Violet Night

Part 1: Opening the Gate

  The late evening moonlight rained down rays of calming light, the beams filtering between scattered gaps in the forest's leaves. The warm summer-time breeze brushed past the foliage, sending a few loose leaves dancing through the air in spirals before falling down to earth. Amidst the peaceful nighttime scenery, a small, ominous and boar-shaped shadow dashed through the tall grass with five human-like figures in close pursuit.

"Well, if it's one thing Clinger's outmatch any other Shades in, it's definitely evasion!" One of the people growled frustratedly, his feline-like ears turned backward with annoyance. His name was Dakotah, and even though he walked on two legs like the other four, his appearance resembled a lion more than a human, due to his kinship with the Leoni race. His Native American-style clad body was covered in brownish gold, short fur, his four large paws taking place of hands and feet. He had shoulder-length, dark orange hair in a short ponytail and a long, slender tail with a tuft of fur the same color as his hair at the end.

"But it can't run forever. Not from us, anyway~!" A small, fair-skinned and emerald green-eyed girl cheerfully shouted back, her two long sunset-orange braids flowing behind her as she soared on her broomstick, maneuvering through the branches. Her name was Alaine, and even though she appeared to be a young human child, she was actually a part of the Gnome race, and was in her late-teens. Her outfit and appearance were very witch-like, her clothes consisting of a midnight blue, yellow trimmed dress, her matching long, pointed hat, which was folded down behind her head, had a bright gold star on the tip. A pair of black and orange striped stockings ended with her knee-high bluish-black shoes.

"If you two stopped chatting and concentrated on our target, we would have caught it by now..." A teenage boy with a light tan complexion called to Dakotah and Alaine, his vivid orange eyes filled with exasperation at his two teammates' carefree attitude. His name was Ashe, and he had short, messy hair that was the darkest shade of crimson, the similarly-colored fox ears poking through it tipped with a light brown color. His white-tipped tail the same shade as his hair protruded through a specifically-designed hole in the back of his rust-colored, calf-length pants. His ears and tail signifying him as a member of the Vulpinian race, He also wore a copper-colored, sleeveless button-up shirt with ocher trim and buttons, a long black scarf wrapped around his neck, and black, soft-soled shoes with a red flame pattern on the sides.

"As true as that is, Ashe, you're also guilty by taking part in what you are condemning." A young, blue-eyed man with large white-feathered wings chuckled as he glided through the forest, descending towards the group as spoke. The jaw-length blonde-haired man's name was Aaron, a Celestial clad in a brilliant blue and crimson roman soldier-style armor, a circular-shaped, silver shield and lance wielded in both his hands.

Ashe's face flushed slightly with embarrassment, averting his eyes. "S-so are you, then, Aaron...! A-anyway, weren't you going to alert Vanya that we're getting close to her location? Why are you back here?" He stammered, failing to hide his flusterdness. Aaron simply shrugged off Ashe's retaliation like the calm and collected leader he was and cooly replied, "I already have, she's readying her bow as we speak. So I decided to return to aid you three in the chase."

Dakotah smirked and looked over his shoulder at the two. "I say you couldn't have been later to the party, Aaron!" Alaine smiled along with him as she too turned her head towards Aaron and Ashe. "Our formation was all off, but now we can get right back into place!" She called. Ashe sighed as the four continued swiftly and skillfully hopping through the foliage to chase down the shadow. "We're almost to the ambush location, right? Let's just get this over with!" He exclaimed.

Just as Ashe shouted his impatience, the sky exploded into a sea of violet, the moon being the mysterious light's origin. All four directed their gaze to the sky, but only Aaron turned his head back to their target after his brief state of distraction. "Focus on the mission, freeing the boar piglet from the Shade is our priority right now!" At his firmly-spoken orders, Alaine shrugged and brought her attention back to the pig-shaped blob of darkness darting around bushes and tree trunks.

Dakotah began to turn as well, but he caught sight of Ashe halt on the branch behind him, gazing at the largest trunk in their area, and stopped just a few branches ahead of him. "Yo, Ashe! What's up, why'd you freeze like that?" Dakotah called to Ashe, but he was too lost in his thoughts to answer. What's this...? That tree's leaves... are glowing, too...? Ashe thought, staring at the once-green foliage that had turned into a vivid purple.

Ashe sniffed the air with his keen sense of smell, taking notice of the scent of something he couldn't recognize; the scent of a living creature he couldn't recognize. "I... I think there's something near that tree. I can't tell what it is, though..." He finally replied to Dakotah, putting his knuckles to his nose, as if to make sure it was working right.

"You heard Aaron, our job right now is that Clinger Shade! C'mon, we'll deal with whatever that is after!" Dakotah said to Ashe, wondering where his impatience from before disappeared to. Ashe couldn't fight that itch of curiosity, that urge to see for himself what or who was there. Overlooking Dakotah's discouragement, he jumped down from his branch and shot towards the glowing tree at top-speed. Taken aback, Dakotah shouted to him. "Ashe, get back here! Hey! ...Ugh, alright, wait up!" Dakotah sighed resignedly, following Ashe's lead and hopping down after he had already lost sight of him.

Arriving at his destination, Ashe screeched to a halt, quickly scanning the area. The leaves had stopped glowing, and the sky slowly transitioned back to it's original hue. Yellow orbs shone in his orange eyes as the now normal moonlight reflected off of them, allowing him to clearly see in the darkness. He soon caught sight of a figure leaned against the base of the trunk clad in a red hood pulled over their head. For trousers they had what looked like some style of one short pair of bluish-gray pants layered over a pair of black leggings, Ashe once again took a whiff of air into his lungs to confirm if the being was the source of the unfamiliar scent.

Affirming his assumption, Ashe cautiously approached the being, careful as to not make any sudden noises and startle whatever he or she was. It sort of looks like a person, but... it doesn't have the scent of any race I've ever met, not to mention the weird clothing... He thought, kneeling in front of the collapsed creature, slowly and hesitantly reaching his hand up to remove their hood. If I could just see their face, maybe...

Pulling the hood of off the unknown person's head revealed to Ashe a fair-skinned face very similar to his own, but different in a few ways. They had short, light brown hair, their facial structure seeming softer with a jawline and chin that was more rounded than his, their feathery eyelashes brushing against their cheeks as they slumbered. Normally, he would right away identify a face like this as female, but he had no clue of this person's race, so he couldn't tell for sure. "Huh... their ears look like an elf's, kind of, but..." He quietly mumbled to himself, then wrote that idea off as he took note of the lack of their ears being pointed. Perhaps they're some kind of... really, really tall gnome...

At these thoughts, Ashe heard the quick rustling of leaves from behind, followed by an all-too familiar, loud voice. "Dude, don't... suddenly run off like that!" Dakotah shouted, gasping for breath between words. Ashe jolted and then froze, as soon as Dakotah had shouted, the mysterious person whined quietly and shifted their shoulders a bit, as if about to wake up, but they relaxed after a moment or so. Dakotah had taken notice that Ashe hadn't wanted to wake this person up, and he had clapped both paws over his mouth when he saw them move.

"Idiot... couldn't you see I was figuring out if this person is an enemy... if you woke 'em up..." Ashe whispered harshly to Dakotah after carefully standing up and backing away from the slumbering person to stand next to him. "I-I didn't know...! Sorry." Dakotah murmured back apologetically. He looked back at them, a confused expression in his eyes, then questioned Ashe. "Um... so... what are they, exactly...? They don't have the ears of an elf, so they can't be Vanya's race... and they're not short enough to be a gnome like Alaine... "

"I don't even know... it's not like I can ask, either." Ashe replied, scratching the back of his head as one of his ears lowered slightly, a sure sign he was trying to figure out what to do. "I kinda doubt they're an enemy, though... even the Succubus' know to not just hang around and sleep in this territory..." Dakotah's tail swished to the left after Ashe's statement. "Think we should we just leave them here, unconscious like that?" He crossed his arms. "The sun will be up soon, but... Shades could still attack 'em before then."

After much thought, Ashe made up his mind. "Okay, let's wake them up. If they stay out here too long, a Clinger could possess them and cause more problems than we already have, or worse. Besides, enemy or not, it wouldn't be right to just leave them like this." Dakotah nodded, then the two walked over to the person, who was still asleep, and crouched in front of them. Ashe poked their cheek to try and wake them. "Hey, you going to wake up anytime soon...?"

After he got no reaction from the person, Ashe placed his hand on their shoulder and gently shook them. "Listen, wake up! You're not safe out here." Finally giving in, he turned to Dakotah with an expression that said, 'Your turn' Nodding, Dakotah took in a deep breath as Ashe covered his sensitive fox ears. "TIME TO WAKE UP! RISE AND SHINE!" He roared at the top of his lungs.

Despite Dakotah's deafening holler, the person remained in their slumbering state, and Ashe and Dakotah sighed as they hung their heads. "Ugh... how? My shouts can wake up even a hibernating bear in the dead of winter!" Dakotah complained. Ashe shook his head and inched closer to the stranger, turning around and crouching in an attempt to carry them on his back.

"They may be under a sleeping spell, if even you couldn't wake them. If so, we should bring them back to the guild and have Alaine unravel the spell." He explained, propping the sleeping person on his back, surprised at just how lightweight they were. Whatever race they are... they must be pretty delicate...

Adjusting the slumbering, pale brown-haired person's arms over his shoulders so their chest would lean against his back, his hands steadying their legs so they wouldn't fall off, Ashe reflexively blushed as he felt something warm and soft push against his shoulder blades. "Ashe?" Dakotah said, noticing Ashe had suddenly become flustered. "Ah, n-nothing... I hope... l-let's just get going...!" He replied, stuttering a little, before walking faster.

____________________________________________________________________________