 You tred cautiously down a narrow but well-worn path. Great, looming trees fence off the path on each side, if you had to run, it'd be one way or the other. You stop momentarily wondering to yourself why such a thought would slither into your mind. As your concious mind battles your subconcious into putting your fears to rest, you gaze around absent-mindedly at your surroundings. The grass is deep green and unkept and the trees are indeed great, standing six feet or more. The sky is blanketed with thick, fluffy clouds that give off a dim, almost unnatural, glow casting the area in light shadow. The atmosphere would be gloomy if it weren't for the scent of wild flowers and that nice chill breeze. Still, the area has a certain eerie air coupled with a dark beauty. Your paranoia of being followed has passed, your logical brain has put your subconcious to rest. But to burning butterflies if it will go down without a fight, you instinctively look over your shoulder every now and again as the back of your mind mutters its unfactual warnings. With a deep breath of cool air, you continue down the path unabated by your alone-in-an-unfamiliar-place-jitters. As you walk peacefully along the path, something rustles the fallen leaves in the forest. You look toward the origin of this sound, behind the trees on your right. A breeze whispers from between the roots and trunks, stirring some dried leaves and grass. You pause half out of fear and half out of curiosity. A second phantom breeze tickles the hairs on your neck, sending goosebumps down your back and impulsively, you spin around. Nothing. Just a few unrested leaves and grass flitter about and then calm again. You hear canopy trees rustle and look up yet still there is nothing to see. You stare, long and hard, at the point of the sound and a small ray of sunlight pierces the cloud cover. It dances on an equine-like shape reflecting its surroundings almost like a chameleon. Your eyes widen as it notices your fix on it and the creature pounces down from above pinning you with hooves on each side of your head. You gaze up in terror as it shines a set of fangs that could tear you apart in seconds. It sniffs at your face, snorts and releases you. You watch its red tail sway in the soft wind, its blue coat gleaming in the ghostly light. You blink, still on your back, knowing full well you shouldn't follow it. "Sweet Hellian, traveller, everytime I find you, I'm three seconds too late. No matter, I know where she's going." A white, black striped hand reaches out to you and, like a dozen times before, Lady Reaper pulls you to your feet. "Ah well, no harm done, she was just warding you off." The feline anthro dusts off your back for you and you take notice that she's not wearing her cloak for once. Instead, the five-foot-tall cat-morph is clad in a black leather tube top and black leather pants tucked into, yes, black leather boots. You notice the snug-fitting pants are laced up the side and she's sporting a black choker. The sun peeks through again to catch on the pendent dangling from the choker; a blue sphere dangling in the center of a silver, flame-like design. Tying her black locks in a loose ponytail and cursing has her red bangs, though longer than her chin, fall back over her blue eyes. She looks at you and furrows her brow at your attentive gaze. "Right then," she suddenly vanishes and you can still see the outline over her, very faintly, just like the equine. When she reappears, your eyes are drawn to the red spot appearing on the bandages wrapped around her right wrist. "That's not from her," Lady Reaper hides her wrist behind her back with a nervous twitch of her tail. To distract you, she points to another healing wound on the base of her neck. "That's from Nocturne, it's how they bond. A rather romantic way, if you ask me." She grins and you look at her in simple bewilderment. She begins to walk down the path and you follow anxiously ignoring the fact you're going in the same direction as, what did she call it, Nocturne? With both hands behind her back now, walking at a steady, casual pace but with a most formal stature, Lady Reaper leads you to an unknown destination. "You see, Fair One, Nocturne is a Wris'talora. An equine species from Lanse'shri that bonds through biting. She acquired a few of my skills, fully or midway, either way she makes good use of them. They also pick up the language you see and if I remember right, she got a bit of telepathy from me as well. If you had any conflicting feelings about walking down this path, she probably put them there." Lady Reaper smiles all too proudly and you glare at her with a smirk. She smiles at you, shining her teeth slightly. "She wouldn't have hurt you, not unless you provoked her anyways, that's always the mix up isn't it? People think if it defends itself its blood-hellain dangerous to a fault and will attack without warning!" You blink at her sudden disdainful tone. She looks at you sheepishly, "Sorry, but it's like Dragons, they're not war-hungry brutes. I've met humans forty times worse than what I've heard in fairytales about Dragons." You smile at her opinionative, almost stubborn, nature. You round the first corner you've seen and the path vanishes into the grasses ahead. Two low-hanging Weeping Willow branches seem to title this as the entrance to something. You enter a clearing far darker than the rest of the forest. You look up to see why! The trees entangle themselves together leaving only a small hole of sky and a few scars between branches for the white light to seep through. The sound of water attracts your attention, at one extremity of the cozy, little clearing, is a pond. The trees are rooted in the water and you make the assumption that the pond most contiue on the otherside and that it may even be a sliver of lake. Your eyes twitch almost unwilling to a blue figure laying peacefully next to the pond. Her back is facing the both of you, her bright red locks tumble over her back and shoulders. It is the color of her coat that dazzles you, the purity of the blue rather. This must be the mare, Nocturne. She turns her head at a profile angle almost in perfect unison with your thought of her name. Her deep purple eyes pierce through your mind, "Crystal Blue Nocturne would be my rightful name, wanderer." Her tone is almost spiteful but she conceals it behind a polite kindness.  She turns her head as much as she can comfortably and never takes her eyes off you. With hesitation, she stands on her four white hooves. You nearly take a step but her half-rear keeps you at bay. She snorts indignantly. Nocturne begins to walk, making a large semi-circle around you to reach Lady Reaper. Her eyes never leave you and you stand stock still. "I seem to recall giving you my word not to allow any untrustworthy travellers passed the gates." Lady Reaper strokes the Wris'talora's cheek softly. "As honor-bound as you are, it's not going to make me forget." Nocturne closes her eyes at the cat-morph's touch. Lady Reaper presses two fingers against her lips and signals you to go quietly. You nod and keep fair distance between yourself and the two Bonds.
Shadow Realm Entrance Lady Reaper |
