Muscles flexed and sinews stretched, the Hunter tracked its quarry
Whispered sound, soft thistle-down, a Demon's cold-burn fury
The sky burnt red, and loosed, her head, from vapours nonexistent
Failed to heed, and hailed (to feed?), a foe who is more puissant
=-=-=-=-=-
She tread soft over broken dreams, quadrupedal, cat-like. Garments tattered and worn, held together more by filth than thread, clung uselessly and covered nothing of import. Stringy, lank locks fell from the shadowed depths of a hood back-lit by a lurid red glow and filled with the sound of cautious scenting. Now and again a frustrated growl burbled forth from those depths, choked into a whimper and nothingness by a more overwhelming terror.
Suddenly... frozen. Silent.
The surroundings shivered and warped briefly, as a reflection might twist and dance upon the surface of a water bubble, borne aloft of raging tempests. The disruption intensified, waned, and faded, leaving the landscape more or less static once more.
Another moment frozen in time: ashen limbs taut, a faint thrumming of power reminiscent of raised hackles, and a twitching ear visible through a rent in the side of the hood.
The figure leaped forward into the shadows with a sound equal parts animal fury and horrified scream and disappeared into their umbral depths. Simultaneously, a larger figure swiped at her from between the air with claws of starlight.
"...Rachel..."
=-=-=-=-=-
My bonny lass is dark and gray, my bonny lass is mordant
Her tongue as sharp as dagger-points, her heart awash in torment!
She lies beside the river wide and heaves a sigh so dreary,
I must presume sadness consumes because she is not near me!
=-=-=-=-=-
The girl crouched cautiously on the concrete bank of this canal, whip-long tail twitching alertly above her. She inched towards the acid-green waters, wary of the murky depths which could hide toothy dangers. She sniffed the near-stagnant surface carefully, and a pleased purr escaped her when she detected no danger in the suspicious-looking liquid. Leaning forward, she lapped the water, delicate ripples spreading from her tongue with each mouthful. Finally, thirst sated, she laid out on the sheltered bank, sky-clad body welcoming the radiant heat of the concrete. Her long tail slithered about her, subconsciously scouting for changes in air pressure or ground vibrations, seeking predators (frustratingly likely) and prey (even more frustratingly unlikely).
As usual, these brief periods of respite and relative peace brought on strange feelings. She was... lonely. There should be others here, joining in the thrill of the hunt, sleeping in the heat and playing under the roiling clouds. She missed her-
(family/team)
-pack, and she did not know where to find them. She had ranged for eternities in this place, from tundra to forest, plains-land to swamp-bog, suburb to city... and always, she was hunted. Yet, she hunted too. She had felt the pleasing gush of ichor flood her mouth when diamond-hard incisors pierced chitinous flesh, the squealing of these lesser-beings silenced by a quick crack of her long tail. Still, she was drawn back to this place. A nagging sense in her that drew her always to that sparkling hill, where the sky was a cerulean so deep it made her whine in discontent, where an errant breeze would on occasion bring sweet smells without (can you imagine!) the slightest hint of poison or decay. Often had she attempted to pierce that mystery, and just as often she had been turned away, fearsome enemies and hordes of jinxed incidents causing her to turn tail and flee for her safety.
Once, she had drawn so near the wall of this magical place she needed but to stretch her tail to touch it. After she had been routed, she had lain inconsolable in a hidden place for days, the sense of loss palpable and poignant. She knew, somehow, that beyond that wall was her-
(friend/salvation)
-mate, and a surcease of loneliness and pain.
She dozed lightly and growled empty comforts to herself under the putrid sky.
=-=-=-=-=-
Shadows stretch, and in their depths, She finds a comfort deep'ning
Between the light, wrapped 'way from sight, She finds surcease from creeping.
Still She's called, through instincts stalled, by glimmerings of Reason
Away from night, and to the heights, of my last beck'ning seisin.
=-=-=-=-=-
An inch. Another. A held breath, and a sudden dart from shadow through twilight to shadow. Still as silence, still as death. Claws retracted to prevent the slightest scrape on asphalt. Tail wound about the torso to quell its half-autonomous writhing. Wings folded as flat as possible across a bare back.
Wait... wait...
A soft inhalation, a slow exhale. An inch. Another. Freeze. Melt into the shadow as the footsteps approach. Exit the shadow-path. Back in her aerie. Back to safety.
Home.
"I'm getting closer," her thoughts could be translated as. "Almost. Nearly there."
The shining hilltop, where the light was strong and the air was sweet, was nearly hers.
"Almost. Nearly there."
=-=-=-=-=-
Beware the dusky woman nigh, who calls you with cocked hip allure
Open, she, to every whim, supple flesh, innocent whore
She draws you near with naked breast, eyes wide 'gainst your growth below
Dead before you realize you've been hunted by a Gray Widow
=-=-=-=-=-
The diffuse light cast no shadows, softening edges already made soft by the nature of this mad place. She strode forth, boldly, erect and proud down the wide boulevard, wings clasped cloak-like about her front. Her tail swished languidly behind and above her, and she moved with the grace of a predator, muscles of liquid steel. She didn't walk so much as she flowed from step to step, unnatural and beautiful. Thin horns swept back from her brow, following the curve of her skull before swinging forward once more. They rested soft against the pulsing life of her jugular, protecting, and terminated inches past her chin.
Ahead of her, the shining hill-top. Behind her, a half-millennium of growth, evolution, and apotheosis.
It had been a century or more since she had last attempted the approach to that fabled spot of sun and greenery. Then, she had been as a child, full of impulses and short of wit. Not so now.
From between the air struck claws of starlight, parried by talons she had honed through use. The beast appeared then before her, a hulking brute of a man, head and shoulders above her and covered in matted hair. "Rachel," it intoned.
"Yes," she replied softly, tetroptics soft and glowing a sultry burgundy. Her wings spread, exposing a body hardened by combat and softened by womanhood. "I am here."
He moved forward, and she stepped back quickly, hissing. Her eyes gained a playful cast. He growled and swiped forward, but she twisted away and brushed her tail softly against his crotch. The beast stopped, confused, and she cracked her whip-like tail forward towards his eyes. He blocked her, lunging forward with a kick which she then vaulted. For minutes they faced each other, Raven taking each opportunity for a caress, and once a brief nip at the nape of his neck. At some unseen signal, she drew back and allowed her wings and tail to droop, her eyes to half-close, and her head to raise slightly, a pose of surrender or supplication. A growl of victory rumbled from the man-beast, and he stepped into her space unchallenged. He dipped down to kiss her soft lips...
and she snapped her head up and sideways, ripping through his unprotected throat, venting the life-blood there. He fell to the ground, gurgling and weak, a red froth forming when he tried to roar or speak. She watched him, this thing that had so terrified her for so long, that had prevented her from reaching her goal. She had feared him in life, and now triumphed in his death.
When he lay still and silent, she looked once more to the hill-top, prehensile tongue absently cleaning her horns and face. She clasped her wings about her once more, and approached the gate in the wall about that place unchallenged. Leaping, she spread her wings and beat them once, disdaining the gate and drifting to the other side. Calloused feet reveled in soft earth and grass, a sensation denied them for a score of decades. She moved to the temple on the summit, and was greeted there.
The girl who met her was shorter even than Raven's petite five feet. Her hair was long, and drifted freely about her shoulders and back. She wore an outfit of red and white, and a long-handled mallet was strapped to her back. Her youthful face sported light blue markings, a large plectum upon her brow and two smaller perched upon the edge of her cheekbones.
"I am Raven, daughter of Trigon, Crown Princess to the Lord of Hell and High Priestess to the Cult of Azar. I am Raven, Teen Titan of Jump City, and Rachel Roth, Friend of the Chronicler known as Jon."
The girl looked at her with a bright smile and soft eyes.
"I am Skuld, daughter of Odin, Norn of the Future and System Debugger for the Yggdrasil World Tree. I am Rachel Roth, Friend of the Chronicler known as Jon, and Kate, his sister, of the Far Western Tribes of the Amazon Nation. Welcome, and enter in peace."