Little did they know that the whole ordeal was being watched by a pair of inhumane green eyes. No pupils, just green. They narrowed as it looked upon the duo, the soul now trapped within a bone cage. It wondered what the person would do. Thing was, she didn't do anything. She just stood there, the cage in her delicate hands. She watched as the thing shook with fear and seemed to revel in it's torment.
Finally the 'onlooker' decided to show itself. It emerged from the shadow, the green flames illuminating it's body mysteriously. The sound of chains filled the air as he moved. His lantern was strictly by his side, glowing a calming green, yet there were soft screeches coming from it. The chain the figure was carrying was held securely in his right hand, ready to use if so needed. The figure looked like it came straight from hell.
The woman gasped as she looked to the side. She pressed the bone cage to her chest, as if to protect it. ''I believe that is mine'' the chain warden said as he pointed at the glowing soul that she held so closely to her body. The woman looked down at the creature as it looked back at her. Looking deep into the soul she saw that it was even more scared than before. With a sadistic grin she stretched out her hand. The cage gently flew off of it and towards the chain warden. Once near Thresh held up his lantern and opened it. The bone cage started dissolving into dust, but before the soul could actually escape it was sucked into the lantern with a loud screech.
The woman seemed intrigued as she looked at the lantern. her curiosity, however was concealed behind the shadow of her hood. Now having retrieved the escaped soul he should have been on his way, but his curiosity grew for the figure. He knew of nearly every creature in the Shadow Isles, yet this one appeared new to him. It wasn't an undead. At least not entirely, for he could sense a soul deep within the person, but it was very vague.
''who are you?'' it was the simplest of questions, and so he was sure that she would be able to answer him. A long drawn out silence followed the question. Finally a soft voice sounded through. ''My name is Zaphara'' she answered simply. This only made his curiosity peak. ''Such an unusual name. Why have you come here?'' he asked, finally realizing that she was in fact female.
The woman looked up at the thick branches above them that seemed to glow a soft blue. ''I have come here to seek a home'' she simply said, a small smirk creeping onto her lips. ''You must wonder why I chose this place, for only a fool would come here to seek refuge. But when I was still living I heard many things about 'The Shadow Isles'. They believe it to be a myth. Non-existing. Just a ghost story to frighten children. But I knew better'' She looked back at his glowing face, not at all frightened by his appearance anymore. She held out a hand as one of the fireflies came up onto her arm. She touched it gently as it gnawed at her arm, but it could not penetrate her skin.
''When I first set foot here I immediately knew something was wrong with this place. My skkin crawled and in the pit of my stomach I felt a terrible revulsion. Life didn't belong here. But I also knew... somehow, deep inside I knew that the islands welcomed me. They wanted me. As I wandered deeper I saw death all around me. Ghostly trees, grass and flowers engulfed me in their horrifying radiance. It was so quiet and so beautiful. I passed my hand through a spectral leaf fluttering in the wind, but there was no wind. That was when I understood that death was another world and I was at its door'' The description fit perfectly to his home, Thresh realized. The firefly that was on her arm moved up to her face, shining upon it just like the soul previously did. This allowed Thresh to look upon her beautiful and pale face, yet he seemed unfazed.
Another long silence grew between the two as both seemed to think. ''Well I am not the type of specter to tell someone they can not live here. You are welcome to stay on these isles, as long as you do not disturb me with my work'' ''and what type of work might that be?'' ''collecting souls'' The woman smirked at him with a roll of her eyes. ''Right. I will no longer interfere. Now excuse me, chain warden'' she said, bowing mockingly before disappearing into the woods. Thresh made no move to stop her. Why would he? He had nothing more to do with her, nor did he want to.
Looking down at his lantern he thought that it was time to teach the escaped soul a lesson. He had completely forgotten about it when talking to Zaphara, but now he could spend the whole night with the little stubborn soul. He would have great pleasure tormenting it.