{ ❥ } — Wandering around an unknown place with a body chilled from the night air, Rinoa had to face the facts and admit that she was undeniably lost.
When she had set out for a walk that night, she had not intended to get so deep in thought that the passage of time and the sense of direction was forgotten — and yet here she stood in the middle of a forest. The sounds associated with the night were all that her ears could hear: the chirps of the crickets, the rustling of the leaves as the breeze came and went, the soft rush of water which hinted to a nearby lake or perhaps pond.
Her only light was the dim glow of the crescent moon and even that was little help as the forest was full of thick and lush trees. She stopped in mid-step, pressing her back up against the trunk of an old oak when the sound of another walking nearby was heard. Heart pounding and eyes glancing to and fro frantically, Rinoa readied herself to a possible attack. Her blaster was attached to her arm and the sorceress magic she held within could be called forth in a second if needed.
“Come where I can see you stranger,” she called out shakily.
{☆} — Stella had been surprised to hear the voice of a young woman calling out to her – and in a nervous tone, no less. She had prepared her blade in hand, expecting to take down another of the night beasts that usually prowled the area during the late hour, but instead, had been greeted by an unexpected visitor. Judging from the anxiety laced in the woman’s voice, Stella could tell she had lost her way around the woods. What was someone like her doing out here in the middle of the night? Then again, she was one to talk.
“Did you happen to be on your way to Tenebrae, stranger?” She responded to her calmly from afar, hoping to relieve whatever tension she felt as she stood in the middle of the forest alone. “You should know all too well that the roads to the city of darkness, including this forest, become more difficult to navigate during nightfall.”
The princess then relinquished her weapon and acceded to the woman’s demand, beginning to step out into the open for her to see. But as she drew closer, the moonlight–dim as it was in the darkened sky–had managed to gradually reveal the other woman’s features as well. Glistening jet-black hair, dark brown eyes, and a petite yet alluring face that had been all too familiar to her. Stella abruptly stopped in her tracks, a quiet gasp escaping parted lips as she took in the sight of a dear friend from her past.
“…Rinoa?”
