There's a demon in the mist

[diablo]

Silent paw steps tread through a gloomy forest, while the creature walked in a unsteady gait. It’s frame was silhouetted in an ebony shadow as it continued to walk silently. The only disturbance in the forest was the animal's steady breathing. Soft and calm. At home in the sinister jungle. A thin stream of light broke the dark canopy ahead and shined vibrantly on the blackened soil. As the mysterious beast stepped into the light, his frame formed into that of a Striped Hyena. To be more specific, it formed into Diablo, the demon that inhabited the Somber Jungle. His irises were a intense amber hue, and a crimson tint framed his pupil. However, the most striking about his appearance was the dried blood. It lie in dried, sticky clumps along his paw pads, forearms, chest, and muzzle. He was a walking blood bath.

A dark brown pelt covered his frame and ebony strips danced along his coat, while his wispy striped tail remained curled slightly over his spine. Being the hyena that he is, his back legs are naturally deformed, giving him the signature hyena “limp”. Ebony fur etched his ears, as well as his face and throat, and the light bounced off his blood stained ivories. The left side of his muzzle was curled upward in a slight smirk as he gazed up at the light source. It wasn’t often, that the light was able to penetrate the canopy, but when it did, it was intense. He shook out his pelt slightly, causing the large mane that ran from his neck to his tail to sway softly.

He was bored. With boredom, comes a death of an innocent life. Perhaps he could gnaw on one of his many bones that lie scattered around his territory. Or maybe, he could travel out of his jungle and look for someone to “play with”. No. No, he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t leave his jungle unattended to. If he left, there was always a chance that another creature would enter his territory and live to tell the tale. With a loud huff he continued forward, his eyes dull with boredom.

[sophia]

"Bob? Oh my dear brother, just where are you?" Sophia muttered to herself, as she trotted forwards into the foreboding jungle. She knew that going into the jungle wasn't a smart idea, but it was where she had landed...so there was no other choice but to look. The weight of her hooves broke a twig, and Sophia nearly leapt three feet in the air from the sudden noise, her heart rate only slowing down when she realizing it was just a twig. The jungle only became darker and darker, with bits of light shooting through the canopy above. At least she wouldn't have to use her horn to light her way through.

"Hello?" Sophia tentatively called out.

"Bob? Are you out there?"

Sophia paused in her meandering trail, and planted her rear end on the blackened soil, the only "pure" thing available in the forest. She was completely in the open, and she knew it well enough. But the only thing weighing in on her mind was her older brother's whereabouts. Leaning forward, Sophia rested her head between her hooves, keeping her eyes open, should anything appear.

[diablo]

Diablo continued to trudge silently through the dark jungle, his ebony etched ears perked atop his crown. Listening for the slightest hint of another life. His tongue rasped over his muzzle, removing some of the dried blood and he grinned. The other day he had killed and devoured a coyote that wandered into his territory. Once he had eaten his fill he buried the remains and piled the bones by his den. The crimson blood stuck out on him like a sore thumb but he didn’t mind. He actually preferred to stay covered in blood. The scent of the crimson fluid was delicious and he liked to scare the hell out of his victims before he killed them.

A sudden snap of a twig pulled him from his thoughts and a demented smirk spread across his features. “It looks like my breakfast just arrived…” He sneered silently. He slunk into the shadows and followed the source of the sound. His amber irises narrowed as he peered from the shadows at an odd creature. It was a vivid cream hue, however it’s mane and tail were an odd shade of amethyst. The strangest part of the creature, was a pointed spiral horn protruding from it’s forehead. He wrinkled his nose as he gazed at the creature call out to someone named Bob. “What a odd name…” Diablo murmured quietly. It was no more than a whisper, so it was doubtful the strange creature heard him.

He watched her lower her rear to the onyx soil, and he tilted his head. Now he was curious. What kind of creature was this? He wanted to know, so in one fluid stride, he melted away from the shadows, and suddenly appeared directly behind her. His voice was deep, yet his words dripped from his tongue like silk, “Excuse me, but may I ask what kind of creature you are?”

[sophia]

“Excuse me, but may I ask what kind of creature you are?”
Sophia's ears perked up, swiveling slightly backwards as she heard the voice from behind her. The voice was a bit of a shock to her, considering it had been rather silent within the misty jungle. Pushing herself to stand up, Sophia turned to find a hyena standing behind her.

He was covered in dried blood, and from what she could tell, he didn't seem like one to trust. And the second thing running through her mind was that she didn't want to be his next meal. Holding her head high, Sophia looked to the malicious creature, and answered his question. "I am a unicorn...a mystical being long gone from this Earth." Sophia said.

She tried to remember just what she had been able to learn about the other animals she might find in this world. Sophia was educated, and she knew what a hyena was. But what she didn't know was its limitations. Inwardly, she sighed. Should the worst come to worst, she could always just disappear.

[diablo]

Diablo kept his eyes on her, awaiting a respond. He noticed her ears rotate and she immediately spun over on her feet to face him. He could tell she didn’t trust him, but he wasn’t exactly worried about that. However, he didn’t want her to leave, not yet anyway. He wanted to know more about her and what she was. The strange creature carried her crown high, as she responded to his question. Her answer didn’t satisfy him. A small hum tickled the back of his throat as he thought about what she had said. His response was warm, not the voice of a crazed serial killer, but the voice of a friend. One that could be trusted, “Ahh, but miss, you do not appear to be long gone. Actually--” He began to circle her, eyeing the creature called a “unicorn”, “You seem to be as alive and to this Earth as I am. So does that make me a mythical creature long gone from this Earth? I do not think so.”

He stopped circling her and planted his rear to the terrain, sweeping his tail in front of him he grinned, “Oh, and please don’t fret about my appearance. Everyone has to eat am I right? I apologize for my…lack of table manners. I’m not exactly neat when it comes to eating,” he laughed sheepishly and continued, “I eat like an animal.” His crown tilted, and he lowered his forearms to the ground, and rested his soft belly fur across the ground in a relaxed posture, “I am quite lonely here, will you keep me company for a while and tell me more about unicorns?”

He was sincerely curious about unicorns now, plus, he didn’t want to eat this one right now. He actually wanted her company, he was really bored and murdering everyone instantly was a bore. Rather have small talk before a meal. Diablo perked his ears and grinned softly, awaiting the creature to say something. His ears suddenly flattened and he chuckled, “Oh, forgive my rudeness, I am Diablo. Who might you be?”

[sophia]

Sophia pawed the ground with a hoof as she replied to what the hyena had said. "Long gone meaning that our species hasn't interacted with this world up until now." she said, narrowing her eyes a bit. Whatever. He could think what he wanted. But then, the animal seemed to relax a bit from his first impression, and stretched out across the blackened soil of the jungle, asking for her to keep him company. Sophia raised a brow, and blinked a few times. She really did have to find her brother, but on the other hand, this supposedly lonely creature was asking for her to stay. Well...she could always look for Bob later on.

"I am Sophia. It's a...pleasure to meet you, Diablo." Sophia said. A memory flashed across her mind as the name reverberated in her head. Diablo. Where had she heard it before? In her musing state, Sophia too lowered herself to the soil, forelegs outstretched, one folded over the other. Her back legs sat by her sides, and her tail curled protectively around the left side of her small body. The memory had finally cleared in her mind, no longer a blur of action. Now she remembered just where she had heard the name "Diablo". It had been during one of Alexander's Latin lessons, where Aristotle had been reviewing the meanings of certain words. Diablo...or Diabolus, had meant "devil". Sophia resisted the urge to shiver, as the name certainly fit his looks. Shaking her head, Sophia returned to reality, and held her head proudly once again.

"I'll keep you company then. Now, what would you like to know about our race?"

[diablo]

The blood matted hyena only narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as she clarified what she meant by “long gone from this Earth.” He didn’t comprehend her explanation, maybe she just failed to word what she meant precisely, and was now trying to cover up her mistake. Either way, she could have just said she was “hidden from view” or something more intelligent. How could she be interacting with Earth now, but not before? Or how everyone else is beginning to call it, “Artheway”. Was she from a different planet or something? He was confused, but now his curiosity blazed like a wild fire.

As she spoke her name he dipped his crown respectfully, “Oh, the pleasure is all mine Miss Sophia.” His voice was still the reassuring hushed tone, and his lips curled slightly in a smile. His amber irises burned from there sockets as he resisted the urge to spew many questions, however, he kept quiet as he watched her slide down to the soil as well. She crossed her front legs, while her back legs stay pinned to her sides, along with her tail rapped around her flank. She was strange, and seemed to move like a dog. Sophia appeared very horse like, besides her ridiculous coloring and that strange horn projecting from her crown. She seemed to be concentrating on something, but a light seemed to go off in her head and slight fear showed brightly in her eyes.

He dismissed her fear with a question, “Why do you have that strange pointed horn atop your head? Are you some type of deer?” He eyes her horn once more then continued, “Is it for defense? Does it do….something? Anything? Besides jut from your forehead like some kind of blemish.” His words were sincere and curious, not rude or spiteful.

[sophia]

Sophia's eyes strayed up to the horn atop her head as he asked her question. She smiled, and giggled as she shook her head. "A deer? No, no. Unicorns are in fact horses, but we're a more....ascended breed of horses. You see, long ago, when there were few humans on this Earth, us equines were all unicorns. However, along that timeline, some of us liked the earth a little more than magic. And some of us loved the sky. Eventually, those who liked Earth evolved into today's horses, and the ones who took to the sky became pegasi. Those who remained with magic stayed as unicorns." Sophia explained.

She knew there was a lot more about unicorn history, but that was the basic gist of it.
"When humans began populating the earth, we knew that we had to hide, because many of us were being hunted for our horns. So, us unicorns remained in an Eden-like place, and we've been there ever since. That's why I'm pretty unfamiliar with this world." she said.

Pointing a lavender hoof to her horn, she tapped it, and it made a slight clicking sound. "Now, this is really the source of a unicorn's power. And this is what the humans hunted us for. A unicorn's horn is a special thing. It's what allows us to do our magic. There's a wide range of things we can do. For example, I can summon a little bit of light to illuminate this place." Sophia said. To demonstrate, she focused on the idea of light, and soon enough, the tip of her horn emitted a bright glow, before fading after a minute or so.

"See?" Sophia said. "But that's not all I can do. There's lots more, but I would exhuast my energy demonstrating everything I'm capable of doing." she said.

[kashi]

A dim shadow lurked above the foliage, dwelling in the midnight canopy which blanketed the jungle in darkness. Like stars, the golden irises from the panther glinted in a plume of ebony, scanning bored of the surroundings. Voices forced the radars upon his crown to prick with interest, one was familiar and one was quite feminine and he identified was a female. "Such fun," his voice vibrated silently into the somber atmosphere. Prowling toward the edge of the limb, gaze fixed ahead toward the sound of the conversation. Kashi's shoulders pivoted, lowering then rising with each movement. Hinds bunched a bit before hurling him over toward the adjacent tree, landing upon gnarled wood.

Peering over the branch, not even uttering a sound. Brows knitted a bit before a grin splayed upon his lips, the equine looked completely radiant. It was pure and glow like a beacon among this cursed land. Kashi barely caught sound of a name previously, Sophia. The sound of the name peaked his interest as his demonic pools scanned her every movement. She had a plan, no one in the right mind would calmly talk with Diablo without a plan. She demonstrated a type of mystic powers before them both, magic? he questioned himself before arching his spinal-column to lean closer. It was time.

Kashi allowed a deep vibrating growl to resonate from his pectoral to gain attention. "Ahh. Hello there everyone," he greeted rather politely. "Diablo my dear friend, why don't you introduce me to this strange creature?" leaping from his blackened branch the large panther alighted upon the terrain beside his companion, prowling quite close to the ground. "Sophia... I happen to be Kashi," his voice was quite alluring when he said her name but turned stern at the end. "I've heard quite a bit from you, A unicorn? How interesting... and" he paused not wanting to say more but he kept a nice complexion, flashing his 'sweet' grin toward her.


(It's only big because I was trying to catch up. ^^)

[diablo]

Diablo flicked his ear slightly as she made a bubbly laughing sound. He didn’t particularly like that noise, too joyful, too…secure. He must rather let the sound of suffering fill his head and lull him to sleep. However, this absurd racket caused his lip to curl ever so slightly. Diablo lowered his crown to his muscular forearms, his ears perked atop his head as he listened to Sophia’s explanation, it was quite fascinating. As she spoke of her magic, a intense luminosity formed from thin air and gleamed vibrantly from the tip of her horn. His amber irises narrowed and he blinked a few times, he wasn’t exactly used to such powerful light in his somber home. It was different. Moments passed and the repulsive illumination dimmed until it was no more, he allowed a low breath to pass through his jaws and he dipped his crown. “Well, isn’t that interesting…wouldn‘t you say so too dear Kashi?” as he spoke, he flashed his gaze to the ebony shadows.

Suddenly a rumbling growl leaked from the shadows followed by Kashi’s greeting. Diablo merely grinned disapprovingly at the onyx jaguar as it leaped from the safety of the trees to the blackened soil. As Kashi addressed the hyena, asking him to introduce him to Sophia, Diablo allowed a laugh slip from his tongue like honey, “Why Kashi, I’m sure you already know what this strange creature’s name is…considering you’ve been eavesdropping nearly the whole time…”

Diablo returned his attention to Sophia and flashed an apologetic grin, “Excuse my impolite friend, I’ve been telling him since he was a cub that eavesdropping isn’t well-mannered. “ His voice sharpened by a fraction as he suddenly directed his words to Kashi, yet he kept his intense gaze on Sophia, “Sneaking to by side of the jungle again I see…what brings you here my friend…? “ He suddenly whipped his crown to the jaguar, his gaze immediately becoming demonic, “Looking for something to eat again…? You know how I feel about you hunting on my territory Kashi.” He spoke the jaguar’s name is sweet sing-song voice.

[sophia]

The unicorn raised a brow curiously towards the jaguar. He seemed to be just as devilish as Diablo himself, but she made no movement towards that. “ A pleasure to meet you.” Sophia said, with a slight bow of her crown. She nodded to his second statement, pawing the ground with a hoof. “Yes, I was just discussing what a unicorn is, and their abilities to Diablo. I take it that you two don’t get many visitors around here, do you?” Sophia asked. She knew that a hyena and a jaguar were both predators, and normally, Sophia wouldn’t be caught even talking to either of them. But because of where she lived, dragons were more of a threat than any earth predator put together.

The illumination coming from the tip of her horn disappeared altogether, as she made eye contact with Kashi and Diablo. The hyena mentioned it as “interesting”, while the other made no comment. Sophia merely held her head high, as the two of them were completely unaware of the real trick she was saving up her energy for. At least that’d get her a step closer to Bob. As the two spoke, Sophia listened intently, as Diablo mentioned “hunting”. That was her cue to leave, but she allowed a few more minutes, not wanting to appear rude.

“Hunting?” Sophia asked, with a slightly cocky smile upon her face. “I didn’t know that he was trying to hunt on your territory, Diablo. Perhaps I should leave?” Sophia asked, digging a purple hoof into the ground. “But then that would seem rude. Oh, how is a unicorn ever going to get out of this mess, I wonder?” Sophia teased, as the smile turned to a smirk, and she narrowed her eyes mischievously. While she was definitely the more competent one of her family, she still inherited that mischievous streak, which came in handy quite a lot of times.

[diablo]

(By the way, Dragons are a myth. Mermaids, unicorns, gryphon’s…exedra are all allowed. Dragons, however are not. ^^” That aren’t…real)

Diablo kept his smoldering irises on the jaguar, however his ebony ears swiveled back as he heard the unicorn speak. At her words, a delicate grin spread along his features and he turned his crown to face her, “Oh m’dear, it is definitely not a pleasure to meet Kashi…” He cast a swift glance to the feline but returned his gaze to Sophia as she continued speaking, “Well, on the contrary, we do get quite a bit of guests…however we don’t exactly…take part in conversation.” He rasped his tongue along his bloodstained muzzle and allowed a ghostly chuckle to emit from his jaws.

Diablo’s amber irises glowed vibrantly in the dimness as he studied the unicorn. He was growing bored of conversation and the emptiness in his stomach was reminding him of what he really wanted. Glancing back at Kashi he allowed a trademark smirk to crack over his countenance, his lip rose slightly over his left canine and his muzzle crinkled slightly. He would share a hunt with the jaguar, but only because he wanted them both to experience the taste of unicorn meat. His thoughts were interrupted as the unicorn chimed in, her words were mocking and she had a cocky grin set on her face. Her words interested him, he already knew she had a trick up her sleeve. I mean really? What kind of dimwitted animal would willingly come into a cursed jungle where both Diablo and Kashi reside. He was becoming annoyed as she continued to tease, his grin widened slightly as he took a step toward her.

His mane swayed softly as he glided toward her in a limping gait, his demonic smile beginning to resurface. “Oh Sophia, here’s a suggestion for you…how about you grow up and resign from your little games. I mean really? How obvious could you be. We are both well aware of your magic and the plan you formed in your little mind. So how about you quit acting so innocent and put your plan in gear. However I will promise you this, you will not depart from my jungle without a scratch.” His words dripped from his tongue like honey and filled the air. His eyes mirrored hers as she narrowed them and he smirk devilishly. “I suppose I should retire from my little act too…” The moment his words left his tongue, a ghostly cackle arose from his lips and he melted away into the darkness. He was immediately engulfed in the shadows and his haunting laughter filled the forest.