[private] Wildering | Nyx

[Kradle]

I don't feel enough for you to cry
here's a lullaby to close your eyes

It was unusual for him to leave his usual haunts, the forest provided a certain sense of safety that no other usually could provide him. The dense trees and the abundant shade, it made for a nice place to hide from the sun and made it easy to rampage and kill without raising suspicion. It seemed almost pointless to leave the forest, why leave a place that provided him with everything he needs?

He had seen the gathering of trees from a distance, curiously staring at it from the edge of the forest. There was a decent gap between him and the nearest shade, and a large river that filled him with dread, but he could see the denser collection of foliage past it, and so he waited. He waited until the sun hid itself and the night came like a beast to prowl the skies. Cautiously, he stepped out of the forest, the first steps felt uncertain, and part of him wanted to turn and run back into the shadowy depths of his more familiar surroundings; but, he pressed on. Kradle moved slowly at first, frantically looking around him with each step, the snow giving way and producing a crisp crunching sound beneath his hooves. Every so often the sounds around him startled him, causing him to stop and whip his head in all directions, looking for an enemy which did not exist. It certainly didn't help that his ghosts kept yammering to him, screaming into his curved ears.

The stallion was almost demon-like in appearance, his ears curved in the shape of small horns, and his face looked ghostly and hollow. Several scars adorned his dark body, but it was hard to tell which were from actual battles, and which were from struggling victims. The sabino markings that splashed along his sides seemed to hide trapped souls, screaming faces twisted and full of fear, trapped forever in his shadowy coat. Cold, piercing eyes gazed from the black circles that surrounded them, snowflakes falling onto his dark lashes here and there from the light snowfall around him. His body twitched and shuddered, giving an involuntary spasm every so often.

After what felt like an eternity to him, he reached the first cluster of trees, their green leaves long dead and missing, replaced now by a thin sheet of snow as winter settled across Beqanna. He paused there for a moment, the sky began to grow darker but he still enjoyed the extra shade the dead branches provided.

"We mustn't rest here, fool! We are exposed! Shall the fool also sleep where there is no shade and wait for daylight to take him? MARCH!"  The spirits shrieked in his ears, causing him to push onward, picking up his pace as he moved. Fine powder now scattered around him as his steady trotting picked up the snow from the ground, and he refused to slow his pace, stopping only when he reached the river bank.

Slowly, he peered at the water. It was dark, yet he could still see a glimpse of his reflection, and he reeled back in terror, letting out a deafening shriek, his sharp teeth snapping in the air as his hot breath created a slight fog in front of him in the chilled air. Kradle hissed vehemently at the water, it was too wide to jump over, and judging by the temperature in the air, it was frigid and unpleasant to swim through. So, he stood there, staring at it from a distance so as not to see even a fraction of his ghastly reflection. His expression soured and he wracked his brain for an idea to get to the trees in the distance, pondering if it would even be worth it at this point.

Kradle