[PRP] The fall of Ivywood (Riley/Marati)

[Enoh Love]

It had been a long and solitary ride through unknown territory, broken only by the pauses made were to let the Reigndeer rest, and to stretch out the hooded Rider's own limbs. The breaks were only as long as they needed to be, and their trip continued, following instructions that had been memorized. Over time, the directions were no longer needed as signs began to point the way to the little town of Ivywood.

Soon, the directions and signs were ignored entirely, and the red-plumed Reigndeer navigated off course, disappearing into the ivy along the outskirts of the town. The Rider dismounted, and after fixing the long black coat they wore, stretched out their limbs. Bones cracked, ligaments snapped, and soon the stiffness of the long ride was worked out.

Gloved hands pulled back the hood, and Marati looked around, appraising the darkness around them.

"Have you been waiting long?" She said softly into the darkness.

nio love

 

[Nio Love]

I have been waiting forever. The darkness called back, with blinking white ovals that never stopped moving once they'd been exposed. But not for you. You have not made me wait long. You have found me just in time.

Riley's body fell from the trees like a stone, landing on all fours before straightening up to move towards her. The feral look in her eyes flashed, something desperate clawing out from underneath that slick and sinister exterior, and she fluttered her eyelids at the woman before dropping down to the ground.

I've started a fire on the outskirts. She whispered, long fingers reaching out elegantly to point out the thin wisp of smoke rising from the other side of town. The lawmakers are distracted with it. They think it's arson.

Well. They were right. But she still found it funny.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"I'm glad." She liked being just in time. It was the most opportune, for many reasons. Yellowing eyes watched as Riley dropped to the ground beside her, and then casually towards the thin plume of smoke. Arson. The lawmakers were probably very right about that, but that wasn't something that interested her. They were distracted, at least, and that was all they needed.

"Lovely work." Approval rang clear in her voice, and she shifted her stance, gazing around the rather scarce area. "And the one who will take me into the patch?" Merlin had been very clear on this: she'd need one of the villagers, and they'd need to be innocent and unassuming.

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

The task of choosing a villager weak enough to be manipulated had almost turned Riley off to the entire process. Listening to the thoughts of petty villagers had turned her stomach; and she refused to use a scareling, for reasons she wouldn't share with a soul she planned to keep alive.

So it was a young reptilian woman, wearing a bonnet and flickering a long, curious tongue, that strode up to Marati from over the crest of the hill. She'd been waiting, standing frozen still in the mud with a basket of rotten apples, until that moment. Her eyes looked vacant, and a little confused.

"I was told you needed help?" She asked, in a voice that rang hollow, as if emptiness was all the woman knew. She looked at the two of them with eyes that saw only two innocent women, instead of the creature and the queen before her.

She saw what Riley wanted her to see. She was weak, so deliciously weak. The manipulation filled Riley with an inappropriate flush of delight.

Yes. Riley whispered, gesturing for her to move closer to Marati. Help.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

The reptilian that came forward was as mousy as she had hoped. She looked her over from top to bottom, taking a note of the docile air around her, and the vacant, dull look in her eyes. Perfection.

"Help indeed." she repeated in a breath. "One moment, miss." It was a formality, really, to excuse herself momentarily from the attention of the vacant doll. Yellowing eyes sided towards Riley again, offering a rather approving smile.

"Thank you for finding such great help. I'm sure it wasn't easy." As she spoke, she curled a hand at her side, palm up, just out of sight of the empty woman nearby. Between her black fingers formed a shard of a crystal, glowing faintly from within. "You can stay with me while our helpful friend here shows me around, or you can go and amuse yourself for the next twenty minutes. It's up to you." Her free hand gestured vaguely towards the town. "Within reason, of course. We wouldn't want to overstep our bounds and upset too many of our new friends." Meaning, of course, she didn't want them to spot - or worse, recognize - Riley, and put an end to their fun prematurely. Anything short of that was fine with her. Her Second had, without a doubt, earned it thus far. She made a point of keeping her companions happy.

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

The offer was tempting.

Riley perked, looking out at the town with a growing hunger. She wanted to amuse herself very much, in fact. She wanted to come back bruised and bloody and possibly dragging something barely alive back, much the way a cat returns a dying bird to it's owner.

But it was that thought that turned her off to it, and she stood up straight, her figure cutting an imposing shadow between the trees.

I will stay. She informed the woman. She offered no excuse for her decision, assured that Marati would ask for none. Besides, she reminded herself quietly. The woman may snap out of things too early. Without her there to convince her otherwise, the entire plan may go awry.

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

"Very well." Marati did not ask for an excuse; she didn't need one. Riley had been given her options and she had chosen which worked best for her. That was all she needed. There was only a breath of a pause though, where she indulged in a small wonder. A passing curiosity that didn't reach her expression, where she found it very interesting that her companion turned down the offer. Perhaps she didn't yet trust her bloodlust.

Either way, it was no immediate consequence to her, and so she brushed the thought aside as quickly as it had come, and turned towards their docile third party.

"It's very nice to meet you." Marati stepped in closer, sliding one arm around the back of the woman's shoulders. From a distance, the gesture looked familiar and friendly, but up close she was pressing the shard into her upper arm. It disappeared under fabric and flesh, with no more pain than the grip itself.

"I'm Hel Selie. This is my friend, Remi." She nodded towards Riley, offering a secret little smile. "We really need to visit the pumpkin patch. Could you take us there?"

xxxnio love

name dropping with permission!