Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground

Each step was a crunch. Every slow movement was more dust blowing into the air. It didn't really bug her. Breathing wasn't a thing that she did. Still, the dust ruined her beautiful wrappings. The usually cold white bandages were now a dry, arid brown, caked with dirt. Her black overcoat was turning gray. This was a disgusting place. She'd been in plenty of dust, but nature was just irritating. The dirt, not to mention the pointy branches and sharp bushes every which-way, just threatening to tear through her 'skin.' She wanted to sigh, but couldn't really do it. She wasn't sure how to make that sound with her head. And, as far as she could tell, there was nobody around for it to be projected to. She shifted her mask about as if it was a pair of glasses and looked around the area. She wanted a way out of this forest. She should probably avoid coming here without proper foot protection. Her feet were nearly bare, the bandages could hardly do much.

She tightened her fists, the leather gloves squeaking at the movements. She lifted her knees, one leg at a time. She always felt so stiff. Still not used to this body. Her overcoat probably looked out of place. The sun was gleaming down through the trees, making it nice and warm. She didn't want anybody to find her or speak to her. She still didn't like people. Something about them... things were just so different nowadays. She wasn't used to it. What if people were scared of her, or tried to hurt her... she didn't want that.

Some days you just had to get away from people and explore the world around you, you could learn so much from the way the inhabitants treated there parks and natural preserves, how well they tended them, who they sculpted each and every rise, what trees they planted, how they made there paths...or if they even had paths. Isaiah walked in the dusty summer heat, his green eyes smiling as he looked around him, enjoying the site of the dying land. He wore what had become standard for him in this city of dying trees, a fine silken suit minus the jacket done in burgundy and black. He was sorely tempted to take his true shape and walk about nude as the day he was born, but one never knew when you might find a fellow being sharing a walk in the woods.

It was odd...For hours he hadn't found a single soul wondering...Did they not find this place beautiful? Where they to busy with their day to day lives to take a break and wonder the woods? IT was odd...He would have expected someone, some thing to be here...But nothing....What was wrong in this city? Thats when he heard it...A rustle in the leaves a little ways off. Was it the wind? Or had he finally found someone in this wooded wasteland?

He turns, his dancing green eyes searching for any sign of movement a small smile creeping over his lips as he does so..."HELLO!!" His voice carrys out for what might have been miles, and not another sound could be heard....Maybe it was his imagination?

She was not having a good day. She would need all new wrappings later today, and she just put fresh ones on this morning. She could usually wear the same ones for a few days. She looked up at the sky. Behind the leaves lay the empty, pale ocean of light blue. She kind of wanted to be up there. She wanted to be in the sky... She heard a voice. She stopped moving. She watched the birds flying everywhere. She really didn't want to talk with anybody. Maybe she could avoid it. She looked to the ground. If she walked around she would cause too much noise. She looked up to the trees. She bent her knees a bit. They were too stiff. She wouldn't be able to climb up there, let alone climb. She couldn't ask that the on-comer just leave, either. If she didn't know where they were, she couldn't communicate. She just gave up...

She continued her walk. She pulled her hood down further over her 'face'. If she could, she would avoid being caught. She zipped up her coat. She tried to hide her bandages and mask the best she could. She just wanted to be back in the city. She wanted a large, empty building to just relax in. She looked down at her feet. They were nearly showing her bare material. More crunching and shuffling. Stupid leaves... She would easily be found. She hoped her feet were disregarded.

(Hope you don't mind me joining. I'll delete this post if I'm intruding...)

What wonderland had Shuri wandered into, he wondered? There was so much Death around. The trees, the leaves, the dirt. It was all so calming. He wasn't much of a nature lover, he had only come to record the sound of wind and nothingness, inspiration for strange compositions he made called Dark Ambient. Yet while recording, something disturbed him, almost upsetting him. The sound of someone calling. The loud sound triggered even more sound as birds began to flock. "Tut tut...the living ruin everything..." he mumbled to himself.

Shuri took in a deep breath, and using his mind, began to tear a hole into a dead tree. Once large enough, he hid himself inside it. The living tend to be afraid of nothingness. He'd hide here until they came and then he'd scare them away.

Isaiah waited for a reply...But in the end heard nothing but the flapping of birds and the odd crunch of leaves as something moved about. Now how odd...Usually when one called out, you got an answer from what ever being happened to be sharing this space with you...Not so this time, these people where just plain rude!! Or he was imagining things? Only one way to know for sure...He took a deep breath and reached out with his mind, and found two other sentient beings, one human....One not he let his mind brush theirs for a moment, letting his thoughts enter theirs."You cant hie from me~~~So you might as well come out and say hello~~" Even in their minds his voice came across as warm and caring, tinged with just a bit of sadness...It was a voice you could trust and it had lured more then a few souls to their eventual doom.

She heard something... but it wasn't a sound. Just a voice. In her head. Something else could speak without making a sound. Something else nearby. She felt scared. She just wanted to be alone. She looked left and right. She wished for there to be somewhere dark for her to just hide in. Nothing... maybe. Maybe she could just pretend to be an object. It's worked before. It scared people away. She would do it. There wasn't another way, not in her head. She turned her back to a tree and sat down and slowly as possible. She didn't want the leaves to crunch again. She raised a hand to her 'face' and removed her mask. She stuffed it in her coat. She didn't want anybody seeing it and wanting it. It was very beautifully carved, so she believed.

She didn't like this. She shouldn't have come here. She was going to get killed... Wait. Could she even die? She wasn't completely sure if she could. She hadn't broken yet. But, she was made of wood. She'd taken her arms off and put them back on before, too. All worked completely fine. This body confused her so much. She wished she could learn more about it...

Well this tree was quite uncomfortable. Shuri had underestimated the amount of bug there'd already be nesting within. If he wasn't mistaken, there was also an owl perched upon his head. "Why hello, Mr. Owl. Pray tell, you wouldn't mind alerting me should you find and man or woman walking past would you?" Shuri asked. Hoo hoo. "Oh how wonderfully kind of you Mr. Owl. You look well groomed yourself." Shuri's conversation with this bird of prey was interrupted by yet another voice. This one was much closer though. In his head. It must've been so as Mr. Owl had not flinched a bit. The voice asked for him to come out of hiding. It was warm and trustable. It made Shuri sick to his stomach.

I haven't a single desire to meet the owner of a voice so kind. Had it been a tad bit more wicked, I would've been curious, Shuri thought. Soon he felt something. Someone had seated themselves in front of his tree. The origin of the voice no doubt. Now was the time. He must remember everything he knew about terrifying people. Slowly and silently, he opened a hole in his tree, just big enough for his long arm to slither out. Finally he felt his bony pale hand touch the person. This wasn't skin though. Wood? A doll perhaps?

Still no answer...Strange. Isa would shrug then and move closer to where he felt the two sentient beings, his mind ready to unleash a storm of psychic energy on any would be attackers. They would be in for one hell of a surprise if they thought to catch him off guard. "Come on people! I know your there!!" HE didn't really expect an answer but ohh well...

He was nearly there but he still couldn't see anyone....Hiding where they? How quaint. Well if the people didn't want to be seen, or to talk like civilized fold he could always just leave.....NAH!! Hed just have to wait and see what happens...And the second they decided to move well...He would pounce...So to speak.

There was a voice right next to her. She would be tensing up. Her heart would be beating faster. She would probably be hyperventilating. Instead, her body just lay, dead as a doll. There was somebody in the tree she was leaning against. How could she have not seen that. She wasn't completely used to using her senses like this. She only really had sight and hearing. Everything else was pretty much gone. She could sort of sense pressure... but that was more of an awareness of where her body is at any given moment.

She didn't dare move. There were two different voices calling out. Maybe they would attack each other. Maybe she would be in the clear. If she had eyes she would be shutting them tight right now. She just didn't want to speak to either of them... The first one was sort of nice, but something felt odd about him. And the second one was speaking to... an owl? How odd. She did kind of want to hear about what kinds of people these guys are, but she would really rather just not interact with them at all.

Upon realizing he was trying to scare a mere inanimate doll, Shuri sighed and walked out of the tree. He kneeled down and observed the doll. It had become quite dirty from this mess, yet Shuri found himself smiling. "What beautiful design. The wood is well crafted and this face...so emotionless. Only two slots where eyes should be yet the rest is so smooth. Joints indicate that this body is supposed to be mobile. But now its just rotting away...how sad." Shuri tapped his knee and soon a black cat came running up and positioned itself on his right shoulder. "What should we do, Blues? Shall we take it back and clean it up? No point in letting the beauty of lifelessness go to waste. However...I should probably entertain the living gentleman coming this way." Shuri said to his cat.

Shuri walked a few paces from the doll and shouted out "Mr. Nice Guy~! You're desire for human interaction shall be satisfied right now!" in the direction of which he heard the man yell out. He was far too interested in the doll to consider scaring or killing this man. Who knows...maybe he'd make a new friend. Friends didn't come too often to him. There weren't many people who could stand to be around someone so strange as himself.