the same despicable act to this boy as Dyonta, her own
       sister, had done to her so long ago. Not many knew of the time
       that Dyonta would take over Bree and use her body, though the
       woman claimed that it was for Bree’s “own good”, Bree had never
       forgiven the woman. She had fought a battle with her sister on
       ownership for her own body and won; now the parasite infected
       some other innocent but weaker soul. It wasn’t something Bree
       was proud of, but she knew how difficult it was.
       Yet, Bree didn’t want to fight this warrior before her. He was
       clearly strong and dangerous and she would not leave the fight
       without lacerations if not worse, she was sure. Yet again, how
       could she let such evil prowl around with such a cocky smugness
       about them? She felt a pang of guilt for the briefest of moments
       that she had doomed the boy to his fate, before shaking it off.
       No, she would not let him give up. She stood her ground against
       the man, boy woman and beast arched and ready to pounce, the
       darkness swirling around them in a protective fashion ready to
       lash out against its foe at a moment’s notice. “You will return
       his body to him. Now.” She growled again in an icy fashion.
       #Post#: 344878--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Clearing
   DIR By: Demonreach
       Date: June 21, 2013, 10:54 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       While Dragnipur hadn't immediately gone to aid the fallen boy,
       and though he wouldn't have in any case, the woman that had
       appeared took care of it for him. His arms crossed themselves
       against his chest again as he peered at the woman, the wolf, and
       the encroaching shadows that moved to surround the boy. Watched
       as the small party left.
       And followed.
       The woman was skilled, that much was obvious, but she was a
       woman, and his kind held a certain... sense to the fairer sex.
       Well, to any gender, but to him, it was the opposite that made
       his loins churn with the need. Stifling those thoughts, he
       forced his mind calm and awakened a few of the wards that were
       tattooed along his body: one to mask his presence as any
       sentient creature would sense it; another to stifle any sound
       made; and another to hide his own shadow. He couldn't really do
       anything about his scent, but that mattered little to him as
       only the wolf would be able to smell him.
       His tail lay curled about his waist, the tip flicking idly in
       some unknown emotion as the Beast stalked the three for half a
       mile or so. He kept a fair distance, placing himself downwind of
       the party. He was simply jogging on his two legs, and would be
       able to maintain that pace for hours on end due to the four
       lungs and his more than excellent fitness. Deadly grace and
       beauty surrounded him as he stalked; the mane of hair slicked
       back with the wind, hardly any sweat coating his body. The
       forest seemed to part for him as he strode its floor; the trees
       able to provide their limbs for him to swing on at the right
       moment; the brush offering ample cover for remaining hidden; no
       leaves or sticks were broken as he jogged. The forest was
       seemingly unharmed with his passage.
       But he had grown too far behind as his mind wandered about, his
       pace becoming slowed. With an irritated huff of breath, he
       started out again, but this time on all fours and ate up the
       minutes that had passed since he had lost them.
       Dragnipur stopped as he felt an altogether different presence
       emanating from the three with faint hints of the boy himself.
       The incubus was curious, and got the last vestiges of a
       conversation.
       "... Now..."
       The voice of the woman. Distressed, maybe even a little fearful?
       But, despite her icy tone and the anger that lined her words, he
       saw the hesitation in her eyes; the fear. Contempt flared.
       Pathetic. Were all these creatures of this realm so entranced
       with it? But, he didn't step out and make himself known.
       Dragnipur would wait to see how this played out. No doubt, they
       would know he was there in a few short minutes as he started to
       take down his wards.
       The boy did look different somehow, the presence clinging to him
       like so many leeches. His nostrils inhaled to fill his four
       lungs with the scent and exhaled slowly, allowing his lungs to
       resume their normal routine breathing. The tail twitched with
       annoyance. His eyes glared with bemusement with a mix of
       boredom; his mouth a tight line of some emotion barely
       contained. The Hunger raged and panted and clawed to get out of
       its cage.
       He ignored it and listened.
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