[ti]solo[/ti]forest's heart

Kitten had gone quiet and contemplative, and over his own disparaging thoughts, Verai heard talking. Was it foolish to try? Was it foolish to not? He bent to scoop up the cats, and cautiously headed towards the talking.

Forest gave way to a dock, as mired in fog as the rest, a group of fishermen sitting, with two standing, arguing viciously. Verai lookedover the water, dark and unyielding. He knew there were lakes, here, but surely this water was too vast to be a lake... was he still in the timberland?

"What's going on?" Verai asked, before he realized he didn't care- he needed out of the woods.

"There- do you see her? The Final Catch!"

On cue, a massive shape drifted under the water, only a single fin cutting the waves, notched and torn with age and survival. The fishermen cheered at the sight of her.

Verai surfaced, gasping for breath. The docks were gone- Kitten and Kitty standing on the bank, instead. Verai blinked, confused, hauling himself from the lake. "What-" He grunted, trying to wring out his hair and clothes.

<I don't know!!!> Kitten said, sounding almost scared as she threw herself at Verai. <You were talking to us and then you were talking to no one and then you went in the water!!! Don't do that!!>

Verai frowned, looking over the water again. Kitten wasn't the type to make things up- so... what had happened? The fishermen and that giant fish... were they even real?

Verai just stood there, unmoving, for several long moments. His breathing was calm and measured, not by any internal peace, but by practice. Panic and recklessness was death, after all.

<What does it say?> Kitty asked, voice quiet. It echoed through the emptiness, and at it Verai drew in a sharp breath. "It's a memorial."

<To who??> Kitten moved a bit closer, sniffing at the rocks lining the edge. <Champion...? Of what? Was he the strongest?>

Verai didn't answer, hand clenching before he forced it loose. He knew what was buried there. And-

Still, he moved forward, stepping over the incense and stone, and started digging at the soft earth.

"Be respectful." Verai's voice was sharp, and Kitten instantly flattened into the dirt. Verai's eyes never left the shroud. His heart thrummed in his chest, and he reached to unwrap the cloth-

At his touch, though, the fabric simply shimmered and vanished, leaving only an armored skeleton beneath. It was human- or human-like. It was predominately a person, but with bones stretching out into wide wings. Over the main body was armor, thick and gleaming, looking polished and cared for despite the skeleton it covered.

It was silver, with garnet and rubies, and the swirling design of some flying creature.

<Who was it?> Kitten asked, in an attempt at a whisper.

Verai reached, slowly, to touch the armor. "It's... me."

The incense snuffed out, and everything suddenly went pitch.

<PURRAI??> Kitten's wail was panicked, and Verai quickly hushed her. He reached, remembering where she was and scruffing her, and carefully moving to where Kitty had been, scooping her up as well. The darkness was unnatural, thick and oppressive. Whatever was happening- they needed to leave.

He felt it- a charge in the air, the sharp whistle- And Verai jerked to the side, pulling the cats with him, hearing the solid notch of something sinking itself into the nearest tree.

Verai sucked in air, looking at the empty space before him. The blade was slick with- not blood, but ichor of a sort, shadow-black feathers stuck to it. What had it been, then, that had stalked him and the cats?

<Purrai?> Kitty asked, a soft mewl. <Is the darkness coming back?>

"I don't know," He answered honestly. "We'll need to be careful, and leave quickly."

<How?!> Danger apparently gone, Kitten had no need for keeping her voice down any longer. <We're still super lost!!!> She threw herself down in the dirt, and let out a huff.

They made it to another clearing, this one smaller. There was even light, to keep the darkness at bay- a tall torch, adorned once with a red band.

The clearing they had started in.

Verai let out a small sigh of relief. This, at least, was something. It wasn't great, but it was workable. He looked around for anything- a trail, a sign, something- but there was little in the clearing, save for the one torch.

He looked at it- Bria had said, before, in one of her many unprompted talks about video games, that distinctive items were often important. If something stood out- an item that shouldn't be where it was, a place where something should be but wasn't, or a solitary object- it was important to moving ahead. And... the torch stood out.

Grabbing the shaft, he pulled it from the ground. The flames swirled as it was moved- but not as fire should. He had heard of priests asking questions, casting slips into the flames to see what shapes the sparks took- but this-

The flames morphed, forming a bird-like creature. But the edges were not soft, like feather or flame. The edges were harsh, rough, jagged like stone or ice-

Or the massive shape that had been burned into his eyes against a backdrop of lightning, at the Surge Steppe.

Verai shook his head, to clear it, and when he looked again the fire was normal, soft and flickering.

What was going on?