Humming, Mari smiled as she leaned back toward the tree bark, contemplating when her prey would arrive. As expected, she came hand in hand holding a basket, her flowing red cape making a stunning contrast to her skin. The girl took a few steps on the road before coming in line with a flower patch field, taking a glance and bending her knees to pick the colorful flowers. Her hand brushed near the plants, looking for the colorist flower possible and then plucked them swiftly, gathering the rest in her arms.
Mari's eyes perked up upon sound, twitching when she heard the girl's voice. She counted the number of flowers in her hold, stopping every now and then to repeat the process...
(Interesting….Mari thought. This was the same old routine she picked up, upon watching the girl go about her way. Traveling to the woods alone and purposely stopping by every now and then, it seemed too much of a coincidence.
"Would you like a hand?" Mari says, out of the blue.
The girl flinched, turning her head. "N-no I'm fine…" she trailed off. Grinning, Mari trod near the girl and handed her a rose.
"Take this," Mari said, presenting her a red rose. Mari grinned sheepishly as the grip took it.
"Thank you."
"What's your name?" She asked, flicking her tail back and forth.
"Dia."
Her name was as lovely as her voice, Mari thought. Innocent as the rose she held, dying to bloom.
"I'm Mari. Nice to meet you." Glancing at the basket near her side, Mari smirked; an idea suddenly forming in her head. "Say...do you come here all the time?" There was a hint of curiosity in her voice but the girl didn't seem to notice, seemingly nodding her head.
"Yes." She looked around her surroundings, capturing the quiet hushed air of the woods. "The woods are peaceful this time of year."
The amount of enthusiasm eliciting from Dia's voice almost made Mari feel bad for what she was about to do next. The poor girl had no idea what she was getting into. But that was the sole reason Mari watched her, keeping her eyes on the prey she liked, waiting for the right chance to strike.
"Say...would you care to join me for a walk? I know this great place that has more flowers you can pick. I know this nice place in the forest idea for it. "
"Really?"
That seemed to have captured her attention, quite quickly in Mari's opinion.
"Yep. It's real quiet. No one will disturb us. Want to come?"
"Sure!" Dia chirped. "Sounds fun!"
"Then follow me." Mari stretched her hand for Dia and ushered her up. Licking her lips, Mari pulled Dia along the path humming as she visualized the things she would subject Dia to, for the fun of it.