waning.

His heart raced as he saw the beast stare him down, fangs gleaming in the glow of the moon. But he fought against his own instinct to run, knowing that would likely only heighten it's drive to hunt him down. One breath at a time, steady now...

He watched the hound settle as the spell took root in their mind, his own shoulders relaxing as he felt the air grow calm, if just for a moment. "Good, that's it... We're just going to calm down a bit alright? Settle in, take a breath..." he spoke as if he was guiding them through a deep meditation. And perhaps, in a way, he was.

"Now, let's see... If you can understand me, will you do as I say?" This felt so odd, "Can you sit? I'll open the circle if you sit, and stay."

This tense and terrifying moment of staring down some gigantic lycan beast was now becoming... dog training. Better than a battle of life and death, he supposed. Only problem was that he didn't have anything to reward good behavior, and the wolf seemed like the type to be food motivated.

No matter. One more spell could be cast to help with that. With a soft wave of his hand, he summoned his Unseen Servant. Though that was now three spells being held, and he felt his body complain with a sharp pain in his very center. He'd be fine, he had to be.

"Back to the house. Bring back any meat you find. Be quick." And in a whisk of wind, the invisible aid was off back towards the cabin, though it did cause a bit of rustling on the way out--

#thread;;#fortune-feather;;#werewolf whisperer age...

A haze. A fog. A viscous cloud. This is the maze that they waded, the cage that festered their mind and rattled their senses. Somewhere inside of this beast, Eden was there. If not the Eden he knew, a fragment. A shard. Like the slice of a broken mirror. Destroyed, but still reflective.

There was no conscious recognition of his command, but the beast swayed, slowly digesting his words, his question, with a glassy-eyed stare.

With a bend of their spine, the wolf folded, rearing back, and for a moment it might have seemed like it planned to lunge. But its rear settled into the grass, wiry tail swept around its body. There's a rumbling moan vibrating through its throat, and then a bow of its head.

Keen eyes would catch the twitch and spasms of corded muscle. Claws flexing, veins popping along the neck, the instinct for carnage just barely held calm with Age's spell. It could smell the blood coursing through his veins, practically taste it on its gums … but it recalled his message.

I'm a friend.

Its tongue lolled out, deep and panting breaths followed, and a guttural whine. It was so empty. A cavernous famine. Hungry.

A race against time. A test of his magic. A charmed beast it may be, but also a starving one.

bloodyarn

@bloodtwin / @fortune-feather / @muunsick

Somebody should help Eden, guys...

#BFNANFSAGAJFAJSFASF #EDEN IS FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIFE.#OML.#aough this entire thing is so good...#the little flags in her crown ....#the pissed off puck ...#age and era serving cunt ....#sobbing in real life #omglfdfgd #other's art;;

grief-worn

#𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖋-𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖓 an independent, semi-selective blog for ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡʜᴇᴀʀᴛ of 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐮𝐫'𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝟑. 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨; 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲, 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡.

RULES. ABOUT.

this blog will contain 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 and 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 for bg3.

coveted by addi. (they/them, 25+) 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩.

#LISTEN. I NEEDED MORE OF THIS WOMAN ON MY DASH #so .... i took matters into my OWN HANDS.#impulse control: zero #coochie control: max speed.

( i had a few hours of free time and no one to tell me this was a bad idea. woe, shart be upon ye! )

#art;;#self;;

Age could only bear witness to the transformation that took place before his very eyes. His stomach churned as he heard bones crunch and watched blood pool under their feet. But he held firm, widening his stance as he watched the beast fill the moonlight cage he'd made. Even as his body screamed to run, he refused. He'd promised.

"Don't worry, I'll keep everyone safe. Including you." He sent Era up into the branches overhead to keep an eye out, that way if the wolf escaped and tackled him, he wouldn't be completely blind right away. Thinking ahead, always thinking ahead.

Thankfully this particular spell wouldn't require holding concentration, though if Eden tried to escape, then things might be a little more difficult. So, he would calm them. He'd held onto this particular spell scroll for some time, happy to have it now even if he'd only be able to use it once. He just hoped it would to enough to soothe the savage beast.

"Look over here, focus on me." he said as he pulled a trembling hand away from his staff to summon his book, the pages opening to the spell that he'd yet to properly add. He held out his hand towards them, palm open and fingers outstretched. In the same pale glow, a spectral version of his hand pulsed away from him and towards the beast, floating gracefully before moving to rest upon their head. In one gentle movement, the hand caressed over the crown of the wolf's head, past their ears and horns and down to their hackles, like how someone would pet a dog.

"Just relax... You're safe... I'm a friend." his voice echoed softly in their ears and their mind. And while Age didn't have too much say when it came to being able to manipulate the threads of fate, there was at least one thing he could do to tip the scales in his favor, gently nudging them to a path where this spell worked.

{ Portent Dice used. Wisdom save against Charm Monster becomes a 3, plus modifiers }

Those long and pointed ears would twitch, swiveling in the direction of his voice. It was a voice they did not recognize, not in this state. Standing upright, the wolf pulled back its lips, snarling, a horrible rumbling noise that shook the air. Knuckles flexed, and their barbed tail whipped itself into a frenzy, smacking the sides of his cage, sparking brief embers of light.

They coiled like a spring, intent on pouncing and acting on their baser instinct to rip and tear … but the moment that phantom hand made contact with their crown, they stilled. Fur, once standing on end, went smooth. The beast lowered itself, placing its weight on all four limbs, bowing its head. Docile.

Recognition. Age was … a friend. Through their vision, the dark, unruly shapes blurred and warped, but where fear and terror normally festered in their head, they felt calm. A peace utterly unknown to them.

Eden bellowed, releasing a low and chest-deep noise. Deep. Mournful.

recitedemise

Without much prodding, Gale allows himself a moment to consider their character. It's all of it a gesture of wisdom and survival! When on the road, after all, every soul should be read. That said, he's not exhuming secrets, their great treasure trove of mysteries like corpses in the mud. However, even those most cursory of glances can afford their insights, and they with their study offer tens of those, indeed. For a voracious, cunning wizard, it may have been hundreds.

Their voice would come honest. Their air, despite the season, smells of vigorous sweet peas. They had surely wrangled horrors, fissured foully and deeply as they loudly appear, but they've yet to them this flavor of a stubborn sort of whimsy. They're persistent, Gale now gathers, all in spite of their hurts. They've a shock of silver hair. They've dark waves, too, standing gnarled and pretty. They're one end to the other, a soul running madly down a long, long scale, and Gale settles on a thought as they fill his sights again. Ravaged but gentle: they are all contradiction.

The reflection of his earring mirrors stars in their gaze.

"A baby--" Gale blinks in surprise. "I would have preferred stark in their cunning," he recovers, "if not brimming with inexhaustible knowledge myself, but I suppose a baby cow will do. That said, I'm much less amenable to your other curious 'appraisal'. You should know that years meet wizards as they'd meet a spot of wine." Is that so, sommelier? "I would value a layered port to at least four gold."

He's witty. But of course he is. He's witty, a bit funny, and a hell of a good sport. Still, their words, their study, sink a sliver past his skin where they settle like a weight. He's indeed past his prime, outgrowing all his uses and his prodigy luster. He can't cast like he used to, blistering his skin should he fashion a spell, and what value has a corpse to the thriving and living? None, none at all, can rightfully say. Still, their clumsiness, while strange, yet strikes him like gold. He'd been a touch too lonely, the shadows of his journey phantoming his steps as they would his doubts. To have again a voice all too willing to indulge him... Carefully poured into, a deep ravine feels filled.

"Ha. I had meant the necklace, but I'm flattered you would value me so highly." How embarrassing! "Of course, now I'm wondering why you would if you'd thought my prime firmly behind me. I'm wagering swindlers must adore you. Gale of Waterdeep. Pleasure."

#thread;;#recitedemise;;#in a battle of intellect: coughing baby vs hydrogen bomb #ah ..... a literal bomb...#sad...#i love exchanges between high int characters and low int character

For his wit, Gale is treated to a myriad of Eden expressionism. Sideways pouts, scrunched up brow-lines, and vacant, yet polite, smiles that tell him they are listening, but not quite receiving. He waxes a hearty banter, wielding humorous metaphor just as effectively as one might brandish a sharp-edged blade, and Eden is sorely out of their league. The wizard plays an entirely separate field of conversation, and his cleverness is disastrously wasted on one such as Eden.

Even so, he doesn't appear to be grievously offended, so they'll chalk this up as a successful exchange.

"You are not wine, you are a man." they reply simply, swelling just slightly, clearly proud that they had managed to correct his perceived fumble. "… and besides, that seems awfully expensive for a bit of booze. Surely you're worth more than a bottle of grape juice." Eden crinkles their nose.

They have more than a slight lack of experience when it comes to wine. If asked with a knife to their throat, they'd scarcely be able to tell the difference between a chardonnay and a sauvignon. What does it matter? Piss-yellow beer gets the job done just as well. It's all they've ever been able to afford, at the very least.

At his next clarification, they falter. The gentle wagging of their tail eeks to a halt, and a new flourish of color bleeds into their cheeks. Embarrassment.

"Ahh—so you had meant the necklace." Their upper lip juts out, hooked like a tiny bird. He takes it in good faith, though, and there's something about the edge of his smile that eases their worries, like ocean waves smoothing sandy shoals.

Eyebrows then shoot up, the next reveal a shocking realization. "You—you're from Waterdeep?" they gasp, their voice crouching to an eager hush, as if exchanging exciting secrets. "Oh, wow, I've always wanted to visit! I hear it's the prettiest city in the entire Sword Coast!" Rumors and whispers may exaggerate the luster of its splendors, but his homeland has earned more than its fair share of famous reputation. It's a city worthy of its pride, and Gale must surely agree, if he so happily pins its renown on his own introduction, forgoing even the inclusion of his surname.

Ah, introductions. It would be polite for Eden to return their name in kind, but vicarious tourism took precedent over commonplace courtesy.

"Were you born there? Oh, gosh, what is it like? Are the ships really as big as they say they are? Do the buildings really reach the sky?" Eden leans closer, famished for more. For a man like Gale, curiosity and a feverish thirst for knowledge are precious delicacies, but he did come here with an urgent purpose, fairly time sensitive, in fact. There was little time for reminiscence, not when his rot festered and gnawed at his very flesh.

Nearly there.

He could feel it too, but for different reasons. The tug of the moon at his very core, like the pull of the tide. Whenever the moonlight managed to trickle through the leaves, the stars on his skin would shimmer and glitter. But now was hardly the time for moonlit frivolity.

As soon as Eden stopped, Age felt his heart sink and his stomach tighten. It was time.

Taking a deep breath, he holds his staff in both hands, the crescent shaped hook gleaming softly. "Please let this work..." he whispers before starting to speak in Drow. The words fluttered in the air, taking form in a wide circle around Eden's feet. Runes of pure moon pale energy glowed softly in the grass before shining beams of light skyward, making a column around them. A cage of light.

It would take energy to hold that spell, but he had others up his sleeve as well. He would exhaust himself if he had to. Anything to keep Eden safe.

Eden did not react to the spell's glow. They remained still, transfixed under the moon's pouring splendor. Everything was quiet. The evening breeze ran ghostly hands over the grass, and not even the restless bugs or looming owls dared to make but a noise. It was as if the whole of the world fell into a hush, anticipating the curtains to fall. Everything was quiet.

Until it was not.

Eden fell to their knees, their spine arching into a bend, their limbs, all at once, trembling and shaking. Muscles and tendons warped, pushed to their very brink. Bones cracked and ground together, morphing, carving a new body, birthing a vicious terror out of nothing but blood and moonlight. Such a sudden transformation would normally be agonizing, but Eden made no noise aside from their guttural grunts and lolling huffs of breath. Were they still asleep?

What does the dreaming wolf see when it closes its eyes? Does it dream of the vast mountains? Of the open skies and the rolling plains? Does it dream of love? Of family?

"Mama, I'm sorry I'm late." Eden whispered into the fabric of her apron, their arms wrapped tight around mother's tummy. They felt a gentle hand brushing through their knotted, black hair. A cooing hush.

"You're not late, Eden. There's still food. Let's fill your tummy, yes?"

They felt a vibrant warmth spring from their chest, and they followed the aroma of fresh stew. Oh, they were so hungry. In this dream, they were always so hungry. Practically starved.

Fur sprouted through the rips in their clothing. Limbs elongated, teeth pushed through bleeding gums, long and horribly sharp. Masses of flesh stacked high, gurgling forth a tremendous shape, easily thrice as large as Eden themselves, and getting bigger. Their obsidian horns went crooked and jagged, clawed in ink like the dying winter tree. Claws scraped at the dirt, uprooting plants. Tatters of cloth fell, gently fluttering off tufts of their bristling coat.

They barely fit in Age's glittering cage, forced to fold their emaciated torso. One twitching, stretched out muzzle lifted skyward, sniffing. Drool had already begun to pour from its maw, catching glints of light.

They rose to their hind legs. Their one, untouched eye as full as the moon that called them, and just as pale. They drew in breath, the swell of their ribs ballooning out, jutted down the side, ridged with infernal skin.

Then, with one mighty push, they howled.

#i am so woefully insecure abt portraying canon characters #but writing her would be soooo fun #hmm #must give it some proper thought #shart my beloved

enchantedbook

'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' by Ulla Thynell

#inspiration;;

( i am so desperate to interact with a shadowheart ... but perhaps ... i must become my own hero. )

astralrogue-closed-deactivated2

The pale woman pulled off her soaked jacket, trying to squeeze out the water. The cloth clung stubbornly to her skin, and while she wasn’t particularly bothered by the sensation, the cold was starting to seep in, and she hated the cold.

“A beautiful name,” Ceres mumbled, a hint of a smile on her lips. She was confident enough in her abilities to handle Eden if she posed a threat. The thought of throwing Eden into the rain to cool her down or fleeing like a startled cat brought a chuckle to her lips. She imagined the tiefling hissing at her, water dripping from her horns.

Eden’s question lingered in the air, and Ceres found it hard to answer. Which direction was she heading? She was following the path the energy called her to, a tug she couldn’t quite explain. She shrugged her shoulders. “I followed the path and hoped that the fresh water here meant there had to be a settlement nearby. If not for a healer,” she added, acknowledging Eden's point that not just any healer could remove the tadpole, “then at least to stock up on food, find out where exactly I am, and progress from there.”

She threw her jacket over a dry branch, at least hoping it would dry somewhat. She began to unbutton her blouse, the cold air biting at her skin. The tree was too small to set up her tent, and any attempt would result in everything getting drenched. She glanced back at Eden, the rain still pouring down around them. “What about you?” she asked, genuinely curious.

#thread;;#astralrogue;;#mayhaps a road trip montage ????

Peeping where they ought not to peep wasn't exactly a habit of theirs, but there was little else to entertain oneself with out here, so naturally, their eyes fell to Ceres. They stared, just a few moments past appropriate, and realized a hair too late that they were dangerously close to committing a faux pas. They had caught the flash of a pale chest, speckled with dots, shimmering with rain water.

Eden suddenly found great interest in the rock at their feet.

"Well, your sense of direction is probably better than mine." they muttered, itching passively at the marred skin on their cheek. "I ah—was planning on going home, once the rain stopped, but I don't know if that's a great idea right now." Eden gestured awkwardly around their eye. Even now, they still felt the discomforting wriggle of their slimy stowaway, drawn towards its sibling, resting in the skull of the woman beside them.

"I say we stick to your plan. Reach a settlement, fill up our bellies, and hope we're lucky enough to find a solution to our little problems." One could hardly classify this as a plan. It lacked structure and left too many things up to chance. Eden's shoulders sagged, weighed down with both the soggy clothing on their back and the ever dwindling chance they'll come out of this unscathed. They were never good at improvising. Hells, they were quite talentless overall. The weakest link, a ball and chain on Ceres' ankle, but they'll play the part of a dependable ally. Fake it till' you make it, eh?

"I'd hate to get more water in my shoes, but maybe it'd be good to keep moving? While we still have daylight." they suggested, quite reluctantly. "I … really don't want to be out and about past dark."

Era had tucked her beak under her wing, just resting her eyes a moment before she heard the other tiefling stirring. She lifted her head with a soft croak right as Eden passed her by. She even tried to make a call up to them, as if asking if something was the matter. But that glassy look in their eyes.... Oh dear...

As the young tief walked through the living room, Age lifted his hand from his face, "Eden?" he asked before he heard Era hopping along after them, clicking her beak. Age was up on his feet quickly, Era taking wing to perch on his shoulder. The worst case scenario rang in his ears now as he formed the bond of sight once more with Era, watching Eden sleepwalk and stumble out into the woods. He hesitated for only a second, taking a deep breath to steady himself, and then he followed.

Once they were outside, he summoned his staff and gripped it tight, prepared spells tingling his fingertips as the horned pair wandered out into the moonlit forest. Trying to stop Eden would likely be pointless, and perhaps do more harm than good. He just had to follow, and wait. Soft prayers were even muttered in Drow Elven, praying to the moon that shown overhead for protection and guidance.

Even if this worst possible outcome was one he really wished wasn't a possibility, he still had prepared for it. And he had promised himself to do all in his power to do them no harm. He knew they didn't deserve it. His mind raced with everything he'd ever learned about this condition, mentally putting together a proper strategy.

He'd help them. He'd promised.

Were Age visiting this forest under more innocent happenstance he might discover tranquility among the treetops. It was a breathless sight, to be sure. Washing hues of cerulean and earthen greens. The glittering swoops of dancing fire bugs and waltzing dragonflies. Ribbons of white poured through the foliage, illuminating a mystical pathway, a winding route that traversed into an ever thickening whispering woods.

In their walking dreams, Eden saw only cherished memories. They sprinted as fast as their legs could run, but it felt as if they were wading in molasses. Their house seemed so close, yet so far away. If they didn't hurry, they'd be late. Father would surely scold them. Their siblings would bicker and tease them for spending so many hours prancing in the fields, neglecting their studies. A child whose head hung in the clouds. Ambition and folly, restless curiosity and eager confidence. Characteristics born from a safe and loving childhood. When they were allowed to misbehave. Allowed to make mistakes. Allowed to crave hubris and laugh without paying a price.

Feet shuffled through dew-tipped grass, the forest opening itself up, revealing an open clearing. A pale circle of moonlight lit the ground, the sky lifting her silver face higher and higher across the darkened firmament. Eden paused, their face rising towards the heavens, eyes now a striking milky white. Almost glowing.

Nearly there. They approached the open door of their home. Mama stood just inside, stirring a copper pot, gentle wrinkles proudly earned after years spent in joy. Eden called out to her, arms outstretched. Nearly there.

"I'm home. I'm home." Eden chanted, closing their eyes, the moonlight drenching into their flesh.

The last remnants of the moon's body, still hidden behind reaching tree leaves, dwindled smaller. Before too long, the moon would be in full view. The beast draws closer.

Nearly there.

"Goodnight, Eden..."

Once the tiefling and the raven were left alone, Age waited for just a moment before giving Era a silent, mental command, which she obeyed without hesitation. Taking gentle, quiet steps, the raven followed in the direction Eden had gone, peeking around corners before finding a spot to sit. To watch, and to listen.

Age would multi-task as he studied the guide, having set it down on the table he'd done the card reading on before, opening his spell book next to it as well and preparing what he'd need as he learned of the creature. All while muttering to himself in Drow Elven. He wished he at least had the end of his pipe to gnaw on, something to focus on to attempt to drive back the growing anxiety.

Blinding spells. Calming spells. Protection spells.

His inner clock ticked away in his mind. Sundown. He could almost feel the rise of the full moon, that gentle pull at his core. His ears flicked as he picked up the noises of nature outside. This place would have been the perfect woodsy get-away if things had just been a bit... different.

And speaking of different, there were things that just weren't adding up about the creature in the notes. Inconsistencies with creatures he'd assumed beforehand, while also matching with the one he feared most. But strangely one piece information didn't quite fit in with the others in the worst case scenario. Why couldn't they remember--? No. He forcibly pushed that possibility out of his mind again. He refused to think that just yet, even if the evidence even now was pointing to it stronger and stronger.

At one point, he snatched up his reading stone and sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes and laying back in his chair. "Oh Eden..." he breathed softly, his hand over his eyes, "What am I going to do..?"

Every full moon was the same. It brought many things. Fear. Paranoia. Memories best forgotten. A gut-deep anxiety that churned like an ocean storm. But the waking world always gave way to peace.

Every full moon, Eden would have the same dream. It was, truthfully, the only tolerable part of their newfound existence. A brief respite, a safe haven from the heavy anguish they so often endured otherwise. The instant heavy eyelids drifted shut, and the tempo of their breathes stilled to a soft caress, they were home again.

The grassy plains. The warm summer heat that smothered like a hug. They were young again. With boundless joy and the ambition to chase the sun. Grasshoppers leapt skyward, arching overhead, their wing-beats tickling the air like a shared secret among friends. Slender buttercup blossoms brushed along their sleeves, so yellow you'd think they had captured light itself.

Eden paused, poking a scruffy head out of the brush. They heard her. Mama was calling for supper. Her voice carried across grass blades and coneflowers. They ran, bounding homewards, the world endlessly wonderful the way it always was and the way it never would be again. Time to come home.

Era would spot their door opening with a gentle groan, Eden shuffling into the hallway, eyes open, making a straight route towards the back door. Their pace, while not breakneck, was rushed and purposeful, as if answering the call of some unknown summon. They pushed their way outside, making haste towards the forest, still dressed in the thin garments of their sleepwear.

The older tiefling blinked down as the new book was pushed against his own, the spell tome momentarily vanishing once again as he took this 'guide' into his hands. he ran his fingers over the aged cover, sighing. Something nagged at him so terribly, but he was ignoring it.

"Heading to bed then..?" he asked softly. Without saying so, he severed the bond of sight between him and Era, instead pulling a small, almost disk shaped stone from his pocket, about the size of a coin. "Suppose I'll do some studying then, come up with a proper plan. I have an idea already at least." A few actually, depending on different variables and how they played out. Though, one of those possibilities was like a stone in his stomach. Gods he hoped for it not to be true...

Seemed he wouldn't be smoking tonight either, since he'd already promised to stay awake. He made himself as comfortable as possible and opened the book to start reading. He held the small stone between his middle and pointer finger, passing the flat end against written words. And in his mind, he heard the words read to him.

"Yes, I try to ensure I'm asleep before it gets dark, but—" Their eyes drifted towards the floor, the curl of their tail coiling delicately around their calves. "Tonight was nice. I wish we could have met at a different time. As different people, maybe. The tea was lovely and your company is …" Their voice faded into nothing, words dimming into a melancholic lull. Almost comfortable, but not quite. Not when so much was at stake. "Well, good night."

Even a farewell as simple as this felt like goodbye. There was no telling what tonight would bring, but if history was any indicator, Eden would be alone again come morning. They took their leave, the room now hollow and left wanting. Wind whistled just outside, and even with the absence of sight to indicate time, the house was still, tensed with a bated breath that only suited the night. He would know the sun has abandoned them.

Left with little else to do, Age did what wizards tended to do best. He studied.

The pages were teeming with information, though not all of it useful. Some of it was carefully recorded with a steady hand, some hastily scribbled in an obvious panic. There were no dates, no tether to a timeline of any sort, but the edges of the parchment was torn and sanded down. From what he could gather, the beast seemed to operate on a pattern of observed behavior.

It came at night. It attacked those out past sundown. It attacked those who wandered outside. It was drawn towards the moonlight. It gorged itself on chickens, yet left vegetable gardens untouched. It could smell hunger. It attacked without prejudice. It hunted. It chased. It followed.

There was no information he found that pointed to any known species or significant identification. Generic scrawlings that described the routine of any number of nameless, ceaseless beasts. No description of physical shape. Definitely nocturnal. Definitely relentless. Definitely tormenting them for years on end.

If not for the visions projected into his very mind, he might be quick to write this off as an affliction of sanity. Haunted specters and hallucinations brought on from unhealed grief and mortifying isolation. But he saw the bodies. The gore. The death.

For a while, Age's ears would distinguish the soft and gentle creaking of wooden floors. Undoubtedly, Eden was shuffling around their room, preparing for slumber. After some time, there was nothing but calm. Crickets chittered and frogs bellowed their usual throat songs. Distant cackles of the red fox. The bend and titter of tree leaves. The forest made many noises, even at dark. It helped one feel less lonely, even if for a moment.

{ Insight Check: 19 + 5 = 24 }

With a deep, tired sigh, Age ran his hands down his face before plucking the card from the table and examining it closer. The pieces of this story were falling together in ways that he, admittedly, did not want them to. But to deny fate...

"You're right. I did promise." he says softly as he puts the deck away, despite its insistent humming against his fingers. They'd talk later, once Eden went to bed perhaps.

"I want to apologize, dear Eden." he says after a moment, "It is my duty to read these cards when they call to me, but I believe a boundary has been overstepped and a tender wound has been touched. And I'm sorry for the stress it caused you. I hope you can forgive me."

He drums his fingers against the arm of his chair, "As for the beast..." The very air before him shimmers and a large book appears. His spell book! "I will... prepare a few options. I'll stay awake tonight, watching and listening for it. And, should the time come... I'll slay it."

Even just saying those words made his heart ache. But why? Why did he feel that constricting sense of sadness and hesitation? This beast was killing people and haunting poor Eden! It had to die! ... Right?

Well, receiving a heartfelt apology for all their trouble did soften the blow. Eden supposed they'd be better off accepting his atonement on the cards' behalf. Still, the crux of the issue roamed free, and if memory had not yet failed them, tonight's moonlight would surely draw the thing out.

Over the years, Eden had studied its behavior. Adapting to its habits, they possessed a running list of routines and requirements to keep one safe, out of danger. This list may not help him now, for Age intended to run towards the snapping maws of its hunger, but they would share regardless.

"Wait." The tiefling skittered across the room, fetching an old and worn leather book off a shelf atop the mantle. It was held together by nothing more than a bundling of frayed twine, and the age of its contents was clear just from the weathering across its face. "This is … everything I've written down about it. Everything I know."

They pressed it towards him, stubbornly shoving it in front of his spell book. "It might help you find it. It might help you … slay it."

Eden would do anything to ensure its demise. As far as they were concerned, it deserved no grief. No mercy. It has shown nothing of the sort towards them. Why should it be granted the same courtesy?

"If you need anything, anything at all, just … wake me." Their hands clumsily wrung together, trembling ever slightly. "I know it's killed stronger men than even you … but if divinity is truly on your side tonight, it will not live to see the morning sun."