Into the Woods ((Keskorie and Shenzi))

((Kinda in a rush, so excuse jibberish/small post.))

As the golden-haired vampire trekked through the forest, birds stopped chirping. Rabbits darted down their holes, and squirrels hid their eyes. Shenzi frowned slightly at this, but continued on. He was used to this by now. He supposed that was one of the perks of being a vampire and hungering for blood; you're feared, and nobody wants to get in your way. Shenzi enjoyed the solitude he had received in return from the animals, but after awhile, he felt no longer respected out of fright. He just felt...

Lonely.

The man let out a shuddery sigh, closing his one amber eye briefly, then walked on. He knew that if he went any longer without a friend or someone to talk to, he'd go mad. To tell the truth, Shenzi found himself talking to a mouse he had named 'Madam Flufee' the other day. He really had no idea how it led up to that, but he was embarrassed. But now, he had a feeling that today, his life will change...

I was walking through the forest, not really listening to the surrounding until I stopped. It was strange, I couldn't hear another sound. Usually there would be something, but everything seemed so still. I looked around, reaching down and sliding out one of my daggers, wondering if anything was around or if it was just quiet. I waited, listening intently for any sound close by.

(Sorry for the bad post XD)

Shenzi stopped his stroll as he sensed a presence. He blinked his one eye slowly, and raised his head higher. This wasn't the presence of a normal forest creature. More of the presence of a human, like him. Not a vampire, though, by the scent of her. Just an average person, it seemed. Shenzi began to float rather than to walk, in case this human was hostile, especially to vampires. He didn't want to kill a new person before he tried to be friends with them. That'd be no fun.

*ahem*, not that he kills that much anyway...

As he drifted among the trees, he spotted a woman. He blinked. He knew women would usually like to stay in civilization knitting scarves or cooking or whatever, so this was a surprise. Hopefully this girl wasn't the type who would attack upon making eye-contact with a stranger. After all, she was a sight for sore eyes. He didn't get travellers often.

Shenzi slowly landed, and strolled out into the same path the woman was walking upon. He showed no sign of threat. He had walked some ways in front of her, and he only blinked once.

I listened and continued to look around before I saw what seemed to be a floating man. It was strange to see, but he didn't look hostile... at least yet. I saw him land and lowered my knife, still having it ready in case he decided to do anything. I sat there in silence waiting for him to talk before speaking up. "So, who are you?" I asked, slightly curious. It wasn't all that strange for him to be floating, considering all of the strange things in this world.

Shenzi was relieved when the woman never made a move to inflict harm. He slowly landed to stand on his feet. He tipped his hat and grinned (mainly the pic in my signature) and greeted, "Name's Shenzi." He inhaled steadily, breathing in the scents, and briefly added, "And you're Keskorie of the Shadow Raiders!" He had picked up Shadow Raider scent from a traveler once, and after getting ahold of his backpack, Shenzi had learned about Keskorie; her appearance, usual attire, etc..

"You're pretty much their queen, yeah?"

I watched him, taking note of his name and behavior. It slightly caught me off guard when he said my name, and my guild. But what caught me more off guard was when he said queen. I let out a laugh, wondering if that was supposed to be a compliment. "I wouldn't say queen, more like leader. But anyways, how do you know my name?" I asked him.

Oh crap, Shenzi instantly thought. Can't blow my cover. After all, this was a pretty decent chick. It'd be a shame if Shenzi scared her off or whatever. He had to come up with a lie, and quick; couldn't let himself stammer either. Or take a lot of time with his answer. He couldn't have no doubt in Keskorie's mind whatsoever; he had no idea what would happen to him if the leader of ShadowRaiders decided that he knew too much (which he probably knew a lot, due to the unfortunate traveller's backpack)- but it would be more terrifying if she discovered that he was a vampire.

"Information has a tendency to spread quickly," Shenzi responded, trying his best to get his voice to remain steady. "But don't have a heart attack, I'm not one of those let's-go-kill-someone people."

I noticed his small stutter but thought nothing of it. It was normal for people not to be perfect. "True, it does." I gave him a slight smile. "It's good not to be the 'let's-go-kill-people' type, lets you have a chance to be friends..." I thought for a second before adding, "On that topic, I'd watch out for Gigan if you've heard for him though, he's that type." If everything went smoothly I'd have to see if I could get Gigan not to kill him... At least for now. Then again, how would I end up doing that? I put the thought off to the side for now and concentrated on Shenzi.

Shenzi tilted his head slightly, and however tempted he was, he didn't frown. Everytime he heard of a killing type fellow, he felt chills running up and down his spine. It made him ever more wary to conceal his identity as a vampire. Slowly, he said, "Who is that..?"

((Sorry for short post, I gtg ))

I pondered for a second, wondering if my explanation would be bad or good to tell. "He's just a teammate." I shrugged, "I can say I've reduced his killing a lot though." Both of those were true, just going around the full truth. "So... What are you doing out here?" I asked, curious of what he was doing in an uninhabited part of the forest, or so I thought...

Shenzi relaxed slightly, and blinked slowly at Kes' question. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, and looked up at the leaftops. Pale moonlight filtered through the emerald green leaves. He wondered if he should tell this lady his secret- you know, have all secrets cast away at the start, but he was still frightened of his own death and judgement...

He decided to give the truth, but not all of it. He just said, "The night comforts me, and makes me feel... awake, let's say." He gazed up at the leaftops for a moment, then looked back at Keskorie. "What about you?"

I looked up at the sky. It was comforting, and beautiful. And in the forest without lights, you could see the stars sparkling like a new diamond. It really was something. "I just came out here to get away from things. Too busy to do it in the day. It's relaxing, less sound, and the sound that there is is usually beautiful, like the frogs or crickets." I paused, taking a breath at the night sky. "And you know, I've never really stopped to look up and admire the stars. They're... Just so... Magnificent." Yeah, that was the right word. I glanced back over at Shenzi and gave a slightly embarressed smile. Just spilling out everything about me already, maybe he just felt trustworthy like that. Or it could be the fact that I actually did feel relaxed, and it was a dark and calm forest night.

Shenzi was pleasantly surprised as this Keskorie girl spoke of the stars' magnificence. He tilted his head at her, and allowed a sincere smile to stretch across his face. She reminded him so much of his niece; which was a good thing, I suppose... Yet he was somewhat confused, because whenever she said the word beautiful, the phrase, You know who else looks beautiful? popped to his head. He knew he was thinking about Keskorie.

Well, Shenzi just met this girl! And who knows? She may even turn out to NOT like vampires at all. No need to get a crush now, especially in the first few minutes of conversation.

"It is a beautiful night," he agreed. He glanced up to the sky, then looked back at Keskorie. "It is nice to get away from responsibilities for a while..." He suddenly got an idea. "Would you like to see the stars up close?"

((Bump, plz..?)

(I'm so sorry, your profile picture is distracting XD )

I turned to him. "Do you have a telescope?" That was the only reasonable thing that popped into my head at the moment. Then again, what normal thing came out of this world. I remember being really little, my dad showing me the night sky for the first time. It wasn't my first time seeing them from the ground, but he showed it through the telescope. I was to young to understand the amazing balls of gasses, the things that created the very life of this world. It'd be amazing to see them again.

(And... went into science from school XD)

((It is..? :0 )

Shenzi shook his head. For him, telescopes were a thing of the past. He remembered he had lived through the invention of them, but he had discovered a better way of looking at the stars... Without any equipment. Though, sometimes company would be nice...

"No." He began to float again, and offered out his hand to Keskorie. He grinned. "We'll look at them closer than a telescope ever will."

((You remember that Nightingale took Arik to see the stars? Well, it's gonna be like that again.)