Snowcon Forest

The First Snowfall

The night was silent, only the usual sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and the rustling of leaves filled the air. Granted, it was always night in Subcon Forest, but this was usually the time when most of the still living inhabitants went to sleep.

Of course there were other creatures that were constantly awake, such as a certain book loving shadow...

Snatcher was currently sitting in his chair enjoying one of his personal favourite law books. The forest had been calm for the past several days, so he had decided to take a day off from patrolling the edges of his domain and enjoy some time reading.

Typically the shadow would not have much time to relax unless some, unfortunate soul had signed one of his contracts and was still alive for him to order around, but for some reason fewer idiots were falling into his traps.

Snatcher hummed softly to himself, he would have to figure out what was causing this lack of free labour later, for now he wanted to enjoy this moment of peace he had. Gentle humming and the sound of pages being turned filled the air-

"Boss! BOSS!"

And with that shout the calm quiet that had engulfed the tree shattered. The shadow looked up from his book and caught sight of one of his "minions" standing in front of him. The surprising amount of fear radiating off of the smaller shadow made Snatcher put down his book and float towards the shivering creature.

Before he could even ask what had happened to cause one of his subjects to be so afraid, the small being pointed one shaking hand towards the entrance of his home. Snatcher followed the gesture as was stunned by what he saw.

There was snow falling from the sky.

Snatcher floated to the entrance of his home, his faithful minion following along beside him. He took notice of the slowly accumulating piles of snow that were gathering on the forest floor and the large, fluffy flakes that fell from the sky. Snow was not an uncommon sight thanks to a certain crazy queen who lived in the manor, but it was unusual to see it this close to his home.

There were two possible causes for the sudden appearance of the fluffy flakes falling from the sky. One, winter was approaching and this was the first snowfall of the season, or two, Vanessa had invaded his territory.

Snatcher prayed the snow was natural.

"Wait here." He said to his minion as he moved out of the entrance to his home and into the cold forest. There was only one way to know for sure what had caused the snowfall. The shadow closed his eyes and focused on the well of power that rested within him.

His death had given him a vast collection of magical powers to use. From detecting specific magical signatures, such as Vanessa, and summoning objects to use in battle. One of those abilities was extremely useful in situations like this one.

With this power the shadow reached out and felt the atmosphere, the aura, of the forest. The air was charged with fear, undoubtedly from his subjects and the Dwellers, but it lacked the harsh, biting magical aura Vanessa gave off.

The snow was natural then.

Snatcher visibly relaxed, arms falling to his side as he floated in place. "It's natural." He sighed, voice steady and calm. He made sure to project an aura of safety and comfort, everything is fine she is not here, so his subjects could calm down. This was a far more efficient form of communication then running around the forest trying to find everyone, the shadow found.

There was no misinterpretation when it came down to pure feelings and the "messages" could be sent instantly, if only he had gained this ability sooner, then certain incidents could have been prevented...