Greatwater Lake Well I was walkin' for some time

[table][tr][td valign=center] [/td][td]

The burden of her curiosity pulled her forward, the shadows in the distance almost hypnotic. It was a peculiar thing, her attraction to a place that she had never before visited; she blamed her own defiance, given that her mother had been very clear whilst telling the child to keep away from the Land of Shadows. Though the longer she stared at the silhouette, the more her skin crawled. A gust of wind swept across the land, dragging its icy claws down the girl’s spine and making her shiver. It was spooky, but also so terribly mysterious that she couldn’t find within herself a way to fear the darkness. She wished to reach out and touch it, to allow for the shadows to wrap their arms around her and hug so tightly that warmth could be found in a world where the sun did not exist. Perhaps she would have continued towards the forest, to approach the lining of its trees by nightfall, had the rhythmic sound of footfalls not captured her attention.

Kaori’s walk slowed until she moved no longer, then she turned around in order to search for her stalker. It’d not taken long for her gaze to drift over the body of another wolf—another child—and for her legs to then begin carrying her towards Rose. Rather than proceeding towards the forest, she decided to approach the stranger, to whom she called out with a gentle, “Hello.” Gradually, her pace picked up until she was jogging, hoping to reach the other girl without much difficulty. Should she be allowed to get close, she would slow to another stop several paces off, not wanting to invade the personal space of someone that she didn’t know. “Excuse me, I’d—I would—like to ask you something,” she said, wondering if her sister might have walked the same path and seen the same face. It was a stretch, of course, but asking would do her no harm.

[/td][td valign=center] [/td][/tr][/table]