There are tunnels beneath the city. Long, winding passageways fill the underground like a maze and darkness bleeds from the depths, obscuring whatever destination that’s waiting to be found within them. Lit by nothing but torchlight, shadows dance across the stone walls, lazier without the cool night breezes that exist on the surface. It was surprisingly simple to obtain information on the whereabouts of an entrance to the tunnels; for all that they have an air of mystery, they don’t seem to be an exceptionally well-guarded secret within the kingdom. Where they lead, however -- now that is certainly a mystery worth exploring. After all, there is always the possibility that they lead out of this city with its towering, cagelike walls and back to the world that Oz and Alice know.
Though chains... of some sort do apparently prowl the streets of the city at night, many seem to steer clear of Oz, like weaker creatures cowering and skittering away at the presence of a more dangerous monster. The sounds of the city above are muffled, harder to discern from the underground. Of course, there are few noises at all when many folk are either hiding away from the danger that eternal nightfall brings or farther out in the forests seeking ingredients for the city’s royalty. But every now and then there is an unmistakable heavy, scratching sound that is likely some sort of creature stalking the city's mostly-abandoned streets.
And -- there, the sound is audible again... but louder this time. A little closer, without any layers of earth in between to soften the noise. Oz feels a chill go down his spine; an unfathomable sensation, like being watched but infinitely worse, stops him in his tracks. He freezes, gaze flicking back into the depths of the tunnel that he and Alice have been wandering through just in time to see one of the city’s notorious night creatures leap forward in one long stride. (This one must be bold.) He stiffens, pivoting a little, but there’s no time to find a better position within the cramped tunnels, and it’s headed right for Alice, maw agape and ugly claws out ----
Too late, too slow. There’s nothing he can do ----
Panic seizes him in an iron grip. He flings out one hand in a futile attempt to do something, anything -- though he doesn’t know what, has not thought that far ahead, and is only acting on the surge of raw desperation that shoots through him at the sight of Alice in the direct line of the beast. He cannot see anything, cannot think of anything besides Alice, Alice ----...
❝ ------ ALICE !!!! ❞
@forcottentail, I want to protect you.
