An unexpected visitor from the woods [OPEN]

[Orif]

This was a sunny day, the light of the sun showered the border keep of Ketra. It even made the cobble stones of the wall glinting with a yellowish brightness.
However, the lovely aura of the sun did not reach every inch of this land, not in the Draconi Forest.
Between the woods, there was only darkness and fog, disordered tree roots and crawling bugs.
In the darkness of the green, there were two hunters walking on the muddy ground, tracking down their prey.
The younger one, whom walked at the front turned over his head, threw a worried sight over his shoulder and he said, 'Father, there is something.'
'What?' The elder one looked at his son, asked with a tone of annoyed.
The son pointed to the direction in front of him, somewhere not too far.
Elder one peered to the pointed direction, he narrowed his eyes and found there was a yellowish blurry haze floating at the air.
The yellow mist seemed it noticed the witnessed of these two hunters, it started to flit toward the hunters with a tardy speed.
With the approach of that mist, the hunters turned around and tried to run but they found their legs were coiling by the messy roots under their feet, bounded they on the ground.

'Afraid do not, peace is what I ask for.'
A goat-like face with a pair of bulky horns appeared at the mist and spoke with a low, dull voice. Like the words from an old tree.
'Erm...arh....Al...alright...!' The young hunter swung his arms and yelled.
The goat-like face narrowed its eyes, looking down at the young one, 'Messenger, I need you to be.'
'What...what?! What kind of ....messenger?' The young one yelled.
The goat-like face got closer to the young one, it's furry face was just an inch close to the young hunter.
When it got near to the hunter, more of it's body parts were revealed from the mist, it's arms and half of the white, shaggy upper body uncovered from the mist gradually...
Like the mist is it's clothes, a layer of cover and protection.
The creature raised one of his arm and touched the forehead of the young hunter, it muttered.
'Cabustaur with peace, return.'
'What?! I don't...get you.' The younger one frowned at the creature.
However the creature flicked his fingers before the hunter wanted to ask more, 'Now!'
'Arghhh!!'
A moment after the creature's gesture, the roots of the woods raised, lifted and passed them collaboratively to deliver them outside the woods.




Orif peered at the moving roots, he narrowed his eye thoughtfully...
After a while of contemplation, he returned into the mist and waited...for those who can accept the return of his kin...the creature once disappear in history.


-Cabustaur-

[Ethereal-Star]

Fonel looked around the woods she had just recently arrived in, having descended from her cloudy home in the sky not too long ago. Soft white hair trailed down her back, reminiscent of the clouds themselves, as sky blue eyes gazed around her with interest. It had been awhile since she had last come down to the lands below and she much desired to see what had changed, if anything. This was a new location for her though, as the cloud nymph did not recognize the forest she was in. It was somewhat dark and foggy, but Fonel had no trouble at all with seeing what was in front of her as well as all around her.

The trees were slightly gnarled in these parts, their roots going deep into the ground beneath. Squirrels hopped around collecting acorns, while various colorful birds chirped merrily in high tree branches. There was not a soul in sight, save for the plants, trees and animals themselves. However that didn't last long.

It was soon enough that Fonel caught a glimpse of a yellowish mist moving through the area, approximately five yards ahead and to the right of her. A goat-like face peered out from this yellow-colored fog as it traversed the woods. It was a Cabustaur, the sky maiden realized. She hadn't seen one of them for a good stretch of time, about three centuries at least if she recalled correctly. Their green and white fur with curvy horns filled her mind's eye then as she remembered what they looked like.

Fonel herself had only ever seen two of these before in her entire lifetime, seeing as how most if not all had gone into hiding. Their similarities to a centaur were pretty close, however the cloud nymph was not for a second fooled as to what she saw.

Any second now and the creature would notice her. She simply waited until that happened, being the quiet sort that she was. Fonel also noted the fog seemed thicker in these parts. She supposed that to be quite natural for their kind so it didn't alarm her. What kind of disposition this one would have toward her, she did not know but would find out soon enough.

[Orif]

After Orif sent the hunters away from the woods, he returned to his magical mist, the disguise of his kin's magic.
And he started to wander in the forest with the mist while he was waiting the return of his messengers...

Suddenly he saw a white, hollow shade was staring at him from a distance.
He looked at that shade carefully and he found it looked like a shape of woman, a very beautiful one.
'You, who this is?' He swung his left arm, the magical mist faded away from his body.

Without the mist, his lower-half of green, furry stallion body had shown, above from that, an exhaustive view of his white upper body with a goat head appeared clearly.
His white goat-like head had a pair of bulky, curvy horns, his eyes were glowing with yellow-colored light in the dark.
Besides, he was holding a long, chartreuse-colored polearm.

Orif eyed the shade more cautiously before he decided approach, he tried to observed clearer at the shade, but when he walked closer, the vision of that shade became harder to see, like a transparent ghost.
However with this unclear shade, he can saw a pair of very beautiful blue eyes and he found it was interesting because they looked like the sky.
With all the curious and questions, he asked again...
'You...who this is?!'

[Ethereal-Star]

When the mist faded around the creature, the cloud nymph saw it was indeed a Cabustaur. Carrying a large greenish pole-arm, the goat-headed being demanded to know who she was as he got closer to her position.

Fonel spoke in a calming voice like that of cloudy blue skies and windy freedom. "I am called Fonel." she continued to gaze at him with those cerulean eyes, a sense of blissful expansiveness evident in them.

"I travel the world below, to seek out what I can. It is....very freeing for one such as I."

[Orif]

The Cabustaur turned his sight away from Fonel's eyes, he looked at her hair, a cloud-like hair.
'I am called Fonel.' Fonel spoke with a very calm voice, like nothing on the planet will interrupt the inner-peace of her.
'I travel the world below, to seek out what I can. It is....very freeing for one such as I.'
She continued.


The Cabustaur looked at her, wondered her word, he glazed at the Cloud Nymph, then talked with a dull voice and strange structure of sentence, 'I am Orif, the Cabustaur of forests.... Travel the world below? Many things, you must witnessed then. Tell me if you will?'

[Ethereal-Star]

Fonel smiled lightly. "Where to begin..." she spoke softly.

"I have seen nearly all the lands of this continent. The people here call it simply "Le'ranna." There are many kingdoms and cities here. People of many ilk, all blending together into one collective assortment." The cloud nymph paused here, still smiling. "Would you know more?" she asked the Cabustaur.

[Orif]

Orif looked at her cloudy hair, savoring her words.
'Assortment? What assortment?' Orif asked. 'People, how do you look at them?'
Orif paused for a moment after he threw the question...
'Destruction and malice, they only offer that...for me at least...'

[Ethereal-Star]

Eyes of sky blue gazed upon the Cabustaur then. "Many peoples I have seen... Destruction and malice, yes, there is that. But not all..."

For several seconds she remained quiet as Fonel thought of all the peoples she had come across, and just when it seemed the cloud nymph wouldn't say anything further, she spoke again. "The children of humans and some other land races, they have much in the way of innocence. They are precious beings..." Fonel trailed off, seemingly lost in thought again.

A bird flew down from a tree branch and hopped onto her shoulder then. Fonel smiled at it and it chirped a greeting to her, recognizing her as a being of the sky, the bird's domain as well.

[Orif]

Orif peered at the birds, he sank in his mind a moment. Afterwards, he grumbled, 'Innocence, it is hard to find from human...To be honest, I have to.'

He gazed at Fonel, paused for moment then asked, 'However, Fonel, this piece of green, tell me how you think about it ? Feeling, What do you get from it?'

[Ethereal-Star]

Fonel closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh crisp air around her. Then she re-opened them and told him quite simply, "The forest...it is alive, just like my home above of cloud and sky. It breathes a life all its own, the same, yet different from what I am used to."

And indeed her words were truthful, the forest had its own kind of magic, its own life force and energy of freshness. Any child of nature would know this, no matter their domain. Fonel was no different in that regard.