* nonsensical

  “Out of hand?”, he echoed, slowly but surely leaving his stance by the tree to approach her again. “What do you mean, out of hand? Is that why you live alone out here?”

  He had heard rumours, alright. A faceless terror roaming the woods, feasting on trespassers and guarding its secrets from the villagers outside. Children disappearing in broad daylight, a haunting call from the trees luring them into the dense undergrowth from which they were not to return. Instead of collecting herbs and berries in the nearby forest, people would go great distances to purchase simple remedies from neighbouring towns. Lumber work was deemed the most dangerous. Mushrooms wasted away in autumn as nobody dared to venture farther into the greenery than their shouting could reach.

  Was this little girl supposed to be the cause of all that?

  Lux was not scared. How could he be, when she was looking at him with such agony, when the fear was oozing out of her so much he could almost taste it now? How dangerous could she possibly be?

  Tremendously so, he thought to himself. But that was no reason yet to leave. If there was no one left around to teach her, nothing would ever change. Not for her, and not for the villagers. But was he really the right one for that job?

cassandra sucked in a small breath. she didn’t want to tell him everything she had done because surely he would kill her. if he didn’t, he would surely he would drag her to the nearest town and tell the guards there everything she had done. that idea was a little scarier to her; if he killed her, at least she knew what she was in for. she had no idea what the town would want to do with her-- would they take her to her parents? would they just kill her there? she didn’t want to be around so many people. that was just more people she could hurt.

she nodded meekly, gripping the skirt of her dress tighter. at first she was incredibly upset with her parents for abandoning her out in the woods. she was scared and cried for days on end, not sure how to take care of herself. though, now she was glad that they left her all alone like that. they were right, her aunt was right. she was a monster who couldn’t be trusted around other people.

  Alright. So Charles was not the one who had the girl so scared. Still she seemed a little squeamish, a little very much uncertain as to what to make of him and his presence in these woods, and his intention to come home with her. But what was it? What was she keeping from him? His good manners aside, Lux was not one to withhold a juicy puzzle from his active mind when it was craving to be tickled. Ghost or trap or hidden beast or scared, lonely little girl - he wanted to know what was going on.

  “…sort of.”, he said slowly, brows furrowed as he was trying to read what was written all over her face but still kept itself an unwilling secret. Magic? What did magic have to do with this?

  “Not in the way other people do magic though. Mine is a little… well.” He shrugged. “But please, there is no wrong in asking for help. Either I can give it - in which case I will do my very best to serve the little lady and her mouse companion”, he winked, “or I cannot. In that case I could still help you find somebody better suited for the task. What kind of magic do you need to be done?”

so he did know how to use magic. hers wasn’t like other peoples, too, so maybe they were the same, or similar enough. maybe he would understand her and how her magic worked. she wasn’t sure really anyone could, the last person who tried she killed, on accident. she didn’t want lux to have that fate, too, but if he helped her... maybe no one would have to suffer that fate again. it was a risk she wasn’t sure she was willing to take.

cassandra started to fidget with the hem of her skirt, nervous to bring up the subject of her magic. she hoped and hoped and hoped that he hadn’t heard the rumors of the monster and wouldn’t connect the dots. as much as her hurting other people was her number one fear, she was terrified that he would try to kill her. she never meant to hurt anyone. she just wanted to live.

i luv her

  The obvious tension and unease radiating from the girl’s entire posture would have been enough to let Lux stop in his tracks and rethink his decision. Being an adult man, it was not fair of him to impose on the girl who so clearly did not want him to stick around. But then she started speaking of her parents, and a sudden spark of both worry and suspicion had him move on, like a horse driven by its rider’s spurs.

  “…so.. it is only you and Charles the mouse who live there?”, he asked carefully as they made their way through the thick undergrowth. Was she a ghost, or some other forest creature merely disguised as a young girl after all? But if this was a trap, surely she wouldn’t have tried so hard to try and keep him away from the house after all? That was, only if she, too, was tormented by whatever entity who lived there. The mouse, perhaps. Given that it was not actually just a mouse in the end. Curious and curiouser. Lux pulled his bag a little closer to his body and decided to remain on guard.

  “Look, Cassandra…” He came to a halt by an old oak tree, eyes still trained on the back of the girl who seemed to move so naturally through the woods as if she had been born here.

  “You don’t have to take me home, you know. If you think it is not a good idea.”, the half-elf said slowly. “I have a feeling like there is something you are not telling me - and you don’t have to, really. You barely know me after all. I will be fine out here for one night if I have to. But if there is anything I can help you with… well. You could just tell me. Charles doesn’t have to know.”

cassandra opened her mouth to explain her living situation with charles when he stopped, which caused her to falter, too. she turned around to look at him, taking a step closer to a nearby tree as if it would bring her some comfort. she instantly looked relieved when he said that she didn’t have to bring her to her home and she fought back a small smile. that would be better for him, in the end. the only real danger in this woods at night was her. rarely she heard anything that could be threatening and even if she did, it rarely came wandering toward her home.

her relief turned to worry-- he knew she was hiding something. he didn’t know what she was hiding, though, right? he didn’t mention hearing rumors, so she had no clue if he knew about the monster in the woods or not. what else did he think was wrong, though? charles was just a mouse and certainly she was the only suspicious thing in this scenario. maybe he thought she was hiding something about her parents. maybe he thought she was lying, or that he was curious as to why she was all alone. could she tell him about how dangerous she was without having to explain how she had hurt people?

❝ why wouldn’t i tell charles?  he’s my best friend. ❞ she asked, a small pout forming on her face. she paused. ❝ i... i do need help but i’m scared to ask for it. to ask you for it. it’s an awful lot. ❞

she didn’t even know if he could help. she didn’t know if he could do magic at all. and what if he could? if he helped her, what if she hurt him? what if he tried to teach her and she couldn’t control it, no matter how hard she tried? it would be selfish to ask him for help. it would be dangerous for him...

           ANGUS  WASN’T  SURE  WHAT  TO  SAY.   he was gobsmacked for a moment at such a direct denial.  he supposed he got away with quite a lot with adults for simply being a child.  this scenario was intriguing, even without the possible murders to investigate.  who was this young girl?  why did she seem so quick to chase him away?

       “   um.  i’m terribly  sorry  to  hear  that  charles  has  hidden  them  from  you.   would  you  perhaps  be  willing  to  come  out   &&   point  me  in  the  right  direction  back?   i   think  i  may  be  a  little  lost.   ”

   yet more lies were falling from his lips, but what else was he to do?  it was his personal job to check these things out.  perhaps he could help her.  was she trapped here?

cassandra chewed on her bottom lip and debated that one over with himself. she didn’t want to come out in the fear that she would hurt him, or he would hurt her, but if he was trying to leave... it would get him away from her quicker. she could tell him the way to town and she would never have to deal with him again. they would both stay safe today.

she said nothing in reply, just merely stood and padded down the stairs. opening the front door, she pointed off into a direction, the path that lead back to the closest town.

——☂          Lup  is  surprised  when  she  hears  the  voice  answer  back.  Her  perception  tells  her  that  the  person  who  answered  couldn’t  be  more  than  sixteen  !  What  was  someone  so  young  doing  in  a  place  that  brought  so  much  death  ?  Usually,  these  cases  didn’t  require  much,  but  she  figured  today  she’d  have  to  be  a  little  more…  gentle.  “  The  name’s  Lup  Taaco,  I’m  sort  of  a  big  deal.  You  know,  a  legend  ?  Let  me  put  it  this  way-  have  you  ever  heard  the  story  of  a  group  of  explorers  &&  a  century  long  battle  that  ended  up  saving  the  world  ?  Well,  I  was  part  of  that  crew  !  I’m  a  hero,  honey.  I  won’t  hurt  you.  I  just  came  here  to  talk.  You  see,  I’ve  gotten  word  of  a  few…  mishaps…  that  have  come  from  this  part  of  the  woods.  ”  Pausing,  Lup  glances  to  the  door  before  placing  her  scythe  on  her  back.  “  Do  you  know  anything  about  that  ?  I’d  like  to  talk  face  to  face,  if  you  can.  ”

that was one of her worst fears, she thought. she knew of lup and her friends, a story that mr. owl had told her on one of his first visits. she knew about their amazing journeys and how powerful they all were, but she also knew what lup was. a lich, something she hadn’t understood until mr. owl explained more, a being of pure magic... that was terrifying to her. she wasn’t sure how long she could stay stable with lup around.

                                   : @oddsouled​ STARTER CALL :

——☂           Scythe  in  hand,  the  newly  appointed  reaper  eyes  this  cottage  up  &&  down.  So  much  death  had  come  from  the  place,  so  naturally  she  was  sent  to  observe  who-  or  what-  the  cause  to  their  rising  soul  count  was.  Lup  approaches  after  a  few  moments  of  silence,  proceeding  to  knock  on  the  door  with  her  current  corporeal  form.  Being  a  lich  was  often  much  easier  in  these  cases,  but  having  a  body  always  had  its  benefits.   “  Helloooo  ?  ”  She  projects  before  glancing  at  a  window.  “  Anyone  home   I’d  like  to  have  a  little  chat  !  ”

cassandra froze at the sound of a voice outside her door, sitting on the floor of her room and braiding flowers together to make crowns for herself and the bunnies. her hands immediately started to shake as her magic sensed... something, which only scared her more thank she already was. not many things that pass her home unsettled her magic this much-- who was this person?