[PRP] The Haunted Woods (Zarina & Blake)

[xo maho]

Fairytale: Beauty & The Beast

Twist:

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Gaston is intrigued by the Beast and definitely doesn't spring a mob on her.

 

[xo maho]

Blake stepped over the threshold of the forest, eyes widening and swallowing as loudly and solidly as he dared. He had made a stupid bet with his friends - in the interest of public good, of course, but it was silly all the same. There was a rumor going around that this particular patch of the woods had recently become inhabited by the ghost of a unicorn, ethereal but worrying to the residents nearby. This rumor had made its way to Blake's friends, and Blake, a staunch believer in just about nothing otherworldly, had vocally opposed the existence of such a thing.

Boy, was he feeling like an idiot now.

Taking in a deep breath, Blake took another step into the woods. This place was dim with the dense tree cover, and an unseasonal mist lingered amidst the lower branches of the trees. Perhaps it was a weather phenomenon because not much sun reached this place? He couldn't be sure. He may not believe in the supernatural, but that didn't mean was a scientist by any stretch of the imagination.

As he meandered farther into the forest, Blake's eyes began to adjust to the low light and he began to feel more comfortable raising his head to get a better look at the higher surroundings. Though this place was dark, it held warmth; tiny sparks of sunlight peeped through breaks in the canopy, casting golden light to the forest floor. This wasn't such a bad locale, he supposed.

His warming thoughts didn't stop him from jumping a mile high when a branch snapped underfoot, though - but when he looked down, he realized there weren't any branches under his feet to snap. His ears swiveled in high-alert and he lifted his head, looking for any sign of danger. His nostrils flared to search for any foreign scents, but all he got was the strong scent of fir and pine. Still, the hair along his spine tingled... He felt someone was watching him.

WC: 330  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

Rina watched as yet another entered the forest she chose to hide in. She couldn't figure out why but there seemed to be a lot of strangers venturing to this forest and it seemed as if they were looking for something. They would enter and act as if they were going to attack or were scared of their own shadow. It was easy for her to hide in the shadows and thick brush of the forest floor. She typically didn't make any noise as she silently obersved the strangers. They would come and go without her ever meeting them. But this time was different, she had become to curious as to why this one was so colorful. He had vibrant colors akin to her own and she found that she liked the star on his eye. She had started to follow after him without realizing it until a branch snapped beneath her hoof. She went as still as a statue and didn't dare to even breathe. Her gentle blue eyes flicked from her hooves and back to him. She knew he had heard it because there was nothing to cover it. The forest today was oddly quiet except for the occasional bird here and there.

The forest was often noisy with various insects and animals making their distinctive noises. She considered it company when she had no one else to listen to. She found herself desperately missing all of the critters of the forest. She wasn't about to move and bring more attention to herself. Her heart was pounding and she desperately wanted to run but she forced herself to remain still. Maybe if she was lucky, he would just think it an animal and leave. Why was she afraid of being spotted anyway?
WC: 294  

[xo maho]

Seeing nothing immediately before him, Blake gingerly turned his head to the side, looking for something behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something ghostly pale - something roughly the size of a soquili, with some distinctly darker patches. All at once, his mind wiped blank, and the rest of his fur seemed to stand on end; his breath went shallow and his heart rate sped up.

Well, he supposed, he'd gotten what he asked for. There was a being of supernatural origin here... Of course, he still had time to be mistaken. Soquili came in all kinds of colors; he had a sister that pale, after all. Blake bit the inside of his cheek; yep, he was still on this plane of reality. Time to face the truth.

Turning about slowly, so as not to startle and provoke the creature, Blake pivoted to look at it. It wasn't wholly in plain sight, but enough pale pelt showed through the trees for him to recognize that it was, indeed, a soquili - or at least, had been one once. Lowering his head timidly, Blake carefully bowed. "Excuse my forwardness," he said shakily, "but I have been sent here on a quest to determine whether there is a ghost in these woods." Raising his head, he met the being's soft blue eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have seen one?"

WC: 230  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

Fear raced through her and made her heart beat even faster. No one had ever spotted her spying on them but she had never brought attention to herself either. She was angry with herself for stepping on the branch. He did the opposite of leaving like she wanted him to, instead he turned and looked right at her.
She considered for a moment acting crazy to try and scare him off. She had absolutely no idea how to even behave crazily. She made sure that she didn't even blink while he stared at her. How much of her could he even see from his point of view? She was curious to know but she wasn't about to ask.
He not only was looking at her but even had the courage to speak to her. She was shocked by the stranger's actions and almost answered him but she bit her tongue to stop herself. 'A ghost? How would she see a ghost in the forest?' As she thought about his words, realization slowly started to dawn on her. He was talking about her.
She was the only pale looking thing that existed in the forest. It all started to make perfect sense now and she wanted to laugh at the stupidity. All of the strangers coming and going, scared and brave alike all seemed as if they had been looking for something. As it turns out it wasn't something but someone. She started to wonder how it even started, a ghost in the forest. She couldn't remember ever seeing another in the forest before the strangers showed up.
She hadn't moved and was barely breathing even though her heart was pounding so loudly. Her eyes were starting to burn and begging for her to blink. Would he give up and leave if she didn't answer him? There was no way she could leave without making more noise because she would run as fast as her hooves would take her. She almost started to wish she really was a ghost so she could disappear before him.
WC: 344  

[xo maho]

Gazing at the soquili that gazed back at him, he realized that she hadn't blinked, and neither had he. His eyes began to water, and he felt like snapped back into himself. Blinking and shaking his head - she had begun to waver and sparkle before his eyes, which could only be the result of the staring contest they had seemed to be having - Blake tilted his head. He took one step closer.

Though he was at a disadvantage, only being able to see half her face... and what looked like a spike on her head... and maybe a skull... Blake took a chance. "You appear to be a soquili like any other, though perhaps misjudged by the passersby," he mused to himself, hoping to put the both of them more at ease. "Though you are so quiet, one could see why some might call you an apparition and judge you before they know you." Furrowing his brow, he took one more small step, giving her plenty of time to disengage and flee if she saw fit. "Why are you here, so deep in these dark woods?"

WC: 186  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

She was out of time and was getting really uncomfortable with him getting closer. She had no idea what she was about to do but she needed to do something to get rid of him. She inhaled a deep breath before she let out a loud and strange noise. She didn't have time to try and figure out what it could even sound like before she kicked it up a notch. She started to move her body around as weirdly as she could before making even more strange sounds. She pulled her gaze from him and continued with the weird behavior before she bolted. She ceased the stupid behavior and focused on the ground so not to step on any more branches if she could help it. She had to get as far from him as possible. It wasn't just because he was a stranger who spotted her but also because of what she just did. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why she thought that was the right choice to make but she couldn't take it back.
Maybe deep down she liked being alone and didn't want others realizing she was here? She couldn't find an answer for her behavior but she also wasn't looking too deep inside herself for one. She spared a quick glance behind her to see if he followed her. It was a grave mistake to make on her part. One moment she was running full speed and the next she was on the ground looking at the sky. Her gentle blue eyes blinked up at the tree branches in confusion. Oh..
It would seem that as she was running and not looking where she was going, she happened to run full force into a tree.
Her vision was that of tree branches, clouds, and little dancing spots that floated about her vision. She let out a sigh because if he lost sight of her, she imagined the noise made from running full speed into a tree trunk would bring him to her. Today just wasn't her day.
WC:346  

[xo maho]

As he watched, the mare emerged from the bushes in which she had been mostly hidden. He was right - she was a soquili, and a unicorn at that. Her markings were a little spooky, but she didn't appear to have any mutations or anything about her that was scary, strictly speaking.

Until she started wiggling and screeching.

She contorted in odd ways and opened her mouth wide, hollering an uncanny cry - and then she took off, whirling around so fast that he barely had time to register which direction she was going. Of course, her practically-glowing pelt helped him track her, as before he knew what he was doing, he was following her. He kept his pace slower, so as not to spook her more than she already was, but quick enough to keep sight of her.

Suddenly, a thud echoed off the tree trunks, and a sinking feeling resonated through Blake's stomach. That couldn't have been good. He had also lost sight of her coat flashing through the brush.

Following her hoofprints, Blake came upon the unfortunate scene of her accident: she lay on the ground near the base of a tree, eyes rolling about in her head. Craning his neck as he looked over a bush, Blake stepped just to the other side of it, giving her plenty of space. "Well, clearly you're solid," he said, doing his best not to snort. "Are you all right?"

WC: 238  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

She hated that he had found her but she did make it obvious as to her location. She wasn't expecting his words and had to bite her tongue to keep the laughter from coming out. She didn't say anything in response but just looked at him. The spots were starting to fade from her vision but she wasn't going to move just yet. She didn't want to admit it but she was finding him amusing. What else would he say or do if she just laid there and stared at him? She had no idea if there were any others who didn't speak but since she just screamed holy terror, he knew she was capable of sound. She bit down a little harder on her tongue to keep the smile from forming and giving her away.
A thought formed inside her mind that she really enjoyed and she wanted to do it just to mess with him more. It took all her will power not to let her expression change. She rolled her head back a little more so she had a better view of his face. She opened her mouth and let out these strange mumbling noises. She was careful not to use any true words but just a bunch of letters together to make nonsense. She had no idea what the hell she was doing but it was fun.
This is not how she saw her day going but she also wasn't going to complain.
WC:247  

[xo maho]

Blake tilted his head to the side as the mare opened her mouth and uttered more unintelligible sounds. He schooled his thoughts, face, and demeanor into a thoughtful calm - once upon a time, he had been taught not to judge someone just based on surface interactions. Maybe she spoke a language with which he wasn't familiar? Maybe she had never learned to form full words? Language wasn't something they came by naturally, he supposed; they learned it from parents or their herd.

A sharp thought struck his heart. What if she was an orphan? Or what if she had hit her head so hard she had hurt herself?

Stepping a little closer, he lowered her head closer to her, concern in his eyes, and examined her face and head with his gaze. He couldn't see much beneath her mane and fur, but he didn't see any huge bumps. "Are you all right?" He murmured, giving it one last go with verbal communication.  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

She couldn't hide the confusion or surprise when he moved in closer to look at her. Was he checking her for injuries? Her guess was proven correct by his question. She found herself making the hard decision of ending the charade or keeping it going. Would it be really mean if she continued? She shifted her eyes so she was no longer looking at him but instead back to the sky. Her mothers would definitely scold her but on the other hand she was really curious to see how long he would believe she couldn't speak. It was obvious that he wasn't going to leave just because of the nonsense she did. A small part of her didn't really want him to leave. This was the most fun she's had since she was a foal and played with her siblings. She shifted her eyes back to look at him again. He seemed like a good natured stallion and he didn't deserve what she was doing to him. She made an internal promise that this would be the last time. She opened her mouth and made more nonsense come from her.
WC:190  

[xo maho]

When the mare looked him in the eyes and spilled more unrecognizable sounds from her mouth, Blake furrowed his brow and steeled himself. It seemed she did not speak the common tongue, after all. Not knowing anything about what meaning hid behind the sounds she made, Blake nodded to her and made a high-pitched sound of his own, attempting to indicate he was questioning if she was okay.

He foresaw a long day ahead of him, but a few things were certain: this mare was no ghost or beast, and she might need help. And he appeared to be the only one who had gotten close enough to her to possibly provide it, given that it seemed most people in this area were terrified of her for (as he had surmised) pretty much invalid reasons.

Determination bloomed like warmth in his chest. Well, he decided, if she didn't have any friends, he would be her friend. And he would make sure she hadn't injured herself before he did anything else.  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

He continued to surprise her and she certainly wasn't prepared for him to try and communicate with her. She found herself conflicted again. She wanted to make him think they were communicating but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She moved her eyes to look back into his brilliant blue eyes. "I am far from okay." She sheepishly admitted as she looked at him and then started to laugh. She didn't want him to think she was laughing at him trying to talk to her but she couldn't help it. The laughter had been rising inside her and exploded out.
WC:102  

[xo maho]

Suddenly, she spoke - and in words he could understand! Blake's eyes widened with surprise, which quickly turned to relieved breathlessness as her infectious laughter washed over him. A smile tugged at his mouth, and Blake let out a big, elated breath. "Oh thank the gods," he blurted, chuckling along with her. "I had serious concerns that you might have been brain-scrambled, or that we might need to work out some method of language of our own. Do you think you'll be okay?"  

[Niyaru Delacroix]

His laughter was warm and was just as infectious as her own laughter. She continued to lay on the ground and look at him."I suppose we could come up with our own language but I don't think it would be true. I don't think I could remember to make the same nonsense." She continued to laugh but it wasn't as hard, it had a much lighter tone. She decided it was time to get to her feet. "I don't think I'll be okay any time soon." She was sure that she was never going to get over the embarrassment of her behavior. But all things aside she enjoyed it more than she should have...maybe.
WC:114