The Chase
A single red petal drifted slowly on the still surface of the lake at the Forgotten Capital. There were no flowers that bloomed here, only barren trees that glowed with a distant pale light. Their glow did not brighten the man's dark cloak – in fact, the light seemed to sink and disappear into the black fabric, never to return.
Marluxia coldly surveyed the area. His expression was that of annoyance, even though that particular emotion was toned down, just like all his emotions were. To truly feel and express them one needed a heart, something that Nobodies like Marluxia, Axel and Namine did not have.
His annoyance was brought about by how this simple chase escalated into a task that may never reach a conclusion. The number of unexplored worlds was simply too vast. And he did not plan on spending the rest of his life obeying Superior's orders by looking for their 'precious keyblade wielder', 'a witch with a power over memories' and 'the rebel Experiment'. He had much different plans for the future, but fate intervened at a rather inconvenient time.
Marluxia brought his hand up, to summon Dusks out of nothingness they dwelled in. Menial labor of browsing countless miles of unknown worlds was best left to them, and it wasn't like they minded being called on to help. They could only blindly obey wishes of those with power.
But this time Dusks did not respond to Marluxia's command. The woods stayed quiet, and the water's surface briefly reflected a faint green glow of a stream of light, which was too faint to be seen in the air above.
Marluxia narrowed his eyes and repeated the summon, but once again no response…what was the matter here? It never failed before.
Just perfect…now he'd have to…
A crack of a twig behind him alerted The Graceful Assassin that he was no longer alone here. Sharply turning around Marluxia sent a strong gust of wind at whatever or whoever that was. A pained yelp escaped a creature's throat as it hit the closest trunk. It did not stay dazed for long, as it was already getting up on its feet. White fur covered its body and sharp horns grew from its head. The creature lacked eyes; instead red lines ran from the tip of its nose to its tail. With a roar it charged at Marluxia, teeth barred.
Swiftly jumping out of the way, he summoned his scythe. There was no fear in the man's eyes - only a sly smirk graced his features.
"Hmph…how foolish" A whirlwind of flower petals surrounded the beast, confusing its sense of smell. It growled and lunged, only to find a sharp blade emerging suddenly from the right, threatening to slice it in two. Moving to dodge it, the creature cried out loudly as the real blade found its mark.
Petals seized their dance and softly rained down on the ground. Some got caught in the fur of the now lifeless attacker. Green-blue light enveloped the creature and it vanished, re-absorbed into the lifestream.
Marluxia watched it disappear then looked around the area, to see if any other monster was so kind as to throw him a welcome party. However, there were no signs of movement or other life around. Well, by battling beasts he would not get any closer to finding if their escapees are somewhere in this world, so it was time to head to a more populated place.
Letting the scythe vanish Marluxia started walking down the path at a brisk pace. On closer inspection, it was more of a road than a path, for it was fairly wide and covered in tire marks.
Silence once again enveloped the forest, as it glowed bright under the night sky.