Post by juniper on Mar 23, 2021 17:43:15 GMT -5
One for sorrow.
Two for mirth
Three for wedding
And four for a birth
Five for silver
Six for gold
—.... and seven for a secret never to be told.
Riley yawned. No sound coming out of their lips, blood from their tears marring their pale and murky little face. The Vampire had found shelter soon after the deer incident— inside a hollowed out tree trunk in a sheltered glade and it protected them against the sun and its red rays.
They missed the sun, missed the warmth and the light. But now, a death sentence in the most beautiful form. They longed to reach out and touch the rays, but their better judgment knew and quashed down the longing and curiosity.
Sun=Bad.
Simple as. No buts, nor ifs.
It was bad— Least they had the moon, right? And the stars too— glinting above and peeking through darker clouds that scattered the newly born night sky. The moon was nice and the man on the moon always seemed to be watching over the forest.
Well, it looked like a man to Riley, whom glances up at the object in the sky— wondering, musing. What did the man in the moon have to say about all of this? Did he have questions, like the little vampire? Did he have hopes and dreams? Did he have guilt?
What if he wasn’t a man? What if it was a woman in the moon?
These questions simply confuddled Riley— And confuddled they were.
What if they were neither, like them?
Them. The person on the moon. There’s a nose twitch, and Riley tilts their head up at the sky again.
Person on the moon. It didn’t quite sound right for some reason. They shrug. Whomever the moon identified as— they still shone the same bright light that lit the Gangrels way each night.
Though, admittedly— it was harder when the moon was unlit. Riley rather fancied the fact it had gone to sleep...
Or maybe turned it’s back on the world and their cruel ways.
They are still covered in blood from the stag, clinging to them like the same stench. They didn’t mind too much. They were used to it; same as the mud that splattered them and the clothes, although tattered, clung to them in a way that... was scruffy and unkempt, but was practical enough.
Riley couldn’t get the image of the stag out of their head, couldn’t even get the image of the arrow, embedded so deeply to not kill, but to hurt and to suffer.
They kept it of course, having dug it out of the deers flesh— the two parts, collected together and wrapped up and kept inside the bag they had always hanging across a shoulder. There’s a soft growl, and the faint workings of hunger that lines their stomach; needing to feed, and the beast just under the epidermis of their mud covered skin.
They don’t know why, but their body turns on the balls of her bare feet, back to the location of the stag; where they had had to leave it before daybreak had erupted upon the horizon. Riley hadn’t taken much notice of the location around where the stag had died, but let’s soft eyes run over every detail now.
Their ears take in the very faint sounds of crickets, and the soft wind that seems to brush against their skin, nostrils flaring slightly. It’s so peaceful out here. So quiet. So... gentle.
The gangrel adored the forests, for there was plenty for them to watch and study— be that the squirrel running up the tree bark next to them, pausing as it feels the vampires eyes on it— or perhaps the lichen that grew leafy and proud around the forest.
Maybe even the moon and it’s changing faces.
The moon was covered by heavy rain clouds tonight and Riley only seemed to notice when the first drops of rain began to fall again, but this time... not the clear natural colour— but a deep red in colour.
Like blood. Except this wasn’t blood. This was something else.
Riley stuck their tongue out, their first reaction to the strange liquid, and let’s the droplets fall onto their tongue before pulling a face.
“S-S-Sandy?” Lips struggling to pull themselves around the words, the weight in her pocket shifting at the voice. A pink nose making its way to the entrance, whiskers twitching. “S-Sandy?” Again, at the creature in their pocket.
To some, the creature may provoke an ew, Dear reader. For others, some may be curious to why there was a mouse in the little Gangrel’s pocket. It’s whiskers scraggy and scruffy, but in a charming way— black beady eyes taking in the surroundings.
One might catch it sticking its tongue out— either mimicking it’s owner or licking around its maw.
Riley frowns, their brain working quickly to try to determine the source of this... red rain, this.. blood-but-not blood rain.
It came to a blank, staring up at the sky as the heavy clouds cried the unusual rain— the Gangrel scrunching up her face as the liquid hits their pale face, staining any skin that wasn’t covered in mud, dirt or actual blood.
The stag— it comes back to the distracted and curious Gangrel, whom shook their head and reaches up scratch behind the mouse’s head with their little finger, trudging on through the undergrowth and back to where this had all started. The leaves pulls and tugs on Riley, scraping and scratching her legs— almost as if they were trying to tell her something.
Perhaps they could have taken the other route, with the shorter forage, their bare feet catching upon sticks and stones— but this didn’t seem to deter them, focused on finding the body of the majestic animal again.
It takes the vampire a short while, but they find it again— mostly where the had left it, plus some bloating. Riley wrinkles their nose at the sight and hurried over, taking in the overpowering smell of dried blood before kneeling down beside it. Small and soft hands fumbling into their ragtag bag again, pulling out the knife, laying it aside.
The mouse clambours down her clothes and onto the wet floor beside Riley, starting to wash himself in the red rain.
The rain. It drips, twists and rolls down the dead animals flanks, staining the dusky coat red before pooling on the ground beside it.
It truly was a shame and it angered Riley, even the day after that this had happened. They refused for this animal to go to waste, and for it to have been killed for nothing.
That just wouldn’t have been fair.