In the Land of Rea

Shadowed in Regrets

In hope of getting to her rocky den, Mira quickly hops across the territory of the renown 'Skinwalker". Skinwalkers are tricky creatures.  But Mira didn't have an ounce of time to waste on those grimy vermin. It wasn't an option. She had to get home before the clouds poured. Before it began to 'rain'.

Skinwalkers are the only remaining human-like animals anywhere on this entire land.. before all humans were wiped out, so Mira heard, the king of this place had tension with a very powerful beast. This beast eventually got so aggravated that he sent demons here to kill every one of them. Unfortunately those remaining humans made a trade with the devil -  though they were already being hunted by one. They had to kill a 'devil-animal' - such as myself - to remain safe. Once then human caught one of these creatures, they were to eat it's organs whole. Once they skinned and consumed the animal raw, their souls were taken. Their souls, their mentality, their being was completely stolen. All that was left was that animal with the small concious of a human. Skinwalkers never die though; they are forever encased and labeled as a demon.. never to escape their chosen fate.

To die full of hate, full of fear, to die a demon. That seemed like the summary of Miras fate as well. Everything in this desolate world will suffer the same fate.

To die in fear of being killed, afraid of the end.

Or to live forever. Wishing to die. Wishing to be killed only to end what's left of you.

--- 

She soon reached her den, safely dug into the side of a small rocky mountain. And just in time, the "rain" was just beginning to fall. Rain, you see, in this cursed world is acid. Burning the flesh of anything daring to be outside. It killed any chance of life. Except small patches in this filth ridden place. These small.. havens, really; are monitored by Aclins. Aclins are the last remaining human animals- wolves that is. Wolves are the only human animals to survive the mass murder completely unscathed. But the thing is.. they aren't human wolves exactly. More so of a mutated form of such. Larger, more powerful, terrifying. They protected selected parts of forests, rivers, anything really. But only select places uninhabited by beastly, demon-like things similar to Mira. 

Realizing she was making a small hissing sound, she stopped her thoughts at that; but soon continued them when she began to remember a faint memory that came out of nowhere. 

It was back when she was little, small and Innocent in her eyes. But even then she was considered a feared creature. Humans hired witches to come and hunt her species, and because of that they began dying out. Or rather, their horns were butchered and they slowly devolved into to harmless, thoughtless vermin. Some went into hiding though, and very few survived. That was why Mira never saw any others of her her kind around; nor has she seen her mother since that memory. The humans were chasing them, her mother told her to go as far as she could, and that she'd be safe here. Her mum then bolted into the dense forest known as the 'Forest of Fear'. 

Nobody ever came out of that forest. Not the Skinwalkers, not her mother. No one.

With memories and terrorized dreams in play, Mira soon drifted, her thoughts in dismay.

---

When Mira awoke once more, a Skinwalker stood tall above her. This one seemed different though. Almost.. human. It had the old, wrinkled face of a man with a headdress covered in red, black and white feathers. Across his back he wore the long, full pelt of an Al-Mi. One of Mira's kind. She noticed this and narrowed her eyes in displeasure. "What buisiness do you have here?" She asked with an angry rasp in her voice. "You are not welcome here. Now leave." 

The Skinwalker didn't budge. He seemed lifeless. 

"Hello? Did you hear me?" Mira grew angrier with every word ingnored. "I said get out!" She then swifty knocked him over with her piercing horn; making him not only fall but bleed from a nasty cut on his leg. 

"Hm. You are not Druk, are you?" He asked, completely uneffected by the attack. "I'll just be on my way then." He continued without a care in the world. "Haha. I'll just be going now." He seemed like he was utterly insane. 

"Wait." Mira commanded. "Who is Druk?" 

"Hehe" He was giggling. "Druk is the big dragon! 'Course 'ya little bunny!" He sputtered out.

It took every ounce of her will not to murder the invader. "What. Dragon?" She asked, gritting her fang like teeth.

"The.. the big one!" He said as thought it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He can grant you anything you desire! 'Long as you find him first! He's not 'gunna beat me at this game this time.." He was now talking to himself, stumbling off to who knows where. This was very, very uncommon. Typically Skinwalkers are vicious monsters; not loopy and dumb like this one.

Mira shook her head and brushed it off as another thing she didn't want to care about, which typically works. Soon remembering her deal with Scarlet she noticed that she had about 8 hours until the sun went down. They barely had a sun anymore. Well, it was still there, and still as bright as when the humans were here, but it's now shadowed in regrets. Or rather, the poisoned smoke summoned after a large dose of  rain.  

Mira hopped around, doing her daily routine of searching for another sign of life, of her mother. She hunted, she ate, she drank from her own personal small pond of fresh water- the only clear water within many, many miles. But she grew anxious and began the journey to the place where she met Scarlet for the first time.