{PRP) Wouldn't You Like To See Something Strange? (Inside)

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Guillotine had been given a mission by her herd, to bring back the Tomes from the Storykeeper. But she had no clue where to look or who the Storykeeper was. She had been given her gift, the map of her herds homeland on her skin. She had never thought she'd get chosen by her herd to do anything.

And this was important.

But now she couldn't help but think how unequipped she was to deal with this. She didn't know what was required of her or she could even handle it. What if she failed? What if she searched for the rest of her life and never found the tomes?

She walked through the dark woods and saw a very small....soquili? She'd never seen one so small.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Umeko turned around again in the dark woods. She couldn't tell which way to go or which way she'd come from. It all just looks the same. She turned around again and looked through the dark woods and saw the grim spectator standing in front of her. She had blue and purple toned skin with a pale patter on her legs and chest. Her hair was like pale moonlight and her pale eyes looked at her.

The mini looked at the bat in the girl's hair. "I'm lost," she said in explanation not sure what to think of the mare. Was she friendly or ...? But she didn't have much to worry about, she could handle herself, she always had. Her horn might be short, but it was a weapon she knew how to wield.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Guillotine looked down at the strange minature soquili. She wondered if this one was just small or maybe there were new breeds in the Kawani lands? She wasn't sure what to say to the little mare with her long hair and her horn.

"Are you a unicorn?" She asked in a kind voice. Guillotine didn't think unicorns were supposed to be so small. But maybe they were? Or, well she didn't know and she wasn't going to find out much with small talk. "I don't know this place either."

There wasn't much else for her to say really. She didn't know anything about this place or it's people. This could be a trap for all she knew, but it didn't feel that way. Perhaps her and the little one might be able to help each other out.

"I'm Guillotine," she said simply, wary of asking anyone for help in these unknown lands.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Umeko laughed a little, "No. I'm not a unicorn, I'm a minicorn as in a usidia." But from the blank look on the other soquili's face, she could tell that didn't mean anything. "You're not from around here, are you?"

She tasted the other girl's name on her tongue for a moment before speaking again. "Guillotine, that's a very unusual name. I'm Umeko. Looks like we're both lost." Umeko spun around again glancing off in each direction.

Which way was out? She hated woods, she always got so lost in them. If she could just see the stars...then maybe she could figure this out. But the trees, of course covered where the stars were and so she couldn't see them.

No clue at all about where they were.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Guillotine watched the little mare, who seemed to have no fear of her or much of anything really. "No, I'm not." She shifted her weight for a moment then back as she considered what else to say. "You're not either are you?"

It seemed stupid, but she wasn't sure what to say to the little mare. She didn't want to give too much away about her mission, but she also needed to learn about the people here and her surroundings. She had to begin to fit in. "Umeko is a lovely name. Maybe we can find our way together?"  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Umeko looked up at the larger mare and assessed her with a tilt of her head. She seemed alright though..."Well, sure we can try to find our way out of here together." She smiled brightly, "But where are you going? If we're not going the same way it won't do much good will it?"

She took a few steps to the left then to the right before turning back to the right. "This way seems as likely as the others. If we can see the stars, I can figure this out. I love the stars, don't you?"

The stars had been her earliest memories. She had learned all she could about them from the stallion who had kept her. Sometimes, she would look up at those stars and she would think of him--of the gentle knight who bought her and freed her.

But she pushed that from her mind, Tristan was far away, and he did not know she loved him. She would never tell.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

"I know next to nothing of stars," she offered back. "The skies were dark but for the moon where I came from, and the stars did not shine or did not shine bright enough. I could never see them." She sighed. A quick look at Umeko made her realize that she was not the only one who seemed lost in thought. The mini was lost somewhere in some memory that had taken her from this place.

Guillotine let her mind drift back home to her herd, and her family. It seemed strange to think that she did not miss them that much. They had had little to do with her life, except her name. Other families hadn't been like that but her family had. She wouldn't be hurrying back to them--but she needed to do this for her herd. These books were important to them, it told their story--it told how to dsstroy them. And even if they did not love each other like other families loves, she did not want them to die.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Her thoughts would not turn away from him easily as she searched the skies for a break in the tree cover. She needed to find the top of the trees, needed to be able see between them to the sky. Finally, after long minutes of silence she saw the stars shining brightly in the dark sky.

Her eyes sought out Orion's belt, and she smiled when she saw it. Her eyes moved till she found the North star. She closed her eyes for a moment. "We need to go south."  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

South. That sounded about right to Guillotine's ears. She had been heading south from her herds, would need to keep heading south to find The Storykeeper and his books. "Me too," she smiled at the little mare. Suddenly though she felt a great unease come over here. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and her heart quickened.

She couldn't place what it was, she couldn't name what had caused it--but she knew the sensation that filled her was fear. Out there, there was something that made her body respond in warning though she could not see it. She could sense the danger around her.

"Umeko," she whispered trying to keep her voice from carrying too far. Whatever was out there could probably hear them too. Hr skin crawled and something inside of her whispered. We're not alone.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Umeko came out of her thoughts with a start. Instantly she felt the difference in the air. Guillotine's whispering of her name made her turn to the girl. She raised an eyebrow and took in the other mare's expression. Something was out there, but what?

To run would bring whatever it was down on them, but standing here they were sitting ducks.

"Move," she said forcibly. "Even steps, and listen closely." She wasn't sure how well the other girl could protect herself, but Umeko knew that she could fight well enough.

The branches creaked and groaned, swaying in the subtle night breeze. The trees were so thick around them, and the path was barely large enough or them to walk on togeth-

Umeko stopped and looked around. The path just stopped.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

The forest had no other paths, to backtrack would be stupid. But to go on....where? Where would they be going on to exactly? There was no real path ahead, nothing but woods. Only it was the right direction, south.

She took a deep breath, "We keep going." She shivered lightly, her body responding to the atmosphere around her. It seemed as though the air had cooled drastically in the past few minutes. Then all around her, there seemed to be terrible laughter that left her drawing closer to Umeko. "Who's there?"

They moved forward, the darknes pressing in on them as the trees grew closer. Their path wasn't straight anymore, but crooked as they weaved among the trees. Guillotine's eyes widened in fright.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Umeko had pressed on with the other mare, but when Guillotine stopped she paused her heart thrumming loudly trying to see what the other mare was looking at. Her eyes followed Guillotine's and she looked up to see claw marks across a tree. It was eight feet up, and sap ran down it freely.

Umeko jumped at a sound behind her and whirled. There on another tree was the same claw marks. They hadn't been there moment before. "Come out! We're not afraid of you!" She shouted, keeping her voice steady as she could manage.

Laughter echoed in the woods again and she could feel the large male quivering. "Stop it!" This time her voice wavered slightly. Everywhere she turned, she couldn't see anything but she could hear something just beyond her sight.

A large purple tail with golden orbs hung down from a thick tree, and when she looked up she could see a glistening bloody smile.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Guillotine kept silent though her heart lurched at the sight of that hanging down in front of her. She'd heard stories about a woods with a menacing cat. They always said that they last thing you saw was his smile before you died.

But that wasn't right. Someone had to live to tell the tale. So someone had lived through whatever happened--at least one. She breathed deeply, "He's too big. We should run." But she hated the idea of running--it felt cowardly, but...well, he would know these woods if he was who she thought.

"We don't want to play your Games," she said in a strong voice.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

The voice seemed to echo in the trees. Games? But you have to play, there's no escape. No escape.

The voice was menacing but had a sing-song creepy quality to it that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. If they stayed here, they'd be sitting gooses. That wouldn't do at all. But together or split up?

The creature leaped and Umeko shot off in the dark, ducking her head beneath branches and brambles. She could hear Guillotine running in a different direction. Who would he follow or would he let them wear themselves down?

Her heart felt as though it was going to come out of her chest. She could hear nothing but the sound of it, she thwapped into a branch and fell backwards dazed.