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❝ That's destiny at work. Mysterious beast. ❞
Stefan
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The moonlight disappeared as soon as I entered the forest and I was blinded. The forest became deceptive. As my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I could see the faint outlines of my surroundings but my depth perception was near enough nonexistent. Steeps in the ground were invisible, jagged rocks and fallen seemed taller than they were.
My frustrations peaked as brambles snagged my skirt for the sixth time. I huffed as I grabbed an edge of my skirt before tucking it securely into my belt, exposing my pantalettes underneath. With the adjustment, the thin fabric no longer reached my ankles; my right calf was uncovered to the knee, while my left leg was only exposed to mid-calf.
When I had left the shack, I had used the positioning of the moon to find west and ran in that direction. I had travelled so deep into the forest that the shack was nowhere to be seen and with evergreen trees now shielding my view of the sky, I regretted not taking the time to look for a pathway from the small home. Perhaps it would have joined to a main road, one which would have led me down a much simpler route to Blaviken.
Though my sight was proving futile in the dark forest, my hearing seemed to be sharper than ever as a soft whistling travelled with the frigid breeze. The gentle melody was magnetic and my body followed as if I had been caught on a hook and pulled to the fisherman's mercy. It was as if the forest had parted, ensuring no obstacles were in my way as I made my way closer to the sound until finally...
A small clearing was lit by the simmering embers of a fire, licks of flames clinging to the chopped firewood. The sound of my boots against the ground could barely be heard as I walked towards the flickering light. As the trees grew thinner and the crackling fire became visible, my eyes caught a glimpse of blue and gold.
I stopped in my place, hidden from view behind brambles. On a small boulder next to the fire was a man sitting so still that had it not been for the fire, I would have mistaken him for a part of the woods. In the flickering light, I could make out the black oiled ringmail over boiled leather and a deep blue cape falling over one shoulder.
