I have been very crazy about the Mythos lately, and...we kinda started this small campaign with dark-precipice on DeviantArt...
...
There were certain points in the land where there was always mist. No matter the season, day or year, there was always a thick, impenetrable pale gray around. Newcomers always rubbed eyes in those places, wondering nervously if they are going blind or have stepped into a land of ghosts.
Light-friendly creatures and plants have long ago given up on the places and locals did not like them any more. The ever-present veil was like a curse that was slowly eating away all the colors, passions and sometimes sanity, leaving you only with a uncertain feeling of both awe and loneliness in the world – no matter how many others there were present.
Well, that was the feeling humans described, anyway.
There were a few kinds of people in the land, at least what was known to him.
One was those that had gotten used to the mist; either they didn't find any use for their flames and didn't regret them disappearing slowly, or they didn't have any in the first place, or they were resigned to the life without much light.
Secondly there were the ones that were creeped out by the atmosphere. Those didn't usually last long. Who was brave and energetic enough took off immediately after having enough, chin up (but shoulders too, in case some...thing from the place took a interest in them). Or they couldn't leave, and were miserably losing their minds there if they haven't they lost it already.
Or they tried bringing in some sunlight. Usually it didn't go very well, but some succeeded...
No one should be worried for the mists though, for it was truly ever-present and everlasting, and no occasional beam of sunlight and human warmth could make it dissolve.
Then there were those that loved the mists. Those that found solace in not being seen immediately, in running through the clouded hills and roads, shyly touching with the other spheres that were there and sometimes inviting them, who saw it as more than a simple menace. It wasn't entirely known to them, but they were familiar with it enough to not be dead-terrified – only hold respect for it.
And then... there was his own kind, who shunned the first two and just barely tolerated the third. Those were the ones who knew the mist. Knew it's own colors, seen shades of gray nobody else did and considered it nearly a friend for holding all the magic and hiding them.
Unfortunately, for his kin it was sometimes necessary to hide.
It was supposed to be mid-fall, so the mist was accepted for the time being. It was nearly everywhere, so people didn't fear it as much. Back-forth came a lot of travelers, but nobody seemed to want to stick to this area. And who would, with the rumors going around? There were so much of them that he stopped caring to cover everything when at this particular stop. He wouldn't stay for long either way, and only lunatics ran around.
There was supposed to be a portal there. Right there. So where was it?
He would have called it a screwed day, but he was a very patient creature. Maybe it wasn't the right hour yet. All there was to do was sit on the – thankfully really wide – bench, stare into the barely visible trees on the other side, and wait. And hope nobody dared to go this far-
,,There was supposed to be a portal here."
He nearly fell off the wood, startled, and turned wide-eyed. Who just voiced his thoughts, that one on top?
Back turned to him stood a female figure, apparently looking somewhere where he checked moments ago. First shock worn off, he found his voice again;
,,Wait, what?"
,,That... I thought out loud, didn't I," she choked out nervously, spinning around with probably twenty excuses for what she just said – then froze, looking on him.
He did as well, very aware of the tail hanging out of his pants.
Silence fell.
,,I... think we have both now very dumbly shown, who we are," she then said, still staring on him.
,,Lone girl in the middle of the woods, talkin' of a portal? Yes."
,,Saying the one with the tail."
,,Well, yes," he admitted, still not sure whether to grin or get up and run or both. She only raised eyebrows, sighed and walked over to sit on the other side of the bench.
,,I apologize for scaring you."
,,Nah, I should've been on my guard even 'ere. So – why were ya lookin' for the portal?"
,,I think that was quite obvious. I wanted to cross. Why are YOU here?"she crossed arms.
,,Same reason."
She didn't seem surprised. She wasn't surprised even at his appearance much, for that matter, what really came as a shock.
Conscience said "maybe she's just really good at pretending, and is actually of some cult." And why was she looking for a portal alone then?
Another theory was ,,she has seen something before and is a witch or something akin to mother."Again, that was unlikely. From the looks of it, she was a foreigner. He couldn't imagine why anyone would come here for apart of looking for himself, and she didn't seem to know him in the least. The third theory was entirely out of the question, she was sane alright.
The fourth...
In favor of that spoke several things.
First, her own appearance. Tall, not like him but more than most people, slim, probably light as well since he didn't hear her approaching from behind, fairly good-looking by usual standards and very somehow familiar by his own which told a lot. Then there were the all too green eyes that nearly glowed, a bit too bright red hair, like a poisonous animal. And the pointed ears, can't forget them...
She had a aura that was so different from everyone he knew he wondered why she even looks human.
Then she grinned at him again, up close, which was the last thing he needed. It was the most impish, corrupted, beautifully inhuman face he's ever seen.
,,You aren't a very talkative fellow, are you?"
He felt the same expression creeping on and turned halfway to the other side, folding up.
,,Giv' me a reason to talk."
,,Two of us meeting in the forest and waiting for the same portal and you still need a reason to talk? I give up!" she bursted into laughter.
,,So miss monster, I haven't 'eard the name."
,,Oh, that. I suppose I AM the foreigner here. Helen Vaughan," she bowed head lightly, still grinning.
,,Wilbur Whateley, Dunwich though-and-though," he returned the gesture.
,,Dunwich... seems vaguely familiar to me."
,,Might. Doesn't have a very good reputation though."
,,Ah, yes. They said something about 'unholy rituals on the top of a hill', that is about it. Which gives the question, you are a offspring of one of those?"
He shrugged modestly. ,,I could ask the same."
,,Partly that, partly a experiment, so I've heard, I really did not need the details."
,,I believe that... and now I got to ask; who are your parents?"
,,Never knew mother, but my father is the nature god, Pan," she stated with a certain pride in voice. ,,Or Nodens, as some know him."
,,What-! I'd NEVER think I'd meet a child of one of the Elder Gods! I never knew they even HAD any!" he gaped.
,,Apparently, I am the ONLY half-human one. If there are others is questionable... I think not. You seem ecstatic about it, are you yourself a child of some...thing similar?"
Wilbur had to admit "something" was a fairly accurate name for their fathers and the rest, even if he didn't like it. ,,Yes, I'm the kid of Yog-Sothoth."
,,Oh, I remember that name!"
,,Well I'd be surprised if not!"he snorted, crossing legs. ,,I've learned the names and hierarchy when I wasn't even a year old." Rapid growth need not mentioned, he added mentally.
,,You were lucky then to have someone to teach you." he blinked a few times.
,,Oh. Ya didn't?"
,,No... well, I could have asked father, but – that only up until... let's say I had to abruptly leave the forests, I have caused myself some great trouble. So pardon my holes in education." He waved a hand dismissively.
,,Ya can always learn, time's the one thing ya have when in that sphere." he pointed over his shoulder.
,,I do not have a..." Helen looked on him sideways. ,,Say, Wilbur – I can call you that, right? - would you be terribly bothered to teach me?'
He stared down on her.
There were about a hundred reasons to say 'yes', and none to 'no'.
,,I dun' see a problem with it."
She literally brightened up, smiling widely.
,,Thank you! I really do appreciate it. Where can I find you?"
,,Sentinel Hill, or... there-" There was a familiar buzzing in the air behind them.
,,There. I won't be far from 'ere. Uh, where will YOU be?"
,,Forests. Once you step in, I will find you, so don't worry about that."
She stood up and took something from the ground, it seemed like a very old bag.
,,Oh, same direction." ,,Seems so," he responded numbly, wondering, what on Earth has he gotten himself into.
But he got to a conclusion that a small flicker of color wouldn't bother anyone of the mist. Afterall, it's not like it was a human bit.