[Corbin]

The pale moon shimmered full and luminescent in the black expanse above the land of Alteron. Her soft rays of moonlight illuminating the clouds that drifted around her presence and yet, in all her splendor, she did little to light the forest floor below. Her silver rays blocked by the thick canopy of trees that sought to hide the scene unfolding in its shadows. For, at this hour, the land below thrived in darkness which was accompanied only by the grey fog that hung thick and heavy in the silence of the night. It curled and caressed each object that was caught in its misty grasp; gentle yet restricting. 

Yet there was a stranger here that traveled, hidden, amongst the shadows. 

His presence went unnoticed for he blended in so effortlessly with the darkness that covered the domain. The only thing that might have set him apart from the shadows were his olive green eyes; bright and piercing. Yet the fog hid him well. Allowing him to traverse the land swiftly and carefully. No sound penetrated the silence not even the footsteps of the stranger below. The small wolf was doing his best to keep his presence hidden. Each step was careful to avoid making noise for he did not want to attract any attention; not yet. He fully intended to let his presence be known but when he was beyond their grasp.

As he crept deeper into the forest, albeit painstakingly slow, he came across a moss covered plank that acted as a bridge over a deep trench. The wolf peeked over the side of the plank and down into the inky blackness below but he could not make out how far down the drop went. Not that he wanted to take a plummet anyway. So steeling his nerves that black figure gently crossed the bridge into the land beyond. He knew he was trespassing but he wanted to be out of his pursuers reach before he let out a loud howl. 

Come and hear my tale for the clock has struck midnight and the raven calls out nevermore.

[Persephone]

Blackness lurked in the shadows of Alteron's ruins, a demon that slunk around like the most vile of dragon beasts. A shallow, bitter remnant of the fiery danger that breathed life into the most recently-deceased regime in these temperate jungles. No one had seen this creature in quite a while. No one had had the misfortune of running into her, or her offset, eager fangs. Persephone was not one of the Pages, tasked to mind invisible lines and lay down tests of quit or strength to let in foreign filth. It was not her task to keep an eye on the moat or any who dared to try and sneak through and past it. The girl was a mere Civilian - she hissed bitterly at the thought - so in a sense her only duty was to clean up after the other dumbasses. And here, on this night cloaked with a fog so thick it clung desperately to the milky white of the moonlight, casting it out throughout the forests and its openings. It would be here that the shadow dragonling found herself unwittingly, though most decidedly fortunate, as she found herself stalking against another shadow. One that was not cast by anything Alteronian. Dark blue-grey tongue lulled, catching the scent before she noticed to faintest of disturbances in the fog and shade of her home. Others may have found it difficult to find such a stealthy, camouflaged stranger trespassing in their lands, but a shade knows a shade. Darkness cannot fool its own kind. Mis-matched eyes bulged open as her jaws split wide, drool tapering off her fangs as a wicked, screeching laugh creaked from her throat - a siren to summon the others of this immortal kingdom from their slumber into the slaughter. "Leetl' pup leetl' pup whY AREYA RUNNIN' FROMDA WELCOME PARTYY?!?" Each word seemed to be wheezed out on its own, growing in tension and volume and if possible an insatiable bloodlust. Legs pumped undernearth the black dragonling's form as she sped out into the fog, disturbing its sanctity and calm. Heaving breaths were pulled in and out, in and out from her nose and mouth alike, creating a hysterical, unsettling noise as the beast made a fearsome beeline for what she hoped would soon be her den's new floor pelt.

text: #577f9f

[Corbin]

The tranquillity of the night was pierced by an unearthly cackle that caused the fur on the nape of the strangers neck to stand on end. Where silence and calmness had reigned fear and chaos now dominated the forest. The young wolf stilled in his movement; pausing midstep after the wicked sound echoed in his ears and, reluctantly, wide olive green eyes now fearfully scanned the writhing grey mass for signs of disturbance. His search of the shadows was not rewarded but his ears, now alert to every sound, picked up the violent rustling of foilage and snapping of twigs meaning the creature was rapidly heading straight towards his frozen body. It felt  like an eternity before he was startled into action by a voice screeching out from the darkness. Dripping with a twisted lust and filled with meanace; it was a horrifying madness...no...this was not crazed ramblings...it was a promise. A dreadful whisper of the pain and agony that the being would inflict upon him if he wereto fall into their clutches.  

"Leetl' pup leetl' pup whY AREYA RUNNIN' FROMDA WELCOME PARTYY?!?" 

It was a strange feeling when he came to and his legs bolted for the nearest cover. Everything was running on pure instinct now. The shadows mind was too chaotic for proper thought to form and as he lay hidden in a thicket of twisted gnarled vines, acting as a veil, temporarily hiding him from the beast that stalked the darkness beyond. A flood of questions rushed through his mind. What was that? Where they part of the pack that had attacked his slave train? If so why would they risk being caught within Alteron borders? Did they aim to take him away like the others...or did they wish to kill him? As his mind ran through the clutter now racing through his mind his ears were twitching and rotating at every sound that came from beyond the thicket. 

He had to slip past them somehow...or bring Alteron to them. However that meant making noise...very loud noise which would not only alert the hunter to his presence but his location as well. A dark hulking shadow burst into sight and the yearlings heart jumped into his throat as he spied the size of the beast from between the spaces of his hiding place. They were huge. There was no way he could handle them on his own but he now was completely frozen. His legs felt like mush beneath him and he was surprised to see how badly he was shaking. Looking back towards the creature he swallowed thickly; throat tightening.

"Who is it that stalks the shadows are you one of the wolves that killed my masters," he asked voice quivering a bit from nerves. If he was going to die this night he should know by whose hand his blood would be spilled. The call for Alterons sentries put on hold until he knew of this creatures intentions. The only thing the shadow could do now was stay out of sight and out of reach.

[Persephone]

The fluttering fear of the stranger sent a terrible glee into the she-beast. It spurned her onward. She could see the wipsy disturbances in the mist up ahead, assuring her of her pursuit. Raspy, labored breathing wheezed from her open jaws as she sprinted, sprinted, sprinted ahead, tracking down her prey as though it were little more than vermin, trespassing and needing to be eliminated. Lips peeled back in a terribly wicked sneer, eyes narrowing to near slits as the bastard's scent tickled her nose. There was some rustling ahead that seemed to be quiet again by the time she approached, her legs skidding to a violent halt where the scent still hung heavy. The darkness shrouded around her, only the soft glow of moonlight in the mists providing any shred of sight. Low growls rumbled in her throat, tongue panting out of her open jaws as she panned from left to right, deliberately slow and eerie. Crooked ears perked this way and that, eager for any betrayal as to the stranger's location. A cursory glance confirmed he must be nearby - there were no disturbances in the mist further out. But then, where was this special guest, so rudely evading his host? "Who is it that stalks the shadows are you one of the wolves that killed my masters," Jaws went snapping directly into the curling, entwined roots that formed the barricade between herself and the voice, teeth clashing against resilient bark. "Dragons own these'ere shadows, boyo," Serpentine tongue wheezed and whispered, her wild eyes staring daggers into the darkness within the thicket, "an' I'm yer new mastaahhh..." She could smell fear, taste it, and oh she wanted it between her teeth, on her tongue. By slowly swaying in front of the thick roots that sheltered the pest, she allowed for the glowing moonlight to find its mark - his eyes. There you are. "Mastah says come heeeeeere~" Persephone snapped at a particular branch, one that stood directly between her and her target. One that began to creak and snap beneath her force. SNAP! Onto the next root, and the next and the next until she could properly bring the welcome party to its VIP guest...

text: #577f9f

[Corbin]

The words left his mouth and hell decended upon him in the form of gnashing teeth and shattered wood. The beasts coat was black as a moonless night, their teeth were long and powerful ripping through the roots of the elder tree as if it were nothing more than soft flesh. This creature was unlike anything he had seen before; half crazed and desperate to find purchase on her prey...the prey which so happened to be him. Naiveté had been the shadows downfall. As his curious ears drunk in the predators words hissing through her teeth and clawing at the air around them. The young wolf had forgotten how quickly a shelter could become a prison but this creature reminded the small yearling of that reality.

Suddenly green met blue and the assault on the barrier separating them renewed with even more vigor. The creature had seen him and that brief moment of having locked gazes caused the yearlings breath to hitch listening as the pounding of his heart echoed loudly in his ears as it hammered wildly in his chest. He knew what he was feeling but even then he could do nothing to regain his self. With each frustrated snarl and snap of wood, as it was severed harshly from its place, only caused the smaller wolf to sink deeper into this growing fear as he could only watch as the hole widened. His mind raced with horrifying images of his being disembowled as those very same teeth when they eventually found purchase upon his flesh. It was only a matter of time now. 

Then it all stopped as she tore away the last of the gnarled wood that had separated them. Fright was not the feeling that flooded his veins and stole his breath it was pure terror. "From what pack do you hail," he inquired voice tight and  shaking from his taught nerves. He knew he was looking upon the form of death. Once loud, screaming and desperate had now become still and silent. In a vain attempt to put more space between them the shadow tried to shift himself further away from the hole; knowing that he could only wait until the beast drug him out into the open. No longer invisible but completely vulnerable. For he had no build of a fighter. His body was small and petite, due to years of small rations, too weak to do anything but hunt small prey and utterly useless against his assailant. 

Before they had the chance to end him the slave asked, "what does my master wish of me?" tail curling underneath him and ears flattening against his skull as he gazed up at the female. Hoping against all odds that the creature towering before him would not end his life.

(Ooc: Your character can haul him out of his hiding space if you want; if she does he'll be laying on his back looking up at her. If not then he'll be in his hole.)

[Dullahan]

d u l l a h a n //

There were many pretty structures lying around in the moat, from the sly, skinny structures of fox, to that of the small, fragile structures of little souls who had the misfortune of losing their way as they literally stumbled into Alteron. Either way, Dullahan loved to look at them longingly from the top of the moat, studying them, caressing them with his eyes, longing for them. He would get them, but if not those exact bones, there were so many here who carried the same bone structure as those lost souls. They'd be collected- eventually. Orange eyes only parted from their longing gaze when voices carried on the wind, nearby to where the Page was standing.

Both voices he did not recognize so, of course, the only conclusion would be new recruits- or escapees. Either way, he had to keep up appearances of conducting his job, so he tore himself away from the little pretties that called to him from the bottom of the moat.

Large ears twitched as he listened to the voices converse, one young, and one older- obviously trying to come across as threatening. He smiled, remembering his very own conversation at the border with a wet, half dead child. They were like sponges, soaking up every little thing, but also like a virus, latching onto the first thing they find. Disgusting things they were. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of them- and wrinkled it more when he finally did come across the two, and just in time it seemed.

"Now, now darlin', ya shouldn't go lyin' to the little thing like that. We all know who the real mastah's are round here don' we? It ain't me, and it most certainly ain't you." He said, grinning. "Ya wouldn't be tryin' tah take my job out from under me wouldya there darlin? I certainly hope not, I enjoy welcoming new- ah.. guests to our humble abode."