as written by CelticCat and Emperor Jester
As the planar rifts began to rend realities, the legendary mist began to pour out in all directions of Mistwood Forest. The mist brought a cacophony of foreign and familiar noises as everything became obscured. Then, in a single moment, it retreated. However, it did not leave the forest the same. Things that were once present were now gone or somewhere else, and new presences now occupied Mistwood Forest.
A small crowd of figures slowly made their way towards the castle, led by what appeared to be a small child. She gestured slowly to the ruins ahead of them, her expression completely stoic. “There,” she stated, her voice not fit to her small frame. It carried strength and maturity.
The male ursuig next to her smiled and clapped his hands excitedly. “A new home, Queen Ainu? Hm?” Glancing across the decrepit buildings, he frowned and shook his head. “Oh, no, no. This will not do for us, yet. My lady, allow me!” He brought his hands up and with a small trembling, the earth responded to his call.
The overgrowth reclaiming the fortress and its surroundings suddenly shot up with new, green growth. However, instead of pulling the buildings apart, the new plant served to support the existing structures and form new walls and roofs. Blooms of blue roses sprouted up around the base of the fortress itself, though a single building remained untouched. Try as he might, the ursuig could not affect the decrepit monastery.
Turning with a flourish and bow, the ursuig gestured to his “renovations” with pride. “Now, Queen Ainu, my love. Now, it is fit for you!”
A dark, bluish-black horse trotted up towards the castle, grinning in some unimaginable way. “You’ve outdone yourself, King Olsuelta. It is as if we’ve never lost our kingdom.”
Silently, the large dog-sized cat beside them, broke out into a run. It made its way into a nearby house and settled itself, ignoring the rest of its party.
“Yes, Olsuelta. You have done well for us. Make yourself at home, my court. We need roam no longer,” the child replied, a silky smile tugging at her lips.
____
There was a darkness in the ruins, similar to what the new intruders brought. A dark bat, round and bulbous with a single red eye roughly the same size as its entire body watching the procession, and from the eye, a figure watched as well, nestled deep in the ruins before the others arrived. Or perhaps he'd only just beaten them here. How long had he been alive, been a creature of the darkness...?
His memory was hazy. Suile felt like he...belonged here. Had existed her along with this place for aeons, longer than the humans and those before them. But...something felt off. He felt new. But ancient. But born for the first time. But he'd always been here. Right now, the fae of night and illusion was...distraught and lost...dangerous...These creatures that served him...This world...what had happened? Why couldn't he remember anything?
____
The ursuig held out his hand to the Queen with a smile. "Allow me to lead you into our new home."
Delicately, Queen Ainu slipped her small hand into his and allowed him to lead her to the castle steps. Followed not far behind, by the horse-like fae with a grin. Together, the pair made their first steps into the decrepit castle and began to make their way to the throne room. There, Ainu sat and smiled, nodding in approval to her consort. "Yes, this will do nicely."
Behind them, the horse had shrunk into the form of a large canine to more easily drift through the fortress with an urge for exploration. Her red eyes glowed in the darkness deep in the castle as Myrrlew quietly padded into and out of every room and door she could find. The darkness seemed to dim the genuine smile she'd worn outside and instead one of madness and chaotic delight now lit her features. Even the soft laughter that escaped her did not seem entirely benevolent.
____
Suile sat in his room, deep inside the darkest room of the castle, his many bat-like pookas watching the new arrivals. Even from here, he could feel their power, and how some of them even dwarfed him in magical might. Something deep inside the fae twitched at this notion, and he felt a wave of annoyance and nausea, or at least this is what he registered it as.
The fae of fog, clouded eyes, and darkness could not register or recognize this emotion in his short and long existence. Once of fear, of terror, of realizing that something close by was over his head, higher on the food chain. No! A sudden strong emotion, a hungering darkness filled him and exploded outward, the entire lower level of the castle shaking violently.
____
Myrrlew felt the tremors that shook the castle and began to sprint, morphing into a feline form that was closer to a cheetah. She sped as fast as her form would take her to the epicenter of the event, the bristles along her body sticking up in all directions as she eyed the situation. A Cheshire grin spread across her face as she began to cackle, deep from within herself. Somehow, the echoing darkness made her feel oh, so at home.
"And what do we find hiding deep, dark under the stones? Hm? Troublemaker, perhaps?" she trilled through her cackling laugh.
____
Suile lifted his face from his hands, eyes shining crimson with dark energies. However, this power and aggression quickly ebbed back into the nothing they had been spawned from. Something about the cat struck him, and struck him hard, to the point where he was almost speechless. What drove this home even more however were his pookahs, the numerous bats with eyes that fled from his side and danced almost happily around the lanky, back animal before him.
"I...am...Súile...And I do not know what I am. But I do know...who are you, to invade my home in such a guise...?" The fey did his best to keep the edge of nervous fear out of his voice. This was his hall of darkness. He should have most control here.
____
Myrrlew slowly turned her grinning face to the side, until it was perpendicular with the floor. "Hmmmmm? What guise, shadowy one?" Her laughter stopped and locked her eyes to his, sideways though they were. She slowly began to morph, pulling herself up into a humanoid form that was similar to his. Dark fur completely covered her, head to toe, but she was like a shadowy, feminine version of him.
"What now? Am I still the invader here?" she purred, lifting a hand to delicately stroke a pookah near her face.
____
The pookah jumped into her hand, thrilling with love. Suile felt less than thrilled about the situation however. "An invader is an uninvited guest. You and the rest came here, without invitation...and then the...small child one...transformed this place to her liking." There was a distasteful edge there now, the fear momentarily forgotten.
His eyes narrowed, locking with hers as he now stood, a black mist swirling around his feet. "I do not like how you parade in my darkness, like it is yours to command. Nor how my servitors flock to you, with no more heed for me."
____
Her eyes took on a glint of pride, her grin threatening to split her face in two. "It seems you do not quite understand the position we are now in, shadowed one. The Queen claims what is hers by right of power. You are the uninvited guest here."
Almost horrifyingly gently, she extended the back of her furred hand to stroke his cheek. "I do not fear you, so you need not fear me. We could be cut of the same cloth...hm?" She couldn't help herself as the cackling laughter escaped from her again.
____
Suile was caught off guard. He hadn't even noticed her get that close. Her touch was cold, and his skin crawled, with both excitement and revulsion. He took a step back, almost falling back into his throne. "No. I refuse to accept that. Its a lie. This place is ancient as I, and yet as newborn as myself. It is my home, and no one else."
Still, he couldn't deny the similarities.
"How do you mean, cut from the same cloth? I am the darkness of ancient places, I am the fog that tricks the eyes of mortal. I am fresh, I am beyond age. I am the void."
____
Myrrlew stepped forward and dropped her face down next to his ear, her voice hissing out in a whisper. "I am the voices that echo within. I am the shapes that follow. Out of the corner of your eye, and with your straining, listening ear...You have known me."
Her head pulled back to hover in front of him, with eyes that burned and smoldered. "Do you not see me? Hmmm?" Sparkling lights drifted like glitter around and over her dark form, absorbing the light entirely. "Or are you simply not looking?"
____
The fey before her responded with his own darkness, almost as powerful as her own, if not equal. "I am the cold that awaits all mortals. I am the mist of deception that clouds out their hopes. I am the nightmares that infest their dreams. Do not speak riddles with me, stranger." There was a wavering courage there now, but an allure as well.
He felt drawn to her, drawn into her, but he could feel her being pulled as well, towards his own black center. Now, the pookahs were circling the both of them. "Will you keep me a secret? Or will you tell those above who I am? Where I am?"
____
as written by CelticCat
Myrrlew slowly snuck a hand to touch the bottom of his chin, her body shrinking down the slightest bit so that she was shorter than him. "Both," she replied with a look of both excitement and regret. She stared into his eyes and her smile returned. "I wouldn't wish the others to find you. I think I'd like to keep you for myself. We'll tell, though. We always tell the Queen everything, should she ask. I can't stop us."
Her hand fell and she turned her back to him. "What a pity."
____
"..." Silence was his answer to her. He was intrigued enough to ask question after question, but for now, the dark fey was most perplexed beyond words. "I suppose it is a pity. Still, I imagine anyone would have trouble navigating the realm under the castle. Especially if one does not claim the darkness as home."
Still...if the strange one was not lying to him, he could soon be evicted, or worst case, attacked. He had no doubts about his own powers, but something told him it'd be a hopeless struggle against the new so-called Court. He'd have to prepare to leave.
____
Myrrlew began to laugh again as she slowly glided towards the exit. "The Queen won't stand for someone outside the court to reside in our new home. You've already broken her rules, and among fae, she is not one to simply forgive." She stopped at the door, her dark hand delicately drifting down the frame. "However, she cannot touch you should you be loyal to me. I can bear the judgement and punishment on your behalf..." Her voice slowly dropped to a mere whisper. "You need only claim me as guardian and lord."
____
"I need no such protection. Nor will I sign myself willingly into servitude. I'd rather cease to be than be a servant, even to one so alluring and seemingly alike as yourself." It was a matter of ancient pride, made even more tangible with the freshness of false-youth and rebirth. Still, he had no desire to leave his home, his long time and renewed abode.
"If I were to align myself with you, you could assure that I'd stay here? And I'd be safe from Her wrath?"
____
Merrlew slowly swiveled her head back towards him, almost impossibly far. Her Cheshire grin threatened to split her face as she began to whisper again. "Her hands would be bound. You would be among her family, and thusly you could not simply be expelled from our home. That which she owes me, she will also owe you. Punishments she would wish to bestow would be borne between us."
Her hands turned to claws and her body became that of a large feline again. "We will live together in this place, in safety. Hmmm?"
____
"...Must I say the words? Or is it merely understood if I agree with your wishes?" He crossed his arms, his red eyes narrowed. "And I do not wish to leave this hole in the world I call home, not even to meet this Queen. I owe her nothing. She has broken guest right and stolen my home fro me, without even the common courtesy of a greeting or warning." He knew he was rehashing an already established opinion, but he could not stop himself.
Having anyone here, uninvited, was akin to a thorn in his side, or a dagger in his back. He liked it not.
____
"Your word is your bind," she replied before turning her head away from him and falling to all fours. "You should know that a promise broken is worse than any other crime among fae. Say your words, but choose them carefully."
____
Súile gave pause to this most recent revelation. Fea? Is that what they all were? Not simple, if powerful invaders? But kindred, of some variety at least. This was all news to the darkkin, and he felt as if a fog had fled his mind. Or blanketed his thoughts even more? Was that what he was? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and suddenly, he felt lost, here, in his home. This ruined castle, and everything inside it. When had he arrived here? Did it really belong to him, or he to it? In truth...Súile felt scared.
"Fine," He'd mutter, with as much pride as he could muster. "Fine, I say the words. I ask thee to take me under your care, as much as I wish to serve you, as both a vassal and a servant."
____
Myrrlew spared once last glance over her shoulder and nodded approvingly. "I am Myrrlew; this name is my promise to you. As long as your loyalty proves true, so will mine to you. Our gifts shall be shared, and from punishments you are spared. We will weather together, and you need fear no other. Stay by my side, like a chick to its mother."
The final word spoken, Myrrlew dashed back through the maze of hallways.
As the planar rifts began to rend realities, the legendary mist began to pour out in all directions of Mistwood Forest. The mist brought a cacophony of foreign and familiar noises as everything became obscured. Then, in a single moment, it retreated. However, it did not leave the forest the same. Things that were once present were now gone or somewhere else, and new presences now occupied Mistwood Forest.
A small crowd of figures slowly made their way towards the castle, led by what appeared to be a small child. She gestured slowly to the ruins ahead of them, her expression completely stoic. “There,” she stated, her voice not fit to her small frame. It carried strength and maturity.
The male ursuig next to her smiled and clapped his hands excitedly. “A new home, Queen Ainu? Hm?” Glancing across the decrepit buildings, he frowned and shook his head. “Oh, no, no. This will not do for us, yet. My lady, allow me!” He brought his hands up and with a small trembling, the earth responded to his call.
The overgrowth reclaiming the fortress and its surroundings suddenly shot up with new, green growth. However, instead of pulling the buildings apart, the new plant served to support the existing structures and form new walls and roofs. Blooms of blue roses sprouted up around the base of the fortress itself, though a single building remained untouched. Try as he might, the ursuig could not affect the decrepit monastery.
Turning with a flourish and bow, the ursuig gestured to his “renovations” with pride. “Now, Queen Ainu, my love. Now, it is fit for you!”
A dark, bluish-black horse trotted up towards the castle, grinning in some unimaginable way. “You’ve outdone yourself, King Olsuelta. It is as if we’ve never lost our kingdom.”
Silently, the large dog-sized cat beside them, broke out into a run. It made its way into a nearby house and settled itself, ignoring the rest of its party.
“Yes, Olsuelta. You have done well for us. Make yourself at home, my court. We need roam no longer,” the child replied, a silky smile tugging at her lips.
____
There was a darkness in the ruins, similar to what the new intruders brought. A dark bat, round and bulbous with a single red eye roughly the same size as its entire body watching the procession, and from the eye, a figure watched as well, nestled deep in the ruins before the others arrived. Or perhaps he'd only just beaten them here. How long had he been alive, been a creature of the darkness...?
His memory was hazy. Suile felt like he...belonged here. Had existed her along with this place for aeons, longer than the humans and those before them. But...something felt off. He felt new. But ancient. But born for the first time. But he'd always been here. Right now, the fae of night and illusion was...distraught and lost...dangerous...These creatures that served him...This world...what had happened? Why couldn't he remember anything?
____
The ursuig held out his hand to the Queen with a smile. "Allow me to lead you into our new home."
Delicately, Queen Ainu slipped her small hand into his and allowed him to lead her to the castle steps. Followed not far behind, by the horse-like fae with a grin. Together, the pair made their first steps into the decrepit castle and began to make their way to the throne room. There, Ainu sat and smiled, nodding in approval to her consort. "Yes, this will do nicely."
Behind them, the horse had shrunk into the form of a large canine to more easily drift through the fortress with an urge for exploration. Her red eyes glowed in the darkness deep in the castle as Myrrlew quietly padded into and out of every room and door she could find. The darkness seemed to dim the genuine smile she'd worn outside and instead one of madness and chaotic delight now lit her features. Even the soft laughter that escaped her did not seem entirely benevolent.
____
Suile sat in his room, deep inside the darkest room of the castle, his many bat-like pookas watching the new arrivals. Even from here, he could feel their power, and how some of them even dwarfed him in magical might. Something deep inside the fae twitched at this notion, and he felt a wave of annoyance and nausea, or at least this is what he registered it as.
The fae of fog, clouded eyes, and darkness could not register or recognize this emotion in his short and long existence. Once of fear, of terror, of realizing that something close by was over his head, higher on the food chain. No! A sudden strong emotion, a hungering darkness filled him and exploded outward, the entire lower level of the castle shaking violently.
____
Myrrlew felt the tremors that shook the castle and began to sprint, morphing into a feline form that was closer to a cheetah. She sped as fast as her form would take her to the epicenter of the event, the bristles along her body sticking up in all directions as she eyed the situation. A Cheshire grin spread across her face as she began to cackle, deep from within herself. Somehow, the echoing darkness made her feel oh, so at home.
"And what do we find hiding deep, dark under the stones? Hm? Troublemaker, perhaps?" she trilled through her cackling laugh.
____
Suile lifted his face from his hands, eyes shining crimson with dark energies. However, this power and aggression quickly ebbed back into the nothing they had been spawned from. Something about the cat struck him, and struck him hard, to the point where he was almost speechless. What drove this home even more however were his pookahs, the numerous bats with eyes that fled from his side and danced almost happily around the lanky, back animal before him.
"I...am...Súile...And I do not know what I am. But I do know...who are you, to invade my home in such a guise...?" The fey did his best to keep the edge of nervous fear out of his voice. This was his hall of darkness. He should have most control here.
____
Myrrlew slowly turned her grinning face to the side, until it was perpendicular with the floor. "Hmmmmm? What guise, shadowy one?" Her laughter stopped and locked her eyes to his, sideways though they were. She slowly began to morph, pulling herself up into a humanoid form that was similar to his. Dark fur completely covered her, head to toe, but she was like a shadowy, feminine version of him.
"What now? Am I still the invader here?" she purred, lifting a hand to delicately stroke a pookah near her face.
____
The pookah jumped into her hand, thrilling with love. Suile felt less than thrilled about the situation however. "An invader is an uninvited guest. You and the rest came here, without invitation...and then the...small child one...transformed this place to her liking." There was a distasteful edge there now, the fear momentarily forgotten.
His eyes narrowed, locking with hers as he now stood, a black mist swirling around his feet. "I do not like how you parade in my darkness, like it is yours to command. Nor how my servitors flock to you, with no more heed for me."
____
Her eyes took on a glint of pride, her grin threatening to split her face in two. "It seems you do not quite understand the position we are now in, shadowed one. The Queen claims what is hers by right of power. You are the uninvited guest here."
Almost horrifyingly gently, she extended the back of her furred hand to stroke his cheek. "I do not fear you, so you need not fear me. We could be cut of the same cloth...hm?" She couldn't help herself as the cackling laughter escaped from her again.
____
Suile was caught off guard. He hadn't even noticed her get that close. Her touch was cold, and his skin crawled, with both excitement and revulsion. He took a step back, almost falling back into his throne. "No. I refuse to accept that. Its a lie. This place is ancient as I, and yet as newborn as myself. It is my home, and no one else."
Still, he couldn't deny the similarities.
"How do you mean, cut from the same cloth? I am the darkness of ancient places, I am the fog that tricks the eyes of mortal. I am fresh, I am beyond age. I am the void."
____
Myrrlew stepped forward and dropped her face down next to his ear, her voice hissing out in a whisper. "I am the voices that echo within. I am the shapes that follow. Out of the corner of your eye, and with your straining, listening ear...You have known me."
Her head pulled back to hover in front of him, with eyes that burned and smoldered. "Do you not see me? Hmmm?" Sparkling lights drifted like glitter around and over her dark form, absorbing the light entirely. "Or are you simply not looking?"
____
The fey before her responded with his own darkness, almost as powerful as her own, if not equal. "I am the cold that awaits all mortals. I am the mist of deception that clouds out their hopes. I am the nightmares that infest their dreams. Do not speak riddles with me, stranger." There was a wavering courage there now, but an allure as well.
He felt drawn to her, drawn into her, but he could feel her being pulled as well, towards his own black center. Now, the pookahs were circling the both of them. "Will you keep me a secret? Or will you tell those above who I am? Where I am?"
____
as written by CelticCat
Myrrlew slowly snuck a hand to touch the bottom of his chin, her body shrinking down the slightest bit so that she was shorter than him. "Both," she replied with a look of both excitement and regret. She stared into his eyes and her smile returned. "I wouldn't wish the others to find you. I think I'd like to keep you for myself. We'll tell, though. We always tell the Queen everything, should she ask. I can't stop us."
Her hand fell and she turned her back to him. "What a pity."
____
"..." Silence was his answer to her. He was intrigued enough to ask question after question, but for now, the dark fey was most perplexed beyond words. "I suppose it is a pity. Still, I imagine anyone would have trouble navigating the realm under the castle. Especially if one does not claim the darkness as home."
Still...if the strange one was not lying to him, he could soon be evicted, or worst case, attacked. He had no doubts about his own powers, but something told him it'd be a hopeless struggle against the new so-called Court. He'd have to prepare to leave.
____
Myrrlew began to laugh again as she slowly glided towards the exit. "The Queen won't stand for someone outside the court to reside in our new home. You've already broken her rules, and among fae, she is not one to simply forgive." She stopped at the door, her dark hand delicately drifting down the frame. "However, she cannot touch you should you be loyal to me. I can bear the judgement and punishment on your behalf..." Her voice slowly dropped to a mere whisper. "You need only claim me as guardian and lord."
____
"I need no such protection. Nor will I sign myself willingly into servitude. I'd rather cease to be than be a servant, even to one so alluring and seemingly alike as yourself." It was a matter of ancient pride, made even more tangible with the freshness of false-youth and rebirth. Still, he had no desire to leave his home, his long time and renewed abode.
"If I were to align myself with you, you could assure that I'd stay here? And I'd be safe from Her wrath?"
____
Merrlew slowly swiveled her head back towards him, almost impossibly far. Her Cheshire grin threatened to split her face as she began to whisper again. "Her hands would be bound. You would be among her family, and thusly you could not simply be expelled from our home. That which she owes me, she will also owe you. Punishments she would wish to bestow would be borne between us."
Her hands turned to claws and her body became that of a large feline again. "We will live together in this place, in safety. Hmmm?"
____
"...Must I say the words? Or is it merely understood if I agree with your wishes?" He crossed his arms, his red eyes narrowed. "And I do not wish to leave this hole in the world I call home, not even to meet this Queen. I owe her nothing. She has broken guest right and stolen my home fro me, without even the common courtesy of a greeting or warning." He knew he was rehashing an already established opinion, but he could not stop himself.
Having anyone here, uninvited, was akin to a thorn in his side, or a dagger in his back. He liked it not.
____
"Your word is your bind," she replied before turning her head away from him and falling to all fours. "You should know that a promise broken is worse than any other crime among fae. Say your words, but choose them carefully."
____
Súile gave pause to this most recent revelation. Fea? Is that what they all were? Not simple, if powerful invaders? But kindred, of some variety at least. This was all news to the darkkin, and he felt as if a fog had fled his mind. Or blanketed his thoughts even more? Was that what he was? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and suddenly, he felt lost, here, in his home. This ruined castle, and everything inside it. When had he arrived here? Did it really belong to him, or he to it? In truth...Súile felt scared.
"Fine," He'd mutter, with as much pride as he could muster. "Fine, I say the words. I ask thee to take me under your care, as much as I wish to serve you, as both a vassal and a servant."
____
Myrrlew spared once last glance over her shoulder and nodded approvingly. "I am Myrrlew; this name is my promise to you. As long as your loyalty proves true, so will mine to you. Our gifts shall be shared, and from punishments you are spared. We will weather together, and you need fear no other. Stay by my side, like a chick to its mother."
The final word spoken, Myrrlew dashed back through the maze of hallways.
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