Open Post - Ever Forest

[serotinously]

One would think as one walked into these woods, that they'd been transported back in time. The very air around it breathed ancient without the gloom and dust that often accompanied it, instead the air was just heavier and a bit more solemn. Trees were not placed tightly packed but close enough that it gave the feeling of being enveloped in a warm hug of nature. And the fauna of the forest helped in that matter, the songs of songbirds high above and the soft chittering of squirrels that hid the quiet footsteps of nearby deer. It was if all technology had been washed away... There were no sounds or signs of humanity anywhere in this forest, only deer paths.

As one walks further in, the light remains constant as though time has also frozen in its old age. There's a brook or a small river nearby, you can just barely make it out over the stones in the waterbed. And a soft humming. Perhaps there are humans in the wood after all, or a fae.

But no, should the curious mind follow the source of the sounds they'll find a small clearing. There's what looks to be a fire pit well away from the main structure, indeed quite a few of them. But when looked at more closely one would see that the ground was freshly turned in the middle of said patches and the fire ruptured after the fact. The rows of crops leading up to the house tell a slightly different story, they seem to have survived any sort of burning. Though honestly they look like they're in need of a decent watering, the corn not quite ready for harvest.

The structure itself is rather...well, almost like a homeless person had slapped together a shack and supplied it a thatched roof. (X) And out of it pops a modestly clothed woman though the clothes look like they'd seen better days and better mending but they're serviceable still. With her is a bucket and ladle, she seems intent on not sloshing it on the ground that doesn't need water as she heads towards the field.

Comments

[eatwell]

Merlin left Ghoul Castle in the wake of excited clamor. He'd be lax of late, leaving the humans for the guards to deal with (as he should), and he hadn't heard any remarks about it. But it seemed the Demon King was the type to go hunting for humans, as he learned from the guards at the door. He really didn't want to be seen as that kind of person, but Nasir had been insistent. The human intruder had gotten hurt in the scuffle and the Head Doctor wanted to treat them, but of course he couldn't go and find them himself... and no other demon would've approved of bringing a human back alive at any cost, for any reason, let alone to treat them. (Merlin also didn't approve of going through the trouble of bringing a human back alive at all costs. They knew what they were getting into, coming here, and if they had an escape plan, why should he ruin it? But Nasir had a good heart and good intentions, and Merlin was not very good at being a bad king.) He'd been in the forest a few times before. Never alone, but he thought he knew it well enough to recognize his way through, and his way back if he found or couldn't find the human. The first thing he noticed was the sun. There was no sun in Devildom, however that worked, and what sunlight reached the Grey Desert had been weak and dim. It felt like years since he saw sunlight, real sunlight, and it left him almost stunned. Did Devildom's forest stretch that far? Wasn't there an entire ocean between the two kingdoms? Why is there a sun. He walks through the trees in silence, almost afraid that it was a dream, or that maybe the human had some ability to cast illusions. It didn't even feel like the same forest. Then he heard the humming, saw what might have passed for a campsite, the crops, the fields.. he knew it couldn't be Devildom. Nothing in the demon kingdom looked this nice, not to mention the drought still hadn't lifted and this place didn't seem like it was suffering from any drought at all. The house and the woman walking out of it confirmed his thought. As far as he knew, no humans or demons lived out here in the forest... at least, not any that the kingdom or Chancellor would have known about. Keeping his hands visible, he approaches carefully, making his presence known by stepping on one thing or another. He's never been very good at stealth, anyway. "..Hello," is what he says if he manages to get her attention from a fair ways away. He can't tell if she's human or demon, or if she could be a danger at all. The place seems pretty peaceful. He doesn't want to mess that up with any violent misunderstandings. "Sorry-- I'm not intruding, am I?"

A little late, but... hi.

[herpetreaper]

"Virginia?!" Not again. He could see not far away that the truck had hit someone. That there was blood smeared across the ground. He knew from his internal clock as well as the pocket watch, that she would be dead. Again. Still he had grown so used to following her that he felt a moments... panic? He ran through the small town towards her, pocket watch in hand, watching it.

Just as he rounded the truck he herd her coughing. The watch ticking again. He stumbled to a stop and--

There were trees. Death straightened up and looked around at the sudden change. "Not this again..." He sighed, reaching a hand up to comb through his hair and ruff it up a little all at once. This was happening more often then he liked.

The wooded area was calm at least, and his pocket watch ticked along just fine. He put it up in a breast pocket and started to wander. Sometimes his job took him places he didn't expect. At least not in this vessel. Still, he wandered until he found the little shack and saw the woman leaving it. Curious.

He pulled the watch out to get a read on her time left, but it didn't give him anything. Death wasn't here to collect, then. As the woman moved off towards the field, he followed, watching her for the moment.

"Excuse me, miss?" He called out as he got closer.