Twilight at the Winter Solstice

[Celánia]

*walks into a small secluded clearing off the path, and crouches next to a small stream waiting. a young buck comes to drink shortly.*

*lets her hair out of it's plait so it falls down, reflecting the little moonlight there is*

For Ariadne.

*the deer looks up at the sound but before it can run, i pounce, my right sword slicing through the soft fur of the deer's throat. it collapses to the ground bleeding.*

I offer this as a gift to Ariadne to show my devotion to her and her kind. The days are getting longer now and every waking moment, I am here to serve you.

*paints a spider emblem onto her forehead with the fresh blood*

I thank you for your blessing. I ask that you accept me as a fang and grant me the power to protect spiderkind.

*the blood flows into the water, turning it pale red*

My Goddess.

* washes herself clean and plaits her hair up again*

*a small spider scuttles from under a nearby rock. leaves the area, checking that nobody is present*

[OOC: reps, pm me if there is a problem with this or you want to discuss it.]

[ModNote: Celánia is next seen in Medical enquiry.]

[ringmasterrob]

*Later on in the day a small group of travelling minstrels heading to Wolfenden notice the dear corpse and the bloodstains around it, they have been overun with spiders.*
Minsteral: How odd This behaviour is not usual for spiders

[Tzigane]

*A tall white figure walks through the spilt blood as the group turn their backs, and they see nothing. The figure fades away as she leaves the path, but just as her image is completely gone, the group hears an echoing sob*

[ModNote: Next seen in Ursula Appears.]

[Brother Strange]

*Late that evening, a figure in a brown cassock enters the clearing. His features are hidden by a dark brown hood, and he walks calmly and deliberately into the clearing and up to the deer in the failing light, almost as if something guided him. His movements do not seem to be in any way stealthy or furtive, yet he makes no sound as he crosses the twig-strewn forest floor.
He looks down at the deer corpse, now somewhat withered, and infested with bloated spiders, gorged on its blood.
He speaks softly to himself*

Ariadne... what business do you and your brood have here?

*he lifts the head of the deer, noting the slit throat*

No... it was no spider did this...
A mortal... but why?

*Brother Strange let's the deer's head fall, and heads back to the path, guided uneeringly through the darkened wood by a light only he can see.*

[ModNote: Brother Strange would next be seen in Strange noises: no pun intended.]