Something New [Open]

[lilith]

The sun was gently sinking, kissing the horizon as the day came to an end. This day was no different from the rest of the ones she had lived through these days of late, though it was rather dull compared to most days. She hadn’t even come across some wild critter, the most entertainment she got today was the doe and her fawn she came across this afternoon. There just had to be something more, something better. To end the day on such a soft and peaceful note was disappointing. She wanted fun, entertainment, and thrill. But it was hopeless. No sign of life outside the animal realm had caught her eye riding in. What a serious disappointment.

A soft sigh escaped her soft lips as she leaned forward in the saddle. Pearly mane brushed her cheek as she pressed it to her mares just as pearly colored neck. The creamello mare turned an ear back to her mistress as though ready to hear her pour her heart out. But Lilith only hugged the warm silky neck and sat up once more. Icy blue eyes turned sky bound, then to the area around her. It was nearing time to find a place to set up camp, though she really wasn’t in the mood for it. It would mean she was letting the day come to an end, something she was not happy about. Lil liked a little action during her day to say she did something productive. It seemed she would have to break the cycle for the third day in a row, what a bore.

Lilith Pagan turned he mare of the game trail and watched the ground for trails as she searched for the perfect spot to camp for the night. It was going to be a clear and calm night, she could tell by looking sky bound. That was the only blessing this day. It wasn’t long before she found a space that suited her needs. Pleased she pulled the mare up and dismounted. “What do you think Vanity”, she asked hands on her hips. The mare whickered and nudged her shoulder. Lil smiled before turning to her and getting the mare settled; dropping her saddle by the small part in large roots of a large tree she took Vanity’s bit out and unclipped one end of her reign and secured it as a long lead leaving the mare a few paces away in a patch of thick vegetation for the night. Going t her pack she found the brushes and went back and saw to her creamy colored mares coat, mane, and tail. Once that was done she left the mare alone.

Making camp was such a simple and mechanical task at this point in her life she wasn’t sure how long it took for her to clear the ground, dig an indent and gather wood before making her bedroll. A quick impression on a local pair of chipmunks she left her camp with her hunting knife strapped on her thigh and her bow and quiver on her back. Her worn boots soundless in the underbrush, tight black breeches fitted neatly tucked into her boots and cinched at the waist with her rapier sheathed on it, her light shirt was tucked in and under a black bodice, a light blue in color. The shirt was a shade darker than her eyes, eyes that were ever vigilant of her surroundings. Her elegant hands were sheathed in archery braces and gloves. Her neck was guarded by a strip of black leather as a collar like necklace as a neck guard. Waist length raven locks were in a tight braid down her back, hidden in her thick hair was small spikes.

Lilith moved with silent grace. Watching and looking for tracks to lead her to her meal. Onyx was off somewhere, leaving her to hunt on her own. The young wolf would return to her soon, she was sure. Until then she was tracking on her own, which was no big deal. She had been doing this for as long as she had been setting up camps. In fact it didn’t take long for Lil to find a fresh set of tracks. She paused and strung her bow and got an arrow notched before moving quietly along. This one was a boar, which meant she needed to be completely careful. It seemed like forever before she came across the animal, grunting and forging along the ground. She crouched in the bushed and carefully drew the arrow back and eyed her target. Seconds ticked away before a sound twang sounded in the air. A squeal pieced the forest sending critters rushing off. She ignored it and pulled her hunting knife for the thigh sheath and stalked forward to the struggling boar. She swiftly ended the struggling with a swift jerk of the blade. Instantly she pulled the arrow out and got to work gutting the animal. She cleaned out the carcass and took what she would need and left what she wouldn’t for any scavengers in the area and left to go back and start cooking.

Setting the seasoned meat on a flat rock she cleaned to cook with she settled back against her saddle and relaxed. The sun was out of the sky now and the moon rising. Lilith rested her elbows on the saddle behind her and stretched her legs out before her crossing them at the ankle. Her long braid on her shoulder before her, free of the spikes at the moment, she had removed them before settling down. The bushed rustled nearby and she looked up and smiled as a black and grey wolf padded into the fire light. He settled nearby and dropped his rabbit before laying down and got to work eating his catch. She spared him a glance before turning her eyes to the stars starting to come out above them. Briefly she wondered when this monotonous cycle would break soon. She longed for something to do, someone to talk with. Animals were only so entertaining after all.

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[Angelique]

The forest was soft and beautiful. Tales were whispered of this place, as all places, but they were so contradictory. Some said the trees were haunted, others said they were blessed, while still more people murmured that they were cursed. The silence was startlingly unnerving, but there was still movement...everywhere. The trees swayed softly in a wind that didn't blow, the grass moved in soft waves, and birds flew so high above her head that to try and identify them would make her go blind. Sometimes she thought she saw animals on the edge of her vision, but she never turned her head to confirm it. There was a soft whisper in the air that vanished every time she tried to concentrate on it, but returned with a half comforting, half annoying buzz in the back of her mind. She wondered what secrets it had to share with her, but her mind shied away from the possibilities.

Though she was not an elf, or even remotely related to an elf, Angelique felt strangely at peace in this place of magic. She felt that it was missing just a touch of darkness but, looking at the sky, she knew that that would soon be rectified.

The only link to the "real" world that she had was Chii, draped casually around her shoulders. He looked around, not blinking even when they stepped through beams of sharp sunlight, his tongue flicking out occasionally. Sometimes he hissed as in response to a question or statement, but she never heard or saw anything he might be responding to. Sometimes her companion confounded her more than life itself.

Why she was in such a sacred place, however, she would never know. She could not even remember how her path had taken her through these vast forests, but now that she was here, she could not find the energy to care. A being such as herself, you would think that her very presence would have created an uproar. In fact, with every step she took, she expected something great to rise up and challenge her for defiling the place with her taint, but nothing happened. She walked down trails that vanished if you looked right at them and up hills that were strangely flat when you walked them without any hassle, not encountering a single being in her musing. She considered talking or humming or even singing, anything to break the monotony, but every time she attempted to do so, her voice died in her throat. She closed her mouth with a slight flash of anger, and her black eyes narrowed.

The forest was darkening quickly, and her pace picked up. She was not frightened, but she needed to find a decent place to stop (if she so chose) for the night. Soon, she was running, feeling alive as she sped through the forest. She thought she heard herself laughing, but she did not know if that was her imagination or not.

She finally slowed when she saw what looked like heavy movement. She weighed her options for only a moment before walking slowly in that direction.

When she stopped, she found herself standing in the presence of an elf. She blinked slowly at her, and just stood on the edge of what was obviously a camp.

"I hope I'm not intruding"

[lilith]

The forest softly sang around her, teaming with life even in the face of the moon. The forest was always an interesting place to be at night. Gentle sizzling of the boar meat on the rock twined with the rustling leaves and chirping crickets. Above the campfire a pair of moths fluttered a moment a moment before they danced off. Her cool blue eyes followed their motion until they faded too far into the dark curtain around her camp. Not too far away she heard Vanity snort and shake her thick mane, causing the corners of her lips tilt ever so slightly. Something must have bothered her, perhaps a little spider or something. The mare was more human than she was in the way she shied from dirt and bugs, something Lilith mused, if Vanity was a human she would be some grand lady of the court, she acted so fickle. Her mare was well named without a doubt.

Onyx finished his meal as hers was finishing cooking. He stood and stretched out his broad heavily muscled body and groaned as he laid out before the fire the warmth to his now full belly. Lil spared him a glance before she rocked to the ball of her feet and flipped the pieces of meat over with two thin sticks and rocked back hovering near the warmth the fire offered. She fed the flames another fire and shifted a few things around with a bigger stick before she sat back down in the soft now warm grass.

A sound outside the normal caught her attention. Her sensitive slightly tipped ears picked up the sound of running feet. Blue eyes snapped in the direction of the rhythmic sound of pounding feet. The body weight was lighter than the average man so she guessed it was female. Not that it bothered her much anyway. Perhaps this was her long desired source of entertainment. She looked back to her dinner that was cooking before she pulled her saddle bag over and pulled freshly wrapped bread free and cut it into four slices and rewrapped it and took out a small bit of fresh cheese and cut that into two pieces. She set the bread and cheese on an oiled cloth beside her as she carefully plucked the meat from its cooking rock. She put two slabs on meat on the bread and cheese and set the rest aside to wrap for later use.

A voice reached her ears after the sound of slowly feet did. The slightly harder breath reached her ears. Blue eyes turned on the stranger. Onyx cracked an amber eye open before grunting and closing it again, deeming her safe for the moment so Lilith was fine with speaking with this woman, besides a new face was always welcome on nights like this. A smile graced her features and she shook her head slightly. “Not at all”, She said her voice welcoming and cheerful. The elf half bred tossed her long braid over her shoulder and looked at her unexpected guest. “Please feel free to join me, company is always welcome in these lonely lands”, she offered with a motion to the plenty spare space around the warmth of her small fire. Lilith nudged a banking rock closer to the fire before she turned her attention to the meal she was fixing. “Care for some boar? Just finished”, she offered with a lift of a fine brow. Lilith was no fool though, she seemed completely open and friendly but she was cautious. She watched her guest even as she asked questions and offered comforts. Lil was also very aware of what reactions Onyx had, but the wolf stayed relaxed and dozing, so far so good.

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[Angelique]

Angelique took both of the woman's offers. The solitude of the forest was wearing her down, and she agreed with the elf’s sentiment. She was a bit relieved to have found another living, humanoid creature in this forest after being here for almost a month. She had only encountered a few people, and they tended to either ignore her or flee in terror at the sight of her “obvious” garb…apparently she looked more like witch than a nymph… She walked over to her, eying the wolf with some speculation. Being a creature of nature herself (no matter how evil her nature may be), animals usually did not hate her, but she had found wolves to be more judging of character than other animals. Most of them sensed her darkness and avoided her. While she had never been outright attacked by one yet, she had also yet to meet one in these lands. She didn't know if these beasts were any harsher, but she had absolutely no desire to find out. But he seemed to be drifting to sleep, so she relaxed slightly.

She finally reached the area beside the elf, and knelt carefully. As she got closer, she got more jumpy with every crackle of the fire, and by the time she reached the elf’s side, she was flightier than a doe in a thunderstorm. She eyed the fire carefully, sitting as far away as possible without seeming rude to her companion. She allowed Chii to slide down her arm to rest on the ground; he was probably tired of the movement and wanted to rest for a while. She looked up as the woman offered food…meat. She nodded slowly, a slow smile spreading over her face.

"I would like that very much, thank you" she said graciously, her voice shaking only slightly. "I seem to have run rather low on rations, I'm afraid

Much as it pained her to admit it, even to herself, that wasn't a lie. She hadn't been here for very long, but she had not had that much food to begin with. And satisfying Chii's bottomless hunger was difficult as well. It had been a while since she'd had food, mostly because she didn't want to draw attention to herself by hunting. She had gotten on the bad side of too many people to risk that. She was grateful for any food that came her way.

As she waited, she looked at her companion, her eyes dark. She could feel the magic crackling around the woman, and she remained as careful as possible. This person was more powerful than herself, and with the wolf near, she didn’t want to risk a confrontation anyway. And the proximity of the fire was putting her on edge. She was watching it as if it were going to stand up and attack her, and the scars on her back twitched slightly. She folded her hands in her lap to keep them from doing something stupid.

“What brings you to these forests?” she asked cautiously, still staring at the fire.