The souls that linger around the forest {open}

[Gale]

No doubt this was one of the places that he liked most; the home to the fae and hostile territory to others. Well, that was fine with him. The less human taint, the better the world would be. That was a certain fact that no one could and would deny--except the humans, of course. But here and now, the spirit elf had nothing to worry about. The forest was still, but those within were very much alive.

Kuolema on his shoulder hooted quietly and swiveled her black and gray head, eye roaming over the area. It was a quiet sound, friendly to Gale's ears. Whenever the Ghost Owl hooted like that, it meant that she wanted some attention of some sort, a quest or the simple permission to have a flight for herself. Though the two were friends, one always asked the other for permission to leave the other's presence.

But now Gale could tell that Kuolema wanted to find another being. She wasn't content with the quietness around here; in fact, she was growing restless, as Gale could tell. The bird was rustling her black-tipped wings and shifting her grip on his shoulder. Her head was flicking around, flaunting its ability to go 270 degrees around her neck. What exactly the Ghost Owl was looking for, Gale didn't know, but whatever it was, it wouldn't be harmful.

A simple pause in stride let the bird know that she could leave. Within that half-second pause, she lifted her wings, beating them as she rose in the air, leaving Gale's hair flying by the residual breeze from her wings. Watching the bird rise into the trees, Gale continued. He could trust Kuolema to warn him of any spirits or people alike; she always kept a ear out for those kind of things, though it would be much easier to be able to see spirits.

Walking on, he looked out for birds, there were plenty of sparrows around as well as cooing pigeons. Other birds were even louder, namely nightingales and other song birds that had voices to boast about. The spirit elf smiled. It felt as if nothing could go wrong now. The most that it seemed would happen was a spirit popping up to tell him his tales to add to his collection. Oh, right, he had one more story to finish; he had all the details, now all he had to do was bind them together with words and publish it in his sixth volume for the public to read.

[Hara Small Fire]

She supposed the forest could have been worse. The Forest of the Fae was known for its dislike of outsiders. Hara, a daemon, was certainly an outsider. Nevertheless, she was not human. Her kind was more or less good to the fae. As a result, the forest seemed to be going easy on her. It was acting more like a playful child the way the roots would suddenly pop out of the ground, sending her sprawling, or the way that twigs and such would reach out and snag her hair. The trees were not shifting. They were not trying to get her helplessly lost.

Hara could handle this. Her own home in the Marshes seemed infinitely more hostile. The terrifying creatures, apparitions, quick sand…Those were the dangers she lived with. At least here she was able to trip without having to worry about falling in to an endless pit of sucking sand. Let the forest play. It was worth the visit. Hara loved the sound of the birds. It was not often that she was willing to brave the harsh rays of sunlight to listen to them. The forest, with its dappled shadows, made her braver. Of course, she still had to cover up entirely.

The daemon wore a pale lavender cloak made of a heavy material and lined with some sort of black fur. The hood fell low over her face, helping to shade her eyes from the harsh light. It was difficult for her to navigate. As beautiful as the bird music was, the sooner the sun set the better her life would be. Hara did not enjoy being so covered. Beneath the cloak she wore a long matching coat with shimmery black embroidery and that same black fur lining the cuffs. Black silk gloves protected her hands and her feet were kept safe by black boots, also lined by the black fur.

It was suffocating. Hara was hot and uncomfortable. But the birds! The song was so pretty. And after all the stories she heard about the Forest of the Fae being so bright and beautiful during the day, how could she not put herself through this torture? Hara wanted to see for herself. Except seeing was difficult. That was why she did not notice the elf. He would probably notice her, however. With so many layers of strange clothing on, Hara was not nearly as quiet as she normally was.

[Gale]

The spirit elf paused. Something was making noise. Something not human to have actually made it this far. Kuolema had not sent him any warning, the Ghost Owl was probably hunting. Or she simply thought that there was no need for her to warn Gale. He knew it wasn't a ghost, as they wouldn't make so much noise. So it had to be a substantial being.

The dagger strapped at his side was still there. The throwing discs were ever-faithfully at his other side. He was armed and prepared if this creature could pose any threat in the slightest to him. Although he doubted that the forest would let it through anyways. Seeing as it had got this far, it had earned some of Gale's respect.

A fleck of purple caught his attention. Light purple, lavender. Shielding the face of the person. He didn't think that any male would wear such a color, neither did he think that he shapeshifters would wear something like that. Fae wouldn't cover themselves completely, so this female was a daemon. He couldn't see much of her, but from the way she was moving (and the scrolls that he had read), he knew that she was having difficulty seeing and hadn't noticed him. It wasn't nice not to announce his presence.

But before he was able to do so, a soft hoot echoed throughout the air, accompanied by the beat of wings. Kuolema soared through the air, passing in front of the daemon. Gale raised an arm for the bird to perch on. His presence had been more or less announced. Now time to make it more polite. "Greetings, miss," He said to the daemon, walking closer to behold her. "What brings you to the forest, if I may have the pleasure of knowing?" He asked, truly curious.

[Hara Small Fire]

"Greetings, Miss."

Hara froze at the sound of words. Male words. They were polite, even kind, but that meant very little to Hara. She was in fae territory and fae creatures were as unpredictable as her own people. Slowly, she turned towards the man. Her body was tensed, ready for a fight. She could feel the wildness of the fae. It thrilled her in an odd sort of way. Silently, Hara peered through the shadows of her hood in an attempt to get a clear view of the male who spoke to her. Midnight blue skin and lovely black hair met her eyes.

So he was a spirit elf then. Hara had never met an elf before, but she had heard stories. They were rumored to be the most level-headed of the fae. She wondered if this was true. Her golden eyes took in the deep blue of his skin with fascination. He was certainly interesting to look at, but Hara remained wary. The daemon was cautious, especially when she was vulnerable as she was. At least she had her defenses. Almost as if assuring her safety, a gust of wind swirled around her. Hara drank it in greedily, reveling in its chaotic strength.

Only a few seconds had passed but it felt longer to her. “I came to hear the birds sing,” she told him honestly. Hara had nothing to hide. Even if she did, it seemed unfair to lie to a creature that could not lie itself. “If I have intruded on your territory, then I apologize.” Hara was not entirely sure how territorial the fae were. Her experience with them was few. She thought back to Tondra, the sweet hearted changeling. Tondra did not seem particularly aggressive. Was she the norm or the exception? Hara had no idea.

The only other fae creature Hara knew was Than. He was an elf, too. Her blood ran cold at the thought of the psychotic night elf and is vendetta. Instinctively, Hara took a step away from the man before her. He was an elf, too. Hara knew that Than was exiled; that he was the exception and not the norm. That knowledge did little to ease her fears. Than had trapped her even when she knew he was bad. Could not this man trap her, too? The fae were not good anymore than they were evil. Hara did not wish to be trapped again, and so she must be careful.

[Gale]

Gale watched as he startled the female daemon. She hadn't seemed to sense that he was there. Perhaps the light influenced her more than he should have thought. But then again, she was cloaked and he spirit elf knew how having a hood on could impair hearing, perhaps it was this that made her rather unable to hear his movement, through the rustling of the seemingly-thick material. He was unable to see her, but he knew that she could see him as she focused.

Kuolema hooted quietly, eyes trained on the wind daemon curiously. She knew that her master had no knowledge of the daemon's background, but she was able to sense the slight stirring in the wind. Being a smart animal, she watched the wind daemon curiously. Despite her body signals, she was no threat to them; wary at the most. The bird was quite content with the new arrival; not having met with many other species before. The bird turned her dark head towards Gale, as if asking if she could investigate.

“I came to hear the birds sing, if I have intruded on your territory, then I apologize.”

Gale smiled at this. A coincidence indeed, that was the exact thing that he had come to do--more or less. He doubted that this daemon would know or be able to speak with the spirits of the dead, but she could definitely hear the birdsong around. He himself had no "territory" around here; it was closer to the Mound. But here it seemed that more birds preferred to nest. Even here more spirits nestled, as if they were afraid of the Mound that the fae so jealously guarded. His Ghost Owl companion complained again, asking his permission. "Right," He murmured to the creature, looking at the daemon.

"This is not my territory, and I do not wish to harm you, as for my companion, Kuolema, she is rather curious in regard to your presence, would you take offense if she came to rest on you?" He asked. As if he was adding an afterthought to her sudden step back, he said, "I would ask of you to refer to me as Gale." The spirit elf was rather hesitant to say the name that he used as an author, Gale Chaser, for one never knew if they could be pestered for a preview of the next volume of Lost Stories of the Past. This daemon also seemed rather afraid of him, as if she was afraid that he could decapitate her somehow--which he wasn't very capable of doing. Perhaps she had some bad experience with some fae beforehand?

[Hara Small Fire]

Through the shadows of her cloak, Hara saw him smile. It was a nice enough smile. The daemon still did not relax.

"This is not my territory, and I do not wish to harm you, as for my companion, Kuolema, she is rather curious in regard to your presence, would you take offense if she came to rest on you?"

Companion? Kuolema? Hara blinked as she looked around. Unable to see or hear ghost creatures, she had no idea what the elf was talking about. She looked all around her, but had trouble looking up for fear of the sun’s rays.

After finding nothing, she paused to reanalyze what the elf had said. This was not his territory. He meant her no harm. Neither did Than, she thought bitterly, That assurance means little. She still could not figure out the part about his companion. Was he crazy? Maybe all elves were crazy. Maybe that stereotype about them being the most level-headed was completely false. Hara peered around again, just in case. She was hesitating, unsure how to respond to such an odd request. Was this companion an animal of some kind? Perhaps a bird? Mayhap the creature was resting high up in a tree.

"I would ask of you to refer to me as Gale."

Oh. This was awkward. She had probably paused too long for his comfort. “My name is Hara,” she told him. A name for a name. That seemed fair. “I am afraid I do not understand your request. I see no companion with you, but my vision is not at its best right now. The sun prevents me from taking a proper look. Is there something that I am not seeing?” She would certainly like to know what she was getting herself into if she was going to allow something to ‘rest’ on her.

It was best to be polite. That was the first rule when dealing with fae creatures. Especially potentially crazy fae creatures. Also, she must not ask for anything or agree to anything. That was a lesson Hara learned the hard way. Perhaps, if she played her cards right, Hara could make this a positive meeting rather than a complete disaster. She tried to remember Tondra, but Than was too close to the present. Besides, he seemed to have loads more in common with Gale than Tondra. Winter then. He was not so bad, and he was male…

[Gale]

Watching the daemon, Gale allowed himself another amused look as she seemed not to be able to see the Ghost Owl. Was Kuolema that camouflaged against him? He turned to regard his companion who promptly gave a loud, impatient hoot and rustled her wings, making Gale duck his head as not to be buffeted by the black feathers. Well, if there was one thing that he found out, it was that Kuolema's patience was wearing out and she was extremely curious about the daemon.

“My name is Hara,”

[/b]

Hara... that was a suitable name, it was feminine, clearing the last qualms (if he had any) about the gender of the daemon. Definitely female. It was simple to remember and not very familiar to him. But then again, he had not met a lot of inhabitants of Litharia. Hara... was it familiar to him? If it was, he couldn't place the thought; probably some name that one of the ghosts had mentioned and he had dismissed as unimportant.

“I am afraid I do not understand your request. I see no companion with you, but my vision is not at its best right now. The sun prevents me from taking a proper look. Is there something that I am not seeing?”

At this, Kuolema gave a disgusted complaint and Gale had to hush the bird. As an uncommon species that traveled in the dark, not much could be done if the bird camouflaged well enough for one whose vision was impaired to see her. It took all his willpower not to laugh at the bird, but he managed to do so.

Turning back to Hara, he explained, "Kuolema is a Ghost Owl. One could say that it is rather difficult to behold her if her vision is impaired." He took a few steps towards her, holding out the owl towards Hara. "Never before has she seen a true living daemon before and neither have I. Forgive me for this, but I truly am curious about the living daemon race" It was the truth, something that he did not mind sharing with the daemon. He had spoken with many daemons that passed on, but never with a daemon that breathed.[/center][/color][/size]

[Hara Small Fire]

Inwardly, Hara flinched as the elf moved forward. She managed to remain still despite her fear of him. Hara was a predator and fear would not conquer her. Instead, she focused on another emotion that was flitting about her person. Curiosity. With him being closer, it was easier to observe him through the hood. Now she could see the ghost owl. Of course she had seen such creatures before, but never this close. She was fascinated despite herself.

"Never before has she seen a true living daemon before and neither have I. Forgive me for this, but I truly am curious about the living daemon race."

Apparently she was not the only one who was fascinated. It seemed that both Gale and the owl were as curious about her as she was of them. Hara tilted her head to the side as she regarded them carefully, still unwilling to trust the male. It did not matter how kind they were. Sometimes the sharpest claws were the ones that could not be seen. Hara knew that more than most.

He was curious about her. Curious how? She pictured him running experiments on her, draining her blood just like those humans would have done. This man-elf was connected to the Spirit World. Did he care about what happened to the living? Everyone knew it was unwise to follow a fairy. What if she ended up trapped in the Mound? Hara suppressed a shudder. She was of the wind. Hara could not imagine being trapped anywhere, especially anywhere that had its base underground. She tried to imagine what Faery was like. Was all of it underground? She had heard that it was an entirely different world like Dream Land. Did that mean there were all sorts of different land types? Was it big?

For a few moments, her curiosity stretched wide enough to block out her fear. “What do you want from me?” she asked the elf. It was a blunt question, but open and inquisitive rather than suspicious. If it was only company, then perhaps they could satisfy each other’s curiosity. But this time Hara was not going to be trapped. This time she was going to make a deal with the elf. If he refused, then she would leave. Simple as that. Never again would she interact with a fae creature without making a deal to safeguard her own protection.