The woman seemed to do a poor job in hiding her magic.
The tendrils of ink swirled around her, curling and weaving themselves to form a beautiful pair of weapons. The two blades were a smooth ivory, both ending in a fine point that remained shining. The hilts were made of a metal tinted black, the supple leather that wrapped around them a dark, twisted crimson.
The armor she wore was intricate, with winding, fancy lapels and a lovely belt fit around her waist. It was quite similar to the Commander's, with the complicated designs and flowing skirt-- but it was much, much different. Instead of the clean, un-filthy white Ravus had worn, this outfit was an endless coal color that was covered in mud and grime. It was sleeveless, showing off pale, marred skin filled with bruises and scars.
The woman's face was strong yet broken. A fine jawline and high cheekbones. Purple bags hung under her eyes, as did a horrific scar. It ran down her cheek in the form of tears, the pink flesh seeming recently healed.
Her eyes were startling. The iris was two different colors; one a ocean-like blue that was ringed with a sunny orange, the other a predatory, unforgiving golden.
Her expression was unreadable as she stalked towards the group of four. Gladio casually stepped in front of the King, muscles tensed, waiting for a fight. Prompto laid a hand on Ignis' shoulder, shoulders square as he walked behind the other. He quietly whispered the situation.
The Piercer forced himself to not crack a joke on how utterly Emo the woman looked, and instead focused on her movements. She was lax, braided red hair falling delicately over her shoulder, arms placed calmly at her sides. This was too suspicious.
"Hello." Her voice rang out, the quiet but orderly tone slightly surprising him. "I was not expecting to find you quite this quickly," The sentence filled with a forced distaste.
"Though I suppose any old hound could sniff the King's scent from a mile away."
Noctis slowly stepped from behind Gladio's back, chin high. "And what do you want with me?"
"Duck."
What happened next was a blur. The first moment Noct was kneeling on the ground, the woman flying over him and into the head of a pouncing Coeurl. One of her blades was cleanly fit through the eye, the other slicing off one of its' large whiskers. It died in a mere moment, limp and lifeless on the grass.
A second of the feline bared its teeth nastily at her, back legs tensing. Prompto promptly summoned his gun, it forming in his hand like shattered glass, and let a single bullet out of the chamber. Soon, the projectile had dug itself into the Coeurl's chest.
With a flick of his wrist the weapon was gone and Gladio had rushed towards the woman, sending a swing of his large sword towards her. She rapidly jumped back and sprinted towards the shadow of an old oak. What the hell?
A black goo engulfed her and she reappeared just behind the King's sworn shield, shoving him forward into the dirt. Both daggers were pointed at his back already slightly sinking into his flesh.
"Enough!"
Noctis' yell was most likely heard from a mile away. It was filled with an authority that the old Noct-- the child before his Father's death-- just didn't have.
The woman slowly stepped off of Gladio, armor swishing gracefully from the movement.
The woman hummed, "Can't disobey the King, can I? I did just save your life, you know,"
Ignis, though he was blind, seemed to connect some dots.
"What's your business here, Shade-Stepper?"
The other three looked at him with confusion, and the woman grinned.
"I see you've made a few connections, Iggy dear. Perhaps it was the accent? Maybe the cold I radiate," The temperature dropped a few degrees, as if she were making a point.
Unexpectedly she blurted, "Thana Withroe, at your service." A mock bow followed.
Thana strode with confidence past the group of friends, placing her hands behind her back. She must have discarded her daggers before Prompto could notice.
"Lovely day, isn't it?"
It was. The large trees swayed slightly in the small breeze. The sun arose as a beautiful disc of burning gold, illuminating the baby blue sky. The campfire smell from last night's camping had remained, as did the scent of cup noodles.
Oddly, Thana seemed to tense when Prompto took a step towards her, her hand twitching and stretching out, as if to summon her weapons yet again.
"Please stand back."
That inky soup surrounded Thana once more, and she disappeared into it.
