[ P ] Ghosts And Shadows

Perihelion had been to Aberdeen a time before, but from where he was, he could see in the distance the trees of Perth, turning the horizon a hazy green. Slowly, he trotted towards it, looking around the landscape of Aberdeen as he went. Grasses brushed against his belly, whispered as his paws moved through it. A structure in the distance caught his attention a little more, making his course alter a bit to approach the structure.

He loomed over him as he came to the side, the stones of the side covered in moss that had slowly grown up onto the sloped part at the top. Peri tilted his head slightly to the side, wondering if anyone had claimed it as their own as he came to the door, leaned to the side, off the movable parts that held it to the side of the structure.

Licking his lips slightly, to dissipate some anxiety that he felt as he looked into the cobweb-arched door, that opened like a mouth in the building. Perihelion peered into the darkness, head canted slightly to the side in curiosity. Slowly he stepped into the doorway, pausing to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness within — it was a stark contrast to the brightness outside, with the sun shining in the slightly clouded sky above.

Slowly, he went deeper inside. Movement caught his attention, making the hairs along his spine rise as a shadow shifted, darker than the darkness surrounding it.

“Who’s there?” He asked curiously, trying to keep the squeak of fear out of his voice, attempting to make it deeper than it actually was.


@Nilu


"speech"

table code © ashon

As she rustled about in the abandoned cottage, she didn't think to watch her back. So that was how the pup was about to 'sneak' up on her until he called out, asking who was there. Nilu paused her rummaging and lifted her snout out of the pile of forlorn junk in the dark corners of the building to turn and face the boy. He hadn't seemed to spot her yet, as her dark coat blended into the shadows perfectly. Her red-chipped eyes sparkled and she danced forward, snubbed tail swaying behind her as she looked at the young boy. "Just little ole' me!" she chirped as she faced him. She didn't determine him a threat because he was so young looking. "I'm Nilu... and you are?" she asked, flicking an ear curiously towards him as he turned and glanced back over her shoulder. She wondered if he was here to pilfer this place as well and she pursed her lips into a frown momentarily. "I was here first, so the goods are mine... that's how it works!" she said, turning her attention back towards him. The frown still lingered, but the corners of her lips twitched. She was caught between wanting to keep any trinkets or food she found to herself and being her usual friendly self.

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As Peri watched a shadow peeled from the corner, all but bouncing towards him. He stepped back a little, one front paw lifted mid-step as he did so. His head tilted slightly to the side as he slowly lowered his lifted paw.

“Just little ole me!” The moving shadow chirped out. Peri blinked, looking a the shadow — a wolf, rather — with undeniable curiosity. Even her — he used his nose here — eyes were black. This fact unsettled him just a touch, but he felt emboldened by the fact that he wasn’t instantly met with teeth coming from the darkness.

“I’m Nilu… and you are?” The woman asked. She seemed to be older than Peri himself was, but he was already taller than the woman, his legs making her somewhere between a paw’s width and a mouse’s tail taller than her at the tops of his shoulders.

“I’m Peri,” he finally said after a moment’s hesitation. “Nice to meet you, Nilu.” Her name felt strange on his tongue, but perhaps no stranger than any other name that he’d never encountered before.

“I was here first, so the goods are mine… that’s how it works!” She said, as she turned her head back towards him after looking towards the corner. She still wore a frown. Peri blinked, frowning himself. He shook his head slightly.

“No, I don’t want any of the ‘goods’. I just wanted to explore,” he said.

@Nilu


"speech"

table code © ashon

This was the second time she'd met a pup, though they were not in the Fae Forest like last time, it was still strange. Where were all the parents of these kids?! Then again, he seemed a little older, maybe closer to her age than she suspected. He was taller than her so he couldn't be that young, she guessed. Her thoughts went out the window as he introduced himself as 'Peri' then finally told her he had no interest in her goods. At this, she visibly relaxed and her frown was quickly replaced with a smile. "Okay, good." she breathed out. The boy claimed to only want to explore so many he'd like to help her look for goods rather than take them for himself. She tilted her head curiously as she looked at him. "Do you wanna help me? I'm looking for anything shiny, or anything I can trade at the markets... or even food!" Nilu was not above scavenging and it was how she made a living most of the time, gathering enough stones or gems or coins here and there to sell at the market for foodstuffs. She even found stashes sometimes, of valuables and of food. Those she quickly thieved away for herself with no regret or remorse in her tiny body.

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As he spoke, Peri noticed the small woman visibly relax, the frown she wore turned into a smile. It prompted Peri to give his own broad, toothy smile, the kind that touched the corner of his eyes. The woman breathed out a couple of words, and Peri nodded to the words.

“Do you wanna help me? I’m looking for anything shiny, or anything I can trade at the markets… or even food!” The woman — Nilu — said. Peri pondered for a moment. It would allow him to explore without getting chased off by the woman, who he was sure could probably fight better than he himself could at this point.

“Sure!” Peri chripped. “Sounds fun to me!” So, anything shiny, or anything… Tradeable. He hummed to himself for a small moment, glancing around. So far, he didn’t see anything obvious, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t anything there — the treasure simply had to be found! He lifted his head slightly, beginning to trot farther into the shadows. Eventually, he lowered his head, putting his nose to the ground as he entered a darkened room. The shadows were thick, and it was almost lightless, outside of the dim light that filtered in through a dusty, cracked window across the room from him.

Something caught his eye as he moved, making Peri take a step back to see what he saw again. It was a small glitter in the corner of the room, drawing his attention. He padded over to it, sniffing the air to see if there was anything that would give him a hint of what it was. As he approached, he saw a small fallen shelf, and he could see where its weight had pulled itself out of the wall and cast its contents around on the ground below.

There were a few objects on the ground, a couple shattered into irreparable pieces, unidentifiable. But, not all the items were broken. There was a small stone, broken open from where it had fallen, its outside rough and gray in color. The inside, however, was a vibrant, glittering green. Peri looked at it for a moment, before picking it up gingerly in his jaws, and trotting out of the room, following his nose over the smell of stone, to find the small woman.

“N-la,” he said around the stone in his teeth. He trotted over to her and set it down at her paws. “Is that something you could trade? It’s shiny, but it is a stone...”

@Nilu


"speech"

table code © ashon

It would seem she'd made a fast friend and for that Nilu could not be more thankful. While the boy looked young, looks could be deceiving and he could be something he totally didn't look like... like a fighter or something. She had been duped before and she did not want to get into a fight with someone, no matter their age. She was a thief, not a soldier, and she did not spend her time in battle ever. She would flee before anything nasty went down, given the opportunity. He was agreeable when it came to helping her and she blasted him another bright smile, her stubbed tail sweeping behind her in a wave of happiness. They split up then and she began her search while he went about his. Soon he returned to her and while she had not found anything salvageable yet, he'd discovered something. Nilu's ears perked as he set a glittering green stone down at his paws. Her eyes widened and she smiled again, bending to sniff the curious stone. It could be a gem or something very valuable. It was definitely worth keeping and it might fetch her a meal tonight. "This is good Peri!" she stated happily. The red chips in her eyes seemed to dance as she smiled at him. "I don't know what it is, but let's keep it over here. We could probably trade it for a good meal!" she said as she picked it up and set it aside so they could continue searching for things. ... A few hours passed and she turned up with a few silver, flat pieces of metal and that was about it. This place was probably tapped. She set the metal pieces by the stone and looked towards Peri again. "I think we've got all we're going to get outta this place." she admitted. "What do ya think?" she asked, wondering if he had found anything further.

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